Woops, I accidently uploaded this chapter with the previous one :-o
Have fixed it now, publishing it as a seperate chapter. But not to disapoint you, I'll publish a new chapter also today also ;)

Chapter 5 Earth and Fire

'Potter. You're here,' Draco stated redundantly. Because of course there he was, standing in front of the Manor door, nine o'clock on the dot, as agreed, looking... good. He looked good. Draco felt it was safest to leave it at that. Best not to dwell on the tight fit of his jeans, or the black t-shirt that stretched over his chest…

I'm sure his girlfriend appreciated the effort, Draco sneered silently. Harry had apparently managed to detach himself from girl Weasley long enough to meet Draco at the Manor. Draco supposed he should feel grateful for that. Or something…

'Er, yes? And what's with the "Potter"? It's Harry, remember?' Harry said, looking a bit baffled at his cool reception.

'Right, right…' Draco asserted vaguely. 'Well. I suppose you'd better come in'.

With those words, Draco took a step back and motioned for Harry to follow him in.

Draco had only just arrived himself. He made a point of it not to spend any more time at the Manor than strictly necessary. He'd visit once a month or so, to reassure the Manor's wards that there was still a true Malfoy to preside over it, but that was all.

He shivered as he led Harry through the house in the direction of the Garden Room. He silently cursed the enormous halls made out of hard, cold white marble. Draco couldn't muster up a heating charm strong enough to have any effect on the larger areas of the Manor, so instead, he chose to stick to the smaller rooms only when he visited. He heaved a sigh of relief as he pulled open the door to the Garden Room and felt the pleasant warmth tingle on his skin. There was no need for a heating charm here today, as the sun's warmth still lingered in the room fitted with large windows and patio doors.

He sat down on one of the large, squishy armchairs and motioned for Harry to take the other one. He noticed Harry raise his eyebrows at the comfortable looking chairs that stood out like a sore thumb among the formal furniture of the Manor.

'I like to have a comfortable place to sit,' Draco said, by way of explanation. He shrugged and continued: 'I hated the awful hardback chairs that littered this room anyway, so I transfigured them into something a little more inviting'.

Harry smiled at him as he sat down, a smile that almost made Draco forget how irritated he was with him. And why was that again? Ah yes, it was something to do with Harry getting all cosy with the Weasley girl earlier today… Draco felt himself flush. He coughed in an effort to hide his embarrassment.

'So,' Harry said, 'do you have a plan? I mean, how are we going to do this?'

'I'm hopeful that we can find at least one but perhaps all the symbols here. My parents left most of the family heirlooms behind when they moved to France after the war, taking only the most treasured items with them. In fact, I even have an object in mind to represent fire,' Draco said.

'Seriously? That's excellent news. Where is it?' Harry asked.

Draco got up and braced himself to step out of the warm Garden Room and into the icy Manor halls once more.

'Come on, it's up on the second floor,' he said, leading the way.

When they arrived on the second floor, they walked past three large oak doors, before stopping at the fourth.

'This is the room that was used by my Great Aunt Cassiopeia when she stayed over at the Manor to visit my grandparents. She died before I was born, so I've only ever met her portrait. This was one of my favourite rooms to play in when I was a boy,' Draco said, stepping into the room.

Draco looked around the room and was filled with pleasant memories of hours of carefree play in this very room. This used to be a safe haven, a place to escape the oppressive atmosphere that haunted most of his childhood home. He checked to see if Great Aunt Cassiopeia was currently in her portrait, but the beautiful frame was empty for the moment. He was sure that Krinkey, the only house elf that hadn't joined his parents in France, would alert his Great Aunt to their presence eventually.

'This is a lovely room,' Harry said appreciatively. 'I can see why you would have enjoyed playing here'.

Draco smiled at him and tried to see the room through Harry's eyes. The room wasn't as big or as richly furnished as most of the rooms in the Manor were, but the colours were lovely and soft, the windows let in plenty of light and the furniture looked invitingly comfortable as well as elegant.

'So… you think we'll find our symbol for fire somewhere in this room?' Harry asked after a moment of silence.

