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Chapter 3

Harry handed the cage to the customer and smiled. "I hope you enjoy. She's a really great bird. I bet you'll get along just fine." The woman smiled, thanked him again and headed for the door. Just then, the bell rang again, announcing a new customer.

"How can I help… you!" Harry exclaimed, upon seeing the familiar smirk.

"Nice to see you too, Potter." Malfoy strode in like he owned the place.

"Looking for a pet?" Harry asked, his tone short. He didn't feel like being polite to the blonde, not after what happened at the party. It had been about a week since Hogwarts had celebrated its tenth anniversary, but Harry still hadn't forgotten about what Malfoy had done. "I got just the thing you need." He gestured Malfoy to follow him, while the former Slytherin started protesting.

"I'm not here to buy a pet," Malfoy started, but Harry cut him off. He wasn't going to lose this temper this time. He would play the game along.

"Here you have a wide range of Ferrets." Malfoy's gaze darkened. "It's a very smart race, then can be taught several tricks if you spend enough time together. I would recommend taking a white one," Harry explained, fake sweetness in his voice.

"I do not want a ferret, Potter!" Malfoy exclaimed, a red blush creeping up his cheeks.

"No? I'm sure it would be a good match, Malfoy. You could even teach it how to bounce," Harry continued, venom dripping from his tone. He got the blonde right where he wanted him. Turns out the man didn't like to be cornered either.

"That's it, you bloody little fake Hero! I just came to see you, you moron!" Malfoy's face was red with a mixture of embarrassment and anger, and Harry expected his hair to start pointing up in every direction to put strength to his words.

"You just saw me a week ago," Harry noted dryly. He was the master of calm right this instant. He would not let Malfoy provoke him. Not like he did when he wanted to visit Hagrid.

"There's no way I'll be waiting another ten years to see you again, Potter. You may come across like you don't care, and for a second, I had fallen for it. But I know you are just trying to push me away, just like you did during our sixth year."

"Push you away? Malfoy, F.Y.I.: I'm engaged to be married." Malfoy's silver gaze travelled from Harry's face to his hand. Harry waved his fingers demonstratively. "I told you I was serious about Ginny. There's no need to question it."

"You asked her to marry you? Because I kissed you? Oh, Potter, you're even worse than I thought!" Malfoy exclaimed, exasperated.

"Not because you kissed me!" Harry snapped. His blood was starting to boil again and he looked around the shop. He was working. He shouldn't have to put up with this. "If you'll excuse me, I got work to do. I got a wedding to plan."

"Great. Go ahead and plan the biggest mistake of your life, Potter. You know, I was sixteen too. I was young, vulnerable. You hurt me, but now I'm older. Tougher. I know you were just scared and there's no way I'm letting you go that easily again."

"Save your breath. I'm not listening." Harry headed back to the counter to see if any real customers were waiting to be helped and tried to shake Malfoy off without success. He just followed him, grabbing his arm to spin him around.

"Maybe you'll listen after you kiss me," Malfoy growled deeply. He took a hold of Harry's shoulders and pushed him against the counter. The wood pressed against his lower back softly and Harry's breathing quickened. Malfoy grabbed Harry's face with two hands and leaned in, all while Harry tried pushing him away. He averted his mouth each time Malfoy came near, blood pulsing through his veins. Malfoy's breath was on his cheeks, his hands on his torso and Harry temporarily forgot about who he was. Where he was.

Malfoy captured his lips greedily, kissing him with a force Harry hadn't felt before. A hot wave spread from Harry's stomach to the tips of his fingers, giving him goose bumps all over his body. Malfoy's long fingers tugged Harry's hair, scratching his scalp as he did so. He forced open Harry's mouth with his tongue and hungrily touched tongues. He could feel the kiss heating his body from his head to the tips of his toes. Harry's mind started to cloud, too overwhelmed to put up a fight, surrendering to Malfoys strength. He'd been too slow to push him away and now he was everywhere. Against him. Inside his mouth. In his hair. In his pants. Alarmed, Harry pulled away.

"Hold it right there, you horny Ferret!" Malfoy's eyes were dark grey with lust. "I don't know what in Merlin's name you're thinking, but I'm not going to snog you inside my very own shop, thank you very much."

