For the Last Ship Standing Competition (action: someone must kiss someone/something; emotion: adoration; song: 'That Kiss' Faith Hill, specifically the lines "It's perpetual bliss;" "How does love get so off course / All I wanted was a white knight" "You got me flying"); the If You Dare Challenge (848. Kill Me); the OTP Bootcamp (6. carcass); the Song Fic Bootcamp (song: 'That Kiss' Faith Hill; 17. harry); the Ten Times Ten Challenge (institution: ministry of magic) and the Legendary Creatures Challenge (El Nadahha)
WARNINGS: drak!Harry, dark!Draco, generally dark!fic overall...If this isn't your cup of tea, please turn back now :)
"Mr Malfoy, I'm sorry to be asking you this, but would you please tell us what happened that night?"
"I don't know what else you want me to say," Draco said shakily, eyes filled with tears. "I've told you everything I know." He paused, taking a sip of the water that had been provided for him. "I swear I'm not hiding anything…"
Harry could nearly feel the other man's fear. He stared steadily at Draco, willing him to stay calm. "Just tell me everything once again, Mr Malfoy."
"Does it even matter anymore?" Draco laughed hysterically. "You are forgetting, Auror Potter, that I've gone through these interviews after the war was over. I know what you suspect, what conclusions you have already drawn. Will rehashing my story help anything at all? Besides, in a way, you aren't wrong to think…"
"Mr Malfoy – Draco – I promise you we are not assuming anything," Harry said, impulsively laying his hand on the other man's in an effort to calm him down. "We would just like to know what happened to make sure the statement we have taken down is correct."
Draco sighed. "Very well," he muttered. "We were arguing – Merlin, I don't even remember about what, some stupid little thing – and somehow it got out of hand. I don't know what happened – we threw horrible accusations at each other, and finally she said she needed some space away from me, space to think. She was walking out of the Manor – you remember how high those steps are, I assume. I followed her – Merlin, I followed her. I knew she was angry, but I just…I wanted her to see my side of it all; I just wanted to make things right between us again. I begged her to come back in, but she said she'd come back when she had calmed herself down, and no sooner." Here Draco stopped, reaching for the glass of water once again.
"What happened next?" Harry encouraged when the blond didn't say anything for a few moments.
"I don't even know," Draco said, laughing bitterly. "I followed her out, the stubborn fool that I am. By the time we reached the doors to the Manor, she was nearly running away from me. And it was snowing so heavily too…by the time I caught up with her, she was…" Draco choked up, his voice broken and beaten. "She must have slipped," he forced out. "I don't know. All I know is when I got to her, she was lying there…and there was so much blood…I tried to wake her up, I did," Draco said, voice rising hysterically, "But there was nothing I could do for her. She was gone, and it's all my fault." He buried his face in his hands.
"Draco, there was nothing you could have done," Harry murmured.
"I shouldn't have followed her," Draco said, voice broken. "I know how she gets when she's angry, I should have just left her alone!"
"Draco, this wasn't your fault," Harry said comfortingly, reaching out to hold his hand. "This was a tragedy, a horrible, horrible tragedy, and there was nothing you could have done to prevent it."
"What am I going to tell her family?" Draco cried, not listening to Harry. "And the press, oh Merlin, they're going to make a spectacle out of this. 'Ex-Death Eater kills wife.' Merlin, Harry, her family don't deserve that! I don't deserve that!"
"It's okay, Draco," Harry murmured. "I know it wasn't your fault. She tripped and she fell. It's tragic, but it can't be blamed on you. I know you're telling the truth, and I'll make sure everyone else knows it too."
A strange, troubled look came over Draco's face. "I know – it's just that I…"
"I know, Draco," Harry whispered. "Go home to you family. Take time to grieve, make all the arrangements you need to. We'll take care of the investigation here. Just – stay strong, yeah?"
Harry watched the blond leave, concern evident in his face.
"Merlin, that's horrible," Ron murmured. "I never thought I'd be saying this, but poor Malfoy. That is, if he's telling the truth."
"You can't possibly think that he's lying, can you?" Harry asked, turning to face Ron in concern. "You saw him take the Veritaserum. Besides, everyone knows how much he adored her. They may only have been married for a year, but you could see the love between them at the Ministry Gala in December."
"I know," Ron murmured, sounding faintly embarrassed. "Old habits and all. I shouldn't be thinking like that anymore, though, should I? Still, poor Malfoy. And poor, poor Astoria. Not even he deserved something like this."
