Okay, to any body that reads, this is my first post HBP fic. Its a random one, its in typical me style, its a lazy spark that floated in my head.
Enjoy,
Ash
The brass beneath Harry's hand reminded the twenty something man that spending time at home was a luxury very rarely taken advantage of on his behalf. His millisecond thoughts were interrupted by his own subconscious opening the door impatiently, a sign that Harry was not happy for being interrupted when he had only been home for an hour and was enjoying his solitary self.
However his mood faltered instantly as he realised the face of the other side of the door was the pale, drawn pointy face of Draco Malfoy.
"Well it certainly has been fun not seeing your face in a while!" Harry scorned playfully, his face twisted into something much like disgust which was soon changed as the smile he was holding down broke out, the same time as Malfoy's. Pulling the tall blonde into a tight hug, they burst apart laughing.
"How have you been?" Asked Draco with a silky, but deeper voice.
"Well. I have been very well!" Harry backed away so he could take in the whole of Draco, "And yourself?"
"Lying low." Draco answered truthfully, to which Harry nodded.
"Come in," Harry stepped aside, "Make yourself at home!"
Draco looked around at Harry's main hall. The room was largish, black and white tiles covered the floor, which gleamed in the acidy sunlight pouring through the clear glass window panes, which framed the front door.
"It's changed." Draco stated in reference to Harry's house. "I don't know what you have done, no visible signs of it are here. But it's changed." Draco said this more to himself than to Harry, who looked around in astonishment.
"I don't think it has, I haven't done anything to it."
"How much have you been here?" Draco asked with slight demand as his peering head snapped round to look curiously at Harry, the eyes Draco held looking upon his acquaintance with soft sadness, "How much have you been working?"
Harry blanched, looked around feverishly for an excuse but upon finding no plausible one, resigned to the truth being told. "I haven't; for about three months."
"Three months!" Draco yelled in surprise. "You live in a magically built house and you have not been in it for three months?"
Harry's face dropped into an expression of 'What?' which would be said, if the feeling vocalised, in a very rude manner. Picking up his manners, Harry stood neutrally and in turn looked blank and asked politely, "Excuse me, what do you mean?"
"These new magically built houses," Draco tapped a wall and stopped short to listen to a non existent sound, "Often come with complications and pit falls. Because the core of the house relies on a regular magical input, when it is deprived of that flow of energy, everything that relies on the magic core becomes drained, deflated and… sick."
Harry stood back a little from Draco, looking as if he had been described with a serious illness, right out of the blue. "My house is sick?"
"Well, the walls are faltering, the staircase looks week and I bet you the sink sounds as if it is huffing when you order for the dishes to be washed.
"If I am wrong then your house needs to be cleaned. Such a problem these days, the new houses are taking over the old and yet people don't see what upkeep they must have. It's not all easy work." Draco looked at Harry pointedly, however Harry had the sudden feeling there was more to Draco's analogy and that the blonde was hinting for Harry to stop working so much.
"So you are a house doctor now or something?" Harry asked with an amused giggle.
"Yes." Draco replied. That cut Harry short in his outburst.
"Lets go sit down," Harry said with embarrassment, "What you drinking?"
Draco took off his overcoat, slid it onto the only visible coat hook and walked towards the kitchen. "Coffee please."
"You look as if you drink too much coffee." Harry jibed.
"That," Draco grinned, "Is because I do."
Harry snorted, held out his wand and issued the caffitier with the task of fixing the coffee and pouring said drink in the mugs Harry had gone on to magic out of the cupboard. As they floated towards the two young men, Draco kept an unwavering eye on the moving objects and Harry noted the calculative, analytical look in Draco's eyes.
"Yes, I knew it." Draco stated as the cups lagged themselves along the table towards their destined user.
"Knew what?" Harry asked, uncomfortable of talking about his neglected house.
"Your house; it is suffering from post-inhabitant syndrome." Draco said it as if describing a mental illness most humans, muggles and wizards alike, pop countless pills for.
Harry looked on shocked towards Draco. It seemed surreal, that this person he hadn't laid eyes on in almost two years, was sitting in his kitchen psychoanalysing his house. It seemed absurd, and that it truly was.
"What is post-inhabitat syndrome then?" Harry asked reluctantly, but feeling if he did then Draco could stop talking about the freaking cups and pots.
