What happened to us
We used to be so perfect, now we're lost and lonely
What happened to us
And deep inside I wonder, did I lose my only?



Later that day, Draco found himself standing at his bedroom window watching Harry and Cody practicing some kind of meditation exercise in the backyard below him. They were both sitting in the grass with their eyes closed and their hands resting lightly on their knees.

Draco sighed for the hundredth time since Harry's return. "Do I even know him anymore?" he wondered. "I've never felt so out of touch with his thoughts and feelings before. Sometimes I catch a glimpse of the old Harry in the way he looks at me when he thinks I can't see him, and other times he seems almost angry with me. Is he still mad at me for what I did to him…?"

Draco turned away from the two peaceful figures in frustration and gave the wooden chair in his room and particularly vicious kick before going down to the kitchen for something to eat.

Ron was already there devouring a plate of sugary cream puffs.

Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust and grabbed an apple from the bowl of fruit on the counter. He washed the apple off at the sink, looking through the tiny window in front of him as the cold water sloshed over his hands. Harry and Cody appeared to have finished with their meditation and seemed to be in the midst of a heated argument. He turned off the water and continued to watch in interest. Cody looked to be apologising for something while Harry stood there glaring.

Draco tried not to smile in glee, feeling guilty for taking pleasure in their little tiff.

He clearly saw Harry say 'whatever' and then stalk off across the yard, heading for the secluded garden on the far side of the property.

Cody stared after him for a minute then turned and headed back to the house.

Draco jumped into one of the chairs at the table and tried to appear nonchalant as he took a bite of his apple.

"What are you smiling about?" Ron asked, glancing up.

"Am I?" Draco quickly schooled his features into a look of casual indifference.

Ron raised his brows and stared at him.

Cody banged through the door and walked past without a word.

"You're smiling again," Ron observed, thoroughly confused.

"I'm allowed to smile from time to time, aren't I?" Draco took another bite of his apple and leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the table.

"No, actually, I find it disturbing."

Draco shot him a bright, toothy smile.

"Now you're just trying to scare me." Ron stood and took his empty plate to the sink.

Draco snickered.

"Are you patrolling tonight?" Ron asked, turning back around.

"Nope, it's Harry and the prat's turn."

Ron smiled. "Aw, he's not that bad."

"Not that bad?" Draco repeated. "He only stole what was rightfully mine."

"Says who? Did Harry tell you that he was going to run straight back into your arms the minute he returned?"

"No…but he didn't have to come back with a new boyfriend and flaunt it right in my face."

"That's true," Ron conceded. "I was a little shocked to see that to tell you the truth, it's so not like him."

Draco swung his feet off of the table and leaned towards him. "I know, that's exactly what I thought. Did he mention anything to you about why he's ignoring me?"

Ron shook his head. "No, I haven't had much of a chance to talk to him yet." He paused uncertainly. "I don't know if I should tell you this…"

"What?" Draco asked, immediately.

"The last thing he said to me before he left for Ireland, was to ask me to look after you. He wanted to make sure that you stayed safe and that you were alright while he was away, which is why I don't know why he's acting like this now."

Draco swallowed and shook his head. "You see? It just doesn't make any sense."

Ron nodded in agreement.

The front door opened and closed with a bang and Snape appeared in the kitchen doorway, a scrap of parchment in one hand.

"Laszlo?" Draco guessed immediately.

Snape nodded and walked over to hand the paper to him.

"Excuse me." Ron left the two alone to talk.

Draco skimmed the message. "Six o'clock? That's a bit early for a meeting, isn't it?"

"He must be having a hard time getting away."

Draco nodded and folded the note, handing it back to Snape. "Do you want me to go?"

"Yes, and take Potter and his friend, as well."

Draco groaned.

Snape's eyes narrowed a fraction. "They need to become familiar with the procedure."

"Fine," Draco huffed.

Snape scowled. "Don't be a child, Mr Malfoy, and don't let your emotions get in the way of your work. This is a war, not some excuse for jilted lover's revenge."

Draco closed his mouth and nodded. Snape was right, he was forgetting the big picture. Harry had obviously moved on and he should just swallow his pride, take it like a man, and accept it.

"Good," said Snape. "Now go tell those two to get ready, it's nearly five-thirty already."

Draco pushed aside his feelings and went in search of Cody.

He could hear the sound of muffled voices coming from the sitting room and went to investigate. He could hear Cody speaking very fast to someone inside. Draco glanced behind him to make sure that Snape was indeed still in the kitchen, then tip-toed to the door to peek in.

Cody was sitting on the couch next to a very shell-shocked looking Ron.

"I don't know…" Ron whispered, hesitantly. "What about Harry?"

Draco's jaw dropped.

"Draco?"

The blond jumped guiltily and spun around. "Er, hello, Harry."

Cody and Ron stopped talking and looked up.

Harry walked towards him. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, I was just looking…uh, for you," Draco lied.

