Dreams Of Today

by schreibfeather

Sequel to Songs of Yesterday. Haley Potter still has nightmares about that night at the graveyard. But is the nightmare really over? Now more than ever she needs the support of her friends. She really doesn't have time to wonder why a certain Slytherin is back to being a prat again. Or is he really? Fifth Year. fem!Harry. HPxDM, friendship!DMxLL

30. Save Your Tears Cause I'll Come Back

A/N: In this chapter there are some lines that look like this: –-This is an example-–
It means the lines are supposed to be crossed out. Didn't know how else to do it :P

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30 – Save Your Tears Cause I'll Come Back

DRACO

Dear Draco,

How are you? You probably didn't expect to get a letter so soon. But over the last term I have gotten used to talking to you so much. So, it's a little strange not seeing you around. I'm not sure when I will be able to write again because dad and I will be going to Sweden soon. I'm so excited!

It would be great if you could come with us. But I guess, you have your own things to take care of.

Like I said before, I hope you can come visit me sometime this summer. Maybe at the end of August? It would be so nice to have a friend visit me for once.

See you soon (hopefully)!

Your friend,

Luna

Draco sat in his huge back garden – which was more of a park, really – and once more re-read the letter he had received earlier that day. He wasn't sure why. What exactly he was looking for.

Without much motivation he continued with his afternoon pastime: mindlessly throwing pebbles at the peacocks. When he was younger he used to enjoy this game much more. Watching them scurry away in surprise and then come closer to see if he had thrown something edible. Which he did, every now and then. But the peacocks never knew when of course. He used to find it incredibly amusing. But somehow… it wasn't the same. This silly game didn't make him feel anything. Least of all, joy or pleasure.

With a sigh, he turned the letter around. But there were no more words. No secret messages. Well, at least it seemed as if Luna was having nice holidays. For a second he imagined coming along to Sweden with her and her dad. The image in his mind made him snort. It would be nice if he could just run away from everything like that.

But all of his problems were as ever-present on his mind as the feeling of the little charm in his wand pocket, softly resting next to his wand.

He reached inside the pocket and took out the necklace with the fairy charm. Just to have a look at it. Just to check if it was still there.

He felt the weight in his palm. It was just as light as the pebbles he'd been throwing. What might those peacocks do, if he threw the charm at them? There was even the chance that it would fall into the small pond in the back, where a couple of white swans were swimming.

And then? It would be gone. Although it could be easily found with a simple summoning spell.

But then… what did it matter anyway? It had already been thrown away once. Who cared if he threw it out another time? This time for good. If she didn't need his sincerity, what was the use of keeping it?

"Young Master Draco! Young Master Draco!" Called a high squeaky voice, disrupting his gloomy thoughts. A second later, the face of Monty, a young and eager house elf, came into view.

"What is it, Monty?" Draco drawled in a bored tone.

"A visitor is coming," the elf revealed, trying to catch his breath.

"A visitor?" He frowned. Who could that be? He wasn't expecting anyone.

"Yes! Yes!" Monty nodded enthusiastically. "Madam is speaking to him in the roses pavilion. She is asking for you, too."

The roses pavilion… His mother didn't meet just anyone in the roses pavilion.

"Fine." He got up and smoothed down his robes. "Let's see who this visitor is."

When Draco reached the roses pavilion, his mother was nowhere in sight. Instead, amidst the roses in many shades of red and yellow, there was a man. With the pitch black robes and hair, he didn't seem to fit into the image of the white pavilion that was surrounded by summer flowers and greenery at all. Despite sitting in one of the chairs with his back to Draco, he recognized him right away.

"Professor Snape?"

The man didn't turn around. Instead he gestured toward the chair opposite from him.

Hesitantly, Draco walked around the table in the middle of the pavilion and took a seat.

"Draco." Professor Snape acknowledged him with a quick nod. He didn't say anything more. Draco wasn't sure what to say either.

Two cups of tea were placed in the middle of the table, next to one of their most elegant teapots. With a flick of his wand, Snape made the teapot float into the air and pour a clear liquid into both of the cups. Then one of the cups floated up as well and gently landed in front of him.

After raising it up to his mouth and taking a careful sip, he cleared his throat and finally began to speak. "Surely, you are wondering what it is that has brought me here." He didn't give him a chance to reply and instead continued speaking, "There is an urgent matter I need your assistance with."

Of all the things Draco might have expected… this explanation was certainly among the last.

"What kind of matter?" He asked sceptically.

Instead of answering, Professor Snape took something out of his chest pocket and held it up for Draco to inspect. It was a folded up piece of paper.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, he took it from Snape's hand in order to get a closer look at it.

It didn't take more than a few seconds for him to recognize the writing.

He scoffed. "Now you're giving that back to me?" The piece of paper was actually the instruction to activate the golem, written by Luna. The one Snape had taken from him only a week before.

"I know that it was not you who wrote this," the man replied. "I have seen this writing before, however."

Of course he had. Luna was one of his students as well. "You want me tell you who wrote it," he guessed.

Snape's lip curled up in amusement. "Will you?"

Draco crossed his arms. "What kind of assistance do you need?"

The man lifted an eyebrow. "I am currently working on a new potion. But… if you are not willing to tell me who wrote this… I am sure you are aware that I can easily find this information in another way."

Of course Draco was aware of that. Wasn't there a bloody spell for everything?

"Why did you come here to ask me, then?"

Slowly, Snape folded his hands on the table. "Certainly not to drink a cup of tea and enjoy the weather. Although I have to say these flower arrangements are quite charming."

Had that been a joke? Was sarcasm a new hobby of his?

From the looks of it, it didn't seem like Snape was going to easily give up his reasons for coming. It obviously had something to do with the golem. Did he want to try activating a golem of his own? But then… he had all the instructions right there written out clearly. If Draco had been able to follow them, the potion professor should be able to do the same without a problem. Unless… the purpose of this new potion he was working on was something different.

"Professor… you're not trying to activate a golem, are you? Or… have you already activated it?" Draco asked in mild surprise.

Snape answered with a smirk. "Very astute, Draco. Let us say, something like that happened. Would you or the person who wrote this", he nodded at the instruction, "have an idea how to… reverse the effects brought on by that creature?"

So somebody had activated a golem. And now… Snape was trying to save whoever had made a pact with it. But who…?

"Who are you trying to save?" Draco asked curiously.

"I might tell you after you have enlightened me about the identity of your accomplice."

Draco scoffed. "Accomplice?" It was ridiculous to call Luna his accomplice. "Well. The person who wrote this will be leaving the country soon anyway. So, if it's urgent, I'm afraid you'll have to make do with someone else."

"Hm." Snape hummed in a low tone. "If that is the case… are you confident that you could be of assistance in that matter instead?"

