As soon as they landed in the visitor's section, Draco quickly put on glamour charms. They did not need to attract attention right now. Harry looked around and noticed that they were busy. Great. They waited at the reception desk for a while. The man in front of them was mumbling things like, 'They are coming to get me.' And, 'I know they are out there.' The man kept looking around the room as if he was looking for all the different ways he could escape. Harry thought the man was acting rather oddly but he figured that a lot of people might be odd since the war.
"Next!" The Welcome Witch shouted. Harry thought her people skills could use some serious help. If you don't like your job than at least pretend to do so. Her boredom was clearly visible. It made her job title completely redundant since she was far from welcoming.
"I know you are working for the government, who keeps a watch on everything that I do." The man told the Welcome Witch.
"Right." She said slowly, eyeing the man with interest. "What seems to be the problem today?"
The man looked around again and eyed Harry and Draco with suspicion before looking back at the lady behind the desk. "Did you know the radios in all homes are listening to all your conversations and reporting them back to the Ministry?" Draco snorted a tad too loudly and Harry groaned internally when the man turned and glared at them.
"You think I am kidding, do you? I bet you are one of them!" He yelled loudly, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "You work for them, don't you?! A spy in normal attire! Everyone look away before they start cataloguing you! There is no privacy anymore!" Harry was positive he had never met anyone so odd before.
The guards on duty quickly grabbed hold of the guy, which just made him start screeching about the hospital being in on the whole thing. "I knew you guys joined the Ministry! Is there no safe places anymore??"
The Welcome Witch narrowed her eyes at the man before smiling slightly. "Fourth Floor- Spell Damage. I do believe he is the victim of a Paranoia jinx." She paused briefly as he started shouting about being the only one 'awake' in a world full of blind sheep "A powerful one." She added with a nod of her head.
The guards dragged the man away and hopefully up to the floor where he would be receiving help. The Welcome Witch gave them an actual smile and not her bored indifferent grimace she had been gifting everyone. Apparently, all it takes to cheer her up is drama. What a lovely person.
"Welcome to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. How may I be of assistance to you today?" The cheeriness to her tone was actually grating on Harry's nerves. He was debating on which was worse, her boredom or her happiness.
"We are here to see a patient. Luna Lovegood." Draco told her. He thought Harry's annoyance was funny. His lover wasn't much of a people person, which was kind of surprising.
The girl began flipping through a book on the desk. "She has been moved to the Janus Thickey Ward." There was sympathy in her voice and Harry didn't like it.
"But isn't that the permanent residence for people who won't get better?" Harry asked as his heart started beating faster. Had Luna been more harmed than just her eyes being taken? Had Finneus lied to them?
Draco took Harry's hand and pushed him a wave of calming through the bond. Harry breathed a couple times before instantly relaxing. The Welcome Witch eyed Draco curiously but looked back to Harry.
"Yes, it is but that ward also houses cases that don't really fit in with the other floors. And Miss Lovegood would need to stay longer than some patients so that she could learn to live without her missing body parts." The paper doesn't give out full details so the witch didn't know what exactly the patient had lost. That wasn't her business.
Harry nodded jerkily in understanding. "Since you know about the ward then I take it you don't need directions?" The question had been rhetorical. Harry scrunched his nose up at the obvious dismissal and didn't bother telling her thanks. He turned around and dragged Draco with him. "Some people shouldn't work in customer service." Harry told Draco loud enough that the Welcome Witch could hear him. The indignant gasp that followed them out of the room, pleased Harry to no end.
Draco was thoroughly amused. "I love you, you know that?" Harry stopped pulling Draco and stared at him with a small smile. "You just like seeing me be mean to people." Harry countered.
Draco laughed but didn't bother denying it. Harry kissed him softly. "I love you too." Draco felt a pulse through the bond and he sighed dreamily, ignoring the amusement coming from Harry. He knew he was a sap but it was entirely Harry's fault. He straightened up and pushed open the door that led to the ward that they were looking for.
There was a giant desk in the shape of a half circle pressed against the wall. The hallway that led to all of the rooms was off to the left. There was no one around except for someone behind the desk, they were looking over parchments and frowning.
"Excuse me?" Harry voiced softly. The person behind the desk lifted his head and scowled at them. Harry was taken aback. What was with the rudeness to this place? Wasn't a hospital supposed to be nice?
"Can I help you?" Draco rolled his eyes at the polite question but the crass tone. Just saying the words isn't enough to come across as friendly.
