Claiming my goldenage/salt & pepper fic: "where you go, I follow" (Harry/Draco)
Title: Where you go, I follow.
Author:
digthewriter
Characters/Pairings: Harry/Draco
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~6200
Content/Warning(s): Post War. Married and divorced (to Ginny and Astoria respectively). The age of Potter kids might be off by a year or two. I basically went with: Albus born: 2005, Lily born: 2010. James born: 2003. Friendship and pining. Original characters. Various sexuality-types-of-characters mentioned. No offence to anyone is intended.
Summary/Prompt: Rivals in their thirties and friends in their fifties- what does turning 60 have in store for these two wizards?
A/N: All my thanks to
tjs_whatnot and
semperfiona for the beta. All the remaining mistakes are mine.
Passing through the corridors of St Mungo's like he had been for the past couple of weeks, Harry didn't pay any mind to the chatter around him.
He'd just come from seeing Molly who was admitted to hospital for a few weeks. Because she loved them, Harry had brought her flowers, and she'd talked to him for a few minutes, eventually falling asleep. Harry had exited the room quietly with Arthur and Ron waiting by Molly's side. Ginny was going to stop by soon and Harry thought about getting a cup of coffee and returning. It would be good to see her and the kids again.
"Draco Malfoy…"
Harry came to a halt at hearing that name and looked around him. What about Draco Malfoy?
"I can't believe it…" He heard.
"I know…! D'you think he'd give me his autograph on my collector's card?"
"You carry his collector's card with you?"
"No. I'd have to summon it from home."
"Excuse me." Harry approached the two Healers standing in the corner. "Pardon, but-"
"Harry Potter!" One of the Healers exclaimed. She looked about ten to fifteen years younger than Harry, but what did he know? He'd just turned sixty and to him, everyone looked ten to fifteen years younger. "What are the chances?!"
"How are you?" Harry said with a smile and nodded once. "What is it you're saying about Draco Malfoy?"
"Oh, right! He was your rival when you-" The Healer had started to say when the other elbowed her in the ribs.
"Sorry, Mr Potter, we can't discuss anything about other patients at St Mungo's."
"Malfoy is a patient here?" Harry asked.
"I… Oh, bugger."
"Do you have my collector's card as well? I'd sign it for you."
The Healer's eyes widened and she grinned as she looked at her friend and pleaded with her eyes.
The other Healer who had told Harry she couldn't discuss patients shook her head in exasperation. "Mr Malfoy was admitted today. He's down the hall, fourth room on the right. As it's still visiting hours, if you were to stop by-I suppose we can't really stop you. But we can't tell-"
Harry raised his hand. "That's fine. I didn't hear anything from you. I was just walking down the corridor and saw him. And he's an old friend now. We're not really rivals on the Quidditch Pitch anymore, so you have nothing to worry about."
Both Healers nodded with relief and Harry left them be. Instead of going to grab some coffee, Harry made his way to Draco's hospital room.
*
Harry knocked on the door once and then entered and found Draco with his leg propped up and elevated while he was reading a book.
"Potter?" Draco looked up, and at first, he seemed to be annoyed but his expression changed when he saw Harry.
"Heard you were here," said Harry, walking in.
Draco rolled his eyes. "It's nothing major but the kids insisted."
"So, what happened?" Harry looked Draco up and down and damn he still looked good. Even injured, he looked extremely proper, his hair parted to the side, and his posture firm and perfect.
It was true they had been rivals in their younger days. Draco had joined the Falmouth Falcons almost immediately after the rebuilding of Hogwarts, and Harry joined Tempest Tailers a few years after his short Auror career. The two teams didn't compete much against each other before Harry had joined, but it seemed Falcons and Tailers entertained the crowd with their rivalry like no other. For years, Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were known as Quidditch rivals, and their teams alternated in winning the Quidditch Cup for almost twenty of them.
They both retired ten years ago, and for Harry, he often found excuses to see Draco whenever he could. It didn't help that through their entire professional career, and their retirement, Draco had been married. Even if Harry ever wanted to say anything to him, he couldn't. Even if he knew how unhappy Draco had been for many of those years, he'd kept his mouth shut.
Harry himself had only been married until he was forty-two, he had three great kids and one grandkid to show for it, and by the time his divorce had finalised, he and Ginny were nothing more than roommates and best-friends.
"The kids wanted to see the Sloth Grip Roll," Draco said, almost chuckling. "My ankle cracked and I landed on the ground. It was all charming until Adelyn started to cry and Scorpius insisted I be rushed to St Mungo's."
The kids. Draco often called his grandchildren, "the kids." Cesarine, who was ten, Adelyn, who was eight, and Maxence, who was seven. Harry knew how much he loved them, and even though they liked to visit France with their grandmother Astoria, they enjoyed watching Draco do Quidditch tricks. They still didn't know they had a very popular Quidditch player as their grandfather. It was all probably going to change when Cesarine would start Hogwarts the next year, but for now, Draco liked spending time with them without the attention of the masses.
Draco's face always lit up when he talked about the kids, and it brought a breath of fresh air in Harry's life. It was always the same. Of course, he adored his own grandchild Mahini, but so far, she was an only child, and hearing stories from Draco about his three grandchildren made Harry wish he had more than one. But, he didn't want to push James. He would continue his own family with Teddy on his own terms, and he knew Al and Lily were a lost cause.
Albus wanted to travel the world and never settle down, and Lily, though she had a boyfriend, had self-identified herself as Ace ages ago, and if she were to get married, some day, it'd still take a long time until she'd adopt.
Harry had considered adopting at his age. Surely, there were many children out there who needed a home. But weren't being single, retired Quidditch Player, former Auror, bisexual, former saviour of the wizarding world-enough labels? Did he need to add single dad in the mix?
"Of course you had to show them the move because heaven forbid you actually remember how old you are."
Draco shrugged. "I'm not that old."
"I think your ankle states otherwise."
"My ankle is no indication of my age, thank you very much. It's an old sports injury not a sign of-"
"Exactly. A sport injury. You really need someone to watch out for you when Astoria isn't around."
Draco's face fell for a brief moment. Did Harry say something wrong?
"In that case, I'm afraid it's a full time job."
"What do you mean?" Harry leaned against the wall by the door. He hadn't been fully invited in and didn't want to assume anything by taking a chair next to Draco's hospital bed.
Draco raised an eyebrow, almost as if he'd read Harry's mind.
"Are you going to hover by the door?"
"Wasn't sure if you wanted the company…"
"Oh, shut it, Potter. When was the last time I tried to stop you from doing something and you actually listened to me?"
Harry laughed and edged himself closer to Draco. Finally, he sat on the chair beside Draco and crossed his legs. "Well, go on."
"Right." Draco cleared his throat and tried to sit up. He was already sitting up straight and his leg resting on the harness wasn't helping him in trying to move. "She finally came to her senses and left me."
"Are you…alright with that?" Harry asked, hesitant. His friendship with Draco wasn't common knowledge to the world, just like Draco's unhappiness in his marriage.
After they'd married and Draco was such a famous sports star, they were followed everywhere. But when Harry had filed for a divorce and Draco didn't, all the attention of the world was back on Harry.
"I believe waiting for Maxence to turn eleven was too long for her." Harry knew they'd remained together for the grand-kids. Scorpius had never been in any illusion his parents were in a happy marriage.
Harry nodded. He was ready to listen to his friend without judgement. He didn't have anything valuable to add anyway. Divorce was a rarity in the wizarding world, and after his own personal story being published in the papers for months, Harry never wished anyone he knew to go through the same tribulation.
