Harry paced outside Tempest Books, his tension mounting as he looked over at the clock on a nearby tower. Was Draco going to be late? He tugged at the bottom of his suit jacket, making sure it was sitting right. Just wanting to look good.
"Evening, Potter," Draco drawled, as he strolled to Harry's side. He looked great, dressed in dark grey suit with a lilac colored dress shirt underneath. His collar was unbuttoned, no tie around his neck, drawing Harry's eyes to the bare skin there. A place he had liked to kiss.
Draco was doing his share of looking as well. Harry had bought a new suit in dark burgundy, pairing it with a crisp white dress shirt and a narrow black tie. It was nicely tailored, but not as tight as some of the suits he had worn when going out with Draco in the summer. He felt good in it.
"Um, yes...well, we better get going," Harry pulled himself out of looking at Draco, and took his hand. It had become an almost constant thing on their dates now, something that still delighted Harry. He tugged Draco down the street, walking fast.
Draco kept up easily, matching his stride to Harry's. "Are you finally going to tell me where we are going?"
Grinning over at Draco, Harry shook his head. He had only told him to dress nice, not wanting to spoil the surprise. This was their seventh date, and Harry wanted to step things up a little.
At the end of Diagon Alley was a small park. Harry stopped on a patch of grass, and turned to face Draco. Reaching into the inside breast pocket of his suit, he pulled out a stainless steel pen. He glanced back at the clock tower. "Grab hold of the other end of this," Harry instructed firmly.
Draco did what he asked, realization dawning on his face.
A couple seconds later, they felt like they were being yanked forward by a big hook, spinning through space, a breathless few moments before they got to their destination.
They were standing behind a dark stone church, with tall buildings surrounding them on all sides. Sounds of a busy city took over their senses; traffic, people talking, and construction. It was bright and sunny, but about the same temperature as London.
Before Draco could ask more questions, Harry pocketed the pen and took Draco's hand again, leading him around the church and out on to a street. He turned left, confidently steering them around other pedestrians.
They passed many apartment buildings and businesses, and Harry could tell Draco was trying to figure out where they were.
"Definitely a big city, American..." Draco said, almost to himself.
Harry spotted the red awnings he had been watching for, and might have given Draco's hand a small squeeze of excitement.
It made Draco's gaze sharpen, looking around even more closely. "Broadway Kitchens and Baths..." he read aloud, from a business at the intersection they were approaching. "Broadway... We are in New York!"
Harry nodded happily at Draco, glad that he had been able to give him a good surprise. "Just for the night. I'll have you back home at a decent hour."
"Maybe I'd prefer an indecent hour..." Draco said softly, so Harry wasn't sure he heard him right. Glancing quickly his way, Draco only smirked at him, unrepentant.
Rolling his eyes at that, Harry tugged Draco across the street at the corner. "Our first stop is right here."
Draco looked up at the red awnings along the building, and he looked truly shocked. "The Strand? This is so great," he sighed, seeming frozen on the spot.
Grinning, Harry followed his gaze. The sandstone building was about ten stories tall, with simple, clean lines. The red awning had the store's logo interspersed with 'Old, Rare, New', '18 Miles of Books', and 'Where Books Are Loved' stretching down it's length.
Tugging Draco forward again, Harry lead them inside, and then let Draco's hand go. Just stepping back to take him in as he explored the store for the first time. He trailed behind Draco, wanting to just share this with him. Chuckled when Draco spotted the staircase, and turned to Harry with a delighted look.
"There are three and a half floors," Harry smirked back, knowing he had been wise to give them a few hours to explore the store.
It was brightly lit, and well organized, but a bit overwhelming. Bookshelves stretched eight feet in the air, with stools nearby for shoppers to access the highest books. Harry simply snagged a red shopping basket, and started taking the books from Draco as he shopped.
By the time they had reached the top floor, Harry had already passed two full baskets to staff to place on hold at the checkout. He was relieved to see this was the half floor, and there was a leather wingback chair he could sit on as Draco explored.
This was the rare book area, with many first editions and books signed by authors. Draco got into a deep discussion with an older woman who worked there, and she could tell he was a bibliophile, her dark eyes sparking with mutual passion. She pulled out their most valuable books, and Draco handled them like priceless jewels. Harry was drawn to his side, curious at what had Draco so enraptured.
