So Far Away
Chapter 13
By: Gwen
Rating: NC17 overall
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Warning: AU/Slash/Drama/Angst/Romance
Betas: Tracy & Dorothy
Feedback: Much appreciated
Disclaimer: The \"boys\" belong to JKR. I just borrow them on occasion. No money is being made from this little adventure.
Summary: Interesting things can happen when you\'re away from everyone and everything you know.
Chapter 13 - A Letter From Across The Pond
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Hermione flew down the stairs of the girl’s dormitory and found Ron in the middle of a game of chess with a sixth year.
\"Ron!\" she yelled. \"I just received a letter from Harry,\" she said as she held up the parchment and went to sit on the couch.
\"I didn’t get one,\" he grumbled as he excused himself from the game and moved to sit beside her.
\"This one is addressed to the both of us,\" she said as she unfolded the letter.
17 October
Dear Ron and Hermione,
I\'m sorry that I haven\'t had time to write before now but things have been absolutely crazy here at Hamilton. Before Ron goes off the deep end, please tell him that Malfoy is behaving himself and has not made one attempt on my life. But the year is still young (laugh). I really don\'t foresee a problem in that arena, as he has been very pleasant since we arrived, but he is still a Slytherin and as such, bears watching closely.
Things are so different here. The first thing we noticed was that they do not wear robes! Headmaster Collins said that they get in the way of everyday functions, and he is correct. There are certain times that we\'ll have to wear them, like formal dinners and such, but that\'s it. The students are not divided into houses either, which drove Malfoy crazy for the first few weeks because he had to deal with everyone, not just a certain group. Our Great Hall has so many tables and everyone sits where they want. Our school is nothing like the Hogwarts castle; everything is close together, except for the dorms, which are in a separate wing of the school. There are more teachers here, and the classes are smaller which is great because you have more interaction with your Professors.
Our dorms are cool. There are two sets; one for the girls and one for boys, and each have four floors. The first and second years are on the bottom floor, third and fourth share the second floor, fifth and six are on the third floor, and the seventh years have the fourth floor all to themselves. The rooms are actually suites, which is two bedrooms separated by a walk through bathroom, as they say over here. It’s quite nice since you’re sharing the facilities with just four people rather than all of the boys in our house. Last year they could choose whom they wanted as their roommate!
My roommate is a bloke named Chad Sharpe, and he lives in New Orleans, Louisiana, which is in the southern part of America. He has blond hair and blue eyes and is very nice. In the other half of our suite is Malfoy and his roommate, Allen Wells, who is from Southern California. His family has a house that’s on the beach. Oh! You’re going to love this next part. Chad, my roommate, is a pureblood wizard, but Allen isn’t. Can you believe it – Malfoy is rooming with a non-pureblood. Believe it or not, they actually are getting on quite nicely.
They have different sports here also. They still have Quidditch, of course, but they’ve added a few muggle sports, such as basketball, Lacrosse, rowing, and soccer, which is what we call football. We had tryouts this past week and I am pleased to say that I made primary seeker for the Wildcats and Malfoy is the primary seeker for the Falcons. Chad made the basketball team and Allen is on the rowing team. We have a physical education class each day where we exercise and train, and then after classes are over, we practice with our teams until dinner. I’m a bit excited to start our team practices next week, as we’ll be able to settle into our positions more comfortably and become familiar with the other players and their abilities. Our actual games will start up in a few weeks, and we’ll play each of the other teams several times over the course of the school year, not just once like we did at Hogwarts. Which means that I’ll get to trounce Malfoy several times during my final year at school. At least that’s what I’m hoping!
We went to a club last night in the nearby wizarding town called Fairfield, to celebrate our appointments and I learned how to play a billiards game called 8-Ball. It was interesting and I did pretty well for my first time out. I’m looking forward to playing a bit more and hopefully by the time we leave here, I can add billiards to the list of things I can beat Malfoy at. He’s quite good.
Nothing new to report as far as the dating thing is concerned. Except that we think Allen and Chad have something going on, even though they think we’re imbeciles or something. It’s funny to watch them covertly watching each other. We all study together, and they always sit together on one of the couches in our lounge, which is a smaller version of the Common Room. We dance a lot at the club with different people, but I haven’t really been looking to hook up with someone. I’m having too much fun, enjoying my new friends and experiencing everything that this school has to offer.
I miss you guys and wish that you could see this place. It’s fall now and the leaves are changing colors. It’s starting to get a bit cooler, but nothing like Hogwarts. I don’t think it gets as cold here as it does there, which is a good thing, although one of these weekends I’m going to have to buy a new jacket in Fairfield.
Well, I guess that I’d better finish up. I have a few lessons that I need to finish before class tomorrow, so you see Hermione, some things never change. I miss you guys terribly and be sure to tell everyone that I said hello.
Yours,
Harry
\"He sounds like he’s having a good time,\" Hermione said as she folded the letter. \"I just hope that he keeps a close eye on Malfoy because I still don’t trust him, even if Dumbledore made them promise to be civil to each other.
\"On
\"Once a snake, always a snake,\" Ron commented. \"But I love the fact that his roommate is not a pureblood. Serves the git right for tormenting you all these years,\" he said as he reached over and laced their fingers together. \"Are you going to write back?\" he asked.
\"Now that he’s settled in, we’ll write to him. I just didn’t want to do it sooner because he needed time to adjust to all of us not being together,\" she commented. \"We’ll sit down after dinner and do it.\"
Ron nodded. \"Speaking of, how much longer until then? I’m starving,\" Ron said as he rubbed his stomach.
\"Is there ever a time that you’re not hungry?\" Hermione asked as she leaned into her boyfriend’s side, propping her head on his shoulder.
\"No,\" he answered. \"Hey Mione, what do you think Harry will say when you tell him about us?\" Ron asked.
\"He’ll say that it’s about time we stop beating around the bush with it,\" she said with a smile.
Ron nodded. \"Good. But I feel bad that he doesn’t have anyone over there, you know?\"
\"Harry can take care of himself, Ron. If he doesn’t want to date, then that’s his decision. Look at it this way, he’s only over there for the school year, so why would he want to tie himself down when he’s just going to come back here? It wouldn’t be fair. I think he’s doing the right thing,\" Hermione stated.
Ron accepted his girlfriend’s explanation and went back to thinking about dinner. Merlin, he was hungry.
TBC
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A/N - Yes, I know it\'s a short one but the next one will make up for it, I promise!