Chapter 4 - Good Man
"Hedwig…"
As if in a trance, Harry slowly walked from the door, his feet scuffing the bloody feathers on the floor. He knelt down on the ground next to his de-feathered friend; brushing some of the stray feathers of off her soft stomach. The bird looked weakly at Harry with her topaz eyes and gave a feeble hoot.
"Hedwig…you poor girl, I am so so sorry…" being careful not to touch her mangled wings, he picked her up, gently cradling her in his arms, cooing to her softly. He brushed a finger over her beak, and she tried and failed miserably at biting the digit in front of her; Hedwig gave a quiet, dejected hoot. She rubbed her head against his clothed chest gently, closing in on his warmth. She was so cold.
Harry patted Hedwig's feathers, completely forgetting the presence of his two companions. Hedwig, cooed, but the sound seemed to hurt her and she made a gurgling sound at the back of her throat.
"Shhh, girl. Shhh, it's ok. It's ok Hedwig, it's ok girl." Harry continued to pet the bird, not noticing as a silver sparkling tear rolled down his taught features. Seeing his bird in such pain wounded him. He had gotten Hedwig his very first year at Hogwarts, and she had been with him ever since. She was a part of Harry, as much as his magic was, he couldn't bare if anything happened to her. She was a part of him.
With the bird still in him arms, Harry slowly stood making sure not to jostle her, and walked over to Narcissa who was watching him in a stunned silence.
"Those, filthy-" Narcissa began; she could not even believe the Dursley's would do such a thing to an innocent creature like Hedwig. It was beyond cruel.
"Help her. Please." He asked; his voice breaking. Harry looked at the woman and another silver speckled tear ran down his cheek.
"Of course Harry." Taking the bird from Harry gently, Narcissa lay Hedwig delicately on the bed littered with feathers. She grimaced at the sight of the fowls wings, bending awkward angles all over the place; there were even small bones sticking out in places. She could only gather how much the bird meant to the boy, and surely his relatives must have known that. This was more than beyond cruel. She started waving her wand over the bird in slow and small swishes, starting the healing process.
Harry stood silently at the end of the bed, watching the bird that was obviously in pain. She was in pain, and once again, he could do nothing. He clenched his shaking fists and pressed them to his thighs in anger.
'How dare they do this to Hedwig! My Hedwig. My bird! She didn't do anything…they will pay…'
When his thoughts trailed to the Dursley's, his sorrow quickly switched to rage.
Draco watched Harry, still standing in the doorway. The wind seemed to suddenly pick up around the boy, twisting his hair; the tie flew loose, freeing the silky, raven strands into the angry wind. The blue and silver shimmer seemed to brighten and blue sparks shot from the tips of his hair and fists, singeing the ground. He swivelled swiftly on his heel and Draco saw that his once green irises were now a dazzling, yet dangerous looking mercury silver. The magic pulsated out of the boy, cutting through the air with its thickness, like a scalding knife through butter.
It was obvious to Draco that the young Veela was out for blood. He watched as Harry made a start for the door, ignoring the anxious calls of Draco's mother. Draco whipped out his wand and directed it at Harry; knowing that if he did not stop him, Harry would sorely regret his actions.
A silver eye flickered his way and Harry shot a hand out to Draco. A sudden pulse of raw magic seemed to burst from Harry's hand, sending the wizards wand clattering to the other side of the room. Not even noticing Draco's stunned expression at the unexpected use of wandless magic; Harry walked out of the doorway and entered the hall. Draco ` did the only thing he could think of; he launched himself through the air and at Harry, knocking the Veela flat on his chiselled face. They both fell to the floor with an angry grunt. An animalistic growl tore it ways through Harry's throat and he struggled to release himself from Draco's iron grip as he thrashed upon the ground.
"Potter you BLITHERING IDIOT!" Draco pushed down on Harry, holding the boy tight against the ground in an attempt to cease his struggles "Stop it before you do something you regret!"
Harry seemed to be deaf to his demands as he stilled struggled and pulled and kicked and scratched at every inch of flesh he could reach. His eyes bore into Draco's, glowing more dangerous mercury yet.
"POTTER!" Draco, try as he might, could not get Harry to respond in anything other than the animalistic growls that racked their way through the halls. Harry managed to rip a hand free of Draco's grasp and he raked his fine fingernails down Draco's face, clawing marks from his brow to his cheek. Draco hissed in pain and slammed a fist into his jaw. Harry snarled and raised his hand again.
"HARRY!" he stilled abruptly and stared at Draco, his hand freezing mid-air. The boys held an intense gaze for several minutes as their chests heaved from the exertion.
Draco watched as mercury eyes turned emerald, as glow dimmed to naught and he watched on as he saw the realisation dawn in Harry's mind. Draco stayed atop of Harry for a few more minutes, not daring to break eye contact with him before he cautiously let go of Harry.
Harry let out a shaky breath and blinked at Draco, shifting slightly underneath the lithe body atop of him.
