Notes: So here it is, the gig chapter! Originally I had planned to go into detail about one of the songs but I ended up putting so much into the chapter that I felt it would end up too long therefore it is glossed over, I hope no one minds terribly. There's plenty of information revealed about Harry's life in this chapter, so if any of you had been wondering certain things then they may be here.

Hours, Harry had decided, went by a lot faster when your mind was else where and he had spent the last three of them staring vacantly ahead, daydreaming about the nights up and coming gig. Every so often Alex had attempted to engage him in an (arguably) intelligent conversation only to find himself met with one-word answers and head movements.

Harry watched the second hand on the wall clock ticking as time inched ever slower to five o'clock. Finally he gave in with a loud sigh.

"That is it!" He exclaimed, his outburst startling Alex from where he was dozing against a rack of skirts. Harry hopped from his stool and made his way around from the back of the counter to the door. He yanked his keys from the chain and locked the door, pulling down the shutters before clipping the keys back on.

"Oh Harry," Alex said as he clambered up from the floor, "locking up ten minutes early? Aren't you the little rebel?" He finished sarcastically as he slipped behind the counter, opened the till and began counting the money.

"Yes yes rebellious." Harry replied distractedly as he took one of the tester eyeliners from the shop's make-up display. He drew over the fading line on his top eyelids before seeking out an appropriately coloured eye shadow.

"Must be those pre-gig nerves," Alex pondered as he stuffed the money into a bag ready to put in the safe in the back of the shop, "either that or something else about tonight has you a little jittery." He said nonchalantly as he too sidled up to the make-up display and picked up a green eye shadow.

"No idea what you mean Alex." Harry said innocently as he finished swiping dark blue over his eyelids and began touching up the liner on his bottom lids.

"Sure you don't." He replied, fixing his own eye make-up as Harry moved away and gave him free reign of the mirror.

Harry headed to the other side of the shop, pushing open the door to the back room. It was a small, dimly lit room, it's walls covered in pictures of bands, clippings from magazines and several photographs of drunken work outings. Harry knelt down and rummaged in his bag that sat precariously on one of the worn office style chairs.

He pulled out his blue mesh top and a rather crushed looking Green Day t-shirt (borrowed from Alex who had stolen it from his younger brother). Harry felt around at the bottom of his bag until his fingers curled around the polished wood of his wand. Extracting it, he gave it a casual wave in the general direction of the t-shirt and the wrinkles were charmed from the cotton. Harry swiftly undid the buttons of his shirt and let it fall from his shoulders to the floor. As he went to pick up the mesh top the back door of the shop opened and he was met with the sound of a wolf whistle.

"My my; I wasn't expecting a show." Harry rolled his eyes as he pulled the top over his head.

"Hey Matt. Everything ready?" Harry asked as he picked up the t-shirt. Matt gave him an 'mmmhmm' in response, planting himself on one of the chairs and opening his bottle of water at the same moment Alex came into the room. Harry's head popped out the top of the t-shirt as Matt snorted out the mouthful of water he had just taken.

"What's so funny?" Harry asked as he adjusted the t-shirt. It clung to his chest and arms seeing as it was a little too small, giving Harry the tight-fitting appearance he was hoping for. He turned round and suddenly began giggling.

Alex, who had now closed and locked the door that led out to the shop was standing in a green mid-thigh length skirt and matching shirt that was at least two sizes too small.

"What?" Alex questioned as he made his way to where his bag sat beneath a desk, "you'd think you hadn't seen me in a skirt before." Harry swung his bag over one shoulder and shrugged as he looked at Matt who was still wiping water from his face.

"He has a point you know." Harry said as he opened the back door and walked out the alleyway. He could hear Matt and Alex following; the latter's two-inch stilettos clicking on the concrete as he climbed into the passenger seat beside Seth.

"Alright Harry?" he asked, turning the down the music that was playing.

"Yeah, alright Seth?" Harry replied. Seth nodded in return and started up the van. He was a man of few words, quiet in most social settings but one hell of a drummer- Harry had never seen someone normally so quiet make so much noise.

The back doors of the van opened and closed, Matt and Alex clambering past drums, guitars and amplifiers to seat themselves in the two seats behind Seth and Harry. Music blaring, they drove off, Harry rolling down the window and lighting up a cigarette as they did so.

Half an hour later they were pulling up at the back of 'Copyright', the club where Samsara had already played several gigs. Unloading the equipment and instruments, Seth, Matt and Harry all watched in amusement as Alex attempted to descend the stairs into the club while wearing stilettos and carrying a bass guitar and amp. The end result being him slipping on the last step and having to be caught by one of the bartenders.

In spite of leaving the shop on time, there was still little time for the band to set up before people began streaming into the club. As Matt signalled that they were ready to play, Harry scanned the crowd for a sign of Draco but failed to see anything as the lights focussed on the stage.

