It had been a few weeks since Harry had last talked to Draco about the potion and he was curious to see if Draco had made any progress with it so he apparated outside of Draco's shop. It was around the time he would close up for the night but he was curious about the potion and knew it wouldn't take too long. He pushed on the door and saw it wasn't locked so he entered the shop. The place was empty and he assumed Draco was in his brewing room so he began to make his way toward the back.
"We're closed!" Draco called out.
Harry thought his voice sounded weird like he was slurring.
Suddenly he heard a crash so he quickly made his way behind the counter, "Draco?" He called out to see if the other male was okay. Once he got to the staircase he saw Draco on the floor, "You alright?" He asked, offering a hand to Draco to help him up. He was a little relieved to see that Draco didn't seem to be hurt.
Draco didn't take his hand and struggled to stand instead but not because he was hurt but because he was drunk. "Potter? What're you-" he said as he almost lost his balance again so he leaned against the wall. "What're you doing here?" He slurred.
Harry kept his arms out just in case Draco were to lose his balance again. "Merlin, Draco. How much have you had to drink?" He asked, eyeing Draco. The man looked like a complete mess. Typically Draco was a very put together person, even during the war his hair and clothes had barely been messed up but currently his clothes were wrinkled and untucked, his hair was disheveled, and his eyes were half-lidded. "I came to see if you made any progress with the potion but I see I've come at a bad time." He said as he gently grabbed Draco's arm and put it around his shoulders and then he wrapped his arm around Draco's torso so he could safely get him up the stairs.
Draco scoffed and tried to push away from him but he kept a strong grip and Draco didn't have much strength right now. "I don't need your help, Potter." He slurred. Harry began leading him upstairs effortlessly despite Draco's protests. "I'm perfectly capable of walking upstairs without help thank you," Draco said, grabbing onto the railing with all the strength he could muster so Harry would stop leading him up the stairs.
Harry rolled his eyes but decided to humor the situation, "Fine, by all means, go up the stairs by yourself." He said before letting go of Draco and motioning for him to go. Draco made it up four stairs before almost falling again. He had been fully prepared to catch Draco again so he didn't fall. "That's what I thought." He muttered as he wrapped an arm around Draco's torso again.
"Fuck off." Draco muttered but leaned into him. Draco wasn't much help at this point and he was now practically half dragging half carrying Draco the rest of the way up the stairs. He wasn't too heavy which Harry was grateful for, however, it was all dead weight so he struggled a bit because of the way he was carry dragging him. When they got to the top of the stairs Draco lazily waved his hand and unlocked the door.
When they entered Draco's flat he led them to the couch and tossed him down on it. Draco let out an "Umph." But wasn't too bothered since he began to lie down. Harry went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass then filled it with water. When he came back to the living room Draco had his arm over his eyes to block out the lights. He put the glass down with enough force to make a loud sound to jolt Draco awake.
The blonde groaned and turned on his side to face the back of the couch, "Your job is done here, Potter. You're free to go." He said, his voice muffled by the cousins in front of him.
Harry grabbed Draco's shoulder softly and shook him. "Drink the water. It'll help with the hangover." He said, trying to turn Draco around but the male was stubborn.
"Have a hangover potion." He said, lazily fishing out three potions from his pocket and tossing them on the coffee table. The three bounced and one fell off and rolled away.
"Draco get up. Drink the water." He said sternly while shaking Draco.
Why were Slytherins so stubborn?
Again, Draco groaned but sat up. "I don't need a bloody babysitter." He slurred but grabbed the glass and took a sip. His eyes darted around the coffee table and grabbed one of the two that were on the table and downed it.
Harry rolled his eyes, "But you do need someone who's going to make sure you don't fall and hurt yourself."
Draco scoffed and stood up with only minimal stumbling. "Again, I'm perfectly capable of doing things without your bloody help." He said and began to stumble to his room. He did better than going up the stairs, instead of falling he only bumped shoulders with the door frame. "See, Potter." He said, gesturing around before stepping into his room.
