No beta for this chapter unfortunately, I'm the impatient type...

Thank you so much for the lovely reviews, they make me want to update the story soon :-)

xxx

'Potter, over here'

Harry turned to scan the crowded pub for his former nemesis. He smiled when he spotted the blond and made his way over to the small booth Draco occupied.

'Malfoy' he acknowledged, before flopping down on the empty seat.

The pub, called "The Gloomy Witch", was one of the establishments he used to meet with clients. Working from home, he usually met with clients in their home or in a more public place like this pub. The booths were his favourite; they would dim the surrounding noise so you could talk properly, while still having the experience of being in a crowded, bustling pub.

'Thank you again for the gorgeous writing desk. And you were right, it's been a great help with the research' Harry gushed. He couldn't help himself, he was completely smitten with the piece of furniture. He'd spent hours exploring all the different compartments, varying from endless quill and parchment supplies, to more complicated features like a translating slot and an automatic filing drawer. There were still some functions he hadn't quite worked out yet, but he'd had a lot of fun trying.

'Yes Potter, your Thank You note already told me that' Malfoy smirked. Harry marvelled at just how different the Malfoy smirk looked these days. It still looked slightly smug, but mostly it looked extremely pleased. Harry decided it was the eyes. He had thought them cold and arrogant before, but not anymore. In fact, those eyes did funny things to his stomach, making it flutter about, leaving him feeling slightly queasy.

'Now', Draco continued, 'seeing as this case will mean us working together and you getting to know quite a few intimate details about me, don't you think it's about time you start calling me Draco?'

Draco looked at Harry expectantly. Harry didn't know quite what to say. He supposed Malfoy was right, but calling Malfoy Draco just seemed… wrong somehow. On the other hand, what harm could it do really?

'Drrraco' Harry tried experimentally, letting the sounds roll off his tongue. 'Draco, Draco, Drrrraco…' he mused.

'Yes Potter, that is my name' Draco said, looking flushed and rather annoyed.

'Hey, wait a minute', Harry objected, 'if I'm calling you Draco, shouldn't you be calling me Harry?'

Draco sighed.

'Alright… Harry', Draco grudgingly answered.

Draco didn't know if this had been such a good idea. He wanted to build a bond between Harry and himself, slowly but surely, and calling each other by their given names had seemed to be a good step. He hadn't counted on the effect hearing his name on Potter's lips would have on him. When Harry rolled the 'r' in his name just now… Draco shifted his legs discretely, giving his groin some much needed room. Focus Draco, he told himself sternly. This was not the time for Draco to ogle his prospective mate, fantasizing about being with him, undressing him, holding him, shagging him… Draco was a man on a mission and he needed a clear head. He could sense Harry's interest, but that interest would need to grow into something more for Harry to ever consider becoming Draco's mate. If he ever will… No, that wasn't very productive either. He would need to be confident and strong, luring Harry into his trap before the trained PI could sniff out his plans. That would require all his Slytherin cunning, his sharp mind and his well tuned Veela instincts to focus on this one vital task. Draco steeled his resolve and forced himself to relax. He could handle this. He was made to handle this.

xxx

Harry was pleasantly surprised to be enjoying himself in Draco's company. Draco had been brilliant. He answered all of Harry's inane Veela questions patiently, gave Harry some useful extra information he hadn't even asked for and turned out to have an excellent, self-deprecating sense of humour. This had been the best date Harry had been on in ages. Except of course that it wasn't a date, Harry hastily reminded himself. More to the pity…

'Any more questions Harry?' Draco inquired.

'I think we're about done with the general Veela stuff. Thanks for clearing up that allure issue for me. I guess it would lead to chaos if Veelas started using that at all times. Still… seems like a very handy tool to me, being able to gently persuade someone to go along with your suggestions…' Harry said dreamily.

'Well yes, but as I said, that would be unethical. Veelas mostly only use the full allure on their mates, and only after their mate has agreed to it'. Draco smirked before continuing: 'We will use a highly diluted version of the allure to get what we want occasionally, but in this form it is so weak, that people will only go along with it if that is what they secretly wanted to do anyway'.

Harry furrowed his brow.

'Can you give me a for instance?' he asked.

'Of course. Let's say you had a second engagement planned for later this evening and told me you had to leave, but I didn't want you to. I could use a little bit of my allure to suggest that you stay. You'd only actually agree to stay though, if that was what you really wanted anyway' Draco finished with a knowing smile.

'Bugger! I totally forgot! What time is it?' Harry quickly checked the time. Shite. He was supposed to meet Julian at eight. It was eight thirty now. Harry groaned.

'I'm really sorry Draco, but I have to go, thanks for reminding me. I'll see you tomorrow yeah?' Harry half got up and looked at the blonde regretfully.

Draco knew Harry was supposed to meet his current beau at eight. He'd set a tempus for a quarter to eight and had gleefully watched as the minutes ticked by. If Harry thought he would let him go that easily, he was very much mistaken. Summoning up a light portion of allure, Draco leaned over the table and gave Harry a big, sad-eyed look.

'You're not… leaving already are you? Are you sure you couldn't be persuaded to… stay a bit longer?' he asked sweetly.

