A Dark Time For The Light

36

The last two weeks of the Derbyshire project tested everyone to the limit. Draco was unable to see Harry on the final weekend as they made the final push and were finished ahead of time and on budget. The Duke and Duchess were delighted and hosted a small reception for the local Countryside press and a select few Architectural journalists. The Gallery would be officially re-opened next week when the gilders had gone. A major press junket was planned. Draco was glad he’d be back in London by then, although he hadn’t a clue what he planned on doing next.

Jacinta booked the team into Buxton’s poshest restaurant on their last night, and the champagne flowed as Jacinta handed out the cheques for their bonuses for shortening the contract. Draco pocketed his with a grin. Jacinta then stood. “Well folks, thanks for a great job well done. You’ll all be able to go back to college for a few weeks, but I’ve put in a tender for a job in London, which if it comes off could mean you deferring for a full year. I can’t say much about it at this stage, but if we get it, then the picture restorers amongst us get a work-out too. All I can say at the moment, is that they are very interested indeed”, to more cheers.

“When will we know, Jace?”. Saskia. “They announce the winning tender next week on the show”. Draco was confused, “Show?”. Jacinta laughed, “The restoration show on the TV. If that old theatre wins then we’re in for a long job, more interesting and just as prestigious in it’s own way. This could fuckin’ make us as a team. Are you on board, Draco?”. He nodded, “Yeah. Of course I am. So long as you keep the TV cameras away from me. I love this work and I love working with you lot. First honest day’s work I’ve ever done in my life”, he giggled, a little giddy from the champagne.

The next day, they all packed. Draco loaded his spare boxes into the boot of Jacinta’s car. Harry turned up around lunchtime warning the other drivers, “Big pile-up on the Southbound just north of Watford Gap. The traffic’s a fuckin’ nightmare. S’gonna take hours apparently”. The colleagues all hugged, Jacinta arranging to drop Draco’s boxes on Sunday, then Draco climbed on behind Harry and they rode away with a final wave.

They took a longer route home avoiding the M1 and teatime found them flopped in their lounge in front of the TV eating takeout. Harry’s phone rang, an excited Hermione wanting to visit, but the boys were tired. Harry had done a lot of driving that day and Draco had been working long hours. They put them off ‘til the morrow.

They turned their phones off and took a long bath together, Draco leaning against Harry letting him sponge him down and wash his hair. Sleepily he returned the favour washing the road from his Harry. They dried each other and went to bed, just enough energy between them to hold tight and sleep. Harry stretched out on his back. Draco curled against him.

The terror, the sheer terror. Draco had been dragged away. His chest heaving with unshed tears, Harry slowly stands as the lone tall Death-Eater pushes past Draco and his captors and advances on Harry, his wand raised.

Harry’s face crumples, but his eyes remain fixed to the looming figure before him, “Finish it, you bastard. Just finish it. You’ve taken everything. My parents, my godfather and now the love of my life. What more do you want, you filthy bastards. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT OF ME?!!!”

“KILL ME!, FOR FUCK’S SAKE, KILL ME”, the voice a scream. Harry’s body rigid with fury. The Death-Eater tried hard to comply but failed, his wand hand was shaking too hard. He tucked his wand into the sleeve of his robe, “I’m fucked anyway. I can’t kill you Harry, I’ve spent the last seven years protecting you”. Harry s is confused until the man removes his mask and hood. Severus Snape.

He grabs Harry’s robes and hauls him after him down corridors and stairs, round corners and somehow they are outside by a small hidden door, away from the main battlefield. Harry struggles but to no avail. “I didn’t protect you all that time, Harry, to let you die now”, a hiss between gritted teeth. Severus hauled Harry through the boundary hedge of Hogwart’s and drawing his wand again, he Apparates both of them out of there.

