Title: A Torturous Reminder
Chapter 3: Embracing Truths
Rating: M
Warnings: H/D SLASH, HBP SPOILERS
DISCLAIMER: We do not own Harry Potter! Characters (except those created by us) belong to the amazingly talented J.K. Rowling, WB, and the publishing companies. Don't sue us! We are just bored teenagers having a go at poor Harry and Draco!
Draco Malfoy, out of all people, was in the same room he was! To say he was shocked was an understatement. What the hell was he doing here! Although Draco had given his help to the 'light' side when things began to get desperate, Harry could never figure out why Draco had helped. After all, it was popular knowledge that Draco worshipped the ground his father walked on, and his arrogant, pompous attitude gave him no help in being seeing as 'good' at all. On the contrary, many wizards were still skeptical about Draco actually turning good; well, as good as a death eater's son could get.
After the war, no one had heard, not even a whisper, on the whereabouts of Draco. Some thought he was dead, others thought that he had sunk into the Dark Arts, but Harry never gave it any thought. Malfoy could have joined the Peace Corps for all he cared. Malfoy was Malfoy.
Harry turned his attention back to Mr. Bradford as he began speaking.
"Harry, here, was our first choice to deal with this situation of escaped death eaters as soon as we heard about it. With his extensive background of dealing with the Dark Arts, he is the best candidate for the job. You, Harry," he said turning to him, "have the task to gather clues and solve the mystery of where the death eaters reside at. Currently, they are here in New York City, but they have been very elusive. We must catch them here before they leave the city, or worse, cause damage. If they do happen to leave the town, though, then you will have to follow them wherever they go until they are captured. I know this might take awhile, and it is a hard job for one person, so another auror will go with you. Luckily for us, Draco Malfoy volunteered once he heard that the death eaters had been sighted. He's as anxious as you are to see them locked up once and for all," Mr. Bradford concluded in a serious manner.
Harry turned around to see Draco, but Draco remained expressionless.
"Wait a minute Mr. Bradford, why can't I go with Harry! I was the one that spotted them!" said Alex, rising from his seat in anger.
"Draco knows how to deal with the Dark Arts better than you, Alex. He is better qualified for this kind of job," said Mr. Bradford, coldly looking at Alex.
"That's bullshit! I know as much as he does! You can-"
"You'll never know as much as I do about this, or have you forgotten that Lucius is my father?" Draco spoke, interrupting Alex and catching everyone's attention with his cold, indifferent tone. "I'm the one who's going to go after the death eaters and I'm the one who's going to help Potter," he said, smirking at Alex, his eyes a void of emotion.
"Don't you interrupt me while I'm speaking!"
"I can interrupt whomever I please," concluded Draco, glaring at Alex.
Harry looked from one to the other; Alex was shaking with fury, while Draco looked at him calmly.
"Mr. Bradford is right, Alex," Harry said, grabbing a hold of Alex and making him sit down. "Malfoy is better qualified for the job, or at least this kind of assignment," he said as Alex stared at him dumbstruck with what Harry was saying. Harry too, was surprised at his own words, never imagining that he would have ever said anything like this in his life about Draco.
"You mean you're siding with him!" asked Alex, not believing the situation.
"No one is siding with anyone, Mr. Bloom, please calm yourself," said Mr. Bradford in his usual monotone voice.
Alex cast Draco a dark look before changing his glance towards Mr. Bradford.
"Well, now that you all have been informed, the meeting is adjourned. Draco, in my office please, I have information to give you. Alex, show Harry around the office. As for you, Harry, I want you to report to me tomorrow morning, and do not be late. All the information that will be given to Draco will have to be given to you too."
Mr. Bradford walked out of the room and several others followed behind, Alex among them, still mad at both Harry and Draco.
Harry turned his gaze around and stared directly into Malfoy's eyes that were gazing at him indifferently. He got up as Malfoy did too and noticed Malfoy had grown taller and slimmer since the last time they had met. They were now the same height and Draco looked built underneath his robe. His hair cascaded gracefully down to his chin in layers, the shortest strands falling before his eyes. It was parted in the middle, and his hair was the same silver-blonde color it had always been.
"Like what you see, Potter?" drawled Draco with a small smile on his face.
"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" asked Harry, growing conscious of the amount of time he had spent staring at Draco and beginning to blush. 'Damn it, I'm blushing,' he thought, trying to fix his eyes on anything but Draco as he tried to leave the room.
