Not Beta-ed yet, that version is coming.

"I love you!"

Those three simplest of words seemed to have caused an earthquake. An earthquake that would be the cause of an endlessly deep ravine between them. Separating the two souls forever. Like death would, but death would be more bearable than this.

Draco stared into space as the words suddenly lost their meaning. Over and over they were repeated in his head, until they were meaningless. Nothing but a few bitter words coming from deep within.

Those words had found their way out, after being hidden for so long. Hidden, silenced and denied, but they had survived and now they'd escaped. They found their freedom through his lips. The weight had been lifted from his chest. Only to be replaced with a much bigger weight, their consequences.

Their consequences would have to be carried, just like the consequences of his kiss. Both moments so bittersweet, so impulsive and so foolish.

Draco looked Harry's way. Several minutes had passed and Harry hadn't replied, which was probably better. He seemed to be in shock or was getting pretty pissed off. Draco couldn't decide which one it was.

"So... well... Now that I've made a total fool out of myself... I uhh... bye!" Draco decided to run, after shattering the fragile silence. He did not want to hang around awaiting Harry's reply. He ran out of his room and into the corridor. He couldn't stop there; he had to get away from Harry. From everything.

He was trying so hard to make everything better, but every time he tried things got worse. And the worst thing was that his worst nightmare seemed to become reality. After trying so hard to mend everything he had broken, trying to wash it all away, he was going to end up alone. It seemed to be his punishment for all the cruel things he had done. For all those times he hadn't listened to those little voices inside him telling him to stop. For all those times he had suppressed the lingering need to do the 'good' thing.

But now, he seemed to be doing exactly that. He was doing the good thing and look what a mess it made. It made an even bigger mess than doing the wrong thing. No wonder the lives of good people were so much more complicated.

Draco blinked and found himself standing in the dungeons of the Malfoy Manor. He shivered and wondered how he'd ended up here. He hated this place. It was cold, dark and smelled like torture. He knew what his father did in this place. He could hear their screams when he was younger. It used to keep him up all night. Then he got used to it and managed to ignore the terrifying screams of pure pain.

He'd never asked his father, but he had a feeling that their souls still lingered around this place. He could sense their pain.

He was allowed to watch on more than one occasion. He never had the desire to watch, but to refuse his father's offer would be impolite. He knew his father could smell his fear to watch and knew that was the reason he had watched many men and women being tortured. Until one night his father had actually smiled at him. His fear was gone. He had gone numb, now he could follow in his father's footsteps.

Draco turned around and ran, again. The memories made him feel sick and disgusted by himself.

He made it back to his bedroom door without bumping into anyone. The Malfoy Manor seemed deserted, but Draco knew that there was always someone around. If it wasn't his father, it was one of his friends or his mother.

Draco closed his eyes and leaned against the door for a few seconds. Not sure if he was ready to go in that room and face Harry.

Harry... His whole world was about Harry now. Everything was about Harry. Almost every thought was about Harry. Harry, Harry, Harry. If he hadn't felt this love for the boy, he would have gone insane.

Eventually Draco took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Why were you lying to me," Harry asked immediately, his voice was soft. He was sitting on the bed.

Draco could see hurt and confusion in the boy's eyes. He shut the door behind him, although all his senses told him to get the hell out of there. "I wasn't lying to you. You know I wasn't." He said, leaning against the door.

Harry sighed, looking away from him. "I know." He whispered, now staring into space.

"I wish I was lying. It would make everything so much easier. You would hate me, I would hate you. We would get out of here and go our separate ways. I don't know how I got into this mess. I never felt this before. It must be love, because it hurts." Draco whispered back.

"You never felt love before? Are you sure you're in love with me?" Harry said, almost hopefully.

"It hurts to see you like this. It hurts not to be able to touch you. It hurts knowing you'll flinch away. It hurts like hell to remember what I did. It hurts to think about the future, knowing you won't be in my presence. Yet I would let you go if it would make you happy. I would give anything to see a smile on your face. I would give my life if it would safe you from this all. You tell me if it's Love." Draco said bitterly.

"Malfoy... I..." Harry locked his eyes to Draco's again.

"Tell me, is this Love?" Draco asked again.

"Yes, I think it is." Harry answered honestly.

"Oh Harry, how did we ever get this far. How did we get in this situation?" Draco asked. He walked over to the bed and sat down. He leaned against one of the posts and pulled his legs up, resting his chin on his knees. He did not care if he looked childish. He simply did not care. "How can something that's supposed to be so beautiful hurt so much? I thought I would never feel love. I thought my heart would always stay cold."

