Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. This story is merely my way of saluting her. I do not own any of these characters; I just manipulate their thoughts. I also want to give props to Beren and Mijan for inspiring my stories.

-x-

"Everything is so absurdly normal," Draco said, lounging on the couch in the Room of Requirements.

They'd been back in school for two weeks now. As Dumbledore had predicted, Lucius Malfoy wasn't keen on making Draco's 'insolence' public. The Weasleys were very good at keeping their secret. Everyone was treating Draco the same way they had before Christmas break. And for some odd reason, Draco was feeling uncomfortable with that.

"Draco, remember, normal is good," Harry mumbled his mantra again as he ate his sandwich.

Draco made a sound of frustration. "It's just not fair!" he said, punching the couch cushion with his fist.

"When you're done wallowing in your self-pity, we can start on our Potions essay," Harry said causally, making room at the table and pulling out his parchments.

Draco glowered at the back of Harry's head. He sulked on the couch while Harry studied. Draco had told Blaise that his family had a falling out, which had helped explain why his mother and father were acting so strangely. Draco wished he could tell Blaise the truth. He felt that his friend would be accepting. Draco wanted someone other than Harry to talk to. When he talked to the Gryffindor, he felt as though all that Harry had been through shadowed his own pain and suffering. He knew that Harry had met the Dark Lord several times, had been tortured by Death Eaters, and had watched friends being killed. Draco was always reluctant to voice his trepidations to the boy, who had evidently experienced far worse. Draco yearned to talk to a friend who wasn't Harry. Good sense told him that he couldn't, which caused his mood to darken daily.

Thank goodness for Severus, Draco thought glumly. His godfather had been more than willing to talk to Draco about what had happened with Voldemort on Christmas day. He had been there. He had watched as the Dark Lord tortured his godson. He had stilled his hand from reaching for his wand when the Dark Mark was burned into Draco's forearm. Draco understood that Severus needed to be on high footing when it came to Voldemort. Severus was the spy that Dumbledore relied on. He was the loyal servant of the Dark Lord whose conscience got the better of him when the love of his life had been killed mercilessly. Severus knew the pain of wanting to protect the people he loved against such a dark force. Draco wished he could tell Severus the real reason he'd hid his memories from Voldemort. The young Slytherin wanted Severus to know that he too loved and wanted to protect.

Over the course of two weeks, Harry could feel Draco distancing himself away from everyone. He understood that Draco was carrying huge burdens on his shoulders. But Harry couldn't help. He'd tried to reach out to Draco, hoping that by talking, his worries would wash away. Instead, Draco was starting to shy away from talks. He was becoming more introverted and hot tongued whenever he was questioned. Harry decided to see how Draco's behavior played out before taking any action.

Draco sighed with aggravation once again before getting up and walking over to the table. He plopped into the chair and vehemently pulled out his potions book and quill. Harry eyed him from his seat, watching Draco's hands furiously rake his hair and rub his eyes. They sat in silence, slight scratches of the quill interrupting them every so often. Draco was trying to read the instructions on how to make a remedy for venomous snakebites. He read over the same lines five times, finally realizing that he couldn't concentrate on it. He stared blankly at his book, fury starting to bubble over. He quickly shut his mind down, so Harry didn't feel his emotions. Harry was used to Draco shutting him out, he knew that Draco needed his privacy. So he merely glanced up at the sudden loss of emotions before returning to his paper.

"My life fucking blows," Draco said flatly, throwing down his book. Harry opened his mouth to reply to the comment, but thought better of it, shutting his mouth with a snap. Draco picked up his Transfigurations notes, hoping he'd have better luck with theory. He took in a deep breath before beginning to read the notes. He was mildly surprised that he could keep his attention on this. He continued to read for several minutes, taking care to underline important information. However, as his attention span wore off, he felt the same insistent nagging anger bubbling in his stomach. His life seemed to revolve around his Dark Mark, and he hated it. Even trying to distract himself with school wasn't helping. No one was helping.

He angrily ran his hand through his hair again, trying to gather his wits. Of course they are helping. They are trying… He tried to calm himself down. Harry watched curiously out of the corner of his eye as Draco's facial expressions changed rapidly. One minute he was frowning, the next he was pursing his lips. After that he was staring blankly, and then he'd go back to frowning and biting his cheek.

Harry had had enough of Draco's fidgeting. He set his quill down forcefully, staring at Draco. "Malfoy, what's your problem?" Once the question left his lips, Harry wanted to take it back.

Draco's face flushed red before draining of color. He stared at the table intensely when he heard Harry's voice. When he took in the meaning of Harry's question, his anger started to spill over. He looked up furiously at Harry before jumping up, toppling his chair in the process. He opened his mouth furiously, but bit back his response. He stared coldly at Harry, then started picking up his books and stuffing them into his bag.

Harry got up slowly, watching Draco's stone mask returning to his face. "Wait, I didn't mean – Draco, stop. Just… talk to me," Harry said, pleading.

Draco took in a ragged breath before setting his face into an indifferent expression and staring blankly at Harry. "I've already talked to you. That's all I've been doing the past week. That's all anyone wants me to do. Talk," he said in a quiet, derisive tone.

"Damn it, Malfoy! I won't know what to do unless you tell me," Harry hissed, stepping closer to Draco.

"Potter, I don't want you to do anything for me, okay. Just – I just need some space right now," Draco said, pushing past Harry.

Harry grabbed Draco's arm roughly and whipped his around. "How much more space do you need, Malfoy? You hardly let me in anymore. I – I can't even read you," he claimed, feeling his anger rise.

"Has it ever occurred to you that I don't want you to read me?" Draco wrenched his arm away and strode towards the door.

"You can't run away from your problems!" Harry said fiercely.

