You Can Change Your Name, But Not Who You Are

by neverendingstories

Summary:

As soon as Draco turned 18, he left England and the life as a wizard behind.
10 years later he lives in Central City, his new identity: Julian Albert.
He works with Team Flash, but his world is turned upside down when his old nemesis shows up.

Notes:

All characters are created and owned by J.K. Rowling, and I do not claim any ownership over them or the world of Harry Potter.

All characters are created and owned by DC Comics and/or WildStorm Productions, an imprint of DC Comics. I do not claim any ownership over them or the world of The Flash.

Chapter 1: Who’s Julian Albert?

It was a warm Friday afternoon in Central City when Draco- no, Julian, walked into his office at the Central City Police Department to do his job. As soon as he turned eighteen, he left England, leaving the world full of wizards and witches behind. He moved to America to start a new life, changing his name and his background. He had a new identity: Julian Albert. No one knew he is a wizard, everyone just saw him as the CSI expert at the Central City Police Department.

Never had he imagined that he would live with the Muggles, but then again, he only hated them because of his father’s attempt to keep the traditions and beliefs in the family. Not only did he hate them once, he treated them really bad, telling them they’re worth less than purebloods.

It didn’t hurt him to leave. The only thing that made him feel like he was dying from the inside was leaving the boy he was in love with behind. Potter.
He didn’t know when it happened, when he fell in love with the raven haired boy with the scar in the shape of a lighting on his forehead. But it did and he couldn’t stop himself from liking the feeling of being in love. Of course Draco’s father had to ruin it, working with Voldemort and being the reason he threatened his family so Draco was willing to help him. When the war was finally over, he couldn’t look anyone, but mostly Potter, in the eye anymore and left as soon as he could.

Despite not thinking about Muggles as mudbloods anymore, he didn’t change all too much over the past ten years. His face still remained nonchalant most of the time and even though he left Potter, his nemesis during school, behind, he had a new person he argued with most of the time.

Barry Allen.

Barry Allen, a brown haired, skinny lad he had to share a laboratory with and sometimes it was the instruction of the big boss that they had to work together. They bickered back and forth most of the time, annoyed about the other one coming too close to their work. These moments reminded Draco of the old times, making him feel nostalgic every now and then. Other than that, he was mostly too occupied with cases and didn’t have the time to look back.

If he ignored the fact that he just couldn’t stand the nerdy guy at work, he actually found himself to quite like the job and his new life. If you compared his old life with his new one, there weren’t too many differences. Central City, something that would sound like a normal city somewhere in America to everyone from England, was full of meta-humans.

Sure, he still didn’t make any new friends, but he was convinced he wouldn’t need them anyway. Until he found out about Barry Allen being The Flash. Central City’s superhero. Seriously, was there anything that wouldn’t make him hate that man more?

He was under his desk, looking for the pen that rolled over the edge of the table, wishing that it wasn’t as risky as it was to just use his wand and cast a simple Accio. Then, suddenly, like a tornado flew through the room, the wind threw all his papers around the room, a lot of them landing right in front of him on the floor. He looked up and standing there was no other than Barry Allen, grabbing his stuff and with an audible whoosh and orange lighting he was out the room, causing wind once again. Draco crawled back to his chair and looked totally gobsmacked, not fully believing what just happened right in front of his eyes.

But then again, only Barry Allen was stupid enough to expose himself in a police station without checking if other people were in the room.

The next day, he made his way to the building he expected Barry in. S.T.A.R Labs. He opened the locked door with magic but as he was more careful than Allen, he didn’t use his wand. He stepped into the huge building, not sure where he had to go to find the idiot.

“Hello?” he called out, well aware that shouting Hello? never ended with a good scenario but what was there to be scared of? He was a wizard, one snap of his fingers and he was back in his apartment without them noticing.

“How the hell did you get in here?” a rather small guy with long, dark hair asked. Draco recognized him as Cisco, the guy who helped the police to catch metas by constructing high technology weapons. He looked sincerely surprised and confused at the sight of Draco standing in the middle of the big entrance hall.

“I’m looking for Barry. Or should I say the Flash?” Draco said with a smug grin like he was teleported back to Hogwarts where he tried his best to ruin people’s days.

“I’m not even going to try and ask how you found out, Julian. Follow me,” he said and covered his face with his hand for a second, obviously knowing that this was all Barry’s fault and Barry’s fault only.

More than amused by the situation, Draco followed him, not even questioning how Cisco knew his name. Allen probably complained about me all day long, he thought, satisfied that him annoying Barry had its effects on him.

Next thing he knew was that he ended up in a much smaller room with computers and more Muggle technology and scientific tools. Then, right there in a little niche of the wall, was the shining red suit of Central City’s most loved meta.

“What is he doing here?” he heard Barry’s shocked voice behind him say.

His head snapped around, the smirk that Barry hated with a passion on his face.

“Why, hello there, Flash.”

“How-“

“Next time you use super speed, do it while wearing a suit. Oh, another good advice for you: Don’t let your co-worker see it.”

And from this day, he kind of just belonged to the team. They would always come to him to seek for help when in need, and after a month passed, he was an important member of Team Flash. He got along better with Barry so they wouldn’t create any more awkwardness and uncomfortableness.

-

Six months passed fast and they couldn’t believe they were already friends for that long without killing each other, but they managed it somehow. They caught metas and other criminals together and Draco started to feel more bad each day that passed by. He was lying to them. Well, not directly lying. But he also didn’t tell them the truth. He wasn’t Julian Albert. He was Draco Malfoy, a wizard from England who visited Hogwarts, a school just for wizards and witches.

This wasn’t his world. He didn’t belong into this group of friends, he didn’t deserve to be there when they don’t know who he really is. What he did back then.

Draco shivered, shaking the thoughts out of his head. The past is in the past, he needed to remind himself again. He had no intention to go down that path. All the memories and feelings, he didn’t want them. Remembering and reliving his feelings for Harry Potter wouldn’t do him any good. It was hard, but he had to accept it. There was nothing he could do but to just suck it up and live with it.

He missed him. He missed magic.

It was one of those moments when he sat in his armchair in front of a fire that radiated enough warmth to make him feel cozy, a good old firewhiskey in his hand and music he bought at a muggle store played silently in the background.

He could try as much as he wanted, his thoughts always drifted back into that direction, making him lose control of everything he always did to stop the memories and the pain that came with them.
He couldn’t take this anymore. His grip around his glass tightened and without thinking about the consequences he stood up, staring at it for a while and twisted it in his hands, with one swift movement he threw it at the wall across from him. He hadn’t noticed the tears that escaped and rolled down his cheeks. He let himself fall back on the floor, leaning his back against his coffee table and buried his face in his hands.

I don’t deserve living like this, he thought. But then he realized, and his inner voice seemed to mock him: But you chose this life. You ran away like the coward you are. Just like your father.

He knew he said that to himself, but he was angry at himself for thinking something like that. And he was angry at his father for forcing him to become the person he was. An emotional, bitter wreck that wasn’t able to control itself.

He got back up, pushed everything on the table off and proceeded to destroy his belongings. Belongings that represented a person he would never be. A normal, less confused and hurt person that never went through the things that he had to go through as a kid.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a knock on the door that led into his apartment. He snapped out of his anger and his thoughts and approached the door, opening it without looking through the peephole.

His mouth dropped open in horror. Barry and the rest of the Scooby gang were the last people he expected to turn up on his doormat. They smiled at him, but the concern was written all over their faces. Draco backed away, making them room to step in. As soon as they didn’t see him, he wiped the tears on his face away.

Turning around and closing the door with a quiet clicking sound, his gaze fell on the many broken glass pieces, the large whiskey stain on the brick wall and the many objects scattered on the wooden floor. An inaudible “fuck!” escaped him when he saw Barry, Caitlin, Cisco and Iris staring at the immense mess he made.

“Look, guys,” he said, still searching for a good enough explanation for the situation he was in. He didn’t want them to know that he was indeed vulnerable like any other human being, after all, the nonchalant attitude that Draco always had defined him. He wasn’t one to talk about stuff going on in his head.

He wanted to get rid of the nervousness and the people that showed up at his place without sending a text. He felt like a big and the most important part of his privacy has been invaded by them seeing this. It was like they looked into his soul by only seeing his living room in this condition: Thrown around, stained and broken into many, many pieces.

“Julian, don’t worry. You don’t need to talk about it. We’re actually here because of something entirely different,” Barry stated.

Draco gave him a questioning look, telling him to continue without using words.

“I was at the laboratory earlier and all of a sudden this guy showed up out of nowhere. I think he’s able to breach. He looked kinda out of it. Dark hair, glasses and a cloak- What a weird suit for a meta,” he explained and strayed from the topic mid sentence.

Draco froze immediately, his heart racing. Could it- Could it be him?

“Did you see if he had a scar on his forehead? Right over his right eye?” Draco asked in a hurry and almost choked on his own spit.

“I didn’t see that. His hair was in the way. He asked if I know where “Draco Malfoy” is, though. Took me twenty minutes to tell him that I don’t know Draco after he said he works with me. We’re still trying to find out his name, but no success so far.” Barry remained calm, not getting the reason why Draco shifted anxiously from one foot to the other. “Do you know him?” he continued, eyeing him warily.

“I know who the dark haired man was, yeah. But honestly, I’ve never heard the name Draco Malfoy in my whole life,” he lied and tried his best not to look as guilty as he felt because he once again fed them a lie.

“How do you know him?” Iris asked, curiosity filling her voice.

“I went to school with him.” That was not the full truth, but it wasn’t a lie either. He did go to school with Potter. “Back in England,” he added.

“But-,” Cisco threw in, a frown visible on his face. “If he’s from England, like you, how was he affected by the explosion? That means he was here when it happened. Which seems like a really big coincidence considering you didn’t live here around that time.”

Draco was well aware of the fact that Cisco didn’t believe him. But that was his smallest problem. Why did Potter look for him after all these years? How did he even find him in the first place? Draco made sure that no one was able to find him in Central City. What was so important that Potter did everything to find him?

The questions that were left unanswered were getting too much now.

“I don’t know, Cisco. I haven’t seen him in- in ten years, maybe?” he snapped unintentionally and acted clueless. He knew exactly that he hadn’t seen him in ten years and a bit over two months. But showing his friends that he knew the exact amount of years and months would give too much away.

“Are you sure? Because if you-“

Caitlin interrupted him:

“Cisco, seriously, stop. This seems like a lot to take in right now. Chill out.”

She gave Draco a reassuring smile that didn’t make him feel less guilty and Cisco immediately closed his mouth. She was the one closest to him. Lying to her hurt him the most. Their friendship was uncomplicated, something that was necessary in a friendly relationship for Draco. He felt safe around her, not safe enough to tell her his secret, but still. It took him back to the time with Pansy, and he felt something pulling at his heart strings. When he said he never looked back at the people he left behind, he meant it.

All of a sudden, he was at the verge of tears. He hadn’t thought about Pansy in a long time, everything about her hurting too much. She was the one he could trust and tell everything to and he just dumped their friendship to escape everything. He felt the urge to just disappear from Central City and go back, but disappearing again meant disappointing the people he got to know here. He wouldn’t make that mistake twice.

“Thank you. For telling me, I mean. But I’d appreciate it if you could leave me alone now. I don’t want to come across as rude right now, but please. I’ll see you tomorrow, eh?” he said and forced a smile.

His friends weren’t convinced, but they decided to leave him on his own anyway. If he wanted to be alone, there’s nothing they can do to help him. And Cisco was still convinced that there was more to the story than “Julian” told them. They closed the door and left Draco with all his questions and doubts behind.

-

Draco woke up the next day, feeling just as tense as when he tried to fall asleep two hours ago. If it wouldn’t have been for the alarm he set for every day of the week, he would still be lying in his bed, tossing and turning around in his restless sleep. He had to get up for work though. He didn’t want to miss work after he managed to never come too late, or not show up at all, in almost ten years.

He showered and brushed his teeth absentmindedly, too tired and not fully working after only two hours of sleep. He got rid of the clothes he could smell some of the whiskey on and got dressed in clothes that he got out of the washing machine.

He couldn’t shake off all the bad feelings from the night before like he usually did. There was something about everything that happened that made him feel anxious and he was still afraid that he would wake up every moment, coming to the conclusion that it was only a dream he had.

Potter is looking for me, his mind repeated hundreds of times throughout the day. When he could finally leave his workplace, he feared the confrontation of his friends now that he was sober. Especially since Cisco would definitely dig for answers, even if it meant to make Draco feel uncomfortable. Draco wasn’t scared that he would slip something he wasn’t supposed to reveal, every little information could lead them to the truth, after all. He was scared of losing the only people he ever grew to like in the Muggle world.

By the time he arrived at S.T.A.R Labs and made his way through the big building, they were already waiting for him. H.R. and Joe were also there, an expecting look written in their facial expression as they saw him coming in.

They told them, Draco thought and scoffed. Was there anything they could keep to themselves or did that rule only matter when it came to their private business?

“If you think I’m here to tell you everything about my school life and the people in my life in the past, then you’re definitely wrong.”

“We have every right to know,” Cisco explained through gritted teeth.

“No, you don’t!” Draco said and raised his voice, pointing a finger at them. “This is my private life and if anyone here has a right to do something, then that’s me being allowed to have stuff that I don’t tell. Which means you don’t go and try to find everything you possibly can, which I, for a fact, know you did. What would you do if I just research about every details of your life and discuss them with the whole team?”

He could understand their worries, they trusted the wrong people before and didn’t want history to repeat itself. But he also tried to keep a secret that could change everything for him.

“You know exactly what happened in the past!” Cisco yelled furiously.

“Oh, so because an old acquaintance is looking for me that means I’ll slowly kill every single one of you in your sleep?”

“I mean he does have a point,” H.R. defended Draco while he played with his drumsticks in the meantime and sipped on a drink from Jitters.

“After all this time, you still don’t trust me. And then you’re asking me why I’m not telling you anything about my life.”

Barry tried to stop the argument, but instead he made everything worse, everyone started to speak and yell at once after he spoke up. Then, something that Draco very well knew as Apparition, silenced them. He started to panic, Potter was the only person that knew who he was, the only person who was able to accidentally reveal his secret by calling him Malfoy in front of everyone.

Seconds passed in which Draco held his breath, tensely waiting for a person to arrive, until it happened.

Right in front of him, only a few feet away, he stood. Harry Potter.

Draco suppressed a sigh of relief when he looked at him, the same shining green eyes, the same raven hair, the same glasses that always made him look good in his own, unique way. He didn’t change all too much, but he looked more mature, grown up. All the weight Draco carried on his shoulder over the past ten years seemed to lift and he tried not to show the happiness he felt tingling in every part of his body. A wave of excitement rushed through him, the worries about missing Potter and everything else long forgotten.

“We need to talk. Now,” was the first thing Draco heard him say, his voice deeper and more raspy than he has every heard it. It was music to his ears. Despite all of that, Draco didn’t miss how Potter didn’t use his name. He secretly thanked him, figuring that he knew about the identity he used in the company of Muggles.

He nodded, guiding Potter out of the room to get some space and privacy.

“Potter, what are you doing here?” he whispered although the other ones were out of reach to hear anything.

“I became an Auror after school and training. The head auror sent me to look for you because I need to warn you. There are some loyal death eaters out there trying to find you. We’re not sure what they want, but people reported that they asked around in diagon alley.”

“What the actual fuck,” Draco said more to himself than to Potter. “If someone like you managed to find me, then they will be able to do the same.”

“Someone like me? Excuse me, but I just warned your sorry ass,” Harry bit back through gritted teeth.

Any other time Draco would’ve found him hot like that, all heated and trying to stay calm instead of fighting with him. But this was a serious matter. The truth was, Draco didn’t intend to offend Potter, but he got it the wrong way. What he meant was: If a wizard found him with his normal magic, how short will it take the death eaters to find him with all kinds of dark magic?

But he already made his decision.

“If you’re here to tell me that I should leave the city and hide from them, then you’re delusional, Potter.”

“I figured that, Malfoy. That’s why I’ll stay here and protect you if I need to.”

“Forget it. You almost revealed who I really am to some of the most smart Muggles out here!”

“What’s that all about, anyway?” he asked, tilting his head like the lost puppy he was.

He didn’t change at all, was all Draco could think of.

“I don’t know if it’s that hard to understand, really. I obviously didn’t want anyone to find me. Not some death eaters, not Pansy, and especially not you,” he said and fell into his old habit of going into offense mode when it came to Potter.

“Charming as always, Malfoy,” Harry spit back, his voice dripping with venom.

Draco just scoffed, the conversation was done for him.

“Stay, for all I care. But in this world my name is Julian Albert, for Merlin’s sake.”

“Got it, Mr fun police.”

“You and fun pretty much equals Seamus Finnigan and his wand. You don’t mix them together,” Draco teased. “Now, let’s go back to the others. If they ask: You’re able to breach because you’ve been in Central City when the particle accelerator explosion happened. Dark Matter hit you. And you know me because we went to the same school in England. Got that?”

“Got that?” he repeated, mocking Draco’s voice in a horrible but entertaining way.

