The Easter holidays were upon them and Dumbledore had called the bonded pair into his office and suggested a small holiday as far away from sources of strong magic as possible. Harry knew he was a little ragged around the edges even though his control was very good these days, but the only place he could go was the Dursleys' and that was not something he fancied.

However, somehow the headmaster had convinced Draco it was a good idea and after that Harry had been unable to change his lover's mind, so to the Dursleys' they were going.

Harry was throwing the last of his stuff into the small trunk he had borrowed off Neville when Ron knocked on the door. He was not going away for very long so he didn't need his big trunk and the smaller one was far easier to carry, but he only had an hour before they were leaving and he was running late. Even so, Ron appeared somewhat anxious so Harry stopped what he was doing and turned to his friend.

"Hi, Ron," he said brightly, "what can I do for you?"

His friend stepped into the room and closed the door.

"Um, Harry," Ron began hesitantly, "um, you know that both Hermione and me are staying here over the Easter holidays?"

Harry nodded; they had originally planned to all stay together until Dumbledore had come up with the idea that Harry needed to get away.

"Well, I was wondering, since you and Draco are going to be off in Muggle-land," Ron continued, still failing to get to the point. "Could we, that is, um."

"Spit it out, Ron," Harry said with a grin.

"Could we borrow your room for a night?" his friend finally said in a mad rush.

It took a moment for Harry to catch up and then his face broke into a full-fledged toothy smile.

"So you and Hermione are finally going to do the deed then?" he couldn't help teasing Ron just a little since Harry had taken enough stick over the months about his sex drive.

Ron was slowly turning a lovely shade of scarlet.

"Harry," he said in a warning tone.

"I don't know," Harry said, unwilling to give up just yet, "aiding and abetting the head girl and her boyfriend to break one of the strictest school rules: Bit risky that."

Ron was glaring at him now.

"You're really picking up some bad habits from Malfoy," his friend said as Harry laughed at him.

"Sorry, Ron," Harry apologised and patted his friend on the arm, "but turnaround is fair play."

Ron muttered something under his breath that Harry couldn't hear.

"If you curse me you can't borrow the room," Harry said.

"Then we can?" Ron said, brightening. "Borrow the room that is?"

"Of course you can borrow the room and for as many nights as you like," Harry said rolling his eyes, "just don't let McGonagall catch you or she'll skin all of us, not just you two."

Forgetting his previous ire, Ron now beamed.

"Thanks, Harry," his friend said brightly, "you're a real mate."

Ron turned to leave, but Harry caught him before he opened the door.

"Just one thing, Ron," he said evenly, "don't tell anyone else. This room is not becoming a brothel."

His friend grinned and nodded, and then he left.

* * *

Draco looked up at number 4 Privet Drive dubiously. When Dumbledore had suggested that they spend a week with the Dursleys both Harry and Draco had thought the old wizard had finally lost his marbles, but then the headmaster had taken Draco aside and explained his reasoning. Harry needed a break from magic and with all out war on the horizon there was only one place safe for him to get it. After that Draco had talked his lover into the whole idea.

That, however, did not make him feel any more comfortable about the whole Muggle experience, especially after what Harry had told him about these particular Muggles. Dumbledore had assured Draco that the Dursleys would be aware of the situation at least enough to know not to interfere, but the young Malfoy had his suspicions that things were not going to be easy.

The Dursleys had been conspicuously absent from the train station to pick them up for a start, and they had had to catch a Taxi. It was the first time Draco had ever been in a Muggle mini-cab and he had not been impressed. The noisy car had been a big step down from the chauffeur driven vehicles he had been in before, and the lack of cushioning spells had not made him happy.

[Don't look so worried,] Harry said silently as they stood on the drive, [they'll be horrible, but it won't kill us.]

[Are you sure?] Draco asked suspiciously.

The Muggle world just felt so inconvenient to him since he had rarely set foot in it. The whole process of doing everything was so slow and nothing was easy.

Then there was the fact that everyone in the Wizarding world always looked at Harry like a hero, even those who saw him as the enemy recognised that, and the fact there were people around who thought of him as a lower life form was difficult to believe. Of course Draco believed Harry completely when he explained the situation, after all he believed everything Harry told him these days, but it still did not feel right.

[You know I never took you for a worrier,] Harry's mental voice was amused.

[That's because I wasn't,] Draco returned in kind. [You're the one who's turned me into a worrywart. I would like it understood that my approaching nervous breakdown is all your fault.]

Harry laughed at that and they picked up their trunks. The front door was actually open waiting for them and Harry went in first with Draco sticking as close to him as possible.

"Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, Dudley?" Harry called out expectantly.

"Close the door you're letting in the cold air," came what sounded to Draco like a terrified response.

From the emotions coming off Harry, Draco did not think that The Boy Who Lived was aware of the reaction he caused in his relations. They left their luggage in the hall and walked towards the source of the voice and, as they moved into the lounge, Draco was not impressed.

The Dursleys were standing in the far corner of the room as a tight family unit and they were eyeing Harry and Draco like they might bite. The look in the slug-like man's eyes backed up Draco's initial assessment of the situation; these people were afraid of Harry.

"This is most inconvenient," Mr Dursley blustered as Draco watched him, fascinated.

If the situation had involved anyone but Harry, Draco might have found the whole thing amusing, as it was he couldn't believe that his lover had managed to spend his formative years with these primitives and turn out to be the hero he was.

"Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, Dudley," Harry introduced evenly, "this is Draco; Draco, my relatives."

