Disclaimer: the same old thing. Read chapter 1.

Thank you list: Jamie, Lildove and Jade, my beta readers! And to all of the reviewers, a big thanks! I'm sorry for not thanking you one by one, but I'm really sleepy and I have an early morning! A special thanks to Sayn Syco (I'm really flattered! I hope you finish your fics!), Tsuyuno and SexySiriusBlack for taking their time to write long reviews! But no one beats silver emerald eyes, whose goal is to fill up a whole page with her review! Lol! Thanks a lot Silver! Your reviews are the best!

A/N: Happy birthday to me!! Wheeeee!!!! /fireworks/ I feel old…

Chap. 21 – Plotting

"Did you call him? What did he say?" asked Hermione looking expectantly at Fred and ignoring the fact that he was making out with someone.

Fred really had no shame whatsoever, but that was something Hermione was used to at this point. Instead of being pissed off, she took her time to guess who Fred's new plaything was. From what Hermione could see, the boy had delicate features, very soft hair and a pretty face. He was exactly Fred's type. He looked also very familiar. She opened her eyes wide and exclaimed, "Oh, my God! It's…"

"Dennis Creevey," Ron said in her ears, pointing at the boy on Fred's lap.

Hermione was shocked. "Isn't he too young to be Fred's new catch?"

"He's eighteen. Don't go there with Fred or he'll hex you. My mum already lectured him enough," Ron said. "Let's go to the balcony. The music is too loud in here!"

She nodded, but before she left with Ron, she smacked Fred's head. He leisurely parted his lips from Dennis' and stared at her, annoyed. "What?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Did you call him? Is he coming?"

"Yes! Everything is being taken care of," Fred beamed. He squeezed Dennis' ass. The young man in his lap flushed and purred. Hermione crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. If only Mrs. Weasley could see her son now. Noticing her scary expression, Fred quickly said, "I'll get to him, don't worry. He'll be here. Things will go as planned."

"Good. Because Draco is already here," she said, pointing out a table at the other side of the room where Draco was sitting with Bill.

Fred winked at her. "Don't worry."

Hermione felt Ron's hands touching her waist and squeezing it gently but firmly. "What are you two plotting now?"

Fred and Hermione answered together with a shrug, "Nothing!"

Ron looked at them doubtfully. "You'd better be serious this time. Harry almost killed me because of you two! He was really angry about Malfoy's presence in his house. I know you think they look good together, but for Merlin's sake! Harry is straight! And that damn blond bimbo is going out with Bill. So could you two just stop playing with other people's lives?"

Fred waved his hand. "Just go away, Ron. Can't you see I'm busy?"

Ron's face went red with anger. "Fred…"

"We're just lending a hand to destiny," Fred stated. Dennis shyly rested his head on his shoulder and kissed his neck. Fred closed his eyes in ecstasy. Ron and Hermione flushed. Fred grinned at them. "If you'd excuse me, I have unfinished business to attend to." And he went back to kissing Dennis.

"Hermione, please tell me you're not plotting anything," Ron pleaded. "Harry is going to kill me for real this time! I expected something like this from Fred, but not from you! Harry says I can't control you and he's totally right…"

Hermione shot him a murderous look. "I don't need anyone to control me. Harry is such an idiot."

"You're playing with his life. I think he has a right to be upset."

"Whose side are you on?" she asked threateningly.

Ron sighed. "Yours?"

She smiled sweetly. "That's right." And she kissed him as a reward.

Scintillation was Fred's favourite nightclub. It was the only one that allowed all kinds of people, muggles and wizards. The music was great, playing only the best music in the muggle and wizard industry. The environment was modern and carefree, and the fun could go all night long. Draco usually liked it too, but tonight he didn't seem like his usual self. His feelings for Harry were bothering him too much. There was a tension in the air between him and Bill. They hadn't had sex in a while. And it wasn't as if Draco didn't want to have sex with Bill. It was just that he couldn't. His fantasies about Harry always got in the way.

He felt Bill's hand on his and smiled feebly. Draco wanted to relax, but somehow couldn't. He thought that by going out he would be able to chill out and cool his head down, but he was beginning to understand what this was really about. It was about running away from his true feelings. He was terrified of going to bed with Bill while thinking about Harry. And thinking about Harry was all that he ever did when he was with Bill. That was why he had accepted Fred's invitation to come to Scintillation. He couldn't see Fred anywhere though.

