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Learning Life Over	By : Meander Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 69712 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 25
- 26
- 27
A few more questions about the last chapter answered at the
end of this one.

Chapter 26- Getting To Know You

�� What�s the
matter, Draco?� Harry had to frown when he stepped out of the room where he�d
met with Theresa. Draco�s face was sharply pink, with imprints all over his
face as if someone had slapped him to make him flush. And yet, if he�d been
that angry, Harry couldn�t see him holding back. He�d have interrupted the
session to tell Harry all about the source of his anger.

�� Nothing
for you to worry about right now,� Draco said, voice clipped, and took his arm.
�Do you want to eat in the kitchen, my room, your room? Or would you like to
see the wing of rooms that I had Trippy redecorate for you?�

�� Harry felt
his ears burn. �You were serious
about that?�

�� Draco
turned to him so suddenly he nearly stumbled. �Of course, Harry,� he said, and
his voice was too soft, as though Harry had done something remarkable, rather
than asked a very simple question. �I meant what I said about being there for
you no matter what, that you�re the most important person in the world to me
right now.�

�� Harry
quelled the impulse to back off a bit. From the way Draco�s eyes shone, he
really had meant it, and Harry would
not talk him out of meaning it. And whatever anger the session with Theresa had
inspired in him, he didn�t seem inclined to take it out on Harry. That was
reassuring.

�� Um.� Harry
shook off the impulse to ask what had happened. Draco would, presumably, tell
him if he wanted Harry to know. Besides, Harry was hoping to ask some different
questions later, and he didn�t want to put Draco off with an irrelevant one
now. �See the wing that Trippy redecorated, I suppose.�

�� Draco
nodded as if that were a good choice- though Harry was sure he could have said
anything was a good choice at this point, and Draco would have supported that- and
dragged him towards a hallway they hadn�t taken before. Harry shook his head,
and decided to watch for the chance to ask Draco his questions.

�� It had
occurred to him, as he spoke to Theresa, that she knew an awful lot about him,
and Draco likewise. But Harry hardly knew anything about them.

�� Well. In
Theresa�s case, that was by choice. Harry was growing more and more irritated
with her. He was going to convince Draco to get rid of her if he could. He
would rather talk to Draco, or even speak with a different Healer from St.
Mungo�s, by this point. It would be much preferable, at least in his biased
view.

�� But he
should know more about Draco. And at this point, he wanted to know more, and
not just to equalize their knowledge of each other. This was the man he had
allowed to share intimacies with him that he�d thought he�d never share with
another person again. Harry�s dominant impression of him was still from the
Hogwarts years, countered by just flashes of a different man from the last few
days.

�� He wanted
to know. He needed to know.

�� But he
didn�t know how open Draco would be to talking about his own recent past, so
Harry had to approach the subject carefully.

*

�� Draco could
tell Harry was working himself up to something. The sneaking, sidelong glances
and the way he kept drawing in his breath and then releasing it again
proclaimed Harry�s curiosity as clearly as a sign around his neck could.

�� But Draco
was also content to wait. When he flung open the door to Harry�s new set of
apartments, Harry seemed content, too. His jaw literally went slack. Draco
chuckled, and then reached across Harry�s chest, grasped his jaw, and tilted it
back into place.

�� Surprise,�
he said lightly.

�� Harry�s
dazed eyes took in the hallway around him, and he shook his head as if denying
that this could belong to him. �Draco...�

�� Draco held
up a commanding hand. �It�s yours, Harry, and I�ll not hear a word against it.�
He would have felt glad in giving this to Harry at any time, but just now his
pleasure was heightened by the knowledge that Harry�s relatives had given him
nothing but mental scars during his childhood. He pushed Harry gently in front
of him, though he kept one hand on his shoulder, because he didn�t really want
to stop touching him right now. �What do you think?�

�� Harry just
shook his head again. Draco would take the awed silence on his face as enough
of an answer.

�� Trippy had
read Draco�s notes about Harry, and used that knowledge as well as her own
innate magic to prepare this wing. The hallway in front of them, which joined
all the rooms together as a central meeting point, soared more than twenty feet
above their heads, gratifying Harry�s liking for the open air. The walls were a
deep, dusky gold, an imitation of the Gryffindor House colors combined with the
fact that Harry seemed to prefer more subdued colors in his own flat right now.
The floor was bare stone, like the floors at Hogwarts, but warming spells kept
the natural chill from seeping up into even bare feet. And rippling patterns
dominated the ceiling, gentle shades of blue and green that only the bright
torches on the walls could have revealed, patterns that could have been the
edges of palm fronds or ocean waves. Draco had noticed Harry halting to stare
at jewelry or pictures that had patterns like that in the windows of shops on
Diagon Alley, though he doubted Harry was aware of it himself.

�� It�s beautiful,� Harry breathed.