Draco startled.

'Oh yes, of course. It's right here I think,' Draco said, walking toward the small round table in the very corner of the room.

He reached behind a large pile of books that were stacked on the table, and pulled up an antique lantern. It was made of silver, decorated with emeralds of different sizes and had green tinted glass. It was exactly as Draco remembered it. He admired the curved lines of the silver and the beautiful clear green class that emitted a warm light. When he showed it to Harry, the dark-haired wizard gasped with surprise.

'The light is on? How is that possible? Did you come in here earlier to light it?' Harry asked.

Draco shook his head.

'No. This light is always on. I haven't seen this lantern in years. I remember leaving it here the last time I played in this room, just before I left for Hogwarts. I mean, I've been to this room since then of course, to visit with Great Aunt Cassiopeia's portrait, but I haven't thought about the lantern in years now. Not since I started thinking about a symbol we could use for the element fire in fact,' Draco explained.

'It's beautiful', Harry admitted, stepping closer to touch the smooth silver reverently. 'How exactly does it work?'

Draco hesitated.

'Well, she did tell me a little about it, but I had hoped we would have the opportunity to ask Great Aunt Cassiopeia herself,' Draco said.

He looked up just in time to see his Great Aunt slip back into her portrait.

'Draco! Krinkey said you were visiting tonight. What a wonderful surprise!' his Great Aunt cried out with delight. 'And I see you've brought a young friend with you as well, how lovely. Pray tell me young man, what is your name?'

This last statement was clearly directed at Harry, so Draco elected to stay quiet and let the man respond.

'Oh, er… Harry Potter, Madam. My name is Harry Potter,' he managed. Harry seemed to collect himself quickly and added: 'And you must be Draco's Great Aunt Cassiopeia. A pleasure Madam'.

Draco smirked as he saw the witch fall under the charm of the Chosen One. She fluttered her eyelids at Harry and started asking him all kinds of questions about his family, his education, his work and how he related to Draco. She was portrayed in her early thirties, wearing a set of pretty blue robes and with her hair falling down her face in soft blonde curls. She was Draco's favourite relative, always ready for a chat or a gossip and letting Draco play countless games with any of her previous possessions he liked, including the lantern.

'I'm sorry to interrupt Great Aunt,' Draco said, 'but I'm sure Harry will be happy to finish his "Hero stories of the Auror Department" in a minute or so. First, could you please tell us some more about this lantern? It was given to you by your father, was it not?'

Draco ignored Harry's miffed expression over the "Hero stories" remark, and focussed his attention on his Great Aunt instead.

'Certainly darling. Although I would like to hear some more about those adventures of yours sometime soon Mister Potter. Perhaps you'd like to come back and visit me another time? You could even try and persuade my handsome nephew here to accompany you. He doesn't visit me anywhere near as often as I'd like him to'.

At that, she gave Draco a reproachful look. Draco sighed. This was not the first time they'd had this particular conversation.

'I'm sorry Great Aunt. But you know it has nothing to do with you that I don't like to visit the Manor very often. I just…' Draco trailed off.

The stern look in the woman's eyes softened at the words from her favourite great-nephew.

'Yes of course,' she said. 'I do know that Draco dearest. And I can't really blame you after what that madman put you through'.

Great Aunt Cassiopeia shuddered. 'That was a horrible time for us all,' she continued. 'Thank Merlin that Lord Voldemort chap is gone now. I didn't care for his manners one bit'.

Draco smiled at the face she pulled and said: 'Actually, it's Harry here you should thank for getting rid of the Dark Lord'.

Draco stole a quick glance at Harry and added softly: 'We all should. Thank you I mean…'

oOoOo

Harry was caught completely off-guard. Was Draco just… thanking him? He stared at Draco, unable to form a coherent response. Draco just shrugged and turned back to the portrait.

'Wait… You're that Harry Potter?' Great Aunt Cassiopeia exclaimed. 'Of course, I should have made the connection straight away! I heard that madman scream your name often enough. But you must have been a child back then, you poor thing!'

