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Draco turned off the last light in the front parlor and made his way to the back door in the kitchen to let himself outside. He called goodbye to Sallie and huffed softly to himself when she didn’t respond.
“I don’t know why you’re mad at me today. It wasn’t my idea that you can’t haunt these guests. I just do what Patty tells me to,” he muttered under his breath, turning to set the alarm system.
Sallie’s head appeared through the wall into the library and she stuck her tongue out at him.
“There you are,” he smirked. Sallie floated further through the wall.
“You never let me have any fun.”
“You’ve been having fun all day! You know I’m not supposed to tell tours the place is haunted, and yet you insist on messing with me.”
“You never pay attention to me!” Sallie pouted at him, bobbing slightly in place.
“I do too!”
“And it’s sooooo boring when you’re not here. There’s no one to talk to. Eunice at least has William to keep her company.”
“Eunice and William cause more problems than they solve—they almost killed me my first day there.” Draco leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms. He tried his best to look stern.
“Sean told me you forgot to say good morning and tell them who you were. That’s your own fault for being rude.” Sallie snarked at him.
“The two of them tried to push me down the stairs!” He threw his hands up in exasperation.
Sallie giggled at him. “At least you don’t have to live there like the old interns. William likes to watch people sleep.”
Draco shuddered. Aside from the aforementioned stair incident, he hadn’t had any issues with William or Eunice—and he wasn’t keen on changing that.
“Okay. I’m leaving, I’m already late to call the museum and tell them I’ve locked up—” he pointed at Sallie, “—and if you’re that upset about being alone, you could always move on and join Oswald wherever he is.”
Sallie made a face. “And leave the house empty? I don’t think so!”
“Fine, then be good!” Draco shook his head and set the alarm system. He waved to Sallie and stepped outside, turning to lock the door behind him.
“See you tomorrow, Dracooooo,” Sallie called to him, drawing out the o in his name as she floated back through the wall into the library.
Draco rolled his eyes and smiled to himself as he made his way through the back garden and down the path in the side yard. He paused when he got to the sidewalk on Main Street and took a moment to settle his headphones in his ears. He hit play on his playlist on his mobile, and his shoulders relaxed as the music started up.
The walk down Main was pleasant. The cobblestones of the street still held small puddles from the previous day’s rain, and the sunlight through the leaves cast dappled shadows on the brick walks. He nodded to the Hadwen House, passed the Three Bricks, and headed towards town. He smiled as he passed his personal landmarks, the things that made the walk—and the island—his own. That one house with the green shutters, across the street from the white house with the widow’s walk and fancy front lanterns. The front porch he’d hidden under from the freak summer storm that’d hit last week on his walk to the Thomas Macy House.
He paused outside the blue Victorian a moment to appreciate the way the summer sun hit the siding just right. Like most of the properties on Main, it was old and previously owned by someone important. The plaque next to the front door dated it to 1873. It proclaimed it was built for Elizabeth Starubuck Barney, daughter of famous whaler Joseph Starbuck, by her husband Nathaniel Barney. Just a bit further, and Draco reached the Northern extremity of the original Town line. He passed the bank, and Murray’s Toggery Shop, grinning to himself as a group of tourists he’d spoken with earlier emerged from the store, chattering about it being the original location of Macy’s department store.
In the heart of town now he watched cars rumble past, bumping over the cobblestones. He kept on towards the water, dodging families with small children and rich couples in impractical footwear. He stopped outside The Hub to check the town notice board, marking the date of an upcoming Muggle ghost tour with some interest. He paused at the intersection of Main, South Water St, and Washington St to check the time. The other interns wanted him to join them for dinner on the beach, and he’d agreed readily.
No one knew him as Draco Malfoy here. He was just Draco—sometimes Dee. That slightly eccentric dude from England with a rather gothy looking tattoo who needed too much sunscreen. He liked it that way. He liked the other interns, he liked being constantly surrounded by history, and he liked the feeling that he’d carved a bit of a life for himself out of the unpredictability of the universe. It didn’t matter if this wasn’t the path to greatness. He was perfectly content to tell tourists silly facts about department stores and antagonize the ghosts in the historic properties.
