A/N: Hi guys, I've decided to change the rating to 'M' based on this chapter. I wasn't entirely sure how it was going to go when I started writing it, but I think this chapter (although tame) makes it technically 'M'... Sorry if this ruins it for anyone.
Edit: Sorry for the chapter update – I realised I made a really stupid mistake in here...! So I couldn't just ignore it. If anyone spots something obvious, please tell me and I'll fix it ^^;
Ginny's owl arrived after lunch, when they had arrived back from another Seekers' run, warning him that she expected him to be ready to go by eight with something new to wear. Her postscript assured him that this place would be better.
He eyed the clothes in his wardrobe warily. He wasn't sure where they were going yet, and Ginny had been particularly insistent on wearing something new and nice. He decided on similar attire to the other night, choosing black jeans and sneakers and a light blue shirt with faintly shimmery material. He was fairly certain Ginny had bought him this one in a sincere but misguided attempt to get him to make an effort in his appearance. He only ever wore this kind of clothing when he was out with her, and then only because she would make him wear something ten times worse if he didn't.
He brushed his hair half-heartedly, but it still stuck in every direction. He was lucky that it had at least grown to a length beyond the point where it just stuck straight up. At least at the length it was now, it could seem like he had intended it to look messy.
He came downstairs and sat in the living room to wait for Ginny. Malfoy looked up as he sat down and snorted.
"You look pathetic," he said, turning back to his book.
Harry looked down at his clothing. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" He shot back, feeling highly insulted. He thought he looked pretty good tonight, actually.
"It's not the clothing, Potter," Malfoy drawled. "It's you. You look like a dog left out in the rain."
Harry frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," Malfoy continued, still not looking up from his book. "That if you don't want to upset the girl Weasley's plans of hooking you up with Mr. Right, you're going to have to at least try to look like you're not waiting to crawl into a hole and die."
Harry stared at him, his mouth open.
"Oh come on, Potter, you really think I didn't know?" Malfoy looked up with a sneer. "I'm not an idiot, unlike two people I could name. Although perhaps their temporarily besotted state could excuse them from seeing two feet in front of their nose."
Harry's jaw moved up and down uselessly. He had no words. "And?" he managed finally.
"And what?" Malfoy said with a shrug. "Your woeful attempts to change the subject whenever we strayed anywhere near the topic of dating were pissing me off. You know I know, and now we can move onto my unshakable mirth at the girl Weasley's attempts to set you up with someone whose idea of a good time is to butt heads and then snog it off."
The fact that Harry had made a similar complaint to Ginny when they left Gusto's did not prevent him from feeling indignant on Ginny's behalf. She was trying her best. "She means well," he said.
Malfoy snorted. "She is incapable of recognising another person's point of view," he said.
This time Harry snorted. Before he could say anything, the fire flared green and Ginny stepped through. She nodded to Malfoy and eyed Harry up and down critically.
"Good," she said with a smile. "Hey, before we go, could you fix up the zipper on my dress? I think it's caught."
Harry nodded and followed her into the kitchen. "It looks fine," he said, looking closely at the zipper on her slim black dress.
Ginny turned around and stepped in close to him. For a panicked second, Harry thought she was going to kiss him. Then he realised she was only whispering.
"I think we should invite Malfoy," Ginny said in a voice so low he had to bend down to hear it.
He frowned at her. "Really?" he asked, just as quietly.
She nodded. "Dad told me what happened to his father," she looked sober. Considering the man had tried to kill her, Harry thought it was remarkably noble of her. "And half his friends are in Azkaban, while the other half would kill him if they ever saw him because he's giving up the names of all their families."
She had a point.
"I just feel bad leaving him out of everything," she said with a shrug. "He's sitting in there with you, so you must be getting along." She looked at him questioningly.
Harry nodded.
"The only thing is, I might have to change where we're going," she said, hesitating. "It's pretty obvious," she trailed off.
Harry sighed. "He knows," he said, smiling ruefully.
Ginny blinked at him in surprise. "You told him?" she asked.
Harry shook his head. "He figured it out."
Ginny laughed. "And Ron and Hermione still have no clue. That'll kill them. Alright, well if you're fine with it?"
"Yeah, I'm fine with it," he said, feeling a bit strange. Malfoy would probably say no, but it was worth asking. Ginny was right, when he thought about it, who exactly did Malfoy have left?
"Hey, Malfoy," Harry said when they walked back into the living room. "Did you want to come with us?"
Malfoy looked surprised. "Where are you going?" he asked suspiciously.
"Er," Harry looked at Ginny. "Where are we going?" he asked.
