A/N:
Review~!
So guys, if anyone rereads they will notice I've changed one detail on this chapter. I said before that Draco didn't have the Dark Mark and that he could not apparate, but that would be incoherent with some of my later chapters, therefore I've edited this chappie. Sorry for those who read before, and for the newbies, pretend you did not see this -laugh.
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One Step At a Time.
Harry found himself thoroughly confused. He has no idea how to feel about his ex-arch nemesis and is completely lost as to how he should act around the blond man.
It's been two months since Malfoy was admitted in the ministry as a Potions Master and Harry, being an auror often needed said potions, whether they were Veritaserum or Healing Potions, he always used them thus he had to go and see Dra-Malfoy. Dammit.
But how should he talk to Malfoy? Are they past the insults? Surely things changed after the war, he could not possibly ignore how Draco looked vulnerable and disoriented on the battle field, how his cold personality wasn't that cold. How he could not kill a fly to save his soul.
Still there was always tension around them whenever they were both alone in the same room. He could see how stiff Draco got, his wary eyes gazing at Harry every once in a while. Harry too tensed, ended up babbling some nonsense and laughed nervously.
The only good thing that came out of this meetings was the rare smile on Draco's lips everytime some useless gibberish left Harry's mouth. His gaze softened and his eyes went from gray to silver. Unfortunately those momentes were scarce and went as quickly as they came.
Though if Harry thought about it, he soon came to the conclusion that he must be going mad, seeing silver instead of gray, actually enjoying the sight of Draco's smile.
Malfoy dammit!
He shook his head several times to clear his thoughts as the door to Malfoy's laboratory slowly opened. The gray-eyed man was stiring many contents at the same time, going from one cauldron to the other. Harry grimaced as he thought about how tired he must be by the end of the day.
Draco Malfoy had taken the Dark Mark, but unlike the other Death Eater he hadn't killed or tortured anyone, the only thing he did was fix the Vanishing Cabinet and let Tom Riddle's lackeys enter Hogwarts. He had a trial and Harry stood for him in front of the Minister. They gave him a "five year probation", five years in which he is forbidden to use his wand and all of his apparations are dutifully documented. After both of his parents were sent to Azkaban – Lucius without a chance of another hearing- Dra-Malfoy was left without a wand, money – for it was confiscated- and family to help him.
'At least he has a good job now.' Harry thought. Still it wasn't enough, nor nearly. Draco's laboratory is the smallest and dustiest. His reputation hasn't gotten any better despite his hard work and talent. The brown haired man shook his head as he saw the poor conditions Draco has to work.
Mal-fucking-foy dammit! "Something wrong with your potion Potter?" He heard the deep voice bring him back to reality. Malfoy held a small vial with a purple potion inside, apparently he had asked for Harry to check it but the Boy-Who-Lived had his mind elsewhere.
"No, it's not that...I was just thinking that you deserve a better work place than this. Your Potions are the best we got anyway." He said with a shrug of his shoulders trying to sound nonchalant.
Malfoy's eyes widened and blinked quickly for a while, taking in what he had just heard. "I don't need your pity Potter." He said curtly, his cold expresion back on his aristocratic face.
"I never pitied you Malfoy. God, why does everything has to be so difficult with you?" Harry murmured the question, shaking his head.
"Maybe because there is no other way for us." The other replied, almost whispering.
"Yeah, maybe we will never stop fighting." Harry took the –now sealed- vial and stared at Malfoy, intense gray eyes met his for a second before turning away and staring off into space.
"The choices we made in the past cannot be changed now." His voice was hollow and his gaze was distant and sad. With a quick shook of his head he went back to the other cauldrons. "Come back whenever you need another potion." He said business like and turned his back on Harry.
Harry fidgeted with the potion, not wanting to leave knowing that things only got worse between the two of them. He raised his head to observe Malfoy, his back was turned and he completely ignored the Auror's presence. Giving up with an angry sigh Harry made his way to the door.
"The choices we made in the past cannot be changed now."
"You will soon find out some wizarding families are much better than the others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.
Harry stopped dead on his track and held his breath. What if he had accepted Draco's hand? What would have happened? Would he be able to avoid at least a portion of what he suffered from the bullies in Slytherin? Or maybe...maybe he could have made Draco see that things weren't as his father always taught him...unfortunately there is nothing to do about the it certainly can be done about the future.
