6.

All he knew was that he wanted to bring some extra guests, when he was firecalled in the morning, and Harry was flummoxed, none the wiser as to who the other people were going to be, when Teddy was going to come over for lunch. They would be there any minute, as he knew Teddy to be punctual, quite the opposite of Harry himself, and he had some salmon slowly baking in the stove, as well as sweet potatoes and parsnips and a fresh made coleslaw (he knew Winky the house-elf - who he had inherited from after the war - would be wanting to interfere, so Harry had given her a day off, and was happy to do all the work himself), knowing Teddy loved this dish, and hoping it would please whoever would be joining him. According to his godson, he knew at least one of the people, but he didn't want to give away who it was. Harry had spent a few minutes racking his brain, trying to come up with names, but then he got sidetracked by an owl from the publishers, who seemed to be employing people to do work on Sunday mornings.

The house was coming on leaps and bounds, since he let the contractors in, and the interior had improved so much that he hardly recognised the place some days. He loved coming down in the mornings, making himself tea on the stove, having toast sat at the table which looked out over the - admittedly - still wild looking garden, but he was going to get started on that in the new year, when Ron would be able to help him. For now he was happy having a home again, after spending months in Hogsmeade, and over a year in his then-girlfriend's place, so having tea in his own kitchen, or a coffee on his own sofa, while reading a book, was fine with him.

The doorbell rang, just as Harry was checking on the salmon, so he shoved it back into its place and walked up to the front door. That too had transformed into a light, friendly space, with pictures of people that meant a lot to him - he had Sirius and Remus smiling, and his mum and dad as well, and he smiled back at them, and the builders had managed to conceal the godawful painting of Walburga Black behind some kind of false wall - as he turned the latch, and pulled the handle towards himself. There was Teddy, beaming away at him, offering him a box of chocolate frogs - as had become a joke between them - and as he stepped aside, he noticed a nice-looking dark-haired woman in her late thirties, who waited to be introduced. As she stepped forward, sticking her hand out and greeting her host, Harry felt rather startled by the face that smiled back at him next.

Draco Malfoy…

"So this is Anna, who is an old colleague of Draco here. And you know him already…" Teddy spoke, but the words took a while to reach Harry's brain. Anna shook Harry's hand.

"Thanks for letting me come here, Draco and Teddy here have told me lots about you already!" she said enthusiastically, and Harry warmed to her immediately.

"You're most welcome, Anna, come in," Harry stepped to his side to let his three guests in, nodding at Draco, who looked very uncomfortable, but friendly.

"Draco gave me some wine just now, but I think we should have it with the meal - do you drink?" Anna showed Harry the bottle, which he recognised as being first-class, and wondered what Draco was thinking, having it ending up at Potter's lunch table. Surely that wasn't his intention when he bought it…

He guided Teddy and the others through the long hallway to the kitchen, with it's big table and comfortable feel, where a fire was crackling, and the smells of the fish and the vegetable mingled with that of burning wood. Harry loved that smell, as it reminded him of so many happy days in the Burrow with Ron and Hermione.

"So this house belongs to the Black family, then…" Draco mumbled after a while, as he took in the place he had heard of so many times, but never visited.

"One of the branches, yes," Harry answered, not too loudly either. "I'll show you the family tree later, if you're interested. It's in the drawing room, upstairs."

Draco smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that would be nice," he said, gently. He kept the smile on his face, and followed Harry to the table, where he had some glasses filled with wine he had already opened.

"Oh, you're not cooking salmon for me, are you?" Teddy beamed, opening the small glass door of the cooker's oven. "It smells delish, uncle Harry!"

"Well, I don't see you that often anymore, do I?"

"So, did you go to Hogwart as well, Harry?" Anna asked after she had taken a sip from the wine. Pulling a face, she put the glass on the table.

"Yeah, I did… That's where Draco and I got to know each other… Kind of…" Harry smiled carefully, wondering how much he could say in front of him. Their time at the school was obviously tainted.

"Draco told me a bit about it, so nice that you're still in contact." Anna smiled.

"Well, contact is a big word… We hadn't seen each other until last September, when I was staying in Hogsmeade." Harry answered, feeling a bit strange. She seemed very keen to encourage the brittle connection between them. What did she know?

...o0o0o0o…

The wine was lovely. Draco hoped his choice would be up to Potter's standard, as he sipped from his glass. He had great taste, that was certain!

