At Your Doorstep

'blah' - thoughts (still haven't figured out how to do italics)

Chapter 2: Forbidden Touches

Draco took out a brass key from his pocket and opened a wooden door to an old man’s house. The blond was delivering six vials of hyacinth extracts to an elderly Muggle man that lived at the edge of the village. The old man, Mr. Altin, had severe joint pains which made it difficult for him to come to the shop to retrieve his oils. The essential oils that Severus produced also worked as massage oils, so they were not only used for inhaling purposes. Draco walked farther inside the small house and found Mr. Altin sitting in a couch in the living room, reading a newspaper. Draco smiled and kneeled in front of the man. Mr. Altin jolted and folded his newspaper on his lap.

“Mr. Malfoy… I didn’t know you were here,” Mr. Altin smiled softly at the younger man, “I’ll get you something to drink…” Mr. Altin was about to push himself up when Draco put his hand on the old man’s shoulder to stop him.

“It’s alright Mr. Altin,” Draco said, smiling, “You shouldn’t be walking around too much. I’m here to give you your first batch of oils today.”

“Ah yes, today I start my first session correct?” Mr. Altin shook his head in bemusement.

Draco nodded and sat next to Mr. Altin, “Since this is your first time doing Aromatherapy I’ll teach you how to use the oils.” Draco reached into his robes and took out the small vials of purple oils.

When Draco gave the six vials to Mr. Altin, the blond was more than happy when he gave instructions to the elderly man on how to use the oils properly. This batch of oils was for Mr. Altin to put into his bath water to soak his body. In his case, there would be six sessions, with the usage of different types of oils as the session progressed.

“For the next six days when you take a bath Mr. Altin, you will pour one whole vial into warm water,” Draco instructed; the elderly man shook a vial and watched the purple oil swirl around, “Wait until the water turns into a lavender color before you go in.”

“How long do I have to stay inside?” Mr. Altin asked; he pulled the stopper from the vial and took a whiff, “These oils smell very nice.”

Draco chuckled, “You’ll stay in the water for at least twenty minutes,” The blond rolled up Mr. Altin’s pant legs then put two fingers on his right kneecap, “You then massage your joints using your index and middle fingers like so.”

Draco pressed his fingers down onto the skin until he felt the hardness of the bones underneath. Mr. Altin winced but did not tell Draco to stop. Malfoy understood that in order for the oils to work properly, the patients have to press down on the source of the problem until they actually felt the pain.

“I’m sorry Mr. Altin, but you would need to massage the place your joints hurt most,” Draco said apologetically, “Aromatherapy might sound relaxing, but you still have to endure some soreness.”

“I understand,” Mr. Altin patted Draco’s arm, “So I just massage my poor knees inside the bath water?”

“Yes, then you flex your legs as well to work out the kinks in your joints,” Draco pulled his fingers away from Mr. Altin’s knee and helped the man roll down the pant legs, “Well I should be going now, I’ll come back next week with your new batch of oils that Mr. Snape would have ready by then.”

“Both you and Mr. Snape are so kind…” Mr. Altin looked into Draco’s grey eyes, “I think it’s wonderful what Mr. Snape does.”

Draco nodded and stood up, “We’re glad to help.”

Draco shook the elderly man’s hand and showed himself out.

HPDMSS

As Draco made his way back to Severus’ shop, he thought how much he had changed in three years’ time. If he was still the Draco Malfoy back at Hogwarts, he would never dream of talking to a Muggle, let alone touching them.

The mere thought of doing so would’ve disgusted him.

When Draco had just started working with Severus, he didn’t know there were Muggles living in the village. But when Snape asked Draco to deliver some flowers to a house inhabited by Muggles, Draco’s first reaction was screaming ‘No’ to Severus and refused to touch the flowers. It was that day Severus gave him a lecture about stop being a stupid pure-blooded prat and that it was time for Draco to start acting like an adult. Severus had told the former Slytherin that if he took the time to learn about Muggles, Draco would realize that they were not as bad as he thought them to be. Then Severus gave Draco one of those patented death glares and took the bouquet and delivered it himself.

Draco had sat in the shop, by himself, for a whole hour, thinking what Severus had said to him.

