A SoulMate's Story

A Soul Mate's Story

Chapter Two: Ride to Hogwarts

It's so hard to believe but
It's all coming back to me
(It's all coming back, it's all coming back to me now)
There were moments of gold
And there were flashes of light
There were things I'd never do again
But then they'd always seemed right
There were nights of endless pleasure
It was more than any laws allow
Baby Baby

Draco Malfoy wasn't staring at his thirty-one year old self in the mirror like he was minutes before, but instead, he was staring at his seventeen-year-old self, and he never saw his eyes so wide before in his life.

He couldn't breath; in fact, he felt his heart stop beating for a millisecond as he stared at his reflection. He only got a glimpse of himself before he heard a booming voice behind him.

"Draco! Did you find that damned book?"

When he turned his body around to see who had called him, he felt his face lose its remaining color, he could feel a cold and hard involuntary shiver run up his spine like a horse running in the wild, and he could feel the tiny hairs at the back of his supple neck stand up. He was looking at the steely gaze of his father.

"F-Father?" he whispered into the cold attic room, instantly recognizing where he was once he heard his father's voice. There was only one voice that could make his hair stand on end on the back of his neck and on hi arms, and that was his father's.

"Don't just stand there boy, hurry up!" Lucius Malfoy's gaze pierced his eyes and he felt another shiver run up his body. His knees felt unbearably weak under his father's gaze and the throbbing at the side of his head only deepened with pressure. He swayed a bit but managed to stay upright as he stared at the older blonde man across from him.

He turned around to face the mirror quickly in his desperation to find some answers or something other than this alternate reality, but with a jolt of horror and surprise, he didn't see anything. He just saw a space where something once was and was not there anymore.

He felt dizzy instantly while the room moved and the images became blurry, and the last thing Draco remembered seeing was his father's stone-cold and hard eyes twinkle with surprise as Draco hit the ground again and blacked out a second time with a sickening thud.

----------

Headmaster Dumbledore,

This is one of your students, and I am writing because I need your help. Something happened about two days ago, and for safety reasons I won't write what, but I need your help. It is really urgent and there is no other person I could trust more. Thank you.

Draco didn't sign his name as he tied the letter to his owl's leg. The bird gave him a look as he ruffled his feathers and turned around to depart. Draco watched as the black bird flew out of his window in the Malfoy Manor and he leaned over in his chair and cradled his head in his hands.

He was hopelessly lost - all he knew was that he had to contact Albus Dumbledore immediately. He put those words on the parchment because he didn't know what else to write, but some of the reasons was because he was tired, and he could barely move. The second reason was because he was afraid someone would intercept it and who knows... Someone could have told his father and Lucius would get suspicious.

Lucius Malfoy - the name brought shivers up Draco's spine at the mere thought of it. He hated his father so much, but the main reason he hated him was because he feared him. Draco viewed himself as superior - all Malfoy's do, but he viewed himself fearless. He was an Auror for crying out loud! He feared him for several reasons as well. One of them was that Lucius was trying repeatedly to kill his loved ones - which included his mother and Harry... and Lucius almost succeeded.

When Draco first saw Lucius yesterday night in the attic, he could feel the fear overtake him. Lucius Malfoy is dead. Your father is dead, he repeated again and again when he awoke from his unconscious state. Your mother is dead, he told himself as he closed his eyes in sadness, and his body shuddered uncontrollably as he remembered the only family member he actually loved. He hadn't seen his mother yet in his universe - this traveling back in time fiasco or whatever the hell he wanted to call it, and frankly, he just wanted to go back. He wanted to go back to the way things were - where he could handle it... even if it meant feeling empty and lonely for the rest of his life.

He slowly lifted his head from his hands and took a sideways look into the full-length mirror across from his bed. His face changed from scared to worried in a matter of seconds, and he looked away again in despair and utter perplexity as his reflection was only staring at him moments before.

He looked so different. His hair was a bright blondish color that spoke of his youth, his face angular with his eyes a bright gray. But, if one looked close enough - it really wasn't a bright gray; instead, it was a sad, deep blue. He didn't have that much muscles as he had in the future - what he concluded anyway, considering that he saw his father again and was staring at his seventeen-year-old self - and he really didn't know what to think, really. He was about an inch or so shorter, about the same build: slim hips and broad shoulders... but other than that, he didn't really look different.

He felt different, though. He felt younger. He felt much more younger than what he had felt in a long time. He felt the need to stretch his muscles and flex his body and run. He had felt like he was back in his Auror days - carefree and invulnerable.

He remembered as he woke up this morning, a house elf sponging his head where throbbing was evident. He knew he murmured some words about his father, and about his mother, and about Harry, but the house elf scurried away as soon as he started talking.

He snapped out his thoughts as he heard a faint knock on the door, and he sat straight up in the chair he was sitting in, not before pushing the ink and parchment back to their original positions and pretending to look like all he had been doing was thinking.

