A/N: It's been awhile. Yes, call me lazy :D

Thank you for the reviews!! Plushy hearts for everyone!

Nothing much to say except that Draco is getting better, albeit slowly.

Warnings: Nothing much.

Chapter 12

Awakening the Magic

Draco sighed. It was snowing outside. He looked down at his lap where Storm was sleeping. The little puppy had been lured to sleep by Draco's stroking fingers.

"It's just you and me, little guy," Draco whispered; he made his floating chair move away from the window. "Harry just had to pick today to go buy some 'stuff'."

Storm trembled lightly on his lap, but otherwise continued sleeping.

Draco chuckled softly as his chair made its way to his and Harry's bedroom. Once he was inside, Draco commanded the chair to take him to the side of the bed. He gently placed Storm on the mattress and let the pup sleep more comfortably. Draco knew his legs were on the bony side since he hadn't used them for months. The muscle mass had decreased and Harry had told him that they might start on some physical therapy before the last two treatments of the lumbar injection.

Draco frowned as he massaged his tight muscles. His treatments were working but that didn't mean he could start walking again right away. Harry was a great Healer, not a miracle giver.

"… Draco?"

The man in question perked up at the sound of his boyfriend's voice. He grinned and moved to the doorway of the bedroom.

"Harry? I'm in the room!" Draco hollered. He heard Harry chuckle and a few seconds later Harry was in front of him, with two bags in his hands. "What did you buy?" Draco tried to peer into the bags but Harry laughed and took a step back.

"It's Christmas decorations," Harry answered, juggling the bags. "Come to the living room; I got you something."

"Me?" Draco asked excitedly. "Is it my Christmas present?"

"I think it's better than that," Harry said, chuckling at his boyfriend's reaction. He gestured for Draco to follow him. With a shrug, Draco made his chair float behind Harry.

"Did you really need four hours to buy Christmas decorations?" Draco asked as he and Harry settled near the couches.

"Well… No," Harry said slowly. "I only spent forty-five minutes on decorations and the rest of the time went to…" Harry plunged his hand into one of the bags and produced a skinny, long box. "I had to wait while he made the finishing touches on this."

Draco's breath hitched; he reached out and took it when Harry offered the box to him.

"You-you got me…" Draco murmured as he carefully lifted the lid.

"Yes, I thought it was time for you to have one again," Harry said, watching Draco stroking the thin piece of wood inside the box.

Nestled in a sea of dark red satin was a wand. Hawthorn, unicorn hair, and ten inches. It was the exact one of Draco's old wand, the one that snapped into pieces during the accident. Draco took it out of the box and held it in his right hand; sparks flew from the tip and a burst of magical aura surrounded both Draco and Harry.

"How did you know my old wand was Hawthorn?" Draco looked at Harry; the aura was just settling down again. The dark-haired man blushed and scratched the back of his neck. "I never told you…"

"Erm… I kind of… remembered from our school days," Harry answered sheepishly; he smiled at the blond. "I was worried that it wouldn't work since it's not your first wand. You know… all that 'wand chooses the wizard' thing. Technically speaking, I chose it, not you."

Draco looked down at his new wand and shook his head. "This one's perfect. It calms me… calms my magic.

"For the past months I always felt small urges… Urges that made me want to use my magic on something. It didn't matter who or what I use it on… it just wants to come out." Draco sighed and pointed his wand at a desk lamp on Harry's right. With a swish and a flick, Draco intoned, "Wingardium Leviosa."

The lamp shook for a moment, and then it wobbled on the table, then finally, it floated and hovered about until Draco ended the spell. Harry beamed at his lover but frowned when Draco's face turned pale. He rushed over to the sitting man and plucked the wand from Draco's hand.

"Take it easy, love," Harry murmured. "You haven't used magic for so long and your body had been weakened by the accident. One thing at a time, alright?"

"I was worried the lamp was going to fall over. For a moment I thought the spell wouldn't work." Draco dropped his head on Harry's broad shoulder. "Harry, don't put the wand away; I promise I won't use it too much. I need to have it with me again. I felt so… vulnerable without one."

"Now you have one," Harry smiled, "you don't have to worry anymore. Tomorrow, Draco, we'll start training."

"My magic?" Draco asked, confused. "You just said—"

"Nope, not your magic." Harry shook his head. "I meant your physical therapy."

Draco looked into dancing green eyes and gulped.

"Do we really need to go back to St. Mungo's for this?" Draco asked. His head was turned to the side, watching buildings and people pass by as Harry drove down the streets of London.

"We do." Harry made a right turn, cursed when a pedestrian made to cross the street. The woman stepped back when Harry honked. "Damn… I hate mornings," Harry muttered under his breath.

