This is the Way I Fall

Author's note--Good news! This chapter is longer! (Well, it's a lot of dialogue, which automatically takes up more space than exposition.) Do me a favor and when you read this chapter, question whether any parts of it feel contrived or 'forced'. I don't want to bias you for or against a certain part, so I'll explain more at the end, but I want to know if the entire thing is believable and flows or if it's a little 'off'...

This is the Way I Fall by Graballz

Chapter 9

Airport Reunion

The girl behind the counter gaped at him for the better part of a minute, but eventually she got over her shock and did as Harry asked. He assured her that he would pay whatever amount was necessary and would she be kind enough to have one of the ground crew pull their luggage off the plane that was currently leaving for Rio. His charm worked like magic, and for once, the airline displayed competence. Harry borrowed their phone, called his travel agent, and had her cancel their plans for Brazil (since the airline girl regretfully informed him that she couldn’t do anything about their hotel or non-airfare travel plans) and reschedule everything for the first week in June.

He knew Draco wouldn’t be happy about their exotic vacation being postponed, but as Harry spoke with the travel agent, he had a flash of brilliance for a counter-argument. Draco had certainly been right that the recent revelation ‘ruined’ their Spring Break plans, and Harry knew how much Draco enjoyed being right! And after hearing the shocking news about Molly Weasley, Harry hoped that Draco would understand why he had to go. The fact that Ron had spent the last couple of months trying to track him down and actually physically flying out to find him said a lot; either Ron (and the rest of the Weasleys) missed him more than Ron said or Molly was on her deathbed…but Harry quickly put that thought out of his mind, knowing that, if it were true, he’d be confronted with it soon enough.

Harry could tell that Draco was irked. He had flounced over to one of the rows of chairs and sat, staring sullenly at the floor, while Harry made all of the changes to their plans. Ron stayed up with him, changing his own return flight to be the same as theirs, and it turned out that they would be able to leave just before lunch.

“Hey, Ron, can you give us a second? Why don’t you go get in line for breakfast?” Harry pointed to the little café that was just opening, to which Ron readily agreed since he could always eat. “We’ll be along in a few.”

**********

Harry walked over to sit in the chair across from Draco, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and staring intently at his boyfriend’s angry face. Draco stubbornly refused to look at him.

“Please don’t be mad at me,” Harry said in a husky voice; Draco’s nostrils flared, the only indication that he had heard. “I can’t help it; he was my best mate for seven years, Draco. You don’t just throw that away…”

“But it’s okay for HIM to turn on YOU like that?” Draco glanced up at Harry. “You’re much too Gryffindor for your own good, you git. Where were HIS ‘best mate’ feelings when he was yelling at you for being the ‘abnormal freak the Dursleys were right about’, huh? You’re too forgiving. You should’ve been in Slytherin, and then you would’ve learned something.”

“Draco,” Harry sighed, dropping his head and running his hands through his hair to clutch at the back of his neck.

“No, Harry,” Draco sat up and forward suddenly, covering Harry’s hands with his own. “Don’t ask me to forgive him. I can’t, and not just because of the family thing. He needs to pay for what he’s done to YOU; what he’s put YOU through.”

“I don’t care about that,” Harry told the floor. He appreciated Draco’s intentions, and part of him even agreed. Ron had been a complete jerk; where did he get off waltzing back into Harry’s life again? But even as that thought formed, he knew that Ron had been a great best mate, and for all of his faults, Harry still wanted to be his friend. It was true that Ron had used his knowledge of Harry’s past to hurl the most cruel insults he could think of at Harry; the black haired Gryffindor had known that his friend could be downright mean at times, but until then, it had never been directed at Harry.

However, Harry supposed that Ron’s cruel streak was not unlike Draco’s; well, the Draco from their first few years at Hogwarts. Sixth year was when Harry had seen the biggest change in Draco, but that was because Draco had been under extreme duress trying to save his family, who he ended up losing anyway. Harry had forgiven Draco for much more; how could he deny his former best mate the same treatment?

“I know you don’t,” Draco bent his head low to Harry’s. “But that’s why you have me.”

