Jaded

JADED

For Summery, warnings, spoilers and disclaimers see chapter one.
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Chapter Seventeen: Forgiven

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"Hey." Draco lifted his head, his featured carefully schooled into a sneer. Harry was standing in front of him, looking sheepish and Draco couldn’t possibly pass on the opportunity to rub it in a little, after all it's been nearly a month since they last spoke, well, kissed…

"Hey yourself. Finally mustered up enough courage to face me?" Harry took a deep breath and tried to ignore the little voice in his head that kept pointing out that Draco was right to be angry while proclaiming Harry should smack that sneer of the ex-blond's face at the same time.

"Yes."

"Good, because it's been a bloody month in which I had to endure three Thursdays alone in the potions class with no booze and only a pile of pastries to keep me company. I've gain an entire ounce because of you! I hope you're happy!" Draco hissed in Harry's direction and the latter bit his lip and tried not to look too amused.

“I’m sorry.” Harry just barely managed to keep the smile off his face because obviously Draco didn’t think it was funny, but come on…

“You should be. You left me all alone to go and frolic with your little mates!” Draco huffed. “Don’t think I don’t know of that ‘party’ you had to which you didn’t even have the decency to invite me!” He crossed his arms over his chest indigently, and Harry rubbed his forehead in frustration,

“It was Lily’s birthday! It was Gryffindor only…” He tried to reason with the stubborn Slytherin. “Look, Draco, I’m really sorry I’ve been giving you the cold shoulder this past month but… a lot happened, I…” Harry was lost for words, he really didn’t know how to come clean out of this, because it was his fault and Draco had every right to be mad and if he knew anything about Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin would milk this for all it was worth.

“You told your wolf about the kiss didn’t you?” Harry’s eyes popped open in shock and his jaw dropped, was he that transparent that even his former enemy could read him so easily? But then again, Draco could probably read him better than even Ron and Hermione on any given day- after six years of dancing around each other one is bound to know things that most people miss. With the lack of something better to say Harry simply shrugged. “You Gryffindors are so obvious it’s not even funny.” Draco muttered,

“Anyway, the point is, everything is alright…” Harry started with a brisk note, hoping to get to his point which was to ask for Draco’s help, but the latter didn’t seem to agree,

“Oh, you think? Everything is fine? Well maybe in ignore-land, also known as the Gryffindor tower everything is fine and dandy but here in the ‘real world’ things are as far from being fine as you are from reality. Because while you and your boyfriend skip around holding hands like two pre-teen girls some of us have to deal with real things that happen!” Draco snapped, the month worth of rants finally getting its outlet, and boy did it feel good to finally be able to shout and bitch on things.

“We don’t skip around holding hands…” Harry mumbled, quite taken back by the lashing he got for reasons, he suspected, that had little to do with him,

“Whatever. My point is, you’ve been so busy with your little friends and you forgot all about me.” Harry sighed, it was true he did ignore Draco for longer than he probably should have but the worse part was that he did forget that Draco was not doing in Slytherin as well as he was doing in Gryffindor.

“I’m sorry…” Harry mumbled again and wondered when did he became Draco’s keeper and best friend. In a way it felt good to have a best friend that knew where they’re from and all and if Draco was a wee bit less self-centred it might have been fun as well.

“Yeah, well…” Draco sat heavily on one of the desks in the unused classroom they ended up in and wrapped his arms around himself, looking and feeling the epitome of misery, “I mean it great for you, you’ve got your parents here and everyone likes you, but me… I’m a social outcast simply because I said hello to the wrong person. And it’s not like Snape is the most social person around, you know…”

“Yes I do know.” Harry chuckled softly. Poor Draco, no wonder he was so miserable, having only Snape to interact with can’t be that much fun…

“I hate it here, I want to go home!” Draco slammed his fist on the table, the sound resonating through the still room and catching Harry by surprise, making him jump slightly. He stared at Draco in shock while the other teen seemed to crumble into himself and sagged to the floor gathering his knees to him and curling into a tight ball of misery. Harry worried his bottom lip for a moment, unsure of what to do and how to comfort Draco before he too sank to the floor and sat crossed legged in front of the Slytherin. He reached tentatively and touched Draco’s hair softly, hoping the other won’t flinch away from him. Harry was absolutely rubbish at consoling people as he was not often consoled himself. Draco lifted his head and turned his face away from Harry,

“I’m ok.”