Draco stood to the side, smirking as Harry passed by. 'Great, now I have to deal with his melodramatic self,' he thought. He walked out after Harry had left the room, wondering if Alex stood outside waiting for 'precious Potter'.
Alex stood outside as Harry came out, "What were you doing in there?" Alex asked, scowling at Malfoy as he passed by.
"In there?" asked Harry, almost laughing at the jealousy in Alex's voice, "just reminiscing about old times. So are we going to go and see the rest of the ministry?" asked Harry, trying to change the topic.
"Sure," said Alex, smiling again.
They both walked through the ministry as Alex showed Harry whose office was where, where each department was, and even telling Harry a bit about the history of the ministry in America and how it came to be.
"Don't think Puritans and Quakers were the only ones migrating. Soon we had a whole population of wizards and witches in the old New England, and they were beginning to get out of hand. You know, muggles sprouting new heads, getting cursed day in and out, so the British ministry sent several ministry leaders to set up a system on this side of the world. Once America broke from England, though, we broke off ties with the British ministry also," said Alex as they continued walking through the many brightly lit hallways.
"And here we have the cafeteria, but the food is really crappy, and so ends our grand tour," said Alex, grinning, "Would you like to go out and get some lunch?"
"Uh… sure," said Harry, trying to process all the information Alex had given him in that short amount of time.
They both walked out of the ministry and Alex called a cab.
"You're going to love this place, the food is delicious, scrumptious…" said Alex dreamily while ushering Harry into a cab.
After giving the cab driver directions, Alex settled into the backseat next to Harry.
"If I ask you a question, will you answer truthfully?" asked Alex, and even before Harry could give an answer, asked him. "Do you feel something for Malfoy?"
"The urge to punch him in the face, yes."
"No, you know what I mean Harry."
"No!" said Harry, scandalized. "What are you talking about? Malfoy! AND ME! Never!" he said, making his point across to Alex with wild hand gestures.
Alex beamed radiantly and, noticing that they had arrived at the restaurant, paid the driver and got out of the cab, Harry in tow.
For the rest of the lunch hour, Alex just talked on and on about his dealings with the ministry and some cases he had solved. It almost made Harry like saying 'Yes' to Alex's earlier question about Draco and himself. 'At least he wouldn't be talking this much…' thought Harry.
"Do we need to go back?" asked Harry after their lunch was done, "to the ministry?"
"No. I asked if we could have the day of so you can get settled in a bit better. We're going to the supermarket now and then back to your apartment to make sure you don't need anything else," Alex said, paying the waitress that had come by and standing up, ready to leave.
"Great" said Harry tiredly, following Alex at a slow pace.
"Come on, it's not far from here," said Alex, grabbing Harry by the arm and pulling him forward.
They got to the supermarket and ended up spending two hours there, with Alex continuously throwing things into the cart.
"I don't like that brand though," Harry said as Alex grabbed three boxes of cereal.
"Eh, it's for me, not you," said Alex with a careless wave.
"For you! I thought we were only doing my shopping," Harry said, getting annoyed.
"What if I came over early in the morning and needed breakfast?" asked Alex.
"But you're almost right next door," Harry said, almost fuming. Was Alex planning on staying with him most of the time!
Alex sighed. "That would be just wasting time!" he said, sticking the boxes once and for all into the cart.
Twenty minutes later, after dragging Alex away from the scented spray section (he was spraying every person that passed by with a different scent, trying to see which one smelled better), they were finally done and going back to the apartment with a taxi full of groceries.
Harry and Alex loaded their arms with groceries (after placing a light weight charm on them) and made towards the elevator. Alex pressed the number '7', cautiously balancing all the bags he had in his arms.
Harry was the first one out of the elevator; he got to his door and dropped some of the bags on the floor, frantically looking for his key.
"Hey Harry, do you need any help putting the groceries away?" asked Alex, practically bouncing up and down.
"No, Alex, it's OK" replied Harry, not wanting to spend the entire day unpacking groceries with Alex. He hadn't done anything to receive such torture.
"Fine. Then I guess I'll see you later," said Alex, putting the bags on the floor and heading to his apartment, disappointed that he couldn't be with Harry.
Harry finally opened the door and went in.
