Not a minute later Lindsey came in with her cart and a look of disgust.
"Mr. Malfoy." She spat.
"Lindsey." I replied, causing her to glare at me.
"Beckendolf wanted me to give you these." She let go of the cart and walked out. I blinked at where she once stood. What is with people trusting me? I never thought this could possibly happen to me. I mean...don't they know who I am? Draco Malfoy. Sick, twisted, trash, beneath them all, and yet Hermione, Potter, Beckendolf, and even Kingsley seems to trust me. It's like the world's gone mental or something. Regardless, I walked over to the cart and looked at what I was given before starting to apply salves. Wordlessly I accio'd a Dr. Pepper from the fridge and made it pour itself into eight different cups, then discard itself. Next I had the potions empty themselves in each cup and took Potter's other arm, repeatedly applying salves. The cups danced their way over to Potter and he grabbed them one at a time with his free hand downing them. When he was finished I moved onto his chest.
"Why did you lie to Hermione?" Potter asked breaking the silence.
"I didn't want her making a big deal out of it." I responded absentmindedly.
"How did you do that...with the drinks? I thought it took years to do wandless magic to that extent."
"Well I've had some years, haven't I? Three years hulled up in the manor with nothing to do, one year with no wand till we could go out and buy a new one without fear of getting hexed." Potter went wide-eyed.
"I still have your wand!" He yelled out as I moved onto his legs. "I'm so sorry." he told me. I sent him a perplexed look.
"Why?" I asked. After a few seconds he spoke again.
"What do you mean why? Potter asked.
"Well, you did disarm me.-"
"You practically threw it to me. You could have easily blocked that, I've seen you deul in class before.
"That's besides the point. Potter, you still disarmed me." I moved to his other leg. "Then there's the fact that I'm your childhood bully er...or well...one of them anyway." Potter blushed but I didn't notice, too involved in making sure I got every wound on his leg and didn't hurt him in the process. " I'm also an ex-deathe-"
"EX!" He cut me off loudly. I started to flip him over.
"Since you're 'constantly awaiting the next hit' because of the Dursley's. I'd think you of all people would know one's past isn't easy to forget." I waited a few seconds then took his silence to be begrudged agreement. "And to top it all off, we were never good friends, you owed me nothing, especially since you gave my mother and I our lives.." There were a few minutes of silence as I finished up his back, then flipped him back over.
"I'm giving Ron my Gringotts key tonight and he's getting your wand." Potter said decidedly. I froze, shaken to the bone.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because the past, is in the past. Now you're my friend and friends give back friend's borrowed wands."
"I..." I tried to speak, but no words came to mind.
"Now help me up so I can use the loo." He told me. I chuckled softly to myself, He sure was something. I moved over to help him up. We slowly but surely walked to the bathroom.
"Call me if you need me." I told him and then began to prepare some brunch. First, I started by frying up some thin potatoes using way too much grease. Then, I started making some pancakes and pulled out a large canister of whipped cream. Magic is fantastic. It makes everything get done in minutes.
"Are you cooking?" Potter asked, confusion clear in his voice.
"Yup." I replied. He opened the door. I turned the heat down and quickly moved over to help him, while magically keeping the food from burning. With a small wave of my hand behind me I started a pot of coffee and tea.
"What are you making?" He asked. I could hear the note of uncertainty.
"Well," I started, "as I said before I'm not the healthiest of roommates so we got some very greasy home fries and pancakes. Plus whipped cream because, who doesn't love whipped cream? He smiled as I helped him onto the bed.
"No one I know." He responded. I smiled. This would probably be the first real food he's eaten since he returned from Dunningham's world of hell. I went back to my makeshift kitchen and watched over the food. The refreshments finished before the food, so I poured myself a cup of hot tea and put ice, coffee and an umbrella straw in a tall glass for Potter. He laughed when I handed it to him.
"I figured this would be like paradise, at least comparatively, and if you're in paradise you need umbrella straws." He laughed, a genuine smile filling his face. I blinked. He had a sorta...sexy smile. I'd never noticed it before. What. Hold the potion. Did I actually just think that! Maybe I need a medi-healer. I'm obviously going insane.
"What?" Potter asked and I realized I'd been staring.
"Oh, uh nothing, you just, have pretty eyes." I closed my eyes in shame. Did I really just try to hide the fact that I found his SMILE attractive by telling him his EYES are attractive! Could I be stupider?
"Thanks." he said smiling.
Potter's P.O.V
I smiled as I sipped my coffee. Malfoy thinks I have pretty eyes. I couldn't keep my smile off my face. "They're my mother's." I said happily.
