THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED. Really. So, new chapter. Here it goes.

Chapter 2: He Can't Stay

"Okay, everyone can go." Wood called to the team after a long, two hour discussion. Their practices would resume the third of January and everyone was to come in with a new play or strategy for their first game of the season.

Harry was exhausted. He was the last to make any visible effort of moving. He'd been running around all morning at the Ministry because of a threatening letter sent by an anonymous wizard. With Dumbledore gone, Harry was considered the most powerful wizard and the Ministry called him nearly every day for advice or to ask him to a meeting. Harry held a high position in the Ministry, but had no clue what it was. He just went to meetings when asked and helped with catching some elusive wizards.

But, it was now his official Winter break, and he was going to stay holed up at home with some coffee.

He stood up and saw Wood just looking at him.

"See you on Christmas, Oliver." Harry said, exiting the room. He had invited Oliver to Christmas dinner, along with the Weasley's, Hermione, Remus, and whoever Derek was inviting. It had been a while since he had had anyone over for Christmas, besides his current girlfriend or boyfriend.

Harry could not wait to get home. Home. He loved saying it. The Potter Manor was the first real home he'd had. Sure, he stayed at Grimauld Place for a while, but you can get easily depressed in there and there was no room to move around in. Derek's car was in their driveway, the trunk open and grocery bags in it. Harry sighed and levitated the bags in with him.

"Derek!" Harry called, lowering the bags down on the kitchen counter. He put the rest of his things down and walked into the family room. Derek was sitting in an armchair. Harry leaned down from behind him and kissed him on the cheek. "Why didn't you answer me?" Harry looked at what Derek was looking at, it was an old picture of Harry and Draco that Harry kept in the family room on top of the fireplace.

"Why'd you two break up?" He asked. Harry coughed slightly.

"Uh, well, it was a while ago and I wasn't ready for the, ah, responsibility of having a boyfriend. Why?"

"He's here, out on the pitch. Needed to tell you something." Harry's face lit up at the prospect of Draco being out back flying.

"I'm going to go out and fly with him for a bit, you mind?" Harry never waited for a response. He bolted into the Quidditch room and grabbed his broom. Draco's was absent from the closet, he noted.

He took to the air and spotted Draco immediatly, his hair was hard to miss.

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Draco Malfoy has exactly one fault, well, only one that he will admit to. That one single fault is loving Harry Potter.

Harry might say that Draco left him because he couldn't say "I love you" back to Draco. But, Draco left because he knew the longer he stayed, the least likely it would be to start over again. To love someone else again. It'd been a little over a year since Draco had seen Harry, and quite frankly, he was freaking out. He knew he wasn't over Harry, every failed relationship after Harry enforced that. So, in Draco's mind, he had to get Harry back because he couldn't move on, so apparently he was meant to be here. The only problem was that dumb as fuck blonde sitting in what used to be his living room. And the fact that he was about to tell Harry some pretty upsetting news, that always dampens the romantic spirit.

So Draco had been flying around for a little over and hour thinking about how much time he used to spend out here. He looked over at the entrance to the pitch about a million times to see if Harry was standing there. He's not going to be over there, Draco. Just stop looking. He kept telling himself. He resisted the urge to look for a whole minute and then glanced down, trying to make it seem as if he just so happened to turn that way. His mind was very critical.

And there he was, a grin the size of the master bedroom plastered on his face. Draco smiled that Harry wasn't pissed at him for showing up unannounced.

Harry gained speed and yelled, "Race ya!" to Draco as he passed. Never backing down from a race, Draco zoomed to catch up. Like he had always done in the past, Harry slowed down to let Draco get ahead of him for a few seconds and then speed up again. He did this until the race ended.

"I almost had you there for a second." Draco panted.

"Yeah right." Harry replied, looking at a tired out Draco. "Haven't flown in a while?"

"Not in a long time, afraid I forgot how much it takes out of me." Draco lifted the end of his shirt to wipe his face, giving Harry a clear view of his abdomen. Yes, he knew that it was low, but he had nothing else.

"Draco, why are you here?" Harry asked, turning around, his tone very serious.

"I've got some news for you, but I think I'll go take a shower first, if that's okay?" Harry nodded and waved him upstairs.

