royal_musings | Dark Marks [01] for Circumpolar

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Dark Marks [01] for Circumpolar

This was not the way Harry Potter had imagined his life to be when he was a first year back at Hogwarts and just learning about this world.

Of course, after that first year and the years following, he thought himself lucky if he made it past Hogwarts in the first place.

It had been five years since the end of the war. The wizarding community was continuing to be rebuilt as the days, months and years went by. He had friends that had been a invaluable support to him during and after the war. Not only that, but he had a strong and beautiful woman who had been by his side since that final battle.

A woman that would be his wife in less than 48 hours.

It wasn't who he had expected by any stretch of the imagination but she had been there and they had grown closer than he ever imagined he would after Draco.

Draco, the boy Harry had considered his best friend for a number of years had ran off at some point during that final battle and he hadn't heard from him since. It had been infuriating but most of all, he had been... upset when he hadn't heard a peep from him the years since.

Harry shook his head and gave himself a look over in the mirror. It didn't do to dwell.

He had never been a vain man but he wanted to make sure the fit and color was just right. It was. He had learned some things over the years being best friends with a boy who made sure he looked impeccable.

He thanked the shop keeper after changing back into his every day robes, hung the dress robes over his arm and left the shop. It was mere minutes later that he returned to the flat he was renting and banished the robes to his closet. Harry took a moment to look around the front room and allowed himself a little smile. It was a far cry from where he started.

He wasn't needed anywhere for another few hours. It was just plenty of time to have some tea and catch up on some communication with friends.

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It was an odd sound to Draco, truth be told. If he had been asked when the last time he had laughed was, he wasn't sure he could say. He couldn't have even sworn it was a sound he'd made before.

"Yeah well, I'm the most hunted." He had tried to kill Dumbledore. He had been part of that and people knew it. So many stories had gone on, made him to be so many things. Some of them he had been. Some of them he hadn't. Potter was the only one he expected to listen to him and listen to the truth.

"I trust you though, so I trust them." Even if he would be shocked when he saw just who it was. Being known, and knowing who they were, was not the same thing.

He was quiet for a time. "I had thought to get a dragon when I considered it. Something to show who I am, and stronger than the snake."

"Draco, people know you're not the one who killed him," he said, stopping to look at Draco closely. "They know who really did it and even why he did it. They know it wasn't you who... pulled the trigger, so to speak." Draco Malfoy, was honestly from what he knew, was one of the last people the Ministry wanted to bring in. He had been there that night, after all.

His mouth curled up a little, hearing that Draco still trusted him. "I'm glad you trust me still," he admitted. Though, honestly, the fact that Draco had sent him that note and wanted to meet with him and then trusted him with leading him to this tattoo shop, he hadn't truly doubted that. "It's not misplaced."

"A dragon fits you," he said with a smile, looking over at him. They came to a stop in front of a lit tattoo shop and pulled open the door to allow Draco through first. Pansy would already be gone and for that, he was thankful. Seamus and Dean would be only easier to deal with right off than Pansy would be just now.

"I know that, but they also know I was one of them. They know what I went there to do," he pointed out. "I don't think it's just Death Eaters who were hunting Mother and I down," he admitted. "Though they were the ones that found her."

He didn't think the other side was trying to kill them, but they would have faced the rest of their lives in Azkaban.

"Of course I still trust you, Harry. Maybe not the rest of the world, but of course I trust you." That had not changed for him. Not in the least. He cared about the boy too much.

"Well, apparently my parents had something right," he said in dry tones, though his lips were twitching into a smile, even as it faded as they came to a stop.

He paused, taking a breath. "Okay, just open the door before I remember all I know anymore is running," he said softly.

"They know but they also know that you weren't the one to actually do it," he said, looking at him. "There's been plenty of people who killed and died in this war. I worked on clearing Severus' name and I attempted to clear yours and Narcissa's... but without either of you present, it was hard." He had tried. He didn't do much for Lucius because as far as he was concerned, the man had earned his place wherever he ended up but now, he wished he had actually gotten him for something so Draco didn't have to look over his shoulder.

Of course that didn't mean all was good and well in the wizarding world. After five years, it was still a shit storm and no matter what he did or what he said at any of the bloody Ministry functions, it didn't change a person's prejudice against anyone who wasn't 100% 'light'. It was probably one of the things that bothered him the most if he was completely honest. It had also been Flag #1 that made Harry realize he didn't want to become an Auror. He had simply been going through the motions at that point, hoping that he could sway people's beliefs. But now... now, he had something else with Draco here. He could make his own life now.

It was bloody fucking exciting.

His mouth curled up a little and reached over to grab his hand, giving it a squeeze, glad he could touch him again and have his best friend back.

Harry nodded and opened the door to the shop and allowed Draco through first. "Finnigan? Thomas? You around?"

"Harry! What are you doing here so late? Shouldn't you be having some sort of stag night," Seamus Finnigan asked, walking out of the backroom and stopping at the counter. It took him a moment to spot Draco Malfoy next to Harry before turning a questioning look at The Boy Who Saved Them From Destruction. "What's this then?"

