New York Minute

Harry got up

Dressed all in black

Went down to the station

And he never came back

"Hermione, I've got another one for you."

"Another what?" she asked her boss, blowing too-long bangs off her forehead so she could see.

"Another clean-up job. We got one who left way too many traces of magic around him, and, well, he can't exactly clean up after himself," Andrew Boone, assistant head Auror, told his deputy.

"Fine, then. I get it - you're giving me something terribly un-exciting," Hermione joked to her boss and husband of one year, smirking. "What'd he do to himself?" she asked, grabbing a parchment and quill.

"Well, it's actually not that run-of-the-mill, Hermione. First off, the guy committed sideways." Hermione winced at her husband's use of the Auror code word for suicide. She hated cleaning those up. Always made her feel lousy afterwards. "And what's more, he's kinda - or at least he was kinda - a big name. So we wanna keep it all hush-hush, k?"

They found his clothing

Scattered somewhere down the tracks

And he won't be

Down on Wall Street

In the morning

Hermione smiled at her Drew's Americanisms. She never regretted, for a moment, marrying a man from the States. "All right, then. Who was the poor chap, and where'll I find him?"

"Threw himself, with a great deal of magical help, onto the Tube tracks at Leicester Square. We've got it all blocked off, with Muggle police officers around the border, so we don't confuse the blokes." Although she found Drew's Americanisms cute, she was highly un-amused by his attempts at British slang. Hermione rolled her eyes. "And, uh, the guy's name? Er..." Drew closed the door to Hermione's office, then leaned in very close to her to whisper.

He had a home

The love of a girl

But men get lost sometimes

As years unfurl

"Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter killed himself this morning, Hermione."

Someday he crossed some line

And he was too much in this world

Hermione screamed, and the last thing she remembered seeing before fainting was a flash of green eyes and black hair, super-imposed on Drew's brown eyes and sandy hair.

But I guess it doesn't matter anymore

In a New York minute

Everything can change

In a New York minute

Things can get pretty strange

In a New York minute

Everything can change

In a New York minute

* * *

Lying hear in the darkness

I hear the sirens wail

Ginny sighed with relief as her pajama top slipped over her head. It had been a long, long day, and she was very ready for it to be over. Climbing on to their huge bed, she smiled at Draco before turning off the light by her side of the bed. "Night, Draco," she murmured into the pillow, already half-asleep.

"Goodnight, love," he responded, smirking at his book.

Somebody's going to emergency

Somebody's goin' to jail

Ginny whined when the phone rang two minutes later. Having decided to live in a Muggle flat, she and Draco had also decided to equip it with Muggle technology. In fact, so had Ron, in his own bachelor pad, and Harry, living with his girlfriend Liz from two weeks out of Hogwarts. She assumed that Hermione also had such features, but wasn't sure. After all, Ginny had only heard rumors that Hermione was now married. They'd all somewhat lost touch when Hermione had gone to the States right out of Hogwarts. "You know, if they're calling at this time of night, it's probably something important, Gin," Draco quipped. "You should pick it up." Ginny growled as she sat up.

"Yeah, I'll pick it up. Pick it up and then shove it up your - ," she muttered, as she reached for the phone. "Hello? Hermione?!"

If you find somebody to love in this world,

You better hang on tooth and nail

"Well, what's going on in your li- What? He what?! How do you - Are you su- Oh, but Hermi- Oh." Ginny's voice faltered. "They're sure it's - they're sure it's him?" Draco looked up from his book, puzzled. "Oh, Merlin. Oh. Oh God. Oh God!" Ginny dropped the receiver, still connected, Draco assumed, to Hermione. "Harry! Why?!" She collapsed against the headboard.

The wolf is always at the door

In a New York minute

Everything can change

In a new York minute

Things can get pretty strange

In a New York minute

Everything can change

In a New York minute

* * *

In these days

When darkness falls early

Draco nodded mutely, though he knew very well that Hermione could not see that over the line. "Yeah. Yeah. I'll go find him. I know where he probably is this time of night if he's not at home. Yeah, sure. Er...keep in touch, eh? Well, all right. 'Night, then." He hung up and stood, looking for his shoes.

"Where are you going?" Ginny choked out between sobs.

"I'm going to look for your brother," Draco responded matter-of-factly, shoes and socks on, pulling his coat and scarf on, and walking to the door. "I'll be back."

When people rush home

To the ones they love

Draco walked down the street, hands stuffed in coat pockets. His black coat, scarf, and shoes provided a stark contrast to the white of the snow around him, as well as to the silver of his hair and silk pajama pants. He hadn't bothered to change them.

He blew into the air, creating a mist. Why he'd volunteered to go find Ron, he had no idea. Maybe it was Ginny's tears, so many they had begun to splash against the green satin bedspread, that had convinced him. Or maybe it was the absolute despair and confusion in Hermione's voice, the complete sense that she, who had always known what to do, for once had no idea what to do. Or maybe still it was his last memory of Harry. The last time Draco'd seen Harry was in Flourish and Blotts, just two days before. All the color had been missing from the other man's face, to the point where he was paler even than Draco. Draco had asked if he was all right, and if he could do anything. Harry had just smiled a slow, small smile, one that didn't even reach his now-passionless green eyes, and thanked Draco for caring. "We've come a long way from Potty and Malfoy the Bouncing Ferret, haven't we? Thank you," he'd said, before turning and leaving the store. Draco sighed into the night air once more and kept walking.