He answered in a soft and clear voice, "Come in."

The door opened slowly and a small head poked in, big and wide eyes staring at him, the eyes untrusting and unsure. The house elf was clearly frightened out of her wits, but it came in obediently and stood by the door, eyes downcast to the floor in a stance of master and servant.

Draco couldn't help but feel sorry for the elf, as the creature didn't move an inch. Draco cleared his throat gently as he saw the house elf shake with pure nerves. He said softly, "Were you the one who was helping me this morning, elf?"

He would have called the elf by its name if he knew what the name was, but all the elf did was squeak and reply, "P-Penny helped you this morning, Master Draco." He tried to remember if he had known this elf, but he concluded that his father must have gotten a new one.

Draco asked softly without moving from his position in his comfortable chair, "And what is your name? Are you Penny?"

The elf squeaked again and looked in his eyes with her wide ones before she nodded sagely and in her squeaky, girly elf voice, "Yes! Sir, I am Penny! Penny is a bad elf, Penny not tell Master Draco her name!"

She looked like she was about to cry but Draco quickly stood up and made his way to her with concerned eyes. She positively bawled when he reached for her hand to comfort her.

"Penny is a bad elf! Penny is a bad elf! Crying in front of Master Draco! Bad elf!" she cried as turned around quickly and started to bang her head against the hard wall, but Draco stopped her in mid-motion and pulled her back, stopping her from getting hurt further.

"No, no, no, no! Penny good elf, Penny is a good elf, don't worry," he said quietly, positively alarmed with Penny's state. He pulled her back and squatted down to her and held her forearms so that she couldn't move from his grasp. She was trembling in his hands, her mouth opened wide and her eyes as big as saucers.

He looked in her eyes and said sincerely, "You are a great elf, Penny. I just want to thank you for this morning... Really. Thank you."

He gave the elf a small smile before he released her and straightened up moments later, brushing some hair out of his eyes. The elf just looked slightly suspicious before she shuffled her feet and asked quietly, "Would Master Drac-,"

But Draco cut her off with a wave of his hand and said quietly, "Please. Just call me Draco."

The elf looked positively bewildered as she stared at him, surely no elf in history could call their Master by their given name - especially in the Malfoy household! She just stared. And stared. And stared.

Then she started bawling loudly, "Master Draco is so good to Penny!"

He stared at her before he felt a slight migraine coming on and he said in a slightly stern voice, "What were you about to ask me, Penny?"

She stopped bawling the instant that he talked to her, but large streams of tears were still streaked down her face. She shuffled her feet - Draco concluded that it was because she was scared insensible - and looked up at him.

"Would Ma-," she stopped in mid-sentence and quickly corrected herself, "Would Draco," she paused, realizing she just said his name and looked utterly bewildered before she tried again, "Would Mas-," she squeaked as she started to say 'master' again and turned her body around so that she could bang her head in the wall before Draco seized her and told her quickly, "No, its okay, just call me Master Draco if it is easier for you."

Penny paused and relaxed somewhat but continued uncertainly, "Would Master... Would Master Draco want Penny to pack his Hogwarts clothes?"

Draco stared down at her before he hoarsely whispered, "What?!"

Penny had that frightened look in her eye as she took an unsure step back and repeated herself, "Would Master Draco want Penny to pack his Hogwarts clothes for tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" he repeated hoarsely, his hand finding the chair as he sat down in it heavily, eyes roaming the elf's face as a million of things ran through his mind.

Hogwarts. Where he worked. Where he attended the meals as a professor. Where he taught immature first years and studious seventh years. He didn't attend there anymore. He didn't. He tried to reassure himself this as he sighed hopelessly.

He sat there looking at the elf's feet instead of her face, and he broke out of his thought as he saw her move her feet discreetly.

"Yes... yes, just... just pack my bags... just put whatever..." he said absently, licking his dry lips.

He watched as Penny hurriedly made her way to his closet and started to take out his clothes, not before looking at himself in the mirror again and wondering what he had gotten himself into.

----------

Life was cold in the Manor, Draco realized upon going outside in the light autumn breeze. He stood in his massive garden looking out into the land that was part of the Malfoy estate, and he shivered as he felt a slight breeze ruffle his robes.

He hadn't been to the Manor ever since he was twenty-five - six years ago - the ministry closed it down and claimed it to be 'dangerous'. Really, Draco couldn't blame them. In his time, they still didn't have the balls to go up into the attics and look through his late father's belongings, nor have they gone down in the basement and found the torture chambers.

Draco wandered mindlessly into the gardens, his robes embracing his smaller figure and he felt a slight warmness once he stepped outside. He sat down on the bench minutes later, looking unto the distance, and his eyes searched what was his.

