Aftermath • Drarry

021

Hold on for dear life

Until it's all gone, we'll come alive

And set fear on fire - Ruelle; fear on fire

***

Thunder and lightning were attacking the outside world. The light traps that were caused by this natural miracle broke through the curtains, making me shiver underneath the warm blankets.

Thunder and lightning had always scared me. When I was a little boy I always thought that the sky was angry with me, that he wanted to punish me for my bad behaviour. I never liked the way the thunder seemed to go right trough the thick walls. I never liked the fact that the lightning could hit someone I loved or me. It was the fact that I could not do anything about me that made me scared the most. Control was something not only I, but many others as well, absolutely loved.

Lying there, in the middle of the night while the world outside seemed to be angry made me feel vulnerable. It made my body shake while I tried to cover myself with as many blankets as I possibly could to feel some safety and warmth again.

A lightning strike hit the earth hopefully somewhere far away followed by a loud thunder that caused me to breath trough my month with a shaking breath. The days that I could go and hide in my mothers safe arms were over. From all the things in the world, I could fear something like this was at that moment the only thing that mangaged to scare me. It was silly but true.

Another lighting strike hit, making me shiver even more. No matter how hard I tried to warm my body up, it did not seem to be working. Before the next thunder could enter our room a soft voice spoke up.

'Draco?' I heard the other boy ask quietly. 'Draco are you okay?'

It was only then that I realised that sobs had been leaving my lips for a few minutes. 'Draco?' he asked insecurely after a few minutes of silence. 'Yes?' I softly mumbled from underneath the pile of blankets that were covering my body. 'What is going on? Are you afraid of the weather?'

It was hard for me to set my pride aside for a moment and to admit what truly was wrong with me. I knew Harry would not laugh at me. Yet there was still a part of me telling myself that it was a girly thing to be afraid, that I was not acting the way a man should act in this kind of situations. I felt like a scaredy-cat, like an idiot.

'Yes, I really am,' the words had left my lips before my pride could even reconsider it. Being afraid of something that could go on for hours without help was an awful thing, something that I did not want to go trough that night on my own. Especially not if there was someone that close to me who might be able to actually help me.

'Do you..?' Harry asked, pausing for a moment. He sounded insecure and even though I was scared I wanted him to feel comfortable, to be secure. I heard a pair of footsteps coming my way, something that made me rather confused and resulted in me leaving the safe blankets I had put around myself. 'Can I please..?'

He did not finish his question this time either. He did not have to, I knew what he wanted. Before my mind could doubt it, before I could think about the consequences I nodded as a lighting strike hit the ground somewhere far away again. My hands pulled away some blankets and allowed him to creep next to me. The first thing my skin immediately noticed was his warmth, warmth that I so desperately wanted. I could feel his body and even though I could not really see him I knew we were lying closely.

'I am so sorry for waking you up,' I spoke after a comfortable silence. 'And I am sorry that you have to babysit me.'

'Do not feel that way,' Harry said as a shiver pulled trough my body when his breath touched my face. 'I do not mind lying with you, in case you have not noticed it yet, I do not sleep that much,' he then said, causing me to laugh softly. 'No, I had not noticed that at all,' I said sarcastically, making him laugh as well.

Another thunder broke through the thin walls, making my body jump in surprise. Fear was running through my blood system, but then I felt a warm hand grabbing mine.

'It is okay,' Harry sussed, trying to calm me down. 'You are safe, whoever you think is going to take you has to go trough me before and you know how hard it is to defeat me.'

Despite all the fear I still felt he made me laugh, he made me smile. He even made my body warm up a little just by lying next to me and holding my hand.

'Why are you so kind to me?' I wondered out loud. I knew I had probably asked it a thousand times but it still seemed to be a big dream that Harry and I were friends.

I was not even sure if we were friends. But we were definitely not enemies anymore.

'Why are you so kind to me?' he then asked me back causing me to poke in his side playfully. 'Because I treated you like shit for so many years and I am sorry,' I reacted, deciding that it was childish for me not to. 'It is good to know that you only hang out with me because of your own guilt feelings,' the boy lying next to me said and I could not figure out if it was a joke or if he was being serious.

'No, of course that is not the only reason!' I said, but before I could speak further the room was filled with the light of a lightning strike, making me shake slightly when the thunder followed. 'I also treat you the way I do because I happen to like you,' I mumbled, only to realise that I sounded like a weirdo. 'On a friendship-kind of way of course.'

As soon as I had said this I felt the raven-haired boy moving closer to me while his hand was still holding mine, giving me some sort of safety. 'That is a good thing,' he spoke softly before pulling me even closer. The warmth of his skin made me crave for more. I needed some warmth; I needed someone to hold me so badly. 'Because I happen to like you as well,' he said, allowing me to slide into his warm and safe arms. For a moment I reconsidered what we were doing. I had no idea what I was doing, but at that moment I only knew that it felt good. Extremely good. Everything else did not matter anymore.

The next thunder broke trough the walls, but this time it did not make me shiver or shake. Because this time I had my own, personal protector to make sure I was not going to get hurt. This time I was not alone. I did not have anything to fear since I knew I was going to be protected, something that made me feel incredibly loved and wanted. Something that made my body feel warm again.

This time I had Harry Potter to protect me.