Reckless Abandon (Drarry)

Chapter 22

Clementine was quiet, simply sipping her drink and staring into the fire. She was in a similar position to Harry now, lying along the other sofa with a throw covering her body.

Harry looked over at her, wondering why she wasn't saying anything. "What? You have something on your mind. Just spit it out."

She looked over at Harry, her hazel eyes seeming wise for her age. "Come on, Harry. Are you really so blind?"

He sat up quickly, turning to face her. The movement made him realize just how drunk he was, putting a hand on the arm of the sofa to stabilize himself. "Apparently so."

Clementine sighed, sitting up too and running a hand over her face. "You have been listening to what everyone has been telling you to do all fucking year. Maybe it's time you take a moment and listen to yourself. Ask what you want and what's right for you, for your future. And then fucking do that."

She got up then, taking the tray away with her, which was probably a good thing. He likely would have finished off the rest of the whiskey and gotten even more morose.

Instead, he stared into the fire, her words echoing in his head. He had been making all sorts of changes all year, and what did he have to show for it? A broken heart, trouble at work, and a fucked up public image that was going to haunt him for ages.

He groaned when he thought back on all the embarrassing pictures in the papers the last few months. Could he somehow burn all the evidence and obliviate everyone's minds? Pretend it didn't happen?

Pretend Draco didn't happen?

What would his life be like now if Dante in that damn brothel hadn't been Draco? If he had just been a dom who had sex with his clients? Harry probably would have enjoyed the twelve sessions, gotten more comfortable with his sexuality and figured out a way to come out publicly. Probably just dating some nice guys and riding through the press storm. Probably still working too much and going to all those charity events.

Would he have been any better off with that less bumpy path? It would have been less chaotic, but he would have been blindly following the same old lifestyle. He never would have met Clementine, never dated those good guys in the summer like Brandon, Tristan and Edgar. Would he have had the whole interrogation incident? Would he have reacted the same way to Sera, or would he have been too stuck in work mode to be affected by her? Just passing her off to child protection without a second thought?

He had been blind then, caught up in his old life, just as bad as he was now. What was he being blind about now? What was he not seeing?

...

Harry woke up with a killer hangover. He dragged himself off the sofa, the previous day coming back to him in flashes that made him feel even worse.

This was the very sofa they had first kissed on. This blanket was the one Draco had yanked off him when they started making out. These pillows were the ones they had laid on together.

Wiping the back of his hand over his eyes before the wetness there could fall, Harry pulled out his wand, his hand shaking. "Evanesco," he said firmly, flicking towards the sofa that disappeared with a slight pop. The blanket and pillows were next. The other sofa suffered a similar fate.

Fuck it. Clementine could order new ones. Ones that wouldn't remind him of Draco.

Running up the stairs, he groaned at the state of his bedroom. He had been so busy with Draco, he had hardly been at home for weeks. Usually only to shower and change before meeting him for dinner.

All his newer, fashionable clothing was scattered all over the floor, and the sheets were all twisted from sharing the bed with Draco.

Not thinking too hard, he yanked the sheets off the bed and piled his laundry on top of them. And in a blink of an eye, he vanished the whole pile too. Gone were all those too tight trousers, shiny shirts, and shoes that pinched his feet. Gone, gone, gone.