Thank you again for all the reviews and alerts! So sorry this is (much) later than normal. My computer is poorly- first, it lost over a thousand words of this chapter which I had to re-write, then it refused to start up or let me online.
This is the penultimate chapter. I hope you like it.
Chapter Six: The Eye of the Storm
Friday 2nd August 2013, 6.30pm
Dear Harry,
Oh, where do I start? I've just got back to The Burrow, and Mum is biting my ear off, and… fuck, Harry, I'm so sorry. I know you didn't kiss me back, and pushed me away before giving me a bollocking. I told everyone that at the party before I left, and I'll tell Malfoy that, too, if you need me to. This is all my doing. I'm so bloody sorry.
I've got no excuse other than I was drunk, and stupid, and didn't even know what I was doing. I just hope in time you can forgive me.
You probably won't get this letter for ages. I just needed to apologise. I wish I'd just stayed in Romania now.
Charlie.
Draco stormed into the living room without turning around to check Harry had followed. He evidently knew Harry was there. The second Harry stepped into the room, Draco aimed his wand at the door, slamming it shut. He threw up a complex Locking Charm, and Silenced the room as well for good measure. Then he turned and looked at Harry. Harry's stomach dropped to his feet at the look; Draco looked absolutely livid.
"Explain," he said simply, and Harry thought that, in that moment, Draco had never looked so much like Lucius Malfoy.
"Er, well, I went to get beers, and Charlie was at the table crying, and we talked for a bit, then he kissed me, but I pushed him straight off and gave him a Sobriety Potion," Harry babbled. "I didn't kiss him back, I swear!"
"It's been over three months since we had sex, I overhear you muttering to yourself that you wish I was a woman, and now you've been caught kissing Charlie fucking Weasley," Draco yelled, carrying on as if he hadn't heard a single word Harry said. "Can you not see the slight problem we have here?"
"I didn't kiss him, he kissed me!" Harry shouted back. He noticed Draco had not yet pocketed his wand from when they entered the room; on the contrary, in fact. He had the length of hawthorn pointed straight at Harry. "I pushed him away, and I didn't kiss him! And as for the wishing you were female thing, Draco- it's all blown out of context. What I meant was-"
"Legilimens!"
Harry reeled in shock as Draco's spell hit. His Occlumency skills had greatly improved since Voldemort's defeat and, whilst he was certainly no Snape, he was competent in a way in which was fitting for the Head of the Auror Office. However, instead of immediately blocking Draco as his instincts screamed at him to do, as Draco began to tear through his mind, he forced himself to keep eye contact and let Draco have free access. He showed Draco his devastation at not being able to achieve an erection and the wet dream from a few mornings ago, and his fierce love for him that had never once wavered in over fourteen years. He let Draco see Harry's tears from Butser Hill, the night the Yohimbe Potion had failed. He pushed the events with Charlie to the forefront of his mind, ensuring Draco saw exactly what had happened- the conversation about infidelity, Harry pushing Charlie away, and telling him he would never cheat.
And most of all, he made sure Draco saw exactly how completely and utterly furious Harry was that Draco had forced his way into his mind completely without Harry's consent. Harry had had enough; he threw up his Occlumency shields and pushed Draco's presence out of his mind.
Now it was his turn to be mad.
"I can't believe that, after all this time, you don't believe a single fucking thing I say, and you believed you had the right to do that to me," Harry said, his voice eerily calm, because he thought if he didn't control its volume now he would shout and shout and would probably never stop. "What, Draco? Forcing yourself on me physically didn't work, so you decided to rape my mind instead, is that it?"
Draco winced as if harry had slapped him and turned incredibly white.
"Harry, don't," he barely whispered.
"Don't what, Draco?" Harry replied. "Don't be mad with you for ploughing through my mind? Draco, you know what Voldemort did to me, how he violated my mind. What I suffered, what he forced me to see. What gives you the right to behave like him and abuse my mind like that?"
Draco didn't reply. Harry noticed that the earlier anger on Draco's face had gone, replaced with a look of devastation instead.
"I wish you'd just have listened to me," he continued. "I wish that you trusted me. But apparently, you don't. Because that's the issue here, Draco. If you trusted me, then you'd have known I'd never kiss Charlie." A huge lump had formed his his throat now, to match the tell-tale sparkling of tears in Draco's eyes. "And I have to say, I can't believe we've reached the stage where you think so badly of me that you believe I'd do that to you."
Draco blinked then, and a huge tear slipped wetly down his cheek. He bit his lip.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Sorry for what, Draco? Sorry for abusing my mind, or for not trusting me? Would you like to give me a shot of Veritaserum? That way you can really know that what I'm telling you is true."
