Disclaimer do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.
This story is not mine all credits go to BeyondTheSun on AO3
A knock came from McGonagall's door. She looked up and adjusted her glasses. There was a time when she didn't have to worry about students knocking on her door every hour of the day. That was before Harry Potter came along, and now her days were never filled with boredom."Come in."
Harry pushed the door open and stepped in, gently closing the door behind him as he tried to regain his focus. He couldn't. Of course he couldn't, his bloody numbers were gone."Is something the matter, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked, raising her eyebrows in question. She stood up.
Harry started to shake his head and opened his mouth to answer no, but stopped himself. That was a complete and utter lie. He should tell her, she was the best equipped to help him. She was the headmaster after all.
But what if she couldn't help him? What would he do then?"Mr. Potter?"Harry shook his head, rubbing his temples."No...no, I'm not alright, Professor. I was sent here by Professor Slughorn but…but that's not what's worrying me quite frankly," Harry said, swallowing thickly. He looked up at her, holding out his arm, and pulled back the sleeve of his cloak.She walked forward and grasped his wrist, lips tightened.
"Oh dear…" she muttered and let him go, sighing. "Tell me why you're here, first of all, Mr. Potter. Then we'll discuss your arm."Harry lowered himself into the seat across from her as she sat down gingerly, tense with worry."Malfoy and I were sent here together, but he had a potion spilled on him so he went to Madam Pomfrey," Harry quickly recapped.
"And would you care to explain to me why he had a potion spilled on him?""Well, you see, he tried to grab it from my hands."There was a long pause as McGonagall looked at him expectantly.
"That doesn't explain how it managed to getonMr. Malfoy."Harry was silent. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and stared at McGonagall, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I'm sorry Professor but he's such—" he paused, trying to gather his thoughts. "he's such a brat. I can't ever get anything done around him. Please, Professor, I'm trying my best, I swear, but Malfoy is impossible!" Harry said, his voice shrill with desperation.McGonagall only sighed, leaning forward to look Harry in the eyes.
"Mr. Potter," she started, her voice calm. "I know that you and Mr. Malfoy have had your disagreements in the past, but I am imploring you to find it in yourself to get along with Draco. It might benefit you more than you might believe. Now, as promised, you two will have detention for a week cleaning out the dungeons."
"But-"Absolutely no arguments Harry, I've had enough of this. You and Draco will make peace. Now…" She paused to sigh once again, "show me that arm."
McGonagall was careful as she held Harry's wrist. Harry noticed how much the war had drained her as she examined him. The creases in her forehead were deeper, as well as the lines along her mouth. It never occurred to him how much of a toll everything must have taken on her.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when McGonagall muttered a charm under her breath, flicking her wand at his wrist. Harry stared for a moment, eyebrows raised when nothing happened."Well, there was no magic placed on you," she said.
"For now, there is nothing we can do. I have never heard of a wizard's number disappearing so I quite honestly don't know how to help you, Harry." McGonagall's face was tense. Her eyes darted up to Harry's scar, then back to his wrist.
"Harry, let me know if you start to feel pain." She furrowed her eyebrows, staring intensely at his scar once more. "I wonder if…"Just as she was about to say something more, Malfoy marched through the doors.He was no longer covered in sparkles but had a very sour look on his face. Soon enough, it became apparent why. A horrible stench filled the room, making Harry gag and pinch his nose.
"Oh Merlin, Malfoy, what is that smell?" he cried."Sod off, Potter, this is all your fault," Malfoy snapped, pulling his robes tighter around him."I distinctly remember the potion smellednothinglike that!""Yes, and Madam Pomfrey had to cover me in a different potion in order to get the oneyouspilled on me off."
Harry groaned. Why was everything such a big deal with Malfoy? He always had to haveperfecthair and he had to have his tie onperfectly. And when he wasn't obsessing over his appearance, Harry had recently found out that he covered himself in perfume. Harry did nothing of the sort, ever. At most, he would take a shower before class.
Why couldn't Malfoy be like that, instead of acting perfect all the time? He must have gotten it from his father, who prided himself on his pompous perfection. But there was nothing perfect about Draco Malfoy.
Other than his smile, maybe. But even then, he was a condescending twat, who just happened to have a brilliant fashion sense. Probably from his mother. Thinking of Malfoy's parents caused Harry's mind to wander back to the trial.
