Rematch

CHAPTER SIX

"As sings should now appear to you Sir, Draco vos not in his right mind at zee moment of zee incident," Alexei explained. They were stood in the circular room that was Albus Dumbledore's office in Hogwarts School. Alexei had somehow managed to get Draco into a shirt, tie and pants that actually fit, and was wearing a business suit himself. Both were standing, with Alexei resting his right hand on Draco's left shoulder. "Sings haff been... complicated since zen. Draco has not been staying with his mozzer in Malfoy Manor, but has been staying in London viz me. A few weeks ago ve vere greeted by an unexpected visitor" - he squeezed Draco's shoulder slightly - "and Draco realised zat he was entirely sorry for vot he had done."

He paused to take a breath before continuing. "As I see it, it is doing Draco no good to be avay from school at zis age. If he misses zis year, he vill not be able to get a job in later life. Prolonging his absence from school is not helping him in any vay, and I vould like to request he is allowed back."

Dumbledore considered them both. Draco was pointedly avoiding anyone's gaze, staring at the floor like a reprimanded schoolboy, which, Dumbledore thought, he was.

"His suspension was over two weeks ago, technically," he said eventually. "Draco will be welcomed back, but we need to talk about what's bothering him. If there's anything we can do, it shall be done. His marks, surprisingly, have not dropped, rather steadily increased, as they have done all through his time at school."

A small look of pride in himself passed over Draco's stark face, but his blank expression returned almost instantly.

"If his work is not suffering from these problems, then it is clear that he is capable of remaining in school, if that's what he wants. If the problem is social and... familial, then we will do our best to help to sort this out."

Alexei glanced down at Draco, wondering whether to mention Lucius. Draco shook his head slightly and Alexei averted his gaze.

"Vell zen my job here is done," Alexei smiled, dropping his hand from Draco's shoulder. "Sometimes it is easier to benefit from independance. I believe zat if you leave Draco to sort his problems out himself he vill be fine."

"Can I have my own room?" Draco asked, raising his head and tilting it sideways arrogantly.

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Dumbledore said. He crossed to the fireplace, scooping a handful of the special blue interschool Floo powder. What was the harm in letting the boy have his own room, after all? A house elf's head appeared in the fireplace.

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore Sir?" it squeaked.

"Would you be able to appoint a bedroom for Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore requested.

"Certainly!" the house elf replied shrilly, turning to organise some of its colleagues to manage this.

"And send someone to escort him to the Slytherin dormitories to fetch his things, then take him to his room," Dumbledore added.

"Consider it done!"

The head spiralled out of sight in a puff of blue smoke. Draco smiled a smile which did not reach his eyes.

"Thanks," he said tonelessly.

Dumbledore dismissed it with a wave of his hand. There was a minute of silence, until a tentative knock came at the door. Draco picked up the kitbag he had taken with him, embraced Alexei wordlessly, and left.

"Alexei, there's a matter I wish to talk to you about," Dumbledore began.

Alexei raised an eyebrow, turning his gaze from Draco to the Headmaster. "Yes?" he asked slowly.

***

Draco followed the small squeaking, chirping, green creature at a safe distance, hands firmly in his pockets. The strings of his Reebok kitbag kept falling off his thin shoulder, and after a few times of hooking them back again, he simply let it hang from his elbow, banging against his legs as he walked.

He gathered up his few belongings in the empty dormitory, packing them into his trunk, which the house elf levitated for him. They made their way through the halls, towards the Ravenclaw tower. In his kitbag, he felt something heavy, made of solid metal, bang against his leg.

The House Elf handed him a key, and he unlocked the door. The small servant creature tried to get in to show him around, but Draco stepped in and slammed the door behind him before it could set a foot inside. He reached up to the chain around his neck, sorting it automatically from the one holding his father's amulet. Even as he pulled it out from under his shirt, he knew it was lighter than it should be. Feeling around the back of his neck, Draco discovered that his key was gone.

Eyes widening in panic at the loss, he patted his clothes to see if it had dropped down, but when he thought about it, it probably hadn't been there in a while. Dismayed, Draco unhooked the chain and strung his new key onto it. He could ask Alexei later - his friend had agreed to attend the ball - to see if he had dropped it at his house.

