Title: One Year
Author: Arach Malfoy
Summary: Draco was excited to finally do some field work for the first time since becoming a spy for the Order like Severus. What he didn't expect was to fall in love with a muggle named Harry Potter while undercover. Everyone knows that relationships are hard during war time, so when Death Eaters attack and Draco's forced to separate from Harry - him to go fight alongside Neville and Luna while Harry stayed safe with Ron and Hermione - he promises his lover one year. One year and the war will be done. One year and he'll come back to him. One year and they'd finally be together.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor the characters, all rights reserved to Ms. Joanne Rowling
Note: Day 2 of the 30 Day AU Challenge - special thanks to PurpleTardis591, one of my real life best friends, for getting me started on this with the prompt; Muggle!Harry and Wizard!Draco ^^
Draco walked through the winding corridors of Hogwarts, taking a deep breath once he reached the stairs that led up to Dumbledore's office. He took slow breaths, looking around to make sure there weren't any Slytherins walking by to see him and later gossip about the possibilities about why he had to go meet the headmaster. Finally, he began to climb up the steps, quietly muttering the password to the gargoyle, still extremelycautious about any wandering eyes and ears.
"Ah yes, welcome Draco," Dumbledore greeted him with a small as he stepped through the door, "lemon drop?" the headmaster offered the bowl of muggle candy, like he always did, and Draco politely refused, like he always did.
"What is it that you needed to speak about with me, Headmaster?" Draco asked, sitting upright in the chair in front of Dumbledore. Such proper etiquette was, of course, expected of a Malfoy after all.
"Remus has relayed some quite serious information about the Death Eaters when he checked up on Neville this summer," Dumbledore said forlornly with his arms crossed on the table, he still had the all-knowing glint in his eyes, just this time, it had dimmed while he spoke.
Draco stared at him, patiently waiting to hear what this information had to do with him.
"There seems to be Death Eaters, well it seems more like Death Eaters in training since they are still young, roaming around the local muggle highschool in Little Whinging, the town which Neville's relatives reside." Dumbledore explained more thoroughly, sighing and staring directly into Draco's attentive eyes, "The Order and I have agreed to ask you, my dear boy, to enter this school and check on the Death Eaters there. We have no doubt that Voldemort is planning something or he wouldn't send untrained Death Eaters into the muggle world."
This time, Draco's focused mask crumbled as his eyes widened at the news. They wanted him to spy, not like he already wasn't seeing as he and Severus were the only two double agents between the Order of the Phoenix and the Dark Lord. Still, they wanted him to actually go into a muggle school and try to prevent junior Death Eaters from doing anything. Merlin, how was he going to explain to his mother that he was suddenly being transferred to a high school in muggle London? And his father... oh his father will surely tell the Dark Lord that Draco was going in order to assist the young Death Eaters already there, but he'd be the one to alert the Order if the Dark Lord's plan was put into action and his role as a spy will definitely be discovered. Merlin's balls! He'd be risking everything if he took this mission.
"Draco?" Dumbledore's concerned voice drew him out of his mental battle on whether or not to accept this assignment. There were so many cons running through his head that it could fill up all the spare parchment he had lying on his desk, but there was one pro that stood out in his head. He'd finally be useful for once, instead of creating potions and being on the lookout, he'll finally be able to step up to the front lines and that was all he needed to make his decision.
"I'll take the job," Draco answered with determination, his grey eyes steeled with confidence. Dumbledore smiled at his strong will to take on the assignment and nodded in acknowledgment.
"Very well," Dumbledore said, the glint in his eyes glimmering once more, "Professor Lupin has a home near the school and so, you will be living there from now until this is over. Severus has also agreed to help you with this mission and he'll most likely be flooing every now and then to check up on you. He's also stated that he'll tell Voldemort that you'll be transferring in order to help the junior Death Eaters already situated there."
"Alright," Draco nodded his head, his mind expertly coming with a plan on what he was going to do once he arrived in his temporary home. "When will I be leaving?"
"Next week, you may want to inform you house so they do not cause any trouble," Dumbledore joked and Draco chuckled. He got up from his chair and, bidding the headmaster a good day, walked out of his office, the only thing on his mind being this new assignment.
