Chapter 27

ANNOUNCEMENT: I have a poll up about how Morgana should end up in the story, I'm still making my mind up about her character development and I want to know what my readers think. Please go vote so I can hear your opinion! Thank you!

Okay, so here I'm starting to take some liberties with the timeline (like I haven't already been doing that) but I realize the events that take place technically took place in like May in the canon but here but I'm making it take place in December because that's how the story is going. I know the time progression in this story may seem a little weird but I hope you all just go with it. I really had to take a step away from this story for a while. I am a full time student with a job, and I didn't have time to put as much effort into this story as I wanted to. And also, I was receiving a lot of hate in my PM's. I realize that it has taken me far too long to get a new chapter up, but I was so tired of getting hate and criticism on things I have already addressed that I almost just gave up on this story entirely. My motivation for writing is fueled off people wanting to read it, and for a while it seemed like the only comments I was getting were very negative. People have stayed out of the public comments on this one and just addressed me directly, which I appreciate, but when I get constant comments calling my writing 'immature' and 'underdeveloped' it really makes me question why I am doing this in the first place. I am still unable to find someone to help me proofread, which is fine, but I want you all to realize that I am doing this alone. This is only me. This is not a professional story. I am doing this on my own time and I will never receive recognition for any of it. Although this is fine with me, it seems that many people expect professional level stories on these sites and I know without a doubt that my story is nowhere near professional. I'm doing this for fun and for my readers so if this story or my writing style isn't for you then I suggest you find something else to read.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Wow" Ron laughed, looking up into the sky as singed tests floated down around them. Large dragons made of fireworks whizzed through the winter sky and two boys with red hair flew complicated loops around their creations.

Hermione reached up and grabbed a burning paper from the air, "this is a fire hazard."

"Hermione" Harry deadpanned, "we're wizards. I think we can handle a little fire."

"Still, was this entirely necessary?" Hermione asked, turning her head back to the light show above her.

"Well they were already planning something big to get back at Umbridge, but after she got kicked out I guess they decided that 'Ministry administered tests' were just as good a target" Ron explained, smiling up at his older brothers proudly.

"Still, your mother is going to have a fit when she finds out they were never planning on finishing their seventh year" Hermione reasoned.

"I mean...she's right" Harry shrugged, "but still, it's fun while it lasts."

"I wonder what a Merlin and McGonagall going to do about all of this?"

"Celebrate?" tried Ron with a smile, to which Hermione playfully hit him with her book.

"So I guess classes are still canceled for the rest of the day?" Harry asked hopefully.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "is that all you care about?"

"Yes" Harry and Ron answered simultaneously.

"Well if we have some free time now, why don't we take the opportunity to..." Hermione began.

"If you say study for OWLS I will never speak to you again" Ron interrupted, giving his friend a glare.

"He's right 'Mione" Harry shrugged, "it's a beautiful day to be outside."

"It's bloody freezing" Hermione muttered.

"That's what makes it fun!" shouted Ron as he scooped up some snow and threw it at Hermione without warning.

"Every man for himself!" yelled Harry, and every student in earshot jumped behind anything they could find to avoid the snowballs that were suddenly speeding through the air.

"Harr-" Hermione began before being silenced with a face full of snow and turned to face Dean Thomas who quickly took cover behind his bench once again.

"Oh you did not!" she declared, diving behind the nearest divider and joining in on the spontaneous snowball fight.

In a window, four stories above the courtyard, Headmaster McGonagall watched her students throw snow while the remnants of their Ministry tests fluttered down around them.

"They're nearly adults for Merlin's sake" she shook her head.

"Oh come on Minerva, everyone has to be a child every once in a while" Professor Flitwick laughed as Draco Malfoy took an enchanted snowball right to the face.

"There's a war brewing and they want to act like children!" McGonagall defended.

"That's exactly why" Flitwick answered softly as the fire crackled in the corner.

"I don't want them to end up like so many of their families did" McGonagall said softly.

Flitwick sighed as he watched the students laugh and smile below him. He wanted to reassure his friend that everything would be alright, but he wasn't sure if he could.

"Well there's one thing that's different" he said suddenly, pointing to Lavender Brown who had teamed up with a Slytherin and were proceeding to pound Ron and Harry with dozens of magical snowballs, "even if it's just in good fun, would you have ever seen that with James Potter's generation?"

McGonagall seemed a bit lost for words as she noticed that the teams hadn't naturally divided as house versus house, but boys versus girls. To most these teams would seem completely natural, but to a Hogwarts teacher as experienced as McGonagall seeing the four houses work together to take down their own was truly startling. She watched as Harry Potter jumped up from his barricade to throw a snowball at the girls before narrowly dodging one headed straight toward his face, which only missed because Draco Malfoy had noticed and yanked him back down behind safety. She could have sworn the two boys even exchanged smiles.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The girls celebrated as the boys eventually surrendered to their superior snow battle skills. The normally pristine snow that graced the Hogwarts courtyard was now muddied and destroyed. Walls of snow were scattered across both sides and the ground was littered with the ghosts of magical snowballs.

Although the girls had won, no side had escaped the bitter cold that was now beginning to set in. Almost everyone was soaked down to their core, and most were not dressed appropriately for the weather and activities that had just taken place.

