Alone

Chapter 4

"Spit it out Potter. I think you've got some explaining to do," Draco said as he clamped a hand around Jake's right arm.

"And don't think you're going anywhere until you've finished," Derek added, clamping his hand around Jake's other arm and dragged him into the lounge room.

Pushing him on to the sofa, Derek sat on Jake's left side as Draco sat opposite him and waited for him to start explaining.

Jake looked into his hands and then at Draco.

"Are you going to, uh, erase this from Derek's memory?" he asked uncertainly. Draco smirked.

"I might or I might not," he answered as Derek glared at him.

"What do you mean erase this from my memory?" he asked with narrowed eyes. Draco's smirk widened.

"Oh you know, go into your memory and make sure that you don't remember any of this," he answered with a dismissive wave of his hand. Derek continued to narrow his eyes until they were nothing more that slits. Jake sat back, hoping that the bickering pair would forget him, but no luck for him. Draco didn't say anything; instead he turned towards Jake and glared at him.

"Explain Potter," he demanded.

"Yes explain Jake," Derek added as both turned towards the blue eyed man again.

"What would you like to know?" Jake asked, admitting defeat.

"What happened after you left Hogwarts?" Draco asked. Jake sighed and looked at his hands as he started to explain.

~~Flashback~~

Harry felt the familiar tug at his stomach as the port key took him somewhere. Opening his eyes a second later he found that he was standing in an unfamiliar alleyway. Tearing his robes off, Harry walked out in his uniform. Looking around he was, to say at least, shocked to find that he was on the streets of muggle L.A.

Malfoy took me halfway across the world?! Harry thought in shock as he examined his surroundings.

Reaching into his pockets, he was dismayed to find that he only had a few galleons with him and nothing else.

Why do I feel that this isn't gonna be easy? he thought to himself as he looked around the street.

He stopped abruptly as he realised he was still Harry Potter. Looking around he ducked into another alleyway. He didn't have his wand with him as it was confiscated by the auroras (A/N is that how you spell it?), but he did know how to do wandless magic. After discovering the skill in his sixth year, Harry had practised until he could use it as naturally as he could a wand. It was virtually undetectable and he was beyond happy now that he hadn't told his friends. He knew his friends wouldn't understand anyway. Ron would just be jealous and Hermione, well, Hermione would want to, hypothetically, 'study him'. Instead of bringing joy when Harry thought of his friends, it brought a new wave of sadness over him as he magiked his eyes to blue and put a glamour spell over his scar. Harry looked like a different person.

Walking out of the alleyway, Harry knew what he had to do.

Going into a nearby police station, Harry went up to the counter and pretended to be scared.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me who I am?" he asked the officer behind the counter.

~~Rude interruption by Draco~~

"You actually said that?" he asked disbelievingly. Jake smiled momentarily.

"Yeah I did," he answered. Draco shook his head and laughed.

"I can imagine that," he said.

"So that's what happened. You said you lost your memory," he accused as Jake flushed.

"Come on Derek, it was different then," he whinged slightly.

"Continue," Draco commanded before Derek could argue more.

~~Continuation of Flashback~~

The weeks after blurred together as police tried desperately to find Harry's relatives, but Harry was no help as he himself didn't remember his name.

After two months of searching, Harry told the officer sadly that they should give up and he should start all over again. The officer who had taken pity to the handsome black haired boy nodded grimly, but managed to set up an unemployment and student fund for him. Harry was now, kind of, well off and he rented a flat above a shop and had changed his name legally until his real name could be found, at least in the Untied States, to Jake Nicholas Stevens.

Jake threw himself into his studies and graduated three years later with a law degree. He was offered a lob at the Howsen's law firm with his best friend Derek.

He moved out of his flat and moved in with his friend into a penthouse apartment on Henry Drive. (A/N note Harry/Jake is not in a relationship past friendship with Derek) He had been working happily in his job for a year now.

~~End of Flashback~~

"So I as working happily for a year now before you turned up on my doorstep," he finished off, glaring at Draco. Draco smiled.

"So sorry that I ruined your happy life," he drawled, not sounding very sorry. Jake sighed a long suffering sigh and shook his head.

