Protection (Drarry)

Chapter Fourteen

Dave took one look at Harry and gave a low whistle. Harry blinked in surprise, but was unable to successfully fight back a smile.

"Hi," he said, accepting Dave's arm around his waist as Dave pulled him in close.

"I like the 'no glasses' look," Dave said, giving him a gentle kiss on the lips. "Has anyone ever told you that your eyes are the most amazing green?" He leaned back and gazed into Harry's eyes. Harry felt a jolt of surprise as he was inexplicably reminded of Malfoy this morning, looking at him across the breakfast table.

"Can't say they have," Harry said lightly, still smiling. He was right - he had known that he would enjoy the date once he arrived, but it had been particularly difficult to leave after everything that had happened this morning. He hadn't liked leaving Malfoy on his own after that. Although it gave him an uncomfortable jolt in the stomach, he hoped Zabini came over or something so that Malfoy didn't have to be alone.

"Shall we order?" Dave asked, leading Harry over to a small cafe that overlooked the jetty. Harry hadn't even noticed they were by the water, he'd been so distracted by Dave's greeting.

"Sure," he said, taking a seat at one of the outside chairs. The waiter came to take their order, and they were left alone again.

"Do you like it here?" Dave asked, glancing over at the water.

"It's beautiful," Harry said truthfully, although his mind was back at Grimmauld place, worrying about Malfoy.

He caught sight of Dave watching him, and gave a start. Dave had a strange expression on his face, but Harry couldn't place what it was. He felt he had seen it before. He frowned slightly; it wasn't a nice expression, and for some reason it made his knees hurt in remembered pain. Then Dave seemed to shake it off and smiled at Harry.

"So what's normal life like, after defeating the greatest Dark Wizard of our time?" Dave said with a grin.

Harry smiled. "Delightfully dull," he said.

"How did you do it anyway?" he asked. "No article ever really covered it. Did you train for a long time?"

Harry pulled a face. "No, I got lucky."

Dave nodded, his eyes intense on Harry's face. "There were rumours that you were looking for magical items in the year before his death," he said.

Harry thought of the Horcruxes and shrugged. "Something like that, but not quite."

Dave made a show of looking disappointed. "So, no secret, powerful, objects, then?"

Harry stared at him. Dave's expression was light, curious. "No," Harry said slowly. "'Fraid not."

"That's a shame," Dave said, waving a hand. "It was an exciting thought."

Harry decided he was being overcautious and forced himself to relax.

"I thought you must have been looking for the Elder Wand," Dave said.

Through a magnificent effort, Harry managed to adjust his expression from shock and fear down to mild surprise. "Er," he said brilliantly.

"But you obviously just stumbled on it, then?" Dave continued, seemingly oblivious to Harry's shock.

"Well," Harry said and then stopped. Dave looked up.

"Some articles got enough right about your final battle for those of us who know about the wand to read between the lines," he said with a grin. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"You didn't," Harry said slowly. "Just a bit surprised. Like you say, I thought most people didn't really follow what happened. I didn't know it was reported anywhere. I figured some people knew, but no one's ever asked me about it."