Goodbye drabble
Harry tipped over his suitcase with his foot idly, sitting on the tired bag. It sank into the sand from his weight and the young boy-man?-stretched out his legs. The water lapped at his feet lightly, the summer wind brushing back his black hair. When Harry was cleaning out his bedroom, he had found an old set of glasses underneath the bed. He was wearing them now and they were pinching his nose in an irritable way, but he didn’t have the heart to take them off. It seemed like he should walk out the same way he walked in-give or take a few extra pounds and a couple more feet of height.
It was hard to believe that sometime last year, he had been saying goodbye to Draco. Now he was saying goodbye to the only home he had ever really known. He felt a little empty inside, like he had poured out some piece Hogwarts always kept into the sand under his sneakers. The anxious feeling wouldn’t go away either; he wanted to run out into the world as much as he wanted to stay within the castle walls.
Harry heard two pairs of feet coming behind him and he smiled, scooting over on the old leather. Hermione sat slowly beside him, straightening out her robes while Ron stretched out on the sand on the other side. He glanced at his two friends, bemused slightly at their sober faces staring out into the lake. In the distance, mermaids were teasing the squid, their fishy limbs slapping the water loudly. They were probably celebrating having the lake all to themselves again and didn’t have to share it with annoying students for a couple of months. Harry didn’t really know, didn’t really care. He only cared that his two friends-his two best friends-were sitting beside him at the very end.
Smiling, Harry took off his glasses and contemplated them for a moment before he turned and shoved them onto Hermione’s face. Ron and him laughed at her indignant squawk, rolling away before she hit him with her hand or spell. She splashed him with water instead before he could get too far, and he turned quickly, retaliating. Ron took the other side, sweeping up a large handful and getting them both right in their faces until they all were knees deep in the lake, splashing, tackling, laughing at each other in a ridiculous manner until they were panting and hugging each other tightly with their wet clothes squishing loudly between them.
“You two are so ridiculous,” Hermione scolded, pulling away to ring out her curly hair. Harry raised his eyebrows.
“Hermione…” Harry started slowly. “You started it.”
“I did no such thing,” she replied snottily, trotting back to the sand. She failed to hide her smile from the two of them. Ron and Harry glanced at each other with similar expressions, before shoving their hands in their drenched pockets and following. Harry looked beyond Hermione to the castle looming in the background and felt, for the first time in a long time, that he was ready.
“I have to go do one more thing,” Harry told his friends. Before they could ask what, Harry was racing back to the castle with his shoes making loud squishy noises every time his foot hit the grass. He ran up the old stone steps that held so many different memories of Harry’s; when they were walking to Hagrid’s or dashing for their lives for whatever trouble Harry had gotten them all into. The large wooden doors were swung wide open and Harry caught sight of Justin and Ginny flirting cautiously with each other in the doorway as he ran pass. Further in, ghosts were saying their farewells and Seamus was laughing while Michael fussed with his things. Everybody Harry knew was there, all the kids he had grown up with, fought with, ate with, walked down the halls with-all there, waiting to leave and begin a new section in their lives. And there was Draco, standing by a trophy case with his suitcases floating by his head as he spoke to Millicent and Gregory who were-surprise, surprise-wrapped around each other. Students gave Harry a wide berth as he slowed down and walked quickly to the Slytherin, since he was dripping lake water all over the place. When he reached the Malfoy heir, he grabbed his wrist and spun him around. Draco took one look at him and immediately stepped back, hands rising up to defend himself, and Harry stepped right into his personal space.
“Potter, what the hell ar--?!” Draco started, stopped as Harry kissed him. He cased the Slytherin’s pale cheeks in his large, tan hands and breathed in the expensive cologne until Draco let his tongue wander in. Water was dripping all over the man’s detailed attire, onto his face as water fell from Harry’s black hair, and the Gryffindor was sure it wasn’t the best kiss they ever had-he was sure he probably tasted like seaweed but that didn’t stop him.
When Harry pulled away, he grinned at Draco’s bewildered face, hands still frozen in the air. He traced his hands further down to the blonde’s shoulders, licking his lips nervously while he tried to ignore Bulstrode’s and Goyle’s I-knew-it stares.
“So, I know this is kind of last minute,” Harry rushed before Draco came out his state and punched him. “But I was wondering if you wanted to get a flat together.”
Draco blinked slowly, his eyebrows scrunching up together and then raising one. He paused for a beat or two, putting his hands on Harry’s wrists and nudging them off his shoulders. Harry immediately let go; they both weren’t much for public affection and the limit had reached its peak the minute their lips touched. He seemed to mull it over a bit in his head until Harry was sweating. Then Draco smirked and Harry remembered a time when that smirk use to drive him into a rage…but now all it did was make the Boy-Who-Lived’s knees very, very weak.
“Maybe,” Draco said softly, his gray eyes glinting and Harry was pretty sure that was a yes.
If he could find a very, very nice flat, of course.
“Okay,” Harry said and smiled.