After that day, the blond went around the small village and observed the everyday lives of the Muggles. It was then that Draco realized Muggles were no different than magical folks. The only difference was that they couldn’t do magic like he can. That was all really. Malfoy especially enjoyed the company of the elderly people. They always had the most interesting stories to tell and Draco found himself immensely fascinated by them. He also learned that the Muggles living in the village knew about magic. Since it was a small town, everybody knew… everybody. There were no secrets and the Muggles did not mind magic at all.

Severus was right; Muggles weren’t bad after all.

A drop of rain splattered on the tip of Draco’s nose. He brushed the droplet off and looked up into the sky. Patches of dark, gray clouds loomed overhead; Ravens cawed as to warn the townspeople a storm was on its way. Draco blinked as another drop of water fell into his eyes; he quickened his pace down the cobbled road. Young children ran passed him, laughing and screaming as the raindrops fell. As Draco passed by more houses, he saw women rushing out and taking down their family’s laundry before they became completely wet. The sky rumbled when the blond was halfway to Snape’s flower shop; he started running. It wouldn’t do him any good if his hair became a wet mop. By the time he was at the door and inside, safe from the rain, the sky was dark and the rain was falling in sheets.

Severus came out to the front of the store and found Draco panting and wet. He grabbed a towel from the counter and walked to his blond lover.

“Guess you didn’t quite make it,” Severus chuckled and tossed the dry towel at Draco.

Draco caught the towel in mid-air and began drying his hair.

“It looks like we’ll be having quite a storm.” Draco commented as he started drying his clothes, “Did you put up the shield over the flowers and herbs?”

“I just did; I heard the bell jingle and I thought it was a customer,” Severus took the now wet towel from Draco, “So how was Mr. Altin? Did you show him how to apply the oils?”

Draco shook his head side to side; speckles of water flew everywhere and Snape rolled his eyes and stepped back from the blond.

“He’s doing pretty well. I do hope the oils will help with his arthritis.” Draco frowned and walked up to Severus; he wrapped his arms around the taller man’s waist, “How was business today?” Draco tipped his head up and gave Severus a peck on those thin lips.

“The usual costumers,” Severus murmured; he stroked Draco’s blond head as the younger man placed his head in the crook of his shoulder, “Mrs. Clearwater came and she bought a dozen of the white perfume lilies.”

“Did she now?” Draco’s laughter was muffled by Severus’ robes, “I’ve always liked talking to her. She’s quite an interesting woman.”

Severus snorted and pushed Draco away from his body.

“I think I’ll close shop early today,” Severus told Draco; a bolt of lightning flashed across the dark sky, “Nobody’s going to come and buy flowers in this weather.” Severus walked to the back of the store and went into his lab, “I’ll clean up the lab. Can you tidy up the front, Draco?” Severus called out.

“Yeah, I’ll lock the front door as well,” Draco answered.

Few minutes later, Draco met up with Severus in the labs; Snape was just washing a cloth before Draco stood next to him.

“I think you would agree that we’re not going to walk home today,” Severus hung the towel on a rack, “Unless you enjoy being wet.”

“Of course not! It would ruin my hair!” Draco exclaimed and threw his arms around Severus, “So are we Apparating home?”

“Yes we are,” Severus smiled and held onto Draco, “Let’s go.”

In a blink of an eye, they were gone.

HPDMSS

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much water in a day!” Draco said as he stared out a window in the living room, “It had never rained so hard before, even though if it’s mid-autumn right now.”

“Well… weather can be quite unpredictable,” Severus shrugged, “At least we’re dry and have no reasons for us to worry about rain.”

Draco sighed and snuggled into Severus’ shoulder. They had been home for around an hour; both had taken a shower, ate a really late lunch, and were now just lounging around in their house. They listened and watched as the rain hit the windowpanes, making funny water ripples on the clear glass. Minutes dragged on and Draco became restless. He started swirling his finger on top of Severus thigh and made random patterns on the trousers. Then the blonde’s finger traced a line up the lean muscled thigh then down till he reached the knee where he made small circles. Severus watched the younger man’s ministrations.

“Are you bored Draco?” Severus drawled; Draco looked up and smirked.

“I have nothing to do, you have nothing to do…” Draco tapped his chin as if he was deep in thought, “So what should we do with all this time on our hands?”

