First Glance
Being part of a rich family it is not as beautiful as the movies make it seem, from the outside of course it looks beautiful, big house, expensive cars, huge gardens. But behind all of those amazing material things, there’s always something sorrow that the world can not see, and when it comes to the Malfoy family, the actual son of one of the most powerful couples in London, Draco Lucius Malfoy, is that something
Don’t get him wrong, Draco will always be grateful for how much his parents have struggled to keep their jobs steady along the years, because being the CEO’s of the largest tourism company in England must not be easy, he is aware of it and Draco appreciates that he got to live in a big house with his own room and bathroom, that two years ago on his eighteenth birthday he got his dream car, that he can afford anything he wants whenever he wants it and so the list goes on with the benefits of being the kid of a wealthy family
But Draco hates the disadvantages of having rich parents, the fact that he sees them once a week and maybe not even that much unless he's lucky, he doesn't really have any friends because he was home schooled from second grade and the only person he can call close other than his mom and dad is the boy of the woman who cleans their house, although even with him he gets to talk only a little and rarely when the woman brings the boy in order to help her with what she has to do so that she can leave work earlier. Apart from that Draco has no different interaction with people outside his house
And he is lonely. Not just alone, but lonely, almost always 24/7 in the house locked with just his thoughts and the books he reads, after which he ends up spending the nights with a few lamps on, drawing until the morning when the birds start chirping, after which he sleeps until noon just to to wake up and do the same thing all over again. It’s the same routine repeating itself into the void, making him feel empty
The boy has not yet decided if he wants to go to college, and after a heated argument with his parents, they accepted that and offered him two years of freedom in which he must find a goal or a career that will support him financially unless he wants to be part of the family business, which he definitely does not want, and if he doesn't succeed in finding something then he will have to go and study as he should have done from the beginning
He is fucking glad that he has one year left to choose what is it that he wants to do because now he is really not ready to make that decision, and he knows that probably in a year he will feel the same therefore he will have to start college but a year is a long time so he is not worrying about that just yet
With his thoughts all over the place and eyes in the mirror, Draco caresses gently one of his most recent tattoos, not that he has more than four but this one is the definitely the largest and he is fascinated by it. Starting from the left side of his hip all the way to the right side covering the entire skin above the V-line there is painted a snake with open eyes and fangs out as if preparing to bite someone, creature which is surrounded by rose thorns
It's so mesmerizing that you can not take your eyes off it, it highlights his slim waist and pale skin extremely beautifully
He has another tattoo on his collarbone, the word ART written in small and thin letters, it was his first one, did it when he was only seventeen. He chose it because ever since he was little Draco loved to draw and paint, he spent days and nights fulfilling pages of notebooks with sketches. His third tattoo is on his neck, right in the back of the ear a little below it there is painted full moon surrounded by clouds left and right. This one doesn't have any meaning unless it can be considered as a meaning the fact that it is the first drawing he showed to his father when he was thirteen years old and told his parents about his talent for drawing
And the last but not the least one it’s the tattoo on his back, his favourite one, along his spine he has tattooed the title of his favorite book letter by letter at the end of which there’s a small blue rose without a tail barely visible, yet still there in its full glory
‘Forbidden Love’ are the words on his back
It’s a little cliché he knows that, but it’s not his fault that’s what the author picked as a title, and it makes sense actually because it’s a enemies to lovers gay romance between two boys who come from rival families. Draco is pretty sure that is one of the most forbidden kinds of love stories that there can be
He is ashamed to say that this one is not the only book he loves from the author who wrote this one. He actually loves them all, Draco has an entire small library in the corner of his enormous room where he is sure that he can find all the books written by the famous romance author, Harry Potter, one of the most famous writers in Europe, especially England
When he first found out about the book of which name he has tattooed, he instantly fell in love with the way it’s written, the way every emotion is represented and how every little detail is portrayed in a way that it matters more than you would think when you read it. Draco looked into it, he first of all read more about the author and he was surprised when he found out the man is only five years older than him, not even thirty years old, after doing that he googled all of his books and ordered them online without even reading the summary of most. He just knew he was going to like them, and so it happened
Draco fell in love with Harry’s way of describing love, with his style of writing and transmitting so much with only the help of words. In less than half a year the boy easily ended up reading all eleven books written by Potter more than twice, he ended up buying a special notebook in which he began to draw fan arts inspired by each book in particular. He then bought the books again and ripped all of the covers of these ones so that he could draw himself on the first blank page of each book a cover he imagines it would fit much better than the original ones
With his mind wondering from place to place Draco hardly notices that his phone keeps buzzing so he furthers away from the mirror to grab it from the bed, he opens it to see that he has two new Emails. Draco frowns curiously and clicks on the first one to read it
‘ Your favorite romance author, is finally coming home. After a long trip around Europe and the publication of the last two books inspired by what he lived around the world, your favorite author is joyously returning to England. Prepared for meetings with fans, Harry Potter now announces that his first appearance will be at the inauguration of the newest bookstore in Newham
Come in two days, on July 16, to meet your favourite author and ask for his autograph. Don’t miss the chance!! ‘
Draco frowns. Newham? That’s like only an hour away from where he lives, with his car it may take even less than that. He can be there faster than the blink of an eye
He exits the email in an instant and calls his dad quickly, Draco has to wait a little before the man answers yet he doesn’t close the call until he does
“Yes Draco?”
