Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

WARNING: Male/male relationship that includes incest. Harry and Draco are angsty and sentimental in this story so that means they're OOC.

The Hardship That Brothers Face

From the previous chapter:

"Harry, you know how some people say that people with incestuous love will be damned to hell?" Harry was holding his breath. "I think I might be going to hell, brother."

Chapter 7

Give In to Fate

Hate with all your soul, love with all your heart.

Draco wanted to believe that Harry was starting to accept what he was implying. Draco wanted to believe that it was love and not shock and disgust that was shining in Harry's emerald eyes. He wanted so much to believe so. But his faith had gone to waste.

Because Harry was slowly backing away from him. There was disbelief written on his face. A frown scarred his features and in the next moment, Harry disappeared down the stairs of the tower. Draco hung his head and slid to the ground, tears starting to break again. He knew this would happen. He knew but he had been trying to believe otherwise. Why had everyone been pushing him to confess when his only reward would be Harry's disgust?

His tears were captured by the white mask facing downwards in front of him. This was just like a fairytale with a bad ending.

Harry's mind was in turmoil. He was trying his hardest to accept what had happened, but it wasn't that easy. Nothing was easy anymore. He climbed up the stairs to his dormitory and collapsed onto his bed, hoping that sleep would steal away his problems momentarily. But even sleep could not offer him such luxury.

He kept having dreams, all concerning Draco, but all of which he could not remember. He woke up the next morning feeling more frustrated than ever. He changed into his uniform and trudged down to breakfast. He spoke to no one as he ate and only when he realized that Draco was not at the Gryffindor table, he spoke to Hermione. "Have you seen Draco? He hasn't come down for breakfast."

Hermione raised an eyebrow of confusion. "What are you talking about? He's in the Hospital Wing, of course he's not coming down here just to eat." She shook her head in mild annoyance and returned to her meal but Harry would let her.

"What do you mean he's in the Hospital Wing?" demanded Harry. "He's hurt? What happened to him?"

At this, Hermione's eyes narrowed. "You should know, Harry. You were with him last night."

Harry frowned and fled the Great Hall at once. He ran as fast as he could to the Hospital Wing. He ran so quickly, he was practically flying over the steps and hallways. But to him, it wasn't fast enough. 'Please let him be okay,' he prayed silently. He burst into the Hospital Wing and got a scolding from Madam Pomfrey for making loud noises. But the matron led him to Draco's bed anyway.

Draco was lying unconscious on the bed in white pyjamas. He looked peaceful, lying there. Draco's left arm was bandaged heavily and there were some scratches peeping out from the collar of the pyjamas.

"Madam Pomfrey, what happened to him?"

Madam Pomfrey sighed sadly. "He was attacked by a student who suffered from multiple personalities. But Draco was out of his dorm past curfew when he was attacked. Can you imagine why he broke curfew and went out?"

Harry didn't answer. He merely stared at Draco in silence. Then, he asked, "What injuries does he suffer from?"

"A broken arm, some scratches near his collarbone, a bruise on his stomach from a hard kick, and possible trauma," replied the matron truthfully.

"Trauma?"

"I was told that the student nearly raped him," said Madam Pomfrey. "The poor boy was found with his shirt in shreds and his pants nearly falling off. Good thing Professor Snape accidentally ran into them on his way to the bathroom."

Harry stiffened and growled in outrage. "Who was the one who attacked Draco?"

Madam Pomfrey's features became hard. "Don't think about taking revenge. The student is already escorted out of Hogwarts and he is probably on the Hogwarts Express by now."

Harry reined in his anger and turned to look at Draco. Draco, his poor Draco. Harry fell to his knees beside Draco and stroked the blonde's hair lovingly. "If only I hadn't run away," he whispered in regret. "If only I had stayed longer by your side, this wouldn't have happened to you." Harry held his breath to stifle his sobs. This was his fault. "Draco."

Suddenly, he felt a hand roughly pull him up to his feet by the collar. There was a gasp behind him. "Severus!" exclaimed Madam Pomfrey quietly.

"Excuse us for a moment, Poppy," said Snape. "I need a word with this ignorant boy here."

"Have your talks outside the ward. I will not have you disturb my patients!" huffed Madam Pomfrey, reminding Harry of a protective mother hen.

"Fine," said Snape curtly as he practically dragged Harry out of the Hospital Wing. Once they were outside, Harry pulled his shirt out of Snape's grasp with a scowl.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"I told you to watch over him, not let him get hurt!" said Snape angrily.

"I know!" retorted Harry heatedly. "It's not like I wanted this to happen. But I admit, it is my fault," he added in a quieter tone. "If I had been with him, this wouldn't have happened." Harry looked at Snape suspiciously. "Why are you taking this personally, anyway?"