Draco took his time, reaching for the second cup of tea in the middle of the table and taking a few small sips. When he finally lowered the cup to the table again, he cleared his throat importantly. "I could. My accomplice," he said mockingly. "has shared an idea or two with me. Of course," he added. "I would first need to know… what you can offer in return."

Snape gave a short amused laugh. "Oh, I am certain that you will find the matter rewarding in itself."

What was that supposed to mean?

"Speaking of a different matter," the man continued. "I have not received an owl from you yet. I have been wondering… why that is?"

Right. Draco knew what he was referring to, of course. No less than four days before, his professor had given him a beautiful drawing of lilies. And if Draco decided not to follow his father's footsteps, he was supposed to send the drawing to Snape. Up until this very moment, however, the drawing lay untouched at the bottom of his trunk underneath his bed.

"I…" Draco looked to the side, uncertainty tingeing his voice. "I haven't decided yet."

"I see." A deep red rose petal sailed down from above, barely missing Draco's cup. It looked like a drop of blood.

"I do not mean to rush you," Snape said calmly, gaze fixed on the lone rose petal. "But whatever your decision will be, you should make up your mind before the weekend." That gave him three more days. Three more days to make a decision that was likely going to influence the rest of his life. I don't want to make this kind of decision. Why do I have to?, he thought despondently.

"I don't think I can fight her," he admitted quietly after a moment. Even after everything that happened. He always came to this same conclusion in the end. Angrily, he stabbed his finger at the rose petal, as if it was to blame for all of his problems.

"I never said you had to," Professor Snape replied, his voice surprisingly gentle.

When Draco lifted his finger, the petal stuck to it, clinging to his skin, like the lifeless wing of a butterfly.

How useless. But wasn't he the one who was uselessly clinging onto a pointless hope as well?

Draco sighed. "Can you guarantee that my mother will be safe?"

"Everything in life comes with a certain risk," was all that the man replied.

Well, didn't that sound just wonderful?

Draco really missed the days when he could still enjoy throwing pebbles at stupid peacocks.

…

HALEY

The summer was endless. Each day seemed to last a whole lifetime. Or a decade at least.

Every day was the same. She woke up. Lay on her bed for hours. Stared up at the ceiling. Didn't talk. Barely ate. Then fell asleep again. Nothing seemed to be able to spark her interest. Or give her the slightest sense of motivation.

At night the dreams returned. Not every night, though. They seemed to become fewer and fewer. She almost looked forward to them. Because the dreams brought Sirius back to her. But the moment she woke up, they took him away again. It was like a bittersweet ritual she repeated every other night. The dreams weren't even pleasant in any way. Like before, she saw Sirius being captured inside a glass prison every time. Never being able to escape.

But even though she was never able to save him, at least he was there. At least he was alive in her dream.

That night she dreamed again. But something was different. There she saw Sirius inside his hourglass prison, fighting to get out. But somehow his presence seemed weaker. Like his strength was waning. Like his time was slowly but surely… running out.

She ran toward him, knocking against the glass walls desperately. "Sirius! Sirius!"

He punched against the glass from inside, not even causing a small crack. "Help me!"

"How?"

"Malfoy – he – "

"I know," She interrupted. He'd told her so many times already. "I have to–"

"Ask him!" Sirius yelled urgently. "Ask him!"

"Ask him?" She repeated.

He nodded.

"Ask him what?"

A dark shadow fell onto the glass wall. Someone was approaching from behind.

Sirius' eyes widened. "Quick. You have to go!"

"Ask him what?" She asked again.

"He's evil! Stay away! Stay away!"

She turned around, facing a cloaked figure behind her. But before she could actually see more than a blurry glimpse, a swirl of sand engulfed her and she felt the dream fade away.

When she opened her eyes, her room at privet drive was pitch black. It was still night. She rubbed her eyes and tried to hold onto the remnants of her dreams. Something had been different…

Something Sirius had said…

Ask him.

That's what he had said. While he usually told her to stay away from him. But why?

Had she gotten it all wrong? What was she supposed to ask? What did any of this mean?

Nothing. It was all just a dream, said a voice in her mind that sounded suspiciously like Hermione.

But what if it wasn't just a dream?

A strange rustling noise broke through her thoughts. It came from the middle of the room, where something blurry and white seemed to be wreaking havoc inside her trunk. Sleepily, she reached for her glasses. Then she slipped out of the bed and tapped over to her trunk.

"Hedwig, what are you doing? You're waking everyone up." She chided, stifling a yawn.

Apparently, Hedwig was trying to snatch one of the little bags with owl treats in the corner of her trunk. Was she that hungry?

While picking at her treasure, she made a mess with one of her feet being caught on a piece of paper. Sighing, Haley knelt down to free her owl from the paper. Only then, with the sparse light coming in through the window, she realized what exactly Hedwig had caught her foot on.

Carefully, she removed the rest of the letter paper from underneath the bird and carried it over to her desk, turning on the lamp. Her movements felt sluggish as if she was sleep-walking. She sat down in her desk chair and smoothed down the paper, carefully inspecting it for tears or holes.

Fortunately, there was no considerable damage. Only one sheet had a hole, where an owl talon had punctured it. But that could easily be repaired with a spell.

Mindlessly, Haley stroked her fingers along the lines of flowers printed to the sheet. The artwork was truly beautiful. But it wasn't for the beauty, that she felt a painful pang in her heart.

She'd gotten the paper from Draco. Shortly before the exams. Only the thought of him filled her with a mix of regret and longing that made her heart ache.

Ask him, Sirius had said.

But what? What was she supposed to ask? And did she even have the right to ask him about anything, after the things she'd said to him?

Without actively making the decision, Haley picked up a quill, dipped it into her inkwell and wrote two words.

Dear Draco,

Just writing those two words made her heart pound with anticipation. It felt right. It felt like something forbidden. It felt freeing. And it felt dangerous. But once she had started writing, she couldn't stop.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

–-The things I said to you-–

She crossed out the last sentence and started again. It seemed like before she could think of asking anything, she had to apologize a thousand times.

–-To be honest,I-–

–-I wanted-–

–-I still-–

She crossed that out, too. It was all wrong. How was she supposed to put into words how she felt?

–-There's something I need to ask-–

No, no, no. She couldn't just plainly write it like that. With a sigh, she lifted the quill for the last time and wrote another line.

I'm not going to ask you to forgive me. But I hope you can understand some day.

I miss you

She added that last line only because she knew she wasn't going to send the letter anyway. But this one time… she wanted to be honest to herself at least. Then she crumpled up the paper and went back to bed. For the rest of the night, she didn't have any more dreams. Instead, there was a barely there feeling of hope that carried her through the night.

…

DRACO

Snape's plan was completely mad. But then, it had just that sprinkle of brilliance that could make it actually work.

There are no certainties in life, he'd said, we can only weigh the risks and make our decisions according to what we think is best.

