The Pensieve

The End of All Things

Draco woke but kept his eyes shut, choosing instead to snuggle into the warm embrace that was engulfing him. He was content to just lie there in his lover's arms all day.

Harry hugged him tighter to his chest. "Morning, sunshine," he said softly.

Draco grumbled, upset at having to actually wake up.

"Oh, come now, Drake, is that any way to treat your lover? After all, I did die."

Memories flooded back to Draco, and his heart leapt up into his throat. "Harry!" he mumbled happily, snuggling even deeper into the loving embrace but still keeping his eyes shut. "Please tell me this isn't a dream."

"Of course it's not, love."

Draco forced his eyes open, which was no small feat. As much as he wanted to be able to look at Harry, his eyes still wanted to sleep. Finally, he won the fight and looked lovingly up at his husband. "Don't ever leave me like that again, ok?"

Harry laughed and kissed his forehead. "I can't make any promises, but I'll try. It's not like I'm going to try to get myself killed!"

Draco snuggled his head protectively under Harry's chin. "You had me so scared. I couldn't have lived without you."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you would have gotten along somehow."

Draco snorted. "If I had died, would you have 'gotten along'?"

"This isn't about me, Drake, it's about you."

"Just answer the question, Harry," Draco said exasperatedly.

Harry sighed and considered the thought for a few moments. "No, I don't think I would have."

Draco smiled knowingly. He seemed to be content with Harry's answer for a few moments, until he looked up at Harry with curiosity in his eyes.

"Oh, great," Harry said in mock frustration. "Not another one of your insane questions."

Draco ignored him. "Harry, did you send me all those dreams?"

Harry looked at him curiously. "I sent you one dream, I don't know about any others." He smiled. "By the way, thanks for getting Dumbledore and Snape out there so quickly."

"I couldn't very well just leave you down there to suffocate, could I?" He kissed him. "But I think I know a way you can repay me! Teach me how to send dreams, like the one you sent to me!"

"I don't know, Drake," Harry said uncertainly. "It's pretty advanced magic. It might be beyond you!"

"Hey now, Harry, is that any way to talk to the man who saved your life last night?"

"No, of course not," Harry admitted, tilting his head down to kiss his husband.

Draco pressed eagerly into the kiss, and Harry reveled in the fact that he could still make Draco shiver, even after he'd been dead for three and a half days.

Harry's tongue licked Draco's lower lip, seeking entrance, and Draco quickly opened his mouth to let the other boy in. The two boys grappled softly, their tongues entwining in the intricate dance that they had become so used to.

Harry was amazed at all the emotions that Draco was pouring into the kiss. The poor boy truly had been terrified at the prospect of going through life without Harry. Somehow, this made the kiss even better. Harry groaned deep in his throat and began to unbutton Draco's shirt.

This, of course, was the precise moment that Professor Snape chose to walk through the door.

"Good lord!" he yelped, and bolted back out the door.

Draco broke their kiss, laughing. "I'm sure he didn't want to see that!"

Harry scowled, grumpy at the fact that the person he hated most had just ended what was starting to be a very promising few hours. "Well, it'll teach him to knock before he comes into our room from now on."

Draco groaned and sat up. "I suppose I should go see what he wanted." He started re-buttoning his shirt.

"Oh come on, Drake, he can wait!" Harry whined, putting on a puppy-dog face.

"Don't give me that face, Harry, it's not going to work. He wouldn't have barged in here without a good reason!"

"Fine then," Harry said, pouting. "But I'm coming with you!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "If you want to. Not sure why you would, though. It's pretty obvious that he didn't come in here to congratulate you on being alive!"

~*~

After they both had gotten dressed, they went off in search of Snape. Halfway to his room, they were intercepted by Professor Dumbledore.

"Ah, boys, you're awake!" he said, his eyes twinkling.

"Yes, Professor," Harry said. "We were just looking for Professor Snape."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled even more, if that was possible. "Ah, yes. Unfortunately, I believe that Professor Snape has currently barricaded himself in his room and refuses to see anyone at the moment. I don't suppose you boys would know why?"

