Salvation

Headaches

"You guys need more pain potion," Harry called while dangling an empty vial in his hand. He was looking at it longingly, wishing he could fill it by simply willing it filled.

"Why?" Ron asked, not even looking up from his breakfast on the table. Hermione always insisted that Harry come over for breakfast because he wouldn't make it for himself. Ron got used to seeing his best friend at his house at seven every morning now. It was just like school again.

"I just took the last of it," Harry answered, still looking at the bottle with slight heartbreak.

"Harry, not again!" Hermione half whined half snapped. This was the eight vial of the potion they had gone through this month alone - and it was only the 19th.

"What, my head hurts!" Harry argued while setting the glass on the table. This way Hermione would remember to get some later.

"Your head ALWAYS hurts," Ron replied while taking a sip of pumpkin juice.

"My head does not always hurt," Harry countered lamely.

"For the past year it has," Hermione whispered.

"Please don't try and insinuate anything this early," Harry said bluntly with a hint of malice in his voice. She had hit a very sore spot.

"I'm not insinuating anything..." Hermione said in a tone that clearly showed she was, in fact, insinuating something.

"Come on you two, enough," Ron finally snapped as he lifted himself from his seat and carried his plate into the kitchen.

"Does anyone want to do something today? I don't have to work. It could be like old times. We could fly or something. It'd be great!" Harry spouted out of nowhere. It almost caught the new couple off guard with his peppiness.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I have to be at work in twenty minutes," Hermione mumbled while placing an arm on his shoulder. She hated saying no to him when he got like this. It seemed to make his headaches worse. But she couldn't just avoid work. She was a healer goddamn it and people needed her! Harry was a big boy; he could find something to do by himself.

Harry's smile fell slightly. "Ron?" he asked hopefully. Ron was always there for him. He always had time for his best friend.

"Sorry mate, I start work in," Ron looked over to the clock on the wall. "Shit! Now! I start work now!" Rushing to get all this things together, Ron called from the door, "We'll do something tomorrow." With that the door shut and there was a cracking sound from the other side.

"Well I work tomorrow," Harry huffed while crossing his arms.

"Don't worry, Harry. We'll do something soon. I promise," Hermione soothed while patting his shoulder.

"I don't need your sympathy Hermione," Harry snapped while moving away.

"Harry James Potter! I do not know what your problem is, but you better work it out or get out of my house. I'm not in the mood to deal with this before I go into work. Here I am trying to be nice to you and you just bite at me!"

Opening his mouth to retort, Harry thought better and closed it quickly. She had a point. He was being a tad difficult. "Sorry," Harry finally forced out through clenched teeth. "I'll come back when I'm being less of an ass. Get more pain potion." And with that he was out the door, slamming the door shut. Hermione was left sighing and yanking her thick hair in frustration.

Harry indeed did have work the next day. Going there was become less and less of a chore and more and more of an escape. Working at Flourish and Blotts was nice. He didn't need the money, but didn't want to drain his funds by not working. And it wasn't that tough of a job. All he had to do was organize and shelve books. Sometimes he worked the register, but that wasn’t too often.

Ever since the end of the war, Diagon Alley had been back to normal. All the shops were back without the boards to cover them. People merrily walked along the shops, buying whatever their hearts desired. It was impossible to tell that a little over a year ago, the most powerful and evil wizard had the world wrapped around his pinky finger.

But Harry saw to that. He found the Horcruxes like he was supposed to and disposed of their creator. Everything went exactly to plan and the world was once again safe because of him. Harry Potter saved everyone. Now he just needed someone to save him.

Lost in thought, Harry was stacking books in a corner. He was making everything nice and tidy when he heard the last thing he wanted to hear.

"Merlin, you look like shit," was drawled behind him. Harry knew who it was without even turning around.

Forcing himself to look, however, Harry was met with exactly what he pictured. Draco Malfoy was standing directly in front of him, smirk plastered on his face. Other than gaining enough weight to make him look healthy, Draco looked the same. Same cold, pale face; same cold, pale eyes; same cold, pale attitude.

"Do you need something," Harry asked as politely as he could while resisting the urge to punch the ex-Slytherin in the face.

"I was looking for something, but I've forgotten what it was," Draco said casually while looking at all the books around him. The blond had changed sides after finding his way out of the forest that night. He ended up being a larger help than anyone could have imagined when it came to destroying Voldemort.

Just because he aided him in saving the world, though, Harry didn't have to like him.

"Then why are you still here?" Harry snapped while running his hand through his hair. He so wasn't in the mood.

"Hey, Potter, I can be in here as long as I wish to be. As shocking as this might be to your ego, you have no control over me!" Draco bit back.

"I'm not trying to control you..." Harry sighed. "I just want you to leave," he finally said while glaring at Draco.

"Well, I don't want to leave so I'm not going to."

"You're telling me that there is nothing better that you could possibly be doing than bother me," Harry asked almost crazed.

"Potter, my life, as well as everyone else's, does not revolve around you. I am not in here because you are in here."

"You said yourself that you forgot which book you wanted!" Harry shouted while throwing his hands in the air. He seriously didn't make any sense. He wasn't here for Harry, yet he had no other logically reason to be here. Draco Malfoy was the biggest prick in the entire world!

"Yes, but that does not mean that I could not find another that is equally as interesting," Draco replied calmly. It was almost too easy to get under Harry's skin. After almost eight years of it, Draco never tired of seeing Harry squirm.

"Standing here talking to me is not searching for a new book! If you want a book they are all over the place; you don't need to look only here."

"I can look wherever I damn well please! I don't need you to tell me where to look and where not to look." Now Draco was getting upset. Potter had the audacity to tell him what to do? He didn't think so.

"I'm not trying to tell you where to look," Harry sighed. "I'm just trying to get you the hell away from me."

"Well, I'm pretty sure I already said this, but I'll say it again, just to make penetrate your thick skull. You have nothing to do with me being in this specific location at this specific time. I happen to be here and you happen to be here. It is simply chance." Draco had a smug look on his face that Harry desperately wanted to remove, as forcefully as possible.

"I have work to do, just get the fuck out of here!" Harry finally yelled.

Draco won. He got Harry to yell first. Even the raven-haired boy felt the victory that caressed Draco's smile. Harry silently cursed himself for loosing his cool. Goddamn Draco Malfoy always pissed him off!

"All you had to do was ask..." Draco said while slowly making his way away from Harry and through the store's door.

Harry pulled and ruffled his hair in frustration. Draco was always such a dick! He had to constantly start shit just because he was bored and needed something to do. Harry saved his ass! He should be bowing down and kissing his feet! But nooo, that's not how the world treated Harry. Nope, nope, nope Draco had to be the biggest ass ever. Someone should lock him up and annihilate the key.

Breaking through the quiet of Harry's head a loud crash was heard. Books toppled, women screamed out in shock, babies started crying from their mothers' screams. It was complete chaos that Harry would have to clean soon. The sounds were so loud the pushed themselves through Harry's head and started bouncing around inside his skull.

Fuck, Harry's head really hurt.