"The children aren't stupid," Draco said in a gentle tone. "You know this- we spend months apart in different countries, and sleep in separate rooms when we are under the same roof. They may not understand adult relationships but they know we're not like the other grandparents they visit."
"And Scorpius?"
Draco picked up the book laying in his lap and started to fidget with it. "He never truly accused me of infidelity…"
Draco paused and Harry was startled by the statement. He tried not to show it though. He knew his heart wasn't whole because a part of him always belonged to Ginny and perhaps for the better part of the last decade, another part had belonged with Draco. Harry never displayed or recognised his true feelings towards Draco because Draco was a married man. And through their interactions together, which eventually had led to friendship, Harry knew Draco would never dishonour his vows to Astoria.
"Were you…" Harry asked, tentatively, "…Disloyal?"
Draco snorted. "Only to the Dark Lord."
"I'm aware-I should know better," Harry said, his voice slightly shaking so he relaxed back into the chair and breathed deeply. There was no rush to this conversation, he knew, and in his own time, Draco would tell him what happened. Still, a part of him, that young, fire monster which still lived deep in his chest had started to rumble.
No, he didn't want Draco to have cheated on Astoria with him. But if Draco had cheated…had he ever considered Harry?
"It took me a very long time to love, accept, and respect myself, Harry. But I have always respected Astoria, and our union. Even if it wasn't working out, I knew having a fling outside of our marriage was not the answer. What Scorpius said, however, was suggesting I might as well have been disloyal." He took a deep breath and Harry didn't respond.
He was waiting for more.
When it seemed as though Draco wasn't going to be more forthcoming, Harry asked, "What did he say which has you so shook?"
"Now you can finally be with him."
If Harry already wasn't sitting down, he was certain he'd fall over. His knees weren't strong enough for this. Neither was his heart.
"H-he-" Harry's voice shook.
"Mr Potter?"
Harry was both relieved and annoyed at the interruption. When he turned to look, he found the Healer from before, the one who'd claimed to have the collector's cards.
"Yes?"
"Your… I mean… Mrs Po- Your children are looking for you." She looked beside herself.
"Oh," Harry said, almost having forgotten all about Molly being in hospital and how he'd been looking forward to seeing his kids. "Right. Thank you for coming to find me."
The Healer nodded frantically. "Certainly. I'll send one of the interns to fetch coffee."
Harry stood up, feeling utterly self-conscious both Draco and the Healer were watching him.
"Thank you. Is there anything else?" he asked as calmly as he could, and her eyes widened and she shook her head and ran away. Harry turned to look at Draco again. "Can I come back later?"
"Certainly," Draco said with a smile. "And, can you do me a favour?"
"What is it?" Harry asked, curious.
"Can you get me an extract of arnica and some cow-bone gelatin?"
Harry raised an eyebrow. It was an old remedy they'd used when they were Quidditch players for joint pain and bruising. Usually players didn't like going to the Healers so they tended to manufacture their own gels and potions - or at least those who knew enough curative magic, did.
"There are Healers here. Why don't you take the potion they give-" Draco's raised eyebrow shut Harry up. "Right."
He shook his head and walked out of the door feeling a familiar tug and the warmth he'd been feeling for the last ten years. Whenever he was in Draco's company, it felt pleasant to be there, but today, he also felt anxious. Draco was going to tell him something. Possibly a secret.
They had shared confidences in the past ten to fifteen years or so but they'd always been dancing around a particular topic neither one of them brought up.
*
When Harry returned to Molly's room, his entire family was there. He was happy to see his kids, who he had seen a week ago, but it always seemed like time with them was cut short. They were all grown now, for the most part, with lives of their own. He didn't want to harass them too much about coming to visit him-but sometimes he did it anyway.
"I thought you went to get coffee?" Ginny asked him as Molly was surrounded by her grandchildren and great grandchildren.
"I did but I overheard a conversation-Draco's been admitted so I stopped by to say hello."
"You did?" Ginny asked with a knowing grin.
"Stop," he said.
"I didn't say anything. Funny how you went to say hello to him in hospital given you see him at least twice a week anyway."
"We meet for tea," replied Harry.
"And yet, you couldn't wait to get your eyes on him again."
Harry rolled his eyes. "You're losing your mind in your old age," he whispered to her.
"Am I?" she challenged.
Harry raised his hand in surrender and laughed. "No, I'm not going to get started with you. I'd like to keep my knees intact, thank you very much."
"How are they?" Ginny asked, placing her hand on Harry's shoulder. "Neville said he gave you a potion for the knee pain."
"I'm fine, stop worrying!" he said. "And yes, Neville's potion worked wonders. He also keeps sending me owls on a weekly basis, checking up on me."
"Someone has to. You refuse to let yourself be taken care of."
"I don't need to be taken care of."
"Dad!" Lily came rushing to Harry and Ginny and thankfully interrupted their conversation which was going nowhere. Harry knew soon Ginny was going to talk about how he needed to start dating. He needed a partner-and Harry had heard it all far too many times.
"Grandma wants me to go to the shop and get her peppermint oil, do you want to come with me?"
"Absolutely, before your mother starts hounding me again…" He looked at Ginny and winked and she smacked his shoulder.
"It's still so totally weird how cool you two are with each other."
"It's called growing up," said Ginny and Lily looked at Harry and shuddered.
Harry laughed and he linked his arms with Lily as they walked out of the hospital room and made their way to the shop. Lily was twenty-nine going on nineteen. It was one of his favourite things about his daughter, she never made him feel old. She had once confessed to Harry she was afraid of getting married because she didn't want to end up divorced like her parents, and Harry told her she never needed to get married. Marriage wasn't a fix-all answer to anything and even if she found the right person to live the rest of her life with, she didn't need an official document validating her in society. Wizarding laws were slightly more lenient than Muggle ones about family and proxy. A magic bond took care of most things where Muggle paperwork would be required.
As they walked quietly, Harry was happy to have found a reason to go to the shop, given how he'd told Draco he was going to get him the ingredients for his herbal salve he wanted to conjure himself. It was just so typical of Draco to not trust Healers. Harry would have joked and blamed it on old-man paranoia but once you were an athlete and sport was your life, you quickly avoided medical professionals. They had a bad habit of benching you for an entire season.
"So, how is Mr Malfoy?" Lily asked in a casual tone.
"He's doing well," Harry replied. "Did you know he was here?"
She shrugged nonchalantly. "Scorpius owled Albus who told me. When we got here, I had a feeling you might be in his room and I didn't say anything."
"Why?"
She made a face and shrugged again. "I mean, Dad, he's like your best friend. If my best friend was in hospital, I wouldn't care about anything else."
Harry smiled. He really loved the way Lily kept things so simple. There was nothing complicated about the way she thought and the way she spoke. She reminded him of Luna so much, and it really was perfect how she was named after her.
"I was here to see Molly, and I didn't know…it's mere coincidence…"
"I would have told you."
"I know, you're good like that. And we're not best friends, I mean, we're…"
"Only two people who meet for tea at least twice a week, and he's always Firecalling you, and you send him newspaper articles about the latest Quidditch stats…"
"We have a few things in common."
She rolled her eyes and let go of his arm once they'd arrived at the shop. "And who do you share that stuff with? Your mortal enemy?" She walked through the doors without a look back and Harry quietly followed.
There was a time when they were mortal enemies, or well, for possibly over two decades, but "best friend?" He'd never labelled their friendship, even if they'd spent the past ten years not defining it.
*
With no more comment on the matter, they made their purchases. Harry paid for the ingredients Draco wanted and for the peppermint oil for Molly, along with one yellow rose Lily wished to buy.
