Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Muggle Technology and Heroism	By : Tommy-Lane Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 6929 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters and I am not making any money off of this.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
"Bloody hell, you fucking with me?" Ron was blocking the path, his arm held out and latched firmly onto the door standing just far enough ajar to fit himself between it and the frame - his face set firmly in a disapproving frown. "I mean, what is this? The fifth time we've seen you this week? Doesn't speak well for your social standing if you're spending all your time making my son stare up at your ugly mug."

"I brought beer." Harry replied without missing a beat as he held out the cardboard pack with a little shake.

"Well why didn't you say? Get your arse in here." Ron grinned, motioning his friend into his home with a little chuckle as Harry shuffled out of the cold and into the all-encompassing warmth that smelled a bit like burnt bread. "Fair warning though, might be best brace yourself mate."

"What, why?" Relinquishing the beer, Harry's smile twitched on his lips as he heard his name being screeched from down the hall, a demand to get in here rattling his ears. "Merlin, she's wound." He muttered as he shed his jacket and scarf, trying in vain to crane his neck around the corner and peek into the kitchen.

Ron nodded gravely, clutching the six pack like a lifeline. "All your fucking fault too....well and maybe Hugo's, the little monster refused to sleep again last night."

Harry cringed and clapped Ron on the back. "You can have the beer all to yourself."

"No truer friend have I ever had." The redhead replied solemnly, blinking his large blue eyes at Harry like the man was an angle sent from heaven to relieve his ungodly suffering.

"Harry, get in here! I want to hear all about your date!" Hermione shouted and Harry picked up his pace, striding into the kitchen where she was setting a steaming hot casserole out on the table with Hugo trying to claw his way up her leg. "Ron, get your son will you?"

"Why is he always my son when you’re annoyed with him?" Ron asked as he picked up the littlest Weasley and Hermione rolled her eyes. "Should at least let Harry eat before you interrogate him. Jumping him on an empty stomach might just traumatize him enough that he never dates again." He grumbled as he slipped Hugo into his highchair before dropping down into the seat beside him. "Do you really want that on your conscious?"

"He'll be fine." She deadpanned, the pitcher of water hitting the table with a thunk.

"I can feed him." Harry volunteered as Ron set a plate with a little mound of food, mushed to unrecognizable goo, in front of the lad - his voice light and carefree and hopelessly trying to ease the mood in the kitchen with his two sleep deprived friends who were way too invested in his romantic life. Course, if it wasn't for their abundance of over caring Harry probably wouldn't be trying an insane plan to snag Draco for himself. A plan with steps that Harry honestly couldn't see the merit in, or how they were possibly going to work, but he trusted Hermione with everything else in his life, might as well trust her with this as well.

"No." Hermione intercepted him, motioning to a chair opposite Ron, her curly hair reduced to a giant static ball of frizz about her flushed face. Her white tee had some sort of yellowish stain on the side that had come untucked from her shapeless jeans that Ron had dubbed her don't touch me right now pants when they had first moved in together, the socks on her feet warm and woolly and bright pink and there was a pencil peeking out from one of the more treacherous portions of her wild hair like it was hopelessly trying to keep from being swallowed whole. "Seat. Eat. Talk."

She looked exhausted but with this bright little spark in her eye, the same one she got before an exam she knew she was going to ace.

So Harry sat, he scooped up his food, ladled a bite, and after promptly swallowing the meal that wasn't anywhere near decent and tasted more like she hadn't slept in four nights and maybe kept forgetting how much salt she had already used than anything else, started talking. "It was nice. You're right he was funny and sweet and we had a great time. Though I really should be pissed at you for making me dread the whole night because I thought he was taking me dancing."

"He didn't?" Ron asked as he tried to land a spoon full between Hugo's firmly shut lips, the boy’s chubby hands banging against the tray.

"Of course not." Hermione answered, her own plate untouched as she sipped on her water and watched Harry closely. "I'm glad you had a nice time Harry, Craig sure seemed light hearted today at work. He even stopped by my office to thank me for setting you two up."

