~ There's only now, there's only here
                                                                                   Give in to love or live in fear ~

            Ron and Hermione stared in horror at the glowing apparition floating above their heads. There was absolute pandemonium on the street around them, this was the first time the Dark Mark had been seen in the tiny wizarding village of Desiderium and the people were becoming hysterical.

Ron dropped the bag of groceries he was holding and dashed up the steps to Harry's building.

"Ron, wait!" Hermione yelled.

He ignored her and bolted though the door, withdrawing his wand as he ran.

Hermione was about to chase after him when there was a flurry of movement beside her. Lupin, McGonagall, Snape, and Dumbledore apparated in the street, wands at the ready, and stared up at the Mark apprehensively. Lupin, looking more serious then she'd ever seen, turned and immediately rushed up to her.

"Where's, Ron?" he asked, looking as if he knew the answer as he glanced up at Harry's window on the second floor.

"He just went inside..."

"Come on." Lupin motioned for her to follow the other Professors into the building.

Hermione took the lead and leapt up the stairs two at a time, rushing into Harry's flat with her heart in her throat. She found Ron on his knees in the living room with his head bowed. She approached cautiously from behind until she was looking over his shoulder.

"Oh no..." she gasped, hands covering her mouth.

In front of Ron lay a stained dagger and a small pool of fresh blood. Hermione dropped to her knees beside her husband and buried her face in his shoulder. Ron dazedly put his arms around her and held her close.

Dumbledore quietly crept up beside them and crouched before the dagger. He picked it up and turned it over in his palm thoughtfully.

"Where is Draco Malfoy?" he asked after a minute.

"Malfoy?" Ron's head shot up. "What does he have to do with this?"

"This dagger belongs to his father."

Their eyes widened as they leaned forward to examine the hilt - 'L. Malfoy' was inscribed in silver with a green serpent coiled around the shaft and partway up the steel blade. Hermione lifted her eyes to Dumbledore's concerned face.

"I don't know where he is," she said sadly. "I've looked everywhere."

"Do you think Harry is still alive Professor?" Ron asked.

"I'm sure of it," Dumbledore answered, straightening up and heading to the couch to sit down. "Or else they would have killed him here and left the body for us to find. They would've wanted us to know that they had finally succeeded in ending his life, just like Lucius Malfoy wanted us to know that he was the one to take Harry by leaving behind his dagger."

"What do they want with him then?" Hermione asked, her voice wavering slightly.

"I'm not sure yet, Miss Granger," he sighed tiredly. "It could have something to do with the connection between Voldemort and Harry. I believe Harry's blood holds a great deal of power for him."

Snape, McGonagall, and Lupin suddenly entered the room.

"I've dealt with the Mark, sir," Snape announced, his eyes flicking to the blood stain and back.

"Thank you. What is being done for the villagers?" Dumbledore asked.

"The Ministry saw fit to administer memory charms on them," McGonagall stated. "They didn't want anyone to figure out that Mr Potter had been living here and is now missing."

Dumbledore nodded approvingly.

"What's your plan?" Lupin asked, feeling desperate to find Harry before time ran out.

"We must find Draco Malfoy."

"What?" Lupin asked, taken aback.

Dumbledore passed him the dagger as Snape and McGonagall moved in for a closer look.

"Lucius!" Snape hissed upon seeing the inscription.

"But what can Draco do?" Hermione asked.

"If Lucius Malfoy did take Harry, then Draco will have a better idea than anyone else as to where they might be holding him. Draco was our last informant on the Dark side and he's our best shot."

"How did Mr Malfoy even get in here?" Ron asked. "I thought this place was secure."

"I checked all the Dark detectors and they don't register any activity until right before the Mark was cast," Lupin said.

"If he was already inside when the alarm went off, then Harry must have let him in..." Dumbledore said, staring out the window thoughtfully.

"I don't think Harry would -"

"Look, we need to concentrate on finding him," Lupin interrupted. "We're wasting time."

Dumbledore stood up and regarded Ron carefully.

"Mr Weasley, I need you and Hermione to find Draco for me. I know you and he have had your differences, but he could be our only chance."

"We'll find him." Ron nodded determinedly. "Do you think he'll want to help though? I mean, he was pretty angry when he left Harry a year ago."

"I think you underestimate the depth of feeling he has for Harry's wellbeing," Dumbledore said carefully. "I know you think he was being callous, but surely you can see that he has true feelings for him?"

"If he did, then he wouldn't have left him like that," Ron said with a frown. "He would've come back."

Dumbledore looked at him for a moment.

"I suggest you and Hermione accompany me to Hogwarts where we can decide on our exact course of action, it's not safe to linger here too long. I'll also need someone to check on Harry's previous flat in London, it might have been searched or damaged if they went looking for him there first."

"I'll do it," Lupin volunteered as he pocketed the dagger. "Then I'll meet you back at Hogwarts."

"I'll write Sirius as soon as I return and apprise him of the situation," Dumbledore said, patting Lupin on the shoulder.

The sombre group made their way to the street below and saw groups of Ministry guards arriving to go over Harry's flat thoroughly for any security threats.

"Stay strong and have hope," Dumbledore said, looking at the worried faces around him. "We will find him."

They lifted their heads and straightened their shoulders at Dumbledore's words, before disapparating to their various tasks.

                        *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *                     

            Draco knocked again on the door to Harry's flat in London, no sound came from within as he placed his ear against it and listened carefully. Sighing in disappointment, he walked back outside. He stood on the sidewalk and squinted up at the window, but the curtains were drawn.