Back in Molly's room, things were chaotic as ever. Everyone was talking over each other and laughing, and Molly looked overjoyed to have everyone around her. That was, until the Healer announced it was time for everyone to leave and only one person could stay with the patient. George offered to stay so Arthur and Ron could have a good night's rest and would return in the morning.
Slowly, everyone said their goodbyes and started to leave. Lily, still holding the yellow rose, was the last to leave and she turned to look at Harry. No doubt she knew Harry was going back to Draco's room.
"Can you give this to Mr Malfoy for me?" She offered the flower to him.
"Don't you want to come by and say hello and give it to him yourself?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No. Maybe next time if he's here for long."
"It's disputable. He hates hospitals."
She smiled at him and hugged him goodbye, following her siblings towards the exit door.
Harry's hands shook as he held the rose and stared at it. Would he say it was from Lily? Of course he would, what would be the reason for him to give Draco a rose so unexpectedly?
He made his way back to Draco's room, and thankfully no staff members were around to stop him- his luck he reckoned, and knocked lightly on the door again.
"Ah, Harry…" Draco said with a sleepy smile.
"Sorry. If you're resting-"
"No, please come in. I've been waiting for your return."
"You have?"
"Of course, I have. You were going to get me the balm."
"Naturally. Can't disappoint the great Draco Malfoy."
Draco chuckled, a deep, warm sound, and it made Harry tingly all over. Merlin, he was getting weak in his old age.
"What's that?" Draco asked, his eyes fixed on the yellow rose.
"Oh, this is for you. Lily wishes you well." Coward.
"Oh…" Draco said, looking surprised. "Very thoughtful of her."
"Apparently Scorpius owled Albus and the kids knew you were here. She just wanted to make sure you were alright."
"That's nice, thank you. So am I going to get the rose or are you going to clutch onto it and destroy the beautiful thing."
"Right!" Harry said offering the flower to Draco who immediately took it. He retrieved his wand and placed a stasis spell on the flower as it hung mid-air near his bedside table and shimmered.
"Remember me," Draco said softly.
"Pardon?"
"Yellow roses have many meanings behind them, but one of them is remember me."
"Well, you'd be extremely hard to forget," replied Harry.
Draco's eyes immediately darted from the rose to Harry, and he had a question in them which Harry didn't wish to answer.
"So about these archaic ingredients…"
"Yes! Thank you!" Draco said, excited. "Close the door."
Harry shook his head but did as he was told. He returned to Draco's side and placed the ingredients next to him on the bed. "Do you want me to mix them and create the balm?"
"Yes, please…" Draco whispered, looking mischievous.
In moments like these… when Harry would see this side of Draco, which reminded him of the boy from Hogwarts, Harry fell in love with Draco all over again. Sure, fifty years ago, Harry considered him to be wicked and contemptible, but now he knew… beneath it all was a boy hiding. Now a grown man still had that glint, a youthful enthusiasm, but the spite was gone- made it captivating. And that's all what Harry was. What he had been. He'd been captivated by Draco Malfoy for fifty years.
"Give me that cup," Harry said, gesturing towards the small water cup next to Draco.
Draco grabbed it and handed it to Harry. Harry could have reached over and picked it up himself, but he liked to see how eager Draco was, and how, he wanted to watch Harry do the magic.
As the cup hovered mid air, Harry transfigured it into a small cauldron. He picked up the ingredients and poured them in. He smiled at Draco who seemed bewitched by the process. Harry could see why Draco was always so eager to please his grandkids; as they became older, the joy of being a child-which was mostly robbed from them-had returned with a vengeance.
"Do you want to say the spell?" Harry asked and Draco shook his head.
"I like your wandless magic," he replied.
Harry almost chuckled but he was too busy concentrating on the floating cauldron. He did what he knew Draco would like, he mumbled the spell and with Merlin's grace, his wandless magic had worked like a charm.
The ingredients blended together and turned into an orange goo which he was far too familiar with. It would help heal Draco's ankle faster, and if Harry added on the extra touch of unaromaticque, the Healers wouldn't even know they'd conjured up something in the room.
"All done," Harry said and Draco was quick to get his hands on the cauldron and examine it.
"Okay, so do you think you'd like to finish the job?" He looked at Harry all mischievous again.
"You want me to do it?" Harry asked, an eyebrow raised. He felt like he was looking at Draco with a reprimanding look he'd usually use on Mahini.
"You're going to make me beg?" Draco challenged.
Harry couldn't help the laugh which had escaped him then. "I couldn't make you beg for anything if I tried."
The air in the room shifted and Draco raised an eyebrow. Harry tried not to dwell on it so he turned his attention to Draco's leg propped up with a harness.
"I'm going to have to remove this bandage…" He spoke looking everywhere but at Draco.
"That's fine. I'll let you know if it hurts."
Without any delay, Harry got to work. He carefully held Draco's leg up as he spelled the bandage to remove itself. He hadn't touched Draco in a very long time. Sure, they'd been friends for a while now, and he'd done a casual shoulder squeeze, and one time, even had held his hand when they'd both been too drunk and Harry thought he was going to topple over- and those times when you rolled around fighting for the snitch- Harry tried not to remember those times.
He wasn't much of a Healer, but he was used to taking care of bruises and cuts and soothing a sprained ankle in his day. Not only for himself and his teammates, but also his kids. So, as soon as his fingers dipped into the mini-cauldron and he touched the balm, he was in medic-mode.
He concentrated hard as he spread the salve around the bruised foot. He also mumbled a few healing spells he was aware of, as he knew, it would all help with the healing process.
When Harry looked up from what he was doing, he found Draco staring right at him.
"What?" he asked, instantly.
"Nothing… Just you…" Draco's voice was but a whisper and he looked like he was going to say something more but he refrained.
"Are we going to do this for the rest of our miserable lives?" Harry asked, and then realised he'd said it out loud.
"What?" Draco asked and then visibly cringed.
"Ask a question with a question, and then never reply."
Draco continued to stare at Harry for a while and Harry saw the conflict in his eyes. There was something he wasn't telling Harry. Something had always been there, and Harry had always been too afraid to ask.
"Scorpius owled my children letting them know you were in hospital," Harry said after a long minute of heavy silence.
Draco smiled. "He always did want siblings. I think partially because he wanted someone to gossip with. I believe it's why he ended up having so many kids himself. He didn't wish to have one and have him or her grow up alone. Like him. Like me."
"I like that they're close," said Harry, and it was true. He liked his kids were kind enough to have welcomed Scorpius so openly in their lives, and also for the selfish reason which made Harry always be around Draco.
Draco's ankle twitched under Harry's hand, making him remember he was still touching Draco. His thumb, possibly on its own accord, had been caressing Draco's skin while they were talking.
"I think it's already working," said Draco.
"That's good. I'll come back tomorrow then. Should I bring more of the salve? Or something else you might want…?"
"Oh, you're leaving?" Draco asked, looking away.
"I had made plans to meet Neville for tea and I've been here at St Mungo's all day. If you want me to-"
"No, of course not. Don't be ridiculous, Potter."
"Draco," Harry reached for Draco's hand and ended up holding his wrist. He circled his thumb around and spoke gently, "I'll stay if you'd like me to stay. But in order for me to stay overnight, they'll have to move you to a private ward…"
Harry had had a lot of experience spending time at St Mungo's, and he knew the ins and outs of the entire place better than anyone else.
"It's fine, Harry…" Draco said, sounding serious. "I don't expect you to, nor do I want you to drop all of your plans just to keep me company. Besides, it's nearly bedtime for me, and when I wake up, Scorp and the kids will be here. I just…never mind."
