Work Text
All's fair in (love and) St.
Mungo's
“So you want me to date Malfoy so that you can date Pansy Parkinson?”
“Yeah mate, I know he’s a git of the highest order, but Pansy is hotter than firewhiskey. I know you’re not into that kind of thing mate, but her boobs could entice Veelas.”
“Ron,” Harry said. “If you ever talk about boobs like that again, I’ll tell you in detail what really happened on my date with Aidan Lynch, your favourite Quidditch player. And you know that just because I’m gay, that it doesn’t mean I’ll go out with anyone who has a cock right? As much as I love you, you are not and will never be my pimp. So even if I’d like to say yes, which I would absolutely not ever like to do, my answer is no. You could not pay me to go out with Draco sodding Malfoy.”
Ron and Harry were in St. Mungo’s staff canteen, which was their regular hangout at noon when they were both at work and could manage to take a break. With Ron as a paediatrician and Harry in Spell Damage, there wasn’t much opportunity to see each other otherwise. And sadly for Harry, this wasn’t even the strangest convo he’d had with his best friend since they started working here some six years ago. He focused back on finishing his sandwich and not paying any mind to Ron’s ramblings.
“Somehow I knew you’d say that. And that’s why if you do go out with Malfoy while I’m dating Pansy, I’ll not only donate 50 galleons to your orphanage, but I’ll also join you in that gay club you’ve been wanting to go to. Not once, but twice without complaining even! You only have to do it until Pansy and I are solid together. Once she sees that Malfoy's fine while she’s in a relationship, she won’t be so protective of him anymore.”
Harry, who’d just been deliberating on whether or not to treat himself to a muffin, looked back at Ron slowly.
“You, Ron Weasley, will go to club Sway with me, while I pick up blokes? Twice?” Harry reiterated. “This I’ve got to see!”
Ron smiled, relieved, but Harry wasn’t finished.
“I’ll do it, but on top of that you also have to get Neville and Hermione to come along with us. I'll definitely need witnesses that night. And I also want you to coach the orphans in Quidditch over the summer.”
Ron didn’t even hesitate.
“Done! Thanks mate.”
Harry would have done it anyway, but he wasn’t almost sorted in Slytherin for nothing. Ron talked about Pansy as if he only liked her superficially, but Harry knew they’d been secretly dating back in eight year at Hogwarts and Ron had been absolutely smitten. Unfortunately their romance had been cut short by Malfoy himself. Well, not intentionally, but still.
Eighth year had been eye-opening in so many ways for Harry. Hermione refused to attend, instead starting on her journey to become the next Minister for Magic after Kingsley. She’d completed her NEWTS during summer and had been working at the Ministry since. As she didn’t disclose much about her job, given what a vague function she had as a clerk (she didn't even say of which department), Harry suspected she was an Unspeakable.
Harry had expected to pick things up where he left off with Ginny, but an evening spent watching gay porn with George and Lee, and a subsequent two weeks of agonizing about it, had put a kink in that cable. He’d been deliberating on how to tell Ginny he was gay, when George just blurted it out during dinner one day. It had been a sombre affair until then, with Molly unable to stop talking about not having Fred there. Harry figured that George had had enough and had thrown it out there just to change the subject. As it was, George was probably the one who was taking Fred’s death the best. Harry had lost count of the amount of times George had told the other Weasleys that Fred would’ve hated them being sad about him, when they should’ve been celebrating his life and his accomplishments.
Ginny had taken the news about his newfound sexuality well, of course this was after throwing a huge fit (in which she declared that Harry had ruined her childhood dream and that he was supposed to live happily ever after with her), one and a half Bat Bogey hexes (the second one had luckily been averted by Arthur) and refusing to speak to Harry for three days (she’d holed up in her room and refused to leave it unless Harry changed his mind about being gay). After that she had apologised and told Harry that she supported him in whatever choice he made in his life. She’d even taken him out, her treat, to Fortescue’s one warm summer’s day, where they’d sat on the terrace and rated hot guys walking by.
Ron told him off the bat on the first day of the school year that he didn’t want to become an Auror anymore, and was instead planning to become a Healer. He’d been hesitant to tell Harry, and had been nervous all summer, it had even trumped Harry’s coming out somewhat (he had still been freaked out and had asked Harry throughout the summer if he wasn’t attracted to him; in the beginning he had sounded slightly horror-struck that Harry might be attracted to him, but by the end of summer the question had been indignant that Harry wasn’t even remotely attracted to him). Harry had been a bit disappointed, but was glad to know the reason Ron had been jumpy all summer as they’d spent the majority of it together. After that he’d faffed on whether or not to continue the Auror route himself, but eventually figured he still wanted to be in training with Ron and that being a Healer didn’t sound that bad either.
They’d spent a gruesome year studying, especially without Hermione around and having to do Potions all by themselves, but Ron was determined to be a Healer and miraculously they passed their NEWTS with the required E’s on the needed subjects and even some O’s. Ron’s determination had something to do with Parkinson, although Harry only found this out at the end of their relationship.
Parkinson and Malfoy were a couple of the few Slytherins returning for their eighth year, but it seemed they were the only friends they had there as the other Slytherins avoided them like undiluted bubotuber pus. Harry didn’t know how or why Parkinson and Ron had started dating, but he sure knew why they’d broken up.
Malfoy had been dating Eton Savoire, Slughorn’s potion apprentice, a few months after they started their eighth year. Even though some students made snide remarks, nobody could accuse Malfoy for dating Eton for better grades, as Malfoy’s Potion grades had been stellar from his first year of Hogwarts on. They were an incredibly close couple almost to the point of nausea and it seemed that they would go the distance, until it came out that Eton was using Malfoy; he was using Malfoy’s potion’s knowledge to advance himself as Potion Master. When the Hogwarts staff found out, they fired Eton and banned him from apprenticing at Hogwarts again, which basically ruined his Potion Master aspirations as no other institution would deign to take him in. The students couldn’t stop talking about it and Harry saw Malfoy being whispered about everywhere he went.