"It's James Joyce's Ulysses, signed by him, with illustrations done by Henri Matisse," Draco told Harry softly, flipping to the signed page.
The staff member chuckled. "But Joyce refused to sign any after he realized that Matisse had done his drawings based on the roman myth instead of his novel."
Draco shared a warm glance with her. "A little different than Dublin of 1904."
There were another two full shopping baskets by then. "We better get going soon," Harry said regretfully. "Can we get the books shipped to the UK?"
Draco's new best friend, Linda, soon had them in an elevator to the ground floor, and helped with the completion of the sale. Harry was a bit amused that Draco had a muggle credit card, listing his name as 'Drake Malloy', and arranged for the boxes to be sent care of a flat at his old muggle address. It reminded Harry that Draco had lived amongst muggles for many years, and probably even had a friendly neighbor or two.
...
It was good to sit back, sipping cocktails, and looking out over Central Park. The trees were changing into their fall colors, green mixed with gold, orange and scarlet. The large windows of the restaurant gave a wide, unobstructed view.
The local time was about 4 pm, so the place was only a third full. It was almost 9 pm in the UK, so Harry and Draco were hungry, devouring butternut squash soup, Blue Bay mussels, and Black Angus beef.
Harry enjoyed the attentive service and elegant, modern decor. The tables had white tablecloths, and the chairs were upholstered in bright colors like orange, magenta and teal. It was nice to be treated with respect, but not being recognized. Their server just saw them as an affluent gay couple, based on their clothes and the way they interacted.
When Draco ordered a second cocktail, Harry changed it to a coffee, resting his hand on top of his. "Trust me, you will want to be alert and thinking straight for the rest of the night," Harry said, deliberately keeping Draco guessing.
"Hmmmm...a Thursday night in Manhattan. What could we possibly be doing next?" Draco pondered, sipping his Americano.
Harry just gave a small shrug, and paid the bill with cash, the foreign muggle currency seeming quite odd. "I will only tell you that we will have to go in about ten minutes." It was only a half hour subway ride away, but he wanted to be a little early.
The date had been going well so far, but he still felt unsure about Draco. Even six dates done, they were still learning a lot about each other. It showed how little they had shared of themselves in the spring, or even during their summer of sex. They hadn't delved into the harder topics back then, perhaps for fear of screwing things up when it was already so tenuous. Plus, Harry had been more in his 'pleaser' mode, trying to be who Draco wanted instead of being himself. It was harder being himself now, but felt better afterwards.
...
Holding hands as they walked out of the subway station, Harry looked up at the new World Trade Centre buildings. The tallest tower was surrounded by several other skyscrapers, and Harry guided Draco to one of the newest ones.
Draco was looking around, trying to figure it out, seeing nicely dressed muggles heading the same direction they were. It was around 7 pm, local time.
Harry had a small smile on his face as he watched Draco, wanting to see his expression when he had figured it out. He had been around muggles a lot this last decade. Had he heard of this event?
They eventually passed a poster with the event details, and Draco stopped to read it. "TEDx New York?"
"TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. These talks have been going on around the world for about 30 years," Harry explained softly, seeing that Draco wasn't familiar with them.
Draco was nodding slowly, taking it in. "Ideas worth spreading," he read the slogan from the poster.
Harry squeezed his hand. "It's a little like Stormcloud, giving a forum for ideas to be presented. The speakers have about fifteen minutes each to present their talk. In the past, they have had Nobel prize winners, Bill Clinton, Bono, Bill Gates...but I don't think there is any there is anyone that famous at this one."
Looking a little intrigued, Draco went along as Harry found their seats in the large, posh theatre. It was sold out, filled mostly of muggles in their thirties or older, talking in hushed tones amongst themselves. The stage had a large white screen, a red circular mat in the centre, and on one side, 'TEDxNew York' spelled out in large wooden letters, about four feet high.
Each speaker came on to the stage to polite applause, standing on the red mat as they launched into their talk. Usually, they held a small device in one hand, clicking it to change the image on the large screen behind them to show still muggle photographs or charts of data. The speeches were engaging and well-delivered, a tight fifteen minutes where they seduced the attentive audience with their expertise in their chosen topic.
