Harry sleepily munched on his toast that next morning, feeling a slight bit of déjà-vu. Ron sat next to him, going on and on about how the ghoul in the attic had kept him up all night. Harry had long since given up on speaking and just nodded every so often when Ron would break long enough to take a breath. Several times Hermione tried to change the subject to something more... suitable, but Ron remained as adamant as ever. What was surprising to Harry was Draco, of all things. He clung to every word of the conversation, vigorously nodding and shoving food down his throat all the same. The only one who seemed a bit confused was Ginny, who didn't seem to get the memo.
"What's he doing here?" She had asked upon noticing Draco at the table that morning. Mrs. Weasely just gave her a stern look and said: "Now Ginny, be nice to our guest. It's only temporary, we're not going to force him to leave or do anything he doesn't wish to. Unless it's having seconds- eat up, dear!" Mrs. Weasely had even taken it upon herself to feed Draco as she did Harry every year. By dumping heaps of food onto his plate and muttering about how she thought he was 'underfed' or 'needed to be more plump'. Harry smiled in these moments, happy that at he wasn't the only one that Draco could connect with.
Later that day, Harry had come across Draco who was sitting in an armchair, face in his hands.
"Are you all right?" He asked, approaching him.
"Fine. Just thinking, is all." Harry's brow kneaded into a concerned look. "You know you can tell me anything that's on your mind, right? Even if it's about a painful crap you had to take I'll bear through it." That got a chuckle and grin to crack through Draco's stony face, giving life to the statue.
"That's disgusting! I'll make sure to fill you in as soon as I have one." He winked, and it was Harry's turn to snort in laughter. It felt good, to have that lightness in his chest, freeing his wings so that he could fly with everyone else. But all good things must come to an end, and that applied to this light feeling as well. A forlorn look crossed Draco's face, as if he wanted to say something. Harry questioned him about it, Draco replying as vague as ever.
"I want to tell you something,"
"So tell me, I'm right here."
"No, I can't."
"Why not?"
"I just can't."
"Stop being so equivocal and tell me!" Harry gritted his teeth, trying to get Draco to spill the beans. Draco simply shrugged, and said: "I'll tell you later." This only infuriated Harry more, but he took a deep breath and agreed.
"Okay."
Harry yawned, stretching out his arms and gazing at his surroundings. It was dark, as to be expected in the middle of the night. Ron snored from the other bed, deep in sleep. However, Harry had woken from a noise. Not a quiet noise, or one too loud to wake even Ron, but a regular little 'clang' from downstairs. At first Harry dismissed it as Mrs. Weasely dropping a pan or something of the sort, but that's when he noticed the time. Who would make a cup of tea at three in the morning?
So he decided to investigate, creeping around on the creaky floor as to not wake Ron, no matter how difficult that might be in the first place. He stepped down the windy staircase all the way down to the main floor. Looking around, nothing or no one was to be seen. Harry scratched his head. He could have sworn he heard something here. What a bother. He was just about to go back upstairs when he heard a familiar noise- again. Clang. Someone swore under their breath. There was no mistaking that he had definitely heard that. Harry tiptoed across the wooden floor, concealing his movements as much as he could. It was surely a surprise when he stumbled upon none other than Draco, who was picking up a pan that had fallen from his hands. Harry stood there for a good minute until he saw the grey eyes focus on him, and widen in surprise. Draco gasped, taken off-guard, and held the pan towards him threateningly.
"Who's there," Draco beckoned. "Show yourself!" Harry gulped, stepping closer to his partner. "Draco, it's me, Harry." He held up his hands in surrender. "May I ask why you have a frying pan with you? And what's with the bag?" He saw the pan lower, swinging to Draco's side.
"Harry," He breathed. "What are you doing here?"
"I should ask you the same thing... Answer my question, please."
"I... I'm leaving. That's all there is to it." Harry's gaze shifted to the floor. "Why?" He simply asked.
