Summary: Draco has to learn what love is after a life without being shown any. Can Harry, who is unexpectedly his mate, show him what it's like to truly be loved? SLASH

Disclaimer: Psh. I wish I owned then.

Warning: It’s slash, I say! SLASH!

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Show Me The Meaning Of Love - Chapter Nine

Silence held the two boys together in a long moment where they wanted nothing more than to forget about their worldly troubles and remain as they were in this moment in each other’s arms. If they could just stay like this for a little while longer…

A crash from the neighboring compartment jolted the two apart. Both shifted awkwardly and tried to subtly scoot away from the other, realization of what they had been doing dawning on them. Actual serious affection between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy was taboo, unheard of, and was not to happen again in the near future. Neither would let it happen or admit to having liked it even a little. A silent pact between men.

“We should change into out robes,” Harry suggested.

Draco nodded his agreement and stood up. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Once Draco was gone from the compartment, Harry slumped against the seat, a hand over his heart. He couldn’t understand it. Why had the hug affected him so much? He had taken the potion and he was pretty sure that Draco hadn’t been using his allure. So why? Why had his heart beat so fast? The only way things would make sense was that Harry was starting to actually like Draco and the idea wasn’t appealing to him just yet. No, not yet.

But damn. So soon?

Shoving the thoughts away, Harry stood and dragged his trunk down from the rack. It fell on the seat with a heavy thump and Harry frowned at it before lifting the lid and pulling a set of robes from the top. The idiots in the other compartment must have pulled their trunk down onto the floor instead of the seat. First years, maybe.

Draco sauntered back in as the train started slowing down, already dress in his robes. Harry glanced up from his truck to raise an eyebrow at him and shut the lid on his trunk. At a slight jerk from the train, Harry fell back onto the compartment floor while Draco braced himself on the seat. Sneering down at the elf, Draco held out a hand to help him up.

“Graceful as usual,” he said, grinning.

Harry glared at him, but took his hand. “You don’t have to make fun of everything I do, you know.”

“Oh, but I do,” Draco said as he turned to the door. “And it’s so easy.”

Harry snorted and followed after him. “It may be easy, but I still wish you wouldn’t do it.”

Out on the platform, eyes were immediately drawn to the strange pair. Some even stopped dead in their tracks. What was going on? Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy in close proximity to each other without fighting? When had hell frozen over?

Harry glanced sideways to see Draco grinning. “Stop smirking like that,” he hissed. “This is not funny.”

“If you don’t want so many people staring at you, cover your ears better,” the blond retorted. “You also didn’t have to wear those pants. Although, I believe just seeing the two of use walking together is giving them enough reason to stare.”

As they neared the carriages, a flash of red caught Harry’s eye and he groaned. “Damn.”

Frowning, Draco followed his gaze to see Ron with Hermione in tow and Pansy with Blaise right behind them. He sighed. “My sentiments exactly.”

“Ron,” Harry said warningly when they were close enough to hear him. His tone went ignored.

“Harry, step away from him right now!”

“Explain to me why you’re friends with him again?” Draco murmured, earning a flash of irritation from Harry and a returned ‘shut up.’

“Harry!”

Sighing, Harry turned back to Ron to see the redhead’s wand trained on Draco. “Ron, put your wand away. He hasn’t done anything.”

“Like hell he hasn’t! What-”

“Ron, don’t you think you should find out what’s going on before you accuse him of anything,” Hermione said desperately.

“I agree,” Blaise said dully, pulling his hand free of Pansy’s grip.

“I don’t care!”

Irritated, Harry stepped forward and snatched Ron’s wand from his hand. “Calm the fuck down,” he snapped, touching Ron’s shoulder. His hand glowed blue for a second and Ron’s expression went blank. Sighing, Harry shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “That might have been a bit too much.”

With a mumble from Draco, Harry rolled his eyes and placed his hands on his hips with a stern look. “Alright, the carriages are going to end up leaving without us, so either everyone scatter or fuck off. Dumbledore will more than likely inform the whole damn school, so you can hear it there. I am not in the mood to deal with people unless I absolutely have to.”

