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It was Sunday night when Harry saw the flyer for Blaze. He was finishing his glass of firewhiskey and was just about to turn in for the night when Ginny sat down beside him and did all but pushed the flyer in Harry’s face.
Harry grabbed the paper and pulled it back so he would actually be able to see it properly. The flyer was decorated in colours of blue and gold. “Blaze” it said on the top in big gold letters. Harry read the contents of the flyer before turning to Ginny, who was looking at him with big, earnest eyes and a shit eating grin on her face.
“Really, Ginny?” Harry shot her an unimpressed look. “A matchmaking agency?”
“Why not?” Ginny challenged. “I swear they’re miracle workers. And you really need a miracle.”
“No, I don’t.” Harry retorted, offended that Ginny thought Harry couldn’t find love on his own.
“Yeah, you do.” Ginny dismissed and continued on, pointedly ignoring the scandalized look on Harry’s face. “Like I said, they’re pretty amazing. New to the business. Well, kind of.” Ginny furrowed her brows, as if debating the technicalities of what was considered new and what was not. “They started about a year ago. But anyway, that is not important. What is important is that they have an amazing success rate!”
“What is really important is that I don’t need it.” Harry said flatly.
Ginny waved her hand dismissively. “We’ve already established that you do. So, let’s move past that.” She said. “You know Pansy, right?”
“Pansy Parkinson, your new best friend.” Harry said rolling his eyes. “Yes, I know. I think the whole Wizarding World knows because you never shut up about it.”
“Oi.” Ginny scowled. “But yes, my new best friend. She was telling me the other day how she went to Blaze and how they actually managed to find the perfect guy! He’s the son of a very rich Russian oligarch. Ivan. They are very happy together now.” Ginny said. “Pansy always had trouble finding love and now she swears she will marry Ivan someday.”
“Well, good for her.” Harry shrugged. “But it’s not for me.”
“Oh, don’t be such a toad!” Ginny whined. “Just go there and try it out. What’s the worst that could happen? At least you’ll get to go on some dates!”
“I don’t need an agency to find me a partner. I’m capable of doing that myself.” Harry said, tipping back the last of his Firewhiskey.
“Really?” Ginny deadpanned. “As far as I remember, you haven’t had much luck, have you? The longest relationship you probably had was with Malfoy and that was what, six years ago?”
“So?” Harry squirmed, something uncomfortable settling in his gut at the mention of Draco Malfoy. “That doesn’t mean I can’t be in a proper relationship now.”
Ginny groaned. “Stop being so difficult and just go to the bloody thing!” She said. “You know I won’t stop annoying you until you do, right?”
And that was how Harry found himself outside of Blaze a couple days later. The building looked clean and normal enough. It looked rather simple, with some fairy lights hanging around the nameboard. It wasn’t that Harry thought he won’t be able to find love or anything, but Ginny was right. Even though he hated to admit it.
******
The longest relationship Harry had had was with Malfoy, and that was six years ago when he was still studying in Hogwarts. Their nine-month relationship was shrouded in secret and few people knew of it, except for Hermione, Ron and Pansy (who had accidentally stumbled upon them making out on Draco’s bed).
Even though the nine months they were together were the happiest Harry had ever been and the last thing he wanted was to break up with Draco, he still had to do it. He didn’t think he could be in a relationship while there was a war he had to fight in, especially if there was a high chance of Harry not making it out alive. He cared too much about Draco to let him go through something as horrible as that. So, he called it off and went on to war with a heavy heart.
When Harry came back for Eighth-Year after winning the fight with Voldemort, Harry was a tad disappointed (although he didn’t want to admit it) when he noticed Malfoy not being among the students coming back.
Harry never had a proper relationship after Malfoy. Not that he didn’t try. He had friends and co-workers who would set up blind dates for him, hoping that he would finally find someone who clicked with him and made him happy. The last was with Terry Boot, which had only lasted for three weeks after Harry had run off, when Terry became a little bit too invested in him. Terry was introduced to him by Michael Corner, his Auror teammate, who is now giving Harry the cold-shoulder after ghosting his best friend. After that bit with Terry, Harry no longer accepts matchmaking requests by people he knew.
