Unless they were putting on a muggle front, Draco found no wizards or witches in the Smallville area. On the one hand, that was a good thing, since he didn't have to worry about where the Americans' loyalties lay when it came to the war overseas. On the other hand, it isolated Draco from all things normal. The trade-off was Lex, however, and Draco didn't mind that at all.

Draco grew more enamoured of Lex as the month wore on. Although Draco had started out wanting to stay for the sex, they couldn't actually spend all of their time in bed, sadly, and that left hours to kill during the day. Lex wasn't one to be still, or to be quiet, and the days passed with lively conversation, sharing exploits of boarding school, commenting on fashion, and listening as Lex spouted some historical anecdote about any topic or complain about work.

Draco couldn't keep his hands, or lips, off Lex, either, which was both enjoyable and disconcerting. It wasn't as if he tried to stop touching Lex and found that he couldn't; it was that he wasn't usually so physically intimate with a person outside of the bedroom. Just touching Lex casually made him tingle pleasantly, the sexual aspect fading into a contented hum under his skin. It also made the ache from his dark mark vanish when Lord Voldemort activated it. He suspected some sort of magic at work. He didn't know what kind, though, as Lex was a muggle, and he had no one currently available to ask. He'd be worried if it didn't feel so right (and the spells he'd cast detected no dark magic between them).

Draco let his concerns go and chose to enjoy however many days he had with Lex. He'd get an international gull post eventually, telling him to return to Britain, or Lex might tire of him and send him on his way. Neither prospect was very favorable and he'd shoved away the pang of loss those thoughts created in exchange for the pleasure he felt every time Lex smiled.

The click of fencing foils drew Draco to Lex's office. Lex fenced with his instructor twice a week in various rooms in the manor, but today wasn't the normal day. Draco had left Lex alone earlier so Lex could get some work completed. Despite being wealthy, Lex was employed operating a factory in town.

"Look at your moves, Lex. They're rash; no thought to their consequences." An unknown male's voice drifted through the open doorway into the hall.

"If I wanted a running commentary, I'd buy one of your books on tape," Lex replied, sounding a trifle winded.

The other man chuckled. "You know what your problem is?"

"Enlighten me."

"You're ruled by your emotions. You always have been." Draco paused at the threshold to the office, as he witnessed Lex being disarmed. The taller man dressed in whites, with a mane of greasy hair that reminded Draco of Severus Snape, pressed the tip of his epee to Lex's throat. "And that can be a fatal flaw."

Draco's wand dropped into his hand with a twitch of his wrist. "Stupefy."

Red spell-light shot from the wand end and struck the man in the back. The man's legs buckled and he collapsed onto the floor. The epee clattered to the ground beside him.

Lex's startled gaze located Draco in the doorway. "What did you do?"

"Knocked him unconscious," Draco said, stepping over the prone man to reach Lex. With his free hand, he touched Lex's throat. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. I can't say the same for my father." Lex looked down at the man on the floor. "Will he be okay?"

"He will be, if you give me satisfactory explanation as to why he had a sharp point against your unprotected throat."

Lex's mouth pulled up in one corner. "You sound worried."

"Of course I was worried, you twit," Draco said. "I find it distressing when someone aims a deadly object at my lover."

"He wouldn't have hurt me." Lex frowned and looked at his father again. "I don't think."

"That's reassuring," Draco said acerbically.

"He's my father, Draco."

"Yes, well, our parents have a way of hurting us the worst when we least expect."

Lex studied Draco. "There's a story in that statement."

"My mother left without a word or thought to me after my father died, leaving me to deal with everything on my own, including the press, Ministry Aurors, barristers, and financiers, when I had no experience handling any of them and I was still coming to grips with having seen my father killed in front of my eyes." Draco's mouth compressed into a thin line from the memories. He was still furious with his mother for leaving him unprepared and alone at seventeen. The Ministry had run roughshod over him and he'd lost a lot of valuable items that had been in the Malfoy family for generations before they'd finally let him be.

"I'm sorry," Lex said quietly.

"Forget it. It's not your concern." Draco winced inwardly at the flash of hurt he saw on Lex's face. "I meant, it's long past and while your sympathy is appreciated, it's unnecessary."

Lex shrugged as if he didn't care and looked down at his father once more. "What are we going to do with him?"

"I'll revive him and put him under confundus, and you can tell him he slipped on your foil." Draco walked away from Lex, giving them both a moment's respite, and retrieved Lex's fencing epee. "He should accept the explanation and be none the worse for wear."

"Okay." Lex crouched and rolled his father onto his back, into a more natural falling position. "Do you want me to introduce you two?"

"No." Draco returned with the epee and positioned it near the unconscious man's feet. "It's best I remain unseen so he does not suspect any involvement by me."

"He doesn't believe in magic," Lex said.

"But he could believe that I smacked him on the head with a billiard ball," Draco pointed out. "Besides, I would like to meet him on a more appropriate basis, when I ask his permission to court you formally."

Lex blinked wide eyes at him. "Court me?"

Draco didn't know where that had come from, but now that he'd said it… "It's what a proper wizard does when he fancies someone."

"Doesn't courting imply a goal of a more permanent relationship?" Lex said slowly.

"Do you mind?" Draco said, and found himself holding his breath waiting for the reply.

A flush stole across Lex's cheeks. He swallowed visibly and lowered his eyes. "No, I— no. I don't mind."

Utter joy and fierce possessiveness surged through Draco. He stepped over the unconscious man, grabbed Lex by his fencing whites, hoisted him to his feet, and into a plundering kiss.

