It had taken a year for Harry and Draco to get their relationship to where it was now, and Harry was grateful for every mission that brought them closer together.

If Harry had to choose a catalyst, he would say that it wasn't when he vouched for Draco at his trial or spoke on his mother's behalf. No, it was the night before their first day of auror training when Harry showed up unannounced to return Draco's wand.

"You're giving it back?"

"It's yours."

"But it's the wand that won the war," Draco replied with a frown.

"It belongs with its true owner. I thought you'd like to use it in the field."

"I don't know if it will respond to me anymore."

"It doesn't hurt to try Malfoy. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Potter?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

That moment led to begrudging respect, to a strong friendship, to feelings of something more in the year in which they had been assigned as partners.

Throughout auror training, each trainee was meant to rotate through partners. There would be times when Draco would be left playing "the bad guy" as no one wanted to work with him, and everyone jumped at the chance to be Harry's partner. In simulations, he would often fight alone, working tirelessly to prove himself.

It was early in their training when they had been called in to assist the current task force. They had barely been trained for this, but those who had played a large part in the war were ready to continue the fight. Draco found himself front and center, practically back to back with Potter, as they moved in on the group of death eaters they had encountered.

Every step Harry made, Draco was there. There was one dark arts spell aimed at Harry while his back was turned. Ron hesitated, but Draco didn't, effectively saving Harry from being cursed. Once the rubble was cleared, Harry offered his hand to Draco, and the rest was history. He didn't want to partner with anyone else.

Draco felt the same way... most days.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!"

Laughing, Harry held his hand out for what he knew would be a chocolate frog card with himself on it.

"I swear to Merlin Potter this is the fifth one this week and it's only Tuesday!"

"Maybe we should talk about your chocolate frog intake," Harry mused, biting his lip to suppress a smile.

"Maybe we should talk about how your face keeps ruining my appetite!"

"Personally, I think it enhances it, but what do I know? I've been told I look good enough to eat."

With a snicker, Harry wrote "sorry my face ruins your appetite :(" on the chocolate frog card and signed it before flinging it at Draco's head. Naturally, Draco caught it without even turning around.

"I swear, I'd even be happy with getting a Weasley card at this point! I must have every Harry Potter chocolate frog card ever produced."

"It's an honor really, knowing that you're so drawn to me even when I'm not here."

"I think I've been cursed," Draco lamented, rolling his eyes but tucking the signed card into his drawer with the rest, and there were many.

Draco would never forget when he saved Harry on that fateful mission. He had protested that anyone would have done it, after all Potter had stepped in to save him on more than one occasion, but Harry had argued back that no one else had stepped up to help him, let alone save him. A reward came in the form of a chocolate frog, complete with none other than a Harry Potter card. Harry had taken the card, written a thank you note, signed it, and left it in Draco's locker.

Once they had graduated from auror training, Harry had asked Draco to be his auror partner with none other than one of his chocolate frog cards. Thus started a tradition of passing notes and written invitations using Harry's chocolate frog cards. Unbeknownst to Draco, Harry had enlisted help from all of his friends to collect his chocolate frog cards so that he could give them to Draco. Office memos and reminders for Draco written by Harry could always be found jotted down onto Harry's cards.

Draco would never admit to Harry that this was something he looked forward to every day. As they shared an office, Harry could always tell when Draco's mood was off. In response, he would leave Draco a chocolate frog card with a silly message to make him smile. If asked Draco would deny it, but he kept every single chocolate frog card with the date written carefully on the back. Harry would deny that he had ever seen them in Draco's desk drawer.

"As someone who has been cursed, I could think of a worse fate than receiving my ex-nemesis's chocolate frog card."

"Ex-nemesis? Was I supposed to let that go?," Draco drawled, not even bothering to conceal a smirk.

"Oh fuck off!," Harry replied with a laugh, shaking his head and throwing yet another card at him. "You love me really, no matter how much you want to deny it."

"I tolerate you."

"Coming from you? That's the compliment of the year Malfoy," Harry responded with a grin.

Maybe Draco had gone a little bit soft towards Harry, as he allowed his mouth to quirk up a minuscule amount before smoothing his expression. Harry was beaming, and promptly turned around to finish their paperwork.

"Lunch is on you today Potter."

"Isn't it always?"

"That's how the rich stay rich," Draco retorted.

"What'll it be today?"

"I was thinking-," Draco began, before being cut off by the raid siren. "Fuck me!"

"Now that is a meal I would be more than happy to serve!," Harry yelled in reply, winking at Draco's scarlet face before donning his robe and running out of the office.

