Disclaimer: Since I've kidnapped the characters, they are now all in my possession! Mwuahahaha! Erm… Ok, ok. Not mine. They are J.K.'s… Don't sue me! I don't have any money…

Thanks a lot to my betas Jamie, Jade and Lildove, and to all of my reviewers: DemonessOfPunishment; Mistal: The Poisoned One; friskiss; SilverDragon161; SexySiriusBlack (congrats on you play! Can I ask for an autograph?); hermoine21; CuriousDreamWeaver; grrrr; curlytop (You'll find out more about Voldemort in future chapters!)

Chap. 12 – Getting To Know You

Draco put some scrambled eggs and a cup of orange juice in front of Harry, but Harry just shook his head and put them aside. Draco frowned. Harry had been doing that all morning. No matter what Draco's question was, Harry's answer was always no. Harry didn't want to jog with him. He didn't want to eat Draco's delicious breakfast. He didn't want to look Draco in the eye. And all of those childish acts were because Draco had told him the truth about last night.

He couldn't understand Harry. Draco was the only one entitled to be upset. After all, it was Draco who had fantasised about Harry when he had promised himself not to do that anymore. But it was Harry who was sulking about what Draco called the pill incident with sarcasm. There wasn't an incident. This was only Harry overreacting.

Harry was accusing him of being a bastard. Draco sniggered. Like he didn't know that already… Why did he have to tell Harry that the pill wasn't the Oblivion pill, but a pill created by Snape?

"Would you stop acting like a child?" Draco said, sitting in front of Harry.

"No," answered Harry dully, staring at his eggs.

Draco scowled. What a lousy way to begin a new day. "Do you want to go fuck yourself then?" he asked coldly.

"N…" Harry looked up to glare at him and Draco could tell exactly what was going through Harry's mind. 'You go fuck yourself, Malfoy. After all, you are the fag here.' But Harry knew better, of course. If he attacked Draco's sexuality, he would have to run around the block naked. "You go fuck yourself, Malfoy," was Harry's only reply.

Draco buried his fingers in his hair. "You are a pain, Potter. Honestly, I've never met anyone as fucking annoying as you! And trust me when I say that I know a lot of annoying people!"

Harry just shrugged.

"Ok! I'm sorry! Is that what you want to hear? I'm sorry that I lied to you about the pill. I'm sorry that I lied to you about sleeping in the same bed with you. You should be glad that I didn't! You should be glad it was all a joke! I mean, why are you sulking about it? We didn't sleep together!" Draco snapped.

"That's the point! It was all a joke!"

Draco smirked, "And you wanted it to be real?"

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm not talking about that!" said Harry, outraged.

Then what was he talking about? Draco was getting really confused. Harry should be relieved that Draco had only joked about sleeping with him, not angry.

"You made fun of me!" Harry exclaimed.

"So?"

"So? I didn't like it!"

Draco bit his lower lip, suppressing a smile. "Merlin! You are so weird. You do realise that my job is to get under your skin, right? I'm not here to be nice to you. I'm here to bug you."

"Then why are you making me breakfast?"

Good point. Draco licked his lips and sighed. "I dunno. But really, Potter, you bug me all the time. You don't see me sulking about it."

"You're so full of bullshit, Malfoy. You sulk. And I like it when you sulk. But that's not the point. You touched a nerve last night. You made me trust you! You told me such a touching story about how you had gone through the same thing as I did, and it was all a lie! You made me – bloody – trust – you!"

Oh, so that was the real problem. "Listen, Potter…"

"I don't want to hear any more lies. I'  m sick of you…"

"I lied to you about the pill," Draco said, cutting across him. "And I was joking when I said I had to sleep with you. Those were minor things. You should be glad that the pill isn't as dangerous and as addictive as the Oblivion pill. But I wasn't lying about anything else. I did have a shitty life. I have some pretty bad nightmares sometimes. I did take the Oblivion pill and the potion. All at once… That mix made me spend a day in St. Mungo's. And it was because of that Professor Snape came up with another pill for me."