He had enough time to take a ride on the boat taxi before heading back to the house to change and take the bus out to Jetties for dinner with the others. He continued down Main, past the Stop and Shop, and the Thomas Macy Warehouse, which still wasn’t converted back from that tacky gift shop like the historic society wanted it to be. He walked past crowded restaurants and bars filled with people on vacation. Eventually he made his way onto Straight Wharf, walking past the lines of boats pulled up to the dock. He slipped through a crowd disembarking from the ferry and down a ramp onto the floating platform where the taxi met its customers.
The small boat was approaching with a few return passengers, and Draco queued up with the others on the platform as they disembarked. He handed his cash over to the driver and settled in, leaning against the railing close to the prow. They pulled away from the platform, and Draco relished in the salty air blowing his hair back from his face. The taxi cut through the water smoothly, dropping people off at their boats for the weekend, until it was just Draco and the driver. They stopped in the middle of the boat basin as they waited for any radio signal that someone needed to be picked up. Draco scanned the horizon line of the island, taking in the rooflines, the church steeples, and the sound of the idling boat engine.
Eventually they wheeled around again, and Draco watched the Brant Point lighthouse and the coast guard station go by. They pulled back into the platform, and Draco stepped off the boat. He checked the time and, figuring he could just make the next bus, took off at a run through the growing crowds of people on the Wharf.
~
Draco banged through the front door of the house he shared with the other interns, out of breath after running from the bus stop down the road. Everyone’s heads whipped towards him from where they were scattered around the living area. Jason, Darcy, and Amelia looked up from a card game in the living room, Sarah and Jeremy from their laptops at the kitchen counter, and Ronnie and Lily appeared from around the corner in the kitchen proper.
“Sorry I’m late,” he wheezed. “The boat taxi took longer than I thought it would.” He dropped his backpack and shut the door behind him.
Ronnie quirked an eyebrow at him. “Late? It’s not like we have reservations.”
“I thought you would all be waiting for me,” Draco panted. “I didn’t want to be the last one.”
“Nah, chill out man,” Jason called from the floor, “Cammy’s still in the shower. You’ve got time.” He paused, considered his cards. “I fold.”
“Oh, good. I’m going to change then.” Draco grabbed his pack and slipped upstairs, into the room he shared with Jason. He’d been intending to shower, but if Cammy was, he didn’t want to wait for more hot water. A cleaning charm would have to do.
He didn’t do much magic these days. Small charms and easy spells when he was feeling lazy, but he’d adjusted to doing most things without it. He’d found that sometimes, doing something the long way meant you got to do it with other people. Things he’d previously thought of as tasks for others to do were more obviously moments to share with someone else. Just the other night he’d been washing dishes with Ronnie, and they’d knocked their hip against his and told him they liked having him around to make the work less boring. He’d liked that.
He heard the shower shut off in the bathroom they shared with Cammy and Sarah. He stripped out of his work clothes quickly, hitting himself with a couple freshening spells. Grey shorts, a black t-shirt, converse and some of the various jewelry he’d collected over the years, and he was ready. Cammy was probably still doing her hair, so he ran a hand through his own and headed back downstairs to join the others.
~
An hour and two bus lines later they were all settling onto benches at a table in the sand at the Sandbar on Jetties Beach. They’d come here before, and as Draco squished in between Ronnie and Ameila, he couldn't help but think fondly of the first time they’d been, his first week on the island months ago. They passed around menus, and Draco flipped immediately to the cocktail side, already knowing he’d be getting a clam po boy with a side of fries. There’d been some confusion the first time they’d come—he’d only been in the states a few weeks at that point—and he’d ordered chips, expecting something like from a chip shop back home. He’d been presented with a basket of crisps, and Ronnie had teased him mercilessly for weeks for the face he’d made.
