This is the first round of The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Season 3. I, as Chaser 1, had to write about the favourite character or pairing of Chaser 2, which is the pairing Drarry.

Prompts:

3. (word) change

5. (quote) 'Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.' - Henry David Thoreau

8. (setting) a restaurant

Enjoy reading :D GO PUDDLES!

The Bet

"I bet that you won't accomplish getting Harry Potter into your bed and my story onto front page!" Pansy Parkinson smirked at Draco Malfoy, who had his raised cup of tea near his mouth.

"Excuse me?" His delicate blond eyebrows rose higher than ever.

Pansy took a sip of her Earl Grey. "I need a story for my chief editor and I need it to be big! You know how all these rumours go about that Potter's a poof?"

Draco scoffed and put his tea cup onto its saucer. "Of course, I know. You were the one to spread the rumours."

"Yeah, I know, I know, but I need something real for my next article. People get bored with all this speculations and my editor is breathing down my neck, so I need your help to…"

"I get it." He leaned back and eyed the young woman in front of him, his fellow ex-Slytherin and best friend. A big grin spread over his face as he watched her nervous exterior. "I'm so in!"

*~*HPDM*~*

"I'm not so sure about this, Harry." Hermione frowned slightly as she watched her best friend scurry around his bedroom and gather various clothing items, a critical expression on his young face before shaking his head, throwing them away and running off again to get new ones.

"Oh, come off it, Hermione. We're just going to go drink a butterbeer and maybe a firewhiskey in a pub. He asked me to meet with him to catch up and get over our past, not to shag him!"

The brown-haired witch winced slightly at the mental picture of Harry and… She shuddered. "But how can you be so sure that's what he's really planning, Harry? This is Malfoy we're talking about! Not Dean or Seamus!"

"He has changed. He seemed as if he really wanted us to get along, now that we're out of school and the war is over." He turned around, a beige pair of trousers in his hands and sighed. "I don't want to keep on with these stupid rivalries, 'Mione. I've had enough of them during the war. Just give him a chance. As will I."

"Do you really think he just wants to-"

"Hermione, don't you think we're past that stage when we kept trying to lure each other into traps?"

His best friend deflated in front of his eyes.

*~*HPDM*~*

"It was almost too easy," Draco laughed as he opened the house door to welcome Pansy inside. "It was like he seemed to be waiting for it to happen."

"Perfect!" Pansy rubbed her hands together; her eyes began to shine at the new prospect of a front page story. "How are you planning to go about this?"

"Well, I told him I wanted to catch up with him and chat about the good old times over a butterbeer-"

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

"But I've reserved a table at The Mermaid, so be there at seven tonight to get some shots." Draco rolled his eyes as Pansy squealed and threw her arms around his neck. Why am I even doing this? He thought disgruntled, as he stirred Pansy into the next room to be tended to by his house elves and left the hallway himself. He had to get ready for his date.

*~*HPDM*~*

He knocked at the plain wooden door and waited. He was dressed in a pair of deep blue trousers and a white button-down shirt – made out of silk, of course. His jacket was slung over his arm as he stood in the hallway of the house Potter had his apartment in. He could have flooed here, but he hadn't wanted to risk any soot marks on his shirt. The door opened after a short while and he put on a cheerful smile.

"Malfoy! Come on in." Potter was dressed in a similar fashion and he had to admit he quite liked how his opposite looked. His shirt wasn't that good of a quality, but it didn't look cheap either. His trousers were beige instead of blue and he wore his all-time favourite sneakers. Draco knew that because those were the shoes Potter was wearing quite often when they would meet in the Ministry. "So, are we ready to go?" Potter grabbed his leather jacket and looked at him expectantly.

"Yes, I would say we are."

"Where are we heading to anyway? The Leaky Cauldron?" Potter tapped his wand against the door knob and they could hear a soft click as it locked itself. Draco could only guess how many protection spells and runes activated themselves in that very moment.

"Actually, no. A friend recommended a location to me and I thought it fitted quite well," Draco smiled at the black-haired wizard in front of him and offered his arm. "Shall we?"

Confused, Harry took a deep breath, took Malfoy's arm and was sucked into nothingness.

*~*HPDM*~*

Harry eyed the entrance to The Mermaid sceptically. Hadn't Malfoy said they'd go to a pub to catch up? He hadn't told him anything about going to a restaurant like a… A blush threatened to creep up his neck. Don't think of what this could look like! Malfoy likes women. He isn't like-

"Don't worry, I'll explain it to you soon," Harry was pulled out of his slightly panicked thoughts by Malfoy's oddly melodic voice and warm hand on the small of his back. A shiver ran up his spine – a good shiver. Harry gulped. "But first let's go and take a seat."