"Potter…what-the-HELL!" Draco's silver orbs bore into Harry's "Calm-down!"
They were both panting and inches away from each other's faces and Harry was breathing strangled, heavy breathes on Draco's face.
"…hold me."
Draco's jaw dropped, he was shell-shocked, flabbergasted, befuddled, bemused, out-right astounded. Harry looked at him with an expression that was completely serious; this terrified Draco.
"Not…like that…you…prat." Harry could tell what the blonde was thinking just by looking at his usually expressionless face, it was practically speaking volumes. Harry continued to speak; breath obviously laboured "I don't have…full…control yet… Veela…If you…let go…I will do something…I will sorely regret." Harry stared at the man which currently straddled his hips "Don't let me go."
Trying to ignore the pleading tone in his voice, Draco mutely nodded and grabbed Harry's hands and pinned them above his head.
"Tell me when to let you go." Draco realised he had no choice in the matter, if Harry wasn't in full control of himself yet, if Harry was more Veela than human right now, the consequences would be dire.
As time passed, Draco watched the peculiar display in front of him. Harry squeezed his eyes shut and drew quick, laboured and shaky breathes from his pale lips. His chest rose and fell deeply, and his hands flexed above his head. Harry squirmed under Draco, jostling the blonde atop of him, sending an unpleasantly pleasant shiver up his spine. Draco felt his eyes widen when he saw a small trail of crimson blood ooze from the lip Harry was biting. "Harry, are you…"
"Draco…" his name came out of Harry's bloody mouth sounding almost like a moan, Draco did not like what that sound was doing to his head "You can let me go now." Draco, after gazing at Harry for a few moments to see if he was truly sane, unpinned Harry's hands from above his head.
Harry opened his eye and looked at Draco with a weak smirk on his face "You can get off me as well if you want to," Harry sat up slightly and waggled his eyebrows "unless you would rather stay on top of me."
Draco growled and shoved Harry back to the ground and jumped off of him, trying to draw attention from the blush rising up his porcelain neck.
"Glad to see your back to you usual uncultured self, Potter." Draco stood over Harry and glared down at him "Now get your pathetic body up off of the grimy floor and back to the bedroom so we can finish up and get out of here quickly."
Harry grinned and raised himself up off the ground on one elbow "Now Draco, if I didn't know any better it would seem like you really wanted me to go back to the bedroom where we could finish up quickly…together."
Harry roared with laughter as Draco scowled and stormed back into Harry's old room. Harry's laughter soon ceased however, when he entered the room and the memories of why he had originally rushed out of there came flooding back to him.
Narcissa sat on the bed, tying the final splint to the bird's wings. She waved the bird into a slumber with a quick flick of her wand. Harry stood in the doorway – as he seemed to do so often these days – and watched as Narcissa walked over to him.
"I did as much as I could Harry." She placed one tender hand on his shoulder – a big gesture for her – and looked into his eyes "I know how much she means to you Harry, but there wasn't much I could do. She will live, but not as any bird should. She cannot fly." Harry moved over to the bed and sat beside the bird. Her feathers were all back, though her plumage was thin. The cuts on her feet were almost healed and she had a large scratch that crossed one of her eyes; blinding her. Two large splints were tied to her wings, keeping them safely in place.
It hurt Harry to look at her. Hedwig was a part of him; Harry had felt great pain in his life, but the pain of others always drew great empathy from within him and to feel empathy for Hedwig, the bird that had been with Harry for so long, it caused him great pain.
He brushed a gentle hand over the head of the bird, soothing her in her restless slumber. Harry composed himself before turning back to the Malfoy's, it didn't do much however, it was evident the emotions Harry was feeling, all could be seen in his sparkling eyes.
"Come on, let grab my things and leave. I don't think I'd be able to leave without harming…them if they un-froze before we were gone."
It only took a few minutes for Harry to gather all of his things and put them messily into his trunk. He was glad of the complex locking charm he had previously put on his trunk, otherwise all of his most prized possessions would have been destroyed by the Dursley's.
He did not bother taking what little raggedy clothing he had out of his dresser, he would leave behind everything of his past. He did not want to be reminded of it.
When Harry locked his trunk Narcissa turned to Draco who had been silent the entire time "Draco, take this down to the door would you, I want to have a word with Harry." Draco looked at his mother as if to say do-you-really-expect-me-to-do-the-work-of-house-elves "Draco. You will take Harry's trunk down to the door, we will follow you shortly." She said in a no-nonsense tone. With a slight grumble, Draco levitated Harry's trunk and plodded – as gracefully as one could of course – down the stairs.
"I'm sorry Harry. I wish I could've done more for-" Harry raised a hand to silence the woman as politely as he could.
"Please Narcissa, you know as well as I do that you have nothing to apologise for. Now please, neither of us have need for these pleasantries. What is the matter?" It was obvious that she did not approve of his tone, but she decided to let it slide, considering what she was about to tell him.
