Back to My Fics...

Author: FireAngel8723
Pairing: HP/LM
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: See this page.
Author's Notes: In this story, Lucius never went to Azkaban. The rating is for slight language. Just a warning: there may be Americanisms, since I don't use a beta. Also, my Lucius is OOC toward the end, but I like him anyway. Fic is loosely based on the song "Masquerade" from Phantom of the Opera.

Harry Potter looked down at the invitation in his hand in disbelief. �Are they kidding?� he wondered aloud, running a hand through his hair in irritation.

�No. Unfortunately, they�re not,� came an amused drawl from the doorway. Harry looked up to meet the sparkling gray eyes of fellow Senior Auror Draco Malfoy. The blond strode into the tiny cubicle and made himself comfortable in the chair in front of Harry�s cluttered desk. Papers scattered as he propped his feet up.

Harry rolled his eyes and summoned the papers from the floor. �Do they realize there are still Death Eaters on the loose? Have they completely lost their minds?�

�What minds?� Draco quipped, smirking. Harry snorted and looked back down at the shimmering gold ink on the dark blue invitation parchment. �Says it�s being held at Malfoy Manor. At least there are�� he trailed off as Draco suddenly snatched the invitation out of his hands. �You didn�t know it was being held at your home?�

Draco ignored him in favor of peering closely at the parchment as if the location of the masquerade ball was going to change if he glared at it long enough. He was also muttering under his breath, and Harry stifled a laugh as he caught the words, �Father�fucking crazy�can�t believe�lost his mind��

�Um, Draco?�

�What?�

�How, exactly, did you not know about this?�

�I didn�t read my invitation. I just saw the opening lines and came to watch you pull your hair out in frustration. Damn it all, Father�s been locking himself in his study and evading my questions about what he�s been doing. By the gods, if I knew this was what he was planning in there�� Draco shook his head and stood to leave. �I�m going to find out just what the hell that man was thinking.�

�Good luck,� Harry said, snickering. After Draco left, Harry couldn�t help but think of the security nightmare the Ministry�s latest celebration was going to be.

Later that afternoon, as Harry sat filling out paperwork from his latest complete assignment, the successful capture of Death Eaters Crabbe, Senior and Crabbe, Junior, a memo came fluttering into his office. Harry grabbed it out of the air and unfolded it: it was a summons to the Head Auror�s office. Sighing, he put his paperwork back into its folder and headed down the hall to his boss�s office. �You wanted to see me, sir?� he asked, poking his head through the open door.

�Ah. Potter. Come in and sit down,� Kingsley Shacklebolt replied. When Harry was seated, Kingsley got straight to the point. �Have you gotten your invitation to the masquerade ball?�

Harry barely restrained himself from sighing in irritation. �Yes, sir. I got it,� he replied.

�Good. I�m putting you on duty to oversee the set up of extra wards at Malfoy Manor beforehand. You�ll have to go over there a week before with a team of Warders, then you�ll go the day before on your own to make sure they�ve settled the right way. That�ll leave you off duty for the ball itself,� Kingsley explained.

Harry�s brow furrowed in confusion. �You don�t want me at the ball?� he asked. �I always work the post-Voldemort parties.�

�I don�t want you working that night, no. But I never said I didn�t want you there.�

Harry�s expression suddenly became wary. �If I don�t have to work, I don�t want to be there at all.�

Kingsley sighed. �Harry, this is friend to friend, not boss to subordinate. Go to the damn ball, off the clock for once, and enjoy yourself. You�re 25 years old! That�s too young to start working yourself to death,� he said. �Besides, I have it on good authority that your two best friends are starting to forget what you look like, you�ve been working so much.�

�I hate these celebrations!� Harry burst out. �I hate being stared at and hero-worshipped. Just because I happened to be in the right place at the right time? Anyone else would have done the same thing if they�d been in my place. And Ron and Hermione are exaggerating�I saw them a week ago at Bill and Fleur�s daughter�s birthday party.�

�Yes, but how long were you there before you had to leave to chase down the Crabbes?� Kingsley countered. �Listen, I�m not asking you to like it, although I think you might, since the masks are designed to completely conceal identity. I�m just asking you, just this once, to humor those of us who think you�ll be a hermit with no life but work by the time you�re 30.�

Finally, Harry relented. �Fine. I�ll give it a chance. But if I don�t like it, I refuse to stay.�

�Fine. Now go get back to your paperwork,� Kingsley ordered with a grin.

