A Business Affair

Chapter eighteen: At the Ministry


"Pansy, are you listening to me?"

"Huh?" she said distractedly, looking as if coming back from a dream. "What? Oh yes, Blaise. I'm listening."

He gave her a calculating look for a second and she scowled at him. He rolled his eyes and continued with what he'd been saying.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?"

Pansy sighed and shrugged. "I really don't know, Blaise. It is Draco after all. He's bound to do whatever he wants without thinking of the consequences."

"Have you thought of the consequences?" Blaise asked after a moment of silence.

"Well," she said slowly. "There are two ways it could go. Either Draco succeeds and Potter is as stupid as we always suspected, or something goes wrong, the more likely of the two."

"Of course something is going to wrong," Blaise said plainly. "We're talking about Potter. He's about as predictable as the weather. Tons of things could go wrong."

"You haven't told Granger, have you?" Pansy said, suddenly suspicious.

"What? No!" Blaise exclaimed. "Like I would be that stupid. Hermione would kill me in a second and then she'd go after Draco."

"True," Pansy said thoughtfully.

Blaise nodded as though it was obvious. "She'll figure it out anyway. Potter is already getting sloppy and whatever they're doing has barely started. I don't understand how they're going to hide this."

"Draco will find a way," Pansy said plainly.

Blaise nodded and rolled his eyes. "He always gets what he wants."

"Too bad he hasn't figured it out yet."

Blaise sighed and nodded again. He glanced over at the clock situated over the mantle piece and got to his feet. Pansy followed him and also stood up.

"I'd better be going," Blaise said.

"Yeah," Pansy agreed, glancing at her watch. Blaise smirked at her as she looked up. "What?"

"Nothing," he said evasively, slipping on his coat. "It's just... Secret affairs are supposed to be secret."

Pansy scowled and began ushering him toward the door. Blaise gave her one last knowing grin as she shoved him out the door. He heard it slam shut behind him as he walked down the front steps.

He walked to the end of the lane before Apparating back to his house. He walked past the wilting flowers in the garden. A light frost still clung to their petals as they drooped toward the ground.

He entered through the front door and made his way through the house until he came to the living room. Hermione was there sitting on the couch with little Jamie on her lap. She was reading him a story but he had fallen asleep.

Hermione looked up when she heard Blaise come in. She picked up Jamie carefully and lay him down in his crib. She spread a blanket over him then turned to Blaise.

She greeted him with a loving kiss then went back to the couch. Blaise followed her and sat down beside her.

"How was lunch with Pansy?" Hermione asked while picking up the books scattered across the coffee table.

"It was... good," he replied, thinking back to all they had discussed.

"That's good," Hermione replied distractedly. She was busy thinking of what she would do about Harry. There was silence as they both fell into their own thoughts.

Hermione was the first to snap out of her trance. She looked around her, remembering where she was. She turned to Blaise who was still sitting in thoughtful silence.

"Do you--" Hermione cut herself off, not sure of how to say what she was thinking. Blaise looked at her suddenly as though he only just realized she was there.

"Do I what?" he asked.

Hermione paused, wondering how to best phrase it. "Do you think something is going on with Harry?" she asked. "He's been pretty quiet lately and then last weekend he ran off to the Caribbean. I just want to know what the matter is."

Blaise hesitated, knowing he couldn't tell her of Draco's plan. She would know soon enough anyway, whether he told her or not. In the end he decided it would be best not to tell her, at least not yet.

"I don't know," he said finally.

Hermione sighed in disappointment. "I didn't suppose you would. I was just wondering."

Blaise nodded, wondering if he should tell Draco that Hermione was becoming suspicious.

"What do you think?" he asked, deciding it best to see what she thought before he panicked.

"Well, last time I talked to Harry, he told me not to worry. He said nothing was wrong, but he was obviously lying. He's still having problems with Ginny and something seems to be happening with Draco as well, I'm just not sure what. No one will tell me anything. Ginny hasn't told me anything about their problems. I think she's afraid of admitting them to herself."

