CHAPTER 11: I'm just saying
A/N: Without further ado...
INTERIOR, IMA – NIGHT
Harry's eyes were swirling back and forth, tracking the round mass of dark matter zigzagging near the ceiling, the pale glow of the moonlight shimmering through the skylight windows creating an enormous shadow on the floor, hundreds of feet below, that kept moving, mimicking the movement of the parasite.
"What-what is that" Rowan whispered, his voice trembling with fear.
The team of aurors ducked down behind the desk, their breathing hard and a look of terror etched upon their faces.
"Sir!" One of the auror's whispered harshly. "Get down!"
"Is that..." Draco trailed off as he glanced in Harry's direction whose jaw was clenched tightly. His wand was gripped tightly in his right hand. "Harry..."
"It's an obscurus" Harry spoke, his voice gruff.
"Fuck" Draco looked at the aurors hiding behind the desk. "What's your name" he asked the blonde-haired wizard."
"Tobias, Sir" he said firmly even though his face was shrouded in panic.
"Tobias, we need to get past that. How did you distract it before" he asked.
"Umm...we attacked it, sir. Fired curses, jinxes. It didn't take much. It was on to us like a flash. The other teams made haste once its attention was focused on us." He swallowed as his throat bobbed before continuing. "Not everyone survived though" he pointed towards the passage behind him. "We ran for our lives, hid in a room for a few minutes till we felt safe that it was gone. There are two teams guarding the floo chambers. We were part of the team that arrived with Senior Auror Whitlock and were initially ordered to help others in the fighting but when we entered the main hall...it was chaos. Aurors weren't able to escape that thing as they tried to get to the upper levels so Auror Whitlock ordered us to distract it and the only place we could do that from was right here. We had to run across the entire hallway to get here. After we helped one more team get past it, we got informed that you were coming, and maybe other officers as well so he told us to stay put" he explained.
"Can't you lead it somewhere else?" Rowan asked. "To the other teams guarding the floo corridor. I mean it can't overpower all of you" he frowned.
"It's against Senior Auror Whitlock's orders. More of us will die in the process and guarding the floo is the main priority. We can't let these fucker's escape. Plus, he doesn't want more dead aurors and bringing the other teams here will accomplish nothing else but that." he tilted his head back and glared at the obscurus. "That thing will eat them alive before they even reached us." he snarled.
"How did you get past it the first time" Rowan asked. "The track from the floo hallway to here is almost 300 meters long"
Tobias stared at him for a moment before answering. "Not all of us did"
Rowan dropped his gaze and rubbed his forehead. "Fine...umm...I guess that leaves us with no option but to distract it"
"No"
Everyone turned to Harry, who still had his head turned up towards the obscurus which was just gliding near the windows now.
He turned his head and looked at Tobias, before moving his gaze across the other aurors. "Divide the group in half and then join the two teams guarding the floo. Whitlock's right, guarding the floo is our main priority."
Their faces turned ashen white.
"B-but s-sir...how will we get-"
"We won't stand a chance!" A young woman at the far back shouted.
"Are you afraid, officer!" She averted her gaze at Harry's glare. "I said, ARE YOU AFRAID!"
"N-no sir" she hastily wiped the tears from her face before turning her gaze back to him and shaking her head.
"Good, then you will do as I say. Now, get up!" They all bolted up. "You're not a bunch of sissies who are only fearless when stomping over cockroaches. Have belief in your training. Back yourselves and more importantly, have each other's backs"
A chorus of barely heard "Yes sir" left their mouths.
"Good" Harry turned back towards the main hall.
"But sir, what about when others get here" Tobias questioned. "They won't be able to make it on their own"
"Anyone who arrives will do nothing but guard the floo." He turned to him. "You hear me"
Tobias mutely nodded his head.
"Alright" Harry started, tilting his head back at the obscurus. "At my signal...run"
Everyone stared at him open mouthed as he started walking.
He walked around the reception desk before stopping a few paces into the main hall. He looked over his shoulder at Rowan. "Leave"
Rowan opened and closed his mouth several times. "B-But-"
"Now" Harry pointed his wand at him. "Don't tempt me" he growled.
A loud pop and Rowan was gone but not before sending a final glare at Harry.
Harry turned back around as Draco came running towards him.
"Please don't tell me you're doing that thing again"
"What thing"
"Acting before thinking"
"Fine, I won't tell you"
Draco grabbed on to his shoulder before getting in front of him. Harry turned his gaze down at him and arched a single eyebrow.
