Chapter 3: Who We Really Are

Harry had spent most of the day cleaning and getting food ready to prepare. He had spent so long being catered to at Hogwarts that he actually liked to do domestic things for himself. He still let Kreacher do enough but when company came over he would usually cook and clean the house for himself and give the aging elf the night off. Finally when Harry had finally deemed the house clean enough and the meal ready except for a few last minute spells he apparated back to St. Mungo's and headed back to the room he knew his godson was in.

He was about to walk through the door when he heard Teddy speaking quietly to someone.

"Will you tell me a story?" the young boy asked.

"What kind of story?" Harry heard Draco address his patient.

"A true story," Teddy suggested. "What were you like at Hogwarts? What was Uncle Harry like?"

The dark haired wizard heard the Malfoy heir chuckle.

"I wasn't very nice at Hogwarts," he admitted. "In fact once, when your godfather and I were in our fourth year at school I insulted him and ended up getting transfigured into a ferret."

Harry put his hand over his mouth to avoid laughing and being discovered. He heard Teddy laughing as well.

"That was you?" he asked. "Uncle Ron has told that story so many times."

"Of course he has," Draco chuckled again. "I can't say I didn't deserve a lot of what I got during school. I wasn't a very nice person so I didn't really expect anyone to be nice to me."

"Why weren't you nice?" the young boy asked him.

Harry inched a little closer to the door, curious to hear the explanation.

Draco sighed. "I could blame it all on my father but that wouldn't really be fair. I was raised a certain way, but in the end it was always my choice. You always have the choice to be kind Teddy, you always have a choice no matter what you do. The only thing you don't have a choice in is that you have to go to bed right now."

Harry heard his godchild start to protest but Draco was unwavering.

"Come on," he pulled back the covers on the bed. "Your Uncle Harry should be here to say goodnight soon and after how much trouble you are already in you would do well to already be in bed and on your way to sleeping."

The dark haired man chanced a glance around the corner and was amazed at what he saw. Teddy was settling into bed while Draco held up the blankets for him and as soon as the boy was comfortable the blond tucked him safely in before sitting back and looking at him. Draco's back was to the door so the other man continued to watch, thankfully Teddy was being blocked by Draco so he hadn't yet seen Harry.

"Now lay back and close your eyes," the older man told his patient. "You've had a very long day."

Teddy tried and failed to stifle a yawn. "What if I fall asleep before Uncle Harry gets here?"

The young Malfoy brushed a few strands of blue hair out of his cousin's eyes. "Don't worry, he'll understand if you do."

The room fell silent for a moment or two before Harry heard soft humming. He chanced walking quietly into the room and his heart nearly stopped at the sight before him. Draco was not only humming softly to Teddy, who was fighting to keep his eyes open, he was also gently stroking the boys blue hair in a calming manner. Harry would have never imagined that Draco Malfoy, of all people, could be so gentle.

"Hey," Harry addressed the other man softly. "I'm amazed. Teddy is an absolute terror at bedtime."

Draco couldn't help but blush a little. He got up off the bed so that Harry could say goodnight to Teddy.

Harry leaned over and pressed a kiss to his godson's forehead. Teddy's eyes cracked open as Harry backed away.

"Uncle Harry?" Teddy wondered.

"I just came to say goodnight," he whispered. "And to make sure you are still behaving."

"I am," he yawned again, his eyes falling shut once more. "I promised I would."

"I'll see you in the morning," Harry assured him. "Sleep tight Teddy."

Harry readjusted the blankets before walking out of the room with Draco.

"Sorry," Draco said quickly turning to Harry. "I sent my Aunt home to shower and relax a little."

"Don't apologize," the other man puts his hands up. "She probably needed a little time to herself."

"It's been a long day for all of you," Draco observed.

Harry sighed. "It feels like the last few days have been the longest I've dealt with since the war."

"Well hopefully tonight you can unwind a little," the blond suggested. "If you're still up for dinner that is."

