"So d'you think Harry's going to ask you to move in with him?" Greg asks once Draco arrives at home. Harry had absconded to his old house after dropping Draco at his doorstep, claiming that he needed to pick up some clean clothes, and so Draco is alone with Greg.
"I don't think so," Draco says.
"Shame. It would be nice to have this place to myself." Draco snorts.
"That's presumptuous."
"Well you're not going to sell it, are you?"
"No."
"And you wouldn't kick me out if I were paying rent, would you?"
"No."
"Ergo: place to myself." Greg grins up at him, propping his feet up on the coffee table. Draco rolls his eyes and plops himself down on the sofa. He starts to entertain the question of whether or not he would move in with Potter if he asked before quickly realizing Potter never will.
...
Draco spends his one day off sleeping, doing laundry and other such chores that come from not having a house elf. Greg pulls his weight and cleans the kitchen until it is gleaming. Harry flits in and out of the house, never quite staying long enough to hear Draco complain about their lack of elf-ly help.
And before he knows it, September 2nd is here and it's time to build the epic book fort.
Greg is so excited about the prank that he wakes up early and cooks them a full English breakfast - for "stamina". Draco is distracted as he flips through The Prophet, but does notice one article about one Timothy Backstrom, who the Reliquary informs him is an illegal salamander smuggler. When Harry joins them in the kitchen for a quick mug of coffee before work, Draco tells him about Backstrom in an undertone while Greg washes the dishes.
"Good luck," Harry says as they part outside of the bookstore. He leans in and kisses Draco quickly on the cheek. "See you in a bit." He winks. Harry has his own role to play in their scheme. He is to provide the edible distraction that will keep Big Dick out of the way while the fort is constructed. Draco grins at him as he walks away and then schools his face into the mask of indifference that he wore so often at school, so as not to give anything away to the manager.
Phase One of the Plan goes off without a hitch. Around nine ten, Harry stops by "unannounced" to see Draco. He bribes Big Dick using a triple chocolate and banana sundae to let him spend time with his boyfriend during work hours. Once Big Dick's office door is closed, Harry gives Draco a nod and the team jumps into Phase Two.
Luca directs them like a choir master, waving his wand and occasionally calling out instructions. They have to stack most of the books by hand, due to the temperamental nature of the books, but they have been practicing so they go quite quickly. Draco applies his stabilizing spells to the books on the bottoms of the stacks and slowly but surely, a tower arises in the middle of the store.
The Final Phase involves Emma, Nathalie, Greg and Joe standing precariously on shelves holding an intricate roof of Flourish and Blotts banners while Luca floats above them on a broomstick, attaching the "roof" to the ceiling.
The whole process takes about twenty minutes, during which time Draco is relieved to find that not a single patron enters the store. Once it is done, they stand back and admire their handiwork. Luca looks around at them all, tears shining in his eyes.
"It's beautiful," he whispers. He's not wrong. This, Draco thinks, is less of a prank and more of a promotion for the store. But he's not about to tell Joe and Luca that.
"What," comes an irritated voice from the front of the store. "The hell is this?" Draco turns around to see Jamie standing, hands on hips, staring up at their creation.
"A book fort," Luca says proudly. Jamie frowns at it and shakes his head.
"I don't think Big Dick will be pleased about this," he says and Luca's face falls. Draco takes Jamie gently by the arm and leads him away from the group.
"We can dismantle this and be back up and running in ten minutes."
"Ten minutes? Do you know what ten minutes means in Flourish and Blotts galleons?" Jamie asks. Draco frowns at him.
"I didn't realize we had our own currency," he says. Jamie narrows his eyes. "Look. I'm sorry about all the commotion. You know how Joe and Luca are." But Jamie just shakes his head. Then he puts a hand on Draco's shoulder and looks at him earnestly.
"We are not stock boys anymore, Draco. We are leaders. Flourish and Blotts leaders. And you wonder why Big Dick wants me for assistant manager?" Jamie crosses his arms and sticks out his chest.
"You've applied?"
"Of course." This explains why Jamie was so efficient behind the till the other day. Draco wonders where this newfound interest in being good at his job came from. Probably from the prospect of a pay raise.
