A Business Affair

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Chapter Thirty-two: Dig a Little Deeper

Ron stood on the outside of his house, looking up at it with an odd expression on his face. He held up his hands like an architect would, assessing the look of a house. He tilted his head to the left and squinted.

Moving back a few paces, he stumbled over a large rock that happened to be situated in his yard. He barely caught himself from falling on his ass on the frosty grass. He straightened up and frowned up at the house.

"What are you doing?" Ginny's voice cut through his thoughts as he stood assessing the house. He turned around to see her picking her way through the messy yard. When she got beside him, he turned back to the house.

"I'm thinking about remodeling," he said.

"Why?" she asked skeptically. The house wasn't exactly in the best condition and it would probably take a lot of work to make decent.

"For Pansy," he said with a smile. Ginny just rolled her eyes at her brother. She thought this marriage to Pansy was idiotic.

"You're going to rebuild your house for her?" she drawled, eyes taking in the lopsided windows and grimy front porch.

"Not rebuild... just fix," he said cheerily.

She raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Ron, are you sure about this?"

"Redoing the house? Yes," he said.

"No, I meant about Parkinson," she said.

"Yes," he replied slowly, turning to look at her. "Why wouldn’t I?"

"I just don't think she's the best person," Ginny said in a light voice that meant anything but.

"Not a good person?!" Ron repeated incredulously. "You wouldn't know a good person if they hit in you in the face! Wait..."

He stopped as he tried to figure out what he'd just said. Ginny just sneered at him.

He puzzled for a few minutes before just shrugging. "Never mind, you know what I meant," he said.

She just rolled her eyes at him. "I think I can judge characters," she sneered. Ron sighed, knowing he'd made her mad, and a mad Ginny was never a good thing.

"I know," he said, sounding tired. "Did you come here for a reason?"

"Actually, yes," she said, moving away from Ron and walking casually around the house, seemingly inspecting it. He followed her carefully, wondering what she wanted.

"And?" he prompted as they rounded the corner to the side yard. She bent down to inspect the foundation of his house as he watched her skeptically.

"It's about Harry," she said, slowly straightening up and looking at Ron, who appeared nonplussed.

"What about him?"

"Has he told you anything?"

"What do you mean?" Ron's mind flickered back to several conversations he'd had with Harry concerning Ginny and her attitude towards him.

Ginny sighed dramatically. "Do you think he's doing something?"

"What are you-- what?" Ron asked, clearly confused.

Ginny huffed that he didn't understand. "He's been acting oddly lately, don't you think?"

"Not really," Ron said slowly. He hadn't noticed much difference.

"Ron, you're his best friend! You're supposed to notice these things!"

"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, throwing up his hands. "But I think he's fine."

Ginny gave him a hard look, trying to assess whether or not he was telling the truth. Ron returned her look with one that said "what?” In the end, she turned away and continued her tour around the house.

Ron lagged behind, wanting this visit to be over. He didn't know why she was so intent on finding something wrong. He wasn't about to tell her about Harry's thoughts about their relationship and his own doubts about it. He hadn't told anyone about her little secret, though he felt horrible about keeping it. She never acted like anything was wrong so he didn't push.

He groaned quietly as they rounded the next corner, coming upon the back porch that jutted out from the house and into a large field that covered the acreage behind his house. Ginny stopped and put her hands on her hips.

"So he doesn't tell you anything?" she asked suspiciously, glancing at Ron.

"No," he said, frustrated. "I don't think you should be worrying about this. Harry's a good guy, you know that."

"What if he's cheating on me?!"

"What gives you that idea?" Ron asked, rolling his eyes.

"I don't know, it's just... Well, he's been really happy lately, too happy."

"And that's your reason?" Ron asked in a disbelieving tone.

"He shouldn't cheat on me!" she exclaimed, ignoring his question.

Ron just shook his head tiredly. "Like you aren't?" he asked quietly.

Ginny's eyes widened and she stared at him. "You promised not to say anything," she hissed as though afraid someone was listening in.

"I haven't, Ginny," he sighed. "But why are you still doing it?"

"Because Harry's never home."

"Yes, he is!"

"Well, he-- I mean, he... He doesn't..." Ginny floundered for a response while Ron looked on annoyed.

"What, Ginny, what? He doesn't love you? He waited for you? He's nice, smart, caring. What is it, Ginny?"

