Draco and Harry's Escort Service

Chapter Four

They met on the outskirts of London--in the same spot Harry had met Draco prior to their adventure, though neither of them mentioned the fact.

Harry was surprised at the change in Luna, but even more shocked at the sight of her companion.

"Hi, Harry!" Luna called happily and threw herself on him in a giant hug. She was tall and lissome and her blonde hair was waist-length and oddly streaked with ribbons of magenta. Harry recognized it as a Muggle affectation.

Luna's companion was Cho Chang.

The Ravenclaw girl looked at him coolly while Potter fairly gaped at her. She had been pretty at Hogwarts, but now she was stunning. She was a head shorter than Harry--still petite, but her body had filled out in places that invited a second look.

"Hello, Harry," she said.

"Cho," he replied.

"So. You're chumming with Malfoy these days?" she asked somewhat harshly. Harry's eyes flicked to Malfoy, who stood nearby like the antithesis of shadow. Harry flushed, thinking that "chumming" did not begin to scratch the surface of their volatile relationship. He realized he was watching Malfoy again--sliding his eyes over the too-tight slacks and white shirt that clung to every curve and muscle...

He tore his gaze back to Cho and grinned lamely.

"Yes."

"What's your business at Hogwarts?" Draco asked and managed to sound both rude and condescending at once. Harry could see Cho bristling. She and Malfoy locked gazes and Harry groaned inwardly, hoping it wasn't going to be one of those trips that required Harry to play peacemaker the entire way. Malfoy conjured a small notepad. "I need it for our records."

"I'm researching the Hogwarts' ghosts for a story I'm writing," Luna said brightly. She hurried over to Draco and peered over his arm to watch him write. "I'm the Assistant Editor of The Quibbler, you know."

"The ghosts of Hogwarts?" Harry repeated. "That sounds like a real story."

Luna's blue eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean by that?"

Harry cleared his throat uncomfortably, but did not mention that The Quibbler generally published tales that were... farfetched... to put it mildly. Luna sniffed.

"And Cho will be teaching flying lessons. Madam Hooch is taking some time off to care for her sick mother. You have beautiful handwriting, by the way."

"Thank you," Draco said noncommittally and vanished the pad and quill. Malfoy conjured a pair of sunglasses--a Muggle accessory Harry deeply regretted introducing to Draco. He looked so utterly devastating in the dark shades that Harry's heart nearly stopped whenever he wore them. This time was no exception. Luna sighed deeply, looking at Malfoy when he slipped them on and Harry felt the momentary urge to drag her from Draco's side.

"Shall we go, then?" Draco suggested.

The four of them mounted their brooms and set off.

Malfoy took the lead and Luna hurried to ride next to him. Harry found himself next to Cho Chang. Her long black hair blew gently in the breeze.

"You're looking... well," he said after a long silence.

"So are you," she replied. He wasn't sure how to respond, and resigned himself to the fact that he would always act like a tongue-tied imbecile around her.

"Where's Hermione Granger?" she asked finally.

"She married Ron Weasley. They live in Otterly St. Catchpole."

Cho turned shocked dark eyes on him.

"She married Ron? But I always thought--"

Harry laughed. "You thought me and Hermione?"

"Well, you were always together."

"It was always the three of us. Actually, I was planning to marry Ginny Weasley, but--" He broke off, not willing to wander down that dark path again. She had died to save him--the catalyst that had led to Voldemort's defeat and the loss of Harry's powers. Powers that Draco had helped him regain. His eyes touched on Malfoy, whose black cape fluttered in contract to his platinum hair. Luna laughed and reached out to touch a hand to Draco's arm. Harry felt a flash of irritation that surprised him.

"Ginny Weasley?" Cho asked and Potter dragged his thoughts back to the conversation with a sigh. He used to dwell on Ginny's memory constantly, but these days he found himself preoccupied by grey eyes and silver-blonde hair. It felt like betrayal.

"She died," he said simply.

Cho reached out and touched his arm--a strange mirror of Luna and Draco.

"I'm so sorry. I hadn't heard."

"So," he said, changing the subject. "Flying lessons?"

She nodded. "I played Quidditch for the Tutshill Tornadoes after Hogwarts, but my parents kept worrying that I'd be seriously injured. Flitwick wrote me and said they were looking for a fill-in, so here I am."

"And Luna?"

"I feel bad for the way we treated her in school," Cho admitted. "She's... fun. Something I didn't appreciate back then. She did this really bizarre story about some creature infesting Bludgers. Complete bollocks, of course, but I kept in touch with her after the interview."

Harry felt a brief nudge from his constant companion--guilt. He had barely kept in touch with anyone after the war. Ron and Hermione knew he had regained his abilities and was working for an escort service (Hermione had laughed hysterically about that), but he had not been brave enough to mention Draco Malfoy. That would have to wait until he saw his friends in person. He flushed, knowing that even mentioning Malfoy would cause Hermione to sense the volumes of unspoken information Harry had no intention of ever revealing to them.

That thought conjured images of Draco's hands and lips and--

"You certainly do drift off into your own thoughts," Cho commented. Harry was startled at her perception and hoped his face wasn't ludicrously red from his daydreaming.

"I spent a long time alone," he commented. "I think it's become a habit."

Malfoy halted suddenly and the other followed his lead. Harry hopped off his broom and joined him. He looked at Draco questioningly. It was early for anything dangerous. The first spot of trouble was normally a bad patch near Northampton that caused brooms to do unusual things like flip upside down or shoot upwards.

"Something's changed," Malfoy said seriously.

Harry looked ahead at the placid countryside. Everything looked normal, but he had learned to implicitly trust Draco's instincts. They were uncanny, at times.

Malfoy stared impassively into the early afternoon air for so long that he looked like a chiseled statue. With sunglasses. The girls shifted impatiently. Harry stepped back to join them.

"What is it?" Cho asked.

"I don't know. There normally is no danger in this area, but something is different. Perhaps it blew in with the storm," Harry replied.

Malfoy finally turned.

"I can't put my finger on it, but I think I know where it is."

"We confront it, then," Harry said instantly, feeling a flash of excitement at the thought. He hadn't dispatched anything horrid in too long.

He sensed Draco rolling his eyes.

"You're such a Gryffindor."

Harry scowled. "You suggest we avoid it, then?"

"No, you're right. We need to get rid of it." Malfoy grinned. "I just like to point out your shortcomings."

"Being a Gryffindor is not a shortcoming."

"Says you."

Harry tugged at his hair, but gave Malfoy a playful shove.

"Let's just go, damn you."

"Gryffindor idiot."

"Slytherin jerk."