A Love So Belated
folder
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
44
Views:
46,681
Reviews:
358
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
44
Views:
46,681
Reviews:
358
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 30: Confession
Chapter Number/Total: 30/44
Chapter Title: Confession
Words: 2106 Words
"Where do you want this?" Harry asked Draco, holding up a glass case of potion ingredients.
"On those shelves over there. If those are the labelled ones, put them in alphabetical order."
Harry sighed. "Of course," he said with a wry smile, walking over to the shelves.
It had been a week since he'd broken up with Ginny and it had actually been a very nice week despite that. Harry was happy with Draco. He'd known happiness before, of course, but not on this level. He was happy just being with him. He didn't have to be kissing him, or in bed with him. It was just knowing that Draco was there, with him, and that he could reach for him whenever he wanted. He was comfortable, which was saying a lot.
Draco was unpacking another box of equipment. He kept glancing up and smiling at Harry. It meant a lot to him that Harry wanted his lab in the house, too. The sex was fantastic but he wanted to share other aspects of himself with his lover. Potions was part of who he was, what he liked to do. He was delighted when Harry had volunteered to help him set up.
Harry situated the ingredients in alphabetical order as Draco requested. He kept smiling at Draco as well. He liked doing this with him, no matter how much he pretended to be annoyed. "Keep bending over like that and I'm going to mess up all the work we've done in here when I throw you down and shag you," he teased, grinning.
Draco arched an eyebrow. "Promise?" he asked, and then did bend over again.
Harry chuckled deeply, watching that pert arse with lustful eyes. "I would regret it," he said. "Well, not all of it, but the fact that I'd have to pick all the stuff up again."
"I'm sure we can find part of the floor with room," Draco teased.
Harry rolled his eyes playfully. "Tempting," he said, "but perhaps we should get this done and then ravage each other." He waggled his eyebrows.
"Deal," Draco agreed with a smirk, working faster at unpacking.
Harry laughed at that, shaking his head again as he went back to his own work. They went at it for several minutes, unpacking in comfortable silence, until the silence was broken by what Harry knew were faint knocks on the door.
He stilled and looked over at Draco.
Draco looked up, eyebrows raised, and shrugged. "Not expecting anyone, are we?"
"I'm not," Harry answered, but he knew he didn't have to be expecting anyone for them to actually come over. He swallowed a bit. Most of the time the only people who came over to his house were Hermione and ... the Weasleys.
"I'll see who it is," he said, setting the vial in his hands down on a table as he strode across the room.
Draco watched him but stayed in the lab, unpacking. He didn't want to confront any of Harry's friends if they were still keeping a low profile.
Harry came down the stairs, his heart speeding up as he neared the door. He opened it just as the person behind it began knocking again.
It was Ron.
Harry swallowed once more, but then looked at Ron. He didn't seem angry. He seemed ... well, Harry didn't know what, but it wasn't anger.
"Hi," Ron said quietly.
"Hi," Harry answered cautiously.
"Can I come in?"
"Oh." Harry stepped back, slightly confused. "Sure." He shut the door behind Ron and glanced up at the stairs before directing his gaze back toward his friend.
"Haven't seen you in a bit," Ron said.
Harry stared a little more. "Yeah," he said slowly. "I ... thought I should probably keep away for a while."
Ron sighed and nodded. "Understandable."
Harry was even more confused. Where was the screaming? "Um, well, tea or something?" he asked.
"Sure," said Ron, hanging his cloak in the closet.
Harry, still confused, made his way down into the kitchen. He didn't know where Kreacher was, and hardly ever called him much when he wasn't actually there, so he just began making the tea himself.
Ron came down a moment later and took a seat at the table. He watched Harry a bit before he said, "No one's mad at you."
Harry turned his head and raised his eyebrows disbelievingly.
"Really," Ron continued, "I was always afraid this would happen if you two started dating. You know, break up and then make it kind of awkward to be around each other."
Something definitely wasn't right. Where was the name calling? The insults about being a ponce? Was Ron not going to mention Draco? "Yeah," Harry said slowly.
"It shouldn’t be though, you know?" Ron continued. "Mum's all upset, thinking you won't want to come over anymore. And, well, I don't want you to stop coming over either. You're my best mate."