Rose bushes, tulips, and bushes in particular, any type of flower bush or tree you could think of - the Malfoy Manor had it. Draco remembered that Harry once called it 'The hanging gardens of Babylon'. Draco didn't know what he was talking about at that time, but since he had researched some things on Muggle History, he could now say that he knew what that was.

He shivered again and wrapped his robes around him as he felt another chilly breeze. The manor was always a nice temperature, never hot and never cold compared to the weather outside, but Draco had to admit that the gardens were much warmer. Warmer, meaning, he felt at home. He felt that the surrounding landscape was embracing his skin, making his heart feel accustomed to it.

He looked to his side to see a rose bush with several mini roses and stood up, walking to it. He leaned down and picked one out gently, holding it in his fingers as he memorized the texture of the flower as well as the color.

It was Harry's favorite flower, he had remembered. He didn't cry as the rose petals fluttered slightly in the breeze, and he dropped it upon his shuddering breath.

He had been thinking a lot since this morning with his house elf. He realized that he was now in his seventeen year old body, and he had also realized that he was fourteen years in the past.

"Draco?" he heard a soft voice behind him. He didn't need to turn around to know whose voice that was. It was his mother's gentle voice that was filled with concern and curiosity that filled the quiet outdoors of the mansion. His heart ached as he felt her come closer behind him, and the next thing he knew was that her long and gentle fingers were on his shoulder, grasping it.

"Mother," his voice cracked as he spoke her name, his hand going up to rest on hers. Her fingers felt cold instead of the warmth he thought it would feel, her ring on her middle finger startlingly cold against his own.

"What is wrong, love?" he turned his face away so that he wouldn't have to look at her, but she walked around in front of him and held his chin in her fingers.

"Draco?" she asked again, and he could feel her soft and penetrating gray eyes search his face, before her hand cupped his cheek and forced him to look at her. His traitorous eyes lifted up and looked at her, his eyes sad and his regret evident.

"Mother," he breathed out and before his mother had a chance to blink, he embraced her in a gentle hug. He felt her stiffen in his embrace - after all, Draco never hugged his mother when he was child going into adolescence - and he only squeezed her tighter. His hands were around her slim waist; his head was nestled on her shoulder as he let out a shuddering breath.

He felt his mother's hands go uncertainly around his back in a tender hug that was only given from mother to offspring, almost scared to touch her son that was suddenly giving her affection after those long years without it. Draco didn't say a word as his eyes closed and his soul set free, his mother's scent ringing through his nose.

"What's wrong, Draco? There has to be something wrong," she whispered into his ear, his cheek nuzzling into his blonde hair. They were about the same height, but Draco's bowed head into her shoulder made him seem shorter.

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong. I just love you. Okay?" he whispered back, his voice filled with regret and love, and he remembered that he never told her that he loved her... Not once since he hit thirteen. He felt that this was the least he could do.

"I-I love you too," she whispered back softly and hugged him tighter. He could feel her shiver in the breeze that just picked up and he felt so lost - so hopelessly lost.

"Mother?" he asked her quietly; apprehensive to what she would say.

"Yes, Draco?" she answered, her tighter hold of him keeping its firmness.

"Bring me to the station tomorrow, when I go to Hogwarts?" he whispered into her cheek, tears threatening to fall from his eyes as he inhaled her scent again. He remembered that no one had brought him to the station since he was fifteen except for the driver. He had missed it.

"O-Of course, dear, of course..." she whispered back, and pulled back gently away from him. She looked in his eyes, trying to figure out what happened to her son, the son that never hugged her or showed her affection, the son that sneered when she was a crying mess when Lucius went out to who knows where, the son that she was so scared would end up like Lucius. But then she realized that it was her son... it was just something had happened to him.

He smiled a sad smile at her, and braced tomorrow with his mother's guidance in his heart, and he never felt so much love to her like a son should until he looked in her eyes one cool autumn evening.

----------

"Draco, are you looking forward to defeating Gryffindor this year?" she asked gently, looking at her son that sat across from her in the carriage the next day upon arriving to King's Cross Station.

Draco breathed in, and hopefully, he could return to his own time by the end of tonight. He nodded anyways and looked out of the window, watching the trees and the earth outside him zoom past him in their movement.

"I'm so proud of you for being Head Boy, you know," she said quietly, smiling with happiness and her pale cheeks flushed a slight pink in her pride. Her blonde hair shone in the light, illuminating her high cheekbones and making her usual sour face shine with a certain beauty.

"Yes..." he replied back to her absently, a sigh escaping his lips. Now that Draco looked back to when he was seventeen... he couldn't really remember a thing. He never knew he was head boy, he never knew what happened that year.

They didn't talk anymore as they arrived at the station, but that's all Draco needed... that was, to feel his mother's presence so close to him.

As he exited the carriage, he felt a new hope surge through him as he saw younger years with their trunks and animals go to the barrier, and he turned around to his mother once again.

"I will try to owl you, mother," he said quietly, taking her hands in his. She smiled at him happily and let him take her nimble fingers, and replied, "You better, Draco."

