Disclaimer: Everything recogniseable belongs to J.K. Rowling... The rest is from my own imagination.
Harry picked up a handful of Floo powder and knelt in front of the fireplace; he threw the powder in and watched as it burst into green flame. He shouted Hermione's address and stuck his head into the flames.
"Hermione! Are you there?" Harry shouted from her kitchen fireplace. He craned his neck and called her name again.
Hermione appeared, dressed in one of Ron's old Chudley Cannons jerseys.
"Morning, Harry, would you like to come in?" she asked with a smile.
"Sure." He got to his feet and stepped into his fireplace and stepped out of hers. He kissed her on the cheek in greeting.
"Where's Ron?"
"Where do you think?" She rolled her eyes, inclining her head toward the bedroom door. "Have you got time for a cup of coffee?"
"Yes, please. I'm going to wake him up."
"Harry, I don't think…" Hermione began.
"Please, it's not like I haven't seen him starkers before," he said.
She laughed. "Not usually with a morning woody."
He turned to her in mock disappointment. "You're supposed to take care of these things before I arrive, Hermione; what kind of girlfriend are you?"
She chuckled and turned the kettle on to boil. "Clearly a most unsatisfactory one, but don't blame me if he jumps you, okay?"
He chuckled and ventured into Hermione's bedroom, taking a flying leap onto the bed, shaking Ron out of slumber.
"Whassamatter?" Ron mumbled sleepily. His eyes opened wide when he registered that he was seeing Harry's face before him, and not Hermione's.
"Where the fuck did you come from?" he demanded.
"Good morning to you too, lover boy," Harry said. "I came to gloat."
Hermione pushed open the door with three steaming cups of coffee floating in front of her. She sent two to Ron and Harry and lay down next to Ron with her own.
"So tell us, did you shag like wild bunnies and burn holes in the carpet?" Hermione asked.
Harry rolled his eyes.
"Not quite as exciting as that, but we did stay up until after three drinking wine and chatting; and he asked me out for another date…" he said, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Uh-huh… anything else?" Ron prompted, nudging Harry in the ribs.
"We kissed," he said casually. Then he bit his lip, a furious blush appearing on his face. "And it was the best kiss ever!"
Ron burst out laughing. "Mate, you are such a loser."
Hermione was grinning over the rim of her coffee cup. Harry rolled his eyes upward again.
"This coming from the one who crumpled into a heap of ecstasy the first time you kissed Hermione," he said dryly.
"That's different; she's my one true love," Ron said, smiling at his girlfriend. Hermione blushed, but looked quite pleased with herself.
"I'm very happy for you, Harry," Hermione said. "Any idea where he's taking you?"
"Nope, he just told me to meet him at the Leaky Cauldron at eight tonight. He said, 'Let's do this again tomorrow,' so I can only assume that means dinner," Harry said.
"I still can't believe you're dating Draco Malfoy, Harry," Ron said, chuckling slightly.
Harry smiled and thought of the kiss he and Draco had shared.
"Yeah, neither can I," he said.
Draco took a sip of his Butterbeer and started when he heard the door to the pub open. His eyes flicked up to see who had entered and lowered again when it wasn't Harry.
He took another sip of his drink and wondered vaguely why he'd arrived so early. For the last fifteen minutes, his stomach had been jumping all over the place whenever the door to the pub had opened; but he hadn't been able to remain any longer at the Manor. He'd paced up and down the drawing room for ages before he'd given up and gone ahead to the pub to have a drink to calm his nerves. He didn't know why he was nervous, really, but another part of him wanted to get out of the house so that Harry couldn't contact him to cancel.
The large door creaked open, and Draco flicked his head up again. He sighed when it wasn't Harry entering the pub and dropped his eyes once again to the tankard in front of him.
He played idly with the handle and sighed again. He picked up the tankard to take a sip and, in glancing upwards to the door, was met with a brilliant green gaze.
"Hey, you," Harry said brightly.
Draco choked on his Butterbeer. Where had Harry come from?
"Hey," Draco spluttered. "How are you?"
Harry looked at him in concern.
"I'm fine, are you alright?"
Draco coughed and cleared his throat.
"Yes, just went down the wrong pipe, I'm fine," he said, highly embarrassed to have been caught by surprise. He dropped a Galleon on the table and stood up. "Shall we?"
Harry smiled at him, and they made their way to the door.
"Where are we going?"
"I thought we'd have dinner at The Ivy and then walk around London a bit," Draco replied as they stepped out into the cool night air.
Harry stopped walking.
"The Ivy?" His eyes were wide.
"Sure," said Draco, "what's wrong with there?" He suppressed a grin. He knew about The Ivy and the clientele it served; he was sure Harry would be duly impressed by his choice.
"Nothing at all. It's just… Do you know how hard it is to get a reservation there?" Harry said incredulously.
"Is it really? Well, I'm sure we'll have no trouble tonight," Draco said, and, taking Harry's hand in his, they walked down Litchfield Street to the restaurant.
"Reservation for Malfoy," Draco said to the maître'd.
