Memoirs of a Male Escort

Authors Note: I love my beta Alexandra. She's swell.

Chapter 5 Rule Breaking

The perfect escort will not only anticipate the kind of man their client wants in bed, but will also mold themselves into the man for any occasion.

For most clients it’s not only about the sex. There is a connection involved and whether it’s only a night in, having a meal by the fireplace, or a night on the town at a hip new club, or even a public event or ceremony, it’s always important to be the person they want you to be.

The perfect date.

--

Harry looked hot.

Draco tried to shake away the thoughts that threatened to turn this job into a real date. He hadn’t had a real date in years, ever since a bad incident with a bloke he met in a bar in Kensington. The minute the guy had found out what Draco did for a living he’d dropped him like a bad habit.

He had plenty of experience being the perfect date, but not much just being himself. That was where the major issues came into play. Harry knew him, the real him, and that’s what he would want to see, be expecting to see.

He had two very important rules conflicting with one another. Always give the client what they want, and never get too personal. Acting like the real Draco Malfoy would be crossing the line into too personal.

So which rule did he ignore?

He decided upon the latter. One night with Potter wouldn’t shatter six years of training. Madame X had prepared him for this. It might even be a test, something he needed to prove to her or himself. He could do this. He could be with Potter one night and he could leave – hopefully the next morning – and he would be exactly the same person as when he’d arrived.

Cold, cunning and unavailable.

On paper the plan worked fine… the execution of it could prove more difficult. Already he was letting old feelings for Potter resurface, old obsessions. He had spent his entire school career seeking this very person’s attention, and here he had it. Potter was his for the entire night.

Harry was dressed in a tailored black suit with a black satin shirt underneath. His tie was mostly black as well, except for a vibrant green Celtic knot pattern that laced up the front of it. The color in the tie reflected the color of his eyes, which Draco had always found spectacular.

His robes were simple and black, just like Draco’s, but unlike him, Harry looked comfortable in them. Draco had spent too much time out of the wizarding world to feel comfortable in robes now.

Without a word Harry held out his arm to Draco, who slid his through, linking them together, and tried not to focus on how right and natural it felt. Harry was a strong and firm presence beside him. His magic seemed to seep from his pores and flow along Draco’s skin, pulling him like a magnet inexorably closer.

“Ready?” Harry whispered, his lips closer than they needed to be for him to be heard.

Draco only nodded, feeling the tightness in his gut from his undeniable attraction to the man beside him. The tightness was filled with a different kind as Harry apparated them both to the alley outside the Ministry building.

“You’re going to have to stay beside me all night,” Harry said, his voice low and commanding. Suddenly Draco had less doubts about someone Harry’s age being in charge of the wizard government. He obviously knew how to take charge. “If you don’t stay with me, I won’t be able to protect you. You’ll be under a fair amount of scrutiny as it is, so just… don’t do anything stupid,” he added with a grin.

Draco rolled his eyes. “I think I’ll be able to handle myself perfectly, Potter,” he drawled.

“Good. I’d hate it if you got hurt or arrested,” he said. His words gave Draco a slight pause. Harry seemed genuinely concerned and this made Draco both worried and elated. Worried because maybe he should have rethought his acceptance of attending this particular event – one that would no doubt have every Auror in the Britain present for – and elated because Harry might actually care about him.

He shook his head roughly to banish that thought. It didn’t matter. Harry knew what he was and that would prevent him from ever getting too close. Harry was the loyal Gryffindor; he wouldn’t want to be part of a relationship where the occupation of his boyfriend was to sleep with people other than him.

It certainly wouldn’t fly once he became Minister of Magic, which was only moments away.

They made their way into the building in silence and walked through the Floo corridor, deftly ignoring the witches and wizards filing in around them. They were already beginning to whisper about Harry’s presence, then about his arriving with another man, and then finally they noticed that the other man was Draco Malfoy, former Death Eater.

They didn’t even make it to the checkpoint before a team on Aurors flanked out and stopped them from entering the ballroom. Ron Weasley was at the center of them and Draco inwardly groaned.

“Harry?” the redhead asked, by the tone of his voice it seemed he was suspicious that it wasn’t Harry at all.

“Ron,” Harry replied with a curt nod of his head.

“What was the first piece of wizarding candy you ever had?” he asked. The question seemed out of place, but Draco recognized the method of sussing out Polyjuice potion users during the war.

Harry smiled. “A chocolate frog, it was on the train with you our first year, and it jumped out the window before I could actually eat it. The trading card was Dumbledore,” he added.

Ron nodded, apparently convinced. “Would you mind telling me what the hell you’re doing then?” he asked, looking angry.

Continuing to smile, Harry spread his hand out in a peaceful gesture, not unlinking his arm from Draco’s. “I’m going to my inaugural ceremony, Ron. I would think that were obvious.”

Ron’s face turned a shade of red that might have even been darker than his hair. “What I don’t understand is what you’re doing here with him,” he spit. Draco was a little shocked to see Ron speak that way to his best friend and sent a pointed look toward Harry.

His look was ignored, as his eyes remained trained on the line of Aurors, Ron specifically. “Ron, you should know best of all my preference in men,” he replied.

If possible, Ron’s face grew darker and if Draco wasn’t mistaken it took on a hue of purple. “I. Mean. The. Ferret,” Ron said, biting out each word.

Harry feigned surprise at the question and Draco had to stifle a snicker. “Oh, you mean Draco?” he asked, his voice still calm and joyful.

Ron looked as though he might leap over and strangle Harry. The other Aurors seemed to notice, because one of them broke rank and stepped forward. “I think the question Mr. Weasley is trying to ask, sir, is why you are escorting a former Death Eater into the Ministry?”

“Thank you for clearing that up Roberts. I’m still confused however, why an issue is being taken with Draco being here,” he said politely. Draco’s heart was still thumping at the sound of Harry saying his given name. He loved the way it sounded rolling off his tongue and longed to hear it screamed out in the bedroom.

“Draco’s been cleared of all charges. I oversaw the case myself,” Harry said.

“Maybe we see now why you insisted on taking over his case,” Ron shouted. “How long have you been fucking the ferret, Harry? Have you been hiding him all this time?”

Harry rolled his eyes and immediately dropped the pleasant act. He stood a little taller and Draco’s heart beat faster at the force of power emanating from his body. “Care to make a formal accusation, Ron? Do you really think that I would harbor a fugitive then have his felon status removed with the Ministry only to bring him out as my date months after I cleared his name? Ron, that’s an ignorant theory, even for you,” Harry scoffed.

Draco was taken aback by Harry’s abrupt and condescending tone. What had happened between these formerly inseparable friends? Furthermore, why had no one even told Draco that Harry had disbanded the charges leveled against him? And beyond that, why had Harry done so? The questions whirled around his head, all the while punctuated by the strong arm, occasionally flexing with power, which was linked to his own.

“That’s for the Wizengamot to decide,” Ron said at last, a satisfied grin on his face. “Harry Potter, I hereby charge you with Treason, harboring a fugitive and conspiring to clear him of said status through illegal channels,” he recited levelly.

Harry smiled, but it was not the pleasant smile of before, it was a twisted menacing grin and it made Ron falter in his steps forward to bind Harry. Instead he waved for one of the lower Aurors to do so. They bound Draco as well and hauled the both of them off to the lifts.

Authors Note: I love reviews and magical baked goods.