Malfoy was visibly devastated by Eton’s deceit, but completely shut down after The Daily Prophet wrote a week-long exposé on Eton’s “Life as a Death Eater’s Boyfriend”, courtesy of Eton himself of course, with Rita Skeeter at the helm as writer. Malfoy was portrayed as the worst boyfriend a guy could have; lying, cheating, abusive and of course entrenched in Dark magic. Eton had stated that he might have been Imperiused by Malfoy. It was a huge blow to Malfoy and even the Golden Trio felt he hadn’t deserved being slandered like that. Everybody in Hogwarts could see that Malfoy had been head over heels for Eton and a lot of students even sympathized with him. Luna had even put an article in the Quibbler, defending Draco and shedding light on Eton’s departure from Hogwarts, but to no avail. It had been a lesson for Harry as well, who from then on only dated wizards who were willing to take an oath that their affairs would not be made a public spectacle.
The only bright side to this story for Malfoy was that the upper years had already finished their NEWTS at this time and were just waiting for the results. Malfoy wasted no time in leaving Hogwarts and in doing so took Parkinson with him. It had been clear all year through that the war had had a profound impact on Malfoy and that he had a protector in Parkinson. Gone was the entitled, prejudiced little bully and in his place remained a withdrawn, insecure fellow. Malfoy and Parkinson had been inseparable until he started dating Eton. Eton had brought back a little of Malfoy’s confidence while they were dating, and then decimated what little there was left by betraying him for the whole wizarding world to see. A few days after the last Daily Prophet article Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson had left Hogwarts.
Harry almost walked in on her and Ron’s teary separation, which was where he found out they’d been in a relationship. He managed to hide himself and listen in on them. Parkinson explained that Malfoy and her would be taking their Healer training in Cannes, where the Malfoys owned a hospital. This would mean that they would spend at least four years training in France, that it would be a new start for both her and Malfoy. Malfoy was in a very bad way and staying in Britain where everybody had something to say about him would destroy him. Ron had offered to join them, which had almost made Harry show himself and intervene in their conversation, but Parkinson had refused, saying that Ron’s future was in Great Britain and that he shouldn’t waste that on her. They had said more mushy stuff that Harry wished he hadn’t heard, but in the end Parkinson had left and had asked Ron not to wait for her.
But he had, that was clear to Harry now. Ron had thrown himself into his training, and after four years of that he’d thrown himself into his job for the last two years. He’d dated sporadically and almost always under duress by Molly. Harry clearly remembered an incident in which a very maudlin drunk Ron had told him he wanted to give everything up and move to France.
And now Parkinson and Malfoy were back and working at St. Mungo’s. It hadn’t even been a week and not only were rumours flying, but Ron had already gathered that Parkinson wouldn’t date unless Malfoy did as well. Harry hadn’t encountered either of them, but had heard through the grapevine that they were both stationed in Potion and Plant Poisoning and that Draco was appointed head Potioneer as it seemed he had also managed to become a Potions Master during his Healer training in France.
As Ron explained, their Healer-in-Charge, Héloïse Wembleton, had gone on a charm offensive to stave off any dissidents. She published an article on their employment to St. Mungo’s in Healers and Potions, an internationally acclaimed quarterly journal for Healers. This was quickly picked up and copied by the Daily Prophet. Héloïse also managed to get an article by Malfoy published by the Practical Potioneer, a photo-shoot of both Malfoy and Parkinson in Witch Weekly and a guest-editor gig for Parkinson in the same issue. Harry could tell Ron was especially proud of the latter, but didn’t bother to ask how many copies of that issue Ron was buying. He really didn’t want to know.
After their lunch, Harry didn’t hear anything about Parkinson or Malfoy from Ron, and frankly, as he wasn’t looking forward to dating Malfoy, he forgot about it after a harrowing procedure he had to administer the next day. So, it was a surprise to him when three days after their lunch Ron told him they’d all be going out to dinner the next evening, and that Hermione and Blaise Zabini would be joining them. It turned out Zabini worked at the Ministry as well, possibly in the same department as Hermione. As they had the same ambitions they’d inevitably became friends of a sort; competitive to be sure, but supporting as well and they took care of each other as there were only a few wizards of their age at their department.
Harry had his first encounter with Malfoy that day, after which it promised to be a very interesting dinner indeed. It was as if Malfoy had subscribed to Harry’s innermost thoughts and picked out all the things he knew would push Harry’s buttons. He had a small beard, something Harry wouldn’t even have conceived could exist on Malfoy’s face. It gave him a certain ruggedness Harry liked his partners to have. His face was framed with trendy wired glasses, which somehow seemed to actually accentuate his grey eyes. And as if that wasn’t enough, he was, of course, in his lime green healer coat, which was really fetching on him; Harry couldn’t help but have a weak spot for handsome men in uniform and it was definitely a perk of his job.
They met right outside the canteen after Harry had finished lunch with Ron and as soon as he spotted Draco, Ron helpfully made himself scarce.
“Potter, I’d like to discuss something with you if you have the time?” Malfoy stated.
“Well, hello to you too Malfoy, long time no see.” Harry quipped. “Sure, lead the way.”
He guided them to a small vacant office next to the canteen and closed the door behind them. Leaning against the desk he gestured for Harry to sit.
“The dinner tomorrow night, I assume you’re coming?” He asked.
Harry nodded. He was incredibly curious as to what Malfoy had to say. Was he the same old git pre-war? Or was he more like the depressed young man who had left Hogwarts with his tail between his legs?
“You might not have known this but Pansy and Weasley had been seeing each other in our last year at Hogwarts.” He said.
Obviously he had expected a reaction from Harry, probably an enraged one.
“Yes, I knew.”
“Oh good,” Malfoy said, visibly relaxing slightly.
“And did you have any...objections to them being together?”
Harry frowned.
“Well, no.” He said. “If Parkinson is the one who makes Ron happy, I don’t have a problem with that.”
“Splendid. That might make this a bit easier.” Malfoy said, leaning a bit closer to Harry.
“You see, Pansy never stopped caring for him. It’s one of the main reasons we’re back in Britain. And seeing Weasley these past few days have convinced me he feels the same. I suggested this dinner to help them forward. “
Now Harry was confused. He hadn’t known this get together was Malfoy’s idea.