Needless to say they didn't have lunch, and Draco was getting quite twitchy hours later from where they were staking out a building.

"Here," Harry murmured, passing him a granola bar.

"What's this?"

"A granola bar. I keep them in my robe pockets just in case something like this happens. I know you need your structured meals so...," Harry trailed off, refusing to make eye contact.

Draco gently rested his hand on Harry's, and allowed him one of his rare, soft smiles.

"Thank you, Harry. I couldn't have asked for a better partner," Draco replied quietly, looking away quickly at his admission.

Harry squeezed his hand in reply, before his eyes returned to the house. 15 minutes later, the two men were on the move, trailing and tracking.

"Can we please call out tomorrow?," Draco asked, stretched out on their office floor a few hours later. "We have overtime out the arse."

"You can take your days whenever you want."

"And leave you here alone? Potter, we both know I'm your only source of impulse control."

"That- that is very true."

Harry looked at Draco with a wicked smirk that had Draco sitting up in concern. Harry dramatically cleared his throat before beginning his best Draco impression, pacing and hand waving included.

"Honestly Potter, must you always throw yourself in harm's way without a single thought given? Do I look like a rubbish collector? No? Then why am I always cleaning up your messes?"

"I do not sound like that! That was, however, one of my best comebacks."

"I simply tolerate you. I am a Malfoy, I cannot admit how much I lo-"

Draco grabbed Harry's ankle and pulled him down onto the floor.

"Malfoy!"

"Maybe I wanted a turn showing off my Potter impression? All I have to do is dive into danger because I act like I'm expendable," Draco huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're so... ugh!"

Harry dramatically left the room and Draco watched with a raised eyebrow. He returned not two minutes later and dropped a stamped letter along with a chocolate frog card note on top of it.

"There."

"What is this?"

"I know you're more than a pretty face Malfoy you can read."

"Good to know you think I'm pretty," Draco mumbled, reading the letter first. "Friday and Monday off?"

"You're welcome."

"And you're inviting me to dinner?"

"Lunch was supposed to be on me," Harry replied with a shrug.

"I..."

Draco was at a loss for words. They didn't do... this.

"It wasn't a question. Let's go. You need to eat."

"I also need to shower."

"Come to mine in half an hour then. I'll see you partner," Harry said with a grin, bumping Draco's hip with his own on the way out, not even leaving space for Draco to argue.

The half hour quickly turned into 45 minutes because what was Draco supposed to wear to... whatever the hell this dinner with Potter was. He detested being late, but he felt worse about feeling so unsure.

His worrying was promptly interrupted by a chocolate frog card flying out of the floo.

"What in Merlin's name..."

"Stop overthinking and get your arse over here before I drag it here myself."

Huffing, Draco put on his shoes, grabbed a bottle of wine, and stepped through the floo.

"I hate you."

"No, you really don't," Harry replied with a grin. "It's just a home cooked meal Malfoy."

"I thought we were having takeaway?"

"Thursdays are crockpot days."

"I don't know what that means, but I've brought wine."

"Thanks. Make yourself comfortable."

Comfortable was the last thing Draco was, awkwardly fiddling about with the cuffs of his sleeves. Harry laughed softly when he noticed, grabbing Draco by the hand and pulling him across the kitchen.

"So this is a crockpot. You let food slow cook here for hours. I make like two to three meals like this a week. I get them started before work, they cook all day, and then they're just about done when I get home.

I hope you like beef? Slow cooked with potatoes and other vegetables. I've got some bread in the oven which is actually ready to come out, excuse me. If not, I'm sure there's something else I can make you. I had chili last night and I still have some left, or there's like two slices of pizza I think. Or I can-"

"Potter," Draco cut in, barely stifling a laugh.

It was good to know that he was also thrown off his game a little bit.

"Yes?"

"This is fine. Point me to the glasses, I think we both need some wine."

"I'll drink to that."

"So, what are you going to be doing on your two days off now?," Harry inquired, twirling his fork.

"I don't know, I wasn't expecting you to take me seriously. What are you going to do?"

"No idea! Maybe I'll see a film, go to the park, sit on my couch and contemplate my life choices. All promising options."

"Do you not have a life outside of being an Auror? I'm sorry, that came out more harshly than I intended. My apologies."

