Disclaimer: I don't own Harry potter, because if I did he would probably have been killed off in the second book-but go figure.

Thank you for your reviews, and thanks for all the stuff you were saying-firstly, I know absolutely nothing about newspapers, but now I'm kinda glad I didn't write Baldwin in the last chapter, thanks, I can work on that. And don't worry about the whole Ron's career thing, I've got it covered. And finally, would I really be so evil to Draco as to let Ron tell him Harry wants to see him-but he does have the right to know, but Ron ain't gonna tell him yet, not till he's better. And finally, this one, on request, is from Draco's POV.

I'm really sorry if I mess this up, I'm stumbling blindly in the dark through most of this story and hoping its right, so any and all help is appreciated. Keep it coming, especially that stuff on the law and that, I know practically nothing about that, and it's always good to know.

The Other Way

When he left I got restless, it wasn't over what I could do, I wasn't bored, it was over what I couldn't do. So far he hadn't put any restrictions on what I could do, if he was there anyway, and I wasn't about to do anything while he was away-what if he came back and… and there's the thing, he hasn't done anything, which surprises me. After four years-at least he tells me it's been four years, it feels like longer, I feel like I've aged a hundred…

But after living with… with him, I guess I just expect it, it got to be so routine, so… I don't want to think about it, I hate thinking about it, I can't think about it. It'll drive me crazy. I know it's driving him crazy that I won't talk to him, but he hasn't done anything… I think I'm testing him, seeing how far I can push his patience. I've always been like that, with my parents, with school, with… with him, only now I'm doing it for a different reason.

After all, he is his best friend; he always has been, even if he did take me away from it… I don't know if I can trust him, I need to know I can trust him. I know him-maybe not all that well, but I do know him, I recognise him, and I need something I know. Something familiar, something from before.

Got to stop thinking about it need to stop thinking about it it'll drive you crazy if you keep thinking about it it's over now it won't happen again your safe he wouldn't send you back he couldn't send you back… but he did hate you in school… maybe if you… if he… he might send you back… can't go back can't take it again can't can't can't can't he'll kill me this time for sure he'll kill me I can't go back….

I had my head in my hands, I hate when the thoughts won't stop, when they just keep talking, I can't control them, I can't control anything… I've never controlled anything; even before all this started I was never in control. I needed to do something-anything, get away from the thoughts make them stop…

But what?

What if I did something and he didn't want me to? What would he do? He wouldn't hit me? He did once I remember when he first heard we were going out, he punched me… but that was before… before… he wouldn't do it again… would he? I mean he had changed… I'm not sure how, but he didn't seem to be the same person I knew him as. But maybe all he needed was an excuse.

I was frozen to the spot by that one. That's all it had been, for the past… forever… all he had needed was an excuse, any excuse… the way I flinched whenever he came near me-I never meant to, he always got angry when I did that, I never meant to… but it was an excuse… the way his eyes lit up when he had an excuse…

Nonononononononononononononononononononononononononononono! Can't think that, stop thinking that!

But I couldn't, it was in my head all the time, every noise at night made me jump, you never knew when he was going to find an excuse. I'm not sure if it was just habit or what, but I rarely slept anymore, I hadn't in however long. I needed to do something. I tried reading the book… but I couldn't anymore, I hadn't even been reading it earlier, I had been paying more attention to the sounds from the kitchen, wondering if he was going to get angry and take it out on me.

He hadn't, he'd been calm, controlled… I never knew what to say to him, if I said the wrong thing he might send me back, or do something. The boy I had known in school was never that calm, he was always loud, always yelling, getting angry, usually at me. I just didn't understand why he was suddenly being so nice, so caring…

"You okay?"

I jumped; I hadn't heard him come back, oh shit! I looked at him, shrinking back into the seat.

"Hey, I didn't mean to startle you, but you looked a bit…" he shrugged.

He had those glasses out again, I wanted to ask about them, why they were so important, sometime before he got started with questioning me, but I never did. It might be the wrong question to ask him. Come to think of it, he only every had those glasses out when he looked worried, he had that day after he and Granger had fought. That had sent me back; all that yelling had sent me back-

Stop thinking about!

He sat on the sofa, studying me, I hated the feel of his eyes, searching for faults, I had too many, I didn't want anybody to see them. I looked away, it was the only thing I could do. This was his house, his rules, he could stare at me if he wanted, if I couldn't take it, it was my problem. It was always my problem.

"Draco." He said.

Then he waited, he always waited after he said my name, until I couldn't stand it anymore and had to look up at him.

"Draco, could you tell me how you and Harry first met-why you started going out?" he asked softly.

