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Company Manners	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 12863 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; that belongs to J. K. Rowling. I am making no money from this fic.

Chapter List
- 1-Company Manners
- 2-Part 2
- 3-Part 3
- 4-Part 4
- 5-Part 5
- 6-Part 6
- 7-Part 7
- 8-Part 8
- 4
- 5
- 6
Thank you again for all the reviews!

�� Harry
received two letters that morning. One was from Malfoy, asking if he could
visit Harry in a place that wasn�t a pure-blood haunt, perhaps even one where
he drank with his friends. Harry sat holding that letter for a long time and
staring at it, mostly because he couldn�t believe it. He finally put it aside
to consider later.

�� The other
letter was from Kingsley. Harry sat up as he opened it, expecting some
instruction to visit a party that night.

�� It wasn�t
like that at all. Harry read it through and then sat still with the feeling
that the world as he had known it was falling in around his ears. It was almost
as powerful as his feelings yesterday when Malfoy had flooded his brain. He
shook his head once and started reading the letter a second time, with more
attention to detail.

�� Dear Harry,

�� Word has reached me that you are consorting
with Draco Malfoy. This in and of itself is not a problem; we have no evidence
that he has committed any crime since he was exonerated after the war, and his
years in the States were peaceful. But others are beginning to notice, those
who have some ancient reason to be hostile to the Malfoy family and those who
are angry that Lucius is no longer in the forefront of blood politics. Among
the latter is Emma Lansby.

�� I would like you to stop associating with
him for at least six weeks. That should be long enough to lull Lansby�s
suspicions and get you into the secret parties for blood purists we have been
hearing so much about.

�� Sincerely,

�� Kingsley Shacklebolt.

�� Harry
traced a finger over the signature, as if that would make a difference to his
decision. Then he laid the letter next to Draco�s and looked back and forth
between them. They both had the power to turn his life upside-down, if he let
them. He had never even thought about introducing any pure-blood into his
�common� activities.

�� He�d also
never thought about letting his career dictate who he dated. Until this point,
it hadn�t been a problem, as he�d dated only people the blood purists would
never have heard of, but it could have
become a problem if Kingsley had wanted him to flirt with someone he despised.

�� It briefly was a problem.

�� Harry
carefully barricaded his memories of his first year among the pure-bloods off
with walls of glass and shoved them to the back of his mind. He didn�t think
about things like that anymore, because he hadn�t had a failure like that since
then.

�� Which
didn�t help him make his other decisions. What was he going to say to Malfoy?
Did he want to take this attempt to understand each other that far, that he
would let Malfoy invade his private as well as his public life? Did he want to
obey Kingsley, the way he probably should if he wanted to keep peace?

�� He sat back
and looked carefully at Kingsley�s letter again, scrutinizing the words,
playing them out in different tones in his head so that he could get the impact
that he would if Kingsley spoke them. It was always risky �translating� letters
like this, but, if successful, it could produce a great deal of nuance that
Harry didn�t usually notice because his training had concentrated on the spoken
word.

�� Consorting.�That�s an odd word to use. He
makes it sound as if we�re plotting a conspiracy to overthrow the Ministry. I
don�t think he can know about my meeting with Malfoy yesterday or the one on my
doorstep, which means that he�s going off one conversation at the Ministry gala
and the one at the Zabinis� party. He doesn�t usually jump so hastily to a
conclusion based on who I talk with. He also couldn�t have just wanted me to
ignore Malfoy; that would be sitting up trouble and grudges we don�t need,
especially with Lucius.

�� Those who are angry that Lucius is no
longer in the forefront of blood politics.� He has reports on Lansby�I know
that I�m not the only person watching her�but it�s stupid to think that she
wants that. She�s too glad that she has the chance to make the blood purist
movement do what she wants now. And she wouldn�t want to share power, as she�d
be expected to do, with someone who has a better standing than she does among
the purists. Whoever watched her behavior and concluded that she wants Lucius
back is mistaken. Or else they�re interpreting the empty words of regret she
speaks as the real things.

�� Harry
suffered a brief spasm of irritation at that. He hated it when he conflicted
with the various other spies that Kingsley set on pure-bloods, because none of
the spies were as close to their subjects as Harry was, and ninety percent of
the time they made mistakes he didn�t. Do
none of them ever listen to tone?