Draco smiled feebly at Harry's stunned expression. "Like I said," he kept on, "I lived some shitty days. It was painful to wake up every day. I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror… But eventually, I got over everything." And he would damn Harry for bringing back those horrible memories.

"How did you do it?" Harry asked quietly.

Draco stared at him, confused. "How did I do what?"

"How did you leave it all behind you? How did you get over it? How do you wake up every day and not feel like your life is meaningless? How did you become an Auror? You, of all people… How did you do it and I didn't?" Harry closed his eyes, but it was too late to hide his emotions. Draco had seen them all in his beautiful green eyes. He had seen Harry's pain. He had felt it. He wanted to hug Harry, to tell him that even though some scars would never heal, they would at least fade.

And then Draco realised how stupid he had been for joking about something so serious. He had fucked up royally last night and he hadn't even noticed. He had gained Harry's trust only to lose it. He felt like bashing his head on the wall over and over.

"Harry…" Harry looked at him grim-faced. Draco could tell he hadn't liked to be called by his first name. "Potter… I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being such an idiot."

Now Harry seemed to be really thunderstruck. "It took you long enough to figure that out, Malfoy."

Draco clenched his fists. He couldn't blame Harry for being so upset with him. Harry's honesty always seemed to knock him off balance. He didn't know what to do or say to make things right. It was obvious that Harry hated him now even more than before, because Draco had gotten over his problems and Harry hadn't. It would be funny if it weren't so tragic. After all, four years ago Draco had been in Harry's shoes. He had been so jealous of Harry and he had handled things by picking on Harry mercilessly. He had thought Harry knew what he was doing. He had thought of Harry as perfect, flawless.

But now it was Harry who was jealous of him. And this vulnerable Harry wasn't afraid of telling him about it. Draco was stunned. And to make things worse, Harry's vulnerability was making its way into his heart. Draco was falling deeply in love with this new side of Harry Potter. He had believed Harry to be strong and confident. He wasn't prepared for the cute and exposed Harry Potter.

"I'm being an idiot… I shouldn't have asked those stupid things," muttered Harry with a scowl. "It won't happen again."

And there it was again, the stupid Harry back in action. Draco frowned. "What do you mean? It's ok to open up your heart every now and then. You seem like you need a shoulder to cry on anyway."

"I don't need your shoulder," Harry groaned. "Just forget about it, all right?"

"Oh, just get over it, Potter. I won't use your vulnerability against you. I'm not the same bastard that I used to be. I really understand what you're going through. You asked me how I got over everything… I don't really have an answer… Well, come to think of it, friendship was very important. Snape helped me a lot. Hermione and the Weasleys helped me too."

Draco stared into space and his voice seemed distant when he said, "It's funny that I only realise that now… All of my life I searched for a purpose to exist… And at first I thought that my purpose was to keep my lineage going just as my father used to tell me over and over. But what I was looking for wasn't prestige or another stupid little brat to continue with our stupid traditions… I wanted love. Even if I didn't believe in it, I still wanted it. And I thought you had it. That was the reason I didn't like you." He came back to earth and stared into Harry's bewildered eyes. He felt his cheeks getting hot. He had said too much about himself. But it was only fair that he open his heart to Harry. After all, he had broken Harry's trust in him. He had to earn it back.

There was an awkward period of silence between them.

"I also hated you because even though I'm gorgeous, people always worshiped you… But that's another subject," Draco sneered to break the ice. 

Harry made a face. "You're so conceited."

"I know that. So, are we even? I just told you a very personal thing about myself. The least you can do is forgive me."

Harry pressed his lips together. Draco had the impression that he wanted to smile, but he couldn't be sure.

"I'll think about it," Harry said. He then picked up his fork and began to eat his eggs quietly.

"I wish I had the answers to your questions, Harry," Draco whispered. "But it's really hard for me to remember how things used to be when I left home and…"

"It doesn't matter," Harry said, cutting across him without looking up. "There are no answers. And if there are, I need to find them myself. Nothing you say will make any difference. I…" he took a deep breath before going on, "I don't even know why I asked you those things. Just forget about it, ok?"

