That Kiss (H/D, PG-13)
Title: That Kiss
Author: sesheta_66
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~3000
Challenges: icyaurora8's birthday request of "the men run into each other later in life, after the war ... a kiss would be really nice too!" It also fits nicely with harrylovesdraco's prompt of "love", using this picture, and awdt's Valentine prompt #6 of "I'm sending you some kisses. I know you like them."
Summary: Years after the war, a chance meeting and some uncensored words cause Harry and Draco to reassess their opinion of each other.
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. They belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.
That Kiss
Harry ran frantically for the Floo, already late for his interview on Life As We See It, a local radio show hosted by none other than Luna Lovegood. Harry still hated being in the spotlight, but Luna had, with no small amount of help from Hermione, managed to convince him to do an interview for The Prophet.
Five years after the war, Luna had established herself as a reporter for the paper, and was quite successful. Harry had agreed to the interview a few weeks ago, and now Luna wanted to follow that up by having him appear on her weekly wireless show, something she'd started two years back, which had become an instant success.
Harry arrived at the London offices of the Wizarding Wireless Network with only a few minutes to spare. Exiting the Floo, he brushed off the soot and ran his fingers through his hair out of habit.
As he opened the door to the office just outside the broadcast booth, he stopped dead in his tracks. Sitting on the sofa was none other than Draco Malfoy, casually flipping through the pages of some magazine. Harry stood staring at the blonde head, unable to formulate words. It had been years since he had seen Malfoy. The last time had been a few months after the war when he'd returned Malfoy's wand. Well, he'd also seen him at Narcissa Malfoy's trial, but they hadn't spoken. Once Narcissa had been freed, thanks to her actions during the final battle and in part to Harry's testimony, she had whisked her son away to France with her where Harry thought they still lived. Had he given it any thought.
Yet here Malfoy was. In London. Today. Harry's mouth didn't seem to want to function, though even if it did, Harry had no idea what, if anything, he wanted to say.
"Are you going to stand there and stare at me all day, Potter, or are you going to sit down?" Malfoy asked without so much as looking up from his book. "I know I'm dashing, but you could exercise some subtlety."
"Er …"
"Ah, yes … still as eloquent as ever, I see."
"Malfoy?"
Malfoy sighed, lowered his reading material, and looked up. "Really, Potter, we went to school together for six years. Then there was that nasty business during the war and the trials afterwards. I should think you wouldn't have to question my identity."
Harry scowled and made his way to a seat opposite Malfoy. He sat down and crossed his arms over his chest. He most certainly did not huff.
Malfoy made a big deal of closing the magazine, placing it on the table and crossing his legs. His trademark Malfoy smirk was firmly planted on his face.
"Oh, good! You're both here," Luna said as she waved them through the now-open door to the broadcast booth. "We're just on commercial break, and we've got about a minute and a half to get you settled."
"Luna, what's this --"
"No time, Harry," she said, pushing him into a seat and motioning for Malfoy to take the other. She handed them headsets. "Put these on, and get ready. Just speak into the microphone when it's time."
Harry wanted to protest, but Luna's raised hand stopped him. He put the headset on and tried not to glare in response to Malfoy's smirk.
"Should have been here earlier, Potter. Then you'd have known what to expect," the prat said before putting on his own headset. Honestly, could he be more arrogant?
"And we're back," Luna said into her microphone, and Harry heard her voice through the headset. "Today we have with us not one, but two former students from Hogwarts, both of whom were in school with me, and both of whom were present at the final battle. First I'd like to introduce Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, all from Slytherin House. And second, we have Harry Potter, son of James and Lily Potter, all from Gryffindor House.
"Yes, you heard that right. Today I have the two former rivals here in the studio with me. And just for the fun of it, not only did I keep today's guests a surprise from you, the listening audience, but I didn't tell either of the gentlemen seated here today that the other would also be appearing."
Luna smiled at the two of them, as though this was an amusing story. "I rather suspected they might not show up otherwise." Harry glared in confirmation. "So, without further delay, let's get down to the interview."
She started by asking each of them questions about what they'd been up to since the war, filling in the blanks of their lives for all who cared to know. Then she opened up the phone lines, and each of them was treated to some questions from the audience. Then her face took on a sly edge, and Harry felt uneasy.
