Harry could feel the floo settle, the pulling sensation cease and the flare of the jade flames slowly lowering around him. He was left standing in a man's fireplace as the receding flames simultaneously exposed Harry and the room he'd arrived in.

It was a grandly decorated sitting room with ornate tapestries hung from the wall depicting scenery of the wilds that reminded Harry instantly of the forbidden forest. The floors were shining dark wood and the furniture looked older than Harry.

But all of that was observed in a vague way from Harry's peripherals because his eyes landed on the man sitting stiffly in the large armchair directly before him.

First, Harry saw the hair, and then the cold grey eyes, and then the dark robes and perfect posture.

As the last of the flames died down, Harry was left staring at Draco Malfoy, who in return watched Harry with wide eyed surprise.

Suddenly, Harry realized that the fire was on and with a small gasp, he jumped from the fire place, looking at his shoes to see if they were burned. His jeans were singed at the ankles and smoke rose from them.

Harry coughed, heart pounding, and finally glanced back up at Malfoy, shock still shaking him. The blond had pushed to his feet, a guarded expression on his face.

He hadn't considered that he would know the wizard on the other side. And Malfoy of all people...

This must be a trap, Harry thought. No way would Draco Malfoy put an ad like that up. Unless it was for something else; to make fun of harry, to hurt him, to humiliate him.

Harry spun on his heel.

"Wait."

Malfoy's voice shocked Harry still. It was borderline panicked and Harry couldn't help standing there, heart racing while Malfoy approached him.

He came to a stop behind Harry and Harry could feel his breath on the back of his neck, skating across his skin before he came around to Harry's side. He watched Harry closely, eyes raking his features until Harry finally found it in himself to catch the blond's gaze.

Malfoy swallowed and looked down, a surprisingly self-deprecating gesture.

"I didn't expect you to look so much like him," he said quietly and then cleared his throat. "Please," he said. "Stay for a little bit, at least."

Harry watched Malfoy, mind reeling with confusion.

Finally, curiosity won over self-preservation and he nodded.

Relief flooded Malfoy's expression and with a small smile, he led Harry into the apartment, gesturing for him to take a seat in one of the armchairs while Malfoy took the one across from him.

"Tea?" Malfoy asked and without waiting for a response, he waved a hand and tea and short bread cookies appeared on the small table between them.

Harry reached for his, grateful for the excuse to busy his hands.

"I take it you've never done something like this before?" Malfoy asked, accurately reading Harry's awkwardness.

"Er..." At the last second, Harry pitched his voice a little lower. "I didn't expect to see someone I know--er--recognize."

He took a sip of his tea, cheeks heating. He wouldn't last five minutes like this. Why hadn't Harry learned yet; he was not a good liar.

Malfoy smiled at him, amusement with absolutely zero percent sneer or judgment and that made Harry's hands shake even more. What the bloody hell was happening?!

Harry set the tea down before he burned himself spilling it, and looked at Malfoy.

"I'm surprised you didn't," he waved vaguely at Malfoy's face and Malfoy shrugged, getting Harry's meaning at once.

"I don't know if the general public could think worse of me at this point, anyway," Malfoy said casually. "I didn't see the point of glamours or transfiguration."

Harry nodded, seeing Malfoy's reasoning, but still, it was very gutsy.

"How Gryffindor of you," Harry muttered.

Malfoy smirked. And then frowned, eyes dragging across Harry's face even more intently.

"You look about the same age as me," he said. "How come I don't know you? Which house were you in?"

Harry felt the blood leave his face.

shit!

"I didn't go to Hogwarts," he said and picked up the tea again, taking a long sip to buy him some time to think of something. "We lived abroad for my dad's work. I went to Durmstrang."

Malfoy nodded thoughtfully and for a split second Harry was sure Malfoy was going to surprise him again by speaking to him in Bulgarian but the other wizard just took a sip of his tea and nodded thoughtfully.

"What's your name?" he suddenly asked.

"Harry Potter," Harry said without thinking.

Malfoy raised a brow.

"You're committed to your role," he said.

Harry blushed.

"Er, you said it would be discreet."

Malfoy nodded and looked away.

"It suits me anyway," he admitted.

The situation was weird to say the very least. Never would Harry have thought that Malfoy would want him for anything other than a punching bag. But seeing him like this, open and off guard because, Harry assumed, he thought the real Harry wasn't there...

Was his behaviour with Harry all their years at Hogwarts only a front? But no, that wasn't possible. Malfoy had hated him even more than Harry had hated him back.

"Why?" Harry asked, drawing Malfoy's gaze to him. "Why Harry Potter?"

A small smile touched Malfoy's lips, bitterness in every angle.

