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What It Means	By : Reika Category: Harry Potter > General > General Views: 1603 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Disclaimer: I
do not own these characters, if I did�.you�d better believe the books would be
*really* slashy. But they aren�t�so I don�t. i.e., don�t sue me.

A/N: As promised my dears�here is your sequel. I was really overwhelmed with
the positive response to the end of It�s Only Love�I really thought there�d be
death threats. Thank you guys so much for your support and reviews. Thank you,
as always, to Jasmine.

Weeeeeell�..here goes our second installment in the saga�.

Chapter 1��Extra Extra! Boy Who Lived On The Market!

***********************************************************

It had been two months since the Hogwarts graduation. Since he was alone, Harry
feared the time would pass slowly. Luckily, he kept so busy that the time
seemed to just fly by. With his path to the future free of debris, Harry had
reviewed his options carefully as to what to do now that he was out in the real
world. He narrowed the choices down to two. He could be an auror, a no pos position, of course�but Harry felt he had been surrounded by darkness of one
kind or another for far too long. Or he could play quidditch. He loved the
game�and he was damn good at it too. He�d had several offers since even the
beginning of his seventh year from several teams. After his little announcement
at graduation, a few of the offers were rescinded, out of bigotry of some form
or another. However, most of the offers had even doubled in their promises, as
they all wanted the even *more* famous Boy Who Lived to play for them.

After deciding that, yes, he wanted to be a professional quidditch player,
Harry found an apartment in muggle London. The rent was cheaper,
the flat was bigger, it had electricity (a definite muggle plus) and he could
escape the wizarding world when he came home this way. He had a blast moving in
and shopping for all the new furniture to go into his very first home of his
own. He�d taken half of his money out is Gis Gringotts account and had it
converted to pounds, then set up a muggle bank account�as he couldn�t very well
buy furniture in London with galleons.

Hermione had opted to stay at Hogwarts and continue her studying as an
assistant to McGonagall. Ron had, uneventfully, taken a job with the ministry.
The duo both had a fair amount of time before they set out to their separate
paths, and Harry had enlisted them to help with the embellishment of his home.
Hermione had seemed enthusiastic, chatting with Harry about carpet colors and
draperies�while Ron lagged behind the two, carrying bags and mumbling under his
breath about how Harry really *was* gay�.

When it came time for his two best friends tave,ave, Harry wished them well,
but knew that they would continue to see each other a great deal. Harry was
very pleased with his flat; it was�homey. Nice�but not too nice. He didn�t want
to feel bad about putting his feet on his own table. He had photos adorning
every available surface, so that those he loved could smile back at him from
every room in his house�except the bathroom of course, *that* would just be creepy.

His new job as a professional seeker had gone great so far. The team had been
very happy to have him and everyone seemed to have a great attitude. He had
gotten along fairly well with everyone. The team was still in practice mode, as
there were a good few months before any actual games, and Harry had taken quite
a liking to the team�s keeper, Paul Thomas. The brawny man had been the first
to welcome Harry, and had managed to make him feel at home right from the
beginning. Harry had even been invited to dinner with Paul and his wife, who
was a rather plain looking, but very witty woman.

And now, two months after Harry Potter officially left the ct fot for the real
world, he was content. He couldn�t lie and say that he wasn�t lonely at
times�but it was bearable. He�d had *quite* a few offers since his
announcement, most of which were so forward, it was all Harry could do not to
run screaming. A few of them were�intriguing�but he didn�t really think he was
ready just yet. What filled his heart with joy, though, was that since that
fateful day, he�d had a number of wizards, young and�not so young�approach him
and tell him his courage had inspired them. Finally, the boy with the glasses
and piercing greyes yes was happy to be The Famous Harry Potter.

On a Tuesday night�just like any Tuesday night�Harry sat lazily on his couch
with his feet propped up on the coffee table. He still had the days practice
clothes on, but he wanted to relax a bit before showering and changing. With a
glass of water by his side, he languidly flipped through the channels on the
telly, waiting for his take out to arrive. He was just about to go into the
kitchen and a p a pre-meal snack when he heard a knock at the door.

�Finally� he mused aloud and swept up some money to pay the delivery person.

No sooner had he opened the door when a hand pushed it the rest of the way open
and a person that was *not* delivering food barged into his apartment.

