MATCH MADE IN HELL
"Good evening, sir," a bright young waitress greeted Harry as he stepped inside a new popular restaurant in Diagon Alley. "How can I help you?"
"Good evening. I'm supposed to meet a friend here, the reservation is in the name of Longbottom," Harry said.
"Oh yes, your friend has already arrived. Please, follow me, sir," the waitress smiled and started towards a table near the back of the restaurant. "Your friend required a table with some privacy."
"Oh, okay."
They arrived at the table where a brown haired man was already sitting. The man stood up when they arrived and extended his hand to Harry.
"Hello, my name is Darian. I'm pleased to meet you," he greeted and smiled.
"Hi, nice to meet you too, I'm James," Harry replied and smiled back. Neville and Pansy had chosen this bloke for him as a blind date, and he seemed nice and handsome, so Harry was truly looking forward to an enjoyable evening.
Pansy was convinced that she had a natural talent as a matchmaker, and she had created a system by arranging a blind date for people she thought were perfect for each other. To give them a chance to get to know each other a little bit better before revealing their true identities, she gave them a dose of Polyjuice Potion and a pseudonym to use before revealing their real identity. The Polyjuice Potion would usually last long enough for the daters to decide if they liked each other enough to reveal themselves, but if they didn't really match, they'd have the chance to leave the situation without them knowing who they were dating. Only Pansy - and sometimes Neville - would have that information.
Harry had tried Pansy's method once before, but he hadn't felt his date was very suitable for him, so after dinner he had politely thanked his date and left. He still didn't know who it had been. After that it had taken quite some time for Pansy and Neville to convince him to take another chance, because Pansy had been absolutely sure this time. All he knew now was that his date went to Hogwarts with him, but he was in a different house, and that he was very handsome. When had also Neville told him that this bloke was a great guy and a perfect match for him, Harry had relented.
Now he kept glancing at Darian to see if he could detect anything from his manners to recognize him from Hogwarts, but nothing seemed familiar. He decided to surreptitiously fish for some information during their dinner; maybe he'd be able to guess who his dinner date was. Unfortunately Harry wasn't known as the stealthiest person in the wizarding world.
Darian turned out to be a charming bloke. Their conversation flowed easily all through the dinner, and he seemed to be genuinely interested in the same things as Harry: flying, Quidditch and interesting spells and curses. Every once in a while Harry could detect a posh undercurrent in the way Darian talked, but it didn't bother him as much as intrigued him.
They left together after a long, delicious and particularly enjoyable dinner, heading to a private wizarding club where they could continue their conversation and have some drinks. As the night wore on, Harry became more and more attracted to Darian. The bloke was nice and funny, and Harry couldn't remember the last time he had enjoyed a date and company so much as tonight.
It was very late at night when Harry and Darian walked together to the Apparating point. Just before they reached the narrow alley, Darian stopped Harry by taking his hand in his own.
"James, I've enjoyed this evening very much. I really like you, and I'd love to see you again. What do you say?" Darian asked hesitantly.
Harry grinned. "I'd love that. How about tomorrow? Maybe we could meet without Polyjuice then?"
"Sounds great. Where do we meet and how do I recognize you?" Darian looked relieved and smiled brightly at Harry.
"How about the same restaurant and the same table for dinner as we had tonight?" Harry suggested.
"Perfect. I'll see you then." Darian turned to leave, but at the last moment turned back, grabbed Harry from the back of his neck and kissed him. First Harry froze, surprised, but then wrapped his arms around Darian and kissed him back. The kiss was so sweet and Darian felt so good in his arms that Harry didn't want it to end at all. He thoroughly explored Darian's delicious mouth with his tongue, his hands itching to wander south and cup Darian's fine looking arse. That would be too much for the first date, though, Harry decided.
Darian sighed into his mouth and shifted, and Harry immediately thought that he was ending the kiss. Reluctantly he pulled back and opened his eyes, but Darian didn't seem to be in a hurry to let him go just yet, continuing to kiss him with abandon.
However, Harry could see where the change in Darian's kissing was coming from; his features were shimmering and changing as if he was transforming into someone else. Darian's Polyjuice was obviously wearing off!
Harry stepped back, ending the kiss and lifted his hand to Darian's cheek. "Darian…" he started, making the blokes eyes blink in a daze, but just then Darian's features finished changing and Harry stared at the confused eyes of… Draco Malfoy.
"Malfoy?! What the hell are you doing here?" Harry cried out, astonished.
"What…? Oh fuck, my Polyjuice… Fuck! I'm sorry, James, it wasn't supposed to wear off so soon. Does it matter to you that you know now who I am?" Malfoy asked, confusion clear in his eyes.
"Of course it matters! What the hell were Pansy and Neville thinking when pairing us together? Bloody brilliant… a perfect match, my arse," Harry grumbled, totally forgetting that Malfoy still didn't know who James was.
"But… but why, James? Do we have a bad history between us or what? Why does it matter to you who I am?" Malfoy asked, now hurt at Harry's refusal.
"You could say that, Malfoy. Once you see who I am, you'll agree with… oh fuck," Harry moaned as he felt his own Polyjuice starting to wear off and his own features returning back to normal.
Malfoy stared at him horrified. "Potter! How in bloody hell did… I'm going to kill Pansy!"
Malfoy turned on his heel and stormed away toward the Apparating point cursing on his way. He seemed to be furious and for once Harry agreed with him. Neville and Pansy were definitely going to pay for their cheekiness.
