Muggle Vices

He helped Draco with the expenses that the meetings created. He accompanied him to the appointments and offered a supporting shoulder. Through it all Harry stood by the blond, comforting Hermione for him when the need arose. When Draco and Hermione gave up all hope it was Harry who kept the hope alive. He wasn't ready to give up; he didn't know if he ever would be, either way he was going to stick by Draco to the end.

It didn't seem fair that once Draco changed that he should be punished. And that's what it was, wasn't it? Punishment for something that he didn't seem able to control. He'd fought with all his being to overcome and for what; this losing hand that had been dealt him? Someone had a cruel sense of humor, to make the blond pay for his insolence after he'd grown. They'd had long conversations about the problem and just because a change had been made didn't mean that the consequences were negated. Harry began to feel hopeless yet again.

Harry had come home from work one day to find Draco passed out; three feet shy of the bedroom. The worse flitted through his mind before he threw it out, giving the blond the benefit of the doubt, although it didn't help matters any when he failed to respond to any of the prodding. Harry rushed him to the emergency room in a panic, doubt beginning to flood his mind. Draco spent a full week in the hospital before being released, this time to start a whole new set of programs. It was worse then they'd suspected; Draco was suffering from liver cancer.

The first thing they'd done was go to a wizard hospital to see if anything could be done magically. What they found made them sadder then the actual news of the disease; curing disease was like curing death. It could not be done. They're only option was to get Draco on the donor's list at a muggle hospital. The problem with this was that he'd be at the bottom of the list, a long list and livers were in short supply. It looked as if the only thing they could for the time being was wait.

The news was devastating but Harry refused to let it put a damper in his plans. It was just the thing the blond needed to take his mind off the new problem. After telling Hermione the news nearly fifteen months ago, she'd been very supportive. She'd even gone as far as to throw them the party and plan the ceremony. Now, nearly a whole year later, they had an upcoming anniversary.

The affair was small and intimate. They'd gone to their favorite Italian restaurant. It was family owned and quiet so they could enjoy themselves and just chat. They laughed like old times as if nothing was amiss, reminisced about they're school days and were just carefree. If only for a little while Harry felt like things were how they could have been if Draco hadn't been dealt a bad hand. Hermione had surprised them and had a small quartet sing them romantic love songs in Italian. He'd rarely seen Draco's eyes light up the way they had that night but he was determined to see it the rest of his life. He'd made a mental note to look into alternative routes.

"I don't remember when I enjoyed myself this much in one night."

Hermione cast a doubtful eye but kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to tread in water that wasn't ready to tread in just yet.

Seeing her glance, Draco laughed and corrected himself. "I don't remember enjoying myself this much sober." His smile was bright and his eyes shone and this time if was from happiness and not a cheap alcohol.

"Well, I didn't want to be the one to say it but..." She chuckled.

"It's just so nice to be able to talk about it and know it's in the past. You know?" He shrugged his shoulders sitting down beside her on the sofa.

"Yeah, we now and we've never been happier to look on something in the past and know that we'll never have to look forward to it again."

He laughed again. "Not even the war, Harry?"

"Well maybe that."

They laughed for awhile sharing private jokes and personal mishaps. The evening wrapped up as midnight grew closer. Hermione bid her farewells and made her way home as the couple prepared themselves for bed. They chatted a bit before snuggling into each others warmth. The evening sobered as they became lost in their own thoughts.

Even with all the happiness that they'd found there was still storm clouds hanging over head. It seemed that they were destined to always have to fight in battle, one way or another. Harry never considered a battle lost, not when he still was standing. So this newest war was just a bump in the road and it was always easier to go over a bump then to go around it.

"I want you to know that I love you and appreciate everything you've done for me."

Holding the body next to him closer he pressed a kiss to the warm forehead. "I know and I love you more for being able to accept that help." He relished in the secure feeling that held him captive.

"I want you to remember how much I mean to you even after I'm gone."

"Oh," he looked contemplative. "You're planning a trip that I'm not invited on?"

"Harry, you know exactly what I mean."

He closed his eyes. "Draco, can we just forget about it? Just for this one night?"

"I will, for you I will." Draco settled down in the warmth keeping his thoughts to himself, for now. He didn't want to make the man who was everything to him unhappy. It'd be soon enough that he'd have to face reality. Soon enough they'd both have to face reality. He just hoped that Harry would be stronger than he was.

Harry read up on the procedure at the local library. It seemed easy and he could find out without getting his hopes up. He'd talked to Hermione about it and she didn't see any harm in it. They'd gone down to the local hospital together to get tested. Harry was disappointed that he couldn't be a donor. It hurt that the one person he loved with all his heart and being, he couldn't help. They were still waiting for Hermione's results but they didn't hold any false hope. It wouldn't suffice to get their hopes up yet again just to be let down. It was disappointing but it was expected.

He was a little confused about the tissue types and blood types. He didn't get why if you were a blood match you wouldn't be a tissue match too. It just seemed a little confusing, so while he knew that him and the blond didn't have the same blood type it was still possible for them to be a tissue match. Right? He decided that just going to the hospital and finding out would be easier then trying to figure out all the medical lingo, the books provided, on his own.

He was deep in conversation with Hermione when the doctor came in. They were ready to cut their loses; pretend that they'd never held out the hope that one of them were a match. He was more then read to go and he felt that Hermione probably shared in his sentiment. He put on his coat and gloves as the doctor pulled her aside to talk to her. As they were leaving she seemed quieter then normal, lost in her thoughts. He'd begin to feel bad that he'd dragged her down here. It was his fault that she was feeling down, he felt like a complete ass.

"Hermione, it wasn't as if we didn't know that this would be, could be futile. Don't let it get to you. It was worth a shot, you know?" He sounded so defeated and it wasn't something he was happy about.

Hermione stopped and looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Harry, I..." she wiped her eyes and tried to smile. Looking down at the ground she tried to calm her breathing. It just all seemed too surreal. Wringing her hands she continued walking causing him to double time it to catch up with her. "It's not that. It's, it's..." She giggled girlishly.

Harry was confused, one minute she was crying the next she was laughing and giggling. Did she see something funny that he'd missed? "Then what is it?" This time it was him to stop.

"I'm a match. I can help him!"