A/N: Dear followers, I am sadden to tell you that, this is the chapter that you've all been waiting reluctantly for... Maybe you'll need a box of tissues, maybe you won't... I will be in hiding until I post chapter 8 that is ;). Now, some of you will probably be concerned, but if you have any questions about how my stories go... read my other ones :) Also, I think this will have a total of 12 or so chapters. Enjoy! Let me know your thoughts!

Chapter 7

Draco's POV

I leave Harry's with a heavy heart. I have to stand up to my parents, but if what Blaise and Theo warned me about is true, there is nothing I'll be able to do. The utter devastation in his eyes hurts so much. I'm so angry with myself because I've put that there. I've caused him pain and that's the last thing I ever wanted to do, ever! I truly hate my parents right now for all of this. There is so much at stake, but what matters most is that I could lose Harry today.

I walk out of the floo with a purpose. I don't want my parents to see that my heart is on the verge of breaking. I have to be confident. I know they are in the sitting room because they always take their morning tea at this time. As predicted, they are sitting in their usual places with the Prophet and a book.

"Ah, Draco, I'm so glad you could take the time to join us this morning. We have much to discuss," Lucius says without looking up from his paper. I glance over at my mother who looks nervous. We've talked separately about Harry and I and she supports us, but she would never stand up to my father.

"There is nothing to discuss. I refuse the marriage contract. The Malfoy name, money, any of that, be damned. I'm going to be with Harry," I say to him, an edge of finality in my tone.

Lucius takes his time closing the paper and setting it down on the side table. He stands up slowly and turns to face me, indifferent mask in place. "No," he states firmly.

I stare at him and glance over at my mother who looks like she wants to speak against my father. "I'm not a little kid anymore. I'm an adult and I'm making my own decision and it's Harry." I stand my ground although I'm sure my legs are shaking at standing up to him. I've never been as serious as I am right now.

"You will accept the marriage contract and that is final," he states clearly.

"Why? Why do I have to marry some bint that I don't love? I demand an answer! Don't you want me to be happy?" I cry. I can't maintain my composure at all. I feel my happiness slipping away from me.

"You want to know why?" Lucius demands. He's in my face now, pointing his finger at me. "Love and happiness do not matter to the Malfoy family! We lost everything in that war and this is how we regain it! You will marry the girl we have for you and you will deal with it! The entire Malfoy name and existence will cease if you continue this charade with Potter! You need an heir and you need to make this family right again!" he yells at me. He's furious and the color of his gray eyes that are so similar to mine are dark with his anger.

My heart is pounding. He has to be making all of this up. Just because I don't marry some woman, doesn't mean our entire family will cease to exist. If that's the case though, can I risk that? Would Harry want me to risk that? "Love and happiness matter to me, father! I love Harry more than anything in this world. Isn't that enough? We can be together. We can have a surrogate and we can have an heir. Please, father, don't make that your final decision. You can't be serious that our family will be in dire straits if I don't marry this woman?" I plead with him to see my view. It could work just fine and I would be happy.

"Lucius, listen to your son. Imagine him marrying Harry Potter. It would do so much for our family," Narcissa says calmly as she walks over to us.

Although I can't agree with her point about me marrying Harry and helping our family being my soul purpose of marrying him, I will let it slide if it helps. My father looks over at my mother and they exchange a look and I'm feeling almost hopeful. He looks like he's trying to process this working and satisfying him. He sighs though and steps away. He suddenly looks much older than his age.

"I haven't been honest with you Cissy," he begins. She looks over at him in alarm and I look between them as well. What more could there be to this? Then I realize that he wouldn't be so insistent if there wasn't more.

"What is it, Lucius?" she asks.

He sighs again and shifts uncomfortably. This must be bad if his confident façade is completely falling apart. "Before Draco was born, I made a contract with a man in France. I was doing some business for the Dark Lord then, trying to stay in his good graces and this man had what he needed. Something that was so valuable, that I traded my unborn son's hand in marriage to his daughter. The consequences of not following through, will lead to our family's downfall. That is why it is imperative that you marry this woman and you must never reveal the contract's agreement. I'm sorry, Draco. I know that you have found love in Mr. Potter, but you can't be with him. It will damn our family," he explains.

I gasp at this news, staggering back, and my mother sinks down into a nearby chair. My father returns to his chair and hangs his head. He's not making this up. He truly made this decision twenty years ago. "You damned me then? How could you possibly do that to me? What were you thinking?" I demand, my mind catching up with his confession.