"I have been doing a little research on Veela, and I have found some things that may be of interest to you." Harry raised a brow "It was would seem, that though you are only a quarter Veela, you possess a lot of their natural attributes, this much I can deduce myself; I can only assume this is because you are an incredibly powerful wizard Harry. I have found some rather interesting things in my research however." Narcissa sat in the dingy bed and gestured to a nearby chair. Harry, still cautious, sat down and faced Narcissa, gesturing for her to continue. "Veela are very emotional creatures…beings, pardon me Harry. They feel emotions very strongly and they can empathise with others to an unimaginable extent. This is even more true to adolescent Veela, and an adolescent you are Harry. You will feel more than you ever have, empathise more than you ever will during these next few years. Veela are considered adolescent until the age of twenty four because of their long lives; so until your twenty fourth birthday Harry, you will be very emotional. Not in a bad way Harry, don't worry," she could see the unease in his face "it will just mean you feel things more strongly and have a deeper connection to certain people and animals than most others would. This would probably explain the…fluctuations you may have been noticing with your emotions. As you grow over it will be easier for you to control how strongly you are connected to your emotions, you will have more of a reign over them if you will. You won't ever be able to stop how strongly you feel, but it will be easier for you to keep your expressions and gestures more…restrained." She stood and extend a hand to Harry, grasping her hand he stood up from the chair "Now that is the my main discovery, however I have a few more I would be willing to share with you back at home if you're willing to listen."
Harry extended his arm and she linked hers in his. "That would be helpful. We should probably get going though; Draco will have a Thestral if we take too much longer." He said with a chuckle. With a careful swish and flick of his wand, Hedwig was gently raised into the air, and Harry walked to the entrance of the house with Narcissa trailing behind him. Draco was standing impatiently at the door, looking out the window with the trunk sitting next to his foot which was tapping the ground irritably. "About time Potter, are you done?"
Harry leaned over to whisper in Narcissa's ear "Looks like we're too late, he's already had a Thestral." Harry turn to Draco and saw Narcissa trying to stop the corners of her mouth twitching up into a smile "Yes Draco, I am done. I'm an anxious to leave as you are, come one." Harry held out his arms to either to grasp hold of. Draco tutted and pushed Harry out of the way, ignoring the small joke that had been shared between his mother and Harry.
"No way Potter, I'm driving this time." Draco promptly grabbed with arms of his mother and Harry. With a loud CRACK the trio disappeared, just as a whale-like man came to his senses in the living room with a bellowing roar of pure anger.
After their return to the manor, Harry spent most of his time researching Veela in the vast Malfoy library. He hardly ever left the warm reclusive part of his current residency, sifting through book after book, only ever putting them down to eat and sleep. Hedwig was constantly with him, sitting on his shoulder or the head of the dragon-hide chair he so often found himself seated him; she was a welcome companion.
In the rare moments he wasn't doing research or doting on Hedwig, Harry found himself spending most of his free time with Draco unbelievably. They often sat together in the library in a comfortable silence, advancing their plans for their foundation. Despite their past discrepancies, they found – under their new agreement to be civil – that they worked quite well together.
Harry wasn't quite sure what they were of recent. They certainly weren't enemies, they certainly weren't friends either, but they were more than just acquaintances. Harry had known Draco for the better part of his life, they had gone through a lot together; though not on friendly terms admittedly. Harry could not deny the fact that they shared a bond, no matter how small or fragile it may be.
It was a very strange thing indeed.
Today Harry found himself in the library with Draco once again, making plans for the Malfoy Foundation.
Draco sighed and raked his fingers through his hair "That's it." He threw the paperwork on the mahogany desk in front of them. He leaned back into the couch where the two sat – a reasonable distance apart "I'm done, we've been at this for hours and I'm famished. Hungry Potter?"
Harry looked up from the opposite end of the couch, sighing he shuffled his papers and placed them next to Draco's "Yeah, I suppose I am. I've had enough of this damned paperwork anyway." Harry stood up from his seat and stretched his arms back behind his head, making his shirt rise up his stomach slightly; he did not notice Draco's eyes flicker over the bare flesh as he flexed.
Harry stepped forward and opened the curtains to the large window. Harry struggled not to stagger back at the sudden brightness of the sun blinded him. He squinted and raised an arm to cover his eyes, shielding them from the bright sunlight.
"Bloody hell Potter, what did you do that for?" Draco shied away from the intruding light, turning his eyes away.
"Gods Draco, we've been cooped up in this god awful library too long is this is what the sun does to us." Harry lowered his arm and peered into the clear blue sky. It was a perfect, cloudless day. "Come on, I have an idea." Harry practically ran over to Draco. Grabbing his arm, Harry dragged him from the library and out into the Malfoy gardens, ignoring the protests and curses spilling from the blonde's mouth.
Harry had gotten to know the estate well, after staying for so long, and he knew exactly where he wanted to go. Hauling them both through the magnificent gardens Harry finally came to his destination. They stood at the edge of a finely manicured Quidditch pitch, a small building at the side of the arena, the change and equipment rooms. Harry let go of Draco, turning around and gesturing at the field.
