The Reason

Chapter 27

'You gotta leave me now, you gotta go along, you gotta chase a dream, one that's all your own before it slips away. When you're flying high, take my heart along. I'll be the harmony to every lonely song, but you'll learn to play. When you're soaring through the air, I'll be your solid ground. Take every chance you dare, I'll still be there when you come back down. I keep looking up, awaiting your return. My greatest fear will be that you will crash and burn and I won't feel your fire. I'll be the other hand that always holds a line connecting in between your sweet heart and mine. I'm strung out on that wire, And I'll be on the other end to hear you when you call. Angel you were born to fly, and if you get too high, I'll catch you when you fall. The memories, the sunshine every new day brings. I know the sky is calling, angel let me help you with your wings. When you're soaring through the air, I'll be your solid ground. Take every chance you dare, I'll still be there when you come back down.' "When you come back down" ~ Nickel Creek

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When Harry walked into the common room at 6:30, Ron was waiting for Harry, seated in a chair beside the fire, which had long ago dwindled to embers. One look told him everything he needed to know - Harry's eyes were bright with happiness, his lips were bright red, his cheeks were flushed, and his hair was even more tousled than usual.

"Hi," Ron said quietly.

"Hi," Harry replied, unable to suppress a grin.

"Malfoy's problem is solved?"

"Yeah."

"You kissed him and made it all better?"

Harry laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Good."

"Ron, thank you for being so cool about this."

"It's a bit easier to take now that we know he's not an evil git."

"Now he's just a run-of-the-mill git, right?"

"Only if he screws up this thing with you, and then I'll kill him. So, are you two going to be, uh, public with this, or what?"

"Well, we're not going to start snogging each other in crowded hallways, but we probably will hang out together."

"Okay. Cool. We better go up to bed; it's late."

"Goodnight, Ron," Harry said quietly when they reached their rooms.

"Night, Harry."

As Harry drifted off to sleep seconds later, he was almost positive he heard Ron muttering, "Right. Hanging out with Malfoy. I can do that. I think."

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The next morning, Draco sat at the Gryffindor table with Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Clare, who had taken to sitting at the Gryffindor table despite the fact that she was a Ravenclaw. Despite the fact that everyone now knew that Draco had been fighting Voldemort the whole time, all of the other Gryffindors still refused to sit anywhere near him. But much to everyone's surprise, they all got along quite well with Draco, and by the end of breakfast, they were laughing and talking like best friends.

By the weekend, it had been accepted by basically the whole school that both Draco and Clare were both integral parts of Harry Potter's gang. Draco had even been transferred to Gryffindor now that he was no longer undercover. No one but the six of them knew just how deeply Harry and Draco were connected, though. During the day they acted like best friends, but nothing more. As a result, they spent a lot of time sneaking out of their room to be together at night. That Friday night, they had decided that instead of the classroom, they would meet outside on the tallest Astronomy Tower. They always made sure that their departures were far enough apart so that if anyone other than Ron happened to wake up, they wouldn't suspect anything. For the first time, Harry was the one waiting for Draco. Draco sat down next to Harry, their backs resting against the stone wall of the Tower as they stared up at the stars, and turned to Harry to say something, but Harry put a finger on Draco's lips.

"Draco, why does this still work? Did your counter-spell not work? Is it Dark magic?"

"I don't know. I never tried to end it. I didn't lie to you, not really. I found a counter-spell, and I completely intended to use it. I knew what I felt; I knew long before you were sure, and I was sure it wouldn't work. So, I was determined to break every tie I had with you. I got the spell set up - circle of candles and everything, but I made the mistake of doing it in our classroom. Everything in there reminded me of you, and I thought of that morning when I woke up with you next to me, and I could feel you lying awake in bed, thinking about us. And I wanted more than anything to have you with me in the classroom to wake up like we did that morning, but I knew I couldn't. So, I settled for the next best thing - keeping you in my mind. Now that I think about it, I don't know if the spell would have even worked. Not because it's dark magic that's too powerful for us, but because I think it goes deeper. My father tried to end it, and it did end his involvement, I could tell. Otherwise, we would have felt it when Dumbledore... did whatever he did. So, it worked on him, but not on us. Why? I think because subconsciously, neither of us wanted it to end, and also because we're linked together. That night when we reversed the curse, when you grabbed my hand, do you remember a rush of power and a blue glow?"

Harry nodded.

"I asked Professor Dumbledore about it, and he said that when two powerful wizards or witches care about each other very deeply, they can share their powers with each other. They can create a bond deeper than ordinary spells, a bond that connects them permanently. This bond is usually created when one wizard is in danger of dying, and the other would give his life to prevent that. When you grabbed my hand that night, you were offering me all of the power you had to give; you offered your life, and we were connected. So, I don't think the spell would have worked even if I had tried it. But I did feel you slip further away from me each day. The first two or three days, it was strong - you were miserable. But as you got less miserable, I felt less and less of what you did. I could've still talked to you if I tried - I did - but you started to push me out of your mind, in more ways than one."

"I didn't get less miserable, Draco, I just went numb. Nothing mattered without you." He smiled in the dark. "You're my reason."

Draco laughed softly, and then did what they had both been waiting for all day. He kissed Harry, letting the past weeks of unhappiness and uncertainty fade away, and Harry became the only thing he could think about.