ACT 2


Still stumbling over the tracks, the two hiked on towards Hogwarts. Now that they saw the castle almost within reach, they were much more motivated than they had been for a while.
Felidea was wrapped in Draco's cloak and was asleep. After all, it was already quite late and the first stars began to shine in the firmament. But no matter how late it would be, Harry and Draco didn't want to stop now. At least not until they got to at least Hogsmeade. So they continued to wander through the darkness. Which was not particularly easy on the tracks, but they had found that they actually still managed to find their way around in the dark relatively well, even if they did not yet have such a thing as total night vision.
"There's something about it when you can't feel exhaustion!" commented Draco as he scrambled over a rock that had lost its way on the tracks after a storm.Felidea's scaled skin cooled to be pleasantly cool. A long time ago Draco had wondered why he could still feel the snake's touch, but he once attributed it to the fact that she too had died and had decided to stay with them.
In London they were still not visible to anyone, but on platform 9 3/4 they had seen older posters showing them, headed with the words "Missed: has anyone seen these wizards?"
Well, they had found her, but not alive.
They had also collected and read other editions of the Daily Prophet. Both were at least mentioned in every newspaper. Draco's father had even made it to page 8 with his funeral plans. The picture they'd printed didn't look too happy, and Draco felt a regretful stitch in his heart. But Harry had cheered him up again.
"How long do you think we will need? Whether we can make it before sunrise?""I hope so," Harry said, laughing as we continued walking across the tracks, the Hogsmeade train station already in sight.
"We can take the shortcut through the Howling Hut, then we'll be there faster."
The closer they got to Hogsmeade, the faster Harry's steps became, and even if he had no reason to hurry, since nobody would be waiting for them anyway.
However, he had read that there were probably problems with their funerals, even if nothing was known what these problems were, Harry was very curious to see what was going on.
"Come on now, Draco." he called laughing as he looked at the other boy behind him.
"Yes / Yes!" Draco called, running to catch up. He too was curious to see if something new would come up as soon as they reached Hogwarts. He had never been so keen on going back to school.
"I don't know, but somehow I'll miss drinking Butterbeer! Even though Crabbe and Goyle drank so much of it that they got sick and locked themselves in the toilet for three hours.Please don't ask any further! "
Draco laughed.
They had been "divorced" for about a week now, but that one week was arguably the happiest of Draco's life yet. He had never laughed so wildly before. And he had never dared to dream that he would have such fun with his enemy Harry Potter.
They kept walking and fooling around until they finally got to the gates of Hogsmeade.
"I think you know the way to the Howling Hut! Then after you!"
Laughing, Harry curtsied slightly before moving on.
"Then please follow me, sir. I will be happy to show you the way." he said in a mock high voice and moved straight to the howling hut.
Hogsmeade looked like dead at the time, but the fact that they had hardly seen any people lately was not a problem for either of them.
Without thinking further, Harry walked up the path to the Howling Shack and opened the door to Draco, grinning."After you!"
Draco also bowed politely and tossed his half-tattered cloak back in an elegant gesture.
Her footsteps echoed from the creaking wood of the hut as Harry led him to the trapdoor he'd come through three years ago to kill Sirius. Thank goodness things had turned out differently and Sirius was still alive, even if he was still on the run.
They went through the passage of the One-Eyed Witch and finally climbed up into the corridor in the castle.
"How do you know this secret path from?" Draco asked confused as he climbed out of the hole behind the witch and held Felidea so that she wouldn't accidentally be disturbed in her sleep.
Harry just grinned and shrugged knowingly. Then he grabbed Draco's shoulder and ran down the hall.