“I still can’t believe you Apparated in front of Muggles.”

“There are a lot of things about me that you don’t know and that you’d never believe me,” Harry said and smiled cheekily. Draco just rolled his eyes at the guy walking next to him. He was next to him. It felt surreal to Draco who still couldn’t quite make out how Potter tracked him down and just Apparated himself a few feet away from him. Ten years later, like nothing happened and nothing changed over the years. Like he was still the ten year old boy breaking every single rule that Hogwarts had ever made to find out the truth about all the mysteries surrounding the big castle and save the students from the big, dark monsters out there.

They stepped back into the room where the rest of the team waited for them. Draco stayed calm and spoke quietly:

“It’s all good. He’s not here to kill you, geez.”

“So, Harry James Potter, why are you here then?”

“It’s just Harry. Just Harry,” he said, cringing at the way Cisco said his name.

“Okay, “just Harry”,” Joe began, using quotation marks with his fingers. “How are you able to breach?”

Potter looked at Draco for a second, not sure if he should really say what Draco told him.

“I was in Central City during the particle accelerator explosion. I was drinking coffee at Jitters, actually. First time in America and that’s the result, eh?”

“And how exactly do you know Julian?” Joe unashamedly continued cross-examining. Being a detective, it was what he’s best at. Finding out the truth and all that.

“We went to school together but lost contact over the years. He left England after school and moved to the USA. Simple as that,” Potter answered and behaved unaffected by the whole situation by shrugging his shoulders.

It was Cisco’s turn to ask a question now. The question Draco hoped he wouldn’t ask.
“Who the hell is Draco Malfoy?”

Draco visibly tensed at the question, but he trusted Potter enough to know that he won’t tell his secret. That he would come up with a good excuse, something Draco totally forgot to come up with when he told Harry what he was supposed to say.

“That’s actually a pretty funny story.”

Draco understood. Harry was acting like it’s an embarrassing school story no one was supposed to know about or something similar like that.

“Potter,” Draco whined and did all he could to look embarrassed. “If you tell them I will beat your ass back to England.”

Harry laughed softly, sounding convincing enough to everyone else. Draco was the only one in the room who knew that it wasn’t what his laugh sounded like. His real laugh was warm, contagious and made Draco’s stomach erupt in butterflies. Often enough he has heard it echoing in the stone old walls of the hallways at Hogwarts. And more than just a couple of times had he wished that, one day, he would be the reason for his beautiful laugh.

“Geez, okay.”

Draco relaxed when he saw everyone eyeing them more at ease after their little unconvincing sketch.

No surprise they get tricked all the time, Draco thought, almost rolling his eyes but knowing better than that.

“It was nice meeting you, but I need to kidnap my mate here. We have a lot of catching up to do. Is Jitters coffee still as good? Hope I can get to know you sometime, that would be brilliant,” Harry blabbered his rant over his shoulder while he shoved Draco out of their sight.

-

“Wait, so you really are working with the Muggle police? My, my, Malfoy, never knew you secretly liked the Muggles.”

“There are a lot of things about me that you don’t know and that you’d never believe me,” Draco copied his words from earlier, his lips curling up into a smug grin.

They sat at a table at Jitters, talking about what happened in their lives during the ten years they didn’t see each other. Draco couldn’t shake off the consent with Potter sitting across from him, asking all those questions about the new version of Draco. To his surprise they didn’t jump at each other’s throats yet.

“All jokes aside, are you happy? I mean- Yeah, that went into a deep direction. But seriously, are you genuinely happy with your life and the people in it? These people back there seemed like they’re nice, you know,” Harry rambled and gave him a sincere smile when he finished.

“I’m- I’m not unhappy.” Draco shrugged his shoulders, signaling Harry that it wasn’t a big deal for him.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m not genuinely happy, Potter. I’m doing fine, that’s more than enough for me.”

“And you couldn’t try to be doing fine back in England?” he asked and Draco swore that he heard something like sadness in his voice.

“I- Honestly, no. I mean, sure, I left everything behind, but that was a good thing. I saw an opportunity to start over and I took it. I was able to be whoever I wanted here. No problematic past getting in the way.”

Harry was surprised at the honest answer. He couldn’t remember a single conversation between the two of them where they talked like they didn’t hate each other. He enjoyed being around Malfoy like this. Still, he told himself not to get used to it all too quick.

They fell into silence after that, none of them wanted to overstrain the good atmosphere between them. The risk that they would fall back into their normality back then during their school days. The peace between them just couldn’t be something constant and they were both fearing the moment their old quirks would come back to replace their friendly behavior towards each other.

“Hey, Malfoy. Do you know any good hotels I can stay at?”

Draco quirked his eyebrow. “I do. Though, how are you going to protect me from the big bad boys out there from your hotel room?”

Typically Potter. Coming here without a well thought out plan.

“Oh.”

Draco sighed and shook his head in disbelief at his next words.

“I mean I have a guest room at my place if you don’t mind being my flat mate for a little while.”

Harry hesitated. Was this a good idea? Will they survive this “little while”?

“Sure,” he agreed and sealed the deal.

Next thing he remembered, they were at Draco’s place and he showed Potter around. His guest room wasn’t anything too special, just a simple king sized bed with nightstands on each side and a closet on the opposite wall. The walls were painted in a light blue tone that fit the pillows and blankets and made the room a little brighter compared to the dark blue curtains. Draco never expected to have someone over anyway so he held it as simple as possible.

Draco left the room, giving Potter some space to settle in and walked into the kitchen. After a few minutes he got two tea cups out of his cupboard, put teabags in each one and poured hot water into them. He waited for the raven haired man to join him and gave him one of the cups. None of them said a word until they were done drinking, not knowing what to do then.

This is going to be an interesting time, he thought.

Chapter 2: The True Draco Malfoy?

Summary:

Everything is about to go down when Draco gets caught in his own net of lies he spun. Confrontation time.

Notes:

I don’t feel too sure about this chapter, so please, feel free to give me honest feedback in the comments!

Also, the rich text option of ao3 isn’t working, which is why I wasn’t able to put some of their thoughts into italian font!

Draco decided that it was best to go to bed early the day before, considering the amount of sleep he got the night before that. He left the living room at nine o’clock, leaving Harry to himself in front of the TV. They haven’t talked much, a little smalltalk was all they managed.

It wasn’t like Draco felt uncomfortable in the company of Harry, it was the complete opposite, really, but he didn’t know how to act around him either. What do you say to a person you kind of bullied from day one to the day you parted ways? He treated him badly until the very end, the only good thing he ever did to him was acting like he doesn’t know whether it’s Harry Potter or not in front of Voldemort. He was also a horrible person towards his best friends Weasley and Granger, making snarky comments about him being poor and her being a mud- a Muggle born.

But the war changed him to the better. It felt like he saw the world through entirely different eyes once he realized the consequences of his actions. And he also realized what person he never wanted to become: Lucius Malfoy.

The mean boy developed into a matured grown up man during the time he lived in Central City. He had a lot of time by himself to think about all the mistakes he ever made in his early life. And in his opinion, considering he was only a child back then, there were way too many mistakes. He was convinced most of the things he did would never be forgiven.

It turned out that Muggles weren’t what his father made them out to be. They weren’t as strong as wizards with magical powers, yes, but they were also interesting. Coming from a completely different world and never seeing something else than only that world, he was fascinated by the way life works on the other side of the two kinds of humans. Most of them didn’t believe in magic, and they weren’t able to use it, but they still found ways to go through their daily lives. They had their problems, too.

By the time his alarm ringed, he was already sitting on his bed fully dressed and ready to go. He walked down the hall, following the noise that came from outside his room and shortly afterwards he saw Potter in front of the stove, cooking something that smelled like bacon.

“Morning?” Draco said, but it came out as a question. He smiled and watched Harry flinch through not fully open eyes. Harry, who stared at him with wide eyes didn’t hear him entering the kitchen, but soon calmed down and put eggs and bacon on Draco’s plate.

“You didn’t- You didn’t have to do this, you know?”

“Malfoy, it’s just breakfast. Relax a bit, it’s not like I want your soul in exchange or something.” A soft giggle escaped his mouth at the frown on Draco’s face. “Come on, just eat and shut that big mouth of yours,” he said emphatically this time.

“Well, thanks, I guess.” He still hesitated. “How do I know I won’t drop dead the second I swallow this?”

Harry shrugged.

“I guess you just have to trust me and find out.”

“Uh-huh,” was Draco’s only response as he slowly brought the fork up to his mouth. He chewed for a while and finally swallowed the delicious meal.

“And?”

“I’m not dead,” he nodded approvingly.

“Yet,” he whispered.

“What?” Draco asked. Although, deep down, he would never trust Potter to do something like that, horror reflected in his eyes for a few seconds.

“I didn’t say anything,” Harry lied and laughed, holding his arms up in defense to act innocent.

Draco watched him with narrowed eyes but didn’t say anything and devoted his attention back to the food on the table in front of him. He sat down on one of the wooden chairs.

“So, how are we going to do this? You got a good plan once in your life or are you just going to, I don’t know, stick to my ass and follow me the whole time?” Draco changed the topic and continued skewing his food with the silverware fork in his hand.

“Actually-“

Draco smiled, rolled his eyes playfully and interrupted him.

“You haven’t thought about it yet.”

“Yeah,” he admitted sheepishly and his shoulders sagged down.

Harry sat down beside him and Draco used the opportunity to nudge his shoulder with his own.

“That’s the Potter I know. We wouldn’t want it any different, huh?” he tried to reassure him, telling him it’s no big deal, they could still come up with something, after all.

“Can I ask you something?” Harry blurted out and regretted it the next second. He didn’t want to destroy the playful banter. The last two days were going better than the last eighteen years.

“Go ahead, Potter.”

“Will you ever tell them who you really are? I mean at least your name, not that you’re a wizard.”

“I don’t know. How could I make them understand why I did what I did without telling them why I did it?” he reasoned, hoping his words made any sense.

“But they’re your friends, right?”

Draco pondered for a bit. He considered them his friends, but could he really call them true friends when they didn’t even know who he truly was? Would they still call him friend if they were to ever find out? And even telling them his real name would mean he’s still keeping up a façade. He wasn’t Julian Albert. And he most certainly wasn’t a Muggle. He could pretend all he wanted, nothing was able to change who he really was.

“I guess,” was the only answer he could think off, hoping Potter would leave it at that.

“Alright, I really need to go now. Come up with a plan while I’m gone, I think I can survive another day without your protection,” he explained and got up to put his plate and fork in the sink, not leaving any room for an answer about his secret identity from Potter.

He hurried out of his apartment so he wouldn’t be too late and began thinking about everything they talked about the last ten minutes. He tried his best to shake the thoughts out of his head, but no success whatsoever.

By the time he arrived at the department, Barry was already there. He sat on his desk and looked through paperwork.

“Never thought I would see the day you’re here early,” he made himself noticeable and smirked as Barry turned around to face him.

“Funny,” he answered, clicking his tongue and raising his eyebrows.

Draco just chuckled and took a seat at his own desk to fulfill his tasks.

He hadn’t started yet, when a beeping alarm drew away his attention from his paperwork. He instantly recognized it as the meta alarm app sound. With the blink of an eye, Barry was gone, leaving the papers flying around for Draco to pick up and take care of. Just the usual Tuesday, Draco thought and got back to work.

“Guess I have to do all of this on my own now. Great,” he muttered to himself and rolled his eyes.

Two hours later, totally focused on a case and not noticing his surroundings, he was brought back into reality by a knock on the doorframe.

“Hey, so, uhm, this guy- What was his name? Cisco?”

Draco nodded, not a tiny bit surprised at Harry’s sudden appearance.

“He just called on your home phone. Didn’t know you have one of them- Never mind, he wants us to come over because “don’t ask any questions, it’s important”,” he said, quoting Cisco with the pointer finger only.

Draco was about to burst out laughing but controlled himself and grabbed his jacket, not asking any questions like Cisco insisted.

“Malfoy, do you think they know something?”

“What? No, they’re smart but not smart enough for this kind of thing. They know everything about science, computers and metas. I’m pretty sure believing in meta humans is their limit, tell them what you are and they’ll put you in a straitjacket and throw you into a padded cell without thinking twice about it.”

“Your friends seem nice,” was the only response from the dark haired man walking beside him, his voice dripping with more sarcasm than he ever heard coming out of Potter’s mouth.

-

Oh boy, was he wrong.

“You two better start talking. The truth this time, may I add,” was the first thing Cisco said when they walked in.

“Well, hello to you too,” Draco sassed and rolled his eyes dramatically. All Harry focused on was that exact moment. The comment, the eye roll. It looked familiar. It made him look so much younger, like he was back at being a fourteen year old.

“I’m serious, Julian. Spill it.”

Harry looked around for a second, asking himself who he’s talking to when he remembered that Draco was Julian. An audible sigh escaped him and he was about to open his mouth when someone rudely interrupted him.

“What’s going on here?”

Draco turned around, Barry came walking in, still in his suit. In his mind he shook his head, he couldn't believe that Allen was repeating the same mistake and exposing himself once again. This time to Potter, a complete stranger to him. And they thought that they got played with is because they trusted the wrong people?

“Good, you’re here. Should we wait for the others or can I start?” Cisco got louder this time and threw his arms around like he was about to lose his patience.

“Should I- Uh, should I leave you guys alone?” Harry asked and awkwardly shuffled with his feet.

“No. You’re the most important part.”

“Cisco, what the hell?” Barry yelled, not a tiny bit amused by the bullshit going on right in front of him.

“Okay, so. I started to dig a little further and-“ he paused when Draco scoffed loud enough to drown out his own voice. He gave him a questioning look, making the blond man in front of him angrier by the second.

“I thought we were done with digging around in people’s past? Seriously, get a fucking life.”

“Sorry, but someone who is so convinced of preventing people from scrutinizing their past usually has something to hide. So, tell me, Harry James Potter, what happened to you when you suddenly didn’t turn up at your normal school anymore? You were eleven when you stopped visiting the school, but no one knows what school you transferred to. After all, you guys told us you know each other from the school you both went to as kids. That’s a bit impossible if you don’t go to any school, don’t you think, Potter?” he ranted, not breathing in between his words or sentences.

Draco gaped at him, Potter pretty much mirroring his expression.

Damnit, he thought. And Harry wasn’t feeling better.

Was this the moment everything would go downwards? How was he supposed to save this? The facts were obvious. He could lie, but Cisco would find something somewhere that didn't match the other lies. He would find a hole and catch Draco repeatedly lying to his friends. They would never trust him after that.

Draco had no idea what to do, if he would be honest to them and tell them every single detail, they might understand why he did what he had to do. On the other side, he wasn’t allowed to. Muggles aren’t supposed to know about magic.

“Damn, is this a bad moment? Feels like I could cut the tension with a knife. Oop, don’t worry, I don’t carry knives around with me,” H.R. said and smiled like the oblivious person he was. He tried to ease the tension. Sadly, he didn’t have any success.

“First of, don’t call him ‘Potter’, got it? Second of, I can’t tell you,” Draco said, raising his voice and Harry flinched next to him, being somewhat used to Malfoy as a calm and quiet person nowadays.

“Yes, you can.”

“No, he can’t,” Harry said, taking Draco’s side for what was probably the first time ever, while Draco was still desperately trying to find a good excuse. He had to admit that he wouldn’t believe a word coming out of his mouth either. But then, suddenly, he felt like he had an idea that was smart enough to work.

“Okay, stop. I will tell you.” He hesitated, was he going to make Harry hate him again with the words he planned to say? He hated this. He hated the lies and the drama. He blinded people with his lies, and for what? So that he could start over? So that he could build himself a new, good life that consists of messing up the lives of the people around him with his chaos?

“We did go to the same school. But it’s nowhere in the papers because...- because it wasn’t just any kind of school. See, my parents were strict and even more so strictly catholic, and I'm making the whole thing sound harmless with the words I’m using right now. They sent me to boarding school, a catholic re-education camp, to be exact. Guess a gay son wasn’t something that fit with their beliefs.”

Cisco’s eyes softened as he started to feel bad for all the accusations he had made.

“My point is, they don’t put this in the papers because they think it’s not good to let anyone know that you’re gay. Not even when they “changed” your “wrong behavior and beliefs”. I left England when I was able to leave the camp, I just turned eighteen and haven’t talked to my parents since. I brought as much distance between us as I could at that time,” he finished off his rant and the lie he fed. Not everything was a lie, he just changed big parts of it. That didn’t change the fact that he felt more horrible than with the simple lie of his name that was still not revealed.

“Fuck,” Cisco cursed, pushing his long hair out of his face. “Did I just force you to come out?”

“It’s alright. You were right, you deserved to know.”

He looked down and could see Cisco shaking his head in disapproval.

Draco could hear Potter gulp next to him and his tense body signaled him that he was more than uncomfortable. Only then he realized that he told Barry and Cisco that he met Potter at a re-education camp for gay boys. Draco didn’t know whether Harry was gay or not, but if he was, then he just made the biggest mistake of his life. He might’ve outed him. He always kind of sensed gay vibes radiating off Harry but he never actually had the conviction that it was true.

