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The Optimal Balance	By : TheMightyFlynn Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 17124 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and characters belong to JK Rowling and associates. This was written for fun. I make no money from it.

Chapter List
- 1-The Optimal Balance
- 2-Ch. 2
- 3-Ch. 3
- 4-Ch. 4
- 5-Ch. 5
- 6-Ch. 6
- 7-Ch. 7
- 8-Ch. 8
- 9-Ch. 9
- 10-Ch. 10
- 11-Ch. 11
- 12-Ch. 12
- 13-Ch. 13
- 14-Ch. 14
- 15-Ch. 15
- 16-Ch. 16
- 17-Ch. 17
- 18-Ch. 18
- 19-Ch. 19
- 20-Ch. 20
- 21-Ch. 21
- 22-Ch. 22
- 23-Ch. 23
- 24-Ch. 24
- 25-Ch. 25
- 26-Ch. 26
- 27-Ch. 27
- 28-Ch. 28
- 29-Ch. 29
- 30-Ch. 30
- 31-Ch. 31
- 32-Ch. 32
- 33-Ch. 33
- 34-Ch. 34
- 35-Ch. 35
- 36-Ch. 36
- 37-Ch. 37
- 38-Ch. 38
- 39-Ch. 39
- 40-Ch. 40: Epilogue
- 4
- 5
- 6
The Blue Terrace of Chez Mercier.

6:30.

I’ll be waiting. Don’t be late.

Draco stared down at the now incredibly crumpled note that he had been holding in his clenched fist for the past hour as he waited in the lobby of Chez Mercier. He had been expecting Harry home from work at his usual hour but had received the note from a harried-looking owl instead. The untidy scrawl was definitely Harry’s, he had no doubt of that. What he didn’t know was what the hell Harry thought he was doing: the holiday had been his birthday present, he hadn’t been expecting anything else. He had never really handled surprises well and to have this one sprung on him completely out of nowhere had set him slightly off-balance. Nerves had been fluttering through his stomach since he had read the note and they had only increased with the passage of time.

“Ah, Monsieur Malfoy. How good to see you again.”

Draco's head snapped up and the hand holding the note automatically clenched behind his back at the sound of Thierry Didier’s voice. Tall and thin with a head full of thick black hair that Draco was certain couldn’t be natural at his age, Thierry ran Chez Mercier with a precision Draco had come to rely upon over the years. It was rare that he could be guaranteed absolute privacy at a restaurant in London – especially these days – and Chez Mercier was one of the best, all thanks to Thierry.

“Monsieur Didier. It’s good to be back,” Draco responded with a small tilt of his head. “I believe you may have the Blue Terrace reserved?”

“Oh, yes,” Thierry responded with a knowing smile. He gestured off to his right, indicating that Draco should follow him as he walked. “The Blue Terrace is the most popular romantic rendezvous location in the city for the discerning customer, Monsieur Malfoy. It has seen the start of innumerable successful marriages, you know.”

Draco couldn’t resist narrowing his eyes as a suspicious tingle ran down his spine. It was common knowledge in the wizarding world by that time that he and Harry were engaged, so why Thierry would bother mentioning marriage was beyond him. He cleared his throat softly as they passed the already-crowded dining room.

“Harry and I are already engaged, Thierry, as I am sure you are well aware.”

Stopping outside a discreet door designed to blend in with the cream-coloured wallpaper, Thierry offered up a knowing smile. “True, but even the strongest of relationships can use an occasional boost in the romance department, yes?” Bowing deeply, Thierry tapped his wand on the lower corner of the door, causing it to swing inwards. “Merely tap your wand on the handle of the door to re-open it when you are ready to join your regular companions, Monsieur Malfoy.”

Standing and watching as Thierry departed, Draco took a slightly shaky breath. Thierry was correct in one thing, at least: the Blue Terrace – so named because of the shadows the moon cast over almost the entire area – was well-known to offer the most romantic atmosphere in all of London. Draco moved slowly, taking in the Victorian-era buildings surrounding the terrace, the vines creeping up the sides of said buildings, the low bushes that Draco knew hid secluded nooks for lovers to sequester themselves away and, finally, the magnificent view of London. Coming to a stop in the middle of the terrace, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to settle the fluttering of his stomach.

