No One Is Alone.
Harry stood at the top of a hill with his hands stuffed in his pockets. The cool night air blew through his hair, ruffling it up even more.
"You alright, mate?" Harry heard someone ask from behind him. He knew it was Ron and answered without turning around,
"I just need some time." It was said in a tired, wary voice. There was a moment of hesitation before Ron said,
"Ginny was my sister, you know. Hermione was my friend, too. You aren't the only person who lost people today." Harry nodded his head solemnly. He had hoped Ron would be a little more understanding.
"I know." Harry could here his retreating footsteps. Harry wished he had his mother, with her kind and reassuring words that he remembered so little of.
He was all alone. Ginny was gone. Hermione was gone. Fred was gone. Lavender, Colin, Moody, Dumbledore, Lupin, Tonks, Neville, Padma, Cedric, Cho, Seamus, hell, even Snape. He missed them, he missed them all so much. Their deaths had taken a toll on him. There was a deep longing pain growing inside him, eating him up until that was all he could feel, that dull, throbbing pain.
Harry felt alone. Sure, he still had Ron and McGonagall and Luna and plenty of others, but almost everyone close to him, everyone he truly cared about were dead. And their absence left a giant hole in his heart that could never be filled. At least, that's what he thought. Everything that he remembered, everything that he grew up with, his friends, his family, nothing would ever be the same. Not now, not ever.
Harry felt tears rolling down his face, and he angrily wiped them away. Crying wouldn't help! Crying wouldn't solve anything, it wouldn't bring them all back to life! Yet, the tears kept coming, and no matter how much he wiped them away, they kept sliding down his face. He moved his glasses off his face and pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, willed the tears to stop flowing. They were only making him feel worse. Yet, they still didn't stop, and Harry couldn't take it anymore. He shoved his glasses back onto his face. Letting out an angry growl, he ripped his wand out of his pocket, and Disapparated. He wound up on the Astronomy tower.
Harry strode over to the edge and looked out onto the grounds. There was so much damage done to Hogwarts, so many things that held so many memories for him were destroyed. The place that he had spent so many years of his life in, that he had once called home, was almost unrecognizable. Harry drew himself up on the ledge and sat there, staring into the sky.
The sky was so big, and Harry felt so small. He had done his part, he had killed Voldemort, but now that that was done, what was he to do? He had gone through most of his life being told that he was to fulfill the prophecy, that he was the Chosen One. But... he wasn't anymore. The prophecy had been fulfilled, his Chosen One title had expired, at least to him. What was he supposed to do now? A flash of light in the sky caught Harry's eye, a shooting star. Harry closed his eyes.
"I wish..." He said in a hoarse voice. He wished it would all just... end. That he could leave this world, the world where he felt so alone, where no one cared for him. He wished he could leave it all behind. Nobody would miss him, he had done what they wanted. They had no need for him any longer. Harry felt himself lean forward, he felt himself slipping away-
And then a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his midsection and drew him back. Harry fell into the cold-
Body?
And it wasn't cold, it was warm and-
Shaking?
"Damn it, Potter!" An angry voice cried, "Not now, after everything that's happened, don't end it!"
"Let me go!" Harry shouted and struggled in the stranger's arms. Their grip on him loosened and Harry scrambled out of their grasp. He wheeled around, and was face to face with-
Draco Malfoy.
"Not now," Draco whispered. Harry stared at him, confused and surprised. Had Draco Malfoy just pulled him away from that ledge? Or was it something that Harry's grief stricken mind dreamed up?
"Not after everything that you've been through." Draco said.
"And why not?" Harry spat angrily, "Why not just end it all?"
"Because I've been there before!" Draco shot back, no longer whispering, "I know what you're thinking, that you're alone." He said, quiet now. "You're confused, I know. You're not sure of anything."
Harry just stared at him. Draco went on.
"You feel as though you've lost your way. You don't know what the bloody hell you're supposed to do now. I've been there. I know what you're feeling, and believe me when I say this, it fucking sucks."
Harry was having trouble keeping his emotions in check. He didn't know whether to cry, or punch the Slytherin's light out, or do both or do neither or just leave him there on the tower.
"But killing yourself isn't going to make it better. It's not going to bring them back to life. All you can do now is make amends with it and move on." Harry felt a sudden rush of anger. He shot forward and grabbed Draco by the front of his shirt, twisting the cloth in his fists.
"You don't know me!" Harry spat, his rage blinding him, "You don't get any fucking say in how I live my life!"
"If you kill yourself you wont have a life!" Draco shouted, "You wont get to live! You can't run from your problems!"
"Shut up!" Harry cried, "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
"You can't have a life until you live! You can't let this get in the way of what you've earned!" Harry didn't say anything, his breathing heavy. Draco took this as permission to continue. "You've gone through your while life doing what other people have told you to do. Trust me, I know how it feels to have no choice. And now that you've done it, you have no idea what to do next, and that's tearing you apart." Draco wrapped his hands around Harry's wrists. "Believe me when I say this, Harry, you deserve so much more." Harry couldn't wrap his mind around anything. He could hear Draco's words, and he understood what the blond was telling him, but he couldn't figure out why. Why did Draco want to help him, why did Draco not want him to die, why did Draco suddenly have a change of heart. The Slytherin had always hated him, yet here he was, saying probably some of the wisest things that could be said at the moment. And that, along with everything that had happened in his entire fucked up life, made Harry crack. Harry's fists unclenched and Draco's wrinkled shirt fell back to the blond's chest.
Harry slid his hands out of Draco's grip, then wrapped his arms around the blonds trunk. He buried his face in Draco's shoulder and let the tears flow.
