Trophy

Author’s Note: Did you miss me? So, I have the rest of this story mapped out and mostly written, but I still have some minor tweaking to do. Chapter 21 will be the last chapter unless something odd occurs to me and I need to add something in, but I doubt that will happen. Still, you never know with these two. Thanks to Angel for beta-reading!

Chapter 18 Dirty Rotten Scoundrel

“I need your help.”

Ron looked up from his paperwork, his face riddled with shock and confusion. “Name it, Harry,” he replied without hesitation. Things had been tense between them all week and he hadn’t expected to see his friend emerge from his office, but he was glad to see him, grateful the man was speaking to him again, even if it was to ask him for a favor.

“About the file thing,” Harry began, staring down at his shoes, “You shouldn’t have kept it a secret, but I shouldn’t have been keeping secrets either. I just couldn’t face your disappointment when you found out what I’d been up to. Will you and Hermione forgive me for what I’ve done?”

Ron balked, his voice showing how confused he was by Harry’s self-admonishment. “First of all, Hermione doesn’t know a thing about it. Second, what’s there to forgive? We’re best mates, Harry. We can get through anything.”

Harry frowned, fine creases forming at the edges of his eyes as he studied his friend. “You weren’t put off by…what you found?”

Ron sighed and leaned back a bit in his office chair. “I guess I should have been, but Harry, I know you. I know that you only did those things because you were traumatized by the war.”

Harry shook his head in adamant denial. “No, Ron. I can’t stop. I almost ran right into Draco’s bed when I found out what you’d done. I can’t seem to get this urge to go away. I thought I could stop for Xander, but I couldn’t. I’m a terrible person, Ron. I’m a lousy cheat who doesn’t deserve to be happy,” he sighed, sagging into the doorway supports.

“You need to stop beating yourself up, Harry. So, you enjoy sex…a lot. There are worse things, you know? And maybe the lecherous Draco Malfoy is just the one for you,” he teased, laughing as Harry rolled his eyes.

“That’s what I need your help with,” he mentioned. “I need to know that I can trust him to be monogamous. I’m really starting to fall for him, and it would only be right for me to get hurt the same way I hurt Xander, but I just can’t take it. I need to know if Draco’s being honest or if he’s just up to his old games.”

“And you want my help with that how? It’s not like he’d be honest with me,” Ron pointed out.

“No, but I was hoping you might help me test his word,” Harry replied. “I was hoping you might ask him out tonight, then I can see if he’s serious about me or not.”

“You want me to, what…seduce Malfoy?” Ron asked, his mouth gaping wide in horror.

Harry laughed so hard at the thought of Ron hitting on Draco that it took his several minutes before he could properly answer his friend. “No, Merlin no,” he choked out between chuckles. “I don’t think you’d be terribly successful at that.”

“Hey,” Ron protested with a pout, “I’m hot enough for Malfoy.”

This brought on another wave of laughter before Ron’s offended look quelled most of his amusement. “You’re plenty hot, Ron, but he knows you’re with Mione…and decidedly not gay at that…and I don’t think he likes redheads.”

Ron gave a bit of a ‘humph’ noise at that last part and nodded for Harry to continue. “So, then what am I supposed to do?”

“Just get him to a bar under the pretenses of having him get to know my friends better and then feign illness and leave. I’ll have someone else do the seducing,” Harry informed his friend.

“Who?” Ron asked, wondering which of their mates would be okay with that arrangement.

“An old acquaintance of mine,” Harry replied vaguely. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen him, but he popped up again recently.”

“Are you planning to introduce him to us?” Ron asked, the look on his face clearly proclaiming that he didn’t know what he wanted his friend’s answer to be.

“I hope not,” Harry replied vaguely. “So, will you do it?”

“Sure. Just make sure this other bloke knows to stay away until after I leave. I doubt Malfoy’s stupid enough to latch onto another guy if I’m there,” Ron pointed out wisely.

“There shouldn’t be any issues with that,” he remarked before moving to leave the office. “And Ron,” he said, pausing in the doorway, “thanks.”

“Whatever you need, Harry,” Ron replied with a genuine smile. “Hey!” Ron called after him. “How will you know what Malfoy does? Can you trust this other bloke?””

“No, I can’t trust him at all, but I’ll be watching,” Harry replied.

Harry left the redhead’s office with a smile on his face. He hadn’t known how the encounter was going to go, but after thinking about it all week long, Harry couldn’t reasonably stay mad at his friend. Going through his private things was the wrong way to go about finding out Harry’s secret, but at least his heart had been in the right place. Plus, it didn’t seem to matter what the man did, Harry always forgave him in the end. Ron was his oldest friend after all.

As for Malfoy, he’d been avoiding the blond since the fundraiser. He still didn’t have an answer for him and he knew Draco would run out of patience soon. This was his final test, the thing that would answer his last question as to whether or not he could put his heart on the line for Draco Malfoy. He hoped the blond passed the test.

--------------------------------------------------

“You want to what?” Draco asked incredulously.

“I want to take you out to out for drinks,” Ron replied, giving an exasperated sigh.

