Say Good-bye to Yesterday(4/4)
Title: Say Good-bye To Yesterday (4/4)
Author: faynia
Giftee: sesheta_66
Characters/Pairing: Harry/Draco, Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ginny, implied Harry/Oliver
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 30,471
Summary: The Ministry of Magic has put forth a new program to retrain Death Eaters once the war is done, and Draco Malfoy is one of the many candidates. But how well can Harry cope with the task of keeping an eye on him?
Author/Artist's Notes: I tried to get in everything sesheta_66 asked for, especially plot! Lots and lots of plot. Hope you like it!
Beta'd by rakina, windout, and xos2ed
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Harry’s return back to the house in Swaledale caused little fuss, aside from Misty following him around. He supposed it had been mean of him to leave his faithful companion behind like that. Malfoy, on the other hand, just kept a wary watch on him, never saying more than a few words at a time.
Sometimes they would still bicker, but things quickly fell into routine, one that they both accepted as necessary. The only time they held any conversation was when they went to the market, and then it was politely strained at best. Harry was beginning to get frustrated with the way things were going, but the only problem was, he had no idea of how to fix it.
He was still pondering how to make the situation more comfortable than it was when there was a soft knock on his office door. He always retreated to that area of the house when he wanted to escape now, and the only person who ever bothered to intrude upon his solitude was Misty, but this was a knock, not a scratching at his door.
Harry moved hastily to shut the file he had been perusing. He opened up the bottom drawer of his desk and stuffed the flimsy folder into it.
Shutting it with his foot, he called out: “Come in!”
The doorknob turned so slowly that Harry wondered if he was imagining it. Eventually, the door opened a crack and Draco peered around it nervously. Harry observed the stilted way in which Draco entered his office, taking in the sparsely decorated walls and shelves.
“Potter.”
“Are you all right?”
Draco froze, scowling. “I’m fine.”
Harry arched a brow and said nothing. He gestured towards the overstuffed armchair that was next to the only bookshelf in the house. Draco moved hesitantly forward, sitting down with an uncomfortable expression. Harry got the sense that Draco thought he was going to kick him out. It amused him.
“Granger called,” Draco said after a moment.
“She did?” Harry groaned and ran a hand down his face. “What did she want?”
Draco shrugged and gazed out the window. “Something about a pi-"
“Oh Merlin, the picnic is this weekend?”
Harry stood up and circled the desk so he was leaning against it. Draco smirked, relaxing. Typical, Harry thought, but there was no malice behind it. Malfoy would feel better when I’m on edge. He exhaled, grabbing up the bouncy ball that resided on his desk. He tossed it in the air a few times as he tried to figure out a way to ask Malfoy to join them. He’d been planning on getting the blond out of the house and out of this town for quite sometime and he hadn’t seen an opportunity to do it before now.
“Does she want me to call her back?”
Draco hummed noncommittally, his eyes following the rigid trajectory of the bright pink rubber ball. Harry grinned lopsidedly and tossed back the toy his nieces had left the last time they had visited when Draco had still been a living statue. The other man caught it in his hand with a puzzled expression that made Harry wonder if giving it to him had been a good idea.
After a moment of inspection, Draco dropped the bouncy ball and let it bounce off the floor and back into his hands. Harry rolled his eyes and hopped up onto the corner of his desk, holding out his hands. Draco took the hint and bounced the ball in Harry’s direction. The 24-year-old caught it easily and tossed it back, watching as it hit the floor twice before Draco caught it gracefully in one hand.
“Draco,” Harry began nervously, catching and releasing the pink object once more.
“Yes, Harry?”
Harry blinked, startled. Draco was smirking at him, but for all the good it did, it could have been a smile. Harry laughed, running a hand through his hair. In that moment, Draco bounced the ball a bit harder than normal and Harry had to lean back on his desk to catch the flying toy.
“What would you say if I asked you to go with me this Saturday?”
“I’d say you’ve gone crazy,” he drawled, catching the ball and twisting it between his fingers thoughtfully, “and then agree because there is only so much one can take of being locked up.”
“I’m sorry about all of this,” Harry said, gesturing in a big circle.
Draco waved him off, bouncing the ball back to Harry with more care than the last time. “You did the right thing.”
“What do you mean?” Harry paused, his arm poised to release the bouncy ball once more. He lowered his hand to his lap, setting aside the toy for the moment. He’d bring it with them on Saturday. Amanda would tease him about it, and Brigit would steal it back when she thought he wasn’t looking.
“I know, about how close you were to losing your job,” Draco admitted, staring down at his lap. They hadn’t talked very deeply about how Draco had got there, except for the fact that he was there as part of a Ministry program and his mental and physical health were continually monitored by the cold, metal bracelet on each of their arms.
Harry wasn’t sure how to respond. The truth seemed like a good option, but how would Draco react to finding out he had been staying in Harry’s flat for four days? The blond wasn’t even aware that this was Harry’s house yet.
“Who told you?”
“Weasley.”
Harry sighed and rubbed his nose, observing Malfoy beneath lowered lashes. “Draco?” Striking grey eyes met his own and for a moment he forgot what he was about to say. “Erm-”
“Erm? Harry, that’s fairly inarticulate even for you.”
“Come with me to the picnic on Saturday?”
Draco snorted, yet he grinned and Harry felt his heart skip a beat. The thought that the other man would say 'no' hadn’t even crossed his mind.
“All right.”
Harry blinked. “You mean it?”
“Yes.”
Harry leaned back on his palms and exhaled. He wasn’t about to say how relieved he was that Draco had agreed. Picking up the bouncy ball once again, he tossed it back.
*****
Saturday morning came faster than either man had anticipated. Harry woke with a start to the sunlight streaming in through his bedroom window. Misty was sleeping at the end of his bed, curled in a ball. Leaning forward, Harry stroked his cat’s fur. Misty stretched, blinking her green eyes at him in irritation. He rolled his eyes, swung his feet over the edge of the bed, and stood.
