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
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'd like to point out that I'm aware that, according to the family tree that Jo Rowling drew up, George actually marries Angelina Johnson in later life, but I always saw her with Fred. They went to the Yule Ball together and I just think that it's a bit weird for her to get with her dead ex's twin. I always write George with Alicia Spinnet, I'm not sure why. Anyway, enjoy x
Chapter Eight: The Wedding
Draco gazed out the window of his flat, a glass of wine in his hand. He could hear Harry rummaging through his DVD collection, trying to find something suitable for them to watch with their Chinese food. Harry had introduced Draco to the joys of Muggle takeaway and, so far over the past few weeks, they had made their way through the Chinese, Indian, Thai and Pizza menus. They had been seeing each other in secret for just over a month now, and Draco was beginning to feel uneasy. Harry showed no sign of leaving Ginny and, for this reason, he had urged the Slytherin not to end things with Pete. He said that it was unfair that Draco had to share him for the time being and so he should be free to see other people until the appropriate plans were in place that would allow Harry to end his marriage. At the beginning of their relationship, Draco had accepted that it would be incredibly difficult for Harry to end a five-year relationship - with the sister of his best friend, no less! – but he was starting to lose his patience. He did not like sharing.
"Have you thought about when you're going to tell her?" he tried to avoid using the she-weasel's name as much as possible.
"Soon," came the reply
"When is 'soon'?" Draco's voice took on a whiny edge. "You've been saying that for weeks."
"I know, but I'm just looking for the right time. I may not love her but she still loves me and this is going to really hurt her," Harry stood up and took Draco's hands in his own. "The last thing I want is for anything to come between us but you have to understand how difficult this is for me."
"I do understand, Harry, but I hate sneaking around like this. I want us to be together. Properly," Draco looked down into those brilliant green eyes and he felt his heart swell. He had never been happier than when he was with Harry.
"And we will be. Please just hold on a little longer, I promise I'll tell her as soon as I find the right moment," the brunette stood on his tip-toes and pressed a kiss to his lover's forehead.
Draco sighed but didn't push the issue. They had had this same conversation countless times recently and he knew that there was nothing that he could say to make a difference. He felt lucky to even be able to spend time with Harry and was scared to do anything that might cause him to change his mind. Taking a seat on the couch, Draco watched as Harry selected a movie and placed it in the DVD player. He stood up and slid back onto the couch beside the blonde, picking up an empty plate as he did so. He grinned as the opening titles appeared on the screen and all negative thoughts left Draco's mind. He loved that smile.
"10 Things I Hate About You? Seriously?" Draco arched an eyebrow at the other man, leaning forward to help himself to a prawn cracker. "You couldn't find anything else in my entire collection?"
"What? I like this movie!" Harry said defensively, heaping noodles onto his plate. "It's fun."
"That's my point. Is there nothing more mature that you'd like to watch?" Draco delicately picked at his chicken, looking revolted as the Gryffindor shovelled food into his mouth with indecent enthusiasm.
"Says the man who watches Bridget Jones' Diary almost every weekend?" the younger man snorted. "I think I'll stick with my first choice, thanks."
Draco elbowed him in the ribs, laughing. "Shut up! It's the best movie ever and deserves to be watched over and over. You just don't appreciate it," Draco sniffed loftily and Harry let out a bark of laughter.
"I haven't even seen it, so there!" Harry replied, looking smug. "Clearly, I'm the man in this relationship."
Draco's jaw dropped. "Oh, that's it!" he dropped to his knees and began flicking through the DVDs in his cabinet. A few moments later, he held up a slim box in triumph, grinning from ear to ear. "Now give me that remote!" He lunged at Harry, pinning him to the sofa. The brunette quickly stashed the small device behind his back, wheezing with laughter as Draco tickled his sides in his attempt to reclaim it.
"Stop it!" he choked. "I'm not watching that bloody film!"
And they didn't. Instead, they made good use of Draco's new couch. And bed. And shower. Yep, Draco had never been happier.
-x-
Harry turned up his iPod and stepped on to the treadmill. The Ministry had recently opened a company gym and, for ten galleons a month, employees had unlimited access – outside of core hours, of course. He pressed down on the button for controlling the speed for a few seconds, watching the numbers flash as the speed increased. Six kilometres per hour – a nice, leisurely pace that would allow his thoughts to wander freely without focusing on how hard he was finding the workout. He had been in this gym, on this treadmill, almost every night for the past couple of weeks and it had not escaped his attention that Ginny had stopped asking him where he had been. Maybe she had stopped noticing that he wasn't there, the way that he had stopped caring if she was there or not. It was the night before George and Alicia's wedding and Harry didn't even know what gift Ginny had bought for them. He had seen the extravagantly gift-wrapped parcel in their bedroom with his and Ginny's names on the tag, but she hadn't said a word about it. To be perfectly honest, they had barely exchanged a word about anything over the past few days and he was finding it increasingly difficult to stay away from Draco. He had to keep reminding himself that he must wait for the best possible moment to break the news to his wife, and then he and Draco could be together. Officially. Catching sight of the clock out of the corner of his eye, he realised that George's stag party was starting in an hour. Upping the pace to eight kilometers an hour, Harry ran full-pelt for a further fifteen minutes before rushing to an Apparition Point, re-appearing outside number twelve. Showering and changing quickly, he kissed Ginny's cheek and mumbled a halfhearted goodbye. He threw a handful of glittering powder into the fire and stepped forward, instructing it to take him to the Leaky Cauldron.
