See, I haven't forgotten this story!

ShadeDancer

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and can't get money for this, but I can have fun with it.

Warning: Some chapters (the ones including pranks and mimes) might not be appropriate to read at work. Laughter may ensue leading your co-workers to see you as even more insane than they previously thought.

Wednesday, Part 2

It was very late in the day when Harry and Tom finally emerged from Tom's study, dark had started to fall, both of them pleased with Harry's initial progress; he was a quick study when he felt like showing his true potential. Lucius was already waiting for them, and a bit impatiently too.

"He's all yours Lucius." Tom announced to the Malfoy scion. "You still have plenty of time to get ready. Don't fret. I'm sure Draco can give you a hand if there are any issues. He is attending tonight, isn't he?"

"Yes my Lord." Neither man seemed to notice Harry's shocked look. "He is changing as we speak and is probably waiting impatiently for Harry and I to return."

Tom made a shooing motion with his hand. "Off with you then. I have to get ready myself."

Harry allowed himself to be pulled along the hallway for a short distance. "Draco's going to be here tonight?"

Lucius nodded, pleased. "Yes. I managed to get him a pass out of the school for the evening. I thought that you might enjoy someone your age being around tonight and Draco has always wanted to attend our little soirees."

Harry couldn't help but wonder if Draco had any clue of what the soirees usually seemed to entail, but decided that the Slytherin must have when Lucius ushered him into his rooms. Draco was there and already in his night attire, sitting at Lucius' vanity brushing his hair.

"Potter." Draco nodded as he rose, putting down the brush and actually smiling. "Are you ready for tonight? I have some pajamas picked out for you to try on since our Lord didn't have the time to warn you to grab your own."

Harry decided to play it civil. "Malfoy."

"Yes?" Lucius had tuned them out when they had walked into the room, intent on looking over the selection of pajamas Draco had set out. "And I thought I had told you to call me Lucius?"

"Well this is certainly going to get confusing." Draco mused. "Perhaps when both father and I are around you should address us by our first names Potter."

Harry sighed; this was definitely going to be odd. "Alright, but only if you call me Harry. I can't call you Draco if you're constantly calling me Potter."

"Deal." Draco smiled at him, actually smiled, and if Harry hadn't gotten used to Lucius being so friendly he might have feared for his life. "Now let's see which set you should wear tonight."

"Not that pair." Lucius admonished Draco as the younger Malfoy picked up the green pajama top. "He wore green to the ball."

Draco discarded the set and shook his head as his father picked up a silver top trimmed in black. "Those are too much like the ones I'm going to wear and looking at Harry I think they'd wash his complexion too much. He's so pale right now."

The two Malfoy's continued to argue over which cut would be fashionable on Harry, which color would or wouldn't work, and Harry left them to it. He highly doubted any imput he gave would be welcome anyhow—he knew his fashion sense was lacking, it was easier to go simple and with things he knew worked.

"The blue set!" Lucius and Draco decreed together. "They'll be perfect."

In short order Harry found himself bathed, thankfully by a house-elf instead of his two current hosts, and dressed in the elegant pajamas. He was starting to feel like a dress-up doll but had to admit that the material felt wonderful against his freshly washed skin, like a whisper of heaven, and the pajamas were thankfully cut for a male figure.

"Our Lord will be most pleased." Lucius stood back to admire his handiwork as Draco took a hairbrush to Harry's messy hair, taming it with a practiced hand. "I've already set out the sleeping bag that matches the pajamas for you, so there's only one more thing to take care of before we join the others."

Harry was confused, not surprising since he had never been to a slumber party before. "What else would we need to do?"

Draco and Lucius stared at him in disbelief. "You need to pick out your stuffed animal of course. It's not a sleepover without something to cuddle with."

"Oh." Harry felt suddenly stupid.

Lucius hurried to set him at ease. "I'm sure you probably had a stuffed animal that you would have preferred to bring, but given the circumstances I arranged for the toy store at Diagon to send a full selection of their animals. Pick whichever one you wish to have and I'll have the others sent back."

Harry felt what he could only suspiciously identify as tears burning in his eyes as he picked through the selection Lucius had arranged for him. He had never before had a stuffed animal, at least not that he remembered, and now he was being given the choice of one. It didn't take Harry long to discover the perfect one for him. It wasn't anything special, it didn't move or make noises like a lot of the other magically embellished stuffed animals, but he couldn't pass over the simple dog. It was small, small enough to fit in his cupped hands, with brown fur mixed with patches of black and droopy ears.

"This one." Harry announced, his voice steady for all the emotion he was suddenly fighting. "I want this one."

Lucius nodded though Draco almost seemed to want to protest and point out one of the larger stuffed animals again. "Very well. I'll have the others sent back promptly. Now we are ready to join the party."

Holding the dog in the crook of one arm Harry plodded along down the hallway with Lucius and Draco—one or the other had produced matching slippers for him as well—arguing about the latest Quidditch match of all things. Outside the door to the room where the sleepover was to take place Harry paused in brief hesitation, this was the last moment he could make an excuse to back out, but then the bit of him that was still a Gryffindor prodded him on to have fun while he could.

