Title: Being Brave
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Warnings Apply
Fandom: Harry Potter
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Tags: Alternate Universe, Getting Together, Fluff, Romance
Summary: In a world where Voldemort never happened, Harry Potter is just trying to live his life to make himself happy.
Word Count: 2,584
Spoilers: Entire Original Book Series
Beta: Grammarly



Harry Potter looked at Draco Malfoy as he entered the coffee shop and laid down the money for his daily coffee and scone. He tried not to seem like he was staring, but it was hard when Draco looked like he did. When Draco started looking around the room, Harry dropped his gaze to the book in his hand. He normally read on his Kindle, but he had been stupid and hadn't charged it, and it died while he had been reading himself to sleep the night before.

A few minutes later, Harry looked up again. Draco was sitting at his table across the way, his hands full, a bite of the scone and a pen. It was the same thing that always happened. Draco always went over the cases for the day before he went to work at his private healing practice.

Hogwarts had been full of rivalry between the two of them, and it had never gotten horrible, but it was the main thing Harry remembered about Hogwarts. It wasn't until years later that Harry realized that most of it was a want of Draco in any way he could get him. Despite a very lax upbringing when it came to other nobles like him, he hadn't been properly taught about relationships outside of heterosexual, so after college, he had figured most of it out for himself. He had dated a few blokes over the last few years, but none of them had clicked with him.

Then Draco had waltzed back to London, looking not nearly different enough from school and entirely too shaggable.

"How are you doing on tea?" the barista asked as she wandered around the shop since there was a free moment with no customers at the register.

"Good, I haven't drunk enough to need more yet." Harry gave the woman a smile, and she nodded before walking off.

Harry couldn't help but glance at Draco to find the man looking back at him with a smile on his face. Harry smiled at him and nodded before going back to his book. Harry really didn't want to deal with rumors of his crush on Draco getting around. He wasn't brave enough to do something about it. It wasn't even just the whole man thing with Draco. No, the Houses of Malfoy and Potter were not on the best of terms.

Lucius Malfoy had made a near enemy of James Potter when the whole Near Dark Lord Incident, as it was called before Harry was born. There had been a lot of issues in the country, and a Dark Lord had nearly risen up to take it all down, but Harry's grandparents had made sure that things were taken care of, much to the displeasure of Lucius. Of course, Lucius's hands were clean of anything that could be proven, but everyone knew that Draco took after his mother more. Draco lived with his father after the divorce, but that was more to do with learning his station in the world than anything else.

Harry wasn't brave enough to act on his wants. He just lived in Draco's orbit and kept collecting little bits about Draco. Enough to make a portrait of the man Draco was.

---

There was something about masked balls in the magical world that Harry loved. Magic was used to harm a lot in their world, so Harry loved it when it was used for something that was there to make people feel better.

The Annual Malfoy Masked Ball was something no one missed, even if Lucius was a horrible git. Harry had been going since he was young enough to come. The magic all over the hall was soft and gentle as it was used to mask all of the partygoers. Outside of revealing oneself, the magic made sure the masks stayed where they were, and no one was able to figure each other out by simple things.

Speech patterns were the biggest reason why someone was figured out. Harry hadn't spoken heavily at a ball in years because of it. He did some with the few people he danced with. Not even the hosts knew who each person was.

"Dance?" a man asked as he stepped up in front of Harry. He held out his hand with a smile on his face.

Harry nodded his head and allowed himself to be pulled onto the floor.

"Everyone tells me you are a very shy. You don't seem it based on that."

"I like watching everyone dance more than I like dancing."

"I see. People watching, trying to figure out who is who?"

"No, not really. When I was a child, yes, but of late, just how different people are. I like watching people interacting and knowing that the chance that they are rivals when it comes to politics is great."

"I see. I always think that it's one of those romances. The two flirting the most are the biggest arseholes to each other in their daily lives. Like an Auror and a criminal, the Auror has been trying to catch in the act for years and would never be nice to each other if they knew."

"And they fall in love?"

"No, not that kind of romance. I don't think it would be good for people that different from being in a relationship like that."

Harry nodded and smiled as he was led to the far side of the floor, where the slower dancers were.

"I do have to admit that despite trying, I think I figured out who you are," the man said.

Harry's feet stuttered in their steps, but the man kept holding him.

"And?" Harry asked.

"Well, I wasn't sure if you wanted me to actually guess to have you confirm or not."

"Well, if you get it, I could still lie," Harry said.

"I doubt you could lie to me, Lord Potter."

Harry gasped and allowed his dance partner to pull him in close and hold him tightly to make sure he wasn't going to escape. He wasn't sure he wanted to. Whoever this was knew him despite the magic blocking that from happening. He didn't want to think about that. How much this person had to be watching him to get that.

"And you haven't run, Harry," the man said.

"No, I don't think that I would make it far. It's flattering that you know me."

"I'm sure if you focused, you could easily figure out who I am. It's not like I have tried to hide who I am from you."

"To me. I have seen you peacocking all over the floor but wasn't aware it was for me."

"What better way to attract a mate?"

Harry laughed, but he knew the person was being honest with his words.

"Are you looking for any old mate or a certain one?"

"A certain one, and I found him right here."

"Why me?"

"Because I decided that tonight I was going to be brave since you refuse to Gryffindor up and be brave in our regular day-to-day lives."

"I'm not brave at all. I only sorted there because the hat wanted to put me in either Slytherin or Ravenclaw, but I wanted to be with Neville. I wanted to have at least one person I was close to in my house. I am not sure where else I would have gone had the hat not taken my want into account."

"Hmm, so I could have slipped into your bed with ease if you had just gone with the hat."