�Paul�what are you�?�

The larger man plopped himself down on Harry�s sofa and began rambling off,
slurring his words every now and then. The only parts Harry managed to catch
clearly were �through with�stupid broads�always right�well *excuse* me�.�

Harry sat next to his new friend and tried to comfort the obviously inebriated
man. He awkwardly patted him on the back.

�So�what happened?�

And Paul began his tale of marital woe (something having to do with the toilet
seat)ter ter he had finished, Harry assured the man that he could stay with him
and sleep it off. Paul grabbed Harry up in a crushing hug, knocking the former
Gryffindor�s glasses crooked and leaving him gasping for air. The drunken man
leered at Harry a moment before opening his liquor fouled mouth.

�I stink Harry�do you have mouthwash and another shirt?�

Harry pointed to the bathroom. �Mouthwash is in there�but Paul�.my shirts won�t
fit you. They might if you wanted to go to a gay bar�but if you *aren�t* keen
on baring your navel�you�re out of luck.�

Paul chuckled, realizing Harry was right and simply removed his sweaty shirt
and headed for the bathroom to rinse out his mouth. Harry fixed him a large
glass of water to help flush out his system and handed it to him as soon as he
reemerged from the bathroom. The other man already seemed a bit more coherent.
Harry handed him the money for the food that was on its way and headed to take
a shower.

While Harry shedshed his shower, Paul heard a knock. He grabbed the money Harry
had given him and answered the door, not taking into account his shirtless
state.

On the other side of the door, again, was not food�but a rather striking blonde
boy who whipped around when he heard the door open. The blonde smiled briefly,
but the smile faded when he realized who he was looking at�or rather�who he
*wasn�t* looking at.

�I�m sorry�I must have the wrong flat�.�

Paul turned to see Harry just coming out of the bathroom with but a towel
draped around his waist. He called over his shoulder.

�Harry�I think it�s for you�.�

Harry walked over to the door, holding the towel up with one hand, still
expecting to see food. When he got beside Paul and peered out the door he was,
to say the least, shocked. After all�it�s not every day you find a dragon on
your doorstep.

�Draco�.�

Draco looked up at him nervously. �Hi�.�

Paul, realizing he had no place in the current conversation, retreated back
into the living room and to his glass of water.

Harry�s shock soon gave way to anger. �What are you doing here?�

Draco looked a bit taken aback by the cold tone of Harry�s voice.

�I�m sorry�I didn�t have anywhere else to go��

Harry sighed. �Fine�wait here.�

He abruptly closed the door in Draco�s face and stomped off to his room to
dress himself more appropriately. He realized after the third time he put his
shirt on backwards that he was more than a little nervous about what was
waiting for him on the other side of his front door.

After finally managing to dress himself properly, Harry took a deep breath and
counted to ten before heading to the door. He opened it, half expecting Draco to
have gone, but no�he sat in the hallway, with his back against the wall and his
knees pulled up. When he heard the door open, his head jerked up and he smiled
magnificently at Harry who cursed the oys oys for having such good genes.

Tentatively, Harry sat down across the hall from the blonde and eyed him for a
moment. He noticed a fairly deep gash across Draco�s cheek that had only just
stopped bleeding. He exhaled slowly and steeled his resolve.

�So�what happened to you then?�

Draco met Harry�s eyes and began his tale.

�Well�I suppose it�s like this��

*******************************************************
*FLASHBACK*

After two months of preparation�the night had finally arrived. The Manor had
been beautifully decorated and the younger master of the house was impeccably
dressed.

The Parkinsons arrived with their only daughter, Pansy, right on schedule for
night of sociality with the Malfoyuciuucius, Narcissa and Draco gathered in the
sitting room to wait for their guests to be ushered in. Malfoy senior eyed his
son carefully who was wringing his hands and chewing on his bottom lip. This
would not do.

�Draco, may I have a word with you in my office before our guests arrive?�

Draco was surprised by his Father�s request, but nodded his head in the
affirmative.

�Yes sir.�

Lucius turned his attention to his wife who, as per usual, sat coldly staring
back at him.

�Narcissa, try to keep the company entertained until we come back�it shouldn�t
take long.�

The woman nodded and poured herself yet another glass of brandy.

Once upstairs in Lucius� office, the older man told his son to take a seat
while he stood by the window.

�Are you nervous Draco?�

Draco nodded.

�That�s quite understandable�I was nervous when I went through this myself, but
you have to remember�you are a Malfoy, and there is no room for hesitancy here.
You do like Pansy, do you not?�

Again Draco nodded. �Yes, sir�I do like her�.but I don�t love her.�

Lucius laughed a hearty laugh which took Draco by surprise.

