THIS IS A SEQUEL! MUST READ "THE LIVES OF THE LOST" FIRST!

Draco Malfoy – Thursday, August 24th, 2000

Loud, screaming voices shake me out of the most peaceful sleep I've had in years. Harry Potter is in my arms, his face pressed into my neck. Oddly enough, this is not the position in which we fell asleep. I wonder at what point in the night we managed to unconsciously search out each other's bodies. He shifts as the voices wake him as well. The emerald perfection of his eyes look sleepily up at me. We stare at each other, struggling to wake up fully as we listen and try to process the commotion outside the room. My stomach twists and turns violently as my brain begins to register the source of the voices.

"Are you mad!?" Father bellows. "How can you support this!? This is unbelievable! We have to put an end to it immediately!"

"I will do no such thing!" Mother retorts confidently. "I have put up with a lot from you over the years, Lucius, but I am putting my foot down. That boy will die without this Bond, do you understand that!? He has been so sweet to our Draco and Draco clearly wants him alive! I will not stand in the way of that!"

"This Bond is an abomination! He's a Malfoy, Narcissa! We have standards and expectations! Draco must live up to them! And the people he spends his time with must live up to them also!"

"Harry is a lovely young man, and the fact that he cares so much for Draco should carry some weight, don't you think?" Mother's tone is defensive, showing no hint that she will be backing down any time soon. I silently motion for Harry to stay in the bed as I slip out of the bed to investigate.

"Father?" I alert them to my presence as I approach the scene. The tension in the air between them is palpable. Mother seems surprised to see me, but Father does not allow any change to his composure as he turns toward me. "What are you doing here? How did you find this place?"

"Do you honestly think that I wouldn't keep an eye on my wife, Draco?" Father says harshly, his jaw tight with restraint. "Our house elves are sure to keep me apprised of her whereabouts."

"You have our house elves follow her around and spy on her?" My tone is scandalized and disapproving.

"Apparently I should have done the same with you," Father hisses. "Look at the mess you have gotten yourself into! The mess, as we are on the subject, that is the reason I am here this morning. It is necessary that we discuss the matter and what is to be done about it."

"What is to be done?" I repeat, irritation growing in my core.

"Lucius, please, don't do –" Mother attempts, but Father lifts his hand to silence her.

"Now, I have brought a specialist with me who will be able to Unbond the two of you immediately," Father explains evenly. "I'm sure he'd be willing to take Potter to one of his friends afterward. Now, we will have to make sure that –"

"No!" I blurt out, tensing at the shocked expression on his face at my interruption. "I'm not going to consent to an Unbonding Ceremony."

"You will consent to an Unbonding Ceremony, or you will suffer the consequences! This is not a game I am willing to play with you, Draco! You are going to have to choose between your family and the Chosen One! I will not allow such a disgrace!"

A powerful anguish overwhelms me and I cannot tell if it is my own emotion or if it is coming from Harry, who is no doubt eavesdropping on the conversation. An ultimatum. He is forcing me to choose. Fuck! How am I supposed to choose between Harry and my family!? My family has always been the most important thing in my life, but Harry could die without the Bond. Of course, if this specialist takes him to Granger, I'm sure she would be willing to Bond with him. Granger would be Bonded with him instead of me. Blagh! No!

"Father, I have spent all of my life trying so hard to please you," I tell him calmly. "But nothing I ever do is good enough for you. Nothing I ever do makes you happy. And now I have Potter and he is happy with me the way that I am. He makes me happy for the first time in years. If you want to disown me for that, that's fine. But I'm not leaving him."

The flood of relief washing over me is definitely not my own. Harry appears by my side, a blanket wrapped around him and his glasses tilted slightly on his face. Out of a final act against my father, I wrap an arm around his shoulders and pull him against me. There is something cathartic about finally standing up to my father. After so many years of pretending that the resentment that was building toward him was nothing, it feels fantastic not to hold it in any longer. Father looks outraged at my defiance.

"You are no longer my son," Father states, void of emotion as usual. He turns to Mother, holding an arm out to her. "Narcissa, he has made his choice. Come with me."

