Hello again! Second to last chapter only one more to go! Eeee! I'm so excited! I can't believe its nearly finished! Also - sidenote - who else is both loving and completely frustrated with new look? I love the look but the accounts are just confusing me now, things arent where they used to be!!

Anyway, on to more important business... A big thank you thank you to Digitallace! Hi Lex! *waves* Whose brilliance must be experienced first hand by all Harry/Draco lovers so go forth and read her work! Fly, my pretties! Fly!

Now enjoy the chapter and can I stress FEEDBACK peoples! I'm happier with reviews and that happiness translates to Harry and Draco.. think about that.

Chapter 19

Draco was in rather a lot of trouble, but admittedly he'd been in trouble for a long time, this was just an extension of that. Draco had betrayed his family and the Dark Lord by providing information to the Order and if they ever managed to get their hands on him he wouldn't even live long enough to explain himself. Not that he could provide them with any explanation they would accept since he had essentially chosen Harry over his family; he had chosen Harry over himself and he didn't care even if his confession landed him in prison. He needed Harry to know he wasn't the cold hearted manipulator he suspected him to be.

Azkaban; that was his other worry. He knew the Ministry would come for him, they had been steadily removing each of the boys he had named as his accomplices and he assumed it wouldn't be long before he was next. Dumbledore had promised to do his best but couldn't guarantee anything; Draco knew he was bound for that lonely island for the rest of his miserable life. But he wasn't surprised, he knew that would be his fate when he first agreed to talk to Harry and yet he still couldn't bring himself to regret it. His life was over either way so why shouldn't he choose to end it in a manner which might afford him the tiniest bit of compassion from Harry; anything so long as the Gryffindor didn't hate him forever. With that thought in the forefront of his mind Draco spent his last few days of freedom trying to make amends with Harry, but his ex-boyfriend made it clear he wasn't having any of it as he expertly ignored each advance. Finally, through sheer frustration Draco ended up yelling at him in the middle of a crowded corridor.

"Harry, for fuck's sake, I need to talk to you before they take me away!"

Perhaps it was the desperation in his voice but Harry, who had been roughly pushing his way through the crowd of people, froze at these words and turned around. It was the first time Harry had looked at him in days and Draco nearly melted with relief.

Harry nodded quickly and indicated for Draco to follow him to the nearest empty classroom. The door was locked and sound-proofed before Harry said a word to him.

"Talk," Harry commanded.

Draco opened his mouth but his throat was so clogged with emotion he could barely get air out let alone words. Tears sprung from his eyes and fell thickly down his cheeks and he found himself unable to regain control as the combination of relief and gratitude for Harry's attentions mixed with his complete terror at his impending fate. Words escaped him as he sobbed and he was suddenly mad at himself for wasting the precious time he had been granted alone with Harry; he knew he was unlikely to have this chance again.

"They aren't coming for you, Malfoy, you don't have to get so upset," Harry said, he was clearly uncomfortable with being the sole witness to Draco's breakdown.

Draco looked broken and Harry didn't know what to do; part of him thought that perhaps the git deserved it, he had brought this upon himself after all, but another part of him thought that perhaps he wasn't entirely at fault and wanted to hug all his pain away. Harry knew better than to do that though, he still had feelings for the attractive blonde and he wasn't sure how well he could control himself if a hug turned into a kiss and then more.

"What do you mean they aren't coming?" Draco managed to choke out once he had controlled his heaving sobs. "They took Shepherd, Phillips and Fry this morning and Dobs and Nott yesterday, there's only me and Jimmy Brown left! I probably won't even last the day!"

"Don't worry, I sorted it out, you won't even be questioned," Harry informed him.

"You sorted it out?" Draco asked astounded by Harry's flippant tone at such a statement. "How? You don't have that much pull with the Ministry, they almost expelled you last year!"

"It doesn't matter how, Dumbledore and I worked it out, I might have had to bend the truth a little but they won't touch you," Harry reassured him.

"Bend the truth how? What did you tell them?"

"I told them I knew about everything – everything except… um, the last thing," Harry explained, not wanting to refer directly to Mrs. Norris and that day. "It was obvious I didn't know about that one. I told them you came to us for help and we were trying to extract you carefully so as not to put you in danger."

"That doesn't explain why they don't want to talk to me, I thought they would want that at the very least," Draco mused.