Ginny scowled at him and spun on her heel, walking quickly around the house.

Ron jogged to catch up, following closely behind her. "Come on, Ginny," he called to her, not far behind. "Tell me, what is it? Does he not care for you enough? Or maybe he's not rich enough, or maybe, just maybe, you don't love him."

Ginny stopped short and he nearly ran into her. She whipped around, glaring at him with fire in her eyes. Ron knew he had enraged the monster and backed up slightly.

"You don't know what it's like, Ron," she hissed at him, “being married to Harry Potter. Even if he does care, it's not like I get any attention. Everywhere we go, it's all about him. I've tried to live with it, but I want something more."

"Do you really think he likes all that?!" Ron asked incredulously. "I thought you knew him better than that!"

"I don't care what he likes," she growled through gritted teeth, “this is about what I like. And what I like is someone who doesn't leave me alone at parties all the time."

"Oh, please," Ron scoffed. "I see you every year at that stupid Ministry party. You never give him a second glance. It's been happening for years, what's that about?"

"Other people give me attention, he's always off somewhere being important," she said bitterly.

"But he loved you!" Ron exclaimed. "He married you! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"If he really loved me, he wouldn't always let himself get swept up in other things."

"That's just how Harry is," Ron said harshly. "He can't stop it; he feels obligated."

"I don't care, Ron," Ginny replied scathingly. "I like how things are right now, except that I can't figure out what is going on! I know he's keeping something from me! I am going to find out if it's the last thing I do!"

Ron only sighed heavily and shook his head. She glared at him for a moment before stalking off around the last corner of the house, coming back to the front. When there, she spun around to face Ron, who was coming up behind her.

"You made a promise," she growled in a low voice. "You can't tell anyone. If you do, I'll find out and you will regret it."

"When did you become like this?" Ron asked, looking at her as though he had only just seen her.

She gave him a dark look. "Why don't you ask your precious Harry," she snarled and turned to leave.

"Harry didn't do this," Ron said, stopping her from leaving.

"How do you know?" she asked scathingly.

"Because I know him better than you will ever hope to," Ron said simply. Ginny didn't reply, only sent him one last scathing look before Apparating away.

Ron sighed and turned back to the lopsided house. "This is going to be a long project," he muttered to himself before walking up the front steps and into the house, letting the door swing shut behind him.

***

Harry landed smoothly on the grass in the middle of the pitch. He swung his leg off his broom and waited as the rest of the team landed around him. Wood gathered them together as a light breeze swept up around them.

"Great practice today!" Wood said enthusiastically. Harry wasn't listening though as his attention had wandered off to the stands where Draco had been sitting during practice. He was now walking slowly around the perimeter of the field.

Wood dismissed the players to the locker rooms. Harry hung back, waiting for the rest of his teammates to leave before he edged over to where Draco was standing, apparently inspecting the field.

As Michael reached the locker rooms, he glanced back and smirked when he saw Harry and Draco. He shook his head in amusement and went to get changed.

"Malfoy," Harry greeted him when he got close enough.

Draco looked up, his face impassive. "Potter," he drawled, moving around him and walking around the edge of the pitch, his vision trained on the ground. Harry turned, watching him go.

He opened his mouth to say something but could find nothing to say. Instead, he moved closer to Draco, following him around the pitch. Draco glanced back once but said nothing of Harry's trailing.

"Malfoy?" he asked once they had gone halfway around the stadium.

"What?" he replied simply, barely glancing up.

"Are you-- How are you?"

"How am I?" Draco repeated, surprised by the question. "What kind of a question is that, Potter?"

"Just a normal question," Harry said slowly. He didn't know why he'd asked it, but he had felt compelled to say something.

Draco rolled his eyes but answered the question just the same. "I'm doing fine, Potter. Why so interested?"

"I'm not interested..." Harry answered slowly. Truthfully, he wasn't sure why he wanted to know, but, for some reason, he felt like he needed to know what Draco was thinking.

"Sure, you're not, Potter," Draco said sarcastically, moving further around the pitch, kicking at the grass as he went.

Though it was only late January, a thaw had already set in, predicting an early spring. The frost on the grass was not as thick as it usually was this time of year. Draco moved at a slow pace around the edge with Harry trailing slightly behind him.

