Fancy A Sweet?

Harry fidgeted with his tie one last time. He was not dragging it out. He just wanted to look good for the new Auror Training Center inauguration. It was an important event after all and he needed to look the part.

“Harry, please. Even Hermione is done! Let’s go.” Ron went back to the dorm to get him. “We are going to be late.”

Since when did Ron care about that? Harry sighed and nodded.

“I’m done.” Harry pocketed his wand and followed Ron, who did get new formal robes for the event, much nicer ones than the Yule Ball ones. They met up with Hermione in the Common Room who looked very pretty in her formal blue robes.

“Finally. Headmistress McGonagall let us use the Floo in her office.” She said over her shoulder as she made her way out of the Common Room to the office with Harry and Ron following her. “Have you practised your speech, Harry?”

“About a hundred times.” Not exactly a lie, he had given that speech in so many events he didn’t even need cards to remember it. So why practise it?

“Good. This event is important.”

“Why?”

“Why?!” Ron looked at Harry. “Because it is for the Auror Academy! We are going to be meeting our future workmates.” 

Harry wished he could match Ron’s excitement. But he was excited. Obviously, he wanted to become an Auror. Everyone wanted for him to become an Auror and work his way up to Head Auror. That was his future and he was looking forward to it, he truly was.

Merlin, since when were dress robes so warm?

With a clear voice, they said the place and threw the powder. And with just one step, they entered the prestigious Auror Academy. Camera flashes started before they even got out of the fireplace. A group of Aurors got in the way of the cameras and escorted them out of the public eye.

“Mister Potter.” greeted by the current Head Auror, Gawain Robards. Weird to be referred to as Mister Potter after fighting alongside in the War. But that’s how this shit was. “Miss Granger, Mister Weasley.” He shook each of their hands. “We are so glad you three could make it.”

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Ron said with an easy smile that Harry tried to replicate.

“It’s an honour to be here.” Hermione added. 

Fuck, now he had to say something!

“Yeah.”

Oh, Godric.

“We are a bit behind schedule.” Robards casted a quick Tempus. “So, we will start with presenting you three, then the speech, a few pictures for the press and then we will head to the cocktail party. Okay?”

The constant need to micromanage him. They sent him the damn schedule and he read it. Why the need to repeat it as if he was a child who didn’t know better?

“Perfect.”

Robards ushered them to the stage and the chatter died down, all eyes on them now. All eyes on him. They presented them to the audience as if they didn’t know exactly who they were. They accepted the overly long applause. And once it was done, it was speech time.

“Distinguish wizards and witches…” Harry started and recited the speech from memory. He had said it so many times it sounded natural, people laughed, people smiled and they would applaud afterwards. It was a brilliant speech of course. Hermione wrote it and Harry memorised it. He could completely disconnect from the present and it still looked as if he was there. The whole ceremony felt like a blur of speeches, clapping and pictures.

Out of nowhere someone had given Harry a glass of champagne and he was in the middle of some room. When did he get here? Who was he talking to? He did a quick glance around the area. He spotted Ron and Hermione next to him and that calmed him down a bit. With them close, it was unlikely that someone noticed him being…gone? Distracted? Yeah, distracted.

They were now in a huge gymnasium. It was separated into different training areas. Very well designed and so cool. Looking around he could see an expansive area with mats to practise duelling. There were also big clear rooms that from what this random person was saying, were created to simulate specific environments to practise. There was a full obstacle course and a wide variety of training machines.

It was a jock’s wet dream.

Now this room got him excited about Auror training. Sadly (and strangely) that feeling didn’t last the longer they showed them the facilities. They saw the classrooms where they would take their lectures, presenting the professors that would teach the different subjects, such as Stealth and Tracking, Concealment and Disguise and so on. Harry kinda tuned them out by the fifth handshake. They were all too excited to have him. All already acting as if he was enrolled and that left him with a strange taste in his mouth.

Then they showed them the dorms where the Trainees slept. All so different from Hogwarts. It made Harry’s stomach turn into a knot. Ron talked excitedly with other candidates while Harry stayed behind, busying himself with the champagne that he acted as if he was drinking it. 

By the end of the tour, Harry wanted to crawl out of his skin and they still had the cocktail party left.

Merlin. This never ends.

