分卷阅读23（1 / 2）

(And that pisses him off, what they could have been if Uncle Vernon hadn’t been such an arse.)

“So I was thinking,” Dudley started, and Harry groaned. Whenever Dudley started to think, they always found themselves in trouble. “No, really, I was thinking that you should come to my birthday dinner with mum and dad this Thursday.”

Harry laughed, but then realized he wasn’t kidding. “What? Come on, Dudley, they hate me.”

“No, they hated magic. And they hated your dad.” Dudley titled his beer bottled towards him, pausing to wave at some guy across the bar that might have been checking Harry out but certainly wouldn’t anymore. “But they tolerated you.”

“Gee, Dud.” Stupid. “Way to make a guy feel special.”

“Listen, I know it’s not your idea of a fun evening, but I think we need to move past this. They’re willing to try if you are.” Dudley acted like it was that simple. Maybe in his world it is. Like, okay, here’s my check list: get into college, get a good summer job, find a girl that puts up with me and is hot at the same time, did all that, now we’re going to create warm fuzzy feelings between my parents and the kid they repeatedly abused. Sounds like a plan. “You can even bring Draco, if you want. I want to meet him.”

Harry almost choked on his drink, but since Dudley was rummaging in his pocket to pay the bartender, he missed the look on his face. “Really? You want me to not only bring a wizard as my date, but a male wizard?”

“They won’t care that you’re gay.” Dudley almost looked offended. “Really now, what did you think? We aren’t bigots, Harry.”

The irony of it almost hurts.

Draco

When Harry asks him to go to dinner with his muggle relatives, Draco had said yes, fully expecting him to cancel at the last minute. But as it turned out, Harry stuck to his commitment, even if he gets considerably jumpier as the week goes on, prone to becoming pale at odd moments and become so startled that he drops whatever he’s holding.

It’s a strange look on him, to see him afraid, and for the first time Draco is able to really get an idea of how horrible it must have been for him to grow up the way he did. They must have been really bad, if he was more scared to sit through a dinner than he was to fight death eaters.

“You don’t have to do this.” Draco said, after the third time that Harry tried to tie his tie but couldn’t because his hands were shaking so bad. Draco stood up to do it for him, so he can see the way that it pains Harry to think about backing down. “You don’t owe them anything. And I’m not going to think anything less of you for it.”

He finishes the tie, and then works at the cuffs of his shirt, buttoning up the cufflinks that he had bought him for Christmas, then steps back.

“I promised Dudley. It’s his birthday, and he wants me there.” His voice was trembling, and his eyes were darting around the room, and Draco wanted more than ever to tell him no, that this is one thing that he will not watch him torture himself over. “It’s only one night.”

Draco stays quiet, but even as he goes up to get ready to leave, he can’t help but think that this is going to end very badly.

Harry

The restaurant is incredibly fancy, just like he knew it would be, and Harry is terribly glad that he brought Draco with him, because he’s completely out of his element.

Draco, though? He seems to stand straighter the minute he walks in, as if picking up on the fact that tonight Harry was going to be following his lead. People moved aside for him, and since Draco was holding Harry by the hand, he didn’t have to fight through the crowd of people around the hostess who were vying for a table. “Hi.” He leans over the podium and smiles, charming and in control. The hostess, like she recognizes that this is the kind of person who can actually afford to eat here, turns away from the others trying to get a table that wouldn’t be there and smiles at him. “I think our party already went back. Table for Dursley? Or maybe it’s under Potter?”