Work Text:
Harry was relieved to soon learn that Draco had been right when he said not much would change in terms of work. Because the apartment had a fireplace that he could connect to the floo network, Harry was able to travel to any places he needed be swiftly – including Ron and Hermione’s home. Upon thinking of his oldest friends, he remembered an important detail he seemed to keep forgetting. Their wedding was coming up, and Harry felt a sense of unease when thinking about it, even though they were his best friends and he wished them more happiness than could ever fit inside a person. The wedding was the weird bit – not their love, not them.
Friday morning when Harry had woken up, bright and early at 7am, his housemate had already been gone. Off to swim, he assumed. It all worked out so well. Draco had found himself right at home in Birmingham, or so it seemed. Every odd morning he would wake up right when the sun rose and pack a bag before heading to the pool. Harry barely saw him until the afternoons when his own work finished, or, on days where he was allowed to sleep in, he would wake up just when Draco came back again. Commuting appeared to be no issue at all for Draco, who had gotten used to the metro system in the blink of an eye and didn’t even seem bothered by the fact that it was often very busy, since he was able to escape the crowds if he went early enough, and would only be stuck in a bustling cabins on his way here.
But he didn’t look entirely content either. He never did. Harry watched Draco as Draco watched the world around him, watched the days pass by him, while he himself stood still.
On a Sunday, just before noon, when Draco had awoken from his slumber (he never swam on Sundays, since his team trained late on Saturday nights), Harry approached him about driving.
“Good morning,” he greeted Draco, who looked so much more vulnerable than usual with his feathery hair still ruffled from sleeping in until now.
“Morning.” The blond grumbled, hastily preparing a cup of tea. It was a ritual of his that could never be broken. Carefully, pale fingers would pile the leaves into one of the little bags, quivering ever so slightly. But always controlled. Nothing would ever spill, and Draco never added too much or too little. Each move he made seemed precise; yet none of them felt forced or planned. “There’s a storm coming.”
Harry hesitated. “Like, a rain and lightning one?”
A frown. “No, one with kittens and rainbows.”
“Well you did pick Birmingham because it rains a lot, here.” Harry suggested, helpfully, while avidly shrugging his shoulders. It earned him a tired smirk before Draco busied himself with his tea again.
“I just thought I would share,” he said, “since you were planning on going somewhere tonight.”
“Oh, about that—” Harry couldn’t believe he had already forgotten what he had initially wanted to ask. “I don’t actually have a plan. I was thinking we could sit down together and research some nearby driving schools?”
“Oh?”
Upon hearing these words, Draco, who has by now poured the freshly boiled water over his mixture and placed the mug on the counter, turned to meet his gaze – finally.
“I’m off work tomorrow. All week, actually. And next. Summer break ‘n all.” Harry got no reply, only an encouraging rise in Draco’s eyebrows, asking him to go on. “Well, uhm. Since Ron and ‘Mione are having their wedding next week, and I don’t want to work in 33°C weather, I decided to take a leave. So I was thinking we could sign you up for driving lessons tomorrow, given that we find a school you like.”
“I think I’d like that, yeah.” Draco told him, eventually. He removed the tea bag from his mug and poured the tiniest amount of milk in before stirring exactly three times in a circular motion. “But I’ve actually already found a school.”
Surprise struck Harry, who found himself unsure as to what exactly he should be saying. It was great news, really. But Draco didn’t have a lot of experience with these kinds of things, so how could he be sure the school was any good? Was it an alright idea to sign Draco Malfoy up for a muggle driving school in the first place? Of course it was. There was no reason why it should be anything other than a brilliant idea.
The next few words dropping from Draco’s mouth surprised him even more, though.
“Harry,” he began, voice softer than usual, “is there anything you would like for your birthday?”
His birthday. Today was the 9th of July, so the question was fairly justified. Draco himself didn’t celebrate his birthday anymore, because it held too many negative memories, as he’d explained when Harry had tried to congratulate him. The blond was currently thinking about a new day, something with a meaning, but not too deep of one, that he could celebrate instead. A sort of… “I’m happy to be alive today” day. The idea had made Harry smile broadly, since he didn’t assume his former classmate had many reasons to be happy to be alive anymore, and yet he still wanted to celebrate the fact on a day he would soon choose.
“Drive me somewhere, when you get your license. I’ll tell you where on the day.”
The right side of Draco’s mouth quirked upwards ever so slightly. “You’ve already asked me to do that, Potter.”
Potter smiled too. “I know, but from this moment onwards it’s a real promise. Now you have to keep it.”
“Alright,” the other agreed. “I’ll keep that promise. Start thinking about a destination, will you?”