Blind - drarry

Chapter 17

Published: December 21, 2020

Updated: September 30, 2021

It turned out that Skeeter wasn't a problem to work with after she obtained at least some of the profits and a promise from Harry to do an interview after it was over. Hermione wrote a very stringent and punitive contract on what Rita could and could not reveal and when. Skeeter, despite her questionable ethics, saw an opportunity when it arose. Stories about the Chosen One were big sellers, as were confessionals from an ex-Death Eater. She could see the galleons in the 온라인카지노게임 and was eager to cash in on it.

"Enough time has passed, and the public wants to move on. But we will have to go deeper into the 온라인카지노게임 and talk about every little thing," she explained, and Draco had to admit she knew how to write a good 온라인카지노게임. Her articles in their fourth year were brilliant, though slanderous and gossipy.

After two tiring weeks of interviews and memory extractions (all done and reviewed by Harry), they had fifty pages of Draco's 온라인카지노게임. Harry read it all to him to make sure that he was okay with everything. The front title, Living with Dark Lord, had a particular draw. Luna had taken over her father's business and agreed to publish it. Draco didn't know if it was enough, but Harry assured him it was. He said that people just needed to see what the Ministry was doing to people.

It wasn't just Draco's memory clips, either. Harry used the ones from the people who attacked him, the bastards at the reformation center, and even a choice one from someone in the lobby when a mediwitch threw a blind, pleading, and bleeding man out the door. St. Mungo's had fired the witch when Harry showed them the entire memory.

They also did a full healer's assessment on Draco to confirm what he already knew, blinded for life. Hermione was already filing suit on his behalf, which they probably wouldn't win, but she was striking against the hospital's reputation. They were only arguing about how much to settle out of court. They wouldn't risk the whole incident becoming a scandal, as they had broken their oaths as healers.

Harry also pulled out a few of his memories, namely when Draco admitted that Voldemort was going to kill him at the tower and that he lowered his wand. He also did some of when Draco was begging and from when the addict had bruised him up. Harry even put one clip of the manor, where Draco had refused to identify him. Harry had a few pages of his own words in the special edition, edited and flushed out by Skeeter, of course, and calling for change, healing and forgiveness. This wasn't what the victims of the war died for, he declared.

It was set for release in two days, so Draco could only wait. Aside from Harry's mini-war against "everyone", they had settled into a nice routine. Draco started to make breakfast every day. He got used to cutting vegetables and meats to fry up. Harry liked to watch without letting him know, or maybe Harry did let him know. He didn't say that he was there, observing his progress and never tried to help. That was the best part of it. He let him learn and struggle, but didn't make him feel that he was helpless.

Lunch had been regulated to Kreacher, and Harry cooked dinner but always tasked him with something to do: fetching stuff from the icebox, cutting, mixing and letting him taste how things came along. They made batches upon batches of Christmas cookies and cakes, that Harry let him decorate. It was a type of domestic life that Draco had never dreamed of. Harry still had his ups and downs, but Draco didn't let him slip too deep. He had taken to sitting on the couch with Harry, instead of his lonely chair.

When Harry would start to panic or feel down, Draco would take his hand. The grip seemed to ground him, but occasionally Draco would hug him if he got too overwhelmed. Harry would just turn to putty in his arms and cuddle up next to him. He never asked for more-a perfect gentleman. Draco didn't know how to bring it up again, though he still was unsure it was the wisest path. Harry still deserved better than him.

It was well into December when Harry knocked frantically on his door, waking him. "Draco! Are you up?"

"Now, I am. What time is it?" he said, groggily.

"About midnight! Come on, I got something to show you!"

"Midnight? Did something happen? Wait, is it the article?" he said, worried.

"No... but please come?"

Draco grudgingly out of bed and put some bottoms on and a jumper that had an H on the front. He used the loo first, because nature demanded it. Then walked down the stairs into the den. As soon as he stepped off the last step, he could smell natural pine and frankincense.

"Harry?" he called.

"You smell it? I put up a charm to keep the smell in here. Come towards me," he said.

Draco did, though he moved carefully, like he could sense that the room had changed. But Harry took his hand and glided it the last few inches. Draco felt the soft needles touch his fingers and laughed.

"You got a Christmas tree?"

"Yes! Sorry, I wanted to surprise you, but I couldn't wait until morning!" Harry said, as Draco continued to touch the needles. It smelled wonderful. It was a big tree, fat and full.

"It's awesome, Harry," Draco said, giving him a big smile.

"Yeah, I added some extra scent to it... so you can appreciate it more, but you want to help me decorate it?"

"Me? I'm blind."

