A/N: Sorry I let two weeks go by. As usual, university is insane. But I've recently received bad news and I've been having a few medical issues. I'm trying hard to update on time. Love you all, thanks for bearing with me.

Chapter 18: I'll Miss This

Harry fell into bed and stared at the ceiling. He put his arms behind his head as he waited for Draco to climb in as well. The blonde was taking far longer than usual. Harry rolled onto his side to find Draco staring in the mirror, running his hands along his protruding ribs and still well-defined abs. "Draco?" The Slytherin continued to study his reflection as though he were going to be blind come morning. "Earth to Malfoy!" Harry said loudly. He glanced over, mildly interested. "Come on, the bed's cold without you," he pouted. Draco sighed, crossed the room, and slid into bed beside Harry. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he mumbled.

"You're a terrible liar," he said, nudging him in the ribs.

He sighed again and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't want to give this up."

"This?"

"Lying next to you at night, feeling you breathing beside me... feeling our ribs rub together…"

"You're going to miss your figure," Harry whispered as he put a hand on Draco's chest.

"I will. And you'll stop liking me," he said, not realizing he'd spoken the second thing aloud.

"Is that what you think? That I love you for your looks?"

"No… I worked so hard for it… and, I mean, I'm going to stop loving myself, you might as well t—" Harry sat up and pressed a finger to Draco's lips.

"I'm stopping you there, beautiful. You're going to be absolutely stunning to me no matter what your weight is. I don't care what you look like. I've seen your personality… and it's fucking gorgeous, Draco." He leaned forward and kissed the blonde's chest, trailing them down to his cock. The Slytherin shuddered as his erection grew and Harry looked up at him with a suggestive smirk. Harry pulled himself back up his body, making sure to grind against his dick. He nipped Draco's collarbone a few times before the blonde flipped them so he was on top. Harry smiled up at the angel above him, longing to please him. Draco straddled his love and kissed him passionately. He tasted the mint of their toothpaste on Harry's tongue and purred.

"Do you really mean that?" Draco inquired as they broke apart.

"Of course; I love you and that doesn't just go away," he replied stubbornly as he caressed his cheek. Harry arched up to kiss the Slytherin again. Draco returned the kiss and toyed with the waistband of Harry's sweatpants.

"What are we going to do once school starts?" Draco asked quickly as he climbed off Harry. The Gryffindor sat next to him and stared into the sad, gray eyes. He didn't think he'd ever seen Draco so stressed.

"We can meet in the Room of Requirement, remember?"

"That'll never be enough, Harry. I don't know if I can sleep alone anymore..." He replied softly. Harry saw the fear in his eyes and longed to make it leave.

"But you'll get to see me in class and in the Grand Hall. And I you," he said sadly, knowing that wouldn't be enough either. Harry pulled Draco to his chest and cradled him for a few minutes. He felt the blonde's tears fall on his chest and hugged him closer. "I'm sorry, Draco," he whispered helplessly.

"This would be so much easier if you were a Slytherin," he mumbled through a tight throat. Harry stroked his hair, not knowing what to say. "If you keep that up, I'll fall asleep."

"We should sleep," he whispered, not wanting to see Draco upset. Harry yawned as his own fatigue hit him hard. He continued to stroke the blonde locks until he heard his love's soft snores. Harry smiled and gently lifted the Slytherin off of his chest and onto the pillow behind him. Carefully, he climbed out of bed and walked to the library. He scanned the shelves for anything leisure related, just wanting something to calm his nerves. All he could find were healing books so he settled on one dealing with magical cuts. Harry settled into the leather couch and shivered as the cool material touched his exposed torso. He opened to the first page and found the book was hand-written in a scrawl he knew well. Snape wrote this? He wondered. Harry shrugged and started reading about a curse, Sectumsempra.

Severus couldn't sleep, a normal occurrence for him. He was used to horrible nightmares and his insomnia. Usually, he'd just take a Dreamless Sleep potion, but he never felt well-rested after one. He'd been working on a potion to help the drinker fall asleep and stay asleep for the next few hours. Unfortunately, he kept making it too strong. Snape sighed and looked in the mirror. A tired, pathetic, overworked spy stared back. "What am I doing?" He whispered to his reflection as he walked closer to the glass. He decided to read until he was too exhausted to move. Severus made his way to his library. When he arrived, he found Harry curled up on the couch reading a book by moonlight. "Potter?" He asked as quietly as he could. Harry jumped and looked over at him.

"Professor," he said in surprise.

"What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep… you?"

"Insomnia is most unpleasant," he replied smoothly. "What are you reading?" Harry held the book out to him. Severus took it and read the cover. "Ah, yes. I remember this one," he recalled, as though it were a favourite novel.

"You wrote it," Harry stated plainly, trying to make the conversation. He found that it distracted him from thinking about Draco.

"Indeed," he replied in a whisper.

"What is the first spell?" Harry asked, not wanting to mispronounce the name.

"Sectumsempra."

"I've never heard of it…"

"As you shouldn't've. It's a spell I created."

"Oh," Harry replied softly. He knew he shouldn't be surprised that Snape would make a spell like this, but he was.

"It was a proud moment for me. I finally made a spell. But, of course, I had to make one of the most physically destructive ones. Didn't I?" He said bitterly.

"But you have a cure," he said quietly.

"Fortunately, yes… Potter, why can't you sleep?" Severus inquired in an attempt to change topic.

"Draco is really torn up about not getting to see me a lot at school… and I am too, but I'm worried about him."

"Understandably so. You have to remember he will do anything to remain on the Dark Lord's good side. His damn father got him too deep into the Death Eater business to back out.

"What does that mean? He doesn't have a dark mark," Harry said quickly.

"Not yet. But he is to receive one," Severus said bitterly. He shook his head and continued with a more gentle tone, "You simply need to remember: Draco is going to have to work hard to appear to despise you."

"I know," He replied solemnly. "I'm just worried about him." A tear slid down his cheek before he could wipe it away. Severus crossed the distance between them and cautiously hugged him. Harry returned the gesture.

"I'm sorry. I truly am," Snape whispered as he grabbed a book and sat in a chair. Harry nodded and turned his attention back to the book. "I taught His followers Sectumsempra. You should study that section the most." Harry nodded again and focused all his energy into memorizing the counter-curse.