Harry went home, thinking about all the ways to get back at the meddling couple and how to give them a taste their own medicine. He didn't want to really hurt them, but some retaliation was absolutely in order. In the wee small hours of the morning it finally struck him and awoke him from his slumber.
He didn't want to waste any time in case Malfoy was going to go and hex Pansy the first thing in the morning - assuming he hadn't done it already - and his plan called for absolute unawareness from Neville and Pansy's side. Harry didn't want them to know that Harry's and Malfoy's identities had been revealed too soon and how furious they were about finding out that Mr and Mrs Matchmaker had set them up.
Harry wrote a note and sent it to Malfoy requesting an urgent meeting. He used his own owl, Aeron, to carry the letter to Malfoy. Their identities had been revealed already, so there was no point in trying to hide anything. Malfoy's curt reply arrived with Aeron when she returned, and although Malfoy still seemed to be fuming, at least he had accepted Harry's request.
They met in a small cafe in Muggle London after lunch. Malfoy looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but right there, and only nodded curtly as greeting when he arrived. After placing their order to the waitress, Harry hurried to explain his plan before Malfoy bolted.
"Listen, Malfoy, I have a plan to get back at Pansy and Neville for setting us up. You haven't told Pansy already that you know, have you?"
At Malfoy's affirmation Harry continued. "Well then, I think we should go for it. I mean, we should start dating."
Malfoy stared at him as if Harry had all of a sudden grown a second head. "What?"
"Not for real, of course," Harry hastily added. "I mean, if they set us up, they really think that we would be a perfect couple, right?"
"I don't see how this would be a good revenge. Then again, I've never seen anything even resembling cunning in any plan coming from Gryffindors," Malfoy sneered.
"The revenge is that we show them that putting us together is a match made in hell. We will make them suffer for what they did. We show them our worst and put them through all our fighting. Then we'll just wait and see which one of them is the first one begging us to break up."
"I think I'd prefer just yelling and hexing Pansy, if that's your best plan, Potter. Now, I think I have heard enough." Malfoy made to stand up and leave, but Harry pulled him back to sit.
"That's it, don't you see? If you just yell at Pansy, she will do it again. Merlin knows how many times she has begged me to give in to her matchmaking, just because she thinks that she has that bloody knack for knowing who is the perfect match for me! She won't stop, ever, if we let her go on with that. It's time to bring her down, or she will never leave us alone. Just think about it, Malfoy. It's a perfect plan, even if I say it myself," Harry reasoned.
For the first time during their meeting Malfoy looked like he was considering it. At least he didn't make any attempts to leave anymore. After a long contemplating silence he finally cleared his throat and looked Harry in the eye.
"Very well. I suppose we could give it a try. What do you suggest?"
"I think we should visit them as soon as possible to thank them for bringing us together. It was love at first sight, and even the Polyjuice wearing off too soon didn't make us back off. I think that at first we need to play it as if we were madly in love, and then we'll show them the hellish part of our relationship and drag them in the middle of the epic fights. How does that sound for you?"
Malfoy considered it for a moment, then he grinned. "It sounds alright, and it definitely is the first good plan I've heard coming from you, Potter. My bet is that Pansy is the first one to ask us to split."
"Oh no, I bet a bottle of Ogden's that Neville can't take it past our second fight," Harry challenged.
"Make it Ogden's Finest and you're on, Potter," Malfoy grinned even wider.
"Deal."
They grinned widely at each other and shook hands, then they put their heads together and began planning the details.
xXxXx
Their first step for putting their plan in action was to show up at Pansy and Neville's house that same evening to profusely thank them for getting them together. Pansy's expression was priceless when she opened the front door and was met with the sight of Harry and Draco cuddling on her front step.
"Oh Pansy, darling, how can I ever thank you for what you did! I'd have never thought that Harry would be the right one for me if not for your clever matchmaking skills," Draco exclaimed from the recesses of Harry's embrace.
Pansy looked confused and even shocked at seeing them together so intimately, but soon she composed her expression back to normal. Then she managed to form a bright smile on her face. "I knew you two would match, you just needed to get over your disagreements. Come in, lovebirds!"
She ushered them inside and into the parlor where Neville was lounging in front of the fireplace, reading a book.
"Look what I found, Nev. I told you, didn't I?" She gushed and leaned down to kiss her husband on top of his head. "Would you like a drink, Draco, Harry?"
Harry pulled Draco with him to the loveseat near Neville and smiled at Pansy, "Yeah, sure. What would you like, love?" he asked Draco, leaning to kiss his temple. Draco smiled at him looking so smitten that Harry had to stifle a chuckle.
"I'll have whatever you'll have, gorgeous," Draco said in a dreamy voice.
Neville's eyes grew wide with shock at seeing them so cheesy, and Harry silently congratulated himself on scheming so well. Draco was a good actor, he had to give him that. This was going to be so fun.
Pansy brought them their drinks and sat down in the armchair facing them. "So tell me, what really happened last night? It was your first date, and now you are already in love with each other?"
Harry grinned at Pansy's curiosity. "Oh yes, we met last night as you had scheduled us to, had a wonderful dinner and talked a lot. I think it was love at first sight. By the end of the evening, when the Polyjuice wore off and we saw our true identities, it didn't matter anymore who we were and what was in our past. The only thing that matters is how we feel for each other now."