"Great God, finally I can be by myself." He was happy for a moment, but then noticed all the bags of groceries. With a groan he began bringing in the grocery bags and then noticed he still had his suitcase to unpack. Sighing, he went straight to work.
He finished three hours later, at five. Tired and drowsy, he flopped down onto his bed and went to sleep.
Four hours later, Harry was still in deep slumber when Alex popped in unexpectedly. He walked in to see Harry sleeping – fully clothed.
'Fuck, just my luck! Whatever happened to sleeping practically naked!' Alex made a sudden start when Harry began stirring.
Harry, feeling something wrong, sprang wide awake, and with his quick reflexes had gotten his wand and raised it at the intruder.
"Whoa, it's just me Harry! Put that blasted thing away!" said Alex, eyeing the wand warily.
"What are you doing in my room again? Don't you have the decency to knock!" asked Harry, very annoyed of being walked upon when sleeping.
"I did knock, but you wouldn't open the door!" Alex lied smoothly. "What if something had happened to you? Fall in the shower and hit your head! What then!"
Harry just rolled his eyes and stared moodily at Alex. "I bet that's not the only reason you'd give to be in my shower," mumbled Harry angrily.
"What?" asked Alex, looking at Harry as he slowly got out of bed.
"I'm wondering what you're doing here!" said Harry, now annoyed and wanting to know why Alex was in his room in the first place.
"I was wondering if you'd like to go and get a drink with me."
"A drink? Oh, Alex, I'm very tired…"
"Nonsense! Come on! Don't be a bum and get up. I guarantee you will have fun," said Alex, his eyes glinting mischievously.
Harry sighed and reluctantly agreed. "Fine, I'll go, but only for awhile," he said, stretching himself out and then heading towards the door.
"Don't tell me you're going to go like that!" said Alex, appalled at such clothes.
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" asked Harry edgily, turning to Alex.
He then noticed how Alex was dressed. He was not wearing regular street clothes. Instead, he was wearing skin-tight black pants and a very tight, un-tucked, scarlet button down shirt that did some justice to his hair. He couldn't help and stare at Alex's great body and cursed himself when he felt a blush creeping to his face.
Alex smirked in response, well aware of the attraction that Harry was feeling for him at the moment. It was a matter of a few days until Harry would finally open up to him. Tonight was just step one.
"Well, what do you suggest I wear then!" asked Harry, slightly irritated.
"Come on, Harry, were going to my apartment," said Alex, grabbing his hand.
"Wait! Why are we going there?" asked Harry a bit nervously.
"I have the perfect outfit for you!" said Alex, obviously enjoying himself with this new task at hand.
Before Harry knew it, he found himself in Alex's apartment, being closely scrutinized by his 'Friend'.
"Here Harry, take these pants," said Alex, throwing a pair of pants to Harry.
"What! I'm not wearing this shit, your crazy! There is no way I'm wearing leather pants! That's the gayest thing ever!"
"Harry… you are gay."
"That's not the point!" said Harry, throwing the pants on the bed.
"Harrrryyy! Those are fine Italian leather pants…" whined Alex, shocked at the treatment his pants were getting.
Harry paid no attention and went to the closet, randomly picking out a faded t-shirt.
"No, not that! Here, I'll pick a shirt for you; I guess you can go with those jeans."
Alex proceeded to his closet and took out a dark blue button down shirt, and handed it to Harry.
Harry grabbed the shirt from Alex, and just wanting to get this 'dress up' over with, took off his shirt and put on the shirt given to him.
Alex's eyes went wide with shock at Harry's action, not that he was complaining. He was given a perfect view of Harry's golden, toned chest, and unconsciously began to draw nearer, his eyes viewing Harry's chest lustily.
"This shirt is way too tight…," said Harry, completely oblivious to Alex drawing nearer until he was standing right in front of him. "Hey, what are you doing…?" Harry asked Alex, stepping back.
Alex, completely entranced with Harry, raised his hands up to the buttons Harry had been struggling with and began to button them up, which gave him an excuse to touch Harry's smooth chest.
Harry's breath hitched as he felt Alex's hands on his chest. He wanted to push him away but was unable to take Alex's hands off him. The soft touches had him glued to his spot, enjoying the moment.
"There, all done" said Alex hoarsely, and standing back to admire his handy-work. To him, Harry looked very hot, eye candy to anyone that would see him. His hair made him look even sexier, having that tousled "I-just-got-shagged" look. 'I wish it wasn't just a look…' thought Alex.