Shrugging, Draco dropped the new key back inside his shirt and looked around him. A substantial four poster bed stood in the sizeable alcove formed by the bay windows. Light flooded across the room, shining on the polished wooden furniture and floor. White muslin drapes accented the heavy green velvet curtains, twisted elaborately behind the wrought iron ivy-leaf designs that held the curtains back during the day. More twisted wires, likenesses of ivy vines, twirled up the posts of the bed. There was a dressing table, a wardrobe, a deep green armchair and two bookcases. An antique rug lay across the middle of the floor, and a door beyond it led to a well-appointed bathroom.

All in all, it was a fairly good room.

Not in the mood to spend too long worrying about this, Draco threw his kitbag onto the bed and removed his cloak, slinging it over the corner of the wardrobe. He pulled Alexei's clothes off himself, throwing them onto his bed and rolling his shoulders as he wandered into the bathroom to test the shower.

Clean and calmed, Draco wandered back into his new room. Slicking his hair back with his hands, he leant across his bed to look out of the window. He had a view over the edge of the lake and some of the forbidden forest. No students were outside. Presumably, at four in the afternoon, most were either working or getting ready for the ball, in the case of the seventh year students.

It was, as it turned out, a masked ball. Draco pulled open his kitbag, taking out the plain but elegant mask he had had specially made in a shop Alexei had taken him to. It was made of cast silver, barely a millimetre thick and perfectly fitted to the contours of his face, ending at the very edge of his nose, the lines flowing under his cheeks to the bottom of his ears. He smiled indulgently, laying it carefully on the dressing table.

Folded carefully to fit them into the kitbag were his clothes for the evening; a black silk shirt, a silver silk tie and black trousers, all from the most expensive men's designer store they could locate in the vicinity of Alexei's home. Then, from Fane's Wizard wear, a longer-than-floor-length black velvet cloak, lined with silver silk. A delicate chain ran all the way around behind the collar and fastened it together at the throat. Otherwise, it was beautifully plain. Draco dressed slowly, with a dignified apprehension. He straightened his signet ring, combing his now-dry hair back from his face with his fingers before slipping the mask over his face. The spell with which it had been created held it snugly in place. Draco smiled to his reflection in the mirror - a smile made eerily blank by the mask. This would be one of the few times in his life that he would need a mask, to hide the look on his face as he let go of his pride and actually begged for something.

***

At the exact same time in the Gryffindor tower, Harry Potter was being pestered by Seamus and Dean as to who he was taking to the ball. Miraculously, he had somehow managed to keep Ron from saying anything and all four boys were now getting changed for the ball.

"Oh come on, Harry!" Seamus whined, looking at Harry's reflection in the mirror. "We're going to see in a few minutes anyway!"

"So you'll find out in a few minutes," Ron said wearily. "For now, please drop it. I have a headache."

"You're no fun," Dean complained. "Just tell us, Harry."

"Why does it matter to you so much?" Harry questioned, letting his tie which was the colour of a forest after rain, drop onto his black shirt. He belted his black trousers as he turned to look at Seamus and Dean.

"We have no lives," Dean admitted readily. "Your life is good enough for us."

Harry rolled his eyes, lifting the black piece of a silk-like material that was to be his mask to his eyes and tying it behind his head, his silver cufflinks glinting in the light of the room.

"You know who we're going with," Seamus said matter-of-factly.

"And?" Harry asked.

"It's only fair you tell us who you're going with."

"Precisely," Dean said, trying and failing to knot his tie. He turned wordlessly to Seamus, allowing the Irish boy to do up his tie. "I'll let you dance with Morgana if you want." He didn't sound so sure about it, though.

"Who, me?" Seamus asked, grinning widely as he fixed Dean's tie for him. "I'd love to, mate."

Seamus was in a plain green shirt, white tie, and black trousers. His mask was an extremely pale green which covered his eyes and the bridge of his nose. Basically, he looked very much like an overgrown leprechaun.