"Harry, I'm going to head down for some butter beers if you want to join" Hermione said with pink cheeks.

"That sounds amazing" answered Harry with a smile.

So the two friends headed down along the path to Hogsmeade. Snow continued to fall from the gray sky and on any other day the weather may have seemed cold and dreary, but at that very moment Harry could not have been happier.

As soon as they reached the three broomsticks, Hermione pulled out her wand and cast quick drying spells on the two of them. It left them a bit damp, but that was highly preferable to their wet and freezing states.

"That was surprisingly...fun" Hermione laughed as the two took a seat next to each other at the bar by the raging fire.

"It felt nice to actually work together, you know?" Harry sighed.

"I agree. I don't think I've ever seen the houses work together like that before, even if it just was a snowball fight."

"It felt good to act like a kid again. Like this bloody mess around us is just a bad dream" Harry said with a melancholy smile.

"It really did. Do you think it would have all been different if Voldemort wasn't part of it all?" Hermione wondered, "do you think we could have all been friends, that we could have all grown up safe and happy?"

"I think about that a lot 'Mione..." Harry replied quietly, trailing off as a waiter took their orders.

"Two butter beers please" Hermione said and the waiter quickly brought them their desired drinks.

The two friends sipped in silence for a few moments before Hermione suddenly gasped.

"What's wrong?" Harry wondered, eyebrows knitting together.

"I completely forgot! I have a paper on the history of Ehwaz in Ancient Runes! I'm so sorry Harry I have to leave!" Hermione nearly yelled in a panic.

"Don't worry about it Hermione, I'll get the check" said Harry calmly. She thanked him profusely and rushed off, leaving her butter beer mostly full.

So Harry sat in silence, sipping his drink and watching the fireplace crackle. Normally, he hated being left alone with his thoughts, but today they seemed strangely lighthearted. What would it have been like if Voldemort had never existed? His parents would still be alive for starters, but would he still be...himself? How different would he be if he was raised by his mother and father instead of his uncle and aunt. Would he have turned out like his father, arrogant and sometimes cruel, but good at heart. Or would he have been more like his mother, quiet and studious, with fire in his soul. Harry sighed to himself, that was a question he would never get an answer to, no matter how hard he tried. His life was his life and there was nothing he could do to change that now.

"Uh, is this seat taken?" called a voice suddenly, pulling Harry out of his own mind. He looked up, and one of his eyebrows arched upwards as he saw Draco Malfoy standing awkwardly before him. "All the other seats are full." Harry looked around and noticed that the Three Broomsticks had filled almost to capacity since Hermione had left.

Realizing he had taken too long to answer Harry quickly said, "No it's empty."

"Thanks" said Draco and took a seat, and the two sat in uncomfortable silence for almost five minutes before Harry had had enough.

"What was it like for you?" he asked suddenly, keeping his eyes trained on the fire, "growing up?"

Draco looked at Harry with faint suspicion before replying, "why do you want to know?"

"Because I don't know anything about you Malfoy. I know what you want other people to see, and I know what people say about you, but I don't know anything about you." Harry replied, still refusing to look at the boy sitting next to him.

Draco sighed, "I don't know. I had my family. When I was growing up family was all that was supposed to matter to a Malfoy. Even when I was little I always had to remember that everything I did would reflect on my family. I hated it, but I guess my parents only did it because they thought it would set me and the family name up for success." Draco shifted uncomfortably, he rarely told anyone that and he had absolutely no idea why he said it to Harry. Maybe, he thought, it was because Harry really couldn't judge him. He couldn't think any less of Draco then he already did.

"I think our families fucked us all over" Harry said quietly, bitterness creeping into his voice. "All I inherited from my parents was war and some gold. No one wants any of this, yet here we are in the world our parents created and we're expected to fix all their mistakes."

Draco snorted, "Amen to that."

"I mean...I've always been 'The Boy who Lived" Harry continued, speaking his unofficial title in a mocking tone, "and there's plenty of people out there who would happily take that title from me and all the 'glory' that comes with it. But I would give my entire inheritance away to see what it would be like to just be 'Harry' for a day. To just be normal for once in my life."

"You...don't like being the chosen one?" asked Draco, finally making eye contact with the boy seated next to him.

Harry laughed, but it sounded almost hollow, "I hate it. I had to give up everything for that title, but I still didn't earn it. All I've done was not die, my parents are the ones who are real heroes, same for Nevil's parents, yet all anyone ever talks about is me and how I didn't die that one time as a baby."

"That's cynical" chuckled Draco as he took another sip from his butter beer.

"It's true" replied Harry.

"I always wondered if we would still have hated each other, you know if we were born in a different time" Draco said, lost in thought.

"Everything could have been different" Harry said quietly, looking at the silver haired boy next to him.

"I...should go." Harry said suddenly, realizing his pint was now empty. "I'll see you in class tomorrow I guess."

And with that the two boys awkwardly parted ways, unsure of what to do with the feelings that had just been exchanged. All Harry could do was continue to wonder, how could it have all been different?

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Alrighty, well not the longest chapter, but I'm pretty happy with it. I hope you guys enjoyed this one and I'm sorry again for the long Hiatus.