Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.
Chapter Two
At lunch time, Draco walked into the hallway to do his sneak apparation over to Ron's work. Draco had always been a fairly accomplished apparator, and with a loud Crack! he landed right on top of Ron's desk, cross-legged.
"Blimey!" Ron yelped, jumping back a little. Harry looked over from his desk and laughed. This was the third time Draco had popped into he and Ron's work, and it was amusing to see that Ron was still jumpy about it.
"It's okay," Draco said, running a hand through his hair and casting Harry a look before eyeing Ron affectionately. "I'm used to him by now."
Draco jumped off the desk and held out his hand.
"I'm taking you to lunch," he said. "Come on."
Ron looked at his unfinished work and shrugged, taking Draco's hand. Draco smiled, winked, and together they popped out of the building.
"Do you suppose you could just walk over to get me next time?" Ron asked when they landed outside the Leaky Cauldron. "We do work in the same building."
Draco rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"You know, I could, but what fun would that be?" Draco said, pushing open the door to the restaurant and pulling Ron in behind him.
"Bloody hell," Ron said, pulling his hand out of Draco's firm grip and rubbing it. "I'm coming, you don't have to tug so hard."
They took a seat by the window and Draco studied Ron over the top of his menu. Ron's blue eyes looked dull today, his red hair a bit of a mess as well. Draco put down his menu and stared at his boyfriend, who looked up at Draco and smirked.
"What is it?" he asked, combing his self-conscious fingers through his hair. Draco said nothing at first, then curled his lips into a mischievous smile.
"You just look a bit tired, that's all," Draco said. "I must have worn you out last night."
Ron blushed and buried his head back in his menu, and Draco leaned back into his seat, smiling, as the waitress walked by the take their orders. Draco ordered the seven-layer salad and Ron the cheeseburger—Ron always ate more than Draco, as Ron usually ate more than everybody, but today he barely nibbled on his burger.
"You okay?" Draco asked as he gazed down at the half-eaten food. Ron sighed and put his face in his hands.
"I'm fine, I guess. Just a little stressed."
"Why?"
Ron sat up and pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket, handing it to Draco.
"It's from my mum," Ron explained. "About the family dinner. You know, the one I go to every year?"
Draco scowled and crossed his arms. "You mean the one I'm never invited to?" His lip curled involuntarily into a sneer, force of old habit, and Ron cringed, the expression bringing back unpleasant memories of Hogwarts.
"It's not you, Draco," Ron said quietly, reaching a tender hand out and touching Draco's cold fingers. "I'm just afraid of, you know, their reaction."
"They know we're together," Draco scoffed.
"I know…but they've never seen us together."
Draco rolled his eyes. "What do you think we'll be doing? Snogging right in front of everyone at the dinner table?"
Ron sighed. "Maybe!"
"I'm a Malfoy, Ron," said Draco, studying his cuticles. "I have more class than that."
The waitress came by and Ron quietly asked for the check, lucky for a break from the awkward conversation, and when Draco pulled his wallet out to pay for his meal, Ron held up a hand.
"It's on me," he said. Draco smiled a little; he remembered that once-upon-a-time Ron couldn't even afford the candy off the Hogwarts Express trolly. After paying, they sat in silence for a moment, Draco eyeing Ron steadily.
"I'm sorry Draco," Ron began. "I didn't…I haven't…it's just hard sometimes."
Draco nodded. It was hard. Not as hard as it would be if they were muggles, certainly, for the Wizarding world was much more flamboyant and, let's face it, gay, than regular humans, but nevertheless, that didn't make it especially easy. Draco tapped it fingers on the mahogany table and leaned forward.
"Are you ashamed of me, Ron?" he asked, his gray eyes flashing. Ron's eyes widened.
"No! No, Draco, I'm not," he leaned forward and kissed Draco lightly on the lips. "Not at all," he murmured. Draco smiled and stood up, Ron fast in his wake, and the two of them went outside.
Ron stood beside Draco, opening his mouth like he wanted to speak, then drawing back, looking hesitant.
"Out with it," Draco said, lighting up a cigarette.
Ron took a deep breath. "The family dinner is a big deal to my mum. I mean, all of my brothers come, even Percy…" he thought for a moment. "Well, actually, Fred and George never come, but still, you can't really blame them…"
"What's your point, Ron?" Draco asked, blowing smoky cigarette snakes from between his lips. The snakes turned and hissed at Ron, who cringed a little and began to speak again.
"My point is…I've just been a little nervous. But…" he took another deep breath. "I guess it's time you met my family. I mean, I love you, my friends have grown to tolerate you, you've done a lot of good work for the Ministry…"
Draco's snakes curled around each other and disappeared. He turned to Ron.
"Are you actually inviting me?" he asked. Ron stood up straighter, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah, I guess I am," he said. Draco smiled and put out his cigarette.
"Not if it makes you uncomfortable," he said. "I hate it when you get uncomfortable. You sweat all over the place."
"No," Ron said nervously. "I'll be fine."
Draco smirked and checked the time on his watch—they had only been gone for half their lunch break. He looked back up at Ron and was about to ask him if he'd fancy a little afternoon shagging before heading back to work, but Ron stepped in and gave him a tiny kiss on the forehead.
"The dinner is this Saturday at 7," he said, and then he was out of sight.
---
The air was stiff and cold in the Weasley twins' apartment and Fred sat at the kitchen table, recording inventory for next week's shipment. He tapped his fingers on the table and sighed, grabbing a beer out of the fridge with his wand and taking a jerk. George yawned and sat up from the table.
"Where you are going?" Fred asked, not looking up from his work.
"It's midnight already," George replied. "And I have to open tomorrow."