"Not used to sleeping in a strange place?"
Draco smiled. "I wasn't exactly a fan of sleeping in my own place, either. But now, I reckon, I'll finally have a reason to move and find something more comfortable." Harry opened his mouth to say something but Draco interrupted him. "No, put the bandage back on so the Healers don't know I used my own medicine-"
"You used?" Harry said, scoffing. "I did all the work, Malfoy."
"You did. Didn't you?" Draco said with a wink and Harry felt his cheeks burn. How did Draco fucking Malfoy manage to make Harry blush at sixty?
"Very well. I'll see you tomorrow, then," Harry said, and he wrapped the bandage around Draco's foot even though he could have used magic to do it. He didn't hear any complaints from Draco about it, either.
*
The next day when Harry returned to Draco's hospital room, Draco was sleeping. He'd purchased a bouquet of flowers for Draco, so he placed them on the side table to Draco and left the room. He stopped by to see Molly who was going to be discharged in a few days.
Angelina and George were there and everyone seemed surprised to see Harry, since he'd made an unannounced visit.
"One of my friends is also here…"
George laughed gently. "I suppose we are at that age where we always know someone who is a patient at St Mungo's."
Harry nodded, feeling anxious. Should he have told them who this friend was? Why did he feel like he was harbouring a secret-even if they all knew Harry was good friends with Draco.
"What's the matter, dear?" Molly asked, reading Harry's face. "You seem perplexed."
"I'm not. I'm just worried for my friend."
"Why?" she asked.
"Afraid if he returns home, he'll be lonely," Harry said. Astoria was gone for good, and even though Draco saw his son and grandchildren often enough, Harry had always worried about him.
"And you?"
"What about me?" he asked, confused.
"Who worries about you being lonely?"
Harry gave a soft smile. "I'm fine."
"Sounds like you and your friend could keep each other company," Angelina said with a knowing smile.
Harry laughed. "Here we go again…" Ever since his divorce, the Weasleys have been worried over Harry- and it was his fault, really, for bringing this up to them anyway.
"You walked right into that one, mate," George said.
"I know," replied Harry.
*
Harry returned to Draco's room an hour later, and stopped short at the door. He watched as Draco played with the petals of a yellow rose from the bouquet. When no one was watching him, Draco always looked so vulnerable.
"Am I interrupting?" Harry cleared his throat before walking into the room completely.
"You're back," Draco said with a hint of surprise.
"I said I would."
"I know, but I was asleep and thought you'd just left the flowers and wouldn't return."
Harry shook his head. "I'm not even going to entertain that with a comment, Draco. So, how's the ankle?"
"It's better. They said I can be discharged in a few hours."
"Oh, that's brilliant." Harry paused for a moment trying to understand the reluctance in Draco's expression. "What's the matter?"
"They wish to send me home with a caretaker. Even though the ankle seems to be healed, they aren't certain I should be moving around on my feet. And I've set all my house-elves free so…"
"Oh," Harry said. He assumed having the kids around wouldn't be much help, either, given they were partly the reason Draco had ended up in hospital. With both Scorpius and Ophelia working full time, it would be too much for them to try to care for Draco, also. And Harry knew, Draco would hate having a stranger in his home with him.
Harry would certainly hate it.
"Why don't you come and stay with me?" Harry asked-well he watched himself asking. It was as if he was having an out of body experience-finally saying the words that meant something. "I'll take care of you."
Draco's eyes widened and he clutched the yellow rose he'd been holding. His mouth opened and shut a few times, but no words came out. Harry took that as a good sign, because well, he didn't say NO right away.
Finally, he spoke. "I can't ask you to-"
"You're not asking me anything. I'm offering. I can have the Healer give me a summary of what needs to be done, what I need to take care of- and I'm sure in no time, you'll want to get back to your own place."
Draco didn't reply.
Harry edged closer and stared down at Draco. "Good, it's settled then. I'll speak to the Healer about your release…"
"Harry…" Draco whispered and his hand moved for a brief second as if he were going to reach out for Harry but then refrained.
Instead, Harry reached for him. He took Draco's hand and squeezed it. "For the love of Merlin, Draco, let me do this for you. Let me be the friend you need."
"I…" Draco hesitated. "It's hard for me to accept help."
"And what did I do yesterday when I went to the shop, conjured up the salve you'd wanted, and spread it over your foot?"
Draco chuckled. "Part of me wanted to see if you'd actually do it."
"You knew I would. I haven't said no to you…since…I mean our friendship…" Every resolve Harry had began to melt. They were still holding hands now, and it seemed their conviction had swapped. Draco was the one now smiling, looking confident, and all his anxiety and transferred into Harry.
"You won't say no to what I ask?" Draco raised an eyebrow.
This can only be trouble. Tread lightly. "Depends on what it is," said Harry.
"I've wanted to ask you for something for a few years, but now…I finally have the liberty to do so." Draco pulled on Harry's hand, willing him to come closer, so Harry did.
"Yes?" Harry asked, feeling like a nervous teenager. He was going to ask that, was he?
"Kiss me," Draco said, when Harry edged even closer.
"Is that a question?"
"You're an arse."
"That's definitely not a question."
"Pott-" Then Harry kissed him. It was gentle, well, it had to be. Harry had thought ages ago, his days of impulse, deep passionate kisses were behind him. He'd not wanted to kiss anyone like that in a long time, anyway.
Draco's hand came to grab Harry's forearm, and it was Draco who ended up deepening the kiss.
When it was over, Harry couldn't take a step back; he felt winded.
"Stay with me," Harry said; his forehead resting against Draco's. "Please. I want to take care of you."
"You've been taking care of me for a decade, Harry," Draco replied sounding amused and grateful.
"In that case, I want you to allow me to show you how much I love you."
Draco's grip tightened on Harry's arm. "Harr…" The word came out as a soft gasp, and Harry wasn't sure if it wasn't just that.
"You know I love you. You have to," Harry insisted.
"I…suspected," Draco said with a small laugh. "But maybe more in a friend way than…"
"I love you in every way," said Harry. "I've been waiting for my chance, and now I have it." When Draco didn't reply, Harry added, "I know you're a good person, Draco. I deeply respect you and your values. I treasure our friendship. I want to take care of you as my friend, of course, but I'm not going to waste my life waiting-It's the good thing about being as old as we are. We know how important time is. I'm not going to let it wither away."
"Fine," Draco said with a smile. "I'll come stay with you until the Healers recommend it."
"And then?"
"Then, I'm going to move out of my house. I want to find a different place to live. Maybe even have several vacation homes and have the family come and visit me on my own time."
"That sounds like an adventure…" said Harry.
"And I want you to live with me."
"Oh."
"You already admitted you loved me. You can't back out now," Draco claimed.
Harry shook his head. "How long have you been thinking about this?"
Draco shrugged. "I don't know, for the last decade or so. I would have done it earlier, move out of the house, I mean, but Scorpius kept having more kids and I couldn't leave. But now, he's certain they're done. I feel more settled about…wayfaring, if that makes any sense."
"And you want to way-fare together."
"Naturally, who else have I trained in the past decade to put up with me?"
"Trained me, have you," Harry said, squeezing Draco's hand and kissing his forehead.
"Just like you've made it impossible for me to spend my week without seeing you," replied Draco.
"And then you go and say something like that."
"So, are we getting out of this place or not, Potter?"
"Fine. Fine. I'll go get the Healer to discuss your discharge."
"Good. Get me some ice cream too."
"Yes, dear…" Harry said with a wink and left the hospital room.
