nearlychosen | 1st seed; [Action/Voice]

[Perhaps the journal picks up the sound of Neville's arrival as he is unceremoniously deposited on the icy southern lake sometime in the dead of night. If not that, then it might catch the dull groaning as he slowly wakes and struggles to pull himself upright. If not that, then certainly the furious squeak from sneakers lacking traction on slippery ice would catch the journal's attention, as would the dull thudding as Neville collides with some child's forgotten snowman on the westernmost bank. A sharp intake of breath, then] No wand. Bastards. [In fact, even though Neville hasn't yet noticed the presence of the book at all, he seems perfectly aware that someone is listening, even if it isn't quite who he expects.]

It's still not enough! [The words, though a bit rasped and wheezing, are spoken with the stubbornness of one who rather expected this displacement.] You think you can just Portkey me someplace and be done with it? You won't get me -- not any of us -- to back down that easily. I know you're here -- show yourselves, you bloody cowards!

[The dead silence is less than encouraging. It means that if he wasn't being watched, then he'd been sent far enough that he wouldn't need supervision. Accio wand. [The incantation is intoned softly through clenched teeth. It doesn't escape him how ironic it was that in his desperation to recover his stolen wand he's resorted to a summoning spell that usually required the use of his wand in the first place. The spell fails spectacularly, leaving Neville to suppose his captors laughed, wherever they happen to be.

Still, the place he'd been sent certainly merits some investigation. If he'd been sent here via portkey, then some other innocuous-looking thing might well be the ticket home. It might appear off for a young, underdressed, blackeyed, fairly beaten and emaciated man to be picking up small stones with a thoughtful expression, but finding an alternate portkey is simply the most plausible way back to the more important matters he'd left at home.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

What?

If Riddle's really gone...means the truce is voided, technically.

So it does. [...Except what does that mean now?]

[...no clue. Draco's just going to fidget a bit and look at the blanket because, well, what does that mean? Without Riddle to fight against, do they really have a reason to keep working together?

Then again...is it even really still working together? They're just sitting in a room and shooting the breeze about life and Not-Riddle. That's not working together, that's...something that obviously sneaked up on Draco, even if he's not sure if it sneaked up on Harry]

...so I guess you don't need my planning anymore.

[Harry's going to blink at that realization. If Riddle's gone, then they're both free to go back to being themselves. But if tonight has shown Harry anything, the alliance has merely become a pretense to a friendship they probably barely acknowledged as existent.]

Probably not, but... [He trails off there, because the planning wasn't relevant anymore. None of his ranting at the lake earlier had anything to do with usefulness, but had everything to do with wanting Draco to be okay. He's quiet for a moment, just letting the meaning of that sink in.]

[That's probably what's hitting him with full force at the moment, that realization that Hisoka's been right all along. Draco Malfoy trusted Harry Potter. He wanted to be friends even now. He was fine going along and ignoring the slow tolerance that was growing between them, brushing it off as simply a means for surviving and assuring Harry stayed alive long enough to end it. But with Riddle gone, that excuse is gone as well.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that, well, he wasn't exactly thrilled about losing that. Harry Potter understood. Harry understands things that Draco himself can barely comprehend, and that was what he's been lacking since this whole crazy adventure started. The realization of it all was like a swift punch to the stomach, and Draco just blinks right back, vaguely wondering if Harry's thinking the same thing.]

But...?

Edited 2010-02-19 06:43 (UTC)

[It was too late now. The concern had been real. The healing had been real. Most importantly, the dubious but growing trust had been real. It had been staring them in the face, only they'd been too preoccupied to notice it. Hogwarts' (current) most infamous rivals had conquered their animosity and risen above it like rational adults. Who'd have thought that Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter could have ever collectively acted rationally?

Harry hadn't, and now, a couple of chuckles are starting to slip.]

I think we've hit another snag.

[It isn't until Harry lets out a few laughs that Draco feels that uncomfortable knot in the pit of his stomach start to loosen, and he's soon mockingly raising an eyebrow, lips threateningly twitching to turn up into a grin. This was okay...this was really going to be okay.]

Well, shit. How ever are we going to resolve this one?

[At this point, Harry is feeling rather ridiculous. But it's a fun kind of ridiculous, and he's okay with that. That is also probably a smile on his face.]

We may just be in over our heads.

[Yeah, well, this is probably a smile on Draco's face by this point. He's feeling kind of stupid right now, but it's a good kind at least.]

Suppose that means we have to work together against this one as well.

[Are they the losers or are they the winners in this situation? That is the question.]

I guess that means you're still in business.

[Probably both at this rate, jeeze.]

Just keep in mind that we're still working on my terms. Same as before.

[They both fail. Awesomely. And Harry chuckles at that, because that was so not how it went down..]

Gotcha.

1st seed; [Action/Voice]

[Harry Potter and the Action of Being Seriously Serious But Not Sirius]

[Draco Malfoy and the Action of Being Glad Harry is Not Seriously Sirius]

[Harry Potter and the Action of Also Being Glad He is Not Seriously Sirius]

[Draco Malfoy and the Action of Having a Realization]

[Harry Potter and the Action of Suddenly Being Confronted With Logic]

[Draco Malfoy and the Action of Having a Bad Feeling About This]

[Harry Potter and the Action of Realizing That Irony is the Victor]

[Draco Malfoy and the Action of Living the Night of Ironic Things]

[Harry Potter and the Action of Enjoying the Irony]

[Draco Malfoy and the Action of Being Easily Amused]

[Harry Potter and the Action of Also Being Easily Amused]

[Draco Malfoy and the Action of Learning a Compromise]

[Harry Potter and the Action of Living in the Twilight Zone]