Glow

*sigh* Is anyone surprised that my reviewers have pushed me into another chapter? Consider In Between on Hiatus, because I intend to finish it, just not... now. XD
Dedicated to Kireania, dRaCoLUVShArRy, Night the Storyteller, thrnbrooke, midnight-dark-princess, and bluefirexxx for deciding that this was worth reading and reviewing, and for all of you offering encouragement in continuing it. ^_^
***

Draco seated himself on Harry's modestly comfortable couch, and decided that coming back to his flat wasn't such a bad idea after all. The couch was black leather, and nearly swallowed Draco's lithe body into the cushions as he sat down and kept sinking. When his shoulder was level with the arm rest, he reached up and clutched at it to prevent the sofa from ingesting him entirely, and glowered at Harry when he laughed. He'd safely seated himself in the recliner positioned next to the leathery beast, and Draco wasn't as unaware of the bottles scattered around the room as he pretended to be. It seemed Potter did indeed spend his time drunk or drinking.

"Sorry mate," Harry said, offering a bottle of beer to Draco. Drunk as he was, Draco wasn't anticipating the hang over in the morning, and decided that one way to forestall the headachey sickness when he woke was to keep drinking. Grinning delightedly when he realized that Potter drank Guinness, he nearly forgave him the man-eating couch. Nearly.

"I suppose I can forgive you, Potter, seeing as how you have surprisingly good taste in beer, but honestly, if you didn't want me in your house you didn't have to invite me over. My flat's just five minutes in the other direction, you know. Probably ten from here."

Harry shrugged. "No one can show up in my life years after I thought I'd seen the back of them for good and not be treated to Floyd. Think of it as a welcome into the bright and shining life of Harry Potter, because God knows once you're in it you never leave." He looked briefly pained by his own words, and Draco attempted levity.

"Treated to Floyd? I think the correct verb would be fed to him. Where did you find such a monstrous settee? Wait," he added, holding up a hand to forestall any comment by Harry. "I know. It's one of Hagrid's cast-offs, is it? Good of you to take the beastie in, but this is one charity case you could have refused."

Harry laughed inspite of himself. "No, no," he assured Draco. "Floyd is entirely my own."

The conversation was light and easy, until Draco made the mistake of inquiring into Harry's past.

An instantaneous change settled over his features like a dark cloud. His eyes narrowed, the smile dripped into a tight smirk, and his posture closed off. "I'll tell you," Harry said quietly.

"The day of Bill and Fleur's wedding, Voldemort attacked. Not just the Death Eaters, but Voldemort himself. Everyone was killed. I escaped by sheer dumb luck. I knocked myself out, and was presumed dead by the Death Eaters. Voldemort didn't stick around to finish the job. When I woke up, I was surrounded by the stench of my dead family, flies buzzing around, pools of drying blood everywhere. I was laying under something, and I realized that it was Ginny's body. I don't remember much after that.

"I returned to Hogwarts, and used it as my 'base', seeking out the items that would allow me to destroy Voldemort once and for all. That's where I met Morag. We were both very much afraid that we wouldn't live to see the end of the war, and neither of us wanted to die alone. Her family was gone, my family was gone, we found solace in eachother. As soon as we graduated, we married, and she became pregnant.

"The rest of it, you know or can guess. I started drinking shortly after the massacre, because it was the only thing that kept the nightmares away. I didn't sleep for three days once, because every time I closed my eyes I saw Ginny, with her throat torn out and her eyes still open wide in fear, shock, or pain."

He took a long pull on his beer, and quieted. Draco had nothing to say. There was nothing to say, and he didn't try. Instead, he sat silently with Harry, offering companionship, until they both fell asleep.
***
I'm not sure where this is going. The writer's block has returned, and is worse than ever, so I don't know how long it will be before I upload something else. At least, something worth reading, because I've got a pure-smut fic working itself out in my mind right now. Until it's updated again, if ever, consider this story complete, okay? ^_^

Review answers:
Night: Draco's name was cleared after the Ministry seized the Manor and estates, mostly because he worked hard to get it cleared. It was too late for the manor, however, and he never bothered to try to get it back.

bluefirexxx: your review actually made me laugh a bit XD Why did you have that reaction? Was it because it's supposedly only a oneshot, or because the story itself was confusing?

Thanks for reading, all of you, and double thanks to those of you who review. ^_^