Coming Home

Harry and Draco walk together towards the school in a thick silence. Neither of them speak until the crumbling towers of the castle come into view. Draco slows his stride, coming to a stop in the middle of the path as he looks ahead at the school.

“I shouldn’t be here.” He breathes, unable to tear his eyes from the ruins ahead.
The place that was once his home, destroyed to dust. Destruction that he didn’t help to stop.
Destruction that he was part of.

Harry turns to face him, finally drawing his gaze away from the castle.
“You have every right to be here.” Harry answers. “It was your home too.”

Draco’s eyes well with tears, but he blinks them away as he looks down at his shoes.

“We need your help to restore it.” Harry tells him quietly.

Draco takes a deep breath, nodding as he begins walking again. Harry smiles down at his own shoes as he walks beside him, drawing closer to the school with every step. As they cross the bridge, a few of the younger students stop and stare at them with wide eyes.

Harry ignores them, simply standing a step in front of Draco as he guides him to what used to be the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall stands in the center of the room, waving her wand at the rubble as she clears it from the steps near the front.

“Professor?” Harry calls, causing McGonagall to turn and look at him. “I’ve brought someone to help.”

Harry steps to the side, and McGonagall’s eyes widen as she looks at Draco.
“Mr. Malfoy.” She says quietly, stepping towards the boys slowly. “I must admit, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Draco nods, shifting his weight uncomfortably.
“I know.” He replies, looking down at his shoes. “I didn’t expect to be here.”

McGonagall walks closer, slowly.
“I am glad to see you here, Draco.” She says softly, and Draco looks up at her slowly. “You are a talented wizard, and I always hoped I would see your true heart.”

She winks, turning away from the boys and gesturing to the mess around them.
“We have a lot to do, clear away the rubble and then we’ll start on reconstruction.” She tells them, and Harry smiles as he pulls out his new wand.

Draco follows suit, taking out his own wand, feeling the weight of it in his hand. He hasn’t used magic since he lost his wand, he hasn’t wanted to. For a moment, he just watches, taking in the pure magic of the people around him, watching them use it for good and healing.

Slowly, he raises his wand, feeling the rush of magic he’s been avoiding for months. He waves his wand, clearing a massive chunk of what used to be the ceiling away from the floor. Draco almost laughs as it disappears, finding himself to be enthralled with the sensation of using magic again for something good, almost feeling like he did the first time he ever waved his wand.

He does it again, biting back a smile as he clears piles of rubble away. He works for hours beside his peers, mending all that he can and volunteering himself to do more. The room begins to clear out as the sun begins to set, and Draco stretches his arms as he tucks his wand into his back pocket.

“Hey.” Harry says quietly, and Draco turns around to face him. “We usually have dinner in our tents, but if you want to go outside for a bit..?”

Draco nods, wondering what he means by their tents, but not daring to ask. He follows Harry out of the Great Hall and down the front steps of the school. They walk around the castle to where the courtyard used to be, the remnants of the fountain in the center being the only marker that this used to be a beautiful place.

Harry sits on a large chunk of broken concrete, nodding his head as a sign for Draco to sit beside him. He hands him a sandwich and a bottle of pumpkin juice as he sits down, and Draco murmurs a thank you as he takes them from him.
They eat in silence for a while, neither boy knowing what to say to the other, neither knowing where they stand.

“Are you going to stay?” Harry asks, tracing his finger around the opening of the bottle.

Draco looks at him out of the corner of his eye, but Harry doesn’t look back. He realizes that this is the first time he’s really looked at Harry, at least the first time looking at him this closely. His eyes behind his glasses are soft—tired, but soft. His face looks different than he remembers, aged somehow even within the few months since they saw each other last. His lips are turned into a small smile, despite the destruction around them.

But he’s just a boy.
He’s just like Draco, and yet, he spent his entire childhood trying to destroy him.

“I want to help.” Draco answers finally, looking down at his hands. “But I’ll go if you want me to.”

Harry’s eyebrows furrow as he turns to look at Draco.
“Why?” He asks, looking at him. “Why do you care what I want now?”

Draco sighs, tapping his foot against the cobblestones beneath them.
“Because I’ve done enough, Potter.” He replies in a frustrated tone. “I fell for it all, I helped to destroy this castle, I aided in the deaths of my friends—your friends. Our instructors. Dumbledore.”

