Draco was surprised when, on the sixth of January, Harry walked into the meeting room without Teddy toddling next to him. The absence of his godson made Harry seem oddly unbalanced. He was wearing his most recent Weasley jumper - maroon with a golden 'H', like every year. Draco raised an eyebrow at Harry as he sat down across the table.
"It's his birthday," Harry explained. "I would have told you, but I forgot - Ted and 'Dromeda threw a party for him, so obviously he couldn't come. I thought you might appreciate some company, though, so here I am."
"What's the point of throwing a party for a baby?" Draco asked, incredulously. "I mean, can they even understand the concept of birthdays yet? Are they able to understand any sort of time at all?"
Harry grinned. "Barely a minute I've been here, and already we're discussing the philosophy of time in relation to infants. Take a break! It makes Ted and 'Dromeda happy, so I think it's worth the time. But I can go if you want, or-"
"No, no! Stay. I didn't mean it like that." Draco reassured. "I'm always happy to have company."
Smiling, Harry relaxed a little into the chair. "Glad to hear it."
Mirroring Harry, Draco sat back more comfortably in his chair. "So, did you have a good New Year's?"
"Eh, I guess," Harry shrugged. "Ron and Hermoine threw a party, and all the old gang came and brought their new friends, so there were a lot of people. Ron and Hermione's flat isn't all that big, but we managed."
"I'm surprised you went. You're not really that into parties at the moment, are you?"
"Honestly, I wasn't planning to," Harry admitted. "But in the end, I decided, what the hell? I need to get out of the house more, and coaching two times a week doesn't really count as socialising. I'm glad I did, too - it was actually okay." Then, seemingly as an afterthought, he added; "Ginny was there."
"Oh?"
"I mean, it would have been weird if she hadn't been there, so it's not like I wasn't expecting it. It was fine: we got most of the awkwardness out of out systems at Christmas dinner, and anyway, we barely saw each other the whole night."
"Did you get a kiss at midnight?" Draco asked, hoping he sounded casual. Harry shrugged.
"Yeah, but I don't really remember who from. I'd never met her before, and I was a bit drunk by that point." Harry cocked his head. "How do you celebrate New Year's in prison?"
Draco doubted it would have been a good idea to say, 'Truthfully, Harry, I spent a good portion of it imagining how much better it would be if I was with you when the clocks ticked around to midnight and hoping that the fireworks looked pretty wherever you were.'
"Well, it's not really considered a holiday like Christmas is, so we don't officially do anything. We do do something though - I don't know how it started - but of course, everyone stayed awake, and those with watches kept the time, and soon as it reached midnight, this godawful noise swelled up. Everyone basically just hits the doors and stamps their feet and makes as much racket as physically possible. It's kind of weird, but you get so caught up in it that you don't realise you're doing it too until you find yourself hammering your fists against the door."
"That sounds... kind of surreal."
"It was - especially when the whole prison is pretty much pitch black. But it died down as fast as it started. I said Happy New Year's to Charlie and he said it back to me... and then we both went to sleep, and that was the end of that."
Harry whistled. "Interesting way to start the new year."
"That's one way to put it," Draco laughed. "Can't decide if it's a good omen or not."
"I guess it'll be what you make of it," Harry shrugged. 'Hopefully, it'll be good, because you'll be getting out- actually, that reminds me: do you have anywhere to go when you're released?"
Harry sounded nonchalant as he spoke, but Draco noticed that he watched him closely as he waited for an answer. Caught off guard by the change of subject, it took Draco a moment to gather a response.
"Honestly... no," Draco said. "I don't really know what I'm going to do when I'm out - I'm definitely not going back to the Manor."
"No, of course not," Harry was silent for a minute. Then, haltingly, he said; "You know, I was thinking... well, I have a spare room in my apartment, and I thought - I mean, if you've not got anywhere to go - I could always let you stay at my place for a while, while you get things on track."
Draco was silent as he processed what Harry had said. He imagined what it would be like to live with Harry; to come home at the end of the day to a house full of him; to eat meals with him. On the one hand, it sounded perfect. On the other, it sounded like torture. He looked at Harry, who had turned a little red during the silence.
"I mean, you probably wouldn't want to," Harry started, "it's pretty small so I understand if-"
Draco cut him off. "You know, I think that might actually be a pretty good idea." He nodded, thinking through the proposition. "You live in a muggle part of London, right?"
"Yeah," Harry nodded.
"Well, that's great because I'm banned from using magic for a year after my release, so it'll be much easier to live in the Muggle world during that time... of course, I'll only live with you until I find a place to stay myself, but in the meantime, I'd really, really appreciate that." Draco cocked his head to the side. "Why are you so surprised?"
Harry blinked. "What?"
"You seem surprised by the fact that I said yes."
"I think I'm more surprised by the fact that I asked," Harry grinned in an embarrassed sort of way.
"Well, of course, if you don't think it would work I'll find somewhere else," Draco said hastily, but Harry shook his head.
"No, no, it'll work fine. Don't worry."
Draco smiled. "Glad to hear it. To tell you the truth, I've been pretty worried about what was going to happen for a while now, so this is a big weight off my-" Then Draco remembered something, and his mood dropped like a stone. "Shit."
