Summary: Draco is a Healer, Harry is an Auror. When an accident sends Harry to St Mungo's and into Draco's care they begin to wonder if things can ever go back to the way they were. HarryxDraco slash.

Rating: M

Warnings: Draco is still with Pete and seems to be happy – shock horror!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or settings that you recognise; they belong to JK Rowling and Warner Bros. I am not making any money from this story.

A/N: I'm glad that some people appreciated the "reader monkey" comment in my last author note – it was meant as a joke. Anyway, here we are at chapter six already, enjoy x

Chapter Six: Misery Loves Company

Harry drifted through the next three weeks in a daze, unable to look at Ginny without feeling sick to his stomach. Every time she spoke to him he was terrified to reply in case his voice gave something away. He hated the rare occasions that she smiled at him, and he felt guilt coursing through him in waves when she touched his cheek or hugged him. Walking down the street or entering a crowded room at work, he felt as though he had a huge flashing sign above his head that said I MIGHT BE GAY, EVERYBODY STARE AT ME. He knew that he was simply projecting and that he should not allow his paranoia to get the better of him but he couldn't help feeling that everyone he passed in the street knew exactly what he was thinking. He had become extremely jittery and introverted over the past few weeks and he wasn't entirely sure that he liked this new, nervous version of himself.

Another person that had been affected by Harry's life-altering conversation with Hermione was Draco. Harry had been avoiding the other man ever since he realised that he might have feelings for him and he could tell that this had definitely not gone unnoticed. He was receiving daily owls at his office that were becoming increasingly more difficult to ignore and he had had to close off their floo network for fear of Draco making a floo call out of sheer desperation. He knew that it was selfish to shut his friend out but he would rather not deal with his feelings for him until he had sorted through the more important things in his life, like his marriage. This, however, was made difficult by Hermione, who would call or visit his office almost every other day to "see how he was feeling", in other words to ask him when he was going to leave Ginny or to talk about whether or not he would tell Draco about his predicament.

On the one hand, he desperately wanted the freedom that ending his marriage would bring. He was only twenty-two and trapped in a loveless relationship that he wasn't sure that he had even wanted to enter into in the first place. On the other hand, nobody had physically held a wand to his chest and forced him to marry Ginny, so maybe he should just suck it up and get on with it. He had made his bed and now he had to lie in it. With Ginny.

Except that he really didn't want to lie in bed with her, whether metaphorically or literally. He had actually taken to moving to one of the spare rooms as soon as she was asleep and leaving for work before she awoke. She wasn't acting any differently and if she had noticed his absence during the night, she hadn't said a word about it. Either she was a very good actress or she genuinely slept so heavily that she didn't notice that he wasn't there. Or maybe she had noticed and she just didn't care anymore. Whichever it was, it didn't make Harry feel any better about his recent realisation. He still had feelings for her but they seemed so distant and so unrelated to their current situation that it felt ridiculous to still be with her. Now that he had taken a step back and admitted that he was not in love with her, he was able to see how dysfunctional their relationship was. They saw each other for a few hours in the evening but hardly a word was spoken and there was little to no contact between them. They sat at opposite ends of the couch watching television, or Ginny would go out with friends, or to see her family at the Burrow. Harry spent the evenings on the phone with Hermione or watching reruns of Fawlty Towers or The Good Life with whatever junk food he could find stashed at the back of the cupboards. Right now for instance, he was lying in the dark with his knees on the arm of the couch, his feet dangling over the edge, with a family-size bar of Galaxy chocolate balanced on his stomach, watching Friends. It wasn't until the adverts interrupted the main feature that he blinked a few times and noticed how ridiculous he looked in his current position. Ginny was out with Luna and few other girls from her year at Hogwarts that Harry didn't know. She had informed him that it was Stephanie's Hen Weekend, apparently, and they would be spending Friday to Monday at a spa resort in the south of England. This suited Harry fine, as he would be able to slob around the house in front of the television without her glaring or tutting at him from the other side of the room.

