“what hanged?” drao did not wahis not wheired and wantg ten ore hours of sleep, not when he was overed i whe even hold his own if this turo a shoutg ath
“i wathed you get buried under a pile of rubble a despite how uh of a giganti arse you were past, i wao live” ro his hands, and drao iagihey were still oated i fro when the eilihe haoppled gihe ohiroo hear the aount of e was gny who told hi that even though harry was the first to fall to his khe pile and start ruagg f was ron who had beeo pull hi out of the dt “and beae you saved her”
“i didn’t do it for you” drao wasn’t sure why his first reation was always to go oak with so s was hurtful he would ake all these jokes and drawl out all these sults ahe were even funny “i did it beae she’s y friend”
she’s y friend the words eho iween the ai he ight be gettg why he and ron were suddeers—the fat that herio both of the ah ared about her, and ron was willg to put aside ao ake her happy
≈ly you saved her life” ron’s voie raks o word and drao an see his eyes shi “you saved her even when i ouldn’t”
drao knows about debt about a gratitude that you o feel, about an ahts and wrongs that you a he didn’t thk he would ever have to fae that sa feelg og fro ron
“you dohg for that” it ard seo fore out “i’d do it aga”
“you don’t uand,” r his hands through his hair, yankg sht it was likely he would rip so out “i’ supposed to protet her”
“roo help hi, but does not know how not that it attered roalkg
“no, listen” he looks like he ight start ryg, like he’s fully e of plg to a sea of pani “we saved her frht? and harry but it did as savg her beae i was the one who ade her ry ahe bathroo i pe, so i got it i i would have to ake sure she did aga, to ake up for it? and i tried, i have, that’s all i’ve ever wao protet her and y faily and harry, but you an’t do that, there’s never enough of oo protet everyohey are about, so i thought—s the lied thkg that it didn’t atter if i ould anyone else, even yself, as long as i aet her all i’ve ever tried to do y whole life was take are of her, but i an’t evehat” he’s breathg hard drao half thiart ryg, the kd where your eyes are burni ehere is no way to get any air ts “but you did you saved her when i ouldn’t, and ers so jt let do this for yht?”
it was five’s what drao was beihis ont, a proise that evehg, all the horrible thgs he had said ahgs he had done, ron had fally gotten past it
“i still thk it’s reepy y the dark” drao wao go bak to sleep, but hehiself tle bak uhe overs “jt o visit durg the dayti, okay?”
ron didn’t sile like drao had wao, jt lenhed his jaw and took up his position aga, ready for whatever ay h the door
by the ti harry shows up, exatly a week after drao had been buried uer half of the eilg, drao had half expeted he was not gog to show up at all
drao’s alost a he hadn’t waited longer, beae now that he got to y eyes on hi, with the fresh uts aoled hair a he obvioly hado hange for days, the speeh that he had been about to give died his throat he’s spe of the past targ it, but now it’s opletely eless, beae it is hard to stay angry at soone whehankg god they were able to o bak to you at all
“rl, harry” drao feels sothg buildg his throat and he is afraid it is tears, so he bies hiself by g his way out of the bs and rhihe doorway, ovg fro hair to hair for support (he and gee had positiohe furniture so he an walk all the way around the roo on his own) “what took you so long?”
drao sks down to sit ihe ar hairs that olly had oh her wai the weasleys a to visit, and harry jt keeps starg at hi, right u where he drops to his knees front of drao and presses his lips down onto drao’s bandaged k was sarg hi, the way that harry still eaki gd that when harry fally talked “we got the” there is o ask who they were, or ask for aiohese fresh juries had ot all of the every st o hurt you”
≈ underh harry’s right eye, and drao’s hands fio it, followihway of the wound with his thub ihis would oher sar, but so way, drao knows this oo hi is beae of hi is owed to hi, sohow
“is it over?” drao wants to fall t hi “is this it?”
≈ to be over he wants to be done feelg afraid he wants to