Despite always wishing Harry would be gay and reciprocate his feelings one day, in that moment he prayed that it wasn’t the case. He knew how much a coming out meant to LGBT people, and he was now a person who possibly outed someone else.

Well done, Draco, his inner voice mocked him. Just like always. “Don’t let your past intimidate you,” we’re the words he repeated over and over again like some kind of mantra. In times when he fell back into old habits or did something that might hurt people, lying to close friends being the perfect example of such a situation, he had to remind himself that he changed, that he grew up and that he wasn’t like his father taught him his whole life.

-

“Malfoy, why the hell did you do that?”

“What was I supposed to say? It wasn’t like you had a better idea!”

They were back at the apartment, Harry dragged him out of S.T.A.R Labs as soon as everyone calmed down and got their shit together.

“You don’t realize it, do you? You’re developing into someone you’re not and you don’t even notice, or maybe you don’t care enough to notice, but this person in front of me is not Draco Malfoy!” Harry yelled.

“Oh, so I should just go back to being a complete douche? Hate to break it to you, Potter, but I’m not that little boy anymore. It’s been ten years, you can’t expect me to be the same. It’s quite a mystery for me why you want that prat back, but at some point you have to accept that he’s gone. He died when Voldemort did,” Draco said, pacing back and forth and pulling his own hair.

“The bad side of you wasn’t what defined you! Who are you, Malfoy? The Draco I know wasn’t like this. In fact, he talked completely different, with words I’d need a thesaurus for. He walked elegantly. Proud and chin up, remember?”

“Right, because I’m not as eloquent as my teenage self and cut walking with a stick up my ass, I’m pretending to be someone I’m not? I don’t think you’re aware of the person I really am. But how could you? We made each other’s lives hell, I never gave away my true self, like here,” he said and pointed at his chest, the spot where his heart was. “If you want to enlighten yourself on my personality, you might as well go visit Pansy. Her psychological expertise is going to give you a whole encyclopedia of Draco Malfoy, the broken boy!” he yelled and stomped away, needing space to take some deep breaths.

Harry was left standing in the middle of the room, mouth gaping like a fish you pulled out of the water. When he was released from his stiffness and was able to put one foot in front of the other, he walked up to Draco’s room. He opened his door a crack and stuck his head inside.

Draco looked up from the little sofa in the corner of the room and Harry gave him a reassuring smile.

“You know, you should start letting people in. Think about it, there are things you don’t have to go through alone. And, uh- I mean, if you decide to do it, just know that I won’t be far.” That being said, he went into his own room, grabbing one of his books out of his suitcase to go back into the living room and read.

Notes:

Please leave some good prompts or ideas for OneShots and stories in the comments!:)

Chapter 3: I’m Gay

Summary:

Draco decides to tell Harry the reason he left England.
Barry is supportive about him being gay.

Notes:

I really love this chapter and I hope you do too.
Please leave some feedback in the comments!:)

Harry was about to finish the chapter of the book when the sound of a door handle being pushed down and soft steps making their way in his direction startled him out of his concentration.

He put his bookmark between the pages and put it on the coffee table in front of the couch. Looking up, Malfoy came to a halt a few feet away. He was rubbing his neck and gestured for Harry to move a bit to make room for him on the couch.

He sat down, leg wiggling up and down, a kind of lunatic look in the grey eyes he pinned to the wall on the other side of the room. Harry didn't know if he should stop the ordeal that the white blond man in front of him obviously went through by speaking up or if staying quiet and waiting patiently was the better way to deal with him. He decided on the latter, giving him the time he needs to find his words.

Draco’s stress levels were over the roof, he had abruptly decided to take the offer Harry made earlier. But sitting there, his eyes on him as he tried to find a conversation starter, he felt his throat going dry and getting uncomfortably tight.

He cleared his throat, indicating that he was about to say something. He wanted to get this over with, so he opened his mouth and started to explain himself with a monotone voice:

“I know it’s not hard for you to understand the misery I felt back when I used to live with my parents. I know you went through quite the shit yourself in your own home. To be completely honest, I’m still jealous. I mean, you made it out there without doing all the things I’ve done,” he said timidly, looking down at his feet covered in green Slytherin socks. Harry had to restrain a smile noticing them.

“Actually, I don’t know all too much about your childhood and the relationship with your parents ante-war,” was all he replied, not wanting to say too much so soon.

Draco’s head turned into his direction, and only then Harry was able to take in his presence for the first time. He looked rough, hair disheveled and dark shadow-like bags under his grey eyes.

“It was repulsive, really. I know I walked around with pride about my family. Showing everyone how goddamn proud I was to be a Malfoy and a Slytherin. But- That was Hogwarts. Back home after the school year and I was a wreck and couldn’t wait to hop onto Hogwarts Express to go to school. I refused to cross paths with my father when walking around my own home after he found out I was gay. “Maintain the bloodline” and “disgrace for the whole family” were the only words he had left for me.” He paused, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a moment. Harry was sure that Malfoy was close to tears.

He lay his hand on his shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze, showing his supportive and caring nature to encourage Draco. But he was also swallowed up by guilt at the same time. Draco never deserved all the insults the golden trio called him behind his back. He was just another teenager with problems he bottled up deep inside of him.

“When I turned eighteen, I felt ecstatic. I knew the moment I’d have to step over the threshold of my own house that everything was going to change. My father would’ve given me commands of how I would have to live my life from that day forward. So I-“

“So you decided to never take that step into the house in the first place.”

Draco nodded and gulped audibly. He had tears in his eyes and his hands were shaking. It took Harry a lot to not grab his hands out of nowhere.

“I hated that I had to let my mum down by never coming back home without saying goodbye, but the majority of my early life was filled with taking commands and compulsively trying to be someone I would never be, while my mother let it happen. So I grabbed my important belongings and left Hogwarts with no particular destination. I had to make a lot of sacrifices to be where I am today, I left friends behind. Pansy hurt the most. I lied about my identity, a Muggle of all people out here helping me getting it in the first place. I had the feeling back then that it would come back to bite me in the ass one day, but I never felt as relieved as I felt when I was a thousand and more miles away from my past. The feeling of suffocating in my own four walls left when I arrived in Central City.”

“The most ironic thing is that I’m confiding in the guy who probably hates my guts more than anyone else,” he said with a shaky laugh, not believing he just did this.

Harry looked at him with his jaw hanging off its hinges, a mortified look plastered on his face.

“I’m proud of you, you know?” He continued when he saw Draco’s unconvinced look. “Malfoy, I’m serious. Look where you are today. You can be yourself! And you opened up to someone.”

Malfoy only gave him a shy smile and an appreciating nod in response, but Harry hadn’t finished just yet.

“And for your information, I stopped disliking you the day you saved me from Voldemort, ignoring how dangerous it could’ve been for you and your parents,” he admitted, not daring to look at the man in front of him as he felt a light blush creeping onto his cheeks.

If only he knew that I did it because I loved him, Draco thought.

“Honestly, I never hated, or as you say, disliked you. I was just moping about you not shaking my hand. But don’t let anyone know, I have a reputation to lose,” Malfoy said and caused a laugh to bubble out of the man next to him.

“I think- Wait, hold out your hand and- No, like this,” Harry chuckled, trying to recreate the moment in first year. “Exactly, and now say “I’m Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.” Don’t give me that look, just do it!”

A wide smile crossed Draco’s face and he rolled his eyes playfully. He offered his hand for a handshake.

“I’m Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.”

Smiling cheekily, his eyes crinkling under his glasses, he took Draco’s hand and shook it.

“Harry. Harry Potter.”

And then, they simultaneously burst out laughing, easing up the mood in the room like the handshake was the greatest thing to grace the earth.

Content with being around the other, they had conversations about all kinds of things that happened in the last ten years, catching up with each other up until the ungodly hours.

If my father would see me now, sitting here with Harry Potter like we’re friends and living with the Muggles, he would probably chop off my head, making me the Nearly Headless Nick, Draco thought.

But he didn’t care, his father was in the past. And what’s in the past stays in the past. Except for one special person who has always been close to Draco’s heart: Harry Potter.

 

-

The next day, Draco found himself walking to S.T.A.R Labs to meet up with the team. It was his only work free day in the week, but he still spent it working with the others. He brushed past all kinds of people on their way somewhere as he was deep in thought, furrowing his eyebrows. Harry had to go back to the ministry that day to give them a detailed report about everything that happened the past days and if there was anything suspicious going on in Central City that might indicate death eaters were present.

However, that left Draco to himself and he had some free time to think about the feelings Potter once again awoke inside of him. He wasn’t unaffected with the way Potter treated him like he never did anything bad and Draco couldn’t forget how attentive he’s been the night before. He listened, not faking his interest and will to help. He could still hear the echoes of their laughs mixed together when they shook hands after eighteen years in his head. He wished he could get used to that sound one day. He wanted to see the man smile and wrinkle his eyes for the rest of his life.

It felt ridiculous and unbelievable that he was never able to get over his love sickness around the raven haired man with the glasses that still made him look absolutely adorable like back in school.

After all the confessions he made last night, he still didn’t know Harry’s sexuality. They talked about Draco and everything else, but Harry never mentioned anything like that.

Damnit, he thought, having unreciprocated feelings again. And of all things it’s the same man. He was an utter fool for throwing himself into that hell twice in his life. He wasn’t interested in anyone since he lived in Central City even though there have been some guys who tried getting in his pants.

He came to a halt and walked into the building, knowing the way blindfolded by now. His friends greeted him like any other day before Harry showed up out of nowhere, except for Cisco, who slouched deeper into his chair, refusing to look up at him.

Draco walked past him, giving him a pat on the shoulder and took a seat on a chair himself.

Barry approached him after he watched him for several silent minutes.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” he whispered.

Draco got up without saying a word, having a clue what this will be about. He knew their ways by now. If there was a problem that needed to be solved, they ran after you in the hallway or drag you into it. Which, unsurprisingly, was exactly what Allen did.

“Julian, because of yesterday. You don’t need to worry about it, we didn’t tell anyone,” he started, his hands on each side of his waist. “And to the coming out which Cisco forced you to, I wish that would’ve gone differently, but- Just know that it won’t change a thing, huh? I support you, gay or not. And I know for a fact that the rest of the team wouldn’t make a big deal out of it either. I don’t want you to feel like anyone here wouldn’t accept you the way you are, because I do, and the other idiots in there do too.”

Barry was the one patting a shoulder this time, smiling the famous Barry Allen smile with his perfect teeth.

Draco couldn’t help himself but feel thankful for the reassurance Barry’s words held. They made him feel better about being a gay man. It was nothing compared to the reaction of his father and his mother. And he was absolutely right, the team would never judge him for who he is. He never noticed any kind of discrimination coming from one of them.

“Is it too gay if I hug you?” Draco breathed out a laugh and pulled Barry into a tight hug when he laughed and shook his head.

“We all have a gay side, don’t you worry. Do you know Oliver Queen?” he said as he pulled away. He put an arm around Draco’s shoulder and guided him back into the room, making Draco burst out laughing at the mention of the Green Arrow as Barry’s secret man crush.

But somehow, Draco made up his mind. Barry was right and their little talk gave him a boost of confidence and courage he hadn’t felt since first to sixth school year.

So instead of sitting back down, he stopped in the doorframe. He cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. He contemplated the words best to use, secretly wishing Harry would be there for it, reassuring him by a tight squeeze of his shoulder like before. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined to need the quirky Potter.

The whole team was staring at him, expectant looks visible on their faces.

“As far as I’m concerned, you guys are the most accepting and supportive people,” he started, giving Barry a quick smile who reciprocated it and gave him two thumbs up. The rest eyeing the two suspiciously. Cisco shifted in his chair uncomfortably, fearing the words Draco was about to say. “And Barry told me it would be okay to tell you as soon as I’m ready, which I am. I’m-“ He took a deep breath. “I’m gay.”

Iris squealed instantly, beaming at him the same way Allen did in that moment and Draco could feel the weight on his body that he carried around for so long fade away.

“Does that mean we can talk about guys?” she happily exclaimed.

A relieved chuckle escaped him as he nodded his head. And then he realized he finally had someone to talk about his inner conflict with falling for Harry Potter.

His look landed on Caitlin, who looked somewhat disappointed but mouthed the words “I’m proud of you” with the typical small Caitlin smile. Draco didn’t think about the obvious disappointment for too long, as he was pulled into an embrace from behind, his back pressed against a chest, by H.R. whom he hadn’t even noticed standing behind him the whole time.

In moments like these, where the team felt like the family he never had but always wanted, he felt even more horrible. He shook the thoughts away for once, focusing on the then and there. That place, the room of S.T.A.R Labs he was standing in, surrounded by the best people he had ever met, made him feel like he finally found his home.

He did everything he could to contain himself, not being up for crying that day, but he failed miserably when a tear escaped his eyes. He felt like he belonged there, he was content with the life he built himself in Central City.

Cisco still hadn’t found the courage to comment, just giving him something that seemed like a supportive smile and nod. But Draco couldn’t care less in the state he was in. He could be himself. He felt genuinely happy for the first time in a long, long time. He found himself a home.

“Did I miss something? Don’t tell me you had fun without me?”

Draco turned around, shocked to see Harry. He didn’t expect him to be back this soon.

“I’m gay!” Draco yelled into his face, smiling brighter than a little child opening presents on Christmas.

“I know!” Harry yelled back and laughed. But his laugh was soon stifled by Draco pulling him into a hug too, his face being pressed into his sweater. He hesitated but wrapped his arms around Draco’s waist, welcoming the embrace by his, obviously former, nemesis.

“I’m probably not the first one saying this, but I’m proud of you, Malfoy,” he whispered only for Draco to hear. “And I’m glad you’re smiling a sincere smile. These people are good for you.”

Draco didn’t say anything to that, he only squeezed him tighter until he pulled away because he feared he might break Harry’s glasses.

He had one big realization that day: Yes, he had to go through some things on his own, but being gay was not a part of them. Not when he had the best friends. And most importantly not when he had Potter by his side.

The meta alarm turned them all serious again, hurrying up to do their work. But it was okay for Draco, because that was his life now. And he absolutely loved it that way.

 

Later that day, when everyone was back to normal, they were invited to join Team Arrow for dinner.

“By the way, Oliver told me that we should come over for dinner later,” were Barry’s words and Draco couldn’t stop himself but wink at Barry, making him remember what he said earlier. A blush crept onto his cheeks and they turned a light shape of red. Only Draco noticed though, the rest being completely oblivious to the teasing from Draco that was going on.

“Harry, you want to join us?” Cisco asked. Draco smiled, he knew this was Cisco’s way of saying sorry and making up for his actions.

“Sure. What’s a “Team Arrow” though?” he asked, confusion written all over his face.

Everyone chuckled at that.

“I’ll explain on the way,” Draco said.

-

“Wait, so they are some sort of virgilantes?” Harry asked while they were sitting in a taxi.

“Well if you put it like that, yeah.”

“But Muggles have police. Is this an American thing?” he whispered so no else would hear him say the word “Muggle”.

“Just wait until you meet Oliver Queen,” Draco said, smiling at the lack of knowledge coming from someone who grew up in the Muggle world.

“Alright,” he answered when the taxi stopped in front of Oliver’s place. Draco made a quick process of paying him and they waited for the others who arrived ten minutes later.

The first thing Oliver asked when he saw Harry was “Who’s this?”

The second thing Oliver asked was “Why the fuck are you guys so happy today?”

Draco looked him dead in the eye:

“I’m gay.”

Everyone from Team Flash burst out laughing at the way he said it, Oliver just formed an “Oh” with his mouth and smiled.

They relaxed for the rest of the day, having fun at the little meet up with their friends from Star City. At the end of the night, Oliver invited them to hangout again soon and they said their goodbyes, all leaving into different directions to go home.

Chapter 4: Paranoia

Summary:

Draco takes Harry for some shopping. How much longer can he keep lying to his friends?

Notes:

Hey there!
It's been a very long time since I started writing this story. 3 years, to be exact.
Back then I had so many ideas and just didn't know how to write them down.
I was 16 back then, now I'm 20 and I really hope my writing style hasn't changed all too much.

If you've been waiting to continue this story since I first started it: I'm gonna finish this story for you and try to make the best of my ideas so you finally get the story you deserved!<3

If you're new here: Lay back and enjoy! It's gonna be pretty chill. :)

“You can’t wear that, Potter. Like, seriously, it looks horrendous,” Draco said, a laugh escaping his lips at the sight of the raven haired boy. 

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that he would go shopping with Harry Potter one day, but there he was, sitting across from the little changing cabin and giving him opinions on different outfits. Very honest opinions, just like always.

It was more of a spontaneous idea he had this afternoon. The two of them talked about getting ready to meet up with the rest of the team in the evening. 

Harry was about to put on his cloak to get some food two blocks away, and Draco couldn’t stop himself from offering to take him shopping for some more fitting clothes for the muggle world.

Sure, his friends thought the cloak was his meta outfit, but so would the rest of the city if they saw him running around like that. He didn’t want him to draw any attention to them. Especially not his co-workers at the police station.