After work, as Harry relaxed in loose drawstring pants and a plain t-shirt, he re-examined the invitation to the masquerade ball. In the past three months, he had received so many invitations to events celebrating the downfall of Voldemort that he had stopped counting. The larger and more well known celebrations, mostly hosted by the Ministry, had been patrolled by Aurors, Harry included, since there were still several notorious Death Eaters at large. Even though he had only attended the larger celebrations as a Senior Auror assigned for protection, he was still stared at and cornered and asked to recount just exactly how he had killed Voldemort once and for all.

It had happened three months ago, yet for Harry, it still felt like yesterday. The Order of the Phoenix�s highest ranked Death Eater spy, Lucius Malfoy, had finally pinpointed the exact location of Riddle Manor, where Voldemort and his allies were gathering. As part of a carefully orchestrated plan, Harry allowed Lucius to �capture� him and take him to Voldemort. Harry�s wand was confiscated and he was bound and gagged before he was allowed within 100 feet of the Dark Lord, but that posed no problem.

In the extensive training Harry had received from the Order, started in his seventh year at Hogwarts, and in his training to be an Auror, Harry had managed to master silent spells, Wandless magic, and Mind magic. It helped that the training pushed Harry so hard that he unlocked all his inherent power, making him magically stronger than Voldemort and Albus Dumbledore.

So when Harry was dragged before the inhuman creature that Voldemort had become, he felt no fear�only determination. Ignoring Voldemort and the jeering Death Eaters, Harry concentrated on immersing himself in the raw power of his magic. Before Voldemort could figure out what Harry was doing, Harry had accessed his magic and had begun weaving complicated binding and constricting spells around the Dark Lord and the loyal Death Eaters. When he was satisfied, he shook off his own bindings as if they were just pesky little bugs. With a long, unnamed incantation spoken in Ancient Greek, Harry sent Voldemort�s soul to the lowest level of Hell. The now-empty body of the Dark Lord crumbled into ash as Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy quickly stupefied the rest of the Death Eaters. Malfoy reached Harry just in time to prevent him from hitting the floor as he slipped into unconsciousness from the magical drain of killing Voldemort.

Harry had woken from his self-induced coma six days later, his magic completely restored to its normal levels. He returned to his work as a Senior Auror the very next day, not taking any personal time at all to contemplate his victory. He was too busy watching other people who were carelessly throwing parties with no regard for the fact that not all the Death Eaters had been confined in the room where Voldemort had crumbled to dust.

Sighing, Harry shook himself from his musings and signed his name with a flourish on the invitation to signify his attendance at the masquerade ball.

Ten minutes after the invitation popped out of existence at Harry�s signature, a small box appeared on the coffee table in Harry�s living room. The attached note explained that the box contained Harry�s customized masquerade costume and mask, both with built-in charms to hide the wearer�s identity until 10:00 pm.

Harry grinned ruefully and carried the box with him to his bedroom. �Well, maybe this won�t be so bad after all,� he mumbled tiredly, setting the box inside his wardrobe and telling himself he�d look at his costume in the morning. Harry crawled into his bed and was asleep nearly as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Harry sighed once again as he ran a hand through his messy hair. He�d noticed himself doing that increasingly often: sighing in exasperation. He took a deep breath and stalked over to the Warding team he had brought to Malfoy Manor. They seemed to be having trouble erecting an anti-Dementor barrier over the east gardens. �What�s the problem?�

�We think there�s an existing spell over this part of the gardens that is negating our efforts with both the anti-Dementor barrier and the Polyjuice detecting blanket charm,� a tall blonde woman spoke up.

