Issues

~~~ CHAPTER TWO: ~~~

The party was, without a doubt, fantastic. There were streamers hanging from the enchanted ceiling of the hired out hall in every colour imaginable. Music blared from the speakers causing the dance floor to be packed with partygoers all having a wonderful time. Lights flashed in a variety of colours overhead and there was a bounty of mouth-watering food placed at strategic points throughout the hall (mostly supplied by Molly Weasley).

Everybody was having a fantastic time and Draco hated it.

Hated it with a passion because, and there was no doubt in anybody’s mind about this fact, Draco was the only person in the hall not enjoying himself.

To top off his horribly rushed morning, Draco had endured a three hour long meeting with colleagues whose voices were notorious for making Draco want to chop off his own ears and had then had to try to placate one of the worst clients ever to work with their firm. Given that Draco was still only in training as a junior lawyer, the bosses continually felt the need to throw him straight in the deep end so-to-speak, this morning’s client just serving to prove this point. The man had been rude, obnoxious, huge, and highly boisterous. He had come into their office with some completely unrealistic expectations and then proceeded to yell at Draco, spit flying from his mouth, when he discovered that there was not much the firm could actually do for him.
Needless to say, Draco had definitely had a terrible day at the office.

To add to his already thoroughly tiring day, Harry insisted that Draco come along with him to Charlie’s party even though he knew full well that barely any of the people there actually liked him, even four years after the end of the war.

Draco, unfortunately, had copped the majority of the wizarding world’s anger towards the Malfoy family after the war, what with his father having received the Dementor’s Kiss and his mother having been killed as his punishment for not being able to kill Dumbledore. It seemed not to matter to most people that he had never been actively involved in any of the tortures or killings of the war; he was associated by default and that was good enough for them.

At least three-quarters of the Malfoy fortune had been seized by the Ministry to pay for war reparations and the Manor had been seized and sold off for a hefty price to some estranged German billionaire.

To Draco though, the loss of his fortunes was not the worst outcome for him at the end of the war; it was the way he was treated. The days after the final battle saw Draco inundated with hate mail, howlers and poisonous ‘gifts’. Whenever he tried to venture out into public he was sneered at, taunted and yelled at. It didn’t matter to them that he had switched sides and played even a small role in Voldemort’s downfall; to them, he was simply scum at the bottom of their shoes.

Eventually, it had become too much for him to cope with and he had tearfully sought out Harry’s help. Though it had understandably taken three weeks to get Harry to trust him enough to agree to help him, they had eventually come up with a plan to cut Draco off from most of the wizarding world and pursue a purely muggle career and lifestyle. Considering it had taken Draco another three months to be able to fully handle most aspects of his new muggle lifestyle, he was exceptionally comfortable with it now and had no intentions of ever moving back into the wizarding world. Sure, there were still times he used magic for things like setting wards around the numerous flats he had gone through and of course sex, but most days Draco didn’t even bother taking his wand with him to work or on outings.

It did also help him somewhat that whenever they went on outings, Harry was usually with him and no one was stupid enough to try to attack him with Harry nearby.

Which brought Draco to his current predicament; standing on the outskirts of the hall, watching the party with a scowl on his face complimentary to the numerous scowls being sent his way.
Having been brought up among parties and upper class social gatherings, Draco had immediately ushered Harry over to wish Charlie a happy birthday. Charlie had then proceeded to give Harry a warm hug and a handshake as they exchanged pleasantries but when he turned to Draco, he had merely thanked him for the present in a somewhat cold voice and then blatantly ignored Draco the rest of the night. Given that Draco, loathe as he was to even come to this party, had been the one to painstakingly search for a gift that Charlie would love, Charlie’s behaviour (though not unexpected) still hurt.

He wasn’t the only one either; most people either blatantly ignored him and his initial attempts at polite conversation, or loudly rejected him. It seemed that even though Draco was no longer an official part of the wizarding world, he was still notorious for his family’s part in it.

Harry had, of course, been immediately drawn into the thick of the crowd and Draco, watching his easy playful manner from the sidelines, had immediately begun to feel jealous, depressed and surly. He always hated coming back into the wizarding world for anything but given that Harry was still very much a large part of it, they were required to attend various functions from time to time (although Draco still despised the invitations addressed to: “The Most Honourable Mister Harry Potter, Order of Merlin First Class, Saviour of the Wizarding World, and guest”).

Much after their arrival at the party (think around two hours), Harry had finally been able to grab a breath of fresh air from the friends and crowds around him and had noticed Draco just about to leave.

“Hey, Draco! Wait up!” he called, rushing after him and into the chilly night.

“What, Harry?” said Draco tiredly, hands in his pockets.

“Are… I mean, obviously you are, but why are you leaving? Ok, actually don’t answer that… I mean… oh bugger…!” stammered Harry nervously.

“Harry… just go back inside okay? You know as well as I do that I was never made welcome around here and they don’t need me hanging around bringing down the mood. I’m just going home… I need to relax…”

“Wait, I’ll come with you! The party’s starting to wrap up anyway… let me just grab my coat, okay? We can watch a movie on the couch or something…” said Harry, always in the mood to pamper Draco after witnessing the wizarding world’s reactions to him.

Seeing Draco nod quietly, Harry set off back into the party to say his goodbyes. At least half an hour later, Harry, laden with containers of food from Mrs Weasley and his jacket, made his way back outside to Draco only to find him missing.

“Draco…? Draco, where are you?” called Harry, slightly worried.

Hearing a muffled sound and a scuffle around the side of the hall, Harry broke out into a run only to be stopped dead in his tracks.

There was Draco, pushed up against the wall with his hair mussed up by fingers running through it, shirt open, kissing Seamus Finnigan.

That was all Harry needed to see to set his blood boiling.

“Fuck you, Draco,” he bit out coldly before storming out to the apparition point.

“Wait, Harry! Harry, wait up! I can explain! I... fuck!” exclaimed Draco as Harry apparated away.

Frantically grabbing his wand, Draco prepared to apparate back to their house. As he experienced the familiar feeling of being pushed through a small tube, Draco instinctively knew something was off. Apparating was not something one just forgot how to do, so when Draco landed outside their house and not inside the kitchen as he had intended to, he got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Realising he had left his keys inside the house, Draco tried to unlock the door magically but his magic surged back at him. With dread, Draco realised that Harry had managed to get home before him with enough time to expel him from the wards of their home.

“Harry!” yelled Draco, banging on the door, “Harry! Let me in right now! We need to talk! Harry!”

Suddenly, a shuffling noise from behind Draco caught his attention and, alarmed, he spun around.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!” he called out, terror blatantly obvious in his voice.

“Harry…” called Draco, still facing the garden but banging on the door nevertheless, “Harry, you need to let me in now… please! Harry! There’s something going on out here! Harry, I need your help! Get out here! Now! PLEASE!”

Unable to see anything in the darkness, Draco was unaware of where the shuffle had originated so he was unable to protect himself from the sudden flash of light that flared up until it was far too late.