Harry's eyebrows rose further. There was no way Ron knew the whole truth. "What did Ginny tell you?"
Ron raised an eyebrow now. "That you broke up of course."
"That's all she told you?" Harry questioned.
"Why?" Ron asked slowly. "Is there more than that?"
Harry sighed. Merlin, how was he supposed to handle this? "Well, we didn't just break up for no reason at all ...."
"Well, I didn't think so," said Ron. "Ginny just said it wasn't working out."
Harry's eyes widened. "S-she did?"
"Yeah," Ron said slowly again.
Harry could not think of a single thing to say for a moment. Why would she do that? Cover for him after what he had done to her? He closed his eyes. He had to tell Ron the truth, as much as he didn't want to. If it came out later -which it would - it would be twice as worse. He opened his mouth, but right at that moment the tea kettle started whistling. He jumped slightly and turned to fill the cups.
God, could he do it? Could he sit and look Ron in the eyes, knowing his reaction would most likely be terrible, and tell him that he had left Ginny for Draco Malfoy?
He brought both cups of tea, the milk and the sugar over to the table, taking a seat himself. "We did break up for a reason," he said quietly.
Ron frowned slightly.
"Not just because it wasn't working out," Harry continued, "though it really wasn't."
"Well, what then?" Ron asked.
Harry winced as he took his time stirring sugar into his tea. "I broke up with her," he said. "She didn't know I was going to."
Ron continued to frown, looking at Harry and waiting for him to explain.
Harry chanced a glance up at Ron and sighed again. "I broke up with her because ...." He paused, his heart beating very fast.
"Because ...?" Ron urged.
Harry winced again. "Ron," he said. "You're going to hate me."
Now it was Ron's turn to wince. "It's that bad?"
Harry nodded.
A long moment passed between them.
"Did you leave her for someone else?" Ron finally asked quietly.
Harry looked up quickly and stared at Ron for a moment.
"You did," Ron realised, closing his eyes. "Were you ... seeing Ginny and ... the other at the same time?"
Harry winced worse than ever, nodding.
Ron let out a small groaning sound. "Harry," he said, looking up at him, expression pained. "Why would you do that?"
Harry didn't look up. "I don't know," he said. "I wasn't thinking. I - I didn't want to hurt her. I - Ron, I still love her, I just don't want to be her ... boyfriend."
"Well, you could have told her that before you went and got someone else," Ron muttered, sounding angry now. Harry could tell he was switching into older-brother mode. "Merlin, Harry."
"I know," Harry moaned. "And I am sorry. I wish I would have done it differently. I know that I went about it completely wrong. I was just holding off. Because, at first I didn't know if I wanted to leave her at all, and then by the time I'd realised I was in love with the other person so much time had already gone by, and ... it was too late. And then I realised I wasn't ever in love with Ginny. I just loved her."
Ron shook his head, eyes squinted with an expression of confusion. "You sound like Hermione," he said.
Harry groaned and let his head fall back. He stared at the ceiling.
"Who is she?" Ron asked after another moment.
Harry went quiet for an entire minute. This was where it was going to turn nasty. He wondered during that minute if he should even tell Ron at all, but he knew it would come out eventually. He let out a very long breath.
Ron stared expectantly.
Harry put it off for almost another minute, but then, still staring at the ceiling, whispered, "Draco."
Ron's mouth dropped open as he stared in shock at Harry. "You're lying."
Harry slowly looked back at Ron. "No," he said quietly. "I'm not."
Ron was completely speechless.
Harry sat and stared, the resounding echo of his heartbeat in his ears the only sound in the room as he waited for Ron to say something.
“You left my sister," Ron finally said, his voice shaky, but strangely careful, "for Malfoy?"
Harry brought a single hand up to cover his eyes. "I fell in love with Draco," he replied, still quiet. "It's as simple as that. It's not something I can help."
Ron was shaking his head, as if what Harry was saying couldn't be true.
They sat in silence again.
"At Christmas?" Ron finally spoke, still shaking his head. "All those times, you were with him? You're a poof?"
"Let's not make this about my sexuality, Ron," Harry said firmly. "If it really means a lot for you to know, no, I'm not a poof. I like girls and I liked Ginny. But I guess I like Draco, too. I've never been attracted to another man before him."
