Fest Fic: Jackpot [H/D - 3k - PG-13]

[bottomdraco-mod.livejournal.com]

Title: Jackpot
Author: slowroad
Prompt: PROMPT #17 submitted by this_bloody_cat
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Word Count: 3,222 words
Rating: PG-13
Contains (Highlight to view): *creature fic, veela, mates*
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: I had a lot of fun with this story. A big thank you to S for the beta work. I absolutely loved this prompt and I hope I have done it justice.
Summary: Harry is a healer at St Mungo’s and Draco has become his friend over the years. Draco ends up in hospital one day and Harry finds out that he’s a veela, though that does not explain why Draco is unconscious and not responding to anything.

Read it on AO3

It was a busy day at St Mungo's. It is always a busy day in spell damage. I don't know how it is for the other departments, but Hermione generally seems to have an easier time of it. She works with magical creatures and though the problems there are often more severe and harder to solve, the patients are fewer in number. Spell damage, on the other hand, is a popular place. It seems people like to tinker with spells all the time.

I had just come off an eight hour shift and I knew Hermione would be finishing as well. So I went to my office and ordered us coffee and some biscuits. She came in a few minutes later looking worried. She fell into the chair and grabbed the coffee without saying anything. That was unusual in itself, but what got my attention was these odd looks she kept giving me.

"Are you going to tell me?" I said.

"Tell you what?"

"Quit stalling, 'mione. I know you've got something on your mind."

She sighed. "We had a patient come in a while ago. A male veela."

"And…"

"It's Draco..."

"Draco's a veela?" I was astonished.

Draco Malfoy had over the last few years become rather a good friend of mine. He was in and out of St Mungo's all the time. He was our potions supplier and he would stop by for a chat or a cup of coffee every now and then. How in all this time had we not known that he's a veela? And now he was sick?

"He hid it well," Hermione said. "I'm just as surprised as you are."

"What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know. He was unconscious when his mother brought him in."

I don't know why it bothered me so much to hear that…I've had friends get sick or injured before. I worry for all of them, but…I don't feel as if I've just been punched in the gut.

"Where is his mate?"

"I have no idea. His mum says he hasn't found his mate yet. At least that's what he told her."

"Could that be the reason? I mean if he came into his inheritance when he was seventeen, he's already spent eight years without his mate."

"Eight years is a long time to be without so much as finding his mate, but if that was the problem, then his magic would be weakening and he would start fading. Neither of those things is happening. In fact his magic is perfectly healthy."

"So he's not fading?" I said, feeling relieved when Hermione shook her head.

"That's what makes this so puzzling. He is not bonded, he's never been with his mate, but his magic is still healthy which indicates that he has some sort of regular contact with his mate."

"Then he knows who it is. So why isn't he bonded? Why isn't his mate here?"

"I think...he or she simply doesn't know."

"You mean Draco hasn't told them."

"That is what I'm guessing."

"But why would he find his mate and not tell them?"

"I don't know. Maybe it is someone who he thinks will not accept him because he's a Malfoy."

"Hmmm. But you think he has some kind of contact with them."

"His magic wouldn't be healthy otherwise," Hermione said and then she sighed. "I've been going over and over this in my head and it just doesn't make sense."

"What does Healer Roberts think?"

"He says he's never seen anything like this."

"I'm guessing Draco has no injuries."

"Not a scratch."

"So it has to be a spell or a potion."

"You think he was attacked?" Hermione clearly hadn't considered that possibility.

The very thought of it made me sick, but we had to consider it. Despite the seven years that had gone by since the war, there were still people out there who held grudges and wanted to settle scores.

"It's possible isn't it? You said his mother brought him in. Where did she find him?"

"In his living room, lying unconscious on the couch. He was in his pyjamas."

"That does make a spell seem unlikely, but it could have been a delayed action spell. It could have started having an effect hours after it was cast. Either that or it was a potion."