Draco looked up to where Harry was sitting. He knew Harry was watching him and suddenly felt very vulnerable. Harry could crumble his heart so easily. The mask was gone; the wall he'd built around himself was gone.

"Malfoy... I don't know what to say." Harry whispered. Draco looked so fragile. These confessions made everything so much more complicated. But now all the things Draco had worried about over the last couple of days made so much more sense.

"You don't have to say anything." Draco sighed, knowing there wasn't much to say. "Let's just work on the plan and try to forget."

Harry nodded, not knowing what else to say or do.

They spend the next couple of hours working on their plan. The plan was getting better, Draco's mood was not. He felt this sudden anger towards Harry for ignoring him and his feelings. He wanted Harry to hold him, comfort him and tell him that everything was going to be alright even if they both knew better. But he knew it was too difficult for Harry to hold him, to even touch him and it was his fault.

There was far too much tension in the air. He knew that he had to think of something else to do, they had been too serious for too long. They were acting like forty-year-olds. They both needed a break.

Suddenly he got an idea and wondered why he hadn't thought of it before.

"Harry, come with me." Draco smiled. He knew for sure that Harry was going to love this little surprise.

"Huh. What?" Harry looked up confused. "Where are we going?"

"That's a surprise," Draco smirked. He opened the bed curtains and got off the bed.

"But... We need to work on this," Harry pointed to his papers, whispering. He was looking anxiously to all the paintings in the room.

"Come on! We've been working on that all day. It's time to have some fun." Draco said, offering Harry his hand.

Harry didn't move and staring at Draco's hand.

After a moment Draco sighed and put his hand in his pocket. "Don't you trust me?"

Harry looked up, locking his eyes to Draco's.

"Stupid question, never mind." Draco whispered, walking away from Harry. He was determined not to show Harry the hurt he was feeling.

"I do trust you, a bit." Harry said finally.

Draco turned around to look at Harry. The boy looked exhausted and confused. Draco knew he'd debated the whole issue in his head, just like he always did.

"Do you trust me enough to let me surprise you," Draco asked, forcing a little smile on his lips.

"Good surprise or bad surprise?" Harry asked.

"Good surprise of course." Draco smirked. "A very good surprise. You'll love me for it."

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Okay maybe you won't, but it's worth a shot." Draco's smirk turned into a smile.

"Dream on, Draco." Harry smiled back.

Draco just smiled and pushed Harry towards the door. They walked down the big red carpeted stairs to the main entrance of the Malfoy Manor. Draco noticed that Harry hesitated more than once, but he never stopped following him.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked.

"To the dungeons." Draco answered, walking down the wooden stairs which lead to the dungeons. He turned around and saw Harry still standing at the top of the stairs.

"Are you sure this is a good surprise?" Harry asked, looking into the darkness of the dungeons.

"Yes, Harry it is. I'll take good care of you. I promise, just trust me." Draco said, offering his hand again.

"It's a little hard to trust you." Harry said honestly.

Draco sighed and looked around. Then he saw the ancient swords against the bricks of the dungeon and grabbed one. "Here," He said, giving Harry the sword. "If anything bad happens you can stab it, or me."

Harry took the sword and stepped into the darkness following Draco.

Draco noticed that Harry's hands were trembling slightly. Draco wondered if he should tell Harry what it was they were going to do, but decided against it. He wanted it to be a surprise. He wanted Harry to like it and him. He wanted to mend what was shattered by his kiss.

"This place smells weird." Harry stated.

"It's the smell of sweat, blood, burned flesh and tears. It's the smell of torture." Draco said matter-of-factly.

Harry stopped in his tracks. "What?" he spat.

"Don't worry Harry. What we're going to do has nothing to do with torture. It just happens to be in the dungeon. Blame my father, not me." Draco smiled, taking Harry's hand. He expected Harry to pull it away right away, but he didn't. His hand simply rested in Draco's hand.

Draco and Harry walked through the corridor passing many doors before Draco finally stopped, turning to Harry.

"Alright, close your eyes." Draco ordered.

Harry rolled his eyes before closing them.

"I saw that." Draco said, opening the door and pushing Harry inside. "Now open your eyes."

Harry opened his eyes and blinked, adjusting to the light.

"Draco!" He finally exclaimed, gaping at the sight of the room. "Is this what I think it is?"

