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Balancing in inquietude	By : mhiues Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 1586 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Chapter 2: Losing balance

Harry stared at Draco in confusion, making a quick list of things the
man could have been doing in Muggle London, especially in this area � no
magical institutions were located nearby, no sane wizard would want to live
here and generally Harry considered it a positively Malfoy-safe zone. There was
nothing personal about it, he didn�t mind that horribly, but the whole
situation appeared a bit too much out of the ordinary. His �detective
instincts� were immediately on alert � in circumstances like this he was
thinking so quick his thoughts weren�t given time to formulate into sentences.
Harry just knew things.

It could have been a coincidence, yes. But a damn
funny one. Maybe he overlooked some things? Everybody laughed at Harry�s
privacy obsession, so he tried to become less fixated on it lately. Malfoy
could have been spying on him. Perhaps somebody wanted information about Harry?
Somebody who worked for the papers was the first guess. Or
maybe an Equivalent enemy? They made quite a few already, nobody
important but... what if?

If Harry weren�t thinking so hurriedly, he would have taken his time to
snort. This was more bizarre than Ron�s ideas for a successful date. Everything
about Malfoy�s presence here was suspicious � his surname could have easily
substituted �suspicious� in Harry�s dictionary � but he had to tell himself not
to jump into such conclusions. If anybody wanted to spy on him, they�d send a
nice blonde secretary candidate to his office.

Spy? You�re either paranoid or went on
an ego trip. It was
a first fully framed thought Harry�d had since he stepped into the elevator.

And the funniest of all, Draco Malfoy didn�t even acknowledge Harry�s
presence, just fixed his gaze on a piece of paper that looked like a receipt,
seemingly busy studying it. Clearly an act, since the blond couldn�t even stay
focused. That was what roused Harry�s suspicions � why would Malfoy be unnerved
to a point he almost looked intimidated?

Not for the first time, Harry�s body took action before his mind even considered
it an option. He barely realized he hit the stop button, probably wouldn�t if
the elevator didn�t halt with a loud thud. It was old and shaky, the type you
rarely see anymore � with wooden doors opened inwards by two round doorknobs,
walls covered in an incredible amount of scratches, cigarette marks and swear
words.

Malfoy finnally met his gaze, looking furious this time.

�Potter, if you can�t stop yourself from saying �hello� to me for
whatever purpose your mind generates, feel free to do
so. I also assure I hate staying in small closed spaces with idiots around for such
an excessive amount of time as much as you do, so could you get the damn thing
running, please?� his voice was calm,
but Harry felt as if he�d been snapped at.

*

From that point, things escalated from bad to worse. The first sign of
upcoming misfortunes was Malfoy making his way out of the elevator on Harry�s floor, crashing their shoulders
in a rude manner. He tensed up, fighting the urge to swear and following the
man�s footsteps. The second sign caused him to lose balance for a moment and
left him dazzled. Malfoy pulled a key set far too familiar out of his pocket;
Harry had always been observant and spotted such details at once, thanks to both
Auror training and job experience. The third sign was almost yelling �Mental
integrity in danger, closest evacuation exit is to your right!�

Draco Malfoy opened the door to his
flat and invited himself in.

*

�What the fuck, Potter?! Meeting you isn�t enough bad experience
for one day, must you intrude into my flat as well? How on earth did you get the keys?!�

Malfoy looked like somebody who�s to become a serial killer within
seconds. When Harry overcame his bewilderment and chose not to run away, it
appeared he wasn�t the only one flabbergasted with the situation. He took his
own keys out, opened the door, deciding to confidently but calmly ask the other man to leave. Inside, he found Malfoy
preparing a cup of tea and Harry was at loss of words again. They both stood
staring at each other with stunned expressions, but it was Draco who regained
the ability to speak first. Or more accurately, yell.

�Just get the hell out, you�ve got a mental disorder or what?!� He
shouted, grabbing Harry�s shirt.

