Memories of Freaks and Dresses

Harry was lounging on their bed, bemusedly watching his boyfriend of 10 months supposedly getting ready for a night out.

"Stupid bloody Father. Stupid bloody Muggle suit. Stupid bloody Muggles." Draco winced at his instinctive comment and turned around to look at Harry.

Harry simply raised an eyebrow and jumped off the bed. "Come on, Draco," he said. "I want to see you in your businessman mode! And you look hot in that suit."

Harry moved over to the desk and picked up the invite. He snorted at it as soon as he handled it. Gold trimmed, thick vellum and heavily embossed - pretentious wasn't the word for it. Even the wording itself gave Harry a chuckle.

~ Hardings PLC would cordially like to invite ~

~ Mr. Draco Malfoy, representative of Malfoy Holdings, and guest ~

~ To attend a celebration in honour of our successes ~

~ The Ballroom, The Grosvenor Hotel, Victoria ~

Harry studied the invite for a second before gasping and staring at Draco. "You own Hardings?" The tone of his voice caused Draco to look at Harry.

"Hardings?" Draco moved back in front of the mirror. "Not all of it. Father decided to invest in Muggle business after Voldy vanished the first time, probably trying to save his skin. Who would accuse someone investing in Muggle businesses of being a Death Eater? Anyway, he bought the majority of the sodding company and now I'm bloody lumbered with it. Including this ridiculous shindig. Does this tie clash with my cufflinks?"

Harry ignored the style question. "You own the majority share of Hardings PLC?"

Draco shot Harry a confused look. "I just said – oh. This is about my money, isn't it? You knew I was rich. Fuck, Harry! You have money too."

"No, Draco. You own the majority share of Hardings PLC," Draco still looked confused at Harry's words. Harry simply handed Draco the plush invitation and pointed to the very small line of print at the bottom of the card.

Holding company of Ransom's Skip Hire, Walklight Flooring, Smithson Electrical & Grunnings Drills. ~

"Huh? What do you mean?" Recognition flashed across Draco's face as he took in the last company. "Oh, shit!"

"You didn't know?" Harry tentatively asked.

"What? Of course I didn't know! I have Bob to deal with all that crap. I just collect my money and show up at this thing once a year." Draco waggled the invitation in his hand to make his point.

Harry sighed.

"Will he be there?" Draco said. As he spoke, Draco's eyes had taken on an evil glint that Harry didn't like. "Would you like me to call Pansy and have her take your place? I promise to be good and leave him alone."

Harry thought for a second. He had told Draco about his entire childhood, especially the neglect and abuse he had suffered at the hands of the Dursleys. They had both agreed at the start of the relationship to have no secrets between them. It had been hard for Harry to tell Draco his story, as it was surely hard for Draco to hear it. He knew how Draco felt. After Draco had recounted his story of life under Lucius Malfoy and Voldemort, Harry had had a burning desire to raise them both from the dead; simply to have the pleasure of killing them again.

No, Draco simply couldn't go to this party alone, or worse, accompanied by his blood-thirsty best friend. Who knew what Draco would do to the man who had stolen his boyfriend's childhood?

"No, it's fine. I'll go. It'll be good to watch the fat bastard's face when he sees his freak of a nephew walk in on his bosses' bosses' boss' arm!" Harry laughed. "Come to think of it, I think I've actually been to a party like this before. When I was very small – Mrs. Figg was ill or something." Harry's mind was flooding with memories.

"Freak, Figg, fat Muggle." Draco mumbled, absently smoothing the back of his hair.

Harry looked confused. Draco looked thoughtful.

"It was you!" Draco suddenly shouted, pointing a finger accusingly in Harry's direction.

Harry stumbled backwards. "What was me?" he asked, looking at Draco warily.

"My hair!" Draco replied grumpily.

Harry thought for a second before once again looking at his boyfriend in shock.

"Little dress boy? That was you?" Harry gasped.

Draco angrily crossed his arms across his chest, a stunned look on his face.

"What did you call me? Draco growled.

Harry held his arms up in a defensive move and spoke quickly to placate the furious man in front of him.

"I'm just remembering bits and pieces. Like you remembering Freak." Harry resisted the childish urge to poke his tongue out and instead whipped out his wand.

"Repliticous," he whispered.

The shock of the spell sent them both reeling and the sudden rush of memories caused them to stumble.

"Merlin!" Harry mumbled, falling back onto the bed.

"Fuck!" Draco slumped into the chair behind him.

