Drarry One Shots

Potters Lightning Fast Auto Repairs (Part 1/3)

Revised: 8/2021
Tags/Warnings: Mechanic!Harry AU, car repair shop AU
Summary: A flat tire encouraged Draco to look for a nearby mechanic. He doesn't believe it when one pops up brandishing the name 'Potter.'  With so many things he wants to say, he has no choice but to hope its his Potter, and that he'll have a chance to say everything. 

~~~

It was mid morning on a Wednesday. Harry stood inside his favorite place in the world. He unlocked the door, flipped on the neon sign, and turned the sign that hung next to the door to display 'Open' rather than 'Closed.'

His sign proudly proclaimed his shop to be 'Potter's Lightning Fast Auto Repairs.' The red letter was framed by two yellow lightning bolts on either side. He went to his 'receptionist' desk and checked his appointment log on the computer. Only three scheduled to come in, but five to be picked up. His shop was a busy little area in central London, and though he disliked crowds he got lovely business.

Soon after the war he had realized he didn't want anything to do with the expectations of becoming an Auror. On an impulse he bought a flat in the middle of London, far away from any magical activity. He had lived off his inherited money for a bit of time, but he had nothing to do and it was driving him nutty. He wanted something safe, something that had absolutely nothing to do with catching criminals. Lucky for him, an advert for mechanics school had been posted on the message board of his flat's complex. He had tried it on a whim, and found himself surprisingly interested in the topic he knew so little about. 

Of course, everyone thought it was a little weird that someone who couldn't drive was going to mechanics school, but oh well. He decided to stick with the course, and in a year he had his own mechanic certificate. He spent some time working as an employee in other auto mechanics, but he disliked working under someone. Only a few years after the war he opened his shop. He had the money for it, and all it took was a few clients to spread the word.

As a mechanic who could advertise getting any job done in a day, it wasn't difficult to attract clients. They just never knew he mostly used magic to speed up the process. He was the fasts mechanic around. His clientele knew it, and told others. He had become quite popular in just a few years. Harry was a tad bit surprised no one from the Wizarding World had found him, especially since he had disappeared to their knowledge. He wondered how long they had looked for, but he expected they gave up after two years or so. He didn't have his shop until after that. He also thought that the Wizarding World's weird stigma against anything Muggle kept people from looking for him here. He was out in the open, and yet no one knew where we was.

Well, Hermione and the Weasley's knew, but Harry trusted them as much as he loved his little shop. I need to visit Ron, Hermione and Rose soon, Harry thought absentmindedly, doing last-minute inspections on the cars getting picked up today. Since their daughter had been born, the two had been entirely to busy to meet with him. Harry understood of course, it was just an odd change not to be around them so often.

Another amazing part of his little business was he didn't need a slew of workers underneath him. He didn't even need a receptionist. All his appointments were made online, and the occasional phone call was fielded by an automated voice that could answer simple questions or directed them to the website. He had gotten a few complaints about people that wanted to speak to a real person, but his service was too good for it to turn anyone away.

Harry cleared the first car to be ready, and went to the next. Approximately thirty minutes later he was happy with all the cars leaving him, and went to work on the three that needed to be ready tomorrow. With a wave of his hand he started the radio, playing some popular hits or something similar. He wasn't sure what it was, but he enjoyed it much better than silence or the clinking of tools. The car whose windshield needed to be replaced got the magical treatment, as did the car which needed it's front axle realigned. His last car needed it's engine examined, and Harry had to do the brunt of that work himself.

Popping the hood open and rolling up his sleeves, Harry set to work while humming along to the music. An hour passed like that until his bell rang. He checked his watch, nodding. One of his pick ups, a few minutes early. He walked into his lobby to greet them.

~~~

Draco frowned at his car. He kicked the tire, but that didn't do anything. It remained flat and droopy against the road. What was he supposed to do? He didn't know anything about cars. With a sigh he pinched the bridge of his nose.

