Benefits

Chapter Five

Harry lay down in his bed alone, but he didn't feel alone. Having Draco here was a relief that he didn't want to admit. But he felt so much safer; and for as long as the next few months, if Lucas found him and tried to hurt him, he'd have some form of back up.

Well, at least he hoped.

He tried to make himself comfortable, but he also noticed how weird it felt to have someone else in his apartment. None of his friends had stayed over at his new apartment; not even his old apartment, so to have someone in his place now was odd...

He couldn't sleep. He sort of knew that he wasn't going to be able to. He lay on his back and stared up at the ceiling moodily.

He surprisingly didn't jump when he felt someone lie down next to him.

"Are you alright Potter?" Draco asked, "You seemed a little..."

"Annoyed?"

"Distressed," Draco said, looking at him.

Harry looked back and gave him a small smile, "I'm fine," he muttered.

"That's what they all say though," he whispered. He leaned forward and kissed Harry softly, and was surprised that Harry didn't push him away. He found himself pulled on top of Harry, nibbling at his bottom lip and seeking entrance. Harry obliged, opening his mouth. He felt Draco's tongue inside his mouth and he sucked lightly on it. Draco groaned; he didn't know there was some direct link between his tongue and his cock, but he thrust his hips into Harry's anyway, enjoying the multiple sparks of pleasure that were running through his body.

Harry pulled away at last and gave Draco a cheeky grin, "maybe round three is in order?"

(***)

Hermione was worried; Blaise had said that Harry had left with Draco Malfoy last night, and so many things could have possibly happened within that situation. He could have been kidnapped, Blaise would never tell her if that was true. Draco could be torturing him right at this very moment.

She'd been sitting at the kitchen table for the last hour or so. Ron was in bed, asleep. He was calm at least. But she was a complete mess of worry and humility.

She got up and decided she should check Harry's apartment again.

(***)

The first thing Hermione heard when she opened the door to the apartment was groaning. Two pairs of it; it didn't even dawn on Hermione what it could possibly mean as she walked past the lounge and opened the door to Harry's bedroom.

"Shit!"

"Fuck; Hermione!"

Hermione's face went red and she slammed the door shut, she looked into the lounge room and felt her face getting warmer and warmer, "I'm sorry!" she shouted.

(***)

She was sitting on Harry's couch, wearing the same clothes she had last night with a fresh cup of tea in her hands. A cooling spell was placed around the cup, so she didn't burn her hands, but the cup of tea was still nice and hot. She looked at the two men sitting in front of her on the love seat, slightly flabbergasted.

"So," Hermione said, "out of all the people, you two hooked up last night."

She noticed Harry biting his lip, which was the ultimate sign that he was keeping something from her.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, "What are you hiding from me?"

Draco smirked, "last night was simply an act Hermione," he said, putting more emphasis than was needed on her name, "me and Harry have been together for quite a bit now."

Hermione's eyes widened, "how long?"

Draco shrugged, "maybe about...Harry what would you say?"

"Five months," Harry muttered, looking down at his feet.

"So, two months after you and Lucas ended," Hermione said. She looked somewhat happy, but Draco was sure the only thing keeping her from being ecstatic was the fact that it was Draco.

"Yeah," Harry said, "I met him when I went for a job interview at..." Harry cursed himself, he forgot where Draco worked.

"Daily Prophet," Draco said quickly, "but it was brief and we really didn't have a moment to talk; so I asked him out for coffee," he said with a small shrug, "and well...we decided we liked each other enough to make this go further," he grabbed Harry's hand and laced Harry's fingers with his. Harry gave him a small smile.

Hermione nodded slowly and gave them a supportive smile, "well...I'm happy for you guys," she said. Harry leaned his head on Draco's shoulder and Draco gave him a fond look, "I really wish you would have told me though," Hermione said, "it's important."

"I didn't think you would take it so well," Harry said, his head still on Draco's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. She looked up at the clock on Harry's wall and hissed painfully, "I should get back," she said, "I have to get going, I promised Ron we'd go out for breakfast at a new place that just opened up across the street," she said standing up, "I'm happy for the both of you," she said, looking at Draco and Harry who seemed cosy, "I'll...see you later," she said with a little laugh before making her way towards the door and leaving the apartment. She turned her back and leaned against the door; there was something fishy about what had just happened.

(***)

Harry waited until the shadow underneath the door disappeared and he could hear the clip clopping of high heels before he lifted his head from Draco's shoulder and released the blonde's hand.

"Thanks," Harry said, "she's been on me for months about getting into a relationship with someone," he muttered, "it's been insane."

Draco laughed, "You just wait until she finds out we're engaged."

Harry pushed him off of the loveseat and got up to make himself coffee.

(***)

The next morning, Draco went to work with a smirk on his face. There was a slight bounce in his step as well, he felt as if he didn't have a worry in the world. As long as he kept up his side of the deal, hopefully Harry would keep up with his, and then he wouldn't be deported to Australia.

As soon as he got to his office; which he had as a safety precaution for all of those involved really, he didn't work well with others and others point blank refused to work well with him- and sat down, there was a knock on his door. He looked up to find Barnabas standing in the doorway with the door wide open. Draco hated it when he came in right after knocking, without even asking whether or not he was allowed in.

"Is a good time for you?" he asked.

"As good a time as any," Draco grumbled, sighing and sitting back in his chair, liking how the back tilted to a position where he sat comfortably.