Hermione frowned and for a while we sat there in a thoughtful silence, both trying to figure out how to solve this problem. We couldn't treat Draco until we knew what was wrong with him. We're healers. We don't think we know everything, but we expect to be able to tell what is wrong with a patient at the very least.

And I couldn't explain why I felt the way I did, but I was more than a little anxious to have Draco up and about and healthy again. The thought of him being unconscious was enough to make me anxious and here we didn't know what was wrong with him or how to help him and that just made everything worse.

"Will you take a look at him, Harry?" Hermione said after a while.

I was surprised and strangely relieved. "You think that will help?"

"I don't know. It might be a spell like you said and who knows, you might see something that we've been missing…"

I felt sure that there was more to it than she was telling me, but I decided not to ask. I did want to see Draco though. So we put our cups and plates away, washed up and took the stairs to the second floor. There were only ten patients in magical creatures that day and they were all asleep, so it was rather quiet as we made our way to Draco's bed. His mother was sitting on a chair next to the bed, holding his hand and looking worried. She looked up when she saw us and she greeted us quietly.

I got my wand out and did a couple of checks. There was nothing I could see. Most spells leave some kind of a magical trace behind, but there was nothing there.

"It's not a spell," I said. And the strangest thing happened. Draco stirred, like he was simply moving in his sleep.

"He's waking up," Narcissa said. She sounded surprised and relieved and she shot me a very strange look.

I had no idea what was happening. Why would Draco start waking up when I got to his bedside? I hadn't done anything. I'd just run a couple of diagnostic spells…and that's when it hit me. It seemed like such an improbable notion that I almost brushed it aside when Hermione told me to take Draco's hand and I realised that she was entertaining that very same, very improbable notion. Oh dear…

I laid my hand on his and I felt a burst of magic. It went up my arm and ended with a jolt in my heart. It was an actual physical feeling. Draco opened his eyes and sat up with a start.

He looked at me and my hand resting on his and he looked a bit panicked.

"You…what? How?" he said looking completely bewildered.

Then he looked around and realised where he was. "What am I doing here?"

"I found you passed out on your couch this morning. You were unconscious Draco," his mother told him.

"Unconscious? But…" he said and then he groaned. "That bloody potion didn't work."

"What potion?" I asked him. I was still reeling from the knowledge that I am Draco's mate. And I was more than a little angry that he hadn't told me about it. And now he was admitting that he had taken some potion that had made him pass out…

He looked at me and then he looked down at our hands and he tried to draw his had away, but I didn't let him.

"I think you have a bit of explaining to do," I said and then I sat down on the bed next to him, still holding his hand.

Hermione squeezed my shoulder and then she walked away. Narcissa kissed her son on his forehead and then she left as well. Draco looked uncomfortable and a bit embarrassed. He was doing his best not to look at me. I wanted to yell at him, but I didn't think that would help the situation at all. So I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself.

"When did you know?" I said as calmly as I could.

"Seventh year. When the snatchers brought you to the manor."

"Eight years ago. You've known this for the last eight years and you never told me." It hurt to hear that. "Why Draco?"

"I couldn't tell you in the middle of the war and then you saved my life and defended me at the trial and you got Slughorn to recommend me to a Potions master so I could study and make something of myself. You did so much for me, Harry. I couldn't bring myself to burden you with this as well."

"Burden me?"

"Yes! It is a big deal to ask someone to tie themselves to you for the rest of their lives."

"Were you afraid that I would reject you?"

"No. I was afraid that you wouldn't."

"What do you mean?"

"Harry, you would have accepted me because it was the right thing to do. And you might try to love me, but I know you can't, not after everything I've said and done to you in the past. We may be friends now, but it is a big step from that to being my mate. And the fact that I love you would not make one jot of difference if you couldn't love me back. You would be trapped in a relationship that you didn't want and that is totally unfair to you. After everything you've suffered and sacrificed, you deserve a chance to be happy at the very least. Telling you that you are my mate would have taken that chance for happiness away from you and I couldn't bring myself to do that."

I heard everything he said, but my brain got a bit stuck on the statement that he loves me.

"You love me?"

