Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy - Goodbye - One Shot - PG-13
Title: Goodbye
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Draco/Harry
Summary: Harry comes home to find suitcases by the door, but all is not what it seems.
Warnings: Character death(neither H or D), could be DH compliant if the Epilogue is ignored.
Word Count: 1966
Authors Note: Thank you to my ever lovely kcstories
Harry knew that something was wrong the moment he walked into their house to find a suitcase at the door. At the sight of the small black leather case, his heart began to pound and he was taken back to a time when this would happen quite often; back when their relationship was not as stable as it was now and Draco would often hold the threat of him leaving over Harry’s head when things got rough.
They had been together for five years and it had been almost four since the last time he had seen a suitcase sitting by the front door, and it was with great trepidation that he made his way upstairs, genuinely scared of what he’d find there.
As he entered their bedroom he was somewhat relieved to find Draco sitting on the edge of their bed, but as he got closer, his relief melted away. Draco looked positively stricken.
“Draco?”
The blonde was obviously startled as he jerked his head up to look at Harry.
“Are you alright?” Harry asked tentatively and knelt in front of his partner, who looked at him with red rimmed, vacant eyes.
“Mother. There was a call from France. She’s dead.” Draco’s voice cracked and as Harry reached out for his hands, he was alarmed to find them shaking in his grasp.
“My love…” Harry began but Draco shook his head and he stopped. Harry knew that feeling, when absolutely nothing anyone could say would help. Draco probably wasn’t even hearing him.
“Have to go to Paris… mother…” Draco choked and Harry gripped his hands more tightly.
“I’ll pack a bag and come with you,” Harry said vehemently. He didn’t care about Lucius or the past. He had to be there for Draco.
“No, you can’t. Father won’t have it.” Draco sighed, sounding defeated, and Harry couldn’t help but feel a little hurt. Why couldn’t Draco just let him be there for him? He always held him at arms length at times when he should be leaning on him for support, but Harry knew that there was no point in arguing. When it came to Draco’s father, Harry knew it was best not to.
“Alright.” Harry let go of his hands and stood up, wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers and ignoring the way his knees cracked. He was getting old; he certainly felt it.
“Look, Potter, if you could come then I’d let you; just let me do this alone, alright?” Draco snapped.
“Fine, Malfoy, do what you have to do.” Harry sneered, the use of his last name setting him on edge, and despite what Draco was going through, he couldn’t stop himself from snapping back.
Draco sighed and stood from the bed. All at once he seemed to jump into action, picking up his watch from the bedside table and fumbling with it around his wrist. His hands were shaking and Harry looked away. He hated seeing Draco this way and even after all this time, he didn’t know exactly how to deal with him when he got like this.
“I don’t have time for this. I’ll see you in a few days when it’s all over.” Draco’s voice was thick with emotion. He grabbed his woollen coat that had been draped over the foot of the bed and slipped it on, taking his time doing up the buttons. If he was waiting for Harry to say something more then he was about to be disappointed. Harry stood by the window, staring at a squirrel in their garden, and attempted to focus on anything except the fact that Draco was once again walking away from him at a time when they should be sticking together.
*
Harry spent most of the next day regretting not having said something more to Draco before he left. He spent most of the day after feeling angry that he hadn’t heard anything from the blonde. On the third day he spent a lot of time feeling anxious that Draco was in fact never coming back. On the fourth he woke up to a suitcase at the front door and found Draco sitting on the sofa and going through the small pile of mail that had arrived for him while he’d been gone.
“Draco?” Harry watched Draco’s back stiffen and swallowed hard.
“Oh, you are still here then? I figured after not hearing from you for three days that you were in some way incapacitated!”
Harry walked around the sofa and stood in front of Draco, who still didn’t look up at him. “You acted like you didn’t want me around! I thought I’d give you some space,” Harry answered feebly and Draco glared up at him. He looked awful; the skin under his eyes was bruised from lack of sleep and if possible, he was even paler than usual.
“I wanted you there. I kept waiting for you to turn up like the fucking saviour you are, but you never did!” Draco seethed at Harry.
This, he hadn't expected. “You told me not to come; you said your father wouldn’t have it! Sorry. I hadn’t realised you were speaking in code for ‘come with me, Harry’! I’m not a mind reader, Draco! I wanted to be there for you. I wanted to help you through this, but you walked away!” Harry couldn’t hide the exasperation in his voice.
“My mother died, Harry! What do you want from me? I was barely awake when I left here; I needed you to say, 'fuck it all; I don’t care what your father wants; I’m coming!' It was terrible, and I was completely alone!” Draco’s voice cracked and Harry tried to ignore the way his shoulders shook with suppressed sobs. He hadn’t seen Draco look this truly broken since that night in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom and suddenly all the fight went out of him.