"Whey-hey!"
Harry was greeted by a chorus of male voices as he stepped out of the fireplace and dusted himself off. He looked up and grinned at the sight of all of his friends, gathered around a huge table in the middle of the pub.
"Harry!"
"How's it going, mate?"
"What are you drinking?!"
He laughed as everyone began talking at once. He felt a shot being forced into his hand and George threw an arm around his shoulders, watching him closely as he drank it.
"Right, lads, that's everybody here. Let's get going!"
Everyone cheered and stood up, making their way out to the back of the pub. Lee Jordan led the way, tapping the bricks on the wall with his wand to reveal the entrance to Diagon Alley. As the men poured onto the cobbled street, Harry turned to Charlie Weasley.
"So, where are we going?"
"There's a new club opening in Knockturn Alley. We thought we'd check it out," he said
"Knockturn Alley? Won't it be a bit…" Harry trailed off and Charlie clapped him on the shoulder, grinning.
"Nah, it's nothing like that!" the redhead replied good-naturedly. "And it's just off Knockturn Alley, not beside all the creepy Dark shops. Don't worry, it'll be a laugh!"
They carried on along Diagon Alley, turning off at the end, into Knockturn Alley. George motioned for them to follow him and they slipped into a side street that was teeming with people. The groom-to-be had a quiet exchange with the bouncer and, after a brief handshake, the barrier was removed and they were free to make their way inside.
The music was pounding in Harry's ears and the vibration of the bass in his chest made him feel slightly ill. He had only been in the club for a matter of seconds when a girl sidled up to him, her skimpy outfit leaving little to the imagination.
"Do you want to dance?" she asked, circling her hips suggestively. Harry grimaced.
"I don't dance."
"Okay, can I buy you a drink then?" she made to grab his hand but he jerked it away.
"No thanks," he said shortly, making his way around her.
He had barely taken five steps when another woman, slightly older this time, placed her hands on his shoulders and pressed herself up against him.
"Not interested in the teenybopper over there? I'm not surprised," she leered at him. "You need an older woman, don't you?"
"I'm not interested," he replied, extricating himself from her grip. "I'm married."
"So am I!" she gave a tinkling laugh. "But what he doesn't know…"
Harry removed himself from her presence completely and made his way to the bar as fast as he could. He ordered a firewhiskey and leaned back against the wall, taking a long draught as he scoured the club for his friends.
"Oh my god, are you Harry Potter?!"
Harry sighed as two young girls gazed up at him, a look of amazement on their faces. He snorted; they couldn't have been older than fifteen.
"Can we have your autograph?" one girl asked, rummaging in her handbag. "Stacey, do you have a quill? I can't find mine…"
Cursing himself for agreeing to come to a club, Harry collected a second drink from the bartender and took his place at the end of the bar, desperately wishing that he could disappear. He could see Bill, George, Lee and Neville making arses of themselves at the other side of the dancefloor and he felt bad that he wasn't enjoying himself. This was George's last night as a single man and they should be celebrating, not trying to blend in with the wallpaper. He took another swig of his drink.
"Holy shit, are you the Harry Potter?" came a voice from behind him, and his heart leapt. He turned to see a pair of silver eyes looking back at him, filled with amusement. Draco smirked. "Fancy seeing you here."
"What are you doing here?" Harry resisted the urge to kiss the blonde, who was looking even more gorgeous than usual in a fitted blue t-shirt and tight jeans. He tossed his platinum hair out of his eyes and smiled.
"I'm here with Pansy," he motioned to a table near the back of the club and a pretty girl with long black hair waved, wiggling her fingers at him and winking. "She fancies the bartender and insisted that we stay until closing time so that she can pick him up."
"Well, you're a sight for sore eyes, I can tell you that," Harry took a step back, looking him up and down. "You look amazing. I love your shoes."
Draco looked down at his new red Converse hi-tops sheepishly. "Um… Pete bought them for me. I didn't know that you were going to be here tonight, so… I mean… I never would have -"
Harry raised a hand to silence him. "It's okay. It was my idea for you to keep seeing Pete until I'd sorted things out with Ginny so I really have no right to get possessive."