“When it comes down to it, Ron IS a good person,” Harry replied, touching his cheek to Draco’s. “Just like you are. He’s not the same anymore; if he was, he wouldn’t be here. Please try to get along with him?”

“How can you so casually ask me to forgive him?” Draco’s lip curled. “Especially after our conversation where you assured me that you choose me.”

“I do choose you, Draco,” Harry insisted. “I don’t want you to be angry with him on my behalf; I want you both to get along. I’m asking you, Draco, from me to you, to please just try?”

Draco’s heartless façade was cracking more and more, even though it went against his entire nature to give Harry what he was asking for. Harry took his silence for denial.

“Okay, Draco, look at it this way; his mother—my surrogate mother—is dying. He couldn’t stand to look at me, and yet here he is, on the other side of the world, to give me the courtesy to see her one last time. He didn’t HAVE to apologize; he could’ve written a letter or just given me the news and walked away. He IS sorry, and I think we’ve all suffered too much. I just want to put it behind us.”

Draco pressed his lips into a thin line, deeply unhappy about making a decision that he didn’t agree with, meeting Harry’s gaze evenly. The Gryffindor stared back unblinkingly, but he caved first.

“Tell me that you want to go to Brazil right now, and I’ll put all the arrangements back,” Harry said in a low voice. “If you want to go home, I will walk out of this airport at your side without even telling him goodbye. Right past him like he’s not even there, because that’s how much I love you. Tell me what you want me to do, Draco, and I’ll do it.”

“I want…” Draco’s throat closed up, and for a single, horrible second, he was actually tempted to selfishly demand that his boyfriend walk out with him and leave Ron hurt, confused, and wondering what the hell happened, so that he could see how Harry felt when they left England. The Slytherin shook his blonde head; he was better than that. He owed it to Harry to be better than that, and Harry deserved better. “I want to go to England, and I want you to see Molly Weasley.”

Harry’s eyes widened; he had been so sure that Draco would decide on either of his other two options, and he had hoped against hope that he could make Draco understand.

“Do you mean that?”

“If there is anything in this world that means more to me than my own happiness,” Draco said seriously. “It is yours. I would do this for no one else, Harry. No one; do you understand that? But I just want you to be happy, and if me getting along with Weasley is what it takes, then…so be it.”

Draco acquiesced and gave in; usually it was Harry who moved hell and high water to give Draco his heart’s desire, but theirs was an equal and loving partnership. Draco conceded to his boyfriend’s wishes and promised to behave himself as Harry wrapped him in a grateful hug, and then they went to join Ron, who had already ordered and was waiting on the food to arrive at the table. Harry stopped at the register long enough to pick up a bagel, coffee, and tea.

**********

“So Ron, what have you been up to lately?” Harry asked, trying to discreetly fumble for Draco’s knee under the table, laying his hand on his boyfriend’s leg. Draco kept both of his hands wrapped around his environmentally-friendly Styrofoam cup of tea, but the corners of his mouth twitched. Ron was busy eyeing the plateful of eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and hash browns he had ordered, knife and fork poised for entry.

“I made the Cannons’ team,” the redhead reported proudly, puffing his chest out. Harry’s eyes lit up, and Draco barely held in a derisive snort. “Had our first season in the fall, and we…still lost most of the games, but we won a couple!”

“That’s great!” Harry picked up one half of his bagel smothered in cream cheese and bit into it. “Keeper, still?”

“Yeah, relief Keeper, so I’ve only gotten to play the tail end of two or three games,” Ron made a face as he stuffed a piece of bacon in his mouth. “This doesn’t taste right.”

“You get used to it,” Harry replied, glancing sideways at Draco. The blonde was still scowling at his drink, having refused any food, but Harry hoped that he would come around. “Isn’t that great, Draco? Ron’s a Keeper for the Cannons! We were just saying the other day how much we missed flying.”

“Yeah, great,” Draco echoed. “The Cannons…well, the Cannons.” Draco pressed his lips into a thin line, adopting the ‘don’t say anything at all’ policy for Harry’s sake.

“You were more of a Falcons fan, weren’t you, Malfoy?” Ron eyed Draco before taking a bite of his toast. “You know they got sold, right? They’re now the Plymouth Penguins.”

