Sorry this took so long. I had some things to take care of for a while, but I'm now a slave to my computer again.

Chapter 5: Bad Timing

It was mid morning when I finally decided to act on my instincts. All week, I had been debating on renting a condo for the duration of my stay, and after what had happened with Harry, it only seemed right. Something told me that it would be best if I pursued things when I wasn't living under the same roof as Harry and Remus. I made a few discreet phone calls to realtors, and made appointments for the next day to look at some places that met my specifications. My largest two requests being that it was wheelchair accessible and a pool. With that over with, I set to work on the next chapter.

Hours flew by, and in no time I heard a car in the drive. I smiled and went to the door to greet Harry. To my surprise, a very tired looking Remus stood there instead. Given his troubles at the restraint, I hadn't seen much of him. "Is Harry home?" he asked softly.

I shook my head. "No he isn't, and I suppose you and I have to talk."

"We do," he agreed.

We sat across from each other at the kitchen table avoiding eye contact for a long time before I decided to break the silence. "You want me to quit seeing him, don't you?"

Remus sighed. "I don't want to see him hurt, Severus. You have no idea how fragile he is."

I let out a snort. "He spent last night telling me how not true that assumption was."

"Well, it isn't merely an assumption on my part!" Standing, he began to put on a pot of coffee. "Harry puts up a good show of it, but there is a lot you don't know. There have been a series of people in his life who have gained his love and trust and then just abandoned him. Sirius did it, and then there was Oliver."

"Oliver?"

Remus nodded. "They were together for almost five years. He was the one who really got Harry involved in basketball. When Harry started playing, Oliver was the team captain, and somewhat of a role model for him. Time went on and they spent a lot of time together off the court. I think it broke Harry's heart when Oliver went to college, but then he was only fifteen and not open about being gay yet. They met up again when Oliver came back and started working at a local company. I've never seen Harry so deliriously happy."

"What went wrong?" I asked not entirely sure I wanted an answer.

"Oliver got a job out East. He didn't even bother telling Harry about it until after he had packed and put an add in the paper for the lease. To put it bluntly, he didn't give a fuck if he hurt Harry."

I shook my head. "I would never do that to him."

"Severus, you're notorious for globe-trotting. Do you honestly think you can stay in one place long enough for a relationship?"

"I think Harry is worth trying for." In all honesty, I couldn't promise Remus anymore than that. To say that I loved Harry would have been a lie—at that point, and it was impossible for me to promise that I would never hurt him. Who could tell what the future would bring?

I could see the inner war Remus was fighting. He wanted to tell me to bugger off and leave his God son alone, but he also respect Harry as a man with his own life. "Don't do anything stupid," he said finally. "Are you coming this Saturday? I suspect Harry has told you more about it."

"He hasn't said a word about it," I told him somewhat annoyed. "In fact, he doesn't seem overly joyous about attending himself."

Remus laughed. "He's not."

"And why is that?"

To my annoyance, he shook his head. "I've interfered enough."

"I suppose you have."

He looked as though he was about to speak when his phone rang. Digging the chirping device out of his briefcase, he rolled his eyes and answered. "Hello, Ginny…..I'm just in myself. I have no idea where he is…I'm sure that's fine….Have you asked Ron?...Really, Ginny, I don't know. He could be back soon, or out until midnight. I don't have bars on the windows….Yes, I realize how important this is….I'll tell him. Goodbye." In all my life, I have never seen anyone so relieved to hang up a phone.

"Does she do that often?" I asked mildly amused by his plight.

"Constantly. Harry stopped answering his phone when she calls for him, so she calls me instead."

"Why not ignore her?"

"Pity, I guess," he answered. "Harry seems to have caught her fancy, and she is so utterly hopeless about it."

"Does she realize that she's lacking a very important factor?"

He rolled his eyes. "She does. Seems to think she can change his mind. He helped her out of a bad situation, and that means something more than friendship in her opinion."

"He puts up with her because he feels sorry for her?"

"That and Ron is his best mate."

Remus and I spent a rather lazy evening in. We talked about everything but Harry. It seemed he was still uncomfortable with the idea. One thing was becoming more and more apparent; outside of work and Harry, Remus had no life of his own. Whatever social aspirations he had walked out the door with Sirius. It was a rare thing that I found someone with less contact with the world than I had.

Harry made his appearance just before diner, and barely caught Remus on his way to Zora's. He had a mischievous grin locked in place when the door shut behind his God father. "Did you miss me?"

"Intolerably," I told him with feigned disinterest. "Where were you?"

"School. I had a few things to catch up on. Care for a swim?"

"Later," I answered. "Your girlfriend was looking for you."

Harry cringed. "You mean Ginny?"

I nodded. "Remus says that she has quite the obsession."

"She's a good person, but she's…she's…fucked up."

"And yet you trust her with children," I quipped.

"Ginny is a little starved for attention. With six brothers, she kind of got left out a lot. To make things worse, Ron was always their mom's baby. She couldn't compete with her disabled brother and now she clings to all the wrong people."

"You're breaking my heart."

He shot me a glare. "And you would tell her off?"

"I would," I agreed. "I have very little patience with drama queens."

He shrugged. "I didn't think you would."

"Is she why you don't want to go to this thing on Saturday?"

Harry froze. "Partly."

"And the rest of it?"

"It's not me," he said. "I don't belong there. Fake people with fake intentions telling me how much they admire me for "overcoming my handicap" and for working with the kids that they want to forget exist. They dance, they eat a nice diner, and then they go home and forget that the center is there."

"I can understand that."

He smiled. "Well, you're going with me."

"I don't recall being asked."

"Doesn't matter. You'll go. If for no other reason than to protect me from Ginny," he added.

I leaned foreward and kissed him. It was awkward bending down, but we managed. I wanted nothing more than to scoop him up and carry him to bed. Lifting a hand to my check, he said, "Now, about that swim."

In a lot of ways, Harry was right about the water. It seemed to level the playing field a bit. Moving around freely was no longer an issue, and I could pull him to me whenever I wished…provided I could keep up with him. The little imp was quick. His arms more than made up for the lack of control in his legs. Even able bodied, it was hard to stay within reach of him.

When I gave up trying, he cornered me along the side, and slipped his hand down the front of my swim trunks. Moaning, I pulled him up against my erection. "You're killing me," rasped.

"Then why wait?" he asked.

Damn my sense of timing! I knew that I couldn't take him right there. Harry was special…and not in a degrading way. He was special because I actually cared to get to know him before I fucked his brains out. I sighed. "I want it to be right for both of us."

He nodded, yet I could tell he was disappointed. I pulled him to me and kissed him hard on the mouth, but that didn't take away the pain I saw in his eyes. "Let's get out," he said.

That night, I checked my email for word from my publisher. In bold letters there was: Subject: SOS From Dragon123. I swore. Whenever I heard from Draco, it was normally bad news. I read:

Sev,

I told Dad that I'm gay and he kicked me out. Not only that, he cut me off. I used what was left in my savings and got a hotel room, but I'm broke. Could you help me out? Could I stay with you for a bit?

Draco

Bloody fantastic, I thought. The last thing I needed was the little, blond prince in the equation. I sent him a reply that I would wire him some money to tide him over until I found a solution, and shut off the computer. Tonight wasn't good for my writing.