"Well," Draco says. "Good luck then. May the best person get the position." He reaches out to shake Jamie's hand, but Jamie ignores him and walks away in the direction of Big Dick's office. Draco gnaws on his lip for a moment and then returns to the rest of the group.
"Well?" Luca asks. Draco shrugs.
"Let's see what Big Dick says." Because he suspects that actually Big Dick might think it looks good. Indeed, several people have walked into the store since he took Jamie aside and are now looking at the tower of books appreciatively. He spots Harry among the onlookers and sidles over to him.
"Hi," he says, nudging Harry gently to get his attention. Harry turns and smiles at him. "What are you still doing here?"
"I gave Big Dick a sundae so that I could spend time with you," Harry says. "So here I am, spending time with you. I just kept out of the way while you were working."
"For once, " Draco mutters. Harry's smile turns into a smirk and Draco feels a hand slide across his lower back and wrap around his waist. Without thinking, he leans into Harry, savoring their closeness. But at the same time, his heart aches with sadness. These moments are so bittersweet. He hates feeling so close but knowing that none of it is real.
He is distracted from these feelings however when Big Dick walks into the room. Or, more accurately, walks into the room and then stops in his tracks, staring up at the tower of books. Jamie stands behind him, looking smug. The prick. Draco has never had much of an opinion about Jamie, but he has never really liked the man either and the smirk on Jamie's face pushes him from indifference to active dislike. Draco quickly disentangles himself from Harry and takes a step towards Big Dick.
"What?" Big Dick starts to ask, gesturing dumbly at the tower of books. And that is when he spots the interested patrons who are peering at the book fort in delight. Joe has ignored everything that has been going on and is continuing to add to the fort, building out rooms from the main tower. He looks up at a nearby patron and smiles at them.
"Can I help you find anything?" he asks, still sitting on the floor. The woman shakes her head and moves to one of the aisles where she starts perusing. Harry takes the opportunity to loudly say how innovative the book fort is, particularly because it highlights how books can be a shelter from real life when real life gets particularly tough. Because of course no one is going to call bullshit on the famous Harry Potter saying that.
"Yes," Big Dick says excitedly. "Exactly." He hurries over to Harry. "Would you mind if we put that on a sign?" Harry shrugs his consent and Big Dick pulls out his wand, conjuring up a sign even as Harry is still standing there.
"Books are a shelter from real life when real life gets tough. - Harry Potter," reads the sign. Big Dick affixes it to the front of the fort. Draco looks around for Jamie and finds the other man staring daggers at them. Draco leans into Harry again once Big Dick has moved away.
"Thanks," he whispers.
"Anytime."
...
Joe and Luca are quick to point out to Big Dick that Draco had been highly influential in the planning and construction of the book fort, which has now become a very popular attraction on Diagon Alley. While no one has run the numbers yet, the store is very clearly busier than a normal Tuesday and Big Dick is beaming. In particular, there has been an increase of interest in their fiction section, which was all but abandoned during the Hogwarts textbook rush during the summer. Also popular are the Witch Weekly's featuring Harry and Draco (and several people ask Draco to autograph them too).
Jamie sulks in the corner while Big Dick gushes praise over Draco. He all but storms out of the store when Big Dick decides there and then to make Draco the assistant manager, tapping Draco's work robes with his wand to add the managerial gold piping to the sleeves.
"This still doesn't mean that you can tell me what to do," Pansy says by way of congratulations. Draco just grins at her.
...
Draco is much less excited to be assistant manager at two am the next morning when he gets an urgent owl from Flourish and Blotts sent by their security wards stating that there has been a break in. He turns to shake Harry awake, but the brunet is already sitting up and blinking at him, clearing sleep from his eyes.
"What is it?" he asks.
"Break in at the bookstore."
"Do you think it's the person you spotted the other day?"
"Possibly. I've got to get over there to help," Draco says. "Merlin, this is like being a prefect again." He strides out of the room and over to his closet. He pulls out the first outfit he finds.
"I'm coming with you," Harry calls from the bedroom.
"Like hell you are. This is my job."
