The Reason

Chapter 19

Love is like war; easy to begin but very hard to stop. -H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic

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"Okay, guys, we need to win this one if we want to win the Quidditch Cup. We can do it! We're the best team at Hogwarts. Right?" as Ron looked expectantly at his Gryffindor teammates, Harry thought again what a great Quidditch captain Ron made.

"Right!!" they echoed enthusiastically as they mounted their brooms.

The game was over minutes after it started. Harry hadn't told anyone, hadn't even really noticed it himself until that day, but not all traces of his vampirism were gone. Even after the curse had been reversed, his senses were still much sharper, and as a result he caught the snitch almost immediately. He was quite grateful, too; although he could tolerate the sun again, he still wasn't quite up to normal, and he had started to get a headache after only five minutes. Besides, he didn't think he could stand such a crowd of people for too much longer.

So, when all of the Gryffindors went back to Gryffindor Tower to celebrate, Harry managed to slip away under his Invisibility Cloak. He roamed the school aimlessly, and without even knowing it, he found himself at the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room. He was just about to leave when a 7^th year walked right past him and said the password, "Voldemort lives." Harry couldn't resist; he had to see Draco.

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"Where's Harry?' Hermione whispered to Ron. She had lost him when they had all come into the Common Room, and an hour later, she still hadn't found him again.

"He didn't feel like being around people."

"You mean he went to look for Draco?"

"Yeah."

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He found Draco's room easily and was rewarded with a view of Draco shirtless. He had obviously just finished showering - his long blond hair curled gently around his face, and he was rummaging through his bureau for a shirt. The room was otherwise deserted. Harry hesitated for a moment, wondering if he was crazy for doing this.

"Draco?"

Draco turned around slowly, telling himself that it was just his imagination, that it was Crabbe or Goyle's voice that he heard, and not Harry's. But instead, there was no one there, and then out of thin air, Harry appeared.

"Fuck, Harry! What the bloody hell is your fucking problem? I'm practically naked here, and you're sneaking up on me? After everything that's happened this week, you're lucky I didn't hex you the second you said something!"

"I'm sorry, Draco. I didn't mean to scare - "

"You didn't scare me, you just pissed me off!" Draco snapped.

"Okay. You know, maybe I should just leave," Harry said quietly, waiting for Draco to stop him, but Draco's only response was to stare pointedly at the door. Harry left, glad the Invisibility Cloak hid his tears.

Chapter 20

'All I ever really wanted was to be the same. Equal treatment never ever comes, and there they go again. All I ever really wanted was to be like you; so perfect, so worthless. If I could take it all back think again I would. And now I found it, found I got it. I didn't want this. Somebody help me see. Now I feel it, feel that I've been there. I didn't need this. Somebody help me stand. And now I've told them, I didn't want this, I didn't need this. Would somebody help me breathe? Would somebody help me breathe? Would somebody help me?' "Breathe" ~ Nickelback

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After the near disastrous encounter the night before, Harry resolved not to talk to Draco ever again. He would forget the whole thing had ever happened, and life would go on. This resolve lasted until about halfway through breakfast when Hedwig delivered his mail.

'High Profile Wizard with Shady Connections Disappears:

Lucius Malfoy Missing in Action'

jumped out at Harry from the front page of the Daily Prophet.

"Lucius Malfoy, an openly declared Death Eater, checked into the Hog's Head Inn in Hogsmeade with his son two days ago, and hasn't been seen since. According to people in the bar, around midnight on April 28, the last time Lucius was seen, a loud scream was heard, and the next day, neither Mr. Malfoy, nor his son Draco, were anywhere to be seen. I was able to find a witness from that night, Clare Goldbrooke, and she gave me some very interesting information.

'I was here the whole day, because I'm staying here while I wait to transfer to Hogwarts," Clare told me eagerly. "Anyway, Mr. Malfoy and his son came in very early, around 8:00 in the morning, and his son went up to the room. Mr. Malfoy stayed at the bar and talked with a couple of men, but all I could hear was something about a transformation. Late that afternoon, Mr. Malfoy went up to his room, and almost immediately he and his son started arguing. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was very obvious that they were fighting. After that, it was silent for several hours. Then, right around 11:00 there was a whole lot of noise - people shouting, bumps, and then two teenagers burst in here, the bar, I mean, and ran up the stairs to the Malfoys' room. Just seconds later, Headmaster Dumbledore walked in and followed them. A few seconds later, the two teenagers walked down into the bar, followed by Draco, and get this - Harry Potter.

'Then I heard the scream I told you about, and seconds later, Headmaster Dumbledore came downstairs. Then he said something about Zonko's or Honeyduke's or something, and they all walked out.'

"At press time, we had not been able to contact Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, Professor Dumbledore, or the other two students mentioned, who have been identified as Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, but look for more information in tomorrow's paper."

"Oh, shit."