After Saving Draco [ONGOING / REWRITING]

chapter eighteen

Tala. 128 days before May 4, 1999.

"Good morning Wizards and Witches!" the flight attendant began.

"Please stay in your seats as we prepare for landing...The temperature outside is a steady and chilling 40 degrees for the day, please do expect a heavy rain for tonight. Crew members and staff...Thank you for choosing Dragon Heartstring Airlines, please keep wands hidden as we arrive and it's been a pleasure serving you all—" She continued, preparing to finish her announcement.

"Welcome to New York."

     I'm going to piss myself!

     Well, not just because I needed to use the bathroom after a nine hour flight.

     But I'm also so excited!

     Soon enough, the sounds of the lively city began to play in my ears like a song. Every aspect of it was alive, from the trash that roamed freely on the street, pushed constantly by the harsh winds as if it moved and had legs itself — to the pigeons that asked relentlessly for food. The skyscrapers, taxis, and flashing lights seemed so alive too that you would mistake them for the diversity of people that roamed around.

     Five minutes into standing in the middle of the crowded and busy streets, I've sighted a hundred of lives pass me by and not one of them looked the same. There were people of different colors, shapes, sizes, classes, and styles but they all seemed to move in unison as they went through their everyday lives.

     To the left you could see a group of teenagers with their skateboards, apologizing to a businesswoman who they had bumped into and spilled coffee on. And to the right, you could see a pair of grown men singing and playing their homemade drum set, made from buckets and pans.

     The crisp air played with my hair, carrying a variety of scents with it. From the leaves that travelled all the way from Central Park, the smoke that escaped the engines of cars, and the spices and broths that came from the food that's sold in Chinatown.

     It was cold and the streets were wet, dirty sewage water landing on Harry and I's ankles as cars raced through it. Little amount of snowfall gently fell, the sun greeting us so brightly that it almost blinded me. But the towering buildings, birds, and helicopters would help cover it, as if protecting me from the sunlight.

     Despite being pushed past carelessly, dozens of shoulders bumping into mine as they hurriedly went forward with their lives, I smiled — and genuinely too.

     Polluted air, crackheads, and pigeons pooping on taxis and homeless people!

     I was home.

     "Where to first?" Harry asked beside me, the sounds of the city almost drowning out his words.

     I sharply turned and faced up towards him, not even realizing that I had the biggest smile on my face for the first time in months. The sun hit my eyes just right at that moment, and I could hear Harry's breath hitch as it happened. His eyes widened at the sight of me, but they soon creased as his lips curved up in a genuine smile too. The energy around me began to fill me up, almost like high and so I grabbed Harry's hand, ready to show him my home.

     Sightseeing as a witch is a must.

     In half a day, Harry and I managed to tour the entire city by apparating to all our destinations. Though, it didn't stop us from taking the subway at times for the fun of it, laughing along with the dozens of new people we've met and will never see again. He even told me that before year 6, he used to take train rides recklessly just to distract his mind.