Harry was a bit amused, "Yeah, after shoulder-checking the door." He said, crossing his arms.
Draco rolled his eyes and dramatically closed his door, it reminded Harry of a teenage girl in one of those muggle movies he'd seen. There wasn't enough force to fully close the door though, not that either of them noticed. Harry sat down while he waited to make sure Draco would be okay. However, when he sat down he had a perfect view of Draco's room through the cracked door. Harry should look away, he knew this but he couldn't. He watched as he slipped off his trousers and kicked them aside before slipping out of his sweater and tossing it in the same direction that he tossed his pants in. This was a huge invasion of privacy but Harry couldn't take his eyes off of Draco in only his boxers, he tried to reason with himself by saying it was to make sure Draco didn't fall again even though he knew Draco wasn't stumbling drunk anymore.
If Harry was being honest, it wasn't a horrible sight, Draco had a nice body. Harry watched as Draco looked down at his arm and chest. It was then that demeanor had gone from a stumbling drunk to tense in only seconds. Draco's shoulders straightened and his face hardened. Harry didn't know what Draco was thinking but he could tell by the way the blonde was running his hand along the scars on his torso and the way he was looking at the dark mark that they probably weren't good thoughts.
The emotions Draco had on his face reminded him of how he was in the bathroom that one day at Hogwarts. The day Harry hurt Draco. Harry still regretted it. He hadn't known what the spell did and he was under so much stress so he cast it in self-defense.
To snap them both out of their thoughts Harry called out, "You alive in there?" Which caused Draco to jump.
"Uh, yeah." Draco said then quickly grabbed pajamas and threw them on. They were silk bottoms and a black long sleeve sleep shirt. He walked out of his bedroom without stumbling, "You're free to go, Potter." He said, avoiding eye contact.
Harry eyed him as he stood up, "Are you okay?" He asked.
Draco sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "I'm drunk and tired, I would like to go to bed."
Harry wanted to push the subject but he didn't. Perhaps he'd come back in the morning to check in on Draco.
The next morning he grabbed some ingredients out of his fridge and apparated to Draco's. The front door was left unlocked so he went inside and saw the sleeping male on the couch, snoring softly. He stopped for a second to examine Draco, his face was a bit swollen possibly from crying. Harry recognized it easily as his face would do the same in the mornings.
The potion was still on the floor so Harry picked it up and placed it on the coffee table before walking to the kitchen and casting a silencing charm so he could cook without disturbing Draco. Now that he was here and about to cook he realized he didn't know what food Draco liked. So far Draco had eaten everything Harry had brought so surely Harry would make at least one thing he liked. He emptied the bags of food on the counter and began to cook. He decided to make pancakes, sausage, eggs, biscuits, and bacon. There was a lot of variety so Draco had to like at least one thing he made.
It didn't take Harry long to cook or it didn't feel long since he enjoyed cooking now that he was older and it was expected of him. Now it was something he did for fun. He'd been in his own world when he heard a gasp that startled him. "Oh, you're awake." He said with a smile and then canceled the silencing charm.
Draco was clutching his chest, "What the fuck, potter?!" He said, leaning against the door frame, "What are you doing here?"
Harry looked back at the food, "Making breakfast?" He said, motioning to the stove which had the majority of the food cooking on it as if it wasn't obvious. "Figured you'd be hungry." He said. "Do you want coffee or tea? I can make either."
Draco rubbed his temples, "Do you always break into people's homes with food?" He snapped as he sat down.
Harry decided that Draco would have to deal with coffee so he began to make it. "I just came by to make sure you were alright." He said with a shrug before he looked for a couple of mugs. "You were proper sloshed last night." He said as he finally found them and grabbed two. "Figured you wouldn't have the energy to cook for yourself."
Draco rolled his eyes, his hangover potion must not have kicked in yet because he was grumpy. "I don't need your bloody savior complex." He snapped again.