He now mostly stuck to casual relationships and one-night stands, not because that was the only thing he was after, but because that was the only thing he got. He was getting tired of trying to find his perfect match as well, so more often than not, when he would say yes to a random person he met at a club, Harry would simply think why not have fun if he can’t have happiness? Even Molly Weasley had given up asking about his love life, still thoroughly disappointed about Harry and Ginny not working out. But Harry didn’t regret that. They were good friends now and Harry thought of Ginny as the sister he never had. Without the added pressure of romantic expectations put on them, Harry found that he and Ginny got along really well.
Harry took a deep breath, staring up at the twinkling lights of Blaze and braced himself to go in and get it over with. At least he would make Ginny happy. The door opened with an overhead bell signaling the occupants that they had a customer. Harry didn’t know what he was expecting to see, but it certainly wasn’t this.
The inside of the agency was cosy. There were comfortable looking couches and a couple of desks. The walls had pictures of various couples, who were happily smiling and dancing around, looking completely in love. Some even waved at Harry who smiled awkwardly. What surprised him wasn’t any of that. What surprised Harry was that it felt as if he was walking inside the Slytherin Common room.
“Well, well, well.” A man lounging on one of the couches said. Harry recognized him as Theo Nott. “Look who the cat dragged in.” He said, a smirk on his face. “Saint Potter himself. The saviour of the Wizarding World.”
Harry almost rolled his eyes. He was tired of hearing that. Harry looked around, taking all the familiar faces in. Behind one of the desks sat Blaise Zabini. Near a cupboard in the corner, going through some files was Daphne Greengrass. Milicent Bulstrode was sitting behind another desk.
“Is this some kind of a ‘Slytherin only’ place?” Harry asked dumbly.
Blaise rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. “No, it’s not.” He said. “Come and take a seat.” He gestured to the chair across from his desk.
Harry reluctantly walked over and dragged the chair back to sit himself on it.
“So,” Blaise started, leaning forward the desk and lacing his fingers together. “I honestly never expected you to be here, Potter.”
Harry sighed. “Ginny Weasley sent me.”
Blaise nodded. “I assume you know what this place is?”
“I do, yes.” Harry hummed. “Really, all I want is to get Ginny off my back, so just set me up with a date and then I’ll be out of your hair. If she asks, I really tried, but you couldn’t find me my other half or whatever.”
Blaise pursed his lips. “Can’t do that, Potter. I have a reputation to protect.” He shrugged. “What if the word got around that we couldn’t find anyone suitable for the most popular guy in the Wizarding World?”
“Nobody has to know!” Harry huffed.
“That’s not how the world works.” Daphne chimed in. “People will know sooner or later.”
Harry scowled. This was going to be harder than he expected. He groaned and sagged back in his seat. “So, what do you want me to do?”
“Give it a real chance.” Blaise said.
“You don’t have to feel ashamed to admit that you’re struggling to find someone.” Milicent said from her chair.
“I’m not struggling, thank you very much.” Harry sniped.
Milicent only rolled his eyes. “That pride of yours will never really go away, will it?”
Harry decided to ignore her remark and turned back to Blaise. “Come on, what harm could it do to go on some dates?” Blaise said.
It was the principal of the matter. Harry was capable of finding love on his own, end of story. But then again, Ginny and Blaise weren’t wrong. There was no harm in going on a few dates.
He sighed defeatedly. “Fine.” He conceded. “Only because I know Ginny won’t let me hear the end of it.”
Blaise smiled satisfactorily. “We’re gonna find you the perfect match!” He exclaimed.
“I doubt it, but you’re welcome to try.” Harry muttered.
The rest of the visit was spent filling in forms and answering questions about Harry’s preferences, things he considered to be deal-breakers, any specific qualities he was looking for and so many other things that Harry honestly never even considered were important in a relationship. By the time he stepped out of the building, Harry felt drained. He decided to drag his feet to the Three Broomsticks and energize himself with some Firewhiskey.