Ronnie nudged him in the side.
“There’s a guy checking you out at that table to our left.”
“Ronnie, we’re packed in here like sardines. I’d bet you money he’s looking at Darcy.”
“If you’re so sure, you can pay for my drink.” They grinned at him, and raised their eyebrows.
“And if I’m right you pay for mine?”
“Deal,” Ronnie awkwardly held out a fist, and Draco bumped it to seal the bet.
“What could you two possibly be betting on now?” Jeremy cut in, watching them from across the table.
“Someone is checking Draco out, and he doesn’t believe me.” Ronnie said.
“Ooooh,” Darcy said as she leaned in, “a date could do you good, Draco. You need to socialize with more people than just us. And the ghosts I guess.”
Ronnie laughed, tossing their head back.
Darcy paused. “You could use a date too, Ronnie.”
“Hey!” Ronnie sputtered, and it was Draco’s turn to laugh.
The conversation continued around him, and Draco looked in the direction that Ronnie had indicated originally. He wouldn’t necessarily complain about someone checking him out, but there was a less than zero chance he’d actually go out with anyone. Part of moving here had been to get away from that part of his life. He didn’t need some new person complicating things.
He didn’t see anyone obviously looking in his direction, and he turned back to his friends, only to be surprised to find the conversation had gone quiet. Someone had approached them while he was distracted, and he turned at the sound of a familiar voice.
“Draco? Is that really you?”
Standing at the edge of their table was Harry Potter. Draco opened and closed his mouth, but no sound came out. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, hoping maybe he was just seeing things, but when he opened them again Harry was still standing there, looking at him a little desperately.
“Draco,” Ronnie said quietly, “do you know him?”
“I—” Draco started, “we went to school together.”
“I’ve been looking for you for months!” Harry said desperately. “You just vanished.”
“I… Harry.” Draco had no idea what to say. He felt trapped, caught between his friends on either side of him, and Harry’s eyes holding him in place.
Ronnie grabbed his hand under the table. “Draco, do you want him to leave us alone?” they asked quietly.
“You just left, and no one knew where you were, and now you won’t even talk to me? What the fuck?” Harry said, voice edging towards hysterical.
“Hey!” Ronnie barked, rounding on Harry as best they could from their seat. Draco squeezed their hand.
“Ronnie, Ronnie it’s fine. I—” he took a deep breath. “Harry, I would prefer to not do this in front of my friends. Can we take a walk?”
Harry looked around the table suddenly, as though he was noticing everyone else there for the first time. Draco’s friends were all staring back at Harry, not an iota of recognition on their faces, and Draco was so grateful for them he felt like he could cry. He climbed out from between Ronnie and Amelia, slowly pulling his hand from Ronnie’s grip.
“I’ll be back later. You all enjoy dinner, and I’ll see you at the house.” He stepped towards Harry.
Ronnie caught the hem of his shirt. “If I don’t hear from you in an hour I’m calling the cops.”
“I’ll be fine Ronnie, I promise.”
“One hour.” They repeated, letting him go.
Draco nodded to Harry, and they started off down the beach towards the waves.
As they walked away from the bar, the noise of other people grew quieter and quieter until it was overtaken by the lapping of the ocean at the shore. Harry blew out a long breath as they walked. Draco peeled off his socks and shoes and left them on the lifeguard stand, continuing until he was standing ankle deep in the surf. Harry watched him silently.
“So,” he said quietly.
“You look… comfortable here.” Harry muttered.
“I am.” Draco turned to look out over the water, where the sun was just starting to dip towards the horizon. “I like it here.”
“Why’d you leave?” Harry asked behind him, so quietly Draco wasn’t even sure he’d heard him correctly.
Draco hunched his shoulders, and squeezed his eyes shut. “I couldn’t stay, with the press. And the…everything. People crossed the street to get away from me. Everything I did was scrutinized.”
