Disclaimer: same as always, none of it belongs to me, except the plot
bunnies.
Sweet and Sour - The Search Begins
Draco asked around the streets surrounding the Leaky Cauldron, trying to find out if anyone had seen Harry, but no one had. Slowly he headed back into the tavern with his head hanging before going up to his room. He ran his hand through his hair as he sat on the bed. This was not how things were supposed to go. He had been planning to just pick up supplies for his Defense against the Dark Arts classes, maybe spend the night and then head back to Hogwarts for the upcoming term. But now, he had to find Harry, he had to at least get some answers. Quickly grabbing a piece of parchment, he dipped his quill in ink as he sat down to write a quick note. Minerva, Something here has come up and I won't be coming back to Hogwarts tomorrow morning as planned. Hopefully I should be back in a few days and I'll explain everything upon my return. -D.M.
Calling for his owl Adonis, he sent the letter off to Hogwarts and took a sip of Brandy from the decanter on the table before pulling on his cloak. Locking the door to his room, he left the Leaky Cauldron and headed back out into Diagon Alley. T was less crowded now, as people were already heading home. After doing a quick sweep of Diagon Alley and asking if people had seen a beggar anywhere, he headed to Knockturn Alley. He wasn't counting on finding Harry in the same spot, but Knockturn Alley would certainly offer more protection and a smaller chance of being recognized for Harry. After searching for three hours and coming up with nothing, he was ready to give up. Harry had managed to disappear again. He wondered briefly whether Harry still had his invisibility cloak, but then remembered it had been among the items in Harry's trunk and that Ron had held onto it. He sighed and leaned against the wall when a thought came into his head. What if Harry had gone to muggle London? Harry had been wearing a cloak, but there were enough seedy areas in London, where he would blend in with the homeless. But there was still the question of how had Harry gotten in or out of Diagon Alley without a wand. He knew Harry's wand had been left at the final battle. Draco remembered going there at the end of the battle and finding McGonagal and Hermione already there. Voldemort's body was lying there, dead and slightly mangled, along with two wands, but there was no sign of Harry. Hermione was kneeling on the ground and crying, her hands running over Harry's wand. Ron had thrown a fit and punched Draco when he had joined them a few minutes later. It was unthinkable, Voldemort had disappeared and there was sign of Harry. The Aurors searched for months, and after six months, the search was officially called off and Harry was declared MIA and most likely dead. There were numerous theories going around about what had happened - the most popular being that a portkey was involved. But no amount of locator spells could find Harry, not even his dead body. It was Harry's disappearance that had brought Draco into a closer friendship with the Gryffindors. They had all fought side by side in the final battle and Ron eventually began to see Draco as something besides an insufferable Slytherin git. The childhood rivalry gradually faded and Ron even consented to letting Draco date Ginny. It had only lasted for a year before they both realized that it was mostly a comfort and attraction thing, but they remained close friends. The Ministry had put up a monument to Harry a few years ago and written that the date of the final battle was the day that Harry died. That had been a hard blow for all of them and Draco knew that even Ginny had been losing hope. Among the survivors at Hogwarts, it was a topic that was not discussed. None of them wanted to admit that Harry was actually dead, but at the same time, they all knew that it was futile to keep hoping. No one wanted to admit that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived was gone for good. But Draco had seen him today, or at least the remnants of him, and it scared him more than anything else.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Draco left Diagon Alley and headed into muggle London. He'd been dragged to see the sights by Hermione and Ginny various times and by now knew his way around fairly well. He headed for the seedier side of the city as he began asking around some of the homeless people if they'd seen a guy about my age, thin and lanky, black hair and green eyes. Every neighborhood he tried, he came up empty handed. He went in to a café to try and get sme tea when he remembered he didn't have any muggle money on him. Cursing himself, he headed back towards the Leaky Cauldron, barely aware of the fact that the sun was already starting to come up. " 'Morning, professor, you didn't come in last night. I was gett'n worried. Can I get you a cup of tea or would you care for something stronger?" Draco sat down at the bar and looked up at Tom, "Just tea. Thanks." A few minutes later, Tom came back with a steaming cup of Earl Grey and placed it in front of Draco. "Oh, I almost forgot, someone dropped this off for you late last night - must 'ave been nearing 4 o'clock I reckon." Draco looked at the folded piece of paper Tom handed him. "Proffesor Malfoy" was scribbled across the front. He opened it and began to read the messy handwriting.
