Chapter 8
Harry set the bags of takeout down on the coffee table and jumped as his phone rang. Blaise would be back any second so he thought about muting the call but then saw that it was from Luna.
“Hello Luna,” he greeted.
“Hi Harry, I just wanted to update you since it’s been a few days,” Luna explained, “I finished the overview that I have for the story, and I interviewed a few different people. I still have some more people I’d like to interview, and then I’d like to sit down with you for at least one more long conversation. Also if there’s anywhere you would like to go or show me that would explain you as a person, you could let me know.”
Harry nodded, “Okay yeah that sounds great. I’m not sure if there is anywhere specific that I’d like to go right now but I’ll let you know.”
“We can always brainstorm when we get together next,” Luna agreed. Harry’s fireplace flared to life and Blaise stepped through. Harry smiled at him.
“Do you think Darla would be willing to do a one on one interview?” Luna asked.
“I can’t imagine she would say no,” Harry speculated.
“Okay, I want to get her, and maybe some of your friends?” Luna suggested, “And… I’m not sure how you’d feel about this or if he would even say yes, but I did reach out to Albus Dumbledore.”
Harry dropped his smile and felt his face turn to stone. He didn’t say anything to Blaise who gave him a questioning look, and he didn’t say anything in response to Luna. He turned and walked to stare out the window, forcing down the memories that popped up at the old man’s name.
“Harry?” Luna asked. Harry took a controlled breath.
“It’s your story, you can talk to anyone you want,” he said tightly.
“Okay well, if I do, I’ll give you a chance to clarify anything that he tells me, I do care what you think Harry,” Luna said compassionately.
“I appreciate that, but there are no warm feelings between us, I don’t know that he would even agree to talk to you,” Harry told her, “Was there anything else?”
“No, I think that’s just about it. Oh wait, I heard about some pictures of you with a man at dinner a few nights ago, is he off limits or?” Luna probed.
Harry glanced over at Blaise, “Yeah, I’d like to keep that to myself for a little while. Depending on when you want to finish this, and what he thinks, that might change, but for now, this is private.”
“I completely understand, alright, have a good day Harry.” Luna said and then hung up.
“Who was that?” Blaise asked as he put the phone down.
“Luna,” Harry said, “She just had some questions for the story and wanted to update me on her progress.”
“I see,” Blaise said, and then continued timidly, “I feel that it’s maybe better not to ask what made you look like you were going to commit murder, but if you need to talk about it you can.”
“Thanks, but I’d rather not talk about Dumbledore. Ever. If I can help it,” Harry muttered, “Anyways, the food is here.”
The pair dug into the food and Blaise apparently chose not to push the subject any further, which Harry was grateful for. Blaise gently applied the salve to his arms after they were done eating, and Harry had to admit that he had butterflies at the taller man’s touch.
After they were done, Blaise browsed Harry’s embarrassingly small muggle movie collection. He hadn’t seen any of them, but chose the Titanic because he was intrigued by the concept of large muggle ships. Harry shut the curtains and dimmed the lights so that they could actually see the large T.V. screen that he had across from the couch.
The two sat closely on the couch. Harry was very aware of his proximity to the other man, but he tried to focus on the movie. Because he had seen it before, the movie struggled to hold his attention. Instead, he waged an inner war, debating what on earth he was doing with Blaise.
Why was he letting himself get close to him when he promised himself to stay away from everyone? He couldn’t date the man, because it wouldn’t be fair to Blaise. It was selfish to allow this time with him, and Harry felt bad, but he just couldn’t say no when Blaise wanted to see him. It made him giddy how the two of them ended up leaning closer and closer to each other as the movie continued.
Back and forth Harry fought the battle in his head. Blaise deserved better. Blaise probably didn’t even like him. Blaise wouldn’t want someone who lived the way Harry did. Harry didn’t deserve someone like Blaise. But Blaise made him feel so normal. Harry was super interested in getting to know everything about Blaise, and he never felt that way about anyone. Blaise excited him. Harry could imagine that if he let it, he could actually grow to feel safe with him.
Harry was jostled out of his thoughts when Blaise smoothly put an arm around Harry’s shoulders. They had been almost touching anyway, and the move didn’t change much except the tempo of Harry’s heart. He was now leaning against Blaise. Blaise felt so warm. At some point Blaise bent his elbow to rest his hand lightly in Harry’s hair. He stroked his fingers gently through Harry’s long locks.
Harry almost fell asleep. He was so cozy, but then the credits of the movie were rolling.
“That was sad,” Blaise murmured.
“It’s famous for being really sad,” Harry said quietly.
