Forgotten Not Forgiven

Author's Note: So yes, this is a rather unconventional story, and I know some of you have theories as to what is going on and some of you are still wondering 'what the hell!' This chapter begins the spiral of unfolding events, and you get a brief peek into Draco's psyche... enjoy. Also, if you haven't already seen, I posted the first chapter of a new short story I'm working on called 'Plundered'. It's a funny, smutty Pirate Drarry tale.

Chapter 5 Keep Away

Harry was used to benefits and fundraisers, as a Ministry employee and celebrity he was invited to no less than a dozen events each year, most of which he declined, but some he was forced into attendance by either his boss or his wife. He hated the gawking and unwarranted attention he got at those types of functions, he hated people chatting with him about things they knew nothing about, and he hated being made into a spectacle.

The Malfoy fundraiser, however, held no undertones of dislike for Harry. He had been reluctant last year when Ginny insisted they attend, but unlike other nights, he’d had a fabulous time. The night had started off rocky at first, if he could correctly recall. He and Ginny had been accosted by the Minister upon their arrival and pulled into a long political discussion that had Harry feeling as though he might begin snoring at any moment. After they carefully maneuvered out of that conversation, Ginny had spotted a woman she had been chasing after for weeks trying to secure an interview, so she began pursuing the woman, along with other celebrities around the vast ballroom, leaving Harry to fend for himself.

He didn’t mind at first, until a certain blonde Slytherin skulked over to greet him. “Potter, it’s been ages,” he greeted coolly.

“That it has,” Harry replied carefully, not wanting his former feelings toward the Slytherin to leak into his tone. Time and war changed people and he would give Malfoy the benefit of the doubt until the man proved he didn’t deserve it.

“I’m willing to bet you’re bored out of your mind,” Draco remarked easily.

Harry chuckled and shook his head slightly. “I’m fine,” he corrected untruthfully.

“You’re also rubbish at lying. I’m bored and it’s my party,” Draco replied.

“Fine, I’m bored. Happy now?” Harry humored him with a smile.

“So, then all that’s left is to figure out what to do about it,” Draco mused with a smirk.

“We could spike the punch,” Harry offered helpfully.

“Already been done,” Draco replied in mock sorrow. “These bastards are equally dull sloshed as they are sober.”

“That’s such a shame,” Harry complained. “Perhaps we should magic their mouths shut.”

“Hmm, yes that’s a good idea,” Draco replied thoughtfully. “I’m afraid we would then be the center of attention though.”

“Not if we left,” Harry advised with a wink.

Draco laughed then, a deep throaty sound that reminded Harry of his old partner. He felt instantly comfortable in his former enemy’s company. “Ah yes, but where could we go that no one would find us?”

“I’ve always wanted to visit an island,” Harry suggested, his mind drifting to the postcards he kept in his office of crystal clear, teal waters and powdery white sand. “Someplace warm and tropical.”

“So a deserted island then?” Draco asked. “Could be fun, what would one do on an island?”

“Swim, bask in the sunlight, build sand castles,” Harry listed.

“I can’t swim,” Draco admitted.

“No? I can teach you then,” he offered in reply.

“You know how to swim?” Draco asked, looking slightly amazed. “None of my friends did growing up. We had no need.”

“If I hadn’t known I would have been fairly useless in the second Tournament task,” Harry reasoned.

“I forgot,” Draco replied honestly. “Did you really have to fight underwater?”

Harry nodded and began to tell the story of his experiences during the second task. He normally didn’t like talking about his adventures with anyone, but he felt oddly at ease with Malfoy. It was almost like they were old friends suddenly reunited as if no time had passed at all. He didn’t understand it, but he wasn’t willing to fight the feeling off, as he hadn’t felt that way about someone in a long while. He thought he’d rather prefer to simply enjoy it while he could. Harry had just told Draco about Ron’s jealous face when Fleur kissed him for saving her sister, when his wife approached looking wary.

