A Business Affair

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Chapter Fourteen: Breaking Down


Draco appeared just outside the door to the locker rooms, smirking to himself. Harry was falling for his plan perfectly. He was about to walk away when he heard a strange sound coming from inside the locker rooms.

He turned around instinctively and stuck his head back in the door. He cast his glance around and it landed on Harry, who was sitting on the floor against the wall with his knees pulled up to his chest. His shoulders were shaking and sniffing could be heard coming from him.

Draco went cautiously inside, wary of the situation. Harry didn't seem to have noticed his return. His face was pressed against his knees as he hugged them to himself.

"Potter?" Draco asked carefully, moving closer slowly.

Harry's breath caught when he heard the voice and he hastily wiped away a tear and turned farther towards the wall. "Go away, Malfoy," he said harshly, not looking at him.

Draco didn't heed his words but continued to look at him through suspicious silver eyes. "What's wrong with you?" he asked disdainfully.

"Just leave me the fuck alone!" Harry yelled, his voice breaking. He sniffed again and didn't look at Draco.

Draco was still regarding him as if he was a particularly unsavory bug that he had no desire to go nearer and yet his curiosity pulled him onward. "Potter, what the hell is going on?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?!" Harry exploded. He stood up quickly, so quickly that Draco actually took a step back. "Of course you would like to know. More things to make fun about me, isn't that right, Malfoy?! 'Let's make fun of the great Harry Potter! It's not like he has any problems in his life! Oh no, his life is bloody perfect! Everybody wants to be him!'"

Harry paused, panting slightly at his outburst. His eyes were red from his previous tears. He was glaring at Draco with an immense amount of hate. Draco's expression was shrewd and calculating as he surveyed Harry. He thought for a second that Harry might charge him, but to his surprise, he choked back a sob and slid back to the ground, once more crying into his knees.

"Potter, you can't do this," Draco said plainly.

"Why the fuck are you still here?" Harry asked into his knees, muffling the sound.

Draco moved closer, cautiously. The sight of Harry crying on the floor intrigued him and also gave him an odd sensation in the pit of his stomach. He didn't know what it was, but it felt strange. He stood over Harry's silently shaking form, staring down at him.

He carefully got down on his knees then sat down next to Harry. He could hear him sniffing and the occasional whimper. He didn't understand what was going on.

"Potter," he said firmly and Harry looked up at him. Draco was taken aback when he was met with Harry's brilliant green eyes, staring him straight in the face. His eyes were shining with unshed tears.

He looked so vulnerable in that moment. He didn't look angry, only sad. He blinked and a single tear ran down his cheek.

Without thinking, Draco lifted his hand and wiped it away with his thumb. Harry's eyes swept over Draco's face and widened as Draco's hand caressed his cheek, pulling him forward in to a soft kiss.

His eyes drifted shut as Draco deepened the kiss. He nibbled Harry's lower lip, drawing a low moan from the raven-haired man. Draco raised a hand and slid it onto Harry's side. This seemed to bring Harry back to his senses. He pushed Draco off and scooted away hastily.

"No, fuck," he cursed under his breath. Draco watched him go, a little confused. Harry looked up at Draco and his expression hardened. "Fuck, Malfoy! What are you trying to do?! You're the reason for all of this anyway!"

He pushed himself off the floor and stormed from the room, wiping away another tear that threatened to fall. Draco stared after his retreating back, a scowl blossoming on his face.

He stood up and brushed the non-existent dirt off of himself. He huffed at Harry's reaction before disappearing in a pop.

***

"He's so infuriating!"

Pansy sighed as she watched Draco pacing around her living room, ranting about Potter. She sat on the couch with her hands folded calmly in her lap as he circled in front of her.

"He blames me for his problems!" Draco exclaimed, turning to Pansy. "He said his problems were my fault!"

"Well..." Pansy said doubtfully and Draco turned to her, his eyes icily cold.

"No," he said dangerously. "I did not cause his marriage problems. He cannot blame me for that! I only... helped them along," he added with a smirk.

Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed, exasperated. She crossed her legs and continued to watch him pace in front of the fireplace. "Isn't this what you wanted?" she asked him facetiously.

He stopped and turned to her, a shrewd expression on his face. "Yes," he replied as though it was obvious.

"Then why are you so upset?" she asked, confused.

"Because I was only trying to find out what was wrong and he exploded. I didn't do anything to deserve that!"

"Yes, you did," Pansy said.

"Okay, so I did," Draco said, grinning. "But that doesn't mean he should take out his anger on me!"

"Draco, why do you care what's wrong with him anyway?"

"I don't."

"So then it doesn't matter," she said simply.

Draco raised his eyebrows at her and gave her a disbelieving look. "Fine, it doesn't matter," he agreed. "This just means I am on my way to achieving my goal."

"Right," Pansy said confidently.

Draco nodded and sat down on the couch beside her. He sighed in a satisfied way and turned to her. "So Pansy," he asked casually, "how are things going with your secret?"

She gave him a dirty look and looked away. "Fine," she said loftily and Draco raised a slender eyebrow.

"Fine?" Draco repeated. "I didn't hear any scrambling when I came. What happened--he not want to be a dirty little secret anymore?"

Pansy turned and glared at Draco. Draco just gave her a challenging look. She scowled at him. "That is none of your business. Besides, we were talking about you," she said, annoyed.

"I don't want to talk about me," Draco said grudgingly.

"Well, that's a first," Pansy muttered, and Draco glared at her.

"Shut up," he growled.

"Aw, Draky," she said and Draco scowled at the nickname. "You can't displace your problems so easily, you know."

"I'm not displacing them, I just don't want to talk about them."

"You're going to have to eventually."

"Shut up, Pansy."

***

Harry took a calming breath as he stood in the hallway, staring at his door. It looked so innocent, as if a monster did not dwell behind it. He had calmed down considerably from the locker rooms.

The only thing was that he couldn't get Draco's actions out of his head. It had almost seemed as if he had cared for a moment there. Harry had quickly dismissed that thought from his head, going back to hating him in peace.

Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was a little frightened of what he would find when he entered. He had been out all night, even he didn't know where, and last he had left, Ginny had been in a foul mood.

Perhaps she would be calmer now. Harry almost laughed at that idea. He still couldn't believe what Ron had told him. He had denied it to himself for several hours the previous night as he had drunk himself into oblivion.

As he had been crying in the locker room earlier, he had come to the conclusion that Ron had probably been telling the truth after all. He didn't know how he would handle it when he saw Ginny. Would he let it slip that he knew or keep it to himself?

Harry honestly didn't know how he would react upon seeing her. He guessed it all depended on how she was acting towards him. Every time he thought about her cheating on him, he got an empty sensation in the pit of his stomach.

He almost felt sick when he thought about it. He just couldn't believe she would do something like that to him. He thought she had loved him! He had never done anything to give her any suspicions that he didn't love her.

Hell, they had broken up and gotten back together after the war. If that wasn't love, what was? Harry sighed and shook his head. He steeled himself and unlocked the door.

He pushed the door open slowly, sticking his head in and peering around cautiously. His eyes took in the entire room before landing on the couch. Ginny was sitting with her back to him, watching the flicker flames in the fireplace.

He entered into the room fully, shutting the door quietly behind him. At the door click, Ginny turned around quickly. She jumped up from the couch and ran around to Harry. She hugged him tightly while he tried to figure out what was going on.

He stood there awkwardly as she embraced him. He didn't put his arms around her but stood in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do. Finally, she stepped back from him. He could see that her eyes were full of tears which confused him even further.

"Harry," she gasped, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "You're okay."

"Uh...yeah," Harry agreed slowly.

"I'm so sorry," she said, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

Harry didn't say anything in response. He walked over to the couch and sat down on it. He propped up his feet on the coffee table.

Ginny followed him, ignoring his feet. She looked at him imploringly. "Harry, I-I didn't mean to. You know that, right?" she asked desperately.