�Only we can�t figure out what exactly is causing the problem,� a man with a scar across his right cheek said.

Quickly, Harry muttered the spell needed to see the wards, but he couldn�t find anything that should have caused the barriers they were trying to put up to be ineffective. Sighing again, Harry resigned himself to going to talk to Mr. Malfoy again. �I�ll go see what I can find out. In the meantime, you all go work on the south lawn and the lake. Those are the last areas we need to worry about, but it�s where people are most likely to be, other than inside the house. I want extra general protection charms ringing the lake as well as the standard barriers,� he said as he turned and began the trek back to the immense house.

As he entered the front hall, Draco popped into existence a few feet away from him. �Potter? What are you doing here?� he asked.

�Setting extra wards for the blasted masquerade ball,� Harry replied. �Only your east gardens are resisting the anti-Dementor and Polyjuice detection wards. Do you know why? I really don�t want to have to talk to your father again today�not after this morning. It seems like the man is in a permanent bad mood.�

Draco chuckled at the irritated look on Harry�s face. �I can�t help you. Father holds the wards�I have nothing to do with them,� he said. With a snap of his fingers, Draco summoned a house elf. �Inform Lord Malfoy that Mr. Potter is waiting to speak to him in the front hall.� The house elf bowed deeply and popped away. �I�ll see you in the office later, I�m sure.� Then Draco was walking away.

Lucius Malfoy walked in a few minutes later, looking supremely irritated. �Is it not enough that I have to endure your team trampling my grounds? You felt the need to invade my home, as well?� he snapped.

Harry resisted the urge to growl. �My team is having problems putting up anti-Dementor barriers and Polyjuice detection wards over your east gardens...�

�It is certainly not my fault your team is incompetent,� Lucius sneered.

��and they believe the reason is a conflict with one or more of your existing wards,� Harry finished through gritted teeth.

�Not my problem.�

This time, Harry didn�t bother to suppress a growl of frustration. �Look, could you be human, just this once, and give a little? It was your idea for the Ministry to host this damn thing here, so the least you can do is cooperate with the Warding!� he finished with a shout.

For a long moment, Lucius�s unreadable gray-blue eyes bored into Harry, who was so irritated, his magic was crackling at his fingertips and in his eyes. Then one corner of Lucius�s mouth twitched in what may have been a suppressed grin. �Very well, Potter. I will go see what I can do to help you�and your Warding team, of course,� he conceded.

Harry�s crackling magic abruptly stopped as his mouth dropped open in shock. �You�will?� he asked dumbly.

With a smirk, Lucius stalked closer to Harry. He lifted a gloved hand and, placing a finger under Harry�s chin, closed his mouth. �Lead the way, Mr. Potter.�

Rubbing his temples in an attempt to ease a nasty headache, Harry entered Head Auror Shacklebolt�s office to give him a report of the successful Warding. After recounting the wards the team had put up, Harry slumped back in his chair and closed his eyes.

�That bad, huh? Did Malfoy give you any trouble?� Kingsley asked.

Harry groaned, eyes still closed. �He�s so difficult! He gave me a hard time when we got there, but he let us do what we had to do. Then, when the team ran into a problem in the east gardens, he�well, it did take a little yelling, but�he�and this really confuses me�he offered to help,� Harry mumbled, brows furrowing.

�Well, it was his idea to hold the ball there,� Kingsley replied. �He may be difficult, but he doesn�t deliberately set out to irritate people.�

�But sometimes it seems like it,� Harry mumbled under his breath. He took a deep breath and stood. �Is that all, sir?�

�Yes. Remember, you go back to check the wards on the 20th,� Kingsley reminded him.

�Yes, sir. See you tomorrow.� Harry left the office and headed to the Apparation zone within the Ministry. As he closed his eyes to Apparate, he heard someone calling his name. He opened his eyes to see Ron crossing the room toward him.

�Harry, I�m glad I caught you. What are you doing for dinner?� Ron asked as Harry stepped away from the Apparation zone.

