Save Me

Draco Malfoy stared out into the whirling crowd on the dance floor. He was attending another muggle event for the rich and powerful, held simply to demonstrate said wealth and power. He couldn't even recall which charity would benefit from this particular farce, but he did know the host of this soiree.

Alderic Chevalier, owner of one of the few companies that rivaled Draco's own in success. It didn't take long for find him out on the dance floor with a man who, judging by the closeness of their waltz, must be his partner. Draco quickly masked his surprise at this realization. This was a first. He had long heard Chevalier speak of the man waiting for him at home, but few to none had actually met the man. There were whispers that he was an imaginary creation Chevalier concocted to avoid hopeful suitors, not that Draco could blame him. Draco's own well-known bachelor status was frequently problematic; with people throwing themselves, their family members, or both at him. But this... this deserved further investigation.

When the song ended, he watched as the couple left the dance floor to socialize and decided to sate his curiosity by making an introduction. He had only seen the mystery man from behind at this point. He seemed slight in build (at least compared to the Frenchman) and his black, just-been-shagged hair was, though very stylish, highly inappropriate for the glamor of the event. Perhaps that was why Chevalier left him at home, Draco mused. The complete disregard for decorum in his appearance would be embarrassing is such a crowd as this.

Draco slowed his approach to be sure that he would catch the couple just as the people that were currently conversing with departed. The dark haired man finally turned a bit and Draco could see his profile. It was oddly familiar. It wasn't until the man turned completely upon Draco's greeting that it hit him. Potter. The glasses were gone, but he wouldn't mistake those widening green eyes anywhere.

No one had seen or heard from Harry Potter in years. According to Granger and Weasly, the Savior had met the man of his dreams soon after the war ended, but wouldn't tell them who it was. Slowly but surly, contact came to a halt three years ago without any explanation as to why. It was like the man had fallen off the planet. And yet, here he was! Safe and sound in the muggle world, where Draco himself had sought refuge.

"Malfoy!" Chevalier greeted, "How good of you to join us." This gave Draco the distraction he needed to regain his composure while meeting the Frenchman's hand with his own and returning the customary air kisses.

Potter seemed to have recovered as well, feigning mild curiosity, but there was something in his eyes that Draco couldn't quite place. If Draco hadn't payed such close attention to Potter in school, he might never have noticed.

"Who is this, my love?" Potter asked, turning to Chevalier. Potter was pretending not to know him? Draco found this strange, but was willing to play along.

"Yes, Chevalier, " Draco said, taking Potter's hand and gently placing a kiss on his knuckle, a mischievous glint in his eyes when they met Potter's. "Who is this charming creature?"

Panic. Now Potter was panicking. Why?

"This is my James. James Black, meet Draco Malfoy of MD Corp."

But Draco payed very little attention to Chevalier as Harry, for it must be Potter, turned his hand sideways to make Draco's original gesture into a handshake. A moment later, Draco felt Potter's index finger slide across the inside of his wrist with a tingle of magic.

"If you'll excuse us, Malfoy, my James and I must get some air." Chevalier said in a smooth tone and a smile that didn't meet his eyes.

"Of course," Draco replied, moving aside to let the couple depart. The Frenchman was holding Potter by the elbow tightly and apparently guiding him along.He watched the men step onto the balcony before looking at his wrist.

It said, "save me."