Piece of Your Heart ✔️

Chapter 31

Harry knew things had been too good to be true. He was happy for Draco. Truly he was. His potion had done better than expected, and he was constantly turning out cauldrons full. All of his free time was spent in the potions lab, and he rarely came out. He didn't even sit down for meals anymore most of the time.

When he was in between brewing, George often took up his time with talks about new products for his shop. Even though there were people in his house, Harry was beginning to feel alone again, and that put him on edge. He was becoming more reserved, not that anymore was really around to notice.

After all, it had only been a week and Draco was doing such a good thing that would help so many people. Harry was wondering if this was his karma after all of the years of fighting Voldemort and putting everyone in danger. At this rate, he was only a danger to himself.

Currently, he was out in the backyard. This is where he had been spending all of his free time. The grass had been cut, grass seed had been put down, and it was watered thoroughly. Harry was quite proud of his efforts.

He had begun to reconstruct the back deck as well. With George around, it was a lot easier to leave the house. Harry always made sure to mark where he was going on the calendar, but no one, to his knowledge, ever made the effort to check.

Harry had constructed the whole deck by himself, with minimal use of magic. He felt so proud of himself. He was tanned, covered in scratches, but so happy at the progress. All he had to do now was stain the deck, and it would be perfect. Then, he would begin picking out lawn furniture.

Harry had even gone out with Arthur once, being extremely careful to not overexert himself with dark magic, and returned happy and healthy, but most importantly in one piece. He may be feeling lonely, but he at least had a renowned sense of purpose.

Stretching out on his back on the deck, he smiled in contentment. The days were slowly getting cooler, and he enjoyed laying shirtless in the sun, treasuring the feeling of warmth overtaking his body.

Opening one eye, he cast a tempus and saw he still had 2 hours before he had to be at Neville's. He didn't even know if Draco remembered their plans. Harry would deal with him in an hour.

Getting up, he did some rough sketches of his future plans for the garden. Once the deck was stained, he would work on the fountain. He needed to contact McGonagall about restorative spells. If he didn't have to, he didn't want to replace the stonework. As rock absorbed energy while wood channeled it, Harry didn't want to take his chances with the deck.

He did however, want to construct a greenhouse. Nothing major, just something to supply fresh fruits and vegetables all year long. The least amount of trips to the store the better. The pool, he would hold off until early spring to build. No use fussing over that now. There may even be room to dedicate an area to quidditch.

Gathering up his new plans, Harry brought them inside and placed them where they wouldn't be forgotten. He quickly wrote out a letter to Professor McGonagall asking when he would be able to come back next to visit.

Remembering that Harry had promised to bring dessert, he cleaned up as best as he could, and then began preparations. Draco was nowhere to be found in any of the rooms, so rolling his eyes, he cast a silencing charm, turned the song volume to almost max, and began making a pie crust.

He had been forced to cook for the Dursleys for many years, so Harry considered himself to be very skilled in the kitchen. If he wanted to make something, he typically didn't have to bring out a recipe book. Cooking was a mindless comfort to him, and while he preferred meals to desserts, this would have to do.

The pro of being a wizard was quick heating and cooling charms. That's all Harry allowed himself to use, as magic sometimes had a way of entering the food and throwing off the taste. He didn't have time for the crust to set, so this would be okay as the magic wasn't creating it.