The ringing of the telephone brought him out of his reverie and he leaned over to snatch the handset out of the cradle.

"Hello?"

"Good, you're alive," came the drawling reply

"Excuse me?"

"I hadn't heard from you for three weeks, I thought you'd died."

"Well, you shouldn't be calling here! What if Ginny had picked up? How did you even get this number?" Harry snapped

"It was on your medical records," he said simply. "So, is there a reason that you've suddenly stopped replying to my owls, or am I just supposed to guess?"

"Are you stalking me now?" Harry could feel his resolve weakening with every word the blond said. "I have to go, I'm busy."

"Doing what? Answer quickly!"

"I'm… it's… it's coursework for the Ministry!" he invented wildly, looking around the room until his gaze fell upon a pile of unfinished paperwork. He heard Draco snort with laughter.

"Bullshit, Potter. What are you really doing?"

Harry blushed and set the giant bar of chocolate on the floor at his feet. "Watching television," he admitted after a moment of silence. "But I really do have a mountain of paperwork!"

"And I'm sure it's currently making a very fetching centerpiece for your dining room table. I'm assuming your wife isn't at home, given the fact that you're talking to me on the phone," It wasn't a question so Harry didn't answer. "Do you fancy a few?"

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew exactly what he fancied but he decided to keep his mouth shut. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not? You've not got work in the morning and neither have I. Come to the pub with me."

Usually Harry loved how persuasive Draco could be and the confidence that every syllable held but tonight he wished that he would just go away and leave him to his misery.

"Actually, I am working tomorrow. Kingsley asked me at the last minute if I would mind coming in to finish up a report," he lied, hoping that the Slytherin would take the hint and hang up soon.

"Oh," came the reply. "Okay, that's fine. I just thought I would see if you wanted to do something tonight. I miss you."

"You do?" he asked, his heart thumping against his ribs.

"Of course! I've not seen you in ages. Don't you miss your friends from time to time?"

There it was, the magic word. Friend. They were friends. Nothing more. Harry steeled himself.

"Sure, I suppose. Listen, I should really make a start on that paperwork. I'll speak to you later, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. It's not like I don't have other offers," Malfoy teased. "You're not my only friend, you know."

Harry forced a laugh. "Well, don't do anything I wouldn't do. I'll speak to you later."

He hung up feeling more confused than ever. It had been easier to concentrate on how miserable he was when he didn't have to worry about the possibility of him having feelings for Malfoy but now, after speaking to the blond, there was no doubt in his mind that he was feeling something. He slumped back into the cushions and groaned in frustration. What the hell was he supposed to do? He couldn't leave Ginny but he didn't want to be with her anymore either. Pushing the standby button on the remote, he dragged himself to his feet and began making his way up to bed.

-x-

Draco awoke suddenly, taking a few moments to register that it was Saturday, he didn't have to go to work and he was in his bedroom with sunlight streaming in through the window. Blinking rapidly, he also noticed that he was not alone; Pete's messy hair was poking out the top of the duvet and his arm was thrown across the pillow, above his head. He had first stayed the night about two weeks ago, after Harry had began ignoring Draco in earnest, and now it was an almost nightly occurrence. The Slytherin was torn – he still had feelings for Harry but he had grown quite fond of Pete and was finding something new that he liked about him every day. He liked the way his shiny brown fringe fell across his face and he flicked it out of his eyes; he was delighted when the boy first brought his hair straighteners to the flat and he had had to work hard to disguise the fact that he had never seen them before in his life. He thought it was cute that Pete wore t-shirts two sizes too small with the names of Muggle bands that Draco didn't know and he owned underwear in lurid colours and patterns that he displayed six inches of above the waistband of his tight jeans. He had impractical canvas shoes, "cons" apparently, which looked neither sturdy nor comfortable but the young man insisted on wearing them every day, regardless of the fact that they were full of holes. His favourite thing of all was the fact that Pete played bass in a band. Draco had gone along to one of their shows and was surprised to find that Pete looked incredibly sexy, his face dripping with sweat and his hair curling slightly as he jumped around on stage with his bandmates. The fact remained, however, that Draco would drop him in a heartbeat if Harry gave him the slightest sign that he was interested, and he felt sickened with himself. Pushing his hair off his face, he slid out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. He turned on the shower and stepped under the water, closing his eyes and sighing deeply. A few moments later, he felt an arm snake around his waist and Pete placed a kiss on his shoulder.

