All Life Is Yours To Miss

Chapter 40

The rest of the week passes in a comfortably familiar carousel of Transfiguration, flying, and visits to Harry. He is now woefully behind with his marking, but as no one but him seems to mind, he just carries on, trying to squeeze in an hour or so every other evening and taking bits and pieces that he thinks might amuse Harry up to the hospital wing with him. At Thursday's practice, the Quidditch team pull together to try out some of Harry's new manoeuvres and fly with more cohesion than Draco has ever seen them; he doesn't know if it's having Harry back, even in part, that is inspiring them, but whatever it is, it's working, and he's delighted.

Winston and Surya, too, are improving all the time. By the end of Saturday's lesson, Winston has practiced hovering just above the grass so many times that he looks almost comfortable doing it, and Surya and Emilie, who have come to cheer him on, tackle him with congratulatory hugs as soon as he dismounts his broom. Harry has—Draco's still not sure how—dissuaded him from confronting Emilie about her deception.
"She did it for the right reasons, Draco, and she stepped back as soon as she could—I'd let it go if I were you."

Draco does, but he also decides to keep an eye on Emilie as he watches her laugh and give Winston a high-five. He has a feeling that one day, not too long from now, that girl will be trouble.

That night, as they sit with cake from the kitchens and big cups of tea—Draco's gripped in cold fingers and Harry's sitting on the cabinet with his long straw sticking out of it—Harry tells Draco all about his life before returning to Hogwarts. He has, by all accounts, tried quite a few different careers before finally finding his place in teaching.

"So, after that I decided to try selling broomsticks, but no one ever came into the shop to buy a broomstick, they just came in to stare at me or ask for my autograph, which got a bit wearing, so I gave that up and spent a summer in Romania with Charlie and his boyfriend, which was a lot of fun, but I missed home too much," Harry says, pausing to suck tea through his straw.

"You missed this?" Draco asks, pointing at the window, where the rain is sluicing down the glass.
"Not that specifically, but I quite like the British weather," Harry admits. "Plus, I got pretty tired of having my clothes and hair singed all the time, so I came home. I was staying with the Weasleys and Arthur suggested trying a job at the Ministry, so I did."

"And?"

Harry grins. "I hated it. Everything's just so stuffy in there—every time you want to do something you have to fill in about five different forms and send memos here, there and everywhere. I don't think I was really suited to an office job, anyway. I prefer to be outside."

"You know, doing your job for the last few weeks has rather left me with that impression," Draco says.
"I miss it," Harry sighs. "You've no idea how much I hate being in here when I can see the sky from the windows, and then you come in smelling like the outdoors and I think I'm just going to explode with jealousy."

"I don't smell of the outdoors now," Draco says, sniffing the arm of his sweater. "I had a shower before I came here."

"I know. And I sort of wish you did," Harry says, wrinkling his nose. "It doesn't really make sense."

"I didn't expect it to."

Harry pulls a face and twists to look out at the pouring rain. "I think I've probably spent a lot of time rushing around and not enough time thinking," he says thoughtfully. "Maybe I haven't wanted to think. Since I've been here, though... I've not really had a choice. It's probably been good for me."

"You are quite literally the most optimistic person I have ever met," Draco says, bewildered.

"I've been called worse. In fact, the man I worked for after the Ministry used to call me 'dummkopf', which, if I remember correctly, means 'stupid head'." Harry grins. "He was a very angry German man."