He stretched his arms over his head, gazing around him in amusement. It had been a long time since he had wanted to get out of bed this early at the weekend. With a smile, he left his bedroom, pausing just outside of Draco’s room. He listened intently, trying to hear if there was any movement inside. He knocked twice and stepped back.
After a long moment, the door opened to show Draco finishing buttoning a pair of trousers. Harry swallowed thickly, and flushed, looking away.
“Yes?”
“You may want to wear short sleeves today,” Harry mumbled down the hallway.
“Come again?” Harry could almost hear the smirk on the other man’s face. Steeling himself, he brought his gaze back to Draco.
“I said you might want to wear short sleeves.”
Draco’s eyes roved over Harry’s body and it was then that he realized that he was shirtless. He haltingly moved to cover his upper body with one arm. Harry bit his lip. This was not how he had intended to start this morning. “I’ll just go and make some tea.”
Draco reached out, touching Harry’s stubble-covered jaw with a look of deep concentration. “You always do that.”
“Do what?” Harry whispered meekly. Draco’s fingers were still caressing his face, each pad drawing a flush from the other man's skin.
“Make tea.”
“You don’t like tea?”
Draco’s smirk softened into a smile, and his fingers feathered over Harry’s lips once before falling. “I love tea.”
Harry felt miles behind as Draco pulled away, shutting the door as he shook his head in amusement. What had just happened? He brought a hand up to his unshaven face in bewilderment. The tea he said he was going to make sounded particularly good at that moment.
*****
They made their way down the dirt road towards the center of town, hands brushing casually every so often. Wild flowers that grew along the road had their petals open wide to soak up the rays. Their purples and pinks mixed in with the lush green grass growing amongst them that covered all the hills. Cattle could be heard lowing in the distance, as could sheep bleating in the fields. Bees flitted between the flowers collecting their pollen, transferring it amongst the other flowers so they could reproduce the next year.
Neither man commented when their fingers inexplicably became entangled together. The warm July sun beat down on them as they strolled along. Hermione, Ron and the twins were waiting for them in the field just outside of the market’s square, and Harry wondered how this meeting would go. The last time Draco had interacted with the twins it had been comical, to him anyway.
“Are you sure you want to come?”
“For Merlin’s sake Harry, yes. I said I did, and I haven’t changed my mind.”
Harry fell silent for a moment, but couldn’t resist asking, “You do know the twins will be there too, right?”
“I rather assumed they would be, yes,” Draco drawled, squeezing Harry’s hand tightly. Harry smiled weakly. He knew that he was being pushy about it; he just felt like everything was about to collapse on him. Sure, he had gone out with Oliver many times before, but this was the first time that he was actually afraid of messing things up beyond repair. He wasn’t even sure if he could consider this a date.
The thought rather amused him as well. Him and Malfoy out on a date. They were going on a picnic. Sure, Ron and Hermione would be there with Amanda and Brigit, but it didn’t matter. To think, only three months ago, he was panicking about having Draco live in his house. Only three months before, he thought Draco was one of the worst thing to happen in his entire life. Now, he was still unsure of what was happening between them, but he knew it wasn’t bad.
Their laced fingers hung between them, but the space between the two of them was closing as they wound down the hill, and nearly disappeared behind the hill. Their shoulders brushed together as they finally made it into the heart of the town. Harry tugged on Draco’s hand, pulling him down a road he hadn’t been down before.
“Last chance to back out.”
“If I didn’t know better,” Draco smirked, “I’d think you didn’t want me to go.”
Harry felt his cheeks heat from embarrassment and masked it by looking in the opposite direction. Draco snickered and that just caused Harry to blush harder. They walked in companionable silence until they reached the end of the road, hitting the dead end just as Harry had expected.
“UNCLE HARRY!”
“DRACO!”
Twin cries rang out across the field and Harry held out his arms as the human missiles hurtled across the grassy field straight into his and--to his pleasure--Draco’s arms. The blond grunted when tiny arms went around his waist and a head burrowed against his stomach. Harry caught his eye and winked as he lifted Brigit off the ground and spun her around in dizzying circles.
“How’s my favorite niece?”
“Hey!” Amanda cried out at the injustice. “What about me?”
“Well, what about you?” he asked, glancing at Draco who was still indecisive about what he was going to do with the child that had suddenly become attached to him. Hesitantly, the blond haired, grey-eyed man picked the girl up.
“I thought I was your favorite!”
“You are?” Harry cocked his head to the side, both as an indication to Draco to move and to emphasize his innocent confusion. “I’m sorry. Then you must be my favorite.”
Amanda preened and stuck her nose up in the air. Brigit’s indignant squawk echoed across the empty meadow and Harry kissed her temple. “You’re still my one and only,” he whispered, so Amanda couldn’t hear. It wasn’t the truth, he loved both little girls equally and for different reasons, but so long as they never caught wind of what he would tell the other, he was safe.
Harry waved at Hermione as they drew near the massive blanket, clearly enhanced by magic, beneath a cluster of trees. Harry and Draco set down the twins, and they were off like a shot, chasing each other through the tall grass and wildflowers.
“New sundresses?” Harry asked, watching as the youngest set of Weasley twins chased after a butterfly.
Hermione nodded with an indulgent smile. She pulled out a bottle of water from her bag and offered it to him. “They had outgrown the ones from last year.”
“They’re cute,” Draco said, blinking in shock that he had said it in the first place. Harry grinned, nodding his thanks at his friend as he took the water.
“I thought so,” Hermione agreed without missing a beat. “How are you, Draco?”