+++ +++

The school was only lit by a few torches and was in the shady semi-darkness when the sun rose.
The two agreed that they should begin their search in the entrance hall."I've always wondered what the teachers do on vacation!" Draco called over his shoulder as he sauntered down the stairs in front of Harry. But when he turned around, his breath caught.
There they lay - he and Harry - laid out in glass coffins, completely motionless.
"H-harry?"
"Hm?" Harry asked as he walked up to Draco, but every further word died on his lips as he stood in front of their coffins. As if automatically, he grabbed Draco's hand and squeezed it lightly.
Even if something in him resisted it, he began to study it more closely. And the longer he looked at them, the more he got the impression that they were actually just sleeping.
"You could ... you could almost think we would get up again at any moment ... If we would breathe ..."
A low sigh left his lips and he suppressed the urge to snuggle up to Draco and just start crying. He didn't even know whether this was really possible for him as a ghost - or whatever it was.So he just squeezed Draco's hand tighter and closed his eyes in resignation.
A strange tingle shot up Draco's arm as Harry grabbed his hand. On the one hand he resisted it, on the other hand he welcomed the touch.
His mind raced and he couldn't decide what to think or feel.
The development he and Harry had gone through over the past seven days was strange enough.
He swallows, and stared at their bodies one more time. They really looked very much alive. The skin of her cheeks was slightly flushed, her hair shimmering in the torchlight.
Draco was about to say something when he heard a loud noise behind them.
He spun around and reached into his cloak to pull out the wand. But he was no longer there.
//Oops..//
"Swiisssh, Hey Ya, BOYS!"
"Peeves?" Harry asked with a suspicious face.
It dawned on Draco.
"Harry, he can SEE us!"
Harry blinked in confusion."You .. are right ... Oh my god! Finally!"
Harry smiled all over his face and almost fell on Draco's neck with delight.
"Wonderful!"
Peeves looked at the two of them skeptically and raised an eyebrow as he flew around them.
"Yes, yes ... really * wonderfull *" The irony in his voice could be heard clearly, but that really didn't bother the two boys anymore.
"What's going on here?" they suddenly heard another busy voice coming towards them and shortly afterwards recognized the headless Nick, who was floating towards the small group. Only to stand frozen in the next moment.
"Oh. My ... GOD !! Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy !!! You're alive ... I mean ... you are here ... I mean ... Thats ... absolutley INCREDIBLE! !! I have to tell the staff and the others and everyone. You are BACK !! "
Draco sighed in relief and released Harry's hand and patted his shoulder.
"There is still hope for both of us."
Then he turned to Nick, as Peeves was busy laughing cruelly waking up the paintings on the wall."Where are the teachers? Is anyone there at all?"
Almost Headless Nick tilted his head a little and his neck dropped open for a moment.
"Oh, Yes, Everyone's having Breakfeast in the Great Hall! They have been discussing your funeral! Follow me, I KNOW THE WAY!"
And with that the ghost whizzed past them and disappeared through the wall.
Draco and Harry followed him and pushed open the heavy doors together.
Prof. McGonagall jumped up confused and stared at the Almost Headless Nick first. Dumbledore sat at the head of the table while the rest of the teachers sat along the table and ate some bread and spreads.
"I've got Great News!" called Nick. Neither Harry nor Draco had ever seen him so excited.
"What news?" asked Professor Snape in his usual cold voice.
"Can't you see ??" the headless Nick just shouted excitedly and gesticulated wildly around the area. "They are BACK !!!"
"Who's back, Sir Nicolas?" now said Dumbledore and his otherwise good-natured face had a thoughtful expression on his face.The other teachers, however, just looked at each other confused and frowned at the open door.
"Well we!" Harry exclaimed excitedly and ran, Draco always in tow, towards the teachers' table, at the end of which he stopped and looked at the teachers waiting. But he received no response to his presence.
// Shouldn't they be able to see us either? But the spirits can see us, why can't they? //
"Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy of course, sir!" said Nicolas with firm conviction in his voice and pointed to the place where the two were standing.
"Nobody's there, Sir Nicolas. Are you sure you weren't just * imagining * this?"
Headless Nick looked indignantly at the teachers.
"Of COURSE I am! I NEVER imaginated things! They are here! But I have no Idea, why you can't see them ..."
"Not there? Not there? What do you mean, not there? Of course we are here! We walked for over a week to get here and now you can't even * see * us ???"Harry was getting excited, too, who was standing there tense and preferred to just run out of the room screaming.
Draco heard the dangerous "Swiiish" again as Peeves floated into the room and came to a standstill next to Harry and Draco.
"Yeah, The Boys are back in town!" he sang, "But i have to admit that they are really looking stangely with those red astrally thingies around them and so on!"
Draco grabbed Harry's shoulder to calm him down, but he just looked at Peeves.
"That's typical again! Of all people, Peeves can see us ..."
"I CAN SEE YOU TOO, YOUNG WIZARDS!"
Albus Dumbledore looked from Sir