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“Just tell them the truth,” Draco says.
Harry slowly looks over to where Draco is sitting across from him, sipping from the cup of tea he had prepared as soon as they had arrived from the pub. Not for the first time, Draco is staring at him with a frown on his face, biting his lips so that he can’t say anything in anger that he might regret later. Harry thinks that this time, the blond’s anger has less to do with what Draco is asking Harry to do and more about the black eye that is forming on his face. And the fact that Harry refuses to let Draco heal it.
“What?” Harry asks, wondering if he’s heard right.
“If you’re so worried about what the Prophet will say about tonight, just go ahead and release a statement before they have a chance to publish something that can actually hurt you.”
“I’d like to see them try. Why can’t they just leave me alone?”
Draco shakes his head. “Like it or not, you know that will never happen. The best option at such a short notice is to tell your side of the story and hope that people believe you.”
“I shouldn’t have to do that since it’s the Prophet. All they do is print lies.”
“That’s not always true. So far, no one has suspected that we are in a serious relationship, even though the few times we have been seen together in the wizarding world, we are featured in the Prophet the next morning. Even then, they think I’m somehow controlling you. I mean look at these headlines.” Draco waves his wand and Summons all the Prophets that they have kept over the course of their relationship. The headlines are written in all capital letters declaring things like: Is Harry Potter Dating a Former Death Eater?; Friends Fear Harry Potter Likely Under the Influence of Illegal Love Potions; Harry Potter Secretly Elopes With Draco Malfoy After Finding Out He’s Expecting Triplets
A smile forms on Draco’s face as he creases back a paper that shows both of them standing at the edge of the Forbidden Forrest in order to ‘rescue all the unicorns’. “The articles get ridiculous each and every time without even trying.”
“Yeah, well, that’s all Rita Skeeter’s fault. She never could resist telling a story without embellishing the stupidest things,” Harry says, scowling, but immediately regrets it as pain shoots from the area around his left eye. The pain increases when he squints and he brings his hand up to soothe the skin around his eye.
Draco sighs and Summons ice chips, wrapping them in a clean wash cloth before placing the bundle into Harry’s hand. Draco watches Harry carefully, until he reaches up and places the ice over his eye. The ice is a welcome relief and he gives Draco a smile in appreciation.
“True, but what Skeeter wrote caught your attention, right?” Draco says after making sure that Harry doesn’t need anything else. “Without her scrutinizing my every move after returning to England, speculating on why I was going on all these dates with people whom I would have never associated before the war-“
“You did go out on a lot of dates!” Harry says, remembering the photographs that showed Draco out in posh restaurants with many women and, later, men, being cozy together. It felt like being a teenager all over again as Harry’s insides squirmed every time he saw the Prophet.
“I wasn’t dating. I was apologizing to every person, because it was the right thing to do. I couldn’t start making a life for myself here if everyone still hated me.”
“They hated you because of your father!” Harry cries out, wincing again at the sharp pain. He lowers his voice as he continues, saying, “They didn’t know that you were a spy for the Order and that you and Snape risked your lives. If everyone had known and you had bloody accepted the Order of Merlin that the Ministry wanted to give you, I bet you wouldn’t have felt the need to hide out in Egypt after the war.”
The look that Draco gives Harry makes him glad that they aren’t enemies anymore. “I did not hide, I was finding myself. I guarantee you there’s a difference. You knew all that and still you were suspicious when you read that I sold the Manor and gave away all my possessions. In fact, you called in every favor owed to you just to find out where I was living in Muggle London in order to demand to know what the fuck was wrong with me.”
Harry looks away in order to hide the flush that spreads across his face at even remembering what lengths he went through just to find Draco. “I wanted to know why you gave me your owl.”
“I told you; I felt guilty about Hedwig dying in the war.”
“I know that now, but back then it was strange to see you come back after disappearing for three years and giving everything at the Manor away. I mean, you gave Ron all your Quidditch World Cup memorabilia.”
Draco smirks. “Honestly, that might have been more in a fit of insanity than generosity, I can’t tell anymore.”
“Honestly, I still think you’re a nutter.” Draco start laughing and just hearing the sound sends a warm feeling through Harry’s stomach.
“Trust me, Harry, despite the fact that I hate to admit it, we have Rita Skeeter to thank for getting us together.”
Draco moves around the table and comes to sit next to Harry. He takes out his wand and presses the tip against Harry’s left eye, which is now swollen shut and is turning purple. The healing spells are cool against Harry’s heated skin and it’s only a few moments later that Harry doesn’t feel any more pain. “Now, what are we going to do with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You and us in general, and the fight you had tonight in particular. Do you honestly believe that no one will forget you punching Blaise’s boyfriend? Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if there isn’t a special edition of the Prophet being printed just as we speak. You still need to control your temper.”
“In case you forgot, I was defending you! Did you even hear what Smith was saying about you?” Even hours later, Harry couldn’t forget the intense anger he had felt boiling inside him upon hearing Smith say things about Draco. How Death Eater scum didn’t deserve to be out in public and should instead be locked up in Azkaban. Smith was lucky that Harry, in a fit of blind fury, had forgotten he was a wizard and instead had punched him until his nose had broken.
“I never said Smith didn’t deserve it, but don’t you see that from an outsider’s perspective, it’s a bit odd seeing you get so worked up over someone whom everyone considered your enemy.”
Harry shakes his head and turns so that he can see Draco clearly out of his good eye. He takes a few deep breaths just to calm down and give him the courage to say, “You’re more than that, Draco. I know I’ve never said it, but that’s because I never felt the need to.”
“I know that, Harry. You don’t have to tell the public, but I thought at least you would have the decency to tell those important to you. I told my mother and Pansy. You haven’t told anyone, not even your best friends, thought I doubt Granger could go that much longer without figuring it out.”
“I do want to tell them, have thought about it for ages, but I don’t know how.” Every time the words have tried to come out of his mouth when he attends a dinner at the Burrow, Harry freezes. He wants to have the perfect words so that there is no doubt to anyone about how he feels.
“You can tell them whatever you want, Harry. Like I’ve said before, to my father and everyone else who tried to get me to be the perfect pureblood son, I’m done trying to please everyone. That pointy-faced git died in the war and now I do what makes me happy. If you want to continue keeping this relationship a secret, that’s fine by me, but don’t expect me to stay for much longer.” Draco stands up from his chair and moves to the sink where he pours out the remainder of his tea. Giving one last look at Harry, he makes his way out of the room.
“You’re leaving?” Harry says when he can find his voice.
Draco turns around and gives him a sad smile. “I think it’s best if I go to my own place tonight while you figure out what you want. That way, no one can accuse me later on of having too much influence over you.”
As soon as Harry hears the crack of Disapparition, his shoulders slump and he lets out a weary sigh. He wants nothing more than to go to bed and curl underneath the duvet, but he dismisses the idea because he wouldn’t be able to sleep without Draco by his side.
It’s funny, he thinks, that it only took a few short months to have someone whom he once hated with every fibre of his being be the one person whom he would rather die than live without. Harry refuses to let his cowardice be the cause for ending their relationship.
With that thought in mind, Harry picks up a quill and begins to write.
#
The next morning, when Harry has finally woken up and he’s eating breakfast, an owl swoops into the kitchen and lets a piece of parchment fall on the table. He unfolds the front page of the Prophet where underneath the headline that proclaim that Harry Potter is in a relationship, are two words written in Draco’s tidy handwriting.
Thank you.
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