Later that night
Draco's POV
"G'night honey, don't let the bed bugs bite." Draco heard Hermione say across the hallway.
"'Night mummy!" Dave whispered back.
The door creaked shut and Draco watched as Hermione crossed the carpet to the bed where he lay.
"Hey, you alright?" Hermione lay down next to him, placing her petite hand on his chest.
"Yea, sure, why don't we get some sleep? We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Draco sighed.
Hermione agreed, and pulling up the comforter, snuggled into Draco's strong arms and fell asleep. Draco on the other hand, had trouble falling asleep, his visions always haunted by Harry Potter. Finally, he quietly crept out of bed and retrieved a small vial of sleep potion, which he took, and finally allowed him to fall asleep..
A clearing was visible through a thicket of trees, and peering through them, Draco was able to see the trampled ground, which had once held the masses of wizards who had joined together in hopes of defeating the Lord Voldemort. Cautiously he stepped into the opening and looked around. All the memories from that day came flowing back: the aurors screaming in agony as they were tortured by the death-eaters, the death-eaters put under the imperious spell by the aurors, Lord Voldemort's chamber, and finally when Harry risked it all for him...Draco fell to his knees clinging on to his head as the memories swirled wildly. He felt himself falling, and for a while he felt numb until he finally hit a ground. Groping wildly, Draco's fingers came in contact wit a hard stone ground, which was rough against his skin. Finally he finally came to his senses and was able to open his eyes without his head throbbing like hell. Looking around himself, he found that he was in a small town, perhaps in the country. A menacing man peered from out of a cottage, which was identical to the twenty other small cottages surrounding the small plaza Draco had landed in. Draco squinted and saw that he could see a forest, not so far away from the town, and from behind the forest protruded a blue mark, which hung in the sky marking the spot where Lord Voldemort had been defeated. Draco stood up and closely examined his surroundings, spotting a pub, he decided to have a few shots before he headed back home. As he ambled closer to the pub, he realized there was a man sitting next to the door, dirty and dressed in rags. Draco hadn't noticed him before, but now he saw that the man had straggly black hair, streaked with gray, and a beard as if he hadn't shaved for months.
"Hello sir." Draco greeted politely. The man glanced up startled, and Draco was surprised to find himself staring into a pair of sharp green eyes.
"Oh-I-I'll get out of your way-"The man tried to pick himself up quickly but grabbed his knee in pain. "Ah—sorry, I'll get out of the way." He pulled himself with his arms, so that he was further away from the door.
"No, no problem, do you need some help sir? Medical attention? You seem hurt. Would you at least let me buy you something to warm your stomach with?" Draco questioned. He peered at the guy closely. "Do I know you? You look like Ha—"Draco chuckled foolishly to himself. "No, you couldn't be. I'm sorry. What is your name?"
"Potter. Harry Potter."
Draco's face whitened. "Potter?—No, no –you cant be Potter, Potter's dead. He's dead. He died that night, for me! HE DIED, DAMMIT. STOP HAUNTING ME! PLEASE, JUST LET ME BE. PLEASE!" He crumpled on the hard ground, beating the rocks with his bare hands until they bled freely..
"Honey, honey? Wake up, honey." A soft voice played in the background.
Hermione woke up to the tossing and turning of Draco. He seemed to be muttering something, and leaning in closer, he could hear him talking to someone...potter? HARRY?!
"Honey, honey? Wake up, honey." She gently shook him, as she waited patiently for him to wake up.
"He's alive. He's alive. Potter. Potter. No, how can it be possible." Draco sat up as if he had a spasm, gasping for air like a fish out of water.
"It's okay, honey, I'm here. It's okay." Hermione tried to keep calm.
Draco looked around as if he didn't know where he was. "I've—I have to go find him. I have to know if he's alive or not."
"Draco, what are you talking about?" Hermione leaned up on her elbow.
"Potter, he's alive, and I'm going to find him."
Hermione teared up. "Draco, don't play with me. Harry is not back, and he is not going to be back. I thought we got over this. Harry is gone, he's not coming back—remember? Twenty years ago, he risked his life for your's.." "No, you don't understand. I saw him in my dream, I know where he is." Draco stood up and grabbed his robe.
"Honey, this is absurd. It's 2 AM in the morning, where are you going?"
