Contains lyrics from Darren Hayes' "California"
Rain trickled down, pattering softly against the windows, providing a soothing background noise as Harry and Draco kissed gently in Draco's room. They had spent the last week here, Harry using his Invisibility Cloak to sneak in whenever he didn't have a lesson or homework to do.
I was trying to fit myself in the spaces between
Sometimes they did more, but mostly they were happy to just kiss each other for hours. They had moved past wanting to get each other's clothes off all the time, to that stage where they were simply head over heels in love with each other. And it made Harry unbelievably happy – he felt like each time Draco kissed him it was confirming that he was loved and wanted by someone. And Draco knew how happy it made Harry, which was mostly why they did it, Draco was determined that Harry should realise how amazing he really was.
I don't know, why you still feel alone
But one day, everything went horribly, horribly wrong.
In the middle of one of their romantic kissing sessions, the door was flung carelessly open, and someone strode in.
"Draco, are you in here? Wha?"
Draco and Harry sprang apart, to see Draco's father stood, recoiling in the doorway.
"Draco," he said in a low voice, the kind that instantly informed both Draco and Harry that he was on the verge of blowing up with anger. "What is the meaning of this?"
But there's nothing I can say, and there are no good words left, anyway
"Father, I…" Draco was shaking all over, and looking at him, Harry realised his father was the thing he feared most – he had never seen him show so much fear before. It then occurred to him that Draco never talked about his parents at all, and whenever Harry mentioned them, he had always managed to change the subject slyly.
Lucius turned to Harry, venom glowing in his eyes. "Get out now," he hissed. "I want to talk to my son." He then snarled and withdrew, and Harry realised a second later that it was because Draco had slipped a hand into Harry's.
"I…I love him father," Draco trembled, and Harry squeezed Draco's hand as support without even thinking about it.
And nothing could have hurt me as much as the truth
Outside, the rain hurled down with ferocity now, almost as a reflection of the change in mood. Angrily gritting his teeth, Lucius stepped forward, raising his hand to strike his son. Harry's heart raced, and he moved in front of Draco to take the blow. Lucius saw Harry step in front, and smirked, as if to say – 'so be it' – and struck Harry with such force he stumbled back against Draco.
"Father!" Draco's voice was high with disbelief.
"I'm sorry," Harry choked out, before running for the door, and out of the room.
"Harry!" Draco turned to his father. "I'll never forgive you." He turned to go, but Lucius grabbed his arm tightly, twisting it and causing Draco to cry out with pain.
"Insolent boy," he sneered. "You're not going anywhere."
Meanwhile Harry stumbled messily out of the castle, panting and stumbling as he struggled to keep going. But his body conceded defeat, and he fell onto the grass, silent as the rain poured down.
I know, you can never go back again
The rain seeped into his clothes, water running down his arms and face, but Harry did not feel the cold. Lucius face sneered into his, even though he was alone. Draco hadn't seen it, but Harry knew what it meant – Lucius had been telling him, without words that he was going to find a way to Harry expelled from Hogwarts.
And Harry knew he could do it.
Slowly stooping forward, so far that he could smell the fresh wet grass, Harry began to cry silently.
Why? Why does everyone get taken away from me? Am I never going to be truly happy? Everyone else…they all have someone close to them. But I'm going to lose that, now, as well. Maybe, it would be easier to give up.
I need to find some kind of peace of mind
Right then, Harry had lost the desire to fight. He no longer had the energy. Somehow, it just seemed too hard, all of a sudden. What was the point? If everything was going to conspire to take things away from him all the time, why should he continue?
People are cruel and the world still moves without you…