Mother takes a step back, rejecting his offered arm. "How dare you, Lucius!? How dare you!?"

"I did what needed to be done," he justifies his actions to her.

"And now I'm going to do what needs to be done." The sharp, cold expression on her face prevents anyone from speaking or moving until she continues. "Lucius, go and bring up your specialist. You will consent to an Unbonding Ceremony," she parrots his earlier command made to me.

"You are requesting to leave me, Narcissa?" He is unable to hide the surprise in his voice as he stares at her with wide eyes. For the first time, he has lost his composure. "Very well."

He exits the room temporarily to bring in his specialist. In his absence, Harry and I stare, mouths open, at my mother. She steps quietly across the room, taking Harry's face in her hands, forcing him to look into her eyes.

"Harry, listen to me," Mother says carefully. "You are a part of this family and I am not going to let anyone decide otherwise."

"You don't have to do this for me," Harry protests hurriedly. "As much as it means to me, this is your family! I cannot allow you to give that up for me!"

"Potter, this," I gesture to the three of us, "this is our family. I'm not willing to give this up for anything. It is his choice not to accept this. He's the one who refuses to open his mind."

"This is not your fault, Harry," Mother adds. "This has been a long time coming."

Father, or I suppose no longer my father, reenters the room with a shorter man on his heels. The shorter man, looking slightly pathetic in the shadow of the man next to him, pulls out his wand. Holding on to Harry, I helplessly watch my parents joins hands and the familiar golden light erupt from the tip of the man's wand. The outlines on my mother's forearm in the shape of the head of a peacock begin to glow before disappearing completely. Despite the sleeve of my father's suit covering his arm, I can easily imagine the golden outline of the swan head disappearing from his forearm. As the light fades and the man lowers his wand, their hands pull apart to further signal the end of their marriage.

"Well, I suppose I should be going then," he mutters as he stares at his former wife. "Goodbye, Narcissa, Draco."

"Mr. Malfoy," I reply coldly, earning another shocked glance. For a moment, it seems as though there is a pained look on his face, but he quickly squares his shoulders, standing up straight and taking a steadying breath. Nodding to the room, he makes his dramatic exit, his cloak sweeping across the room. The awkward, plump man gives an uneasy nod to my mother before hurriedly following. And at last, we are alone, each of our lives completely changed.

I am no longer a Malfoy. No longer Draco Malfoy. I'm just Draco. Despite there being a bit of relief at the idea – released from the endless list of expectations and judgments – there is still a sickening feeling in my gut. If I'm no longer Draco Malfoy – who am I? What exactly is left? All my life I have been Draco Malfoy – I have been taught how a Malfoy is supposed to talk, act, think – it's the only thing I've ever known. Without it, who am I? My mother seems to notice this moment of panic, pulling me into her arms and kissing the top of my head.

"Draco, I'm so sorry," Mother says softly. "Are you alright?"

"It's just a lot to process, that's all," I insist, which is partially true. "What do we do now?"

"Now, we focus on our new family and making things work. You said before that you're happy, Draco, and if that is the case, I'm going to stand by you, both of you, every step of the way. I know that this is a lot to take in and it's going to be different, but everything is going to be okay. We have all survived everything that has been thrown at us in the past and we will survive this, too. Don't worry about Lucius. I don't want either of you to dwell on this. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Harry and I echo each other in response.

"Good," she smiles, a genuine smile, as if nothing had happened. "Well, I'm going to get to making that breakfast you mentioned yesterday. Then I have to get down to open the shop. Harry, are you feeling up to seeing anyone today if someone stops by?"

"Oh, um, I think I'd rather just stay with Draco today," Harry answers. "It's already been an eventful morning and I'm tired and sore and I don't want to deal with anyone today."

"Very well. Remember that I will be right downstairs if you need anything." Mother retreats to the kitchen to make breakfast. The fact that she seems together and confident after the family meltdown that just occurred puts my mind at ease. However, part of me questions the sincerity of her composure. It would be perfectly understandable for her to be upset after having Unbonded from the man she has been with for so many years. When I was growing up, they seemed like a couple that truly loved each other and supported each other. Now that is gone forever in a matter of minutes. Surely there must be more to what she is feeling than she is willing to show.