Did Malfoy hate him for that? And why was it so bothersome if he did? If the Malfoy wasn't such a prick, he could-"WHAT?"Harry was jolted from his thoughts and his head snapped up. He hadn't realized that he had been completely absorbed into his own world."Professor, that is utterly unfair," Draco shrieked, his jaw on the floor.
"I did absolutely nothing wrong and you want me to spend a whole week with him?""This is precisely why you are spending a week with Mr. Potter," she said, sitting back in her chair. "I have nothing more to say to you both. Go back to class now, and I will meet you two in the dungeons tonight"Malfoy spun on his heel and huffed out of the room angrily. Harry, on the other hand, took his time and stood up slowly, wringing his hands together.
"Professor… what were you going to say before? About my numbers?" He asked.McGonagall shook her head and offered him a tight smile. "Don't worry, you've come back from worse things. What I have to say isn't anything definitive, and I don't want to give you false hope. Please go back to class."
Harry opened and closed his mouth, wanting to say more, but relented and left the Headmistress's office. As he walked back to class, he was sucked into his own thoughts once again.What did this mean for him now? If he didn't have a soulmate, then he could date whoever he wanted.
He could fuck whoever he wanted to as well with no regrets. Endless possibilities filled his head until he came across one problem. He was the only one without numbers. Everyone else had a soulmate… except him. He knew this all along, but with his numbers gone this only reinforced the idea.
But he had so hoped that even for a moment...Harry stopped dead in his tracks, just outside the classroom. What if there was another person without numbers?~Detention went just as well as Harry had predicted: a horrendous disaster.It started off fine.
Malfoy was mostly quiet, sweeping, and dusting the halls while Harry tried to get rid of the piles of cobwebs that plagued every corner. And it would have been fine. But when they were close to being finished for the night, Harry accidentally knocked into Malfoy. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.Malfoy then managed to fall right into a pile of cobwebs that covered him like a blanket.
His whole body tensed and he let out a shrill shriek."Get it off me!" he cried. He started swatting around his face and trying to get some off of him. He only succeeded in gathering more with his arms. "Fuck— Potter, get them off of me!!"Harry reached for him and yanked him off the ground, trying to get him to calm down.
"Don't get your wand in a knot, it's just some spiders, Malfoy—"Draco was still flailing as his shrieks filled the halls."Get. It. OFF."Harry grunted as Draco's flailing arms slammed him in the chest as he took off, leaving Harry alone in the dungeons.
As he massaged his ribs, he flicked his wand to turn off all the lights and close all the doors, shutting everything for the night. Where the hell did Malfoy go? He wouldn't go running off to McGonagall, she would only give him more detention. Really, the only place he could be was their dorms. He groaned at the thought of having to spend another night with him. As he trudged back to the room, he absentmindedly rubbed his wrist with his thumb.
Harry walked past the common room and into his dorm room, where he was greeted by a trembling Draco sitting on his bed. Draco's eyes snapped up to meet Harry's and he grimaced."Leave me be, Potter," he snapped.
"I don't really think that's an option. This is also my room," Harry said, frowning. "Why did you have to run off, anyway?""BecausePotter.It's none of your concern," said Draco, malice dripping from his voice.Malfoy looked away from him, pulling his knees to his chest and staring at the wall. His lips were pulled into a deep frown, his eyebrows knitted tight.
"I'm sure you wouldn't understand. 'The Boy Who Lived,' you mustn't be afraid of anything." His voice was wrought with disdain.Harry only rolled his eyes. He started to take off his robes and settle in, keeping an eye on Draco.
"Well I'm sorry, you're the one that failed to mention that you're terrified of spiders. If you had just told me in the first place then I could have handled the webs and neither of us would have had to deal with this nonsense," Harry said as he took off his shoes."Oh yes, like I'd tell you anything, Potter. I'll just hand you the tools to embarrass me."
"What do you take me for? I'm not a prick, you know," Harry huffed. "And like I said before, it's just a little spider—""It's a phobia, Potter! It's not... rational"Draco's voice echoed through the room, leaving a deafening silence in its wake. Harry slowly looked over at him again, really regarding him for the first time since he had walked into the room.His face was flushed, trembling as his fingers clenched his arms. Who knew that Draco Malfoy was deathly afraid of spiders?
Harry watched him for a moment.