“I’m so sorry that I wasn’t there, but you need to learn to ask me for what you want. I’m not the most sensitive of people. You must know that by now.” Harry attempted to chuckle, but Draco remained staring at his hands. Harry reached out and took Draco’s hand.
“Draco?” Harry tugged at Draco’s hand and he finally looked up, his eyes filled with tears.
“He said if I cried I wasn’t a man. He said it was bad enough that I wasn’t to marry a woman and provide an heir, but I wasn’t allowed to embarrass him further by crying in public, and in front of our relatives,” Draco choked out and he couldn’t stop the sobs from overtaking him, his whole body shaking. He had obviously been holding everything in for the last three days.
Harry dragged Draco into his arms and they collapsed back onto the large comfortable sofa. All of Draco’s anger seemed to disappear and he clung to Harry like his life depended on it.
Harry wrapped his arms tightly around Draco and ran his fingers through his fine hair.
“I’m so sorry,” Harry whispered over and over, and he really was.
*
Draco had been pretty quiet since they’d finally emerged from the living room. They had moved up to the bedroom and Draco had unpacked. He had brought back some of his mother’s personal items that he said he wanted to keep in case one day he and Harry did have a family. There were pearls, emerald earrings and a set of dress robes that looked like they had been spun together with gold.
Harry watched as Draco removed each item with careful reverence. Finally there was a wizarding photograph in a heavy silver frame of Narcissa on her wedding day. She looked breathtaking and Draco set it on top of the set of drawers opposite their bed where there were already photos of Teddy and Rose. Draco looked back at Harry, seemingly to ask his permission, and Harry smiled and nodded emphatically. How could he refuse?
Hours later they were putting together a makeshift brunch, throwing whatever they could find from the fridge into a pan and hoping for the best, which if he were honest was what Harry did at most meal times.
“I’m sorry too,” Draco whispered suddenly as he handed Harry a package of bacon.
Harry turned to him and frowned in confusion. “Sorry about what?” he asked, puzzled.
“That I don’t make it clear often enough that I need you. I’m very used to doing things like this alone and I know we’ve been together for five years, but I still expect to be alone when things get bad. Nobody ever seems to stay together when things get rough. My first instinct is to just run. Hard habit to break, I suppose.” Draco sighed and nudged Harry with his hip. Harry set the pan aside and turned to Draco and lifted his chin with the palms of his hands.
“Listen to me: I'm not going anywhere. It doesn’t matter what you’re going through; I want to be there for you. There is no need for you to go running either. We’re in this together now, alright?”
Draco nodded and nuzzled into Harry’s hand before he let the dark haired man wrap his arms around him.
“I love you. I missed you so much while I was there. I feel like I don’t even know my father anymore,” Draco whispered.
“People change, Draco. You’ve grown up. You have different views, a different life and you should be proud of yours. I hate that he’s made you feel bad, especially because of what you were already going through anyway.” Harry buried his face in Draco's hair, inhaling the familiar scent.
Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and held on tightly. They stood in the middle of the kitchen silently for several moments before Draco pulled away, a blush on his cheeks.
Draco was not the most overly affectionate of men, but at the moment all he wanted was for Harry to hold him until the pain that he felt went away. At some points since his mother’s death he'd felt as if he couldn’t breathe; the pain was physical and left him feeling totally exhausted. As the days wore on, the pain got worse and it began to finally settle in that she wasn’t coming back. He couldn’t believe that his mother who had done so much to ensure his own survival had died; he couldn’t believe that his father was still here, alive and well after everything he had been through and had put his family through because of his beliefs.
Harry put the pan back onto the hob and began filling it with bacon.
“I love you too, you know? And I can’t imagine what you’re going through. Knowing I'd lost my parents was awful growing up, but I can’t imagine how much worse knowing them and then having them taken away must feel. I’ve lost plenty of people who meant a great deal to me. Losing Sirius almost killed me, but I got through it. We’ll get through this together. For what it’s worth, your mother was a good woman, Draco. I’m sorry she’s gone,” Harry said softly as they both stood and watched the bacon sizzle in the pan.
“Thank you.” Draco clasped Harry’s hand and rested his head on his partner’s shoulder.
It took a long time for Harry to get the Draco he was used to back and even then he noticed there was something vulnerable about Draco that hadn’t been there before his mother’s death. Draco had never lost anyone close to him before and it changed him permanently, but Harry was there through it all unwavering in his ability to be there for the blonde. They were closer than ever before as Draco finally learned to rely on Harry.