Yesterday was a mistake. It's best for everyone if you just forget what happened. Give up your search - I don't intend to be found. Things are better that way.
He read it three times before looking up at Tom. "Who brought this?" Tom. "Don't know, professor, we was pretty full last night. Just found it on the bar when I was cleaning up. Figured I'd just give it to you. It's nuthin bad, is it?" Draco shook his head, "No. It's just. Tom, you didn't happen to see my friend last night did you? He ran off in a hurry, saying he had something to do and said he might drop by later on." "Haven't seen 'im, sorry. I was hoping I'd get to meet 'im too, you seemed pretty happy to see 'im." "I was." Draco said absentmindedly as he fingered the letter, "It's been a long time since I've seen him. You'll let me know if he comes by, won't you?" "Of course, professor. Will you be wantin' breakfast or anything?" "No, I think I'm just going to go upstairs and take a nap," Draco responded as he headed upstairs, clutching his tea drowsily. As he opened the door, he saw Adonis sitting on the windowsill with a letter tied to his foot. Walking over, Draco placed the cup on the desk as he untied the letter and scratched Adonis under the chin. He sat down on the bed as he opened the letter, which he assumed was from Minerva.
Draco- I do hope that nothing is wrong. Take as much time as you need, hopefully we will see you here in the next few days as the term is starting soon. Don't hesitate to write if you need anything. -Minerva McGonagal Headmistress
He put Minerva's letter aside and went back to Harry's. It seemed to be written in charcoal or something, he couldn't quite figure it out. The handwriting seemed to belong to Harry though, and obviously eight years who knows where hadn't done anything to improve Harry's handwriting. Draco couldn't follow Harry's instructions, he had to find Harry again. He stifled a yawn as he leaned back, muttering a spell to close the curtains. He'd be able to think more clearly in the morning. Author's note: to all who reviewed - you made my day! I'll try to churn these out and post them as soon as I can.
Draco asked around the streets surrounding the Leaky Cauldron, trying to find out if anyone had seen Harry, but no one had. Slowly he headed back into the tavern with his head hanging before going up to his room. He ran his hand through his hair as he sat on the bed. This was not how things were supposed to go. He had been planning to just pick up supplies for his Defense against the Dark Arts classes, maybe spend the night and then head back to Hogwarts for the upcoming term. But now, he had to find Harry, he had to at least get some answers. Quickly grabbing a piece of parchment, he dipped his quill in ink as he sat down to write a quick note. Minerva, Something here has come up and I won't be coming back to Hogwarts tomorrow morning as planned. Hopefully I should be back in a few days and I'll explain everything upon my return. -D.M.
Calling for his owl Adonis, he sent the letter off to Hogwarts and took a sip of Brandy from the decanter on the table before pulling on his cloak. Locking the door to his room, he left the Leaky Cauldron and headed back out into Diagon Alley. T was less crowded now, as people were already heading home. After doing a quick sweep of Diagon Alley and asking if people had seen a beggar anywhere, he headed to Knockturn Alley. He wasn't counting on finding Harry in the same spot, but Knockturn Alley would certainly offer more protection and a smaller chance of being recognized for Harry. After searching for three hours and coming up with nothing, he was ready to give up. Harry had managed to disappear again. He wondered briefly whether Harry still had his invisibility cloak, but then remembered it had been among the items in Harry's trunk and that Ron had held onto it. He sighed and leaned against the wall when a thought came into his head. What if Harry had gone to muggle London? Harry had been wearing a cloak, but there were enough seedy areas in London, where he would blend in with the homeless. But there was still the question of how had Harry gotten in or out of Diagon Alley without a wand. He knew Harry's wand had been left at the final battle. Draco remembered going there at the end of the battle and finding McGonagal and Hermione already there. Voldemort's body was lying there, dead and slightly mangled, along with two wands, but there was no sign of Harry. Hermione was kneeling on the ground and crying, her hands running over Harry's wand. Ron had thrown a fit and punched Draco when he had joined them a few minutes later. It was unthinkable, Voldemort had disappeared and there was sign of Harry. The Aurors searched for months, and after six months, the search was officially