"Not as if we had a choice to be present," he noted. Not with the Death Eaters chasing them down trying to kill them for their betrayal. Not those hoping to get some kind of reward from the Ministry should they bring them in. There was little Draco or Narcissa could do but to keep running.

Draco suspected there would be some name who would never get forgiveness, no matter how many generations came along. They would be forever answering for crimes, real or imagined, that their ancestors had perpetrated.

Which was why Draco was glad for the idea of leaving, for walking away from it all. He was elated for it. Somewhere where Draco Malfoy was just a pale man with a matching mane of pale hair.

His fingers kept held of Harry's even as the door opened, stepping in and trying to act normal, chin up, just as if this was nothing.

"This is me saving him from wallowing in Ginny and him ditching one another," he said, and it wasn't that far off from what had actually happened. Just pretending like it was normal for Draco to be there.

"I know," he admitted and he hated that. Harry hated that Draco and Narcissa had been on the run from rogue Death Eaters and rogue light wizards who was under the impression that everyone who so much as looked at Dark Magic needed to be round up.

It didn't matter anymore and he knew that. They would escape this narrow minded society. It would help. They'd have each other at the very least.

After this and one last stop to Grimmauld Place, then they would be free.

Seamus arched an eyebrow, staring at Draco then at Harry before staring at Draco. He opened his mouth to speak before being cut off.

"Well can't say I didn't see that one coming, mate," Dean said, walking out of the back room, wiping his hands on a paper towel. "I could see a mile away you had a preference. So what can we do for you boys?"

Harry narrowed a look in Dean's general direction before shrugging a shoulder, not deeming that with a response. "Tattoos. One cover up and one for myself. I expect this to be confidential like all your others?"

"Course. We owe you one anyway. We may be Gryffindor's but we are good on our promises," Seamus said, flicking his wand to close the blinds and turn the sign around to 'Closed.' Pansy had already left for the night and they weren't expecting anyone else at this hour. "You're lucky we're still here."

Draco could put on a brave face, and he could act "normal". At least as close as normal came for him, but he also knew that there was no hiding from Harry how nervous he was. Harry was too close not to feel the tension, his own fingers so tightly holding to the slender, skilled digits of the "boy who lived".

"Well, that makes only you. I only saw a future grave so this is a damn surprise for me," he admitted, tones as regal and smug as they might have always been but the words were honest.

"I take it then she's not here?" He had been told, and he would much rather face Seamus and Dean than Pansy. He needed to avoid her at all costs in his mind, especially right now.

"Potter swore you would be. Guess you spend too much time working for him to know that."

Dean shook his head. "She had to leave early tonight otherwise she would be. Well, no, she wouldn't - she likes to sneak out when it's slow like this," he admitted with an amused look. It hadn't bothered Seamus or himself. She was surprisingly pretty good at greeting people and scheduling their tattoos. It actually helped having her at the front to pave the way for some of their clients who weren't unsure about two past Gryffindors.

"We've spent enough time, yeah. We've been trying to get Potter in here but he's never taken us up on it," Seamus laughed while Harry rolled his eyes. "So, what were you guys thinking for subject matter?"

Harry gave Draco's hand a squeeze before motioning to his left forearm with his free hand. "I was thinking of a phoenix on my left arm here."

Seamus nodded before looking at Draco. "And your thoughts?"

That got a bark of laughter from Draco. "Well, glad to see some things haven't changed." Because that definitely sounded utterly like the Pansy he had known.

"It was actually his idea, though I think it's just me already being here that got him to actually do it," he admitted. "So you can thank me," he said, smirking. It seemed when putting on a show, he definitely sounded like himself.

"I need it covered up," he said, moving to just barely pull up his sleeve over the Dark Mark. "A dragon is what I had in mind, because I'm cheesy and obviously go with the obvious," he added. All jokes and sarcasm made it okay, right?

"Merlin forbid," Dean gasped in mock shock but sent an amused smirk in Draco's location. "I think she fully believes that if she stayed past midnight she'll turn into a pumpkin or squash of some sort." Cinderella was one of those fairy tales he still wasn't sure magical children were told. Harry though, he was sure Harry would recognize that analogy and if the laugh from the savior was of any indication he was correct.

Seeing Draco interact with Seamus and Dean reminded Harry quite a bit of the old days. Still, he could see the shadows in the other man's eyes and the way he boasted that hid how he truly felt. He wasn't going to say anything. Not now. Not after everything they'd been through tonight.

Merlin. He still couldn't believe Draco Malfoy was here. Again.

"As usual, he will take all the credit," Harry drawled out with a smirk though not at all serious or put off by it.

Seamus nodded. "A dragon and a phoenix, fitting pair for the lot of you. Dean and I will put somethin' together for you two then we'll be back, yeah. See what you think of 'em? Shouldn't take long." Magic made things much faster, thankfully. Still, he had a feeling that the dragon and phoenix were going to be some of their best work.

