Title: The Four Step Plan
Summary: Harry decides that he really wants Draco. So Draco's new jerk boyfriend needs to go before Christmas comes.
Author: bleedforyou1
Beta: slashtasticsam
Word Count: 4,452 {posted in 2 parts}
Rating: Light R
Warning: slash. fluff.
Author Notes: This is a gift!fic for the awesome and amazing aj_socks who requested a fluffy Christmas fic, and what do I do best? Yup! Fluff! I hope you enjoy this AJ, because you so deserve it! This is also my first holiday!fic, so hopefully everyone will like it!

It was at times like these that Harry Potter really wished for a time turner.

He watched from underneath his invisibility cloak at the couple eating dinner inside the fancy French restaurant that had just opened a few weeks ago. The twinkling lights winked above their table. The city all around him was decorated, as it was only a week 'till Christmas Eve. The lights, trees and bells were beautiful in Harry's opinion, but it did not soothe ache of loneliness in his heart as he looked in at the candlelit dinner.

One of the men was unknown to Harry. He was handsome - dark hair and blue eyes, nice skin - if one was looking for that sort of thing. He was apparently telling a really interesting story, from the way he was flailing his hands while speaking.

The other man, however, Harry knew all to well. At first, when Harry was passing by on his way to the Leaky Cauldron, he had simply glimpsed into the window of the restaurant, saw two men having a romantic dinner, and thought nothing more of it. With a second glance, however, the candlelight shone upon the other man's gorgeous features, and Harry was at a stand still, peering through the window.

Draco Malfoy was smiling. It was a beautiful, wide smile that hinted at mischievousness as he listened to this other man talk. His gray eyes flickered in the candlelight and his hair shined, looking soft and silky.

Harry was suddenly glad he had decided to wear his invisibility cloak, considering that Diagon Alley was packed with people at this time of night, and Harry was sick of having autograph books thrust in his direction.

He took one last look at Draco's smile before turning and walking away. He didn't really feel like going to the pub tonight, after all.

Four weeks ago to this night, Draco had asked Harry out on a date. Lying in bed, Harry stared at the ceiling while thinking about the event. This was the reason he wished he had a time turner.

Harry had looked up from his desk about five feet away from Draco's, and found his partner staring at him.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Harry asked, wiping around his mouth for any remnants of his turkey sandwich from lunch.

"No…I was just—would you perhaps like to accompany me to a concert tonight? I received two free tickets to the Weird Sisters show in London, and I don't particularly like them—I know you do, though."

Harry stared, dumbstruck, at Draco. After being partners for a year, he didn't know how to respond to Draco's question. Did he like Draco? Did he really want to go on a date with the man? Of course, he was very good-looking, and they had become especially friendly. Is that why Draco kept giving him flirty winks during their cases?

"Or, not?" Draco asked, a flicker of hurt in his eyes as Harry didn't respond.

"Oh! With you? Like, a real concert? Yeah, I mean—sure. I can probably go—I don't think I have anything planned for tonight."

Harry mentally smacked himself for the awkward response. Draco stared at him for a long moment before shaking his head.

"Well, actually, now that I think about it, I'd really rather not have to listen to their music—perhaps I'll just give you the tickets and you can take the Weaslette or something."

"Ginny and I aren't dating anymore!" Harry blurted out. "I'm gay, remember?"

"Right. I wasn't claiming you weren't, I was just providing an option. You both are still friends, correct?"

"Yeah," Harry mumbled. "But…are you sure you don't want to come?"

"No, it's quite all right. I'll owl you the tickets by five or so, I think I'm going to go home early tonight."

"Oh, okay?"

"Bye, Potter," Draco said, picking up his briefcase and leaving the office without a glance back.

Harry clenched his fists at his sides, almost tearing up as the nails dug into his skin harshly. After the awkward rejection, Draco barely talked to him other than what was necessary for their cases. Harry tried to engage him conversation, bringing up Quidditch and other things they used to talk about, but nothing was getting much reaction.

Until, this morning, when Draco had come in with a huge smile on his face and was practically giggling in excitement. Malfoy. Giggling. The thought was almost surreal, considering Harry had never seen that sort of reaction from Draco over the 9 years he's known the man.

Draco was apparently just over the moon about some man he met at a coffee shop last night, and he would not stop talking about how they were going to go out and be merry and they had so many things in common and he was oh so fucking sexy. Jealousy filled Harry's chest until he was seeing green.