THE END.
This entry was originally posted at https://digthewriter.dreamwidth.org/762522.html. Thanks for reading
Author:
digthewriter
Characters/Pairings: Harry/Draco
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~6200
Content/Warning(s): Post War. Married and divorced (to Ginny and Astoria respectively). The age of Potter kids might be off by a year or two. I basically went with: Albus born: 2005, Lily born: 2010. James born: 2003. Friendship and pining. Original characters. Various sexuality-types-of-characters mentioned. No offence to anyone is intended.
Summary/Prompt: Rivals in their thirties and friends in their fifties- what does turning 60 have in store for these two wizards?
A/N: All my thanks to
tjs_whatnot and
semperfiona for the beta. All the remaining mistakes are mine.
Passing through the corridors of St Mungo's like he had been for the past couple of weeks, Harry didn't pay any mind to the chatter around him.
He'd just come from seeing Molly who was admitted to hospital for a few weeks. Because she loved them, Harry had brought her flowers, and she'd talked to him for a few minutes, eventually falling asleep. Harry had exited the room quietly with Arthur and Ron waiting by Molly's side. Ginny was going to stop by soon and Harry thought about getting a cup of coffee and returning. It would be good to see her and the kids again.
"Draco Malfoy…"
Harry came to a halt at hearing that name and looked around him. What about Draco Malfoy?
"I can't believe it…" He heard.
"I know…! D'you think he'd give me his autograph on my collector's card?"
"You carry his collector's card with you?"
"No. I'd have to summon it from home."
"Excuse me." Harry approached the two Healers standing in the corner. "Pardon, but-"
"Harry Potter!" One of the Healers exclaimed. She looked about ten to fifteen years younger than Harry, but what did he know? He'd just turned sixty and to him, everyone looked ten to fifteen years younger. "What are the chances?!"
"How are you?" Harry said with a smile and nodded once. "What is it you're saying about Draco Malfoy?"
"Oh, right! He was your rival when you-" The Healer had started to say when the other elbowed her in the ribs.
"Sorry, Mr Potter, we can't discuss anything about other patients at St Mungo's."
"Malfoy is a patient here?" Harry asked.
"I… Oh, bugger."
"Do you have my collector's card as well? I'd sign it for you."
The Healer's eyes widened and she grinned as she looked at her friend and pleaded with her eyes.
The other Healer who had told Harry she couldn't discuss patients shook her head in exasperation. "Mr Malfoy was admitted today. He's down the hall, fourth room on the right. As it's still visiting hours, if you were to stop by-I suppose we can't really stop you. But we can't tell-"
Harry raised his hand. "That's fine. I didn't hear anything from you. I was just walking down the corridor and saw him. And he's an old friend now. We're not really rivals on the Quidditch Pitch anymore, so you have nothing to worry about."
Both Healers nodded with relief and Harry left them be. Instead of going to grab some coffee, Harry made his way to Draco's hospital room.
*
Harry knocked on the door once and then entered and found Draco with his leg propped up and elevated while he was reading a book.
"Potter?" Draco looked up, and at first, he seemed to be annoyed but his expression changed when he saw Harry.
"Heard you were here," said Harry, walking in.
Draco rolled his eyes. "It's nothing major but the kids insisted."
"So, what happened?" Harry looked Draco up and down and damn he still looked good. Even injured, he looked extremely proper, his hair parted to the side, and his posture firm and perfect.
It was true they had been rivals in their younger days. Draco had joined the Falmouth Falcons almost immediately after the rebuilding of Hogwarts, and Harry joined Tempest Tailers a few years after his short Auror career. The two teams didn't compete much against each other before Harry had joined, but it seemed Falcons and Tailers entertained the crowd with their rivalry like no other. For years, Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were known as Quidditch rivals, and their teams alternated in winning the Quidditch Cup for almost twenty of them.
They both retired ten years ago, and for Harry, he often found excuses to see Draco whenever he could. It didn't help that through their entire professional career, and their retirement, Draco had been married. Even if Harry ever wanted to say anything to him, he couldn't. Even if he knew how unhappy Draco had been for many of those years, he'd kept his mouth shut.
Harry himself had only been married until he was forty-two, he had three great kids and one grandkid to show for it, and by the time his divorce had finalised, he and Ginny were nothing more than roommates and best-friends.
"The kids wanted to see the Sloth Grip Roll," Draco said, almost chuckling. "My ankle cracked and I landed on the ground. It was all charming until Adelyn started to cry and Scorpius insisted I be rushed to St Mungo's."
The kids. Draco often called his grandchildren, "the kids." Cesarine, who was ten, Adelyn, who was eight, and Maxence, who was seven. Harry knew how much he loved them, and even though they liked to visit France with their grandmother Astoria, they enjoyed watching Draco do Quidditch tricks. They still didn't know they had a very popular Quidditch player as their grandfather. It was all probably going to change when Cesarine would start Hogwarts the next year, but for now, Draco liked spending time with them without the attention of the masses.
Draco's face always lit up when he talked about the kids, and it brought a breath of fresh air in Harry's life. It was always the same. Of course, he adored his own grandchild Mahini, but so far, she was an only child, and hearing stories from Draco about his three grandchildren made Harry wish he had more than one. But, he didn't want to push James. He would continue his own family with Teddy on his own terms, and he knew Al and Lily were a lost cause.
Albus wanted to travel the world and never settle down, and Lily, though she had a boyfriend, had self-identified herself as Ace ages ago, and if she were to get married, some day, it'd still take a long time until she'd adopt.
Harry had considered adopting at his age. Surely, there were many children out there who needed a home. But weren't being single, retired Quidditch Player, former Auror, bisexual, former saviour of the wizarding world-enough labels? Did he need to add single dad in the mix?
"Of course you had to show them the move because heaven forbid you actually remember how old you are."
Draco shrugged. "I'm not that old."
"I think your ankle states otherwise."
"My ankle is no indication of my age, thank you very much. It's an old sports injury not a sign of-"
"Exactly. A sport injury. You really need someone to watch out for you when Astoria isn't around."
Draco's face fell for a brief moment. Did Harry say something wrong?
"In that case, I'm afraid it's a full time job."
"What do you mean?" Harry leaned against the wall by the door. He hadn't been fully invited in and didn't want to assume anything by taking a chair next to Draco's hospital bed.
Draco raised an eyebrow, almost as if he'd read Harry's mind.
"Are you going to hover by the door?"
"Wasn't sure if you wanted the company…"
"Oh, shut it, Potter. When was the last time I tried to stop you from doing something and you actually listened to me?"
Harry laughed and edged himself closer to Draco. Finally, he sat on the chair beside Draco and crossed his legs. "Well, go on."
"Right." Draco cleared his throat and tried to sit up. He was already sitting up straight and his leg resting on the harness wasn't helping him in trying to move. "She finally came to her senses and left me."
"Are you…alright with that?" Harry asked, hesitant. His friendship with Draco wasn't common knowledge to the world, just like Draco's unhappiness in his marriage.
After they'd married and Draco was such a famous sports star, they were followed everywhere. But when Harry had filed for a divorce and Draco didn't, all the attention of the world was back on Harry.
"I believe waiting for Maxence to turn eleven was too long for her." Harry knew they'd remained together for the grand-kids. Scorpius had never been in any illusion his parents were in a happy marriage.
Harry nodded. He was ready to listen to his friend without judgement. He didn't have anything valuable to add anyway. Divorce was a rarity in the wizarding world, and after his own personal story being published in the papers for months, Harry never wished anyone he knew to go through the same tribulation.
