That morning in training, it had been a relatively normal day for Harry that is until dueling practice. He was usually pretty modest about his abilities but dueling is something he knew he did well with. Which is why he was sufficiently frustrated with himself when he was being escorted to St. Mungos. It wasn't a horrible injury but it did need healer attention.
He was dueling with another trainee and misjudged one of his deflector spells, causing a severing charm to run up and down his arm. Many small cuts went up and down the entire length of it. Harry wouldn't deny that it was actually pretty painful, but he had to ignore it.
Once he was settled sitting on a hospital bed, he looked around and realized he wasn't the only one in that certain room. He guessed there were about ten other beds lined up, all separated by curtains. After a few minutes of waiting a nurse came in with a smile.
"Didn't ever think I'd see you in here, but it doesn't surprise me." She said with a chuckle.
Harry smirked. "I hoped you all never would either. I can be pretty clumsy sometimes though."
She laughed. "Well, we'll have a healer with you soon and you can be on your way…just be more careful. Have a good day, Mr. Potter."
Suddenly, from the next bed over came loud coughing noises that scared both Harry and the nurse. They both looked over and the nurse walked toward Harry's unknown neighbor. As she pulled back the curtain, Harry had to assure himself he wasn't dreaming.
"Mr. Malfoy…are you alright!?" The nurse questioned him. Draco was sitting in the bed right next to Harry. He was doing all he could to avoid eye contact and spoke in a low mumbled voice.
"m'fine…nothing."
"I'll get you a anti-coughing draught, be right back." She told him, walking away quickly.
"No…no I said….bloody hell." He clenched his jaw. He finally looked over at Harry who hadn't taken his gaze off of him. "Alright, Potter. You can see me…can we dispense with all the awkwardness?"
"Malfoy…what…what are you doing here? How-"
"I know you think I don't ever ask or even deserve help but I get banged up sometimes too. I deserve all I get though. I get mugged on the daily. Ever since my mother and I moved out of the manor, and my father was thrown in Azkaban, I'm pretty much on my own. And everyone is after me. My name doesn't help but I know I brought it all on myself…I don't need you to laugh or tell me I told you so, alright? Well…are you going to say something or just stare!?"
Harry blinked a few times, but then spoke softly. "Malfoy…Draco, I'm not going to tell you any of those things. I know you did things…horrible things, but I know you're not fully at fault and I wouldn't wish harm upon anyone. Look, I know we don't get along, and we may never…but I did save your life and I don't regret that. I know there's good in you. Things are bad for everyone still, I get that…but you can turn it all around."
Draco scoffed. "Even…even if I wanted to change, I can't take back all of the things I did."
"It's true…but you can choose to not dwell on it and move on. Learn from your mistakes and use that to make a better life for yourself. You're not defined by your mistakes…you're not just your last name."
"Potter, why are you helping me? We don't even like each other."
"I know what you're going through." He said plainly.
Just then the nurse returned to Harry's bedside with a potion.
"You're free to go now, Mr. Potter. Just take this two times a day for a week and you'll be all better." She smiled, handed him the bottle, and went on her way.
As Harry turned to walk out, he looked over at Draco. "Someone once told me something. It went like this. We all have light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are. I've carried that with me…perhaps you will too. See you around."
Draco took in what he had just heard. He couldn't believe that he and Harry Potter had just had a civil conversation.