[HPxTR] Frozen Coffee

Part II

"What, like a late Christmas party? You never organise anything festive for the team!"

Riddle scowled. "With good reason. They're a waste of time and resources, and only serve to encourage inebriation and slacking off work. No, I meant the we go, as in just us two."

Harry was sure his mind must have short-circuited for a second, because it sounded like Riddle, his megalomaniac micromanaging boss who had a stick permanently stuck up his ass, had just asked him out on a date.

"What, like a date?" He blurted out, his mind-to-mouth filter as degraded as the one in the coffee machine. Harry immediately clapped his hands over his mouth, failing to hold back in the words that had already fallen from his lips.

Then, to his surprise, his uptight cold-hearted boss fidgeted.

What the…

Tom Riddle was by far the most unromantic man on the planet, no – in the universe. There was probably a little green man somewhere that had some moves over Riddle. Harry had always pegged Riddle as asexual, simply because the man had never expressed any remote interest in anyone. Not even Cho Chang, the hot girl who worked in the neighbouring department. And everyone was interested in Cho Chang. It really was too bad that she was dating Ginny from legal.

This had to be a joke, right?

"I'm not joking, Harry."

Had he said that out loud? Or maybe Riddle's newest software update meant that he could now read minds.

Riddle sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, looking much older than his twenty-five years.

"This Saturday. Ice Rink. Two-thirty. I'll meet you there." And then Riddle walked off, not even waiting for Harry's response. However, Harry probably wouldn't have been able answer anyway, as he was currently staring into the space where Riddle had just been, world crashing down around him at the thought of his prissy, by-the-book boss having romantic sentiments.

Towards him.

Harry's coffee was stone-cold by the time he came around.