Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter but I do own the plot bunny and any OCs used.

Warning: SLASH

Summary: Harry reflects on his and Adrian's relationship as they prepare for the final battle. Harry/Adrian Pucey

A/N: Okay so i know i said i'd only be doing only one one-shot a month but i already had this written up and since i won't be doing a regular one-shot next month as i am doing my advent calendar (lots of drabbles-lots of pairings) i couldn't resist.

More Than A Bodyguard

Harry smiled as he glanced over at his two bodyguards, well comrades now as the time for what Harry knew would be the Final Battle drew closer, as they prepared for the upcoming fight and thought back to when he'd first met the tall blond one of the two.

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He needed to fly. It was the only thing that could help clear his head after the latest nightmare. Images of Sirius falling through the veil swam in his mind and he sped up, practically running through the corridors of Hogwarts.

As Harry turned a corner he collided with someone far bigger than himself and went crashing to the ground. Looking up Harry came face to face with one of the Seventh Year Slytherins, who was now holding out his hand for Harry.

Harry glanced at the hand before taking it reluctantly. The Slytherin Harry recognised as Chaser Adrian Pucey smiled sheepishly at the Gryffindor.

"Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. I hadn't expected anyone else to be up so late," Adrian stated.

Harry stared dumbfounded at the Slytherin half expecting him to suddenly grow a second head and start dancing around in a frilly pink dress because he had to be dreaming if a Slytherin was being nice to a Gryffindor, and Harry Potter at that.

Harry pinched himself discreetly or at least he thought he'd been discreet until the older boy chuckled softly.

"Not exactly you're average Slytherin hey? Or at least because of what you see from the outside,"

"No not really," Harry replied still quite stunned at the situation he'd found himself in, thoughts of Sirius' death temporarily pushed to the back of his mind.

"What did you mean by what I see from the outside?" Harry asked carefully, tilting his head to the side slightly in confusion.

"I mean that as a Gryffindor you are only privy to the mask every Slytherin has learnt to wear. We are not all as cold as we seem, just aware of the danger showing our true emotions, especially around those who's masks aren't far from the truth. It's kind of ingrained, something we learn as a child, and we don't let it slip away unless we trust the company we're in," Adrian stated.

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because I needed you to know enough to trust me,"

"And why is that?"

"I'm one of your new bodyguards,"

"My bodyguards?" Harry stated incredulously.

"Yes, Dumbledore has asked me to protect you from any possible threat. He is aware that many students in Hogwarts will be swayed by You-Know-Who and needed someone who is both of age and a student at Hogwarts who would be able to protect you well enough from both magical and physical attack.

As you can see I am more than capable of handling myself in physical combat and I'm not exactly an amateur when it comes to using a wand. The fact that I am a member of The Order kinda helped as well," Adrian stated grinning slightly, "There is one other, a transfer student arriving tomorrow. He's in your year and his timetable has been modelled around yours. He will be there while I am in my own classes and most evenings are taken by shift as well as weekends.

Dumbledore will probably tell you most of this tomorrow evening in your meeting but I thought I best get it out of the way."

"You talk a lot don't you," Harry said dazedly leaning against the wall.

"Only when I have someone worth talking to," Adrian replied grin widening as Harry blushed. "Why are you going flying in the middle of the night?" The Slytherin asked eyeing the broom leaning against the wall next to Harry.

The question had been all Harry needed for the images to come rushing back and he buckled under the onslaught, sliding down the wall, cradling his head in his hands as he watched Sirius fall through the Veil for the umpteenth time that night.

In seconds though, he'd grabbed his broom and was running once again.

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Gabriel had arrived the next morning and the three had become fast friends. Harry hadn't spoken to Hermione, Ron or Ginny since that summer in Grimmauld Place after Ginny kissed him only to have her advances rejected. The three had blown up at him Hermione for leading the girl on and breaking her heart, Ron for hurting his little sister and 'betraying their friendship' and Ginny for not loving her back, as if it was his duty to do so after he saved her life in the Chamber of Secrets. The three had then proceeded to tell him that they would no longer be friends with such a heartless person who would treat them so badly, and to be honest he couldn't really give a shit.

He still had the nightmares but while before he couldn't talk to anyone about them, he found that with his new bodyguards, Adrian especially, he could tell them anything and they would sit and just listen, giving what comfort they could.

It was two months later after a particularly bad nightmare and an extremely tiring bout of flying when Harry woke up in a strange bed, about the same time he realized his true feelings for the blond Slytherin.

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Harry smiled as he gazed down upon the beautiful face of the blond teen who he thought was still fast asleep on the rather uncomfortable looking sofa and felt a spark within him. He hadn't felt anything similar since Cedric had died over a year ago, and still that didn't even compare to what he felt now and he realized, this was what it felt like when you found that person you want to spend the rest of your life with.

He was brought out of his reverie by a groan from the blond as blue eyes cracked open and caught Harry's own green orbs.

"I wouldn't do this for just anyone you know, this thing is bloody horrible to sleep on," Adrian grumbled as he stretched and Harry's eyes were drawn to the older teen's very bare chest as his Quidditch muscles rippled from the strain.

Harry's attention was snapped back to the blond's face when a low growl broke him from his trance like state and Harry found himself caught up in the deep pools of Adrian's eyes now darkened with lust. He shivered as a hand reached out and traced a line down his cheek before gripping the back of his head and pulling him into what could only be called the most beautiful yet demanding kiss of his life.

