Work Text:
31 July 2004
This was not how Harry had envisioned he would spend his 24th birthday. He had hoped he’d be far away from London, roasting in the sun with Draco on some tropical beach or backpacking through Europe together. Instead he was sitting at a hospital bed in St Mungo’s, holding Draco’s clammy hand and hoping that Draco would beat the high fever he’d been battling with for the last three days.
“Come back to me, my love,” Harry thought and stroked his thumb over Draco’s hand.
***
8 weeks ago: 5 June 2004
Grimmauld Place had never looked better than on this sunny Saturday in early June. A long table with spring flower decorations and delicate china on a white tablecloth was set up in the garden. Kreacher had outdone himself and prepared only the best pastries and sweets which were waiting under a stasis charm on a smaller table next to the cherry tree. And a warm breeze was playing with the curtains hanging in the open double doors to the living room.
“The first guests will arrive any minute now,” Draco said while rushing from the garden back into the house. “It’ll probably be Mother who thinks she’s already late when she shows up right on time.”
Distractedly, Draco brushed a few strands of hair away from his eyes. “Is her apéritif ready? And her favourite petits-fours?”
“Yes, Draco,” Harry said with a smile and got up from the couch.
Draco was about to rush back out into the garden when Harry intercepted him. “Kreacher is delighted that we’ll celebrate your birthday at Grimmauld. Now, please take a deep breath and look around for a moment. Everything is ready for your guests and couldn’t look any better. Kreacher and you did a phenomenal job.”
“Thank you,” Draco sighed. “I don’t even know why I’m so nervous. Maybe it’s because of the recital I promised Mother?” He looked around the room and his eyes fell on his violin. “It’s not even her who’s making me nervous, it’s Signor De Luca. I don’t know why I thought it would be a good idea to invite my violin teacher to my birthday party. Honestly, what was I thinking?!”
“Hey, hey, love, look at me.” Harry waited for Draco to look back at him, then he deliberately kissed Draco’s hands, one after the other, and didn’t let go.
“You told me that you’ve enjoyed picking your lessons back up after the war. And also, how grateful you are to De Luca for his encouragement, even if he can be very, very strict.”
“Tell me about it,” Draco muttered.
“Narcissa and Andromeda will be delighted that he’ll be here, so that’s a plus. Despite their reconciliation, they keep on bickering and we don’t need another escalation on our hands. The sister feud of Christmas 2002 was more than enough.”
Draco shuddered in horror. “No, you’re right! A distinguished Italian gentleman will be the perfect mediator for those two.”
Harry squeezed Draco’s hands and grinned. “And once the ‘adults’ —” Harry made exaggerated air quotes. “— and the kiddos have left — thank Merlin Andromeda agreed to look after Teddy, Rose and Hugo — we’ll have a fun evening with all of our closest friends.
Draco grinned back at Harry and pulled him in for a quick kiss.
“I can’t wait!”
***
Musical notes.
Timeless pieces.
Intricate melodies.
Soon once again.
***
“Mr Potter, your home is beautiful. Thank you for having me!” Signor De Luca shook Harry’s hand before moving on to Draco and shaking his hand as well. “Mr Malfoy, I wanted to thank you, once again, for your invitation. I spent a delightful afternoon in your mother’s and your aunt’s company.”
Draco smiled. “I can assure you that they enjoyed your company just as much. Thank you for coming.”
“We’d be happy to have you back any time,” Harry added.
“It would be my pleasure, Mr Potter. Mr Malfoy, if I can have a minute of your time, please, before I leave?”
“Oh, of course. You can take the Floo in my office, and we can talk. This way, please.”
***
Lovely melodies.
Beautiful symphonies.
Will you soon play?
When can we play?
***
“See? I told you this day would be a success! Even your mom left with a smile on her face.” Harry winked at Draco as he joined him under the covers of their comfortable bed at Grimmauld.
“You’re right.” Draco scooted closer. “When have you become so wise, hm?” He whispered and pulled Harry into his arms.
“I don’t know,” Harry whispered back, and laid his head on Draco’s shoulder. “Maybe I’ve always been this wise and you were just too distracted by my incredible good looks to notice …”
Draco laughed out loud. “You’re such a brat!”
***
Let me play.
Let us play.
Play this piece.
Again.
Again!
AGAIN!
***
4 weeks ago: 1 July 2004
“Come in!” Harry called out when there was a knock at his office door in the Ministry.
Pansy Parkinson stepped into the room, looked around quickly and closed the door behind her before taking a seat in front of Harry’s desk.
“Hi, Pansy. What can I help you with?” Harry folded his hands in front of him. “Are you looking for Draco?”
They often had lunch together, both Pansy and Draco as well as Harry and Draco, and sometimes even all three of them.
“Hi, Harry. No, I’m here to talk to you, alone.”
“Oh?” Harry sat up straighter. “Did something happen?”
