A Moment in Time

A Moment in Time

Chapter Five - Adjusting

The next few days were spent largely by Draco trying to coax Harry into leaving the apartment. It was sad how timid and fearful of people the previously brave and independent Gryffindor had become. After two days of nothing but staring out the window people watching, Draco had finally convinced Harry to go get a haircut.

Draco planned their first outing carefully, paying attention to the small details, like when the streets and stores would be less busy. First, they were going to take care of that mess Harry referred to as his hair, then they were going to have an early lunch, and after that if Harry was agreeable, a walk through Central Park.

Harry cursed softly. Draco turned to look at the well dressed man. Harry was wearing a pair of casual black pants and a lightweight dark green v-neck sweater. "What's wrong now, Harry?"

Harry looked over at the blonde nervously. "Are you sure about this, Dray? I don't know if it's really worth the risk. What if someone recognizes me? I still have this damn scar you know, and the Ministry of Magic is sure to have warned other magical and muggle communities about my escape. Remember the media frenzy when Black escaped? Everyone will be looking for me."

"Look Harry, we've been through all this before. We have been watching the news nonstop on that television thing and there has been no mention of you what so ever. Since you don't want me using magic here, we'll just use some muggle make up to cover up and disguise the scar."

At Harry's skeptical look, Draco grabbed the other young man by his elbow. "Harry, it is just a short trip outside. You'll be fine, I promise. You know that I wouldn't let anything happen to you, don't you?"

At Harry's small nod, Draco continued. "Besides, what is the alternative? You can't possibly spend the rest of your life in this studio apartment."

Knowing that he was defeated and against his better judgment, Harry allowed Draco to guide him outside.

* * *

Once he was able to relax a bit, Harry found much to his surprise that he was actually enjoying the day. He had allowed Draco sole discretion on his hair cut and found the new style, that was shorter and layered, seemed to tame his uncontrollable locks somewhat. Anything certainly felt better than the long heavy rat's nest that his hair had been.

Lunch was nice, even though Harry was sure that at any moment he would be spotted. But by far his favorite part of the day was their walk through the large city park. Just being able to feel the sun on his face and the gentle breeze that occasionally blew the brightly colored leaves that were still falling from the trees was worth the risk of being seen. It was an unusually warm day for October and Draco made sure that they enjoyed every moment of it.

They even purchased some bread from a street vendor and walked over to the large lake in the middle of the park to feed the ducks. Their path around the lake took them by several young boys playing with remote controlled sailboats. Deciding that this was as good of a place as any to sit for awhile, Draco directed Harry over to an empty park bench.

Fascinated, Draco couldn't take his eyes off the boys. "How are they doing that, Harry?"

Surprised at Draco interest in the muggles Harry couldn't help asking, "Doing what?"

"Well they're muggles aren't they?"

"So"

Feeling as though he could happily ring the Gryffindor's neck, "So how do they make their boats move like that, there are no stings that I can see. How are they controlling those boats, it almost looks like wandless magic."

Forgetting what it would be like to grow up knowing nothing but random prejudicial remarks about the muggle world, Harry pointed out the radio transmitters that each boy held that enabled them to control their respective boat.

"So those boxes are like wands then?"

Harry shook his head, why didn't Draco ever take Muggle Studies in school. "No they're nothing like wands."

"But then how do they do that? I don't understand."

Not feeling up to a discussion about batteries and radio waves, Harry replied simply, "Just because they do."

Not wanting to upset Harry, who had been in a remarkable mood all day, Draco decided to not press his luck and let the matter drop for now and went back to feeding the ever growing crowd of ducks that had gathered around their bench.

"Ow!" Draco turned suddenly and saw that a rather large duck had snuck up on them from behind. "That little bastard bit me."

"Don't take it personal Dray, he hasn't even gotten the chance to know you yet, give him time. He was probably just trying to get your attention. Just throw him some bread and I'm sure he'll soon figure out that it tastes better than you do."

