Several hours later Harry sauntered into the living room and collapsed onto Draco's favorite overstuffed chair, hiding his face in the armrest. He'd done nothing all afternoon except sip his tea, give himself a headache thinking about his two lovers, then try to distract himself trying to think of a new beginning for his next novel. That all went to failure though when his thoughts kept dragging him back to Severus and Draco. He couldn't help but wonder what the heck was going on. Had he done something wrong and they didn't want to say? Were they really getting tired of him? If that were true than why had they even invited him to live with them?

These questions and several more had dominated Harry's thoughts for hours. Constantly playing and replaying over in his head and causing several tears to well up in his eyes only to get pushed back. Now, with a raging headache and itchy eyes, he forced himself to the topic of his next book. Dana would be furious after a while if he couldn't think of anything. Even if it turned out horrible at least she couldn't accuse him of slacking….right? That would be verbal abuse for sure and then she'd threaten to take drastic measures if he didn't get his act together. He hadn't known the lady for very long but he was more than certain that something like that would come out if he went back to work without at least a paragraph written down or possibly an outline.

Massaging his stiff neck to the best of his ability, Harry lifted his head out of the comfort of the armrest cushion and let out a long, heavy breath. That's when he saw it and he groaned with annoyance. In front of his view was the doorway to the kitchen and a very good view of the sink, which he hadn't noticed when he washed his own dishes. There were two plates sitting on the counter off the dry rack where his own single plate was and they had that certain gleam to it that Harry was wishing he was wrong about. Rolling off the sofa lazily he made his way back into the kitchen, waving his hand above the two plates and he grimaced. These two plates, just like Draco's note, had magic cast on them. Turning, he started to run the water to hot again and ran both plates on the steaming rinse before piling soap on it and scrubbing fiercely. As much as Harry hated his uncle and aunt for the horrible way they treated him he couldn't help the fact that, after trying it both ways, he definitely preferred the Muggle way of cleaning dishes. There was just something about the food that had some weird magical aftertaste if it was cleaned by the means of a wand. It wasn't until after he'd set both plates next to his own already dry plate on the rack that it occurred to him that both plates had the same magical signature on them.

"They ate breakfast together," Harry whispered, clenching his hand tight enough to almost shatter the plate in his hand. He relaxed himself and forced his hand to let go before doing any damage. "But I always wake up before Draco…does that mean Severus woke him up early on purpose and avoided me…?" That thought almost made him break though and he quickly discarded it. He shouldn't be feeling so self-conscious but right then he honestly couldn't help it. He wrapped his arms around himself and walked up the stairs the library, closing his eyes as he past the mirror just in case his mind played further tricks on him.

B R E A K

Harry woke several hours later, the library considerably darker than when he first nodded off to a book that had long ago fallen out of his lap and onto the floor with bunched pages. Rubbing his eyes, he set the book on the table beside the love seat and stretched, several bones in his back popping at once. As he meandered out of the room lazily he glanced at the clock and decided he should make dinner soon. That's what made him pause in the doorway and he wished he'd just stayed asleep. Severus had told him not to bother with dinner. He hadn't said just for him, but after seeing the breakfast plates out earlier he figured it was safe to assume that Draco also wouldn't need dinner that night. Fingers clenching tightly enough to pop at his sides, Harry quickly moved down the stairs and glanced into the kitchen. Sure enough, two plates were sitting out already magically cleaned.

He hadn't even started the laundry like he'd planned to but he was already annoyed with the dishes. Was a few minutes really going to kill them to wash their own dishes? Hardly. As he was turning to go back up the stairs, his appetite diminishing once again at the thought of his two lovers eating without him on purpose again, he spotted Draco's work cloak with the broom insignia on the breast pocket hanging on the stand in the living room.

Draco's home he thought, eyebrows coming together. Both were home and he hadn't seen either of them yet. He didn't count the short encounter with Severus. That had to have been bad timing or a fluke to get nearly thrown out by the cold vibes sent his way….Harry doubted it. Severus hated to be interrupted and he hated even more to be interrupted by someone who would probably break stuff by looking at it. Harry bloody Potter doesn't know how to be careful in a potions room. Woopty-Flippin-Wizard. He could've said 'good morning' at least. Then he wouldn't be at fault for making it feel like my relationship with them was going down the drain.

Before leaving the kitchen Harry peaked into the lab room and sure enough all the lights were doused. Had Harry missed them going down the stairs. He didn't hear anything going down the hall, but his thoughts were loud enough in his own head that he could've missed them. Suddenly feeling shy and unsure, Harry tip-toed up the stairs this time, staring pointedly at each step, and moved down the hallway. The library came before the bedroom so he did wonder if they just hadn't noticed him or if they wanted to let him sleep. The way things were turning out Harry was feeling pessimistic enough to go with the third option: they hadn't bothered looking for him. The closer he came to the bedroom the more shredded his bottom lip became as he chewed on it. He definitely heard sounds now and he knew those kinds of sounds very well.