They smiled at each other for a second, a moment between a mother and son laid unforgotten as he stepped forward and gave her a goodbye kiss on her cheek before he stepped back and pulled his fingers gently from hers.

"Tell father goodbye for me," he said in a monotone voice full with disapproval. He knew Lucius wouldn't care; he would be with his fellow colleagues or fellow death eaters. Draco felt as if he should have done something about it, but he knew he couldn't disrupt history. All he hoped for was that he could return to his normal time... and hope that he wouldn't see Harry again. He just said what was appropriate anyway.

His mother just nodded and stepped back in the carriage, giving him one last look and a wave before leaving her son with his trunk alone on platform nine.

In a way, he wanted to see his Harry again... but he knew he would collapse with sorrow and his remaining strength would collapse on him. It was hard enough to see his mother again, but it was even harder to see his lover... especially seeing what happened to him.

He made his way to the platform absently, pushing his trunk with a trolley. He bumped into several muggles, but he didn't apologize, as he was lost in thought. He stood in front of platform nine and three quarters before he looked around to see if anyone was watching, and his gaze caught hold of a small girl with what looked like her mother. They were both dressed in muggle clothes, and he could struggle to here what they were saying.

"I don't know how to get in there, Melinda," she told her daughter. The mother looked at the ticket again with wide eyes, and looked between platform nine and platform ten. Draco could swear that he had seen that woman before, but he shrugged it off. Draco looked at the small girl who was supposedly Melinda and her eyes widened with fear. Her heard her let out a small whimper before he pushed his trolley to the side and waited to see if they needed some assistance.

Being the Defense against the dark arts teacher in his later years, he always had to help other students... something he wasn't really used to doing since he had taken up the job.

"Mother! How am I supposed to go to Hogwarts now?" she whispered, looking around. Her cat that was in a cage let out a loud meow, and that is when Draco decided to step in.

"Excuse me," he addressed the mother politely, and she looked at him with wide eyes. He noticed that she was looking at him suspiciously, before her gaze swept over to his trunk that was beside the barriers.

"Yes?" She asked, putting a protective hand on her daughter's shoulder. Draco knew the girl was a first year by the way she was so small, and the way she didn't know how to get into the platform.

"Would you like me to assist your daughter to get on the Hogwarts express?" he asked quietly, looking around so that no one would hear before he returned to talking to her, "I go to the same school. I'm a seventh year," he paused as he let that sink in, and something slowly started to form in his mind but he shook his head at that thought and said quickly, "Draco Malfoy." He held out his hand to the woman and the woman shook it gratefully.

"Are you a warlock?" she asked in a hushed voice, looking around quickly. He smiled slightly and shook his head, "No ma'am, I'm a wizard. But I would be happily assist your daughter into the platform."

The woman nodded gratefully and gave him a wide smile, taking her hand off her daughter's shoulder. "I would appreciate that a lot young man."

He smiled sadly at her before he turned around and pointed to the barrier that was in between platform nine and platform ten. He glanced at Melinda and said quietly so that they could be the only ones that could hear, "Now, don't be afraid. Just run into the barrier if you are a bit nervous. Don't stop either... you'll do fine." He gave her a sincere smile as she gulped nervously and looked to where he was pointing.

She nodded before she turned to her mother and gave her a small hug. He heard them both whisper something to each other and he looked away as she kissed her mother on her cheek.

Draco watched as Melinda started forward slowly, throwing a nervous look over her shoulder but she gained speed on her walked with a slow jog then into a fast run, and before Draco could blink, Melinda disappeared into the platform. He admired her braveness, and probably thought she would be in Gryffindor.

He got his trolley minutes later and waved to Melinda's mother before he disappeared into the barrier as well, arriving at the other side with downcast. He didn't want to catch anyone's eye - especially Crabbe, Zabini or Goyle.

He was about to ask Melinda to sit with him in a compartment, but he saw her talking with another first year, both of their faces wide with smiles and their hands were animated and pointing to the barrier continuously. He wouldn't be surprised if Melinda was muggle-born.

He knew that Crabbe and Goyle - he tried not to scowl at the mere thought of them - would be at the last compartment in the train or at least at the end of it, so he made his way to the front, finding an empty compartment. He remembered in the back of his mind what happened to Crabbe and Goyle - they had followed his father's footsteps into becoming death eaters, while Harry (his boyfriend at the time) convinced him to be an Auror. At that time, he really didn't care what he wanted to be.

He sat down slowly in the seat close to the window and looked out, watching the remaining students pile in the train. That's when he started to remember Harry.

Harry would be boarding the same train with him soon enough, if he hadn't already boarded it. His Harry. His lover. His husband. Someone who wasn't there anymore.

A soft sigh escaped his lips as he looked down into the cushions instead of looking outside, and he felt the familiar sadness surge through his body as the thought of his lover. His mind started to drift to Harry's touches, Harry's kisses, Harry's voice and Harry's smile...