Fred smirked. He hated opening—he was the late sleeper of the two, and he made sure that that little detail was considered when they decided to open their joke shop.
"Then you'd better get your beauty sleep," Fred said in mock-affection. George yawned, waved in the same manner as his brother's sarcasm, and went off into the bedroom they shared. Fred sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes and pulling his hair back into a loose ponytail. He had been working on the stupid stock for hours, and he was absolutely exhausted. He shoved his work aside and took another swig of his beer—his third beer, to be exact. You shouldn't drink so much, George would say, but Fred just laughed it off, as drinking was one of his favorite hobbies. He was an Irish boy, for Merlin's sake. Fred walked over to the sofa and laid down, groaning as he stretched out and cracked his back and shoulders. He sighed heavily, staring at the yellow liquid in the clear glass bottle.
"Bottom's up," he said to himself, and took a long chug, the liquid tasting bitter sweet in his mouth. He burped and closed his eyes. He had been drinking a lot more than usual, he noted. Simple explanation: Fred was bored. Every day seemed the same to him lately, which was odd because he and George usually found loads of fun things to do, whether it was raising hell or raising money. Or getting laid, Fred thought, which he hadn't done in a couple of months. In fact, the last girl he'd gone to bed with was Katie Bell, an old teammate, friend, and fellow Gryffindor turned fantastic shagging partner. Fred smiled at the thought, then felt incredibly lonely when he realized that he hadn't seen Katie in a while, and although he had had many shagging prospects, he never found himself quite interested enough to make the effort. Women were complicated projects that took time and discipline, neither of which Fred had at the moment.
"Accio alcohol," Fred slurred, and all of the beers in the fridge came floating over to him. He sat up and popped a cap, swigging one down. He finished off another three beers in the next twenty minutes, and the last thing he remembered was laying down on the couch and closing his eyes.
When Fred woke up, it was half past nine. Oh shit, he thought, scrambling to his feet, his head clouded and pounding with a major hangover. He pulled on slacks, shoes, and a sweater and ran downstairs to the shop, where George stood at the register, laughing heartily with a customer. Fred blinked, pushed his hair out of his eyes, and walked up to his brother.
"Sorry mate," he said in a low voice. The customer paid and George turned around, his face looking quite disgusted upon seeing Fred.
"You look like shit," George said. Fred groaned and rested his head on the cool glass panel that shelved Fire Dragon Pops.
"Go back upstairs," George said, grabbing his brother by the shoulders and turning him away. "I do not want you scaring off any of the loyal customers."
"I'm fine," Fred said, but he swayed a bit and had to catch himself on tabletop. George rolled his eyes and grinned.
"I'll cover this shift. You can come down at 2."
Fred frowned, but a loud noise from the side of the shop made his head feel heavy with dropping bricks and he obliged, stumbling back up the stairs and falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
---
Pansy sat at a table playing cards with Neville and a young witch named Alexandra Fralinger when Draco stood up from his desk on the other side of the room, stretched, and walked into the break room. Pansy's eyes followed him and she grinned and stood up, grabbing her mug.
"I need more coffee," she said matter-of-factly.
Alexandra adjusted her pink glasses and eyed Pansy quizzically.
"Your cup is full," she said.
"I need more sugar then," Pansy said sharply. "Whatever excuse you find to be most believable."
She walked into the break room, fluffing her long black hair and smoothing her skirt, and sauntered over to the coffee machine. Draco looked over and smiled.
"Hey Pansy," he said.
"Hey Draco," Pansy said nonchalantly, pouring sugar into her coffee and leaning back against the fridge. She felt Draco's eyes on her, and when she looked up at him he was smiling slyly, his eyes traveling up her long legs and tight blouse.
"You look nice today," he said calmly, taking a sip of his drink.
"Thanks," Pansy said, trying to stifle a grin. She had Draco where she wanted now. He winked at her on his way out and Pansy put down her coffee, sat up on the counter and eyes Draco mischievously. She crossed her legs and he stopped, turning to face her, smirking.
"Do you remember our first fuck, Draco?" Pansy asked casually, smiling when she saw the knowing glint in his eye.
"Sure I do," he replied. He took a step toward her, his eyes on hers now. "We were in our third year. It was on my fourteenth birthday."
"I remember…" Pansy said, "…that we snuck out of our dormitories and went into the abandoned girls' bathroom."
"Yeah," Draco said, "and if I remember correctly, I shagged your fucking brains out."
Draco grinned and Pansy studied her hands. "You sure did."
"Hmm," Draco murmured, "thanks for the kind visual Pansy, it'll be sure to make my day more interesting."
Pansy hopped down from the counter and flipped her raven hair over her shoulder.
"What exactly made you bring that up, Pansy?" Draco asked, eyeing her suspiciously. Pansy shrugged.
"I just think it's important to hold on to old memories," she said, walking past Draco and bumping her hand against his. She turned around and leaned against the side of the door.
"I was wondering Draco…if you would like to get together sometime. Maybe go out for some coffee or something. It would be nice to catch up with you."
Draco smiled. "Sure."
"Are you free this weekend? Saturday night, maybe?" she asked. Draco's face fell slightly.
"Oh…er…I'm busy that night," he said, looking a bit disappointed, which pleased Pansy even if he wasn't free to shag her after all. She just smirked.
"Well, when you free up your busy schedule, make sure you make a little room for me. We can catch up on…old times."
Draco's eyes twinkled and he smiled slyly. "I'd like that."
Pansy turned and left the break room to go back to her card game, pleased with herself as she thought about the intrigue Draco so evidently felt. My plan is working, she thought, and sat down with her friends.
"Did you get what you needed?" Alexandra asked, throwing down her cards. "I'm out."
"Oh yeah," Pansy said, leaning back in her chair. "Exactly what I needed."