Healing

Chapter 5 Substitute

Harry arrived at the Pain Therapy clinic around lunchtime. Lexi was sitting behind the desk and looked up at him when he walked in. “Mr. Malfoy is with another client right now,” she said before Harry even asked for him.

“I’ll wait,” Harry replied, walking over to the row of seats in the lobby.

“It will be a long wait,” she said. “It might be best if you come back tomorrow. I can set you up for a morning appointment, if you like.”

“Tomorrow?” Harry looked at her incredulously. “He said I could come any time.”

“Do not propose to tell me what I already know, Mr. Potter. If you’ll sit for a moment I’ll buzz him and see if he can fit you in sooner,” she added, pointing at the chairs in the lobby.

Harry sighed and waited until she had turned away from him to call Draco, and then he slipped through the door leading to the office corridor.

The security wizard saw him at once and beamed. “Mr. Potter, I was not aware you were coming in today.”

“Surprise,” he said. “Do you know which room Malfoy is in?”

“Sure,” he replied, looking down at his roster. “He should be in room-“

“Do not tell him a thing, Sal. He’s has no authorization to be back here,” Lexi spat from behind him. “Mr. Potter, I would have hoped you had more sense than that. You can’t just go barging in on Mr. Malfoy’s sessions.”

“But-“

She held up a perfectly manicured finger to silence him. “These sessions are secure and anonymous, so unless you would like the next Profit headline to be ‘Harry Potter Pays for Pain’, then I suggest you respect our other clients,” she hissed.

Harry folded his arms across his chest and frowned. He turned and began walking back toward the lobby, listening to Lexi mumble thing like ‘petulant child’ and ‘who does he think he is, trying to sneak past me’, under her breath behind him.

“What seems to be the problem here?” came a familiar drawl from behind them. Harry whirled around to face Draco.

“Your assistant says your unavailable today,” Harry said.

“Whatever Lexi says is gospel around here, Harry. Surely you realize that by now?” he replied, a slight smirk on his face.

Harry took a step closer to Draco, reaching out to grab his hand, but Draco pulled back. “What do you think this is, Potter? I’m not your possession; you can’t just come in here demanding to see me. You are my client, nothing more,” he spat.

Harry blanched. “So you just… do that… with all your clients?” he demanded.

A bark of laughter escaped his lips making Harry flinch. “You can’t even say it out loud and suddenly you want to condemn me for being a whore? Simply because you only just yesterday discovered you were queer, doesn’t mean I haven’t known for ages. Regardless, what is or is not done in my other sessions is private.”

Lexi glared at Draco. “We’ll be having a talk about this later,” she said before storming off.

“It seems you pissed off your girlfriend,” Harry muttered, still reeling from the sting of Draco’s words.

“She’s not my girlfriend, Potter, she’s my boss, and I hadn’t told her about our session yesterday, so thanks for that,” he spat before he too stormed off, apparently in search of Lexi.

His head was spinning as he left the building and apparated home. What had he been thinking? Somehow he managed to read more into his actions with Draco than were there. He spent the remainder of his afternoon berating himself for being such an ignorant arse.

--

Evening had Harry in higher spirits.

He reasoned that if sexual acts with Draco could relieve his retched thoughts, then it should work the same with anyone else. And if that were true he would have no further need of Malfoy. He wouldn’t need his insults or his pitying looks and he certainly wouldn’t need his glorious body, which he couldn’t seem to banish from his mind.

On the one hand this was brilliant news. His mind was so often preoccupied with thoughts of Draco that he had barely any time to have waking nightmares. On the other hand… it was Malfoy, and Malfoy was a heartless sadistic bastard.

Why in all of wizarding London, would the one person capable of making Harry feel like a human being be Draco Fucking Malfoy?

--

The music was thumping in time with his headache, or maybe it was the other way around.

Harry was back at The Castle, having finally made it past the door guard and was casually watching the people in the cages by the entrance. One man was trying whole-heartedly to fit a woman’s entire overly large breast in his mouth at once… he wasn’t succeeding.

In the next cage, a woman with a full patent leather body suit was whipping a man’s back as he licked her toes. Harry shuddered.

He stopped and stared at the next couple, two men around Harry’s age were in the cubicle, and both had their pants around their ankles. One of the men was getting fucked up the arse, while the other was roughly jerking off the first. The scene enthralled Harry, and he watched their movements and their faces as they grunted and pounded against one another.