“Things a bit rocky between you and Granger? Fancy a bit of cock in your life would spice things up?” Draco asked, his expression somewhere between a leer and a smirk. Ron nearly socked the git, but Harry had asked him to do this and it was the least he could do after prying into the man’s life. “If you ask me to join you in a threesome, the answer is no, Weasel. I don’t do gingers.”

Ron rolled his eyes and stormed for the door of Malfoy Manor. He’d done what he could using the nice method. “Fine. I’ll just let Harry know that you’re not interested in getting to know his friends,” he goaded.

“Wait,” Draco called after the redhead. “Harry put you up to this?”

“He mentioned today at lunch how nice it would be if his friends could get along with his boyfriend, so I thought I’d make the leap and invite you out for drinks. I’ll just tell Harry that you’re not inclined,” Ron huffed.

“He called me his boyfriend?” Draco asked, his ears perking up and his attention focusing solely on that tidbit of information.

“Yes,” Ron sighed, rolling his eyes. “As much as it pains me, he really seems to like you.”

“How about Broomstick?” Draco asked, a smirk forming on his face as he suggested the notoriously gay nightclub that recently opened in Diagon Alley. If Draco was going to do this, he was going to make it as painful for Ron as possible.

Ron merely shrugged. He hadn’t thought of where they could go and going to that bar would certainly seem less suspicious to Hermione, so it was fine by him. He didn’t understand men who were attracted to other men, but he didn’t begrudge them anything. Harry had certainly been to enough straight bars with him over the years, one gay bar wouldn’t hurt him.

“Meet you there at nine?” Ron asked, raising his eyebrow in challenge.

“It’s a date,” Draco replied with a sneer.

Ron rolled his eyes and escaped Malfoy Manor as fast as he could to send Harry the location of their meeting as he’d arranged he would do with his friend earlier that day. He got ready that night after receiving an owl from Harry saying ‘Perfect’, so he assumed all was in place. When he arrived at the club, Ron started acting a bit ill the moment he spotted Malfoy to make his exit that much plausible in the end.

The blond was planted on a stool at the bar, which took up a narrow portion of one side of the club. There was a line of booths that separated the bar from the dance floor, and at nine, it was still pretty empty. “Malfoy,” Ron shouted over the thumping music. “I might have to duck out early. I’m not feeling so well.”

“How convenient,” Draco replied snidely, but Ron didn’t care. He was here for Harry, not to keep the Slytherin company all night.

“Let me buy you a drink,” Ron said, gesturing to his empty glass. “What are you having?”

“Elderberry cocktail,” he replied, tapping the glass with his fingernail. They sat in relative silence as they waited for the bartender to take their orders. Ron just got a Butterbeer and Draco looked at him skeptically. “So, how is Harry? I haven’t been able to get a hold of him lately.”

“He’s a little swamped at work and a little pissed at me for snooping into his Ministry file,” Ron admitted. He didn’t suppose there was any harm in Draco knowing that since Harry would probably tell him anyway.

“Why Weaselbee, I had no idea you had a bit of sneaky Slytherin in you,” Draco admired.

“I don’t,” Ron scoffed. “I was merely motivated by Gryffindor concern for my friend,” he countered.

“If you say so,” Draco mused. “Is that why you’re here tonight, trying to make nice with the boss?”

“He’s my friend,” Ron pointed out. “And yes, I probably wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t in hot water with Harry.”

“Good to know every Gryffindor isn’t entirely altruistic,” Draco muttered. “So, will Harry be joining us?”

“No,” Ron replied. “He’s busy tonight.”

Draco narrowed his eyes, his gut filling up with the twisted tendrils of jealousy. “A date?”

Ron laughed and shook his head. “Hardly. He’s dating you, remember?”

“He hasn’t informed me of as much,” Draco replied. “He’s keeping me at a distance.”

“Shouldn’t he?” Ron balked. “You’re just a scandal waiting to happen.”

Chuckling darkly, Draco nodded. “I suppose.”

“So, are you serious about him?” Ron asked, wanting his own questions answered while he was out getting Harry’s.

“As serious as I’ve ever been about anyone,” Draco offered vaguely.

“That’s not really saying much,” Ron noted.

“I suppose we’ll see,” Draco replied with an elegant shrug. “Are you planning to give me a bad review if I don’t profess my undying devotion to him?”

“You never know,” Ron replied. “Ultimately Harry’s in charge of what he does with his life. I’m just here to make sure he gets hurt as little as possible.”

“How valiant of you,” Draco sneered.

“You wouldn’t know much about self-sacrifice would you, Malfoy?” Ron huffed.

“Not until recently,” Draco admitted.

The silence loomed between them again as each seemed to be thinking deeply. Ron was wondering what lay beneath Malfoy’s icy façade, what warmth had managed to capture Harry’s attention and Draco was wondering about his life, his decisions and his future. Did Harry want him, and if so, what did that mean? He seemed on track to winning his trophy, but his heart ached whenever he thought of opening the door to that room again. Still, could he really let one man, Potter at that, wreck his entire life? He liked his life, didn’t he? The wild nights, the scheming, the chase – all those things turned him on, would he still even like Potter once that was over?