The door was cracked open just a peep and when he glanced through he jerked back almost just as fast, panicked and wary not to make any noise as he shifted further away from the door. He had wanted to curse…but he forced his mouth to stay shut even when he glanced through the crack just to make sure. But there were no lies or misunderstandings for this one. Harry saw it with his own eyes as well as the evidence. Severus and Draco were both in the room. Both on their bed. Both very much enjoying themselves without Harry's company. He backed away from the door, stepping into the library and closing the door while pressing his palms to his eyes. Even now he heard Draco's moaning when he didn't want to. And Severus' sexy bed voice telling him all sorts of arousing things. He hated that he had to be so curious. He hated that he doubted them like this. And he hated that he'd gotten turned on just by the few seconds of Severus pumping into Draco's smooth, warm, inviting body while the pale blonde panted and writhed on the sheets…No!!!

Harry forced his thoughts away, trying to understand what could've just happened. His tears fell now, faster than he could've thought they could and this time no matter what he did he couldn't make them stop. His shirt just continued to soak them up but his will to stop them had been crushed. He'd done his part of being strong and trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. Who cares that he was savior of the wizarding world? Harry certainly didn't. Before he could even try thinking of saving all those lives that would've been lost, his own life had to be saved first. Who saved his life? The very two people who probably had the most reasons to stay away from him, the same two men that were currently entwined so tightly that Harry couldn't have pointed out where one began and the other ended even if he'd gotten closer. Severus and Draco were all Harry ever had, they were his whole world. But apparently the same couldn't be said from them. They had each other long before Harry came in…just like his reflection had told him. He was just some toy for them and they'd gotten bored but didn't know how to break it to him. They'd done their part in helping to rid the world of Voldemort and they no longer had to make sure Harry wasn't so ripped apart from reality.

Sure, there were times when Severus and Draco wanted some alone time just like one or the other had wanted their alone time with Harry. When was the last time that happened Harry wondered. However, what was the difference between this time and all the other times. Harry was surprised he knew the answer to that one. It was the only question he could answer on his own and he hated that it was actually the easiest one. All those other times it happened they would let the third member know so they wouldn't feel like the other two were going behind his back. Why? For exactly this reason. Harry's knees were too weak to support him and he crawled into a little corner and hid his face, rocking back and forth. They hadn't said anything about wanting to be alone together. Sure he was asleep but they still could've woke him up or wrote him a note. Even a magical one would've been okay!

It took nearly ten minutes for Harry to calm down and almost another five before his breathing was evened out. He forced himself to think clearly but even that was causing him problems. Next to Severus he was probably the most clear-headed of the three of them but sometimes, this one included, he couldn't help but want to pull his hair out by the roots and scream for someone to listen to him. Maybe it was a spur of the moment kind of thing Harry told himself, clenching and unclenching his fingers to keep from doing what he wanted right now. But why didn't they make dinner for me if they were just going to eat here anyway? Sure he didn't eat the breakfast they left for him but they had no way of knowing that unless they had monitoring spells on him. But that should give them all the more reason to force me to eat dinner…

No. There was no other way to think of it except that they were trying to hide something from him. That was certainly what it seemed like from his point of view. But what could be so horrible they wouldn't want to tell him? If it was something he did they should just say so and get it over with. It wasn't going to get any better until they did after all. There was no other way that Harry could look at it then something was terribly off about their once comfortable trio and, though he hated to admit it, his welcome was no longer a warm one. That thought just made the room blur with another row of tears.

It seemed like hours later to Harry when the flush from his sobbing had rinsed from his face and the bedroom door creaked open with the shuffling of his two lovers' footsteps. The room was certainly darker than the last time he had a clear look of it, but that didn't mean anything. Sunset had already begun when he woke up so it couldn't only be about forty minutes before the room was turned black.

Tensed and a bit embarrassed about what he would say if they asked what he was doing on the floor, Harry scurried over to the love seat and flipped over the book he was reading to somewhere in the middle just as the door to the library creaked open. The light from the hallway flooded into the room and nearly blinded him. It was exactly the same time as when Draco said, "Merlin, Harry, how can you read in a room that's pitch black," that Harry realized the same thing.

"I…I was reading but I guess I zoned out. W-when did you get home?"

Draco grinned and sauntered over to him, swaying his hips in such a way that Harry swallowed, remembering his earlier hard-on and how much he hated it. Was it wrong to still want Draco even when the blonde himself didn't want him back possibly? Most likely. But would he ever grow tired of being seduced in the simplest of ways? Harry certainly hoped not. "Hey, you," Draco greeted, kissing his cheek and acting as though he hadn't asked his earlier question.

Harry couldn't help but wonder when this dream of his would end….Sometime very soon, I'm sure he told himself. The brunette kept trying to remind his heart and his head that his two lovers had started out together and had him join rather quickly. It was no wonder they might begin to regret such a rash decision. "Hi," he answered meekly.

"So what were you doing in here all by yourself," Draco asked curiously, leaning over the armchair to get a better look at the book. He grimaced lightly at the book and pulled away, never understanding Harry's fascination with fairytales and his want of reading every single piece ever written.

Now, if Harry were his usual self than his usual answering joke to such a dumb question would be, "Getting a manicure," in such a sarcastic tone that it sometimes bordered on nasty, not that Draco ever noted on it like Harry did. As it was, Harry was not feeling like his usual self because in a whole lot of fear at the moment that any second Severus or Draco would dump him like a stone and laugh. How else to prepare for it than to distance himself? He'd already done it once with them but that was pre-Voldemort's death. Now they might not even catch up on it. "Catching up on some reading," Harry shrugged, offering a bright and cheery smile no matter how fake it appeared.