"We are looking for Luna Lovegood." Harry forced a polite smile on his face. The man pulled out a giant tome and looked through it.
"She isn't here." The finality to his tone made Harry narrow his eyes. "What do you mean she isn't here? The lady at the front desk told us that she was." He spoke through gritted teeth.
"Well." The man said slowly as if they were stupid. "She was obviously wrong. Miss Lovegood checked herself out about an hour ago."
"Obviously, someone isn't doing their job properly if she left an hour ago but word hadn't reached the welcome desk downstairs." Draco countered, clearly implying that it was this man's fault.
The man huffed out before glaring at Draco. "Regardless, she is no longer here. So if you are done wasting my time, I have lives to save." He puffed out his chest and stalked away not even bothering to look back.
"Save lives my arse. Harry if I ever need to be taken to a hospital, don't bother sending me here. I think I would prefer muggles." Harry chuckled at the serious way Draco said muggles, like this was the worst thing he ever could have said.
"Harry?" A timid voice interrupted whatever it was that Harry was about to say. They both turned around rapidly and raised their brows when they realized that Neville Longbottom was staring at them both with curious expressions.
"Neville."
"Longbottom."
Neville raised his brows as he stared at the two people in front of him. It was obvious which one of them was supposed to be Harry. Even if he ignored that Harry had called him by his first name, there was just a friendliness to Harry that no one else seemed to have. He would be able to spot Harry in a crowd of people heavily disguised.
Harry had never once looked down upon him. Never saw him as a lesser of a wizard because he had trouble with spells. He had known since he was a child that he his family thought he was inadequate. They were constantly trying to scare him into preforming accidental magic. One of his earliest memories as a child was hearing scraping underneath his bed. He had feared that there was a monster under his bed. His great uncle Algie had spelled himself to resemble a werewolf and clawed his way up through his bed. He had been three at the time. He couldn't sleep more than a few hours a night for a month after that.
For the longest time he had believed that he wasn't worth the effort. That was the way his grandmother had made him feel. He knew that she cared for him in her own ways but would it have killed her to show it? He knew that he looked like his father but that wasn't his fault. She was constantly comparing him to his father and it always made him feel less of himself. 'When your father was your age, he could perform circles around you.' 'Your father would have gotten O's' 'Your father never allowed bullies to get to him.' 'Why can't you be like your father.' 'Sometimes I think that we took the wrong baby home from the hospital.' It is hard to like yourself when you don't have a good support system at home.
Neville knew that his problem had been a lack of confidence. He had the skills inside of him the whole time but he just didn't believe in himself. Harry had been the one to show him that. Harry was the one who took the time to show him the correct ways to perform the spells. During the DA meetings he was always the last one to get a hang of the spells, he was embarrassed but Harry was never bothered by it. Never complaining or making him feel like a failure for not getting it quicker. There was just this sweet kindness to Harry that made Neville grateful that he had the pleasure of knowing him. Harry had given him the tools to be able to find his own confidence. There was a lot that he was thankful for to Harry.
He looked over at the other person that Harry was with and he furrowed his brows trying to figure out who this was. He would have said Ron or Hermione except they never would have addressed him by his surname. Which ruled out Ginny too. The person obviously knew who he was but not well enough to call him by his first name. He was intrigued.
Harry was pleasantly surprised to see Neville. He hadn't seen him since the night of the battle. Neville had always been a sweet person. He felt a little guilty that he had never taken the time to get to know him as well as he would've liked. Harry could feel apprehension and guilt from the bond and he knew that Draco was thinking about all the times that he had messed with Neville. He wasn't going to bother offering him any reassurance through the bond. Draco would have to make amends for this all on his own. He may have forgiven Draco but that didn't mean that he approved of the way his soulmate had acted in the past.