called off and Harry was declared MIA and most likely dead. There were numerous theories going around about what had happened - the most popular being that a portkey was involved. But no amount of locator spells could find Harry, not even his dead body. It was Harry's disappearance that had brought Draco into a closer friendship with the Gryffindors. They had all fought side by side in the final battle and Ron eventually began to see Draco as something besides an insufferable Slytherin git. The childhood rivalry gradually faded and Ron even consented to letting Draco date Ginny. It had only lasted for a year before they both realized that it was mostly a comfort and attraction thing, but they remained close friends. The Ministry had put up a monument to Harry a few years ago and written that the date of the final battle was the day that Harry died. That had been a hard blow for all of them and Draco knew that even Ginny had been losing hope. Among the survivors at Hogwarts, it was a topic that was not discussed. None of them wanted to admit that Harry was actually dead, but at the same time, they all knew that it was futile to keep hoping. No one wanted to admit that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived was gone for good. But Draco had seen him today, or at least the remnants of him, and it scared him more than anything else.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Draco left Diagon Alley and headed into muggle London. He'd been dragged to see the sights by Hermione and Ginny various times and by now knew his way around fairly well. He headed for the seedier side of the city as he began asking around some of the homeless people if they'd seen a guy about my age, thin and lanky, black hair and green eyes. Every neighborhood he tried, he came up empty handed. He went in to a café to try and get sme tea when he remembered he didn't have any muggle money on him. Cursing himself, he headed back towards the Leaky Cauldron, barely aware of the fact that the sun was already starting to come up. " 'Morning, professor, you didn't come in last night. I was gett'n worried. Can I get you a cup of tea or would you care for something stronger?" Draco sat down at the bar and looked up at Tom, "Just tea. Thanks." A few minutes later, Tom came back with a steaming cup of Earl Grey and placed it in front of Draco. "Oh, I almost forgot, someone dropped this off for you late last night - must 'ave been nearing 4 o'clock I reckon." Draco looked at the folded piece of paper Tom handed him. "Proffesor Malfoy" was scribbled across the front. He opened it and began to read the messy handwriting.
Yesterday was a mistake. It's best for everyone if you just forget what happened. Give up your search - I don't intend to be found. Things are better that way.
He read it three times before looking up at Tom. "Who brought this?" Tom. "Don't know, professor, we was pretty full last night. Just found it on the bar when I was cleaning up. Figured I'd just give it to you. It's nuthin bad, is it?" Draco shook his head, "No. It's just. Tom, you didn't happen to see my friend last night did you? He ran off in a hurry, saying he had something to do and said he might drop by later on." "Haven't seen 'im, sorry. I was hoping I'd get to meet 'im too, you seemed pretty happy to see 'im." "I was." Draco said absentmindedly as he fingered the letter, "It's been a long time since I've seen him. You'll let me know if he comes by, won't you?" "Of course, professor. Will you be wantin' breakfast or anything?" "No, I think I'm just going to go upstairs and take a nap," Draco responded as he headed upstairs, clutching his tea drowsily. As he opened the door, he saw Adonis sitting on the windowsill with a letter tied to his foot. Walking over, Draco placed the cup on the desk as he untied the letter and scratched Adonis under the chin. He sat down on the bed as he opened the letter, which he assumed was from Minerva.
Draco- I do hope that nothing is wrong. Take as much time as you need, hopefully we will see you here in the next few days as the term is starting soon. Don't hesitate to write if you need anything. -Minerva McGonagal Headmistress
He put Minerva's letter aside and went back to Harry's. It seemed to be written in charcoal or something, he couldn't quite figure it out. The handwriting seemed to belong to Harry though, and obviously eight years who knows where hadn't done anything to improve Harry's handwriting. Draco couldn't follow Harry's instructions, he had to find Harry again. He stifled a yawn as he leaned back, muttering a spell to close the curtains. He'd be able to think more clearly in the morning. Author's note: to all who reviewed - you made my day! I'll try to churn these out and post them as soon as I can.