"Hey, Draco!"

Draco turned to see a petite, red-haired woman waving at him from the cafe across the street.

"Hi, Maureen," he smiled, as he jogged over.

"Long time no see, gorgeous," she winked, beckoning him inside.

Draco settled himself at the counter while she poured him a tall glass of iced tea with a slice of lemon in it.

"So, what have you been up to?" she asked, her brown eyes twinkling as she leaned her elbows on the counter top.

"Nothing much..." Draco looked away from her motherly face to glance back at Harry's building.

"Hmmm..." Maureen raised a brow, but was distracted by some customers hovering in the doorway.

"Welcome to the Life Cafe!" she greeted warmly, before leading them to a nearby table. She quickly got them menus and started chatting like they were old friends.

"How have you been Maureen?" Draco asked when she finally came back to the counter, "How's Jo-anne?"

"Don't change the subject," she quipped. "What's wrong? Did you and Harry have a lover's spat?"

Draco sighed and took a long sip of his drink.

"Let's just say that I did something really stupid that I now regret and I've come back to apologize."

"You mean you left him?" she asked, shock replacing her teasing smile. She'd served them many times in her cafe and had thought that they were inseparable.

"Don't look at me like that," Draco moaned, hanging his head.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

"Have you seen Harry lately?" Draco asked hopefully. "How does he look?"

"I haven't seen him since....since the night the two of you were in here having hot chocolate and cake."

Draco smiled sadly at the memory.

~ It had been Draco's birthday and Harry had worn this stunning black tux and cooked him dinner. Harry had looked so irresistible, that as soon as they had finished the main course Draco hadn't been able keep his hands off of him. Clothes were thrown all over as they made love on the carpet. Some time later, while holding each other, Harry had suddenly jumped up and ran into the kitchen. Draco had fallen down laughing when he saw Harry holding the forgotten birthday cake that had been cooking all the while in the oven - burnt to a crisp. They then decided to go to Maureen's for dessert and it ended up being the most memorable birthday of Draco's life. ~

Draco shook his head, coming back to the present.

"But that was over a year ago. You must have seen him at least once since then?"

"Sorry, hon," Maureen replied sympathetically. "Excuse me."

She bustled off to tend to her other customers.

Draco frowned and looked out the window again - going up the steps of Harry's building was Professor Lupin.

Draco jumped up, put some money on the counter, and dashed outside.

"Professor Lupin!" he called out.

Lupin turned and stared in disbelief as Draco came to a stop in front of him, breathing heavily.

"Professor..." he gasped. "Is Harry inside?"

"Harry doesn't live here anymore," Lupin said automatically, trying to gather his wits about him.

"What? Where did he move to?"

"Desiderium, but -"

"Thanks." Draco disapparatd instantly from the sidewalk.

Lupin sighed and decided to check the flat before going after Draco.

Draco appeared in the middle of the wizarding village and started walking the streets, looking carefully through the crowd for Harry. Suddenly, he spotted a group of Ministry Guards leaving a brick building farther up the street.

"Harry..." Draco breathed before jogging over. He waited behind a tree for the Guards to leave before going in. He slowly mounted the stairs, wondering which one was Harry's place. When he got to the hallway he noticed that one of the doors was slightly ajar, he walked towards it and cautiously pushed it open.

"Hello?" he called.

When there was no answer he decided to just take a quick peek inside. The flat was very empty, only containing the bare necessities. He walked down the little hall to the one bedroom and immediately spotted the Gryffindor flag on the wall.

He smiled in relief - this is it.

His heart broke as he turned to see the framed picture of himself on Harry's bedside table.

"I abandoned him and he still doesn't hate me," he thought, torn between sorrow and hope that Harry hadn't met someone new.

"Draco?"

Draco turned to see Lupin standing in the hallway.

"Where's Harry? I have to speak to him...tell him I'm sorry," Draco pleaded, worried that Lupin would turn him away.

"Why don't we go sit down in the living room?" Lupin suggested quietly, his mind working furiously as to how to break the news to him.

Draco followed him down the hall and watched as he sat down on the small, beige couch.

"Please sit down, Draco," he said calmly, patting the cushion beside him.

Draco stopped mid-stride, feeling as though the breath had been knocked out of him. His eyes were trained on the red mark that was standing out vividly from the cream coloured carpet.

"What is that?" he whispered faintly.

"I think you should sit down." Lupin stood up worriedly.

"Where's Harry?" he asked, eyes still on the floor.

"Draco please-"

"Where's Harry?" Draco demanded loudly, finally tearing his eyes away to look into Lupin's face.

"He's been...taken."

Draco felt the blood rush from his face and his knees weaken.

"When?" he asked faintly.

"This evening, around five-thirty."

Draco looked back to the blood stain.

"How did they get inside?"

"We're not sure yet, but you should know that..." Lupin trailed off uncertainly.

"What?"

"We found this on the floor."

Draco watched fearfully as Lupin withdrew the dagger and held it out in the palm of his hand, the silver inscription shining mockingly up at him. Draco fell to his knees with a cry and placed his head in his hands. Lupin quickly put the dagger away and crouched down to put his arms around the distraught young man. Draco rocked back and forth as waves of guilt, anger, and fear washed over him. Images of Harry being tortured flashed in front of his eyes, his broken body laying in a dungeon somewhere, his beautiful green eyes wide-open and life-less.

He closed his eyes and let the blessed relief of darkness overtake him as he fell into Lupin's strong arms.