"And exactly how would you know how I taste?" Draco smirked suggestively.

Harry felt his face flush, but before he could formalize a proper retort, Draco was once more cursing. "Damn, he bit me again. I'll show you, no one bites a Malfoy and lives".

All the other birds that had converged on their location scattered in a cloud of feathers and loud squawks as Draco started to chase the poor bird, looking like he wanted to hex everything in sight.

Harry couldn't help but laugh as he watched the man who in one way or another had occupied a substantial part of his thoughts for over eight years corner and then threaten that poor aggressive bird. Not remembering when it was the last time that he had the opportunity to laugh, Harry eventually paused to take a deep breath of the fresh air, wondering how lucky he was to have such a good friend like the one he had in Draco.

* * *

From that day on Harry became a maniac, wanting to be outside all the time. Harry's desire to escape from being surrounded by four walls was so great that he even ventured out by himself. He never went far, sometimes not leaving the bench in front of the apartment building, but Draco took it as a good sign, his Harry was healing.

Before long the pair could be seen spending their days together sight seeing, doing all the tourist type things such as visiting the Statue of Liberty and touring Wall Street. Harry laughed at Draco's disdain at what the muggles deemed a financial center, per the blonde Wall Street was nothing compared to the financial markets in the wizarding world, of which Harry, despite his own substantial wealth, had no experience.

The Slytherin tried to draw the line when Harry wanted to go ice skating at Rockefeller Center on a cold November afternoon. However the blonde's stern resolve melted quickly in light of the puppy dog eyes that his friend was giving him. It was certainly going to be an adventure as neither boy had ice-skated before.

After strapping the unusual shoe things to their feet, they rose unsteadily on the slim steel blades and headed out onto the ice. Draco couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face when Harry, after taking only two steps on the ice, tried to turn and look back at him and fell promptly on his behind.

"Graceful today aren't we, Harry?"

That smirk didn't last long as he quickly joined Harry flat on his back on the ice. "You were saying something Dray?" Harry quipped as he rubbed a sour spot on his bum.

The rest of the morning was spent as Draco tried to chase Harry around the ring, both failing miserably at being able to keep their balance. They were often seen either clinging to the outside wall or to each other in an attempt to remain standing. It's a wonder that two people, who could be so talented and graceful flying broomsticks, couldn't get the hang of a simple muggle activity of moving across a frozen patch of ice. After many smiles and much laughter, they both decided that it was time for them to hang up their skates and go home.

That evening both of them were nursing bruised bodies but felt a good deal happier than they could remember being in a long time. In compensation for the ice skating, Harry allowed Draco to plan their next outing. Unfortunately for Harry, Draco loved art and New York was filled with Art Museums. After the third one in two days, Draco finally took pity on his disgruntled companion and took him out for a nice Italian dinner.

As far as their personal relationship with each other was concerned, Draco just wanted to take things slow. After a few days, he was able to touch Harry without him flinching and on one occasion when they were touring some art gallery or shopping, Harry had even let him hold his hand in public.

Being so close to Harry, but not able to touch him or kiss him in the way that he needed to was torture. Winning the Gryffindor's trust was a slow and frustrating process, but Draco was sure that the prize at the end would be well worth the wait.

* * *

A little over a week after the ice skating debacle, two exhausted young men returned home late one night after going to a play on Broadway. They had gone to see the long running show 'Cats'. Personally, Harry couldn't see what was so great about it, the music was nice but that was about it. He smirked when he thought about what McGonagall would say about the costumes, which resembled a transfiguration project gone bad and strongly reminded him of Granger's Polyjuice Potion mishap in their second year. He was happy though that Draco seemed to enjoy it.

A soft hooting noise greeted them as they entered their apartment. For a minute or so Harry couldn't place the familiar sound, but from the expression on Draco's face he knew that whatever was making that noise couldn't be good.

