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. Plot and original characters are mine and may not be used without prior consent.

Warning: NOT BETAD!!, language

A/N: Thank you for all the brilliant reviews I got for the last chapter. It makes me really happy that you like this little story so much, even though it's not overly exciting. Some things will be revealed in this chapter, so I won't stop you from reading any longer. Have fun!

P.S. Please read my note at the end of the chapter. Thank you!

Strong Hands
xxxx CHAPTER III xxxx
'Happy Birthday, Draco darling'

"Harry James sodding Potter." Hermione growled when they were out of the house and on their way home.

"Two middle names? To what do I owe this honour?" Harry mocked, having expected an outburst all the time since Hermione had greeted him at the door of Blaise's flat.

"Don't, Potter, or this will turn ugly." Hermione threatened and Harry could see that she was serious when her jaw tightened.

"Okay, Mione, what have I done?" He sighed and mainly hoped his ears would remain mostly unharmed after Hermione would be done yelling.

"What you've done? You're playing with the heart of another man and ask me what you've done? Harry how could you? Even though it's Malfoy. But you know what? He's changed – quite a lot actually. He's great."

"Don't you think I know that already? I've read his letters, Hermione. Okay?" Harry snapped, having enough of the woman's unjustified accusations. "One of my letters landed by accident in his hands and he wrote me without signing his letter. What do you think how shocked I was when he told me later his name is Draco? Hoping that it would be another Draco, would've been stupid. The name's too rare and you and I know that there's only one Draco working for the Ministry."

Hermione frowned a bit when she saw how agitated her best friend was. His hand ran time and again through his messy hair and turned the intended 'just-shagged' look into something that equalled a bird's nest. The other hand scratched his right thigh nervously and grabbed the jeans' fabric with thumb and index-finger every so often.

"This bothers you a lot, huh?" Hermione asked softly, suddenly feeling sympathy instead of anger for her friend.

"Of course it does." Harry said grimly and laughed drily to underline how much it bothered him. "When I found out that he was Draco, I didn't dare tell him. He'd have instantly stopped writing me and… and I didn't want that. And now it's too late. If he'd ever find out he wouldn't just hate me as Harry, but as James as well and I think I couldn't take that." The brunette said grief-stricken.

"Oh my, Harry. I think, this time it's you who's in dire need of a massage, eh?" Hermione said jokingly, trying to lift the mood a bit.

"That's something a massage can't mend – unfortunately." The former Golden Boy admitted and sounded like he really regretted that a massage wouldn't help with such problem. Hermione took his hand and forced him to a stop. She turned around to look at him, but didn't let go of his hand.

"Harry," she said earnestly and looked up at him. The light of the street lamp that was next to them, was in an angle that underlined every worry line in his face and Hermione saw how much strain all this put on him. "you need to tell him."

"Mione…"

"No, wait. You'll hurt him more the longer you wait. Harry, Draco Malfoy is about to fall in love with James, even though he hadn't met him once. I haven't read one of your letters, but the things I've heard tonight are totally you. You even told him about Dust, who you treat like your child. Harry, you are James, Draco falls in love with you."

The brunette looked nervously aside and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "I, eurm… would you hate me, if I… if I would say that I had… hoped… for it?" Even though he wasn't looking at his friend, he could tell that Hermione needed to collect her jaw off the street.

"Are you serious?" Hermione whispered. She squeezed his hand comfortingly and hoped he would finally look at her. They continued their way home. Harry looked over to Hermione and saw a faint smile on her lips.

"I… yes, I'm serious." Harry said with determination. "I liked Draco for quite a while now and went almost crazy with happiness about the way fate had chosen, but now…" Hermione squealed excited and threw her arms around a startled Harry. They had by now reached Hermione's block of flats and stood in front of the front door. Harry hoped no one had been woken by Hermione's squealing.

"I knew it. I knew it. I knew it." She cried excitedly and this time Harry really feared suffering sudden deafness.

"You knew that I fancy a Malfoy?" The brunette asked astounded with big, round eyes and sighed in relief, when Hermione let go of him and he heard no tinnitus in his left ear.

"No, and I could smack you for not telling me," She said, still exhilarated and rummaged in her handbag for her keys. "but I had a suspicion that you're gay." She opened the front door and hit the light switch to lighten the hallway.

"You… you had?" Harry asked gobsmacked, too shocked to step into the hallway.

