"Oh Merlin…" Draco muttered, his form slightly shaking with nerves at the sounds coming from behind the door ahead of us. I looked him over once, to check his strength although I knew whatever the outcome he was going to go through with this. We already had the design, customised for Draco in his own little way and man it was going to look good.

"Are you ready Draco?" I asked over the hum of the tattoo guns. He nodded, shaking badly and I could see he wanted to say something but the quivering of his jaw hindered that.

I led him to the same room I had been in previously, sitting down on the space available for observers which wasn't a lot but enough to hold Draco's hand as he began to be customised himself. The tattoo artist was a middle aged man with scruffy blonde hair, tattoos covering his arms and a crooked boyish smile that seemed to sooth Draco immediately.

"Right then son," he addressed Draco, "Sit down here, back facing me and take your shirt off…" Draco did as told, slightly stiffly but none-the-less efficiently. Seating himself down, his arms leaning on the back of the chair he managed to smile, just for a moment at me which caused me to reach out and take his hand in mine for comfort.

I watched as the tattoo artist cleaned the skin over and between Draco's shoulder blades with a liquid that ensnared by senses. I loved that smell, of utter cleanliness. Draco jumped a little at the coldness that hit his back, but kept cool all the same. Then the outline of the tattoo was placed over the damp skin on Draco, from transparent paper to skin in seconds. Gloves were placed on the hands of the artist, who set up the needle speedily and pep-talked Draco for his body work.

"Right, son, you ready?" Draco nodded, and then I watched for an hour straight as the needles were scraped over the flesh, leaving in their wake a beautiful design of compliments to Draco. I was surprised how he eased up after only a short while, and how he looked disappointed when cling film was placed over his back and he was told that he could go. (I must say now how I remembered the feeling of needles entering my skin, scraping over the flesh in vibrations. It suited my soul, my senses. As ink was rubbed over skin waiting to be tattooed I relished in the contrast of oily liquid to the soft skin of my body. I customised myself, in a way only Draco knew about…)

As we walked out from the small room, the tattoo artist called me back and asked; "And you, what you getting done?" I had to laugh a little as it was the furthest thing from my mind but none-the-less I thought about it for a while.

"Maybe another time?" I asked, and he nodded smiling.

"See you soon I hope!" He replied, and I shook his hand and left. I think I must have made a mistake in taking Draco to get inked because the smile he was giving the world scared the hell out of me. He had been liberated, that much was for sure.

"Harry," He began cheerily, "I'm hungry. I need food." I think the digging of needles into his skin had caused more arrogance and yeah I couldn't help but think that the new school term after he had taken the Dark Mark was filled with his over confidence. I think I was right, in that moment, that the branding Draco received had liberated him and I was almost glad.

"Lets go eat then?" I asked, and he nodded whilst his hand fiddled about inside his jeans pocket, whirling around his own money. We walked a little way until we came about a greasy spoon café which, looking back on it now, was a nice little hype inducer from all the sugar. I was sincerely becoming to regret today, once the animation within Draco's features and talk went into over drive.

"…So I thought it was going to hurt- but it felt- wonderful!" I laughed as he did, before he piled food into his mouth, swallowing and then speaking again. "Harry, will you read to me when we get home?"

"Course I will Draco, of course I will…" I looked deep in his eyes, relishing in the happiness he gave. Again though, my heart would not flutter.

"And can you teach me how to cook?" He asked like a little child.

"Cook what?" I asked, trying to narrow down the whole genre of cooking which in honesty was daunting.

"Anything… your favourite food?" I nodded, not quite realising where that would lead me one day, but agreed to it anyways.

AxAxAx

Harry Potter paused here, his interview trailing out as a break in his memory clouded over. Luna sat in front of him, her note-pen tapping away on her chin as she listened intently. The golden strands of sunshine flooded through the long windows, bathing the room in sheens of happiness even though Harry felt sombre inside. Luna looked over at Harry, understanding many things within him as he recalled so much of the past. She had been asked by Harry to write his biography, and there in front of both of them lay many accounts from his friends and family which detailed many aspects and views of The-Boy-Who-Lived.

"I guess I should skip the starters and get to the main course?" He asked slightly amused, not quite emitted from his reverie yet. His eyes lay unfocused on a pile of papers, slight wind from outside dusting the corners in air.

"Harry, this is your story. It's your wish to tell it how you feel it is…" She replied, her airy voice matching the cooling winds floating through the room.

"It couldn't be more complicated, how I met him and in turn how I let him go. You meet people, you know, that just make you feel alive in times where you feel dead. It was nearing Christmas, you know and somehow I just felt I had to do something with my life.

"Ron invited me out to a party at his work, telling me to meet some new friends. I think the presence of Draco in my life made him uneasy. Truly to the outside world it looked as if I was struggling, with the way Draco would latch onto my arms wherever we were, whisper in my ear when he was to afraid to talk aloud and the look in his eyes that came about when I entered a room.

"I found it difficult, as I was loosing feeling and he was gaining it. It felt like he was sucking all the compassion for life I had right from me, but still I wouldn't sell him onto someone else. I knew him as my friend but it became increasingly obvious with every moment we spent together that he was falling in love with me.

"And I didn't feel anything back…"

Luna 'Hmmed', noted something on paper and went back to gazing with engrossed eyes at Harry. They sat silent for many moments, the air passing through them softly, before Luna spoke up. "You say its complicated meeting then losing him?"

Harry replied exhaustedly, "Yes, because he made me feel alive. If it wasn't for Draco wafting about, noticing that my influences had changed I think we would have gone on longer. Not that I regret now loosing Calix, I just wished I had more of a chance to end things peacefully."

"What did Draco do?" Luna asked, airy awe in her tones.

"He started dropping things, screaming in his sleep and eventually crying whenever I said his name. It seemed that I hurt him, with every decibel I uttered in reference to him. In fact, I could feel the shards of humanity within him break and I think that's when I realised that he had been through this before. I had saved him from all the torture based about love and here I was breaking him. Damn Luna! He positively hated that he was in love with me, and I was falling for Calix…"

"Where you in love with Calix?"

"No of course not, I couldn't have been obviously. It was just that Calix was new, exciting and he made me feel alive. His eyes would look at me, without the many years of influence to my name, and I could see the devotion he wanted to spread throughout me. He never hesitated to show me I was wanted, and even though Draco was much the same, Calix was never vulnerable. He always stood up for himself, which meant I couldn't shatter everything around him. I could see, with every day that passed that Calix was building a world with me in it, whilst Draco was making me his world. I didn't want to be the soul attraction of somebody, I just wanted to be part of someone's soul…"

"Then why didn't you let Draco go sooner!" Luna snapped, angry at Harry's misplaced morals. She was livid, in every way at what Harry had said and she could only hope the blonde didn't suffer too much.

Harry waved his hands around a little in protest against Luna's anger, "Because he was everything that Calix couldn't be…" Harry paused, his unshed tears falling around some of the papers in front of him, "He was all I could ever hope not to be and everything a person should be. He was willing to learn and in turn smart, he was loving and at the same time wary of emotion, he was beautiful yet scarred, he was frightened but willing to be strong and you know what was best of all about him Luna?"

"No, what?"

"I loved him too…"

Okay, here it is. A little longer than expected! I am hoping to get another chapter out soon as all my reviewers deserve it! However things are getting hectic here and for once I am happy… yeah… and if any of you try and make me write fluff for Christmas I promise I will kill you, with my Slytherin personality…

Yeah…

Ashes