“I have some normal clothes in my suitcase, too!” Harry exclaimed, a little irritated. 

“Something in there that you wouldn’t wear as an Auror in a world full of wizards and magical creatures?” Draco asked him with a pointed look and a single raised eyebrow. There it was again, that typical pratty behavior he was always known for.

Only this time, it wasn’t in a mean way anymore. They got along now, even though it’s only been three days since they reunited after a whole decade of not seeing each other, the whole dynamic between them took a three hundred sixty degree turn. 

Harry didn't say anything, the look on his face said more than enough. An hour later they entered the mall of Central City, walking past hundreds of people and store after store to their left and right.

“Why not? Seems like a decent outfit to me,” Harry answered, pulling him out of the memory of how they ended up there. 

“Yes,” Draco nodded a little too eagerly, the expression on his face radiating sarcasm. “If you’re an eighty year old trying to cosplay Dumbledore,” he added after several silent seconds passed. 

“What is a cosplay? You’re throwing words at me that I don’t even know, Malfoy.”

Harry remained a calm demeanor, but internally, he was kind of shocked about the blond man in front of him mentioning their former headmaster. The last few days he spent with Draco, he avoided talking about anything remotely Hogwarts related. 

There were so many things Harry wanted to talk about. He wanted to tell him about Pansy and Theo, who became pretty close friends to him since they started to work together. He just didn’t know how to start the conversation, though. 

Not sure if Draco would even want to talk about it, or if he would go back to being reserved again.

“It’s when you dress up as a certain character. My god, Potter, can you get out of my face and change into something else now?” he groaned and put his face into his hands. Harry still noticed the quiet chuckle coming from him that caused a smile to creep up on his own face, too.

Two hours later, they finally found some normal looking clothes for the wizard and Draco was more than relieved to get out of the mall. He hated crowded places like that, especially since he found out that Death Eaters were looking for him.

He felt like he was being watched every time he left his apartment.

They were finally on their way to Barry’s apartment now, the first time ever that Draco was late. He wasn’t surprised the first time this happened was with Harry. He noticed how similar Harry and Barry were and finally understood why arguing with Barry brought so much comfort to him when he first started working at the police station. 

Barry and Harry , he thought to himself and had to contain himself from bursting out laughing. Even their names sounded the same. He was so oblivious. It now seemed like it was a higher force behind every choice he made in the last ten years.

“So, uhm, what exactly is going on with Barry?” Harry asks and Draco jumps at the question. He felt like Harry was in his head, reading his thoughts.

“What do you mean?” Draco tried to act all dumb, not sure how much he’s actually ready to share. 

“The whole orange lightning thing and poof,” he throws his arms up in the air and continues: “Suddenly he’s out of the room like he was never there in the first place. Is he some kind of vampire or what?”

Draco bit his lips, amused. He asked him what cosplay was but knows about vampires having super speed?

“You watched Twilight or something?”

Harry looked up at him now, a light red spreading out on his cheeks, and his lips lifted up in a sheepish smile. 

“I refuse to answer that question,” is all Draco got for an answer as they turned around the last corner before reaching their destination. 

“Remember how I told you that thing with the particle accelerator explosion?”

The man next to him nodded and hummed in response. 

“Well, the short version: The explosion was the reason Barry got hit by lightning, now he can run really fast. There are more people like that in Central City, but they use their new powers to do bad things.”

“So Barry’s like some comic superhero with that suit or what?” 

“I mean, yeah, quite literally,” Draco replied, shrugging his shoulders and scratching his neck right after.

“And you’re part of his team?”

This time, it was Draco’s turn to nod and hum in response. Now that Potter asked him this question, he realized he turned from one of the bad guys into someone who helps protect people. 

“That’s so cool,” he heard Harry mutter under his breath. 

He sounded just like the excited little boy who was completely new to the wizarding world and all the fun stuff that came with it. Riding a broom, quidditch, dragons. He could still see it vividly in his head. The way his eyes lit up everytime he got introduced to these new things.

“We’re here,” Draco said and came to a halt in front of the building’s door. Finding the sign with B. Allen written on it, he rang the doorbell three times in a row. It was a secret sign between him and his friends so they knew the person at their door was someone they knew and trusted.

He always thought it was a bit much, if not pretty paranoid, but now he kind of understood. 

- 

A few hours passed and Draco couldn’t be less surprised that Harry seemed to get along well with his friends. It felt like two worlds colliding right in front of his eyes. They were joking and sharing stories from the past. Barry and Iris told him all about their friendship. Cisco told him how the whole superhero thing started. 

And Draco… Well, he tried his best to keep up his facade throughout the evening. He couldn’t stop the little voice in the back of his mind from nagging him. It was always there, creeping up on him like a painful tension headache. 

All of them are sharing stories about family, friends and school and were expecting the same from him. What was he supposed to say? Tell them that his father was a psycho teaming up with a mass murderer? 

And: Oh, by the way, I’m a wizard and I went to a school with flying candles and a speaking hat that sorted us into different dorms. One of our teachers could turn into a cat, the other turned into a werewolf on full moons.

Harry asked him if he could trust them, if they are his real friends. Draco didn’t think it even mattered. The truth just wasn’t something you could just tell someone in a way they would understand and, most importantly, believe .

The sudden nudge of a shoulder pulled him back into the present and out of his all consuming thoughts. He looked up only to be met by five pairs of eyes looking at him expectantly.

“What?”, he blurted out, feeling caught. Were they aware of the never ending overthinking that was going on inside his head? 

“I’ve been saying your name like six times now, Julian,” Iris said. A worried expression adorned her face. 

Right. Julian. Sometimes he forgot he had to react to that name if someone called it. 

“Sorry, I wasn't listening,” he admitted sheepishly. 

“Oh, we could tell.” A giggle escapes her lips and Draco’s eyes flickered toward her hand. She was holding a glass of wine. 

“So tell me, in all honesty, you and your friend over here,” she continued and pointed her chin toward Harry, who sat right next to him. Draco could feel his throat close up. She wanted him to be honest. 

Does she know something? If so, how much? I need to prepare some excuses.  

Look who’s being paranoid now , the voice in his head mocked him. 

Another giggle. Then a hiccup. She loved the suspense, he knew that. But he also noticed his hands and armpits getting sweaty. If Pansy would see him right now, she wouldn’t recognize him. 

“Did you ever, like, have a thing going on?”

Relief rushed through his whole body and he was powerless against the barking laughter that left his mouth without second thought.

“No!” both him and Harry yelled unisono, which caused the others to break out in uncontrollable laughter. 

Notes:

I love me some feedback and suggestions, feel free to comment! :)

Chapter 5: Back to the start

Summary:

Harry drags drunk Draco back home from their get together with Team Flash. He also has some wise words for him.

Left foot. Right foot. Just keep walking.  

The last time Draco was this shit-faced, it was in the Slytherin common room. He threw a big party, inviting only his closest friends. They celebrated something he couldn’t even remember anymore. All of that lost its meaning a long time ago.

His vision blurred every once in a while, making it hard for him to see the pavement right in front of him and he couldn’t control the giggles that left his mouth without any reason. 

His arm was draped over Harry’s shoulders. It already started to hurt and Harry gritted his teeth with the way the slightly taller men next to him put his whole weight on him while swaying at the same time. 

It was a struggle, to say the least. But then again, Harry knew they weren’t far away from home anymore. 

“You know,” Draco started, the words coming out slurred. “When was the last time we had so much fun together?”

“We never had any fun together, Malfoy. Think the alcohol affected your memory.”

“What? You seem so nice, though. What a shame.” Harry saw him pouting with his eyebrows knitted together. 

“Well, yeah, but you weren’t,” is all Harry could think of saying. There was no use in explaining anything to him while he was this drunk. 

He didn’t dare look up at him, but he watched him very closely in the periphery of his eyes. The way his hand moved up to his face to push the few loose strands of hair out of his eyes, a movement he never saw before.

It took him back to the first time Harry saw him when he arrived here. 

His hair had gotten longer than back in Hogwarts, where he always made sure to keep the exact same haircut. Only one of the things that made him look posh and stuck-up was his hair, always styled to perfection, not a single hair dared to lie the tiniest bit too far to the left or right. 

It fit so well together with his whole I’m-better-than-everyone-here attitude. 

Harry liked the current version of him. The one that didn’t make him feel like he was the dirt under his freshly polished shoes. The one who was brave enough to feel vulnerable. He loved the way he joked with his friends without those jokes being at other people’s expenses. 

Five minutes later, they finally reached the street Draco lived in and Harry sighed in relief when the brown wooden door of his apartment building came into sight. He put his arm around Draco’s waist, his hand gripping his jacket tightly and started to pull him towards the building. 

He couldn’t wait to finally be in his room and let himself fall into the soft pillows.

They came to a halt in front of the door. Harry thought about asking the man next to him for the keys, but a single glance into his direction told him it would be useless. He was sure he wasn’t even able to stand on his own two feet without support.

He looked around and made sure no Muggles were around before he pulled his wand out of his hidden pocket on the inside of his new bought jacket. Then, in the quietest whisper he could manage, he cast a simple Alohomora spell.

“Show-off,” he heard Draco mutter right behind him and he rolled his eyes as he pushed the door open with a creak. He stopped himself from telling him he could have easily done that himself. 

It took about fifteen more minutes until they finally made it to the fifth floor and entered the apartment. 

Harry let Draco fall down on the couch before he went to the kitchen to get some aspirin and a glass of water. He still remembered the last time he was so drunk he needed to puke the next morning. He expected Draco to have the same experience in the morning.

Better safe than sorry , he thought.

He put the hangover kit on the coffee table in front of the couch and was about to leave when a hand landed on the side of his thigh, grabbing it.

“Harry?”

He stilled. His voice was soft and delicate, like he might just break if Harry left now. Surprisingly, that wasn’t what shocked him the most. Malfoy just called him by his first name for the first time. 

He didn’t know what was happening to his body as goosebumps erupted on his arms causing the hair on them to stand up straight. 

Harry.

He hated to admit it, but he loved the way his name sounded coming out of his school nemesis’ mouth. Like it was always made to be said like that. In that British accent that used to taunt him in his teenage years. It even followed him into the night, when he lay awake inside the stone cold walls of Hogwarts.

Potter.

Spit out in a voice that dripped with venom and hatred. 

But this. This was different. 

This was sweet like honey and he noticed a warmth spread throughout his whole body. 

Which made him wonder why he never witnessed anything like this feeling when he was still dating Ginny. He shook that thought away just a second later, hating his mind for even going down that route. 

Ginny was in the past, they broke up on good terms and agreed to stay friends. It wasn’t fair to compare her to anyone, and especially not Draco, who made him feel like shit for several years, while Ginny did nothing but to treat him good. 

He felt a slight tap on his thigh now and jumped, the sudden touch dragging him back into the then and there. He totally forgot about Malfoy still lying right next to him.

Looking down, he noticed a pair of gray eyes looking up at him under half closed lids. 

“Do you miss it?” he asked out of the blue and Harry was caught off guard by the question. 

He knew what he meant, yet he asked: “What exactly, Draco?” 

It was out before he even realized what he was doing. 

Draco.

“Hogwarts. Gryffindor. Dumbledore and his fucking games.”

“I do. It was the first home I ever had.”

“Yeah, same here,” he whispered back, voice filled with an emotion Harry couldn’t quite decipher. 

“Can I be completely honest with you for a moment?”

“Always.”

“It wasn’t the place that made Hogwarts a home. It was the people. I know you hated Hermione and Ron, but they were the only family I ever had,” he rambled, trying to find the right words. He knew it was risky to start this conversation, and there was a possibility that Malfoy would wake up the next day not even remembering it. 

But he had to try. He wanted to get behind those walls he built around him for more than ten years. 

So he sat down at Draco’s feet and continued: “I know it was the same for you. Pansy was like your other half. She is what made Hogwarts feel like home to you. I stayed in touch with her after the war and work with her now. If you decide you want to come back home, she’ll still be there, welcoming you with open arms and not asking any questions.”

The low light inside the room was enough for Harry to see Draco’s eyes glistening and tears escaping at the corner of his eyes. 

It took him a long time until he said something. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing before he cleared his throat.

“I can’t,” is all he managed to get out. Another minute passed without him saying a word. And another. Until Harry had enough. 

“You can’t tell your new friends the truth about yourself, which is why you spend most of your time tip-toeing through your new life. Always expecting to get caught. And you can’t come back home, which is why you just accept whatever life throws at you. I feel like you’re punishing yourself even though everyone else already forgave you.”

“I deserve it,” he whispered. He sounded miserable and Harry already regretted his words. But he also knew it was important that he heard them just once. 

He wanted to give him a chance of coming back home. He always expected Pansy would be the one finding him and holding out that hand to him, but here he was, trying his best to convince him.

“You don’t. You were a child, Draco.” 

The more he said his name, the more he thought he could get used to it. And it kind of scared him. But he didn’t have the time to dwell on it.

He blinked multiple times, trying to get his focus back. When his eyes landed back on the man in front of him, a light snore reached his ears. Draco Malfoy fell asleep with a single tear still rolling down his cheek. 

Harry got up, leaned down and caught the single tear by caressing his cheek with the back of his hand. 

He turned around and walked toward the bathroom. It was time to get ready for some well resting sleep.

 

-

 

The well resting sleep didn’t come that night. Harry spent most of the night tossing and turning. His thoughts kept him awake, along with a weird feeling that clung to his insides. 

Every time he closed his eyes, his mind wandered back to the conversation he had with drunk Malfoy. He feared the next day. Would he remember what they were talking about or forget everything?

It was five in the morning by the time he finally fell into a restless sleep. Two hours later, a loud bang startled him out of his sleep, causing him to sit up straight in his bed. 

His face almost kissed the floor when he rushed to get out of his bed only wearing boxers, a sudden panic that someone broke into the apartment looking for Malfoy. 

He pulled the door open and followed the noise only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw his old nemesis rummaging through his kitchen cupboards and drawers. He obviously didn’t find what he was looking for, if the way he banged them shut and groaned in frustration was any indication. 

His head snapped toward Harry when he noticed him standing right in front of the counter inside the kitchen, eyeing him warily.

“Can I help you?” he spat. 

Harry flinched at the tone in his voice. It was like someone used a time-turner and dragged him ten years into the past. 

“Could ask you the same thing-” he started but was cut off by another drawer getting shut, the sound of its insides flying around echoing through the room. “Would you stop that for a second? What’s wrong?” he yelled over the noise, trying to get Malfoy’s attention despite his cold reaction just a minute earlier. 

“I’m looking for aspirin,” he sighed, eyes shooting up at the dark haired man. “I know I put them in one of the drawers. My head is killing me.”

“So you decide to torture it with all this noise?” Harry asked. His nose scrunched up and his eyebrows furrowed at his behavior. “I put the aspirin on the coffee table. In case you need them when you wake up. Shouldn’t have done that, I guess.”

“You’re right. You shouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t even be here.”

Draco left the room only to step back into it a few seconds later, the aspirin he was looking for now in his hand. 

Harry stood still. He didn’t move an inch since the words left Malfoy’s mouth.

You shouldn’t even be here.

He should have expected this. He left the Ministry of Magic knowing damn well Draco wouldn’t be happy to see him. He let his guard down and thought that, maybe, he found a way to survive the time he had to spend with Draco Malfoy. He was there to protect him, after all. 

He even thought they started to become friends. He was wrong, of course. Yet, he still wondered. Still tried to make up excuses for the man in front of him. 

Maybe he remembered their talk last night and wants to push him away now. Maybe he was scared because of the things Harry told him. Scared to face the fact that everyone forgave him and that Pansy was more than ready to see him again. 

But there was also a voice inside his head telling him that this was nothing new. It was Draco Malfoy, he always acted this way. Some things might actually never change. 

“You’re right. I shouldn’t be here. I volunteered to protect you from the Death Eaters before anyone else could. I thought maybe it would be better for you,” he started, the cold tone in his voice grabbing Draco’s attention in an instant. Of course, since he wasn’t used to Harry being that way.

“Someone who left ten years ago and never once sent a message confirming that they’re okay to their best friends, I thought, really doesn’t want to see any of them ever again. And I felt for you, I really did. But it’s enough, Malfoy. Keep on digging a hole for yourself and live in your own misery. I’m gonna go back tomorrow and tell them they have to send someone else. Might be Pansy or Theo. But by the time they decide that it’s not my problem anymore.”

Harry was out of breath after his rant and it took him everything to look Draco directly into his eyes while he got the words off his chest before he turned on his heel and made his way back into the guest room. He shut the door with a loud bang, making Draco flinch.

Notes:

Soooo... that happened. Let me know what you think! :)

Chapter 6: Conditions

Summary:

Draco talks to his friends about Harry and rushes home to apologize. A series of events starts.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Draco was a mess. He went to S.T.A.R Labs about an hour after Harry stormed off. Barry was out to catch a criminal and the rest of the team monitored his every move. 

Sitting behind the desk and staring at one of the screens, his leg bounced up and down, hitting his knee on the edge of the desk occasionally. His fingers tapped on the desk in front of him in a steady rhythm. 

