Is This Seat Taken?
Harry walked down the corridor, unsure of why he had even bothered to come to the yearly remembrance ball the Ministry oversaw. What should have been about the lives lost during the war was really only about donations, and who held the bigger pockets. The only reason he did show up was to ensure that there weren’t false charities aiming to swindle people out of donating their life savings away.
Frustration at the entire situation had Harry wishing he had stayed in bed with his warm joggers and no dress code in sight. Fancy robes, ties that clashed, and pretentious attitudes would always cause his ire to flare.
Harry had been accosted by several drunk guests—men and women—in their bid to get him to dance. The only reason he had managed to escape was Luna loudly proclaiming to have found the proof of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack inside the Minister’s overcoat. She truly was a wonderful friend.
Frustrated with numerous people constantly vying for his attention, Harry stormed towards an alcove he knew people overlook, when a rustling had him coming to a standstill. A flash of blond hair had him groaning internally.
Malfoy was in Harry’s spot. Sure, it wasn’t claimed, but this was where Harry always went to hide, and he didn’t appreciate that it had been stolen. Indecision had him biting his lip as he thought over his options. He could move on and find somewhere else to sit… or he could ask if Malfoy minded the company.
Sitting next to Malfoy would be a toss-up as to whether that would be his low point to the night. Sure, Malfoy had undergone several personality changes in the five years since leaving Hogwarts. Malfoy not only paid restitution for war damages—willingly—but he also had changed the way prisoners were released by becoming a counselor for reformed prisoners on their way out of Azkaban. Malfoy helped the prisoners learn how to move past their imprisonment and helped them learn many ways they could help society in productive ways.
Despite Malfoy’s efforts, Harry still had a hard time talking to him. It wasn’t old grudges or even hate that kept him distanced from Malfoy, but rather an inability to remain pleasant. Malfoy was always someone who knew exactly what to say to get under Harry’s skin—something that hadn’t changed over the years. They still bickered when forced to talk—which Harry normally wouldn’t mind—but with the way his night had progressed, Harry wasn’t in the mood to argue.
Harry took a step back, deciding it wasn’t worth the trouble. As he turned around to go hopefully unnoticed, a rush of energy surrounded him. The magic was familiar in a way that Harry knew the origins should be obvious, but they eluded him. He blinked rapidly, unsure of what was happening.
His mouth dropped open in surprise when the magic entered his body, the power of the energy nearly bringing him to his knees. Harry tried to withdraw his wand—hoping to form some kind of shield to protect against the intrusion—but before his fingers could move, his mind blanked completely, shattering all of his recently acquired Occlumency skills.
With a last fleeting thought of being utterly screwed, Harry’s consciousness slipped away.
——————-
A blinding flash of white light around Harry had pain throbbing behind his eyes. He looked around in confusion, noticing that he was no longer in the corridor. Malfoy was gone, and it would seem everyone else as well.
Harry looked around curiously. He was standing in someone’s front yard, where stones and beautiful flowers created a trail that led to a front porch. He startled when he caught sight of an older man rocking back and forth in a rocking chair. It was hard to see the man’s face clearly as it was shrouded in the shade of the porch. “Excuse me?” Harry called, hand raised in a greeting. “Can you tell me where we are?”
When the man showed no signs of having heard him, Harry began to grow uneasy. “Hello?” Nothing. No movement that varied from before, no rustling, and no flickering of eyes.
Déjà vu struck Harry as he took a few steps forward. This was reminding him of the few times he had been inside a memory. Was the magic that invaded him somehow a memory?
Harry looked around, hoping to see landmarks that might help him locate just where they were, but there was nothing. Appearances would suggest that they were the only house in sight.
“You lazy sod!” A voice called from the side of the house as the pitter-patter of feet could be heard.
Harry froze as he recognized the voice. “Malfoy?”
When Malfoy came around the corner, arms full of vegetables and a fond expression on his face, Harry openly gaped. Grey hair interwoven with the white blond showed Malfoy’s age. Laugh lines that Harry knew hadn’t been there just a few moments ago in the Ministry were prominent and made Malfoy look… softer. Harry wasn’t sure how old Malfoy was, but he had to be well into his fifties.
What was going on? How could this be a memory but also be the future? And why would Harry be viewing Malfoy’s future?
“I don’t see why I have to be the one to do all the hard work. It’s your bloody garden after all. Honestly, one would think I have to do everything around here.”
The man in the rocking chair smiled but said nothing.
“You are lucky I love you,” Malfoy growled, eyes twinkling playfully. “Merlin knows I’d have to, to put up with you for thirty years.”
Thirty years? Harry wasn’t sure what to make of the whole situation. On the one hand, it was fascinating to see proof that Malfoy knew how to be soft and kind, but on the other, he still wasn’t sure why he was seeing it to begin with.
Malfoy passed the rocking chair, pausing briefly to kiss the man on top of his head.
Before Harry could take a step forward to try and see if figuring out who the man was would help anything, the old man pulled out a wand.
“Wait,” Harry whispered, eyes glued to the wand. “That’s—”
The same magic that had sent Harry here shot out of the wand and went directly towards the old man sitting in the rocking chair.
“—my wand.”
Harry blinked rapidly as the white light once again engulfed him. The front yard fading away into another scene.
A lovely read by my dear @xx-thedarklord-xx 💜💖💜💖