hi everyone, before anything else, i would like to apologise for not updating for almost 2 months now. i had completely neglected my writing to focus on exams, but that's no excuse bc i was also just lazy and uninspired. anyway i'm getting back into it, but what i originally came in here to write about was drarry after school, like as adults together. so i'm gonna speed it up a bit to get there so i can maybe write a new story? idk pls comment if you're into that idea and if u think i should write more things (maybe different ships, like romione or wolfstar..?) so yeh, i hope you enjoy this chapter, and once again i'm really sorry!! love xx
Chapter 16
Over the next two weeks, Harry barely spoke to anyone. Every single day after lessons, he would drag his feet round to McGonagall's office, hoping for a shred of news from the Ministry. They had kept all the Death Eaters and Malfoy in custody since that night. All Harry could do was think about him, day and night. He attempted to hatch a plan to break him out, but he soon realised it would only land them both in more trouble than he was already in, and he didn't want to make matters worse. So, he kept to himself, simply going from class to class, writing down the odd spell, never fully focused.
Two Thursdays after the arrest, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were all seated in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room, parchment and textbooks spread all across the coffee table. Harry was sprawled across the maroon armchair, half-listening to Hermione explain Charms to Ginny when Ron spoke up.
"Come on, mate, you've got to stop this," he told Harry.
The raven-haired boy only opened one eye and glanced over at his best friend. Ron had a pitiful look in his eyes, and Harry sat up against the cushions, resting his elbows on his knees. He hadn't been eating properly either, and his stomach made a statement at that moment. He had neglected his dinner, and was getting thinner and thinner every day.
"Look, we've done all we can to get you back on your feet, but you clearly have no intention of letting this go," he continued, "you're getting so thin, you're not following lessons, and you barely talk to us anymore!"
Harry sighed heavily before answering. With a hand on his forehead, his thumb rubbing his temple, he replied, "I'm really sorry, Ron, I'm just as annoyed as you are that I can't get a damn grip on the situation," he groaned as he sat back in the chair, looking Ron properly in the eyes, "I never imagined it would affect my quite so much, but I can't seem to bring myself to act any differently now... Draco is constantly on my mind, and I'm just so worried about him every minute of every day."
"I understand, mate, you really seemed to... err... care about him..." he coughed awkwardly, "but this is damaging the other areas of your life. You know that we're always gonna be here for you, but I mean, you're not exactly giving us much to work with here," he chuckled.
The corner of Harry's lips upturned, showing the ghost of a smile. He looked down at the floor, shaking his head lightly at his best friend's words. He was right. Of course he was, they all were, he needed to get a hold of himself.
He looked back at Ron, who had a sort of hopeful look in his eyes, and he nodded at him. At that, Ron knew he had triumphed, and a grin spread across his face. His eyes lit up, and he pulled Harry into a manly hug. They tapped each other's backs and pulled away, an awkward cough that they both attempted to cover up rather lamely. The two girls looked over at them, and when they saw such a heartfelt scene, looked at each other with a smile on their faces. They were going to be all right after all.
******
On Friday morning, a small but pristine envelope fell onto the table in front of Harry. He picked it up, and practically ripped it open as soon as he identified the Ministry's seal. So many thoughts were racing through his mind, and every one was about Draco.
His desperate eyes scanned the letter and didn't know how to feel about it. It was telling him that Draco would be put on trial for his crimes and that Harry was asked to be a witness to this case. He wasn't bothered about being a witness, because of course he would do all he could to prove the Slytherin's innocence, but he was worried that he would mess it up and inadvertently say the wrong thing, condemning him. There wasn't really anything he could do about it anyway, and he was relieved to learn some information about Malfoy's current state, even though it was barely a scrap of news.
Ron, a mouth full of scrambled eggs asked, "what you got there, Harry?" earning him an elbow to the chest from Hermione for speaking with his mouth full, at which he scowled.
Harry handed the letter to the couple opposite him. Hermione took it and immediately started frantically reading the letter. With every word, her eyes seemed to widen, so much that by the end of it, they took up more than half of her face. Ron looked over her shoulder and, a few seconds after his girlfriend, raised his eyebrows so high up they almost disappeared behind his hair. When Ron asked if he was seriously planning on going, Harry gave him a look that by itself explained that he would be insane not to, and why on earth would he turn down a chance to see Draco again?
