A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! Enjoy this little Drarry one shot! Happy reading :)

I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING! All of that goes to JK Rowling!

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Harry got out of the car. Vernon stared in shock at the restaurant. He had complained the entire way that the address Draco had sent had to be a fake; who could possibly afford a place as fancy as that?

Of course, Vernon didn't know how rich the Malfoys were. Harry wasn't sure he knew either given that they had chosen a muggle restaurant for the evening. He adjusted his tie and smoothed down his shirt in an attempt to look less underdressed than he currently felt.

They walked inside. Harry stepped over to the waiter and gave the name. He led them through the restaurant past people dressed much finer than anything the Dursleys could own. Harry could've sworn he heard Petunia gasp and whisper about some famous person she saw.

The waiter led them to a private room in the very back. Lucius Malfoy rose from his seat.

"I see you found your way alright. This is my wife, Narcissa, and I'm certain you've already heard about our son."

"No. We haven't." Vernon shot a look at Harry.

"Is that so?"

"Why don't we take our seats?" Petunia suggested. "Vernon, dear, come sit next to me. Narcissa, was it? That sounds like a very old name."

"I come from an old family."

Harry sat down next to Draco.

"This is going to be interesting," he muttered. "You didn't tell them anything about me?"

"They don't exactly ask about Hogwarts or anything. And I'm not all that famous to muggles. Besides, what was I supposed to tell them?"

Thankfully, Draco didn't have much of an answer. Harry wasn't sure what had happened himself. Draco had practically marked himself as Harry's rival before they were even Sorted. Harry had internally groaned anytime Draco said something that ended with "my father will hear about this, Potter". Second year had only gotten worse once Draco joined the Quidditch team as Slytherin's Seeker.

But something had started to change once they reached third year. Draco had made fun of him for fainting on the train because of the Dementors. A week later though, Harry had found an anonymous package of chocolates in his dorm room. He had assumed they were from Professor Lupin, but the man had denied any sort of gift.

Fourth year, Harry had been distracted with the Triwizard Tournament. Unbeknownst to him, Draco had been on the sidelines. He had voiced his opinion about how great Cedric Diggory was to anyone who could hear. When Potter had complained about how he would fight the dragon—Potter had never been subtle about his woes—Draco had dropped the book on summoning spells in Granger's bag. When Potter had to go under the Black Lake, he had let it slip about Longbottom's plant obsession during one bullying session when Potter was within earshot.

All the girls had practically thrown themselves at Draco when the Yule Ball came around. He had turned them down naturally with a smirk that let them know he might be interested. Zabini had teased him about how he was the only bloke who couldn't get a date despite all of the options he had. And when he learned that Potter had gone with one of the Patil twins? He didn't want to believe it nor could he deny the jealousy he had. Draco just brushed it off as denial at the sheer audacity Potter had. Harry Potter could take anyone he wanted and he went with a Patil?

When Harry claimed that Voldemort had returned, he had been surprised to read the article in the Daily Prophet that the Malfoys supported the claim. He would've thought that the Malfoys would be in agreement with the ministry since Draco's father worked for the ministry—did he or was he just always there? Harry still didn't know.

But in his fifth year, Harry had gotten an ally against Umbridge. He would find small notes in his dorm room about Umbridge's plans. There were warnings against certain locations they had considered for the DA meetings. One of them had warned him about a potential spy who fed Umbridge information. Harry hadn't suspected Malfoy any until Ginny, Ron, Neville, and Luna were so "helpfully and clumsily" let go by Draco and his lackeys. When he had gotten back from the ministry, Harry could've sworn there was a glint in Malfoy's eye.

And Draco had been even more surprised when he got home and found the note left on his pillow. The thanks for helping him out along with the apology for what had happened to his father. He knew it was Potter; their old House Elf was loyal to him to a fault. Who else would know how to get inside the manor?

Sixth year, Harry began to take more notice of Draco. He became concerned when the notes didn't appear in his dorm and the Slytherin looked more distant than ever. Harry told himself he wanted to keep an eye on Draco because surely the son of Lucius Malfoy would be primed to take his spot in Voldemort's ranks. But he was also concerned about the blonde. Harry had faced Voldemort enough times by then; he knew how ruthless he could get. And when Draco had led the assault against Hogwarts that led to Dumbledore's death. Harry had been angry at Snape for what he had done, but he was also angry at Draco. He was angry he had fooled himself into believing Draco had actually changed; that he could ever deserve Harry's pity for what he got himself into.

They had gone on the run. Harry had to hunt for the Horcruxes. He thought they would've been caught when they ended up at Malfoy Manor, but Draco had lied. He had lied to save them; lied in front of Bellatrix Lestrange herself. And after, at Hogwarts, when Harry revealed he wasn't dead, he had seen Draco again. It had been for a brief second, but he felt the wand in his hand; saw the blonde give a curt nod before he turned and joined his family.

Harry had snuck away from the celebrations once the battle was over. He found Draco in the middle of the Astronomy Tower. He just stood there. Alone.

"Came to return this." Harry held the wand out toward him.

"You could've left me to die there in the Room of Requirement."

"We didn't."

"You didn't. Granger and Weasley wanted to leave me there. Why didn't you?"

"I've been asking myself that same question since you saved me in your house. You lied to Bellatrix."

"Yeah. Didn't end well for either of us, did it?" He put his hands in his pockets. "You were there, weren't you? That night that—"

"The night Snape killed Dumbledore? Yeah. I was here."

"That was a year ago." Draco's voice sounded hollow.

"Doesn't feel like it."

Draco finally turned to look at Harry. "We've been wanting to get out for a while now."

