A Very Public Affair
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Summary: Have you heard the latest? Don't tell anyone but … Exposed: Pureblood in baby battle! Suddenly, Harry was the latest Prophet gossip: the boy who'd had an affair with Draco Malfoy, the notorious pureblood, Ex-Death Eater extraordinaire …
Pairings: Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley/Blaise Zabini
Categories: Romance, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe (AU)
Chapter Two
When Harry walked into the room he felt all the eyes turn on him, heard the sudden lapse in the conversation. Chin high, he resolutely ignored it and walked up to the director of the auction house.
"Harry. So pleased you were able to come." He shook his hand, his manner pleasant enough, but he noticed the speculative look in his eyes. He encountered the same look, or something very near it, on the faces of the other people who were gathered in the large room, people he had previously regarded as friends and colleagues. But now, since the damning piece about him in all the tabloids, their manner towards him had subtly changed-especially that of the men.
It had taken some courage to come tonight. Perhaps it would have been easier if it had just been people he knew, but this evening the auction house was sponsoring a major charity auction in aid of a St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. As a Healer-in-Charge, Harry was expected to attend, and it would be cowardice not to come. So much as he would have liked to bury himself at home, Harry had put on his newest dress robes, stitched a smile on his face and here he was. Let them talk. So what? He could take it. He had taken it. But he was furious on James' behalf; already he was being teased at school about the damn lawsuit.
He took a glass of champagne and mingled with his fellows, trying to keep his manner as calm and natural as he could. But half an hour later the double doors of the salon were thrown open and the first of the guests arrived: the organisers of the occasion, rich society women and their husbands. They were followed by celebrities from all walks of life: the theatre, business, politics-everyone who wanted to see and be seen in this exclusive circle. As one of the hosts, Harry was kept busy, mingling with the guests, thanking those who had made donations to the charity, ignoring the small, knowing smiles when people recognised him. But his cheeks flushed when he saw the heads of two women close together and heard one passing on the gossip. "Didn't you know? The boy who lived had an affair with Draco Malfoy. And there's a child involved, evidently. It was all in the papers."
Quickly Harry moved away, cursing his bad luck. There had been no reason-except for is terror-stricken reaction-for Draco to suspect about James from that one glimpse he'd had of him at the guesthouse a couple of months ago. But he had. And it had taken him no time at all to track him down, and then look up James' birth certificate. But when he'd tried to contact him, he's returned none of his owls, hadn't answered his letters and refused to let him in when he had fire called at the flat. But then he'd brought the lawsuit, so he'd had to take notice of that.
Harry turned towards the door. He'd done enough; no one would notice if he left now. A newcomer had arrived and he found himself gazing at the one man he didn't want to see-at Draco Malfoy. He took a purposeful step towards him but Harry quickly went to join a small group gathered round a famous Quidditch player. The director good-naturedly presented him, and Harry took good care to stay within the group until the auction started a short time later and everyone went to their seats.
He had sat on a spare chair at the end of a row, so that Draco had no chance of coming near him. Already people had noticed that he was there too, and were nudging their friends, whispering the news. Not that they were interested in Harry particularly-he was adamant about his privacy and regarded the high life with distaste. But Draco was famous-a shark who could devour every other fish for breakfast. Glancing out the corner of his eye, Harry saw him take a seat on the other side of the room. He looked towards him, his expression deeply sardonic, and he hastily shifted his gaze to the front-but his chin came up, set and determined. There was no way he was going to let Draco have a part of James' life. Not after the way he'd treated him, used him.
The auction began and his thoughts drifted, away from that warm room with its bejeweled women and formally attired men, back to the coldest night he'd ever known…