Accidentally in Love / drarry

December Part 2: New Year's Eve, 1999

(Come on, come on)
Turn a little faster
(Come on, come on)
The world will follow after

***

The Hogwarts Express was emptier than usual. It seemed that most first- and second-years had stayed home for the full break, and only the older students were already returning. Harry was walking through the train with Ron and Hermione in tow to find a free compartment for them, and after a while, caught himself searching for a blond head from every carriage. Even after telling himself that he was acting stupid he couldn't stop the action. Even knowing that of course Malfoy wouldn't be there, he'd told Harry himself that he had no plans to return to Hogwarts early, and it would certainly stay that way. Harry really had to start getting his shit together, this nonsense had gone on for far too long. It was starting to affect, no, control his life.

The trio sat down in an empty compartment, and was quickly joined by Luna, Neville, and Seamus. It was a little tight for the six of them at first, but after Hermione's quick and subtle expansion charm on the compartment, they were all settled comfortably.

The train ride went by quicker than Harry had expected, with the rainy scenery behind the windows fleeting past and slowly changing into snowy heaps. Seamus introduced them all to his new extended set of Exploding Snap, where the new cards had the added effect of the faces of the cards changing spontaneously. After a few close yet frustrating matches, Neville stood up to fish a reusable Hangman game he'd gotten from his grandmother for Christmas, from the repertoire of the Wheezes. It was surprisingly entertaining.

About halfway through their journey Harry bought everyone some pumpkin pasties from the trolley witch. They talked about the Quidditch World Cup, and everyone was especially interested in Ron's report of whether Ginny was going to be playing, even though the Harpies were only starting the preliminaries the following week. Everyone shared the excitement of maybe seeing a schoolmate play at the World Cup, no less.

Sooner than anyone realized, the train started slowing down, and shortly after that, they were already walking away from the station and towards the carriages, pulling their coats and scarves tighter around them as the freezing wind pushed its way through their clothing. The sky was completely dark, and only the lanterns on both sides of the path lit their way. Harry pulled his hats – yes, he was wearing a smaller wool hat inside a bigger one – deeper in his head and shoved his mittened hands in his pockets. Ron was cursing the temperature right beside him as they settled in the carriages tightly, seeking for warmth.

If there had been any doubt about it before, once Harry set foot in the eighth-year common room, he saw that indeed everyone in their small house had come back for New Year's. All but one.

The room was bustling with talk and laughter, everyone still standing around in their coats and hats and scarves that were now only loosely hanging around their necks. Harry didn't want to think that this would be his last time ever returning to Hogwarts as a student. He determinedly pushed the thought away as he joined Ron near the fireplace.

Something about being at school outside of it being in session created an atmosphere of unity over the sixteen eighth-years, who headed to dinner as one big group, shoving and teasing one another like they were eleven again.

***

The last day of the millennium presented itself as a stunning winter day, with a thick blanket of snow covering the Highlands, a clear blue sky allowing the sun to shine incredibly brightly, and the minuscule snowflakes raised into the air by the gentle breeze shimmering like tiny diamonds.

Harry and Hermione attempted a walk on the grounds, wrapped in nearly every piece of clothing they owned, but as soon as the not-so-gentle-feeling breeze had caressed their poor faces with the force of a thousand tiny knives stabbing their skin, they had retreated speedily. Ron had howled in laughter as soon as they had returned to the common room, half blue. It's going to be thawing tomorrow, he had announced encouragingly, waving the Prophet in his hand.