"Come on Draco, it'll be just like old times. You and me. One on one." Draco looked at Harry with a calculating stare. "Don't look at me like that Draco, we've been cooped up in that bloody manor for too long and you know it. Come on, let's fly."
Harry was right, Draco did want to fly.
"Are you sure Potter, my mother would kill me if you went back crying your eyes out because I handed you your arse on a silver platter." Said Draco with a sly grin, Harry was getting more and more used to seeing this expression on Draco's face; an expression without malice.
Harry scowled at Draco, but the effort was diminished with the grin that was spreading across his perfect features.
"Bring it on ferret." Harry grinned at Draco and he seemed to glimmer in the sunlight like the dewy grass in the morning; it was a show of beauty that did not escape even Draco's eyes. Stunned by the random display of beauty, Draco almost missed Harry as he slapped him on the back and dashed past him.
"LAST ONE TO THE SHACKS' A ROTTEN EGG!" Harry ran off, giggling like a little girl.
"A rotten egg...what does that…HEY! POTTER! BASTARD!" Draco sped off after Harry, trailing in his wake.
They were both panting when they reached the building; both had their hands on their knees and they were bending over as they tried to catch their breath.
"Looks like…I win…ferret face." Harry gasped between breaths, but still managing to look at Draco with a gleam in his emerald and silver specked eyes.
"Not…bloody likely…scarhead…I definitely got here…first."
"Whatever, we can settle this over the snitch. Best out of five?"
Draco unleased one of his more rare grins, and responded by tossing Harry one of the finer brooms; keep the best for himself however.
"Now Draco, that not very hospitable. A host is supposed to treat their guests with the upmost care, and I believe in this case that entails you giving me that excellent broom." Harry followed Draco out onto the pitch and stood behind him crossing his arms defiantly. Draco turned to Harry with an evil, but friendly smirk.
"You're forgetting Potter, I'm a Malfoy." Draco whipped a leg over his broom and kicked off the ground, soaring into the air. Harry smiled as he followed Draco into the air. The two hovered in the middle of the pitch, facing each other.
"Rules?"
"I'll throw the snitch into the air Potter, after ten seconds we fly. First to catch the snitch wins. Best out of five, winner takes all." Draco held the snitch out between his two ivory fingers
"Scared Potter?"
"You wish." The snitch flew from Draco's fingertips and Harry began to count slowly in his head.
One…
Two…
Three…
Four…
Five….
Six…
Harry let out a cry of outrage as Draco surged forward on his broom, chasing after the snitch. "You said TENS SECONDS YOU SLIMEY SNAKE!"
"Again Potter, I'M A MALFOY!" Draco laughed giddily as he flew past Harry, his rumbling laughter tickling his ears pleasantly. It took Harry a couple of seconds to get over the fact that he found Draco's laughter a pleasant sound, but he didn't let the thought deter him from the match for long.
The pair flew about the pitch in chase of the snitch. Harry and Draco swooped, dove, dived and soared through the air, making sure to stick closely to one another, making sure not to give the other an advantage. Something gleamed in the corner of Harry's eye; Harry dove backwards, following the gleaming speck of silver and gold. Noticing his movements Draco quickly following in hot pursuit. The snitch was flying in a straight plummet towards the ground, Harry and Draco following behind it, barely a breath away from either boy.
Harry surged after the snitch, right beside Draco; they were getting closer and closer to the snitch, not much unlike the display of flying from Harry's first year at Hogwarts. They were getting closer to the ground by the second, each boy stretched out their hand in a desperate reach for the snitch. They were mere meters away from the ground when Draco sent Harry an unsure look, one which Harry returned with a devious grin. Winking at Draco, Harry increased his speed, racing past Draco and towards the snitch the hovered above the ground.
Draco watched in awe as the boy wonder dashed forward on his broom on a kamikaze course for the ground. With only seconds to spare Harry pulled up, millimetres from the ground, snatching the snitch before it had a chance to fly away. Draco couldn't believe how seamlessly Harry had pulled off that move, making it seem effortless, seamless, perfect, like he had done that move a hundred times before. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the magnificent raven-hair teen and the way his lithe body flew through the sky, like the broom was just another part of him. However much Draco may dislike Harry he couldn't deny it; 'Potter is beautiful.'
Harry stepped – almost too daintily for any reasonable man to get away with – off of his broom and onto the manicured grass. Harry turned, flicking his dark hair over his shoulder to turn to Draco with a completely unguarded expression; his eyes shone with glee, his mouth was split into a toothy grin, his cheeks were red and a thin film of sweat covered his brow, glistening in the sun.
Draco loathed the fact that the sight made his breath catch in his throat. 'Now I remember why I hate the git.'
Draco strode over to Harry, expression grim. "Don't get cocky Potter, best out of five remember."