He was watching the conversation between Potter, Teddy and Anna, and caught the odd word, since he was unnerved by the way his host was making sure everyone was comfortable. The lunch he was cooking smelled delicious, as Teddy had spotted, and the atmosphere in the kitchen gave him goosebumps. In a good way. The last time he felt that way was probably when he was at the house of Teddy's grandmother, his aunt 'Meda. Would she have been here? Did his mother's side of the family come here for tea visits? He doubted it.

Anna was in full flight, joking with Teddy and Potter, and Draco felt like just listening in. He knew she had been thrilled to meet Potter, and had even insisted on putting another dress on before they set off to find Teddy at a place he had arranged. She had taken ages, Draco recalled, while he sat downstairs in the foyer, drinking some coffee. She did make an astonishing appearance, though, he had to admit. Anna looked so much like Markus, in some light. They both had curly black hair, and high cheekbones, and beautiful hazel eyes. Somehow, seeing her come down the stairs in the green coat, he was reminded of her brother even more, and he felt a strange jolt in his stomach.

"Hogmeade, is that up in Scotland too?" Anna asked, looking at Draco.

"Yes, it's the nearest village to Hogwarts," he answered. He looked at Anna a little confused, as she seemed to suddenly pronounce place names differently, and her German accent came through stronger than he recalled. Maybe it was just him, he thought, the combination of the gorgeous wine, and being in Potter's house. Potter, who looked very nice, despite wearing nothing other than the jeans and buttoned shirt he usually wore, up in Scotland. This one was purple-ish grey, with small motives, which he was trying to figure out what they were, but felt too self-aware to be seen staring at his host's clothes for too long. His eyes went up to his face, which was still the same face that was etched in his mind from their night together - older, more mature, inviting… The glasses were still there, but they looked less jarring. They even gave him a sense of gravitas. Or whatever…

"Okay, are you guys ready for lunch?" Potter asked as he got up.

"Need a hand getting it ready?" Teddy asked and got up without waiting for the reply.

"Do you want to open the bottle you guys brought?" Potter asked, looking at Draco. He smiled as he handed him the corkscrew, which he spelled onto the bottle. The cork came off with a slight pop, and Draco spelled it on the counter, and set the bottle next to it to air. His hand touched Potter's as he did so, and currents seemed to course though his body. He wished they were alone, so he could hold that hand, take it in his, and bring it to his mouth.

Embarrassed by the thought, he moved towards the table and sat down. What the hell was going on with him?!

"Did you know James has Draco as his teacher?" Teddy said. He was handing the plates around as Potter filled them with the various food bits. "He said he's really good."

"Yeah, he mentioned it in one of his letters," Potter said, and smiled at Draco. Little does he know - Draco thought. He looked sideways at Anna, who seemed more interested in the food that was coming her way.

"Not too much salmon please," she said. He saw her carefully push the part she was given to the edge of the plate. Hm… Odd. She loves fish, usually. Maybe she's not feeling too great.

He took another sip, and listened to the chat Teddy and Anna were having about arts, and possible art colleges, then slowly found himself again staring at Potter, who was also listening to the other two. He looked a lot better than when he was living in the Three Broomsticks, Draco thought. Happier, more at ease. He had hardly been in Potter's presence when he was relaxed like this. He smiled so much, it lit up his eyes. He seemed to be looking after himself better than in Hogsmeade. he couldn't help notice how much it pleased him.

...o0o0o0o…

When it had gotten dark, and they had finished the meal, lit some candles and said goodbye to Teddy, Draco seemed unwilling to leave, Harry noticed. Anna had made herself comfortable, although there appeared to be a change in mood between them. Draco seemed on edge with her, which was strange, as they looked so at ease when they arrived. Anna hadn't drunk anything of the wine, but was fairly jolly, pulling Draco's leg, but he gave the impression of not being too amused by it.

The meal had been pleasant, with Teddy on form, making sure that the conversation never stalled. Harry enjoyed it, having missed these kinds of get-togethers with friends, old ones or new, like Anna and in a way Draco. They may have known each other for many years, but they never socialised. It was incredibly enjoyable, seeing Draco like this.

It happened so suddenly. Harry was shocked by the way Draco had out of the blue gotten his wand out, and coldly pointed it at Anna, speaking 'Revelio!' and seeing the woman change into a younger male.

"Fucking hell, Markus!" Draco shouted, upon seeing his former partner sit on the seat where just now 'Anna' had sat.

But before any explanations were given, Markus had found his own wand and pointed it at Draco, with a strange, enraged look in his eyes, and Harry quickly grabbed his and shouted a loud 'Expelliarmus!', resulting in Markus' wand flying in the air and landing on the ground. Harry moved fast and grabbed it, pointing his own still at the man next to him. Draco looked shocked, stared at Markus, then Harry, who smiled at him.