�Hey, Ron. I was just going to make a sandwich or something�after I take a headache potion,� Harry replied, smiling ruefully.

�Bad day?� Ron asked, stifling a chuckle at the look on his best friend�s face.

�Ugh. You know that masquerade ball next week? I had to supervise the Warding team that went to Malfoy Manor this morning,� Harry explained.

Ron looked horrified for Harry. �You had to deal with Mr. Malfoy? I�m sorry, mate.�

�Yeah, me too. I don�t know what frustrated me more�that he was being himself when we got there, or that he started helping later in the day.�

�Helping? Lucius Malfoy was actually doing something that didn�t involve infuriating, irritating, and/or intimidating others?� Ron asked incredulously.

�I�m certain there was a fair amount of intimidation involved, however unintentional it was,� came a smooth drawl from behind them. Both men spun to find Lucius smirking at them.

Harry snorted. �It�s a natural reaction for people who�ve never worked with you before. Unfortunately for you, people that have worked with you just think you�re irritating,� he shot at the other man.

�Many would say the same about you, Mr. Potter,� Lucius replied, unruffled. �I shall see you in a week. If you�ll excuse me�� With a half-bow, Lucius stepped into the Apparation zone and was gone in the blink of an eye.

Harry released a breath he hadn�t even realized he�d been holding.� That was almost�pleasant,� he said, turning back to Ron, who was doing an impressive impersonation of a fish.

�Was he just�no, he couldn�t have been�he hates you, right? He wasn�t�flirting�with you, right?� Ron stammered.

Harry�s eyes widened comically. �No! Of course not! I mean, he likes women�and yeah, he hates me,� he said, speaking both to Ron and to himself.

�We�ll ask Hermione at dinner. She�ll know.�

�Ron, I�m going home for dinner.�

�No, you�re not. Hermione told me to drag you if I have to. We have headache potions at our house, too, you know,� Ron replied stubbornly. �Mate, don�t make me go home without you�you know how she can get.�

Taking pity on his friend, Harry reluctantly relented. �Okay, okay. Let�s go then�my head is throbbing and the sooner I get a potion, the better,� he groaned as they walked into the Apparation zone.

The two men Apparated to the backyard of the modest two-story house Ron and Hermione had bought together after they got married. As soon as they stepped into the kitchen, Harry was smothered in a hug from Hermione.

�Harry! I�m glad you came. It feels like we haven�t seen you in forever!� she exclaimed, letting go of him in favor of kissing Ron on the cheek. �Come sit down. Dinner�s nearly ready.�

�It�s good to see you, Hermione,� Harry said, grinning. �Where�s Jonathon?�

�With his Aunt Ginny and Uncle Terry at the zoo,� Hermione replied. �She�s getting the practice, she says. She�s due in only a month.�

�Go on and sit, Harry. I�ll go get that headache potion,� Ron said, stepping out of the kitchen. By the time he came back, dinner was on the table.

After downing the potion, Harry enjoyed both dinner and teasing Hermione that her cooking was finally edible. Later, as the trio sat in the living room, Ron mentioned Harry�s assignment at Malfoy Manor and their earlier encounter with Lucius.

��and, you know�it was the strangest thing. �Mione, I think he may have been flirting with Harry!� Ron finished, looking expectantly at his wife.

�Flirting?� Hermione asked, turning twinkling eyes to Harry. �Did you flirt back?�

Harry and Ron both immediately looked scandalized. Harry turned tomato red as he sputtered. �Hermione! The man likes women! He was not flirting with me!�

Hermione rolled her eyes and grinned. �Harry, the man carries around an enlarged phallic symbol that he calls a cane. He�s got prettier hair than any man has a right to have, and he�s the prissiest person, women and Draco included, that I�ve ever met. What on earth gave you the idea that he�s straight? And�you didn�t answer my question, Harry Potter,� she finished.