"You're right we can't change the past, but we can do something about now." He said, so soflty he wondered if Dra-Malfoy heard him. He turned back, walking up to Malfoy and staring at him again, apparently he had heard. "You were not like them, you were just a spoiled brat with a twisted perspective of life given to you by your father." At this Malfoy opened his mouth to protest, but the intensity in Harry's green eyes stopped him. "The war is over, those believes are buried. We are not boys anymore Draco."
Draco?! Had he really said that out loud?!
"We work together and I don't want my work to be unpleasent because of some school grudges, surely you don't want it either." Seconds passed until pink lips turned into a very familiar sneer. "And what do you want then? A truce?" He asked, sarcasm in his voice. "We've been trying that, as you can see, it doesn't work." Harry shook his head, a small smile on his lips.
"No, I want a new beginning altogether." He paused, suddenly unsure, but buried the feeling. "Hi, I am Harry Potter." The bespectacled man answered and held his hand for Malfoy to shake. The other hesitated, biting his lower lip nervously as his gaze went from Harry's eyes to his hand. Finally with a tiny smile and a silver look that went from curiosity to surprise he shook Harry's hand.
"Hi. I am Draco Malfoy."
Harry had no idea the impact of this moment in his life. At least, not now.
---
Harry sipped his coffee and gazed at Malfoy from the corner of his eyes. The silver eyed man was sitting at a nearby chair beside the window, his eyes were either glued on the book on his hands or simply observing people as they walked by.
The very fact that Draco Malfoy actually went frequently to a Muggle coffee shop seemed like a joke when he heard it from Ron's lips, but as he stood there, noticing how Malfoy seemed to really like being there, he found it hard to believe.
He kept trying to see something wrong with the way Malfoy treated the muggle waiters, but there was nothing unusual there – on the contrary, the blonde was extremely polite. Sometimes he would grimace when observing someone – usually a woman, Harry would follow his eyes and find out he was just looking at shoes, purses and other acessories. It took a while for Harry to figure out that Malfoy was judging muggle outfits.
He almost laughed himself silly when he noticed that, thinking about how much of a poof Malfoy was for doing something so woman-like, how incredibly unbecoming was for him to be simply sitting there wearing muggle clothes and well...acting normal.
Since they had decided to start over Harry began seeing so many changes in Malfoy's behaviour, things that were probably always there, childish fights and school grudges blinding his sight.
He was truly –albeit reluctantly- impressed.
So lost in thought he didn't notice a presence beside him, not until the person started talking.
"Really Potter, I know you want a "new beginning" or something along those lines but sneaking around isn't exactly demonstrating that you trust me, is it?" He asked, an eyebrow raised, a funny twinkle on his eyes.
"That's because I don't trust you yet Malfoy, and I wasn't sneaking." He answred, sipping his coffe and watching as Malfoy ordered another one and sat on the stool by his side.
"Always blunt like a Gryffindork, right Potter?"
"And you, always rude like a Slytherin." Harry shot back. Oh c'mon after more than six years of bad treatment surely he could get out of this one unharmed. Malfoy smirked, but for the first time it wasn't a smug or scornful smirk, it was simply an amused one.
"Slytherins are not rude, we are sarcastically clever." Malfoy retorted. Harry smiled and shook his head.
"You regularly go to muggle coffee shops but never stopped the witty retorts, funny how some things don't change. But then again, funny how something do change." He said, gesturing around, a puzzled look on his face.
"As you said before, the war is over, the old believes are buried." He answered, looking fixedly at his coffee. "I like this place, it has a good coffee and tables in quiet corners that allow me to read in peace. Besides it is somehow entertaining to observe muggles." He ended with a shrug.
"Yeah, I noticed." Harry commented, a small smirk of his own.
"What?" Malfoy straightened his position on the stool and stuffed his chest slightly. Harry choked on his coffee while he laughed.
"No need to get so defensive, I just thought it was funny to see you judging muggle clothes." The other's posture relaxed considerably.
"Well...they do dress some pretty horrendous clothing. Pretty much like the things you used to wear back in school. Though, you probably still haven't figured out how to dress properly." He sighed exaggeratedly and shook his head.
"God, you really did observe me, didn't you?" Draco blushed prettily and cleared his throat before answering.
It's Malfoy for Merlin's sake! And he is not pretty!
"You were observed by everybody, not just me Potter."
Harry nodded, although he felt as if there was more to it than Malfoy was letting him know.
"Anyway, nice chit-chat but I have work to do." He finished his cup of coffee and left the money and a tip on the counter. Standing up he said as he put his coat on. "And Potter, er...sorry for being so sarcastically clever the other day, remarks about my work aren't usually sincere when they come from Aurors."