"What the bloody fuck was that?!" Draco shouted.

"You deserve to be in so much pain, Draco Malfoy!" Markus yelled back. "You are a horrible person, and your crimes will not go by unnoticed."

"What?! What crimes? I've done nothing wrong…"

"You were never punished for being a dead eater. I know, I've looked at your records…"

"He's been punished enough - Markus, is it?" Harry chipped in, still keeping his wand pointed at the man. "You have no idea about what went on here."

"My sister knows about you. And she never told me…"

"What were you going to do? You're hardly a powerful wizard… You'd never out-do Harry here…" Draco looked piercingly at Markus, then caught Harry's eyes. "Thanks, by the way…"

"I know some Hexes… I could Crucio you, like they did to my mother…"

"You couldn't Crucio a fly to save your life…" Draco snarled. "Like you could get past the both of us."

"I was going to wait until we had gone, when we were outside…" Markus still looked angered.

"Good thing I followed my gut, then…" The look in Draco's eyes was scaring Harry slightly, reminding him of years gone by.

"Where is your sister?" Harry asked.

"Back at the hotel…"

"I should go back there," Draco said.

"We'll come with you," Harry reacted, spelling Markus into a tight Roped Bind Spell. "He could have someone helping him…"

"I don't," muttered Markus, but was glared down by Draco.

"I just hope for you that you didn't hurt Anna," he said, and they moved to the Floo. He never took his wand off Markus.

When they arrived at the hotel, Draco bust the door of Anna's room, finding her tied down on the bed, along with a Silencio spell stopping her screams from being audible. Harry reversed the spell while Draco untied Anna.

"Oh, thank Merlin you came! What the heck has my brother done?" Anna exclaimed as she was freed, then noticed him stand behind Harry. "What have you done Markus?! You stupid boy!"

"He wanted me to suffer like your mother had," Draco said.

"But Draco figured out in time that he had used Polyjuice to change into you, and revealed him," Harry added.

"Oh, you are Harry then?" Anna smiled carefully, rubbing her wrist carefully, and Harry shook her hand for the second time. "So glad to meet you, finally, Harry. Draco couldn't shut up about you…"

"Anna!"

"Sorry, Draco, but you haven't… Not out loud, anyway…"

"She's a Legilimens," Draco explained, not daring to look at Harry. "Be careful what you think about…"

Harry blushed at hearing this. How did the Occlumency thing work again?!

"Oh, Harry…" Anna said, smiling at him and winking when she caught his eye.

"Anyway, what are we going to do with him here?" Draco said, after he cleared his throat, off-handedly pointing at Markus. He fleetingly looked at Harry, and noticed how red he had gone.

"We could turn him in to the Aurors?" Harry suggested, regaining his composure slightly. "They can deal with him…"

"Good idea," Draco replied while glaring at Markus.

"Or I could take him back to Germany and have a serious word with him…?" Anna suggested.

"He wanted to Crucio Draco!"

"Like he actually could do that," came the words from the blond man.

"I'm sorry…" quietly came from Markus.

"You're what?" Draco snapped.

"I'm sorry… It seemed like a good idea. I was angry with you, and sad that I had failed at getting you back… And then you slept with him," he nodded at Harry with disdain.

"How did you know?"

"I had stayed behind, and I saw you hanging out with him - you said you weren't friends…"

"You went through all that trouble to fucking hex me cos I realised I'd had developed feelings for Harr- Potter… Him…"

Harry saw Draco mentally kick himself for having said what he just said. A sense of delight coursed through him, for just a moment.

"Right, well, I'll take him back home, and you boys can have a nice, long chat, okay?" Anna cut in. "But I'm starving, so why don't we have a bite to eat, in that pub where we had a meal yesterday?"

"I still think we should get Aurors involved," Draco grumbled.

"Believe me, once I'm finished with him, back home, he'll wish that you had…" Anna said, looking very serious. "Using Polyjuice… Was hast du dir dabei gedacht? Wait till father hears about this…"

Harry looked at Anna, and then at Draco, who frowned at Anna, and they burst out laughing.

...o0o0o0o…

Once goodbyes were said and Anna had taken Markus onto the train back to Berlin, Draco felt a lot less sure of himself. They walked to the part of the station, containing the Floo that would take them back to wherever they chose, but neither dared to break the silence. Both stopped and turned to face each other, and it was Harry who spoke first.