Snape scowled at Harry. "I was requested to do so. Sirius and Lupin were so damn worried about the two of you, they asked me to help watch over you. Turns out their instincts were right."

"And that's why you get extra discount on all the candy you buy from them?" asked Harry out of curiosity.

"That is beside the point!"

"Well, what will yelling at me do?" asked Harry. "It doesn't help any." Harry crossed his arms and hung his head. "Don't you have a potion or something to help Draco get better faster?"

"All the best healing and medical potions have already been given to him by Madam Pomfrey. She knows best when it comes to sick people," said Snape. "Unfortunately, I have to leave. As much as I like to spend the whole day reprimanding you about your naïveté and ignorance, I have a class to get to."

"Snape?"

"What?"

"Thanks for caring," said Harry.

"I did it as a favour to old acquaintances," replied Snape. But a small resemblance to a smile tugged at his lips anyway.

I saw him coming towards me, and one look at him and I knew he wasn't himself. He had this look of lust in his eyes. And I saw him give me a once over before attacking me with a kick to my stomach. It almost knocked the wind out of me. But it didn't stop there. He grabbed my shoulders and when I struggled, he gripped my left shoulder so hard that I lost feeling in my left arm.

He was stroking my cheek with the side of his nose and his was literally drooling. This guy is sick!

I aimed a careful kick to his groin and tried to escape when he was recoiling in pain. But he grabbed my arm before I could leave. He twisted it and punched my forearm. He had one powerful punch because my elbow was bending at an angle it wasn't supposed to. Pain shot up my arm but his hand clamped over my mouth to prevent me from yowling.

He slammed me against the wall and started licking my neck. He ripped open my shirt with no regards for the buttons. I even heard the material rip. My head was spinning from crying so much earlier that I wasn't clear on what was going on. Then, I felt hands on my chest. When I winced, I felt his nails tearing skin on me near my neck. I gasped and slumped backwards against the wall.

It was no good; I was too tired to fight back. I was depleted of strength and I felt just plain worn out. At that time, I emptied my mind and focused my thoughts on Harry. Harry ran away without an answer. That meant rejection, right? That mean he couldn't accept me. All my hopes shattered. I shouldn't have confessed.

He tangled his hand in my hair and was trying to kiss me. But I avoided him. I turned my head and refused to face him. It didn't matter to him, though. All he wanted was to get into my pants. Which was exactly what he was doing right now. I felt his hand slipping into my pants. He slipped his hand into the waistband of my boxers but before he could go further, I heard someone yell. "What are you doing there?"

He stopped his actions immediately. He pulled away from me and tried to run but the newcomer had bound him with a spell. Without anything holding me up, I crumpled onto the stone floor like a lifeless doll. And I blacked out before I saw the face of my saviour. I had been hoping it was Harry. But I knew it wasn't. It could be. He was disgusted with me, remember?

Draco woke up with a start. Cold sweat beaded his forehead but he made no effort to wipe them away. Where was he? Judging from his surroundings, Draco guessed that he was in the Hospital Wing. What happened to him? He looked down at his left arm which was in a bandage. It was in a correct angle now. His bones were healing fast.

Then the events of yesterday night came back to him. He groaned and closed his eyes. He had almost let the idiot rape him. Well, even if that idiot didn't rape him, he sure did a serious crime of molesting him. He tried to stretch his left arm. Everything seemed to be intact. Save for the slight pain he felt when bending and stretching, his arm was completely healed. Ah, the wonders of magic.

His hand brushed against something furry at the side of his bed. Wait a minute, what was this furry thing? Draco raised his head slightly to get a better view and was positively shocked when he saw Harry's head lying on the side of his bed, nested in folded arms. Harry was sleeping. And no wonder. The sky outside was as dark as flawless onyx. Several diamond stars dotted the night sky.

What was Harry doing here anyway?

'Don't be stupid,' Draco chided himself. 'He might not return your love but he still cares about you.'

Harry groaned and started to stir. He opened his eyes slowly, and when he saw Draco awake, he stood up straight in surprise. Draco offered him a weak smile and sat up slightly. "I look awful, don't I? Sorry. I must've made you worried sick."

"You have no idea," said Harry in a controlled tone.

"Harry," began Draco. No matter what, they were still brothers. Everything could be fixed. Even a situation as disastrous as this. "About last night, I take back what I said. I don't want you to feel guilty or confused about anything. Just pretend that I never said that to you and things can go back to normal. Alright?"

Finally, it was done. He finally said it. The biggest sacrifice he chose to make. To ignore his infinite love and to put a leash on his affections for his older brother. This was for the best.

"Please don't do that, Draco," said Harry in a quieted voice.

Draco looked at Harry in confusion. "Huh? Do what?"