So Harry slowly started to follow his lessons properly again, now knowing at least where Draco was and what his current fate was. He was still terribly worried about what was going to happen during the hearing, and whether he was being fairly treated while he was held at the ministry. He was sceptical that any of them would be getting any kind of humane treatment, which he understood, but he knew that Draco didn't deserve it.
Soon enough, Monday morning rolled around, and Harry leaped out of bed, ready to face the day. He had already notified McGonagall that he would need to go to the Ministry, and she had even offered to safely escort him, which he gladly accepted. Normally, he would've tried to just fly there himself, but this was a serious matter and he wanted to show the Ministry that he could be responsible, and showing up with Professor McGonagall could heighten his chances of being taken seriously.
By now, Harry felt as though he knew the Ministry of Magic like the back of his hand, and headed over to the lifts, his headmaster on his tail. His heart was racing, and his breathing was uneven. Nevertheless, he pushed his feelings down and soldiered on to get to the court as quickly as his legs would carry him.
The lift doors opened, and a familiar voice echoed 'Department of Magical Law Enforcement'. Harry and McGonagall stepped out into the corridor, and Harry stood still. All of a sudden, all at once his body finally caught up with the gravity of the situation, and he couldn't move. His teacher attempted to usher him forwards, but his eyes were blank, simply looking ahead, and his body was frozen. His heart was pounding heavily against his chest and he could feel a bead of sweat roll down his temple. Minerva finally snapped him out of his daze and he rushed forwards towards the courtroom.
Upon entering the circular room, a feeling of panic washed over Harry. This was the very room he had been tried in just three years ago. Ministry officials were slowly filling up the seats, and he recognised a few faces here and there. Thankfully, Umbridge would no longer be an issue, or Draco would have no chance of survival, especially with Harry Potter as a witness.
Harry and McGonagall seated themselves towards the middle, so that Harry would have easy access to the stand when he would be called up.
He had finally managed to steady his heartbeat, but his hands were clammy and he was breathing through his mouth to try and slow it.
A loud noise went off, startling the Gryffindor. It indicated the beginning of the hearing. The Minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, called for order and asked that the first case be opened. A Death Eater shot up into the central cage in what Harry recognised to be Azkaban uniform. That made him gulp loudly. His entire face burned up, his breathing hitched and his heart sped up incredibly quickly. He realised that Draco would've been sent to Azkaban along with these criminals. He couldn't imagine this fragile, innocent boy in such a horrific place as Wizarding prison. He pushed the thought from his mind, trying to focus on what was being said about the prisoner in front of them.
After the third Death Eater had been sent back down under the room, after obtaining a slightly lesser sentence, the Minister ominously called out, "Draco Lucius Malfoy". Harry flinched with every syllable. He wasn't prepared to see the boy he cared for in that kind of state.
Before he could imagine any further, a dishevelled, pale, blond boy was dragged up what felt like the depths of Hell into the middle of the dark room. Harry's heart stopped when he saw Malfoy, and he was filled with a feeling of dread and despair. He wondered, without much hope, if there would be anything he could do to save him.
The Minister interrupted Harry's thoughts by calling his name. With shaking legs, he stood up and made his way down to his designated seat opposite Draco. The blond boy turned to face the Gryffindor, but his eyes remained glued to the floor. He refused to let Harry see him in such a state and decided it would be best for him to turn around entirely. A single tear slid down both boys' cheeks as the Minister began reciting Malfoy's alleged crimes.
"Harry James Potter, do you have a statement to make regarding the crimes I have just read to the court?" the Minister asked.
He nodded. He took a deep breath and started, "I would like to begin by stating that Draco Malfoy is innocent of these crimes and here' why. This was a case of 'wrong place at the wrong time'. Well, we were supposed to be there, but not for the reasons you have listed. You see Draco, Professor McGonagall and myself had created a plan to save him from his father. So, err, Draco received a letter from his father asking him to deliver me to the Death Eaters, claiming that Voldemort had returned, and, yeah, his Dark Mark was actually glowing but we found out that it was actually a Ministry plan to unite the remaining loyal Death Eaters." At that, multiple gasps were heard throughout the room. Harry had just accused the Ministry of a rather serious offense, and it could be very dangerous to Malfoy's case. He gulped again, realising how impulsive that was, and thought about his next sentence.