The two boys blushed and looked away. "Actually, Professor," Harry said sheepishly, "he...er...walked in on us kissing..."

"And I assume that he didn't take that well."

"No, apparently not," Draco agreed. "We thought he might have been coming to tell us something."

"Yes, indeed, and it looks as if it has fallen to me to inform you of what he wanted to tell you." He looked around as if to make sure that no one was near. "Come along. We shall discuss this in the drawing room."

~*~

They found the drawing room currently occupied by Ron and Hermione, but Dumbledore decided that the information would be valuable for the two of them, so they could stay. Of course, the fact that if he didn't tell them, Harry would, didn't influence his decision in the least. Yeah, right. Of course it didn't.

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked as he walked through the door. She flew across the room and flung her arms around him.

"Hey there, 'Mione," Harry said breathlessly. "I'm happy to see you, too, but I need to breathe, and you're kind of...cutting off my air."

"Oh, sorry," Hermione said, releasing him.

Harry looked over to Ron, but before he could say anything, Ron rushed up to him, grabbed him in a gigantic hug that lifted him off the ground, and twirled him around in a circle. "It's great to have you back, mate!" Ron exclaimed.

"It's great to be back, Ron, but I think Hermione and Draco might be getting a little jealous," Harry said, looking for any excuse to get Ron to put him down. It worked...but not in the way he had wanted. Ron promptly released his grip on Harry, who fell to the floor, resulting in a rather large bruise on his backside.

"Hey, careful, Ron!" Draco laughed, helping Harry to his feet. "He just came back to life! I won't stand for him to be abused just yet!"

"Sorry mate," Ron apologized, blushing furiously.

Harry, however, was more interested in what Draco had said. "What do you mean, 'just yet'? I would think that you wouldn't want me to be abused at all!"

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "As much as I hate to break up this charming little reunion, there is something I would like to discuss with all of you."

The four friends fell instantly silent, and Dumbledore motioned for them to sit down in the various armchairs and couches of the room.

"Now, as you all have noticed, through some inexplicable miracle, Harry has been brought back to life." His eyes twinkled as Draco smiled hugely and took Harry's hand. "But we have to be aware," he said, turning somber, "that there could very likely be some negative repercussions from this."

"Negative repercussions?" Draco exclaimed. "What could be bad about Harry being alive?"

"You think Voldemort could be alive, too, don't you, Professor?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Yes, Miss Granger, I do indeed."

"What?" Draco asked. "No way! Ron and I killed him!"

Harry looked from Draco to Ron. "You did?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Actually, Mister Malfoy, you did not. Voldemort died because Harry died. It was just a coincidence that it happened at that precise moment."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. And now that Harry's alive, Voldemort may also be alive."

"Will everyone stop saying that bloody name?" Ron exclaimed, extremely pale.

Draco opened his mouth to say something foul, but Harry beat him to it. "Suck it up, Ron, you're going to be hearing it a lot, so you may as well get used to it."

Ron, Hermione, and Draco stared at him with open mouths, but Dumbledore just chuckled. "He does have a point, Mr. Weasley. The usage of his name is the least of our problems right now." He sighed. "The main problem is the matter of what we shall do if he truly is back."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked curiously.

"What he means is that I'm the only one who can kill Voldemort," Harry said softly.

Dumbledore nodded somberly. "That is indeed what I mean."

"That can't be true," Draco protested. "Harry can't be the only person!"

"It's in a prophecy, Drake. I'm the only one," Harry said resignedly, squeezing Draco's hand.

"You three must promise," Dumbledore said, addressing Ron, Hermione, and Draco, "that if Harry truly must do this, you will not try to stop him."

Ron and Hermione both were very used to this, and immediately agreed to let him do what he had to do, but Draco was a little more hard-nosed. "Bloody hell, of course I'll try to stop him! You can't ask me to just sit back and let him go get himself killed!"

Harry put a hand on Draco's shoulder. "Drake..."