Harry found Derek and dragged him upstairs with him to take a shower. So seeing Draco suddenly after all this time made him slightly, only a little bit, barely even a tad, horny. Somewhere deep inside, Derek knew why Harry had needed him so suddenly, but his concience refused to let it surface.

Draco was done cleaning up before Harry, so he went into the kitchen and dug around the cabinets and fridge. He settled on chicken noodle soup. Harry loved his noodle soup. He set about boiling the broth and adding some more flavoring.

"Draco! Where are you?" Harry called.

"Kitchen!" Harry entered and sat down at the bar, Derek sitting next to him.

"What are you making?" Harry asked.

"Chicken Noodle." Draco grinned, loving the excitement on Harry's face.

"But, you don't eat chicken..." Derek was confused again. Harry hadn't touched an ounce of meat since he'd known him.

"Oh, its not chicken, its tofu, but saying chicken noodle soup sounds better than chicken flavored tofu noodle soup, now doesn't it?" Draco smirked.

"Take that god damned smirk off of your face." Harry snapped. Draco immediatly stopped and turned to the soup.

"So what did you need to tell me?"

"Maybe I should wait until after we eat-"

"Or you can tell me now."

"Or I can not."

"Draco."

"Harry."

"Tell me."

"Mrs. Weasley took Mr. Weasley off of life support." He got out as fast as he could, walking towards Harry, searching his eyes for anything.

"So he's..."

"Passed." Draco replied solemnly.

Derek was ready to give Harry a hug. He had never met the Weasleys, but they were a huge part of Harry's life. Harry got out of his chair and Derek opened his arms a little more, but Harry passed directly by him and settled into Draco's arms. Derek looked shocked, to say the least. It was poor of him to be jealous, but he was. He was dead jealous.

"When's the..." Harry managed to get out, he was breathing quite heavily, but not crying. Harry Potter did not cry.

"Funeral? Its going to be after the holiday's, Molly said early January." Draco said in a soft voice, rubbing circles on Harry's back.

"Is she..."

"Coming for dinner? Yeah, I think she is. I think this will be perfect for her, with all of this going on, she won't have to worry about cooking for all one hundred of the Weasley's."

"There are not a hundred of them." Harry said, pulling himself together, managing a smile on his face.

"Well it seems like it. So, get to planning. I'm going to finish making the soup and then I'll head out." Draco said, he was in no way planning on leaving, he knew Harry would insist he stay for the holidays.

"What? No. You're staying. You can help me plan and cook. You used to be a very good cook."

"I am a very good cook, thank you very much." He snorted, stirring the soup.

"I'm going to go owl Ron," Harry said and left the room.

Derek watched as Draco floated the ingrediants to the continuously stirring spoon. Derek had always been enthralled by magic, he read most of the books that Harry had on it and borrowed some from Harry's friend, Hermione. She was more than glad to explain anything he ever wanted to know about magic to him. She was a bright girl, in his opinion, yet slightly over-bearing.

"So, Draco, have you a boyfriend?" Derek asked, wanting to know more about the wizard.

Draco snorted and then laughed.

"I'm straight, and no. My last girlfriend and I broke up a few weeks back." Draco said smugly.

"Wait, didn't you used to go with Harry?"

"Yes."

"You do know he's a guy, right?" Derek thought that maybe Draco was confused as to Harry gender. Derek was also in the lower fifty percent in his grade.

"I'm not dense, of course I know Potter's a guy." He spat. "Okay, how about this, I'm straight-ish."

"-ish?"

"I like girls and one guy." It was true. Draco had never felt anything other than something platonic for another man. Except for Harry. Harry didn't even resemble a girl that much. he had very defined features in his face and always had a scruff of some sort on his chin, his body was toned, and he just didn't look like a girlish man. In fact, Draco was usually the submissve one in the relationship, so why he liked Harry really made no sense. He was Harry-sexual, as Blaise so lovingly put it a few years back.

"Oh." Derek responded. He was also a mastermind when it came to replies.

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"He can't stay." Derek said, shaking his head while pacing the bedroom. Harry sat ontop of the bed, looking thuroughly angry.

"He can stay. And he will."

"He's your EX, for God's sake. How-"

"He's my best friend, you prick."

"Who hasn't bothered to stop by in the past six months or whom you never talk of." He argued.

"That doesn't mean he isn't still my friend. I think you just don't trust me."

"It's him I don't trust."

"Well get the fuck over it." Harry walked out of the room, leaving Derek alone.

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