The week flew by fast and before he knew it, Draco found himself brushing off floo powder in his new home in muggle London with Professors Lupin and Snape ahead of him. Once he was certain that all the soot was off his clothes, Draco looked up and began exploring the house. It was nice and simple, a velvet couch sat in front of the floo, both obviously in the living room. There was a small kitchen filled to the brim with food, most likely courtesy of the house elves, and four bedrooms in the hallway up the stairs – one for him, one for Lupin, one for Severus if he ever wanted to stay the night, and a guest room – along with two bathrooms, one upstairs and one downstairs. The décor was very, well, plain as well, a few paintings here and there covered the pale green walls.
"Snape and I will be downstairs, so you can unpack in peace, Draco," Lupin said when he waved his wand over Draco's shrunken luggage, leaving the bags on the bed, and walking out the door. "We'll be taking a quick tour of the school, Grimaldi High, once you're done."
Draco nodded in understand and mumbled a small thank you to Lupin, watching as the man smiled at him before walking away. He moved over to his bags and began unpacking, hanging his clothes in the closet and arranging his quills and ink on the desk in the corner of the room.
After a few minutes, he finally finished unpacking both bags. He shut them with a click and strolled down the stairs. Sure enough, Lupin and Severus were standing in the kitchen, speaking in hushed tones. Draco cleared his throat in order to catch their attention.
"I shall take my leave then," Severus drawled as he tried to discreetly place space between him and Lupin. Draco decided to ignore it and nodded his head, bidding his godfather farewell as the floo flared to life, Severus disappearing into its green flames.
"All ready to go, Draco?" Lupin asked, shrugging on a coat as he spoke. Draco nodded, doing the same with his own coat except with more grace. Early November in muggle London definitely proved to be much colder compared to whenever he went out on Hogsmeade weekend. Draco held onto Lupin's jacket sleeve and the professor apparated them in the tiny clump of trees next to the school. Draco let go of the other's sleeve and followed him out of the forest and through the entrance.
"You must be Remus," a lady greeted them once they walked into the office; she shook Lupin's hand with a delighted smile. Draco could tell from her mannerisms and clothing that she was the principal of this Grimaldi High. She then turned to him, "and you must be Draco, our new student. I'm Mrs. Edlin, principal of Grimaldi High."
"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Edlin," Draco said politely, holding out his hand for her to shake. He let it fall back to his side once she did.
"The students currently have a day off today, so I shall be giving you the tour," she informed them with a smile. With that said, Lupin and Draco followed Mrs. Edlin out of the office and through every hallway, stopping to get a glimpse inside the classrooms Draco was most likely going to be seeing the most.
At the end of their tour, Draco and Lupin said their goodbyes to Mrs. Edlin before walking out into the brisk, November air. They disappeared into the clump of trees only to apparate onto the floor of their living room. Lupin motioned for Draco to take a seat, which Draco complied to since Lupin had said he needed to tell him more about this assignment before he started classes the next day.
"The Death Eaters you'll be keeping an eye on are all fifteen and so you must try your hardest to see keep them in your sights considering you're in a separate grade. There are three of them, Snape had managed to find out their identities and what they look like," Lupin took out a shrunken cream folder from his pocket, casting engorgio and handing the file to Draco.
"Does Snape know anything more on what V-Voldemort is planning?" Draco asked, stumbling on saying the Dark Lord's name out loud. It always did leave a bitter taste in his mouth.
Lupin shook his head, "Not yet. Hopefully, he will find out before this school year is over."
Draco nodded his head and got up from the couch, "Well, thank you, professor."
"You're welcome, Draco."
They exchanged polite smiles before Draco moved up the stairs and into his room, closing the door behind him. He was going to need peace, quiet, and all night to strategize.
Draco woke up to Lupin gently shaking his shoulder. His neck felt uncomfortably stiff, probably because he had slept on the hard, wooden desk the night before.
"School starts in about thirty minutes," Lupin informed him. Draco gave a sleepy nodded, thanking his professor before getting up from the chair, stretching his arms. In the end, he was just going to have find and befriend the Death Eaters, gain their trust and hopefully information on what they were doing there, and then stop the plans from happening. Draco was confident this was going to work, there weren't any flaws or interferences in his plan and with any luck it'll stay that way.
Draco walked into the school, messenger bag slung over his shoulder and schedule in hand. While Grimaldi High was extremely smaller than Hogwarts, Draco wasn't very good with anything muggle and so, navigating through a muggle school proved to be more difficult than he thought. Sucking up his pride, he looked around the sea of students and found an insanely attractive bloke who looked to be his age laughing with a redhead and bushy brunette. He walked over to them.