"'Morning," he mumbled sleepily

"I was trying not to wake you," Draco said, giving him an apologetic look as he turned to face him

"It's okay, I have study group at ten this morning anyway," the brunette explained

Draco nodded. "Okay, as long as I didn't disturb you."

Pete reached behind him for the shampoo bottle. "Nope, but I'm afraid this shower is for business, not pleasure. I only have forty-five minutes to get ready and across town."

"I could do it in thirty," Draco said, looking smug before a grin spread across his face. "If we hurry up, I'll come with you. I need to go to the supermarket anyway."

"Sure, just let me under the water so I can rinse my hair…"

Ten minutes later, both men were sufficiently clean and standing in Draco's bedroom.

"Shit!"

"What's wrong?" Draco peeked out from under the towel he was using to dry his hair (how could Muggles find the time to do this every day?!) to see Pete rummaging through his bag.

"I've not got my hairdryer!" the brunette exclaimed. "What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Draco replied, amused to have found someone as vain as he was.

"I will not be fine! Look at it!" he pointed at the damp curls clinging to his forehead, a panicked expression on his face.

Draco bit his lip. He had never dated anyone for this long, and he had never dated a Muggle, period. It was difficult to hide the fact that he was a wizard from him and he'd often forget to stash his wand in a drawer before Pete came round. He had considered taking a big step by showing him some magic and today seemed like the day to show him a Drying Charm. He could just Obliviate him if he freaked out, right?

"Pete, remember that stick you found on my bedside cabinet?" he said slowly

"Yeah, what about it?" Pete said impatiently, checking his watch

"Well… it's not what I said it was," he explained. "It's actually a wand."

"You mean for a magic show?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Like, tricks and stuff?"

Draco felt a stab of annoyance. "No, not tricks and stuff. I mean it's an actual wand. I'm a wizard."

There was a moment of silence before Pete burst out laughing. "What? You're mental. I don't have times for stupid jokes, Draco, I have to get back to my flat to grab my hairdryer."

"I'm not joking, I'm a wizard!" Draco insisted, but the other boy simply laughed again. The Slytherin stared at him until his laughter had subsided. "I'm serious."

Pete stared back at him. "You think you're a wizard?" Draco nodded. "Oh, shit. You ARE mental…"

"I'm not fucking mental! Don't call me mental if you like the way your face looks," the blond threatened, gripping his wand in his pocket

"But, Draco, listen… you expect me to believe that – woah, what are you doing?" his eyes widened as Draco pointed his wand at his brown mop of hair.

"Stand still," he instructed, casting a Drying Charm on Pete's hair. "There, your hair's dry."

Slowly, Pete raised his hand to feel his now-dry curls and gasped. "Holy shit, are you actually…?"

"Of course I'm actually a wizard. I've never actually spoken to someone who isn't. Except you," he amended, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

A look of dawning comprehension appeared on the other boy's face. "Your tattoo moves, doesn't it?" he said excitedly. "I thought I saw it move but I figured I was just drunk and seeing things!"

Draco instinctively touched his left forearm. "Yes, my tattoo moves."

"What else can you do?" Pete looked thoroughly delighted at the prospect of dating a wizard.

"Anything you like," he replied lazily. "You honestly don't mind that I'm a wizard?"

"No! Why would I?" he grinned. "This is so unbelievably cool! Where did you learn everything?"

