Author's Notes: Oh, how I love pissing off my readers :D (Trust me, this pertains to the rest of the story…. Mwahahaha.)

Chapter 32

Only two boxes sat on the floor of the entrance hall once Harry was done packing. He found it depressing. Then again, he found a lot of things depressing now.

Skye was coming over in only a few minutes to help Harry move. Skye had been over to the Grimmauld Place a lot in the last few weeks. He'd been there every time Harry had a meltdown, every time Harry had a mood swing, every time Harry thought about Draco. It made Harry feel a lot better. He knew he'd always have Ron and Hermione there, but something just felt different with Skye. He understood what Harry was going through more than anyone else did.

Hermione, Ron and Ginny were sitting in the living room talking and laughing, trying to involve Harry as much as possible. Harry had made it clear to them that he wanted them to do anything they could to keep his mind off Draco, but it was getting rather difficult for them; Ginny was leaving for school again in just a day and was excited about her last year at Hogwarts, and Hermione and Ron were trying to balance taking care of Harry and taking care of their relationship at the same time.

There was a knock on the front door. Harry ran into the entrance hall, picked up a box, and opened the door. He almost dropped it when he saw who it was. "Bloody hell."

Draco was standing on the front step of the house, looking as surprised as Harry felt, as if he hadn't meant to come here at all. He half turned, as if to leave, but then changed his mind and took a step into the house.

"What are you doing here, Draco?" Harry asked as he sat the box down on top of the other. "I thought we settled all of this two weeks ago."

"I don't know why I'm here," Draco said, bewildered. "I guess…. I guess it just seems like we need to talk some things over."

"No, we don't," Harry sighed, crossed his arms in front of his chest. "We're not married anymore, Draco. That's that. We fucked it all up and it's too late to talk some things over because no matter what we say, it won't change a damn thing."

"Why did you want a divorce, Harry?" Draco asked, ignoring Harry's comment. "Was it honestly because we were a bad idea, or was it because I cheated?"

Harry sighed again and thought for a moment. He shrugged. "I don't really know, Draco. All I know is that I don't want to do this anymore. We had a fucked up relationship from the start, Draco. I mean, who goes from enemies, to shag buddies, to married? It just doesn't work. And that's probably why you cheated, and I really can't blame you for that. Something like this was bound to happen to us anyway."

Draco shook his head. "It was a mistake, Harry. It wasn't 'bound to happen.' Everyone makes mistakes."

"We've made too many," Harry said flatly.

"Harry, is Skye here?" Ron asked from the other room.

"No," Harry replied with a growl.

"Well who is it, then?" The three that had been in the living room all came into the entrance hall, and stared shocked at Draco.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Ginny demanded angrily.

Draco sighed. "I came to talk to Harry."

"You aren't welcome here," Ron hissed, his fists clenching. He moved forward slowly, threateningly. "Harry doesn't want you here. None of us want you here."

"Ron, please, I just need to talk to Harry!"

Ron looked at Harry, who gave no reaction. "Leave!"

"Not until I get a chance to say what I want to say."

Before anyone could react, Ron's arm shot up and his fist hit Draco's face. Draco was on his back in a flash, gripping his nose and moaning.

"RON!" Hermione screamed, rushing forward to help Draco. "Bloody hell, Ronald! What are you thinking!"

Ron shook his fist and wiped the blood from his knuckles. "I'm thinking he's a bloody wanker that should never show his face here again!"

There was another knock at the door. Harry opened it, acting as if nothing had even just happened.

"Hey, mate," Skye grinned. Harry handed him a box and shoved him out the door before he could see the scene inside. "What the hell was that about?"

"Draco came over," Harry sighed, a mix of anger and sadness in his voice. "Ron punched him. It's not pretty."

"Jesus. Is he alright?"

Harry snorted. "I don't care anymore. At least if he isn't, he won't be bothering me anymore."

"Well, I don't really think you have to worry about that," Skye smiled as he walked down the walkway to his car. "Unless you gave him your new address."

"Yeah, right," Harry said. He pushed the box he was carrying into the back seat of Skye's black sport's car. "Skye, I can't thank you enough for this. For everything. You've been so great the last couple of weeks. And for someone you hardly even know…."

"It's no problem," Skye smiled, patting Harry on the shoulder. "It's the least I could do. Besides, I've been looking for a roommate for a long time. It gets lonely when you're living alone."

