Breaking Out - Chapter Three
Title: Breaking Out
Author: elleian
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Rating: NC-17 (overall)
Warnings: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Fluff
Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, everything is owned by JK Rowling, Warner Brothers, etc. I do not make any money from this and I have no intent to infringe anyone’s copyright.
Summary: The fighting may be over, but the war inside has not ceased. Once again the Ministry has decided to step in, forcing those they think need it into their rehabilitation programme. It all leads from there.
Previous Chapters: Chapter One, Chapter Two
Harry blinked groggily at the room around him. With a start he realised that he must have fallen asleep. He could feel a warm presence at his right hand side and knew that Draco must have done the same thing. How on earth had they managed to get into this situation? Falling asleep next to his one time rival was not something that Harry would have imagined being able to do easily.
Lying there, it came as a shock to Harry to realise that he felt absolutely no emotion towards the man next to him. He was filled with anger towards the Ministry, frustration at his current situation and the underlying guilt and grief that had plagued him since the final battle, but none of his emotions pertained to the blond currently asleep on the double bed.
Harry rolled over onto his side carefully. He had always been fascinated by the way that people looked when they slept. Ever since his entry into the Wizarding world he had found that insomnia was a constant presence in his life. Living in a dormitory had provided him with plenty of opportunities to watch others whilst they were asleep. There was something about the way that people’s faces looked when they were not aware of the world around them that was strangely appealing. Sleep stripped away any conscious pretences or masks from the face, allowing you to view someone as they truly were not how they wanted to appear.
Studying Draco, Harry noticed the faint worry lines etched into his features and couldn’t help but wonder what the cause of them were. With surprise he discovered that he knew nothing about what Draco had done since they had left Hogwarts. During their schooldays, Harry had always made a conscious effort to know what the blond was up to, but there had been much more pressing matters to attend to once he had become a fully qualified adult wizard. He had seen Draco around once or twice during the years between the end of Hogwarts and the final battle, but he had never had the opportunity to talk to him. All that Harry knew was that Draco had come over to their side. It irked him that he didn’t even know any details about that.
Harry sighed. There was really no point dwelling on all of the information that he did not know about Draco. After all, did any of it really matter now? He shoved all thoughts of Draco’s past out of his mind and looked again at the sleeping man. He was starting to deliberate how best to wake him up when Draco stirred, his grey eyes flicking open. For a split second he looked completely disorientated, but he quickly recovered. “Ugh,” he groaned, raising a hand to rub his eyes. “How long have I been out?”
“A few hours,” Harry said. “I fell asleep as well.”
Draco sat up and stretched, his vertebrae cracking with the movement. He glanced at Harry before swinging his legs over the edge of the bed stiffly. He smoothed the creases out of his shirt, wrinkling his nose slightly in distaste. “Ugh,” he said again.
Harry suddenly realised that Draco was dressed completely in Muggle attire. The last he remembered of the blond, Draco couldn’t stand anything at all to do with Muggles. Shaking his head, Harry stopped himself from questioning Draco about it. He did not want to have a heart to heart with the other man.
More satisfied with his appearance, Draco got to his feet. “Are you hungry?” he asked.
Harry nodded. He had only eaten a small breakfast and from the play of light in the room he judged that it was mid afternoon. He stayed on the bed for a minute after Draco left the room, but eventually got up and followed the noises coming from one of the other rooms. He pushed the door open into a medium sized kitchen. A small dining table with two chairs sat in front of a window with the majority of the room taken up by work surfaces and Muggle appliances. Draco was moving around the kitchen with ease and Harry couldn’t help blurting out the first thought that came to his head. “Where on earth did you learn how to use a toaster?”
Draco looked up from slices of bread he was watching over. “Here and there,” he said. Harry frowned and was about to question further, but Draco sidetracked him by asking, “Do you want jam or just butter on this?”
“Jam,” Harry told him and Draco shooed him out of the way so that he could hunt through one of the cupboards. Taking a seat at the table, Harry tried to clear his thoughts. He was having a hard time reconciling the Draco Malfoy opposite the room from him, fussing over electrical items as if it was completely normal with the Muggle hating boy that he used to know.
“The kitchen appears to have been charmed to restock itself,” Draco told Harry when he placed his food in front of him. “We might die of boredom, but we’re certainly not going to starve.”
“Right.” Harry said, taking a bite of his toast. He knew he was being a bit abrupt with the man, but he honestly did not know what to say to him. He knew that Draco didn’t like him, so why was he going out of his way to be friendly? “You’ve changed,” he said finally.
Draco looked up from his plate. “What? Of course.” He studied Harry for a while. “I’m not the only one,” he said quietly. When Harry didn’t respond, he went on, “I’m sorry about that comment I made earlier. I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just so easy to think of the war only in terms of yourself, even if you know that others suffered.”
Harry nodded. “It always did seem personal,” he admitted.
‘For you, it was,’ Draco thought, but he kept it to himself. They lapsed into silence.