Harry shifted closer to Draco, his fingers resting just a few inches away from the other man’s. He had to smother his grin when the blond relaxed, his hand moving to cover Harry’s. Harry took a sip of water before handing it to Draco who took it soundlessly and sipped tentatively before handing it back.
“Fine.”
“That’s good to hear. We were worried, weren’t we Ron?” She nudged her dozing husband in the ribs and he shot upright, eyes wide and startled.
“Yes! Whatever she said, the answer is 'yes.'”
Draco snorted, and turned his head away to hide his smirk. Harry caught Draco’s eyes and held their attention for a few seconds--just long enough for the ice to melt in the grey eyes. Harry’s heart skipped a bit, and he bet that he was turning that shade of red again. Fingers ran up and down his bare arm in lazy strokes, and he decided that, for once, he was just going to enjoy the day.
Hermione slowly unpacked her bag, bringing out fruits and vegetables and some sandwiches. The low buzz of bugs in the treetops droned on, causing Harry to become sleepy. He leaned against Draco hesitantly, amazed once again when he wasn't pushed away. Even with Oliver, he hadn't allowed himself this comfort. Draco's arm went around his shoulder, bringing him even closer.
Amanda and Brigit's giggling could be heard as they tumbled and did somersaults through the drying grass. Harry's eyes slipped shut. A faint smile appeared on his lips when Draco rested his head on top of his. He already knew Ron and Hermione accepted this and the twins would be ecstatic. Before he had left Ron and Hermione's home for the last time, they had handed him the drawing the twins had collaborated on showing Harry and Draco holding hands on the sofa in Harry's flat. Harry was in his Auror robes, the normally duller orange lining vibrant as a pumpkin, but still unmistakable. The fact that they could tell just looking at Draco what type of clothing was normal for him had been the surprise. The blond had been depicted in black trousers and a white collared top, classy, especially when drawn by two four-year-olds who didn't even know what classy was.
"So, have you thought of getting a job?" Ron asked, biting into an apple. The loud crunch drew Harry away from his thoughts and back to the picnic itself. Draco's jaw tensed, but it was the only outward sign that Harry noticed that he didn't know what to say.
"As what?"
Ron shrugged. "I don't know. There is a vegetable garden behind the house you're staying at."
"How do you know that?"
Harry froze, shooting Ron a pleading look not to say anything. He noticed Hermione's subtle pinch to Ron's side in warning. This picnic was supposed to be a relaxed affair.
"All places have them here," Ron offered, waving his hand as if that were obvious.
There was a tense silence following that answer and Harry only hoped Draco would let it go for the moment. Draco slowly relaxed, rubbing his cheek against Harry's hair as he settled again.
Amanda's loud cry of anguish broke through the tension more effectively.
"Daddy!"
"Yes, sweetie?" Ron called, shading his eyes as he looked over at his daughter. Amanda came running toward them and Harry reluctantly pulled away from Draco when she headed straight for him. She crashed into his arms, burying her tear-streaked face in his blue polo shirt. Harry stayed still from shock before his arms wrapped around her, hushing her.
Amanda sniffled, her tiny fists digging into his sides. "Bridie-Bridie pushed me down Uncle Harry, and it...it hurts real, real bad."
"What does, darling?"
He heard Draco hiss and glanced at the blond just in time to see him carefully lift her arm, inspecting her bloodied elbow. Harry grimaced. It wasn't a deep scrape by any means, but even he knew how much that hurt.
"Make it better," Amanda cried, peeking at Draco to see what he would do. Harry wiped at her tears with a napkin, careful not to rub to hard, while her attention was on Draco.
Kiss it, Harry mouthed at the blond. Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust; Harry didn't blame him--there was still dirt on it--but he knew that Amanda wouldn't stop whimpering until someone did it. With great reluctance, Draco bent down, pressing a kiss to the torn skin. Harry grinned, dropping a kiss on Amanda's curly red hair when she cried out. But, like he knew she would, Amanda stopped crying.
"All better?" Harry asked, gaining her attention again. She nodded, her ponytail bobbing. "Good, now go see Mummy and she will heal it. All right?"
"'Kay, Uncle Harry." She clambered off his lap and crossed the large blanket, stepping over the pile of food at the center, and then kneeling in front of Hermione. The witch pulled out her wand and calmly cast the healing spell, the skin healing over good as new. "Thank you, Mummy."
Hermione beamed, hiding her wand back in her bag. "You're welcome, baby. Now go get Brigit and tell her it's time for lunch."
*****
Fingers interlaced once more, they headed up the dirt path in silence. Draco knew something had been bothering Harry for the later part of the afternoon, but he hadn't asked in front of Granger or Weasley. Trees lining one side of the hill made the path darker than the oncoming night, throwing shadows over them from the leaves above.
“Harry?”
No answer. Draco scowled, not liking to be ignored.
“What’s the matter?”
“Hm?”
“Harry.” Draco pulled on his arm, forcing Harry to stop in his tracks. They were already halfway up the large hill leading to the house. Draco didn’t know what Harry’s problem was, but he was going to find out and stop the other man’s thoughts before they spiraled out of control. He hadn’t even noticed that Harry had gone silent until they were getting ready to leave the picnic. Harry’s face had been pale and drawn, unlike the earlier, carefree expression, and he would be damned if he was going to be ignored any longer. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I’m sorry,” Harry muttered, pulling his hand away.
Draco stared at him with a gobsmacked expression. There was no reason for this. None at all. He had played nice with the Weasel and Granger; he had made it a point not to scare off the children, and this was the thanks he got? A quiet, withdrawn Potter? A hell of a consolation prize.
“For what?” Draco growled, grabbing Harry’s elbow. Harry’s eyes flicked between the hand on his arm to Draco’s face, and then back again. With infuriating calm, the other man shrugged. “Bloody hell, Potter, just spit it out already!”