"Yes, and it's my job to keep you safe." There is no arguing with Harry as he is already out of bed and pulling on trousers. Draco frowns and bites his lip but finally says,
"Fine." He pulls a jumper on and then, making sure he has his wand in his pocket, walks to the apparition spot on the landing. Harry joins him a moment later and takes his arm. They disappear with a pop and appear again in front of the store.
Flourish and Blotts is dark at this hour. Draco knows that the security wards are silent, merely alerting managers of any disturbances, so he motions for Harry to be quiet. They peer in through the windows. Sure enough, Draco catches sight of wand-light towards the back of the store, but his view is obstructed by the fort. He silently curses it and takes Harry's hand, dragging him towards the door.
He disables the alarm, the way that Big Dick had showed him earlier that day, and they creep inside. Harry holds up a hand for them to wait and Draco watches as he reaches a hand into his jacket pocket and pulls out a confuso-bomb and a portable swamp. Makeshift tools for arresting whoever this is, should they need them. Draco nods. Harry opens their communication spell and whispers that he will go around and behind the person if Draco goes forward to cut off their escape. Draco nods again and they make their way quietly though the store.
As they reach the wand-light it becomes very clear that it is the alleged book thief that Draco had spotted earlier. Draco quickly activates his recording spell. The thief is oblivious to them as he is gently taking books out from behind Big Dick's wards and placing them into specially lined boxes. Draco thanks the fact that he lives close to work and could be here in a matter of minutes in order to catch the thief in the act. He is not sure where Big Dick lives, but the fact that he is not here yet indicates that it must be farther away.
He catches Harry's movements on the other side of the thief and raises his wand.
"Stupefy," he yells as Harry throws the confuso-bomb. Down in one.
...
"Why didn't you message me sooner?" Pansy grumbles as she claps magical handcuffs on the unconscious book thief.
"No time," Draco says and it's true. They had gone from bed to the shop in a matter of a few minutes.
"Well bloody good job anyway," she says. "Granger says they've been after this bloke for years." Draco can't help but smile. He had caught a notorious book thief and saved the store all in one day.
"Thanks," he says. "It's just a good thing that Potter happened to be staying over." Like he does every night, he thinks, but doesn't say.
"Mm," Pansy muses. "Lucky." She props the man up against a bookcase. "Are we ready to bring him around for questioning?" Draco nods. "Rennervate." The man blinks for a few moments and then seems to register where he is. His eyes dart around the store and Draco watches as he pales.
"I, Major Pansy Parkinson of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, am arresting you for attempted burglary. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on at the Wizengamot. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Will you please tell us your name?"
"No."
"Very well. We are going to take you to the Ministry now, where we will continue our questioning." She leans down and hauls the still unknown man to his feet and frogmarches him out of the store. Draco watches him go with satisfaction. Thanks to him (or, rather, thanks to the Reliquary), they have evidence of the man casing the store and they have the man himself. Even better - all of the books are still in the store, which is a particular relief when Big Dick bursts into the store.
"Draco!" he cries, running over to him. "What happened! The owl said there was a break in! Who are all these people? What is Harry Potter doing here?"
"Just helping out, sir," Harry says and then attempts to melt away into the scrum of people, but fails because Big Dick grabs his hand and shakes it heartily.
"What would we do without you?" he asks breathlessly.
"It was all Draco," Harry says.
"And modest too!"
"No," Harry says more slowly. "It really was all him. Draco deserves the credit. He knocked the man out. I just came along because I was curious as to where he was going." Big Dick turns to Draco and instead of taking his hand, pulls him into a bone crushing hug.
"Draco! My favorite employee! My faithful assistant manager! I don't think I have ever made a better decision than the one I did when I promoted you."
Draco leads Big Dick back to his office and makes him a cup of tea. It takes half an hour, but the man finally calms down. At that point, another member of the DMLEHS comes in and shows Big Dick a picture of the thief and asks him to recount showing the man the rare book collection a few days prior. Draco takes this opportunity to leave.
It is now four thirty in the morning and he has to get up for work in a few hours. He wonders, as he finds Harry in the throng of Ministry employees that have taken over the store, whether Big Dick might give him the day off, for having saved the store and all. But he doubts it.
