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CHAPTER FOUR

That had been eight months ago and now the Dark Lord was dead and Draco Malfoy could join his love. He requested an audience with his father and Dumbledore had him transferred from Azkaban to Hogwarts. As his father walked into the room, Draco felt such hate overcome him. This man had killed Harry.

He had listened without uttering a word when Dumbledore had explained that Lucius was also a spy for the Light and Harry had planned all of this. Lucius was here to apologize to Draco for killing Harry but he was having none of it. With a wave of his hand his father was rendered mute and Draco spoke the last words to his father that anyone ever would.

His gaze hardened to silver spikes as he stared at the man who he had once called father. "You should have told him no." He said coldly before he looked away from him but not before waving his hand and making his father deaf as well as mute.

He missed the sad look on his fathers face and the slump of his shoulders as the Headmaster led the now broken man out of the room.

"You were cruel, Love." Came the soft voice of the boy standing at the end of the bed.

Draco showed no surprise at what he was seeing and hearing. He had been seeing and hearing Harry's ghost for days now. He watched as the boy walked closer to the end of the bed ans he closed his eyes at the brilliance of that green gaze. Harry looked as he had always done, so alive. Draco looked away as the pain shot in his heart. Why was he still alive? He should be dead by now.

"Love?" Harry's ghost whispered.

Draco refused to look at him. "No, I was not. He killed you. I should have killed him when I had the chance, spy or not." Draco spat out.

"He had too, Love." Harry's ghost said softly.

"No, he did not. I won't reverse it." Draco said bitterly. "Now drop it."

Harry's sighed but made to reach out to touch his arm but Draco flinched. For some reason he did not want him to touch him. This...thing...was not his Harry and only his Harry was allowed to touch him.

"I miss you." Draco whispered tearfully. "God, how I miss you, Love." Harry's form wavered as his new tears blurred his vision.

"I told you I would never leave you remember?" Harry's ghost whispered brokenly from the end of Draco's bed. "And I won't."

"Go please." Draco whimpered and closed his eyes so as not to see him.

"I won't break my vow, Draco." Harry whispered.

Fury shot through Draco's body at that and his eyes snapped open. He glared at Harry standing there so calmly, looking so close but so, so far away. "But I will right Harry?" He growled, "it's okay for Draco Malfoy to break his vow but not the Great Harry Potter. God, you are such a hypocrite. You planned this, you bastard. You're dead!" He screamed out, "leave me be!"

Draco was shaking and he hurt so much that he felt that pain was driving him insane. He curled into a fetal position and he cried out his grief not hearing the lone figure leave the room in tears.

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He cried for hours until there was no strength left in him to cry another tear. As he lay staring up at the white ceiling he could not understand why he was still alive. By all intents and purposes he should be dead. He didn't die when Harry did because he had broken their bond. He didn't die when he had killed Voldemort and he was still alive when he should have died days ago. But why?

"I want to die." Draco whispered to himself. He wanted to end this half-life he had been existing in since Harry was gone. He struggled up out of the bed and finding his clothes, began to dress. He was so engrossed in what he was doing that he did not see the two figure standing tin the doorway. One, old beyond his years, was being held in the arms of his mentor as he watched the man he loved prepared to take his own life.

Because of him. Harry turned anguished eyes to his oldest friend and whispered brokenly, "he can't. He doesn't know everything. Please, stop him. Oh Albus, please he can't."

Albus turned the man from the doorway and passed him into the waiting arms of one of his friends. It was up to him to explain to Draco the extent of Harry's plan. He only hoped he would understand, for both of their sakes.

"Draco," he said calmly as he walked into the room startling the young man. Albus sighed as he saw the desperation in the boys eyes. He remembered that look, Harry had that same look when he had come to him nine months ago with this outrageous plan.

"Why am I still here, Albus?" Draco's voice was hard, inexorable and tinged with so much bitterness that the older man could not stop his flinch.

"Because your task is not yet done, Draco." Albus said warily.