Harry casted a quick Tempus. 7:25 PM. 

“I have to get going.” He blurted out. Robards raised one eyebrow, Ron and Hermione looked just as surprised. Hermione furrowed her eyebrows.

“Why?”

“I have to go, I’m late for detention.”

“Detention?” Robards seemed baffled. Why? Harry wouldn’t know. It was perfectly normal to want to be on time for detention. The tour guide whose name he still didn’t know laughed a bit.

“Mister Potter, I’m sure they would give you some leeway here. This being a special occasion and all.”

“Yeah, mate.” Ron seemed still confused. “Slughorn won’t give you trouble for missing one.”

“I can’t miss it.” Harry shook his head and gave his glass to Hermione. “I can leave all that work to Malfoy.”

“Malfoy?” The random tour guy asked with a harsher tone this time. 

“Yeah. I forgot to tell him and he could think I just ditched him and I can’t do that.” 

“Why do you care what that ferr-”

“I do. Okay? It’s my punishment too. Thank you for the invitation, Robards. The place looks amazing.” Harry quickly shook Robards’ hand. Then he looked at the other dude that must be an Auror, he just noticed that he was wearing the Auror formal robes. “Thanks for the tour…ehm…” Shit his name.

“Auror Ewan Smith.”

“Sorry, I’m rubbish at names. Thank you.”

Harry gave Ron and Hermione an apologetic smile. He needed to get out of here. He was drowning. Hermione seemed to catch his struggle. Bless her.

“See you at breakfast, Harry.”

He nodded at them and waved awkwardly at some people, doing his best to dodge anyone who tried to stop him for a chat. Once out of public sight, he rushed to the Floo, loosening his tie as he walked, hoping that he could breathe a bit better. He grabbed a handful of powder.

“Headmistress McGonagall office, Hogwarts.”

McGonagall seemed a bit shocked to see him return so early. Before she could question him, Harry rushed to the door.

“Sorry, can't talk! I’m late for detention!”

\\\

He said over his shoulder as he rushed out of her office and ran to the Potions classroom that of course was at the other side of the fucking castle. But even running, Harry felt like he could breathe better. The castle didn’t feel suffocating. Especially this late and with everyone still at dinner.

He bursted the door open into the Potions classroom, shocking Malfoy who surprisingly quickly raised his wand at Harry and just as quickly he lowered it down. His initial shock faded and his traditional sneer, that didn’t bother Harry as much as it used to, appeared on his face.

“Finally decided to bless me with your presence, Potter?” Malfoy put his wand down and went back to polishing a cauldron. “You are late.”

“Yeah.” Harry was still out of breath. “Got stuck at the function, sorry.” He took his tie out and tossed it aside, taking off his outer robe as he walked over. “I ran as fast as I could.” Harry sat down next to Malfoy and grabbed the nearest cauldron to polish.

“A bit overdressed for polishing cauldrons.” Malfoy said casually, handling him a rag.

“Didn’t have time to change.”

“And here I was thinking you got all dressed up for me.”

Harry glanced at him and shook his head, beginning to polish the cauldron.

“You better work fast. I refuse to come back because we didn't finish all the cauldrons before curfew.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Harry polished a bit harsher. “They wouldn’t let me go. I did the speech but turns out there was also a tour and a cocktail party. It dragged on forever. The cocktail party hadn't even started when I managed to slip away, can you believe that?”

“I do actually. That’s how Ministry functions tend to be.”

“Boring?”

“And overly tedious.” Harry snorted. Malfoy asked. “What was the function for anyways?”

“The inauguration of the new Auror Training Center.”

Malfoy tensed up, he stopped scrubbing for a second and when he resumed, it was much harsher than before. Hmm…

“I’m used to these functions.” Harry continued. “I always have to go. Hell, I didn’t even have to make a new speech.” Harry kept talking, somehow he felt like he could. “This one was exhausting.”

“Don’t you love Aurors? Isn’t Saviour Potter supposed to become the golden boy of Aurors?”

“No.” That came way too fast. Malfoy looked up, clearly surprised by the harsh answer. “I mean. I still have to apply. I haven’t applied yet.” Malfoy rolled his eyes, finishing a cauldron and picking up another.

“As if they would say no to you.”

“That’s what everyone said there.” Harry frowned a bit. “That’s what everyone says.”