Nothing like the kiss that Ginny had forced upon him and even the sweet one she'd shared with Cedric paled in comparison to the heat that spread through his body like wildfire as Adrian lifted him up wrapping Harry's legs around his waist and deepening the kiss.

Moments later Harry was rather unceremoniously dumped on the now vacant sofa, breathing hard and flushed a light shade of red as he looked up at Adrian.

"Wow," Harry muttered completely shocked to find his feelings for his bodyguard returned.

Adrian grinned down at the younger boy as their breathing returned to normal. "You should get a shower first, you've got double potions but I've got a free period and it's Gabs' turn to guard so I can get ready then if necessary," The blond stated, gesturing to the door to the right of the sofa, "I'll have a house elf bring you some clothes from your room."

"Thanks," Harry murmured before hurrying off to the bathroom.

***

When he came out twenty minutes later, fully dressed and ready for the day he found not only Adrian but Gabriel as well waiting to start his shift. He smiled at Gabriel and blushed slightly when he met Adrian's still heated gaze and grabbed his school bag off the sofa.

Just before he was about to leave with Gabriel he felt a hand grip hold of his wrist using it to yank him back into a hard, firm chest, the hand on his wrist slid down to lace with his own, their fingers entwining, as the other moved to cup his face. Harry was lost in those beautiful blue eyes once again before Adrian leant in and captured his lips in a soft, gentle kiss.

"I'll see you at lunch," Adrian murmured as Harry turned back to join a now smirking Gabriel as they left the room.

"It took you guys long enough," Gabriel stated with a laugh as Harry wacked his arm playfully and the pair made the trek down to potions.

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The rest of that year had gone by far too quickly in Harry's eyes and while his relationship with Adrian had been beautiful, fun and utterly amazing and his friendships with Gabriel and several of Adrian's seventh year friends the happy mood that should have come with them was somewhat missing, what with the Weasleys lashing out at Harry and Adrian's relationship and the near deaths of both Katie Bell and Gabriel that were more than enough to arouse suspicion in Harry.

The end of that year of course had been shrouded in tragedy. Draco Malfoy had come to Harry towards the beginning of their sixth year and told him of Voldemort's plans and the part that Draco was supposed to play in them because of his father's failure in the Ministry of Magic.

Harry had felt guilty until Draco thanked him for essentially saving him from the cruelty of the man he was supposed to respect and love, the man he could never call 'father' without sneering any longer. Harry of course had been more than happy to help, to ensure protection for another of his new found Slytherin friends and had gone to Dumbledore straight away.

Dumbledore, as always, had already known about the plans on his life and steps had already been taken so that Draco wouldn't have to go through with it. Severus Snape, for whom Harry had a new found respect for, had made an Unbreakable Vow to Draco's mother promising to protect Draco from harm and, should the occasion arise, take over from him and kill Dumbledore himself.

Of course that had been the time that Dumbledore had bestowed upon Harry yet another weight, another secret that he had to keep from everyone else, well two really. The first was of the Horcruxes, the seven splits that Voldemort made in his soul to ensure his 'immortality' if that's what you could call it, half life more like, that Harry would have to hunt down and destroy if he was going to rid the world of Voldemort once and for all.

He was extremely glad however, when Dumbledore told him that he could tell three friends of his choosing, three people who would join him on his quest to discover the lost artifacts. He was also glad that two of these Horcruxes had already been destroyed, Tom Riddle's Diary and the Gaunt family ring, both incredibly important objects to Voldemort, were no more, yet his relief was short lived when he discovered that the curse on the ring had taken effect in Dumbledore before he could destroy it and thus their beloved Headmaster was already dying.

This, Harry realized was why they had decided that Snape should kill him in the stead of Draco, as it merely hastened the inevitable.

The shock had taken a while to sink in but that night he cried for the man he saw as a Grandfather as he was held by the blond teen he was slowly falling in love with. It was then inevitable that it would be Adrian and Gabriel, his bodyguards and now his two closest friends, that would go with him but the third had been more difficult to choose. In the end it had been Draco, the boy who had put so much trust in Harry, the one whose path, like Harry's, had been chosen for him and who'd had to deal with the possibility of having to kill Dumbledore throughout the summer and those first months of sixth year before he'd confided in Harry that completed the four, he also happened to be Gabriel's new boyfriend, but that was neither here nor there.

And so we'd set off on our quest. It had been long and hard and more than dangerous for them all but they came out the other side with only the Horcrux inside Nagini and indeed the piece of soul that resided in Harry himself to destroy and the day of the battle drew closer until it was finally upon them and the four along with their new Headmaster and trusted friend Severus could train no longer, could learn no new spells, could put of the inevitable no longer.

Harry smiled as he felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around his waist as he stared out at the grounds and turned to gaze up at the beautiful face. Adrian smiled as he leaned forward to seize Harry's mouth in a battle that would rival that of the one they were about to face against the Death Eaters and for a moment Harry could lose himself in the arms of the blond, forgetting about what waited for them outside the protection of the small room on the seventh floor.

"I love you," Adrian whispered against Harry's lips as they broke apart for some much needed air.

"I love you too," Harry replied with a smile.

Yes, definitely more than a bodyguard.

I'm really into Harry/Lesser known Slytherin (or Cormac McLaggen) right now. I'm like yeah Harry/Adrian, Harry/Marcus Flint, Harry/Montague, Harry/Rabastan Lestrange it's great and there's so much more scope I think for using smaller characters because you don't have this established idea of who they really are, their life story and all that, it's like having your own character but not… if that makes sense. Lol I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated.

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