Harry smiled as he climbed into the car, but the smile was quickly wiped from his face. He was on the verge of crying.

"What's wrong?" Skye asked as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"Draco wants me back. Badly." Harry wiped his eyes and stared up at the Grimmauld Place, which was beginning to shrink between the two houses on either side. "How the hell am I supposed to know if I'm doing the right thing? Am I doing the right thing?"

Skye shrugged. "Well, would you be happy if you were in there with him right now?"

"I don't know," Harry whispered, shaking his head. "I have no idea. I don't think I'm gonna be happy no matter what I do. Shit." He covered his face with his hands. "I don't want to have to put up with this anymore. I don't want to fight with Draco anymore. I don't even know what the bloody hell that means. Merlin, I wish someone could just tell me what to do."

"It wouldn't help," Skye said softly. "Only you can decide, Harry. No matter what anyone tells you, don't listen to them. It's about you and him, and other people don't matter in that." Harry looked up at him and nodded. "Now what do you want to do? Right now, this very second. Don't think about the past, or the furture. Do you want to leave, or do you want to go back in there and get him?"

Harry closed his eyes and thought for a long time, Skye waiting patiently. Finally he spoke, without opening his eyes. "Let's go."

I!I!I!I!I!I!I!I!

It had been three weeks since Draco had last seen Harry, and not for lack of trying. He'd gone to the Grimmauld Place nearly every day, and had gotten punched by Ron just as many times. Every time he'd go, Ron would hit him, Hermione would heal him, and Ginny would push him out the door, but he never saw Harry, and they never told him where he was. So he kept going back.

Draco was preparing to attempt to see Harry again early that morning, hoping Ron would be at work or at least at the Burrow. He had his wand in easy reach in case Ron tried to attack him again, and was bracing himself for yet another broken nose. That would be four this week alone.

The fire of his hotel room roared to life, and he jumped in surprise, the comb flying backwards and messing up his hair. He didn't even know that anyone knew he was staying here.

There was a loud cough, and the dust settled slowly. Hermione was standing there, her robes covered in soot, brushing ashes from her bushy hair.

"Hermione!" Draco exclaimed, rushing forward. "What are you doing here?"

She looked up at him, and she seemed almost surprised. "I, um, I came to talk to you." She looked down when she said it.

"Is something wrong?" Draco asked automatically.

"No, no, nothing's wrong." She shook her head, but didn't seem too convinced of it.

Draco eyed her suspiciously, but then turned to the small table in the corner of the room and sat down. Hermione sat down across from him. "Do you want some tea or coffee?" he asked.

"Um… no, thanks," Hermione sighed. "I just want to get straight to the point."

"How's Harry doing?" the blond blurted out before he could stop himself. "Is he okay? Is he happy?"

Hermione had been expecting this. She nodded slowly. "I think so. It's hard to tell for sure, you know how he hates admitting he's not okay. But he's doing a lot better than I expected him to." She paused thoughtful, staring out the window on the opposite side of the room. "He's sharing an apartment with a friend, in downtown London. It's a great place. And he went back to Auror training. Sometimes I wonder if he's just trying to keep himself busy so he won't have to think about it."

There was a brief silence as Draco took in this new information. Then he looked up at Hermione, his face blank. "What's his address?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. I promisedHarryI wouldn'ttell you. He doesn't want to talk to you, Draco."

"But I need to talk to him, Hermione," Draco said desperately. "Please, just give me anything. His address, his phone number, anything, for Christ's sake!"

"No, Draco," Hermione replied firmly. "Look, I have a job interview in two hours, so I'm just going to get to why I can here in the first place," she said as she glanced at her watch.

Draco sighed heavily and rested his head on the table. "What?"

Hermione took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I came to tell you that…. That we can't be friends anymore, Draco."

"What?" Draco lifted his head off the table and stared blankly at Hermione. She couldn't be saying what he thought she was. Her and Ginny were the only friends he had left. How could she abandon him like this?

"You heard me," she sighed sadly. "I can't be there for both you and Harry, it's just too hard, and Harry's been my best friend for seven years."

"Did Harry put you up to this?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, Draco, of course not. He doesn't even know I'm here. He thinks I'm getting ready for my interview." Draco stood up, pushing his chair off its legs, and began pacing the room. "I'm sorry, Draco, but I just can't do it. It wasn't only Harry you hurt when you slept with Jenni. We all put faith in you, and you betrayed all of us."

