Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its characters are copyrighted to J. K. Rowling. I do not own the characters in this story.

A/N: Please R&R

CHAPTER FOUR

Draco smirked amusedly as his rival spluttered and looked at him in disbelief.

"You want to live with me?" the Gryffindor exclaimed incredulously.

"Of course not," Draco said smoothly. "But I have nowhere else to stay. And as you've already pointed out, your lodgings are very secure indeed."

Draco was pleased to see the dark-haired boy grimace and give a low growl of disgust. It seemed that annoying his longtime foe would be a pleasant bonus of the new living situation.

"You're lucky I have a spare bedroom, Malfoy" the boy finally replied.

"Atwood."

"Excuse me?"

"Atwood. As a security measure, I decided to change my name. Just in case."

"Atwood Malfoy? That's a stupid name," Potter responded with an infuriating grin at the new moniker.

"That is a stupid name," Draco agreed with a withering glare. "Which is why my name is actually Drake Atwood. Atwood's the last name, Potter."

"Harry," responded the brunette with a smirk of his own.

"Drake," Draco repeatedly firmly. "I'm not going to name myself after you, idiot." Really, what kind of fool was this Potter boy? No common sense at all.

But Harry shook his head and his green eyes glimmered delightedly. Draco got the uneasy feeling that he was missing something.

"You have to call me Harry," the boy explained. "People are going to know we're living in the same apartment when they see my address on your application. We'll have to pretend to be friends. I'll tell everyone you're new in town and staying with me until you get back on your feet."

"You'll do no such thing!" Draco haughtily exclaimed. "Don't you dare imply to my co-workers that I need the help of a half-breed like you to get back on my feet. You give them some other reason for me to be staying with you."

"That's the only reason I can think of," Potter responded innocently. "So it will have to do."

Draco was infuriated. He was supposed to be one-upping Potter with this living situation, not the other way around. Potter was supposed to be annoyed and Draco was absolutely NOT supposed to look like some loser who had to crash with a friend because he couldn't make it on his own.

"Come on, Drake, old pal, I'll introduce you around," the brunette said gaily, leading the way out of his small office.

"Like hell," Draco muttered to himself.

"Everyone, this is my friend Drake Atwood," Potter announced to three scruffy-looking kids, two male and one female, working behind the counter. "He just moved to town and he's going to be working here for a bit while he stays with me."

The three shabby-looking employees gave Draco sympathetic looks. He can't get himself a job or a place to stay, their looks seemed to taunt. He has to rely on the Golden Boy to rescue him from himself.

"Like hell," Draco repeated himself. "Tell them the truth now."

"What truth?" that damnable Potter asked with phony innocence. "You are staying with me."

Draco didn't know what to say to make those idiots stop looking at him like he was a piece of trash. There had to be a damn good reason for him to staying with Potter that had nothing to do with getting a handout for the Gryffindor golden boy. And Draco had better think of that fast.

"Yes but you forgot to tell them why," Draco said, sliding daintily over towards a wary Potter. "You made it seem like I'm sponging off of you or something."

Draco allowed a delicate frown to crease his face. He hoped those kids could read the hurt and mistreatment he was squeezing into his expression.

"Well you-" Harry began, but Draco cut him off by placing one of his fingers over Potter's pursed lips. Draco had a plan, a way to redeem himself in front of these useless kids and to make that idiot Gryffindor exceptionally uncomfortable at the same time. All the plan called for was some exceptional acting on the part of Draco. And that would be no problem for this master of insincerity and deceit.

"We both know that I'm really staying with you because you asked me to," Draco said, slowly removing his finger from Potter's lips and placing his own mouth delicately to the brunette's cheeks. "Sweetie," he added.

"What?!?!" the green-eyed boy was beyond livid. "Don't call me sweetie! What the hell are you playing?! I'm not your boyfriend! Yuck!"

"Oh my goodness!" Draco opened his eyes and clasped a hand over his mouth. He knew the kids were buying his guild and shock.

"Are you telling me you're not out at work yet?" he demanded. "Are you so embarrassed by my gender that you won't admit to loving me?"

Draco crinkled his eyes up and willed the tears to fall. This was a neat little trick his father had taught him. People were so much easier to manipulate when your face was streaked with tears.

"No!" Potter exploded. "I'm not gay! Don't go telling these people a load of nonsense like that!"

Draco pushed the tears out harder and added some sniffling sounds for effect. His audience had extended to include the ten or so patrons in the cafe at the moment. Well, Draco Malfoy would be more than happy to give them all a show.

"Harry, it's okay," the girl employee said softly. "We already know."

"What?" Potter stammered stupidly. "Know what?"

Oh fuck. They know who I am, Draco thought with panic. They must be wizards and that idiot Potter didn't even know it, and now they know I'm here and they're going to turn me over to my father.

The room was clouded with silence. Draco struggled to breath against the desperate beating of his own heart. And he could tell that moronic Gryffindor still had no clue what was going on.

"Know what?" Potter demanded again.

The girl looked nervous. "Harry, you don't need to lie to us about your boyfriend. We already know that you're gay."

The look on Potter's face was so mortified that Draco snorted in laughter.

Harry Potter gay? This was too good.

"See, Sweetie?" he demanded. "They already know you're gay."

"But-"

"No use in denying it now," Draco teased, regaining his composure and silently rebuking himself for ever thinking this scruffy bunch of misfits would have any dealings whatsoever with a powerful wizard like his father.

"They know you're gay," Draco drawled. "And as a homosexual, it makes sense for you to have a boyfriend. And that boyfriend is me."

Potter was too upset to speak. Draco knew he had won. He had convinced his new co-workers that Harry fucking Potter was his boyfriend. And Potter knew better than to deny things further and possibly raise suspicion about what they were hiding.

Yeck. What people must think of Draco that he would stoop so low as to date this Gryffindor trash. Still, he had aggravated Potter while salvaging at least some dignity in the eyes of his co-workers. And now, to finish things off-

"Come on, darling," Draco cooed sweetly while gagging on the inside. "I'll let you make this up to me back at your place," he gave Potter an elaborate wink that no one in the cafe could possibly miss. "And then you can help me unpack, and we'll make it our place."

Potter looked as though he was about to be ill. Good.

Mission: find some small way to ruin Potter's life. Mission status: success.

Smugly, Draco grabbed his "boyfriend's" hand and led him smartly from the store.

"Score for Slytherin," he gleefully whispered.