“WHAT?!” Draco’s head shot up, and he nearly knocked over his tea. “NO! They were the best damn team in the League! How can they be gone?”

Ron said nothing, but Harry, who had been rather surprised himself, noticed that the tips of Ron’s ears were turning pink, and he thought he caught the hint of a smile playing about his former best friend’s lips.

“You’re taking the piss,” Harry stated firmly, and when Ron glanced at him, Harry knew for sure. “You ARE! I can see it in your face!”

Ron finally couldn’t hold it in anymore, and he accidentally sprayed bits of egg and toast across the table when he laughed.

“I’m sorry, Malfoy,” he chuckled. “Really, I am. I…no, they’re still the Falmouth Falcons. I was just checking to see if you’re still as Slytherin as I remember.”

“Well, OF COURSE, I am,” Draco sat up straighter in his chair and pulled a haughty face. “I knew you were having me on. I can practically SMELL a lie.”

“I know that you knew that I was having you on,” Ron replied solemnly, wisely letting go of the comments Draco made that indicated that he hadn’t caught on right away.

“Good,” Draco raised an eyebrow coolly. “Because I know you that you knew that I knew that you weren’t being serious.” Ron screwed up his face, trying to puzzle THAT out, when Draco winked surreptitiously, and they both smirked. Harry gave up trying to sort it out, relieved that they seemed to be on at least tolerable terms.

“But technically, the Montrose Magpies are the best team in the League,” Ron pointed out.

“Oh? Says who?”

“Says the fact that they won the British League last year. Again,” Ron replied, and it was Draco’s turn to screw up his face.

“Unfortunately named, but I must concede that you are potentially correct, Weasley,” the blonde replied with a shudder. Harry smirked, letting them converse while he finished his bagel. He was about to pick up the other half to eat it when Draco reached over, snagged it, took an enormous bite, and put it back on Harry’s plate, somehow managing to chew, smirk, and look more smugly adorable than he had any right to be, according to Harry, while he listened to Ron’s description of how the Magpies had scored their way to the top.

“You brat,” Harry jumped in as soon as Ron took a breath, indicating his bagel as he picked it up and took his own bite. “If you’re hungry, get your own damn food.”

“But I’m not hungry,” Draco turned sweet and innocent. “I just wanted to taste it.”

“I’ll give you something to taste,” Harry muttered.

“Oi! Hey! Hello, straight man at the table!” Ron choked on the last bit of his hash browns.

“What? I meant a knuckle sandwich,” Harry replied, just as Draco said, “Don’t worry; we’ll go to the loo.”

“Now THAT ruins breakfast,” Ron glared at Draco, who looked pointedly down at Ron’s empty plate, and they all burst out laughing again.

“So how are you doing with the whole…‘us’…thing?” Harry asked cautiously, indicating himself and Draco.

“You mean, about you being gay and with Malfoy?” Ron replied, and Harry’s eyebrows nearly shot off of his face at Ron’s candidness. “Well…Seamus came out, so THAT was a bit of a shock. He admitted to having a fling with Colin in school. Been pretty broken up about him dying…y’know?”

“Creevey? The photographer who always wanted to lick Harry’s boots?” Draco asked, and Harry and Ron, in spite of the sadness they felt at their fellow Gryffindor’s death, chuckled.

“You DID say that, didn’t you?” Harry said fondly. “He didn’t ACTUALLY want to lick my boots, you know…well, not that I HAD boots in the first place. He was just…overly friendly.”

“He had a thing for you, mate,” Ron said. “Told Seamus all about it while they were together, but Seamus said he couldn’t blame him.”

“Wait, how do YOU know what I said about Creevey?” Draco’s brow furrowed; Harry and Ron locked horrified gazes, and the Slytherin’s eyes narrowed.

“He never knew, did he?” Ron said, and Harry shook his head.

“I don’t think so,” the black haired boy replied. “I mean, I’ve never told him.”

“Told me WHAT?” The blonde huffed, knowing that something was amiss.

“Do you remember after Christmas dinner our second year?” Harry said slowly, trying not to laugh as Ron began to snicker softly, knowing the story. “When Crabbe had that stomachache?”