“But I’ll need some help,” Malfoy continued. “Pansy and I are really close and she is really protective of me. This has manifested in her vowing not to date anyone unless she’s certain that I have also found a partner. The problem is that I am not inclined to find anybody right now. I feel though, that Pansy has waited long enough for her own happiness. That’s why I need some help from you.”
“Oh?” Harry intoned confusedly.
“I need someone trustworthy to be my partner,” Malfoy said. “But I’m not going to find someone here, the ones who were chasing after me in the past weren’t men with honourable intentions. If we let Pansy believe there might be something more growing between us, she’ll feel free to focus on Weasley. As we both have similar goals, you want Weasley to be happy and I want the same for Pansy, I know you would do your utmost to make it convincing.”
“So you want us to date?” Harry asked incredulously. After what he had seen and heard from Malfoy just now, it wouldn’t be much of a hardship, but the idea clashed enormously with the image of Malfoy he’d built up all these years.
“I want us to be friendly, at least during this dinner. If it seems we are more than friendly along the way, that’s even better. If something more actually comes out of it, that would be great. If not, hopefully we can look more than friendly long enough for Pansy and Weasl-, I mean Ron to get married.” Malfoy finished jokingly.
Harry smiled weakly and pondered all of it as Malfoy fell silent. It was a very practical approach Malfoy had taken and Harry was impressed. But there was something he felt guilty holding back about.
“Ron asked me something similar a few days ago.” He told Malfoy cautiously.
“I know, I was the one who suggested it. He told me you refused, so I thought explaining my motivations might change your mind. The thing is, Potter...Harry,” Malfoy said resolutely.
“For the past few years I’ve watched Pansy lose herself in her work and her friends, which would be fine if I didn’t remember how she was during our last year at Hogwarts. The few times she lets down her guard enough to show her emotions are not something a friend can endure without trying to do something about it. I had hoped she would get over Weasley during our training abroad, but there’s only so long until one cannot delude oneself any more.
To be honest I don’t think you and I will develop anything more than friendship, if that. It has nothing to do with you, relationships just don’t work for me. But they do work for Pansy and if believing that I’m in one facilitates that for her, then I’ll do my utmost to make her believe that. I’m not trying to deceive her, I do expect we’ll be seeing a lot of each other once they’re together, so why not make a fresh start and try to get along this time around?”
Harry didn’t have to take a long time to ponder this. Malfoy’s impassioned speech was moving and reflected his thoughts completely. If there were any reservations to this plan when Ron had suggested it, Malf- no, Draco had made them disappear. He wasn’t sure why Ron had told Draco that he refused to help, but he suspected Ron had known that this talk wouldn’t hurt his goals at all. He stood up and moved closer to Draco.
“You’re right,” he said. “I’ve had similar experiences with Ron and I do want to see him happy. If you think this’ll help, then I’m on board.”
He held out his hand to Draco who shook it after a slight weary moment.
“Great!” Harry smiled. “I’m looking forward to this evening after all, Draco.”
He hadn’t missed the part where Draco said he didn’t see himself in a relationship, but that was something for another time. First it was time to convince Pansy Parkinson that she was free to pursue Ron. Even in his head that sounded several kinds of wrong, but he’d do anything for his best friend.
~
Dinner was a disaster. Well, to Harry anyway, the rest of the group had a great time. After their talk in the office Draco and Harry had shown each other their respective workplaces and had generally talked about their lives until then. It had been very pleasant and the sneers and snarks he’d expected from Draco hadn’t manifested at all. So he’d went into the dinner expecting that they’d spend the majority conversing as the rest of the group was divided into couples. They hadn’t.
It turned out Blaise (they’d all been strongly encouraged to use each other’s first names by Pansy and Hermione) and Draco hadn’t seen each other in a long while. They’d spent the evening in their own proverbial bubble while occasionally partaking in the table’s conversation. There had hardly been any opportunity for Harry to get Draco’s attention, let alone make it known to the rest that they might possibly be interested in each other. Harry had thought nobody had noticed, which was just as well, but both Hermione and Pansy had commented on it before the dinner was over.
It was easy for Hermione to notice, as they were basically designated conversation partners for the dinner as Pansy and Ron only had eyes for each other. Harry couldn’t help but ask slighted questions about Blaise, which Hermione had amusedly answered.
“I didn’t even know Blaise was gay!” he’d said dismayed at one point, to which Hermione had replied that he wasn’t but admitted that there seemed to be something special between him and Draco.
To make matters worse Pansy had caught him on his own at the end of the dinner and had basically threatened him.
“I saw how you kept looking at Draco. If you’re thinking of pursuing him, you have my blessing. But if this is a joke or if you hurt even a hair on his head, I will end you.”
The horrifying part had been the sweet way in which she’d said that. From afar, you wouldn’t have suspected anything bad had been said, which had probably been her intention. Also there had been a charge of maleficent magic around her, which Harry definitely wouldn’t underestimate. He’d quickly nodded and promised not to harm Draco, at which Pansy had smiled and patted his cheek softly before going off to find Ron.
At the end of the evening Blaise and Draco had hugged for an unnaturally long time, something which only Harry seemed to notice. It had been the coup de grâce to a very disappointing evening.
Harry had felt slighted and a little jealous, which was why he barged into Draco’s office the next morning. When it turned out he wasn’t there, he set a charm to notify him so he could barge in at the next available opportunity. Luckily that was before lunch, so he still had his indignation and an almost empty belly to fuel his indignation.
“What happened yesterday?!” He said as he barged in. “I thought we agreed on showing a united front? You left me high and dry out there!”
Draco was startled from his paperwork and looked a bit bemused by Harry’s rant.
“It was nothing personal, Pot- Harry, I just needed to catch up with Blaise, we hadn’t done that in a long time. Everyone said the dinner turned out nicely, didn’t you think so?”
“No I didn’t think so!” Harry countered. “I was expecting to show them how well we got on together, but it was like we weren’t even in the same room.”
He leaned closer to Draco across his desk.
