Draco stood in total silence for a minute or so, merely staring down at his fallen friend and his mind completely in shambles. "What in the world is happening?" He asked in thin air as the heavy thunder rumbled outside.

First things first. Draco dragged Harry to the worn light blue and white striped couch. Dragged, because Harry was too heavy to carry and he didn't dare to use his wand. If he could have thought rationally, which he didn't, he knew there was no trace on either him, or his wand. It meant he could perfectly well use it. But he didn't and so, did everything manually. With all the push and pulling he did, the stone Harry carried came out and left behind on the floor. Draco was too busy manhandling his friend, he never noticed. He left Harry beside the couch for a moment, so he could sweep the gaudy sequin pillows, yellow and orange, off the couch. Nevermind Harry was wet, Draco hauled him on the couch in one heavy heave. He grabbed the throw over he spied folded neatly underneath the coffee table and carelessly dropped it over Harry. He made sure all limbs were on the couch and went to find a towel. He didn't wish to venture into Harry's bedroom, so he took the cloth he saw lying on the kitchen counter. While not prefered, it did its job to towel off his hair.

Draco Malfoy sat on the navy blue couch across from Harry. He twiddled with the wand he wasn't supposed to own between his fingers. He briefly glanced down, seeing the red spot that marked his ban on magic on his wrist. He sighed, and twirled the wand again. Time ticked by, the storm kept brewing outside. Draco occasionally checked the time on the small clock above the hearth.

Drace knew he needed to calm down. He lay his wand on the low wooden table, sat straight and controlled his breathing. In and out. He was too unsettled. Slowly but surely, with each breath, he overcame the fear and confusion he felt. He kept his eyes closed until his mind stilled. Totally blank, he replayed what had happened.

The Aurors came, Harry panicked. He took charge and putting two and two together, discovered that Harry couldn't control his magic. He never meant to run. Harry had made him an unwilling accomplice. Sure, Harry was in trouble and he cared for it but right now, his main concern was what it would mean for him.

The feeling of dread came crashing in. After his exile, he quickly found his own in the muggle world. He had finally built his life up. He owned a shabby house, a menial job and could honestly say he was enjoying himself. He tried to lay low, live without drama and have a simple life. Now, everything went undone in one event. He got tangled up in a magical mess with law. He ran a hand over his face. He tried to still his erratic breathing because he once again felt completely out of sorts. All because Harry Potter - The saviour, the goody-two-shoes, the one and only slayer of the Dark Lord - The one that lay unconscious across from him had, of all people imaginable, no control of his magic.

Draco glanced over his wand. Magic was a pleasure, until it was against you. Especially when it came down to laws. He'd experienced that once before and it wasn't something he would've wanted to repeat. It was a complete pain in the arse. He stared at Harry, still unmoving. The longer he stared and saw no difference the more he felt anger creep in. If only Harry had left him, he would've stayed out of trouble. But Harry hadn't and so he was.

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose. He was caught at a crossroad and didn't know which way to go. He was always so sure of himself. For someone who was always so sure of his choices and always knew what to do, even if the problem hadn't arisen yet, the current situation was a pinch to the gut. Prepared, he liked to be prepared and now, he was completely out of his dept.

Draco had half a mind to turn himself in, spill the beans and see where it landed him, although that was a little too Gryffindor to his taste. He thought to hide. He thought to throw some money around and probably walk away unscathed. He could go on with his life as if it was nothing. After all, in political circles, his name still held weight, and he'd saved an emergency fund, just in case such an occasion may rear its ugly head.

Draco mulled it over, and in the end curiosity won out. Curiosity killed the cat. He knew that of all options, this was the worst. Yet, he knew that, without a doubt, Harry was going to stick his neck out for him if he couldn't manage to save himself. It would go against everything Harry stood for to let anyone else take the fall for something he'd caused. With that, Draco took his wand and cast a rennervate at the still form of his friend.

Harry gasped for breath when he shot up. Draco said nothing, and neither did Harry. Several minutes passed but Harry remained white in the face. He wasn't looking too good, Draco noted and the blond didn't stop the snort that came when Harry finally broke the silence when he wryly welcomed the blond into his house. They didn't speak at all after that. They sat there, each taken by their own thoughts.

Ultimately, it was Draco who broke the silence that had fallen between them. He restlessly went from leaning forward to pacing but eventually flopped back on the couch. He took his wand from the coffee table and settled it beside him. He'd been waiting, and thinking, and waiting some more. Truth to be told, Draco felt completely exhausted but he knew he should get it out of the way. It was important. Draco cut right to point. "What happened?"

Harry took a deep breath. "I panicked."