"That's for me to know, and you to find out," she said smugly. "Come on, get dressed Malfoy. We'll be late."
Malfoy looked like he was about to smirk and refuse, but for some reason he apparently changed his mind. "Alright," he said, swinging his legs off the couch and standing up. "I'll be a minute."
He wasn't lying. If Harry had been told to guess, he would have said Malfoy was one of those people who took no less than half an hour to get ready for something, but he was back in under ten minutes. He was dressed similar to Harry, apparently going for the safety in numbers approach. Black jeans, black leather shoes and a dark red shirt. He waved his wand and his hair turned from blonde to dark brown, almost black. It made a striking difference to his appearance, so anyone out looking for the Malfoy heir would have to know very well what he looked like to recognise him. It would certainly do for a quick night out.
He grinned at them, surprising Harry yet again with an expression that seemed to hold nothing behind it.
"Ready," he said.
Harry caught Ginny's look of surprise and approval, before she grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the fire. "Come on then," she said.
Malfoy stepped forward and linked arms with Harry. Harry looked at him in surprise, but Ginny was already pulling them forward and into the flames.
"Oh, Ginny, what the hell?" Harry said in horror, looking around at long hall decked out with two strips of tables down the middle. Clusters of people stood around one end of the hall, near the fireplace where they had just popped out. They quickly moved out of the way so that the next people could arrive.
"Speed dating!" Ginny said excitedly, gesturing toward the tables with the air of a magician presenting his showgirl.
Malfoy's expression was caught somewhere between amusement and horror.
"Ladies at the tables on the left, Gentlemen at the tables on the right," the MC announced, his voice projecting magically through the hall. "If you are seated on the right side of your tables, please stay seated for the duration. Your dates will come to you!"
Everyone started jostling for the tables. Harry caught Malfoy's eye and was pleased to see the same panic in Malfoy's expression as he was sure was in his own.
"Ginny?" Harry said lightly. "When, er, I invited Malfoy, did it occur to you to warn us that perhaps he would have preferred to join us on a different night?"
"Hmm?" Ginny asked vaguely, turning towards them from where she was eyeing off the ladies taking their seats. Her face suddenly froze. "Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, slapping her hand to her mouth. "I didn't even think, Malfoy! Oh, I'm sure you'll be alright though." She gave an apologetic smile and moved off to take her seat.
Harry considered himself one of the few people who was truly close to Ginny, and so he was confident in his assessment that her surprise wasn't entirely genuine. Perhaps she hadn't been entirely altruistic in her offer of company. He sighed and turned back to Malfoy. "Shall we take a seat?"
Malfoy gave him a look that suggested just how many pieces Harry would find the body in, before he gave a curt nod and moved to the table. There were two seats left on the right side of the table, so they sat together and waited for the bell.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the MC announced. "On your marks!" The men in the queue at the end of the table shifted on the spot, waiting until they could take their seats on the left. "Get set!" The MC paused dramatically. "Go!"
The queue took off to their seats, and a man with dark brown hair sat himself in front of Harry. He had a friendly face with strikingly amber eyes. The fact that those eyes made Harry think of Hedwig wasn't doing wonders for the man's sex appeal.
"I'm Harry," Harry said, braving a smile.
He heard Malfoy snort next to him, before saying "I'm Draco." The mimicry in his tone was obvious, although his partner didn't notice.
"Robert," Hedwig-eyes said, returning the smile. "What do you do for fun?"
"Quidditch," Harry replied promptly. "You?"
Robert gave Harry an incredulous look. "Quidditch? Gosh, I haven't played that since I was in school."
Since he hardly looked any older than Harry, Harry immediately wrote him off as a pretentious tosser.
"I collect antiques," Robert continued, smiling like he was offering Harry a rare treat, utterly confirming Harry's first impression.
"Really?" Harry said, beaming widely. "Brilliant. I collect Chocolate Frog cards. I got a really good swap on Gartheus Mundane the other day. He's worth a mint."
He heard Malfoy give a surprised laugh next to him and grinned innocently at Robert as the buzzer went.
"Change places!" The MC yelled.
Robert moved on with a disgusted expression and was replaced by Malfoy's date.
"Henry," he said, leaning forward to shake Harry's hand.
Harry took an immediate dislike to him. Who shakes their date's hand?
"Harry," he said, fighting down the urge to laugh at the expression of distaste on Henry's face.
Henry flicked a glance back at Malfoy. "You're friends, then?" he asked, looking wary.
Harry looked at Malfoy, who was wearing an innocent expression while apparently describing the many ways you could disembowel a lizard for advanced potion making. His new date looked faintly green.
