Author's Note: Enjoy. And please review.
Disclaimer: No profit is being made out of this harmless work of fiction, promise!
Dear Blaise,
Can you believe me now; if I tell you that I am the happiest I've been since birth?
Harry Potter is here, here at St. Barakiel's. And you wouldn't believe the changes in attitude he's brought about here. Everyone is happier than they have ever been, though most of them have a certain death looming on the horizon. What Harry's doing, you have to see to believe.
I think, I should tell you, I'm in love with him, B. So in love that I wouldn't know mum's face from father's if he were around. Because, I'd be too busy watching him…
I have to say, though, I didn't expect to want to live anymore than I could. But now, I want to Blaise, I want to spend all of eternity watching him, and I doubt even then, he'll stop surprising me. I never thought I would get it back you know; this burning desire, the will to do anything in order to live.
Healer Alphonzo said that he's looking into options for me.
They've found two other people with the same blood type as me. He hopes that once they replace my heart, I can heal, he hopes that I can get better Blaise, and that hope is enough, in fact, to keep me going and fight for my life with all my might.
You must think, what a change about, right? I owe it to Harry, B; I have owed almost everything to him my entire life. My parent's life, mine, who would have thought that he would come about and save my sanity as well?
I don't know why he's here; Blaise and I hope with all my heart, it's not something that will take him away from me.
Write back, soon, mate, I miss you with every breath I take.
Love,
Draco.
XxX
"Mrs. Colinthorp, are you awake?"
Draco poked his head into the room, opening the door the slightest bit. The blinds were drawn and a rasping, hoarse cough answered him. He winced. "Come in, love." The woman got out between coughs. Draco walked in, shutting the door softly behind him. "I've brought you some soup." He said, gesturing with the tray he held in his hands. The woman smiled at him. "You look very familiar. Are you someone I know?" Draco's heart ached inside him and he closed his eyes for a moment.
Today was apparently, not one of her good days.
The woman was in an advanced stage of Alzheimer's. Her Healer was doing everything in his power, but apparently, when it came to illness like these, magic was as helpless as muggle medicine. The woman had been weathering the disease for closing on a decade and Draco wondered with a pang if she had finally given up.
He smiled softly at her and laid the tray on the nightstand beside her bed. "I come to help sometimes." He told her, gently. "I'm not anyone very important, Mrs. C" He added when the woman's eyes welled with tears, afraid that perhaps, again, she had forgotten someone who was very close to her. "Come; sit here with me, dear." She gestured to the corner of the bed. "Tell me something about yourself." Her hazy blue eyes watched him from an old wrinkled face. Draco thought that once, she might have been an extremely pretty woman.
"It is very sweet of you to come visit, child." The woman said, her eyes looking fondly upon Draco. "My children don't really bother anymore." Draco laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure they would if circumstances were favorable." Draco insisted, aching for the woman. "Please, drink your soup now, Mrs. C" The woman smiled gently at the boy and leaned back on the headboard allowing Draco to place the tray on the wooden stand that lay beside the bed. He picked up the stand and placed it on her lap, supported by stumps on either side of her hip.
Then he pulled out a towel from the rack near the bed and tucked it into the woman's neckline. He sat back and smiled. "Go ahead, Mrs. C. You must be hungry; you haven't really eaten anything since last night." She leaned forward slightly and lifted a shaking hand. It took her four tries to get a correct grip on the soup spoon. As she was lifting it into her mouth, her hands shook horribly and she spilled almost all the soup she had managed to scoop up from the bowl on the towel Draco had wrapped around her. She looked up at Draco, tears of frustration stinging her eyes.
Draco smiled patiently at her. He took the spoon from her hand gently, "Here, let me help." He dipped the spoon into the bowl and lifted it to her trembling mouth. "Open." He whispered. Obediently, she parted her mouth and Draco poured the warm soup in trickles into her mouth. He fed her half the bowl in the same way before she told him that she was uncomfortably full. Draco agreed and pulled the towel off her neck, rubbing at her mouth with it. He put the wooden stand back and grabbed the tray.
"Sleep now" He bid. "Do you want me to call for Mr. C?" The woman bit her lip, her eyes welling again. "I know I'm married, but I can't remember his face." She hedged, big fat tears rolling slowly down her cheeks. Draco could not prevent the tears that erupted in his eyes. He kept the tray at the bottom of the bed and walked close to her. She looked so fragile and so lost and hurting for the woman he had been teaching the finer points of chess to for the past one year; who had become more mother to him than his own mother had ever been; he pulled her shivering frame into his arms.
