Chapter Text
Harry didn't sleep that night, he couldn't. Anytime he laid down, his mind would wander back to those panic-inducing thoughts. He spent most of the night scrubbing the scum off his skin and out of his hair. His skin felt raw when he got out of the bath, but he still didn't feel clean. With a sigh, he dried himself off and got dressed back into his old clothes, which felt counterproductive considering they were dirty, but what other options did he have?
After that, he still had a while until dawn, so he found himself wandering around the school grounds. Mindlessly he walked, looking at the paintings and statues decorating the halls until he started to feel claustrophobic inside. The walls felt like they were closing in on him, these halls would be filled with people who would be watching him, judging him, expecting so much of him.
Quickly he went outside to get rid of the tension in his chest. It helped quite a bit to be out in the courtyard.
He walked out onto what looked like a large baseball pitch, he hummed and went to the center of it. He looked up at the stars and felt himself grow at ease. Stars had always been soothing to him because they were a reminder that no matter how big things may seem in his life, everyone was just a small speck of dust floating in space. Astronomy was his favorite class back in secondary school, the teacher was amazing, she was one of the few to stand up for him. He would spend all his free time in her class, chatting away the hours until he had no choice but to go home.
A small smile was on his face as he remembered those fond moments in her class, the blissful moments when he'd forget about everything. He spent the rest of his time out on the pitch, watching the stars until daybreak came. He got up, his body feeling sore from laying on the field, he groaned and stretched. "I suppose it's time to start the day." He looked back up to the sky, the stars had begun to fade as the sun started to emerge. "Am I going to survive all this?" The stars, of course, didn't answer. But Harry liked to think that they would tell him he could survive anything.
Harry made his way back into the castle, navigating his way back the best he could. He got a bit lost at times, but he received some help from the ghosts that wandered the halls. They gave him a massive fright at first, he never expected to meet actual ghosts, but he learned they were all rather friendly and more than happy to lend out a helping hand, literally.
Harry got back to the Slytherin common room and recounted the password Severus had used to get in. He wasn't expecting to see anyone up already but was unpleasantly surprised to see Draco already sitting on the couch. He was reading a rather dense-looking book, his eyes drifted up to look at Harry when he entered.
"I was surprised to come down and see you were already gone. I'd half expected you to be lazy and want to try and sleep the morning away." Draco drawled and sat his book down on the table, getting up gracefully off the couch. "Come on, shops are starting to open up. I want to get this over with as soon as possible. I'll be damned if you make me miss any of my classes."
Harry rolled his eyes as Draco walked briskly past him, turning to follow him back out of the commons. He sighed and walked with Draco until they got to a fireplace, Harry looked at the blonde in confusion. "Are these the wizard forms of online shopping?"
"What's 'online shopping'?" Draco asked with a weird expression. "Nevermind." Harry muttered, shaking his head. "This is called a floo, with floo powder we can travel down to Diagon Alley and get your shopping out of the way. I'd say we could go to Hogsmeade, but the shop selection isn't as vast."
Harry pretended to understand whatever Draco just said, nodding his head slowly. Draco grumbled and took a handful of a strange graphite-like powder. "This is a messier way to get to Diagon, but there aren't many other options. Professor Dumbledore said it would be best." He huffed. "It's just so dirty, tut."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Priss." He muttered under his breath, receiving a harsh glare from Draco. "You may be okay with being dirty, but I have a reputation to maintain. Malfoys aren't to be seen covered in soot." Draco spat, sticking his pointed nose into the air. Harry stayed silent, suddenly feeling disgusting again, he wanted to go back and take another bath. He ignored the thought and crossed his arms defensively.
Draco looked at Harry strangely but then shook his head. "So essentially, you take a handful of this powder and step inside the floo-" Draco demonstrated just that. "Once inside, you need to enunciate very clearly and loudly where you want to go. In this case, we are going to Diagon Alley. I'll show you by example, do it right as I'm not going to go searching for you if you mess this up." Draco squared himself and raised his hand with the powder, throwing it down and shouting. "Diagon Alley!"
A bright flash of green flames engulfed the blonde and he was gone, Harry jumped a little, staring at the now empty space with wide eyes. He swallowed and grabbed a handful of the powder, stepping cautiously into the fireplace. He repeated Draco's movements and threw the powder down. "Diagon Alley!" I hope I said that right. He saw the flash of green and then he was no longer looking into the room of the school.
He looked around and spotted Draco, he never thought he'd feel relief seeing the posh boy.
