Chapter Text
November 22nd, 1998
Draco shuffled in the hospital wing and found an empty bed for him to sit on, he let out a quiet sigh and glanced at the moon shining outside from the window. It was dark already, but he didn’t feel like going back to his dorm. Ever since he got back to Hogwarts to attend the last year here, he has been feeling lonely. His friends were still there for him, but he still felt like something was missing, his heart was empty, and he yearned to be filled.
“Draco, would you mind taking care of the hospital wing for me for a while? I have to go see Minnie” Madam Pomfrey placed her hand on his shoulder, and he gave her a curt nod before she walked out.
It was exactly three months ago when Draco found his new curiosity for healing, it was surprising even for him. There was a food poisoning incident back then with the pumpkin pies, every student that ate it immediately needed treatment. Draco was the only few who didn’t eat it, since he hated pumpkins. When he carried a pale and weak Pansy into the hospital wing, it was full of other students already, and he ended up having to heal her himself before she got any worse. Turned out, what he did to Pansy caught Madam Pomfrey’s eyes and she had asked him to be her assistant in the hospital wing, helping her whenever she needed it.
She had told him he was good at it and promised him a place as a Healer in St. Mungo’s after he graduated from Hogwarts. He didn’t believe her at first, but eventually he realised she was a kind woman, and she couldn’t be lying. And he has been helping her for three months now, already preparing for a future where he saved people. He didn’t expect himself to be a Healer, yet he found himself loving the feeling when he helped people, it made him feel…good, as if he wanted to make up for his past of doing bad things to others.
His last year here was a new year for him, he wanted to change, and he started being civil to everyone. Not Potter particularly, he just avoided any encounter he might have with Potter or his friends, he couldn’t come up with anything nice to say, let alone an apology. He wanted to, but it was an impossible thing for him to do.
Draco rubbed his hands together, even with the warming charm, he still felt the cold around him, it wasn’t called the coldest day of the month for nothing. Draco’s thoughts were interrupted when he saw a shadow of someone coming in the hospital wing, he straightened his back and stood up on his feet, only to feel anxious when he realised who it was.
“Oh, you” Potter looked at him and glanced around the hospital wing, holding his right arm while his face was slightly frowning, he wasn’t sure it was caused because he saw Draco or because of the pain “Is Madam Pomfrey here?”
“No, she just went out” He said shortly, eyes fixed on the injured arm, he wondered what Potter did again to cause this. Potter was draping a scarf over his neck loosely, it seemed like he didn’t feel cold at all.
“Never mind” Potter grumbled and spun on his heels to walk out. Draco could ignore him, Potter already has Granger, who was a fairly good witch at healing, she would heal him, Draco didn’t need to worry.
“Wait” Draco called out, and Potter turned around to look at him under his glasses. He stepped forward and pointed at the bed “Sit down, I can heal you”
“I don’t need it”
“Fine, be stubborn, don’t come crying to me later when your arm is broken”
“Don’t patronise me” Potter snapped at him, his nose scrunching up at the pain on his arm “You’re so bloody annoying, Malfoy”
“I’m annoying?” Draco scoffed loudly and folded his arms together “I’m not the clumsy twat that broke his arm in the middle of the night”
“Why don’t you just shut your mouth?”
“I wanted to help you, Potter, but it seems like you’re a brat that can’t hold a decent conversation with others”
“I don’t need your help, I would rather break my arm than having you healed it”
“Fine, break your arm then, I don’t care” Draco snarled at him, he wanted to play nice, but Potter just has to mess it all up and made him angry “I’m not the one that just left the other to die on the floor like you, at least I wanted to help you” He watched the way Potter flinched at what he said, he wasn’t sure why he even mentioned that event, he was too furious to think straight.
They stared at each other for what felt like ages before Potter took a step forward and headed to the bed next to where Draco was standing. He noticed the blood dripping from his forehead to his scar first, Draco leaned closer, holding in his breath as if he was afraid of their close proximity right now. He grazed his hand over Potter’s hair, pushing it up to see where the blood had started, luckily it wasn’t much. He also realised Potter’s hair was softer than he had imagined, he thought it would be crispy, but no, it was a nice feeling under his hand.
“Do you feel dizzy?” He asked, touching on the place with no blood on his forehead, observing if Potter has any reaction to it “Headache, blurry vision, trouble walking, nausea?”
“Er, no” Potter answered and Draco exhaled in relief, the Gryffindor didn’t have a concussion, that was better. The blond took a deep breath before pulling out his wand to heal the injury on his head “Take off your robes” Draco said and Potter slowly opened his robes, flinching at his moves and Draco has to take over “Stop, sit still, I will do it” He ordered, pulling the robes off entirely and his scarf as well. He still has a layer of shirt left, Draco placed his hand on his forearm, Potter didn’t react, he moved his hand up to his upper arm and Potter’s face scrunched up a little, he traced up and earned a hiss from Potter when he touched his shoulder blade “I need to take off your shirt”
“What?”
