Chapter Nine

Ron sat down heavily on his bed.

"That was uncalled for, you know," said Hermione quietly. "I can't say I agree with his choice, but Harry's right; we should respect it."

"But he's going to ruin his life! How can he believe anything Malfoy says?" Ron raged.

"Maybe he's right, maybe he has changed," said Hermione and shrugged. "Anyway, we'll never know unless we give him a chance."

Ron looked away and sighed. "That still doesn't change what he did to my sister," he whispered. "It was unfair of him to lead her on, knowing that she's been in love with him forever."

"Maybe he didn't think Malfoy would be returning. He could have been killed for all he knew…"

"Oh, right!" said Ron, angry once more. "Malfoy won't be returning, so I'll just settle for Ginny, is it? Well, Ginny bloody well deserves better!"

"Ron, relax!" Hermione said frantically. "Of course Ginny deserves better than that, but sometimes these things just happen! If you had fallen in love with someone like Malfoy, don't you think you would've been confused as well? Don't you think you would have sought normality and tried to forget your feelings?"

"Look, Hermione, he's not in love with Malfoy!" Ron growled. "Malfoy has manipulated him and he's too stupid to see it! Besides, guys just don't fall in love with guys…"

"Yes they do, Ron." Hermione sounded vaguely annoyed. "People fall in love with people. Gender is secondary."

Ron looked about to say something, but then he shut his mouth and refused to look at her. Hermione gave an exasperated sigh.

"I'm going to go look for him," she said and walked towards the door. Opening it, she paused for a moment. "You know, he's still Harry."

Out in the garden Harry found Hedwig sitting on the garden wall. He stroked her white feathers lovingly.

"You can find anyone, can't you?" he whispered. Reaching into his pocket he found a spare bit of parchment, but no quill. He went back inside the kitchen and found a pencil on the table. Quickly, he scribbled,

I'll be at the Leaky Cauldron. Meet me there?

– H.

Then he folded the parchment, wrote Draco Malfoy on the front and went back outside to find Hedwig. She was waiting for him on the garden wall still. He tied the parchment to her leg and stroked her feathers again.

"I really need to see him," he whispered. Hedwig gave a soft hoot as though she understood, and then she took off. Harry took a deep breath before Disapparating.

He reappeared in a small, dead end side alley to Charing Cross Road. It was around six o'clock in the evening on a Friday, and the nightlife of London was beginning to sow itself. As Harry emerged out into the street, he saw several groups of Muggles on their way out to clubs and pubs. Harry ignored them and headed resolutely towards the Leaky Cauldron.

It would be a while before Draco showed up. Harry had no idea where he was. He could be at the Malfoy Manor for all Harry knew, and it would take some time for Hedwig to find him.

In the meantime he ordered a Butterbeer and sat down in a corner by himself. How like that night wasn't this? Harry moodily took a sip of his Butterbeer. The pub was filling up fast; Fridays mattered in the wizarding world as well. Tom, the barman, was greeted fondly by most. The war was over; people were still celebrating. Harry didn't blame them, but it was all the more reason for him to sit hunched in his corner and hide his face. If people hadn't known him as a hero before, they certainly did now. He had killed Voldemort. He had saved them all.

Harry wasn't sure how much time had really passed when someone came and sat down next to him. Looking up he found his gaze met by a pair of steely grey eyes.

"Hi, Harry," said Draco softly. He was once again clean-shaven, but his hair was loose. He was wearing deep green robes with grey trimming and a concerned expression upon his face. "What happened?"

It amazed Harry how Draco could know without Harry telling him. How he could know that something was wrong. It only struck him later that his red eyes and gloomy expression could have had something to do with it. Not to mention his swollen nose. He had managed to stop the bleeding, but Healing spells had never been Harry's strong suit.

"Hello, Draco," he replied. "Let's get a room or something…"

They made their way over to the bar. Tom looked a bit sceptically at them, but noticing Harry's scar and realising who he was, did not comment.

"So, what did happen?" Draco asked again, once they were up in their room. They had sat down on the bed next to each other.

Harry didn't answer, but instead leaned over and kissed him deeply and thoroughly. Draco responded to the kiss at first, and let Harry push him down onto his back, but then he broke the kiss and pushed Harry off.

"I'm not one to protest such behaviour, but I'd much rather you tell me what's going on first."

