Take The Damn Shot!

16. Apologies

After yet more phone calls from Pansy and Blaise that were not being answered, they decided to go and see Potter personally at his house, and they weren't going to leave until they had done so. So, set with determination and a bottle of wine, they left to go and talk to Potter.

Draco had been warned to be on his best behavior or they were going to throw him out. He had come with them because he felt the need to apologize to Potter, having gained a newfound respect for the man, after seeing the way he had handled Ginevra Weasley, and the Weasel, and had scowled at the way that Pansy had laughed at him for saying that.

The knock on the door had both Harry and Hermoine looking up. She had decided to stay a while, trying to comfort the man. He shrugged his shoulders saying he had no idea who it could be, so she rose up and went to look out of the window. What she saw made her smile, and told Harry that it was his staff. They looked worried about him.

"Shit. They can't see me like this 'Moine", he said.

"Oh shush. You're human Harry, the sooner they accept that, the better. You're not perfect, and even if you were, you certainly can't be all the time", she scolded and went to open the door for him.

While she did that, he rushed upstairs and splashed some cold water on his puffy face. He looked down and saw that he was scarcely dressed, and so donned on a pair of jeans, but didn't bother with a shirt. If anyone (Draco) was going to be repulsed by his chest (fat chance), then that was their problem (snort laughs). No need to make it mine, he thought.

He reached the lounge before the others and sat down again. He heard Hermoine talking, saying that "Harry is just through here", and smiled when she entered. He looked up at them and greeted them softly.

Blaise, Pansy and Draco could see that he had had a rough night. The puffiness around his red rimmed eyes, telling them that obviously something big had happened to upset him. They were here to find out what it was. They each took a seat and waited for someone to say something. Hermoine came to the rescue.

"I should go", she said kindly.

"No", said Harry. "Stay", he said to her with a smile.

"If I stay, then I should at least get everyone something to drink", she said. Turning to the other three in the room, she asked what they would like. Pansy showed her the bottle of wine that she had brought, bringing a smile to Hermoine's face.

"Well done Parkinson. You do have taste", she said taking the bottle to go and pour it in the kitchen. Then the Slytherin turned her attention to her model.

"Harry, are you ok? I've been trying to call you all morning", she said with a worry that he never thought he would hear from her.

He swallowed and looked at her. "Yes, I'm fine thank you, I just had a shit night", he replied, not looking at Draco. "Sorry you were worried", he said and ran his hand through his mop of hair.

"Potter", said Draco, but Harry didn't look at him. He was still pissed at the way that he had been treated and misjudged. He was going to sulk until the prat called him Harry, and he knew that he might just have to wait a while.

Pansy nudged him with her elbow, and Draco knew what that meant. He tried again. "Harry", he said in his deep voice, finally causing the hero to look at him.

"I came to apologize to you. For last night", he started.

"Thank you Draco", came the reply. "But I'm over it, so don't worry your pretty little head about it", he said with a gentle smile.

Draco licked his lips. He never thought he would live to see the day that the savior would look so broken, and he knew that he wasn't the sole cause of it. "Are you really all right?", he asked.