He had moved further into the city of London recently, and the location demanded the use of a car. Mostly he used it to get to restaurants, since he worked in the magical world. He hadn't had the thing for long, but he knew it was old and outdated. He had bought what he could afford, which wasn't much after the disgrace his family had undergone. The Ministry had demanded his family give up the majority of their fortune for reparations, given they were... largely involved in the Dark Lords return.

Draco had given it up without thought, though his Father would never forgive him. Not that he could do much from Azkaban, but Draco would've liked to visit him more often. The visits were so taxing, though, that he went much more infrequently than his mother would have liked. She lived in some old Black estate in Europe, unknown to him. He didn't want to know, and she didn't want to divulge. It had left Draco alone in the manor, much too big and full of too many awful memories.

He liked his single-bedroom flat much better. It was...him-sized. Perhaps it wouldn't have been before he was in his sixth year, and material things still meant so much to him. But now, it was cozy. Enjoyable.

His flat tire was not enjoyable, though. This ruined his entire brunch plans! His brunch plans had been to sit alone and eat, but... still! Draco felt slighted. He pulled up a GPS on his phone looking for a mechanic. Better to deal with this now so that his one-person dinner plans tomorrow wouldn't be ruined.

He almost dropped his phone when the name 'Potter' appeared. He couldn't believe it, and re-read it several times. When he finally accepted that, yes, it did say 'Potter,' he told himself it couldn't be him. He had disappeared without a word and hadn't been seen for over five years. 

Still, a small bit of hope and a lot of curiosity stirred in Draco. He was going to get in his car, but stopped. Surely he shouldn't drive on a flat tire? He used a spell that pushed out air directed at the tire, but that just blew the air around it instead of inside it. Draco frowned, looking at the GPS again. It wasn't far, less than ten minutes away. Hopefully it would be fine until then. Draco rolled down the street rather slowly, incredibly aware of his old car and its protests as he drove. He pulled into the parking lot carefully, though he almost hit a divider while navigating the because he spotted the sign. Neon red and yellow, Gryffindor colors. It can't be him, Draco thought in denial.

He pulled up as someone drove their car out of a spot. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to go right there, so he just pulled in front of the store and parked.

He sat in his car for a moment. He felt nervous. If this was really Harry, who he hadn't been able to find, hadn't been able to apologize to, hadn't been able to say anything too before he vanished...

After the battle he thought he would have time to say the things he wanted. But Potter had given testimonies, and then had never been seen again. The press had gone absolutely rabid, and there was no one to say Harry was okay except for Weasley and Granger, who refused to say anything else.

Draco's old wand had arrived with an owl the night before Harry vanished. He didn't know that at the time, but now he wondered if he was the last thing Harry thought of before he moved on.Gathering courage, he got out of his car and pushed into the shop, almost jumping at the twinkling sound the bell above the door made. There was a desk and a few chairs in the small room, along with a small table which had snacks and a small fridge with waters. No one else, though. Draco was confused. Wasn't there supposed to be someone behind that desk here to take his information or something?

"Be right there!" A voice called. Draco choked. Of course it was him. Of course it was. It couldn't be anyone else. He stood frozen just inside the doorway as moments passed. And then he rounded the corner and was standing in front of him, covered in grease and with a bright smile. His eyes where brighter than Draco remembered. Happier, certainly. Otherwise he was just like Draco remembered, though he looked like he was eating properly now.

Harry recognized him immediately. "Malfoy?" He whispered. Draco just nodded, still feeling like he couldn't speak. Harry's swiped his palms on his jeans, brushing the air out of his face and fixed his clothing. "Uhm, hi," Harry said quietly.

"I thought you were dead," Draco whispered. Harry winced, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah, uhm. Yeah. Did-did your want get to you okay?"

It was a stupid question, Draco knew. Owls were infallible. Harry was scratching for something to say. Draco pulled it out of his sleeve, where it had rested in a magically invisible holster. "Yeah. I... I never got to thank you," he said quietly, looking away from Harry and at the wand in his hands. "I never got to say a lot of things."