You better take a fool's advice

And take care of your own

'Cause one day they're here

The next day they're gone

Draco turned another corner on the way to Ron's pub, The Flaming Broomstick. Only wizards fully appreciated the meaning, and his Muggle customers simply accepted it as something odd. It had been a good career move for Ron to open a pub, everyone agreed. Everyone but Draco. But then again, Ron and Draco seldom agreed on anything. Although Draco and Harry had seemed to grow out of their childhood fights, Ron had never forgiven Draco for what he referred to as "insults to his character," as well as for dating Ginny. Draco saw no reason to even pretend to like the man if that was the way Ron wanted to see things. For Ginny's sake, he was civil, but that was all.

Pulled my coat around my shoulders

Took a walk down through the park

Draco took a deep breath, then pushed open the door to the pub. Sighing in relief to see that Ron had no customers this evening, he made his way through the tightly packed tables and chairs to the bar, where he caught the attention of the bartender. "Is Mr. Weasley here?"

"Yeah, sure," the Muggle university student replied. "Mr. Weasley!" he shouted into the back. "Someone's here to see ya!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Draco sighed inwardly at the sound of Ron's voice. This was not going to be easy. Ron walked out from the back, wiping his hands on his bartending apron. His nose wrinkled when he saw Draco.

"What are you doing here at this time of night, Malfoy?"

Draco sighed.

The leaves were falling around me

The groaning city in the gathering dark

"I came here because, well...I have something I need to tell you." Draco glanced over at the bartender, who was doing a very bad job of pretending not to be eavesdropping. "You know what? Let's go outside to talk. Take a little walk, maybe."

Ron's eyes narrowed. "Why would I want to take a walk with you in the dark? If you have something you want to say to me, say it in here!" he snorted.

Draco bit his tongue, then counted to ten, to make sure he wouldn't snap at Ron. That would be the last thing he needed, particularly tonight. "I have - I have a message for you from Hermione," he said, letting each word, especially the last, fall from his mouth, each with a pre-measured and pre-set weight. At the mention of his best friend, Ron let his jaw drop.

"Hermione! You heard from Hermione?!" He quickly walked around the bar to Draco, jaw still hanging.

"Actually, Ginny did. Come on. Let's go outside." Draco put his arm around Ron's shoulders, something he never thought he'd find himself doing, and ushered him out the door.

On some solitary rock

A desperate lover left his mark

He said, "Baby, I've changed.

Please come back."

Draco walked Ron around the block a few times after telling him the news, just to give him time to absorb it. The whole time, Draco's arm stayed around Ron's shoulder, though both men had ceased to notice it. After walking around the block three times, Ron straightened, and Draco saw the shock begin to slip from his face. Draco pushed open the door to the pub, and ushered Ron in before him. Ron walked to the counter and looked down at it, unable to look at his bartender.

"Go home. Here. Have money. I'll pretend you worked the whole night. And when you leave, turn the sign in the door so people know we're closed. Go." Ron held out a few pound-notes, then waited until the young man had left the room. As soon as he was gone, he slumped onto the nearest bar stool. Draco took a cautious step towards him.

What the head makes cloudy

The heart makes very clear

The days were so much brighter

In the time when she was here

"I should have known." Ron's toneless voice startled Draco as he sat down on the bar stool next to Ron. "I should have known. He was my bloody best friend, Draco!" Draco sucked in a breath at hearing his name come out of Ron's mouth. "I should have known. There must have been some sign, some time he tried to tell me. I should have known!" His voice was rising now. "If I couldn't tell when my best friend was about to kill himself - I saw him last night, Draco! - I just don't - I'm losing it, Draco. I'm not - I'm not here anymore, and I don't - ." He stopped as tears began to leak out of the corners of his eyes. "I don't know why." Ron dropped his head into his hands. Draco reached out and put his hand under Ron's chin.

I know there's somebody somewhere

Make these dark clouds disappear

But until that day,

Draco tilted Ron's face up. "Don't feel guilty, Ron. If Harry really did want to kill himself, then he would have known better than to let any of us - especially you - know. He would have known you would have stopped him. He knew you loved - love - him that much." Ron's watery brown eyes met Draco's silver ones steadily, as both men began to realize how very close to each other they were.

I have to believe,

I believe, I believe

"You know, Draco, I can't say I'm surprised."

"But - but Ginny - Gi-." Draco fumbled to find an expression of denial.

"She's probably known much longer than either of us has."

"But - but."

"She's not dumb."

"Well, no, of course she's not dumb, but don't you think -."

"Would you just shut up and kiss me already, Draco?" And with that, Ron leaned in ever so carefully, tilted the other man's face down a few more inches, and let his lips fall softly on Draco's. As the kiss gently deepened, a thought struck Draco as he closed his eyes. 'Well, there goes my world.' Draco slowly felt himself smile against Ron's mouth.

In a New York minute

Everything can change

In a New York minute

Things can get pretty strange

In a New York minute

Everything can change

In a New York minute...