Fiction is Not Life

He nervously stood outside the pub, his mind battling if he should go in or not. He wasn’t even sure what to expect when he did. He still didn’t even know whom the note was from, although, truth be told, his heart wanted to believe it was from him, which made it all the more worst.

He took a deep breath and let it out, finally making up his mind. He slowly reached for the handle, opening the door to the Leaky Cauldron. Loud voices and laughter filled the pub, making Harry aware how busy it was that night. He swallowed and took a quick glance around, wondering if perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to meet whomever it was in public.

He shook his head and entered further inside, moving toward the bar. It wasn’t like anything was going to happen. He was just meeting them for a drink or two, nothing more. He looked over at the clock on the back wall and swallowed, realizing it was almost eight.

“Harry,” Tom grinned at him as soon as he approached the bar. He grabbed an empty pint glass and filled it with ale, placing it in front of the brunet. “Where’ve you been lately? And you better not say another pub,” he joked.

Harry smiled and grabbed his drink, taking a sip. “Nah, I’ve just been busy, that’s all,” he answered.

“How’s your wife?”

Harry’s cheeks reddened, placing his drink on the counter. Perhaps it really wasn’t a good idea to be there after all. “She’s well,” he replied with a nod.

Tom nodded, turning his head to the side when he saw a new patron approach his bar. He moved to get their drink order, leaving Harry alone with his worries.

Harry remained seated on the stool, drinking his ale as he waited. He wasn’t even sure how he would recognize the person, but figured it wasn’t really him who would have to look, but the one looking for him. He glanced up at the clock again, seeing that it was exactly eight. He held his glass tighter, his hand shaking slightly.

Twenty minutes later, Harry was on his third drink and still no word from his mystery writer. He knew it was too good to be true. He even wondered if perhaps that note was supposed to be for someone else and Ginny had picked up the wrong book by mistake, perhaps having bumped into someone where they had both dropped their books to the ground.

He sighed and gulped the last bit of his drink, placing the empty glass on the counter. He motioned for Tom to bring him another, feeling a bit pained at the predicament. He should’ve known better than to think that message was for him.

“You okay?” Tom asked, placing his ordered drink in front of him.

Harry nodded, feeling his eyes begin to sting. He couldn’t believe he was on the verge of tears. It wasn’t like he was being stood up or anything. The message just wasn’t for him, or maybe it was but the person had gotten scared and changed their mind. Either way, he didn’t know the person so it really wasn’t like he was missing out on something. He figured it had to be something else, some other reason why he wanted to cry.

Then it hit him, causing his heart to ache more. As much as he told himself nothing would happen, he knew it wasn’t the complete truth. He wanted something to happen. He wanted to feel that passion he had read in those books. He wanted to know that type of passion; he wanted to live that passion. And as absurd as it sounded, he wanted that passion to be with Daniel.

“Glass of Firewhiskey please,” a man then ordered, causing Harry to quickly look up when he heard the familiar voice.

The man looked over at him and smirked, returning his attention to the bartender. He nodded his thanks to Tom after grabbing his drink and then took the empty seat next to Harry. He slowly sipped his drink and sighed, glancing back over at him. “You’re not going to run out like you did earlier, are you?” he started.

Harry nervously swallowed, staring at the blond beside him. “I’m sorry,” he softly apologized, shakily reaching for his drink and taking a sip.

Draco nodded, taking another sip of his drink. “So, are you by yourself tonight?” he wondered, glancing around the pub.

Harry nodded, shifting in his seat when he felt his cock stir. The knowledge of what he had done earlier after seeing him at the bookstore was still fresh in his mind. “You?” he then asked.

“Not anymore,” he answered with a small smile.

Harry shyly returned his smile, clearing his throat. “So what have you been up to lately?” he questioned.

After the war, the two boys had decidedly agreed to end their childish feud, their lives having changed much during that time. They had never gotten close enough to become actual friends, but at least they were able to be in the same room with each other without wanting to throw hexes or insults. They had even become civil enough to use each other’s first names.

“Mostly working,” Draco responded. “You?”

“Same,” Harry nodded, still feeling a bit nervous in his presence. “I’ve, um, also been reading a lot,” he then said, feeling his cheeks redden.

“More books on potions?” Draco smirked at him.

Harry chuckled, his body relaxing a little. “No, that was just a coincidence when you saw me standing there.”

“Why’d you run out like that?” he then asked.

“I don’t know,” Harry sighed, knowing that question was going to come up sooner than later.

“Lying is definitely not one of your strongest traits,” Draco recognized.

Harry sighed again, lowering his eyes to the counter. “You startled me,” he quietly replied.

“But you ran out after already knowing who I was. It was like you were scared to be around me or something,” he explained.

Harry shook his head, looking up at him. “It wasn’t you,” he stated. “It was just…you had reminded me of someone in that instant and it frightened me so much that I had to get away.”