“Are you sure you’re willing to work on this? It seems to me that you’re not as comfortable with them as you said you were. Is that your plan all along, to pretend to be ok with them being together while secretly sabotaging them into breaking up? I won’t be a part of your plan to make Ron unhappy, Malfoy!”
“I would do anything for my friends!” Draco said indignantly. “Even watch her be happy with that pillock you call a best friend! I am serious Potter and yesterday just turned out differently because I hadn’t seem Blaise in ages. I don’t know how I can prove that to you.”
“Fine, if you want to prove it, you’ll go out with me tonight.”
“What?! How will that prove anything?”
“It’ll prove that you’re willing to be friendly with me. We’ll have dinner at a fancy restaurant, it’s something you can tell Pansy to encourage her to go out with Ron.
“Fine, Potter, I’ll stroke your ego and go out with you tonight. Don’t think I don’t know it’s to help you get over your jealousy of Blaise.”
“It’s not!” Harry huffed. He turned to leave. “I’ll pick you up at seven and we’ll apparate from your house.”
“Do you even know where I live, Potter?” Draco asked, exasperated.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be there at seven, “ Harry winked. ”And it’s Harry, Draco.”
His exit was slightly ruined when Draco and Pansy joined him and Ron for lunch a few minutes later and he had to pretend Draco wasn’t there while badgering Pansy for Draco’s address, which amused Draco immensely.
Their dinner together was wonderful. Harry had been able to namedrop himself into a table at the Tate Britain’s Clore Gallery restaurant, which was situated right next to the muggle gallery and filled with famous muggle and magic art. Harry found it a nice enough place to eat, with a beautiful view of the Thames aside from the art, and it was posh enough to suit Draco’s elitist sensibilities. It turned out that Draco hadn’t known what to expect and had dressed very casually, but even his casual look was distinguished enough to pass the restaurant’s dress code.
The night was almost everything Harry wanted in a first date; the location was wonderful, the food was delicious and the company was attractive and amicable. They talked about everything and nothing, carefully glossing over the war and their history as enemies. If anything, the night strengthened the budding attraction Harry felt for Draco and cemented the idea of wooing him and starting a relationship with him.
At the end of the night, reluctant to let him go just yet, he side-alonged with Draco back to his house. After a hesitant goodbye, in which Draco did not get the hint and invite him into his house, Harry leaned in to give Draco a goodnight kiss. At the last moment though Draco leaned back and sighed.
“Harry, we agreed to be friends right? So let’s just stick with friends for now, okay? I told you I’m not really cut out to be in a relationship and I don’t sleep around. I want our friendship to be real, and I think this night shows that we can become close friends. You shouldn’t waste your time trying to get with me when there are others who are better suited for you and more than willing."
He quickly hugged Harry awkwardly in what Harry guessed was supposed to be a friendly way and moved back to open his front door. He turned back with a wistful expression.
“It was a wonderful evening Harry, hopefully the first of many. See you at work tomorrow.” With that he entered his house and closed the door.
Harry sighed and disapparated home. It had been a wonderful evening, but he wasn’t a stubborn bastard for nothing. Draco had been his favourite obsession way back when and it seemed he was going to be again, because there was no way that Harry would settle for just being his friend.
~
The next day, Harry found that he had made one mistake the evening before when the Daily Prophet reported the news of “The Boy Who Lived Dating The Death Eater?!”, which was of course accompanied by dozens of letters and howlers from strangers. The front-page article included a picture of them leaving the Clore gallery restaurant where Harry had just leaned into Draco to apparate them. It detailed vague comments on their night together, including what they ate as told by “someone dining close to their table, who chooses to remain anonymous”, but also reported the group outing earlier in the week questioning the “Golden Trio’s sanity”. It was so foreign to receive these missives and he remembered that he usually went out in muggle restaurants for this reason. He shuddered to think what Draco had received, but was hindered in finding out because of his heavy workload that day.
In the evening he received a visit from Pansy, which turned out to be quite pleasant, if you ignored her new threat of harming Harry if he ever hurt Draco (this time it included his bollocks, a syringe and blood-flavoured lollipops in a way that he could never ever look at them the same way, ever). When she left he could definitely see why she had charmed Ron so thoroughly.
“If you’re serious about Draco you definitely have my blessing Harry, but it won’t be easy.” She said, while sipping her wine daintily in his living room.
“He has rejected every bloke that’s been after him for the last three years, some more nicely than others but still. You might think your evening out was the start of a nice relationship, but I can assure you it’s not. Luckily Ron says you’re serious about this, so I’ve decided to help you out.”
She shifted closer to Harry conspiratorially, which Harry unconsciously mirrored.
“There are no shortcuts to this, if you want to be with Draco, you have to do so sneakily and slowly, so that he doesn’t notice you’re after him. The minute he does, he’ll shut you down. First you have to look for the things he loves, so you can provide him with those things. For example, Draco really loves babies; when he wants to calm down after a difficult procedure he goes to the maternity ward to watch them. So think of how surprised he’ll be if you meet him there, or if you show him adorable pictures of that baby Weasley Bill and Fleur had.”
Harry smiled in gratitude.
“That’s bloody awesome Pansy, what else?”
But Pansy leaned back and took another sip of her wine.
“Oh no, Golden Boy, I said I would help, not do all the work. If you want him, you’ll find out for yourself.”
She finished her wine and stood up to leave.
“I like you Harry, and I’m sure Draco does too, so don’t screw this up, okay?”
Harry nodded vociferously, and with that Pansy grabbed some floo powder and left.
Pansy was right, Harry thought. He couldn’t screw up, so he couldn’t go blazing in and making his intentions known. He smiled slyly. Draco would be drifting in a haze of friendship and then BOOM!, they’d be in a relationship before he knew what hit him.
In the next few months, a routine of sorts was set between the group. Every week or two, they would meet up in a pub or restaurant and catch up. This was done primarily for Ron and Pansy’s sake, as Pansy still refused to officially date Ron and wouldn’t meet up with him alone. After four of those meetings, Hermione and Blaise had announced that they were seeing each other, which was not really a surprise by then. And with serious effort from Harry, Draco and he were getting closer too.