"Yup, sometimes it was quite obvious. You know, staring at another male's arse while you're shopping with me isn't the smartest if you want to hide your orientation." Hermione teased and grabbed Harry's arm to pull him inside the building.

He trudged after her with a beet-red face when they climbed the stairs and didn't know what to say. He hadn't thought that the night would take such turn and that he would have a coming-out the hardcore way. "You know, I talked to Ron about it, and…"

The brunette jumped out of his inner dialogues. "YOU WHAT?" he cried and clamped his hand over his mouth. Shit, shit, shit, hopefully no one had woken up; Hermione's neighbours could sometimes be a bit 'resolute'. "Have you gone mad?" he hissed and hurried up the last flight of stairs to Hermione's flat.

"I talked to Ron." The young woman simply repeated. "And we're both a bit disappointed that you try to hide such important fact from us. I mean, it's a part of you and you don't need to hide anything of you, Harry." She added after a moment and opened her flat's door.

"So, eurm, Ron knows as well?" Harry asked sheepishly. Hermione sighed and turned back around to him.

"Yes, Harry, he knows, everyone would have known after you've told them in complete intoxication that they have a nice arse." She said with a dirty grin and watched in delight when her best friend groaned pitifully and leaned against the door frame.

"Please tell me you're having me on. Please." He begged and buried his face in his hands.

"Nope, can't do that. It happened on Ginny's last birthday, but don't worry he laughed it away with unexpected ease."

"So… you don't mind me being… gay?" he whispered, but Hermione could hear the hope in his voice. She pulled him closer and wrapped him in a tight hug that was returned enthusiastically.

"I know this sounds so cliché, but we're happy, if you're happy. We worried all the time why you never showed interest in all the women that approached you when we were out clubbing, you hid it quite good then. You should have told us, and you should tell Draco."

The happiness of having his secret off his chest deflated immediately and his face fell. "I can't, Mione." Harry said sadly and let go of her.

"Of course you can. If you want him, get him. Don't hold back because of Ron and me."

"He'll hate me. I can't just apparate to his flat, ring the bell and say, when he opens his door, 'Hello Draco, just for your information I am the James you're writing letters with and I'd like to shag you senseless.' That would work just perfectly." Harry said sarcastically and pursed his lips.

"Well that would be a start."

"Mione!" The former Golden Boy whined and wasn't in the least amused when she laughed softly.

"If I come up with a good idea, do you promise me to tell him the truth?" She asked, suddenly void of any amusement. "I'll help you, but you need to tell him. This will eat you up, Harry."

"I… I…"

"Harry, please."

"Can I sleep a night over it?"

"Okay." The young woman gave in, in hope Harry would come to understand that this situation was far from healthy. "Go home and get some sleep." She added and hugged him again. "I love you. Good night."

"Night Mione. And thank you for talking." Harry said with a small smile and left.

xXx

"Have you seen Potter?" Draco asked the moment the door closed behind Hermione and Harry. The other three Slytherins turned towards him and looked at him in question.

"Of course, hun, he just had stood in the doorway a moment ago." Pansy said mockingly and flopped back down on the seat next to Theo.

"I know that, Panse." The blond groused. He still sat on the floor, with his back to the fireplace and looked at the sitting room suite. "I meant if you've seen how he looked like?"

"Of course, hun, he just had stood in the doorway a moment ago." Blaise parroted overly sweetly and batted his lashed at him.

"Are you mocking me, Blaise fucking Zabini?" The blond asked icily and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Of fucking course, Draco, darling." He chirped and flopped down on the sofa he had earlier occupied together with Hermione. "So, what was with Potter's look?" He added in a normal tone, sounding a bit bored.

"Oh haven't you noticed, Blaise?" Pansy helped out when she saw Draco avoiding Blaise's eyes. "He was hot. You know, like, sex on legs."

"Oh, thank you, now I feel really loved." Theo complained sarcastically, but Pansy knew he was just joking. She leaned over, kissed Theodore's cheek and whispered something in his ear that a dirty smirk appeared on his lips. Draco and Blaise didn't even want to guess what just had been said.

"You fancy Potter?" The buff Slytherin asked, ignoring the married couple on purpose. "I thought you were over that obsession." Draco glared at him.

"I was." He barked. "I… I mean I am." He added hastily, noticing his slip of the tongue too late. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, not needing to see the grins on his so-called best friends' faces.

