Title : Revelations of a White Crow
Author : Dragon no Hime
E-mail : sana_sagarake@hotmail.com
Archive : HP Yaoi Paradise, HPDM FQF ML
Rating : PG-13
Warning : Uhm… I dunno…
Disclaimer : HP doesn’t belong to me *sniffles*
Author Notes : This was written for the fourth wave of Minnie’s HP/DM FQF. ^_^ Beta credits go to Lithia.
Revelations of a White Crow
“… Cho Chang, Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hermione Granger, …”
Dumbledore’s voice could be heard all over the Quidditch pitch, calling the names of all the 7th year students that would graduate in mere minutes. All students were clad in their respective house robes and they were called forward one by one to receive their diploma out of the hands from their Head of the House. The students were standing with their fellow housemates, waiting to be called forward. Harry was standing next to Ron, who was nervously fidgeting with his robes. Hermione joined them again after she had gotten her diploma from professor McGonagall. She was smiling widely and pulled both of her friends into a tight hug. They both congratulated her and waited for their name to pop up. Harry glanced around, studying the faces of the other students. Most of them looked paler than usual, nervous about graduation today. Harry felt relaxed and better than he had felt in years. He had defeated Voldemort in battle two weeks ago. It had been a tough battle, but the Light side had been victorious once again. Due to his severe injuries, he had spent the week afterwards in the hospital wing recovering. He had taken the rest of his exams after Madame Pomfrey had released him. And somehow, he knew he had passed. Even Potions hadn’t seemed so difficult than it used to. An enormous weight had been lifted off his shoulders and his friends and fellow housemates had noticed the change in the Golden Boy. He was a lot more talkative than before the battle, and he smiled more too. It was over. The Wizarding World had been saved from Voldemort and he felt like life couldn’t get any better. Or maybe it could…
He shot a brief glance at the small group of 7th year students standing next to the Gryffindors: students of the Slytherin house. His gaze ran over the different faces and lingered on the face of Draco Malfoy for a few seconds. The blonde Head Boy had a haunted look in his eyes, Harry knew, but no one could have seen since his bangs fell into his eyes, shielding them from view. His silver eyes had lost their spark and he had laid off from insulting and sneering at the Gryffindor Trio. Ron and Hermione had been delighted, but unlike Harry, they had no idea what had happened at the battlefield since they hadn’t been there. Draco had been there, and it had been hell. The Slytherin had chosen to join the Light side at the beginning of the year; there he refused to bear the ugly Dark Mark on his forearm. He bowed to no one, not even to the Dark Lord. The only ones to know had been Dumbledore, Snape and Harry. Yes, Harry Potter had known about the blonde’s change of mind for the simple reason that it had been his task to train him to learn more spells. The brunette had refused at first, but Snape had insisted. But with Harry’s organisation of Dumbledore’s Army, Snape’s Occlumency lessons, and the Quidditch practices, his schedule had been more than filled. Albus Dumbledore had decided that Harry was no longer to take the Defence Against the Dark Art classes, if he would accept to tutor the young Malfoy during those hours. Still he had hesitated, but he had taken the offer in the end. He wasn’t really keen on working together with his arch enemy, since he had no trust in the youngster after all those years of bickering, beating each other up and serving detention.
He was to tell no one about this new arrangement, not even to Ron and Hermione. After all those years of questioning, Harry had learned to have a little faith in the orders of Dumbledore and Snape. So he hadn’t told his best friends a word about it. Not even when they kept questioning him why he didn’t attend the DADA classes. He had just told him that it was a new arrangement that had been offered to him and that he had taken it. The Headmaster had called for Remus Lupin to assist Harry in tutoring Draco, and the Gryffindor had been glad to have an old friend by his side. Teaching the Slytherin had worked out pretty well. The blonde paid attention and he proved to be skilled in performing even the hardest spells; however, he had visited the hospital wing on set times whenever Harry had been teaching him to throw off the Crucratius curse again. The two young men had grown closer, not like the friendship Harry had with Ron and Hermione, but closer nonetheless. They didn’t argue as much anymore, but they just trained. When Remus had been absent during one of their scheduled practices, due to the full moon approaching, tension had lingered in the air of the deserted classroom on the fifth floor. They had been duelling for half an hour already and both of them had already taken some serious blows. When Draco shot a perfectly aimed Reductor curse at him, Harry flew backwards and smashed into the wall, falling to the floor in a crumpled heap. The Slytherin approached him and kneeled down beside him, lightly tapping his face to get him to wake up again. Harry grimaced at the pounding in his head and slowly opened his eyes, finding himself face to face with the blonde. He swallowed and they had stared at each other for a few minutes, not saying anything, never breaking the eye contact. The tension lingering between them was deadly. Harry’s emerald gaze shifted a little, studying the Slytherin’s features. He felt a pull towards the blonde and he was sure the young Malfoy felt it too.
