So Far Away

So Far Away
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.


Part 6 - New Friends

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Before leaving the Headmaster\'s office, both Harry and Draco had decided that the first item of business was to shed their school robes, leaving them in their day clothes, Draco dressed in black slacks and a white button-down, Harry in blue jeans and a light blue button-down.

With that done, they set out to discover their new home, as well as learn a bit about their new roommates. A couple of hours later, both Harry and Draco felt like they could navigate the school much better than Hogwarts and the four of them had decided to venture down to the lake to see if anything was going on there. They perched themselves on a rock ledge that overlooked the water.

\"Our old school was in a castle that was spread out all over the place. We only had ten minutes to get from one class to the next and if your next class was on the opposite side of the school, then you were out of luck,\" Harry said.

Draco laughed. \"And don\'t forget about the moving staircases.\"

\"Moving staircases?\" Chad asked.

\"They were enchanted and you had to be careful of which one you were on because sometimes they took you for a ride that ended against a wall. There was nothing you could do but wait until it decided to move again, and sometimes that took hours. I can\'t tell you how many times during my first year there that I missed class because of those staircases,\" Harry admitted.

\"True, but you never got into trouble for it. Did you, Potter?\" Draco asked with a sneer.

\"No,\" Harry quietly admitted.

\"And why was that?\" he taunted.

\"Malfoy, just drop it, okay?\"

Before he could say anything further, Chad asked, \"What is it with you two and using your last names? I know your names are Harry and Draco, but why don\'t you two use them?\"

\"Long story,\" Harry said.

With an exasperated sigh, Allen dove in. \"Look, if we\'re all going to be rooming together, don\'t you think we need to know just a little about you both? And the first thing I want to know is why you two act like you hate each other.\"

\"Because we do,\" Draco stated as if that explained everything.

After recovering from a moment of shock, Chad chimed in. \"Now this story I have GOT to hear,\" he said as he looked between the two.

Harry shook his head and looked to Draco. \"Would you like to do the honors or shall I?\" he offered. Draco was somewhat shocked that Harry would allow him this, knowing full well that Draco would give his own version of the story that would only serve to make himself look better in their new friend\'s eyes. But if Harry told the story, it would only make him look like the bastard that he was.

As he opened his mouth, preparing to launch into a story that would rip Potter to shreds, he thought about his summer, and the reason that Dumbledore had given for putting them together on this project.

With his father rotting in the family crypt and his mother off traipsing the world, he had plenty of time to reassess a few things, one of them being himself. He had always been a vain, self-centered, son of a bitch who took everything and gave nothing, and was a bastard to everyone and didn\'t care. He was brought up thinking that because of his impeccable lineage, that would excuse his behavior.

His father had never been a father to him. Instead, he was a dictator, always spouting off that Voldemort was the best thing that ever happened to the wizarding world. When he had been defeated two years ago, Lucius had been his First Lieutenant, and had died beside the Dark Lord in the final battle.

After spending the summer months with just the house-elves for company, he had come to terms with a few things about himself. He realized he hated what he\'d become, what his father had turned him into - a prejudiced idiot of the first caliber. But now that his father\'s influence was gone, influence that at times felt like threats, Draco had come to hate what he stood for.

He had briefly entertained the idea that at the beginning of the school year he would show everyone who Draco Malfoy really was. For a brief moment, he had hoped that he and Potter could have put aside their differences and be civil to each other during their last year at school.

But as soon as he had seen them on the first day of school, all of the ingrained feelings had come rushing to the forefront and he found that he could not do it. It was too hard, so he had reverted back to the cold, calculating Malfoy that everyone knew and expected. The Malfoy that he knew deep down was not his true self.

He smiled to himself as he realized that Dumbledore knew something, even though he had never come out and said the words, but he knew - knew that in time the real Draco Malfoy would appear. He was there, lurking beneath the surface, waiting for the right moment.

Again.

And here it was. A second chance at trying to make things right. As Dumbledore had planned, it was away from everyone and everything he knew, away from outside influences. A new school, new friends (if things went well), and a new start for him. Could he do it?

He nodded and then proceeded to tell the tale of the Malfoy-Potter rivalry that spanned over the last six years. He tried to look at things from both points of view as he told the story. He had even curbed his tongue when it came to his feelings about both Weasley and Granger, yet he didn\'t gloss over his own involvement in the process.

When he had finished, Harry was looking at him like he was another person. Draco wasn\'t sure what that look meant, but something inside assured himself that what he just did was good.

\"Ok, who are you and what have you done with Malfoy?\" Harry asked.

Draco was somewhat embarrassed. \"I\'m still me, just a bit … different.\"

\"Would you care to explain?\" Harry asked as Chad and Allen looked on, not knowing what was going on with the two.

Draco shook his head. \"Not right now. Maybe some day, but not yet. But rest assured that Malfoy is still here, and can be summoned if the need arises.\"

Chad looked at him. \"Dude, don\'t tell me you have a split personality,\" he said with a groan.

After some thought, Draco had to admit that\'s kind of what he was, although not in a clinical sort of way.

\"Does this have anything to do with what Dumbledoaid aid before we left?\" Harry asked.

