oOo
It was warm under the invisibility cloak. Warmer than Harry had anticipated. Draco was standing unbearably close and Harry was beginning to rethink his plan. It was too late.
"I wish I had worn something lighter," Draco lamented. "It's very hot under here."
"Sorry," Harry mumbled. It sure was hot. "This cloak seemed a lot bigger when I was a kid."
"It's all right."
It may have been Harry's imagination, but he thought Draco actually moved a little closer. Not that he could have moved away any farther without revealing himself. Harry knew they had no choice but to stand with body parts touching. Unfortunately, they weren't the body parts he'd prefer to be touching.
What is wrong with me? Harry thought to himself. I'm supposed to be protecting this man, not molesting him. How did I go so quickly from shocked and disappointed that Malfoy is my anonymous crush, to wanting to fuck him right here under this cloak?
Trying his best to act professionally, Harry explained where everyone was to be and the anticipated sequence of events.
"Auror Davis is at the bar, the one in the green jumper. Peters and O'Neil are the two blokes standing at the high top table. The server is going to keep that table in the middle open for me. When Alley Cat shows up, we'll sit there so you can see what going on."
Draco nodded. He turned his head to face Harry. Under the cloak, their faces were mere inches apart.
"Once our man comes in and you identify him, I want you in this alcove."
"Wh-what?" Draco's breath was warm on Harry's face.
"I said, I want you . . ."
Harry could have sworn Draco leaned forward. Their lips were nearly touching when a sudden burst of laughter nearby startled them apart.
Harry cleared his throat. "I want you to hide in this alcove. Don't come out for anyone but me or the other Aurors."
Draco simply nodded, still staring at Harry's lips.
"Is that him?" Harry whispered, jerking his head toward the handsome man walking to the bar. He was wearing the same overcoat Harry remembered from before.
Turning away, Draco watched Alley Cat as he ordered a drink at the bar, then turned to scan the room.
"That's him," he confirmed. "That's the man I met here last Friday."
"And you're willing to testify to that?"
"Absolutely."
Harry looked Draco sternly in the eye. "Stay under the cloak and out of the way no matter what happens."
"I will."
Hesitating for just a moment, Harry took out his wand and spelled his Glamour on so he wouldn't be recognized. He slipped out from under the cloak, hiding behind a group of people until he was certain Alley Cat wasn't looking his way.
He approached the bar near their target and ordered a butter beer. The bartender had a special non-alcoholic drink set aside for him. He had no intention of impairing his senses, but thought it would look odd if he didn't have a drink while in the pub.
After receiving his pint, Harry turned and smiled at the suspect. "Please tell me you're the man I'm supposed to meet," he laughed, trying to be winsome.
Draco was correct. The man was absolutely gorgeous.
"That depends," he looked Harry up and down. "Are you a charmer?"
Harry grinned, though it was killing him to act pleasantly toward this man. "I am. A Snake Charmer. Are you an Alley Cat?"
The man nodded.
"Let's grab that table before someone else does," suggested Harry.
If Alley Cat thought it was strange that there was an empty table in the crowded bar, he didn't let on. The pair sat down. Susan Bones came over to give them menus, as Harry had arranged earlier. She knew to delay taking their order and delivering their food so that Harry could have time to get Alley Cat to talk.
"What looks good?" Harry asked as he perused his menu. "Besides you, of course." He planned to lay it on thick, hoping to loosen the man's tongue. Harry was hoping for a name, or anything incriminating.
Alley Cat snickered. "You're quite put together yourself. All that Pureblood upbringing, I imagine."
"I do have an image to uphold, I suppose." He took a drink of his fake butter beer. "Are you not into all the stodgy traditions?"
"No." Alley Cat's answer led Harry to believe he had a strong disdain for Pureblood wizards.
Before pushing his buttons on that issue, Harry tried to get some information out of him.
"How did you come to choose the name Alley Cat?"
"I frequent Diagon Alley. It seemed appropriate."
"Does 'cat' have any significance?"
"Not really. What about your name?"
"Snake Charmer?" Harry laughed. "I thought it would attract well endowed men. Or ones that thought they were, anyhow."
"What's your real name?" Alley Cat asked. "I don't recall ever seeing you around before. Wizarding London isn't all that big. I would have remembered a well to do Pureblood about town."
