emmagrant01 | LMH Deleted Scene #1

I'm not sure how interesting this will be, but I kept a few deleted and heavily revised scenes while I was writing Left My Heart. I thought I'd post them here, for the hell of it, along with a note about why it was deleted. Please note that there are spoilers here for LMH, in case you haven't read it!

This scene would have taken place the first evening that Draco took Harry clubbing, close to the beginning of the fic. This was the night they'd first meet up with Colby and Jeremy. I had planned to do more with the tattoo, and to use it as a hint that Manny was a wizard. Harry was going to see him playing with it, which would imply not only that Manny was a wizard, but also that Malfoy trusted him. Catching the dragon was going to be a metaphor for gaining Malfoy's trust. Yeah, I know: stupid idea!

In the end, I decided to do something else in that particular scene, so I cut it. That became the scene where Malfoy dressed Harry to go out, which I liked better. I ended up not using the tattoo bit at all, because I wanted Manny's identity to remain a secret from Harry (and hence, the readers) for as long as possible. Out of context, it's kind of cute, though!

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Deleted Scene #1

Malfoy took a shower and then walked around the apartment naked for a good ten minutes, much to Harry's discomfort. Dressed and ready to go, Harry sat on the bed and waited, trying not to look, but looking just the same. Malfoy was more wiry than skinny, Harry noticed, and he had a tattoo of a celtic knot at the base of his spine. Harry watched the tattoo each time Malfoy walked by, and wondered if it had hurt. Malfoy was searching for something in his closet when Harry realized that the tattoo had morphed into a small dragon. He looked closer, and the dragon stretched its wings and yawned. Harry gasped, then immediately blushed when Malfoy's head snapped around.

"I... your tattoo... surprised me," he stammered, feeling himself turn red. Malfoy grinned and walked closer, turning so that Harry could have a closer look.

"Touch it," he said.

"Sorry?" Harry felt his cheeks flame even further.

"Go ahead," Malfoy laughed, glancing over his shoulder.

Harry swallowed and tentatively pressed one finger to the dragon. It skittered out of his reach, glaring at him with its beady black eyes. "What the...?" Harry tried to touch it again, and it moved away, shaking its head at him. Harry watched it dance across Malfoy's pale skin, dodging his attempts to catch it. He pressed the flat of his hand against Malfoy's skin, effectively trapping the dragon.

He smiled, and then he realized his hand was on Malfoy's ass. He froze for a moment, uncertain whether he should jerk it away or simply make a casual remark about the magical tattoo, as if there was nothing weird about having been fondling another man's ass for the last minute.

Malfoy cleared his throat and smiled over his shoulder. "Cute trick, isn't it?"

Harry stared up at him and let his hand fall away. "Do you show that to all the boys?"

Malfoy grinned. "It only moves for wizards, you know. It looks like a celtic knot, unless you look very hard."

Harry blushed, realizing he'd been caught. Malfoy proceeded to get dressed, much to Harry's relief.

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