"Yeah, why?" Harry asked.
Henry's lip curled up slightly. "Are you a chiromancer too, then?" he asked, shifting his gaze back to Malfoy.
"One of the best," Harry said, having no idea what a chiromancer was.
Henry shoved his hand at Harry, palm up. "Go on then," he demanded.
Harry stared at his hand blankly. He looked up at Malfoy, who was shaking his head sadly at Henry. Harry was reminded absurdly of Professor Trelawny whenever she gave one of her predictions of doom, which was when it hit him where he had heard the term chiromancy before.
He grabbed Henry's hand and stared at it intently. "The Grim!" he said dramatically. "Beware!"
Henry yanked his hand back, the distasteful expression back on his face mixed with a hint of fear. The buzzer went off and he jumped up from his chair and moved down.
"I told him he was going to be singlehandedly responsible for reintroducing syphilis to East Europe," Malfoy muttered to him as their dates switched over. "Nice backup."
Harry snorted and turned back to his new date. Harry took pity on him - he still looked faintly green - and decided to go easy this time.
"Harry," he said with a smile.
"Norm," the green guy replied.
"Favourite food?" Harry asked, saying the first thing that came to his head.
"Eggplant parma," he replied.
Harry made a face. "Really? What about pork roast?"
Norm blanched again. "I'm a vegetarian."
Harry fought back the urge to laugh and looked away politely while Norm regained control of his stomach.
Malfoy leaned over. "I forgot one!" he said brightly. "If you peel back the skin in pieces, the concentration of body fluids is higher! Better for those pesky volatile mixes."
Norm dry-retched into his handkerchief while Malfoy made a face that would be the picture of innocent concern if you had never seen him dress up as a Dementor to ruin a quidditch game.
The buzzer went and they moved along again. Harry decided he was already thoroughly bored of this, and wondered how much longer he would be forced to sit here and sadistically sabotage his own potential relationships.
A man with black hair and vibrant blue eyes sat down in front him. Harry gave a small start. He had to be one of the most attractive men Harry had every seen.
"Dave," the man said, leaning his elbows onto the table and flicking his hair back out of his eyes. "You sick of this yet?" he asked with a grin.
"Very," Harry said, finding himself smiling back.
"I got dragged here by my sister," he said, giving a rueful smile. "She's over at the girls' table, probably having a laugh."
"I got dragged here by my friend's sister," Harry said. "She's the redhead over there."
Dave turned around and spotted Ginny easily. "Gorgeous," he said, turning back immediately. He flicked a glance at Malfoy. "Ex?" he asked quietly.
Harry's eyes widened. "Nah," he said quickly. "He's not even-" he stopped, realising that if they knew Malfoy wasn't gay, they wouldn't be happy that he had taken up a valuable slot at the table.
Dave nodded, grinning. "Thought it would be strange to speed date with an ex," he said. "But you guys looked like you had a history. And you don't look related."
Harry grinned ruefully. "Right on both counts," he said. "But not like you think."
The buzzer went. Dave moved on, but Harry saw he kept casting glances back his way as he moved further down the table.
"Time's up!" The MC yelled. He waved his wand and the tables were instantly replaced with cocktail tables and a bar. "Mingle, singles!" he announced with entirely too much zest.
"Weasley's got herself a match," Malfoy said, nudging Harry and pointing to where Ginny stood chatting to a tall blonde.
Harry grinned. "Good for her," he said, looking up at Malfoy.
Malfoy looked surprisingly happy, all things considered. His eyes still held the faint amusement they had when he was making fun of the dates with Harry, and Harry decided it really had been a good thing to invite Malfoy along. He had needed to get out of the house.
"You didn't give up, then?"
Harry looked up to see Dave standing in front of him, a slight smile on his face.
"Barely," Harry said with a grin.
Dave nodded to Malfoy briefly, who gave a very stiff nod back, and turned back to Harry. "Can I get you a drink?" he asked.
Harry felt slightly stunned, but nodded. "Firewhisky, thanks," he said.
Dave moved off to the bar. Harry turned to Malfoy, feeling suddenly awkward.
Malfoy smirked. "Don't slouch now, Potter," he said, his voice rough.
Harry frowned. Before he could say anything, Malfoy had moved off. Dave returned with his drink and Harry forced himself to pay attention.
"How long have you been out?" Dave asked, taking a sip of his drink, which was a strange, smoking concoction.
"Er," Harry paused. "Well, I guess I've known for about a year," he said, thinking it through. He really hadn't had much time to think about it. Ever. It had just hit him one day, and he had put off dealing with it every since.