Harry looked around the small, but very glamorous restaurant in amazement; he'd only ever passed by The Ivy a few times on his way to the Leaky Cauldron with his friends. The lines were always miles long and tonight had been no different, but somehow they'd gotten in. He'd also heard of the celebrities that often chose to dine there while in London. He wished he'd dressed better.
"…yes, sir, Malfoy, right there," Draco was saying as he pointed to a spot on the list of reservations.
"Of course, Mr Malfoy, right this way please," said the maître'd, looking slightly confused.
Harry was sure he saw Draco grinning as they followed the man into the restaurant, but he was soon lost in his furtive glances around the room to pay much more attention. His eyes were drawn to a large party of people sitting towards the back of the restaurant. His mouth dropped open when he recognised one of table's occupants.
"Holy shit!" Harry hissed. "It's Orlando Bloom!"
"Who?" Draco asked blankly, following Harry's gaze. What kind of name is Orlando Bloom? Who names these people, anyway?
"Orlando Bloom," Harry repeated as they sat down at their table near the window. "The actor, sitting right over there, the good-looking one."
"Surrounded by all those women? He's alright, I suppose. One nostril is bigger than the other though," Draco said nonchalantly, thumbing through the menu. "D'you want wine with dinner?"
Harry snorted with laughter.
"Clearly you underestimate the power of Legolas, and yes, wine sounds great," he said, picking up his own menu. "So, how lucky were we to get in here tonight? Did you see the length of that line outside?"
A waiter arrived and took their drink order.
"Well, I wouldn't say lucky, but we are… fortunate," Draco said when the waiter left, his eyes still on the menu.
Harry's eyes narrowed. He knew that tone; Draco was hiding something. He was about to open his mouth to ask what was going on when the waiter returned with their bottle of wine and poured them each a glass, leaving the bottle in its ice bath. Harry observed Draco carefully throughout the pouring process. The senses honed by his Auror training kicked in, detecting misdeed. However, the senses honed by his libido were drawn to the silvery eyelashes and their shadows that dusted across Draco's pale cheeks. He battled with himself, trying to decide whether to satisfy his curiosity, or to keep his eyes fixed firmly on Draco's face. Curiosity won out.
"Draco, what did you do?"
"Me? Nothing," Draco said, looking surprised as he picked up his glass.
"Draco…" You're a bad liar…
"Well…" Draco grinned slyly and raised his index finger, wiggling it slightly in front of his face. "Peut-être juste un peu de magie."
Harry momentarily forgot what was happening as he was mesmerised by Draco's mouth and the words that flowed past his lips in… was that French? Wow.
"What?" Harry said, snapping out of his reverie.
Draco leaned forward, the sly grin still on his face.
"Mmmagic," he whispered.
Harry's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open.
"Are you out of your mind?" Harry hissed when he'd recovered from the shock.
"Like a fox, or should I say, snake," Draco said as he raised his glass to Harry.
Harry gave up and laughed. "Well, I guess you can take the boy out of Slytherin, but you can't take Slytherin out of the boy."
"Damn straight, Potter." Draco clinked his glass against Harry's.
"So where'd you learn to speak French, anyway?" Harry asked as he and Draco set off down West Street.
"Well, after sixth year, I moved to France with my parents and finished my seventh year at Beauxbatons. After school, I did some travelling around Europe with a few friends, and then I worked for three years in the French Ministry. I then decided that I missed the quiet English countryside, applied for a transfer to our Ministry a year ago, and moved back here when they accepted me."
They crossed onto Shaftesbury Avenue.
Harry was impressed. "There's another piece to that puzzle."
Draco laughed and placed his arm around Harry's shoulders.
Harry felt a very pleasant sensation in his stomach when he felt the warmth of Draco's body next to him, and he turned to smile at him. His eyes then lit on a large building on Draco's other side.
Odeon Cinema was showing Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, starring Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom.
Harry's grin broadened as Draco followed his gaze.
"Hey, Harry, isn't that the bloke from the restaurant? Orlando whatshisname?"
"Indeed it is."
Draco looked up at the poster again. Since Harry had arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, Draco had been dying to kiss him again, and he'd hoped that a stroll into the park nearby, under the stars, might have been a good opportunity. But, as he considered how excited Harry had been when he'd seen the actor in the restaurant, he felt he could hold off, at least for a little while, to make Harry happy. The stars would still be there when they got out.
"Do you want to go in?"
Harry smiled and Draco's insides melted.
"You wouldn't mind?" Harry asked, a little disbelievingly.
No, I wouldn't mind, Draco said to himself. It would be totally worth it just to see you smile like that.
"Not in the least. After all, I've never been to a cinema before; there's got to be a first time for everything."
Ten minutes later, Harry was leading Draco into the dark theatre with a large bag of popcorn in one hand and a Diet Coke in the other, much to Draco's amusement.
They chose their seats at the back and centre of the theatre and settled in just as the curtains began to open and the previews began.
"So, what's all the fuss about this?" Draco asked, munching on a handful of popcorn as they watched a preview for a film called Bad Boys II.