"No, Harry!" Draco said, shrugging off his hand and standing up. "I won't let you get killed again! You promised you wouldn't leave me!"

"Draco, I-" Harry started, but Draco had stormed out the door.

Harry stood up and started to follow him, but Dumbledore put out a hand to stop him. "No. Let him cool off for a little while. He'll listen better when he's had time to think this out."

Harry nodded, but continued to stare at the door as if he could somehow force Draco to come back.

~*~

Harry gave Draco ample time to think and calm down, and finally went off in search of him. He found the boy sitting alone in the room they had been sharing. Draco was sitting in a large armchair in the dark, staring out the window.

Harry crouched down next to him and gently took his hand. "Dray..."

"I won't let you die again, Harry," Draco said softly, still staring intently out the window. "I can't. I can't take that again."

Harry sighed. "Draco, look at me," he pleaded, Draco refused to turn his head. "Drake, look at me," he said more firmly. When Draco still wouldn't look at him, Harry leapt up into the chair, straddled his husband, plopped himself down on his legs, and forced Draco to look at him. "Now, listen to me!" he said seriously. "I love you, Draco, and I will never leave you!"

"You can't promise me that, Harry!" Draco exclaimed, close to tears. "You said it yourself!"

Harry decided to take a more psychological approach to this. "Draco, why do you think I'm going to die?"

"Because if you want to kill Voldemort, you have to die! Severus told me," he said, looking away.

Harry rolled his eyes. "You know, Drake, if you had stayed in the sitting room, you would have heard Dumbledore say that the bond between Voldemort and I could very possibly be broken!"

Draco looked up at him with hope in his eyes. "Really?"

Harry smiled and kissed the tip of Harry's nose. "I wouldn't lie to you, love."

Draco rested his head on Harry's shoulder and wrapped his arms around him. "But how can we be sure?" he whispered.

"I guess we can't," Harry admitted. "But you must understand that I will never leave you, Draco. No matter what, I will never leave you." He felt Draco nod into his shoulder in understanding, and he smiled. "You want some ice-cream?"

Draco leaned his forehead against Harry's and raised an eyebrow. "Ice-cream?"

"Yes, ice-cream. It always makes you feel better."

Draco sighed. "I don't suppose there's any chance of you bringing the ice-cream to me, is there?"

Harry laughed. "Sorry, love, but I've been dead, and I'd like to get out and stretch my legs."

Draco grumbled. "Oh, alright. Where is this ice-cream?"

"There's a shop down the road if you don't mind walking there."

"No, I don't mind, I guess. If you want to walk, I'll walk."

"Ok, then!" Harry said, getting off of Draco and offering him his hand. "Let's go!"

~*~

The ice-cream parlor was a muggle one, and Draco was not at all impressed with their selection of flavours, or lack thereof.

"How can you only have 31 flavours?" Draco had asked the clerk incredulously. "Honestly, you don't even have chicken, or spinach, or-"

Harry quickly clamped his hand on Draco's mouth and ordered them both banana splits.

"Really, Draco!" Harry said scoldingly once they were outside out of earshot. "Someone would think that you're trying to expose the wizarding world!"

They sat at a table outside the ice-cream parlor, eating their banana splits and enjoying the beautiful day. They watched the Muggles going about their lives, and made up names and backgrounds for them.

"You see that guy?" Draco asked, pointing to a man walking along briskly in a suit. "His name is Charles. He never lets anyone call him Charlie. He's a...what are they called? Those blokes who work with those machines that are called...Eentern-et or whatever."

"Computer technicians?" Harry offered.

"Yeah, that's it. Anyway, he's never been late to work. He's a single dad with two kids who both go to boarding school. His wife left him because he works too hard. He'll never re-marry, and he's going to die of a heart-attack at the age of forty-five."

"Jeeze, Drake, morbid much?"

"I'm just saying what I see."

They continued their game for another hour, earning them several glares as they burst out laughing at observations they made.

Once they tired of their games, they walked slowly back to #12 Grimmauld Place, hand in hand, ignoring the looks they got for it.