*****
Harry’s first date was on a Tuesday night. Blaze had arranged it at a nice restaurant with dim lighting and a rustic feel. Harry was the first one to arrive. His date showed up fifteen minutes later. She was a pretty girl who smiled a lot. Harry supposed he had a nice enough time, and if it wasn’t for the glaringly obvious flaw, he would’ve agreed to a second date as well.
After he had bid her a good night, Harry went straight to Blaze. If they were taking his money, they should at least put some effort.
“Potter!” Theo greeted upon seeing him. “How was the date? Did you like her?”
“Um,” Harry hummed, dropping onto one of the couches. “Did you guys even read through all the forms I filled?”
Blaise raised a brow at that. “Yes. And I’m pretty sure she meets all the requirements.”
“No, she doesn’t.” Harry scoffed. “I thought I said I liked blonde hair.”
All four of them stared at him in silence for a long moment. Milicent was the first one to break it. “She was blonde.”
“It was the wrong blonde.” Harry rolled his eyes. That much should be obvious to these so-called experts.
“Wrong blonde.” Blaise stated more than asked. “What the hell does that mean?”
“She was more like yellow.” Harry pointed out. “When I said blonde, I meant more like a platinum blonde.”
Blaise inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. He pressed his lips together in a tight smile. “Right. Noted. Next time, we’ll make sure it’s platinum blonde.”
Harry could’ve sworn there was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
*****
The second date was a tall guy. The date itself went okay. He was the correct blonde this time, but Harry didn’t know how the others didn’t realize he definitely wasn’t the one Harry was looking for.
“Did you guys even look at this guy before setting up the date?” Harry complained the next day at Blaze. “He’s way too tall!”
“He wasn’t that tall!” Daphne protested.
“Yes, he was!” Harry argued. “Didn’t I specify which height I wanted? I’m pretty sure I wrote it down on the form. Maybe go through it again.”
Daphne looked ready to punch Harry. Blaise stepped in just in time to pacify Harry and reign Daphne in. “We’ll be more mindful about the height. You’ll have the perfect date next time.” He gritted out.
*****
Harry sat through the next date bored out of his mind. His date this time was a cute guy with a toothy smile, platinum blonde hair and the right height. But-
“That was the worst one yet.” Harry groaned settling on a couch at Blaze. “He was too polite! Way too nice! I like someone with a bit of backbone, not someone who would just agree with whatever I say.”
This time Harry did get hit by a file, Daphne looking way too smug when it hit right on his face.
*****
The fourth date was with a girl, definitely not too polite like the one before, was the right height and had perfectly straight long hair. She was almost perfect. Almost.
“She wasn’t snarky enough.” Harry said thoughtfully.
Blaise didn’t even pretend to be nice this time. “So, she wasn’t rude enough?” He barked.
“I don’t want rude.” Harry said rolling his eyes. “But someone a bit snarky and prickly. She just wasn’t snarky enough.”
*****
The fifth date had all the qualities that Harry had specified. She was perfectly blonde, perfect height and just the right amount of cockiness. It was such a shame that Blaze had completely overlooked that one quality.
“Come on, guys, it’s like you’re not even trying at this point.” Harry said.
“What the hell is it this time?” Theo barked.
“Pretty obvious. How could you experts miss it?”
“What the devil is it, Potter?” Milicent spat.
“Her lips were like pillows!” Harry exclaimed. “So plump! I specifically said I liked thin lips!”
Harry only narrowly missed the book that was thrown at him.
*****
All of the dates Harry was set up with by Blaze ended in a similar fashion. Most of the people he went out with were good, but there was always something missing or something wrong that nagged Harry too much to even consider a second date:
“His voice was all wrong.”
“Her hair was curly.”
“She wanted to split the bill!”
“His hair was all spikey!”
“Did you guys even check what kind of a fashion sense she had?”
“He said no to dessert!”
“Her eyes were the wrong shade of grey.”
“His eyes weren’t grey enough. They were more really blue, honestly.”
Harry was sure that everybody at Blaze hated him at that point. But it wasn’t his fault that they couldn’t find him a decent date. He made sure to tell Ginny too, that her love experts were just a bunch of scammers. Harry wasn’t being unreasonable. If Blaze promises to find anyone their perfect match, then Harry wasn’t going to settle for any less.
