HeartBreak (Veela Drarry)

What If?

Emmyl was a chatter, one who didn't take no for an answer when he was offering something, so Harry was forced to sit through three meals in Malfoy Manor the day he decided to pop in and check on his partner. Dobby's son was so funny, so enthusiastic and kind, that Harry couldn't even find it in himself to be disturbed by the knowledge that Voldemort had once lived there.

When he woke up, he was surprised to find himself still there and cursed himself for burdening his sick partner even more. He had chatted with Malfoy a bit and ate the meals with him, but when the blonde finally fell into a deep sleep, Emmyl and Harry spoke about Dobby while the elf prepared a treacle tart for the brunette. And... that's all Harry remembers really.

"Harry? Are you up yet?" he heard Draco ask as the blonde gently opened the door and peeked inside. Once he saw that Harry was up, he smiled widely, "Get dressed. Emmyl and I made breakfast. Do you want to eat it here or in the office?"

Harry blinked at the soft, normal tone.

Isn't he weirded out that I spent the night without his permission?

"In the office is fine. We have a lot of work to catch up on. I haven't finished a single report since you left. I guess I got used to having you check and fix all my mistakes." Harry replied, then sighed in relief when Draco chuckled.

Before they were out the door, Emmyl showed up, handing them the breakfast and winking at Draco.

"Will Master Harry Potter be wanting chicken or fish for dinner tonight?" Emmyl asked and smiled while waiting for a reply.

The brunette smiled back. He wished he could come back and spend more time with Emmyl. House-elves and humans usually didn't have much in common, but Harry was surprised the earlier night by Emmyl's deep knowledge of everything from Quidditch, to Hogwarts subjects, to potions, to Auror case filing, to literally anything else. He also spoke regular, unbroken English and wore fitting robes that were even more expensive than Harry's. The wrinkles and folds that were usually characteristic of Elf's skin were absent from his face entirely. If not for the huge eyes and elf ears, one could've mistaken Emmyl for a child. He was more human than some people Harry knew and the brunette knew Dobby would've been very proud.

"Emmyl!" Malfoy hissed quietly and Harry clamped his mouth shut before saying anything, "You shouldn't invite people twice in a row, let alone assume that they're coming back. That's impolite!"

Suddenly, the kind elf turned shades of red and stomped his foot angrily.

"I am not being impolite!" the little elf screeched at Malfoy, "Master Harry Potter liked spending time here. Maybe if you had let him feel welcome here before, then he would've come sooner and you wouldn't have gotten so bad this time, Draco!"

Harry's eyes widened and his mouth hung open involuntarily. He couldn't believe that the elf had the guts to speak to Malfoy like that.

He has his father's boldness, I see.

The brunette was just about to step between Emmyl and Malfoy to prevent any kind of violent or hurtful confrontation. Sure, he and Malfoy got along well enough, but it's not like the brunette could just forget that Malfoy is heartless. But, before he could move, the elf's huge, green eyes became wet and he suddenly burst into tears, shrieking something incomprehensible and running up the stairs to Draco's bedroom?

That's odd.

The blonde sighed loudly and turned to Harry.

"I'm sorry. You can go ahead and I'll join you at the office in a bit. I have to deal with him, first." the blonde told Harry, handing him the breakfast. But, after Draco disappeared up the stairs, Harry couldn't find it in himself to leave the manor.

What does he mean 'deal with him'?

Is he going to hurt Emmyl?!

Is he going to yell at him?

Scold him for being worried?

Harry couldn't let any of that happen. He raced back to Malfoy's bedroom, but stopped at the frame, confused by the scene in front of him. Emmyl was laying on his stomach on Draco's bed, his head buried in his crossed arms as he sobbed out over and over again that Draco was his best friend and that he didn't want the blonde to die. Draco was kneeling on the ground next to the bed, trying and failing to comfort the elf.

"I am not going to die, Emmyl. Come on, you know nothing could take me from you. I was just sick during the past few days. It's not what you're thinking, honest!" the blonde murmured, rubbing the elf's back. Harry's heart clenched and he scolded himself for coming up here to protect the elf. The brunette was too mesmerized by the scene to really think about what their mysterious conversation meant.

"Y-you w-wouldn't e-eat or s-sleep!" the elf shrieked, "you were dying r-right i-in front of me. I-I am not stupid, Draco! I know what I saw."

That statement shut the blonde up entirely. He sighed sullenly and kept rubbing the elf's back in a comforting gesture. Harry hesitantly walked into the room, then stood awkwardly at the foot of the bed, eyeing the encounter. He was a bit disappointed that the elf seemed to only want him around for Malfoy's sake, but he was more upset by Emmyl's crying.

"I would like chicken for dinner tonight, Emmyl." he murmured, hoping he somehow wouldn't make everything worse. Both the blonde and elf looked up at him with wide smiles and nodded enthusiastically. Then Draco mouthed 'thank you' and he shook his head in response, waving the blonde off.

"I am sorry about Emmyl." the blonde said during breakfast once they got to the office, "He likes you very much. He does. He told me himself. But he and I have been around each other for a long time and he tends to... overreact whenever I don't feel well. If you just agreed for his sake, feel free to cancel. I am sure he won't be mad."

Malfoy's voice sounded pained as he spoke the words, but Harry wasn't going to cancel dinner either way. He couldn't do that to Emmyl. A slight smile formed on his face when the blonde started describing Emmyl's rant about how much he had loved spending time with the brunette. He'd go to the manor and spend as much time with Dobby's son as the elf wanted. Malfoy, on the other hand...

Harry didn't really know how to react to everything that had happened within the past 24 hours. The blonde looked like he was dying the night earlier, but somehow rolled out of bed completely fine and ready for the day the next morning? It didn't make any sense!

And what was that with Emmyl today?

He was so loving, kind even!

I thought he didn't feel that way about anything.

Let alone elves, the same creatures that the Malfoys were known for torturing.

Suddenly, a crazy theory came to Harry, one where Hermione was right. What if the blonde was truly acting, but not in the sense that Hermione thought he was? What if he and the doctor had concocted some insane story about Malfoy being a sociopath so the blonde wouldn't go to Azkaban? What if Malfoy is actually...normal? There's no way that loving person he saw today was a sociopath! But, does that mean the blonde participated in the war willingly? That he truly believed and probably still believes in that blood superiority nonsense? That he actually meant all those horrible things he said about Harry and Mione and Ron during Hogwarts?

Suddenly, a wave of anger erupted through Harry and he was determined to get to the bottom of things no matter what.

"Harry? Are you alright? Did you hear what I said?" he heard Draco ask softly. Softly !

"Yes and I am still coming over." the brunette gritted out.

I'll come over and watch you.

I'll find out exactly the kind of person you are.