"Hush, now, it'll be alright, you'll see." She shook her had against his chest. "No body blames you, Mrs. C" He soothed, trying to stem his tears, his voice trembling. "No one will ever blame you." He rocked her until her wracking sobs had softened into quiet sniffles and then he laid her head down on her pillow gently. "I'll send Mr. C up to you, alright?" He asked, gently. She nodded, her eyes drooping. He leant close and kissed her forehead. "Sleep." He whispered.
She closed her eyes, drained.
He stood watching her for a few moments, taking in the wrinkled, peaceful visage. Sleep at least, he mused, looked painless. His heart throbbed and he began sweating. Seeing those as signs that his own body was rebelling, he collected the soup bowl and the tray and made his way outside hurriedly, taking deep breaths to calm himself. "It's okay, now, calm the fuck down." He kept up a constant litany of soothing words in his mind and when his legs began to tremble, he stopped, and sank to the carpeted floor, leaning against the wall, breathing hard, even as his vision began to swim.
"Draco?" Someone called, breathlessly and knelt close to him, keeping a cool hand on his forehead. The voice spoke warbled words and things that sounded to him as if they were a different language. He ordered himself to forget the words and concentrate on the voice. The hand crept under his shirt and over his heart and Draco took a deep breath of air. He could feel his heart beat slowing. I hope that doesn't mean I'm going to die, he mused, humorlessly. He tried breathing again. His chest ached and beads of sweat broke out over his forehead. Air, he needed air. Bright spots danced in front of his open lids and he closed them, feeling nauseous. The hand holding him crept up into his hair and smoothed it. Then the hands lifted Draco's head and the owner of the pair of hands leaned down and pressed his lips to Draco's, breathing for him and rubbing his chest alternatively.
After about two minutes into the process, he began breathing easier and the world swam into focus when he opened his eyes. Harry looked down at him, his eyes filled with tears and terrified and his cheeks wet. He looked liked he had been scared a scant inch from his life. Draco smiled softly, his lips pliant and reached up a hand. Harry rubbed his cheek against the hand, his own otherwise busy holding Draco to him. "Please." He cried; his voice breaking. "Please, don't scare me like that." Draco smiled humorlessly. "I really can't help it, Harry." He assured.
"Let's get you up." Harry said, flashing Draco a watered down version of his usually bright smile.
Wrapping his arms around Draco's slighter frame, Harry pulled him gently to his feet. Taking almost Draco's entire weight, he walked him to his room. "Wait, Harry, I got to let Mr. C know that…" "I'll handle it." Harry interrupted, his eyes intense, mouth set in a tense line. "You're going to lie down and take things easy for awhile." "I'm not an invalid, fucker." Draco snarled, abruptly angry, his eyes flashing dangerously. He pushed off Harry's arm. "Don't treat me like I'm some kind of fragile, breakable thing, do you understand me?" He snapped, wobbling. "Do you understand me, Potter?" Harry took a deep breath to keep from flying of the handle and took a step closer; "You need to understand that people want to take care of you because they care, asshole." He said, his voice low, menacing. "And you got to calm the fuck down, right now." He reached for Draco's arm.
"Don't." Draco barked, halting Harry in place.
"I can take care of myself, Potter. Have been doing the very same thing my entire life." He smiled a cold chilling smile that froze Harry's insides. "I have been a loner all my life, never made friends, never fell in love; don't have to start now." He pulled away from Harry's outstretched hand and walked away, his arm around his chest, his face contorted and pale, staggering and moving with one hand on the wall.
Harry became aware of Sirius's presence when a wet tongue brushed his clenched fist. He turned and knelt, pulling the dog close and burying his head in the fur covering his neck. "I don't know what to do." He said, his voice breaking and he cried, hugging the dog to him, "What can I do to convince him I'll die if something happens to him, Sirius?" The dog whimpered in the face of his master's distress and licked Harry's cheek.
"I don't know what to do." Harry repeated, sinking to the floor, his head in his arms.
XxX
"Harry?" He looked up, his eyes shining. "I'm sorry." Draco blurted, his head bowed, posture tense.
Harry smiled, holding out his arms. Draco barreled into them, his own arms tightening around Harry. "I'm so sorry, Harry." He whispered against his neck. "I forgave you before you asked, love." He whispered into Draco's hair. "I am still very sorry." Draco said, pulling back and staring into his eyes.
Harry smiled cheekily.
"How sorry are you, exactly?" Draco grinned. "Sorry enough to do anything that you want." He promised, looking at Harry from under his lashed. Harry's eyes danced and his lips tilted to a side, in an almost filthy leer. "Define anything." He whispered, the words caressing.
"Anything." Draco whispered and leaned up and claimed Harry's lips.
XxX
The sun shone bright high above his head and he smiled, happily.
