Somewhere Only We Know
by star of david
Draco?Harry
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters in this story; they were created by the genius, JKRowling. I do own the plot.
SUMMARY: Harry, as he makes his way back to Privet Drive after a grueling sixth year at Hogwarts, must make a choice between his personal interest and the greater good. A song fic to Keane's Somewhere Only We Know.
Harry clutched the locket tightly, angrily, in his right fist. This locket was partly the reason Dumbledore was dead – Dumbledore weakened himself by drinking the horrible potion back in the cave to obtain the locket, thinking it was a Horcrux. But now that Harry had a good look at it, he saw that was a fake. Whoever this RAB person was, Harry held him (or her) responsible for Dumbledore's death.
"So what do you plan to do with it?" Hermione asked Harry.
They were on their way back to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, aboard the Hogwarts Express. The last respects to Hogwarts' greatest headmaster had been paid, and now Harry had to face the mission Dumbledore had left him: find the Horcruxes, and destroy them, so that Voldemort can finally be destroyed. He had told no one but Ron and Hermione about the mission, and he intended to keep it that way.
"With what?" replied Harry absentmindedly.
"With that locket, of course," said Hermione.
"Oh, this." Harry unclenched his fist. The golden locket gleamed brightly in the sunlight that passed through the compartment's glass windows. "I don't know, really," he said after a long pause. "All I know is that this is a fake, and I've got to find the real one and destroy it."
"You mean we've got to," said Ron simply.
"Yeah," Harry replied, not taking his eyes off the locket. Where could the real one be?
There was a knock on the compartment door. Harry suddenly looked up, instantly pocketing the golden locket, and saw a blond-haired young man standing outside.
"I'll be right back," he told his two best friends, getting up. He stepped out of the compartment and closed the door behind him.
"How come Draco easily got him to get up when we couldn't even get him to look up?" asked Ron with a scowl.
"Oh shut up, Ron," laughed Hermione.
Harry walked about a meter behind Draco. There were about three people between them, but he could still see Draco's blond head travelling down the narrow corridor. Even if he couldn't he knew where they were headed anyway. They had to remain inconspicuous, especially now.
The last compartment of the Hogwarts Express always remained unoccupied, a hundred percent of the time. No matter how many students there are on board, the very last compartment always manages to remain empty. And since it's at the very end, not a lot of people pass by it. It was one of the places where one would go if he needed extra privacy. Draco discovered this on the way back to the Platform after his third year. This was where the pair was headed.
Draco entered the empty compartment and settled himself comfortably on the couch. About a minute later, Harry entered, closing the door behind him. He positioned himself beside Draco, resting his head on the blond boy's lap.
"How are you doing?" asked Draco, his eyes gentle and concerned.
"Fine," lied Harry.
"You liar," spat Draco. "Will you stop pretending you're all fine and tell me exactly what's going on in that head of yours?"
"I can't," Harry replied softly, closing his eyes.
"And why the hell not?" demanded Draco, his gray eyes becoming quite livid, the gentleness long gone.
"Dumbledore –"
"Fuck Dumbledore!" Draco practically shouted. With this, Harry sat up straight and faced Draco.
"What the hell did you just say?" Harry demanded this time.
"I'm sorry," Draco said softly and sincerely. "I didn't mean it that way, you know that –"
"Oh, I don't know, Draco," Harry cut him off. "I don't know if you really didn't mean that. After all, you tried to kill Dumbledore, didn't you?" Harry's green eyes were ablaze, and now, so were Draco's.
"I was ordered by the Dark Lord, you know that!" Draco was shouting now. "And you know perfectly well that I wasn't really planning on killing him, I just had to make it seem like I was doing something to kill him! The necklace, the poisoned mead – they were fakes! I've explained this to you a million times, Harry!"
"But that doesn't change the fact that Dumbledore's dead, now does it?" Harry replied bitterly.
Draco began to get up, realizing the conversation would end up nowhere. Harry suddenly gripped his wrist so tightly it hurt a bit.
"Don't go, please," Harry said, his voice almost inaudible. "I'm so sorry I said those things."
Draco sat back down and wrapped his arms around the raven-haired boy. "I'm sorry, love," Draco said softly. "I know you're going through a very difficult time right now." He kissed Harry's hair.
Harry broke away from the embrace. His expression was unreadable.
"What's the matter?" asked Draco.
"Dumbledore left me a mission, Draco," began Harry. Draco opened his mouth to ask what kind of mission it was, but Harry beat him to it. "I can't tell you what it is, nor can I have you come with me. It's too dangerous. Dumbledore's death is proof of how dangerous the mission is. But I have to do it. Only I can do it."
"Does this have anything to do with the prophecy Father stole from the Ministry?" asked Draco after a few minutes of silence.
"Yes," replied Harry, "it has everything to do with the prophecy."
"Your mission is to kill him, isn't it? Kill the Dark Lord."
"Destroy his immortality, then yes, kill him. Don't ask me how, baby, I can't answer that. But I have to."
Draco nodded wordlessly. He understood perfectly. He was all in favor of killing the Dark Lord, Harry knew that. But Harry also knew that Draco feared for his father.
"Your father's safer in Azkaban than he is with Voldemort, trust me," said Harry. Draco nodded again.
Minutes of silence passed between the two boys.
"This could be the end, Draco," Harry finally said softly.
"Of what?"
"Of everything. The train ride, Voldemort's days, my life. Us." Harry said the last word with such difficulty.
"I love you," said Draco.
"And I love you," said Harry.
"I'm not going back to Hogwarts next year."
"I figured as much. Will you at least write me over the summer?"
"I'd rather not. It's going to make life much tougher."
"This really could be the end of everything," Draco stated flatly. He kissed Harry for the last time, held him close in his arms, and made his way out of the compartment.
Harry lingered for a few more minutes, savoring the atmosphere. He would always cherish the Hogwarts Express, especially this compartment. It was his and Draco's special place, somewhere only they knew of. He heaved a big sigh and made his way out, closing the door gently behind him, just as gently as he closed his relationship with Draco.