“Fine, do you want to know what’s wrong?” Harry shouted, rounding on him, eyes flashing. Draco took an uneasy step backwards. There was no telling what Harry would do when angry. “I’ll tell you!”
“Then tell me,” Draco said, his voice low and soothing. He perched himself on a boulder a few feet away, drawing his knees up to his chest as he waited.
“After Voldemort’s defeat, I wanted to escape the pressures of the Wizarding World. I couldn’t do what they wanted me to--not then, anyway--so I moved to the most remote location I could find.”
“You moved here?”
Harry nodded, beginning to pace back and forth on the dirt road. Draco watched him wearily. Harry’s agitation was starting to wear off on him and that irked him. “I did.”
“And the house?”
“Is mine,” Harry replied, pausing his pacing long enough to meet Draco’s eyes. “Is that a problem?”
“No, not for me. You have no issues with it housing a former Death Eater?”
“I did at one point, yes,” Harry exhaled, running a hand through his messy hair.
Draco tilted his head to the side. “What changed?”
“Me.”
“Let’s be frank, Potter, you haven’t changed much at all.”
“You don’t remember the things I called you in the Ministry cell.”
“Like,” Draco prompted, curious to hear what sort of things Harry had wanted to say to him for all those years. It seemed highly unlikely to him that what Harry said was anything of real damage, but the fearful look on the green-eyed Auror’s face was enough to worry him. At the very least what Harry had said affected him in some way because there was no reason for the flat-out refusal he received.
“I don't want to repeat the things I said then; I don’t even want to think about them.”
“All right then. Don’t.”
“Good, I won’t,” Harry snapped. He shook his head, and looked up at the darkening sky as if it held answers. Draco suspected that they didn’t, but he wasn’t going to point that out. It took great effort to not say something derogatory about Harry's scattered thoughts. Wind ruffled his hair and he shivered.
“Ginny moved in with me," Harry finally continued, his voice soft and reminiscing. "She flourished here. The garden in front of the house was overflowing with flowers and vegetables. Everything was full of life, but nothing in that garden could outshine her.”
“You loved her.”
“I married her.”
Draco didn’t know what to say to that. He was surprised that Harry had gotten married, but at the same time he wasn’t. Why wouldn’t Harry get married? With the threat of Voldemort gone, starting a family would have been safe again.
“Oh.”
“Draco--”
Draco cut him off before he could ask his question. He was fine, he didn’t have to repeat himself every five minutes. “Continue.”
“Two months later, we found out she was pregnant. It was possibly the happiest moment in my life. I had never thought I’d live to see any children of my own, and here was this beautiful woman who loved me enough to wait for the war to end...she was giving me a son.”
Draco arched a brow when Harry paused in his narrative. He wasn’t sure where this was going, but since there wasn’t a ring on Potter’s finger he guessed it wasn’t going to end well. The image of a little boy with black hair and brown eyes swam before his eyes, and he had to shake it away. If Potter still had the kid, he certainly would have met him already whether he wanted to or not.
“We were happy. Our lives were good, the neighbors here were friendly and considerate and took us in as if we had lived here our entire lives...and then the accident happened.”
“Accident?”
Harry sighed, hugging himself tightly, his pacing becoming more agitated and frantic. “We should have known better; nothing ever lasts for me. We just should have known better.” Green eyes met grey and held them. Draco was horrified once again to see Harry crying when he had been fine moments before. “We were going to go to the top of the hill by our house to watch the sunset and we just never saw him.”
“Who?” Draco was up and heading towards Harry, before the other man even got the chance to answer.
“I don’t know," Harry snapped, chest heaving. "No one ever found the bastard. And I looked, for years. It's like he never existed in the first place. For a little while people even suspected me. Me! I loved her, Draco; she was my everything and they had the gall to blame me!”
“Harry,” Draco stopped a few feet from where Harry was standing. “What happened?”
Harry shook his head, running a hand down his face repeatedly. “He stunned me before I could even get my wand out of my pocket. It had been so long since we had seen another wizard that our defenses had been down. Draco, I-I couldn’t move and I couldn’t turn away as he killed her. One simple spell and she and Nathaniel were dead. I never even got to see the bastard's face.”
Draco took a step closer. “You named the child?”
Harry’s voice broke, “Afterwards, yes. They asked me to. It was the name Ginny had picked out.”
Draco sighed, as Harry turned away from him, his shoulders shaking in what Draco suspected were silent sobs. Didn’t he get it? What had happened to him was terrible to be certain, but he didn’t have to deal with it alone any longer. Draco would make certain of that. He moved to stand in front of Harry, unsurprised when the bespectacled man turned his head away in embarrassment and fear of rejection.
“Harry, look at me.” He ran a knuckle down Harry’s cheek, waiting patiently for the other man to see him. “Look at me.” Slowly, Harry turned to face him, and his expression warmed. “Took you long enough.”
“I can leave if you want me to,” Harry whispered thickly. "I'm sorry that you can't, so sorry, but I can and will--"
Draco smiled genuinely, cupping Harry’s chin in his hand, causing Harry to falter and to fall silent. His thumb ran over the black-haired man’s bottom lip, earning a noticeable shiver. He wanted so badly for Harry to feel better, but he didn't know how to make that happen. This was not something he was used to doing, comforting someone else. For so long it had been someone else who was always there for him, he had been the one to be offered support, even when unnecessary. There was, however, one thing that he knew he could do. He could only hope it wouldn't make things worse. The sun set completely behind them as Draco pulled him forward, kissing him softly. Their breath mingled as he pulled back.
Harry was trembling now, his head butting forward, unable to tear his eyes away. Tears were still shimmering on his lashes, and Draco reached out, dabbing them away.
Harry lowered his eyes, and his next question was asked so softly that Draco wasn’t even certain he heard it. “Why?”
