The Office

DISCLAIMER: Warning! I make no claim to any property of J.K. Rowling's, and am in no way profiting by this. I do offer her my sincerest thanks for allowing us this garden of the mind in which we play. Further Warning! This story...and likely any I ever write…are dominated by gay themes and characters. That's how it is, if this in any way makes you uncomfortable...do not read further.

Author’s Note: This chapter is dedicated to Sa1Boy, with my thanks for the many kind reviews, especially review 1,500 for Redeem Me. Enjoy, Mart!


The Office-part 3…by Samayel


“Malfoy! Get out of my office! I’ve got work to do!” Harry was livid, skin looking red beneath his natural tan, eyes dangerously bright, and his wand hand was hovering near his hip.

“Oh, really? Work? Am I impeding the flow of paper waste toward the Records Department? Surely you can be civil at the office, since you can’t be decent enough to apologize for your outrageous behavior?” Disdain dripped like acid venom from Draco’s tongue, and Harry felt his blood pressure rise yet another notch.

“MINE? My behavior? I apologize for NOTHING! You deserved exactly what you got! I did you a favor, you…you pompous lush!”

Draco’s cool veneer vanished in a heartbeat. “You arrogant asshole! Since when does a favor constitute being Stunned from behind and collapsing onto the punchbowl! I could have been injured! You were entirely out of line! You…you…you callow, barbaric, tasteless oaf!”

“I was saving you from yourself! You weren’t even supposed to be at that event! You know you only came because I took Luna! You insulted her for half the night, out loud, drank enough booze to fill a bathtub, slapped one of the only other women that spoke to me for who only knows what reason, put a Stinging Hex on another…AND you vomited on the palm tree in the lobby! You were pathetic! You needed to be put down before you got arrested, you obnoxious, no-talent ass-clown!”

“I BEG YOUR PARDON!” Draco stomped forward, hovering over Harry’s desk, eyeball to eyeball with Harry while he shouted his answer.

“I had an invitation! I attended. This has nothing to do with that daft bint you showed up with! She deserved the scorn heaped upon her! She wore neon pink hot pants…to a black tie affair! Her lipstick didn’t even match her nail polish! She was an eyesore! A public ruin! A-”

Draco’s last comment never made it past the fist that crashed into his mouth and sent him tumbling back out of the door to Harry’s office. Harry was over his desk and on Draco a second later, dragging him by his tie toward the exit, hauling him across the floor behind him while Draco fumbled with his collar, trying to get air, cursing in muted growls. This was the scene when Nymphadora Tonks suddenly blocked the exit from the office complex.

“Harry! Draco! This stops here! Harry, let him go! Draco, if I see a wand in your hand I’ll hex you blind!”

Harry dropped Draco unceremoniously, letting the man open his tie and catch his breath. Draco was about to shout a response, when Tonks cut him off completely.

“This…this war…this vendetta…this Sicilian thing…must end! Here! Now! No more of it from either of you! Cousin…you have no business here. Go to your section and stay there! If I see you here again, I swear I’ll have your section head drop you off in the middle of Kazakhstan…naked…without a wand! Harry! You are an AUROR! Act like one! Brawling in the halls is a complete disgrace! I don’t care who started what…I’m ending it! Kill each other on your own time, but it stays out of the office from here on in! Am I understood?”

Harry and Draco glowered at each other fiercely, radiating sullen and silent menace.

“I didn’t hear an answer! AM I UNDERSTOOD?”

They both nodded grudgingly, and Draco stomped to the door, slamming it behind him. Harry bit his lip keeping his silence, then stalked back toward his office, the look on his face scaring newer people out of his path.

Draco was an unmitigated ass! He’d shown up at the Charitable Ball solely because Harry had taken Luna…and it was obvious to everyone but Draco that jealousy had been his motive! It wasn’t so much that he’d done it, it was that he had the bald-faced nerve to lie about it after acting that way two weeks ago. Harry didn’t care about the field day the press had made of it, painting Draco as a jilted lover, but the insults to Luna had been inexcusable. It was the most childish display he’d ever seen a grown man commit, and he’d come to question whether he‘d been in his right mind the past half year.

‘It’s Draco Malfoy! What did you really expect? He drinks too much, he clearly wants me to throw him a shag even though I said no as politely as I could, and he trashed anything like a friendship just to get even! That’s it…I’m changing the wards. I have had it with this shite! I’m done fucking around waiting for him to get some sense back, and if he can’t get over this and show the guts to say he was wrong, then he isn’t worth having as a friend at all!