Draco was waving his wand and in an instant, the soot that covered the boy's clothes was gone. He sighed and smoothed his hair back, glancing over at Harry with a collected gaze. "My expectations weren't that high, I'm amazed you made it through correctly."
"Oh sod off Malfoy." Harry grumbled, brushing the dirt off of him. He looked at Draco and was surprised to see him smiling slightly at him. "What?"
The smile quickly vanished back into the scowl he always wore. "Nothing. Don't worry that messy little head of yours." He pointed his wand and waved it at Harry. " Scourgify ." Harry flinched, expecting to be sent flying or to explode. But instead, all the grime from the floo dissipated off his clothes. Harry looked down in amazement, his eyes lighting up with wonder.
He looked up from his clothes back to Draco with a wide smile. "That's amazing!" He exclaimed, patting down his body. "That was magic? Can you do it again?" Draco was caught off guard by how happy Harry looked in that moment, he reminded him of a little kid in a candy shop. It changed everything about Harry, his face was warm, his eyes sparkling with admiration, and his body relaxed. Draco didn't realize how miserable Harry always looked.
Draco scoffed, clearing his mind from those thoughts. "Well you're already clean, there's no point in casting it again." "Well, could you do another magic trick? I don't know, do something again! That was amazing!" Harry really was a little kid.
"Hmph." Draco was about to cast a different spell, just to see Harry even more delighted, when he noticed people staring. Draco's throat closed, they were staring . What if they went and told his father he was performing useless magic just to appease Harry Potter? He'd get in trouble, Draco could already hear his father's harsh reprimanding voice in his head. He swallowed and put his wand away. "No, don't be stupid Potter. I'm not going to waste my magic on useless tricks." He hated how Harry went back to looking miserable, his face screwed up in disappointment. The joy left his face.
Harry didn't say anything so Draco walked away, heading to the shops. "I suppose we'll start with your wand first, that's the most vital part of any wizard." Panic flooded through Harry, he couldn't afford a wand! He sped up and stepped in front of Draco.
"I don't need a wand! Aren't there other ways for me to learn magic?" He asked hurriedly, hopeful. Draco looked at him like he just said something incredibly stupid.
"You're joking, Potter. There isn't a way for me to teach you magic without you having a wand of your own. There's wandless magic but it's incredibly difficult to learn after practicing magic for centuries."
"You could teach me wandless magic, yeah? You did say you're the best of the best to teach me." Harry asked desperately. Draco huffed. "Even I'm not good enough to perform wandless magic, there's no one in the school who could teach you that."
"Well then… I could borrow someone else's wand!" Harry stated confidently. Draco flat out laughed in his face, Harry shrunk a little. He felt incredibly stupid now. "Potter-" Draco broke his laughter. "That's not how that works. It's incredibly rare for two wizard's to be able to both use the same wand."
"I bet I could," Harry spoke up defensively. "After all, the sorting hat called me an incredibly powerful wizard." Draco just shook his head, still snickering to himself. He started to walk away. "Seriously Malfoy! Here, let me see your wand."
Malfoy looked at him with a smirk. "Like hell, I'm going to let my wand fall into the hands of a first-time magic user. It'd be insane of me to let you attempt anything on it, it's already volatile for a wizard to use someone else's wand."
"You'll never know unless you let me try. Are you scared to find out that I could use your wand?" Harry jabbed, smirking back. Draco scoffed. "You are scared! You don't want to be made a fool for being wrong about it."
Draco glared, rising to the taunt. "I'm not scared, Potter. I just don't feel like being the reason why the boy who lived died after we finally just got him back."
"Just admit it Malfoy, you're scared." Harry taunted more, resting his hands on his hips. " Malfoy is a little scaredy cat ." He sang out, smirking smugly at the blonde.
"Merlin! You are insufferable! I never met someone more childish than you!" Harry kept teasing and taunting, laughing loudly. "Fine! But it's your funeral! You can't say I didn't warn you." He grabbed Harry's wrist and dragged him away from the public, he turned and pushed his wand into Harry's chest, crossing his arms.
Harry looked delighted to have won, staring at the wand in his hands like it was a million pounds. He delicately picked it up with one hand and held it out, laughing warmly. Draco refused to admit that his heart skipped a beat at the laugh. He grimaced when Harry waved it. "Stop that! It isn't a toy, you could set something ablaze waving it around like that!" Draco reprimanded.
Harry smirked and raised a brow. "Thought you said it wouldn't work for me." Draco huffed and rolled his eyes. "Okay, Malfoy, give me a magic trick. I want to try it out!"
Draco grumbled. "They're not called magic tricks, first off. They're spells." He rubbed his face wearily.