Fortunately, he was getting help from the press for the first time ever. Right after the article from the Daily Prophet, Witch Weekly had published their own multi-parted spread. They’d gone the opposite route and had portrayed their story as an epic love saga, starting with their childhood in opposite Houses in Hogwarts, mentioning the way they helped and saved each other during the war and ending with their serendipitous reunion at St. Mungo’s. Of course they played up Draco's change from the ultimate bad boy to respected healer and speculated it all had to do with his relationship with Harry.
Harry usually didn’t pay attention to the rags, but the spread, though heavily romanticized, really drew his attention to their shared past and made him appreciate how far they’d come in spite of it. Witch Weekly’s article, paired with the previous positive articles on Draco and Pansy, had turned the public opinion around and the howlers turned into letters of praise and support. The Daily Prophet couldn’t stay behind. Just a few days after their ‘Boy who Lived and Death Eater’ article, they posted another one naming them the couple of the century and fêting their union as if they were the ones to bring them together. It took three weeks for their story to be off the cover of the magazines and newspapers and relegated to other pages.
Harry soon found out that Draco not-so-secretly loved the positive attention he was receiving and while he himself didn’t really like the publicity, he used that to his advantage. He made sure to frequently mention the reports on them to Draco and casually note how good they looked together and what a wonderful couple everyone thought they were. He especially hammed it up and found ways for others to agree with that when they were with others.
Harry also immediately took Pansy’s advice and began digging into Draco’s likes and dislikes so he could use them (he didn’t call it exploit, because he reasoned that it was in Draco’s own best interest for Harry to be using them).
The maternity ward was indeed a well-frequented spot of Dtaco’s in St. Mungo's. After "accidentally" finding Draco there for the third time, Draco confided in him that he loved children and would love to have a few children of his own someday. Of course hearing that turned Harry's heart into a big ball of fluffy bunnies-kissing-kittens mush. He couldn't help but admitting that he had hopes for the same thing in the future.
Soon they were doing all sorts of activities and going to events together. Harry was even secretly coordinating most of his and Draco’s shifts together. When they met up with the rest of their friends he would be encouraged to see Pansy’s approving face and bolstered to stay on his path of wooing Draco.
He found out that Draco was missing French pastry, so he made sure to surprise him with visits to France, where they'd meet up with Narcissa, who had stayed there. The first meeting he'd arranged with her had again confirmed to him how scary Slytherin women were. She both encouraged him to look after Draco and warned him not to hurt him in one conversation. At least, that's what he thought she meant as she only alluded to the horrible things that could befall one without the Malfoys' best interest at heart. The casual way she mentioned combining a quill, a muggle umbrella and an obscure way of using Lumos he'd never heard of before, but now could never forget, was really terrifying. He was never so glad to be the Boy-Who-Lived as he was then, he was certain a lesser man would be running for the hills by now with the creative quasi-threats he had endured from her.
After that, it wasn't hard to convince Draco to accompany him to the Burrow, and Draco to convince Pansy to come along with Ron. It turned out so well, it only took two more visits to the Burrow for Pansy to agree to officially date Ron. It did not take any time for the elder Weasleys to accept the two Slytherins into the family, it was quite obvious that their two boys were absolutely smitten and the Slytherins managed to charm the rest of the family with ease. Ron, with his family's approval and not wanting to waste any more time, proposed not long after. He was happily rewarded with a resounding agreement to his proposal.
Meanwhile Harry was happy to tag along with whatever Draco was up to, hoping that Draco would cotton on to their incredible chemistry together and get rid of his notion to stay alone forever. Draco was still quite recalcitrant and often Harry would be faced with a glimpse of the pureblooded bully he had met such a long time ago. It both annoyed and elated him; Draco was so stubborn, but a docile Draco was a boring Draco and that was not what Harry wanted.
Draco was quite attentive himself, now that he saw Harry as a close friend. He usually had Harry's favourite sandwich ready when Harry was late for his break. He made up silly excuses to visit Harry's orphanage with gifts in tow, and the children just adored him. When he heard about Harry's childhood from Pansy, he made up reasons for the two of them to catch up on that childhood. They went to funfairs and theme parks, both muggle and magical, they went to animated movies in cinemas and went to see plays of famous magical stories. It took weeks for Harry to find out the reason behind those particular outings and while he didn't find all that special attention to regain his childhood necessary, he was really touched at the lengths Draco had gone through to make it all happen. After their respective birthday parties, they went back to Draco’s place and exchanged their gifts in private. In Harry's viewpoint, it didn't take them long at all to become inseparable.
Harry wasn't quite sure when it happened. It might have been on the boat tour to Ile Saint-Marguerite, sitting next to Draco and opposite Narcissa, who’d made a comment on Harry's abysmal French, which had Draco laughing uproariously. It might have been that fifth time at the Weasley’s, when, seeing Pansy launch herself at Ron after his nervous but charming proposal, Harry had glanced at Draco and seen him looking at the pair with a teary smile. It might even have been the first time Draco had brought him a sandwich when he missed lunch because of his workload. Somewhere along the line, it had become less about fancying a handsome bloke and more about loving that wonderful man. Part of the appeal of going after Draco was definitely the thrill of the chase. But getting to know Draco, becoming friends with him while angling for more had shown Harry that this really was the man he wanted to spend his life with. Had he not known quite certainly that he would be rejected, he would have proposed as well.
And so it went for almost a year. The frustrating part for Harry was that in everything but the sexual aspects, he could definitely be considered Draco’s partner. Draco was affectionate when he wasn't thinking about it; he could hold Harry's hands, cuddle up to him and had even given him some friendly kisses on the cheeks and more than friendly nuzzles in the neck.
But at any intimate gesture that Harry initiated was met with denial. Harry saw the fear in Draco’s eyes each time he leaned in to kiss him on the lips, no matter how romantic the situation. Draco handled all those situations in the same way. He would physically step back and repeat the spiel of them being friends he had given Harry on their first date (it had even changed to best friends after four months). And Harry couldn't blame him, how could he? He knew where it stemmed from, everyone knew that. But he knew he could break down those walls and he wouldn't stop trying.