Draco bit his lip and looked at the floor. This was going to be an experience. Most likely a bad one. Merlin, he hadn't expected to come across Longbottom. When he was younger he had bullied the poor guy. Longbottom had been such an easy target. That wasn't an excuse but the guy just let them. Never fighting back or even saying a word against it. The biggest problem that he had had with Longbottom was that he was a pureblood that had no confidence. Purebloods should hold themselves with proper decorum and Longbottom did not do that. Draco sighed internally. He was listing his father's teachings even in his mind. Why do purebloods have to have proper decorum at all times? If Longbottom wanted to act like he had, then what business did Draco have to object? As a kid he had been struggling with the morality of following what a proper Malfoy heir was supposed to be. It took him many years to realize that he was jealous of Longbottom. How come he had to behave certain ways but Longbottom didn't? They were both purebloods. It wasn't fair. Why did he have to have a father hell bent on destroying the Malfoy name by being a lackey of Voldemorts? Why didn't Longbottom have to have the pressures of being a pureblood? Why didn't Longbottom care about being an heir? Why did one pureblood get to have freedom while the other didn't? It just wasn't fair. So he had taken out his frustration out on Longbottom. It was a shitty excuse but that was why he had treated him so badly. In hindsight it was pretty shallow of him. Draco was wrestling with his guilt. He didn't like knowing the things that he has done. It made him feel slightly unworthy of being with someone as wonderful and giving as Harry.
Harry reached over and grabbed Draco's hand firmly. He was surprised at the depths of self-loathing and guilt that his soulmate was feeling. He knew that Draco felt bad for all the things he had done to Neville and it warmed him up feeling it. If only other people could feel this then they would understand why he loved Draco so much.
Neville raised a brow at the show of affection before looking at Harry. "It's so good to see you." He was happy to have a chance to see him. He just wished it had been under better circumstances. "Will I be seeing you in a couple days?"
Harry furrowed his brows in confusion. What was Neville talking about? "September first is in a couple days, angel." Draco explained smiling fondly at him. Harry's eyes widened. Had he really not been aware of the date? He did have to admit that finding ways to end the darkness had taken priority. It was odd thinking about Hogwarts. He used to long for September first to come around and it was odd that he hadn't even been aware of it.
Neville frowned at the voice. It was familiar but the kindness to it wasn't something he was used to hearing. That was what was throwing him off. It was almost like the person wasn't a nice person.
Harry looked to Neville. "Sorry, but no. I will be studying for the N.E.W.T.S privately. We have some things that have to be taken care of before we go back. If I do come back it will be after our wedding." Harry smirked as Neville's jaw dropped and his eyes went wide.
"You are getting married?" The surprise to his tone further amused Harry. He was having fun with this. He dropped his hand and pulled Draco into an embrace and wrapped his arms around Draco's waist. "I sure am." He kissed the side of Draco's head, loving the faint blush that crept up on his face.
Neville blinked at them a couple times as he tried processing this. He couldn't remember Harry ever showing much enthusiasm when he was dating Ginny. He was pleased to see how happy Harry was.
"So I take it this isn't Ginny underneath a disguise?" He meant it as a teasing joke but was amused at the anger on the person's face.
Draco gasped slightly in outrage. Oh. No. He. Didn't. "Weaslette? I have never been more insulted in my life." He glared at Harry when he could feel his amusement. His glare intensified at the laughter that Harry was poorly covering up.
Neville looked back and forth between them in interest. He knew he was missing a joke somewhere. He thought back to what the person said and his eyes widened comically.
"Malfoy?" He choked out in surprise. He didn't know anyone else who called Ginny that. The voice made sense. He had been right, it wasn't a nice person.
Draco turned to Neville in surprise. "Yes, indeed."
Neville was pretty sure that he was gaping but he thought that under the circumstances that it was alright. It wasn't every day that your school bully is engaged to your closest friend. What on earth was Harry doing with Malfoy? Suddenly Luna's words made sense. 'Appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes forgiveness is the best revenge of all.' Thinking about Luna made his gut clench. It put everything into perspective. What was the use of holding grudges when there were things that actually mattered? The world was filled with worse things out there than a silly bully.
"Listen, Longbottom." Draco began with a giant breath. "I just wanted to say that I am sorry for everything that I have done to you in the past. I was a foul git to you and you didn't deserve it. At all. I don't expect any forgiveness but I did want to let you know that I am sorry. And to also let you know that I admire your strength." Draco couldn't look him in the eye after that, so he busied himself with looking at the horrid puce color of the tile floor. Whoever decorated this place seriously needed to be fired. Or hexed. Preferably the latter.
Neville blinked rapidly. He had expected a half-baked apology. He hadn't thought that Malfoy would actually own up to what he did. Luna was right. Appearances were definitely deceiving.
"Thank you. I won't pretend that we will just suddenly be okay but I appreciate the apology. And thanks for the compliment. A lot of people have been saying that lately about the sword but it is still nice to hear." Neville replied watching the confusion mar Malfoy's features.
