A Little Did We Know

Chapter Two

As they ate breakfast, Harry kept sending thoughtful glances at Draco; he was a little worried about him, last night Draco had freaked out so suddenly that he didn't know what to think.

Draco was avoiding Harry's gaze and tried to act as normally as he could.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, fine," Draco answered.

The silence stretched between them.

Harry sighed. "Then why can't you look at me?"

Draco slowly lifted his gaze. "Happy now?" he said.

Harry expected to see something in Draco's eyes, but there was nothing. They were guarded, but empty. He isn't under Imperius, is he?

Draco was doing his best not to show what he was thinking and knew it had worked when Harry looked puzzled.

They fell into silence. Harry tried to figure out what had upset Draco. Maybe he doesn't like people to touch him. Is he still thinking he's better than all the rest? He believed that Malfoy had gone past that. At least a little bit, right?

Harry coughed to get Draco's attention.

"There's this party thing tomorrow evening. So, would you like to go?"

Draco's eyes widened for a few seconds before his expression was, once again, unreadable. Had Harry asked him out? No, Harry just didn't want to go alone, that was all, right?

When Draco didn't answer Harry continued, "Moody and Lupin are hosting it and it's meant for Ministry employees only. You are invited, naturally, but I just wanted to know if you are going to go 'cause Moody's been pressuring me to come and I don't want to go with Melissa." He was babbling and he knew it, but he couldn't help it.

"Melissa?" Draco looked little confused by all the information that had come out of Harry's mouth in five seconds.

"Melissa Stenwicked. She's been after me for months," Harry growled and looked disgusted.

Draco started to laugh and Harry couldn't keep from smiling.

"You should have seen that coming. You are "The" Harry Potter after all. If her name gives any indication, she might be a very interesting person." Draco had already forgotten all about last night and was enjoying himself again. "So you want me to be your knight in shining armour?"

"Please, just this once?" Harry pleaded and tried to look cute.

"Alright, alright, I'll go with you and save you from that wicked woman whom you fear so much." Draco shook his head.

"Thanks! I owe you one!" Harry jumped up from his seat and placed a light kiss on Draco's cheek.

Draco froze, but Harry seemed not to have noticed and trotted away. Draco regained his composure quickly and went after him.

~*****~

"Morning, Drake. How are you?" Tom clapped Draco's back. Draco smiled at Tom as they sat down. They were in the department's lounge having their morning coffee or tea. Draco himself preferred coffee.

"Fine, so far," Draco answered as Tom sat next to him.

"You like to live with Potter?" Tom asked agog with curiosity.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

Tom looked thoughtful for a moment before saying: "I just wanted to know if he's been suggesting anything kinky to you"

Tom question was so absurd that Draco burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"What?" Tom looked confused and it only made Draco laugh harder. When he finally was able to stop, he dried his tears of mirth.

"You are so determined to find out if I and Harry are together. I'll tell you that we are not and we aren't going to," Draco said and smiled.

"Are you sure?" Tom asked, raising one eyebrow. Draco nodded.

"Then you should know that Potter has a tendency to seduce his partners. I don't know if it's true, but at least we are certain that he was shagging Kyle for sure," Tom whispered as if that was a huge secret.

"We?" Draco asked now being the one to raise a eyebrow.

"I can't reveal my sources," Tom said, mysteriously. "But I'm telling you, my boy, be careful. He might try and seduce you too," Tom added before leaving the lounge.

~*****~

"Care to explain why we are here?"

"We are here to meet our contact," Harry said.

Draco smirked. "Ah, if I had known that we were coming to a strip club to meet him, I would have brought more money."

They took a table near the one of the poles.

"And now we wait," Harry said and ordered a beer for appearances' sake.

A Stripper dressed in black leather was dancing around the pole. Harry noticed Draco watching the girl and smiling. The dancer finished with a flourish and left. Draco excused himself and headed backstage.

Harry didn't have the time to think about Draco's disappearance when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around smiling.

When Draco came back he noticed that Harry wasn't at their table anymore. He looked around the club, but couldn't see his partner. He spotted the bartender frowning at the door and went to the bar.

"Excuse me," he asked, a little anxiously. "Have you seen where my friend went? Black hair all over the place, glasses...?"

"The lad was dragged out of here by two men. They didn't look very pleasant to me," the bartender answered.

"Thanks." Draco smiled briefly and headed out.

Draco stepped outside, but Harry was nowhere to be seen. Things were starting to look suspicious. He looked up and down the street, but it seemed deserted. He was seriously worried, at that point, and took a few uncertain steps, wondering whether to apparate to headquarters and call for help. Suddenly he heard some people arguing loudly. Soon he found the dark alley where the voices came from: it was so narrow and dark he hadn't even noticed it.

Slowly and quietly he peered around the corner and saw Harry being slammed against the wall , blood running from his nose.