The way the three Muggles looked at him, Draco realised that in their opinion he was beneath contempt. It was not an idea he was used to and it annoyed him. Cultivating a smile that could have terrified the Dark Lord himself, Draco fixed then one by one with his eyes.

"Interesting to meet you at last," he said smoothly, "Harry has told me all about you."

If the Dursleys hadn't been backed up against the far wall as it was, Draco was pretty sure they would all have taken a step further away. He was, overall, pleased with the result.

"We'll be going upstairs then," Harry interrupted the moment and gave him a look. It was difficult not to notice that Harry found the situation amusing, but he also appeared a little conflicted. "It's been a long day and we'll just get out of your way."

Draco kept his eyes on the Muggles as Harry turned to leave the room. He made eye contact with his lover's Uncle for a few moments, daring the other man to make a comment and then he followed his soulmate back into the hall. It was only after they entered the room, which Draco immediately assessed as pokey and dreary, that Harry turned to him and laughed.

[Oh that was even better than the tongue incident,] Harry said cheerfully and sat down on the shabby looking bed. [How do you inspire such terror? I've never found you that frightening.]

[That's because you've always wanted into my robes,] Draco replied and sat down next to his lover. [Anyway you inspire some serious fear yourself.]

Harry looked at him incredulously and now Draco was sure his soulmate had no idea the awe he inspired.

[Nah,] he said lightly, [they despise me, but they don't fear me. They only let me get away with anything because I told them my godfather was a raving psycho.]

[That might have been true once,] Draco said, looking around the dismal room in vague disgust, [but trust me, now it's you who is inspiring the fear. I know about these things, remember who my father is. You actually live here?]

His aristocratic pureblood side found the whole area distasteful and he wouldn't have let a servant sleep in such rooms, let alone a member of the family. Draco's opinion of the Dursleys was going down by the second.

[You really think they're afraid of me?] Harry asked, ignoring the question. [What's frightening about me, except maybe the wand?]

Draco turned to face his lover then, realising that this was now bothering Harry.

[Let's see,] he said calmly, [you're six foot, one hundred percent muscle, you have eyes that could glare down a dragon when you're annoyed and oh yes, let's not forget, you're the strongest wizard since Merlin.]

Harry still appeared dubious.

[They don't know much about wizards,] he said with a frown, [they think I'm a failure. And being a gay failure probably hasn't improved my standing.]

Draco decided he didn't like where this conversation was going. Either Harry was going to end up depressed or Draco was going to end up angry and he wanted neither, so he leant towards his lover and kissed him instead.

[Forget the Muggles,] he said flippantly, [we have a new place to christen.]

Harry did not resist until Draco pushed him down on to the bed and he moaned as which point he obviously remembered where he was.

[Maybe we should put up a silencing charm first,] Harry suggested as he broke the kiss.

[Why?] Draco returned with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

Slowly Harry mouth formed into a similar smile.

[You're evil,] he said mischievously.

[That's why you love me,] Draco replied cheerfully. [I wonder how much noise we can make before one of them would have the guts to come in here?]

[Do you really want Uncle Vernon walking in on us?] Harry asked playfully. [That would be enough to kill off anyone's ardour.]

Draco thought about this for a moment and had to agree.

[Okay,] he decided and went back to kissing Harry, [just enough noise so they remember we're here and know exactly what we're doing.]

[Oh Merlin,] his lover replied as Draco ran his hand up the inside of his leg. [I think I can manage that.]

* * *

It was the middle of the evening when Draco left a shagged out Harry to sleep upstairs. He had some things he wanted to sort out before anything in the household became too difficult. When Draco walked into the lounge the main reaction from the family was shock; they had obviously not been expecting to see him. The box in the corner was spewing out noise and pictures, but the three Muggles were now firmly focused on him.

"Good evening," he said cordially and favoured them with another of his devil-incarnate smiles.

Over the past few months he had discovered they worked far better than the patented Malfoy sneer: they were far more frightening even to those who didn't know him.

"What do you want?" Mr Dursley asked shortly.

Although the odious man had made the majority of Harry's life hell, Draco had to admire the fact that, even though he was terrified, the Muggle still managed to sound derogatory.

"I just have a few things to make clear," Draco said calmly, never for a minute letting the Dursleys see the extent of the distaste he held for them. "I do not care what you think of me, I don't even care what you think of Harry, you are all insignificant in my world view."

"How dare ..." Vernon Dursley tried to interrupt as his wife gasped in horror.

"Shut up or I will make you," Draco said pointedly.

Dursley looked as if he might blow a blood vessel as he went purple.

"I know you're not allowed to use magic outside that wretched school until you're an adult," the man blustered.

Draco smiled again and Vernon shut up. He really couldn't be bothered to try and explain that he was in fact an adult in his world; there were more important things he wanted to say.

"I want you to listen very carefully," he said evenly. "Harry is a genuinely nice chap; he respects the rules when they don't get in the way of him saving the world. I on the other hand am an evil bastard from a very long line of evil bastards and the only thing I care about is Harry.

"I know curses that would make your blood boil, literally, and I also know how to make sure no one would ever find out who did it. We are here for one reason and one reason only; Harry needs to rest. We will stay out of your way, you will stay out of ours and in one week we will be out of your hair. Is that alright with everyone?"

The three Dursleys were staring at him in wide-eyed shock, but slowly Vernon nodded, followed by his wife and then his son.

"Good," Draco said lightly, "glad we have that out of the way," and then he turned and walked back the way he had come