Just Like Heaven

Chapter One:

'Alone'

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of these characters. They belong to JK Rowling/Warner Bro's.

Author's Note: The title of the fanfiction is from The Cure's song 'Just Like Heaven'. Please read REVIEW and enjoy! =D

Warnings: This is a Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy SLASH fanfiction, it is also a VEELA fanfiction. Please no flamers. It will become more rated further on due to sexual content, but only swear words for the time being. It will also be slightly OOC (as all Slash fanfictions are).

Summary: Growing up isn't just about aging; it's also about coming to realizations of who you are and what you stand for. As the War grows ever closer, Draco Malfoy has to deal with accidentally choosing Harry Potter as his Veela mate and the reprocussions of that (such as indeniable death if he is refused). Harry, on the other hand, just wants to be left alone and is sick of all the rivalries, he is yearning for a new life he know he can never have. But maybe he will find his chance in an unfamiliar place...maybe he will find his own salvation and that of the entire Wizarding World, in an unsuspected lovers arms. Or maybe the world is doomed no matter what.

I Want to Be Alone - Jackson C. Frank

I need to touch each stone/Face the grave that I have grown

I want to be alone

Before all the days are gone/and darker walls are bent and torn

To pass the time of those who mourn

I want to be alone.

XXXXXXXX

The sun was dropping 'neath darkened clouds. Night summer rain appeared to be brewing within the grey skies. From down below, through a dusty window, Harry peered vacantly up onto it with dull weariness. It had been three weeks since he caught the Knight Bus from the Dursley's and situated himself in Diagon Alley. Tom was more than happy to keep him a room at The Leaky Cauldron, though only when night fell was he there. He couldn't take the constant stares, questions, interrogations, and greetings from strangers he did not know that knew every bit of information about him. Well, nearly every bit.

Hermione and Ron were the only two who knew why he was living at the edge between the Muggle and Magical world. He couldn't return to that aweful place anymore; the Dursley's were just as unbearable as all the encompassing Witches and Wizards.

He longed for silence to it all and solitude above all else. It was a fools hope he kept to himself, ignoring the barkeep's and patrons eyes searing into him. 'Some hate me. Some love me. They think I can save them. I can barely save myself,' he morbidly thought, taking another sip out of his Butterbeer.

Harry longed for sunrise. Freely, he could take a Muggle bus away from those who knew his name, he could as alone as it got wondering the Muggle world. Even when his mood was cheery enough, Harry found himself out to the movies by himself, even conversing with Muggle's he would meet in coffee shops though he never had anything interesting to say. They would talk to him about their favourite music, sports teams, world events. Harry had nothing to say to them. He would politely respond, glad to be away from what he normally knew.

On this particular night, he left The Leaky Cauldron wanting a late walk before the rain began, though he did not leave it alone. Hands in his over-sized slack pockets, his messy raven hair falling over his forehead and cheeks, Harry knew the buses would stop running soon and instead began a slow trek about the area he now knew so well. One of the only places left open at this hour was another bar, though Muggle, which Harry decided to stop in. See if he could have another useless, boring conversation with a London local. Anything was better than talking to his own kind.

It was a dank place, cobwebs resided into the corners left untouched for decades it seemed. Nearly empty on a Tuesday evening, Harry took a seat by himself up at the bar. He ordered his usual; whichever most popular ale was on tap at the place. He had yet to be asked if he were of age, this he thought was due to the ancient look his tired eyes gave off. Even bartenders sometimes seemed relunctant to come near him, like the plague.

Halfway through his first drink, the barstool beside him creaked, somebody else's weight fell down on it as a set of arms rested up on the counter.

"Potter, what brings us here?"

XXXXXXXX

"Ah, Mister Malfoy, what a pleasure it is to see you," Tom's crooked teeth grinningly greeted Draco as he stepped into the Leaky Cauldron Tuesday morning. He attempted to smile in return, yet as per usual it turned into a sneer. Shaking his head, he kept a stern look instead. That cold statuesque face of his Father.