“So you just ran away?”
“What was keeping me there?” Draco turned back to Harry. “Father in Azkaban, mother sent to live with relatives in France. Pansy and Blaise and the others distancing themselves from me so they could maybe stay on the right side of society.”
Harry opened his mouth to reply.
“No one knows who I am here. I’m just me. I can be a different person, I can be a better person. I can’t hurt anyone here. I can be a good person without the press trying to cast everything I do as the next move to bring another dark wizard into power.” Draco took a deep breath, trying to control the volume of his voice.
“That’s so fucking—”
“Cowardly? You think I don’t know that? We don’t all get to be brave like you.” Draco walked further into the water, turning his back on Harry again. He stood in silence.
Harry paused for a moment, and Draco wasn’t sure he was going to respond.
“You didn’t even try to be brave. I just woke up one day and you were gone.”
“Oh fuck you, Potter. It’s just so easy for you, and you think that gives you the right to show up here and, and, what? Remind me just how awful I am?”
“Draco—”
“I have a life here. I have friends, and a job I care about, and every day I’m getting up and I’m trying.” Draco whirled around to face Harry, who was standing at the edge of the water staring at him, mouth open. “I’m trying so goddamn hard, and guess fucking what, I like myself here. No one here is judging me—”
Harry cut him off, “I liked you in London!” he shouted, finally stepping into the water. “I’m not the one who called you a coward! I wanted you around!” He paused. “Wasn’t that enough to stay for?”
“You wouldn’t even tell Ron and Hermione about me!” Draco yelled back. He bit his lip, tried to stop his jaw from shaking.
Harry froze.
“That’s not—you said you didn’t—they wouldn’t understand. You know that.” Harry tugged on his hair. “I thought you were happy.”
Draco bit his tongue. His nails dug into his palms and he turned away from Harry to stare out to the horizon again. Harry blew out a breath behind him.
“Can’t we just, can’t we just go home?”
“What?” Draco whipped back around. He stalked back towards Harry at the shoreline.
“I’m not your fucking secret, Potter. I’m not your toy to play with in the evenings, and I’m not your accessory you can put on and take off whenever you want. I’m my own person. I have my own goddamn life.”
Harry opened his mouth to reply, but Draco kept going.
“You were looking for me? Congratulations, you found me. Here I am. This is my home now. And guess what. I’m not going anywhere. If that’s all you wanted from me, you can just fuck off and leave me the hell alone.”
Draco shoved past Harry out of the water and headed towards the lifeguard stand. He swiped tears from his eyes, noticing the blurry shape of Ronnie perched in the chair of the stand, obviously waiting for him. They hopped down from their seat, and met him a few feet away from the base.
“You okay?” Ronnie grabbed his wrist, pressed a thumb against his pulse.
“No.” Draco blew out a breath.
“Stupid question. Wanna go talk about it over some alcohol?”
“Yes, please.”
Draco leaned further into Ronnie’s space, grateful they’d waited for him.
“Draco, please! Wait a minute!” Harry called from behind them.
Draco took a deep breath and prepared to turn around, but before he could Ronnie had dropped his wrist and had stepped between him and Harry.
“I think you’re going to want to stop right there.” Ronnie had a single fingernail pressed to Harry’s chest, arm outstretched. For a moment they reminded him very strongly of Pansy at sixteen, and he held his breath.
“I—hey!” Harry yelped, taking a step backwards.
“I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but it sounded to me like Draco wants you to leave him alone.”
“I just,” Harry said, putting his hands out. “Look, I know you don’t know me. Draco and I went to school together, we know one another. I’m not—”
Ronnie raised a single eyebrow. “You’re not? Not what? Not harassing my friend? Not chasing after someone who explicitly said to leave them alone? Not ‘the bad guy?’ Let me make myself extremely clear, buddy. I don’t care who you are. This? It’s not a good look. I suggest that unless you want things to get a lot less pleasant, you walk away now.”
