Cock and Bull 20
Banner by herumtreiber
Title: Cock and Bull 20
Author: enchanted_jae
Characters: Harry/Draco, ocs
Rating: PG13
Warning(s): Minor violence, underlying homophobic theme
Word count: 1185
Disclaimer: Characters are the property of JK Rowling, et al. This fic/drabble was written for fun, not for profit.
Written for: slythindor100 Challenge No. 226, which was a list of 20 words. We needed to use at least 15, and I got 17. saw, disturbed, behave, lucky, massive, music, replace, grumpy, dragon, hurt, indulgence, tight-fisted, Niffler, hex, justify, annoyed, absurd, ingredients, tender, veritaserum
Summary: Harry and Draco pay a visit to Will Breedlove, and Harry makes an executive decision.
Harry absently assembled the ingredients for salad. He'd made pork chops for dinner, along with a side of baked squash. A lettuce salad would round out the meal. He looked through the kitchen window and saw Draco coming towards the house from the direction of the stable. He heard Draco enter and head to the loo to clean up. Moments later, Draco appeared in the kitchen.
"Do you need any help?"
"Why don't you open that bottle of dandelion wine that Horace gave us?" Harry suggested. "If we're going to visit Will tomorrow, we may see Horace, and he'll ask how we liked the wine."
Draco retrieved the bottle from a cupboard and chuckled. "I'm surprised Horace just gave it to us," he said. "He seems rather tight-fisted to me."
"He can be," said Harry, "but it's an experimental wine for him, and he needed someone to taste test it for him." He opened the oven and removed the chops and the squash.
"Pork chops and wine, Harry?" mused Draco. "How romantic. Now all we need are some candles and music."
"Shut it," said Harry, turning his head to hide a grin. "You're lucky I wanted to try Horace's wine. You'd have gotten porridge for dinner otherwise."
~*~
"I'm sorry to hear that, Mrs Pempelton," said Harry, phone held to his ear. "We can let Will know you are thinking of him...Oh? No, that's fine, I can send Draco...Okay, Mrs Pempelton. You take care, and let us know if you need anything." He rang off and turned to Draco.
"Mrs Pempelton isn't feeling well enough to join us, but she wants us to take something to Will for her. Why don't you saddle Rusty and head over? It will be quicker than hitching Maude to the cart." Harry thought of the reason that Will was in hospital, and he added, "Take Frankie with you."
For once, Draco didn't argue. He nodded and left the house, calling for the dog.
By the time Draco returned, Harry was getting nervous. "We're going to be late," he snapped as soon as Draco came in the house.
"Why are you so grumpy?" Draco sniped back at him. "You look like a dragon that's had its treasures stolen." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Draco's expression grew astonished. "Were you worried about me?"
"Worried we'll be late," Harry said, voice gruff as he turned to retrieve the grapes they'd bought for Will.
"Afraid you'd have to do all the chores by yourself again?"
"Shut it."
~*~
As predicted, Harry and Draco encountered Horace Breedlove at the hospital. He was on his way out, but he stopped to ask if they'd tried the wine. They gave him their impressions of the potent drink. Horace thanked them and ambled towards his Land Rover.
Once inside the hospital, Harry got directions to the ward where Will was. They approached his bed quietly, not wanting any other patients to be disturbed by their presence. Will already had a visitor seated at his bedside--a bloke with massive shoulders and a charming tilt to his head. Harry thought it was Heath, until the man turned to look at them.
"Draco! Potter!" Will greeted them in a cheerful voice. "This is Robert, Heath's friend from uni."
Robert stood to shake their hands, then resumed his seat. He reached for Will's hand, and a tender look passed between them. It appeared that Will had decided to replace Draco in his affections, in favor of Robert. Harry quelled the absurd grin he could feel tugging at his lips.
"We brought you some grapes," he said, "and Mrs Pempelton sent a few apples from her tree, along with some of her shortbread biscuits."
"How delightful," said Will. "The food here is atrocious. I'm grateful I get to leave tomorrow; I would starve to death if I had to stay longer."
"We were sorry to hear about your...about the incident," said Harry, shifting from one foot to the other.
An annoyed looked crossed Robert's face. "If I find out who hurt you-"
"Behave," chided Will, grinning up at his scowling protector. He popped a grape in his mouth and nodded his thanks to Harry and Draco before returning his attention to Robert.
Harry and Draco shared an amused look with one another. They stayed long enough to make some small talk, then took their leave. On the way home, Harry made a decision concerning something he'd been mulling over since he'd learned of Will's misfortune.
As they entered the house, Draco headed for the bathroom, while Harry went to his bedroom. He rummaged in the small cupboard, coming up with a long box. By the time Harry returned to the lounge, Draco was stepping into the boots he wore to do chores in.
"Draco."
He glanced up at his name, then seemed to sense the gravity of Harry's mood.
"Sit down," said Harry, motioning for Draco to join him on the sofa. Draco did so, and Harry took a deep breath. Hermione might be upset with what he was about to do, but surely even she could justify this, given the circumstances.
"Here," Harry muttered, thrusting the box into Draco's hands.
Draco opened the lid and gasped. "My wand," he breathed, reaching for it. He hesitated before touching it. "I'm not supposed to have a wand. You'll get in trouble for this."
"I'll not have you in danger, with no means to defend yourself," Harry said gruffly. "I trust you won't use it to cast the odd hex here and there, nor to use it even for the most menial tasks. But, I want you keep it with you, just in case."
Draco touched his wand with one, tentative finger tip. "You killed Vol...you killed him with this wand."
Harry snorted. "Voldemort died from an overabundance of arrogance and ignorance," he said firmly.
Draco swallowed heavily and nodded once. He picked his wand up, but his expression remained anxious. "What if it no longer responds to me?"
"I reckon you'll have to take it from me," said Harry. He held his hand out, and Draco gave him the wand. "Come on, let's go outside."
They went out to the yard and stood facing one another. "I don't know precisely how this works," said Harry. "I suppose I'll have to put up at least a small fight to...oof!" he wheezed, doubling over from getting punched in the stomach.
Draco plucked the wand from Harry's limp grasp and danced away, crowing, "Hah!"
Rocco responded with a crow from the chicken coop.
"Cunt," muttered Harry, straightening with a wince.
Draco tried and failed to look repentant. "Sorry about that, but it feels good in my hand again. Responsive. Just like it used to," he said, waving his wand around.
"Don't use it unless it's an emergency!" cried Harry. He was beginning to regret returning Draco's wand.
"Don't worry, I won't," said Draco. "I am aware that I could end up in Azkaban otherwise."
Harry nodded and rubbed his sore stomach. "Enough playing with your wand," he said. "We have chores to do."
Cock and Bull 21