The two left the pitch three hours later, thoroughly exhausted and completely famished. They placed the brooms back in the shed and Harry turned to go back to the Manor, but not before Draco caught a hold of his wrist. "Not so fast Potter, mother will kill you if you go into the house like that."
Harry looked down at his body, he was shirtless and sweating profusely; both he and Draco had decided to ditch the shirts after their third round. "Come on Potter, shows are this way." Draco stepped in front of Harry, showing him the way.
The shower room was much like the ones at Hogwarts, tiled floor and walls, and a small row of both shower and toilet cubicles lining the walls. A closet sat at the other end of the room, presumably holding spare clothes for Draco. This proved to be the correct assumption as Draco glided over to the cabinet and pulled out some clothes for both him and Harry, which he promptly tossed at the sweaty teen.
"Be quick Potter, I'm hungry and if you're not out before me I'm not waiting for you."
"You're just pissy because I beat you three to two Malfoy."
"Fuck you Potter." The insult was somewhat dimmed by the grin that accompanied it.
Trying to keep his bravado intact, Draco stepped into the closest cubicle without another word and slammed the door behind him, leaving a panting and sweaty Harry Potter standing alone in the shower room. As Harry stepped into the shower and closed the door, and halted mid-strip as he heard the sound of water running from the head of a tap from the cubicle next door. Banishing the idea of a naked Draco Malfoy with water dripping down his porcelain skin from his mind, Harry stepped under the warm flow of the water and audibly moaned when the harsh rain massaged his sore and tender muscles. He hadn't had any chance of late to practice his flying and the over exertion was certainly taking its toll on him. It felt so good to have the warm water run down his tired body as he rubbed the soap into his pores, he couldn't help but let out a sigh. It was the most relaxed he had felt since before the war; it was pure bliss.
'Merlins balls…fucking Potter, I can't believe I lost to that…that bloody hero again!' Draco was displeased with the outcome of their match, to say the least. Draco pulled off his clothing in haste and jumped into the shower, scrubbing furiously at his body, as if he was trying to scrub the shame of losing – yet again – to Harry Potter off of his skin. His movements all of a sudden halted as a soft moan made its way to Draco's ears. 'The hell…'
Deeming the sound a mere figment of his over-active imagination, Draco shook his wet head and continued on with his shower, only to stop suddenly once again at the sound of a blissful sigh from the cubicle next to his.
'What in the hell is Potter doing in there?' Draco's eyes widened all of a sudden 'He can't be…there's no way…'
"Oh god…this feels magnificent." For some inexplicable reason, Draco found that all the blood had gushed out of his head and gone to a more problematic section of his self, at the sound of Harry's voice drifting from the cubicle beside him. Growling Draco slammed a frustrated fist into the tiled wall, making a crack in the tiles with a sickening thud as his face reddened like a Weasly's.
'Bloody Potter…'
Harry was brought out of the pleasures of the warm water cascading down his form by a nauseating crack from the cubicle beside him. "Draco? Was that you? Are you alright?" His question was only met with a muffled growl. "Draco?"
"Fuck off Potter. Just shut up and get dressed quickly or I'm leaving without you." Came the stifled reply.
Harry heard the water shut off from the cubicle next to his and the heavy plodding of feet across the tiles, followed by the slamming of a door. Sighing at the loss of blissful tranquillity, Harry washed the rest of the suds off of his body and watched them trickle down the drain.
Wrapping the towel around his waist, Harry went to reach for the clothes Draco had thrown at him, only to realise that he had left them outside in his haste for a warm shower. Running a hand through the wet, raven tendrils, Harry stepped out of the cubicle.
Harry found the clothes and quickly dried and dressed himself. There was no sign of Draco in the change rooms, so after plopping the towel back on the rack and stuffing his wand into his pants pocket, he walked out of the room.
"Took your time Potter." Harry reeled around to find Draco propped up against the outer wall of the building, arms crossed.
"I thought you said you wouldn't wait for me."
Draco pushed himself off of the wall and started to walk ahead on Harry "Mother would have had a conniption if I came back without you. Knowing her she probably would have thought I killed you…or something similar." Harry laughed and picked up a light jog to catch up with Draco; when he reached him Harry made sure to match his pace to Draco's.
"So Draco, I believe you said something about 'winner takes all'." Draco whipped his head around to see Harry grinning madly at him.
Sighing, Draco replied. "And I suppose you want me to be your slave for the day? For me to lick your shoes, for me to get on my knees and praise Gryffindor and all its mightiness?"
"Though those are all tempting ideas, I had something much more satisfying in mind." Draco looked at Harry warily, unsure of what his request would be. "Two bottles of your finest firewhiskey."
"Come again?" Draco wasn't sure he had him right.
"Firewhiskey Draco, I'm sure even you have a secret stash of liquor."
Draco snorted "Of course I have some Potter, but is that really all you want? Firewhiskey?"
Harry jumped in front of Draco and halted him in his tracks. Draco went wide-eyed as Harry leaned in with an almost lustful look in his eyes.