That was easier said than done. If only, he had an idea what was best.

Sitting on his bed in the middle of the night, he glanced over to his desk. A million times, he'd pulled out the letter paper and picked up the quill, ready to pour everything that weighed on his heart onto the paper. But every single time, he ended up dropping the quill and discarding the plan. There was no one he could ask. Not if he didn't want his letter to be intercepted.

It was simply too dangerous. Sending Snape the drawing of lilies, however, would be less dangerous. He wasn't going to write any words onto it. But he hadn't come to a decision yet. He wasn't ready.

Right then, his desk began to glow. Draco blinked in surprise. Then he realized it wasn't his desk that was glowing but rather the letter paper lying on it.

Quickly, he grabbed his candle light from the night stand, slipped off the bed and walked over to his desk.

There was no questioning it. The letter paper was glowing. And a second later, two inky blue words appeared on it.

Dear Draco,

Draco rubbed his eyes. He wasn't dreaming, was he? Then another bout of words appeared.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

He'd seen that writing before. Could it be…? But how…?

The things I said to you

A second later those words were crossed out and then disappeared completely. Then there was more writing.

To be honest, I

I wanted

I still

Those words were crossed out as well and vanished as if they had never been written.

There's something I need to ask

He read, before this line disappeared as well. For a few moments there was no more writing. It almost seemed as if there wasn't going to come anything more, when another line appeared.

I'm not going to ask you to forgive me. But I hope you can understand some day.

And then, almost as an afterthought:

I miss you

His heart might have stopped.

He read the letter once more, almost scared that it might disappear. Or that he was just imagining it.

Dear Draco,

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I'm not going to ask you to forgive me. But I hope you can understand some day.

I miss you

There was no signature. But it had to be her, or not? Who else could it be? He recognized the way she wrote his name. And the small flourishes of her 'y's and f's. And then he remembered something else. The letter paper he'd given to her. The same letter paper that he was staring at now. He'd been trying the Protean charm on it. All this time, he'd thought it hadn't worked. But the way it looked… it actually had. But Haley didn't know. At least it didn't seem like she did. It seemed like she had written the words not intending for anyone to read them.

But didn't that mean… What she wrote… didn't that mean… she still cared?

He felt pathetic for letting these few words make him feel so hopeful all of a sudden. But he couldn't help it. Even after everything. After the things she'd said to him. He wasn't ready to let go.

There are no certainties in life. We can only weigh the risks and make our decisions according to what we think is best.

Draco still didn't know what was best. For himself. Or his family. But it was about time he made that decision. And finally, now, he felt as if he had a real choice.

…

HALEY

How much she had missed the burrow, she only realized when she returned to the inviting and homey house two weeks into the summer holidays.

Mrs Weasley taking one glance at her and promptly warming up some soup for her made her feel warm and welcome. Hermione was visiting as well. But since her and the other Weasley children were still asleep – Haley had arrived shortly after midnight – she was going to see them all the following day. After the meal, Mrs Weasley lead her up to the room she was going to share with Hermione. It was the old room of the twins that they didn't need at the moment.

Hermione's sleeping form was resting peacefully under her covers. Haley smiled at the sight. At least there was one person who didn't seem to be troubled by strange dreams.

The next morning, Haley was almost overwhelmed by all the people enthusiastically greeting her. Besides Hermione, Ron and Ginny, it was quite the surprise to be met with the dreamlike appearance of Fleur Delacour. It seemed like the last time they'd seen each other was a lifetime ago.

Sirius had still been with her then.

Fleur didn't stay for long, though. And although Ron was sad to see her go, Ginny seemed like she was finally able to breathe again.

"I can't stand her! She's driving me mad!" she declared, falling back onto Hermione's bed dramatically. "I'd much rather have Tonks in the family."

Ron, who sat on the windowsill to the left, rolled his eyes disdainfully. "Listen, no bloke in his right mind is going to fancy Tonks when Fleur's around."

Hermione, sitting on the edge of Haley's bed, crossed her arms and clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "Right. We all know how much you're drawn to blondes."

As much as Haley enjoyed being around her friends again, she certainly could do without their constant fighting.

Ginny sent him a look that could have killed. "Mum agrees with me. That's why she keeps trying to get Tonks round for dinner. She's a damn sight nicer than Phlegm. And she's intelligent. And at least she's a laugh."

"She hasn't been much of a laugh lately," Ron objected. "Every time I've seen her, she's looked more like Moaning Myrtle."

"That's not fair!" Hermione hissed. "She still hasn't got over what happened… you know… I mean, he was her cousin!"

Haley felt cold. She'd been wondering when they would reach this topic. Glancing at her fingers, she felt three pairs of eyes watching her cautiously.

"Tonks and Sirius barely knew each other. Sirius was in Azkaban half her life." Ron added. "And before that their families never met–"

"That's not the point," Hermione interrupted. "She thinks it was her fault he died!"

Haley flinched at the word. "Why would she think that?" She asked without thinking about it.

"Well, she was fighting Bellatrix Lestrange, wasn't she? I think she feels that if only she had finished her off, Bellatrix couldn't have killed Sirius."

"That's stupid," interjected Ron. Haley silently agreed. If anyone had reason to blame themselves for what… happened to Sirius, it should be herself… If only she hadn't acted so foolishly… If only…

"What if she didn't?" Haley mumbled mostly to herself.

"Sorry? What did you say?" Hermione asked.

Haley wasn't sure whether to bring it up or not. But she wanted to hear her friends' thoughts on this so badly. Although, she could already guess what Hermione would say. "What if she didn't kill him? What if he's still… alive."

Her words were followed by an uncomfortable silence. Then Hermione shared one of those annoyingly worried looks with Ron. They probably thought she had gone mad.

"Haley," Hermione started to say gently. "What do you mean by that? You were there. You've seen it yourself. There was not even a body-"

"Exactly!" Haley exclaimed, her heart starting to beat violently. "What happened to his body? Since when does the Killing Curse make bodies vanish?"

"That had to be because of the room." Hermione argued. "You've seen all the strange things happening in the Mystery Department."

"There's no proof, though, is there?" Haley replied almost desperately. "He might as well have survived somehow. I've seen him in my dreams. Something happened to him – I don't know what – but – but – he's captured somewhere – he – he needs help!"

Another heavy silence followed and Haley already regretted having said anything at all. She noticed Ron sending Hermione a pointed look that Hermione answered with a similar one. She seemed both frustrated and helpless.

Then she sighed and turned to Haley again. "Haley, what are you talking ab-"

In that exact moment, the door opened and Mrs Weasley appeared. "Ginny. Come downstairs and help me with the lunch."