Draco was trying to keep his serious, Slytherin expression but that comment makes him almost smile. Almost, just a hint of it there curving his lips. "I think that sounds like the perfect spell that needs to take place. Just for a moment or two."

Not that he should be encouraging transfiguring his old friend but he couldn't help himself.

Seamus laughed, nudging Dean with a smirk. "Nice to see after all this some things haven't changed." Malfoy was still Malfoy. Even if he's standing there holding Potter's hand. Not that that's all that surprising, just disconcerting in a way.

"Potter believes you will be able to negate whatever magic might remain in the Mark," Draco said, hesitating only ever so slightly over his words. "Is that actually possible?"

That was the million dollar question, wasn't it? Seamus looked at Dean. "That's... possible?"

Dean gave the blonde a mischievous smile. A moment or two wouldn't hurt. Though whether or not Pansy would return afterward was another matter. He threw an arm around Seamus' shoulders and gave it a squeeze. "After everything that's changed in our world, it's nice to know somethings don't, yeah?"

Harry snorted and rolled his eyes. "So long as Seamus' isn't the one to do the spell. He may blow something up," he gave the man a teasing look. Though he knew of the man's skills. He was less likely to blow things up unintentionally these days than he did when they were in school together.

Dean gave Seamus a look then returned his gaze to Malfoy and Potter. "We've had success so far with those we've done so far. We can't promise that it won't ever flair up again but so far it's been effective. Still willing to give it a shot?"

Harry gave Draco's hand a squeeze. Of those he'd talked to about this sort of work, they hadn't felt anything since they received the tattoo. They could work on other solutions if this failed. Between the two of them, anything was possible.

Seamus laughed, leaning into that touch, resting his head on Dean's shoulder for a moment. "Veela blood will out," he teased, amused because really that was part of who Draco was and not just about him being a Malfoy.

"And hey! I haven't blown up anything in years. At least not without meaning to," he pointed out, because they both knew there were things that went boom, but never on accident these days. "But it's possible, and part of it lies in your desire to severe that tie, so I suspect you'll manage as well as most if not better."

There was a serious note to his tones in that moment.

Draco gave Harry's hand a squeeze. "Then let's do it. I need to know they can't find me. They're still trying," he admitted, glancing between them. "But we were careful."

Dean felt himself smile as Seamus leaned into him. He loved when the other man did that. Just having that moment meant so much when at one point in time, he didn't dare to think they'd have any moments like that. He chuckled at the good natured teasing between all of them. The fact that two once upon a time Slytherins could get along so well with two former Gryffindors like themselves? That should make headlines by itself! He sobered for a moment and nodded in agreement with what Seamus said. "As with most magic, it's also dependent on intent. If your intent is to severe that tie, it will succeed."

Harry nodded in agreement. "We were very careful."

"Then we will get a move on with the sketch, run it by you and get it going, yeah? Make yourselves comfortable," Dean said, nodding to the chairs that were charmed to be more comfortable than they probably looked. "Tea? Biscuits? Firewhiskey? Can we get you anything while you wait?"

The country had approved their relationship, but the wizarding world wasn't always as progressive. It was one of the reasons they did so much of their life caught between the two worlds. They had quickly learned neither of them were right and neither of them were entirely wrong, and they had to forge their own life in-between.

"It will break then," Draco said with the same dark determination he had shown in so many things in the past, so many things he had been willing to get rid of and plan for the future. Just as he was doing now. "And honestly, a firewhiskey would be nice."

Seamus smiled and nodded. "Good then. I hate wasting my work," he admitted, grinning as he nudged Dean before pulling out his wand and giving a flick of it.

A pair of tumblers and a decanter drifted over to a table by the chairs. "Help yourselves."

Dean nodded and grinned, watching Seamus summon the decanter and tumblers. "Just don't drink too much. We need you coherent when it's time," he said with a smirk. He made sure they were properly closed before walking toward his desk to start on Draco's sketch. He'd always wanted to truly test his skills for a magic dragon.

"We make no promises," Harry said with a grin before sitting down on the sofa they had available and poured them each a couple fingers full. He couldn't believe it was only a few hours ago that he received that note from Draco and met up with him just like old days. He'd missed the blonde. Not only because he fancied him but because Draco really had been his best friend for years. It may take time for them to both get used to having each other around again but he was up to it. "Here," he said, handing one tumbler over to Draco.

"I suspect Draco is better company drunk," Seamus teased, moving to get the supplies ready for his partner, glad for what they had together in this place. And they worked so easily together, the shop made for them.

"Are they certain I need to be sober," he asked, taking the tumbler and making himself sip and not gulp, much as he wanted to. "I could use a chance to be wasted," he sighed, looking to Harry. "I can't believe you just came like that, are helping me. After all this... I just... Thank you."

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Dark Marks [01] for Circumpolar

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And if you want to go ahead and take over Seamus go for it! :) I wasn't sure!

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