Edited: 25/4/14

Bus Ride

Summary: A simple Bus ride will change everything.

No Pairing. This is another Draco and Harry friendship drabble like 'In the Astronomy Tower'.

Set during the summer holiday before 6th year.

Bus Ride

Harry sighed softly as he handed the bus driver the leftover change in his pocket, just the right amount for the fare. He trudged down the aisle towards the back where a collection of empty seats were. The people around his were staring at him curiously; staring at the lightning bolt scar, vibrant pink, standing out against his pale skin. He ignored them, wishing they wouldn't stare. Drawing attention to himself was the last thing he wanted.

The bus jolted off on its course once he was seated. Harry slouched down into the seat and stared out the window as the scenery flew by.

Slowly the bus began to fill up, people packing in and plopping themselves down in seats next to strangers they will never see again. One by one all the empty seats were filled until the only spare seat was next to Harry. Harry wasn't surprised, even though he was quiet, people still chose not to sit next to him unless it was the only spot left. And while he wasn't shocked when someone sat down next to him, he was at who it was. The stranger quietly sitting next to him was Malfoy (no, Draco), strands of his blond hair hanging limply down his gaunt, tired face.

As if knowing someone was staring at him, Draco's grey eyes flicked up and met Harry's green ones. Surprise flickered to the surface before he quickly looked back down to his lap.

"What are you doing in London?" Harry couldn't help but ask.

Draco shrugged, "I come here every now and then," he muttered softly, "To get away from home."

Harry nodded understanding, the visions had shown him that Voldemort was staying at the Malfoy Manor.

"Must be hell." Harry remarked.

Draco looked up at Harry and raised an eyebrow. "Oh definately," he remarked snidely, with a hint of humour. "Waking up to find your deranged Death Eater Aunt standing over you, wand in her hand, is definitely hell."

Harry's lip twitched, amused (but also horrified) by the sarcastic comment.

"Sounds worse than when my cousin would jump down the stairs to wake me up."

Draco looked over at Harry with an eyebrow raised. "Did you sleep in a cupboard or something?" he asked. There was more humour present in his voice, clearly not realising how close to the truth he was.

"For the first 11 years of my life I lived in the cupboard under the stairs."

Draco stared at him in horror. "Fuck, and Dumble's didn't do anything about it?" he asked incredulously, like he couldn't quite believe what Harry was saying.

Harry shook his head, laughing bitterly. "Nope." he said. Even though Dumbledore knew (his Hogwarts letter was addressed to 'Mr Potter, Cupboard under the stairs', Dumbledore would have to know about it) he never did a thing about it.

"Merlin..." Draco mumbled and trailed off, unsure of what he could say.

They fell silent and Harry thought about the fact that he was having a civil conversation with a Malfoy, his apparent school rival, his "arch enemy".

When it was time for Harry to get off the bus, he knew something had changed with that small, simple conversation he had with Draco. And even though they would go back to hating each other at school when 6th year started, he knew that he would never think of Draco as 'Death Eater Scum' even if he did get the Dark Mark.