"Yeah?" Harry blushed, his fork pushing his food around his plate as he felt the same pinch of guilt that had assaulted him after the man had kissed him the other night.

She smiled and nodded, her elbow resting on the table as Hugo squealed and Ron took the opportunity to shove a bite into his mouth. "Let him do it honey." She instructed before turning back to Harry with that studious look he was so used to seeing on her. He was quite honestly surprised that she wasn't setup with note taking supplies, recording in detail his answers and meticulously charting out his next move. "And how did Draco react the next day?"

Harry shrugged, taking his time chewing as he mulled over his answer, uncertain just how honest he wanted to be with what had transpired that night - unaccountably wanting to keep a portion of it hidden, a secret that was just for the two of them, just like he had always done concerning their nights together.

After he had finally managed to drift off last night he had slept remarkably well, his body warm and his arms full when he had woken once before dawn to find the other man pressed against his front with his arm holding him close. Soft hair had tickled his cheek as he blinked in the creeping daylight, a sleepy smile on his lips as he breathed deep and snuggled closer, his arm tightening and Draco humming softly in his sleep. When he awoke again, the sun bright in the sky out his window, Draco was gone - the flat empty with a mug of coffee and a pile of pancakes waiting under a stasis charm for him in the kitchen.

Ethan had made the pancakes, he was sure of it, and Draco had made the bitter coffee. Harry hadn't known how to feel about it, the place too quiet for a Sunday morning, too lonely, the paper entirely his when he was used to Draco stealing all the good bits. When his flatmate had returned later that day they didn't speak of the night before nor did he share with Harry where he had been. Instead the blonde was oddly quiet - his eyes tracking Harry over the rim of his book before darting back behind the pages whenever Harry looked his way. The fleeting looks made him feel giddy even though he wasn't sure if he should be so flustered over it all - a quiet Draco never boded well if history told him anything after all.

Still, he nearly drove himself mental trying to figure out what the man had been thinking.

"He told me not to sleep with him." Harry speared a noddle but set the fork down before he could eat it.

Hermione grinned and nodded, shushing Ron when he opened his mouth with a confused look on his face. "Good, that's great! On to step three then."

"Why is that great? Harry deserves to get laid every now and then...and what exactly is step three...wait, what was step one come to think of it?" Ron asked, a muscle in his cheek twitching as a wad of goo landed on his hand resting on Hugo's tray.

"Touching." Hermione reminded him, her nose scrunching like he had forgotten her birthday or some other unforgivable offense.

"Er...they're always touching." Ron pointed out as Harry blushed and went back to pushing his food around on his plate and Hermione blinked blankly at him. "No, seriously Mione, they're always touching. It's a bit mental really."

"Just trust me." Hermione combed her fingers through her hair, her lips frowning as she wrestled the pencil from the frizzy knots and stared at it grumpily for a moment before tossing it on the table. "So Harry, you ready for step three?"

"Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that actually." Harry perked up, grateful that Ron had stopped pointing out the oddness of their friendship and before he could ask Harry again if he was sure they weren't already dating. "I don't see how surprising Draco at work will accomplish anything. I mean, I already meet him there sometimes."

"It will." She replied cryptically, lifting her fork and finally taking a bite - her nose screwing up as she chewed. "Ugh...that's it, we're ordering pizza."

"Yes!" Ron hollered in triumph before sobering quickly as her sharp eye turned on him. "I mean, if that's what you want love..."

Hermione snorted and shook her head as Ron let a grin split his lips once more and Hugo laughed for no reason what so ever. The casserole got pitched into the rubbish, Hugo was released from what Harry was pretty sure the boy viewed as prison and set to wander the floor in freedom as they gathered in the lounge to await the arrival of edible food. The evening passed too fast, talking about the latest news from the joke shop and what Ginny was up to with the Harpies, and before Harry knew it Hermione had passed out on the couch and Ron was nearly out as well, and he was heading home, wiping through the floo and emerging out onto his hearth in a coughing cloud of ash - his head a bit foggy from the beer Ron had decided to share with him (because who likes drinking alone?).