"My father enchanted this room for me when I attended Hogwarts. I used to train here every free minute of my holidays. I wanted to beat you so badly." Draco smirked.

"You have a Quidditch pitch in your house? And you still can't beat me. I must be really good, or you really bad." Harry laughed, stepping further into the room.

"Not Funny Potter,"

"How did your father do this?" Harry asked amazed. "It's just like the Quidditch pit in Hogwarts!"

"It's almost exactly like the Quidditch pitch in Hogwarts. The only difference is the door in the middle of the pitch and the fact that you will bump into a wall if you fly too high or to far to the sides. But I'll let you figure that out by yourself." Draco teased. "So if you crash into something hard, it's a wall."

Harry laughed. "Oh. Thank you so much for the warning, Malfoy." He said with mock gratitude.

Draco smiled. "You're more than welcome, Potter. Now let's fly a bit, shall we."

Draco walked towards a little door in the stands and pulled two broomsticks out of the cupboard and a tiny golden ball. He threw one of the brooms to Harry and mounted his own.

"Wow, a starflash." Harry said, looking at the broom.

"But of course. We, Malfoy's, only have the best of the best." Draco said smugly, kicking off the grass and into the air.

He looked down and saw Harry kick off the grass as well. The boy's cheeks were flushed with excitement and there was an almost happy smile on his face. Draco smiled to himself and flew a few laps.

Draco noticed to his amusement that Harry was right behind him, making sure that he followed Draco's moves. He obviously didn't want to crash into one of the walls. What Draco didn't tell him was that the walls were soft and fluffy and that it was actually fun to crash into the walls.

"Want to have a race?" Draco asked, slowing down and waiting for Harry to catch up with him.

"Bring it on!" Harry smiled.

Draco could see the effect of flying in Harry's smile. He felt it too, the special sensation. Flying was freedom to him, in the air he felt free. As if he could spread his wings and fly away, letting go of his past and the reality as he kicked off the ground.

"Alright, around the hoops and back. Ready, Steady, Go!" Draco said quickly, leaving Harry behind him.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Harry shouted, but knew Draco couldn't hear him. Unless he caught up with him and that was exactly what he was going to do. He pressed his torso against the broom and felt the cold air penetrate his shirt causing shivers to fly over his body.

Soon they were both flying towards the wall; none of them was slowing down.

"Draco?" Harry glanced towards Draco.

Draco turned to look at Harry and smirked. "Yes?"

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but flew right into the wall together with Draco. Harry was shocked to feel the softness of the wall. They bounced back into the Quidditch field. Harry was desperately trying to keep control over his broom.

"Let go," Draco shouted. "The fall won't hurt."

Hesitantly Harry let go of his broom, just like Draco had done the moment they crashed into the wall. Draco hit the grass just a second earlier than Harry and bounced back up, still laughing.

"You're face! It's hilarious." Draco managed to say.

"This is like a waterbed!" Harry bounced a few more times.

"A what?" Draco asked.

"Never mind." Harry smiled, looking up to the sky. "You could have told me that the walls wouldn't hurt me."

"Well, it wouldn't be any fun if I told you." Draco pointed out, lying in the soft grass.

Harry sighed, looking up to the bright blue sky. "This is fun. Thank you for this."

"It's not over yet, you know." Draco said, sitting up.

"Draco, wait." Harry grabbed Draco's arm and pulled him back down. "Are we OK?"

Draco frowned, his heart skipping a few beats. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You know what I'm talking about, Draco." Harry said, looking deep into Draco's eyes.

Draco shifted uncomfortable, and tried to look away.

When Draco didn't answer, Harry continued. "Look, I'm fine how we are. I just want to know if you can live with the fact that I can't give you more than this."

"And what is this exactly?" Draco asked.

"This is a weird, complicated friendship." Harry answered.

Draco sighed and closed his eyes briefly. "I'm glad you see me as your friend, but it will never be enough. I know I'm in no place to complain, but there will always be something missing." Draco said.

"I'm sorry, Draco." Harry said.

"Yeah, well Life's a bitch." Draco smiled a painfully fake smile. "Let's fly into the wall again."

Harry smiled and helped Draco up.

"For what it's worth, Draco. I'm glad to have you on my side. You're a good friend." Draco raised an eyebrow at this. "If most of your actions were erased." Harry smiled.

Draco punched Harry on his shoulder lightly, before picking up his broom and throwing Harry's his.

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