"But how long have your family known?" Dave asked.
"They don't," Harry said. "Well, actually, they're dead. But my friend's family - they're like my family - they don't know."
"Ah," Dave nodded. "That would be the family of your redheaded friend?"
"Yeah." Harry nodded. "They're a bit, well, traditional."
Dave nodded understandingly. "But you're out on the scene anyway. Good on you. It's not easy."
Harry tuned out slightly while Dave talked about his own experience. As nice as Dave was, Harry was suddenly very tired. It was exhausting talking to so many strangers in such a short space of time.
"Do you smoke?" Dave asked.
Harry shook his head.
"Mind if I do?" he asked, nodding his head toward the door.
Harry gestured that no, he didn't mind, and followed Dave toward the exit. As he went through the door, he looked around for Malfoy and saw him on the other side of the hall talking to a small man Harry could barely remember. Malfoy looked up and caught his eye, and Harry felt a jolt at the anger he saw there. Whatever he was discussing, he mustn't be very happy about it.
He moved through the door. There was a small patio outside, lit with fairy lights along the balcony. The view seemed to be somewhere in London, although Harry wasn't quite sure.
"That's better," Dave said with a smile. "It's much quieter out here. I can hear you properly." He lit a cigarette and took a long drag. "I'm afraid I have to get up early for work tomorrow," he said apologetically. "But if you're interested, I'd like to take you out for coffee or lunch some time?"
He looked hopeful, and Harry found he was smiling despite himself. Maybe this wouldn't be too hard. Maybe he could date Dave for a while, and then everything would fall into place and he could tell Ron and Hermione and everyone else with someone standing at his side.
The door slammed open. Malfoy stood in the doorway, hands in his pockets. He looked like he had just kicked his way through.
Dave took one look at him and stood up. Malfoy didn't say anything. Dave took a long drag of his cigarette before dropping it on the ground. He took a card out of his shirt pocket and gave it to Harry.
"Owl me," he said lightly, before giving Malfoy one last look and leaving.
"What the hell was that about?" Harry asked, mildly annoyed. "Are you really having such a bad time that you had to ruin mine?"
Malfoy scoffed. "Cause it needed any help."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry snapped.
"You're as bad as Weasley," Malfoy spat back. "The first thing that comes walking in with a fit body and a tight arse, and you're all over it. I thought you wanted more than that."
"What?" Harry said, bewildered. "What the hell are you talking about? I do. I'm not that shallow."
Malfoy gave a dry laugh. "You're as shallow as Weasley," he drawled. "That guy was a total player, and you followed him out here like a little lamb."
Harry narrowed his eyes. "You've no idea what you're talking about, Malfoy," he said quietly. "And what are you talking about a fit body for anyway? You sound bent yourself."
Malfoy's fists clenched. Suddenly Harry felt like he was back at Hogwarts, about to get into a fight with his arch enemy. He grinned.
Malfoy shoved him, and before Harry could react he had his back against the brick wall of the building and Malfoy's body pressed up against his. There was a split second of nothing, where neither of them moved or breathed, before Malfoy made a small sound in the back of his throat, almost like despair, and then suddenly Malfoy was kissing him. Harry gasped, but there was nowhere to move. Malfoy kissed his open mouth, slipping his tongue inside to graze lightly over Harry's teeth, over his tongue, until Harry suddenly broke and before he knew what he was doing, he was kissing Malfoy back. He reached his hands up to curl into the back of Malfoy's hair, and found himself wishing stupidly that Malfoy's hair was blonde again, instead of this dark brown that made Harry feel like he was kissing a stranger.
Malfoy moved his hands around behind Harry, running them along his back and down into the curve above his arse, grabbing and pushing Harry against him. He drew his head back briefly and looked at Harry, his eyes wide and feverish, before Harry pulled him back down. Malfoy's kisses slowed, the edge disappearing until he was kissing Harry languidly, almost lazily. He ran his tongue lightly across Harry's bottom lip, grinning against Harry' mouth when Harry groaned against him.
He moved his hands back over Harry's arse and ground his hips slowly forward.
The door swung open.
"Oops, sorry!" the women backed out again, grinning widely.
Malfoy pushed away from Harry. His breath was coming in large, visible gasps, and the collar of his shirt had skewed so that Harry could clearly see the outline of his collarbone, pale beneath the moonlight.
Harry stared at him, leaning back against the wall, and wondered if it was better or worse that someone had opened the door. Before he could say anything - before he could even think what to say - Malfoy opened the door again and was gone.