"So I've heard." He smiled. I blushed. Of course he has. I suddenly wanted to change the subject and quickly voiced the first thing that popped into mind. "So what made you decided to breakup with Blaise?" I asked. He stiffened like he did when I told him I was happy for him earlier. Suddenly I got a bad feeling in my gut.
"I didn't." He replied putting some home fries and pancakes on one plate handing it to me before starting to make his own.
"Oh, shite, Malfoy, I'm so sorry." He shrugged then handed me the whipped cream. I took it sheepishly.
"It's not your fault Potter." Somehow that didn't make me feel any better.
"Do you want to tell me about it?" I asked. He thought about it.
"I'll tell you if you tell me some of what happened to you." He finally replied. I winced.
"That bad?" I asked sarcastically. I wasn't expecting him to grimace and nodded.
"If you don't think it's close to bad enough you don't have to tell me anything." He amended as he fixed his own plate and turned to look at me. He looked slightly broken. Maybe I could finally help him, not just get others to help him.
"Alright." I responded. He nodded and took a deep breath. The morning they found you, four days ago, Hermione, Mother and I got a surprise visitor for breakfast. Blaise had news he was just dying to tell us about. Knew we would be besides ourselves with joy for him. He had just proposed to Astoria Greengrass the night before."
"WHAT!?" I exploded in outrage. Draco nodded enthusiastically.
"They're supposed to get married this spring!"
"It's Winter now!" I cried, outraged.
"Oh, I know!" Malfoy said, getting animated. "But that's not the worst of it." Malfoy said.
"What else did that bastard do?" I asked.
"When I got mad he started talking to me like I was a first year."
"The actual fuck!" I cried.
"I know! He then told me we were never going to have a future together, but we'd been together for seven years!"
"That's insane! Did he ever even tell you he's bi?"
"No, but he has cheated on me with plenty of girls, but that's still not the worst of it." Draco told me.
"How else could he have possibly fucked up?" I questioned, almost not wanting to know the answer.
"He then told me he isn't gay. At all."
"Did you tell him that when you fuck a guy it's a little gay?"
"He told me that's why he never let me fuck him, only the other way around. That it's also the reason he never touched me intentionally."
"First, that's just wrong in and of itself." I told him.
"Tell me about it!" He cried. "Then-" He swallowed thickly. "I told him kissing...kissing was in and of itself gay and he said-." He cleared his throat and squeezed the bridge of his nose. I'll kill Blaise, he'd better hope he never meets me again. "He said-" Draco's voice was heavy with emotion. "That I was girlier-" He took a deep breath. "Than my mother."
"How DARE HE!" I yelled fuming.
"RIght! Like you don't do that to people." Draco said, his voice wavering. He quickly looked at the ceiling and blinked a bunch. Fair is fair, I told myself before steeling my nerves.
"Instead of using protego I used myself as a human shield for one of our field workers. He used Incarcerous but it was a modified spell, I watched his wand movement, it was different. It wrapped me in ropes like I was a mummy, I couldn't talk, see, or move a fraction of an inch. I felt myself being pulled forwards, then someone grabbed me, lifting me. I felt a wand being pushed into my neck. Ron pulled back the other Aurors and left in an attempt to save me. I ruined the whole mission. Then after they all disappeared, Dunningham started bragging about how he knew his plan was going to work. He knew it. He said that my blood helped Voldemort and that they would have a feast." I growled. Suddenly I couldn't stop talking, everything came tumbling out of my mouth. I told him the worst of the worst. The blood stained lips, drinking my own blood, hanging from my feet to drain better. The fact that someone successfully, ate a part of me, taunting me with the care they took to keep my blood supply steady. The horror of being tied over an inflatable blue pool, before stabbing me nine different times, the cold that went straight to my bones, and the heat that burned at my nerve endings. Everything...everything between each terror. Tears were streaming down my cheeks. When I finally realized my eyes were closed I felt a nice warmth that was slowly warming the chilling fear that the memories brought about, the center point was to my right. When I opened my eyes I saw Draco Malfoy sitting on my bed hugging me. I froze stiffly in shook.
"You have to know that getting captured was not, under any circumstances your fault."
"The mission failed because of me." He deadpanned.
"The mission failed because Dunningham had a better plan." He told me.
"No." I rebuked.
"Yes." He quickly responded, hugging me even tighter. "You just told me he knew his plan would wor-"
"No! Jackson stepped out before we got to the correct count!"
"Maybe Dunningham used imperio or effugere(latin for side-step.) to make Jackson move early-"
"No…" I said softly.
"Even if he didn't, than Jackson is the one who messed up the mission."
"No." I said stronger. Silence filled the air. I thought he'd given up, that'd I won and we both just accepted that I was a fuck-up.