"What?" Asked Harry, worriedly.
"My dad still legally owns all the Malfoy gold. How the hell am I going to pay rent? Or for food or anything? I barely have two sickles to rub together!"
"Draco, don't be stupid," Harry cut in. "You don't need to pay me, I'm perfectly well off. You can get a job and start saving, and by the time you get your wand back, you'll have some money in the bank. Really, it's no big deal," He reiterated. Draco bit his lip.
"It feels wrong to live in your house and eat your food and not pay you."
"Well, if you really insist, you can pay me back the money when you have it. But I don't care, honestly." Harry's eyebrows furrowed. "Your dad still owns everything?"
"Pretty much," Draco said darkly. "Everything in the Manor, and everything in the Gringotts vault. My mother might have a few galleons stashed in another vault, but," He gestured. "that's about it."
Harry grimaced. "Maybe, when your mother gets out- she'll file for a divorce, right?"
"I bloody well hope so."
"Well, you might be able to get a lot of your stuff back when that happens - also, what if you filed a case against your dad for abuse? You might get reimbursed if you win."
Thinking over Harry's suggestions, Draco nodded. "I guess I'll bring it up with Mother and see what she says." Then, he added, "If the worst comes to the worst, I'm sure that we can take some stuff from the Manor. The money is protected, but my father is serving a fifty-year sentence in Azkaban, so I doubt he'll find out if we take what's ours." The fact that he might have to steal his own possessions from the prison that had been his home was slightly nauseating - as was the concept of returning to that hell-hole. Harry had noticed Draco's expression, and said, quickly-
"I'm sure it won't come to that, and we don't need to think about that now." Then, clearly thinking of a change of subject, "Tell me how you're getting on with the books."
"Yeah, okay," Draco forced a smile. He'd been reading almost as much as he was running. Of course, he'd started with Jane Eyre because it was his favourite, and now he was just about to finish it. Draco got the feeling that he'd told Harry about the book several times before, back during their time at Hogwarts, but Harry didn't seem to mind and listened actively as Draco talked fervently about the story, finding that before long he had completely forgotten his father. The more he talked, the more there was to say. But then Draco paused for breath, and when he met Harry's eyes, something moved in him.
"Don't look at me like that," He said, without thinking.
Harry blinked and shook his head a little. "Hm? Like what?"
Draco looked Harry for a moment, then sighed. "Sorry. Nothing."
Harry looked worried. "Was I making a face? I promise I wasn't bored or anything, I just look grumpy when I'm concentrating-"
"Seriously, its fine," Draco shook his head, "I just- it was nothing."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "If you say so."
They talked until it was the end of closing time, and then, reluctantly, Draco got up. "I guess it's time for you to go, but this has been good. Thanks for coming."
"You don't have to thank me - I wouldn't come if I didn't want to."
"Well, still. And thank you for the apartment offer - it's going to save me a lot of stress."
Harry smirked, and said airily, "Well, what can I say? I guess I'm just a saint - I can't help my compulsion to good deeds."
"Oh, piss off," Draco said good-naturedly. "Give my love to Teddy."
"Of course. Have a good week."
"You too."
0o0oHarry0o0o
"You did what now?" Ron gasped.
"What? He's my friend."
While Ron's jaw fell gapingly open, Hermione cut in.
"Ron, you know that Harry and Draco are friends now. Why is this news?"
"I knew that they were talking, not that they were friends! I thought it was just for Malfoy to see Teddy?"
"It was at first," Harry said, "But I guess we also became friends at the same time - I mean, we see each other a lot, it kind of makes sense that we're on better terms now."
"But it's Malfoy," Ron persisted. Hermione sighed.
"Ron, really. Harry is an adult, and he is capable of making his own choices. You really need to get past this Malfoy stigma. Yes, his dad is an arsehole. Yes, he was a horrible bully to you a lot of the time in school. But people change!" She took his hand. "Just give it a chance. What's the worst that can happen when he isn't even allowed to use magic?"
Ron looked at her, and then at Harry, and sighed. "Okay. You do what you think you should do, mate. And if he's really changed, well," He gestured vaguely, "let's just hope you're right."
"Thank you," Harry nodded. "Anyway, it's not really a permanent arrangement. Just until he finds a place of his own." Hermione raised an eyebrow but didn't elaborate.
"Maybe he'll get the apartment in shape while he's there. Undoubtedly he has a better idea of interior design than you." Was all she said, with a smirk.
"Hermione, I'm feeling very attacked right now."
"I can't help it if its true," She grinned.
"To be fair, you've lived in that apartment for almost a year and it still looks like you moved in last month," Ron pointed out. Harry had to admit that they had a point.
"Well, fine. I'll give him free reign of home design if it'll shut you both up."
"Cheers to that," Ron grinned, and they tapped their takeaway coffee cups together. "May your flatmateship be prosperous... but not too long." They all laughed.
A/N: Hey, you: can you answer me these questions three?
1: Do you think there is too much dialogue in the new chapters? Should I flesh it out a bit more instead of just having a lot of talking?
2: Are there any things I do when I write that make the story harder to read/ less immersive?
3: Do you remember any quotes from this story, and if so, what is your favourite?