�Look, Malfoy... There�s got to be a misunderstanding, I moved in here
yesterday. And I�m sure you weren�t around, claiming this place was yours,� Harry
was surprised by the calmness of his voice. Shouldn�t he be mad as well? All he
wanted was to go to sleep and be left alone, but no, apparently it could never
be an option when his person was concerned. But now there was no time to feel
disturbed.

Malfoy�s grip on his shirt tightened. �You didn�t move in here yesterday. No. Fucking.
Way. Get out,� he hissed through gritted teeth.

�Only I did. I decided to rent
that place a week ago. Even signed a goddamn rental contract! So cut the crap.
I don�t know why are you here and what�s that stupid
mental act about, but I�d love to see you leave. Preferably now,� Harry
frowned, hoping the expression was intimidating enough. What the hell had
Malfoy been thinking? He went as far as forging the keys to his flat and now
stood in the kitchen, throwing a bloody fit
over Harry�s presence here. What was that supposed to mean? Whatever Draco wanted
to achieve by this, it was ridiculous. Then he felt Malfoy letting
go of his shirt. �Great. I�d check into the Janus Thickney ward on my way home,
if I were you.�

Malfoy didn�t move, just stared at him with as much hatred as can be put
into a shocked expression. Harry felt he might lose control over himself any
minute.

�Leave! Do I have to spell this word for you to understand?!� he shouted
and rising his hand with every intention to shove Malfoy back to the hall.

�Potter,� Draco began calmly, though his voice shook with anger, �didn�t
Mrs. Prokofiev tell you you�re going to share this flat with somebody else?
Didn�t the contract say that?�

�I... what? What do you mean?� Harry was so
shocked he didn�t feel an inch of his body, he might
have been standing next to it and wouldn�t have noticed. Everything blurred. It
was absurd. Not that he listened to the woman, all he wanted to know was the
rent and location, and she seemed to be going on some unimportant details for
so long he drifted off, not paying attention. But he wouldn�t have missed
something that important, would he? Oh crap.

�The lady you supposedly rented this flat from! Has your guinea pig
brain lost the capability to recall?� Draco sneered, finally putting on an
expression Harry associated with him. �Did she or did she not?�

***

Ron had been positively taken aback when he came to work and found Harry
already going through some paperwork. A steaming cup of black
coffee and the morning edition of Daily
Prophet awaited on his own. This called for the most unprecedented
event of the month. Harry was never early if he could avoid it � and was pretty
skilled at avoiding too � and every time Ron asked him to make coffee or get
the paper, there was a lot of whining following the act.

�Mate... er, look, I didn�t know you�re so behind with work, I can take
something over from you. I�m sorry I�ve left you with this mess
, you should go home now,� Ron decided it was the most sensible
conclusion. �Get some sleep and maybe take a day off, �kay?�

Harry put down his glasses and scowled, his
eyes puffy from the obvious lack of sleep. �Honestly, Ron,� he mimicked
Hermione�s favorite expression against his will, �I just came on time for once.
And leave me alone, I�m thoroughly traumatized,� he added.

*

Around 2 p.m. they went out to eat lunch together. Up until now, Harry
pretended to be engrossed in a new case that was turned in two days ago and
ignored Ron�s confused looks. Hunger finally provided him an excuse from work,
analyzing hypothetically Dark artifacts was a tedious job; moreover, clients
weren�t really thrilled if said objects didn�t turn out to be Dark at all.
Harry didn�t understand the mechanics of these people�s brains, but in a very
wicked way, they were disappointed that a birthday gift from a nephew wasn�t a
part of an assassination plot. Equivalent took such cases in only because it
meant easy money off batty retired wizards, but it was getting truly tiresome
lately. Apparently, those people were usually laughed at when they asked Aurors
for help, what made them seek out other sources of help. Harry wouldn�t be
surprised if at least half of them were dedicated Quibbler subscribers.