"What are you talking about?" Draco demanded. "I have done everything that you said I had to do. I just want to join Harry now."

"I know Draco but you can't until you know everything."

"What are you blathering on about?"

"Sit down, Mr. Malfoy." The Headmaster snapped. Draco sat down immediately not able to resist that tone of command in the otherwise genial old man.

"Now, you will listen," Albus stressed on the word listen, "you were not told everything that night."

"No surprise there." Draco interrupted waspishly.

The Headmaster continued as if he had not just been so rudely interrupted. "The transfer was not suppose to have been for as long as it was. We did not anticipate the trouble we had in locating Voldemort. You were only mean to carry Harry's Power for a few weeks, not months. I apologize for that. Because of that your powers were so intertwined with Harry's that we are unable to separate them."

"That's nice, Albus. But what had that to do with anything? I just want to see Harry again." Draco grumbled.

"I am getting to that Draco. Have patience." Albus decided to ignore that angry pout on the boys face. Draco sighed and then nodded. "Harry knew he couldn't kill. He fought with himself for a long time. Told himself that if anyone deserved to die it was Voldemort."

"I know all this, Albus," Draco said softly as the tears started to fall once again. "He hated himself for it you know. He thought he was weak but he never understood why I thought that made him strong. To have such conviction, to know what to do, I told him I would do it for him."

"I know Draco, but you couldn't could you? You were powerful but nowhere near as powerful as Harry. It was not until your mother died that we found out you were descended from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Harry came to me, a week later, with this plan."

"I remember that. He spent all week in the library with Hermione but would never tell me what they were researching." Draco voice was soft as he was lost in his memories.

"They were researching a way for Harry to give you his powers. With the powers of all four founders in you, Draco, you would be unbeatable. We just didn't account for the bond."

"I know all this, Hermione told me already." Draco snapped.

"You told him you would do the killing, remember Draco?"

"Yes." Draco got up and started to pace angrily raking his hand through his hair.

Albus sighed before saying softly, "he wasn't meant to die, Draco."

"What?"

"The curse was only suppose to make it 'appear' that he was dying. We don't know what went wrong."

"Harry researched the spell his mother used to save him. He then had my father hex him so that he was injured but something went wrong and he died. Then I had to break the bond I vowed on my soul I would uphold. Then I stole his powers from him right before he died." Draco ground out a purr of soft menace entered his voice, "have I left anything out?"

"Only one." Came the soft voice from behind him.

Draco spun around to see Harry standing there. "Harry?"

"It's me Draco." Harry said softly as he cried.

Draco stepped as close to harry as he could get without actually touching him. He searched the face of the man he loved but had just found out had used him so horribly.

"I am sorry, Love." Harry whispered.

Draco slowly reached up and touched the cheek of the very alive Harry Potter standing before him. He let his finger slowly trace down Harry's cheek and he watched as the other boys eyes darkened with desire. His gaze sharpened as he jerked his fist back and swung it as hard as he could hitting Harry in the jaw. He smiled gleefully as the sharp crack that signified breaking bones was loud in the room.

Harry lay on the floor making no attempt to stop Draco if he was going to hit him again. He just watched sadly as the man he loved stared at him hatefully as he crouched down to his knees to look him in the eye. "You used me!" Draco hissed derisively, "you coward!"

Draco stood and walked to the door which he jerked open but stopped before he walked out. "You could have asked. But not the great Harry Potter. Oh, no," Draco said in a tone that carried no emotion, "I would have done it, you know. For the man I thought loved me. If you had asked me."

Draco turned to stare coldly at the man on the floor. Seconds passed as he continued to take in the sad eyes, the tears tracks on the pale cheeks, the blood seeping out of the corner of his mouth down his chin, and the obviously broken jaw. Finally he straightened up to his full height and his gaze seem to grow even harder.

"Never speak to me again," he sneered.

Draco turned and walked form the room ignoring the harsh sobs of grief from the broken man he had left on the floor.

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