I own nothing.
A/N: A few people have commented on how much they love Pansy, which makes me really happy, and would make my sister incredibly big-headed, because Pansy is based on her lol. The relationship between Pansy and Draco kinda mimics the one between me and Donna - besides the alcoholism, obviously - she helped me a lot when my life went completely to pot, and we also have this love/hate, know each other inside out thing going on. We totally rely on one another, so I figured who best to draw inspiration for Draco's best friend from than my own?! Don't tell I said that though, I'd never live it down lol.
Anyway, as usual, thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews! My favourite coming from SarahXxUnlovedxX for using my 3 favourite words: Pissed, shit and fuck! Awesomenes!
PLEASE READ! I'm posting this chapter now, without replying to a single review of chapter 10, because I think you guys deserve this chapter right away. I will start replying in a few minutes, however it is midnight and I'm supposed to be up early in the morning. I just want you all to know that I really do appreciate every single word you have to say about the story, and though I feel completely rude leaving your lovely messages unanswered, they really give me so much confidence and the insentive to continue. I'm really sorry if I don't get a chance to respond, but I will give it my very best effort. I love you all, and thank you for your support. xxx
Anywho, I'm good…and I'm bad. Enjoy xxx
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Chapter 11 - Wedded Bliss? Part 2.
"Calm down! It can't honestly be that bad." Pansy slurred as she fell into her seat behind the head table. Draco had just caught her up on the uneasy conversation he'd had with Harry, and she couldn't help but be exasperated with him for biting the brunette's head off…he'd only been alone with him for 10 minutes!
"You didn't see his face! I swear, he's gone. Good job, the further he gets from me the better it is for him." Draco murmured, going against his better judgement and throwing back another glass of champagne. He'd never felt so completely disappointed as he had been walking away from Harry. But what other choice did he have? He had to make Harry see that he wasn't 'perfect', that he was the absolute opposite. A failure and a life-wrecker.
Pansy sighed heavily, her head dropping to hit the table softly. "Your perception of yourself drives me nuts!" She whined.
"Pansy, dear, do try to look as though you're happy you've married me." Blaise sulked from Pansy's other side. His eyes met Draco's for a moment, the blonde feeling entirely guilty for ruining his friend's day, and he shook his head woefully. "Don't worry, Draco. I've always know she was a lush." Blaise added, the corner of his mouth pulling into a reluctant smile. Though his words were less than complimentary to his bride, Draco could see the absolute adoration sparkling in the black man's dark eyes, and he felt his stomach twist with envy.
How very easy it was for Pansy and Blaise to be together. It was almost effortless. And it wasn't fair.
"Blaise, would you rather I look happy or remain conscious? Because at the moment I'm focusing on staying awake!" Pansy huffed, lifting her head back up off the table and reaching for a glass of champagne.
"No!" Blaise growled, swiping the flute from her hand and drinking from it himself. "Just concentrate on staying awake, you little wino."
Draco ignored his friends as they began bickering, and his gaze swept around the hall, searching out Harry in the crowd. He couldn't find him, and he was sure he'd spot him if he was still there. His heart sank as it realised the brunette had taken off, that he had left because Draco was an arse!
The speeches began and tittering laughter erupted every few minutes. Draco tried his best to remain focused on the reception taking place around him - even if Pansy was practically slumped against her chair, fighting against her closing eyelids - but he just couldn't gather enough attention. All he could think about was Harry.
It was hardly difficult to miss Blaise' declining patience, though. Twice he had nudged his wife, and twice he had been told to 'fuck off'. The poor man was single-handedly keeping the reception from turning into an utter disaster, while his wife - who had invited far too many people, and spent far too much money - drank herself into a stupor.
"Well, thank you very much Mrs Zabini -" Blaise hissed once the guests fell back into a rhythm of eating, drinking and dancing, completely oblivious now to the head table, "Your assistance was most appreciated! I'm sure your mother was so proud when you announced that you were, quote 'fucking bored.'"
Draco winced at the furious sarcasm in Blaise' tone of voice, and the ever present guilt for letting Pansy drink so much struck again. 'Sorry' he mouthed to the desolate looking groom.
Pansy, who had been staring off into space, glanced at her husband, her gaze scornful. "I am not your little woman, Blaise!" She hissed, causing the man to look completely confused. Draco was surprised to feel a smirk pull at his mouth - surprised because he had done nothing but sulk for the entire reception - as he remembered the conversation he'd had with Pansy earlier.
"You know what?" Blaise hissed, standing abruptly. "I'm going for a fag!" and pulling a packet of cigarettes from his inside pocket, Blaise swept away towards the gardens outside the hotel, with a cry of 'You told me you'd quit!' following him.
***
Harry had quite forgotten where he was. He had spent the past God knows how long laughing with Theo, even though he was sure that he should be inside pretending to enjoy the wedding reception. However, Draco's mood had completely thrown him, and feeling no closer to deciphering it or knowing how to combat it, he decided to just wait it out. Besides, the blonde was obviously busy fulfilling his best-man duties, and Harry really was having fun outside.