Harry scribbled furiously at his paperwork, easily getting twice as much done as usual, though most of it was scrawled illegibly and was unreadable even to him. He was just too pissed to notice it. The day positively crawled, and before he’d finished, he’d already made up his mind to head for Luna’s place first.

After the incident at the Charitable Ball, he’d hastily Apparated an unconscious Draco back to Malfoy manor and handed him off to the house-elves. A muted pop and he’d been back at the party, and after the press hounded him to the point of frustration, he’s simply left with Luna.

He’d had a lot of pent up aggression that night, and Luna had enjoyed helping him cope with it in her own cheerful way. She’d been a good friend since the war, and an even closer one after. Harry was truly comfortable around only a few people, and Luna was one of them. Aside from her uncanny insight, she was also one of the most genuine people Harry had ever met. Luna was almost completely incapable of deception, but Harry had never seen that as a flaw. Everyone always knew where Luna stood, because her words always matched her thoughts. Quite the opposite of Draco!

They’d spent the night, the morning, and most of the afternoon in bed. Or in the shower. Or on the carpet…up against the wall…across the divan…and on and on. There had been breaks of course, to chat and laugh and sip tea or water, or nibble at food brought by the house-elf. The food had been particularly fun. Watching Luna taunt him with a banana had been enough to start things right back up again.

A lot of people wouldn’t have guessed it, but the heiress to the Lovegood fortune and Quibbler empire was perfectly at peace with her sexuality. Though she had never married, her behavior was discreet enough that rumor had never leaked out about her wilder side. Even in her thirties, Luna was still as slim as she had been in school, and for a comparatively awkward girl who had been kind of coltish in her adolescence, Luna had become long-legged, sleek, and pretty in a fiercely independent way. When Luna wanted something, she simply went for it, enjoying life as thoroughly as she pleased, and her directness and unselfconscious ways were a welcome change of pace to Harry, who was often times sullen and private to a nearly hermit-like degree.

Luna always made him feel free to speak his mind. She never judged, or whined, or cajoled. She was just Luna, and she was truly happy being herself. It was a pleasure to see that in a person, and it always comforted Harry when they spent time together. She’d understood when he’d confessed that, after Ginny and the divorce, he was too edgy for a serious relationship, but it hadn’t meant that he didn’t think of it from time to time. For all her quirks and foibles, Luna was a wonderful person. There could be far worse fates than being married to a woman like her. At the moment, Harry was just as upset as he’d been after the Ball, and Luna would welcome the company…as well as Harry’s need for a serious release of tension.

Things between Ginny and Harry had always been passionate, and maybe that had been the flaw. There hadn’t been any middle ground between them. Either they were madly in love, or arguing spitefully. It hadn’t been such a terrible relationship overall, but it hadn’t been what it could have, and Harry largely blamed himself for failing her when she needed something from him that he just couldn’t understand at the time. His and Luna’s friendship had been far less…traditional.

There was practically nothing that Luna wouldn’t try in bed, and they had done almost everything they could think of that didn’t involve other people or creatures. There was a reason Harry rarely blushed, and it was because, having done and experienced so many things in just a few dozen wild nights with Luna, there wasn’t that much left that could make him blush…period. That said, Luna could distract him from things like few others could. Distraction and soothing were very much what he needed.

The truth was that it hurt to watch Draco act this way. He’d really thought he had a friend that improved his life just by being there, and being pressured for things he didn’t want wasn’t fair to him, or even to Draco. It was better to just be friends, sexuality aside. He didn’t feel contempt for Draco’s preferences, so why should Draco make such a fuss over Harry’s? It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t fair, and he was sick and tired of arguing instead of dining or going out together.

Five o’ clock finally came around, and Harry pulled on his coat and left. He headed for the Outgoing Apparition chambers, where Apparation wasn’t warded against, and popped into Luna’s entryway. Her place was a spacious, quiet suite of rooms, rented in Knightsbridge for a small fortune, but Luna had no money problems. The décor was glaring in its contrasts, but Harry had never given a damn about what color a sofa happened to be…he cared about the person sitting on it.

Luna Lovegood looked up from her book with a smile. “Heya, Harry. Good to see you again…ditch the robes and let’s chat.”

