Life Changing

Harry was so anxious waiting for Draco to come in that he cooked a full English breakfast. Now he was just sipping his tea contemplating how Draco would act towards him. He was lost in thought when he heard Draco approach. He looked up and his mouth dried, and heart caught in his throat. He forgot how attractive Draco was at 17. It didn’t go unnoticed when they were both 17 how attracted to Draco Harry was. He was practically obsessed over him. So finding him attractive again didn’t surprise him. He mentally shook himself. He had put those feelings aside for reasons. They had fought against each other. They were on opposite sides of the war. Now, was not the time either for these feelings to back to him. He blinked. He realized he was staring. He finally noticed how angry Draco looked, this wasn’t good.

He cleared his throat. “Good morning Draco. I made breakfast.”

Draco silently glared at Harry. “That is all you have to say to me Potter?” He angrily spat.

Harry gulped and winced. “How much do you remember?”

“I remember a lot actually. I remember the incident in the bathroom. The one that made me look like this!” Draco yelled taking off his shirt.

He saw the red angry scars that marred Dracos chest. He noticed Draco’s alabaster skin, his toned chest and perfect abs from years of Quidditch. His eyes wandered lower to a patch of blond hair that disappeared beneath his trousers. He blushed crimson. “I had no idea what that spell did. I know it is not an excuse. I found it in an old potions handbook. It said to use for enemies, it was the only thing that came to my mind at the time. You were about to crucio me!” Harry tried to explain. Now that he thought about it though, Draco looked distraught at the time. He had been crying, he was stressed, and there was no way he would have been able to correctly cast that spell. ‘You have to mean it’ he heard in Voldemort’s voice taunting him from when he tried to curse Bellatrix for killing Sirius.

“I know.” Draco spat. “But that still doesn’t give you the right to use such a dark spell on me. It is not good to mess spells you don’t know anything about. You could have cast a shield or a disarming spell on me instead of scaring me for life!”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Draco. You have no idea how sorry I am. I regret using that spell. I want you to know that I hate myself for using that spell. You didn’t deserve it.” Harry said.

 “You do know you owe Severus for saving my life, right? Otherwise where would we be? I could have died and then you would have gone to Azkaban. Then what? We would still be under Voldemort’s rule. Maybe he even would have managed to kill you.” Draco replied.

“I know. I sincerely apologize for what I did. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t want to kill you. I do owe a huge thank you to Snape, and the next time I see the man, I will make sure he knows it.” Harry vowed.

“I am curious to know how all this plays out. I know up to about a week after the bathroom incident.” Draco suggested.

“I don’t know if I should tell you how things play out.” Harry confided.

“Why not, it’s not like I am going to run into my post self. Everything has already happened. I can’t change the outcome. I will know in a month anyway. What would be the harm?” Draco responded.

Harry thought about it. On one hand it was true that Draco would remember it all in a month’s time. On the other he wasn’t sure if Draco could handle knowing the truth. He seemed so angry. Harry still wanted to try to be friends with him, but he knew if he held this from him it might hurt their relationship in the long run. He was afraid that after divulging it all, that he would no longer be friends with him. Finally he decided to just go with it.

Harry told him about everything. He told him about Draco’s task, how Snape finished it for him and why he did. He told him about hunting for Horcruxes and his time at the Manor, how Draco refused to identify them. He told him about the room of requirement and how he saved Draco’s life. He told him about Snape and his memories. He told him about willingly walking into the Forbidden Forest, to his death, seeing his loved ones and choosing to come back after a talk with Dumbledore. He told him about his mother lying to Voldemort about him being dead. Even mentioning that Neville pulled the sword from the sorting hat and killing Nagini with it. He told him about the Elder Wand and being the master of it, and vanquishing Voldemort after Draco threw his own wand to him. He told him about the funerals and the trials and how he spoke at both his mother’s and his. His mother still had a year left on house arrest. He mentioned that Lucius was still in Azkaban and that Draco was pardoned of all crimes with the stipulation that he had to return for his last year at Hogwarts and have a monitoring charm placed on his wand for a year. After explaining everything he was quiet for a while.

“Who died?” Draco quietly asked.

“There were about 50 people who died. Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Colin Creevy, Lavender Brown, Vincent Crabbe, Severus Snape, Bellatrix Lestrange, and many more.” Harry replied.