Draco was immediately on guard and he stiffened noticeably while Severus' expression shifted from soft and relaxed to teacher-mode, complete with evil-wrinkle lines. "Are….you okay," the blonde asked carefully, straightening up and moving around the table so he could look the brunette in the face.

"Sure," Harry grinned, cracking his fingers to keep from fidgeting. There's no way they could notice he told himself. There's no way they could notice. "Just a long day and worried about what Dana will say if I go to work with nothing to go off of." It wasn't a lie…..not really. It just wasn't the actual cause of most of his pain. Both of his lovers knew how stubborn that woman could be so he could easily dump his excuses to her and neither party would know or have anything to do about it.

The blonde relaxed a little bit, but still stared pointedly at the Gryffindor's face. Severus however didn't believe it for a second and it was written all over his steely face. Before the older man could point it out though Draco took Harry's hand and gave it a light tug. "It's getting late," he argued, pouting when Harry didn't make any move to pull himself off the couch. Instead he sat down on the other side of him and lay his head in the brunette's lap. "Your eyes must be giving out on you. Especially if Dana was on your case."

The brunette shrugged, ignoring the fact that Draco had just stolen his glasses. With the light on in the hallway he could just barely make out where the Slytherin was by the fuzzy images he now saw, and that's only because his white-blonde hair reflected the light. If this were Severus he probably wouldn't know where to look if he wasn't lying right on him. "Not any more than usual," he finally answered, warily letting his fingers slip through the soft hairs and sighing in relief that Draco didn't pull away.

"Let's go to bed," Draco whispered, pulling away and Harry saw a very blurry hand put in front of his eyes. He immediately felt a sick churn in his stomach just thinking about being in that bed after what he witnessed earlier and what it might mean, but he pushed it down and smiled. He took the hand and let the blonde pull him up. "That's my good boy," he teased. "At least it's your day off tomorrow. You can rest all you want and be all set to go on Monday."

Harry nodded, watching his fuzzy feet shift back and forth as he consciously tried to not trip over his own feet. "Yeah," he replied quietly. Draco guessed that his lack of attention was because of his missing glasses, which were dangling on his fingers but instead of giving them back he hooked his elbow through Harry's and pulled him forward until they reached the door. Severus snatched the glasses from the blonde's grasp and leaned over just enough to push them back up on Harry's nose where he blinked owlishly into his face.

The ex-potions professor waved Draco towards the bedroom with a gentle smile, much nicer than the cruel look that had been on his face earlier that day. When he was gone Severus turned back to Harry and knotted his long fingers into the messy dark strands. "I'm sorry about this morning, Harry. I just -."

Shifting away in a way that could almost be considered a jerk, Harry moved just enough that they were no longer touching and effectively stopping Severus' apology. Even if he did feel this way he didn't want excuses to ease what pain might come later on. Everything was…or felt….so obvious to him now. Why the two began their day so much earlier without including Harry. Did they think he wouldn't understand just because he was still very new in the relationship when they were already a couple years into theirs? That was silly. What? People weren't allowed to hurt The-Boy-Who-Won's feelings or something? He was grown up enough to know that not all happy relationships turn out to be forever.

"It's okay, Severus," he interrupted, not missing the surprised look cross Severus' face. He couldn't blame him. Harry hardly interrupted anyone unless it was important. After all, he hated it when it was done to him so why do it to other people when it was downright rude. It went right up there with magically washed dishes. "I understand that you don't like…me down there, especially when you're working so hard." At first he was going to say 'people', but he changed it to 'me' instead. After all, he hadn't had a problem with Draco being down there moving his stuff around move-in day. So it had to be just him, right? Draco had been the prodigy in their class and the favorite….and that wasn't because he was in Severus' bed during school. That had all been talent on his part. Harry inwardly sighed and offered a tired smile, faking a yawn. "Let's go," he said. Not even his bruised feelings would let Severus say anymore.

In the bedroom Harry couldn't tear his eyes away from the bed for the longest time and he knew both of his lovers must be wondering what was going through his mind during the several minutes he stood in the doorway. All he could see when staring at the bed that was once one of his most favorite spots in the house was Severus and Draco holding each other in ways that he'd probably never get to experience again. He'd be damned if they were going to give a courtesy fuck before they let him go. If it was going to happen he was going to go out with at least some bit of his pride. So, he said the other thing he could think of that might let him get away with his odd behavior without getting found out about his second attempt at distancing himself. "Say, Draco, can I sleep on the end tonight?"

Both men looked up curiously from where they were straightening out the bed. They'd obviously made it up after they fooled around in it and Harry was certain that if he checked right then he'd feel the magic trace on it that told him they'd cleaned up with a wand again just like the dishes. No, he didn't really have a problem with sleeping on sheets that had been magically cleaned like he did with dishes. They tended to be softer than the fabric softener could do. All it would prove is that they probably woke up and cleaned in a hurry before deciding to go look for him. Severus and Draco had told him on numerous occasions before that they loved snuggling with Harry and that's why he would always be the sandwich when they go to bed. Severus would probably never say it aloud, but the blonde said it plenty for the both of them that Harry was the 'snuggle-bug', but he would also murder anyone would found out he said that and then personally castrate the one who let it out.