“Because I want to, Harry.”
And that was enough for him.
Author: faynia
Giftee: sesheta_66
Characters/Pairing: Harry/Draco, Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ginny, implied Harry/Oliver
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 30,471
Summary: The Ministry of Magic has put forth a new program to retrain Death Eaters once the war is done, and Draco Malfoy is one of the many candidates. But how well can Harry cope with the task of keeping an eye on him?
Author/Artist's Notes: I tried to get in everything sesheta_66 asked for, especially plot! Lots and lots of plot. Hope you like it!
Beta'd by rakina, windout, and xos2ed
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Harry’s return back to the house in Swaledale caused little fuss, aside from Misty following him around. He supposed it had been mean of him to leave his faithful companion behind like that. Malfoy, on the other hand, just kept a wary watch on him, never saying more than a few words at a time.
Sometimes they would still bicker, but things quickly fell into routine, one that they both accepted as necessary. The only time they held any conversation was when they went to the market, and then it was politely strained at best. Harry was beginning to get frustrated with the way things were going, but the only problem was, he had no idea of how to fix it.
He was still pondering how to make the situation more comfortable than it was when there was a soft knock on his office door. He always retreated to that area of the house when he wanted to escape now, and the only person who ever bothered to intrude upon his solitude was Misty, but this was a knock, not a scratching at his door.
Harry moved hastily to shut the file he had been perusing. He opened up the bottom drawer of his desk and stuffed the flimsy folder into it.
Shutting it with his foot, he called out: “Come in!”
The doorknob turned so slowly that Harry wondered if he was imagining it. Eventually, the door opened a crack and Draco peered around it nervously. Harry observed the stilted way in which Draco entered his office, taking in the sparsely decorated walls and shelves.
“Potter.”
“Are you all right?”
Draco froze, scowling. “I’m fine.”
Harry arched a brow and said nothing. He gestured towards the overstuffed armchair that was next to the only bookshelf in the house. Draco moved hesitantly forward, sitting down with an uncomfortable expression. Harry got the sense that Draco thought he was going to kick him out. It amused him.
“Granger called,” Draco said after a moment.
“She did?” Harry groaned and ran a hand down his face. “What did she want?”
Draco shrugged and gazed out the window. “Something about a pi-"
“Oh Merlin, the picnic is this weekend?”
Harry stood up and circled the desk so he was leaning against it. Draco smirked, relaxing. Typical, Harry thought, but there was no malice behind it. Malfoy would feel better when I’m on edge. He exhaled, grabbing up the bouncy ball that resided on his desk. He tossed it in the air a few times as he tried to figure out a way to ask Malfoy to join them. He’d been planning on getting the blond out of the house and out of this town for quite sometime and he hadn’t seen an opportunity to do it before now.
“Does she want me to call her back?”
Draco hummed noncommittally, his eyes following the rigid trajectory of the bright pink rubber ball. Harry grinned lopsidedly and tossed back the toy his nieces had left the last time they had visited when Draco had still been a living statue. The other man caught it in his hand with a puzzled expression that made Harry wonder if giving it to him had been a good idea.
After a moment of inspection, Draco dropped the bouncy ball and let it bounce off the floor and back into his hands. Harry rolled his eyes and hopped up onto the corner of his desk, holding out his hands. Draco took the hint and bounced the ball in Harry’s direction. The 24-year-old caught it easily and tossed it back, watching as it hit the floor twice before Draco caught it gracefully in one hand.
“Draco,” Harry began nervously, catching and releasing the pink object once more.
“Yes, Harry?”
Harry blinked, startled. Draco was smirking at him, but for all the good it did, it could have been a smile. Harry laughed, running a hand through his hair. In that moment, Draco bounced the ball a bit harder than normal and Harry had to lean back on his desk to catch the flying toy.
“What would you say if I asked you to go with me this Saturday?”
“I’d say you’ve gone crazy,” he drawled, catching the ball and twisting it between his fingers thoughtfully, “and then agree because there is only so much one can take of being locked up.”
“I’m sorry about all of this,” Harry said, gesturing in a big circle.
Draco waved him off, bouncing the ball back to Harry with more care than the last time. “You did the right thing.”
“What do you mean?” Harry paused, his arm poised to release the bouncy ball once more. He lowered his hand to his lap, setting aside the toy for the moment. He’d bring it with them on Saturday. Amanda would tease him about it, and Brigit would steal it back when she thought he wasn’t looking.
“I know, about how close you were to losing your job,” Draco admitted, staring down at his lap. They hadn’t talked very deeply about how Draco had got there, except for the fact that he was there as part of a Ministry program and his mental and physical health were continually monitored by the cold, metal bracelet on each of their arms.
Harry wasn’t sure how to respond. The truth seemed like a good option, but how would Draco react to finding out he had been staying in Harry’s flat for four days? The blond wasn’t even aware that this was Harry’s house yet.
“Who told you?”
“Weasley.”
Harry sighed and rubbed his nose, observing Malfoy beneath lowered lashes. “Draco?” Striking grey eyes met his own and for a moment he forgot what he was about to say. “Erm-”
“Erm? Harry, that’s fairly inarticulate even for you.”
“Come with me to the picnic on Saturday?”
Draco snorted, yet he grinned and Harry felt his heart skip a beat. The thought that the other man would say 'no' hadn’t even crossed his mind.
“All right.”
Harry blinked. “You mean it?”
“Yes.”
Harry leaned back on his palms and exhaled. He wasn’t about to say how relieved he was that Draco had agreed. Picking up the bouncy ball once again, he tossed it back.
*****
Saturday morning came faster than either man had anticipated. Harry woke with a start to the sunlight streaming in through his bedroom window. Misty was sleeping at the end of his bed, curled in a ball. Leaning forward, Harry stroked his cat’s fur. Misty stretched, blinking her green eyes at him in irritation. He rolled his eyes, swung his feet over the edge of the bed, and stood.