The Slytherin grinned at the sight of Pete's excitement. "School. I went to a Magic school called Hogwarts."

The boy's eyes were wide as saucers. "I wish I was a wizard."

"Nah, it'll be much more fun that you're not," he shot an Aguamenti at him and laughed at the shocked look on Pete's face. "Now you can't fight back!"

They two wrestled for a few minutes before Pete jumped up, looking horrified.

"Shit, look at the time!"

"It's okay, I can get you to your study session on time," Draco replied, giving him a knowing look.

"I don't see how you're going to manage that," he mumbled, pulling a t-shirt on and hastily tying up his shoelaces.

"Ready?" Draco asked, as he stood up. Pete nodded. "Okay, hold on to my arm. This will feel really weird…"

With a pop, the room around them disappeared and a second later, they were standing behind a block of public toilets. Draco looked at the other boy, worried that he would be scared or nauseous but he was grinning from ear to ear, gazing around in disbelief.

"Holy shit, that's amazing!" he exclaimed and they walked out from behind the building and onto the main street.

"Yes, but you really can't tell anyone about this, okay?" Draco said seriously. "Really. It's against our laws and our government have a hell of a time trying to cover it up as it is."

"Cover what up?" came a voice and Draco turned to see Harry smiling at him. "What's Rita Skeeter said now?"

"Harry, what are you doing here?" Draco did his best to smile but he felt as though someone had just fed him Skele-Gro.

"I live around the corner, Draco," he replied, looking confused. "Are you okay?"

"Of course, I'm fine!" he exclaimed, sounding a little too cheery.

Harry and Pete looked awkwardly at each other until Harry rearranged the shopping bags he was carrying and offered his hand. Judging by the blank look he was currently receiving, Harry would have thought that the boy was a Muggle, but he couldn't be – he had just overheard them discussing the Ministry.

"Hi, I'm Harry Potter," he introduced himself, waiting for the recognition to come. It didn't.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Pete," they shook hands briefly and the Harry noticed that the boy seemed to be itching to say something. He didn't have to wait long. "I'm sorry if this seems rude but… are you a…" he lowered his voice. "Are you a wizard too?"

Harry's face fell. "Draco, is he a Muggle?"

"Now, I think you're being a bit rude -"

"This isn't about being rude, Draco, this is fucking serious! Did you tell a Muggle about us?" Harry looked pleadingly at his friend.

"Yes, but -"

"No! No buts!" he said loudly. "Security has tightened ten-fold over the past year, ever since that Welsh guy started breeding dragons and one of them destroyed his neighbour's house. You realise that I'm supposed to arrest you on the spot for this?"

Draco's grey eyes widened. "You can't arrest me, Harry. You can't, I'll go to Azkaban. The Wizengamot won't even look at me again, not after what I did!"

"What did you do?" Pete asked, looking uncertainly at Draco

"Not now, Pete," Draco replied, still looking at Harry.

Harry breathed heavily, looking between the two men before him. "Why would you even do something so stupid? I've never seen you be civil to a Muggle in your entire life! It's because of your Muggle prejudices that you were nearly flung in Azkaban in the first place!"

Draco looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him. He wracked his brain, trying desperately to think of a plausible excuse that didn't involve him waking up and showering with Pete this morning but he was saved the trouble.

"We're dating," said Pete simply. "He just wanted to be honest with me about who he is."

The shopping bags that Harry was carrying slid from his grip and landed with a dull thump on the pavement. The colour receded from his cheeks until he was an ashen grey and he looked as though he was about to throw up.

"You're gay?!" Harry cried, seemingly oblivious to Pete's presence, or the stares of passers-by. "Never mind him, Draco, how about being honest with ME about who you are?!"

The Gryffindor shoved roughly past him without a backwards glance and, in that moment, the blond felt his heart break.

-x-

A/N: And now here comes the spectacular breakdown in communication between our favourite two boys. Poor things, they are so dim sometimes. Anyway, please review! x