He inhaled a shuddering breath that was so unlike a Malfoy that he closed his eyes and leaned forward, putting his head in his hands. He cradled his head as he started to remember - or tried to remember - his seventh year. The thing was, he didn't remember anything. He just remembered waking up one day, sore all over, and Harry's face filled with tears looking down at him.

He remembered as Harry whispered some words into his ear, but he just shook his head and tried to push his nemesis at that time out of his face, but he remembered the tremendous pain in his body as he just lifted his hand to do so.

He remembered that Professor Snape informed him that he had been hit by a bludger, therefore, his bones and all of his body was damaged. But the thing was, he didn't remember getting hit by a bludger. He didn't remember anything before his sixth year... where it ended up playing a trick on Ginny Weasley to aggravate her brother... but his seventh year was missing from his memory as he reflected on it.

What he remembered that was Crabbe and Goyle told his father about him and his father tried to get him to join the Death eater's again - as if Draco left it in the first place, but Draco refused... only because Harry begged him and told him it wasn't worth it. He remembered being so nasty to Harry, threatening him and pushing him around, but Harry just gave him a look that radiated his feelings, and after that, Draco only remembered falling in love with him three years later...

That was all Draco remembered after his seventh year. Just what happened after, not during... and he was hit with a idea that made his eyes grow wide, and his skin pale and made his legs weak.

He suddenly realized something as he felt his muscles tense. He finally realized where his seventh year went. He finally realized that he would be repeating his seventh year as a 31-year-old Defense against the dark arts teacher... and there was no way out.

----------

"Are you both ready?" Hermione smiled as she stood in front of one of the train entrances. The two boys beside her nodded and grinned as they all took the last, remaining step into the train, and Ginny trailed behind them with a smirk.

"We can't turn back now. This is our last year," Hermione grinned as she made her way to the front of the train, making sure she could hear the announcements if they were ever called out.

Ron trailed behind her and Harry waited for his girlfriend to walk alongside him. Ginny entwined their hands together and smiled shyly at him, her eyes hiding behind her red hair. While he was looking at her and walking, he reached over and tucked it behind her ear, and he could swear Ginny shivered under his touch.

"Looking forward to defeating Slytherin this year, Harry?" Ron called out behind him without turning around.

"Of course. Slytherin is going down," he said as he felt Ginny squeeze his hand. Hermione was in the lead and she poked her head into one of the compartments before she said something to someone in them and poked her head back out. She turned towards them with a frown.

"It's full," she said quietly before she turned around and poked her head in each of the compartments, coming out with an even deeper frown as she went down the aisle. Harry looked up to see the conductor come out.

"You all better find a place to sit now, the train is about to move," he said gruffly, a donut in his hand. He was portly, to say the least, his belly hanging over his belt, but he looked friendly.

They all nodded as he came forward and opened one of the doors. He said gruffly to one of the people in there, "Those seats taken?"

It must have been a no, for all Harry heard was a soft voice and the conductor opened the door more and gestured them in.

"Found you all a seat. Sit down, hurry!" he said quietly, biting into his donut. He moved forward with Ginny's hand in his and watched as Hermione's face went from a smile to a frown quicker than someone could blink. She looked questionably back at the conductor, but the conductor shrugged, and in a heavy British accent he said, "Those are the only seats open Missy, better sit down," he held the door open for her as she went in, and Ron followed behind her.

When Harry stepped in the compartment and saw what awaited him, he could see why Hermione frowned as deeply as she did, for he was staring at none other than Draco Malfoy.

----------

Draco looked up when he heard a man's voice, and to answer his question on whether or not the seats were taken, he shook his head and leaned back in the cushions. He awaited the people who would be sharing his compartment with him when the first thing he saw was bushy hair and brown eyes.

Hermione Granger. He felt his face pale quickly and his fingers clench the cushions under him. He watched as she gave him a frown and the conductor muttered something and he watched as she stepped forward uncertainly and sat on the same row of cushions as he did - farthest away from him.

The next person that entered the compartment was Ronald Weasley. Draco watched as he gave the Slytherin a glare and a sneer before he sat opposite of Hermione - as far away from him as possible.

Draco knew what would happen next. He closed his eyes and didn't dare to open it as he heard more than one pair of feet enter the compartment next. He turned his head to face the window without opening his eyes, and he felt the train move forward, on its way to Hogwarts.

It took him several minutes to breath properly. He knew who was sitting directly opposite of him without even opening his eyes. He could feel him.

He inhaled deeply and without caring what anyone else in the compartment thought, his fingers started shaking. He couldn't stop it; it was too hard to control it. Harry was right there; he was sitting right across from him.