�� He shook
aside the anger, which would only get in the way as he tried to analyze
Kingsley�s letter, and went back to looking at it.

�� For at least six weeks.� That wouldn�t be
long enough to lull Lansby�s suspicions, whatever Kingsley thinks. At the
moment, she has no suspicions, no reason to think that Malfoy is more important
to me than she is. But if I start avoiding him in a marked manner�the way I
would have to, since he�ll attend many of the same parties I will�she�ll notice
and draw a wrong conclusion, perhaps that Lucius is making an attempt to
return. No, what Kingsley wants me to do is the exact wrong way to go about
things.

�� Harry
snorted and rose to his feet. He had occasionally improvised in the past,
ignoring Kingsley�s instructions to do the more politically expedient thing. He
would do that now, but with more care.

�� He would
use his training against the Minister until he ended up agreeing to let Harry
do what he wanted.

�� With that
in mind, Harry decided that he would invite Draco out for a date in a more
common restaurant. He wasn�t quite ready
to let him meet Ron and Hermione and the others yet, in part because he didn�t
know how Draco would react when he met them. But yes, they needed to see each
other in a different setting than the parties they�d attended so far, and they
needed the public factor, to see how that would influence their behavior,
without the judgment factor of a pure-blood party.

�� I�ll date him if I want to, and Kingsley
can�t tell me no.

*

�� Ah,
Harry.� Kingsley waved him to the chair opposite his desk. Harry had free
access to the Minister almost the instant he wanted it, since so many of his
reports were important. �Did you receive my letter of this morning?�

�� Head up, Harry snapped at himself in the
voice of one of his instructors. Look him
straight in the eye and wear an earnest expression, but keep your shoulders
relaxed. Don�t hurry through your words. Give him no reason to suspect
deception.

�� I did.�
Harry leaned forwards and gave the Minister a warm stare. �And I wondered if
you had considered the information you received about Emma Lansby in all
possible lights.�

�� A faint
wrinkle marred Kingsley�s forehead. �Are you saying that you think one of us
might have been suborned by the pure-bloods?�

�� By the blood purists, Harry corrected,
mentally wincing at the clumsy comment. He might sometimes think all
pure-bloods acted the same and would be improved by more diversity of principle
and perspective, but he would never say such
a thing. The blood purists were the ones Lansby led, and they had to be dealt
with differently than the ones like the Zabinis, who had invited half-bloods
besides Harry to their party. �I don�t think so,� he said. �But Lansby is
complicated. She�s a blood purist who wishes to keep the old name while
disassociating herself from the bad reputation they earned during the war.� He
paused significantly.

�� I don�t
understand what you mean,� Kingsley said, after a long minute in which he was
obviously trying to think of something to say and failing.

�� Part of
that bad reputation comes from the Malfoy name,� Harry pointed out gently. �She
doesn�t want Lucius to come back. She�s happy that he attends only two parties
a year, if that. That gives her the power and the space to be in control. If he
tried to take over the movement, there are people who would at least give him
an ear, his family is so old. Lansby�s parents only achieved prominence after a
hard struggle. She has every reason to want the Malfoys to remain in the
background.�

�� Then she
might view your consorting with Draco Malfoy in an even worse light,� Kingsley
said with some alarm. �You should separate yourself from him immediately.�

�� The use of that word was no accident, Harry
thought, and tamped down the anger that immediately tried to rise up his throat
and enter the conversation. It wasn�t worth losing Kingsley�s confidence by
snapping defensively.

�� I honestly
don�t think she�ll notice him,� he said. �Draco isn�t a blood purist; he left
the country for five years, and hasn�t had the chance to build a base of power
here; the reason he left isn�t one that makes people respect him.� He had to
suppress a wince at that. Defensiveness in favor of Draco�s reputation wouldn�t
help, either. �I should be able to maintain connections with them at the same
time.� He moved on before Kingsley could question that. �I think the true
problem is Lansby. Who do you have watching her?�

�� Karen
Shambles.�

�� Harry had
to conceal a snort. Shambles was a good observer generally, but she was
Muggleborn, and her own prejudices interfered when it came to judging the
nuances and attitudes of pure-bloods. �I would move her somewhere else,� he
said. �Instead, choose someone who can consider Lansby objectively.�

