Title: And I Ain't Seen The Sunshine Since I Don't Know When

Author: Chipmunki

Rating: T

Summary: Harry is tired. He still loves Jeff and Jeff still loves him. But sometimes relationships just do not work out. Sometimes one of them does not work hard enough to make it and the other has to let go. Jeff/Harry

Warnings: Homophobia, SLASH, slight spoilers to things you probably know.

oOo

There was no way he could tell Jeff what he was doing, but once he had his wand again he had access to a million spells he could try to find Jeff's mum, and if none of those worked he could ask Hermione. There was no chance he didn't know something about search spells.

With his wand in his hand again he could recognise and accept just how much he missed the world he had come to love. The wackiness of it, the absurdity, even the danger. There was a bond that was created in the Wizarding World because of the danger that he hadn't been able to replicate with any muggle, he had thought he had that with Jeff for a while, but even that relationship proved less than what he had hoped. Of course, he would never have wanted Jeff to have a bloody psycho for a dad to bring them together!

Harry lifted his wand and pointed it, hand steady, at a plant he had on the table. It was with Ron in mind that he whispered "Wingardium Leviosa!", and watched, grinning, as the plant rose steadily in the air. It wasn't the club of a fully grown mountain troll, but it would do. Even though he wanted a break from the Wizarding World, he and Ron were still in as much touch as they used to be, he had, like Harry, not gone back for Sixth year in Hogwarts, working part time in his brother's shop and applying for Auror training. Harry knew he had a ring hidden between two of his knitted Weasley jumpers. It was very early but Harry had never seen Ron so certain about anything they're entire friendship. He was sure, and Harry was sure, that they would be together forever. The jumpers were one of the few places Hermione wouldn't investigate, as busy as she was finishing her Sixth year at Hogwarts and back every holiday and occasional Hogsmede visit where she could sneak away. It wasn't that Harry was smug over Hermione's rule breaking, but he was proud (and alittle smug) that she had loosened up and could bend the rules without having to be forced or pressured into it by Him or Ron. They were happy.

He had talked to Hermione a lot as well, she had been the one who had helped him find this house and set everything up so he could be comfortable and settled in muggle America. She had been confused over his wish to leave the Magical World, he knew that she was still a little enamoured with the wonder of the Hogwarts and Wizards and Witches in general, although she had seen the dark side of it and the flighty, illogical vein that ran through the entire world, but she also respected it. He needed to be somewhere he could be happy, although maybe he was wrong about it being here.

Either way, he had a chance to help someone he cared for, even if it wasn't shaping up to be as much of a long term relationship as he had hoped. The wood of his wand felt smooth in his palm and he clenched his fist around it once more.

oOo

Nick stared at the pictures on his and Jeff's shared walls. The boy that Jeff said was his boyfriend was a familiar fixture on them now, although Nick couldn't help but look at him in a completely different light now. His hair was a complete mess, but was it natural or because Jeff had been running his hair through it? Were his round glasses prescription or pretentions?

He had so many questions to ask. Jeff had become such a big part of his life – as a best friend and self-professed brother it was his duty to find out whether Harry was good enough for his best friends. Of course he had to make sure that Jeff was free to actually date him first.

There was so much to consider on that front. Jeff's mom had come from a poor background, she had been a lower class waitress who caught the eye of Jeff's dad, a domineering but charming man who had swept her off her feet. Their marriage had been tumultuous, as much as Jeff had told him, and she had disappeared after their divorce, whether by choice or by force Jeff didn't know. His father had been borderline abusive, never for what he thought was no reason but as a rich, white, male Republican, there was a lot he thought was acceptable and right that honestly wasn't. There were issues trying to find his mother and there were a million issues with what could happen after they did. Dalton cost a lot of money, which she may not have had. It wasn't the biggest of concerns but it was his home at this point and Nick didn't want to force Jeff into a world that wasn't much better than the one his dad ruled over. Dalton was such a safe space for everyone. Nick had considered pleading his mom and dad for Jeff to stay with them which they wouldn't mind but still there were problems with the financial side. He could never ask them to pay for Jeff's schooling.

He hadn't managed to get in touch with his own mom in between classes, having been passed from assistant to assistant to receptionist to junior assistant, before being told to call back at six. It was five to six at the moment and he had written out a list of points he had to go over. His mom had built up her own company from the ground, and she loved a well thought out proposal.

His finger slid down to the last point, the ink still wet enough to smear; Call Jonathon Bones, Private Detective! With the number in careful, boxy print beside them. If he got the money from his mom he would call them. A private investigator! That was something he was excited about!