“Hey, Lover,” a voice sounded from beside him and Draco looked over to glimpse a good looking man sidle between him and the stool next to him. “Care for a dance?”

“Sod off,” he replied, turning his attention back to his drink.

“Come on, just one dance,” the man coaxed.

“Sod. Off,” Draco repeated without looking up.

“You don’t have to be an arse about it,” the man replied and stormed off.

“Does that happen a lot?” Ron asked, his gaze following the man who had just left.

“Too often,” Draco sighed.

Ron swallowed thickly and clutched his stomach. “I think I need to get home,” he announced, looking like he was going to vomit.

Draco backed away and curled up his nose. “Do you need help Apparating home?” he asked.

“No,” Ron replied, turning green. “I’ll be fine.” And with that he was gone.

“Good,” Draco sighed after the man left; grateful Ron hadn’t ruined his outfit with bile. He debated leaving when a song he liked came on. Deciding that once dance wouldn’t hurt, Draco made his way to the dance floor, which was no filling up considerably.

The music gave him a rush as he remembered what it was like to be single and wanted. His hair drenched with sweat, his shirt socked through to maximum transparency, his body pumping to the beat. Draco knew he was desirable, he could almost feel it in the minds all around him, and he was so horny. Remaining abstinent for Harry had been the biggest challenge he’d ever gone through by far for a conquest. He hoped the brunet was worth the wait.

Raven locks filled his vision as he opened his eyes to take in the pulsing crowd around him and Draco grabbed the man’s shoulder, wondering if Potter had decided to come out after all. “Har-” he began, but stopped short as the man turned – a man who was quite obviously not Potter.

He was trim and attractive, but looked nothing like the man he hoped to bed outside of having messy black hair. Blue eyes took him in and smiled appreciatively. “You here with someone?” the man asked, pressing his body into Draco’s as he shifted to the beat of the music.

“No,” Draco replied, “but I’m not interested.”

“Shame,” the man replied trailing his hands along Draco’s nearly exposed abdomen. The sensation of it rushed through him, sending a shiver down his spine. He should get out of there. He should leave now before he did something he would regret, but the fingers didn’t stop roaming his sweaty body and Draco didn’t pull away. Harry had been out of touch lately, perhaps Ron had it all wrong and Harry didn’t want Draco at all. It wouldn’t do to turn down such a persistent whore if Harry was thinking of giving him the sack anyway. Surely the Gryffindor would have written or fire called him by now if he had any intention of continuing their relationship.

A moment later a set of swollen lips were pressed against his neck, sucking at the tender skin below his ear and he gasped, nearly forgetting how great that felt. How long had it been since he’d fucked someone? The last had been that tart Madeline and that had been over four months ago. Draco swallowed down the moan that threatened to escape his lips. Perhaps a hand job wouldn’t be breaking the rules too much, he reasoned as that fiery mouth found his own. A blowjob wouldn’t be too much more than that; perhaps he could get away with that and still not jeopardize his progress with Harry.

A hand slipped down and gripped his erection through his denims and that decided it. Draco wanted to fuck this man, needed to fuck him, in fact, he’d never had the urge to fuck anyone more than he did this man right then and there. “Loo?” blue-eyes asked in a husky voice.

Draco turned up his nose and shook his head. “Too filthy. We can Apparate back to my place.”

The man purred against the shell of his ear and gripped Draco’s hips roughly. “And what are you going to do to me there?” he asked as he nibbled the blond’s bottom lip.

“I’m going to fuck you until you can’t move,” Draco growled, unwilling to wait any longer. If he kept this yearning pent up much longer he’d just end up drilling the man right there on the dance floor and things like that were frowned upon at Broomstick. It tended to get everyone a little worked up, not that Draco knew anything about that.

“Then take me home,” the man replied, his lips latching onto Draco’s earlobe. Draco fished out his wand from his too-tight trousers and Apparated them to the gate of Malfoy Manor. “Nice place,” he whispered in Draco’s ear, running his hand salaciously across the blond’s straining erection.

“Fuck,” Draco hissed, pausing in his purposeful stride to the door. He quickened his pace after that, eager to be rid of the pressure he felt in his groin and the guilt growing in his gut. He could banish it all before too long. Harry would never need to know that he’d given into the lust burning within him and broken his promise.

Things could go back to normal and Draco could resume he pursuit of the perfect brunet trophy. “Up there,” Draco directed when they got inside. The man obeyed, teetering up the staircase, obviously quite intoxicated.

“Which room is yours?” he asked and Draco pointed to the very first door. It was one of the many guestrooms in the manor. It wasn’t his favorite, but then neither was this nobody wizard that was about to take his cock. He shut his eyes and pictured Harry’s face on the man’s shoulders and emerald eyes instead of blue.

“Take off your clothes,” he ordered the moment the door was shut behind him, “and get on your knees.”

Author's Note: GASP!! Draco's brought someone else home? And you know poor Harry witnessed it. He told Ron he'd be watching after all. PS. I'm using my Twitter account to post updates on what stories I'm working on, so come follow me.