"Tom," Draco solemnly nodded his head, "I'd like a room till the beginning of Hogwarts term," he stated dryly.

"Of course, sir. If you'd wait down here for just ten minutes, Drucellia is just finishing up room 2A," Tom smile widened, any business to him was good business, even if it was the son of a known convict whom was rotting in Azkaban at that very moment; the smallest edges of happiness being sucked out from him.

Draco slowly brought himself over to the corner of the bar, sitting down in a silhoutte of the wall. He would prefer to avoid being seen by those he knew. It seemed all those his Father worked closely with had disappeared, and all those who knew him well enough scorned Draco when they saw him. Nobody could quite grasp that he was not his Mother - or his deranged Mother.

Five minutes had gone by where he rapped his glass-like fingernails on the etched wooden table, then his silver eyes skirted up towards a familiar voice monotonely greeting the barkeep. His eyes widened. There was his nemesis, Harry Potter, talking to Tom before turning his back and leaving out the front doors. Not the backdoors which lead to Diagon Alley, but the front which lead to Muggle London. This began a bubble of questions and curiousities inside of Draco.

When Tom came over a little while later to inform Draco that his room was ready he asked about Harry's purpose for staying here. "I'm not sure why, but just like you he's here till the end of summer," was all he got out of him.

Didn't Harry have a lavish home safely hidden away to live in? A beautiul Manor, just like Draco's? A loving Muggle family, his Mother's family, to take care of him? Why would he stay in this dingy place for so long?

This questions paraded about his occupied mind all day as he unpacked and settled in his room, once bored he took a copy of Advanced NEWT-level Potions down to the bar and sat in the very same dark corner so as not to be noticed. Not much later in the evening was he joined once again by his school mate, who sat quietly at the bar for nearly an hour as Draco continuously peered over his book at him. Once he suddenly up and left to Muggle London again, Draco couldn't explain what forced him to follow but all he knew was that he was.

Suddenly he was walking ten paces slowly behind Harry, keeping his head low and staring at the Gryffindor's feet. He wanted to know what would bring him here. Once he seemed to have reached his destination, Draco was in the least bit astonished that it was a second, dingier bar than The Leaky Cauldron. Ontop of that, it was Muggle. He paced out front for a few minutes before deciding to go in. Though reluctant, he had actually never stepped foot in a Muggle establishment before.

"Potter, what brings us here?" Draco drawled, taking a seat next to the bespectacled brunette.

Harry jumped a little upon hearing his name, than a scowl firmly set into place on his hardened features as he turned to see who sat beside him.

"What the hell are you doing here, Malfoy? Aren't you going to catch Muggle cooties?" Harry harshly teased, spitting venomously between clenched teeth. All he had wanted was to get away from the Wizarding World but no matter where he went it seemed to follow him. The constant reminder of his doom seemed to follow him.

Draco slowly raised his eyebrow, bemusedly he spoke, "Cooties?" he asked, than raised his hand to catch the attention of the bartender. "What do Muggle's drink?"

"Who the hell said you could join me?" Harry snarled, "Sod off, prat,"

"I'll have whatever he's having," Draco informed the keep who gave him a look before going off to get him his drink.

"You don't have Muggle money," Harry pointed out, realizing Draco wouldn't just disappear.

The blonde shrugged and smirked, "No, but you do," he recieved his drink and took a sip. His mouth curled in dissatisfcation. "What the bloody hell is this?"

"Guinness ale, I think," Harry mumbled, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's-" Draco was about to call it vile, but noted that if he wanted those curious questions in his head to be answered he couldn't be as pompous as he usually was. "It is decent," he settled on.

Harry shook his head, more of his hair falling out in front of him. "If I'm paying for your drink, could you at least tell me why the hell you're here?"

Fiddling with the question, he thought the truth would suffice, "I saw you were staying at the Leaky Cauldron, too. I was curious as to why you would come to Muggle London. Also, do you understand how foolish it is of you to wonder around at night unsupervised? It is a bloody mystery how Voldemort has yet to murder you, being as careless and dim-witted as you are," he drawled, gulping down another taste of rotten Guinness.