"that doesn't help as that could be-," Harry cut himself off as the other man's hand settled on his hip, directing him out of the main path again. He felt how their magic interacted as the man touched his skin and swallowed. Draco. It was Draco. Harry shuddered.

"Oh, do that again, Harry."

"Draco," Harry said.

"Ah, you figured it out. Lovely. I'm glad. Now, where do you want to go? My parents have already left, and I think yours never came today."

"No, they did not come today. They are at home dealing with an issue with a sick House Elf."

"Oh, the poor thing. Will they make it?"

"Yes, just worried about it spreading if they cared for each other. It's House Elf specific."

"Ah, that flu that is going around. We had one down with it as well. Mother took care of her." Draco's mouth traced the shell of Harry's ear. "Where do you want to go? No one knows it's us. We can do anything as long as the masks stay on."

Harry knew what he wanted. The hall the Malfoy Ball happened in was just like Hogwarts; it was full of places to get up to things that were no good. He tugged on Draco and stumbled into a dark alcove that Harry has seen a few couples leave with their clothes in disarray.

It was probably stupid as hell to do this with Draco, but even if it was the only night he had with him, he would take it.

Harry leaned into Draco, pressing him into the stone that was warm from charms.

---

Harry rubbed his eyes and tried to focus on the papers in front of him. He had trouble working on them at the office, so he had slipped out to get a little more work done while working on eating lunch as well.

A cup of coffee was set down in front of him, and then a cup of tea. He looked up into the face of Draco.

"I know work went to hell, so you haven't been able to come here for breakfast like you usually do. I was happy to see you in here when I came in. Do you want the tea or the coffee?"

"Coffee, please. I just...all the coffee."

Draco nodded, and he scooted it over before picking up the team. He took a sip and nodded before focusing on the staffer who was dropping off two plates of food.

"Ta," Draco said.

"What is this?" Harry asked.

"Our lunch date. I sent...you haven't been home, have you?" Draco gave him a fond look.

"No, I've been sleeping in my office."

"Of course you have. I sent an owl a letter asking you to lunch as soon as possible when you hadn't made breakfast after three days. Then you were here. I assumed it was for me."

"Well, I would have been here for that today, no matter what. Even if I had to stun every single one of my staff to make sure of it. I'm sorry that I assumed things wouldn't be the same in the light of day."

"Ah, that. I have done that kind of thing before, but I was upfront that I only wanted a night with them. If they took it as thinking it would mean more, that's on them. I want to know you, Harry, you've intrigued me for years, and I never thought about acting on it until you started to stare at me all the time with a look of longing in here."

Harry started to blush, and he dug into the food. It was what he normally got, so he assumed Draco asked the staff what he ate.

"I should be good for dinner Friday night; an apology for ignoring you even if I wasn't actively doing it. I know you don't feel like I owe you anything, but work went to hell, and I'm sure that Hedwig has a pile of letters from even my parents sitting on my kitchen table."

"Well, that won't do. Will you be heading home tonight?"

"No. I still have so much to do that it's just easier to do it while in the office and not cart it all home. This is the paperwork from other things that have been neglected all week. Why?"

"Dinner tonight? I'll bring it along. I do have access to that part of the Ministry for my work. I am on call to treat Aurors who have been injured. Fish or Thai?"

"Draco," Harry said.

"If you don't want a more public date than this, I understand. The area is full, and it would be easy to pass this off as a sharing-a-table event."

"No, it's not that. I have no clue if I will be there. This case could heat up at any moment."

"I see. Well, you can always send me a floo message, or I can show up, and if you aren't there, I'll leave the food under a charm on your desk. I just want the time that we can carve out for each other."

"And you don't mind being the one coming to me all of the time?"

"My work is more flexible. When I don't have a huge patient load, I can come and see you easier than you can come to me. I would expect that when you have the time and I'm busy that you would come to me."

"I would." Harry picked up the coffee and took another drink, finding the caffeine was already working in his system. He wasn't sure where this was going to go with them as he worked a lot, and Draco did as well. He had a private practice but worked special cases at St. Mungo's. He was on hand as well for spell damage to Aurors. It was the only time Harry had been around him in their years since school.

"Good, then we are fine, yes?" Draco asked.

Harry nodded his head. He was afraid of saying anything that might scare Draco off. The night of the ball had been good. Even after they had made out and gotten off in the shadowy corner, they had talked. It had been a wonderful night, and Harry hated his chill time the next day being cut by this case. Harry had been going non-stop since then.

"What would you like for dinner?"

"Fish," Harry answered.

"Okay. I'll get fish from my favorite place, and if you hate it, I guess I'll find a new favorite place."

Harry laughed. He reached out for more of his food. He was hungrier than he had been now that he and Draco were talking. Harry had spent more time than he wanted thinking about Draco and what might happen if he never got up the nerve to talk to Draco.

"Thank you," Harry said.

"Hmm, not that I don't like the praise, but what are you thanking me for?"

"Being brave when I wasn't," Harry said.

"It's okay. One of us has to be Gryffindor enough for this to happen."

Harry laughed and saw how Draco's eyes lit up at that. He needed to figure out how to pay him back for all of this when the time came that he wasn't neck-deep in a case that was driving him insane. He could be romantic, and he could be cute when it came to him and Draco.

"You should focus on eating so you can then focus on work. I'm going to sit here and read while eating for now."

Harry nodded, and he dug back into his food. He glanced at Draco a few times, but Draco only had eyes for his book and his food. It felt good, though, not needing to talk. Draco was kind of perfect for him, and he was glad that one of them had been brave.

The End