"You didn't put up much of a fight, though," Malfoy smirked. His eyes lowered to Harry's mouth, licking his lips again. Harry's lips were tingling, and probably red and swollen by the force of Malfoy's kiss, but he wouldn't be seduced. He was a grown-up. He wouldn't let his hormones tell him what to do. He spun the ring of his right hand to put strength to his own words and straightened his clothes.

"You caught me off guard. But if I would have a say in it, it wouldn't happen again." Harry tried to sound as confident as possible, but inside he felt like crying. The stream of emotions whirling through his head right now were confusing, but if he didn't sound firm, he would be giving Malfoy carte blanche.

"Then you won't have anything to say," Malfoy growled, leaning forward again. Harry put a firm hand on Malfoy's chest, making him keep his distance. How could something feel so right, but still be wrong?

"Stop, Malfoy. Don't make me hurt you again. Or more than I already did. It's better to leave things in the past. As they are." With those words, Harry averted his gaze and walked up to the counter again, trying to stop his mind from twirling. He could almost see the sad fog chasing away the ardour in Malfoys grey orbs. He could sense the disappointment radiating off the blondes body. But Harry didn't say anything. If he would turn around and face the man, he was sure that he'd jump right back into his arms, overloading him with kisses all over his beautiful face. He'd hug him close so he could feel the beginning of his beard rasp his cheeks. And then where would that leave them?

As if faith wanted it, the doorbell rang again and a customer entered the shop. Harry put on his professional salesman face and didn't give Malfoy another glance. He just heard the doorbell ring again as he showed various animals to a mother and her eleven-year old daughter and knew Malfoy had gone.

Harry turned around in the covers, letting out an irritated sigh. He found it impossible to go to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, silver eyes stared back at him. He repositioned his pillow and stared at the ceiling in the dark. Ginny's steady breathing started to annoy him, making it even more difficult to doze off, stress rushing through his body. He pulled the covers higher and turned over to his side, closing his eyes. At this rate he would be sleepwalking in the shop tomorrow.

He tried to clear his mind and was starting to fall into a slumber when suddenly he felt an arm wrapped around his waist. A crease formed between Harry's eyebrows. Was Ginny awake? Harry tried to fake that he was asleep, so she wouldn't bother him, breathing more deeply. The arm felt warm against his bare upper body. The fingers were long and slender and started to move in circles over Harry's chest. The hot breath against his cheek smelled like vanilla and something else. Something musky.

Harry leaned into the touch, moving his bum backwards in a spooning position. As the arm brushed his side, Harry could feel soft arm hair gently moving along his skin. The damp breathing in his ear and the warm hand on his abdomen made his heart speed up, pumping blood to his groin. Soft lips pressed in his neck, biting down on the sensitive skin, causing Harry to moan in surprise. He wanted to turn around and respond to the kisses in his neck but was somehow prevented, unable to reach out to the mysterious person behind him.

The hand lowered, caressing Harry's curls leading down to his crotch. The fingers slipped underneath his boxers. Harry moaned again, louder this time, as long slender fingers folded around his full length. "Shh, don't wake the Weaslette," a voice whispered in his ear. Harry bit his bottom lip to prevent himself from making any more noises as he gave in to the lust, muscles contracting against the touch. It didn't take long for Harry to lose himself completely. His mind went blurry and he completely forgot about his whereabouts as he rode waves of pleasure.

His body drained and his mind satisfied, Harry finally dozed off, the last thing on his mind were pink lips, whispering quietly in his ear. "I love you, Potter."

Harry plopped down onto the sofa after a long day of work and let out a delightful sigh. Ginny was cleaning the table with a few swings of her wand and then joined him.

"That was delicious, Gin." She kicked out her shoes and put her feet into Harry's lap, an appreciative smile on her face.

"You're welcome, love. Oh, I can't believe we are getting married." Her smile widened, her bright brown eyes lighting up with joy. Harry felt a pang of guilt. He heard Malfoys scolding sneer: "You asked her to marry you? Because I kissed you? Oh, Potter, you're even worse than I thought!" He pushed away the memory of the blonde and focussed on his fiancée, sitting next to him. He massaged her skinny ankles, earning a soft moan. "I really don't know what took you so long though. What made you change your mind?"