Cisco pressed his lips firmly together, one of his eyes twitched every few seconds. Draco’s nervous behavior started to rub off on him the moment he noticed it. His own hands started to sweat and he couldn’t concentrate.

Draco wasn’t aware of any of that, though. It was more of a thing he did subconsciously. He didn’t notice the concerned looks his friends threw his way. All he did was replay the same moment over and over again in his head. 

The way Ha-. The way Potter looked at him after the words left his mouth. The things he yelled at him in return, face getting red from anger and frustration. He was devastated about all of it. He knew the anger was nothing more than a way to mask the hurt Draco caused once again.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel relieved. Harry went back to hating him. That was something he was used to. Something he knew how to handle. 

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. 

His eyes widened in shock and his insides twisted when he replayed the scene for what felt like the hundredth time. 

If Harry really made the decision to leave, he would carry out his threat of sending someone else to Central City. 

By the time they decide that it’s not my problem anymore. 

The words echoed through his head. He decided he couldn’t let that happen. He definitely wasn’t ready to see any of the people from his past. 

Harry was never easy to deal with. But Draco had to admit that he took everything from his new life as it was pretty well. He played along with his new identity and even made the effort to hang out with Team Flash. Hell, he even went along with the lies Draco had to make up along the way.

He dragged his ass back home when he got drunk and cared enough about him to prepare for a possible hangover the next morning.

And what did you do? Treat him like absolute shit. 

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

“Julian!” Cisco screamed, head thrown back in frustration and his hands thrown up into the air. 

His leg and fingers stopped mid-tap, his head turning to the left, where his friend looked at him with murder in his eyes. He had to hold back a laugh, he always loved to get on Cisco’s nerves. Even when it wasn’t on purpose this time.

“You have two options. You either talk about whatever crawled up your ass and died today or you stop doing what you’re doing. Like, right now.”

Draco bit his lip at the theatrics of the long haired man. His use of words was really something else. 

“I’d rather not talk about it, thank you very much,” he replied with a hint of sass in his voice. 

His leg and fingers started to twitch.

Tap. 

Thud. Thud. Thud. 

Draco looked over at the sudden noise that wasn’t coming from him and almost lost it at the sight. Cisco started to bang his head on the surface of the desk, the keyboard jumping up and down. 

“I think you’re the one with serious problems here,” he deadpanned, the most serious expression on his face. 

“Because you’re being awfully secretive about everything going on in your life. I’m pretty sure I told you about my diarrhea before. Meanwhile you can’t even talk about something that’s making you lose focus on work completely.”

“Believe me, I’d rather have diarrhea right now.”

Smack.

Caitlin stood in the door, hand on her face after she facepalmed herself.

“Seriously, guys, it’s not that hard to talk about your feelings. This is disgusting.” She wrinkled her nose. 

“Fine, I’ll tell you. But you need to promise you won’t judge me.”

“I’m judging you every single time I see you, so that’s gonna be a hard one,” Cisco said.

Caitlin smiled at the joke, and Draco couldn’t stop his lips from curling upwards, either. 

“Last night, when Harry and I went home,” he started, the name of his school nemesis tasting like acid on his tongue, “we had a kind of deep conversation. He took care of my drunk ass and this morning, when he woke up, I completely snapped at him. He plans on leaving tomorrow.”

“You’re scared of your feelings.” The sudden voice startled him and almost made him fall out of his chair. He turned around to be faced with no other than H.R who pointed at him with his drumsticks, eyebrows raised.

“Couldn’t have said it any better,” Caitlin agreed, nodding with a knowing look on her face.

Draco shook his head, blinking. 

“What?” he blurted out, at a loss for words. Potter was right, he used to be way more eloquent. 

“Your friend cared for you and you enjoyed it. But it also scared you. What was that deep conversation about, my friend?”

“Things in the past. Stuff like that.” He shrugged his shoulders, trying to get himself together and put his nonchalant mask back on his face.

“Whatever it is, Julian, get it together and talk to him. All of us really like him, it would be sad if he left now,” Caitlin said, sympathetic like always.

He was about to open his mouth to say something when an orange lightning rushed past them and the wind caused all of their Paperwork flying through the room. Draco was used to this by now, yet he couldn’t help being annoyed about it. He knew Barry wouldn’t be the one picking up the mess. 

“And? How did it go?” Barry asked, hands on his hips and a big teeth flashing smile on his face.

“You did awesome,” Cisco said, raising a thumbs up towards his best friend. 

Draco tried to hold in his laughter. They got distracted from monitoring him once again.

 

-

 

Draco knew they were right. They always were, after all. Not only were they literal science geniuses, they had a lot of knowledge when it came to human relationships between Muggles. And he trusted their judgment, a lot. 

Which is why he hurried to get home as soon as they didn’t need him at S.T.A.R Labs anymore. He hoped Harry didn’t leave yet, as it was already pretty late.

He didn’t pay any attention to his surroundings when he ran through the streets like a maniac, trying to get home as fast as he could. It was the first time he wished he was capable of running as fast as Barry. 

All the strangers walking past him, eyeing him judgmentally didn’t matter to him anymore. 

When he finally arrived, he was out of breath. Not even the lack of air in his lungs could stop him, though. Instead of taking the elevator, he took the stairs two steps at a time, not having any patience left to wait a couple more seconds. 

He came barging into the apartment, surprised that the door was unlocked. Hope mixed with surprise. Maybe that meant Harry didn’t go back to England yet. 

Inside, it was dark. Every single light was turned off and he stopped for a second, trying to figure out if there was any noise somewhere. 

His heart dropped when the darkness and complete silence embraced him. He spent most of his time since moving to Central City alone, rarely inviting his friends over and always being the one who visited them. And yet his apartment never felt as empty as in that exact moment.

That doesn’t have to mean anything, maybe he’s just reading or something, Draco thought, clawing his fingernails into the last bit of hope he had left.

It only took him seven long strides and he stood right in front of the door to his guest room. 

His hand landed on the door handle and he took a deep breath for the first time since running home. It felt cold under his fingertips, and he contemplated just turning around and letting Harry leave.

He closed his eyes, his hand gripping the door handle so tight the skin over his knuckles turned white. 

Without wasting another second, he pushed down and opened the door.

An audible shaky breath left his mouth when he was faced with Harry’s eyes, peeking over the book he was reading. His head rested against the headboard of the bed and since the last time he saw him, he changed into a sweatshirt and jogging pants.

He looked cozy like that and Draco couldn’t shake the idea of falling into his arms out of his head. He wanted to hide in his arms and breathe in his smell.

And he wanted to say all of this to him. Scream it into his face so he would realize he never wanted to act the way he did. 

“Hi,” is all that came out, voice strangled and a little hoarse. 

“Hi,” is the only answer he got. 

“Can I come in?” 

Harry didn’t say anything but put the book down on the nightstand next to the bed. His arms crossed over his chest in an expecting manner. 

He took that as an invitation and stepped inside to take a seat at the foot of the bed.

The whole way home, he thought about every possible way to apologize and the right words to do so, but now that he was actually in the situation his head was empty. He had a total blackout.

Harry watched him closely, he didn’t miss a single movement on his face and he could read every single thought that went through his head. He didn’t know when he started to be capable of it.

“Well…” he huffed. “You usually start with “I’m sorry”.”

Draco snorted but quickly turned serious again. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, his eyes meeting the blue ones of his school nemesis. “I really am,” he added. 

“In the next part you usually tell the person what you’re sorry for,” Harry said, sticking out his chin to look tougher than he felt. 

Draco narrowed his eyes at him. He was acting like an absolute prat. 

This is what it must’ve felt like having to deal with my attitude every single day, he thought to himself. 

“I’m sorry for acting like such an asshole this morning, you didn’t do anything wrong and just tried to be nice. I just-” he explained but stopped himself from saying too much at the end. 

He didn’t know how he was supposed to make it sound understandable for him without giving too much of his feelings away. 

Earlier, when he was still hanging out with his friends, he realized he wasn’t only scared about the heartfelt things Potter told him about his friends back home. He worried about the things Harry made him feel when he got all nice and caring towards him. 

Back in Hogwarts, he always wished he could see that side of him just once. When he saw the golden trio walking around or sitting together in the Great Hall, he had to literally force his eyes away from them. Otherwise the jealousy would have eaten him alive.

Now that he got that attention from Harry, he didn’t know how to act anymore. So he pushed him away, of course. It was always fight or flight. And those days, Draco picked flight over fight anytime.

Running away from everything he grew up with and lashing out on the people around him if they dared to get too close. Harry was one of them, he never stopped digging for answers and was about to find out how deep the root had rotten inside Draco.

“You just what?” Harry asked, voice a little softer now. 

“You’re really nice and I started to enjoy your company here. You’re the only one where I don’t have to pretend to be someone else.”

“You’re making it sound like a good thing and not a reason to lose it and snap at me.”

“It is a good thing. But it isn’t at the same time. As soon as you get the Death Eater thing sorted, you’re gonna go back to England. To your friends, your job, maybe even to Ginny,” he explained, throwing the last point in there out of spite even though he risked Potter noticing his jealousy. He tried his best making it sound like a question.

But he also still wanted, no, needed to know if Harry was single. 

He watched Harry shake his head with confusion written all over his face. His eyebrows knitted and his hair fell to the side, revealing the lightning shaped scar on his forehead. 

“Well, first off, I’m not with Ginny anymore. And second, no one says you have to stay here. You could just come back with me, Malfoy,” he answered after what felt like eternity. 

There was something in his eyes Draco couldn’t quite put his finger on. 

“You don’t have to say anything right now. Just think about it,” he continued without waiting for an answer. “And now to your apology. I’ll accept it,” he said and Draco released the air he was holding inside his lungs for far too long. But then he put a single finger up, interrupting Draco’s early relief. “Under one condition, though,” he slowly spoke the only words Draco didn’t want to hear into the quiet room. 

His whole body tensed, sure that whatever the condition, he wouldn’t like it.

But he could hear himself say the words before he even thought about them:

“I’ll do anything.”

The next thing he saw made a cold shiver run down his spine. Harry Potter, the golden boy, plastered a smug grin on his face. 

Draco wanted to run away as far as he could. Like he thought earlier: flight over fight, every single time. 

“I guess it’s time to finally tell your friends the truth about you, Julian Albert,” he said, emphasizing his fake name. 

Draco’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t actually be serious, could he? 

Panic set in immediately, trying to find his best way to still get out of this. He could either tell his new friends about his real name and life, or refuse to do it and let Harry leave which could result in Pansy or Theo being his next visitors in Central City. 

“ Fine ,” he heard himself agree through gritted teeth.

 

-

 

Tap. Tap. Tap. 

Draco had a Déjà-vu. 

He was a mess again. 

He wondered what went so fucking wrong and resulted in him sitting on his couch next to the raven haired man, waiting for his friends to arrive.

Harry actually forced him to send them a text five minutes after he agreed to tell them the truth. So he did. Ever so slowly he typed out the words on his phone, his hands stiff and sweaty with fear.

 

ME

Hey guys, can you come over later?

There's something important I have to tell you.

 

It was ridiculous how long it took him to decide whether he should sign the message with Julian or not.

His message was followed with a storm of thumbs-up emojis and a picture of H.R with a bright smile on his face, his thumb raised in the air and toward the camera.

The memory of the message caused Draco to close his eyes and rub his hand over his face.

He really, really, started to love those people. 

Especially H.R, it was impossible to hate that man. His whole attitude and his dorkiness made it so easy to love him as soon as they met. He didn’t have a single mean bone in his body.

Sure, Cisco was grumpy sometimes, but deep down, he really cared for the people he loved. He would drop everything if you need him, always eager to help you find a solution to your problem. 

Caitlin. Sweet, caring Caitlin. If he needed to talk, she would listen. And if he didn’t know how to talk about it, she would just sit with him in silence. Both of them to themselves but still together. 

Iris always knew the right things to say. She knew how to light up the mood in an instant and made him laugh when all he wanted to do was cry countless times.

He had a rough start with Barry, but in the end they got along well. He always looked out for his friends. A smile crept onto Draco’s lips when the memory of his coming out barely a week ago flashed his mind. 

And lastly, Joe. Papa Joe. Who always did his best to protect all of them. He’s the one who made their friend group feel like an actual family. 

Draco was sure they were going to hate him and never forgive him for all the lies he fed them. They trusted him after people broke their trust before, and now Draco was about to do the exact same thing. 

He flinched when a knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts. 

Slowly, he got up and wiped his hands on his pants. He could feel his heart beating as his chest felt like it was closing in on itself. He took one last deep breath before he opened the door, getting greeted with the most genuine smiles at the other side of the door. 

Their smiles dropped immediately when they noticed the state he was in, all sweaty and eyes scanning every single one of them.

He stepped aside, holding the door open for them. He heard them saying their hello’s to Harry when he closed the door with a quiet click. 

When he turned to face them, they already sat down and observed him attentively, an expectant look on their faces. They formed a semicircle around him with the way they spread out in the living room. 

Draco decided to keep standing even though he already felt his knees buckling like they were about to give up carrying his weight any second. 

He looked down on his intertwined hands in front of his chest, twisting and turning them in an attempt to calm down his nerves. 

When he finally found the courage to look back up to face his friends, he stopped at H.R. He was the most supportive and genuine guy of them all, the encouraging smile on his face proved it. 

So Draco focused on his face and his face only, drowning the rest of them out as he cleared his throat audibly. He didn’t know the right words to start a conversation like that, he had never been in a situation like that, after all.

He figured it was best to treat it like a band aid. The faster you rip it off, the less it’s going to hurt. 

“My name’s not actually Julian Albert,” he dropped the information. Threw it into the room, right in the middle of all those people that grew dear to his heart.

Barry was the first to speak:

“What?” was the only word that left his mouth, followed by a sound that showed he couldn’t believe what he just heard. 

“I knew it! I knew something was going on with you after your friend here showed up. I told you we can’t trust him, Barry!” Cisco jumped up from the place he was sitting at. His eyes bulged and made him look absolutely furious as he pointed his accusing finger at Harry.

And then absolute hell broke loose. Someone started to yell, followed by someone blaming another one of them for trusting Draco. 

He didn’t know what to do and by the look on Harry’s face, he didn’t know either.

Joe’s voice drowned them all out when he started to scream at them to calm down. He put his hands at either side of his body, repeating a slow down motion over and over again.

“Hey!”, he screamed. He used that cop voice that always took over when they were arguing. 

All of them stopped, looking at him.

“How about we all sit back down now? He asked us to come here for a reason. And he’s about to tell us the truth, so you all better open up those ears and shut up.”

Not even a minute later, they all sat back down. Papa Joe, everybody.

Draco was about to open his mouth for an explanation when Harry beat him to it.

“We can explain all of this,” Harry said with his usual calm and steady voice, not impressed by the absolute chaos he just witnessed a minute ago.

“What makes you think we’re gonna believe anything that’s coming out of your mouth after this? You’re unbelievable,” Caitlin said, her shaking voice a strong contrast to Harry’s.

She got a point , Draco admitted to himself. It hurt hearing her talk like that about him, anyway.

He decided to just ignore her words and keep going. He was here to tell them the truth, and he wasn’t done yet. He just wanted to get this over with. 

“My real name is Draco Malfoy,” he started and kept his face on H.R still. 

“Wasn’t that the name Harry mentioned when he showed up?” he heard Iris whisper, but he stopped his head from turning into her direction. 

He pulled out his wand, and he could see his friends bracing themselves and heard the sound of multiple people inhaling a sharp breath. He held it up for all of them to see, and didn’t waste any time in choosing his next words wisely. He had a hunch they wouldn’t believe him no matter how he put it.

“I was born into a family of wizards and witches. I went to a school for young wizards and witches in England, a school hidden from the eyes of normal people.” His vision started to blur. He didn’t want to do this. It was wrong. He wasn’t even allowed to tell Muggles about the existence of magic. “Harry went there, too. Which is why you couldn’t find anything about his life.”

“Is he being for real right now?” Cisco shouted, anger dripping from his voice. “You’re seriously trying to tell us magic exists?”

“You know what, for someone dealing with the impossible and unbelievable every day of your life, you’re pretty narrow-minded.” H.R took the words right out of Draco’s mouth. He was about to say the exact same thing, maybe not worded as nicely, but still.

“Prove it,” Barry said, his voice trembling. “We can keep arguing about this all day long, or you can just prove it.”

Draco gave Harry a questioning look. He wasn’t much help at all when he simply shrugged his shoulders. 

So he proved it. 

He looked at H.R and said: “You got your drumsticks with you?”

“Always,” he gave him a smirk and nodded before he pulled them out of the back pocket of his jeans.

“Hold one of them up, like this.” He demonstrated it with the wand in his hand and when he noticed the worried expression on his face, he added: “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”

He could hear a scoff to his left, and just by the sound he knew it was Cisco. 

Draco ignored it and put all his focus on his friend, who held up one of his drumsticks despite still being skeptical. He lifted up his wand, pointed it at him and drew a V-like pattern in the air. 

“Expelliarmus.”

