Disclaimer: Do not own Harry Potter.
Breaking Point
One night they argued.
It was a stormy night and wind was lashing against the steady stone walls of Hogwarts. Lightning flashed now and again from the enchanted ceiling, causing some of the more nervous first years to squeak in surprise. Everyone was at dinner, the conversation was light and the food delicious when the double doors of the Great Hall burst open and two rain drenched figures stomped inside. Most of the students continued on with what they were doing. The few who noticed the murderous expressions on the two boys' faces immediately stopped.
The yelling began and their words – hurtful words, words chosen to deliberately cut the feelings of the other to ribbons – were let loose. Soon, pretty much everyone was turning to see what the hubbub was all about.
The two boys were so close to each other that if they hadn't been yelling, it would have been the perfect time for them to start kissing. Some students shook their heads and said the fighting would probably end in kissing anyway. Trelawney and Sprout were actually betting on this. Some students just returned to their dinners, assured of another normal day at Hogwarts. After all, it wasn't the first time these two had fought in public. Certainly they'd fought like this before. A few days later and they'd be walking through the corridors holding hands again. Nothing new, really.
But their friends and the some of the teachers were looking at the two sorrowfully. Professor Dumbledore in particular had a somber light in his eyes. The fights had been getting more and more frequent recently. In some ways, it was even worse than the fights they'd had when they were still schoolboy rivals.
"Spawn of a Death Eater!"
"Boy Who Should Have Died!"
They shouted out their last words to each other with every ounce of venom they could muster and stalked back to their respective House tables, both furiously aware of the tears that were gathering in his own eyes. Professor Dumbledore let out a sigh as Professor McGonagall twisted her table napkin and Professor Snape scowled even more deeply than usual. They never resorted to physical violence anymore, those two. But the teachers thought they would rather have preferred had the two just beat each other senseless than the verbal battle that could cut deeper than any knife.
Nobody paid any mind to Draco Malfoy when he sat over at the Slytherin table and attacked his roast beef with a vengeance. They were too familiar with this sort of situation to provoke the Prince of Slytherin. But Crabbe and Goyle deliberately didn't touch the chocolate pudding, Draco's favorite dessert, and Pansy focused her chatter on someone else.
Nobody paid any mind to Harry Potter when he sat over at the Gryffindor table and stabbed at his baked potatoes till they were mashed. They would wait until the storm had blown over. But Ron and Hermione scooted over just a little closer to Harry. A subtle message that they were there. Colin wisely took pictures elsewhere.
That night, chaos reigned in the Slytherin dormitories. Draco Malfoy was in a temper. The Slytherins breathed sighs of relief when they heard things smashing in the Sixth Year boys' bedroom. At least Draco had been kind enough to restrain it to the bedroom this time. The last time he'd thrown a temper in the common room, not even the armchairs and fireplace had escaped unscathed.
"The fight with Potter must've been bad," Nott muttered. The others silently agreed.
At close to midnight, Blaise had tried entering the room but a hex slipped through a crack in the door even before he had gotten it halfway open. The Sixth Year Slytherin boys camped out at the common room that night. As Zabini drifted off to sleep, he sincerely hoped that his Transfiguration essay had escaped Draco's wrath. He didn't fancy rewriting all five feet of it again when it was due in two days' time.
Harry was wreaking havoc on his Charms homework. It was full of blotted ink and the handwriting was barely legible. Hermione gently stopped him before he could write anything more.
"The Multiplier Charm doesn't cause hair growth," she pointed out. "Put that quill down and take a deep breath."
Scowling, Harry followed her words and set aside the parchment and the quill. Wearily rubbing his temples, he slumped against the plush red armchair. "I can't take this anymore, 'Mione," he mumbled after a while. "It's getting worse and worse each time we fight. It's like there's nothing more in this thing we have than fighting."
Hermione looked at him concernedly and pulled him in for a quick hug. "Oh, Harry. Ron and I are here for you, you know we are. We supported you when you and Draco got together. You'll get past this."
"I don't know. I don't know anything anymore," Harry's eyes were shadowed, far too gone in sorrow for tears.
"Pull yourself together, Harry James Potter! All you and Draco have to do is talk. Instead of talking about it, you two always fight. Try telling him how you feel about all this. Maybe if you did, you two can patch it up again," Hermione advised.
"There is something I've been meaning to tell him for some time. But I don't know if I should."
"Just follow your heart. It's never led you astray before has it? I'm sure it will lead you over this trouble with Draco, too. Now get some sleep. You know Snape will be out for your blood tomorrow after that display at the Great Hall today," Hermione smiled.
Harry offered a tired smile in return before gathering his parchments and quills and heading upstairs to the boys' dormitories. A few minutes later, Ron came down with a frown on his face. "Something wrong?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Nothing… It's just… What did you tell him?" Ron asked abruptly. "He has that expression on his face similar to whenever he has nightmares about You-Know-Who."
Hermione felt a chill and wondered what she had said wrong.
The next day, classes resumed as usual. All was normal until Double Potions came. As Hermione predicted, Harry became the center of Snape's ire. It lasted for the entire period, with Malfoy looking on and smirking vindictively. When Snape finally dismissed them, a paper dragon flew over and landed on Draco's desk where he was still packing. Suspiciously, he looked around. Harry and his friends had left. He opened the parchment and what was written on it was simply, Astronomy Tower, 10 pm in Harry's messy scrawl.
Draco skipped dinner that night. He spent the time in his room, half certain he knew what was going to happen in the Astronomy Tower. At half past nine, he quietly left the Slytherin dormitories and silently made his way towards the Astronomy Tower. He was early but he didn't care. He spent most of the time looking up at the clear and starry sky, a direct opposite from yester night's storm. At ten minutes to ten, he heard footsteps in the stairwell and knew who had come. He allowed himself to stand in the shadows as he watched Harry come into view.
The head of untidy hair swiveled around looking for him. When Harry's eyes looked past him, he merely blinked. Thinking Draco wasn't there yet, Harry made his way over to where Draco had been standing not so long ago. Draco noticed he had something with him.
"Potter," Draco coolly greeted, stepping out of the shadows.
He had the pleasure of seeing Potter jump. "Draco," Harry said when he saw who it was. There was silence for a second before Harry handed his gifts to Draco. It was a box of Draco's favorite Honeydukes chocolate and a bouquet of rare fireflowers. Draco accepted the lavish gifts silently.
The Slytherin boy walked over to the edge of the tower and with a backwards glance at Harry, asked the other to stand beside him. Wordlessly, Harry joined him. They stood there like that for a moment, looking at the myriad of glittering constellations, like millions of diamonds studding a velvet backdrop. It was a breathtaking sky that had decided to grace them that night. Not even a stray spray of cloud marred the horizon.
Draco broke the silence. "Is this your way of saying you're sorry, Potter?" It was supposed to come off as slightly arrogant but the raw vulnerability of hist tone betrayed him.
"No," Harry quietly replied. Something in his voice made Draco turn to look sharply towards him and see the lone tear that made its way down Harry's face. Pain laced green eyes met Draco's and held them. "This is my way of saying goodbye."
End
Was it sad enough? Read and review.