consider established drarry just casually using each other's wands all the time because they are so magically compatible and trust each other so absolutely that they can use each other's wands nearly as well as their own so if it's for something minor they'll both just grab whatever wand happens to be nearest at hand
and like. technically it's not pda. but there's something so intimate in the way they are so intertwined even in this that people around always feel as though they're witnessing something private.
Sirius decides to give Harry another Christmas gift: a history of James’ past. As told through Regulus’ eyes.
Dinner was at its end, with gifts exchanged and plates being washed. Harry was ready to go to bed and try to forget the latest horrors of his life when he felt his godfather’s hand on the top of his head.
“Come with us.”
Behind him, there was Remus Lupin, of course. They led him to a clean, unused room.
“This used to be my brother’s”, Sirius explained as Remus opened the wardrobe to pick up a wooden box. “He was Orion and Walburga’s pride and joy until they found out what he had been doing.”
“Cut off the suspense”, Remus said, handing him the box. “You are killing the boy.”
“Oh, shut up, you”, Sirius rolled his eyes. “This was him at his fifth year, I guess”, he passed the photo to Harry.
In his youth, Regulus Arcturus was a thinner and slightly taller version of his older brother. It was very easy to say where the genes had come from.
“He was a very reserved creature, but someone managed to break through that.”
“Who?”
“Your dad”, he said with an affectionate, nostalgic smile. “He thought it would be easy, after all, he was already friends with me.”
“Oh, how wrong he was”, Remus sat on the bed by Sirius’ side.
“Regulus and I were not on speaking terms at the time, so I cannot give you all the details, but what James told me was that he laid eyes on Regulus one night and it was as if the centre of the Earth had changed. He decided to make a move that very night.”
“Ugh, that was so stupid”, Remus complained.
“What did he do? Lit the main hall up with fireworks?
“Nah, he considered it too pranky, so he followed Regulus into the dungeons after dinner and asked if they could meet by the Lake the following night.”
“Let me guess: he didn’t show up.”
“On the contrary. He did.”, Sirius shook his head, staring at the floorboard. “With Rosier and Crouch by his side.”
Harry stared at Remus, who was ready to pick up the story from there.
“And they asked where we were”, he pointed at himself and Sirius. “You see, Harry, they thought James wanted a duel.”
“How did he get out of there?”
“Well, because they wouldn’t agree that was just a misunderstanding and leaving would be admitting defeat, all of them were ready to wait for someone who would fight by James’ side to pass by.”
“That was it? They waited?”
“These people were all about rules. Even the ones about duels. That level of decency probably saved James’ arse that night”, Sirius spoke again. “Unfortunately for them, Minnie found them before we did. She gave them detention and took 15 points from each House. When they were cleaning old trophies, all they could do was to chat.”
“That was James’ chance. He had to explain to Regulus that what he actually wanted was a date.”
“And he also had to convince Regulus he was being serious. The hardest part of it all”, they laughed. “He was lucky my brother was feeling mischievous. I had just been disowned and he thought he could get away with anything, so he agreed to go on a public date. He also knew he had some time before school gossip reached his parents’ ears, so he went crazy on future dates, calling James the love of his life and even accepting some PDAs.”
“That sounds mean”, Harry mentioned, frowning.
“A little, but James was glad to participate in their disgrace. And deep down, he expected Regulus to run away as soon as he received a letter from home, so why not have fun while he could?”, Sirius scoffed. “That was until Walburga threatened James’ parents.”
“What did she say?”
“She would have them killed if he didn’t stop seeing James.”
“And what did he do?”
“He broke up with James”, Sirius sighed again. “It destroyed both of them. And we only heard of Regulus again on your parents’ wedding, because he sent a gift with a note. It said:”, he snatched some notes off his pocket. “I want you to be as safe and happy as one can be in this day and age. I swear I will try to buy you as much time as I can. In the meantime, please take care of my heart. It will be in your pocket from now on.”
“Why are you telling me this?”, Harry stared at his godfather, his expression between confused and angry.
“Because if I don’t, no one else will”, he answered, simply. “This is a side of your father he didn’t show to the rest of the Order.”
“And how do you know all this?”
“I read Regulus’ journal, obviously”, the man laughed, holding the snatched notes. “I gave it to Dumbledore and Moody, maybe there is something useful about Voldemort’s recruiting tactics there, but I decided that my brother’s relationships were off-limits, so I kept those”, he fanned himself with the papers. “Nevertheless, I want you to have the pictures and the drawings”, he gave Harry an envelope sealed with tape. The backside read: J.F.P & R.A.B. – 1975. “Now, Harry, the only bad thing James did to my brother was making him insufferably sappy, so for the sake of your old godfather, please open that when you are back at your dorm, will you?”
