Quidditch League: Ballycastle Bats Keeper: We Belong Together – Mariah Carey

Word Count: 1118

"Why do you think moving halfway across the world is a good idea? Who am I supposed to annoy now?"

The Malfoy heir's whiny tone stopped him in his tracks. He knew there was only one person Draco was close enough with to revert to his childish demanding personality, but Tom couldn't help but hope that Draco was teasing someone else. It had been several years, after all, a lot could have changed.

"Go bother Ron. Or perhaps you'd rather the Twins keep you company?" Tom could hear the teasing in Harry's voice. There was no denial of Draco's words. No hint of uncertainty or indecision.

"You've gotten close with Diggory lately. He's going along with you, isn't he?"

A weight settled somewhere near his heart, and Tom couldn't listen to the conversation any longer. He couldn't bear to hear Harry's confirmation. He walked quickly, attempting to escape the words that were determined to haunt him.

Harry was moving on with his life. On with his and out of Tom's. Tom couldn't blame him. It had been almost three years since Tom had broken up with Harry. He had been the one to walk out, to leave Harry behind to focus on rising within the Ministry. Tom had been the one to place importance on nearly everything but Harry.

It had taken Tom two years to realise that improving his position in the Ministry didn't account for anything without Harry by his side. He had been one step away from becoming Minister when he turned around to realise that he was as alone as the day he was born. He had isolated himself with his goal and the need to prove himself to people who didn't matter.

The price is one he had once been willing to pay. Tom had even believed the reward to be less than the cost.

He had been wrong.

Now, Tom was running away from the reality he had created. He only had the small kindling of dying hope that he could somehow fix it.

...oOo...

"Tell me, Draco, where is Harry going and when?" Tom demanded, needing to know how long he had to convince Harry to stay, but it didn't phase the other male in the slightest.

"So you can hurt Harry again? Absolutely not. How did you find out about that, anyway? Are you still being the creepy stalker you were before you dated Harry?"

Tom remembered a time when his demands left no room to be questioned. In the Ministry, it still did. Draco's glare reminded him how little sway he had over Harry's band of friends. The Granger girl also glared at him whenever he passed her, but they barely interacted within the Ministry, so Tom rarely noticed it.

"Don't you want Harry to stay here?"

"If that means getting back together with you, no. Although, I would like to see him scream you into partial deafness. You are being that creepy stalker again, aren't you?" Draco's musing didn't make Tom feel any better, but this talk wasn't to improve his self esteem, but to start a plan to get Harry back.

"So, will you tell me or am I going to have to find out from someone else?"

"Somewhere else, definitely. Do tell me if you ever figure it out though? I'll bring the popcorn!" Draco laughed, leaving Tom bristling at being mocked. "In fact, maybe I'll bring the popcorn anyway. Along with everyone else who're really angry with you. A heartfelt farewell."

Tom glared at him. He didn't understand why Draco was being so difficult. It would be so much easier for Draco to give him the information he needed.

"Besides, Harry is moving on. Can't you at least let him be happy after everything you've done?"

Yes. Tom had done a lot. There had been some good mixed in his actions, but the majority had been for his own benefit and not Harry's. All he wanted was the chance to fix that; to become someone worthy of Harry. He had believed, foolishly, that Harry would wait for him, even after Tom had hurt him.

"I just need to know. I need to know if there's a chance. I need to know if he, if we, can still be happy together." Tom admitted quietly the one thought he hadn't dared admit to himself.

"You can't," Draco said flatly. "If you couldn't trust Harry enough to give him an explanation three years ago, I cannot trust you not to hurt Harry again. Move on. Isn't that what you told Harry?"

It shouldn't have hurt so badly to have his own words thrown back at him, but it did. Tom could remember those exact words. He could remember Harry's expression shattering; he could remember Harry's pain. Honestly? Tom wasn't sure he deserved a second chance either, but he wasn't going to give up on the possibility.

Draco sighed. "Give up. You're only going to hurt both Harry and yourself."

"No." Tom shook his head. "I can't give up this time. I made that mistake once. If you won't tell me, I'll have to find out on my own."

"Do what you want. Don't expect help from any of us."

...oOo...

His mad rush to the airport a month later had been futile. Draco had ended up sending him the flight time half an hour before the plane departed. He'd arrived just in time to see the 'Boarding' sign next to the time on the departures board change into a red 'Closed', before flipping to 'Departing'.

Tom wasn't sure if that had been Draco's revenge plan all along, but it had worked. He slumped into the nearest seat, legs giving up on him as numbness spread through his body.

In a vicious turn of events, he had been offered as much of a chance as Harry had three years ago. All he could return to were the cold sheets and disapproving walls of defeat. The hopeless silence wrapped around him, reminding him of his gradual descent into solitude – one he had willingly walked into, not questioning it until it was too late.

The plans he had begun imagining to get Harry back after he had become Minister were dissolving before his very eyes. His moments of triumph looked to be moments of disappointment, and Tom wasn't sure he could continue on his path.

He had never imagined the possibility of a forever without Harry. Knowing that Harry would always be close had been a comfort, a safety net that Tom had taken for granted. Tom would have accepted not winning Harry back, but the need to see Harry was often overpowering.

'Never' had not been a possibility until now.