Harry
I have a date.
With Draco Malfoy.
With Draco Malfoy.
My brain tells me not to get ahead of myself. Maybe Malfoy doesn't think of it as a date; just as a non-work-related reunion. Or maybe his nod was, I don't know, referring to something else? Is there someone behind me that he was nodding to?
Malfoy's making me such a mess.
I wonder, did Cho ever make me this nervous? Did Ginny?
The answer comes to me quickly: No.
Hey, it's not as if I don't like girls at all. I still think women are beautiful. But Malfoy has opened up this new part of my mind, and this part is full of blokes. It's saying Imagine if you had a boyfriend. Imagine sleeping with another guy. Imagine having a husband. Imagine dating Malfoy.
I grin. Oh, wait. I am dating Malfoy. At least, we have one date… ish. Yeah, that's it. A date-ish. What a great way of putting it, Harry.
But, Merlin, what are we going to do? Say he actually goes through with it, what will we do there? On my ranch? Christ, what was I thinking? Why didn't I ask him to dinner, or to coffee? This is so embarrassing.
My overthinking is distracting me from how good Malfoy looks riding Mara. He's still nervous and it's obvious he'd rather be standing on his own two feet, but at the same time he's not breaking eye contact with the camera and keeping a firm hold on Mara's back. In other words, like a badass.
I'm still flushed from when I touched Malfoy. I can't believe I did that. I seriously overstepped. And in front of the entire crew! But no matter how embarrassing that was, I don't regret it at all. Malfoy's skin is just as soft as it looks, maybe even more than. And I know I already touched him earlier when I grabbed his wrist, but this is so much different. It was so much more… intimate. I've never touched another bloke's arse before.
Merlin, what did Malfoy think of that? He couldn't have hated it, right? I know I wasn't imagining his blush, or the way his eyes flicked down to my crotch right after. I don't know why, when it started, or how, but there's something between us.
A small smile forms on my mouth. I have a date with Malfoy, and nothing can take that away from me.
And, Merlin, not to mention the fact that I touched him. My thoughts are repeating, but I couldn't care less. I, Harry James Potter, grabbed Draco Malfoy's arse and didn't get hexed or slapped. I know without a doubt Malfoy would turn around and slap the life out of anybody if they dared grope him like that, but he blushed. And it was bloody adorable.
Savannah tries to call off the cameras, but Melissa beats her to it. "Okay, I think that's good. Good job, everybody."
The cameramen step away from their tripods and cameras, and Cho slouches and loses the smile. Malfoy shifts on Mara, but doesn't actually try to get off. Then he really surprises me.
"Potter, can you help me off?" Malfoy asks me, with direct eye contact and a tinge of sheepish blush.
"Oh." I flush and hurry over. "Yeah, of course."
I hesitate on where to put my hands, because as much as I want to touch him again, I don't want to invade his privacy. I settle on planting my hands just above his hips, and I hold them tightly while I try to lift him off of Mara. Malfoy keeps his hands where Mara's neck meets her back and slowly unstraddles Mara, sliding off her back as I continue to keep a firm grip on him. If anybody's watching, they'd see me trying to look away from Malfoy.
As Malfoy's feet touch the ground, I risk glancing at his face. He's not looking at me, but his cheeks are pink with embarrassment and he's biting his lip with an emotion I can't quite put my finger on. Self-consciousness?
Then Melissa claps her hands together, startling both Malfoy and me. "Okay, everybody. We're closing very, very soon, so you've all got to get going. If you have any questions, feel free to owl me or email my work account. Your paychecks will come by owl. I'll need Rico, Victor, and Benjamin back here tomorrow at eight A.M. for editing. Have a good night!" She waves at us all, then Apparates out of the studio.
A couple more workers Apparate out of here, but most of us came by car. The makeup witches pack up their equipment. The cameramen disassemble their tripods. Malfoy heads back to the dressing room, and I allow myself to mentally say goodbye to his biker shorts. God, he really does look irresistible in them.
I walk over to Mara and stroke her muzzle. "Long day, huh?" She shuts her eyes and grunts softly. One of the makeup women almost bumps into Mara, but her coworker catches her. I guess I'm not the only one here who's seen death.
The one who caught her friend - I think her name's Jill - there's something strangely familiar about her. I've definitely seen her face before….
Oh my God. "Justin?"
Jill freezes in her tracks. The other makeup woman looks at her in confusion, but Jill waves her off. She looks around before stepping closer to me. "What is it?" Her voice is so different.
I squint at her. "Are-are you Justin Finch-Fletchley?"
Jill runs her hand through her long brown hair. "I'd prefer if you called me Jill," she said tightly, but her eyes screamed terror as she glanced at the cameramen.
"O-of course," I stammer, holding my hands up. I would never, ever… do anything like that. I need her to know that. "I'm so sorry."
Jill is quiet for a bit. "So…" she starts. "Funny running into you here."
Jill was never my biggest fan. She was entirely convinced I was Slytherin's heir. Then she ran off just when Voldemort started gaining power, and never really gave me a chance to explain things to her. Not that I blame her - I'm glad she managed to stay safe. It was a smart move, and a lot of our classmates should've done the same. I've never really wondered where she went or what she did there, but I suppose now I have the answer: surgery.
I haven't fancied a girl in a long time, but under other circumstances, I might have fancied Jill. She is really beautiful, and if I hadn't known Justin, I never would have guessed she's a biological man. That's one thing I don't understand about transphobes, how they always say you can tell a trans person from a cis person. Because you really can't, and that's the beauty of it.
"Yeah," I answer finally. "I didn't know you worked here. I didn't even know you still lived in England."
"I don't," she replies nervously, twisting a lock of her hair while staring above my left shoulder rather than in my eyes. I hate that she's scared. "I Apparate to work."
"Oh." How can I let her know I'm not like that? "Hey," I say seriously. "I'm not freaked out, or disgusted, or anything. It's okay. I'm not going to do or say anything. And nobody else will, either," I add, gesturing at the cameramen. They're not even paying attention to us, but I figured I should make it clear that I would defend her.
Jill nods and blinks really fast, and I can tell she appreciates it. She hugs herself tightly. "Okay. Yeah. Thanks."
I nod, and we're both quiet for a bit. "So, how have you been? Since school?" I ask, and she finally makes eye contact with me.
"Oh, um. Fine. How about you? Did you, uh, get to graduate?" It's a bit less tense between us.
I smile in relief. "Yeah, I ac-"
"Potter!"
I turn around to find Malfoy exiting the dressing room. He's biting his lip, and he looks really, really… nervous?
I face Jill again. "I've got to go. But maybe I'll see you around?"
Jill smirks at me. "Nice try, Harry, but I'm a lesbian."
I flush. "No, no, it's not like that-"
Jill bursts out laughing. "I was joking! Besides, you've got Mr. Malfoy over there. Have a good night, Harry."
I smile at her, and she Apparates out of here. I turn around just as Malfoy takes the final few steps towards me. "Who was that?" he asks.
I decide not to out Jill. "Oh, that was Jill. I think she did your makeup."
"No." Malfoy shifts uncomfortably. "That was Olivia and Lucille."
We're quiet for a while, with Malfoy staring at the ground while I frown in confusion and try to get him to look at me. Suddenly, he does, tilting his head back up and looking at me with those pretty silver eyes. Everybody's gone home. It's just us in the studio.
"I've got to tell you something, Potter."