I'm working hard on 16, sorry this is such a cliffie, and really it *is* leading somewhere...eventually...

Fifteen: The Dinner

Harry was seated in between Severus and Draco at the head table. The room was large and richly decorated with tapestries, Christmas ornaments and floating candles; it looked better than Hogwarts did! He let the serving man behind him reach foreword and open his napkin over his lap, lifting his hands to accommodate the other man's arm. The serving man’s face was right by his own as he arranged Harry's napkin on his lap, and 'accidentally' brushed his hand over the younger boy's lap. Harry sat up a little straighter, his facial expression darkening.

"Thank you." He said quietly, his voice a gentle warning. The serving man’s hands stilled and he carefully lifted them away, standing behind Harry's chair until the other serving men had done likewise, at which point they took a step back as one and waited. Harry's mood sufficiently spoiled for the moment, he turned his attention elsewhere, his gaze finally landing on Draco. His lover's expression was indifferent, but he could tell by the set of his shoulders that he was angry. He licked his lips then leaned over slightly.

"You're looking nice tonight, Mr. Malfoy." He repeated, attempting to draw his lover into a conversation.

"Thank you, Professor." his lips barely moved as he spoke, his eyes trained in front of him. Harry gave up trying to engage him in any kind of conversation and turned to the food that had just been placed in front of him. He wasn't sure exactly what it was beyond the fact that it was in essence a salad. A small salad. He hoped this wasn't dinner; sure he wasn't exactly here to eat, but he'd at least like that portion to be enjoyable. Sighing softly, he launched into the odd greenery, finding that it was actually quite good.

"Pace yourself." Severus whispered to him suddenly. "You still have seven courses and desert. You're not expected to eat all of it, but you should eat at least some." Harry nodded and looked around for a moment, his gaze once again coming to rest on Draco. The young Malfoy was eating carefully so as not smear his lipstick, each bite about the size he would expect of a small kitten. He smiled softly and tried his best to imitate the rest of the guest's delicate way of eating.

"Mr. Potter?" He looked around for the female belonging to the voice. Laughing softly, Severus leaned back in his chair and Harry peered around him. A woman with long wavy blond hair and startling blue eyes was peering at him politely. He leaned foreword a little and surveyed her; he knew her from somewhere. She looked like a china doll, almost unbelievably perfect. "I hope my son isn't being too rude." She continued, taking a single cherry tomato between her ruby red lips and running her tongue over it before pulling it into her mouth. She smiled and it suddenly occurred to him who she was. Draco's mother.

"No, he's being a perfect gentleman." He said reminding himself to eat. She smiled; she had an absolutely dazzling smile.

"Have you gotten much of a chance to get to know him?" She asked curiously, sipping at a small water that had been supplied with the salad. Harry swallowed what he had assumed to be lettuce and tried to keep from gagging at it's bitter stingy taste; it tasted like the smell of antiseptic. She laughed softly, seeming to know what he looked so displeased about.

"You should eat it...it's good for you..." She flashed her eyes downward dramatically and Harry tipped his head in puzzlement for a moment before realization struck him and he blushed furiously under his makeup. He felt his ears getting warm and he prayed no one noticed. His prayers went unanswered however.

"You see?" Severus whispered. "Make up has its uses." Harry did his best to ignore him and took a drink of the water to clear the taste out of his throat.

"Being in a teaching position, I haven't really been able to get to know Draco on a more personal level." He lied, pretending their former exchange hadn't happened. She looked momentarily put off-even a little angry, but she smiled sweetly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Draco freeze, fork halfway to his mouth, muscles suddenly tensed and he realized that he had blatantly said something wrong.

"Well, that's okay. You'll have a chance to get to know Draco *much* better after dinner." She smiled again; eyes twinkling the way Hermione's did when she got a brilliant idea. Harry swallowed hard and unthinkingly impaled another vegetable off his plate without looking. To his dismay, it turned out to be another of the antiseptic lettuce pieces. He shuddered and reached for his glass but did not make any attempt to spit the vegetable out.

"You really shouldn't eat too much of that." Severus warned. Harry noticed that the potion's master had avoided the deceptive greenery for the most part, but even as he said it, he speared one of the leafs and chewed it compliantly. On Severus left side, Narcissa laughed softly.

"At least Sevvy here knows what's good for him." She smiled at Harry and patted Severus on the shoulder. Harry decided that he didn't like it when she laughed. It was too sweet, too soft, too delicate, too *perfect* to belong to any one mortal. Just like the way her face was too perfect. Her eyes were too perfect. Her smile was much too perfect. Her legs and arms and finger and hips, her breast and hair and eyes and lips were all much too perfect. He had compared her to a china doll in his mind, but looking at her now, she was too perfect for even that. She was too unreal, and Harry decided that he really didn't like *her*. He was contemplating attempting one of the small round cherry tomatoes dotting the greenery like rose buds, when his salad was suddenly lifted away without a word. He put his fork down and looked curiously from one side of his place to the other. His head was spinning with all the multitude of silverware and he was still trying to decide which one to use when a bowl of steaming soup was set in front of him. He was reaching uncertainly for one of the larger spoons when a delicate gloved hand caught his. He looked up at Draco, but the blonde said nothing, only directed Harry's hand to the proper spoon and withdrew. Harry was severely puzzled now. He knew Narcissa's statement 'You'll have a chance to get to know Draco *much* better after dinner' meant something important, but to save his life he couldn't figure out what; after all it was *just* supposed to be dinner. Right? How much could they really do besides that at such a social gathering? Surely not everyone here was a former or current death eater? 'Oh, if only it were just dinner.' Severus had said, and Harry wondered exactly what else they'd be doing besides dinner.

Am I evil or what? And please, nothing more about the spelling errors...