“I might have an idea…” Severus whispered; he cupped his hand under Draco’s chin and tilted his head up. Draco moved closer and pressed their lips together.

As soon as Draco’s lips connected with his own, Severus drew the blond closer to his body. The former Slytherin moaned and moved until he was sitting on Snape’s lap. Draco wrapped his arms around Severus’ neck, without ever breaking their kiss. Severus pressed harder into the kiss; he nibbled softly on Draco’s now slightly swollen bottom lip, asking for permission. Draco parted his mouth and granted entrance for Severus’ tongue to slip in, mapping every crevice of the blonde’s sweet mouth.

Draco untangled his arms away from Severus’ neck and lowered them; he reached under Snape’s shirt and moved his fingers across Severus’ abdomen. The fluttering movements caused the Potions Master to groan in ecstasy. Just as Severus was about to pull Draco’s shirt up, there was a noise. He stopped in mid-pull and Draco noticed and moved away from Severus’ lips.

“What is it?” Draco asked, albeit a little breathlessly.

“… I heard something,” Severus muttered; he craned his head to the side and strained his ears to see if he can hear it again, “Stay quiet Draco…”

Draco nodded and looked around; the only sound he heard was the pattering of the rainwater on the windows.

“We have wards up… if there’s anybody outside we should know,” Draco turned his gaze back at his lover, “Maybe it’s just the wind Severus.”

“Maybe…” Severus mumbled; he was looking at their front door, “Maybe it was just the--”

Scratch… Scratch… Thump.

Draco jolted in Severus’ lap; there was no mistake this time. They both heard it.

“What the bloody hell was that!?” Draco cried, “That was not the wind… Wind does not go ‘thump’!” His eyes widened and then Draco slid off Severus, “You heard it didn’t you?”

Snape nodded and stood up as well. He was about to make his way to the front door when Draco’s hand flew out and grabbed his.

“Let me check what it is. You stay here,” Draco told the older man, “There’s no need for both of us to go with the possibility of getting stunned at the same time.”

“Be careful Draco,” Severus frowned; Draco nodded and walked to the door.

His heart was thumping; the rain was falling harder than before and it was not doing anything to calm his nerves. Draco took a deep breath and reached into his robes to finger his wand. With his left hand he turned the doorknob slowly; he glanced back and saw Severus standing in the shadows, his wand at the ready. Snape nodded once and Draco pulled the door open, his own wand out as well. A blast of cold wind hit his face; Draco saw nothing peculiar and was about tell Severus when he saw a mop of brown hair below the top step of the front porch. His breath hitched and he willed his legs to move closer to the billowing hair.

Something about those hairs seemed familiar to Draco.

The blond crept closer, his wand out at arms length. He was ready if the thing or whatever it was attacked. Draco kneeled down and saw that it was a man. From the looks of it, the man was beaten quite severely or perhaps he had rolled off from a hill.

Draco thought the latter was unlikely.

Gashes ran across the man’s back; there was a small puddle of blood pooling underneath the prone body. Draco scanned the body and detected that the man’s right ankle was angled at an odd degree, most likely it was broken. There were deep cuts down the arms; Draco winced when he saw that one of the cuts was so deep he saw the whiteness of the bone underneath the flesh.

“Oh fuck… How did you even pull yourself all the way up the stairs…?”

Draco dropped his wand next to him and held the man’s shoulder lightly and pushed until the person was faced up. His eyes grew large as Draco took in the face.

“Bloody hell… It’s… You… SEVERUS!!” Draco screamed; he grabbed his wand and tucked it in his robe and stood up at the same time Severus came rushing out.

“What is it Draco? Are you hurt? Are you—“

“NO! No… Severus this man it’s… it’s” Draco pointed a shaky finger down at the still form.

For the first time Severus saw the person lying on the steps. He gasped when he recognized the unmistakable scar on the forehead and the round glasses.

“Potter…” Severus crouched down and brushed Harry’s matted hair away from his face, “What… What happened to him?” Severus looked and found the pool of blood on the steps, “He’s badly injured.”

“I can see that!” Draco cried hysterically, “We… Oh Merlin… Bring him inside Severus. We can’t leave him there.”

Severus said nothing and mumbled a spell to levitate Harry’s body into the air. He maneuvered Potter’s body into house; Draco followed closely behind and shut the door behind them. Severus made his way to the living where he carefully laid Harry onto the longest sofa. He stared down at the battered body and the blood slowly seeping through the wounds.

