AN I am soooo close to finishing. I have two more chaps and an epilogue to finish up on here and then I am probably going to take a break form HP fics. HPB broke my stride on this one.
Beautiful Soul
Harry was beautiful in his sleep. Draco realized that the only reason he had any peace tonight was that he was far too exhausted to dream. The past two nights, he had been plagued by the same nightmares that Harry faced. He knew now why his lover had not come back. The hopelessness was too much for even the strongest heart. Somewhere along the line, every strand of will had been broken, but that did not make him weak. It made him human. He was the boy who had lived his life with the expectations and fears of an entire culture resting on his shoulders, and when it all came down, it crushed him in the process. Now it was time to build him back up.
The pair had flooed into Hermione's apartment that morning and hadn't stopped since. They made a tearful visit to Beth's home where they were nearly smothered to death by the older woman. She had insisted they stay for dinner. The highlight of the evening came when Beth asked if Harry would come back to work for her. Draco knew how much it meant to Harry that she was trusting him again. He had hoped Harry would join in on all the fun at the design company, but he knew that independence was what Harry wanted more than anything.
Draco reached out and began to caress the back of Harry's lame hand. It was so wonderful to be able to touch him again, to know that he really was there.
The dark haired man groaned. "Tickles," he mumbled.
"You can feel that?" Draco asked with a laugh.
Harry shrugged. "Some, it's nothing really distinct, but I can tell you touching my hand."
Draco gently kissed the palm of the hand in question. "Shall I kiss it back to life then?"
Harry let out a husky laugh. "Why not spread them around a bit? I can think of other places I'd like that mouth of yours."
Complying to that request, Draco began kissing along Harry's collarbone working his way to his nipples. He began to carefully tease each bud. "More?" He asked playfully.
"Oh God, yes!"
A smile came across Draco's face that made his scars disappear by comparison. This was what he had been waiting for. He took his time kissing and caressing each inch of Harry's body as he made his way down. His rewards came in the form of shivers and moans. Each one only made him want it more. He enjoyed every second of sucking Harry's cock. "Stop," Harry moaned. "Let me inside of you."
Draco wasted no time lubing them both up and turning over. The bonding allowed them to share every sensation. Pure pleasure coursed through them. Their heart beats almost matched perfectly as they came again and again as the night wore on. It was erotic beyond their wildest dreams. When they could go no longer, they simply laid there wrapped in each other's arms.
"There's something I have to do tomorrow," Harry said suddenly. "Will you come with me?"
"Mmmm…where?" Draco asked yawning.
"I want to go to the Burrow."
Draco was mildly shocked by that. He hadn't thought Harry was ready for that just yet. "I'll go," he agreed. "I think it's wonderful that you're going to let them know that you're alive."
Harry didn't say anymore and was asleep with in minutes.
The next morning, Draco was out of bed first and began cooking a large breakfast for them. It was painfully obvious that Harry had been skipping way to many meals. True, he had never seen Harry anything close to what could be deemed the proper weight, but currently he was unhealthily emaciated. He smiled when he thought back to the first time he saw Harry.
When he saw the dark haired boy for the first time, he had been smitten from the moment he noticed those gorgeous green eyes. At the time, he hadn't realized exactly what those feelings were yet. It was impossible to tell why his stomach fluttered the way it did when approached him. His own rudeness cost him Harry's friendship that day, but it wasn't something that he had even realized was wrong. From birth, Lucius had instilled in him the qualities that he found to be desirable. It was no lie that Draco had no inkling of what it was to love or be loved, or even to be a friend. After being rejected and having those fluttery feelings melt away into embarrassment and pain, he steeled away anything he felt at all besides his anger and hate. But Harry had managed to save him from that.
