My Last Breath

Harry Potter loved the night. He loved how everything changed the second the sun disappeared. He could hide from the world at night. On this particular night, Harry sat on the balcony of his flat sipping a cup of hot chocolate. And like every other night he had spent in this very spot, he was thinking.

Harry's most common thoughts were about how his life had changed since he left school. Harry had decided to flee into the muggle world in hopes that he would be left alone. He had graduated from Hogwarts with all of his friends, but he stayed at the school when the war began. He could remember the final night like it had happened yesterday.

It was shortly after Harry had turned eighteen and the war had been going for almost a year. He had been lucky that most of his friends were still alive, but Harry feared that it wouldn't last long. So, he entered the Forbidden Forest alone to face his enemy and end the war. Harry had walked out of the forest three days later bruised, bleeding and tired, but alive. He was dragging the body of Lord Voldemort. The-Boy-Who-Lived had lived again.

After the news got out, Harry's life became nothing but a frantic race away from reporters and admirers. He was used to being famous, but he was not prepared for the reaction he received. Nor did he want to be worshiped for murdering a man. It became too much and so he fled into the muggle world, leaving his fame behind him.

That had been almost two years ago, and Harry had never told anyone except Albus Dumbledore what had happened inside the forest. Ron and Hermione had never asked, and Harry was grateful for it. He smiled at the thought of his two closest friends. It had been a while since they had seen each other, but Harry received frequent owls from both of them. Hermione was still at Hogwarts, only this time she was a teacher. She had replaced Professor McGonagall, who fell during the war, as Transfiguration teacher. Ron was off somewhere in America with his girlfriend Haley. Haley had come from America during the war to help fight, and Ron had instantly fallen in love.

Harry smiled again and stood up, stretching. Before he could get into the flat, an owl swooped down and dropped a letter at his feet. Harry recognized the messy handwriting of his Godfather, Sirius. Once again, the letter was filled with encouraging words, and the ever-standing invitation to join Sirius and Remus Lupin at their home. Harry shoved the letter into his pocket and entered his flat to get ready for the night.

A few of Harry's friends from work were taking him out to celebrate his twenty-first birthday. He had gotten a job at a coffee shop only a block from his home. An old man named Mr. Dalton ran the shop, and only four people staffed it. Harry, Jen, Katie and Jim had become good friends over the past year. Harry had never told any of them about his life as a wizard, and as far as he was concerned, they would never have to know.

An hour later, Harry and his friends were sitting in a local bar, sipping drinks. They had already been to three other places, and by now were completely drunk.

"To Harry!" Jen called out above the music, raising her glass.

Harry smiled and clinked his glass with the rest of them.

"Harry, you seem kind of distant. What's up?" Jim asked, looking at Harry with concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine. I just think the alcohol is getting to me," he replied.

Everyone took that as a sign that it was time to go home. They made their way towards the door after paying for their drinks. As they turned a corner and the bar slipped from view, Harry spotted a figure on the ground. They stopped walking in front of the man, who had looked up to see who was coming. Harry gasped as he recognized the man's pale face.

Draco Malfoy was lost. He didn't remember much of his last night at Malfoy Manor. He remembered listening to his parents arguing about him, and then he had watched as his father murder his mother. He had cried out and ran to her limp side. Draco's tears had been his weakness.

His eyes filled with tears again as he thought back to that night. His mother had been the only person whom he had ever loved, and she had been the only person to ever return that love. The last thing he could remember before darkness was the sight of his mother's body as Lucius mumbled a curse, and Draco was knocked into darkness.

He had woken hours later in a gutter in the muggle world. He had no idea how he ended up there, but he knew enough to not stay in one place too long. He stood up and started walking aimlessly through the rain that had started to fall. He had no idea where he was going, but he knew he couldn't stay where he was. He walked for almost three days before collapsing in an alley. He was tired and hungry.

That was when he showed up. Draco heard Harry gasp, and stood up to defend himself. "Leave me alone, Potter," he spat weakly at Harry.

"Malfoy, what the hell are you doing here?" Harry said loudly.

Before Draco could reply, he fainted.

Harry saw Draco start to fall, and he jumped forward to catch him. His Quidditch reflexes were seemingly unaffected by the alcohol. He caught him before Draco hit the ground. Jim, Katie and Jen watched in confusion as Harry struggled to keep the other man off the ground.

"Harry, what's going on?" Katie finally asked.

"I don't know," he replied with utter confusion written on his face.

"Do you know this man, Harry?" Jim asked.

Harry answered with a nod.

"He needs a doctor. I'll call someone," Jen said, as she dug in her pockets for her mobile phone.

"No! Let's take him to my place," Harry said quickly.