“It’s true. I bet they would have let you in without N.E.W.T.S. Why waste a whole year at Hogwarts-”

“It’s not a waste.” Harry stopped scrubbing and looked at Malfoy. “This is not a waste. I wanted to come back, well, not at first but I didn’t want to go to the Aurors right away. I needed a break!”

His chest felt so tight. When did his breathing get so shallow? He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe-

“Well obviously. After everything, of course you would want a break.” Malfoy said so casually. “Pretty obvious.”

“What?”

“A few hours in that Academy turned you deaf already?” Malfoy picked another cauldron. “I said that it is obvious that you wouldn’t want to be an Auror right away. Or an Auror at all. Why would you want to be one?”

“Of course I want to be an Auror.”

“Why?”

“Because…because…well.“

“Well?”

Why did he want to be an Auror?

“I’m good at duelling.”

“That’s a skill, not a reason.”

Harry rolled his eyes. It was so obvious why he would be an Auror. Leave it up to Malfoy to make things difficult. Why was he asking? Why did he care?

“Well I want to help people.”

“Right, so you want to be an Auror to feed your saviour-complex.”

“I do not have a saviour-complex.”

“Sure you don’t.” Malfoy checked the cauldron he was working on and seemed to be satisfied with it. He put it aside and picked up another. 

“You don’t know shit about me.” Harry threw the rag onto the floor. “I don’t have to explain myself to you!”

To which, Malfoy just shrugged. And continued polishing cauldrons.

“Auror is the perfect career for me. Everyone knows it. It fits perfectly with me. It is the perfect career path for me to follow. It is the only logical option-”

“Is it really?”

“Of course it is.”

Malfoy passed him another cauldron and then his rag.

“You can talk and polish.”

Harry rolled his eyes and went back to polishing a bit harsher than necessary. They stayed in silence for a while. But Harry couldn’t stay silent. While it wasn’t as unbearable as before, he still felt on edge.

“You are such a prick.”

That stopped Malfoy and got him to look at him.

“Potter.” Malfoy slowly put the cauldron down. “Listen to me very carefully.” He moved to face Harry properly. “You came here angry, tough luck. But I am not going to sit here and let you take your anger out on me when I had nothing to do with it. Is that clear, Potter?”

Harry took a deep breath and nodded, his grip on his cauldron tightened. Malfoy glanced down at his hand and back at Harry.

“What got you so upset anyways?”

What indeed? He should be excited, right? The event was supposed to be fun! He should have come back happy and excited. He should have wanted to stay.

“The event was a bit much.” Harry managed to say. Malfoy waited for him to say more. Weirdly enough, Harry felt like talking. “Everyone talked as if I had already been enrolled. As if the choice was done. As if they know everything about it, like it was all set in stone.”

“Aurors tend to do that.”

“What?”

“Assume shit. When they have a set idea. They won’t change it.”

Harry had the feeling that Malfoy was referring to something else. But it did fit somewhat with what Harry was feeling. That they had a set idea of him. Of his future.

Was this the prophecy all over again? He hoped not. He barely made it out of the other one.

“...yeah. Maybe.”

“Hmm.”

Again, silence. But a better one. They worked quickly but half way through their shift Harry’s stomach growled. Oh, right.

“Hungry?”

“I missed dinner.”

“You should have said that sooner.” Malfoy rolled his eyes and went to get his school bag. “No wonder you are so grumpy.” He sat back down and handed Harry a green apple and a blue Sugar Quill. Harry took them, ate the apple right away, while still chewing, he spoke.

“Thanks.” Harry smirked a bit at the face that Malfoy made when he talked with his mouth full. “This is very good.”

“Stop. You will get your disgusting spit all over the cauldrons.” Malfoy took Harry’s away and finished it up. He looked at the mountain of cauldrons left to polish and sighed. “We won’t be able to finish them all tonight.”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry you got all dressed up for nothing.”

“The look on your face when you saw me make it in time was worth it.” Harry meant the scared face he made when he walked in but the flush that quickly took over Malfoy’s cheeks was…interesting.  

“Shut up.”

“I’m sorry I scared you.”

“Scare me- Oh fuck off. You do not scare me.”

And that felt…dangerous. A bit thrilling.

