CHAPTER ELEVEN

[Moonlight]

HARRY

"Who's it from?"

"Mr. Dumbledore sirs! He said it was urgent and Dobby had to get it to Mr. Potter right away!"

Dobby handed Harry the letter, nearly bouncing off the walls from the excitement of being trusted with something so important. Harry, on the other hand, felt like he was about to throw up.

He was back on the bed now though. Leg criss-crossed and hands softly examining the small envelope. The thick, creamy paper felt smooth in his hands as he turned it around. The words, Urgent matters of Albus Dumbledore printed on the front in frantic, scribbled green ink. There was something else inside other than paper.

"Does he know where you are right now?" Draco asks. His eyebrows were furrowed in judgement. He still had Harry's wand in one hand just in case they had to make a quick getaway. Harry didn't know if regular stunning spells even worked on house-elfs.

Dobby moved as if he just now noticed Malfoy. His eyes lit up like a child on Christmas. "Its Mr. Draco! Oh how I've missed you- and with Mr. Potter! Dobby's two favorite people together!"

Draco winced. "Yep. Can you do me a favor, Dobby?"

"Oh- yes! Anything for Mr. Draco!"

Harry examined the conversation carefully. Draco was Dobby's previous master. Isn't that why he wanted to be free? He hated the Malfoys. But now that he thought about it, he never did say anything about Draco....

Draco hummed next to him. "The letter isn't tracked....is it?"

Harry immediately dropped the letter. He hadn't even thought of that. It seemed like the exact kind of thing Dumbledore would do too.

"Oh no! Mr. Dumbledore said to report right back to him sir. No charms. He was in a rush. He told Dobby to get to Mr. Potter right way and tell him where he was. House-elf magic is different!"

Harry looked down at the letter again. Before he knew it, his fingers were digging at the bright red wax sealing. Draco watched him cautiously over his shoulder. The letter inside was short and written on yellow aging paper. Harry grabbed his wand from draco and cast a quick diagnostic charm on it, just in case Dobby had been lying. Nothing happened. Harry raised an eyebrow at the elf.

Dear Harry,

Stay where you are. Your act of underage magic alarmed the Ministry and triggered the wards on Privet Drive.

Inside the letter is a porkey. Grab ahold at 10 to six tonight. It'll take you to a safe location. Mr. Shacklebolt will see that you're taken care of. The rest of the Order will be there to hear your story.

P.s. Arabella is fine. Just a little dizzy.

"Dobby. I need you to listen very carefully to me. You cannot tell Dumbledore where we are. Okay?"

Dobby frowns and it makes the anxiety in Harry's chest tighten. "Mr. Dumbledore is a good man. He let's Dobby work at Hogwarts. And gets paid."

"I know he is Dobby." Harry says, biting his lip. "Draco and I are on a top secret mission. And no one can know about it. Not even Dumbledore."

Dobby is confused for a moment. He contemplating something, Harry can tell. But it changes when he looks back up at the two hopeful faces he's come to admire the most.

"Dobby must do this for Mr. Potter's safety."

It's a couple seconds after Dobby snaps his fingers and disappears that Harry let loose of a breath he didn't know he was holding. A pitiful laugh escaped his lips as he falls back onto the bed. He tilts his head back and looks up at Draco's jaw-slacked face. "We're so fucked."

~~

"It's just dinner Potter. I have no idea why you're so worried."

"I don't- what if I do something wrong? What if I use the wrong fork or something? I don't go to dinner parties every night like you do Malfoy! What do I even wear? Why are we even doing this! We should be leaving now.if we don't want to get caught by the Dumbledore-"

"For Salazar sake! I told you! Even if the house-elf told him where you are, there's heavy ward's placed on the building. The only thing he could have told him that you're in an inn with Draco Malfoy."

"Why would you put it that way?" Harry groans, rubbing his face in an attempt to hide his reding cheeks. He was sitting on the bed now, Draco behind him doing something in the mirror he didn't quite care to pay attention too.

"What are you suggesting, Potter?"

"Nothing! Just- ugh. I hate this."

He turns around to see Malfoy smirking in the mirror behind him. "Who would have known. The-Boy-Who-Lived, savior of the wizarding world, the Gryffindor hero, scared of a little dinner."

Harry grumbled something along the lines of 'don't call me that' as he sat up and made his way to his trunk. A couple of Malfoy's things were now stacked on top of it from the afternoon. They had tried again to summon some of Malfoy's stuff. Random scarves and blouses had been hitting their room's window at random intervals of the day and Harry was scared for the moment something shattered the glass.

He opened the lock, set to the date he stepped into Hogwarts for the first time, and pushed a couple things aside until he found what he was looking for. A tiny fragment of a mirror he had cracked on the last day of term. It was wrapped in a silky blue cloth to prevent it from being scratched or broken even worse than it already was.

His fingers dug into the sharp edges. Someplace in his mind registered that it hurt but he didn't care. It comforted him, as it was one of the only things he had left of his godfather. God, would he do anything for his advice right now. Harry could almost imagine the conversation they would have.