Draco felt his stomach clench and his hands balled into fists. He twirled around, staring at Harry with shock. "Did you just – How dare you!" he said quietly, hearing the fury in his voice. "You are accusing me of running away? After all I've been through?" Angry tears streaked down his face. "After what I did for you?" he chocked. He flashed his grey eyes into Harry's green ones. "You want to know what I feel? Then feel it," Draco snarled, opening his mind.

"Please," Harry whimpered. He fell to his knees as his mind tried to process the sensory overload. He gasped with pain when he felt his stomach churn. Draco's mind was poisoning his with anguish, torture, and anger. He tried to ask Draco to stop, but couldn't speak because of the loud sobs wracking through him. He tried to use his wild magic to strengthen his mind. He struggled to get his amulet out, squeezing his hand around it. He tried to imagine the rush he felt when the magic coursed through him, but all he could feel was sadness and pain. By now, he was on all fours, trying to keep his limbs from collapsing under him.

Draco watched with horror. He was rooted on the spot as he watched Harry struggling. He heard Harry cry out in pain. He watched Harry scratching at his neck and pulling the ruby out. He saw Harry clenching it tight in his hands. But he didn't see Harry strengthening. Harry was weakening. Because of Draco. Draco tried to close his mind against the torrent of emotion that was flooding out of him. He ran over to Harry and knelt down, afraid to touch him. Draco tried to push away his anger and reign in his calm memories. "Harry, I'm so sorry. I'm trying – I'm trying to hold it in. Please, just fight it," he pleaded, closing his eyes. He wanted to cleanse his body of all the hate and fury. He took in a deep shuddering breath, only thinking of stopping Harry from hurting.

Harry's sight was fading to black when he felt the slow decrease in emotion. He felt some of the fear and anger leaving him. He took another breath and felt the cool air entering his tired body. His sobs died down slowly and his mind was clearing. At the same time, he felt the heady rush of magic flowing through him from the amulet. He gasped at the force with which it hit him. He couldn't stop his wings from ripping through his shirt. He groaned against the power that was rushing through him. He felt like he was losing control.

Draco had his eyes squeezed shut against the magic that was pushing into him. He felt the lush carpet rustling against Harry's power. Draco's body was aching from the torrents of magic hitting it. It didn't flow through him, like it used to. It moved around him, trying to nudge through the Dark magic barrier that was inside him. He knew that if Harry wanted to, he could easily snuff out Draco's miserable life. He felt terrified and slightly relieved at that thought. Dying wouldn't be so bad. He was sure he deserved it. Or he would deserve it when Voldemort summoned him. So might as well die before he did something truly horrific. He wondered vaguely if Harry would kill him if he asked politely. I'm sure its better to be killed by Harry than to watch him being killed, Draco reasoned. That's when he felt arms enveloping him with rigor. He felt feathers curling up around him, leaving him in darkness. His breath caught in his throat as he accepted his fate.

"Don't you dare think like that," Harry's quiet voice interrupted Draco's musings. Harry buried his head in Draco's shoulder, holding him tight. "I'm so sorry," Harry's muffled voice resounded in Draco's baffled brain. Why was Harry sorry? I put him through this, and now he's apologizing? Draco pushed Harry away, staring at his dim outline.

"Damn it, Harry! I – this is my fault! I'm tired of you apologizing for my mistakes. I'm tired of you being so selfless. I'm tired of you being so understanding. I don't even know why you love me. I'm just a worthless piece of shit. I can't even look after myself and now I just hurt the one person that I care about. Harry, why don't you just leave me alone?" Draco hissed fiercely. "Why don't you hate me?" he whispered faintly.

"I'm not apologizing for you," Harry said, pulling Draco back into his arms. He needed Draco to know this. "I'm apologizing for all I've put you through. I'm apologizing because I won't be able to share your pain, Draco. I'm not strong enough to help you, because - I'm struggling to help myself. I'm apologizing because I may never understand. And because I'm a selfish bastard, Draco. I want to help you so I'll have someone to love. And I want you to love me back, even if you're a self-professed worthless piece of shit. You're everything to me. I need you. I don't care how many times you hurt me. I won't ever let you leave," Harry pulled Draco into a teary kiss.

Draco felt all his anger wash away as Harry's salty lips touched his. He slowly ran his fingers down Harry's cold, damp cheeks, wiping away the trails. Even with angel wings, you're so helpless, Harry. Draco kissed deeply, trying to ease Harry's worries. If Harry didn't want him to leave, he wouldn't. If Harry loved him that much, Draco would love him even more. Harry's wings pressed tightly against his back, like it would never let go. They sat on the floor for a while, feeling each other's warmth. They were exhausted from their emotional outbursts. Harry slowly took back his magic, touching his amulet and letting his wings collapse into his shoulders. He felt his body trembling slightly as the magic left him. Draco lifted his head from Harry's shoulder and kissed Harry's cheek softly before letting go.

"Oh, crap," Draco said softly. Harry finally opened his eyes, focusing on Draco. That's when he noticed the sofa behind Draco. It was splintered and broken, wedged against the wall. Draco saw the bed mangled on the floor, the pillows and mattress reduced to shreds. The table with the food was pushed up against the window, pastries staining the windowpane and the carpet. The room was a disaster.

"Er, sorry. I couldn't control myself," Harry mumbled, blushing.

Draco laughed shakily before saying, "Well, the décor was a little too Gryffindor. Now I can finally redecorate."

-x-

A/N: HOLY GUACK! I just came across the sexiest picture of Tom Felton while 'researching'. God, what a hunk! Fuck, I can't keep my eyes off of him (I keep staring at the photos every five minutes). This revelation may lead to hotter, steamier sex scenes featuring Draco!