Glaring at Ron, who was unsuccessfully trying to hide his grin, Harry answered Hermione. �Well, he�s got a son, doesn�t he? He had to have liked women for that,� he retorted. �And no, Miss Nosy, I didn�t flirt with him.�

�Too bad. He�s pretty good looking,� Hermione replied, her grin turning speculative as Harry choked on his tea and glared at her.

Looking vaguely sick, Ron spoke up. �Can we agree to disagree just this once and please change the subject?� he groused.

The next week seemed to pass entirely too quickly for Harry�s liking. It was the day before the masquerade ball and Harry was still sitting in his cubicle, delaying his trip to Malfoy Manor to check the wards.

Terry Boot, a fellow Senior Auror and Ginny Weasley�s husband, poked his head into Harry�s cubicle as he passed. �Hey, Harry. Shacklebolt said you�re supposed to be at Malfoy Manor now. He said to stop finding excuses to delay,� he told Harry with a grin.

Harry groaned and rested his forehead on his desk. �Yeah, yeah�I�m going,� he said, standing and shuffling to the entrance to his cubicle. �Why I have to go alone, I have no idea�� he mumbled, more to himself than to Terry.

Terry chuckled and slapped him on the back. �Sorry, mate, but someone�s got to do it.�

�Thanks,� Harry replied, sneering half-heartedly. �Well, I guess I�d better get this over with. I�ll see you later.� With that, Harry headed out of the Auror division and toward the lift.

When the lift came to a halt at level 4, the gates opened and Harry fought the urge to groan as Lucius stepped onto the lift. �Fancy meeting you here, Mr. Potter,� he drawled, smirking at the shorter man.

�Hello, Mr. Malfoy,� Harry replied as the lift continued on its way. �I�m just on my way to check the temporary wards at your manor.�

�Then I will make your job easier. You may Apparate with me into the front hall instead of by yourself to the gates and then walking all the way up the lane,� Lucius commented.

Harry stared at the older man as if he had grown an extra head, but decided not to comment on how out of character that statement was. �That would make things easier, yes,� he said cautiously as they stepped out of the lift and into the Atrium. Harry followed Lucius to the Apparation zone, acutely aware of the gazes of other Ministry employees on them.

As they stepped into the Apparation zone, Lucius took the glove off his right hand. Stepping in front of Harry, he placed his bare hand on his cheek. Startled, Harry began to pull away. �Skin to skin contact with a family member is needed for an outsider to Apparate directly into the manor,� Lucius explained, replacing his hand on Harry�s cheek. �Apparate on my count of three.�

When the two appeared in the front hall of Malfoy Manor, Harry quickly stepped away from the older man, slightly shocked that Lucius hadn�t been the one to move first. �Er�I�ll just�go check the wards now,� he said softly. Feeling a bit like a scared rabbit running from a ravenous wolf, Harry walked quickly to the front door of the manor and out into the open air.

�Hermione?�

Hermione looked up from the file in front of her and smiled when she saw Harry standing just inside the open door of her office. �Come in, Harry. What brings you here?� she asked as she closed the file.

Looking a little unsure, Harry came inside and sat in one of the chairs in front of Hermione�s desk. �I think you were right,� he said, with no preamble. �I think he was flirting.�

Hermione grinned at him. �Ah. So you�ve already been over there to check the wards. What happened to make you change your mind?�

Harry explained what had happened that morning, still looking a little shell-shocked. �The thing is, he annoys the hell out of me�or at least he used to. I don�t want to think of him as anything other than an obnoxious, stuck-up, Pureblood�but lately, he�s been so�different�that I know it wouldn�t be hard for me to like him,� Harry said, eyebrows knitting together as he admitted his feelings out loud.

�Well,� Hermione began. �We only ever saw his �public� face, even on missions for the Order. Maybe, behind closed doors when he�s with the people he really cares about, he�s different.�

Harry sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. �Yeah, I guess you�re right�as always. Now if I could just figure out what to do��

�Well, flirt back, silly. Find him tomorrow night after the concealment charms wear off of the masquerade costumes�he�s bound to be there. After all, it is his house. Get to know him�� Hermione trailed off as a nurse walked in. �Can I help you?� she asked the frazzled looking older woman.