While Bill ordered their drinks, Draco scanned the room in search for familiar faces. There was an odd commotion a few feet away. A bunch of angry men seemed to be fighting for the attention of a blonde woman. Draco thought it was amusing, but his smile died away when he watched the blonde turn around, stare right at his table and smile at Bill.

Fleur Delacour, the part-Veela bitch. Draco could have recognized her anywhere. She was the sort of girl who was very hard to miss and forget. No man could resist her when she batted her eyelashes and swung her long silvery-blonde hair. She was very charming and beautiful, but if one could get past those qualities, they would realise how shallow and arrogant she really was.

She had dated Bill for a long time, until her constant demands and scenes of jealousy had made the older Weasley break up with her. She hadn't given up on him, though. Sometimes she would send Bill an owl-post, or drop by at Gringotts to pay a visit to an old friend. Bill was too soft on her, but that was his nature. Bill couldn't see her true intentions. He really thought of her as a friend now.

But Draco knew better, and his own encounters with Fleur were anything but friendly. When they talked, they did it as rivals. Draco always felt like slapping her, but he was too much of a gentleman to actually do it. Draco wasn't the jealous type of guy, but Fleur got on his nerves. She always looked down on him, and she had dared to call him a brainless sex toy once.

Draco clenched his fists as she made her way onto the crowded dance floor. Five men tried to stop her, but she ignored them all with a cold look.

"Bill…" Draco looked at Bill, who was still staring at Fleur. Draco pinched him hard. "Bill!"

Bill took his eyes away from her and looked at Draco. "What?"

"You know I don't like her. Ditch her as soon as she gets here or this time I swear I will strangle her."

Bill pulled his chair closer to Draco's and then laced his arms around Draco's waist. "It isn't like you to get jealous."

Draco frowned. "I'm not jealous. I just don't like her."

"She's not so bad, you know? She's actually pretty fragile. That whole femme fatale pose is all an act." Draco shot him a murderous look and Bill grinned. "You are jealous! That's so cute." He tried to kiss Draco, who turned his face away angrily. Bill laughed at him. When Draco turned to face him again, Bill captured his lips in a soft kiss. Wanting to put on a show for Fleur, Draco nipped Bill's lower lip gently, licked it and then kissed him back in a possessive way. After all, he was a possessive man.

"A-hem!" coughed Fleur to call their attention.

They broke off their kiss slowly. Draco looked up with a grimace; implying that she was bothering them with her presence. His eyes met hers in a mute but aggressive challenge. She was smiling at him, but her blue eyes were very cold. If looks could kill, Draco wondered who would have dropped dead first, he or Fleur.

"Miss Delacour," Draco said with a pompous tone of voice, clearly mocking her.

"Draco. It's so nice to see you here," she greeted tartly. When her eyes switched to Bill, her cold expression vanished and she directed a huge smile at him. "Bill! Do you mind if I sit with you for a moment? We haven't seen each other in a while and I have so much to tell you! I'm finally moving to London!"

Draco was very upset at the news. He wanted to tell her to fuck off and leave them alone, but at that exact moment his eyes came across a pair of flaming green eyes and he completely forgot his surroundings. He barely registered what Bill said to Fleur. He also didn't notice when she sat next to Bill and started to chat with him excitedly.

He couldn't take his eyes off Harry's. Draco began to shake slightly, and he licked his lips nervously. Harry seemed to be pretty upset, but Draco couldn't tell why. Was Harry angry with him? Draco had no idea. As far as he knew, he hadn't done anything to Harry. But that didn't mean anything though; after all, Draco's mere existence seemed to upset Harry.

Draco glanced at Bill, whose eyes seemed to be spacing out somewhere on the dance floor. Fleur seemed totally unaware of the fact that she was being ignored. Draco knew he should cut her off and make it clear who was with Bill now, but somehow his blue eyes kept switching back to Harry.

He was surprised to see Harry there. Harry didn't like to go out unless it was strictly necessary. Perhaps he was there to flirt with his usual bimbos. Draco's eyes darkened at the thought and he cursed under his breath. He had gone out to take Harry off his head, and Harry was right there, gazing at him with such intensity that Draco was feeling slightly dizzy.

