We Sorta Kinda Just Happened (A Drarry Story)

Chapter 23

  The absolute worse thing about saying goodbye to Hogwarts was the fact you could be completely sure that you wouldn't see everyone as they are, right now, ever again. Draco touched his shoulder.

"I think you should actually say goodbye to people instead of moping about the fact you have to." He said quietly.

It sometimes scared him how accurate Draco could be when he guessed what you were thinking about. Harry turned back to where most people were and watched faces intermingle with each other. Gone were the fancy attire of the early afternoon, replaced with more sensible clothes for wherever people needed to go next. His own appearance was close to the same, just a different shirt to replace the white one. It had sadly gotten stained with a mysterious something during the after party.

"Goodbye sounds heavy with finality." He thought out loud.

Draco gave him an amused half smile.

"Then don't say goodbye. Think of it as a see you around kind of deal."

They both descended into the throng, splitting up. Harry found Hermione.

"Ron recovering?" He questioned her, and she laughed.

"Oh, he's fine. It was Ginny who passed out. She's okay, too, though." She told him.

Harry crossed his arms.

"Would've thought you would have stopped her." He scolded while smiling. "Aren't you supposed to be the sensible one?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Seven years of misadventures hasn't convinced you otherwise?"

"It's rude to answer a question with a question." But he still laughed.

They didn't bother with farewells. The promise to owl whenever possible didn't need to be said. Harry was sure the owls could track him wherever he happened to be. Walking away to find his supposedly fine friend, his finger brushed the letter in his pocket. It had in fact been from Charlie, and Harry reviewed what it had said in his head.

Ron( since it had been him who had sent it ),

Glad to see you remembered your older brother. I won't start with a how are you, because you didn't grant me that curtesy. I wouldn't have expected you to, anyway. Tell Harry he can come anytime to Romania, the sooner the better. I could use him, actually. It gets a little boring here and we're short of men. Once he's here, we can have the whole exploring the world talk face to face. I tell you, there's more than you can imagine. You probably will be lazy and just toss this letter at the poor guy, so hi Harry! Look forward to seeing you soon. The password is, for this week anyway, is Hungarian. Should be easy to remember, huh? And Ron, since you probably are reading this far, too, that password isn't going to work if you try to get into camp. I told them not to let in any nosy gingers other than myself. So don't get any funny ideas, little brother.

-Charlie Weasely

Harry wouldn't go to Romania straight away, of course. He had promised Mrs.Weasely he would visit after Hogwarts ended. Her plan was probably to fatten him up before sending him off, which was an endearing thought.

He walked up to Ron, who turned around before he said anything.

"Harry!" He said, clasping his shoulder. "Can you believe it? No more homework!"

His face stretched into a grin.

"Why is it every one seems to forget we're on the verge of paperwork, which is definitely more horrible than that."

Ron groaned in good nature.

"Ministry is too fond of tree killing and Bowtruckle orphaning if you ask me. You read the letter, right?" He asked.

Harry pulled it out of his pocket.

"Of course. Bet you did, too, huh?"

"What can I say? Charlie knows me a tad too well."

He elbowed him.

"Lucky you!" He raised an eyebrow."I can just tell Mum you won't be able to visit till later, then?"

Harry searched the letter again.

"I can still come," he countered, "Charlie said anytime."

Ron looked to the sky, searching for an owl.

"Would it be to late to stop Pig? I already wrote that we will see you another time."

A tiny speck of an owl that might have been Pigwidgedon flew over them.

"Guess it would be, thanks for making the decision for me." Harry grumbled.

Ron gestured away at the crowd. "Everyone here is leaving. Just go with it and get to Hogsmeade with the rest of the people who are going to apparate somewhere."

Then words registered and his eyes went wide, chuckling. Harry stared at him as if he had just said Dolores Umbridge was his favorite teacher.

"We could have apparated."

Harry started to correct him.

"No, we couldn't have, you can't apparate..."

"To Hogwarts." Ron finished. "But you can apparate to Hogsmeade."