Harry raked a hand through his hair and mumbled something unintelligible. Draco, clearly taking pity on him, got them back on the topic of the lantern.

'How is it that the lantern always burns Great Aunt? Is it some sort of spell?' Draco asked.

She tore her eyes away from Harry with obvious reluctance before answering: 'It's actually an oil-based potion that keeps the flame burning, with a spell added to keep the potion replenishing itself. I'm not sure if it's the original name, but Father always called it "The Lantern of Eternal Light". He gave it to me the summer before I left for Hogwarts. I was still a bit afraid of the dark back then you see, and the lantern was such a comfort to me. Not only does it always give light, it also gives you warmth when you need it. And one time, when I was stupid enough to wander into the Forbidden Forrest by myself, it guided me straight back to the castle. I'm not ashamed to tell you I almost wept with relief'.

Harry suddenly had a flashback to the Dursleys' cupboard under the stairs and could imagine what a comfort that little lantern would have been to him back then. He smiled at the witch warmly.

'Sounds to me like it would make an excellent symbol for the element fire. And the way George and Pansy have brought light, warmth and direction to each other's life, it's perfect. Would you mind if we borrow the lantern for the wedding?' Harry asked.

Great Aunt Cassiopeia beamed at them.

'Pansy? Is little Pansy getting married? How wonderful! I always did like that girl,' she said.

Draco gave her the short version of George and Pansy's story, giving Harry the opportunity to watch Draco interact with his Great Aunt. Draco was nothing but warm and polite to her, smiling more than usual and even laughing out loud now and then. Harry thought it was a mesmerising sight.

Harry couldn't keep his eyes off Draco for long, not even when they said goodbye to the portrait and started methodically making their way to what felt like every single room in the Manor. Harry did his best to concentrate, look for something that would work as a symbol for either the element air or earth, but he found himself distracted time and again.

Harry watched as Draco impatiently pushed the hair out of his face, listened to Draco quietly mumble to himself while rifling through a stack of paintings, touched his arm covertly under the ruse of helping Draco keep his balance after almost tripping over a ghastly marble ornament… Harry feared he might be getting just as obsessed with Draco as he used to be during their Hogwarts years, though for completely different reasons.

In fact, Harry was just contemplating how delectable an arse Draco had, enjoying the view with Draco bent over a chest of drawers, when all hell broke loose. It was when Draco opened the bottom drawer that something seemed to explode, throwing both of them out of the room and landing them in a heap of limbs a good deal further down the hall.

'Oompf…' was all Harry managed to get out.

He was lying flat on his back with Draco sprawled on top of him. A position he might have taken some pleasure from, if it weren't for the fact that his head hurt like hell and Draco's elbow was poking him in the ribs.

'Draco? You ok?' Harry asked, surprised by the slightly breathless sound of his own voice.

Draco groaned loudly before raising his head and looking at Harry blearily.

'What happened? How did we get here?' he mumbled, sounding more than a bit confused and making no attempt to move himself away from Harry. But seeing as Draco had been so kind as to move his pointy elbow away from Harry's ribs, Harry wasn't complaining right this moment.

He was a bit too busy staring into still not quite focussed yet startlingly silver grey eyes that were much too close for comfort.

'Erm… I'm not sure. There was some sort of explosion when you opened that last drawer,' Harry said, trying to sound calm even though that was made almost impossible by Draco's proximity.

'Oh right. One of the Dark Lord's little surprises he left behind for us to find. I thought we got them all the last time. I guess not,' Draco sighed.

His eyes had cleared now, and Draco looked like he was assessing his situation. Yet he still wasn't moving. Instead, he looked at their surroundings, and then looked back at Harry beneath him.

'Hello,' Draco said, looking intently into Harry's eyes.

'Er… hi,' Harry answered cautiously. 'Shouldn't we, erm, move or something?'

'In a minute,' Draco responded absentmindedly. 'Not just yet I don't think…'

Harry flushed furiously.

'Right… Ok… Yes… But erm, shouldn't we er, I don't know, go on looking for the symbols? I mean, we still have two to go don't we and only a little over two weeks until the wedding'.