Harry already had his excuse ready and he smiled sheepishly and shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "Since I had a slow day I'd feel better if I at least jotted some ideas down no matter how lame. I don't want to have to roll over you if something does happen to hit me." It wasn't the first time he'd done this though so both of his lovers accepted it easily. Just for show he put down some ink with a quill and some few pages of parchment, not really expecting to use it.

After the lights were dimmed and Draco was nestled up against Severus, already starting to doze from his early rise Harry was about to remove his own glasses and try the same. Just before he did though his eyes scanned the room out of old habits and he frowned when his green eyes caught sight of some of his clothes hanging haphazardly out of one of his drawers.

B R E A K

During the weekend it seemed like things during the previous week never even happened. Draco and Severus weren't acting as though they were hiding anything. In fact, it seemed more like while Harry was trying to jot out some rough drafts for the second book that one or both of them would go out of their way to try a make out session with him. Harry was beginning to think that one week was just some weird fluke or maybe he was even thinking too much into it.

As it would another odd thing set all of the events off again and this time Harry wasn't sure if he could handle it. He'd been staring at the mirror while Draco was preparing dinner, trying to figure out if the odd reflection talking back was just some weird, evil charm left on the mirror or if it had been his imagination. He decided to say it was just his depressed mood that made him think it had been talking horribly to him and shrugged it off, refusing to believe anything his eyes play tricks with anymore. Just as he was thinking that he was walking down the rest of the stairs to the kitchen door that had been swung shut and reached out to push it open when it swung right into his face.

The next thing Harry saw when he opened his eyes several seconds later was the ceiling and Severus and Draco's blurry faces looking down at him. "Are you okay, 'Ri" Draco asked, waving his hand in front of his face as his vision started to straighten back up.

"Y-yeah, I'm good," he said, lifting himself off the carpet and rubbing his nose. "I don't think I've ever walked into a door before," he admitted with an embarrassed snort.

Severus ran his fingers through his hair and helped him up the rest of the way. "My apologies," he offered. "I was coming to find you for dinner but it appeared you were already on your way."

"My bad," Harry blushed, rubbing the back of his neck with embarrassment. "Sorry."

After Draco had already turned to go back into the kitchen Harry finished standing up and wiping his bum off. When he stood back up he heard Severus' gasp and he looked at him quickly. "Harry, you're nose," he pointed and then grabbed his wrist. The blonde looked up and froze when he saw Severus leading Harry to the sink and he looked away with a hand over his mouth, slipping out of the room as quickly as possible. The brunette, however, did understand when Severus started running the water on the sink and his blood started to dye it pink and rush down the drain.

"Oops," he laughed, and then started splashing his face before Severus held out some tissues and told him to tilt his head back and go lay down for a while. During the time he was lying down though he definitely heard Severus and Draco speaking in hushed, quick voices upstairs and he was disappointed that he couldn't make out the words. He had a very nostalgic feeling though and it made him close his eyes and wish that whatever was going to happen it wasn't going to be bad.

After a very silent dinner Harry cleaned up the dishes and watched sadly as Draco tried to discreetly pull Severus from the room. He gave them a few minutes to go wherever they were going to hide to and finished up the dishes in a hurry before going to follow them. Sure enough when he peeked in the bedroom that Sunday night he watched as Draco and Severus snogged as though Voldemort would come back tomorrow morning and destroy everybody in his rage. As soon as their clothes started coming off Harry turned and moved to his home away from bedroom and pulled out another few pieces of paper to try and work. As he wrote he forced his mind to stay off the depressing topics of his two lovers and wondering why they were suddenly acting out behind his back rather than confronting him like they used to.

B R E A K

Harry slid out of the fireplace unceremoniously that next evening, hating his life, his job, and the very spot where he landed that made his bum ache worse than when Severus and Draco really didn't want to give him any breaks. As luck would have it, he couldn't even remember the last time they tried to pin him down other than those few quick make-out sessions he had over the weekend. As he moved up the stairs he noted Draco's cloak hanging on the rack and already knew what he'd find when he tried going to bedroom. He already knew if he asked them straight out the answer he got probably wasn't going to be one that made him feel a lot better. The longer he procrastinated on it the longer he'd be able to be with the both of them…at least until it broke him. That such a thing happened sooner rather than later just made it hurt all the worse. Just as he predicted the both of them were in the bedroom, this time Draco was pressed up against a wall. Probably if the blonde's eyes weren't glazed over with pleasure he would've seen Harry standing right there. It wouldn't have hurt anymore than usual until he started walking from the door and he heard Draco's breathy voice start to something other than, "Oh, Merlin, Sev!"

"Harry will….he'll be home soon," he groaned, wrapping his legs around the slim waist and locking his arms around his neck. The real kicker was when Severus afterwards made a very noticeable attempt to speed up his actions. Sickened, Harry pushed away whatever tears that were crawling up his eyes and instead of trying to work he hurried off to polish his broom instead.

It was only a short while later that Draco stepped outside and laughed. "I saw the soot all over the floor but I didn't know you came home."

Harry just hmp-ed at him and continued with the broom handle, not even looking at the blonde.

"Did you have a good day?"

Another hum but his hand started to move faster when he felt like hurting the other male for acting as though he wasn't doing anything behind his back.