“I am sorry about those you lost.” Draco comforted.

“I am sorry about yours as well. I feel bad about not being able to save Vincent.” Harry replied.

“I am sure you did your best.” Draco ventured.

Harry smiled. “Anything else?”

“Not at the moment. I just need some time.” Draco responded.

Harry nodded. It was bringing up some difficult memories for him anyway. He stared at the fire while Draco returned to his room.

When he came back. He asked to go see Snape and Narcissa. Asking Harry to come with him for support. Harry went with him. They spoke to Snape first. Draco and Snape talked a lot about what happened and Draco and Harry both thanked him for being there for them, and helping them survive and win the war. Next they spoke to Narcissa. Draco and his mother talked about what happened and his father. Harry thanked Narcissa for her part. When they arrived back home, Harry wrote a letter to get Narcissa’s house arrest suspended. Then he cooked dinner. Harry hoped that they could get past this and finally become friends. They ate in companionable silence. After dinner Draco retired to his room for an early night. Harry gave him his space. He hoped Draco would eventually talk to him. Technically Draco no longer had to stay there, but Harry really wanted him to. He enjoyed spending time with him. He noticed how lonely his life had been before Draco entered it. This was what he had been missing. He needed someone to care for, someone special. Maybe it was time to find that someone. He also thought about how miserable he was at his job. Maybe he could take McGonagall up on her offer, or start his own orphanage. He wasn’t quite sure yet. He knew he wanted to keep Draco in his life though. He cared for him. He was important to him. He didn’t want to lose him.

In the morning Harry made breakfast and waited for Draco to join him.

“I guess I owe you a thank you and an apology. I want to thank you for saving my life, and for speaking at my mother’s and my trials. I want to also thank you for defeating Voldemort. I also want to apologize for all the mean words I ever said to you. For everything I did against you and your friends. I am truly sorry.” Draco said.

“I saved your life and testified because it was the right thing to do. For vanquishing Voldemort, I did that to save all of our lives, not just yours. I accept your apology if you will accept mine. We were both horrible to each other and did some really awful things to each other.” Harry said.

“I accept your apology as well. I realize I owe Granger and Weasley an apology as well. When is the next time we can see them, I wish to apologize in person.” Draco asked.

“We usually have dinners on Sundays if you wish to join me.” Harry replied.

“That would be amenable.” Draco said.

“Well, I am sure they would like to hear it from you directly as well. I’d like it if we were friends. So, friends?” Harry asked extending his hand out to Draco to take. Draco just stared widely at him. “You know you could just not take it. That’s fine. I understand. We cannot go back and fix our mistakes, but I would like to correct one now if you’d let me.”

Draco smiled. “Friends.” And shook Harry’s hand. They dropped hands quickly. They silence grew between them. There was tension building. Not sure what it meant, Harry quickly thought of a distraction.

“Up for a seeker’s game Draco?” Harry asked.

“Sure, ready to eat my dust Harry?” Draco retorted.

“You wish.” Harry countered.

They quickly grabbed their brooms, and the practice snitch and sprinted into the backyard. They let the snitch go, and tore after it. Harry took some time to really enjoy being in the air again, competing against Draco again. It was something he hoped they could continue once Draco was back to his actual age. He took a few minutes to admire Draco. He flew so skillfully, and gracefully. He was a pleasure to watch. He caught himself staring at him. He was admiring how beautiful and free Draco looked up there without a care in the world. It was a sight to behold. Draco was gorgeous. He was fit, and terribly attractive. He noticed what a great arse Draco had and had a quick thought about what it would be like to buried in that heat. He shook himself and turned to look for the snitch. Harry lazily looked for the snitch. He saw Draco move quickly out of the corner of his eye. Draco had caught sight of the snitch! Draco chased after it. Harry just so caught up in watching, just stunningly stared at Draco while he easily caught it. Harry grinned. They landed quickly.

“Nice catch Draco.” Harry congratulated him.

“Thanks. Why’d you let me win?” Draco asked.

“Honestly, I got caught up not paying attention to the snitch. You were much closer, and there was no way I would have caught up to you even if I tried.” Harry confessed. He left out the part where he was memorized by Draco and his amazing arse to even look for the snitch.

“Best two out of three? Give you a chance to win back some honor.” Draco teased.

