Walking On Glass ∆ Drarry AU

four ∆ breakfast with royals

Sir Harry awoke the next morning with hunger in his stomach, and a throbbing in his skull. He took these as incentives to not waste any time, as he rushed to get dressed.

His wound ached, and he wished he had asked for a change of wraps. The ones he had been given were nearly soaked in dried blood. Deciding it would be for the best, he walked himself to the infirmary before doing anything else. Maybe Doctor Snape could give him something to ease his headache as well.

However, his journey was cut short when he turned a corner and embarrassingly almost ran right into Prince Draco.

"Sorry," he said, instinctively. "Your Highness..."

The prince seemed to completely ignore everything that had just occurred. "Where're you heading off to?"

"The infirmary. My bandages need changing."

"Alright, just know that my father -- the king -- wishes to speak with you. He's waiting in the Great Hall. I suggest you hurry -- he doesn't like to be kept waiting," he stated, with a long sigh.

Gulping, Sir Harry nodded. "Yes, of course. Thank you for informing me, Your Highness."

Instead of saying something in response, Prince Draco just stared at the knight for a moment, before turning and walking away.

Bit strange, he is, Sir Harry thought to himself, as he continued on.

Once he reached the infirmary, he decided to not mention his headache. It had weakened quite a bit since he had awoke, and didn't seem to be too bothersome.

"Doctor," Sir Harry acknowledged. 

The dark-haired man in question seemed to be sorting through some bottles. He picked up a smaller one, turned, and held it out to the knight. "This," he said, as the bottle was slowly taken from his hand, "is a special ointment. I should have given it to you yesterday."

"Thank you..." Sir Harry couldn't recall ever seeing the blood-red liquid before now. "Um, actually, I came to see if you could maybe give me some new wraps. The ones I was given yesterday are practically soiled..."

"Yes, of course." Doctor Snape grabbed some cloth from table behind him. He motioned to a bed. "Sit."

The knight did as he was told. Once he was comfortable, he removed the bloodied bandages. His arm actually didn't look half bad. It still hurt like hell, though.

He allowed the doctor to apply some of the ointment, and wrap the clean cloth around his wound. 

Clean bandages applied, the knight thanked Doctor Snape. As he made his way to meet the king, Sir Harry tapped his hand at his side. He'd never met the king, but based on how Prince Draco had been, he assumed their conversation wouldn't be the best in the world.

The closer he got to the Great Hall, the smell of pastries and sweet meats engulfed him. As he entered, he almost couldn't believe the sight all the food.

"Ah!" Said a man with long, pale blond hair -- King Lucius. He motioned with his hand to an empty chair. "Come, sit."

Sir Harry noticed that Prince Draco was also there, and so was a woman who he assumed to be Queen Narcissa. 

Great, he thought, having breakfast with the whole Malfoy royal family is just what I need to start my day. However, he tried to ignore the situation, and uncomfortably took the seat beside the prince.

"So, Sir Harry," the king began. "Come to finally speak of peace?"

Before replying, the knight reached for a freshly-baked piece of bread. He didn't bother buttering it. "Yes, Your Majesty. King Arthur has sent me. He says that both of our kingdoms cannot afford another war."

"And?" King Lucius pushed, as he took a bite of ham.

"Well... I'm not too sure there's much else to say, really. King Arthur believes that even though our kingdoms are on peaceful terms -- and have been since the last war -- a peace treaty would give everyone more peace of mind... If that makes sense."

"Hm..." the king narrowed his eyes, then turned to Sir Harry and smiled. "This doesn't have anything to do with the rumors that have been spreading as of late, does it?"

The knight swallowed. "No, Your Majesty." He let out a small laugh, then added, "Besides, who would believe such nonsense anyway?" He was trying his best to not act suspicious, but wasn't quite so sure it was working.

Looking away, King Lucius opened his mouth, as if to say something, but was cut off by his son. "What if there was such a thing as magic? What difference would it make, really?"

Sir Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Of course it would make a difference! To think, of the power one might hold if they were to possess such a thing. The world would be chaos."

"Hm... You know, Draco, Sir Harry is right," the king said, leaning forward ever-so slightly. "Magic could be a dangerous thing."

Okay, that's definitely suspicious, Sir Harry thought. And quite frightening. He suddenly felt unwell.

"Sir Harry?" It was Prince Draco who spoke. "You don't look too good." It sounded more like just an observation than a concern.

The knight shook his head, and cleared his throat. "Sorry, I'll be fine. Just got a bit carried away in my mind, that's all." He slowly took another bite of bread.

"Well, being a knight, shouldn't you have a strong mind?" the prince pointed out. "All of the knight's I've ever met seem like complete arseholes; Like they're somehow shutting everything out."

"Is that why Lady Luna was sent away?" Sir Harry questioned, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "She's not exactly weak, you know."

"Lady Luna simply did not meet our requirements," the king spoke. "And not because she's a woman."

Prince Draco turned to Sir Harry. "I should introduce you to Lady Daphne."

The knight waited for the prince to continue, but all he was met with was silence. "Lady Daphne?"

"Yes, Astoria's older sister. I believe you two would get along nicely," Prince Draco stated, as if that gave any insight at all.

"Why? Because we're both knights?" Sir Harry was more than just mildly confused. "And who's Astoria?"

"Astoria is Draco's lover," it was Queen Narcissa who spoke. 

The prince rolled his eyes. "She's not my lover, mother. If she's my lover, then so are Pansy and Blaise -- and everyone else I drink with in private."

"Well..." Suddenly, the king clapped. Everyone at the table looked up. "This conversation is going nowhere. Anyway...why did King Arthur send you, and not himself instead?"

It seemed like the answer would be pretty obvious. "Maybe he thinks it's safer."

"Is there no trust between our kingdoms?" King Lucius scoffed. "When you go back, make sure you tell him it's alright to meet."

"Uh, what about the treaty, then?" Sir Harry didn't wish to push, but all of this talking had made him quite nervous. Even though he hadn't found much out about the so-called magic (although, he did suspect that the Malfoy's were definitely up to something), he felt as though it would be better to finish things sooner than later.

The king laughed. "How about this: you stay here for a bit, and then you decide whether we need a treaty. Okay?"

Sir Harry sighed. This was probably the next-to-worst way this whole situation could have went -- with the absolute worst being death. "I'm not sure King Arthur will like that, but alright... I guess I could stay for a bit longer."

"Good," King Lucius concluded, as he stood from his seat. "Good."

And everyone was silent, until going their separate ways.