A/N: Wow, I'm over nine hundred reviews now! You people are amazing for reviewing! Here's another chapter. Is everyone else's Document Manager not working as well? I had to do this the sneaky way!

Chapter Thirty-One: Why I Couldn't Leave You

Draco had waited for fifteen minutes and Harry still hadn't shown up. Leaving their rooms to join in the Halloween

Feast, Draco was extremely tempted to run back to the corridor he had reluctantly left his mate with a short -

temperedGryffindor but stood firm. He had promised Harry that he would let the Elemental Veela sort this out on his own

but Draco didn't want him to get hurt.

That was another reason for the blond to just go to the Great Hall. These last three months with Harry had been great.

Their personalities fit together perfectly and while they still disagreed over many things, making up was the best part. His

feelings for the raven haired Veela had grown quickly and that scared Draco.

While his family weren't the Weasleys, Draco had known that his parents loved him and had to be harder on him than

his year mate's parents because he was to become such an influential person. Family pride mattered to both Lucius and

Narcissa Malfoy and there were times when Draco had felt they only saw him as Draco, the Malfoy heir not Draco their

child. They taught him how to survive even if it meant sacrificing his happiness.

With Harry, Draco felt needed, wanted but most of all loved. Since the beginning of September, the Elemental Veela

had made it a priority to be the last one Draco saw before bed and the first one to greet him in the morning. One night,

while up doing their homework by the Common Room fire, Harry told him that he thought Draco's toes were sexy. Draco

loved the attention that Harry gave him and that he turned Harry on. It was the little things the Gryffindor did or said that

Draco loved to hear.

Love. The whole idea of feeling so much for a person, they became your world terrified Draco. Living with two spys as

parents made Draco realize at an early age that loved ones were the best weakness for those you wished to exploit. Draco

didn't want to be weak but love made him feel so strong. Harry made him feel like he could do anything, made him feel

reckless, made him feel..alive.

Draco knew that every time Harry kissed him, he would like nothing more than to totally complete the bond but he held

back, waiting until Draco was ready. And in some weird way, Draco was. He was a teenage boy, he thought about sex

every six seconds and yet he made Harry wait just to see how long he would wait, how long we would need Draco. How

long he would love him.

What a pair they made. Harry was afraid to give love, while Draco was afraid to take it.

There was chaos in the Great Hall when Draco slipped in, his silvery eyes darting over to the Gryffindor table. Granger

and the littlest Weasley were sitting together with two seats saved at the end beside them, looking nervous. Instead of

taking the long route, Draco detoured into the space separating the Gryffindor and Slytheirn Tables. Just as he reached

Harry's two friends Draco took advantage of the noise to hiss "Weasley knows!" at the two Gryffindors before moving to

take his seat with Pansy, Theo and Blaise.

"What in Merlin's name did you say to Granger and Weasley? They look like you just said the Dark Lord wanted to

come over for tea!" Blaise whispered at his blond friend.

Pansy nodded. "And where's Harry?"

Draco looked around the table. They were surrounded by their friends, the neutral families opting to stay away from the

supporters of either side.

"Weasel found out about me and Harry. At the moment, Harry is trying to explain everything but it did not look to be

going well when I left."

Theo blinked. "How did he find out?" Draco cleared his throat.

"The blundering oaf intruded... on a private moment."

Blaise grinned. "Translation: He caught you snogging Harry." Draco glared at his friends as they giggled. It was weird.

"Yes, well if Harry doesn't come back soon I'm leaving early to find him. If I find out Weasel even looked at Harry the

wrong way I'll curse his freckles off."

Theo let out a low whistle. "Whoa...that's a lot of freckles."

Ten more minutes passed with Draco checking the door until it suddenly slammed open and Ron Weasley stormed

through.

"That's not a very promising sign."Pansy said as the redhead stomped past his sister and best friend to sit next to Neville

Longobtttom who looked both curios and frightened.

"That's it, I'm leaving." Draco said and stood up. His three friends followed him as did two Gryffindors.

They all met outside the doors to the Great Hall.

"Where do you thing you're going Granger, Weaselette?" Draco asked, in no mood to be nice.

Hermione sighed but stood her ground. "Listen Malfoy, we don't get along, probably never will but we have one thing in

common and that's that we care about Harry. We're coming to and there's nothing you can do to stop us."

"What about Weasel in there sulking?" Blaise asked his eyes on Ginny. He did that a lot lately. The Slytherin had tried to get the red head alone to apologize for his words before but she was always busy or with her friends.

Ginny starred right back at him. "Ron's a big boy now and if I know my brother I'll probably end up punching him before the night is out."

"Where do you think Harry went?" Theo asked as they followed Draco.

"Probably back to our rooms. Come."

The trip to Draco's and Harry's rooms were pretty short, Draco practically running to find Harry.

"If your brother has done anything to Harry, Weaselette I won't hesitate to kill him with my bare hands." Draco growled

as he saw the portrait of Merlin at the end of the corridor.

"Don't worry," huffed Ginny as she tried to keep up with him. "I'll hold him down as you do. Just make sure there's

some left for me."

"Prongs." shouted Draco before Merlin could open his mouth and the portrait swung open to revel a staircase. Quickly

the six students ran down the dusty stairs and Draco, in the lead threw open the hidden door to the Common Room.

It was dark, the only light coming from the fire, throwing Harry into shadows. Skimming the room quickly, Draco almost

missed the Elemental Veela sitting on the love seat, his legs pulled up toward his chest, his face sad.

"Harry." Draco said, his voice barely above a whisper but the Elemental Veela's head turned and Draco was shocked

to see one crystallized tear slide down Harry's cheek before he wiped it away.