"Now that everyone's had their chance to ask their questions, I have a few more myself. Something the listeners, and even the readers of The Prophet don't know, is how the two of you feel about each other." Harry looked questioningly at Malfoy, who shrugged and looked just as confused as Harry felt. As one, they turned to glance questioningly at Luna.
"I recently published articles on both of them in the paper. Their interviews were enlightening, to say the least. But the most interesting parts were actually those left out of the articles."
"I'm not sure what you mean, Luna," Harry said in bewilderment.
"I'll have to admit to being at a loss myself," Malfoy added.
"Well," Luna said, taking a pause as she grinned mischievously from one to the other, "I found your comments about each other the most interesting of all."
"We both hated each other," Harry said. "I thought that was public knowledge."
"Indeed. There has never been any love lost between us," Malfoy agreed.
"Ah, but all is not as it seems, I suspect," Luna said in an almost Trelawny-ish manner.
Harry thought back to the interview he had with Luna, but couldn't think of anything. Looking at Malfoy's expression, Harry was sure he thought the same. They frowned at each other, then turned their attention back to Luna. She giggled. Harry's stomach clenched.
"Harry, we'll start with you. When I mentioned your testimony at Narcissa Malfoy's trial, and the subsequent media attention the family had received, you got visibly agitated. In fact, you went on a bit of a tirade about how unfair it had all been." She referred to her notes. "I believe you said that 'the sins of the father are often paid for by the son, and Draco Malfoy is no different'."
Harry felt his face grow warm. "Well, it's true. Far too many people jump to the wrong conclusions."
"But when I pointed out that Draco had played his own part, you grew solemn and said, 'He had no idea what he was getting into. He fell for Voldemort's lies, and once he saw them for what they were, it was too late. He was scared and he wanted to protect his family. He'd suffered enough'."
Harry looked at her, recalling his words. "Yes. That's all true. He was a victim like so many others were. He may not have been Imperiused, but he wasn't the only one. How many others did Voldemort's bidding because their families had been threatened? It was no different for Malfoy here. I saw his hesitation, disgust, remorse. He didn't want to serve that madman."
He took a chance and looked over at Malfoy, whose mouth hung open in a very un-Malfoy-ish way. Luna grinned widely.
"I wish the listening audience could see Mr. Malfoy's face right now." Malfoy closed his mouth, sat straight up, and his usual mask of indifference returned. "It seems he had no idea about any of this."
"That would be an accurate assessment," Malfoy replied.
"And I suspect Harry is in for a similar experience." Harry watched as Malfoy's eyes narrowed.
"When I met with Draco to do our interview, we discussed the Malfoy family's fate, including his father's incarceration, his mother's trial, and the fact that he was never charged with anything after the war." She turned to face Malfoy. "I have to say, Draco, that I was somewhat shocked by the matter-of-fact way you attributed much of your own good fortune to Harry."
It was Harry's turn to look shocked. Malfoy wouldn't meet his eye.
"You said that Harry was a true hero, but not in the way everybody had always gone on about him. You said that 'Most people don't know Potter, not like I knew him. He and I never got on, not since he snubbed me in first year. I did my very best to irritate him at every turn after that, to be sure. Yet when it came down to it, he risked his own life to prevent my death, even though I did nothing to deserve it. Twice. Testifying for my mother was fair and reasonable. She had helped him, and he testified to that. But no one can tell me that he wasn't the one responsible for convincing the Aurors not to prosecute me. No one else could have done that, and it was obvious that the public wanted me to pay as well as my father. I owe my life to him many times over'."
Malfoy's face went red during Luna's retelling, and he wouldn't meet Harry's eyes. Harry was stunned. He recalled conversations with Ron, when his friend would complain about Malfoy's lack of appreciation. It was true Malfoy had never said any of this to Harry's face, but all the same, he wasn't denying them.
"That's so sweet!" Harry heard a young witch's voice echo through the room. Luna had reengaged the audience. "Surely you'll become the best of friends now."
Harry heard Malfoy snort. He rolled his eyes at Luna, doing his best not to fall off his chair laughing.
"How do you think your new friendship will affect Slytherin and Gryffindor students back at Hogwarts?" the girl on the phone asked.
"What?" Harry asked. What new friendship?