Finally, Draco stopped and turned around suddenly, causing Harry to stop abruptly to avoid running into him.

"What do you want, Potter?" he asked pointedly.

Harry looked taken aback and hesitated. "Nothing, I just... I dunno," he replied. Draco gave him a skeptical look then rolled his eyes in frustration. Harry fidgeted in his place as Draco continued to look at him.

"Something wrong?" he drawled, bored. Harry moved tentatively forward and Draco waited impatiently for something to happen.

"Nothing's wrong," Harry said. He reached out slowly, almost as if he was afraid of being pushed away. He touched Draco's hand carefully, watching for his reaction.

Draco frowned as he looked down at his hand then up at Harry. Harry grew bolder and gripped his hand, pulling him closer. Draco allowed himself to be pulled.

Harry looked at him nervously, his tongue sliding out to wet his dry lips. Draco was nonplussed by the entire situation. Harry leaned forward and kissed Draco tentatively.

The kiss was soft, not pressured. Neither man tried to deepen it, content to leave it as it was. They pulled apart and Harry let go of Draco's hand. Draco looked up at him but said nothing.

"I--I better go," Harry said softly. He turned around and Apparated from the stadium. Draco stared at the spot from which Harry had disappeared. After a while, he shook himself and continued his walk around the stadium.

Harry appeared at home to find that Ginny wasn't there, again. He wondered exactly what she was doing. He went into the kitchen to find a black owl sitting on the counter. A letter was tied to its leg. Harry quickly undid the letter and watched as the owl soared out the window.

He unfolded the parchment and read it through quickly.

Harry,

Would you mind joining me for tea this afternoon? You can just swing by after your practice. Hope you can come!

Love, Hermione

Harry folded up the parchment, deciding it would be good to visit with her. He went back out to the living room, put his coat back on, Apparated to her house, and walked up the front walk.

He knocked on the door and waited for it to be opened. Hermione greeted him with a hug and ushered him inside. She hung up his coat in the closet near the door and led the way from the foyer into the living room.

They sat down at a small table next to one of the windows. Hermione conjured a pot of steaming water. She poured Harry a cup and put in a bag of tea. She poured herself one as well and added the tea bag.

"Harry," she said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, Hermione?"

"I've been thinking."

"Uh oh."

Hermione laughed for a moment then stopped. "No, really, I've been thinking about Draco."

"What about him?" Harry asked nervously, setting down his teacup.

"I think I should set him up with someone," she said thoughtfully, not looking at Harry.

"What?" Harry asked, sounding slightly panicked.

"Well, you know, he hasn't been with anyone since his divorce. Don't you think it would be nice if I could find him someone?"

"Uh..." Harry didn't know what to say. A part of him wanted to shout that Draco was his, and no one else could have him! Then the rational part... wait, what rational part?

"I was thinking maybe someone from the Prophet. There are a lot of nice men there," she said, still not looking at Harry but instead gazing out the window.

"What if he doesn't want to date anyone?" Harry asked.

"Why wouldn't he?" Hermione asked, finally looking at Harry. He was frowning and not looking very happy at her suggestions.

"He might... I mean, maybe there's a reason he hasn't seen anyone."

"Like what?"

"Er..." Harry stalled, trying to come up with a plausible reason. "Maybe he's just not ready."

"Not ready?" Hermione repeated skeptically. "It's been months. He's a male; they can't go that long."

Harry scowled but didn't respond to the statement. He wasn't looking at her now, meaning he missed the fact that she was watching him intently.

"Or maybe there's another reason," she said carefully, watching Harry closely. His eyebrows furrowed closer together as she said that. He didn't say anything. "Maybe he already has someone and no one knows." Still Harry didn't respond, looking down at his teacup. "Or maybe," she went on. "Maybe, he's celibate."

At that, Harry let out a derisive laugh then quickly covered his mouth, looking horrified. Hermione raised an eyebrow, still surveying him closely.

"Anything you'd like to add, Harry?" she asked. He glanced up at her quickly, hand still covering his mouth, and shook his head quickly. "Really?" she continued. "So you wouldn't like to tell me that you've been having a secret relationship with Draco Malfoy for the past four months?"


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A/N: Grand total reviews for chapter 31... one. Yep, one. I feel so... I'm not sure loved is the right word here... Anyway, please do review.