Harry at once went tense at her concerned look, wondering if she was going to fly off on some tangent and ruin Draco’s mood. It wasn’t until he heard Draco call him ‘charming’ and felt a blush creep up his face that he realized what he was feeling. Harry was attracted to Draco, just as he had been to his old partner, Allen. What Harry had thought to be a weird fluke and a product of spending too much time together was obviously something else altogether if he was feeling that way toward Malfoy as well. He quickly shoved the feelings aside and stood up a bit straighter, trying to banish the look of dismay from his features. What he thought he was feeling for Malfoy was nonsense. He was just tired and lonely and willing to attribute the slightest pull as an attraction toward the man, when clearly it was just a new friendship unfolding, nothing more. He was a married man for Merlin’s sake.

Draco and Ginny sparred for only a moment before the blonde’s attentions were focused on Harry once more and he had to fight the satisfaction that welled up in his gut over the fact. When Draco asked him for another story he was happy to oblige and began talking about the night Lupin changed and he had to perform a powerful Patronus charm to fend of a flock of Dementors. He didn’t even notice when his wife left him alone once again with the man he used to loathe, however, he did notice how captivating the cool gray Draco’s eyes had been that night.

“I think if I were to pick anyone in the world to save me, it would be you, Potter,” Draco told him with a smile that seemed to come out of nowhere. “Would you mind having your picture taken with me?” he asked, and Harry’s stomach churned slightly at the request. Did Draco want to use his fame as a bolster just like everyone else?

He agreed nonetheless and within moments Draco had a photographer over and a bright flash of light blinded him. “Well, let’s have it then,” Draco demanded of the little man with the camera and with a couple clicks and a wave of the man’s wand Draco was holding a portrait of the two of them standing side-by-side. “Perfect,” Draco mused lightly, scrutinizing every aspect of the photograph.

“So what, is that for the Daily Prophet or Witch Weekly?” Harry asked, a bit more coldly than he wanted. It hurt deeply to think that Draco was only paying attention to him as a publicity stunt.

“This? No, this is just for me,” he replied, extending the photo for Harry to see while shooing the photographer away. “See what a powerful pair we make, you and I? It’s as if we were meant to be.”

Harry swallowed thickly and looked down at the picture. Malfoy was beaming proudly with his arm wrapped around Harry’s waist, while the Gryffindor looked visibly content at Draco’s side. Harry’s throat went slightly dry and his palms became sweaty, but he had no room to comment before Draco pocketed the photo and smiled at him. “We’re probably the best looking wizards here, Harry,” Draco mentioned, scanning the crowd.

Draco was by far the most handsome wizard there; that was certain. His blonde hair and regal pale features stood out amongst the sea of darker hair and skin, and while Draco was lithe and fit, the rest of the crowd seemed to be obese monsters in comparison to Malfoy’s beauty -for the man truly was more beautiful than he was handsome.

“Tell me about your marriage, Harry,” Draco requested, pulling Harry sharply from his fantasies. “Are you and Ginevra happy?”

Harry grimaced at the thought of his wife somewhere in the crowd while he stood there flirting with the Host. “We’re happy enough. No marriage is perfect,” he reasoned. He hadn’t touched his wife in months, having attended more than a dozen Healer’s appointments and no signs of Ginny being pregnant yet.

“I think they can be if you’re with the right person,” Draco replied, stepping a little closer. “Do you ever think that someone else might be right for you,” he asked, “or Ginevra even?” he added quickly.

“No,” Harry replied, backing away. This conversation was quickly going in a direction he didn’t like and he knew what the outcome would be, he’d experienced sharp rejection once before when he thought he was reading signs of mutual attraction and it turned out to be platonic friendship. “I think I should go and find Ginny. The guests are all beginning to leave.”

“As you wish,” Draco replied with a slight tilt to his head. “I’ll walk with you,” he offered and kept pace with Harry through the hall as they sought his wife. Harry’s discomfort only heightened when Draco began teasing about having a threesome with him and Ginny, and the smoldering gray gaze Draco affixed him with made Harry wonder if he was joking after all.