"Of course," Harry smiled back at him. "Are you ready to go?"

"Let me just grab something really quick," the other man replied before turning and jogging off down the hall.

Harry hovered outside the door to Teddy's room, waiting for Draco to come back, trying to push down some of his apprehension.

"Harry," a voice behind him spoke.

The young man turned to see Andromeda.

"Is everything alright?" she wondered.

"Everything is fine," he promised her. "I just came by to say goodnight to Teddy."

"He's already asleep?" the older woman asked, clearly amazed. "How did you accomplish that?"

"Draco did," Harry responded, the image of him and Teddy coming back. "He achieved the impossible."

"I'm impressed," Andromeda smiled.

"Are you going to stay here all night?" Harry asked, a little concerned.

"I'll be fine," she assured him, catching sight of her nephew coming toward them. "You just go home and enjoy your evening."

The former Black gave both men a smile before she reentered her grandson's room. Harry turns back to look at his date for the evening, unable to keep the slight look of shock off his face. Draco had changed from his Healer's clothes into, of all things, Muggle clothing. He was wearing black denims and a blue button down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow, in one of his hands he was carrying a bottle of wine.

"I figured that since you cooked dinner I could at least bring some wine," Draco shrugged.

Harry couldn't help the way his eyes raked over the blond's appearance. Sure it was true that Draco Malfoy had always been attractive but this man that Harry had stumbled upon was not the old Draco Malfoy and for the first time Harry realized that he was nervous. What did they really have to talk about? Would they be able to get over their past issues or was this all a stupid impulsive mistake?

"Ready?" Harry finally asked, holding his arm out for his companion.

Draco just nodded and took his arm, feeling that familiar tug from the side-long apparition but a feeling that didn't usually accompany it that the young man couldn't quite place. They arrived in the dining room of Grimmauld place which was set for dinner. Harry never really used the dining room unless he had company beyond just Ron or Hermione.

"This is the House of Black isn't it?" Draco wondered looking around.

"It is," Harry confirmed. "Sirius, my godfather, left it to me after he died. I've asked Andromeda many times if she wanted to move in here with Teddy since she is actually a Black but she said no."

Draco nodded, understanding exactly how his Aunt felt. "Too many memories I suppose. I've been here before, a long time ago."

"Really?" Harry was not shocked to hear that, considering Narcissa had been a Black.

"I don't remember why," Draco added. "I just remember coming here with my mother when I was younger. Is that funny House Elf still around?"

"Kreacher?" Harry was surprised to hear that Draco remembered the elf. "Yea, he is still taking care of the house but I gave him the night off."

Draco couldn't help the laugh that burst out of his mouth. "The night off? And tell me Harry, what exactly do you think House Elves do on their night off?"

The other wizard paused. "You know I've really never thought about it."

Draco chuckled and shook his head. "So what have you made for dinner tonight?"

"An appetizer of latkes with ricotta cheese, herb crusted chicken on a sweet potato puree and for dessert île flottante."

"I'm impressed," Draco smirked at him. "I didn't know you cooked."

Harry started to wave his wand and the food and other things starting to whiz out from the kitchen into the dining room. Draco sat and watched as his date served and put finishing touches on the plates before finally sitting down himself. The blond poured them each a glass of wine and they settled in to enjoy their meal and each other's company.

"I had to cook," Harry finally responded to the other man's earlier comment. "When I lived with my Aunt and Uncle they treated me like a slave. I cooked and cleaned for them, did all kinds of chores, pretty much whatever they told me to do. Meanwhile my cousin never had to do anything and was spoiled rotten."

"Sounds like me," Draco observed sadly.

"That was what I thought when I first met you in Madam Malkin's," Harry confessed.

"Harry," Draco began, taking a deep breath. "I need to apologize fo-"

"Don't," Harry cut him off gently.

The blond looked at the dark haired wizard confused.