Harry shook his head. "Later," he said. "I'll tell you later. Right now, I… I just need to be with you." He kissed him again and pushed him down onto his back once more. His fingers searched for skin under Draco's clothes, but as he begun to undress him, Draco grabbed both his wrists.

"Not this time, Potter," he smirked. "It's my turn now."

And within a moment he had reversed their positions and had Harry under him. He leaned down and kissed him, hands roaming over his body, unbuttoning his shirt and exploring his chest.

"I think… I think our roles have been switched," Harry moaned. "Now you're my punishment…"

Draco laughed softly. "So, I'm your devil now?"

"Or angel, depending… on what I am…"

"We'll see, I guess," Draco whispered and flipped Harry over onto his stomach. "We'll find out."

They lay facing each other in the bed. Draco's hand was caressing Harry's shoulder gently. Now he took his hand. "So, can we talk now?" he asked. Harry looked away for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Weasley and Granger didn't take it too well, I take it?" Draco continued.

"It's okay, really," Harry mumbled. "They'll come around…"

"Well, they'd better!" said Draco. "You'll be a real pain to be around if they don't. So, what happened?"

"Well, I told them… Ron was really angry from before. He was angry that I had somehow made friends with you, that I'd saved you. When I told them what we did… Well, I never really told them, Ron figured it out, but when he did he became so angry and he attacked me."

"Hence the nose?" asked Draco. Harry paused for a moment.

"Yes, hence the nose," he confirmed. "Hermione got him off me and I left. I didn't know where to go, so I sent Hedwig to you and went here."

Harry closed his eyes for a moment and tried to hold back tears. It wasn't worth crying about, he told himself. They'd come around eventually. Ron would come around like he always did and everything would be fine between them. They'd accept Draco in the end…

"Harry," said Draco, bringing him out of his thoughts. Harry opened his eyes again and looked at him. Draco put his hand on his cheek. "If you need to cry, then cry."

Harry closed the door to the room behind him. He knew he had to return to The Burrow. If not for Ron and Hermione's sakes then to let Mrs Weasley know he was all right. Draco had decided to stay at the Leaky Cauldron for a while. He didn't want to be at the Manor all alone, with all the painful memories that brought back, and he really didn't want to stay with his mother. He had told Harry that he could come back to him if he needed some place to stay. If there were more problems at The Burrow.

He started off down the stairs, but only halfway down he found himself facing Remus Lupin.

"Harry!" he exclaimed. "I went by The Burrow, and Hermione told me you and Ron had a fight and you ran off! Everyone's worried."

"I know," said Harry. "I'm sorry… I told them."

"I thought maybe you had," Remus agreed solemnly. "It didn't go well?"

"Not unless you consider being punched in the nose as going well, no," Harry replied dryly.

"Ah, no…" Remus looked a bit uneasy. "What do you say we go sit down and talk about this. Buy you a drink?"

"You go ahead, I'll do without the drink, but we can talk," said Harry, feeling somewhat relieved.

They sat down in a secluded corner, Remus with a brandy and Harry decided to order a sandwich.

"You went here to see him?" asked Remus.

"Yes," Harry replied. "He's upstairs, he's staying here for now. I… I needed to get away, so I owled him to meet me here. Didn't want to be alone."

Remus nodded. "You did a very good thing today, Harry," he said after a while. "I'm proud of you. I'm sure Draco is very grateful." He paused, looking up at Harry. "You really do care for him, don't you?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, I do," he said. "Very much."

"Then don't make the mistake I made." Remus reached across the table and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't let the prejudice of those around you get in the way. Even if they're your friends, don't let them ruin it for you. The fact that you dared to tell Ron and Hermione already makes you a far better man than I was. Take the next step. Don't be afraid." He let go of Harry's shoulder and picked up his drink. "They'll come around, Harry," he said, taking a sip. "I'm sure of it."

"Thank you, Remus," said Harry, a bit puzzled. He took a bite out of his sandwich. "Remus, who was he?" he asked.

Remus shook his head. "I might tell you some day," he replied. "But for now, I'll keep that little bit of information to myself." He looked at his watch. "We should get back to The Burrow," he concluded. "You ready to face Ron and Hermione?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't really think I have a choice," Harry shrugged. "Let's go."