Nightmare | Drarry | English

Chapter 24

Harry questioned whether he had heard correctly when he noticed the hand waving in front of his face. He turned to the man beside him. Mr. Weasley seemed to be trying to bring him back to reality.

"Harry, are you all right, son?"

"Huh? Oh... Yes." He stood up abruptly. "I'll just go... check."

As Harry walked away from the table, his heart pounding in his ears, everyone watched him in silence. Once he was out of sight, the remaining Weasleys and Hermione exchanged looks.

"I wonder what brought Draco Malfoy here," said Mrs. Weasley, looking directly at Ron. "I'm sure you have an idea."

"Shouldn't we make sure he won't do anything bad to Harry first?" George suggested. "Should we check?"

"No need," said Ron. "They'll be fine. They're..."

"What?" asked Mr. Weasley. "Friends now? That would be wonderful! Everyone should end hatred like this."

"No," Ron corrected. "Not friends exactly..."

Hermione rolled her eyes and took over. "They're dating."

The table erupted in brief laughter. Except for Ron and Hermione, everyone thought it was a joke. Fleur wasn't laughing either, but that was because she didn't fully understand the subject.

"Nice joke," George said. "Ron, you're surprising me! Keep this up, and I might consider taking you with me."

"Great," Ron said. "But I can assure you it's not a joke. They were having issues. I guess Malfoy came to sort things out."

Hermione nodded in agreement while the others began to realize the truth. Their expressions shifted from amused to astonished.

"Well, this is a surprise," Mr. Weasley said, smiling with wide eyes. "But let's eat, everyone. Enjoy your meal."

"Yes, yes," Mrs. Weasley echoed. Then she turned to George. "Don't joke about it and offend Harry," she warned.

"Of course," George said, not sounding particularly convincing. He was already mentally drafting several jokes and deciding which to use first.

-

Draco waited nervously at the door, trying not to think about anything. He shouldn't be thinking about anything. He had to let things go, let his thoughts find their own way, like his mother had told him the night before. He was trying to think of only these things when the door opened, and he looked up and found Harry's gaze. At that moment, he felt a feeling he couldn't make sense of, a huge void that had been left inside him after the bond had been severed. It was a feeling that normal people called peace, but Draco had trouble recognising because of his own confusion. He smiled.

"Uh, hi?" Harry greeted awkwardly, unsure what to say.

"My mother said that when I saw you, whatever came to mind would be my true feelings," Draco said calmly. "I understand now."

"Why?" Harry asked, confused. He tried to focus on the fact that Draco had mentioned their relationship to his mother. "What are you thinking?"

"That I missed you," Draco replied, smiling. "That I missed you a lot and that I was an idiot for not coming sooner." As Harry opened his mouth to speak, Draco raised a hand to stop him. "Wait until I'm finished. I need to get all of this out. Everything I'm thinking needs to be said."

Harry nodded, holding his breath. "All right."

"I missed you," Draco repeated, looking into Harry's eyes. "I feel good being with you. It's the first time I've felt better in days. Also, I hate that Hufflepuff because I don't like him being around you." He took a deep breath and continued. "After the bond broke, I thought my feelings were gone, but it turns out I was the one who was lost. You loved me so beautifully that when your love disappeared, I couldn't recognize my own feelings. Then, trying to find my feelings in the void you left behind, I got lost. But now I realize it's simple; finding you is enough. Because- right now, I don't feel lost at all, Harry. I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry for hurting you."