Draco's shoulders began to shake with the effort of controlling his emotions. Harry could count on the fingers of one hand the amount of times he'd seen Draco cry over the years, and the obvious distress on his face, and oddly this calmed Harry more than anything else at this moment.
"I know you didn't kiss Weasley," Draco said finally.
"Because you saw it in my mind. Not because you actually believed me when I told you I didn't," Harry retorted. "And that's the part about all this that really fucking hurts me."
"I do trust you," Draco replied. "I don't know why I did that, or what came over me. I really am sorry."
They were quiet for a long period, where both struggled to rein in their emotions. "What's happening to us?" Draco said through a shuddering breath.
"I don't know," Harry replied wearily. He removed his glasses and wiped the back of his eyes with the heel of his hand.
"I just- ever since, you know, the problem, we've been tense with each other," Draco said. "And I can't help but think this is totally what I deserve."
Harry looked at him. He said nothing, choosing instead to wait for Draco to explain.
"This is the payback for what I did," Draco said. "Being a Death Eater, I mean. I got off with a year's probation, I got you, I got Lily, and I got the faerie tale Happily Ever After. Maybe this is the punishment I should have received in the first place."
"What a load of bollocks," Harry snapped. "Excuse me if I don't attend the Draco Malfoy Pity Party, won't you, but what a load of melodramatic shit! All couples go through difficult times, Draco, all of them. And I did owe you an apology for the last few days, which I tried to give you earlier, and was going to give you tonight. And in fact, if you'd bothered to listen to me, instead of all but telling me to piss off earlier, I would have sat and talked with you instead of going into the kitchen and talking to Charlie. But, no, everything has to be about how you feel, what you want, how it affects you. Well, I'm sick of it, Draco."
To Harry's surprise, Draco smiled a little at that. It was a small, sad smile.
"Imagine if I hadn't have had sex with Pansy in the Room of Requirement," he said. His voice was emotionless, and it scared Harry more than anything else that evening so far. "Where would we be now? As in, us, as a couple."
"I… um," Harry said. Draco nodded sadly.
"Exactly. Harry, we'd have finished school, and probably crossed paths occasionally, in the Ministry or whatnot. We'd never have been friends, and we certainly wouldn't have formed a relationship. You'd probably have married some woman, had a bunch of kids, and had a normal, easy life. I stopped you doing that. It was a series of flukes that drew us together. Perhaps us not being able to have a physical relationship is the Universe correcting its mistake."
Harry wondered when they'd stopped arguing about the not- kiss with Charlie, and had got back onto- yet again- the fact that Harry was experiencing sexual dysfunction at the moment, before deciding that this whole fucking argument had its roots in it. It kept coming back to that time and time again. It was the reason why Draco was doubting them, doubting Harry, doubting himself even. He felt just as confused and scared as Harry did. And Harry had never hated his problem more than he did right then.
"Don't talk like that," he seethed. "Don't you ever imply that we were a mistake, or that you somehow stopped me having the life I 'should' have had. That Lily was a mistake! That the two best things in my life somehow need 'correcting'! You didn't turn me gay, or bi, or whatever other nonsense you're implying. I'd have figured out I'm attracted to men as well as women eventually, even if we hadn't ended up together, and who's to say I wouldn't have fallen in love with a man instead of a woman? This is one problem, Draco, that we can fucking well work through, OK? I won't let you give up on us. Because your Slytherin sense of flight rather than fight might be taking over right about now, but you clearly forgot about me. And I will not let you go until I've fought for us with everything I have and there is nothing left for me to give."
Draco opened his mouth to respond, but there was a heavy knocking at the door, and he closed his mouth again.
"It's me," Ron's voice called through the door. "Can you open the door?"
Harry drew his wand and reversed Draco's complex locking spells and Silencing Charm, and the door flew open.
"What the fuck do you want, Weasley?" Draco snapped, wand pointed at him. Harry guessed that Draco wasn't too fond of anybody with red hair at the moment. "We're busy."
Ron didn't so much flinch at his harsh tone or the wand aimed at his chest.
"I just wanted you both to know," he said, his voice calm, "that everyone has left except Hermione and me, and that Lily is currently curled up in Hermione's arms, sobbing her heart out and believing that her dads hate each other and are going to split up."
"Fuck," Draco muttered. "OK, we're coming."
"Er, you're not, are you? Splitting up, I mean?" Ron said uneasily to Draco. "'Cause Charlie told everyone what happened, and we all know it's my dickhead brother's fault, not Harry's, which means this would be a really shitty thing to break up over."