"Sorry to interrupt," Draco said courteously as he stood next to the raven haired bloke, trying his best not to stare at him like a lovesick puppy, "but I'm new here and I was wondering if any of you know where this classroom is?"
The trio stared at him for a bit, almost making Draco shift awkwardly, but he was a Malfoy and Malfoys didn't fidget, so he stood his ground and tolerantly waited for one of them to help. Thankfully, the brunette made the first move. She took his schedule and looked over it.
"Oh, you have the same classes as Harry," she said in surprise, handing Draco back his schedule.
"Harry?" Draco asked confused as he took the paper back from her. He watched as a tan hand lifted into the air and the gorgeous boy next to him turned to look up into Draco's eyes, shielded grey clashing with expressive emerald.
"That's me," he, Harry, said, and held out the same hand that was up in the air, "Name's Harry Potter. That's Ron," he pointed to the redhead who waved at him, "and that's Hermione," this time he pointed to the brunette who smiled at him.
"I'm Draco," the blonde said, returning Harry's handshake, "Draco Malfoy."
"Well, Malfoy," Ron said, slinging an arm over Harry's shoulders in a friendly manner, though the small gesture made Draco's heart clench just a bit, and he had no idea why. "Since you have your first class with Harry and me, we'll walk you to the room and make sure no one messes with the transfer."
Draco looked at them uncertainly, but eased up and nodded, "Alright, thank you." He turned to Hermione and held out his hand, "and thanks for the help, Hermione." Her cheeks flushed pink and smiled at him again, returning his handshake.
The three boys waved goodbye to Hermione before walking away to their first class, Draco falling into an enjoyable conversation with them, all while subtly brushing his arm against Harry's just to see the other's face turn red.
The next few months passed in a blur and soon, it was February. Draco had found the three Death Eaters in the grade below him and managed to gain their trust. It was quite easy actually, once they heard Malfoy, they connected him to his father, a prominent Death Eater in the Dark Lord's inner circle, and were quick to become friends with him – such naïve and power-hungry souls.
During the past three months, he's been spending lots of time with Ron, Harry, and Hermione – especially Harry – as well. He found that while Harry didn't know anything about Quidditch, not that Draco mentioned it, Severus had already forbidden him from speaking of the Wizarding world to muggles, he found that he shared a common interest in basketball and would play a game in the gymnasium after school or at the park near Harry's home on the weekends.
Also during those three months, Draco has come to the conclusion that he is utterly smitten with Harry Potter. He couldn't get enough of ruffling the other's unruly, yet soft, black hair or catching mischievous emerald eyes looking at him in class, telling the blonde that Ron's older brothers, Fred and George, had helped them with another hilarious prank. He couldn't stop thinking about Harry's blinding smile or his laughter that sounded like the heavens singing. Merlin, he was sounding like a teenage girl. He knew he had to relinquish his feelings for Harry because in a few months, he'd be returning to the Wizarding world, fighting a war, and Harry would be in muggle London, living his life. Reality truly was a cruel, cruel thing.
"Draco?" Harry said worriedly, waving his hand in front of Draco's face. The blonde quickly snapped out of his daze, blinking his eyes in order to get rid of the sudden dots clouding his vision. Feeling a bit disorientated, he looked around to see where he was. Ah right, he was sitting on the park bench near the basketball court after playing a game with Harry, and winning.
"Sorry, I spaced out," Draco apologized, shaking his head to get rid of the small headache that formed.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked, his voice laced with concern. Draco nodded and smiled at him reassuringly.
The sat in silence for a few more minutes before Harry spoke up once more.
"So," he started, not looking up at Draco at all and instead rolling the basketball between his feet, "Valentine's Day is coming up."
"Mhmm," Draco hummed, watching as Harry seemed to be fidgeting in his seat. He resisted the urge to run his fingers through the other's soft, jet black locks.
"I was wondering," Harry hesitated for a moment before abruptly turning his body to Draco and placing his lips onto him. Draco's eyes widened in shock at the sudden feel of soft slightly chapped lips, pressing onto his own, but it only took a moment for his body to relax and melt into the kiss. Soon, he was kissing Harry back gently, knowing that this was the other's first kiss. Salazar, Harry's lips felt bloody fantastic and he tasted of the chocolate they had shared earlier. Eventually, they pulled away due to their lungs protesting about the lack of oxygen.
"What was that for?" Draco breathed out, his eyes staring into Harry's. No doubt his face was just as flushed as the other's.