"This is madness" whispered Draco.
"Don't have to tell me that" Harry moved to the left. "But, lucky for me" he looked over his shoulder at him as he continued walking ahead. "Madness and I go hand in hand. So, not that much of a stretch for me" his lips quirked into a hint of a smile before he turned his head forward.
He blew a loud whistle and instantly, the obscurus, gliding in the air lazily, halted immediately. Even though there was no way of knowing if it was looking at him as it had no eyes or any marked features, there was no denying that all its attention was focused on the raven-haired wizard.
"Fuck" swore one of the aurors.
Faster than a firebolt the obscurus streaked towards him and in less than five seconds was hovering just ten feet away from him.
Harry rolled his wand between his fingers as Draco silently tried to move towards him but stopped when Harry lifted his palm.
Upon close view, the black, fluid-like cloud had a reddish core that was barely visible. Its shape kept changing from a sphere to an oval and sometimes stretched wide horizontally.
Faster than lightning the dark wind flew towards him but Harry was quicker as he leapt out of the way and dived forward. It made contact with the wall behind him and barreled right through it, creating a massive hole in it. Harry got up and motioned others towards him with his free hand.
They started moving towards him but stopped when he lifted his hand. He kept gazing into the darkness on the other side of the wall and slowly kept moving backwards.
Bang!
The obscurus cut another large hole in the wall, a little to the left from the previous gap, before it was hovering right over Harry.
"Harry!"
Draco's shout was rendered mute by the loud impact as the obscurus stomped down on Harry but instead of sloshing him to the ground, came in contact with the white globe of transparent light that formed around him from the tip of his wand.
The obscurus kept trying again and again with more force each time but the it did no damage. The ward Harry casted seemed unbreakable.
He bent his arm a little before thrusting it upwards "Expulso!" The ward vanished into thin air but before the obscurus could land another hit a beam of blue light shot from his wand and hit it right in the middle.
A gut-wrenching female cry enveloped the area as the light tore through the darkness, splitting one-third of the smoke.
Everyone except Harry covered their ears as the scream reached painful decibel levels.
"MOVE! NOW!" yelled Harry, as the obscurus retreated backwards with jerky sharp motions. "MOVE!" He yelled again to get their attention and accomplished as they removed their hands covering the ears and made a dash.
Draco came running towards him.
"You alright!"
"Yeah" he gasped, sweat was dripping down his forehead and his breathing was coming in harsh gasps. "It's powerful"
"No shit! C'mon"
They started running to the left as the others were already halfway across the hall. Harry stopped when he reached the entrance to the corridor and turned to look in their direction.
"What are you doing! We need to get moving!" shouted Draco.
"Not before they are safe" he shook his head.
Just then a thunderous cry of pure rage came from above them.
"Oh fuck" gulped Draco.
"Fuck, it's going after them" Harry whispered.
"How do you know"
"I just know"
Harry was right as the obscurus zoomed towards the team of aurors as they were almost nearing the end of the gigantic hallway.
He took a couple of steps forward before pointing his wand at the cloudy mist as it teared through the still air.
"Zepta Namre!" A bolt of red stream left his wand and made direct impact with the obscurus. It let out another high-pitch, ear splitting, wailing scream as it was thrown off its course and smashed into a pillar, splitting it in half. The small balcony, along with the café atop it the pillar was supporting came crashing down.
Harry looked back towards the opposite end where he saw the small figure of the last of the auror team disappear behind the wall.
"C'mon!" Draco pulled on his arm and they dashed further into the corridor that was lined with lifts on both sides.
Draco pressed the button of the first lift and waited.
"C'mon, c'mon" he muttered under his breath while glancing every now and then towards his left.
The lift doors opened and they both got in. Draco pressed the button for the third floor and the doors closed.
"Oh fuck" he leaned back against the back wall, closing his eyes for a brief moment. "I'm not ashamed to admit it" he opened his eyes and inclined his head towards Harry. "That was some terrifying shit"
"I have a feeling the worse is yet to come" replied Harry, his eyes boring ahead. His voice sounded eerily calm and collected for the situation which made the entire thing even more bone chilling.
The lift came to a halt and the doors split open and a second later a beam of green light cut right through the middle of the lift. Luckily for them they were both standing on the on opposite sides.
