I'll
sing it one last time for you And I can
barely look at you Light up, light up Louder louder To think I might not see those eyes Light
up, light up Louder louder Slower slower Have heart my dear Light up, light up
Then we really have to go
You've
been the only thing that's right
In all I've done
But every single time I do
I know we'll make
it anywhere
Away from here
As if you
have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right
beside you dear
And we'll run for our lives
I
can hardly speak I understand
Why you can't raise your voice to
say
Makes it so hard
not to cry
And as we say our long goodbye
I nearly do
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my
voice
I'll be right beside you dear
And
we'll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you
can't raise your voice to say
We don't have
time for that
All I want is to find an easier way
To get out of
our little heads
We're bound to be
afraid
Even if it's just for a few days
Making up for all this
mess
As
if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be
right beside you dear
- Snow Patrol / Run
Epilogue.
Draco sat on his bench, swinging his legs lazily as a cold wind swept up against his figure. Smiling bitterly to himself, he continued to drag the swinging bench along, drawing the snow into a small pile in front of him. With a long sigh, he leaned his head back against the solid wood and stared at the moon, his eyes twinkling with unshed tears.
He missed Harry… He missed Harry to the point where nothing even mattered anymore.
Shrugging himself deeper inside his cloak, he let out a huff of breath, watching as the fog swarmed in the sky for a minute before disappearing. He was going to leave—Hogwarts had no place for him.
After the war, and his parents' death, he had escaped behind the castle walls. In a way, they seemed to sulk just as he did and comforted him along with each professor's support. But he had to grow up… see that hiding behind a safe refuge wasn't for him.
He had lost Harry; there was nothing else to lose. Nothing to live for… Wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, Draco decided there was nothing to stay for at Hogwarts.
Leaves skittered across his vision, and he smiled ruefully to himself. This had been the place where he had experienced his last happy moment… The place where Harry had almost seemed to remember him…
Swallowing a sudden lump in his throat, Draco shook his head. Harry was better off now, with his Gryffindor friends and his in-tact memory. No messed-up Slytherin to deal with… No broken love, forbidden kisses… Warm embraces that seemed to ignite every nerve in his body to the point where he was a quivering mess, calling out Harry's name…
Draco snapped out of his reverie, shaking his head. A slow, humorless smile appeared on his face. Yes, Harry was much better without him—Though, he was definitely not at all okay without Harry.
He wouldn't let that stand in the way of Harry's normal life, however. He had already begun to confuse the boy enough, already tried his hardest to make him remember…
Forcing himself not to shed another tear, Draco pulled himself up off the bench and shuffled through the snow, trying to push a small pleading, warm voice to the back of his head. Soft, fiery touches… sweet, passionate kisses… hushed, whispering secrets… sweet, loving laughter…
All that had to go.
Shrinking his luggage, he took a deep breath and walked away from the castle. His train left in forty minutes.
x.x.x.x
Hermione stared at Dumbledore for a long moment, her eyes narrowed. "This isn't fair to Harry."
Dumbledore sighed, creating a tent with his fingers as he stared at the bushy-haired girl intently. "It isn't. Draco Malfoy is long gone however… The house-elves told me his things have been gone for a week now."
Ron's teeth clenched, as he sent a look at the hospital bed, where Harry lay sleeping soundly. "That coward," he cried, standing up abruptly, as if to find Draco Malfoy himself. "He just left without a word to us? To Harry?"
Hermione was silent before looking at Ron, "No. He had no idea what Harry had done for him, Ron. This isn't his fault… He probably thought he was better off leaving Harry. In fact, if Harry hadn't done what he did, it probably would have been for the best." She said, knowing Ron would agree.
The tips of the boy's ears went red, though he had nothing to say.
Dumbledore nodded gravely, a sigh escaping his lips. "We can't let Harry think Draco abandoned him, it'll be too much for his mental stability."
Hermione laid wide-eyes on Dumbledore, shaking her head. "That' isn't fair. He deserves to know… He'll remember Draco anyway—"
Dumbledore sent the two children in his office a piercing gaze. "He'll need to believe it wasn't real, Miss. Granger. If he thinks Draco did abandon him—which he will, as you know that he doesn't remember ever regaining his full memory—then that could cause him to lose all hope he carries. At least this way, he'll think it never happened, have you two to help him cope." The man's voice faltered, as if he regretted this decision as much as the couple standing in front of him.
Ron and Hermione looked at each other, both lost and unsure of what to do. "Then-then we tell him it was all a dream?" Ron stuttered, looking at Harry with a sympathetic expression. It really wasn't fair, he decided.
"Yes, Mr. Weasley. Harry knows he had been sleeping for quite a while, and with the potions we had been feeding him… We can pass it off as an after-effect—"
"No!" Hermione said finally, tears leaving her eyes. "How can Ron and I live, hiding such an important thing from him…" She looked at Ron, tears streaking her cheeks. Her friend, the savior of the entire world… How could this happen to him? "Can't we at least give him back his memories, like-like before?"
Dumbledore locked gazes with the girl, shaking his head. "Anymore playing with his memories and I'm afraid we'll just cause more damage in his mind. If he knows Draco actually exists, but left him with no recollection of the past few months, or why, he will fall into an even worse depression."
Hermione looked away, her grip on Ron's arm tightening. It was then they knew they had no other choice.
x.x.x.x
Harry lay on the grass near the lake and stared at the cloudless sky the day before they were leaving for the Hogwart's express to take them back to their homes. Harry had grown very much stable in the past few months, and although he still carried a great depressed air wherever he went, he was speaking.
And Ron and Hermione couldn't ask for much more.
Playing with a lock of raven hair, he averted his gaze. It was then a voice startled him and Harry saw Ron approaching him with a small smile.
"What're you thinking about?" He asked softly, as if anything louder would somehow break Harry, before lying down next to him.
"Draco." Harry said instantly, shortly. He always seemed to stop progressing when he thought of Draco, and instead throwing himself into an impossible depression once more.
"Hmm," Ron said, shifting slightly to face Harry. "I can understand why you want to hold onto him… But, you have more important things to worry about, like what you're going to do now that's school's over. I mean, Hermione certainly won't let you laze around in that new flat of yours all day."
Harry hummed, turning away from Ron. It had seemed so real. Every touch… every kiss. It was as if every word his fantasy had said to him was real, replaying in his mind over, and over.
And over.
He closed his eyes shut, before forcing himself to turn back around. "I guess so," he finally said, his voice distant and his glasses slipping off his nose slightly as he opened his eyes once more.
Ron's smile faltered and he patted Harry lightly on the arm before standing up and stretching out an arm for Harry to grab hold of as he hoisted him up. "Seven years of Hogwarts, and now it's over." He said, somewhat sadly.
Harry only gazed at the castle forlornly, before walking back without Ron.
Ron swallowed and looked away, walking slowly behind him.
x.x.x.x
The Hogwart's Express gave a final whistle before it started to move. Harry sat alone in a compartment, staring out the window and letting his fingers graze the pane of glass adoringly.
With a soft smile, he watched as the trees sped by him before leaning his head back against his head rest.
His eyes closed slowly, and soon he found himself drifting into a deep slumber. He loved sleeping, however…
For his dreams always seemed to be filled with a silver-haired man, who would wrap comforting arms around him and whisper over and over to him, lips brushing softly against his ears.
"I love you Harry. Always."
Always.
x.x.x.x
AN: You all hate me for ending it this way. I know… But there is a reason I did. For, you see…
I will be writing a sequel!
So don't fret, loves! I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it—and loved it enough to stay with me for another long journey with the sequel.
Love and hugs to everyone!
Shadow.