Malfoy cleared his throat. "Apparently your listeners are under the delusion that a small amount of mutual respect between former rivals will result in a lasting friendship. Rather presumptuous, I must say."
"Right," Harry agreed.
"Aw, c'mon lads," a woman's voice plead. "The war's been over for five years. Surely you can put the past behind you now. Move on."
"Well, we … er …" Harry looked at Malfoy who raised his eyebrows in question. Apparently he wasn't planning to help with this one. "We were en-- … we were not friends, even before the war."
"Because of the house system at school?" Luna asked.
"I suppose," Harry said. "That was part of it anyway."
"Come, come now, Potter. Surely you remember turning away my offer of friendship before we even arrived at school."
"Oh. Right." Harry had forgotten before today. He had only been eleven years old, after all. Surely all of their animosity couldn't have stemmed from that moment. No. No. Too much else had happened. Lucius. Harry stopped that train of thought, and realised that perhaps Lucius had a lot more to do with Draco's behaviour and Harry's subsequent dismissal of him. After all, Draco would have grown up seeing how his father treated others, belittled them, looked down upon them. Especially Weasleys. Perhaps Malfoy hadn't known any better.
"Potter?" Harry shook his head at the sound of his name.
"What?"
Luna answered. "This caller wants to know why you turned Draco away. What did he do to you?"
"Nothing," Harry said. He looked at Malfoy as he continued. "He was an eleven-year-old boy that was acting the way he had been taught to act. I didn't like that, so I decided that I didn't want to be his friend. I never looked back."
"Well that hardly seems fair," the young caller said. "To judge someone based on what he was like at eleven."
"You're absolutely right," Harry said.
"Does that mean --"
"That's all the time we have for today," Luna cut off the caller. Harry chanced a look at Malfoy who was frowning, looking … pensive. "If you have more questions, as always, you may owl them to the studio, and I'll do my best to answer them all."
Harry tuned out the rest of what Luna said, the thoughts racing around his head far too distracting to focus on anything else. What did this mean anyway?
"You two have to let me treat you to dinner, for the inconvenience."
"Inconvenience?" Harry asked.
"Yes, well ... for not telling you that you'd both be here."
Malfoy nodded. "I choose the restaurant."
Harry snorted. "Absolutely."
The look of shock on Malfoy's face when Harry actually agreed earned him a wink and a smile from Harry. Malfoy's eyes widened.
"I think the studio will feel it's worth it," Luna said with a smile. "Just bring in the bill, and I'll arrange to reimburse you the cost."
"You're not joining us?" Harry asked.
"Whatever for?" Luna replied. "I daresay the two of you have a lot of catching up to do, without having me there." She flitted away as only Luna could do.
"It appears we've been … hoodwinked, Potter."
"It sure does," Harry agreed. He glared down the hall at Luna's back.
Malfoy looked from Harry to Luna's retreating form and back again, then shrugged. "Might as well get a good meal out of the deal," he said with a grin.
Harry nodded and held out his arm. Malfoy took it, Apparating them to the most expensive restaurant in Paris.
~*~*~
"What's the smile for?" Draco asked, wrapping his arms around Harry from behind, and kissing him on the neck. He watched Harry's reflection struggle with his tie. Harry never had mastered the art of tying them.
"I was just remembering our first date," Harry replied. He turned around to let Draco finish the job.
"Oh, yeah?" Draco undid the mess Harry had made.
"Yeah. Care to refresh my memory of our first kiss?"
Draco raised an eyebrow. "As I recall, we ended up doing more than just kiss that night."
Harry smiled. "I know."
"You are not getting out of this dinner party," Draco warned as he made quick work of the tie. "Mother will never forgive us if we don't show up."
Harry pouted. It didn't work. "Or if we're late," Draco added.
"Like last time?" Harry sniggered.
"Exactly."
"Fine." Harry pouted again. A feeble attempt at best. "I'd still like a reminder of that kiss, though."
Draco rolled his eyes, but he knew Harry wasn't fooled. As much as their kisses generally led to much more, Harry knew that Draco loved to kiss him. And Harry felt the same way.
Just like that night, Draco took Harry's face in his hands and kissed him on the forehead, on his scar. No one had ever done that before, Harry had told him. Many people had stared, but no one had ever touched it before Draco. Harry's breath hitched now, just like it had that night nearly ten years ago.
