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The friendship had been quick, in all honesty. Draco wasn’t surprised really in the end they were quite similar and worked well together. He had hoped, despite everything that had happened throughout their life that.. Well they could have been friends.
Harry was receptive and Draco was happy. It was nice, easy, really.
Though, in the public eye it was always at a distance. Draco easily got on with Ron, maybe surprising to some, but between Wizarding Chess, a love for sweets, and an apology - from both, it seemed things were turning towards friends. Neville was easy too, he was forgiving and honest, the first day Draco and his mates tagged along Neville threw his arm around the blonde and said, “buy me a pint,” and they never looked back.
Between a love for herbology and potions it was a no brainer they got on.
Harry enjoyed how easy Blaise was, easy to talk to and easy to be around. Harry thought he was funny, too, so really he just accepted the humor and neither ever said they were sorry for the past and neither needed to. Pansy was a little more difficult, but the first time Harry asked her for tea she accepted and after a few hours and a few comments from her about the girls staring, Harry decided she was worth it.
Draco liked that Harry tried and Harry liked that Draco tried.
Harry was quick, of course, to accept the job offer with the Auror Department and even though Draco razzed him a bit about how he was filling expectations he went with it. He’d never tell Draco it wasn’t all it seemed and that secretly he would rather do anything else.
Draco settled in at St. Mungo’s. Quick witted, brilliant, and a lifelong learner Draco was on the fast track to Head Healer.
August 1999 Draco, Harry, Blaise, and Neville signed a lease on a flat in Muggle London and were living a quiet life together. Pansy came around a lot, she said she just didn’t want to be alone but that night that Neville suggested she join them since she was there all the time she flushed and ran out.
Harry was quick to tell the others to leave her alone, she just wanted friends to be around. Blaise was quick to roll his eyes and make a backhanded comment that she wanted more than that with a certain scar headed man.
Harry was glad Draco wasn’t there that night.
Harry hadn’t dated since him and Ginny, a short lived relationship in all honesty. Passion gone just as quick as it had come.
Draco in a fit of jealousy over the closeness of Pansy and Harry started dating someone, a fellow Slytherin girl named Astoria Greengrass. It was short lived. Passion never there, it went.
Even though there were long nights and sleepless days, Draco at times hated his career. He knew he had to train, he knew he had to work to get to where he wanted but it annoyed him more than it inspired him.
Harry was always there, always. Every day off, every night for dinner at Hospital, every morning with breakfast and jasmine tea while he made himself coffee. He damn near tucked Draco in every morning.
He planned weekends that Draco had off, bi-monthly, as best he could. He took less cases, he took less assignments, he became a relic but he’d never tell Draco that. They were just friends, of course, nothing more. They never called it dates, but they thought it. Even when Pansy would tag along.
Harry always said she was lonely, and to cut her some slack so Draco bit his tongue. He tried to be friends with him, he really did. Nothing more.
He didn’t tell anyone the way his mind wondered, or the way on those sleepless mornings when Harry went off to work how he thought of Harry between the sheets.
He couldn’t. He couldn’t ruin what he had. Harry in whatever fashion he could have him.
January 2000 came, and Draco could remember the rare night off how he hoped against hope Harry would give him that midnight kiss. He felt downright childish at the thought, but he was hopeful.
The countdown started, the numbers dwindling and Harry was across the room talking to Pansy and Draco was pissed he traded the shift at Mungo’s and wondered if he could still get back in. It was too late, he knew that.
5...4....3...2...
Draco had stared at him, and Harry looked up and winked as 1 echoed around their flat party. Couples kissing, and Harry just smiled at Draco who finally looked away and disappeared up the stairs.
Harry hadn’t followed, he never did when Draco disappeared. He wanted to, sure, but well they were friends and friends didn’t do that.
Two years of friendship, and a year of housemates came. August 2000 came with news that Draco was excited to share, over a dinner -- with Pansy, he let the news out.
“I’ll be joining the research team,” he said quietly, his eyes darting to Harry.