"Well, Ron is still working, I see him and Hermione every Sunday, then we have dinner together at the Burrow. I see Teddy on Wednesday nights, the occasional weekend if I want to take him out to do something. Maybe I'll take him with me to the park. I see Neville and Luna a few times a month. I'll meet up with McGonagall for tea twice a month. Sometimes I'll do a guest lecture at Hogwarts. Other than that, it's just me, unless someone has a birthday. Really, I've just slowly been trying to find a new hobby."

"Huh."

"What about you?"

"Pansy, Blaise, Luna. I see Greg a few times a month but it's... not the same."

"I'm sorry. I understand. When I do those guest lectures I'm right in and right out. I tried walking around, once, and all I could see was everyone that didn't make it. That was when I was out for a few days. Had a full on panic attack, collapsed in the corridor."

"And I gave you shit for not coming in," Draco replied in horror.

"Do you know why I like you, Draco?," Harry asked suddenly.

"Because of my sparkling personality and devilishly good looks?"

"All of those reasons aside, you don't put up with my shit. You have never given a single fuck about my name, and I think that's brilliant. I'm just Potter, you don't care that I saved the world or whatever they're calling it. You've seen me at my absolute worst, and you still have my back. I always jump in front of other people to save them. You are one of the only people to have ever jumped in front of me.

You said anyone would have done it. I would have done it for anyone. I do the saving, I don't get saved. That meant a lot to me, and it almost felt like I didn't deserve it."

"Of course you deserve to be saved Potter," Draco replied with a frown.

"We just have a very complicated past, and I'm still trying to make up for it."

"I think we need something stronger than wine for this conversation."

That's how Draco found himself waking up on Friday morning slumped over Harry on the floor, on the rug in front of the fireplace.

"Well, this hasn't happened to me since I was 16," Draco muttered.

"This hasn't happened to me since right after the war," Harry replied. "I'm always alone though, this is new."

He grunted, rolling Draco over on the rug with him before gesturing in the air with his hand and catching the two vials that landed there.

"Here, for the hangover. What do you like for breakfast?"

"I can just-"

"You could, but you won't. Now I know what muffins and fruit you like and how you take your tea, but I don't know what else you like for breakfast. What do you do on weekends?"

"Simple things that I can make. I have a waffle maker, a very neat little thing because it tells me when they're done. I'll have cereal or oatmeal, sometimes toast. I'll eat my eggs however they come out of the pan honestly. If I'm going out, my guilty pleasure is French toast. I love the cinnamon."

"I'll get you a change of clothes and some breakfast then."

"I-," at Harry's expression, Draco changed his tone. "Thank you, Harry."

"You're always welcome Draco. You can follow me up, I'll see what I have that's relatively your size."

Draco sat gingerly on the edge of Harry's bed, taking in his bedroom. His eyes stopped on his dresser, adorned with photos.

"Is that..."

"It is. I think it's our best photo honestly."

The photo depicted the two men shaking hands when they were sworn in as auror partners, and matching smirks on their faces.

"I'm partial to the ones from our quidditch matches actually."

"I don't think I have any of those," Harry mused, handing Draco a shirt and pair of joggers. "They have strings you can tighten. Bathroom is through this door right here."

"Thank you."

Draco did his best to make himself look presentable. In the privacy of the bathroom, he admired himself in Harry's t-shirt. Collar pressed against his nose, he breathed in deeply before snapping out of it. This was his work partner, and nothing more. Well, Draco supposed they were friends at the minimum. He had never expected to find a photo of himself and Harry in the man's bedroom for Merlin's sake. It was quite touching actually, and Draco made a mental note to find those quidditch pictures.

Entering the kitchen, Draco was plagued by memories of last night. They had talked, laughed, and shed a few tears as they went through their tumultuous history. Apologies were exchanged, and Draco swore he remembered a hug, and that was that. All was forgiven and put to rest.

"You're making me French toast."

"It sounded good after you were talking about it. Your tea is on the table."

"Thank you. For today, and for yesterday."

"We should spend more time together outside of work, if you'd like to. No pressure, of course. Think about it."

"I'd like that."

After a truly wonderful breakfast that Draco must have complimented at least 5 times, he was on his way back home. He had some errands to run with his newly found time, but he thanked Harry profusely for everything. Draco left to the promise of him always being welcome in Harry's home.

Once he arrived home from dinner with Pansy and Blaise where he kept his Potter talk to the minimum, he was met with a tin of freshly baked muffins, and a chocolate frog card that simply said "thank you." It took longer for Draco to fight off that tingling sensation in his chest.

{I've missed writing Drarry so much, my babies. This has potential to be a new story? I've had this idea sitting in my notes since 2020, I'm so happy to finally get it out there. Merry Christmas!!}