Harry glanced often at Draco, and could tell he was enjoying it. They were holding hands, as they usually did now on dates. Draco was focussed, listening attentively, laughing along with the audience. Some things were very muggle-centric, and Harry was a bit confused, being away from that world for most of the last decade.
The second last speaker was a tall, black man in his fifties, with a shaved head and wearing a grey suit. He spoke about growing up poor in New York, in Harlem and the Bronx, and how he was taught that "men had to be tough, had to be strong, had to be courageous, dominating - no pain, no emotions, with the exception of anger - and definitely no fear."
Harry could feel an instant reaction in Draco, the way he slightly tensed up, his breathing shallow, as the speaker carried on, talking passionately about stories from his youth. About how it affected how he treated his own son when he was crying.
"I would find myself saying things like, 'Just go in your room. Just go on, go on in your room. Sit down, get yourself together and come back and talk to me when you can talk to me like a man. And he's five years old..."
At those words, Draco let go of Harry's hand, and reached into his breast pocket to pull out a handkerchief. Harry watched out of the corner of his eye as Draco lifted the folded material to his eyes, and felt his heart going out to him. He wanted to comfort him, but didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable either.
The speaker was talking about hard things he had faced growing up, including being called into an empty apartment by an older boy and being encouraged to have sex with a naked girl in his bedroom. He was only twelve at the time. Trapped in the bedroom, he saw it was a girl who was mentally challenged, and likely didn't know what was going on. Other boys he knew were outside, waiting their turn, and he was more worried about how to get out of there without losing face in front of them than helping the girl. He ended up unzipping his jeans, and then zipped them up as he left the bedroom, acting like he had been with the girl.
At this story, Draco turned his face away from Harry, and was pressing the crumpled handkerchief against his face, partially hiding it.
Harry could tell he was losing it, and settled a comforting hand on his shoulder, feeling startled at the way he was shaking. "Let's get out of here. Go outside," he whispered, leaning close. Feeling awful that he had exposed Draco to this talk that was distressing him so much.
"No," Draco whispered harshly, straightening up in his chair and steeling himself. Impatiently running the handkerchief over his face, and then clenching it in his fist. He watched the rest of the talk, not responding to the small jokes that the speaker had put in to lighten things up.
Thankfully, the talk was only about ten minutes long, ending with the speaker explaining how he wants the definition of men to change, to allow men to have feelings and emotions. When the man thanked the audience and bowed, most of the crowd got to their feet to applaud him, to thank him for speaking so openly about difficult topics.
There was another speaker still due to come out, but Harry grabbed Draco's hand and pulled him out of the hall, right to the outside of the building. It was fully dark in the courtyard, and mostly empty. Harry continued to pull Draco until they were close to one of the memorial reflecting pools, and sat them down on a low concrete block.
Draco was still trying to hold back his emotions, his breathing faster. Harry wrapped an arm over his shoulders to pull him close, to comfort him, and was alarmed to feel the way he was shuddering. Turning towards him, Harry hugged him fully, his arms wrapping around him tightly.
Sinking against Harry, Draco dropped his face to his shoulder. Harry simply stroked soothingly over his back, not sure what else to do. It was a few moments before he realized Draco was crying softly, and his heart went out to him.
Knowing he needed this, Harry simply held Draco, wanting to take all his pain away. His own eyes were welling up, and he nuzzled against Draco's bent head, his silky blond hair soft against his cheek. Nothing existed in this world beyond this man in his arms. No one else.
Gradually, Draco calmed, his breathing more even, the tension easing out of him. Harry continued to hold him, but became more aware of the courtyard around them. The wind blowing gently through the leaves of all the trees around them. The constant sound of the water falling into the reflecting pools soothing.
When Draco pulled back, Harry reached into his pocket for his own handkerchief. Draco's had been dropped somewhere as they left the theatre. Accepting it, Draco dried his face, and blew his nose, giving Harry a weak smile afterwards. "I'm sure I look really great right now."
Harry gave a half smile in return, his hand cupping Draco's cheek. "Never more gorgeous." He leaned in, letting their lips lightly touch, unable to resist. Feeling so much for this man.