He had stumbled to his room and would have missed the note pinned to his door if not for the fact that it was bright green and shaped like a cloud. He blinked stupidly at it for a moment, his eyesight refusing to focus for much too long. But when the neatly written letters finally formed themselves into legible words, Harry had to blink, rub his eyes, and read them again just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

I believe the hob may have gone dark, it won't stop hissing like an evil little snake (think twelve year old you, fucking creepy Harry, still gives me nightmares thinking about it). I cast a protective shell around the vile thing so we don't die in our sleep. Fix it in the morning?

- Draco

Below that one was another note, this one bright blue and oval.

Oh and we're out of bread. Pick some up? The kind without those atrocious little seeds. The one in the white bag?

- D

And below that was one last tacked up bit of parchment, bright pink and pig shaped. God, where was he even getting these things and when exactly had the blonde discovered Post-it notes? Fuck, their kitchen was going to be covered in them any day now.

Where were you anyway? And don't say out with Formally-From-Archives-What's-His-Name, I'll be severely disappointed in you if you didn't make him wait at least two weeks before seeing you again.

Dinner tomorrow? I want to try out that new Indian place down the way.

- Oh fuck it, you know it's me, who else would this be anyway?

Harry couldn't help his sloppy grin as he pulled the notes from his door and shoved them in his pocket, his eyes straying to Draco's door shut tight down the hall. It only took him a moment to ponder his response before he was summoning a pen and sticking the first Post-it on the blonde’s door and scratching out his reply on the bottom half under the man's signature.

I told you, appliances don't go dark but I'll look at it in the morning. There's more bread in the bottom drawer, the one that sticks a little. Indian sounds great, walk over together after work?

- Harry

P.S. His name is Craig and no, I was at Ron and Hermione's, getting covered in snot and spit and fighting off their son's money grubbing hands.

****

Tightening his grip on the white plastic bag, Harry took a deep breath and pushed the door open, the little bell above tinkling softly as he stepped through the threshold.

Draco's specialty potions shop was quaint, a quiet place tucked between a rare book store and a barbershop whose owner was older than a century and wore glasses as thick as coke bottles. The walls were lined from floor to ceiling with neatly labeled potions of varying size and color and there was even a ladder on wheels attached to a piped railing that ran the circumference of the ceiling, allowing those who dared to venture to the top shelves and the gems hidden there. The room was open and felt cavernous despite its actual size with a grand desk in the corner where an older women jotted down special orders and ran the prices for customers.

"Harry!" Margret exclaimed as she looked up from the parchment she was writing carefully on with a long feathered quill, a boy - Draco's new apprentice Harry reasoned - glancing up in surprise from his spot sitting on the floor in the opposite corner where he was carefully restocking the lower shelves. It was always a shock to Draco's new employees when they found out that their boss lived with non-other than the great and powerful Harry Potter. Some tended to gape at him every time he came around, two had asked for his autograph and then promptly groveled in apology due to their boss’s venomous reaction, but thankfully every now and then Draco employed someone who acted as if Harry wasn't anything special at all.

Harry spared him a small smile before striding towards the desk with a wide grin. "Afternoon Margret." He liked the tattooed witch, she was one of the few who thought he was nothing all that special until he had won her over by charm and luck and chocolate, plus she was surely just as mental as her boss - which was no doubt why she had been with Draco since the beginning and still showed no signs of leaving anytime soon.

"What brings you in?" She leaned on the desk with knobby elbows, her fingers pushing her stick straight, sleek hair behind her ear. "Tracking down criminals in our neighborhood?" Her large brown eyes widened as she dropped her voice an octave. "Has there been a murder?"

"No, nothing of the sort, just thought I'd bring Draco lunch." Dropping the plastic bag housing the blonde’s favorite Chinese food on the desk, Harry glanced around quickly. "Is he in his office?"

There was a small choked noise that sounded shockingly mouse like that emitted from the corner before Margret clucked her tongue and shook her head. "Potions lab." She said, jerking her head backwards and towards the door that Harry knew led to Draco's well stocked and suffocating workroom. "But best not go in there just yet, Mr. Malfoy is working out a problem with one of the new batches of Dreamless Sleep."

