A Business Affair

Chapter Thirty-Three: Can't Hide Forever

Harry stared at her in complete horror. His mouth still covered his mouth as it hung open beneath it. His eyes were wide as saucers as he stared at Hermione. He lowered his hand slowly, his eyes fixed on her.

"W-what?" he stuttered, a look of utter terror on his face.

Hermione gave him a pointed look. "You've been having an affair, Harry James Potter!"

"I--I-- H-how did you know?!" he asked, unable to believe it.

Hermione gave him a withering look at his daring to even ask such a question. "Harry, you do know who I am, right?"

He just gave her a dirty look in return then looked back at his teacup, playing with it nervously. "You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" he asked, looking up at her pleadingly.

She paused here, looking very thoughtful while Harry watched her through terrified eyes. If she decided to tell, he was ruined! She glanced at Harry, who looked absolutely horrified. He was watching her apprehensively as she drew out the long silence that stretched between them.

"Tell me something, Harry," she said, leaning forward and laying her hands on the table and regarding him seriously. "Why?"

"Why?" Harry echoed, surprised by the question. "W-why what?"

"Why did you do it?" Hermione asked, watching him closely.

Harry hesitated, fiddling nervously with the handle on his teacup. He didn't meet Hermione's eyes, staring at a spot on the tablecloth instead.

"Ginny did something and I wanted to get back at her," he said quietly.

"What did she do?" Hermione prodded carefully.

"She..." Harry paused, gathering himself. "She cheated on me."

"What?" Hermione asked, shocked by this information. "How do you know?"

"Ron told me once when he was drunk," Harry muttered, pushing his cup around on the table.

Hermione sat back in her chair, completely taken aback by what Harry had just told her. She had never imagined that Ginny would cheat on Harry, but, then again, she had never thought Harry capable of it either.

"Is she still cheating?" Hermione asked carefully.

Harry shrugged, still looking intently at the table. "Dunno, maybe," he said quietly.

Hermione stared at him in complete shock. "So that's why you did this?" she asked. "That's why you've been getting together with Draco? To get back at Ginny for what she did?"

"That's not all," Harry amended, still refusing to look at her. "We fight all the time. She doesn't trust me which she probably shouldn't, but she doesn't seem to realize what she's done makes her untrustworthy too. I don't think she even thinks about what she's doing. Whenever we get near to the subject, I don't think she even thinks about it! That means she doesn't care; it's not important enough to keep her attention, to make her see why I get so upset with her."

"But why Draco, Harry?" Hermione asked pressingly. She was interested to find out why Harry had chosen the blond. She already knew Draco's reasoning’s but she was curious to know her friends'.

"I don't know," he said quietly. "He was just kind of there and he wasn't really against it so..."

Harry shrugged as he trailed off. He sighed and looked out the window where the bright sun reflected off the frosty grass.

Hermione watched him with concern. "And what are your feelings now?" she pressed on carefully, keeping a close watch on him.

"I'm not sure," Harry replied, biting his lip nervously. "How much do you know?" he asked carefully.

"I know you're sleeping together," she said slowly. She didn't want to reveal too much of what she knew had been Draco's original motive.

"Oh," Harry said quietly. "Well, Draco's... different, like when I'm with him I don't feel completely alone. I know he probably doesn't feel the same way but it's nice to be with someone like that. I mean, I still kind of dislike him, but it's better now. He and I get along better. I can't stop myself thinking about him."

Hermione looked at her friend in pity. It sounded to her like he was falling for Draco. She didn't know Draco very well, but she knew enough to tell that Draco would not exactly be open to that idea.

"Harry, what if Ginny finds out?" she asked seriously.

"I don't know!" Harry said hopelessly. "I can't let her find out! She would kill me!"

"That is true," Hermione muttered to herself, thinking hard. "If she does though, there's going to be hell to pay. Have you thought about this, Harry? Are you prepared to do something if she finds out?"

"Like what?" Harry asked rhetorically. "I have no idea what I would do if this all got out! That's why it can't! We have to keep this a secret. No one was supposed to know in the first place, and then I told Seamus and I don't know, it just got out-of-hand."

