Draco woke up screaming once again, and looked at the grand clock in his room; 5:45. He'd been waking up from the same horrific nightmare several times per night since his parents had both been taken away to Azkaban. And that was 10 years ago. He had only gotten out of the hell because fancy-auror-boy-who-lived Harry Potter had insisted his innocence. Now dreams of dementors and death eater masks and dark marks and The Dark Lord and... Harry... haunted him every night.
Draco pulled open the curtains of his room in the lonely Malfoy Manor, and bright Spring light burst into the room highlighting the man's harsh blonde hair, ghostly pale skin, and dark circles framing the empty gray eyes. Another day he had to drag himself into St Mungo's for his job as a Healer. He had more than enough money to live off, but he didn't want his father's tainted money. He was going to earn his own living, and occupy himself with helping others; it was the least he could do to make up for his mistakes.
Harry looked at his watch; 5:45. He was expecting Ron and Dean - both fellow aurors - to apparate any second. On cue, two cracking sounds marked the arrival of the men, and they ran over to where Harry was stood. "Where do you think he went?" Whispered Ron, whose bright red hair was disguised with mud that he'd clumsily but smartly fallen in whilst searching for the accused Gregory Goyle. "That way" Harry pointed towards a dark group of trees. The trio set off at a fast pace when a flash of light hit Harry's arm and they whipped around to face Goyle, grinning at their stupidity. "CONJUNCTIVITIS" yelled Dean and Goyle's hands flew to his eyes which had been cursed into a painful state of almost-blindness. Ron cast "immobulus" to prevent the criminal from moving, and Harry, although wincing from his injured arm, grabbed his stiff body and apparated to the auror building shortly followed by his friends and colleges. "That was surprisingly easy" smirked Ron as the other two gawped at him. "Ron we followed that guy around half of the country before we caught him, and even then it was because he couldn't resist the urge to curse Harry's arm!" Dean exclaimed, causing them all to glance at the injury.
The sight before them made them gasp, and cry out for help. Harry had been ignoring the pain in his left arm, but now he could see that the sleeve of his uniform had burnt away to reveal peeled off skin and bubbling flesh where the spell had hit. Harry wretched at the sight, and as he heard people rushing to his side and the sickening feel of apparation, the world turned black.
At work, Draco was looking through the files of one of his patients while drinking some invigoration draught to keep him awake, when the doors of the ward burst open and a group of aurors hustled in and ran up to him. He sighed inwardly as he recognised the three ex-Griffindors Dean Thomas, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter, but ignored it for the sake of his job. Ron, who obviously looked very unsure of himself, spoke first. "He needs fixing" he staggered a little, and Draco noticed that Harry was unconscious in the man's arms. "Do you know what happened to him?" Draco frowned down at the body. "A curse on the left arm, we didn't hear what it was" Dean answered clearly. "Right" Draco replied, and much to the other men's horror, lifted Harry onto a shoulder, and carried him to the nearest empty bed.
The two healthy looking men watched in awe at Draco's strength, then as he started reaching for various potions. Once he had finished with applying several potions to the gruesome wound, and forcing a few others down Harry's throat, Draco turned to face the other two. "Mr Potter won't be waking until tomorrow, so you can visit him then" he walked to his desk and found a piece of paper in a draw, and handed it over along with an already inky quill "but before you leave I need you to sign these and hand them in at reception." They nodded, and headed out of the room. Draco sighed as he went to check on some of his other patients. He knew that tonight, the nightmares would become worse.
Harry woke up staring at a bright white ceiling. He groped around next to him for his glasses and groaned in pain at the movement of his left arm. Then he remembered. He quickly sat upright, still without glasses, and was faced with a figure with long ginger hair and a worried looking expression. Ginny. "Harry, you're awake" she handed him his glasses, and noticed bags under her eyes. "Ginny are you ok?" He took her by the hand with his right one, and stared into her beautiful eyes. "I should be asking you! I've been here all night, worried sick. Harry I hate having to see you like this, sometimes I wish you'd get a safe job" she squeezed his hand, and stroked his hair lovingly. Harry closed his eyes at the gentle touch. He really wanted to make Ginny happy but... "Honey you know I can't get another job knowing that my family isn't living in a world free of bad wizards" he reminded her soothingly. "But what if... what if the worst happened? Harry it would break so many hearts! Me, Albus, James, Lily, my mum-" Harry put a finger over Ginny's lips. "Please... don't..." he winced at the thought of everyone he loved, crying over his death. He would not let it happen. Never. "I have to go to collect Albus and Lily now, I'm glad you're ok." She kissed each finger on his right hand "I love you" "I love you too Ginny, send my love to Molly and the kids" he smiled sadly at her, and waved slightly as she left.
Although he was tending to a woman with a snake bite, Draco had kept a sharp eye on Harry and Ginny. It was enviable how lovingly they gazed at each other, and Draco wished with regret that he had someone to love.
When Ginny had left, Harry went to move his left arm and it started to bleed violently. Draco cursed under his breath, and rushed over with a flask of potion to sort it out. He gently poured some of the liquid onto the wound and it immediately stopped bleeding. Draco then got his wand out, and muttered a spell that closed the gash slightly. All the while Harry had quietly sat staring at the precision of the man's actions. "Malfoy?" His voice croaked, shocked. Draco frowned "are you experiencing pain in your throat?" "N-no, no I'm not" he stuttered more clearly with a flustered look. Draco nodded, and glanced at Harry's dark hair, messy as it had always been. "S-so you became a Healer?" "Yes" Draco said quietly, as he bent down to inspect the horrific left arm once again "you were quite lucky, if you hadn't got here sooner... bye bye arm" he laughed without humour, and walked away.
Last night's nightmares certainly had gotten worse. Over and over again, he had seen Harry getting cursed, injured, and killed, every time Draco only being able to watch. He was not sure why he was dreaming of the auror, but he still wasn't getting any sleep.
Harry stared as Draco strode over to another bed. The only ways he had changed was his remarkably polite attitude, the dark rings under his eyes, and that somehow his pale skin had gone even paler. His hair was the same almost-white blonde, eyes the same grey, and he was as skinny as ever. He still looked attractively youthful, but not like a teenager.
It shocked Harry that Draco was a Healer, and scared him that the man was here. During his time at Hogwarts, Harry may had developed a light crush on his rival... He gulped and tried to keep in mind his beautiful wife, and perfect three children. He had only been staring at those magnificent gray eyes out of habit.
A few minutes later, Dean and Ron rushed in, holding a large card. They both sat down on the right side of Harry, and smirked. "Guys... what is that...?" Harry questioned. Ron snickered "Mary thought it was a good idea to get you a get well card" "You're very popular as expected" Dean carried on, giving Harry a wink. He groaned and blushed, as Ron handed over the envelope. As soon as Harry had slipped a finger under the fold, a loud 'GET WELL SOON HARRY' was projected around the room, and the dark haired man blushed deeper, and was too late to try to hide the noise under his bed covers. The other two were practically falling off their chairs in laughter, and Draco along with some other Healers shot them a stern glance. Harry looked inside, and the card was filled with messages of getting better as soon as possible. "Thanks..." Harry gave his friends an uncertain look. "That's ok mate, we know you hate it" Ron grinned. "We have to get back to work now, but it was nice seeing you" said Dean regretfully, and after a nod from Ron, they both left.
'This could get quite lonely after a while...' thought Harry to himself.