Harry looked over at Draco, who had- finally- pocketed his wand. It was clearly a look of questioning. Perhaps even pleading. Draco took a huge breath, which he let back out slowly.
"No," he said eventually, answering Ron's question but looking directly into Harry's eyes, "no, of course we're not splitting up." The relief that crashed over Harry was almost dizzying.
"Tell Lily we're coming," Harry said pointedly to Ron, who took the hint and, grinning, walked out of the room. Harry immediately walked over to Draco.
"We can't keep on fighting like this," he said, as he pulled Draco close to him, holding tightly. The grip from Draco's own arms around him in return was just as tight. "And we do still need to talk- properly talk, without yelling at each other. But I love you, you stupid, idiotic, self-centred prat, OK?" Then he pulled Draco into a fiery, passionate, but brief kiss that left them both slightly breathless. "But never, ever, try to use Legilimency against me again. I mean that."
Then, together, with their hands joined, they left the living room and went to speak to their daughter.
"…and you're not splitting up?"
"No, Lily bud, we're not," Draco soothed. Lily's head was rested in Harry's lap, her feet curled into Draco's, and her eyes were red. Her breath had taken on that involuntary shudder that often follows heavy crying, and Harry thought that, for the first time in over a year, she looked like a child again. Lily gripped Draco's hand tightly.
"I know I've been difficult," Lily said. "I know I've probably made things worse, with getting suspended from school and everything. I'm really sorry."
"Lily," Harry said, "this is not your fault, you hear me? Your father and I just have a few private issues we're working through at the moment, OK? But remember that we love each other, and we love you. I won't deny I could have lived perfectly happily without you getting excluded from school, but that wasn't the reason we had a fight. You're not the reason, alright? Never think that."
She smiled weakly at them and tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a yawn, the events of the previous hour obviously having drained her. It was still only early-ish evening; the sun was beginning to set now, and had left a beautiful golden- pink sunset in its wake. Ron and Hermione had left Harry and Draco alone with Lily to talk about twenty minutes previously, Flooing home with Rose and Hugo. The garden was a mess; empty beer bottles and cans of Muggle fizzy drinks were sprawled out across the grass, as were paper plates and plastic cutlery and various half-eaten items of barbecued food: evidence of the Weasleys' desperation to leave following Ginny's son's announcement as quickly as they could, as they'd never leave this sort of mess usually.
"Go and have a bath, then get an early night," Draco said to Lily, drawing his wand. "Your dad and I have to spend some time putting things right again." Harry didn't think he meant just the garden. Lily nodded and climbed off her fathers, gave them both a huge kiss on the cheek and a tight hug, and headed into the house. Harry watched her go, then drew his wand and began assisting Draco in a series of Cleaning and Vanishing Charms which returned the garden to its former neatness.
"I'm going to the Manor with Lily next week," Draco announced suddenly, as he flicked his wand and an empty can of lemonade Vanished.
Every year, at the beginning of August, Lily would spend a week with Lucius and Narcissa at Malfoy Manor. She had done since she was four and old enough to spend more than the occasional night away from her parents. Harry and Draco, however, always remained behind, apart from the odd Floo trip to check she was OK throughout the week. In the ten years Lily had been visiting her grandparents like this, Draco had never once gone and stayed with his parents with her. Harry stopped Scourgifying the patio table and swallowed nervously.
"I thought you said- I mean, we've just told Lily-"
"We're not splitting up," Draco interrupted, accurately guessing Harry's train of thought. "But we're tense around each other at the moment, and I think a week apart will do us both some good. Time for us each to think, properly, without the other one there." Harry clearly didn't look at all convinced, for he was suddenly engulfed in Draco's arms. "I told you I loved you, and I meant it. I'm not running from us, I promise. I just need some time on my own to get my head around everything."
"OK," Harry replied, and his voice was barely audible. Draco tilted Harry's chin up with a finger and kissed him.
"It's only a week," he said.
Harry thought it was going to be the longest seven days of his life.
Harry said goodbye to Draco and Lily as they travelled by Floo to the Manor early on Monday morning, then took a quick shower, threw on his Auror robes, and Apparated to the Ministry. He was over an hour early for work, but Harry needed the distraction. Due to his much earlier than usual arrival, Harry was surprised to see that Isabelle was already at her desk, wearing yet another hideous outfit (today she was wearing a checked button-up shirt and pink rah-rah skirt).
"Good morning, Head Auror Potter," she said in her usual meek voice. "You're keen this morning. Did you have a good weekend?"