Worried as to how he had been found, Draco crossed the room and quickly took the correspondence offered from the ragged owl. The exhausted owl appeared to be happy to finally be relieved of his burden and flew to the back of one of the kitchen chairs. Using the chair as a roost, the owl promptly fell asleep.

The Slytherin didn't even notice that his hands were shaking as he opened the weathered parchment.

Harry watched as the blonde quickly scanned the contents of the letter and then returned his eyes to the beginning of the document and reread the message more slowly. Once Harry was assured that Draco had read the correspondence at least twice he inquired, "So, what does it say?"

Hearing the fear in Harry's voice, Draco was quick to reassure him that the letter had nothing to do with him. Draco sighed, "It's from Severus. It appears that my absence has been missed. He's covered for me so far, but he thinks it would be in my best interest to return home and be seen, at least for a short time."

"You're leaving?"

"Look Harry, it's not that I want to leave. But you need to understand, I still have a role to play in this damn war and even though Sev didn't say it directly, I can tell that lives depend on my going back, at least for a short time."

Draco looked up over at where Harry was standing looking out the window.

"You are doing so well now Harry, you're practically fully recovered. When I arrived here a month ago I never expected you to come so far this fast. You're strong and brave, and independent. 'Not to mention beautiful' Draco thought to himself as he cast an appraising glance at the upset Gryffindor. "I know that you will be fine, besides I'll only be gone for a few days."

"Promise you'll come back."

"Yes Harry, I promise I'll come back to you. Besides have I ever lied to you before?"

Harry gave Draco a small smile. "No Dray, You've made fun of me, laughed at me, insulted me, and belittled me; but, you've never actually lied to me. Just try to hurry back because I'll miss you terribly."

Draco crossed the room to where Harry was standing by the window. "I'll come back as soon as I can." Feeling a pull so strong that it could no longer be fought; Draco leaned down and slowly pressed his lips against the slightly smaller man's.

As Draco's lips touched his for the first time, Harry felt a tingle go through his entire body. He felt more alive then he had felt in his entire lifetime. Harry couldn't suppress the moan as he responded and deepened the kiss, clinging to Draco as though he was some sort of lifeline.

Draco didn't know that had possessed him to kiss Harry, his mind was screaming at him that it was too early, that he was going to scare Harry away and set back the progress he had been making over the last month. That all changed as the young Gryffindor's arms rose up and to Draco's amazement didn't push him away but instead wrapped around him and drew him even closer. He felt Harry surrender to the kiss and the gentle kiss soon became more demanding, more urgent. Finally, when he felt that if this continued any longer that he would surely pass out, Draco had no choice but to end the moment.

Resting his head on the other's forehead Draco tried to calm his breathing. "When I get back we are definitely going to explore that aspect of our relationship" his voice had a sexy raspy quality to it that spoke of strong desire.

Harry just blushed.

Reluctantly moving out of the raven-haired man's embrace Draco placed a quick kiss on Harry's forehead. Pulling the emergency portkey that he carried in this pocket that would take him back to Malfoy Manor, Draco called out the activation code and in a swirl of color was gone.

* * *

Harry stared at the shadows cast by the moonlight on the ceiling above his bed. He sighed and rolled over onto his stomach burrowing his head under a pillow. The navy pillow case still smelled like Draco, he had been gone almost a week and Harry had refused to change the bed linen as he wanted the reminder of his friend.

A small grin crossed Harry's face as he thought about his one true friend. Draco had done so much for him; he would never be able to repay him for the risks that he took in helping him escape prison. But more importantly, he would never be able to properly express his gratitude to Draco having believed in him when no one else had. That was truly something that Harry would never forget.

However, Harry was feeling more than a little confused about his silver-eyed friend. He knew that Draco felt more than friendship for him and was patiently waiting for Harry to be ready to take their relationship to the next level. Had he never been framed and had the opportunity to finish school, there was no doubt that he and Draco would have gotten together and eventually became lovers. But now with everything that he had been through, Harry wasn't sure that he was capable of feeling love and Draco deserved nothing less than to be with someone who could love him with everything in their being.

