1000 Days of Harry Potter

Day 775

Draco watches from the window as Harry laughs, gesticulating wildly with his hands. David says something back, demonstrating some kind of Quidditch maneuver gone wrong, and he laughs, too. He claps Harry on the shoulder as they talk, a friendly gesture.

Harry had been declared fully-recovered and released from St. Mungo's nearly a month previously, but they're just now gathering at the Weasleys to finally celebrate properly.

Everyone else is outside, eating the picnic lunch that Molly prepared, watching the children run and play. Draco had just needed a moment away from it all, so he ventured inside and found himself here in the kitchen, watching from a distance.

"You alright there?"

Draco startles and turns. Ginny Weasley has come in as well and is standing beside him, watching him curiously.

"Why do I hate that so much?" Draco gestures at the scene unfolding outside.

"Harry getting along with your new boyfriend?"

"Yes. It makes my skin crawl."

"I would have thought that would be obvious," Ginny says gently, touching his arm. "They're too much alike."

"They look nothing alike!"

"No," Ginny laughs softly, "the lookalike was boring Marc. This time it isn't about looks, it's about...you know, how they are. Their mannerisms, how they interact with others, how their eyes light up when they play with the children, or when they talk about Quidditch. It's—"

"Alright, alright," Draco cuts her off. "I get it."

"Draco, why are you even dating that guy? Why don't you and Harry just...?"

"Teddy. I mean, we talked about it once, but it was a long time ago. We just...we can't risk it, upending his whole life. He's the most important thing."

Ginny's eyes are soft when she squeezes his arm. "I'm sorry, Draco. If you ever want to talk, I do have a bit of experience with being in—I mean, with wanting Harry Potter and not being able to have him. He's...I don't know. Exceptional, you know? Hard to forget."

Draco's eyes widen as they drop to the sparkling diamond ring on her finger, and she laughs.

"Oh Merlin, no, I don't mean recently! I'm perfectly happy now, with Dean. I can't wait to marry him. But I've been through it before in the past, that's all I'm saying."

"Thanks, Ginny."

"You should ask him to show you his new tattoo," Ginny adds unexpectedly, with a mischievous grin.

Draco's mouth goes dry in an instant. "His what?" he croaked.

"Last week we were playing Quidditch, a Seeker's match, and we decided to make things more interesting...the winner got to choose a tattoo for the loser."

"You beat Harry Potter to the Snitch?"

"Well, don't sound so surprised!" Ginny laughs. "I'm a professional Quidditch player!"

"A Chaser," Draco says, but he inclines his head in acquiescence anyway.

"Anyway," she continues, "Harry lost and we went to the tattoo parlor the next day. It turned out so well, it's bloody gorgeous—"

"What is it?" Draco doesn't want to know, isn't sure he can handle the mental image much less the real thing, but he can't stop himself from asking.

"A Hungarian Horntail," Ginny giggles. "It's from an old joke, from when we were sixteen. Someone asked me if it was true that he had a Hippogriff tattooed on his chest, and I told her it was a dragon instead. More macho, you know."

Draco vaguely recalls that rumor going around, through the haze of depression and horror that was Sixth Year. "So it's..."

"On his chest? No. Um, too much Dark Curse scarring. Have you seen all of his...?"

Draco nods, fighting to keep his face neutral.

"Aurors," Ginny shakes her head. "Can't say I'm sad he's out of that."

"No," Draco agrees.

"So it's on his back instead," she says brightly. "And it's stunning. I think Harry somehow managed to lose and win that bet. I should have picked something embarrassing, but I couldn't resist making him get the Horntail."

Draco groans. "You just told me about the tattoo to torture me, didn't you?"

"Of course not," Ginny laughs. "I just thought you might want to know about this new development in your friend's life."

She winks and walks away, and Draco spends the rest of the damn party trying not to stare at Harry's back, imagining the 'gorgeous' dragon tattoo he wishes he didn't know was hidden beneath his maroon t-shirt.