A cornered look appeared in Harry's eyes. "Why?"

"You and Cody are to come with me to meet Laszlo tonight."

"Alright." Harry nodded, looking relieved. "When?"

"We need to be there by six, so we should leave within the next ten minutes or so."

"Is there anything I need to bring?"

"Just your wand and a dark cloak."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

Draco watched Harry walk past him towards the stairs with an ache in his heart. The only conversation between them so far and it had been about work.

"Harry!" Cody called after him, running out of the sitting room. "Harry, wait!"

Harry kept walking and started up the staircase.

"Don't be like this," Cody begged, catching up to him.

"We'll talk about it later," Harry hissed, but not so quietly that Draco didn't hear.

The two disappeared from view and the sound of a door slamming echoed down the stairway.

Draco forced down the smug smile pulling at his lips and turned to Ron who was trying to hedge past him into the hallway. "What the hell is going on, Weasley?" he asked, suspiciously.

"What? Nothing." The tips of Ron's ears turned a bright pink as he avoided Draco's gaze and hurried away.

"Am I the only one without any secrets around here?" Draco wondered aloud.

Ten minutes later and Harry was back downstairs wearing a long black cloak over his Muggle clothes.

"Where's Cody?" Draco asked gruffly, impatient to get their little trip over with.

"He's not coming," Harry informed him, adjusting the clasp on his cloak.

"Why not?"

"Dumbledore needed someone to accompany Ron back to headquarters after seeing Ginny home and Cody volunteered."

Draco didn't feel smug in the least anymore, he felt ill. Was Cody really planning on cheating on Harry right under his nose? With his best friend no less? "Harry-"

"Let's go," Harry said brusquely, turning towards the door.

Draco decided to drop it for the time being and followed Harry out of the house.

The two walked along the winding lane in silence.

"When is it safe to disapparate?" Harry eventually asked.

"When we reach the old abandoned church. It's about a five minute walk."

Harry nodded and the silence resumed.

The church finally appeared around the next bend, its crumbling stone walls sheltered by the overhanging branches of the forest on either side of the dirt lane.

Draco couldn't take it any longer. "Harry, this has got to stop!" he cried, stopping dead in the middle of the road.

"What?" Harry feigned ignorance.

"You know damn well what!"

Harry clenched his jaw, seeming to swell with anger. "Fine, you want to have this conversation now? Go ahead!"

"Well, when did you want to have this conversation? 'Cause you sure haven't made much of an effort to talk to me so far."

Harry's eyes blazed. "Can you blame me? I thought it'd be easier on both of us if we just didn't talk about it."

Draco gaped. "You weren't ever planning to talk to me? I can't believe you'd be so selfish!"

"Selfish?" Harry roared. "Me?!"

"Yes, you!"

"How dare…how can you say that when you're the one who owes me an apology!"

"I knew it!" Draco crowed. "I knew this was all because you were still hung up on that!"

"Hung up?" Harry repeated, wounded. "Of course I'm still 'hung up' on that." He paused, his anger receding. "You really hurt me…"

Draco sighed heavily. "I know, but there's nothing I can do about it now. What's done is done and all I can say is I'm sorry. I know it sounds trite, but…can't we still be friends at least?"

Harry frowned and toed the ground, brow furrowed in thought. "Don't you think it'd be kind of uncomfortable?"

"We can be adult about this, right?" Draco said, magnanimously.

Harry smiled a little. "I suppose we can." He swallowed and looked up, his emerald eyes full of sincerity. "If it helps, I promise I won't bring it up again."

Draco returned the tentative smile. "Thanks."

"And you don't have to apologize anymore. Like you said, what's done is done and we should just move on."

"Wow, that's very big of you," Draco said in surprise.

"I can be an adult." Harry smiled.

"So…everything's okay now?"

"I guess."

Draco laughed. "This is going to take some work, I still feel awkward as hell."

Harry chuckled, the tension easing. "Me, too."

"We should get going," Draco said, reluctantly.

"Right."

They walked through the long grass to the stone church. Harry walked inside and explored the tiny building with interest.

"I like it," he decided.

"What, the church?" Draco scoffed, keeping his cloak from brushing against the mildewed pews and moss covered walls.

"It's peaceful." Harry walked into a shaft of sunlight that was slanting across the raised pulpit and smiled back at him.

Draco swallowed at the picture Harry presented; emerald eyes and dark hair shining in the bright sun and those kissable lips quirked into a lop-sided grin.

"We should go," he finally said, mouth dry.

"Okay." Harry hopped down and jogged up the aisle. He stopped in front of Draco and smiled thoughtfully at him.

"What?"

"I'm glad you still want to be friends," he decided.

Draco smiled. "Me, too. Ready?"

"Wait! I don't know where I'm going."

"Just hold on." Draco grasped Harry's hand before he could protest. "Okay?"

Harry quickly recovered and nodded.