He looks up at me with tears in his eyes. My father never cries. I imagine he's feeling awful right now. Good, serves the bastard right. "I wasn't in my right mind then! You know the power the Dark Lord had over us all! I honestly believed that following him was the safest option for my family. I still believe at the time it was, but I was wrong! Now you must pay for my mistake! I'm sorry, Draco, I truly am sorry," he apologizes.

Right now, I'm so furious with him, so furious that he has ruined my happiness. I glare over at him. "Fuck you," I say because really, I can't form any other words than that. I storm from the room, my mother calling after me. I ignore her though and head straight for the floo. I have to tell Harry what has happened. I have to make him understand that I have no choice. My family's downfall could only mean one thing, death.

XXXX

I tumble out of Harry's floo and barely stay upright. I'm so upset that I can't possibly maintain control of myself. I look around his kitchen with only one thought in my mind: I have to get to him and I need to feel him. "Harry!" I call out as I start to leave his kitchen. I go straight to his sitting room, but don't see him in there. "Harry!" I yell louder. I start heading towards the back of his house when I hear running footsteps upstairs. I run back to the foot of the stairs and look up to see Harry standing on the landing. He looks like he's been crying or something and looks completely disheveled. His hair is sticking up in all directions and his glasses are askew. He looks so innocent and it pains me to know that I'm going to be breaking his heart.

"Draco, what are you doing here?" he asks quietly. I hear the pain in his voice. He wasn't expecting me to come back.

I slowly start up the steps, unable to take my eyes off of him. "I just needed to see you, to be with you," I reply with a shaky voice. I feel a tightness in my chest and I'm sure it's my heart breaking.

"What happened?" he asks. He steps back slightly from the landing when I arrive. He's looking up at me with wide, green eyes that look like they could burst forth tears at any moment.

I reach out and pull him into my arms. I hold him closer than I ever have before. This isn't going to end well. I already know that he's going to be furious and feel betrayed. I can't blame him. I kiss his head, his cheeks, his neck, and his jaw, wanting to taste every bit of him. He pushes against my chest, but I'm reluctant to let go.

"Draco! Stop! What happened?" he cries, pushing against me harder. I stumble back slightly and he catches me before I lose my balance. I move around him towards his room. He sighs loudly and follows behind me. I have to sit down when I tell him everything.

Once I'm in his room and staring at his bed, I lose my nerve. I just want to tell him that everything is fine and that we can be together for the rest of our lives. I turn around to look at him and I know that I can't get away with that. Harry's right; he knows me better than anyone.

"I told my father that I wasn't going to accept the marriage contract and as predicted, he refused to budge. He said I needed to follow through to get the Malfoy name back in its proper place! I told him I didn't care. He told me that we needed an heir and I told him that you and I could have a surrogate and that you make me happy and that I love you. He didn't care! He completely disregarded my feelings," I exclaim, my voice breaking.

"So walk away! You said so yourself. Your name, the business, the money, it doesn't matter. You want to be with me so let's be together!" he cries. He steps towards me smiling like he's developing a plan to get me free of my family. If only it could be that simple.

I smile sadly at him and shake my head. "Harry, it's not that simple," I tell him quietly.

He looks up at me in confusion. To him, it's simple. Of course it is, but he doesn't know the whole story. "How is it not simple? I have more than enough money for us to live off of and your father has jerked you around long enough. How is it not simple?" he demands.

I look at him, wishing that he was right. "Come sit down," I ask as I settle on his bed and pat the spot next to me.

"I'd rather stand," he replies in a slightly angry tone.

I frown at him. "Please, come sit down," I insist.

He frowns at me and comes to sit next to me. I reach over and take his hands into my own. I study them remembering how brilliant they are and how much I adore them. I bring them up to my lips and kiss them lightly. "What are you not telling me?" he whispers, his voice shaking.

I look up at him and see tears in his beautiful green eyes. "I can't tell you the specifics, but my father did something twenty years ago for our family, well what he thought would help our family, and now I have to follow through with it. I'm sorry, Harry. We can't be together. There is no way I can get out of this," I tell him.

He stares at me, bottom lip quivering, and the first of his tears slide down his cheeks. I choke up instantly and feel my own tears slipping down my cheeks. If I could hear his heart breaking, I would hear it right now. Actually, our hearts would be breaking in tandem.

"How can there not be a way out of this?" he asks quietly.

