Saving Harry

He had always hated his birthday. Actually, he'd always hated most holidays. It was always hard for him to remember that he was supposed to actually enjoy days off from school, hard to recall that most boys waited for the holidays in eager anticipation. For him, they were times of pain and angst, days when he would wince every time his relatives failed to make a fuss over him or even look at him twice. He supposed that it was silly to want them to, silly to secretly hope for it year after year, but he couldn't help it. Something in him, something that was at the core of who he was, wouldn't let him give up.

There was a tap on his window, and he turned, expecting to see Hedwig with a letter or a package from his friends. He didn't even dare think that it was from Draco. He hadn't received a single thing from his boyfriend all summer, and he was well into being frantic with worry. The only thing that stopped him from grabbing his Firebolt and flying off to Draco's house was the persistent thought, 'what if he doesn't want me anymore?' The thought send spasms of pain through him every time he voiced it to himself, but he was too honest with himself to deny that it was a possibility.

All his doubts dried in his throat as he peered out the window. It wasn't Hedwig after all. His eyes widened. "D… Draco?" he spluttered, barely able to believe that it was real.

Draco grinned. "Open the window," he mouthed.

Harry flew towards the window and yanked it open. Draco zoomed in and landed gracefully, hardly making any noise as he slipped off his broom. "What are you doing here?" Harry demanded, exhilaration making it hard for him to keep his voice down.

"Rescuing you," Draco answered. "You didn't think I'd let you rot away in this house all summer, did you?"

"How did you get here?" Harry demanded.

Draco gestured impatiently at his Nimbus.

"Oh, right."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I can see that you are desperately in need of rescuing," he said. "It'll take me all summer just to train you to use your eyes again."

Harry snorted. "Have fun. Just where are you suggesting we go?"

"Where else? My house."

Harry's eyes widened. "Your house? But what about…" he trailed off as he caught the look in Draco's storm-cloud gray eyes. "Oh, right." The silence turned uncomfortable.

"I'll get my broom," Harry muttered, looking away.

Draco nodded.

"Stay here."

"Where else is there to go? You don't think I would go down for some scintillating conversation with your relatives, do you?"

"No."

"Come back soon."

Harry grinned. "You make it sound like I'm leaving for a long journey."

Draco grinned back, lightening the mood in the room considerably. "You never know," he said. "After all, they might kidnap you to stop you from leaving."

Harry snorted. "That'll be the day," he muttered.

"How long are we going to stand here talking?" Draco demanded, glancing out the window. "I'm technically breaking the law just being here, you know."

Harry winced. "Be right back," he promised, walking towards the door and yanking it open. He crept down the stairs, hoping to retrieve his broom from the cupboard beneath the stairs without being noticed. Unfortunately for him, he'd forgotten how much the floorboards in there creaked. The moment he stepped inside, they let out a series of cacophonous groans. He winced and rummaged around hurriedly, grabbing both his broom and his wand, which he stuck in his back pocket, regardless of what Moody said on the subject of exploding buttocks. He made a dash for the door and almost made it. Just as he was about to barrel out of the closet and back up to his room, the massive figure of his cousin lumbered into view, blocking his escape route.

"What are you doing?" Dudley demanded, raising a ham-like fist menacingly.

Harry growled. "Move," he snarled, acutely aware of Draco up in his room.

Dudley's piggy eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You're trying to do it, aren't you?"

Harry laughed scornfully. "I don't need to pretend," he snapped. "I could do magic anytime I chose."

Dudley flinched at the sound of the forbidden word. "You're not allowed," he complained, though he sounded much less sure than he had before.

Harry glanced at his watch, eyed the stairs, and made up his mind. Quick as lightning, he whipped his wand out of his pocked and leveled it at Dudley. "Get out of the way," he said steadily, his voice icy cold.

Dudley backed away, never taking his eyes off Harry's wand. The moment the door was clear, Harry darted out, clutching his Firebolt in one hand and keeping the other trained on Dudley. "Now, go back and watch TV," he ordered.

"Wh… what are you going to do?" Dudley blubbered.

"I'm going out," Harry said. "And I don't know when I'll be back. Tell your mum she can burn my furniture and donate my clothes to the dumpster if she wants."

"You're still in her custody," Dudley reminded him, clearly trying to be brave.

Harry laughed scornfully. "Didn't you know? Wizards come of age at seventeen. I'm an adult now."

Dudley had winced as Harry said 'wizard,' and now his expression turned petulant. "It's not fair!" he whined. "Why do youget to be an adult before I do?"

Harry looked at him in disgust. "Grow up, Dudley," he ordered. "You'll never be anything unless you accept that you're not King of the world."

Dudley opened his mouth to answer, but Harry moved past him. "See you. Maybe." He dashed up the stairs and into his room, slamming the door behind him.

Draco looked at him oddly. "Took you long enough," he commented, tossing aside a battered copy of Quidditch through the Ages that Harry had rescued from the closet several weeks before.

Harry grinned, still breathing heavily. "I had an… exchange with my cousin," he explained.

Draco's eyebrow raised. "Really?" he asked. "And just what, pray tell, did you say to him?"

"I told him that I was leaving," Harry said matter of factly.

Draco frowned. "Did you tell him where you were going?"

Harry shrugged. "Does it matter? I have enough money to buy myself a place."

Draco's expression was careful as he said, "Is that what you want?"

Harry frowned. This elaborate caution was unlike the Draco he'd come to know last year. "Dray?" he asked.

Draco shook his head. "Never mind." He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and made a visible effort to shake off whatever it was. When he opened his eyes again, they were alight with anticipation. "So, shall we get going?"

Harry frowned slightly at the change in his boyfriend's mood, but shrugged. "I don't think there's anything here I need." He looked around swiftly, but there was nothing he couldn't live without. Hedwig's cage sat open and empty, making him bite his lip in thought.

"She'll find you," Draco told him, seeing the direction of his gaze. "And if she doesn't, you can always swing by and fetch her later."

"True," Harry agreed slowly. He turned around in a slow circle, taking in the room that had been his for the last few years of his life. All in all, he wouldn't be devastated to leave it.

"Do you have your wand?" Draco asked.

Harry realized that he'd put it back in his pocket, and he brought it out now. A sudden thought came to him, and he frowned.

"What is it?" Draco wanted to know.

"School stuff," Harry answered. Then he sighed. "Guess I'll have to come back after all."

"You can get it now," Draco told him. "I can wait."

Harry shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'll come back later."

"You're sure?"

Harry nodded. "Are we going to go or not?" he asked.

Draco smiled. "Yes," he said. He glanced at Harry's Firebolt, a slight expression of longing on his beautiful face. "You'll have to let me try that sometime, you know."

Harry grinned. "Any time," he promised. "Shall we?"

Draco gestured elegantly towards the window. "You first," he said. Harry mounted his broom and kicked off, soaring adroitly through the window and out into the open air. He laughed with sheer delight as Draco joined him, his grin widening as the two flew upwards into the cloudless sky, not caring about how many muggles could see them, not even caring about Draco's strange shift of moods earlier. He was free, he was flying, and he was with Draco. There was nothing more he wanted.

Author's note: well, here we go again. I'm hoping that this storyline will work and that I won't have to start over. I've decided that I'll stick with the format I used for Spring Flower, so the next chapter will be the same conversation from Draco's POV. I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: need I add that this is all JK Rowling's?