Once seated, Harry stared at his former rival oddly. He didn't understand what was going on. This felt more like a date than a nice meeting with a possible future friend. Well, he wasn't saying that he didn't like it – sitting at a couple's table with only Malfoy to look at, his white-blond hair almost glistening in the candle light that illuminated most of the tables and that beautiful smile directed his way – but he did wonder whether something was going extremely wrong. There were rumours about him liking men rather than women – he had had enough owls from devastated ladies to show him that people believed what the Daily Prophet was telling them – but he had never acted on these speculations of the Wizarding part of the paparazzi world. And he had planned for it to stay that way for quite some time; at least until he had found the one.

Sitting at a table with Malfoy now, having burning candles between them, the silver crockery glistening beautifully, he had to ask himself whether Hermione had been right the whole time.

"I thought this would be more fitting." Harry's eyes jumped up and locked with Malfoy's pale grey ones. He had never noticed that they had a slight blue tint in them, giving them the look of ice crystals. "When I asked you out yesterday morning, I wasn't just asking for forgiveness or whatever people like me should ask for. I know this might seem strange and weird, considering how I have behaved in the past and you have no reason whatsoever to actually believe me now, but I…"

His pink lips stopped moving and the corners of his mouth twisted into a slight frown as he turned his head away from Harry. The black-haired wizards had to blink multiple times to get his brain to start working again. He hadn't noticed it froze around the time Malfoy had told him he wanted more than forgiveness.

Confused and somewhat dizzy, he turned to look at what Malfoy found so interesting that it was worth stopping his explanation and talk with him. He blinked as a bright light blinded him for a second. "What the-"

Draco smirked softly as Potter was busy rubbing his eyes. Perfect timing, Pansy and you're welcome. "I guess we should continue this somewhat more private," Draco stood, took the still dumbly blinking and slightly gaping Potter's hand and, with a last rude gesture towards the reporters just outside the nearest window, disapparated.

*~*HPDM*~*

"I am so sorry! I didn't think they would find us," Malfoy closed the door behind him with a slight huff and turned around. A frown was darkening his beautiful face. Harry blinked and tried not to let his thoughts show on his face. Hermione had told him one time too many that whatever he was thinking was on display for literally everyone that knew him well enough and he wasn't that sure yet whether Malfoy was one of 'everyone'.

He smiled shakily and waved him off. "It's okay, I'm used to-"

Malfoy had taken a step forward and had started to peal his coat off his shoulders, his warm, big hands lingering a little longer than they normally would, would this be a normal catch up between old friends. But what is normal when I'm concerned? Harry asked himself, eyeing the blond wizard with a mixture of sceptical criticism and nervous exhilaration.

"Still, I am so very sorry that you had to experience that. I had thought that I had offered the restaurant enough gold to handle this sort of thing, to keep it from happening, but apparently…"

"You paid for bodyguards?" Harry gaped at the wizard in front of him who looked like it was the most ordinary thing to do when dealing with The Chosen One. The blond male stopped on his walk towards what Harry could only guess was the – or a – parlour or fireplace room to look over his shoulder, his perfectly shaped eyebrow raised.

"Well, of course!" Malfoy huffed and jokily glared at Harry, causing his stomach to do a weird somersault within his body, leaving the smaller wizard dizzy and befuddled. "Wealth is the ability to fully experience life. Why wouldn't I use it to make this date as enjoyable as possible for both you and me?"

"D-Date?"

Malfoy blinked and Harry could see a subtle tint of pink colouring his pale cheeks. "Let's take this somewhere more comfortable, shall we?" Without any further ado, he turned around and hurried through the hallway towards a slightly ajar door, his head held high and his muscles tense. Harry swallowed down the tingling feeling that threatened to wander into regions he honestly didn't want to think about right now – or didn't want to do his thinking for him, as that would be more fitting.

He exhaled shakily and let his eyes travel over the interior of the hallway he was standing in at the moment – or more likely the hall. The walls were made of a really dark wood he had no idea whatsoever what it was called, the floor was out of a softer toned wood and the furniture looked both old and extremely expensive. As he eyed a nearby table he wasn't so sure that it would stay intact if he was to put a wand onto its surface, but he didn't want to try his luck.

Just a mere twenty metres away from Harry, Draco stood in the biggest parlour of his mansion, pacing back and forth nervously, trying to get his confused and illogical thoughts back into order and function. He didn't know what he was doing or why he was doing what he was doing. His original plan had merely been getting Potter to go out with him and thus give Pansy something she could work with for her article. And now he was acting like a total Hufflepuff, blushing and all, and was actually nervous? Why? He just wanted to get something to eat and then head home, drink a nice glass of firewhiskey or something even stronger to burn away the memories of being all lovey-dovey with Potter and go to bed, preferably blacking out immediately and without a massive hangover the other day.

Having some firewhiskey and going to bed isn't a problem, whispered a seductive voice in his ear, luring his darkest dreams out of the deepest corner of his heart. And if you don't black out, you'll need some entertainment. Draco gulped as he felt a promising twitch in his trousers. He exhaled shakily. "I'm never going to survive this," he whimpered and hurried over to the wine cabinet to select one of the finest wines he had to offer. "Never."

"Are you okay?"

