"He's being a complete arsehole AND he's unreasonable AND he yells at me about everything. What the hell am I supposed to do? I think he'd manage to get pissed off at me even if I was in a coma. I want to compromise but it seems like all he wants is for me to be bloody mute. I just don't understand what his problem is."
Harry slumped in his seat in Hermione's office after he was done with his rant. He'd been there for two hours telling her about the past two days. He hadn't even touched his food even though they were supposed to be having lunch together.
"Are you done?" Hermione asked, dabbing her lips with a napkin. Once she saw Harry nod, she pointed to the door and glared at him, "Good. Now go apologize to him!"
Harry simply stared at her with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open. Then, he shook his head and glared right back at her, saying, "Did you hear a single word I said, 'Mione?"
"I heard everything. It sounds like Malfoy is laying down his boundaries and you're ignoring them."
"Yes, because they're stupid boundaries!" Harry said firmly, huffed, then crossed his arms in front of his chest.
How does she not get this?
It's his fault we aren't getting along, not mine.
Why is she taking his side?
"He was going to have the pregnancy terminated. I can't imagine that was an easy choice for him. Now, he is giving his baby up. He's allowed to be a bit emotional about the situation. You bringing it up won't help him," the brunette witch replied with the same tone.
"No one told him to do that!"
"We don't know his circumstances, Harry!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked, not knowing how else to reply to her accusations. The witch sighed, then bit her lip.
"The potion you told me about isn't just any regular nutritional one. It replaces whole meals and all dietary requirements for both the carrier and the child. Do you understand the implication?" Hermione asked gently.
Harry tilted his head in confusion. He already knew all of this. It was why he had gone to speak to Malfoy about it. The brunette was sure that the blonde had gotten mixed up. What pregnant person would need a potion that supplies them with literally all their food?
"Did you think that perhaps he has some sort of illness that is affecting his ability to swallow or eat?" Hermione asked after seconds of silence. Harry gaped at her.
No. I didn't.
"What illnesses would that be? H-how bad would it be for the baby?" the brunette asked breathlessly, afraid of the response.
"It wouldn't affect the baby at all. Malfoy might have something fatal, Harry. You said he was a lot thinner since the last time you saw him. It's not that uncommon for carriers in the first month of pregnancy to do so, but there could also be another reason. Perhaps he wanted to end the pregnancy because he wouldn't be around to take care of the child and thought you wouldn't want to do it. When you showed up, though, that could've changed his mind."
WHAT?!
"How could he not tell me something like that? I've asked him so many times and-" Harry whispered, shocked.
"And you're not really someone whose pity he needs," she pointed out, looking at the brunette with sympathy, "Look, I am not saying that's the case. I am just saying we don't know, so maybe you can try to be more patient with him? The situation is far from ideal, but at least he trusts you enough to give you his child forever. He must really be fond of you on some level, Harry."
Harry forced a smile, catching on to the fact that she was trying to cheer him up. He didn't know if it was the bond that was making him feel so horrible all of the sudden, like he should've acted better towards Malfoy. The blonde had said the bond only affected them when they were near each other, right? So, why was it affecting Harry now? Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to do freaking something and make things right.
"Just go to him, Harry."
For once, I can't agree more.
Draco sighed as his neighbors took furniture, cabinets, the fridge, and anything worth anything out of his apartment. This was the only way he could think of to be able to pay off his rent and afford some food. He tried to order from the healthiest places he knew so he wouldn't hurt the baby, but they were expensive and he knew he couldn't keep this up much longer. It had only been two days and pretty much every single thing in his apartment was gone, save for his bed.
The blonde leaned against the wall and slid down, looking at the emptiness around him. He put his face in his hands.
What am I going to do?
Draco jumped when he heard a knock echo through the small studio apartment.
"Hey, Malfoy. It's me. I just want to talk...without any third parties. That was a stupid suggestion. I'm sorry. To be honest, I don't want to do that at all. I hope you don't, either."
I don't.
But you're asking me too many questions.
Ones I don't want to answer.
Draco knew he would need to answer eventually. It wasn't the brunette's fault that Draco's life was falling apart. Potter didn't deserve to be treated like this. He was guaranteeing their child a healthy, happy life, one that Draco would never be able to provide. That meant everything to the blonde. Potter was compromising left and right. Draco needed to do the same.
"Malfoy?"
Draco took a deep breath, then opened the door and gestured for the brunette to come in. Potter froze in his place the second he stepped foot inside the apartment. He looked around for only a moment, then turned to look Draco in the eye, a shocked expression on his face. The blonde immediately looked down, ashamed of what his life had become. He didn't want any pity from the brunette. He just wanted to hide in a hole somewhere and never have to see Potter again.
"Draco, it's okay," he heard Harry murmur. That's when he realized there were tears running down his cheeks. Potter raised a hand, presumably to wipe them away, but then stopped, let his hands fall to his sides, and cleared his throat, continuing, "Pack your stuff. You'll be staying with me."
The blonde nodded silently and went to do as Potter said. How could he say no? He was lucky that Harry wasn't bombarding him with questions or pitying him or trying to get him to talk about it. The brunette was reacting exactly the way the blonde wanted him to. Was the bond telling him what to do? Or was this just...Harry?
Potter silently apparated the both of them to Grimmauld Place, then led the blonde to a guest room, leaving him to "make himself at home." Once the brunette had shut the door, Draco blinked. He couldn't believe that any of that had just happened. Why didn't Harry yell at him for not telling the brunette sooner? Why didn't he make fun of him or say it was all his own fault? Why didn't he ask a lot of questions then drag out a very painful conversation just to arrive at the same conclusion: Draco Malfoy, member of the formerly richest family in the wizarding world, didn't even have enough money to feed himself.
"Malfoy? Dinner is ready," he heard the brunette say firmly from the hallway. Draco realized he had been lost in his own thoughts for a while. It had almost been an hour since he arrived at the room. He made his way down to the sitting room, where he remembered a round table for two was present. Sure enough, Harry was sitting on the other side, waiting for him. Strangely, though, the brunette had enlarged the table to fit everything he made for dinner. There was a roasted duck, pizza, fried chicken, rice, pasta, soup, salads, and everything else that the blonde could've asked for. He looked up at the brunette with a puzzled expression.
"I-I didn't know what you like, so I kind of...made everything," Potter told him, blushing a bit. Draco took a seat across from him, eyeing everything on the table. He was so hungry, he could eat all of it, but he was sure that would end with him sick, so he decided to start with the soup.
"You made it?" the blonde asked after a few spoonfuls, "Why don't you have a hous-elf?"
Draco felt anger course through their bond.
That's weird.
Why would that question make him mad?
The brunette forced a smile, then shook his head, saying, "No reason. I just don't need one."
Draco felt a need to ask the brunette what he had been angry about, but held himself back.
Why do I care all of the sudden?
Didn't I just take that bond-blocking potion?
Was it a faulty one?
Merlin, am I going to have to make them myself from now on?
"Thank you, Potter. This was very...nice of you," Draco said quietly, looking down at his food.
"You're welcome."
They both smiled, looking away from each other as they finished the meal in silence.
Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought it would...