For Merlin's sake, stop babbling! Harry chastised himself internally. But it was no use. The stare of Draco's eyes, the feel of his lean body pressed snugly against Harry's, the breath he could feel ghost over his cheek… it was too much and Harry was lost. Unfortunately, his mouth wouldn't desist with the inane chattering.

'I'm not sure we're going to find anything more today, so perhaps we'll be forced to go with my first suggestion. You know, the potted plant thing? I know it isn't exactly original and…. Mpfff'.

It seemed that where Harry had been unable to find a way to stop his mouth from babbling, Draco had some very effective methods of shutting Harry up. Harry almost forgot to breathe as Draco suddenly lowered his head and pressed a chaste kiss on Harry's lips. The moment Harry recovered enough to remember to breathe, he gulped in some air. Draco, never one to miss an opportunity, chose to see this as an invitation to thrust his tongue into Harry's mouth.

After the initial shock, Harry found himself responding to the kiss with much enthusiasm. He wasted no time slipping one hand in the silky blond hair and sliding the other hand down to cup and squeeze that arse he'd been admiring earlier.

Very nice, Harry thought, ignoring the inner voice that was screaming You're kissing Draco Malfoy! at him. So what if he was? He was rather enjoying that actually. Especially when Draco pushed a knee between Harry's legs and he felt a hardness pressing against his hip. Harry moaned and pushed his own erection up to rub against Draco's.

Draco threw his head back and gasped at the sensation. Harry didn't know whether to be annoyed at having that spectacular kiss interrupted, or pleased because he got a better look at Draco's dishevelled locks, his slightly pink flushed cheeks and his obviously quite thoroughly kissed lips. Harry felt rather proud when he took stock of the Draco's appearance. I did that, he thought smugly.

Suddenly, Draco's eyes narrowed and then focussed on Harry.

'Wait. What did you say? Something about a plant?' Draco asked.

'A plant?' Harry asked, feeling very confused. Why were they suddenly talking about plants? When what they could be doing was, you know, kiss some more? 'You mean what I said about a potted plant being an option for the symbol for the element earth? I know you didn't like the idea when I first suggested it, but we're not having much luck here anyway, and I just thought… Oompf'

Draco smacked a big kiss on Harry's lips before pulling back and beaming at him.

'Harry, you're a genius! Let's go!'

Harry's head spun as he was quickly hauled to his feet and dragged along by his arm, down the stairs and back to the Garden Room. Draco threw open the patio doors and tugged Harry toward a large plant with deep purple flowers. Some of them were in full bloom, but Harry could see plenty of buds that were still waiting to open.

'Do you know what this is?' Draco asked excitedly. He didn't wait for an answer before continuing: 'Exactly what we've been looking for, that's what it is! It's the Fiducia Flower. It symbolises trust and stability, something that would work well as the basis for any marriage, don't you think? It is used in many potions because it strengthens the ingredient's individual magical properties and binds them together to make a more powerful potion. And also, it's rather pretty don't you think? It's Pansy's favourite flower and I happen to know George works with them often to improve the effectiveness of his products. We'll just find a pretty pot to put it in and we're done!'

Draco's smile was infectious. That, combined with the lingering feel of Draco's lips on his, made Harry rather dizzy and ready to agree with pretty much anything.

'Ok…' he agreed, again with the breathless voice.

Draco seemed to shake himself before answering: 'Right. I guess that's just one more symbol to go. Want to meet up next Saturday to go look for it?'

Harry waited a moment before answering, trying to calm the thumping of his heart. What he wanted to do most was pull Draco closer and kiss the breath out of him. But the longer he waited, the more awkward it became. Finally, he just nodded.

Draco smiled at him and asked: 'So, it's a date?'

Harry felt his heart leap at the word "date", not sure if Draco had used it intentionally. But, true to his Gryffindor nature, Harry decided to risk it and confirmed: 'Yes. It's a date'.

Draco's smile widened even further, and the warm, fluttery feeling that smile caused in Harry's stomach stayed with him for the rest of the night and for a full day after that.