Of course, that would have been when Draco came storming in to demand where he'd gotten to.
"Harry? What in the name of Merlin are you doing?!" Draco raged. "Are you trying to destroy your own betrothal? With himof all people!"
"Calm down, it's not what you think it is." Harry said calmly as he blocked Theo from Draco's view so that he could subtly wipe his eyes and tidy himself up a little. "I've just helped Theo in a massive way, that's all. I love Rabastan with all that I am, you know that better than most, Draco."
"Then you shouldn't be touching him like that!" Draco insisted.
"It's not what you think." Harry rolled his eyes.
"What would father think? What would Rabastan think?!" Draco demanded.
"You really love making drama, Draco." Theo said, even as he squeezed Harry's shoulders in thanks. "You always have. If you must know, Harry has convinced me to break off my betrothal with Daphne."
Draco frowned then and looked from one to the other as if trying to work out if he was being railroaded or not by a fake story.
"You aren't getting together with one another, are you?" "I'm not gay." Theo said simply.
"I'm still very much in love with Rabastan and definitely not changing my mind." Harry said tonelessly. "I want to marry Rabastan and have lots and lots of babies with him."
"That's disgusting, I'd rather not have to think of that, thank you!" Draco sneered.
"Then stop seeing things that aren't there." Harry demanded. "I'm helping out a friend, nothing more! It's none of your business!"
"Oh? Is it Rabastan's business to know you're cosying up to another man, do you think?"
Harry grit his teeth. "I was not cosying up to another man!" Harry hissed.
"Why don't we see what Rabastan thinks?"
Harry dived at Draco and yanked him backwards by his robes as he turned to scurry off. They both ended up on the floor, Harry laying on Draco's back.
"If anyone is going to say anything to him, it'll be me!" Harry shouted. "It's none of your fucking business, Draco! Stop trying to make trouble when you know that Rabastan and I are only just getting over our last fight."
"Then maybe you shouldn't be secluding yourself away in your bedroom and being intimate with another man!" Draco shouted.
"What?"
Harry's stomach vanished and his heart missed a beat as he looked up to the open door and to the furious dark brown eyes of Rodolphus Lestrange. For a moment, he feared that he was going to be cursed, or even killed, and then Rodolphus stormed off and Harry knew, he just knew, that he was going to Rabastan. That he was going to tell Rabastan what he'd overheard before Harry had a chance to explain and everything was going to blow up in his face again. All because he'd been helping and comforting a friend. Why did it always happen to him? Harry stood up quickly, stumbling a little in his haste, and he kicked Draco in the ribs. Hard.
"If I lose my betrothal because of your loud mouth I will never, ever, forgive you." He said seriously. "Pimsey!"
"Yes, young master, what can Pimsey be doing for you?"
"Take me to Rabastan Lestrange, now." Harry ordered her, holding out his hand.
Pimsey took it and they were just gone. Harry took a deep breath and opened his eyes, to see a startled Rabastan looking at him.
"Thank you, Pimsey." Harry said as kindly as he could manage at that moment.
"Harry, you're supposed to be upstairs greeting our young guests." Lucius told him. He was stood beside Rabastan, in a group of several other men who were all looking at him curiously.
"I know. Rabastan, I need a word, quickly." "What has happened?" Rabastan asked, looking him over in obvious concern.
"Time is of the essence." Harry insisted primly.
"Okay." Rabastan agreed easily and he went to walk out of the double doorway that led further into the manor house, the same way that Rodolphus would be coming in, and Harry tried not to panic, knowing that he had only minutes to get Rabastan out of the ballroom and away from the path of an irate Rodolphus.
"No, not that way. Let's go into the garden."
"Harry." Lucius warned as the group of men he was standing with all got smirks or knowing grins on their faces.
"You can give me a chaperone if you wish, Father." He said respectfully. "I just really need to talk to Rabastan, right now."
"What in the name of Merlin has happened?" Xerxes asked him.
"Nothing!" Harry insisted, his gaze darting to the door without his permission. Rodolphus would be storming through it at any moment. "We need to go, now."
Xerxes sighed. "I'll chaperone you, but whatever you've done, this is a poor way to try and hide from it."
"I'm not hiding from it, I'm actually trying to head it off. The 'it' being the rage monster that is Rodolphus. Now, can we please leave this room before he comes in here and breaks my neck, please?"
"Rodolphus is angry?" Rabastan said, digging his heels in then and looking to the doorway, looking like he wanted to go and comfort his older brother.
"What did you do?" Lucius sighed.
"I didn't do anything. Draco and his loud mouth have done all the damage and Rodolphus got the wrong end of the stick and now I am trying to explain to my future husband what is going on before Rodolphus comes storming in here with half-truths and a partially overheard conversation and blows my betrothal to pieces."
"Well, in that case, get moving." Xerxes insisted, pushing the both of them along. "Start walking, Basti, Rodolphus can cope without you coddling him for five minutes while you talk to Harry."
They made it out into the garden and Harry blew out a relieved breath. He'd managed to buy himself a little time, at least, now he just needed to get Rabastan to understand that nothing had actually happened with him and Theo. He pulled Rabastan quickly into a half-hidden walkway of balled rose trees and fragrant herb bushes and made sure that Xerxes wasn't within earshot, as Rabastan deserved to hear this first, before he stopped and looked firmly at Rabastan.
"What is going on?" His betrothed asked confusedly. "You know Theodore and I are friends?"
"The Nott boy, yes. What of it?"
"He's betrothed to that complete tart, Daphne."
Rabastan snorted. "That's one way to put it. I don't think there's a man in that ballroom whose son, grandson, or nephew hasn't had a taste of her. Some of them have slept with her personally and they're thrice the age of her."
"Well, I've been saying for a while that Theo should break off his betrothal to her. He doesn't deserve the shit she puts him through. He's only still with her because his father is forcing him into it because he wants the Greengrass fortune and the Greengrass title for his own son or grandson."
"Everyone knows this, what does it have to do with my brother?"
Harry sighed. "I finally convinced Theo to break off his betrothal tonight. He was visibly upset when he arrived, so I took him to my bedroom so that Blaise and Draco wouldn't see and humiliate him more than Daphne already does. It was just for him to calm down. We sat on my settee, talking, about what he actually wants out of his life, out of a marriage and why he thought that he couldn't have it and I convinced him to break off his contract. He was mostly worried about his father disowning him."
"He's an only child, the only heir, not even Nott would be so stupid as to end his own line with a disownment, especially not merely because his heir won't marry the whore he set him up with. No one has an obligation to marry from a mere betrothal contract, they can be broken as easily as glass."
"That's what I said, but he was still very worried about it, he seemed convinced that he would be disowned if he stood up to his father and broke off his contract, so I told him that if he was disowned then I'd adopt him into the Black family. He was very grateful and he hugged me, he was actually sobbing on my shoulder, but Draco burst in, got the entirely wrong end of the stick and started shouting and Rodolphus overheard him and he couldn't wait to come and tell you that I was sequestered away in my bedroom with another man when that wasn't what happened at all."
Harry fell silent and stared at Rabastan, who was blank-faced and unmoving. One large hand clenched into a fist.
"That boy touched you?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you enjoy reading? Visit my site on Tiendup! There you will find the advanced chapter in PDF format, ready for your convenience.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
https://fictiontopia.tiendup.com/