"Why should I? I'm talking to this lot!" Ginny argued but she simply couldn't win against her mother's stubbornness. When it was just Hermione, Ron and Haley again, Haley couldn't bear the heavy looks from her friends any more and excused herself by taking her half-eaten breakfast down to the kitchen. Haley felt their worried eyes on her for the rest of the day. It was obvious that Hermione was itching to ask her at least a thousand questions. But for whatever reason she seemed to hesitate. Haley didn't complain.

The days at the Burrow went by faster than she would have imagined. There was always something to do. And when there wasn't, Hermione, Ron and Ginny took her out to play quidditch in the fruit garden. Compared to her time with the Dursleys – where she'd seemingly had too much time on her hands, which had inevitably lead her to spend it all thinking and worrying and being depressed – she found, that here at the Burrow, she didn't even get a lot of time to stop and think too much. The only times where the mills of her mind started churning was at night or in the early mornings, when there was nothing to do but lie in the dark and surrender herself to her thoughts. To be honest, she'd been worried about waking Hermione up with her nightmares.

But for some reason, as time went by, the nightmares came less and less frequently. It almost scared her. What if they stopped altogether? Would that mean she'd never see Sirius again? She almost wished the dreams would never stop.

It was the second week at the Burrow and Hermione and her had just won one of their quidditch games against Ginny and Ron. It was late afternoon and they were lounging in the garden around a huge campfire. Mrs Weasley who'd suggested they eat outside because the weather was actually pleasant for a change, sat at the table with Fleur and Bill close by and prepared some strawberries and other fruits for dessert.

While Hermione was busy reading the Daily Prophet, Ginny was lazing in the grass, solving the crossword puzzle, and asking them for clues every few minutes.

"Charm to copy and transmit writing or images? Seven letters." She prompted.

"Protean Charm," Hermione answered absently.

"Thanks," Ginny replied, scribbling down the word.

Hermione sighed and put the pages she'd already skimmed through into the grass next to her.

"Hey, don't put that on my puzzle," Ginny grumbled, picking up the paper that Hermione had discarded so carelessly. Her gaze fell on Ron and she rolled her eyes. "You're drooling," she said derisively.

Haley turned to her friend, who was watching Fleur feeding strawberries to his brother and giggling. Ron blinked, swiped his sleeve over his mouth and kept looking.

Ginny shook her head and turned back to the paper. "Looks like there was another attack. But – hey that's strange, it happened close to Little Whinging," she mumbled.

Over at the garden table it seemed as if a small dispute had broken out. It ended with Mrs Weasley pulling the bowl with berries over to herself and getting up and leaving toward the back of the garden. Fleur sheepishly glanced at Bill, before breaking into giggles again. Bill stroked his fingers over her strawberry red lips and stole a kiss, his eyes alight with laughter. Then he scooted to the side on the bench where he was sitting with Fleur and lay down, resting his head in her lap and staring up at her.

"Little Whinging… isn't that where your aunt and uncle live? It seems like someone caused real mayhem over there."

Fleur was fishing out some more berries from who knew where and kept feeding them to Bill, while her other hand was running through his hair, fingers gently kneading his scalp.

The image tugged at something in her. A memory…

They looked so in love it almost hurt.

"Haley? Are you listening? Wait – are you crying?" Ginny asked.

Haley shook her head. Why would she – ? Then she realized that her cheeks were suspiciously wet.

She hadn't even noticed when the tears had started to fall.

"It's nothing," she choked. "I don't know why I…" But the tears kept coming unbidden and relentlessly. She hadn't cried ever since that day on the Hogwarts train.

Hermione fished a pack of handkerchiefs from her pocket and offered one to her. Haley took it and started to dry her cheeks. But with the tears that wouldn't stop falling it was a rather useless endeavour.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked gently.

"Nothing," Haley repeated, swiping at her face. "It's just… watching those two… I…" She shook her head. "I… remembered something."

Hermione and Ron shared a confused glance.

"Remembered what?" Ron asked.

"He likes them, too," Haley whispered with a shaky laugh. "Head massages."

"He?" Ron asked again.

"Draco," Haley said, her voice breaking.

Ron rolled his eyes at that. "So what? You miss that git? Won't you see him again in just a few weeks?"

Ginny watched her with quiet curiosity. She must have had her suspicions ever since seeing them together before they departed to the Mystery Department. The memory brought fresh tears to her eyes. Back then, everything had still been okay. More or less.

Hermione handed her another handkerchief. "Did you have another fight?" She asked carefully.

Haley shook her head and clenched her eyes shut. "We… We're not… Actually…" She stammered helplessly. Then she whispered, "We broke up." It was the first time she'd said it aloud. And it made it feel so final. Three pairs of eyes watched her speechlessly.

"But… why?" Ron finally blurted incredulously. "I mean – I never understood what you saw in him in the first place… but… still…" He turned to Hermione. "Doesn't it seem pretty sudden?"

Hermione nodded and scooted closer to Haley. "What happened?" She asked quietly, laying a comforting hand on her back.

Haley shook her head, unable to talk. There was a reason she hadn't told them about the break-up. It was simply too painful. And most of the time, she tried not to think about it.

"After S-Sirius… I… I…" Her voice shook terribly. "I didn't know what to do – I – It was all too much – I couldn't think straight – I didn't know what to do – and then those dreams… it felt like I was going mad…"

Hermione shot Ron a meaningful look.

"What dreams? The ones you mentioned earlier?" She asked, putting two and two together.

Haley nodded. "It's always the same dream." She explained. "It started the night Sirius – the night we went to the Ministry Department."

Hermione frowned but still kept rubbing circles into her back soothingly. "What happens in those dreams?"

"I," Haley took a deep breath, trying to focus. "I'm always in this strange place… some kind of desert, I think. And Sirius is there, too. He – he's captured inside a huge hour glass and he can't get out. Then he calls out to me, asks me to help him. But when I ask him how…" She trailed off, reluctant to continue.

"Yeah? What happens then?" Ron urged, shrugging a shoulder, when Hermione sent him a dirty look.

Haley closed her eyes, seeing the scenes clear in her mind. "He says I'm supposed to stay away from 'Malfoy'. And that he's evil and dangerous."

Hermione seemed to understand immediately. "That… can't be the reason you broke up with him… can it?"

The guilt crawling into her insides felt like a thousand insect feet running up and down underneath her skin.

"I thought… I thought, I could save him." Haley's voice was quiet. And the words sounded so stupid to her now. Spoken aloud. "I had to try. It wasn't just a dream. It felt different!" She tried to defend herself.

"But… Haley," Hermione said slowly, almost as if she was talking to a small child that was especially slow to understand. "Haven't you seen… what can happen when you take your dreams too seriously?"

"I know that!" Haley argued. "I know… I've thought about that, too. How could I not? But… the dream felt so real. It didn't feel like a normal dream. I had to try. I had to try at least."

"Haley… that's so…" Hermione shook her head. "I don't even know what to say."

