Blackberry Jam (A Drarry FanFiction)

Chapter Two

   After ten minutes (judged by his father's watch he wore proudly on his wrist) Harry looked on as they pulled into the courtyard of the town's school. One of the reasons his mother had been so keen for him to come to Little Whinging was that they had a Secondary Modern, so he could continue with his education. This, in the end, had been what had won him over, because pilots needed to be good at maths. He looked up at the grand red-brick building and took a deep breath to fortify himself. This, he swore, was where he was going to work his hardest, and make both Mother and Father proud.

There were now only about twenty children that disembarked from the bus, and Harry was able to get a better look at them. They all attended his school in Victoria, but he only recognised one other boy from his year. It was hard not to notice him though, with his startlingly white blond hair. Harry knew his name was Draco Malfoy and that he was very rich, but they had never spoken. His friend Ron had once told him the only reason Draco wasn't in boarding school was because his mother had refused to send him away. The bombs must have changed Mrs Malfoy's mind too though, otherwise why would he be there with the rest of them?

Harry wished Ron was here instead, but him, his sister and all his brothers had moved to the country last year when the war had broken out. Harry had promised to write to him as soon as he had his new address as well, so they could continue swapping letters, but it wouldn't be the same as having a real friend here with him.

He edged closer to Draco as they all walked into the school hall and clumped together in a group. There were a couple of dozen adults there, mostly women; the majority of them looked to be organising the children, but some were just watching eagerly as they all were sorted roughly into a line by age. He and Draco were two of the oldest ones from their school, so they stood out at the end of the line, Draco's blond hair a sharp contrast against Harry's pitch black. "Hi," he said shyly.

Draco turned and looked at him in surprise. His face was pinched and his jaw tight, and thanks to a height difference of a couple of inches he was able to look down on Harry with bright, silvery eyes. "Hello?" he said.

"We go to school together," Harry said, rallying his courage.

But Draco just frowned. "I know," he said. "We all do?"

"I mean-"

"Oh excellent," a billeting officer interrupted. "If you two are together, I've got just the home for you." She bustled off, beckoning over her shoulder for the boys to follow.

Several other men and women were already pairing children with new families, from what Harry could see, mostly just glancing at the faces and name tags before hastily ushering them towards waiting grown-ups.

"I believe she means us?" he said to Draco with a shrug, and started following after her.

The other boy trotted up beside him, tugging on the strap to his gas mask. "What did she mean 'together'?" he demanded. He didn't look at Harry though, he stared angrily at the woman's back as she checked a list and scanned her eyes over the busy crowd. "Mother insisted I be place in a decent home, where are we going?"

Harry swallowed, trying his best not to let him rattle him. "I think we're going to find out shortly," he said, as the woman's face went from tense to happy, spying the person she was looking for.

"This way boys," she said, waving her hand eagerly, probably keen to get back and tend to some of the smaller children. "Mrs Figg?" she called, turning back to the woman who had made her smile. "It says you can take two, is that correct?"

An older lady with brown eyes and brown hair shuffled forward and straightened her beige woollen coat. She had lines around her eyes and mouth, and clutched at a cracked leather handbag resting by her hip. "Oh," she said, eyes widening at the sight of the boys. "Oh no, I said I could take two siblings."

The billeting officer gave her chart a quick glance over. "I'm afraid we only have a few siblings Mrs Figg," she said cheerily. "And they've either already been allocated or there's more than two of them. You chaps are friends though aren't you, you don't mind living together do you?"

Mrs Figg made to speak, and Draco looked mildly horrified, but Harry was determined to make the best of this. He'd promised to be brave and not cause any fuss. "It's absolutely fine," he said brightly with a quick nod. "Draco and I were in the same class in London, and we'll be even better friends now in the country, I'm certain of it."

"There's a good boy," the billeting officer said fondly, pinching his cheek gently. "I'm sure I'll see you both at school soon enough, in the meantime you're free to pop off! I bet you're absolutely famished after such a long journey."

And with that she spun away into the crowd,leaving Harry with the rather awkward company of Draco Malfoy and MrsFigg.