Once in a while, he thought, leaning into the warm, dewy grass, they had to have sunny weather in rainy Seathwaite, Cumbria. "Well, Sirius?" He asked his squatting companion. "You feeling too lazy for a game of catch the snitch?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the fluttering golden ball.
The dog stared up at him rather miserably.
Harry stood, chuckling and brushed off his pants. The he bent and heaved the dog by his collar. He grunted, pulling the dog up to stand on his four feet, "You've grown mighty heavy, you lazy old thing." He commented, looking fondly at the dog. Sirius snorted, rather offended and flung his head to a side. Harry let go of his collar and feigning exhaustion, Sirius immediately dropped into a crouch again.
Harry let his knees give out and collapsed on top of Sirius. The dog let out a whine and licked Harry's nose. Harry laughed. "You're right, you know." He admitted. "No point being energetic on such a lovely day, anyway." He lay back and sighed when the sun's rays slanted over his face. He shut his eyes, slowly.
"Harry!" His eyes shot open when the first call came and he sat up, alarmed.
"Harry, where are you?" The voice keened. Harry's eyes flitted over to the swinging doors of the hospital that led outside and he waited, trying to get his fast breathing under control. Draco shot out of the door, swinging it shut with a bang behind him, his eyes blurry and cheeks flushed and wet with tears. Harry held out his arms quietly and crying out a mangled version of his name between heaving sobs, Draco ran into them.
Harry soothed him, holding him tight and close; his heart almost beating out of his rib-cage in fear and uncertainty. His eyes dilated in fright and he was terrified that Draco had extremely bad news for him. He had, never been so frightened in his life before, not even when he had been face to face with Voldemort himself. And despite all that, he held his voice steady and calm as he cooed to the whimpering boy in his arms, comforting him and trying to quell his tears.
"Shush, now, Draco, please. You have to calm down, whatever the problem is it'll be alright, I promise." Harry pulled Draco closer still, desperately. "Please, Draco, you have to calm down." The words turned into a pattern of jumbles and he did not even realize what he was saying. All he knew was an intense desire to wrap Draco up in his arms and keep him safe from all his fears. Sub-consciously, he kept up a flow of comforting words and when he ran out of them, he hummed, squatting on the grass with Draco in his lap and rocked him.
As far as Draco was concerned, he was so gone in his grief that he did not even register Harry's words. Harry's voice, warm and reassuring washed over him like an enormous tidal wave, drowning him and easing his fears. He kept a firm hold on his mind, focusing on the quiet strength in Harry's voice, tears streaming down his cheeks; not even making an attempt to stop crying.
Gradually, his gut-wrenching sobs quieted down to hushed sniffles.
Harry held him close, worried, anxious and all kinds of desperate, yet, hesitant to reveal that to Draco; the emotions raged inside him like a maelstrom, and yet, not one ripple caused by storm disturbed the aura of peace he radiated, the mask of calm on his face. A stillness enclosed the couple, broken only occasionally by the chirping of birds or Draco's quiet, hiccupping sobs. Sirius whined. He had never been too big a fan of tense silences.
Draco sent a teary smile Sirius's way and moved away from Harry, standing up and wrapping his arms around himself. Harry held out his hands inviting him to step back into them if he wanted. Draco did not oblige.
"Draco?" He asked, his voice soft, vulnerable. Draco looked up at him, his eyes swimming with tears again. "She's gone." Was all he said, quietly, his voice breaking. Harry's eyes watered as well. "Oh, Draco." Harry took him into his arms again, and placed his chin on top of her head. "I am so very sorry, love." Draco trembled, overcome with anguish. "How did she…" Harry started to ask and then stopped, uncomfortable. "In her sleep." Draco whispered, tiredly.
"Lucky her, huh?" Harry asked Draco with a mirthless smile.
Draco glanced up at him, curiously, his cheeks wet. "Mrs. Colinthorp died a painless death, you know?" Harry asked him, the empty smile still in place. "Not too many people get that privilege." Harry's eyes were contemplative and more than a little sad. Draco remembered the woman's laughing eyes even when she lost a match against him and how her wrinkled cheeks glowed in mirth when she won against her husband with his help.
"I suppose, at least, she's not hurting anymore." Draco conceded, finally, fisting at his eyes like a little boy and pulling away from Harry.
"How is Mr. C, Draco?" Harry asked, quietly.
Draco's mind jumped to the other half of the Colinthorp couple. Feeling extremely guilty, he looked up into Harry's eyes. "I don't know, Harry." He confessed. "I haven't been to see him." Harry smiled. "Shall we go see him then?" He offered Draco his arm. He accepted, hesitantly. They walked indoors. "Healer Alphonzo." Harry called loudly when he spied the man. The Healer stopped on his way up the stairs and turned. He smiled when Harry waved him down.