"On the run with Draco Malfoy, eh? Can't imagine what that would feel like."

He held it up in the light with the hope he would see the man's smiling face looking back at him.

He slipped inside his pocket as Draco turned back around. Merlin knows Draco would say if he knew about Harry's ridiculous thinking.

"Stop sulking Potter. Bramble makes a delicious Treacle Tart if I do say so myself." Draco taunts, causing Harry's ears to perk up.

He follows Malfoy like a lost puppy out of the room and to wherever Bramble's private quarters were. Harry could have sworn they walked down a least ten flights of stairs when they finally get there. He gasped, feeling his ribs ache against his lungs.

Draco knocks on the old, oak door and they wait awkwardly in silence. Harry grimaces as he tugs at his collar. It was tight. "How do you even live like this?"

The slightest tips of the blonde's mouth tilt upward into a smirk.

"Oh hello boys.Come in. I just put the pie in the oven."

The door opens to reveal Bramble, her hair set up in tight bun with a purple apron tied around her short frame. She gives Malfoy a motherly hug and kisses . Harry made sure to remember that for future black mail uses.

~~~

It was less than ten minutes later that Harry found himself seated at small circular table with more food on it than Harry had seen any place than the Hogwarts feast. Definitely more than his recently starved stomach could probably handle.

"So," Madam Bramble takes a sip from her cup. It looked and smelled exactly like Aunt Petunia break out when an important guest was over. He had yet to touch his glass and he doubted he was going too.. "How long have you two known each other?"

Draco gave her a shooting glare. He nearly laughed at the Slytherin's deranged face. Bramble only saved him a suspicious eyebrow raise.

"We met in here actually. Well, not, here here." Harry laughs awkwardly, trying to defuse the tension. "In Diagon Alley I mean. At Madam Malkin's Robe shop."

"What the hell?"'

Bramble smacks his arm. "Langage."

Draco rolls his eyes but then looks back at him with another absolutely absurd facial expression. "The first time we met was on the train. Remember?"

"You really are dense aren't you?"

He receives a kick to his calf from under the table.

"Ow! Dumbleodore's underpants, Malfoy." He rubs his leg mockingly. He looks up to see Draco's pleading face. Harry's tilts his head slightly in confusion, but something in his face makes him stop. Did he not want to Bramble the truth?

Harry tried to retain what slightest rien over his emotions he had left. Of course he didn't want her to know that he was a bully. He felt his throat close up in pitiful frusation.

Instead, he tries to cover it up with what he tried as a playful smirk. Why he was doing this prat a favor when all he had done was torment him and his friends-

No. That wasn't really true, was it? The Malfoy sitting in front of him now had done nothing but help him. And, though it may make him sound crazy, there was a lot more than just a self-righteous prick than one could find in one glance.

"I was the one behind the veil that day. When you getting fitted. Have you not figured that out yet?"

He could visibly see Draco let out a breath. It catches Harry's attention and he has no idea why.

"Well that's a surprise. Draco's never mentioned you before, considering..."

There's an awkward silence. Harry beats her to the punchline. "Because I'm his best-friend? Yeah."

Draco chokes in the seat next to him.

Bramble's eyes lit up. "Oh?" She seems to be trying to contain her own smirk. "He's definitely never mentioned that."

She stuffs her face her face with her Bouillabaisse to try to contain what might have been a laugh. Harry didn't honestly know what was so funny.

"Funny you should say that, because When Draco was little-"

"Bramble!"

"-he used to talk about you all the time. He couldn't wait to meet you when he started Hogwarts."

Harry watched as Draco's cheeks went as red as a beetroot and radiate heat like a hot pan. "Dear merlin, why? Why would you tell him?"

Harry didn't know what to say. "You're kidding me, right?"

Bramble laughed. "Nope! He was obsessed with the idea there was someone his age who was so, in his words, 'awesome!'"

"I did not say that!"

The pit in his stomach started to loosen. "That's...great. More than great actually. Hilarious." He laughs. Harry remembers everyone fanning over him in his first year. There were still people doing it, despite going to school with him for five years. But the idea of his supposed school rival doing the same was just... different.

"Don't you dare tell anyone else that, Potter."

"Why not? You weren't very caring when you were small. You practically announced your love for him every time you talked."

"Bramble, I'm going to hex you right now if you don't stop talking."

"But-"

"Not a word."

She tried a couple more times to get something out but everytime she went to open her mouth Malfoy was there screaming 'Shhhh!' or some other various threat he probably heard in the Slytherin common room.

Harry watched the whole ordeal with an amused glint in his eyes. It almost made him forget about the situation on hand. Almost.

"As entertaining as this is," he coughs, "we actually have important news. Don't we, Draco?"

"Yes...yes, right." The blonde straightens up his back and makes sure his collar is straight again. He looks dazed still, his cheeks still red and strands of blonde hair coming out of it's perfect gel. Harry felt uncomfortable, like he just walked upon a scene he wasn't supposed to see.