"Mmm," Harry hummed in agreement. "I think – I think I'll go check up on him tonight. Make sure he's alright and all that."
"Yeah, that would be a good idea," Ron said, surprising Harry by agreeing. "I can only imagine myself in his place – he shouldn't be alone right now, and if I remember correctly, aren't his parents on a world tour or something? I don't imagine they'd be able to return to England today. I'll write up the report mate, you go make sure Malfoy doesn't do something stupid."
Like he had told Ron he would, Harry Apparated in front of Malfoy Manor. He walked up towards the main door, taking care on the steps. The last thing either he or Draco needed was another accident right outside his home.
Just moments after he rang the doorbell, a House Elf appeared to usher him in. He knew Malfoy Manor well, what with the number of times he had visited it after the war, on Auror business, to visit Narcissa with Andromeda and Teddy, and for…other things.
Walking into Draco's colossal bedroom, the one he had had before his marriage, he idly noticed the latest issue of Witch Weekly on the dressing table. Astoria's influence, he had no doubt about that.
Draco was sitting on the bed, head buried in his hands, looking for all the world like the picture of grief. But as soon as Harry entered the room, he raised his head, a faint smile playing on a face that was completely clear of any sort of misery at all.
"Hello Harry," he murmured, holding a hand out for the dark-haired man to clasp. "What did I miss?"
"Nothing at all," Harry replied, a smirk starting to play around his lips. "Ron had a few doubts about your honesty, but the fact that you were under Veritaserum convinced him that you weren't hiding anything from us."
"And no one would expect the Golden Boy himself of substituting the potion for water, would they?" Draco said, devious laughter in his eyes. He pulled Harry down to sit next to him as soon as the other man was within arm's length.
"Draco, how could you even imply such a thing?" Harry asked, mouth open in false surprise.
Draco laughed, pulling the Gryffindor in for a kiss.
It had been completely unexpected, this thing between them. Somehow, over the many visits Harry had made to the Manor after the war, the two men had developed an unexpected friendship, a friendship which had grown and evolved into something so much more. But Draco had already been engaged to Astoria by that point, and it was unthinkable that it could be broken. Both Draco's family and Astoria's would have had his head.
But Harry had already sacrificed too much over the course of the war, and he wasn't about to let the man he loved slip out of his fingers. Both of them had known that a divorce for Draco was unthinkable – he would have been shunned by the society he was most home in, and Harry wasn't willing to see Draco suffer.
And so they had come up with an alternative plan. It went against every fibre of Harry's being, every moral value he held dear, but he hadn't been able to bring himself to care. Given a choice between love and morality, love – and Draco – won every time.
Draco had spent the year he was married to Astoria cultivating the image of an adoring husband, madly in love with his wife. It was a love story that the tabloids had eaten up – the arranged marriage that developed into true love. It ensured that no real suspicion would fall on him when the time came.
It had been more difficult to stage the fight, but in the end, Draco had managed it. After that, all that had really been needed was a carefully aimed spell to make Astoria trip. Of course, Kingsley had had some concerns over the fact that Draco was involved, which meant he had sent Harry and Ron to investigate, just like the two men had expected. Replacing the Veritaserum had been easy – Ron hadn't thought twice about leaving it with Harry. After that, they were home free.
Now, Harry would place the role of a comforting friend, the pillar of support for a grieving friend, while Draco would act like the heartbroken widower he was supposed to be. It wouldn't take long for the idea of a friendship between them to be accepted, and after some suitable amount of time – six months to a year – had passed, they would make sure to be seen in public a few times as friends. The trash newspapers would create their own rumours, and the Prophet would follow suit. By the time the two of them revealed their relationship, it would be an accepted fact. The world would have forgotten all about Astoria Greengrass, too focused on the relationship between an ex-Death Eater and the Saviour of the wizarding world.
Draco pulled away from the kiss. "No regrets, then?" he asked, throwing Harry a cheeky grin.
"No regrets at all," Harry murmured, pulling Draco in for another kiss.
As Draco's lips met his, Harry lost himself in the bliss of it. When the two of them were like this, it was like no one else in the world existed. It felt like he was flying, a happiness that he had only ever known in the air coming over him.
Maybe he had shattered every value he had held dear in making sure that Draco was his, but in Draco's arms, he found himself thinking that all of it was worth it.
After all, he had given everything to the world, and it was only fair that he got something back.
So, that was completely different to anything I've ever written. I hope you guys liked it! Please don't forget to drop a review on your way out :)