He knew he shouldn't, but he opened his eyes slowly, and he saw Harry look back at him with concerned eyes, those green eyes that bored into his soul. He's so beautiful, Draco thought as he inhaled a breath. Harry's face brought out youth, his eyes bright green and his lips a rosy red.

"You all right, Malfoy?" Hermione asked quietly, but she shut her mouth as soon as Ron gave her a glare. All Draco was staring was Harry. He couldn't take his gaze off of him.

He looked down from his gaze - something his younger self would never do because of pride. His younger self would have sneered and called him names instantly - but he wasn't his younger self. He had matured over the years.

Then his eye caught something.

His eyes caught entwined fingers. Ginny Weasley was holding hands with Harry Potter.

There were a million things that ran through his mind at that instant, and the thing most evident and it even showed on his face was pain. Pain, for it surged through his body like a whip. Pain, because he was staring at his Harry again. Pain, because his Harry was not his. Pain, because Harry and Ginny were holding hands.

Pain, that was the word Draco was feeling at this moment. His fingers were still shaking as some hair draped over his eyes and shielded his gray-blue hues. He let out a shaky whisper to answer Hermione question, "Y-Yes."

They all looked at him quizzically as he let his gaze drop to the floor, his breath shaky and his body trembling. He could feel their gazes on him as he turned to look out the window.

Malfoy's don't cry, don't you dare bloody cry, he said to himself. His fingers were still trembling as he gulped quietly.

He had to get out of this reality, he had to get out of here quick - or else, he felt, he would die.

----------

Harry stared at him quizzically, for a second there he thought the blonde Slytherin was going to cry. He watched as Draco leaned back in his set and with a determined face he turned towards the window and stared out of it.

Harry's curiosity grew as he saw Draco trembling. He glanced at Hermione from the corner of his eye and gave her a confused look, which she returned with a shrug. He looked at Ron and Ron looked back at him with wide eyes. Harry returned to look back at Draco and then he turned to Ginny who was staring hatefully at Draco.

They stayed quiet for a minute as the train moved to its destination, and Ginny piped up, "Not here with your goons, Malfoy?"

Harry looked at her with wide eyes; he had never heard Ginny say something like that... ever. He looked at her red face filled with anger and decided that she still hated him for what he did last year - which was putting a spell that wherever she went, a sigh above her head that would read 'whore'.

He watched as Draco didn't remove his gaze from the window and didn't answer her. Ron watched this whole exchange of words from his sister and his enemy before he piped in, "Answer her, Malfoy."

Harry continued to watch and observe as Draco quietly whispered, "I would rather not, Weasley."

That was all he said, and Harry's mouth almost dropped. Draco didn't retort with a sneer or anything - something so unlike him. Even Ron looked bewildered; Hermione was just staring at Draco in thought. Ron tried again, "Afraid to say that your goons actually left you?"

Draco still didn't budge as he stared out of the window. He just didn't answer him at all this time.

At this point, Harry leaned forward slightly and tried to find out what was wrong with the Slytherin. All he could conclude was that Draco looked slightly different - more pensive than when he ever seen him.

Draco's appearance didn't change a bit. Sure, his hair had grown slightly longer and his shoulders were still broad. His figure stayed the same... but Harry couldn't quite pinpoint what was so different about him. It's probably his eyes, Harry guessed. Harry remembered upon seeing them earlier when he first sat down - Draco's eye color changed from a sharp and piercing gray and mixed with a small color of blue. Not that he was looking in Draco's eyes, of course.

Harry also noticed that Draco's fingers were still shaking and his eyebrows were brought together - almost as if he was concentrating. He saw the Slytherin tense up as he shifted in his seat, and his mind whirled.

He could feel that Ron was about to say something even before he heard it.

"How was your summer at Death Eater camp?" Ron said unkindly, and the redheaded boy slowly started to smirk as Draco's body tensed even more. Harry watched silently as Draco trained his eyes on Ron, and Harry could swear that if looks could kill, Ron would be dead.

"Don't make conclusions, Weasley," he said quietly. He wasn't sneering, or smirking, and nothing on his face viewed his nasty attitude.

"You can't tell me what to do," Ron retorted, crossing his hands over his chest stubbornly. Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed loudly while Draco continued to glare at Ron.

"I might not be able to, Weasley, but it would do us both good if you kept your mouth shut." He stated flatly then Harry could swear pain edged across Draco's face as the blonde looked at Harry's and Ginny's entwined fingers. Ron didn't seem to notice as he stared at the blonde in confusion before he tried yet again, "Maybe I won't keep my mouth shut then."

Draco shook his head and looked back out the window, his arms crossed over his chest to sub-consciously stop the trembling. Harry wondered what was wrong - Malfoy wasn't acting right.

And no sooner than what he was thinking, he heard the compartment door open.

----------

"Draco?" a demanding female's voice rang out as he turned his head to look at who stood at the door. Pansy Parkinson was standing there with a look of pure bafflement.