"That's a first." Ron quipped.

Hermione ignored him. "Did you tell Dumbledore about the dreams?"

Haley shook her head. For some reason she thought he would have dismissed them just as easily as Hermione was now. And Haley hadn't been ready to bury that hope.

"So… you really think he might still be alive?" Ron asked suddenly.

"I don't know." Haley admitted. "The dreams don't come as often now."

"That's because they're probably just dreams," Hermione couldn't help but say.

Haley looked at her fingers that were clutching the handkerchief like it was her lifeline. Maybe Hermione was right. It was possible. But was she really ready to accept that as true? In any case, staying away from Draco hadn't helped bring Sirius back at all. It had only made her more miserable. And on top of that, she was starting to think that maybe she had somehow misinterpreted the dreams. Hadn't Sirius clearly told her to 'ask him'?

"In any case," she whispered. "I think, I've made a huge mistake."

"Don't worry," Hermione snorted. "Just explain it to him. From what I've seen, he'll forgive you right away."

Hopelessly, Haley shook her head. "I don't think he will. You don't know the things I've said to him. I don't think I can even forgive myself!"

"What did you say to him?" Ron asked curiously. "I'm sure he deserved it all."

Haley bit her lips. She couldn't bring herself to repeat the words.

"Why don't you try writing him a letter?" Hermione suggested. "I mean, obviously you won't be able to send it because the Ministry's reading our letters but… you know it might be easier to express all your thoughts by writing them down. You can give him the letter, when we're back at Hogwarts."

In that moment, Haley wanted to burst into tears again but this time it was because of her friends. She still remembered feeling too anxious to even tell them about her relationship with a Slytherin. And now, they were both comforting her and even giving her relationship advice. It really was a testament to their friendship and how far they had all come.

Ginny chose that moment to mutter, "Being in love really is the worst." But to Haley's ears, even that sounded like comfort.

…

That night Haley wrote another letter. It didn't come easy to her, putting everything she felt into words. It was still painful. And incredibly draining. But in the end, she felt a tiny bit better. As if she had made the first step toward making things right. Reading the letter once more, Haley wondered what Draco might think if his eyes ever saw it. But then, she still wasn't sure if she even wanted him to see the words that she had practically carved from the depths of her soul.

Dear Draco,

I think I owe you an explanation.

In a way… I think you were maybe at the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't really know where to start… Anyway, I wish I could turn back time and handle things differently. But the only option I have is writing this letter and hoping you'll understand someday. Assuming, I will be brave enough to actually give the letter to you.

You're probably wondering why I acted this way to you. Why I pushed you away when I actually wanted to do nothing more than hold onto you and keep you close.

The truth is I felt like I was going mad. I still do sometimes… It was just all too much. I couldn't take it.

And then, when I was trying to be strong and keep myself together, you were always there. Trying to comfort me and making me want to fall apart. Making me feel so vulnerable when I was trying so hard to stay strong.

But that was the one thing I couldn't allow myself to be.

What right did I have to fall apart, when it was me who started this whole mess in the first place?

That's right. It was me. It was my fault. All my fault.

And by blaming you, I was only deceiving myself. It's still hard to admit it.
You have no idea how much I wish I could make it all undone. You were trying to be there for me and I treated you… like you were my worst enemy.

There is something else. I'm not sure I ever told you about it but I have these dreams. Sometimes they show me things that really happen. Like visions.

After my godfather… was gone, I had these dreams about him. He was captured and asking me to help him. And I know, this might sound extremely foolish but he told me to stay away from 'Malfoy'. I thought it was the only way to save him.

But now… it feels more like instead of saving him, I lost both of you. Like I said, maybe I have actually gone mad. Who knows?

This is far from coherent. And I don't even know if it makes sense. But I wanted to at least try to explain it all to you. That's the least I can do.

But then… I probably won't even send this letter.

–-This is a real shitty explanation. Maybe I'll try writing it again tomorrow.-–

Anyway. I hope I'll find the courage to actually tell you all of this in person.

–-I never wanted to hurt you or break all of our pro-–

I'm not going to ask you to forgive me. But I hope you can understand some day.

I miss you. Terribly

Yours,

Haley

When she was done, she folded up the letter and hid it at the bottom of her trunk. Not only hiding the words but also the tear stains, covering the lower half of it.

…

"There's a letter for you." Mrs Weasley announced the following morning. For a frightened second, Haley wondered if it was for her. If it was from him.

But then Mrs Weasley handed the letter across the breakfast table to Ginny and dispelled her worries. Haley shook her head. Of course, it wasn't a letter from him. Why would he send her a letter? Owls could easily be intercepted. And more than that, he had no reason to even talk to her any more. She hadn't even sent her own letter.

"Oh, it's from Luna!" Ginny said happily, her eyes quickly going over the letter.

Ron looked over to where his mum was going through some other letters with a frown. It almost seemed as if he was wondering why there was no letter for him.

"She's on a trip to Sweden with her dad," Ginny told them. "Oh, she says there will be a festival in her village the last week of August. Can we go? She says it would be nice if all of us could go together."

Mrs Weasley frowned, glancing at the clock that showed each Weasley family member and their whereabouts. Currently all hands were pointing at 'mortal peril'. "I don't think that's a good idea. We shouldn't do anything unnecessarily dangerous."

"But doesn't Luna live practically around the corner?" Ron asked. "That's not far away at all."

"I – well, I might talk to Arthur about it. But you know I'd rather not have you all wander about in these uncertain times."

In the end Mrs Weasley agreed to let them all go. Under the condition that Bill and Fleur were going to join them. To make sure they were safe. To say it lightly, Ginny's enthusiasm was slightly dampened by that. But overall, they were all looking forward to getting out of the Burrow for once after practically spending the whole summer there.

"I knew she lived nearby but I didn't think we could actually walk by foot." Ron exclaimed as the six of them started their walk to where Luna lived.

"What kind of festival is it?" Fleur asked, her French accent heavy. "We have a lot of summer festivals in France as well. There is musique and danse the whole night. And the food is magnifique."

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Is it still far?" Ron asked, gazing around the green hills and meadows.

"We only just started walking," Ginny replied. "Ten more minutes maybe?"

Ron nodded. And so they kept walking past little streams and woodlands for another fifteen minutes. The good thing was that the sun was hidden behind countless clouds, otherwise the short walk in the afternoon sun would have completely exhausted them.

"I think I can see it! That's got to be Luna's house, who else would live in a place like that? It looks like a giant rook!" Ron exclaimed, pointing toward a house in the distance that indeed looked like a giant rook. It was located at the top of a small hill with a garden surrounding it. A small stream was curling along the foot of the hill, almost appearing like a road leading up to the house.