Harry backed up again. He looked to Draco, and Draco turned away. He heard Harry walk past them, his footsteps growing quieter in the sand.
“Okay,” Ronnie sighed, “it’s busy tonight, and the others decided on just cocktails before dinner. So we can go rejoin them if you like, or—”
“I would like that. We can… can we talk about this—”
“Later?”
“Mmhm.”
“Of course. We can go to the Juice Bar.”
Ronnie threw an arm around Draco’s shoulders, and he grabbed his shoes as they passed the back of the lifeguard stand. Darcy smiled at them both as they settled back in at their table. Jeremy kicked at his ankle and Draco kicked back.
Ronnie grabbed a menu. “I see we didn’t miss ordering.”
Amelia nodded. “We saw you were on your way back and told the server we needed a few more minutes. She did bring our drinks though.” She raised a glass in Draco’s direction.
Ronnie slid the menu between themself and Draco. “What are you thinking?” The others returned to their conversation around them, and Draco let himself relax into the familiar chatter.
“Mmmm, don’t you know my drink order by now, Ronnie? Or is this you admitting your memory isn’t as good as you claim?”
“That was weak, especially for you, Dee.” Darcy tapped the menu between them. “We all know you’re gonna get a Mr. Happy. I don’t think you’ve even tried anything different since we’ve been coming here. If I didn’t know better I’d think you preferred American lemonade.”
“Oh bite me, Darcy. Take it up with the queen.”
“You know, maybe I will.”
Draco laughed. “Good luck with that.”
Draco found it easy to sink into the rhythm of the conversation. He could mostly put the encounter with Harry out of his mind as his coworkers teased one another through dinner. Ronnie traded him a bite of his poboy for a piece of their fish and chips, Jeremy ordered raw oysters for the table and they toasted to the waning of tourist season. He leaned against Ronnie’s side and enjoyed letting the sound of his friends flow around him. The sun set the rest of the way around them, turning the sky a brilliant orange, painted with pinks and purples in the clouds. Draco loved the sunsets on the island. They felt like living inside a postcard, like he had somehow escaped the real world.
After dinner they walked down to the water, kicking off shoes and socks and tossing them in a pile. Draco hesitated for a moment at the lifeguard stand before Ronnie grabbed his arm and pulled him into the surf.
The water sparked blue with bioluminescence around their ankles, and Draco laughed as the others kicked in the waves and attempted to splash one another. He walked out deeper, to where the water lapped at his knees, and watched as the spray lit up blue. Ronnie joined him a little later, looping an arm through one of his. The two of them watched as the stars started to blink into existence above them, the sky becoming a tapestry of light.
“Ice cream?” Ronnie asked eventually.
~
They left the others on the beach, with the promise that they’d meet back at the house and wouldn’t complain if they didn’t get to vote on the movie for movie night, and caught the next bus back to town.
“So,” Ronnie said, as they stood in line for their ice cream.
The line wrapped around the block, and they stood on the street corner across from the Whaling Museum. Draco stared at the whale jaw on display in front of the large bay windows of the building as he considered his response.
Ronnie blew out a breath beside him. “Do you want to tell me why Harry Potter was looking for you?”
Draco turned to face them, blinking incredulously.
“How did you–?”
They tugged on a piece of their har. “I have cousins in England. My Aunt Molly wrote to my parents pretty regularly.”
“And did you… did you know who I was?” Draco cringed at the way his voice rose.
“No.” Ronnie shook their head. “Not, I mean. Vaguely. I sort of recognized the mark. And the name. Aunt Molly mentioned you once — she was…worried, about something Harry had said about you.” They paused at the look on Draco’s face. “She was worried about you.”
They inched forward slowly along the sidewalk, as Draco processed that.
“So you know I was a Death Eater. And you… you don’t care?”
“The way I see it,” Ronnie said, as they grabbed Draco’s hand, stopping him from scratching at the mark. “You were sixteen, and being threatened with death, and I try very hard to not judge people for the things they did when they were being coerced through violence.”