The set went smoothly, a fast paced blur of crunching guitar riffs and heavy pounding bass lines that accentuated the powerful drive of the drums. All of which were complemented by the soulful melodies of the lyrics, sometimes upbeat over a positively bouncing backing, other times haunting and mournful, over minor chords strummed slowly on a loan guitar. The final song ended the set in a flourish of catchy choruses, Matt playing a solo while standing atop an amp and Alex nearly toppling from his stilettos. All in all, Harry thought as they all walked into the backstage area, a good evening.

The members of Samsara each began the task of putting away their respective instruments and, with his guitar packed back in its case, Harry left the backstage area and wandered out onto the main floor of the club, the click-clack of high heels telling him that Alex was not far behind. The second band was setting up for their set as Alex and Harry hoisted themselves onto two empty barstools. Alex ordered them both drinks as Harry looked across the sea of people. He was startled out of his search by Alex sitting a drink down heavily in front of him.

"He'll be here Harry just …drink up." Alex assured him. Harry snorted- Alex's solution to most problems was 'drink up'. Harry took a large mouthful, the welcome taste of vodka coming through the taste of the coke. Harry spotted a flustered looking Matt pushing past the throngs of people as he made his way towards them. Finally he made it, one arm collapsing onto the bar to hold him up.

"God it's bloody roasting in here," he declared after getting his breath back, "right- Seth starts work in a couple of hours so if either of you want a lift then we're going now." He stole Harry's drink and took a mouthful, screwing up his face as he set it back down, "vodka- I should have known. So are you two ladies staying here?"

Alex reached around Harry to punch Matt in the arm for his comment, momentarily forgetting that he was the one wearing the skirt. Harry didn't notice the exchange as he was still searching the heads of the crowd for the crop of familiar blond hair.

"I'll stay with Harry …can't have him sitting alone waiting for his blond prince can we?" Alex said with a smirk at Matt over the top of Harry's head.

"Well he won't be waiting long." Matt replied, nodding to somewhere behind Alex. Harry's head whipped round non-too-subtly, eyes locking with Draco's as he pushed his way past a group of giggling girls who were pointing at one of guitarists on the stage.

Draco came to stand between Alex and Harry and greeted both Matt and Alex in turn before turning his attentions to Harry.

"I was planning on buying you a drink but it would seem you have already been supplied with one." He drawled, resting his hand on the bar beside Harry's and leaning ever so slightly into him. Alex hopped from his stool, snatched up Harry's cup and promptly downed the remaining volume of liquid.

"There," he said triumphantly, "now no one has a drink. I'll head off with Matt and Seth," he said, stepping past Harry, "Draco, a pleasure to see you again." He smiled at Draco who gave him a polite smile in return, "Harry, I'll see you bright and early for work in the morning I'm sure." He winked at the pair of them, causing Harry to groan and Draco to smirk.

"Goodnight Alex." Harry said exasperatedly through clenched teeth. Alex blew him a kiss, smiling cheekily as he strode away in his high heels and disappeared backstage. Harry shook his head in amusement before turning back to Draco.

"So what'll it be Potter?" The blond asked, sitting down on the stool that Alex had vacated.

"Vodka and coke." Harry replied on instinct. Draco noticed this snap decision.

"Is that your usual?" He asked and Harry nodded in response, "I'll need to remember that." Draco stated before ordering drinks from the bartender. When the drinks had been placed in front of them, Draco took his in his hand and turned on his stool to face Harry.

"That was another great performance earlier Potter." He said before taking a sip of his drink. Harry smiled modestly and shook his head a little.

"Thanks. We did okay- there was a couple of moments during 'Pretending' where we all lost our timing a little but it's a new song so no one really noticed. My chords were a little off during the first chorus of 'Anywhere Is' but luckily the drums are pretty heavy and it was drowned out…" Harry trailed off at the look Draco was giving him, "sorry I'm rambling," he said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head in a nervous gesture, "I tend to do that when I start talking about the band." He took a large mouthful of his drink, avoiding Draco's gaze and not noticing the smile he was giving him.

"Don't apologise, I was just thinking that if you'd been as obsessive over your school work you would have done a lot better." Draco remarked, causing Harry to snort disbelievingly.

"I doubt it- school work wasn't really my strong point." He took another mouthful of the vodka.

"Quidditch on the other hand…" Draco began, moving closer to Harry to avoid any muggles listening in on the conversation. The blond watched Harry's lips curve into a wistful smile at the memory of Quidditch and he frowned, "why did you leave Potter?" He asked.