Draco smiled and they disappeared with a pop.

He felt his feet hit solid ground again and he opened his eyes. He and Harry were standing in a cramped alleyway, surrounded by trash bins and stacks of old newspapers.

"Where are we exactly?" Harry asked, letting go of his hand and looking around.

"London," Draco answered, glancing around them and trying to ignore the faint tingling Harry's touch had left upon his hand.

"What if the Muggles see us?"

"They can't, this alley is protected. Dumbledore and Severus secured it themselves."

Harry plopped down onto a stack of newspapers and smiled in amusement. "Severus?"

Draco shrugged and continued to survey the area. "I've really gotten to know him in the last year and a half. We've worked through some pretty tense situations together, and I can talk to him about anything and he understands 'cause he went through he same thing."

Harry leaned forward onto his knees as he listened, chin in hand. "Sorry for freaking out about your Dark Mark, by the way. I don't know why I did, Snape told me you had it. I guess it was just a bit…shocking to actually see it in person."

Draco leaned against the brick wall of the adjacent building and turned to look at Harry. "Don't worry about it, I'm used to it."

"Did it hurt?" Harry asked quietly after a pause.

"Yes."

"Oh." Harry looked away, absently chewing on a thumbnail.

Draco smiled. "Did you want me to lie?"

Harry stopped biting his nail. "Will it ever come off?"

"Yes. When Voldemort dies."

"So, no pressure, right?" Harry said, wryly.

Draco laughed. "Hey, what's the life of Harry Potter without pressure?"

Harry snorted. "I have no idea, it hasn't happened yet, but I'll let you know."

Draco smiled and glanced towards the entrance of the alley. A steady stream of people were walking by on the street, carrying shopping bags and chatting with their friends. He watched a little wistfully as two young men strode by holding hands. He glanced back at Harry and saw that the brunette had gone back to chewing his nails.

"Cody seems nice," he said eventually.

Harry looked up. "What? Oh, yeah, he is."

Draco swallowed past the lump in his throat as a slow smile spread across Harry's face at the mention of the blond Aussie. "So how long did it take before you threw yourself at him and begged for a date?" he asked, trying to sound light-hearted.

"What makes you think that I had to ask him?" Harry retorted indignantly.

Draco raised a brow.

"The first time I heard him say g'day," Harry confessed.

Draco forced a laugh and turned his focus back to the street.

Harry went back to chewing his nails.

"There he is." Draco straightened up and watched as a man dressed in Muggle clothing entered the alley and swiftly walked towards them.

Harry got to his feet and went to stand by Draco.

Laszlo's eyes darted around nervously as he approached. He was a tall, wiry man in his forties with a receding hairline and a thin mouth, and was dressed in brown corduroy trousers and a black turtleneck. He stared apprehensively at Harry.

"It's okay," Draco reassured him. "This is Harry Potter."

Laszlo's light brown eyes raked Harry's forehead for the famous scar and he nodded curtly in approval once he had confirmed his identity. He turned his attention back to Draco.

"I thought I had better contact you before you became concerned about my absence," he said in a dry voice.

"We were getting a little worried," Draco admitted.

"There's not much to report," Laszlo continued. "The Dark Lord has been very quiet as of late."

"That's never a good thing," Draco murmured.

"He's definitely working on something in secret, and I have not been included in what he's up to, yet."

"Does anyone know?" Draco asked.

"Only a few as far as I can tell."

"Who?"

"Pettigrew, Bellatrix, Dolohov, and your father."

"Hmm…" Draco bit his lip. "Father hasn't mentioned anything to me."

Laszlo glanced around him warily, as if Voldemort could be lurking in the shadows nearby. "I'd better go."

"Yes, thanks again." Draco shook his hand briefly before Laszlo scuttled away towards the street, his head down.

Draco turned to Harry. "So that's Laszlo."

Harry smiled, his face looking a little pale. "Nervous bloke, isn't he?"

"Is something wrong?" Draco asked.

"It's just…nothing. It's nothing." Harry shook his head. "Are we going back now?"

"Yeah, I need to talk to Severus." Draco paused. "It was the mention of Bellatrix wasn't it?"

Harry sighed. "It just caught me off-guard, is all. I'm fine. I should get back so I can tell Cody everything in case he has to meet Laszlo one day."

"Okay, although…he's probably not back yet with Ron."

Harry's eyes dimmed considerably. "Oh, right."

"Prick," Draco thought vehemently of Cody. "The last thing Harry needs right now is a cheating boyfriend. I'll just have to have a little chat with that bastard tomorrow to make sure he's not doing anything that could land my fist in his face."

Draco looked down in surprise as Harry's hand slipped into his own.

"I don't really know the way yet, and I don't want to accidentally splinch myself," Harry explained with a tiny smile.

Draco gave his hand a squeeze. "Good idea."

They disapparated from the darkening alley with a loud pop.