Of course, that resolution couldn't last forever. It was the end of August, a naturally busy time for St. Mungo's and this time was no different. Aside from the normal emergencies there was always an increasing number of families obliviously coming back from holidays with artefacts that had unknown obscure curses. Moreover there were potential and first time Hogwarts students who'd started practicing with their wands with different levels of dire consequences.
All the staff of St. Mungo's was harried and rushed, nobody had time to stop for small talk. So it wasn't that strange that it took Harry eight days to notice he hadn't seen Draco around much. It was the end of a very hard week, Harry just having lost his second patient of the week, and all he wanted to do was curl up on the couch next to Draco and let him comfort him.
He found Draco in his office leaning on the desk which was filled with a lot of paperwork.
"Hey Draco," Harry greeted. "Are you almost done? We could leave together and have dinner at mine. I've had such an awful week."
"I'm really busy," Draco replied curtly. "I won't be able to make it." "Okay, well, will I see you soon then? I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."
Draco sighed irritably.
"I really don't have the time, Harry."
Harry was a bit nonplussed at Draco’s behaviour as he hadn't even looked up at Harry while talking.
"Oh, I understand. I was just hoping we could spend some time together. It seems like such a long time ago that we just-"
Draco slammed his quill down on the desk.
"Would you stop being so needy! It seems like everywhere I go there you are! I don't know how many more times I have to say I can't be with you before you get it through your thick skull. We are not together and we never will be! Just stop following me around like a puppy. If I wanted a pet it would certainly not be you!"
Harry was taken aback by Draco’s vehemence, but when the words caught up with him he was just really upset and fed up.
"You won't have to waste your breath anymore Draco, this time my thick skull has gotten the message."
Harry turned to leave Draco’s office, but turned back to Draco before closing the door.
"Lord knows you've been hurt, Draco, everyone knows this. But that doesn't mean you get a free pass to hurt others. You're so used to your role as the victim, but you should realise that right now you are the villain, because all I've wanted was to offer you more of what we already have. What do you reckon is worse, me rejecting a friendship when we just met, or you rejecting a relationship we've practically been in all these months?"
With that Harry left Draco's office. He quickly left St. Mungo's through the Floo and went home to bed to nurse his wounded heart. He thought he'd been getting somewhere with Draco, but it seemed that he'd just kept hitting a brick wall without knowing it. He felt like such an idiot. And now his best friends were paired off with Draco's friends, he felt a bit weird saddling them up with his misery.
In bed, all he could think about was Draco’s weird outburst. It was true, he'd often said he believed that not everyone was destined for love that he thought he was one of the unlucky ones. All Harry had heard, however, was a lonely man asking for someone to reach out and care more than all the others before him had. 'Save me, Harry' was all he seemed to hear from Draco.
Thinking back, Draco had seemed more determined than resigned in his statement. Which was just weird to Harry. People weren't meant to be alone, they were herd creatures by nature! What a load of bollocks Draco had talked himself into. People could die of solitude, Harry was sure he'd read an article on it a few years back.
Draco might believe in his own load of crap, but Harry wasn't buying it. He'd have to hear an apology from Draco, and he was definitely up to his limits with his stubborn, emotionally stunted ferret, but Harry's was still not giving up on him, regardless of the heart wrenching words he had heard coming out of that beautiful, snarky mouth. At the very least, Draco needed to know that being in love wasn't just about sunshine and roses, that sometimes it was gritty and terrifying, but the rewards, they were unparalleled and worth anything thrown in their path. Harry didn't know how, but Draco was definitely going to learn it.
It was hard going to work the next day, but he ploughed through it, avoiding his friends and sticking to his department. It was at a coffee break after lunch that he stumbled across some interesting news. Two of the older Mediwitches were having a gossip session behind him and while making his tea, something they said caught his attention.
"...that Eton Savoire fellow. Can you believe he has to find a cure for him? I've half a mind to tell him to let him rot after all that man did to ruin his reputation. "
"Well, I don't think he would have helped if it wasn't for Héloïse's insistence. You know Eton's a relative of hers."
"I know! Who do you think set the record straight here about his awful misdoings? I heard she had already noticed Draco when he was still a Hogwarts student. She was ever so apologetic to him when her awful cousin spread those lies around. That's why he got appointed Head Potioneer so soon after graduating, she already knew about his talents so she kept a close eye on his progress."
"Too right that she did as well, remember Angelbert's potions? I swear I used to make backorders from Slug & Jiggers just in case his potions failed, which they did half the time. Where they found that-"
"Excuse me," Harry interrupted, his tea forgotten for the moment. "Did I hear you say that Eton Savoire is in St. Mungo's? "
"Yes," one of the old biddies replied, Irma if he was correct. "That horrid man has been poisoned badly. Can't blame the culprit to be honest, he's been one of the worst patients I've had the displeasure of treating. Just yesterday he was-"
"Is he in Draco’s ward?" Harry interrupted again. These ladies could go on forever, he knew.
"Why yes," the other Mediwitch, Magda, said. "He's been here three days already. Healer Draco has been assigned to brew his cure, but that takes a fortnight to brew. He's been working tirelessly to relieve Eton's pain."
"Oh. Ok, thanks for the information." he said distractedly.
"Not a problem, Healer Potter." Magda replied.
He left the small break room without his tea, contemplating the news he'd received on his way to his office. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he was giving them gossip fodder with his behaviour, but he couldn't seem to care. He didn't quite know what this meant in conjunction with Draco’s weird behaviour. Was Draco being so hurtful and angry because Elton was back in his life again? Was Draco just taking it out on him because Eton was being dreadful?
In his office, Harry had an even worse thought. What if Eton wasn't dreadful? What if he'd managed to charm Draco all over again and Draco wanted to get back together with him? Harry groaned out loud and dropped his head in his hands. That was too awful to consider! How was he supposed to compete with an old flame? Especially one who'd been so influential in Draco’s life, even if it had been in the worst way imaginable.
"Bugger me sideways." Harry moaned. From whatever angle he looked at this, he was definitely buggered.
