Blackberry Jam (A Drarry FanFiction)

Chapter Twenty Eight

May 2nd 1945

After several weeks of unrelenting April showers, May had emerged clean and bright for Little Whinging; glorious sunshine taking the place of grey storm clouds, much to Harry's delight. After a couple of days respite from the rain, the puddles had started to dry up, just in time for the end of his and Draco's exams, as luck would have it.

"Have you ever felt so free!" Draco cried as their bikes tore down the lane away from the school on the path that lead them out of the town. He threw both his hands up in the air, balancing on his bicycle the way Harry had taught him last summer, and Harry mimicked the gesture.

"The world is ours!" he bellowed, cycling with just his legs, splaying his fingers apart to feel the wind rush through them.

Draco laughed and took hold of his handlebars again, dropping back slightly so he and Harry could ride side by side. "How did you find the maths then?"

"A damned sight easier than yesterday's English," Harry replied, pulling a face and holding the bike with his hands once more to steer around a pot hole. "I have no head for Shakespeare."

Draco laughed in sympathy. Draco, or course, had a head for everything, but he particularly loved the study of a good book or sonnet. "I'm certain you did just fine," he assured Harry, a gesture he appreciated, though might not have entirely believed. "And in any case, it's all in the hands of God now, we must simply sit and wait for our results next week."

Harry arched an eyebrow. "I do not intend to spend a single moment sitting around, I have sat in enough lessons now surely to warrant a solid year's worth of running around!" He deftly leaned over and slapped Draco's shoulder playfully as they made their way down another lane. "Come on now, we should have an adventure!"

"An adventure, is that right?" Draco asked slyly, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "Well it turns out I've been saving a rather splendid surprise for you, for a very special occasion – do you think this qualifies?"

"Yes!" Harry cried. "You tease! What surprise, since when?"

"Since last summer actually," Draco said, then swerved his bike as Harry tried to wallop him. "You brute!" he chortled.

"You beast!" Harry countered. "Keeping a perfectly good secret from me for almost a year. It had better be an exceptional one!"

"It is," Draco assured him, still grinning, and checked his watch. They had been let out of school early, and weren't to be expected back home by Mrs Figg for another three or four hours. "It's a bit of a ride, are you up to it?"

Harry scoffed. "Do be quiet and lead the way. And mind you be quick about it!"

Draco flashed him a smile, and Harry felt like he was truly flying as he and Draco sped up along the lane.

After their dreadful falling out last year, Harry had made very sure never to let anything come between them again. So when he asked Draco how he found this surprise, and he casually replied, "Theo and I found it," he was extremely pleased with himself at how he kept his flare of jealousy to a minimum.

Theo and Draco were still friends, but they only tended to see each other once every month or two now. And even if they did get together more, Harry was secure enough in his and Draco's friendship again that he really didn't mind. He knew, no matter what, Draco would be there at the end of the day to swap stories and fall asleep by his side, and that was what was important.

It had been years since Harry had had a proper nightmare, until the stress of exams had gotten the better of him a few weeks ago. He had expected Draco to get irritable with him, but instead he had taken Harry's hand on several occasions to calm him down and sooth him back to sleep. He wasn't sure what he would have done without Draco to steer him through the past few weeks.

But now exams were over, the sun was shining and they had more or less a summer's worth of freedom to look forward to. Harry was planning on seeing if he could get an apprenticeship at one of the local garages, and Draco had already agreed with Mrs Pince down at the library that he could work there a few mornings a week. That gave them plenty of time for football, bike riding, and even perhaps a few more projects around the cottage – Harry was sure there were a few roof tiles that could be a little more secure than they already were.

All in all, the summer months were looked a great deal cheerier than the spring ones had been. The most incredible lift to their moods though, he thought as they sped down a narrow, twisty path through the woods, were the rumours that had been growing for weeks, even months:

War was coming to an end. Peace was on the horizon.