Weasley and Weasley arrive first, with little fanfare, at precisely eleven am. Or, rather, Percy Weasley arrives with little fanfare and Ronald Weasley arrives with a suspicious scowl on his face.
"It's very kind of you to have us, Harry," the older Weasley says, nodding officiously at Harry before turning to Draco. "Malfoy, good to see you. Ron tells me you've been working with Harry on the remodel. Is that the right word? Redesign?"
"Renovation is probably closest," Draco says. "So far we haven't had to change any walls, so we haven't needed any permits from you."
"Well, it's a good thing I'm here then," the older Weasley says. "In case you do." He winks at Draco and it's all that Draco can do not to look at him strangely. Is this what Weasley is like when he's not at work?
"No work talk, Perce," the younger Weasley says, pushing past his brother. "Hiya Harry. Malfoy." Draco figures that's as much of a greeting as he's going to get from the younger Weasley. Draco really needs to find a better name for them, because Younger and Older Weasley don't have much of a ring to them. Weasley and Weaselbee? Weasley and the Weasel? He would ask Harry for his opinion, but he's sure that Harry will tell him to call them by their given names, and Draco will do that only once he's dead.
"Shall we?" Harry asks, indicating the stairs. There are general sounds of agreement and they start up the stairs.
"Blimey," the younger Weasley says as they reach the third floor. "This is almost as bad as being at home." He indicates the stairs and Draco assumes this means he must live towards the top of that rickety house.
"And Percy's on the floor above," Harry says. The older Weasley groans. "Pick a room."
"Can I pick one on this floor?" the older Weasley asks.
"No," Harry says firmly. "You are up on the fourth floor with Oliver Wood."
"Oh, Oliver's coming?" Draco's not sure, but he thinks Weasley looks a little bit pink around the face and there's a stiffness to his shoulders that wasn't there a minute ago.
"Ron's on third with Parkinson and Viktor."
"Viktor?" the younger Weasley asks, confused. Harry shrugs.
"Yes, Viktor. About yea tall," Harry holds his hand up to indicate Krum's height. "International quidditch star, plays for Bulgaria and the Ballycastle Bats. You know, Viktor."
"Viktor Krum?" The younger Weasley's eyes go wide.
"Just for you, Ron."
"Blimey, Harry. That's brilliant." Draco notes that even in his excitement, the younger Weasley still doesn't apologize. Perhaps he did the other day, but Harry hasn't mentioned it.
"We do all get to stare at him though," Draco says. "Particularly when we're all in the indoor pool." The younger Weasley's eyes go, if anything, wider.
"Draco, that was supposed to be a surprise," Harry complains.
"Can we see it now?" the younger Weasley asks.
"No," Harry says firmly. "Now it's time to lock you in your room. If you need to use the bathroom, text me and I'll come let you out. We'll get food to you either by dropping it off, or by making it appear in the room, if we can figure out how to do that." The younger Weasley nods and walks into his room.
"See you in three days," he says.
"Text me if you need anything." Harry shuts the door behind him and then pulls a large, brass key out of his on key which he uses to lock the door. "Come on, Perce." Harry jerks his head in the direction of the stairs. Draco follows them up, and is rewarded by the older Weasley's strangled cry of alarm when he sees the posters on the walls of his room.
Unfortunately, then the doorbell rings again and they have to shut the older Weasley in quite quickly and then run down the stairs.
Longbottom and Abbott are standing outside. Longbottom is carrying a large suitcase and a potted plant. When Harry opens the door he explains that the devil's snare he's carrying is going through a transition phase and so couldn't be left alone.
"Sorry," he adds, but Harry brushes away his apology.
"Where's Walburga?" Longbottom asks. "There was no unholy racket when we rang the bell."
"Draco got her off the wall," Harry says.
"Malfoy?" Longbottom spots him then and the parts of his cheeks that Draco can see above his mask turn pink. "Oh, uh, hullo." Draco inclines his head. "Harry, and no offense Malfoy, but what's he doing here?"
"Draco's my interior designer," Harry says. "And, er, friend?" They haven't discussed how they plan to present their relationship to the others, and now Draco wishes they had. Longbottom's eyes flick to Draco briefly before returning to Harry.
"Right," he says.