"Well, you're set. Let's go have some fun," said Alex, winking at Harry while trying to regain his composure.
Harry just shook his head and followed Alex out the door, turning the events that had just occurred in his head. 'I can't like Alex… he's too… flamboyant... for my tastes… yet there's something seducing about him, something that attracts me… but I can't,' he thought as a picture of Oliver entered his mind. He shook his head to get rid of the thoughts and continued following Alex.
They both walked down to the elevator and into the lobby. The incident had left Harry thinking, although he did wish Alex would stop staring at him.
They walked to the bar since it was close by. When they got there, Harry noticed that it wasn't a cheap bar, but rather a sophisticated place, where the wealthy, young men apparently hung out at.
Harry walked himself to the bar and sat down on a stool, ordering vodka from the bartender.
After he received his drink he began drinking, with Alex right there next to him telling him a bit about the bar, when someone began calling Alex's name, trying to grab his attention.
"Alex, I think someone's trying to call you," said Harry, hoping for a few minutes of silence.
"What…?" asked Alex, turning around and staring at a booth where a young man of about twenty five was sitting at.
"Hey, Alex, come over here," the young man said, waving from one of the booths across the room.
"Damn. Sorry to leave you alone, but I'll be right back, "Alex said to Harry, standing up hastily and going over to his friend.
'I wonder who that is?' thought Harry, a feeling stirring in his chest. He unconsciously started ordering more and more drinks as the minutes passed by and Alex still had not returned.
He didn't notice a young man with silvery-blonde hair and silver eyes, which could only belong to someone he knew, sit next to him.
"Well, Potter, I never would have guessed you'd turn out to be an alcoholic. I guess you do learn something new every day, and learning something from you, Potter, is quite a shock, being as shallow as you are," said Draco, eyeing the glasses spread out all over Harry's place in the bar.
Harry felt as if someone had dumped ice-cold water on him. It couldn't be him, could it? Yes, it was Malfoy, sitting there smirking at him and his habits.
"What's it to you?" he said drowsily.
"Well, I don't want to work with drunks," Draco said, ordering a drink for himself.
"Fuck off, Malfoy. Leave me alone. You don't like drunks, fine. See if I care," Harry said, downing another drink.
"Aw, come on Potter, tell me what's wrong," said Malfoy sarcastically, sipping on his drink.
"I don't need you trying to psychoanalyze me; you'll probably do more harm than good," Harry said standing up from his stool and glaring at Draco.
Draco looked at Harry and smirked, wolf whistling at him.
"Wow Potter, I didn't know you owned clothes like that. I'm starting to wonder about your night life now, who knows what you do…"
'Wonder-boy actually looks good…'Draco thought, rummaging Harry's body with his eyes. As soon as he realized what he was doing, he tried to snap out of his thoughts and turned his attention back to dealing with Harry.
Harry began to blush, and uttered no response, busily cursing the blush that always rose to his face at the most inopportune moments.
"So, who are you with?" asked Draco uninterestedly, when Alex suddenly appeared.
"He's with me," said Alex, glaring at Draco.
"Bloom, I thought you went to the other bar," said Draco, smirking knowingly at Alex.
"Just go and leave Harry alone," said Alex, standing next to Harry.
Harry looked from Alex's fuming face to Draco's indifferent one, wondering what was going on.
"I think I'm privileged to talk with Potter, Bloom. After all, I am his partner, or have you forgotten?" said Draco, rubbing it in.
"No, I haven't forgotten," said Alex hotly, "but maybe Harry doesn't want to talk to you."
"Maybe he doesn't want to talk to you," Draco said before getting up and walking to Harry.
"I'll see you around, Harry," Draco said mischievously in Harry's ear, ticking of Alex, and left to a booth, grinning at his victory.
Alex cursed him under his breath as he led a swaying Harry across the room.
"Harry, are you OK?" Alex asked concerned.
Harry was still thinking about Draco though. When he looked up, Harry noticed Draco right across from him, at a perfect view. Draco was dressed in a slightly loose button up black shirt, pulled up at the sleeves, and a pair of black, loose fighting trousers, which Harry noticed fitted his appearance perfectly. He was now leaning against a table, one hand gracefully holding his drink while his other hand lay on the table. His body bent sensually over the table as he talked to the occupants and Harry noticed, once again, Draco's hair, falling before his eyes and perfectly placed, moving with his every move. A cold shiver had run up his spine when Malfoy had whispered those words to him, but he had immediately suppressed it. After all, it was Malfoy. How could he ever think about liking HIM!