"So you really like this guy, huh?" Harry asked, staring at Draco as he gushed about the man's perfect blue eyes.

"Yes, he's simply wonderful. You know what he said? Oh, it was so funny! He was like, if Christmas didn't exist, I'd die! That's how I feel about Christmas!"

Harry didn't understand how that was funny at all.

And after the whole gushing-about-the-idiotic-new-man thing happened, Draco left work early to go "get ready for his date." What the hell? Who in this world needs FOUR HOURS to get ready for some stupid date?

Harry angrily turned and punched his pillow, feeling stupid and dejected. How could he let Draco go and date this jerk who probably had some sort of psycho trait that would allow him to kill Draco?

He shot up from bed, the thought of Draco's psycho boyfriend ringing in his ears. What if he really was horrible? What if Draco didn't know what he was getting into? Sure, the man could probably protect himself—in fact, Harry was pretty damn sure he could kick some serious arse if wanted to. But still, Harry was Draco's partner, and he needed to stand up for him!

Right?

The next morning, Draco entered the office with a dreamy sort of expression. Thinking of the reason for Draco's expression caused Harry to clench his fist, making his quill snap.

"Morning, Harry. Isn't it so pretty outside?" Draco hummed, sitting down in his leather seat and pulling parchment out of his briefcase.

"No. It's snowing and I could barely see—"

"You don't like snow? Oh, you know, David loves the snow. He and I made snow angels outside after our date last night. Oh Merlin, and then we went inside and had hot chocolate by his fireplace and it was just the sweetest thing ever."

Harry rolled his eyes in irritation, but Draco didn't seem to notice, as he was still probably thinking about the jerk. This Draco was new to Harry—the kind who seemed airy and almost teenager-like with his descriptions of the new man. Where was the sarcastic, closed-off Malfoy that Harry was friends with?

"I didn't say I didn't like snow. I love snow—it was just in my way this morning…"

"Mhm. Did you ever realize how hard Healers work? I mean, I never really did until last night—Davy looked so tired—"

"What did you just call him?" Harry blurted out.

"Er, Davy? Just a nickname he said people used to call him and I thought it was the sweetest thing—"

That was not Draco style, at all. Harry was perplexed and more than a little angry.

"Isn't it a bit early in the relationship for nicknames?"

"Perhaps…but you know, I feel like our relationship has grown so comfortably—"

"It's been one night!"

"Not true! We met a week ago and we've been sending letters back and forth—I really feel like I've known him forever. And he really, you know, gets me."

Harry was outraged, even though he couldn't really explain why at the moment. "He gets you? What does that even mean?"

"It means… I don't know. I just feel so good around him—and oh Merlin, you won't believe this—he invited me to spend Christmas weekend at his lodge in the Alps! We're leaving next Friday night. I cannot wait to be up in the mountains, all cozy and stuff…" Draco trailed off with a sigh.

"You—the alps? I just- I don't think that's a good idea, Draco."

"Excuse me?" Draco looked at him sharply across the room. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean-I just think it's going way too fast, and that maybe you should be more careful around this guy. What do you really know about him?"

"I know enough, Potter," Draco sneered. Okay, so maybe that part of him hadn't changed at least. "I know he's an amazing man who is not only a Healer who really cares for his patients, but also a puppy-lover and an amazing cook. And the other things I'll learn with time. The fact of the matter is that he's interested in me and I'm interested in him. He's not one of those beat-around-the-bush types, and I'm sick of waiting for other men to show up—I deserve to be happy too."

With that, Draco got up and walked towards the door.

"We have a meeting with Kingsley about the new case. We should leave now."

That night, as he made a cup of tea and sat by the fire, Harry formulated a four-step plan to achieve the break-up of Draco and the jerk, as Harry now called the man.

Step 1: Make sure Draco understood how much of a jerk this man was.

Seriously, if Draco was going to date someone, he ought to be with someone who was on the same level of his satirical intelligence and magical ability. And Harry highly doubted that Davy had these traits. Plus, he knew for a fact that if they actually went up to the Alps for Christmas, that would mean lots of sex—Draco and Davy sex, not Draco and Harry sex. And that was just not okay—at any cost.

Step 2: Cause the jerk to want to break up with Draco.