"The children aren't stupid," Draco said in a gentle tone. "You know this- we spend months apart in different countries, and sleep in separate rooms when we are under the same roof. They may not understand adult relationships but they know we're not like the other grandparents they visit."
"And Scorpius?"
Draco picked up the book laying in his lap and started to fidget with it. "He never truly accused me of infidelity…"
Draco paused and Harry was startled by the statement. He tried not to show it though. He knew his heart wasn't whole because a part of him always belonged to Ginny and perhaps for the better part of the last decade, another part had belonged with Draco. Harry never displayed or recognised his true feelings towards Draco because Draco was a married man. And through their interactions together, which eventually had led to friendship, Harry knew Draco would never dishonour his vows to Astoria.
"Were you…" Harry asked, tentatively, "…Disloyal?"
Draco snorted. "Only to the Dark Lord."
"I'm aware-I should know better," Harry said, his voice slightly shaking so he relaxed back into the chair and breathed deeply. There was no rush to this conversation, he knew, and in his own time, Draco would tell him what happened. Still, a part of him, that young, fire monster which still lived deep in his chest had started to rumble.
No, he didn't want Draco to have cheated on Astoria with him. But if Draco had cheated…had he ever considered Harry?
"It took me a very long time to love, accept, and respect myself, Harry. But I have always respected Astoria, and our union. Even if it wasn't working out, I knew having a fling outside of our marriage was not the answer. What Scorpius said, however, was suggesting I might as well have been disloyal." He took a deep breath and Harry didn't respond.
He was waiting for more.
When it seemed as though Draco wasn't going to be more forthcoming, Harry asked, "What did he say which has you so shook?"
"Now you can finally be with him."
If Harry already wasn't sitting down, he was certain he'd fall over. His knees weren't strong enough for this. Neither was his heart.
"H-he-" Harry's voice shook.
"Mr Potter?"
Harry was both relieved and annoyed at the interruption. When he turned to look, he found the Healer from before, the one who'd claimed to have the collector's cards.
"Yes?"
"Your… I mean… Mrs Po- Your children are looking for you." She looked beside herself.
"Oh," Harry said, almost having forgotten all about Molly being in hospital and how he'd been looking forward to seeing his kids. "Right. Thank you for coming to find me."
The Healer nodded frantically. "Certainly. I'll send one of the interns to fetch coffee."
Harry stood up, feeling utterly self-conscious both Draco and the Healer were watching him.
"Thank you. Is there anything else?" he asked as calmly as he could, and her eyes widened and she shook her head and ran away. Harry turned to look at Draco again. "Can I come back later?"
"Certainly," Draco said with a smile. "And, can you do me a favour?"
"What is it?" Harry asked, curious.
"Can you get me an extract of arnica and some cow-bone gelatin?"
Harry raised an eyebrow. It was an old remedy they'd used when they were Quidditch players for joint pain and bruising. Usually players didn't like going to the Healers so they tended to manufacture their own gels and potions - or at least those who knew enough curative magic, did.
"There are Healers here. Why don't you take the potion they give-" Draco's raised eyebrow shut Harry up. "Right."
He shook his head and walked out of the door feeling a familiar tug and the warmth he'd been feeling for the last ten years. Whenever he was in Draco's company, it felt pleasant to be there, but today, he also felt anxious. Draco was going to tell him something. Possibly a secret.
They had shared confidences in the past ten to fifteen years or so but they'd always been dancing around a particular topic neither one of them brought up.
*
When Harry returned to Molly's room, his entire family was there. He was happy to see his kids, who he had seen a week ago, but it always seemed like time with them was cut short. They were all grown now, for the most part, with lives of their own. He didn't want to harass them too much about coming to visit him-but sometimes he did it anyway.
"I thought you went to get coffee?" Ginny asked him as Molly was surrounded by her grandchildren and great grandchildren.
"I did but I overheard a conversation-Draco's been admitted so I stopped by to say hello."
"You did?" Ginny asked with a knowing grin.
"Stop," he said.
"I didn't say anything. Funny how you went to say hello to him in hospital given you see him at least twice a week anyway."
"We meet for tea," replied Harry.
"And yet, you couldn't wait to get your eyes on him again."
Harry rolled his eyes. "You're losing your mind in your old age," he whispered to her.
"Am I?" she challenged.
Harry raised his hand in surrender and laughed. "No, I'm not going to get started with you. I'd like to keep my knees intact, thank you very much."
"How are they?" Ginny asked, placing her hand on Harry's shoulder. "Neville said he gave you a potion for the knee pain."
"I'm fine, stop worrying!" he said. "And yes, Neville's potion worked wonders. He also keeps sending me owls on a weekly basis, checking up on me."
"Someone has to. You refuse to let yourself be taken care of."
"I don't need to be taken care of."
"Dad!" Lily came rushing to Harry and Ginny and thankfully interrupted their conversation which was going nowhere. Harry knew soon Ginny was going to talk about how he needed to start dating. He needed a partner-and Harry had heard it all far too many times.
"Grandma wants me to go to the shop and get her peppermint oil, do you want to come with me?"
"Absolutely, before your mother starts hounding me again…" He looked at Ginny and winked and she smacked his shoulder.
"It's still so totally weird how cool you two are with each other."
"It's called growing up," said Ginny and Lily looked at Harry and shuddered.
Harry laughed and he linked his arms with Lily as they walked out of the hospital room and made their way to the shop. Lily was twenty-nine going on nineteen. It was one of his favourite things about his daughter, she never made him feel old. She had once confessed to Harry she was afraid of getting married because she didn't want to end up divorced like her parents, and Harry told her she never needed to get married. Marriage wasn't a fix-all answer to anything and even if she found the right person to live the rest of her life with, she didn't need an official document validating her in society. Wizarding laws were slightly more lenient than Muggle ones about family and proxy. A magic bond took care of most things where Muggle paperwork would be required.
As they walked quietly, Harry was happy to have found a reason to go to the shop, given how he'd told Draco he was going to get him the ingredients for his herbal salve he wanted to conjure himself. It was just so typical of Draco to not trust Healers. Harry would have joked and blamed it on old-man paranoia but once you were an athlete and sport was your life, you quickly avoided medical professionals. They had a bad habit of benching you for an entire season.
"So, how is Mr Malfoy?" Lily asked in a casual tone.
"He's doing well," Harry replied. "Did you know he was here?"
She shrugged nonchalantly. "Scorpius owled Albus who told me. When we got here, I had a feeling you might be in his room and I didn't say anything."
"Why?"
She made a face and shrugged again. "I mean, Dad, he's like your best friend. If my best friend was in hospital, I wouldn't care about anything else."
Harry smiled. He really loved the way Lily kept things so simple. There was nothing complicated about the way she thought and the way she spoke. She reminded him of Luna so much, and it really was perfect how she was named after her.
"I was here to see Molly, and I didn't know…it's mere coincidence…"
"I would have told you."
"I know, you're good like that. And we're not best friends, I mean, we're…"
"Only two people who meet for tea at least twice a week, and he's always Firecalling you, and you send him newspaper articles about the latest Quidditch stats…"
"We have a few things in common."
She rolled her eyes and let go of his arm once they'd arrived at the shop. "And who do you share that stuff with? Your mortal enemy?" She walked through the doors without a look back and Harry quietly followed.
There was a time when they were mortal enemies, or well, for possibly over two decades, but "best friend?" He'd never labelled their friendship, even if they'd spent the past ten years not defining it.
*
With no more comment on the matter, they made their purchases. Harry paid for the ingredients Draco wanted and for the peppermint oil for Molly, along with one yellow rose Lily wished to buy.
