Chapter 13
Harry didn’t see Draco in the morning. He kept waiting and staring through his open office door but no one came.
After he finished lunch he decided to open the report he had received the night before. It said that the post box had received a letter from Morrie Solus, but more interestingly that Morrie herself had been the one to pick it up.
Why would she mail herself? Harry thought.
The report continued that they would stay on the post box and let him know if anything else of interest happened. It was weird, but then so many of Morris’s decisions were. If being weird was a crime Harry would have to arrest a lot more people. He sighed, he still had nothing more than his gut to go on.
He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. Maybe he would put in a transfer to some post in the countryside. He would do nothing but watch little old lady’s post boxes. Then he could walk home through the fields and sit in his quiet house with the windows open to hear the rain. Whenever Harry opened the windows here all he got was smog, cigarettes, and car horns.
He left the office and locked it. His day dream had put him in the mood to work in his shop. Harry turned the last spindle for the rocking chair slowly. He could just do this in the country too. No wizard work, just his hands and his tools and the peace. Could he really give up all of it? Would he really enjoy the peace? He wasn’t sure.
He finally finished the chair as the moon peaked out from behind the clouds. He heard the soft sound of steps in the hallway and then Draco moved into the room.
“Didn’t know you were still here.” Harry said, wiping his hands on his jeans.
“Is that alright?” Malfoy was in his pajamas.
“The room is yours.” Harry tried not to sound too eager for him to take it.
“What do you do with it all?” Draco gestured to the finished projects.
“Well this,” Harry pointed to the chair. “Will be a wedding present for Ginny.”
“Are you planning to propose then?” Malfoy asked. Harry couldn’t help but laugh, making Draco frown.
“I think her boyfriend would be offended.”
“I thought you were her boyfriend.”
“No. Not for a while now. But the man she’s with now is bound to ask her any day.”
“How do you know?”
“Oh you just know, when two people look at each other like that… you just know.” Draco looked unconvinced at Harry’s answer.
“So you built her the chair?” Draco said, deciding to drop his other line of questioning.
“Ginny always said when she got married she wanted to get a rocking chair just like her mothers to rock her babies to sleep in.” Harry recalled the memory.
“You’re still friends with her.” It wasn’t a question.
“Of course.” Harry shrugged.
“Everyone at Hogwarts thought you would be the man Weasley got married and had her babies with.”
“Well people at Hogwarts can be wrong.” Harry looked Draco in the eye. “About all of us.”
Draco shifted on his feet uncomfortably. Harry crossed the room and stood closer to him than he ever had. He imagined he heard Malfoy’s breath quicken. He could do it. He could give in to his foolish little feelings for just a moment and touch his face, feel his heart beating, taste his lips…
“Want to watch a movie?” Harry said instead, chickening out. Draco shrugged and followed Harry into the office. They sat in the chairs as Harry switched on the tv and searched through the selection.
“Anything you want to watch?”
“I’ve only seen a few films,” Draco answered. “With other students when I was in France.”
Harry chose one of his old favorites and the opening began. Draco seemed interested in the animation. They sat in silence as it played, only interrupted once by Kreacher who brought in a snack and beers. The credits rolled and Draco finally broke their silence.
“Rubbish.”
“Excuse me?”
“No one falls in love with the beast. No one.” Draco stood and popped his back.
“Sometimes people do.” Harry laughed and switched off the tv.
“I don’t think so.” Draco said solemnly. They were lit only by the dim light of the lamp on Harry’s desk. Harry, feeling emboldened by the darkness, stepped closer again like he had in the workshop.
“They do,” Harry brushed his fingers just barely against the back of Draco’s hand.
They didn’t move. Draco looked into Harry’s eyes for what felt like an eternity. He leaned in, just barely, and Harry held his breath.
“Goodnight.” Draco swallowed and fled down the hallway. Harry sighed and returned to his own room.
This is the opposite of getting rid of your crush, he scolded himself. This was absolutely positively the exact opposite.
In the morning no one joined him for breakfast. Harry was sure he had the house to himself. Despite it being the weekend Harry went to his office. There was paperwork to be packed back up so it could be stored. He packed the boxes and inventoried them, leaving one open for any last minute items. His case to nowhere would soon be closed.
There was a knock at the door and Harry greeted another messenger. The envelope was not for Harry, but for Malfoy.
“I was told he could be found here sir.”
“Yes, I’ll sign for it.” Harry collected the letter and headed upstairs. He knocked lightly on the door to the suite but there was no answer. He took the letter back to his office and waited.
The day had passed and Kreacher brought him dinner. Harry noticed he had two trays. He asked if Kreacher would ask Malfoy to come down and see him. By the time he finished eating there was a tall familiar figure in the door.
“This came for you.” Harry extended the letter. “I had to sign for it.”
Draco stepped reluctantly into the room to get the letter from Harry’s hands. He opened it and read it carefully.
“I’m officially off parole…” he sounded surprised.
“I have something for you then,” Harry unlocked his desk and fetched a box from the bottom left drawer. “As a congratulations.”
He handed the long black box to Malfoy who took it cautiously. Draco looked at Harry and then down again at the gift. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to open it. Finally he did. Carefully he moved the paper around and lifted out his wand.
“You kept it? All this time?” Draco whispered.
“Well I knew you’d need it. It never really answered to me like a wand ought to.” Harry stood and leaned back against the desk.
“All this time… you thought I’d get off of parole?”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“I don’t know. I just assumed I’d mess it up somehow… I do that a lot…” Draco’s confession hung in the air as he waved his wand around tentatively.
“As far as I can tell you’ve been doing just fine.” Harry smiled.
“I don’t understand you.” Draco frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“You should probably still hate me, the way everyone else does. I was horrible.”
Harry thought about it a moment. He knew he didn’t hate Malfoy anymore but there was one question still nagging him in the back of his mind.
“Are you sorry for it?”
“Yes.” Draco stopped waving his wand and looked at Harry.
“Then,” Harry stepped closer. “Let’s just move forward.”
“I don’t see how you could want to…” Draco swallowed and Harry thought his voice hinted as if he was really asking something else. Harry moved closer still and Malfoy didn’t move. Harry let his hand hang in the air at his side just centimeters from Draco’s.
“Don’t you want to?” Harry asked slowly. One of Draco’s fingers moved forward and ever so lightly touched Harry’s.
“I don’t know…” Draco turned and left the room just as he had done the previous night. Harry went down the hall and threw himself on his bed.
What game was he trying to play with Malfoy? And what did he possibly think he could win?