Harry gave him a reassuring smile. "I know there are things that we both want to apologize for, things that we said or did to each other."

"You want to apologize to me?" Draco was taken aback a little.

"I wasn't totally innocent in all of our fights Draco," Harry reminded the other man. "I promise that we will both get the chance to ask for each other's forgiveness, but not tonight. Tonight I just want to have one night where we don't think about our complicated past with each other."

Draco just nodded. "I understand."

"I'm just worried that if we keep looking at everything that we have done wrong over the years, we will be able to talk ourselves out of having a chance at something now," he readjusted his glasses as he explained.

"I wouldn't want that," Draco confessed quietly.

"Neither would I," Harry told him.

A moment of silence and understanding passed between the men.

"So, how do you like being an Auror?" Draco finally asked.

"Most days it is really great," he responded, refusing to think about or talk about Ron while he was on a date. "Although I do worry that one of these days we'll have caught all the real dark wizard threats and will have nothing left to do. If that ever happens I will quit before they reduce us to just magical cops."

"Cops?" Draco was a little confused?

"Muggle law enforcement," Harry clarified.

"So making sure that no one breaks laws and getting cats out of trees?" Draco teased.

"Muggles who put out fires are the ones who get cats out of trees," Harry corrected him, unable to help the laugh that bubbled up as he did.

"My mistake," Draco smiled and continued to eat the delicious food Harry had prepared.

"So where were you for almost five years?" Harry finally asked.

"I wanted to try and get away from the scrutiny that would follow my family name in England," he answered, looking down for a moment or two. "I wanted to help fix things but I knew that getting away from the people who would judge me and making new connections would be the best thing for me in the long run. I went to France and studied to be a Healer and when I had graduated from the Healer program I went to Italy and worked with a potions master there who helped me marry healing and potions even more than they already are. We developed many new concoctions together to help with medical problems."

"Sounds like you are doing something you love," Harry couldn't help but smile at the other man.

Draco shrugged. "I've always been good at potions because it is solitary. I was mixing potions long before Hogwarts because it distracted me from feeling alone. I didn't really have friends except the ones my parents approved of and if they came over with their parents we were expected to sit and visit and be polite. I couldn't run off with friends and play Quidditch or anything fun like that."

Harry sat in silence for a moment or two thinking about how similar he and the man sitting beside him actually were.

"When did you change so much?" the dark haired wizard asked his date.

"Maybe I was always like this," Draco responded, gray eyes boring into green. "Maybe I just couldn't show it."

The other man looked at him doubtfully for a moment.

"I was an only child," Draco reminded him. "The only child of a powerful pureblood family, there were certain things that were expected of me. I was raised by Lucius to be haughty, superior, spoiled and condescending to name a few characteristics but my mother however taught me to be someone who was completely different. My mother taught me the importance of being content by myself, she taught me to be gentle to the people who needed it most, to care for those other than myself."

"So why didn't you ever act that way," Harry wondered.

Draco gave a sad laugh. "I would have been torn apart in Slytherin if anyone knew I was someone other than Lucius Malfoy's perfect child. I never even had a choice in my house, the Sorting Hat placed me before it even touched my head. I suppose I played the part a little too well because after a while I started to believe that was all I was, the Ice Prince of Slytherin. Then one day everything changed."

"What happened?"

Draco blushed slightly. "You did of course. You always managed to work me up more than anyone else. My icy veneer only ever cracked around you and when another Slytherin pointed that out I couldn't stop thinking about it."

"Tell me," Harry put his fork down to listen. "Please?"