Harry would just have to go to St. Mungo's—with a perfectly good broken arm caused by some freak accident that he would make up—and go straight up to this man. Once he told the jerk that Draco was really just a bitchy, bossy, narcissistic man with a superiority complex and complete lack of kindness, the man would run away quickly. Now that Harry thought about it, he really was the only one who had managed to stay with Draco long enough to get past his personality. Which lead to step 3.

Step 3: Do Christmas-y things with Draco, therefore making him soften up.

Considering how much Draco loved Christmas, and Harry was pretty much ready to spend Christmas with Draco, it shouldn't be a big deal. Carolling, decorating their office, egg-nog. Not too difficult. Nothing would go wrong in the plan if Harry really tried hard enough.

Step 4: Make Draco fall madly, deeply in love with Harry.

It would be too easy after that. Once Harry got rid of the jerk, and proclaimed himself the better fit, Draco would surely realize that he was the right one to pick. After all, they were already excellent Auror partners—they should be amazing life partners as well. Right?

The next week was a pile full of failed actions on Harry's part. Honestly, life was throwing so many curveballs; Harry didn't know what to do.

Every time Harry tried to convince Draco that this man was not who he said he was—Draco either didn't listen or simply argued for a bit before walking away. Harry couldn't believe it—since when was Draco mature enough to walk away from a fight?

Deciding to go to the next step of his plan a bit early, Harry had purposefully gotten hit in one of their cases so that Draco would take him to St. Mungo's. However, lo and behold, Davy only worked in the department of poisoning. And Harry was not about to go poison himself to go talk to the man. He thought about simply going straight to his office, but then it would seem as if he were a stalker, and Draco would probably kill him for ruining their lovey-dovey relationship.

So, with only two days left until Christmas—and their lodge weekend—Harry was left to step 3, which was also a failure at every attempt.

When Harry put up a small Christmas tree in the corner, Draco had come in, took one look at the thing and blasted a firing charm at it, calling it gaudy and much too Gryffindor for his taste. When Harry strung up tinsel, Draco had rolled his eyes and complained about the glitter that fell all over the carpet. And when, at a last ditch attempt, Harry had begun singing Christmas songs while they were doing paperwork, Draco sent a nasty hex flying in his direction, making his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth until the next day, claiming he should not be allowed to sing. Harry didn't think his voice was that bad, but Ron quickly confirmed that it was, in fact, horrible.

All in all, Harry's plan was down to ashes, and he was feeling desolate at the thought of Draco's relationship.

"Harry?"

He looked up from the paperwork he was definitely not doing and was startled to find Draco staring at him in the same way he had a month ago—when he had asked Harry out to the concert.

"Yeah?"

"Are you busy tonight?"

"No! Definitely not busy. Why?"

"Well, mother is having this stuffy pre-Christmas dinner that she has every other year, and she told me to ask if you wanted to—"

"I would love to come. Honestly."

"All right, good deal, it starts at 8, and attire is formal. So please, do the world a favor and brush your hair—"

"You love my hair," Harry grinned. "I know you do."

"You wish!"

"Hey, I remember the night in Manchester, when we got drunk and you telling me you actually didn't hate me at all, and that you loved my hair—"

"I was drunk! You can't hold me accountable for any of that."

"Whatever, I know you love me."

Harry clenched his teeth shut the moment he said it, the room going silent as he tried to think of a way out of what he said.

"I mean, I know you love my hair. Anyway, why aren't you bringing Daniel?"

"Who is Daniel?" Draco asked, his cheeks still slightly pink from Harry's earlier love comment.

"Your boyfriend, of course."

"His name is DAVID. Stop acting like you don't know his name! And he can't come because he has work. He saves lives you know—"

"So do we!"

"Well, you know what I mean. Anyway, considering we're pretty much done for the day, I'm going to go give these reports to Kingsley, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Harry stood in front of the mirror, staring at the reflection of himself in awe.

"Hermione, wow. I don't even look like myself!"

"Obviously. The point is to make you look civilized," she laughed, smoothing his dress robes over his shoulders.

"Hey! You better watch it, or else—"

"Or else what, Harry? You'll harm a pregnant woman?" She asked teasingly, rubbing a small hand over her growing belly.

"I wasn't going to harm my almost-niece. Just saying you better watch it."

"Mhm. And you better watch your heart. Looks like Draco is stealing it from you…"

"Hermione…" Harry sighed. "I think he's already stolen it."

"Damn, Potter, don't you clean up nice?" Was Draco's greeting as he opened the door of Malfoy Manor.