A grudging smile joined Harry's features.

"That is...true. Why, it's something I wish we thought about before. Bit of a safety issue, isn't it?"

Ron nudged him.

"Always got to rain on my parade, mate."

A clock loudly tolled five o'clock. Ron picked up his trunk and adjusted the messenger cap, that was a loud maroon color, bought by Hermione, in honor of the sweaters everyone receives during the holidays. Harry had gotten a bright green beanie, which he hadn't gotten around to wearing yet. He held out his hand for a high five.

"Hears to six years of living through sharing a dorm with you, a year of sharing a tent, and a year of having our own rooms. Good luck. Knowing you, you'll need it."

Harry slapped his hand with an audible smack.

"Heck yeah I'll need it. Visit soon as I can, promise."

Ron laughed.

"No rush. Just make sure to get me a souvenir, you hear?"

The train whistle blew, giving Ron his cue to walk away.

"Make sure Pig gets home safe!" He hollered to him.

"Pig doesn't my help!"

A bell tolled three times, and the crowd surged towards Hogsmeade, towards new lives and new adventures, pushing Harry along with it.


(•__________•)



Draco's bag swung on his shoulders as he walked in the crowd, trunk levitating happily behind him. The tiny blue thing now burst at the seams with things he couldn't bear to be too far from. The survey was in there, along with a letter.

The letter. It had happened too fast, too unexpected, and was obviously layered with direct orders and not suggestions.

Draco,

I know we have not spoken since the beginning of your school year. Your decision to heed my advice and go back was well made. The house is now fully in my possession, in the Black name, not the Malfoy. I wish to see you again, Dragon. Your schooling career is now over, and as your mother, I will gladly assist in helping you make the transition. France is awfully nice during this time of year.

-Narcissa Black

He had received it this morning. His mother was well trained in the art of persuasion, whether she needed it or not. The light implications of her divorce with Lucius were unneeded, because Draco knew it was bound to happen someday. He had no doubt that deep inside, his parents had a slight fondness for each other, but their relationship as a married couple was stressed. Both would be just fine as friends.

She had been the one to insist in his return to Hogwarts. Or at least planted the idea in his head. It had been a good one. But he didn't need her help with finding a job, distancing himself from his heritage might even better his odds. The relationship as mother and son they had remained undamaged, however, so it was his decision to go along and accept her impromptu invite to the French countryside.

Harry appeared at his side.

"Hey you," he greeted the other male, "thought you were going to ride the train back."

Shrugging, he grunted.

"Change of plans. Turns out I'm heading to Romania."

They entered Hogsmeade. The crowd surged towards the dozens of set apparation spots. Draco grabbed Harry's shoulder and pulled him out of the main flow.

"Romania? Sounds interesting. Is it just a random place or..."

"Yeah, Ron pulled a couple favors for me. His brother is on a dragon reserve there." Harry explained. "Where are you off to?"

Draco responded vaguely. "Just visiting some family before my real adventure starts."

Harry nodded, and began digging through his bag. Several shirts fell out onto the dusty path.
Picking them up, Draco asked, "Looking for something?"

Harry smiled apologetically.

"The jacket you loaned me. I could've sworn I threw it on top, but as you can see," He waved at the mess.

Draco hadn't liked that jacket, anyway. It was a couple inches shorter than he would have liked it, and it was just another black coat upon the many he had. It had looked great on Harry, however, he wondered whether it was just his own personal bias speaking.

"When you find it, just keep it. It's not as if it had been my absolute favorite."

He glanced at his watch. It was nearly seven, so it would be around eight in France, which is when he promised to be there.

"I should be going." He said regretfully.

Harry paused.

"Time constraints, I'm guessing?"

Nodding, he handed the clothes to him. A frown twisted Harry's features with sadness.

"Goodbye, then." He mumbled, glancing up.

Draco's teeth worried his lip.

"Not goodbye," he corrected, "just see you soon."

