Rivaling Affections

Authors Note: Many thanks to my beta Alexandra! Warning: You may want to eat before reading this chapter! lol

Chapter 7

Harry was staring out the window of his study, his favorite place in the entire cottage, and taking slow deliberate bites of one of the chocolate raspberry torts he had made that afternoon. He was savoring the flavors of the coffee he had added into the mixture and noting that he should add a hint more raspberries to the batch next time, when he saw a pair of arctic eyes reflected in the window.

“Malfoy,” he called in greeting.

“How in Merlin’s name do you stay fit with the way you eat? Every time I turn around you’re either eating something or cooking something,” Draco lectured from the doorway.

“You think I’m fit?” Harry asked as he turned in his chair to face Malfoy, casually propping his feet up on the desk.

Draco rolled his eyes. “You know you’re gorgeous. Not everyone warrants the cover of Witch Weekly, you know.”

A subtle smile curled at the corners of Harry’s mouth. “Yes, but that’s different from you thinking I’m fit.”

If he didn’t know better Harry would have suspected the slight pink tingeing Draco’s cheeks was a blush. “Well, you certainly aren’t overweight, but you should be with everything you eat.”

Harry shrugged. “I only eat this way during the summer. I’m too busy to cook while school is in session, plus, it’s not as though I just sit about all day.”

He knew that Draco had to have seen how active he was. He had been staying at Harry’s house for nearly two weeks. In fact, students were set to arrive the following day, which meant no more attempts to change Draco’s mind about a relationship. Harry had set that as his cut off. If he wasn’t able to persuade the Slytherin by the day the students returned, he would give up.

Harry slid the plate piled with oozing chocolate goodness a few inches toward Draco, but kept the spoon in his own hand. “Would you like a bite?” he asked, licking a leftover remnant of raspberry from his finger.

Draco watched his with wide eyes and nodded slowly. “Yes… I mean… sure. This may be the last time I get to try your famous baked goods.”

“That’s true,” Harry replied with a sage nod and dipped the spoon into the warm gooey mousse. He held the spoon up to Draco’s mouth and smiled, waiting.

Draco took the bite, cleaning the spoon entirely with a quick flick of his tongue. His eyes fluttered closed as he ran the dessert across his pallet, a soft sigh of delight escaping his pink lips. “Perfect, as usual,” he moaned at last.

Harry grinned and leaned over, rubbing his finger lightly at the corner of Draco’s mouth, and putting it to his lips. Draco’s eyes went wide at the motion. “You missed a bit of chocolate,” he explained. “It would be a shame to waste it.”

He had contemplated just licking it straight from Draco’s face, but thought that might be too forward. He was still thinking about the potentially surprised look on the blonde’s face if he were to do that, when he felt warm, soft and insistent lips on his own.

The flavor of coffee, chocolate and raspberry mixed with the inherent taste that was Draco, and swirled over his tongue. Places deep within him tightened with yearning as their mouths collided in a wet, artistic dance.

He flung a hand haphazardly into Draco’s hair, marveling at the soft as silk texture of it between his fingers, and pulled him closer. Draco devoured his mouth, leaving no space free from his tongue’s assault, eliciting deep guttural moans from Harry’s throat.

When they finally broke apart, it was only to catch their breath. “Tell me you didn’t feel that,” Draco challenged.

Harry blinked, trying to clear his head. “I felt it, but that’s the main problem between us.”

“What’s that?” Draco asked.

“To you, that just meant sex, to me it meant… well, more,” Harry replied, pushing himself away so as not to be caught off guard again.

Draco reached out a pale hand and brushed it lightly across Harry’s cheek. “Just give in,” he whispered. “We’ll both be too busy for anything to happen between us once school begins.”

“I know,” Harry replied, his voice just as breathy. “I just… I can’t.”

He turned and left the upper floor study, but Draco gripped his hips roughly and spun him round the minute he reached the bottom landing. He was nearly nose-to-nose with the beautiful Slytherin, and all he wanted to do was continue their kiss.

“Dammit, Potter. What’s the big deal? It’s only sex,” he hissed, his voice coming out more frantic than Harry suspected he wanted it to.

“It’s not just sex to me, Malfoy. I give a piece of myself away when I’m with someone like that, and I can’t afford to give up as large a piece as you would take from me, especially not while you’re unwilling to give anything up in return,” Harry replied tersely.