A month of (horrible) dates later, Blaise sat him down. He looked up at Harry with tired eyes. There were dark circles under them. “Okay, Potter. I have one more blind date for you.” Blaise started. “This is your perfect match, I’m sure.”
“You’ve been saying that for a month now.” Harry scoffed.
“Well, we mean it this time.” Theo cut in. “If this doesn’t work, I suppose you are simply destined to die alone.”
Harry pursed his lips as Milicent let out a snort. He threw her a dirty look before turning back to Blaise. “Okay, who is it this time?”
“It’s a blind date, obviously.” Daphne rolled her eyes.
“Oh, just show me now so I can tell you exactly what’s wrong and we can all save some time.” Harry said.
“No.” Blaise said through a tight smile. “This is the last blind date we’ll send you on. We’re all sure this is the one, so if even this doesn’t work, then we don’t know what else to do. You’ll get a full refund.”
Harry pouted. “How do you know this is the one for sure?”
“Because we’ve been listening to you whining for the past month. I think we’ve figured out exactly what you’re looking for.” Blaise said with a smile. There was something knowing in that smile, but Harry wasn’t sure if he was just imagining it.
He sighed in defeat. “Fine. Last date.”
“Great.” Blaise said with a smirk and a mischievous glint in his eye.
*****
As Harry sat at the small but cozy restaurant, waiting for his date to show up (who was late, by the way), he started to wonder if he was being trapped by Blaze into enduring a horrible date with a horrible person as revenge. He was just contemplating running off before his date showed up that a familiar voice called his name.
Harry whipped his head around, never in a million years expecting to hear that voice again. He pinched himself, just to check he wasn’t dreaming. Harry was vaguely aware that his mouth may be open in shock, but there was nothing he could do as he watched Draco Malfoy walking towards him, the usual strut in his step, looking extremely fit in an expensive light grey turtleneck jumper and tailored black pants.
“Potter?” Draco asked once he was close enough. “You’re my blind date?”
“Um.” Harry said very eloquently. “Table no. 7?”
Draco scoffed out a chuckle. “Yeah, Table no. 7.”
Harry was still too in shock to say anything else. What was Draco doing here? And why on Earth had Blaise thought this was a good idea?
“Long time no see.” Draco said awkwardly.
“Yeah.” Harry replied. “Um, yeah. Didn’t really expect to see you here.”
“Me neither.” Draco said. “Blaise set me up on a blind date. I didn’t think it would be with Harry Potter.”
Harry didn’t miss the teasing smirk on Draco’s face and couldn’t help but let out a snort. “I think Blaise was maybe playing a prank on me. He’s been trying to find me a good date, but nothing really worked.”
There was a flash of something in Draco’s eyes that Harry couldn’t quite put his finger on. “I see.” He said. “I guess your evening is wasted now?”
Harry didn’t like how Draco worded it. He was still shocked, yes, but a part of him was overjoyed at seeing Draco again. “I mean, it doesn’t have to be.” Harry said before he could stop himself. “Since we’re already here, might as well have dinner?”
Draco studied him for a long moment before giving him a small smile. “Sure, why not? For old time’s sake.”
Harry smiled back in return and gestured at the chair opposite him, indicating Draco to have a seat. There was a moment of awkward silence, broken only by a waiter coming to their table with the menus. Harry eagerly jumped at the chance to hide behind his menu, his heart still beating quite fast because it was Draco Malfoy sitting in front of him. Draco. His Draco.
Harry gulped thickly. No. Draco wasn’t his. Hadn’t been for some time. Harry really was okay with that. At least that’s what he told himself. He hadn’t allowed himself to think of Draco much, but now, so many feelings that he had been keeping buried deep inside were coming to the surface. He wasn’t sure he was strong enough to keep them at bay.
Harry peeked over the menu to glance at Draco. The other man still looked breathtakingly beautiful. His hair parted neatly to a side and the fringe of his hair falling over one eye, nose scrunched up adorably as he read from the menu. Harry had missed that. The little nose scrunch Draco always did. The thought was somewhat unsettling because Harry didn’t know that he missed any part of Draco at all.