To show that he didn't care, he sneered and waved at Harry. The brunette seemed to be taken aback, almost as if Draco had caught him in the act. Harry turned his head aside for a moment as if he was fighting with himself. Draco wondered what that was all about. And when Harry looked back at him again, Draco felt flustered and out of breath.

There was something different about Harry and the way he was looking at Draco now. Harry didn't seem angry anymore, but very confident of himself and what he wanted. And Draco was shocked to realise that what Harry wanted was him. Was he getting the signals right?

What was Harry playing at? Why was he looking at Draco like that? It was like Harry wanted to eat him.

Perhaps Draco was seeing too much out of nothing. Or perhaps he was only seeing what he wanted to see. He wanted Harry to want him, but it was all an illusion. Harry didn't even like him.

But even so, Draco knew when someone was trying to seduce him, and Harry was doing exactly that. He was behaving as if Draco was his prey for the night.

Harry's eyes were piercing into him, making love to him. Draco's heartbeat pounded in his ears. He felt his body reacting instantly. He forgot about everything else. He only had eyes for Harry.

He licked his lips, not realising how sexy his gesture was, and bit his lower lip hard to prevent a moan. Harry looked so serious and sexy.

Fleur's annoying chitchat brought him back to reality in the most painful way. Draco glanced at Bill for a second and then at Harry, who was now walking towards his table. He stood up in reflex, trying to think of what to do. He didn't want to face that hungry and sexy Harry Potter in front of Bill and Fleur. In fact, he didn't want to face Harry at all.

Confused, Draco excused himself and walked as fast as he could towards the men's room.

When had Fred appeared at his front door and dragged him out, Harry had had no idea what was to come. Still, he put on what he thought was his best outfit – black jeans and boots, black jacket and a red shirt with three buttons left undone. Then he tried to tame his rebellious hair with gel without any success. He left his glasses behind and put on his contact lenses –ones he barely wore. By the time he got into Fred's Ferrari, his sixth sense was warning him to run back to his house.

It was too late though. In a few minutes, Fred had parked his Ferrari at the sidewalk, and the next thing Harry knew he was being pushed inside the nightclub he hated the most, with a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Not that Scintillation was a bad place, but Harry could never have a good time in it. The whole place was too shiny, the music was too loud and people got too drunk – but he couldn't really say anything about that particular fact. Most people were too well dressed, like they were in a fashion show. And Harry always felt too many eyes upon him, observing his every move, making him feel like he didn't belong.

"Harry!" someone shouted, clinging on to his neck.

"Hey, Dennis! Take it easy on Harry…" Fred said, pulling the younger boy away from Harry with a possessive look. It was the first time Harry saw that kind of look on Fred's face and it intrigued him. Could it be that Fred was in love for the first time? Harry took a closer look at the boy and opened his eyes wide.

"Dennis Creevey?" he asked, bewildered. Dennis was shorter than him, but he had grown a lot since the last time Harry saw him.

Fred made a face. "Yeah, this is Dennis. Why does everyone keep looking at him like that?"

"Hi, Harry!" Dennis greeted excitedly. "It's so great to see you!"

Harry smiled at his enthusiasm, but then he looked around suspiciously. "Is your brother here?" he asked; ready to make a quick getaway in case the answer was positive.

"No, he didn't want to come," Dennis answered. "But I'll tell him that you were here! He'll be so jealous!"

Harry grimaced. The last person he wanted to meet was Colin Creevey. Colin was now The Daily Prophet's main photographer and he particularly enjoyed taking pictures of Harry and writing heartbreaking stories about him. Rita Skeeter appeared sweetly bland next to Colin. Harry knew Colin didn't mean to make him look stupid and pitiful, but that was exactly what Harry felt after reading one of his articles.

"Dennis, don't bother Harry. He hates the press," Fred said.

Dennis looked away embarrassedly, and Harry pitied him.

"I don't exactly hate the press," Harry said. "I've just had a few problems with them in the past…"

"Yeah, like when Dennis' brother–"

"Look, Fred!" Harry cut across him quickly so Fred wouldn't hurt Dennis' feelings by being a jerk. Even though Harry didn't like Colin's articles, that didn't mean he would treat Dennis rudely. "I think George is calling you."

"George?" Fred looked behind him. "Where? George said he wouldn't come here today. He had a hot date."

"I really think I saw him," Harry lied convincingly. "He seemed to be worried. Go after him."