"So you are a wizard?" Derek asked, slightly awed and kind of scared. Jake was all of a sudden uncomfortable.

"Yeah," he answered. Jake nodded, but didn't say anything.

"So you use magic to change the colour of your eyes huh?" Draco asked. Jake shook his head.

"I used to, but now I wear contact lenses," he answered, running a hand through his hair. Derek look taken back.

"You wear contact lenses? You wear contact lenses? The person who claims to have perfect vision wears contact lenses?" Derek practically screeched. Jake grimaced as Draco stifled laughter.

"Perfect vision? Please Potter's as blind as a bat," Draco snorted.

"Oh and now I bet you're going to say that you dyed your bloody hair too," Derek grumbled. Jake looked surprised.

"No, I didn't dye my hair. It's natural," he replied as Draco made a straggled noise.

"Natural?" he asked looking at him sceptically. Jake nodded and rubbed his hair unconsciously.

"Yeah, they started to appear, uh," Jake trailed off as he pin pointed when exactly the auburn highlights started to appear.

"About six months after I left your world," he answered quietly.

"Why red?" Draco asked, not picking up on Jake using the term 'your world'.

"My mum's hair was red so maybe I got it from her?" Jake replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Draco shrugged as Derek frowned.

"Your world, what do you mean by your world?" he asked. Jake stiffened as Draco growled.

"Get off it Potter, it is as much my world as it is yours," he said.

"No, the moment you turned your backs on me, I was banished from that world," Jake replied with a glare.

"I didn't turn my back on you," Draco protested as Derek sat there, looking confused.

"Not you, the wizarding world, my friends, Dumbledore, Sirius," Jake trailed off, his eyes becoming unnaturally bright as he looked away. The other two men got the distinct impression that Jake was fighting back tears and truthfully, they didn't know what they would do if he did cry.

"Everyone but you," Jake finally said, turning back. Draco scowled.

"Look I told you, they found out the truth, they're sorry," he repeated. Jake scowled as well.

"Tell them to shove it up their arses, I don't give a shit," he snapped back. Draco was momentarily shocked into silence. He could not believe that the 'Boy Who Lived', the 'Golden Boy' would swear like this. Glancing at Derek, Draco was lead to believe that Jake swearing was something common.

"But they know you're innocent Potter," he argued.

"Don't call me Potter. That isn't my name anymore," he growled. Draco fumed.

"Yes it is! As much as you like to deny it, it is and you can't run away from it!"

"I'm not running away from anything Malfoy! They deserted me, if they're so sorry why'd they choose you to come and apologise!"

"Because they were afraid you would slam the door in their faces!"

"Damn right I would've!"

"Which is why exactly I'm here!"

"Why exactly are you here Malfoy!? To torment me!?"

"No!"

"Then why?! I haven't seen you for four fucking years, why suddenly pop back into my life now!?"

"Because we fucking need you back!"

Jake snorted. Both Draco and Jake hadn't realised that they had sprung to their feet when shouting at each other.

"Need me back to what?!" Jake demanded angrily. How dare they think that they can burst back into his life and expect him to forgive them?

"We need you to defeat Voldemort damn it! You're the only one who can and you know it!"

Jake froze, and then laughed bitterly and coldly. Derek shrunk back into his seat. He had listened throughout the whole argument and could only work out that Jake's friends had turned their backs on him when needed them the most. Derek looked at his friend who was now glaring at the blond man. Derek had never seen Jake so emotionless or pissed off or so out of control and frankly, it scared him.

"So this is what it's all about? You want me to go back and kill Voldemort? And here I thought you were going to be friends with me?" Jake mocked. He was secretly fuming inside. They had come back, not to made amends, but to drag him back to defeat Voldemort, undoubtedly to ignore him once he completed his task.

"No that didn't come out right," Draco hurried in saying. "We need you to defeat Voldemort, yes, but mainly your friends want to tell you how sorry they are."

Jake laughed again, but didn't answer.

Derek meanwhile was really freaked out. Jake, kill someone? Named Voldemort? Derek shook his head.

What kind of name is Voldemort anyway? He thought wryly. Who's afraid of someone named Voldemort?

"So are you coming back or not?" Draco asked.