"I just thought I should try to get this out of my system," he said and the bitter smile grew. "This thing with Potter, well... it's not doing me any favours."

"Thing?" Harry repeated and then in a small, uncertain voice said, "crush?"

"Crush," Malfoy shrugged. "Obsession... love..."

Malfoy looked away, bitterness vanishing and leaving the blond looking small and lost, sitting across from Harry.

"I don't know what it is," he said. "And since there's no way of really finding out, I thought, one time, I could take this and then maybe I can move on."

Harry's heart skidded into his chest. Somewhere around the word love, he'd lost all ability to speak or breathe so he just sat still and watched Malfoy closely, feeling like he had never seen him at all before today.

"So," Malfoy said after a moment. He leaned across the arm of his chair, placing a pointed chin in his hand and arching a gaze at Harry.

"Do you like what I wave to offer?"

The reference to the post he'd sent earlier made Harry flush red because in his house, detached from the situation, Harry had known exactly what those words alluded to. Now and here in front of Draco Malfoy, images rushed to the forefront of his mind. Brief thoughts that he'd fleetingly had today became real images; himself and Malfoy entwined, pale skin flushed and hair a disheveled mess that Harry could run his fingers into. Lips hot and swollen on each other's skin--

"My ego can't handle much more silence," Malfoy said, looking amused if a little guarded again. "Do you want me, or not?"

Uncertainty entered his tone and Harry wanted at once to reassure him because if he wanted to know if he could fancy men, Draco Malfoy was probably as far as Harry had ever had to look.

"It's not that," he said. "It's just, I've never--"

Words left him and Harry shrugged awkwardly.

"Never had an anonymous hookup?" Malfoy said with a shrug. "That's fine. We'll keep it quiet."

Harry shook his head.

"No," he said, feeling his blush creep all the way over his ears and down his chest. "No I've never--"

He gestured to Malfoy as though that was supposed to explain everything and immediately felt like even more of an idiot. Of course he'd never got it on with Draco Malfoy. He wanted to roll his eyes at himself.

But Malfoy, clearly was a genius at interpretation and his mouth opened in a silent 'oh' at Harry's floundering.

"With a man," he supplied and Harry nodded helplessly.

He reached for the cup of tea again to hide behind, but before it came anywhere near his lips, Malfoy was there, gently pulling the cup from Harry's fingers. Feeling completely exposed, Harry could do nothing but watch Malfoy set the cup down, eyes boring into Harry's as he stood over the chair, a hand on each arm, only inches separating them.

"Why are you here?" Malfoy asked.

Harry swallowed.

"I was curious," Harry said, propelled by Malfoy's honesty. "About myself first, but now I'm just curious about you."

Malfoy swallowed and then his hands moved from the arms of the chair to Harry's shoulders.

He pushed him back until Harry's back was pressed flat into the cushion and then he climbed onto the seat, straddling Harry.

Harry's breath caught in his throat as Malfoy touched their foreheads together with a playful smile.

"I can't believe you even got the glasses," he said with a chuckle and sat back on Harry's knees before pulling them off of Harry's face.

"I need those to see," Harry said, squinting up at Malfoy. The blond was just close enough that Harry could see him trying his glasses on.

"Merlin, you're blind," he said with a chuckle.

"Just about."

He leaned forward and Harry thought he was placing his glasses back on his face but instead of the warmed metal touching his nose, lips touched his.

For a stunned moment, Harry stayed perfectly still and then his body took over. Hands first, slid along Malfoy's thighs, fingertips sliding against the soft fabric of his robes, then his head tilted just enough that their lips fit together, soft and gentle and warm and nothing like Harry thought it would be.

Malfoy let out a small, desperate noise and leaned in deeper, glasses cutting into Harry's cheek as he realized that Malfoy was still wearing them.

It sent such a thrill through him suddenly that Malfoy wanted him so much, enough to place an ad for the taste of it. Enough to wear Harry's glasses and dig his fingers into Harry's hair and tug him in closer.

All this time. All this time and Harry had never known, never noticed or looked deeper than what Malfoy showed on the surface. And now with one soft kiss, Harry could feel Malfoy's fingers trembling and his heart pounding against Harry's chest and it all made a kind of twisted sense.

"It makes sense, doesn't it?" Harry breathed against his lips. "You and me..."

Malfoy pulled back enough to look at him. He pulled the glasses off of his face and placed them carefully back on Harry's.

Malfoy came into clear view, straddling Harry's lap, lips and cheeks tinted pink and Harry realized that he was possibly the most beautiful person he'd ever seen.

"Damn, you're good," Malfoy breathed.

Harry leaned forward but Malfoy pulled back.

"Not here," he said in a low voice.

He climbed off of Harry's lap and offered a hand.

Harry took it.