“How do you two know about that?” Draco’s eyes popped wide open, and he regarded the two blushing Gryffindors with suspicion.

“Well, um, that wasn’t…Crabbe and Goyle,” Harry admitted, and Draco’s jaw came unhinged. “Hermione had brewed us some Polyjuice Potion, and we knocked Crabbe and Goyle out so that we could Polyjuice them to see if we could figure out who Slytherin’s heir was and what was going on with the Chamber of Secrets. Ron was Crabbe; I was Goyle.”

Draco was gobsmacked. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no sound came out. Ron and Harry were still giggling, and they gave each other high-fives for a prank they had pulled over six years ago. His mind raced, trying to remember exactly what he had said in that conversation.

“That’s how the Ministry found out about the chamber under the drawing room!” Draco exclaimed, the last piece of the puzzle clicking into place. “Father was FURIOUS about that!”

“Yeah, that was me,” Ron admitted, slightly sheepish. “I’d apologize for that, but you had just insulted MY dad, and I wanted to get back at you and…” The redhead trailed off.

Harry knew he hadn’t imagined the cloud of dismay that crossed Draco’s face for a fleeting moment when Ron mentioned his father, and Harry also knew WHY, but it was gone in the next instant, and Draco was nodding in approval.

“No, no, Weasley, I was a right prat in school, especially to the two of you,” Draco made a face. “If our positions had been reversed, I would have done the exact same thing to you. Very Slytherin of you; both of you. I approve; I had noticed that something was a little off with Crabbe and Goyle, especially when they came back to Slytherin later, and Crabbe had no idea why I asked him about his stomach. But I never suspected foul play; well done.”

“Well, I wasn’t any nicer to you either,” Ron replied, exchanging a dumbfounded look with Harry at being complemented by Malfoy on his ‘Slytherinness’. They shared a moment of silence, as if they were burying the past and forging a new future.

**********

“So how’s Hermione?” Harry asked, changing the subject. Ron’s face lit up.

“She’s great,” he said. They gathered their things and moved to the gate to wait on their flight, which was supposed to take off in a little over an hour or so. “She’s in negotiations with the Ministry right now. They want her to come and work for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, but she’s stubbornly trying to take SPEW national.”

“Spew?” Draco wrinkled his nose, thinking of vomit.

“S.P.E.W.,” Harry explained. “Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. She started knitting in our fourth year; clothes for the house-elves to free them.” Draco snorted, and Ron nodded.

“Yeah, she kind of went off the deep end there,” he grinned. “One of the reasons I love her. Asked her to marry me over Christmas.” He ducked his head, and Harry punched his shoulder.

“No joke? Congrats, mate!” Harry was pleased, and Draco added his heartfelt ‘congratulations’. “When’s the wedding?”

“Not for a while yet,” Ron replied. “What with Mum and all…and she was torn up that you weren’t around for the engagement. After Seamus…we talked about some things. A lot. And…I think we understand a bit better now about the whole ‘you and Malfoy’ thing. She said that she wanted you to be there, and so do I, mate, so we’re gonna wait a while. You’ll stand up with me?”

“Of course!” Harry got a little choked up thinking about Hermione. “She’s planning it?”

“Yup,” Ron got misty-eyed. “Her and Mum…and Ginny, to some extent.”

“Oh? How’s Ginny doing?” Harry held his breath, and Draco winced.

“She’s good,” Ron replied after a pause. “Believe it or not, she’s dating Blaise Zabini at the moment.”

“The Slytherin?” Harry clarified, just as Draco cried, “MY Blaise Zabini?” Harry’s gaze hardened as his attention focused on Draco.

“YOUR Blaise Zabini?” His voice was cold, frosty, and promised a slow, painful death to Zabini.

“You know, my friend,” Draco said quickly.

“JUST a friend?” Harry pressed, and Draco took his hand, turning serious for a moment.

“Yes, JUST a friend,” he replied, and Ron rolled his eyes at the hand-holding.

“Okay, good,” Harry turned back to the redhead. “I thought she didn’t like Blaise; she said he was a poser.”

