Letters Through Time (A Drarry FanFiction)

Chapter Two

   Harry suddenly felt dizzy, and tried to blink his vision straight again in his haste to see what the letter said, his heart in his mouth.

"Dear Harry," it began in his elegant scrawl.

"It's been several weeks. Granger was kind enough to inform me of the situation, and I just wanted to let you know that although I understand, the loss has not been easy to bear. However it is so like you that we should finally insert each other into our tangled lives in a way that, as you put it, 'actually makes sense', only for you to abandon me for far off adventures. Once a Gryffindor, always a Gryffindor I suppose.

"I think of you daily, I miss our lunch time debates, our Sunday afternoon rituals. My friends are all too polite to insult my latest updates to the flat, claiming I have 'suburb taste'. What little they know, hey?

"I'm not sure how long you intend on being away, I get the feeling nobody does. So I shall keep vigil for you, my friend. I fear there is no one else in the world who at least tries to understand me the way you do, and there's certainly no one else in my life with the courage to make me laugh the way you do.

"I guess, what I'm trying to say is, to me, you're irreplaceable, but I think maybe you'd figured that out on your own before now. Your friends have been kind, and I hope they continue to do so. I'm not sure what I would do if I lost you totally from my life.

"Be safe.

"Yours, Draco."

Harry swallowed around the lump in his throat, allowing himself to dwell on Draco in a way he hadn't allowed himself to in years. It was one of the more remarkable aspects of his life before the IDEA that he should have found a friend he never knew he'd been missing in Draco Malfoy. Their petty childhood rivalry long put to bed, he'd finally been able to see how well they worked together, as their paths crossed at work, yes, but more and more in the simple solidarity of their friendship.

Harry had hit a low point after he'd completed his training, drifting without a strong enough sense of purpose in just being. With only the day-to-day to keep him going, and no great battles to fight, and he fallen in on himself, threatening to disappear underneath the weight and expectation of his past.

It had been Draco, of all people, who had identified the keenest with the swirl of emotions threatening to drown him, and for the second time in their lives offered Harry his hand in friendship. This time he had taken it.

He reached for the next letter, encouraged by the fact there was more than one, that Draco had apparently not given up on him like Harry had almost given up of the rest of the world. Of all his friends, Harry was fully aware he had pushed Draco back the furthest during his time away, unwilling to contemplate that maybe, he might never see him again.

"Dear Harry,

"Christmas is coming near, and there's still no word of you. I'm starting to realise that there might not ever be any word of you again, and I have to say that's a little tough to manage at this time of year. Mind you, I can't imagine I'll be okay with the idea of it if you're still not back when summer's rolled around and the sun is here to chase the darkness away. But now, when people all around me are celebrating with loved ones, it makes me realise all too well what I may, in my cautiousness, have let slip through my fingers.

"I've bought you a present, because I know you'll only pout if you show up on my door and I've not anticipated your miraculous return with a gift. I hope I'll be able to give it to you soon.