"Longbottom," Draco says, walking up to the man. "I would like to apologize from the bottom of my heart for all of the pain that I caused you during school. I was an absolute terror of a child, not to mention teenager, and I know that I ended up on the wrong side of the war. I have been doing my best to make up for all my past wrongdoings, but it has only been recently that I have realized quite how beastly I was to everyone, even before the choosing of sides.
"I could say that I was just parroting my father, but that would only be partially true. While it is true that I was brought up to believe certain things — things that I now realize were prejudiced and closed minded — my upbringing does not excuse my actions.
"I am sorry for all the times that I called you a squib, behind your back or otherwise and I apologize for all the insults and fights. Words alone are not enough for an apology, so I will show you my compunction through my actions, as going forward I will treat you with nothing but the respect that you deserve. I do hope that you might find it within yourself to forgive me one day."
There is silence in the entrance hall for a long moment before Longbottom says,
"Blimey, Harry. What have you done with him?" But Harry's staring at him with wide eyes as well, which Draco supposes is fair. He'd never taken the time to apologize this way to Harry, possibly because their animosity had been so great that he had felt an apology, even one like this, might have fallen on deaf ears.
Perhaps Draco will take the opportunity to formally apologize this way to Harry once everyone's locked away in their rooms. He can even do it on his knees, preferably while they're both naked.
"I haven't done anything with him," Harry says quickly. "That was all Draco. I will say, he hasn't apologized this way to Ron."
"Weasley upset you, Harry," Draco says, sticking his nose in the air. "Therefore he deserves my scorn."
"Ah," Longbottom says. "There's the Malfoy I know."
"Come on," Harry says. "I'll show you to your room."
"Hang on," Draco says, walking over to Abbott. "Abbott, I apologize for all—"
"—It's okay, Draco. Water under the bridge." Abbott says, waving her hand at him and Draco snaps his mouth shut in surprise. He then just stands there, watching, as Harry walks them up the stairs to their room on the first floor.
When Pansy arrives, she sails past Draco and immediately starts noting various things about the house.
"Lovely chandelier. Hideous wallpaper. Mm, good staircase. I like how you can see all the way to the top. This needs new carpeting, or, even better, no carpet at all. I wonder what the floors are like. I imagine they match the banister, which would make them a lovely dark walnut, I think."
Draco trails behind Harry as he leads Pansy up to the third floor and to her assigned bedroom, listening as Pansy chatters away.
"See you in three days, darling," Draco says when they reach Pansy's room.
"Yes, yes," she says waving him away. "Oh, this room needs work." Draco shuts the door behind her, even as she starts muttering about the curtains.
"If you need me, text me," Draco says through the door, but Pansy doesn't respond.
Viktor Krum is the next to arrive. Draco's eyes go wide as he takes in Krum's appearance. He's bigger than Draco remembers — six-foot-fuck-me with broad shoulders and a tapered waist. He's wearing a well fitting shirt and grey joggers which fit him so well that Draco wants to cry and never put on joggers again. The bottom half of his face is covered in a mask, so all Draco can see of it are his dark, thick eyebrows and intense brown eyes. Krum gives Harry a once up and down with said eyes as he walks in the door and Draco understands in an instant why Harry threw caution to the wind and brought him home.
"That outfit," Krum says to Harry. "Is bad." Draco snorts in amusement. He hadn't thought Harry's clothes were too terrible today. In the past three weeks, he's seen worse, not least of all the ghost gnome getups. "Does nothing for your arse." A flare of jealousy goes through him, particularly given how much more attractive Krum seems to have gotten, but he tamps it down when he sees the fondness with which Harry glances over at him — fondness that does not get directed at Krum. Krum walks into the hallway, and a house elf appears from behind him.
"Hello to you too, Viktor," Harry says. "Is that—" Harry blinks, staring at the elf. "Winky?"
"Yes," Krum says. "I brought my house elf. I do hope that is ok."
"Yes, but Winky?"
"Mister Viktor is hiring Winky out of Hogwarts," the elf says. "He is saying Miss Hermione Granger is telling him about me. I is being with him almost eight years now."
"Hello," Harry says. "Please feel welcome to treat this house as your own." Winky bows.
"Winky is helping with cooking and cleaning and anything else Mister Harry is needing." Winky bows and then scampers away, down the stairs in the direction of the kitchen. Draco grins behind his mask. At least that solves the question of how they're going to feed everyone.
Krum walks further into the corridor, where he finally notices Draco.