"What?"

"After my father was released from Azkaban. We didn't want to be a part of his circle. Not after everything he did. He took over the manor; made us prisoners in our own house. Bella kept saying how much of an honor it was. I thought mother was going to blast her head off."

"She saved me. She lied to him; to Voldemort. Told him I was dead. Thought she just wanted to save you."

"I wouldn't know. She's always kept things close; side effect of having Bellatrix Lestrange as your sister, I guess." He shrugged. "You still haven't answered my question."

"You didn't deserve to die like that. I know we've never been on the best of terms, but you're not evil, Malfoy."

"Thanks for that, Potter."

"What I mean is that you're not—if it had been a Death Eater, I wouldn't have given it a second thought. But after everything, it felt wrong to leave you there. I'm used to fighting against the other Death Eaters. They're adults. They made their choice a long time ago." Harry sighed. "But we're the same age. I can fight against the Death Eaters, but you? Someone I grew up with? I have no idea how my parents did it when all of this first started." Harry walked over. He put the wand in Draco's hand.

He saw the Dark Mark on his forearm. Just the very edge beneath his sleeve. Draco took the wand away and crossed his arms.

"Still think I'm not a Death Eater?"

"Take it from someone who knows: that doesn't make you who you are." Harry turned to walk away.

"So that's it then? Just going to say that and leave? What? Scared, Potter? Scared that I could hex you right now and get revenge or something?"

Harry stopped at the top of the stairs. He smirked. "You wish."

Something had changed after that conversation. It was subtle. But Harry had spent more time with his Auror training than he had with Ginny. A date night had slipped his mind, a forgotten anniversary. Harry found himself more interested in the cases they got than in whatever Ginny had planned for them.

He had broken up with her. It was unfair to lead her on when he felt nothing. Ron had shouted at Harry for breaking his sister's heart. Hermione had chosen Ron over Harry and he was alone. His office and his small flat were all he had.

The chocolate box had been dropped on his desk the same day his breakup with Ginny had hit the gossip columns. It reminded him of those chocolates he had gotten after the Dementor attack.

Draco had lurked around the ministry more after that. They had "bumped" into each other in the lift. A few times, they had stopped for a pint because "it was a long day and I need a drink". Before either of them realized it, drinks had turned into dinner. Dinner had turned into a standing date every Thursday. Harry had taken Draco out to muggle museums and a few concerts.

When Harry had almost broken down because of all the pressure, Draco had been his first thought. He had flooed over with a pint of ice cream, wine, and a few cheesy muggle films Harry had shown him. He had doubled over laughing the next morning when Draco Malfoy strutted into the ministry with a bright pink suit on and a Cosmo magazine in one hand "because I have an important meeting with a client, and if it won the case in that film, then why shouldn't it work for me?".

And so, Harry found himself seated in the back of a restaurant between the Malfoys and the Dursleys. Narcissa simply ignored any gossip Petunia threw her way while Vernon questioned Lucius about how he could possibly afford something so expensive. Harry tried to hide a smirk when Vernon sputtered at the mention of Harry's fame in the Wizarding World.

"W-what do you mean 'he's the most famous person in history'?"

"Simply that." Lucius arched an eyebrow. "Or are you telling me that you know nothing about your nephew's achievements?"

"We've made a point of keeping away from all of that nonsense," Petunia added. "Especially after how terribly involved my sister was in everything. I told her she shouldn't be so involved, and look at where it got her!"

Narcissa placed a hand on Petunia's. The women shared a glance. She didn't need to go into detail about her history with Bellatrix's fanatical dealings with the Dark Lord. Petunia knew they shared the same grief of losing a beloved sister.

"Don't tell me you're warming up to these people," Vernon argued.

"I've had my hesitations." Petunia withdrew her hand. "But I also know what a dangerous world theirs can be. After all, wasn't it Harry's idea that we leave our home because of how terrible things were getting? You may not have wanted to leave, but I did."

"He wanted us to pack up everything we ever had and pretend none of it mattered!"

"Dudley mattered. We had to keep him safe." Petunia turned toward Narcissa. "He was my son. Harry could protect himself from the danger your world posed; Dudley was defenseless."

"That I can understand." Narcissa looked at her husband. "We couldn't lose Draco. Not after what we had been through."

Lucius gave a curt nod. Draco had told Harry about how his mother had gone to Snape to beg his help. They had argued about that the minute Lucius had returned from Azkaban, but Lucius had eventually understood his wife's motives.

"Draco?"

"Yes, father?"

"Do you honestly wish to continue this arrangement with Potter? Or is this a part of one of your plans?"

"There isn't a plan." Draco looked at Vernon. "And if you have anything to say against Harry, then you'll have to go through me. Not my father. Me." He tilted his chin up. "And I'm not my father. I have connections out there in the muggle world. I'll know if you do anything against Harry and I don't go back on my threats."

Draco hadn't raised his voice or stood, but Harry could still feel his presence. Vernon shrank in his seat and mumbled something Harry couldn't make out.

The rest of the meal continued without much argument. They walked out of the restaurant. Draco paused just long enough to adjust his scarf.

"How'd you think that went?" Harry prompted.

"Could've been worse." Draco shrugged. "I thought my father would curse your uncle out there for a moment."

"Yeah. Until you scared him. Didn't know you had that in you."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow. "Scared of me now, Potter?"

"You wish."

Draco rolled his eyes. "See you around the ministry, Potter."

"See you around. You know you can call me 'Harry', right, Draco?"

"But everyone calls you that." He shrugged. "Might as well save something for myself." Draco walked off. "See you, Potter."

"See you, Malfoy."