“What does that mean?” Harry asked, putting his drink down.
“Well, I mean.... I don’t think I’m going for Head Healer anymore.”
Harry had frowned, “what? Why wouldn’t you?”
“Y’know I’m never home as it is now, I thought maybe I’d reevaluate what I was wanting from the career.”
“Ah, Draco, I think you should go for Head Healer, you deserve it.”
“Well, too late now. Maybe after, if it all goes well, it’ll look good on the resume.”
“So do we get more time together then?” Harry asked, his eyes bright, then he cleared his throat, “I mean you said you would be home more right?”
“Yeah, evenings and things like that. Most weekends too. It is more of a conventional schedule.”
Harry smiled, “well, maybe we could go out together, somewhere?” He glanced at Pansy after he said, “I mean to celebrate? Ju — just us?”
Pansy scowled from beside them, and turned away.
“It’s always us when we go out, Potter, but sure.”
“Right, yeah, of course.” Harry nodded, and took another drink, “I’ll get the bill.”
Draco’s last night shift came just a few weeks later, the plan had been that he and Harry would spend Saturday together, get Draco back on a conventional schedule. Draco didn’t think that would be happening when he got the owl from Harry.
Draco --
Enjoy your last night of nights! I won’t be able to join you for dinner, I’m meeting Pansy for drinks.
See ya in the morning!
-- Harry
Draco stared at the note, he had to have read it ten or fifteen times. He couldn’t understand how it was finally happening. Harry had always kept her at a distance, and he couldn’t understand how now... how then he was allowing this to happen.
Draco could only form one conclusion and it was that Pansy finally worked him down enough, finally convinced him. He wanted to be happy for his friend, but reality was he wasn’t. He was pissed, he wanted Harry Potter not -- not for Harry Potter to want Pansy Parkinson.
Drinks are a date, right?
Draco hadn’t even bothered to get himself changed from work, or his usual shower after his shift. He turned his charts in and hurried out to apparate home. He didn’t care about anything else. He just needed to see Harry. He needed to know.
No one was up as he came through the door, no one was greeting him. He knew Blaise and Neville were more than likely asleep, but Harry always greeted him. Except then.... Except the morning after drinks with Pansy.
Draco walked up the stairs and knocked on Harry’s door, when there wasn’t an answer he pushed it open and froze.
His eyes wide as he took in the scene.
Pansy Parkinson in Harry’s bed.
My best mate is in his bed.
It had finally happened, he reasoned with himself, taking a step back.
She finally did it.
Draco turned away. The idea of their fun weekend was no longer appealing to him. He didn’t want to do whatever it was Harry had planned for the next few days, so when Wednesday rolled around he was ready for a day-time schedule. Draco didn’t want any of it.
I’ll just figure it out myself. He decided closing the door soundlessly and walked down the hallway to his own room. He’d just sleep and take care of adjusting his schedule alone. Fuck.
He pushed his bedroom door open and found Harry in his bed, sprawled out under the covers, arms wrapped around his pillow and his face buried in it.
Draco paused, taking a breath before reaching out and giving Harry a probe, who instantly opened his eyes. “Yeah?” His groggy voice asked.
Draco cleared his throat, “what are you doing?”
Harry blinked before he sat up, he grasped for his glasses and slipped them on, “oh shit, I overslept, didn’t I?” He asked, shaking his head, “I mean obviously, you’re here.”
Draco nodded, “yeah, I am.”
“Okay, let me get up.” Harry said and shifted to stand, rubbing at his face.
Draco took a step back, “why are you in my bed?”
Harry flushed, “uh.... Oh, uhm, Pans crashed here. She’s in mine.”
“Why did she stay here?”
“Well,” Harry frowned and sat back on the bed, Draco tried not to notice he was wearing boxers, only boxers in his bed. “She got pretty pissed last night, my fault, really. And I didn’t want her out there, by herself, drunk and everything, and she couldn’t apparate. Of course. So, well, anyway, I brought her back here and put her in mind. I didn’t think you’d like for her to sleep in your bed.”