He stretched his arms over his head, gazing around him in amusement. It had been a long time since he had wanted to get out of bed this early at the weekend. With a smile, he left his bedroom, pausing just outside of Draco’s room. He listened intently, trying to hear if there was any movement inside. He knocked twice and stepped back.
After a long moment, the door opened to show Draco finishing buttoning a pair of trousers. Harry swallowed thickly, and flushed, looking away.
“Yes?”
“You may want to wear short sleeves today,” Harry mumbled down the hallway.
“Come again?” Harry could almost hear the smirk on the other man’s face. Steeling himself, he brought his gaze back to Draco.
“I said you might want to wear short sleeves.”
Draco’s eyes roved over Harry’s body and it was then that he realized that he was shirtless. He haltingly moved to cover his upper body with one arm. Harry bit his lip. This was not how he had intended to start this morning. “I’ll just go and make some tea.”
Draco reached out, touching Harry’s stubble-covered jaw with a look of deep concentration. “You always do that.”
“Do what?” Harry whispered meekly. Draco’s fingers were still caressing his face, each pad drawing a flush from the other man's skin.
“Make tea.”
“You don’t like tea?”
Draco’s smirk softened into a smile, and his fingers feathered over Harry’s lips once before falling. “I love tea.”
Harry felt miles behind as Draco pulled away, shutting the door as he shook his head in amusement. What had just happened? He brought a hand up to his unshaven face in bewilderment. The tea he said he was going to make sounded particularly good at that moment.
*****
They made their way down the dirt road towards the center of town, hands brushing casually every so often. Wild flowers that grew along the road had their petals open wide to soak up the rays. Their purples and pinks mixed in with the lush green grass growing amongst them that covered all the hills. Cattle could be heard lowing in the distance, as could sheep bleating in the fields. Bees flitted between the flowers collecting their pollen, transferring it amongst the other flowers so they could reproduce the next year.
Neither man commented when their fingers inexplicably became entangled together. The warm July sun beat down on them as they strolled along. Hermione, Ron and the twins were waiting for them in the field just outside of the market’s square, and Harry wondered how this meeting would go. The last time Draco had interacted with the twins it had been comical, to him anyway.
“Are you sure you want to come?”
“For Merlin’s sake Harry, yes. I said I did, and I haven’t changed my mind.”
Harry fell silent for a moment, but couldn’t resist asking, “You do know the twins will be there too, right?”
“I rather assumed they would be, yes,” Draco drawled, squeezing Harry’s hand tightly. Harry smiled weakly. He knew that he was being pushy about it; he just felt like everything was about to collapse on him. Sure, he had gone out with Oliver many times before, but this was the first time that he was actually afraid of messing things up beyond repair. He wasn’t even sure if he could consider this a date.
The thought rather amused him as well. Him and Malfoy out on a date. They were going on a picnic. Sure, Ron and Hermione would be there with Amanda and Brigit, but it didn’t matter. To think, only three months ago, he was panicking about having Draco live in his house. Only three months before, he thought Draco was one of the worst thing to happen in his entire life. Now, he was still unsure of what was happening between them, but he knew it wasn’t bad.
Their laced fingers hung between them, but the space between the two of them was closing as they wound down the hill, and nearly disappeared behind the hill. Their shoulders brushed together as they finally made it into the heart of the town. Harry tugged on Draco’s hand, pulling him down a road he hadn’t been down before.
“Last chance to back out.”
“If I didn’t know better,” Draco smirked, “I’d think you didn’t want me to go.”
Harry felt his cheeks heat from embarrassment and masked it by looking in the opposite direction. Draco snickered and that just caused Harry to blush harder. They walked in companionable silence until they reached the end of the road, hitting the dead end just as Harry had expected.
“UNCLE HARRY!”
“DRACO!”
Twin cries rang out across the field and Harry held out his arms as the human missiles hurtled across the grassy field straight into his and--to his pleasure--Draco’s arms. The blond grunted when tiny arms went around his waist and a head burrowed against his stomach. Harry caught his eye and winked as he lifted Brigit off the ground and spun her around in dizzying circles.
“How’s my favorite niece?”
“Hey!” Amanda cried out at the injustice. “What about me?”
“Well, what about you?” he asked, glancing at Draco who was still indecisive about what he was going to do with the child that had suddenly become attached to him. Hesitantly, the blond haired, grey-eyed man picked the girl up.
“I thought I was your favorite!”
“You are?” Harry cocked his head to the side, both as an indication to Draco to move and to emphasize his innocent confusion. “I’m sorry. Then you must be my favorite.”
Amanda preened and stuck her nose up in the air. Brigit’s indignant squawk echoed across the empty meadow and Harry kissed her temple. “You’re still my one and only,” he whispered, so Amanda couldn’t hear. It wasn’t the truth, he loved both little girls equally and for different reasons, but so long as they never caught wind of what he would tell the other, he was safe.
Harry waved at Hermione as they drew near the massive blanket, clearly enhanced by magic, beneath a cluster of trees. Harry and Draco set down the twins, and they were off like a shot, chasing each other through the tall grass and wildflowers.
“New sundresses?” Harry asked, watching as the youngest set of Weasley twins chased after a butterfly.
Hermione nodded with an indulgent smile. She pulled out a bottle of water from her bag and offered it to him. “They had outgrown the ones from last year.”
“They’re cute,” Draco said, blinking in shock that he had said it in the first place. Harry grinned, nodding his thanks at his friend as he took the water.
“I thought so,” Hermione agreed without missing a beat. “How are you, Draco?”
Harry shifted closer to Draco, his fingers resting just a few inches away from the other man’s. He had to smother his grin when the blond relaxed, his hand moving to cover Harry’s. Harry took a sip of water before handing it to Draco who took it soundlessly and sipped tentatively before handing it back.