“I don’t think this might be a good idea”, the Boy-Who-Lived softly said, not taking his eyes of him.
He said it more to himself than to Draco. He did not want to throw away what was becoming a beautiful friendship by making a stupid mistake like kissing him out of the blue. No, he would not let that happen. The blonde nodded and stood up again. Was that hurt in his eyes? He extended his hand towards the Gryffindor and hauled him to his feet.
“I think we’ve had enough for today”, Harry said as he let go of Draco hand, a tingling feeling remaining.
Again, the flaxen haired wizard nodded.
“Same time tomorrow?”, he asked in a quiet tone.
“Yes”, Harry replied with a curt nod, “We’ll have two hours then. We’ll work on defensive spells and the Patronus charm. How is that Patronus coming up by the way?”
“It’s there”, the other sighed, “It just hasn’t taken form yet.”
“Don’t worry about it, it will come.”
Draco nodded and mustered a small smile.
“I’ll see you later then.”
He turned around, grabbed his bag and walked through the door, leaving the classroom. Harry was a bit baffled. He hoped he hadn’t pissed the Slytherin off, not now they were making good progress.
He was brought back to reality when Ron nudged him in the side.
“Your turn”, he whispered.
“What about you?”
Ron held up the piece of parchment.
“You and Malfoy are the only two that haven’t been called forward yet.”
“Oh. Right.”
The Gryffindor took a deep breath and made his way to the professors standing on the perch somewhat in front of them. His Head of the House smiled at him when she handed him the piece of parchment and he even thought he saw a hint of a smile on Snape’s lips. He wanted to step back down, but Dumbledore laid a hand on his shoulder while Arthur Weasley walked up to him. Ron’s father had been made Minister of Magic in Harry’s sixth year. An improvement if you could ever consider Fudge a decent Minister of Magic.
“Harry Potter”, the read haired man smiled, “You will, once again, be rewarded with an award for Special Services to the School and an award for Magical Merit.”
He grabbed Harry’s hand and gave it a firm shake while Dumbledore’s familiar blue eyes twinkled.
“On top of that”, he continued, “You will be awarded with an Order of Merlin First Class, as you were the one to rid the Wizarding World of You-Know-Who.”
The Gryffindor’s jaw slightly dropped and he glanced over his shoulder when he heard loud applauding and cheering. He had totally forgotten about the rest of the students standing behind him.
“Just stay here for a moment, Harry”, Dumbledore said in a soft tone, “We’re not quite done yet.”
The Headmaster straightened his back again, smiling at the students.
“Draco Malfoy, come forward, please.”
The blonde made his way through the crowd and came to stand beside Harry. He was handed his diploma by Snape, but then Arthur Weasley also placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Draco Malfoy”, he spoke, “You too, will be rewarded with an Order of Merlin First Class.”
The blonde looked thunderstruck; he looked at the Minister of Magic, then at Dumbledore, at Snape and then at Harry. The Gryffindor smiled at him.
“Congratulations, Draco”, he softly said.
…
…
“I can’t believe my father awarded that slimy git with an Order of Merlin!”, Ron shook his head in disbelief, “And then First Class!”
“Ron…”, Harry sighed and rolled his eyes, pricking at his food, not really hungry.
“He’s right, Harry, what has Malfoy done to earn it?”, Hermione pursed her lips.
“He faced his father in the battle”, the dark haired wizard shot them a dangerous glance, “He was there at the battle field, on the Light side. He fought against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He killed his father, Voldemort’s right-hand man.”
“What?”, Hermione gasped, “He was at the last battle? On the Light side?”
“Yes, right next to me if you’re so eager to know.”