�� Objectively?�
Kingsley stared hard at him. �Are you sure that you are not the one losing perspective, Harry? Perhaps blending a
bit too much with the pure-bloods that you are meant to keep yourself separate
from?�

�� Bloody�He�s not fooled. He�s still thinking
about the way that I want to associate with Malfoy, and he�ll translate that to
treachery in his head if I�m not careful. Luckily for Harry, and unfortunately
for Kingsley, the training that Kingsley himself had insisted on Harry taking
had given him the perfect response to that accusation.

�� Harry drew
himself up in the chair and gave Kingsley a haughty stare. �Are you
suggesting,� he said, and dropped his voice slightly on the verb to emphasize
his incredulity, �that, after five years when I�ve done more than anyone else
in Britain to prevent war between the blood factions, that I would be going
over to them now?� The bit about his
preserving peace more often than anyone else was something Kingsley had told
Harry himself and evidently believed true. �Or is it more likely that Karen
Shambles is wrong?�

�� Kingsley
backed down at once, of course. He must
fear that I really would break ranks and stop spying on the pure-bloods if he
pushes too hard, Harry thought clinically as he watched Kingsley mumble a
few apologies.

�� Now to reconcile him to my closeness to
Draco. He still hasn�t accepted that, and he must, unless we are to tolerate
constant interference.

�� Harry let
his voice rise again and adopted a more normal expression. �There are times,
however, that I need a reminder that not all pure-bloods are the same as people
like Lansby, or I would have a good reason to leave my duty behind and never
return to it, out of sheer disgust. Malfoy is a good remedy for that disgust.
He has an innocence about him that charms me, because he�s been out of the
country for five years and so he isn�t involved in any party politics. It would
be counterproductive to stop associating with him at this point and solely
drown myself in Lansby�s filth.�

�� Yes, I
quite understand that,� Kingsley said. �I was simply puzzled by your marked
partiality for him.�

�� Of course, he probably took the opportunity
to check on who Paul Breaker would have offended when he ordered the American
Aurors to harass him.

�� It is more
marked than I would like at the moment,� Harry acknowledged freely. It could
still be disastrous if Lansby or someone who reported to her saw him
associating with Draco in that way�but he didn�t think they would notice, if he
had read them right. And his job depended on reading them right, after all.
�But that should endure only until he does something stupid, which won�t be
long, knowing Malfoy.�

�� Even that is true. This �relationship�
between us is risky, and stands as much chance of self-destructing as it does
of lasting.

�� All right,
Harry.� Kingsley looked at him gently now, as if he knew how much effort Harry
had put into constructing the mask that fooled him. �I simply wanted to be sure
that you weren�t making a mistake.�

�� I am the one who must determine that, and
not you, Harry thought coldly as he bowed his head to Kingsley. You determined that when you gave me this training and set me loose on the pure-blood
world. I would have thought you had adapted to it by now.

*

��

�� Draco
looked around a bit nervously as the server ushered him to a seat. He hadn�t
been in the Three Broomsticks often since he�d used the Imperius Curse on Madam
Rosmerta, and he kept expecting someone to pop to his feet and point an
accusing finger.

�� You�ll
find it much changed,� murmured the server, a young man who had recognized
Draco�s name and face easily. �Madam Rosmerta retired a few years ago and gave
the management of the business to her niece.�

�� Draco
relaxed and sat down at the table that he had agreed to secure for him and
Potter. When he slung his cloak around his chair, he thought he could feel some
sharp stares. He wouldn�t give them the satisfaction of turning around and
staring back. He was here to enjoy the food and the drinks, the same as they
were.

�� Of course,
no one else in the room would have the privilege of Potter�s company.

�� As if
Draco�s thoughts had summoned him, Potter appeared in the doorway. The same server
who had escorted Draco practically ran to him and bowed and groveled as he led
Potter over feet and through a forest of elbows and gaping faces. Potter nodded
to him as if he had done a perfectly normal thing and ignored the stares the
same way Draco had.