“Dunno,” Ron raised his eyebrow but didn’t comment. “She likes him now. It’s actually more sickening than Malfoy.”

“Well, duh,” Draco replied, and Harry was so caught off-guard that he guffawed before he could catch himself. Draco smiled smugly; glad that he could still make his boyfriend laugh.

“Blaise Zabini, huh?” Harry shook his head.

“’Struth, mate. I wouldn’t take the piss out o’ ya on that,” Ron promised, finishing off the last of his tea and tossing it in the garbage can by the window. “Blech. How can you two STAND it here? The food’s all wrong!”

“It’s not THAT bad,” Harry replied. “But we got used to it quickly enough.”

“Mm,” Ron shut his mouth, remembering that Harry probably had figured he never would return to England once he left.

“So how did the Wea—your sister meet Blaise, anyway?” Draco was genuinely curious, since he knew how picky Blaise could be at times.

“At St. Mungo’s, believe it or not,” Ron said, slightly uncomfortable with getting on so well with Draco, but he was trying to get used to it. “One of us always tried to go with George for his check-ups…y’know, with his ear and all…and Ginny had gotten special permission from McGonagall to go with him.

“Zabini was there in the waiting room, and I guess they got to talking. Apparently Zabini didn’t stay for the fight; he left with the younger Slytherins,” Ron was referring to the Final Battle. “But then someone hexed him pretty badly after seeing him in Diagon Alley, and it was serious enough that he went to out-patient treatment for a few weeks. At first, Ginny tore into him for leaving, but then he asked her how SHE did in battle, and she had to admit that Mum and Dad wouldn’t let her…even though she DID end up dueling Bellatrix there at the end.”

“Bella was one very fucked up mental case,” Harry mused, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to let go of the black rage that bubbled up inside him even now at the thought of Voldemort’s most loyal and most unstable follower.

“Tell me about it,” Ron continued. “So anyway, then Ginny realized she shouldn’t be so hard on him and all, and the next thing I knew, he was over for dinner during the hols. They could hardly let go of the other’s hand long enough to eat, and well…her Silencing Charm slipped that night. I practically had to shack up with the ghoul in the attic!”

Draco made a disgusted face at the thought of his friend shagging a Gryffindor, for one; and the thought of shagging a girl didn’t interest him in the least. Harry blew out a breath through his nose, trying to smile, but in all honesty, he WAS happy that Ginny had moved on and even found herself someone…hopefully nice. He, too, didn’t particularly want to think about Ginny even NEEDING a Silencing Charm, but luckily Ron had moved on and launched into a vivid description of their New Year’s kiss, which was only marginally better.

Their conversation continued, drifting aimlessly from catching up on all of the latest gossip that Ron knew (which wasn’t very current, he admitted) to asking after Ron and Harry’s mutual old Dumbledore’s Army chums and back to Quidditch again, steadfastly ignoring the ‘pink elephant’ of Molly’s sickness. They waited at the gate an extra half hour due to the late arrival of the previous flight, finally boarded the plane without hassle, and settled into their seats.

**********

Author's note--*cringe* Alright, so I get the feeling that something's 'off' but I can't tell what. Did it flow to you? I added the first part (Harry and Draco's discussion) after reading your reviews. I hadn't realized that everyone would think Draco should be angrier than I had originally intended him to be...so I hope that their discussion explains a bit more.

Does it seem OOC that Draco could go from being angry at Ron to being able to joke with him? Keep in mind, too, that this particular conversation between the three of them took place from, like, 7 or 8am (ish) up until about noon, when their plane left for England. So Draco had about five hours in which to come around, and if he was putting his hatred aside because Harry asked him to, then I could see that...or am I losing it?

You know those stories that start out really great and then start to go downhill? Is that what's happening here? Hopefully not, but if it is, PLEASE tell me (be honest...be brutal...I can take it...) because I don't want to drive you wonderful readers and reviewers away, rolling your eyes and thinking "she should've left it at..." (whatever part).

I guess I'm feeling this way because I try to predict/anticipate your reactions, and I missed the mark with how angry you guys think Draco should be. Is it believable? Does it work? (Don't worry...this is just a temporary bout with insecurity; I'll come around...)

