Somnio Salvus DRARRY

Chapter 23

The sun was fully up; it painted the landscape a pale gold, punctuated with the deep shadows of early morning. The bright light burned Draco's tired eyes and he closed them, turning his face to the sun so that its soft Autumnal rays warmed his face against the sharp wind.

He was battling with a most peculiar mix of emotions. Echoes of the conversation with his father still rang in his ears, occasionally causing a painful twisting sensation in his heart. He was vaguely suspicious that the grief of that final parting had not really hit him yet - it had been largely masked by fear at the time, and now he was just so swamped by relief...

He focused on that positive feeling for a moment.Relief...it's all over, he thought, and he wasn't just thinking of the ordeal at the Copernicus. The knots of dread that had slowly been forming inside him over the last few weeks were gone. He no longer needed to worry about announcing his change of faith - it was done. He also no longer needed to agonise over what to do about Harry and the Somnio Salvus potion. That was all out in the open, too.

He yawned contentedly and rested his head against Harry's back, holding him tighter in a brief, but sincere hug. He felt Harry's hand squeezing his own in silent reply, and a comforting glow spread through his insides like hot Butterbeer. He sighed and relaxed, wishing he could give in to the overwhelming tiredness; but it probably wasn't wise to fall asleep on a broomstick, even when somebody else was steering.

He forced his eyes open and squinted into the cloudless sky, watching a few birds gliding across the clear blue backdrop. Then he let his gaze drop to the undulating hills below, mesmerised by his and Harry's shadow racing along over rocks and valleys. He frowned slightly - something bothered him about that.

He sat up abruptly, upsetting the balance of the broom so that it wobbled alarmingly. Harry righted it, then looked over his shoulder in concern.

'What's wrong?' he shouted over the roar of wind.

Draco pointed frantically at the sky. 'There's no cloud cover! We shouldn't be flying; it's broad daylight. We'll be seen!'

Harry's eyes opened wide and he swore emphatically. He gestured to Draco to hold on, then leaned forward and pitched into a steep dive. Draco felt his stomach lurch. He was used to sharp manoeuvres on a broomstick, but only when he was in control. He clung to Harry and held his breath as he watched a sunny, green patch of hillside getting rapidly closer. Then he felt his feet hit the ground hard and he tumbled off the rear end of the broom, landing sprawled on his back.

Harry skidded a few yards along the ground before sliding off sideways and staggering to find his balance. He turned and jogged back to Draco, helping him to his feet with an apologetic smile.

'Sorry - I've never landed a broom with a passenger before. Forgot to compensate. You ok?' he asked sheepishly.

'Yeah. How about next time you let me drive?' suggested Draco brightly, dusting himself down.

Harry giggled and clutched his Firebolt protectively. 'Oh, I don't know about that. Are you insured?'

'What's in-shored?'

'Never mind.' Harry squinted up at the steadily brightening sky. 'So now what?'

Draco shrugged. 'I don't know. I suppose we wait until it's safe to take off again. Maybe it'll cloud over later on,' he said doubtfully.

'So we might have to just hang around here until it gets dark?' moaned Harry.

'Either that or we start walking,' sighed Draco.

Harry gave him a withering look. 'Ah well,' he sighed, 'look on the bright side. At least you realised while we're still in the arse-end of nowhere. Just imagine if we'd started flying over Manchester! It'd spoil our dramatic escape a bit, if we got arrested by the Ministry!'