Yeah, it hasn't kicked in yet.
Harry waved his hand which caused the plates of food to bring themselves to the table while he carried the mugs to the table. "Calm down. It's not the savior complex this time. I came by last night to ask about the progress of your potion but you weren't in act condition to talk about potions so I figured I'd ask about it this morning." He said, but it was a half-truth. He was making sure Draco was okay.
Draco just glared at Harry. "You could owl me if you're that curious."
Harry shrugged and helped himself to some of the food. It was too much for just the two of them but he didn't care. "I was already nearby so I figured I'd swing by."
Draco took a sip of his coffee before grabbing his fork, "Ever heard of asking permission beforehand?"
"Don't be a prat. You could hardly make it up the stairs without help." Harry said before taking a bite of bacon. "How much did you have to drink last night?"
Draco shrugged and put his mug down to grab his fork. "Stopped counting after ten shots." He said as he poured syrup on the pancakes.
"Did you drink because of your mind healer session?" Harry asked curiously. He wouldn't judge Draco, though. Sometimes he drank to avoid his own emotions too.
Draco tensed up and clenched his teeth. "Not everyone needs a reason to drink, Potter." He said before rolling his eyes again. Harry thought about keeping an eye roll count.
"It was just a question." He said, raising his hands in surrender. "I was just asking because last night I saw you looking at you know…" he wasn't sure if saying it out loud would upset Draco.
Draco's face became red, "You watched me change? I didn't take you for a peeping Tom." He said, now crossing his arms and leaning back into the chair.
Harry's face reddened now, "No, I wasn't- that's not what I was doing." He stammered. Fuck he shouldn't have said anything. How could he get out of this.? "You didn't close the door all the way. I didn't realize until I had sat on the couch and when I saw you were standing there looking at it."
Draco's face went from anger to amusement in seconds. Turns out their conversations weren't the only thing was hot and cold. "I didn't know you were into blokes." He said, smirking.
Harry's face got even redder, he could only imagine what he looked like right now because he'd never been this embarrassed. "No, I wasn't looking at you like that. I just-" The only people he was out to be the Weasleys and his close friends. He was panicking a bit. He didn't know Draco enough to come out to him. He wasn't ashamed of it, but he didn't necessarily want the world to know yet.
Draco laughed and shook his head, the potion must've finally kicked in, "Don't have an aneurysm, Potter. It was a joke. Should've seen your face." He said, cutting Harry off. He still had that stupid smirk on his face, though. "Where did you learn how to cook?" He asked, abruptly changing the subject.
Harry had gotten used to their conversations being tense one moment and then relaxed another. This was one of the times he was glad for their hot and cold moments. He didn't know what he would've done if Draco hadn't changed the subject. Though, this topic wasn't much better.
"My relatives." He said. He hoped if he kept it vague that his answer would suffice.
"You didn't have the elves cook for you?" Draco asked and seemed a bit shocked.
Harry was surprised Draco didn't know. He thought everyone knew he had been raised by muggles. "I was raised by muggles." He said casually. Now he knows how Draco felt about his questioning.
"You were raised by muggles?" Draco asked, a bit surprised by the news. "Really? What was that like?" He seemed genuinely curious.
Harry sighed and tried not to think of what growing up with the Dursleys was like. "I'd rather not talk about it." He muttered.
"We don't have to talk about it, then." Draco said before he resumed eating.
Awkward silence took over now. Harry didn't know what was worse, having to talk about his childhood or being forced to remember it as it was just brought up.
Turns out Harry wasn't the only one who hated the awkward silence because Draco decided to speak up. "It was only partly because of my mind healer session. But typically after rough sessions, George and I go drink. He had been having a rough day so we went out."
Harry was a bit surprised. He used to be the one to help George but a couple of years ago George stopped going to Harry. He assumed it was because of Luna being there for him. "He was having a bad day?" He asked. Harry felt bad, he should've made more time for George. He should go check in with him after breakfast.
