-Five Months Later-

"Well, I think that is all the questions I have for you, Mr. Malfoy," the witch said as she stood up, holding out her hand.

Draco stood and shook it. "Thank you for the interview, Ms. Redd. I hope to get an owl from you soon."

Stepping out of the office, Draco smiled at the wizard at the reception desk and walked out of the building as quickly as he could. It was hard to control the anger bubbling up beneath his polite facade.

Pulling at his wand, he apparated to the Ministry of Magic. Pretty soon, he was getting off the elevator for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He marched in, and glared down at first wizard he saw. "Get me Auror Potter. Now!" The young man jumped, and then scrambled into the offices.

Standing in the department's lobby, he glared at anyone who came by, making most of them scuttle out of sight.

After at least ten minutes, Harry Potter finally strolled out, his scarlet uniform robes marked with mud and some burn marks. "Oh, it's you. This is a nice surprise, Draco."

"Shove it, Potter. Do you want me to yell at you here, or should we go somewhere more private?" Draco hissed, looming over Harry.

Harry's welcoming smile dimmed, and he quickly glanced around. He looked as guilty as four year sitting beside an empty cookie jar. Covered in cookie crumbs. "Um, is Grimmald Place OK?"

Draco gave a curt nod and linked his arm over Harry's. Within a few seconds, they were standing in a shabby living room.

Harry unbuckled his uniform, slipping off the thick red robe and hanging it on a hook on the wall. The snug black long sleeve t-shirt and slim fit trousers he had worn beneath were a bit dusty. He ran a hand through his unruly hair. "I'm going to make some coffee. Want one?"

"No! I don't want fucking coffee!" Draco snapped.

Trying not to smirk, Harry gave him a half smile. "OK, OK. How about tea?"

Draco's skin flushed even more with anger, and he glared at Harry.

With a sigh, Harry moved over to the sofa and sat down. "I guess we can have some later. Something on your mind, Malfoy?"

With a slight growl, Draco started pacing back and forth over the worn carpet in front of Harry. "I just came from an interview."

"Oh?" Harry said, tipping his face up with a pleasant smile. "How did it go?"

"Good," Draco said, stopping right in front of Harry to glare down at him. "Far too good. Suspiciously good."

"How can an interview be suspiciously good?" Harry asked mildly.

Draco let out a huff of frustration and started pacing again. "She just seemed amazed at everything I did, took lots of notes, and smiled at me. A lot."

"Maybe she found you attractive," Harry said, the half smile threatening to come back.

That comment got him another glare. "People don't treat me like that, Potter."

"I'm sure many people find you attractive," Harry quipped.

"Not that!" Draco snapped. He waved his hands around, clearly still incensed. "They don't treat me nicely."

Harry shrugged. "How do they treat you?"

"Like an ex-Deatheater! A traitor!"

"Well, that's hardly fair. You were exonerated at the trial, just like your mother," Harry said calmly.

"Thanks to you," Draco said, pointing a long finger at Harry. "You just had to save me, didn't you? Just like in the Room of Requirement!"

"You would have preferred I left you to the Fiendfyre?" Harry asked, raising one brow.

"No, of course not," Draco said, stopping and slumping down on the edge of an easy chair. "But it's enough, Potter. You saved me then, you saved me at the trial, and now you are trying to get me a job?"

Harry tried his best to look innocent, but knew his face was giving him away. "OK, fine, I vouched for you with Olivia Redd. But you would be great in that job."

"The Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One, asks for a favour, and she is just delighted to overlook my shady past?" Draco sneered, running his hands through his hair, leaving it in complete disarray.

Harry sighed. "Well, might as well put my notoriety to some good use. Would you just take the job, Draco?"

Draco sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't need your pity."

"You know it's not that," Harry said, meeting his icy blue-grey eyes.

"If it's not pity, it must be guilt. For what you did," Draco said, his gaze unwavering.

Harry broke the eye contact first, looking down. "I had to do it. You know I had no choice."

Draco scoffed. "If you believed that, why would you be doing all these favours for me now?"

"Decency?" Harry shot back, a bit of anger creeping in now. "I could hardly live with myself if we left anyone to die in that fire."

"And the trial?"

Harry shrugged a shoulder. "I told the truth. I wanted the trials to be fair, not vindictive."

"Fine, fine. So, it was just setting up this job that you did out of guilt, or pity, or some combination of the two," Draco said, pinning Harry again with his gaze. His anger had calmed down, but it was still there, ready to flare up at the slightest provocation.

"It's not pity," Harry said after a long pause. "But it not entirely out of guilt either, Draco."

Draco just waited, knowing Harry had more to say. This confrontation had been a long time coming. It was time to lay all the cards on the table.

Harry swallowed hard, clearly feeling uncomfortable. A bit nervous. "Um, at the castle, what happened... um, between us..."

"You mean when you pretended you liked me to take advantage of me? Left me tied up while you escaped? Do you know how embarrassing it was to be found like that by the house elves? How awful it was to admit what happened to my father?" The anger was back, making his eyes almost glow.

"You told your father that we..." Harry said, clearly surprised.

Draco stood up, walked a few steps and paused, facing away. "No, of course not. I swore the house elves to secrecy and just told him you got away. He was furious."