"Good Morning, Master Potter, Master Malfoy." He bowed his head slightly. "What can I do for you?" Harry pointed to Draco. "Where can we find Mr. Colinthorp?" The man smiled slightly. "I've just been to check on him. He's in his suite, of course." He shook his head at the silent question in Draco's eyes. "He's not doing too well, if you must know, Master Malfoy." Draco sighed, closing his eyes.
Over the Healer's shoulder, Harry spied a vase full of orchids.
Nodding his thanks to the doctor and ducking under the bracing arm the man had placed on Draco's shoulder, he plucked the flowers out of the vase and smiled charmingly at the woman sitting beside the reception counter. "You can replace them again without any problems, right?" He asked, apologetically. The woman smiled back, almost simpering, Draco noted with a scowl; and nodded. "Definitely." She winked. "Anything for you, Mr. Potter." Smiling gratefully, he turned and took a hold of Draco's elbow. Draco nodded a farewell to the Healer, who smiled and turned away. Harry steered him quickly towards the stairs and thrust the flowers into his arms.
"Go." He said, gently.
"But Harry, Healer Alphonzo said that he wasn't…" "He will need company." Harry interrupted firmly. "And who better than you, Dre?" He cupped Draco's cheek. "You are all but a son to them and you will go to him when he needs you. And right now, he needs you there, love." Harry's eyes were gentle, impassive and yet if one looked closely they gleamed with a fiercely affectionate light. He leaned close and kissed Draco chastely. "I'll be waiting for you. Right here." He promised.
And Draco took a deep breath, nodded, turning and climbing the stairs. Harry smiled sadly, staring after him. "As long as I possibly can, Draco, I'll be right here waiting."
XxX
"That's Draco Malfoy, right?"
Harry glanced down at the boy who had spoken. He hardly came to Harry's elbow in height and his face was painfully young. Yet his eyes, Harry mused, aching, his eyes were filled with wisdom far beyond his years. Harry nodded, crouching to the boy's level. "Yes, that's Draco Malfoy." He grinned with an effort. "I'm Harry Potter." He held out his hand.
The little boy nodded. "I know who you are." He smiled, mirthlessly. "Everybody knows." He put his tiny hand in Harry's palm. "My name is Azarel, Azarel Matthew." Harry smiled, gently. "That's a very unique name." The boy nodded. "Yeah, it means 'God has helped'." He shook his head. "I guess in my case, God just forgot, maybe, that he was supposed to help." The boy's eyes filled with tears.
"Oh, sweetheart." Harry's heart seized and he put his arms around the little boy, holding him close.
"I'm okay, Harry." The boy smiled. "I can do something for you, you know." He said, slight mischief shining bright in his chocolate brown eyes. Harry smiled and leaned closer. "Oh yeah?" He whispered, conspiratorially. "I can save your Pretty Draco." He said. Harry's smile dimmed. "Oh? How are you going to do that?" The boy grinned brightly, with the air of a child who has donated his most precious toy to a charity organization and become his mother's favorite.
"After I die, Healer Alphonzo is going to give Draco my heart."
Harry felt as if the world had been pulled out from under his feet. Numbly he sat, cross-legged on the ground. "You're not allowed to tell Draco though, okay? He's not to know about this." The little boy settled in Harry's lap, taking his face between his tiny palms. "Healer Alphonzo said if Draco knows, he'll refuse and then, he won't get better." Azarel looked earnestly into Harry's eyes. "He only told me because I asked. You're not to tell Draco." He said again. "Promise me, Harry."
"I promise." Harry whispered, tears leaking freely down his cheeks. The boy frowned, confused. "Why are you crying, Harry? You're Pretty Draco's going to be okay." Harry chocked on a sob and pulled the boy closer, burying his face in his soft brown hair. "Oh, baby, I…" He ran out of air and chocked on another sob. "It's okay, Harry. It's all going to work out." He pushed at Harry until he gave up and looked at the boy. "You saved the world for us. I'm going to save your Draco for you." Azarel assured, gently, so innocent and so matured all at the same time.
"Thank you." Harry said, in between sobs. "Thank you so very much, Azarel." He held the boy to him tight and rocked him, his gut clenching at the unfairness of it all. "Merlin." He whimpered, fervently. "I did what I was born to do." The little boy's breathing had deepened and Harry leaned down and kissed his forehead.
"Why do I still have to watch the world suffering?"
XxX
The door creaked when he opened it gently and he flinched.