There wasn't much he could do anyway, Draco would just slap him for trying. He flashed back to his conversation with McGonagall, wondering if there was any truth to what she had said. Going against any rational thought, Harry stood up and walked across the room to where Malfoy was sitting.He gently reached out and started pulling off the cobwebs that were stuck in his hair.
Malfoy stiffened."What are you doing?" he snapped quickly, pulling away slightly from him."I'm just pulling the webs from your hair– stop moving," Harry said, frowning. Why did it always have to be this difficult?Harry had to work carefully as the cobwebs were matted in his hair and had wrapped around the strands.
Slowly but surely, he pulled each strand from Draco's hair. He couldn't help but notice how soft Draco's hair really was. He didn't wash it that often. Was it just naturally soft? It smelled pretty nice as well.
Harry could catch a whiff every now and again as his fingers brushed through his hair.When he finally pulled back, his hand was full of webs and Draco's hair was messy but clean.
"Are you done?" Draco whispered, a frown still plastered on his face. He had stayed tense the whole time Harry had helped him.Harry cleared his throat, looking away."Yeah…yes, I'm done. Sorry, you can go shower now."
He spelled away the webs, grabbing his pajamas and climbing into his bed. As he turned off all the lights, Harry was dumbfounded at what he had just done. What in the world had possessed him? He shook his head, taking off his glasses and trying to sleep. Not that he could.
He ended up staying awake until he heard Draco come out of the bathroom and quickly got into his own bed. Still, the smell of Draco's shampoo filled his nose. Even though the room was silent, Harry could tell they were both awake. Now hereallycouldn't fall asleep. "Why do you always have to throw a fit?" Harry asked into the dark.
It always piqued his interest: wondering why Draco always seemed so high-strung. He wasn't quite sure if he was expecting an answer, but he wasn't surprised when he didn't.
"You've always done it," Harry continued, "Whenever things didn't go your way you would scream and make such a fuss. It's almost funny looking back on it." It was still quiet, but there was something cathartic about talking to Draco this way, even if Harry didn't know if he was just ignoring him or was asleep.
"But you stopped. One day you just... stopped. And there was a time I missed when you yelled at him for almost no reason. Then you were just quiet and angry all the time. I guess I got my wish though, you have thrown a fit every day."
Harry huffed a small laugh. "Malfoy I don't... hate you. Maybe I used to, but not anymore. Now I'm just tired." Harry stopped talking. Instead, he just listened to Draco breathe. Maybe the other was asleep; the day had been exhausting.
Harry turned over, closed his eyes, and finally let his exhaustion lull him to sleep. He wasn't sure, maybe he just imagined it, but before he truly fell asleep, Harry swore he heard a quiet 'goodnight' from the other side of the room.
Harry woke up early the next morning to avoid having to argue with Malfoy. After all, he would probably end up doing that later anyway.With today being the first weekend of the semester, Harry went downstairs to find Hermione and Ron. Well, just Hermione, to be more exact, but he knew Ron would probably be with her.
He eventually did find them both in the dining hall, Hermione chastising Ron for eating too much, too fast."Hey…" Harry said when he sat down, forcing a smile."Oh Harry, it's you!" Hermione said and whirled to face him, setting down her fork.
"I cannot believe you sometimes! I know you have your issues with Malfoy but please tell me you didn't get into too much trouble. For once in our lives, we're tryingnotto drag too much attention to ourselves—""Hermione" Harry interrupted her, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, I just got detention that's all…"He trailed off, thinking back to his clock. His non-existent clock."You alright, mate? You look horrible," Ron interjected.
"Thanks Ron," Harry gritted through his teeth."Although Ron is being rude–" Hermione said as she smacked Ron upside the head, "–he is quite right. You don't look…the best at the moment, Harry.
Is everything alright?"Harry started to answer but promptly stopped."No," he murmured, "no it's not."Harry could hear Ron and Hermione muttering in the background as he watched Draco enter the hall, trailing him with his eyes. He noticed he didn't bother to dry his hair this morning."Harry, mate, you've got to stop doing that," Ron said as he shook his shoulders.
"You've been so wigged out recently, hasn't he, Hermione?"Hermione only shook her head."Now," she started, "What were you about to tell us, Harry?""I need you to do some research for me 'Mione, you're the best at that," Harry said. "Anything you can find on soulmate clocks."
