Post Mark-removal, Draco is full of surprises.
For one, after several hours of sleep, he wakes Harry up with a kiss, and spends half an hour massaging Harry’s hands and feet with the lavender lotion Harry’d put on him after the pampering bath.
“What was that for?” Harry asks when Draco lays back down, rubbing the last of the lotion into his own hands.
Draco shrugs, smiling.
“I don’t know how to care for you.” He says.
“Oh.”
Harry’s not sure what to say to that, so he just pulls Draco close and holds on tight.
For another, as they make their way to the Hall for lunch, Draco slips his hand into Harry’s.
“There’s people in there.” Harry says.
“I know.”
“And you don’t…”
Draco shrugs again.
“The people whose opinion matters already know. It’ll spread anyway.”
So Harry keeps a tight hold as they walk in together, drawing eyes as they make their way to the Gryffindor table.
“You’re just… alright, cool.” Ron says as they sit. “How’d the thing go?”
In response, Draco pulls up his sleeve to show off his untarnished forearm. Ron’s eyebrows shoot up.
“Damn. Harry fucked the evil right out of your blood, huh?”
Draco blushes, his eyes flicking up to Harry.
“More or less.” Harry smirks.
People are staring, so Harry pulls Draco closer and kisses his temple. Draco’s pink cheeks darken, and he shifts in his seat.
“ Mine .” Harry breathes.
Draco looks at him with shiny eyes and his lips parted on something said too quietly for Harry to hear.
“What’s that?” Harry asks gently, leaning in.
Shaking his head, Draco turns to his food.
“Bun?” Harry asks, but Draco just serves Harry instead of answering.
Harry’s never seen Draco eat as much as he does at that lunch.
“Feeling better?”
“You’ve no idea.”
Seeing Draco so carefree and happy, Harry too manages to put away two plates of food.
Hedwig enters, landing on the table beside Harry’s plate. She has a letter from Remus in her beak.
Harry rips it open, reading the single sentence four times before understanding.
“I think Remus killed Greyback.”
Like taking the air out of a balloon, Draco’s good mood deflates in a second.
“Remus Lupin?” Ron asks, glancing at Draco with a frown. "I guess we don't know any other Remus."
“Yeah, let’s talk about this later.” Harry says, rubbing between Draco’s shoulders.
Lunch passes quietly after that, and Draco follows Harry up to Gryffindor with Ron and Hermione.
“So.” Ron says as Hermione closes the door to the dorm behind herself. “What about Greyback?”
“Before the werewolves could be put in the safehouse, Remus said we had to take out Greyback. He’d keep infecting more people if we took them.” Harry explains. “So he went to track down, abduct and force-feed him wolfsbane.”