"No," Harry replied bluntly. "I'm going to be out of the office with Auror Weasley most of the day. Auror Matthews will be in charge of the trainees this morning."
"Is everything OK?" Isabelle said timidly, her huge eyes even wider than usual. "You don't look well."
"I'm fine," Harry snapped. Then, deciding that he really didn't want to be in the office at all, and that whatever post came over the weekend requiring his attention could bloody well wait a few hours longer, turned back on his heels and headed for Ron's cubicle, hoping Ron was already in work. Harry had received an emergency owl the previous evening informing him that another patient had been taken ill and admitted to St Mungo's after taking a potion containing suspected illegal dragon's blood, and Harry and Ron were off to interview her and her husband that morning.
He was distracted as he made his way to Ron's cubicle, thinking about Isabelle's question. He and Draco had spent the weekend talking, not really coming to any definite resolutions, but agreeing on the major, most crucial, point: that they loved each other and wanted to be together, and that the rest they could work out as they went along. It wasn't a great plan, but it was a start, and Harry did feel that they'd managed to clear the air a bit between them.
"…Harry!"
Harry jumped. He was surprised to see he'd reached Ron's desk, and the man was clearly trying to get his attention.
"Er, sorry, Ron," he said. "Miles away. Good, you're here already. Um, are you ready to leave?"
"Yeah, that's what I was trying to say to you, moron," Ron said.
"Less of the 'moron' and more of the 'boss'," Harry joked, and Ron laughed appreciatively. Ron had initially been very jealous of Harry when Harry was promoted to Head of the Auror Office, particularly as this did mean that Harry was now Ron's boss, but once Ron had seen the amount of paperwork the job involved, not to mention the additional working hours and stress, he'd congratulated Harry and told him he was welcome to the job with his blessing.
With a final 'goodbye' to Isabelle, accompanied by a, "what in the name of Godric's gonads is your batty secretary wearing this time?" from Ron, the pair hurried quickly to the Atrium and Apparated to St Mungo's.
"Charlie wet back to Romania this morning," Ron said, as they made their way up to the third floor, Potions and Plant Poisoning. Harry made a non-committal 'hmmm' sound. He really didn't want to talk about Charlie bloody Weasley at the moment; drunk or not, the man had behaved appallingly. The letter he'd sent Harry had ended up Incendio-ed by Draco about thirty seconds after it had arrived on Friday night. "Anyway, Mum and Dad are furious with him, and Charlie has kind of gone back in disgrace. It's not going to be weird with you and the rest of my family, is it?"
"No, Ron," Harry said honestly. "Course not. I'm not too keen on seeing Charlie any time soon though, I must admit."
"So, er, did Malfoy and Lily get off OK this morning?" Ron asked with fake casualness, Harry knew the real question Ron was asking.
"We'll be OK," Harry said, answering the unasked question. "We spent a lot of the weekend just talking and stuff. We'll work it out."
"Make sure you do," Ron said seriously. "'Cause as much as at one point this seemed ludicrous, I've grown quite fond of that ferret twat over the years. And, you know, I don't want my best mate all sad and stuff."
"Thanks, Ron," Harry said, pushing open the door to the ward, where the person who, it was believed, was Wyatt's latest victim was located.
An hour later and Harry and Ron emerged from the ward grinning and armed with a load of information, including details about a possible new location for Wyatt. The victim, a Mrs Gloryhole (both Harry and Ron had both struggled desperately not to snigger like juveniles when addressing her), had been extremely talkative. An elderly lady in her eighties, a retired antiquarian bookseller and with no previous records for any criminal activity, she had brought the dragon's blood in good faith, believing it was from a reputable seller, and was about as keen to see Wyatt thrown into Azkaban as Harry was. Indeed, she'd been quite outspoken about that. In fact, Harry was quite certain he'd never heard language like that come from someone of her age before. And he'd certainly learnt some new derogatory words for men participating in the act of masturbation.
He and Ron grabbed a quick bite in the hospital's tea shop, then Apparated to Liverpool docks. Mrs Gloryhole had insisted that Wyatt had spoken with a strong liverpudlian accent- information which was vital for Harry, as it contradicted other witnesses, who were sure he spoke with a London accent- and had told him that a shipment was coming in 'soon' to the docks near where he lived: evidence that, when combined, pointed strongly to the Merseyside port as being the intended import destination this time. Harry's instincts were telling him the old lady was right and that she had heard his true voice; Wyatt obviously thought he was dealing with a frail and possibly senile old dear, rather than the intelligent, strong-minded individual she actually was, and had let his guard slip around her.