"Oh, I travel extensively. My home is out in the country, so I don't come to London all that often. I'm Ted." Harry held out his hand to shake.
Alley Cat took it and smiled in a way that gave Harry shivers. He'd rarely seen a leer like his. Even more rare was the cold steeliness of his gaze. "Hello Ted."
"Aren't you going to tell me your name?"
"No."
"No?" Harry tried to pull back his hand.
Alley Cat held tightly. "You know, I'm not really hungry anymore. Perhaps we could skip supper and get straight to pudding. Your place is in the country, you say?"
He smiled again. It was still predatory, and if Harry hadn't been an Auror, he would have been afraid of this man.
Harry subtly caught Auror Davis' eye, and scratched at his left earlobe, which was the signal to prepare to move in on the suspect.
"Well," Harry swallowed, "I thought we'd get to know each other a little better before jumping in the sack."
"Why wait?" Alley Cat licked his lips. He knew he was a handsome man, mesmerizing even. Draco turning him down the week before must have been a rare occurrence. "I'd love for you to take me home. I can show you a very good time."
"All right. I will . . . if you tell me your real name." Harry had pushed. He took a gamble that wasn't going to pay off.
Becoming suspicious, Alley Cat released his hand and started to get up. Harry nodded once to Davis, who signaled the other two Aurors. Before Alley Cat's chair was out, the three Aurors pounced on him, tethering him with an anti-apparition spell.
Pub goers nearby noticed the scuffle and tried to get out of the way. Most of the crowd didn't realize what was happening until the man was apprehended.
"Did we get a positive I.D?" Davis asked.
"Yes. I couldn't get his real name, but he admitted to an alias–Alley Cat."
"We'll take him to the Ministry, unless you'd prefer to do the honours. It was your leg work, after all, that led to his capture."
"Um," Harry looked around. "No. I'm going to make sure the witness gets to the Ministry safely, so he can identify the suspect."
"Sure thing," Davis said. "Good work, by the way. I don't know how you did it. I didn't have any luck on that service," he laughed.
Harry just smiled.
Davis turned to walk with O'Neill and Peters to walk Alley Cat out of the pub where they disapparated to the Ministry.
As soon as the Aurors were gone, he removed his Glamour, then sought out Draco.
"Draco? Draco, where are you?" Harry frowned. It was much harder to find someone hiding under the invisibility cloak than he anticipated. He was feeling a bit of an idiot talking to an empty alcove.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed his and pulled him under the cloak. Harry lost his balance and fell on top of Draco as they toppled to the floor.
"You got him," Draco said, not seeming to care that Harry's hip was resting heavily on his groin. "Did he tell you his name, or why he tried to kill me?"
"No. But I couldn't take a chance that he would get away. Someone will question him thoroughly. We'll get answers."
Draco gazed up at him. "You did it. You got him, like you said you would."
Harry nodded.
"Thank you," Draco whispered, still staring at Harry. He licked his lips.
"Well," Harry swallowed, "I should probably get you to the Ministry so you can make an official I.D."
"What?" Draco's brow furrowed. "That's it?"
"I, I need to get you to Shacklebolt."
Draco flung the cloak off them, and Harry scrambled to get off him.
"Fine," Draco snorted.
Harry took his arm for a side along, but Draco pulled away.
"I know how to get to the Ministry myself, Potter."
In an instant, he was gone.
"Shite," Harry cursed. Why the hell was Draco so hot and cold? Again, Harry had done something Draco didn't like and the little prat ran off.
Harry disapparated with his cloak in hand, hoping that Draco actually did go to the Ministry.
oOo
Much like a Muggle line up, there were several wizards of similar build and looks behind a two way mirror. Draco stood next to Kingsley as they watched the men turn to the left, then to the right, and finally, face forward.
"Second one from the right," Draco said confidently. "That's the man I was with at the Leaky Cauldron the night I was poisoned."
Harry quietly entered the dimly lit room, earning him a glare from Draco.
"Thank you Mr. Malfoy. We'll question him and determine if he'll stand trial. If that's the case, we'll need your testimony," Kingsley told him.
"All right," Draco replied.
