CHAPTER 14

Hermione and Ron gave Harry a day before they both dropped the man a visit.

"Harry, you alright in there?" asked Hermione quietly as she poked her head though and she saw Harry sitting on the edge of the bed holding neatly folded clothes in his lap as the man looked up at her.

"Oh, I'm fine Hermione." Harry replied politely.

"You don't look alright. Do you want to talk about it?" continued Hermione.

"Yeah Harry, I mean, you were in a relationship with him for four years." added Ron.

Harry looked at them both and they were both returning the look with very concerned expressions on their faces, "What are you guys talking about?" asked Harry absolutely exploding with confusing.

Both their eyes go wide as confusion struck them as well, "Harry, we're talking about Blaise, who are you talking about?" asked Ron.

Harry's eyes went wide with fear and he panicked until Hermione moved forward and placed a hand on his knee, "Harry, is it about Draco?"

Harry let out a sigh but didn't answer so Hermione pursued, "Harry, what happened with you and Draco?"

Harry contemplated keeping the information to himself but these were his two best friends. If he could not confide in these two then who could he possibly trust? "I went to visit him yesterday and he kicked me out of the house."

Ron said, "Well, there are other guys out there." at the same moment Hermione asked, "What happened?"

Harry almost entirely ignored Ron's comment as he answered Hermione's more important question, "I went to visit him, at his apartment. And Marco, a guy I met at a club was there with him. At first I thought it was nothing, but the more I thought about it, the more it hurt me and I don't think I can take it anymore. I can't keep hiding from the truth. The relationship Blaise and I lived with may have lasted for four years but I loved Draco since the moment I laid eyes on him. There are just some things you know, but I'm too late now. Draco's with someone else. And the worst part is, I think I knew it all along, I think I knew I wanted Draco all this time but I kept pretending I didn't because we were enemies, we still are right?" Harry looked at Ron and the other man simply shrugged at him so Harry continued, "I'm afraid of this feeling because I don't want to be in love with someone who is already in love with someone else. And this feeling is scary by itself, it's so strong, it's so big and it feels so certain but when I look at how the situation is right now and how Draco and I are, it is nothing like how it's supposed to be. Everything just feels so wrong right now."

Hermione took one glance back at Ron and then focused her entire self to Harry, "Look, I don't think that Draco loves Marco."

"How are you so sure?"

"Because I know. I've spoken to him and I'm not going to lie to you about it. He loves you just as much as you love him and to me, that is the perfect relationship. The thing is, I never held any faith that you and Blaise would be together because you guys just didn't click. There was just something missing between you two. But with Draco, it's there. You and Draco together, feel complete. You both feel like whole and that is the only way I can explain this. I'm no seer but this is all I can tell you from what I've gathered throughout the years. This isn't anything supernatural or creepy like that but from what I get from your body language, your words, the way you both act around each other. There is just so much between you two that Blaise felt bland, he just wasn't enough for you Harry and I think somewhere you knew it. That is why I think you stayed with Blaise for so long. He was safe, you knew that Blaise loved you and that he would always be there for you. But when that faithfulness was placed on the line, it reminded you of Draco. Draco was the one you turned to when this whole thing went down, everything points back to Draco. When the excitement was brought back into your life, you knew that this person is not the one you want to be that excited with. The one thing that made you stay with Blaise for so long was gone. Blaise was no longer safe and you didn't know what to do, so you ran to the one thing that was the most dangerous in your life. And then, by staying with something so dangerous for so long made you realize that it just isn't that bad. But when Blaise came back for you, you felt like the safety net was back. You are human, just like everyone else, the safe way was the easy way for you and so you took it. It was easy, it didn't need guessing because you knew that Blaise loved you despite what he did. The only thing was that you did not Portkey out of that apartment unaffected. You were marked by something so deep that you didn't notice until last night, at dinner. When Ron and I both reminded you of how threatened being with Blaise was for you so you started remembering just how dangerous being with Draco was and then you remembered how well it worked out. So you went back for it and you're just realizing that you love him."