"Mr. C?" He called, his voice trembling. There was movement in the dark room and the figure on the bed rose, pulling the blanket up along with him to wrap around himself. "Draco? Draco Malfoy?" He croaked, his hand stretched out. "Yes." Draco said, his throat closing up. "Yes, it's me, Mr. C."
"Come here, child." The man pleaded.
Draco put the flowers in a vase in the corner table and walked to him. He sat down on the bed next to the elderly man and slung his arm around his shoulder. They sat in piercing silence for awhile and Draco felt his eyes watering for maybe the millionth time that day. "How are you, Mr. C?" He asked, finally, his voice so quiet he wondered if the man had heard him. He looked down at Draco and smiled. The pain in his eyes broke Draco's heart.
"She's gone." He whispered. "She got tired of slugging an invalid like me along with her everywhere she went…" Draco placed his palm over the man's mouth, shocked. "Oh, Mr. C…." Draco whispered, giving the tears freedom. They sprung forth and trailed freely down his flushed cheeks.
The man spoke, his voice raw and vulnerable.
"She had promised me, Draco Malfoy. Even when our sons turned their backs on us, she stayed strong and proud." His eyes were far away and his smile was dreamy as he spoke. "She was my pillar, my strength and my weakness all in one package. She was my shade when the sun became too bright and my sun when the cloud became too heavy. My world spun because she was a part of it." His voice broke and the man rubbed at his eyes.
"She's gone, now." He whispered, crying harshly, fat tears rolling down his wrinkled cheeks.
The man's pain was palpable and permeated every molecule of air in the room. His wounds were bleeding raw and the boy did not know how much longer they would bleed before they dried up or how long they would remain open and painful. He ached for the man, his gut wrenching in pain; he leant closer, offering all the warmth that he could.
"It'll be alright, Mr. C." She said, quietly, feeling a nasty prick of guilt. How on earth could it be alright? The man had lost everything that he knew and lived for in the course of a single night. How could he tell him so heartlessly that everything would be alright?
The man shuddered. "At least-" He hiccupped. "At least she…at least it was painless." Draco flinched. "Somehow, saying it aloud made it seem so final, so real. But it seemed as if the old man had accepted it. "She's in a better place now." It looked to him as if he was assuring himself more than talking to Draco.
"At least, now, I don't have to watch her suffer anymore." He nodded, absently, almost unaware of Draco's presence by his side. "I don't have to watch her cry because she can't remember the names of our children or because she can't remember what I look like." The man whimpered. "My poor, poor Adrienne." Yes, Draco thought, the man had accepted it. How long would it take him, nevertheless to move on?
Dementia was horrible on a person's state of mind and all the relatives, Draco thought, feeling very grim, but at least Mrs. C didn't have to suffer anymore.
He told the man as such as he tightened his grip on his shoulders and he nodded, whistling a quiet dirge. He wrapped his arms around Draco, "She'll always be with me, though, right?" He asked the boy, hopefully. Draco nodded, gently. "Of course, we don't actually leave the ones whom we love behind, Mr. C."
They spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between playing chess and crying for their loss.
XxX
Potter,
I received a letter from Draco the other day. He told me that you were there in St. Barakiel's; but he did not mention why you were there, because, he wrote, he didn't know. He also hopes, fervently, that it's not something that will take you away from him.
He also told me something very interesting.
He told me Potter, that he's in love with you. Strange how some things turn out, huh? Do you share the sentiment, as well? It doesn't matter, either way.
I guess I owe you, Potter, because we all thought that we had lost our Draco for ever. But in his last letter to me, he sounded like the boy I had grown up with and grown to love like a brother. And for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
But that's not exactly the only reason for this short correspondence. You are aware that Draco is the Malfoy Heir? Well, as soon as he is better, he will have to take the reigns of the empire. He has to have an heir as well. So, Draco's parents beseech you; of course they wouldn't have used that exact word, to let Draco to live his life and live yours, AWAY FROM HIM.
As for me? I only want him to be happy. He has always wanted to be someone his father can be proud of. It would break his heart if his father disowned him, which he wouldn't do of course, if you co-operated.
Just keep that in mind, Potter. I honestly, wish you all the very best in life.
Regards,
Blaise Zabini.
XxX
"Sunset." He whispered as his gun-metal grey eyes flitted the horizon, a collage of orchid, pink, yellow, purple and fuchsia colors. A hand closed over his eyes gently and he heard a bark. "Hush." A voice hissed behind him. "You still want me to guess?" Draco asked, his lips curling in amusement. The boy standing behind him cleared his throat, pointedly. "Oh, alright, alright." Draco said, laughingly.