"I don't know. Seeing all our friends at the Hogwarts party. I guess I've been too focussed on working in the shop and taking care of the animals to stop and think about what I really want in life. I think it's time I showed you that I really care about you," Harry responded. He thought about his words, replaying the sentence in his mind. Was marrying the girl he'd dated since Hogwarts what he really wanted in life? Or did Malfoy actually have a point in saying that he hid behind her to hide his true sexuality? The train of thoughts made Harry's head spin and he put the thought aside, focussing on the red-head in front of him.

She was a beautiful woman. Tall, skinny with a nice volume of breasts and a pale skin. Harry knew he was lucky to have her – not just because she was beautiful, but because he knew she was genuinely interested in him. She loved him with all of her heart. He leaned over and kissed her legs, slowly making his way up her thighs. Ever since he'd gone back to Hogwarts and since he'd encountered Malfoy, he'd been second guessing himself. He constantly recalculated every decision he'd ever made and started to ask questions at things that had seemed normal. Even kissing her wasn't the same anymore.

The presence of her warm breath, made him want to lean in closer, capturing her fruity lips with his own. The taste of Ginny in his mouth was familiar. He pressed harder against her lips, wanting more. More passion. More tongue. More strength. He wanted her to kiss him like Malfoy had kissed him in the shop. He pushed her down on the couch, tearing off her blouse as he went, revealing a black bra. He fumbled with the closing for a moment, then freed her from the cloth. He looked at his fiancée, her head thrown back, chest pushed forward and knew he should be on top of the world right now. She was utterly stunning.

Her creamy breasts were as soft as rose petals, and there was nothing wrong with them, at all. They however seemed dull and grey compared to the strong muscular chest in Harry's mind. A torso covered with a small collection of soft blonde strands of hair scattered around the line between two pink nipples. Harry tried to get rid of the toughs of Malfoy, knowing very well that Ginny was the one that should be on his mind. But he just didn't succeed turning himself on enough. Ginny folded her legs around Harry's hips, leaning forward to unzip Harry's pants.

"I want you, Harry. It's been a while." Her brown eyes were dark with longing, and Harry leaned forward, kissing her more fiercely now. Somewhere along the way, they both got rid of their clothes. He slipped his hands between Ginny's legs, slowly touching her femininity. She bucked her hips in pleasure linking her hand with Harry's free hand, squeezing as he quickened his pace. He noticed the softness of her hands, no sign of veins sprouting around her knuckles and making their way up her arms.

Harry squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to focus on right then and there. He entered one finger, earning a gasp from the redhead. Her hand found her way up onto Harry's thighs, reaching for his erection. Harry's heart skipped a beat. He wasn't as turned on as he should be. In fact he should be much harder by now. Luckily, Ginny was too caught up in her own enjoyment to notice. Harry entered another finger, while Ginny stroked along the base in an unsteady rhythm.

Harry closed his eyes. In a flash, a slender finger slowly made its way up Harry's base, starting underneath at the bottom and ending at the head, slightly lifting up his erection. The finger followed Harry's love lines, caressing his inner thighs before reaching up to his groin again. Harry felt startled by the firm grip around it, getting harder under the touch. Soft strokes made him calm down again, relaxing against the other body. His heart was speeding up and his mind was getting blurry.

"Harry. I'm ready," Ginny moaned. Harry realised he had a full erection and Ginny was waiting for him to put on a condom. The jolt of realisation that he'd been more turned on by a memory of Malfoy's hands than the arousal of his girlfriend nearly killed Harry's mood again. But he tried his hardest to remain focussed on the sex, not wanting to disappoint Ginny when they'd come this far. He blindly put on the condom as Ginny wrapped her legs around his hips again. He leaned over to capture her mouth and pulled her closer.

Harry cursed himself. Not only for going to Hogwarts. Not only for putting up with Malfoy. But for being too damn juvenile to not be able to focus on his fiancée while sharing an extremely intimate moment. He kept trying not to think about how Malfoy would do him. Not thinking about Mafloy period. And just thinking about it, remembering the way it used to be sneaking around the Hogwarts' grounds, Harry felt his insides do a free fall. The manoeuvre took his breath away and left him shaken, filled with too much adrenaline. How had he suppressed this for so long?

