Cursed (Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy)

[Feo]

I would love it if you did that!!

[Arty]

*slowly raises hand* 

 

Yissssss

[purpleninja]

Here we are! WARNING: there is a SLIGHT mention of ALMOST v-ing in this one. Nothing actually happens, but I wanted to prepare y'all just in case. Oh, and don't worry, Harry will get worse

 

 

As time went on, Draco and his new family settled further into their lives together…and began to accept that maybe the curse was not going to lift. Even when he didn’t have a bug of some sort, Draco was constantly sickly. The fact that he appeared used to feeling so poorly was perhaps the saddest part of all. Harry watched his boyfriend play wizards’ chess with Ron—he was getting better—and smiled when he saw the slight, almost imperceptible twitch of his nose and eyebrows. Then came the concentrated look, then a small sniff and distracted nose rub, both of which Harry knew would be ineffective. When his pink lips parted and his breath hitched every so slightly, Harry bit back a laugh at his obliviousness and produced one of his handkerchiefs from his pocket, placing it conspicuously on the table.

“H-how did you kn-know?” Draco stuttered, picking up the cloth as his expression betrayed him. 

“I can read you like a book,” Harry replied with satisfaction as Draco lost the fight, turning away from him.

“BBZZSHH!! BBZSSH’uh!!!” Turning back with a thick sniffle, Draco held on to the cloth.

“Bless you. See?” Draco rolled his eyes and turned back to the game.

 

The snow crunched under Harry’s soles as he walked towards the Apothecary, shivering against the cold wind and wrapping his coat tighter around his body. Diagon Alley was suspiciously empty, and it didn’t take long for Harry to figure out why. A poster tacked to a shop window caught his eye, and he walked closer to inspect it, eyes widening as he read of the severe, highly contagious, potion-resistant virus spreading throughout the wizarding community. He swore, but turned and continued his trek to the Apothecary. Draco was doing well by his standards, but that didn’t mean that they could afford to not keep potions on hand. Harry grimaced, looking at the door handle to the shop as if it would bite him. He pulled his sleeve over his hand and carefully opened the door without touching it.

“Ah, Mr. Potter! Nice to see you, as always. I do hope you lot are being careful, what with this flu going around. How is Draco?” Harry smiled at the shop owner.

“He’s doing about as well as can be expected. The usual, please,” Harry requested, and the older man nodded and set to work.

“So, about this flu…this is the first I’m hearing of it,” Harry said as the shop owner gathered the necessary potions.

“Oh, dear, I’ve heard it’s awful. I do hope you lot can escape it, especially Draco.”

“Me, too,” Harry murmured, cringing. 

 

It was exactly three days before Harry woke up in the morning to snow falling outside, Draco peacefully slumbering in his arms, and a decidedly sore throat. Eyes flying open, Harry felt panic bubble up deep in his gut and tried to squash it down. Harry swallowed hard, ignoring the soreness, and carefully disentangled himself from the sleeping blond. He snuck out of the room, making his way down to where he knew Mrs. Weasley would be awake. Sure enough, he found Mr. and Mrs. Weasley talked in hushed, urgent whispers. The whispers stopped as Harry entered the room.

“Harry, dear, what are you doing up this early?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“Um, I just…woke up, is all,” Harry lied, and Mrs. Weasley frowned slightly, but nodded.

“Harry, I’m going to need you to extra observant of Draco. Percy and Ginny both came down with that flu this morning,” Mrs. Weasley informed him, and Harry felt his stomach clench. He cringed, wanting both to hide his own impending illness and keep Draco safe. In the end, keeping Draco safe came first, he decided.

“Yeah, erm…that’s actually why I came down,” he said quietly, staring intently at the floor. 

“Oh, dear, not you, too!”

“I-I’m not sure, it’s just a bit of a sore throat, maybe it’s nothing,” Harry insisted, cheeks flaming. Mrs. Weasley tutted.