"What are you doing here? You know we always sit in the back," she glared slightly at Ron and Hermione, then her glare intensified when she looked at Ginny. Her mouth turned upwards in a sneer when she looked at Harry.

"Is Crabbe, Goyle and Zabini there?" he asked curtly, and returned to look outside the window. He could smell her perfume from where he was sitting.

"Yes... you know they always sit with us, dearest." She looked confused for a moment before she leaned against the door jam and looked at him quizzically.

"Then I'm not going there," he said a matter-of-flatly. He wasn't going to sit with the people who ruined his life years later. He would probably kill them right then and there if he went to the back of the compartment. Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle were all part of his father's league in the future, and he was not. He was sure that it started before he graduated Hogwarts.

"Well... um. Blaise wants you to accompany him," she started to say but Draco cut her off with an intense glare and narrowed eyes. He almost stood up with a intimidating glare and was about to, but he kept himself seated and straightened himself. It was like talking to a student, and really, he was.

"Tell Zabini to stuff it, Parkinson. I refuse to go back with those beasts and you are not going to drag me there. Magic or no Magic. I'm not making the mistake again of hanging around with those idiots."

Pansy took an uncertain step back and he could see from the corner of his eye that the trio's eyes were wide, and Ginny was staring at him with a wide opened mouth. Pansy was about to say something else but she thought otherwise and Draco heard her mummer something about seeing him later, and with that, she closed the door quietly.

He exhaled a breath and looked out the window. Pansy was his friend when he was older. She made a few bad choices, but righted herself with Draco's instructions. He would have to apologize to her later. He needed to make this believable - that nothing was wrong with him... even if he was messing up horribly.

His other companions in the compartment were all shocked; they seriously didn't know how to handle this situation. All of a sudden, Draco Malfoy's guard was down and he was not falling for any of Ron's attitudinal comments. Secondly, he just told Pansy to get lost.

Draco could feel their suspicious gazes as he looked out the window. He refused to look at any of them - especially Harry. His shaking had decreased, but the familiar pang in his heart only increased. He was talking to children. His students were seventeen... he was thirty-one. It made him feel slightly superior. Then his mind started to drift to Harry who was sitting across from him.

He could smell him. Harry had this particular scent that always made Draco want to curl up beside him and beg to be hugged or be embraced by him - to feel loved and surrounded in Harry's fragrance.

He could see him from the corner of his eye. Harry Potter never looked better, his face was bright and curiosity always was evident in his face. His eyes were that vibrant green... not like the dull jade that Draco usually saw now a days. But what Draco really loved was the messy hair. He loved nuzzling his face in it and smelling the shampoo Harry always washed his hair with. He loved how it enveloped his face, how it shaped his soul. It was part of Harry.

And Draco could feel him. He could feel him so close to him. Harry once told him that he thought Draco was his soul mate, but Draco didn't know what he meant by that. Harry explained that every time Draco entered the room, Harry could feel him. He could feel him when he was scared, or in trouble, or if something was horribly, horribly wrong. But Draco now knew what his lover meant - for he could feel him sitting across from him.

He was startled out of his thoughts when Hermione tapped him on the shoulder. He looked at her without turning his face the whole way and then his eyes caught hold of the woman with a trolley.

"Would you like anything dear?" she asked nicely, and then continued, "It's a long way to Hogwarts."

Draco smiled at her slightly and reached in his pocket. He pulled out several galleons his mother had given to him on the carriage on the way to King's Cross.

"Do you perhaps have snickers?" he asked her quietly, itching for that familiar chocolate taste only muggles could produce. Harry was the one who introduced all the muggle sweets to Draco, and snickers were what he wanted. He doubted the lady had it though, when she tilted her head quizzically. He could feel Harry look at him curiously.

Malfoy eating a muggle candy? It was unheard of.

"No dear, I'm sorry to say... we have lots of other sweets though," she smiled and started picking out some chocolate frogs when Draco stopped her with a wave of his hand.

"No, its okay. Do you perhaps have... an apple or something?" he asked her quietly. She looked surprised at his question, but her brown eyes twinkled.

"We have apples every year, dear, its just that no one has asked for them," she grinned widely and pulled out and apple from one of the trays, "It's good to see you young ones eat something healthy. On a diet, are you now?" she gave him a playful wink as he leaned over and gave her the money. He took the apple gratefully and put it in his lap as she gave him his change.

"Something like that..." it was true, anyway. He was trying to maintain his figure. His Auror days had gotten him used to eat things healthy. He still felt very hungry... he didn't eat since that night in his colleague's quarters. She gave him a small smile before she closed the compartment door and started on her way throughout the whole train.

He could feel his companions in the compartment watch him as he cleaned his apple with his muggle shirt. He stood up and tucked one leg under his other one as he looked out the window. He still refused to look at any of them. To tell the truth, he didn't feel that alone anymore. Harry was beside him. Harry was alive. His soul was with him.