Harry no longer came home to suitcases at the door.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Draco/Harry
Summary: Harry comes home to find suitcases by the door, but all is not what it seems.
Warnings: Character death(neither H or D), could be DH compliant if the Epilogue is ignored.
Word Count: 1966
Authors Note: Thank you to my ever lovely kcstories
Harry knew that something was wrong the moment he walked into their house to find a suitcase at the door. At the sight of the small black leather case, his heart began to pound and he was taken back to a time when this would happen quite often; back when their relationship was not as stable as it was now and Draco would often hold the threat of him leaving over Harry’s head when things got rough.
They had been together for five years and it had been almost four since the last time he had seen a suitcase sitting by the front door, and it was with great trepidation that he made his way upstairs, genuinely scared of what he’d find there.
As he entered their bedroom he was somewhat relieved to find Draco sitting on the edge of their bed, but as he got closer, his relief melted away. Draco looked positively stricken.
“Draco?”
The blonde was obviously startled as he jerked his head up to look at Harry.
“Are you alright?” Harry asked tentatively and knelt in front of his partner, who looked at him with red rimmed, vacant eyes.
“Mother. There was a call from France. She’s dead.” Draco’s voice cracked and as Harry reached out for his hands, he was alarmed to find them shaking in his grasp.
“My love…” Harry began but Draco shook his head and he stopped. Harry knew that feeling, when absolutely nothing anyone could say would help. Draco probably wasn’t even hearing him.
“Have to go to Paris… mother…” Draco choked and Harry gripped his hands more tightly.
“I’ll pack a bag and come with you,” Harry said vehemently. He didn’t care about Lucius or the past. He had to be there for Draco.
“No, you can’t. Father won’t have it.” Draco sighed, sounding defeated, and Harry couldn’t help but feel a little hurt. Why couldn’t Draco just let him be there for him? He always held him at arms length at times when he should be leaning on him for support, but Harry knew that there was no point in arguing. When it came to Draco’s father, Harry knew it was best not to.
“Alright.” Harry let go of his hands and stood up, wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers and ignoring the way his knees cracked. He was getting old; he certainly felt it.
“Look, Potter, if you could come then I’d let you; just let me do this alone, alright?” Draco snapped.
“Fine, Malfoy, do what you have to do.” Harry sneered, the use of his last name setting him on edge, and despite what Draco was going through, he couldn’t stop himself from snapping back.
Draco sighed and stood from the bed. All at once he seemed to jump into action, picking up his watch from the bedside table and fumbling with it around his wrist. His hands were shaking and Harry looked away. He hated seeing Draco this way and even after all this time, he didn’t know exactly how to deal with him when he got like this.
“I don’t have time for this. I’ll see you in a few days when it’s all over.” Draco’s voice was thick with emotion. He grabbed his woollen coat that had been draped over the foot of the bed and slipped it on, taking his time doing up the buttons. If he was waiting for Harry to say something more then he was about to be disappointed. Harry stood by the window, staring at a squirrel in their garden, and attempted to focus on anything except the fact that Draco was once again walking away from him at a time when they should be sticking together.
*
Harry spent most of the next day regretting not having said something more to Draco before he left. He spent most of the day after feeling angry that he hadn’t heard anything from the blonde. On the third day he spent a lot of time feeling anxious that Draco was in fact never coming back. On the fourth he woke up to a suitcase at the front door and found Draco sitting on the sofa and going through the small pile of mail that had arrived for him while he’d been gone.
“Draco?” Harry watched Draco’s back stiffen and swallowed hard.
“Oh, you are still here then? I figured after not hearing from you for three days that you were in some way incapacitated!”
Harry walked around the sofa and stood in front of Draco, who still didn’t look up at him. “You acted like you didn’t want me around! I thought I’d give you some space,” Harry answered feebly and Draco glared up at him. He looked awful; the skin under his eyes was bruised from lack of sleep and if possible, he was even paler than usual.
“I wanted you there. I kept waiting for you to turn up like the fucking saviour you are, but you never did!” Draco seethed at Harry.
This, he hadn't expected. “You told me not to come; you said your father wouldn’t have it! Sorry. I hadn’t realised you were speaking in code for ‘come with me, Harry’! I’m not a mind reader, Draco! I wanted to be there for you. I wanted to help you through this, but you walked away!” Harry couldn’t hide the exasperation in his voice.
“My mother died, Harry! What do you want from me? I was barely awake when I left here; I needed you to say, 'fuck it all; I don’t care what your father wants; I’m coming!' It was terrible, and I was completely alone!” Draco’s voice cracked and Harry tried to ignore the way his shoulders shook with suppressed sobs. He hadn’t seen Draco look this truly broken since that night in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom and suddenly all the fight went out of him.
