There was a deafening BANG, and Draco threw up his hands to shield his eyes against a sudden blinding light –
A second later, a gigantic pair of wheels and headlights screeched to a halt right in front of him. They belonged, as Draco saw when he raised his head, to a triple-decker, violently purple bus, which had appeared out of thin air. Gold lettering over the windshield spelled The Knight Bus.
For a split second, Draco wondered if the stay in Azkaban had taken a toll on his sanity after all. Then a conductor in a purple uniform leapt out of the bus and began speaking loudly into the dawn.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this morning." The conductor can't be much older than him, Draco noted, twenty-five or six at most. He had large, floppy ears that could rival an elephant's, and pimples covered his face. Definitely not handsome, but not unpleasant looking. Just enough not to cause blindness or homicide, in Draco's opinion.
"This bus – did you say it goes anywhere?" Draco questioned. He'd heard his father talk about the bus in passing that it was only for worthless mudbloods and halfbloods. But he didn't know many details.
"Yup," Stan said proudly, "anywhere you like, long's it's on land. Can't do nuffink underwater."
"Great. I'm going to Godric's Hollow."
"That'll cost eleven Sickles," said Stan, "but for firteen you get 'ot chocolate, and-"
"I'll pay you when I get there." Draco interrupted. He didn't have a Knut on him, having been in Azkaban for three years straight. After a moment's hesitation, Stan reluctantly let Draco on.
He perched gingerly on one of the many beds. Who knew what kind of disgusting fellow had drooled on these beds?
Another tremendous BANG, and the Knight Bus was off again.
"Hey, Blondie! Where are you from? Where are you going?" A friendly voice called out from behind him. Draco turned to the source of that voice curiously.
A young man, probably in his twenties, gave him a little wave. A group of 5 witches and wizards of about the same age were around him, sprawled on the beds sliding on the floor from the speed the bus was going at. Draco shuffled on his bed so he was facing them.
"I'm Draco. Draco Malfoy. I'm going to Godric's Hollow."
"Jeremy. My friends and I are going to Diagon Alley, to meet up with a few old classmates. Your place's probably closer. So, where are you from? I didn't know there's a town around where you got on," The man, or Jeremy, asked.
"There wasn't. I was released from Azkaban."
"Oh…Oh! A Malfoy. Of course. Just happen to be born in the wrong family, I suppose. Got locked up for being forced to be a Death Eater. They only released you after three years? That's kinda long. Your other fellas were released a year or half a year earlier." Nowadays, there were only two types of wizarding folk. Those that supported the Ministry's decision to put all underage or 17 Death Eaters into Azkaban temporarily and those that don't. Draco was glad to know Jeremy and his friends seemed to be of the second category.
"I was supposed to kill Dumbledore, previous headmaster of Hogwarts." Draco said quietly. He no longer had issues with accepting his actions, and he liked Jeremy. He seemed like somebody one could trust. Besides, the whole world knows it. His role as a Death Eater had already been made public.
"So, you're going home now. But why Godric's Hollow? Isn't it kinda far from anywhere? "
"My lover lives there." Draco said simply.
Catcalls and whistles were heard from Jeremy's companions. "Blondie has a girlfriend, Blondie has a girlfriend!"
"Boyfriend," Draco corrected them, grinning slightly as even Jeremy looked stunned. They all recovered soon, and it turned into "Blondie has a boyfriend!"
"So, your boyfriend," Jeremy said, "does he still want to continue this relationship?"
Draco's smile faltered. He didn't know. He had sent his lover a letter saying that he was going home that day, but he won't know what his lover's reply would be until he got there.
"If he received my letter, he'll know how to let me know his reply. If he…doesn't want to continue, I'll go to my friend's house."
"'How to let you know his his reply'? What's that supposed to mean?" One of the wizards asked.
"You idiot, they must have arranged a way to communicate with each other before Draco went to Azkaban!" A witch scolded. Another witch asked, "So, what must he do if he wants you? If he still loves you and wants to continue being with you?"