"I really like you Draco," Harry said quietly, worrying his lip between his teeth before he continued, "and I was wondering if you'd be my valentine."
Draco could feel his face heat up and his stomach knot up. Harry liked him back! And sweet Salazar, did knowing that fact make him feel bubbly for the first in forever.
"I really, really like you too," Draco replied, one hand intertwining with Harry's while the other cupped his cheek, "and of course I'll be your valentine." They both shared an intimate smile before Draco leaned in and kissed Harry once more.
Draco knew he shouldn't be doing this, starting a relationship in the middle of war and with a muggle, but at the moment he didn't care. His senses were in overdrive, his mind preoccupied with Harry. No, at that moment, he felt as if all his problems washed away and everything was right in the world.
Two months later, Grimaldi High was attacked.
While Draco was still "friends" with the three junior Death Eaters, he had been spending most of his time and effort on his relationship with Harry that he had completely forgot about the mission. He didn't know about the attack until the last minute, thus calling the Order at the last minute as well and exposing his position as a spy.
Draco swore under his breath as he hexed Death Eaters left and right, the school had been put on lock-down, the town of Little Whinging in a panic because apparently, the Death Eaters were in other parts as well. During the altercations, Draco had lost sight of Harry and the only thing keeping him going was his determination to find his boyfriend.
"Harry!" Draco yelled, jumping over rubble and casting a protego before the orange light of a confringo curse hit him. He continued to run through the school, which was now falling apart due to the fight going on between the Death Eaters and the Order members.
"Draco, Draco! Over here!" the sound of Harry's voice led Draco to an empty classroom that was yet to be touched by the battle going on outside. He spotted Harry ducked behind a table next to Ron and Hermione, the ginger holding onto his girlfriend as she shook in fear. Draco all but sprinted towards them and wrapped Harry in his arms.
"Oh thank Merlin, you're alright," Draco whispered into Harry's ear, tears streaming down both their faces as they shared a salty kiss.
"Draco, what's going on?" Harry asked fearfully, wide and scared eyes staring at him. Draco swore once again, Harry was going to get hurt if he stayed here and it'd be his entire fault.
"It's a long story, but right now, I need to get you three out of here," Draco said. He moved to get up only to be stopped by Harry gripping onto him.
"No, I want to know, now."
Draco sighed in frustration and threw caution to the wind. While he was scared that Harry would see him as a freak, as Neville said his relatives saw magic as, all he cared about was getting Harry to safety.
"Fine, I'm a wizard who was sent to Grimaldi in order to stop three Death Eaters from doing anything. I got distracted from my mission and now, there are Death Eaters attacking Little Whinging. If I don't get you out of here, you'll get hurt which in turn will hurt me because I love you." Draco desperately explained in one breath. The sound of Harry taking a sharp intake of breath made him realize what he added at the ended and he slapped a hand over his mouth. He hadn't meant to tell Harry yet, not in a life or death situation like this.
"I love you too, Draco," Harry finally said and pulled Draco into a rough kiss.
"You don't think I'm a freak? An abomination or whatever?"
"Of course not," Harry shook his head, "While I'm still trying to grasp the whole magic and wizard and Death Eaters thing, nothing could make me think any less of you. Nothing could make me not love you."
Draco could feel more tears streaming down his. He whispered I love you one more time to Harry before placing a soft kiss on his lips. He leaned his forehead onto Harry's, all four of them jumping at the sound of a loud explosion nearby.
"I need to get all of you to somewhere safe," Draco said, standing up. Harry immediately got up with him, followed by Ron who still had Hermione wrapped tightly in his arms. "Do any of you have family outside of Little Whinging?"
"My brother, Charlie, lives in Murdari, a small town in Romania. Is that far enough from all this?" Ron spoke up, his voice tired and his eyes seeming to say that he hoped Romania was safe enough for Hermione.
Draco nodded and took off the silver bracelet around his wrist. It had been a gift from Severus, but its use as a portkey was more important to him. He quickly waved his wand over it, making sure its destination was correct, and held it out to three who were staring at him ludicrously.
"It's a portkey that'll transport us to Murdari. Now hold onto it."
The trio obeyed and soon, they felt a hook grab onto their stomachs before they disappeared. They later reappeared in the middle of Murdari, which was more than just a small town; it seemed like a tight knit community of stores and houses. Draco held onto Harry as they followed Ron to Charlie's house. The older Weasley gladly let them in.
"I have to go back, love," Draco told Harry as they stood in the middle of the living room alone. Ron had taken Hermione upstairs to rest and Charlie had gone out to get them some food.
