Thrill (Drarry)

16. Draco's letter

Not for the first time, Harry pulled out the letter from the pocket of his celebration robes. Hermoine gave him a look from the opposite side of the Gryffindor table and Ron rolled his eyes before looking back to the front of the Great Hall. There, Professor Flitwick's choir was welcoming the new year with a polyphonic song. It sounded a great, but Harry was not able to concentrate. Judging by Dean's empty look, Harry guessed he was also in a galaxy far, far away with his thoughts.

Folding open the parchment of the letter, Harry looked down to reveal a neat scrawl. Dear Harry, it read. The Hogwarts Express leaves today, so there is not much point in writing this letter, really. But I promised you I'll write so here it goes.

That was right. Draco had waited five days to send a sign and Harry had grown more worried every day. It was breakfast at the Weasleys just this morning when, finally, an unfamiliar owl landed on the windowsill outside of the dining room. The owl was white, like Hedwig, but a bit smaller and with less black dots. And the way it pecked on the window only three times and then just watched them demandingly made this owl seem more genteel than Hedwig.

"What a stuck-up bird." Fred had commented and opened the window.

Harry had silently agreed, but as soon as he had recognized the handwriting, he took the letter and left the breakfast table. On his way up to the room, Mrs Weasley had scolded after him that one does not simply leave a table while others were still eating, and Harry was a bit sorry, but he was way too anxious to know what had happened to Draco to care enough.

My mum and I have been constantly on the move these last four days. The letter said. First, we tried my aunt Andromeda. But my mum and her have not spoken in years and when my mum found out aunt Andromeda's daughter, my cousin Nymphodora, is an Auror, mum grew suspicious and we snuck out early in the morning. We wanted to try a muggle hotel, but we had no idea where to get muggle money. Sure, Diagon Alley was one option, but everyone knows us there. Mum knew someone in Godric's Hollow so we apparated there, but this Barney guy was not there. We stayed there the night because we had nowhere else to go (please don't tell anyone we broke in there. We left it exactly as it was when we came).

Harry smiled. Draco Malfoy, son of a murdering, bribing Death Eater, had a guilty conscience having broken into a house without even taking anything.

So third day, we were getting desperate. I didn't worry that much, because two days and I would be in Hogwarts again. But I was worried about my mum. She's totally paranoid and she needed something more permanent to stay. So I told her we should go to one of our vacation homes.

"They have more than one vacation home?!" Ron had exclaimed when Harry had let him and Hermione read the letter in the Hogwarts express. "How is that possible?"

Harry shrugged. "You mean besides the fact that the Malfoys are filthy rich?"

"They probably also inherited some." Hermione said. "I mean, you don't just inherit money when your ancestors die."

"Blimey," Ron had said. "I should marry Malfoy... But I won't, of course." He had held his hands up defensively at Harry's glare.

They would be done looking for us there by now. Malfoy wrote. I was wrong. As soon as we arrived in the house in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, aunt Bella appeared in the living room. Mother didn't listen to a word she wanted to say before she apparated us to some woods somewhere close. We ended up sleeping in a hut somewhere in this tree nightmare. I have never stayed in such a low, primitive accommodation before. It was awful. But somehow, and please don't tell anyone this, I have enjoyed it. I mean, don't get me wrong. It was dirty and uncomfortable, and if I had been alone, I would have been scared to death, but I would not like to miss this experience. The nature, the sounds, the fire that my mum kept lit at all times... I don't know how to explain it but there was some sense of peace, you know what I mean? Of course not. It doesn't make any sense. This is ridiculous.