Mostly, he had blocked out the memories of the things that had been done to him when he refused the dark mark. Somehow, he pushed himself out of his own mind during that night, and went into a sort of oblivion of his own. Waking up, he found himself staring in those eyes that had once turned away from him. This time was different. This time Harry stayed by his side. He was so gentle and yet had an iron will when it came to getting Draco out of his funk. Harry taught him what friendship was, brought him into the fold of the Order. He even managed to help him and Ron burry the hatchet and become friends. Every good thing in his life led back to one thin, green-eyed boy.
"What are
you smiling about?" a groggy voice asked from behind. Harry stood
in the door way in nothing but a pair of boxers.
The blonde shook
his head. "Nothing. I hope you're hungry."
Harry raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing. There was more food on the table than ten people could eat let alone the two of them.
"Molly taught me to cook," Draco explained with a sheepish grin. "Besides, you need to put on weight."
"That explains a lot," the dark haired man said cryptically. "You never used to be this…this…never mind."
Draco frowned. "No, finish it."
"Motherly." Smiling, Harry kissed Draco's pale forehead just where the scars began.
The morning went by rather lazily. Neither of them really wanted to break the simply domesticity they had going. It was strange, but that almost meant more than anything. Being together with nothing hanging over their heads, with no fear, with no secrets between them was like a dream. Oh, that wasn't to say that they had forgotten the pain, but they had something to look forward to now.
By the time Harry was ready to go to the Burrow, it was just before dinnertime in England. Draco apparated them both to just outside the cozy little house, and stood there for a long moment waiting for Harry to make his move. The brunette had a death grip on Draco's arm. "It's too soon," he said softly. "Why don't we wait a few days?"
Harry shook his head. "No, I have to do this."
The stubborn man walked toward the door and raised his hand to knock. When the door opened, he was standing face to face with Arthur Weasley for the first time in three years. "Harry," the balding man breathed. Emotion shown in his kind eyes. "Come in."
"I…" Harry began.
"She's in the kitchen. We'll talk later," Arthur said.
Harry nodded and moved into the little kitchen with Draco only a step behind. Molly Weasley was standing at the stove stirring a pot of stew. She turned when she heard the new footsteps, and then it seemed time had stopped. No one moved or even took a breath for what seemed like forever. Slowly, the older woman began to move forward. "Harry, is that really you?" she asked.
All Harry could do was nod. That was all it took for Molly to launch herself at Harry and wrap him in an ironclad hug. Returning the embrace, tears flooded his eyes. Molly, who was crying as well, pushed him away to get a better look at him and then pulled him tight again. She did this one more time, but this time, she held him at arms length for a moment. Though she didn't say anything, her lips moved as though she were giving a silent little prayer. Then, a CRACK filled the room. Harry stood there still as stone before raising a hand to the cheek that she had slapped. He had no time to do more as he was once again in loving arms.
"Don't you EVER do that again! I thought I'd lost you like everyone else. Do you hear me? Don't you ever just disappear again!" she cried.
"I won't," he promised. "It was wrong to go, I know that now, but there were things I needed to deal with on my own."
That afternoon, they sat around the table as Harry told them the entire tale of why he had left and what he had done in the muggle world. Draco got the impression that Mrs. Weasley didn't entirely understand the gravity of his addiction to oxy, but he did see Arthur's eyes darken for a second. Reaching out, Draco took Harry's hand and squeezed tight. There was no need to ask how his lover was feeling; he already knew that Harry was ashamed and scared.
When Harry had said all that he needed to, the Weasley's exchanged looks. Finally, Arthur spoke: "We understand, Harry. You were always like one of our own, and that was how we mourned you. Having you back is like having one of our sons walk through that door again."
Molly sobbed loudly. "You're back now. That's all that matters. And soon as can be we'll get you healthy again."
With that, an assortment of food appeared on the table that could be likened to a feast a Hogwarts on a slightly larger scale. Harry laughed. "I have missed your cooking."
That evening, Draco laid in Harry's arms contentedly. "I'm glad you decided to go," he told him.
