The day, she Owls him ihe eer, she writes:
I’m not really sure about you involvih Malfoy again, but I trust you as always, Harry, and I am worried about him. A’s been helpih everything somehow. I krying to hole yourself up in Grimmauld Pe tely. We are going to talk about that when I ome bak.
How is Malfoy? Say hullo to him for me.
Four days ter, Harry returns, and is surprised whehe door and Drao turht at him.
“You’re here,” he omments, eyes wide and startled.
Drao raises a him. “This is my room, Potter.”
“I guess. Err.” Harry pauses by the door. “bsp;I ome in?”
“You’ve been bargihe past two weeks, or so my mother tells me. Dohing as trivial as the k of my permission stop you now.”
Harry flushes, but ehe room, anyway. “Exuse me, then.”
&he room, onsious of Draaze oime. As he the table. “Eggs?”
Drao follows his gaze, towards the table with two sets of breakfast: Frenh ts, slies of fruit, and a up of offee. He sighs. “Well, sit dowhere’s nothing muh I ao when even my house elf’s maki.”
Harry shrugs, ahe folded op of the napkin o’s from Narissa, with pretty muh the same message as before. He sits doihat’s pooled in his mouth at the smell of the food. “Your mother asked me to ome today.”
“You an refuse her, you know. You’re ertainly under no obligation to babysit riminals.”
Harry frowns at that, but doeshe bait. “I know. I just want to. I’m the one who offered.”
Drao stares at him, and there is gey in his &ion. “Why?”
Harry shrugs. “Free food.” He starts to dig in into his breakfast. Drao oare at him. He sn a mouthful of eggs and toast. “How are you feeling?”
&o ua goiraight answer, Drao looks away. “Dreadful. My bak hurts.”
Harry tamps de to smile. After so many visits of Drao just sitting there like a vegetable, it’s refreshing to hear his usual snark. “Hermione says hi, by the way.”
“Tell her she doesend to be ivil just beause the war’s over.”
& pretending. She’s really worried about you.”
Drao soihat Weasley’s worried about me, too?”
“Well, he’s mostly worried about me. But he does ask about you from time to time.”
“Probably just to make sure we’re not hidiers in eoo ambush the Golden Boy to revive You-Know-Who,” Drao mutters.
Harry’s fork pauses halfway into his mouth. Bits of the egg plop bak onto his pte. “Err. You’re not, are you?”
Drao looks at him straight in the eyes, unamused. “Merlin, Potter, if we wanted you indisposed, Binky oisoned your panakes by now.”
Harry rexes. He’s gd Binky hasn’t poisoned his pahose pa. “Okay, good. I’ll tell Ron that.”
Drao sighs loudly. “Why are yain?”
Harry shrugs. “You know, I’m not really sure myself,” he says holy.
At that, Drao leans bak in his hair, studying him.
Harry resists the urge to shove ahful of eggs in his mouth io avoid his gaze.
After a while, Drao looks out into the garden. His voie is small a. “You’ve done your part. My mother esaped Azkaban, and for that, I am ied to you. My sentene was also redued beause of you. I am not so uo fet that. But this…” He g him, eyes tired. “What do you get out of this?”
It hurts, to see Drao Malfoy so defeated. Oime, Harry thinks he would have relished seeing Drao like this, atohiohio do to save his family.
&ime isn’t now.
“I’m sorry,” he lets out in a rush. “You shouldo Azkaban.”
&hat Drao sends him at that is dry. “Have you fottehings I’ve done?”
“No,” Harry shakes his head, as Drao’s eyes head on. “.”
“What is this, theurns intolden Boy’s feeling guilty?”
“Do.” Harry gres. It’s gettiay alm when Drao’s so deided to be an asshole. “Look, Malfoy, there’s erior motive to this. ’t we just. I don’t know, be friends?”