"Is it…um…Voldemort?" His eyes danced behind the boy's golden-brown hand. He heard a snort behind him and grinned. "Oh wait, I know." Draco cried, pitching his voice higher, "it could be Albus Dumbledore." The boy shook with silent laughter. "No?" Draco pouted. "How about Oliver Wood? Victor Krum?" Harry burst out laughing. He took his hands off Draco's eyes, chuckling. "I am not a part of that list, am I?" Harry asked him, his eyes twinkling.
Draco looked at him with wide innocent eyes. "No, of course not, Potter, you plebian. Why would you be?" He flashed Harry a patented Draco Malfoy sneer. "All you ever did was save humanity from a sure spiral into madness." Harry stared for a moment and then burst out laughing, his head thrown back. Draco joined him a moment later and Sirius pranced around them, barking loudly.
He squatted down on the grass beside Draco and flung his arm around his shoulder.
"Hey Harry?" Draco whispered, wondering himself at the obscurity of the reason he was doing so. "Hmm?" Harry drawled, lazily, lying back on the grass, his palms cupping his head. "What's your favorite time of the day?" Harry turned slightly so that he had Draco and the setting sun in his peripheral vision. "I love watching the sunset." He breathed, awed by the colors playing across the horizon. There was a small silence. "You know, during the war, after running after rogue death-eaters all day and plotting Voldemort's demise, Ginny and I…we used to watch the sunset together." Harry said, a small smile on his face.
Draco frowned, "What's to like about a sunset?"
Harry turned his head fully to look at Draco. "What's not to like about it, Draco?" He asked, curiously. "The company, perhaps?" Draco murmured sarcastically, turning away from Harry's piercing gaze. Harry chuckled. "You are jealous." He said, triumphantly. "I am not, Potter." Draco snapped, flushing. "What reason would I have anyway to be jealous of her?" "Hey…" Harry wrapped his arms around Draco and pulled him close, Draco's back to Harry's chest. He laid a kiss against one blonde eyebrow. "I'm just teasing." Harry chided, gently.
"Maybe a little jealous." Draco allowed, settling comfortably against Harry. "You don't ever have to be, okay?" Harry said, as Draco craned his neck to look back at him. Harry leaned closer, nibbling at Draco's bottom lip for a moment before letting go and watching the sky. Draco laid his head on Harry's shoulder, leaning against him fully and sighing, smiling almost happily. "To me, the setting of the sun signifies an end, the end of a day, end of life as we know it; the end of a cycle…" Draco said, quietly.
Harry smiled, understandingly.
"So suffice to say, I'm not a very big fan of sunsets." Draco shrugged with one shoulder. Harry sighed against Draco's hair and placed a kiss on his nape. Silence settled over them. Harry broke it, suddenly. "Well, to me? Sunset signifies a new beginning." Draco frowned confused, "How so?" Harry smiled. "You see, I see the sunset as an opportunity to start again. When the sun sets today, it takes with it all our mistakes and regrets giving us an opportunity to start anew tomorrow; another chance, as such, so to speak." He looked down at Draco, his eyes shining. "Tomorrow is another day." He said, grinning down at the blonde.
Draco smiled sadly.
"Harry, I have a…" His voice cracked then. Harry shook his head, frowning. "You're not under any pressure to tell me, love." Draco held up a hand and stood, stretching. "I want you to know." He said, as he watched Harry stand up as well. "I have a hole in my heart, close to the aorta." He confessed, softly. "Apparently, if they don't find a donor of the same blood type, I don't have much time left." And quite suddenly, he felt on top of the world. He felt light, at ease like the boulder placed on his chest had been hefted away and at peace.
Harry did not say another word, he held out his hands and Draco walked into them. His grip tightened around Draco and he realized with a smile that it was not something that worried Harry too much or if it did, it did not change the boy's feelings for him. He relaxed like a putty in Harry's arms. Over his head, Harry glanced at Sirius who was staring at Harry, his head cocked. He smiled, quietly at the dog.
There already was a solution to that, he thought, thinking with a pang about Azarel.
At least, he could be sure, he wouldn't lose Draco. As long as he could be sure Draco would be alright, he could let go of him without any qualms. It would hurt, like nothing ever had before, but then when was anything in his life painless?
XxX
"There is absolutely no way, then?" Harry's voice was quite and rather cheerful if one did not look too close. It didn't fool Healer Alphonzo, though.
The Healer sighed, heavily. "Harry, love, you didn't want any treatment, though I insisted we try at least the basics. What am I to do, son?" Harry smiled sadly at the Healer. "I understand, Amos." He said, standing. "I had actually accepted a long time ago. My magic, it was apart of me as long as I can remember yes, and I miss it horribly; but it is not something that I cannot live without." He shrugged and bit his lip.