A moment of silence passed over them, mainly from shock for everyone but Draco, who was already used to Harry’s recent tendency towards cussing when he was frustrated. He could sympathize, though. He had expected cussing in their arguments, but he had been shocked speechless when Harry got worked up when attempting to practice using his elven powers.

Rolling his eyes, Draco captured Harry’s wrist and pulled him away from Ron. “We should hurry.”

Pansy’s eyes went wide and she rushed to Draco’s side, detaching his hand from Harry’s wrist. “C’mon, Dray. Let’s go to another carriage,” she pleaded.

Draco didn’t even bother glancing at her and pulled his arm out of her grasp to lead Harry to a carriage. Harry gave him miffed look when he opened the door for him and then ignored the gesture (Draco shrugged and went in himself) to turn back to their companions.

“Hermione, you might what to help Ron. He looks a little incapacitated. Sorry about that.”

Hermione gave a quick nodded and gently took the redhead’s arm to direct him towards the carriage.

One by one, everyone filtered into the carriage, fitting comfortably thanks to an expanding charm from Blaise. Pansy, the last one to approach the carriage, found herself stopped by Harry. “I wouldn’t sit next to Draco if I were you.”

Ron’s blank gaze turned towards the doorway. “Why’d ya call ‘im Draco, Harry?” he said, sounding as if his tongue was too think for proper speech.

Harry tossed a glance over his shoulder at Ron. “Don’t worry about it, Ron,” he said softly.

Tossing her head, Pansy huffed and pushed past Harry to stubbornly sit right next to Draco.

In the next moment, Harry was in front of her, wand in her face and green eyes flashing. “Move.”

Pansy’s wand was in her hand as well, pointed at his chest. “Try it, Scarhead,” she hissed.

“Really, do you guys know nothing?” Hermione suddenly huffed, waving her hand in the air in exasperation. “You can’t cast any spells in the carriages. It’s one of the first things talked about, ‘Hogwarts, A History’. Put your wands away.”

Harry cast a glance back at Hermione before lowering his wand. Not that he had needed it in the first place. “Move, Parkinson. I don’t need a wand to make you move.”

“No,” she hissed back.

Draco let out an exasperated sigh. “Just leave it, Harry. She’s just as stubborn as you are.”

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but was quickly cut off by Pansy, who turned towards Draco, eyes wide and questioning. “Harry?”

Draco sighed again. “Yes,” he said quietly, deftly snatching her wand from her hand. “Now be quiet.”

Moodily, Pansy crossed her arms and slumped against the back of the seat. “Fine.”

Harry shook his head and put his wand away. Giving Pansy a sideways glance, he rolled his eyes and sat on Draco’s other side. “Is that some kind of magic?” he muttered, elbowing Draco in the side. “Everyone listens to you.”

Draco snorted. “Everyone but you.”

Pansy glared past Draco at Harry. “Do you mind, Potter? Don’t act so friendly with him!”

Harry’s eyes snapped over to hers. “I’ll do whatever the bloody hell I want,” he snarled. “Mind yourself.”

“Again with the vulgar language,” Blaise muttered, a small smirk touching his lips. “Interesting.”

Pansy shot up, hands on her hips. “Shut up, Blaise!” she snapped. “Keep your filthy hands off of him, Potter! Nobody wants a little chit like you hanging around, so do everyone a favor and jump out a window!”

Draco had been listening disinterestedly at first, his anger slowly growing with each word that came from Pansy’s mouth, that anger slowly pounding with rhythm in his skull. He barely even noticed that he had stood up, his want level with Pansy’s eyes until her eyes were focused on him. Magical energy was crackling around him, nearly visible in its intensity, and definitely felt by the other members in the carriage. “Sit down, don’t say another word about Harry, and you might live to see the school,” he said sharply, anger rippling under every word, much to the surprise of everyone there. He barely even noticed what he was saying. All he knew was this girl was saying things to his mate, being rude to his mate, and he wasn’t going to stand for it.