As they walked through the door, Hermione came running down the stairs, looking furious. "Where have you two been?" she asked accusingly. "We've been looking for you for an hour and a half!"

"Sorry, Hermione," Harry said sheepishly. "We went out for ice-cream."

Hermione stared at him. "Harry, it's eleven-thirty in the morning. Surely you can come up with a better excuse than that!"

"It's true!" Draco protested. "We got ice-cream!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I really don't understand the two of you."

"Wow...that's amazing!" Harry exclaimed.

"What?"

"You know everything there is to know, but you don't understand us!"

Hermione rolled her eyes again and started to walk off, but the front door flew open with a loud bang, revealing Fred and George standing on the doorstep.

"Greetings, citizens!" Fred yelled, jumping energetically through the door.

This, of course, was more than enough noise to awaken Mrs. Black from her usual silence

"FOUL MUDBLOODS BEMUCKING MY HOME!" she screamed with her normal noise level. "SCURGE OF THE EARTH!!"

"I can see why Sirius ran away," George said as Harry, Draco, and Hermione desperately tried to shut the portrait up.

When the drapery had finally been pulled back over her, the three of them turned to face Fred and George.

"It's good to see the two of you again!" Hermione said happily. "What brings you back here?"

"Well-" Fred started, but he was interrupted by his youngest brother, who came charging down the stairs.

"Oi! Hermione!" he shouted. "Who's at the d-" He stopped short at the sight of his brothers. "Fred! George! What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, Ron," George said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and frowning. "And as to what we're doing here, we were just about to say when we were so rudely interrupted!"

"Anyway, as I was saying," Fred said good-naturedly, "we just got word from Dad that Harry was alive again, and we had to see it for ourselves before they let the press know."

Harry groaned. "The press? Why are they going to let the press know?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "It's not like they wouldn't figure it out anyway! And plus, could you imagine the reaction if someone saw you walking around when they thought you were dead?"

"Well, yeah, but...but..." he floundered for an excuse, "but I hate the press!"

"Of course, Harry," Hermione said with a smile. "Everyone hates the press. But they have to know!"

"That's what Dad says," George said with a wink at Hermione.

"Well, maybe I want a second opinion," Harry said grumpily. "What does your Mum say?"

Everyone in the room fell instantly silent and looked at the floor, and Harry knew he had said something bad. "What? What did I do?"

"It's not anything you did, Harry," Ron said softly. "It's just that..."

"Mum's not talking to us anymore," Fred spoke up matter-of-factly.

"She didn't like us flying out of Hogwarts and opening our joke shop, so she's stopped speaking to us!" George said good-naturedly.

"I'm surprised you didn't know!" Hermione said.

"I'm just as surprised as you are!" Harry said with a confused look on his face. "I must have been preoccupied with other things," he looked at Draco, "to have noticed."

"That's no excuse, Harry," Draco laughed. "I've known for a long time!"

"Ah, don't be hard on him, Draco. I know what it's like to be in love." Fred gazed wistfully off into space, apparently remembering lost loves. "Anyway," he said, snapping back to reality, "we really should be getting back to the shop."

"Yes, lots of orders to fill," George agreed.

They smiled playfully and apparated, leaving the four friends to close the door for them.

"So, what are we going to do for the rest of the day?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, what do you want to do?" Ron asked.

"We could go out somewhere," Hermione suggested.

"Out where?" Draco asked.

Harry's eyes lit up. "Hey, 'Mione, let's take these two-" he gestured to Ron and Draco, "-to a movie!"

"A what?" Draco asked skeptically.

"A movie. It's...well...it's like a play, only it's on a muggle screen."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Sounds thrilling."

"Come on, Drake, just try it!" Harry whined.

"I'm game!" Ron spoke up. "Come on, we'll have fun!"

"Oh, fine," Draco finally gave in. "But you owe me one, Harry."

"Oh, believe me, I'll make it up to you," Harry said seductively, taking Draco's hand and leading him out the door.

"Do you think you two could keep that to a minimum when Hermione and I are around?" Ron asked uncomfortably as he and Hermione walked out after them and shut the door.