Largely unknown throughout the wizarding world, when Luna Lovegood was home, she preferred to be nude. Dressing to go out was always fun for her, and she loved to pile on wilder and wilder accessories before she left the suite, but when she relaxed, she almost never wore anything more than a favorite pair of old cotton panties, or a flimsy day robe. Harry peeled away his robes and other clothes, making himself comfortable in just his boxers, and just flopped onto the divan, sighing and shoving a hand through his hair.

“Lousy day at the office. Not that most of them are really any good, but this one was definitely bad. Good to see you too. I really didn’t get a chance to tell you how much I enjoyed the Ball…in spite of everything. Not to mention after the ball. You haven’t changed a bit. Still knocking ‘em dead and making it look easy.”

Luna answered with a lazy and cheerful grin. “Aww, Harry, don’t make a fuss. I had a wonderful time. I always do…when you visit. Things have been a little hectic around here. I’m headed out of town in a couple of days. We had a Snorkack sighting in Nepal. I need the chance to get out and do something other than quibble over details at the Quibbler. You haven’t lost your touch either! Back for another go round, or just want something cold to drink and a chat?”

“I don’t know. I’ll take the cold drink no matter what, but I just had too much on my mind lately. I’m down to my last nerve and Draco is dancing up and down on top of it. He was a complete ass to you, and he won’t even acknowledge that he was being a drunken prat. He’s made it hell for me at the office lately. I think I’m finally changing the wards at my place tonight.”

Luna’s elderly house-elf popped up with an ice cold Butterbeer for Harry, who took it gratefully. Luna slid into position on the couch, pulling Harry into place so that she could rub his shoulders. She knew he was a tense person in general, and she always seemed to enjoy unwinding him when he was too worked up, sometimes via sex, other times just like this. Harry sighed and melted, leaning back and enjoying the feel of Luna’s skin on his, soft breasts against his back, while the knots in his shoulders were rubbed away. She hadn’t done this for him in years.

“Poor Harry. Lover’s spats are always the worst.”

Harry spat out half his mouthful of beer, gasping for air as he sat up.

“Luna!? I know you don’t believe the crap the papers print! Why on earth would you say that? I’m straight! You of all people ought to know that! Draco and I are just…were just friends. Nothing happened. Nothing.”

“Well that’s the problem then, isn’t it? I don’t even read those papers, but I saw the pictures on the newsstands, Harry. I just assumed that, since you looked like one of the happiest couples I’d ever seen, that you two were a serious item. Do you seriously mean to tell me that you and he haven’t done a thing?” Luna’s tone was honestly surprised and quizzical.

“Of course! I’m not into that! Guys just aren’t my thing! I mean I…I couldn’t do anything like that!”

Luna giggled with a faint hint of naughtiness in her tone. “Oh, come on, Harry. You’re talking to Luna. We’ve done anal…and you were great at it. As I recall, I was pretty good at it too. It can’t be about the things you’d be doing in bed and I know it, because you’re talking to a girl who once had two fingers in your bum while she massaged your prostate and gave you a hummer. What’s your real objection?”

“Oh, cheap shot! We’re a man and a woman, and we had a great time doing all of that. It isn’t the same…or it wouldn’t be…with a man.”

There was a clucking noise behind him, and Harry realized that Luna was shaking her head too. “Harry. It isn’t about bodies. I don’t mind yours, and you’re a fit enough bloke, but what I really like is you. The real Harry. If you were packaged in a body with breasts I’d still like you. In fact…just in case it doesn’t work out between you two…let me write that down for later. Girl Harry. Nice breasts. Okay…where was I? Oh! It’s the person I like…not the body. I think you rule too much out just because Draco was born with a penis. Why not at least try? If it went wrong, at least then you wouldn’t have to sit back never knowing. Besides…I think everyone liked seeing you two so happy together.”

“But…but…Luna…” Harry simply couldn’t believe that Luna of all people would say something like this to him!

“Don’t but me, Harry. You adore him. You never had that look you had in the paper when we’re together. I don’t mind it…you’re a wonderful friend…and you really are the cat’s pajama’s in bed, but you should be with someone who makes you have that look. With me you’re relaxed…and I like that…but with him…you were happy. And that was without even having sex! Just imagine what it might be like with it.”

“Oh. Damn.”

“Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t think he’s an attractive man.”

“Well…he is, but it’s not like I wank off over him! I just liked him as a person…that‘s all.”

“And you do wank off over me?”

“Yeah! Not just a little either…believe me! Some of my favorite memories happened here!”