"You panicked," Draco deadpanned and went on incredulously, as he ran a hand over his face. "A bit of panic doesn't blow an entire city block to smithereens."

"It kind of does though." Harry sighed. "In case you haven't noticed, my magic is out of control and has been since.. Since I defeated Voldemort."

Harry stood up and sat down next to Draco. He planned to show the stone but found his pocket empty. Harry was pale, but once he realised the stone was gone, he went ghostly white. "Where is it?" Harry whispered.

"It?" Draco asked.

"The stone," Harry asked, a little frenzy. He stood up, quickly patting himself down several times. "Did I lose it?"

Drack shrugged. "I don't know but if it did, it happened when I put your sorry arse on the couch," Draco waved in the direction of the front door, not one bit concerned. "It's probably somewhere over there. Between the door and the couch. Why?"

Harry flew over to find it. His voice went more frantic as he tried to explain it but he hadn't spoken all of two words when Draco broke. He shouted. He never shouted but today, he couldn't do anything but to be out of character. "Calm down! I can't deal with this twice in a row, four-eyes!"

Harry froze. As soon as Draco had burst, he calmed down and was ready to apologise for it but Harry beat him. "The stone collects most of my magic," Harry murmured. Draco had shocked him out of the impending panic attack. He found the stone and handed it to Draco. "It's also a scrambler. It makes my magical signature unreadable and lets it bounce about so my location isn't easily found."

Draco examined the stone, an intricate piece of work, he realized. He would say, both his latin and rune-reading was fairly well but half of the words and symbols etched into the black stone were unfamiliar. Harry walked towards the window and pushed the curtains open. He saw the storm still going strong and his heart sunk. "As long as the stone is on my person when I need to discharge the overflow of magic, I can't be found and nothing worse but the weather is affected. If it's not on me while it happens.." He let the words die out and closed the curtains. Completely devastated, Harry slipped to the floor and hugged his knees.

It took Draco a moment to process what it happened but he knew. Harry had lost the stone a while ago and his magical signature could be read and so, his location could be found. "They already know who's the cause."

"They know where I am," Harry corrected. "Reading and learning to whom a magical signature belongs to takes days."

Draco rolled his eyes and stalked over to Harry. He bent through his knees. "They also know where I am. Thanks to you, I'm a part of your mess."

"I didn't mean to, but I think the situation of me kidnapping you could've been salvaged somehow, but only if you hadn't make me lose the stone then-"

"Finish that sentence, Potter," Draco spoke menacingly. "I will hex you until there's nothing left."

Harry's mouth snapped shut. "Fair enough."

"Now, what are we going to do?" Draco asked, thinking of the previous options he thought up. It may not be too late to leave the idiot he was friends with behind. Then, he saw Harry. The man definitely was turning his gears, thinking of a plan. He hoped it was a good one. "We don't have all day." Draco hurried him.

"I know, dammit," Harry blurted out. He shuffled aside and stood up. He opened the curtains again but seeing the storm he closed them with a huff. "I'm blanking out."

"Well, try better." Draco also stood up and swatted Harry on the back of his head. Harry muttered an ouch without too much heat. It was more or less an automatic response because it hadn't actually hurt. Draco sat back down on the couch. The wand that lay there rolled into the cushions. Absent-mindedly, he put it back in his pocket. "What will happen if the Aurors come and catch us?"

"Off to the Ministry." Harry said shortly. "I don't know what else."

"Didn't you train to become an Auror? Surely you must have an inkling more than that."

"I was dismissed before the first month was over," Harry replied and shook his head. "I wasn't a good fit for the job, that's why I left for the muggle world. I had enough of not fitting in."

Draco didn't say anything to that. He merely checked the time and waited a few minutes. "Have you come up with anything?"

Harry gave a negative, making Draco sigh. "Then, we run? I gather staying here makes us an easy prey, I-"

There wasn't anything left to say when Harry's front door was blown down. Harry jumped behind the couch Draco sat on. The blast knocked Draco sprawling, arms and legs wide by pressure and the couch almost toppled over. It wobbled on its legs but remained standing. Draco tried to move but three wands were shoved into his face. Two came close, one actually touched the tip of his nose. When he looked up, he knew he was toast. The two Weasleys were there, along with another Auror he'd never seen before. The man was tall, broad and very, very angry.

It was as if time froze over. Nobody moved nor made a sound. Then Ronald Weasley grinned. Draco sighed defeated, regretting every decision he made that day. He slowly put his hands up in the air. "Good afternoon?"

Thanks for all the Follows and Favs, reviews much appreciated. Hope you like it. - Lyle.