Blaise gaped at his wife but quickly stopped as she looked at him. She was the smartest person he had ever known.

"And those are all your guesses?" he asked incredulously. Hermione just shrugged.

"A few."

"A few?!"

"There are others but I don't want to say anything just yet."

What others? Blaise wondered to himself. Hermione didn't look as if she was about to divulge any more information so he didn't question her on it. He knew he had to get in touch with Draco soon. It was probably a good idea that he know about the present dangers.

"How is Draco doing by the way?" Hermione asked, bringing Blaise out of his thoughts.

"Draco?" Blaise repeated. "I think he's doing well."

"Well, that's good," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Has he talked about the Quidditch team much?"

"A little, but nothing too important," Blaise lied. Hermione nodded to herself again.

"I heard they got new Chasers. Do you know who they are?"

"Uh..." Blaise said, thinking. "One is Michael Corner, you remember him? And the other is a girl named Tara Whistner. I think Draco said she used to play for Norway."

"I remember Michael from school, but I've never heard of this Tara girl."

"Yeah, apparently she isn't very well known but a very good flier."

"That's good though. The team needs a little boost in self-confidence. Draco has just been draining them," Hermione said.

"Draining them? He really doesn't do anything besides supervise," Blaise said, defending Draco.

"I know," Hermione said in a calming voice. "It's just his presence puts a block on the team."

Blaise scoffed and rolled his eyes. Draco would laugh when he told him. Hermione smiled slightly and patted his knee.

"Draco is just kind of that way," Blaise said.

"Yeah," Hermione said, grinning. Blaise smiled too and gave her a quick kiss.

"I'm going to get something to eat. You want anything?" he asked, standing up. She shook her head and he left for the kitchen. She sighed and looked to Jamie still sleeping in his crib. She wondered if she should tell Blaise about her suspicions about Harry's orientation.

No, she thought. Not yet. I'm not even sure yet. I'll just wait a little while.

***

Harry waited as the golden grilles clanged up and down. He sighed impatiently and glanced at his watch for the millionth time in the past five minutes. They reached another floor and a few pink paper airplanes flew in and fluttered around his head.

Finally, they reached the floor he wanted. He pushed his way from the back of the elevator to get out. He received a dirty look from an elderly witch as he accidentally knocked off her hat as he struggled out. He picked it up and apologized then walked away, muttering to himself.

He walked through the maze of cubicles to the back where the window was positioned. Today the weather was a dreary grey outside. Harry figured the Magical Maintenance must not be in the greatest mood that day.

"Hey, Harry!" Someone called his name as he worked his way through the cubicles. He turned to his right and saw Seamus walking toward him. He smiled at him as he came closer.

"What are you doing here?" Seamus asked when he got closer.

"I'm having lunch with Ron actually," Harry told him. "Well, late lunch since practice got out an hour ago."

Seamus looked down at his watch and saw that it was already 1:00 PM.

"How is practice going these days?" Seamus asked. He thought he saw Harry scowl for half a second but thought he must have imagined it.

"It's good," Harry said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "The new Chasers are working out pretty well."

"Hey, that's great!" Seamus said, giving a real smile.

"Yeah," Harry said, as though thinking. Seamus looked at him closely for half a second before deciding it wasn't his business.

"Well, have fun at lunch. I'll probably be here when you get back," he said.

"Yeah," Harry said again. He bid goodbye to Seamus and continued on his way towards Ron's desk.

He came to a small cubicle in the back. It was bigger than when Mr. Weasley had worked there and there was also a window now. Only one desk occupied the space, giving it the appearance of being much larger.

"No, I don't have the papers for the biting watches!" Ron was saying to a rock on his desk. Harry stood in the doorway and raised an eyebrow, quite amused. "Go ask Jeremy. He hides everything," Ron muttered more to himself than the rock.

He looked up and saw Harry in the door with his amused grin. He waved him in and turned to the rock once more.