Ron took watch of the docks whilst Harry went to speak with the Harbour Master- a jolly, rotund Muggle in his fifties with a greying beard, who kept referring to Harry as 'Chief Inspector Potter', and was very co-operative in allowing Harry access to the confidential record books. A ship from New Zealand- the same country as last time Harry intercepted the contraband goods- was due to arrive the following day. Harry thanked the man, cast a subtle Memory Charm to remove all traces of the conversation from the Muggle's mind, and went to find Ron.
"There's a ship coming in from New Zealand tomorrow," he said, casting a few wards that would let him know immediately if anyone with a magical signature approached the area. "Let's head back to the Ministry. I need to get a team together. This has been going on long enough- I want that bastard desperately now." With a small 'crack', that caused the poor Harbour Master to jump, they Disapparated. Once back at the Ministry, Harry called a meeting and selected a team of Aurors to accompany him tomorrow.
"The ship is due to dock at five in the morning," he said, and the team groaned. Harry rolled his eyes. Since when was being an Auror a nine to five job? "So I want you all present for three. Is that clear?"
"Yes, boss," the Aurors chorused, slightly sullenly.
"Good. And because I'm not Robards, and I'm quite nice really, you can all leave now, despite the fact it's only two in the afternoon. You've all got an early start tomorrow, so use your free time wisely," Harry said. "Dismissed."
He'd been the Head of the Auror Office for nearly six years now; the youngest Head in living memory. And he still felt awkward giving orders and being called 'boss'.
"I'm going home early too," Harry said to Isabelle. "I doubt I'll be here much before lunchtime tomorrow."
"Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?" Isabelle asked. Harry was sure he wasn't imagining the fact that Isabelle had undone two buttons at the top of her hideous shirt, exposing a hint of… not cleavage, exactly, for a woman needed to have breasts larger than two fried eggs for that, but definitely something that Harry didn't want to see. "I can cook you something nice, ready for your early start in the morning."
"I really don't," Harry said, before realising he had possibly been harsher than he needed to be when he saw the crestfallen expression on his secretary's face. "Er, thanks for the offer though."
He Apparated home, turning down Ron's invitation to spend the afternoon with him and Hermione with considerably more politeness, and returned to his house, which felt far too large without Draco and Lily. He toyed with the idea of simply Flooing to Malfoy Manor, but he was trying to prove to Draco that he respected his wishes, and Draco had been adamant that he thought a week apart would help them. Instead he spent the rest of the day catching up on paperwork and surfing the internet. At dinnertime he ordered a pizza online (one of the major advantages of living in a Muggle area; even if his house did have a Floo and other items he was certain his neighbours didn't have), and spent the evening with Teddy, who had popped over to keep him company, eating and watching the third Ashes Test on the telly. He'd developed a love of cricket a few years back during his early career as an Auror and a few of the Muggle-born recruits took him to a Twenty20 match at the Rose Bowl. Draco couldn't stand it, and Ron didn't understand it, but he and Teddy soaked it up.
Teddy eventually returned to Andromeda's, and Harry turned in for the night. Well, 'night' was pushing it, because it was only eight in the evening, August, and therefore there was bright sunlight flooding into his room, despite the fact he'd closed the curtains.
And if Harry was totally honest, the lack of darkness wasn't the only reason he couldn't sleep. He'd managed to keep himself busy practically all day, but he really missed Draco. He considered taking a phial of Sleeping Draught, but decided against it, as he wasn't guaranteed to hear his alarm if he did that. Eventually Harry fell asleep; a restless sleep with a strange dream involving Draco turning Charlie into a ferret, and darkness fell over his bedroom.
His alarm buzzed at two, and Harry swore loudly as he was roused from sleep. He dragged himself into the bathroom and showered quickly, which had the desired effect of waking him up. Then he downed a quick cup of coffee and Apparated to Liverpool docks.
Ron and about half the Aurors were already present. Within ten minutes of his arrival, all the team was in place, and Harry ordered them all to Disillusion themselves and position themselves in pairs around the dock. There was, of course, no guarantee that Wyatt would show up, but his instinct was prickling, as much as it had the previous day when he'd believed Mrs Gloryhole's lone testament which was in direct contradiction with the numerous other witnesses' ones. He could feel that today was the day they would make a breakthrough.
The sky had taken on the merest hint of pink in an otherwise blanket of navy, when Harry felt a shimmer in the wards he'd erected just over twelve hours previously. He held his breath in anticipation as a figure he recognised walked across a jetty. Wyatt had arrived. Out across the River Mersey, Harry could make out the silhouette of an incoming ship. He licked his lips. He'd ordered the Aurors not to advance on Wyatt until the ship had docked and he had the illegal cargo in his possession; after all, they had no evidence against him without that.