Theo was the most random person Harry had ever met. He seemed to chat about the most unimportant things, yet he made every word sound completely funny. Even when he had regaled Harry with a story about his grandmother's funeral, the brunette had to bite his lip to keep from laughing as Theo explained how he had fallen into a freshly dug grave and had to be pulled free by a creepy grave-digger.
The two men had seemed to come to a silent agreement to keep things light, to not bog down the easy conversation with talk of their private lives. In fact, the most they had divulged that could be considered remotely personal was their names.
It was easy to forget the world continuing around him whilst the handsome man across from him spoke, but Harry hadn't forgotten Draco. The blonde still floated on the edges of Harry's subconscious, threatening to drive him mad. He was sure he had heard Theo mention someone named Dray, but Harry couldn't be sure whether it was just his brain desperately trying to find links to the blonde.
"Ah, sweet nicotine, help me through this traumatic day!" A man's deep voice laughed from behind them after an hour or so of light banter.
Turning slightly, Harry spotted a fairly good looking black man leaning against the waist high stone wall that lined the patio, his eyes closing with pleasure as he lit the cigarette at his lips, breathing in deeply and sighing as he released it.
He noticed with a jolt that the man was dressed the same as Draco, though the light grey tuxedo somehow managed to look better on the blonde man's exquisite frame. Nevertheless, the man was obviously part of the wedding party, and considering he was outside, Harry guessed that the main part of the reception was over with. Now that he thought about it, the music had started again, and talking from inside the doors was louder than before. With his stomach clenching, Harry wondered where Draco was and whether he was looking for him or had decided to just pretend that he hadn't invited Harry at all.
He still had no idea what to say to the blonde when they eventually saw each other again, how to broach a conversation that wouldn't lead to him to him biting Harry's head off again. It irritated Harry that he couldn't work the blonde man out, that he couldn't get a straight forward, solid view of why Draco acted the way he did. The worst part was, it made Harry all the more interested, made him want to figure out the fickle way Draco's mind worked, the odd things he would let slip and the life-time of secrets he kept so closely guarded. He could feel the blonde trying to push him away, trying to keep the bubble he lived in from bursting as Harry hovered on the outside, looking for a way in. But for some reason, some inexplicable, mind-boggling reason, Harry couldn't back off. It was like a magnet pulling him closer, refusing to let go. Not that he wanted to let go, of course, but still he felt like something higher, some divine guardian angel with sadistic tendencies, was forcing him towards the blonde who was steadfastly refusing Harry's advances.
With a mental sigh, knowing that the best way to confront something was head-on, Harry decided to go and find Draco and try and find out what was going on. If the worst came to the worst and Draco backed off again…well, Harry would just have to drag him in a dark corner and make him see reason!
Feeling slightly cheered by the idea, he glanced at Theo, ready to say goodbye to the stranger, and he felt his eyebrows rise at the sight of the smirk plastered across his face. Harry was momentarily confused by it, wondering if he had said his ponderings aloud and the other man was amused, but then he noticed how Theo's head was slightly inclined to the left as though he were listening to the man behind them, his eyes looking at a point passed Harry's head as he concentrated. The smirk was all wrong. It looked completely alien after all the soft smiles and cheeky grins he had used during their easy conversation, and when he began to speak, his tone was different, harder and mocking, and unease settled over Harry as he realised the words were not directed at him.
"I could see why marrying pug-nosed Parkinson would be a traumatic experience, Zabini," Theo exclaimed, turning slowly and focusing on the black man behind them. Harry's mouth dropped open at the remark, and even more so when he realised the black guy was the groom and Draco's best friend. However, his shock was quickly over-shadowed by unease again as Theo rose and faced the other man, and Harry was once again struck by how tall he was, and the way he held himself was almost menacing. "And has no-one ever told you, Blaise…smoking is bad for your heart! Surely you've had that drummed into you!" Theo said, his lip curling distastefully.
Blaise, who had had been motionless with apparent shock until now, flung the barely used cigarette to the ground, his expression slowly morphing into rage as he glared at Theo.
"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Blaise said in a low, dangerous voice. The very next moment he was lurching towards Theo, almost tumbling over Harry who was still sat on the top step. Side-stepping him, Blaise didn't miss a beat as he grabbed a fistful of Theo's shirt and slammed him against the stone urn full of flowers at the top of the steps, sending soil and petals showering over them. "I will kill you if you…"
Harry jumped up as soon as Blaise had swept down upon them, and he tried to pull him away with little success. The black man didn't even seem to realise Harry was there.
"Now, now, Blaise, play nice." Theo smirked, "We wouldn't want to cause a scene and upset the control freak, oh I mean your wife."
Blaise' growled loudly, pulling Theo forward and slamming him once again into the stone urn, earning a wince from the trapped man. With a satisfied leer, Blaise' fist connected with Theo's ribs. "You're one to talk, you piece of fucking filth!" He hissed angrily, the restraining hand that clutched Theo's shirt shaking with obvious fury.
Harry once again tried to pull him away, because even though Theo looked as though he could easily take the black man out, he didn't even appear to be trying to throw him off.