Harry smiled. “Sure.” They set off again. This time Harry focused more on finding the snitch. They both caught sight of the snitch a few times, but lost it again. Then they saw for a fourth time. They both raced towards it. They inched closer and closer to the snitch. The snitch dove straight down. They followed suit. They were dangerously close to the ground when Draco’s hand clasped around the snitch before tumbling to the ground with his broom. Harry quickly came out of the dive, landing safely and ran over to check on Draco.

“Are you okay Draco?” Harry asked.

“Fine.” Draco grunted. “Look I won!” Holding up the snitch for Harry to see.

Harry smiled. He reached out and pulled Draco up off the ground. They were so close. Harry stared into Draco’s eyes, noticing how grey they were. So beautiful he thought. He realized he was still holding Draco’s hand, and dropped it quickly. He cleared his throat and stepped away. “That was a spectacular catch.”

“Thanks.” Draco replied.

“Let’s go wash up. I can make some lunch.” Harry said. He needed a cold shower as well.

After washing up and eating lunch. Harry had to make sure that Draco wanted to be here with him.

“You do know you don’t have to stay here anymore if you don’t want to. I can give you the next potion for you to take on your own. You don’t need to be with me anymore. I don’t want to hold you against your will.” Harry said.

“Don’t you want me here? I like it here. Honestly I don’t know where I would go. I guess I could go home, but I am not sure where that is. This is comfortable and familiar to me. I am sure I have my own place but I don’t remember anything from that part of my life. I don’t want to go live with my mother for a month, she can be a bit much at times. I would like to stay here for the rest of the month if you would let me.” Draco confessed.

“I don’t mind you staying here. I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable here. I didn’t want you to be forced into staying. I like having you here.” Harry replied. He knew he would miss having someone there. He would miss Draco when he left. He was getting too attached. He didn’t know how he would fare once Draco did leave.

“It would give us a chance to really get to know each other.” Draco responded.

“That sounds like a good plan.” Harry said.

The next few days got a little easier. They had real conversations. They got to know each other better than ever before.

On Sunday Harry brought Draco to Hermione and Ron’s for dinner.

“Before we eat, I would like to apologize to both of you for how I acted when were in school together. I was a prat and jealous. I was awful. Granger, I should have never called you that abysmal word, and I promise to never use it again. Weasley, I also apologize for making fun of you and your family. There are no excuses for my behavior. I would like it if we could start over and be friends.” Draco declared.

Ron and Hermione stood shocked. “Thank you Malfoy, that was nice. I think that is a wonderful idea. I would like to put all of this behind us too. I accept your apology and would like to be your friend if you call me Hermione.” Hermione proclaimed.

“I accept, you may call me Draco.” He responded.

Hermione elbowed Ron. “Yeah mate, if Hermione and Harry can forgive you, I guess I can give you a chance as well. You may call me Ron if you want.” He acquiesced.

“You may also call me Draco.” He said.

They shook hands. They ate while chatting about Quidditch and Hermione’s new project about house elves.

Over the next few weeks, Harry and Draco would visit Teddy, and Andromeda. They visited Narcissa who did get off of house arrest thanks to Harry. They had dinners with Ron and Hermione. They flew together, ate together, read together and got to know each other really well. They were true friends of every sense of the word. Harry was starting to develop real feelings for Draco. It was hard enough being attracted to the blond, but now he was falling for him. All Harry wanted to do was snog the breath out of him, but he never gave into his urges. He felt like a teenager again because living with Draco at 17 was difficult. He started having wet dreams about him, wanking himself raw in the shower. He needed to get laid. The one person he wanted was unavailable to him. He didn’t want to ruin this new friendship with his dumb crush. Then he thought about how he was going to miss him, truly miss him. He found himself already in love with him. Draco was snarky, funny, smart, warm, kind-hearted, and handsome. He didn’t know what to do. He loved him and knew that this would never be returned back to him. It was an awful feeling. He suppressed it.

Soon enough it was time for the next potion. Harry gave it to Draco before he went to bed that night.

“What is going to happen now?” Draco asked.

“Well, you are going to take the potion, and overnight you will turn back to your normal age of 23. Then you can go back to your life. We will still be friends when you wake up.” Harry said.

“Right.” Draco sighed.

“Everything will work out. I promise.” Harry emphasized.

Draco nodded. He drank the potion and went to bed. Harry stayed up staring into the fire until late.