Chapter 2

Harry couldn't help but laugh as he watched his best friend frantically eye all of the rings in the display case of the recently-opened Merlin's Jewels, at the center of Diagon Alley. They had been circling the shop for nearly thirty minutes by this point, and seeing as it was a rather small shop, had seen everything at least four times. The worst part was this was now the third shop they had visited, and still they had not left one with a ring. By now the kind, young witch who had been helping them had gotten bored and wandered into the back of the store, obviously assuming that they were incapable of making a choice. Harry laughed despite himself, enjoying the spectacle far more than his friend. "Ron, honestly mate, you have to choose one. She is going to love anything you get her."

"Bloody hell Harry, it's hard, okay?" Ron exclaimed, running a hand through his already frazzled hair. "What if she realizes I'm not worthy of her. She's so beautiful and smart and funny. What if she doesn't want to marry me? I at least need to try to make sure the ring is perfect." Ron circled back towards the first case again, looking at an assortment of what were called witch-cut diamond jewels. Ron muttered something about just calling them squares under his breath.

Harry rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of that statement. "Ron, she loves you! She wants to be with you. Hermione's not the type to stay with someone out of pity. She's been in love with you since at least our fourth year! You damn well know that."

In truth, their feelings had been obvious ever since the night of the Yule ball. Ron had certainly buggered up everything with the way he rudely asked Hermione to the dance, assuming she had no date. This became increasingly apparent as she made her grand entrance. It had been like some sort of fairy tale to watch. Hermione swept around the corner at the top of the stairs and her dress curled around her ankles to catch up. She stood a moment to find her date, and in that moment Harry saw Ron's face change. Up until that moment his best friends main priorities had been Quidditch, chocolate frogs, and wizard chess. Yet in that moment, and indeed it didn't last more than a moment, his face suddenly changed. The youthful sparkle of innocence was replaced by a burning flame that would only ever burn for her. The corners of his lips twitched slightly upwards without betraying his new passion to anyone who knew him less. Ron's eyes had focused on her, and her alone. Though it was quite easy to see why. Up until then they had both only seen her as the overly cautious, insanely brainy, crazy-haired best friend who they had saved from a troll. But tonight, at the top of that stairwell, she looked like an entirely different person. Ron would later drunkenly describe her as an angel. Her normally frazzled hair was swept neatly off her shoulders, her beautiful blue dress a stark difference to her normally plain robes, and her smile shined so bright that is lit the room as much as any enchantment. Harry couldn't deny how stunning his friend was, but it was Ron who fell in love in that instant. But as quickly as the moment came, it slipped away.

When she spotted him she scowled, still hurt that Ron had treated her as less than a lady earlier that night; Ron then took up pretending not to stare at her for the duration of the evening. They had gotten into a screaming match over it by the end of the night. Though it was hard to miss there may fight's and disagreements over the next years, Harry saw through it for what it really was. Behind each lecture from Hermione were eyes that saw ron's potential. Behind each rude comment from Ron stood a man afraid he would never be good enough for his one true love. The irony was, by the time they finally came clean, the only people that didn't know they were in love with each other was a few bumps in the road, no one was more thrilled than Harry when they finally got together during the war. And now, years later, Ron still hadn't realized that he was the only one she had ever loved.

"I just want it to be perfect for her. I just love her so much, and I don't want to spend anymore time with her not by my side… I want her to be my wife," Ron said quietly, clearly embarrassed. Though they had been together for so long, Ron still wasn't used to talking to Harry about things like feelings.

"Don't worry, she will be." Just as he was speaking, Harry got an odd tingle down up his spine that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Though he couldn't be sure what it was about, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen, and not something good. While it didn't feel as dire as when his scar would burn when Voldemort had been near, it definitely didn't feel like a good omen. "Hey Ron, you keep looking and I'll be back in a few. I'm going to go walk around a bit." Ron shook his head slightly and muttered something under his breath about metals (or maybe he had said nettles? Harry couldn't be sure), clearly less than interested in what Harry was saying. As he went outside, the sensation seemed to be getting stronger. His intuition told him to push on to the right, like he was needed there or being drawn there. As his eyes scanned the crowd of multicolored robes, he saw a flash of white blonde hair ahead of him that could belong to none other than his childhood foe, Draco Malfoy.