It was another hour before the ship finally docked. The port was busy with both Muggle workers and holiday-makers boarding a cruise liner now, and Harry sighed. He'd warned the Obliviators beforehand that they would more than likely be needed today, and it looked like he was going to be right. It was fully light now; the early morning sunlight sparkled like diamonds on the surface of the Mersey. And there… yes! Wyatt had entered the ship. Harry could make out the faint shimmer that indicated Ron's Disillusionment Charm next to the open entrance of the cargo ship. He smiled in a satisfied way and carefully erected the Anti-Disapparition Jinx around the entire dock. Harry wasn't going to let Wyatt get away this time.
Eventually Wyatt emerged from the ship, and Harry recognised the mokeskin pouch around his neck as similar to the one he owned and treasured, that Hagrid had given him so many years ago. It didn't take a genius to work out what was inside it. They were going to get the bastard.
Go! he thought to himself. C'mon, Ron, you're nearest! Then, as if Ron read his mind, a Stunner came as if from nowhere and slammed into Wyatt, who stumbled backwards, his eyes huge and surprised, before Auror Murray, whom Ron had partnered, shot a perfectly-aimed Full Body-Bind, causing Wyatt to fall stiffly to the ground.
"Fuck! Aurors!" a voice shouted, and Harry spun around, wand pointing in the direction of the noise, just as flashes of light of all colours began peppering the early dawn air. He could hear confused and terrified Muggles screaming but he didn't have time to concern himself with them at the moment; Kingsley had given him clearance for this mission due to the risk Wyatt posed to the wizarding population. He spotted the accomplices then; two burly men and a slim blonde woman, all with wands drawn, were trying in vain to Disapparate whilst firing random spells. He sent Stunners of his own at them, but they missed by millimetres.
"That one came from other there!" one of the burly men called, and Harry froze. He was so focussed on not giving his position away to the three that he failed to notice the presence of the fourth accomplice; one who had clearly noticed the shimmer from his own Disillusionment Charm. He felt the excruciating pain, however, when their spell hit home, and recognised it immediately as the Cruciatus Curse. He tried to remain silent, but couldn't- a shout of agony burst from his lips.
"I got one! He's right here!" came a voice- another female, Harry noted. It was, however, the last thing he noticed before he felt the Disillusionment Charm being forcibly lifted from him, a male voice cry out, "Merlin, it's only fucking Harry Potter!" before another spell hit him, and his entire world went black.
"You could have just said you couldn't live without me for a week. You didn't need to take such dramatic measures to get me by your side, you know. Only one day apart, and you end up in here."
Harry stirred groggily as he came to, aware that Draco was holding his hand and talking to him.
"Hey," he croaked. His voice sounded raspy, and he suddenly became aware of how thirsty he felt. "Water."
Draco picked up a water jug from the table and poured Harry a glass. He handed him the water, then reached for Harry's glasses, slipping them onto his face for him. Harry made a sound of gratitude then drank deeply. Only once he'd drained the glass did it register he was in St Mungo's, and the memories of the skirmish at Liverpool docks came flooding back.
"Before you say anything, Weasley arrested Wyatt, the rest of your team got the four accomplices, and you're the only idiot who got hurt," Draco said. "Oh, and forty Muggles had to be Obliviated, plus the whole thing made the front page of the Liverpool Echo. Well done, Head Auror."
"Thanks," Harry said drily. "Um, Draco, how long was I…"
"Unconscious? Four days. It's Saturday," Draco said. "That curse was nasty, plus the Cruciatus was no picnic either. You fucking dickhead," he added, and despite the fact he was in hospital, with a pounding headache, and may or may not have been completely incompetent at Liverpool docks, Harry couldn't help grin. When Draco reduced to petty name-calling, it meant he was truly worried about him. And that was what mattered right now.
"We've got Wyatt," he said triumphantly.
"No, Weasley got him. You, on the other hand, got cursed and ended up unconscious for the best part of a week," Draco drawled. "Prick." Then he leant over and kissed Harry soundly.
A small cough from the back of the room pulled them apart.
"Sorry to interrupt," said a Healer, "but I really need to examine my patient. How are you feeling, Mr Potter?"
"Fine. Bit sore I guess," Harry replied, as the Healer began performing a series of spells over him. "What was I hit with?"