"You're free to go. We'll be in touch." Shacklebolt nodded and left.
Draco stood watching as Alley Cat was taken away and the other men milled about. He suspected most of them were merely employees of the Ministry added to prevent bias.
Without looking at Harry, Draco asked, "So was it all just to get your murder suspect?"
"It was the goal of the investigation. You should be glad–
"Glad? Did you have a good laugh? Did you know it was me all along?"
Harry was confused. "I don't know what you mean. Why are you so angry with me? What the hell did I do this time?"
"This time? You mean, what have you been doing the entire time? Coming on to me one minute, then insulting me the next. Practically kissing me under the cloak, then acting as if I was just another witness. I know it was you. Did you think you were so clever that I wouldn't figure out that you're Snake Charmer?"
Harry's mouth dropped open. His fantasy of making a fresh start and getting to know Draco as himself vanished. Draco thought he was making a fool of him. Harry couldn't blame him for thinking that.
"Or, maybe you just hoped." Draco pursed his lips and walked to the door. "Fuck you."
"Wait," Harry called.
Draco stopped but didn't turn around.
"I did hope you wouldn't figure it out."
Draco pulled the handle.
"But not for the reason you think."
Harry knew he had to continue talking to keep Draco in the room.
"You're right. I am Snake Charmer. And I suspected you were Ophidian before you told me. Nobody knows except Ron and Kingsley."
Letting go of the door handle, Draco turned around.
"You stopped responding to my calls and messages. Why were you ignoring me?"
"I–I wasn't. All right, maybe Snake Charmer was ignoring Ophidian. But I wasn't ignoring you."
"Only because of the investigation."
"I kept your attention the only way I knew how. I told you I'm not very good at small talk." Harry's brow furrowed. "How did you know it was me, anyway?"
"I first suspected when you came to question me in hospital. I closed my eyes and listened to you speak. It was familiar, your way of talking, you have unique cadence. Nothing I could put my finger on, mind you. The tone of your voice is different on your portable. And then you said something about keeping odd hours for your job, which Snake Charmer also said."
"Circumstantial evidence," Harry smirked.
Draco moved back into the room, a little closer to Harry. "Then I noticed you were wearing a red scarf. I know, loads of people wear red scarves. But along with the other things, I began to seriously consider it. Of course, I had no idea you were gay, so I almost dismissed it. Until you barged into my office."
Harry blushed, recalling the incident. "You said to come in."
"I thought you were Tiffany."
"And it's all right for Tiffany to watch you undress?"
"I'm gay, she's a lesbian. It does nothing for either one of us."
"Her loss," Harry mumbled.
"Your portable floo was the clincher. Not many people have them."
"You have excellent powers of observation," Harry said. "You would have made a fair Auror."
"No thanks. I like my safe, little shop."
They both gave a small chuckle, then fell silent. Slowly, they had made their way toward each other, and were now only a meter apart.
"So, what do we do now?" Harry asked.
"What do you want to do?"
"I . . . I want to keep seeing you, but I've run out of excuses." He took a deep breath. In a way, it was a relief to admit. On the other hand, he'd left himself vulnerable.
"You haven't asked me what I want."
"I know."
"Ask me."
Harry stared.
"Ask me," Draco repeated. He took one more step toward Harry.
"Wh-what do you want?"
Harry's heart was pounding in his ears so loudly that he didn't hear Draco say, "You."
He didn't need to, though. Draco's answer was in the kiss he gently pressed to Harry's lips. Harry's mind went blank and his body moved on autopilot. His hands reached out, pulling Draco's hips against his own. In turn, Draco pushed Harry up against the wall. One hand tangled in Harry's hair. The other gripped Harry's shoulder.
One of them moaned, or maybe both of them, leading them to pull apart.
"Does that answer your question?" asked Draco.
Harry nodded, a bit dazed.
Draco smiled coyly. "So, now that we're finally on the same page, how about that date we never got a chance to keep?"
"You still want to go out with me, after I lied to you about who I was?"
"Not telling me who you really were wasn't exactly lying. It was an anonymous service. I didn't tell you my name either."
"But you didn't suspect me of murder."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "I can hardly fault you for that. It was the point of you being on the service in the first place. And besides, you saved my life."