"Projectus!" Harry said, once he had his breath back.

Harry looked at Draco and extended his hand out to him. Draco happily accepted it and moved from his chair to settle on the bed beside Harry to watch the scene unfolding in front of them.

As Harry watched the small memory-version of himself fussing with his ill-fitting shirt, he recalled perfectly the thoughts and feelings going through his younger mind.

'Wow, so many grown-ups! I wonder if this means Aunt Tunia likes me now?' Memory-Harry stood up straighter and real-Harry winced as he remembered going through his orders. 'Must not do freaky things. Must be good. Must be like Duddy. Where is Duddy?'

Real-Harry smiled as another boy of about the same age as his younger self shimmered into view.

'Who is that boy? He's shiny. Will he laugh at me too?"

Real-Harry looked at real-Draco when he felt another hand squeezing his. Draco wasn't looking at him though, he was looking at himself. Harry rolled his eyes but soon regretted it as he heard the words that Draco was mumbling under his breath.

"Be nice, Draco. For fuck's sake, be nice."

"Hey, Draco, don't worry. We were four! And you were nice. At the beginning!" Harry chuckled and was gratified to see Draco smile. "Just watch."

Memory-Draco walked towards memory-Harry with a small smile gracing his tiny face.

"Hello, my name is Draco, I'm four years old. Pleased the meet you." The boy seemed to be trying to remember his lines before his shoulders sagged and he spoke in a normal, child-like voice. "Don't tell Father I messed up, please! I'm Draco, it means dragon, how cool is that? I wish I could have a dragon but Mummy said no. I do have a cuddly dragon, he's called Draco Two. What's your name?"

Harry looked flabbergasted at the rush of information and stammered his reply.

"Boy Freak, I think."

"That's a silly name," Draco giggled.

"Aunt Tunia calls me Harry when I've been good and done my jobs," Harry said defensively.

"Oh, okay. Wanna play? I don't like these things," Draco rambled, pulling at his trousers. "I want my robes but Mummy said no. She got to wear hers though. That's nasty."

Harry looked in the direction Draco was facing and spotted the beautiful lady wearing a lovely pale-blue gown. "You wear dresses?"

Draco giggled again. "You're funny. Pansy wears dresses!"

Harry simply looked confused but decided that he liked to see the boy smile. 'Who cared if he wore dresses?'

"Are you with your Mummy?" Draco asked.

"No," Harry simply replied. "Mrs Figg was stupid to get sick so Uncle Vernon had to bring me. I promised to be good!" Harry flashed Draco a smile as he added the last part.

"Okay. What do you want to play? I want to play dragons, but what do you want to do? Aurors? Flying?" Draco spoke very quickly, his arms flying out to his sides. "Pansy said flying is stupid but that's cos she's a girl."

Before Harry could answer, or ask what kind of game 'Aurors' was, the beautiful lady rushed over.

"Draco! There you are! Please don't run off, darling. You know how it worries your father." Narcissa Malfoy glanced over to where her husband stood. "Say goodbye to your friend."

Draco put his hand into his mother's and waved to Harry.

"Goodbye Boy!" he said brightly.

Harry waved sadly in return and went in search of his Aunt and Uncle. Instead, he found his overly large cousin careering into his side. Harry hastily stood up, ignoring the pain in his side, before anyone noticed him making a scene.

"The boy over there told me to do that," Dudley whispered into Harry's ear. "Said that was for trying to talk to him, freak."

Harry automatically looked over at Draco, his tiny legs swinging freely from the too-big chair he was sat in next to his parents.

The look of hurt that flashed across memory-Harry's face caused real-Draco to jump off the bed.

"I'm going to fucking kill him. I never – how could you think –"

Real-Harry pulled him back onto the bed and kissed him softly.

"I was trained to do what they said – to believe whatever they told me." Harry said. "Anyway, remember what happened next? Let's just watch some more."

Draco nodded and settled back to watch the rest of the memory.

Some time had obviously passed in the memory as many of the adults were quite tipsy and little Harry was looking very tired. A small smile appeared on Harry's weary face as he noticed his new friend walking towards him.

"Hello," Harry said.

Harry's smile quickly disappeared as the air whooshed out of his lungs when the small blond boy pushed him over and landed on top of him.

"I thought you were nice. I was going to ask you to play again. That big boy told me that you laughed at me for wearing dresses. I'm not a girl!" Draco told Harry before pulling a chunk of his hair.