"Hey, listen, I have to go. Find Jeremy, he probably has it." Ron sighed and Harry heard a click. Harry raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Talking to a rock? Now I know you need company, Ron, but a rock is just not the way to go about it."

Ron rolled his eyes and grinned at Harry. "It's not just a rock. It's bewitched to be a microphone too," he said.

Harry grinned again. "I was just messing with you. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, hold on," Ron said, standing up and clearing some of the papers away from the desk.

He shoved them into a drawer and folded up one little pink memo. It shot out of his hand and down the hall. Ron then turned to Harry.

"Okay, let's go."

They took the elevator back to the main floor then walked out into the busy London street. They looked around, wondering where they ought to go. Eventually, Ron suggested the small cafe on the corner and they took off.

They were seated inside the cafe rather than outside. The weather was even colder now. Winter had definitely arrived. They ordered from their waitress and settled down in the warm cafe.

"So Ron," Harry said. "How is everything going?"

"I guess you could say life is good at the moment," Ron said in a satisfied voice.

"How is that?" Harry asked. Ron hesitated for a moment before replying.

"Just, things are good, all around, you know?"

"Not really," Harry said with a grin. Ron looked nervous all of a sudden and his eyes darted all over the place.

"You know, just it's all good," Ron said.

"Right," Harry said slowly. Ron smiled, relieved and didn't continue the conversation.

"How's Quidditch?" Ron asked. "Malfoy still being an ass?"

"Ass..." Harry said quietly. "What? Oh, yeah, he's quite a nuisance."

Ron nodded, not noticing Harry's momentary lapse. Their food arrived and Ron immediately dug in. Harry picked slowly at his food, pushing it around his plate. He ate some of it but wasn't particularly hungry.

They finished their lunch fairly quickly. Soon they were walking slowly back to the Ministry. They kept up a light conversation, not going too deep into any subject. Ron asked about Ginny and Harry simply told him that things were going okay.

They took the visitors entrance back to the main floor. There, Harry was accosted by the new Minister of Magic.

"Harry!" he cried jovially, shaking his hand as he always did. Harry allowed himself to be dragged away from Ron in the hands of the Minister. He waved goodbye to Ron as the Minister dragged him through a few halls to his office, talking cheerfully the entire time.

Harry went along with him, knowing that the fastest way to get away was to go with him.

"So Harry, how is your Quidditch team doing this season? Pity you didn't quite make it to the finals. I guess that's what happens when you get new Chasers in the middle of the year."

Harry nodded along vaguely as he talked, not really listening. He was too busy thinking up plausible excuses that would get him out of the office.

He was saved the trouble as his secretary stuck her head in the door.

"Sir, we've got a problem with the Goblins down in Hartfordshire," she said in her monotonous voice. The Minister looked a little flustered at being interrupted in his ramblings on Harry's Quidditch team.

"Very well, very well," he said, sounding a little disappointed. "Sorry to cut this short, Harry, but I must tend to these Goblins. You know them, always sticking their noses where they don't belong..."

The Minister went on as he walked out the door ahead of Harry. As Harry walked out the door, he saw the secretary wink at him. He made a mental note to send her some flowers.

The Minister left him by the Fountain of Magical Brethren mumbling something about Goblins interrupting important moments. Harry was about to leave when a familiar drawling voice reached him over the noise of the fountain.

"Why Potter, what are you doing here?" Draco asked, coming out up to Harry from a door in the side of the room. Harry sighed before turning to face Draco.

"I just had lunch with Ron if you really need to know," Harry said. Draco smirked at him.

"Now, there's no need to use that tone," Draco said, still smirking. "I'm not your boss here."

Harry's eyes narrowed as he looked at him. "No, you're not, so go away."

"Potter, you do know that if you want to cheat on your wife, turning away your only chance is not your best idea?" Draco asked slyly.

"Don't remind me," Harry muttered to himself, his mind turning back to a few days ago when Ginny had not even known why he was mad.

"Come with me, Potter," Draco said, turning around and walking away. Harry hesitated for half a second before following him.