�My dear boy�what does love have to do with anything?�

Draco blinked. �But I thought��

�Obviously you are still young and entertaining silly romantic notions.�

In his surprise, Draco found himself doing something he had never done
before�questioning his Father.

�So you expect me to live my whole life next to a woman I don�t love? I�m not
even attracted to her�I�ll be miserable.�

Again Lucius laughed.

�Why Draco, you are even more innocent than I was at your age. I *do* expect
you to marry Pansy. She will make a good wife. She has a good name, and she
will look good next to you, as well as produce you a fine heir. As far as
attraction goes�well�what you do in your free time is your business.�

Draco was shocked at what he thought he was hearing. His Father was always so
illusive in his wording�one could never tell *exactly* what he meant.

�Are you saying�but I thought�you and Mother��

Lucius fixed his gaze on his son. �Have you ever met your mother, Draco? The
woman isn�t what one would call�passionate. However, she has made a good wife
and remained loyal all these years�although, that last part could be due to her
inherent frigidity.�

Draco felt like he would be sick. He hadn�t thought of his parents as mushy or
romantic�but he had always thought that *somewhere* deep down, they loved each
other. He found himself questioning whether or not his Father had ever even
known love.

He was jolted fros res reverie when Lucius placed a hand on his shoulder.

�You�ll be fine�you are my son. It�s your destiny.�

Still quite shocked, Draco nodded and followed his Father out of the office and
back downstairs where his future wife and in laws awaited him.

The six purebloods relocated to the dining hall where an enormous dinner was
served. There was much talk between the Parkinsons and Lucius while Draco
concentrated on keeping his food down and Narcissa concentrated on her brandy
glass. After dessert had been served, Lucius addressed the table.

�I�d like to thank you for coming to our home and I believe my son has a small
announcement he�d like to make now�.Draco?�

From his end of the table, Draco stood on shaky legs. He shook his head a
little to try and clear the tunnel vision and cleared his throat after taking a
long, slow, deep breath. Reaching into the pocket of his robes, he pulled out
the box his father had given him on graduation day. He turned to Pansy and
opened the box. The girl looked up at him expectantly, her eyes sparkling with
anticipation. Draco cleared his throat again and took another deep breath.

Silence.

After the silence had grown from unexpected to awkward, Lucius made a small
coughing noise and when Draco turned to look at him, he glared at his son, his
eyes saying �get on with it�.

After another dbreabreath, Draco spoke�his resolve like concrete.

�Pansy��

Pansy smiled and held her breath for the moment she�d waited for all her life.
Draco smiled at her and snapped the box shut. Before anyone had a chance to ask
why, he slammed it onto the table and slid it down, back to his father who
caught it with a murderous glint in his eye.

�Pansy�� he began again.

�Yes, Draco?� the girl asked tentatively.

�Pansy�.I�m gay.�

Mrs. Parkinson fainted, Mr. Parkinson immediately tended to his fallen wife,
Pansy began to cry while Narcissa snorted and quirked a brow. Lucius stormed to
Draco�s end of the table and promptly grabbed him by his robes, dragging him
back upstairs to the office.

Once back upstairs, he brusquely tossed Draco into the chair he�d been sitting
in before.

�What the HELL do you think you are doing?�

Draco flinched, as he had never seen his Father this mad at him before, still,
he kept his head high and his voice strong.

�What did it look like? I�m gay��

Lucius again fisted Draco�s robes. �I couldn�t care less what you think your
sexual orientation is�I thought we discussed this�it doesn�t matter. Now, you
*will* go downstairs and fix this!�

Draco looked his Father in the eye. �No�I won�t.�

�And why not?�

Still staring into the eyes of the man who raised him, the man he placed above
all others, Draco held tight to his courage.

�Because I don�t want to be you.�

Lucius drew his hand back and held it there aent,ent, giving Draco the
opportunity to speak.

�Father, in spite of everything, you still have my utmost respect. Do not lose
it by raising your hand to me. I am a man now�not a boy�I *will* hit you back.�

Lucius� hand fell limply at his side. The older man regained his composure and
began to pace the room.