Harry frowned. "If this is some sort of repayment for–
"It's not. We made the date before we knew each other's identity. Wanting to get to know you better has nothing to do with your job."
"All right." Harry leaned forward intending to give Draco another kiss, but Draco's hand on his chest stopped him.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Uh, I thought . . ."
"If we're going to do this, we should do it properly."
"But we've already kissed."
Draco shrugged. "A sneak preview, to make sure you show up for our date. Shall we say tomorrow night at The Three Broomsticks? Seven sharp."
"So late?"
"Half six."
"How about six?" Harry countered.
Grinning, Draco asked, "Impatient are we? All right, six o'clock. And no Glamour."
"But . . . you know I'm not out yet."
"I told you I was going to lure you out, didn't I? No Glamour. Those are my terms."
Harry sighed. "All right."
Draco nodded. "See you then." He left the room in a hurry, and Harry wondered if he was as tempted as Harry was to steal another kiss.
oOo
"Hey, mate!" Ron called through the floo to Harry Saturday morning. "Do you want to come through?"
"Um, actually, would you mind if we went out? I need to talk."
"Uh oh. Did everything go all right last night? Don't tell me the perp got away."
"No. That part worked out well. He's in custody. Draco officially identified him."
"Brilliant. Harry, you solved the case."
"Well, it's not over until he's brought before the Wizengamot. And I can't take all of the credit. I wouldn't have been able to do it without Draco's help."
"Only because you put all the pieces together. Kingsley has to give you that promotion now."
"I hope so. At first, he was totally against me bringing Draco to the Leaky. But I knew it would work out."
"Mate, that's, like, the third time you've mentioned Malfoy in as many minutes. What's going on?"
"Like I said, I need to talk."
"With or without Hermione?"
Harry groaned. "I think I know what she'll have to say. Without."
"All right. I'll meet you at our favorite Muggle coffee shop."
Fifteen minutes later, the pair was sitting in a tiny coffee house in Muggle London. Ever since Hermione introduced them to cappuccinos, they frequently went out to try all sorts of interesting Muggle coffee drinks. Harry's nerves made him far too anxious for coffee so he opted for a soothing chamomile tea.
"You can't get coffee like this in the wizarding world," Ron said, wrapping his hands around the warm mug. "I gotta hand it to the Muggles. This mocha latte is brilliant. It's like hot cocoa and coffee mixed together in one. And this cream on top with chocolate syrup. Mmmm."
"Are you finished making love to your drink?" Harry asked impatiently. He had more important things on his mind. "You're procrastinating because you don't want to talk about Draco."
"No. I don't. But obviously you do. So, go ahead."
Harry took a deep breath. "All right. I admitted to him that I'm Snake Charmer."
"Oh, shite. What did he do?"
"He kissed me."
Ron involuntarily gagged. "Sorry," he muttered at Harry's glare. "And you . . ."
"Kissed him back, of course."
"Shite. I guess you figured out how you feel about Malfoy being Ophidian."
Harry nodded.
"You like him?"
"Yeah." Harry stared down at the table. Even though Ron said he would support him, clearly the man was disturbed by Harry's admission.
"A lot?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Enough to kiss him."
"Yes." Harry was losing patience with Ron's slow acceptance of the facts.
"And, you want to . . ."
"Yes, Ron, I want to fuck him. Is that what you want to hear?"
"Not really." Ron sipped his delicious coffee drink, which suddenly didn't taste as good as it had before.
"I'm sorry," Harry apologized. "I didn't mean to blurt it out like that." He still couldn't look Ron in the eye. His tea hadn't done much to calm his nerves.
"I'm really trying to understand," Ron said. "How can you get past everything that happened during the war? He was on the wrong side, for Merlin's sake."
"I know. But does that condemn him for life? He was a minor, whose parents dragged him into it. I haven't forgotten all that's happened between us. I can forgive him though. And he can forgive me. We all did things we wouldn't normally have done if it weren't for the war."
Ron recalled some of his own behavior toward his friends while they were on the hunt for Horcruxes.
"Yeah, I suppose."
Harry cleared his throat. "There's more."
"More?"
"We have a date tonight."
"Okay." Ron's brow furrowed. "People who like each other often want to have dates."