Back in Molly's room, things were chaotic as ever. Everyone was talking over each other and laughing, and Molly looked overjoyed to have everyone around her. That was, until the Healer announced it was time for everyone to leave and only one person could stay with the patient. George offered to stay so Arthur and Ron could have a good night's rest and would return in the morning.
Slowly, everyone said their goodbyes and started to leave. Lily, still holding the yellow rose, was the last to leave and she turned to look at Harry. No doubt she knew Harry was going back to Draco's room.
"Can you give this to Mr Malfoy for me?" She offered the flower to him.
"Don't you want to come by and say hello and give it to him yourself?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No. Maybe next time if he's here for long."
"It's disputable. He hates hospitals."
She smiled at him and hugged him goodbye, following her siblings towards the exit door.
Harry's hands shook as he held the rose and stared at it. Would he say it was from Lily? Of course he would, what would be the reason for him to give Draco a rose so unexpectedly?
He made his way back to Draco's room, and thankfully no staff members were around to stop him- his luck he reckoned, and knocked lightly on the door again.
"Ah, Harry…" Draco said with a sleepy smile.
"Sorry. If you're resting-"
"No, please come in. I've been waiting for your return."
"You have?"
"Of course, I have. You were going to get me the balm."
"Naturally. Can't disappoint the great Draco Malfoy."
Draco chuckled, a deep, warm sound, and it made Harry tingly all over. Merlin, he was getting weak in his old age.
"What's that?" Draco asked, his eyes fixed on the yellow rose.
"Oh, this is for you. Lily wishes you well." Coward.
"Oh…" Draco said, looking surprised. "Very thoughtful of her."
"Apparently Scorpius owled Albus and the kids knew you were here. She just wanted to make sure you were alright."
"That's nice, thank you. So am I going to get the rose or are you going to clutch onto it and destroy the beautiful thing."
"Right!" Harry said offering the flower to Draco who immediately took it. He retrieved his wand and placed a stasis spell on the flower as it hung mid-air near his bedside table and shimmered.
"Remember me," Draco said softly.
"Pardon?"
"Yellow roses have many meanings behind them, but one of them is remember me."
"Well, you'd be extremely hard to forget," replied Harry.
Draco's eyes immediately darted from the rose to Harry, and he had a question in them which Harry didn't wish to answer.
"So about these archaic ingredients…"
"Yes! Thank you!" Draco said, excited. "Close the door."
Harry shook his head but did as he was told. He returned to Draco's side and placed the ingredients next to him on the bed. "Do you want me to mix them and create the balm?"
"Yes, please…" Draco whispered, looking mischievous.
In moments like these… when Harry would see this side of Draco, which reminded him of the boy from Hogwarts, Harry fell in love with Draco all over again. Sure, fifty years ago, Harry considered him to be wicked and contemptible, but now he knew… beneath it all was a boy hiding. Now a grown man still had that glint, a youthful enthusiasm, but the spite was gone- made it captivating. And that's all what Harry was. What he had been. He'd been captivated by Draco Malfoy for fifty years.
"Give me that cup," Harry said, gesturing towards the small water cup next to Draco.
Draco grabbed it and handed it to Harry. Harry could have reached over and picked it up himself, but he liked to see how eager Draco was, and how, he wanted to watch Harry do the magic.
As the cup hovered mid air, Harry transfigured it into a small cauldron. He picked up the ingredients and poured them in. He smiled at Draco who seemed bewitched by the process. Harry could see why Draco was always so eager to please his grandkids; as they became older, the joy of being a child-which was mostly robbed from them-had returned with a vengeance.
"Do you want to say the spell?" Harry asked and Draco shook his head.
"I like your wandless magic," he replied.
Harry almost chuckled but he was too busy concentrating on the floating cauldron. He did what he knew Draco would like, he mumbled the spell and with Merlin's grace, his wandless magic had worked like a charm.
The ingredients blended together and turned into an orange goo which he was far too familiar with. It would help heal Draco's ankle faster, and if Harry added on the extra touch of unaromaticque, the Healers wouldn't even know they'd conjured up something in the room.
"All done," Harry said and Draco was quick to get his hands on the cauldron and examine it.
"Okay, so do you think you'd like to finish the job?" He looked at Harry all mischievous again.
"You want me to do it?" Harry asked, an eyebrow raised. He felt like he was looking at Draco with a reprimanding look he'd usually use on Mahini.
"You're going to make me beg?" Draco challenged.
Harry couldn't help the laugh which had escaped him then. "I couldn't make you beg for anything if I tried."
The air in the room shifted and Draco raised an eyebrow. Harry tried not to dwell on it so he turned his attention to Draco's leg propped up with a harness.
"I'm going to have to remove this bandage…" He spoke looking everywhere but at Draco.
"That's fine. I'll let you know if it hurts."
Without any delay, Harry got to work. He carefully held Draco's leg up as he spelled the bandage to remove itself. He hadn't touched Draco in a very long time. Sure, they'd been friends for a while now, and he'd done a casual shoulder squeeze, and one time, even had held his hand when they'd both been too drunk and Harry thought he was going to topple over- and those times when you rolled around fighting for the snitch- Harry tried not to remember those times.
He wasn't much of a Healer, but he was used to taking care of bruises and cuts and soothing a sprained ankle in his day. Not only for himself and his teammates, but also his kids. So, as soon as his fingers dipped into the mini-cauldron and he touched the balm, he was in medic-mode.
He concentrated hard as he spread the salve around the bruised foot. He also mumbled a few healing spells he was aware of, as he knew, it would all help with the healing process.
When Harry looked up from what he was doing, he found Draco staring right at him.
"What?" he asked, instantly.
"Nothing… Just you…" Draco's voice was but a whisper and he looked like he was going to say something more but he refrained.
"Are we going to do this for the rest of our miserable lives?" Harry asked, and then realised he'd said it out loud.
"What?" Draco asked and then visibly cringed.
"Ask a question with a question, and then never reply."
Draco continued to stare at Harry for a while and Harry saw the conflict in his eyes. There was something he wasn't telling Harry. Something had always been there, and Harry had always been too afraid to ask.
"Scorpius owled my children letting them know you were in hospital," Harry said after a long minute of heavy silence.
Draco smiled. "He always did want siblings. I think partially because he wanted someone to gossip with. I believe it's why he ended up having so many kids himself. He didn't wish to have one and have him or her grow up alone. Like him. Like me."
"I like that they're close," said Harry, and it was true. He liked his kids were kind enough to have welcomed Scorpius so openly in their lives, and also for the selfish reason which made Harry always be around Draco.
Draco's ankle twitched under Harry's hand, making him remember he was still touching Draco. His thumb, possibly on its own accord, had been caressing Draco's skin while they were talking.
"I think it's already working," said Draco.
"That's good. I'll come back tomorrow then. Should I bring more of the salve? Or something else you might want…?"
"Oh, you're leaving?" Draco asked, looking away.
"I had made plans to meet Neville for tea and I've been here at St Mungo's all day. If you want me to-"
"No, of course not. Don't be ridiculous, Potter."
"Draco," Harry reached for Draco's hand and ended up holding his wrist. He circled his thumb around and spoke gently, "I'll stay if you'd like me to stay. But in order for me to stay overnight, they'll have to move you to a private ward…"
Harry had had a lot of experience spending time at St Mungo's, and he knew the ins and outs of the entire place better than anyone else.
"It's fine, Harry…" Draco said, sounding serious. "I don't expect you to, nor do I want you to drop all of your plans just to keep me company. Besides, it's nearly bedtime for me, and when I wake up, Scorp and the kids will be here. I just…never mind."