"Unless you were hoping for something more Draco." Draco couldn't help but think that it was completely sinful the way his name rolled off the Saviour of the Wizarding Worlds pink tongue; Draco swallowed loudly.
Pushing Harry away from him, Draco rushed forward with a huff; Harry quick on his heel.
"I get you your bloody booze Potter, but you need to stay the fuck away from me."
Harry's only reply was the tinkling laughter that sent more of those unpleasantly pleasant shivers up Draco's spine.
'Bloody Fucking Potter.'
Shoving two large, golden bottles into Harry's hands, Draco growled. "There's your booze Potter, finest there is. Fifty year old Bulgarian Firewhiskey." Draco raised his pointed nose to the air "We Malfoy's settle for nothing but the best." The satisfied smile that crawled onto Harry's face made Draco want to stalk out of the room and get as far away from him as he possibly could; so that's what he did.
"Hey!" Draco paused as he laid his hand on the doorknob of the library. "Where are you going?" Harry raised the bottles and shook them in the air.
"I got you your Firewhiskey Potter, now I'm going to bed." Draco twisted the brass knob and half pulled the door open, only to have Harry lean on the door, promptly shutting it. "What are you doing Potter?"
Harry quirked an eyebrow "You don't honestly expect me to drink this by myself do you?"
Now it was Draco's turn to raise a blonde brow "…Are you trying to tell me you want to have a drink with me Potter." He scoffed "Why Harry, I didn't know you flew for the other team."
Harry snorted and rolled his eyes "I might not be 'an esteemed Malfoy', but even I know that a drink is better when shared." Harry smirked at Draco, a trait which he had recently picked up; one which annoyed Draco to no end "You can't tell me you'd rather go to bed than have some of the finest Firewhiskey there is. Plus, you're supposed to be active 'civil' towards me anyway, who are you to refuse his guest a drink?"
He had Draco. He couldn't deny the fact that he wouldn't mind a drink; but with Harry? His love for the finer liquid won him out and he snatched a bottle from the long fingers of Harry Potter.
"Fine Potter, but only because these are the last two bottles in the whole mansion, and I don't want them going to waste on someone like you."
Both boys plopped down onto their respective chairs in front of the roaring fire. Harry tugged the cork out of the bottle and took a large swig of the liquor.
Draco screwed up his face "That is completely uncouth and unhygienic Potter." He said, right before Harry began coughing and spluttering as his face turned red.
"What in Godric's name is that? That doesn't taste like any firewhiskey I've had before!" Harry wiped a sleeved arm as Draco laughed at him.
"I told you this was the finest Firewhiskey I had Potter. This isn't like the rubbish you will find in Madame Rosmerta's or the Hogshead. This is the proper, refined stuff." Draco conjured a small silver goblet and poured a small amount of the liquid into it and took a small sip, savouring the taste.
"Ponce." Harry wheezed.
The two continued drinking long into the night, often switching between an oddly companionable silence and a somewhat friendly bickering conversation; it was the most relaxed either had felt in a long time. Not that either would admit it of course.
Harry and Draco had long left the confides of their chairs, and now found themselves with their backs propped up against their respective chairs and legs stretched out towards the fire; each in their hand an empty bottle of Firewhiskey.
"Get your foot of my leg Potter."
Harry pulled his foot from Draco's leg and continued to stare into the dimming coals, which were the only things that illuminated the room aside from the lone candle on the desk. The strange ambient light gave Draco a strange perspective of potter. The light caught his hair in a magical way, the way the embers and candlelight reflected the natural silver Veela shine in his hair was completely ethereal. The light also seemed to have a similar effect on his eyes; the green and silver seemed to dance as they continued to stare into the decaying fire. Draco couldn't seem to understand why he could not draw his eyes from the boy who lived who sat beside him, or who he didn't even view him as 'the-boy-who-lived' at this particular moment in time. His bangs hung over his brow and it hid the scar that was his trademark. Draco couldn't help but notice that without the scar, Harry looked to be a boy like anyone else; a young – if not handsome –man.
'What? Handsome? Circe…I really have had too much to drink if I'm thinking of Potter as 'handsome'.'
"You know Draco," Harry's deep voice interrupted his thoughts "you're not a half bad guy, you know that?" Harry turned and faced Draco, letting his dancing eyes unguardedly bore into Draco's.
"You're drunk Potter."
"No Draco, I'm not. I can hold my liquor," He held up the empty bottle and shook it with a smile "even if it is a good a quality as this."
Draco gave Harry a look "Potter, if you weren't drunk you wouldn't be saying I was a good guy."
"I said half bad, not good. There's a difference." He said with a grin.
"Touché." Draco leant back further onto the chair, stretching his feet closer towards the dwindling fire.
"I meant what I said Draco. You're not half bad; I could go out on a stretch and say you were actually decent. A decent guy that made horrible mistakes and has a horrible, narcissistic personality granted, but a decent guy all the same." Draco snorted and Harry decided to go for another approach "I was always jealous of you, you know. Ever since I first met you in Madame Malkin's robe shop."
