A Lower Being
(Prompt: "You're a God" by Vertical Horizon)
Word Count: 670
"The people need you."
"But, I need you."
Draco walked out of the restaurant without turning back. He had ended things with Harry indefinitely. Harry called out after him and he didn't turn. They had been living a lie for so long, it didn't even matter anymore. Yes, it was true that Harry had met Draco first. But, Harry had fallen for Ginny. Now, he stood at a crossroads, one steered him towards a normal life with his long-term school sweetheart and the other – it led to Draco.
Harry didn't take no for an answer, he couldn't take no for an answer. He chased after Draco but he'd already vanished. He was good at that – hiding when he needed to, leaving no trace. Harry returned to his flat and found a note on the door.
We're covered in lies and I need something more.
One week past, there was no news from Draco but Harry had done nothing but be in the news. He'd turned his life upside down trying to prove something. What it was, no one had any clue. He eventually turned up at the Malfoy Manor greeted with aversion by its inhabitants – including the elves.
Draco waited for him in the study, Harry got the impression Draco did this every day.
"I've ended it," Harry announced, walking in to the room where once his best friend had been tortured by his lover's aunt.
"Ended what – exactly?"
"I've ended it all." Harry took a seat next to Draco grabbing onto the book he was reading and putting it away. "I've ended my relationship with Ginny; I resigned from my position at the Ministry. If I hadn't they would've sacked me anyhow."
"Why?" Draco paused to think over his question. "Why would they have sacked you?"
"Because a hero couldn't play house with a Death Eater." Harry gently brushed the hair off of Draco's forehead. He liked the days when Draco kept himself dishevelled, it made him seem more human than the divine being Harry considered him to be.
"Former Death Eater."
"It's all the same to them."
"Yeah, it is." Draco grasped Harry's wrist and moved it away from his face. Harry frowned at the loss of touch. "So, why did you pick me?"
Harry sighed. He knew this question would come up and he was never sure he'd be willing to part from the answer. The answer was silly, really. It was a hypothetical that would by no means define anything but, Harry always thought about it, he always compared himself to his mother.
"I always wondered…" Harry started. "Why my mother chose my father over Severus. I know she loved them both equally, perhaps one more romantically than the other. But, I also always felt that she chose the easy way out. It was easier to be with my father than a man of few words and usually full of misjudged derision."
Draco raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't want to keep wondering about my life. I saw my life with Ginny; I saw where it led for the next ten years, fifteen – twenty years. But you, it was the unknown. And I never want to be left with the feeling of not doing something because I was afraid of the unknown."
"I thought you wanted a normal life?"
"My ever having a normal life is just as equal to the statement that I picked you. I didn't pick you, there was no other option. I know I'd been selfish in the past and you just – went along with it because – I don't know – maybe you felt you didn't have a choice. You've always never had a choice in your life and I didn't want you to have that with me. I am giving you the choice now. I am single, available, unemployed, a lower being. You're the god, and I am not. We've been covered in lies and the only way we can be out of this is – together."
