Don't You? (Drarry)

Chapter 28

Harry stood with Draco on Dudley's street. The Slytherin had talked him into not waiting on making amends. "Maybe I shouldn't do this, what if he hasn't changed at all?" Draco kissed the raven's cheek softly. "Were you sure that I was a good person? You had no clue if all the good I've done was just for looks or not." Harry sighed heavily nodding. He gripped Draco's hand a little tighter as they approached the door. They glanced at each other before Harry lifted his fist knocking a few times. They heard someone bustling around the house and a few seconds later were met with Dudley Dursley. "H-harry? You're alive? They never told us anything about what happened. Just that it was safe." He held a face of genuine shock, or maybe surprise even. "Uh yeah, for now I'm alive anyway. We defeated Voldemort, and whatnot." Draco fidgeted with his jeans looking down. He loathed Harry being so unaffected by dying. Dudley glanced at Draco as if noticing him for the first time. The Slytherin looked up at him. "Malfoy, Draco Malfoy I'm his fiancè." Dudley nodded slowly. "Oh, would you two like to come in? I can make some tea." Harry nodded slowly. I mean surely it wouldn't be this horribly awkward the whole time right? Dudley let them through the door guiding them to the medium sized cozy kitchen. The Gryffindor and the Slytherin sat at the table while Dudley put a kettle on. Harry noticed Dudley had lost some weight, he wasn't too skinny, but it was a noticeable difference. Dudley sat at the round table looking at Harry. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again, I figured you hated me. I would hate someone who had done and said the same things." The raven shook his head glancing down. He had thought about what he would say to Dudley if he ever saw him for years. Yet it seemed his mind was blanking completely. He glanced up at him. "It wasn't you mainly sure you were kind of a tosser, but..." Dudley looked down shamefully nodding slow. "It wasn't right, what they put you through. I'm sorry I didn't try to stop it or help. I guess I didn't register how wrong it was, what they were doing to you. They starved you, they beat you, it makes me sick to think about how bad it was. It's even worse when I realize I never made it any easier for you, in fact I made it worse. Sorry doesn't even begin to make up for it Harry. I stopped talking to them years ago, last I heard my father passed from a heart attack. I was told he suffered quite a bit. Serves him right I'd say." Harry stared at him in shock. Of all things he was expecting Dudley to say that was the last thing he imagined. Once he registered what the other had said he shook his head slowly. "He wasn't right in what he did, bu-" Draco rolled his eyes simply cutting him off. "I swear to god Potter if you say he didn't deserve it I'll throw a temper tantrum, and we both know how good I am at that. You saying he didn't deserve it would be like someone saying Voldemort didn't." Harry smiled softly while Dudley looked slightly confused.

"So you're a wizard too?" Harry rubbed his face waiting for the Slytherin to go on a whole pureblood speech. He knew it was coming, Draco was proud of his heritage. Even though there was no difference. "I'm a pureblood, and my family is one of the sacred 28. We're also all proud Slytherins." Dudley looked at Harry practically begging him to translate. Harry chuckled lightly and explained it to him. "Slytherin is his house. They tend to be cunning, resourceful, and motivated to get what they want. Pureblood means both of his parents are completely witch and wizard. You have pureblood, which Malfoy is an example of. Half-blood which is what I am seeing as my mother was muggle-born and my father was a pureblood. Then muggle-born which means neither of your parents have magic, yet you do. The sacred 28 are the 28 pureblood families left." He whispered the next part. "They tend to think they're superior to everybody else." Draco hit his arm lightly glaring at him half-heartedly. Harry gave him a cheeky smile shrugging. Dudley could tell the couple was so happy it was almost sickening. He was glad though that Harry had found someone, however he was still confused by one thing. "Harry, why did you come to see me?"

Harry had known the question would come up eventually. Yet he still dreaded to give the real answer. How was he supposed to say it? He sighed heavily leaning back in the chair. Dudley could tell there was a new tension in the air, it somehow felt stronger than the one before. He glanced at Draco who was fiddling with his hands with a look of hopelessness. "It's a form of brain cancer. There's no cure muggle or wizard to fix it. I have 6 to maybe 12 months depending on how long I can fight it off. So I guess this is me getting all my affairs in order." Dudley was shocked. He looked at the grown wizard and noticed the helpless eyes he saw so much in their younger years. It wasn't fair. He knew that much, even if Harry wasn't the same he didn't deserve this. The youngest Dursley didn't know the half of it, but he had watched the treatment Harry had received at home. He had seen the fearful looks whenever Harry had messed up, he saw the flinching whenever someone had raised their voice. "Harry I'm so s-" Harry shook his head slowly. "Don't feel pity over it, I've had enough of that to last five lifetimes." Draco sat there quietly sorting through his thoughts. He was definitely not going to cry in front of someone he didn't know. "What about treatments? There's radiation or chemo, surely there's something magical that could help." Draco looked quite interested with the conversation now. He hadn't thought to ask about treatments. "So I can go through more pain than what I am now? No, I don't want to die like that." Harry glanced at Draco grabbing his hand. He knew it was difficult for the blonde. More than difficult. He wished he knew how to make it even a little easier.