�� Draco
nodded, then steered Harry over to the first door, made of paneled chestnut.
The room inside was a replica of the bedroom where Harry slept now, but more
personalized, with robes like the ones he usually favored draped on the bed and
the blankets even softer and warmer; they really would embrace Harry like a pair of arms when he lay down in them.
Draco planned on being here with him much of the time, of course, but the
blankets would compensate when they�d had an argument or Harry wanted to be
alone. And there was a window in one corner of the room overlooking the
Quidditch Pitch, never mind that this part of the house didn�t face that way.

�� It�s an
enchanted window, isn�t it?� Harry asked, stepping away from Draco to run one
hand around the panes of cut glass.

�� Draco
nodded, then realized Harry wasn�t looking at him and cleared his throat. �Yes,
but it shows a real view. You�ll be able to see in a moment what the weather�s
like and whether you want to fly that morning or not.�

�� Harry spun
around and gave him one of those dazzling smiles, seemingly energized beyond
what Draco could have hoped to achieve with most other gifts. Draco silently
enjoyed those shining eyes and slightly parted lips. He hoped to see them in
other contexts soon enough.

�� Abruptly,
though, Harry halted and gazed at him seriously. Then he sighed, and said, �I
was hoping that I could do this subtly, but it wouldn�t do any good, anyway.
I�m a horrible liar.�

�� Draco
smothered a smile. �Yes,� he murmured. �You�re not bad at ignoring things,
though.� You ignored your broken heart
for eleven years, the fact that no one loved you for ten... But he stopped
that line of thought, because he would grow bitter and angry, and he didn�t
want Harry to think he was angry at him. �What was it you wanted to do? Say?
Ask?�

�� I feel as
if I barely know you,� said Harry bluntly, folding his arms as if to ward off a
chill. �Theresa said- well, you heard her. She doesn�t think we should use sex
to substitute for friendship.�

�� Oh, yes,�
Draco drawled. The mention of the Dursleys had so angered him that he�d
forgotten about that part of Theresa�s �advice.� �And so you want to stop
having sex for a while?�

�� You
already agreed to wait,� Harry pointed out. �But, really, I want to know more
about you, Draco. I know why you�re giving me these gifts, why you watched me
for two years, and- why you defied your mother for me.� The shaky little breath
he�d taken before those words told Draco he still couldn�t quite believe
Draco�s reasoning on the subject. That was all right, though. He�d believe it before
Draco was done with him. It would be an article of faith for him. �But what
about your childhood? What have you done since you were acquitted? Who are your
friends? What- what lovers did you have before me?�

�� Draco
blinked. A small squirm of warmth opened up in his stomach, which he made an
effort to close off. He was supposed to be protective and interested in keeping
Harry from memories of the Dursleys, not so pleased that Harry had asked about him. He was not a girl.

�� Still, he
couldn�t deny that he wanted to answer the questions. It would have been very
easy for Harry to simply lie back and let Draco take care of him, but he was
reaching out instead. Draco motioned for them both to sit on the bed, and Harry
did, frowning a bit as he realized how warm and soft it was. Draco folded his
hands in his lap and did his best to speak truthfully.

�� My
childhood wasn�t as bad as yours, Harry. Never think that. But it wasn�t as
warm and fully of family as the Weasleys� were, either. My parents treated me
sometimes as an heir, sometimes as a son, sometimes as an extension of my
father. I received lessons in manners, lessons in wizarding history, and
lessons in prejudice- of course. I got whatever toys I wanted. The very few
times I disappointed my parents, they simply stopped speaking to me for a day
or so.�

�� Harry sat
up straight, his spine, his face, his posture, even his hair seeming to radiate anger. �That�s a horrible way to treat a
child.�

�� And what
the Dursleys did to you wasn�t?� Draco asked, because he had to know. Harry had done what he could to make the Dursleys�
neglect sound like something that had been over long ago, even something that
amused him, but that was in front of Theresa. Draco thought Harry might be a
bit more honest with him.

�� Harry�s
eyes darted sideways, and then he flipped a hand, as if urging away a pesky
Crup. �We were talking about you, Draco, not about me,� he said lightly. �Isn�t
it about time that we spent some time talking about you? There are two people
in this relationship, after all.�

�� Very neatly played, Harry, Draco thought
with grudging admiration. Harry might be a horrible liar, but he could sidestep
with the best of them. For now, though, he let it go, since the subject seemed
to make Harry so uncomfortable.

�� Besides, he
wasn�t ready to reveal his revenge plans for the Dursleys, yet. He had the
feeling Harry would protest, or maybe even try to put himself between the
Muggles and Draco the way he�d put himself between Draco and Wormwood�s curse.
It wasn�t worth arguing about.