"Oh, should he be long, do you think?" He asked, gazing at the door like he could see what was going on behind it and therefor judge if he should wait around or not.

Margret shrugged. "You know him, Harry."

Nodding, Harry thrummed his fingers on the desk as he debated what to do, because Merlin did he know Draco. The man could be in there for days. "Well, I suppose -" His words were cut off and drowned out by an explosion that rattled the desk and all the bottles precariously on the shelves, the bag of food on the edge of the wood nearly tumbling to the floor before Harry managed to steady it with a quick hand as Margret sighed and spelled her ink well back into its correct potion with a well-practiced wave of her wand. "What -"

"Fuck! Stephen!" The curse was muffled but very clearly his flatmate, the potion lab's door banging open a second later to reveal Draco standing in the threshold - smoke curling about his feet and floating in wisps off the strands of his hair. He looked entirely mad, thick black rimmed goggles shoved up onto his forehead with rubbery gloves encasing his hands that were covered in something blue and a heavily warded apron sizzling nefariously that covered his upper body and thighs. "Where is the imbecile? I'm going to wrangle his skinny little neck for this!" Draco jerked the glove from his hand to fall with a wet slap against the polished wood floor with the second one following soon after, his eyes wild as they zeroed in on the young man on the floor.

"Mr. Ma-" The boys voice shook, his mouth stuck soundlessly open as Draco held up a hand to quiet him.

"What kind of idiotic, completely useless moron doesn't check his ingredients?" Draco demanded, taking a threatening step inside his shop. "What am I always telling you? Don't trust the label! Always double check! Always! You could have killed us all with your incompetency."

"Best sneak out while you can." Margret whispered to him as Harry watched Draco advance on his apprentice, his boots squeaking on the floor and leaving a trail of something gooey and neon behind him. "I'll tell him you stopped by after he's calmed down and had a cuppa."

But the poor man, Stephen apparently, looked utterly terrified and Harry couldn't blame him - Draco could be scary as all fuck when he wanted to be. Not to mention that everyone made mistakes but the blonde unfortunately had a hard time remembering things like that when those mistakes ruined his hair and put him behind schedule. "Draco." He said, taking a step to intercept the two, whatever else he was about to say dying on his tongue for a moment as those fiery eyes turned on him and blinked in confusion.

"Oh, Harry. What are you...?" He cocked his head, his brow furrowing for a moment and Harry thought that maybe Stephen would survive this encounter after all - but then something dark sparked in his face and he was rounding on the young man once more, his finger jabbing towards Harry in an accusing manner. "You could have killed Harry Potter! How would you like to start your career off like that? Huh? Being known for the rest of your days as the man who blew up the Defeater of the Dark Lord because you're too daft to check the integrity of your ingredients! You should be forced to spend your days bound to the stocks while vile little children throw rotten vegetables at the trussed up clod!"

Margret chuckled and pulled a bag of chocolate from her drawer, popping a piece happily into her mouth. "We don't have stocks Mr. Malfoy." She reminded her boss. "We could tie him up in the cupboard I suppose."

"Not a bad idea Margret." Draco agreed as Stephen's eyes widened in alarm.

"Please, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." He rushed to explain, his cheeks bright red. "I thought I doubled checked -"

"You thought!" Draco hollered. "Your stupidity abounds."

"Come on Draco, no one got hurt." Harry tried to reassure him as a vain in the blonde's forehead pulsed dangerously.

"No one got hurt?" Draco huffed as he thrust his hand between them, his pinky stuck straight out where he could see a bleeding cut sliced down its length. "Your atrocious brew somehow managed to explode the silver cauldron! If this gets infected I shall have your head!"