Draco touched his lips to Harry's, gently at first, almost chastely, then pulled back and smiled. Harry's green eyes flickered in the light. Not quite the same effect as the streetlights that night, but the look was there. Complete openness. A look Harry had never given him before. It had been - and still was - intoxicating. Strange how that feeling hadn't faded over time. Then Harry bit his lower lip, just like he'd done so long ago. He looked … sweet.
"I think I'm going to enjoy kissing you, Potter."
Harry's smile lit up the room. "So what are you waiting for, Malfoy?"
Draco weaved his hands through Harry's hair, and drew him closer, until he was just a breath away. "Just so you know, once we start, I don't think I'll be able to stop."
"I wouldn't dream of asking you to."
"I don't mean tonight, Potter. I mean ever.
"Glad we cleared that up," Harry said before closing the distance between them.
Once again, Draco was amazed at how the entire world vanished in a haze, leaving only the two of them, rooted to the spot, holding on for dear life. He'd never ever felt that way when kissing anyone else, and knew he never would again. Not that he'd ever want to test that theory. He'd thought that sensation would diminish as time went on, become familiar but still nice. Yet even now, ten years later, Draco was swept up in the sheer ecstasy of kissing Harry.
Lips slid over each other, softly at first, then more urgently. Their tongues mapped familiar territory, yet it never felt old. Kissing Harry was never a chore, or a means to an end. No, it was an adventure all its own, and Draco knew he would never tire of it. To feel Harry pressed against him, to taste Harry, to touch Harry. That was powerful. That was exciting, invigorating, tantalising. It was almost more intimate than when they made love. Almost.
"Mmmm," Harry said as they separated. "I will never get tired of kissing you."
Draco chuckled. "I was thinking the same thing."
"I love you, you know."
"I know. And I love you."
"Draco?"
Draco pulled back, reluctantly but determinedly. "This party is for us," he said, "and if we don't show up, Mother will have both our bollocks served on a platter --"
"Stop! Stop!" Harry cringed and put his hands up in defeat. "I get it. We'll go. But once midnight hits, it's our anniversary, and you're all mine," Harry instructed.
Draco smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
~ FIN
Author: sesheta_66
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~3000
Challenges: icyaurora8's birthday request of "the men run into each other later in life, after the war ... a kiss would be really nice too!" It also fits nicely with harrylovesdraco's prompt of "love", using this picture, and awdt's Valentine prompt #6 of "I'm sending you some kisses. I know you like them."
Summary: Years after the war, a chance meeting and some uncensored words cause Harry and Draco to reassess their opinion of each other.
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. They belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.
That Kiss
Harry ran frantically for the Floo, already late for his interview on Life As We See It, a local radio show hosted by none other than Luna Lovegood. Harry still hated being in the spotlight, but Luna had, with no small amount of help from Hermione, managed to convince him to do an interview for The Prophet.
Five years after the war, Luna had established herself as a reporter for the paper, and was quite successful. Harry had agreed to the interview a few weeks ago, and now Luna wanted to follow that up by having him appear on her weekly wireless show, something she'd started two years back, which had become an instant success.
Harry arrived at the London offices of the Wizarding Wireless Network with only a few minutes to spare. Exiting the Floo, he brushed off the soot and ran his fingers through his hair out of habit.
As he opened the door to the office just outside the broadcast booth, he stopped dead in his tracks. Sitting on the sofa was none other than Draco Malfoy, casually flipping through the pages of some magazine. Harry stood staring at the blonde head, unable to formulate words. It had been years since he had seen Malfoy. The last time had been a few months after the war when he'd returned Malfoy's wand. Well, he'd also seen him at Narcissa Malfoy's trial, but they hadn't spoken. Once Narcissa had been freed, thanks to her actions during the final battle and in part to Harry's testimony, she had whisked her son away to France with her where Harry thought they still lived. Had he given it any thought.
Yet here Malfoy was. In London. Today. Harry's mouth didn't seem to want to function, though even if it did, Harry had no idea what, if anything, he wanted to say.
"Are you going to stand there and stare at me all day, Potter, or are you going to sit down?" Malfoy asked without so much as looking up from his book. "I know I'm dashing, but you could exercise some subtlety."
"Er …"
"Ah, yes … still as eloquent as ever, I see."