"At The Three Broomsticks, for supper."
"You mean, you're going out? Out, out?"
Harry nodded.
"You're officially coming out then?"
"Two men can have supper together and not appear to be lovers, can't they? You and I go out all the time. Like right now."
"Yeah, well, we're not snogging or anything," Ron looked around to see if anyone was watching them. He wondered if people thought he and Harry were together when they went places.
"I'm not going to snog Draco right in the middle of The Three Broomsticks either."
"So, you're going to hope nobody realizes you're on a date? If it was anybody else, I'd tell you that if you really like this bloke, go for it. Don't care what anyone else thinks. But if you're still not sure about coming out, maybe you don't like him quite as much as you think you do."
Harry opened his mouth to give a retort, but didn't have one. He wondered if Ron could be right.
oOo
Nervous and sweaty palmed, Harry walked into The Three Broomsticks. The same hostess from the last time he entered greeted him with a wide smile.
"Mr. Potter, welcome. Would you like a table or a seat at the bar?"
"Actually, I'm meeting someone." His gaze traveled to a corner booth occupied by a head of blond hair. "I can seat myself."
She handed him a menu and watched in surprise as he walked to Draco's table and sat down.
"Hello," he said, awkwardly.
"Hello. I have to admit, I'm sort of surprised you showed."
"Me too. About you, I mean," Harry chuckled.
The server came and took their drink order, telling them she would return for the food order. She wasn't very good at hiding her confusion at the pair of them.
"Is this going to be too . . . weird?" Harry asked.
"Probably."
"Have you changed your mind?"
"No. I mean, it won't be weird for me, but you look like you're about to jump out of your skin."
"I've never done this before," Harry confessed. "Not in a public wizarding place, at any rate."
"Yes, you told me. So, if you don't mind me asking . . . never mind."
"No, what were you going to ask?"
The corner of Draco's mouth rose. "If you've never done this before, how were you able to describe in such agonizing detail what you would do with Ophidian, should you get the chance?"
Harry blushed. He nearly forgot that Draco was privy to the conversations he'd had with Ophidian. And just when he was beginning to accept that it was Malfoy he was actually interested in.
The server briefly gave Harry a respite from answering. As soon as she left with their order in hand, Draco pushed for it.
"Well? Is it that you have an incredible imagination?"
"I'm not a virgin, if that's what you're implying. I'm plenty experienced. Just, not . . . in relationships. What about you?"
"I've had a few. Nothing long lasting, or particularly deep. But enough to know that I didn't want to waste my time hiding in a closet."
Harry bit his lip. "It's not the same for me as it is for you."
"How so?" Draco sipped his butter beer.
"Well, people already have a low opinion of you. You don't have to worry–
Draco rose from his chair and picked up his jacket.
"Wait, that didn't come out right," Harry said. "I'm not saying it's right or that I agree with it. Fuck. Why do I always say the wrong thing around you?"
"The answer to that question may mean the difference between me staying and me leaving," Draco said calmly, still standing.
Harry swallowed. It was too much pressure. How was he supposed to know the right answer when everything he said around Draco was always wrong?
"I don't know. You just . . . get me all flustered." Harry shook his head and sighed, resigned to the fact that this secret, out in the open date was never going to work.
Draco sat. "That was a good answer."
Harry tried again to smooth things over. "It's wrong, what I said."
"No, you're probably right. People do have a low opinion of me."
"Then why were you going to leave?"
"Because sometimes, Potter, people don't want to hear the whole truth." He shook his head and snickered. "Do you think there was a man on that service that didn't stretch the truth?"
"I gave away much more than I meant to over those floo calls." Harry blushed, thinking about one in particular.
"I know. That was what made you different than the other men. I believed you."
"I did make up some stuff about myself."
"Not the stuff that mattered."
"You didn't seem to lie," Harry pointed out. "I can't think of anything you told me that I don't believe is true."
"Ironic, isn't it, that most people would expect me to be dishonest, and I almost always tell the truth."
"Almost?"
By then, their food had arrived. They ordered a couple more butter beers and ate while Draco explained himself.
"I could have told you sooner that I had figured out that you were Snake Charmer, I suppose. I could have told you that I was still interested, despite that fact."