"It won't get infected." Harry rushed to say before Stephen could open his mouth and dig himself deeper, there was simply no reasoning with Draco when he was in such a mood...though if Harry was honest he was more than a little curious as to how the young man had managed to bollocks up so badly that his potion had not only exploded but managed to cut Draco through his protective gloves. "Come on, I'll heal you and then you can decided what you want to do with him, okay?" Grasping his bony wrist, Harry gave a little tug as Draco continued to glower down menacingly at the boy.

"Don't forget your Chinese." Margret held up the plastic bag and Harry smiled inwardly as Draco's head spun around to look at her, his scowl slipping.

"Chinese?" He asked.

"Yup, now come on." Keeping a firm hold of Draco's wrist, Harry grabbed the bag and tugged the man after him, stepping carefully into the lab that looked worse than he had expected - like blue blood had drenched the entire center with cracked jars littering the table.

"I'll deal with you later and you better start praying to any deity that will hear from your halfwit lips that I don't murder you." Draco glared back at Stephen right up until the door clicked shut behind them, after which he immediately started grumbling about his ruined workbench and that he would have to work overtime to brew another batch to keep on schedule and that the expense for a new cauldron would be coming out of his apprentices pocket.

"Take off the apron and your boots." Harry instructed after picking his way carefully through the room and stopping before the door leading into the man's office.

"What?" Draco blinked at him in a distracted sort of way after his wide eyes had traveled slowly around the room and over to Harry.

"Their covered in that potion." He smiled, his fingers slipping the thick goggles from Draco's head and making the blonde hair stand on end and flop around messily. God, that shouldn't be as sexy as it was.

"Oh. Right." Shedding his apron and toeing off his boots, Harry pried his eyes away and opened the door before following the man into the cozy little room that smelled like old parchment and worn leather and dusty ink. Sometimes Draco came home smelling like his office, the scent attaching to his skin and hair and making Harry dizzy when he moved close. "I'm going to murder that pillock." Draco declared as he immediately fell backwards on the overstuffed couch, his pale hand pushing up into his hair and clenching.

"Give him a chance Draco, isn't he right out of Hogwarts? He'll learn." Unpacking the take away containers, Harry arranged them on the little coffee table before settling down on the floor at Draco's feet and handing the man the ginger garlic chicken and a pair of chopsticks.

"No, he's useless Harry. Utterly, utterly useless." Sighing deeply, Draco stuck the sticks into the carton and glared down at it sullenly. "Extra garlic?"

"Mhmm." Harry nodded as he wound a length of curly noodles around his chopsticks and tried to shovel it into his mouth - damn, he was rubbish at this. "One mistake though shouldn't cost him his apprenticeship."

"Oh it's not one mistake, its dozens, every damn day, I have been exceedingly patient with the louse." Slipping onto the floor beside him, Draco popped a piece of chicken into his mouth like he had been born with chopsticks in hand. "Did you get gyozas?"

Poking one of the containers with his chopsticks in answer, Harry snagged a bite of chicken as the other man reached across the table and delicately lifted a dumpling. "He can't be that bad, he came with that glowing recommendation right?"

Draco nodded as he chewed quickly. "Yes but I'm beginning to think it was a fake, a fucking forgery."

"Or maybe you just make him nervous."

Pausing with a bite hovering near his open lips, Draco gazed back at him thoughtfully. "Nervous?"

"You are intimidating, I mean you became a Potions Master at an insanely young age didn't you? And you can be a bit of a...perfectionist."

"Don't sugar coat it Potter, I can be a bastard, I know it." Draco grumbled, stabbing at his chicken with excess force.

"Fine, you can be a bastard at times and Stephen might just be overly nervous around you, so much so that no matter how hard he tires he can't help but bollocks up. Maybe if you lightened up and didn't breathe down his neck all day he might surprise you."

With narrowed eyes, Draco set his carton down carefully and aimed a chopstick accusingly at Harry's face. "You seem awfully vested in the dimwit all of a sudden."

"Not everything's a grand scheme alright? I just think that everyone deserves a chance." Harry said, sighing inwardly as Draco's glare deepened. "And it's good for you right? Having an apprentice so early in your career, rather prestigious, but people might wonder why you terminated him so quickly. You know how fast gossip spreads, especially when attached to the Malfoy name."

