The heavy rain bulleted against the roof of the silver Mercedes as it slipped into the Soho parking space. As Carlisle switched off the engine he felt that same tugging in his ribcage he had outside of Heathrow. Inside, the hunter awakened and a low rumble rose in his throat. Something in him beckoned to his rational mind, clawing to be freed. Carlisle shook, gripping himself in a tight hug. As the shaking subsided, he released his arms to find deep cuts in his grey polo shirt. Carlisle breathed in deeply, deciding to postpone his trip into the West-End. As he reached for the key he heard a screaming, a high-pitched wail that seemed to be reverberating from every part of the car. It took moments to realise that the wail was inside his head, urging him to seek out that irresistible, magical essence. He could not fight it, he could not leave. He had to find that man, the green-eyed Adonis.

The scent caught on the whipping wind, swirling around Carlisle and driving him into the jaws of ecstasy. It enflamed and strengthen as he twisted through the dark alleyways and backstreets, guiding him in the dark. Leaving the busy streets of Central London behind him, Carlisle slipped into a winding alleyway between two grand Victorian theatres, his mind now humming with excitement as that striking aroma grew dangerously closer. The hunter's eyes gleamed in the dimly lit streetlamps that cast slim rays of light down the alley and out onto the street behind. Carlisle finally came to a stop in front of a large brick wall, some of the bricks missing in odd assorted places. Beyond this wall, hissed the hunter, is what we seek.

In a clear leap, Carlisle had scaled the wall, one part of him screaming angrily at the other to end this mad escapade. However, the hunter was too strong and Carlisle had, in his weakness, completely resigned to the beast's thirsty instincts.

Crouched on the top of the wall, Carlisle scanned the immediate area. Below him stood two men, one strikingly beautiful with brilliant green eyes, and the other with deep grey eyes that looked like a storm over the sea. Carlisle listened silently to their conversation, making sure that he was not doing the annoying habit of breathing. The grey eyes were sheltered by a well-groomed length of blonde hair that swept past the man's well-defined shoulders, fighting against the pestering wind. Both were dangerously close to each other, their heartbeats abnormally fast. Carlisle's hunter was bewildered and intrigued by the two men's intimacy. The true Carlisle, however, broke free from the mental chains that had been suppressing him, noting the reasons for the increased heart rates, the shifting edginess of the blonde haired man, and the apparent nonchalance of the other, the hunter's Adonis.

"Listen, Potter, I just came to warn you…"

"So now it's 'Potter', Drake? What happened to Harry? Or even better, what happened to lov…"

"Shut up…Harry!"

A spitting sound accompanied the man's name that made Carlisle's conscience tittered. Clearly history there, then. Relieved that the hunter had finally been put to sleep with the sight of the green-eyed man, whose name was clearly 'Harry', Carlisle continued to listen to the conversation.

"I came to warn you, Harry. My Dad has been planning this alliance for a long time, and now he has finally secured it. Mum is furious, she's sure he has fallen for this Elizabeta, it's not fair! He just can't admit defeat and let it all go!"

The grey-eyed man tensed, his heart rate faltering, his fists clenching into tight balls.

"Draco, it will all be fine. Thank you for telling me all this, but what am I going to do about it? I'm not the chosen one anymore, now that Voldemort is gone."

Draco's voice dropped to a dangerous, paced whisper.

"Typical bloody Gryffindors, all size and no substance, always need a Slytherin to act as the brains!"

"Hey! I'll have you know Hermione…"

"Exception to every rule," Draco cut in without missing a beat.

Both men seemed to relax, then, and laughed.

"I thought we had left that all behind us at Hogwarts?"

"Some things never get left behind."

Draco and Harry both closed the inch gap between them, so close that Carlisle felt intrusive.

"No, Harry, I can't…"

Draco took a step back and folded his arms defensively.

"So, I should have asked this earlier really, are you really happy, Draco?"

Draco shuffled awkwardly, there had been no niceties in this brief meeting, and he had secretly been hoping that there would never be time.

"I am as happy as a man with a sadistic parent, a stigmatised name and a rubbish teaching job at Hogwarts can be really."

Harry nodded solemnly, looking into Draco's silvery eyes. He could see the tired red shots interrupting the wild tornado in their depths, now was not a time to rush Draco into doing something he really was not interested in.

"And you, Harry, are you finally at peace? Or are you still the Golden Gryffindor that you were when we were…"

Draco left the sentence to hang in the air between them. He knew all the right buttons to press with Harry to get the desired effects, he would not have changed so much over three years. Harry shrugged and both fell into peels of laughter again.

"Look, Draco, look at me! I'm a changed man! Much calmer than I was in Hogwarts. These three years, well they have been the best I have ever had in my life. If I could do it all again I would in a heartbeat. I learnt so much. Coming back here…well…it reminds me of why I left in the first place. I don't want to save everyone anymore! I shouldn't have to! I have done it so many times that I should be paid ten galleons a life. Draco…I missed out on so much during my years. Years I could have spent with Sirius, Remus, You…"

Both men now starred at each other, expectant, waiting to see who would speak first.

Draco cleared his throat after the prolonged silence became awkward once again.

"Harry, I am not your number one fan, and I am not a sycophant, as you know Malfoy's never praise anyone, not even their own family. But…and this is a big BUT, you are one of the most amazing and intriguing the people I have met, and I am happy that you had a good time on your travels. But the holiday is over and now its time you got back to work. We need you Harry, the world needs you, and we always will. You are the reason so many people turned round and said 'no' to the most powerful dark wizard of the twenty first century. You, for some reason I cannot fathom, are the chosen one. Love put you there. Faith keeps you there. Only death will take you away from there. And even then you know as well as I you will be sung of years after your gone. You'll probably have a statue somewhere that I can throw rocks at when I'm old and past caring about you."

Harry's shocking heart rate rocked Carlisle, who swayed slightly on the wall. Returning to his balance, he watched as Harry pulled himself up straight and sniffed.

"Thank you Draco."

Harry held out his hand to shake, but was met with a tight embrace. Draco clung to Harry for dear life, taking in every inch of the man who so desperately held him. No matter what front he may be wearing, Draco knew how much Harry was aching. He felt it every time he walked into his father's house. The bravado you need to take on the world and its evils. Draco eased himself away, still holding Harry's forearms.

"Understand this Harry, I love you, but we can't be together. It isn't right for either of us. Now, pull yourself together Potter. You have a world that needs saving!"

Both men smiled warmly and within a second, Draco had disappeared with a loud pop. Harry stood in the alleyway, the gravity of what was before him hitting him hard in the chest. Carlisle, completely concealed on the wall, decided now was the time to make himself known. He silently slipped off the high wall, landing neatly on his feet behind Harry.

"Harry…"

Carlisle whispered in his ear, smelling the sweet aroma that permeated through Harry's skin.

"I think is about time that you and I met. My name is Carlisle Cullen and I suggest that, for your own safety, you do not run."