bury a friend • drarry

b i t t e r s w e e t

Chapter Twelve: 

Malfoy laid his head in Harry's lap. Harry leaned against a tree, looking up at the sky. They'd flown into a small muggle town to watch fireworks when Harry realized that Malfoy had never seen them before.

"Do you like them?" Harry asked, as another one was lit and few into the sky with a burst of coppery yellow.

Malfoy smiled softly. "They're so..." He trailed off, thinking of a way to describe them. "Strange. But in a good way." He settled on that description and continued watching the fireworks,his mouth forming a small 'O' as he saw one burst into a giant flash of green and blue, and then several smaller ones in the explode quietly.

Harry grinned, but he wasn't really watching the fireworks. They weren't as beautiful as Malfoy, who's expressions Harry was focused on instead. Harry didn't even know if he could pull his eyes away, although he had to admit that he didn't really try. After all, their little vacation would only last so long before they had to go back to reality, and although Harry was dreading it, he knew it would happen eventually.

"Are they too loud?" Harry asked, as another one exploded, nearly interrupting him.

Malfoy shook his head. "No. No, of course not. They're amazing. I almost can't believe..." He paused, realizing that he really didn't want to bring up his father's hatred for muggles into the conversation. He cleared his throat. "I almost can't believe that there are witches and wizards out there who hate muggles."

Harry nodded. "I can't really believe it either. But then again, I didn't grow up with magic the way you did." He thought back to his days living with the Dursleys, in the cupboard under the stairs where he could barely fit.

"I sometimes forget you were raised by muggles. What was it like?"

Harry thought momentarily of a way to describe his experiences. "Well, I guess it was kind of weird to be living with muggles, although I never really noticed until I first came to Hogwarts."

"Were they nice to you? The muggles, I mean?"

Harry shuddered beneath Malfoy, thinking back to the countless hours he spent being pushed around by Dudley and his gang, and then the countless hours he spent at home, being abused just the same. Malfoy got up off Harry's lap, looking up at his expression.

"I-I'm sorry." Malfoy mumbled quietly. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

There was a moment of silence between them as Harry continued staring down at the ground. "There were one or two nice ones." He said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. Malfoy leaned in to hear him. "But the ones I stayed with... And then also the ones I went to school with..." Harry trailed off again. "Let's just say they weren't the kindest bunch, okay?" He didn't want to talk about his past with the muggles, but he thought that he should at least tell Malfoy some details, after everything Malfoy had confided with him.

Malfoy pulled Harry into a tight hug, rubbing gentle circles onto his back. "You don't have to tell me anymore if you don't want to, but I'm here for you if you ever want to talk, okay?"

Harry nodded a bit, and Malfoy resumed his previous position, laying his head down in Harry's lap. The two lovers continued watching the fireworks. Malfoy thought about how little he knew about the muggle world, and also about how much he wanted to learn. If there were things as beautiful as fireworks, he figured there'd be other things worth exploring too.

There was a giant burst of green light and both boys winced, each of them remembering a different memory.

For Harry, it was the Death of his parents. The only thing he seemed to be able to remember about their death was that flash of green light that was the spell Voldemort had used on him, marking Harry forever with the lightning bolt shaped scar. His scar tingled, but he wasn't sure if it was because he was remembering the death all those years ago, or whether it was because Voldemort was feeling some strong emotions.