"Malfoy?" Ron said, causing both Draco and George to turn around. "George? What are you doing with him?" He asked, making a disgusted face when referring to Draco.

Draco froze. Oh, gods. No. This can't be happening. He wasn't ready to see Ron Weasley. This is where he gets beat up or worse. Draco felt his chest start to tighten and his hands begin to shake. He put on the Malfoy mask. He needed to. "Weasley." He said, trying to sound neutral. "Nice to see you." He was hoping if he was civil that Ron would be too. If he was being honest, he didn't have it in him to argue or fight. Not after the therapy session and conversation he and George were having.

"Calm down, Ron," George said, putting his drink down. "We're just having some drinks, that's all."

"So you guys are friends now?" Ron's face was almost as red as his hair.

"Yes, actually," George said. Draco didn't understand how George was so calm? How was he so calm? And why was he telling Ron they were friends? Wasn't he embarrassed to be seen with Draco? No, he couldn't be. The two had been coming here for months. Sure, it wasn't the most popular place but people still came here.

"He's a death eater!" Ron yelled, "How could you be friends with someone like him?"

"Ronald," George's voice was firm. "The wars over. There are no sides. I can be friends with whoever I want."

"But him?!"

Draco kept his shoulders back and head up but he wanted to shrink away. He felt bad that he was causing a fight between two brothers. A fight between family.

Family. Something he didn't have anymore.

"Yes, him."

Draco selfishly felt a little happy. He really did have George there for him. They were friends. If he wasn't sure Ron would punch him, he'd smile but the Malfoy mask was strong. It had to be. He wasn't going to let his emotions show. Not right now. He couldn't.

"What the fuck George?!"

"Maybe I should go," Draco said, sliding off the barstool. He didn't want to cause more problems. He wanted to leave. He wanted to go back to his place. He couldn't do this.

"No, stay," George said, grabbing Draco's arm gently.

"Yeah, you should." Ron hissed at the same time George told him to stay.

"Ron." George's tone was stern. "He's done nothing to you."

"Bullshit!" He waved his hands, "He's a bloody death eater! He was on the dark side! You're standing up for him?!"

"You and I both know we all did things we're not proud of during the war." Draco seriously admired how calm George was. It was almost scary.

"You used to talk about how much you hated him and how you'd love to get revenge" Draco tried not to flinch, "N ow you're seriously standing up for him?!" Ron turned to Draco, "What did you do to him?! Did you slip a potion into his drink?!" He grabbed Draco's collar, "What did you do to my brother? Was your people killing one of them not enough?"

Ouch.

Draco closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He was trying to stay calm. He opened his eyes again, "Weasley, I didn't do anything to George. We're friends, that's it." He was surprised his voice didn't give out on him. "I would appreciate it if you let go."

"Hey, Ron!" The bartender called out, "No fighting. Don't make me kick you out."

Ron rolled his eyes before letting Draco go. "Great, you've even got the staff fooled." He said before storming off.

Draco turned to George, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

George cut him off, "You didn't do anything. I'm sorry. I forgot he comes here after work sometimes."

Fuck. That means Harry might be here too. He needed to leave.

"I still think I'm going to head out. See you next week." He said, giving George a small smile.

George nodded, "I can show you the shop next week. I have a prototype I think you'd enjoy."

"Sounds good." Draco smiled before leaving. He didn't care that he forgot to pay for his drinks. George would get it and he'd just pay him back next week.

He towards the exit of the bar, not risking to see if Potter was there. He didn't think he could handle seeing him too. When he was outside he wasted no time going to the nearby alley and trying to breathe. He quickly apparated to his flat. Once he was at his flat Draco immediately downed a calming potion. He was still trembling. He was surprised he didn't get splinched when he apparated since he was so panicked.He didn't think about the consequences of being friends with George meanwhile George didn't look like he cared about the consequences. It was nice to see the war didn't take that away from him. It still wasn't fun to see Ron, though. Especially when he was unprepared and fresh out of the mind healers appointment.

Draco should've just ignored George. All Draco ever did was cause problems.

No, stop being so negative. You deserve friends. You don't cause problems. It'll be fine. Everything will be fine. He told himself

He didn't know if he even believed it.

The next day, Draco was in his shop. It was a small shop but he didn't mind. He had common potions like pepper up, calming potions, and weaker sleeping potions along with some ingredients if people wished to brew their own potions on shelves for just anyone to grab, and behind the counter were more expensive and ones like dreamless sleep or higher-level pain potions along with more rare ingredients. The majority of his business came from the hospitals buying his stock in bulk but he still got plenty of business in the shop. The first few years after the war he barely got any business, only getting desperate customers when other potion stores were out of stock. Admittedly he did use his father's connections to get in on making potions for the hospitals. In the last two years, however, he's gotten more business as people couldn't deny he was brilliant at making potions. People didn't need to like him to buy his potions and that was okay.

Today, he was brewing his version of dreamless sleep. He felt that when he took regular dreamless sleep too much he'd feel groggy. He was determined to make one that didn't make one feel groggy the next day. He knew ideally, one shouldn't rely on potions for sleep but the war still haunted many people and dreamless sleep and sleeping drought were his best-selling potions and the ones he took the most of himself.