"He gave me a choice. I don't really think he thought I would do it but I did and now he never wants to speak to me

again. He hates me."

Hermione and Ginny crossed the room in a flash both trying to comfort their friend. Draco took the opportunity to turn

to his friends.

"Get Greg and Luis to meet me later tonight in the Astronomy Tower. Weasel has to pay." His three friends nodded and

disappeared and Draco crossed the room to sit across from Harry on a comfy blue footrest.

"What did he say exactly?" asked Hermione rubbing Harry's back. "Are you sure it's not just him blowing off steam?"

Harry nodded. "He told me to choose right then between him and Draco. I said I couldn't- wouldn't choose Ron over

my mate and he needed to tell me now if he could accept that. He said he couldn't and I was to never speak to him again."

Ginny thumped her fist on her knee. "Merlin, that idiotic little prick! I'll kill him when I see him in the Common Rooms!

He'll be nothing but a greasy spot on the red carpets when I'm finished!"

Draco nodded. "You're better off without him, Harry. If he couldn't accept this he wasn't accepting you."

Harry nodded and took a deep breathe. "I understand that but it still hurts. Ron was the first true friend I ever made.

Dudley would tell the other kids before Hogwarts that anyone caught talking to me would get beaten up. It just feels like, if

he can hate me, so can you guys."

Hermione put her arm around Harry's shoulder and squeezed, giving him a lopsided, one armed hug that gave Draco a

tinge of jealousy.

"I will never hate you Harry. I know what kind of person you are and if you say that Draco here is good and that you

want to be with him I trust you."

Ginny patted his hand. "I think it's wicked awesome that you've got these new powers and totally romantic that Draco's

your mate. Not even old Voldie himself could make me hate you. How about Hermione and I go and talk, well yell at Ron

The Idiot for a while to make him understand?"

Harry relented, warning the two girls that Ron knew they knew and didn't tell him. Draco sat next to the raven haired

Gryffindor and watched the fire twist and turn, it's colors and shapes hauntingly sombre. Draco wasn't sure how long he sat

there, with his arm around Harry's waist just holding the distraught boy, when Harry suddenly spoke.

"You know, even though I've just lost my best friend and probably ruined any chance Hermione had with him, I still feel

as though I made the right decision."

Draco looked form the fire to Harry, the left side of his face in shadows.

"Of course you did. Weasel was asking you to die simply because he can't get over his childish jealousy."

Harry shook his head. "It's not because I didn't want to die, not that I'm particularly fond of it either but I couldn't leave

you. Not for him, not for Sirius, not for anybody. I- I love you."

It took Draco a moment to register what Harry had said, but his eyes widened when he did. Harry loved him? The

Slytherin's heart flew and plummeted at the same time. Harry LOVED him but what did Draco feel for Harry in return?

Was it love? Draco wasn't sure and suddenly felt panicky. Did Harry want him to said it back?

Harry chuckled at the look on Draco's face.

"You don't have to say anything until you're ready. I know how I feel when it comes to you but I just want it to be clear

to you. I want you to have no doubts in your mind about how I feel for you so that, if something had to happen to me,

you'd know."

Draco tightened his grip on Harry's waist. "I'm not sure what it is I feel for you." He confessed. "It' not love yet but...it

grows bigger everyday. More complex. And as for something happening to you, I'm here to make sure it doesn't. This may

be a new concept to you, but I'm going to protect you from now on."

Harry gave Draco a sad smile. "You can't do that Draco. People who protect me die." Then he sighed as his mate had

nothing to say to that and instead lent forward and gave Harry a soft yet sweet kiss.

"Go to sleep, you look tired and it's been an emotional day. Sirius and Remus probably already know what's happened

and if not you can tell them tomorrow."

"I'll go to sleep, but only if you stay with me. Just for a little while."

Draco nodded and conjured up a thick fleece blanket to wrap them up in. Twenty minutes later, after Harry had fallen

asleep, Draco stood up and walked toward the door. He had a meeting and a promise to keep.

Not far from Hagrid's hut a short figure waited in the shadows of the Forbidden Forest. He had called for a meeting

with his master, as he had urgent news about Harry Potter. Something the Dark Lord needed to know. Every crack set the

boy on edge. He could not afford to be caught, his revenge and his master's plans depended on it.

Suddenly, the shadows twisted against the small clearing and the murderer bowed as the chalk white face of Lord

Voldemort appeared.

"What newssssss, isss sssso urgent that you have called for me to come ssssso closssse to Hogwartssss, my loyal

ssssspy?"

The Death Eater shivered slightly at the hissing but kept his head bowed and his back straight.

"News, my Lord about Harry Potter. He is not what he appears to be."

The Dark lord narrowed his blood red eyes in anger.

"I could have told you that, you fool!" Voldemort began to draw his yew wand...

The spy panicked. "My Lord, he is an Elemental Veela!"

Voldemort stopped. "Elemental, you ssssay?"

The spy nodded. "Yes, I heard him say so with my own two ears to that mudblood Granger."

Voldemort nodded and lowered his wand.

"A change of planssss isssss in order. You could never kill an Elemental Veela by yourssself. I doubt even I hold that

power. It wasss probably hisss mudblood mother who gave him the blood."

"So how can we kill him, my Lord?"

Voldemort smiled, something that scared the spy more than his frown.

"What do Elemental Veela need more than anything?"

The question was met with silence.

"Their mate, you idiot! We kill Harry Potter by killing hisss mate."

A/N: Yeah I'm evil. Voldie's my dad. Just kidding. Read and Review please. Thanks for all the other reviews! Here's some clues about the next few chappies:
-Draco and Ron 'talk'
-Harry's week gets much worse as him and Draco fight
-an attempt on Draco's life, one that Harry might not be able to stop?

S. Tangerine