Next day, Harry arrived early at the Ministry. He tried to immerse himself in work, both waiting for and fearing the moment he would inevitably bump into Draco. Surprisingly, that moment just didn't seem to come. Lunch came and went, and still no sight of him. He crossed the hallway separating their offices and almost knocked Draco over with the door.

"What the hell, Harry?"

"Sorry, I was…"

"I was just coming to bring you the potions you asked for last week. Ana's sick so I was a bit behind today."

"Ah!"

"You're obviously in a hurry, so my apologies for the delay."

Harry grabbed the vials Draco offered him and returned to his office, not quite sure what had happened.

On Tuesday things weren't any different. After a morning meeting from which he left not having listened to one word that was said and a team lunch spent staring at his plate, Harry decided he couldn't take it anymore. He once again crossed the hallway, but he stopped just short of opening Draco's door. Defeated, he turned on his heels before anybody saw him just standing there, his hand on the handle.

On Wednesday, Draco came into his office with an arm full of forms for Harry to complete, and spent the entire time it took Harry to sign them berating him for his lack of rigor when it came to due process.

On Thursday, Harry accepted that Draco was most likely pretending nothing happened between them because he regretted their kiss. Which was his prerogative, after all.

"His prerogative?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, he has a choice, right? So he made his choice. That's fine."

"What about you? Don't you have a choice too?"

"And it's quite an obvious choice, so I understand him."

Emma scribbled something on her notepad.

"I see. Why is it so obvious?"

"Because he's already married to a perfect guy?"

"Hm… and what makes him perfect?"

"He's handsome, he's smart, he's rich. He knows a lot of things about wine."

"And you?"

"And I don't know anything about wine."

"Aha."

"I don't know anything about throwing fancy dinners, or going to fancy restaurants. Or about mushrooms."

"Mushrooms?"

"Yes… Draco's a potioneer. Er, and he uses fungi sometimes? Anyways. What I'm trying to say is that they're a better match."

"Aha. Because they enjoy talking about food?"

"Because they're both smart. And I'm not."

What Harry liked about Emma was that Emma never acted outraged when he said things like that, as opposed to the majority of his friends and acquaintances.

On Friday, he let himself feel sad as he watched Draco restocking his Veritaserum bottle before heading off to an interrogation.

"Tell me if it's faster," he said, offering him the bottle with a smile.

"Sure."

It was definitely faster, as Harry finished interrogating the young man who'd broken into Gringotts (the irony) in record time. Great , he thought glumly as he gathered his things, more time to spend at home, sulking in front of the TV . He almost opened the file that had appeared on his desk while he was gone, but stopped himself at the last minute. He would have normally welcomed the distraction, but his head just wasn't in it that evening. Naturally, he bumped into Draco in front of the lifts.

"So?"

"It was faster."

"How much faster?"

"Er… I'd say… a lot?"

They got into the empty elevator and Draco pushed the ground floor button.

"Aha… a lot faster. Got it. Very precise."

"Next time I'll make sure to measure it."

"That would be great, actually. Ah, sorry."

A lot of people got in with them on the next floor, squishing them together. Harry tried his best to ignore the effect Draco's smell had on him. He looked at the ceiling to avoid looking at Draco and counted the seconds it took for the lift to arrive on the ground floor.

"You're walking?" Draco inquired once they stepped outside.

"Yeah."

"Me too."

They didn't say anything else for a while.

"I don't really want to go home, though."

Harry glanced in Draco's direction.

"Do you feel like getting a bite to eat?" Draco asked, looking at his watch.

"Er… yeah, sure, why not."

"Do you mind if it's a bit far? I have a place in mind."

"What place?"

"It's a Vietnamese Restaurant. The best in London! I've been craving it all week, but it's in Stratton."

"In Stratton?"

"Yeah," Draco laughed. "And I'm not letting you Apparate us there either!"

"So what, you want to take the tube for an hour to go to a Vietnamese Restaurant?"

"Why, is that the craziest thing you've ever done?"

Harry laughed as well. For some reason, his sour mood had all but disappeared.

"It better be the best Vietnamese I've ever had!"

"Oh, it will!"

They were right around the corner from Covent Garden. Draco bought the tickets while Harry consulted a map and tried to figure out which direction they needed to head to.

"It's this way," Draco said, dragging him away.

They made their way through the five o'clock crowd, finding themselves squished together yet again. This time, Harry didn't mind so much. They barely managed to get on the first train that came. Harry laughed while Draco criticized in his ear the fashion sense of a particularly ridiculous looking couple. They had to switch twice, but Draco knew the route by heart and Harry followed him through what seemed to be countless tunnels. It was almost seven by the time they arrived at the restaurant.