Draco scoffed.
“And,” Ronnie continued, “if you asked me, I wouldn’t say you’re that person at all anymore. It wouldn’t have been fair for me to write you off based on a vague, third hand impression I had of you from years ago, would it?”
They were at the door of the Juice Bar. Draco thought about what Ronnie had said as the two of them ordered. Draco got a large waffle cone bowl of peppermint stick, and Ronnie picked amaretto chip. They strolled down Broad Street, and turned onto Easy Street. Ronnie didn’t push him to say anything, just pulled him along onto a small boardwalk where they could sit and dangle their feet over the water while they ate their ice cream.
Eventually Draco turned to face them. “So… are you?”
“Wix?” Ronnie nodded. They wiped their hand on their shorts, and snapped their fingers. A dim orb of Lumos lit in their palm, and they tossed it into the air where it hovered in front of them. Draco watched its reflection on the water.
“I had no idea.”
“I’m sorry. I sort of figured you weren’t looking to find anyone magical out here. It seemed like you were trying to run from it.”
A thought occurred to Draco. “Are any of the others?”
Ronnie shook their head. “No. Just me.” They paused. “Are you mad at me?”
Draco thought about it for a moment. “No. Maybe I should be? But I’m not.”
Ronnie leaned their shoulder against his. The two of them watched the Lumos silently for a moment, as it bobbed in the slight breeze coming off the water.
“So,” Ronnie said eventually, “Harry Potter.”
Draco sighed. “I sort of… ghosted him.”
“No,” Ronnie gasped.
“Mmmhm. It started a little after we graduated. We were in some of the same classes at the Ministry. He was doing expedited Auror training, and I’d just barely made it into the field medic program. And it started out stupid, but it got more serious. And that was great at first. My school friends had ditched me by then, and Mother has another three years of house arrest at minimum.” Draco closed his eyes.
He continued. “ But the higher profile he got, the less he wanted to do with me. When we’d be out, he’d suddenly start ignoring me if he even thought he saw a camera. And he said he was going to tell Ron and Hermione, but once when I was at his I heard them trying to set him up with someone over the Floo.” He stopped short, and Ronnie grabbed his arm tightly.
“You don’t have to keep going if you don’t want to,” they said.
Draco grimaced.“It’s fine.Things just got busier and busier for him, and slower and slower for me. Like they were just waiting for me to give up. So he started coming over less and less, and avoiding being around me more and more, and eventually I did what everyone seemed to want me to…and I left.” He blew out a sigh, feeling a bit lighter for having told the story.
“And tonight?”
“I have no idea how he found me here. But all he wanted was me to come back and sit around and wait for him again,” Draco muttered, upset again.
“He said that?!”
“He might as well have. And he still hasn’t told Ron and Hermione.”
“Did he apologize at all?” Ronnie asked.
Draco took a deep breath. He squeezed his eyes shut to try and stop them from tearing up. “No. He just yelled at me.”
“Fuck him.”
Ronnie wrapped an arm around Draco’s shoulder, and pulled him in to lean against them. He dropped his head onto their shoulder and sniffled.
They sat that way for a while, slowly finishing their melting ice cream. Ronnie extinguished their Lumos and they watched the lights from the boathouses sparkle on the water.
~
Back at the intern house, Draco was squished between Ronnie and Jeremy on the couch. The ending of Young Frankenstein was playing, and Ronnie was running their fingers through his hair with his head in their lap.
“I can’t believe you’ve never seen this before, Draco.” Darcy said from where she sat on the floor in front of the three of them.
“I didn’t watch many movies growing up. Strict parents.”
“Wild. My dad loves this movie,” Jason cut in. “We’ll have to make a list of what you need to see.”
“Can we watch My Big Fat Greek Wedding next?” Ronnie asked from above him. “My mom loves that movie, it’s so much fun.”