"The only way is something I don't want to think about and I'm sure you wouldn't either. Please understand, I love you so much and I would be with you in a heart beat if I could, but I truly can't. As much as I want to, I can't. I'm sorry, Harry. Had I known what this marriage contract meant, had my father told me the truth, I would have never gotten together with you because seeing you like this, because of me, is something I never wanted," I explain, trying to assure him that I really do love him and that I am going into this contract without free will.

"So you're saying that you regret the time we've spent together?" he asks me angrily.

My eyes widened and I shake my head quickly. When did I say that? "No, of course not! I don't regret a single moment. I just wish I had known the ramifications before we happened so that I wouldn't hurt you. Geez, don't ever think for a minute that I regret any time that we've been together, ever," I order.

He stands up and I can tell that he's angry. He starts pacing his room and I watch the agitation roll off of him. He's so angry right now. He stops and he looks at me with his piercing green eyes. "Draco, you need to understand something. My love for you is real no matter how strong the storm and I will always stand by you, no matter what. We will get you out of this contract and we will be together!" he says in a determined voice.

I shake my head, tears streaming quicker down my cheeks. He is so stubborn and so determined to be with me. I could never doubt his love for me, ever. "You can't. We can't. There is no way of getting out of this. It is set in stone. Harry, you need to understand. After tonight, we can't be together anymore. I wish it wasn't true. Merlin, I wish, but it is what it is." I'm sobbing now and I'm pretty sure I am quite a mess, but Harry, as strong as he is, I can see his determined façade failing.

"This can't be it," he mutters. He looks up at his ceiling for a long moment and I'm wondering what he's doing. He hangs his head and places it in his hands and I see his shoulders shaking and then I hear the sobs. This is the worst day of my entire life. Even worse than that night in the tower at Hogwarts. Even worse than the many nights I was tortured for practice and watching those who went against Voldemort being killed at his hand. This was the worst moment.

I stand up and walk over to him. I reach out to touch him, but he jerks away. I bite my lip as a new wave of tears hits me. "Harry, please," I beg.

He shakes his head quickly. "Of course this is it. Happiness doesn't exist for me. Everyone told me. I've known my entire life. Everything that I love is snatched away from me. Why would you and this and us be any different? I can't believe how stupid I've been!" he cries. He's looking at me then, his look ice cold, one that is so similar to the one I wore all throughout school. He was shielding his emotions.

"You will be happy, love. You will," I try to assure him.

"No! There is no possibility of that if you're not in my life! You don't understand, Draco. You and only you….You are my everything and I love you for all that I am. There is no happiness unless you're with me and seeing as that's not going to happen, I think you should go. Have a nice life," he cries angrily, but loses steam at the end.

His words were like a sucker punch, reminding me just what I've done. I know my father is to blame for this, but I can't help but feel that this is completely my fault. He's glaring at me now, his lip quivering. "I can't leave you like this," I whisper.

He shakes his head at me and points to the door. "Leave, Draco. Never look back because if you do, I can't guarantee you'll like what you see," he warns me. It's a very loaded warning and I can't possibly begin to understand what it means other than he's telling me he never wants to see me again. No, he doesn't mean that. He's just upset and broken hearted. He couldn't possibly never want to see me again, could he?

I start to protest, but he shakes his head again. I sigh and wipe at my eyes. I walk towards the door and glance back. He's not looking at me and I see his shoulders sag and his head return to his hands. He's right; I don't like what I see. I look away reluctantly and start heading down the hallway for the stairs. I make my way down them slowly, wishing that I could go back twenty years and slap my father in the head to stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life.

"Draco!" Harry calls as I'm entering his kitchen. I stop and turn around. He comes flying down the steps and runs towards me and leaps into my arms. He wraps his whole self around me and I'm sobbing again. This is the worst moment of my life and it just keeps getting worse. Harry leans back and kisses me deeply. Our tears are mixing together and our movements are frantic. This is our final good bye. We kiss each other passionately and completely. Pouring every emotion that is coursing through us into the kiss. I love Harry more than anything and I'm about to lose the best thing that's ever happened to me.

Harry stops kissing me and slowly unwraps himself from me. I open my eyes and look down into his beautiful green eyes. "I love you, Draco, with all that I am," he whispers.

"I love you, with every fiber of my being," I whisper back. I kiss him carefully one last time before I turn around and floo away. I vaguely hear Harry let out a sob before I'm stumbling back into my house, sobs wracking my body. My parents are there and I look up at them both through my haze.

"I hope you're fucking happy," I hiss. I stalk past my parents who are calling my name, but I ignore them. I head straight to my room and collapse onto my bed, crying until there are no more tears in my body.