"Well, it's huge entertainment for the Muggle world. What can I tell you?" Harry said. "People pretending to be other people, dressing in costumes, learning lines, using computers to create effects and atmospheres," he laughed. "Well, when I put it that way, it sounds a bit complicated. But you'll see, you get lost in it."
Draco took a sip of Coke. I'd certainly like to get lost in you. He put the cup down and dropped his hand into Harry's lap, splaying his fingers across his thigh, smiling at the shudder he felt under his palm. His smile broadened as he felt Harry's hand rest on top of his and he interlaced their fingers. The lights dimmed and Draco closed the space between him and Harry, relaxing into him as the film began.
It was nearly midnight when they left the cinema, singing "A Pirate's Life for Me" as they walked down Shaftesbury Avenue, back to Charing Cross Road.
Harry leapt away from Draco and drew his wand from inside his jacket, brandishing it like a sword. Laughing, Draco did the same and they played the first swordfight scene between Will Turner and Captain Jack Sparrow, until sparks flew between them, literally. Giggling madly, Harry replaced his wand.
"Enough magie for one night in Muggle London, I think," he said.
"I suppose you're right," Draco panted. "D'you want to come back to the Manor with me for a drink?"
"Sure."
More than once during the film, Harry had had to restrain himself from leaning over the armrest that separated them and kissing Draco into next week. But, when he considered Draco's upbringing, he figured that it might have been in bad taste. He hoped things would change once they got out of the public. Once back in the Leaky Cauldron, they went out to the back and Apparated to Malfoy Manor.
"This is such a beautiful house," Harry said in awe as he sat down on the large, overstuffed couch in the sitting room of the Manor. Family portraits and other magnificent paintings hung on the walls, and antique pieces of sculpture decorated almost every surface. A huge grand piano stood over in a corner near the open French doors that led out onto the patio, and the grounds behind the Manor. Gentle breaths of night air were softly wafting into the room.
"Thank you," Draco said, handing him a glass of Firewhisky and sitting down next to him on the sofa. "Don't ask me where it all came from though; most of it's been here since before I was born. Cheers." Draco drained his glass and leaned back on the sofa.
Harry turned to face him. "I don't think I thanked you properly for tonight, Draco."
"Oh, come on, it was my pleasure. No dinner at any restaurant can compare to a home cooked meal, and the film was a really unexpected treat for me."
Harry took another sip of his drink and looked up at Draco from under his eyelashes, a small smile on his lips.
Draco took the drink out of Harry's hand and rested it on the coffee table. "But, if it's gratitude you want to show, let me demonstrate the best kind." He leaned in towards Harry and kissed him.
Finally! a collective sigh echoed in both their minds.
Harry drew his tongue across Draco's lips, requesting access. He groaned as his tongue entered the heat of Draco's mouth.
In a short space of time, Harry found himself on his back with Draco lying on top of him, his hand snaking lazily down Harry's chest. He was unable to hold back the sharp intake of breath when Draco's hand slipped up his shirt and his long fingers caressed his flesh.
Draco pulled back from Harry's mouth and turned his attention to his neck, planting kisses from his jaw down to his collarbone. With his free hand, he reached up and unfastened the top button of Harry's shirt, his other hand still stroking Harry's belly. His excitement grew as he felt Harry's body respond to his touch, and he was eager to have more. He slid his hand down the smooth skin of Harry's abdomen and came to rest upon his belt. Then, he stopped.
What am I doing? Damnit! Stop, Draco, just stop! You know what's going to happen if you – oh, but I want to! NO! I understand that you are pelvically driven right now, but this is NOT the time to display it! Now, back away… slowly.
Draco grimaced and pulled back from Harry's body, his fingers digging into the cushions behind Harry's head. He was aching to continue, but he knew that he shouldn't, for Harry's sake. He sat up and took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself.
Harry's eyes snapped open; Draco had just been firmly latched onto his neck and very close to his growing erection, and now he was gone. Harry sat up, his heart still hammering, his breathing heavy. Draco was watching him with an almost sorrowful look on his face.
"Draco, what's the matter?"
For a few moments, Draco did not speak.
"Have I done something wrong?" Harry asked, both confused and a little embarrassed. Hadn't things been going extremely well? He felt a twinge of shame and hurt when he remembered that Draco had denied him a proper kiss the night before.
"No, Harry, you haven't. I just don't think we're ready for this, that's all," came the reply.
"Ready for what, Draco?" Harry was beginning to feel annoyed. Wasn't it Draco who'd pushed him back onto the couch, deliciously teasing him with his tongue? Harry's eyes narrowed.
"This," said Draco quietly.
"Then what the fuck is this all about?" Harry snapped, standing up and firmly buttoning his shirt back up.
Draco's eyes visibly darkened. "I'm sorry, but I just can't do this tonight."
Harry shook his head. Fucking Slytherin prick! It's always about what he wants, isn't it? Prince of Slytherin, my arse!
"Some things never change do they, Malfoy?" he said icily. "It's got to be your way or no way, right? Well, fuck you."
"Harry, don't be so stupid, that's not what --"
"Whatever. I'll see you around." With a loud crack Harry Disapparated from the Manor.