“I’m not sure. Have you noticed any changes in Draco recently?” Pansy asked nervously.
“Changes? In what way?” Harry was searching his memory for anything out of the ordinary.
“When was the last time you had lunch with Draco on a work day?” Pansy asked seriously.
“Oh, all the time!” Harry said smiling.
“Are you sure?”
“Well, not this week… or the week before, come to think of it, we’ve both been so busy. Let me check my calendar.” Harry rifled through the paperwork on his desk till he located his calendar. A quick spell later, a few glowing dates and locations floated above his desk, showing him exactly when and where he’d had his last lunch dates with Draco.
“I did not realise it had been this long,” Harry said slowly. “Our last lunch date was before Draco’s birthday party.”
Pansy slumped back in her chair. “So it’s the same for you.”
“What do you mean?” Harry asked and made the glowing writing disappear with a flick of his wand.
“I also haven’t had lunch with Draco since the birthday party.” Pansy leaned forward, her arms on Harry’s desk. “At first, I didn’t even notice. Like you said, there was so much work. I just launched my new collection, Draco was working on some project, and you had your cases.”
“Right,” Harry said.
“But when I reached out a few times over the last two weeks, Draco always had an excuse why he couldn’t make it. He didn’t even propose an alternate date.” She sounded really worried by now. “In the end, he just said outright that he did not have time for lunch or dinner or to hang out, he needed to practise.”
“Oh, yes. Draco is working on his first violin piece, his own composition.” Harry smiled in relief. “I don’t know much about the process myself. But you met his violin teacher at his birthday party and heard Draco play. He’s really enjoying himself and he’s spending as much of his time playing the violin as possible.”
“Don’t you think he’s overdoing it a bit?” Pansy was biting her lip.
“I’ll keep a closer eye on him, okay?” Harry promised. “But for now, I’m not worried. Just think about how hyper-focused you become when you’re in the middle of designing your next collection.” Harry laughed.
Pansy chuckled relieved. “You’re right. It’s probably just that. Draco hasn’t had any creative outlets over the years. I guess I just don’t like change.” Pansy sighed and stood up. “Thank you, Potter.”
“Any time, Parkinson!” Harry got up with a wink and accompanied Pansy to his office door.
***
Brand new melodies.
Frantic symphonies.
Create.
Create!
CREATE!
***
2 weeks ago: 16 July 2004
> Draco has retreated into himself, he’s only playing the violin and not interacting much anymore with his family and friends. Composing is all that counts.
> Draco’s magic becomes more and more unpredictable (he accidentally frightens Teddy at one point), and so Draco and Harry decide that it’s best for Draco to come to St Mungo’s for tests.
> Draco’s magical core seems to slowly change/ be drained/ become unstable
> Healers and curse-breakers are not sure what is going on, it does not seem to be a known curse or illness, nor dark magic. Though they can detect some kind of magical signature, it is not a spell either.
> Meanwhile Draco is becoming impatient because he can’t play his violin at the hospital and even though he knows this is all done for his own good, he wants to get back to his violin.
> More tests, more questions, no answers.
> Harry finally remembers an amulet that Draco showed him on his birthday, a gift from Signor De Luca. It once belonged to a famous Italian violin player and virtuoso, Paganini. They find the amulet in a small intricate box at Grimmauld.
> The specialists discover that Paganini’s magical essence, his love and obsession for playing and composing, had seeped into this amulet during his lifetime, and it was now trying to relive these same thrilling emotions and creative heights with every new wearer or owner of the amulet.
> unfortunately, the effects of the amulet depend on the witch or wizard who’s wearing it. Not all magical cores react the same way when they come into contact with or are influenced by magical essences. Signor De Luca did not have any bad intentions when gifting the amulet to Draco. He himself had been owning the amulet for most of his life and had just felt an even deeper connection to Paganini’s works through the amulet. De Luca only wanted to give the amulet to someone with an equal appreciation and love for Paganini’s works and his genius.
> To give Draco’s magical core time to heal, he’s put into a magically induced coma for a week. The procedure is a success, but after bringing him out of the coma, Draco is now battling a high magical fever.
>> confused fever dreams, draco seeing a frightened teddy, sunflowers, green eyes, his violin, harry topless, teddy hiding behind harry, an amulet, more green eyes etc.
> The healers assure Harry that the fever is an expected side effect, and Draco should manage to overcome it within a few days.
31 July 2004
> back on Harry’s birthday where the fic started.
> Harry has fallen asleep in the chair next to Draco’s hospital bed. Draco squeezes Harry’s hand and Harry wakes up. Short conversation.
> Andromeda and Teddy come by. Teddy brings a huge bouquet of sunflowers for both Draco and Harry because those are Teddy’s favourite flowers, they seem so happy. He wishes Harry a happy birthday, and Draco realizes how long he’s been under.
> Teddy and Andromeda leave again, they can see how tired the boys are.
> Cuteness overload reunion scene with some lighthearted banter.
The end.