"And why do we need to go there? You still haven't answered my question yet," Draco said; he sighed and closed his eyes when the car came to a slow crawl. Traffic in the morning hours was horrible.

"Draco, have you seen any therapy equipments in my house?" Harry asked, chuckling. "I have total access to the tools at St. Mungo's because I'm the one in charge of the equipments; I was the one that asked for St. Mungo's to have a room for physical therapy." Harry drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Cars stopped moving altogether. "Ah, this might be a problem."

Malfoy rolled his eyes at Harry's comment. "You think? We should've left later when the traffic jams are over, not leaving at eight when the traffic is most dense." Draco picked up the thermos from the cup holder and took a sip of hot coffee. "Thank god you made coffee or else I would be cranky the whole time we're at St. Mungo's."

"I lived with you for two months, almost three. I should know your habits by heart now," Harry said; he chuckled when Draco pinched his arm. "You like drinking your coffee hot, two cubes of sugar, and no milk," Harry recited. "You never go with a heavy breakfast; buttered toasts would be fine for you. Maybe an orange if you felt like it."

"Too true," Draco agreed. "I was never fond of eating too much in the mornings. I always had the thought that I just woke up and my stomach wouldn't be too keen in holding too much food."

"Uh huh…" Harry stopped drumming his fingers and let out a small, relieved laugh when the cars in front started moving at a snail's pace. "Finally!"

Draco scoffed and set his thermos back into the cup holder. "Wake me up when we're there. I'm sleepy; you woke me up at seven, destroyed my beauty sleep."

Harry snorted and patted Draco's thigh. "Alright, princess. I'll wake you up later."

The blond scoffed. "Princess? I have a cock, you know."

"Mmm… You don't need to tell me; I know."

"Damn right." Draco smiled and closed his eyes.

HPDMHPDMHPDM

Draco woke up to soft jostling. His eyes cracked open and the first thing he saw was a mop of unruly hair.

"… Harry?"

Harry stopped fumbling with the car seat and turned to peer at Draco. He smiled warmly and gave Draco small peck on his nose.

"Sorry, love; I was going to let you sleep some more. I thought I'd just take you out of the car without waking you up… but I guess that didn't work." Harry went back to moving the seat.

"Oh… It's okay… I—" Draco yawned, "—I'm good."

"Well, okay." Harry backed out from the car and used his hips to open the car door wider. "Let me just…" Harry ducked out and pulled the wheelchair closer. "Mind your head."

Draco nodded and wrapped his arms around Harry's shoulders without being asked. Harry grunted and lifted the blond off the seat, minding Draco's head, and placed him into the waiting wheelchair.

"Do you want your coffee? I think there's still some left," Harry said.

"Oh, yes… I think I'll need it." Draco murmured his thanks when Harry handed him the thermos.

"Alright, let's go. To the fifth floor."

Draco grumbled and made his chair follow Harry. It was going to be a tiring day.

"Wow…" Draco's eyes widened at all the equipments in the room. "Am I going to have to go through all of that?" He then eyed fearfully at the monstrosity in the middle of the room. "What is that thing?!"

"Oh, that's not for you," Harry said. "It's for people that need to work on their upper body strength." Harry walked over to a smaller metal contraption and gestured for Draco to come over. He smiled at the blond and patted the machine. "You're going to use this one. I'll help you sit in the seat and hook your feet under this thing…" Harry used his foot and tapped a dumbbell looking thing. "Then you are going to try to lift it up with your feet. Got it?"

"Er… Yeah. Sounds easy enough," Draco replied; he looked up at Harry and held out his arms. "Help me?"

After explaining how the equipment would help Draco, Harry stood in front and watched as Draco tried to lift the bar up. The blond was straining with effort; his face red and was starting to sweat. Harry could see the way Draco's legs were shaking as he used all his might to lift the bar. Harry encouraged his boyfriend, telling him that he was doing well. Draco glared at Harry and took a deep breath; scrunched up his face and lift.

Harry grinned when the bar moved up an inch. "Draco! Try harder! You're doing just fine."

"My legs really hurt… my thighs… they burn," Draco panted. With a pained groan, he dropped his feet, the bar falling with a thunk.

"It's okay; you just started and I didn't expect you to lift it high," Harry said. "It was a good start, Draco."

Draco rubbed his sore muscles and shook his head. "I don't think I've sweat so much in my life!"

Harry smiled sympathetically at him. "I know it's hard work, Draco… but if you want to heal, then you have to do this."

Draco huffed and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He then used both of his hands to massage his calves, loosening up the muscles before trying again.