Harry's shocked outburst of 'Can we sort this out without violence?' fell on deaf ears as the two men had continued to ignore him, and he struggled to find a way of resolving the situation without it getting out of hand.
"I think we're forgetting who controlled who, Zabini," Theo murmured, and Blaise' hand flew out of nowhere, connecting with Theo's jaw palm side up and slamming his head against the flower pot, effectively pinning his head to it.
"He did everything for you; he wrecked his entire life for you!" Blaise bellowed, his mouth inches from Theo's ear. Harry glanced quickly at the doors that led to the reception hall in the hope that someone would know what the hell to do. He wondered if he should fetch Draco to sort out his deranged friend, but he really didn't want to put the blonde man in the middle of it if it was going to kick off. Harry would probably murder one of them if they, even unintentionally, hurt Draco.
"Look, I think you should calm down before someone notices." Harry said quickly as the two men glared at each other.
Blaise seemed to finally realise Harry was there, but when he turned his head to face him, his dark brown eyes were fierce, "Look, mate, I don't know who the fuck you are, but I suggest you get as far away from this-" He snarled, shoving Theo again, "-as you can, 'cause the last guy who went near him is still paying for it!"
Harry's eyes flickered over Blaise' face, searching out any sign of a lie, and found none. Theo merely laughed, clearly amused as he muttered "Oh, poor little rich boy"
Incensed, Blaise cracked Theo's head against the urn, and this time the smirking man cried out in pain at the ominous thud, and blood instantly began to trickle down from his forehead and onto his white t-shirt.
"He lost everything-" Blaise began to yell, but Theo cut him off, his voice suddenly just as enraged.
"What? He lost a job, boo-fucking-hoo! I'm sure old Lucius will get over it…someday!" He snarled, a vicious smile pulling at his mouth as he still resisted fighting Blaise off.
"A job? He didn't work in a shop, Nott! He was going places, he had a career and you fucking wrecked it!" Blaise' anger was increasing, and Harry was sure that at any moment the two men would begin fighting. Harry, who had never been in a fight in his entire life and was pretty sure that he hit like a girl, panicked. Just as he was about to call out for help, a mass of white exited the patio doors.
***
Pansy swept into the gardens in a cloud of white froth, her expression enraged as she hunted Blaise mid-cigarette. Draco, who had tried to calm her down and keep her occupied long enough for Blaise to have finished with his dirty little habit, prepared himself for her shrieking as he limped behind her, careful to avoid her feet incase they swung out and kicked him in the shin again.
When Pansy abruptly stopped just outside the doors to the sprawling hotel grounds, Draco staggered, the unexpected stop almost sending him tumbling into her, and he had to grip her waist in order to keep them both upright.
It took him a few moments to work out what the cause for Pansy's rigid, defensive body language was, and as his eyes swept over Harry's shocked face, Draco frowned. Blaise' yelling voice punctuated the peaceful gardens, and Draco's frown deepened as he tried to connect the two things. Was Blaise yelling at Harry? He couldn't see past the vast amounts of chestnut hair and fluffy veil spilling out around Pansy's head to even see Blaise.
Suddenly her hand swung behind her and locked around Draco's wrist as though holding him back, and her grip was painfully tight. Draco could only think of one other time she had clung so fiercely to him, and that was a feat in itself because he wasn't even awake at the time.
She tried to step backwards, pushing the blonde with her bulky dress in the process, but he wasn't moving. There was no way he was going back inside when Blaise was yelling at Harry.
"Get back inside, Pansy, now!" Blaise' voice whipped out, absolute fury in his tone. Draco paled, he had never heard the black man speak that way to his new-wife, and frankly he didn't like it one bit.
He expected Pansy to retort, so he was more than surprised when she spun around in a blur of gossamer and began trying to push him back into the hotel.
"Draco, move, get inside. Please." She whispered frantically, her eyes wide with fear. Her hands shook as she shoved against him, and Draco felt an overwhelming sense that he should be trying to protect Harry.
"No, why is he yelling at Harry? What's going on?" Draco asked, and he was shocked to hear his voice trembling. Pansy's panic affecting him more than he thought possible.
"Please." Pansy begged louder, her tone now saturated with the fear from her expression.
For a fraction of a second, Draco was going to comply, if only to calm down his frantic friend. For a fraction of a second, the world was still a relatively safe place.
For a fraction of a second…until he spoke.
"Hello, Dray. Long time, no see." The purring voice of his past greeted, the same amount of delicate caress in its tone as the last time it had been directed solely at the blonde.
Harry watched as Pansy tried to push Draco back inside the hotel, his mind suddenly making the connection. Theo had been speaking about Draco before, Blaise and he had been arguing about Draco!
But wait, what had they said? 'He had a career… he was going places…he'd lost everything' What were they talking about, why had Draco lost it, what the fuck was going on?!
The sound of Pansy's voice wrenched Harry's mind back to the situation, and the terror in her tone was so scarily familiar that Harry literally cringed at the sound of it. She was truly frightened, and yet Harry had no idea what the cause of it was. O.K, so her new husband had a man, who was quite obviously not his friend, pinned up against a flower urn with blood spilling down his face, but to be so afraid didn't seem to fit properly, it wasn't like Blaise was damaged in any way.