�� I was
happy,� said Draco. �Well. Most of the time. I know you think it�s a horrible
way to treat a child, Harry, and compared to the Weasleys, it probably was. But
you have to understand, that was the same way my friends� parents treated them.
�I never thought my father and mother should have been different. Actually, I
preferred being left alone or with my tutors and the house-elves most of the
time. When my parents paid the most attention to me, we were either in contexts
where they wanted me to impress someone, like a dinner party, or my mother was
having one of her protective bouts. I felt smothered when she did that.� Draco
retained unfond memories of being pressed against his mother�s bosom while she
sobbed into his hair, the first time he�d gone flying alone and nearly fallen
off his broom. He�d wriggled and squirmed to get away. Granted, he�d been only
seven at the time, but even then, he had a fastidiousness about who touched
him, and his mother wasn�t his favorite person.

�� Sometimes,
Draco thought it was a miracle that he�d grown up to enjoy sex as much as he
had. His childhood wasn�t one to encourage much closeness.

�� Who were
your friends?� Harry asked, drawing Draco�s attention back to the mingled past
and present he would rather explore than memories of his past alone. He�d dwelt
enough on those before to satisfy anyone sane, surely.

�� Most of
the people I knew in Slytherin,� said Draco. �Pansy. Theodore Nott, though he
lived a fair distance from us and I didn�t get to see him often. Blaise Zabini,
when his mother wasn�t off in another country with some new husband of hers.
Greg and Vincent, of course. And a few other people- I once knew a girl named Adelaide- but they either
didn�t go to Hogwarts or their parents only brought them to some dinner parties.
Like Mrs. Parkinson�s house, for example. We spent quite a bit of time there.�
He smiled faintly. Pansy had always tried to lord it over them when they were
at Gardenia�s house, since it was her
home and her toys, but most of them
had realized quickly that they were smarter than she was, and besides, her
mother could quietly puncture her bubble with one sidelong remark.

�� And did
you- � Harry hesitated, as if trying to think of how to approach the subject.
�Did you like them? Sorry,� he added, when Draco glanced hard at him. �But you
never seemed to be close to Crabbe and Goyle in school, just ordering them
around.�

�� Draco
nodded shortly, and tried to explain without the notion of Gryffindor-Slytherin
rivalries bubbling up again. He still
thinks of you more as the boy from Hogwarts. He had no reason to change his
mind about you, the way you did about him. �It�s more complicated than
that, Harry. Yes, I liked them. But- I didn�t have to like them the way you liked Weasley and Granger. In fact,
their parents would have been horrified by that, unless something happened that
made their fathers more powerful than my father. It�s just- knowing their
place. They knew it, and it made them happy. Now, Theodore and Blaise- and
Millicent, when I knew her- I had to be more careful around, because their
families were more powerful and not as indebted to mine, and they were closer
to me in intelligence. The biggest problem was Pansy, actually. Dumb enough not
to notice boundaries that other people could work out or just obeyed, rich
enough that you couldn�t ignore her.�

�� Harry
ducked his head, but Draco saw the grin he was trying to hide. �What?� he
demanded, because, of course, he had
to demand it.

�� Harry
licked his lips, then said, �Would you ever admit that someone was smarter than
you? Like- Hermione?� He spoke her name as if he were handling a broken limb,
but he did say it. �Or would you just say that they were �closer to you in
intelligence�?�

�� Why,
Harry,� Draco drawled, �I think you know me well enough to know the answer to
that question.�

�� There are
no people smarter than you, are there?� Harry finished with a little sigh.

�� Precisely.�
Draco extended his hand. �And now, I think we�ve done enough reliving of the
past for one day. We still have to see the rest of the wing, and we should have
dinner. And then- well. We haven�t been outside the Manor since Gardenia�s
concert. We could go see a play.�

�� Let me
guess,� said Harry, grasping Draco�s wrist and letting himself be pulled up.
�You have standing tickets to Snotty Pure-Blood Theater, too.�

�� Draco
soothed his irritation with the reminder that it was a good thing Harry could talk back to him like this. �Change the
name, and you have it essentially correct,� he said. �We�ll glamour you this
time, though. We might run into a few people there who would be more inclined
to be- talkative.�

�� Harry
nodded. �Can we get rid of Theresa?�

�� Draco
blinked. �What?�

�� I�m
starting to not like her.� Harry clenched his right hand once. �And, well, I
think I�d rather talk about what I feel with you than with her.�

�� Draco felt
another small rush of warmth in his stomach at the idea. But he only rested a
hand on Harry�s back, with a casual, �We�ll see.�

*******

�� YamiBakura:
Well, Theresa is getting a little less humble as she gets to know her subject.
And, as you can see, Harry doesn�t like her much either...

�� Minue:
Harry and Theresa are fun to write, though Theresa�s clashing with him now.

�� Lady Lynn:
It will. Though it�s given Draco a few unfortunate ideas.

�
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Learning Life Over