"It was the year of the Triwizard Tournament," he began. "I knew how dangerous it was and I had been listening to my father speak of how Voldemort would soon come back to power. I knew that if he did there would be no escape for me. I would no longer be able to hide who I really was, I would be forced to be like Lucius at all times or reveal my weaker side and be killed. So that year I focused all my anger, stress and anxiety on you thinking that somehow it would help. I made Potter Stinks badges, placed bets against you, and told that horrible Skeeter woman whatever she wanted to hear. Meanwhile I got more and more nervous watching you battle dragons and rescue people from mermaids and I didn't know why. You were Dumbledore's golden boy, you got away with everything and you never liked me so why was I so concerned. Pansy was the one who first suggested that I was attracted to you and when she did I asked her to the Yule Ball to distract her from thinking about it any longer."

He paused and Harry noticed his cheeks darkened. "That night was the first time Pansy and I ever…tried anything. It didn't get very far, just some groping and things inexperienced children always do but I didn't enjoy it like I thought I would. The summer after fourth year I was left alone much of the time, Lucius was off doing errands for Voldemort and my mother stayed away from the Manor as much as possible so I had plenty of time to think. It was that summer that I figured out I was gay and that I was attracted to you. So naturally that year when I returned to Hogwarts I couldn't let anyone know. I joined Umbridge's band of loyal followers and played my part as best I could knowing it might be the only thing that saved me."

Draco sighed. He hadn't thought about any of this in so long it seemed like a world away, it seemed as if he was talking about a different person. Harry seemed to notice his distress and he leaned over and tried to take Draco's hand in his. The Malfoy heir recoiled and Harry looked hurt, until he realized that he had tried to take the man's left hand.

"We all did things during the war that we were not proud of," Harry reminded him. "You can't continue to blame yourself and carry all this guilt."

Harry finally reached out and gripped the other man's hand in his. He could see the Dark Mark standing out like a fading brand on pale skin but he didn't shy away. He turned his hand over so that Draco could see the scars on his hand that spelled out 'I must not tell lies'

"None of us survived unmarked," Harry smiled at him gently. "I promise that I will do my best to understand and I will try my hardest not to judge you for what is in the past."

Draco seemed to let out a sigh of relief at Harry's words, still afraid that all of this had been a horrible mistake. He gently ran his finger over the marks on Harry's hands and understanding seemed to pass between the two. Harry squeezed Draco's hand and as they continued to talk and eat their dinner their hands stayed joined. A few hours later Draco thanked Harry for the meal but sadly had to leave.

"I have an early shift tomorrow," he explained, apologetically. "I have to make sure Teddy can be released."

Harry nodded, understanding but still wanting more of the other man's company. He walked his date to the door and opened it for him. Draco started to exit but before he did he turned to Harry and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Dinner at my place next time?" he asked a slightly taken aback Harry.

"I'd like that," the bespectacled young man replied with a smile before kissing the blond again.

Draco smiled. "Thank you again, I enjoyed tonight."

"So did I."

"I'll talk to you soon," Draco promised before exiting Grimmauld place and apparating away.

Harry closed the door behind him and set to work cleaning up with a smile on his face. Meanwhile Draco appeared in front of a large villa with a crack. He entered without knocking going toward the main room of the house. An elf appeared to take his things as he walked.

"Where is she?" he asked the elf.

"The study Master," he squeaked before disappearing.

He made his way toward the room in question opening the door.

"I didn't know you were coming to see me tonight," a voice addressed Draco from deep inside. "I'm afraid I don't have any good news for you yet Draco."

"Have you found anything out yet Ren?" he wondered, walking toward the fireplace where she usually perched herself when she researched.

The young woman in question rounded the corner. Her chocolate brown hair was tied up in a messy bun and her usually bright blue eyes looked tired.

"All I know for sure Draco is what I already told you," she sighed. "The Malfoy family is cursed, and if the curse cannot be undone than trouble is coming in a very big way."

Hello all! Here is my next chapter, not too exciting but necessary for relationship building between our boys. I thought I would throw a touch of drama in for you. Don't ask me any questions about Ren, all will be revealed in due time, but to find out you need to like and favorite my story to get updates. Much love to my readers, followers and anyone who reviews! You all keep me going.