Harry inwardly winced at his own cheesy statement, but he hoped that Pansy or Nev didn't realize how uncharacteristic he sounded. He warily glanced at the both of them, but Pansy looked nothing but excited about the situation. Neville, on the other hand, frowned.
"Just like that? Isn't that a bit… hasty? You are not usually that fast," Neville wondered out loud.
"When ever have you seen me doing anything in the usual way, Nev? Besides, I think this is fully compared as how furiously we fought all the time back at Hogwarts, we just fell in love just as furiously."
"Stop it, darling. Can't you see how happy they are? Don't be a spoilsport, Neville," Pansy chastised her husband, and Neville blushed.
"Now, back to you two, did you already spend the night together? Are you as compatible in bed as you seem to be right now? Tell me!" Pansy demanded.
"Pansy! Stop fishing more information, it's their private business," Neville complained in turn, but Pansy ignored him completely, her eyes shining with unashamed curiosity as she begged for more details.
Draco chuckled. "You're an incorrigible hag, Pans. Alright, I'll tell you. Harry is an awesome lover, very considerate and gentle. We spent the whole night making love, couldn't keep our hands off of each other. Just look at him, Pans, have you ever seen anyone so sexy with or without clothes on? Harry is so wonderful, and a brilliant kisser too - I could spend the whole night just kissing him," Draco explained, and leaned to kiss Harry for good measure. Harry was game immediately and snogged Draco with such enthusiasm that he lost the sense of time and place, until he heard a pointed cough in front of them.
Pansy was grinning like a loon and Neville was blushing furiously. One look at them told Harry that their plan was working perfectly. Draco being a good kisser didn't hurt either.
When they left the Longbottom house that evening, Harry and Draco walked out wrapped around each other like a couple of octopuses. As soon as they were out of sight, they separated at once, walking side by side but not touching.
"That went well," Harry said and grinned. "You are a good actor, Malfoy."
"Of course I am. I wouldn't be a Slytherin if I didn't know how to feign convincingly," Draco sniffed. "I'm sure even Pansy believed us, and she knows almost all of my tricks."
"They bought it all. Are you ready to up the ante? I think we better not let them get too used to the current situation, what do you say?"
"Definitely. I'm up for it if you are, Potter. What's next?"
They planned as they walked side by side to the nearest Apparition point.
xXxXx
Next Friday Pansy and Neville had a small dinner party and of course they had invited Harry and Draco as well. That event was the next stage of their revenge play.
Harry met Draco at the Leaky an hour before they were expected to be at the party, and they had enough time to have a drink together. That way they also had a chance to finetune their plan for the evening.
"You realize that if Blaise is there tonight, our so called relationship is going to go public," Draco reminded Harry when they were walking toward Pansy and Neville's house.
"I'm counting on it," Harry grinned mischievously. It was common knowledge that Blaise was very talented at fishing for information and writing insightful articles for the Daily Prophet. Harry had no doubt that he and Draco would be on the headlines of tomorrow's paper.
They arrived at the Longbottom house and managed to wrap around each other just in time for Pansy to open the door.
"There you are, lovebirds! Everyone else has already arrived," she announced.
Draco looked at their hostess sheepishly. "Err… sorry about that, Pans. We got a bit distracted and lost sense of time."
"Oh, you don't have to explain to me, darling. I know how it goes. I'm the one who got you two together, wasn't I? Now come inside, the dinner will be served shortly," Pansy bustled, ushering them inside and to the parlor where the other guests were having apéritifs.
Neville came to greet them at once as they entered the room, and after their host, Hermione and Blaise stood up and hugged them both. Hermione and Blaise had been the first couple that Pansy had matchmade, or as Blaise put it, "pimped" - earning a murderous look from Pansy. Surprisingly, Hermione and Blaise made a great match; they challenged each other all the time and seemed to enjoy it.
"Oh, I heard of you two being an item now, thanks to Pansy," Hermione grinned at Harry.
"Good catch, mate," Blaise smirked and slapped Draco on the back.
Neville served them drinks and then they went to greet the other two guests who were sitting in the loveseat as far away from each other as possible, looking uncomfortable. Or at least Zacharias Smith did; Luna looked as serene as always. Obviously they were Pansy's latest victims at matchmaking.
"Oh Harry, I'm so happy to see you again," Luna breathed as she hugged Harry tightly and then turned to Draco. "You too, Draco, I'm glad you are unharmed."
"Unharmed?" Draco asked incredulously.
"I had a dream where you were fighting a Lethifold. It was scary, but you were very brave and fought gloriously. I didn't see how it ended, because my Kneazle woke me up. However, I was certain that you defeated it, you are such a clever wizard," Luna explained in a dreamy voice.
Harry grinned and squeezed Draco affectionately, "My glorious warrior."
"Right," Draco deadpanned and pulled Harry along to the sofa where he curled against Harry's side looking very pleased with himself.
"So, Harry, how long have you and Malfoy been together?" Zach asked curiously.
"Only a few days, but it's been an incredible few days for us. It was one of Pansy's crazy intuitions, but it worked out brilliantly. I couldn't be happier," Harry said to Zach, but focused entirely on Draco, smiling and pecking him on the lips.
Pansy, Hermione and Luna sighed in unison, Neville found his drink very interesting and Blaise grunted, "Guys, please." Zach's expression darkened, but Harry couldn't imagine what might have caused it, not until they were informed that dinner was served and they all stood up and moved to the dining room.