Harry hadn’t thought about the end of the evening much after that night and had only seen Draco on occasion throughout the last year. All he was left with was the twinge of comfort he had felt in Malfoy’s company. That’s what he was looking to grasp again tonight when he attended this year’s Malfoy Fundraiser.

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Draco took a deep shuddering breath and stared at the photo on his desk –the one he had taken with Harry this same time last year. The portrait was accompanied by one of his parents, and it was the only other personal item on his work surface. He often stared at it to remind himself of his goals and what he hoped to achieve through a carefully constructed plan that only a Malfoy would have the wherewithal and determination to follow through with. It hadn’t gone as expected, initially he planned to give Ginevra the night of her life and make her break things off with Potter right away so that he’d become available to him instead.

But no, the twit had actually told Potter and the man had agreed to allow their affair to continue, forcing Draco to carry on with the charade while he devised a new plan. Although recently Draco had begun to suspect that Ginevra was lying on that count and that Harry knew little to nothing of what was happening right beneath his nose. He’d been failing for weeks to try and get Harry to catch her, even going so far as to send anonymous tips that would place Harry at the scene of it all, but it seemed the Gryffindor remained stubbornly clueless as to his wife’s activities. It mattered very little though. Ginevra’s actions tonight would tell Draco everything he needed to know and soon enough Harry would catch her and divorce her and if the rest of the plan went as he expected, Harry would soon be falling into his welcoming lap.

He was fully aware that if Harry caught him with his wife that he would appear just as guilty of the treachery as Ginevra, but Draco felt confident that he could charm his way passed that stigma far better than Harry’s less-than-devoted wife could.

With a sigh, Draco pressed a kiss to his index finger and held it to the glass over Harry’s portrait. “Soon, my love,” he whispered before leaving his office to get ready for his party.

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The sound of a violin pierced through all other noise as Mr. and Mrs. Potter entered the room. Ginny had her arm twined tightly around her husband’s as they wove their way through the crowd. Her eyes were cautiously sifting through the mass of people looking for a spark of blonde hair so that she could steer them clear of it. She would have loved to spend time dancing with Draco, or otherwise engaging with him publicly, would that not lead the papers, and therefore Harry, to the conclusion that Ginny was having an affair.

Then there was Draco himself, who had been acting strangely as of late, and after their last encounter she was convinced the sneaky former Slytherin had alternative motives for continuing their relationship. She was certain that her lover was beginning to think of their affair as some kind of game to one-up the Great Harry Potter and if Draco didn’t keep his mouth shut about their relationship in front of her husband, all would be ruined.

An hour passed and Ginny noticed with relief that there had been no sign of the Fundraiser’s host. Harry seemed bored, but better bored than filing for divorce she supposed. When the Minister approached and asked if she’d like to dance she hesitated, not wanting to leave Harry’s side.

“It’s fine, Gin,” Harry told her with a laugh, practically shoving her into Kingsley’s arms. With a sigh she acquiesced and joined the man on the dance floor.

“Harry’s a shoe in for the next election,” Kingsley mused aloud while they spun slowly through the other dancers.

“Do you think?” Ginny asked brightly. “He seems to have a rather different impression.”

“Harry’s very modest. I’m not sure he would admit he had the power to be a brilliant Minister even once the position was thrust upon him,” Kingsley replied with a laugh.

“Very true,” Ginny agreed. “Still, I hope he runs. It would mean a lot to my family and I to see Harry occupy that seat.”

“He’ll run if I have to put his name in myself,” Kingsley joked.

“It might just take that,” Ginny said with a mocking huff of exasperation.

“If he can win over someone like Malfoy so easily, he should have no trouble with the rest of the Wizarding public,” he mused, nodding over to where her husband stood smiling next to her lover.

Without explanation she pulled away from Kingsley and walked as quickly as she could to where the two men stood. Draco saw her coming however and with a wink her direction, looped his arm through Harry’s and wove him away and out of her sight.

