A/n: So, there was a bit of a pause there. Sorry 'bout that...

Anyway, I'm pleased to inform you that I have now finished typing this story, which is a good thing. Although I'll probably be rewriting all of the chapters before I post them, at least now I can say with certainty that this story will be finished. One day, I'll be able to add the little word 'COMPLETE' on the summary.

But we're not through yet, so on with the show.

I know I'll often stop and think about them

Draco came to the end of a paragraph and turned the page. Then he stopped dead in his tracks and turned the page back. What had he been reading about? He groaned silently when he realized he couldn't remember anything from the last 3 pages he had read about the Wolfsbane Potion.

He hated theory lessons. Honestly, even if no-one in the class could manage the actual potion, they would still learn more trying than reading about it from a bloody book. Also, this was boring as hell.

Draco looked up from the text. All students were hunched over their books. Some of them were reading glassy-eyed and some were just staring blankly at the text in front of them. He was pretty sure Goyle was dozing off since his face was dangling too close to the book.

Snape didn't mind that, of course. He probably hadn't looked up from his grading since this period had started. As long as everyone kept their mouths shut and their backs hunched, he was satisfied. In the end he'll just flunk everyone anyway. At least all the gryffindors.

He carefully looked over the aisle to the gryffindor side of the class. Harry was there. He was sitting just on the other side of the aisle, only a couple of feet away. He wanted Harry to look up and look at him, but he couldn't risk it by making noise. So he contented himself with just watching the black-haired boy. It was definitely more interesting than the Wolfsbane Potion.

Harry was hunched, just like everyone else, and staring dumbly at the text in front of him. He was leaning his cheeks heavily on his palms and absentmindedly wiggling his glasses with his fingertips. Suddenly, the gryffindor closed his eyes with a pained expression and pressed his forehead against the pages, letting his hands drop.

Draco just followed his antics amusedly. Honestly, the boy had no patience at all.

Harry turned his head, forehead still connected to the book, until he could see Draco. When he saw that the slytherin was looking back at him, he started slowly straitening himself up while keeping an eye on his surroundings. Then he looked at Draco again and smiled.

Draco smiled back. He got an idea and glanced at the professor's desk. Snape was still preoccupied, so he turned to look at the gryffindor again. Then he silently opened his mouth and did some obscene moves with his tongue.

Harry's eyes widened comically and he quickly focused on his text, trying to force down a snicker that might have been trying to come out. Draco just watched, pleased with himself.

When Harry got himself under control, he lifted his gaze again. He quickly scanned his surroundings before looking back at the slytherin with a sly smile on his face. He brought his hand up to 'inconspicuously' scratch his nose. He glanced at Snape before squeezing the hand into a fist. Then he jerked it twice rapidly towards his mouth while sticking his tongue into his cheek, mimicking a blowjob.

Now it was Draco's eyes that were threatening to pop out from shock. Harry took one look at Draco's face and let out a muffled snort. Draco immediately hunched over his book.

"Something funny, Mr. Potter?" Snape sneered from the front of the class. "Wish to share it with the others?"

"I was just enjoying your class, sir" Harry replied evenly. Draco was surprised how easily the gryffindor had lied. He glanced to his side and saw Harry staring defiantly at the Potions Master. But was Harry really expecting Snape to believe that explanation?

"15 points from Gryffindor for your cheek, Mr. Potter" Snape said sourly. The gryffindor side of the class groaned collectively, but Harry just went back to his text.

Draco shook his head ever-so-slightly. Nobody ever 'enjoyed' Snape's classes.

The atmosphere in the Gryffindor common room was oppressing. Everyone seemed to be talking a bit more quietly. Nobody was willing to move, afraid it was going to disturb... something.

The members of the Golden Trio were fighting again. It had started in the common room, but they had quickly moved it to the sixth-year boys dorm room. Muffled yells could still be heard from upstairs.

It was like listening to your parents fight. Everybody was pretending that there wasn't anything wrong, but still perversely wanting to hear what the 'non-existent fight' was about. All the while feeling like it happening was just plain wrong.

"I don't know what you want from me!" Harry yelled, exasperated, while standing in the middle of the dorm room. "I am trying! I'm bending backwards, trying to keep you satisfied!"

Ron and Hermione exchanged looks at that.

Harry looked from Ron to Hermione. "Why can't you let it be and just... support me?" Harry whispered. "I could really use some support right now."

"Harry, you're keeping something important from us" Hermione said. "You have no right to do that."

Harry didn't say anything. He just looked at her. Hadn't she understood anything he had been yelling about?

Hermione went on. "We love you, and we'll always be there for you." Ron nodded his agreement. "But we need the facts. We need to know what were up against."

Harry shook his head. "This isn't your problem" he said quietly.

"Yes it is" Ron said aloud. "It is!" he assured, when Harry didn't seem to agree with him. "We're in this as deep as you are. Our future is linked to yours. And we need all the information if we want a change of surviving."

Harry looked at Ron, his best friend since they were eleven, sitting on his bed. He vaguely heard Hermione speaking. "Please Harry" she said. "We want to know it all." Images of Cedric Diggory, lying on the ground, dead, came floating into his mind. As well as images of Ron lying in his own blood on the floor of the drawing room at Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

Harry slowly looked at Hermione, who was sitting on Dean's bed, looking at him expectantly. Then he looked back at Ron.

"No, our future isn't linked" he said. "Or at least it shouldn't be" he added more quietly. "I..."

He closed his eyes briefly and drew a long breath. He opened them and looked out the window. "You are hereby officially removed from this shit" he said, his voice shaking a bit. "You don't have to worry about it anymore. It isn't your problem."

With that, he walked out of the dorm room and the common room.

Title of the chapter from In my life by The Beatles