“Look, I’m really sorry, and I promise not to shut you out again. Please?” Draco pretended to give it some thought before he straightened up and reached his hand forward,

“Deal.” Harry shook his hand with a smile, bloody Slytherins- such high maintenance. Draco gave him half a smile, looking like he was about to say something but unsure of himself, at long last he sighed, “You want to stay don’t you?” Harry lifted his head in puzzlement,

“What?”

“You want to stay here… I don’t blame you, I mean you’ve got your mum and dad here and your wolf, why would you want to go back to the weasel and the mud-Granger?” Harry smiled a little at the new name for Hermione, then shook his head sadly,

“Even if I want to, I can’t stay, it’ll be too weird… what will I do, help my parents raise me?”
“Yeah, who knows how much worse you’d turn out…” Draco giggled when Harry punched his arm, wrestling playfully to avoid the other teen’s fists. After a short scuffle the two ended up leaning against the wall, legs stretched comfortably before them,

“Well, now that we dealt with this crisis… I need your help.” Harry said briskly, glad that he could finally get to what he’s been wanting to discuss in the first place,

“Oh, you certainly do. This colour is atrocious on you.” Draco said smugly,

“What? No, that’s not what I need your help with. Besides, what’s wrong with this colour, I thought you’d appreciate green…” Harry was a little miffed at Draco’s critique of his wardrobe choices, well at least Draco couldn’t say anything about the size of the shirt since he borrowed this one from James and it was a perfect match,

“This, my friend is not green, it’s sickly… swamp… something.” Draco gestured with his hand on the general direction of the shirt, avoiding touching it as if the colour would sip to his fingers and taint them,

“It’s called olive green, you lackwit!” Harry snapped,

“Well, it makes you look like a toad.” Harry rubbed his face tiredly, focus, he reminded himself,

“Fine, whatever. Remus’ birthday is coming up and I don’t know what to get him.” The words certainly caught Draco by surprise,

“You want me to tell you what to get your wolf of a boyfriend for his birthday?" He asked almost incredulously, it wasn’t a big surprise to find out that the mighty and grand Harry Potter was completely clueless and incompetent when it came to buying gifts for loved ones, but Draco was quite shocked that in spite of having practically an entire seventh year Gryffindor at his disposal he still chose to come to his former enemy.

"I just need a couple of ideas…" Harry mumbled, feeling a little put out that Draco was making fun of him. He really did need help, ever since he discovered that Remus' birthday was going to be on the 10th of March- a mere month from now and he had absolutely no idea what to get him.
This was the first time he had to shop for someone he was in love with and the last thing he wanted was to screw this up.

“Hmm, what to get a werewolf…” Draco mused loudly, “How about a flea collar?”

“Not funny!” Harry grumbled and Draco rolled his eyes. He jumped to his feet and started pacing the room trying to think, this was quite a conundrum… If Remus was a girl he’d just tell Harry to buy him a nice piece of jewellery and be done with it but boys are not into jewellery, right? But then again, when it comes to gays, who knows…

“Get him a ring or something, who knows he might even say he loves you.”

“Or run to the hills screaming…” Harry crossed his legs and picked at some loose strings in his jeans.

“I thought that what you wanted.” Draco carefully sat back down next to Harry, looking at the brunet’s forlorn expression,

“I’ve already given up on that. I mean I know he loves me, I guess he’ll just say it in his own time.” Yeah, right, Snape is more likely to wear a tutu and dance on the head table before that would happen!

“How very mature…” Draco drawled, knowing that Harry didn’t believe his own words more than he did, but he didn’t want to antagonise Harry further, not when he finally got him back on his side. “What about a wolfsbane potion… I bet he’d bond with you on the spot if you give him that.” Harry sighed deep,

“That would have been the best gift ever, if I had any idea how to make the bloody thing. I’m pants when it comes to potions…”

“Yeah, I know.” Draco answered cheerfully. “I guess it would be a problem. The only one I know who can brew this thing is Snape and I doubt he can do it now.”