The restaurant was just a small room with an open kitchen in the back. It was empty when they got there but every single table was filled by the time they ordered their food. Draco made small talk with the staff (Harry'd noticed he did that everywhere he went and was secretly jealous of the ease with which he talked to perfect strangers) before consulting with them on what to order. Harry followed their young waiter's recommendation and got the vegetarian Bo Bun, while Draco took the day's special.

"Hmm… you were right, it was worth it," Harry said between two mouthfuls. "This is really quite amazing."

"I was sure you'd love it. Your food reminds me a bit of this place."

"My food? I don't make anything as delicious as this!"

Draco laughed. Even when he choked on his food he managed to play it off gracefully.

"No, not quite as delicious. But pretty close."

They were full but they still ordered dessert and a refill of their drinks. It was Draco who finally looked at his watch.

"Let's go, it will be dark by the time we get back!"

The trains were empty this time around, so they could sit side by side and amuse themselves by reading the muggle ads scattered across the carriages. It was when they were admiring an ad for bed linens that tried too hard to appeal to young people that Draco took Harry's hand in his. He didn't let go when they changed trains, dragging him through tunnel after tunnel, nor when they got out next to Draco's street, nor in the cramped lift in Draco's building. He finally let go to search for his keys, but grabbed it back right away as they stepped into the dark apartment, still laughing about some joke one of them had made which didn't matter at all.

He didn't even turn on the lights. He kissed him right there, leaning against the entrance door, keys still in hand. This time around, Harry didn't rush into it. He followed Draco's pace, slowly rediscovering his lips. His rhythm. Him.

"Come," Draco murmured, and pulled him into the heart of the apartment. Harry followed again, their fingers intertwined.

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked between two kisses when they entered the kitchen, "something to eat? Anything particular that you desire?"

Harry laughed in his ear, feeling drunk despite not drinking anything.

"No, I think I'm all set, thanks."

"You don't mind if I pour myself a glass of wine?"

Harry shook his head and smiled as he watched Draco slouch down in front of the wine fridge and choose a bottle of wine, his features lit only by the streetlamp outside the kitchen window.

"Mmmh, I think this one will do. A Merlot ."

Harry took a seat at the kitchen island. Draco mirrored him when he finished pouring the wine.

"What?" Harry chucked when Draco just stared at him with a very intense look in his eyes.

"Nothing," he whispered, and kissed him again. He could taste the bitterness of the wine on his lips.

Draco's phone vibrated from his pocket.

"Oh," he said, unhurriedly unsticking himself from Harry. Harry just had the time to see Camille's name on the screen before Draco turned the phone off, placed it on the white countertop and kissed him again.

"Er…," Harry managed to articulate, "was that Camille?"

"Yeah," Draco murmured.

"Is he OK?"

He backed away an inch and regarded Harry puzzled.

"Er…"

"Wait," Draco said, the realization slowly dawning on him. "Are you… what are you asking me?"

Harry realized his hands were still around Draco's neck. He retracted them briskly and turned away from him. Draco let out a hollow laugh.

"I'm not… er, Harry, you don't actually expect me to break up my marriage for this, right?"

Harry opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, then opened it again.

"Harry?"

"I can't believe you just said that, like that!" he finally said, standing up.

Draco stood up as well and turned on the light. The brightness made Harry's eyes hurt.

"Harry, please tell me you didn't actually expect me to get a divorce!"

"So your plan was to cheat?!" he shouted, heading out of the kitchen and towards the door, motivated by the urgent need to be anywhere else but in that apartment.

"My plan? What was your plan? Aren't you seeing someone else, too?"

"That's just a hookup!" Harry exclaimed, so shocked Draco was even aware of Trey he turned back to look at him.

"Ah, just a hookup!" he mocked. "So, should I leave Camille to take his place, then?"

"I don't know, Draco! You're the one who kissed me, you're the one who brought me here!"

"And you're the innocent victim of the mean, cheating, scum of the earth Slytherin, right? The fact that you started flirting with me knowing I was married doesn't matter, then!"

"I would have never done anything more than that!"

"How can you be such a hypocrite? What about that lawyer guy?"

It took Harry a moment to understand what Draco was even talking about. He let out a shocked chuckle, which only intensified the look of contempt scrawled across his face.

"Shaun? What does Shaun have to do with anything?"

"You cheated on him with me, before!"

"No, I didn't!"

"How clueless do you think I am?"

"I didn't cheat! Shaun broke up with me the day I gave you Narcissa's letter!"

"Ah, I see!", he laughed, cruelly. "At least now we know why you were sleeping with me in the first place! And now, what is it, huh? You're bored of your hook up ?"

"What are you talking about, Draco?"

Harry couldn't quite understand how they had arrived at that point, screaming at each other from opposite sides of Draco's quaint living room. Or how come Draco was the one angry at him, when he should have been the one screaming and accusing. It took a lot out of him to stop himself from simply Apparating out of there. Instead, he continued his way towards the door while Draco relentlessly carried on.