~*~

"I don't get it," Draco complained after the movie. "I really don't. People actually pay to see those things?"

"I thought it was kinda cool," Ron protested. HE turned to Hermione. "What I don't get is why people see it more than once!"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Well, when we were in line for the tickets, I heard three girls behind us who had seen the movie five times!"

"Oh, yeah!" Harry exclaimed. "I remember them! The ones with the hats?"

Draco snorted. "They were definitely odd. I mean, they were wearing a cabby hat, a bowler derby, and ...I don't even know what to call the other one."

"I think it was an Indiana Jones hat," Hermione observed.

Ron and Draco stared at her. "A what?" they asked together.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Never mind."

They were sitting at the kitchen table at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, contentedly sipping Butterbeers. Hermione had a book propped up in front of her, but wasn't paying much attention to it for once. She was more occupied with explaining to Ron why the movies never changed their plots or endings. Harry was leaning back against Draco, enjoying the feeling of his husband's arms around him, and they were both listening with amusement as Hermione and Ron argued as to just why movies never changed. It was an extremely interesting conversation.

Unfortunately, it was interrupted when Dumbledore flooed in.

"Professor!" Harry exclaimed, sitting up. "What brings you here?"

"Bad news, I'm afraid," the headmaster said somberly. "I have just received news that Voldemort is, indeed, alive again."

The four teens stared at him as if he had lost his mind. If he had ever had his mind, that is. "Are you sure?" Hermione asked quietly.

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "I wish I weren't. Unfortunately, I am."

"When do I have to leave?" Harry asked, looking as though he had a horrible stomachache.

"As soon as possible, I'm afraid. You may have a better chance of defeating him now, seeing as he may be weak from being brought back to life."

"I wasn't weak," Harry grumbled.

"That's true," Dumbledore agreed. "But you have a better chance of killing him now than you have before."

"It's a good thing we didn't let the Daily Prophet know about Voldemort's death yet," Ron said, trying to look on the bright side.

"Yeah, imagine how that would go over," Hermione agreed.

Draco just sat, looking as though he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Harry noticed his look. "Professor, could I at least stay here for one night?" Harry pleaded.

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "Of course, Harry. But I should say that noon tomorrow is the latest that you should leave."

"Yes, sir," Harry whispered.

Dumbledore nodded gravely to all of them in turn and flooed back out.

They all turned their heads to look at Harry. "You'll be alright, Harry," Ron assured him, obviously not believing a word he was saying.

"Of course I'll be okay," Harry agreed shakily. "What could go wrong?"

~*~

For the rest of the day, Ron and Hermione stayed as close to Harry as possible, but towards the late afternoon, they let Draco have time alone with Harry.

Five o'clock that evening found Harry and Draco sitting in front of the fire, arms wrapped around each other.

Harry was quite content to just sit there silently and be held, until he caught the look on Draco's face. He was staring straight into the fire, looking as if he were trying not to cry.

"I'm going to be ok, Draco," Harry whispered comfortingly.

Draco nodded. "Of course you are. You're going to be fine!" He sounded as if here were going hysterical.

"Draco, please, stop worrying about me! I swear I'll be alright!"

"Harry, nothing you can say will ever make me stop worrying about you!" Draco wiped his eyes. "It's not fair!" he exclaimed angrily. "I only just got you back last night, and you're already being taken away from me again? How is that fair?"

"It's not," Harry agreed. "I don't want to go at all! I don't want to leave you! It's not fair that I should have to do this by myself! It's not fair that I can never have a normal relationship, with you or any of my friends, because they'd always be in danger from Death Eaters, and there will always be the possibility that I could die! But this is how it is, and how it has to be, and there's nothing anyone can do about it."

Draco looked at him incredulously. "I'm sorry, Harry," he whispered softly.

"Sorry for what?"

"I never saw this through your eyes before. I've always been complaining because I was suffering through this; I was going to be left without you. I never thought about how this was affecting you." He snuggled into Harry's embrace. "I can't imagine what it's like for you."