Draco dived to the ground as Harry bent his legs and braced his back against the lift.
"MOVE!" Harry hauled Draco up by the collar of his robe before they both did a front flip out of the lift, diagonally crossing each other with Harry going over him and dodging another killing curse by bare inches.
They took cover behind the wall on either side of the intersection.
Harry pointed two fingers at him and Draco nodded. He then pointed five fingers before folding his pinky, then his second finger, followed by his middle finger and then curling his forefinger.
As second later they both leapt up from their hiding spots and Draco ran in front of him casting a shield as Harry fired two Diffindo's in rapid succession.
"AAAH!" The spell hit its attended target as both men let out agonizing screams before dropping to the ground, their wands scattering to the ground.
Harry and Draco walked over to them. Draco summoned their wands and pocketed them in his robes. They both had steel masks covering their faces. Blood was seeping from the cuts on their torso.
"Patch them" Harry said.
Draco pointed his wand at the burly looking man first. "Cresno" Strings of web came out of his wand and covered the wound. He repeated the spell on the other wizard before bending low and moving his hand towards his mask.
"No!" Harry stopped him.
Draco looked over his shoulder at him and frowned.
"It could be cursed." explained Harry.
Draco nodded and stood up.
"Petrificus Totalus" Harry pointed his wand at them, rendering them both immobilized.
"Good thinking" said Draco.
"C'mon"
They moved forward and turned left at the end of the corridor. They stopped at the scene before them. Bodies, splayed on the floor covering the entire length of the corridor. Even by rough estimation it seemed more than twenty.
"Holy Fuck" mumbled Draco.
It was hard to find a spot on the floor or on the walls, and that included the ceiling that was not painted with blood.
Harry slowly started moving forward, the sound of each step reverberating loud and clear in the hallway, Draco following him a few paces behind, a look of pure shock written on his face.
They side-stepped through the bodies, all of them dressed in auror robes.
Legs split open, bones sticking out at odd angles, necks turned backwards, faces ripped apart. Draco snapped his eyes away when they landed on a young female auror whose back was contorted in half and her eyes were bulged out of their sockets.
"Merlin, it's making me sick"
"Not all of this is the work of the obscurus," said Harry. His jaw clenched in anger as walked past the body of a man with his scalp cut open. The top of his brain was visible.
"The smell" groaned Draco, covering his nose with his elbow.
They reached the end and turned left. Harry lifted his hand and stopped at the sound of spells being fired. Across the corridor on the opposite wall, they could see flashes of beam every few seconds.
He turned to Draco and gripped his wand tightly. Draco gave him a curt nod before they took off. They crossed the corridor in under ten seconds and marched head first into the duel.
Three aurors were fighting against three masked men and by the looks of things they weren't faring well.
Each masked men had an arm around a hostage that they were using as a human shield. Shrieks of terror filled the hall as the hostages cried for help. The aurors were nothing more than targets as they were doing nothing except than blocking the spells fired at them, too scared to fire back for the fear of killing the hostage.
"Sectumsempra!"
The masked man leading the pact let out a blood curdling scream as a large gash cut right through the left side of his mask, tearing through it. The hostage, a woman, break free from his grasp as his knees hit the ground. She ran forward until one of the aurors catched her and pulled her behind him.
Everyone looked at Harry, his wand still pointing straight ahead. A wisp of smoke leaving the tip of his wand.
"Get the fuck back!" shouted the dark wizard on the left, pointing his wand at the neck of the man he had his arm around.
"Take his wand and Immobilize him" Harry gestured the auror close to him toward the wizard he'd cursed a few seconds ago who was now rolling on the floor, clutching his face in agony. His mask was lying a few feet from him.
The auror, who had light blonde hair and a thin sharp jaw line, followed his order.
Harry slowly stalked forward.
"I SAID GET THE FUCK BACK OR I WILL BLOW HIS FUCKING HEAD OFF!"
Harry shrugged his shoulder. "Go right ahead."
Even behind the mask it was discernible that his eyes had just turned wide by Harry's admission.
"STOP...I'M NOT PLAYING!" He kept backtracking.
"Oh, I'm way past playing" Harry growled, before another spell left his wand. It was so quick and so on point that he never had a chance to get out. He was thrown twenty feet back in the air. His head hitting the wall before he dropped to the ground, unconscious.
The hostage ran forward and hid behind one of the aurors.
