Empty Spaces

Chapter 47

Holmberg's words struck a chord and stayed with Harry all through Herbology and into the afternoon. Then finally, while everyone else was at Defense, Harry apparated back to his flat, pocketed his letter from Lucius, and headed over for afternoon tea at Malfoy Manor. He would tell Draco today. He would come clean about everything: Lucius, Germany, Ironbark... No more secrets.

To Harry's relief, Draco looked to be in relatively good spirits as he pulled Harry into his arms with a wonderfully affectionate greeting.

"Hi, hey, nice to see you too!" Harry grinned at his boyfriend's advances. "You doing okay? You're making a weird face."

"Yeah, I just missed you," Draco replied, leaning in again and kissing Harry on the cheek. If there was any foul play afoot, from Lucius or Ironbark or anyone else, it didn't seem to have reached Draco just yet. Harry breathed easier: Nothing has happened yet. We still have time.

"You're cold, here, take this," Harry pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around his boyfriend.

"Always the excuse to take your clothes off for me," Draco quipped with a wink, allowing Harry to pull him in close as they walked down the hedge-lined path.

"How's your mum?" Harry couldn't help asking. He could count on one hand the number of times Draco appeared flustered, and almost all of them managed to involve Narcissa.

"Fine, I guess, in her own way," Draco replied, the familiar (and rather fetching) pink tinge appearing in his cheeks. "Do I even want to know the kinds of things she tells you...?"

"Honestly, I only understand about half of what she says anyway," Harry confessed, laughing at Draco's expression, "Remember, I was raised by Muggles. I have no idea who any of these people are or what they do, and frankly, I don't really care. She did tell me about ten different ways I can improve my posture and gave me some tips on how I can improve yours though–"

"What??"

"Relax, I have no idea what any of them are," Harry shrugged, smiling, feeling the tension leave. Draco is okay, Narcissa is okay. We still have time on our side. "But she's so passionate about everything, like, literally everything, from the proper way to hold a teaspoon to telling me the story about how you got into the jar of eyeballs–"

"She TOLD you–"

"-- when you were a baby–"

"--I can't believe–"

"--and you ate–"

"What ELSE has she told you!?"

"Oh, I don't know," Harry couldn't help laughing at Draco's expression, "Like I said, half of it I don't understand anyway. But she definitely has her own sort of charm, don't you think?"

"I guess you could say that," Draco replied dryly, pushing open the Manor door. "Yes, Horatio, everyone knows Harry is coming for tea, you don't need to announce it to the world."

"But I'm going to anyway," Horatio grinned. "Introducing Master Potter and Master Malfoy!"

Harry gave a frivolous bow as Draco rolled his eyes so far back that they were in danger of disappearing permanently.

"Hello, Harry, dear!" Narcissa appeared in the hall, "No, no, that is not the proper way to do that, dear, what have those Muggles taught you? Honestly! No, dear, here, hand like this and foot here, now hold your head like that and don't let it get into your shoulders. Draco, be a dear and show your beau a proper gentleman's bow, will you?"

"Oh, I think Horatio is a better teacher," Draco replied quickly with a wicked grin in the butler's direction.

"Ah, yes, excellent idea!" Narcissa beamed, leaving Draco smirking on the sidelines as Harry received instructions on the proper way to bow upon entering a residence.

"Merlin's balls," Harry muttered under his breath as Draco escorted him to the parlor once Narcissa deemed his bow to be "not excellent, but passable."

"You started it," Draco muttered back, "That's what you get for fooling around here."

"Who's fooling?" Harry asked with an overly innocent expression on his face. "I'm becoming cultured."

"Oh shut up," Draco replied fondly as they sat down and Narcissa chided them for whispering before telling Horatio to come take Draco's jacket as it is improper for one to don one's outerwear at the table.

It was such a stark contrast from last year, Harry thought. But then again, so was everything else. The war had changed his entire world; why would this be any different? Past Harry would never have thought himself capable of enjoying the presence of any Malfoy, let alone two of them. And yet here he was. Sure, he could now completely understand why Draco so desperately wanted to move on and away from here. But it was just as Holmberg always said; for two hours, Harry could leave his baggage at the door and simply enjoy Narcissa's (admittedly eccentric) company, for in the end, the food was good, the laughter was genuine, the moments were real and so was the happiness that came along with them.

He could almost forget that he owed Draco an important conversation. Almost.