He waited for Draco to refute him, to argue that he would give himself to Harry in return, but no words came. Draco’s hold on his hips began to slacken and Harry turned and walked away, heading for the kitchen. He would need to fix dinner for everyone soon, and cooking always helped him relax and clear his mind.

In the shuffle of pots, pans and ingredients, Harry failed to notice Draco watching his every move with rapt fascination.

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Harry moved like liquid desire, Draco decided. Every flick of his wrist was graceful, every stirring, ladling, or basting was drool inducing. If Harry brought half of his passion during making a four-course meal into the bedroom, Draco knew it would be worth the wait.

Only patience was the one thing he practiced in moderation, and so it was not by any means Draco’s strong suit.

Draco took a deep breath to inhale the fragrances of Harry’s preparations. He was cooking a rack of lamb on a giant wood-burning grill just outside the side doors; cranberries and spiced apples were simmering separately on the oven while he whisked a port wine sauce together with pomegranate seeds.

The scents accosted his nose and made his mouth water.

He continued to watch as Harry made more of the chocolate tort he had been snacking on earlier, never letting any of the other parts of his meal burn or boil over. It was magic without the use of magic. In fact, seeing Harry so agile and focused in the kitchen made Draco wonder why the Gryffindor had always had sorry marks in Potions.

“Enjoying the show?” a twinkling voice sounded from behind him.

Draco’s turned at once to smile at his Aunt, regretting having to turn his attention from Harry and his amazing skills. “He’s rather spectacular at this,” he mused out loud to Andromeda’s agreement.

“I truly love it when he’s here, both for his bright and energetic company and for the food he makes that makes the feasts the Hogwarts house elves prepare look like gruel,” she laughed.

Draco groaned. “I should probably be angry at him for getting me used to it. This is probably the last night I’ll ever get to eat like this.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Andromeda replied.

Draco smiled weakly. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought the very same thing over the last couple of weeks, but he kept arriving at the same conclusion. A relationship with Harry would be volatile at best and disastrous at worst, and he wasn’t willing to risk his new career on the slim chance of he and Harry making things work.

It didn’t make him want Harry any less though. In fact, it probably had the opposite effect. Draco found himself clinging to every word Harry uttered, every gesture he made, and was now even dreaming about a life that entailed the two of them living in this beautiful cottage and making each other blissfully happy on a regular basis.

But it was nonsense. Draco lived in the real world, and in the real world there were no sweet dreams, no fairytale wishes and no happily ever afters.

In the end, one of them would screw things up, and that would make working side by side with Harry a nightmare.

“I know what you’re hinting at, Andromeda, but I’m afraid it’s impossible. Potter has nothing to offer me,” Draco replied.

“I thought my sister had raised you not to be foolish,” she said sharply. “Harry is kind and smart. He’s self-sufficient, has a clever sense of humor. He’s great with Teddy and you’re obviously physically attracted to him, so what else is there?”

Draco blushed and looked down at his feet. “Maybe he’s just too good,” Draco answered at last. “Nothing is ever as good as it seems on the surface, you know.”

“Boy, I have lived with Harry for four years. Do you honestly think I don’t know the difference between Harry as he is to the public and the real Harry, the person he is in the privacy of his own home?” she asked blatantly ignoring Draco’s eye roll.

“You’re lucky, Draco. He never even put on an act for you. He was his true and honest self, probably since you met him, but certainly since you’ve been living within these walls. I’ve seen it, the admiration you have for him, and I’ve seen the same reflected in his eyes,” she continued.

Draco sighed and leaned heavily against the wall. “I just can’t commit to what he’s asking of me. I don’t even know if any of it’s true.”

“Just look into his eyes. Harry has the most expressive eyes, and no matter what words his lips form, his eyes will be telling the truth,” she whispered, and patted him lightly on the cheek before heading to the kitchen, where she pulled up a chair next to Teddy.

He would love to verify everything in Harry’s eyes, the only issue with that being that the emerald green orbs were like death traps, pulling his own soul into their depths.

Draco shook off the feeling of foreboding and joined the others at the small island they used as a table. The meal was so delicious, the meat was tender and juicy, the cranberries tart and the apples sweet and spicy. It was the perfect farewell meal.