"I didn't wish to accuse anyone of anything, I-I'm simply telling you what I know... so, Draco and I were friends at this point, so we talked to the headmistress and we put together this plan to get us to the Death Eaters and see if it was actually true, that He had returned, I mean. In fact, there were five Aurors who accompanied us, and they can attest to the events too. At that point, other Aurors arrived and arrested everyone, bringing us to right now. So, to conclude, Draco Malfoy is innocent, and is no longer a Death Eater, and hasn't been for a long while." Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, and finally looked up at Draco. The Slytherin timidly smiled back at him, a glimmer of hope in his grey eyes. Harry couldn't help but notice that they had lost all of their playfulness that he had previously known them to display, and his heart fell.
The Minister thought about the boy's testimony for a moment, and then pointedly looked behind him. "Minerva McGonagall, please take a seat at the stand," he bellowed.
Harry stood up and regained his previous seat. He watched as Professor McGonagall calmly made her way over to the seat he had just vacated. As they crossed paths, the headmistress lightly squeezed the boy's hand and gave him a reassuring look, allowing him to relax a bit as he moved to sit down.
Harry did have a bit of hope for a positive outcome, given that he had known Kingsley Shacklebolt in the past, but he knew that he needed to be objective. He listened to McGonagall's statement, nodding from time to time, and by the end of it, Harry thought that he Wizengamot seemed rather convinced. After all, who would argue with Minerva McGonagall?
Once she had finished speaking, the Minister spoke again, "all those in favour of releasing Draco Malfoy of all charges?" and slowly, but surely, hands went up all around them. Both students felt as though this was the sweetest feeling they had ever experienced. "All those against?" only a handful of hands shot up. Draco thought he must've been hallucinating, but he could've sworn the Minister smiled. He banged his gavel and Draco Malfoy was officially released.
All three of them were relieved, and Draco felt an immense weight lifted from his chest, as did Harry. Draco turned to fully face Harry and they shared the most genuine smile either of them had ever seen. There was so much emotion and relief in both of their eyes, but it was short-lived.
Unfortunately, that didn't mean he could just waltz out into the courtroom. He descended once again under the floor and would have to reclaim his belongings and sign some forms before he could walk out of the Ministry a free man.
So Harry and McGonagall left the Wizengamot and let out a deep breath. They entered the lift and went back out to the Main Hall to met Draco. They wanted to get everyone out of there as soon as physically possible.
******
Harry and Draco were intertwined on the oh-so-familiar green sofa in the Room of Requirement. As soon as they returned to Hogwarts, they had bolted for the seventh floor to continue as though nothing had happened. Harry held Draco in his arms, afraid of ever letting him go again. They were lying sleepily on the soft cushions, with a small fire crackling away, providing some much needed warmth. Draco's head was resting on Harry's chest and it rose and fell to the rhythm of the Gryffindor's breathing. He ran his fingers through Draco's messy blond locks, which was something that he had immensely missed during his time locked up.
"I thought I'd never see you again," Draco said suddenly, not even lifting his head off of the soft chest. Harry's eyes opened and he looked down at the small head just in front of him, and spoke up.
"I didn't," at that, Draco's head jerked upwards and he twisted round to look straight into those green eyes he had missed. "Well, you were innocent, and I knew that with McGonagall's help, we'd get you out eventually. Also, I couldn't bring myself to even imagine being without you," he smiled sheepishly.
Draco moved upwards and placed a gentle kiss on Harry's pink lips. Never mind the eyes, this was what he had missed above all else. Harry placed a strong arm on Draco's back as they intensified the kiss. He sat up, pulling Draco into his lap, grabbing at every inch of his body as though he was worried he would suddenly disappear. Draco ended up entirely on top of Harry and began to leave a trail of kisses down his neck, following through to his chest, adding a love bite here and there, where only he would see them. Harry's eyes shut and fluttered ever so slightly, his heart was heavily pounding against his ribcage, and Draco could feel it beating. The blond boy moved downwards, lifting Harry's jumper up revealing a toned and tan stomach. He wasn't expecting the Gryffindor to be so in shape, but left small kisses just below his belly button nonetheless.