"Okay, well, I should probably warn you that -"
"Have I mentioned how gorgeous you look tonight?" Harry lowered his voice, taking a step towards the Slytherin.
"Perhaps, but I never tire of hearing it," Draco smirked, rational thought going out the window the moment he felt Harry's warm breath on his cheek. After a quick scan to make sure that his friends were suitably occupied, Harry closed the gap between them and brought their lips together, gently at first, but steadily becoming more urgent. Harry's heart was thumping in time with the music and he had almost forgotten where he was when he felt a strong vibration against his thigh.
"Well, you're keen!" he laughed, breaking the kiss as Draco began fumbling in his pockets.
"It was my phone," the Slytherin grinned, waving said device in his face as he freed it from his jeans. He flipped it open to read the text message and Harry watched as the other man's face dropped.
Behind u.
Draco slowly turned around and Harry peered over his shoulder, his gaze coming to rest on a very hurt-looking young boy, about ten feet away. He was watching the scene in front of him in horror, his lower lip trembling.
"Pete," Draco whispered, looking stricken. He moved towards his boyfriend but the young boy flinched, pushing him away. Harry couldn't hear what they were saying but Pete was clearly shouting, angry tears threatening to overflow. Draco's cheeks were coloured with a faint pink tinge and he tried again to calm the brunette by placing a hand on his shoulder but Pete shrugged him off, taking a step backwards. He narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice, leaning in for only a moment and then he was gone, leaving Draco standing alone in the middle of the dancefloor. Slowly, he made his way back over to Harry, his expression unreadable.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked, his eyes full of concern.
"That wasn't how I wanted him to find out," Draco said, his voice barely audible over the music. "I wanted to tell him myself, face to face."
"I know," Harry replied, pulling him into a hug. "I'm sorry that things didn't work out the way that you planned."
Draco nodded against his chest. "Do you want to come back to mine?"
"I can't," he said gently. "You would only be doing it to make yourself feel better. Plus, it's the wedding tomorrow and I have to get an early night."
Draco pulled away slightly. "I wouldn't be doing it to make myself feel better!"
"Yes you would," the Gryffindor said simply, smiling at him. "Even though you and I are together, you and Pete were together first and he just broke up with you. You're allowed to be upset."
"I'm only upset because I feel bad about the way he found out about us, I wouldn't be using you to numb the pain or whatever," the blonde explained, looking into Harry's brilliant green eyes.
"Oh no?" the brunette looked at him, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"No, I love you!" Draco suddenly looked horrified and took a step back, his grey eyes wide. Harry opened his mouth to say something but Draco, looking as though he might throw up, stumbled backwards and ran from the club, leaving Harry by the bar. He saw Pansy grab her handbag and hurry towards the exit, throwing a questioning look at Harry as she passed. He opened and closed his mouth, feeling like a fish out of water, before he too took his leave.
-x-
"And do you, George Weasley, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health until death do you part?"
"Hmm, let's see now…" George arranged his face into a mock-thoughtful expression. "Yeah, why not?" He shrugged, and the guests all laughed. Even Alicia managed a watery smile. The minister chuckled.
"Ever the joker, Mister Weasley! Now, the rings," he motioned for Angelina and Ron to come forward and hand over the small gold bands that they were holding. "Please repeat after me…"
Harry watched as Alicia placed a ring on George's third finger, repeating the minister's words of love, sharing and happiness. George then took his turn, placing a much smaller band on his bride's finger, and bringing his hand up to brush away her tears. They shared a tender smile and Harry felt Ginny slide her hand into his, giving it a firm squeeze. Harry felt sick as he thought back to their own wedding. He couldn't remember being even half as happy as his brother-in-law looked at this moment. He then remembered the previous night and Draco's admission of love and he felt his heart skip a beat.
"Alicia… George… I now pronounce you husband and wife," announced the minister, a huge smile on his face. "You may kiss the bride!"
George made a show of twirling his wife around and sweeping her off of her feet before leaning in for a kiss. Everyone in the room was on their feet, clapping and cheering as the couple made their way down the steps and up the aisle. Harry noticed that Ginny was wiping away tears with a paper tissue and he felt a stab of jealousy. She hadn't cried when she had recited her vows to him. She hadn't been emotional in the slightest! She had spent almost the entire time talking to guests and giving long speeches to the press about how proud she was to finally be Mrs. Harry Potter. He felt nothing but resentment towards his wife as he saw how blissfully happy the bride and groom looked now, gazing into one another's eyes as they left the alter.
"And now for the reception!" called Mrs. Weasley above the chattering of the crowd. "If you'll all make your way to the marquee at the bottom of the garden…"
Slowly, the crowd filtered down towards the huge white tent that had been erected for the party. There was an enormous buffet table, groaning under the weight of all the food.