“What is he up to?” she hissed to herself as she stood on tiptoes trying to search out where they had gone. She scanned the crowd for ages trying to find the pair, asking everyone she knew if they had seen them, all to no avail. Finally she ventured outside the ballroom and roamed the corridors of Malfoy Manor before stumbling upon a pair of deep voices. She inched closer to an open door that seemed to lead to a study, and it sounded as if the voices were coming from inside that room.

“… She’s quite lovely,” Draco was saying, for his voice was easy to distinguish. “I’m amazed you two ever leave the house.”

“It’s not like that with us,” Harry admitted softly. “I- I don’t look at her that way anymore.”

Even though she knew deep down it was true, Ginny had never heard her husband actually speak of his lack of attraction toward her. How could he confide such a thing to a stranger –Draco Malfoy of all people- and not tell her that himself. All this time she could have left Harry for Draco if she’d just known for sure that Harry didn’t love her.

“So then you wouldn’t mind if someone else stepped in?” Draco asked, his voice disconnected though still a bit seductive. Ginny knew all too well what he was hinting at.

Harry didn’t have time to answer. Ginny couldn’t let the conversation continue, Harry had already nearly ousted her secret to Draco that he knew nothing of their relationship and she couldn’t afford for both men to discover her lies. She had a lot of thinking to do, but she had to stop this conversation before it progressed too much further. She quickly slinked into the room and went to her husband’s side.

“There you are, honey,” she cooed, winding her arm through Harry’s. “I had wondered where you’d gotten off to.”

“Harry hasn’t gotten off in some time, from what I hear,” Draco muttered crudely, making Harry blush.

Ginny didn’t hear him, however, and went on to talk about the Minister. “He said you’d be a shoe in for the next election, Harry.”

“I’m not interested in being Minister, Gin,” Harry sighed.

“Why ever not?” Draco asked with genuine looking interest.

“I hate Ministry politics,” Harry groaned. “I just want to settle down and have a family, but that hasn’t been very successful.”

Ginny winced at the comment, after her husband’s blurting that he no longer wanted her sexually, she could only assume it was because of their inability to have children. She knew when she married Harry that he wanted a family, and she thought that would be an easy thing to give him given the quantity of Weasleys so far, but nothing had been further from the truth.

“You could always adopt,” Draco reasoned, but Harry simply looked to his wife.

“Ginny doesn’t want to,” he muttered.

“I-I just don’t think it would be the same as having our own,” Ginny protested. “I wanted to keep trying and see what happened. Look at how long it took Hermione and Ron.”

Harry sighed and went back to looking at Malfoy, who seemed just as fascinated with her husband. “Yes, but that might simply be because she slept with someone else.”

“What?” Draco exclaimed, shock written all over his features. “I didn’t take Granger as the type to sleep around.”

“No, I didn’t either,” Harry admitted. “I still can’t believe she would do that to Ron, but I saw her with my own eyes leaving the Baglioni Hotel. She was even wearing Ginny’s scarf.”

A sound that mimicked a combination of a laugh and a cough expelled from Draco’s mouth, but he quickly recovered. Still his eyes flicked to Ginny’s and she knew he had put two and two together.

“Harry, I think we should mingle a bit and then head home. I’m not feeling so well,” she whined, wanting to get her husband away from her lover as fast as magically possible.

“If you’re sick we can leave right now,” Harry soothed, pulling her toward the door. “Sorry for the quick exit,” he told Malfoy over her shoulder. “It was nice talking to you, we should get together for a drink sometime,” he offered.

“Count on it,” Malfoy agreed with a slick wink. “And if you get bored after tucking Ginevra in at home you’re welcome to come back here for a night cap,” Draco offered in return.

Ginny almost lost her footing at the comment and vowed to do everything in her power to keep Harry occupied long enough to keep him from returning. There was no telling what secrets Draco would divulge with Harry at his private disposal –not with the mood he was in tonight already.

Author’s note: yes, I’m fully aware that Draco seems a bit like a creepy stalker, but so far as stalkers go, Harry could do worse, right?