The room fell silent, the only sound was the drumstick landing on the floor with a hollow wooden click. The tension in the room was unbearable, it felt like all of his friends started holding their breaths when he cast the Disarming charm and forced the drumstick out of H.R’s hands against all rules of science. 

“What the fuck,” Cisco muttered. 

Barry stood in absolute disbelief, his hands on his head and his eyes open wide. 

No one dared to say anything else, though. So he decided to break the silence himself. 

“Do you believe me now?”

“Absolutely, yes. But now I wanna know why the hell you changed your name and didn’t tell us the truth,” Joe said, a stern look on his face. The whole team nodded in agreement. 

And so he started from the beginning, telling him all about Voldemort and the school they went to. Harry helped him by adding some details, things he suppressed for ten years and long gone from his memory. He even told them about his parents and his role in the war. 

He mentioned his friends, Pansy and Theo and how much they meant to him before he left his old life behind. 

Harry told him about all the friends they’ve lost along the way. Getting reminded of Crabbe hurt like hell, but it was about time he started to face all those things. 

They talked up until the ungodly hours after they ordered pizza for everyone. His friends had a lot of questions, and they answered all of them. No more lies and secrets. 

“I just had a horrible thought,” Cisco said after they fell into a comfortable silence. 

“What was it?” Barry asked, sitting on the floor and leaning against the couch, he had to twist his head to look at their long haired friend. 

“We finally know something Dr. Harrison Wells didn’t know better.” His lips curled up into an innocent grin, but his eyes were glistening mischievously.

All of them groaned at the same time, some even rolled their eyes.

“Who is Dr. Harrison Wells?” Harry asked. “Sounds like the perfect name for a villain.”

“That’s a story for another day,” Caitlin replied and a soft laugh escaped her mouth.

The rest of them laughed, too. 

Like there was an invisible magnet that pulled them towards Harry, his eyes moved to look at him. Harry was already looking at him, like always. The shy smile Draco didn’t see for the first time the last couple of days was back on his face. He couldn’t help but reciprocate it. 

He was content with the way his life went for the first time in ten years. Maybe it was time to finally heal from the past and look forward, where a new and better life awaited him. 

He didn’t have to hide anymore. All of his secrets were out. 

Except for one.

He was utterly and hopelessly in love with Harry Potter.

 

Notes:

Team Flash finally knows the truth. What do you think?:)

Chapter 7: F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Summary:

Draco feels more comfortable now that his secret is out. He hangs out with his friends and two friends from Star City pay them a visit.

Notes:

To clear up any confusion beforehand: I know the scene Draco references to with Barry getting completely drunk happened in season 4. I wanted Julian to be part of that, though, so I decided to keep it in. :)

The next day, they woke up way into the afternoon and ate the leftover pizza from their little sleepover before they made their way to S.T.A.R Labs right after.

Draco decided to call in sick for the rest of the week. The moment the thought popped into his head, he was shocked about himself. He knew Harry would tease him about it if he were to ever find out. He always saw him as someone with a stick up his arse. 

It didn’t take him long to make the decision to do it anyway. What’s a couple of days away from work gonna do? He deserved a break from real life too. He worked with the CCPD for more than half a year and never once missed a day of work. 

Barry, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. You could count the amount of times he showed up to work in the last six months on two hands. 

It was a way to get some control over his life, the routine of an actual job making it easy for him to survive the lonely days. 

He figured he didn’t need it all that much anymore. His friends knew who he was now and he could stop hiding away from them when everything got too much. He would be able to talk about it if the memories came back to torture his mind like they always did.

He looked up at Harry, sitting across from him in a chair, almost all the way through the book he started yesterday. He took the chance to take his whole presence in while he was distracted. 

The realization he had last night still didn’t leave his head almost twelve hours later.

He couldn’t believe Harry found a way to get under his skin again. Ten years passed since Draco’s crush on the boy who hated his guts. It was ridiculous, really. 

Even Pansy didn’t understand what had gotten into him when he told her about his pining. Every single time something remotely interesting happened regarding Potter, he went to her and told her all about it. She teased him every chance she got, but Draco didn’t mind it. It made him feel like a normal teenage boy every once in a while. 

“Hey, Jul- Sorry, Draco?” Cisco called, immediately correcting himself when he realized his mistake. 

All of them were still getting used to the whole idea of magic existing and having to call the man they knew as Julian by his real name.

Which made him think about going back to work next monday. Barry could accidentally call him Draco in front of their co-workers. He added it to the list of things he had to figure out. 

“Yes?” he answered a little late.

“Tell me, what kind of magic tricks do you have in your repertoire?”

Draco raised one of his eyebrows, curiosity getting the better of him when he noticed the evil grin on Cisco’s face.

“I am a man of many talents. What do you want?” he said with a slightly arrogant attitude and looked over at the only other wizard in the room. 

Said wizard rolled his eyes so hard Draco could only see the white parts of them for a moment. 

“You’re so down to earth, Malfoy.” 

“Why do you guys always call each other by your last name? You didn’t do that before,” Iris asked, amused and ready for some gossip. Draco could tell by the way her eyes lit up.

“Did we forget to tell them?” Draco directed the question at Harry, earning a laugh in return. “We hated each other during our school years. You don’t call your enemy by his first name, that’s too personal and intimate,” he explained, chin sticking out proudly but it was clear he was making fun of their younger selves. 

The mannerisms were an exact copy of back in the day, but even Harry knew it was all fun and games now.

“So fucking dramatic, for what?” He threw the words at him and put his book down as he lost his reading flow. 

“Dramatic? Me? Never,” Draco replied, his whole face lighting up. It was the first time in a long time he had a genuine smile on his face that reached his eyes. 

“Says the man who sat down in a tree thinking it made him look all tough while he looked down at his peasants.” Draco visibly winced at the reminder and Harry couldn’t stop himself from bursting out laughing. 

There it was. The laugh Draco thought about a few days ago. That laugh that shook his whole body and made everyone around join in. 

He finally made it. He made Harry Potter laugh his most beautiful laugh. It was even better than all the times he imagined it. 

“Okay, back to my question. Do you think you could do me a favor?” Cisco interrupted his moment of success. Draco suppressed a groan. He wanted to enjoy it a little longer after he waited so many years.

“Spit it out.”

“You see, earlier, I left my snacks over there,” he said, pointing to the other side of the room. “But I’m sitting here.” His finger moved to a point on the floor beneath him. “Are you sensing the problem here?”

“You’re unbelievable!” Caitlin yelled. Her high pitched voice was a mixture of amusement and actual shock. 

“Watch this.” Sure, it was an easy spell, but Draco took every opportunity to impress his friends with the things he could do. To be even more of a show-off, he used wandless magic this time. With a simple Accio, he summoned the snacks towards Cisco.

“Awesome,” he muttered under his breath. Draco and Harry shared a knowing look, both of their eyes crinkling.

“Wait, Harry, if you two don’t even like each other, why did you show up out of nowhere?” Iris went back to the former topic. The need to find out more about their past still wasn’t satisfied.

“Uh.” He spluttered, looking at Draco for help. 

“Remember how we told you about Voldemort?” Draco asked his friends.

“Ha! The guy without the nose?” Cisco laughed and Draco rolled his eyes at the question. Out of all the things they mentioned about the Dark Lord, that was the first characteristic that came to his mind? 

“Yes,” Draco replied, his voice a little irritated now. In his eyes, sometimes Cisco was the biggest idiot around. “The people following his ideology, let’s just say some of them still do, even if he died ten years ago.” he started explaining it the easiest way possible. 

“The Death Eaters, right?” Caitlin asked. 

“Yep,” Draco said, popping the “p”. 

“And what about them?” Cisco leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, acting like he’s thinking deeply.

“They’re after me.” 

“They’re what?” Iris screeched out. “Why didn’t you say that last night? They will be after us, too, if they find you here.” 

“Because Harry already made a plan. You have nothing to worry about.” Draco nodded his head over to Potter. His gaze remained fixed on him when he noticed the raven haired man slouching down on his chair. “You did make a plan, right?”

“I mean I thought about one.” A light pink crept up his cheeks. “At one point I even thought about killing you myself, you know, save them some hard work,” he added, a glistening expression in his eyes. 

Draco’s mouth dropped down so fast he feared his jaw joint would dislocate. 

“No plan, then?” Caitlin’s words interrupted Draco’s imagination, painting very detailed pictures about getting up and suffocating Potter with the pillow next to him. That didn’t stop him from glaring at him from across the room. 

“Not yet. I’ll come up with something, I promise.”

Caitlin and Cisco shared a look.

“You do that and we work on plan B in the meantime.”

“Maybe Plan C and D for good measure while you’re at it,” Draco joked. He knew nothing went as planned in this team. He had to witness it first hand one too many times.

After the conversation was over, they all went back to what they were doing before. Ten minutes later, Barry came barging in out of nowhere, using his super speed. The moment Draco noticed, he slapped his hand down and onto the stack of papers in front of him, saving what he could before they went flying. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Harry jumping at Barry’s sudden appearance.

“Another day, another save,” Barry said, smiling.

“I’m gonna say this one last time: Stop with the slogans, please,” Cisco pressed out through gritted teeth, followed by an annoyed groan. 

Barry’s smile still didn’t leave his face. 

Meanwhile, Harry was still sitting there shell shocked. He looked up slowly and asked: “Do you ever get used to him just running in here?”

The whole team shared a knowing look before they turned their heads back to Harry.

“Never,” they all said at the same time like they shared one mouth.

Next thing Draco knew, a sound filled the air, signaling a new text message. He saw Barry looking down on his phone and couldn’t help but notice the light blush that tainted his cheeks. 

His mind immediately went to Oliver Queen, resulting in his lips curling up into a smile. 

“Oliver just texted,” Barry said absentmindedly while tipping a new message himself. “He said he just arrived and sent me an address. You guys ready?” He looked up now, only to be faced with the knowing look on Draco’s face. The blush only deepend. 

 

-

 

One after the other they stepped into the bar belonging to the address Oliver sent them, looking around and wondering where the hell they ended up.

Draco questioned how he never heard of the place, but then he spotted the big Karaoke sign on the other side of the room. Every letter of the word shone in a different color, a man in his fifties stood right underneath it and belted out the words to a song he never heard before. 

He never heard someone sing so off-key, but he gave it to him for having the balls to go up there and do that in front of almost a hundred strangers.

The place was packed and he had trouble walking forward without bumping into other people. 

About halfway through the bar, he saw Felicity raising her arm and waving excitedly. 

They all hurried up as best as they could and had to scooch over very closely in order to all fit at one table.

Felicity gave all of them a hug, some of them even over the table and greeted them with her lips curled up into a big smile while Oliver gave them a curt nod. Harry introduced himself to her as she wasn’t there the last time they visited Oliver in Star City.

They all ordered a drink a couple minutes later and every single one of them was involved in a conversation with someone else. Barry ordered water and poured his very own “special concoction”, as Cisco named it, in it to get drunk. 

Draco knew they were making a lot of noise when they had to start screaming at each other over a woman screeching My heart will go on at the top of her lungs .

“Oh, by the way, Julian,” he heard Oliver say, interrupting his own conversation with Barry as if he just got reminded of something. 

Draco lifted up his head to look at him and saw him open his mouth to keep talking when a cough two seats away cut him off. 

“Actually, about that,” Cisco began, holding one of his fingers up and a shy smile on his lips. “His name isn’t Julian.”

Draco couldn’t help but feel his stomach twist at the words. To say he felt displeased about Cisco telling him was an understatement. He should have heard the truth from Draco himself and not someone else. 

“What do you mean his name is not Julian?” Oliver asked, his voice filled with doubt. “Seriously, is there a single normal person walking around in this city?”

Draco couldn’t stop the cackle that escaped him at the words of the vigilante. It was ironic how, of all people, he was the one saying them. 

“My name’s Draco,” is all he was able to say. He didn’t know Oliver the way he knew all his other friends so he wasn’t too sure about telling him the complete story one day. What he knew, though, is that he wouldn’t do it in a bar full of people. 

“Oh, what kinda name is that? Greek, maybe?” Felicity’s voice caught his attention, trying to ease the tension that started to build up at their table. No one said a word since they broached the subject. 

“With all those computers around you all day everyday I figured you would know how to google by now,” Draco joked and made her laugh with the statement. 

“What’s google?” Harry asked out of nowhere.

Oliver and Felicity’s heads turned to look at him at once. Oliver’s mouth dropped in disbelief, his eyebrows raised in that typical way he always did.

“Is he from a different Earth, too?” Felicity whispered, leaning forward over the table so Harry wouldn’t hear. Except she whispered way too loudly, making the whole table burst out laughing.

“A different Earth?” Harry screeched an octave too high and the people around them fell silent, staring at them.

“Shhh,” Draco shushed him and put a hand over his mouth. “We’ll explain this later, don’t shout it out for the whole world to hear.”

If looks could kill, Draco would fall dead the exact moment Harry’s eyes locked with his own. Draco pulled his hand away quickly.

“Sorry,” he said, putting his hand on the table in front of him. 

“So, guys, who’s gonna go up there with me?” Felicity asked, looking around the table.

Draco slouched down and tried his best to make himself look as small as possible. He certainly wasn’t in the mood to expose his horrible singing abilities like that. 

“Harry, come on,” she decided which one of them she wanted to torture today. “There’s no better way of getting to know someone than by their music taste.”

Harry tried to object but failed miserably when she grabbed his hand and pulled him up on stage. Draco could see his last attempt to fight against it by pressing his feet into the ground, but to no success. Felicity always got her way, only one of her characteristics Draco had a lot of respect for. 

He watched Harry closely while he walked up the few stairs to the little stage and Felicity shoved the microphone into his hand. The man skimmed the list with all the songs the karaoke machine had, his face showing more confusion with every song he never heard of.

When he finally decided which song he wanted to sing, he stood next to Felicity, a nervous expression on his face. He searched the crowd for a familiar face and stopped when he spotted Draco’s in the middle of all those people.

Draco gave him a reassuring smile and a thumbs up, glad he wasn’t the one standing up there but also feeling kind of bad for his former nemesis. 

He tried to enjoy the evening, pushing their problems aside, but he couldn’t help but wonder if it was a good idea to show themselves in public like that.

He shook the thoughts away and put his focus back on the two in front of him when the first notes of the song started to play.

Draco recognized the melody of the song, yet he didn’t know what it was called. The memory of Harry humming it absentmindedly flashed before his eyes. It was in first year and Draco made fun of him for it.

Was this some kind of broad hint at Draco? Did Harry remember it, too?

Still, Draco smiled at him. He didn’t know all the words to the song, but in Draco’s opinion it didn’t sound too bad and definitely better than he expected.

He felt a slight nudge at his shoulder and turned his head quickly to look at Caitlin sitting in the chair next to him. 

“Are you going to tell him someday?” she asked, the words catching him off guard.

“Tell him what?” He tried his best to make his voice sound monotone, afraid he would give away all the emotions he felt at once.

“That you’re in love with him. I can see it in your eyes when you look at him,” she got closer and whispered the words in his ear so she wouldn’t expose him to their friends.

“And you’re telling me this now? What if he noticed? Oh god.” The panic he felt was evident in his face and voice. 

Caitlin giggled in response and rolled her eyes.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think he did. Otherwise he would have probably made a move by now.” 

“I don’t think I can follow you right now. What are you talking about?”

“I’m trying to make it clear to you that he has feelings for you, idiot.” 

“Potter? Feelings about me? It will be a cold day in hell the moment he starts to have feelings for me,” Draco retorted, controlling himself before he snorted in amusement.

“Believe what you want to believe, but I recognize unrequited feelings when I see them.”

“They aren’t unrequited, though,” he stated. “Haven’t been in ten years.”

“Ten years?” she suddenly raised her voice in surprise for everyone to hear. Draco saw Harry making his way back to them now, eyes focused on the two of them after hearing Caitlins words.

He tilted his head, curiosity getting the better of him. He wondered if they were talking about him. 

“Would you shut up?” Draco answered in a high pitched voice that made his friend laugh. “Seriously, he’s already looking over at us,” he whined.

“Alright, alright. But you should tell him, you know. You deserve someone that makes your eyes shine the way they do when you look at him.” 

Her words were left unanswered as Harry let himself fall back into his chair next to him.

“And? How did I do?” he asked, smiling from ear to ear cheekily. 

“There is still room for improvement, but it was bearable,” Draco said and bit his lip to stop himself from smiling.

Harry shrugged his shoulders before he spoke: “You know what, I’ll take it.” 

Draco downed the rest of his drink and held his hand up to order another one. 

“You want another one, too?” he asked, the question directed at the man next to him.

“I can’t drink any more, I have to protect you in case something happens,” Harry said, an apologetic tone in his voice.

“Aw, come on. We have Barry “I’m the Flash” Allen with us. Nothing’s gonna happen to me,” Draco replied, referencing the time Barry got drunk for the first time since he got his super speed and told a bar full of people he’s the one behind the orange lightning of Central City. 

“Hey, I heard that!” Barry called out from the other side of the table.

“Good, you should slow down with your special elixir. We don’t need another bar fight,” Cisco commented. 

“Do you ever, I don’t know, do normal people activities?” Harry questioned.