"Not used to sleeping in a strange place?"
Draco smiled. "I wasn't exactly a fan of sleeping in my own place, either. But now, I reckon, I'll finally have a reason to move and find something more comfortable." Harry opened his mouth to say something but Draco interrupted him. "No, put the bandage back on so the Healers don't know I used my own medicine-"
"You used?" Harry said, scoffing. "I did all the work, Malfoy."
"You did. Didn't you?" Draco said with a wink and Harry felt his cheeks burn. How did Draco fucking Malfoy manage to make Harry blush at sixty?
"Very well. I'll see you tomorrow, then," Harry said, and he wrapped the bandage around Draco's foot even though he could have used magic to do it. He didn't hear any complaints from Draco about it, either.
*
The next day when Harry returned to Draco's hospital room, Draco was sleeping. He'd purchased a bouquet of flowers for Draco, so he placed them on the side table to Draco and left the room. He stopped by to see Molly who was going to be discharged in a few days.
Angelina and George were there and everyone seemed surprised to see Harry, since he'd made an unannounced visit.
"One of my friends is also here…"
George laughed gently. "I suppose we are at that age where we always know someone who is a patient at St Mungo's."
Harry nodded, feeling anxious. Should he have told them who this friend was? Why did he feel like he was harbouring a secret-even if they all knew Harry was good friends with Draco.
"What's the matter, dear?" Molly asked, reading Harry's face. "You seem perplexed."
"I'm not. I'm just worried for my friend."
"Why?" she asked.
"Afraid if he returns home, he'll be lonely," Harry said. Astoria was gone for good, and even though Draco saw his son and grandchildren often enough, Harry had always worried about him.
"And you?"
"What about me?" he asked, confused.
"Who worries about you being lonely?"
Harry gave a soft smile. "I'm fine."
"Sounds like you and your friend could keep each other company," Angelina said with a knowing smile.
Harry laughed. "Here we go again…" Ever since his divorce, the Weasleys have been worried over Harry- and it was his fault, really, for bringing this up to them anyway.
"You walked right into that one, mate," George said.
"I know," replied Harry.
*
Harry returned to Draco's room an hour later, and stopped short at the door. He watched as Draco played with the petals of a yellow rose from the bouquet. When no one was watching him, Draco always looked so vulnerable.
"Am I interrupting?" Harry cleared his throat before walking into the room completely.
"You're back," Draco said with a hint of surprise.
"I said I would."
"I know, but I was asleep and thought you'd just left the flowers and wouldn't return."
Harry shook his head. "I'm not even going to entertain that with a comment, Draco. So, how's the ankle?"
"It's better. They said I can be discharged in a few hours."
"Oh, that's brilliant." Harry paused for a moment trying to understand the reluctance in Draco's expression. "What's the matter?"
"They wish to send me home with a caretaker. Even though the ankle seems to be healed, they aren't certain I should be moving around on my feet. And I've set all my house-elves free so…"
"Oh," Harry said. He assumed having the kids around wouldn't be much help, either, given they were partly the reason Draco had ended up in hospital. With both Scorpius and Ophelia working full time, it would be too much for them to try to care for Draco, also. And Harry knew, Draco would hate having a stranger in his home with him.
Harry would certainly hate it.
"Why don't you come and stay with me?" Harry asked-well he watched himself asking. It was as if he was having an out of body experience-finally saying the words that meant something. "I'll take care of you."
Draco's eyes widened and he clutched the yellow rose he'd been holding. His mouth opened and shut a few times, but no words came out. Harry took that as a good sign, because well, he didn't say NO right away.
Finally, he spoke. "I can't ask you to-"
"You're not asking me anything. I'm offering. I can have the Healer give me a summary of what needs to be done, what I need to take care of- and I'm sure in no time, you'll want to get back to your own place."
Draco didn't reply.
Harry edged closer and stared down at Draco. "Good, it's settled then. I'll speak to the Healer about your release…"
"Harry…" Draco whispered and his hand moved for a brief second as if he were going to reach out for Harry but then refrained.
Instead, Harry reached for him. He took Draco's hand and squeezed it. "For the love of Merlin, Draco, let me do this for you. Let me be the friend you need."
"I…" Draco hesitated. "It's hard for me to accept help."
"And what did I do yesterday when I went to the shop, conjured up the salve you'd wanted, and spread it over your foot?"
Draco chuckled. "Part of me wanted to see if you'd actually do it."
"You knew I would. I haven't said no to you…since…I mean our friendship…" Every resolve Harry had began to melt. They were still holding hands now, and it seemed their conviction had swapped. Draco was the one now smiling, looking confident, and all his anxiety and transferred into Harry.
"You won't say no to what I ask?" Draco raised an eyebrow.
This can only be trouble. Tread lightly. "Depends on what it is," said Harry.
"I've wanted to ask you for something for a few years, but now…I finally have the liberty to do so." Draco pulled on Harry's hand, willing him to come closer, so Harry did.
"Yes?" Harry asked, feeling like a nervous teenager. He was going to ask that, was he?
"Kiss me," Draco said, when Harry edged even closer.
"Is that a question?"
"You're an arse."
"That's definitely not a question."
"Pott-" Then Harry kissed him. It was gentle, well, it had to be. Harry had thought ages ago, his days of impulse, deep passionate kisses were behind him. He'd not wanted to kiss anyone like that in a long time, anyway.
Draco's hand came to grab Harry's forearm, and it was Draco who ended up deepening the kiss.
When it was over, Harry couldn't take a step back; he felt winded.
"Stay with me," Harry said; his forehead resting against Draco's. "Please. I want to take care of you."
"You've been taking care of me for a decade, Harry," Draco replied sounding amused and grateful.
"In that case, I want you to allow me to show you how much I love you."
Draco's grip tightened on Harry's arm. "Harr…" The word came out as a soft gasp, and Harry wasn't sure if it wasn't just that.
"You know I love you. You have to," Harry insisted.
"I…suspected," Draco said with a small laugh. "But maybe more in a friend way than…"
"I love you in every way," said Harry. "I've been waiting for my chance, and now I have it." When Draco didn't reply, Harry added, "I know you're a good person, Draco. I deeply respect you and your values. I treasure our friendship. I want to take care of you as my friend, of course, but I'm not going to waste my life waiting-It's the good thing about being as old as we are. We know how important time is. I'm not going to let it wither away."
"Fine," Draco said with a smile. "I'll come stay with you until the Healers recommend it."
"And then?"
"Then, I'm going to move out of my house. I want to find a different place to live. Maybe even have several vacation homes and have the family come and visit me on my own time."
"That sounds like an adventure…" said Harry.
"And I want you to live with me."
"Oh."
"You already admitted you loved me. You can't back out now," Draco claimed.
Harry shook his head. "How long have you been thinking about this?"
Draco shrugged. "I don't know, for the last decade or so. I would have done it earlier, move out of the house, I mean, but Scorpius kept having more kids and I couldn't leave. But now, he's certain they're done. I feel more settled about…wayfaring, if that makes any sense."
"And you want to way-fare together."
"Naturally, who else have I trained in the past decade to put up with me?"
"Trained me, have you," Harry said, squeezing Draco's hand and kissing his forehead.
"Just like you've made it impossible for me to spend my week without seeing you," replied Draco.
"And then you go and say something like that."
"So, are we getting out of this place or not, Potter?"
"Fine. Fine. I'll go get the Healer to discuss your discharge."
"Good. Get me some ice cream too."
"Yes, dear…" Harry said with a wink and left the hospital room.
THE END.
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