"You'll see in a while anyway," Harry replied, as if the matter was now closed, while he fixed his emerald green velvet cloak by a silver dragon at his neck. "You probably don't want to know," he added thoughtfully, catching Ron's eye in the mirror.

Ron shrugged an I-don't-really-feel-that-I-can-comment shrug and put his hands in his pockets.

"I suppose you can, if you let me dance with Padma," Dean was saying reluctantly.

Seamus shook his head. "Nah, we'll just see how the ball works."

Harry shrugged, turning back from the mirror for the final time. "Everyone ready then?" he asked, placing his right hand into a pocket where he ran his fingers over Draco's silver key.

"As we'll ever be," Ron sighed. He checked himself in the mirror one last time, then walked out. Dean linked his arm through Harry's.

Harry raised his eyebrow, glancing down at Dean's arm as they followed Seamus - who was doing a strange dance - down the stairs.

"You two meeting Padma and Morgana there?" he asked as they reached the Common Room which was blissfully empty.

"Probably." Dean shrugged. "If not, I'll remember before we get there, hopefully." He smiled brightly, pushing the portrait open.

Seamus snickered. "I think Padma will tire of me anyway." He grinned, dancing down the hall ahead of the other three. "I'll probably get extremely sloshed and try it on with more than one girl," he predicted.

"Oh me too, but I heard that Morgana wouldn't be averse to joining me, if you know what I mean," Dean said, winking exaggeratedly.

"I smell a new couple," Seamus replied, winking at Dean as he reached the Great Hall doors which were closed.

"No offence Dean, but I never pictured you as the type to date Slytherins," Harry said thoughtfully, talking randomly to avoid the shiver of apprehension running down his spine.

"I've been partial to a bit of Slytherin booty in my time," Dean said loftily. He released Harry's arm, turning with a sudden look of panic. "How do I look?" he asked the three boys.

"Like you're about to piss yourself," Ron snickered.

Harry laughed. "You won't last two seconds in there," he predicted with a smirk. "No, really, you'll be fine."

"Oh enough talk, let's go in already!" Seamus exclaimed exasperatedly, pushing the doors open and holding them with an arm so the others could walk in first.

Dean scanned the room, immediately spotting a tall girl in a backless black and gold dress and, clapping Seamus on the shoulder, walking over to her. He straightened himself before tapping her on the shoulder.

Ron made his way awkwardly to the wall, ready to settle against it and avoid everyone's eyes. Hermione was already there, talking to several Ravenclaws.

Seamus beamed. Unable to see Padma yet, he grabbed Harry by the arm and steered him toward the refreshment table where he immediately grabbed himself a cup of punch.

Harry glanced around the room slowly, trying to spot the familiar head of white-blonde hair. He pulled the key out of his pocket and twirled it through his fingers absently, not noticing when Seamus said something and darted off into the crowd of people dancing in the very middle of the room.

Harry made his way to the wall and leaned back against it, relishing how cold it was.

Dumbledore stepped up onto the dais overlooking the hall. He judged that nearly everyone must be present. He cleared his throat.

"Seventh years," he began. A hush fell over the room. "Seventh years," he said again. "Welcome to the masked ball! I have very little to say, other than that I hope you have a very good time." He glanced briefly at the doors. "Oh, and one more thing..."

The two doors opened once more and everyone peered over and looked around people to see who it was. Harry's eyes darted to the figure in black and he felt a strange jump in his stomach, realising immediately that it must be Draco.

Hushed whispers flew around the room; everything from "Who are they?", "They both look extremely fit..." and "Wow" to "Isn't that Draco Malfoy?", "I thought he was expelled!", "Who's the guy with him? He could give him a run for his money..."

Harry frowned, narrowing his eyes at the guy next to Draco before it hit him. Alexei. He grinned, his eyes widening in shock as the two walked into the room.

"We have a new person filling the previously empty position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor," Dumbledore added. "Alexei Vikenstaff." He beckoned to Alexei.

Draco settled into the shadows by the wall.

Alexei was looking around at the students with a look that clearly read: "What have I got myself into? ...must get pissed." He nodded to Draco, and then walked over to Dumbledore at the dais.