"That!" Harry clenched his hands into fists. "Every time I think about it, my heart breaks. You already did so much, and I know you suffered because you tried refuting your love for me. Hermione told me everything. Just stop." There was an indescribable sadness in Harry's eyes. "Don't keep everything to yourself anymore. I'm your brother. You can tell me anything."

Draco raised his eyebrows. What was Harry trying to say exactly?

Then, all of sudden, Harry threw himself onto Draco and embraced him like never before, pressing the side of his face into Draco's neck. "It's enough, Draco. It's enough. To what lengths are you going go to, to make me suffer seeing you in pain? To what lengths are you going to go to, to love me?"

Draco felt something warm and wet slide down his neck. He realized that it was Harry's tears. His brother was crying over him. Draco closed his eyes and circled his arms around Harry's back. "To tell you the truth, I had been meaning to give up. I finally understood that love, no matter how noble, isn't always reciprocated. It's all right if you don't love me that way. I don't mind anymore."

Harry tightened his embrace. "How can you say that?"

"Harry, look at me," said Draco, straining not to let the stifled tears affect the tone of his voice. Harry obliged and lifted his head slightly and stared into the enigmatic blue eyes of his younger brother. "I don't want to be a burden to you, big brother," continued Draco. "Feel free to love whoever you want to love. Don't be restrained by this brother of yours."

"Draco, I think you don't understand –"

"You're making this hard, Harry," said Draco in a louder voice.

"Draco, please listen to me. It's different now."

"Don't love me just because you feel that you have to!" cried Draco. He tried to break out of their embrace. "I don't want your pretend love. Go away."

"Draco –"

"Go away, Harry! I don't love you anymore!" yelled Draco in desperation, his eyes squeezed shut. A wrong move because he couldn't see what was coming. Harry pressed his lips to Draco and felt Draco go limp in his arms, stopping his struggle. The kiss pulled on for several second before Harry broke it. Draco didn't say anything.

Harry propped himself over Draco with one hand on each side of the blonde's head. "Draco, it's not pretend love. I'm not forcing myself to do anything. You don't understand, Draco. When you were asleep, I realized."

"Realized what?" croaked Draco.

Harry let himself relax on Draco's torso, laying his head just below the boy's shoulder. "I've been in love with you all along."

Draco drew in a sharp gasp. "You're forgetting something. I'm your little brother. This love –"

"And I'm your older brother," said Harry, nuzzling Draco's shoulder with his nose, feeling very comfortable. "But you still loved me. Why don't we just give in to fate?"

Draco smiled softly. Yes, fate has played a big part in their lives1. It was best to give in. 'You can't fight fate,' thought Draco as he closed his eyes and revelled in Harry's warmth, feeling truly happy for the first time in weeks. 'And you can't fight love.' Happy tears slid down the sides of his eyes.

Draco was admitted out of the Hospital Wing a day later. His friends in Gryffindor welcomed him warmly back to the common room. Most of them thought that Draco would be moody and feeling down. The boy almost did get raped after all. But to their surprise, he returned from the Hospital Wing all smiles. They couldn't have seen a brighter smile around.

Before going up to the dorm, Draco made his way to the armchair where Harry sat, enjoying a book with a cup of cocoa in his hands. "Harry, why didn't you pick me up from the ward?"

Harry looked up at Draco. Everyone stopped their activities to look at the brothers. They knew about Draco's previous cold shoulder towards Harry. How would Harry react this time?

Harry closed his book and settled his mug on a shelf beside the armchair. In a swift motion, Harry pulled Draco onto his lap and laughed out loud as he tickled his little brother. Draco was emitting uncontrollable giggles and laughter. He tried to stop Harry's hands but they were to fast. Everyone smiled at the spectacle. Things were finally all right between them.

When Harry finally stopped tormenting Draco, he placed a gentle kiss on Draco's smooth cheek and carried him off his lap. "Go finish your homework. I'll see you at lunch."

Draco grinned. Things were finally looking up.

I'd rather die and give this up. I finally have my love.

Next chapter:

"Draco do you love me?"

"Of course I do."

"I want you to be mine almost as much as I want to be yours." Harry was unbuttoning his shirt. "Let's seal our love forever such that no one can touch it."

Draco's heartbeat had quickened its pace. Was Harry suggesting was he thought he was? All his life, Draco never believed in his nighttime dreams. Mainly because they were things had never happened or ever will. He didn't imagine that his 'wrong dreams' would ever become real.

Harry let his shirt fall off him. "I want to make your dreams come true."

A/N: Time for explanation. I added a bit of the next chapter because I didn't want you people thinking that the story had ended. The story has not ended. And by the way, I think I didn't do a very good job on this chapter. It seemed too abrupt? What do you think? Send in comments.

1 One of the kind reviewers of this story (Tash) had requested for a story of Harry and Draco's childhood. I'm still thinking about it. But if I am going to do so, then the above sentence "fate has played a big part in their lives" is referring to that story.