Once they had both finished, they sat awkwardly for a while, trying to avoid looking at each other but being driven by curiosity to do so all the same. After a while the atmosphere became too tense for Harry to handle. “What are we meant to do now?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Draco told him. “But they must have got something in this goddamned place for us to do. Did you see any instructions left out for us?”
Harry shook his head. “No, but I wasn’t really looking earlier.”
Draco acquiesced with a tilt of his head. “I think escape was the order of the day at that point.” After a pause, he got up. “I’ll go and have a look.” He left Harry sitting at the table and made his way to the living room.
He spotted a card sitting on the coffee table, but he didn’t look at it straight away. Instead, he stretched out on the sofa and ran his hands through his hair. He felt extremely uncomfortable. Harry’s silences were getting to him and it had been less than an hour since they had woken up. Draco suspected that he liked the other man better when he was spitting with rage. At least then he could deal with him.
Draco sighed and picked up the card. His eyebrows rose almost to his hairline as he read it. Harry wandered in just as he finished, and he silently passed the card to the dark haired man. Harry read the first paragraph.
One of the main objectives of your rehabilitation is communication. It is imperative that you learn how to open up to other people and share your feelings and thoughts. Only once you can relieve yourself of the burdens that you have been carrying can you being to heal.
He dropped it onto the table in disgust. “They expect us to spill our guts to each other?”
“I guess so.”
They stared at each other for a minute. “I am going to find whoever set this up,” Harry said in a low, deadly tone. “I am going to find them and when I do I am going to tell them exactly what I think of this ridiculous programme of theirs.”
Draco nodded emphatically. “Sounds like a plan.”
The tensions in the room stretched and Harry moved to stand in front of the window. He stared outside, but turned away quickly. “Well,” he said.
Draco raised an eyebrow. “Well?”
Harry sighed. “I’m going to lie down again,” he said. “I’m exhausted.”
Draco gave him a small nod. “Ok.”
“Right. Goodnight.” Harry made his way back into the bedroom and shut the door. He found his clothes inside the wardrobe that sat in the corner of the room, mixed with garments that he didn’t recognise but assumed belonged to Draco. He found his pyjama bottoms and pulled them on, then collapsed onto the bed.
Sleep took a long time to come. He could hear Draco moving about in the house and couldn’t seem to stop thoughts of the blond from entering his mind. He wondered what Draco had actually done during the war. He had heard of his acquittal of any crimes that he committed on account of the valuable information he had provided their side with, but he did not know any specifics about Draco’s wartime activities. Had he been a spy for them? Had he actually fought in any of the many battles? When Harry finally did manage to drift off, his dreams were haunted by dark memories of the past.
Next chapter
As usual, I'd love to know what you think!
Author: elleian
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Rating: NC-17 (overall)
Warnings: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Fluff
Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, everything is owned by JK Rowling, Warner Brothers, etc. I do not make any money from this and I have no intent to infringe anyone’s copyright.
Summary: The fighting may be over, but the war inside has not ceased. Once again the Ministry has decided to step in, forcing those they think need it into their rehabilitation programme. It all leads from there.
Previous Chapters: Chapter One, Chapter Two
Harry blinked groggily at the room around him. With a start he realised that he must have fallen asleep. He could feel a warm presence at his right hand side and knew that Draco must have done the same thing. How on earth had they managed to get into this situation? Falling asleep next to his one time rival was not something that Harry would have imagined being able to do easily.
Lying there, it came as a shock to Harry to realise that he felt absolutely no emotion towards the man next to him. He was filled with anger towards the Ministry, frustration at his current situation and the underlying guilt and grief that had plagued him since the final battle, but none of his emotions pertained to the blond currently asleep on the double bed.
Harry rolled over onto his side carefully. He had always been fascinated by the way that people looked when they slept. Ever since his entry into the Wizarding world he had found that insomnia was a constant presence in his life. Living in a dormitory had provided him with plenty of opportunities to watch others whilst they were asleep. There was something about the way that people’s faces looked when they were not aware of the world around them that was strangely appealing. Sleep stripped away any conscious pretences or masks from the face, allowing you to view someone as they truly were not how they wanted to appear.
Studying Draco, Harry noticed the faint worry lines etched into his features and couldn’t help but wonder what the cause of them were. With surprise he discovered that he knew nothing about what Draco had done since they had left Hogwarts. During their schooldays, Harry had always made a conscious effort to know what the blond was up to, but there had been much more pressing matters to attend to once he had become a fully qualified adult wizard. He had seen Draco around once or twice during the years between the end of Hogwarts and the final battle, but he had never had the opportunity to talk to him. All that Harry knew was that Draco had come over to their side. It irked him that he didn’t even know any details about that.
Harry sighed. There was really no point dwelling on all of the information that he did not know about Draco. After all, did any of it really matter now? He shoved all thoughts of Draco’s past out of his mind and looked again at the sleeping man. He was starting to deliberate how best to wake him up when Draco stirred, his grey eyes flicking open. For a split second he looked completely disorientated, but he quickly recovered. “Ugh,” he groaned, raising a hand to rub his eyes. “How long have I been out?”
“A few hours,” Harry said. “I fell asleep as well.”