Ron was still shaking his head.
"I should have never done what I did," Harry continued. "I should have never hurt Ginny like I know I did, but I love Draco and I can't help it. I love him a lot."
"How, Harry?" Ron demanded, his face getting very red. "How can you be with him? Merlin, it's enough that he is a him, but him?"
"What's the matter with him?" Harry asked.
"God, everything!" Ron shouted now. "This doesn't make any damn sense!"
"Oh, now you're going to get angry?" Harry asked, rather angry himself. "I tell you I cheated on Ginny and you were going to forgive me for that, but you find out who it was with and now you start shouting?"
"Harry, it's Malfoy!" Ron continued to shout.
"So what!" Harry yelled back. "You heard what Neville said! He saved them all, he gave them information all year! He bloody saved Luna's life, saved Ginny!"
"You didn't know all that before!" Ron squawked.
"I told you I could tell, Ron!" Harry yelled. "He was an arsehole in school, I know, all right! I hated him! He was a prick to me, and a prick to Hermione, and a prick to you and everyone else, but you won't even give him a chance!"
"He doesn't deserve a chance!" Ron snarled, knocking over his teacup as he abruptly stood from the table. Harry knew Ron was just plain angry now, because he had been willing to give Draco a chance after the things Neville had said.
"You're just being an arsehole," Harry told him, standing as well.
"Well, you really know about arseholes now, don't you, Harry?" he said, turning to stride from the room.
Harry's face reddened and he followed after Ron. "Go ahead, Ron," he said angrily as they both moved up the steps and into the foyer. "You only believe what you want to believe. Just like with bloody everything else!"
"Fuck you," Ron said shortly, stomping to the door and flinging it open. "I hope he pounds you into the mattress, hope you enjoy it."
"Yeah, well, I will," Harry retorted, slamming the door as Ron descended the front steps. He stood against the door then, listening to the screams coming from the portrait they'd set off. He let out a growling yell of anger, kicking the wall and then wrestling with the curtains on the portrait. "Shut the fuck up!" he shouted, and when he finally got the curtains shut, he sat heavily on the floor, face in his knees.
Chapter Title: Confession
Words: 2106 Words
"Where do you want this?" Harry asked Draco, holding up a glass case of potion ingredients.
"On those shelves over there. If those are the labelled ones, put them in alphabetical order."
Harry sighed. "Of course," he said with a wry smile, walking over to the shelves.
It had been a week since he'd broken up with Ginny and it had actually been a very nice week despite that. Harry was happy with Draco. He'd known happiness before, of course, but not on this level. He was happy just being with him. He didn't have to be kissing him, or in bed with him. It was just knowing that Draco was there, with him, and that he could reach for him whenever he wanted. He was comfortable, which was saying a lot.
Draco was unpacking another box of equipment. He kept glancing up and smiling at Harry. It meant a lot to him that Harry wanted his lab in the house, too. The sex was fantastic but he wanted to share other aspects of himself with his lover. Potions was part of who he was, what he liked to do. He was delighted when Harry had volunteered to help him set up.
Harry situated the ingredients in alphabetical order as Draco requested. He kept smiling at Draco as well. He liked doing this with him, no matter how much he pretended to be annoyed. "Keep bending over like that and I'm going to mess up all the work we've done in here when I throw you down and shag you," he teased, grinning.
Draco arched an eyebrow. "Promise?" he asked, and then did bend over again.
Harry chuckled deeply, watching that pert arse with lustful eyes. "I would regret it," he said. "Well, not all of it, but the fact that I'd have to pick all the stuff up again."
"I'm sure we can find part of the floor with room," Draco teased.
Harry rolled his eyes playfully. "Tempting," he said, "but perhaps we should get this done and then ravage each other." He waggled his eyebrows.
"Deal," Draco agreed with a smirk, working faster at unpacking.
Harry laughed at that, shaking his head again as he went back to his own work. They went at it for several minutes, unpacking in comfortable silence, until the silence was broken by what Harry knew were faint knocks on the door.
He stilled and looked over at Draco.
Draco looked up, eyebrows raised, and shrugged. "Not expecting anyone, are we?"