He ducked his head again and tried to read the words on the menu, but his head was all jumbled. A part of him was somewhat irritated as well, because while Harry was a complete mess, Draco appeared to be perfectly at ease. He wasn’t even a little bit affected by Harry’s presence.
“I’ve missed you.” Draco said out of nowhere, his tone impossibly gentle.
Harry looked up from the menu with wide eyes, breath caught somewhere in his throat. “What?” He croaked out.
“I’ve missed you, Potter.” Draco was looking at him with a tender look. If Harry didn’t know any better, he’d think that Draco’s expression was almost close to longing.
“I’ve missed you too.” Harry said, his brain to mouth filter clearly not working properly.
Draco gave him a small smile and glanced back at the menu. “Have you decided what you want?”
“Yeah, I have.”
Draco called for the waiter again and placed his order and waited for Harry to do the same. Harry only pointed at a dish from the menu, without even bothering to look what it was. He needed to get himself together.
“So,” Draco started once the waiter had taken their orders and left them alone. “How have you been?”
Harry shrugged, swallowing thickly and leaning back against his chair. “Okay, I suppose. Mostly just buried in Auror work.”
“Ah, yes. I heard you became an Auror. Quite a good one too.” Draco said.
“I try my best.” Harry smiled, secretly loving the compliment. “What about you?”
“I’ve been writing mostly.” Draco said. “I work for the Potions Weekly magazine.”
“Oh, right.” Harry nodded. “Do you write fiction as well? You always liked to make up stories.” Harry teased, remembering all the rumours Draco used to spread about him back in school.
Draco chuckled at that. “No, I haven’t written any fiction.”
“Perhaps you should give it a try.” Harry suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what to write honestly.”
“I’d say you had a pretty interesting life. Take inspiration from that maybe?”
“You mean like what it was like to date the Chosen One?” An awkward silence followed after Draco’s remark.
Harry let out a nervous chuckle. “If that was anything interesting.”
“It was.” Draco said without missing a beat.
This was too much for Harry. He felt as if he could barely take a breath with the intense way Draco was looking at him. He let out a chuckle that sounded fake even to his own ears. “Well, anyway. As long as you’re enjoying your job, I’m glad.” Harry said hoping they could change the subject.
Mercifully, the waiter appeared then with their food and Harry almost jumped up his seat and hugged the man. The food proved to be an enough of a distraction. Some kind of a chicken dish was placed before Harry and he was glad he didn’t accidentally order a garden salad at least.
Their conversation was somewhat stilted after that, both of them skirting around topics that weren’t ones they were used to. Their conversations were never mundane, but now, Harry felt as if they were both trying so hard to ignore the elephant in the room that they ended up talking only about weather and politics.
Perhaps Draco finally had enough. “Why didn’t you ever contact me?” He asked after they had placed their dessert orders. “After the war.”
“Oh.” Harry was taken aback by the question. He was getting used to the fact that they were not going to be talking about their former relationship, but maybe not. “I don’t know.” Harry replied. “You never reached out either.”
Draco narrowed his eyes. “I was waiting for you.”
“I told you not to wait for me.” Harry said lamely.
“Well, I still did.” Draco almost snapped. “Thought you would’ve at least reached out to check.”
“Draco.” Harry said tiredly. “Must we really do this?”
“Yes, Potter, we must.” Draco said. “I think I deserve an explanation as to why you abandoned me.”
“I didn’t abandon you!” Harry exclaimed. “I-“
He was interrupted by the waiter bringing them their pudding.
They both sat in silence after the waiter had left. Harry couldn’t believe that Draco would think such a thing. Did he really not know that Harry only ever thought about him? Even during the war, Harry couldn’t not think about Draco, wonder if he was doing okay and if he was safe. Yet, the other man really had the audacity to accuse Harry of abandoning him, when it was the other way around as far as Harry knew.
“I thought you had moved on, Draco.” Harry said lowly. “You never reached out to me. You never came to see me. You must’ve known I was alive. The whole Wizarding World knew. So when you never contacted me, what was I supposed to think?”
Draco scoffed. “You could’ve checked?”
“Yes, because after a horrible war what I needed was to hear the man I loved telling me he had found someone else!” Harry snapped.
