Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Acceptance	By : Madam_Weasley Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 6301 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or make any money off of Harry Potter

Chapter List
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Three weeks later I am stocking shelves with a new shipment of eel eyes, moonstone, and horn of bicorn when I hear the bell above the door.
                “I’ll be right out.” I call as I put a couple of more bottles on the shelf.
                There is no response so I’m in no hurry. It really is horrible to be on this end of things. I feel I’ve almost become invisible.
                I walk out and see someone bent over one of the display tables.
                “Can I help you?” I ask as I walk to the counter.
                My customer turns and it’s Potter. I raise an eyebrow and repeat the question.
                “When can you get lunch?” This is such an unexpected response that I just blink at him.
                “Sorry, was my question too difficult for you?” He smirks as he walks to the counter.
                “What are you on about Potter?”
                “Lunch. It’s a meal that you eat in the middle of the day. I was wondering when you were having lunch.”
                “First of all, I’m the owner; I can have lunch whenever I please. Secondly, why do you want to know?”
                “Brilliant. It’s 11:30, if we go now we can beat the rush at the Leakey Cauldron.”
                I give him an exasperated look, “Why would I have lunch with you?”
                “Because I’m paying, let’s go.”
                The thought of an actual conversation is compelling, but it’s a conversation with Potter so it causes some hesitation. “I assume you have ulterior motives Potter, what are they?”
                “I enjoy eating and I haven’t been properly sneered at or insulted in years. Let’s go.” He walks to the door and looks at me expectantly.
                “Fine.” I roll my eyes at him, but I’m secretly pleased. I don’t feel so invisible right now and I hate that I feel pleased at a lunch offer, especially from Potter. I do my best to hide it behind my typical sneer.
                I follow him out and cast locking charms on the door. We walk side by side, but with plenty of space and silence between us, to the Leakey Cauldron. We enter and Potter leads the way to a corner booth. Eleven years has changed him. He’s no longer a skinny little git. I’m 6’2” so I’d put him at about 6’ or 6’ 1” and he’s filled out. I guess life as an Auror will do that. He slides in and I sit across from him. I’m suddenly uncomfortable. He’s looking at me expectantly again.
                “What? You are the one who asked me here.” I feel there must be a catch for why he’s asked me, or commanded me, here. I know why I came; I just don’t know why he did.
                “I can’t get passed the hair. I like it better blond.”
                I can’t help it, I snort with disbelief. It was VERY undignified! “You forced me to lunch to tell me your opinion on my hair? Well, now that I have your input I can make better choices in the future.”
                “Shut up. It was just an observation. Don’t care what you do with it really. And, I didn’t force you to lunch. You ungraciously accepted my invitation.”
                “Invitation, is that what it was?”
                He waves a dismissive hand at me as a waitress comes over.
                “I’ll have a pumpkin juice and bangers and mash please.” Potter says and gives her a smile that I don’t think I’d ever seen cross his face.
                She looks to me, “Uh… Gillywater and shepherd’s pie.” I add ‘please’ as an afterthought and realized that I still seem to consider working people beneath me even though I’m now one of them. I don’t get out often so I hadn’t noticed before this.
                “What is this about Potter?”
                “You told me to come back.” he said with a twinkle in his eye.
                “I did no such thing.”
                “As I was leaving your shop with Teddy I distinctly heard you say ‘Come again.”
                “Are you kidding me? One, it is habit when someone leaves the shop. Two, “ I’m ticking these points off on my fingers. “ Come again is very secret code for ‘Come back and spend more money, Three, why would I ask you to come back?”
                He leans back in his chair and smiles again. We’ve shared many looks between us but smiles were not one of them, it makes me uncomfortable. “Stop smiling, you’re making me uncomfortable.” This makes him smile more and chuckle.
                “OK, honestly. I didn’t like how things were left between us. I was shocked to see you and your reaction when Teddy said I told him you were brave bothered me. I’m sure you don’t care that you saved my life, but I do. You could have told Bellatrix that it was me when the snatchers brought me in. Hell, you didn’t even say it was Ron and Hermione. You had no reason to do that other than you are not like so many of the other Death Eaters. Even your parents…”
                I stiffen at the mention of my parents and narrow my eyes at him.
                “…were only acting in fear by that time. Bellatrix wanted blood and death, your parents wanted to live, wanted you to live. They were fighting against Voldemort their own way to protect you. Just like my parents.”
                Our waitress returns with our drinks so I’m spared having to respond for a moment. I try very hard not to think about that time in my life. It was terrifying but it was expected of me to follow blindly. I was raised to hate Harry Potter, Dumbledore, muggles and mudbloods. I was surrounded by people who had all of the same values and views. I questioned nothing, until Hogwarts.