"And what about James?" Blaise jibed sardonically and watched with glee the discomfort of his friend. Yes, sometimes he could be an arse, but Draco and Pansy weren't any better. Theo on the other hand… well, sometimes if he was in the mood he could turn into the devil of scathing words. Blaise surmised that it only happened so far when he and Pansy had had a big fight and the woman had made sure that he hadn't gotten any in a while. So, he seemed to react rather badly to sexual frustration. He snorted.

"Oh, so you think it's funny?" Draco snarled and got up off the floor. "It must be highly entertaining to see your friend struggle with his feelings, mustn't it? Fuck you!" He grabbed his jacket of the sofa's backrest and went out the living room door. "I'm off." He growled and the last thing the other three friends heard was the angry slamming of the flat's door.

xxXxx

True to her word, Hermione had come up with a plan and that quickly. The next day when Harry had paid her another visit to tell her that, yes, he would tell Draco, if she guaranteed that he wouldn't die at the hands of his secret love, she was already able to present him the master plan.

At first the brunette had been a bit hesitant about the idea, cos it required some boldness from his side and that had actually been something he had ruled out from the very beginning, but after a while (and a lot of Hermione's powers of persuasion) he agreed to the plan. If it all would go awry he'd at least seen Draco partly naked.

What Harry didn't know was that Hermione had talked to Blaise and had told him about the little drama that played in front of them. At first she hadn't understood why Blaise had almost rolled on the floor in laughter, because she didn't found anything funny in the dilemma that hurt her friend so much. But when he had told her what had happened the night before, after they had left his flat, she began laughing as well, but more out of sheer happiness that her plan would definitely work and that Harry would finally be happy again. Hopefully.

xXx

On Saturday Draco mentally admitted that he was by now thankful that his friends threw him a small party. Last year he had felt lonely and unloved on his birthday, although he had brought it upon himself with forbidding any party.

They gathered in Pansy's and Theo's house and he was really grateful that the woman hadn't made her threats true, but kept the party small and limited to only ten guests. He had never been a fan of opulent and purposely extravagant receptions. The receptions his parents had held back in their days had been nothing more than self-adulation and he had dreaded every single one of them.

"Come on, Draco, open your presents finally." Blaise called, after they had enjoyed a delicious dinner and Draco's birthday cake for dessert. Pansy had thought it would be funny and had gotten him a cake in dragon-shape. At first the blond had complained that he was no child anymore, but everyone had seen the joy in his grey eyes when he had gazed at the cake for the first time.

"Okay, if you say so." Draco answered reluctantly, but the excitement he actually felt shooed him quickly over to the small table with the presents. Blaise clapped him on the back and smiled. Their little argument of last weekend had been solved already and there was no bad blood anymore. As if there would ever be, ha.

A small pile of presents lay on the table and without further ado the blond reached for the first present. The group gathered around the table to see Draco's reaction to the different presents.

"That's from us, darling." Erica, the wife of Gregory called and smiled warmly at him. Draco reached for the ribbon, but decided against opening it. He put the box down and looked at his friends with a grave expression. They all looked a bit uncertain about the sudden change of him.

"You all know," he began and held the gazes of his friends. "that I talk a lot about packing my job in, cos it drives me nuts. And sometimes I don't believe myself, cos I said it so often but never did anything." He could see the realisation in some of his friends' eyes and the small grins of some others. "Well, this morning I sent in my resignation and applied for an apprentice as a Potions Master."

Pansy squealed loudly and threw herself at the lithe and lissom blond, almost knocking him over into the table. "Finally. Finally! I really dreaded you'd never do it."

Hermione smiled knowingly at Blaise. Harry would dance for joy, when she'd tell him. He had told her that Draco had been really irritated by his momentary Ministry job and that he, Harry, slowly reached his wits' end how to build him up again.

When Pansy let go of Draco, Brian came over to him and hugged him, but less enthusiastically. "It's good you finally did it. Maybe I'll follow some time later." He said in earnest. Brian was the only real friend he had made over the last years in his department and they both weren't very fond of their jobs, what was probably one of the reasons they had gotten good friends.

Draco nodded with a relieved smile and sent Brian back to his girlfriend Samantha. A small part in him had feared that Brian would hate him for leaving him alone in the department and an even smaller part had been scared to death that his friends would turn away from him for doing something as stupid as packing his job in, but those little insecurities were finally quenched.