There were two men, like two big gorillas, standing in front of Harry with their backs toward the mouth of the alley. Seeing his opportunity, Draco crept slowly towards the thugs. Unlike Harry, he had his wand always with him and he pulled it out, but before he could do anything one of the men turned around.

"Mike!?"

"Drace?!"

"Mike! What the hell are you doing here?" Draco hugged the man, smiling from ear to ear. Harry had never seen him smiling like that.

"I should be the one to ask that question, Drace," Mike said, returning the hug.

" Er... Mike? What's going on?" the other man asked.

"Sorry, Paul, but I have no choice," Mike said, drawing a gun. He shot Paul before either Harry or Draco could stop him.

"You didn't have to do that," Harry rose from the ground wiping the blood from his face.

"Maybe," Mike said. "But we have to get going."

Draco smiled warmly. "It's good to see you, Mike. Come on, we have so much to talk about." Draco led them back to the car they had parked in front of the club.

Before they got in the car Draco turned around to face Harry. "You okay?" Draco asked and offered Harry a handkerchief.

Harry snatched it from Draco's hand. "I'm fine. No thanks to you," Harry spat angrily.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked, amused by the way Harry was acting.

"If you hadn't left me there, my nose wouldn't be broken," Harry said.

"Ah, I went to see an old friend of mine," Draco explained and gave Harry another handkerchief.

"Who's she? Some old girlfriend?"

"No, she's my sister. Half-sister actually."

Harry gaped at Draco as Draco got in the car. "You mean you have a sister?"

"Yes. My father raped her mother during the first war." Draco turned the ignition key and the engine roared lightly. "Don't just stand there. Get in or I'll leave you here."

Harry hurriedly went round the car and, since Mike was sitting in the front seat, he hopped on the backseat.

~*****~

"You two know each other from where?" Harry asked when they were sitting in their office at the ministry.

Draco glanced at Mike before answering, "We met in Hogwarts a little after the start of the war."

Draco remembered it well. When his mother had saved him from the hands of his father he had ended up in Hogwarts where he had met Mike. Mike had been badly injured and was in coma. He was one of the many victims of the Death Eaters' attack at Diagon Alley. When Mike had finally woke up, they had time to get to know each other because both of them were unable to walk for many weeks as a result of the unforgivable curses used on them.

Harry was about to say something when the door opened. "Harry, Seamus wants to talk to you. He says it's urgent," Lavender poked her head inside the room for a second before she was gone.

"Excuse me," Harry said, leaving the room.

"You haven't told him, have you?" Mike asked, after a moment of silence.

"No and I'm not going to at this rate."

~*****~

The party was held in Hogwarts. After Dumbledore's death it hadn't been used as a school anymore. The Ministry had been rebuilding it since the war ended, but some parts of the castle were still in ruins. They used it to hold big parties because some of the old wards surrounding the castle were still up and they made it possible to keep unwanted guests out.

They walked slowly towards the huge front doors which opened themselves as they got near enough. Draco's mind was filled with bad memories as soon as they entered the damned building. Cold shivers crept up his spine when they entered the Great Hall which was packed with people. They had scarcely gone in, when Tom appeared from somewhere to do a cross-examination.

"So you are here together?" Tom asked innocently.

Harry smiled and his gaze landed briefly on Draco. "I'm sorry to disapoint you, Tom but we are here as friends."

Tom didn't believe them: Draco could see that much from his expression and was caught off guard when the Department's Resident Gossip refrained from probing more deeply and simply asked him to dance.

Draco didn't know what to make of it, but he shrugged indifferently. "Sure."

Tom smirked and Draco believed it had something to do with Harry.

"Now you tell me the truth, Drake," Tom said as they reached the dance floor.

"What do you want to know?" Draco decided to play along.

"Have you fucked him yet?"

"No. I haven't," Draco answered, smiling.

"You should tonight. He's at the bar right now, scowling. It might cheer him up."

"Maybe."

"May I ask why you haven't? You know that he likes you and you like him."

"Maybe."

"Don't even try to deny it. I've seen those lustful glances you've been sending to each other."

"What glances?"

"What did I just say?" Tom tilted his head to one side.

"What exactly am I trying to deny?" Draco snapped.

Tom noticed that it was time to stop teasing. "You are in denial, my boy."

"The hell I am," Draco answered, looking around.

"No, seriuosly, Draco. What are you waiting for?"

The seriuosness in Tom's voice made Draco look at him in the eye. He saw only sincerity in Tom's eyes. Sighing he answered, "I guess I want to know if he's in it for real. I don't want to end up as one of his fuck buddies, as you so politely put it."

Harry suddenly materialised besides them. "May I?" Draco heard him slur his words.

"Sure!" Tom answered, a little too enthusiastically, and released his hold on Draco.

Draco soon after found himself in Harry's arms. He couldn't deny that he had dreamt about this.

"You know that you are encouraging him, right?" Draco said, glancing at Tom's retreating back.

"Yes, yes, but now he has something real to talk about."

Draco didn't even want to know what Harry meant by that. Not that he had the time either, when Harry kissed him.