The Hourglass

Chapter III

The last few days before Harry and Draco would no longer be Hogwarts students flew by. Dumbledore had told them they could leave the castle for the summer if they wanted to, but suggested for them to stay and prepare for the new stage of their lives. Since Harry had inherited Sirius’ house, they had somewhere to go to, but they decided to stay anyway.

Harry went to Hogsmeade to say goodbye to Ron, Hermione and his other Gryffindor friends before they got on the Hogwarts Express.

“So…”, Seamus winked at Harry, “… the castle will be deserted now, eh? I don’t need to be Malfoy’s sister to predict a wild summer for you, mate”, he laughed.

“Shut up, Seamus!”, Harry blushed, but he couldn’t hide the sparkle in his eyes that appeared every time he thought of his favourite blonde.

“Thank Merlin this time I won’t be around to accidentally witness anything”, Ron said with a disgusted expression.

“Well, it’s your fault if you pull my hangings open in the middle of the night”, Harry laughed. “So, what will you guys be up to this summer?”

“Charlie will be coming home around August 10th, and he promised he’d take me and Ginny to Italy for a few days. I’ll owl you telling you all about it.”

“And since I doubt he’ll remember most of the meaningful things, I’ll fill in the blanks next time I see you”, Ginny grinned.

“You two will have a hell of a teacher-student relationship. If you weren’t so bloody mad about the ferret, I’d worry”, Ron said cheerfully.

“Stop calling him ferret, Ron! You know Harry doesn’t like it when you call Malfoy names”, Hermione objected whilst she stroked Crookshanks head.

“It’s fine, Mione”, Harry smiled. “T can’t deny he looked cute as a ferret, so it’s the only name I accept.”

“Where is the ferret, anyways?”, the redhead asked, defying Hermione to contradict him.

“In the castle. He said he had a surprise of some sort, so he practically kicked me out.”

“I bet he’ll fill the common room with rose petals leading to the bedroom”, Dean whispered to Seamus and they exploded into laughter.

“Enough, you two!”

A whistling sound got to their ears announcing that whoever didn’t get on the train immediately would have to find an alternative way to return home.

“Bye, Harry”, Hermione hugged him. “Good luck!”

“Likewise. I’m eager to read your first article in the Daily Prophet.”

“When I actually get a job as a reporter, you’ll be the first one to know about it.”

“Bye, guys!”, Harry patted the Gryffindors on the shoulder. “See you, Ginny!”, he smiled and sighed as the train took off. That was it… they were all gone.

“Harry! Do ya need a ride”, Hagrid asked pointing at an empty carriage.

“Sure. Why not?”

Harry got on the carriage and didn’t say a word in the whole way back to the castle. He just stared out the window thinking how much he would miss his friends now that they wouldn’t see each other every day once the vacations were over.

“You okay, Harry?”, Hagrid asked.

“Yes… just a bit melancholic, that’s all.”

He stepped into the quiet castle and went up to the common room.

“Hopping Bunnies”, he said to the Fat Lady and went in.

The room was completely empty and, no, there were no rose petals spread all over the carpet. Just a plain common room which’s fire wasn’t even burning anymore. He went to the boys dormitories and found his bed hangings shut. A wicked smile appeared in his face and he silently took off his shoes and walked towards the bed. He pulled them open and found it empty.

“And now I feel like an idiot”, he mumbled frustrated.

The ex-Gryffindor yawned and pulled down the covers to take a nap until Draco bothered to show his face, and found the Marauder’s Map over the sheets.

“What are you up to, Mr. Malfoy?”, Harry asked curiously and took his wand out of his pocket. “I solemnly swear that I’m up to no good.”

The map of the castle drew itself on the parchment and Harry’s sight travelled through it, until he found the black dot labelled “Draco Malfoy”. He left the Gryffindor tower following his lover’s trace until he reached the second floor and turned twice to the left. He was standing in front of the door and doubted if he should knock or go straight for the doorknob. He chose the second option and went in.

Harry needed a second to take in what he was seeing. Draco was sitting on a brown couch reading a book with his feet on a coffee table. There was a small fireplace and a few bookshelves. Draco looked up at him calmly.

“What is this place?”, Harry asked intrigued.

“Our new home, of course”, he answered as though he should’ve figured it out already.

“Our what?!”, Harry asked excitedly.

“Dumbledore came looking for me this morning”, Draco said as he got up from his seat, “and said that, as Hogwarts teachers, we deserve to have our own room. This is actually mine and you have one just like this a few doors down, but I convinced the man to let us stay in the same room. Through that door in the back is our bedroom with a double bed”, he grinned.

“No way…”

“Go and see it for yourself, if you don’t believe me…”

Harry walked across the room and opened the door. It was true. They had a place of their own. Draco put his arms around him and placed his chin on his shoulder.

“So? What do you think?”

“It’s too much… I mean… we finished school, we got a job, we moved in together and you’re raising a kid. We’re bloody grown-ups!”

“You’re right”, the blonde laughed. “When did that happen?”

“Somewhere between the last 24 hours, apparently.”

“Oh! Dumbledore also told me he wanted us to take a short course of pedagogy before we start working. But for now, we’re free to do anything… we… want”, he whispered placing soft kisses on his neck.

“Amen to that, Professor Malfoy.”