Draco walked around the edge of the room and down a hallway. He turned to the right and went through a doorway. Inside was a gleaming bathroom. Harry looked around, a little confused.

"Malfoy," Harry said. "This is a bathroom."

"Correct. My, Potter, your intelligence astounds me," he said sarcastically.

Harry scowled at him and rolled his eyes. "What are we doing here, Malfoy?" he asked.

Draco smirked and moved closer to Harry, backing him up into a sink. "Well, I thought that was obvious," he drawled, placing his hands on either side of Harry on the sink ledges.

"Malfoy," Harry said, his eyes wide as Draco moved in to kiss his neck. "W-We're in a public bathroom! In the Ministry!"

Draco continued to kiss Harry's neck, his tongue sliding over Harry's soft skin. He nipped at the exposed flesh slightly, moving up to nibble on Harry's earlobe.

"That's the beauty of it," he whispered, his hot breath flowing over Harry's ear, causing him to shiver. Draco kissed Harry's ear.

"B-but..." Harry said, trying to find a logical reason but his brain didn't seem to be working. Draco kissed his cheek then the side of his mouth. He nibbled Harry's lower lip as Harry tried to think of a reason to stop this.

"Ma--" Harry started but didn't finish as his mouth was covered with Draco's. Draco's tongue slithered into Harry's open mouth, tasting the raven-haired man. Harry moaned slightly when Draco nipped at his lower lip.

Their tongues met in a fiery dance in the hot caverns of Harry's mouth. Draco moved closer and Harry was pushed back harder against the sink. Harry made a slight noise of discomfort as the sink dug into his back.

He was awfully hard by now, as was Draco. He could feel his hard cock pressing into his own. Harry pushed his body up into Draco's. Draco gasped when he felt Harry's own throbbing erection hit his own.

Harry reached up and shoved his hand under Draco's button down shirt. Draco moaned as Harry's calloused hand skimmed over his perfect skin. His own hands moved to the zipper on Harry's jeans but Harry pushed him away, panting.

"Malfoy," he panted, trying to catch his breath. "We can't do it here; there are people, just out there." He gestured with his hand towards the door. Draco rolled his eyes and grabbed Harry. He shoved him into one of the stalls before attacking him with his mouth.

Harry stood against the wall, breath coming in ragged gasps as Draco ripped off his shirt. He kissed his way down his toned body, tongue swirling skillfully over Harry's well-toned body. He reached the zipper on Harry's pants once again and didn't hesitate to pull it down.

Harry didn't say anything this time. His eyes were shut and his breath hitched as Draco blew air over his already throbbing member.

"Malfoy, please," Harry begged. "Come on, just do it."

Draco smirked up at him before taking him in his mouth. His tongue swirled around the head of Harry's cock and Harry cried out in pleasure. His hands were in Draco's soft hair, tugging on it as he was brought closer and closer to completion.

"Oh god," he gasped. Draco moved deliberately, building Harry up to a blinding climax. Harry's breathing was becoming shallower and shallower as he was sent over the edge.

Tiny white stars danced in his vision as he came forcefully in Draco's mouth. Draco cleaned him up with his tongue before moving back up his body. He kissed Harry lazily while playing with his hair.

Harry noticed that Draco hadn't been fulfilled and moved to fix that, but Draco moved away from him.

"You can thank me another time, Potter," Draco said, smirking. He gave Harry one last quick kiss before leaving the room. Harry sighed and slowly pulled on his clothes. He still didn't quite understand why he was doing all this, but he was and there was really no way to stop it now.

He sighed again as he zipped up his jeans. He opened up the door of the stall to go wash his hands, but he saw as he came out, leaning casually against the sink, a sandy haired man, smirking at him.

Harry stopped dead as he came face to face with Seamus.

"Are you sure there isn't anything you want to tell me?" Seamus asked him and Harry knew he was caught.


~~**~~

A/N: Tada! It's now officially winter break. So happy Monday, please review and I'll see you on Christmas!