“Harry?”

“Draco.”

Draco turned to his right, towards Harry’s voice. His mouth opened to begin to question him, but he found himself rendered speechless by the sight before him. Harry’s robes were folded over the arm of a stone bench, leaving Harry standing before him in an obviously bespoke suit. Pitch black and cut to perfection, it hugged him in all the right places: the jacket accentuated Harry’s shoulders and trim waist, leaving Draco with the rather desperate desire to see if the trousers fit just as well; the deep purple tie Harry had teamed with all the black both emphasised his eyes and caused Draco to wonder which female Harry had convinced to go shopping with him as he knew that there was no way he had chosen something like that himself. It all combined to send a tingle of desire through Draco that normally would have made him incredibly uncomfortable to be feeling in public. Standing in the seclusion of the terrace as they were, however, the thought of trying to suppress the emotions didn’t even cross Draco's mind. Harry was wearing a self-satisfied smile when Draco finally managed to meet his eyes.

“Like what you see?”

Ducking his head to help prevent himself from giving in to the urge to smile, Draco instead produced the note from behind his back. It didn’t take him long to conquer the urge. Harry was still smiling at him in a knowing way when Draco straightened and cocked an eyebrow at him.

“What is this?”

“A note. You, by the way, are late.”

“Late?” Draco's eyes flicked to the clock mounted on the wall near the hidden door and he couldn’t help scoffing. “One and a half minutes is hardly late, Potter; not when it was caused by the walk through the restaurant you summoned me to with no notice.”

Draco took a half-step forward, the note still grasped between his raised fingers. The widening of Harry’s smile stopped him in his tracks, however. Suspicion crept down his spine, sending a shiver through him as he quickly ran through a list of reasons Harry could have for wanting him there at a particular time. The only conclusion he could come up with, though, was that whatever it was Harry was up to, it apparently hadn’t been just booking the Blue Terrace; there must have been another reason they were there.

“Actually, in this case, Malfoy, late is late.”

Harry’s emphasis of Draco's surname caused one side of Draco’s mouth to twitch into a half smile. He knew Harry didn’t appreciate him using his surname instead of his given name; Draco generally only used it when he was annoyed because of this. Besides the small verbal reprimand, however, Harry seemed content to ignore it.

Raising his wand and flicking it through the air in a pattern Draco was unfamiliar with, Harry smiled. Draco watched closely, knowing that this was probably going to reveal why Harry had called him to the restaurant early. Having to resist the urge to hold his breath in anticipation, Draco almost missed the soft strains of music that filled the terrace a few seconds later. The song was nothing Draco recognised, but that wasn’t what he focussed on: there were no musicians in sight and Draco knew that the house band was nowhere near this side of the restaurant. Glancing around, he couldn’t help frowning in confusion as he tried to work out how Harry had pulled this off.

“How…?”

“Magic.”

This time Draco allowed himself to smile properly. “Harry–”

“Magic that was set up to be activated at precisely six thirty.” Harry took the one step required to close the gap between them. He brought his right hand up to brush the backs of his fingers against Draco's left cheekbone, a gesture of comfort that Draco knew was left over from when he had been injured the year before. “You look confused.”

Unable to help it, Draco frowned. “Is there a reason I shouldn’t be? All of this – the music, the terrace – why would you bother? I don’t–” He cut himself off with a shake of his head before he could admit that he couldn’t understand why Harry would do this for him. “My birthday present was the holiday.”

Instead of replying straight away, Harry slid his arms up and around Draco's shoulders. He was moving slowly, almost as though stalling for time, which only increased Draco's confusion. Slipping his arms around Harry’s waist, he pulled him closer.

“Harry?” Draco hated the hesitation in his voice, but knew there was nothing he could do about it.