"Say, we haven't raced brooms since we got here. Sev said he'd take care of dinner tonight since we didn't get to eat breakfast with you that one time. Wanna give it a go?"

He snapped. Harry glared up at Draco, eyes narrowed and the green flaring with anger. "I want to be alone," he growled out before turning back to his broom now visually angry. The brunette knew that he hurt Draco deeply but he disgustingly thought he and Severus both deserved it after their several acts of going behind Harry's back. What's the point in being in a relationship if they weren't going to communicate like normal couples do? Maybe because we aren't a normal couple. We aren't even a couple per say.

That night he didn't even go near the bedroom until he was certain both of his soon-to-be-ex-lovers were deeply asleep. He crawled into the space he'd now taken over on the edge of the bed where Draco usually slept (he sneered a Slytherin-worthy lip curl when he saw the blonde almost lying completely on top of Severus and he forced himself not to feel bad when he saw the dried tear tracks on his face) and set his wand for an hour before Severus woke up. If the two of them were going to shift around their schedules than he'd move his as well.

He left for work an hour and half early, as soon as he heard the Potions Master moving around the bedroom. Harry worked like crazy, both pleasing Dana as well as keeping his mind off the more depressing matters. Unlike usual he didn't leave when his editor did but rather stayed as late as possible. He even startled the janitor when he came in to start cleaning and he was still tapping away at his desk trying to get around his latest version of writer's block as well as cramps.

When he slid into the living room what he wasn't expecting was while mid-yawn for an anxious blonde to attack his chest, hugging him tightly and yelling at him so quickly he couldn't make out the words. Severus followed him a bit more discreetly but his expression gave away that he also wanted to throw himself at the brunette.

"You idiot," Draco shouted, the first clear words Harry heard from him. "Why didn't you send an owl or something if you were going to be late!"

He was going to answer honestly. He was just going to spill the beans and get it over with. He really didn't want to see the newest love mark bright and clear for Harry to see. Pushing Draco away roughly, the ex-professor was there to catch him, and Harry attempted to look exhausted as he apologized and hurried up the stairs to bed. Truth was he really was tired since he woke up early and went to sleep late the night before. Now more than ever it was really just to get away from the both of them and burn out the picture of the new hickey on Draco's skin from behind his eyelids.

Harry's new routine of leaving early and staying late had become his latest habit so much so that even Dana had mentioned her worry for him becoming a sudden workaholic. His only concern at the moment though was how his two lovers were taking it. After a whole week of trying to talk him out of it and exchanging worried glances over the breakfast table as well as several whispered mutterings between the two of them they had finally stopped talking to him completely about the subject of working too much. Whether they had given up or just adjusted to his new hours though Harry wasn't sure. Friday night when he returned home he was both relieved and disappointed to find they were no longer anxiously waiting for him to come home.

The same excuses still seemed to be working on them at least that writer's block was interfering as well as Dana never being completely satisfied with things that did come out. His editor accepted the writer's block excuse since, even after all the sudden hours he'd put in, there was hardly anything to show for it and Severus and Draco never spoke with Dana personally so they'd never find out it was Harry's choice to wait until midnight and sometimes one or two in the morning before returning home. "Slave driver," Harry joked when he slipped into bed once when he'd woken Draco up accidentally.

What he wasn't expecting was his unexpected sleep-in when all of his extra late hours finally backfired and made him crash until nearly noon the next day. During that time the floo was activated and a very surprised guest followed by more shocking discoveries were made. When Harry finally slipped out of bed and padded downstairs for a light breakfast he froze in the doorway when three heads turned to look at him unexpectedly, all filled with hurt, anger, and mostly betrayal.

"Dana," he greeted sleepily, already knowing his game was up and not really trying to hide it anymore. "You're up early for a day off."

Draco stood up first, hair in an uncharacteristic disarray from one too many run-throughs with his hand. It tended to be his habit when he was worried and it was doubly so now that some secrets were becoming unveiled. "You lied to us," he accused, voice almost too soft to even hear.

The brunette only shrugged, pouring himself some tea before walking out of the kitchen without another word. There were several steps that followed and before he could stop it his arm had been jostled and the cup slipped from his hand, shattered on the tile and hot tea splashed over him as well the floor and his surprised editor. "Was that really called for," he asked, raising an eyebrow at the distraught woman.

"Harry, you're really worrying all of us. You work for forever but you never get anything done. You're always so exhausted so I came here to find out what's been bothering you. I certainly wasn't expecting to be here so long but now I…I don't even know what to say. Why are you doing this to yourself?" She certainly didn't seem like her normal self in Harry's eyes. The strong, independent woman who even mafia lords wouldn't pick fights with was suddenly looking so fragile she might shatter just like his teacup.

Green eyes darkened to almost a dead black and Harry's stare turned on his two lovers, the sole reason for him suddenly acting so un-Harry like. "Why," he bit out. "If you'd just told me the truth from the beginning instead of hiding it I wouldn't even be feeling this way."

"W-we didn't know how you'd react," Draco admitted, shaking lightly as he pushed himself into Severus' side, who had yet to say anything.

"How would I react," Harry mocked, spitting the words out. "How did you think? You just started to keep everything from me and doing everything for yourselves! If you wanted me out of the picture you should've just said so!" Then he pulled his grip roughly from his editor's and stormed back up the stairs. As soon as he did Draco burst into tears and fled into the backyard and Severus was left wondering what had really happened. Nobody had really said anything about what happened. It's possible that Harry could've figured out what was going on, but based on what was said he assumed it was safe to say that he only knows what he saw. That was the even bigger mistake.