Draco jumped and nearly dropped the bottle of expensive wine. "Y-Yes. Yes, of course, I'm okay. Please, take a seat." He pointed towards the loveseat that stood in front of the fireplace. With a flick of his wand a fire erupted in the hearth.

"You owe me an explanation," Potter said. His green eyes were opened wide and glistened behind these stupidly adorable glasses as he watched Draco open the bottle of light blue wine and pour the exquisite liquid into two delicate looking glasses, offering one to Harry, who took a cautious sip.

"Indeed, I do." He cleared his throat nervously and hesitantly sat down next to his object of desire that looked a little bit afraid as if he didn't know what to expect. If Draco was honest with himself, he didn't know that either. He hadn't even known he fancied Potter of all people. At the moment he still hoped this unexpected turn of… feelings was only of physical nature. Because he had to admit… Potter was fit!

As Malfoy sat down, his finger brushed against Harry's thigh, causing him to tense and supress a shiver. "I want to be honest with you, Potter," he put the wine glass onto the brightly polished surface of the coffee table and put his now free arm over the back rest of the little sofa they were sitting on. Harry could feel his body heat seep through their layers of clothing and into his skin, heating his body… too much. He squirmed slightly as his trousers started to get uncomfortably tight.

"I've had little constants in my life and one of them was you. I have had a lot of time to think after the war and I-" Malfoy's pink lips were moving, but Harry couldn't hear a word. Every once in a while the blond wizard's tongue tip would move to wet these soft-looking lips, leaving behind a trail of glistening beauty. Harry swallowed and bit his lower lip. What would they feel like if he would just… move… now…

A warm hand sneaked onto his shoulder, pulling Harry out of his out-of-control thoughts. He shook his head to get rid of the confusion and lust that's been making it almost impossible for him to think straight. "Malfoy?" He said in a soft voice, trying to ignore the heat that was seeping into his nether region, originating from the warm hands on his shoulder and thigh. When Malfoy had decided on putting his hand on his thigh though was completely missed by the blushing Harry, who found it quite difficult to organize his thoughts with those silver eyes staring right back at him. "What is this all about?" His voice sounded weaker than he had anticipated. Malfoy smiled softly. Harry gulped. "I mean, how come that you show interest all of the sudden? We haven't been in contact for the last three or four years now, so why…?" He froze as a thin, delicate finger was gently put onto his lips, shutting him up quite successfully.

"I don't think of this as a fling, Harry," his voice was seductive as he leaned forward and started to nibble at his neck, succeeding in sending pleasant shivers down Harry's spine. "I've thought about this for a while now and I just cannot wait any longer. I have changed, Harry. Please, believe me, I have. I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do, so if you're not ready or don't feel the same-"

He was shut up as Harry's lips met his.

*~*HPDM*~*

"Pansy! What the hell are you doing here? Get out!" Draco hissed as his best friend peaked into the room, a big grin on her face. Hurriedly, he grabbed the white satin blanket off the bed, wrapped it around himself and rushed over to the door in order to push the nosy woman out of the manor before Harry saw her.

"Relax, I just wanted to see how it was going," she snickered and eyed the hastily thrown-over blanket that Draco was clutching onto like a lifeline. "So, your elf was right then. You do have a guest." She wiggled with her eyebrows, her grin widened even more.

Throwing a glance over his shoulder, Draco tried to push the stubborn Pansy out of the bedroom. "Just leave, damn it! Leave before Harry-"

"Oh, it's Harry now, is it?"

"Just get the freaking hell out of here, Pansy! I mean it!"

"But I want to greet your guest before leaving. It would be quite impolite otherwise, don't you think?"

Before Draco could do more than growl threateningly, the bathroom door opened and a thick cloud of steam, flowed by a half-naked Harry Potter came out, the latter freezing at the sight in front of him. "What's going on here, Draco?" Pansy giggled and fumbled inconspicuously with her camera. "What's she doing here?" His dark eyebrows drew together as he watched Draco fidgeting and Parkinson nearly bouncing up and down with… His eyes zoned in on the camera.

A sharp pain shot through his chest. No, that couldn't be… Draco had said that he meant something to him… That this meant something.

His narrowed eyes searched Draco's silver ones, demanding, pleading for an explanation, but Draco could only open his mouth, unable to give him what he so much longed for. He needed to explain that this wasn't what it looked like, that this wasn't what Harry was thinking, but it was, although he didn't feel like it anymore.

Harry swallowed down a wave of sadness, betrayal and pain as he hurried to pick up his clothes and turned to leave the room, leaving a broken Draco behind.

I hope you guys enjoyed :D

I know the ending isn't the happy ending everyone is used to from my stories, but I can reassure you that I will upload a second chapter of this once the first round is closed. The word count is at its allowed maximum, so I had to put a sad ending to this :( But I promise, there'll be a second chapter once the round is over (in about one to two weeks).

Please leave a review! I love reading and answering them :)

Until then...

See ya!

Word count: 2999