alisanne

Title: Random Encounter
Author:

alisanne
Rating: PG
Pairing: Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy.
Word Count: ~1140
Warnings: None.
A/N: Written for

hd_fluff's June prompt # 147: stormy, smirk, aristocrat, elegant, intelligent.
Beta(s):

sevfan and emynn.
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.

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Random Encounter

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Tapping his fingers on the smooth quartz surface of the bar, Harry looked around impatiently. Yes, he’d been early, but still, the person he was supposed to have been meeting was now officially late.

“Another?” asked the bartender, smiling sympathetically at him.

Harry sighed, downing the remnants of his drink. “I probably shouldn’t,” he said. “Clearly I’ve been stood up—”

“Have you really?” drawled a familiar voice. “Dear me. I do hope the press doesn’t find out.”

Wincing, Harry looked to see Draco Malfoy take a seat beside him. Elegantly clad in bespoke steel-grey robes, he wore his characteristic smirk.

“Malfoy?” Harry frowned. “What are you doing here?”

Malfoy rolled his eyes. “The same thing as you are, Potter, obviously. This is a pub, isn’t it?” Then, every inch the aristocrat, he perused the bottles on display behind the bartender. “I’ll have a dirty martini, two olives.”

The bartender smiled. “You got it, luv.” Turning to Harry, she said, “Are you sure you wouldn’t like another now your bloke’s shown up?”

Harry gaped at her. “My…Oh no, he’s not my—”

Malfoy snorted. “Yes, he’ll have another.” He winked at the bartender. “He does love playing hard to get.”

Chuckling, the bartender moved away. “Right, another chardonnay and a dirty martini.”

“Chardonnay?” Malfoy looked Harry over slowly. “Well, well. This must be someone special you were meeting. I had you pegged as more of an ale man.”

“I like ale, and I like wine.” Harry cleared his throat. “And not that it’s any of your business, but it was supposed to be a blind date. Luna set me up.”

“Lovegood?” Malfoy laughed. “You trusted her to pick a date for you?”

“I’ll have you know Luna’s smart,” said Harry, scowling. “Brilliant, in fact.”

“Oh, no doubt,” agreed Malfoy, helping himself to bar nuts. “I work with her, after all. But no matter how intelligent she is, you can’t deny she can be…odd.”

“Luna’s a wonderful person,” snapped Harry.

“Again, no one is disputing that.” Malfoy eyed him for a moment. “Are you saying you haven’t noticed she can be different? Do all your friends wear radish earrings? Or go Nargle hunting on weekends? Or—?”

“Fine, fine!” Harry huffed, accepting his drink from the bartender with a smile. “I’ll admit Luna can be strange.”

“That’s all I’m saying.” Malfoy took his martini, raising his glass to salute Harry before sipping. “Mmm, perfect,” he said to the bartender, who grinned. “Anyway, so who’s this person she set you up with?”

Harry shrugged. “Dunno. Some bloke she works with in the Department of Mysteries. She said he’s witty and smart and funny—” Harry paused. “Wait, did you just say you work with her?”

Malfoy sipped his martini again, eyeing Harry through his long lashes. “Mmmhm.”

“So you probably know this person I’m supposed to be meeting.”

Slowly, Malfoy smirked. “You could say that.”

Harry waited. “Well?” he finally snapped.

“Well what?”

“Tell me! Who is it? And where is he?”

Shaking his head, Malfoy began laughing softly. “Aren’t Aurors supposed to be highly trained observers?”

“Yeah. What’s that have to do with—?” Harry paused, gaping at Malfoy. “No. She didn’t.”

“And so the Knut drops.” Malfoy hummed, signalling the bartender for another drink. “And that’s just rude, Potter. And didn’t you just get through telling me how brilliant Lovegood is?”

“I…You’re my blind date?”

“I should have thought that was obvious by now.” Using elegant fingers, Malfoy grasped the olive-laden toothpick. Placing them in his mouth, he chewed. “Delicious.”

“But…why didn’t you say something when you first got here?” asked Harry.

“I wanted to see how long it would take you to figure it out.” Malfoy accepted his second martini from the bartender with a nod.

Harry glared at him. “Arse,” he grumbled. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe Luna’s mad and I should never have agreed to let her set me up—”

Malfoy placed his hand on Harry’s arm, and Harry shivered, his words trailing off as his breath escaped in a rush.

Gently, Malfoy traced a finger over the back of Harry’s hand. Sparks of awareness shot up Harry’s arm. Malfoy hummed. “You know, I can see why she thought we could make a go of it now,” he murmured. “We’ve always had this…connection, Potter.”

Harry exhaled. “Yeah, okay. I guess.” Shifting his hand, he linked his fingers with Malfoy’s. “So now what?”

“Now?” Malfoy smirked, using his free hand to raise his glass to his mouth. “Now we see where the night takes us.” His fingers tightened on Harry’s. “At least it seems we’re…compatible.”

Harry swallowed his wine, hyperaware of Malfoy’s touch. He smiled. Time to be a Gryffindor. “Why are we wasting time here, then? If we’re not compatible, we should figure that out so we can move on.”

“I knew you’d be bold.” Knocking back his martini, Malfoy stood up, pulling Harry with him. “Let’s go.”

“Right now?” Glancing out the window, Harry said, “It’s stormy outside, shouldn’t we wait for the rain to stop?”

“Why?” Malfoy leaned close. “A little moisture never hurt anyone.”

Rolling his eyes, Harry tossed some Galleons onto the bar before allowing Malfoy to drag him outside and into an alleyway. Once there, Malfoy conjured a rain shield and, pressing Harry against the wall, leaned close. “Time to get a head start on the compatibility test.”

Harry had just enough time to realise what a brilliant kisser Malfoy was before his thoughts skittered away under the influence of Malfoy’s heady scent and his skilful hands and tongue.

“We really need to go,” Harry gasped once they broke for air. “I don’t think we can do much more in public. Well, not without breaking decency laws.”

Malfoy laughed softly. “Mine or yours?” he asked, his hands sliding over Harry’s bum to squeeze his cheeks.

“Mine,” said Harry, and a moment later, the alleyway was empty.

Inside the pub, Ingrid was wiping down the bar when an attractive man walked in. He looked around, sighing when he saw the place empty. “Damn,” he muttered.

Ingrid smiled. “Can I help you?”

The man sighed. “I was supposed to be meeting someone here and I’m late. He’s about five nine, dark, messy hair, green eyes and glasses. Goes by the name Harry or Potter?”

Ingrid bit her lip. It seemed blondie had pulled a fast one. She hummed noncommittally. “That sounds like a lot of blokes. Maybe you should have a drink, see if he shows up.” When the man looked unsure, Ingrid winked. “I make a mean martini.”

“Yeah, okay.” Settling on a stood, he sighed. “So, how long do you think I should wait?”

Ingrid hummed. “Why don’t you see how the night goes?”

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