Zach quickly slipped to walk next to Harry and ran his hand along Harry's shoulder and arm. "I didn't know you were into blokes. I wish I had," he whispered in Harry's ear.
However, Draco heard it and was instantly defending his territory. "Get your paws off of my boyfriend, Smith. Harry's mine now so back off," he hissed fiercely, narrowing his eyes threateningly.
Zach dropped his hand immediately and took a step away from them, changing the subject by asking something from Luna. Harry watched the exchange with interest; Draco's acting territorial was amusing and Harry silently congratulated Draco for his quick reaction, but at the same time Draco's jealousy - although fake - warmed Harry's heart. He pulled Draco even closer to his side and whispered in his ear, "Good thinking, Draco." Draco blushed.
At the dinner table Draco arranged himself to sit next to Harry instead of Zach. Pansy scowled at him for meddling with her seating plan, but she didn't say anything aloud. The conversation at the dinner table was light and comfortable until Zach asked, "Where's Ron, by the way? Haven't seen him in ages."
Both Harry and Hermione tensed; Ron wasn't their favourite topic these days.
Neville came to the rescue. "I think he's still in Romania with his brother."
"Sulking," Pansy fake coughed, and that lightened the mood considerably. Hermione even let out a quiet snort at Pansy's comment.
"Weasley said that he won't speak to Hermione until she dumps me," Blaise explained. "I'd like to see his reaction when he hears that Harry has also fallen for a Slytherin."
"He didn't react so badly when Nev and I got married. That probably happened too fast for him," Pansy smirked. "Or he just failed to realize what happened during all the chaos after the war."
"Pans, everyone thought that Nev had you up the duff because you got married so quickly. It was so unheard of in the respective wizarding society," Draco piped up.
"Bah, Neville was the only one I could trust after the war and he kept me safe, so why wouldn't I have married him? He's a pureblood, good-looking, a brave Gryffindor hero and he asked," Pansy countered.
"I love your reasoning, Pans. One might think you calculated for your own benefit," Draco quipped.
"Really, Draco, I wouldn't have even tried to save my own arse with a bloody Gryffindor if I didn't like the guy," Pansy sniffed, and then glanced at Neville with an affectionate grin. "You do know I love you, Nev."
Neville nodded and smiled back at his wife, taking her hand into his.
"Ron will come around, like always," Harry assured. "He's just being stubborn. Eventually he'll get it through his thick skull that we're still his friends even if we happen to be in love with Slytherins."
"Maybe I can hook him up with a Slytherin, too. All he needs is the right person, no matter what house they are from," Pansy said excitedly. "Oh, I love a good challenge."
All through dinner Pansy was a bit distracted, she was obviously planning how to pair Ron up with someone, but everyone else was chatting comfortably with each other. After dinner they gathered back in the parlour where Harry suggested a game or two of Exploding Snap. Everyone else was game, but Draco preferred Wizard's Chess. Like a good host, Neville volunteered to play with Draco.
Harry was good at playing Exploding Snap, mostly thanks to his quick reflexes, but surprisingly Luna gave him a good challenge. Every time Harry managed to win the game, Zach made a show of hugging and wrapping his arm around Harry's shoulders. Harry was becoming uncomfortable with Zach's repeated touches. The problem escalated when Zach started to touch his thighs.
Harry noticed Draco shooting furtive glances at them and his face turning more and more angry. The other players were watching the scene with interest. All of a sudden Draco slammed his fist on the table where there were playing chess, jumped to his feet and stormed over to Harry and Zach.
"What bloody part of 'keep your hands off of my boyfriend' is so difficult to understand, Smith? Get the fuck away from him, you hear me?" Draco snarled and pushed Zach off of his seat, sitting down next to Harry himself. However, after a second thought he turned and planted himself firmly in Harry's lap straddling him, wrapped his arms around Harry's neck and kissed him heatedly.
Harry was shocked at first by the intensity of Draco's actions, but he soon overcame his daze and kissed him back just as heatedly. Their passion soon went out of their control, they just devoured each other's mouths and groped whatever body part they could reach, totally forgetting their audience and their reactions. Even subtle coughs and clearing throats didn't get through their making out, until a sharp kick hit Harry in the shin.
"Get a room, guys," Blaise's amused voice said, and Harry focused his attention toward the other occupants in the room.
"Uhm, right, sorry guys," Harry stammered, but Draco was far from embarrassed.
"Thanks, Blaise, we should do that. Can we use your guest room, Pans?" Draco stood up, pulling Harry with him and without waiting for an answer, dragged Harry out of the room.
Draco seemed to know exactly what he wanted and where he wanted to go, so Harry went along without objections. Harry trusted Draco's acting skills and knowing exactly what would make the right impression to their friends.
They had barely reached the second floor and the guest room, when Draco slammed the door shut and pushed Harry against the door, trapping him efficiently in place with his mouth and body weight. Harry happily succumbed under the onslaught and responded to Draco's touches and caresses with equal enthusiasm. However, when Draco started to pull him towards the bed, he sobered up .
"It's okay to stop now, I guess. We already made the point down there. They can't see us anymore," Harry managed, but Draco didn't even slow down at hearing that.
"Pansy has her guest rooms under surveillance charm so she can detect what we did here, that pervy little voyeur. We better finish what we started downstairs," Draco breathed in Harry's ear. "Come on, I'll let you fuck me this time."