He looked back up. Harry was shuffling his feet. "You know, neither did I. Do you want to eat together or something? Talk, and... I guess say stuff?"

Draco was taken aback. He hadn't expected a lot of things, and a sudden dinner invitation was on the list. It felt too soon, too raw. Was he ready to say all those things?

But he had to be. It had been years, and here was his chance. He nodded, having to clear his throat before he spoke. "I was planning on eating at a nice Japanese place tomorrow night. I have a reservation, so it would work easy, I figure," Draco spoke quickly, stumbling. Harry gave him a small smile.

"That sounds nice. Would you pick me up? I, erm, don't actually have a car. Or know how to drive," Harry chuckled awkwardly. Some of the tension left Draco as he stared at Harry incredulously. "I know! I know, but hey, you don't have to know how to drive one to fix one, yeah?"

Draco laughed, feeling miles better than he had a moment ago. "Yeah, I guess. Well, you'll need to fix mine before I can take you anywhere." Draco gestured towards the door. "I actually wouldn't have ever known this place was ten minutes away from me had I not gotten a flat tire this morning."

"Flat tire? Easy fix, you'll only be waiting a few minutes. Bring her into the shop, okay? The one with the red lines, I'll meet you there," Harry called out as he walked away. Draco watched him go, smiling.

It was easy enough to pull into the space, though Draco still winced as his car creaked and groaned, off balance.

Harry was there when he pulled in, and guided him in lining up the car properly. Once that was done, he shut the sliding metal door that had been open as Draco drove through. Once shut, Harry pulled his wand out and set into a series of wand movements too fast for Draco to follow. Numbers and words flew up in front of Harry's face, and he barely read them before an air pump -why hadn't he thought of that?- flew into the space and hooked up to the tire. Simultaneously, a jar of a black substance flew from a shelve and applied itself to what Draco thought was a random spot on his tire. It was likely wherever the air was leaking out of, but Draco couldn't see any difference. Then the pump was moving much faster than Draco would have been able to make it, his tire filling with air rapidly.

The process took less than five minutes. Draco was in wonder. "That was... really impressive. I had no idea spells that would work on muggle cars existed."

Harry laughed, smiling at him. "I had to come up with a few myself, but for the most part they're just modified versions of spells we learn in school. Nothing impressive, really." Harry waved him off, like he had always waved off compliments.

His smile was the same, Draco noticed. Bright, and beautiful, and able to lift Draco's spirits. "You're brilliant," Draco told him.

Harry snorted, shaking his head. "So, what time tomorrow?"

He answered after a moment, his brain lagging. "Uhm, seven? Should I come here, or...?" he trailed off, not knowing if Harry would want him to know where he lived. Harry had vanished, after all. Why would he want someone from the magical world to know where he lived?

But Harry shook his head, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen. "You know how to work a GPS?"

"That's how I got here."

"Draco Malfoy, driving a muggle car and using a muggle phone! Your ancestors are rolling over in their graves," Harry teased. He handed Draco the piece of paper. "My address. I'll be ready at seven tomorrow. We have a lot to talk about, huh?"

Draco clutched the piece of paper tightly, terrified to lose it. "I think so, yeah." And he was terrified for every moment of it. But Harry was grinning at him, and that made it better. "I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you, uhm, Harry." Draco stumbled, not sure of himself.

Harry's smile got bigger. "I'll see you tomorrow, Draco."

Harry opened the sliding metal door, and guided Draco out until he wasn't in danger of hitting anything. Draco waved from his car as he drove away, and Harry waved back. Draco replayed the interaction over and over in his head, even as he arrived home and collapsed on his couch.

Was this a date? If it was, it was going to be a pathetic excuse for one. Draco doubted a lot of the conversation would be easy, and he wasn't looked forward to it. But all the things he needed to say rattled in his chest like a heavy bird trying to escape. Maybe it would be okay, and he could call it a date as he brought Harry back home.

He sat up, running for his closet. I have a date with Harry Potter. What am I going to wear?!