A/N: This is a very short chapter, in fact, due to the lack of response to this story, it may be the last with only a short epilogue to follow. I'm sorry if you haven't enjoyed reading this, I have loved writing it. I have two questions I would like a response to:

Assuming this story started at the beginning of the Hogwarts school year, what month would you guess it was now? (I'm asking because I want to know if you feel the same as I do)

Do you want this story to end? (I don't mean that in an offensive way, I honestly want to know what you think.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. You mean very much to me and I would have never continued writing if not for you. I hope you've enjoyed what has you've read so far, we'll see what the next update brings. If it is an epilogue, I'll be starting a new story at the same time. It will be a Harry/Draco and I intend to call it Dream Reality. Thank you all. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving or Fall Harvest. Much love and the usual pleading for reviews.

Harry lie on the bed, next to Emily, listening to her soft breaths. He felt the warmth of her, tucked against his side and his heart nearly burst with love for the little girl. He lifted a hand, slowly so as not to wake the child and began to stroke her hair. It was no more than the ghost of a touch for Harry was still amazed that this small being had become his responsibility. It wasn't something he minded. He loved Emily. He was always in awe of her. He treasured the moments when she was smiling up at him while they were doing something like reading a book. It was the little things they did together that really surprised him. He would never have believed that he would enjoy spelling words for someone as much as he did while watching Emily painstakingly scrawl out the letters that were so new to her. And yet, with all the love and companionship that Emily gave him, Harry's life was not complete.

Lying there that night, Harry held the girl that had become so precious to him close and stroked her hair, but he dreamed that it was Draco he was holding. He dreamed that it was Draco's blonde hair that his fingers were carding through. He realized in that moment that whether he cut or not, smoked or not, lived or not, he was always alone. He could dream about the times he spent with Draco and he could smile as a particularly touching memory surfaced, but when it came down to it, all he had were those memories. He didn't have the blonde that he remembered in bed with him, breathing softly in his ear. He had someone to hold, a little girl without a family to take care of, but he had no one to hold him.

He missed the closeness between himself and Draco. He missed knowing that Draco loved to be held, loved to have his hair stroked, loved to hold Harry and most of all, was there to keep Harry from feeling so alone. He never got the hugs that helped anymore. He got quick embraces from Hermione and short manly hugs from his other friends, but never a hug that lasted. There was no one to cuddle on the couch, no one to fall asleep with. At night, he was left alone.

Harry stared through the darkness, trying to discern something, anything that would fill him with a sense of comfort, but there was nothing. Sometime in the past few weeks, it had all become unimportant. Nothing was the same without Draco. Tears seeped out of the corners of Harry's eyes. It was only the wetness that told Harry that he was crying. Otherwise, he would have stayed there unfeeling. As it was, he pulled him arm out from under Emily and walked into the bathroom.

He sank down to sit on the cold tiles, the chill seeping through his thin pajamas. He leaned his back against the wall and let the tears continue to fall. His stomach lurched and he threw himself forward to the toilet. He stayed like that, bent over for several minutes, until all the contents he contained had been emptied out. He leant back against the wall and turned his head to press a cheek against the cold. He didn't move for a while after that. Finally, standing, he walked over to the sink and brushed his teeth quickly. He splashed some water on his face and then wiped it off roughly with a towel. He stood there, staring into the mirror, taking in the pale boy that stood before him. He had dark circles under his eyes and he was reminded of the time he had lost his magic, except for his eyes which though listless were even more emerald than usual in contrast to the dark bags underneath. He eyed himself carefully, noticing that he had lost weight. He was verging on being too skinny and he knew it, but it wasn't like he could do anything. He had even tried to eat, but it didn't matter. He could eat, but he'd just cry later and then he'd throw everything up. He was used to it.

Harry padded out of the bathroom and through the dorm. He walked down the stairs and into the common room. There at one of the tables, a small boy, a second year by the name of Kevin, had fallen asleep in one of the armchairs, a blotted parchment at his feet. Harry knelt and picked the parchment up, he read over it. It was an essay about a cheering charm. Harry picked up the boy's pencil and made a few corrections in the margins. He placed the essay in the boy's school bag and put the bag on his shoulder. He then picked the boy up and began the short walk to the second year dormitory. Guessing that the boy belonged in the only empty bed, Harry tucked him in, removing his shoes.

A sleepy voice pierced the dark.

"Who's there?"

"It's just me, Harry Potter, Kevin fell asleep downstairs and I brought him up here. Go back to sleep."

"Ok."

A few seconds later, snores could be heard from the direction in which the voice had come. Harry left the dorms and went back down to the common room. He curled up on a couch near the dying fire, throwing a blanket over himself, not because he noticed that he was cold, only because of habit. He sat there all night, never sleeping, barely even thinking, just sitting alone.

And so the weeks passed, Harry was miserable, but he began to live and ignore his loneliness. Slowly, he began to eat and stopped crying at nights. He didn't gain back the weight he had lost, but he didn't lose anymore. He didn't sleep like used to, but he got some sleep. He kept more to himself than before. The only person that could make him smile was Emily. She never knew how sad he was. He always hid that part of him from her. He was like those widowed fathers who an outsider knew were terribly unhappy though their children only saw the happy fathers that loved them. Harry became quieter. He studied more and was receiving top marks in his classes. He had become a steadier person, he watched after the smaller children in the school. No longer did the children go to McGonagall when they were homesick, they came to Harry. He had even started helping out Poppy in the infirmary. She was teaching him some healing magic as well as letting him do small chores like monitor the patients and even mix the easier potions. Harry had become a gentle, kind person, but he was also secluded. His friends didn't know what to do and so they gradually stopped bothering him. They knew that only one thing could help Harry now and that was the return of Draco.

Draco was happier as well. He had become friends with Ron, Hermione, Blaise and Seamus again. He spent most of his time with them. He didn't avoid Harry, but he didn't seek him out. He almost wished that the brunette would come along with his friends when they were around Draco, but Harry never did. He worried about the boy and so he made a painful decision.

Dear Harry,

I know that you said you would wait for me forever and that someday, when I remembered, we would be together again, but I can't hold you to that promise. It isn't fair to you. I know that you are unhappy. I know that you are lonely and it hurts me to see you like this. I can't help you though. I don't know how. I want you to forget me for now. I want you to find someone that can keep you company and make you smile. Even if you don't believe you can, I want you to try. You can't live like this for the years it could take me to remember. I know that your Draco wouldn't want you to and that the Draco writing this doesn't either.

Please consider my words carefully. I'll leave it up to you to do what you feel you must, but I'll be watching.

Sincerely,

Draco.

Harry folded the note carefully. He placed it in the drawer and left it there. He wouldn't do anything about it, but he would remember it. He knew that Draco was right, if it took years, he could not stand to be alone for all of them, but for now, he would wait.