She nodded and smiled. "Of course, but that doesn't answer my question, Harry.""I don't think I can tell you anything at the moment. I need some time to understand it myself."Harry held his wrist with his other hand over the table, trying to hide the truth.
He wasn't ready. Just a few more days.The rest of the day was a blur, the only thing filling Harry's mind was his missing numbers and his detention with Draco. Around seven o'clock, Harry knew he was never going to be able to relax.
He had been jittery all day as he waited to hear back from Hermione, even though he knew it would take some time.
He went to the dungeons early to clean, in an attempt to get his mind off of things. On the plus side, if he got most of the work done he wouldn't have to see Draco for as long. Harry was practically done when Draco arrived promptly at 8:30. A small part of him was pleased with the surprised look on the other's face.
Harry handed him the broom while brushing the dust off his shirt "Sweep the floors, everything else is done," he said to the Blonde.Draco only stared.Harry, on the other hand, shifted awkwardly.
"I know I did quite a bit but come on Malfoy, it's just sweeping it's not that-""What in Merlin's name are you wearing?" Draco interrupted him, suddenly regaining his composure and narrowing his eyes.
"What?"Harry looked down at himself. He laughed a little and looked back up at Draco."This? These are my muggle clothes"Harry preferred them to his robes and usually wore them on the weekends. It never occurred to him that Draco wouldn't have seen him like this. He had on a pair of skinny jeans and a striped t-shirt, nothing too excessive.
"Does it bother you that I'm wearing these? I know how you feel about muggles, so," Harry asked, starting to think Draco was about to insult him.Draco scoffed. "I'm not the boy I once was, Potter. Muggleborns are completely fine, as well as muggle items. I just wasn't expecting you to wear them around here.
"He took the broom from Harry's hand and immediately went to work, abruptly ending the conversation and leaving no room for Harry to respond.
Harry decided it was best to leave. Plus, he could take a long, warm shower without worrying about Malfoy's fussing. And he did just that.
By the time Malfoy came back, Harry had washed up, dressed, and was reading in bed. He watched the other boy out of the corner of his eyes.Harry noticed that Malfoy seemed panicked.
He kept sitting on the bed, only to stand up and pace around the room for a while, biting his bottom lip and tugging at the sleeves of his robes. Harry tried his best to ignore it. He just wanted one peaceful night.
Just as he felt maybe Draco's incessant pacing was coming to an end, he heard a knock on their door. He glanced up at the door and watched as Draco practically leaped forward to grab the handle, ripping it open.Harry's eyes narrowed as Pansy and Blaise stepped into the room. "Erm- Malfoy," Harry started, standing up.Pansy shot him a glare.
"What is it, Potter?"Instead of waiting for an answer, Pansy turned to Draco, murmuring under her breath while trying to get him to sit down.
"Are you going to be a while?" Harry asked, setting his book down on the table. As he turned to Pansy, he noticed Blaise and Malfoy whispering to each other. Harry could pick up on his dormmate's harsh, almost shrill tone.
"I said," Pansy waved her hand in front of his face, trying to gain Harry's attention, "do we bother you, Potter? Hmm?"Harry slowly brought his focus back to the rather displeased Pansy.He just shook his head and grabbed his wand from the bedside table.
"Whatever, I'll leave my own dorm room, of course," Harry called out, which earned him another round of glares. As he shut the door behind him, Harry took one last look at Malfoy and tried to piece together what was going on.Harry decided he wanted to speak with Professor McGonagall.
It was almost curfew so Harry tried to walk quickly, wanting to find out more about his arm. He started to ascend the staircase but suddenly stopped near the top, catching fragments of a heated conversation. He could make out the Headmistress's voice, as well as that of a rather angry man.
"...I'm sorry but I cannot allow...""...myson, McGonagall, you can't...""...there's absolutely nothing giving you…""...my efforts after the war..."There was a long silence. Harry leaned in, trying to pick up on anything else."Out of my officenow!I will speak to you another day.
"Harry didn't have time to hide as Lucius Malfoy materialized in the entryway, gazing down at Harry with a most unpleasant look. On that shook him to his core. Even to this day, the other Malfoy still was calloused and made Harry nervous. Lucius was supposed to be an Azkaban, not here.