Realizing that the limit of Draco’s control over his veelan instinct to protect his mate had been reached, Harry quickly reached out and brushed Draco’s arm, his fingers glowing softly. “Draco,” he said slowly. “It’s all right. I’m okay.” He drew his hand back, sure that the wave of calm that he had sent through the blond’s body would be enough to restrain the enraged veela.

Pansy was left staring at the two in shock as she fell back down in her seat, slowly gathering her senses back together. “Why in the world are you standing up for Potter?” she whispered. “Of all the people, why him?”

Harry and Draco’s eyes met, questioning the other if they wanted to be the one to say it.

Sighing, Hermione scooted forward, making the decision for them. “I’ve gathered that Malfoy is a veela. You’re life mates, correct?”

Harry smiled briefly at her. “I knew you wouldn’t need anyone to tell you. Good job, Hermione.”

Blaise rubbed his chin. “Now that you mention it, that would explain a lot.” He leaned closer to Hermione, grinning. “You’re brilliant, you know.”

Ron, who had been staring blankly at the floor, lifted his head curiously. “Mates?”

“Yes, Ron,” Hermione said, leaning away from Blaise a little. “Harry, do you think you could relax your powers on Ron a little bit?”

“It’s already wearing -”

“Mate my arse!” Pansy suddenly snapped. “Bullocks!”

“Watch your mouth,” Draco growled. Harry lightly touched Draco’s arm, drawing his attention to him.

“Calm, okay?” he said softly.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Pansy watch the interaction in amazement, her cheek flushing red. “I can’t believe Draco would want this. There has to be a way to get rid of it.”

Harry sighed heavily and placed the heel of his palm on his forehead. “If we break the bond, Draco dies,” he said, cringing at his own words. It was a tribute to how much he had grown attached to Draco that it hurt him to even think about it.

Pansy grew pale and she swallowed quietly. The situation washed over her and she gaped a little before speaking. “You… you won’t do that, right? Potter?” Her voice cracked a little. Despite her annoying countenance and irritating mouth, she really did care for Draco. Not in a loving way, but like a sister would. “I mean, it would be pointless for you to. It would be overreacting right? You may not like him - and I know-”

“You’re rambling,” Hermione said, cutting her off. She looked over at Harry and smiled. “Harry wouldn’t do that, even if Draco was a complete arse to him.”

“Of course he’ll do it!” Ron snapped suddenly as he jumped to his feet. He swayed a little as he fixed Harry with a stern look. “You’ll reject him right now, won’t you Harry?”

Harry stared up at the redhead in surprise. “No, Ron,” he said firmly.

“Harry, he works for You-Know-Who! Are you crazy? He’ll turn you in!”

“If that were true,” Harry interrupted softly, “I would not be here right now.”

“He’s just waiting for the right moment!” Ron shouted desperately, pointing an accusing finger at Draco.

Harry was on his feet in an instant, placing himself between Draco and Ron in the small pace. “He’s had plenty of opportunities to turn me in and I’m still here. I trust him, Ron.” His quiet tone shook slightly. “Try to support me in this. Please.”

Ron’s face flushed and he balled his hands into fists. “Support you? This is insane! He’s a fucking-”

“Shut up!”

Ron fell back in his seat in shock, staring up at his best friend.

Draco lightly touched Harry’s shoulder. “How do you know that I won’t do it?”

Harry looked back at Draco. He didn’t believe that Draco was so loyal to Voldemort that he would be willing to sacrifice his life for the cause. From all that he had learned over the past few days, he knew that if they completed the bond together, the veela in Draco would refuse to let him give Harry over. But at this level, at this point in their relationship, there was a chance that Draco could still live if Harry died.

“Draco,” he said softly. “Don’t doubt me. I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again.” He turned, gently grasping his hands in his own. “I trust you.”