Harry chuckled into Draco's hair. "Believe me, it's been no walk in the park.

Draco pondered that for a second. "You're going to be ok, Harry," he said with conviction.

"Yeah. Of course."

~*~

Early the next morning, Harry slipped silently out of bed, trying his hardest not to wake Draco, who was sleeping soundly next to him.

After dressing, he placed a letter on the bedside table next to Draco. HE gazed lovingly down at his husband and gently kissed his forehead. After making sure he wasn't going to wake up, Harry silently tiptoed out of the room and closed the door.

~*~

Draco woke up alone. At first, he panicked until he saw the clock reading 9:30 am. Harry couldn't have left yet; perhaps he was just getting breakfast.

Then he saw the letter.

His heart skipped a beat as he picked it up and fingered it, afraid of what it might read. He couldn't believe Harry would leave without saying goodbye. Finally, curiosity got the better of him, and he opened it.

The letter read:

Dearest Draco,

I apologize for writing this letter. It is cowardly of me to leave you with just this short note, but I feel that I would not be able to go if I had to say goodbye to you personally.

I hope you will be able to forgive me for this. I know that I will never be able to forgive myself.

Perhaps I'm just making it harder by leaving without saying goodbye. Perhaps I'm making the worst (and last) mistake of my life. I suppose time will tell, eventually.

I love you more than words can say, Draco, and I know you love me also, but if I don't return, you must move on with your life. Consider it my dying request that you learn to live without me. It will be hard, I know. If you died, I would wish with every fiber of my being to die along with you. But the pain will pass in time, Draco, you must trust me on that.

Remember what I told you: No matter what the outcome of this, I will always be with you. Always.

I Love You.

~Harry

Draco's heart skipped again. He left! He left without even saying goodbye! Of course, Draco understood what Harry had done. He didn't blame him at all. Given the circumstances, it was probably what Draco himself would have done, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

He dressed slowly and walked downstairs in a daze, still holding the letter tightly in his hand.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked as Draco walked into the kitchen where she and Ron where playing chess.

"He left," Draco replied dully, plopping down into a chair and burying his face in his hands, the letter still clasped in one of them.

"What?" Ron exclaimed. "When?"

"I don't know. Early this morning, I suppose. He left a letter."

"Oh, Draco," Hermione whined. "That's awful!"

"At least he said goodbye to some extent," Ron said hopefully.

"He could have said it in person," Draco mumbled miserably.

"Count yourself lucky," Hermione advised. "He didn't even write us letters! He just...left."

Draco stared off into space. "He'll be ok, though. He'll be ok, right?"

Ron and Hermione exchanged a look. "Of course he will be," Hermione soothed him. "He'll be back in no time."

Draco nodded and continued staring.

~*~

There was no word from or about Harry for the whole day.

Draco was going out of his mind. "Anything could be happening to him!" he exclaimed suddenly during a game of exploding snap. "Voldemort could have him tied to the floor with...something...eating him slowly, and there's nothing I can do to help him!"

Ron and Hermione stared at him. "I don't think that's going to happen, mate," Ron said, looking slightly sick. "More likely Voldemort's just going to kill him." It took a little while for what he had just said to sink in. "Oh, crap! I meant, Harry's going to whip his arse! Yeah, that's what I really said!"

"Sure, Ron. Whatever," Draco said, slouching back into an armchair and looking glum.

Hermione whacked Ron. "See, look what you've done! You've got him all worried and depressed!"

Ron rubbed his bruised arm and pouted. "Sorry."

"S'ok, Ron," Draco said distractedly.

Hermione and Ron both looked at him worriedly, but neither said anything for fear of upsetting him again.

~*~

Draco went to bed at midnight. He had stayed up late, just in case Harry would come home, but finally, Hermione had forced him to go to bed.

He was exhausted. He couldn't imagine why, seeing as all he had done all day was to mope around and worry about Harry. But, even though he was so tired, he couldn't sleep. He was much too worried. He lay awake, staring at the canopy above him, willing Harry to survive the night.