“I’m so sorry that I wasn’t there, but you need to learn to ask me for what you want. I’m not the most sensitive of people. You must know that by now.” Harry attempted to chuckle, but Draco remained staring at his hands. Harry reached out and took Draco’s hand.
“Draco?” Harry tugged at Draco’s hand and he finally looked up, his eyes filled with tears.
“He said if I cried I wasn’t a man. He said it was bad enough that I wasn’t to marry a woman and provide an heir, but I wasn’t allowed to embarrass him further by crying in public, and in front of our relatives,” Draco choked out and he couldn’t stop the sobs from overtaking him, his whole body shaking. He had obviously been holding everything in for the last three days.
Harry dragged Draco into his arms and they collapsed back onto the large comfortable sofa. All of Draco’s anger seemed to disappear and he clung to Harry like his life depended on it.
Harry wrapped his arms tightly around Draco and ran his fingers through his fine hair.
“I’m so sorry,” Harry whispered over and over, and he really was.
*
Draco had been pretty quiet since they’d finally emerged from the living room. They had moved up to the bedroom and Draco had unpacked. He had brought back some of his mother’s personal items that he said he wanted to keep in case one day he and Harry did have a family. There were pearls, emerald earrings and a set of dress robes that looked like they had been spun together with gold.
Harry watched as Draco removed each item with careful reverence. Finally there was a wizarding photograph in a heavy silver frame of Narcissa on her wedding day. She looked breathtaking and Draco set it on top of the set of drawers opposite their bed where there were already photos of Teddy and Rose. Draco looked back at Harry, seemingly to ask his permission, and Harry smiled and nodded emphatically. How could he refuse?
Hours later they were putting together a makeshift brunch, throwing whatever they could find from the fridge into a pan and hoping for the best, which if he were honest was what Harry did at most meal times.
“I’m sorry too,” Draco whispered suddenly as he handed Harry a package of bacon.
Harry turned to him and frowned in confusion. “Sorry about what?” he asked, puzzled.
“That I don’t make it clear often enough that I need you. I’m very used to doing things like this alone and I know we’ve been together for five years, but I still expect to be alone when things get bad. Nobody ever seems to stay together when things get rough. My first instinct is to just run. Hard habit to break, I suppose.” Draco sighed and nudged Harry with his hip. Harry set the pan aside and turned to Draco and lifted his chin with the palms of his hands.
“Listen to me: I'm not going anywhere. It doesn’t matter what you’re going through; I want to be there for you. There is no need for you to go running either. We’re in this together now, alright?”
Draco nodded and nuzzled into Harry’s hand before he let the dark haired man wrap his arms around him.
“I love you. I missed you so much while I was there. I feel like I don’t even know my father anymore,” Draco whispered.
“People change, Draco. You’ve grown up. You have different views, a different life and you should be proud of yours. I hate that he’s made you feel bad, especially because of what you were already going through anyway.” Harry buried his face in Draco's hair, inhaling the familiar scent.
Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and held on tightly. They stood in the middle of the kitchen silently for several moments before Draco pulled away, a blush on his cheeks.
Draco was not the most overly affectionate of men, but at the moment all he wanted was for Harry to hold him until the pain that he felt went away. At some points since his mother’s death he'd felt as if he couldn’t breathe; the pain was physical and left him feeling totally exhausted. As the days wore on, the pain got worse and it began to finally settle in that she wasn’t coming back. He couldn’t believe that his mother who had done so much to ensure his own survival had died; he couldn’t believe that his father was still here, alive and well after everything he had been through and had put his family through because of his beliefs.
Harry put the pan back onto the hob and began filling it with bacon.
“I love you too, you know? And I can’t imagine what you’re going through. Knowing I'd lost my parents was awful growing up, but I can’t imagine how much worse knowing them and then having them taken away must feel. I’ve lost plenty of people who meant a great deal to me. Losing Sirius almost killed me, but I got through it. We’ll get through this together. For what it’s worth, your mother was a good woman, Draco. I’m sorry she’s gone,” Harry said softly as they both stood and watched the bacon sizzle in the pan.
“Thank you.” Draco clasped Harry’s hand and rested his head on his partner’s shoulder.
It took a long time for Harry to get the Draco he was used to back and even then he noticed there was something vulnerable about Draco that hadn’t been there before his mother’s death. Draco had never lost anyone close to him before and it changed him permanently, but Harry was there through it all unwavering in his ability to be there for the blonde. They were closer than ever before as Draco finally learned to rely on Harry.
Harry no longer came home to suitcases at the door.