"Seamus?" Hermione interrupted. "What did he do?"

"Oh... well, he kind of helped me 'cause Malfoy was going off with Michael and I didn't really like that," Harry said, staring into the bottom of his teacup.

"But he's not helping anymore?"

"No, I don't really need his help anymore."

"Okay, so you like Draco now... kind of?" Hermione asked carefully, hoping not to scare him.

"What?" Harry asked, finally looking up at her.

"What do you feel about him?" she pressed.

"Er... I don't know..." Harry replied slowly, looking confused.

"Oh, Harry, you must feel something!" Hermione said exasperatedly.

"I feel like I don't know what's going on!" Harry exclaimed.

Hermione sighed and reached over to grab his hand. He looked up at her with hopeless eyes. "Harry, I know you must feel terrible pressure from this, but I want you to know that I'm behind you."

"What about Ginny?" Harry asked, confused. Ginny had been Hermione's closest girl friend during the past few years.

Hermione shifted in her chair awkwardly. "Well, Ginny has kind of changed," she said.

"I've noticed," Harry muttered.

"But I care for both of you. Obviously, what you have isn't working. Now, I'm not saying I support you having an affair, but I'm always here for you. I don't want you to feel like you can't tell me things."

"I know, Hermione," Harry sighed, giving her a small smile.

"Good, now, we need to figure out something here," she said. "What do you want from all this?"

"I want to stop fighting with Ginny! I want to feel something again, I want real love again. I can't take it anymore! I want someone to trust me. I don't want to be cheating on her but it just feels so right with Malfoy."

"Maybe it's not Ginny you should be focusing on," Hermione said quietly, glancing at him sideways.

He furrowed his eyebrows at her statement. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Maybe you should work on the relationship with Draco."

"What relationship?" Harry scoffed. "We don't have a relationship. We shag on occasion, and I feel better knowing that Ginny's not the only one who can have a little secret. I don't want her to find out, and yet, I want her to feel the sting of knowing she's not good enough; it's what I feel every time I even think about her." He scowled darkly as these words issued from his mouth.

Hermione was watching him closely as he vented his feelings to her. She understood what he meant and now it was clearer why he had chosen Draco for these deeds.

"Well, I think Draco feels more than you know," Hermione said.

"How do you know that?" Harry asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"It's just a hunch, Harry," she told him.

He gave her a suspicious look before shrugging. "Maybe, but he wouldn't tell me anything.”

"Why not? You could at least try," Hermione said.

"Weren't you listening?!" Harry exclaimed. "I said we got along better, I didn't say we were best friends. He doesn't feel any way about me and even if he did, he wouldn't tell me."

"Which is why you need to ask!"

"Hermione!" he yelled, frustrated.

"Come on, Harry," she said. "There's only one way to find out."

"I'm not going to ask him! That would be a nice conversation, wouldn't it? 'Say, Malfoy, you don't happen to love me, do you?' Somehow I doubt he'd tell me the truth."

"I wouldn't expect him to confess undying love, but you need to know how he feels."

"No, I don't," Harry said, looking at her plaintively. "I'm fine with how things are. As long as Ginny doesn't find out and kill me, I really don't need to know how he feels. Besides, this wasn't supposed to be anything and now it's turning into this huge fiasco!"

Hermione sighed in frustration at his attitude, shaking her head. "I just want you to be happy, Harry."

"I am," Harry said, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself. "Really, Hermione. I don't need to know what he's thinking. I'm fine with how things are."

She gave him an uneasy look but held her tongue for the moment. She stood up from the table and he followed suit.

"Well," she sighed. "I guess there's nothing more to say."

Harry gave her a sad smile and pulled her into a hug. "I'm glad you're so concerned about me, Hermione, but I can manage this. Don't worry."

She returned his smile only halfway as they pulled apart. She led him back through the house and to the front entrance way. She pulled his coat out of the closet and he slipped it on. They said good-bye and he waved to her as he reached the end of the walkway and Disapparated.

She closed the door softly, leaning back on it and looking down at the floor. She only hoped that Harry really could handle all that was sure to come.