He finally drifted off into a fitful, worried sleep, completely oblivious that some part of the wizarding world was already starting to celebrate.

~*~

"Draco!"

Of all the ways Draco could have chosen to wake up, having Hermione scream at him and shove a newspaper in his face was definitely not at the top of his list.

"Wassamatter?" he asked grumpily.

"Look at the headline!" Hermione said exasperatedly.

Draco forced his eyes to focus and read the headline.

You-Know-Who Defeated at Last!

Draco almost died with relief, until he realized that Hermione was making sure that her hand was covering the sub-headline.

"Hermione, what are you trying to hide from me?"

"Nothing!" she said a little too innocently, not looking at him.

"Hermione..."

"I've got to go wake up Ron," she said quickly. "You should get up now."

"Hermione!" he whined after her, but she had already left the room.

So, obviously, if he wanted to find out what she had been hiding from him, he had no choice but to get out of bed and find her.

"Hermione!" he called, walking down the stairs. "Hermione, where are you?"

He found her in the sitting room with Ron. They were both pouring over the Daily Prophet, but when he walked in, they quickly hid the front page.

Draco sighed. "What are you two hiding from me?" he asked exasperatedly.

"Nothing!" Ron said quickly.

"Oh, come on, Ron! It's not like I'm not going to figure it out eventually!"

Hermione took a breath and nervously handed over the newspaper, so that Draco could finally see the sub-headline.

You-Know-Who Defeated at Last!

But where is Harry Potter?

Young Hero Defeats Dark Lord for Second time and Disappears!

Draco stared at the words. How could Harry be missing? But maybe that was a good thing. If Harry was missing, then that meant that they hadn't found his dead body.

"It's probably nothing, Draco," Hermione said soothingly. "I'm sure he's fine."

"But if he's fine..." Draco asked slowly, "why isn't he here? Why didn't he come home last night?"

"Draco-"

"Maybe he's hurt and he can't get back! Maybe he's lying in a ditch somewhere, dying, and he can't get help!"

"No, Draco, I'm sure that's not what happened. There are probably still Death Eaters after him, and he's hiding out for a bit. You know he'd never risk them following him back here!"

Draco nodded. "I hope so. I mean, I don't want Death Eaters after him, but I'd rather have that than have Harry hurt."

Hermione smiled. "Of course. How about you come downstairs and have some tea to calm your nerves. Everything will turn out alright."

~*~

Everything did not, however, turn out right. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and still Harry did not return. Three months passed without so much as a letter.

"That's it!" Draco exclaimed in frustration one day. "I'm going to find him!"

"What?" Hermione exclaimed. "No! You can't!"

"Why not?" Draco demanded.

Hermione and Ron looked at each other nervously.

"Damn it, you two, tell me what you know, or I'm leaving right now!"

"Well, actually," Ron began, "he's...he's in hiding. There really are Death Eaters after him."

Draco stared at the two of them. "That's it. That's the big secret. Why the bloody hell didn't you just tell me?"

"We weren't allowed to!" Hermione explained. "Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't tell you, because you'd do something stupid, like going to see him!"

"Well, why can't I go see him?"

"Because there are Death Eaters after him! They want to kill him! They could follow you to where he is and kill the both of you!"

"Hermione, it's been three months. If they haven't found him by now, they're not going to find him at all."

"Draco-"

"Please, Hermione, please? I have to see him, I need to see him!"

Hermione sighed. "Dumbledore's not going to be happy about this..."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Oh, who cares what Dumbledore thinks. As long as neither one of them die, it's fine, right?"

"Ok..." She walked over to a drawer and pulled out a slip of paper. "This is where he's staying," she said, handing it to Draco. "Don't let anyone see you."

"I won't," Draco said, smiling and clutching the paper.

~*~

Draco found the address on the paper, and looked up at the large apartment building. Of all the places he could have thought Harry might stay, this was not one of them. He wouldn't say it was run-down, exactly, but it was obviously falling into disrepair.

