Of Dragons and Jewels

“Harry, wake up!” Stifling a groan, Harry opened his eyes to see that it was only seven-thirty in the morning.

“It's too early...” Trying in vain to fall back asleep, he rolled over and pulled the covers back up over his head.

“I have to be there in an hour; I guess in all the excitement I forgot to tell you that my shift starts at nine, huh?”

“If your shift starts at nine then why do you have to be there half an hour early?” Harry yawned and finally sat up, noticing for the first time that Draco was dressed in a clean pair of robes.

“To get me properly fitted for my uniform and whatnot.” Draco shrugged, and Harry realized why he had been woken up so early.

“Hey, come here. Don't be scared, I'm sure you'll do just fine. Just relax, and be yourself...”

“But... but what if... if...” Draco could only shake his head as he let Harry hold him tight.

“Relax; everything will go just fine...” Harry brushed the hair out of Draco's eyes, noting that he was getting due for a haircut; and the thought made him chuckle.

“What's so funny?” Draco punched him lightly, and Harry laughed harder.

“I was just thinking that you need a haircut; you're hair was always so perfect in school that it makes you seem a little more... real to let it grow a bit long.”

“Was I really so... prissy?” Draco asked, and Harry laughed.

“Yes, you were. You were off in your own little world back at Hogwarts that you had this untouchable air about you...” Harry sighed and hugged Draco tighter. “I'm glad that I was able to break through your walls...”

“I just... I was scared to let anyone in. God, when I came out to Pansy when I was fourteen I was more scared than I'd ever been...” Draco took a shuddering breath, as Harry gaped at him.

“You told Pansy that you're gay? When you were fourteen?” Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. “But you told me that all your friends turned their backs on you when you were disowned...”

“Oh uh...” Draco actually blushed. “Maybe that was a little bit of an exaggeration... and I mean her parents were against it so... but yeah she was actually supportive; like Hermione's being.”

“How did she find out?” Harry found himself asking out of sheer curiosity.

“Remember how I took her to the Yule Ball?” Harry nodded, and Draco continued. “It was the night of the ball, after we'd left. She dragged me into an empty classroom and asked me straight out why I hadn't been looking at her while we danced; and why whenever she'd traced my gaze, she'd found that I'd been looking at... well, not at other girls.” Draco's blush deepened. “Then she actually asked if I'd really been staring at your butt for five minutes while you and the other Champions had the first dance... I was mortified. I couldn't say anything, then she surprised me by softening her tone and asking if I was gay. I could only nod, I wasn't even meeting her eyes; I couldn't. Then she hugged me and told me that she didn't care which way I swung; just that she was embarrassed to have been crushing on a gay-boy. We ended up laughing harder than I'd ever laughed before, and ever since then, she supported me and was my pretend-girlfriend so that no one else would suspect...”

“Wait, you were staring at my butt?” Harry laughed as Draco swatted him.

“I may not have been crushing on you back then, but... yeah.” Draco snorted, then blushed harder than Harry had ever seen him blush before, which only made Harry laugh even harder.

“Yes, I snort when I laugh. Its not funny!” Swatting at his lover again, Draco found himself being rolled underneath Harry and pinned there with a kiss.

Moaning, Draco deepened the kiss, not pulling away until lack of oxygen forced him too. Then he rolled his head to the side, as Harry nibbled on his ear lobe, his eyes flicking open...

And he pushed Harry away, cursing under his breath. “Shit! It's already eight-twenty? I need to be there in ten minutes!” Jumping out of bed he smoothed down his robes as he hurried out of the room; Harry following after hastily throwing on a clean bathrobe to cover up the fact that he had been sleeping in the nude.

After grabbing the lunch Harry had made for him the night before from the icebox, Draco headed for the door, but was stopped just before he could open it by warm arms hugging him from behind. “Relax, you'll be fine.” Then with one last kiss, Harry released Harry and watched as Draco disapparated to Diagon Alley for his first day working at Quality Quidditch Supplies.

Then he turned back inside, and padded his way back upstairs to take a shower, more worried about Draco then he'd let on.

 

“Any questions?” Davey winked at Draco an hour and a half later, after Draco had been fitted for his uniform and shown where everything was stored.

“Yes. Where are the Golden Snitches kept?” Draco asked promptly, surprising his trainer who had not thought that he'd even been listening.