How we met-why we started going out? Yeah, I can tell you, we met in the leaky Cauldron about a year after school ended and started talking, and laughing about how stupid we had been in school. We met a couple of times, he was always so busy with the war effort-I guess I found it sexy, the whole hero thing… we started going out… the next year? The year after? I can't remember, all I know is he asked me to come to dinner with him. The next thing I know he's asking me to move in with him. I shrugged. "At the leaky Cauldron." I said hoarsely.

I hated the sound of my voice, after so long not using it, I hated the way it sounded, he was always telling me I shouldn't talk, that there was a reason I shouldn't talk, that he hated the sound of my voice.

"Ok, so you met at the Leaky Cauldron, so who asked who out?" he asked, drawing my attention back.

He did, he asked me out, and he kept asking me out-I would have been happy with a one night stand-but he kept coming back, and he was good, so I let him, and then he asked me to move in with him, so I did, I don't know why but I did! "Him." I answered slowly.

He nodded; I could see he was thinking of the next question, or how to say it. Hated these questions, I hated how they made me think, how they made me feel so… so… so weak, so unbelievably weak. But you are weak though, you let him keep you there, you let him do what he wanted-you could have stopped it, you know you could have. But you didn't. You are weak.

"When did you start living together then?"

Can't remember, I can't remember, it was before you knew, before he told you and Granger, I don't know when! I shrugged and looked away. "I don't remember." I whispered, glancing at him from the corner of my eye, wondering if he would get angry. Maybe I wanted him to hit me… maybe you liked what he did, maybe you enjoyed it. Maybe that's why you want him to get angry. Maybe I was so used to it I needed it.

He was nodding slowly. "Ok. Draco, I know this is a strange sounding question. But I want you tell me honestly. Did you love Harry? Before all this started?"

Love? Don't talk about love, I don't want to talk about love-he always talked about love, let's talk about something else, like… like… like something else, anything else, not about love. That's what started it all, he kept talking about love. Don'ttalkaboutlovedon'ttalkaboutlove! If you start talking about love…. You'll… he'll…. He always talked about love. I didn't love hi, I never loved him but if I tell you that it'll make you angry, you'll send me back to him because it's my fault all this started it's my fault If I'd just said I loved him back it wouldn't have happened it could have all stopped, but I didn't, I said no I didn't love him he got angry-DON'T TALK ABOUT LOVE!

"That's what you argued about that night wasn't it, the night all this started." He said.

I flinched, I couldn't help it. I didn't want to think of that night, I couldn't think of that night.

"Draco please, tell me." He said pleadingly.

We were having dinner, he told me he loved me, I'd been too shocked to even think, he asked me if I loved him back-before I even thought about it I said no. he looked angry, he started asking me why, we started fighting… finally he hit me, I told him that was why I couldn't love him, because he was acting like my parents, everything he didn't like me saying he hit me for. That made him angry, he hit me again, and again, until he stopped being angry. Then he turned round and said we should forget it, go upstairs, have sex like nothing happened. I told him no, I didn't want him to touch me again, that made him angry again… he hit me, I remember banging into the kitchen table, everything going flying, then he dragged me upstairs-

"Draco, tell me about that conversation, please."

"He told me he loved me…" I chocked out thought my thoughts. "I said I didn't love him-too much like my parents… he got angry…" he dragged me upstairs, laughing about how he was going to show me how much he loved me, that I would love him so much when he was done. "Told me he would show me how much he… he l… loved me…. That I would… I would love him afterwards… I didn't… I couldn't…" I buried my head in my hands as the tears overwhelmed me. They did it more often now… I was always crying… he had always hit me for crying…

I struggled, I tried… but he was the prophesised saviour of the wizarding world, I couldn't get away… he wouldn't let me get away… he hit me again when I tried to pull away, then he was holding me down… I struggled… I tried to get away… I screamed and screamed, but nobody came, nobody cared… and he… he…

When the arms slipped round me I did the first thing I could think of, I buried my head in his shoulder and I cried, like I had on that night I told him about the room… I cried until the tears wouldn't come anymore, but I still clung to him. Glad he had changed, that he wasn't the little boy from years ago, glad he was willing to help. That he wasn't like him.

I don't remember much else of the day after that. I think I fell asleep…

I didn't care. I felt safe in a way I hadn't before, not since the last time he had done this.

There you go. Hope that's up to par with the rest of it. Anyway, I know it seems a bit weird, or I figure it would seem weird, but I know what its like to have someone asking you questions, and you have a whole answer playing in your head, but you just can't say it out loud in case you piss the other person off, or upset them or something. It's something that happens to me every time I get in an argument with someone. So I know it sounds weird if it doesn't happen with you, but it's a true thing.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. And remember to review.