He knew his heart was yearning for the blonde. His body craving to be touched by his hands. But reason told him that it wasn't the right thing to do. Ginny had always been there for him. Had always been enough for him. And that's the way it would stay.

He just hoped that she wouldn't find out that he was thinking about someone else while having sex with her. That he intentionally as well as unintentionally was thinking about a man. A certain Slytherin.

He needed to find a way to stop that. Otherwise everything he'd worked for could be ruined.

Ron and Harry were sitting on the terrace, enjoying the evening breeze. They each had one empty and one slightly dented beer standing in front of them. "Did you know Malfoy works at the Ministry?" Ron said, changing the subject from the boring Auror administration, suddenly spiking Harry's interest. The raven-haired man quirked an eyebrow.

"He does? What department?" He sat up straighter, offering his best-friend his full attention.

"I don't know, something with Potions or Medicine… Research type of stuff. He didn't say."

"I should've figured. It was the only subject he was any good at," Harry grunted sarcastically, trying to cover up his excitement about the news. Ron nodded his agreement.

"Turns out Snape didn't favour him in grades after all. He must be good if he can get a job there."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? You've worked there for almost ten years!" Harry complained, feeling as if Ron was holding something back on purpose. Did he have a hunch about his short fling with Malfoy? Did he want to prevent Harry from being with the blonde again by withholding information about the former Slytherin? Harry's eyebrows knot together. Maybe Ron told him now because he was engaged with Ginny and there was no way back.

The Red-head just shrugged. "I didn't know. He came up to me last week and that's how I found out. I'm not exactly sure why he wanted to know where you worked," Ron added thoughtfully, as if he regretted telling. "That foul brat must be up to something." He muttered. Realization struck Harry. So that was the reason why he'd turned up in his shop unannounced. "He didn't bother you while you were working, did he?" Ron questioned, taking another large sip from his beer.

Harry shook his head, spinning the bottle in his hand. "No, no. He was just interested in an animal," he lied. It was not that he didn't trust Ron. But he didn't want Hermione to find out that Malfoy had been to his shop not to buy something. She most certainly would start asking questions, as she had witnessed him observing Malfoy during the party. Knowing how bright she was, she would definitely connect the dots.

"I don't get it though. We don't hear from him for years and then he comes bothering us at the party and shortly after comes talking to me at work," Ron said thoughtfully. Harry praised his friend for being such a scatterbrain. He didn't have the slightest clue what this really was about.

"Don't break your head on it. It's probably nothing." Harry waved the concern away, trying to avoid the real question.

"Maybe we should have left him in that Devil's Fire. The little scumbag. It was their fault anyway. Would have served him well." Harry ignored the surge of rage and indignation and tried to calm himself down as he spoke.

"Ron, that's not something you say about people. He would have been dead!" He tried to make it sound trivial, as if it were only the comment that disturbed him and not the fact that Malfoy was the subject of the matter.

"Give me a break! You sound just like Hermione," Ron whined, leaning back lazily. Either way, Ron's comment had flared up Harry's temper, and he could no longer sit quietly on the terrace with him. He rolled his eyes demonstratively and downed his beer in one large draught.

"Anyway. I must be off. Ginny and I have a lot of preparations to take care of if we still want to get married this year. I was more in favour of doing a garden party during the summer, but Gin wants to get married inside three months or so." Second lie. Since when did he lie so much?

"And for a reason. She doesn't want you to run off in the last moment," Ron barked, standing up as well and smacking Harry jovially on his back.

"As if I would," Harry muttered darkly. "I'll see you soon." Harry headed down Diagon Alley to go home, sunken in thoughts. How could he get so worked up about Malfoy? Ron was his best friend, but still Harry was on the verge of smacking his teeth out if he'd continued talking badly of Malfoy.

Harry left out a long sigh as he neared the shop. It had been an entire week since Malfoy had showed up in his shop, and he hadn't heard from him. Part of him had expected Malfoy to pop out of nowhere on the first occasion, but he hadn't returned. All the while, he'd stirred things up enough. Harry remembered things he'd locked away a long time ago. He relived moments that he thought he'd banished from his memory. Even sharing moments with Ginny wasn't the same anymore.

All he knew was that the damage had been done. It was as if he'd built his life on a wonky structure, and Malfoy had stepped in and pushed it over.

It was all falling apart.

To be continued…