As he walked, the bottom of his dark blue frock coat swished and lightly brushed his legs. His trousers were of an expensive black material, as was his amber coloured waistcoat which accented his eyes and went over the white shirt that was obviously brand new, as was the rest of his ensemble, down to the dark blue cravat.

He ran a hand through his sandy hair before joining Dumbledore and bowing his head slightly in acknowledgement.

"Alexei is, as you may have noticed, not a lot older than any of you," Dumbledore told them, smiling fondly at the boy. "I'm sure he has plenty of knowledge to impart, to help you through your NEWTs and out the other side." He turned to Alexei. "Would you like to talk to them?" he asked in an undertone.

"Not sure if zat would be too good an idea, but ja, vye not?" Alexei asked with a grin, stepping forward. "Alzough my parents vould obviously frown on zis, don't call me by my last name," Alexei drawled to the Seventh Years, scanning the crowd for a sign of Harry. "But zen again, zey vere probably not exactly sober ven zey decided on my father's name" - a smirk - "anyway. Ja, I am German and nein, I am not an Auror. But, as a few of your students may tell you, my knowledge can carry you through life much farther than any Auror's."

He stopped, finally finding Harry on the right wall, stood by himself and fiddling with something that caught the light randomly. He turned to Dumbledore signalling he had said all he wanted to and raised an eyebrow, murmuring, "Zey're all yours." Before turning and walking off the dais. He neglected to notice the group of girls watching him with an adoring gaze.

Draco smiled slightly as Alexei walked over to him.

"Lovely," he murmured. "All my peers are in love with you now. Why the hell did he pick you?"

Dumbledore smiled. "I'm sure you will all get along just fine. May I remind you," here he looked at Alexei and Draco pointedly, "that although Alexei is barely older than you, he is still technically your teacher? You should respect him. Now, on with the masquerade!"

Draco could not think of a more appropriate name for what was going to happen.

Alexei laughed, flicking his wrists so the cuffs of his jacket weren't covering his hands. "Oh, they still like you too," he teased. "Harry's over at the left wall," he added in an undertone, glancing at another teacher who was stood near the doors. "Is that the infamous Snape?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yes," Draco answered, sliding his eyes sideways to see Harry. A jolt ran through him at the sight, and he closed his eyes, breathing slowly.

"Just a thought, but maybe you should ask him for your key back," Alexei murmured before walking over to Snape with a twinkle in his eyes that showed he was up to something.

"My... key?" Draco frowned. "Lex, what about my key?"

But he was gone.

Draco pushed himself off the wall, trying not to think about it as he walked through the crowds. Masked faces looked at him curiously, but he ignored them, thinking only of what he had to do.

Harry glanced up as Draco moved away from the wall and towards him. He was breathing slightly faster than normal as he tried not to think of Draco's reaction, biting his lip and holding the key tighter.

Draco walked right past him, then stopped, allowing himself to smirk and cutting his eyes sideways.

"My, my," he murmured. "I do believe it's Harry Potter."

Heart thumping like crazy, Draco crossed the few paces to stand facing Harry. He looked at him, outlined in the eyeholes of his mask. Harry wore a bandanna across his face with eyeholes cut into it. Draco's mind suddenly threw up several rather kinky possible aftermaths to this situation. He pushed them to the back of his mind, swallowing, his mouth dry.

"Draco Malfoy," Harry replied, shifting his weight so he was no longer leaning on the wall and clenching the key even tighter.

"Battle scars healed up okay?" Draco asked noncommittally, with the tone of one talking about the weather.

"Didn't have many in the first place," Harry replied quietly. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to look Draco in the eyes.

Draco stepped closer. His breath caught in his throat and his words ended up coming out a bit breathlessly.

"Harry, I'm sorry I left you. I'm back now, if you'll just give me another chance..."

Harry looked up at Draco wordlessly, and held the key up so Draco could see it. "It's yours," he said softly. "Came with the letter."

Draco frowned. "Letter?" He reached up, fingers clasping around Harry's hand as well as the key.

"Yeah, the one saying you were coming back," Harry explained, moving his hand slightly so their fingers were entwined.

"There was a letter?" Draco asked, stepping closer to Harry, a rush of warmth circling through his body at the sheer rightness of their touch.