It had been years since anyone had really heard from him. Admittedly, fate had been less than kind to him after the Dark Lord had fallen. In school he got hexed almost daily, with people constantly calling him Death Eater and telling him he should be in Azkaban. Each time Harry witnessed it, his heart ached for the other boy. Flashes form his own childhood of bullying would flash before his eyes, and his insides would scream for him to say something. he saw himself reflected in the broken boy before him. No one should be made to feel as if they are nothing. But after years of name calling, hexes, threats, and violence against Harry and his friends, this felt like karma, so Harry never stepped in.

After school had ended, the Malfoys had been freed but kept their heads down. On occasion they would run into each other in a bookshop or while running other errands, but eventually this stopped entirely. Harry hadn't found his absence suspicious at the time; but seeing Draco now, there was a part of him that felt he should have given more thought to that. Especially since that damn prickling seemed to be leading Harry straight to him. Then, without warning, he saw Draco stop dead in his tracks.

It only took a moment for him to see Mrs. Malfoy on the other side of the road, and judging from the way Malfoy's normally languid pose had gone completly stiff, it was clear he did not want to see her. Harry stood a moment longer, before slipping into a nearby alley. He watched Draco look around, looking for an exit. Why wasn't he noticing this alley? Something deep in Harry's gut told him that he had to help, so without another thought he grabbed him around the waist and mouth and pulled him into the alley. It took a few seconds for Draco to register what had just happened, but as he did Harry watched his eyes go from fear to anger to shock to confusion. But Harry kept his grip on the blonde's mouth so that Draco couldn't give away their position, and shoved him hard against the wall with all of his strength.

Draco's breath was hot against his hand, and the closeness made Harry feel more than a little uncomfortable. Once the look of shock left Draco's eyes, Harry leaned in next to his ear and whispered, "Stay down, unless you want to get caught." Though his face appeared defiant, he gave a single harsh nod. Harry let go and went to peek around the corner. Narcissa was still there with the same severe look on her face Harry had seen many times before. Her stride had not broken nor had she slowed down her pace. He was sure that she hadn't spotted them, but he stayed hidden just to be sure. A few tense minutes later, he saw her platinum locks disappear into thin air. Once he was sure she was gone, he went back to Draco, who had pulled himself back together. It was only in that moment that Harry noticed his ashen skin and dark circles. He looked nothing like the arrogant boy who he had rivaled with through school. To Harry, he looked like a toy that had been broken long ago. "Are you alright?"

Draco pulled his shoulders unsteadily back before smirking. "I'm fine. Certainly didn't need help from you."

"Right," Harry scoffed. "That's why you looked like a scared puppy back there." Though he might not look the part anymore, he certainly still acted like the haughty prat he had always been. Harry was beginning to regret saving him. But he could see there was something off about Draco. The blondes normally haughty pose had sunk into a slouch, eyes glazed over and unfocused, and tone lacking it's usual edge. After this long, there was no hiding behind a self righteous mask anymore. Something was deeply wrong.

"I most certainly did not!" Draco exclaimed, pulling out his wand and pointing it in Harry's direction. "Now get out of my way before I blast your stupid fucking head apart."

The threat probably would have been much more convincing if Draco hadn't begun to visibly shake. Harry knew then that he was right; there was something very wrong with Draco. "Malfoy, you're shaking. At least let me call a mediwitch for you."

Draco's wand wavered just slightly, and his eyes see-sawed between reluctant acceptance and stark defiance. Cautiously, Harry took a small step forward, holding up his hands to show he meant no harm. Not a moment later, Draco's shakes began to get more violent. His normally pale skin took on a ghostly pallor and his muscles began to lose their hold on his body. Then, without warning, his eyes lost their last grip on reality and he fell, unconscious, straight into Harry's arms. Yes, there was most definitely something very wrong with Draco Malfoy, and it now seemed that it was going to be Harry's job to save him.


AN: I had so much fun writing this chapter you guys, you don't even know. I was a little nervous to write for Harry, I didn't know if I could get in his head, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. I hope you are enjoying everything so far, because I am certainly enjoying writing it.

Thanks, as always, to my wonderful beta Indeerah. Her ability to help me rewrite my story to help it make more sense without losing the sense of my words and lack of fear of telling me when I need to change something has helped me make this fic so much better then it ever would have been alone.

Last thing I want to say to you guys is strap in, because we have a long way to go and the twists are only just beginning. Love you all! :)