“Hello dad” The boy sighs “I was wondering if you know any good hotels in Newham?”
“Probably, I can make a few phone calls and find the best one for you. Why?”
“Can you call and make a reservation for me there then? I wanna go stay there for a few days”
Draco did not plan to say that, he just wanted to leave tonight, meet Harry so he can sign his books then come back home but now that he thinks of it he realises a week away from home wouldn’t be that bad actually
“I am gonna have your mom take care of it. How long do you want to stay there?”
“The next week, since today I am gonna leave in like maybe an hour I just have to pack a few clothes. Can you arrange that?”
“Yeah. Your mother will text you the details later”
“Thank you father”
“Your Welcome. Bye Draco”
Draco closes the phone call then throws his phone on the bed, it kind of hurts him that his dad didn’t care enough to ask why is he going or what is he doing there or even a little simple question if he is alright, even that would have been nice to hear. But he is used to them not caring so he pushes the feeling away and starts to pack a few clothes in a little travel bag he keeps under his bed
He walks slowly to the book shelf and grabs his favourite book, and also the copy of it for which he draw another cover and then Draco picks a few others that he really loved and wants Harry to sign. There aren’t that many but it’s enough to keep the man busy for two or more minutes
He reads the text from his mother about ten minutes later when he receives it
-Hotel Hampton. Everything is already paid, you have free access to the gym, pool and everything else the hotel owns. Breakfast is included as well, make sure you eat. When you get there just tell the receptionist your name and ask for the key of your room. Have fun Draco and take care, call me if you need anything else
He smiles at the text, his mom is always careful with the details and why lie, she always makes sure Draco eats well enough, she made sure every year to ask the boy what is it that he wants for Christmas and his birthday instead of buying expensive presents that mean nothing, she calls Draco when they are not home for a long time and asks him if he is okay. These are some of the few things she does that his father doesn’t, Lucius Malfoy is very well known for his cold personality and Draco came to the realisation that it is not just who the man is for the eyes of the public but actually who he is as a person, he cares but he has a hard time showing it therefore he decides to mask it because it just seems easier. Draco learned that the hard way
He throws a few more clothes in his back and some large shirts to sleep in and with no glance back he grabs his bags heading outside the house for his car so that he can leave as soon as possible
Draco loves driving, ever since he was young and first went with his father to a ride when the man let him sit in the passenger seat, he loved to watch the cars pass by through the big window, feel the car vibrate under his heels, feel his body losing itself in the seat as the car accelerates on the streets
And now that he's grown up and has his own car it’s all much better, besides that adding the fact that it's a convertible one and it allows Draco to feel the wind from all sides which makes each driving experience even more exciting. It usually rains in London and he doesn't have the chance to drive it the way he wants but today the weather outside is on his side and the boy can keep the roof down, enjoy the road at its best. It begins to seem for him that today is actually a beautiful day
****
Draco spoke too early, because by the time he reached the hotel in Newham it started to rain outside and he got all wet, his black t-shirt and sweatpants are sticking to his skin and his blonde hair is covering his eyes in a way that he can barely see. He is just grateful that he finally got to the hotel
Draco parks his car on the other side of the street then he grabs his bags and walks shakily towards the building. He lets out a sigh at the warm air that surrounds his body, like someone covered him with a warm fuzzy blanket, Draco doesn’t hesitate to reach for the reception desk where a girl with black short hair is standing typing at the computer in front of her with fast movements, she seems to be really young like maybe twenty or twenty one but definitely not much older than Draco
“Excuse me” Draco clears his throat, he smiles softly when the girl looks up
Her eyes widen when she sees him, he gets up from her seat arranging her clothes and smiles at him
“What can I help you with Sir?”
