Title: An interesting development

Author: enchanted nightingale

Beta Reader: pussycatadamah

Disclaimer: The characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I merely use them in my plot for fun.`

Chapter 15

The Leaky Cauldron was busy with September so near.

Harry, dressed in jeans and a tee shirt tumbled out of the Floo cursing up a storm at his luck. Draco Malfoy was already there, dressed in jeans (Harry had managed to talk the Malfoy heir into Muggle clothes three years ago) and looking furious at Harry.

"There you are!"

"No good morning?" Harry teased but the blond was obviously not in the mood.

"Where have you been?"

Those were the first words out of Draco's mouth when he saw Harry in Diagon Alley. The green eyed teen had finally written him they could meet. The lists from Hogwarts had come and the Potter heir had finally contacted Draco and offered that they bought their things together and then they could go for ice cream. Draco had jumped at the chance.

Upon meeting the blond wizard pounced on Harry full of questions.

"The books…" Harry tried.

"I sent my house elf for everything," Draco demanded. "The rest we can buy later, now, I want my answers."

"Bossy," the green eyed teen muttered.

"Suck it up," Draco replied and pulled Harry to the ice cream parlour. After ordering they took a table.

"Happy now?" Harry sighed.

"You prat! I've been worried! Just a letter saying that you're grounded for a week and no answer as to how or why!"

Harry took a spoonful of his chocolate and coconut ice cream. "Well, all hell broke loose," he told Draco.

The blond blinked. Then a look of comprehension dawned on him, followed by a look of horror.

"No!"

The green eyed teen gave a sorrowful nod. "Yes."

"Your parents know?"

"Yes."

"How? Why? When?"

"Dad followed me with Siri and Remus, bad luck, the day before I wrote you," Harry answered the questions in sequence.

Draco's jaw dropped. "Merlin! Oh, Merlin."

"Draco?"

"Just shocked. The Daily Prophet did not mention a massacre," the Malfoy heir commented.

Harry snorted. "Rodolphus is fine, I think he is." At Draco's look he sighed. "They cornered us after our date, all three of them. I got sent to my room while they talked."

"Talked?"

"Dad said there were words exchanged. Then mum found out, she and dad talked to me."

Draco winced. "I hate those talks."

"Yes well, it all went south from there."

"You told them?"

"The one week I got grounded was for lying to them," Harry told his best friend.

"What's the punishment for dating Rodolphus?" Draco asked.

Harry shrugged. He took another spoonful of ice cream. It was starting to melt. "Mum said they could not ground me for dating, that would be petty and send me the wrong message. She said if I want to be treated as an adult I ought to act like one."

"That's not bad," Draco commented. He had long forgotten his ice cream, all his attention on his friend's plight.

"Wait for it," Harry told him. "I'm not allowed to see Rodolphus."

"I half expected that," the blond said.

"For as long as I go to Hogwarts," Harry added.

"What?"

"At least not without a chaperon," the green eyed teen continued. "That means an adult, like Remus, Sirius or my parents."

"They accept it, you dating Rodolphus?"

Harry shrugged. "They don't like it. Mum was furious; she thought she had a friend in Rodolphus. Dad…he dislikes him, but that's nothing new."

"Still, not a death or serious injury," Draco commented. "Had that been my father…"

"The body would have been fed to the Acromantula at Hogwarts," Harry finished for Draco. "Now will you eat your ice cream? It's going to be a puddle soon."

"Are you really going to go along with this though? Seeing him like some seventeenth century damsel?"

"Well," the green eyed Slytherin said, "I am actually hoping they won't go along with it for a year. Perhaps if I behave they'll let up sooner. And besides, school is in session soon. I wouldn't be able to see him anyway, with the NEWTs this year and all." Harry shrugged. "Generally only this summer we have met seven times, which is overall the same amount of times we met throughout the previous year."

"Quite logical of you," Draco observed before finally taking a spoonful. "Mm, so good!"

Harry laughed. "Now, we are done about me, but what about you?"

"Well…"

End of chapter.