What he really wanted to so was find either Draco and clear this up or find Eton and rough him up some more (he could, he wasn't a healer for nothing, no one would even know and he'd definitely feel better for it). But he knew he couldn't, he was nearing the start of his second shift, his third double shift that week because of the busy period. If it wasn't for his break (oh great, he just realised he forgot his tea), he wouldn't have even been in this headspace, so he set the whole Draco/Eton mess aside as best he could and went to check on his next patient. He was determined not to lose any more patients, the ones he had lost were weighing him down enough and he hadn't had time to process those yet. Spell damage just had a higher mortality rate than most other departments; some curses were irreversible, too strong, fast or too complex to be figured out in time; some patients came in when it was already too late; and to be fair there were some incompetent staff members at times. Though there was excellent counselling available for the Healers and Medistaff for difficult cases like these, Harry preferred talking to his friends as an outlet.
So Harry had to admit he was relieved when Ron caught up with him when his shift was almost over. He felt bone tired at that time as he'd only been able to release three of his patients. Eight were left, of which two were admitted during his latest shift.
"Heard about what happened yesterday," Ron greeted Harry, as he walked him to his second to last patient.
"Draco told us what happened."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, we properly chewed him out for it, he knew he was out of order."
"Yeah, he was."
"He did apologise, but Pans rightly told him he had some serious grovelling to do. He felt even worse when he found out about your patients. How are you holding up?"
Ron bumped his shoulder a bit, as he always did when he was worried about Harry.
"Could be better, I guess. It's just everything at once, you know?"
" Yeah." Ron replied, as they reached Harry's patient.
" Look, I've already discussed this with Pans, so no arguing, I'm coming with you tonight and were going to get shitfaced. We're both off tonight and tomorrow, so no excuses."
Harry half-heartedly tried to beg off, but he knew he needed a night where he wouldn't be able to stay in his own head.
A few hours later they were well sloshed when he fell into a deep alcohol induced sleep. By morning it seemed that Pansy had joined them some time the night before and, from the smell of it, had managed to get Kreacher to make them breakfast. She’d even been so kind as to put a hangover potion next to his glasses, which he gratefully downed in one go (it was best not to get a taste of that potion, especially first thing in the morning.
After a quick shower, he was surprised not to find Ron and Pansy being disgustingly domestic around the kitchen table, but Draco reading the paper and munching on toast. He was a bit dismayed to find quite a large part of him being relieved to see him, but he was determined to see Draco grovel.
He sat across from Draco and waited. Draco immediately flicked his wand and a plate of bacon, bangers and beans on toast, and a glass of pumpkin juice appeared in front of him. Which was a bit of a low blow, because Draco knew how much he appreciated a hearty breakfast after a bender.
While he tucked in reluctantly, unwilling to show Draco his eagerness, Draco put down his paper.
"I was almost married in France, you know." Draco said, deceptively casual about it.
"Gérard and I had been classmates and friends for well over two years when we fell in love. After Eton, I couldn’t conceive of fancying anyone else, but Gérard caught me off guard. He was just himself I guess, no pretences, no tricks, just two friends realising they feel more for each other than they do their other friends.
"It was a complete surprise when he proposed to me. I immediately accepted. Our friends couldn't be more pleased, they told us they saw it coming from the start. At that time, I couldn’t imagine being happier than I was then."
Draco had a faraway smile on his face, which actually made Harry even more jealous. What was the point to this whole walk in memory lane? To prove Harry's inadequacy? As if he didn't have enough to worry about, now he was forced to picture perfect Gérard as well. Draco continued, his expression turning a bit more melancholic.
"His family was of a different mind though. They had welcomed me in as his friend, but to be his partner I had to be of a higher standard. They're a prominent family in the region. As soon as they found out about our engagement, they had me investigated."
Draco gave Harry a rueful smile.
"And of course my whole sordid history was there to find. And Eton's articles in the Prophet were the final nails in the coffin. Gérard had known of course, but the fact that his family hadn't, and that everything would probably be rehashed when the wedding announcement was made,..."
Draco shook his head, quite emotional still from what Harry gathered.
"Well, they just didn't want to be associated with that. And who can blame them? Gérard's protesting didn't help. They threatened to disown him if he went through with the wedding. And I couldn’t let him part from his family like that. So I called the engagement off."
Draco didn't have to say it. From the looks of it, Harry figured he probably just barely headed off that Gérard bloke from cancelling the engagement himself.
"His family didn't stop there though. They tried to get me expelled from uni, so that all contact between Gérard and I would be cut off. Luckily it was almost the end of my 4 years there. And the Malfoy name still held a bit of sway. Somehow, I managed to graduate with my grades still intact. Most of the friends I had made had turned away, mostly frightened of the influence of Gérard's family.
"The whole affair really hit home how I couldn’t outrun my history. I had moved to another country to be able to start over, but in the end I was just as vilified there as I had been at home. At least at home, I would not have slipped into a false sense of comfort.
"I decided to return here and try to rebuild my family name. That's the only reason I'm here. I don't ever want to put another person in the situation Gérard was in and I definitely don't want to put myself through anymore heartache.
"Eton's injury has given me a rare opportunity to change my past and rebuild the family reputation. If I can cure him, someone who publicly decimated me like that, it would mean wonders. His admission Mungo’s was published in the Prophet, so I’m sure his departure will as well. All I need is a well-timed truth potion and the right questions and he’ll be rectifying every slanderous thing he said about me and everyone else he’s ever duped.”
“Draco,” Harry said. “This is utterly bollocks, you do realise that don’t you?”
Draco just stared at him uncomprehendingly.
“I don’t know if you’ve had blinders on, but these past six months or so there has only been glowing news about you. Your patients love you, your staff are so grateful to have you and with the articles in the media, I've even noticed you getting some fan mail once in a while. Any issue people had about your past, they definitely don’t have it anymore. You're a really positive influence in the wizarding community now. Don't do anything daft that will take the focus away from that.
“And that Gerard bloke was an idiot, but I'm glad he was, or you wouldn't be here. And I really love having you here."
With that, Harry reached over and grabbed Draco's hand. Draco blushed and squeezed Harry's hand.
