Caught Red-Faced
The next morning had started in bliss for Harry, he woke up feeling comfortable and hot, which wasn’t a surprise considering he was quite literally stuck in a puddle of red hair.
The headache came by at the same time as the memories hit him. Harry had gone on an actual date, with people he was actually interested in. And not only one person, no two men. And he hadn’t simply inaugurated his first true date with actual love interests, he had also lost his virginity.
He had had his first time the same night as his first date and he didn’t feel the littlest put off by it. He had grown up hearing that only slut did that, but like almost every thing the Dursley’s had unwantedly taught him, it was nothing else than a lie. Lies he had learned to let go along the years.
However he did feel guilty. Not because it was immoral or bad, not even because it had been two men, and not women like normal, level-headed people would have done -another thing he had picked up from his eleven years of living in a cupboard-.
No. If Harry felt the uncomfortable pressure of guilt washing over him, it simply was because he had gone and did it on the back of his best-friend. He had gone on a date and slept with his best-friend brother’s and hadn’t said anything. And that was a shitty thing to do. He didn’t even know why he hadn’t told Ron anything, he would have understood. Obviously he would have played the drama queen at the start, if only for the sake of it. But he would have been happy for them, even more to be able to call Harry his brother.
The more he thought of it the more he felt guilty, and it only added to the feeling, because even now Ron wouldn’t be mad, well he might be if he found out by walking into the room unannounced-
like he just did.
The bang of the door and the screeching sound that came out of the intruder's mouth effectively woke up the two other occupants of the bed.
“What on earth is going on in here!”
“Ron! It’s not what you think I swear!” Even Harry wouldn’t have believed himself, and he is naive.
“Oh yeah? So I didn’t just walk into my best mate's room, only to find him naked, in bed, with not only one but two of my brothers! Two!”
“Ok so it might be what you think-” Fred started.
“-But don’t worry Ronnikkins, we took real good care of your best mate.”
“Yeah, such good care.”
“Shut up.” Two voices screamed in unisson, even if only one followed. “God dammit, you guys aren’t helping one bit.”
“Come on Baby, you know as well as we do that Ronnikkins here-” George got caught off by a yawn.
“-Will forgive you as soon as you make him pancakes.”
“First of all, I am not that easy, Thank you very much! And second of all, get dressed, you stupid twats!”
“Will you morons stop screaming? Merlin, Guys are so loud for nothing. Hello Harry, Hello to you two as well, I imagine your night went well, by the looks of it.” She stopped there, to smile a bit and without even looking at him raised her hand to Ron’s ear when his lips parted once again. “Ron shut it, and come downstairs.” Hermione turned around, pulling the taller man away.
Harry heard a sight and felt the bed move a bit before the twins were back to their sleeping position. How could they be so calm after their younger brother caught them in bed with someone, not anyone, the best friend of the said brother.
He couldn’t even begin to understand it, his own mind was completely turned upside down, nothing made sense anymore.
“Harry, lie down, it’s still early.”
“How… How are you guys so normal about this? Your brother, my best friend, just walked in on us!”
“It’s not like we were doing anything ya know, just buddies sleeping together.”
“Please don’t ever call me buddy. Not when we were having sex less than six hours ago.”
“Actually it’s only been four hours but whatever you say… Buddy.”
“Uhh you are insufferable.” Harry rolled on top of Fred, coming to the end of the bed, before standing up and starting to pull clean clothes from his wardrobe. He turned around, while pulling his T-shirt down his torso. “Come on, you big sluggards, I have to make pancakes because of you, and I won’t keep them away from Ron until you decide to get in the kitchen.”
- - - -
As predicted by the twins, Ron had forgiven Harry as soon as the biggest plate, with the biggest amount of pancakes had been sat in front of him, even though he had requested that intimacy was to never again happen in front of his poor, innocent eyes, as he had so delicately put it. -And that Harry better cover up his neck fast if he didn't want to look like those people in the +18 magazines.-
And if Harry had fled the scene and the entire house as soon as he could, it was absolutely not because the tension between the three brothers was too much for him, no of course not. He simply had an appointment he couldn’t miss out on, or be late too, and if that appointment was with Malfoy, well no one needed to know that, did they?
He consoled himself with the fact that he wasn’t actually lying, he actually couldn’t miss out today’s lesson, considering he had been the one requesting to have it in the morning -rather than last night-. And he also couldn’t be late, never really could when it regarded Draco in any case, but particularly today, because the man had moved around his agenda and made space for him, when he had so many more important things to take care of, the least Harry could do was be on time.
And if he stopped by the kitchen, on his way to the door after his quick shower, to pick up a covered plate with a heating spell on it, he told everyone it was simply because he will stop to give it back on the way.
- - - -
“Good morning Madam, how are you?”
“Good morning Lord Potter. I am fine. Thank you for inquiring about my well being.” She waited for Harry to give her a smile and be halfway up the stairs, to let her calm voice come out again. “You do know we are capable of feeding ourselves?”