Harry takes his hand and they walk out into the street. Draco is so tired that he slumps against Harry's shoulders as they walk. Harry wraps an arm gently around his waist and apparates them back to Draco's landing, where Draco all but falls straight back into bed.
He is half asleep when he feels Harry's lip brush his upturned cheek. He thinks he hears Harry whisper,
"Goodnight Draco," but then he falls fully asleep, and when he wakes, it is just a barely remembered dream.
...
Draco receives a hero's welcome when he arrives at Flourish and Blotts the next morning. He is about two hours late as he has slept through his alarm, but no one bats an eyelid at that. Even Jamie is reluctantly clapping.
"I was just doing my job," he says, waving away the applause.
"Was it scary?" asks Joe.
"Was there a fight?" asks Luca. Draco shakes his head and Luca's face falls.
"I just stunned him," Draco says. "He never even saw me."
"But you saved the rare books!" Joe exclaims. Draco is surprised. He didn't think Joe even knew they had a rare book section. Draco shrugs.
"I live nearby. The security owl didn't have far to go."
But as much as he tries to downplay it, the team remains in awe of him for the whole day. Even Greg seems impressed, though once they are alone, he admonishes Draco for not asking for his help.
"I was only two floors down. I could have helped."
"I panicked," Draco said truthfully. "I just apparated straight to the store. Harry only followed me because he's Harry bloody Potter and still feels like he needs to save the world." Greg nods sagely.
"And because he's in love with you," he says.
"He is not."
"Well, he's at the very least smitten with you," Greg says. And then in true Greg fashion, he walks away before Draco can protest any more.
...
Pansy gets lucky with an ID on the book thief that Draco had caught. When she takes his fingerprints, it turns out that he has a very old arrest for improper use of magic by a minor. His name is Nicholas Wise.
But he is still refusing to speak. He has not asked for a solicitor yet, and Pansy thinks this is because he does not realize that she knows who he is. She decides to keep this up her sleeve for a little while longer and then blindside him with it.
In the meantime she peppers him with incessant questions, none of which he even acknowledges. She studies him while she talks. He has a plain face, which must be why he has been so successful at avoiding capture thus far. The only adjective she can think of to describe him is bland. He has mousy brown hair, mousey brown eyes and a mousy demeanor. He is utterly forgettable. And yet Draco had managed to capture evidence of Wise in the bookstore days before, observing Big Dick undoing the security wards. She is amazed, as she always is, at the power of the Reliquary.
While she still curses the fact that it is Draco who read it and not her, he has proved himself to be a very capable and willing teammate. And, of course, since he has the Reliquary in his head, he is invaluable. He has already saved several missions by spotting something crucial at the last minute. All in all, Pansy supposes it could be worse.
Pansy sighs and looks at Wise over steepled fingers. She is tired of his reticence.
"Nicholas," she says and watches as the panic appears behind his eyes. "I don't know how you expect to get out of this. You were caught redhanded attempting to liberate Flourish and Blotts of some of their most valuable items. We have eye witness testimony that you went to the store days earlier to case the place."
"I would like my Wizengamot appointed solicitor, please," Wise says.
"You are also suspected in a string of home break-ins," Pansy continues, unperturbed. "I think if we test your magical signature, we will find that it matches one that was recorded at 403 Hahn Street on the fourth of November last year, and then again at a break-in at 83 Richter Street on the fourteenth of January." She continues to list Wise's suspected targets and watches as he grows more fidgety.
And she knows she has him.
It is another win for Draco, and a pretty big one at that. This is most definitely a conviction that they wouldn't have been able to get without the help of Draco and the Reliquary.
Again, she reflects on the fact that he has been helpful on many of the missions he has been dragged along to. Just the other day his Reliquary knowledge had helped them spot a pattern in stolen goods which had led to the arrest of a group of Muggle baiting thugs…
One of these days, they're really going to have to train him properly. She just hopes she isn't the one who has to do it. She's worried it will bring out the school-boy competitiveness he always had and Circe she doesn't want to deal with that again.
...
"You know what we haven't done in a while?" Harry says to Draco the next Friday night. They are alone in the VIP area of The Leaky Cauldron. Greg has gone to get the next round of drinks.