Taking a deep breath, he walked up to the door and looked at the slip of paper again. It said to ring the buzzer for room 12A and ask for Greg Lee.

So, as instructed, he did this.

"Yes?" came the voice he had so longed to hear.

"I'm here to see Greg Lee," Draco said, trying to disguise his voice so that Harry wouldn't know it was him.

There was silence for a second, and then, "Alright, I'll buzz you up."

There was a soft buzz, and Draco opened the door.

Walking up to room 12A, he started to wonder if this was such a good idea. Maybe someone had followed him here! He wasn't particularly afraid of dying, but if Harry died because of him...he could never forgive himself. Before he could lose his nerve, however, he arrived at the door.

Right as he was about to knock, the door flew open. "Draco! What the fuck are you doing here?" Harry demanded angrily.

Whatever reaction Draco had been expecting, it wasn't this. "I wanted to see you!" he shot back. "In case you haven't noticed, we haven't seen each other in three months! I missed you!"

"You could have waited until it was safe!"

"No, I couldn't have, Harry, I needed to see you! I've been waiting for three months! I couldn't wait any longer! I love you!"

Suddenly, they both heard someone clear their throat, and they looked to see Harry's neighbor staring at the two of them.

"It's ok, Mrs. Green," Harry said exasperatedly. "He's just joking."

"I most certainly am not!" Draco exclaimed indignantly. With a quick glance at Mrs. Green to make sure she was still watching, he pulled Harry's head down to meet his in a passionate kiss.

Mrs. Green gasped and hurried down the stairs, but neither Harry nor Draco noticed this. They were both wrapped up in their own little world, where no one existed except the two of them.

Harry broke the kiss. "Holy Hell, Draco, I hate it when you do that?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Do what?"

"When you ruin a perfectly bad mood." Draco laughed and Harry nuzzled his neck. "Mmm, I missed your laugh. Come on, we'd better go in before any more of my neighbors come out."

~*~

It was shaping up to be a very interesting night. Then again, how could it not? I mean, get two sex-starved gay boys who hadn't seen the person they loved in three months, and you're gonna have a pretty interesting time.

Unfortunately, before the two boys could get anywhere that they might consider good, Dumbledore flooed in through the fireplace.

"Mr. Malfoy, I am most unhappy with you right now!"

"What?" Draco asked, grumpy that his nice night had been interrupted so rudely. "Why?"

"You have put both yourself and Mr. Potter in considerable danger!" Then he smiled. "But I suppose that's of no consequence now."

"Why?" Harry asked, alarmed.

"The Death Eaters who were after you have been apprehended. Apparently, Tonks caught them as they followed Draco in here." Draco blushed. "But, seeing as the immediate danger has pass, Mr. Potter, you are free to go home."

Harry let out a whoop of joy and hugged Draco tightly to him. "Come on, Drake, let's get out of here!"

~*~

Arriving at #12, Draco walked into the kitchen to find Ron and Hermione sitting at the table.

"Draco!" Hermione exclaimed. "Did you find Harry?"

"He found me alright," Harry answered, walking in.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, rushing up to hug him tightly. "I'm so glad you're alright!"

"What are you doing here, mate?" Ron asked. "I thought there were Death Eaters after you!"

"There were, but Dumbledore said that Tonks has caught them!"

"Harry, that's wonderful!" Hermione said, still not releasing her bone-crunching clasp on him.

"C'mon, Hermione," Draco whined. "He's my husband, not yours!"

"Sorry," Hermione grinned sheepishly, letting Harry go.

"S'ok, Hermione. I'm just so glad to see all of you again! It got lonely all by myself."

"You could have had us come over, Harry," Draco insisted. "We would have found a way to get in without being seen."

"Well, obviously not if it was left up to you," Harry teased. "You're the ones who led the Death Eaters to me in the first place!"

"I wasn't trying to," Draco pouted.

"Of course not," Harry agreed, wrapping his arms around his beloved. "It doesn't even matter now. I'm back, the war is over, and most importantly, we're together."

Draco chuckled. "And to think this all started with a Pensieve."

~*~

THE END!!!!