Lex moaned and leaned into Draco. His hands wrapped around Draco's waist and clutched the back of his shirt. The fencing padding was too thick and Lex smelled rather ripe. Draco banished both with a couple words and a wave of his wand. "Velemin abegi. Scourgify."

With a really adorable squeak that did funny things to Draco, Lex covered his groin with his hands. "Draco, my father is on the floor."

"He's unconscious." Draco licked Lex's shoulder.

Lex sidestepped with a half-aroused glare. "I am not having sex in front of my Dad."

"Very well." Draco pointed his wand at Lex and pictured a cute white mouse.

A moment later, Draco accio'd Lexmouse into his hand, tucked him into a shirt pocket, and apparated to the bedroom. Putting Lexmouse in the center of the bed, Draco transfigured him back to normal.

But normal Lex was as pale as a ghost and wheezing. Panic and fear reflected in his huge eyes. "What did you just do to me?"

"Made you portable," Draco said, becoming concerned. He set his wand on the night table and climbed onto the bed. "You can't apparate with people, because there's a chance you'll get splinched together."

"Don't ever do that again," Lex said between wheezes, his hand clutched against his heaving chest.

Draco reached for him. "Lex—"

Lex flinched. Draco dropped his hand.

They sat in silence, save for Lex's breathing, which finally got under control. Draco didn't know what he did wrong, but whatever it was, he vowed not to repeat it.

"Fuck," Lex said suddenly and ran his hand over his bare scalp. "You turned me into a mouse."

"It's the animal I know how to transfigure best." Draco adjusted the cuff of his sleeve. "Turning you back to human is relatively easy for me, as well. It's a matter of undoing the original transfiguration, reversing the process, rather than transfiguring a mouse into a human."

"And you do this with magic."

Draco glanced up at Lex's awed tone. He cocked his head. "Well, yes. I am a wizard. Transfiguration is a skill we learned in school."

"I know you're a wizard. I mean, I believed you when you told me, and I've seen you do some neat stuff, but…" Lex shook his head slowly, as if he were dumbfounded. "You're a wizard."

"Er, yeah." Draco reached out to touch Lex again and hesitated. "You are all right, aren't you? I didn't screw up?"

Lex laughed in a childish manner. "No, I'm fine. It's just… magic! It really exists."

"Mn, yes. Has forever. Wizards and witches came first, but not everyone had equal powers. Those with little to no magic felt ostracized and bitter since they couldn't do what was natural and formed their own communities, which muggles, or non-magic folk, eventually descended from, if I'm recalling my History of Magic lessons correctly. As I told you, I didn't pay much attention in class."

"Why doesn't everyone know about wizards and magic, if you've been around so long?" Lex asked, with an eagerly curious look. "We hear about you in myths, legends, and stories, but it's all supposedly fiction."

Draco knew Lex soaked up information like a sponge and nothing was trivial to him. It endeared him to Draco even more. "Muggle religion happened. With the split in the communities, after a while, people forgot their roots. Things that occurred magically became known as religious miracles or evil curses, depending on what had happened. Religious leaders began persecuting those suspected of 'casting evil' and the wizarding world was forced go into hiding. Laws upon laws were drawn up to keep us safe from the stakes and gallows."

"That's understandable," Lex said.

"But not easy to comply with," Draco said. "As muggles are descendants from wizards and witches, muggle babies are occasionally born with magical powers. This creates a danger to the wizarding world, because we can't just leave the child in the hands of the muggles, who like to do heinous things in the name of security and science, when it's really fear. The wizarding world used to steal magical babies and place them in proper pureblood families or wizard orphanages, so they grew up safe and in the world they belonged to.

"Then, some ruddy bleeding hearts decided it was wrong to take children away from their natural parents, and soon muggles were being integrated into the wizarding world along with their children. Because of this travesty, it wouldn't take much, a wrong word in the wrong ear, and the whole wizarding population could be exposed and annihilated."

"You sound like you support segregation," Lex said.

"I do. There's a war going on in the UK and in Europe which revolves around this very issue. Unfortunately, the side I wanted to support is being lead by a complete nutter who tortures his own followers and kills those who got caught following his orders, received no assistance, and managed to escape from prison by himself and return faithfully to his Lord. And then his Lord laughs in his face, calls him useless, and casts avada kedavra on him in front of all the assembled Death Eaters, including his son, who had to witness his father die for no reason—"

Draco's voice broke and he pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes. "Bugger," he muttered, fighting the sting of tears. More than four years had passed, and it still hurt to think of Lucius Malfoy's undignified and undeserving death.

Lex shifted on the bed and rubbed Draco's back. He didn't say anything, for which Draco was grateful.

Draco composed himself and smirked weakly at Lex. "I suppose you can figure out what happened next."

Lex continued rubbing soothingly. "You can't follow someone who kills your family."

"Right you are, mate." Draco traced his finger over the rough curve of Lex's bent knee. "I wanted to bring the Dark Lord down, horribly, but I am intelligent enough to know I couldn't do it on my own. So, I met with someone I knew I could trust on the other side and thus began my illustrious career as a spy and saboteur, and how I ended up meeting you at that muggle pub in London."

"It seems as though you would have met me, anyway, but I would've been a spell away from dying."

Draco's chest tightened. "You almost were. I've killed plenty of people, muggle and wizard alike, in that war, and it didn't matter to me, so long as I would get my revenge in the end. If you had still been standing, if I hadn't fallen for you when I looked into your eyes…"

Lex cupped Draco's chin, turned his head, and brushed a kiss against his lips. Lex smiled crookedly, a little shyly. "I'm glad it instead ended up the way it did."

"Me, too," Draco said quietly, and leaned in for another kiss. He closed his eyes, and both apologized and thanked his father for giving him Lex.

-tbc