'Please dear Merlin just let them all be decently covered.' Harry thought as he was ushered through the doors into a room full of different colored sleeping bags. He soon realized that staying at the Weasley's had never even come close to preaparing him for a real sleepover, at least not one of this magnitude.

The rest of the evening became a blur of party games, mock duels, and food. Stories were told, songs were sung, and dares thrown out to challenge any takers. Harry had thrown himself into it all with an abandon that surprised even him and he found that he and Draco had a lot more in common than he had even expected. Now hours later as everyone lay asleep around him he couldn't help but curse himself for not taking the Slytherin's hand in friendship on the train way back in first year. It would have saved him a lot of pain and the misery of questioning the true motives of his 'friends'.

Harry had just turned on his side, hugging his pillow and stuffed dog to himself in an effort to finally fall asleep, when he heard a grunt from his left and felt someone fetch up against him. Immediately long arms were wrapped around him and Harry cracked one eye open to find Professor Snape curled up against him, fast asleep. The Potion's Master had shown up late in the evening, hanging on the fringes to avoid the more outrageous activities, dutifully taking up his spot on Draco's other side with his sleeping bag when Tom had called lights out. Draco, who had been sleeping on Harry's left was now sitting up and staring at the two of them in amusement.

"Looks like you're his pillow tonight." There was laughter in Draco's soft voice. "Severus will never admit it but he's a real cuddler, that's why he sleeps next to me. Since I'm his godson there's never an issue come morning, but tonight he just rolled right over me and into you. I think you're stuck with him."

Harry looked apprehensively at his professor and whispered back. "He's going to kill me come morning, isn't he?"

Draco shrugged. "If he wakes up first he'll probably just sneak off like usual. If not—well, you can't do anything about it now. Just try and get some sleep, you can think of him as an extra big stuffed animal if that helps any."

Harry groaned but lay his head back down as Draco had suggested, his little movements had caused Professor Snape's arms to tighten about him as if afraid he was trying to escape. After a bit Harry reluctantly admitted to himself that being cuddled like this was actually a lot more comfortable than he had ever expected and he found himself relaxing enough to drift off when Snape continued to sleep on.

Unconsciously during the night both Harry and Severus shifted in their sleep so that Severus' head was on Harry's pillow and Harry was laying his cheek on Severus' chest, his sleep further lulled by the beating of Severus' heart. No one, especially not the entwined pair, woke when a softly smiling Tom tiptoed through the hall and snapped off a few pictures of Harry and Severus with the last of the film he had been using to capture evidence of the earlier dares for a scrapbook. To Tom's mind this had been the most successful sleepover yet.

… … … … …

Harry woke as Severus stirred the next morning and immediately set to feigning sleep, holding himself as limp and still as possible while forcing his breaths to stay even despite the need to laugh.

"Shit shit shit."

Severus was cursing softly, attempted to unwrap them and then freezing suddenly as if afraid the movement he had just made would wake Harry. Harry was really tempted to just open his eyes and admit that he was awake when Professor Snape accidentally hit him in the face with his own arm—how had they gotten so tangled anyhow?—but he valued his life a little too much for that. A few gropes later on both their parts, though Harry wasn't sure his could be counted as a grope considering his hand had just fallen limply onto Snape's crotch as he pretended to sleep, and Severus was free allowing Harry to finally stop panicking on how he was starting to feel aroused at being so manhandled by his professor.

Harry continued to pretend to stay asleep as he heard Severus step over Draco to gather up his possessions, but apparently Draco was a light sleeper.

"Did you have a good night Severus?" Draco asked innocently.

"If you say a word—" Severus threatened. "Thank Merlin that boy sleeps like the dead. I thought for sure I had woken him at least once."

"Oh that would have been amusing." There was hidden laughter in Draco's voice; he knew Harry was a light sleeper. "The Boy-who-lived wakes up to find he spent the night cuddled against his Potion's Professor."

Severus snorted sarcastically. "Yes, I'm sure he'd take it very well. I will see you back at Hogwarts, Draco, but if I find you have breathed a word about last night I will personally see to your having detention for at least the next month."

A few minutes later Harry felt Draco's hand nudge his shoulder. "It's okay, he's gone now. You can stop pretending to sleep."

Harry cracked an eye open, glanced at Draco, and together the two boys started to laugh. Their laughter eventually woke the others in the room and motions were made involving breakfast. It wasn't until Harry and Draco were set with a portkey to take them back to Hogwarts, their story was to be that Draco had discovered and rescued the now-disheveled looking Harry, that Tom slipped Harry the envelope.

"To remember the evening by." Tom said before he swept away, not looking back lest the two boys see the grin on his face.

Confused Harry opened the envelope. Inside was a picture of himself and Severus curled up around each other fast asleep with soft smiles on both their faces.

Posted On: October 6, 2008