When Theo had spoken, directing his words at Draco, his tone of voice had changed from aggressive and mocking to heavy and sensual in the space of a sentence, and rather than be turned on by it, Harry was wary of it. It sounded dangerous.
The bewilderment that had marred Draco's face drained instantly at the sound, as though someone had pulled a plug from somewhere deep inside of him and the life was slowly seeping away from his body. The confusion in his silver eyes morphed into cold, hard panic as they become impossibly wide.
Draco looked grey, and the sight frightened Harry. He didn't like seeing the blonde that way, it turned the blood in Harry's veins to ice and the flicker of a memory stabbed at his sub-conscious, causing vomit to rise up from his stomach and seer his throat with acid.
He cringed as Pansy's voice lashed out, pulling him back to the present. "Please. Please." she begged, ramming her hands against Draco's chest as she demanded his focus. His wide, unfocused eyes stared straight through her though, his face rigid with fear.
Blaise' hands flexed as though he dearly wished they were around Theo's throat rather than just clutching at the front of his t-shirt, and he once again shoved the now smirking man even harder against the stone urn. "You can leave him the fuck alone! It's about time I gave you the kicking you deserve!" He growled, his face inches from Theo's, a look of utter contempt curling his lip.
Harry couldn't move, had no idea what to do. On the one hand he had Theo being thoroughly man-handled by Blaise for a reason Harry couldn't quite grasp, but on the other hand he had Draco looking as though he were about to die of fright.
Pansy's panic-filled voice grew louder as she begged Draco to go inside, and an unexplained chill tingled down Harry's spine. Her terror had the oddest effect on him. It seemed to goad him, spur him into action, and he crossed the patio in a few strides and stood beside Pansy, who was still trying to get through to an unresponsive Draco.
"Please. Please, Draco, I'm afraid, please just go inside." She was begging, shaking the blonde desperately, anxiety practically a force-field around her as guests just inside the doors began to realise that something was amiss.
"Draco," Harry whispered, reaching across to place a comforting hand on the crook of Draco's elbow. The blonde instantly came to life, lurching away from the touch that Harry was trying to bestow, his face hard, the snooty façade that Harry despised snapping into place.
"I'm fine," He spat, his voice sounding slightly strangled. He reached up and rubbed the pale, snowy skin of his throat, pulling savagely at the neckerchief in an attempt to loosen it. "Pansy, shut up," He growled, glaring at her as she continued her mantra of 'Please, get inside'. "My parents are in there!" He added as though it would convince her to stop. The odd thing was that it did, her mouth snapped closed, and only her wide, chocolate brown eyes continued to show her panic.
Harry desperately wanted to ask what was going on, why everyone was so panicked, and why Draco had just so completely and utterly rebuffed his touch, but he knew now definitely wasn't the time.
"I just want five minutes, Dray, that's it." Theo's voice called across the patio, and the sound of him being slammed against the urn again thudded in the silence.
Pansy whimpered as she gazed at Draco's face, the sound of Blaise' harsh voice declaring "Like he is going to give you the time of day after what you-"
"Blaise, stop!" Draco interrupted, his wide eyes centred on Harry's face, panic swirling in his steely grey orbs. He seemed to be appraising Harry's face, searching out something in his expression. The brunette wasn't sure what he was looking for, but the slight relieved sag of the blonde man's shoulders told Harry that Draco had obviously found what he was looking for.
"Draco, just get inside, I can handle this." Blaise ordered, his hand still holding Theo's face against the urn like a vice. The detained man struggled for the first time, and Harry turned to watch the small scuffle begin.
"Dray, please, look at me. He's been hitting me and I haven't touched him, have I, Harry?!" He pleaded, pushing against Blaise half-heartedly. He seemed to be trying his best to stop from appearing aggressive, though Harry could tell from his expression that it was costing him a lot of effort.
An odd strangled noise demanded Harry's attention, and as he turned to look at Draco he found the other man staring at him with unconcealed accusation in his eyes. "What?" he mouthed, silently.
"Harry?" Blaise' voice murmured, disbelief in his tone. "As in…?"
Draco finally allowed Pansy to push him back through the doors, but not before his hand swung out and clasped Harry's wrist, holding it in a death grip. The plea in his eyes tore through the brunette like a serrated knife, and he didn't think twice about following the blonde man. He already knew that he would follow Draco anywhere.
The crowded reception passed in a blur as Harry kept his eyes fixed on Draco, and as they were ushered into the lobby of the hotel, Pansy abruptly jerked them towards the lifts, shoving them inside as soon as they opened. Slamming her perfectly manicured finger against the button for the appropriate floor, the doors slid shut instantly, and the frazzled bride turned on Draco.
"Are you alright, sweetie?" She asked quickly, her hands fluttering over Draco as though looking for a visible wound. His face was still a ghostly white, his grey eyes hidden from view behind his lilac-y eyelids.
"How do you know him?" He asked, his voice, barely above a whisper, trembling. Harry's mouth went completely dry, and as he saw how utterly terrible the blonde man looked he whole-heartedly regretted speaking to the stranger in the gardens.