"Yes." Harry frowned, tilting his head to see Draco better. "You ended it in German, though."

Draco swore. "I'll fucking kill him," he snapped. "I'll beat him up. I don't care if he's the fucking DADA teacher."

Harry blinked, reaching up to push some of Draco's hair back behind his ear. "Alexei sent it?" he asked as realization dawned on his face. "I should have guessed..."

"That bastard... Couldn't stop himself from interfering..." Draco looked up at Harry. "But it ended up alright," he murmured, leaning forwards and putting his cheek against Harry's. The velvet heat of his skin filled Draco's chest with stars, and he couldn't believe he'd been away this long.

Harry smiled, moving his arms so they were wrapped around Draco's neck. He had the strange feeling of never wanting to let go again. "It's funny," he said quietly, turning his mouth to Draco's ear. "No one's noticed us yet."

"They're all too busy being hormonal," Draco murmured, feeling the cool silver of his mask press against Harry's cheekbone. "I love you."

Harry smiled, closing his eyes and resting his head on Draco's shoulder. "I love you too," he murmured into Draco's neck. "Don't ever fucking leave again."

"You can chain me to the bed if you want," Draco replied, rubbing his face against the soft skin of Harry's neck like a cat rubs against its owner's legs. "I'm yours. I should warn you that I'm incredibly unstable."

Harry snickered, lifting his head and moving a hand to lift Draco's. "Mine?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Then I'll make you un-unstable." He blinked. "If that's a word."

"It's not, but you're welcome to try." Draco sighed, pulling himself right into Harry's arms and resting his chin on his shoulder. He took the key from Harry's hand finally, linking it onto the chain behind Harry's back.

"I've got my own room, now," he told Harry in an undertone. "No one else knows it's there. Want to go there after the ball?"

"Absolutely," Harry smiled, playing with the soft hair at the base of Draco's neck. "Hmm... now people have started to notice. Hermione's being a bitch by the way. Got to avoid her."

"Yes sir," Draco agreed. "If they're watching, let's give them a show."

He pulled his head back, putting his palms flat on Harry's chest and pushing him back against the wall. He followed him, forming a ring around him by putting his hands flat on the wall either side of his head, and kissed him fiercely.

Harry nearly jumped, not expecting Draco to practically jump on him. Though Harry knew he would have done the same if Draco hadn't stopped talking soon. Unable to think straight anymore, he lost himself in the kiss and allowed Draco to do what he wanted, keeping his hands firmly clasped behind Draco's neck.

Dean turned in shock.

"Bloody hell, Harry!" he exclaimed. Morgana, who had been busily trying to drop cocktail olives down the back of his trousers, turned and whooped.

Draco grinned against Harry's lips, pushing the length of his body up against Harry's.

Alexei, who had just told Snape he looked like he "desperately needed to get laid", smiled secretively in Draco and Harry's direction before muttering a spell at the punch so it was alcoholic.

Seamus staggered over to Dean, throwing an arm around his shoulders to steady himself. "Hey, Dean, what's up?" he slurred, obviously not noticing Draco and Harry.

Harry laughed, pulling back from Draco breathlessly. "I think... you've put most of our year into shock," he grinned, glancing at the people over Draco's shoulder.

"Fuck them," Draco grinned. He turned, a lazy grin on his face.

"Lex, you bastard," he called. "Never nick my keys when I'm asleep and send letters to my boyfriend pretending to be me again unless I give you permission."

"Look at the show, Seamus, mate," Dean said, pointing at the flushed Harry leaning against the wall for support.

Seamus stared, his jaw opening in shock. "Harry and... Malfoy?!"

Alexei smirked, raising a glass of the now-modified punch to Draco. "You're welcome," he called back, bowing slightly.

Harry whimpered and pulled Draco back to him for another searing kiss.

"Yeah, apparently so," Dean murmured.

"Well, I'd be worried if it was anything else right now," Morgana laughed, looping an arm around Dean's waist. "I knew this would happen."

"You knew?" Seamus demanded. "Well, so did Ron." He glanced around the crowds to try and find the ginger haired Head Boy. "How the hell did Harry keep it from us?!"