"Are you sure? You don't mind going all the way?" Harry had to make sure, but the truth was that he was more than ready to fuck Draco into the mattress. He had been achingly hard since their kissing downstairs and by now he'd do anything with Draco.
"I wouldn't ask you otherwise, would I?"
Harry just stared at Draco, not quite believing that it would be so easy to get into Draco's pants. Obviously he spent too much time at contemplating, as Draco impatiently tugged him by the neck to get his attention.
"It's not that you'd have to marry me afterwards, idiot. Just a casual fuck to keep up the appearance and let off some steam, alright?"
Harry didn't need more persuasion and tackled Draco onto the bed. They rolled around the bed in their haste to remove every part of clothing that was in their way to get skin to skin. Harry had no major problems with undressing; usually he was so tired at night that he basically walked out of his clothes on his way to bed, leaving a rumpled heap of clothes behind him on the floor. Draco, on the other hand, was another story. His fashionable clothes were a challenge with all their intricate fastenings and fancy little details, and Harry had to grudgingly admit defeat. Draco slapped his hands out of the way and let his nimble fingers do the job without trouble.
"Here, you see. You don't have to be a genius to open these clasps," Draco said smugly.
"I have better things on my mind than fiddling with such knick-knacks. If I had my way, you'd be naked by now, your clothes nothing but shreds on the floor," Harry growled.
Draco shivered, from disgust or delight, Harry couldn't say. It didn't matter, though, as Draco wrapped his arms and legs around Harry and started grinding his hips against Harry's. His tongue swept around inside of Harry's mouth, exploring, mapping, memorising. Harry felt it all in his gut, feeding the fire inside him grow to an all-consuming blaze that drowned all rational thoughts and urged him to act on instinct.
Harry tore his mouth from Draco's and nibbled his earlobe, neck and collarbone, leaving red marks in the pale skin. He moved down to Draco's nipples, tugging at the rosy nubs so insistently that Draco squirmed under him, gasping and throwing his head back, baring his long neck. Harry couldn't resist and returned his attention to Draco's beautiful neck, sucking and licking it with abandon. He knew there would be dark marks left for a few days if Draco didn't cover them with magic, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to devour this gorgeous body as much as he could.
The sharp buck of Draco's hips reminded him of the whole feast under his body, and he dragged his lips down on Draco's body, licking and nibbling on his way. Draco shivered when Harry reached a sensitive spot below his ribcage, and Harry spent an extra moment teasing that spot, enjoying Draco's reactions.
Dipping his tongue into Draco's navel on his way to his cock, Harry grinned against Draco's skin at hearing his audible gasp. Draco's responsiveness spurred him on and soon his lips wrapped tightly around Draco's cock, earning a long moan of appreciation from the man under him. Harry was beginning to feel that he wouldn't last long like this, so he conjured the lube and started preparing Draco for his good sized cock.
Harry was up to three fingers deep inside Draco's opening when Draco began to beg him to 'get inside already'. Harry was definitely not a man to deny his services from a wizard in need so he swiftly lined up his cock at Draco's entrance and slowly pushed in. He was rewarded with the sight of Draco's mouth opening into a silent 'ooh' and his back arching up from the bed. Draco's legs wrapped around Harry's waist and his arms found their way around Harry's neck, pulling him into a heated kiss.
Harry started to thrust shallowly, but soon Draco's insistent demands of going harder urged him to ram into Draco with force. He set a ruthless pace, going as hard as he dared, and judging by Draco's constant gasping, he managed to batter his prostate with every thrust. Too soon Harry felt the familiar heat pooling in his groin and his balls tightening. He had wanted to wait for Draco to come first, but he couldn't help it. Groaning, he tensed and shuddered as he spurted deep inside Draco. His dick was still hard as a rock, so he kept thrusting through his orgasm, drawing the climax out of Draco as well.
Panting, Harry collapsed on the bed, barely missing crushing Draco under his weight.
"Wow, that was… I don't even know what that was, but it was incredible," he sighed.
"Mmm… yes it was," Draco purred and snuggled closer to Harry's side. "And, you know, there's a lot more where that came from."
Harry chuckled. "You are still acting, aren't you? You're bloody brilliant, I could have fallen for that."
Draco stiffened and tried to roll away from Harry for some reason Harry didn't quite understand, but he held Draco tightly close to him.
"Of course I'm still acting. What did you think?" Draco was almost pouting.
"Good. We can't afford to let this get out of control, okay? But I guess we could shag every once in a while, just because we can't shag or even be seen with anyone else during this scheme. However, we should start putting more pressure on our dear friends and show them the hellish side of our so called relationship soon."
"Too soon for that. We should wait for a week or so, because if we start fighting right away, it's too easy for them to realise what we have been up to. Let's play the happy couple a little bit longer and convince them that we are serious."
Harry agreed to Draco's suggestion, but wondered why Draco wasn't too keen to get rid of him as soon as possible. This had been Harry's idea in the first place, so Draco should have been more than happy to just follow his lead.
They dressed and went back downstairs to see if they still had any audience left. Draco was tucked tightly against Harry's side and they both managed to look sheepish and in Draco's case, very smug. Zach was still present, after all.
"Thanks for the room, Pans. Sometimes we just can't keep our hands off of each other," Draco exclaimed.
