I'm really really sorry for the late update! (and this chapter's so short too), but I've been really busy and my life's a bitch right now, so... Oh, well, hope you're not (too) angry at me! I'm planning a lemon in the next chapter, just to make up for this, so look forward to it! :)
Disclaimer: I'm tired of sounding like a broken record, look at some of my previous disclaimer's and you'll see that I own nothing, and that fact hasn't changed either.
Harry was sitting in the garden, under a tree. He was just sitting there, not doing anything in particular. It had been a couple of days since Draco had said that he accepted his father's decisions, and since then, the other boy had been rather friendly to Harry. The two of them now studied together, played pranks on the house-elves that would've made Hermione yell at them for hours if she found out, and they spent the evenings together, just talking about everything they could come up with.
But the best was the time Harry spent with Lucius. The man was so much kinder, more loving, funnier and more interesting than he could ever have imagined. It really felt quiet like a fairytale.
Harry sighed. Thinking about his relationship with Lucius made him remember that he had to tell his friends, Ron and Hermione about it. Ron knew that Harry liked the older man, but Hermione didn't. Harry doubted she would have anything against it, but you could never know...
A sound made Harry turn around and he saw Draco walking towards him.
"Hi, Draco!" Harry said when the other boy was within hearing range. Draco just nodded, but he couldn't hide a tiny smile on his lips. Draco would never admit it, but he had become rather fond of Harry, the other was like the brother he had never had.
"What brings you down here? I thought you said you had to study?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I did, I just finished the last bit of my homework, and so I decided to come down and make sure you didn't destroy something!" The last bit was said in a teasing tone, making Harry laugh.
"I'm just kidding, the real reason I came, is because father wanted to talk to you." Draco said, he had now passed the point where a conversation between Harry and Lucius would make him slightly uncomfortable, now he was only happy that his father seemed happy. Sometimes, he would be a little annoyed at him himself for being so stuck-up when he was younger, for not being able to befriend Harry. The other boy was really fun to hang out with, and it made his time at home much more enjoyable. Usually, when he were home, he would only walk around and being bored, since most of his friends spent their holidays and such abroad with their families.
Harry smiled and nodded. "Thanks for telling me, Draco! Want to hang out afterwards?"
Draco smiled back and nodded, making Harry's face brighten, before he turned and started walking back towards the house. Draco looked after him for a while, before he sat down against the tree and relaxing. He thought about many things, his father and Harry, school and his mother, but also about Blaise. The other boy had started get more and more interesting, in Draco's opinion. Now, he would notice small things such as how the other walked, talked and how his eyes would shine with laughter every time he smiled. He was becoming more and more nervous too. What if this were more than just friendly feelings? Did he really like Blaise like that?
Draco opened his eyes, he couldn't remember closing them, and decided he would have to talk with his father about it, after all, Lucius was in a homosexual relationship, so he would be the best person to ask.
Harry stood in Lucius' office and watched his partner sign some more papers, before he looked up and smiled at Harry, making his heart flutter slightly.
"Come over here, Harry." Lucius said and pushed his chair away from the desk and patted his knee. Harry smiled back, walked over and sat down, kissing Lucius' chin in the process.
"The reason I called you over, was that I wanted to ask you something." Lucius said with a small smile. To Harry, it looked like he was planning something, though he couldn't for the life if him guess what it could be.
"Do you remember I told you about that friend of yours, Ms. Granger?" he continued, smile still in place.
Harry nodded, slowly starting to realize what it was Lucius had in mind.
"Well, I was thinking, since you're not busy, do you want to go visit her?" Harry's eyes widened and so did his smile. "You mean it? I can go and visit her?"
Lucius laughed and nodded. "Of course, Harry. Come on, I'll accompany you, so we better get ready!"
Harry didn't need to be asked twice, he jumped off the older man's lap, and ran up the stairs to the room he and Lucius now shared. There, he grabbed a cloak before hurrying downstairs again.
Lucius were already standing in front of the doors, waiting for him. Harry walked over and Lucius took his hand.
"You ready?" the other asked him, and Harry nodded. He had a hard time concealing his excitement. While they were sitting in Lucius' car, Harry turned towards him.
"Hey, is it alright for you to come with me? Don't you have work at home that needs to be done?"
"It's alright, and I have to do some errands at the ministry, so it's like killing two birds with one stone." he said, looking down at Harry's still smiling face. Really, did the boy ever stop smiling? Not that he wanted him to, of course. The younger was like a little sun, lighting up his world. Lucius thanked his luck every time he saw Harry, that the boy was his now, sometimes seemed like a far away dream, that suddenly turned reality.
They sat for a while longer, just talking and discussing where they were going to meet each other after they were finished. They agreed that Lucius would come to get Harry when he was done, so that he didn't have to worry about getting lost, since the ministry had gotten rather different from when Harry last went there.
It didn't take much longer before they were standing in the atrium, Harry was holding Lucius' hand partly because he didn't want to get lost in the crowd, and partly because it somehow gave him a feeling of safety, which was rather ironic as Lucius had once been his enemy, whose only goal was to serve Voldemort faithfully and bring Harry to him, so that the Dark Lord could kill the "Golden Boy", as so many had called him. That time was now over, and he couldn't help but feel rather happy about it.
Without spending too much time talking with his acquaintances, Lucius continued towards the elevator and pressed one of the buttons.
The elevator quickly arrived, and Lucius and Harry walked inside. There were not anyone else beside them there.
"What do you want to do after we get home, Harry?" Lucius suddenly asked, making Harry jump a little.
"I don't know... Did you have anything in mind?" Harry asked, looking up at Lucius who shook his head, but still had a little smile on his lips.
Their conversation were interrupted when the elevator arrived on the right floor with a little 'pling'.
They walked out and Lucius walked down a corridor , but he didn't walk so fast that Harry had to run to keep up with him.
He stopped in front of a big, wooden door which looked a lot like the one to Lucius' office home at Malfoy Manor.
"Here it is, Harry. Want me to follow you in, or do you want to do it yourself? I would guess you want to talk to your friend alone?" he asked, turning so he was facing the younger man. Harry just smiled. "I want Hermione to meet you, so that she can see that you're not the evil Death Eater you used to be!" he said , making Lucius smile.
"You know, I'm still an 'evil Death Eater', as you call it. The only difference is that I no longer target you."
Harry sighed, but chose not to comment about Lucius' statement.
"Okay, then. Are you ready?" Harry nodded, and Lucius lifted his hand, before pushing the handle down, opening the door.
The room was big, that was Harry's first impression. It was tastefully decorated in soft, earthly colors and there were some huge windows that let the light into the room. But that wasn't really what he concentrated on. Sitting in front of desk, writing on some papers, sat a bushy-haired girl, brows knitted together in concentration. She didn't look up before Lucius cleared his throat to make her realize someone had entered the room.
Her eyes widened when they landed on Harry.
"Harry!" she whispered softly, as if she couldn't believe her eyes.
"Hermione." Harry said, his smile grew larger and larger the longer he looked at her. Hermione jumped up from her desk and ran over to them, throwing her arms around Harry's neck and sobbing into his chest, whispering things like 'thought you were dead' and 'was so worried'.
None of them noticed Lucius quietly leaving the room, closing the door behind him.
So, what do you think? Don't be afraid of telling me, though will not be tolerated!
See you (hopefully) soon!