Harry opened the Sugar Quill, a blue one. He leaned back into the wall. “So, back here tomorrow?”

“Sadly.” Malfoy stood up. “It’s all your fault. You should come back alone to finish your part.”

“Can I bribe you with some candy?”

“Bribe for what?”

“To come and keep me company while I polish.” Harry stood up too, grabbing his things.

“I’m very expensive.”

Harry walked over to him, they made their way outside. Malfoy seemed to not mind that Harry was going the opposite way of the Gryffindor Tower. It kinda made Harry feel better. Knowing that nobody would bother Malfoy this time.

“So how about 5 Sugar Quills and 3 Chocolate Frogs? No Blue Sugar Quills this time.”

“How do you know I don’t like the blue ones?”

Harry waved the blue Sugar Quill he gave him. Malfoy raised his eyebrows once. Sadly, they arrived at the Dungeons. Harry leaned against the wall next to the door.

“So?”

“I want some fudge too.”

“Deal.”

Malfoy looked at Harry for a moment, then shook his head with a small smile on his lips. He looked at the stone wall.

“I’m not saying the password with you around, Potter.”

“How many Sugar Quills would that cost me?”

Malfoy laughed a bit, looking back at Harry.

“Good night, Potter.”

“See you tomorrow afternoon? Same time, same place?”

“Curfew is soon and I am technically out of my room. I’m going to get in trouble.”

Harry started walking backwards. “Same time, same place?”

Malfoy rolled his eyes but smiled, “Yes. Bring your notes. Now go.”

“Good night, Malfoy.” 

Malfoy waved at Harry to leave and he did, just as he turned the corner he heard the common room open and close. Somehow, the whole thing made him feel better. Malfoy was going to kill him when he saw his notes tomorrow. The thought made him smile all the way back to the Gryffindor Tower, eating his blue Sugar Quill.

\\\

Ridiculous. This was ridiculous.

Draco had caught himself smiling while studying early in the morning in the empty Great Hall. It was ridiculous. Every time he thought about their tutoring lesson that afternoon, his lips tried to quirk up. He was looking forward to it. What a heinous thing. 

Stupid Potter, with his stupid smile, with his stupid eyes and his elegant robes that fit him perfectly, somehow always having his favourite candies. Draco hated him so much. He should just not go. Just letting him wait for him in the library and never talk to him again.

The image of Potter, leaning against the wall after walking him back to the Slytherin Common Room. Smiling at him, dimples showing, talking with him as if he actually wanted to stay there.

A smile appeared on Draco’s face, a warm fluttery feeling on his stomach. He bit his lower lip and held his head between his hands. 

Come on, you are not a silly fourteen year old. Stop this.

He looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath. He really needed to start hating Potter again. It was much less distracting. He let out a breath through his mouth slowly, looking back at his notes and doing his best to concentrate on the essay again. 

Hating Potter was much more productive. No exactly for his classes though. The ‘Potter Stink’ pins took forever to make but they were still one of his best works that weren’t Voldermort-related.

Remembering that asshole sombered his mood. It felt both like it happened a decade ago and just yesterday. His arm began to itch a bit and Draco pulled the sleeve of his jumper as far as it would go, stretching both the sleeve and the neck. 

If Pansy was there, she would get upset by the act and say that it would deform the shape, leaving it lopsided. Then Blaise would say to not worry because Pansy probably knew a charm to fix it. Which, of course she did, but that didn’t mean she would go around mending their clothes. Then Goyle or Greg would perk up, having heard only half the conversation. Saying they needed help with the basic mending spell. Pansy would glare at them. And it would be either Theo’s or his job to help them.

He missed them all dearly.

Greg, the thought of his death always felt like an arrow going through his heart. His absence it’s always noted by all of them. Their friend group was forever incomplete now. It hit Goyle the most. Draco was glad he had the others with him to keep him going, to help him push forward. That was good. It was necessary.

To keep pushing. They were all doing what they could. Draco was proud of them.

He was trying too. To be better. He was trying so hard to move on. 

At the end of the day, after everything that had happened the last two long years. Draco felt like he could allow himself to smile a bit to himself and maybe, look forward to something nice.

A crisp, cream white, envelope fell right in front of Draco. The seal with the Ministry logo was slightly skewed to the left.