Draco sat up and stretched, his vertebrae cracking with the movement. He glanced at Harry before swinging his legs over the edge of the bed stiffly. He smoothed the creases out of his shirt, wrinkling his nose slightly in distaste. “Ugh,” he said again.
Harry suddenly realised that Draco was dressed completely in Muggle attire. The last he remembered of the blond, Draco couldn’t stand anything at all to do with Muggles. Shaking his head, Harry stopped himself from questioning Draco about it. He did not want to have a heart to heart with the other man.
More satisfied with his appearance, Draco got to his feet. “Are you hungry?” he asked.
Harry nodded. He had only eaten a small breakfast and from the play of light in the room he judged that it was mid afternoon. He stayed on the bed for a minute after Draco left the room, but eventually got up and followed the noises coming from one of the other rooms. He pushed the door open into a medium sized kitchen. A small dining table with two chairs sat in front of a window with the majority of the room taken up by work surfaces and Muggle appliances. Draco was moving around the kitchen with ease and Harry couldn’t help blurting out the first thought that came to his head. “Where on earth did you learn how to use a toaster?”
Draco looked up from slices of bread he was watching over. “Here and there,” he said. Harry frowned and was about to question further, but Draco sidetracked him by asking, “Do you want jam or just butter on this?”
“Jam,” Harry told him and Draco shooed him out of the way so that he could hunt through one of the cupboards. Taking a seat at the table, Harry tried to clear his thoughts. He was having a hard time reconciling the Draco Malfoy opposite the room from him, fussing over electrical items as if it was completely normal with the Muggle hating boy that he used to know.
“The kitchen appears to have been charmed to restock itself,” Draco told Harry when he placed his food in front of him. “We might die of boredom, but we’re certainly not going to starve.”
“Right.” Harry said, taking a bite of his toast. He knew he was being a bit abrupt with the man, but he honestly did not know what to say to him. He knew that Draco didn’t like him, so why was he going out of his way to be friendly? “You’ve changed,” he said finally.
Draco looked up from his plate. “What? Of course.” He studied Harry for a while. “I’m not the only one,” he said quietly. When Harry didn’t respond, he went on, “I’m sorry about that comment I made earlier. I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just so easy to think of the war only in terms of yourself, even if you know that others suffered.”
Harry nodded. “It always did seem personal,” he admitted.
‘For you, it was,’ Draco thought, but he kept it to himself. They lapsed into silence.
Once they had both finished, they sat awkwardly for a while, trying to avoid looking at each other but being driven by curiosity to do so all the same. After a while the atmosphere became too tense for Harry to handle. “What are we meant to do now?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Draco told him. “But they must have got something in this goddamned place for us to do. Did you see any instructions left out for us?”
Harry shook his head. “No, but I wasn’t really looking earlier.”
Draco acquiesced with a tilt of his head. “I think escape was the order of the day at that point.” After a pause, he got up. “I’ll go and have a look.” He left Harry sitting at the table and made his way to the living room.
He spotted a card sitting on the coffee table, but he didn’t look at it straight away. Instead, he stretched out on the sofa and ran his hands through his hair. He felt extremely uncomfortable. Harry’s silences were getting to him and it had been less than an hour since they had woken up. Draco suspected that he liked the other man better when he was spitting with rage. At least then he could deal with him.
Draco sighed and picked up the card. His eyebrows rose almost to his hairline as he read it. Harry wandered in just as he finished, and he silently passed the card to the dark haired man. Harry read the first paragraph.
One of the main objectives of your rehabilitation is communication. It is imperative that you learn how to open up to other people and share your feelings and thoughts. Only once you can relieve yourself of the burdens that you have been carrying can you being to heal.
He dropped it onto the table in disgust. “They expect us to spill our guts to each other?”
“I guess so.”
They stared at each other for a minute. “I am going to find whoever set this up,” Harry said in a low, deadly tone. “I am going to find them and when I do I am going to tell them exactly what I think of this ridiculous programme of theirs.”
Draco nodded emphatically. “Sounds like a plan.”
The tensions in the room stretched and Harry moved to stand in front of the window. He stared outside, but turned away quickly. “Well,” he said.
Draco raised an eyebrow. “Well?”
Harry sighed. “I’m going to lie down again,” he said. “I’m exhausted.”
Draco gave him a small nod. “Ok.”
“Right. Goodnight.” Harry made his way back into the bedroom and shut the door. He found his clothes inside the wardrobe that sat in the corner of the room, mixed with garments that he didn’t recognise but assumed belonged to Draco. He found his pyjama bottoms and pulled them on, then collapsed onto the bed.
Sleep took a long time to come. He could hear Draco moving about in the house and couldn’t seem to stop thoughts of the blond from entering his mind. He wondered what Draco had actually done during the war. He had heard of his acquittal of any crimes that he committed on account of the valuable information he had provided their side with, but he did not know any specifics about Draco’s wartime activities. Had he been a spy for them? Had he actually fought in any of the many battles? When Harry finally did manage to drift off, his dreams were haunted by dark memories of the past.
Next chapter
As usual, I'd love to know what you think!