Harry turned his eyes toward the final guy, who was trembling with fear.
"S-stop...I-I'll kill her" he pointed his wand at the receptionist girl who Harry talked to, and brought to tears a few days ago. She was a recent graduate from Hogwarts.
Sandra Kaskate.
She was whimpering and tears were continuously running down her cheeks.
"Reducto!" Draco shouted. The spell hit Sandra's captor and he flew backwards before landing near the door at the back.
She ran forward and launched herself into one of the aurors, crying into his shoulder.
Just then four masked men with hostages came out into the corridor through the door near the back.
One of them was holding a glass case of vials filled with green liquid.
The moment his eyes landed on Harry he pressed the red button of the locket hanging around his neck.
There was silence for a few seconds as he and Harry stared at each other before loud crashing noises filled their ears and a few seconds later the obscurus barged through the wall with the door. One large broken piece of the wall smashed straight into the auror standing closest to the wall. He died on the spot.
The obscurus was hovering in front of the masked men, hiding them from view.
"Oh no, oh no-"
Sandra covered her face with her hands as her legs gave away and she slipped from the auror's hold.
Before anyone could even move, the obscurus enveloped the three aurors and the hostages.
"NO!" shouted Draco.
The black cloudy mist swirled in the air into different forms and shapes and a few seconds later it chucked the bodies out of its hold. They flew over Harry and Draco before landing with a loud thud as they hit the floor. They remained unmoved.
Their state not dissimilar to the body that landed on the reception desk when they first arrived. Their limbs were torn apart, skin peeled off as if they had been skinned alive.
"No" whispered Draco, staring despairingly at Saskita's unrecognizable body.
His breathing was slowly turning ragged with each passing breath and his face morphed into a look of pure anger, veins popping in his forehead as he shook with rage. He let out an animalistic growl before turning around and firing spell after spell at the obscurus.
"Draco, stop!"
Harry tried to stop him but he pushed him off and kept moving forward.
"He is going to set her out of control!" one masked man shouted.
"He's right. We need to get out of here!"" another yelled, as the obscurus let out a high-pitched scream as one of Draco's spells connected with its red core. Everyone's eyes turned wide, including Harry's as the dark clouds vanished for a moment, leaving in its place a young woman, seeming in her early twenties and could even pass for late teens, floating in the air, her arms stretched wide, a trail of blood running down her stomach.
She had pale white skin, jet black hair that ran down her waist. She was extremely thin and there was not an ounce of mass or muscle on her bony figure. She was dressed in an all-white assemble.
"AAAH!" She let out another spine-chilling scream as another spell from Draco hit her in the chest.
"NO! CHRISTINA!" shouted the guy who was carrying the glass case and had been staring at Harry earlier. He handed the case to the guy on his right before thrusting his hand forward that held his wand.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Accio!" Harry summoned the body of one of the dead aurors and threw it in front of Draco just in time before the beam of green light could hit him. Instead, the dead body took the hit before dropping to the ground.
Christina was slowly forming back into her obscurus state.
"Christina! We need to get out of here, now!" he shouted, running towards her.
Christina, now fully back into her obscurus form, moved backwards. The masked men looked at each other before turning back towards her.
"What the fuck is she doing! We need to get past them!" shouted one guy.
"She's hurt. She doesn't have the power!".
"Then how the fuck are we going to get out of here, Charles!"
The word was barely out of his mouth before a jet of green light hit him right in the chest and he dropped dead to the ground.
Everyone turned to Charles, none more surprise than Harry, who was staring at him in absolute shock. Charles lowered his wand before turning around to face Harry.
"Guess the cat's out of the bag now" he chuckled darkly. "But sadly, the timing isn't quite right but don't you worry though Potter, we will meet again. After all, you're going to be my final scalp and I can't wait for that day" he smiled wickedly behind his mask that had a small gap over his mouth. "I'm going to kill everyone you love and I mean everyone!" he growled, before his eyes darted towards Draco and a smirk came over his mouth. "Starting with him. Avada Kedavra!"
Harry pushed Draco towards the wall and the curse narrowly missed him.
"Christina! Now!"
The obscurus went after Harry. He barely had enough time to get his shield up but he couldn't cast it strong enough as she broke through it. He went flying in the air and landed near the back where the bodies were splayed around.
"Harry!" Draco looked over his shoulder and saw him trying to get up before turning his head back around just in time to dodge a beam of red flying straight at him.