"I don't know, Harry, you're asking me to break up with my husband! I think I have the right to know what exactly you envision would happen between us if I did that! Would we go back to the way things were seven years ago? When I was at your beck and call any time you needed a quickie? A little break from your demanding schedule?"

"That's not how it was!"

He took his coat from the console table Draco had dropped it on.

"Then how was it?"

Draco positioned himself in front of the door. Harry tried to move him out of the way, but he pushed him away.

"How was it, Harry?"

"I can't talk to you when you're like this!"

"Like what?"

"You're… cruel!"

"C ruel? You're calling me cruel?"

"Yes, you're being cruel right now. Just let me leave."

"You're calling me cruel after everything you did?"

"What did I do?"

Draco laughed mockingly again, still blocking the door.

"What did I do, Draco? You're the one who said you don't care about that anymore! You're the one who left! "

"What!?"

He wasn't laughing anymore. He took a step towards Harry.

"Are you actually this stupid or are you just pretending?"

"Draco, you fucking left the country! What was I supposed to do?"

"I left the… ? I left the country six months after the last time I saw you!"

"So why didn't you call me then?"

"Call you ? You wanted me to call you?"

"Yes! Why is that so outrageous?"

Draco stared at him open mouthed.

"Harry, do you even remember anything from back then?"

"Of course I…"

"You wouldn't even touch me unless you were drunk!"

"...do!"

"You couldn't even look me in the eyes in the morning!"

"I…"

"Wasn't that cruel, Harry? You dropped by when you needed to fuck, then left right after, and now you're questioning me about why I didn't call you back? Why I don't leave my husband for you?"

"I didn't know you felt like that! I just… I wasn't in a good place and- "

"You weren't in a good place? You, the most famous war hero in recent history, at the peak of your career, surrounded by loving friends and political allies, you weren't good?"

"Will you let me -?"

"Let you what? What are you trying to tell me, Harry? That you actually cared about me?"

"Of course I did!"

"Really? You cared about me? Then why did you never ask how I was? Because I wasn't good!"

"I didn't know! You never told me what you went through!"

"I have never met anyone who refuses to practice empathy to this degree! Are you listening to what I'm saying to you? What was I supposed to tell you, when you wouldn't even look me in the eyes? When you flinched every time you saw the tattoo on my skin that I can't get rid of?"

Harry involuntarily glanced down at Draco's wrist. When he looked up, Draco was staring at him, the anger in his eyes replaced by something darker.

"It's been eleven years, Harry. Eleven years since I wrote you that letter."

"C'mon, Draco, stop it…"

"Eleven years and you never said it."

" …this has nothing to do with it."

"It has everything to do with it! You want to be with me? Is this what you're trying to communicate to me in the most ridiculous way ever? You want me to go to the courthouse, file for divorce, then come back here and become your boyfriend? When you still can't tell me anything about yourself… ?"

"I…"

"... when you can't even tell me you've forgiven me? Look at me!"

Harry met his eyes for a moment, before looking away.

"Why do you need me to spell it out for you? Isn't it obvious I did?"

"No, it's not obvious at all! Everytime I try to talk to you about that, you zone out! You go somewhere else!"

"Why do we need to talk about all that?"

"Because horrible things happened between us and I need to talk about it! I need to understand how you feel about it! How you feel about the fact that my father was who he was, for example! Do you realize how insane that is? How surreal it was to sit by his gravestone, with you by my side? How confused it makes me?"

Draco waited, but Harry didn't say anything.

"I need to -"

But Harry didn't hear the end of Draco's sentence. Back in his own kitchen, he took a few moments to just breathe.

He didn't expect to run into Ron at the office on Saturday at eight am.

"Hey, what's up?"

Harry put the last file he'd need in his bag.

"I'm going to Scotland. I'll follow the rest of Mandelley's gang down."

"What? You're supposed to do that in two weeks, with a whole team."

"I'm doing it today. Alone."

"Hey, did something happen?"

"Nothing happened."

"Did something happen with Draco? I noticed you've been avoiding each other…"

"Nothing happened."

"If you don't tell me, I'll just go ask Draco."

"You know what, Ron", Harry said, finally losing his patience, "I'm surprised you didn't already do that."

"Don't do that, mate…"

"Do what? Bring to your attention that you became best friends with Draco Malfoy without telling me?"

"I tried telling you! But you just didn't want to hear it!"

"Yes. No, yes, of course! So when you go ask him what happened, remember to also complain to him about my listening skills. Because I'm leaving now, and I won't be back until it's done."

"This is ridiculous! And dangerous! I forbid you to go, Harry!"

Harry laughed in his face, then turned around and left. Which was very cruel, but he was in a cruel kind of mood at the moment.