Draco was suddenly startled out of his thoughts when he noticed Potter had curled an arm around Henry’s hip. It was a very possessive gesture, one that said ‘He’s mine, back off’. Only, Draco couldn’t have cared less about Henry.
“Oh, how lovely,” he said with a fake smile while his insides started to boil. Potter was dating someone? He was dating someone? And he was parading him in front of Draco like a show dog. Seriously? Seriously?
They all flinched when several balloons around the room suddenly burst. Henry looked this way and that, while Potter’s gaze flickered to Draco for a fraction of a second. Damn it, he needed to control his magic around Potter. And from the looks of it, the stupid prat knew exactly what was going on. Or he seemed to have his suspicions at least.
“Hey, Harry, Henry, could you guys come over here for a sec?” Granger called from the living room.
“Excuse us,” Potter said with a hint of a smile. He kept his arm around Henry as they walked out of the kitchen.
Excuse us? Yes, it was very clear they were an ‘us’; still, it hurt hearing that come out of Potter’s mouth.
“Oh, hey, there you are, I was wondering—Are you okay?”
Draco blinked at Luna without really seeing her.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” he said automatically.
“You look—” She pursed her lips, her gaze intensifying. “Is this because of Henry and Harry?”
Draco’s vision blurred at the mention of their names. Henry and Harry. It sounded like a joke without a punchline.
“It is, isn’t it? I’m sorry, Draco.”
“Did you know Harry was dating someone?”
“No, I had no idea. Honestly, I thought you and—”
“Don’t,” Draco interrupted her. “Don’t say it.”
“Draco.” Without warning, she wrapped her arms around his midriff and put her head on his chest. “I’m so sorry.” Her curls tickled his chin as she spoke. As much as he tried to control his body, he couldn’t keep it from trembling. Luna seemed to notice and pressed herself more firmly against him. It felt strange and unfamiliar, being hugged like this. But Draco couldn’t deny the soothing effect it had on him. He had no idea what Luna saw in him, what made her trust him enough to call him her friend and comfort him. Yes, they had grown closer while working together at the school, but still…Draco couldn’t wrap his head around the idea of Luna considering him a friend.
As the seconds ticked by, the inexplicable urge to just let himself feel all the awful emotions he had been bottling up for weeks was growing stronger. Unable to fight it any longer, he put his arms around Luna in return and buried his face in her hair. It smelled nice. Like pineapples.
“Oh, err, sorry.”
Draco looked up, feeling a rush of adrenaline shoot through him as he stared into confused green eyes.
“I didn’t know you guys were—”
Draco felt Luna shift in his arms, before she slowly let go of him.
“You know, Harry, I think you should talk to Draco. You’re upsetting him.”
“I’m upsetting him?” Potter blurted, but Luna didn’t bat an eyelash as she walked past him. “What the fuck?”
“Just forget it, Potter,” Draco drawled, intent on following Luna.
Potter stopped him with a hand on his chest.
“Don’t touch me,” Draco growled and slapped his hand away.
“Fuck you, Draco,” Potter glowered. “Fuck you!”
“How eloquent,” Draco said, rolling his eyes.
“No, you don’t get to be condescending, you lying bastard!”
“Excuse me?”
“You lied to me! You didn’t tell me you were engaged! But, apparently, that doesn’t really matter, since you seem to be getting it on with—”
“WHAT?”
“Does your fiancée know you’re walking around, flirting with people left and right?”
Draco felt the sudden urge to punch him. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, Potter.”
“No?” he said, his tone challenging.
“I don’t owe you any sort of explanation,” Draco snarled, leaning closer to him. “Besides, I’m not the one with the new lap dog.”
“That’s fucking rich coming from you!”
“What?”
“You’re the one with the secret fiancée!” Potter yelled. “Also, you can’t just come in here, to my best mate’s home, and act like…like this!”
“Like what?”
“LIKE YOU CARE!”
Draco stared at him, completely taken aback.
“You’re apologising to people, you’re being decent,” he huffed, “and you’re volunteering at a freaking infant school.”
“So?”
“So? You’re not supposed to be—” He rubbed at his chin, drawing Draco’s attention to it. He immediately wondered if Potter’s beard felt as soft as it looked. Merlin, how he longed to touch it.
“It’s not an act, if that’s what you’re—”
“Whatever it is, you need to stop. Now!”
“Why?”
Potter glowered at him. “You’re engaged,” he said, as if that explained everything.
“Why do you even care?” Draco said through gritted teeth, his heart hammering in his chest.