He stared her in the eyes for a long moment, his eyes desperate and sad.

"Please, Draco, don't do that," she whispered, averting her eyes. "You have to understand. I mean, one minute I was hating your guts for being so shallow and big-headed, and the next minute I was trying my hardest to support your relationship with my best friend. I was hoping that you'd changed, but you haven't. You let us all down. This is so much bigger than just you and Harry."

Draco sighed and ran a hand through his silver hair. He knew she was right. He deserved this.

"This is all happening so fast. Fuck." He sat down on the bed and covered his face with his hands. "Just… let me think for a while, okay? Just give me some time to think…."

Hermione didn't think it was necessary to say anything else. She stood, kissed the top of Draco's head, grabbed some Floo powder from the hearth, and vanished.

Tears began to burn in Draco's eyes. He couldn't bring himself to move. He wasn't completely sure if Hermione had left or not, but he had nothing to say to her, either way. He couldn't believe she was doing this. What was he supposed to do now? He was completely on his own.

And then it hit him. It's real.

He'd been holding on to the hope that he still had a chance to get Harry back, that he could get his old life back. Now he finally realized it: he'd lost everything. His friends, the love of his life, the entire life he'd built up for himself. It was all in ruins.

There was only one thing left for him now.

I!I!I!I!I!I!I!I!

There it was. Eight stories, two hundred rooms looming over the 43 acres of private, enclosed gardens. The Malfoy Manor looked just the way he remembered it.

He pushed the giant steel gate open, which had been charmed to only allow the Malfoys, as well as a few selected others, to enter the grounds.

The grounds in front of the house was a dense forest, with very little path and several traps, so it was harder for people to find their way to the too-large metal doors. But Draco remembered just where to turn, just where to step, what trees to avoid and what bushes were cursed.

Finally he reached the doors. He lifted the huge door knocker and slammed it against the door. It took only a brief moment before a house-elf opened the door.

"Good evening, master Draco!" Rorhan said in surprise. "Rorhan has not seen you in quite some time. Can Rorhan take your coat, master Draco?"

"No," Draco barked, pulling is collar up. He was in no mood to put up with annoying, insistent house-elves. "Go fetch my father for me."

"Yes, master Draco." Rorhan bowed deeply and ran out of the room.

Draco examined the entrance hall, and found it as uninteresting as ever. Neither of his parents had ever bothered to decorate the house, and Lucius had always believed that putting too much personality into anything could give away his post as a Death Eater. Draco just thought he was paranoid.

"Draco."

Draco jumped and looked up. Lucius was standing at the top of the large marble staircase.

"Lucius," Draco nodded curtly.

Lucius started down the steps slowly. He looked like something right out of a soap opera. Draco almost laughed. "I've been expecting you, Draco."

Draco raised an eyebrow at him curiously, but then shook his head. Of course Lucius had been expecting him. He'd probably been waiting for Draco to come around ever since he'd heard that Draco slept with Jenni.

"Come, son," Lucius smiled as he motioned toward the drawing room. Draco nearly flinched. Smiles didn't fit on Lucius's face, after he'd spent his entire life scowling.

The both entered the drawing room and sat down on the plush couches. Rorhan was already there with a fresh pot of tea. The house-elf poured them both a cup and set them down on the coffee table next to the couches.

"So, son. Why did you come here?" Lucius asked, already knowing the answer.

Draco took a small sip of tea and peered into the cup. "Harry and I got divorced," he said, looking up. He tried to keep his tone even and emotionless. He didn't want to seem sad about it. He didn't want Lucius to know it meant something to him. "A few weeks ago."

"I heard," Lucius nodded. He stared intently at Draco for a few uncomfortable moments. At least, uncomfortable for Draco.

Draco set the cup down on the coffee table and leaned forward. "Look…. I want to come back. I want to come back to the family, and… and to the dark side."

"I was expecting this." Lucius stood and moved around he coffee table. He sat down right next to Draco and looked him in the eyes. "Welcome home, son."

I!I!I!I!I!I!I!I!

Author's Notes: Well, I hope to have the next chapter out for ya real quick, I actually started working on it before I even finished this chapter, but now I have writer's block. Plus it's seven in the morning and my friend and I stayed up all night. Hahaha. So I'm at the point in the morning where everything's funny. So we'll see how this next chapter goes.

TTFN,

Deathdragon4