"Sword?" Draco asked in confusion. He was about to ask him what he was talking about but he remembered that Longbottom had killed Nagini with the sword. "Oh, that was admirable too. But that wasn't what I was talking about."
Neville raised his brows in surprise. If that wasn't what Malfoy meant, then he couldn't think of anything else that it could be.
"I was talking about during the school year, with the Carrows. What you did with the sword and the snake took a lot of bravery but it was war. People do all kinds of courageous things during war. But it takes a lot of bravery to speak out against injustice when you have no one to back you up. You constantly spoke up against the things that the Carrows were doing despite knowing that you were going to be punished. Fighting out was the minority. You were the voice of everyone who hated what was happening but couldn't speak up themselves. That... is an incredible amount of strength. That is what I meant." Draco said shyly as he noticed the incredulous look that Longbottom was giving him.
Neville was pretty sure that he would need proof that this was Draco Malfoy. Perhaps they were just taking the mickey out of him. There was no way that Malfoy was saying this to him. At the time, he hadn't thought what he was doing was brave. The things that were happening were wrong and someone needed to do something about it. Usually Harry was the one who spoke up but Harry was gone. There was no one to stand up for the rest of the school. So it was Neville's responsibility.
Harry couldn't help it. "Merlin, I love you." That was all the warning Draco got before Harry was kissing his face all over. He laughed loudly. "Harry." He said through little laughs that he would deny ever being classified as giggles.
Neville watched them with a small smile. He was still having a hard time convincing himself that this was actually happening but he loved seeing Harry so happy. He couldn't ever remember seeing Malfoy smile before. He would have to see the man smile without a glamour charm for him to really believe that Malfoy could smile.
Neville reached out a hand to Malfoy. "I would like a chance to get to know you Draco." He almost laughed at the gobsmacked look on Draco's, that would take some getting used to, face. He needed to stop doubting Luna. She was once again right, forgiveness really can be the best revenge. If he had known that all it would take was for him to forgive Draco to get a look like that on his face, then he would have done it a long time ago.
Draco was sure that he was hearing things. Longbottom was willing to start over despite the torment that he put him through? He had always known that the boy was nice but this was something else. It just made him feel even more guilty. He slowly reached out a hand and shook it firmly. "Thank you. I would like that too." Neville could hear the sincerity and he smiled slightly.
"Are you visiting your parents?" Harry asked when a comfortable silence settled around them.
Neville nodded. "I was until they reeled in Luna." The kindness that he had been using evaporated. He couldn't believe that someone would do that to Luna. She was so sweet and gentle. Never said a negative word against anyone. Always willing to reach out and talk to anyone that she felt like they needed it. He noticed that Harry and Draco shared a look. He wondered what that was about.
"How was she?" Harry asked gently. He knew that Neville and Luna were close friends and possibly more. He wasn't sure.
"As good as anyone can be in a situation like that. She didn't even look upset at the whole situation. I don't know how she does it." There was a fond smile on his face and it made Harry smile in return.
"She just kept telling the staff that they needed to switch out the plants in the rooms. Said that nargles had already infested them. To be fair, the Lavender Jewelweeds were wilting." Neville shook his head but his mouth was twitching. He admired her strength. He couldn't imagine what he would have done in a situation like that.
Harry was bummed that he hadn't had an opportunity to talk to her and let her know that they knew where her eyes were being kept.
"Oh!" Neville said as he pulled out something from his robes. "She told me to give this to you. That's why I am still here. Don't know how she knew you would be here. She did warn me that you would probably be in a disguise." He had long ago given up hope at understanding how Luna knew the things she did.
Harry took the letter from his hands and smiled at it. It was just like Luna to know that he was coming here. He performed a wandless detection charm on the letter and grinned at the fact that she put a protection charm on the parchment.
Harry and Draco,
I am terribly sorry that I will not be there when you arrive. Do not worry about me. I am perfectly fine. You don't need eyes to see the beauty of the world. I would have stayed behind and waited for you but the wild savstiums were calling me.
Harry, I fear that you are once again in trouble. My heart aches for the injustice of no peace that life seems to give you. Follow your instincts. They won't lead you astray. There will come a time when you are lost and don't know what to do. My advice to you, is to let go. Just let it all go.
Draco, love is a wondrous thing, don't you think? Love is more powerful than a quantitavius approaching the full moon. Those who have never known love, are the ones whose love will shine brighter than the sun. Keep in mind that love can be a tool when you have nothing else to give.