"I don't, he just started speaking to me. I'm sorry, is everything alright?" He asked softly, but his request for information was unanswered as the doors slid open and Pansy dashed them through a hall, apparently heading towards a room. Halting at a random door, Pansy turned toward Draco and held her hand out. The blonde man seemed completely oblivious to what was happening, his eyes staring at the door expectedly, and with a sigh Pansy searched his jacket pockets and eventually found the key-card she was looking for.
As soon as the door was open, Draco walked in, releasing Harry's arm in the process and headed straight for the bathroom, locking the door behind him.
Pansy hurriedly locked the main door and leant against it with a shaky sigh. Harry stood just inside the room, awkwardly, his eyes fixed on the bathroom door. The distinct sound of Draco throwing up filled the tense silence, and the brunette's stomach clenched. "Is he alright?" He asked softly, glancing quickly at the beautiful woman slumped opposite him and back to the bathroom door.
He could feel Pansy's eyes on his face, her stare speculative. Even in her panicked state she seemed to contemplate her answer. "He will be." She said simply, "What happened before we came out there?"
"Theo and I were talking-" Harry muttered, noting the way Pansy hissed when he said Theo's name, "-and Blaise came out and started attacking him." He stumbled over Blaise' name, unsure whether he said it properly. Pansy seemed unhappy with his answer.
"No, what was said?" She asked, bluntly, "What did you hear?" She added more precisely.
Harry met her eyes, cautiously. "They were arguing about someone, Blaise said that this person had ruined his life because of Theo - that he'd had a career and had lost it all because of him…they were talking about Draco, weren't they." He said, the last part a statement rather than a question.
Pansy closed her eyes, her face the picture of devastation. "Yes. They were." She whispered, her eyes opening and landing on the bathroom door. Her features shifted, her brow creasing, her mouth tightening. She seemed to be fighting with herself, her expression abruptly torn as she contemplated the door. With a sigh, she lurched forward, grabbing hold of Harry's arm and dragging him away from the bathroom door and into the main part of the room. When she spoke her voice was low and hurried, her eyes skirting to the bathroom door, conspiratorially. "Look, I made a promise this morning and I really want to keep it…but," She cut herself off, her perfectly straight white teeth nibbling at her full bottom lip.
Harry waited for her to continue, unconsciously leaning forward with curiosity. She seemed uncertain whether to continue, glancing back and forth between Harry and the door that concealed the blonde man. After a stretch of frustratingly silent moments, with only the sound of Draco's violent heaving punctuating the air, Harry spoke. "He's afraid." He stated, only realising how true the words were once he had spoken them. Draco was afraid…but why?
Pansy's startling chocolate brown eyes centred on his face again, and he once again had that strange feeling that he had met her before. She gazed into his emerald eyes for a moment, searching for something. "You care about him, don't you?" She whispered, a definite plea in her voice. She reached forward and clasped the top of his arm, her fingers clutching painfully tight that he fought the urge to wince.
She waited for an answer; her grip tightening the longer Harry took. Studying her face, he knew that she knew he cared for Draco, could see how much he cared. "Yes. Very much." He whispered, "Too much."
The sound of the toilet flushing startled them, and Pansy seemed to make a snap decision. Pulling Harry forward so that her lips were practically brushing his skin, she softly whispered in his ear, her voice as pleading as it had been when she had begged Draco to leave the gardens.
As the bathroom door opened, Pansy stepped away from Harry and approached the deathly white Draco, her face perfectly smooth. Harry stared at her as she walked away, his own face a little slower at composing itself.
Draco only had eyes for the brunette, though, and he noticed the shock in his emerald eyes. Pansy's hands fluttered over the blonde man's face again, brushing back his hair. "How are you, sweetie? Do you want to leave, I'll get a car right now-" She promised.
Harry, sensing a chance to be alone with Draco, jumped at the opportunity. "I can take you home, Draco." He tried to smile, careful not to step forward in case Draco's fear presented itself again. Harry would make sure he did everything in his power to never invoke this kind of fear from the man before him. He would, if the blonde would ever let him, spend his entire life protecting Draco from anything that would cause him this type of anxiety. "Whatever you want." He added softly.
Although he looked as though he may begin throwing-up again at any moment, Draco's eyes brightened by the tiniest fraction and he swallowed with a little difficulty. He stared at Harry's face intently, apparently searching for something unknown in his expression, just as Pansy had done before. Draco's gaze, however, was more intense, more desperate. Without even glancing at his friend, who was looking as though she wasn't entirely comfortable with Harry's offer, Draco nodded. "Thank you, Harry." he whispered, his voice hoarse.
The journey to the car was just as hurried as the one to the suite had been, with Pansy guiding them through the hotel, apparently desperate to have Draco as far away from Theo as possible. When they got to car, Pansy threw her arms around the blonde man, whispering reassurances in his ear at a mile a minute. Harry heard her offer to go home with him, only for Draco to decline. The blonde declared, with a false attempt a bravado, that he was happy to finally be rid of her now that she and Blaise would be living together, and that he was looking forward to having two weeks off from her nagging whilst she was on her honeymoon. Pansy wasn't fooled at all by her friend, her concerned frown making that quite clear, and Harry had a feeling he should probably get Draco away from her before she declared she was cancelling to stay with him.