They settled in a cozy Italian restaurant opposite to the Diagon Alley
entrance. It was always amusing to overhear Muggle waiters chat about the weird
clientele frequently visiting this place. Harry always came here when he wanted
to compose himself, everything here felt warm,
as if he could go out straight on a Sicilian beach. Him
and Ron highly preferred this place to any venue located on Diagon Alley.

They both ordered pasta and a bottle of Merlot after Ron exclaimed he�s
fed up with work and decided to close down for today. He appeared to think they
both need to relax a little once in a while. Harry sensed �let�s get drunk�
between the verses.

They ate in silence at first, but Ron made all those funny movements
with his head, as if he couldn�t decide whether speaking up is wise. Harry gave
him a questioning look.

�Er... so what�s that whole �traumatized� part all about? You looked
like you wouldn�t make it through the morning without shedding innocent blood,�
Ron�s laughter was quickly cut off with Harry�s grim look.

�Not a laughing matter,� he snapped. �And thanks for reminding me, I
almost managed to forget.�

�Okay, okay, I�m serious. What happened?� Harry shifted a little under
Ron�s concerned gaze. He hesitated a little before answering sullenly.

�Malfoy. Malfoy happened.� The sentence
seemed to thicken the air about them, while Draco�s name cut soundlessly
through it.

*

�Let me get it straight, you came back home last night and found bloody
Draco Malfoy ocuupying your flat?� Ron asked for the thousandth time this
evening, still wearing a look of utter disbelief on his face.

�How many times do I have to repeat myself?� Harry made an exasperated
face. �He�s claiming he�s been living there for months and wants me out
immediately. Apparently, he asked the woman who owns the flat to look for
somebody to live in a room he didn�t need for himself in
order to lower the rent. Somebody suitable, and he can�t hide his disbelief that anybody could
find me suitable. He looked at me like I�m the biggest joke that ever happened
in his life.�

�But how could you have missed that out when you were taking the place? And what about Malfoy? His kind resides in manors, right?�

�I said I dunno! I just did! I mean, it was so obvious, the rent being
so low but... damn, it�s the oddest situation I�ve ever been into, man,� Harry
sighed. �He wasn�t there last night and the place is so clean it doesn�t really
look inhabited. I don�t like it, too many things look like an
unfortunate coincidence,� last night�s suspicions were coming back to him, but
the booze cut them off and he forwarded his rant onto a more mundane area.
�Besides, the room I�ve got is completely unfurnished. I had to sleep on the
sofa and the bastard woke me up in the morning. That�s why I showed up at work
so early today. Wouldn�t fall back to sleep anyway.�

They stared at their beers for a few minutes in silence, ignoring the
constantly on-going chatter around them. It appeared that Harry read the drunk part correctly, after the lunch they switched to an
Irish pub across the street. And he was immensely thankful for it.

In the end, it was Ron who spoke up again.

�Hey... does that mean you�ve slept in Malfoy�s bed?� he inquired,
grinning stupidly.

*

Harry stumbled into the ill-omened elevator, trying to sustain balance
and not trip over any nonexistent obstacles. His head and hands felt heavy,
feet were feather light; gravitation evidently plotted evilly against him,
attempting to turn the world upside down. The corridor on his floor appeared to
have lengthened unimaginably, Harry noticed as he tottered towards the door
numbered 85. None of the keys seemed to match the keyhole and it took at least
five minutes for him to realize he took out the wrong set.

When Harry finally got the door opened, he shrugged off his jacket
hastily, took a piss and slumped onto the sofa. Over the last two days he was
provided with more matters to worry over than in the last two years. Concentrating
hard on fighting the urge to vomit, he slowly fell asleep.

-------------------------------------

paigeey07,
thrnbrooke: Thank you for reviewing :)

Lilith: I�m
glad you liked it! Harry�s trying to figure the same thing out, he�s got a few
guesses.
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Balancing in inquietude