"Malfoy?"
Malfoy sighed, lowered his reading material, and looked up. "Really, Potter, we went to school together for six years. Then there was that nasty business during the war and the trials afterwards. I should think you wouldn't have to question my identity."
Harry scowled and made his way to a seat opposite Malfoy. He sat down and crossed his arms over his chest. He most certainly did not huff.
Malfoy made a big deal of closing the magazine, placing it on the table and crossing his legs. His trademark Malfoy smirk was firmly planted on his face.
"Oh, good! You're both here," Luna said as she waved them through the now-open door to the broadcast booth. "We're just on commercial break, and we've got about a minute and a half to get you settled."
"Luna, what's this --"
"No time, Harry," she said, pushing him into a seat and motioning for Malfoy to take the other. She handed them headsets. "Put these on, and get ready. Just speak into the microphone when it's time."
Harry wanted to protest, but Luna's raised hand stopped him. He put the headset on and tried not to glare in response to Malfoy's smirk.
"Should have been here earlier, Potter. Then you'd have known what to expect," the prat said before putting on his own headset. Honestly, could he be more arrogant?
"And we're back," Luna said into her microphone, and Harry heard her voice through the headset. "Today we have with us not one, but two former students from Hogwarts, both of whom were in school with me, and both of whom were present at the final battle. First I'd like to introduce Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, all from Slytherin House. And second, we have Harry Potter, son of James and Lily Potter, all from Gryffindor House.
"Yes, you heard that right. Today I have the two former rivals here in the studio with me. And just for the fun of it, not only did I keep today's guests a surprise from you, the listening audience, but I didn't tell either of the gentlemen seated here today that the other would also be appearing."
Luna smiled at the two of them, as though this was an amusing story. "I rather suspected they might not show up otherwise." Harry glared in confirmation. "So, without further delay, let's get down to the interview."
She started by asking each of them questions about what they'd been up to since the war, filling in the blanks of their lives for all who cared to know. Then she opened up the phone lines, and each of them was treated to some questions from the audience. Then her face took on a sly edge, and Harry felt uneasy.
"Now that everyone's had their chance to ask their questions, I have a few more myself. Something the listeners, and even the readers of The Prophet don't know, is how the two of you feel about each other." Harry looked questioningly at Malfoy, who shrugged and looked just as confused as Harry felt. As one, they turned to glance questioningly at Luna.
"I recently published articles on both of them in the paper. Their interviews were enlightening, to say the least. But the most interesting parts were actually those left out of the articles."
"I'm not sure what you mean, Luna," Harry said in bewilderment.
"I'll have to admit to being at a loss myself," Malfoy added.
"Well," Luna said, taking a pause as she grinned mischievously from one to the other, "I found your comments about each other the most interesting of all."
"We both hated each other," Harry said. "I thought that was public knowledge."
"Indeed. There has never been any love lost between us," Malfoy agreed.
"Ah, but all is not as it seems, I suspect," Luna said in an almost Trelawny-ish manner.
Harry thought back to the interview he had with Luna, but couldn't think of anything. Looking at Malfoy's expression, Harry was sure he thought the same. They frowned at each other, then turned their attention back to Luna. She giggled. Harry's stomach clenched.
"Harry, we'll start with you. When I mentioned your testimony at Narcissa Malfoy's trial, and the subsequent media attention the family had received, you got visibly agitated. In fact, you went on a bit of a tirade about how unfair it had all been." She referred to her notes. "I believe you said that 'the sins of the father are often paid for by the son, and Draco Malfoy is no different'."
Harry felt his face grow warm. "Well, it's true. Far too many people jump to the wrong conclusions."
"But when I pointed out that Draco had played his own part, you grew solemn and said, 'He had no idea what he was getting into. He fell for Voldemort's lies, and once he saw them for what they were, it was too late. He was scared and he wanted to protect his family. He'd suffered enough'."
Harry looked at her, recalling his words. "Yes. That's all true. He was a victim like so many others were. He may not have been Imperiused, but he wasn't the only one. How many others did Voldemort's bidding because their families had been threatened? It was no different for Malfoy here. I saw his hesitation, disgust, remorse. He didn't want to serve that madman."
He took a chance and looked over at Malfoy, whose mouth hung open in a very un-Malfoy-ish way. Luna grinned widely.