"There's an old oak tree near the roadside. If…he still wants me, he'll tie a yellow ribbon on its branch." Draco blushed as the witches squealed at how romantic it was, while the wizards rolled their eyes.
"We're almost at Godric's Hollow, chap!" Stan's voice called out from the front of the bus. Draco's hands were suddenly very wet. What if he didn't want him? What if he'd already found himself another someone? What if, after all they've been through, the difficulties were stronger that their love? Three years was a very long time, after all. What if…
The Knight Bus was slowing down. Draco closed his eyes, unable to bring himself to look. The idea of going to Blaise's tiny apartment straight away suddenly seemed very inviting. The results would still be the same, but he would have prevented the waste of eleven Sickles and a heartbreak.
Raucous cheering struck his ears. Beside the Griffindor-red house, the old oak stood proudly in the meadow of wildflowers. Draco leapt up to see for himself. He couldn't believe it…
The old oak tree was laden with a hundred yellow ribbons painstakingly tied, one by one. Amidst cheering and well wishes from Jeremy and his friend, and even Stan who had overheard the conversation, Draco practically flew off the Knight Bus.
A figure in the tree spotted him, and lost his grip on the tree branch. He plummeted straight down, flailing, into…
…Draco's waiting arms.
"Hey," Draco smiled.
"Hey." Harry grinned back.
Their lips crashed together hungrily, even while Draco was carrying him. Draco tried to express all that he couldn't through words into the kiss. Thank you. For waiting for me. For still loving me. For tying all the ribbons for me. For kissing me. For buying this house and leaving the space in your bed for me. For promising me a future with you. For everything. He could tell Harry knew.
"Hey, get a room! Oh, but do pay up first!" Stan called as Jeremy and co. snickered. Draco and Harry broke apart as Draco put his lover on the ground.
"So," Harry teased as they walked towards the Knight Bus, "how does it feel to be completely penniless and dependant on me for bread and lodging?"
"Horrible. But I'm not leeching off you. A Galleon per kiss, please." Draco managed with a straight face. For two seconds.
As they reached the Knight Bus, Harry fished out a Galleon. "Keep the change," He told Stan, who was grinning in delight.
"You're a lucky fella." Jeremy told Draco as he passed him his luggage. He then turned to face Harry. "Treat him well, alright?" Harry nodded, swiping his bangs from his face.
As Draco and Harry walked hand in hand back to the house, exclamations of, "Hey, that was Harry Potter!" "No way!" "You saw his scar, didn't you?" "Blondie has HARRY bloody POTTER for a boyfriend?" could be heard on the Knight Bus.
"Draco, who was that boy?" Harry questioned.
"Jeremy. I only just met him. Why? …Not jealous, are you?"
"No! He just seemed too…friendly."
"Right."
…
"Harry, did you get together with the weaselette?"
"No. We're still just friends. And call her Ginny."
"Then…Cho Chang?"
"No! That was years ago!"
"The bed's still mine, right?"
"Ours. Of course. But only if you still want it."
"I'll take it anytime."
I'm commin' home, I've done my time
Now I've got to know what is and isn't mine
If you recieved my letter tellin' you I'll soon be free
Then you'll know just what to do, if you still want me
If you still want me
(Chorus)
Oh, tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree
It's been three long years
Would you still want me?
If I don't see a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree
I'll stay on the bus, forget about us
Put the blame on me
If I don't see a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree
(End Chorus)
Bus driver, please look for me
Cause I couldn't bear to see what I might see
I'm really still in prison, and my love (s)he holds the key
A simple yellow ribbon's what I need to set me free
I wrote and told (her)him please
(Repeat Chorus)
Now the whole bus is cheering
And I can't believe I see
A Hundred Yellow Ribbons 'Round the Old Oak Tree
A/N:
Hey everyone! Theshikamarusfangirl here ^^. I was listening to this song, and this idea suddenly popped into my head, so I just had to write it down. Tell me what you think, leave a review pls! Be it bad or good, LEAVE A REVIEW. I won't even mind if you put G (for Good) or B (for Bad) and leave it at that.
I wanna thank everyone who's reviewed! I'll order my personal god to be with you! :)