I was also trying for some comic relief (since Ron IS good for that...) with him and the food. And the joking. He KNOWS that he screwed up big-time, but he's not much of a huge talker. My guess is that Hermione would be the one who is apologizing all over the place; Ron is much more of a 'say sorry once and then we're cool again' kind of guy...much like Harry, I think, except that Harry's learned to apologize multiple times to Draco! I'm pretty sure that there will be more apologies and explanations when they get to England, so I didn't want to overwhelm you with (more) sappiness here...lol

Thanks for reading! and thanks for reviewing!

jbj1031965 Thanks for your review! I know...this was the whole problem with introducing the major angst into this supposed-to-be-fluffy series. I like the lovin' too, but sadly, it's just not the atmosphere for it at the moment. But it'll get back to that, I promise!

Roozette Surprise!!! OH crap! Okay, so it might not have been so bad if you expected Ron and got hot Harry/Draco sex...but to expect the sex and get Ron??? WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU???????? *wails* I'm sorry!!!!!!! (That's an awful realization, no matter which way you look at it...I'll make it up to you!)

Don't worry, Draco holds his own and protects his own...except when Harry asks him to step back. But even then, Draco's a Slytherin, so you can bet he'll be on the lookout for any false moves on Ron's part. But to me, Harry does everything and more that Draco asks, so now it's time for Draco to do something big and give in to Harry, especially on this super-important, life-changing moment.

Love you too! LOL Thank you for your wonderful review, and I'm still sorry about the shock!

QueenBoadicea You said it! Thanks!

harrydraco4life You made an excellent point. Thank you! That was something I hadn't considered when I wrote this scene, and I hope that the quick discussion between Harry and Draco at the beginning of this chapter addresses this. You rock!

Miss Nikki LMAO I left myself speechless! Dude, talk about a pretzel...you're right, but it'll all get resolved (hopefully without TOO much more complicated plot twists). Thanks for your review, love!

thrnbrooke THANKS! You are completely correct, although I think he would've been madder than I originally intended for him to be, so I hope that the discussion at the beginning addresses this issue without being too pansy-ish or OOC...

gorgeousbrowneyes LMAO Yes, I am American. Just out of curiosity...what nationality did you think I was before? *wink* In 2003-2004, I was 19-20 years old. You're Australian? I LOOOOOOVE your accent (just by default, even though I've never heard YOU speak!)

Yeah, I use the 'can't rape the willing' line a lot, but (if it helps) I feel sort of bad every time I say it because I say it while remembering that there really are victims of rape out there. I do martial arts, and we joke that "it's not child abuse if it's in class" (you know, like if the parent and child is in class together) even though it's *really* not very funny to joke about stuff like that...*le sigh*

I make it a point to try to preface phrases like that with, "Well, this really shouldn't be funny, but..." which helps me sleep at night...

THANKS for three reviews!!! WOW! Molly's reaction and how much she knows will be revealed once the boys get to England, as well as Arthur's/Lucius' reactions...

Actually, it's funny you should mention the fight because that was one of the scenes I read several times when trying to formulate the backstory for the Malfoy/Weasley feud, and this revelation (that Arthur raped Narcissa) seemed to fit in with the dialogue of that scene...*interesting note*

You're right; I haven't actually been to Brazil before, but I want to go so badly I can practically taste it. Normally I try not to write a location unless I've been there personally, but the original (pre-angst) plot bunny demanded to be written...and I had kind of hoped that I might end up going to Brazil before having to WRITE that chapter...but so far, THAT hasn't worked out yet. But I really would like to get them to Brazil eventually, even if I haven't been there myself.

Honestly, this was as fast as humanly possible...sorry for the delay!

Roozette Yay another review!! That's not pathetic! (I think about this story all day too...wait, what do you mean 'that's different'? LOL) And I completely agree with you that Draco wouldn't exactly take this 'lying down'...so I added in their discussion at the beginning of this chapter to hopefully explain a bit more.

paigeey07 HA! I hear you! I wanted Brazil too! Thanks! *sigh* They'll get there...they're just going to take the scenic route. *wink* But I totally agree and think the 'bastard' comment is justified!