�� It was
Draco he held his hand out to, Draco he gave a dazzling smile that held an edge
of ferocity to. Draco caught his breath as he shook Potter�s hand, wondering
what had happened since they had last seen each other. Something obviously had.

�� But it
wouldn�t have been polite�or productive, Draco suspected�to question Potter
about it before he was ready to answer the questions. Draco had learned something from his overeagerness to make
Potter analyze his own feelings about pure-blood politeness. So he asked, �What
do you usually eat when you�re here?�

�� Both of
Potter�s eyebrows rose, and he relaxed a little, as though Draco had distracted
him from something he�d been brooding on. �You�d trust my taste?�

�� Of
course,� Draco said. �You�re dating me. That says everything about your taste
that needs saying to educated people.�

�� Potter
laughed. Draco half-closed his eyes and gloried in the sound. It was a more
private laugh than Potter had used so far, as if he weren�t judging the effect
on the audience and worrying about its being too loud.

�� And he
wasn�t, Draco realized, as Potter called for butterbeer and Draco politely
concealed his wince concerning the common nature of the drink. Potter seemed to
consider this a space where he could do as he liked, without word getting back
to the Minister or the people he was paid to fool. He sprawled in his chair,
his head tilted back, his eyes less watchful than normal.

�� That didn�t
mean they weren�t watchful at all, Draco realized when a young man, nudged by
several of his friends, stood up from a nearby table and started walking
towards Potter, obviously practicing words under his breath. Potter draped his
head over the back of the chair to look at him upside-down. The boy actually
froze with one foot in the air.

�� No autographs today,� Potter
said.

�� The boy
scuttled back to his seat. Draco laughed himself this time, and Potter shook
his head at him in a way that reminded Draco of his mother doing it about the
lack of manners in the younger generation. �You have to do something to
discourage them, or everyone in the room comes after you at the next free
moment,� he explained. �Or sometimes even when your mouth is full or you�re
talking.�

�� I hope
that those two things never happen to you at the same time,� Draco said, with a
mock-horrified look. It was time to find out how far he could go in teasing
Harry about his manners.

�� Harry froze
like the boy had, but only for a moment. Then he snorted and said, �That�s one
thing Hermione would agree with you on. The desirability of its not happening,
that is, not the fact that I do it. She was always trying to get Ron to shut
his mouth and stop spraying food all over the place at Hogwarts.�

�� Draco
restrained himself from a shudder. After all, Harry was watching him. Luckily,
the butterbeer came to the table then and provided a good distraction. Draco
picked up his mug and took a drink without thinking about how it would taste
beforehand.

�� When it hit
his throat, an odd sensation came over him. There were so many times that he
had come here with his friends on Hogsmeade weekends and had butterbeer. It was
all they could have in public until they came of age, and so the taste of the
drink was the taste of childhood. Draco felt stupid for not realizing that
before.

�� I�m glad
that you like it,� Harry said, and Draco heard both wonder and suspicion in his
voice.

�� Draco wiped
his mouth, put his mug back on the table, and said, �It would be silly of me to
accept it if I disliked it.�

�� Potter
peered at him, his voice half-mocking. �Not even to be polite?�

�� There are
ways of accepting food, and even pretending to eat it, so that you won�t offend
your host but won�t gag at the same time,� Draco said in his loftiest tone of voice.
What he was about to say was a risk; he hoped it was a justified one. �Remind
me to teach you those some time.�

�� Potter blinked
at him. Draco held his breath. He was implying that Potter wouldn�t have
learned those things during his training, and thus that Draco knew the
pure-blood world better than he did. He could either feel insulted about his
supposed lack of knowledge or accept it because that �proved� that he was more
at home in common surroundings like this. Draco didn�t know him well enough yet
to feel sure of what he would do.

�� Then Potter
relaxed and laughed, lifting his mug in a toast to Draco. �I�ll learn those
from you, and with pleasure,� he said. �I have the feeling I could learn a lot
of things from you.�

�� Such as?�
Draco leaned forwards and fluttered his eyelashes outrageously.

�� Potter
didn�t laugh this time, but he did smile, which was almost as good. �How to
look down both sides of my nose at a person at once,� he said. �How to look as
if I smelled something bad at all times. How to be pointy and look good with
it.� His voice softened and roughened on the last words.