The trio stayed separated for the rest of the day. Harry stayed locked up in the guest bathroom upstairs, Draco refused to come indoors, and Severus wasn't sure what to say to either of them without talking to the other about it first. That was exactly the problem though. He could say all he wanted but whether his two younger lovers were listening or would choose to say anything back was what made it all the harder.

When night finally took over and everything was dark in the house Draco migrated back in and slipped under the covers silently, hugging Harry's pillow tightly to his chest.

"Perhaps we should explain," Severus suggested, sitting down on the edge of the bed and watching the blonde carefully.

Draco quickly shook his head. "It's stupid," he cried into the pillow, hiding his face and refusing to let the other Slytherin touch him. "This is all stupid! There's no way he could understand because he's used to it! It's just one other thing that happens to him all the time so he doesn't see fit to worry about it now!"

"Which is exactly why we should try to explain it to him from our point of view, or at least yours since I'm used to it as well. But at least I know the difference between caring too little and caring too much. This is the first time it's happened to Harry since he's been with us. For him he might not understand the connection at all. How could he when you practically begged Dumbledore to not let him know?"

Ice blue eyes peered up from the pillow to glare at him. "He wanted to die from the beginning, Severus," he bit out. "If he knew how close he came…."

Severus nodded, looking away. He knew full well how much Harry had prepared himself to die facing the Dark Lord, how distant he could be about such things. He was exactly what everybody looked for in suicidal people and for Harry, just standing there facing Voldemort was enough of a plan to kill himself and he was just waiting for the inevitable. Only two people knew how close everybody in the world came to dying because one teenager decided to give up in hopelessness, but those same two people also knew the savior of the wizarding world was only a person and not an object to admire.

B R E A K

In the early morning hours the guest bathroom door finally creaked open and Harry padded down the hall into the master bedroom. He stared at the bed sadly, watching Draco sleep restlessly while holding his pillow tightly in his grasp. How many times had Harry been held down during the night because the blonde would sleep so soundly against him? Severus hadn't even crawled under the covers. He was still lying awkwardly on top of the comforter with his head nowhere near a pillow but rather using his arm.

Swallowing heavily Harry forced himself to the closet and he pulled out a few clothes and stuffed them haphazardly into his bag. Just on habit he snatched up some parchment and quills in case by some miracle his book decided it wanted to be written and he snuck from the room as quietly as possible, pleased and sad that neither of the two even stirred at his noise. He paused in the kitchen, biting his lip as he stared at the stack of post-it notes before the inevitable long sigh escaped him.

With a sense of revenge he zapped one of the notes with his wand, magically scribbling out in purposefully awful handwriting that he would be at Ron and Hermione's for a while. Afterwards though he just felt horrible and childish because of it, knowing how bad he felt when Draco had wrote a note magically to him. So he crumbled the first note up and tossed it behind him while he rewrote the message by hand and leaving in a flurry of robes.

B R E A K

Ron and Hermione were surprised by the sudden visit but no less happy to usher him in excitedly and make sure their Gryffindor trio was comfortable in the living room with tea and snacks.

"What's with the surprise visit all of a sudden," Hermione inquired, settling in next to her husband.

Harry shrugged, adding some sugar and stirring it absently. "I don't know," he lied, blowing out a puff of air tiredly. "Just lonely I guess." It was a punch in the gut about how true that one was though. Nobody knew he was dating two people at once, both happened to be men, and both all three of them had hated with a passion at some point. This whole time he'd been leading his two best friends to believe that he lived alone out in the country and had no interest in starting a romantic relationship.

"Well, of course, you can come here and work anytime you like, Harry," Hermione told him, pushing a plate of fresh biscuits towards him. "It's not like we don't enjoy your company."

Harry nodded, nibbling a bit on the warm bread before sighing and setting it down. Ron surprised him though by grinning and setting a hand on his shoulder. "Actually, I have to be honest with you, mate, you were really scaring me back in school." At his friend's curious look the redhead continued. "You just sort of dropped off the face of the earth and left your body behind for the ride. You were so out of it that I was just about to go to Dumbledore myself and demand him to do something since you seemed to disappear if one of us ever tried to get close to you."

The bushy-haired girl nodded, sipping at her own tea quietly. "And then one day you made a huge comeback that neither of us was sure what to make of it. You were smiling more than ever and had a glow around you that never seemed to diminish. Well, after a while, when you still never came to us, we had to assume that you'd found yourself some very lucky girl and you just wanted to hide her away from everybody secretly." She actually giggled at Harry's gob-smacked face as his hand went limp enough to nearly dump his tea all over the carpet. "Come now, Harry, we aren't stupid. We just assumed you didn't want anyone know that the famous savior had found himself some very special girl and we respected that. Now…now you just look so depressed. I hope nothing's happened."