"Dumbledore told them that if they questioned you on the record and documented it Voldemort would know how much you had told them and that would put you in even more danger," Harry said, not letting his emerald eyes linger too long on Draco's form.

"How would he know?"

"Apparently there's been evidence of a leak within the department, the Death Eaters seem to have knowledge they couldn't have accessed otherwise," Harry informed him. "They wanted to question you informally, but Dumbledore wouldn't have it, he said they could have your information second-hand from him as an anonymous source. They could only push the issue if they made a formal inquiry."

"Even then, it still seems unusual that they wouldn't make it official," Draco whispered. "I'm only a Death Eater after all, why should they care if the Dark Lord seeks revenge on me?"

"Stop worrying about it, Malfoy!" Harry snapped, furious at being reminded of Draco's 'Death Eater' status. "Dumbledore can be pretty persuasive I guess, he fixed it for you so just be grateful okay!"

"Yeah, alright," Draco huffed sulkily at being told off. "So you and me…?"

"Are finished," Harry stated coldly. "You're safe here at Hogwarts and Dumbledore will organize somewhere for you with the Order once school is out. There is absolutely no reason for you to need to talk to me again so please don't."

Draco bit his tongue to keep from protesting. It was the very least he deserved; he never expected Harry to forgive him, but it still hurt to experience it first hand.

Draco wasn't sure what to make of Harry's intervention with the Ministry on his behalf. He was so confused; Harry's disgusted glances and closed posture led Draco to believe the Gryffindor hated him, he was repulsed by him, but to go to all that trouble to save him from Azkaban suggested otherwise. Draco knew very well that Harry was risking his own neck with this action; he could be charged with 'Obstruction of Justice' or 'Aiding and Abetting' and imprisoned right alongside Draco.

Maybe Harry did care.

The next two months passed by excruciatingly slowly for both Draco and Harry, every day was painful and both would wake in their separate beds, in their separate sections of the castle and dread getting up to face the day.

Draco had more to fear than Harry who, while he dreaded running into Draco, didn't have to worry about being persecuted by angry Slytherins who knew of Draco's betrayal and were out for blood. For safety Draco had taken up permanent residence in Salazar Slytherin's rooms and he had never been so grateful to Harry for teaching him the password to get inside. He travelled around the castle carefully timing his movements with Hogwarts peak times so he was never in a position to be attacked, of course it helped that no one knew where he slept at night. He managed to retrieve all of his belongings in the confusion of that first day and now had no need to enter the Slytherin common room.

Harry was constantly surrounded by Gryffindors, they built a human fort around him that Draco found impenetrable. Harry was never alone and barely within his eye line so he hadn't really seen or spoken to him since the day he cried like a baby in that empty classroom. Harry had noticed this human barricade his friends had formed around him and he found it both a blessing and a curse; he found he didn't have to worry about bumping into Draco anymore and he even found that for a few minutes every now and then he was so distracted by his friends he forgot he was, in fact, completely miserable. But there was still a part of him that wanted to be left alone long enough for Draco to break through his fort, that was the part that worried he had forgotten the sound of Draco's voice, the part that struggled to remember what he felt like, or smelt like, or tasted like… That was the part of him that still loved Draco and would love him always.

As the weeks wore on Quidditch practices became more frequent and the day Harry had been dreading ever since he and Draco had broken up drew closer and closer; the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match. The ferocity with which Harry worked when learning and developing new moves only increased as the match loomed closer, he found he could concentrate on little else, as though beating Draco to that snitch would mean something more than a Gryffindor win, though he didn't know what.

On the morning of the game Harry was greeted supportively by his housemates who made a special point of wishing him luck for this particular game. Harry could sense the mixed messages behind the various 'good luck's he received; some said 'I wouldn't blame you if you lost this one' while other more firmly said 'Show that Slytherin bastard just what Gryffindors are made of!' Harry wasn't sure which he felt more comforted by.

Harry didn't feel safe from his memories anywhere, in the six years he had known Draco it was as though the Slytherin had managed to infect every part of Hogwarts with his presence, even Harry's own dorm room where the two had first given in to their desires. The place that affected him the most however was the boys' locker room which Harry could not bare to enter and so when the time came to change and address his team before the game Harry made the unusual request to meet in a nearby courtyard. His teammates complied without comment and Ron gave him a pitying glance and they settled themselves onto the cold concrete benches.