They land in an anonymous location somewhere in a big city in Yorkshire. Severus stuffs about 300 pounds into Harry’s pocket, then Apparates away again. Harry is in shock. Draco gone. The battle lost. Severus’ actions. He wanders for a while until he realises he is in Sheffield. He finds a quiet park, then sits on a swing, the kiddies still in school, and howls out his grief. There are mums coming into the park as he wipes his eyes and makes to leave. A young woman extends her hand, catching his jacket, “Are you all right, love?”, concern on her face. He smiles bravely, “Thank you. I just lost someone close to me. I needed somewhere quiet to think. I’d better let the kiddies have their playground back”, he appreciates the woman’s simple concern and decides then and there to become a full-time Muggle again.

He awoke to Draco stroking his sweaty face, kissing and shushing him gently. He’d obviously been thrashing about again, Draco was using his body to restrain Harry’s arms. He let go as soon as he realised Harry was awake, then caught his beloved as he turned to him and howled his grief.

“I just wanted to die. I just wanted to die”. Draco held his weeping Harry close, waiting out the storm. They were both so tired, but they always had the energy to support each other through these rough times. Draco murmured, “Harry, I’m here. Right here, beloved, and I always will be”, and other words of comfort. Draco’s heart was heavy with the losses they had all suffered, the nightmares that all of them suffered from time to time. He stroked Harry’s hair, his own eyes wet. Would this nightmare ever end? Would they ever be able to use Magic again?.

Harry had more experience living as a Muggle, but Draco was growing used to it. They weren’t a bad lot, really. Intelligent and caring. He realised that he thought of Jacinta, Caroline and Marcus as friends, not to mention Steffie and Cellan added to Harry’s circle and by extension, his too. Maybe his future lay this way. Rejecting the Magical for the Mundane, although he’d never envisioned it in his worst nightmares, though he had to admit to himself, the Mundane world had a lot to recommend it. The cycle of work and pay. Meeting in pubs. Going out. The cinema, theatre and other Mundane treats he was finding out about through Harry. Okay, journey times were longer than Apparation, but they had transport now. All in all, life wasn’t that bad.

He held his love, murmuring how much he loved him, how much Harry meant to him, how he’d never let him go, not this time, meaning every word, his heart swelling. Harry clung, relishing every word, losing himself in the warmth of Draco’s voice, the weave of love around him, his fears assuaged for now.

He tipped his head back and pulled Draco towards him for a kiss, heating in moments. They clung to each other, letting the heat take them in the age-old dance of love, rising, peaking then falling together, the joy back, the sadness gone for now. They lay kissing, love radiating from them both, when the doorbell ringing caused a mad laughing scramble for clothes.

The Bunker crew. Hermione, looking extremely pleased with herself. Ginny, Seamus and Dean. They came bearing beer to celebrate. Hermione passing her online course as a bookkeeper. She needed to work and was becoming antsy, so decided to take the course. Ginny had found part-time work in a large record shop, so cheap CD’s lay on the horizon. The four of them were planning to rent a cheap house as soon as the girls had a regular income. Harry and Draco were delighted. More were following their path.

Fuelled by beer, the talk focussed on the validity of modern Magic in the modern world. By the end of the afternoon, they all agreed they missed it, but living in the real world was teaching them all so much, particularly the purebloods. Five of the enclaves now had their computers and Internet connection, thanks to Hermione and Ibrahim. The samizdat Prophet was now published online and could be updated quicker. Regular e-mails between the cadres ensured everyone was up to date. Discussion forums were begun to figure out where the Magical world was to go from here, all sorts of bizarre suggestions made, but they were all figuring it out.

Later that evening, Draco had a call from Caroline, “Turn the telly on, Draco, BBC1, the prog on the restoration project”, she rang off. Draco excused himself, “I need to watch this. It may be my next job”. He turned on the TV and found the channel. There it was. This weird little theatre tucked away between two rows of shops right here in the East End.