�You do realize you have to leave now. I don�t want to see you in this house
ever again.�

�Yes sir.�

�I will not disinherit you�yet�as you may come to your senses, and you are my
only heir. Had I known you would fail me�I would have broken the Malfoy
tradition and replaced you. As it is�I am too old for that. Until you do come
to your senses, you will receive *nothing* from me. Do you understand?�

�I do.�

�And you still insist on denying your birthright?�

�I do.� Draco repeated.

Not looking at his son, Lucius spoke as Draco prepared to leave.

�If you see my son, tell him his duty awaits him.�

�Goodbye Father.� Draco had to force the words out without sobbing.

�And Draco�one more thing.�

�Yes Father?�

�I do hope you realize�I do what is best for you. I also hope you realize I�m
not stupid�give Mr. Potter my best.�

Draco�s eyes went wide�he wanted to ask his Father what he knew�but now was not
the time; and it was likelyre wre would never be a time. With only his wand,
Draco headed down the stairs to leave his family home�probably forever.

�You disgusting little deviant!�

Draco turned his head toward the insult and Mrs. Parkinson (who�s four carot
diamond ring had coincidentally turned around so that the stone faced the palm
of her hand) graced his cheek with a harsh slap, slicing the skin open.

If the plump woman thought her gender kept her safe from retaliation, she was
sorely mistaken. Mrs. Victoria Parkinson had the privilege to be the first female
Draco ever punched directly in the face. The blow knocked the woman back
several feet and on her ass as well as breaking the skin on her cheekbone.
Draco looked down at her and wiped the blood from his cheek. His voice was calm
and controlled.

�*Never* lay your hand on a Malfoy.�

Draco looked over to the window where his mother sat. She gazed at him a
moment, her expression stoic and empty, before turning her head away to stare
out the window again. Draco said his silent goodbyes to the Manor and finally
left.

�Draco!� a voice to his left called.

Pansy. Great.

�I suppose you want to hit me too?�

The girl stopped a few feet from the worn out blonde.

�No�I mean�I�m shocked�and I won�t lie and say I�m not upset, but it�s not
really your fault�if I think about it. I wouldn�t want you to marry me if you
didn�t love me anyways. Is this why you were so scarce the last few months of
school?�

Draco nodded.

�Does this have anything to do with Harry Potter?�

�That�s none of your business.�

She scoffed. �Well�it�s best if you stay away a while�our parents are livid�but
after everything settles down�and it *will*, Draco�.if you need anything, let
me know, okay?�

He smiled at her, remembering why she�d been his friend all his life. �Thanks
Pansy�

She kissed his cheek then, sniffled a bit and ran back to the house while Draco
made his way out of the closet he�d been buried in for years.

*END FLASHBACK*

*******************************************************

�So that�s basically what happened�� Draco finished his story and turned to
face Harry who looked more than a little surprised. After a moment, the raven
haired boy leaned across the hall and embraced the blonde one loosely.

� for for you then.�

�Thanks�I�m sorry to have bothered you, it�s just that I didn�t have anywhere
else to go. I heard you were living around here a few months ago. I have my own
money from my Grandfather, but I can�t get to it until the morning�then I�ll
leave you be, I promise.�

Harry stood and helped Draco to his feet as well.

�Come on in. I already promised Paul the spare room for tonight, as he had a
row with his wife�you�ll have to take the sofa.�

Draco quirked a brow. �His wife? Heh�.I thought��

Harry shot him a sidelong glare. �I know what you thought�and I was content to
let you think it�but now you know. Sit down, I�ll get something for that cut on
your cheek.�

Draco sat down on the sofa and noted that the burly man from earlier had gone
to bed. Harry came back into the room and sat beside him taking out some
peroxide and a cotton ball.

�I�m not so good with healing charms�sorry.�

Draco smiled at him. �That�s fine. So�.since that man, Paul was it?...since
he�s a friend�a married friend�is there�I mean�do you��

Harry harshly lapped the peroxide onto the wound causing Draco to hiss at the
sting.

�Am I seeing anyone? I hardly think that�s any of your concern, now is it?�

�I suppose not�� Draco answered while Harry placed a bandage over the cut.

Harry got up and gathered a blanket and pillow for his unlikely guest and
tossed them onto the couch.

�There�I have practice early tomorrow, so I have to go to bed now. Goodnight.�

�Goodnight Harry�and thank you.�

Harry paused before entering his bedroom. �Draco?�

�Yes?�

�This doesn�t change anything�.but I am glad you�re okay�.goodnight.�

�Goodnight.�

*********************************************************

TBC
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What It Means