Barnabas smiled and stood near the wall. Draco didn't have any other chairs in his office other than the one he was sitting on, he was accustomed to visitors.

"So," Barnabas said, "did you speak to your fiancé?"

Draco bit his lip and shook his head, "about what?"

"About coming over to mine for dinner," Barnabas exclaimed, "don't tell me you forgot!"

Draco groaned in pretend frustration, "yeah I did," he said, "I've got a lot on my plate at the moment; I forgot to ask him," he sighed, "I'll ask him tonight when I get home."

Barnabas nodded, "good," he said, "But really; please take your time."

Draco nodded slowly and waited for the man to leave his spot on the wall and leave the room, but it didn't happen.

"Is there anything else you wish to speak to me about Barnabas?" Draco asked, sounding slightly impatient and a little suspicious.

"Well, yes," Barnabas said, "seeing as you're having dinner with me and my wife, I wondered if you or your fiancé are allergic to anything."

Draco shrugged, "not as far as me or Harry know," he said.

Barnabas gave him a curious look, "are you sure the Harry you are talking about isn't Harry Potter?"

Draco bit his lip again. He really needed to get out of that habit; it was one of the most obvious tell-tale signs that he felt guilty or that he was hiding something important. He couldn't keep anything to himself without someone finding it out just by his body language.

"Why, didn't you tell me?!" Barnabas asked. He sounded like a girl who just discovered her best friend had a crush on someone; pathetic.

"Because," Draco said, "I wanted to make sure Harry was comfortable coming over first before I said anything," he lied.

He couldn't tell whether or not Barnabas could tell whether he was lying. The man had the best poker face ever.

"Well," Barnabas said, "dinner this Friday?" he asked.

"Sure," Draco muttered under his breath, watching his boss walk away.

Prick could have closed the fucking door.

(***)

Draco walked back into Harry's apartment, which he tried to mentally force himself to believe was his home, just in case he made a slip up about it on Friday night. Harry was sitting on the lounge room in front of stacks of books and a singular piece of parchment, looking bored.

"Hey," Harry muttered, not looking at Draco, "coffee's ready on the bench."

Draco smirked, "only a few days and you already know me so well," Draco said cockily, heading over towards the bench where the coffee was ready in the coffee maker, "thanks," he said, pouring himself a mug.

Harry threw his quill on the coffee table before grabbing the single piece of parchment in front of him and scrunching it up into a ball. He threw it over to the side, where Draco noticed several little bunches of scrunched up parchment sat.

"Do you need help?" Draco asked, blowing softly on the surface of his coffee, making the steam disappear slightly before reappearing again.

"Nope," Harry muttered before grabbing another piece of parchment and beginning to write on it.

"I think you do," Draco said, moving swiftly towards Harry and sitting down beside him on the couch. He placed his coffee there, looking over Harry's shoulder to read what Harry was writing on the parchment in front of him.

"I got a job offering," Harry said, "but I want to refuse," he muttered, "and I can't think of a way to write it nicely."

Draco frowned, "what type of job offering?" he asked.

"Auror," Harry answered with a small sigh of frustration, "they're literally just giving the job to me; not even making me work for it- no junior Auror training, no nothing; just a straight up Auror position."

Draco looked confused.

"What?" Harry asked, sounding impatient.

"Auror is the job you want," Draco said, "why not just take it as it is?" he asked.

"Because," Harry said, standing up and walking over to the bench to make a mug of coffee; from the way his hands shook Draco assumed it was about his twelfth mug today, "I'm not working for it like everyone else," Harry said, "it's all about benefits again. The benefit of being the fucking boy who lived and all that bull shit," he muttered darkly, "everyone else is working just as hard going through junior Auror training, and they ask me without even entering so much as any form of training whether I would like to become a fully qualified Auror," Harry sighed and raked a hand through his hair, "without a single qualification to show."

Draco was still confused, "but you want to be an Auror-."

"But I wouldn't feel like I'd worked for it!" Harry exclaimed, "I don't like things just being handed to me all because I helped kill some bad guy-."

"You didn't help kill some bad guy; you literally killed the bad guy-."

"Voldemort practically killed himself," Harry said angrily, "it was his own spell used against him because he was a cocky asshole who didn't think he could die at the hands of a seventeen year old boy," he lifted his coffee to his lips but didn't take a sip, "or anyone for that matter."

Draco would never understand Harry's modesty or intense need to be equal to everyone else. Maybe that was because currently Draco was underneath everyone else, with his reputation of being an ex Death Eater being a common fact, not only in the work place where everyone knew who he was but no one in the real world knew his fake writers name, but also in the wizarding world.

Sometimes, he'd have to go to Diagon Alley for some new books, new quills, the usual, and he'd still get dark or wary glances; as if he were worried he'd attack anyone at any minute and try to revive Voldemort somehow.

"I'm sorry," Draco muttered, "let me help you write this letter, yeah?"

Harry sighed and nodded, deciding that someone like Draco Malfoy would be better at writing apologetic "I actually want to work hard for my position" letters than he was.

(***)

Harry was heading to bed when he spotted Draco sprawled on the couch asleep; his head hanging slightly over the arm of the couch and his feet doing the same. Draco looked a lot taller on the couch that he did when he was standing up, somehow, and by far much more peaceful and innocent; his face wasn't in its constant, never changing scowl. It was far more relaxed, like he didn't have a worry in the world.

Harry scoffed; if Draco didn't have a worry in the world, they currently wouldn't be in this situation.