Disclaimer: Tengo nada.

…

Harry waited in the rain for a second time for Draco, a leaden, sick feeling in his gut that grew with every passing minute. He sat on the edge of the fountain, when he found it, water constantly spilling over the edge of the basin and filling his shoes up with water. He didn't care that he hadn't gone back to work. Something in the back of his mind knew that Janet would fire him, but he could deal with that… someday. He couldn't see too far into the future now.

He waited. The sickening feeling was rising up his body, settling in his throat. His glasses were useless – almost as bad as his vision in the pouring rain. He could only see a grey blur of a city world, the occasional dark stalk passing fuzzily across his line of sight. No one came near him.

At last, the rain began to lighten. Harry felt it, shivering with cold, and looked up blindly into a grey-white sky. He wrapped his arms around himself, hunched over. The raindrops were less heavy and dense, the noise on the water of the fountain quietening rapidly. Just as quickly as it had come, the storm was passing.

As the wind threw spasmodic heavy showers across the plaza, Harry percieved a spectral shape at the edge of his field of vision. He looked up, blinking ineffectively at the figure. Despite it all, despite the cold lead in his belly, he felt a pale flame of hope. Draco?

"Harry," Draco's voice floated to him quietly, as if in answer to his mental plea.

"What do you want?" Harry croaked with a ferocity that surprised himself. He balled his hands into fists by his sides.

"I'm sorry I left," the ghostlike figure said, advancing a little closer and sharpening in focus. "I am so sorry." His voice was heavy with penitence. Harry fought down a tiny flare of sympathy.

"Your choice," he said, sniffing. He attempted to sound indifferent, but his fingernails were digging into his palms. "Your funeral, Malfoy."

"Your glasses," said Draco, and Harry glared at him. "You can put your glasses on now," Draco explained, his voice thick. Harry uncurled his hands. The tension between them was palpable. A gust of cold wind blew a little shower of rain over them. Draco remained staring at Harry as he adjusted the glasses on his face with trembling fingers and looked up.

"Why," Harry began, before taking a deep breath. "Why did you go?" Draco came into perfect focus as he blinked the gumminess away. Harry inhaled sharply. The red rims around Draco's eyes spoke volumes, and he had lost his suit jacket somewhere. No more was Draco Malfoy immaculate and untouchable.

"That's why I'm sorry," he said stiffly, raw eyes burning through Harry's soul. "I left because…" He stopped and shook his head as if he was being bothered by a gnat. "It's complicated."

"Fuck it, Malfoy!" Harry shouted, anger flaring brilliantly and dying down as rapidly. He took a deep breath. "So you don't need to tell me. You don't know me. But it's not as if you have any closer friends," he sneered. Draco's delicate lip quivered visibly and Harry felt a pang of guilt.

"I'm sorry, Harry," he repeated. He paused, looked down at the puddles on the ground. His face contorted as if he were struggling to contain something. Harry watched him, torn between curiosity and irrational anger. "I just," Draco blurted finally, his voice strained. He kept his wild eyes on the paving stones between them. "I just wanted to protect you!"

Harry clenched his hands on the rim of the basin, cold water spilling over his fingers. Wanted to protect me? He remembered the kiss so clearly now; Draco's soft lips on his, the strange-yet-familiar taste of him… Protect him? His head swum and he felt a shudder run down his spine as he realised how cold he was. Draco must be the same, he thought, shivering. "Protect me?"

Draco nodded rigidly, his eyes still lowered. It was more unlike the old Malfoy than Harry had ever seen.

"What from?" he asked carefully, fighting the memories that were rushing back in a flood of emotion. He sniffed hard, wiping a hand jerkily across his face. He gritted his teeth. "Why are you always trying to protect me?"

For once, in the white light after the storm, the frightening darkness wasn't lapping at the shores of his consciousness. Harry stared at Draco, remembering the last night at Hogwarts. "You had to try and save me, didn't you?" He said, his voice sounding bitter. Draco didn't look up. "Why?" He forced the words out. "Why did you think I wasn't good enough to face Voldemort?" Harry clapped a hand to his forehead as a bolt of pain shot through his scar. It wasn't nearly as bad as before. He thanked the heavens.

Draco shook his head, refusing to meet Harry's eyes. He hadn't noticed Harry's momentary lapse. "It wasn't that."

"Then what the fuck was it?" Harry snapped.

Draco looked up with a calm intensity that almost overwhemed him, the unbridled emotions boiling in his eyes ripping into Harry. "Because I loved you."

Harry's breath caught in his throat. He was now the one to break his gaze away from Draco's. "You're still protecting me," he muttered.

"Perhaps I still love you."

Harry froze, his hand slipping into the cold water in the stone basin. He's lying! He tried to speak, but his throat would not form sounds. He didn't dare look up at Draco. He could feel his presence just a few paces away, overwhelmingly human and soft. Flesh and bone, he reminded himself. A Malfoy is not made of marble.

"But," Draco began again, audibly regaining control over his voice. "I wouldn't bet on it." Harry choked at his sneer, a wave of nausea threatening to overcome him. He turned his back on Draco and tried to regain his breath discreetly, bent over the water. He could feel the spray from the fountain on his face. His cheeks were flushed and hot.

"What, then," he forced out, his eyes closed, "are you protecting me from?" He wanted to change the subject, talk about anything but this. Love?

"Harry," Draco said, and Harry felt the familiar electric tingles shimmer down his spine. "I need your help," he sighed.

…

Author's Note:

Hello, old beans! Yes, I'm still in good spirits. I know this has been the longest gap between updating chapters, but I've really been rushed off my feet. I'm trying to deal with college really getting into full swing, working on my new comic (comic! How childish! ;), writing this fic, attempting to have a social life and a boyfriend, preparing for NaNo – that involves plotting for my original work during November and, ahem, procrastinating a little on the forums. I also have another HPDM fanfic idea taking over my mind… I might be able to get started on that soon, and will plug it to you as soon as I can. Anyway, I apologise for the gap.

And, once again, I apologise for the quality of writing in this chapter. Just wrote it and am really not in the mood to edit. All I've done is gone through without looking at it, double-spacing the paragraphs and adding the disclaimer and author's note. I'm more concerned with not having my head hacked off with a wooden spoon by my reviwers for keeping you in suspense than the quality of the writing and for that, I'm sorry. When I have more time on my hands, I'll start writing better, longer chapters.

From this point on, things start to move more quickly than they previously have done. Promise:D

Jen

xox