"It's been so hard denying you, denying what I feel for you. But every time I want to kiss you like I want to, I keep wondering how long it will take for you to leave me as well. And I don't want you to leave Harry. I want you any way I can keep you. I realise I was the one pushing you away, and I'm sorry for that. I hope you'll give me the oppo-"
"Draco," Harry interrupted him.
"I love you. My family loves you. My friends are now your friends as well. Even if my friends and family were against you, I would fight for you. Because I love you and I will not let you go unless you tell me to."
Harry smiled at Draco ruefully, who could only stare back at him with teary eyes.
"You know how stubborn I am though, so you might have to tell me quite a few times for it to get through my thick skull and actually leave you."
Draco choked out a laugh, and then reached over the table to snog the living daylights out of Harry.
"I love you too you daft git," Draco replied finally, after breaking off their kiss.
"And if you ever do leave me..." With that he spouted off a threat implying an obscure potion Harry had never heard of, Witch Weekly and one of Arthur's muggle plugs. It was strange, but when Draco was the one threatening him, Harry felt oddly aroused. He was glad he finally had his man, so he could actually do something about that!
~
Eton was having a dreadful month. First he'd been cursed and then poisoned by his now ex-boyfriend, when the blighter had found him cheating with some members his Aethonan lacrosse team. He'd tried to explain that it was just an after-game pastime, but to no avail. He was poisoned rather badly and at first he thought it was just his luck that his healer was another ex. He thought he was a goner for sure, and no amount of complaining to the mediwitches had helped him a swot. But every time Draco came by to give him an update, he couldn't help remember how much fun he'd had with the little potions' genius, before that whole mess with his apprenticeship. He'd recovered of course, he always knew how to land on his feet. But seeing Draco now, even when he was trying to be cold and professional, had whetted an appetite he didn't even know he still had. He remembered that lithe body against him, he remembered playing it like a fine-tuned violin. He couldn’t help getting a lecherous look in whenever his potions update was due.
He'd wanted to seduce Draco again, wouldn't be hard seeing as how easy it had been the first time. However, a few days in the ward he overheard some Mediwitches talk about Harry Potter being Draco's boyfriend, which completely messed up his plans; he wasn't about to go up against the Saviour of the Wizarding Word for a piece of admittedly scrumptious ass. But now that he was to be released soon, he figured he might cash in on their "relationship" by getting some sellable pictures of the two, maybe even blackmail them into a threesome.
He'd been sneaking around Draco's office whenever he could manage (which wasn't a lot to be honest, with him still being in a bit of pain). He'd even found a niche next to it, where he could perform a spell to make him see through the office wall. Armed with a disillusionment charm on himself, he hit the jackpot the second-to-last day he was to be released from St. Mungo's. He'd heard Harry and Draco in the hall on their way to Draco's office. After waiting a few minutes, he snuck out of his bed and made his way to his nook.
Draco and Harry were snogging heavily already, Harry having pinned Draco to the door. Draco's hands were on Harry's arse, kneading the clothed buttocks firmly. Draco soon turned them around and got on his knees in front of Harry. He mouthed Harry's cock through his trousers which caused Harry to bang his head against the door hard. Eton couldn't hear anything down the hall, he figured they had a Silencing spell up, which he quickly did for himself as well. He turned back to the action to see that Draco had his mouth on Harry's cock already, sucking it in slowly and deeply. Judging from Harry's expression and his hand gripping Draco's head, it was even better than Eton himself remembered. The sight was so arousing, he couldn't help reaching in his trousers to give himself some well needed attention.
After Harry came, they moved to the chaise longue, where it seemed Harry would also get his chance to inadvertently show Eton his cock-sucking talents. Seemed he was more into teasing, as he alternated between slow, deep sucks, and light barely-there licks. The latter would cause Draco to jerk his head and tug on Harry's head, which would in turn make Harry grin evilly at Draco. Eton loved it, and he especially loved the Galleons they were going to make him once he managed to retrieve his camera from that office. The thought alone brought him to the edge. He was about to come and he couldn't keep his eyes from the show the couple was unwittingly giving.
"Looks like we have a voyeur in our midst Ron."
Startled, Eton looked towards the noise. They couldn't mean him, he was Disillusioned. But there they were, Pansy and one of those Weasleys (with that red hair it must've been), looking right at him.
"Yeah Pansy, just another tosser that doesn't realize patients can't disillusion themselves in here. I mean, how would we be able to find them if they tried to evade treatment?"
"Luckily for this unmitigated arsewipe, we can't hex his bollocks off for trying it anyway, but I know someone who'd love to know what he's been up to anyway."
Eton had scrambled to get himself in order, but unfortunately it was too late, because there was his aunt Héloïse just behind the Weasley. He hung his head in dismay, the shit had just imploded the fan.
~
Eton's premature release from St. Mungo's came as a surprise to Harry and Draco, but as it was the Healer-in-Charge's decision, they were more relieved to see him go than they were fussed why. To be honest both were a bit preoccupied with each other to dwell on Eton's hasty departure. So, it was a bit of a surprise to the couple when the Prophet published an article by Eton, confessing to the error of his ways regarding Draco and gushing over his healing abilities. It ended with Eton declaring his intention to move to the Savoire family farm in Australia indefinitely. Unbeknownst to them, Eton would be mucking stalls indefinitely.
Harry wasn't about to let Draco have any doubts about his stance on their relationship. He was so verbally and physically outspoken about their relationship, that Draco couldn't help but feel comforted by Harry's efforts. It also helped a great deal that their friends and families not only approved but encouraged them. Draco felt secure in their relationship in a way he didn't think he'd ever felt before, and for the first time since his disastrous relationship with Eton, it didn't scare him either.
So it was to Harry's surprise that late one cold winter's afternoon in St. Mungo's, as he was looking for Draco after their morning shifts, he found him in the maternity ward. The surprising part was that not only was Draco there, but quite a few of their colleagues, friends and families surrounded him, even Narcissa. And every one of them quieted down when they spotted Harry.
As Draco walked over to him, Harry couldn’t believe what was going on. Draco Malfoy kneeled in front of him with a serious, but decidedly nervous look. And as Harry struggled to keep his emotions in check, Draco pulled out a small velvet box, opened it, looked up at Harry, and proposed.
Fin.