Chapter 7 – Getting to know you Day 3 Part 2
Harry looked around him in awe, not yet realising that Blaise and Hermione weren't with them. They were in a restaurant high in the sky, with a wondrous view of a waterfall at dusk. It wasn't until he turned around to admire the 360 degree view that he noticed the missing couple.
"This is wonderful Draco," Harry smiled, tilting his head slightly to the left. "But … where's Rinie?"
Draco bit his lip nervously. "Blaise and I decided to take you to different restaurants. Is that a problem?"
Harry beamed. "No, it's not a problem. I think this will be lovely!"
Draco smiled and extended his arm with a slight bow. He felt his heart jolt when – instead of resting his hand on the extended limb – Harry wrapped his arm around it and shyly looked into his face.
"I ordered ahead. I hope you don't mind," Draco murmured as a waiter appeared to seat them.
Harry looked at him with wide, innocent eyes. "You already ordered?"
Draco nodded his rising distress evident in his eyes.
"Thank you!" Harry beamed. "I never know what to order because it all just sounds so good." He blushed slightly. "Before I was old enough to cook, Rinie and Mama Figg had to put food on my plate or I wouldn't have eaten anything at all. I really dislike making most decisions."
Draco almost slumped in relief. "Don't worry. Any decisions that come up will be handled by me if you don't want anything to do with it." He was rewarded by a beaming smile and a throat being cleared.
"Your table Sir."
"Thank you Alexander. Would we be able to get a jug of chilled water with lemon to go with our starters? And don't rash through service; we have permission to be here."
The waiter smiled and bowed slightly. "As you wish, young sir."
Harry blushed as Draco pulled a seat out and indicated for him to sit. As he watched Draco sit and smile at him, he felt himself fall for the blonde vampire harder and faster than he had been before.
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Harry took a sip of his water, fully relaxed in the company he was in.
"Tell me about yourself," Draco ventured with a soft smile.
Harry laughed. "Are you up for a game of twenty questions?"
Draco looked up from the newly arrived plate of appetizers in confusion. "What is 'twenty questions'?"
Harry looked at the plate before him and poked the thing sitting on it. "It's a muggle game that children play – but don't let that put you off, it is a good way of getting to know someone," he answered when he was convinced the unknown blob was either dead or had never lived. "Normally one person will ask twenty questions that the other must answer truthfully before asking their twenty questions, but I prefer one person asking a question that both parties answer and discuss before the other person does the same."
Draco thought about it while he watched Harry prod the food before him once more.
"Alright," he smiled eventually. "We'll do it." He watched as the blob was poked again. "Don't you like tomato jelly?"
Harry looked up, beaming. "I've never seen tomato jelly before … and I like watching it dance on the plate." He blushed slight as Draco chuckled deeply. "You can ask the first question."
Draco calmed enough to start his entrée, encouraging Harry to also start eating. "I'm going to start simple. What is your favourite colour?"
Harry licked the spoon clean, purring in delight. "I like most colours, but my favourite has to be grey."
"Why?"
Harry smiled softly. "It started when I was very young. I would always react more to the darker - most would say duller – colours. Not surprising since I'm a Shadow elemental," he paused for a moment to sip some water. "I was always harder to control when the storm clouds came. Mama Figg would try her best to keep me inside when the weather turned bad, but she never had much success. In the end she just allowed me out with Rinie. It wasn't until I was seven or eight that I classified anything other than storm clouds as being grey. I think it was also because I didn't see in colour until I was four and people's aura's are simply beautiful in black, white and grey. How about you?" Harry looked at his plate and blinked. He hadn't realised that he had been eating as he spoke.
Draco chuckled softly at the bemused look on his mate's face. "Mine are the darker shades of green and blue. I find them very calming since they remind me of my favourite place." He smiled softly. "I remember the first time I was taken to one of our holiday houses. It was close to a large inland lake and the water it held was so deep that the water rivalled an emerald in colour. It was almost the exact same colour of your eyes. Add that to a blue on blue sky and you have heaven. Ever since then, I have calmed around those colours."
Harry smiled. "When is your favourite time of day?"
Draco got a thoughtful look on his face. "Either dawn or dusk. The sky is just simply full of the most glorious colours and everything is quiet and still, with the exception of a bird or two. It allows you the chance to breathe deeply and seek tranquillity."
Harry laughed softly. "You just unknowingly almost quoted something form my favourite book," he explained once he saw the slightly hurt and confused look on Draco's face. "My favourite time of day is midnight. It marks the end of one day and the beginning of another. Everything seems to happen at midnight – witching hour starts, Father Christmas, the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny and other important childhood creatures are believed to turn up at that time and in fairy tales, Cinderella's fairy godmother's magic ends. It makes sense to me that all these things occur at this time, since everything seems to hold its breath as midnight approaches. Even the Earth itself seems to slow in its movement, just waiting for something to happen."
Draco mentally shook himself. "You have a beautiful way with words. You had me spellbound."
Harry blushed lightly.
Draco nodded at Alexander as he collected the dirty plates and set down covered bowls. The bowls were uncovered to reveal a clear soup full of fresh young vegetables.
"What is your favourite book and why is it your favourite? Mine is Macbeth by Willian Shakespeare. It is wonderfully written and I find it very easy to relate to the characters and it reveals the depth of darkness that can be found in a human. My favourite section is:
"'Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck,
Till though applaud the deed. Come seeling Night,
Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful Day,
And with thy bloody and invisible hand
Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond
Which keeps me pale. Light thickens,
And the crow makes wing to th' rooky wood:
Good things of Day begin to dropp and drowse,
Whiles Night's black agents to their preys do rouse.