"Intercepted an international jewel heist?" Draco suggests. He has no idea what Potter was trying to get at.
"Well, yes," Harry says. "But that's not what I was referring to."
"Then no."
"We haven't gone on a date."
"Well, we're not dating," Draco says.
"I meant a cover date," Harry says tersely.
"We went to that dinner at the Brazilian ambassador's house just the other day." And they had defused a bomb. It had been a very successful evening.
"That wasn't a date," Harry protests. "That was a mission. I mean a date with just you and I and a nice meal that's paid for by the ministry."
"And, I assume, excessive PDA." Draco says before he can stop himself. He immediately bites his tongue.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asks, his tone sharp.
"Nothing," Draco says, shaking his head. "Forget I said it."
"Would you prefer if we didn't make out so much?"
"No, that's not what I'm saying."
"Then what are you saying?"
"Nothing," Draco says. Harry stares at him, his hands on his hips. "Fine," he continues. "Just sometimes it seems like you're trying too hard to make our relationship look real. Who even kisses their significant other that much?" Harry's eyebrows lift briefly before he returns his expression to neutral.
"I'm sorry," he says a moment later. "That's just how I am in relationships."
"Oh, bullshit," Draco says. "You pretend like you wear your heart on your sleeve, but in reality you play your cards close to your chest. If this relationship were real, you wouldn't want anyone to know about it. "
"Sure, because you know me so well," Harry snaps.
"Yes, actually," Draco says. "I do." He stares back at Harry with the same level of fierceness and for a moment it feels like they are back at Hogwarts, arguing in the Great Hall over whatever petty insult they have thrown each other's way. Except now it's oh so much more personal. Because Draco realizes that he really does know Harry.
He knows what makes him happy and he knows what makes him tick. He might not know all of Harry's hopes and dreams, but short of that, he feels as though they could go on a Muggle dating quiz show and he could easily tell people how Harry likes his tea (with milk and two sugars, the heathen), or how Harry's hair really just is that messy and there's no apparent gel or potion that will fix it for very long. He knows that Harry's biggest fear is dementors and he knows that Harry would do anything for his friends or the people he loves. Including buying an entirely new house just to be closer to them. When he stops to think about it, he knows a damn lot about Harry.
And he knows he's right. If their relationship were real, Harry would keep it private.
Harry says nothing, just glares at Draco for a long moment before turning away. He mutters something that sounds suspiciously like 'you don't know me as well as you think you do,' but Harry is facing the other direction now and Draco can't be certain he heard anything.
"Fine," Draco snaps. "Let's go on a date. Take me to a lovely restaurant and then pretend to suck me off in the loo."
"Sounds good," Harry says, slowly turning back to look at Draco. His tone is nonchalant, but Draco thinks Potter's irritation is fading nonetheless.
"Great."
"You know, I don't have to pretend," Harry says, after a moment, a devilish smile on his face. Draco's stomach flips as he briefly thrills at the thought. But it can't happen. They both know it can't happen.
"Yes, you do have to pretend, Potter," Draco snarls. "Because as I said before, we're not fucking dating." Harry shrugs.
"Just offering to do you a favor." Draco narrows his eyes. In his experience, favors didn't come without things asked in return. He doesn't know what Harry is playing at.
"I'm not that desperate, thanks," he says. Even though he is. Just the thought of Harry's lips around his cock has him half aroused. Fuck.
"Suit yourself," Harry says. "Though generally when someone offers me a free, no strings attached blowjob, I don't turn them down."
"And when has anyone done that to you?" Draco asks. His tone is withering.
"Uh, I'm Boy-Who-Fucking-Lived," Harry says, pointing to himself. "Loads of people have fallen on their knees in front of me." Draco feels a stab of jealousy go through him, though jealousy of what, he isn't quite sure.
"Fine," Draco says, making a snap, and possibly poor, decision. "I will go on a date with you, but only if you get down on your pretty little knees for me."
"Deal." The grin on Harry's face is positively filthy. What has Draco gotten himself into? He doesn't have time to find out, because at that point, Greg comes back, precariously carrying three pints and Draco jumps up to help him.