Harry was silent for a few moments, thinking over everything. She seemed genuinely worried about him. "Yeah," he said finally, not looking at her. He heard her sigh of relief and scowled to himself.

"Are you okay?" she asked, putting her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her hand, her left hand with the sparkling wedding ring on it. He almost didn't want her to touch him.

"I'm fine," he said shortly. She seemed taken aback and removed her hand. Harry breathed a small sigh of relief as the hand was removed. He couldn't stand the fact that she dared touch him after what she had done to him.

How could she pretend so well that nothing was wrong?! He had never suspected anything of her having an affair. It had never even crossed into his mind. He hated how she could lie so easily to him. Didn't he deserve the truth?!

"A-are you sure? I was worried about you," she said in a small voice.

Harry nearly laughed at that. Right, worried, he thought maliciously.

"I'm fine," he repeated firmly.

She nodded quickly. "Okay," she said.

Harry sat back on the couch and sighed. Ginny didn't say anything more. She was watching him apprehensively. He didn't look her way. He wasn't sure what he would do if he did.

He was still incredibly angry at her reaction. He couldn't believe she had lied to him for so long and was still doing it! They sat in silence as all these thoughts ran through Harry's head.

He watched out the window as the sun sunk behind the tall buildings surrounding the apartment. The sky was a dusky pink color, casting shadows into the living room. None of the lights were on except for one in the kitchen.

The room went from pink to orange to a dusky blueish color that soaked into the entire room. Harry watched as the last rays of light sunk beneath the buildings and the entire room was cast into shadow.

Eventually, he heard Ginny rise from the couch and move around back of him. He heard a light being clicked on and a yellow glow filled a corner of the room. He heard her go into the kitchen and begin to make something.

About half an hour later, she came out and stood in the doorway to the kitchen. She looked at Harry, who was still sitting on the couch in the same position she had left him in.

"I made dinner," she said quietly. Harry didn't say anything but rose from the couch nonetheless and went into the kitchen. He sat down at the counter and took the proffered food.

Ginny watched him eat in silence. She herself didn't eat anything. He ate a few bites then set down his fork, not hungry. "Harry," Ginny said again, desperately. "I'm sorry. Please, Ha--"

"Don't," he said, holding up a hand to stop her. "Just don't."

He got up from the stool then and retreated from her into the bedroom. He felt so unclean from it all; the drinking, his 'experience' with Draco, Ginny's betrayal. He decided that he desperately needed a shower.

He stripped off his clothes and stood under the warm stream, allowing the water to wash away all his cares for the moment. He closed his eyes and sighed, wishing everything would go back to normal.

Why can't I just fix it? he asked himelf sadly. He sighed and turned off the water. He stepped out, dried off, and changed into some pajama pants and a tee shirt.

He slipped into bed, not really caring what Ginny was doing. He lay there for a while, not sleeping. He was unable to sleep from the millions of thoughts that kept circling through his head. He groaned and rolled over, burying his face in a pillow.

He heard the door open and close softly. Ginny had come in. She must have assumed he was sleeping because she was being very quiet. He heard her change into her dressing gown and slip in beside him.

He turned onto his side, staring at the clock on the bedside table. It read 1:30 AM. Harry sighed quietly to himself, wishing he could fall asleep.

He couldn't though. Thoughts of Draco kept swirling through his mind. He saw him sneering at him in school, smirking at him during Quidditch practices, staring at him hungrily in the showers.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows as a sudden thought came into his head. He listened to Ginny breathe as he went over this new idea.

That could work... he thought slowly. Do I really want to though? Am I that desperate?

Maybe the question is, are you that malicious? spoke up his inner voice. Harry bit his lip, thinking hard. He rolled over slightly to look at Ginny.

She was already asleep, her mouth open slightly as she snoozed on her pillow. Harry paused, taking in her sleeping form. He turned back over on his side away from her.

God, I hope not.

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A/N: Please review!