He stands on the balcony, looking out over everything. He could see the forest, and the lake, Hagrid's hut too. It all looked very small from this high. He leans on the railing of the balcony. Everything looks so small and peaceful. You couldn't tell that not a week ago nearly a hundred people had died on the shores of the lake. You couldn't tell just by looking there that a war had been won. You couldn't tell that it was anything other than a somewhat pretty landscape. Harry liked that. He liked the idea that the school grounds could continue on as always, it meant that he could, though it did seem like it would be very hard, move on with his life. He thought, as he watched the sun go down, of all the people who had died in the war, of all the families shattered and all the other things melancholy that had to do with the now finished war.
Knowing that he was thinking to much, and that thinking too much never did him any good, he turned to leave, and was met with the sight of Draco Malfoy, ex-Death Eater, and prisoner of Hogwarts until the Ministry settled itself down, and could start trials against those who had committed crimes against humankind during the war. Harry immediately looked to Malfoy's wrists, and was assured. Malfoy's selves were rolled up, and he wore the manacles that all the prisoners did, they weren't chained together or anything else, but charmed to keep the wearers at least ten feet from any exit, and at least five from any other inhabitants of the castle. They were also charmed to keep the prisoners' magic suppressed, at the moment none of them could perform a spell anymore than Filch, or Mrs. Figg could.
"You don't look well." Harry said, referring to Malfoy's sallow complexion, the dark circles under his eyes, and how he seemed to be more bones than anything else.
"I think I may be dieing."
"How do you figure?"
"I can't eat without throwing up and I haven't slept in months. Everything aches and I can't remember the last time I went twenty minutes before I felt a severe pain in my gut."
"I'm sorry to hear it."
"You don't have to try being sympathetic. I know you want me dead."
"I do, but I would have preferred that you had gone on trial first."
Malfoy paused. "Oh, yes, of course." He shifted his weight back and forth between his feet. "I wish I could make it to the trial as well. I deserve to be judged."
Harry was surprised to hear it. Maybe Malfoy had turned a new leaf.
"I've known all along that I would be judged one day for my actions. I had hoped it would be by men, but it seems that I will answer to a higher power. Men are probably much more merciful than whoever I will have to deal with."
"Is there a reason you're here Malfoy?"
"I wanted to talk to you once more before I died. I think it'll be tonight." Harry nodded and Malfoy continued. "I wanted you to know, that I wish I could be brought to justice. I know that I deserve far worse than I'm getting, and that whatever is killing me now, I wish could be cured, so that I could have a proper trial, so that I could be sentenced to jail for my crimes."
"Have you tried going to the Hospital Wing?"
Malfoy nodded, "They say that it can't be cured, that it's too late now, I'll die no matter what."
Absurdedly a muggle song came to Harry's mind. It's too late baby, now. It's too late. And he wondered what was wrong with him.
"I also wanted you to know," Malfoy's voice brought him back to the present. "That it's because of you that I wish I could be brought to justice. Because I respect you and have always wished I could be more like you." Malfoy now looked down, and when he spoke again, his voice was shaky, and sounded as if he was crying. "And because I love you. I don't know if it's really you that I love, or the idea of you that I have in my head. But I needed to tell you all this before I died."
People had made such declarations to Harry before, but never before had anyone realized that it might not really be Harry that they loved. Knowing that Malfoy was just looking for closure Harry, because he was not one to deny a dieing man, stepped up to the other man and without really thinking about it overrode one of the charms. He took Malfoy's right hand in both of his and the other man looked up. Harry kissed his cheek then leaned forward to whisper into Malfoy's ear. "Good bye, Draco Malfoy. You were an admirable adversary, and I will tell everyone, that if you were ever anything, you were a good man in your dieing hours. Maybe we will see each other again someday." And with that he was gone, leaving Malfoy standing alone in the room, the charms renewed, and his heart a lot lighter.
Ten minutes later and Harry was once again in the Hospital wing. Many of the beds were filled, but the one Harry was most concerned with was assigned to his best and comatose friend Ron Weasley. His other best friend sat in the chair beside Ron.
"Any change?" He asked Hermione. She shook her head not even looking away from her husband for a second. "Why don't you get some sleep then, darling?"
"I can't sleep, Harry. He's doing enough of that for the both us."
"You haven't slept in days. Why not at least lie down and get some rest?"
"I don't want to leave him."
"Lay down with him then." She looked up at him. "No one is going to begrudge you sleeping in the same bed as you husband, Hermione. I'll stay and watch over you both." Harry watched over Hermione and Ron until he could no longer stay awake, before waking Hermione, and taking his own turn sleeping on the floor, while she sat in the chair.
At two twenty-three in the morning, one of the Order members who had been charged with keeping an eye on the prisoners while they slept burst into the room, instantly both Harry and Hermione were on their feet. Harry told her to sit back down, that he'd take care of it. He went to the other man, and was about to ask him what was the matter when three more people burst through the door. A man and a woman were carrying Malfoy between them, Harry quickly showed them to a spare bed, and then ran to get Madame Pomfrey.
The next few minutes were a rush of whispered directions from the mediwitch, and then it was calm.
"Will he be alright?" Harry asked after the other three had left to go back to their duties.
"No, he's dieing. All I could do was keep him asleep, and give him some pain killers. What's left now is to wait it out; I don't think he'll make it till morning."
She was right at four fifty-six Draco Malfoy was pronounced dead. The next day Harry was the only person to speak at Malfoy's funeral. He did as he had promised. He told the world what he knew of Malfoy, which was quite a bit, considering they were arch enemies for so long. He told the world that while Draco Malfoy had not always been a good man that he deserved respect because when he died he had died knowing that he was condemned and had been excepting of that. After the funeral Harry went back to the Hospital Wing to check on his friends.
That night, Ron died too.