He looked at his friends, who stood in a semi-circle around him and chatted happily about his decision. And suddenly he felt again like the fifth wheel. Pansy and Theo were inseparable. Blaise had Hermione; not that long yet, but you could see there was something special about the couple. Greg had his wife Erica. Vincent had Adele. Brian had Samantha. And he? He had no one.

He only wrote letters with someone, who was probably all fake; and he was so pathetic and got off on the letters. If it would have been possible he would probably have dislocated his brain through thinking too hard about everything. Well, and Potter… he was Potter and therefore beyond his reach. Besides, he was probably straight as a pole and highly disgusted by the thought of getting off with another bloke.

"Draco? Draco?" Hermione called softly and Pansy waved her hand in front of his face. "Are you okay?" the former Gryffindor asked concerned and her voice matched Pansy's look.

"Yes, sorry, I'm fine." Draco said quietly after pulling himself out of his thoughts. "Just thought again about what I've done this morning."

The Malfoy heir began to open his presents, but Hermione and Pansy shared a look that secured them that they still saw the sadness in his eyes.

xXx

They stood in Pansy's and Theo's living room, in front of the fire place and said their goodnight's in the late night hours. Pansy promised to send in the morning a house-elf over to Draco's with all his presents he had gotten, when an owl flew through the window that Hermione had opened earlier, after suggesting that it was far too hot in the room.

Draco noticed it immediately as James' owl Severe and he couldn't suppress the grin that now formed on his lips. Severe landed on his shoulder and he missed Blaise's smirk and Hermione nudging him in the ribs. He patted the owl lovingly and untied the crème white envelope. Oddly enough, Severe didn't wait for a response, but took off again.

"From James?" Pansy asked teasingly and chuckled when Draco blushed adorably. The envelope bore the 'Strong Hands' emblem and Draco's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. Only the first two letters had ever borne that sign. "Open it. I want to know what he's writing." Pansy demanded, and Draco wanted to tell her off that it was none of her business, but his fingers seemed to have a life of their own and broke the seal deftly.

A pale blue letter was found in the envelope and Draco pulled it slowly out. He didn't notice that his friends were watching openly instead of leaving for their own homes. James' letter was all that mattered at the moment. He had really believed that the other man had forgotten about his birthday although he had ranted and raved a lot about it. But he hadn't and Draco felt something in his stomach that felt like the proverbial butterflies.

He unfolded the letter and a small card, not bigger than a business card fell into his hands. It was black and on the one side the 'Strong Hands' emblem was embossed and outlined with a thin bright green line. The other side was adorned with the 'strong hands' name written with ink that looked almost golden, in James' scrawly handwriting that was somehow beautiful nevertheless.

xxx
Hello Draco,
I know I'm a bit late, but I wish you a Happy Birthday and all the best. May all your wishes come true.

I'm sorry it took me so long to send you my birthday wishes, but I wasn't sure if my present would be such a good idea. I'm still not sure yet, but, oh well…

I thought about giving you something I can do the best – a massage.
xxx

Draco's hands began trembling when he realised what that would mean. He, Draco Malfoy, would meet James and would get a massage from him. If he would accept the gift, that is.

xxx
The business card is a portkey to my office. I've gotten my new table today and you would be the first to test it. Would tomorrow be okay with you? You don't need to work on a Sunday, do you? Send me an owl with the time, yes?

I hope you like my present.

Bye, James
xxx

Draco looked up from the letter and stared with wide open eyes at Pansy who stood right in front of him. "I… he…"

"Full sentences, darling." Pansy teased and received a glare from Draco while the rest laughed.

"I'll meet… James." The moment the sentence had left the blond's mouth his eyes widened again and he gasped. "Oh my god, I'll meet James tomorrow. I've to go now… need to send him an owl… what will I wear… oh god, should I really go…" He mumbled and babbled to himself. He grabbed some floo powder, threw it in the hearth and was gone without a word of goodbye.

His friends looked at each other with utter confusion written over their faces, except for Blaise and Hermione. The tall Slytherin cleared his throat to get the others' attention, and wrapped his left arm around Hermione's waist.

"I think, we should tell you some things about James." Blaise began and delayed the departure therewith a little more.

xxXxx

TBC

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