If Draco needed anyone…well, Harry would be there in a heartbeat.
After a tearful goodbye from the shaken bride, Draco climbed in Harry's car and the brunette swiftly pulled out of the car-park, checking his mirrors for any sign of Theo. It was strange how quickly the friendly stranger became the enemy to Harry once he saw how much he frightened Draco. He was still desperately curious to know the exact details of what Blaise and Theo's arguing had been, why Draco was so shaken by the very sound of his voice, but judging by the set of the blonde man's face, Harry wasn't going to be getting any answers any time soon.
"Are you O.K?" Harry asked softly as the car passed rolling green countryside. The blonde, who had been sat rigidly straight, drew in a small shuddering breath, his eyes fixed on the scenery outside the window.
"I'm fine." He whispered, a small amount of his snotty, superiority cracking through. Harry wondered if Draco had any control over it, whether his mind automatically switched to his super-superiority when it sensed danger, or if he did it on purpose simply to retain his cool, calm persona.
A tense silence fell over the two men and Harry concentrated on the road in front of him, knowing that if he started trying to decipher Draco's body-language or his facial expressions he'd probably drive himself mad. He wondered what was going through the blonde's mind and quickly found that he probably didn't want to know. He was, however, pleased to note that most of Draco's evident fear had evaporated, leaving behind an odd sort of shame that Harry couldn't quite understand.
"Look, Draco, I have no idea what all of that was about back there, but I know…" Harry paused, chewing his lip slightly as he prepared to put his intentions out there. "…seeing you so…upset, I didn't like it. Well, that's an understatement…" Harry trailed off, shaking his head slightly as he began rambling.
Draco's head turned slightly, his steely grey eyes studying Harry's face again. He didn't say anything, apparently waiting for Harry to gather his thoughts and continue, but the brunette definitely saw the other man's shoulders relax a little, the lines of stress across his forehead smooth out slightly.
Biting the bullet, Harry continued, "O.K…I like you… a lot, and I wish I knew the right thing to say to you, because all I ever seem to do lately is make you mad at me…but I'm not very good at all this…'liking people' stuff and I keep messing up-" Harry paused, glancing to see whether the blonde was still listening. Emerald eyes met silver, and for a fraction of a second Harry was stunned. The amount of hope swimming in Draco's orbs was astounding, and it was all Harry could do not to pull the car over and stare into them until the end of eternity. He wrenched his gaze away, fixing it back on the road ahead of him, scolding himself for being even the tiniest bit reckless whilst driving. His heart fluttered about in his chest as the image of Draco's eyes imprinted itself behind his eyelids so that every time Harry blinked he could see them - those smouldering eyes. "-I would never have spoken to him if I knew how upset it would make you. I'm really sorry."
Draco said nothing in reply and silence descended over them once more. Before long, they pulled up outside Draco's flat, neither making any move to leave though the silence still gagged them. The blonde had said nothing for the entire journey, and Harry was beginning to worry that he had said too much. He watched him out of the corner of his eye and realised that Draco was stalling, his eyes flicking around the street and the entrance to his building, apprehensively.
"Do you want me to walk you in?" Harry asked softly, hoping the blonde man would say yes. His hopes evaporated when Draco shook his head.
Unclipping his seat belt, the blonde began opening the door, his eyes fixed on the pavement to make sure no-one was passing by. Right at the last minute, just as he was about to climb out, Draco turned and closed the distance between himself and Harry, his lips claiming the brunette's in a soft, sweet, but quite desperate kiss. His hand reached up and cupped the side of Harry's face delicately, and the brunette sighed with contentment, his wide eyes relaxing, falling closed as he savoured the unexpected pleasure the blonde was bestowing him with.
Draco's lips shaped themselves against Harry's effortlessly, his tongue running along the entrance of the brunette's mouth, asking permission to deepen the kiss. Harry was more than obedient, his mouth opening willing, his tongue meeting Draco's and beginning a complicated dance that neither had planned but was perfectly choreographed. His hand slid through Draco's hair, moaning in delight at how silky it felt.
The blonde's scent was everywhere and Harry breathed it in greedily, relishing in how intoxicatingly close the other man was.
Just as Harry thought it would become too much, that he would die from the pulsing desire running through his veins, Draco began to pull away, his kisses becoming more simple, more sweet, until he leant away altogether, climbing from the car and shutting the door behind him.
Harry moaned softly as he watched the blonde cross the pavement and enter his apartment building, a small, goofy smile gracing his lips. The sound of Pansy's voice echoed in his ears as he pulled away and drove home, the words she had whispered in his ear in the hotel like a lullaby as he drifted off to sleep that night. He was certain that no other sentence would ever rival her utterance of 'I know you're the one; please, don't give up on him.'
And he smiled as it sank in. The one. Harry couldn't agree more.