"Want to come back to mine?" he almost whispered. "I still have some treacle tart that I don't want to eat all by myself…"

"That sounds good… Throw in some tea and I'm in…" Draco smiled.

"I could stretch to that," Harry smiled back, and stated his address while throwing some powder into the Floo. Draco repeated it and followed quickly behind, landing in the hallway of no.12 , which still had the candles burning and the fireplace roaring. Harry had walked on into the kitchen, so Draco followed him there. It was still nice and warm, and the wine glasses stood where they had left them a few hours earlier.

"Mad, wasn't it?" Draco spoke, leaning against the enormous dresser, which was filled with plates and cups and little trinkets, cards from friends, and a miniature dragon.

"Just a little. How did you know it was not Anna?" Harry asked, while getting some mugs from a cupboard, and spelling some teabags from a glass jar into them.

"The way he said Hogwart, and Hogmeade - he missed the 's' out in both of them, and I recalled getting annoyed by it. Anna's English is almost perfect, and she'd not miss out letters like that…" Draco explained, while watching his host pour hot water into the mugs. Funny how he'd use spells on some things and not others.

Harry took the mugs to the corner of the kitchen where the fireplace was, which had a comfortable looking sofa in front of it, with a small wooden table inbetween. He sat down while Harry went to fetch the plates with a slice of tart and some forks, presenting one to Draco, and sitting down himself.

"Very astute! But then, you always were very perceptive," Harry smiled.

"Well, we all have our stronger suits…" Draco said, looking at Harry. "Some just take longer to be appreciated…"

Harry smiled coyly at that, and looked away, glancing into the fire. "We have to want to look beyond what we've learnt about others as well, I've learnt," he mused.

"Suppose… Some things can be harder to forgive, or forget, though," Draco said, also staring into the flames.

"Yeah, true." Harry took a sip of his tea. "Are you… thinking of something specific?"

Draco turned sideways to look at Harry, who was doggedly avoiding his eyes.

"Dunno… I can recall a list of things I've done to you that you could very easily never forgive me for. And I would totally understand." Draco carried on looking at Harry. "All the times I bullied you, for instance… You must have hated me so much."

"I did… God, you have no idea how often I wanted to - maybe not kill you, but hurt you so badly… Or show you how little I cared about you and your antics. You were just another version of my cousin, who I grew up with, and he bullied me mercilessly… Got massive delight from finding new ways to make me suffer…" Harry's eyes glazed over recalling the days he was Dudley's personal punchbag. He then sighed, and looked at Draco. "You were a bastard, back then, Draco Malfoy. But, looking back, I suppose we both did what we did for reasons that were important to us…"

"That's very Gryffindor of you there, Potter…" Draco grinned. "But you gave as good as you got, to be fair. I think I feared you more than my father at times…"

"No way…" Harry looked at his neighbour in surprise.

"Oh yes, Harry 'butter wouldn't melt' Potter… There's a nasty side to you that held you in very good stead while you had to deal with the likes of me… You were no wilting flower, that's for sure…" Draco grinned. "You're still not. I wouldn't be sitting here if you were…"

Harry caught his eye now, and grinned back. "Never thought I'd hear you say that, without being pressured into it."

"Well, it's true. You're tough, and a hell of a lot braver than I ever will be."

"Some call it brave, others call it mad…" Harry was still looking at him.

"There's a thin line, and time will tell what is what." Draco looked back, then to his mouth, which was so ready for kissing, he thought. Oh, to brush his own against that mouth, Draco silently mused. He started to lean in lightly, initiating exactly that, and he noticed it was reciprocated, and his stomach did annoying flips as he neared Harry, knowing he was so close to touching those lips once more.

Just then a door opened off the back of the kitchen and in wandered a house elf, who made some grumbling noises, starting to clear up the glasses from the table, ready to get the washing up done.

"Master always leaves his cups for Winky to clear. Winky just cleans and cleans and cleans…" they heard her say.

"I said you could have the day off, didn't I?" Harry told her, his voice very annoyed. He was looking apologetic to Draco. "Sorry about that…"

"How can Winky have the day off when there's the house to be cleaned? Master will be so… Oh! It is you! The white man from the school!" Winky looked at Draco in mild disgust. "Do not touch Winky, please!"

"Stop it now, Winky. Draco will not harm you. He is here with me, as my guest."

"Is the crazy man back?" the look in her eyes was of pure fear.