He shoots Harry another glance almost like Harry was about jump up and yell out the window his little secret.

"We're leaving tomorrow."

Bramble signs. "You never fully told me the reason why you're here in the first place so I can't say I'm surprised. But why not stay until term starts? There's only four days left, yes?"

Harry takes a huge bite out of his chicken.

"No reason."

"You used underage magic, didn't you?"

Draco scoffs. "No. Why would you think that?"

"Because it's in the Daily Prophet."

"You have to be joking." Harry finally says. She shakes her head. She bends down and grabs the paper from under the table. She was already prepared for them to think this up.

Harry sets down his fork and reads the paper.

Harry Potter: The Boy Who Hates Muggles?

It's not the first time Harry Potter has been convicted of underage magic. Since he was twelve, Mr. Potter has been seemingly uncaring about the rules put in place to protect muggles. Yesterday was his third offense according to the Department of Underage Magic and Muggle Protection Service. But the question stands. Is there a deeper meaning behind his actions?

All three of his attacks were against muggles. The most recent being Arabella Figg, who subjugated to the stunning curse at five past ten last night, was knocked out cold. Unfortunately, her memory was dazed from her fall.

A muggle teen, presumably Mr. Potter's cousin, was found unconscious as well inside Mr. Potter's home. No magic was detected at the scene, but he suffered from multiple minor concussions and fractures in his wrist and arm. He was taken to a muggle hospital where he was treated for his injuries and his memory was wiped.

See more on page 3

Harry's nose crumpled up in disgust. Leave it to the Prophet to twist every single one of his actions.

It wasn't the words that ever affected him at his point. He just hated the fact that someone that he never spoke to before had the right to decide who he was and how everyone else was going to view him that week. Didn't they even try to do a little bit of research?

The thing he was worried about was Ron and Hermione. They would go absolutely apeshit when, or if they hadn't already, read the article.

Draco snatched the paper's from his hand and scoffed. "Really? Do they ever pick a side? Do they really believe their golden boy would change on them that quickly?"

Harry shrugged.

"Does it not bother you? Everyone hating you and loving you with nothing to stop it?"

The two boy's eyes meet. And for a second, their eyes say more than Harry ever thought possible.

"I don't know." Harry shrugs. He tears his gaze away and takes another bite of his treacle tart. Malfoy was right about it. It nearly melted in his mouth. "I guess it was just going to happen no matter what I suppose."

Harry looks up at Bramble who was looking at him oddly. "So why go on the run? It's only underage magic. They have no real proof for a hate crime.'

He clenched his fist.

"I can't get caught again. They'll twist it somehow again and I just can't. They'll snap my wand and I'll never be allowed back at Hogwarts and I'll have to go back," he throat tightens, "to live with my relatives. Besides, I need that one. It's the only chance I have against Voldermort."

Both of them wince but Harry pretends not to notice. "And once we get to Hogwarts they'll have to go through Dumbledore."

He conveniently left out the part where he'll also have to avoid Dumbledore himself. Maybe it'll be his payback from last year.

"That's hardly a fool-proof plan. Where would you go? They can't detect you through the wards."

"We have a place," Draco says. Harry gags inwardly. That made them sound like a newlywed couple. "It's heavily warded. You don't have to worry."

She sighs sadly. "Okay fine. Just be careful."

Draco scraps what's left of his plate into his mouth. Harry marvels at how he can make something so messy so graceful. He stands up and dusts off the nonexistent dirt on his pants.

"We'll be going now, Bramble. Thank you for dinner."

"Do you need help cleaning up?" Harry adds. He felt guilty for eating his full. Not helping at all would leave him restless when he slept.

"Oh, no dears. You better go back." She looks up at the clock. "It's nearly eleven already. You'll need your sleep."

"But-"

"Thank you, Bramble." Draco grabbed his wrist and led them towards the door. He was about to open it when a sudden, loud clatter rang out above them. Draco's leg froze into place.

"What was that?"

"Someone probably just dropped something."

BANG.

BANG

"That was not..." His face pales. He immediately slammed the door and locks it with trembling hands. Harry shifts in confusion.

"Give me your wand Potter."

"What?"

"I said give me your wand Potter! There's no time to explain."

He fumbles with the wand to pull it out of his pocket a hands it to Draco. He grabs it with eager hands.

"Colloportus! Praesidio! Cinccino!"

"Bloody hell, Malfoy. What are you doing?"

"What do you think? Go tell Bramble to go set the window locks."

Harry couldn't do anything but comply.

~~~

Hear you falling and lonely, cry out

Will you fix me up? Will you show me hope?

The end of the day, I'm helpless

Can you keep me close? Can you love me most?

~~~

Merry Crisis :) I tried to make this chapter a little longer. Sorry if it sucks ://

I said this on my message board but I feel like I should say it again. To all those members of the LGBTQ+ community who feel excluded from their family and unwanted during the holiday times. Remember that you are important. You matter. You are loved and valued. Do not forget that. There are people who love and accept you for you.

Words: 3007

Published: 12/24/19