"But…"

"GO!"

Fred shot Harry a strange look, and before he could go looking for George, he took Dennis' hands and dragged him with him, far away from Harry. Harry was surprised to see how possessive Fred was of Dennis. Fred and Charlie were both well known from running away from commitments as fast as they could.

It wasn't news to anyone that the Creevey brothers had an obsession over Harry. And clearly, that obsession was now bothering Fred. Harry just hoped Fred treated Dennis all right, because a jealous Weasley was very hard to put up with. Harry knew that very well. He had lost count of how many stupid things Ron had done and said to Hermione on account of his own jealousy.

Bill seemed to be different, though. He was calmer than the rest of the lot. Harry wondered if he treated Draco all right, and he instantly froze at the thought. He didn't want to think about Draco. Thoughts about Draco would lead him to what had happened right before Fred called him. That was a forbidden boundary that he shouldn't cross again. Harry was straight, Draco had a boyfriend, and things were as they should be.

But his heart was racing, and his mouth was dry. Not a day had gone by and he already missed Draco. He had lived in denial for too long. He wanted Draco. He should stop lying to himself. The faster he admitted that, the faster he would get over it.

He went to the bar to get a drink, and while he waited for the bartender, he scanned the room in search for someone interesting, someone he could take home with him to forget about Draco. A girl smiled and waved. He smiled back. She looked interesting enough. But first he needed a drink. Harry was still shy around women. He needed the alcohol to give him confidence and courage to approach them.

With the firewhiskey now in his hands, Harry began to flirt with the girl. A blonde woman cut into his view, and she dazzled him for a moment, until he noticed that it was Fleur Delacour. His eyes followed Fleur, just like the eyes of every other man in the room. He couldn't help it. After all, Fleur was part Veela. When she switched on her seductive mode, it was quite hard to resist her.

He wondered who her target was. And he was stunned when he spotted Draco a few tables away, sitting next to Bill.

His drink almost slipped out of his hands. He put it on the balcony, just to be safe, and then stared at Draco again. His heart skipped a beat as he watched Bill pull the blond closer. Harry's body went rigid when Bill tried to steal a kiss from Draco but the blond turned his head away angrily. And when Bill finally kissed Draco, Harry felt like something was shattering painfully inside him.

He wanted to look away, but he couldn't. It was the masochist in him. He was fascinated by the way Draco was teasing and kissing Bill back. He was also terribly jealous. He couldn't think straight anymore. He didn't want to. He wanted to snatch Draco away from Bill's arms and claim the blond for himself. His primitive needs had clouded his rationality. That violent reaction of his took him by surprise. Only Draco was capable of making him feel that way.

Draco waved at him with a sneer, taking him totally by surprise. Harry hadn't realised that Draco had seen him. He quickly looked away, trying to put his feelings in order. He had never felt so embarrassed in his life. His mind began to deny everything he was feeling, but his heart rebelled against it all, crumbling into dust all the defences he had built around it to keep Draco away.

Suddenly, it wasn't important if Draco was a man and his former enemy. Seeing Draco with Bill had awakened the lion inside of him. All that mattered was to satiate his body's urgent needs. Gone were all prejudices and fears. Gone was every little excuse he had made up to convince himself that he didn't feel anything for Draco but contempt. Everything was so very simple. If he wanted Draco, he should have him. And to hell with the consequences! Harry would deal with them later.

Right now, he had more important things to do, like seducing Draco.

Harry's body came to life as he watched Draco lick his own lips and bite them hard. Harry's eyes darkened with desire. He took a deep breath and started walking towards Draco's table determinedly. He saw Draco's growing alarm when he spotted Harry coming over. The blond got up and headed quickly for the men's room.

Harry's decision of going after him wavered for only a second. Luckily, the area around the bathrooms seemed quite empty. Taking another deep breath, he opened the door to the men's room and entered.

He wanted Draco too much to back down now.

TBC…

A/N: Things are getting hot! Finally! Yeah, yeah. I know. A hangcliffer… Oh, but the next chapters… hmmm… no, I won't spoil. But be nice to me. It's my birthday!! Chapter 24 was supposed to be here already, I know that too. But real life got on the way of my plans. I'm busy; my betas are very busy… And I would never upload something that wasn't beta-ed. I'm sorry!!! Don't get mad! But… review?? XD