He stirred the potion when he heard the front door open, but since he was in the back he couldn't see who it was.

"One minute!" He called out, lowering the fire so he could go attend to his customer.

"Hello, how are you?" He asked as he stepped into the main area of the shop. He tensed up when he saw Harry standing there. "What can I help you with?" He asked, now behind the counter.

Harry looked good, really good. His hair was still an unruly mess but it looked like the style and not a mop as it did when they were in school. Harry seemed to quit shaving as he had a bit of stubble on his face, it suited him too. He traded his broken glasses for a better pair which had thicker frames and weren't held together by tape and spells. Years of being an auror had done him well also. He was no longer scrawny, instead, he was pretty fit. Draco could see the muscles through his auror uniform. Draco was still a bit taller, but Harry was still pretty intimidating. Especially when he looked as mad as he did right now. However, Harry's typically bright green eyes seemed to have dulled over time, they looked tired. Draco blamed it on the war.

Harry looked at him, visibly angry. "What's your motive, Malfoy?" He snapped.

"My motive?" He raised an eyebrow. "What're you talking about?"

"Cut your shit," Harry said, leaning over the counter with his hands resting on it, "George is my family. What do you want with him? Haven't you caused enough damage?"

Harry's words cut like knives but Draco's face remained neutral. "He is my friend. No motives."

"I swear to-"

"I'm seeing a mind healer and so is he. Our appointments are around the same time so we began to talk. We comfort each other after our session, potter. That's it." He wanted Harry to leave. He felt his hands begin to tremble and his chest tighten. "Therapy, while good in the long run, can sometimes be difficult. It's nice to have someone to talk to after appointments."

"So you've manipulated him? That's bloody brilliant." Harry said sarcastically, "That's low, even for you, Malfoy."

Draco knew he wasn't a good person when he was younger but he was trying now. He was. He liked George, he'd never do anything to hurt him or betray him. That was his friend. Draco could be called a lot of things, but disloyal wasn't one of them. But Draco wondered why Harry was being so aggressive right now. If Harry didn't trust him so badly why wasn't Draco in Azkaban?

Draco gave Harry a tense smile, "Potter, can I ask you something?"

Harry crossed his arms, "I'm asking the questions, not you."

Draco shook his head and also crossed his arms. "If you think I'm such a bad person, why did you testify for me? Surely, if I'm as evil as you think I am I deserve to be in Azkaban. So, Potter, humor me, why did you do it?" It was a question he'd been asking himself for years.

Clearly, Harry wasn't expecting it. "Just because you're not a murderer, that doesn't mean I want you around my family." He hissed.

"Sure, I'm not a murderer but you could've still had me thrown in there for other war crimes. I tortured tons of people and used multiple unforgivable curses. That doesn't answer my question." Draco took a step closer to the counter. "Why did you do it?"

Harry's face softened for a second but quickly hardened again. "Just because I kept you and your mother out of Azkaban that doesn't mean I want you around my family." He repeated the last sentence. It almost felt like he was taunting Draco with the fact that he didn't have a family anymore. His father was in Azkaban and his mother was in France. They weren't much of a family anymore.

"Answer the question."

"I owed your mother," Harry said but Draco knew that wasn't the real truth.

"So? You could've still thrown me in there."

Harry didn't say anything, he just stormed out of the shop. As much as Draco wanted to know the real reason Harry didn't have him thrown in Azkaban, he was just happy Harry was gone. Besides, he knew this wasn't going to be the last time he'd see Harry again. The two always managed to find each other and fight.

Maybe he would distance himself.

Today was his appointment with the mind healer and he decided to come right on time, leaving him no time to talk to George. He had showered but he still wasn't getting sleep, in fact, he downed a vile of pepper up as he walked into the building. He ran a hand through his hair which made it a little messy but he didn't care much. His clothes were wrinkled too, he hadn't bothered to try to fix them. Healing isn't linear. He had to remember that. He was exhausted though. He was so tired of feeling like he was finally in a better place mentally just to fall again but he knew a few months of therapy wasn't going to 'fix' him. He didn't think he could ever be fixed.

He sat on the couch, picking at his nails. "I saw Potter the other day." He confessed. "George and I went out for drinks and his brother saw us. I reckon he went back and told Potter because the next day he comes to my shop." He rubbed his face with both of his hands. "They were both so angry that I was friends with George and I get it, I do. If I were them I'd have the same reaction. I guess I didn't think about it. You know? I just wasn't prepared to see Potter. I haven't seen him since my trial. He brought back so many memories… so many feelings."

"This may not be something you want to hear," Jennifer put down her pen. "He may still be living in the war. He just might need to see that you're trying to change-that you have changed before he accepts that you and George are friends."

Here we go again, Draco having to prove himself. He didn't know if he could. He could prove himself and his change to people who didn't know him, but to Harry? Someone he bullied in school and then fought against during the war? That was almost impossible.

And the worst part?

A much as he hated that Harry didn't trust Draco, he didn't blame him.