“Of course I do. Cooking is simply something I enjoy doing but I tend to make too much, and when I inevitably do so I prefer sharing rather than throwing. I do not mean to be rude in doing so.”
“Hum. Well in that case, but be aware that Draco probably won’t eat whatever it that you brought, he doesn’t eat in the morning.” She turned back around, going back to her living room.
Well that wasn’t good. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, people need that energy to function. He had never noticed him not eating when they were at Hogwarts, but truth be told, he wouldn't have minded nor picked on it, back then.
“Potter? Are you coming or do I have to teach you from the staircase?”
“Yeah yeah, I’m coming.” He turned back around, rushing his way up the stairs until he reached the taller boy, waiting for him at the entrance of his office. Harry didn't care to stop in front of him and wait for the owner of the room to step in before him.
“I brought you food, made with lots of love, so you better eat it all up.”
Harry saw the way Draco frowned, probably more at the mention of his eating habits, than the sarcastic toneHarry had pronounced those last few words. After all he had heard that tone a handful of times during the seven years spent at Hogwarts, however he had never heard Harry mention any of his habits, whether it was food or sleep.
“Hum. Are you sure you didn’t mistook love and hate? Those are awfully close, you know? And I'd prefer being sure the one who prepared the food wasn’t thinking of getting rid of me in the process.”
“Not one bit. You are my excuse and saviour of the day, you know?”
They were sat at their usual spot now, Harry in a leather chair, Draco in one looking so much bigger, one would think the boy would looked swallowed sitting in it, but the truce was that, the perfect, frozen like expression he wore only shined brighter in the background the dark leather provided.
And the position, sitting with his leg spread just the right amount to not look disrespectful and with one of his ankles resting over the other knees, his back and shoulders pulled straight to the point his articulation creaked faintly whenever he moved. Only proof that the position he forced himself to maintain was all but comfortable.
“Hm? And why is that? Does it perhaps have anything to do with why you asked to push our meeting to this morning, and why your face is on the first page of every people's magazines?”
“It is?!”
His exclamation was answered by the sound of paper hitting a surface, three different people’s magazines were sitting in front of him, and his blushing face was on the cover of each one.
Well… Harry should have been ready for that, of course every and any of his relationships were bound to be shown off to the world. But he had hoped that the twins being his best friend's brothers, and the fact that he stayed over at the Weasley during the vacation being public knowledge would have, maybe, made things look as if he were simply out with friends. And bollocks what if he had already destroyed what little of a reputation he had started to build for himself?
Draco would be so mad, wasting his time and energy for that? For Harry to lie to him, ask for accommodations only to go around and ruin all of his hard work.
“Of course it is. The first time the Saviour of the Wizarding World was seen out, doing something else than taking care of his godson or going to private ministerials events? It was bound to happen.” Draco made a pose, taking a sip of his tea, laying around under a heating spell, as always and reaching for the plate Harry had put on one of the rare empty spots on the blond’s desk. “Pancakes I see…They do look good.”
“Malfoy.”
“Hum? Oh sorry, as I was saying, it’s not a bad thing, no need to be worried about it. It's proof of your comeback for anyone who still doesn't believe it and it also sends a message. One of hope, one that because they are people like you, being themself in public, others might be able to.”
“But I thought being…, you know. I thought it was allowed here?”
“Dear Salazard, Potter, you can say homosexual or gay, you won’t combust. And to answer, yes it is legal, and rather accepted, as long as it doesn’t put an end to a pure-blooded family. However it is not the norm, and as such, people do tend to stay quiet about it.”
“Oh.”
“But that wasn’t the way I wanted to go. I don’t mind you being in a relationship with those Weasley, but I would prefer if you could keep the…proofs quieter, do you understand what i mean?”
“Um, no I don’t think so.”
A beat pass, and another one, Harry noticed that Draco seemed uncomfortable. The taller of the two seemed to be trying to pull together words he didn’t want to say, in a sentence he could bear to pronounce.
A frown appeared in between his brows, a sight left his lips before they got pursed into a thin line. For the first time since they had sat, he dropped his leg and pushed his torso toward Harry, taking support on the polished mahogany of hid=s desk and using two of his slender fingers to push back the collar of Harry’s shirt.
The skin barely even touched him but a shiver still ran through the entirety of Harry’s body, as soon as the collar had been pushed back, by barely a centimetres, the slender fingers let it go, and Draco went back to his initial position.
“Oh!”
“Yes. I see you get my point. I couldn’t care less about what those boys do to you in the privacy of your chambers and I assume that you don’t want anyone other than the three of you to be aware of it,unless voyeurism is an interest of yourselves.” Draco lifted up a perfect brow when only a cut-off whine answered him. “I would advise covering them up until they disappear and then, requesting that any of those…marks stay under the neck line.” Harry could simply nod, too embarrassed to say anything. “Good. So for today we will talk about how to politely defer questions, particularly when a journalist is asking them.”
- - - -