�Healer Weasley, you�re needed in Mr. O�Malley�s room,� she said. �He won�t take his potions without you there.�

Hermione stood up and pulled on her white healer�s robes. �Sorry, Harry�I�ve got to go�duty calls. I hope you work things out, because I get the feeling you two would be good for each other,� she said with a wink. �Close the door on your way out, will you?� Then she was gone, leaving Harry staring bemusedly after her.

The next evening, Harry pulled out the box at the bottom of his wardrobe in trepidation. After shoving it in there after he�d RSVP�d to the masquerade ball, he�d forgotten all about his costume. He opened the box and pulled out tailored black slacks and a form fitting black long-sleeved shirt that seemed to shimmer under the light. Next came a black cloak made of the same shimmering material as the shirt and black dragonhide boots. At the bottom of the box was a separate box, containing Harry�s mask. The mask completely covered his face and was half black and half white.

As he put on his costume, Harry scanned and identified each concealment and glamour charm imbedded cleverly in each piece. He fixed the mask over his face and felt the charms lock into place. Glancing at his muggle clock, Harry noticed he was already nearly half an hour late. He slid his wand into its arm holster and sighed. �Better get this over with,� he muttered as he walked outside to Disapparate.

When Harry walked into Malfoy Manor, a house elf was waiting to guide him to the ballroom. With no small amount of hesitancy, Harry stepped through the open double doors. The ballroom was decorated in gold and white with black accents, but the costumes didn�t follow any kind of color code. There were men and women scattered at the fringes of the room, seated at tables and dancing. At the back of the room, the glass doors leading to the grounds of the manor stood open to let in the cool summer breeze.

Harry made his way over to a long table situated against one of the walls and picked up a glass of champagne before finding an empty table in a shadowy corner. For a few minutes, he simply sat back, sipped his champagne, and watched others dancing and talking. He wasn�t alone for long, though. Soon, a man in black pants, a green button-down long-sleeved shirt, and a glittering white mask approached him. The man was tall and Harry could tell the conservative clothing hid a strong body. He had short, shaggy dark blond hair and hazel eyes that twinkled when they landed on Harry.

�May I sit here?� the mystery man asked, indicating the empty chair next to Harry.

�Go ahead,� Harry replied, more than a little curious and knowing the man didn�t know whom he was.

�You�re not much of a party-goer either, I take it,� the man commented lightly.

Harry smiled. �No. I�m just here so my friends will stop badgering me about working so much,� he replied.

The other man chuckled. �I can relate. I�m only here because a former colleague guilt-tripped me into it.� He paused for a moment, a speculative gleam lighting his eyes. �I�d like to ask your name, but that would ruin the mystery of the masks, wouldn�t it?�

�Yes, I�m afraid it would�and since we�re here, if only by coercion, it�s only right to play along,� Harry replied. �What about a nickname, though? That would still leave the mystery, but it would definitely make conversation less awkward. You can call me Orion.� He didn�t mention that Orion really was his name when he was in his panther animagus form.

�Very well. You may call me Apollo,� the mystery man replied, grinning behind his half mask.

The two continued making small talk as the champagne flowed and the minutes flew by. At one point, they were interrupted by a drunken brunet man who was hitting on Harry, but a well-placed sobriety charm caused him to slink away in embarrassment.

A few moments after they�d gotten rid of Harry�s �admirer,� two more people, a man and a woman, walked up. �We�re terribly sorry about him,� the woman said, pointing to the unwanted admirer.

�Yeah. He had a few too many glasses of champagne,� the man said, grinning.

�Oh, it was no problem. I managed just fine, thanks,� Harry replied.

The woman, in a blood red ball gown and a red and white feathered mask, smiled. �I�m Joanne and this is Mark. May we sit and chat?� she asked. Harry and Apollo glanced at each other, and then nodded reluctantly.