"I wish the listening audience could see Mr. Malfoy's face right now." Malfoy closed his mouth, sat straight up, and his usual mask of indifference returned. "It seems he had no idea about any of this."
"That would be an accurate assessment," Malfoy replied.
"And I suspect Harry is in for a similar experience." Harry watched as Malfoy's eyes narrowed.
"When I met with Draco to do our interview, we discussed the Malfoy family's fate, including his father's incarceration, his mother's trial, and the fact that he was never charged with anything after the war." She turned to face Malfoy. "I have to say, Draco, that I was somewhat shocked by the matter-of-fact way you attributed much of your own good fortune to Harry."
It was Harry's turn to look shocked. Malfoy wouldn't meet his eye.
"You said that Harry was a true hero, but not in the way everybody had always gone on about him. You said that 'Most people don't know Potter, not like I knew him. He and I never got on, not since he snubbed me in first year. I did my very best to irritate him at every turn after that, to be sure. Yet when it came down to it, he risked his own life to prevent my death, even though I did nothing to deserve it. Twice. Testifying for my mother was fair and reasonable. She had helped him, and he testified to that. But no one can tell me that he wasn't the one responsible for convincing the Aurors not to prosecute me. No one else could have done that, and it was obvious that the public wanted me to pay as well as my father. I owe my life to him many times over'."
Malfoy's face went red during Luna's retelling, and he wouldn't meet Harry's eyes. Harry was stunned. He recalled conversations with Ron, when his friend would complain about Malfoy's lack of appreciation. It was true Malfoy had never said any of this to Harry's face, but all the same, he wasn't denying them.
"That's so sweet!" Harry heard a young witch's voice echo through the room. Luna had reengaged the audience. "Surely you'll become the best of friends now."
Harry heard Malfoy snort. He rolled his eyes at Luna, doing his best not to fall off his chair laughing.
"How do you think your new friendship will affect Slytherin and Gryffindor students back at Hogwarts?" the girl on the phone asked.
"What?" Harry asked. What new friendship?
Malfoy cleared his throat. "Apparently your listeners are under the delusion that a small amount of mutual respect between former rivals will result in a lasting friendship. Rather presumptuous, I must say."
"Right," Harry agreed.
"Aw, c'mon lads," a woman's voice plead. "The war's been over for five years. Surely you can put the past behind you now. Move on."
"Well, we … er …" Harry looked at Malfoy who raised his eyebrows in question. Apparently he wasn't planning to help with this one. "We were en-- … we were not friends, even before the war."
"Because of the house system at school?" Luna asked.
"I suppose," Harry said. "That was part of it anyway."
"Come, come now, Potter. Surely you remember turning away my offer of friendship before we even arrived at school."
"Oh. Right." Harry had forgotten before today. He had only been eleven years old, after all. Surely all of their animosity couldn't have stemmed from that moment. No. No. Too much else had happened. Lucius. Harry stopped that train of thought, and realised that perhaps Lucius had a lot more to do with Draco's behaviour and Harry's subsequent dismissal of him. After all, Draco would have grown up seeing how his father treated others, belittled them, looked down upon them. Especially Weasleys. Perhaps Malfoy hadn't known any better.
"Potter?" Harry shook his head at the sound of his name.
"What?"
Luna answered. "This caller wants to know why you turned Draco away. What did he do to you?"
"Nothing," Harry said. He looked at Malfoy as he continued. "He was an eleven-year-old boy that was acting the way he had been taught to act. I didn't like that, so I decided that I didn't want to be his friend. I never looked back."
"Well that hardly seems fair," the young caller said. "To judge someone based on what he was like at eleven."
"You're absolutely right," Harry said.
"Does that mean --"
"That's all the time we have for today," Luna cut off the caller. Harry chanced a look at Malfoy who was frowning, looking … pensive. "If you have more questions, as always, you may owl them to the studio, and I'll do my best to answer them all."
Harry tuned out the rest of what Luna said, the thoughts racing around his head far too distracting to focus on anything else. What did this mean anyway?
"You two have to let me treat you to dinner, for the inconvenience."
"Inconvenience?" Harry asked.
"Yes, well ... for not telling you that you'd both be here."
Malfoy nodded. "I choose the restaurant."