"But, Hermione, what do I do now?"

Hermione stood up from the exhausting kneeling position next to Harry and shrugged, "You do what your heart tells you to. I think you already know what you need to do, you just need confirmation but this kind of thing, you can't have friends decide for you, you need to make the decision for yourself. Do what your heart tells you and there is no way you will go wrong."

Harry stood at the door again and weighed his chances. The first time he stood here, everything turned around for him and he found a sort of happiness that he never knew he could ever feel. The second time he was faced with the truth of what he did and was thrown out of the house. This time, anything could happen and he really hoped this time things would not turn out as they did the last time he stood here.

Harry knocked the door and waited as Marco opened the door. The man glared at Harry for a long time and each of them refused to back down from the other.

"What do you want?" asked Marco bitterly.

Harry glared and replied with equal amount of bitterness in his tone, "I'm here to see Draco."

"Well, he's not here." ground out Marco as he moved to close the door but Harry was yet to give up so soon.

"Well then." said Harry as his hand reached out to hold the door open, "I'll just wait for him in here." continued Harry and he moved into the house and settled himself on the couch.

At first Marco went upstairs and did his own thing but after a while, he just got bored and went down to the kitchen to fix something to eat. Too bad he wasn't hungry and there was nothing else he could do as he left his book in the living room where Harry was currently positioned. Finally Marco's boredom got to him and he entered the living room and sat across form Harry and started to read. Harry already picked up a book from Draco's book case and gave Marco no acknowledgment for his presence. This lack of acknowledgment bothered Marco more than it should considering it was from someone he didn't care about.

"He'll never leave me for you."

Harry looked up and stared at the man sitting across from him and knew why Draco would keep the man around. He was obviously good looking and he had an attitude to rival any Slytherin's. At that moment, Harry felt like his heart was so empty and that all the energy just ran out of him. But the feeling was wrong, it felt so wrong that he could not just sit by and idly let this happen, "That's not what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to tell him the truth about what's going on between him and me. If you truly love him, you will want him to be happy no matter how wrong it feels."

"But you don't deserve him. With the way you treated him. He didn't accept your letter, why do you think he kicked you out of the house? He doesn't want you, he wants me. Why would anyone want anything else?"

Harry stood up, "He may want you, but he doesn't love you. You don't have a history like we do."

Marco joined his height and realized that he and Harry were practically the same height, "And you think that matters to anyone? Anyone can have a history and your history with Draco was that you fought a lot. What kind of a history is that to make you think that anything can come of the two of you? He told me that you two fought a lot when you were both younger and do you think someone who rules the school would ever end up dating the scum he mocked in the halls? There is no chance for the two of you to ever be together so just give it up and leave."

The anger boiled in Harry and he jumped at the other man and they both fell to the ground with Marco at the bottom. At the sudden attack, Marco fought back and hit Harry's jaw hard. Harry elbowed the man beneath him in the stomach. Marco took Harry's head in his hands and slammed it against the coffee table and blood dripped down the side of his head.

Draco walked into his house to see Harry punch Marco in the nose so he dropped all the groceries he brought home and ran over to pull the man off his current resident.

"Harry what are you doing here?" yelled Draco angry but neither of the men knew who the anger was being directed to.

"I came to talk to you."

"I told you to leave."

"Yes, but this time it's got nothing to do with Blaise. I just need to talk to you."

"Don't do it." yelled Marco, "Don't trust him Draco."

Draco turned his attention and he looked as if he just noticed the man in the room, "What are you talking about?"

"He wants to hurt you." stated Marco glaring at Harry, "He's here to threaten you. That's why we were fighting."

"That's not true." yelled Harry immediately.

Draco looked between the two, one was lying and for once in his life, he didn't know who it was.

