Draco looked down at his watch and tapped his foot impatiently. Fourteen minutes had passed and still the door of 12 Grimmauld Place was shut firmly before him, no sound coming from within. He sighed as he watched the second hand tick round, and as it reached the hour again he knocked for the third time.

Presently he heard a familiar whooshing, some clattering and stomping, and not long after a light flicked on and the door swung in, revealing a sooty and somewhat flustered Harry Potter.

"Potter," he said, not bothering to hide his irritation at being kept waiting, and on such a cold and dreary night. "I'm here to collect."

Harry grimaced but didn't say anything, instead waving him inside. He looked tired, Draco thought, but then that could be the dirt from the Floo. Draco watched him make some effort to pat himself down as he retreated back inside the house, disappearing down a narrow hallway. Draco let the door swing shut behind them, but hovered near the entrance, unsure as to whether Harry meant for him to follow. After a moment he heard a shout from somewhere towards the back of the house,

"Come through!"

Draco didn't move for a moment. He'd hoped to get this over with quickly; there was really no point in dragging it out, and besides – sweeping his eyes over the crumbling staircase and threadbare carpets he set his mouth into a thin line of distaste – he'd always hated this place. Reluctantly, he made his way down the hall in the direction Harry had gone. He could hear some distant clattering and let the sounds guide him. If possible, it seemed the further in he went the more decrepit and dirty the house got. The wallpaper was shying away from the walls in places, completely abandoning it in others, and everywhere there was dust.

As he reached the end of the hall it opened out into a kitchen, which while crumbling like the rest of the house, was surprisingly clean and welcoming in comparison. A cheerful fire burned on the hearth filling the room with warm light. Harry stood with his back to the entrance, stooping besides an open fridge. Before Draco could say anything he heard the pop and hiss of a beer top being flicked off, and Harry turned, holding out the open bottle.

Draco hesitated, but when Harry didn't make to lower his arm he took the beer, nodding his thanks. Harry was tired, Draco saw now, as he watched him slowly drag out a kitchen chair and lower himself into it in a way that seemed to say he simply didn't have the energy for anything more. Harry took a swig from his own bottle and a long moment passed before he finally looked back up at Draco.

"So," he said, a pause, then, "I don't suppose I can talk you out of this?" He didn't sound up for a fight, but Draco supposed it wouldn't have been in his nature to give in to something like this without at least trying to change his mind.

Draco ran his thumb down the neck of the bottle, watching condensation collect where warm skin touched the cold glass.

"It's the 14th, you knew the deal. I have to collect what is owed to me."

His voice sounded flat as he said it. He was speaking as a matter of course, they both knew what had to be done. Looking up his eyes met with Harry's. Harry looked as though he wanted to object, his brows knitted together over those emerald green orbs, but he said nothing. After a moment of silence, he took another sip of his beer, breaking eye contact.

"Fine," he said, reaching for his wand. So this was it, he was resigned. Draco had just enough time to take one last breath, before Harry raised his wand and pointed it directly as his heart.

"Avada Kedavra!"

There was a loud crash as the bottle Draco had been holding slipped from between his fingers and smashed against the hard floor tiles, spraying glass and beer across the clean surface. Then all was quiet as Harry lowered his trembling fingers, shoulders shaking with silent sobs, and Draco's lifeless form slumped on the floor.

Written for: the 'Fill the Calendar Challenge'. July 12 – Prompt: collect

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

CC cover image (entitled 'Oops...') courtesy of Neil Williams on Flickr.

A/N: Thank's for reading! Please don't hesitate to leave a review if you have the time; I absolutely adore con-crit! :) GG x