“So…how about back in school, or while you were with Ginny…did you wank off over me then?”

“No…but what’s that got to do with anything?”

“Harry…think about it. You find me attractive because of the times we’ve been together, and because you like me. The sex came into it later…not before. You like Draco as a person. Who’s to say that, after actually being intimate with him, you wouldn’t look back and remember that as the most fun you’ve ever had?”

”Wait! How can I just…you know…have sex with man to find out if it ’works’ for me? Doesn’t that seem odd to you at all? It does to me! I mean…whole different kind of body. No breasts. No vagina. Different hips. Whole different sounding voice in bed. It’s just weird!”

“First…just because you’re not gay, it doesn’t mean you can’t be bisexual. Have you ever sat back and looked at your dating habits, Harry? I mean really looked. When we were kinda serious for awhile, I did. Ginny. Cho Chang. Me. That lady from the Auror office you dated for about two weeks seven years ago.”

“Damn…you remember Ella? You really were watching!”

“The point is this, Harry. Everyone you’ve ever dated was slim and small-breasted, independent and intelligent, and strong in their own opinions. Not one of us was all that different from a boy, excepting the lack of bits of course. Draco has bigger shoulders, but other than the voice and the bits, he has all those qualities. He’s your kind of person, and you like him. I think what’s really stopping you is that you know you want him so badly that you won’t risk rocking the boat by having a relationship. You don’t want to lose him like you did Ginny. Sometimes things don’t work, Harry. That’s no reason to not try.”

“Jesus. You’re scaring me, Luna. How…do you sit around thinking about this stuff all day? It isn’t natural for anyone to sound that bloody wise! I don’t want to lose my friend, but that may not be up to me anymore.”

Her eyes sparkled merrily as she took in Harry‘s answer, then she strted rubbing Harry‘s shoulders again. “Ha! Harry, Harry, Harry. When I was fifteen I had the biggest crush on you I’ve ever had for a boy. I’ve enjoyed every minute we’ve ever spent together. I don’t kiss and tell, but you’re a special case. When I was nineteen, I had the biggest crush I’ve ever had…for a woman. Just because it didn’t last, doesn’t mean I regret it even one tiny bit. Which reminds me…tell Tonks I said hi.”

Harry remained stock still, mute and stunned.

“No…no way. You…and Tonks. You two…were…”

“I could tell you stories about what a Metamorphamagus can do to her tongue all night, but it would only come off like bad fan fiction. I had a wonderful time, and it was worth every minute of it. Still good friends, but that’s all. It is what you make of it, Harry. Go make up with him. The rest of the world needs a happy couple in the papers, and you need to take risks before you wind up wasting all that sexual talent by never using it…stud puppet.”

Harry stared at the floor, reeling under the weight of what had been said. So much…so much to think about.

“I…I’ll talk to him. If he’ll let me. He really is being quite the prat right now. You’re really okay with this? Even after the things he said about you?”

“Yes…really! I think it’s kinda hot. I’m jealous though. He has the most adorable little butt. I so wanna put him over my knee and just paddle him ’til it shines, but I can leave that to you. Draco was mean because, for once, he knows exactly what he wants…and he hasn’t gotten it. Sure, he was a perfect jerk, but jealousy is normal. Just tell him I said that my ass looks great in those hot pants, and that when I finally have some pictures of a live Snorkack, he will soooo be sorry! Still…if it goes pear-shaped, get over here quick before I’m off to Asia. I really wanna try that girl-Harry thing with the nice breasts…maybe even a D-cup. I wonder if you’d fall over if I made you that top-heavy? Oh, well! Have fun, sweetie, and if I don’t see you, I’ll just assume the best has happened and we’ll talk when I get back, okay?”

Luna leaned in and kissed him on the mouth, deeply, sliding her fingers into his hair and letting her tongue brush across Harry’s. It lingered long enough that Harry’s libido kicked to life, and it was awfully tempting for Harry to just chuck the entire conversation and take a few actions that would set Luna on fire for more. Then Luna pulled away.

“Just in case. Figured I’d better get my Harry kisses in before a certain jealous, little bitch claims them all. Be good, Harry.”

Harry sat up and started pulling on his clothes.

“I think I can manage something like that. I still can’t believe I’m seriously considering this. Not what I had written into my plans for the evening…let me tell you that! You’re something else, Luna. See you sometime soon.”