“I can see why, although they both could have fit on that board,” Blaise critiqued. Harry giggled a little bit.
“Everyone says that,” Harry explained, “I don’t know, maybe it would have tipped?”
“Maybe,” Blaise said, “But it was still a good movie either way.”
“Yeah, it’s nice,” Harry said, content under Blaise’s arm. He didn’t want to move away, but he didn’t want to impose either. He didn’t have to make a decision because his fireplace flared to life and Harry jolted into a standing position, wand flashing to his hand.
His panic was unwarranted, as it was only his manager.
“Darla, you gave me a heart attack!” Harry reprimanded.
“Oh relax!” Darla waved him off, “Oh, who is this?”
She narrowed her eyes at Blaise and looked around at the coffee table covered in takeout boxes, the closed curtains, and the clear positioning that the two had just been in.
“Darla, this is Blaise, Blaise this is Darla, my manager,” Harry introduced, “Now, what do you need?”
“Oh Harry, you could act like you are happy to see me,” Darla whined, throwing herself into one of Harry’s armchairs.
“Well, I do have company,” Harry muttered, getting annoyed.
“Don’t worry dear, I won’t stay for long,” Darla sing-songed, “I just wanted to check in and see if you were actually going to uphold your commitments anytime soon.”
“Look, can we have this conversation later?” Harry asked. He was so embarrassed again.
“It’s okay Harry,” Blaise chimed in for the first time, “I can go if you need me to?”
“No you don’t have to, unless you have to be somewhere,” Harry assured him.
“Let’s cut to it Harry,” Darla said, sitting up straight, “Do you plan on going out tonight?”
“Um, probably not,” Harry told her. He wasn’t sure how long Blaise was planning on staying, but regardless, he couldn’t imagine putting the bracelets on again so soon.
“That’s three nights in a row Harry,” Darla chastised.
“I went last night,” Harry objected.
“And you left within 20 minutes, Kristine told me,” Darla shot back.
“There was an incident,” Harry argued, “I’ll go tomorrow.”
“Perfect, that’s all I needed, maybe your friend could go with you,” Darla said standing up, “Bye-bye Harry, Blake.”
She flooed away before Harry could correct her. He sighed before turning back to Blaise who was waiting patiently on the couch.
“She seems fun,” Blaise remarked dryly.
“She means well,” Harry said weakly.
“Harry… I don’t mean to pry, but are you okay? It doesn’t seem like you have anyone in your corner looking out for your best interests,” Blaise said slowly. Harry sat down next to him again.
“I’m fine. I know things aren’t traditional, but our system works, I’m fine,” Harry said, trying to convince himself.
“Okay, well if you ever need anything, just let me know. Or Luna or Neville if you don’t want to tell me,” Blaise said seriously.
“Thank you, but I’m okay,” Harry nodded looking down. Blaise took his hand slowly.
“Harry, I’m going to be honest with you, I want to be there for you if you need it, but I also don’t want to push you. I know we just met, but I don’t want to be confused with my intentions,” Blaise began.
Harry looked up at him, heart beating fast again, “Okay?”
“I like you. I think I would like you a lot more, if we keep getting to know each other,” Blaise said.
“Me too,” Harry said against his better judgment.
“I don’t really…do this often, so I just want to make sure I’m not rushing you,” Blaise explained.
“Me neither,” Harry admitted, “I get… nervous, but I do want to keep getting to know you.”
“We can go slow,” Blaise promised, rubbing his thumb soothingly over the back of Harry’s hands, “And you can tell me if you ever want to stop this. There’s no pressure on you to make this go anywhere. For now it’s just us getting to know each other.”
Harry let out a sigh of relief and nodded. He hadn’t realized how stressed he was about the situation, “Okay, I can do that.”
“Okay good, now, how about a happier movie?” Blaise suggested. Harry smiled and went to the cabinet. He pulled out Forest Gump and they settled in again, Blaise automatically putting his arm around Harry.
The two laughed together throughout the movie and even after it ended, fell into small talk about the movie and then just life in general.
They were interrupted when Harry’s stomach growled.
“What time is it?” Harry wondered and conjured a clock. It was nearing six, which did make sense as they had watched two very long movies, “Do you want to get something to eat or do you need to go?”
“I can stay, if it doesn’t bother you,” Blaise said. It didn’t bother Harry at all, in fact he didn’t want Blaise to ever leave.
“Okay, what do you want to get, takeout again or?”
“We could cook something?” Blaise suggested. Harry thought. He supposed he did have a lot of cooking utensils but he didn’t think he had any ingredients.
“Sure, but I don’t know if I have any food to cook with,” Harry answered.