Harry sighed- he'd expected Draco to ask that at some point but he'd never had to explain his reasons to anyone before. Neither Alex, Seth nor Matt had asked why Harry had left the wizarding world and Harry had never asked them- it was like some unwritten rule: it didn't matter how they got there, only that they were there. As he opened his mouth to reply the second band struck up the first riff of their set, drowning out any noise that Harry's voice could have made. Draco leaned over to him, bringing his mouth to his ear.

"Lets go find somewhere else …somewhere quieter." Draco's breath blew across Harry's skin and he suppressed a shudder. Harry turned round, nose barely missing Draco's as he nodded in agreement. Draco slid off his stool, quickly finishing the rest of his drink before sweeping his arm out and indicating for Harry to go first.

The two made their way to the stairs that led back up to the street and Harry ended up behind Draco on the stairs, finally getting a good look at what the blond was wearing that evening. Harry felt oddly pleased to see that Draco was indeed wearing the outfit he had purchased at the shop earlier that day. The black jeans clung sinfully around the curve of his ass and the red shirt hung loosely on his torso, the movements of Draco's back giving life to the dragon decal on the back.

When they finally reached the top of the stairs, Harry's fishnet covered arms were met with the chill of the May evening and he wrapped his arms around himself. Draco turned to Harry, silver eyes lined heavily in black.

"Any where in particular you want to go?" He asked as they walked slowly side by side up the street.

"I could go something to eat," Harry shrugged as Draco looked at him, "performing makes me hungry." Draco snorted before Harry nodded in the direction of a café across the road, "they're always open late and do the best donuts …there's at least a pound of sugar in them but it's worth it."

"Sounds good to me." Draco replied and they crossed the street and entered the brightly lit café.

The woman behind the counter greeted Harry with a motherly smile.

"Will it be your usual?" She asked softly. Draco gave Harry a quizzical look as the dark haired boy nodded.

"Yeah and Malfoy what about you?" He asked the blond.

"A black coffee." He said promptly and Harry nodded to the woman who went about retrieving the order. After placing down some money, Harry stepped from the counter and led Draco to an empty booth beside the window where they sat on opposite sides of the blue table.

"You must come here a lot then." Draco asked conversationally. Harry nodded.

"We play at the band night in 'Copyright' every couple of weeks." He explained, gesturing to the club across the street. The waitress came to the table, sitting a steaming cup of black coffee in front of Draco and a mug of tea, a sugar covered donut and a pile of change in front of Harry. Draco quirked an eyebrow.

"Tea Potter?" He asked with a smirk, taking a slow sip of his coffee before sitting it back down, "not very rock and roll is it?" Harry smirked back as he pulled the donut apart.

"No but it's meant to be good for my voice …either that or it is a habit from spending too much time in Dumbledore's office." He replied with a smirk of his own before popping a piece of the donut into his mouth.

"Which reminds me," Draco began, taking a bit of donut from Harry's plate, "you have yet to answer my question from earlier." He put his piece of donut in his mouth just as Harry swallowed his and frowned.

"I'd rather not talk about it …not tonight anyway." He cupped his hands around his mug and stared pensively at the dark liquid.

"Okay," Draco replied having finished his stolen segment of donut, "why don't you tell me how Samsara came about then?" Harry looked up from his tea, eyes radiating a youthful excitement.

"Well I was staying in a hotel at the time, nothing fancy mind you, and I'd decided I wanted for once to live a normal life." He picked up another bit of donut and held it out to Draco who declined with a wave of his hand, "So the first thing I did was look for a flat …before I had the chance to look properly I stumbled into Alex and within half an hour he was dragging my back to the flat and insisting that I was the roommate they were looking for." Harry chuckled to himself as he took a sip of tea, "he can be rather persuasive like that. One day Matt came across me sitting writing, I let him see, he picked up his guitar and began playing around with some chords. Next thing I know, there's a melody in my head that fit the words and bang!" He emphasised the point by sitting his mug down heavily, "a band was formed. Matt ended up teaching me guitar when we all decided the songs needed more texture." He began chewing on a piece of donut now that he had finished his story.

"When did the make-over take place then?" Draco asked, his eyes sweeping over the eyeliner and fishnet clad brunette. Harry rolled his eyes and smiled across the table at Draco. "Alex I'm guessing then?" Harry nodded.

"I actually started off by stealing his clothes until finally he got so pissed off that he dragged me to work with him one day, which is how I ended up working in Black Addition by the way, and came home with a new wardrobe and, like I said, a job." Both men took several mouthfuls of their rapidly cooling drinks. "The lip ring though, that was my idea." Harry said, biting on said ring with his teeth, "I felt it went with the hair." He explained, flicking the flopping sweep of hair from the left side of his face, scrunching his nose up as it landed back on his face.