                I stare into my drink. I honestly have nothing to say to that. We spent seven years of our lives fighting and this is what he takes away from it.
                “Thank you.” he says.
                I look up, surprised. “For what?” I ask a bit more defensively than necessary.
                “I never thanked you for that, for not turning us over. So, thank you.” His intense gaze at me is unsettling. There is no hint of humor. I hold his stare with something closer to a glare, still very much unsettled.
                I lean back and try to put on an air of aloofness. “Well then, I guess I should thank you for saving me from the fire in the Room of Lost Things.” I say it reluctantly, but it is something I’ve thought of over the years. Why did he do it?
                “You’re welcome.” Still the same intense stare. He is making me very uncomfortable, this just causes me to revert back to my typical behavior when it came to Potter.
                “So, are we done here?” I ask.
                “Our food hasn’t even come yet.”
                “I can get takeaway.”
                “Shut up. What the hell is wrong with you? Just sit down and eat. I swear I’m not going to hex you.”
                I throw myself against the back of my chair and give him a board look.
                “You are still an ass.” He says as he takes a drink.
                “I’m sorry, it’s been almost 11 years since I’ve seen you. We were never friends. You show up in my shop one day and now we’re supposed to be what?”
                “Adults.”
                I roll my eyes at him. “Fine, we’ll have lunch.”
                “And catch up.” He smiles as he places his napkin across his lap as the waitress places his food in front of him. He looks up at her and says thank you. Git. So friendly to everyone. I say thank you too. I need to get better at that, I just don’t like Potter showing me up.
                “So, other than running your shop, what have you been up to for the past eleven years?” he asks cutting into his food.
                “Nothing.”
                He looks at me with an unbelieving look. “Come on. Are you married? Have kids? Traveled? Written a book? Tortured muggle borns?”
                He’s unknowingly given me a way out of this incredibly uncomfortable situation. I’ll be completely honest with him, and he, like so many, will want to get away from me as soon as possible.
                “I’m not married and I don’t have kids. I’m gay.”
                I smirk as I get the expected reaction. Potter chokes on his food and coughs violently. I sit back and continue smirking at him. I estimate three more minutes and this will all be over. He’ll come up with an excuse to run out. He stops coughing and takes a drink, tears running down his cheeks. He wipes them away.
                “Sorry about that. Wow. That’s a surprise. So are you dating anyone?”
                I give him a leery look. Most people try to politely get out conversations when they learn that, at least the people that I know and have told. I don’t understand why he’s making inquiries into my personal life.
                “No, not lately.” I may as well eat. He is paying after all and obviously not leaving. “Are you expecting me to ask you questions Potter, to feign interest in your life?”
                “Yes, it is typically how conversations work. If you don’t ask I’ll just assume you want to know it all and I’ll just keep talking and talking and talking…”
                “FINE.” I say in a harsh whisper through clenched teeth.
                He grins and takes another bite.
                “So how long have you and the Weasley girl been married?” Like I care.
                “We never got married. We dated for about another year after the war but it wasn’t working out.”
                I make a noise of mild surprise at this. “I figured you’d have your own litter of ginger brats running around by now.”
                “Nope, but Ron and Hermione did get married and have 2 kids. I told them I ran into you last time.”
                “I’m sure they were just thrilled to hear it.”
                “They asked how you were. We may not have been friends Malfoy, but they recognize that you saved our lives and they respect that. Hermione thought it was great that you bought the shop. She said she may make a trip in to visit it.”
                “Well won’t that be wonderful.” I drawl.
                He rolls his eyes at me and continues to eat.
                “So how are your parents?” He asks after a while. He seems genuinely interested. I have no clue why.
                “They’re fine.”
                “They were in the minimum security section weren’t they? Not around the dementors? I really pushed for that.”
                “You did?” I can’t hide the surprise in my voice.
                “They didn’t deserve that. I’ve been around dementors, it’s horrible.” He shudders as he talks and I can see a far off look in his eyes as he talks. “It’s not something I felt they deserved. I’m not sure how many people deserve it, but Kinglsey and I worked together for that section of the prison. I knew your parents weren’t going to get off, but I didn’t want them destroyed.”
                Potter fought for my parents. My family. I hate feeling like I’m indebted to him. “Well, thank you for that.”
                “You’re welcome.”
                We finish lunch and he pays. We walk back out into Diagon Alley and back to my shop.
                “Well thank you for lunch. I’ve got to get back to work.”
                “You’re welcome. See you around.” He says and extends his hand. I flash back to the last time an extended hand was between us. On the train our first year of Hogwarts, he shunned me and humiliated me. Things have changed. I take his hand and shake.
                “Yeah, maybe.” and I enter my shop.
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