Disclaimer: Feh. No owney, leave me aloney.

Word count: 1,072
Prompt: Outside


So count them.

Shh.

No. Count them, he says. Count them well.

So you count how many times the hummingbird flapped its wings.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Where did he go?

How am I supposed to know?

He sits and stares at you in that steely way, the one that makes you squirm even though you know you're not supposed to. But that same gaze made men follow him to wherever he led them, and once upon a time it had you following him too.

There is a petal on his jacket sleeve.

You lean forward to brush it off.

"So you're alone now?"

And then he laughs.

So you're twenty-one now.

It's a nice age. Most things go either way, now; for better of for worst. You don't know which way you're going now, but you do know that it's nowhere he is.

Yesterday, there was a message on that phone you got for no reason. No one knew its number.

"I counted five."

Did you laugh?

Of course I did. I cried too.

So Dumbledore is dead.

And Hogwarts is being closed down for a year while they sort everything out. You hear Ginny is well enough to go to school again, at Beauxbatons, and now her new sister-in-law Gabrielle is there to help her out.

You didn't come when Ron asked you to see her off because you said you had some pressing matters to attend to.

Of course, of course, that bottle of wine was a very pressing matter.

Indeed.

So Draco Malfoy stopped by yesterday.

You were still cradling the bottle, unopened of course, because alcohol makes you sick and remember things. Instead of ignoring the doorbell you stand up and open it, ready to close it again, in the face of whatever needs to have you concerned.

But Draco is there, and he takes your hand, takes the bottle, and leads you back inside your own home.

"How have you been?"

Breathless.

"And everyone else?"

Scared.

"Has it been that long?"

So very, very long.

And then there is silence, because neither of you can come up with anything to say; no time has passed, really, even though you haven't seen him since that day behind Madame Rosemerta's tavern. Time slowed down for both of you, and you both watched as a breeze blew through the open window.

A hummingbird flew in and back out again.

So Hermione sends you an owl eight days before that, asking that you come over right away. Of course you come. Of course you do.

"Hello, Harry," she says, delighted, pressing a kiss you to your cheek. She is rosy and looks a little chubby and instantly you know what this is about. You wonder if Ron knows yet.

Blaise is sitting cross-legged on the carpet, playing with her first child; a boy, three years old, and they called him Fred. In memoriam, you think. Everyone calls him Fritzi for no reason.

Fritzi runs up to you and calls you Uncle, talking about the sister he is sure to have, since it's inconceivable that his dominance should be challenged by any other male in the household. Blaise starts laughing and grabs Fritzi around the middle, holding the child under one arm and shakes your hand with his free one.

You ask about Ron.

Blaise and Hermione exchange a glance.

You look down and examine the eyes Fritzi carries. Aqua and a splash of brown. His hair is black, like his father's.

But he has his mother's wits.

So it's three days after Draco's visit, and Ron is gone.

You know because no one wants to come and talk to you, Hermione is always wringing her hands, and Blaise has taken Fritzi on extended holiday in Spain. No one tells you because they don't want you to worry.

But you worry anyway, and then remember what Draco had told you.

You pick up Hedwig, who is old now, and move her over. One of her hatchlings, the little russet-colored one, flaps over. Fritzi named her Moxie, and you tie a message to her leg and send her away.

And then you wait.

So it's the next-to-last day of school and something is happening.

Everyone is in Hogsmeade, and you wonder exactly where you'll get some privacy, and then find it accidentally behind the Three Broomsticks. You run all the way across the meadow, until you collapse on the ground, so far away from everyone that all you hear is a buzzing.

"Potter."

You're too exhilarated to even start, or bicker, and you turn over almost lazily to stare into his gray eyes. You feel sleepy.

The buzzing is caused by the hummingbird sitting on the flower, likely picking up some nectar. You stare at it, losing focus for a second.

"Potter," he says again. "Your eyesight is terrible. Count how many times those wings flap."

"What?"

"Count them."

"What does that prove?" Now you're just irritable, and you snap a flower's stem as you nuzzle the sleeve of your shirt, as though you're trying to hide yourself in the cotton. There is silence, and then you look for him and realize the grass is much taller than you thought because he's half-hidden by the stalks.

"There's a tale that says that if you're in love, you can count how many times the hummingbird flaps its wings. You can do it because when you're in love, time stops for you. So count them."

Shh, the wind whispers. You're starting something you'll regret.

"No," he says, when he sees your eyes drooping, and, very carefully, he reaches a hand through the stalks, pushing back so that you can see him clearly. He looks sleepy as well, and he places a hand on your arm. "Count them. And count them well."

So you count how many times the hummingbird flaps its wings.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

And then it's gone.

How many times did you count?

So you're alone, in your apartment, and it's the second time in a week that Draco's come to visit. You remember what he said.

"I counted five. Five beats."

You smile.

"Where do we go from here?" he asks you, minutes after you hear that Pansy is pregnant and Ron is back.

You shrug, and lean into his chest.

His heartbeat is very loud.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Wholly inspired by a Naruto/Sasuke fic with the same hummingbird story, but I only took the legend and a little hint about what to do with Ron and Hermione. :) Review, luvvies.

BTW, I think this one needs a little bit of explaining. In the previous chapter, Draco questions whether or not Harry's heart is on the inside. This is basically it, from another point of view. See, because...

Harry is heart, he is all heart, and nothing can take it away from him, even if his world tips a little.