Thou marvell'st at my worlds; but hold thee still,
Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill.
So, prithee, go with me.'
"From the very first moment I read that, I've had it in my head. I don't know why it speaks to me but I'm guessing that it has something to do with me being what I am and who I am. I have even found myself whispering it to myself when things get hard to bear."
"Mine is Dinotopia by James Gurney. I love the way it is written and I love the illustrations. It is full of hope, light and laughter, but there is that darker undertone to it as well. My favourite things from it are that the words for a close friendship and marriage are the same and that is how I feel. If you are in a relationship – married or otherwise – then you should be the best of friends as well," he blushed slightly. "My other favourite part is what they say as a farewell. One is Breathe Deep, Seek Peace and the other is Breathe Deep, Fly High. I find that if you take the words to heart, then you do feel much calmer and more accepting."
"You will have to show it to me one day," Draco smiled.
Harry smiled shyly and pushed his half-empty bowl away
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Draco sipped his tea, watching Harry do the same. They had completed their meal and both of them were down to their last question. This required a good deal of thought.
"If you could be anyone for a day, who would you choose and why?" he asked. "I would choose either Father or Sev. Both of them are decent, hard-working men. I would have trouble picking between them because they are the two who are most responsible for who I am today."
Harry smiled thoughtfully. "I'd probably choose to be Tom. He can be scary, but he has a heart of gold. He always is there to help people and I think it would be nice to be him and help him find more of his kind after everything that he has done for me and Rinie." He took a sip of his tea, looking out at the moonlit waterfall. "It's so peaceful here," he murmured.
Draco smiled. "I'm glad you like it. I hoped that you would. Did you want to move to the lounges?" he chuckled softly when Harry nodded excitedly. "Let's move everything over there – it might be more comfortable."
Draco made himself comfortable on the long sofa. He was hoping – but not expecting - that Harry would sit beside him. He held his breath as Harry sat beside him and curled his legs underneath himself. He was close enough that Draco could feel his body heat and he felt his heart rate increase.
"What do you want for the future Draco?" Harry asked softly.
Draco blinked and looked deep within himself. "I've never really thought of it before, to be honest." He said softly. "Until my inheritance hit me, I just assumed that I would take over from Father when he wanted to retire. Since I got my inheritance, however," he shook his head slowly. "All I could think of was finding my mate and even though I have you, you are still so new to me that all I want to do is spend time with you and when I'm not with you, all I can think about is getting back to your side."
He took a sip of his cooled tea. "If I had to answer immediately, I would say that I don't know what I would like to do once I leave school, but I do know that I want to work." He looked up into a pair of brilliant green eyes. "I also know that I want to be able to provide for my family – when the time comes."
He smiled internally as the eyes brightened at the mention of family. "I've always wanted my own family. I'm not sure if I'll have more than one child though since no one else in my family has in the past three centuries. I'd love a large horde and if need be, I'll adopt."
He stopped to see his mate beaming at him and before he could react, he found a warm body cuddled closely to his side.
"I'd like to be a healer. I already have my Master Healer's certificate. I like looking after people and I have a knack for it," Harry whispered beside Draco's ear. "I also would like a large family. I wouldn't mind adopting," he looked up at Draco from beneath eyelids lowered in shyness. "I will be very happy to carry as many children as you wish to sire."
Looking into the earnest eyes before him, Draco mentally and magically forced the urge to claim his mate deep into his mind. He had been very surprised to discover that Harry was a year younger than him and while upset that he couldn't claim his mate for another 11 months, he was very happy that it gave them time to work on the more important part of their relationship.
Harry, unaware of the mental fight Draco was having, snuggled into the Vampire's side with his blood-temperature tea clasped in his hands. He couldn't wait to introduce his mate to Tom!
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Draco and Harry walked through Hogwarts' corridors in a comfortable silence. When they had reached Remus' door, they stopped and faced each other – neither of them aware of the highly narrowed eyes focussed intently on them.
"Thank you for the wonderful meal, Draco," Harry said shyly. "I really enjoyed getting to know more about you."
Draco smile with a gentleness in his eyes that would only ever appear for his submissive. "I've enjoyed getting to know you as well, Harry. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning." He bit his lower lip softly in thought. "I have tomorrow morning free," he said softly. "Would it be possible for me to bring my things here so I can be with you and do my assignments?"
Harry smiled brightly. "I don't mind. I have some letters to write, so I can do them while you do your work."
The eyes watching them narrowed further when their owner heard this.
"I'll also bring along my copy of Macbeth. I hope you can find your Dinotopia book. I would love to see it."
Harry beamed. "I would love to hear you read Macbeth. I know where Dinotopia is as well," he blushed. "I would love to share it with you, if there is time."
Draco smiled. "There will always be time for you in my schedule, Kitten," he chuckled softly at Harry's blush, than he sighed. "If I am to be here at the right time, I had best be going to the common-room to prepare." He lowered his head and placed a soft, innocent kiss to the top of Harry's head before holding his hand out with his fingers fully spread. "Breathe Deep," he said softly.
Harry smiled and placed a not-quite-there kiss onto the blonde's cheek before placing his smaller hand against Draco's. "Seek Peace," he whispered before heading to the door.
Draco waited until the door had closed behind his mate before turning to leave, still not aware of the eyes that were now watching him, wide with surprise.