"I'll do it," Draco muttered. "I sure as hell am not giving up. Not when we've come this far."

Harry smiled, satisfied.

Draco would walk again. Harry was sure of it.

HPDMHPDMHPDM

"Hold on to the side bars, love," Harry coached. "Grip it firmly and try to take a step. Don't make the steps too far apart; small steps only." He had one hand wrapped around Draco's right bicep; the other was on the small of his back.

Draco looked down at his feet, staring. He was standing on his own two feet! He could actually feel the padding beneath his feet, feel his muscles quivering, trying to hold his body upright. Draco was sweating, but he didn't care. He followed Harry's instruction and took a small step forward. His feet moved by four inches.

"Keep on going, Draco. You're doing great," Harry said softly; his hand on Draco's back was rubbing soothing circles.

"I'm doing it, aren't I?" the blond asked excitedly. "I… I'm walking." Draco beamed at Harry and then looked back down at his feet. "I haven't felt the ground for… for so long…"

"Try again," Harry encouraged. Draco nodded and did another step.

Harry could actually feel the excitement emitting in waves from the blond. He held on to Draco's arm, complimenting when Draco walked a couple of steps without pausing. Soon, Harry slowly removed his hand from Draco's back; the blond did not notice. When the brunet felt that his boyfriend was ready, he let go altogether and just stood there, watching.

Draco didn't notice any of those things and he walked… and walked…

"Good job, Draco." Draco was smiling at his accomplishment; he was at the end. When he heard Harry's voice behind him, Draco turned around, shocked.

Harry grinned cheekily, held up his hands and waved at Draco with both hands. "You did it all by yourself, love. You walked to the end, without stopping, by yourself."

Draco gaped at the dark-haired man. A smile slowly crept across his face and Draco began laughing. Harry was happy that his love was smiling and laughing.

"I-I did it! I walked!" Draco cried. He was so happy that he let go of the two sidebars. Draco gasped when he wobbled and almost fell over. He grasped the metal bar with his hands, preventing his fall.

Harry walked up to Draco briskly; Draco's floating wheelchair followed along.

"Don't get too excited, Draco. You walked, but you still need lots of work." Harry helped Draco into the chair. "After the two lumbar injections and some more therapy… I think it's safe to say you can walk, even if it's still unsteady."

Draco took Harry's warm hands and held it in his. He looked up at Harry lovingly.

"It's all thanks to you," Draco said. "You… Harry, you made it possible. Two months ago I really thought I would be crippled for life…" Draco brought Harry's hand to his lips and he kissed his knuckles. "Thank you."

Harry knelt down beside his boyfriend; his thumb was smoothing the back of Draco's hand.

"No need to thank me. I love you, and I want you to be well. I should be the one thanking you. You trusted me to treat you. Heaven knows something could go wrong with all the potions I gave you."

"It all worked out in the end, didn't it?" Draco asked. "Your treatment helped; I can walk again." Draco's eyes followed as Harry stood up. "Take us home, Harry. I'm tired… I think I did enough for today."

Harry studied Draco's face and indeed the man seemed a bit pale. Harry nodded and together, they left the room.

Things would be just fine.

Two days later, Draco was once again by the window. Only this time his hands were busy playing with the thin piece of wood held between his fingers. He watched as grey clouds drifted by; it was going to snow soon. The temperature had dropped quite significantly during the past two days; it was so cold that Harry had even made Storm wear a doggy shirt.

There was an emergency at St. Mungo's today and thus, Harry was at the hospital right at the moment, and not home with Draco. It was a flu epidemic. People, witches and wizards, came by the dozen, all showing signs of a really bad flu or cold, so said the Master Healer of St. Mungo's. Harry was called in this morning; the hospital needed some extra help for treating and making potions.

But Harry didn't leave before putting warm clothes on Draco. He had to practically shove Harry out the door to make the man leave for St. Mungo's.

It was now well into the late afternoon. Harry had promised yesterday that he would help Draco on his magic casting, but seeing how his boyfriend was away, it seemed unlikely. Sighing, Draco moved away from the window. Just as he was coming out from the bedroom, Draco heard Storm's clicking nails on hardwood floor. Chuckling to himself, Draco wondered what got the puppy so excited.

Draco beamed happily when he heard Storm's joyous barks. The Labrador puppy did that only when his master was home.

"Storm! Hey, boy… Did ya miss me?"

Draco made his way to the front hall and found Harry kneeling down, holding Storm and scratching the pup's ears. Draco chuckled softly when Harry planted a big, fat kiss on top of Storm's furry head. Harry looked up from his puppy, his eyes filled with love, when he saw Draco there.