�� You think
I look good.� Draco made that a statement by the barest margin. He reached out
under the table and laced his fingers around Potter�s. He knew what level of
intimacy he was comfortable with, but
not what Potter would want to advertise to the public. At least, he didn�t know
what Potter wanted to advertise yet.

�� I do.�
Potter�s smile had vanished completely, and his gaze was intense in a way that
made Draco�s eyes water. He could see why so few people wanted to risk a direct
confrontation with this man.

�� Well,�
Draco said, �then I reckon I ought to tell you what I find beautiful about you
besides your manners.�

�� Potter�s
face went pale and then red in a matter of seconds. He cleared his throat. �You
don�t have to, if you�d rather not,� he said. The confrontational aspect was
gone; his eyes darted nervously to Draco�s face and then away. �You could, but
I don�t want you to think that it�s required when you�re on a date with me, to
return compliment for compliment.�

�� I want
to,� Draco said. He opened his mouth, ready to choose his words carefully.

�� What do
you want to eat?�

�� Draco
nearly leaped when the server stopped next to their table, and settled for a
glare. The woman blinked back at him. Potter took over, and, with a laugh in
his face, ordered ham sandwiches. Draco would have objected, since that really was common food, but then thought it
would taste like childhood again, and kept quiet.

�� Potter sat
there for a few minutes after the woman had left, his finger tracing an old
beer-stain on the table as if it fascinated him. Draco wondered if he would
change the conversation and try to leave the compliments far behind.

�� Instead,
though, Potter drew a deep breath as if asking the air for courage, looked up,
locked his eyes on Draco�s again, and said, �What is it about me that you find
attractive?�

*

�� Harry
watched Malfoy struggle with a distant amusement. He was weighing his words,
deciding how much he wanted to say. It was the exact same thing Harry had done
a short time ago, but Malfoy had different considerations riding on the words
he chose. He might offend Harry by implying that what he liked about him was
only the pure-blood manners he had adopted.

�� Well, he will offend me if that�s the only thing he likes, Harry decided. But we�ll see what he says. And nothing
Kingsley can say will make me change my mind about him. He�s the only one who
can do that.

�� You are
beautiful,� Malfoy said at last, and Harry found himself breathing slowly, as
if that could keep Malfoy from realizing how much those words affected him. �I
never imagined that you could be. You�ve put on weight and height, so you�re
not the scrawny little git that I remember hating. It�s the intelligence and
life in your face that make your expressions attractive, you know. One
eighteen-year-old who hasn�t seen much of life looks pretty much like another
one.� Now you�re experienced.�

�� Harry coughed
and sat back in his chair uncomfortably. He hadn�t had someone tell him that
before. There had been people who laughed at his lack of experience when he was
first beginning his career among the pure-bloods, and the women Hermione had
tried to have him date had almost all told him that his polished manner came
across as insincere. One of the reasons he�d broken up with Ginny was that she
still thought him too childish. This kind of compliment was so new that Harry
didn�t know how to respond.

�� Malfoy didn�t
wait for him to respond, however, but plunged straight ahead. �Your courtesy is
part of what I like about you, yes. But you don�t have a malicious intent
behind your courtesy the way that so many people I know do. You want to deflect
them or let them down gently when you aren�t willing to give them what they
want. Most of the people I know�Blaise and his wife excepted�are bent on
letting the other person suffer the sting of their scorn or their superiority.�

�� Their supposed superiority,� Harry couldn�t
help muttering, because he hadn�t met any pure-bloods that he would call really
splendid people.

�� Of
course,� Malfoy murmured. �But that attracts me to you. And your showing of
your emotions, as I said before. Those emotions are always present and burning
just beneath the surface when you put yourself on display, did you know that? I
think that�s one reason you�ve been successful when someone else trained by the
Ministry might not be. Of course many of my class know that you�re spying on
us, but they don�t care, it�s done with such care and gentleness. That lack of
malice, as I said before.�

�� Harry did
clear his throat this time. �Let�s talk about something else.�

�� Malfoy
shrugged gracefully and moved out of the way so that the server could set their
plate of ham sandwiches down in the middle of the table. �Of course we can.
What do you want to talk about?�

�� Harry
thought quickly. Potions, Slytherin House, pure-blood ceremonies�those were the
subjects that Malfoy had waxed enthusiastic about when Harry had known him in
the past. And now it seemed that he was somewhat enthusiastic about Harry.
Harry wasn�t about to encourage that, though, when it embarrassed him so much.