“Your pain is on your shoulder, I need to get a closer look to see if there is any bruise. And if there is, I need to check on its colour. You can’t roll up your sleeve that high” Draco said, as much as he disliked it, it was non-negotiable. When Potter gave him a nod, Draco raised his hand to start taking off his tie and unbuttoning his shirt. More and more skins were revealed, and it wasn’t like Draco hasn’t seen other students here before. Lots of them have accidents during Quidditch, he was used to it already, but seeing Potter’s was an entirely different thing, it was a messed up thought he has.
He slid the shirt off Potter gently so he wouldn’t cause any further pain. Draco’s mouth parted when he saw the bruising upper arm, it was all swelled up and discoloured “Do you feel any tingling feeling on your arm?”
“I’m sorry” Potter whispered quietly when Draco leaned closer to examine his arm. The blond was stunned and looked up at the Gryffindor, their eyes met and he felt like blushing. He knew why Potter said that, two words were enough to cover everything else. They weren’t supposed to feel this close, so why was Draco feeling warm all of a sudden like this? He cleared his throat and looked back at Potter’s swollen arm.
“You haven’t answered my question”
“Oh, yeah, it hurts when I touch it, and it’s hard for me to move” Potter said, and Draco didn’t dare look up again. He has a fractured shoulder, Draco was sure, but he didn’t know why.
“You fractured your shoulder blade” Draco stood up and gazed at Potter, this time he has to, he couldn’t tell a patient bad news without looking into their eyes. The blond swallowed and looked down, murmuring the words out loud “I’m sorry too” He said, and he meant it, for all the things he had done. There was no better time than this, especially when Potter had just apologised to him too. When he looked back, Potter still has his eyes on him “What did you do?”
“What?”
“What did you do to your arm? You fractured your shoulder”
“I, er, I was on my broom” Potter explained as Draco took a look at the bruise again, it was already spreading all over his upper arm “I was flying, and I lost balance, I…fell”
“You were flying alone?” Draco asked, arching an eyebrow at him. It was rare to see Potter alone, he was always with some Gryffindors “Not with Granger or Weasley?”
“No, uh, I was alone, I…I wanted to be alone for a bit. I kept flying, trying to search for something, I don’t know what I want to find, but, er, I just feel like I’m missing something” The blond was taken aback again by what Potter said, because it sounded like him. Potter didn’t look at him anymore, his eyes glued on their feet on the floor. Draco held his wand tightly and raised his arm up, pointing it at the Gryffindor’s shoulder.
“Brackium Emendo” Draco murmured the incantation, observing the way his magic healed Potter’s arm. As soon as it looked normal again, he let his wand down and touched Potter’s shoulder, getting a hiss from the Gryffindor “What? Are you still in pain?”
“No, no” Potter said, looking at the blond and stuttered the next few words out “Er, it’s your hand, it’s cold”
“Oh” Draco balled his hands into fist, retreating from the previous position and standing straight up “Sorry, my hands are always cold”
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way” Potter leaned forward, but Draco stepped back, looking out at the window. He knew his hands were always cold, there was no way he could warm it up “Why don’t you just use a warming charm?”
“It doesn’t work” Draco snapped a little bit harder than usual, he was angry, he wasn’t sure why. Potter’s words meant nothing to him.
“Can I try?” Potter said, holding his own wand in his hand. Draco gazed him with suspicion in his eyes but nodded anyway. He could feel Potter’s magic coursing through him, running under his skin, but it didn’t work “Can I, er, touch your hands? To see if it worked?” Draco bit on his lower lip, hesitating before extending his hands. They fit perfectly in Potter’s hands, but he didn’t want to pay attention to that, because what caught his interest was the warmth of Potter. His hands were practically burning, making Draco’s hands melt into him. A small content hum was out of his throat before he noticed it, Draco met Potter’s eyes and jerked his hands back.
“I told you it didn’t work” Draco said, realising that Potter was still sitting half shirtless in the hospital wing, he pointed at the robes and looked away “Put your clothes back on, you’re fine now”
“Are you blushing?” Potter asked him along with a chuckle when Draco turned around so the Gryffindor could do it privately “It’s okay, we’re both guys”
“I’m gay” He blurted out “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, and it’s the decent thing to do” He turned around when there was complete silence behind him. Potter was done, but he was staring at Draco “What? I’m not embarrassed about my sexuality”
“Er, no, I didn’t mean…” Potter said, standing up and stuttering like a kid “I just thought…no, never mind that” He exhaled and headed for the door, he looked at Draco, eyes focused on him and the corner of his lips turned up for a small smile “Er, thank you, Malfoy”
“Try not to be so clumsy next time” He reminded Potter, the Gryffindor always has a knack for damaging himself.
“You’re always here, right?” Potter asked, leaving Draco speechless before walking out of the hospital wing. That was…something. Draco sighed, turning around and noticing the red and yellow scarf left on the bed. Potter must have forgotten to put it back on. Draco touched the warm fabric and picked it up, it still felt like it has Potter’s warmth on. And suddenly, it didn’t feel like the coldest night anymore, the blond shook his head and quickly erased the thought. He must be going crazy.