"I have to find him, Hermione. It's—I feel like I owe him something." Draco stated.
"Okay, okay, come back here. How about first thing in the morning we go and look for him—wherever you think he maybe. I'm sure mum won't mind looking after Paige and Dave for a day or two alone."
"No, stay here with the kids, I'll go alone."
"He's my friend too. I need to see him for myself. Come back to sleep, we'll go tomorrow, alright? We'll go together." Hermione patted the empty spot on the bed that Draco had made.
Draco sighed and made his way back to the bed. "Okay, okay."
Hermione wrapped her arms around him and rocked him till he fell asleep.Draco's POV
Draco woke up to the smell of fresh pancakes sizzling in the kitchen. He sat up, remembering his dream from the night before and the promise he had made. Dressing quickly he grabbed his wand and headed down to the kitchen.
"Hey honey, you're up?" Hermione placed a batch of pancakes on the table. She was already dressed, which was a sign that she had not forgotten her promise. "So, mom agreed that we could leave the kids with her alone for a couple of days. Why don't you grab some breakfast and then we can go?"
After a quick breakfast, Hermione and Draco kissed the kids goodbye and apparated back to the wizarding world.
"So where are we going?" Hermione asked, still unsure of the whole idea.
"Somewhere near the site of the Castle de Vuelta, a small town near it." Draco answered a little distracted by the kids running up and down Diagon Alley, where they had apparated first to pick up some money.
Quickly they got a large amount of wizard money and headed off to the small town that Draco had dreamed of.
Hermione found herself and Draco in a small town only about an hour's flight from Diagon Alley. She glanced around, soaking in the small town feeling that she never felt, being born and raised in the suburbs.
"Ok, so in my dream, I was going to the pub, where I bumped into Harry." Draco explained.
"Yeah, look, there it is." Hermione pointed to their left, where sure enough, there was a brown shack, with the words: "Ye Pub" engraved in it. As they walked closer, she noticed that there was a man leaning against the pub. His dirty rags and his haywire black hair had camouflaged him against the brown building. She would never admit it, but at that moment, she was more nervous than ever. Thoughts of Harry never ceased to run through her mind. From the first year at Hogwarts fighting the troll to the last time she saw him flying away to fight Lord Voldemort. She was anxious to see what twenty years had done to her best friend.
"There he is!" Draco whispered in her ear.
"Where?" Hermione couldn't find anyone who looked like Harry.
"That man sitting in front of the pub. That guy in rags with the messy black hair."
"That's not Harry." Hermione stated flatly.
"In my dream it was."
"I tell you, that's not him."
"We'll find out. Won't we?" Draco sighed.
They made their way to the front of the pub, where the slovenly man sat.
"Excuse me." Draco's voice quivered slightly.
"Sorry, I'll move out of the way sir." The man said without ever looking up.
That voice, I'd know that voice anywhere—Harry—but it can't be. Hermione watched as the man struggled to get up, but fail and fall back, gently massaging his right knee, and she couldn't suppress her tears any longer...
Harry's POV
A couple made their way to the door of the pub, where Harry sat.
"Excuse me." A deep voice rumbled above him.
"Sorry, I'll move out of the way sir." Harry didn't dare look up into the stranger's eyes. He stood up quickly but his broken knee gave way and he grimaced in pain. "I'm sorry, just give me a second." He continued staring at the ground, using his hands to push himself further away from the pub door, groaning in pain. A soft sniffle broke his concentration, and this time, he couldn't help but look up.
Staring at him with a tear-stained face was an attractive middle-aged woman, accompanied by a burly, handsome, blond man. Harry watched as her warm brown eyes swept over his face, focusing in on his green eyes and then landing on his forehead. Harry shamefully swept his bangs in front of his infamous scar, and cast his eyes back to the hard rock ground.
"Harry..?" The woman whispered, dropping to her knees. "It's me, Harry, it's me. Look at me, please, look at me." She begged.
The man in front of her sat unmoving. He would neither look up at her, nor say anything. She took the silver ring, which Harry had given her 20 years ago, off her finger and placed it in her palm, thrusting it in front of him.
"You gave this to me." She tried to keep from choking up with tears. "I still remember how you promised you would always protect me, keep me safe. Do you remember?"
A single tear fell into the palm of her hand.