Harry, still wrapped up in the blanket, shuffles over to the sofa and curls up in a ball on one end of it, resting his chin on his knees. A sad frown is plastered on his beautiful face and I can feel it within my chest. With a heavy sigh, I sit next to him, placing my hand on the back of his head, entangling my fingers in his hair that is still sticking up in all directions. He does not bother to look at me, but his eyes flutter closed at the fingers in his hair.

"Potter?" I whisper, leaning in closer to him. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," he mumbles so quietly that I almost didn't hear it.

"Sorry? For what?"

"It's just that – I never had my dad – and now you've lost yours because of me."

"Potter, stop! Stop right there! This was my decision! I chose to Bond with you and to remain Bonded. I chose you. And it was his choice to leave his family. This is not your fault."

Harry finally lifts his head to look at me. "But if I hadn't needed the Bond in the first place –"

"If you hadn't needed the Bond in the first place, then I would be sitting in the Manor Garden, completely miserable for walking out on you and wishing desperately that I never had. Besides, you didn't cause the accident. None of this is your fault. We want you here, Potter."

"I just hate thinking that your family has fallen apart. No family should ever have to go through that."

"You continue to forget that we are still a family. He may be gone, but Mum is still here and I'm still here and now we have you. And probably Granger, unfortunately, since that seems to be a package deal type situation. And, Merlin forbid, all your other friends are part of the deal as well." My tone slips into a mocking despair as I tease him. "Oh, what have I gotten myself into? What a terrible mistake! Now I'm stuck with all of them! How will I survive!?"

Harry's elbow slams into my side, pushing me off the sofa and onto the floor in front of him. I quickly look up at him, expecting to see an irritated expression, but instead he starts laughing. With a growl of frustration at his amusement, I tug on the blanket, pulling him down onto the floor with me. He collapses on top of me with an audible oof before laughing again. We look into each other's eyes, realizing what had just happened. He clears his throat uncomfortably, lifting himself off of me. Avoiding eye contact with him, I sit up and push myself back up onto the sofa. We both seem uncomfortable with the ease at which we are able to interact like a legitimate couple. As much as I've secretly wished for this, it seems wrong that it be this easy.

Later that night, after Mother closes her shop and the three of us finished eating dinner, we all sit around in the living room. The room is completely quiet, much more relaxing than the morning. Mother is curled up comfortably on one of the armchairs, her attention focused on the book in her lap. The book I had been reading moments ago is being ignored, however, as I lie spread out on the sofa with Harry lying on top of me, fast asleep. His head is resting on my chest and his arm hangs over the side of the sofa as he dreams peacefully. My hand is stroking at his hair as I stare off into space, my mind adrift in a sea of countless thoughts.

As comforting as it is to believe that today is the perfect example of how our new lives are going to be from here on in, the reality of the situation does not seem so simple. We cannot spend every day alone hiding out in this apartment. Eventually we will have to leave the apartment. Eventually we will have to face my friends, his friends, and the rest of the world. Oh, Merlin, the rest of the world. What is going to happen when the rest of the world finds out about the Bond? It is very unlikely that it will be possible to keep a Bond to the bloody Chosen One a secret. Before we know it, it will be posted on the front page of the Daily Prophet.

"Draco? Draco?" my mother's voice finally breaks through my haze. "Are you alright?"

"What? Oh, yeah, I was just thinking," I tell her.

She closes her book, placing it on the small table next to her. "I think I'm going to head to bed. Are the two of you okay out here?"

Glancing down at Harry's happily sleeping form, I nod to her. "Yeah, we're fine."

"Alright. I'll see you both in the morning." Slipping out of the chair, she makes her way toward her bedroom, but stops in the doorway and turns back to look at me. "Draco, we're going to be okay. This will all start to feel normal soon enough."

"I know, Mum. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, darling."