"Now, the blond's clothes," Krum says, jerking his head towards Draco. "Are much better. Look at the way those trousers cling to his butt. Magnificent."
"Draco Malfoy, owner of said butt," Draco says, taking a step forward and holding out his hand. Krum's eyes glitter as he takes Draco's hand. "Pleasure to meet you again."
"I remember you," Krum says. "You made those badges. The Potter Stinks ones." Draco blushes. "They were funny." Draco lets out a breath. "I think I still have mine."
"Viktor!" Harry cries in mock outrage. "How could you?"
"That was before I knew you." Krum gives Harry a stare that has a lot of meaning behind it and Draco does his best not to react to it. He turns away slightly, not wanting to intrude.
"Come, Viktor," Harry says. "Let me show you to your room."
Draco watches as they leave, staring as they make their way out of sight. Krum is just as attractive from behind as he is in the front (Draco wishes a pair of trousers would cling to his arse the way Krum's does his) and that thought worries at Draco. But Krum isn't the one sleeping with Harry now. Draco is.
Oliver Wood is the last to arrive. He has clearly flown to Grimmauld Place, as his hair is windswept and there's a slight scent of sweat about him. Draco has to admit that he's become more attractive too. He's grown into his face, or more accurately, his ears, since school. His cheekbones have become sharper, his shoulders more defined. In short, Draco wouldn't turn him down.
"Ah, Harry," he says as he walks in the door, his broom — a Firebolt 520X — tucked under his arm. "Thank you for having me. I've been going a bit doo-lally trapped at home with no one to see."
"Glad you could make it," Harry says. "You remember Draco?"
"Malfoy," Wood says, bobbing his head once. Draco reckons that's the best he's going to get and so nods back.
"I'm afraid you're right at the top of the house," Harry says. "Next to Percy."
"Percy Weasley?" Wood asks. Harry nods. Draco can't tell if Wood is pleased or bothered by this turn of events. It's hard to figure out people's expressions behind masks. Harry nods.
"I hope that's alright."
"It'll be just like Hogwarts," Wood says. "Brilliant. Thanks for inviting me, Hundo." He starts sprinting up the stairs and Harry turns to Draco, shrugs, and then follows.
"Hundo?" Draco asks the empty entrance hall. But Harry's already gone.
…
"Hundo?" Draco asks again, once it's just he and Harry down in the kitchen that evening. Well, he, Harry and Winky, Krum's house elf. Harry grins. Draco's mixing them up a pair of frozen margaritas, playing with Harry's blender for the first time.
"That was my quidditch nickname," Harry says. "For youngest seeker in a century." Draco makes a face. "What was yours then?"
"Quicksilver."
"Would have been more accurate if you'd ever been faster than me," Harry teases. Draco can't stop himself from smiling.
"Harry, you wound me," he says, placing a hand over his heart.
"I can make it up to you," Harry says, quirking an eyebrow upward, a mischievous look on his face.
"What, now?" Harry glances over at Winky who is rattling away at the stove, making dinner for everyone in the house. He's not quite sure why he and Harry are here — maybe Harry still has plans to cook for the two of them.
"Later."
"It's a good thing our rooms are on the same floor," Draco says, catching Harry's eye and flashing him a grin. "Though this brings up a good point. Are we—?"
"—Together? I thought we discussed that over breakfast. "
"I was going to say 'telling people about us'."
"Well," Harry says. "Do you want to?"
"I don't know." Draco leaves off pouring tequila into the blender and walks over to where Harry is leaning against the counter. He puts his hands on either side of Harry and leans in, capturing his lips briefly before pulling back to say, "How do you think Weasley will react?" Harry pulls a face.
"How did he seem to take it when you purposely misled him the other day?"
"He couldn't figure out what you saw in me," Draco says.
"Mm, he has a point."
"Hey!" Harry laughs and the sound goes straight to Draco's insides, making his stomach squirm in pleasure. He can't help himself; he wraps his arms around Harry's waist and tugs him close.
"In all seriousness though," Harry says. "It might make sense to wait to tell Ron and the others."
"Oh?"
"Wait for them to acclimate to you." Harry says. He places a gentle kiss Draco's mouth and Draco feels his cheeks heat.
"Then it's a very good thing our rooms are on the same floor. No creaky stairs to give us away."
"Worst comes to worst," Harry says. "I have my invisibility cloak."