They continued along the path leading them toward a low wooden fence, that had a sign saying "Editor of the Quibbler" nailed to it. It looked like they had found the right house. Just as Ron was opening the gate, a girl with long blonde hair came bouncing toward them from behind the house.

"You came!" Luna greeted them, beaming like she had swallowed the sun itself. "I almost thought you wouldn't make it. But you're all here!"

Looking like Christmas and her birthday had come at the same time, she pulled at Ron's arm, who was closest to her and ushered all of them to follow her. "I thought I could show you around first and then we can head down to the village. Is that okay?"

There was consensual humming, so Luna lead them around to the back of the house, where a garden table stood below a red-white chequered awning. On the table was a jar with clear sparkling water and a few lemon slices at the bottom of it. Next to it there were a couple of coloured glasses with cheerful miniature umbrellas.

"Here, I made lemonade for everyone. It's a secret recipe," Luna said with a smile, pouring some lemonade into all of the glasses. "Are you one of Ginny's brothers?" She asked glancing at Bill curiously.

He nodded. "I'm Bill. Nice to meet you," Bill said, giving a mocking curtsy. "And this is Fleur, my fiancé."

"Oh! It's very nice to meet you, too. My name is Luna. Oh, looks like there's not enough lemonade," she realized. "I'll go get some more lemons from the greenhouse." With that, she set down the jar and made to dash off.

"Wait!" Haley called. "I'll help you." She had actually been waiting for a chance like this. There was something she really wanted to ask Luna but it was a matter that was best discussed without additional listeners.

"All right," Luna agreed, waiting for her to catch up. "Thank you, Haley."

"I'll help, too." Ron called, following them, although he glanced back to the others almost regretfully.

"There really is no need," Luna said chuckling. "It's just a few lemons."

Ron shook his head, like he was trying to get rid of a thought. "Anyway. How was your trip to Sweden? Did you manage to catch your Snorkack?" He asked curiously. He only sounded a little bit mocking.

Luna shook her head. "Sadly, we didn't find the Snorkak. But we still had a great time. We even saw the Tomten. It was really cute."

"Tomten?"Ron echoed. "What's that?"

"The Tomten is a little gnome that takes care of any living creature in winter," Luna explained. "It's really shy. So it's not easy to find." They had reached a small greenhouse that was surrounded by a group of tall apple and plum trees. "It's in there," Luna gestured for them to enter the greenhouse. Ron went in first. Before Luna could follow him, Haley held her back.

"Luna, actually, I wanted to ask you something." Haley said, before she could think it over and back out.

"What is it?"

"I…" She bit her lips anxiously. "Have you… maybe… heard from… from…" Why was it so hard to say his name?
"Draco," she whispered finally. "Have you heard from him?"

Luna smiled lightly. Then she nodded. "Yes. I've heard from him."

"And… how… how is he?" She asked, feeling even more anxious.

Luna looked over toward the trees thoughtfully. "I think… that's something you should ask him yourself."

Haley sighed. She'd almost expected this kind of answer from her.

In that exact moment Ron emerged from the greenhouse, his arms full of lemons. "Is that enough?" He asked glancing from Luna to Haley and back.

"You picked the laughing lemons," Luna said dreamily, "But we can use those, too." Then she stepped forward and took half of them from his arms.

"Laughing lemons?" Ron asked, a grin forming on his lips.

Luna nodded and handed a handful of laughing lemons to Haley. To her, they looked exactly like normal lemons. For a second she wondered whether Luna was making fun of them. But then, that wasn't really something she would do.

"Let's go back this way. We also need some Dirigible plums for the flavour," Luna said, leading them to the other side of the greenhouse, where there were even more trees.

Peculiar were the fruits hanging between the twigs and leaves. They were red with yellow stripes and shaped like little spirals.
But even more peculiar was the person standing in the midst of the trees. It was a boy wearing a pale pink shirt with long sleeves that seemed two sizes too big for him and a pair of light blue shorts.

With his back turned to them, he seemed strangely familiar. If it wasn't for the muggle clothes and the brown hair. For some reason, the sight of this boy made Haley incredibly nervous.

"Wild! What kind of fruit is that?" Ron exclaimed, pointing at the spiral shaped plums.

"Spiral plums," Luna said simply. In that same moment, the boy turned around and they finally saw his face.

Although the expression on his face was carefully neutral, as soon as Haley recognized him, she dropped all of her laughing lemons.

Absently, she noticed Luna bending down to pick them up and pulling Ron away mumbling something about getting started on the lemonade.

All the while, Haley stood there, couldn't move, couldn't say a word and could only look at him.

The boy that looked like Draco, held a few Spiral plums between his fingers and calmly returned her gaze.

Haley's mind had turned blank. There were so many things she wanted to say. Needed to say. But in that moment, it felt like the world had simply stopped. The only thing she could do was look and wonder if this was actually a dream.

But if it really was a dream, it was a pretty shabby one because what the heck was he wearing? A long sleeved shirt? In summer? And why was his hair dyed? In real life Draco would never be caught dead wearing something like this.

She frowned. "What kind of shirt is that?"

The imposter seemed taken aback at that. Then he scoffed, crossing his arms. "That's the only thing you have to say to me?"

Haley flinched. It was his voice. No question. Looked like him. Sounded like him. Wasn't it him?

She shook her head. The sight was too baffling. "I've never… I've never seen you in muggle clothes before. I thought you despised them."

With one raised eyebrow he replied. "Well, sometimes, things change."

Four tiny words. And they felt like a punch in the face.

They were the words Haley had said to him during their fight. When she broke up with him.

And suddenly the summer air seemed at least fifty degrees colder. What was she doing? Chattering with him as if nothing had changed. As if she hadn't messed up everything they had.

Suddenly she felt like crying. "I…" She started to say but didn't know how to continue. Didn't know the words that would make everything right. Maybe those words didn't exist.

"I'm… sorry," she said weakly. Knowing it was not enough. Not by far. But what else was there to say? Nevertheless, she continued, speaking to her feet. "Those words… I didn't mean them… I shouldn't – I shouldn't have… I wanted to send you a letter – and explain it all but…" She broke off, shaking her head. Feeling like it still wasn't enough. She might as well say nothing at all.

Then a pair of sandals-clad feet came into view. They looked strangely similar to the sandals Dudley always wore. But compared to her cousin's, Draco's feet were definitely prettier. There was only the space of one foot between them now, but still, Haley couldn't bring herself to look up.

"I know," he whispered, his breath tickling her face. "I got them." Then she saw his right hand reach forward almost in slow-motion and curl around her fingertips with agonizing gentleness. The feeling of his slightly cold fingers was so achingly familiar, there was no doubt it was him.

The move and his words made her look up in surprise. "What did you just say?"

"I got them," he repeated. "The letters you wrote."

Haley wasn't sure whether to feel endlessly embarrassed or relieved. Those messy, incoherent letters she wrote? He'd gotten them?