"There's a hidden snake in you yet Potter." Draco conceded with a smile twitching begrudgingly on his lips as he snagged Harry's chow main and expertly ensnared the noodles. "Fine then, he has one more month to prove he's not a complete waste of air."

"See like that." Harry said around his mouthful. "Try not to say things like that in front of him."

Draco snorted as he slumped back against the couch. "Unlikely, I'm not a saint after all, you can't expect miracles."

Handing Draco the bottle of water he had brought along, Harry thought quietly for a moment, what felt like a golden opportunity rising from the mess in the other room. Bringing Draco lunch was supposed to have been a nice surprise, something that would shine in the man’s memory for the rest of the day, yet with the situation he had interrupted Harry feared that his endeavor had lost some of its potential. Because while Draco was obviously glad for the food and Harry's timely presence, he was understandably too preoccupied to see the gesture for what it was. "True, so maybe start with charging him with the task of restoring the lab."

"Oh Merlin, I wouldn't be able to sit back and watch him further destroy anything." The bottle wobbled as he deposited it back on the table, his fingers picking up a gyoza and telling Harry just how troubled the other man felt over what had happened. Draco couldn't stand being put behind schedule nor could he tolerate even the idea that his shop had produced a faulty product. Or even a subpar one.

"So don't watch. We can go out, we do need to buy a new stereo still."

"Don't you need to get back to work?"

"It will still be there tomorrow." Harry grinned at him, summoning a piece of parchment and a quill and purposely not thinking about the meeting he would be missing. "Here, write out your instructions. No insults added or condescending wording."

"Miracles Harry, you're wishing for miracles." Draco chided him but he was starting to let his smile break through, the lines of his shoulders easing a fraction and the chopsticks were back in his hand as he scooped out another bite.

"Then I'll write it, just tell me what to say." Placing the quill to the parchment, Harry waited, his smile growing as Draco sat up straighter and started rattling off to him between large bites. He dutifully copied everything down (minus the colorful wording) and by the time they were finished the food was nearly gone and they were both pleasantly full and Draco was already in a better mood - his eyes doing that odd lingering thing they had done the other day as he snapped the fortune cookie in half and handed a piece to Harry.

Popping his half into his mouth, Harry watched curiously as Draco's eyes narrowed slightly as he read the little paper fortune before snorting and tossing it down in a crumple on the table. "Rubbish." Draco declared as he snatched the completed list and rose from his spot, snapping it up into a tight roll with a gentle flick of his wrist. "Shall we go then?"

Nodding with a smile, Harry rose from his spot and snagged his jacket he had discarded as Draco opened the door and spelled his boots clean. He watched the blonde march away, stomping through the lab and growling Stephen's name as he pushed through the outer door. Running a hand through his hair and gripping the back of his neck tightly after the door had slammed shut, Harry glanced down at the table curiously before reaching out and soothing the tiny rectangle back open, a flush tinting his cheeks as he read the surprisingly accurate fortune.

A secret admirer will soon send you a sign of affection.

Slipping the fortune into his back pocket, Harry smiled to himself as he carefully picked his way back through the lab and out the other side to where Draco stood waiting for him, his lips clamped firmly shut and his left eye twitching as he glowered at his apprentice who was reading over the to-do list. "Breathe, Draco." Harry muttered to him, tugging on his elbow and leading him towards the exit, waving goodbye to Margret and quickly throwing his arm across Draco's shoulders as the man made to turn back around with a lashing on his tongue.

"Have fun!" Margret called after them as the blonde sucked in a loud breath through his nose and grumbled about murder by stupidity as he leant into Harry's side and stepped out onto the sidewalk with him.

A/N: Life is running me over at the moment guys, sorry once again for the delay! I'll try and post the next chapter ASAP!

Sara101: Thank you! and don't worry, we're getting there ;)

SP777: Dang, that sucks you have to sigh in everytime now, guess that explains all the ANONS :) Thanks for the review and yeah...Draco's a bit vague with his comments isn't he?
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Muggle Technology and Heroism