I Don't Care

Chapter 11

Harry was being very secretive about what they were doing this weekend, and it only made Draco more intrigued. Thursday night Harry had told Draco to pack a bag for a few days, but left Draco's room with a wink and a grin before Draco could even ask why.

Finally, it was Friday after classes and Draco was positively buzzing. Harry kept sharing secretive smiles with him across every room they were in throughout the week, and finally Draco would get to know.

He approached Harry with a dazzling smile, and Harry couldn't help but smile back.

"Do I finally get to know what we're doing now?"

"Not here. We're going to apparate there."

"I'm placing a lot of trust in you," Draco warned.

"Hopefully it's earned," Harry replied with a shrug. Let's go."

Draco followed Harry, but could not have imagined where they would have ended up.

"You took me... to your house?"

"You're getting the full muggle experience."

"In a magical house," Draco replied slowly.

"You have faith that I kept up with the upkeep," Harry replied with a snort. "I'm only here because I have nowhere else to go."

"That's not true."

Harry opened the door and ushered Draco in.

"Sirius left this to me in his will. This is the first real home that I've ever had. He grew up here, and I can't bear to part with it, no matter how much the memories hurt. He was my family, even if I only knew him for a short time."

"That doesn't explain why we're here?," Draco asked in confusion.

"We're going to live like muggles for two days. I'm taking you out for dinner tonight. Tomorrow we'll cook. I'll teach you how to convert money and pay for things. We'll go shopping because you need some muggle clothes, and we need some food. Then we'll go to some muggle locations. The cinema, a museum, the zoo. It'll be fun!"

"I think we have very different ideas of fun."

"Listen, I had to learn about the magical world as soon as I turned 11. I was thrown right into it. You need to learn by seeing, so we'll take it slow. We'll get your room set up, I'll give you a tour, and then we can get some dinner."

"Your childhood is... not what I expected," Draco said carefully, looking around the home.

"You don't even know the half of it. Here's the shortened version. Baby Harry is orphaned. He's dumped on the steps of family members who never wanted him. He cooks and cleans for them and is a human punching bag. He hopes for a better life, some way that he can get out, some family who would take him in, show him that he's not really a freak.

Hogwarts letters pour in from every opening in the house. A half giant tears the door off the cottage on the island, you receive the first birthday cake you've ever gotten in your whole life, which your cousin promptly eats and ends up with a pig tail, the half giant tells you you're a wizard and that your parents never died in a car crash.

You get to Hogwarts and then everyone knows more about you than you do about yourself. Everyone has some kind of preconceived notion of who you are, and you feel like you're letting everyone down because you know absolutely nothing. Then you try not to die in this new magical world, and you wonder if you actually did die in that cupboard under the stairs, and you're imagining it all.

Then at age 17 you really do die, so no, it was all real. And then there's the death and the trauma that need to be dealt with, and once again, everyone thinks they know you. They want to be your friend, and you just want to be left alone while you try to find your purpose in life.