"Are you OK?" Alex asked again, snapping Harry back to reality.
"Huh…yes," said Harry, his voice slurred.
"You've had too many drinks," said Alex and Harry agreed. He was starting to find Draco attractive!
Alex let go of Harry to sit himself down when suddenly, Harry was on the floor. He had fallen out of the stool with many thanks to be given to his drunken stupor.
"Harry! Harry!" said Alex, shaking him until he finally opened his eyes.
At the corner of the bar, Draco noticed Harry falling to the floor, and without thinking, began making his way towards Harry in long strides.
Harry woke up and saw lights which dazzled him, and a face about him. "Oliver," he said, leaning in for a warm kiss that he needed so much.
Alex was stunned at Harry's action, as well as Draco, who had stopped in his tracks, and directly looked at the pair, focusing his gaze on Harry.
'He opened up faster than I thought he would," Alex thought, too focused on the kiss to remember Harry had uttered an entirely different name.
After a few seconds into the kiss, Harry's senses slowly began to awake again. 'This doesn't feel like Oliver,' he thought. The kiss he was now being given was too hard. Two lips were being pressed almost passionately against his, unlike Oliver's kiss which was usually gentle and soft.
His eyes sprang open. This wasn't Oliver…this was someone else! He tried to pry away, but two strong hands were holding him down and a body was almost entirely over him, making his attempts futile.
"Get off of him Bloom, cant you see he's trying to breath!" said a bitter voice from Harry's left.
Alex pulled his lips away from Harry's and noticed an infuriated blonde standing next to them.
"For your information, Harry was the one who kissed me," said Alex in a low voice, standing up and facing Draco.
"Great, now you're deaf? He said someone else's name, and unless you're Oliver in disguise, then I'm pretty sure it wasn't you."
Harry looked up to see Alex and Malfoy arguing. His head was throbbing as he tried to slowly stand up, grabbing on to the stools and the bar for support. A crowd had formed around the three, and looked on in interest at what was happening.
Harry turned around to look at the multitude and began telling them to go away. He muttered a string of curse words, his head pounding, and slowly the crowd began to disperse. Harry was once again conscious and the argument between Alex and Draco had stopped, leaving them nothing to be interested in at this sight.
Alex turned around in surprise once he heard Harry's voice. "Harry!" he said, going over to help him, but Harry shrugged him off.
"You've helped enough for one day," Harry said violently.
"But…I…didn't know…how was I supposed to know," began Alex, defending himself.
"I don't want your explanations," said Harry vehemently, his words a bit slurred but otherwise perfectly clear.
"But Harry…" said Alex, putting his hands on Harry's arms, but Harry pulled away.
"I don't want you touching me!" yelled Harry, turning around and beginning to walk out of the bar.
Once he let go of the bar, though, he began stumbling as he walked.
"You're never going to get home like that, Potter, and I don't want my partner dying because he was drunk. I'd prefer you live and act as my human shield. After all, we must protect my pretty face," said Draco, going over to Harry and helping him steady himself.
"Fuck off, Malfoy," said Harry, though not pushing him away. Instead, he leaned in towards Draco, putting most of his weight on him.
"I guess I'm taking you home then, Potter. You owe me for this gracious act of kindness I'm bestowing on you," said Draco, half-carrying Harry out of the bar and into the night.
Behind them, Alex stared on, hurt and bewildered, but also seething with a growing hatred towards Draco. He turned around and walked back to the booth with the young man he had been talking to earlier, his hatred towards Draco growing, but still leaving him with a clear mind. 'I guess I should stop being so 'on top of' Harry,' he thought as he sat with the other young man who was definitely being 'on top of' him.
Draco and Harry, meanwhile, stumbled along the sidewalk, Draco holding Harry tightly to him and Harry with his face in the crook of Draco's neck, looking like lovers to the passerby's.
A/N: Awe isn't Draco a sweetie? And Alex a big time jerk! Thank you to all the reviewers so very much! Remember, the more you review, the faster we write, and the faster we write, the faster we update. It's a cycle. So please review!