(Part I, Part II, Part III)
Harry took a step back, motioning the man to come in. Frustration was raising up in his blood. It wasnât just because of the stupidity of not recognizing a guy who went to school with him for years, or even daydreaming about his archenemy, but how he thought he had pulled away of the wizarding world and got caught red handed in his muggle safe place. Draco moved slowly, looking around the house. His eyebrows furrowed the longer it got. Harry let him, not knowing what to say. Part of him wanted to shout at Draco for barging into his life, invading the sacred little world he had built. Part of him just wanted to know what the hell the git was doing in his living room. But mostly, what was the problem in seeing his house, after all?
âItâs not a manor, Malfoy, but I bet you have seen worse.â He mumbled in a bitter tone, as he closed the door and walked to the living room, letting the blonde standing alone at the hall. Harry tried not to think about how the features were all there, the Malfoy high standing and the elegant and slow fidgeting with long fingers.
âBut it is, isnât it? How did you do it? And why here?â Draco seemed confused and a little outraged, but Harry had no idea what it was all about. âI mean, it just doesnât sound smart, considering the statute of secrecyâŠâ
âWhat are you talking about?â
âWhat am I- Oh, Merlin, you donât know, do you?â
âI donât know what?!â Draco Malfoy, the one who always knows everything about every-fucking-thing was standing in his living room. Life was great. That was not what he had died for. Nor what he had been to therapy for. He could punch someone right now, probably Malfoy. It was his house, after all, wasnât it?
âHow can you always be so fucking clueless, Harry? This is a wizarding house!â At least, Draco was not laughing at him. He was exasperated. And he was calling him Harry all of sudden. That threw him out of balance.
âOf course it is, Malfoy.â He marked the name on purpose. âIâm a wizard, and I live here. And the house is fine, okay? The Ministry has been here and checked for every kind of threat there could be. Did you just come to make a point about the magical qualities of my house?â
Draco shook his head and sat his head down on one of the couches. He held his head on his head, breathing deeply. When he spoke again, his voice was calmer, getting back to the passive-aggressive tone their conversations always carried.
âNo. I came here to ask you what the fuck you were doing at Fortuna today.â
âEating pepperoni pizza.â
âNo, you were not. You were talking to everyone like you owned the place.â
âSo? Iâm friends with the owners.â Again, Harry couldnât understand what was going on. He just knew how mad he was. âI should ask you what you were doing there the other night.â
âWhat? Itâs my favorite bar! Is Jack a wizard?â
âNo, and thatâs the point, Malfoy. Itâs a muggle bar.â Harry took off his glasses and pointed them at the other man. âNot a place for a Malfoy.â
He saw Malfoyâs lips crisp again, and he was quiet for a minute before sighing and looking at him with an annoyed expression. Clearly someoneâs autocontrol got better with time, and the fact that it wasnât Harryâs was even more enerving.
âAnd you are saying you didnât notice I havenât shown up in the wizarding world for years.â
âShould I - you havenât?â
âNo, I have been living as a muggle since the war, Harry. Everyone knows it.â
He didnât. Of course Harry hadnât noticed Malfoyâs absence, that would require going places, talking to people, shaking hands. And the gossip hadnât reached him either. That would require actually talking to someone outside the Weasley circle, asking about other people. And again, the idiot kept calling him Harry. Now Draco Malfoy was living in the muggle world and being friendly. An alert ranged in the brunetteâs head, saying it was some kind of scheme, but he knew he was wrong. There was nothing - nothing - in Malfoyâs voice that sound untrue. Even the way he said âmuggleâ had no malice, as if the word was common in his vocabulary, something with no value - not good and not bad, as one would talk about the weather. Harry scratched his head. His anger dissipated slowly, running down his spine. He heard his voice asking why, in a whisper he didnât intend to let go. Malfoy gulped, but answered without averting his eyes.
âI just couldnât go back⊠After the trials, with Father in Askaban, and Mother trying to make any sense out of that fucking house⊠ Everything I knew was fucked up. I couldnât go to Gregâs after what happened with Vince, and Pansy and Blaise were both trying to act like nothing had happened. I was alone, so I needed⊠I needed something new.â That was a side of the slytherin Harry never knew. He was blunt and honest, like he had nothing else to lose. Like he had no ulterior motives for being there, for having this conversation. âI donât expect you to relate. But if you are following me to find out - Iâm not doing anything. Hell, Iâm barely even doing magic. Iâm a fucking journalist, Harry. A muggle one!â
âI know. Music, right?â He mumbled again.