�� Potions it is, he decided, and fixed his
gaze on Malfoy. �How much practical Potions experience do you have?� he asked.
�I knew you were good at Potions in Hogwarts, of course, but I never knew how
much the practical work fascinated you and how much the theoretical portion
did. The only thing I knew was that you had to understand the theory, which was more than I did, since you got the
potions right.�

�� The
practical portion is my strongest suit,� Malfoy said, and bit into a sandwich,
taking small, neat bites that Harry approved of despite himself. �I can find
theory only so fascinating when I can�t translate it from mental abstractions
to the physical reality.�

�� He swept
into a flood of talk that Harry only barely understood, but where he did
comprehend it, he could make half-intelligent contributions. Malfoy eyed him
tolerantly when he did that and corrected his mistakes, then talked more
happily and faster, waving around a crust of his sandwich as he did so.

�� Harry found
it difficult to take his eyes away from him, which was not a thing he had
thought he would ever say about Malfoy. He hadn�t been lying when he told
Malfoy he was attractive, but this was something else again. Malfoy was open
and shining, the way he had been when they laughed during the Rain Celebration.
Harry had thought that a one-time-only experience, but it didn�t seem so.

�� Malfoy
leaned back in his chair as the evening wore on, and drank more butterbeer, and
ate four whole ham sandwiches. He didn�t seem to care about the amount of food,
the way some pure-bloods Harry knew would have, but he didn�t drop crumbs on
himself or spray bits of half-chewed food in all directions, either. Harry
reluctantly acknowledged that either would have made him turn away in disgust.

�� Maybe he�s right and the manners have become
more a part of me than I like to admit.

�� He drove
the thought away. It came back. He was in a perfectly casual setting and in
front of people whom he didn�t have to impress, and yet he still shuddered when
he glanced over at another table and saw it covered with rings of liquid, foam,
crumbs, and dirt that had no reason to be there. If he carried those values
with him out of a pure-blood setting, then why should he say that they weren�t
a part of him?

�� Harry
swallowed. Is it a bad thing that it�s
Malfoy�s�Draco�s�use of those values that makes me less opposed to considering
this than usual?

�� The fact
remained that it was a fascinating evening, though Harry could rarely
participate in the Potions shop talk. Harry could enjoy just watching Draco
gesture and listening to him converse, without having to anticipate, as he did
with Pandora Nelson�s Potions shop talk, the context of all her remarks and
what she would say next and whether all of it meant anything politically.

�� But enough
about me,� Draco said, cutting off so abruptly that Harry actually blinked.
�What about you? Don�t think it�s escaped my notice that I�ve learned more
about you by my own observation so far than by any conversation.�

�� Harry
hesitated. There were few words in his mind, now. He couldn�t talk freely about
his deepest emotions when he was still sorting those out himself, and he
couldn�t talk about the meaningless, false things he used when he was in front
of other pure-bloods. Not in front of Draco, and not after what Draco had
shared with him.

�� No, that�s not true. There�s one subject
that you can discuss with him, and that you know he�ll like hearing about.

�� I�d like
to ask you a favor,� he told Draco. �Could I�could we step outside the tavern
for a moment? Let me pay, and then we�ll�we�ll talk. Please?�

�� Draco
raised his eyebrows, but nodded, and Harry paid. Then they stepped outside.
Harry deliberately didn�t glance around to make sure there wasn�t anyone
watching after they�d moved away from the door. He wanted some privacy, but not
secrecy. He didn�t want Draco think he was ashamed of what he was about to do.

�� Draco
stopped walking and turned to face him. His face was perplexed. �I really am
puzzled about what you want from me, you know.�

�� Harry
reached out, seized Draco�s chin in a grip he thought was clumsy, and guided
their mouths together. He didn�t kiss with the sort of finesse he�d been
imagining; he lapped at Draco�s lips for a long time before Draco slowly parted
them, and then he jumped when their tongues tangled together, like the most
na�ve teenager.