He didn't know why, but he knew Draco shouldn't be brought to a muggle hospital. He swiftly picked the other man up, and noticed how light he felt in his arms.

"Harry, are you sure that's a good idea? He looks half dead," Jim said.

"Yes," Harry said firmly, "Help me get him to my place, and then you guys can get home."

They all nodded in agreement and started walking quickly towards Harry's flat. Once inside, Harry laid Draco in his bed and wrapped him in blankets before saying good night to his friends. Katie, Jim and Jen looked worried but decided not to argue with him, and left a few minutes later.

Harry went back into his bedroom and pulled a chair up next to the bed. As he watched Draco sleep, his mind reeled at the possible reasons for his presence. A million questions came to mind, but he shoved them away and vowed to go see Dumbledore the next day. Dumbledore always had the answers.

Harry pulled Draco's shirt and pants off because they were soaking wet, and then rewrapped him in the blankets. He ate a small meal and wondered once more what was going on. His life had just suddenly spun out of control. Harry fell asleep in the chair next to the bed wondering what he was doing with his worst enemy in his bed.

Draco awoke the next morning to a strange sound. He opened his eyes and saw Harry asleep in the chair, snoring loudly. Figures that Potter would snore! He thought. The memories of the previous night suddenly flooded back into his head, and he shut his eyes once again to drown out the pain. Maybe I'm dreaming.

He opened his eyes again only to learn that it wasn't a dream. He sighed and tried to sit up. A flash of pain coursed through his body and he screamed out. Draco heard Harry stir in the chair and watched as the raven-haired man sat up. Their eyes locked for a moment before either said a word.

Harry was the first to speak, "So, do you want to tell me why you're here?"

"You tell me. The last thing I can remember is collapsing onto the street. I didn't know you would show up," Draco said.

Harry didn't reply, but instead walked out of the room. A few seconds later he returned with a glass of water in his hand, and a bottle of pills in the other. He took a few of the pills and handed the glass to Draco. Draco swallowed the pills without a thought as to what they were, and laid back down in the bed.

"That should help with any pain. You can tell me what's going on when you want. I'll be in the other room if you need me."

With that said, Harry left the room again and closed the door behind him.

What the hell am I doing? Harry asked himself, once he was alone in the living room. He didn't know why he was being so kind to the blonde man, but he thought that if he could spend some time thinking it through, he could figure out what to do next. He only knew that Malfoy needed help. He collapsed onto the couch and flipped on the TV. He soon fell into a deep sleep.

Harry's dreams had not stopped with the fall of Voldemort, but had only changed. The currant one was causing Harry to relive the days in the Forbidden Forest. He was walking through the Forest dragging a body, but when he looked down it wasn't Voldemort like usual. It was Draco Malfoy. He fell to the ground with a thud before awaking on the floor.

Draco awoke in the early afternoon and paused to take in his surroundings. The bedroom was filled mostly by the bed in the center. It smelled of Harry, and Draco smiled at the familiar scent. How was it that being in Potter's flat could make Draco feel so comforted? He shook those thoughts out of his head and sat up.

His stomach growled, and he stepped out of the bed in hopes of finding some food. The memory and pain of what had happened to him came flooding back, and he cringed at the thought. What had he done to deserve such a horrible life? Why did he always have to be put in danger when the rest of the world lived happily? Draco hated them all, and he hated himself for putting up with such a life for so long.

Suddenly a crash resounded from the other room and Draco jumped up and grabbed for his wand. Shit! My father stole my fucking wand! He gave up on his wand and stumbled into the living room, only to find Harry sprawled on the floor with a broken lamp next to him.

"What the fuck are you doing, Potter?" Draco said with a laugh.

"Shit, I fell off the couch," Harry replied before looking up at Draco.

It took him a moment to take in the sight before him. Draco was wearing only a pair of silk boxers, and Harry gasped. He must have been too confused the previous night to see the scars. They covered almost every inch of his pale body. None were deep cuts, but they looked self-inflicted. The small amount of light in the room reflected off a heavy silver chain around the man's neck. How had Harry missed these things?

He quickly looked away and busied himself with cleaning the mess he had made. Harry was desperately trying to ignore Draco's gaze. Draco was suddenly aware at his nakedness, and turned to return to the bedroom. He had to grab the wall for support for the room had started to spin. Harry jumped up and helped him back to the bed.

When he was sure the other man was comfortable he asked, "Do you want to tell me where the scars came from?"

"No," came Draco's reply.

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his ebony hair, "Look, I have to leave for a while. Will you be alright?"

"I can take care of myself, Potter," Draco winced at his tone.

"Fine, I'll be back in a few hours. Feel free to clean up and eat anything. Make yourself comfortable," with that Harry left the room and made his way to his fireplace.

A few seconds later, he stumbled into the Three Broomsticks.