“you ight wahe afternoon he’s ore…present then”
≈,” harry repeats shakily he looks at drao’s for ahe guilt o his sides
≈hs azkaba do anythg about it
he loses his eyes, has to look away for a while whehe, narissa is wathg hi arefully, and harry speaks, jt as areful, “ay i stay until then?”
narissa is surprised, and it’s obvio how she tries to s it fro shog she raises an eyebrow ales f fro the prophet, are you?”
harry grs it’s weak, but it’s real he had spehree to avoid every reporter a for ihrown his way he thks that kgsley’s probably exasperated with hi, but harry doesn’t really are he did his part the wizardg world doeshe right to deand anythg fro hi his’ll be the st pe they’ll thk to look”
narissa hukles “i rekon as well” she straightens her shoulders, a her son “i’ll send olly weasley an owl stay as long as you like”
harry starts to refe, sist that she does the weasleys know that he’s gooday tried all triks and tatis to get hi not to, but the eh the proise that he ortkey ase eny he figures that aurors st the anor isn’t an ipossible idea should he be gone for an unually loi
“i…thank you”
it’s te iernoon when alfoy starts to stir
so far, harry has spent his day engagg sall, polite talk with narissa and, wheo leave due to a fl up on potions with the book that narissa had aio’ed fro drao’s trunk he, ron, and heriowarts for their st year, jokio by roh year, and herione had been naggg at the all sur to read up lest they want to go for a nth
he is half the iddle of hapter 4 when alfoy stirs, as iffro a long nap, and harry waits, nervoly, as alfoy raises his head and fally sees hi
his eyes are nzed, but they squt at hi, tryg to reber who he is
harry hopes alfoy rebers who he is
“potter”
he releases a sigh of relief that he didn’t know he had been holdg
“uh,” he says, losg his book “hullo, alfoy”
a furrow fors beeen alfht potter”
harry ly “yes”
blkg, alfoy turns his head around, looks at his surroundgs “a i…”
“no,” harry responds quikly he shakes his head, tries to al hiself right he’s supposed to be the al one here “you’re out you’re the anor”
“oh” the furrow deepens there is a frown on his fae, as he slowly looks at the arble floor, the white pilrs, the white ledge of the balony, and the garde the table, his p his eyes wideakes a big, shaky breath “oh okay”
and harry isn’t prepared for the tears, the suddehat strea fro alfoy’s eyes
alfoy opens his ha his pals, lean and pristiakes another shaky hale “rl”
harry is at a loss “alfoy…” he starts, but doesn’t know how to fish there’s sothg stuk his throat
“rl fally i thought…i thought i was o get out”
harry shatever it is that’s his throat and it goes down, hard “i…i’ sorry, alfoy”
but alfoy doeso hear hi a see to reber that he’s there
he’s sobbg, head buried his p, areblg his wheelhair
harry looks at that sall fra—those sharp elbows diggg to his knees and his th wrists hidihe strea of tears on his fae rupled despair and agony the le of his bak huhe wheelhair, with his shoulder bdes juttg so sharply out, harry’s alost sared that it’ll tear his sk
it looks hideo, ao lose his eyes and look away fro the sehe iage of drao alfoy fallg to piees
≈ know what to do, doesn’t know if alfoy rebers he’s there, doesn’t thk that alfoy will welo a hug not fro hi
≈he roo, as quietly as he an, and stubles his way to where narissa said the aster roo was
≈ really khere, his vision’s brred and harry betedly realizes that they’re tears there’s sothg really paful i, like sothg pg o, ahk of is oh, god, i’ so sorry, alfoy
≈he stunned surpriseher fae one she sees hi, but he doesn’t know what he says to her, only rebers alfoy’s na slippg through his lips, and narissa’s off, hurried footsteps, ahe hall, a turn of the knob ahe d and the lik as it loses
and harry ruples to the fl, and fis hiself ry
≈ ua uand why it affeted hi so uh
≈hks he’s ryg beae he did…like this he expeted sothg to happe get out of azkabaate of d, or at all, but he did even know what he thought anyore