Draco nd. \"d. \"A bit.\"

Harry understood and explained it to Chad and Allen. \"Before we left Hogwarts, we made an agreement between ourselves to try and get along while we\'re here, though Merlin only knows how hard that\'s going to be on both of us. There hasn\'t been a day gone by that we didn\'t hurt each other one way or another,\" Harry admitted. \"But it\'s something that needs to be done. We\'re getting too old for this.\"

Draco agreed. And here it was … a moment of truth for him. Could he do this? Could he take this chance again, just as he had done six years ago? Back before he realized that just because his father had said things were a certain way didn\'t mean they truly were. Deciding that he wanted to, he stuck out his hand and prayed to every deity out there that his friendship was accepted this time. \"Draco Malfoy, formerly of Slytherin, currently residing in America, Merlin help us all,\" he mumbled.

y loy looked at Draco\'s slender white hand and then back to his eyes. The mask was gone, and for the first time, Harry realized that was looking at the real Draco. It was a bit strange to see the sincerity in his normally guarded gaze, but he found himself nodding his acceptance. For the second time in as many days, he took Draco\'s hand in his and a new bond was formed. It was fragile and it would take time to grow, but the first step was always the hardest.

\"Harry Potter. It\'s nice to meet you,\" was all he said before shaking Draco\'s hand.

\"Well, now that you two have met, in a strange sort of way, what do you say about us getting to know the real you,\" Allen suggested. \"And I don\'t mean who you were before now. We want to know the real Draco and Harry.\"

Over the next hour they covered everything they could think of, taking turns telling the others about their lives. Harry and Draco learned that Allen lived in the seaside village of Del Mar in Southern California, was a Mudblood, as Malfoy would have called him with a sneer. As it was, Draco said that he had never associated with people that were not purebloods, so it would take some time to get over the prejudices that his father had instilled in him almost from birth.

\"I guess I won’t hold it against you that you’re a pureblood snot then,\" Allen said with a dramatic sigh, causing everyone to laugh.

Allen had a younger brother who would be starting school the following year. Even though his father was a wizard, both parents chose to work at muggle jobs, and their home was a muggle home. They enjoyed the benefits of both the wizarding world and the muggle world and never slighted either.

Chad, as it turned out, was a pureblood wizard whose family lived outside of New Orleans, Louisiana on a plantation that had been in their family for decades. Like Allen, he lived in a muggle home, but that was only because of his parent\'s fascination with all things muggle. Harry laughed and said that his best friend\'s father was the same way. His other best friend, Hermione, had muggle parents, so was raised as one. When all of them got together, Mr. Weasley would always ask questions about different things he had heard about or read. It was always an entertaining time. Chad was an only child and enjoyed school because it gave him the brothers and sisters that he had never had, just like Harry.

They covered other things that ranged from their likes and dislikes, favorite foods, favorite classes, as well as previous girlfriend/boyfriend experiences. Draco was surprised to learn that Harry had been with two other guys, but would not reveal their names. Draco, in turn, admitted that he was attracted to both, but preferred guys because they were much less emotional than girls, something that all four of them agreed on. Both Chad and Allen had been in relationships with both s so so that set everyone\'s minds at ease. Nobody would be offended at same sex relationships if the opportunity should present itself.

Draco was glad that they had done away with robes here at Hamilton because it would have been a shame to hide either one of these delectable bodies under yards and yards of that horrendous material. He would be hard-pressed to say which of these two were better looking because both were absolutely stunning. He mentally ran through each of their features.

Chad was about his height, had blue eyes and blonde hair, but instead of fair skin like himself, was tanned and toned. Allen was the opposite of Chad. While their build was somewhat similar, Allen had a bit more muscle and had brown hair and brown eyes. Yes, he could stand to be seen in the company of these two. This would not be a hardship in the least.

On their way back to the dorm, they still hadn\'t decided on their rooming situation so they flipped a coin to let George Washington dictate their room assignments. The coin was tossed and Harry allowed Draco to make the call. As expected, he called heads with a salacious grin, and promptly lost.

\"I have never lost before when it comes to anything having to do with head, either on the giving or receiving end,\" he said with a laugh.

\"There\'s a first time for everything, Draco,\" Allen teased as he ushered his new roommate into their home, leaving Harry and Chad at their own door.

Once the boys were settled in and unpacked, the four made their way down to the dining hall for dinner. As expected, everyone wanted to meet the famous Harry Potter, which meant constant interruptions, but Chad assured Harry that if he didn\'t get to finish his meal, they could sneak into the kitchen after dinner for a quick bite. Luckily that didn\'t happen and they managed to finish their meal together. After dinner, they went back to the dorm and settled themselves on the couches in the lounge, a smaller version of their common rooms, and discussed their schedules for the first term, met and talked with other seventh years, and eventually made their way back to their rooms for a quick shower and then it was lights out.

As Draco lay in bed, he looked back at the day and decided that he had done a good thing. It was still new and he knew that it would take some getting used to, but he would at least try. During their talks this aften, hn, he had tried to keep an open mind when it came to Allen and Chad, and realized that they were very interesting people, regardless of what kind of blood ran through their veins. As he was drifting off to sleep, he realized that he had also enjoyed spending time with Potter as well. No, not Potter … Harry. He would have to get used to using his first name, and save Potter for special occasions.


TBC