"You two really look freshly fucked. Hope you had a good time soiling my lovely guest room," Pansy scowled. "Not to mention leaving our dinner party just because you couldn't wait until you got to your own bedroom."
"Come on, Pans, we cleaned the room afterwards so there's no need to be so grumpy," Draco grinned.
"If anything needs cleaning, it's your surveillance charm, Pansy," Harry added, and for some reason he felt Draco tense against him.
"What surveillance charm?" Pansy asked, clearly surprised.
Harry glanced at Draco, who all of a sudden seemed to find his fingernails very interesting.
"Draco?" Harry inquired, but Draco only shrugged. "Later, Harry," was all he said. Harry left the issue drop at that, promising himself that he'd demand answers later, indeed.
Hermione and Blaise had already left, so Harry didn't want to stay later either. A couple of long looks from Zach in Harry's direction also convinced Draco to willingly leave early.
As they walked to the Apparition point, Harry couldn't keep quiet anymore.
"Why was Pansy so surprised when I mentioned the surveillance charm? Did you lie about it when we were upstairs?"
"Of course not. Why would I lie about that?" Draco said a little too quickly to be convincing.
"I don't know, you tell me," Harry said a bit exasperated.
"Look, would you admit in front of your guests that you had a surveillance charm on your guest rooms, huh? Probably Pansy just didn't want everyone know about it and she was surprised that you knew," Draco explained, and Harry decided to leave it at that. Of course he could always ask Neville if it was true.
They parted their ways after Apparating, deciding to meet in a couple of days for more planning.
xXxXx
One more week of playing happy couple turned into two weeks and then three weeks, because Draco was always reluctant to begin the fighting part of their plan, always finding new excuses for why they couldn't do it yet. Harry was confused about Draco's reluctance, but he let it go. Being with Draco was nice, enjoyable even, and so he wasn't in a rush to start fighting. They played their parts with growing easiness, feeling comfortable with each other, and finding that they had a similar sense of humour after all.
They went out a couple times a week, always showing up in the most popular clubs and parties, and for once Harry didn't try to avoid photographers and journalists fishing for some new information about his and Draco's relationship. Most of their nights out ended with them shagging, and that was perfect for Harry. Great sex with no real attachment was exactly what he needed in his life right now - or so he thought.
As time passed, Harry surprisingly found that he enjoyed Draco's company more than he'd ever thought possible. When they didn't see each other for days, he actually missed the git. That's why after three weeks Harry decided that it was time to start the fighting stage, whether Draco agreed to or not. Otherwise he would be too comfortable in their fake relationship to start fighting.
As expected, Draco protested against moving into the fighting stage of their little scheme, but this time his excuse was a different one.
"I just don't like to fight, especially with you. We've had such a good time together, I wouldn't want to spoil it."
"I know. Who would have guessed back at Hogwarts that we'd get along so well. Anyway, we have a bet to win and a lesson to teach to our meddling friends, so we've better start acting on it, right?" Harry was firmly defending his plan, even if it meant that the good times were over for him too.
Draco pouted. "Fine, but I will not be the one who starts the fights. I'm a victim here."
Harry had to laugh, and that made Draco pout even more. "Don't you dare laugh at me, Potter!"
"Alright, you can play the victim and I'll be the bad guy if that makes you happy."
"That's not what I meant, but thank you for being so considerate."
"What did you mean then?" Harry was confused, but Draco had already turned his back on Harry and walked away.
xXxXx
Next week they were attending the grand opening at a new club with Pansy, Neville, Blaise and Hermione. Blaise and Hermione had headed to the dance floor and Draco, Harry, Pansy and Neville were having drinks at the bar when one of the other guests accidentally pushed Harry and caused his drink to spill all over Draco's shirt.
"Now look what you've done, Harry! My new shirt is ruined!" Draco complained irritatedly and pushed Harry away from him.
"Don't be such a drama queen, Draco, it will be easily cleaned. Here, let me clean it for you," Harry said pulling his wand out of his pocket.
"A drama queen? How dare you!" Draco screeched and slapped Harry's wand from his hand, causing it to drop to the floor and roll away for a few metres.
"Now you're just being unreasonable, Draco. It was an accident and it will be easily cleaned," Harry tried, but Draco was having none of it. He stormed away in the direction of the loo, leaving Harry, Pansy and Neville standing there, confusedly looking at each other.
"What's gotten his knickers in a twist?" Pansy wondered. "He's always sensitive about his clothes, but I rather expected him to punch the the guy who pushed you, not attack you because of it."
Harry retrieved his wand from the floor and considered how to answer that. Then he decided to go as closely to the truth as possible.
"Draco has been quite uptight lately, I don't know why. Something is upsetting him."
"I'm going to talk to him, right now," Pansy decided and turned to leave in the direction of the loo, but Neville grabbed her by her arm.
"You can't go in there, it's a men's room!" Neville argued, but Pansy shrugged him off.
"Watch me," she snapped and disappeared into the crowd.
Neville sighed. " If anyone can get Draco to talk it will be Pansy. When he has problems, he usually comes to Pansy right away to talk. I wonder what it could be this time if he hasn't talked to her yet."
"It's Draco, remember? He's the king of complication - or queen, for that matter. I just don't always understand him."
"I bet that's part of his attraction, Harry. You wouldn't be so head over heels about him if he was an ordinary wizard, huh?" Neville grinned. "Want another drink?"
