Two Houses (HarryxDraco)

Chapter 36

"So, let me get this straight—you were in such a hurry to get away from the Manor last night, not only did you forget to bring the bare essentials like a cloak, you left behind your only direct means of communication with Potter?" Theo clarified. "A two-way mirror that, as far as you're aware, anyone who happens across it can use?"

Draco grimaced. "Well, when you put it like that, it sounds really bad."

"You're an idiot," Theo declared.

Draco had gone searching for Theo as soon as he realised that the two-way mirror was missing. After checking his bedroom and the kitchen, he found Theo sitting in the living room nose deep in a book about portrait restoration. This wasn't the sympathetic response Draco had been hoping for when he told his best friend about his latest predicament. But he supposed it would have been far too optimistic to expect anything else from Theo. His brutal honesty might be cutting at times, but in Draco's eyes, it remained one of his most endearing qualities.

"I'm not going to argue that point," he bristled. "I just need you to help me figure out what to do."

"About what?"

"About getting the mirror back!" Draco cried. "If my parents find out about Potter and I—"

Theo cut Draco off with a derisive snort. "They'll do what? Strongly disapprove and arrange for you to marry some girl behind your back? Oh, yes! I forgot, they've done that already, haven't they?"

"This isn't funny," Draco hissed. "I don't know what my father will do if he finds out about us."

"You keep saying if. Don't you mean when?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Yes, when I tell my parents, but you know what my father's like—no matter how I try to explain the situation to him, he's bound to take it badly. He just won't understand."

Theo's expression darkened. "Oh, I'm well aware of what your father is capable of. Ginny told me about all that shit in our second year with Riddle's diary. You and I both know that he isn't above hurting little girls when the need arises."

"That's exactly my point," Draco argued. "He's not a man to be trifled with. I don't think he'll do anything to really hurt me, but the same can't be said when it comes to Harry."

Theo didn't look convinced. "However cruel your father is, he isn't a stupid man. Do you really think he'd be foolish enough to take on Harry Potter, of all people, even if he is screwing his son? Potter killed the Dark Lord, for pity's sake! Your father might hate him, but your boyfriend would wipe the floor with him—and he knows it. You're worrying over nothing, Draco. Just let daddy dearest stew about Potter in his little office. He knows better than to take action against him."

"Honestly, I'd rather he just didn't find out," Draco admitted before tacking on, "at least until a more appropriate time."

"You sound suspiciously like your parents when you say things like that," Theo pointed out. "I don't see what the big deal is, they're going to find out about you and Potter eventually. Why not just get it over with and tell them now?"

"I just think it would be better to wait until after graduation to tell them."

Theo's eyes narrowed. "Why? What difference does it make whether they find out now or in six months?"

Draco opened his mouth to reply but immediately closed it again when he realised that he didn't know how to answer that. Finally, he replied lamely, "I just don't want to make things worse with my mother and father than they already are."

"You stormed out of their house last night after turning down a marriage proposal and finally admitting that you're gay. You really think telling them that Harry Potter is your boyfriend is going to damage your relationship with them any further? And I thought that you said that you were done with them?"