Draco looked at him with wide eyes as if shocked by what Harry said. Before Harry could really register it himself, Draco spoke again. “You never told me you loved me.”
Harry felt himself go cold. He never intended to say that. That was the last thing Harry wanted. For Draco to think he was some pathetic loser still hung up on him. Harry didn’t want to admit that perhaps it was true. Perhaps he never really got over Draco.
He didn’t know how he could take the worlds back though. “You knew.” He said in the end.
“You never told me.” Draco said again.
“Did I have to?” Harry challenged.
“Yes.” Draco said. “Yes, you did. I wanted to hear it from you. I thought I was alone in my feelings. And then you broke up with me to go fight a war. It was so easy for you, telling me to not wait for you and just forget everything. It was so easy for you to leave while-“
“What on Earth made you think it was easy for me?” Harry interrupted.
“Because you left!” Draco exclaimed. “You left me!”
“To fight a war!” Harry defended. “I had a duty, Draco! And I didn’t know if I was going to come back alive from it! What did you expect me to do? Tell you to wait for me no matter what? I couldn’t do that!”
“But you did come back alive.” Draco said lowly.
“I couldn’t reach out.”
“Why not?”
“Because I wasn’t the same person anymore. You wouldn’t have even liked me.”
Draco scoffed. “That was for me to decide, wasn’t it, Potter? Perhaps you should stop deciding for other people.”
“I-“ Harry didn’t know what to say to that. True, he had assumed that Draco wouldn’t like him as the post war zombie that he was. And he genuinely thought Draco had most definitely moved on and the last thing Harry wanted was to barge back into his life and mess everything up. He genuinely believed he was doing the right thing. But now, looking at Draco, eyes filled with something akin to betrayal, Harry didn’t know if he actually did the right thing.
And worst of all, Harry wanted to be wrong. Harry desperately wanted to be wrong. He hadn’t realized it himself until now. How much he had missed Draco and how he was perhaps still a little bit in love with the other man. But surely he was too late now? He had to be. There was no way-
Harry shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. He was doing it again. He was deciding all by himself what Draco may or may not want. “I’m sorry, Draco.” Harry said sincerely. “I’m sorry.”
Draco crossed his arms across his chest. He didn’t say anything for a long time. “I always knew you were an idiot.”
Harry couldn’t help but smile at that. That was Draco’s way of forgiving him. He looked up into Draco’s eyes. “Thank you.”
“For calling you an idiot?”
“For being the bigger person and forgiving me.”
Draco pursed his lips and nodded. “You should know that I’m still very much pissed with you.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Harry smiled. His chest felt lighter at seeing Draco’s smile. “Come on, eat your pudding. It’s your favorite.”
Harry was sure that he saw a tint of pink on Draco’s cheeks. He didn’t comment on it and instead dug into his own dessert. Harry’s thoughts were still racing inside his head. The more they came closer to finishing their desserts and in turn ending their date, the more Harry felt himself panic. Draco had been what Harry was after all this time. All those dates where he found something wrong to complain about was because none of them were Draco.
Harry had to do something. Even if they had fought for most of the meal, this was still the happiest Harry had been in a while. He was always the happiest when he was with Draco and that still hadn’t changed. Wouldn’t Harry be the biggest idiot on Earth if he let Draco slip away again? He once made the mistake of assuming he knew what Draco wanted. Was he really going to make the same mistake again by telling himself that Draco didn’t want anything to do with him anymore?
Having finished their food and settling the bill, both Harry and Draco stood up, walking side by side until they were outside of the restaurant, ready to say goodbye.
Draco turned to Harry with a small smile. “Well, I guess this is-“
“Do you want to do this again?” Harry blurted out cutting Draco off. He was taking his chances. The worst that could happen was him getting rejected. Harry was confident that he knew a spell to dug himself a grave if that happened, so he was ready.
“You mean dinner?” Draco asked, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
“Dinner, yes.” Harry nodded. “But also like a date.”
Draco’s eyes widened. But Harry didn’t miss the way he bit down on his lip to hide a pleased smile. “Sure, I’d like that.”
Harry smiled so wide until his cheeks hurt.