Luna smiled her dreamy smile, and traipsed across the hall with her book back in hand. Harry threw his dress robes over his arm and strolled back to the entryway. A muted pop of Apparation, and he was gone.

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Draco Malfoy languished in quiet agony. Everything was in ruins. Harry had punched him in the face! Sure, a quick spell had corrected the damage, but the insult was mortal! He’d gotten no work done at all, and simply threatened complete mayhem until they let him leave early for the weekend. He’d meant to have civil words with Harry, but they just never quite came out of his mouth that way, and Harry was no better!

It was unforgivable! After clearly hinting that he wanted Harry to take him to that fucking Ball, the big sap had quite deliberately taken Lovegood, just to rub Draco’s nose in the fact that he was straight! As if taking someone who really wanted to go with him would have resulted in being groped or mauled or something of that ilk. Half a year and Draco hadn’t touched the man once since that hideous accident on Harry’s floor. How insulting, to have it implied that he wasn’t fit company! And then to have Luna beside him in what should have been Draco’s place! It was a knife to the gut! Pansy would have been proud!

The wine had started to take its toll. Bottle number three was almost empty, and Draco surveyed the wreckage. The elves had been cleaning constantly, since he’d made a habit of flinging his empties at the wall or at other breakable objects. What was it he’d said…then…

Self delusion was for the weak.

What a bitter fucking pill to swallow.

He had it for Harry. Badly. Somehow…crazy as it sounded, he’d thought Harry felt something similar. Self delusion. That’s all it was. He’d seen what he wanted to see. Harry had been good company. He really had. Like everything else in his life…his school, his marriage…everything…he’d fucked this up too. There wasn’t even a friendship left to salvage now. Malfoys didn’t cry. It was the by-product of some bizarre household atmospheric condition, because tears were alien things to Malfoys.

Self delusion was for the weak.

Malfoys didn’t beg either, but since a Malfoy was already crying, there wasn’t much point in standing on tradition’s shoulders anymore. Draco wept until he could control himself a little better, then cleaned himself with a spell. There was nothing to be done for it. He would go to Harry’s and beg forgiveness. If he apologized first, even Harry would stop for a second and be impressed. Maybe just impressed enough to listen and hear that Draco meant it. If he couldn’t have Harry for his own, at least he wouldn’t make an enemy out of another person he’d actually cared about. Not like Pansy. Not again. This mess was his fault…and he would clean it up on his own.

Draco crawled to his feet, wobbling a little, and Apparated out of the manor, bound for Harry’s place. It was dark when he arrived, and no one was home.

Lovegood. How much could one bet on Harry being at Lovegoood’s place? A Knut? A Sickle? His entire year’s salary? Draco flopped onto the couch miserably. With his luck, Harry would be off fucking her for twelve hours or twenty hours or three weeks or some fucking thing like that. Draco curled up onto the couch and calmed himself, resolute in his intention to make amends. Now was not the time to lose sight of what he was here for. Now was also not the time to drift to sleep, but since crying and begging had already been in the offing today, who really cared if he didn’t follow form? But he still hated the couch. It clashed with drapes.

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Harry popped back into his flat, intending to throw his work robes onto the sofa, stopping only when he realized that Draco Malfoy was curled on it, breathing quietly and smelling of wine. The man was out cold. Given the weird turn of events at Luna’s, Harry was feeling just forgiving enough to go fetch a blanket and place it over Draco. Doubtlessly there would be headaches and dramatics in the morning, but right now Draco looked peaceful enough. More like the person Harry had thought he’d known.

That was the crux of it, wasn’t it? Luna had made certain things seem less coincidental than Harry had believed them to be. He’d spent half a year enjoying Draco’s company and no other’s. Was there more of a reason for that than a desire for mere friendship? Was he capable of thinking that way about any man…or was it just Draco that made the lines blur? The last couple of weeks had stung bitterly. He’d been so certain that he was right, and that Draco was wrong…but could he have led Draco on without meaning to? He’d never thought of Draco romantically…he’d just enjoyed the time they spent together without bogging things down with unnecessary troubles. Trouble had shown up anyway.

Harry fixed his evening tea, and set the coffee to brew early in the morning. It was the good stuff, even though it had cost three time what the usual brands had gone for. Draco had insisted on buying him some of it, and Harry had loved it immediately, now drinking it to the exclusion of all other brands. It was well worth the price to wake up to something…

Wonderful.

Wasn’t that something to think about?

TBC!!!