He did a somersault to the left and simultaneously shot a spell. It missed Charles but hit one of the men behind him whose throat was sliced open. Draco leapt to his feet and casted a strong shield around him as Christina attacked him.
He gritted his teeth and dropped down on to one knee under the weight of the pressure.
"C'mon, c'mon" he muttered under his breath as a small crack started forming on the shield as Charles kept firing spells at him in succession.
"Fiendfyre!" A burst of fire went over the shield from behind Draco and hit the obscurus. Harry came to his side, his wand pointed straight ahead, the flames getting bigger with every moment.
"AAH!" Christina wailed in pain.
"NO! CHRISTINA!"
The black mist kept tearing apart from Christina's body but she kept pulling it back in. It was absolute chaos as she lost all control of the power and soon the obscurus was zooming in every direction at such speed that it was almost even invisible.
She barreled through the walls from left to right, leaving in its wake a total mess as smoke started forming and the entire floor started shaking beneath their feet. Not only that but a big chomp of the ceiling came crashing down close to the front, half of it landing on the dead bodies.
"CHRISTINA!" shouted Charles, but his voice had no effect as the obscurus continued to wreak havoc. He was the only one still standing as everyone took some form of cover to protect themselves. Draco had casted a new shield that covered Harry as well.
A metre long piece of concrete landed on the shield before splitting in half.
The obscurus, still alight with fire, came back into the corridor before heading straight towards the back wall. It crashed into the wall with a thunderous bang, penetrating a large hole in it and one even louder when it broke through the invisible ward that surrounded the exterior of the building and also breaking through the numerous concealment charms that hid the building from muggles.
She vanished into the night sky, only distinguishable by the burning flames that were quickly evaporating in the cool air.
"Shit! She broke through the wards; we can jump out and apparate now!" shouted the guy holding the glass case.
"Charles! C'mon!" yelled another, before he ran through the hole and jumped before apparating mid-air with a loud crack. Harry and Draco couldn't see anything because of the smoke.
"Remove the shield!" shouted Harry. "We can't let them escape!"
Draco dropped the shield and stood up. Harry waived his wand in the air, clearing the smoke.
He took a step forward as the path ahead once again became visible but halted immediately at seeing Charles, standing before the gap, wand pointed at Draco. "Avada Kedavra!"
Harry quickly shifted on his feet to get to Draco but in doing so slipped over the rubble and fell sideways. His left leg landed on a steel bar iron sitting up vertically attached to a concrete block. The bar pierced right through his left thigh.
"Uhh!" He grunted in pain.
Draco bent backwards and watched the curse fly inches above his face. It connected with the wall behind him with such force that the impact of it sent him flying forward as Charles yelled "Sectumsempra" slashing his wand diagonally in the air.
The invisible spell collided with Draco's chest just before he hit the ground.
"AAAH!"
"Draco!" Harry tried to get up but it was futile as the concrete block attached to the bar wouldn't budge. He gave up and crawled over to him, pulling the block with him, his face red with pain and loud grunting noises leaving his lips.
"I could kill you now if I want to" shouted Charles, as Harry cradled Draco's head onto his right thigh. "But what would be the fun in that...however, I would like to leave you with a parting gift for what you did to my Christina and I swear Potter..." he breathed heavily through his nose as his lips curled into a sneer. "If anything happens to her, I will do things to your wife and daughter in front of your eyes that you can't even fathom, before I slowly kill them, of course"
Harry lifted his wand weakly at him but Charles was quicker.
"Stupefy!" Harry was thrown ten feet back in the air. The steel bar iron slipped from his flesh as his body was rolling in the air.
His head made the first impact with the floor as he landed with a thump. He lifted his head to see Charles wave at him before he jumped off the edge and vanished into thin air.
Blood was trailing down his face in big rivulets as he crawled towards Draco on his forearms.
"Uhh!" He groaned in pain as he continued crawling towards his friend who was writhing violently on the ground.
He finally reached him and pushed himself with great pain on to his elbows. He lifted one hand and placed it on Draco's shoulder.
Draco slowly turned his head towards him. His face had lost all its colour.
"Draco" his voice came out hoarse as he coughed.
He turned his eyes down to Draco's torso. His white shirt was covered in blood.
"Fuck"
A harsh laugh left Draco's lips before blood spluttered from his mouth.
"So, this is what it feels like" he rasped out.