Harry stared. He could feel the subtle effect of the allure washing over him, leaving him with a pleasantly tingling sensation. He wanted to sit back down and agree to blow off his date and stay here with Draco for the rest of the night. Or do whatever else Draco wanted. Go back to the Manor with him, drag him over the table and snog him senseless, meet him in the bathroom for a quick fumble, you know… anything. Harry was tempted to blame that damn Veela allure of Draco's, but he couldn't. Because Draco had told him that the allure would only have an effect on him if that was what Harry really wanted. Draco might have lied, but Harry could tell that it was the truth. Harry could still make his excuses and rush off to meet up with Julian if he wanted to. The problem was that he didn't. What he wanted to do, was stay right here, staring into those silvery-grey eyes, kiss those pouty lips, run his fingers… Wow, down boy! Harry halted that train of thought immediately. His Malfoy crush was getting a bit out of control. A wiser man would get the hell out of here while he still had the chance. Unfortunately, Harry had been called many things in his life, but wise wasn't one of them. Resigned, Harry sat back down and fished his Muggle phone out of the back pocket of his jeans and texted Julian that he wouldn't be able to meet with him tonight after all.

'What's that?' Draco inquired, clearly intrigued.

Harry handed the phone over wordlessly. Draco took it eagerly and immediately tried to figure out how to use the touch screen.

'It's one of those Muggle phones isn't it?' Draco asked, still jabbing uselessly at the phone.

Harry gaped. Most wizards, especially the purebloods, wouldn't have recognized the ultimately Muggle device. Draco kept on surprising him.

'Yeah it is. How did you know?' Harry couldn't stop himself from asking.

Draco snorted.

'I'm not blind you know. Every Muggle seems to have at least one of them these days, even the children. I always wondered how they worked' Draco admitted. He eyed the phone suspiciously, shaking it, tapping it with his wand, but still not succeeding in getting the device to work.

'I wouldn't have thought you paid any attention to what Muggles did or didn't do' Harry blurted out, not managing to hide his astonishment in seeing Draco so interested in a Muggle device.

Draco finally abandoned his attempts to get the phone working to look up at Harry and glare.

'I thought we'd already established I'm not the boy you once knew' Draco sneered. 'Besides', he continued, 'those were the opinions of my father, they were never mine. I was taught to respect my father and act in a way he would consider befitting of a Malfoy. So that's what I did. Now that father is… gone, I am free to form and voice my own opinions'.

Harry would have thought that a good thing, but he didn't miss the flash of pain that rippled over Draco's features. Whatever Draco had thought of Lucius' actions and opinions, it was clear that he had loved his father and missed him very much. Instinctively, Harry reached out a hand and laid it on Draco's arm.

'I'm sorry', Harry mumbled.

Draco nodded and smiled at Harry while laying his own hand on Harry's and pressing down gently.

'It's alright. I suppose I overreacted' Draco acknowledged.

As soon as Draco withdrew his hand, Harry pulled back his own. Feeling Draco's hand on his, had made him want to feel that hand on several other parts of his body. Those kinds of thoughts were dangerous, not to mention very arousing. Mentally shaking himself, Harry regrouped and held out his hand for his phone. Draco placed it in there reluctantly, obviously sad to have to part with the thing.

'This is how you operate the phone' Harry demonstrated, swiping his finger across the screen. Draco's eyes lit up as Harry showed him all the functions while Draco paid attention eagerly.

'Normally, Muggle phones won't work for wizards, seeing as our magic disturbs the electrical currents. However, George has found a way around that, even adding some wizard features to it' Harry enthused. 'I got interested in them when I started dating Javier. He was Muggle born you know, and totally addicted to his cell phone'. Harry smiled fondly, thinking of the Mediterranean Javier he had had a very passionate tryst with a few years back. In fact, he had been the first male lover Harry had ever had.

Although Harry had suspected he might be gay since he was about sixteen years old, he had always pushed those feelings away. Not that he was ashamed of having those feelings, but he dreaded the commotion it would cause if the papers started printing about how "The Boy That Lived" turned out to be "The Boy That Shagged Men". Harry had decided he would try and ignore the feelings and try and be happy with Ginny Weasly. Of course that hadn't worked out, so he tried to date a few other girls, failing to get enthused about it. In the end, he'd sworn off dating altogether, resigning himself to a life without sex and real intimacy. That was, until he met Javier. With his dark, sultry looks, he awakened every dozing hormone in Harry's body. Harry had thrown himself into the affair with the gorgeous wizard, suddenly not caring what the papers or anyone else would have to say about it. In the end, there was a tiny bit of a scandal, some slightly awkward conversations with friends and then everything turned back to normal, making Harry wonder why he'd ever been worried in the first place. The affair with Javier hadn't lasted long, seeing as Javier was the wandering type. Unwilling to share, Harry had broken things off with him, but they had remained friendly over the years, keeping in touch by means of his cell phone.

Draco observed Harry through half lidded eyes, trying to suppress his irrational jealousy, further enhanced by his Veela genes. It was obvious Harry was reminiscing about some former lover, obvious by the fond smile and the thoughtless caressing of the retched Muggle phone. Harry was his, damn it! His!

Harry was startled by the sound of Draco clearing his throat meaningfully. He blushed and refocused his attention to Draco.

'Sorry, I was miles away' Harry apologized, trying to laugh it off.

Draco did not seem amused. The air had suddenly gone a bit chilly around them, although Harry had no idea why. Conversation was a bit awkward for a while, but improved again after a firewhiskey or two. It was around midnight when the two men finally left the pub to apparate to their respective homes.

'It's been fun' Harry admitted.

'Yes' Draco agreed.

'Well, see you tomorrow than' Harry said. He felt a ridiculous but very strong urge to lean in and kiss Draco goodnight. Shaking himself, he gave Draco a fleeting smile and quickly apparated out.

Draco remained standing outside the still crowded pub, looking pensive. It had been a very interesting night.

'Goodnight… Harry' he whispered. And with one last look, he apparated home.

xxx

Reviews still very much welcome :-)