"Why? It's dangerous!" Harry protested, gripping onto Draco's arms, "I don't want to lose you."
"You won't," Draco shook his head and passionately kissed Harry, "I'll always be with you. The sooner I go back to help, the sooner this war will be over and done with."
"But-"
"Shh, I'll see you in a year okay?"
Harry looked at him doubtfully, but eventually he nodded, "One year."
"I love you, Harry," Draco said, the tears streaming down his face as he wrapped his arms tightly around Harry's shoulders.
"I love you, Draco," Harry said, his voice breaking as he let out a small sob and held onto Draco's waist tightly. "Please come back in one year."
"I promise."
After Draco left Romania, he found himself in the build up to the climax of the war. He found himself being hexed one too many time. He had ended up running away from his father and the Manor, bringing his mother safely to a warded and uncharted chateau in France that Draco had bought in case of emergencies.
Once his mind was put to rest, knowing that all his loved ones were safe, he fought side by side with Neville and Luna. Eventually, Neville casted Avada Kedavra on Voldemort in front of the ruins that was Hogwarts. The war was finally over and a year had passed, just like Draco had promised him.
"You look wonderful, Draco." Luna said softly as she watched him brush imaginary lint off of the muggle suit he had recently bought. Lupin, who had managed to survive the war, had also kept an eye on Harry for him. Three weeks ago, the former professor had told him that Harry was soon to be finishing and graduating high school in Romania.
"What if he's found someone else?" Draco asked to no one in particular. While he had no doubt about his or Harry's love for each other, he couldn't help the negative thoughts that plagued his mind.
"Hush now, that boy has waited a year for you, Dragon," Narcissa Malfoy assured her son as she walked into his room. Draco now lived at the chataeu with her, though with his plan to stay with Harry, he was probably going to move out soon.
"Thanks, mum, Luna" Draco smiled at her and gave both of them a hug before disapparting to Murdari.
Draco appeared next to the school. He could see there was a stage set up in the large clearing out back and dozens of chairs filled with students and families. He gulped nervously, taking deep breaths, before taking long strides towards an empty seat in the back.
"Hermione Granger," a man, Draco guess was a professor, called out his favorite brunette's name. He watched with a proud smile as Hermione, looking different from when he saw her a year ago yet her eyes still looked as if they held an infinite amount of information, happily took her diploma and walked off the stage.
"Harry Potter," the man finally called and Draco held his breath. Harry had let his hair grow, a small ponytail holding it back and ditched the glasses for contacts. All in all, he looked absolutely breathtaking in his navy blue graduation robes. He grinned as he took his diploma and continued to smile as he walked off stage, patting Ron on the back as he passed by him.
"Ron Weasely."
Ron was one of the last people to get their diploma. He hadn't changed much, save for a couple of centimeters added to his height. After they gave away the last diploma, everyone cheered and that was it.
Draco wriggled his way through the crowd. He found Harry with his back turned to him as he chatted happily with Charlie, Ron, and Hermione. Ron was the first to spot Draco sneaking up behind Harry. The blonde brought a finger up to his lips in a shushing motion and the redhead obliged, the other two also saw the gesture and kept their mouths shut.
"-ver thought I'd see the day where Mr. Blerinca would be giving me my diploma without a snarl or an insult! I just know he absolutely hated me."
"How could anyone hate you, love?" Draco spoke into Harry's ear as he wrapped his arms firmly around his lover's waist. Harry made a small sound and nearly jumped out of the blonde's arms. Instead, he spun around and stared at him in disbelief.
"D-Draco?" Harry stammered, not believing his eyes. "You're here."
"I did promise you a year," Draco said with a smile. "Oh, congrats on graduating, by the way. You too, Ron and Hermione." He acknowledged the other two with the nod of his head and a smile.
"God, I love you," Harry murmered into Draco's hair as he placed a kiss onto his crown.
"I love you too," Draco said back, placing a loving kiss onto Harry's lips. "Now come on, let's go to that after party."
The small group laughed and they chatted all the way to Charlie's car, Harry and Draco lagging behind to enjoy their own special moment together.
Draco often wondered about how different things would be if he did certain things. He often dreamed about what would've happened if he stayed in Romania with Harry. He dreamed of what would've happened if the war lasted longer.
He never dreamed of this ending though, but as he looked adoringly at Harry's carefree expression, he knew he wouldn't have changed a thing.