"No, Winky, he is not back. He is dead. Draco is here with me, he is okay." Harry put a hand on Draco's arm to show Winky she had nothing to fear. "I promise you. Now go back to your room, or upstairs. You can do the cleaning later."

"Winky shall go now. Please be careful, Master Potter…"

"I shall, Winky, thank you."

They watched her scuttle back to the door she'd come out of, and waited for silence to return.

"You have an elf?" Draco looked baffled. "Does Granger know?" He recalled reading about her efforts for S.P.E.W. at the Ministry.

"Well, yes. She convinced me to have her stay with me, cos she was miserable in Hogwarts. She knew, well hoped, that her life with me would be more favourable." Harry sighed, annoyed that the mood had shifted. "She can be really grumpy though…"

"Have you ever met a jolly house-elf?" Draco sniggered.

"Don't think I have… Dobby came close, though, after he deflected from you lot…"

"That's right! You stole Dobby from us!" Draco looked astonished.

"Didn't!" Harry replied, mocking outrage. He jokingly slapped Draco's arm.

"Did too, my dad was distraught for ages!" Draco grabbed Harry's hand, and pulled him towards him.

"Oh, poor thing," Harry quipped, half-heartedly batting Draco away from him, but not putting in much effort.

"You have no idea how hard that was for me," Draco carried on, grabbing hold of Harry, and pulling him close enough to hug. "You're lucky you're cute…"

"Well, you know… Natural charms and all that…" Harry allowed himself to be held by Draco, who gently held his arms around him, kissing him on the side of his face.

"And so modest…"

They remained sitting like this for a while. Draco holding Harry, who was leaning against him, head resting on his shoulders, arms around him, and after a minute or so, he found Harry's hand, and brought it to his mouth, like he had wanted to hours earlier. Carefully he pressed his lips on the back and laid it back on his lap, still holding on.

"I should be getting back to Scotland…" Draco whispered, but refraining from acting on it.

"It's still early…" Harry replied, moving away slightly, just to get a better view of his eyes. "Stay the night…"

"I'd love to," Draco whispered again.

"Tell them you're ill…"

"What, lie to McGonagall?" Draco turned to catch Harry's eyes properly. "What would your son say?"

"Right now I don't care…"

"Oh, and why ever not?"

"Other things to worry about, for one…"

"Like what…?" Draco smiled suggestively at Harry, who was now leaning against the back of the sofa, head on one hand, the other playing with Draco's fingers.

"Like, getting you to stop leaving my house…" Harry's voice sounded sultry. Once again he caught his eye, and a smile followed. The hand that was playing with Draco's now moved up to his face, and he felt it touch his skin tenderly, as he closed his eyes, to fully appreciate the touch. It was so very wonderful, to feel himself being caressed like this.

"I don't know…" Draco breathed almost inaudibly. "Please kiss me…"

Almost immediately his wish was granted, as he felt Harry move closer, and the hand on his face pulled him slightly more towards him.

"Please stay the night…" Harry breathed, as he reached his lips.

"I will…" Draco felt his breath hitch a bit, as his heart started beating faster, and his breathing sped up. "I will… Oh, Harry…"

A kiss followed, and Draco sank into a trance-like state, feeling Harry's lips on his, the taste of treacle tart and tea, the scent of his aftershave, hearing his breath and Harry's getting faster, a soft moan, first him, then Harry and oh, this was so good… This was even better than up in Hogsmeade, this was amazing. So good, so perfect, and oh, Harry moved up to sit on his lap, to be even closer. It was amazing - feeling the undeniable excitement of the other man against his stomach, against his crotch. He tightened his arms around Harry, wanting to feel him even closer still, feel his body move together, his body and Harry's, and he slipped his hands underneath the purple shirt, after pulling it out of his jeans.

"Wait," he heard, from somewhere far away, and noticed that the shirt had come off. In front of him was bare skin, a chest that moved up and down, dark hairs that went all the way down into those jeans. Draco touched the exposed skin, as Harry sat back a little, taking in the feel of being touched, being stroked and memorised, admired and wanted.

Things went fast after that. Draco had his shirt removed by nimble hands, and their kisses became more and more passionate. The fire in the fireplace was slowly dying, but it didn't seem to matter too much. They only noticed each other, disappeared into the oneness they had become. Draco didn't want it to come to and end, but it did, they did - one followed soon by the other.

"Come upstairs with me, it's more comfortable there," Harry spoke softly, after a long while, as he got up and took Draco by the hand, and together they walked the creaking stairs, to the second floor, where Harry's bed was, and there they rested in each other's arms, ready for whatever came next.

~ tbc ~