“What do you mean it was your fault?” Draco had other questions, but he was focused on where this was headed. Their date last night. Was Harry a shitty date? Did something happen? That is what Draco needed to know.
Harry sighed, “Well, I don’t.... Like her, y’know?” He glanced at Draco, meeting his eyes, “I think she is wonderful. I really do. She is beautiful, of course, and she’s good. She’s a good person.”
“Okay?”
“Well, I mean, that’s all really. I just.... Look, I like men. And she is decidedly not a man.”
Draco lifted an eyebrow, “oh? Okay?”
“So, y’know... well, you know how she is.” Harry waved his hand, “she gets a little flirty with me sometimes and I’ve tried to be nice. Figuring she’d find someone else, get into them, but Merlin it’s been years at this point, and I don’t want to sound conceited but I was getting a little concerned she wasn’t going to find someone else.”
Draco nodded, and tilted his head, “so, last night you went for drinks with her because...?” He stared at Harry, “that’s a little bit of a mixed signal, innit?”
“She asked me, she’s been asking me out almost every night. So, I---.”
“What,” Draco held up his hand, interrupting Harry, “why didn’t you tell me that?”
“Wh- Why would I tell you that?”
Draco swallowed, taking a step back and crossing his arms against his healer’s tunic, “we’re friends, right? Friends tell each other things like that.”
Harry shook his head, “you’re asking why I didn’t tell you Pansy has been asking me out, and not why I hadn’t told you I was gay until this morning?”
“I was just asking,” Draco said quickly, “Okay. So, you went for drinks and finally let her know it wasn’t going to be anything?”
“I mean, more or less.” Harry shifted, moving with a stretch, “I just explained she wasn’t my type. Or, really I should say I told her she was pretty close to my type, just, y’know not a bloke. Or the bloke I like for that matter.” He laughed nervously, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. “But, we’ll be fine. Friends. Nothing wrong with that. Just give her a few days and I think it’ll be alright. I was trying to be nice.”
“Why were you being so nice about it?”
Harry blinked, seeming confused by the question, “because she’s your mate?”
“What?”
“She’s your mate, Draco.” Harry said evenly, “I didn’t want it to cause problems between us.”
Draco stared at him, giving him an annoyed eye roll, “it’s.... Right, yeah, our friendship is quite fragile like that.” He offered dryly.
“No I mean. Well--.” Harry moved to stand, “right, friendship. Yes. Okay, let me get up and we’ll go out for the day.”
Draco watched him, he knew there were plans and while he felt he should check on Pansy he was more than a little happy now that she wasn’t going to be going on a date with Harry anymore, and maybe that meant she wasn’t going to be joining them, either. Now, I just have to figure out how to be better than the bloke he likes. He turned and dropped his hands, “I’ll get cha--.”
“It’s you.”
Draco felt the air leave his lungs. “What’s me?”
“The bloke I like. It’s you, Draco.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.” Harry answered, looking at him seriously, “so, no, I didn’t want to upset your mate but then the other day I asked you out and you were just all, we always go out together. And, I just wanted ro make it clear. To you. That yes we always go out together but I want it to be more than us being friends.”
“Oh,” Draco whispered, taking a nervous breath.
“It’s okay if it isn’t that way for you, Draco. I just wanted you to know.”
Draco felt a million things floating through his mind. The ground nearly swallowing him whole. “Right,” he said after a moment, grasping the edge of the dresser he was standing next to.
Harry sighed, “okay, let me get clean--.”
“You like me?” Draco hissed, turning to Harry. His face shaded, his eyes narrowed.
“Yes.”
“No,” Draco shook his head, “I like you.”
“I....” Harry almost laughed, but thought better of it, “yes, I figured that out.”
Draco took a breath and faced him head on, “why didn’t you tell me you knew?”
“I’ve been trying.” Harry whispered, “so I wanted to make it very clear.”
“Potter.”
“Draco.”
Draco took a moment longer then he practically lunged himself at Harry, wrapping his arms around him.