"Oh my God, I love you," Harry breathed. As soon as those words escaped his lips, Draco froze, and Harry's eyes flew open. He sat up and tried to avoid meeting those gorgeous silver eyes, but it was impossible. Draco was staring at him, with an unreadable expression on his face as well as in his eyes.
"What... did you just say?" he said, hesitating at every word. He moved closer to Harry, so much so that there were barely three inches between their faces.
"I, err... don't know..." he mumbled, struggling to pull himself together. "I, um... I didn't-"
"I love you too, Harry," Draco smiled, his face immediately turning scarlet. His heart was racing and his palms were sweaty but he didn't care. He was sure of himself, and before anyone could do anything else, Harry planted his lips on Malfoy's and their lips moved together, as did their hearts. Draco put a knee either side of Harry's hips who pulled the Slytherin even closer to him and held him by the small of his back.
******
Hermione's POV
On Saturday morning, Harry came bounding into the Great Hall for breakfast, a real spring in his step. Ron was stuffing his face with sausages and bacon as per usual, but there was something different about Harry.
"What's got you in such a good mood?" I asked with a smile.
"Well, today's Saturday, first of all, so no lessons," he grinned. I rolled my eyes playfully, "and I'm just glad things are back to normal," he said, blushing.
"Ahh... you mean because Malfoy is back," I nodded, "I'm happy that you're finally happy again, and eating properly," I chuckled, watching him shovel eggs into his mouth. I never thought I would say this, but I was happy that Malfoy had returned, because he appeared to be the entire reason for any of Harry's moods.
So the three of us began talking about our weekend plans, and deciding on where we should go the next weekend, which would be the next upcoming Hogsmeade outing. Ron suggested Draco should join us at The Three Broomsticks, which took us all by surprise.
"What? I want to spend time with my friend, and if he wants to be with Malfoy, well I'm just gonna deal with it. Maybe if he has a drink he'll actually be a nice person, I mean, Harry seems to think so," Ron said, shrugging.
Harry rolled his eyes at that last comment, but gladly accepted the offer and said he'd ask the Slytherin.
After breakfast, Harry said he was going to go the library to try and catch up on the lessons he had neglected for the last couple of weeks, and I gave him some of my notes to lend him a helping hand. I normally wouldn't give my schoolwork to anyone, but I trusted that he actually wanted to learn and knew that he would definitely need them.
Ron and I decided to take a stroll around the school grounds. The sun was shining, and spring was beginning to show itself. The grass was green; there were a few clouds, but no visible threat of rain. We wandered round to the lake and Ron skimmed a couple of pebbles across it, which was something I had never been able to do.
"Look, you've got to find a flat round one first." I scanned the bank for the ideal stone to throw across the water.
"I found one, now what?"
"OK, well you want to sort of flick it across. It's all in the wrist, watch," he proceeded to take my round pebble and flick his wrist rather forcefully in the direction of the opposite bank. I observed carefully and then tried a few practise throws, before releasing the grey stone into the black lake.
It actually skipped on the water twice before dropping in with a soft 'pop' of the water. I watched the ripples form, as Ron cheered. I felt almost proud of myself for getting it right, and Ron seemed to be too, as he gave me a soft peck on the cheek just for correctly throwing a pebble. I smiled and took his hand in mine, signalling that I wanted to keep walking.
We sauntered around the grounds for another twenty minutes or so, finally sitting down on the soft grass under a willow tree. Ron sat up against the trunk of the tree and I gently placed my head on his rising and falling chest. We talked about everything and nothing, and just sat, enjoying each other's presence and the warm glow the sunlight was providing. I never thought I would feel so at peace doing absolutely nothing, leaving my work to be done later, but I had genuinely never felt so serene. I felt at ease with Ronald, and this was such a peaceful setting. I actually couldn't wait for this school year to be over, so I could enter the working world and maybe start a life with this kind, confusing man.