“Fine.”
“That’s good to hear. We were worried, weren’t we Ron?” She nudged her dozing husband in the ribs and he shot upright, eyes wide and startled.
“Yes! Whatever she said, the answer is 'yes.'”
Draco snorted, and turned his head away to hide his smirk. Harry caught Draco’s eyes and held their attention for a few seconds--just long enough for the ice to melt in the grey eyes. Harry’s heart skipped a bit, and he bet that he was turning that shade of red again. Fingers ran up and down his bare arm in lazy strokes, and he decided that, for once, he was just going to enjoy the day.
Hermione slowly unpacked her bag, bringing out fruits and vegetables and some sandwiches. The low buzz of bugs in the treetops droned on, causing Harry to become sleepy. He leaned against Draco hesitantly, amazed once again when he wasn't pushed away. Even with Oliver, he hadn't allowed himself this comfort. Draco's arm went around his shoulder, bringing him even closer.
Amanda and Brigit's giggling could be heard as they tumbled and did somersaults through the drying grass. Harry's eyes slipped shut. A faint smile appeared on his lips when Draco rested his head on top of his. He already knew Ron and Hermione accepted this and the twins would be ecstatic. Before he had left Ron and Hermione's home for the last time, they had handed him the drawing the twins had collaborated on showing Harry and Draco holding hands on the sofa in Harry's flat. Harry was in his Auror robes, the normally duller orange lining vibrant as a pumpkin, but still unmistakable. The fact that they could tell just looking at Draco what type of clothing was normal for him had been the surprise. The blond had been depicted in black trousers and a white collared top, classy, especially when drawn by two four-year-olds who didn't even know what classy was.
"So, have you thought of getting a job?" Ron asked, biting into an apple. The loud crunch drew Harry away from his thoughts and back to the picnic itself. Draco's jaw tensed, but it was the only outward sign that Harry noticed that he didn't know what to say.
"As what?"
Ron shrugged. "I don't know. There is a vegetable garden behind the house you're staying at."
"How do you know that?"
Harry froze, shooting Ron a pleading look not to say anything. He noticed Hermione's subtle pinch to Ron's side in warning. This picnic was supposed to be a relaxed affair.
"All places have them here," Ron offered, waving his hand as if that were obvious.
There was a tense silence following that answer and Harry only hoped Draco would let it go for the moment. Draco slowly relaxed, rubbing his cheek against Harry's hair as he settled again.
Amanda's loud cry of anguish broke through the tension more effectively.
"Daddy!"
"Yes, sweetie?" Ron called, shading his eyes as he looked over at his daughter. Amanda came running toward them and Harry reluctantly pulled away from Draco when she headed straight for him. She crashed into his arms, burying her tear-streaked face in his blue polo shirt. Harry stayed still from shock before his arms wrapped around her, hushing her.
Amanda sniffled, her tiny fists digging into his sides. "Bridie-Bridie pushed me down Uncle Harry, and it...it hurts real, real bad."
"What does, darling?"
He heard Draco hiss and glanced at the blond just in time to see him carefully lift her arm, inspecting her bloodied elbow. Harry grimaced. It wasn't a deep scrape by any means, but even he knew how much that hurt.
"Make it better," Amanda cried, peeking at Draco to see what he would do. Harry wiped at her tears with a napkin, careful not to rub to hard, while her attention was on Draco.
Kiss it, Harry mouthed at the blond. Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust; Harry didn't blame him--there was still dirt on it--but he knew that Amanda wouldn't stop whimpering until someone did it. With great reluctance, Draco bent down, pressing a kiss to the torn skin. Harry grinned, dropping a kiss on Amanda's curly red hair when she cried out. But, like he knew she would, Amanda stopped crying.
"All better?" Harry asked, gaining her attention again. She nodded, her ponytail bobbing. "Good, now go see Mummy and she will heal it. All right?"
"'Kay, Uncle Harry." She clambered off his lap and crossed the large blanket, stepping over the pile of food at the center, and then kneeling in front of Hermione. The witch pulled out her wand and calmly cast the healing spell, the skin healing over good as new. "Thank you, Mummy."
Hermione beamed, hiding her wand back in her bag. "You're welcome, baby. Now go get Brigit and tell her it's time for lunch."
*****
Fingers interlaced once more, they headed up the dirt path in silence. Draco knew something had been bothering Harry for the later part of the afternoon, but he hadn't asked in front of Granger or Weasley. Trees lining one side of the hill made the path darker than the oncoming night, throwing shadows over them from the leaves above.
“Harry?”
No answer. Draco scowled, not liking to be ignored.
“What’s the matter?”
“Hm?”
“Harry.” Draco pulled on his arm, forcing Harry to stop in his tracks. They were already halfway up the large hill leading to the house. Draco didn’t know what Harry’s problem was, but he was going to find out and stop the other man’s thoughts before they spiraled out of control. He hadn’t even noticed that Harry had gone silent until they were getting ready to leave the picnic. Harry’s face had been pale and drawn, unlike the earlier, carefree expression, and he would be damned if he was going to be ignored any longer. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I’m sorry,” Harry muttered, pulling his hand away.
Draco stared at him with a gobsmacked expression. There was no reason for this. None at all. He had played nice with the Weasel and Granger; he had made it a point not to scare off the children, and this was the thanks he got? A quiet, withdrawn Potter? A hell of a consolation prize.
“For what?” Draco growled, grabbing Harry’s elbow. Harry’s eyes flicked between the hand on his arm to Draco’s face, and then back again. With infuriating calm, the other man shrugged. “Bloody hell, Potter, just spit it out already!”