***
It turned out Regulus Black loved drawing James Potter, especially during Quidditch practice — Harry noted that as time passed, he fell more and more in love with his muse. As an even more carefree young lad, James would smile all the time, as if he knew he was being watched by an artist.
Regulus played a bit with photography too, registering snippets of their time together. Amongst the images, there was what Harry was both more curious about and feared the most: an unsent letter. The page had various creases and old damp marks.
My dear James,
I want to thank you for the time we shared. I also have to say that I hope you move on. I heard you are getting closer to Lily Evans. I reckon she’ll be good to you. And she will also be able to give you what I couldn’t. A safe life under the Order’s good graces, for starters.
I was being honest that night: I will do everything in my power to keep your parents safe. That includes receiving a Dark Mark — please, I beg you, do not tell my brother, this is hard enough as it is already.
I wonder if this isn’t some kind of elaborate torture — they forcing me to watch as you live happily ever after and not only that: they expect me to be ready to manslaughter your family on command.
Despite all this, I need you to know I love you dearly and that is why I ask you to forgive me for insisting on leaving. And… maybe you could remember me as the lad who fell for you, not your best friend’s younger brother or the idiot who was forced to join the wrong side?
With all the love in the world,
Your Reggie.
“What are you reading, love?”
Harry rested his head against the sofa, trying to catch a glimpse of who was talking to him, although he knew very well who was it. He smiled, accepting the cuppa and the peck the other man offered him.
“A letter to my dad.”
“Oh… from whom?”, Draco snuggled up to his boyfriend.
“His ex-boyfriend”
“Wait, your dad was bi?”, Harry nodded with a little smirk. “Tell me all about it. Who was he dating?”
Harry paused for a bit. Draco was more than well-educated on the Black family tree — he was part of it, for Merlin’s sake! He wondered if telling Draco about the past of a relative would be like poking a wound with a chopstick. Personally, he wasn’t interested on learning anything about the Dursleys.
“I am waiting for the tea, Potter”, Draco let out an indiscreet laugh.
“Did your mother ever old you about her cousins?”
“You and I both know my mother has dozens of cousins, but I presume you mean Walburga and Orion’s sons.”
“My father’s ex was Regulus.”
“WHAT? He dated your godfather’s brother? Weren’t they, like, best friends?”, Harry nodded. “Well, I understand his perspective.”
"Draco, what--what did you do?" Harry asked as he watched horrified the scene in front of his eyes.
Draco looked up from his book with an impassive face. "What?"
"Why is Sir Fluffybutt...there?" Harry pointed to their cat, sleeping beatifically on a... "Is that an automatic baby swing?"
"Hm?" Draco looked at Sir Fluffybutt with a fond grin. "Oh, today I accompanied Granger to that Muggle place where they sell all kinds of things--"
"The supermarket?"
"That, exactly. And I saw it, and I thought... well, Sir Fluffybutt sure would love that."
Harry looked at the cat languorously stretch himself on the swing, slowly undulating. He looked at peace with the world.
"Draco, that's...that's for babies. Not cats!"
Draco's expression didn't change one bit. He cocked his head. "Well, that's even better. So when the baby will come we'll already have something useful."
Harry contemplated his husband looking lovingly at Sir Fluffybutt, and even if a sarcastic remark about being a gigantic dork Cat Dad who still knows nothing about Muggles was forming in his mind, he couldn't voice it.
Warnings: Draco's naked bum. This is absolute softness and fluff.
"Is this how you're going to be like every time we have sex?"
For some reason, Draco's not surprised that Harry's the cuddly type—not when he's all hands and light touches and brushes of fingers ever since they started dating. Still, Draco feels the need to point it out.
"No," Harry answers, a soft mutter against Draco's head. Draco finds that he likes the way that Harry's warm breath tickles. "...does it bother you?" He shifts as if to move away, but Draco tilts his head and Harry nuzzles back in.
"It doesn't. Even if you're worse than my pet kneazle."
Harry snorts. "I am not."
"You are, actually. If you're not careful she might get jealous."
Next to him, Harry starts shaking—the soft hum of laughter vibrating against the roots of Draco's hair, sending a warm gust of pure fondness straight to his chest. "You're ridiculous. Do shut up, you're ruining the moment."
"Shut up? But you seemed to quite like me loud. At least, you liked it when you were—" Draco yelps when Harry pinches him.
"You are horrible. Shush."
"I'm pretty sure that's not what you were saying a couple of minutes ago..." Draco points out. "In fact, I'm quite certain the word you used was the opposite of 'horrible'. Do remind me what it was. I'm having trouble recalling..."
"Oh my god," Harry chuckles, sounding exasperated and giddy and embarrassed all at the same time. "Draco."
"Closer, but not quite."
"Oh, fuck you."
Draco's grin widens and he feels Harry slump against him, maybe realizing just exactly how he fell into that one quite easily. "I am nothing if not versatile. If you'd give me a few minutes we could—"
Harry laughs, tackles Draco into the bed, and cuts him off with a long kiss.
