When he falls, he falls hard, aher to get bak up, just throws his head bak and ughs. He’s still ughihat Harry gets bak, beause even though he had hurt himself evehe fall, part of him must have dohis as some sik form of pu, beause he had known from the beginning that this was the only possible result.
“Jesus.” Harry swears ofte now, just drops the bag of yarn and books a he had been holding and sprints down the hallway to him, skiddihree feet in his soks. “What the hell happened, Drao?”
& good at being soft, Harry. He’s more wildfire tha, all hurria the gentle rainfall. When he’s being dramati and menholy, Drao likes to tell himself that it isn’t a bad way to go out, being burned up by someone else’s love for you.
“I wao ome dow souupid whe out loud. All bad deisions sound stupid whehe better part of the h on the ht I ould do it.”
“Did yhs, finding it funny now that it was lear that Drao had not hurt himself, ao see Drao for the first time, aly, like it was more of ahaion. “Merlin, Drao.” He lets go of him and Drao has to lean onto the wall for support, hunhing in on himself io hide, beause he did he way that Harry was staring. “Your hest.”
“It’s nothing.” Drao rossed his arms over himself, trying to over as muh skin as he ould. He k he looked like—had seen the bruises frhe mirror, the sabs and the sraps as of skin that he bee awkward edges, how pale he was, the hollows underh his ribs, the sars rossing his arms and stomah and urling over his shoulders—a if he had the hoie, Harry would . Now that he takes a moment to think about it, Drao thinks this is the first time that Harry had gotteo look at him with enough light to really see, ahough Harry had known (must have known), you ould not really prepare yourself fe like this when a human beihey said it would heal.”
& not disappear. The potions will knit you bak together but the sars will still be there.)
& are. I don’t are.)
(You do.)
“Drao.” Harry reahes out and pushes Drao’s hands away, gehat if he really wao, Drao ould have kept them i he doesn’t, just lets them drift off to his sides. “God, Drao.”
Harry’s breath hithes like he had been aught off guard by the sight all ain, and Drao loses his eyes, tippiainst the wall as Harry’s hands trae over his uts aorn up skin, beause he did not want to lo at him, ’s like this. “This,” Harry says, a tremble in his voie, and his hands are folloeifi set of sars now, old o Drao had spent so many h at that he ould all up the image in his mind. “These are from me.”
& be rying. Drao doesn’t look, just moves to ath at Harry’s his hands in pe, beause he k being told that Harry was thinking away. It’s what he always does, whehat he has hurt someone.
“Merlin,” Harry says agai’s all he an think to say, and he is so lose that Drao ahe word breathed out against his shoulder. Harry’s ha aross his stomah now, fingers the silver sars that are rissrossing over his hest, like he ould make them melt away if he held on long enough, fi disappeariween Drao’s ribs. “Look what I did to you.”
“To be fair,” Dra to sound hough this was the losest they had beeher si night at the hospital, “I was atively trying to kill you.”
“Yeah, well.” Harry had moved oher sars, other stories ier endings, his touh so hesitant that it was barely more than a brushing of his skin against Drao’s. “You weren’t very good at it.”
“No.” Drao said, ahey seem to ome to the uanding that they have had enough of the past ahe future instead, or maybe it had oo Harry at that moment rearious positio whatever it arates them both the tehe ouh, athing Drao before he ould stumble aing him halfway, moving down just as Dra up for him.
It’s ohings have almed dowhat Drao finally looks dowhe skin and the rui, all the ways that this life had left its mark on him. “There’s so maed to look at the part of his bak that was refleted in the mirror, f Harry to move with him. “I didhere were so many.”
“I wish I ould take them away,” Harry says, his hands still movirying to map out an image of every mark in his head.
“They do look terrible.” Not terrible as ily, but terrible as in they are speaking of a pain that Drao would rather fet, of a past that he annot possibly hope to hen it is written aross his skin.
“That’s not what I meant.”
Drao pulled the b bak overtop both of them, vanishing himself and his sars from view. “I know.”
Chapter 33
Harry
& a thing f dramati promations.
Harry’s really o beause Hermione had poi to him, one, bak ih year. She hado be ohose times where she says somethirospetive a it had been, beause suddenly Harry was finding himself looking bak on all t