Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, etc. etc. etc.
Ok, there is a kiss. But that's all for now. I'm sorry guys, you're just going to have to bear with me while the boys piece their relationship back together. I have to think of what to do next...
Also, sorry this chap is so long, I just started writing and kept writing.
At exactly two o'clock in the afternoon, Draco and Remus both jumped when they heard the snap of someone apparating into the room. Harry appeared before them dressed in all black. The black made him look even more thin and pale than when Remus had seen him the night before. Draco noted that Harry was wearing his now long black hair in a pony tail. The length had indeed finally caused Harry's hair to become tamable. The look in Harry's eyes chilled Draco to the bone. Draco thought to himself, 'Maybe this was a bad idea.' But they were in it now and there was no turning back.
"Hello Harry," said Remus. "Why don't you have a seat?" He gestured to the chair next to Draco's. Harry took in a deep breath and made an effort to walk in a straight line to the chair. He had realized too late that he had drunk one to many fire whiskeys at lunch and was now trying to remain calm and in control. He slowly sat down next to Draco. Draco had watched Harry walk to the chair and knew that Harry was drunk.
'Great, a drunk and angry Harry,' Draco thought to himself.
"Do you have the papers for me to sign?" Harry asked quietly.
"Yes," said Remus pulling out a small packet of papers. "These papers put the house in Draco's name. You might want to read-"
"Where do I sign?" Remus sighed and turned to the back page.
"Just sign on the line here," he said pointing to the line on the left that had Harry's name printed under it. Harry pulled out a quill and quickly signed it. "And Draco, you need to sign right here." Draco took the quill that Harry offered and signed the line with his name printed under it. "All right then, the house is now in Draco's name. When do you want to sell it?"
"As soon as I get everything cleared out." Harry suddenly started thinking about all the things he had left at the house. His trunk, his owl, his clothes, his favorite boots, and now he began to wonder how Draco would get everything out.
"How will you... what are you..." Draco and Remus both waited patiently as Harry's fuzzy brain tried to come up with the words that he wanted to say. "What are you going to do with all the stuff that is still in the house?"
"I hadn't really thought about it. I was going to sort through my things first, throw away anything that won't fit in a small apartment."
"What about the stuff I left there?" Draco realized then that Harry had left a lot of stuff at the house.
"I... I hadn't thought about it to be honest. I guess I would put it all together in a trunk and give it to Remus to send to you."
"Well, how do you know what all to get?"
"Harry, I did live with you for a while and I think I know-"
"No, no you don't know. Now look, I'm going to the house to sort through my things myself so they will be out of your way. It should only take me a few hours."
"As you wish, Harry." Harry stood up from his chair.
"I'll only be a few hours."
"Do you want to be alone?"
"It's your house Draco, come and go as you please." Harry apparated away and left Remus and Draco sitting in his office in slight bewilderment.
"Oh no..." said Remus suddenly.
"What?" said Draco. But before Remus could respond they both heard a crash and turned to see a crumpled Harry on the floor.
"It's your house, Draco," said Remus. "Harry can't apparate in anymore."
"Oh bugger!" Draco shouted and started to run to Harry but then Harry held one hand up.
"No, don't get up," he said still not looking up. "I should have thought of that. Stupid magical guards and all that crap."
"I was about to go back anyway. I can apparate you there." Harry thought for a moment and rubbed his aching head.
"Yeah, all right." He slowly stood up and held out his hand. Draco felt his mouth go dry. He stood up, crossed the room, and carefully took Harry's hand before Harry could change his mind. He quickly apparated the both of them back to what was once their house.
When they got there, Harry stumbled backwards a step causing Draco to squeeze Harry's hand a little tighter and with his other hand gently grabbed Harry's other arm to steady him.
"I hate apparating," he muttered to himself. "Especially apparating when drunk." He then realized that Draco was the one keeping him from falling over and straightened himself up. "Sorry about that, Draco."
"It's all right." Draco slowly and regretfully pulled himself away from Harry. Draco was just astounded that Harry was in the house again. "Do you need any help-"
"I'm not an invalid I can get up the stairs."
"I meant, do you need any help sorting things out?" Harry paused.
"Not really. I don't think I do." Harry slowly started to climb the stairs leaving Draco on the first floor.
"Well, let me know if you need any help," Draco called after him. Harry responded with a salute and continued on up the stairs. It had been so long since Harry had been there. And yet, it still felt so familiar. Draco had kept almost everything the same as it had been. Nothing had changed. It seemed so surreal to Harry that he ran his fingertips along the walls just to be certain they were real. He touched objects that he used to touch all the time to be certain that this wasn't a dream. He really was back in his home again. Harry opened the door to their bedroom and peaked in. The bed was perfectly made and everything had a thin layer of dust on it. Dust? Harry realized that Draco hadn't been in the room in years most likely. Everything had been left exactly the way Harry had left it three years ago. He sat down on the bed feeling tired and started to look around and plan.
