Welcome To Neverland
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"Welcome to Neverland." Harry whispered to Draco who was clutching onto Harry very tightly himself. He had one hand thrown over Harry's neck and the other grabbing his shoulder with his face buried in his side. Draco twisted his head so it was on Harry's shoulder to see if he was telling the truth or not. When he did, Draco saw trees and trees for miles. Vines draped from the 100ft glories of nature to pool at the bottom and perfectly blend with the grass. Flowers bounced freely in the open winds and created more colours than a rainbow. The colour of a vibrant blue dazzled in the mid-day sun, gorgeously mellowed by sunset yellow or a hypnotizing blood red. One plant was in the shape of a palm, all the primary colours in pastel. They smoothly lifted up to charitably curve down, and continuously repeated the motion.
Harry led them through to stand on the edge of a clearing, but there wasn't anything there for Blaise and Pansy. Gently, he began to pet the animal. The skeleton creatures moved with elegance. Their entire being was meant to be the embodiment of the reminder from death, but Draco found them enticing. With barely any coal skin, all bones were visible from the ribcage to the last in its tail. As black as the raven perched on a branch behind them.
Their eyes were the brightest things about them.
"Draco, are you ok?" Pansy questioned, staring at the place Draco's hand was.
"Yeah. Can you not see them?" He turned his head but still petting the unknown animal to him.
"See what?" Blaise piped up, looking everywhere by Draco.
The blond boy's expression was one of confusion, "The horses! Well, they're like horses, but they're black and you can see their bones."
"They're called Thestrals." Harry intruded, "You can only see them, if you've seen death." Draco's hand stopped in place agitating the horse so he stepped away. A small cough from Harry tried to defuse the tension, "We will be using these to get to my hide out. Because you two can't see them, one of you will ride with me, while the other with Draco. You know how to ride right?" He directed the question to Draco.
"All three of us are from aristocratic families, I'm pretty sure we know how to ride." Malfoy folded his arms and marched to a Thestral to mount it, "I'm taking Blaise." He said quickly.
Smirking, Blaise- with Draco's help- leapt on the Thestral, "I'm not interested in him Draco, he's all yours." Blaise whispered.
Quickly, he turned pink, "It's not- I don't- oh shut up Zabini!"
"Guess that leaves us, m'lady." Harry bowed to Pansy and held out his hand.
"I can get on myself thank you." She stated and walked straight past Harry while Draco and Blaise snickered at his expression. She felt around for the animal and found its belly, then lifter her hand till it was planted on the middle of the horses back. Skilfully, she leapt up and swung her leg over to sit upright on the Thestral.
It was at the very least a mile of forest as far as the eye can see until Harry's Thestral came to an abrupt stop, almost sending Draco and Blaise over their animal from the halt. In front of them was a large, willow tree with a bulky trunk. The bark was smooth, barely any ridges, the branches encased them in a warm embrace while the leaves were the hairs that tickled your neck as the person nuzzled in. "Why'd we stop here?" Draco questioned when Harry leapt from the Thestral. Choosing to ignore the question, Harry walked to the tree and knocked on it several times in a confusing pattern.
Suddenly, the tree opened up, the bark pushing back a centimetre then sliding right. Grinning like the Cheshire cat, he turned back to the gobsmacked faces. "You guys coming?" They quickly hopped off, Draco petting the animal in thanks first, and walked to Harry, "Slide down."
"Excuse me?" Pansy said: none of them were allowed near a playground when they were little, their parents said it was too peasant-like and not something an heir should do.
"Slide! Don't tell me you've never slid down a slide before!" An unbelieving look on his face.
"We've never been allowed." Blaise sadly smiled.
"We'll have to change that, won't we? Now, slide!" Harry exclaimed, pushing Blaise down and hearing a faint yelp. Shortly, Blaise was followed by Pansy.
"You're just the embodiment of joy, aren't you?" Draco chuckled, "You know, some people find that utterly irritating, but you're something else Potter." With that, Draco slid down, whooping all the way. Smiling, Harry followed suite. Almost at the bottom and he saw the blonde hadn't moved, he tried warning him, but they collided anyway. Harry landed on top of Draco, straddling him, arms resting either side of Draco's face. "Why hello." Harry laughed, but their faces were mere inches apart...
"Who'd we have 'ere Harry?" Someone with a thick Irish accent asked breaking the moment. With that, Harry quickly scrambled off Draco and helped the latter to his feet, both red like a harvest moon.
Draco looked around seeing four boys dressed almost exactly like Harry, and a girl who had a leather skirt of burgundy instead of trousers.
Finally, Harry brushed himself off and answered, "These people are-"
"I think we can introduce ourselves, wonder boy." Draco sassed but smiled at Harry too.
"Right, I'm Pansy Parkinson." Her eyes scanned the group, and landed on the female for a while longer than the rest.
"Blaise Zabini, at your service." He picked the red-head's hand and kissed the back of it. Then he stepped back, in line with Pansy.
"And I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy." There were collective gasps within the group, but all the Lost Boys (and one girl) closed their mouths at the stern look Harry gave them. However, the moment didn't go unnoticed to the three newcomers.
"I'm Dean, and this is my boyfriend Seamus who loved ruining your moment with Harry." Dean slung an arm around Seamus.
The red head looked directly at Blaise but turned away with a blush, "I'm Ron Weasley, so people call me Weasel."
Draco was about to ask if that was a bit degrading until the final boy spoke, "I'm Neville, Longbottom. There last names-" he pointed to Dean and Seamus, "are Thomas and Finnigan." All three had to bite back a laugh or remark at the boy's last name. Never have they heard such a vulgar surname.
"And I'm the one who has to deal with these vile, little cockroaches, Hermione Granger." She said after placing three more dishes at the table.
Draco was so focused on the people he didn't look around the room. The kitchen was that, a kitchen. It had a clay oven-style fire for food, a bucket on a handle he could only assume was an underground well and another room to the side which he guessed was a pantry. Ahead of that was a few counters that need repairing- maybe Draco could do it, after all he was taught DIY when he was small by his favourite butler Dobby. A small wall separated that from a long spruce dining table; tattered legs and abused top. The chairs were wooden also, but had vines wrapped around them.
To the dining rooms left was an open living room he assumed. In there was a circular orange carpet on a timber floor. Strangely, there was a regal red couch and a few weirdly shaped things that looked like a bean. Draco saw them in a shop once- if he recalled properly- they were called beanbags. Unfortunately, his father deemed them too uncouth for the boy to have when he was five. There were also a few shelves lining the living room walls filled with books and one with board games.
"Guys, can we talk in there for a second?" Harry spoke directly to the group and pointed at the living area "You three get tucked in, we'll be back in a minute or so." He explained and left with the group.
"We're going to listen, right?" Blaise questioned; Pansy gave him a 'duh' look. She chose the closest seat to them and listened but could only hear muffled noises. "No use, can't hear anything." She huffed and started eating what Granger had prepared.
"He doesn't know about Lucius and Narcissa's past. He has no clue his parents were pirates." Harry whispered in a stern tone.
"What do you think his parents taught him? Love and acceptance?" Ron huffed.
None of them know about Harry's secret rendezvous to the Muggle world to see one Draco Malfoy so that was Dean's next question. "Since when do you bring people back from the Muggle world? You have never brought people back with you!"
"We will discuss this later. Right now, you all act like nothing has happened, or you'll sleep on the beach, and I mean it." Never had Harry took such a tone or ordered them around, so it was a shock to the group. It also served as a question-spike because not once has Harry been so passionate about anything. He must really be interested in this Draco guy.