Epic

Epic
by Sterling

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"
Gandhi

Chapter One

Student out of bed! Student out of bed!
Harry groaned. Why did Hermione have to charm that stupid map to shriek like that? He fumbled for his glasses, managed to get them onto his face (the right way up, even!), and tried to force his bleary eyes to focus on the ridiculously small dot, attempting to read the ridiculously small label.

***
As he tightened the laces on his (very expensive) hiking boots, he tried to think of why the hell he was doing this. Then he remembered that the whole point was that it had no point, and contentedly went to packing. So far he had packed several flasks of water, a large amount of food stolen from the kitchens, three of his oldest robes, a heavy cloak, and fifty-two pairs of socks. He now put into the suitcase an emergency port key home, and a tiny packet of Floo powder with which to contact home when he reached his destination, and, satisfied with his work, closed and shrunk the suitcase, pocketing it and his wand. He scribbled a note to his dorm mates, checked that he had not forgotten anything, and walked out of the room, whistling jubilantly.
Walking through the deserted corridors, he hummed a song he had heard the gardener's son singing one day, changing the lyrics slightly.

Haul away and here me sing,
Heave away, haul away,
Haul away and hear me sing,
I'm bound for San Francisco

This being all of the song he knew, however, he simply repeated that verse over and over. He was on autopilot towards the front door, still singing, when he ran head on into the last person he wanted to run into at four-thirty on a Saturday morning, regardless the circumstances.
"Malfoy," Harry snarled.
"Potter," Draco sneered.
"What the hell are you doing up?" Harry spat.
"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm leaving. And I might ask the same question of you," Draco replied calmly, refusing to surrender his good mood.
"Loofoyoo" Harry mumbled.
"Sorry?"
"I said, I was looking for you," Harry muttered, turning bright red.
"At five in the morning?"
"Yeah, well, I kind of already knew you'd be up," Harry admitted, and handed over the Marauder's Map, which he had been attempting to hide behind his back.
"Wow," breathed Draco, his eyes flitting across the parchment. "You have no idea how much this explains. But, why were you looking for me?"
"Curious," Harry shrugged. "Now, what was that you said about leaving? Where? Why?"
"Oh, that. Erm," Draco hesitated. Now that he said it out loud, it didn't sound like that brilliant and idea. "Well, I'm walking to California. San Francisco, to be exact."

Harry blinked. Why was Malfoy asking him this, had the Slytherin finally gone crazy? "Er, yeah, all right. Do I need to bring anything?" Yes, Draco was definitely insane. And apparently so had he.