Draco gave him a stern look, "Don't go all savior on him too. I was there for him and helped him through it."
Harry tried not to be a little offended by the comment. "You helped him through it?" Harry furrowed his brows.
That earned Harry a glare and a scoff, "Of course I did. He's one of my best friends. You think I'm going to let him be all sad?"
Best friends? He knew they were friends but best friends? "Oh," Harry said, looking down at his hands momentarily. "Thanks for being there for him." He said, now looking up and giving Draco a small smile.
He couldn't believe he hadn't realized how close the two were and he felt a little dumb. They'd been friends for a while and saw each other once a week that he knew of. They could've hung out on days they didn't have mind healer sessions. That's not including their bonding over their traumas too. Well, now that he thought about it, their friendship had been right in front of his face the entire time but he just didn't want to see it. The way George always stuck up for Draco, the way that Draco took care of George at the castle when George was drunk, and the way that George had so much trust in Draco that he had brought Ron here to be healed. It was still weird for Harry to accept.
He also didn't realize that Draco Malfoy could be a caring person. He knew Draco wasn't a prat all the time, but to realize that Draco had a caring side to him was also a weird realization. Well, Harry felt like he knew all along that Draco wasn't a horrible person but he always had a hard time accepting it. He thought maybe because he was so used to hating Draco he couldn't picture not hating him. If he didn't think Draco was a horrible person he didn't think he could still hate him.
But that didn't stop him from thinking that maybe if he had known about this side of Draco in Hogwarts if things would've been different. Would they have been friends? What would have been different between them?
Harry was at a tug of war with his mind, one moment he'd tell himself he'd give Draco a chance to prove he was a better person and the next he'd convince himself that Draco hadn't changed and would become on edge. The proof that Draco was a good person was right in front of him but it was like his mind was ignoring it.
Draco had snapped him out of his thoughts, "That's what friends are for." He said with a shrug before pushing his plate back. "I should start getting ready. I have to open the shop soon." He said before standing up. "Thanks for making breakfast, I can clean up."
"You sure? I don't mind." Harry said as he stood up as well and grabbed his plate.
"Don't be stubborn. You cooked, I can clean." He said, picking up the plates closest to him. Harry hesitated for a moment but decided to help so he began to pick up the remaining plates. "Potter, stop."
Harry looked at Draco, "I don't mind really. I did break into your home." He said, "I should be the one cleaning."
Draco sighed as he walked towards the sink. "Bloody Gryffindors." He muttered before emptying the plates with food into the trash.
Harry couldn't help but smirk at the comment. "I could say the same about Slytherins."
Draco shot Harry a playful glare this time before waving his hand and having the dishes magically wash themselves. "Says the peeping Tom." He said, now having a smirk of his own.
Harry's face reddened again. "I wasn't-"
"Shut up, Potter, I'm joking." He said, cutting Harry off.
Harry relaxed a bit but he did feel a bit guilty for watching Draco. He blamed it on his dry spell and being a bit frustrated. Before he could even stop himself, he opened his mouth and said, "Call me Harry. It feels weird calling you by your first name and hearing you call me by my surname."
Draco stopped what he was doing, "Okay, Harry." He said. "I'm going to go get ready now."
"See you later, Draco," Harry said before making his way out of Draco's apartment. This morning felt like a roller coaster.
It was always like that with them.
Harry apparated home to get ready for work. Luckily he still managed to get to work on time but also, today he couldn't get a certain blond out of his head.
Merlin. He wasn't starting to have a crush on Draco, was he? Surely he wasn't. He definitely wasn't. It's the dry spell. He just needed to get laid. That didn't explain the fact that he just couldn't help but find himself around Draco but that also wasn't unusual for them, though. It had always been like that since they met back in Hogwarts. Since this was normal for them that meant it wasn't a crush. It was desperation or that's what Harry would tell himself.