At this revelation Draco turned to Harry with an unusually bemused expression. "Jealous? Of me?"
"Mhmm. You were the first wizard I ever properly met – aside from Quirrel – and you had everything. Money, family, pride, knowledge of who you were, a purpose…everything that I didn't. I was so jealous. You got presents every day from your parents, you always had the newest and the best things. You always seemed to be shrouded with love…something that I never had." Harry sighed "It's probably why I hated you so much, aside from the fact you were a complete and utter prick." He gave a small laugh and ran a hand through his hair, pulling it out of his face. "That wasn't the only reason I hated you though. You seemed you had life so easy." Draco snorted "Well now I know that's not true…but then. Back then, it didn't really occur to me how much pressure you would be under as the heir to the Malfoy name, especially considering the position your father held. I think…I think that, with the…well, with everything that came with being 'the-boy-who-lived', all the publicity, all the responsibility, it just seemed like you had it easy."
Draco scowled into the fire and thrummed his finger on the glass bottle "Well weren't you wrong. If anyone had it easy it was you Potter. You have no idea what it was like serving a raving lunatic like that, let alone living with him."
Harry glared at Draco. "You honestly think I had it easy Draco?" Draco raised his eyebrows, a silent yes "Well your bloody wrong. I would gladly have never been the boy who lived. I would gladly give up that title."
Draco – again – snorted "Please Potter, we all know you love that title as much as the next person would."
Harry growled and reared on Draco, with a dangerous spark in his eye "Love IT? Are you kidding me! I would've done anything to give up that title, that responsibility! I didn't have any special powers, I wasn't anything new. I was normal!"
Draco pushed out a rakish laugh "Normal? Potter you survived a direct Avada Kedavra. That's not normal."
"It wasn't direct." Harry said in a quiet voice. Draco turned his eyes from the coals and looked wide-eyed at him.
"What?"
"It wasn't a direct hit. It would've been, if it weren't for my mother. She shielded me with her magic, her love. She sacrificed herself in an attempt to save me. By trying to save me, and d-dying in the process, she invoked an ancient type of magic. It shielded me, protecting me against the majority of Voldemort's spell with her love for me. I still hit me – the curse – but it didn't do what was intended. Instead it cursed me and gave me this scar, and the Avada Kedavra bounced off of me and onto Voldemort. Killing him…or as close as you could get to killing him I suppose. But like I said, I'm not anything special…It was my mother's magic that stopped Voldemort. Not mine." Harry went solemly quiet as Draco soaked up this new information.
'He didn't do anything? He…he was just a normal baby...' Draco's mind was reeling.
"You know what the worst part was? It was the fact that everybody expected so much of me, since I was the-boy-who-lived. They all thought I was some sort of all mighty wizard that would save them all. They all put their complete trust in me, without even knowing the truth." Harry's voice hitched in his throat "And those that knew…they didn't really seem to care. They didn't care that it was my mother's magic that saved me. It didn't matter, because Voldemort picked me. Voldemort chose me. And because of that, I would have to defeat him, because apparently I was the only one who could. No one else." Harry continued to stare into the fire and roll the bottle tensely around in his palms "It didn't matter that I was an ordinary, run of the mill wizard. I would have to defeat Voldemort. I didn't have a choice in the matter." Harry breathed out a small, slow sigh "From the day I found out I was a wizard, I was subjected to a title I didn't deserve…much less want."
Draco stared at Harry as he looked into the dying fire with dead eyes. It was only in that precise moment that it truly occurred to Draco how much Harry had really been subjected to, how much he had had unjustly thrust upon him. He couldn't even begin to comprehend what his life must have been like.
Harry growled softly. It was not menacing in anyway, but it held regret instead. "Damn…you were right Draco. I am drunk. I'm going to bed before I say something I regret. Night." Harry rubbed his eyes and went to stand up before Draco abruptly grabbed his wrist.
"Stay. You sound like you need to keep talking. Don't leave." Realising what he had said by the way Harry's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, Draco quickly stumbled to make amends for himself "I mean…uh, what I meant was that you should stay. Sit down and keep talking, with you in a state like this, who now what Gryffindor secrets I may find." He let his face slide into its natural Slytherin smirk.
"Well then, I guess I have no choice." Harry sat down beside Draco, their arms almost touching "Besides, even if I am drunk, I rather like talking to you."
Hoping that Harry did not notice the flush rising up his neck, Draco pressed on. "Now I believe you said something about the Avada Kedavra cursing you? How is that even possible? That spell was only design to kill, not to curse."
"Okay, do you know about Voldemort's Horcrux's?" Draco nodded.
"Only the bare minimum though. That he had seven of them – whatever they were – and that's what kept him from dying completely. All of them were destroyed – by you I'm assuming – so that he was finally able to die."