"We can try Lumos, it's a simple charm and if it backfires it won't be too catastrophic." He raised his hand as if he were holding a wand. "The motion is simple, you make a soft loop in the air." He demonstrated. "And you say, Lumos ."
Harry nodded enthusiastically. He lifted the wand and did the movement hurriedly. " Lumos !" At first, nothing happened, Harry frowned and tried again. " Lumos! " He huffed when still nothing happened.
"Most likely it's not working because it's my wand, but you are swishing too fast. You need to slow-" " Lumos! " Suddenly the alley they were in was lit up brilliantly, Draco looked at Harry with wide eyes, stunned. Harry was staring at the light like it was the most amazing thing in the world, a goofy smile taking his whole face. Draco's heart was hammering in his chest and he couldn't swallow.
Draco couldn't think any thought except 'beautiful' while watching Harry wave the light around himself, laughing so warmly that it melted Draco from the inside out. He swallowed hard and quickly snatched his wand back, waving it. " Nox. " He muttered, pocketing his wand like it was on fire. "Let's get you a wand of your own."
He quickly started to walk away, trying to ignore the way his heart was beating so fast. "What? No! I don't need my own wand, you could just teach me on yours!" Harry rushed to catch up.
"No." " No ? Why not?" "Because it's my wand, Potter! I don't have to let you use it if I don't want to!" Draco snapped back.
"Give me a better reason why." Draco stayed quiet. "Exactly! You can't give me a reason except you don't want to share, like a little kid who doesn't want to share your toy!"
Draco whirled back to face Harry, his face was angry and pinked at his cheeks. "I don't want you using my wand because it's not appropriate, Potter! I shouldn't have to explain why, just listen to me. We are getting you a wand!" He yelled loudly before he spun back around and stormed off. "It was a terrible idea for me to let you use my wand in the first place, what was I thinking?"
Harry watched Draco in confusion, slowly starting to walk after him. "I don't understand why I need my own wand." He said softly. "And I don't understand why you are so defiant about getting one! What's wrong with you that you don't want a wand to call your own? Why is it so hard to convince you to get one?" Draco snapped back.
Harry grew angry. "Because why do I need one when I could use yours? At least for now! I'm not saying I'll use it forever, I'd just need to borrow it for a little while!"
Draco huffed. "You're stupid, Potter, why put off getting a wand? Do you like seeing me upset so much that you want to fucking torture me?" "No!" "Then what the hell is it then that's holding you back on getting a wand?"
"I can't afford it, okay!" Harry shouted out angrily. Draco stopped and looked at him, eyebrows drawn together. "What do you mean you can't afford it?" "Exactly how it sounds, Malfoy! Not everyone has endless amounts of money! I was about to spend all the little bit I saved up to move to Cambridge! It was barely enough for a train ticket and a flat! I already put my deposit down on the flat, I'm out of money! I have no way to afford a wand! Or anything for that matter! I'm lucky that Hogwarts provides food because I wouldn't be able to afford that either!"
Harry was panting by the time he was done yelling, his face reddened and blotchy, eyes tearing up a little. Draco stayed silent, staring at Harry for a long moment, his eyes raking across his tanned skin and then settling on his scar. He grabbed Harry's wrist and yanked him along, storming off to a building. "What are you doing, Malfoy?!" He ignored him and pulled him inside, marching past the little goblins working around. He went straight up to the front desk and slammed a key down in front of the goblin.
"I need access to the Potter vault," Draco demanded sternly. The goblin raised an eyebrow at the blonde before motioning for them to go ahead. Draco dragged Harry onto a cart that started moving. "Malfoy-" "Just shut up for once." Harry huffed and settled down, watching them ride along. Soon they pulled to a stop and the goblin got out. "Vault number 687." It announced and unlocked the door, moving it out of the way to reveal mountains of gold.
Draco glared at Harry. "You have money! Mounds of it! This is all yours Harry!" He shouted, still riled up. "Did you think I'd take you shopping without stopping to get you money?"
"I didn't know…" Harry whispered, staring at the gold. He started to tear up, he gripped the bottom of his old abused shirt. "I didn't know I had money." Draco's anger subsided into guilt, watching the poor boy in front of him realize that he wasn't all that poor.
"You have money , Harry." Draco didn't recognize that he used his first name. "I have money," Harry repeated before sitting on the ground, silent tears tracking down his face. "I have money."
Draco nudged Harry's leg with his foot after a while of Harry repeating the same thing over and over. "Come on, Potter, let's go shopping." Harry looked up at Draco, his face was so relieved. He nodded and got up, using the hand Draco offered to him.
