For the If You Dare Challenge (768. Infinite); the OTP Bootcamp (1. acrid) and the 10 Times 10 Challenge (institution: St. Mungo's)

some infinities are are larger than others ~John Green

It was the sight of them that struck Harry the deepest out of everything else he had seen in the war. Remus and Tonks, lying side by side, hands clasped tightly – the two of them, together even in death.

He loved Ginny. He loved Ginny dearly – it was partly memories of her that had helped him to get through the year on the run, after all.

But after seeing the two of them, lying there…He loved Ginny, but not like that. Not beyond death itself. He wanted what Remus and Tonks had had, and Ginny was the not the person he could find it with.

He knew he had had to do it. She deserved better than only part of his heart. But even though he knew that, the words still left an acrid taste in his mouth.

She had cried. Heartbroken, heaving sobs that had almost physically hurt him.

The fact that it was, in the long run, what would benefit both him and her had not helped at all.

Draco Malfoy had gone on to become a Healer – well, Trainee Healer for now.

Even a year ago if someone had tried to tell him that he would bump into Draco Malfoy when he went to St Mungo's after an Auror Training accident, and that the aforementioned blond would be helping treat him…well, he would have laughed himself silly. But after everything that had happened, every detail of Draco's life that Harry had gleamed from his connection with Voldemort…

After all of that, the fact that Draco was the Trainee trailing after the Healer assigned to him wasn't so surprising after all.

What was surprising was that Harry managed to strike up a friendly conversation with the man while being treated. And that the two of them somehow managed to meet up for coffee.

Draco was…

It was astoundingly easy for them to become friends. Harry would have thought that their shared history would have been a barrier for any cordial relationship between them, but once again, the war had changed things.

They could understand the view of the other side now, and even if they didn't always agree with each other, that shared understanding allowed them to navigate through the landmine of problems their past with relative comfort.

And, after everything that he had been through, Harry was thrilled to find someone he could talk to. He still had Ron and Hermione, of course, but now that they had finally started dating, he refused to put a shroud over their happiness with his regrets, fears, and memories of the past.

With Draco, there was nothing keeping him back. The blond gave as good as he got, whether it was shared horror stories of Voldemort's year in control, or just a simple raging session.

With Draco, Harry could finally let out every emotion, positive or negative, that he had ever felt. With Draco, Harry could finally be himself.

Maybe he should have been alarmed by how quickly his feelings for Draco grew. After all, thinking of him as a friend was a novel idea, and thought of him as anything more than that should have been inconceivable.

But then, Draco as friend wasn't as astonishing an idea to Harry as it should have been. It was too natural for it to be surprising, and deeper feelings – well, it just seemed like a logical progression.

A long time ago, he and Sirius had had a conversation about love, and what his godfather had told him and struck him deeply.

Sirius had told him that when he found the person he was meant for, he shouldn't be alarmed if fell in love hard and fast. That was what had happened with both his father and grandfather – the Potter curse, he had called it. According to him, anything that hampered a person's ability to have some fun before settling down was undoubtedly a Bad Thing.

Harry didn't much mind it. It was a nice change from the constant uncertainty his life had been while Voldemort had been alive, this sense of surety.

No, the only problem that arose from these feelings was figuring out how to discover if Draco felt the same way about him.

Harry had spent the good part of a week trying to formulate a plan that would help him learn about the exact nature of Draco's emotions towards him. It turned out that it hadn't been necessary after all.

Like most major things that happened between the two of them, it was the result of an argument. Harry couldn't exactly remember what they'd been arguing about, only the results of that disagreement. In the heat of anger, Draco had grabbed a hold of his face and kissed him, letting several seconds pass by before realising what he was doing.

But by then, Harry had overcome his shock, and wasn't about to let him go.

It had been a rather pleasant experience, to sum it up.

It had been the sight of Remus and Tonks that had prompted everything that had happened in Harry's love life after the end of the war.

At their funeral, Hermione had spoken about how deeply in love they were, and how the greatest tragedy of their lives was that they had never gotten the chance to spend it with each other like they had intended to.

Harry liked to think that the two of them had somehow managed to help him sort himself out from beyond the grave.

The two of them may never have had the chance to live out their infinity, but had given Harry a chance to live his. And that was something for which Harry would never stop being grateful.

I hope you guys liked it! Please don't forget to drop a review on your way out :3