After running through the new plays Harry had developed he finished off the meeting with the usual supportive encouragement and a firm reassurance that they were going to out fly those Slytherins like never before.

The April sunshine was blinding as Harry stepped out onto the Quidditch pitch with his Firebolt gripped tightly in his right hand, he squinted across the field to see the Slytherins stepping out from their changing room. Draco would have been easy for Harry to recognize even if his unique Malfoy white-blonde hair hadn't been shining like an angel's halo. He was the last to emerge and he walked a few metres back from his team by himself; if Harry had been able to see him through his fence of friends he would have noticed that the blonde was alone most of the time.

Harry's friends had done such a good job distracting him and obscuring his view that he hadn't stopped to consider – or notice – the repercussions for Draco within his house and this was obviously it; exile. He felt sad for Draco and wished he could be there with him to support him through this obviously difficult time. He wondered if this was something he might be able to do as a friend, perhaps mend their rift somewhat, but he knew instinctively it wasn't possible; it would only serve to remind Harry of why they were not together as they should be and that was far to painful to endure.

At the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle the two teams kicked off into the air and Harry and Draco both rose above their team mates searching for that tiny golden ball. Harry noticed Draco watching him trying to decide if he should say something, but obviously deciding against it when he refocused his eyes on the search.

Harry's mind could not seem to let go of the knowledge that Draco was flying only a few metres away and his attention constantly flicked between his ex-lover and the snitch. In his distracted state, it was half an hour before Harry spotted the snitch and Gryffindor were 20 points ahead of their rivals; he dove for it immediately with Draco not far behind. Harry used many of his newly practiced moves, looping and dipping around Draco and the other players inching closer and closer to the snitch; while he wanted to get to the winged ball, he mostly wanted to show off to Draco to demonstrate how thoroughly he had followed his advice to 'shake up his game'.

Draco was close beside Harry and seemed to have no problem flowing around Harry's new moves although he was clearly impressed and surprised by many of them. Harry refocused his attention on the snitch and pushed forward with renewed determination to prove to himself, his house and Draco that his ex-boyfriend didn't drive him to distraction – total lie of course. When the golden ball shone within his reach he stretched out his hand and had just wrapped his hand around it, claiming Gryffindor's victory, when he felt Draco fall away from him far too quickly.

Something was wrong.

Without thinking about it, Harry released the snitch and dove for Draco who was no longer on his broom but instead falling fast to the earth below him. Harry pushed his Firebolt like he never had before in a blind panic that his lover would die right there in front of his eyes when he finally connected with the ground. Harry had focused completely on Draco, paying no attention to his own rapid descent and both boys were just metres from impact when Harry managed to grasp the blonde's upper arm, slowing him enough to prevent a fatal impact but not enough to prevent himself from being pulled from his broom and plummeting the last few metres with him. Harry connected with the grassy pitch with grunt as all the air in his lungs was pushed out; he remembered clearly hearing a sickening crack upon landing and knew that Draco must have broken a bone he just hoped it wasn't his neck.

"Draco?" Harry rasped out weakly but he had slipped into black unconsciousness before he could wait for a response.

"I think I saw his hand move," Harry heard someone say. "Hermione! I think he moved!"

"Yes, alright Ron! You don't need to shout, this is a hospital remember," she replied.

"Mrmph," Harry wheezed.

"Harry?" he heard Hermione whisper. "How are you feeling?"

"Nrgh," he replied the frowned at his incoherent response before painfully clearing his throat. "Like shit," he croaked.

"I'll get Madam Pomfrey," Ron informed them before shuffling off.

"Draco?" Harry whispered weakly.

"He's still unconscious, but alive," Hermione sighed. "That was a stupid thing you did, Harry."

"What? Stupid?" he grumbled. "I saved his life."

"You nearly killed the both of you!" she corrected him. "Dumbledore was in the crowd and could have saved Malfoy with the same spell he used to save you in third year if you hadn't gotten in the way!"

"Oh shit," Harry sighed in defeat. "He was falling and I didn't have time to think."

"I know, but even so," she said, but didn't press the issue as the last thing Harry needed as soon as he woke was a lecture.

Madam Pomfrey fussed over him checking his vital signed and making him drink two different potions, both so disgusting he almost regurgitated them not long afterward, before shuffling his friends out the door and leaving him alone to rest again.

