Timeless

Chapter 43

Present Time: September 2005 / Draco's Time: Same as present

Bennett Clark

"How often do you see Harry Potter?" Bennett asked as he put on his outer robes.

Theo shrugged. "I see him almost every day at work. We usually arrive around the same time and share a lift."

"You know that's not what I meant. I mean like this, socially."

Theo shrugged again. "He's been here a few times. I've never been to his house. I told him the other day that was rude, seeing as how he's been to mine, but he just laughed. I don't know, every few months?"

"You say that like it's nothing special," Bennett muttered. He looked in the mirror one last time before turning to Theo, who was looking back at him with his arms crossed.

"Are you just with me because of my proximity to Potter? Is he who you're really after? Because I should warn you, he is decidedly not gay. He's not even bisexual, as far as I can tell."

Bennett smirked. "And how do you know that? Did you make a move and get rejected?" He was in front of the fireplace now and picked up some Floo powder. He waited for Theo before throwing it in, since he didn't know Hermione and Draco's address.

"Don't think I didn't notice you dodging that previous question," Theo grumbled, but Bennett could see his lips turning up slightly. "Okay. Ready to try meeting my friends again?"

"Of course. Just tell me where we're going."

Theo narrowed his eyes at him. "You're a lot more eager this time than you were before."

"Your friends will be mixed in with nice people this time. It's much less threatening."

Theo rolled his eyes. "Nice? Potter and Weasley are capable of biting sarcasm that rivals Blaise's. And Potter's wife, she can be vicious. Especially when you insult her family or tell her all the reasons Quidditch is stupid," he added in an undertone.

Before Bennett could respond, Theo spoke Hermione and Draco's address and walked into the green flames. Bennett followed him and walked out into an elegant, though sparsely decorated, room. Theo was in the doorway already and was removing his outer robes, so Bennett did the same.

Theo hung their robes in a hall closet and cocked his head toward the back of the house where Bennett heard muffled voices. He was suddenly nervous. Not only was he about to see the intimidating Daphne and Blaise again and meet Draco Malfoy for the first time, but he was about to see Harry Potter. Not just him, but he, Hermione, and Ron Weasley together. Just like they had been when defeating You-Know-Who. He knew Theo was casual about it, but he was casual about everything. This was a big deal.

There were about a dozen people in the back garden and a few balloons strewn about. There was a long table pushed up against the house which Bennett guessed they'd move to the center of the yard when it was time to eat. Hermione greeted them first and Bennett was glad to see a familiar face.

He hadn't seen her at the Ministry for a while and when he asked Theo about it the other day, he explained that she'd taken a leave of absence. It was clear from his tone he didn't want to discuss it further. Bennett had wondered if it was related to whatever Theo had to run off to help Draco with a few weeks before, but he knew better than to ask.

Hermione looked well, though a little thinner than he remembered. Her eyes looked haunted but her smile was bright. Theo wished her a happy birthday then lowered his voice and asked, "How are you doing?" in the kind of tone people used when they knew something was wrong.

Hermione nodded once, then smiled and turned to Bennett. "Let me introduce you to Draco."

Draco Malfoy wasn't what Bennett had expected. He'd expected a younger version of Lucius Malfoy, and although there was a resemblance, Draco was less imposing than the current head of the Malfoy family. However, that wasn't to say he didn't have a strong presence. He held himself with an easy confidence that Bennett didn't think he'd ever manage and there was an unmistakable intelligence behind his eyes that reminded Bennett of Blaise's calculating glares.