Wizarding One Shots

D R A C O • M A L F O Y

JulzLovDraco4Eva as requested, with much love.

The Little Birds

It went alive, singing a gay tune.
It came back, uttering not a sound.
And so, Draco Malfoy's hope burned to the ground. He couldn't help the tears, nor stop their flow. They caresses his world-weary face, as no one else could do.

S E P T E M B E R
•1996•

Crisp air berated me the moment we stepped foot onto Hogsmeade Station.

I was glad to get away from Ron and out of the train. He kept on making me uncomfortable with his blank looks.

The air was occupied by the grey mass coming from the brightly red Hogwarts Express like smoke from an old, broken down chimney. Students scattered around like ants, trying to find either their friends or the carriages.

Someone nearly ran right over me, but thankfully Harry grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back into his chest.

"What would you do without me, Fawley?" He stretched his arm across my shoulder. I shivered against the unpleasant Autumn.

"Don't worry. We'll be there soon and then you won't be so cold anymore." Honestly, Harry's smile made me feel warmer from the inside.

Although there was nothing between us, he had always cared about me in a way that went beyond normal friendship. It was like we were kindred souls. Content with each other's company and happiness.

The crunching leaves from beneath our sturdy shoes brought my thoughts back to the trail we were walking to get to our transportation.

"Do you ever wonder if they were this close?" I asked him quietly.

He smiled that secret smile that he reserved for only his bestest friends.

"I think, for some reason, they might have been worse." It made me smile.

No one would ever know, besides the pair of us. And I wanted to keep it that way. There was nothing to gain from it now, and no one to share it with so that I could gain a new lease on family.

At least, not the kind of family I'd want.

Being the good friend that he was, Harry had wanted to give up what he inherited from him to me, but I refused.
He had known him better than I did, and had been a child to him. Me? I had only been there at the very end. And although he had made it clear that that was enough for him, I couldn't take that away from Harry.

At least I still had my uncle Rowan. He was a squib, living in a town near Harry's. His sister, whom I know to be my mother (if only because he kept on reminding me) had died giving birth to me at the height of the second Wizarding War. Her name had been Robin.

He nudged me.

I had gotten too deep in my own thoughts again.

Ever patient, Harry helped me into the carriage, careful not to mention the Thestrals this time around.

We'd both seen how people treated Luna Lovegood differently for her openness about seeing such things. It was not a road we wanted to embark on as we already had too much on our plates anyways.

Ron and Hermione followed us onto the carriage, along with Neville Longbottom. He hadn't made it in time to ride with Luna and Ginny this year.

The moment I settled down, I felt his cold, grey eyes on me again.
It was something I could never explain. I knew that he was looking at me, but the moment I went to look for him he was somehow preoccupied with something else.