Green eyes lowered to the light brown liquid swirling around in his cup and he sighed. "There was never a girl," he admitted quietly, though afterwards he refused to continue. True, both Severus and Draco had hurt him a great deal by covering up going behind his back. To him it was the same as cheating even though he knew it technically wasn't. They did break the rules they'd all agreed on though and that's what hurt the most. What was the point of setting those rules so nobody would get hurt if it just happened anyway? Harry knew about urges. The desperate kind that clawed away through his chest from the inside out when he would just look at one of the two while the other was away and just want to pin them down and have his way with him, but he'd always pushed it down at least long enough to let their third know. He was wrong to assume that the other two would be the same.

How long he wondered. How many times have they done this without letting me know? Or did they even plan on telling me? He wasn't sure if it would make it better if they said anything about it or not, but he did like to assume that he was the kind of person who would forgive his lovers if they'd done something wrong as long as they owed up to it and confessed it at some point. But he had to draw the line somewhere, right? Sooner or later he would just have to admit to himself that he was just like every other person when it came to relationships: the first one usually didn't always work out perfectly. There will be other people…I hope. At this point at least he was seriously doubting he'd find anybody as special and as complete as Severus and Draco were. Maybe he'd do exactly as he's been telling everybody all along and live alone out in the country with a thousand wards set up so no one would be able to find him without him leading them there personally. It would be the perfect place to hide.

B R E AK

Black eyes drifted open and Severus wanted to groan at another day. At least it's still the weekend he told himself. But then he remembered the argument that had happened the day before. Usually weekends meant lounging around in bed for hours with his two gorgeous young lovers, but he knew that wouldn't be happening this time around. Today they would definitely have to patch up whatever misunderstanding that had occurred because he had already told himself a thousand times over that somewhere along the line of Harry finding out Draco and him were going behind his back and keeping secrets from him his sweet little brunette Gryffindor had missed the vital point. Of course, there was no way he could ever find out exactly what since Draco had been too scared to admit it.

The Potions Master figured maybe he could move things along faster and coax Harry out of the guest bathroom before Draco even woke up. That would certainly be progress in his eyes, a large step for everybody since then he could at least tell if his words were even being registered rather than just ignored. He shifted around on the bed and realized only then at what an awkward position he'd sleep. Shrugging it off he moved off the bed, but as soon as his feet touched the floorboards his gut felt heavy and for the first time in a long while he felt as though he were going to be sick. It was exactly the same way he felt when he woke up the day of the final battle and realized Harry was missing and he wasn't in the apartments. He feared for the worst and his feet ran him uncharacteristically down the hallway not even caring if he woke the blonde now and his stomach twisted painfully when he saw the bathroom door in the guestroom wide open. After a very quick search through the house he found the note on the kitchen table and he collapsed into one of the chairs weakly, Harry's chair he wanted to laugh at the irony of it, and held his face in his hands weakly. "Harry's gone," his voice cracked.

Draco stepped into the kitchen tiredly, still yawning. He already knew something was wrong as well and it had nothing to do with the way his older lover held himself as though he might fall over any second. As he passed by the chair he usually sat in he spotted a crumbled up piece of paper and knelt down to retrieve it. "He left us," he whispered sadly as he read the magically written note. Severus looked up as well, confusion crossing his features as he held up an identical note. Draco understood immediately though and guilt ate him through the inside of his stomach painfully. As soon as he'd picked up the paper from the floor he already felt the magic laced with the words and he felt horrible that he'd done the same to him. "Do you think he's mad at me," Draco wondered quietly, pushing the note to Severus knowing it would click with him too.

Severus looked between the two notes quickly and shook his head, slipping a hand through his hair. "It would be uncharacteristic of him to be so upset over something like this unless there was more involved. It's not just the note you wrote."

"But he found out," the blonde squeaked, holding his head in his hands as he fell into his chair as well, legs feeling like jelly. "He found out and now he's never coming back because we went against him like that. He's a Gryffindor, Sev! A real Gryffindor and he's all about loyalty! We broke the rules and he'll never forgive me!"

Long fingers clenched on his shoulder tightly and wet blue eyes looked up to meet hardened black. "No, Draco," Severus bit out, "It's impossible. Neither of us said anything and he hasn't had contact with anybody else from school except for that wedding. I'm sure he's upset about us breaking the rules and for that I understand, but I just know something else was eating him up before that." He looked down at the notes again and his eyes narrowed angrily.

Draco stood up so quickly that his chair clattered to the floor. He didn't even bother picking it up as he practically ran into the next room. Rashly, he grabbed his cloak off the stand and pulled it on as he was walking out the door only to be stopped by a hard grip to his shoulder just before he could apparate. He looked up desperately at his older lover and wanted to cry and hit his chest and demand to know why he was trying to be calm about it all when he loved Harry just as much as Draco himself did.

"Harry has made it perfectly clear by his own actions that he'd rather keep his social life and his private life separate. He hasn't even told his friends he's in a relationship even though we advised him not to say who. I hardly think Mr. Weasley and his wife know about us being so involved with Harry or that he'd be very happy with you for barging in."