That was what it felt like… like a last meal.

Tomorrow he and Harry would head off to the school, where they would spend most of their daylight hours watching and instructing the students within its walls. They would get back too late in the evenings, that even though Draco was coming back to the Potter manor, he would hardly see him due to grading papers and being completely exhausted.

There would be no time to pine over Harry, and no time to worry over whether or not to give into his demands and try for a relationship. They would each be the head of rivaling houses and it would be nearly impossible to make something work during their blisteringly paced schedule.

So why was he still worrying over it? Wondering if Harry was just going to forget him, wondering if the man he wanted so nonsensically would move on and find someone else to fill Draco’s shoes?

“You’ve outdone yourself, Potter,” he said, still unable to shake the woozy feeling from his gut.

“Thanks, Malfoy. You know, there’s more of that tort if you’re interested,” Harry replied with a wink.

“Tease,” Draco muttered and Harry laughed.

“Did Draco get dessert before dinner? That’s so unfair!” Teddy exclaimed.

“Draco only had a bite of my test run this afternoon,” Harry corrected.

A shiver ran down Draco’s spine at the sound of his given name rolling from Harry’s tongue. “So I was your chocolate lab rat?” Draco asked.

Harry shrugged, “I didn’t hear you complaining before, when the chocolate was melting on your tongue. In fact, I think you might have moaned for me. ”

Teddy clasped hands over his ears and began humming to himself, and Andromeda stifled a laugh. “Really boys, you’re either going to have to get better at hiding your desires, or you’re going to need to do something about them. And I mean soon,” she said with a stern glare, as she led Teddy away from the table.

Harry was blushing furiously and it was terribly endearing. He ran a hand through his raven locks and blew out a huff of air. “Sorry about that. Sometimes I forget there are other people in the room when I’m talking to you.”

Draco blinked rapidly. Being flirted with by Harry was exhilarating and filled Draco full of power and need. To think that someone like Harry might actually want him, really want him, was like an intoxicating drug.

“Can I help you clean up?” Draco asked at last, after getting a secure hold on his spiraling emotions.

Harry smiled, and in his eyes were sparkling pieces of desire mixed together with embers of gratitude and an energy that Draco couldn’t quite put his finger on. “I’d like that,” he whispered as he began gathering plates and glasses and assembling them haphazardly in the sink.

Draco came to his side and with a flick of his wand the dishes began floating into the air one by one and washing themselves to a glittering shine. Harry’s laugh made him turn his head in question.

“Don’t you do anything without magic?” he asked.

“Why should I?” Draco asked, utterly appalled.

Harry placed his hand gently over Draco’s sending another shiver through his entire body. “Just try it, for me?”

Draco rolled his eyes and reached his delicate pale hands into the dishwater. He grimaced at the feel of food squishing between his fingers. “I really don’t like this,” Draco said at last, after only washing three plates.

Harry laughed and nodded. ”Well, at least you tried.”

“I don’t get why you always do things the muggle way,” Draco added.

“Some of us don’t have a choice,” Harry replied, his lips thin and tight and his gaze elsewhere.

“What? I’ve seen you use magic, don’t tell me you can’t,” Draco blurted. And he had seen it, just not very often.

“No, I can… it’s just that I shouldn’t,” Harry replied.

“Care to explain that?” Draco said, stepping closer.

Harry immediately took a step back. “I’d rather not, actually. Just suffice it to say, there are reasons for the way I do things,” he sighed.

“I don’t understand,” Draco said, clutching Harry’s arms tightly within his own. He felt the other man’s need for flight quivering beneath the surface and he wanted to stop him from running away.

“Look, Draco, I’ve already said too much. Just leave the dishes. I’ll clean them tomorrow before we leave,” he said, and easily pulled from Draco’s powerful grip.

Revelations kept bombarding Draco’s mind. The first was that he loved the way his name sounded from Harry’s mouth, and the other was that every time Draco had kept Harry from leaving was false. It had always been Harry who stopped himself from leaving Draco behind.

The force of power that released Harry from Draco’s grip was something unexpected.

The last revelation was that Harry had a secret, one that he would keep from Draco, even though he claimed to want to have a relationship with him.

All these things fought for priority in Draco’s mind as he watched Harry walk away.

Authors Note: For reviewing this chapter you'll get one of those delicious chocolate torts