"Efficiently," Dean said, grinning. "That's a pretty big secret."

"You're telling me," Ron laughed, appearing from behind them. "Harry was ready to defenestrate me if I told any of you about it. I only knew because of Hermione."

Seamus laughed, throwing his other arm around Ron's shoulders. "He looks happy." He grinned, using Ron and Dean to hold his weight. "So, I guess I'm fine with it."

"You're also pissed." Dean grinned.

Draco pulled back from Harry. "There are better places to do this," he murmured. "You can all bugger off and get back to what you were doing before," he told the gathered students.

Harry smiled, leaning his forehead against Draco's mask so all he could see was the seemingly endless silver eyes. "Dance?" he asked, moving his hands to twist his fingers around Draco's.

"I'm a bit crap at dancing," Draco lied modestly.

"You weren't at Alexei's," Harry pointed out, grinning. "But that could've been the Mari-whatsits. Nice drink. Got to ask Alexei how they were made."

"God knows Alexei wouldn't be able to tell you," Draco laughed. He pulled Harry to the dance floor, sliding his hand inside Harry's cloak around his back. "You could ask him in lessons. I can't believe that jammy bugger. He'll get all the sixth and seventh year girls, and some of the fifth, and some of the boys too, without question."

Harry pretended to look offended. "Oh, and what am I then?" he asked, placing his hands flat on Draco's chest and smiling up at him coyly.

"You're a jammy bugger too, and I'm sure he wouldn't say no to you either." Draco found it a curious reversal to be taller than Harry. It didn't seem right. He voiced this opinion a little plaintively.

"Well, you had to grow someday." Harry smiled, resting his head on Draco's shoulder. "And why would I want Alexei when I've got you?"

"I've heard Alexei knows quite a few things that I don't," Draco said reasonably. "He had a major part in getting me here, so I suppose he should be rewarded."

"Do you think he'll have to be sober for lessons?" Harry asked, closing his eyes and getting slowly used to being smaller than Draco. "I'll have to thank him. If he didn't send that letter, I probably wouldn't have come here tonight."

"I guess he won't really care about the rules," Draco said, glancing over Harry's shoulder at Alexei, who was chatting up several sixth year girls, including Ginny. "I'd have found you anyway, but he certainly helped the process along."

Draco sighed. "I missed you so much. I'm so sorry for fucking you around."

"I shouldn't have pushed you away in the first place," Harry replied, placing his lips softly to Draco's neck in apology.

"Back in first year?" Draco murmured, rolling his head.

Harry blinked, lifting his head to look at Draco with a pout. "You were mean then," he protested. "Arrogant little sod."

"Only because you rejected me," Draco protested. "And anyway, I know you wanted me then too," he murmured, thigh pressing against Harry's groin.

"Did not," Harry muttered, looking away from Draco.

"Yes you did," Draco persisted confidently. "Because I know I wanted you."

"You did?" Harry asked, looking at Draco with barely concealed shock. "But... But...."

"I was precocious, and unknowingly into S&M," Draco confessed. "I wanted you, to hurt you, to make you beg..." He put his lips to Harry's ear and proceeded to describe a number of the things he had wanted to do to Harry, which had steadily developed into less brutal things.

Harry shivered, placing his lips on Draco's neck again. "I wish we weren't in the middle of all these people," he murmured, becoming distinctly aroused by some of the things Draco was suggesting.

"We don't have to be," Draco breathed, hands wandering across Harry's firm, flat stomach, lifting his shirt....

Harry grabbed Draco's hands before they got too far and grinned at him. "So, your room or mine?" he asked innocently.

"Mine," Draco said immediately, using Harry's hold on his hands to pull him from the dance-floor, through the crowds and out into the hallway. He followed the fairly unfamiliar route to his room, tugging Harry behind him all the way. Draco's now-longer legs and quicker stride meant that Harry had to jog to keep up with him.

"OK, so this is one disadvantage of you being taller," Harry muttered, trying to keep up with Draco.

"Knew you'd see one before long," Draco replied, finally coming to a halt at his bedroom door. He took his key out on its chain, unlocking the door and pushing Harry inside before him.