"The Sleeping Beauty Curse," the Healer replied. "If untreated within an hour, it puts the victim into a permanent and irreversible sleep. Luckily you were brought here within minutes of the spell hitting and we were able to perform the counter-spells swiftly, but it still took several days to rouse you. However, you're clear of it now. There are no other spells upon you at all."
"Can I go home?" Harry asked hopefully. Draco tutted and rolled his eyes, and the Healer chuckled lightly.
"You've been awake all of ten minutes," she said. "Let's leave it a little longer before we talk about going home, shall we?" She pointed her wand at the chart at the end of Harry's bed, which automatically filled with information. "I'll tell your daughter and friends they can come in now, if you like, but do not allow them to excite you. You still need to rest, Mr Potter."
An hour later, after Lily had all but jumped on Harry and squeezed the air from his body, and Hermione had finished telling him off ("For Heaven's sake, Harry, you assigned every single Auror there a partner except yourself, you could have been killed!"), and Ron had described in minute detail Wyatt's arrest and confession under Veritaserum, Harry had to conclude that the Healer had been right, and he probably wasn't ready for home yet; he couldn't keep his eyes open. He eventually heard Draco's voice, ordering everyone out ("Yes, Lily, even you, he's going to be fine and you need to eat and sleep too"), then completely ignoring his own advice to Lily and taking Harry's hand. As Harry finally passed into sleep, he was sure he heard Draco say, "Never frighten me like that again," before the blackness once again claimed him.
Harry ended up staying another week in hospital before he was declared fit to leave. He was signed off work until the end of August, which he couldn't find in himself to object to; he took as much time off as he could over the school holidays, but he hated it when Lily had to spend the day with Molly, Narcissa or Andromeda instead of him and Draco whilst they were at work. He didn't see enough of her as it was, now she was at Hogwarts.
He popped into work briefly to collect a few personal items and speak with Kingsley. He also received a horrible card from Isabelle, which had a rather disturbing image of a Kneazle lying on the floor with a partially amputated front paw dripping blood and the caption, "You'll be back on your feet in no time!" in scarlet letters. Inside she'd written:
To my brave and courageous Head Auror Potter,
Wishing you a speedy recovery. Should you require assistance with bed-baths, you need only owl me.
Your devoted secretary,
Isabelle Honeycutt.
Harry had thanked her, before tossing the card into the nearest bin on his way back to the Floo in the Atrium. Then he stepped into the Floo and was whisked away from work, for two whole weeks away from the place.
The remainder of August slipped by alarmingly quickly, Harry felt, and soon it was merely days until the first of September, when Lily would return to Hogwarts and the house would once again be far too clean and quiet. Still, Harry was hoping that Lily's fourth year would be a lot calmer than her third: particularly the dramatic and rather abrupt end she'd had to the previous academic year. He was also worried; Lily had provided a convenient excuse over the last almost-three months as to why he and Draco couldn't attempt sex; she was always too close, too awake, or it just didn't feel 'right'. With Lily back at school, it would just be the two of them. Make or break time, Harry thought to himself wryly.
"Gods, Harry, yes," Draco gasped in the shower they'd decided to take together, once Lily was sound asleep, two days before the start of the new school year. It hadn't meant to progress further, but as Draco became hard whilst Harry was massaging shampoo into his scalp, he really couldn't find it in himself to refuse. They were now both wet and soapy, and Harry's limp cock was nestled in the crack of Draco's arse, whilst his hand was closed around Draco's erection, sliding back and forth furiously whilst Draco gasped and panted and his knees trembled. Harry was frustrated beyond belief and more than a little jealous, wanting nothing more than to be hard and slide inside Draco, fucking him against the cool tiles whilst the hot shower spray pounded them, until Draco could barely remember even his own name.
He tried not to resent Draco for this: his ability to get hard and aroused, and be able to come, but it was difficult, particularly as in that moment Draco inhaled sharply, whimpered, and painted the tiles with his release. But a one-sided sex life was slowly driving Harry to insanity. He wanted sex. He mentally desired sex. So why the fucking hell couldn't he have sex? A couple of days ago had marked four months. One hundred and twenty-three days, since he'd managed any sort of sexual activity. Surely his body couldn't maintain itself like this indefinitely? Thankfully, Harry had not had any more wet dreams, but instead of becoming used to the situation, as he thought he would have by now, it had only become more and more frustrating for him. He returned Draco's post-coital kiss with effort, refusing to let his lover see that he was less than happy with the events, and forced down the negative feelings, allowing instead the far better image of watching Draco reach his orgasm fill his mind instead. It was a pleasant memory, certainly, but Harry wondered how long he'd be able to continue to satisfy Draco in this way. It wasn't a thought he particularly wanted to have.