“Does pasta sound good to you?” Blaise asked. Harry nodded. “Then I’ll be right back.”
Blaise untangled himself and walked to the fireplace. He returned within a few minutes with arms full of pasta ingredients. The two set to work in the kitchen, rolling their own noodles and making the sauces. Harry poured them each a glass of wine and Blaise spelled his wand to play background music while they worked.
Harry felt weirdly domestic. He felt so comfortable with Blaise so quickly.
“Here Harry try this,” Blaise held out a spoon for Harry to try the sauce he was making. Harry tasted it.
“This is delicious,” Harry commented.
“Here, you’ve got a little…” Blaise reached out and wiped some sauce from the corner of Harry’s mouth. Harry melted a little bit inside, and then felt hot when Blaise licked the sauce from his thumb.
He turned away hopefully before his face got visibly red, “I think the garlic bread is almost done, I’ll set the table.”
He set the table quickly and then the food was done. They enjoyed their meal in relative silence, complimenting each other on their culinary skills. After they were done, they washed up the dishes together by hand instead of using magic.
Harry was washing and Blaise was drying. Harry accidentally sprayed Blaise with the hose ever so slightly while he was washing up one of the plates.
“I’m so sorry,” he apologized.
“It’s okay, here,” Blaise reached over and took the hose to spray Harry lightly too, except he sprayed much more water than Harry had. Harry squealed and jumped back.
“Now we’re even,” Blaise said with a devious smirk.
“Oh you,” Harry reached for the hose and really sprayed Blaise this time. Blaise laughed and reached an arm in the sink to fully splash Harry who yelled again. This dissolved into a full blown water and soap war around the kitchen.
“Blaise ah,” Harry screeched as Blaise dumped a cup of water down the back of his shirt. He spun around and conjured water to pour directly on Blaise’s head.
“Now that’s cheating,” Blaise playfully reprimanded. He reached for Harry to pour water on him again and Harry jumped backwards. Unfortunately he slipped and went crashing to the floor. Blaise reached out to catch him and the two of them ended up falling together. They landed with Blaise’s arm around Harry’s waist, slowing his fall, and one hand behind Harry’s head, protecting him from hitting it on the hard floor.
Suddenly, the playfulness of the earlier moments was gone as they stared into each other’s eyes. Harry’s breathing came fast as he processed the soaking wet, incredibly attractive man who was leaning over him. To his disappointment, Blaise stood up, and offered him a hand. Harry accepted it and hauled himself up. He almost slipped again but Blaise steadied him with a hand on his waist, not letting go of Harry’s hand with his other.
Again time stood still as they looked at each other. Harry looked at Blaise’s lips and back to his eyes.
“May I?” Blaise asked in a rough voice. Harry nodded.
Blaise descended on Harry’s lips with his own, so gently that Harry thought he might cry. The kiss was so soft and so delicate. Harry moved his free hand to gently cup the side of Blaise’s face. The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Blaise pulled back just slightly.
“Okay?” he asked, breath hitting Harry’s lips.
“Yes,” Harry breathed, and surged up to meet Blaise again. This time, the kiss sent fire down Harry’s spine. Their lips moved together in perfect harmony. Blaise let go of Harry’s hand to slide his hand through Harry’s hair, and pulled him in closer by the waist. He walked him back to lean against the counter. Harry placed his hand on Blaise’s chest, and slid his other around the back of Blaise’s neck.
Eventually they had to break away for air.
“We should stop,” Blaise said in a rougher voice than before, “We said slow remember?”
“Yeah, yeah, slow,” Harry said, dazed, “Are you sure?”
Blaise laughed and squeezed Harry gently, “Yes because otherwise I might not be able to stop.”
“Okay, yeah, you’re right,” Harry blinked and looked around the kitchen, “Oh wow.”
The kitchen was a mess of soap and water. He looked at both of them wearing completely soaked clothing.
“We made a mess.” Blaise commented, still not letting go of Harry. Harry was thankful, or he might have been cold.
“We did, here,” Harry took his hand and waved it, the water drying up and the dishes flying neatly into place on the shelves.
Blaise nodded in approval. “It’s late, I should go.”
“Okay, I’ll see you soon?” Harry checked.
“Yes definitely, I’ll owl you,” Blaise nodded. He pulled Harry close again and gave him a firm kiss on the forehead. Harry watched as Blaise left. He didn’t know how long he stood there grinning before he went to bed. As he fell asleep that night, he prayed for dreams of the pleasant kind. He couldn’t be that lucky though.
As always happened when he went to bed sober, he woke up screaming in terror and agony as his memories replayed in his mind.