Out of the Woods •• Sequel To Cabin Fever

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welcome to out of the woods, the sequel to cabin fever. enjoy, feel free to comment + vote 💗
i hope you'll enjoy this.
also, this fic will likely contain themes of ptsd and anxiety, just to let you guys know.
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The war had been won, Voldemort was dead at last, the Wizarding World could finally be at peace, something that had once seemed unattainable. Yet despite all of that, Harry had never felt this empty. He felt as though he too had died during the Battle of Hogwarts. Technically speaking, he had died, but unlike so many others, he had had the opportunity to return to the world of the living. His loved ones didn't get that option. He would never again feel the comforting wisdom Remus provided, Tonks would never entertain the dinner table with her metamorphosis, the gift of laughter that Fred had once shared with them was gone from the world. Their deaths had been described as heroic during the funeral services, but Harry disagreed. They were unnecessary. Preventable, if only he had been brave enough to walk into the forest hours sooner. The knowledge of this haunted him. His nightmares were the worst they had ever been, images of their bodies illuminated by green light and the life draining from their eyes forcing Harry to wake himself with his own heart wrenching screams. During the day, Harry was numb. He could hardly carry a conversation, even with Ron and Hermione. They were able to support each other in a way they couldn't support Harry. He was happy for them, they deserved love and honestly, he had seen this coming for quite some time, but their new romance made Harry feel like an outcast. Ginny had made her advances, never giving up until one day Harry finally told her he preferred men. She took that harder than Harry expected, and didn't speak to him for two weeks. That made things a bit awkward as he had been living at the Burrow since the war. He had his own room now, allowing Hermione to move her belongings into Ron's. Harry was partly grateful for this, because it meant he could keep his nightmares to himself. All he had to do was cast a simple Silencing Charm around himself, and no-one would ever know that he had to heal his throat every morning from the screams that ripped it raw. The Burrow itself was filled with a deathly silence. George hadn't been home in months, instead cooping himself up in the flat above the joke shop. Harry didn't blame him. George lost half of himself when Fred died. The entire Weasley family felt the pain and emptiness of his absence. The warm energy that Harry had grown accustomed to feeling was replaced with a drafty, cold sadness.

Harry felt as though half of him was missing, too. He had seen Draco once since the battle, at his trial. Harry had vouched for him, ultimately saving him from a life sentence in Azkaban. He tried to get him alone afterwards, but Draco had seemingly vanished the second he left the courtroom. There was still hope, however. All students who had missed out on their seventh year at Hogwarts due to the war had received a letter inviting them back to complete their education. Returning was optional, but Harry found some comfort in the idea of a trauma free year at Hogwarts. He knew that being there would stir up some repressed emotions, but it was worth it. Harry desperately craved routine, anything to focus on in order to escape his mind. He had no idea if Draco would return for his eighth year at Hogwarts, but Harry knew he had valued his education back in sixth year. He was always flicking through textbooks at the cabin. He had taken pride in scolding Harry for not studying enough. He would give Harry tiny rewards for completing homework, a kiss for finishing an essay, ten minutes of playing with his hair after a half hour of reading. Harry's eyes welled with tears and he forced those thoughts to the back of his mind, locked them up in a box and threw away the key. The empty feeling became too overwhelming when he thought of the months they had shared. He would give the entire contents of his Gringotts vault away if it meant he could go back in time, to when it was just Harry and Draco and the forest and the mountains. Nothing else. Just the two of them, caring for each other without repercussions. He knew that wasn't possible, though. So, he held onto the hope that Draco would join him in returning to Hogwarts.