All of them shook their heads simultaneously.

Notes:

I enjoy writing all of their different characters waaay too much, haha. Let me know what you think!:)

Chapter 8: Fight or flight? Fight.

Summary:

The team enjoys their night out when they notice someone is missing.

Notes:

Just a heads up: This chapter contains mentions of violence, blood and death. It's not very graphic, though.

All of them were drunk. Draco stopped counting the amount of drinks he downed in the last couple of hours, but he knew it was one too many with the way his surroundings seemed to spin.

Harry decided they were safe with Barry and Oliver around them and had a couple drinks himself. Surprisingly, Barry was the only one doing okay and being somewhat sober. 

It was the first time Draco saw him as carefree as this, without the weight of saving the wizarding world on his shoulders. He figured he never left feeling responsible for other people’s lives behind, his new job was proof enough.

But that night, as they sang and talked and drank one after the other, he revealed a side of him the blond man never felt entitled to witness. The way his head flew back while laughing about a stupid joke someone made, the way he fit in with Draco’s new friend group.

His friends even convinced him to go up on stage to do karaoke. At first, he was all shy standing in front of so many people, but when they started cheering him on, he absolutely massacred everyone’s eardrums. 

It took him two more songs and Barry to join him up there until he took every scrap of courage and belted out Queen’s “Don’t stop me now”. It was one of the few songs he knew the lyrics to, and he thought it was fitting.

He wanted to have fun. And he wanted to show the man he was in love with, the man he pined over for years, how different he could be with the right people and a positive influence in his life. 

Everything in that moment felt right, like it was just the way his life was always supposed to be. This was the person he would have been if he didn’t grow up with strict rules on how to behave and represent the family. 

It pulled at his heart strings to be part of that moment. It was one of those he knew he would still remember in twenty years, looking back at it with a tiny smile on his face. 

But it also burned deep in his chest, a pain like his heart was about to break just because of the thought of Harry possibly leaving sooner or later. 

He knew it would be hard to just keep going like they never left their old enmity behind and started to get along pretty well. Hell, he even got to that point of falling right back in love with him after just a couple of days.

He decided it was best to stop thinking about it and enjoy the moment when he felt an arm wrap around his shoulder, and the spinning only got worse.

“Not to be nosy, but where is your other friend? The one with the hat and drumsticks?” Harry said, his lips almost touching Draco’s ear the way he leaned closer to him. 

Draco suppressed a shiver at the sensation of Harry’s hot breath hitting his skin. 

“You mean H.R?” he breathed out, a dry feeling in his throat at the proximity.

He saw the man next to him nod, his brows furrowed together. 

Draco felt his blood run cold.

“Guys!” he called out, addressing all his friends at the same time. When they didn’t react at first, he yelled again, that time a little louder. Their conversations fell silent as their heads turned toward him. “Has anyone seen H.R today?”

He watched them think deeply for a moment before they all answered with a simple, yet bone-chilling “no”. By the time the last one shook their head, all color vanished from his face.

The last time all of them saw H.R. was the day before, the day he revealed his biggest secret. 

“Do you know where he went? Back to Earth-19, maybe?” he peppered them with more questions. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear their answers, though. He ignored how Harry’s eyes widened at the questions. 

Accrual panic set in when he got his answer. No one knew his whereabouts. They all saw him for the last time yesterday.

Draco, completely sobered up at the circumstances, shared a look with Harry. Could it actually have something to do with them and the Death Eaters?

He looked around at the table, seeing everyone else mirroring the emotions he was going through. They all had worried looks on their faces, trying to remember if H.R mentioned anything about leaving for a while. Sometimes he just did that, after all. 

“I suggest we get out of here and head over to S.T.A.R labs, guys. Maybe he’s there and we’re panicking for nothing,” Barry said as he switched into team leader and voice of reason. 

All of them jumped out of their chairs and put on their jackets, they hurried out of the bar so fast Draco couldn’t even tell if someone paid their bill. 

On the whole fifteen minute way home, Draco’s heart and mind raced like it was a competition.

He would never forgive himself if anything happened to his friend. He should’ve noticed earlier. Whenever they spent time at S.T.A.R Labs, H.R would be there. Sooner or later, he always showed up out of nowhere, scaring the shit out of him even after six months of knowing him.

When they arrived at their destination, they split up to search the huge amount of rooms for their friend. The possibilities of his location in the building were endless, and Draco’s hands were coated in sweat of fear. 

After they finished searching all of it, they met in the main control room. Everyone’s nervousness was palpable and Draco’s heart was ready to jump out of his chest.

They didn’t have to say a word as they all shook their heads at each other, lips pressed together tightly.

Cisco was the last to come back in, a distressed look on his face and a piece of paper in his hand. 

“I found something,” he announced to all of them, but his face met Draco’s with an unspoken accusation written all over his face. “Think this is meant for you, though,” he added as his shaky hand held out the piece of paper for Draco to take. 

The moment his fingertips met the smooth paper, his whole body tensed. He was almost too scared to unfold it, but he knew he had to. His friend's life might be at risk, he couldn’t allow himself to just run away again. 

He could feel the change of the atmosphere in the room as he unfolded it. It was like all of them held their breath, already expecting something terrible. 

His sharp inhale of breath cut through the silence as he read the words written in neat handwriting:

“We got your friend. It’s either you or him. You decide, Slytherin.”

More sharp inhales of breath followed and he realized he read the words out loud for all of them to hear. 

Right under the written part was a little drawing, something he’s seen so many times, had so many nightmares about, he would never forget it. 

It was burned into his skin and faded to a scar after Voldemort died. He had to look at it every single day. It was the reason he never went outside without wearing long sleeves. 

The way the snake slithered out of the skull’s mouth, it was unmistakable:

The dark mark. 

“What does that even mean?” Iris asked, her voice filled the silence unexpectedly and caused Draco to flinch.

“That they found him,” Harry whispered, not quite daring to speak the words into existence. 

“Who found him?” Oliver asked impatiently, his arms crossed in front of his chest and a serious expression in his face. 

Draco totally forgot that Oliver and Felicity were still there, leaving him uncertain of what to do next. They didn’t have the time to explain the whole situation, but Oliver had that look on his face. 

Sure, he could try to find an excuse and just make something up. He could also not explain anything at all. But he knew by that look coming from him that he wouldn’t let him off the hook without any explanation of what’s going on. 

He was more than ready to help them. All of them were. What they didn’t know, though, is that they simply couldn’t. This was something only Harry and Draco knew how to deal with.

His eyes wandered over to the raven haired man and immediately saw him thinking the same.

“Don’t even think about doing this on your own,” Cisco’s words reached his ear. 

Damnit , he thought. Just this one time he wished Cisco far, far away. 

“Cisco, I don’t think you understand the gravity of this. They aren't criminals or metas. They can kill you with just two words,” he said, and buried his face in his hands. He was close to pulling at his hair.

“Here’s the plan,” Harry started, and caused him to drop his hands and look back up. Now wasn’t the right time to despair at all. “You let Draco and I leave. And it’s really important that you stay here. You can monitor us on your humongous amount of computers, for all I care, but don’t get involved.” 

He finished his rant, and Draco never saw him as serious and determined as in that moment in a long time. 

“Would someone explain what the hell is going on right now?” Oliver yelled out angrily, causing all of them to jump at the sudden volume.

“Your plan is bullshit!” Cisco yelled right after.

“I agree with Cisco. You should let me come with you. I’m fast, they won’t see me coming,” Barry said, his quiet voice in high contrast to the other two before him.

“That might be true, but the moment they do see you it’s over for you,” Harry stated, matter-of-factly. 

“Seriously, guys. What are we talking about here? Metas?” Felicity asked, the first time she spoke up since they left the bar. 

“Magic,” Cisco answered, looking down at the floor and refusing to look up even when multiple pairs of eyes stared at him disappointed.

“And you actually wonder why I never tell you anything about myself,” Draco said, his soft voice filled with hurt. The backstabbing feeling of betrayal rushed through his whole body.

He knew Oliver had to know, it was impossible not to tell him. They couldn’t let him walk into the situation blindly, after all. But he wanted to find a way to stop him from joining them, at all. 

Yet he still couldn’t help but feel like Cisco just broke his trust. 

“You’re such a bunch of idiots sometimes. You know I had to deal with magic before, right? It’s not like I’m not aware of its existence,” Oliver remarked, his voice getting louder as more words left his mouth. It was dripping with rage by the end of his emotional outbreak. 

“To be fair, I actually didn’t,” Draco replied emotionless. “If we could move on now, we’re not here for a tea party,” he snarled. 

“So how do we find them?” Barry asked, suddenly in his suit. Draco didn’t even bother asking himself when he left to put it on. Barry completely ignored the fact he forgot to tell them Oliver Queen knew about magic existing. 

“ Appare Vestigium ?” Harry asked, directed at Draco. It felt weird to throw around words like that around their Muggle friends. 

“Might be our best option, I guess they can’t be too far away when they’re waiting for me,” Draco muttered, the new sudden wave of guilt closing up his throat. 

Harry pulled out his wand, earning a snicker from Oliver despite it being the most inappropriate situation to laugh. 

Draco stood right next to him with crossed arms as he spoke the words into the room while his wrist holding the wand made the associated movements. He heard one of the women gasp for air when golden fog appeared out of nowhere. The footprints that followed right after lead outside the room. 

He let out a sigh of relief that they didn’t use Apparition as transportation and left traces to their whereabouts. 

“We gotta follow the footsteps now, are you two sure you want to come with us?” Draco asked, giving them the chance to change their minds. 

He knew it wasn’t an option for them when he acknowledged the determination in their eyes. He should have figured they would never let their friends go into a fight alone. Certainly not if one of their friends was held captive and in danger. 

Cisco handed each of them a little earpiece on their way out, wishing them good luck and telling them to come back. Caitlin gave him a look that seemed to say so many things at once. Maybe he just read too much into it. 

“How about I just run ahead and explore a little?” Barry suggested about five minutes later, as they made their way through the sleeping city. 

“The moment you leave our side you stop seeing the footprints,” Draco explained, a concentrated look on his face. 

“Oh,” Barry mouthed, trotting beside them like it itched him to just run. 

“So, Oliver, how exactly do you know about magic?” Harry asked in an attempt to make conversation and get their minds off the trouble they were in. 

“Long story, let’s just say I met someone who was able to use magic,” was Oliver’s response while he checked their surroundings at the same time. His eyes scanned the vicinity at all times to be prepared for possible attackers. 

He didn’t have his suit with him, he only visited Central City to hang out with his friends, after all. Good thing Team Flash had one of his spare bows and arrows at S.T.A.R Labs, one of the few times they actually prepared for worst case scenarios.

Draco guessed all that was on Oliver, though. He was a few steps ahead, always. 

They turned around the next corner and Draco felt his arm starting to itch and burn, a shiver that ran down his back joining the sensations. It was like a bad foreshadowing that they were getting closer. 

He knew it wasn’t possible, that it was just a feeling and nothing more. The scar on his forearm itching was just his mind playing tricks on him. Voldemort died, and with him the dark mark. 

They all stopped dead in their tracks when they arrived in an abandoned industrial area, darkness engulfing them. Draco was convinced he wouldn’t be able to see his own hand in front of his eyes if he lifted it up. 

A bloodcurdling cackle filled the dead silent place. 

Seems like that damn itch was right , Draco thought and ground his teeth so hard he feared they would break.

The sound of fabric rustling right next to him reached his ears and he lowered his voice in a whisper: “Potter, don’t even think about casting a Lumos right now.”

The rustling stopped immediately after, followed by a gulp and a huff. 

“What’s your glorious plan, then? Just walk around this place blindly? This whole thing is a trap.” 

“I’m aware, thank you very much. We don’t have any other choice, just let your eyes get used to it.”

“Uh, guys, where the hell is Oliver?” Barry mumbled.

“Everything okay so far?” 

Draco’s heart jumped at the sudden voice inside his head. It belonged to Caitlin and came out of the earpiece he forgot about the second they left the building. 

“Just climbed up the roof and scanned the buildings,” Oliver answered over the earpiece also. Draco laid his head back and looked up in search of their friend. He gave up after just a few seconds, he knew Oliver was too good at camouflaging himself. 

“You looking for someone?” a voice called a few feet behind them and Draco’s whole body froze on the spot. He held his breath so as to not make any sound at all. The hair on his arms stood up straight.

He would recognize that voice anywhere, anytime. 

It was engraved in his brain. The scolding tone whenever Draco opened his mouth and said something that didn’t meet his expectations. The punishments he had to endure even after he crossed lines to make him proud just once.

He felt like he was dragged back in time, his body responding with fear and the immense need to run away and escape him as fast as he could. 

He turned around slowly, convinced it was just the fear and adrenaline fucking with his mind. 

But then he faced him and his heart dropped into his stomach. Right in front of him stood Lucius Malfoy. 

His father. 

His whole presence took over everything and stole the little air Draco had left to breathe. It was suffocating, the way he stood there, proudly.

After everything that happened, he still chose the same path again. He was pardoned for his crimes and there he was, ever so full of himself and his beliefs. 

Draco never dared to think about it too much, but sometimes, when he let himself be vulnerable, he wondered if his father changed for the better. If it affected him that his only child left him just like that.

Seeing him like that gave him all the answers he needed. He didn’t care at all, never questioned any of it. Otherwise he would have known why Draco left. He was here to get his puppet and self-formed soldier back to fight a battle he was bound to lose in the end. 

Barry inhaled a sharp breath at the sight of the long haired blond man. Even after ten years, you could still see the similarities of father and son. 

“Where is my friend?” is all Draco said. He didn’t care about anything else but to know his friend was alive. 

“Your friend?” Lucius repeated with condescending amusement written in his face. “I taught you better than this, son. Why care about the life of a single Mudblood, when you can have the whole word at your feet?” he spat, venom dripping from his voice. Just like the snake he was. 

“You never learn from your mistakes, do you, father?” 

He heard a gasp coming from his super speed friend, knowing he just realized his assumption of them being related was true.

“We have that in common, don’t we?” his father said and he wet his lips before they curled up into a smug grin. “You’re still trying to befriend the scum.”

Draco’s blood started to boil when he watched the way Lucius nodded into Harry’s direction, pointing his chin at him arrogantly. 

“Says the man who’s still kissing the ass of the oh-so powerful Dark Lord who was killed by your so-called scum,” he replied with new-found confidence caused by the adrenaline pumping through his veins. 

Draco pressed his buttons. He knew it was risky, maybe even a little petty, but he just couldn’t help it. 

It was like he turned back into his old self since his father showed up unexpectedly.

But he also noticed that it worked. He was able to read his father like a book after all those years, and he knew the emotion flashing his eyes was nothing but pure anger and hatred.

He hit the sensitive spot. The only weakness his father had: The fear of failure and ruining his reputation. 

When will the man realize it’s already ruined? That the whole wizarding world despises him and everybody thinks he didn’t deserve getting pardoned?, Draco asked himself.

His father took a step forward, almost foaming at the mouth from anger. Only then the three of them notice the other two men standing right behind him. 

“Ten years have passed, yet you still behave like the little spoiled brat that you were.”

“And you’re still getting on my nerves, but do you see me kidnapping people for it?” Draco’s voice was calm and steady, even though he feared for the life of his quirky and always happy friend.

“Listen to me, because I’m only going to say it once. You either come with us, or every single one of your friends is going to die tonight.”

“Fuck you, you spineless pile of shit!” he yelled, lunging forward but getting grabbed by the shoulders from behind. He was ready to attack him just like that, without using any magic. His words made him furious and caused him to act absolutely reckless. 

He found his weakness and button to press to get a reaction out of him. He wanted him to attack him first. It was the same old manipulative games he always played. 

He tried to be better than that. He really did. But his friends were the only thing he had left in life, he wouldn’t let anyone hurt them any more than his father already did. 

The arms, he didn’t know if they belonged to Barry or Harry, were still holding onto him and he shook them off rather violently. He tried his best to get his calmness back, but his heart was racing and he couldn’t get enough air into his lungs. 

He stilled, making eye contact with his father. He heard it before any of them saw it coming. 

The sound of an arrow cut through the air, and next thing he knew one of his father’s henchmen hit the floor with an arrow sticking out of the middle of his torso. He wrinkled his nose as he saw the blood oozing from the wound. 

In a matter of seconds, his father and the only other man left held their wands in their hands, pointing at them. Reflexively, Harry and Draco pulled their own out, and before any of them could say anything, Harry cast an Expelliarmus . 

The wand of his father went flying, earning them an lifted eyebrow and an even wider smug grin than earlier. Using wandless magic and speaking the word Accio into the air, his wand was right back in his hand. 

He saw Barry’s orange lightning going crazy, from one side of the area to the other. The shocked eyes of their opponents followed him and tried to point their wands at him unsuccessfully. 

The distraction gave him enough time to concentrate on an Impedimenta, paralyzing the man next to his father. 

He stepped closer to them just as Barry came to a halt with a wide grin and his father took the only opportunity he might get. 

“ Crucio!” he screamed, pointing his wand directly at the superhero of Central City. 