Harry snorted. "Absolutely."
The look of shock on Malfoy's face when Harry actually agreed earned him a wink and a smile from Harry. Malfoy's eyes widened.
"I think the studio will feel it's worth it," Luna said with a smile. "Just bring in the bill, and I'll arrange to reimburse you the cost."
"You're not joining us?" Harry asked.
"Whatever for?" Luna replied. "I daresay the two of you have a lot of catching up to do, without having me there." She flitted away as only Luna could do.
"It appears we've been … hoodwinked, Potter."
"It sure does," Harry agreed. He glared down the hall at Luna's back.
Malfoy looked from Harry to Luna's retreating form and back again, then shrugged. "Might as well get a good meal out of the deal," he said with a grin.
Harry nodded and held out his arm. Malfoy took it, Apparating them to the most expensive restaurant in Paris.
~*~*~
"What's the smile for?" Draco asked, wrapping his arms around Harry from behind, and kissing him on the neck. He watched Harry's reflection struggle with his tie. Harry never had mastered the art of tying them.
"I was just remembering our first date," Harry replied. He turned around to let Draco finish the job.
"Oh, yeah?" Draco undid the mess Harry had made.
"Yeah. Care to refresh my memory of our first kiss?"
Draco raised an eyebrow. "As I recall, we ended up doing more than just kiss that night."
Harry smiled. "I know."
"You are not getting out of this dinner party," Draco warned as he made quick work of the tie. "Mother will never forgive us if we don't show up."
Harry pouted. It didn't work. "Or if we're late," Draco added.
"Like last time?" Harry sniggered.
"Exactly."
"Fine." Harry pouted again. A feeble attempt at best. "I'd still like a reminder of that kiss, though."
Draco rolled his eyes, but he knew Harry wasn't fooled. As much as their kisses generally led to much more, Harry knew that Draco loved to kiss him. And Harry felt the same way.
Just like that night, Draco took Harry's face in his hands and kissed him on the forehead, on his scar. No one had ever done that before, Harry had told him. Many people had stared, but no one had ever touched it before Draco. Harry's breath hitched now, just like it had that night nearly ten years ago.
Draco touched his lips to Harry's, gently at first, almost chastely, then pulled back and smiled. Harry's green eyes flickered in the light. Not quite the same effect as the streetlights that night, but the look was there. Complete openness. A look Harry had never given him before. It had been - and still was - intoxicating. Strange how that feeling hadn't faded over time. Then Harry bit his lower lip, just like he'd done so long ago. He looked … sweet.
"I think I'm going to enjoy kissing you, Potter."
Harry's smile lit up the room. "So what are you waiting for, Malfoy?"
Draco weaved his hands through Harry's hair, and drew him closer, until he was just a breath away. "Just so you know, once we start, I don't think I'll be able to stop."
"I wouldn't dream of asking you to."
"I don't mean tonight, Potter. I mean ever.
"Glad we cleared that up," Harry said before closing the distance between them.
Once again, Draco was amazed at how the entire world vanished in a haze, leaving only the two of them, rooted to the spot, holding on for dear life. He'd never ever felt that way when kissing anyone else, and knew he never would again. Not that he'd ever want to test that theory. He'd thought that sensation would diminish as time went on, become familiar but still nice. Yet even now, ten years later, Draco was swept up in the sheer ecstasy of kissing Harry.
Lips slid over each other, softly at first, then more urgently. Their tongues mapped familiar territory, yet it never felt old. Kissing Harry was never a chore, or a means to an end. No, it was an adventure all its own, and Draco knew he would never tire of it. To feel Harry pressed against him, to taste Harry, to touch Harry. That was powerful. That was exciting, invigorating, tantalising. It was almost more intimate than when they made love. Almost.
"Mmmm," Harry said as they separated. "I will never get tired of kissing you."
Draco chuckled. "I was thinking the same thing."
"I love you, you know."
"I know. And I love you."
"Draco?"
Draco pulled back, reluctantly but determinedly. "This party is for us," he said, "and if we don't show up, Mother will have both our bollocks served on a platter --"
"Stop! Stop!" Harry cringed and put his hands up in defeat. "I get it. We'll go. But once midnight hits, it's our anniversary, and you're all mine," Harry instructed.
Draco smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
~ FIN