He hadn’t realized his breath was coming in heavy pants, or that his hand and snaked down and started rubbing himself through his trousers until another hand joined him.

“Enjoying the show, Potter?”

“Malfoy,” Harry gasped. He tried to pull away but Draco held him pressed against the bars and splayed his legs apart slightly.

He gripped Harry’s cock through his trousers and began stroking him fervently, in time with the other men in the cage. Harry whimpered and thrust into Draco’s hand, feeling the warmth of his orgasm close to spilling over.

A moment later Draco withdrew his hand and Harry whimpered and tried leaning back into him.

“You’re drunk,” he spat. “I can smell it on your breath.”

Harry tried to protest, but the pounding headache was back and it made him want to hurl. He had been drinking… a lot actually. He didn’t think he would have the nerve to pick anyone up if he didn’t have liquid courage.

“What are you doing here, Potter? Are you stalking me here now too?” Draco asked, his voice was slightly amused.

To this Harry had a valid protest. “No, I’m looking for someone.”

“Who?” Draco’s eyes narrowed slightly, but his mouth was still curved in a slight smirk.

“I don’t know yet, but it’s not you I assure you,” Harry lied. It wasn’t really a lie, Harry had just wanted to pick up any random guy and bring him home, but in truth he wanted it to be Draco.

He hadn’t even realized, until he heard the volume of the music increase that he was being led over to the bar in the main room. Draco had pushed him roughly into a seat and got a bottle of water from the bartender. He shoved it in Harry’s hand and narrowed his eyes. “Drink.”

Harry obeyed, as seemed to be usual for his new dynamic with Draco.

“So, tell me again why you’re here, and this time be honest,” Malfoy said.

“I was being honest… honest,” Harry said, crossing his fingertips over his heart sloppily. “I came here to pick up a guy, someone to bring home and fuck,” he said, nodding confidently.

Draco laughed. “And who do you suppose would go home with your sloppy arse?”

“I would,” came the answer from a guy sitting next to Harry. He was tall and had shaggy blonde hair. His clothing consisted of a Muse tee shirt and black jeans, and he looked just as ill fitting as Harry did.

“No one was talking to you,” Draco spat.

Harry ignored Malfoy and focused his attention on the man next to him. “What’s your name?”

“Griffin,” he responded with a smile. “You really looking to bring someone home or are you just trying to make your boyfriend jealous?”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Harry and Draco responded in unison.

Griffin chuckled. “Could have fooled me, I could care less either way though. You want to get out of here?” he asked Harry.

Harry nodded and followed the man from the bar and back across the dance floor, leaving Draco standing dumbfounded and looking like he might follow after them.

--

The effect was disappointing at best and utterly pointless at worst.

He had brought Griffin back to his flat, making the other man drive since Harry had just apparated to the club. The fell on each other the minute Harry closed the door. He was so excited to feel the empty blank feeling of nothingness, so eager to see only white fuzz.

They undressed in a hurry and without ceremony shuffled over to the couch. Harry was trying not to compare the man to Draco, but he found it impossible. The infuriating ferret wouldn’t leave his thoughts, even when he had another man naked and bent over his sofa.

Harry really didn’t know what he was doing here, but figured the mechanics couldn’t be all that different from what he was used to. He angled himself at the other man’s entrance and pushed slowly.

The other man hissed. Harry had forgotten his name and tried to remember so he could ask what was wrong. Before he could put his finger on it though, the other man spoke. “A little foreplay might be nice. I’m not ready just yet.”

Right, of course. Harry nearly smacked himself in the forehead. What to actually do, though, eluded him, so he thought he’d just wing it.

He cupped the man’s arse and slid his other hand between his legs, fondling his balls. He started squirming slightly so Harry switched and reached his hand around and stroked him, trying to mimic what he had seen at the club earlier that night.

Figuring the other man might like things the same way as he did he began working his cock the way he would his own, alternating between long firm strokes and short quick ones. He could hear the hitch in the other man’s breathing and could tell he was close.

The blissful blankness he felt with Draco still wasn’t there, and Harry was beginning to get impatient.

A moment later he heard a loud gasp and cursing and looked around blindly around his flat. A glimpse of red caught his eye from the entrance and Harry blanched.

“Ron… what the fuck are you doing here?”

--

Authors Note: I love cliffhangers.