"You walked the whole of London, but can't put garland, tinsel and ornaments on a tree?"

Draco scowled at him. "It's supposed to be... symmetrical and uniformly distributed."

"No, it's not!" Harry laughed. "Our tree can be as messy as we want! I already put the lights on. Here put the garland on, Draco."

Fuzzy, fibery strains landed in his hands, and he sighed, with a smile, "Alright, Harry."

He walked around the tree, figuring out where it was, before he started stuffing the garland into the branches. He wound around it while Potter threw tinsel all over the place, including on both of them.

"Is that necessary? I'm going to be finding this stuff in my hair for weeks, aren't I?" Draco laughed as he threw the garland onto the higher branches.

"Oh, the horror!" Harry chuckled. "You want an angel on the top or a star?"

Draco wouldn't see it. Why would he care? But he answered, "A star."

"Star it is. Any reason why?"

"You wish upon stars, don't you?" he offered, but he always liked stars.

"So, I've been told. No, it's better. A new star, and it might not be in the sky, but it's new for us," Harry murmured with a low voice, and Draco's eyebrows furrowed as that sounded a bit romantic. Harry hadn't given up yet. Draco smiled and finished putting the garland on, and Harry announced, "All finished! It's perfect."

"No, it's not. Don't lie. I know it's all over the place."

Harry leaned in close to him and whispered in his ears, "It's perfect for me, Draco."

Draco trembled, and he felt his heart almost flutter. Potter stayed where he was for a moment, and his hands found his and interlocked their fingers.

"Well... um... we still have the ornaments to put on, shall we?" Harry said, flustered like he was.

"Y-Yeah," he mumbled as Harry let go and put a wooden figure in his hand. "You're probably giving me a bunch of red ones with lions on them, aren't you?"

"Maybe... but this is the Black house. I got a few green ones, too. Even got a snake for you."

"Don't talk dirty, Potter," Draco chided.

"What? Oh Merlin, I didn't mean...."

"I was joking, Harry," he laughed, as he carefully hung a few up in random places.

"You don't usually joke," Harry commented. "You're sarcastic and pithy...."

"Pithy?"

"But you don't laugh, usually. Only when you're happy, but... umm... are you? Happy, I mean," Harry asked, suddenly serious. "I mean, not about what you lost, but do you like staying here?"

Draco turned toward him with a smile. "Harry, I don't think I've ever been happier than I am now."

Harry sucked in a short breath. "R-Really? You're not just saying that?"

Draco came closer. "No, I never felt safe before, even when it was just my parents. I like being here. Do... do you want me to leave?"

"What! No, I just don't want you to be unhappy. If you wanted to go...."

"No, I don't want to leave."

"I don't want you to leave, either. Hermione, she said that I should make sure. It's not about what I want...."

Draco brought his hand to Harry's face. "It's what I want, Harry. I enjoy being here with you."

Harry was breathing deeply. "I'm glad."

But Draco slowly let go. "Let's get the rest of the ornaments up, and no, I'm not sticking my hands into a box of rusty hooks."

Harry laughed. "I'll hand them to you, and you put them on!"

They spent another thirty minutes filling the tree with different types of small ornaments. Draco told Harry to put some on the higher branches, and they were done.

"It's all done! It's the best tree ever!"

"You don't need to flatter me, Potter."

"You love when I flatter you, though," he retorted, and Draco gave him another scowl. "And when I pick on you, too."

"I do not."

"Really? Stop smiling so much, then!" Harry chuckled and then led him away from the tree so that they were in the middle of the room.

"What are you doing?"

"Hang on! Don't move. I got something else to show you!"

Draco waited, and Harry summoned his wand and extinguished the fire. Then he turned off all the lights in the room. "Harry?"

"Wait a sec. I remembered what you said to Ron when he first came. You can see light and dark, right?"

"I can't see shapes," he said.

"No... but you can tell if it's night and day. And that's why we had to do this tonight! So... ta-da!" he said, and a large bright object lit up where they had just been.

Draco stopped breathing for a second. The bright object was almost visible as darkness was all around it. The tree!

"I used white lights... I thought they'd be brighter. Did it work?"

Draco slowly took a breath as the tears came out. He nodded. "I see it. Thank you, Harry."

Harry was trembling, too. "You're welcome, Draco."

They sat down on the couch and stared at the tree for a few minutes, before Harry leaned into the sidearm and pulled Draco onto his chest. He pulled a throw blanket over them, too. Draco was just about to fall asleep in his arms, when he lifted his head and met Harry's lips for a short kiss.

"Thank you... for everything, Harry."

"It was my pleasure," Harry said, shaking with exuberance, as his arms tightened around him.