She shook her head. "How?"

Draco lifted his other brow. "Does it matter?"

"Not really," she admitted. "I feel… like such a fool." She wanted nothing more but to throw herself into his arms and hide against his chest forever but… it didn't seem right. She was so scared he might push her away if she walked only one step closer. "If I were you, I'd never talk to me again," she whispered, almost wishing he wouldn't hear.

That made him chuckle. Haley couldn't even complain because she kind of deserved it. Instead she sighed, her gaze dropping to the ground again.

"Then we're both lucky you're not me." He replied lightly.

Hesitantly, Haley looked up once more, looking for answers or signs of lies in his eyes. But he wasn't giving anything away.

"I don't understand," she said. "After everything I've done. Those horrible things I said to you… How can you still… be here? How can you still-?" Helplessly, she held up her hand that was clutched by his.

In response, he ran his free hand through his temporary brown locks, seemingly looking for an adequate answer. "I don't know. Maybe I'm as much of a fool as you." For the first time, he grinned. It seemed almost shy.

She wanted to protest but before she could begin to think of the words, a pale finger covered her mouth.

"Look, the way I see it, it's quite easy." He started to explain. "All this time, did you only pretend you liked me? Was it all a lie?"

"No, of course not, but-"

"Then, did you really mean the words you said that day before the end of term?" He continued to ask.

She wildly shook her head. "No, I didn't, I only said them because-"

"Was it a lie," he interrupted, a tinge of urgency colouring his voice. "When you said you missed me? Terribly?"

Again she shook her head, feeling her eyes start to burn. "No," she breathed.

"Then why, why did you push me away? Why did you say you don't need me?" His eyes were soft like molten silver and his voice sounded like breaking glass. She'd never meant to hurt him like this.

"I… " She choked. "I thought I could save him – I thought if only I paid the price, S-Sirius would return to me – but – but… I realized too late… that the price was too high and it… it shouldn't be this way… I didn't want… to give you up – It felt… like I was giving up a part of myself…"

"So, now… you're willing to give up… your godfather?" Draco asked quietly.

Haley shrugged helplessly. "It was a foolish hope anyway." She smeared at her face. "And even if it wasn't… it doesn't seem right. To get him back… at the cost of you. Doesn't there have to be another way?" She chuckled but it came out more like a sob.

As she tried to make the tears stop, she felt two arms engulf her in a tight embrace. The familiar scent, surrounding her, felt so much like coming home it almost broke her heart. Again.

"That's enough for me." Draco whispered into her ear. Then he added. "You can stop crying now."

"Who's crying?" Haley replied weakly. But she nevertheless circled her arms around his back.

"I actually didn't think you'd forgive me," she admitted quietly, her face pressing against the soft fabric of his shirt.

"Who says I forgave you?" She heard him ask into her hair. It made her stiffen slightly but really… after everything she put him through, why would he forgive her just like that?

"Right," she whispered dejectedly. "I can't forgive myself either."

…

DRACO

It's not a choice. He thought. Not really. If I can't have you, I'd have to hate you. And hating you would be even worse. It would be impossible.

…

HALEY

Draco sighed, pulling away slightly and pushing one of her strands behind her ear. "Just make sure you won't do it again in the future."

"I promise, I won't." She replied right away.

He tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "Promise? Why don't you make an Unbreakable Vow instead?"

"Hm? What's an Unbreakable Vow?" She asked. "A vow that can't be broken?"

Draco frowned slightly. "It's a magical vow… And technically, it can be broken… but I wouldn't recommend breaking it."

Somehow these words made her shudder. Still, she replied, "So? It can't be that scary. I'm not afraid of some vow. I've faced a dragon. And worse." The past months had certainly been like hell. "How does it work? What happens when it's broken?"

Slowly, as if her answer confused him, he shook his head. "You're so… You're such a Gryffindor. Are you that eager to risk your life?"

That definitely sounded more like a reprimand than a compliment.

"Why can't you be this confident when it comes to staying by my side?" He asked quietly, more to himself.

Haley felt like apologizing again. "I didn't know… I'd feel like this… without you."

"Feel how?"

"Like a part of me was missing," It was hard to actually put that aching feeling into words. "Like I was somehow… incomplete. Like I needed you to actually breathe."

"Really?" He asked breathlessly, his grey eyes sparkling.

Although it was impossibly embarrassing to admit these feelings out loud, she nodded. "The worst is… even now… I want to be selfish and keep you with me, even if it endangers you or me or everyone close to us. Even though I've wronged you. Even if it means I'll never see Sirius again."

This admission was the most painful. But she still wasn't done telling him how she felt, so she took a deep breath and added, "So, what I'm saying is I hope… I really hope you can give me another chance."

Instead of answering, he turned around and sighed. She almost feared he was going to leave right then and there and never give her the time of day ever again. And she was ready for that. Even if the thought hurt like hell. She had expected it.

But then, shaking his head, he turned back to her and gently cupped her cheeks in his hands. Her skin instantly began tingling.

"Do you think I'd still be here if I could walk away from you that easily?" Draco asked, sounding half impatient, half amused. Then he lightly knocked his forehead against hers. It hurt a tiny bit. He wasn't waiting for an answer, was he?

"You can be so stupid," he grumbled, before taking her breath away with only the touch of his lips. Strangely, at the same time, it felt as if she was taking the first breath, after being submerged underwater for months. Or like feeling the first sun ray on her skin after a long and cold winter. In the way he kissed her, she could feel all the longing and frustration he must have felt all these weeks. But the underlying tenderness was there in the gentle touch of his fingers on her cheeks and then on her waist, when they wandered down to press her closer against him. For weeks, it had been as if a giant storm cloud had been hanging above her head, raining down on her tirelessly and colouring the world in dull tones of grey.

But now it seemed as if the storm cloud had shrunk to at least half the size, albeit not disappearing completely. It probably would never vanish completely. But at least some specks of colour had returned to her life.

Haley wrapped her arms around Draco's neck, trying to relay to him how much she'd missed him, how sorry she was, and how glad she was that he was still here with her just by kissing him. Maybe it wasn't an Unbreakable Vow but she silently vowed to herself that she was never going to risk losing Draco again.

When she pulled away and looked into those shining silvery eyes, she wanted nothing more but to tell him. Tell him how much he meant to her.

"Draco… I…"

"Hm?" He asked, his tongue swiping over his lips briefly, as if he was tracing the taste of her lips.

"I…" She tried again, taking a deep breath.

After hearing the seriousness in her voice, Draco's eyes widened a fraction. "W-What is it?" He asked, sounding slightly nervous.

"What I've been wanting to tell you is, I-"

The sudden sound of crinkling leaves made her stop. Alarmed, she turned around to find a blonde head of hair sticking out from behind an apple tree.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, I didn't want to interrupt you," Luna said, appearing endlessly calm. "Just pretend you didn't see me."