"I have my reasons."
"Your wounds haven't healed yet!"
"See you at school."
"Draco! Hey, wait!" Harry stormed after him, into the ebony night. He ran to catch up with him, but Draco was fast. He skittered off and Apparated in a flash. Harry stopped in the spot Draco had vanished. Panting, he did a full 360, pleading in his mind that somehow he would still be there. No such luck. He let out an irritated yell, clenching his fist. His hollow voice echoed in the night.
Why? Why? Why did he just up and leave like that? Why didn't he say something? Why couldn't he have been more clarion with his words? And why did he just let him go? Well, Harry thought, he did try. It was only too late by the time he did. Harry sighed, tucking his legs into his chest. He had been sitting in the same armchair for what felt like hours, replaying the scene over and over again, thinking of all the ways it could have gone better. The worried faces of his friends often drifted in and out of sight, but none of them quite knew what to say. Harry had been rather quiet about the entire ordeal, and spared several details when asked about Draco the following morning, simply saying that he had left. Nothing more, nothing less. Time seemed to be almost non-existent, only showing her face at random occasions. Ron called Harry to dinner, breakfast, and to bed. Everything else was a blur. Although everyone's OWL's arrived, which sent a momentary jolt of excitement through him, but all was dull until the day came that Harry was to return to Hogwarts once more.
"Come on, cheer up mate! Think about the raspberry tarts and chicken we'll have tonight!" Ron attempted, his mouth seeming to water at the thought. They had all been on the Hogwarts train for a while now, and Ron had finally had enough of Harry's silence. Hermione hit him on the arm. "Honestly, food isn't everyone's haven, as much as it may be yours." Ron scowled. "I thought I'd help."
"It was a good try." Harry smiled weakly. Ron nodded, his eyes trailing to his knees. Hermione changed the subject, conversing about how they thought this year might look. This lead to all of them wondering how Slughorn planned to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, and new ways of annoying Snape. Soon enough, Harry excused himself from their compartment, and went to spy on Draco. He had a rising suspicion that he was getting more and more involved with the Death Eaters and even Lord Voldemort himself. Just to be safe, Harry dragged his invisibility cloak along, swishing it on as soon as he was out of sight. He was able to slip in through a thin gap of the sliding door left by another Slytherin that was walking by. It only took a few feet until he could see him. Draco. Just sitting with some of the other students. Pansy Parkinson had her head rested in his lap, the trace of a smile playing across her lips. Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle sat around them.
"I'm so glad you abandoned that Potter boy, Draco. He was such a bother. Besides, we have a lot of catching up to do..." Pansy cooed, winking at Draco. Harry felt a burning sensation spread through his body, scowling. Draco gulped, pulling his collar. "Abandon is a strong word, Pansy. Though I must say it's good to be back." The fire turned into melting ice, Harry's heart figuratively broke. Was that just the end of them? He had to get to the bottom of this. Harry climbed onto the railing that contained other luggage and waited. He didn't find out much, but his suspicions were only raised even higher than they ever had before. The time came when the train came to a halt, and a wave of dread washed over Harry. How was he going to get out? He didn't have to wait long, the only problem was that Draco decided to hang back. Harry held his breath, his eyes lingering on Draco's.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Draco's loud shout caused Harry to jump, but not for long as he was completely paralyzed. The cloak had partially slid off of him, and Draco whipped the rest of it off. He glared down at him menacingly. Without warning, Draco smashed his foot into Harry's face, crushing and breaking his nose. Harry wanted to scream, to move away, but his body was entirely immobile from the spell.
"That was from my father." He spat, swiftly turning on his heel and exited the compartment. Harry lay there for a while, thoughts racing through his mind. After a what felt like a good hour a familiar blur of pink hair loomed over his head, and suddenly he was able to move again. Harry blinked, looking at the witch who grinned before him.
"Heya, Harry." Tonks' wand was pointed at him.
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