"I'm not," Harry answered, but he knew he didn't have to be expecting anyone for them to actually come over. He swallowed a bit. Most of the time the only people who came over to his house were Hermione and ... the Weasleys.
"I'll see who it is," he said, setting the vial in his hands down on a table as he strode across the room.
Draco watched him but stayed in the lab, unpacking. He didn't want to confront any of Harry's friends if they were still keeping a low profile.
Harry came down the stairs, his heart speeding up as he neared the door. He opened it just as the person behind it began knocking again.
It was Ron.
Harry swallowed once more, but then looked at Ron. He didn't seem angry. He seemed ... well, Harry didn't know what, but it wasn't anger.
"Hi," Ron said quietly.
"Hi," Harry answered cautiously.
"Can I come in?"
"Oh." Harry stepped back, slightly confused. "Sure." He shut the door behind Ron and glanced up at the stairs before directing his gaze back toward his friend.
"Haven't seen you in a bit," Ron said.
Harry stared a little more. "Yeah," he said slowly. "I ... thought I should probably keep away for a while."
Ron sighed and nodded. "Understandable."
Harry was even more confused. Where was the screaming? "Um, well, tea or something?" he asked.
"Sure," said Ron, hanging his cloak in the closet.
Harry, still confused, made his way down into the kitchen. He didn't know where Kreacher was, and hardly ever called him much when he wasn't actually there, so he just began making the tea himself.
Ron came down a moment later and took a seat at the table. He watched Harry a bit before he said, "No one's mad at you."
Harry turned his head and raised his eyebrows disbelievingly.
"Really," Ron continued, "I was always afraid this would happen if you two started dating. You know, break up and then make it kind of awkward to be around each other."
Something definitely wasn't right. Where was the name calling? The insults about being a ponce? Was Ron not going to mention Draco? "Yeah," Harry said slowly.
"It shouldn’t be though, you know?" Ron continued. "Mum's all upset, thinking you won't want to come over anymore. And, well, I don't want you to stop coming over either. You're my best mate."
Harry's eyebrows rose further. There was no way Ron knew the whole truth. "What did Ginny tell you?"
Ron raised an eyebrow now. "That you broke up of course."
"That's all she told you?" Harry questioned.
"Why?" Ron asked slowly. "Is there more than that?"
Harry sighed. Merlin, how was he supposed to handle this? "Well, we didn't just break up for no reason at all ...."
"Well, I didn't think so," said Ron. "Ginny just said it wasn't working out."
Harry's eyes widened. "S-she did?"
"Yeah," Ron said slowly again.
Harry could not think of a single thing to say for a moment. Why would she do that? Cover for him after what he had done to her? He closed his eyes. He had to tell Ron the truth, as much as he didn't want to. If it came out later -which it would - it would be twice as worse. He opened his mouth, but right at that moment the tea kettle started whistling. He jumped slightly and turned to fill the cups.
God, could he do it? Could he sit and look Ron in the eyes, knowing his reaction would most likely be terrible, and tell him that he had left Ginny for Draco Malfoy?
He brought both cups of tea, the milk and the sugar over to the table, taking a seat himself. "We did break up for a reason," he said quietly.
Ron frowned slightly.
"Not just because it wasn't working out," Harry continued, "though it really wasn't."
"Well, what then?" Ron asked.
Harry winced as he took his time stirring sugar into his tea. "I broke up with her," he said. "She didn't know I was going to."
Ron continued to frown, looking at Harry and waiting for him to explain.
Harry chanced a glance up at Ron and sighed again. "I broke up with her because ...." He paused, his heart beating very fast.
"Because ...?" Ron urged.
Harry winced again. "Ron," he said. "You're going to hate me."
Now it was Ron's turn to wince. "It's that bad?"
Harry nodded.
A long moment passed between them.
"Did you leave her for someone else?" Ron finally asked quietly.
Harry looked up quickly and stared at Ron for a moment.
"You did," Ron realised, closing his eyes. "Were you ... seeing Ginny and ... the other at the same time?"
Harry winced worse than ever, nodding.
Ron let out a small groaning sound. "Harry," he said, looking up at him, expression pained. "Why would you do that?"