So how did he—?"Lucius…" Harry murmured, lowering his head and pushing past."Potter," the other practically hissed as he left with a flourish of his cape. Harry rolled his eyes.Suddenly, it dawned on him. Draco's pale face popped into his head, his jittery movements making sense.
He wondered what had happened between him and his father after the war."Good evening Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, seemingly composed as usual.
"Care to tell me how much of the conversation you heard? Or why you're here so late?" She gestured to the chair in front of her desk, making it clear that she wanted Harry to sit.Once he sat, Harry suddenly felt exhausted. His whole body sagged and he sunk into the chair.
Wasn't this supposed to be his easy year?"Not much, Professor" he murmured, yawning. "I was just curious if you have any more information on my arm?" McGonagall was silent. Finally, she let out a long sigh. Harry realized she looked as tired as he felt. It hadn't occurred to him how much she must be handling.
"I'm sorry to say, Mr. Potter, I have exhausted my resources, though I must say I've heard Ms. Granger is doing research as well," she said to him. She didn't offer any more information after that; Harry could tell she probably wanted him to leave."Well, Professor, I do have an idea that could help."She looked up at him, cocking an eyebrow.
"Go on, then.""Perhaps if Draco and I were separated, things would be… easier," he said. She only shook her head."You're focused on the wrong things, Mr. Potter. I suggest you focus on yourself, and not Mr. Malfoy."She didn't say anything else after that. Harry, feeling as dejected as ever, decided to go out for a walk around the grounds. He knew that Malfoy was still up in the dorm, and he didn't feel like being berated by Pansy or Blaise, or Malfoy.
When he finally did return, Malfoy was asleep, the only light coming from a nightlight in the corner. As he watched the other sleep for a moment, he wondered if things could be different. Just as he was about to walk away, Harry heard Malfoy start to shift and moan. When he looked back, Malfoy was trembling, tense as he gripped the bedsheets.
Harry was going to let it blow over until Malfoy started crying. He had never seen him so vulnerable, and it made Harry feel… invasive.He reached down and touched Malfoy's shoulder, shaking him gently to wake him up. Malfoy shot up with a start, eyes snapping open as he gasped.His hair was out of place, his breathing labored and his cheeks and lips flushed. "What are you doing?" he snapped, turning away quickly from Harry to hide himself."You were crying, I only was trying to..." What was he trying to do?"Your help isn't needed, Potter, I can deal with things myself."
Even though Malfoy's words were harsh, they didn't have the usual bite to them. Instead, he just sounded so tired. Harry sighed and left the other to grovel as he tried to sleep himself.And so the days continued on like this, Harry and Malfoy working in the dungeon, snipping at each other, and then ignoring one another once they got to the dorm room.
Malfoy hadn't had another nightmare since that one night. Well, not that Harry had noticed anyway.It wasn't until the last night of their detention that Harry noticed that something was wrong with Malfoy again. He had gotten back from the dungeons later that night and had wanted to explore a bit.
Plus, he got some alone time. When he returned, Malfoy was asleep, the small nightlight flickering in its corner.Harry was pulling the covers over himself as he heard Malfoy cry. He looked over quickly to see the pale boy trembling and talking in his sleep. Harry sighed, deciding it was best to go back to sleep, not wanting to annoy him again.
That was until Malfoy screamed.Against what his head was telling him, Harry shot out of bed, clambering over to Malfoy's bed and grabbing him. "Malfoy," he whispered, shaking his shoulders. "Malfoy, wake up-"When Malfoy did wake up, he shot out of bed with a broken gasp. When he looked up, making eye contact with Harry, he opened his mouth to say something.
Instead, he only looked away as he tried to compose himself.Harry was still holding onto Malfoy, concern on his face as he tried to read the other. "Are you…okay?" What a strange question to ask the boy who once tried to kill him.Malfoy rolled his eyes. Even when he was a mess, he was still snarky. "Of course, Potter, I'm as dandy as a dancing dragon," he said, his voice a hoarse whisper. He reached up and slowly pulled Harry's hands off of him, curling into his blankets."Thank you, you can go back to bed now."Harry frowned, not getting up yet.
"Are you sure? We can…we can have tea or something? I'm pretty sure you like tea."Malfoy didn't respond, staying curled up in his blankets. Harry got up then, sighing as he did. "Goodnight," he said as he got back into bed himself, trying not to think too hard about what just happened."Goodnight," Malfoy whispered.