“Fine, do you want to know what’s wrong?” Harry shouted, rounding on him, eyes flashing. Draco took an uneasy step backwards. There was no telling what Harry would do when angry. “I’ll tell you!”
“Then tell me,” Draco said, his voice low and soothing. He perched himself on a boulder a few feet away, drawing his knees up to his chest as he waited.
“After Voldemort’s defeat, I wanted to escape the pressures of the Wizarding World. I couldn’t do what they wanted me to--not then, anyway--so I moved to the most remote location I could find.”
“You moved here?”
Harry nodded, beginning to pace back and forth on the dirt road. Draco watched him wearily. Harry’s agitation was starting to wear off on him and that irked him. “I did.”
“And the house?”
“Is mine,” Harry replied, pausing his pacing long enough to meet Draco’s eyes. “Is that a problem?”
“No, not for me. You have no issues with it housing a former Death Eater?”
“I did at one point, yes,” Harry exhaled, running a hand through his messy hair.
Draco tilted his head to the side. “What changed?”
“Me.”
“Let’s be frank, Potter, you haven’t changed much at all.”
“You don’t remember the things I called you in the Ministry cell.”
“Like,” Draco prompted, curious to hear what sort of things Harry had wanted to say to him for all those years. It seemed highly unlikely to him that what Harry said was anything of real damage, but the fearful look on the green-eyed Auror’s face was enough to worry him. At the very least what Harry had said affected him in some way because there was no reason for the flat-out refusal he received.
“I don't want to repeat the things I said then; I don’t even want to think about them.”
“All right then. Don’t.”
“Good, I won’t,” Harry snapped. He shook his head, and looked up at the darkening sky as if it held answers. Draco suspected that they didn’t, but he wasn’t going to point that out. It took great effort to not say something derogatory about Harry's scattered thoughts. Wind ruffled his hair and he shivered.
“Ginny moved in with me," Harry finally continued, his voice soft and reminiscing. "She flourished here. The garden in front of the house was overflowing with flowers and vegetables. Everything was full of life, but nothing in that garden could outshine her.”
“You loved her.”
“I married her.”
Draco didn’t know what to say to that. He was surprised that Harry had gotten married, but at the same time he wasn’t. Why wouldn’t Harry get married? With the threat of Voldemort gone, starting a family would have been safe again.
“Oh.”
“Draco--”
Draco cut him off before he could ask his question. He was fine, he didn’t have to repeat himself every five minutes. “Continue.”
“Two months later, we found out she was pregnant. It was possibly the happiest moment in my life. I had never thought I’d live to see any children of my own, and here was this beautiful woman who loved me enough to wait for the war to end...she was giving me a son.”
Draco arched a brow when Harry paused in his narrative. He wasn’t sure where this was going, but since there wasn’t a ring on Potter’s finger he guessed it wasn’t going to end well. The image of a little boy with black hair and brown eyes swam before his eyes, and he had to shake it away. If Potter still had the kid, he certainly would have met him already whether he wanted to or not.
“We were happy. Our lives were good, the neighbors here were friendly and considerate and took us in as if we had lived here our entire lives...and then the accident happened.”
“Accident?”
Harry sighed, hugging himself tightly, his pacing becoming more agitated and frantic. “We should have known better; nothing ever lasts for me. We just should have known better.” Green eyes met grey and held them. Draco was horrified once again to see Harry crying when he had been fine moments before. “We were going to go to the top of the hill by our house to watch the sunset and we just never saw him.”
“Who?” Draco was up and heading towards Harry, before the other man even got the chance to answer.
“I don’t know," Harry snapped, chest heaving. "No one ever found the bastard. And I looked, for years. It's like he never existed in the first place. For a little while people even suspected me. Me! I loved her, Draco; she was my everything and they had the gall to blame me!”
“Harry,” Draco stopped a few feet from where Harry was standing. “What happened?”
Harry shook his head, running a hand down his face repeatedly. “He stunned me before I could even get my wand out of my pocket. It had been so long since we had seen another wizard that our defenses had been down. Draco, I-I couldn’t move and I couldn’t turn away as he killed her. One simple spell and she and Nathaniel were dead. I never even got to see the bastard's face.”
Draco took a step closer. “You named the child?”
Harry’s voice broke, “Afterwards, yes. They asked me to. It was the name Ginny had picked out.”
Draco sighed, as Harry turned away from him, his shoulders shaking in what Draco suspected were silent sobs. Didn’t he get it? What had happened to him was terrible to be certain, but he didn’t have to deal with it alone any longer. Draco would make certain of that. He moved to stand in front of Harry, unsurprised when the bespectacled man turned his head away in embarrassment and fear of rejection.
“Harry, look at me.” He ran a knuckle down Harry’s cheek, waiting patiently for the other man to see him. “Look at me.” Slowly, Harry turned to face him, and his expression warmed. “Took you long enough.”
“I can leave if you want me to,” Harry whispered thickly. "I'm sorry that you can't, so sorry, but I can and will--"
Draco smiled genuinely, cupping Harry’s chin in his hand, causing Harry to falter and to fall silent. His thumb ran over the black-haired man’s bottom lip, earning a noticeable shiver. He wanted so badly for Harry to feel better, but he didn't know how to make that happen. This was not something he was used to doing, comforting someone else. For so long it had been someone else who was always there for him, he had been the one to be offered support, even when unnecessary. There was, however, one thing that he knew he could do. He could only hope it wouldn't make things worse. The sun set completely behind them as Draco pulled him forward, kissing him softly. Their breath mingled as he pulled back.
Harry was trembling now, his head butting forward, unable to tear his eyes away. Tears were still shimmering on his lashes, and Draco reached out, dabbing them away.
Harry lowered his eyes, and his next question was asked so softly that Draco wasn’t even certain he heard it. “Why?”
“Because I want to, Harry.”
And that was enough for him.