"Human mind, you know? Sometimes, it slips out of your control." He turned and walked to the door. "So you have made up your mind to leave us, Master Potter?" Healer Alphonzo looked horribly unhappy, like he had failed him somehow. Harry kept his hands on the door knob and turned. "No point staying, is there? My magic, it's not going to come back."
His eyes met the Healer's. "I didn't mean to make you unhappy, Healer Alphonzo. Thank you for trying, but sometimes, in the game of life, we lose." He shrugged with one shoulder. "We have to be good sports about it, yeah?" And he smiled.
Swinging the door open, he walked out, shutting it quietly behind him. The Healer let his head fall forward on the table, cushioning it with his palms. "Why, Merlin, do you put those who serve you most faithfully through such anguish?"
XxX
"Afternoon, Draco. Where have you been all morning?"
He looked up from the book he was pursuing. "I've been here the whole day, mate. Where have you been?" Harry grinned and ran a hand through his spiky black hair. "Had a hair-cut. Sirius is with the hair-dresser now. She's giving my baby a trim." Draco smiled. "Nice. Come, sit with me."
He gestured to the other end of the couch he was sitting on and made a move to pull back his stretched out feet. "Nah, don't bother." Harry said and sat down, lifting Draco's feet and placing them on his lap.
A comfortable silence ensued.
"Hey Dre?" Draco had gone back to reading his Potions book and looked to b in the grips of the many million varieties of concoctions listed in the book. "Draco?" Harry tried again. "Hmm?" Harry pouted. "You're not listening to me." Draco put his book down and frowned at him. "What is it?" He asked, urgently, wanting to get back to his book.
"What would you…?" Harry stopped suddenly, as if unsure. Draco kept his eyes on Harry's face, curious. "Yeah?" He encouraged. Harry fidgeted. "Harry!" Draco snapped, impatiently after another five minutes of silence. "What would you do….?" Harry looked up and stared straight into Draco's eyes. "What would you do, Draco, if the person you loved most in the world cheated on you?"
Draco froze. Fear and a definite uncertainty crept into his eyes and Harry watched, quietly.
"Why?" Draco asked, quietly. "Why what?" Harry asked, surprised. Before Draco could formulate a reply, a short bark announced Sirius and he pranced in with the pitter-patter of clawed feet on the tiled floor. Harry pulled his eyes away from Draco's and immediately felt a little more comfortable. "Siri, baby, did that mean old woman handle my precious boy right? Should daddy go beat her up?"
Harry rubbed behind Sirius's ears and pulled him close, inhaling the freshly washed smell of his fur. The dog whimpered happily.
"Harry, why would you ask me that?" Draco demanded, slightly hysterically.
Harry looked at him, his eyes serious, and lips unsmiling. "What would you do?" he asked again. "I don't know." Draco snapped, furiously. "It hasn't ever happened to me, before, I keep telling you I've never been in love." He paused. "There's been no one but you, Harry." His voice was pained and Harry hurt, knowing what he was about to do would most probably be the end of his relation ship with Draco.
"Tell me I didn't make the worst mistake of my life, Harry, please tell me you're not going to leave me here and run." Draco said, his voice bordering on furious. His eyes flashed, how dare Harry ask him a question like that? "You did." Harry said his voice calm. "I have to let you know this at some point." Harry took a deep breath.
"I'm leaving St. Barakiel's after your transplant surgery next week. I…" He paused, wondering why he was purposefully stepping on his own heart. It would break his heart if his father disowned him, Blaise Zabini had written, which he wouldn't do if you co-operated, of course. "Ginny's waiting for me, Draco."
Draco looked up, his eyes cold. "Well, then, that's that, I suppose." He pulled his feet off Harry's lap and stood, "Thank you, Potter, for the good memories you gave me." He smiled, mirthlessly. "I assure you, I'll forget them as soon as possible."
Harry stood as well, his eyes watering, raising his arm for Draco. "Wait, Draco, I…" Draco turned, "Don't fucking touch me, damn it. It's all done. Everything that has to be said, has been said, Potter." He snarled. "If you're staying till the end of my transplant because of some warped sense of obligation towards me, please, for the love of Merlin, don't bother." He shook his head, violently.
"The sooner you're out of my life and back in Weaslette's arms, the sooner I can work on ridding all evidence of your presence in my life." He grinned, showing his teeth and raised his hand in a two-finger salute. "Wish you a good life, Potter. It's the least I can do, considering how good you were in bed." He stalked away, his steps rather wobbly, his head still held high and proud.
Harry sat on the couch, his head in his arms. "No." He said when Sirius nudged him with his wet snout. "It's what I want for him. I'll be better after this lifetime…" He smiled flatly.
"Maybe."