“Exactly, and there’s no point in asking Slughorn.” The two sank into silence again, each absorbed in his thoughts. Draco’s mind was wandering off, not particularly interested in Harry’s problem anymore- after all he was pretty sure that Lupin would love anything Harry gave him, it was just Harry who was over thinking things.

“So… How’re things with you and Reg?” Harry asked tentatively after a while, when the silence was too much for him and he deduced that he won’t be getting any more help from Draco.

“Ok, I guess.” Draco answered non-committal. He really didn’t feel like talking about Regulus Black right now, not without the aid of several bottle of butterbeer anyway.

“Look, Draco, you don’t have to go out with him just to prove some point or other…” Harry said reasonably, knowing full well that if he and Remus will push hard enough Draco would even go all the way just to prove he can,

“I’m not trying to prove any point, it might come as a surprise to you because who Reg’s brother is, but he is actually a really nice person and quite fun to have around.” Harry decided to ignore the Sirius jibe for now,

“So you really are going to have sex with him? You didn’t already, did you?” After all, Draco was trying to decide if he liked boys or girls, and Harry supposed he’d have to start from some point…

”No, I haven’t slept with him and I’m not going to.”

“Because you still love Parkinson?”

“Because he’s my second cousin.” Harry’s jaw dropped in shock, shit, what a miscalculation…

“Umm, well, oops.” He shrugged and grinned guiltily. Draco shook his head in amusement,

“Yes, clearly you and your wolf are the stuff matchmakers are made of. Please don’t try to set me again, or I’ll end up in a sordid love triangle with my aunt and my dog.” Harry chuckled and tried not to blush in shame,

“Hey, speaking of your aunt, I found out who Mandy is…” He told Draco with bright eyes,

“Snape’s Mandy?”

“Yup, apparently it’s Mrs. Andromeda Tonks.” Draco stared at him in complete shock, looking like his jaw would fall off its hinges any moment. After a full minute of silence Harry was starting to feel a little uneasy,

“Draco?” This seemed to snap Draco from his shock and he sprang to his feet and started pacing again,

“What? The nerve of… I cannot believe… I… I…” He tossed his hand in the air, completely lost for words. Harry, who was trying very hard not to laugh, managed to cover that up with a small cough,

“Why is it such a big deal, it’s not like they’re doing anything, I bet she doesn’t even know he fancies her.”

“That’s not the point, he shouldn’t lust after any of my relatives!”

“Why do you even care, she’s the aunt your family shunned because she married a muggle!” Harry cried back, still not able to understand why Draco was so pissed over that.

“Then he’s lusting over a blood-traitor, that’s even worse!” Harry rolled his eyes, when Draco got into one of his moods it was better to just let him run out steam.

“Whatever.” He mumbled and returned to pick on the loose strings of his jeans, a job been made much easier by the fact the trousers were frayed to begin with. He could hear Draco pacing, his shoes clacking on the stone floor but he refused to acknowledge the other teen’s tantrum. Eventually Draco seemed to have paced himself to acceptance and he slumped against the wall, sliding to a sitting position on the floor,

“Feeling better?” Harry asked with a smile,

“Yes. I decided I will hex Snape with a penis shrinking hex, that’ll teach him a few things.”

“Well, as long as you’re happy.” Harry concluded and they both snickered at each other.
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A/N: The age of maturity in my fic is 17, just like in the original books, the reason Harry is making such a fuss about Remus’ birthday is because he knows he won’t have another one to celebrate with him while in the seventies, and besides, it’s the first time he gets to celebrate a boyfriend’s birthday and that’s why he’s so stressed.
Remus is an alpha male, he’s not going to bottom, at least I don’t think he will. It’s not that he has a particular problem with it he just prefers not to. Lucky for him Harry is not really the type to top, he needs to be taken care of, according to Grace’s theory from ‘Will and Grace’, Harry is a flower not a gardener.