Harry could see how stiffly Draco was holding his shoulders and could only imagine how horrible it had been. "I can't say that I'm sorry I got away, Draco. You know I would have been killed if I stayed. If there had been a way I could have done it without hurting you, I would have."

Draco just stayed turned away, but his shoulders seemed to slump a little. "Fine. It's all over and done with, OK? Let's leave it all in the past and try to forget it. No more trying to help me, Potter. Just leave me alone."

Harry stood, and slowly walked closer to Draco. His heart was pounding in his chest, but he had to do this. He stopped behind Draco, and laid a hand on his shoulder lightly.

Draco jumped slightly at his touch, his breath catching, but after a moment he seemed to calm down. He turned towards Harry, his eyes downcast.

"I wasn't acting, Draco. At the castle," Harry said, fumbling for the right words. "We were spending all that time together, and you were being fairly kind to me..."

Draco scoffed. "You faked it. Admit it."

Reaching out, Harry tipped Draco's chin up so their eyes met. "I did work at getting you to trust me, hoping it would relax your guard and I could find a way to escape. But when we kissed, that wasn't part of the plan."

Draco still had a mixture of emotions showing on his face. Anger, resistance, doubt. But his eyes did flick downwards. Was he remembering those kisses? Did he think about them as often as Harry did?

Gathering his Gryffindor courage, Harry leaned in to give him a light kiss. And when Draco didn't pull away, pushed his hand into his hair and kissed him properly. The way he'd been wanting to for months.

"I didn't fake it, Draco," Harry said softly, their lips barely parted. "I wanted you."

"Past tense?" Draco asked, trying to say it jokingly, but his eyes were watching Harry closely. He cared about the answer.

Harry knew he just had to honest. "I still want you. So, so much."

Draco pushed him, hard, and Harry fell on to the sofa. Immediately, Draco crawled over him, holding him down and kissing him intensely. Harry could hardly catch his breath, but he didn't really care. This would be a good way to die.

Within a few minutes, they were both breathing heavy, clothing a mess from wandering hands, and grinding against each other shamelessly.

"Let's go to the bedroom," Draco groaned, as Harry kissed down his neck.

Harry shook his head, panting. "No, we can't. We should go out, like for a nice dinner."

"What? Right now?" Draco pulled back to stare down at Harry.

Grinning, Harry shook his head again. "Well, no, but before we, um..."

Draco sighed, and sat up, running his hand through his hair. "What are you trying to say, Potter?"

Harry sat up, right beside Draco, and reached over to take his hand. "That this is amazing, more than I dared to hope for, but, um, I'm actually not that experienced. I've been concentrating on fighting a crazy dark wizard for the last few years."

"So you have never...? Or just never with a guy?"

"Never done much of anything. Have you?"

Draco shook his head, his fair skin flushing slightly.

Harry let out a breath, and gave Draco's hand a squeeze. "I think we both deserve to have it be special. Let's take it slow. Date."

"Date," Draco repeated, his expression a mix of frustration and confusion.

Unable to stop the smile spreading across his face, Harry stole a quick kiss. "Go out in public together, as a couple. Hold hands. Talk about everything. Go to restaurants or Quidditch matches, or drinking with our friends."

"The Chosen One and the Deatheater," Draco groaned. "I can already see the headlines in the paper.

Harry hugged him tight, loving the feel of his arms around Draco's slim body. "We have been caught up in things beyond our control for half our lives. I am not giving up another day to all that. I'm just want to be an eighteen year old wizard, working a normal job, and dating a guy I like."

Eventually, Draco hugged him back, relaxing against Harry. "I want that too."

Pulling back, Harry met Draco's gaze steadily. "Will you take the job? I know I pulled some strings to get you in the door but I think the job will suit you. I won't interfere again. How you do in the job is entirely up to you. Olivia won't keep you around if you're shite at it."

Draco sighed, looking up towards the ceiling, considering it. "The idea of designing healing potions is appealing. She seems very experienced."

"Yes, like an apprenticeship," Harry said, letting his cheek rest against Draco's shoulder. "I am sorry for what I did to escape, Draco. But I can't let things get more, um, physical between us until I know you forgive me."

"I forgive you," Draco said, his eyes dropping to Harry's mouth.

Tempted, Harry had to pull away. "No, not until you can call me by my first name and I know you are happier." He stood up, tugging Draco along with him.

At the door, he pushed Draco against the wall and kissed him hard, deeply. Loving the way he returned the kiss, hungry and eager. Their breathing was fast, hearts pounding, by the time Harry pulled back.

"Pick a restaurant you want to try. Owl me the time and date," Harry said, pushing Draco out the door before he gave into temptation and took him up to his bedroom.

He had started a seduction at the castle. But both of them had been caught up in it. Captivated. He wanted to continue it now, let them both get to know each other. Date, like a normal couple. He didn't want to rush this, finally having the time to give a deeper relationship a chance.

Draco gave him an eye roll, but he was also smiling. "Fine. Goodbye, Potter."

"Goodbye, Draco."

...

-A/N: That's it! Thanks for reading! It has been fun writing again after a long dry spell, so thank you for supporting me.

-I'm considering writing a sequel, following as Draco & Harry date and fumble to figure things out. Let me know if you'd be interested. :)