"Amazing, Harry," Draco said breathlessly. He looked down, where Harry's completely uninterested cock was hanging uselessly between this thighs. "I just wish that-"
"I know," Harry said, interrupting before Draco could say what Harry was already thinking. It was always worse, somehow, coming from Draco, like Harry was letting him down or something. "Let's go to bed, shall we?"
Lily was jittery in the morning when they got up.
"I don't wanna go back to school tomorrow," she said sullenly, ignoring the bacon sandwich Harry had placed in front of her.
"Lily, you've been home for nearly three months," Harry reasoned, "and we've loved having you home, and are going to miss you more than you'll know, but you need to go back to school, OK? Hermione's a great teacher, but it's all theory-based. You need to be where you can perform magic again. Plus I'm back to work on Monday. And surely you've missed Naomi?"
"Yeah, I guess," Lily said, taking a bite of her bacon sandwich. "Plus I get Quidditch again. And I s'pose I get to stare at Professor Govan again, don't I? He's taking over as Head of Slytherin this year too." Harry looked over at Draco, who was pointedly reading the Daily Prophet whilst drinking coffee, completely leaving the conversation to Harry. Harry rolled his eyes but took the conversation no further. Lily was suddenly in a better mood, and that was fine with him.
"And Teddy…"
"Dad, I'm over Teddy," Lily said, which did surprise Harry. Even Draco put down the paper at that. "Naomi said he was 'emotionally immature' and that he didn't deserve me, and I agree with her, so I've decided to move on. Plus, Wayne Brixey, the Ravenclaw Seeker, is well fit."
"'Wayne'?" Draco said, finally putting down the paper, a look of disgust on his face. "You actually want to date somebody called Wayne?"
"It's not Teddy, so that's fine with me," Harry said happily. "Come on, Lily, we'd better pack your trunk. We've got lunch at The Burrow and dinner at Andromeda's with your grandparents today, remember? You won't have time to pack later."
Lily groaned but did as she was told. In fact, she had done such a good job that Harry took pity on her after a while and packed the remaining items for her in about three seconds with a casual flick of his wand. It was symbolic, packing her things. Like she was removing all trace of herself from their lives for four months until Christmas. Harry swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. As a child, he'd counted down the days until it was time for him to leave the Dursleys and return to school. But of course, then he hadn't loved someone so fiercely that it felt as if part of himself was missing when they weren't there. It had only been once he'd become a parent that he'd truly appreciated just how much he'd been a victim of neglect as a child.
Lunch at the Weasleys was slightly awkward, but pleasant enough. Molly had cooked enough to feed an entire army, and all the Weasley kids plus Lily and Teddy who were off to Hogwarts were present. Ginny and Neville's twin boys had turned eleven mid-August so they were starting too; Ginny had apologised profusely for Frank's revelation at the barbeque, but Harry just didn't have it in him to blame the boy. He was only a child- innocent in his eyes.
In total there were seven of the family's kids off to school- Teddy being the eldest (who'd be starting his fifth year), followed by Lily and Victoire, then Fred the Second (as George called him), Frank and Jack, and, lastly, Dominique, Bill and Fleur's second daughter, who was also starting for the first time. After Molly had clung to all the children in turn, sobbing, and told them all that she was going to be 'empty' inside (at which point George told his mum off for being so melodramatic, and pointed out she never behaved like that whenever any of her own children went off to school), Harry rescued Lily and Teddy from her clutches and travelled by Floo to Andromeda's house, for the goodbye dinner with the Malfoys.
Harry and Narcissa had a formed wonderful relationship over the years and were extremely comfortable with one another, but he and Lucius had just never managed to cross that line. There was far too much tainted history between them to extend further than a stiff handshake and addressing each other as 'Mr Potter' and 'Mr Malfoy'. Still, it was a pleasant evening filled with laughter and games, and by the time Harry, Draco and Lily arrived home, Lily was almost asleep.
"Bed," Draco said. "Come on, Lily bud, it's a busy day tomorrow." She didn't protest and, once she was sound asleep, Harry and Draco collapsed into their own bed, exhausted.
"I hate it when she leaves for school," Harry said, curled on his side. "I'm going to really miss her."
"Me, too," Draco replied. "She belongs at Hogwarts though."
"I know. Doesn't make it any easier for us though."
"Night, Harry," Draco said, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "Sleep well."
Harry knew, however, that- despite his tiredness- he wouldn't. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, hoping that the morning wouldn't arrive too quickly, and that he'd get to keep Lily at home with him, just for a little bit longer.