"Thanks, Draco. But you get the prize for looking best," Harry said, trying his best to be smooth as he took a step inside and handed Draco a bottle of wine.

"Oh, and complimentary too, I see? I could get used to this," Draco teased, taking Harry's arm as they went into the large dining area of the manor.

Gentlemen were escorting ladies to their seats, so Harry quickly pulled out the chair next to Narcissa for Draco, which got him a smirk and a wink as Draco sat down. Harry liked flirty Draco…a lot.

"Potter, how are you doing lately? I haven't seen you in much too long," Narcissa said, unsmiling. Harry didn't take it personally—Narcissa just didn't smile very much unless in response to her son.

"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy. I'm sad to say your son is very un-inviting outside work," Harry grinned.

"That is a complete falsity, Mother. Do not trust a word from this idiotic Gryffindor's mouth."

"Both of you are so funny. It's such a good thing you're partners. I feel better knowing my son is in the capable hands of the Saviour of the Wizarding World."

"No, he's in my capable hands, Mother," Draco drawled. "You have no idea what he did last week. He ran straight into the line of fire!"

"I was attempting to protect the civilians, not simply allowing myself to be shot."

"Yes, well, one day your I-must-save-everyone complex will get you killed. Then where will the world be?"

"The world, or you?" Harry asked, looking at Draco with an intense stare.

"I suppose I may be slightly desolate with the loss, if only not to see that hair every day anymore," Draco smirked before continuing on in a conversation across the table with some stuffy woman.

After dinner, Draco and Harry were walking in the Manor garden, the snowfall having stopped for a few hours.

"Have you heard of a poem called the Snow Fairy?" Draco asked after long moments of silence.

"Er, no. I like poetry, but I haven't read much lately."

"I do enjoy muggle poetry…and that is one of my favorites. It's by Claude McKay…

And suddenly my thoughts then turned to you
Who came to me upon a winter's night,
When snow-sprites round my attic window flew,
Your hair disheveled, eyes aglow with light.
My heart was like the weather when you came,
The wanton winds were blowing loud and long;
But you, with joy and passion all aflame,
You danced and sang a lilting summer song.
I made room for you in my little bed,
Took covers from the closet fresh and warm,
A downful pillow for your scented head,
And lay down with you resting in my arm.
You went with Dawn. You left me ere the day,
The lonely actor of a dreamy play."

Harry watched Draco's face for a long moment, but Draco simply stared ahead.

"How did you memorize that?"

"It's only the last few verses of the poem. I've been thinking of it a lot over the past week or so. Hm, have to say it's a very interesting poem."

"What do you think it means?"

"I believe the man is looking for something to take him away from the loneliness and sadness he experienced in the winter. And so, when the fairy comes, he is just so excited he forgets that it's all a dream."

"Why did the fairy leave?"

"The fairy…she was too good for him. She was joy and passion—he didn't deserve that kind of fire."

"Maybe he did, but the fairy was too flighty. She didn't understand how the man felt for real."

"Maybe. The man will simply have to make do with being a lonely actor. Or find someone else."

"But what if the fairy really does love the man? How would she feel if he were just with someone else?"

"The fairy said no already."

"Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance?"

"She never asked for a second chance."

Harry stopped suddenly in the path way, clenching his hands tight against the leather gloves covering them.

"I'm asking for a second chance, Draco. I don't want you to be with David. I want you for myself. I know it sounds selfish and stupid, and completely idiotic, but I do."

"You never asked. You tried to break us up, do Christmas things, make me not like him anymore. You could have just asked me out on a date. Like I tried to do with you!"

Draco stared at him, his cheeks flushing.

"I didn't know what to do! I didn't even know that I felt so strongly about you—"

"Until David and I started dating. Admit it—you never really were going to do anything about it until you thought I was taken."

"I—Draco- I love—"

"Oh, don't even start with me, Potter! You don't love me, you're just jealous of David!"

"No, I'm not! I mean, I am, but that's not why I feel like my heart's been ripped out!"

Draco shook his head, pulling out his wand. "I can't, Harry. I don't trust fairy tales anymore."

With that, Draco Apparated away, leaving boot-marks in the snow.

Harry stumbled slightly, reaching out to the lamp post to catch himself. Perhaps he really did have a bit more whiskey than usual, but he was sober enough to get home. Hopefully.