Draco chokes on his words as a tear slides down his cheek.
“I can’t undo it.” He breathes, not daring to look at Harry. “I can’t fix what I’ve broken, but I can fix this castle, and then I can disappear forever.”

He wipes the back of his hand against his cheek roughly.
“You won’t ever have to see me again after this, swear it.” He continues, sniffling once as he blinks quickly.

Harry sighs quietly, shaking his head.
“That’s not what I want.” Harry says quietly. “You’ve hurt enough from this. Stay here with us, all the misfits with nowhere to go.”

Draco scoffs.
“What about the Weasley’s?” He asks bitterly. “Aren’t you sort of their pet?”

Harry sighs again, standing up and walking away slowly.
“Can’t be with them yet.” Harry replies in a low voice, just loud enough for Draco to hear. “Not after Fred.”

Draco feels guilty immediately, standing up and following behind Harry slowly.
“Right.” He says quietly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

Harry shrugs, trailing his hand across the cracked edge of the fountain.
“Stay if you want.” He says to Draco, turning to look at him. “Go if you want. No one tells anyone what to do here anymore.”

Draco nods, taking a deep breath.
“I’ll stay.” He says quietly.

Harry’s mouth twitches at the corner, almost like a smile.
“Fine.” He says in a polite tone. “I’ll show you where we sleep.”

Draco nods, following behind him as they walk out of the courtyard and to the very edges of the forest. Dozens of tents are scattered along the sides of the path, stretching all the way out to Hagrid’s hut.

Harry leads him to one at the very edge, slightly further away from the other tents.
“Um, we are sort of out of tents at the moment, and it’s too dangerous to sleep in the castle as the ceiling continues to settle.” He says awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “This is my tent, I can sleep outside.”

Draco looks at him, speechless.
“You’d do that for me?” He asks, his voice somewhat shaky.

Harry nods, looking back at him.
“Yeah, you look like you need a good night’s sleep.” Harry says, kicking the dirt with his shoe slowly.

Draco nods, looking at the entrance of the tent.
“Looks big enough.” Draco says awkwardly. “For both of us that is.”

Harry nods, shrugging once as he unzips the opening. He holds it open for Draco, and he goes inside. He’s surprised to find that it truly is just a muggle tent, not a charmed one. It’s small with blankets and pillows covering the ground, each with different house crests and colors on them.

Harry climbs into the tent after him, and they sit as far from each other as possible. Draco pulls on a loose string at the edge of a Hufflepuff blanket as Harry zips the entrance shut.

“We salvaged all the bedding from the different dormitories.” Harry explains, gesturing to the blankets and pillows. “We washed them in Hagrid’s hut, so they’re clean.”

Draco nods, looking at the blankets again, wondering if any belonged to any of the wizards who died in the battle. He slowly gets under them, laying his head down on the pillow as he pulls the blankets up under his chin.

Harry does the same a moment later, looking over at Draco. Draco looks up at the top of the tent, breathing slowly and evenly.
“You know we’re safe here, right?” Harry asks quietly, still looking at Draco in the dark tent.

Draco slowly turns his head, looking over at Harry.
“Are you sure?” He asks, just as quietly. “Because it feels—”

Draco trails off, not sure how to put the suffocating feeling of the death and silence along the grounds into words.

Harry nods, scooting closer to Draco slightly.
“I know what you mean.” Harry says, his voice almost a whisper. “But we are safe, and we’re all together.”

Draco nods, scooting just a couple inches closer to Harry as well.

Neither of them talk after that, looking at each other for a moment longer before they both look up at the ceiling. The only sound in the tent is their breathing as they lay there, but Harry shifts in the darkness after a few minutes.

“Goodnight, Draco.” He murmurs. “And if I’m honest, I’m glad you’re here.”

Draco turns to look at him, searching Harry’s face for any trace of sarcasm.
“Goodnight, Pot—Harry.” Draco says, wondering if this is the first time he’s ever called Harry by his first name. “And if I’m honest, I’m glad too.”

Harry smiles, turning to look back at the ceiling and closing his eyes. Draco tries to bite a smile back, turning to look up at the ceiling too as he closes his eyes and falls asleep, faster than he has in months.