Without knowing why exactly, he stepped closer to Harry, causing him to look up. There was something swimming in the depths of those eyes that Draco hasn't quite figured out yet, but an obvious sadness at their goodbyes was easy to see. He stretched his arms out slightly.

"How about a hug for the road?"

Harry mirthful smile was all he needed as a yes. He wrapped his arms around Draco's waist and laid his head on his shoulder. The wonderful, comforting, warmth exuding from him was satisfying something Draco didn't know he needed. His arms rested on his shoulders, fingers dancing near the dark curls on his neck. They stood there, thinking, wondering, and forgetting everything.

A voice proclaimed its opinion in the back of Draco's head. That people who were just friends wouldn't do this, and Draco discovered that he couldn't bring himself to care about what people would and wouldn't do. Harry pulled away first.

"I wouldn't want to keep you. Go and see your relatives."

Draco turned, dragging his trunk behind him to the nearest apparation point. His legs felt like they were locking up, unwilling to let him walk away. Something clawed at his throat, constricting it. He felt like screaming something, anything, but the thought of why remained unknown. Something wanted to escape his mouth, but his brain couldn't tell him what words to say.

He turned around, making himself promise that no matter what, he would not let himself run back and ask for another hug.

Not goodbye.

Harry's eyes met his own. His feet were already in the circle, poised to spin. A calm half smile lingered on his lips, shoulders shrugging as if if to say, what can we do about it? Draco's fingers clutched the handle of his trunk with an iron grip, making his knuckles turn white. A tilt of a head came his way.

"Go on," he called, "don't let me stop you."

It took all of his will power not to run back after that.

"You're not." Draco toyed with the idea of continuing, and went for it. "You actually are, and it's because I'll miss you."

He was rewarded with an amused grin.

"Only took seven years to settle our differences, right?"

Not goodbye. It would be impossible to let this be goodbye.

"Only," Draco repeated, his clock beeping frantically.

He really should be leaving. The beeping grew frenzied, but he stared at it, uncomprehending. Suddenly, Harry was standing next to him. He felt a gentle squeeze on his shoulder, seeing a reassuring smile. The promise he made to himself wasn't broken as he pulled Harry closer, this time placing his head on the other male's shoulder.

"I don't want to leave. The world is too big." He stated, voice muffled by Harry's shirt.

Harry seemed to be in a dreamlike state. His hand ran down Draco's back repeatedly. The other slinked around his waist. Draco's arms clung to him embarrassing tightness.

"Draco," he murmured into his ear, causing Draco's eyes to dart up, "it isn't going to get any smaller if you don't explore, find new places and people. Then you might know a little bit more of it, and of course it'll still be humongous, but it won't be as daunting."

His hand ruffled his hair playfully.

"So don't let me stop you. I'll miss you, too."

They separated. Harry placed Draco's hands on his trunk handle, leaving his own on top of his.

"Ok." Draco said. "I'm not apologizing for the hailstorm of letters coming your way."

Taking a step back, he moved out of the way he had space to apparate.

"Looking forward to receiving them. Go." He replied firmly, "It isn't good form to be late."

Draco couldn't let himself leave without having the last word.

"Hypocrite. I'm going now. Bye. I mean, see you! Really soon, I promise. You won't even have time to miss me."

Feeling the familiar tug of the hook as he spun around, he imagined the country side of France. He could have sworn he made eye contact with Harry, whose mouth moved, saying something he couldn't here.

When he landed, heart was beating wildly, he collapsed on the ground. Tired from everything that happened today.

Not goodbye. It was impossible to let it be goodbye. He wouldn't let it happen.

He picked himself up, dusting his pants, and began the pleasant stroll to the new Black vacation home.

************

Hello readers! Hope you enjoyed this newest update, and here is our question of the chapter ( which I I totally read the answers to and get weird looks for laughing out loud at some of them ):

(It is also slightly more related to the actual plot this time)

How would you imagine the vacation home in France? Cottage-like? Ornate, almost a castle? A quaint apartment in the middle of the city?

Keep an eye peeled for the next update!