"Why do you think everything's your fault?" Draco asked softly. I took a sharp breath.
"Isn't it obvious?" I asked, my tears filling my eyes once again.
"Not even slightly." He answered, shaking his head slightly.
"You don't just abuse a kid for no reason. I mean, it was constant. I called Aunt Petunia mum once. That's how I got the stab wound on my shoulder. Ron and Hermione had their lives in danger every year because some mad-man wanted to kill me. Neville got abused by Snape because he also could have possibly been the 'chosen one', but Voldemort killed my parents instead, killing the 'love' of Snape's life, so he tormented me for that, and because of who my dad was. Voldemort killed my parents to kill me! They're dead because of me! Second year Ginny got possessed by part of Voldemort's soul to destroy me. Third year I let Peter Pettigrew escape, causing Sirius to have to go into hiding. Fourth year Cedric...oh merlin, Cedric! If I had just taken the portkey myself. or if Voldemort hadn't come to kill me at all, he would still be alive. Fifth year I almost got Mr. Weasley killed and I actually managed to get my Own Godfather Killed. Not to mention I'm the reason Dumbledore left Hogwarts. What was I Thinking, naming it Dumbledore's Army. Sixth year, I almost Killed you. I Almost Killed You!" He rubbed my arms, trying to comfort me. "Then I tried to kill Snape even thought Dumbledore trusted him, but NO, I know best. I got them both killed...Seventh year, I constantly put Ron and Hermione in danger, along with everyone else, because I ran. Mad-eye and Hedwig died trying to protect me. All those students who had to face the Carrow twins. I Could Not Save Them Then So Many People Died Trying To Protect Me. ME! And I Couldn't Save Them! All Those People! Gone and it's all my fault. Hermione getting tortured, Teddy growing up parentless, George losing his twin. And Now! I ruin the mission, my 'FAMILY' Destroys The Lives Of Others! I DESERVE EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED TO ME, EVERYTHING THING DUNNINGHAM EVER DID TO ME!"
"HARRY!" A voice finally cut through the panic that was wreaking havoc in my mind. I snapped out of my pity party and rubbed my eyes roughly, hoping that would help calm me back into sensibility.
"Sorry, I got a little carried away there." I said, and even tried to throw in a little chuckle at the end. He grabbed me by the face and looked me dead in the eyes. His face inches from mine.
"Your Aunt and Uncle are terrible people, but you didn't make them terrible people, they did. Voldemort-" My eyes widened and my jaw dropped at his word choice. "Yes, Voldemort, killed people, not you. Your friends, made the decision, to be friends with you, you didn't put them under imperio, they made their own decisions. Ginny's possession was my father's fault. Pettigrew got away because Greyback bit Lupin as a child, and it just so happened to be a full moon that night. Seriously it's almost as if it was like...movie level perfect, or something, but again, that's not your fault. Fourth year Voldemort put you in the TriWizard competition, and you didn't make Cedric grab the cup, or make Voldemort kill him. You honored his last wish. Fifth year, Voldemort attacked Mr. Weasley and Voldemort tricked you-"
"I could have learned occ-"
"Not with Snape's teaching methods." He quickly cut me off. "And Umbridge used illegal substances on students which made Dumbledore leave, not you.Sixth year, is hardly worth mentioning, you didn't mean it and you didn't even know what the spell did. Seventh year, you did not run, you were slowly, but surely, destroying Voldemort. Hermione's torturing wasn't your fault, it was Lovegood, who gave you up and Bellatrix, who raised that wand. Lupin and Tonks could have stayed at home, but they choose to go to the battle of Hogwarts, to fight, not because of you, but because they wanted a better future for everyone. You have saved countless lives. There can't be no casualties when a crazed man with too much power goes off the deep end, but Harry that is NOT your fault." He panted heavily looking deep into my eyes, pleading with me to believe him and his passionate rant. I wanted to, it would have been so nice to see things like that, but I just...I can't. He pulled back from my face and moved to sit in my lap, accidently straddling me. "And what the Dursleys did to me is on the Dursleys. Not. You."
"I, uh…" I said staring at where he was seated. He blushed and quickly got off of me. A slight breeze chilled me and suddenly I wished he was back on my lap, holding me. I mentally shook my head. I'm losing all sense of sound mind.
"Oh merlin! Is that the time! I got to take a shower. Holler if you need me." Draco said running into the bathroom, a bag floating along behind him.
"Ok." I replied blankly. Wait. Hold the potion, did I just think of him as Draco? I mentally rewound our conversation. Five times, five times I thought of him as Draco. And he called me Harry twice. Actually called me, Harry, twice! What was the world coming to? I thought frantically, but then I smiled. Maybe, just maybe, it was becoming a better place to be.