“I hope it is, for your sake. Ginny’s miserable, the poor dear.” Harry grimaced again. This should be fun.

 

By lunchtime, it was becoming clear to Harry that this was anything but “nothing.” Harry closed his eyes and tried to catalogue his symptoms: aching head, stuffed nose, sore throat, and general malaise, but he seemed to be doing alright otherwise. If anything, the worst part of the whole situation was having to keep his distance from Draco. Draco, at this point, had good days and bad days, and today was a decidedly bad day. However, Harry had been there, right by his side, for every other bad day. So while Draco coughed until his eyes watered, Harry could only sit on the other side of the room and chew his lower lip. 

“Bless you,” Harry offered after a particularly rough, shuddering sneeze. Draco sniffled, shooting Harry a small, sympathetic smile. 

“You don’t have to talk, I know your throat hurts,” he said, and Harry looked intently at his lap. Draco had a point; if anyone would know how Harry felt, it was him. To make matters worse, Harry seemed to retreat into himself when he was ill, intent on hiding any sign of suffering. Everyone knew this was a product of his childhood, but that didn’t make watching him suffer in silence any easier. 

 

“No. Absolutely not,” Harry said firmly, intentionally not meeting Draco’s pleading gaze. Draco looked to Mrs. Weasley for backup, finding none.

“I’m sorry, dear, I have to agree. It’s not a good idea.” Draco fought back the childish urge to stamp his foot. He knew Harry was feeling poorly and didn’t want to cause trouble, but the blond had been feeling poorly, too, and all he wanted was to snuggle up to his boyfriend like every other night. Harry and Mrs. Weasley, however, insisted that the two not sleep in the same bed.

“We’ve been sleeping in the same bed for days now, surely that ship has sailed already,” Draco insisted, and Harry squirmed; he had a point. Draco wanted to stop, to give in, to save his two favorite people the trouble, but the thought of sleeping alone insisted that he continue to argue. Draco bit his lip, knowing his fever must’ve gone up when he felt desperate tears prick at his eyes. 

“Dray,” Harry said tiredly, rubbing absently at his forehead. Draco’s shoulders slumped and he’d just resigned himself to a night alone, for Harry’s sake, when his breath caught deep in his lungs. He sputtered, interrupting Mrs. Weasley, taking a stumbling step back as he aimed the deep, congested coughs into his elbow. Both his boyfriend and surrogate mum stopped, eyeing him with concern as his feeble body tried hard to eject his lungs. He grabbed onto a chair with his free hand, knuckles turning white as he gripped hard, his lungs clamping down. 

“Okay, okay,” Harry spoke, unable to keep himself from Draco any longer. He closed the distance between them and rubbed the blond’s back soothingly, just like always. Draco shook his head, squirming away, sure that his stomach would be next to rebel, panic filling him like ice. His lungs, thankfully, seemed to get the message and loosened enough to allow him a sip of air and a hard swallow. Draco stood rigid, teeth clenched, every muscle taut as he fought his body, gasping and struggling to keep his lungs under control.

“You’re alright, relax,” Harry said softly, and Draco shook his head firmly. The next minute was agonizing for all three of them, but finally Draco relaxed, panting.

“Thought…I thought I was gonna be sick,” he admitted. He felt weak and shaky, sure that was the worst fit he’d ever had. 

“Alright, I’ll sleep up there,” Harry resigned. Draco looked guiltily at the floor.

“But only because I don’t want to leave you alone with that cough,” he said and Draco nodded. Harry paused for a second, then continued.

“And don’t think you can do that every time to get your way,” he said gingerly in a teasing tone. Draco wheezed out a laugh.

“Trust me, I’d rather not repeat that.”

 

 

More to commmmeeeeee  

[Arty]

[RediChalyn]

Not that I enjoy waking up in the middle of the night...but there are definitely worse things to wake up to!  Love it thank you!-

[lsbn]

Yessssss there was more!!!!!!! Poor boys. I almost wish Draco could take care of Harry for a change, but he’s so fragile 💔💔💔 I’m really excited to see where you go with this next!!!