“Ah, so you were paying attention. For security reasons, we do not keep the snitches on the floor; instead they are stored in the back and only brought out upon request. Each snitch is carefully packaged individually in its own box; which is spelled to not open until the Keeper or Referee is ready to release it for a game or to train a new seeker with.” Davey beckoned for Draco to follow him down the back hall towards the store room, but to Draco's surprise he then walked towards a cabinet that Draco had not noticed the first time he'd been shown the room. “We keep the snitches in here.” Unlocking the door, Davey opened it wide and Draco saw that the shelves were full of clear boxes, each with a single Golden Snitch nestled inside. “We tried to keep them out on the floor, but it was a disaster. Kids kept trying to play with them, or else they 'got up and walked away.'” Davey rolled his eyes. “What a nightmare; or so I'm told. This was back during the first month the store was open. After they got moved back here, we saw a sharp decline in theft. Likewise, all models of the Brooms we sell are stored back here; only the display models are kept on the floor. If someone asks you for the newest Cleansweep, for instance, you have to come back here and retrieve one for them. Simple enough, right? However, if they just want to know how much one costs, you may allow them to browse the price-book; the Cleansweeps are right above the Comets under the heading 'Brooms'. Understand?” When Draco nodded, Davey chuckled.

“What is it?” Draco asked, frowning.

“You're just catching on much faster than I'd expected. It's no wonder you were able to make the team in your second year...” When Draco blushed and dropped his eyes, Davey broke off. “What?”

“I didn't make the team fairly; I got on because my Father bribed the Captain with new Nimbus 2001's for everyone on the team.” Draco explained. “Of course I wanted to be on the team, and when I got offered the only open position at that time; Seeker; I jumped on it. But... I wish I had earned the position fairly, by competing for it. My Father didn't want the shame of seeing me fail, however, so...” Draco broke off as Davey placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I see. Even so, I hear that you outshone ever Seeker you faced off against, but one.” Draco blushed as Davey praised him, knowing full well who the 'one' was.

“You should have seen him; a more naturally talented than Harry Potter I have yet to find. I knew that I could never hold a candle to him, and yet I always gave it my all when I played against him. The rare times I did win a game by catching the Snitch first, it was always against either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff; or Gryffindor when Ginny Weasley was Seeker. I never won against Harry, and I did hate him for it for the longest time...”

“You did? You mean you don't anymore?” Draco shook his head.

“No, now I admire his skill, and...” Draco broke off as Davey's eyes widened in realization.

“You love him, don't you? Are you dating Harry Potter?”

“I never said that; now shush you!” Draco exclaimed, before smiling gently and nodding his head once, nervously.

“Your secret is safe with me.” Davey whispered, winking once more at Draco. “I'm actually jealous of my little sister; you should see her girlfriend, what a babe!” He whistled, and Draco laughed. “I may be straight as an arrow, but love is love, right? And I can see how happy Suzy is, being with Dana, and that makes me happy too.”

“Thank you for understanding and not making a big deal out of this.” Draco relaxed enough to shoot Davey a grateful smile, and Davey just laughed again.

“Now lets get back out there before people think we came back here to make out or something.” When Draco blushed and gaped at him, Davey just shrugged and headed back towards the main part of the store.

“People won't really think... will they?” Draco stammered, wondering what Harry would think...

“Nah; they probably just think that you had to run and use the bathroom after being shown where the Golden Snitches and Brooms were kept.” Davey shrugged, his eyes laughing as Draco realized that he'd been had.

He spend the next two hours plotting how to get Davey back for that little joke of his, as he straightened out shelves that customers had left in disarray, and twice ran back to fetch brooms for Hogwarts Quidditch Team hopefuls, if and when Hogwarts ever reopened from the war....

It was already well into October and nothing had been said; no school letters, nothing. Though Draco knew that the castle had suffered serious damage during the final battle, the lack of news still worried him. What would everyone do if the school was shut down entirely?

Pushing that thought away once more, Draco schooled his face into a professional mask as he heard the door chime once more. “Welcome to Quality Quidditch Supplies; is there anything I can assist you with today?”

“No, I just needed more Quaffle polish.” The woman waved off his offer as she led her young son into the store; but his hand slipped out of hers as she grabbed the appropriate bottle from the shelf. “Dustin, you behave yourself now, you hear me?” She called over her shoulder as the boy wandered away from her.

“Yes, mommy.” He called back, his fingers crossed behind his back. Not that she noticed; no, she was too busy comparing brands to pay any attention to her son.

Draco shrugged and turned his attention back to the robes he was folding and shelving; then he realized where the boy was heading.

Hoping the boy just wanted to toss around a Quaffle, Draco took a deep breath and tried to focus on his assigned task, but warning bells were sounding in his mind, bells that he could not ignore.

With wide eyes he watched as the boy reached out; and released the latch holding a Bludger at bay. Draco didn't even realize that he was moving until he collided with the Bludger and; winded, crashed headfirst into the next shelf. The last thing he saw was the woman screaming and snatching up her child, the polish all but forgotten, as Davey hurried towards him; then everything faded to black.