“My father?” Draco grimaced.

“No, no one like that,” Harry said, shaking his head again. His cheeks reddened even more as he thought about telling him the truth.

“Who did I remind you of?” Draco wondered, noticing Harry’s flushed face.

“It’s too embarrassing,” he whispered, glancing back down at the counter. “I mean he’s not even real.”

Draco smiled to himself, understanding the man’s meaning. “So then you have read his other works,” he quietly mused.

Harry nodded. “I just never saw the similarities before,” he murmured.

“I have to admit that I’m really surprised you’ve read his stories.”

“They’re really good,” he stated, looking up at him.

“Harry, you do realize those stories are written more for…” he paused, arching an eyebrow.

“Males who like males?” Harry smirked.

Draco nodded, “That’ll work.”

Harry shrugged, reaching for his drink and taking another sip. “Those things don’t bother me. I mean as long as an author can keep me interested, then I’m happy.”

Draco lifted his glass to his mouth, hiding his smile as he took a drink. “Good to know,” he mumbled.

“So is that why you…” Harry hesitated, not sure if the question was out of line or not.

“Never married?” he smirked over at Harry, tossing the last of his drink in his mouth.

“Sorry,” Harry whispered.

Draco placed his empty glass on the counter and shrugged. “Don’t be. I’m not ashamed of who I am,” he expressed, smiling at Harry.

“You look really good, Draco,” Harry suddenly blurted out, blushing when he realized what he said.

Draco chuckled, deciding to have a little fun with it. “Are you coming on to me, Harry?”

“No,” Harry quickly said, his cheeks bright red. “You just rarely ever smile. I meant you look good when you do that,” he tried to explain.

“I look good when I do other things too,” he winked.

“Draco, stop,” he said, trying to hide his blushing smile by looking away.

Draco placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder and leaned in, feeling rather encouraged. “Harry, let me ask you something,” he then whispered in his ear, causing Harry to shiver in response. “Have you noticed Henry’s similarities, or just Daniel’s?”

Harry gulped. “Just Daniel’s,” he whispered.

Draco smiled, never backing away. “Dark hair, sparkling green eyes, very brave,” he continued. “You never saw it?”

Harry trembled, his cock finally at full attention from the man’s warm breath entering his ear. “Maybe a little,” he confessed. “I mean I always pretended he was me.”

“So did I,” Draco finished, quickly nipping Harry’s lower lobe and backing away before anyone could see what he had done.

Harry widened his eyes in surprise and turned to stare at Draco. He lowered his eyes down the blond’s body and then back up, feeling his heart beat rapidly. “You…you pictured…you…” he tried to formulate a sentence.

Draco smiled in amusement at his stumbling words. “Harry, do you know what a balaur is?” he suddenly asked.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head, a bit confused why he would ask him that.

Draco licked his lips and smiled, leaning in closer once again. “It’s a creature in Romanian mythology, similar to a dragon,” he explained.

“Okay,” Harry said, still a bit confused.

Draco’s smile remained, aware that the man still didn’t understand. “Harry, did you know that Draco means dragon?”

“I think I remember Hermione mentioning that to me in fourth year,” he nodded.

“Do you also remember that I’m not only a Malfoy, but a Black too?” he asked.

Harry started to nod but then stopped, his eyes widening in shock when everything suddenly fell into place.

“I’m Balaur Night, Harry,” Draco confirmed in a whisper near his ear. “I’m Daniel.”

***
A/N: Yay for those who guessed it! :) Wow, I can't believe the next chapter will be the last! I guess that's what happens when you write short stories instead of novellas or novels. haha But at least this means I can write more (and continue with my others..ahem...I know).

Eiti: haha That's okay. I'm glad you reviewed now! Well, I guess this chapter answered your question about the author. :) Good guess!

yaoiObsessed: You're very welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :) AND I got a squeal! WOOT! I'm really happy you liked how I did that with the words (I kind of liked it myself) :) Here's your next update. I'm not sure when the last chapter will be posted, but it'll probably be either tomorrow or the next.

ice: Aw, well thank you very much! :) I'm glad you like it. I hope you won't be too disappointed with how I had dealt with their past relationship. If I was writing this longer, I probably would have done more, but since it's a short, I was just concentrating on the bigger plot.

lusches_reloaded: Thank you very much. I'm really glad you like my story! Yeah, the chapters are rather short, but that's just because this story is a short story. I had even thought about putting it as a one-shot, but knew some people don't like reading longer fics in one sitting. Hope you liked this chapter! Thank you again. :)

FallenAngel1129: :) Sorry about that. I'm sure you're not happy with where I left this chapter either. But at least I updated quickly. :) Mmm cookie. Thank you.

Mr Spears: Thank you so much for the awesome review! I'm so glad you like my stories!! :)

Dezra: haha Don't you just love those? :) Thanks for reviewing!