Harry had forgotten, that neither of the girls had seen Draco’s work. They were both impressed at the project outlined in the programme. Then, at Harry’s urging, Draco dug out his portfolio of photographs. They were impressed, particularly Hermione, who asked many pertinent questions of a proud and grinning Draco. Between the programme ending and the voting, counted later that night, from the public, there were many anxious phone calls between Draco and his colleagues.

As they tuned back in at 9pm. Harry was holding Draco tight, feeling the nervousness making Draco’s slender frame shake. There was a silence as the voting was closed. The room held it’s breath as the results were announced. Draco craning towards the screen, every muscle taut. Then the announcement, “The Shoreditch Theatre”, and Draco jumped into the air, yelling in triumph. “We haven’t been awarded the contract yet, but it’s looking good”. His fists were bunched and he punched the air.

The bombshell hit an hour later. Draco had called or had been called by all of his other colleagues. Except Jacinta. Silence from that quarter or just a busy signal. Then a text message, sent to all of them simultaneously. “YES. WE GOT THE CONTRACT”, was all it said in bold capitals. In an instant, they were all back on the phone with each other. Harry holding Draco and adding his two penn’orth to the conversations switched to speaker. Ginny and Hermione congratulated Marcus and Caroline. Jacinta apologised to Draco for not getting there with his luggage. They made another arrangement for the morrow and Draco rang off.

He sat back wearing the biggest, silliest grin. “This means I’ve got work for at least the next year, on and off. I won’t be paid at the same rate as the Derbyshire job, but I’m still earning. I was so worried that after taking this place on, we’d be left with me out of work”, he let out a long sigh of relief. Harry hadn’t realised how much this had been preying on Draco’s mind, but his lover’s palpable relief spoke volumes.

Later, after they had seen their guests out, Harry took Draco into his arms and showed him exactly how proud of him he was. Somehow they made it to bed, sticky and boneless and fell in a heap, mouth to mouth and slept.

A week. A whole fucking week he makes me wait, the trollop. Making eyes at me across the Dining Hall, so I amp it up a bit. Tonight at dinner, I catch his eye as I lift my glass of juice to my mouth, I lick delicately along the rim of the glass and lower my eyes and watch him come undone before me and turn away, blushing. He is so damn gorgeous when he blushes. As the throng exits the Hall, there’s a shove against my shoulder and a note pressed into my hand. My whole being thrills. I get far enough away from the Hall and read the note. “Again?. Lover?. Astronomy Tower at midnight tomorrow. I have somewhere else. I want you. H xx”

Will he keep the appointment?. It’s already quarter past twelve. Then the latch rattles, the door opens and he cautiously ventures in. Moonlight spilling in catches his hair. I’ll never be truly invisible around this boy, even the moonlight caresses him as I intend to. I reveal that I am already there, emerging from under my Invisibility Cloak. Draco starts and clutches at his throat at the shock I’ve given him, appearing in mid-air. It’s good to keep Malfoy off balance. I want him, but can I trust him?. I come with so much baggage.

Time telescopes as they kiss, rediscovering the lusciousness of each other’s mouth. This time they manage to see each other naked, both awed. Draco is marble-perfect, his skin translucent in moonlight. Harry shying away until Draco brought him into a shaft of light, the tracery of faint scars telling Harry’s tale. Draco’s tongue mapped every one that night, reading his lover’s story as he explored with fingers and tongue. They saw each other that night, naked and delighted with each other, then made love with fervour and passion. Draco keening his delight as Harry came deep within him then splashed them both with his come. They stayed together that night, magically cleaning each other, Summoning blankets and pillows, then slept, twined together, both totally lost in each other.

And so they slept now, the sleep of innocence and love. They looked long and deep into each other’s eyes, as mesmerised as the first time. “I love you, Harry”. Harry smiled and kissed his spent lover, “I love you, too, Dragon. Now and forever”, as their eyes closed. They both wore slight smiles and each other as they slept.