Mark pulled out a chair for Joanne before sitting down himself. �Those aren�t our real names, of course. Just trying to make things more personal without giving the game away, you know,� he said, running his hand through thick black hair.

�You seem to have had the same idea we did,� Apollo said. �This is Orion and I am Apollo.�

Harry and the other three chatted about the Ministry, Quidditch, and other innocuous topics. After a while, though, Harry noticed Apollo giving him sidelong glances. �What is it?� he finally asked, looking over at Apollo quizzically.

Apollo�s eyes softened as he smiled. �I know you�ve said you�re not much of a party-goer, but�would you like to dance with me?� he asked.

�Um. Okay,� Harry replied, smiling back uncertainly.

Apollo stood and extended a hand to Harry. Harry took it and they excused themselves before moving to the center of the dance floor.

�You should be warned�I�m not much of a dancer,� Harry said ruefully as the band began playing a popular ballad. �I apologize in advance if I step on your toes.�

Apollo chuckled as he led Harry smoothly around the dance floor. �Don�t worry, Orion. I�m a strong lead,� he said lightly, even though there was a glint in his eyes that made Harry shiver in delight.

After two more songs, Apollo looked over at the large clock on the wall displaying the time. It read 9:47 pm. �Shall we take a walk in the gardens? I�ve heard they�re beautiful in the summer.�

�Okay. That�d be nice. I�d like to be away from all these people when the charms wear off the costumes anyway.�

�Yes, that is a good idea. I expect some of the guests will be surprised to discover they�re not talking to who they think they are.�

Shooting sidelong glances at Apollo, Harry let him lead the way. �Will I be surprised?� Harry asked as they strolled through the east gardens.

Casually slipping Harry�s hand into his, Apollo replied, �It is entirely possible. In fact, it�s probable. In light of that, will you give me your word that you won�t run off before I explain?�

Becoming more wary by the second, Harry turned to face the other man. After a moment�s thought, he reluctantly agreed. As the clock began chiming the hour, Apollo pulled Harry into a hug. Now very nervous, Harry tensed and held his breath as he felt his own glamours and concealments fading away.

Slowly, Harry pulled away from the hug. With a deep breath, he looked up into the face of Lucius Malfoy. �Merlin�s balls!� he exclaimed, becoming angry. �I should have known! Did you know it was me the whole time? I bet you did�just waiting for me to say something embarrassing or incriminating so that you could humiliate me?� When Lucius showed no reaction to Harry�s heated words, Harry crossed his arms over his chest and seethed silently.

�Are you finished now?� Lucius asked flatly. A glare from Harry had him rolling his eyes in exasperation. �Have you not noticed that I have been flirting shamelessly with you since you first brought your damn Warders to my house? I find you extremely attractive, Harry, inside and out. I wanted to get to know you better, and after thinking on it, this stupid masquerade that Dumbledore conned me into hosting offered me a chance to get to know you�and for you to get to know me�without your preconceived notions of me getting in the way. So I convinced the Ministry that, as the host and a resident of the manor, I should be able to see everyone�s true identities. They agreed, but really, you were the only one I was interested in finding. I hoped to show you that my public fa�ade is just that�a fa�ade. I hoped to convince you to let me in, to trust me, to see where a relationship between the two of us could lead.�

As he stood listening to Lucius�s speech, Harry�s anger melted away. �Are you finished now?� he asked softly. At Lucius�s tight nod, Harry took a deep breath and stepped forward to hug him, burying his face in the crook of Lucius�s neck. Lucius tentatively returned the hug, not wanting to scare Harry away. �I�m sorry I yelled at you�I should have let you explain first,� came Harry�s muffled voice.

�That�s quite alright, Harry,� Lucius replied, using his hand to tilt Harry�s head so that he could look into his eyes. �Are you willing to give this a chance?�

At Harry�s nod, Lucius leaned down and pressed his lips against Harry�s in a chaste kiss. Then, holding hands, the two made their way back into the manor, each looking forward to what the future would bring.

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