Harry sighed, but met Draco's eyes. “Has no one ever done something like this for your birthday before? Or even just in general? Just something nice that they knew you would enjoy?”

There was no pity in Harry’s tone; no sympathy. He sounded more… Perplexed was the word Draco was tempted to use. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. Draco had known going into this that he hadn’t had as much experience in a real relationship as Harry had; Harry had thought himself in a stable, loving relationship for nineteen years, after all. While Draco had had Astoria, he knew that that was a completely different thing to what Harry had experienced. It was an odd sensation, having to admit that this was an area that he severely lacked experience in, but he had thought that after nine months together, these moments would stop happening; that he would finally have settled down in their relationship. Apparently he was doomed to continue to make a fool of himself, though, when it came to Harry. Memories of himself completely losing control over his emotions in the court room the year before flashed through his mind and Draco found himself fighting back a blush.

He took another steadying breath when Harry’s fingers drifted up into his hair, distracting him from going over and over the incident in his mind. At least this time there was no one around to witness his failure, he figured. Harry’s fingers playing with the hair at the base of his neck dragged him properly out of his thoughts and he reopened his eyes to see Harry watching him closely. Draco shifted his weight and glanced off to the side, not wanting Harry to be able to see anything that slipped past his defences.

“No.” He tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice, but was unsure if he had managed it.

“In that case…” Harry paused, stepped back and grinned at him. “May I have this dance?”

Draco's first instinct was to accuse Harry of mocking him. He had already taken a half-step backwards, indignation rising in his chest, when he realised what he was doing. This was Harry, he reasoned; the man he had been with for nine solid months, the man currently watching him with a combination of amusement and affection on his face that caused a confusing mix of emotions to erupt in Draco's stomach. Pushing the sudden doubts as far to the back of his mind as he could manage, he raised an eyebrow and tilted his head in question.

“You can dance?”

Harry’s grin widened and he held out a hand. “Care to find out?”

The remnants of shame and nerves melted away the second Draco took Harry into his arms and swept him into a waltz. That was something else strange: Draco knew that Harry was the one person in the world able to make him completely lose control over himself, but he also seemed to be the one person whose mere presence could help him to control any jumbled emotions that he would prefer not to show. It was something he knew he would puzzle over later on now that it had occurred to him, but for the time being, he was more than happy to just have Harry there with him.

*~*

“So, July twenty-first, then?”

“Yes, Pansy, you already knew that.”

“Are you absolutely certain about this, Draco?”

Harry smothered a grin in his champagne glass. Pansy’s version of a whisper left much to be desired, especially when she had spent the past few hours downing expensive wine, as had most of the rest of the table.

“What exactly are you implying?” Draco's vocabulary was no less pretentious when he was pissed than when he was sober, although Harry found it amusing to listen to him attempting to not slur his words.

“I’m not…” Pansy sighed and finished off her glass. “I’m not implying anything, Draco, but… Have you really thought about this?”

Feeling Draco tense beside him, Harry quickly slipped a hand beneath the table, resting it on Draco's thigh. He had no idea what he would do if this conversation led to Draco and Pansy having a real fight, but he knew he could prevent any physical violence, at least. Draco relaxed after a few seconds and continued the conversation with Pansy in hisses that Harry had a hard time making out.

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

Harry glanced up at the soft female voice to be met by the pale blue eyes of Narcissa Malfoy across the table from him. With the exceptions of both Christmas and Easter, Harry had had nothing to do with either of Draco's parents after the end of the trial and he had discovered that they both still had the ability to make him incredibly uncomfortable with a single glance. Thankfully, however, Narcissa seemed merely curious in his answer to her question rather than in interrogating him in the same way Pansy was with Draco. He offered up a smile as he answered.

“I am, actually, Mrs. Malfoy. I haven’t spent much time in Chez Mercier over the years.”