They walked out together, Harry now carrying money with him in his pockets. Draco had shrunk it down so he could carry more, which of course, Harry was amazed about. As they walked, Draco noticed that Harry was smiling and excitedly walking to the shops. And this made him realize that there was probably even so much more going on inside that boy.
"We'll go to Ollivander's first, get you a wand. Unless you still have objections about getting one." Draco joked light heartedly, smirking at Harry.
Harry rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds nice." He said softly, walking with Draco to the shop with him. They entered, greeted with a peaceful silence compared to the bustling streets. "Hello?" Draco spoke up, waiting calmly.
An older man came around the corner smiling, he froze as he spotted Harry. "Do my eyes deceive me?" Harry glanced at Draco nervously. "Harry Potter!" The man rushed up and clasped Harry's hands. "After all this time, you finally showed up in my shop! I must say I didn't believe it when I heard you've shown up in the Wizarding World!" He chuckled. "My my, where are my manners? I'm guessing you're here for a wand."
"Yes sir." Harry spoke softly, feeling a little overwhelmed again. "It feels just like yesterday I was helping your father pick out his wand." "You knew my father?" "Oh yes, I've helped most of the kids who've gone to Hogwarts find their wands. Come here, I have a wand for you to try."
Harry approached and took the wand offered to him, he didn't feel the same thrill he did while holding Draco's. He hummed and raised the wand, swishing it once, sending everything flying off the walls. His eyes widened and Draco laughed. "That's what happens when you use an improper wand." Harry huffed and sat it down. "Not to worry Mister Potter, there are plenty more to try." Ollivander disappeared and came back with another wand, setting it down for Harry.
Harry picked it up and tried again, startling as glass broke around him. "Jesus christ!" He exclaimed, setting down the wand and pushed it back to the man. "Not that one either." Ollivander hummed and nodded in thought. Harry looked at Draco. "What happens if we can't find a wand for me?"
Draco shrugged. "That's never happened, there's always a wand for a wizard." Harry sighed, shifting nervously. "Potter, would you relax. I'm telling you, there's a wand for you in this shop."
As he said that, Ollivander came back. "Right you are, Malfoy. And I think I have the one for you, Harry." He pushed it to Harry with a smile. "Give it a try."
Harry swallowed and picked it up, finally feeling the connection. It was even better than the one he had with Draco's, a rush came through his body as he smiled. He raised it and swished, a light emitted from the tip and Harry laughed in relief. "Yeah, you're right Draco." Harry didn't notice that he used his first name either.
"Eleven inches, made of holly and possessing a phoenix feather core…" Ollivander nodded, deep in thought. "Take care of yourself, Harry. I have a feeling a lot is going to change for you." He spoke cryptically. Before Harry could ask what he meant, he disappeared back into the shop.
Harry sighed and gripped his wand, smiling warmly. Draco smiled, discreetly studying Harry's face. "Let's finish up the rest of your shopping." Harry nodded and left with the blonde, walking with him to get his robes.
As he got fitted, the owner, Madam Malkin, gave Harry a concerned look. "Dear boy, you really must eat more. You're nothing but bones!" She tutted and sized the robe on his form nicely. Draco watched, horrified as he realized exactly how skinny he was. The clothes Harry wore when he came to Hogwarts hid the way his body looked, and now that his clothes fit properly it was evident there wasn't an ounce of fat on his body.
They left, Harry wearing his new robes and running around like a child, laughing happily as he watched his cloak flutter out. "This is amazing! I have money, I have a wand, I have new clothes!" He turned and looked at Draco, causing the blonde's breath to hitch. "Where to next, Malfoy?"
"Supplies." That's all Draco could say with his throat tightened. They stopped at each shop and collected all the things Harry would need with Draco sending them straight to the dorm. He sighed and looked at the list. "Now we need to get you an animal."
Harry looked at Draco in surprise. "I get to have a pet?" "Well of course, every witch and wizard gets to bring one to the castle." Harry grinned and nodded. "Awesome." He said breathlessly, walking with Draco to their next stop. Harry looked at every single animal available, he almost expected for Draco to complain about how long it was taking him to decide, but was surprised that Draco seemed content waiting.
Harry wandered and found a lone snowy owl tucked away in the corner of the room, looking very solemn in her little cage. Curiously, he gently tapped on the bar, waking the owl up from her slumber. She blinked and fluffed up a little, watching Harry with intense eyes. The shop owner came up and hummed. "Oh, she's a cute one. But don't let her looks deceive you, she's a prickly one."
