Cicatrices- Marks That Remain

Ocean Waves

Happy Sunday, my amazing readers!

Please, let me know what y'all think, and, as always...

Enjoy!

"What was it like for you? Just after the war?"

"...Hm?" Harry blinked, turning his eyes away from the ceiling of Draco's flat to face him. They had spent the majority of the day cleaning before calling it in for the day. His flat was much cleaner than it had been- perhaps the cleanest it had been in the majority of the time he lived there. But, after hours of working, the two of them were, simply put, exhausted. At least now the flat was fit for people to inhabit.

"It's okay if you don't... I was just- curious." Draco was fidgeting with his sleeves, his hands with their usual shaking.

"No, no, I was just... I hadn't been paying attention," Harry reassured. He turned to face Draco, being sure to keep his blanket around him. Draco's flat was, frustratingly, still without heat. Draco was sitting facing the telly, which was turned off. The room was mostly dark save for the soft glow of lamps. The yellow hue falling on Draco's face made him look impossibly soft and warm. Harry wanted to burrow up with him. He stopped himself from doing so.

"I just mean... You're a hero, and a celebrity, and a million other things, and it's... just, what was it like?"

Harry thought, for a moment.

"After the war?" Harry sighed, sinking further into the sofa, thinking. "Things were... tough."

"Oh," Draco responded. Then, after a moment, "What happened?"

Harry bit his lip, brows furrowing. "Just... Everything. It was all a bit of a disaster, wasn't it? And on top of it, I had to go out and start living like an adult. I didn't even know the first thing about it... and all during it was just... I mean, you must know?"

Draco shook his head slowly, this time, fully facing Harry. "Not really, no."

"Well," Harry sighed. "I was just... I didn't have the first idea about being an adult, and on top of it all, everybody was hailing my name in the streets, treating me like God or Jesus or someone of the sort... And I was dating Ginny. I'm sure I was expected to even marry her. And it was all just a lot. Then, I got my job in the auror department, and before I knew it, I was doing what I'd been doing all of my life... I was... not comfortable, really, but just-"

Harry didn't continue with his statement. Instead, he simply said: "Being an auror is easy in a familiar way. I like to stick with it... I never care for much else."

Draco nodded, his face soft, eyes open. Harry was vibrating with nerves. He wanted to crawl inside of his skin.

"What about you?" Harry asked, "How was everything with you?"

"I'm afraid it's not as much of a mystery as you may think. If you'll recall, you were there for a lot of it. Trials and interrogation and sentencing. Church, a girlfriend..." Draco's voice died. Harry frowned.

He supposed he was there for a decent bit of it, having spoken at his and his parents' trials, and being there when he was sentenced, then later, when he found Astoria's body. He wasn't there for it all, no, but he must have been there for the most important bits.

Except, despite knowing the bigger bits, he found himself still with dozens of questions about the blond in front of him and lacking the clarity to ask properly.

"And you and your Weasley... I imagine that's not something anymore... why did you break up?"

"Ah," Harry readjusted his position on the sofa, his lips pressing into a thin line. "Mostly just me being a prick."