Harry didn't look up. "I don't know," he said. "I wasn't thinking. I - I didn't want to hurt her. I - Ron, I still love her, I just don't want to be her ... boyfriend."
"Well, you could have told her that before you went and got someone else," Ron muttered, sounding angry now. Harry could tell he was switching into older-brother mode. "Merlin, Harry."
"I know," Harry moaned. "And I am sorry. I wish I would have done it differently. I know that I went about it completely wrong. I was just holding off. Because, at first I didn't know if I wanted to leave her at all, and then by the time I'd realised I was in love with the other person so much time had already gone by, and ... it was too late. And then I realised I wasn't ever in love with Ginny. I just loved her."
Ron shook his head, eyes squinted with an expression of confusion. "You sound like Hermione," he said.
Harry groaned and let his head fall back. He stared at the ceiling.
"Who is she?" Ron asked after another moment.
Harry went quiet for an entire minute. This was where it was going to turn nasty. He wondered during that minute if he should even tell Ron at all, but he knew it would come out eventually. He let out a very long breath.
Ron stared expectantly.
Harry put it off for almost another minute, but then, still staring at the ceiling, whispered, "Draco."
Ron's mouth dropped open as he stared in shock at Harry. "You're lying."
Harry slowly looked back at Ron. "No," he said quietly. "I'm not."
Ron was completely speechless.
Harry sat and stared, the resounding echo of his heartbeat in his ears the only sound in the room as he waited for Ron to say something.
“You left my sister," Ron finally said, his voice shaky, but strangely careful, "for Malfoy?"
Harry brought a single hand up to cover his eyes. "I fell in love with Draco," he replied, still quiet. "It's as simple as that. It's not something I can help."
Ron was shaking his head, as if what Harry was saying couldn't be true.
They sat in silence again.
"At Christmas?" Ron finally spoke, still shaking his head. "All those times, you were with him? You're a poof?"
"Let's not make this about my sexuality, Ron," Harry said firmly. "If it really means a lot for you to know, no, I'm not a poof. I like girls and I liked Ginny. But I guess I like Draco, too. I've never been attracted to another man before him."
Ron was still shaking his head.
"I should have never done what I did," Harry continued. "I should have never hurt Ginny like I know I did, but I love Draco and I can't help it. I love him a lot."
"How, Harry?" Ron demanded, his face getting very red. "How can you be with him? Merlin, it's enough that he is a him, but him?"
"What's the matter with him?" Harry asked.
"God, everything!" Ron shouted now. "This doesn't make any damn sense!"
"Oh, now you're going to get angry?" Harry asked, rather angry himself. "I tell you I cheated on Ginny and you were going to forgive me for that, but you find out who it was with and now you start shouting?"
"Harry, it's Malfoy!" Ron continued to shout.
"So what!" Harry yelled back. "You heard what Neville said! He saved them all, he gave them information all year! He bloody saved Luna's life, saved Ginny!"
"You didn't know all that before!" Ron squawked.
"I told you I could tell, Ron!" Harry yelled. "He was an arsehole in school, I know, all right! I hated him! He was a prick to me, and a prick to Hermione, and a prick to you and everyone else, but you won't even give him a chance!"
"He doesn't deserve a chance!" Ron snarled, knocking over his teacup as he abruptly stood from the table. Harry knew Ron was just plain angry now, because he had been willing to give Draco a chance after the things Neville had said.
"You're just being an arsehole," Harry told him, standing as well.
"Well, you really know about arseholes now, don't you, Harry?" he said, turning to stride from the room.
Harry's face reddened and he followed after Ron. "Go ahead, Ron," he said angrily as they both moved up the steps and into the foyer. "You only believe what you want to believe. Just like with bloody everything else!"
"Fuck you," Ron said shortly, stomping to the door and flinging it open. "I hope he pounds you into the mattress, hope you enjoy it."
"Yeah, well, I will," Harry retorted, slamming the door as Ron descended the front steps. He stood against the door then, listening to the screams coming from the portrait they'd set off. He let out a growling yell of anger, kicking the wall and then wrestling with the curtains on the portrait. "Shut the fuck up!" he shouted, and when he finally got the curtains shut, he sat heavily on the floor, face in his knees.