He coloured a bit and turned his face away.

"Draco?"

"Yes, Harry. I love you. I have for years and I'm so sorry to drag you into all of this."

He looked so forlorn. My heart went out to him. I couldn't imagine what it must've been like for him all these years. How had he managed? Coming to see me at the hospital as often as he could, sitting in my office, drinking coffee, talking and laughing, but never letting himself tell me the truth. I wanted to ask him about that, but I decided to wait. I needed to tell him something else first.

I squeezed his hand and he looked up in surprise like he had forgotten about that.

"Why are we still holding hands?" he said. "I'm okay, you know. I'm not going to slip back into unconsciousness or anything."

"I know. I'm holding your hand because I want to. I like it. I like the way it makes me feel. Though I think kissing you would feel so much better," I said as my eyes flicked down to his lips.

He looked astonished.

"Harry, you don't have to…"

"I know I don't have to do anything, Draco. What I'm trying to tell you, rather clumsily, is that I like you. I like you a lot and I've fancied you for a while, though I never quite had the courage to ask you out."

"What? Why?"

"You're a bit out of my league, you know."

He looked at me blankly. Then he huffed in exasperation. "Me? Out of your league. That doesn't even make sense."

"Of course it makes sense. Have you looked at yourself lately?" I said as I waved my hand vaguely at him. And he did look amazing just then. His skin was glowing, this hair was soft and it looked like silver, falling loosely around his face framing it beautifully. He'd lost some of his pointiness and his features now had a softness that was very appealing and his eyes were an incredible shade of grey-blue. My eyes roamed over his form, taking in his figure, slim, but muscular and exuding a wiry strength that I found very attractive. I'd been crushing on him for months. I can't tell you how good it felt to hear that he loves me. That's the stuff of dreams that.

I tried to tell him all of that as best I could, stumbling and falling over my words, but I think I got most of it across. He was smiling and blushing by the time I was done. It was by far the most endearing thing I had ever seen.

"So…um, can I kiss you now?" I said.

He stared at me for a few seconds. "Are you sure about this?" he said.

"Yes. I told you already. I like you, Draco, I like you very much and it hurts to know that you kept all of this from me because you thought I could never love you. I don't love you yet, I'll be honest, but I’ll get there. Can you please trust me on this and just maybe give me a chance?"

"Okay," he said, though he still looked a bit unsure.

He leaned forward and put his hand on my shoulder. I put my arm around him and pulled him closer. I put my hand on his cheek and looked at him for a moment. I held his gaze, hoping that he would see how much I wanted this. I felt him relax a little, so I smiled and leaned forward and kissed him. It was a very soft, very chaste kiss, but it made me tingle and shiver in a way that was thoroughly delightful. I pulled away after a minute. He looked every bit as thunder struck as I felt.

"Wow! I mean wow! I cannot tell you how amazing that was," I said.

He blushed and he nodded. Blushing Draco was rapidly becoming my favourite thing in the world.

"If veela magic had something to do with the way that kiss felt, then I'm all for it," I said.

"I've been stupid, haven't I?"

"Very."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. So now will you tell me what that potion was?"

"Do I have to?"

"Yeah."

"It was…something I created. It was supposed to reduce my need for you. It was getting harder and harder to…not touch you."

"Bloody hell Draco! Please tell me it didn't work."

He smiled at that. "No it didn't. I want you more than ever."

"I want you rather desperately too," I said as I leaned over and kissed him again. It was not so innocent this time and I had a hard time pulling away.

“I should be angry with you, you know,” I said. “It was such an irresponsible thing you did. What if you hadn’t been able to wake up again?”

“I’m sorry, Harry, I really am. I’m sorry I was so stupid. Please don’t be mad at me.”

“How can I possibly be mad at you when you look at me like that?” I said. “Let me go get Hermione. I want her to take a look at you again, just to make sure you’re okay.”

“And if I am, does that mean we can get out of here?”

"Yes, of course.”