Harry tried to reign in his tears as the little boy on top of him refused to let go.

"I thought you were my friend!" Harry cried. Not knowing what else to do, Harry reached up and grabbed a handful of the blond locks.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Draco burst into tears and released Harry. "Mummy!" he cried.

Narcissa Malfoy rushed over to her son and gathered him into her arms. "What did the naughty boy do to you, darling?" she cooed.

Harry stood up quickly and shot an apprehensive look over his shoulder, looking for Uncle Vernon.

"Nothing, I just want to go home." Draco said in a quiet voice.

Harry was shocked but gave Draco a grateful smile as he watched him trotting off beside his mother.

The memory blurred before the images disappeared completely. Harry and Draco turned to one another.

"I never understood why you did that," Harry said.

"I noticed how frightened you were. I knew that look; I'd worn that look. Usually right before Father found out that I'd been misbehaving." Draco shuddered and looked to where the small Draco had stood just moments before.

Harry wrapped his arms tightly around Draco and whispered into his ear. "Thank you. I will kill Dudley when I see him though, the little bastard."

Draco chuckled darkly. "Yes, it's a shame that he won't be attending tonight. I think we could both do with having a quiet word in his ear."

Harry raised his eyebrows.

Draco tried to change the subject. "I can't believe I met you before Madam Malkin's!"

"I know, it's bizarre," Harry said with a smile. "Let's just finish getting ready for this thing. One thing though – Draco Two?"

Draco blushed and elbowed Harry in the ribs. "Yes, yes, Draco Malfoy has a soft toy. There was some confusion over the naming of him. I didn't understand why my parents kept asking me if I was sure I wanted to call my dragon Draco too. I apparently just kept saying, no, I just want to call him Draco. Anyway, he's called Draco Two. End of story."

"Has? Is? Present tense?" Harry laughed.

Draco poked his tongue out at Harry and moved back in front of the mirror. "Shut up," he mumbled, the blush still reddening his cheeks.

Forty minutes and a bit more ribbing about Draco Two later, and Harry and Draco were ready to go.

"You look absolutely gorgeous," Harry told Draco, running his eyes up and down Draco's suit-clad body.

"You don't look so bad yourself," Draco replied, holding his hand out for Harry to take. "Are you sure you still want to go to this?"

Harry nodded and waited for Draco to Apparate them both to their destination.

They appeared in the centre of the blissfully empty Leaky Cauldron. Harry waved to Tom and pulled Draco towards the exit into the Muggle world. They found a taxi and climbed in, Draco surreptitiously casting a Clean Charm on the seat.

"Wow," Harry muttered as the taxi rolled to a stop outside the opulent hotel.

"You lived in a bloody castle for seven years and you're awed by a Muggle building?" Draco asked him with a smirk on his face.

"Shush you," Harry said. "Let's go."

On entering the building, Harry and Draco were met by a young woman who didn't look as if she'd seen her twentieth birthday.

"Good evening, Mr. Malfoy," the girl said. "Welcome to Harding PLC's Gala evening. "Please, follow me."

As they walked towards the ballroom, the young girl continued to talk. She introduced herself as Linda, told them she was a secretary and gushed about her job, yet she refused to acknowledge Harry's presence.

"I'm so sorry your wife couldn't make it," she said, fluttering her eyelashes.

Harry snorted. He was used to the attention Draco received from both sexes. He didn't mind; quite the opposite actually. Harry found Draco's way of showing that he was unavailable to be amusing, and quite enjoyable.

As Harry predicted, Draco held one hand out for Harry to take, threaded the fingers of his other hands into Harry's hair and dragged him in for a bruising kiss. Draco finished, as ever, with the same comment.

"Why the fuck would I want a wife?" he asked, dragging Harry away and leaving a shell-shocked secretary behind.

As they neared the ballroom, Draco kissed Harry softly and gestured to the crowds within.

"Sorry, I'm going to have to mingle. Will you be joining me?" Draco asked Harry.

"You go ahead," Harry replied. "I'll stay with the tiny posh food. You know how I love the tiny posh food!" Harry chuckled, pointing to the buffet table.

Draco laughed and walked forward to greet the important looking gentleman who had approached them.

"Harry, this is Bob." Draco introduced the two. "The one that actually does all the work."

"Bob, this is Harry," Draco said, looking up at the still-scowling Linda glaring at them from across the room. "My wife."

Harry burst into laughter and shook the hand of the bemused looking man standing beside Draco.

"Pleased to meet you," Harry said.