[Feo]

Thank you! I love how you are making Harry sick  now!

[purpleninja]

Hey, y'all! I'm back again. This chapter is more illness-related but trust me, coming up will be *two* sneezy boys so just hold on. It's comin, I promise.

 

 

Draco forced puffy, tired eyelids open the next morning as a sense of dread filled him. He felt completely and utterly dreadful, but realized with a pang of concern that Harry’s skin didn’t feel cool to him like usual. He glanced up at his sleeping boyfriend, who looked not much better than Draco felt, and whispered a string of profanities. Irritated by his attempt at speech, Draco’s lungs protested and he struggled to muffle the slushy coughs into his sleeve. He barely heard a low groan from Harry, looking up to see his green eyes flutter open. He rubbed Draco’s back, but the movements were sluggish. 

“That sounds bad,” he spoke after the coughing stopped, his voice deep and congested.

“Speak for yourself,” Draco countered before realizing he didn’t sound much better. He pressed his face into Harry’s chest with a sigh. Harry laughed softly when he heard a muffled “this sucks” from the blond before aiming a few dry coughs into his fist.

“Yeah. It really does.” 

 

Mrs. Weasley rapped lightly on the bedroom door, concerned when her knock was met with silence. With most of the family down for the count, Mrs. Weasley had her hands full and could only hope that her anti-contagion charms would hold. After a moment’s hesitation, she opened the door and crept over to where the two lovers were tangled together in sleep. It would’ve been endearing, really, if not for the obvious illness in both of them and the rattling wheeze coming from deep in Draco’s chest. Harry, try as he might, couldn’t hide the severity of his condition in sleep, and Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips in concern as she felt his forehead, then Draco’s. Harry was cooler than Draco, but that was most certainly not of any reassurance considering how high Harry’s fever felt to be. Harry stirred under her touch, dark hair plastered to his forehead with sweat, whereas Draco’s skin was scalding but very worryingly dry. A whimper escaped from Harry, and Mrs. Weasley frowned deeper, having never heard Harry make such a sound. His eyes opened slowly, and he blinked up in confusion before realizing where he was. Molly could practically see his walls go up as he put on that mask again.

“How are you feeling?” the motherly woman asked, keeping her voice soft and low.

“I’m fine,” Harry said in a voice so thick and deep Mrs. Weasley barely believed it was his.

“Right, dear, of course. Everyone who has this is absolutely miserable, but I believe you’re fine. Now tell me the truth,” she said with a gentle smile.

“I…I’ve been better, but I’m alright, really. It’s Dr-“ Mrs. Weasley held up a hand to stop him, knowing exactly what was coming.

“I will worry about you both, and I hardly believe you’re alright.” She gently combed through Harry’s perpetually messy hair.

“Can you tell me what’s bothering you so I can try to help?” Harry shrugged.

“It’s potion resistant,” he struggled out around a few coughs that Mrs. Weasley noted were, thankfully, dry. 

“That doesn’t mean I don’t have any tricks up my sleeve.” Harry smiled, rubbing roughly at his nose, silently willing the tickle to go away. Harry absolutely loathed sneezing in front of people, and avoided it at all costs, but he could tell early on he would lose this particular battle.

“h’ischt! ishh!! ng’shh!!” The outbursts were congested, but rather small and contained. Unfortunately, the jerking motion was still enough to wake Draco.

“Bless you, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said sympathetically, plucking a tissue from the box on the side table and handing it to Harry, who wiped his nose quickly as Draco’s eyes opened.

“How are you holding up?” Mrs. Weasley asked Draco, and the blond just gazed blankly up at her, blinking slowly, remaining slumped against Harry. 

“Are you alright?” Again, it took far too long for the question to register in Draco’s fever-muddled brain, but he nodded after a few moments. Mrs. Weasley sighed heavily and palmed his forehead again. Hot. Way, way too hot. 