***

Over the next few days, Harry found himself dwelling on Hermione's words and her suggestion that he find out what Draco was thinking. He didn't know why it bothered him so much that he couldn't stop thinking about it.

Despite his best effort to drop these questions from his head, he was unable. What was worse was that Draco had not come to practice in the last few days. He often wondered where the blond-haired man was.

In his conversation with Hermione, he had accidentally let slip something he hadn't even thought about himself. He had an inkling that he was feeling more for Draco than he was supposed to, but the conversation had brought out more than he'd imagined.

He knew that his thoughts often strayed to Draco and more than just wondering where he was. He found himself drifting off, fantasizing about the lithe body pressed against his, a hot tongue on his neck, caressing the skin there. He knew these thoughts weren't normal and tried repeatedly to stop them. It was no use, though, so he had eventually just given in to letting his mind run wild.

Ginny had been especially quiet over the last couple days. Harry hadn't even thought to question it, opting to let her go on and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Harry was now flying over the heads of his teammates, skimming the air lightly. His head wasn't really in the game today. He couldn't keep his gaze from straying away from the pitch to where Draco sat, actually having shown up for once, in the stands watching the practice.

Before he knew it, he was lost once again in thoughts of the blond crawling over his body, dipping his tongue into the crevices of his neck, running over his throat, nipping at the sensitive skin.

Harry vaguely heard a whistle from far away. He shook his head quickly and looked around him. The rest of the team had already landed and was gathered around Wood. Harry quickly joined them, hopping off his broom and moving to listen to what Wood was saying.

"... Got to watch the swerve up there. Michael, make sure you accelerate when you go into the last leg of that move. It's imperative." Wood looked around at the team who was waiting for him to dismiss them. "Alright, have a good weekend."

Harry turned with the rest of the team to go back to the locker rooms.

"Potter!" A voice caught his attention and he turned around instinctively.

He saw Draco swaggering towards him from the stands. Behind Harry, Michael glanced back, smirking as he saw who had called to Harry. He shook his head and turned back, heading for the showers.

"Were you awake today, Potter?" Draco drawled once he got near enough Harry.

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"Up there," Draco said, indicating the sky. "You looked like you were asleep on your broom."

"I wasn't... I was just distracted," he said slowly.

"Distracted, eh? And what exactly were you thinking of?" Draco drawled, moving forward and running a finger over the front of Harry's Quidditch jersey.

"N-no one-- er, I mean, nothing," Harry corrected himself quickly, swallowing nervously.

Draco smirked and let out a low laugh, running his tongue over his dry lips. He moved closer, his hand now sliding up and around Harry's neck. Harry's bright green eyes watched him carefully, wondering what he was going to do.

"If you're going to be distracted, Potter," Draco said in a low voice. "It better be by something good."

He leaned in and kissed the corner of Harry's mouth lightly. Harry's breathing quickened by the small touch from Draco. His eyes flickered up to Draco's face, meeting his silver eyes that glittered in the early afternoon sun.

"What if it is good?" Harry asked quietly.

"What was it then?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking at Harry. He could see Harry hesitating and his eyes flicked down toward the ground. Draco yanked his head up, forcing him to meet his eyes. "What?"

"You," Harry said quietly. He looked up at Draco whom he was surprised to see was smirking.

He pulled Harry's head forward a tiny bit, their lips coming into close proximity but not quite touching.

"That is your best excuse you've had yet, Potter," he told him, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Draco pulled Harry the rest of the way forward and into a blazing kiss. Harry's hand automatically came up to Draco's back while Draco's tongue thrust deeper into the his mouth. Harry moaned appreciatively, and Draco pulled away, panting.

"Hold on, Potter," he panted. "We can't do this here."

He pulled Harry flush against his body, and they were gone in a Pop.


~~**~~

A/N: Well, wow. That's pretty much all I have to say about the reviews from last chapter. You have almost restored my faith in this site. It's still lagging behind my others, but I'm happy with the number :) And I'm so happy you guys actually like it! Ah, *glows* thank you! Please review on this one too ;)