"Did it go through your head between the Cauldron and here that what I do isn't any of your business, Malfoy?" Harry defensively snapped. Draco slowly put up his hands, he hadn't wanted to start a spat. He was too tired for that. He felt too old for it. "Plus, other than you there are no Death Eater's wandering around Muggle London,"

"See what I mean; completely void of rational thought, you are," Draco quietly said not wanting to create an angry eruption from the brunette, though one seemed to be boiling anyway. Did his presence annoy him that much? Were school rivalries that lasting? Than Draco recalled his Father, who had attempted to murder him. He took a deep breath, getting any answers out of Harry would be difficult and he completely understood why.

"You have been lucky to date, Potter, but I know for a fact there are Death Eater patrols all over London. Not to mention Little Whinging, Godric's Hallow, Hogsmeade, even the Weasley's little Burrow is under heavy watch. All for you," Draco explained, trying to sound as matter-of-factly as possible, taking as much assumptuous venom out of his tone.

Harry's eyes widened at that, "The Burrow? Really?" he turned, mouth slightly open with obvious concern flashing across his features.

"Last I heard, they are not risking an attack until they see you are there. They are here in London because they know the Order of The Pheonix Headquarters are here, somewhere," he continued, Harry's eyes widening even more. Apparantly the Death Eater's knew more than he had heard.

"How do you know all of this?"

Draco rolled his eyes and pointed to himself, "A Malfoy, remember?"

"Oh, right. I forgot you're the son of the devil,"

"Lucius might be a cold-blooded twat but there are devils out there greater than he. Riddle and my Aunt Bellatrix are indefinitely one of them," Draco corrected him, this time he actually wanted to take a sip from his drink. The memory of his coniving Father always wrenched at him like a black hole.

They were both silent for a few moments. "Why are you telling me any of this? Why aren't you rubbing your little Dark Mark to call your Master to me? Why aren't you torturing me and-"

Draco once again put up his hand to stop Harry mid-sentence, he reached for his left forearm to roll up his sleeve, revealing clean, snow-white skin. To satisfy Potter, he showed him his right arm as well. "I would never let myself be marked by a madman, nor follow him,"

"Bullshit," Harry immediately responded, "What about Umbridge in Fifth Year, huh? Are you going to tell me you don't hate Muggle-borns anymore, either?"

Draco's eyes widened comically, "I still stand for pureblood breeding. I think it is unfit for a Wizard or Witch to mate with a Muggle, but my opinion has changed. I have grown up, Potter. I followed my Father because that is what children do. They follow the paths of their parents until their conscious enough to make their own. I made mistakes, I can admit, but those mistakes I will not apologize for. I did not know any better. Just like you did not, either, a second ago,"

Harry took this in, breathing into his pint before sipping. He had nothing to say to Malfoy. He still wished to be away from him, by himself or having a conversation with a stranger Muggle whom he'd never see again.

"Can you answer me now?" Draco softly asked after a few minutes, "Why are you here?"

Shrugging he answered, "To get away,"

The truth in the short statement stilled Draco, it sounded so sad yet so familiar to himself. He sighed, took a Galleon out from his pocket and slid it into Harry's hand beneath the counter top, paying him for his drink. "I guess you and I are not as different as we may have been taught," he said before slipping off of his stool and turning for the door. Before fully leaving the bar he cranked his head overtop his shoulder, "And try to be more careful wondering around Muggle places at night, we would not want to make it too easy for him,"

With that he had left, back onto the empty streets as Harry sat alone at the bar. He felt blank, unable to process the conversation he had just had and whom he had had it with. Malfoy being so calm, collected and...sort of kind to him. Even helping him. Telling him things that Harry would have never dreamed the Slytherin would tell him; Death Eather activity. A sense of self-hatred whirlpooled within the pits of his stomach for judging the blonde too quickly and for so long. He knew Malfoy was to blame as well for a lot of the things that happened at Hogwarts, but so were he and Ron. Could it be that they were both just two teenagers trying to make it through school before their lives abruptly end?