"It is like a honeymoon period. Say you and this house are two people who are deeply in love; one day the feeling hit rocks bottom and deeply in love now seems like a puddle of goo!
"The honeymoon period is over!"
"What?" Asked Harry with a tinge of rudeness.
"Your house Potter! It feels neglected; it doesn't think or feel that you want to be here anymore!"
"So?" Asked Harry fiercely.
"So Potter, stop taking on extra work and begin to relax a little more."
Harry double took Draco. "How did you know that I had been taking on extra shifts?"
"Because I can tell, through the walls of this place Harry. It's what I do, for some reason I can read things like this."
"Right." Harry started with caution, however couldn't find anything else to say. It seemed that Harry's words hadn't stalled the talkative Draco at all, for immediately he took over the dominance in the conversation once again.
It felt okay though, because one expects the unexpected guest to be full of stories to tell and questions to ask. It was no hidden factor that when Draco saw Harry he was always full of intrigue, however it was never this much and he was never this buzzed.
"So how is work?" Draco asked after a sip of coffee.
"Work is heavy, thick and fast yet It's all rather boring. All the same things we have always done; trying to obsolete Horcuxes, combating illegal potions, rounding up what's left of the Death Eaters.
"That's about it, and you?"
"Work is interesting. It's unbelievable what you can read about a person from the walls that surround them," Harry felt uncomfortable about this, as if Draco would be able to read his thoughts from the world around the two men, "And pay is good too; I guess some people just like tweaking their life that bad that they have to detail everything, pin point every problem."
"That is true!" Harry said in response to Draco naming the problems with his house already.
"Besides," Draco cut in before Harry had a chance to continue, "Work doesn't take up my whole life. I do a lot more and therefore have a chance to not fuss over un-important things."
Harry ignored the direct insult towards his over-working. "You have nilly-nagged over the fact I don't spent time at home by noting each flaw of my household." Okay, so Harry did bring it up again; it was getting on his nerves.
"I'm just pointing out a simple fact Harry, as a friend, that you need to relax. You are going to end up-"
"Going to end up what exactly?" Harry butted in. The past held many times in which Harry had been told to do something for whatever reason and he hated being guilted into the things he didn't want to do.
Draco went quiet, knowing it wasn't a good time to argue with the brunette, who looked upon Draco with a scowl.
"Why did you come today Draco?" Harry asked after the silence had indeed become too much.
"I wanted to see an old friend…"
"Your nervous." Accused Harry.
"Do I seem that way? I merely haven't eaten this morning." Draco sounded convincing, any normal person would have nodded and accepted that however Harry saw differently.
"You and I both know that going without one meal has never affected you! You used to miss countless if I remember correctly."
"Yeah," Draco sighed, "I remember."
"And we both know that if you were hungry you would have asked for food." Harry had lowered his rage level to zero in seconds flat.
"I know."
"So," Harry began, "Why did you come?"
XxXxX
The mutters of whispers where almost defining, and as Hermione walked past the litter of the Minister of Magic's reception and personal assistant team, she couldn't help noticing where the racket was coming from.
Roughly thirteen people were scattered behind desks in the room before Scrimgeour's, and when I say people it was more along the lines of human form of jabbering chickens.
Hermione did not like these people, they were a distraction, a waste of money and talkers. Anything you said around them was sure to be spread to friends within the Ministry.
The bushy haired, once buck-teethed, woman strode through the mass of Should be house-wives and into the Ministers office without hesitation, or invitation. Nobody questioned Hermione over her actions though, for Hermione need no invitation from the leader of Great Britain's wizarding community, for she had proved herself early on that a reliable and tough going, hard working person laid within her just eager to prove.
"Minister!" Hermione cried from outside the door, "I am coming in. You better have taken heed to my earlier letter and prepared yourself for news!" The gossiping in the office stopped suddenly, the chickens in the pen keeping every quirk of the beak unrecognised.
"Come in Hermione." The minister addressed back casually, a hint of amusement in his voice, even though Hermione was already opening the door.
"Minister," Hermione said exasperatedly, "It's Harry."
XxXxXx
"Harry?" Ron asked Ginny with clear uncertainty. His little sister nodded her head with full expression, eager for her brother to get the point.
"Yes," She started, leaning herself slightly over the wooden table that was big enough for twenty, "Harry!"