"What"
"Death"
Harry shook his head. "Don-don't say that. You're going to be fine. It's just sectumsempra"
Draco's face twisted in pain as his breathing turned even more ragged. "It's deep" he gasped.
"No, you're okay" Harry looked around for something on the floor until his gaze landed on his wand which was laying close to where he was thrown. "Fuck, my wand! Hold on, I'm going to get it"
'No!" Draco gripped his hand tightly, his eyes pleading with his. "Don't leave me, please."
"I'm not leaving. I'll be right back. I could stop the flow of the blood" argued Harry.
"It-" he grunted in pain. "It won't matter. It's touched my heart. I can feel it"
Harry's eyes turned wide and started shaking his head. "No, no...no don't say that"
"It's true" he gave him a sad smile as his eyes filled up. "My time's over, mate"
"No..." whispered Harry.
"I wish we could talk...we had so much to talk" his chest was heaving with wheezing gasps. "Promise me...promise me you'll turn your life around"
"Stop it!" Harry's face was red with anger. "You're not going anywhere. Stop being so overdramatic"
Draco chortled, as more blood left his lips before he started coughing violently. "Promise me...Harry...please, I need to hear it from you"
Harry turned his gaze away and shook his head.
"Promise me you'll turn your life around...I don't have much t-time" he croaked.
Harry turned his gaze back towards him and wiped at his eyes. "I promise" he whispered.
A peaceful smile came over Draco's face as he released a long sigh. "Yes...tell my family I love them...that even in my last breath I was thinking about them"
Harry nodded his head as tears rolled down his eyes.
"Tell Ginny...tell her..." he panted.
"She knows" Harry croaked.
Draco smiled. "Yes...she knows" His smile turned mischievous as he added. "I'm just saying"
Harry chuckled, as more tears escaped his eyes. "You're just saying"
Draco took a deep breath as his eyes slowly shut down and his mouth parted, only light wisps of air leaving his lips.
Harry's eyes turned wide as he started shaking him. "No, no, no, no"
He tried to push himself on to his knees. "AAH!" He grimaced in pain but managed to do so. He tore Draco's shirt open with his hands to reveal a large, deep, gash running from his right pectoral muscle to his left hip bone. "Fuck!"
He placed his hand on his cheek. "Draco...Draco c'mon, dammit!" he violently shook his head but to no avail.
"Fuck!"
He wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand before taking out his halfway mirror.
He tried to turn it on but kept failing as his eyes were finding it hard to stay open and he was starting to lose consciousness.
He managed to turn it on and pressed on work. He pressed the red button that read emergency before the device slipped from his hand.
"Draco" he rasped, as blood escaped his lips. A thick trail hanging from his lower lip. "C'mon buddy...don't give up on me...Not you too...c'mon Draco...please, I need you" he took a deep breath as his head dropped onto Draco's chest and he clutched his shirt tightly. "I need you more than ever now...we have so much to talk about...so much I have to tell you..." He lifted his head to look at his face. "I promise to tell you everything...everything you want to talk about...please...just this once...get up...GET UP!" His veins turned purple as he kept screaming before he dropped next to him, his head just inches from Draco's. His eyes fluttered as he whispered "Don't leave me"
A second later his breathing turned even as his eyes closed.
1997
Interior, Astronomy tower, Hogwarts- Night
Harry was leaning on the railing, resting his weight on his forearms as he gazed at the waterfall cascading between two mountain peaks. Snow was gentling falling down and the sky was covered in thick clouds.
He looked over his shoulder hearing the door open.
"Oh" Draco stopped at the threshold, one hand still on the door. "I thought no one would be here"
Harry shrugged his shoulder. "Keep your mouth shut and we're good" he turned his head around.
Draco closed the door behind him and walked towards the far end of the railing before copying his posture.
A gentle gust of wind blew past them and a small smile came over Draco's lips as he held his hand out and caught a snowflake. He brought it close to his mouth before closing his eyes and blowing it away.
"I don't think that's how wishes work" commented Harry, his eyes still locked onto the waterfall.
Draco let out a small chuckle before shrugging his shoulder. "I like to believe that if we truly wish for something than we don't need to gaze at a shooting star. Just close your eyes and wish" he smiled.
Harry tilted his head in his direction and arched an eyebrow. "That's the most fucked up thing I've heard in my life and I've heard plenty"
Draco chortled as he turned his body towards him and shifted his weight on one elbow. "I guess what may seem incomprehensible to some may make total sense to others"
"What are you, a poet" Harry said dryly.