“Draco, summon a basin of warm water and a fresh cloth… I have to wash those wounds of his,” Severus told the younger man.

Draco waved his hand a basin came and landed at his feet. He pointed his wand down at the container and a stream of warm water gushed out from the tip. Draco stopped the water once it reached the rim of the basin. With another wave, a towel appeared in his hand.

“Here,” Draco offered the towel.

Severus shook his head, “Hold it for a moment… let me take of his shirt first.” With another muttered spell, Harry’s bloody shirt was gone.

“Oh fuckin’ Merlin…” Severus cursed under his breath; Draco dropped the towel he was holding.

Dark, purple and black bruises covered Harry’s chest. One of his ribs was poking out, almost through the skin. There was no mistake that the bone was broken. More cuts were scattered across his upper body. Some looked old, they were healing and were scabbed over, but some were fresh wounds where a steady flow of blood was coming forth.

“It’s a goddamn miracle he’s alive,” Severus growled, “Draco go to my rooms and open the cabinet. Take out two vials of the Blood Replenishing potion, a green bottle that is labeled for bruises and any internal injuries, and one Pain Reliever potion.”

Draco all but ran to their bedroom; he came out a minute later with all the requested potions. He handed the Blood Replenishing potion to Severus.

“He lost a lot of blood… Can you mend his bones?” Draco asked.

“I can try…” Was all Severus said; he pulled at Harry’s chin to make his mouth open and slowly let the potion trickled down Harry’s throat, “Rub his throat Draco, it would help him swallow.”

The blond reached over and made circular motions on Harry’s throat; the unconscious Potter’s throat bobbed up and down.

“Good… Wet the towel for me Draco,” Severus ordered; he took the wet towel when Draco gave it to him.

Carefully, Severus dabbed at the deep wounds; his left hand hovered above each cleaned cut and murmured a healing spell. The gashes knitted together and all was left was a faint pink scar. Draco watched in fascination but was also worried about how Harry had gotten into such a state. Snape worked with the smaller cuts now and those were gone without a trace. After that, Severus poured a bottle of the potion that would get rid of the bruises down Harry’s throat as well.

“Now his ribs… it’s a good thing he’s unconscious,” Severus’ hand moved to the rib that was poking out and pressed onto it. Another spell later, the bone was snapped back into place with a reassuring ‘crack’.

“Oh god…” Draco whimpered and paled, “Who the hell did this to Potter?”

“I would like some answers as well Draco, but we can’t do anything until he wakes up.”

Severus turned to the basin of water and washed the bloodied cloth. He wrung out the water and folded the towel into a rectangle and placed it on Harry’s forehead.

“He’s running a slight fever. I’ll give him a Fever Reducer when he wakes. His internal injuries would have to wait… I need the appropriate potion before I help him.”

Right at this moment, Harry stirred and tossed his head to the side; the towel fell off his head and landed on the ground.

“Nnn… No… No leave me… leave me alone!” Harry screamed; he thrashed around. Severus quickly bent down and held Harry’s arms in place.

“Mr. Potter, can you hear me?” Severus asked; Harry continued twisting his body around, his head moved side to side.

“Please don’t… I’ll do… Please…” Harry whimpered, “No… don’t… NO!!” Harry’s eyes snapped open and stared right into Severus’ own black eyes.

“Potter… Harry, listen to me you’re--” Severus started but was cut off when Harry pulled his arms away and sat up; the green eyed man wasn’t aware of any of his injuries or his pains.

“Don’t touch… Don’t touch me…” Harry muttered; his eyes darted from Severus to Draco and back at Severus. “Don’t…” Harry wrapped his arms around his now bent knees and rocked his body.

“Potter, do you even know who we are?” Draco asked, “I think he’s delirious, Severus…”

He was kneeling next to Severus and was about to reach out to Harry when the bespectacled man moved away, shaking his head violently.

Harry cowered as close to the back of the couch as he can and stared blankly at the blond and Severus.

“No… No…”

Severus tried to pulled Harry closer to him, “Potter you’re…”

“Don’t Touch Me!” Harry screamed before his eyes rolled back and fell into unconsciousness once more.