They were silent for about fifteen minutes as Draco bit into the juicy apple, leaning back comfortably in his seat. He tried not to look at his lover's entwined fingers with his sort-of-sister in law. Knowing that Ginny would marry Colin made his trembling subside, but he still couldn't help feel a little bit of despair as he realized that would happen to his Harry.

His Harry. Harry belonged to him. Not to her. He glanced at their hands before he looked quickly out of the window again.

He now actually felt comfortable with Harry's presence so close to him. Nothing bad was going to happen. Nothing bad yet, anyway. He bite into his apple, lost in thought, when Hermione asked him a question.

"You like snickers, Malfoy?" she asked curiously and Draco could tell she was trying to be at least decent. He had to remember to hug Hermione when he got back to his own time - if he ever got back... at least she was being nice. Draco could see Ron give her a glare but she just gave him an even stare back and brushed some of her bushy hair out of her eyes.

"Yes, in fact I do," he told her, and bit into his apple again. She looked surprised before she smirked, "Do you even know what Snickers are?"

Draco knew she was asking this because, well, snickers was a muggle sweet. Considering she had many muggle sweets in her time, he shrugged and told her, "A muggle sweet, yes. I also do know what Reese's pieces are, baby ruths, et cetera, et cetera." He took another bite of his apple as she stared at him.

"How do you know that? Those are muggle sweets..." she trailed off and brushed some of her brown hair out of her eyes. She looked at him intently.

He just shrugged and swallowed his bitten piece of apple. He looked at her evenly before turning around and looking out of the window. He could still feel Harry's gaze on him... and he felt almost whole again.

Even if Harry wasn't his yet in his dimension of time, he was just happy to see him again. So close. So happy.

He ignored their conversation as they continued to talk to themselves, in cautious voices just in case Draco tried to be nasty to them. Ron's defenses were up, and so were Ginny's. Harry's, Draco could feel, was still looking at him curiously.

He heard Harry's voice speak softly... something about Quidditch and some other. Draco felt his insides jump slightly when he heard Harry's voice again. He still wouldn't look at him. He knew if he stared in those eyes for more than a second, he would do something drastic...

But if it had anything to do with Harry, he thought in the back of his mind as he watched some birds fly on the other side of the glass, he wouldn't mind being embarrassed if it meant being with him... even for a moment.

----------

He's ignoring me, Harry thought to himself as Draco continued to look out the window. Every time Harry tried to catch his gaze with his own, Draco ignored him. He had been staring at the silent figure across from him for almost five hours, with a few words here and there when his friends asked him something.

Ginny stopped holding his hand a while ago because even he could feel it was slightly uncomfortable, and she was having a 'friendly' game of exploding snap with Ron... which consisted of bewildered yells and accusations. Hermione got out a rather large book of charms and started reading upon them while Harry stayed silent.

Ron had given up trying to provoke Malfoy and had just ignored him like Draco ignored him. Harry didn't feel like saving his friend from a fistfight anyway.

He heard something on the train intercom or something that was magically conducted upon their arrival of Hogwarts. Hermione, Ron and Ginny already had their robes on - for they changed earlier; he and Draco were the only ones that didn't have it on. He looked around in the small bag he was carrying that was by his side, and pulled out his robes.

Standing up and turning his back to the Slytherin across from him, Harry unfolded his robes and turned around, heading towards the bathroom when he felt the train lurch backward and that is when he tumbled slightly and lost his balance. He fell to his left and landed on something soft, and when he looked up, he could see only see the gray eyes of the Slytherin.

Harry gasped as he saw so much emotion in those eyes, pain, suffering, hurt, loss... and an unhidden emotion that made his bushy eyebrows come together. He was on top of the Slytherin's lap, practically, and he jumped off as soon as possibly mumbling an apology.

Malfoy had felt so soft. His fragrance surrounded Harry. Harry subconsciously wondered if Draco's hand went around him or not, but decided that he didn't.

He didn't feel the Slytherin's intense gaze as he left the compartment to go change. If he did, he would have look back.

----------

Oh fuck, Draco said to himself as he felt his heart beating madly. Harry just touched him, as in, he was on him. He had put his hand around Harry again to stop him from hurting himself.

He had to get out of this reality before it drove him insane, and he prayed to whoever would listen to him at that moment to take him away, to be with his Harry, because he missed him terribly.

He felt the train arrive minutes later and he stood up quickly, feeling Ron's slight glare and Hermione's curious one. He was just about to exit their compartment without a word when he looked up and saw Harry.

Harry looked at him curiously as he brushed past without a word, but he shivered uncontrollably when he felt Harry's warmness against his coldness. He ran out of the train faster than anyone else and made his way to Hogwarts by foot.

He had to find Dumbledore to bring him out of here. He had to.

Every day I'm loving you more and more
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings
Telling me to give you everything
Seasons may change, winter to spring
But I love you until the end of time