�� But he was
giving all he had to give, trying to share all the passion and the uneasiness
and the defiance against Kingsley and the questions that Draco had roused in
him with Draco, and that was more
than he had done with anyone in several years.

*

�� Draco
hadn�t expected the sudden kiss, but he wasn�t about to complain.

�� Potter�Harry�kissed
with too much force and with his eyes closed, as if he thought he was about to
be rejected. Draco reached up and stroked his cheek, soothing his eyes open.
Harry gasped, which made an interesting sensation in Draco�s mouth, and opened
them.

�� Draco
gasped himself when he saw the emotions shining there. The anger he�d goaded
out of Harry when he trailed him home was as nothing to this. Harry didn�t seem
to know what he was showing or how to control it, and yet he showed it anyway.
Draco saw fear and anger and determination and lust and happiness leaping
there, changing places so fast that only the training he�d had from childhood
enabled him to read them at all.

�� See, Harry, that training is good for some
things, sometimes, he thought, and curled an arm around the back of Harry�s
neck to drag him closer.

�� Harry
renewed the kiss at once, as if he�d been uncertain and waiting for an
invitation. Draco wanted to laugh. He thought Draco was going to turn him away,
when he�d been speaking the truth about his own attraction all evening?

�� Maybe he did. He�s still not sure what to do
when he can�t use that mask of his.

�� That was a
problem, but it was for later. Draco traded control of the kiss back and forth,
delighting in the magic he could sometimes feel flicking behind Harry�s tongue,
seeking an outlet, and the strength in the slender body that leaned against
his. Then he pulled free at last, with a slight lap, and laughed, because he
had no other way to express his satisfaction.

�� Luckily,
Harry didn�t take the laughter the wrong way. He gave Draco a slightly
embarrassed smile and stroked his jaw. �I know,� he said. �What do you think we
ought to do now?�

�� It�s a
little early for either of us to invite the other one home,� Draco said,
tracing the shape of Harry�s collarbone. �Let�s go home, and�think about each
other.� Harry�s widened eyes and dilated pupils said he knew exactly what Draco
meant. �We might each feel differently in the morning, I don�t know.�

�� Harry
flinched a little at that dampening remark, but he understood a moment later
and nodded. Of course Draco had to take note of that as a possibility; keeping
track of consequences like that was something Harry�s training would have
enforced on him sooner or later, and it was better for Draco to mention it
first.

�� With one
final, hesitant smile and a slight flourish of his cloak as if he wanted to bow
but didn�t think it appropriate, Harry Apparated away.

�� Draco went
down a side alley where he could get away from curious onlookers, and danced a
small impromptu jig, listening to his feet sliding on the wet stone and
thinking of the way he and Harry had danced in the Rain Celebration two days
ago, and danced while standing still today.

�� Blaise�s
house-elves scolded him when he got back because of the mud and filth smeared
on the hem of his robes, but Draco didn�t care.

*

�� MewMew2:
Glad you liked it!

�� Point of
Tears: I wish I liked dancing in the rain more; I would definitely try that.

�� And thank
you! Harry is starting to face up to the idea that Draco might not hate him, as
you can see in this chapter, though part of that is stubbornness because other
people are telling him not to date Draco.

�� No, Paul
won�t show up in person.

�� yaoiObsessed:
Harry, in this chapter at least, is irritated enough to use the manners as a
weapon against the person who taught him to use them. That argues that he�s
learning to separate out the aspects he doesn�t like from the ones he does and
can use.

�� And Harry�s
stubbornness can help the cause. He�ll step closer to Draco out of sheer pique,
too.

�� k-9: Neither
of them truly loves the other yet. They like each other, though, and they�re
getting more relaxed in each other�s company.

�� SP777: Not
really. I just wanted to think of something fun and silly the two of them could
do together.

�� Blood Lust
777: Thank you!

�� butterpie: Harry
is cautious for all sorts of reasons, especially because Draco is forcing him
to face uncomfortable truths about himself and because he knows about Paul. But
he�s willing to give it a chance for now. And he�s getting caught up in the
romance here, though he does try to warn himself that the relationship still
might fall apart into pieces for both of them.

�� SamuraiSaaya:
Thank you!
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Company Manners