"But you resent me because of those things…"

"No. I resented you ever since I first met you, Malfoy. So let's just eat. I hate to get too philosophical this early in the morning. I forgive you for being a jerk last night. Let's leave it at that for now." Harry continued to eat and for the first time Draco decided to comply with him.

They ate quietly, each lost in their own thoughts. Draco was happy when Harry's plate was empty. He considered it a small victory. With a flick of his wand, the dishes flew to the sink to be washed.

He looked at Harry one last time and thought about saying something, but decided to keep quiet. He put his cloak on, took his briefcase and headed for the front door. He was about to leave when he suddenly turned to Harry and said, "Come with me to work."

Harry opened his eyes wide as if Draco had gone mental. "What? Why?"

Draco didn't know. He just wanted to spend the day with Harry. "What are you going to do all day?"

Harry shrugged. "I dunno. It's none of your business anyway."

"If you're not doing anything, then come with me."

"Even if I did go with you, what would I do, Malfoy? Besides, your boss wouldn't be very pleased. I'm not an Auror. I have no business there."

"My boss won't say a word. He's tried to get you on our team for years, Potter, and you know that. He will be ecstatic about your visit. You can accompany Hermione and me on our boring missions. Then you will know for sure that you were right about quitting the Auror's training. And you will make fun of me for working like a bloody bureaucrat. Come on. It'll be fun!" Draco had no idea what he was getting himself into. He was just desperate to get Harry out of that depressing house.

After much protesting, Harry went along with him. Draco was thrilled with his company. He didn't even make fun of Harry's poor choice of clothes. He just couldn't stop smiling as he and Harry walked across the Atrium at the Ministry. He disregarded the fact that Harry looked like he was about to panic as they stopped onto Level Two. He was picturing Hermione's face when she saw Harry with him.

"Malfoy… I don't think I can do this," Harry said nervously.

Draco frowned. "You're already here. Besides, you came here just the other day. What's the matter?"

Harry seemed very pale. Draco started to worry. He stood very close to Harry to catch him in case he passed out, but Harry pushed him away.

"Don't stand so close," Harry complained.

"You look like you're about to faint."

"Don't be ridiculous!"

Draco scowled. "You started it!"

"I did not! I just realised that this is a very bad idea."

Draco noticed that the small corridor looked suddenly crowded. The lifts were stopping on Level Two more than usual. People kept coming in, and all of their eyes were on Harry. Someone had let out that Harry Potter was there with Draco Malfoy. It was a one-time event that no one wanted to miss. Draco clenched his fists, irritated. He looked at Harry, who seemed ready to explode, and grabbed his hand. Harry tried to let go of him, and Draco could almost hear Harry's thoughts out loud about not touching him. But Draco's grip became stronger and he only let go of Harry's hand when they reached his office.

"Oh, my God! I can't believe this!" Hermione shouted, flabbergasted. "Is it really you, Harry?" Harry grunted something impolite. Hermione pretended not to hear him. "Yes, it's definitely you! Draco, how did you do it?"

Draco opened his mouth to speak but Harry cut across him with a cold, "Drop it, Hermione, or I'll leave immediately."

She made a face and then threw her arms around Harry in a tight hug. Harry tensed for a moment, but then relaxed and smiled.

"It's a miracle!" she said.

"You're exaggerating…" Harry muttered.

"What are you doing here, Harry?"

"He came to experience some Auror action," Draco smirked.

"Shut up, Malfoy. I just came to see you in action, Hermione. Malfoy said that I could. I didn't really think it was appropriate, but he practically dragged me here…"

"Oh, but you're most welcome. Boss will be so glad you're here!" Hermione still had her arms around Harry. Draco started to get annoyed.