Ice blue eyes hardened and his expression was clearly enraged, an emotion he hadn't shown to anybody in quite a while if the Potions Master remembered correctly. "I don't care," he retorted sharply. "Sev, something isn't right. We really hurt Harry. He must've had a really good reason for lying to us so much and making his life so much harder. He's been waiting ever since he found out what we were doing for us to confess about it and we disappointed him. We let him down and I don't want to end it like this!" By the end he was hysterical and Severus had to pull him into his chest, sitting down on the porch steps and rocking him gently in his lap." Seconds after he calmed down though he stiffened in the embrace and Draco pulled back enough to show Severus a panic stricken face. In a very soft, quiet voice he said, "Yesterday…it was…it was just like how he acted before," though he couldn't make his throat work around the words to say when he knew that Severus would understand." Relief flooded through him when Severus agreed on that line of thinking and he grabbed his own cloak as well. They both had come to the same conclusion: If what Draco felt was true, they had to act quickly before Harry wasted away to nothing but a shell of a person again, and this time he wouldn't want to be saved.

B R E A K

Harry was so in tune with Draco and Severus' magical signature that he jumped as soon as he felt them apparate into the area. Neither of his friends noticed the shift in their own wards since his two lovers had been trained from birth to mask their power, but it was impossible to do that when Harry had been around them constantly for the past several months. However, his friends did look up when Harry started to fidget from nerves, knowing he had nowhere to hide now. He was so hoping they would just leave him be in peace but having them here would only raise more questions than answers now.

When there was a firm, discreet knock on the door he clenched his fists onto each arm of the chair he was sitting in and he could do nothing more than bite his lip and pretend not to notice when Hermione gasped when she opened the door. Ron was immediately at her side, pushing the brunette behind him protectively when he saw who stood in their entranceway.

With a growl to his voice and sounding braver than he probably actually felt, Ron demanded, "What do you want?"

Draco started to speak, Harry was sure of it by the sudden 'ah' before Severus' smooth voice melted over his whole form and he hated how comfortable he suddenly felt. Harry ignored the twinge of annoyance he felt for one of his well known pet peeves of people being interrupted, knowing that the Potions Master was going to try getting Harry out of this house without alerting the two Weasleys about what was going on. Green eyes narrowed and he wanted to snort. The hell if that was going to happen. They couldn't do anything as long as they were guests in a house…right? His resolve was already weakening at the thought of causing his two friends problems and he curiously glanced over the back of the chair he was sitting in.

"Something important has come up the school and I'm afraid Professor Dumbledore has called for Mr. Potter's attendance," he heard the ex-professor sweet talk. "An owl wouldn't have been fast enough."

Ron glared, closing the door a bit so they wouldn't be able to see their target sitting just in the other room. Harry didn't think he would ever be able to thank his redheaded best friend enough for how hard he was trying to keep him out of sight. It was Hermione who cleverly pointed out, "I thought Harry had been declared free from his burden after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was destroyed. If it has anything to do with Death Eaters I'm afraid we can't let you take him."

Well…Harry told himself convincingly that could work two ways if you think about it. It does have something to do with an ex-Death Eaterhe mused. That would never work though and he knew it. Severus and Draco could be stubborn people and he hated to think about what would happen when one of them, Draco most likely, lost his temper and just forced his way in. Just as he was standing up to hand himself over he knew he hadn't been fast enough when he heard the without a doubt punch to the side of the house as Draco's legendary temper flared. Too late…

"Listen hear, Granger," Draco started, though Harry was half tempted to correct him he kept silent, "I don't care for your know-it-all attitude but we need to talk to Harry now so get the fuck out of the way before I blow your tattered shack into fire splinters!"

Rubbing his eyes tiredly Harry pulled the door from Ron's grip, ignoring the redheaded Gryffindor's squeak in surprise when he only now realized his best friend standing there, and he moved in front of both of his friends angrily.

"Thank Slytherin," Draco breathed and he moved forward without thinking, hugging him tightly and hiding his face in the crook of Harry's neck, inhaling deeply.

It wasn't until Ron shouted, "What the hell," that the blonde pulled away. "What's going on," his best friend demanded.

Draco pulled Harry behind him protectively and Harry almost teared up. It was still there. It was the one thing about Draco that got Harry really wet-eyed with the warm fuzzies taking over his stomach. Yeah, so the blonde could get pissed off so easily the brunette had assumed he rehearsed the act in front of a mirror. The anger was mostly always directed towards his friends only because of their feud back in school and because of their ignorance towards Harry's pain when he'd given up living, but there was the fact that he would get even angrier when he was trying to keep something special by his side.

I wasn't forgotten Harry realized happily. Without thinking on his side Harry pushed himself against Draco's back and pleaded, "Dray, please."

Ron immediately turned red and Harry flinched at how it reminded him of his uncle when he had definitely done something wrong. At their close contact Draco hadn't missed the shudder either and he grit his teeth and backed Harry away from both of his friends.

"This is ridiculous, Draco," Harry tried to reason, but he didn't try to get in between him and his friends either. After all, he wasn't suicidal….now.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. Deciding it was too pointless to continue playing the messengers for the old coot that runs the school anymore. "Let's go home. We need to talk."

All hell exploded at once. Ron shouted at everyone in words that were too run together that even Harry, who spoke fluent angry Ronald Weasley, had trouble connecting it. In all the fuss Harry even heard Draco finally shout back in a very un-Malfoy-ish way.

"Are you so poor that you sold your hearing for an extra knut, Weasley! After he defeated that snake ass Moldie Voldie lord I fucking shouted his name for the whole school to hear!" And then his pale hand grabbed Harry's tan one and he apparated out so fast that when they appeared in front of their house again Harry tripped over himself and landed on top of the blonde unceremoniously.