Yes, the last battle had been dreadful. A large field, member of the Order and Aurors on one side, while Voldemort and his followers were on the other side. Draco and Harry had been there, fighting side by side. They made a good team. Watching each other’s back, taking blows, wounding and killing Death Eaters. When Harry thought back of it, he remembered the feelings he had for the blonde. Sympathy, pride and… something that goes a lot deeper than just friendship. He wouldn’t exactly put the label ‘crush’ or ‘love’ on it, since he wondered what ‘love’ actually was. The only thing he knew that was that the bond Draco and he shared went a lot deeper than just friendship. Suddenly, the Boy-Who-Lived got up. He was aware of several people staring at him, but he didn’t care. He had to get out and he had to get out now. He got out of his seat and stalked out of the Great Hall, a slight buzzing in his head. He couldn’t help but wonder what it was.
“Fresh air”, he thought to himself, “I need to get fresh air… The pitch… I’ll just go get my Firebolt…”
He raced up the stairs to get his broomstick and headed for the pitch. He mounted the Firebolt and pushed off the ground, shooting off at high speed. It felt good to have the wind in his face, running through his hair, chapping his lips. He didn’t care. It just felt so good. It was his only escape in hard times, flying. When he flew, he felt free; he had nothing to worry about except for staying on his broomstick and he simply loved it.
“Hey Harry!”, a voice shouted from below.
The Gryffindor roughly jerked his broom to a halt and looked down. He noticed the familiar blonde figure standing at the middle of the pitch, looking up at him. He descended and hovered in front of him.
“Hey Draco”, he softly said, a small smile on his lips.
“Why did you run off like that? Just now in the Great Hall…”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I just felt the need to get a fresh nose. And to go flying.”
“Are you going to the Graduation Ball tonight?”
“I don’t know yet, Draco”, he sighed, “I’d rather just go home. Well… To the Dursley’s until I find a place of my own. Which shouldn’t be any problem. I’m sure I’ll find a place by the end of the summer…”
“What about a job? I heard Weasley offered you a job at the Ministry as an Auror…”
“He did, but I’m not really keen on accepting it. I’ve had enough of fighting right now and I don’t really need a job to be able to afford my own place.”
“Well… Why don’t you just come home with me then?”, the blonde shyly offered.
“What about your mother?”, Harry frowned, “She’s not really keen on me, is she?”
“My mother always supported me as long as I was happy. When I told her I didn’t want to become a Death Eater, she was there for me when I needed her. And I would like to give her the chance to meet the man that saved the Wizarding World from Voldemort’s reign; the man that gave me a second chance.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“Yes, I’m as sure as I will ever be.”
“When are we leaving?”
“Tonight. Before the ball. We’ll have to say our goodbyes. Well, you should.”
“You don’t then?”
“All of my House mates had intended to be marked after they graduated. They all wanted to follow Voldemort. I didn’t. I refused to bow to him. For them, I was different. They never accepted my choice and the battle came not a moment too soon. I didn’t know how long they would’ve let me live once they were marked. There’s no one I should really say goodbye to. Professor Snape would be the only one, I suppose. He’s always been kind to me and supportive when I joined the Light side.”
Harry nodded.
“I’ll have to say goodbye to my housemates though”, he nodded, “I have no idea how they will take it. I mean, me moving in to live with you.”
“If you don’t want to, then I perfectly understand…”
“No, I want to”, he quickly said, “I mean… To be honest, I feel there’s something we share that goes deeper than just friendship…”
He looked away after that, waiting for an insult to be thrown his way.
“Harry…”, Draco drawled out, “Look at me…”
The Golden Boy sighed and faced the blonde again, mildly surprised at the smile on his face.
“Something like this you mean?”, the Slytherin whispered, before closing the distance between them, softly pressing his lips against the Gryffindor’s.
Harry gently returned the kiss, that familiar feeling in his gut returning. When the blonde hesitantly pulled away, the brunette licked his lips.
“Exactly like that”, he softly replied.
“I know”, Draco whispered, “I feel it too…”
Their eyes met, emerald met silver and they smiled at each other. This could be the start of something beautiful, which both of them believed it would be. After all the bickering and the fighting, they had finally given each other a second chance and became allies. Allies became friends and friends… Well, let’s just say when you harbour feelings that go deeper than friendship, it’s the start of a new chapter in your life…
…
…
THE END.