"The bed side tables, the couch, the bed, that trunk... that painting... that mirror... the-" And suddenly Harry felt the breath knocked out of him even though no one had hit him physically. He had turned his head to look at the other table. The note he had left for Draco was still there with a fine layer of dust on it. The purple marble was still there. But Draco's marble was gone. The tears that Harry had been holding back now seemed to be demanding to be shed. Harry turned back and looked up at the open doorway. Draco stood frozen in the doorway. He had been caught peering in on Harry.
"I'm... I'm sorry..." Harry whispered. He whispered it so softly Draco almost didn't hear it. But when he was certain of what Harry had said, Draco felt his knees weaken and his heart melt. "I'm so... so sorry Draco. I'm sorry." Draco took in a deep breath. He began reminding himself in his head,
'Do not run into his arms, do not fall to your knees before him, he's the one who left, he's the one who needs to apologize, he's the one who needs to explain himself, and I must say everything I need to say before I let this man near my heart again. Too bad he's all ready in my heart and always will be.'
"Sorry for what?" Draco said trying to remain calm. He had screamed these words at Harry so many times in his head and he wanted to keep from screaming them now.
"I'm sorry that I left. I'm sorry that I cast a Confundus Spell on you at the last meeting. I'm sorry I cast a sleeping spell on you so that you wouldn't be at the battle. I'm sorry that I left you behind. I'm sorry that I kept you from doing something you wanted to do. I'm sorry that I did what I did. I wanted to make sure you would be safe."
"And you didn't trust me to keep myself safe?" Draco could feel the anger rising inside of him.
"I was afraid." Draco felt himself start to shake. He had expected Harry to say something like, Yes I trust you, but I don't trust them or I couldn't take that risk. "I was afraid that you would die. You... you are an incredible wizard Draco. I know that you could have held your own in that battle. I know that you would have almost certainly come out of there alive."
"Almost, certainly come out alive."
"I know. That's why I did what I did. I did it because I love you and-"
"If you loved me Harry you would have let me make my own decisions and gone into battle with the rest of you."
"And I was afraid. Believe me Draco, I understand why you hate me."
"You have no idea."
"No, I do. Dumbledore kept many things from me. Many, many things that I should have known from the beginning but didn't find out until much later and after I had lost too many. He did it, he said, because he wanted to protect me. I remember how I hated him then. I trashed his office even." Draco looked at Harry astounded.
"You? You trashed Dumbledore's office?"
"I did. Smashed many things and screamed at him."
"What did he do?"
"Remained calm as usual. Told me to keep destroying his things, he had far too many. I know you're angry with me Draco. I knew that you would be angry with me when I did it. I knew you would probably hate me for years, maybe even decades. That's why I went away when the battle was over and I was surprisingly left still alive. I should have died so many times before."
"But you didn't."
"No, I didn't. I guess I keep amusing the fates enough that they keep letting me stick around. Draco, I'm sorry for a thousand things. But I am more sorry about betraying you than you can ever imagine." The two stared into each other's familiar eyes for what seemed like an eternal silence.
"I can't forgive you, Harry," said Draco slowly. "Not today."
"One day?" said Harry with a small note of hope.
"Perhaps. Just not today."
"I wasn't expecting miracles. Just a chance."
"A chance at what?"
"A chance that... maybe, one day, you could forgive me and we could be together again."
"Harry..."
"I know, I've betrayed you. I betrayed your trust and broke promises and let you sit in the dark for three years. And I know it doesn't make a difference right now for me to say I'm sorry. But I am. And I know I don't deserve to even be speaking to you after everything I've done. I expected to be hexed on the spot when I came to Remus's office today. But I miss you. I miss you terribly. All I want is a chance Draco. And if I mess it up again or you don't want me around all you have to do is tell me and I'll go. But I want to try to regain your trust again. I want to try to build back what we had before we tear it down completely."
"Harry..." Draco finally moved from the doorway, across the room, and sat down next to Harry on the bed. "For three years I've waited for you to come back. At first, I wanted to hurt you, beat you to a pulp, scream at you, all kinds of things. But I probably would have killed you. And how would that look? The bad boy turned good finally shows his true nature and kills the great Harry Potter in a fit of homicidal rage. That would have destroyed all the good that was about to happen. Slowly but surely, I calmed down. I realized that you wouldn't have done what you did without a reason. I knew the reason had to be some combination of you were afraid I would die and that you loved me. I never thought you would admit to the being afraid part though. I knew there had to be a reason. But I also knew, that no matter what the reason, you still betrayed me and you still hurt me very badly. Unfortunately, I still love you. It seems no matter how much I hated you and still hate you, I can't stop that from happening. So, yes Harry. You get a chance. But only one. If you betray me, or hurt me again, I will evict you from my life and never let you back in again. Do you understand me?"
"Yes. Yes, Draco I understand." Draco nodded and stared at his shoes.
"Where have you been living this whole time?"
"In my secret house in Ireland."
"Remus knew?"
"He was the only one who knew."
"Then it's probably best that he never told me. You probably made him swear to never tell me."
"No, I told him that he could tell you, but only if you asked him a certain way." Draco turned and stared at Harry would a look of confusion.
