A/N: Welcome to the next part of Tore My Heart in Sunder. Enjoy, R&R please!

.:oOo:.

Chapter 2

.:oOo:.

"Happy birthday, Draco."

"Thank you, Uncle Severus."

The two men clasped hands in the Great Hall, before Severus decided to forego his stoic persona and dragged Draco in for a hug. He ignored the easily-audible whispers of the dunderheads.

Draco allowed his eyes to scan the room after he was released, and saw many people staring at him. The one person conspicuously absent today, however, was Harry. A goblet sat before an empty seat at the Head Table, just to the right of McGonagall.

Draco tried not to feel disappointed.

.:oOo:.

The Whomping Willow shivered beneath Harry, sending snowflakes down into his hair. He watched as the little dots in the castle doused themselves one by one, until the whole school was taken into the night.

Many feelings whirred around his head at the moment, from fear and sadness to excitement. But what he felt most, however, was betrayed. How could Severus and Minerva do this to me? They know exactly what happened last time I saw Draco!

There were still two weeks left of winter vacation. Summoning his cloak, he got up from the snow-laden ground and trudged down the slopes to Hogsmeade, where he would find a fireplace.

.:oOo:.

Headmistress,

I regret to inform you that something has come up that requires my attention at the moment. As such, I shall not be able to remain on grounds for the rest of break, however I should be back in time to resume school.

I shall update you whenever possible.

H. J. Potter

Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Minerva stared worriedly at the missive in front of her. It must have been serious if Harry had decided to use his Hogwarts stationary; he never used his stationary.

She did wonder, though, if he wasn't just running away from his personal problems. She had known the moment Severus had put in for his temporary replacement that trouble would come about, but had decided to do what would undoubtedly be best for the students, at the risk of losing one professor.

She pulled a worn sheet of parchment from her desk, and read the letter inscribed on it. She had contemplated sending it many times, but now she wondered if this year would be the one whence she finally did.

Putting it back in the drawer, she thought about her predicament: who would replace Harry if he decided to keep running? It was moments like these, when she felt her castle crumbling around her, that Minerva wondered if she was getting too old for this job. She could use a rest from young people's drama.

.:oOo:.

Draco stared at the roaring fire in front of him, reminiscing about the time before the war, when he was a simple child with simple wants. His life had been nowhere near as harrowing back then.

The flames crackled loudly, startling him from his dazed state. He looked to his right, only just remembering Severus's presence. They had been conversing about the trip, before lapsing into a companionable silence.

"Are you sure you are prepared to teach and live near him? To be confronted with his presence every day?"

"I worry not for my own stability, Severus, only his own."

Severus nodded, albeit reluctantly. Draco had made sure not to think about his plans while in his uncle's presence, lest the man somehow find out what Draco was going to do during the semester. It had taken him many, many years of Mind Healing to get to this position, to be able to do what he was about to, and he feared that anyone could set him back with merely a whisper of doubt.

.:oOo:.

Harry stared blankly at the page laid out before him, willing himself to read but finding himself unable. Try as he might, his mind kept wandering back to Draco, who was roaming about the castle at this very instant. It made him feel betrayed. It made him feel alone.

How could he go back to the castle when the one person who he desired and couldn't have would be there to taunt him every morning, every evening. How did they expect Harry to stand by and allow that to happen? To allow his heartstrings to be tugged upon so heartlessly?

Harry felt a painful contraction in his chest. It's getting worse. He had noticed himself getting weaker since Draco's birthday had passed without response, but had dismissed and ignored it, refusing to acknowledge what he knew was happening to himself.

And he certainly couldn't tell anyone else about it. If he did, it would go right to Draco, and he would end up with even more weighing him down than the memories of the war he already had, the memories of what they Death Eaters had done when they found out.

Harry would not allow his mate to be put upon in such a way.

It seemed, then, that the only acceptable course of action would be to return to Hogwarts, and ensure that Draco never suspected what was happening to Harry. He could last a few more months, at least until the summer, but he knew he wouldn't have much longer after that. The longest any of them had made it in this state was thirteen years.

Striding to his desk, Harry pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment. It was time to start making amends.

.:oOo:.

Severus looked over at his lover, who was sitting on the window bed, staring out at the blanket of snow covering the streets of New York. Their hotel room was on the top floor, and it was the size of an apartment.

Though he knew that this conversation was necessary, Severus couldn't help but pause as he thought about how to start it. They had only just got to the States, and he didn't want to cast a dour shadow over the rest of their stay. But, he also knew that if he waited any longer, then Sirius might not survive what was to come.

"Sirius," he said, "we need to talk."

Sirius looked over at him, a happy sparkle in his eye. Such a shame, thought Severus. It will be gone before the hour passes.

.:oOo:.

Amanda knocked on the door to Professor Potter's office. She was worried— ever since the snowball fight had ended yesterday afternoon, no one had seen hide nor hare of him. And it was notoriously difficult to find anywhere to hide in the castle, especially with all the wards that warned the professors when students went off to...hide together.

She didn't want to bother him, but she it was out of character for him to have missed breakfast as he did, although he never actually seemed to eat anything there. He always showed up promptly, and this was the first time in all her years at Hogwarts when he hadn't.

Raising a hand to knock, she heard a voice call to her. "He's not going to answer."

Looking over, Amanda saw a tall person with blond hair striding toward her. At first, she mistook him for a seventh year, but the crest on his robes was not that of a house, but that of a professor. "Who are you?" she asked. She had never seen him in all her two years of schooling, and she was a bit surprised that McGonagall had hired someone new in the middle of term.

"I'm Professor Malfoy. Professor Snape will be on vacation this semester, and I will be taking over his classes for the duration of his vacation."

Amanda nodded. She stared at the man, waiting for him to walk away so she could knock on the professor's door.

"He's gone away, too," said the man (she was not as yet entirely convinced that he was, in fact, a professor).

Amanda nodded. Shrugging to himself, the man strided away, leaving Amanda alone to her thoughts and the door before her.

She knocked twice. No answer. Again. No answer. A fourth and fifth knock.

Gazing sadly at the door, Amanda decided that it would be no use to try this way. She would need to find another way in, to confront Professor Potter about his absence.

.:oOo:.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please drop a review!