“Tomorrow,” Jeremy said, pushing Draco’s feet off his lap. “I’m fucking tired.” He stood up from the couch and stretched his arms over his head. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight all.”
A chorus of ‘goodnights’ followed him up the stairs, and slowly the others in the group followed until it was just Ronnie and Draco on the couch.
Draco was just starting to stretch to get off the couch when someone knocked on the door. He frowned up at Ronnie.
“Who the fuck could that be?” they muttered. Draco shifted off their lap, and they stood. He followed them to the door, and Ronnie stood on their toes to try and see through the windows at the top of the door.
“Who is it?” they called.
“Is Draco there?” a very familiar voice came through the door.
“Absolutely fucking not.” Ronnie said, reaching to turn out the porch light. “You can leave.”
“Wait, no. I’m here…” Harry paused, “I’m here to apologize.”
Ronnie leaned one shoulder against the door. “Do you want to talk to him?”
Draco considered for a moment. “You’ll hang out?”
Ronnie nodded. “Roger roger.”
They stepped away from the door and settled into one of the armchairs in the living room. Draco took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and opened the door.
Harry was standing on the porch with his hands in his pockets. He looked sheepish and a little sad.
“I fucked up,” he said. Draco stepped back from the door to let him in.
Harry took in the house, the mismatched armchairs, the mini greenhouse box on the kitchen table, the post-it notes with stupid jokes and reminders. Draco bit his tongue, resisted the urge to defend the space he’d made his home. Eventually Harry turned to Draco expectantly.
“You fucked up,” Draco prompted.
“I wasn’t paying attention to you, back in London. I told myself I was protecting you, but I was just being selfish.”
Draco nodded.
“I should have told Ron and Hermione. I should have listened to you, and thought more about how my actions impacted you.” He looked at Draco, like he was waiting for a response.
“And?”
“And I shouldn’t have come here and expected you’d just go back without thinking about what you wanted at all. I was just. So stressed about not knowing where you were, and then—finding you, and I—I’m sorry.”
“I appreciate you for apologizing. I’m still not going back to London, though.”
Harry’s face did something complicated, and he swallowed hard. “I don’t expect you to.”
Ronnie coughed from their armchair, and Draco could just make out the “Liar!” they slipped in.
Harry frowned, and opened his mouth as though to respond to them.
Draco cut him off. “I already told you, I have a life here. I have friends and a job I like, and things that make me happy. I’m not giving that up just because you feel a little guilty over how you treated me before.” He stopped and took a deep breath.
“I’ll—I’ll tell Ron and Hermione. I’ll tell all the Weasleys. I’ll tell the fucking Prophet if that’s what you want.”
“Let’s get one thing straight, Potter. I don’t want anything from you. You want something from me. There’s a pretty major difference.”
“Can’t we just talk about this? Please?” Harry asked, pouting.
“We are talking about it. We did talk about it already. I’ve told you everything you need to know. If you have more to say you’re free to say it, but I’ve said my piece.”
“Don’t you care even a little that I was so worried about you?” Harry frowned at him.
“You could have done a better job of showing that while I was still around, you know.” Draco leaned against the back of the chair Ronnie was sitting in.
“I don’t know why you’re making this so difficult. I get it, I fucked up. But I’m trying to tell you I’ll fix it. I’ll make it up to you. You’re the one stuck in the past.”
Draco bit back a laugh and Harry’s frown deepened.
“It’s not that difficult, if you’d think of someone but yourself for more than thirty seconds, you’d maybe manage to understand that there is no fixing this. Another chance requires me giving you another chance. Which I’m not.”
Harry titled his head, still frowning. He opened his mouth several times as though to respond, and each time closed it again, frown deepening.
“Did you think if you showed up and admitted to fucking up that would fix things? That apologizing would make everything go back to normal where we live in your London fairy tale and Ron and Hermione try to set you up with people while I wait in your bedroom? That if you said ‘sorry’ I would leave a life I built for myself with no one else’s help—” Ronnie shifted the chair he was leaning on somewhat violently. “Mostly with no one else’s help, and slip quietly back into yours?”