Harry would have smiled at his choice of words if he weren't so surprised at the fact that a Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, had apologized to him. He looked up to answer, but there was no one there anymore.
Draco had left, leaving the brunette confused and dumbfounded, but for the first time ever since they met, it was over a good thing.
---
It was late for lunch, but since they all had a very busy schedule they were used to having a late lunch. It was their luck the restaurant was almost empty, only couples or group of friends talking while drinking some coffee, otherwise they would cause an even bigger scene.
"I am very proud of you Harry." Hermione said as she heard about the new sort of, er, truce he made with Draco. Harry smiled uneasily at her before turning to Ron whose jaw was dropped and his eyes were wide.
"You've got to be bloody joking Harry!" He almost yelled, half of the people around them turning their heads to see where the noise was coming from.
"Control yourself Ronald!" Hermione angrily whispered and put a hand on his arm, but instead of being listened to, Ginny, who was sitting beside Harry and across from her brother, shook her head several times.
"Ron is right. Are you out of your mind? Have you forgotten what his father did to me? What he did to all of us?!" She asked him, staring into his eyes, looking furious.
"It was his father! It was the way he was raised Ginny, just like we believed in something, he believed in something else entirely."
"Harry is right, all of that is in our past, we should move on. Be a better person." Hermione backed him up, he nodded at her, thanking her.
"Screw all of that! Because of his father my sister nearly died! He bullied us all of the time, he made your life even harder than it already was!" Ron said, dropping huge doses of guilt onto Harry, the brunette winced at every phrase.
"He is right. Because of him Dumbledore died. He fought against us in war Harry!"
"He had to! His parents were going to be killed if he didn't do so! What would you do for your parents Ginny?" She was about to protest – along with Ron- but closed her mouth. "Most of the things he did was under his father's orders, and eventually, Voldemort's."
She shivered at the name but replied anyway. "I understand what he suffered through the war but before that...No one has that much power over someone's elses life Harry, not even the person's parents." Harry narrowed his eyes, Hermione stopped Ron from interfering.
"You mother forbid you from joining the Order, from fighting at war, there was nothing you could've done to disobey her orders Ginny!" He answered, losing his temper, his voice raising at every word.
"Oh and now you are throwing that in my face?! God Harry! Why are you being like this over scum like him?! You know what, do and think what you want, I will not continue this fight here. We'll talk when you get home." She stood up and left, Harry watched her go while her questions resonated in his head.
"Ron, Ron, leave please, we'll talk at home too. Let's cool down before we continue offending each other." He turned sharply in his chair, watching as Ron's face had turned the same shade as his hair. The redhead glared at him before following his sister's steps.
Hermione stirred her coffee plenty of times before slowly drinking, silent all the time. Harry watched her movements, sensing how uneasy this made her.
"Look Harry...I understand what you are trying to do, but did you need to fight so hard? They would've come around eventually." She softly said, her eyes searching his.
Yeah, why did you fight so hard? It's only Dra-Malfoy.
"I guess I just lost my temper, I am sorry." He shook his head, as if such action would clear it and give him an answer for his behaviour.
"Yes, I happen to know how you get when you have a strong opinion about something or someone. Nothing stops you. But why are you defending Malfoy all of the sudden Harry?"
"Well...he has changed you know? He actually apologized to me over something he said the other day, he is really polite with muggles, works hard...and well, I don't want to be another one of those prejudiced Aurors."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I was with a group of Aurors at the laboratory's floor, we were waiting for Malfoy's potions and they were talking..."
"He has absolutely no right to work here, he should be in Azkban along with others like him." A tall one mentioned, cracking the knuckles on his left hand in a menacing way as he stared at Draco's door.
"Well, I suppose we should thank him, thanks to people like him, his family and friends we have a job!" A shorty ironically commented, the others laughing along with him.
"What do you think Potter?" Harry did not even know who asked, all he could focus on was mercury eyes staring straight into his, an arched eyebrow, waiting for his reply as well.
"I think that if the Minister gave him a job than he deserves to be here as much as any of us do. Excuse me." He said and left, thinking of some other way to get the potion without talking to Malfoy.
"I just...I understand what is like being judged. He is trying, I don't see why we shouldn't give him a chance."
A knowing look was on her eyes, as if she had just found out something very obvious to her, but of course, not to him.
"I think that you see yourself a bit in him don't you? Always trying hard even when no one believed in you. And I cannot believe Aurors act like that! Well, I will back you up on this but, let's take one step at time ok?" She asked him, smiling, he smiled back, despite his concern over their fight.
One step at a time it is then.