***
Draco walked slowly up the steps to his apartment, each footfall feeling heavier than the last. His eyes were wide, stunned by his boldness…and his stupidity. Kissing Harry was a mistake, a complete and utter mistake, but it felt so good, so right.
The moment Draco had heard Theo's voice at the hotel he knew he had to get Harry away from him. Even with the fear of what the green-eyed man may have heard, Draco had dragged him away from the gardens. He knew as soon as he was in Pansy's suite he would vomit, had been suppressing it since the moment Theo had spoken, and the last thing he wanted was for Harry to witness it, but he had to know that the brunette was safe, away from the demon of his past.
Whilst alone in Pansy's bathroom, Draco had made a decision, had decided to do everything in his power to keep as far away from Harry as possible. Accepting a ride from the brunette man wasn't exactly in-keeping with that decision, but he figured it would give him a chance to perhaps find out what Harry knew; after all, Harry had a habit of running away at the mouth when silence fell around him. All Draco had to do was keep his mouth shut and let Harry do all the talking, and then once he arrived home he would walk away and not look back.
Walking away proved harder than he thought though, especially knowing now how Harry felt. Kissing him was as amazing as it was heartbreaking, but he couldn't leave the car without doing it, without having just one taste of those soft, pink lips. Just one, before he left for good.
He knew he wouldn't be going back to Aurors, had a feeling deep in the pit of his stomach. It was odd because he hadn't consciously decided to leave the firm, but he could no longer see himself there. He couldn't see himself anywhere.
Approaching his front door, he was afraid to go inside knowing that Pansy would never be coming home again, but he was afraid of going anywhere else in case Theo found him.
If nothing else, this apartment was safe. A safe haven. Pansy and Draco had always been very careful who they disclosed their address to, and he was pretty certain that it had remained a secret.
However, that didn't stop him glancing over his shoulder before he opened the front door, or walking round and checking every room was empty and all the windows were locked.
Even though he had decided to stay away from Harry, he still wished with everything he had that he wasn't alone; that the brunette was there and he could curl up in his arms and disappear. He closed his eyes and imagined how it would feel, lying against Harry's chest, listening to his heartbeat. He was sure that, if he had the chance to hear it, the sound of Harry's heart would be the most glorious sound, and that nothing would ever compare to hearing it.
After a stretch of lonely minutes in which Draco had collapsed against his couch, a rap at the door made him jump, and terror washed over him as he stared it from his place on the sofa. It had just been a light tap, an innocent, friendly knock, but his heart pounded against his chest and his breathing abruptly stopped.
He knew he was being silly, knew it was probably Harry, but still he couldn't move, couldn't even begin to think what to do because he was certain Harry had driven away. He shook so hard that he was having near convulsions and it was all he could do not to cry out with fear, his teeth clamping down over his bottom lip to prevent the sound escaping.
The door knocked again, the visitor persistent.
"Draco?" A voice called against the wood, and all of the terror that had built up inside him instantly melted away, because even though the visitor was the last person on earth he would expect to turn up at his door, he was quite sure that they were about harmless as people come.
Making his way over to the door, his heart slowing but a frown beginning to crease his forehead, Draco unlocked the door and slowly opened it, staring at the person in the hallway in confusion.
A grim expression passed across her face, and the set of her mouth made him sure that it wasn't a social call. A different kind of fear crashed into him as he noticed the file in her hand and his name in the line of text across the front of it.
"I know what you did." Hermione said simply, and Draco's world, as he had been sub-consciously expecting to happen, crashed down around him.
***
"O.K Mr. Potter, you seem to have a bit more colour. A nurse will be with you as soon as you're done." The doctor in charge of the A and E department told Harry, his tone distracted as his mind already began to think of the next patient.
Harry glanced at the IV in his hand with disdain as the harassed doctor swept away, the flimsy, generic curtain that lined the bay tinkling and swishing in the breeze from his departure.
Harry hated being in hospital, hated it with a passion. The sound and smell of illness and pain turned his stomach, and he glared furiously at the glucose bag hanging from a pole beside him. Bloody needles. Bloody glucose. Bloody diabetes. Bloody life!
He scowled to himself as he considered how utterly unfair his life was. He was 23, in the midst of becoming a licensed lawyer, with a practice funded by Hermione's parents (He tried not to dwell on that too much) and the ability to earn enough money to take care of himself for good…and now this had to happen.
Fucking diabetes! Like he hadn't had to put up with enough crap in his life! Like living in care, or having your parents murdered wasn't bad enough!
"HELP HIM, PLEASE!" a woman's voice shrieked through the department, and Harry literally winced as it pounded against his eardrums. He could see the old woman in the bay across from him jump in fright and then scowl as though the terrified, screaming woman was being inconsiderate. If Harry was being honest, though, he felt a little annoyed at the shrieking girl too. People are ill here, have some respect!
"PLEASE! PLEASE! HELP HIM! OH GOD, HELP HIM!" the high-pitched voice wailed, getting closer, and with another flutter of Harry's bay curtains, a trolley dashed past with a group of serious looking medical staff sprinting behind.
The trolley had come to an abrupt stop beside Harry's bay, and in the frantic movements in the confined area the curtain had been pulled open, and Harry was in full witness of the flurry of practiced protocol the doctors were following.