I went outside and I found Hermione and Narcissa and I explained things as best I could. Then I had to ask Hermione how she had known that I might be Draco’s mate, because it seemed clear now that that was the reason she had asked me to come take a look at him.

"I didn’t know. I guessed.”

“How?”

“Well, it’s this thing that you’ve always had between you, a connection. You were always very aware of him, Harry and since fifth year, the two of you couldn’t be in a room together without staring at each other constantly. I think I guessed it the moment I realised that Draco knew who his mate was, but that he hadn’t told them. I could see how he might hesitate to tell you. And then there was the fact that he would drop in at your office every other day, just to see you. I knew that he fancied you even before I knew he was a veela. And then there’s all those things of yours that’ve gone missing lately…”

“You think that was Draco?” Someone had been nicking things from my office for the past several weeks. It was never anything big or valuable, just things that I used regularly like my quill and my prescription pad, a couple of handkerchiefs and even my robe on one memorable occasion.

“I think it was, yes. It helps a veela cope with his mate’s absence when they have things that belong to them.”

It made me feel a bit sad to hear that. I could only imagine how lonely Draco must have been. I couldn’t wait to take him home and kiss him and cuddle him and let him know just how much I like him.

“Will you come look at him Hermione? I want to take him home if he’s okay.”

Hermione looked him over and declared that Draco was perfectly fine and that he could go home. Narcissa hugged her son, relieved that he was okay and then she lectured him a bit about being silly and keeping things from her and taking stupid risks and so on. Draco listened meekly to her until she ran out of steam. I was very amused, but I tried not to show it. Finally she was done. She turned to me and I tried to prepare myself for the “Hurt him and I’ll hunt you down,” speech. But I didn’t get it.

“Thank you for being so accepting about this, Harry,” she said. “It’s good to know that I can stop worrying about Draco now.”

“I’ll take care of him, I promise.”

“I know you will,” she said and then she left.

I turned to Draco. He was looking fondly at me. “I can’t believe you actually like me,” he said.

“What’s not to like? You’re interesting and funny, you’re a great conversationalist and you often seem to know everything about everything, you’re kind and nice and so goddamn beautiful. It would be strange if I didn’t like you…”

“I can’t tell you how much that makes me want to preen.”

I laughed. “Let’s get you home shall we? And before you ask, I’m taking you to my house.”

“Why your house?”

“Because I thought you might like to be in a place that is surrounded by my things.” I didn’t want to embarrass him, but I couldn’t resist that tiny reference to his stealing over the last few months. He blushed very prettily, so it was worth it.

I held out my hand and he took it and I couldn’t believe my luck. Life has always thrown a lot of shit at me, but in this, I believe, I hit the jackpot.

Comments

[snowgall]

Oh, I just love Veela/mate stories, and this one was lovely and sweet. I love wise!Hermione and self-sacrificing!Draco too :)

Thank you mystery author!

[cremebunny.livejournal.com]

Awwwww how adorable!!!!
Crushing babies omg this was too damn cute.

Blushy!Draco IS SOOO DAMN PRECIOUS SOMEBODY HELP MEEEE JKRKFJDKDK *sobs*

Such an enjoyable read, too cute honestly.

[fantasyfiend09.livejournal.com]

Very sweet to see Harry get so smitten with self-sacrificing Draco. I like that Narcissa knew Harry would be good to Draco, and she didn't have to threaten him. I loved her chewing Draco out for his foolishness.

[this-bloody-cat.livejournal.com]

Aaah!! A story for my prompt!! :D :D And it's absolutely adorable -- they both are; I loved this Draco to tiny pieces! His quiet pining, stealing Harry's things... it was gorgeous! ♥♥♥

[divertazsc.livejournal.com]

I love a selfless and insecure Draco. Yes Harry, you've hit the jackpot for sure.

[rebel-mistress.livejournal.com]

Jackpot indeed! Thanks for sharing your lovely fic with us.

[pollyweasley.livejournal.com]

Owwwn, that was a cute story to read! Though I wanted to see the cuddling and hugs and kisses, I loved it all! I want to hug them and never let go!