Draco's hand went into Harry's hair, not letting him pull back, continuing the kiss. It was the longest kiss they had shared since starting these dates, with most evenings just ending with a quick goodnight one. Harry savoured it, keeping it soft and light, even though his heart was pounding in his chest.
They paused to catch their breath, their gaze held for a few seconds, and Harry moved back, taking Draco's hand. "That last talk...what made you so upset about it?" It was a hard question to ask, but he just had to know.
Taking a deep breath, Draco looked toward the fountain as he thought of how to answer. "The way he talked about the way he was raised...it reminded me a lot of my father, my parents. Being proud of our lineage, of being pureblood. About how we were superior to muggles and mudbloods." He said the word mockingly, as he knew now how offensive the word was. "I was expected to be strong, a leader. Good in sports and school. Expected to marry a woman my family approved of, to carry on the family line with honour."
Harry nodded, but stayed silent, letting him think. Giving him space to talk.
"The way he talked about that girl in the bedroom...that reminded me of being around the Deatheaters, around Voldemort. Everyone doing horrible things, and no one challenging the group, just going along with it...," Draco said softly, clearly ashamed. Conflicted.
"Did you ever... do bad things to muggles?" Harry asked, taking the opportunity to clear the air. It was time to talk about the past.
Draco shook his head quickly. "No, no...I was treated like a 'Deatheater in training' mostly, being younger than everyone else. When I was at the Manor, I mostly got away with standing at the back, trying not to get noticed. Following orders to take food to the prisoners, and doing grunt work like that. But I saw awful things being done, heard them talking about things, and never spoke up."
Harry squeezed his hand. "I know you didn't have a lot of choices. Your parents were under his control, so you had to follow orders. But I did think you were very brave when they asked you to identify me, and you didn't. That saved my life, right there."
Scoffing, Draco glanced at him, and then away. "And you saved me from that fire."
"But I almost killed you with that damn spell," Harry said, hanging his head. It was hard to think back on those times, of how he had let his suspicions about Draco get to that point.
Draco was the one to comfort Harry now, wrapping his arm over his shoulder to pull him closer. "Do you think we can ever truly forgive and forget all that?"
Harry nodded, their gaze meeting and holding. "I forgive you, but I don't think either of us will ever forget it all. But I think we can move on, don't you?"
Pressing his lips together tightly, Draco looked up at the trees. "I hope so. I've tried to undo the indoctrination from my childhood with reading widely, and being open to new ideas. Tried to become a better man. But sometimes I worry that I'm just too broken to ever be really fixed."
"You are not too broken," Harry said fiercely, and hugged Draco tight. Draco didn't reply, just staying quiet and hugging Harry back.
Eventually people started streaming out of the building, and walking through the courtyard. Smoking, talking, laughing. Going to the reflecting pools to admire them, lights illuminating the falling water. The event must have ended.
Harry and Draco pulled apart, and stood, walking hand in hand to look down at the memorial. The large square was surrounded by a wide bronze parapet, inscribed with the names of all the people who died in the 9/11 attacks. Inside, water flowed over a two foot wide ledge, falling straight down 30 feet to a flat basin, and flowing down into a smaller square hole. Another pool was where the other twin tower had stood, it's cascading waters a softer echo.
The plaza was planted with hundreds of trees, still mostly green and full of leaves, but some showing the first tints of fall colours. It was a place of quiet reflection, with many of the native New Yorkers and tourists taking the time to pause before they walked on.
Harry had done a lot of research about New York when planning this trip, and he remembered something suddenly. He looked around a little, and then tugged Draco across the courtyard to stand in front of a tree that had guard rails around its base. "This tree was discovered amongst the rubble of the destroyed buildings, with broken branches and snapped roots. With a lot of time to recover, it was replanted here a few years later. And every spring, it is full of beautiful white flowers."
"That smell like spunk," an old woman near them scoffed, with a thick Bronx accent. "Awful things, those Callery pear trees." She walked off then, her navy trench coat swaying in the light breeze.
Harry and Draco stared after her in shock, and then looked at each other. A second later, they were both laughing hard, a welcome release from the emotions of the night.