Barry fell down to the floor, twisting and buckling from the torment and pain he was going through. He was screaming incoherent words while Cisco and Caitlin’s worried voices filled all their ears, demanding to know what happened to him.

Harry focused on Barry then, trying Finite but already knowing it’s not going to work on that specific curse. 

Arrows were flying through the air, but his father knew how to deflect every single one of them. 

More wizards came rushing out of the building, one of them getting hit with an explosive arrow and taking another one down with him. 

It was absolute chaos, and Draco couldn’t concentrate himself with the way his friend laid on the floor and had to take the excruciating pain. He didn’t know how to help him. 

Oliver took care of the wizards coming to help his father. He saw it as his opportunity to finally get revenge for everything his father made him go through. For making his and his mother’s life living hell. 

“I’m asking you again: Where is my friend? Last chance,” he said, already gathering all his anger and trauma over the years in order to cast a powerful curse. 

“You chose to die for the dirt at the bottom of the food chain,” he stated, like it was the most normal thing to say to your own blood. 

“No, I chose to kill my own father if necessary,” Draco replied. 

The man barked out a laugh in response. It sent Draco over the edge.

And then he spoke the one curse into the world he never imagined using. 

“Avada Kedavra!” 

A green light beamed out of his wand as the curse hit his father. He didn’t expect it, never would have thought his son was even close to being capable of a powerful curse like that. His underestimation was his downfall. 

Draco watched his facial expression change into a horrified one before he fell back, hitting the ground with a loud, hard noise. His wand fell out of his hand as it hit the concrete beneath him, clattering as it rolled away from him.

Draco stood a couple feet away from his dead father, mouth slightly opened and all color drained from his face. 

“Are you okay? Please say something, guys!” Iris screamed into his ear, but the ringing in his ears made it sound muffled. He was barely aware of her voice inside his head. 

The screaming stopped, but the absolute silence felt louder than anything else. None of them said a word, Oliver and Barry watched him with an expression on their faces he couldn’t and didn’t want to decipher. 

Now they know what kind of person I really am , he thought.

“Draco,” Harry whispered, walking past Barry and stepping closer to him. “What have you done?” 

“I had to,” is all he said while his eyes still didn’t leave the spot where his father laid. 

“We’re okay. Physically, at least,” he heard Oliver say while pressing a finger into his ear. The only reply he got was a sigh of relief from the other end.

“Have you actually lost your mind now?” Harry’s face was right in front of him then, blocking his view on the man who was obviously dead, despite the lack of open wounds and any trace of violence. 

“I had to,” he repeated with a blank face.

“I have to arrest you for that, are you fucking aware of that? 

“Woah, woah, woah! What?” Oliver intervened and stepped right next to the blond man. It seemed like he was taking Draco’s side. 

“He’s right,” Draco said, still not looking at any of them. “It’s an unforgivable curse and punished with a life sentence in prison. Without parole.”

“You just killed your own father, Draco,” Barry whispered. He finally looked up and regretted it. The way Barry looked at him made his insides churn. He knew Barry was against ever killing anyone. He had the very strong opinion that there was always another way of dealing with things.

“Listen, we’re going to look for H.R now, and then we’re going nowhere but home,” Oliver said. “No one’s going to prison tonight. Or ever,” he added and gave Harry a pointed look. 

That was enough for Barry to start running, looking through every single building on the search for their friend. 

It took him about two minutes, and he was standing right in front of them, H.R’s arm slung over his shoulder while his head was hanging down. He was unconscious.

“I’ll bring all of you home, one by one. And then I’m gonna take care of,” he started, waving his only free arm around the whole place with bodies and scratching his neck, “this.”

All of them nodded in response, and he was gone in a mere second.

Notes:

Might've been my favorite chapter to write so far. What do you think? :)

Chapter 9: Consequences and False Security

Summary:

Everyone is in a weird and angsty mood after the events. Except for Oliver, you know how he is.

Barry stood, looking over the place they turned into a battlefield. He couldn’t believe his eyes at the image right in front of him. 

Silence surrounded him, the only noise coming from his shoes scraping over the few pebbles scattered on the pavement. 

It stood in high contrast to the volume earlier, the ringing in his ears from his own screams still remained. 

How is this possible?, he thought to himself.

Everyone was gone. 

All they left behind were arrows, some still dripping with wet blood, some already dried into a brownish color. 

A shiver ran over his spine at the spooky sight. 

He took one last glance back before he pushed himself off with his feet and ran back to S.T.A.R. Labs.

 

-

 

“What do you mean they are gone?” Draco yelled, the vein on his neck pulsing visibly. A simple sign indicating he was about to lose it completely. 

“I don’t understand the physics of that either, the only sign all of that happened are Oliver’s arrows. I picked them up and brought them back. No one will notice the blood in that kind of dirty area, so I didn’t bother taking care of it. The next rain will do the rest,” Barry answered and shrugged his shoulders. 

How could he act like that? Shrugging his shoulders like he didn’t care and no one needed to worry about any of it. It was a serious matter.

Confusion and defense flashed the archer’s eyes at the new found information.

“I didn’t kill all of them, I tried my best to only wound them so you wouldn’t lose it, Barry. Is there any way they left and took the bodies with them?” 

Multiple sighs of relief were audible in the room. Some of them surviving was better than a bunch of dead people just disappearing without any explanation.  

Still, Draco looked over to the only other wizard in the room, thinking he might know the answer to that after all his training to become an Auror. 

Harry didn’t meet his gaze, though. He stared down at the floor in front of his feet while he leaned against the edge of the nearest desk behind him. 

His demeanor and body language drastically changed since they fought against the Death Eaters, and Draco wondered if it was his fault once again.

Guilt started to eat him up, not only because Harry seemed to be disappointed in him, but because he was the reason his father was dead. 

What would his mother think about him when she’s going to find out?

Barry noticed the tension between the two of them, and did what Draco was too cowardly to do. 

“Harry? Do you think it’s possible?” he asked the black haired man, causing his head to snap up at him. 

Harry, who was deeply consumed by his own thoughts, missed the whole conversation and was caught off guard by someone addressing him for the first time since they came back. 

“Sorry, what were you talking about?” he blurted out. 

“The bodies, they’re all gone. Do you think it’s possible the surviving men took them with them?” Oliver repeated the question.

“Of course they can. How many of them survived?” 

“About six of them,” Oliver replied, but his face revealed he wasn’t all too sure about it. 

“Listen, I have to go back to England and give them a detailed report of what happened,” Harry interrupted the topic as his eyes avoided looking at any of them. 

“Can’t you use an Owl?” Draco asked, his brows furrowed together.

“Wait, you actually do that? I thought you were joking about the same day delivery owls,” Cisco attempted a joke to ease the tension. 

No one was in the mood to laugh, though, and his shoulders sacked down. 

“I have to do it personally, they’re going to ask questions anyway, with the whole killing thing,” Harry answered and Draco flinched at the k-word. “I’ll send someone to protect you in the meantime,” he added.

“Think he proved he doesn’t need any protection,” Oliver muttered as he walked past them, on his way to leave the room.  

Draco ran his hand over his face and sighed at the comment. Oliver was only making the situation worse. 

He knew he only meant good, and he appreciated him taking his side earlier. Oliver was the last one to judge him, he had a body count higher than any of them. 

He couldn’t help but feel like that was part of the problem. He went too far, and now someone like the Arrow started to sympathize with him and defended him over taking someone’s life. 

It was the last thing he wanted. After all those years, he thought he finally made progress and turned into a somewhat better person. 

He planned on showing Potter the best version of himself. He wasn’t even capable of that, it seemed. He hated himself. 

Barry was next to flee the situation as he walked away to get out of his suit and into his normal clothes again.

“Are you going to come back?” 

Harry finally looked up at him now, his blue eyes locking with his gray ones. He didn’t like what he read in them. 

“I don’t know,” he mouthed back at him, eyes glossy and an expression in his face Draco couldn’t read.. 

All he managed to do was nod in reply, the words on his tongue not making it past his lips. 

The moment Harry left with Apparition, Draco felt like the man couldn’t wait to get thousands of miles between them.

First Oliver, then Barry, and now Harry fled from me too. 

The thought was horrible, but it crossed his mind before he could stop himself from going down the route of self-disgust.

He needed to get out of there, too.

 

-

 

“How are you?” Draco mumbled as he arrived at the right room. The walls were a clinical kind of white that turned the whole atmosphere into a depressed one. It was suffocating in there, but Draco tried his best to ignore it. 

H.R laid inside his bed, surrounded by monitors constantly checking his vitals. Every now and then a beep echoed from the walls. He looked up when he became aware of the figure standing on the doorstep. 

“I’m alright. Not my first beat up, and probably not my last,” he said and closed the magazine in his hands while the corners of his mouth lifted up into an honest smile. 

Still, Draco wasn’t sure if the man in front of him just wanted to make him feel better or if he was actually that calm and at peace. 

“I know you need rest, but I wanted to ask you some questions about what happened,” Draco muttered and entered the room. He pulled back a chair to take a seat next to the bed. 

“All good. Shoot. But like, don’t actually shoot, ha.”

Draco couldn’t help but giggle and roll his eyes at the same time. 

His smile dropped when he got serious again, and he took a deep yet shaky breath. 

“Do you remember any of what happened?” He wasn't sure where to start on a sensitive topic like this. He didn’t know what his friend had to endure. The followers of the Dark Lord were cruel people, you never knew what kind of torture they put him going through. 

“Oh, uhm,” H.R. stuttered and his face turned red from embarrassment, “I remember how they came barging in here, it was like they came out of nowhere. I made some jokes, you know. They didn’t laugh, though,” he continued, whispering. 

Draco was convinced he felt his own heart crack a little at the words. He looked his friend in the eyes, and what he saw was like a sucker punch to the gut. The usual light in his eyes got replaced by tiredness and sorrow. 

This is your fault. You wormed yourself into their lives. All was fine before you showed up.

He pressed his eyes together tightly, trying to force the intrusive thoughts away.

“What happened next?” He raised his voice and the question came out louder than intended, an attempt to drown out his own mind tormenting him.

“One of them pulled out their-” he stopped and pinched his nose, as if he was thinking deeply.

“Wand?” Draco finished the sentence for him and earned a nod in response.

“Yeah. he mumbled some words. Latin, maybe. Next thing I know, I was on the floor and my body felt like it was on fire. They were laughing this time.” 

H.R stopped looking at him now, intensely studying the magazine in front of him. Draco could see his mind wander off, as if he was living through the pain and humiliation again. 

“Did you pass out?”

Another nod. His eyes shot up to directly look at him. 

“I woke up in a dark room, alone. I wish I could tell you more, but I passed out again. The pain- It was-” The words came out pressed, and he couldn’t bring himself to finish what he was trying to say. 

“It’s okay, I get it,” Draco answered, and he really meant it. He knew the excruciating pain. He still remembered the feeling when Harry pointed his wand at him in the school bathroom and used the Sectumsempra curse on him. He felt like he was about to bleed out on the floor. 

“I don’t want to be rude, but I really want to be alone right now,” H.R. pulled him out of the memory.

Okay, he mouthed and gave him a light pat on the shoulder. He got up and walked toward the door. With a last look back on his friend, he swore he’d never wanted to be the reason one of his friends was put in danger again. 

He had to tell Harry all about it when he came back.

If he came back.

 

-

 

His new bodyguard was absolute shit. He concluded that after only spending ten minutes with the man. He was old, probably seventy years old. And even though the older wizards are more powerful, that man looked like he was about to take his final rest. 

He didn’t talk to Draco, not even to introduce himself. All he did was walk after him every step he took, not leaving his side for just a second. 

He felt his presence in his back and heard his footsteps, slowly driving him insane. About two hours with the man and Draco was ready to follow his father into the pit of hell. He would jump into it head first if that meant he got rid of whatever kind of Dumbledore copy Harry sent his way. 

Was this his way of getting back at him? Did he choose this man, whatever his name was, on purpose just to get on his nerves? 

It sure as hell worked. He missed Potter already. The fear of him never coming back crept up his back and laid its claws around his neck, getting comfortable to stay for a while. 

Harry could be a pain in the ass, there was no use in denying that. But now that he left, he got reminded of the perks of being around him instead of any other Auror of the wizarding world. 

The time he spent with him didn’t make it seem like Harry was just doing his job, it felt like he actually enjoyed being around Draco. Like they were just two friends hanging out. Like he belonged to the friend group. 

Draco sat down on his bed and took a deep breath. At least the guy didn’t follow him into his most private space. 

He knew he was grasping at straws and it was the bare minimum of privacy, but he wanted to stay positive and hopeful. So, he put on his very best behavior, figuring he disappointed Harry enough already.

He looked up at the ceiling, alone with his own thoughts now. The silence and emptiness of his own four walls felt weirdly suffocating. 

At the end of the day, that’s all you’re going to be. Alone. 

His hands gripped the covers he sat on with such force his knuckles turned white immediately. 

You hate yourself so much, how do you expect anyone to feel the opposite? 

It all came crashing down on him. Like one wave after the other hit him, like he was stuck in a never ending tsunami. 

The memories of Hogwarts. Things he tried to erase from his memory and wanted to leave behind when he left. His proud stride through the hallways as he snickered about the poor students with his friends. 

Every bad thing he ever said to them replayed in his head like someone recorded them. They were the background music to the diashow of hurt flashing their eyes or an humiliated red tint coloring their cheeks. 

It switched up so fast he was barely able to follow them, until he ended up facing his father. The way life left his eyes as he spoke the unforgivable curse, the way he fell backward and never got up again. 

It was all his fault, he was the reason there was one less person walking on this Earth. Lucius Malfoy was a cruel and horrible being, but who was Draco Malfoy to decide if he deserved to keep living? 

He wanted to scream. Put his pillow on his face and let it all out. But he couldn’t do that. The man right outside his room would come jumping into the room in no time, and then he’d declare him to be fucked up in the head. 

Instead he got up, walked out of his safe space and headed toward his whiskey cabinet without looking up. Grabbing the bottle along with a single glass, he made his way back and locked the door just to make sure he wouldn’t get interrupted. 

He sat back down and lost no time before he poured himself a drink on his nightstand. It was ridiculous how he had to lock himself in and hide in his own apartment. But there he was, twisting the class in his hand before bringing it to his mouth and downing it with his head tipped back. 

The liquid burned in his throat before he felt a cozy warmth spread out in his stomach. He poured another one, repeating the same movements once again. 

Fucking ridiculous, his own mind repeated, getting angrier about it by the second. 

Another sip, and then he had an idea. 

He downed the drink. 

“Harry’s going to come back,” he mumbled into the emptiness of the room. 

Another drink. 

“Harry’s not going to come back,” he mumbled as he was already pouring the next one. 

His head started to buzz when he reached the bottom of the bottle, his eyelids becoming too heavy to hold them open. He felt drowsy and let himself fall backwards on his bed, closing his eyes. 

Just for a second, he told himself, trying to remember if the last drink said Harry was coming back or not.

 

-

 

He only spent about a week in the Muggle world, and he even went back to England once, but he couldn’t stop feeling out of place as he entered Diagon Alley. 

The report was done. He spent about two and a half hours filling out paperwork and answered more questions by the Head Auror after he handed them in. 

Something was bugging him ever since he left Central City behind, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. 

When he left the Head Auror’s office, Pansy and Theo blocked his way and started peppering him with questions about his former nemesis. They wanted to know how he was doing. And, most importantly, if he ever planned to come back. 

All he could do was shake his head and shrug his shoulders. He didn’t know. 

He still hadn’t decided if he would go back, therefore he didn’t know if he was ever going to find the answers to their questions. 

A painful tension headache crept up his neck as he left the building, aware of the disappointment he caused them and the mistakes he made today. 

He didn’t stop Malfoy. He could have stopped him, he was a hundred percent sure of that. It was a simple fact that nagged him ever since it happened. But he didn’t

Why didn’t he? 

And why, for Merlin’s sake, did he continue protecting him the moment he kept it a secret from his Head Auror? 

He didn’t recognize the person he started to become. He was a man of the law who always tried to do the right thing, to make the right choices. Covering up a criminal wasn’t supposed to be part of that.

He risked his whole career for the man that tried his best to make his life living hell. He never did anything to help him. All he wanted was destroy his self esteem and torture him with his words.

Yet there he was, knowing he couldn’t stay in England when Malfoy was surely bathing in self-hatred and waited for him in Central City. 

What a fool you are, he thought to himself, smiling at the fact that the voice sounded like Malfoy rather than himself. 

And just like that, he made his way back to the city full of weird but lovable people and metas.

He needed to have a serious conversation with Malfoy. 

 

-

 

“And?” he demanded to get information with one single word, looking out of the big window in front of him, his focus on a city thousands of miles aways from the US. 

The sun was about to set, drenching his pale features in an orange glow as he crossed his arms behind his back. 

“You were right, Sir. They’re convinced your son was successful in murdering you.” 

Lucius Malfoy turned around and his lips distorted into a one sided smile. His eyes were the epitome of evil when the following words left his mouth:

“Good, we shall let them believe they’re safe.”

Notes:

*Suspenseful music ensues*
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