Bells tolled as people walked all around Diagon Alley in a flurry of excitement. Oh, yes, it was Christmas Eve. So, Draco was most likely in the Alps by now, roasting chestnuts. Or, licking David's.

Either way, Harry was here alone, miserable on Christmas, as he was planning to be anyway. Considering that the Weasley's were in Romania with Bill and this was Ron and Hermione's first Christmas as a married couple. He didn't really have anywhere else to be at the moment, so he wondered the streets for a bit, using his cloak hood to shield his face.

After realizing that it was much too cold to simply wander around, Harry tried to steady himself as much as possible before Apparating back to his flat. Dizzy with the spin, he collapsed on the sofa and waited until his body re-heated.

Flicking his wand towards the fireplace, he soon warmed up and was slowly drifting into sleep…

"HARRY POTTER! OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!"

Harry woke with a start, his glasses flying off his face as he tumbled off the couch. Quickly retrieving them and standing up, he wiped his face groggily before heading to the door.

"HARRY! I WILL WAKE UP EVERY NEIGHBOR IN THIS BUILDING UNTIL YOU ANSWER—"

Draco stopped as soon as Harry swung open the door, his fist still raised from knocking. Draco looked pretty dashing as far as Harry could tell, in a fancy winter cloak and gloves, with a pink nose from the cold outside and his hair in disarray. In the other arm, he held a wrapped box.

"You. You're supposed to be in the Alps. With the jerk."

"The jerk? Very mature, Harry. Well, are you going to let me in, or what?"

Harry stood aside, opening the door wide and watching as Draco strode in. He shut the door and locked it, following Draco into the living room.

"Where is your—oh. That's tiny…" Draco walked over to the small Christmas tree in the corner of Harry's living room and placed the box in his hands underneath it.

"You came from Switzerland to give me a gift? Thanks, but—"

"Don't be ridiculous. I didn't go to Switzerland, obviously."

Harry stared at the man as he shrugged out of his cloak and took off his scarf, placing them gently on the arm of the couch.

"Why not?"

"I simply decided that I'd rather be here."

"You said- Wait, what? Am I dreaming?"

Draco chuckled, walking closer to Harry. "No, but you did fall asleep with your coat, boots and gloves on. Here, let me help you with that."

He began pulling off Harry's coat, along with his gloves and then bent down to pull of Harry's boots. Harry—albeit extremely confused—placed his hand on Draco's shoulder to steady himself as his shoes were removed.

"What are you doing?"

"Helping to remove your clothes," Draco whispered, rising and slowly pulling Harry's jumper up over his head, leaving him bare-chested.

"Oh. This is one of those dreams," Harry sighed, closing his eyes happily. "I love these."

"Silly bugger," Draco chuckled again. "You're not dreaming, I've just decided to stop being a complete prat."

Harry's eyes blinked open as Draco pulled off his own boots and placed them next to Harry's.

"Still so confused…"

"I met with David last night, to leave for his lodge? He came over to pick me up and I just… Froze. I couldn't do it. I couldn't give myself to him, or anyone else. And last night, and all day today, I tried to tell myself that I was just on the rebound or something, and that I should not come over here and fuck you within an inch of your life. But then, I remembered the poem. The man had one night with the fairy, right? Before she left? I should be able to have at least one night with you, before you leave."

"Draco…" Harry paused, unable to fully clear his thoughts. "I won't leave. I don't want this to last only one night. I want it for- you know- the long run."

"You say that now, but—"

"No. No buts. I want you," Harry mumbled, pulling at Draco's black jumper and drawing him closer. "I'm not a snow fairy, and you're not a lonely actor. This isn't the poem, Draco—this is so real, I can feel it in my bones."

"Harry…"

Harry leaned in and kissed Draco with every ounce of willpower he had—and received a shot of fire that no whiskey could ever give him. Draco kissed like he was searching for air in space—with a sort of determination that was heart-stopping. Harry didn't even realize when his back hit the wall and his fingers were tangled through Draco's soft hair.

"So much to talk about," Draco murmured before biting down on the side of Harry's neck.

"No talking now…only fucking."

They made love all night and well into the morning, whispering meaningless words along with promises and doubts and aspirations.

As the sun rose and slowly began creeping into Harry's bedroom window, Draco raised his head from Harry's chest.

"Dawn's here…" Draco whispered.

Harry continued drawing lazy circles on the small of Draco's back. "Yes. And I still want you. For the next sixty Christmases."