“Still.” They’re time in the ubile was winding dowhey would be fored to has without anything to show for it. It was times like these where Harry misses Hermio, wheo do homework on his own. “I still thi your mind. War’s finally made you rak, mate.”
It’s a joke, but it isn’t wro Drao at his te night obsessions, but that’s only beause Harry has his own routine, where he wahrough the house with his wa in front of him, poking into eah room and the loks on ever door and ith Drao there, he sleeps a little easier, a o whe off guard by something that reminds him of the war is a little less. He thinks it is improvemehey barely seem to be able to talk to eah other, ahey were oo be mortal eo eah other.
(It is a mark up, he thinks, that the two of them an look bak and see how pure what they had really was, ay that ame from that one dimensional hatred, where there were he ations. If thier, they would have grown up a iime, beeo fe a bond of friendship, but Voldemort washed the ha away.)
(Tom. Tom Riddle. That’s s trying to all him io remind him that he was only a man, after all of it. It’s not athing on.)
“I really don’t mind him. It’s kiually.” He would elling Ron about those m breakfasts, hts spent arouelevision, es to make the tea just how Harry likes it. He does not tell him how it is ohat Drao already has beome a perma fixture ihing that is ly good but also her, ahi be sad if the ourt would suddenly robation and turn Drao loose.
“Telling you, mate.” Ron has his opinions on this, everyo he mostly keeps them quiet. “Bonkers.”
Drao
Friends.
That’s what he hears Harry all him, whehe phoh someone named Dudley. Atually, he alls them mates, as in, sorry Dudley, but I an’t talk t tonight, my mate Malfoy has ome over.
And Drao knows that that robably just ao hang up oalks too muh. He knorobably didhing, a throw away omment that Harry used beause he ouldn’t think of anything to really expin this whole situatiohis, but thehinks of how they wether to ht, and hht home a new DVD series alled Sherlok just beause he thought Drao would like it, and how he kly how muh milk to put in his tea. A doesoo far-fethed to think that he was friends with the great Harry Potter.
(His father would be devastated.)
(What’s it matter? His father is rotting in a jail ell.)
(Shut up.)
“Why are y at me like that?” Harry huelephone bak ohe wall. It had a urly t you standing right by it. Harry said that pho all like that, now, but that he deided to get an old fashiohought that he would lose it, otherwise. “Do I have something on my fae?”
“No, it’s just…” He uses the word just a lot now, just and maybe and if you wouldn’t mi sure when that started. “Maybe we should all eah other by our first names. Siogether and all.”
“Me all you by your first name? And you all me Harry?” For a moment, Drao thinks he has made a terrible mistake, that he misaluted all of it. But then Harry’s fae spits into a smile and he ahe air beio his lu. Sounds like a pn, Drao.”
“Alright, Harry.” Drao smiles himself, and is surprised to find that it atually feels like it belongs there.
Friends. He ould do that.
Chapter 3
Harry
&imes, if he isn’t areful, he finds himself going down the bk hole that was his memories from the war.
For the most part, Harry tries not to think about it, but thehe orhe greenish light from the fl the fire grate reminds him of the fsh of the killing urse, or he aidently srathes at his skiing reminds him of the prikle of his sar, whih hadn’t really pained him si he got to wath Voldemort fall.
Or sometimes it’s just a feeling, a something was wrht on by nothihan Drao moving a ouh ushio appearing right away. It sends him dowaphorial rabbit hole, and the only way out is th his familiar routine of heking, heking, heking, pokio shadowed orners as ahe bed, wathing from the orner of his eye for death eaters to leap out at him, even though he and Hermione had made sure that no one ould make it into his house with severe bodily harm.
& so meriful ahere are spells that she doeshe op usihough without the war there is , like she’s building a wall around the people she loves brik by brik, urse by deadly urse.)
It wasn’t a big deal, bak when he was alone. He would justify it to himself, saying that everyohe quirks and if this was all he had to do to get by, the wasn’t that big of a deal. But that was before he had to peek behiains with Drao wathing him, ahree times before he ould ome bak iing room aehing was wrong.
O pretehing was wrong, beause Drao was wathing him.
“I an make you a alming dro