Endgame - A Drarry Fanfic (Harry Potter x Draco Malfoy)

Chapter 10: Back to Hogwarts

It had been a few days since Draco had come for dinner and Harry hadn't heard from him. He wanted to write him a letter but he didn't know what to say. Draco had kissed him, and Harry liked it. There had always been something about Draco, but Harry, maybe because he was so much in denial about his sexuality, or maybe because he couldn't bring himself to believe that he actually fancied his enemy, had always refused to let himself think about Draco in that way. 

But things were very different now. They weren't in school anymore, they weren't enemies, they were friends. Harry could see now that there was always a part of him that liked Draco. But what if Draco was just trying to trick him? He had trusted Draco with all those secrets; what if he hadn't changed? What if he just wanted to play with Harry's mind? Harry didn't want to believe that. He had gotten to know this new side of Draco these past few months. But the doubt was still there. 

But if Draco wasn't playing with Harry then did that mean he fancied Harry back? Could 'the chosen one' and 'the boy who had no choice' ever really be... a couple? That thought was still foreign to Harry. 

These thoughts distracted Harry so much that he hadn't gotten much done at work. He was sitting at his desk, lost in thought, when an owl swooped in. 

Hello Harry, How are you doing? It's been a bit since I've heard from you. I know you've been going through a lot with the divorce and all. I'm always here if you want to talk, maybe come visit sometime. Professor McGonagall said you are always welcome at Hogwarts. Hagrid

How could Harry have forgotten to tell Hagrid! Harry wrote back at once:

Hagrid, I'm sorry I haven't been in touch. How about I take off work the day after tomorrow and come up to Hogwarts, does that work for you? See you soon. Harry

***

When Harry got a return letter from Hagrid saying that that worked and that he was looking forward to seeing him, Harry wrote to his kids to tell them he's be at Hogwarts, just so he didn't catch any of them by surprise. The next day he apparated right to the gates of Hogwarts, then made his way up to Hagrid's hut. 

"Harry!" Hagrid said excited as he opened the door to see Harry standing on his step. "Cum in, cum in!" He eagerly ushered Harry inside. 

"Tea?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Rock cake?"

"Uh..."

 Harry remembered these tooth-breaking treats from his youth, "I'm good, thanks."

"So. How ya been 'Arry?"

"Alright." Harry said thinking about Draco and how happy he made him, and now him gone. 

"Ya? I knew it's been a few months but still. 'Ur marriage ended. You guys were together for a long time." Right, Harry thought, of course Hagrid was talking about Ginny, not Draco. 

"It's been a bit hard with the kids, but Ginny and I hadn't been good for a long while. It was time."

"You gonna tell me what happened? I mean... its ok if 'ur don't wanna talk 'bout it."

Harry looked down into his tea. He couldn't imagine Hagrid of all people not accepting him. Hagrid had been looked down on his whole life for being different, surely he would accept Harry for his differences?

"Hagrid, there's something I need to tell you." Harry said more seriously than he intended. 

"Oh, ok." Hagrid said a bit worried. 

"Oh, its not bad... it's just... I'm gay."

"Oh!" Hagrid said. Then he looked like he was taking some time to process. In his head, Hagrid was trying to think of how he had missed this. But to Harry, it was just a long silence. 

"That alright?" Harry asked, 

Hagrid seemed to snap back into it, "Alright? 'Course it's alright! I love ya just the same 'Arry. Makes no difference to me." He said with a large smile. 

***

After his visit with Hagrid, Harry decides to take a walk around the grounds. He hadn't been here much since the Battle of Hogwarts. All the good memories of this place were clouded by the deaths. That's why he couldn't bring himself to finish his 7th year after the war was done. 

But it had been so long, and part of Harry had missed the Black Lake, the edge of the forest, and the view of the castle. He missed the stone hallways and classrooms as well, so Harry decided to head inside the castle. As he enters the large doors, he could hear a large clamor coming from the Great Hall: lunch must still be going on. 

He didn't want to run into any of his kids though, it felt like a breach of privacy to do so, so Harry didn't want to go walk by the doors of the Great Hall. Just as he was about to turn away from the them, he saw a familiar face coming out towards him. 

"Neville!"

"Harry, what are you doing here?" Neville seems a bit off-put. 

"I just came to see Hagrid. How are you?"

"I've uhh... got to go! Sorry. Got to prep for lessons!" Neville waved as he headed towards the stairs that led down to the dungeons. 

Harry was left standing alone in the hallway again. He wasn't sure what to do with himself. At first he instinctually thought of heading to the Gryffindor common room, but then he realized that even if he knew the password he probably wasn't supposed to be in there. He decided to head to the Headmistress's Office instead, figuring he should pay Professor McGonagall a visit while he was here. 

When he reaches the large gargoyle, it immediately jumps out of his way, which Harry thinks is odd. He's used to it remaining frozen until it was given the proper password. Harry heads up the staircase and knocks on the door, "Come in," he hears from inside. 

When he opens the door, Professor McGonagall is sitting at the desk writing something. "Hagrid told me you were coming today, when I saw you head up to the castle, I told the gargoyle to let you up when you came by." She says, putting her quill down and looking up at Harry with a big smile. 

"Hello, Minvera."

Minvera gets up and goes over to Harry with outstretched arms, "It's been far too long." she says hugging him. 

The two sit and talk for a while. Mostly about James, Albus, and Lily. Also reminiscing about Harry's times at Hogwarts. She does him curtesy of not asking Harry the reason for the divorce, and so the topic of Harry's sexuality doesn't come up. He's not even thinking about it when he gets up to go, hugging her again. 

"Take care of the kids." Harry says as he's leaving. 

"Always do." She said with a smile, "It was so good seeing you, Harry."

"Hey, is Neville free?" Harry asked, "I saw him earlier but we didn't get to speak much. He had to prepare for his lessons."

"Yes, his class should be over by now."

"Thanks." Harry said and left the office. 

He heads down the hallways, this turn and that turn towards the shortcut to the dungeons. Harry thinks he's going the right way, it had been a while since he had all the passageways in the castle memorized. He turns a corner, and there, walking towards him, is Draco Malfoy.