Title: Duel
Author: Ali Wildgoose ()
Rating: PG
Artwork: Classroom by Alice
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Harry hated it when Dumbledore looked at him like that.
They were in his office, Harry with his arm in a sling and Dumbledore staring fixedly at him across the desk. They were both in their dressing gowns, which made sense, as it was three in the morning.
�And you�re sure that�s the whole story?� asked Dumbledore wearily, a spark of hope behind his half-moon spectacles.
�Yes,� said Harry stubbornly. �We met in the Astronomy Tower for a duel, and Malfoy got the best of me. I fell down the stairs and broke my arm, and he went to get Professor Snape.�
�How very helpful of him,� said Dumbledore mildly, �when he could have just left you there on your own.�
�Must�ve panicked,� Harry mumbled.
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh, rubbing his eyes. �If this were the first time,� he said, �I could excuse it as a temporary and forgivable lapse in judgment. But your duels with Mr. Malfoy have landed you in the Hospital Wing four times in the past month alone...Ten times this year, if I remember correctly...�
�Eleven,� corrected Harry under his breath.
�I had thought that your time here at Hogwarts would have taught you that violence is never the answer,� Dumbledore went on. �Your own father had to learn that lesson while he was here...though Mr. Black, perhaps, never entirely embraced the principle.� He coughed. �Regardless, I cannot in good conscience encourage this sort of behavior.
�So I have asked Madame Pomfrey to restrain herself in this case, and to allow your injury to heal itself in the natural manner.�
�But that�ll take months!� Harry spluttered, goggling at him.
�I realize that. But as it is not your wand arm that was broken, and therefore not a hindrance to your studies, I feel this to be an appropriate punishment.�
�But - �
�You may return to Gryffindor Tower, now, Harry.�
And that was that. Stunned, Harry slowly made his way across the office, down the golden spiral stairway, past the stone Griffin, and into the main corridors, cradling his broken arm. The sharp, blinding pain had subsided, only to be replaced by a low, throbbing ache.
He had been punished by Dumbledore. Not a detention, which was usually something laughable involving Hagrid and a pitchfork. A real punishment, one that would stay with him for weeks, if not longer. Right in the middle of the Quidditch season. The hours scrubbing cauldrons in Snape�s dungeon after his last duel were a trifling inconvenience next to this.
�Fucking Malfoy,� he grumbled, wincing as his elbow bumped one of the suits of armor. �Bet he did this on purpose....�
The Fat Lady was asleep when he finally reached her, and it took several firm pokes with his wand to rouse her.
�Up late, aren�t we?� she yawned.
�Frabjous day,� he said, not feeling the least bit frabjous. She swung aside obligingly, her eyes already fluttering closed again, and he slouched through the portrait hole and into the cozy warmth of the common room.
�Harry!�
He looked up in time to see Hermione and Ron bounding towards him, identical worried looks on their faces. Hermione reached him first, jarring his arm painfully in her rush to embrace him.
�Oh, Harry!� she gasped, belatedly noticing the sling. �Oh, what did he do to you?�
�Pushed me down some stairs,� said Harry. �It�s all right, I�m fine...mostly.�
�I bet you gave as good as you got,� said Ron.
�I think I might have singed his hair a little. He really hates that.�
�Oh, I told you not to go without us!� Hermione sighed, leaning over to examine his cast. �I don�t know why you keep going to these silly duels, anyway...it�s not like you have anything to prove to him...�
�Of course he doesn�t,� said Ron. �But why pass up a perfectly good excuse to kick ferret boy�s skinny little arse?�
�Yeah,� said Harry. �I mean, he is sort of asking for it, the way he�s always poncing around like he owns the place.�
Hermione frowned, tapping the cast with her wand. �I suppose that not mending this is some sort of punishment.�
Harry nodded, stifling a yawn. �Look, I�m sorry, but can we talk about this at breakfast? I�m really tired.�
�Sure, Harry,� said Ron. He kissed Hermione on the forehead. �G�nite, pumpkin.�
�Good night, sweetie,� she giggled. �Good night, Harry.�
�Nite,� said Harry, trying not to gag.
Neville, Seamus and Dean were all snoring loudly when Harry and Ron crept into the dormitory. They shared a �why do we put up with this� look, and both cast muffling charms on their four posters to keep out some of the racket.
Harry waited quietly as Ron, already half-asleep, took off his dressing gown and crawled into bed. Not until his snores joined those of his roommates did Harry cast a final silencing charm, much more powerful than the first had been, and slip through the curtains of his bed.
�Took you long enough.�
Draco was sprawled on top of the red and gold coverlet, nude from the waist up and looking unusually pleased with himself.
�I�m going to kill you,� Harry grumbled. He tried to pull off the top of his own pajamas, but the sling made things more complicated than usual, and he got stuck somewhere halfway. �Goddammit...�
Draco rolled his eyes, leaning over to free some of his buttons. �You know, you�re completely worthless when it comes to anything practical,� he drawled. �Saving the world, rescuing Weasleys, battling dragons...that you can do. But try to undress yourself - �
�This is all your fault, and you know it,� said Harry, scowling fiercely. ��Let�s do it in the Astronomy Tower,� you said. �It�ll be sexy,� you said. Neglecting to mention that the Astronomy Tower is freezing cold and at the top of a very long staircase.�
�I didn�t know you were going to roll around like that,� said Draco, pulling the covers up so they could both scootch down underneath.
Still glowering, Harry turned so that his good arm was against the mattress and lay his head on Draco�s chest. �You�re going to spend the next week figuring out how to fix this.�
�Or what?� Draco murmured, twisting his fingers in Harry�s hair.
�Or I�ll feed you to the squid.�
Draco chuckled. �You know I�m useless with medicharms.�
�Then you�ll have to find a potion to do it, won�t you? Might as well get some mileage out of that key Snape gave you.�
Harry could feel him smiling against his forehead. �Suppose I will.� He was quiet for a long while, long enough that Harry thought he might have fallen asleep. Then, �I bet it would be really sexy to do it in the Potions lab....�
Harry groaned against his chest. �I really, really hate you, Malfoy.�
Draco wrapped his arms around him, careful to avoid the sling. �I hate you, too Potter.�
Many thanks to Cassie for the �broken arm as punishment� suggestion and the key to the potions lab; to Aja for thinking that I don�t suck; and to Alice, of course, for the pic that got this whole thing started.