Harry openly stared, his mouth opening slightly as he watched the team performing CPR right in front of his eyes, their hands slamming against a pale chest in a desperate hope to re-start the patient's heart. The screaming girl who had accompanied the entourage, he noticed, was being held back by a stern-faced female nurse. She seemed to be trying to indicate that it wasn't safe or helpful to be any nearer to the bed, though the girl struggled against the arms restraining her, nevertheless.
Her face was a picture of horror, and Harry cringed as he thought of the sight she could see which he could not. Her mascara streaked down her face as tears tumbled thick and fast from her large, panic-filled brown eyes. Her chestnut coloured hair had fallen from a knot at the crown of her head, as though she had been pulling at it convulsively and it had given up on trying to stay up. Her clothes were smart and elegant, especially for her age - and Harry was quite sure she was relatively the same age as him - she looked as though, before her terror had hit her, she could've stepped out of a magazine. Her begging voice was unrelenting, although it held a ring of authority to it. As she maintained her stream of 'Please, god, help him!' it was more of a demand than a request, however, she was becoming quieter, as though she were trying to listen to what was being said by the doctors around her at the same time.
Harry mimicked her, his head turning to gaze at one of the doctors working over the trolley. Harry couldn't see the man strapped to it, far too many staff were now frantically trying to work in unison and kept blocking any type of view. He found it strange just how many doctors and nurses were surrounding the area, all wearing concerned and disbelieving expressions, like it was one of their own family frantically trying to be revived. It was as though every person in the vicinity was desperate to try and help with no regard for any of the other patients around.
Random words like 'Overdose', 'Methadone' and 'cardiac arrhythmia' made their way into Harry's consciousness and he watched with morbid fascination as the doctors began shocking the man's chest with yells of 'clear', a nurse standing close-by letting out a small sob as the electric current caused the unconscious man's body to rattle against the bed.
Harry couldn't move, couldn't tear his eyes away from what was happening beside him. He felt unbelievably sick and completely disgusted with himself. Was this what he had wanted? To be strapped to a trolley with doctor's fighting to save him? Had he been trying to kill himself, too?
Guilt and self-loathing tore through him as he realised how utterly pathetic he had been, worrying about needles and how unfair his life supposedly was…nothing was this bad, surely?!
The doctors continued to work over the man beside him, and by the frightened looks on their faces it wasn't going well. After a stretch of minutes, the team of doctors began gathering the machinery, preparing to move the trolley on to somewhere else.
Harry continued to watch, his stomach twisting nervously as the panic-struck girlfriend questioned what they were doing and received no straight answer in return. Her arms wrapped around herself, hugging herself as though trying to keep from falling apart.
Suddenly a nurse shifted, and Harry's head whipped around to see, for the first time, the man lying on the bed. His pale blonde hair sticking up in every direction would have made Harry laugh had he not been staring so intently at the thick tube that was spilling out of his mouth, a nurse continuingly pumping oxygen through a rubber bag, helping him to breathe.
A smattering of blue and purple bruises lined the man's deathly pale throat, as though he had been strangled, and his chest, which was bare, held the sticky pads from when the doctors had revived him with paddles.
Harry realised why the man's girlfriend had been so terrified, why her shrieking voice still rang in his ears…her boyfriend already looked dead.
The trolley began to move, jolting the man's body, his head shaking from side to side causing his blonde hair to flutter in the breeze of movement. His girlfriend drew up beside him to walk along with the trolley, her hand picking up one of his in an obvious death grip. Attached to the back of the grey hand was an IV pumping god only knew what into the man's already poisoned veins, and a heart monitor was connected to the end of his lifeless middle finger.
"Right, get him upstairs," A ruddy faced doctor ordered, apparently the man's condition stable enough to be moved, "And for Christ sake, someone get hold of Lucius Malfoy in Cardio! If he thinks he's too important to come down here, tell him Draco has just died 3 times in my A and E!"
***
For a long while after he had woken up, Harry stared wide-eyed at his bedroom ceiling, salty tears sliding un-noticed down the sides of his face. The only thing he managed to coherently process in the hours that passed, was the hope that he'd one day be able to rid himself of the image of a dying Draco from his memory. It broke his heart to know that that would probably never happen.
To be continued…
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Haha, I think that's two cliffhangers in the same chapter lol. Bloody Hermione, so nosy! What has she found? And what will happen now that Harry remembers Draco…? Thank god I already know, suspense kills me! Lol.
Thank you, as ever, for reading and reviewing. I love you all! I'm taking my son, Archie, on holiday from the 21st for his 5th birthday which is on the 23rd, so unfortunately I won't be updating for at least a week (apparently mummy isn't allowed to take her laptop…ya, right! Like that's gonna happen! Lol) I do, however, want to concentrate on my little man this week, as he has been through so much recently and he really deserves some quality time with his old mum! Lol.
Oh, and a massive thank you to everyone who has asked after him or wished him well with his first week at school, it's really lovely knowing that you guys actually listen to my babbling and care about what I'm saying. I love you all xxx