"Okay, that makes thing a bit easier. Long story short, when the curse rebounded off of my mother's spell, Voldemort was partially killed. A part of his soul was torn and it attached itself onto the only living thing in the room; me. Hence why I was a Horcrux."
Draco's jaw dropped "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait up, YOU were a HORCRUX! You were one of those blasted things keeping him alive!" Draco all but shrieked. "Wait…but if all the Horcrux's had to be destroyed for Voldemort to die….does that mean he can still come back!"
"That's the thing. I did die. The night of the final battle, Voldemort killed me. For real this time. Don't ask me to explain how I managed to come back, even I don't really know, but I did come back. I'm just guessing it was because I had unfinished business or something. But anyhow we are straying from your original question.
"The night of my parents…my parents murder, a piece of Voldemort soul attached itself to me, making me a Horcrux. This had some….unpleasant side effects. The scar is the most noticeable one obviously. It served as a constant reminder of what happened, but it's more than some bloody scratch. It served as a direct link to him, to his mind. It would burn whenever he was close and such. The worst part about it all was probably the link. I hated it."
"Link?" Draco cocked his head to the side in question.
"I had a direct link to Voldemort's mind." Draco let out an almost silent gasp. "I could see what he saw, feel what he felt, hear what he heard, and think what he thought. It was one of the most horrible things I've had to live with. The link was unstable however, it didn't just give me access to his mind, but it gave him access to mine. On particularly bad days, he would be able to….possess me if you will. It was….unpleasant." Harry spoke in a low voice with a savage sneer on his face, Draco could not help but notice how his eyes seemed to be becoming more silver than green.
"You mean…up until last year, you lived with the dark lord in your mind?" Draco was horrified. He had lived with the mad man long enough to cringe at his very name, he did not even want to imagine what living with him in your mind could possibly do to a man, let alone Harry.
"I remember you said I had no idea what it was like living with him Draco? Well you were wrong. I lived with him much longer than you ever did. And I do know what you lived with, I saw it. I watched him, in my dreams; there was nothing I could do to block it. I saw what he put you and your family through Draco, and I have to say if I was you, I probably would have done the same things you did."
Draco scoffed and turned his gaze from Harry and went back to staring into the fire. Now it was his turn to mull over the thoughts of past lives.
"I doubt that very much Potter. Living here has done bad things to your already damaged head, you think too highly of me. I made a lot of mistakes. I almost cost you the war. If it weren't for you stopping me, I'm pretty sure Voldemort would still be alive."
Harry sighed. "Draco." He didn't look at him; he kept his now stormy grey eyes pasted to the coals. Harry nudged him gently in the arm. "You did those things because you had no choice. They blackmailed you with your family. You had no choice in the matter. I would've done the same thing you did. If I had any family left, and if someone had blackmailed me with their lives, I would have done anything to protect them. You are loyal to your family Draco; there is nothing wrong with that."
It was Draco's turn to reel onto Harry. "THAT EXCUSES NOTHING! That does not change the things I did! That doesn't change the fact that I took the mark, that doesn't change the fact that I have cast the cruciatus curse on multiple people, that does not change the fact people died because of me, that does not change the fact that I let the death eaters into Hogwarts and that does not change the fact that I almost-" Draco bit his tongue as he realised what he had almost said.
Harry laid a gentle and reassuring hand on his shoulder "It might not change the fact that you almost killed the best Headmaster Hogwarts as ever known, but your actions has reason. Justifiable reason. You did the best you could in your situation."
Draco stared at Harry "How did you…"
"Know about you and the other death eaters cornering Dumbledore at the top of the Astronomy tower? I was there, I had just come back with Dumbledore from a…mission and I was hiding under the floor. But that's the thing Draco. You almost killed him. Almost. It was Snape that killed him. Not you. You are a good – if disagreeable and sheltered – man. That cannot be argued. You may not be my best friend, and I may not trust you, but I know there is more to you than meets the eye. I know that there is good in you." Harry gave Draco a soft smile "You did the impossible. You joined Voldemort to protect your family, you put up with all the pain and misery that was sent your way, just to protect the ones you cared for. You hated Voldemort as much as the next person, yet you bended to his will for your family. It takes a great person to do that Draco."
The boys looked at each other with teary eyes and red cheeks. With a choked cough, Draco stood up and rubbed at his eyes. Leaving Harry staring at him from the ground.
"We are both, most defiantly drunk."
Harry laughed sadly "Not drunk enough." Harry remained seated and he watched Draco walked to the door; when he was halfway Harry called out "Draco. I meant what I said. Every word of it. No matter what people say, you are a good man, no matter what you may have done." Draco paused for all of a few seconds, nodded his head and continued to walk towards the door "Draco!" he stopped and turned to Harry "Goodnight." The Veela said with a genuinely warm smile. Draco nodded and shut the door behind him.
Letting out a sigh he had not known he had been holding, Draco crumpled against the closed door and whispered quietly into his hands.
"Goodnight Harry."
TBC