Harry and Marco looked intently at the blonde man in the room and Draco never felt more uncomfortable in his life. He loved Harry so much, but Marco was right and Marco was there for him when he needed someone. Before he could say anything Harry smiled and this only made him more confused.

"I guess that's all I needed to know."

"Know what?" asked Draco who was racking his brain out trying to find out the reason for Harry's words.

Harry smiled lightly and walked out the door without answering or looking back at what he was leaving behind.

Harry walked into Hermione and Ron's house and headed straight for his room. Hermione and Ron shared a look before Hermione went upstairs to check on Harry. When she reached his room, she found him packing his belongings and she stepped in, almost afraid to ask what her friend was doing.

"Harry?"

Harry turned away from Hermione to gather some personal items he left in the house and shut his bag before he turned to address his friend, "I just spoke to Draco."

Hermione saw the blood dripping down Harry's head and went to look at the wound. He let her take care of him as he needed the comfort.

"What happened over there? Did he do this to you?"

"No, Draco didn't do this. Marco did before he said that I went there to threaten Draco."

Hermione's eyes went wide at how the situation turned out, "What do you mean? Did you really threaten Draco? I thought you just went over there to tell him how you felt."

Harry explained what happened to Hermione and by the end of the explanation, Harry realized he never told Hermione why he was packing up, "Hermione, I'm leaving."

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione now more confused than ever after the explanation of what happened at Draco's. There was no way Harry would live there would he? She simply wouldn't allow it. Not until Marco was out anyways. She couldn't let Harry live with someone who would slam his head into the coffee table."

"Before I came here, I went and signed a lease. I'm gone and when I get settled in, I will contact you."

"Why won't you just tell me where you're going?"

"Because I like things a certain way besides, I'm sure you'll figure out where I'm going to go anyways. You're smart, you figured out where I was the last time I disappeared." said Harry and he walked out of the room and was gone before it snapped in Hermione's head the Harry just left and she didn't stop him.

"I'm smart, but I'm not that smart, how am I going to figure this out? Everyone's got their limits." whispered Hermione and she understood exactly what Harry meant. This was just his limit and he must deal with it on his own. Everyone's got a limit to something and she guessed that Harry's was this. Whatever was happening to Harry was too much and she only hoped that Harry would get over it soon and realize how strong of a person he is.

After Harry left, Draco was quiet and politely put all the groceries away before going out for a walk. Marco knew what he was doing was wrong but he wanted Draco for so long, now that he finally got the man, he did not want to give him up.

Marco went into Draco's room and rummaged through the man's things. Looking for something that would tell him that what he was doing was the right thing. He needed something to confirm what he did was for the greater good.

Reaching under the bed, Marco found a box and took it out. It felt heavy so he opened it on his lap and pictures toppled out of it. He cursed himself for the clumsiness as he bent down to pick up the pictures that lay were scattered and hoped that they were in no particular order.

There were pictures after pictures of Harry. Sometimes Harry was in a newspaper that Marco did not recognize, sometimes they were pictures form parties and sometimes Harry wasn't even the main focus of the picture but was in the background. Draco kept all these pictures of the man and Marco knew that this went beyond obsession or lust. This was something deep and he destroyed it. What kind of monster is he? Then there was a picture that Marco saw and everything else in the room was forgotten. It was a picture of Draco, Blaise and Harry. Blaise was in the middle of the two and had his arms around Harry. They looked so happy and then Marco was reminded of what Draco said at the club that night. The words finally sunk into Marco and he sat back and took a look around the room once. He put the pictures back into the box and returned it beneath the bed. Sometimes friends are just that, and you think nothing more of them despite anyone's sexual preference. Simply because you can doesn't mean you do and Marco went downstairs picking up his jacket.

Draco returned home and opened the door to find Marco dressed but he said nothing as he realized that this did not hurt as much as Harry leaving.

"Draco, I'm leaving."

"Why?"

"Because I got my fill of you. I wanted you, I got you and now you're old news."