"Go on," Harry indicated the men and women looking in their direction. "Be business-like. I'll see you in a bit."

Harry took a glass of champagne off the tray of a passing waiter and settled back to indulge in one of his favourite pastimes – people watching. He watched the wives hanging of their husband's arms, expensive jewels glistening on their necks. He watched a gaggle of younger woman standing in a corner, pointing at Draco and him in turn and gasping. Harry simply chuckled and took a sip of his drink. He almost choked when he heard the very familiar horsey laugh behind him. Harry turned around slowly.

"Hello, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon." Harry plastered a fake grin on his face. "How lovely it is to see you."

Harry was very gratified to see his uncle's face turning from its usual reddish colour to a horrible purple. The splutter that Vernon developed and Petunia's eyebrows disappearing into her hairline turned Harry's smile genuine.

"What the – Where – How?" Vernon visibly shook himself. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought we'd seen the last of you!" Vernon growled.

Petunia laid a calming hand on her husband's arm. "Now, Vernon, calm down, dear," she said, looking around to see if anyone was taking any notice of their conversation.

"My partner was invited and he brought me along as his guest," Harry calmly replied, bracing himself for what he knew was to come.

"He?" Vernon shouted. "I always knew you were a freak. I bet it's that other freak in Accounts. I told you, Pet; he couldn't keep his eyes of our Dudley when he was doing Work Experience. Well, he won't be in Accounts for long."

Harry shuddered at the thought of anyone lusting after Dudley. He opened his mouth to tell Vernon the truth about Draco when the man himself walked over, led by Bob.

"Mr. Malfoy, Draco. This is Vernon Dursley, one of the managers at Grunnings," Bob introduced the two men.

Vernon's face changed instantly. "Mr. Malfoy, such a pleasure to finally meet you. Allow me to introduce my lovely wife, Petunia."

As Vernon turned to move Petunia forward, he noticed Harry still standing beside her.

"You can go and find your disgusting little boyfriend now," Vernon spat at Harry.

Bob moved to interrupt Vernon and Draco put a hand up to stop him.

"There's no need for that, Mr. Dursley," Draco spoke in a sickly sweet voice. "Please allow me to introduce the love of my life, Harry Potter. But, of course, you've already met, haven't you?"

Harry smirked at the look on his uncle and aunt's faces while Bob coolly excused himself and moved away from the tense meeting.

"Mr. Malfoy, I cannot apologise enough. I didn't mean anything by it, I had no idea, if I'd have known," Vernon continued to ramble before he was interrupted by Draco.

"No apologies necessary." Draco had an evil glint in his eyes. "As a matter of fact, I have something I wish to discuss with you. I was going to leave this for my speech at the end of the night, but, seeing as we're practically family, I can share it with you early. I've been thinking of downsizing the companies and I've come to a conclusion – one must go. I think we can lose at least one of them. Would you like to hazard a guess as to which company I'm thinking of downsizing?"

Vernon paled. Draco had hit him where it would hurt the most – his wallet and his standing in the community.

"Draco," Harry spoke for the first time since his boyfriend had joined the family reunion. "You promised."

Draco turned to study Harry's face. On noticing Harry's determination, he sighed and spoke once more.

"Okay, Harry. It stays." Draco turned to address Vernon and Petunia once more. "I will be taking a vested interest in Grunnings from now on, Vernon." Draco said the name in the same tone as the one he reserved for talk of his father. "Any problems and it will be finished. For now, just know that you owe your job to Harry Potter. And be grateful."

Vernon was stood stock-still, a relieved look on his face.

"Now!" Draco ordered.

"Yes, H-Harry. Thank you," Petunia said in a quiet voice before she nudged her husband, who was mumbling under his breath.

"Wizard, remember, Dursley." Draco patted his pocket and raised his eyebrows.

"Thank you. Harry." Vernon finally managed, although he stumbled over the name of his nephew.

"You're welcome," Harry simply said before taking Draco's hand, turning his back on his relatives and leaving the ballroom.

Once outside, Harry sagged his shoulders in relief.

"See, I told you it would be okay. I did nothing and yet they think you saved their arses. Like I would close a money-spinner like Grunnings," Draco chuckled.

Harry nodded, a small smile gracing his face.

"Although, if Vernon Dursley so much as looks at you again," Draco continued, "the deal is off and he's gone."

"My hero!" Harry put his hand to his forehead and pretended to swoon.

"Prat," Draco said with a laugh. "Let's go home."