"Excellent. Do you think we're allowed to eat yet?" came a voice from behind them.
"Really, Ronald, can we please go for ten minutes without you stuffing your face?" Hermione scolded him. "Harry, Ginny, there you are! We didn't see you at the ceremony."
"We were stuck beside my cousins and my great-auntie," Ginny rolled her eyes. "Nightmare. Beautiful ceremony though, wasn't it?"
"Oh yes," Hermione cooed. "Alicia looked gorgeous! Where is she, anyway?"
Harry and Ron raised their eyebrows and exchanged a look that plainly said "women!" and took a seat at the nearest table. Summoning two Butterbeers, Ron handed his best friend a bottle and they popped them open. Nodding slightly to one another, they raised their drinks before taking a swig, and Harry gazed around the room as the other guests filed through the door and took a seat. They sat together in silence for ten minutes, until Molly got to her feet and announced that the buffet was open. Ron grinned and leapt to his feet, piling food onto his plate like a starving man, while Hermione plopped herself down in Ron's vacant seat. She looked at him expectantly until he couldn't ignore her any longer.
"What?"
"Don't give me that, Harry James Potter. You know perfectly well what," she replied, throwing him a look that could have reduced a lesser man to a scorch-mark on the floor.
"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about, 'Mione," he played dumb, avoiding her gaze.
"Yes, you do," she lowered her voice and leaned in slightly. "I know what's been going on between you and Malfoy."
Harry's head snapped round and he looked into her brown eyes, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You're bluffing."
"Am I?" she raised an eyebrow. "Ron told me this morning that all the guys who were at George's stag party last night were laughing their heads off last night on the way home from the club. Do you want to know what was so funny? Well, apparently, Charlie was so drunk that he could have sworn that he saw you kissing Draco Malfoy at the end of the bar. Isn't that hilarious?" She made sure to stress each word, her voice dripping with disdain.
Harry gave a tight smile. "Hilarious… yeah. He must have been really drunk to think -"
"Save it, Harry," she snapped, looking furious. "I can't believe you would lie to me about this. I have been telling you for weeks and weeks to leave Ginny if you're not happy with her. There is no shame in ending your marriage if you don't feel that it's working. There is shame, however, in sneaking around behind her back and lying to your friend about it," she brought up a hand as Harry opened his mouth to speak, cutting him off. "I don't want to hear excuses. I don't want to hear anything. In fact, the less I know, the better. Just… just make it right."
Harry looked down at his hands. He could feel Hermione's eyes boring into him but he couldn't bring himself to look at her. She had looked so disappointed in him and he desperately wanted to avoid ever seeing that look again. Behind him, he could hear the DJ setting up on the stage. He looked round to see Lee Jordan on the decks, pointing his wand at his throat.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming George and Alicia Weasley to the floor!" his magically amplified voice rang out across the tent and the crowd cheered as the couple made their way to the dancefloor. "For their first dance, they have chosen this classic from Celestina Warbeck. Let's give them a big hand…"
Harry and Hermione looked at each other briefly before joining in with polite applause. Her expression softened and she placed a hand on Harry's forearm.
"I know you'll do the right thing, Harry. You always do," she said gently, standing up and taking Ron's hand. Harry watched as his two best friends twirled onto the dancefloor, joining the other couples who were up and swaying in time to the music. He suddenly felt a small hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see Ginny smiling at him, her brown eyes sparkling.
"Dance with me," she said, pulling him out of his seat and leading him to the front of the marquee. She placed his hands at the small of her back and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her cheek on his shoulder. She swayed her hips gently and they slowly turned on the spot. "Mmm, this is nice."
Harry watched the crowd over her head for a few moments. In that short time he took in all the happy, smiling faces around him and the murmured words of adoration from one person to another. He saw Ron tuck a loose strand of Hermione's hair behind her ear; he watched as George and Alicia shared a kiss, looking as though the entire world had stopped just for them; Fleur resting her cheek against Bill's, seemingly unfazed by his terrible scars. He then caught sight of Molly Weasley, gazing up at Arthur as though, after all these years – after all these decades, even – the sole reason she got up in the morning was to see him smile, and he suddenly felt the air vanish from his lungs. Every person in the room was making their love so obvious to the outside world. They were really putting themselves out there and it was plain for anyone to see how happy each person was. He wanted that. He was tired of pretending that he had it with Ginny when his every waking moment was filled with thoughts of Draco. His thoughts were disturbed as he felt Ginny shift slightly in his arms. She pressed her cheek against his and sighed contentedly. "Sickle for your thoughts?" she whispered, smiling against his ear. Harry stared, unseeingly, at a spot above her head.
"I don't love you anymore."
-x-
A/N: How's THAT for a cliffhanger? Mwahahaha! You know the drill – you give me reviews, I give you quick updates… hehehe x