Draco looked at Marco and did not understand where the sudden change came from but couldn't bring himself to say anything.

"Well, I guess I won't need this anymore." and Marco reached into his wallet and took out the crimpled letter from Harry. He tossed it on the table and tears rimmed in his eyes, "The lie is over and I just realized that you meant at the club. There are just some people you only see as friends but there are also some people you can't even see as that. I'm sorry, Draco, for everything."

Draco watched as Marco walked out of his life too but he settled with the lack of desire to go after the man. Instead, he picked up the letter on the table and read it.

Marco walked out of the house without turning around and he paused at the last step to give Draco and Harry his blessing before continuing his leave allowing only one tear to fall down his cheek. He knew that if he turned to look at Draco one last time, he would not be able to leave. Once was enough, he didn't need to walk away from the man twice as he knew he wouldn't be able to do it.

AN: Thanks again to everyone who took the time to review, it's really very nice. Fic's almost over so stick with me here. ALSO A BIG HUGE THANKS GOES TO THOSE WHO ADDED THIS FIC TO THEIR C2's. IT IS LOVELY.

Now for the special reviews that stuck out.

Thanks to Know Thyself, haha, the story isn't over yet sweetie. Next chapter. And yeah, I make Marco pretty evil don't I? Oh well, he serves great purpose in this fic. I'm evil too for doing this to you... it'll get better. At least, this chapter got better right? Thanks for reading and reviewing, love.

Fefysssss, haha, I think a lot of people are hating on Marco right now. But he's a character I made to even out the score between Harry and Draco. Since Blaise loves Harry so much, I thought 'Where's the Draco loving?' so I took Marco and made him the Draco pinner. Haha, and Marco helped serve the purpose of making Harry get a taste of what Draco felt all those years. I hope this chapter made you feel a bit better about him. Thanks for reviewing and you are absolutely wonderful at understanding this story and where it's headed.

Now, curlytop, I read over your review and I appreciate you taking the time to write all of that. It was very long. Though I would have to say that I don't think you've read my fic properly. Not saying that you were sitting a certain way when reading it or anything silly like that. I'm saying that there are things you misinterpreted or you just didn't notice. I'm going to keep this short because it would take me a long time to write everything out but for a quick example, like when you said Hermione doesn't know Harry either if Harry picked Draco over her at the beginning. Well, I was looking at it from a point of view that Harry is hurt right now. After a 4 year relationship, it's hard for him to just accept the fact that Blaise cheated on him so instead of going to someone who he was sure would tell him she was right and he was wrong, he decided to go to someone easier to deal with at a moment like this. If he went to Hermione, she would have told him that he should have listened to her from the beginning and he didn't need that at a time like this. He needed to be alone where Blaise wouldn't find him. So he went to the one place he thought Blaise wouldn't look. Draco's house. Also, another example, when Blaise was confronted about not knowing much about Harry during the four years, I actually meant that Blaise didn't notice Harry in a way that Draco noticed Harry. Hermione's a smart cookie, so she caught that. Also, when someone is angry and defending their friend, they are going to say whatever that will get their point across. A little exaggeration is expected. Hermione may not have meant that Blaise didn't know any of Harry's smiles, but at least Blaise understood what she meant. Thanks for your comments.

Libbs, oh Lord, how are you so cute? And as you can see, HBP did not hold up the posting of this fic... much. Hehe, I'm glad you like this fic. Thanks for the review.

Morena Evensong, I am still perplexed as to how well you are percieving the fic. I don't get it. Haha, I think it was needed for Draco to show some back bone after all the angst he went through watching Harry and Blaise for four years. Don't worry, after this, one more chapter to go.

Pink Cherry Blossom, I am always at odds to how well you understand this fic. Haha, you seem to be the only one, besides me who has openly voiced the discovery of humour in Draco's 'I know when I'm being manipulated' persona. I'm sure someone else out there got the humour but you voiced it. Yeay! Haha, I still don't know how you understand this fic so well.