Boss Harper, a very tall man with a big moustache and a weird taste for pink and green robes with blue little stars, welcomed Harry with open arms, literally. His hug almost crushed Harry's bones. Throughout the day, Boss introduced Harry to most of the people in the department, showed Harry all of their secret archives and let Harry join Draco and Hermione in a real – boring – mission. Boss had been Harry's most enthusiastic professor once, and he had actually cried when Harry had quit training.

While everyone sucked up to Harry, and most girls kept coming on to him, Draco stayed in a corner just watching the uproar around Harry and sulking about it. He was jealous. Suddenly, it didn't seem like a good idea to have brought Harry here. Never mind that Harry seemed to be having a good time. Draco hated the fact that Harry was letting those annoying girls touch him so freely. And if Boss hugged Harry one more time he would scream.

"Draco," he heard Hermione calling him. "I don't know how you did it, but thanks."

Draco frowned. "I didn't do anything. To be honest, I don't know why he came with me."

"Well, whatever the reason was, it worked." She smiled. "It was a good idea sending you there. It's been three days and you've already achieved so much! He's actually being polite and talkative!"

Draco wasn't so sure about that. Harry was polite but not talkative. Sometimes Draco had the impression that Harry was bored out of his mind. He was happy that Harry was being more sociable though. He was just curious about Harry's reasons for coming along with Draco. When Draco had made the offer, he didn't expect Harry to accept it. He had asked him out of desperation, because Harry's vulnerability had touched his heart and he didn't want to leave Harry alone in that creepy house.

On the other side of the room, Harry pretended to listen to a boring story about two wizards robbing a London bank while he discreetly watched Draco. The blond seemed to be sulking about something. Harry could tell by the way Draco kept licking his lips and tapping his quill on the table. Harry smiled involuntarily. His smile made two witches next to him sigh in adoration. Draco noticed that, and he sulked even more, which led to another smile from Harry and more sighs of appreciation from the girls. In the end, Draco stood up and left the room for his own office, slamming the door violently and making the department go silent for a moment.

"What's wrong with our dragon?" asked Boss thoughtfully. "He doesn't seem to like you, Harry."

Harry sneered. "What gave you that impression?"

Boss stared at him maliciously. "We all know Draco's preferences, Harry. I didn't know you were Draco's next catch."

Harry gasped. "What? I'm not his catch!"

"Then why are you with him?"

Harry grimaced. "Ask Hermione."

Hermione smiled. "A girl is entitled to a few secrets…"

Boss laughed. "Oh, you naughty girl!"

Harry didn't like the implications of those comments. "I'm nothing to Malfoy."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure, Harry. I see the way he looks at you," said Boss wisely. "Besides, you came in with him. You can't deny that."

No, Harry couldn't deny that. He called himself stupid for not thinking about that before. He didn't want people to think that he was Malfoy's boyfriend. Why did he come to the Ministry in the first place? He didn't know for sure. The only thing he knew was that Draco's emotional speech had moved him somehow. Once again Draco had made Harry want to get to know him better. Harry wanted to know who was behind the mask of Draco Malfoy, the brat.

Draco was a mystery to him. Harry had watched him all day and had come to the conclusion that if things were different, he would like to be his friend. Draco was fun to be around and even though he complained a lot, he did his job well.

Some people seemed to treat Draco with suspicion – given his past, it wasn't so surprising – but a lot of people seemed to trust and respect him. And Harry was fascinated by the way Draco seemed to handle things.

Draco wasn't joking when he told Harry that he was second best in the department. He was very good. Harry felt even more jealous of him.

But there were times when Harry would notice some sadness in Draco's eyes. This usually happened when Lucius and Narcissa were mentioned. Draco's colleagues liked to make bad jokes about Lucius all the time. Draco always smiled at them, but those smiles never reached his eyes.

Harry was surprised to feel sympathy for him. He was even more surprised with the sudden need to go to Draco and… And what? His heart started to beat faster. It had been only three days and Draco had already messed with his emotions. What did he want from Draco? Why did Draco have such a power over him? Did he really want to know?

No, he didn't. He didn't want to get too deep into those questions. For now, it was enough to get on Draco's nerves.

TBC…