Whenever depressing thoughts like that would start to take over, that rarely heard from part of his subconscious that just wanted to live and let live would speak up and he would think about that kiss. And what a kiss it was. Sure it wasn't his first kiss, but Harry never remembered a kiss having affected him so strongly before. Harry chuckled, who would have thought that Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Prince, would taste like strawberries with a slight hint of chocolate.

Knowing that he was not likely to get any more sleep tonight, as he hadn't slept well since Draco had left, he allowed the whirlwind of memories of their recent time together overwhelm him. He knew that Draco had been worried about him, still was for that matter, but he felt like he had been recovering. Sure it was a slow process, but even in the time that he had been here alone he was still able to go about his daily routine. He had even gone grocery shopping and to the cinema once. He still enjoyed his daily walks but they just weren't the same with out Dray. He had gotten used to having someone around, and after experiencing being isolated from people for so long, Harry knew that he didn't want to ever get used to that feeling again.

A small part of him resented the fact that he was here, tucked away safe from Voldemort and the Ministry, while Dray and the others were left to battle the dark. But then he would remember that it was not him who had made that choice, and even if he had wanted to go back he couldn't. Right now he knew that given a choice, he would never choose to go back there.

Draco had helped him work though some of the pain of his friends' betrayal, but it still felt raw. Simple flashbacks to his time before prison had unleashed terrible pain that threatened to destroy the fragile hold he was maintaining over his increasing emotions. It was much better to lock all that away in some dark cupboard in the back of his mind than to deal with it. He wasn't ready and he wasn't sure if he would ever be.

The rattling of the windows in the kitchen and living area broke Harry's train of thought. Surprised Harry tried to calm himself down before his uncontrolled anger actually broke the glass. It had been so long since he had actually felt the flow of magic around him and even longer since he had allowed his magic to get out of control. He had missed magic almost as much as he had missed Dray.

Magic still held the same fascination for him as it had done when he was introduced to the concept as a wide-eyed eleven-year-old. Harry knew from his studies at Hogwarts that wandless magic wasn't as traceable as magic cast with a wand. There had only been a few wizards in history that had the ability to control and accurately cast wandless magic, and Harry was pleased that he was one of them.

Dumbledore knew that he had some wandless ability, but no one knew for sure how capable he had gotten with that particular talent. Before his imprisonment he was able to produce any spell, charm, hex, or transfiguration as well without a wand as with. He could even conjure certain items wandlessly, which many of his classmates found difficult to do with a wand. Harry smirked ruefully, 'It was a good thing I had the forethought to learn wandless magic, seeing as how the Ministry destroyed my wand.'

It was too bad that the wards that surrounded Azkaban had been charmed to prevent any sort of wandless magic. However it had been a saving grace that the animagus transformation wasn't prevented. He certainly would have gone insane without being able to escape into one of his forms for extended periods. Deciding that it was time to take the next step in his recovery, Harry promised himself to start practicing wandless magic that next day.

Missing his companion, Harry reached under the bed and pulled out a shopping bag from a toy store that he had found yesterday on Fifth Avenue. Harry smiled as he remembered watching the children play with all the wonderful toys in the store, including these large piano keys set on the floor. It looked to have been the answer to every child's dream. At least it would have answered quite a few of his own as a youngster.

Opening the bag Harry removed a large gray stuffed wolf. When Harry had seen the wolf stilling alone on one of the shelves it had called out to him, reminding him of Dray in his animagus form. 'Something about the clear piercing eyes' Harry thought.

Knowing that it would be the perfect gift for his companion, Harry had no choice but to purchase the animal. Holding it tight to his chest and snuggling into the soft acrylic fir, Harry fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

To be continued. . .