The Boy Who Lived

Tears of Laughter, Tears of Pain

'I saw.' Draco actually laughed. 'It was very noble of you, Potter!'

Harry shrugged but his lips twitched, 'those times were rather tense and well, it was my mum! What about Millicent or Daphne?' He had unconsciously moved closer and had started playing with the cuff on Draco's hoodie (Harry's hoodie). His fingers occasionally glanced across Draco's wrist. It was almost unbearable and Draco suddenly moved, gripping Harry's hand tightly for a moment, just to stop his teasing fingers because they were doing things to him that he was struggling to cope with. He couldn't cope with it as they talked about the past.

Harry's gaze never left Draco.

Draco wanted to curl up on himself again, avoiding Harry's searching eyes, it was painful to talk about those times. He crossed his legs on the bench, his knee resting against Harry's thigh as he grasped his ankles. His own grey eyes were empty. 'I don't know what happened to Millie. America, I heard. The Greengrasses, well, did you know I was supposed to marry Daphne's younger sister, Astoria? We tried for a while, lived there together, briefly, during our engagement but it clearly was never meant to be. We came to a mutual agreement to call off the engagement. In truth, they could have taken me to court for reneging the arranged marriage, not that I'm surprised they cut a deal and ran; our family name was in disgrace after father was executed... I gave Tori the family's holiday home in St Ives as reparation. I think she sold it. I'd initially offered her the London house. I bet she's glad she didn't take it.' His voice was almost a whisper.

He saw Harry's face harden and the man swallowed heavily, 'engagement?'

'You are so naïve sometimes. I told you this before. The Sacred Twenty-Eight families have a habit of organising pureblood marriages. Like I said, it's all about keeping their names going, to make alliances, and money. There seems to be some belief that soulmates weren't reliable enough or pure enough. It appears yours is one of the few families who preferred the route of soulmates. But what's new! At least we know it runs in the family for you to go against everything my father stood for.' His joke fell flat, neither of them were in the mood for laughing.

'So, you've never thought about finding your soulmate?'

'Ha!' Draco sneered. 'Minor things like my soulmate are unimportant where the family name is concerned. The importance is to produce a Pureblood heir and keep the name alive.'

'But your happiness, your future happiness...'

'What happiness, Potter? What do trivial things like that matter? They have never mattered...'

Harry set his mug down and reached out to clasp Draco's hand. 'It's not trivial. It matters, Draco. More than anything. You've suffered enough.' He felt haunted by the conversation, by the terror of arranged marriages and paid-for acquaintances.

'No one would have me anyway,' Draco said quietly.

He saw Harry stare at him, his expression unreadable but saying a thousand things. How he wanted the raven-haired man to lean forward and say I would, I would have you. It caused an empty feeling deep in his stomach because he didn't know how to deal with these feelings, he didn't know how he was supposed to react towards another man he felt so strongly attracted towards.

'What about your inheritance? Runchbark mentioned it at the bank but you've kept very quiet on that front.'

'Like you, the Malfoys are one of the Noble families though my father ignored his honorific because its roots are muggle. It's a peerage originally endowed by the Muggle crown when we first came to England. Admittedly,' he smiled ruefully. 'Ours is nowhere as grand, we have a hereditary barony. About four down from you in level, I believe. Armand was originally Baron de Malfeul.'