Draco smirked as Harry stood up. "If I didn't know better, I would say you love that dog more than me." Draco mock-pouted and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Aw, don't be like that, Draco," Harry chuckled, "you know there is nothing, not even my baby, could ever take your place." Harry gave Storm one last kiss before setting the dog down. The pup barked one last time before scampering in the direction of the living room. "I think Storm understands."

Draco scoffed; he tilted his head up when Harry came over and gave him a kiss. "You're lucky Storm is a very clean puppy; I wouldn't let you kiss me otherwise."

Harry laughed heartily and Draco followed his boyfriend as the dark-haired man walked to their bedroom.

"How were things at St. Mungo's? You didn't catch anything while you're there, did you?" Draco scrunched up his nose. "You are not coming anywhere near me if you did."

Harry kicked off his dress shoes and nudged them to the side of a bureau. "No, we healers did all the precautions. You really don't have to worry about me catching the flu." Next to go was Harry's healer robe. Draco rolled his eyes when the robe landed in a puddle on the floor. "There were so many elderly people in there today… I hope they'll feel better after taking the potions they were ordered to take." Harry turned around and frowned at Draco. "I had to strengthen the potions that were normally used for the common cold. It seemed this flu was resistant to the normal dosage. I brought a vial…" Harry patted his trousers near the pockets. "… Where did I…?"

"The robe?" Draco nodded his head at the floor.

Harry turned around again and bent down, giving Draco a nice view of his arse. Draco gulped; Harry did have a nice bum…

"Aha!" Harry took out a tiny vial and held it between his thumb and forefinger. "Here it is! I took one home for you take, just in case. I don't want you to be sick, Draco."

"That small little thing? It's barely a teaspoon, probably less," Draco mused.

"I did say I had to strengthen it," Harry said. "People would only need a small dosage for this; too much might lead to… Well, it would give the drinker hallucinations."

"Hallucinations? It's that strong?"

Harry nodded. "This flu potion is lace with a small amount of Sleeping Draught. The drinker would fall asleep at approximately fifteen minutes after taking it."

Draco whistled; Harry smiled and set the small vial on the bureau. "You can take it before we go to bed tonight."

When Draco gave him a nod, Harry turned to their closet and rummaged through their clothes. He picked out a comfortable jumper and a pair of sweats.

"So, what did you do today?" Harry asked conversationally as he dressed in front of Draco's hawk-like eyes.

"Nothing much," Draco answered. "Waiting for you to come home… Playing with my wand…" Draco smiled when Harry wiggled his backside.

Harry let out a small gasp. He hopped around as he tried to get his foot to go through the legging of his sweats. When he went to look at Draco, he finally saw the man holding the thin piece of wood in his right hand.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, love…" Harry bit his lip, remembering that he had promised Draco that he would help him with his spell casting.

"It's alright," Draco said. He moved to where his boyfriend was standing, hunched over, an apologetic look on his face. "I had a bit of fun while you were gone. I levitated a stack of plates out from the cupboard and put them back inside. I'm proud to say I didn't break a single one of your ceramic plates."

Harry laughed and held out his hands. Draco looked at them and knew what Harry wanted. He hesitantly placed his own in Harry's.

"I know you can walk small distances now," Harry murmured. "Hold on to my hands and let's walk to the living room. I know you can do it." With that said, Harry pulled Draco up and out of the wheelchair.

Draco's knees wobbled and shook as he stood on his own two feet. Harry had given him the third injection last night and with it, gave him more control of his legs and feet. Not to mention Draco could feel more as well.

"I'm not going to let go," Harry whispered and guided Draco out the bedroom. "You've been sitting all day. You need to get the blood circulation going."

Draco nodded; he licked his lips and looked down at his feet, watching them move. "When do you think I can fully walk by myself, Harry?"

"Well…" Harry tugged Draco's hand, taking them to the left side of the hall. "I can't say for certain, but I hope maybe within another two months…"

"Oh…" Draco was slightly disappointed. He was hoping he could walk to start off a new year.

"… But if we work hard, it could be sooner than that," Harry continued; he squeezed Draco's hand encouragingly. "Now, I promised that I would help you and I'm not one that breaks promises."

Draco smiled and listened as Harry babbled on telling him not to overwork himself while practicing using his wand and unleashing greater amounts of magic.

He was one lucky guy to have someone like Harry.

A person that took care of him.

A person that was there whenever Draco needed him. And finally...

Harry was someone that he could truly love.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: The long awaited chapter! I'm very disappointed with myself… :( Please forgive me! Dx

Thanks for reading and being so patient with me :D You guys will get a bag of freshly baked cookies! In the shape of Harry! ;P