Several hours later Harry awoke again; it was dark outside and the hospital wing was eerily silent. Harry pulled back the covers and tentatively tested his feet on the ground to make sure they would hold him up before creeping off in search of the toilet.

On his way back to bed Harry couldn't help but pull back the curtain and tiptoe over to Draco's sleeping form. He looked beautiful as usual, but Harry always knew that, perhaps it was because Draco's feisty side was dormant but he always thought he looked the most beautiful as he slept. Harry watched the rise and fall of Draco's chest almost possessively, just to remind himself that each breath was going to be followed by another. He couldn't shake the way it felt when he was frantically trying to catch the Slytherin and he was suddenly sure he wouldn't get there in time; he felt like his life would stop if Draco's did.

Harry was sure he would have stood there watching him all night if Draco hadn't stirred slightly forcing him to retreat for fear of being caught there staring like a crazy person. He padded silently back to his stiff hospital bed but it was a while before he was able to fall asleep again.

Hermione and Ron both returned the next morning before breakfast to see if Harry was allowed to join them in the Great Hall. Madam Pomfrey informed them sternly that she would be keeping Harry for at least the rest of the day and possibly tomorrow but they were allowed to see him if he was awake. Thanks to the disturbing idea that Harry's life was still strongly connected to Draco's, he was definitely wide awake.

Dismissing all the greetings and concern for his health Harry demanded to know what had happened to Draco that he would fall from his broom.

"Bludger," Ron stated indifferently.

Hermione frowned at him. "Draco was hit pretty hard by a bludger, he wasn't expecting it."

"Where were the Slytherin Beaters then?!" Harry asked outraged at their failure to protect a fellow player.

"Aiming bludgers at Malfoy," Ron answered with a slight smirk.

"What!?"

"One of the Slytherin Beaters hit it towards him," Hermione explained. "Don't worry, he's been expelled."

"He should be imprisoned! Draco was nearly killed!" Harry shouted.

"Right that's it!" Madam Pomfrey scolded. "If you're going to get him all worked up you'll have to leave!"

Hermione and Ron were ejected from the hospital wing with barely enough time to say goodbye and Harry was once again alone – or so he thought.

"It's nice to know you still care," Draco wheezed with a pained chuckle.

"You should be in bed," Harry informed him.

"Oh, not you too! I get enough of that from Pomfrey!" Draco whined.

"Ha, yeah me too," Harry agreed gently.

This was the first exchange they had had for months.

Draco smiled, relieved at the knowledge that Harry wasn't going to reject him immediately.

"Thanks for saving my life," he said.

"According to Hermione I only made things worse and nearly got us both killed," Harry replied, casually waving off Draco's thanks. "Dumbledore could have saved you the same way he did me in third year."

"I prefer my knights in shining armour strong and sexy rather than old and wrinkly," Draco replied with a smile.

Harry froze up immediately; Draco had pushed too hard with the 'strong and sexy' comment.

"I think you need to go back to bed," Harry informed him uncomfortably.

"I can't take things like this Harry," Draco pleaded. "Please just talk to me."

"I can't," Harry choked out. "It hurts too much, I can't be around you."

"Well I can't not be around you," Draco replied. "Friends, acquaintances, anything, I'll take whatever you'll give me, please."

"I can't, Draco! I can't give you anything, I'm sorry!" Harry exclaimed rather loudly.

"Mr Malfoy!" Madam Pomfrey cried as she rushed over to them. "What are you doing out of bed? Go on, back you go!" she urged him.

Draco left reluctantly, giving Harry a helpless look before disappearing behind the curtain surrounding his bed.

Harry didn't talk to Draco again while they were cooped up in the hospital wing as Madam Pomfrey kept a strict eye on them both. They were both released just before dinner, Harry first and then Draco half an hour later after the fussy nurse gave him a final check over.

Harry was once again surrounded by his guards by the time Draco arrived in the Great Hall and Draco knew it would be a long time before they were able to speak again.

As the week wore on Harry found himself pulling away from his protective house mates in favour of watching Draco. He would follow him with his eyes almost everywhere he went, but as soon as the Slytherin attempted to engage with him Harry retreated into the safety of his friends. The Gryffindor was still unsettled by how little progress he'd made moving on from his relationship with Draco especially when he thought he was doing so well, but he didn't dare talk to Hermione or Ron about it as he knew they would just close in on him tighter than they already were.