“No Sir please avoid the formalities” He begins, she smiles professionally at him and Draco continues “I am to stay here for the week. I am Draco Malfoy. I believe my mom called earlier and booked a room for me? I hope I am at the right hotel”
She looks down at her agenda as she frowns. Draco could tell from the first impression that the girl hasn’t been working here for long and she is new at what she is doing but she is nice and welcoming, he appreciates that
“Oh yes Mister Malfoy, I am sorry I must have forgotten about your arrival” She says, she turns around to type a code in the computer after which the top drawer of the desk next to her opens
“Please drop the formalities” He repeats as she turns to him with a card key “I am Draco Malfoy, call me that. You won’t get fired if your boss hears you talking with me in a not so formal way as you should, trust me”
She lets out a little laugh then hands him the card Key
“As you wish then. My name is Pansy, in case you have any questions I am here to answer them”
They shake hands and Draco feels somehow happy that he hasn’t been here for more than fifteen minutes and he already managed to make a ‘friend’
“Your room is still under cleaning, we didn’t knew when you would arrive” Pansy begins to explain “You can take a seat right here in the reception room while you wait, it shouldn’t be more than ten minutes now. I will call someone to take your baggage upstairs if you want to”
“No thank you. I will wait here and carry them myself”
Draco watches her nod with a smile, she turns back to typing on the computer as he takes bags and walks towards a chair to sit and wait for his room to be all ready. He decides to grab a book from his backpack and opens it to read meanwhile
With his eyes on the words, the boy doesn't realize that he has already read more than twenty pages, until a voice distracts him along with the sound of the front door opening
“Hermione I told you that I don’t want any luxury room or luxurious hotel complex, I want a small and quiet room where there is no noise and I can be alone in peace”
“And I told you there were only two rooms left at this hotel and those were the luxurious room which by the way it’s on the last floor so therefore you will have your so beloved silence and the other one is next to the Gym, where I am not sure you would have had much peace as you wish. So take it or leave it, you forget I am your assistant for as long as you behave decently Harry so do not make me quit or worse try and teach you manners. Because it’s the last thing you will ever learn. Understood?”
“Yes I am sorry. Please, just go get the keys from your little girlfriend and let’s go to sleep already I am bloddy exhausted”
Draco’s eyes snap at the voices, he doesn’t mean to because it honestly sounds like a private argument between two people who are clearly tired and in need of a good long sleep, but he can not help but do so
However the moment he does it, he wishes to turn back time and keep his eyes on the book instead of looking up
Because a few meters away from him, at the hotel entrance is sitting in flesh none other than the one and only Harry Potter
Draco's blood freezes faster than a lightning when it strikes the ground
The girl with curly hair walks away from him with quick steps towards the reception, but he stays there to take off his black jacket and shake the water out of his little curls
Draco can't help but notice the structure of the man's face, how smooth his skin is, how his lips have frozen from the cold and taken upon a hint of purple, how his blueish-green eyes shine under the dull light even though his glasses are covered with drops of rain hiding them. Harry is tall, not very much tho, just a little taller than Draco, his hair is a dark color and his body seems to be worked for however not extremely built. Only enough to steal your attention for a moment
He is most definitely attractive. Harry Potter is an attractive man. And Draco is sure that if he doesn't stop staring, his eyes will begin to water as soon as possible
The blonde boy looks back from the man’s body up to his face, just to find him looking right back at Draco with one eyebrow raised
He doesn’t know why, but Draco blushes in an instant, he can feel all of his blood traveling up to his cheeks as his hands shakily turn the page he was reading, without even looking at it. Harry’s eyes travel down to the book, yet Draco can is not able to look away from the man
“Harry come on I got the keys”
With quick glances Harry looks up from Draco’s book at the girl then back at Draco quickly as he smiles at him, before leaving in a rush
“Draco”
A feminine voice snaps him out of his trance, he turns to see Pansy eyeing him
“Your room is ready. You will probably need to use the elevator unless you love to walk because it’s on the last floor. Hope you’ll have a good time staying here”
“Thank you” He gets up tremendously, reaching for his bags with shaky hands “See you later Pansy”
Draco believes he is dreaming, because there is just no bloddy way he is sharing the hotel with his favourite writer. And there’s no bloddy way they’re both on the last floor. And there’s no bloddy way that Harry Potter himself smiled at Draco just a few seconds ago
There’s just no bloddy way he’s not dreaming right now