Harry feels vitorious.
And that’s how they speets better ier that. It still takes him a while to really resent, but it doesn’t take him hours now.
The days are quiet. Peaeful. Undemanding.
Drao disappears in the middle of oioimes, but they pik it up as soon as he omes bak. Sometimes, it takes a while for him to remember, but Harry atieime.
The days pass by in a haze of breakfast and small oions.
Three weeks after Drao was released from Azkabaers his room ahe food oable. “What’s for breakfast today?”
“Banana panakes.”
Harry beams at the t stak pte. Beside it lie a bowl of thinly slied bananas, another bowl of rushed ashew nuts, aer ubes. “Oh, that’s a lot.”
“I had Bira. You keep oing mine.”
Harry ughs then, a sudden, surprised bark of ughter. There is reading ihe thought of Drao thinking of him. “That’s beause you dohem. It’s a waste.”
“Hoosed to eat them when you shove them in your mouth the first ha? Fukier.”
Another round of ughter. “Sorry. Sorry, I’ll ask time.”
Drao rolls his eyes, but his lips are twithing and he’s looking livelier a look so sik anymore. Maybe it helps that he an move his arms aer now. He’s been joinihe past week, and that’s defihaing alohed with a sneer of mok disgust. It’s also defihaing alone in Grimmauld Pe, oable with a lot of hairs but o sit on them.
& down. I don’t think you ame here just to wath me eat.”
Harry does as told. “he parawo panakes ohree weeks of eating in the Manor, he’s mao divest himself of his bashfulhe food), soops as muh slies of bah his fork, and spri on top along with the rushed ashews. He ule of maple syrup.
“You always ome for the panakes,” Draetting his f over the table towards the serving pte. His nose sruhe sight of the puddle of syrup on Harry’s pte.
Harry ig. “Well, if it makes you feel better, I’m also here to ask h.”
“What the hell for?”
“Did you have a good sleep?”
“Doe arou’s disgusting.”
Harry shoves panakes in his mouth. He’s lear Drao tries to be diffiult ohe best way to deal with him when he’s being a slimy sod is to ig he’s being a slimy sod. He thinks he should be awarded for his disovery and anonized for his patiene. “Did you have a good fuking sleep?”
And then Drao ughs.
Just like that, any irritatio have felt gives way to a ertain kind of wo seeing Drao Malfoy ugh so unguardedly. Harry realizes he’s staring.
“Yes, I did. Thanks f.”
Harry swallows the panakes down, hard. “It shows.”
“Yeah. I might take a walk ioday,” Drao says, smiling slightly as he turns to look at the budding flowers.
It’s worrisome how the words are out before he an stop them. “bsp;I ome with you?”
Surprise paints Drao’s fae, and it makes him look i, eyes wide open and eyebrows raised. After a while, Drao returns to his panakes and says, without lookiever, Potter. Do what you want.”
But by the time they’ve fiheir breakfast, he is gone again.
Harry takes hold of his ushes him around the garden anyway.
The day, Harry omes and Drao’s already in the middle of the garden, his wheelhair fotten a distane away among a shrub of pink arnations.
Harry stops, his greeting dying on his lips.
It’s a big garden, more spaious than Drao’s room. The flora is lush, rih, and ly trimmed, and olour blooms in every orhere are roses, and lilies, aions ahe middle of the garden stands a fountain, ing down the marble eyes of the roudly at the ehe snakes oold Harry who she is sine day one.
Ahe bright blue sky, stand Drao Malf pin trousers aer, looking at the flowers with a small smile on his fae.
&he war ended, Harry’s had time to learly think and uaure of why he’s so obsessed with Drao, really. He thinks Ron and Hermiooo, but are just waiting for him to figure it out for himself. He’s figured it a loually, but figuring it out a are two different matters.
But it’s suh a blow to the hest every time he omes aross somethihese moments that make his heeks warm a hard to breathe and eveo look away.
Drao sees him, aring, and turns an amused smirk iion.