Realization slowly dawned on Harry’s face.
“Not used to not getting what we want, are we? I’m sure you’ll catch on eventually. Or you won’t. I’m sure the blokes you’re being set up with will give you everything I won’t. At least you’ll be able to take them out in public.”
“That hurts, Draco.” Harry said shortly.
“Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.” Draco smirked, and behind him, Ronnie couldn’t keep themselves from laughing—even though he could hear them trying.
“Well, fine. Fuck you then. Stay out here with your stupid references to whatever that was, and your—whatever. Fuck you.”
“Eloquent, as always. Either way, I think it’s time you left. I have work tomorrow, and I really would like to be awake for it. Give my best to Ron and Hermione when you finally tell them where you were. I’m sure they’re dying to know why you’ve run off without them.”
Harry glared at him, and for a moment Draco thought he was going to end up with a black eye. Instead, Harry stormed out, swinging the door shut violently behind him. Draco lunged for the handle to catch it so it wouldn’t bang but Ronnie was faster, stopping it with a wordless spell just before it crashed into the frame. He leaned against the door, slotting it quietly into place and turning the lock. Outside, the crack of apparition sounded, and when Draco peered through the window panes in the door, Harry was gone. He sighed.
Ronnie looked at him, trying to fight back a smile.
“That went well,” Draco muttered dryly to them.
Ronnie laughed. “I’m surprised he didn’t try to hex you before he left.”
“Maybe he has matured past sixteen after all,” Draco grimaced, scratching at the silvery scar ending just below his jawbone.
He walked over and flopped dramatically onto the couch they’d all been sitting on earlier. Ronnie joined him, lying perpendicular on the L portion of the sectional. They were quiet for a while, and Draco started to wonder if Ronnie had fallen asleep.
“Princess Bride though, really, Dee?” they finally asked.
Draco levered himself up onto his elbows, and looked down at them. “It seemed fitting for the moment. It’s only too bad I couldn’t compare him to Humperdink.”
Ronnie’s laugh was short and sharp. “You know, I thought he’d be nicer, considering what Aunt Molly, Fred, and George say about him.”
Draco made a face at them. “Don’t remind me you’re related, please.”
Ronnie stuck out their tongue. “I’m just saying. They’re decent judges of character. Well…most of the time.”
Draco flopped back down on the couch, reaching out to poke Ronnie’s shoulder. He sobered for a moment. “I don’t think… I don’t think he’s like that with them. I think it’s just me that gets that side of him.”
“Yick.” Ronnie frowned. “Sounds like my ex from high school. You’re better off without him.”
They were quiet again. Draco eventually cast a Tempus and started at the time.
“You know, I wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted to be awake for work tomorrow. I need to go to bed.”
Ronnie blinked at him. “Sorry? I sort of fell asleep.”
“You also need to go to bed. Come on.” Draco pushed himself off the couch, offering a hand to Ronnie to pull them up.
Ronnie yawned, stretching, and Draco winced as all the vertebrae in their back popped. “That cannot be good for you.”
“Mmm, I dunno. It feels pretty good.” They muttered, as they wandered into the kitchen and filled two glasses with water from the fridge. “Here,” they thrust one of the glasses in his direction.
“Thank you, I’ll get the lights.”
Ronnie nodded, and started downstairs towards the basement they shared with Darcy. “Draco,” they called softly before they headed down.
“Mmm?”
“I still say you’re paying for my drinks for the rest of the month. Someone was checking you out.” Draco could hear the smirk in their voice, even though he couldn’t see them any longer.
“Oh fuck off Ronnie. Goodnight. Go to bed,” Draco groused.
“You go to bed,” Ronnie snarked back. “Goodnight.”
Draco groaned, but he was smiling as he went up to his own room.