Blackberry Jam (A Drarry FanFiction)

Chapter Thirty Eight

   It took several days to slowly organise the boys' return to London. Mrs Malfoy very kindly posted the money they needed to book their train tickets, and Mrs Longbottom leant them a special carry case so they could wrangle up Treacle and Shelley to make the trip back with them.

Mrs Figg insisted they take all their possessions that they had accumulated over the years, even though Harry felt deeply uncomfortable doing so knowing how many of them she had bought herself, but she would hear nothing of leaving them behind. That resulted in a number of trunks and suitcases being donated by a number of different families, and Mr Lockhart made a great show of lending them his car to get them from the cottage to the station. Even though Harry suspected he wanted to show off the fact he owned a car more than actually help, he couldn't help but be appreciative anyway. It was a bit of a squeeze, but they manages to get all the bags into the boot, and the two bicycles tied securely onto the roof.

Draco assured him that his mother would meet them at Victoria station with the family driver, so the last leg of their journey would not be made difficult by so much luggage, and Harry began to feel rather intimidated about staying at Malfoy Manor. The fact it was even called 'Malfoy Manor' was daunting enough as it was, but the fact that Draco's family owned a car and employed someone specifically to drive it was quite overwhelming.

Harry didn't have all that long to dwell on his many worries though before it was the last night, and they were trying to sleep in their bed for the final time. Try as he might, he couldn't stop the tears from falling, thinking about how the life he had grown so used to was ending, and he how he was willingly heading into the unknown. Draco held him tight though and kissed the top of his head softly, whispering promises of how it was all going to be okay.

Harry wasn't sure he believed him, but he took comfort in the words anyway.

The next day, it felt like half the school gathered at Little Whinging station to wave the two boys back to London, along with several other children who weren't half as little as they had been when they had arrived so many years ago. Harry looked at Draco as they hung out of the window to give last minute hugs goodbye – at his tall frame getting stronger every year – and realised they weren't even really children anymore. They were almost men.

He still felt like that small boy though as he tried his hardest not to cry in front of everybody, but his resolved failed when Mrs Figg pressed one last gift into his and Draco's hands as the train chugged to life and began to crawl out of the platform. He looked down to see two, small, homemade jars of blackberry jam, and the tears began to fall.

"You take care of each other now," Mrs Figg called out sternly. "And you write to me, every week!"

"We promise!" shouted Harry as she became smaller and smaller. "We promise!"

They waved until the train rounded the bend, and the town vanished behind them and melted into the countryside.

The boys found an empty compartment once they had stowed their luggage safely, where they were able to pull the curtains and at least have a modicum of privacy. They let their cats roam free, leaving the worry of how they were going to force the indignant creatures back into their carry case for when they were approaching London. For a short while, they risked holding hands, their heads bent together as they sat in quiet contemplation, each thinking on their time away from the city whilst the war changed the world around them. But after a time, Harry knew it was risky to continue to push their luck, and instead they satisfied themselves with just letting their knees touch through their trousers. Their conversation gradually came back to them, and Draco talked with cheerful determination about how Harry would be welcomed by both his mother and his father, Mr Malfoy having returned from France several weeks ago. He refused to let Harry give up hope that his own father would be waiting for him, for which Harry was extremely thankful.

The roof of Victoria Station was made entirely of browning glass, criss-crossed with hundreds of steel girders that caused the sunlight that filtered through to lattice across the platform floor. A guard kindly helped the boys get their many suitcases off of the train and onto a trolley, but Harry insisted on pushing it himself into the main concourse whilst Draco trundled the two bicycles. The Malfoys were already doing so much for Harry, he didn't want to greet them looking like a freeloader.

Mrs Malfoy met them beside an ancient looking man in a driver's livery who Draco informed Harry was named Mr Dobby. Mrs Malfoy did not cry exactly, but her eyes were extremely bright as she came forward and seized Draco in an eager embrace. "Oh my dear boy," she murmured. Harry noted that Draco was almost as tall as his mother now as he tried not to watch their embrace with too much envy. Mrs Malfoy though soon turned to him and enveloped him in her arms too, stroking his hair tenderly. "I am so sorry Harry to hear what happened to your mother," she told him, then looked him in the eye. "You are welcome to stay with us as long as you like."

"Thank you," Harry managed around the lumpin his throat.