"Um, should we just mark that comment as a 'typical New Yorker' and forget about it?" Harry said as they walked back to the subway entrance, hand in hand.
Draco chuckled. "You know, you should plant some more trees around Grimmauld Place. Maybe I should get you one, something that would remind you of me every spring..."
...
-A/N: I hope you liked their New York date. I wanted Harry to pick things he knows Draco would enjoy, to show how well he is getting to know him. Lots of notes for this one, which you are welcome to skip if they aren't your thing. Only one chapter left!
-Strand Books: The store was started as a used bookstore in 1927 by a 25 year old, Ben Bass. "An entrepreneur at heart and a reader by nature, this erudite man began with $300 dollars of his own and $300 dollars that he borrowed from a friend. Ben sought to create a place where books would be loved, and book lovers could congregate. He named his bookstore after the London street where avant-garde writers like Thackeray, Dickens and Mill once gathered and interesting book publishers thrived." His son Fred moved it to its current location in 1957, and his granddaughter Nancy runs it now. There are 2.5 million used, new and rare books (over 18 miles) to explore.
-Robert restaurant: "Atop The Museum of Arts and Design at Columbus Circle, Robert is a classic modern American restaurant offering breathtaking views of Central Park and Columbus Circle. Elegant, sexy, and romantic, Robert celebrates design, beauty and culinary delights. Dine on a menu created by Chef Gonzalo Colin or simply sip signature cocktails while you watch the sunset and revel in the beauty of the city."
-TED Talks: "TED was born in 1984 out of Richard Saul Wurman's observation of a powerful convergence among three fields: technology, entertainment and design." It started as a one-off event, and actually lost money. It was tried again in 1990, becoming an annual event since then. "Meanwhile the roster of presenters broadened to include scientists, philosophers, musicians, business and religious leaders, philanthropists and many others. For many attendees, TED became one of the intellectual and emotional highlights of the year." In 2009, TEDx was created, a radical opening up of the TED format to local, independently organized events. The TED Talks videos are available on their website for free, and reached a billion views in 2012.
-Tony Porter: I took some artistic license and had Tony Porter's talk, 'A Call to Men' from 2010 at this TEDx in New York. Tony is an educator and activist for ending violence against women, and I thought Draco would relate to his message of breaking out of the unhealthy socialization of his childhood. The video of his talk has over 2.7 million views.
-World Trade Centre: "The new World Trade Center is a sprawling 16 acre mixed-used environment composed of 5 iconic office towers... an 8-acre Memorial Plaza... and over half a million square feet of shopping and dining." Harry & Draco attend the TED Talk in 3 WTC, an 80 story building that opened in June 2018. I found a TEDx talk that was scheduled for that building in my research, but couldn't find it when looking for it now.
-The National September 11 Memorial: On the sites where the Twin Towers once stood, there is a tribute of remembrance and honour to the 2,977 people killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. The twin reflecting pools are each nearly an acre in size and feature the largest manmade waterfalls in North America. The names of every person who died in the attacks are inscribed into bronze panels edging the Memorial pools.
-Survivor Tree: A Callery pear tree became known as the "Survivor Tree", discovered at Ground Zero severely damaged, with snapped roots and burned and broken branches. It was removed to recover, and returned to the Memorial in 2010. "New, smooth limbs extended from the gnarled stumps, creating a visible demarcation between the tree's past and present. Today, the tree stands as a living reminder of resilience, survival and rebirth."
-Callery Pear Trees (Bradford Pear): I researched this type of tree to see if it gave fruit, but a google search gave results like 'A Bad, Bad Plant with Pretty Flowers', and 'Scientists Thought They Had Created the Perfect Tree, But It Became A Nightmare'. Originally from China, millions were planted all over the US. But by the 1990's, "it turned from thornless to spiky, limber to brittle, chaste to promiscuous, tame to feral. Most of all, it became invasive."
Also in the google search were things like 'Why do trees smell like sperm?' I mean no disrespect to the 'Survivor Tree' at the WTC Memorial, but I found it amusing that this type of beautiful flowering tree does not smell pleasant (like rotting fish or semen). I don't think most straight-talking New Yorkers would shy from making a comment similar to the one in the story.