(The world was on fire and no one could save me but you)
That night I thought that we were back in the Room of Requirement. The crisp smell of fire and the smoky tang of ash suffocated me, but it was the piercing screams of our daughter that startled us into consciousness. It wasn’t a dream, after all.
(Strange what desire will make foolish people do)
The Aurors say that it was a group of Muggle-born extremists that set our house on fire, my love. They wanted to cleanse me of your ‘horrible Death Eater influence’, as they so elegantly put it. You would laugh if you were awake, Draco. I know you would. Please wake up.
(I never dreamed that I’d love someone like you)
It’s ironic, really. If I recall correctly, our nightmares about Fiendfyre seemed to bring us together during our Eighth Year. I would hate if the same thing were to break us apart.
... I wonder if they chose fire for that reason.
(And I never dreamed that I’d lose somebody like you)
Lily and I are fine, I assure you. We sustained some minor injuries, but we’re good as new. Hermione brought her by earlier today, Draco. She babbled on for ten minutes. No one knew what she was saying. Could you hear her, my love? Can you hear me?
(What a wicked game you play, to make me feel this way)
It was all thanks to your quick thinking Lily and I were able to get out on time. You can’t leave this world quite yet, love. Lily needs her other father. She needs you, Draco. We need you. I need you.
(What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you)
The twitch of a pale finger.
The flutter of an eyelash.
The quiver of your lips.
The rasp of your voice.
“Harry?”
When I say I spent days thinking about this prompt, I’m not lying. My first instinct was to kill off Draco (bc for some reason making Harry depressed is my default setting) but I decided on a more hopeful ending. Enjoy!
Written for the @drarrymicrofic lyric prompt: “Wicked game” by Chris Isaak
written for 2/23/21 @drarrymicrofic prompt “return”
word count: 420
He didn’t tell him, when he returned to their flat early and was questioned on the special occasion. He’d just shrugged, and given what he hoped was his usual disarming smile, turning back from hanging his cloak to grab the glass of red wine that had been poured in celebration.
He wasn’t sure quite why he was like this, perhaps borne from years of secrets and trying to keep his own self hidden from the darkness that lived just up the stone-walled corridor. But he tucked anything new away - good or bad - and let them unfurl inside him instead; Pansy had told him once that it was his way of processing, but it didn’t ever feel like that. It felt more like numbness, a cold shock spiraling insidiously, writhing and wringing him from the inside out until he felt helpless to the flood.
So he lounged with Harry, heartbeats like seconds, each counting down to the breaking of his surface. He grasped desperately, almost pleading with the shock to stay with him, just a few moments more, so he could soak up the heartbreaking normalcy before feelings of too much would overtake him.
Later that night, he held tightly to Harry’s shoulders, hips, hands, lips begging him silently, body and skin dragging against him, wanting to be pulled under. His back arching, bowing to the welcome blankness, feeling each hot breath placed against his neck in excruciating detail. He promised himself he would remember, that this moment would anchor him back to himself, to Harry. Because in the face of grief, he forgets, floats on whirling waves of torment, lashes out to gain a single breath.
Tucked against his husband, bodies sticky cool in the shaded moonlight, he’s finally pulled under the rip tide. He is drowning, arms clutched to his chest, curled in on himself in a haunting antithesis of their lovemaking.
“Harry-” he gasped, mouth struggling to form the words and let them spill, “Lucius is- Father is- he’s-”
He tightens his eyes, grits his teeth, wanting to shove it all away, far from here, where he’s made himself a hideaway of comfort, and love, and Harry. This feeling, this darkness, the overarching dismay - it doesn’t belong here, and it’s been a long time since he’s brought it home.
Harry tightens his hold around his trembling frame, silent in his understanding; knowing, somehow, that the words will come easier without having to face him.
“Terminal,” he whispers to the dark, hands sliding to cling at his lifeline.
Draco and Harry being way too happy about quarantine because they both already prefer to stay indoors except in quidditch situations... To the annoyance of their friends of course...
Catch Ron flooing in the middle of the afternoon dying to go out, basically pulling his hair out because he feels he's going crazy... And Harry and Draco pick up and Harry's on Draco's lap on their comfy sitting room chair, sipping hot cocoa and enjoying her best life.
Pansy calling, begging Draco to just go shopping with her before she absolutely loses her mind... And Draco can't because she's making a very intricate, massive lasagna and will be in the kitchen for another hour at least, and Harry walks past, not noticing the floo call, wearing only her underwear and bringing in all of the breakfast in bed dishes, kissing Draco on the cheek, humming, happy as ever, which only causes Pansy to throw a shoe at them through the floo but neither of them care.
Basically... Domestic quarantine fem!drarry plz and thank you