Draco's eyes had flicked from Harry's lips to his forehead when the hair had been flipped and he was now gazing intently into Harry's eyes. The brunette, realising what Draco had seen, was nervously patting his hair down. Draco grabbed Harry's wrist and placed it back on the table before letting go.

"I'd wondered if it was still there." Draco said, eyes never leaving Harry's.

"I almost forget about it sometimes," Harry shrugged as he drained the last of the tea from the mug, "no one sees it any more …well other than Matt, Seth and Alex but that's only because they see me when I roll from my bed in the morning." He said, a small smile on his face as he took the second last piece of donut and held it out to Draco. The blond paused before taking it, watching as Harry picked up the last piece.

"Can I see it?" Draco asked softly, leaning across the table slightly. Harry looked up from the piece of donut he was about to nibble on and stared back at the blond. Eventually, he gave a small nod, wiping sugar from his fingers before pushing his hair to the side. He averted his eyes as Draco looked at it, leaning even further across the table. He raised his hand, the tip of his index finger trailing the shape of it lightly. Harry tried to let the hitch of his breath pass inconspicuously. Draco preceded to run his finger down the side of Harry's face and across his cheek.

"I don't get it," Draco said quietly, "everyone made such a fuss about it but …it's just a part of you, it's not like no one else has scars." Harry smiled and sat back in his chair at Draco's words.

"You are probably the only person who has come out and said that to me." He slid the piece of donut into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully as he looked across at the blond.

"Well perhaps you are just bringing out some terrible Gryffindor side of me." Draco commented with an eyebrow raised as he popped the piece of food in his mouth.

"We can't have that, heaven forbid that a Slytherin show a human side!" Harry sighed dramatically, "I should leave before you have some sort of identity crisis." Draco snorted, downing the donut with the last mouthful of his coffee. "Actually …I probably should leave- Alex wasn't joking when he said we would be up bright and early for work." Draco nodded in understanding as he brushed the sugar from his fingers.

"How are you getting home?" Draco asked as they slid from the booth and walked across the café. Harry gestured across the street where three taxis were sitting waiting for customers.

"It doesn't cost too much to get to the flat from here." He said as they stepped back out into the cool night air, "What about you?" They waited for a few cars to pass before crossing the road and walking towards the taxis.

"I might just find somewhere to apparate from." Draco replied nonchalantly.

"Gods," Harry breathed, "it's been almost two years since I apparated …I never did like doing it mind you." He said as they stepped up to the first taxi. Harry turned round to face Draco, suddenly feeling rather self-conscious under the blonde's stare.

"So do I get to give you a call yet?" Draco asked, his lips curving into a smirk. Harry smirked right back; fishing around in his pockets for the pen he had borrowed at work from Alex earlier.

"I think you may have earned that right." Harry replied, the teasing tone obvious in his voice. He found the pen and took Draco's right hand in his left. Harry wrote down the phone number for his flat on the pale skin. "If someone answers telling you that you've reached a gay sex line just say 'Hey Alex'." Draco chuckled as he inspected the back of his hand, "It isn't funny!" Harry protested, "There's been a lot of important calls missed because of that." Draco hummed in amused understanding.

"Pink ink Potter?" Draco said in amusement, his fingers still clasped around Harry's.

"Oh shut up Malfoy." Harry replied pulling his hand away but Draco snatched it back, placing a light kiss on the knuckles. Draco let Harry's hand drop and the brunette rolled his eyes, "you definitely are going soft Malfoy." He said as he opened the door of the taxi.

"Yes, it must be time for me to disappear into a dungeon and prod fluffy animals with sticks." Draco said; his voice laced with feigned sincerity. Harry laughed as he sat in the back seat.

"Don't joke- I could believe it!" Draco smiled at him as he took a few steps backwards.

"I'll speak to you soon Potter." Draco said while Harry closed the car door over a little.

"Night …I'm glad you showed up tonight Draco." He added as an after thought. Draco's lips quirked but he refrained from making a big song and dance.

"Me too Harry." He smirked and shut the taxi door for Harry who was shaking his head at how ridiculous the situation really was.

Harry gave his address to the driver and gave Draco a brief wave and a smile out the window before the taxi drove off.

Notes: Again I took longer getting this written than I meant so sorry about that sweethearts! This chapter was a bit longer than I intended and I'm not sure I like it yet but oh well!

This chapter was created by… the new Nine Inch Nails album, getting caught in the rain (sadly without a Pina Colada), the buzzing noise my rabbit is making, insomnia, unbearable writers block, a craving for chicken, glitter and air drums.

Added Note: As you may know is clamping down on fics that have song lyrics in them, they haven't gotten to this one yet but they have taken down eight of my other fics. Basically I've had enough of this site and won't be updating here so all my HP fiction can be found at hpfandom(dot)com under the penname Aurora Enkeli Medeis.