“Maybe I should.” He turns to leave, aes, beause he does o be afraid a I ould ome bak. Later. When you’ve had some time to get used to the idea of.”
When you’ve had more time to be alo he is saying. Whehat you really do miss me.
Drao waits a moment, but his father does hat’s okay. Drao is o are about him.
Chapter 41
Harry
They are paking up to leave.
& believe it, holy. Even though he had beeo sighe ottage, a part of him must have thought that it was too good to beome reality, like he had been living in half a day dream for these past few weeks. Harry had spent so long living a life y e he must have been onstantly preparihe other shoe to drop, but now, with only a few days until the move in date (and before Luna and Ginny’s wedding) he finally is able to aept that he might be getting his happy ending.
“That’s it then.” There ping sound as Drao taped over the top of the box, looking around the living room. He despised doing things the muggle way, but despite how many times he had tried (and Merliried, all st wisting and bunhing ating so ed around Drao that Harry had to ome ut him out of it), he ouldhe tape dispenser in a way to get it to y ly over the folds of the box. “Did we get everything?”
“I think so.” Drao piked up his notebook ahrough it uhe right page. He had made lists for every room in the house. When Ron saw it, he had given a low whistle and said that it was a shame that Drao and Hermio been friends bak in shool. Imagiudy shedules, He had muttered when their baks were turned, and Harry thought that that was a good enough reasohem to never have beehe same room together bak in shool, had they her. “A to the list.”
“A is always right.” Harry tugged the of his hand a dowable, distrating him with a kiss, beause if he doeshis off before it starts, Drao will spend the evening heking and rehekihe rehek, w himself into suh a state that Harry has th everything they had paked before he an walk away from the boxes. “It seems smaller, no.”
The whole house did, really. Harry had thought ab it over to the ministry like Drao had suggested in the beginning, turn it i of museum, but he deided against it, beause he did not think that Sirius would have liked that. His godfather, ent his whole life wanting nothio break free of this pe, would have warike a math and burn the whole pe dow felt like the best way to honor him, maki Grimmauld Pe dies with the ones who had lived in it.
(In a ay from this house felt like the final at of saying good bye to all those ghosts he had been afraid of faiep th the grief he had ignored, where he walks through rooms in the house as memories like old friends— of Sirius, of Fred, of Mad Eye, Remus, Tonks, even Dobby, like this house arts of those memories, the raw, bloody parts that are still sabbing over, and one Harry walks out of this pe food, the memories will ease their ahing, tur ihe white h they are now.)
That’s not to say it’s bee as the house had fought against the leaning rew bak in Harry’s fifth year, it was fighting against them ould se when Harry and Dra their boxes out the door, it would be shut io fall iion and disrepair. Harry had piked up the rusade against its many rooms all ain, aher, he and Drao had torn the heads of house elves from the wall (they buried them in the ruins of the Malfoy garden, beause Harry ould not sta of just throwihe garbage like Red them to, not under Kreaher’s wathful eye and Hermione’s gre), broken into boarded up losets to lear the shelves of anything gerous, ahe elr food, until it was nothing but an house with o offer the world.
&ried to sell, Harry washere would be anyh to buy it. The thought fills him with a little bit of joy, like he had dht by Sirius after all.
(It’s sort of a fuk you, too. Like, hey, painting of Sirius’ razy mother, remember when you would yell about mudbloods and traitors and filth? Now you an sream all you like, u fades and the aper peels ahing but rot, no ohough it is a new level of razy tainst a painting.)
“Maybe you’ve just gotten bigger.” Drao grins up from his spot on the floor, surrouy boxes and pile of rubbish that they were giving away and that alresent tape dispeoo grown up for it now.”
Yes, Harry thought, khe ouh ushion above him and bending over so he an hug Drao from behind, that must be it.
Drao
As the house empties, beoming more and more like a her, Drao is finding it hard to sleep again.
&, beause he does not want Harry to worry. It’s o worry about, just a side effet of the house looking like somepe ompletely h new smells and sounds ahe old omforts it used to hold, and he sound of Harry’s breathirik of ounting the raks spiralihe eilio lull him bak to the alm, so even though Drao had prom