On Friday morning Draco didn't turn up to breakfast and Harry immediately felt like something was wrong. There was every possibility Draco had slept in, come in to breakfast early and had already left or had skipped it in favour of a last minute attempt at finishing the Potions essay due in their first class that morning, but Harry felt sure something was wrong.

Should he ask someone? Should he go down to the Slytherin dungeons and seek him out? What if it was nothing? What if he just wasn't hungry? Harry would feel silly for worrying if he found Draco in good health, not to mention Draco would know Harry was still tracking his movements.

No, he would wait to see if the blonde came to their Potions class that morning.

Harry glanced back and forth around the Great Hall, up and down the corridors, and finally fixed his eyes on the Potions room doorway so he wouldn't miss it when Draco arrived.

"For goodness sake Harry," Hermione whispered after Snape had told them all to open their books. "Who are you looking for?"

"Draco," he confessed. "He wasn't at breakfast, I think something's wrong."

Once he'd said it out loud he knew it was true and he knew he couldn't spend another second sitting in this damp classroom waiting for Draco to never show up.

"I have to go look for him," he whispered to Hermione.

"Harry no, Snape would never allow it anyway," Hermione responded.

"I don't care!" he hissed before rising from his chair and announcing to Snape that he had to go.

Harry left his books and bag behind in the Potions room and ran at full speed to the Slytherin common room wall; he banged on it loudly until a small third year girl answered.

"Is Draco Malfoy in there?" Harry demanded harshly.

She shook her head fearfully, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"Do you know who he is?" Harry asked.

"Yes," she stated.

"And you're sure he's not inside? Can I come in and check myself?"

"He's not here, he doesn't live here anymore," she informed Harry.

Our room! He thought and took off down the corridor without another word.

He spat out the parseltongue password and slipped inside the room he once shared with Draco. Yes, the blonde had definitely been living there. All Draco's belongings were there, his clothes, his books, his potions kit and his chess board; but no Draco. It didn't look as though his bed had been slept in either.

Harry panicked as he realized he didn't know where else to look. What if that girl had been lying? What if they had him inside their common room and they were hurting him? Or worse what if they had captured him and handed him over to his father? He knew there was only one way he would know for sure; the Marauder's Map.

Harry sprinted out of the castle dungeons and made his way to the Gryffindor Tower as fast as he could taking the stairs two at a time and ignoring his lungs as they clenched from the strain of such vigorous movements. He barely even heard Professor Flitwick's reprimand as he almost knocked the small professor over.

Harry threw himself into his dorm room panting hard and began roughly removing everything from his trunk searching for the Marauder's Map. Once he found it he magicked it open with his wand and folded it out completely on his bedspread and began to search for Malfoy's dot.

The girl was telling the truth; he wasn't in the common room. Neither was he in Potions with the rest of their class. He began scouring the dungeon level of the map thinking that was the most likely place he would find him and was about to give up and move to another section when he saw it; Draco Malfoy's black dot sitting completely immobile inside a broom closet in a dungeon corridor.

Harry didn't even take the time to wipe the map clean before he threw himself down the stairs and into the Gryffindor common room. He pushed out into the corridor and sprinted back down to the dungeons, almost knocking over Flitwick again, and wishing he didn't have to waste the time he did going to his room. He could only imagine the state Draco must be in to allow someone to stuff him into a closet and it wasn't pretty.

Unfortunately, what Harry found upon reaching the closet and wrenching the door open was much worse. It was definitely Draco, but he could only tell from the stark contrast of his blonde hair through the dark brown blood dried through his locks. His robes were caked in blood and there was a deep gash in his cheek that was still oozing. His face was more pale that usual and his lips had lost that rosy pink softness that had made him so kissable.

"Draco!" Harry screamed as he tried to shake him awake, but Draco only flopped limply in his arms.

Soooo what did you all think? *twirls her hair innocently*

Remember reviews are happiness and when I'm happy Harry and Draco are happy.

Wait, that sounds a bit threatening doesnt it? What was that conversation I had with Lex about the power of positive rewards for reviews rather than using threats etc...? hmmm...

Okay, how about this. If you review, I'll um... I'll... hmmm... gosh this is harder than it looks... plus its nearly 3am here...

*Thinks*

Okay, if you review I'll write a letter to Santa about your generosity in taking the time to review my story and maybe you'll all get ponies for Christmas.