My eyes are safe where they are. I know the location. There will come a time when I will take them back but I am fine as I am right now. Sometimes you have to walk a mile in someone else's shoes to figure out where they have come from. I will walk a different path than the one that was originally intended of me, to learn life lessons that would have previously eluded me.
You both have my best wishes and all the luck that I can spare you. I will see you when you take care of the darkness permeating the light that I know is still there. Congratulations on the engagement. I will be at the wedding. Don't worry, I already know the date.
With much love,
Luna.
Draco spluttered slightly. "She knows the date? We don't even know the date." He had always known that Luna was odd but he took her advice to heart. He wasn't sure how to beat the darkness but he wasn't going to count out his love for Harry helping in some way.
Harry laughed but he wasn't surprised. Luna did always seem to be aware of things that no one else was. He was a little stunned that she didn't want to get her eyes immediately but that was her decision to make. He wouldn't interfere on that. He wished she had been more clear on her advice. Letting go? What did that mean? How was letting go going to help them?
Harry folded the letter and put it in his robes. "Thank you for waiting for me." He told Neville. It meant a lot to him that Luna had stopped to write him a letter and it meant a lot that Neville was willing to wait for them to arrive.
Neville waved away the gratitude. "No problem. I was happy for a chance to see you." The smile on his face made Harry smile as well. He really had missed Neville. "Well I better head out, I have a lot of shopping to do before the first." Neville said regretfully. "But I better receive an invitation to your wedding." He warned.
Harry grinned. "You will definitely get an invitation. It was nice seeing you." Harry said with feeling.
They said their goodbyes and Harry and Draco watched Neville leave. "Well that went well." Draco spoke up after a minute of silence.
Harry smiled before wrapping his arms around Draco. Now that he knew that Luna was okay, he was feeling a lot better. "Yeah it did." Draco closed his eyes, loving Harry's warmth surrounding him.
"You two are still here?" They looked up and caught the same healer who had told them that Luna was gone, staring at them with distaste. "I already told you that your friend isn't here."
Harry rolled his eyes. "We heard you the first time. We are just leaving." They were halfway to the door when they heard a rude, 'good'. Draco shook his head. "You know, I think that I will have my father stop donating money here. I hear that St. Agnos in France has staff with actual beside manners." Draco smirked when he heard spluttering behind him.
They waited till they were out of the room before laughing. "You know, I think I like it when you are mean too." Harry mused.
Draco had a wicked glint to his eyes that made Harry shiver in anticipation. "Is that so?" Harry could feel the interest oozing through the bond. He cleared his throat. "I think this conversation is better suited at home." Harry finally said.
Draco smirked. "Lead the way." Harry furrowed his brows but walked back to the direction of the floos. Draco usually walked beside him not behind him, he shook his head trying to make sense of it all. He was almost to the main lobby when he stopped walking. "You just wanted to ogle my arse!" He accused. Draco laughed warmly. "Can you blame me love? You have such a nice arse."
Harry grinned despite of himself and made his way to the floo. They ignored the glares from the Welcome Witch. Looked like she was still pissy. Oh well. Harry sped up and quickly threw in the powder before Draco caught up to him. Draco reached the floo just as it whisked Harry away. The last thing Draco saw was Harry sticking his tongue at him before his lover was gone. He arched a brow before smirking ferally. He would just have to show Harry much better uses of his tongue than for childish purposes. With many lustful images floating around his brain, he settled into the floo and eagerly waited to be taken home.
------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes:
What did you all think? I thought about having Luna be there but I liked this idea much better. Plus I wanted to add in Neville.
What did you guys think of Neville, by the way. I have always liked Neville. I think that having him forgive Draco was something that he would do. Also, Draco's apology was kind of sweet. I think him being jealous of Neville isn't that hard of a concept either. I mean Neville literally has NONE of the same shite that Draco had to live up to. But at the same time, it wasn't like Neville had some fabulous life either. Appearances can be deceiving.
I had a lot of fun with the rude staff members. I am not implying that hospitals are always like that. But I have had my share of unpleasant circumstances at hospitals.
What did you think of Luna's letter and her advice? I think my favorite part was her knowing the date to their wedding.
Not too much in this chapter but sometimes it is nice to have a simple chapter after so much drama of the past few chapters.
Let me know what you thought of this chapter.
-XxTheDarkLordxX