Harry and Neville were having their second drinks when Pansy returned, dragging a reluctant looking Draco with her. Harry reached his arm to wrap it around Draco and pulled him to his side. "You alright, love?" Harry asked and winked at Draco. Draco just shrugged and averted his eyes from Harry. Harry frowned. What was wrong with Draco? Why wasn't he playing along anymore?
Later that night they were all more or less inebriated and dancing on the dance floor. Draco seemed almost back to his normal self again and was dancing with his back to Harry and rubbing his arse against Harry's crotch. His arms were wrapped around Harry's neck to keep him snugly close against him. Harry had his arms around Draco's waist and hips, and together they moved with the music, swaying to the rhythm and occasionally kissing deeply. Harry was pleasantly aroused, feeling happier than he had been for a long time and it was exhilarating. Of course, it had something to do with all the drinks they had imbibed, but Draco was an important part of it without a doubt.
All of a sudden a pair of another arms wrapped around Harry from behind and another male body glued itself against Harry. The unfamiliar arms began to caress Harry's chest, and the crotch with a noticeable hard on insistently rubbed against Harry's arse. Harry jerked out of his pleasurable haze and tried to detach himself from the third body, but the bloke held on tightly.
Draco realised something was happening and turned around frowning.
"What the hell are you doing back there, Harry?" Then he noticed the other bloke behind Harry, and without warning punched the bloke straight in the face. Then he turned his furious eyes to Harry and punched him too, for good measure. Then he turned on his heel and marched off the dance floor and out of the club altogether. Harry managed to get rid of the other bloke and ran after Draco, but when he finally managed to get out of the club, Draco was nowhere to be seen.
He went back inside to tell the others that he'd go and look for Draco, and declined all of their offers for help. He thought it better to deal with Draco alone.
He went to Draco's flat, but nobody answered the door. Then he searched a nearby park and the cafe where they had used to sit, but there was no sign of Draco either. Harry briefly considered firecalling Malfoy Manor, but dismissed the idea almost immediately. Draco wouldn't go there this time at night.
He sighed and headed for his own flat, trying to think of other places where Draco could have gone. His face was throbbing with pain and his nose was bloodied, but he barely noticed it; he was too worried about Draco.
When he arrived at his flat, he immediately spotted a hunched figure curled up on his front step. Draco! Harry hurried the last few paces to him and crouched in front of him.
"Draco? Are you alright? What's wrong?" Harry asked worriedly.
"I don't want to talk about it, alright? Just… I'm sorry I punched you too. It was just too much. I'm sorry, Harry."
"Don't worry about it. Come inside and we'll talk about it." Harry urged Draco to stand up and follow him inside, but Draco shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."
"We don't have to talk if you don't want to, but come inside, okay? It's too cold out here."
Reluctantly Draco allowed Harry to pull him inside, but he refused to go any further into the flat, standing in the foyer.
"Harry, I don't think this is working anymore. We should stop this now," Draco started hesitantly.
"Stop? Why? I thought this was going great. Everyone believe that we really are a happy couple. Well, now a fighting couple, but still. We can't stop now. What's the problem?" Harry asked perplexed.
"This… It doesn't feel right anymore."
"Right? For who? We agreed to teach Pansy and Neville a lesson about their questionable matchmaking skills and we are almost there. You can't quit now, Draco!" Harry argued in disbelief.
"I… I really don't want to talk about it, Harry, please."
Harry stepped in front of Draco and looked seriously into Draco's anxious eyes. Then his expression softened. "It's alright, Draco. Come here," he said and wrapped his arms around Draco, hugging him tightly. He would find a way around this, whatever it was bothering Draco, and follow through their original plan. He hated to leave things unfinished.
First Draco stiffened in Harry's arms, but then he relaxed and snuggled even deeper into the embrace. He sighed and lifted his face to nuzzle Harry's neck and began kissing his way toward Harry's lips. The kiss was so sweet that Harry felt his heart burst with affection, and he responded to the kiss gently, exploring, tasting, savouring.
"Harry…" Draco breathed into the kiss, but Harry wasn't ready to end the kiss just yet.
"Shh… whatever it is, I'll fix it, I promise," he whispered and resumed kissing Draco, but got stopped again.
"You can't fix everything, Harry. Just please… make love to me, one more time," Draco muttered, and Harry had no objections doing just as he was asked to.
They moved toward the bedroom constantly touching and kissing each other, and when they reached the bed, they were already half-undressed. With slow, sensual movements they undressed each other, their arousal and passion growing with every touch and kiss. Finally they were lying on the bed, both naked, and Harry was astonished at how easy it was for him to go this slow and gently with Draco now. All the other times when they'd had sex, it had been just that, sex, releasing all the pent up sexual tension with each other. Now, though, it felt like this was something more, something significant, as if they'd just taken an important step toward something that was meant to be.
Draco's body undulated under Harry, responding to every move Harry made, and his lips were kissing every spot that made Harry moan with pleasure. Harry felt every touch and kiss deeply in the bottom of his gut and heart, and he wondered when it had changed from casual to serious for him. Just being with Draco made his whole life so much brighter and loving… loving… love.
"Draco," Harry said abruptly, "I need you. I want you to make love to me this time. Will you? Please?"
Draco replied with a kiss so searingly hot that it made Harry's toes curl. Then he turned them over, Draco on top this time and finally everything felt right for Harry.