"I'll take her." He stated firmly, ignoring the shopkeep's dismay. He put down his galleons and walked out with her, holding her cage tight to his chest. Draco tailed behind, watching as Harry softly whispered to the owl. He couldn't pick up what exactly he was saying, but he thought he heard him say; "It's okay, I know what it's like."
They made their way back to Hogwarts, Harry was practically glowing after the amazing day he had. But as they got into the common room, he realized he still didn't have a place to sleep. "Well Malfoy, this is great and all, but where am I keeping my things?"
Draco raised his eyebrow at Harry. "I thought Blaise told you, my dorm has another bed available." This shocked Harry.
"Just like that?" "Just like that." Draco stated, opening a book and settling down on the couch. "I thought you would've fought tooth and nail for me to stay anywhere else." Draco only shrugged in response, hiding his face behind the book.
"Okay, I'm going to get Hedwig settled into the room then." He stated, smiling at the blonde. He expected Draco to tell him he wasn't going to let the feathered fiend stay with them, but all he got was. "Alright." Harry grinned and ran to the dorms with Hedwig, laughing softly. He was able to easily locate which dorm was Draco's as it had his name emblazoned on the door in gold. Harry shook his head humorously. "Of course it's labeled."
He entered and took in the beauty of the room. Draco had the place decorated elegantly, his bed was tastefully adorned with black and gold sheets, accented with green pillows atop the comforter. There was a sheer canopy draping down to the floor, acting as a privacy wall between the bed and the rest of the room. On the floor there were plush looking carpets laid out, and there was a massive beautifully painted picture of a dragon on the wall. Harry startled when it started to move, turning to look at the boy curiously. "Oh… hello. Didn't realize we'd have another roommate."
The painting huffed, steam rolling out of its flared nostrils, it tilted his nose up and turned away from Harry. "You act the same way as Malfoy, that's hilarious." He sat Hedwig down on the unoccupied desk and opened her cage, she happily came out and flew to her perch, immediately delicately preening her feathers. "Glad to see you already getting comfortable." He mused and started unpacking.
He didn't have elegant decorations, but he did his best to make his side of the room not look as depressing. He worked on it until night came, he smiled to himself as he looked over the room, feeling accomplished. "This is much better than some dingy flat." He laid back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
He heard Draco enter and lifted his head up to see him. "Hello, I hope my things aren't as much of an eyesore to you. I really didn't stand a chance against your side."
Draco hummed and shrugged. "It looks fine, Potter. I just hope you work and maintain the feathers that come from your owl." Harry laughed and nodded. "I'm serious, don't laugh at me!"
"I know you're serious, I wasn't laughing at you. I'm laughing because I finally have a place to sleep. And a pet. And clothes that actually fit me. And money! Malfoy, I have money!" Harry laughed more.
"Still going on about that?" Draco chuckled and sat down on his own bed, he admired the way Harry smiled. It was contagious really, he never thought someone else's smile could make him smile as well.
"Malfoy?" "Yes?" "This… may sound ridiculous to ask, but… do I ever need to leave this place?" Draco hummed softly. "Well, within time, of course you do. It's a school, new students will need to move in. Once you graduate, you'll need to move." "Well then, I hope you're a shoddy teacher. That way I can never graduate."
Draco snorted. "Come now, you have money, remember. When you graduate, you could buy a whole manor!" Harry gasped and sat up, eyes sparkling. "That's right! I have money!" He laid back down with a laugh and Draco just shook his head in humor.
"You're too much, Potter." He flicked his wand and dimmed the lights. "I hope you don't mind, I do wish to sleep at some point tonight."
"I don't mind, Malfoy. I didn't sleep last night so I'm-" Draco could hear him yawn. "Exhausted." Draco nodded to himself and laid back on his bed. He felt something was missing, he knew what it was, but he didn't know if he ought to. He didn't want to be made fun of.
But two hours passed and Draco couldn't get to sleep, so he raised his wand and whispered a charm. On the ceiling, a beautiful sky of stars illuminated faintly, not enough to keep someone up, but just right to be able to lul Draco to sleep. Draco could hear Harry shift, dread went through him.
"Did you just put stars on the ceiling?" "Not a word , Potter." Draco ground out, expecting the tanned boy to mock him for needing such childish things to sleep. "No, no, it's okay. I love the stars." And that was the end of it, Harry didn't say anything more about the stars to Draco. Instead, he could hear Harry's breaths level out calmly. It didn't take long until Draco fell asleep, listening to Harry's breathing with a smile on his face.