“Harry, honey, do you think it’d be possible to move you both downstairs? I’d like to be able to keep a closer eye on….well, the both of you, really.” Harry nodded, coughing lightly and pushing himself to a sitting position on shaky arms. 

“Dray, sit up,” he rasped in as gentle a tone as his strained voice could manage. Harry tried to sit Draco up, but the blond was limp as a rag doll in Harry’s arms. Suddenly Draco’s eyes rolled back, and Harry turned to Mrs. Weasley, eyes bright with fever and unbridled panic. 

“We need to call someone.” 

 

When Draco next opened his eyes, it was dark outside and Mrs. Weasley, Madame Pomfrey, and a shivering Harry were watching him intently. 

“Well, Mr. Malfoy, you’ve done it. You’ve set the record for highest temperature I’ve ever brought down. That was a close one, I will admit,” Madame Pomfrey said, and Draco gnawed at his lower lip as he registered the concern in the eyes of all 3 of them. His eyes shifted to Harry, who looked like he very well might collapse right where he stood, and Draco felt cold guilt settle into his stomach. Madame Pomfrey busied herself with running one last diagnostic spell on Draco before she had to depart. Now that Draco was lucid, the adrenaline from the incident faded and Harry found himself using every bit of his remaining strength and willpower to stay on his feet. He felt Draco’s concerned eyes on him and refused to meet his gaze, feeling a wave of prickly heat wash over him. The room seemed to jolt dangerously and Harry heard Draco’s yelp as the floor rushed up to meet him, but he stopped when a pair of surprisingly strong arms caught him, his face inches from the floorboards. 

“That’s enough! In bed with you,” Madame Pomfrey said sternly as Mrs. Weasley righted Harry, a firm grip on his arm.

“I’m alright, I swear, I just-“

“Like hell you are. In bed.” Harry knew that no-nonsense tone of voice and allowed Mrs. Weasley to help him into bed next to his boyfriend. 

“Now I want both of you firmly planted in this bed until Molly gives you permission to leave it. If you are to leave this bed beforehand, I sincerely hope it is an absolute emergency,” Madame Pomfrey warned, and both lovers nodded, eyes wide.

“Molly,” Madame Pomfrey said, her voice changing to sympathy as she turned to Mrs. Weasley.

“I wish you the best of luck. If you need me at all, you know where to find me.” Mrs. Weasley smiled back. 

“This isn’t the first time I’ve had the whole family ill at once. However, this is the worst so far, though the last Wizards’ Flu was hideous.”

“Oh, Molly, I do not envy you.”

 

The room was pitch black when Draco woke himself up coughing, a common occurrence since the curse but never any easier to deal with. Draco shuddered in Harry’s arms as he coughed hard, trying and failing to gain control of his lungs. Even worse, this time Harry didn’t wake up to help his boyfriend through the fit. Knowing that fevers make nightmares worse, Mrs. Weasley had cajoled him into taking some Dreamless Sleep. The potion worked wonders, and Harry was blissfully out cold in spite of the flu. As the coughing slowed, Draco wondered if the potion would keep him from waking up like this. 

“hh’BBZSHH!!” The rough, congested sneeze came on quickly, leaving the blond barely enough time to clamp his hand to his face, not that anyone was around to care whether he covered or not. Draco sniffled and sighed. He had a strong feeling it was going to be a long night. 

 

Again, sorry for the lack of sneezing, which is the very thing you came here for. More to come!

[RediChalyn]

LOVE IT!!!!!  Oh I do love my strong men passing out....mmmmm

[Arty]

Epicness!!!!

[Feo]

@Koda Will you continue this story? I love it 😊

[morrigan.crow]

This story is amazing, can't wait for more! 

[shaniyajane]

It's been so long but I'm begging for a new chapter on this 😍 I need sick Drarry in my life!