What Draco Wants (H/D, PG)

[sesheta66]

Title: What Draco Wants
Author: sesheta_66
Rating: PG
Word Count: 550
Challenges: takhen's birthday prompt of "redemption", and awdt's prompts of "Hey, it's me again" and "What do you want from me?"
Summary: Harry wonders what Draco wants when he shows up - again - on Harry's doorstep.
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. They belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.


What Draco Wants

"What do you want from me now?" Harry asked in an exasperated tone. It had been months since he had last seen Draco, and the man was casually standing there as if to say, 'Hey, it's me again'.

Harry recalled when he'd last asked Draco - still Malfoy back then - the same question. He'd just shown up unannounced and uninvited on Harry's doorstep. His answer then had been pained, forced.

Six months ago …

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Does he expect some sort of redemption? Harry wondered.

"I would think that was rather obvious, even to you, Potter."

Harry glared. And waited.

"A place to stay where the remaining Death Eaters can't find me. A place that doesn't constantly remind me of Voldemort or my parents or the poor choices we all made."

Harry understood all that. After all, Malfoy Manor had been Death Eater Central during the war. It was the place where many had been tortured. It was also where Malfoy's parents had been slaughtered just weeks ago by some fugitive Death Eaters that had managed to elude capture since the war. Besides being potentially dangerous, Harry imagined it would be painful for Malfoy to stay there, much as it had been difficult for Harry to stay at Grimmauld Place after Sirius had died. Only worse. Much, much worse.

"I understand, Malfoy, really I do. But why here, and why now? What do you want from me?"

"A chance," he replied, and Harry didn't asked him to elaborate. He simply nodded and let Malfoy in.

Draco stayed for three months, until the Death Eaters that had killed his parents were captured.

During that time, Harry and Malfoy struck up a friendship of sorts. They still sniped at each other and shot insults back and forth, but they lacked the intensity and resentment of the past.

They talked a lot, but rarely about anything of significance, and, as if by some unspoken rule, never about the war.

That all changed as the first anniversary of Voldemort's downfall approached. Harry noticed Draco - Harry thought of him as Draco by then - becoming more reclusive, rarely leaving his room except for meals. Harry stopped Draco from retiring one night.

"I've a bottle of Ogden's finest," Harry announced, plunking it down onto the table and conjuring two glasses. Draco relented, and before long they managed to polish off more than half the bottle. Tongues loosened and they talked - really talked - for the first time.

Apologies were made, forgiveness granted, and thanks expressed. Then Harry went and bollocksed it all up by kissing Draco. Harry's attraction towards him had crept up slowly and it had just taken the combination of Gryffindor and liquid courage, and a healthy dose of stupidity, for him to act on it. Draco bolted.

Harry hadn't heard from him since. He'd asked around about Draco, to be sure he was okay and hadn't splinched himself. Besides that, he'd heard nothing until today. And now Draco was standing there in front of Harry.

"What do you want from me?" Harry repeated.

Draco crossed the threshold and took Harry's lips in a crushing kiss. When he pulled back, leaving a swaying and downright confused Harry in his wake, he smiled and said, "You."

.

Comments

[thrnbrooke.livejournal.com]

Perfect! Glad Draco came to his senses!

[aki-hoshi.livejournal.com]

Aw...so sweet. I like it! :D

And the beta in me says: I noticed one small error in this sentence: I think there should be an "it" after the first comma...sounds a bit odd without some kind of signifier there.

[gator-girl-13.livejournal.com]

*sighs* The ending was so satisfying. Thanks for that. : )

[dinos-cowboy.livejournal.com]

You're right. As it stands, it's a comma splice.


LOVED this, btw. Too cute.

[takhen.livejournal.com]

That was lovely thank you.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. :o)

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

You're quite welcome. Better late than never, right?

[svgurl.livejournal.com]

That was awesome. I liked how you wrote the shift that H/D made from enemies to friends and to almost something else before Draco ran. I am glad that Draco came to his senses and came back though.

Great work!

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

I'm sure Harry's happy too.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Thanks, hon. I think Harry's pretty glad Draco came around too.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks.

Actually, it's not a comma splice, as each subsequent clause is subordinate to the first, but if it doesn't read well, I'll adjust it.

Technically, it is consistent throughout (all clauses refer back to 'Malfoy Manor' as the subject), but I can see how it might be an awkward read, given the length of the sentence/final clause.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it.

I'm not convinced it's an error as such, but if the sentence is difficult to read, I'll adjust it. After all, awkward for the reader does not equal good. :)

Thanks for pointing it out.

[enchanted-jae.livejournal.com]

Damn, Draco; it took you long enough! Heh. But, at least he came back. *nods*

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

I think he was a bit freaked out, and didn't think it would last ... kinda figured it had been the alcohol talking on Harry's part. But at last he got over it. Whew!

[lijahlover.livejournal.com]

Perfect and I loved how Draco got smart and came back to Harry the ending is wonderful XD

[winter-june.livejournal.com]

Well, seems it has taken Draco months, but luckily he has made up his mind :) *pushes softly one to another*

[mtranc3.livejournal.com]

Aw, the last line makes my stomach flip flop (in a good way!) <3 Oh and 'bollocksed' is officially my new favourite word! ^_^

[piratesmile331.livejournal.com]

It took Draco long enough!!! But I'm glad he came back.
It's nice to be reading fic by you again.

[hpstrangelove.livejournal.com]

This read so well. I like the 'flashback' way of telling the story. What was nice was the way I could 'feel' it as it was being recalled by Harry, both in the context of his remembering it in the present, and as it originally occurred in the past (does that even make sense?).

Anyway, great job, as usual, and love the happy ending.

[drusillas-rain.livejournal.com]

awww...so sweet and lovely :)

[enablelove.livejournal.com]

Aww that last line!!

[andrea--88.livejournal.com]

Awww glad it worked out for the boys

excellent :o)

[faithwood.livejournal.com]

*smacks Draco* Took you long enough!

Heehee. Nice prompt use. The queen of prompts is back!

I'm replying in the wrong place for I am distracted ...

Damn, he looks ... DAMN!

[lisbet.livejournal.com]

Awww, so sweet. Lovely ending!

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :)

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Yay! Thanks.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

He took a while, but eventually he came around. ;)

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Hee! Better late than never, I suppose.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Yay for bollocksed! *g*

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

It sure did. *glares at Draco*

Thanks. It's nice to be back, although the kids being home is definitely interfering with my LJ time. I have a bunch I wrote but still have to type & edit, so I'll be posting pretty regularly for a while ... as long as I get time to type. Must catch up on all the gift!fics I owe. Eep!

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I think he was just a bit too freaked out, and needed to convince himself that Harry meant it, and it wasn't just the Firewhiskey talking.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm glad it worked for you. :)

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

*g* Glad you liked it.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Yup. Silly Draco.

Good to be back.

Ah, yes ... Tom Welling ... always a treat.

[kaykayen.livejournal.com]

Thank goodness! I was afraid I was going to have to chase him down myself and whack a little sense into him! Lovely ending!

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Hee! Thank you.