"Is that why you got so angry when I questioned you about Snake Charmer?"
"I thought you were trying to throw me off your scent by implicating him, er, yourself. I wanted you to confess, but you didn't. And I felt foolish. After all, why would you ever want to get involved with me?"
Harry gave a little laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"I thought the same thing about you. I assumed once you found out you had been part of a murder investigation, and I deceived you, that you couldn't possibly overlook it."
"Again, you only deceived me about the parts that didn't matter. Unless you truly thought I was the Pureblood Murderer."
Harry shook his head. "No. I even told Ron I didn't think you were. But I had to treat Ophidian the same as any other suspect."
"Well, now that you know I want you and I know you want me, there's the small matter of coming out."
"It's not a small matter to me," Harry said.
"I know. That's why I'm not going to pressure you to come out. Yet."
Harry sighed with relief. He had, in fact, forgotten about the other people in the restaurant and what they might think of the pair, until Draco mentioned coming out again. Subconsciously, he leaned back in his chair, as if to distance himself.
Over pudding, Harry inquired about Draco's business. Draco told more stories of his travels in search of potion ingredients, some of which went hilariously wrong. And Harry told Draco some of the lesser known facts about cases he and Ron had worked on.
Spotting the new technology peeking out of Harry's sleeve, Draco asked about the portable floo.
Harry rolled up his jumper sleeve a bit. "Have you ever seen one before?"
Draco reached out, running his finger along the smooth metal side. "It's much smaller than I expected. No bigger than a watch. No wonder your voice sounded different through it."
"Are you thinking of getting one?"
"I don't know that I really need one. I have a floo in my shop and one in my flat."
"It's come in handy even simply walking around my flat while on a call," Harry told him. "I even went into the kitchen to make a lunch when Ron called one time. Can't do that on the regular floo network. Would you like to try it on?"
Draco shrugged. "All right."
Harry unclasped it from his wrist and slipped it over Draco's. He noticed that Draco's hand was soft, unlike his own. Without meaning to, he let his hand linger.
"How does that feel?" asked Harry.
"It feels . . . nice." Draco wasn't really looking at the portable at all.
When Harry realized what he was doing, he pulled his hand away.
"Anyway, I think the portables are going to be commonplace eventually."
A tiny bit disappointed, Draco took off the portable and gave it back.
"You're probably right," Draco nodded, then smirked. "It would have been much more comfortable to have had that one particular conversation in the comfort of my own bed, rather than down by the hearth."
Harry blushed. "I suppose. Although, I didn't make it off the sofa."
"Of course, it would be even better in person."
"Yeah," Harry said softly.
"I guess I can't say for certain. But I'd like to find out. Eventually. When you're ready, to come out."
Harry watched him lick his lips, and he had a feeling Draco was trying very hard to lure him out of the closet right then and there.
"I'd like to find out all sorts of things about you, Harry. And let you discover all sorts of things about me."
While Harry sat and contemplated, Draco continued eating his pudding. He seemed to purposely lick the spoon in a suggestive manner.
"And I'd most especially like to find out where those places are that you like to be kissed."
Harry's throat grew dry, and he took a big gulp of butter beer.
Grinning, Draco warned Harry, "If you keep staring and blushing like that, people might think we're here doing more than simply having supper."
"If you don't stop eating your pudding like that, I'm going to have something all right."
Draco laughed, which didn't help Harry's situation any. "You mean like this?"
He dipped his spoon into the creamy confection, then stuck his tongue out far to lick it off, rather than putting the spoon in his mouth. He turned the spoon and licked a stripe up the back as well.
"Fuck," Harry muttered. "Are you quite finished?"
"Oh, I'm just getting started."
In that instant, Harry forgot all about his fears and uncertainty about coming out publicly. In the back of his mind, he knew that had been Draco's plan, and he was falling for it. He was letting his dick think for him, and it wanted to get out of there.
Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out more galleons than was necessary to cover their meal, and tossed them on the table. He pulled Draco out of the booth by his hand, barely giving the man a second to grab his jacket.
As they walked toward the front door, past the hostess, Harry called, "Payment is on the table."
She gasped slightly as she caught sight of their classed hands.
"Come again, Mr. Potter," she smiled.
"Oh, I plan to," he grinned.