XxX
He raced down the corridor, his eyes darting into every room that flashed past him.
He ran down the stairs, taking two at a time. "Harry?" He yelled, glancing into the room that used to be the Hero's. He ran down the second flight of stairs and paused when he saw his Healer. "Healer Alphonzo" He called urgently. The man turned to look at Draco and smiled cheerfully at him. "There you are, I've been meaning to talk to you."
"Later, perhaps, sir. I'm looking for Potter." Draco replied.
"Oh." The man's face darkened in confusion. "I'm sorry, Master Malfoy, Master Potter left last night, of course." Draco's heart leapt to his chest and he felt desperation well inside him. The Healer frowned. "I was under the impression that you were aware?" Draco shook his head numbly. He felt a freezing metal hand squeeze his heart painfully and he stopped breathing. When he began to breathe again, every breath he took was excruciating agony. Draco tired to find his voice to ask if Harry had been cured of whatever he had come to St. Barakiel's for. He came up blank; his voice box had seemingly frozen over.
"Master Potter is fine, Draco." Healer Alphonzo said, gently. "There was nothing life-threatening even when he came here. He was forced to, by his friends, apparently, who were rather concerned about Harry's state of magic." Draco's throat was chocking up, but he honestly couldn't find the tears to cry. All he felt was a strange sort of numbness and a hollow sense of loss.
He sat down on the steps, heavily.
Healer Alphonzo crouched down beside him. He handed Draco a white envelope. "Here." He said, gently. "Harry asked me to give this to you, if you will have it. It seemed as if he wanted nothing to be left unsaid." Draco looked up at the Healer, his eyes empty, tearless. He took the envelope wordlessly. Then he stood up, slowly.
"He's gone, isn't he? He…he didn't even say good bye." His voice broke. The Healer held out his hands. Draco took a lengthy look at them and shook his head mutely. He was really gone, wasn't he? It's your fault, Malfoy; He whispered to himself, inside his head. Your fault he didn't even say goodbye.
He turned around and ran.
XxX
Hey Draco,
If you're reading this, then I guess, just perhaps, you've forgiven me?
I won't ask for it, honestly, I know I don't deserve it, but Draco, you got to believe me when I say that I didn't actually expect things to turn out this way.
You deserve to know why I was at St. Barakiel's at least now, so I'll tell you. I lost mu magic after the final battle with Voldemort. It's gone. A wand is just another stick to me now. I can't feel the magic in my blood, running through my veins or even the slight flare when I cast spells. It's simply gone.
Hermione and Ron insisted that I come and stay with Healer Alphonzo for a few years; do the basic training once again and see if it comes back. I wasn't going to stay long, wasn't going to waste my life that way. So I agreed on one year.
When I saw you there, I was surprised, shocked maybe and wanted so very badly to see you smile. It seemed Draco, as if you had forgotten how to smile, I never thought I'd fall in love with you and never thought you'd return that sentiment. I know that is honestly, no excuse for hurting you that way, but I am already spoken for.
Ginny has been waiting for me all these years and she's willing to move with me to the Muggle World after our marriage. I honestly, couldn't ask you to give up your life in the wizarding world for me, Draco. It seemed almost heartless to me.
Just please, try not to think of me with anything but a smile, which is rather unfair, but I couldn't bear it if you cried when you thought about me. No more tears!
Move on, Draco. Live your life to the fullest, for you, this is the beginning and the sky your limit.
Keep smiling for me.
Yours, (for I doubt I can be anyone else's after this)
Harry.
P.S: Sirius says Hi and he's terribly whiny because he misses you so.
P.P.S: I love you, Draco, with every tiny inch of my heart!
He clenched his fist around the letter, and ground his teeth. Finally, the dams burst and Draco Malfoy buried his head in his hands and cried; cried desperately for all that he had lost; alone and aware now, what a broken-heart felt like.
XxX
He put the flowers on the marble headstone and leaned down and kissed it gently.
"Thank you for giving me another chance at life, Azarel. I don't even know what you look like, just that I will do everything in my power to make your sacrifice worth it." He whispered. "Master Malfoy?" The Healer called from the Atrium, smiling. "Are you ready to go?" He walked closer and held out a hand to Draco. "Careful for a few days alright? You had your surgery a week ago." He reminded.
Draco put a hand to his chest, gently. Azarel's heart beat within him, the beats strong and regular.
A firm, determined light shone in his eyes. It mad him look striking, beautiful. His father smiled coldly at him. "You ready to go, my son?" Draco nodded and took a step forward. He had been given a second chance at life by a little boy he knew nothing about. He wasn't going to let the boy's goodwill be in vain.
It was the first day of the rest of his life.