Draco wrapped his own arms around Harry's shaking shoulders and held him close as the darker haired boy cried. Draco rubbed a hand over his back in a soothing gesture.
"It's not fair." Harry sobbed, clinging to Draco as if he were the only thing keeping him from drowning.
"I know." Draco said softly, still rubbing his back. Harry fell to the side so that he was sitting on the wooden floor, and Draco moved with him.
Draco knew that the boy was unstable, that just a misplaced word could set him off. So Draco just held him, and rubbed his back, and let Harry cry until he couldn't cry any longer. Draco hadn't been lying when he said that he had been though the same thing. When the war was still raging and the Dark Lord was living in the Manor, and Draco couldn't even feel safe in his own house. Then, his father had forced him to take the Mark, had forced him to become a Death Eater, and Draco just couldn't take it. After returning to Hogwarts for his seventh year, Draco had nearly done what Harry had almost done mere minutes ago. He had been at the top of the Astronomy tower, about to jump, when a little voice in his mind told him to suck it up and be a man. Draco had thought he was alone at the time, but he realized that all the people around him, they had all been thrown into the war, too. So had Harry. That revelation was what drove Draco down from that ledge and onto solid ground. That's what made him realize that Harry was in the same boat that he was in.
Draco knew that he wasn't alone. Not in the slightest. So when Harry had suddenly Apparated into the Astronomy tower where Draco had been brooding about the war and the like, and then was about ready to jump, it made Draco realize that he didn't want to loose the person who actually knew what it felt like to have no choice. So, Draco had saved him. He knew it sounded selfish, but Draco needed Harry. Draco wouldn't let the Gryffindor die. Everything that he had said to Harry was true, everything that Draco had said to Harry, he meant in the most sincere way.
"I lost my parents tonight." Draco said before her could think about it. Harry's sobs had subsided, and he pulled away from Draco's shoulder to look at him. His face was wet with tears, and Draco reached up to wipe them away with the pad of his thumbs. Draco had done his crying before Harry had made an appearance.
"I'm sorry." Harry said, his voice gruff. Draco gave a small smile.
"No need." He chided softly, "They're in a better place." Harry gave a weak chuckle.
"You sound like a Hufflepuff." He commented, fresh tears starting to fall even as he said it.
"Hey." Draco said softly, wiping the tears away as soon as they came. "None of that." Harry sniffed and pressed his forehead against Draco's.
"I've made so many mistakes." Harry said, shaking his head slightly, his eyes closed, "When I cursed you, I-"
"I know."
"I didn't-" Harry broke off.
"I know." Draco repeated, rubbing Harry's face with his thumbs. Harry sighed and leaned into his touch.
"You decide now, Harry, what you're going to do." Draco said. Harry sniffed and opened his eyes to look into Draco's own. Green met silver as they stared at one another.
"I'm on your side." Draco whispered.
Harry nodded and smiled a bit.
"I know."
"I'm here for you." Draco said, his voice full of tenderness. "You are not alone." Harry's grip on Draco's shoulder tightened as he stared at the Slytherin.
"You still sound like a Hufflepuff." Harry couldn't think of anything else to say. Draco chuckled, Harry joining him soon. Then they were laughing. They both drew in as much air as they could before they broke out into loud guffaws. It was like everything that had happened that day had been pushed aside, and all they had left were the memories of each other. They laughed because they couldn't think of anything else to do, and that made them laugh all the more. They laughed because they realized how stupid they had both been when they were younger, forming a foolish rivalry that was only built on jealousy. Yet, now, after everything that had happened, they sort of made a silent agreement that they would put all of that nonsense aside and only focus on the present, not the past, and look forward to the future. They both knew that it would be alright.
Their laughter soon died down, and they opened their eyes to look into the others gaze again. Harry looked into Draco's eyes and realized something. There was no one else that could ever know what it feels like to be Harry. Draco had been forced to do things he didn't want to do. Harry remembered something that Dumbledore had said once, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light. It was like Harry was looking at Draco in a whole new light. He was no longer the selfish prat that Harry used to know. A war changes people, some more than others.
And Harry was fine with that. So when Harry leaned forward and pressed his lips to Draco's and Draco didn't pull him away, but kissed back, Harry couldn't help but think,
Someone is on my side.
…
And then it was all rainbows and butterflies from then on. The end. Ahhhh, I love a bit of fluff at eleven o'clock at night, don't you? So this was originally a songfic (well, technically I is but you know,) but I had to take out the lyrics (there were originally lyrics in it) because I got a warning about it or something. I'll let you know that if someone tells me I did something wrong and could get in trouble I'm just like, wait, what, okay no, goodbye lyrics it was fun while it lasted. Like seriously, I don't want to get into trouble. Something about copy-n-pasting lyrics to stories, I don't know. So now that that's over I'll go back to the original A/N (It might be a bit confusing but oh well). Anyway, as always, REVIEW, because I love them and they make me happier than spongebob on Christmas, and who wouldn't want to be that happy? Don't make my happiness die, make it grow! So, REVIEW! It will get you more fluff! I have an idea for a fic and I'll write faster if I get reviews *wink wink wink WINK* Oh, and by the way, this is a songfic. Like seriously, I had no idea I was going to write this until, oh, about a hour ago, so there was no planning, I just heard this song and FWABOOM, fanfic. So I hope you liked it! Let me know with a review! And the song is called, No One Is Alone, from Into The Woods, one of my favorite musicals of all time. And let me just say that Anna Kendric is the most perfect Cinderella ever.
You are not alone,
When-Words-Fail.