The truth was, since the children had been born, Harry’s idea of a nice restaurant had taken a bit of a nosedive compared to before he and Ginny had become parents. Anywhere that included a play area or had a children’s menu was automatically raised towards the top of the list, which Harry knew to be more pathetic than anything else.

“It’s a wonderful restaurant,” she continued with only a slightly condescending smile. “And please, you must call me Narcissa. As Draco continues to repeat, we are to be related soon enough.”

This time, Harry didn’t bother to hide his smile behind his glass. “I’ve actually been meaning to speak to you about that. I was wondering whether it would be possible for us all to get together some time in the near future so we can go over what we have organised for the wedding day? I know it’s only going to be a small wedding, but I figured it would be nice if everyone important knew the details of the day.”

They had determined that, since this was to be a second wedding for the both of them, they would keep it as small as possible. Family and close friends were invited, as well as a few key members of both the Auror Corps and the Ministry, but that was to be it. Harry was actually quite thankful that no one had objected to them having a more intimate ceremony, considering the amount of publicity they would have received if they had gone big. Their lives were hectic enough as it was without courting even more drama.

“That would be… nice. Thank you.” Narcissa managed to convey the impression of being both surprised and grateful without one change in her expression, something Harry found fascinating. “Would a week from Saturday suit you? Lucius and I are making a tour of Europe over the next week and that would give us a number of days to relax at home before leaving again.”

Surprise fluttered through Harry at her acceptance, but he covered it with another sip of his champagne. “That sounds good to me.” He glanced over to Draco beside him and grinned. “I’ll have a word with Draco about it in the morning.”

A soft hum from Narcissa grabbed Harry’s attention. Her eyes flicked over to where Lucius sat, apparently deep in discussion with Blaise Zabini, then back to Draco. It was difficult to read her expression, but Harry thought he saw disapproval there before it was swiftly hidden.

“I believe it may be time to call it a night.”

Saying goodbye to everyone there took longer than Harry had hoped it would. He knew that, to anyone less experienced in watching him, Draco wouldn’t appear to be drunk. He smiled and thanked everyone for coming, he was incredibly polite, he didn’t slur his words, but there was something there; something indefinable. He knew he had to get him home before the press managed to discover that they were leaving.

It wasn’t until they got outside in the cooler air – through a special side passage reserved for those in the VIP rooms – that it all seemed to really catch up with Draco. Closing his eyes, he swayed and nearly stumbled before Harry stepped up behind him and wrapped an arm securely around his waist, holding him securely.

“Harry?”

“It’s alright, I’ve got you.”

“I…” Draco shook his head, a move Harry thought would have only made his situation worse. “I think I may – may have had…”

He shook his head again and brought a hand up to pinch between his eyes. Harry was unable to prevent the wide smile that spread across his face at Draco’s attempts to keep to his usual speech patterns. Moving so he was standing directly in front of him, Harry slid both arms around Draco's waist, making sure he was steady in preparation for him Apparating them both back to the Manor.

“You’re absolutely pissed,” he whispered with a small smile.

Draco blinked blearily at him for a few seconds before humming and leaning into the embrace. Harry’s eyes connected with Astoria’s over Draco's shoulder and she shot him an enormous grin. Shaking his head, he grinned back before twisting and taking Draco home.

“Harry…”

Draco wasn’t supporting any of his own weight when Harry landed them in their bedroom in the Manor. His face was buried in the crook of Harry’s neck and his arms looped loosely around Harry’s waist. Harry made a shushing sound as he gathered Draco into his arms and got him tucked into the bed, his robes and shoes removed and placed neatly beside the bed. He was just moving off to strip himself so he could climb into the bed beside him when Draco grabbed his wrist.

“Love you.”

Harry stood frozen beside the bed, a huge smile spreading across his face. His mind immediately flicked back to a moment at the start of their relationship when Draco had informed him that there were only two types of people who told the absolute truth: the very young and the very drunk. The smile didn’t leave his face as he undressed and climbed into the bed. He wrapped his arm around Draco's middle when he settled, drawing him close.

“Love you, too.”
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The Optimal Balance