Before Luna could disappear behind the tree fully, Haley noticed the two glasses in her hand. Had she brought them something to drink?

Luna seemed to notice as well. "I thought you might be thirsty." She explained, taking a hesitant step forward and holding out the drinks.

It was too sweet. Even though, she was slightly irked about the interruption, Haley took a step toward her with a grateful smile. She'd get another chance to tell him.

Looking back over her shoulder, Haley beckoned Draco over to join them. He kind of looked as if he wanted to grab the drinks and do who knew what with them. Maybe empty them over her head.

"So… it looks like you had the chance to talk," Luna said warmly, handing Haley one of the glasses. A few lemon slices were at the bottom of the clear liquid. And one of the Spiral plums was clipped to the rim of the glass. She accepted the drink and nodded shyly.

Draco crossed his arms and looked away.

"Did you tell her yet?" Luna asked, looking at Draco.

He frowned slightly and shook his head. "I was just going to." He mumbled almost inaudibly.

"Tell me what?" Haley looked from Draco to Luna curiously.

"That Sirius Black is still alive." Luna said as casually as if she was talking about the weather.

Had she heard right? Painfully slowly, Haley turned back to Draco, scanning his face as if she expected him to laugh it off and tell her it was a bad joke.

"What?" She asked faintly. "Is – is that true?"

There was nothing but seriousness in his eyes. "Yes. It's true." He answered quietly. "He's still alive."

Haley blinked uncomprehendingly. Suddenly the sky was tilting sideways. She didn't understand. The glass with lemonade slipped from her fingers. She blinked again. Then the world turned black. And she fell into nothingness.

…

DRACO

Quick as lightning, he lunged forward to catch her. "So much for telling her gently." Draco muttered, hugging Haley's unconscious body close to his chest.

"Huh? I didn't think she would faint so easily," Luna noted, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"It's a lot to take in!" Draco argued. "I'm sure you wouldn't take it so lightly if someone told you all of a sudden that your only family member was alive, after thinking that he was dead for so long."

Luna tilted her head to the side. "Maybe you're right. But at least she knows now."

Draco almost growled. He could have strangled her. If his hands weren't occupied with the girl in his arms.

"We should get her back to the house. Maybe the heat got to her." Luna mused.

She was right. He hadn't even thought of that. Sighing, Draco reached down to pick her up and followed Luna back to the house. Haley was surprisingly light in his arms. Was she eating right? She seemed so small and fragile. It was so different from the sight she usually showed in front of everyone else. She was supposed to be always strong and invincible. It was no wonder there were also moments when she was weak. No one could be invincible all the time. The thought of how much she had been suffering the past months, probably blaming herself, maybe even hating herself made Draco foolishly want to protect her from any harm.

He had been mad at her at first. And angry. And hurt. Of course he had been. But reading her letters and finding out about her godfather's survival that no one had even bothered to tell her about – and letting her uselessly suffer instead – had washed away the last traces of anger. Or had rather directed his anger elsewhere. Now he only wanted to hold her and never let go again. Even if the person he had to fight was Haley herself. Although he really hoped it wouldn't come to that.

…

HALEY

The first thing she noticed when she regained her consciousness was the nice smell. Then she noticed that there were fingers softly carding through her hair. And there was a soft and comfortable pillow below her. Then she remembered what Luna had told her, making her sit up suddenly. Which was stupid of her because the feeling of dizziness returned with full force.

"Careful." A pleasantly familiar voice admonished quietly. Then there were hands making her lie down again and she slowly blinked open her eyes. Which didn't help at all because the world was still a blurry mess. Then something pale came into view and placed her glasses on her nose. Oh. She could see again.

Haley tried sitting up again, this time more successfully, and took in her surroundings. She was sitting… on a bench in what looked to be Luna's kitchen. Looking to her right, she saw Draco sitting next to her, his arms slightly outstretched, as if ready to catch her again. Had her pillow… been Draco's lap?

Luna sat in an armchair opposite them, watching her worriedly. "Are you okay?" She asked, pushing a glass with the ominous lemonade across the table toward her. "You should drink something."

After taking a sip of the cool lemonade, Haley felt a lot better. Was it because of those strange laughing lemons?

She looked around. Where are the others?, she wondered for a second. Then she remembered the more important matter at hand.

"What… what you said earlier," she started. "I have to know. Is it… really true?" She had to ask again, although she knew they would never joke about something so serious. "Is Sirius still alive?"

"Yes," Draco answered. "Well… so to speak."

Haley felt cold. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, he's not dead," Luna offered helpfully.

Draco shot her a dark look.

"I don't understand," Haley said helplessly. This was all too much. The sudden onslaught of emotions was threatening to overwhelm her again. She couldn't explain why she was so shocked. Maybe because it was different to desperately hope for something, all the while doubting herself and her sanity, and then suddenly having her assumption confirmed. It wasn't easy to digest.

"Where is he?" She asked urgently. "What happened to him? I need to see him!" She reached for Draco's arm, clutching it to anchor herself somewhere.

He shared a quick look with Luna before answering, "Of course."

"I guess, this means you won't come see the festival after all?" Luna assumed. "Good thing, Draco and me already went in the morning. I'll try to catch up with the others, then." So, that's where the others were. They had already gone to the festival.

Draco got up and held out his hand to Haley. A silent invitation.

She had at least a million questions. What had happened to Sirius? How had he survived? Where was he? Why did Draco and Luna even know about it? How were they related to it? What had they been doing throughout the holidays? And while all of these were important questions she wanted an answer to, she felt that for the moment it could all wait.

For the moment, all she wanted to do was take this boy's pale and familiar hand and trust Draco that he knew the way. She wanted to take his hand and follow him. Wherever he lead her.

So she placed her hand in his and did just that.

…

…

---

A/N: Okay, this it. 11k words. I don't even know what to say. No, actually I have a lot to say. First of all, I want to thank everyone who went on this journey with me and encouraged me to keep writing. I honestly didn't think this would get so long. But here we are, 180 k words later.

Anyway, I know you're all interested in the continuation of this. So. I've been thinking of two possible plotlines. One is, Draco and Haley staying together and facing the madness of 6th year together. The other is them breaking up for real and basically all of the dark stuff we know from HBP happening on top of it all. I would really like to try and explore both of these plotlines. But I think I'm going to start going for the somewhat lighter version. For those of you who are also interested in the darker version with Draco as a Death Eater, I will probably start posting that at a later time. So, stay tuned for news on that.

Also, in case you were wondering, why I left so many questions unanswered... I mean there has to be some interesting stuff left for the sequel - or threquel at this point - or not?

Title is inspired from the song 1000 Words from Final Fantasy X-2

Hugs and butterfly kisses to yall,

Feather :)