They swayed from the topic after that, instead talking about life in general. "I haven't really spoken to anyone from before in years. Most of my old "friends" started doing drugs." Draco tensed up and snuck a look at Harry who seemed to be oblivious. 'Thank god, how else would I have explained that?' He didn't see however that Dudley had noticed. The youngest Dursley figured he would ignore it until later. "I've been with this girl for a while. She's brilliant." He spoke with a big smile practically glued on his face. Harry smiled softly at his cousin. "You love her." It didn't need to be phrased as a question. Yet Dudley still nodded, he had no clue what he possibly did to deserve being so happy with someone. "What's she like?" Draco questioned. The blonde was glad he'd talked Harry into this. Sure Harry had Sirius and the Weasleys, but he knew this had meant something to the Gryffindor as well. "She came over from America. Her family moved over there when she was very little so she decided to come back. She's sweet and funny. She's fit too, I plan on marrying her." Harry looked at Draco simply lovestruck and mumbled his next words softly. "Why wait? Life is so bloody unpredictable anyway right? Draco and I could be celebrating our ten year anniversary instead of only being together for a few months. Don't let fear of rejection hold you back, you learn to regret it." Draco smiled with a tint of sadness. If you were to ask him years from now what moment he understood why Harry decided to be with him when he knew he was dying. Draco would speak of this moment, because it finally almost made sense to him. He understood that only having months was better than nothing at all. Yet he couldn't figure out how to stop clinging to a forever that might not be possible.

A while later Harry went to take a call from Hermione outside. Dudley and Draco sat in silence for a few seconds before Dudley spoke quickly. "When I said my friends started doing drugs you tensed, why? You're not?" Draco shook his head and explained quickly. "No I've never touched the stuff. It was Harry, but he used a spell so he doesn't remember. So you better not bloody tell him. His best friend Weasley told me, seeing as I wasn't around for it. Some drug called cocaine? He went off the rails pretty badly after the war. Hell I would have too if I went through half of the things he went through." He could see the youngest Dursley become very confused. The Slytherin realized he probably didn't know anything regarding the war or who Voldemort really was. He probably wouldn't have told his cousin in that situation either. He sighed heavily looking at him. "Voldemort killed His parents you know that much right?" It was obvious that he didn't. It was weird for Draco, the whole wizarding world knew the story. Yet his own cousin didn't. "He tried killing him when he was a baby, that's where the scar came from. Obviously it didn't work, instead the spell backfired. Voldemort should have stayed dead. Basically to sum it all up he killed a bunch of people, and he killed Harry again, but that obviously didn't stick either. A lot of good people were lost." He looked down holding his left arm subconsciously. Dudley could tell that he was ashamed of something. He didn't if he should ask or not. Seeing as they were having all these conversations they most likely shouldn't be he decided why not. He also wondered about something else. "Harry said you two could have been together years ago, but you weren't around for him being a drug addict? Also why did you look so ashamed speaking about Voldemort?" Draco stared at him for a good while. He figured the story would come out sooner or later. May as well explain it now, right? "I was a follower of Voldemort. Back in the first war my parents were, and they raised me the exact same way. Hating muggles and muggle-borns. Most purebloods don't believe in mixing with them at all. It's all bullshit really, but being raised to believe it wasn't well. As far as Potter and I go, we were and most of the time still are complete opposites. We would fight about anything, and cause unnecessary bickering all the time. I was a prat, and he just annoyed me. He had guidance to become better, whereas my parents wanted me to murder. I realized how wrong it all was very quickly. Not to mention I've had a thing for your cousin for years. I highly doubt being on the side of someone who wanted him dead gave me a lot of potential dating points. So I was more so undecided, loyal in the eyes of Voldemort, but questionable to many others." With that they sat in silence until Harry returned.