chosenpottxr:
→ cumulonimbus clouds.
It smelled like it was going to rain.
Harry looked up at the sky for the third time that late afternoon, watching the clouds overhead beginning to take form. The thick, puffy clouds were easily recognizable, and from where he was, they almost looked menacing. The wind picked up then, pushing through the thin, cotton material of Harry’s pullover. Cursing under his breath, Harry pulled the hood over his head and looked back down at the matter at hand.
Harry had overheard someone talking about going to scavenge for more herbs or any kind of vegetation, and he’d took it upon himself to go out and try to find some on his own. Although someone like Neville probably would’ve volunteered to go with him, Harry had this desire to be useful in whatever way he could find. Everyone had a place in the Resistance, it seemed. They had their fearless leader, a band of capable soldiers, and a support team - everything a group needed to survive. Harry was just having trouble finding his place in their world, their revolution. It didn’t quite feel like home, but…for reasons he couldn’t give voice to just yet, he desperately wanted it to.
These people were good. They felt good.
So, after trudging along the moors for some time and dropping down a rather steep hill, Harry had stumbled upon some plants that had a high chance of not being weeds. Harry pulled a small pouch out of his pocket that he found in Neville’s greenhouse and started pulling. As the late afternoon shifted into evening, Harry couldn’t ignore the chill any longer. It was about time to make his way back. He’d picked a good amount when he saw the unmistakable red orb lying on the ground near his foot.
Was that a cranberry?
A laugh escaped his throat before shifting into a joyful shout. Victories came in all shapes and sizes, and he was thankful for this one. Harry turned around in search for the tent, eager to share the find, and his smile dropped. How far had he walked, exactly? And for how long? Harry tried re-tracing his steps, and found himself at the bottom of the hill again. From where he see, there wasn’t an easy way to climb back up. The cranberry dropped from his fingers as his hands came up to cup around his mouth.
“Hey, uh, is anybody up there? Somebody?”
It had been three hours. Maybe two and a half, but it’s not as if he was counting. Three hours, and his feet were on the verge of numbness despite the pelting of warming charms every other minute, his cheeks were stained pink from the onslaught of wind, and he’d only managed to bag two out of the three ingredients he was harassed to search for.
Frankly, he was half a breath away from screaming his face red.
If his fifteen-year-old self had caught a glimpse of him now, revulsion would be the least of the forces to churn his stomach. Worse ⏤ if Pansy knew, she’d probably Avada him herself; she was giving like that.
Casting a lumos to illuminate his path (tripping on a pebble wouldn’t exactly soothe his fractured temperament), Draco rerouted his steps gingerly, careful not to stray from the direction to the camp, even if at times the desperation to leave them and war behind was as hard to stifle as a wand down the throat. It was completely insufferable.
Cursing Salazar under his breath, he mumbled a stronger incantation, brightening the hue of the orb. A certain dampness was padding the air, the tell-tale scent of oncoming rain sharpening his movements into as brisk as a trek as his prudence would allow him. He was just passing through a particularly steep ridge when an especially stupid voice rang out. Even two, pitifully shallow weeks in, it resonated unquestioningly. Nevertheless, unwilling to consider the truth in that statement stitched at least a fragment of his sanity back together. Yet, as he turned, eyes sweeping downward ⏤
And oh, there he was: the man (more malnourished boy), the (disappointing) legend, and the (oh-so grand) moron, Harry fucking Potter. Both Draco’s head and stomach seemed to squeeze at the sight, and if he happened to take in a breath, that was his business. Glowering in a way that assured even Potter ⏤ ghastly eyesight, grotesque glasses, and all ⏤ would notice from his distance at the bottom of the hill, he gave himself pause to consider leaving the prat to his own devices, shouting like a loon. Perhaps Draco would even be lucky enough that he would just circle this rubble land until the gang of them apparated far, far away from Potter and his gnarled, stupidly fit being. The dream viciously popped as he remembered who exactly was included in his entourage, and the fact that they’d likely rather leave Draco stranded than their beloved Boy Who Tossed. What an absolutely wretched lot.
Now striding, Draco kept his pace in the journey downward, gritting his teeth. If he was to be Potter’s saving grace, surely the least he could do is take his time. His dragon-leather oxfords were ruined enough.
“Potter, you absolute ponce. While disappearing acts are notoriously charming to muggles I’m sure, taking a pause to admire the scenery won’t do much for Granger’s stress wrinkles.” Selfish.
As soon as the words fell from his lips, a drop of rain blotted his shoulder.
And another, caught fat on the tip of his nose.
Fucking brilliant.
At this rate, his own wrinkles would out-sag Granger’s.
“And now its gone and began to rain ⏤ splendid, you prick.”