Sighing deeply, Harry agreed, "Now, I can begin life over again. And it's all because of you. Do you have any idea what you mean to me, Draco?"
The blonde nodded firmly. "I do, because you did that for me once too. That and because we are part of each other…and not just because of that potion either. You are my soul."
Harry smiled. "Who would have thought that we would end up together?"
Draco lifted
his chin high. "I did. I always knew that you secretly adored
me."
Kissing him passionately, Draco felt the rush of his own
blood and the intensity of Harry's desire, but there was more he
wanted to do before they went back to bed. He stood up. "Come on.
There's somewhere I want to take you."
The two walked the streets of New York hand in hand. How long Draco had dreamed of this! He grinned like an excited schoolboy.
"Where are we going anyway?" Harry asked.
"You'll see," Draco told him. They walked for a while longer before they stopped in front of a jazz club. "Here."
Inside, they were met by a beautiful woman in a black dress….one that he personally had designed. She smiled at the pair. "I was wondering where you've been."
Draco beamed at her. "Eva, may I introduce you to Harry Potter. Harry, this is Eva Bell."
Eva reached out a manicured hand. "Pleased to meet you. Both of you, order whatever you want on the house tonight. This is a special night."
At the table, Harry was quiet for a moment. "Did you bring many dates here?"
Draco's mouth nearly fell open. "Harry, there was never anyone else."
"I know this may seem odd, but why not? When I was away, I kept telling myself that you would be happy with someone else. That if you thought I was dead, you would move one," Harry explained.
Closing his eyes, Draco tied to think of the best way to explain it. "For the first year, I was in a deep depression. I barely left the house. You were all I could think of. After that, there just never was anyone. I had the business, and I had my friends. It didn't matter to me that I didn't have a boyfriend."
Harry nodded, but Draco could tell that his lie hadn't sufficed.
Luckily, the music began shortly there after. Romantic strains of the sultry sound floated through the dining room, and for once it didn't make Draco reminisce. He had what he wanted right in front of him. Looking back wasn't important, not when compared to what he had now. The sparkling green eyes staring at him were all he could ever ask for. So many nights, Draco had sat at this table wishing. Dreams came true.
After the last song had finished, they began their walk back to the apartment. Draco didn't want to break the feeling by hailing a cab, but then he heard something that changed his mind.
Two older teenage boys walked passed them snickering. "I didn't know Freddie Kruger was a fag," one said to the other.
Harry's face turned red. If Draco hadn't had a tight hold on his good arm, he had the feeling Harry would have gone after them. "I'm used to it," Draco told him plainly.
Not another word was said until they were safely inside Draco's apartment. "Why wouldn't you let me say anything?"
Draco shrugged. "What would it change? I'm ugly, deformed, scarred, and I always will be. People will always stare and be rude. I've come to terms with it."
"No," Harry said.
"No? Harry, I've been down this road before. There is nothing magic can do for it, and given what happened when Arthur tired muggle medicine on magic wounds, I'm not willing to take that big of a risk. I'll look like this forever." He looked away. "I thought you accepted me scars and all?"
"You don't understand."
Anger built in his gut. "No, I understand perfectly. You didn't think you'd be stuck forever with a hideous freak."
"Shut up, Draco!" Harry yelled. His jaw was set firmly. "I didn't mean it like that. What I meant was that you are not ugly at all. I can't believe that you would ever think that you were. You are the most beautiful man I have ever seen."
"Harry, don't lie to me like that," Draco pleaded.
Harry shook his head. "You are beautiful. Whether the rest of the world sees it or not, you are perfect to me. The scars are only something that matters when someone doesn't know you. And if anyone knows where to find real beauty, all they have to do is look in your eyes."
"I love you, Harry."
"And I love you. I'm going to make sure you never doubt that, or that you are beautiful. Do you believe me?"
Draco nodded. "I believe you. This is the way things were meant to be."