"So that's why Remus told me that whole cryptic 'That depends on how you ask me' thing. How was I supposed to ask him?"
"I won't tell you, you'll have to figure it out one day." Harry stood and started walking to the door.
"Are you leaving?"
"No, I'm not leaving. I want a cup of coffee." Draco shook his head at his own insecurity and quietly chuckled.
"Sorry... I just-"
"It's all right Draco. Would you like some too?"
"Sure. I'll be right down." Harry walked out of the room and Draco listened to him slowly clomp down the stairs. "Only one chance left, Harry. Please don't fuck this one up." Draco walked out of the door and quietly shut it.
"Fuck!" he heard Harry's voice shout from below. He quickly ran down the stairs and saw Harry holding his hand with a rag wrapped around it.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing, it's nothing."
"Let me see it."
"What are you? A nurse now?"
"Now and again when you insist on being a baby, now let me see." Draco unwrapped Harry's hand and saw a large burn across his palm.
"That's what I get for trying make coffee..."
"While drunk? I heard you earlier." Draco reached into a cabinet and pulled out a green bottle. "C'mere, and sit down." Harry sat down across from Draco at the kitchen table and rested his hand palm up on the table. "This is going to sting." He poured the green liquid over the burn and Harry whispered in parsel tongue,
"God that stings!"
"What?" said Draco.
"Sorry, just saying that it stings."
"I warned you." Draco rubbed the medicine in with a cloth and then wrapped it up. "I'll get the coffee." Draco poured the coffee from his coffee pot into the two cups that Harry had pulled out. He put the coffee cup down in front of Harry and sat down across from him with his own coffee cup.
'Ok, we can do this,' Draco thought to himself. 'This could work. Just take it slowly.'
"Sorry I showed up to all of this intoxicated. Had one too many fire whiskeys at lunch."
"Why is that? You never drank at lunch before."
"I thought I could use it today. I was... nervous about seeing you again."
"I wasn't going to kill you."
"Draco, you could look at me and kill me with your eyes if you wanted to. I know that I have no defenses against your eyes. Not even alcohol. Getting a little drunk just keeps me from falling apart." Harry sipped on the coffee slowly.
"But now you're sobering up."
"It had to happen eventually. I was intending on sobering up at home... but then I started thinking about everything that I had here and I just wanted to get everything done." They sipped their coffee in silence for a little while. "So, have you found a flat yet?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I found one that I really like. And with the money I'll get from selling the house I'll be able to pay at least the first six month's rent." Harry nodded. "Unless, you want-"
"It's your house now Draco. I signed it over to you. Besides, I have all the money I need." Draco nodded and both went back to sipping their coffee. Once Harry was done with his he stood up from the table.
"I'm going to finish packing up everything," said Harry calmly. "I'll let you know when I'm leaving." Harry started walking away, but he stopped when he heard Draco say,
"You could stay, if you like." Harry sighed and covered Draco's free hand with his.
"Draco, I don't want to mess this up. So, I'm going home tonight. But tomorrow I want to take you out to dinner. I want to court you properly this time and gain the right to be with you." Harry squeezed his hand gently and went upstairs. Draco still sat at the table. He felt like an electric bolt had passed through him. He heard Harry quietly packing things upstairs and getting ready to go back to his house. This wasn't exactly how he had expected the afternoon to go. He had imagined shouting matches, curses thrown back and forth, running into each other's arms and making love all day, never talking, just forgiving everything without question, and burying all feelings under mountains of sex. But that wasn't possible in the real world. It never was.
Three hours later, Harry came down the stairs with a trunk in hand in which he had shrunk down everything that was his and put it in the trunk. Draco was sitting in the front room with a glass of brandy in his hand.
"Well, this is everything that I want to keep. Everything else is yours." Draco stood up and set his drink on one of the side tables. "I'll come back here around five. You should keep this." Harry held out the purple marble.
"Maybe you should keep it."
"You're the one who kept it all this time."
"And you're the one who left it behind." Harry shook his head.
"All right, I don't want to argue. I'll keep it." Harry put it in his pocket. Draco held his hand out to Harry. Harry took it, fully intending to just shake it for a moment, but then he pulled Draco to him and the two hugged each other tightly. Both sighed with relief.
"I promise Draco. I'll be back tomorrow." Draco nodded and slowly started to pull away from him. Harry touched Draco's face and tenderly kissed him on the forehead. Harry then picked up the trunk and walked out the door. Draco heard the snap of someone apparating away. He walked back to his chair and sat down.
"Did it work?" asked Remus as he stepped out from the shadows. Draco almost jumped three feet in the air.
"You have got to stop doing that you know. You scare me."
"Sorry. I didn't want to take the chance of Harry seeing me. So?"
"He's coming back tomorrow to take me out to dinner. He's letting me sell the house still and get a flat. He says he wants to court me properly this time."
"Those were the words he used?"
"Well, we didn't really date the first time so much as fall into bed with each other and then fall in love with each other."
"Sounds like he's making the smart move this time."
"He seems to be."
Draco sipped on his brandy and stared into the flames. He hoped that Harry wouldn't disappoint him this time.