âSo you were following me.â Malfoy threw a hand through his long blond hair, pushing it out of his face. He seemed⊠sad? âSome things never change, I guess.â
âI wasnât. The girls told me. Ellie and Chiara.â Harryâs voice was cold and tired, as he processed all the information. It seemed to rub on Draco, as he shivered a little, and the blankets on the couch wrapped around him. He snuggled in for a second, before it startled him.
âWhy is your bloody house answering to me?â Draco looked to the kitchen as two cups of tea were flying in their direction and settling in the nearest table.
âHm, because itâs magical?â
âThatâs not how it works, a house should only answer to the family that owns it.â He paused for a second, a shadow crossing his eyes. âAnd whoever they give ownership to.â
âI didnât give you ownership, I just let you in.â
âYeah, you couldnât have. But your house thinks I own it, look-â Malfoy then proceeded to put the fire out and on again, open and close curtains and generally making everything look like a bad muggle horror movie. âHow did you say you turned it, by the way?â
âI didnât do anything. No one did.â The blond froze listening to Harryâs answer. He looked around again, fear changing his features to something closer to the face the gryffindor had grown accustomed to. âReally, Hermione called the Aurors, they were here for over a month⊠Thereâs nothing here without my magical signature and I didnât do anything.â
âAs far as I know, only the founding families could have a Wizarding House, and only if they didnât have any other home. The manor is enchanted, but not our summer cottage. And they only respected the rightful heirs of each family. This house recognized your magic as heir magic and let it take over the place. But I donât think the Potterâs were a founding family...â
âWe came from the Peverellâs.â The blond threw him a side glance, now walking around in circles, one finger touching his lips as he thought.
âI know that, thank you. Did the Potterâs leave you a house?â
âNo. My parentsâ house was destroyed when -â Harry pointed his scar with a shake of his hand. âNo, the only house I had was Grimmauldâs Place.â
âOh, the Black House.â Malfoy stopped again. âOh. Is it there? Have you been there?â
âNo, we canât go there. Itâs for sale.â
âSo of course we can go there, for fuckâs sake, Potter. Letâs go.â
Breathing was getting a little harder. Harry closed his eyes, trying to get his heart rate down, as Mr. Argus had taught him. Flashes of the houseâs inside, and staring at the door without being able to open it, kept invading his mind, mixing up with the images he was projecting of laughing at his friendsâ place and walking around muggle London.
Harry felt Malfoy approaching, getting not a foot far away from his body. He could feel heat coming from his body, and the smell that flooded his senses was no help in finding the air to breathe. Fucking hormones.
âAre you scared of a house, now, Potter?â
The name change was finally settling, even though the calm and fake malice were not the usual he expected of slytherins. There was no aim to hurt, it was pure mockery, almost flirtatious. He focused on what he could deal with at the moment.
âHm, I thought you were insisting on calling me Harry now.â
âAnd I noticed you didnât really like it. We need to check on the house, Potter.â
Harry rolled his eyes behind his eyelids. What a insistent prat.
âI canât go there because I donât know if I can get out. I spent three years locked up inside that house.â
âThree years? The last three years? Who locked you up?â Malfoy kept asking questions, trying to add up the facts and keep on his mystery solving campaign. He didnât make an effort to put some distance between them and pace the room again, unfortunately.
âNo one. I just didnât want to⊠I couldnât. Get out, I mean. Itâs called panic syndrome.â There was a pause.
âI think itâs not there anymore.â
Harry opened his eyes. Malfoyâs face was serious, a bit of concern hiding behind a made up blank face. He started to understand it then. If something had happened to the Black house, then the Blackâs would need a new one. The magic would settle somewhere else. And Malfoy⊠Malfoy was a black heir too. In a weird twisted way, the git was in his clan, his⊠family. Life was really ironic. He took one last deep breath and held Malfoyâs right arm.
âDonât let me come inside.â
Harry apparated them, thinking only of the muggle street, in which the houses would seem to jump from number 11 to 13.
[to be continued]Â