Ron sat back comfortably in his chair, obviously uncomfortable with Ginny's mere angry advance over the table. "I don't see how Harry has anything to do with this, who he chooses to see and what he chooses to do are his business." Ron took a triumphant look to his sister, who scowled back feverishly.
"Well Hermione told me that it could be a big deal!" She added, hoping to bring Ron over to her side of view.
"I'm not a lucky person Gin, and seeing as I have mom for a mother, Hermione for a wife and you for a sister that proves the point that I am unlucky.
"Not only that, but your all gossiping fiends that cant help but try and involve yourself in others business. Not to add that you're also jealous because that 'thing' you had with Harry didn't work out."
Ginny looked put off, but didn't say anything else.
XxXxX
"Draco?" Harry asked to the, now slumping, blonde across from him.
"I saw Hermione the other day…" Draco said absently a minute later.
"And?" Harry urged.
"I don't know," Draco looked up with a smile, "She kind of cleared a few things up for me."
Harry was confused. In fact, he had no idea what was going on, "Cleared what up?"
Draco stood and made his way to the French double doors that led to Harry's garden. He stood, with his back to the enemy he once hated and began to feel the bubble of emotion clogging up his throat.
"I…" Draco breathed deeply, "I have no where to go…"
"What?"
"I need somewhere to stay…" Draco whispered, his voice hitting Harry's ears in a muffle.
"Somewhere to what?"
Draco turned back around, his eyes filled with tears. "My mother," Draco seethed, "She asked me to leave…"
"She asked to you to leave? But you were living on your own!" Harry, still confused, squinted at the man by the door.
"I was living in a house, bought by Malfoy money."
"So, why did she ask you to leave?"
XxXxX
"Miss Granger," Scrimgeour began, "I don't believe you have much faith in Harry."
Hermione showed no emotion and instead took favour of sipping her coffee tentatively, "I hope you can understand what misery will be brought by Malfoy."
"But you said yourself you urged him to seek out Harry!" The minister was sweating slightly.
"I did, but that isn't the point. I'm saying shouldn't we just take measures to ensure no fall through on Draco's behalf?"
"I'm pretty sure," The minister soothed, "That with Harry being, not only the head of the Auror's but the soul saviour of our world, that he will be safe with whatever devil you have placed in his hands."
Hermione nodded, "I didn't tell you why Draco got kicked out?" Scrimgeour nodded. "His mother found him 'frolicking' with another man."
XxXxXx
"So?" Harry asked to Draco's response. "That's no reason to 'evict' someone!"
"No," Draco shook his head, "Not in normal society it isn't. But my mother didn't originate from a normal background did she?"
Harry considered this for a moment, and not really knowing the answer decided on agreeing anyway. "So you need somewhere to stay?"
Draco nodded but didn't reply.
"And where about do you want to be?" Harry found this conversation difficult. Although he and Draco had managed an alliance, and then a form of friendship, he had never envisaged having to help Draco out in this way. Sure, Harry had saved the man from Death Eaters, Dementors and death but having to find shelter for the man was something out of the blue.
"I don't care Harry. I can find work anywhere, I just need somewhere to start off, whilst I save enough for a house."
"Stay here then."
Silence took over as Draco gazed at Harry. Something in those blue eyes told Harry that this was rather planned out. Harry committed himself to laughing, "You can stay here, in my house, with me!" He collapsed in fIt's of hysteria.
"What's so funny?" Draco snapped subtly.
"I never, ever thought that you would be living with me!" Harry giggled.
"We lived together for six years at school!" Draco said pointedly.
"Yeah, in a castle that could fit over five hundred people; but now in a house fit for only-"
"For ten! There is plenty of space…"
Harry composed himself and let it stay quiet for a few moments. "There are rules you know."
Draco looked offended. "What kind of rules?"
"Well; No dark active-"
"You know full well I stopped that years ago!" Snapped Draco, unafraid of being rude.
"And general politeness. And please, no hoards of friends in and out all the time." Harry finished, even though he felt there should be moresaid.
"How much is rent?" Draco asked sullenly.
"Rent? God no Draco, the fact that you could help replenish my sick house with magical energy is enough."
Draco smiled, feigning ignorance to the fact he knew that living with Harry was going to be difficult.
Now, please review!