"No, just a guy who still believes there is some good in the world"
"Yeah, right" Harry scoffed.
"What, you don't think so?"
"I lost believing there was good in this world long ago"
"Then what are you fighting for" Draco asked. "I mean, why go and train at the academy day in, day out and torture your body through it. That's plain dumb. You don't seem dumb"
"Maybe I like the thrill"
Draco tutted. "There's got to be more than that. Is it just a way out to stay away from school. I mean that could be it. You're barely passing the classes"
"Didn't know you were so interested in me" Harry scoffed before a frown came over his mouth. "Wait, you're not gay are you cause-"
Draco started laughing and held up his hand. "Oh merlin, no."
"Then what's with all this interest"
Draco wiped at his eyes. "Hardly an interest. I bet you can ask any seventh-year student and they'll be able to tell you how well you are doing in your studies. You get called out in literally every class and let's not even talk about the detentions for not handing in the homework on time"
"I'm a little busy if you haven't noticed"
"Hey, I'm not your mother, mate. Don't have to justify it to me. I'm just telling you what I see. So, is that it...to avoid school. I mean if anyone can get away with it it'll be you. Father, James Potter, mother, Lily Potter, and let's not even talk about your grandfather. You're what every wizarding kid wishes his life would be like. No one would dare mess with you. Not that anyone would anyway wit you being lofted as the chosen one. The one who would bring this war to an end"
Harry dropped his gaze down.
"Is that it?" Draco asked after a few seconds.
Harry lifted his gaze "Is that what"
"The expectations, the pressure of not letting anyone down. Is that what turned you into such a pessimist, a cynic, so to say. You joined because you believed the world was worth fighting for but overtime it slowly morphed into resent towards others because you feel they have put all their faith on you and you didn't want that even though the world was always the same and now you're just fighting for what is right and not because it's out of care or to protect those who can't defend themselves."
"What are you, a psychologist"
"I'm just good at reading people" he winked. "Or I like to think I am"
"Believe me, you're not. Why does it matter, anyway. I'm fighting, aren't I" he said bitterly.
"It'll matter when you would go against him"
Harry's jaw tensed and a scowl came over his face.
"You know I'm right" Draco lifted his hands up. "I'm just saying"
"You're saying a lot of things. I'd advise you to not say anymore"
Draco nodded. "As you wish" he shifted back to leaning on both his forearms. A smile curled his lips upwards before he shook his head. "By the way, just so you know" he started as Harry looked at him. "My wish came true or at least part of it did"
Harry scrunched his forehead in confusion.
"I wished for a new friend and I think I'm well on my way"
Harry's eyes turned wide for a split second before he schooled his features back to normal.
"No one should be or feel alone in times like these. If we turn our backs on others when we should be offering them our shoulders, then we've already lost. My grandfather used to it say it to me." he turned his gaze down. "He passed away last year but what he taught me is forever ingrained in me." He lifted his head and looked him in the eye. "I'm not afraid to hold out my hand first for the fear of rejection. If you don't make the first move, you're going to regret it later down in life" He shrugged his shoulder. "I believe that"
He shot him a small smile. "Plus, it's Christmas." He waved his arms around. "The festive season!" he exclaimed.
He walked over to him and stopped a few feet before him. He held his palm face up and a few seconds later another snowflake landed on it.
He motioned for Harry to do the same.
Tentatively, Harry brought his hand up.
Draco dropped the snowflake onto his awaiting hand. "Why don't you give it a try. It's not like it's going to hurt you or anything." His lips stretched into a grin. "Maybe a wish is exactly what you need at the moment seeing as you don't have many other options available to you" he winked.
Harry's eyes turned wide at his implication as Draco turned around and headed for the door. He opened the door and took a half step forward before stopping. He looked over his shoulder.
"Heading headfirst into everything isn't always the best option. It may be on the battlefield and even then, you have to have a plan, but in the matters of the heart you have to be more subtle, more patient. I'm no expert, just speaking from experience." He sighed happily, tilting his head back "That's how I got my Ginny to fall in love with me" He faced him and inclined his head with a penetrative gaze. "I'm just saying" he shot him one final smile before disappearing.
A/N: Well, this one got a bit emotional for me. Anyways, you know what to do. Post your comments...and I'll catch you on the flip side.