By the time he had paid for his drinks, Harry couldn't think on it any longer. Or at least he wouldn't let himself. As he made it back to the Leaky Cauldron, he vowed not to tell his friends of his visitor but he would Owl post Remus in the morning about it. He needed to tip somebody off about the Death Eaters; he needed to make sure The Noble House of Black was left properly hidden and ill-used if they were so close to finding it even with a Secret Keeper situated.

XXXXXXXX

The weeks droned by and finally it was the day before the beginning of term. Draco and Harry had passed each other almost daily, though never speaking. They left their conversation held at the Muggle bar between the two of them and any further communication was unnecessary in both their eyes. Apparantly they both did want to escape and neither would interupt that for the other. Hermione and Ron arrived with the rest of the Weasley's, ready to buy their new loads of books which Harry had done weeks ago to study out of boredom, though went shopping with his friends anyway. He still felt the most comfortable between the two of them, going back-and-forth between bickering and joking.

They were outside of Florentine's ice cream parlor midday for a snack, catching up about the summer, when it happened. "The summer was grand untill Remus forced my family out into the House of Black. Living cooped up there, its hell. I have no idea how Sirius survived," Ron complained. Apparantly after Harry had sent Remus his letter, the werewolf gathered the Weasley's to stay in Grimmauld Place until they were certain the Death Eater's were gone. True to his word, Remus refused to tell anyone other than Albus Dumbledore where the reliable information had come from. He did not give Harry any gripe or concern about Malfoy, either, which surprised Harry. Did Remus know something he didn't?

"Honestly, Ronald, it cannot have been that bad," Hermione said over her scoop of strawberry ice cream.

Barely paying any attention, as per usual, Harry's eyes wondering behind his friends heads at the crowds of people, mostly Hogwarts students and parents, walking by buying new things for the new school term. He saw it happening just before Flourish and Botts, a flash of platinum hair fell to the ground only to quickly stand up. From the distance, Harry could see Malfoy whip his wand out furiously, scowling heavily at a group of six Seventh Year Hufflepuff girls. Cho Chang was among them.

"Excuse me," Harry mumbled before jumping from his chair and heading over there in a half run as to not arouse too much attention.

"You incompetent little bitches, Tilant-"

"Expelliarmus!" Harry cut him off, surprised he recieved three wands at his feet. Malfoy's and two Hufflepuff's among them.

"Harry?" Cho Chang was the first one to turn and greet him.

"Potter, this is none of your business," Draco lowly growled.

"Oh, and you're the one to talk about people sticking their nose into others business?" Harry snapped back. "What the hell do you think you were doing, starting a duel in the middle of Diagon Alley?"

Draco advanced on him, face flushed red with anger, "Me? You cannot be serious, Potter? This twats would not st-"

"Get out of here, Dirty Death Eater!"

"Filthy Malfoy!"
"You deserve to rot in Azkaban with your dearest Daddy!"

Draco's fists were clenched at his sides as he turned from Harry back to the crowd of girls and a look covered his face venomously, "One more word and I will snap your necks, with or without a wand," his eyes were becoming slitted in a way Harry had never seen. The anger that was emitting from the blonde felt so strong that you could even reach out and touch it in the humid air.

The Hufflepuff's backed off a little bit but Harry finally stepped in between the two opposer's. "Cho, I thought better of you. Get out of here,"

"But Harry-" Cho whined haughtily.

"Get out of here!" He repeated harshly, thrusting the two Hufflepuff wands onto the ground before them. The girls scrambled to pick them up before leaving. They glowered the rest of the way down the streets, matched with a glower coming from Ron from the ice cream parlor where he and Hermione watched in confused awe. Harry took a deep breath and handed Draco back his wand who snatched it from him.

"I could have handled myself, Potter," he spat, dusting off his cloak.

Harry shrugged, shoving his wand and hands into his pocket and turning around. "So can I, but neither of us seem to get that picture," he walked back off towards his friends who waited for him with a million questions that would go unaswered, fully aware of Draco's heavy, silver slitted eyes resting upon him the entire way.

XXXXXXXX