Harry can feel the dark clouds before he even wakes up. They hang around the darkened ceiling of his room, making his mind foggy and body heavy. He's tethered to the bed by memories that float carelessly in and out of his dreams. Ginny's alarm goes off shrilly next door, dragging him out of a restless nightmare filled with long-lost ghosts. His subconscious is filled with the past, one that he's always trying to escape. Ginny wanders through, looking sleepy in a huge sweatshirt and messy hair. She sits down quietly on the edge of the bed, leaning over to stroke a hand through Harry's curls, sighing as he rolls away from her towards the wall.

'Oh, Harry, sweetheart. I'm sorry,' Ginny's voice is laced with sadness. Harry doesn't move, open eyes staring blankly at the walls. He's too tired for this. Too tired for any interaction whatsoever. He wants to let his eyes close, but is too scared of the familiar faces waiting in his subconscious. The only option is to tug the duvet higher over his head and zone out. Out, out back to the better days to send the demons away and just give him some peace for once! Ginny leaves just after, in a rush for work as usual, leaving him with a swift kiss and a sympathetic glance. Just as Harry's anticipating the jarring slam of the front door, she races back in with a mug of coffee in her hands, placing it on the bedside table next to his phone. She gestures at the phone.

'Harry, I'm just a call away and so is Hermione, Luna, Sofya, Adam and Draco. You may think that you're alone but you're really not. We can help you, honey. You've just got to ask for it,' She smiles softly before whirling out the room, slamming their front door behind her.

Harry rolls onto his side, staring at the cup as steam curls up in wisps into the cold air. He stares at it until the cup goes stone cold and his phone flashes with unread messages. He stares at it until he drifts back off into a light sleep.

There's an annoying knocking sound that drags him out of a grey-tinted dream. Harry groans and buries his face in his pillow, willing it to stop. It doesn't, the persistent noise continuing until he gets up and starts to walk towards the front door. Without his glasses on, everything is blurred, as if the apartment was filled with a thick, obscuring fog. He stumbles a few times but makes it to the door, yanking it open with tired irritation. Harry's fully expecting some young, startled delivery guy with a parcel containing another new pair of shoes for Ginny. He's not expecting a sheepish Draco, standing awkwardly on the doorstep.

'Er, sorry. You haven't been answering your phone and I rang Ginny but she doesn't have the spare key, she says it's in your wallet and I did knock a while ago but you weren't answering so I waited and asked the neighbours down on the second floor but you guys don't have a landline anymore so I just had to knock and I'm really sorry if you got woken up but Ginny told me you'd be up already so…'

Draco trails off, waiting expectantly for a reply. Harry rubs a hand slowly over his face but doesn't say anything, just staring at the floor under his bare feet. Finally, he steps back, gesturing Draco into the hallway before retreating back into his room. As Draco hangs his jacket up, Harry reappears with his glasses on and an old woolen blanket tugged round his shoulders. The look on his face makes Draco's heart ache in sympathy, Harry looks vulnerable and haunted all at once. The mood in the flat is dismal, which is making Draco nervous. He knows exactly how a mood like this can drag you down and swallow you whole.

'Right, do you want a drink?' Draco says, injecting false cheer into his tone.

Harry shakes his head, before slowly walking over to slump down on the sofa, turning his face away from where Draco is standing.

'Okay, I'm making you coffee,' Draco replied determinedly, walking swiftly into the kitchen before Harry can protest.

He walks back into the living room with two steaming cups to find Harry's pulled the blanket over his head and is in the process of going back to sleep.

'Hey, c'mon, I've come over to see you, please stay awake. Here, drink this. Don't zone out on me now,' Draco says desperately.

Harry finally turns his head to look Draco in the eyes. 'Sorry,' He says, voice sounding scratchy and tired. 'I'm just not having the best day,'

To Draco's surprise and panic, he sees Harry's eyes filling with glassy tears. 'Hey now, it's ok. It's all ok. Come here. It's ok,' He murmurs nervously as Harry leans over and clings tightly to him. If only Ginny was here. Or Hermione. Or someone who actually knows what to do in this situation

It's Harry who finally breaks the hug, leaning back with a sad expression. 'I-I'm sorry. It's just there's a lot of bad stuff in my head at the moment. But every day is one step closer to being back on track, so I shouldn't have long to wait,'

'Y'know what? Let's not talk about it. Let's do something to distract you instead. Have you seen any Blackadder?'

Harry shakes his head.

'What? Oh, you've missed out. It's only the greatest British comedy series ever. Four series of Rowan Atkinson in the craziest situations. It's Pansy's favourite, so she's made me watch every episode ever made,' Draco grins, having found something he can happily talk about.

They curl up on the sofa with the blanket draped over them, as Draco scrolls through Netflix. Harry slips his cold hand into Draco's as he leans against Draco's shoulder. For once, the company is welcome.

They watch episode after episode, stopping briefly for Draco to order Thai takeaway and attempt to get Harry to eat some. After a while, Ginny gets home, gasping in jealousy at the takeout boxes and their lazy positions on the couch. She joins them, lying almost on top of Harry with her feet pushed into Draco's lap, laughing happily at the jokes. This gives Harry a bright glimmer of happiness, as there is nothing that pleases him more than Ginny having a good time, especially after all the shit she's put up with over the years. She has a 'Carry on' mindset unlike Harry's, which is much more a 'Dwell in the past' one.

Dinner is reheated takeout, so Ginny and Draco eat while Harry aimlessly pushes his Pad Thai round the plate until Ginny rescues him, sweeping the plate off the table and ushering him and Draco back into the living room. A movie is put on, Star Wars, Harry thinks but he's not paying attention. He's thinking about how different everything would have been if he'd been born Muggle, or at least normal. Draco seeks out his hand in the dark.

'I can hear you think. Stop it, Harry. Just live right now, without the what-ifs. I know I sound cliche, but we can't go back and change what happened, we've just got to carry on,' Draco says, his voice growing serious.

Harry squeezes his hand in reply.

Draco's glowing phone screen indicates that the minutes have ticked past midnight. Harry's eyes are half closed as he gazes out the window, watching the red lights of a plane in the distance. Ginny went to bed a while ago, her early shift weighing her down. As tired as he is, Draco drags himself up off the sofa as Harry turns to look at him in confusion.

'Where are you going?'

'I've got to get home,'

'Oh,'

Harry pauses, twisting the blanket in his hands.

'Stay here?' He asks quietly, his voice uncertain.

Draco thinks for a minute. The darkness outside is cold and empty, just like his house will be when he returns. Being with Harry seems much nicer.

'Ok,'

Harry falls asleep much quicker than he ever has on a day where his head is filled with clouds. This probably has something to do with the blonde-haired distraction lying next to him, their limbs intertwined under the warm covers. Moonlight spills across the ceiling but Harry stops looking for shadows and instead focuses on the the rise and fall of Draco's chest, which lulls him to sleep.