Draco made love like he'd never made before, every caress so loving and admiring, almost reverent. Harry basked in the warmth of his lover's attention and tried to convey his own feelings through his own kisses and caresses, the feelings that he couldn't say out loud yet.
When Draco slowly slid into Harry, Harry felt as if his world had finally settled onto the right path. This was what he had been missing all along, and surprisingly, he had found it with Draco.
They moved together in perfect sync, as if they'd done it for a lifetime already. Comfortable, familiar, easy. Draco's every thrust was like a prelude, gradually increasing, crescendoing and guiding them both to the powerful climax that broke out of them like an explosion.
Draco collapsed on top of Harry, almost crushing him, but Harry didn't care. He held Draco tightly against his chest, trying to catch his breath. They were both sweaty and messy, and it wasn't the most comfortable feeling when cooling down, but Harry didn't care.
When Draco made to move away, Harry held him even tighter and whispered, "Stay." And Draco stayed. They snuggled under the covers when the chill of the night made them shiver, and they fell asleep listening to each other's heartbeat.
It must have been before sunrise when Harry heard movement in the room and the warmth of Draco's body disappeared from his side. He tried to wake up, but he was too deep in his sleep to do much more than try to reach his lover. He calmed down when a warm hand took his hand and lovely lips kissed his palm. He faintly heard words whispered against his skin, "Love you, Harry. Goodbye." The words didn't register in his consciousness until much later when he struggled to wake himself, but then it was too late. Draco was gone.
xXxXx
The next morning Harry was pacing around his flat anxious and frustrated. He had awoken to realize that Draco was gone and remembered the alarming memories of the words he said before leaving. He had tried to contact Draco by Floo, owl and banging on his door, but there was no response. It was as if Draco had vanished from the face of the earth in mere hours.
It was almost noon when Harry decided to risk everything and visit Pansy for some answers. If anyone would know where Draco was, it would be Pansy.
He had barely knocked on Pansy and Neville's door when it was wrenched open and a furious looking Pansy scowled at him.
"Hello, Pan…" Harry didn't have a chance to finish his greeting when Pansy punched him straight in the face.
"You bastard!" Pansy grumbled, and marched back inside, leaving a stunned Harry standing by the door. A moment later Neville appeared at the door and ushered Harry inside.
"What's with all this punching coming from Slytherins these days?" Harry asked wiping his bloodied nose.
"Sorry about that, mate. This morning has been full of drama in this house. Draco came early and after that Pansy has been raging like a Banshee. You really are a true Gryffindor for daring to come visit after what happened with Draco."
"What happened with Draco? Nothing happened. He spent the night with me and this morning he was gone. I couldn't find him so I came here to ask if you knew anything about him," Harry huffed.
"I thought you had a fight, a real bad one, and that's why Draco left. Don't ask me where Draco is, only Pansy knows and she's not talking to me either right now," Neville sighed.
"Please, Nev, tell me what you know. I have no idea what has happened."
"As far as I know, Draco came here early this morning clearly upset and Pansy talked with him for about an hour. Then Draco left and Pansy started raging. She said something about you two tricking her and Draco left because you thought he was only part of your plot and you didn't love him back. And of course it's all my fault."
"Why do you say that? It's not your fault, none of it is your fault, Nev. It was me and Draco who planned all this," Harry explained.
"No, it was all my fault in the beginning when I messed up with Pansy's pairings. You were never meant to end up with Draco for the blind date, but when I mixed things up, it happened. Then when you seemed to be really attracted to each other, we thought it was for the best to not say anything. Miracles happen, you know," Neville grinned, then he turned serious. "I'm sorry for my mistake. I should have said something before things went too far with you two. Pansy is furious with me now and I wouldn't blame you and Draco if you were as well."
"I'm not furious with you, Nev, and I doubt that Draco is, either. Everyone makes mistakes. We made a mistake trying to teach Pansy a lesson. Wait, you said that Draco was upset that I didn't love him back? Are you sure?"
"That's what Pansy said. Or yelled. I remember Pansy mentioning after your first evening here as a couple that Draco has been pining after you since Hogwarts and finally he got a chance with you. I'm sorry it didn't work out for you two," Neville admitted.
"But it worked, Nev. Draco and I had a wonderful time together and I do love him back, I just never had the chance to tell him that. Where is he? I really need to see him."
"I really don't know, Harry. Pansy didn't tell me, and I doubt she will ever tell me anything after this mess."
"You have to help me, Nev, I'm desperate. Please! Try to find out where he is, I really need to see him," Harry begged.
"Alright, mate. I'll do my best."
xXxXx
Two months later Harry was standing outside of a nice looking restaurant in Saint-Raphaël in Southern France. He took a deep breath and walked in.
"Good evening. I'm supposed to meet a friend here, the reservation is in the name of Longbottom," Harry said.
He followed the waitress to a table by the large window, where a certain blond was sitting, looking pensively at the Mediterranean Sea. When they approached the table, the blond turned to look at Harry and his eyes widened.
"You!" He gasped, surprised.
Harry smiled, giving him the dark red rose he was holding in his hand.
"I think we need a new beginning. Hello, I'm Harry, nice to meet you."
After a moment of tense silence, the blond smiled, took the offered rose and beckoned Harry to sit down.
"Pleasure to meet you, Harry. I'm Draco, and I believe you owe me a bottle of Ogden's Finest. Pansy broke down first."
The End