7/
The Morning After
Harry woke the next morning in an empty bed. It saddened him to no end and although nothing monumental happened between them last, night apart from a lot of hugging a kissing, he really felt that they had 'something' and he wanted to know that Draco felt that too. Still, he made his way to the shower as he did every morning, dragging his feet and feeling sorry for himself. He stared at himself in the mirror wondering if he had done something wrong, when a little sticky-note at the bottom edge of the mirror caught his eye. He smiled.
Harry,
I'm sorry I left so early and I hope I didn't wake you.
I know I owe you an explanation, I also know that you are busy most weekends.
Please owl me with dates that would be convenient for you,
There is something I want to show you.
~ Draco
He squinted at the tight script then smiled. He was glad that Draco wanted to see him again, and he was curious as to what Draco could have to show him. Harry was resolved to make sure that he was free this weekend. He still had a favour or two to pull in from Geoff, his esteemed colleague whom Harry had, on numerous occasions, made up stories for when asked 'Where the hell if Geoff?'
Still wrapped in his towel, he made his way to his study and sat down to write two letters. The first going to Auror HQ to let them know that he couldn't be on call this weekend and that if they asked Geoff, he would give them a decent explanation. He chuckled to himself. That'll teach him to go off canoodling with Zelda from the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Department. And the second letter to Draco, letting him know that he was completely free next weekend and he was intrigued to find out what Draco had to show him. He also said that he had something to show Draco too. He hoped that would keep Draco curious until next weekend.
Harry then went back upstairs to get dressed for the day's work ahead. Nearly as soon as he had finished, a big eagle owl tapped on his window bearing Draco's reply.
Harry,
I would be delighted to see you next weekend. Shall we say 10.30am outside Florean Fortescue's Ice-cream Parlour? I have a feeling I might have a hankering for their delicious raspberry ripple.
As for your 'something to show you too' you have whetted my curiosity and I can only imagine what the Great Harry Potter could care to show me.
Also, thank you for dinner last night, my head hurt a small amount this morning which is a good indication of a wonderful evening and I hope we get to do it again soon.
~Draco
Harry looked stunned... Draco would be delighted to see him? He had a wonderful evening? Who was this man and what had he done with Draco Malfoy? Still, Harry was happy to see the change in him. He figured it meant that they were now friends in a round-a-bout kind of way and that pleased Harry.
One baby step at a time, he chided himself. But now, to work.
It had been a long week. Monday to Friday 8.30am until 6.30pm. Working solidly with the new, fresh out of Hogwarts 'wannabe Aurors'. He had about 40 in his unit and was expected to train them all to a certain standard, ready for the initiation test that was coming up next Wednesday. It was essentially a giant game of capture the flag. Only a few certain spells were allowed and everyone's wands were limited to give a fair advantage to each side. At the end of the game, there would be a judging panel and 10 of the 40 would be eliminated. It sounds harsh to put it like that, but what eliminated meant was that they were put in to a special intensive class that would help boost them up to a better standard, and then in the next year, they could reapply. After the initiation they would be split into 3 groups of 10. The best would train with Harry and the other two groups would be trained by other Aurors.
Harry was tired, some days he just felt old, and today was one of those days. It was 5.00pm on a Friday night and all he wanted was to just go home and relax, and so he did. He made sure everything was in order for when he returned on Monday. He packed up his lose paper work and headed to the floo. Thankfully no one caught him; it always seemed to happen that way. The days that he desperately wanted to go home, someone would always corner him and ask him seeming never ending questions that he just couldn't be bothered to answer properly. In fact, he had given so many sarcastic answers to people of higher authority that he was sometimes surprised he still had his job. However today, he managed to arrive home without incident. He knew his children were coming over tomorrow morning, so he resigned himself to cooking a quick spaghetti bolognaise and turning in for the night.