My hand, cold but slick with sweat, slapped my forehead. A groan, low and guttural, escaped my lips. It was burning, it was on fire. My fingers fumbled around, landing on a deep indentation in my skin. I leaped up from my bed, stumbling towards the bathroom. Instead of a mirror, there was only a bit of reflective metal hanging above the sink. I squinted through my bottle cap glasses, which were broken on the hinge. Through the murky swirls, I could make out a prominent line on my forehead, in the shape of a bolt of lightning. The realization only caused the burning to deepen, and I fell against the toilet with an audible crack. Why would a scar that looked this old be giving me such problems now? "Fuck!" I hit the base of the toilet with a closed fist. I was so sick of all these questions that begged for answers no one seemed to be able to give me. I hung my head in my hands, gripping my hair, bracing myself against the burn, the sting. The sensation was unbearable, but I let it overtake me. Closing my eyes, I could feel myself being pulled under. Flashes tore through my skull, and bright pictures of people and places long passed. It wouldn't stop, it wouldn't leave me alone. Not in my dreams, not in my waking life. I huddled up on the cold linoleum, ready to give myself over to the memories. That's what they were, right? Memories. It was like watching someone else's life, though I knew it had to be my own. And this one, that blond man, Draco... he was in this one.

My eyes opened to a sight that begged familiarity, but I couldn't quite place it as the mansion in my troubled memories. Once the realization hit I shot up, my legs kicking at a deep purple duvet that had been neatly tucked around my body. "Hello!" My voice echoed through the halls, interrupted by the opening of a large, ornately carved door.

"Harry..."

The room was dark and rich. Thick draperies lined the windows, only allowing slivers of light to spill out upon the hardwood floor. Next to the four-poster bed on which I had been laid, there was a high-backed chair, upholstered in emerald green. I heard him call my name from across the room, but I choked on an answer. My lips tilted downwards, and I could feel my eyes burn.

"Thank God you're alright." Draco cleared the room in mere moments, throwing his arms around me. I breathed in his scent, cloves and a hint of orange. My hands went to his shoulders then, thrusting him back.

"No, you can't do this." My voice cracked, shook, fell at his feet. "You can't go and tell me something like that and then just leave! You don't get the right!" I pushed him, out of anger. He stumbled back a bit, his face betraying the hurt he felt.

"Harry, I'm sorry! What was I supposed to do? You don't like me, okay? I get it. I think I should just make this easy on both of us and disappear." He turned away as he spoke, rubbing his brow gently.

"You can't leave me!" I grabbed his crisp black button-down, it wrinkled in my grasp. "Look at me Draco! Look at me! What have you done to me?" My cries were gut-wrenching, drool pooled at the corners of my lips, snot leaking out of my nose.

"I just wanted to love you, Harry!" Draco whipped around as he spoke, his voice high.

"But you were my friend, Draco! My closest friend, I don't know what to do now..." I gasped for air, hands fumbling with the buttons on my shirt. "Is this what it takes?" I let the shirt fall from my shoulders, looking up into Draco's soft eyes.

"Harry, stop."

"Isn't this what you want?" I undid the button of my pants, grabbing Draco's hand and thrusting it down the front.

"Harry, please!" He jerked his hand away, falling back into the chair against the bed. "Please just stop." His words faded into broken sobs.

I just wanted to be with him, just wanted to please him. Even if I wasn't gay, I needed him. I just didn't know how, I didn't know what that meant. I fell to the floor at his feet, resting my head against his knees. Draco's hand reached down for my hair, brushing it, twirling it around his pale fingers.

"We're gonna be okay, Harry. I'll make sure of it."

"Expelliarmus!"

Our spells met midway, casting a glow that broke the still night air. Ginny's spell began to advance, before it could reach me, I ducked behind a column of firewood. "Think Draco, Think!" I whispered to myself as I heard Ginny taking steps in my direction. I looked out from behind the stack of wood, eyeing a few bales of hay near the house.

"Incendia!"

Ginny ducked as the hay bales ignited, turning around, she quickly ran over to the lit mass. As she was pointing her wand to put the fire out, lest it catch the house on fire, I took the upper hand.

"Incarcerous!" Ropes emerged from nothingness, capturing Ginny in their firm grasp. As she fell to the ground in her bindings, little footsteps emerged from the house.

"Mama!"

It was a small girl, tottering out in her night clothes.

"It's okay, baby! Go back inside!"

"Mama!" The girl echoed herself, making her way over to her mother. I approached slowly, this was one of Harry's children, his only girl, Lily. There was a moment where I thought of taking off. It would be easier, I could think of a solution later, but- No, I... I had to take care of this now, tonight. I didn't want to hurt a child's mother in front of them, no, that was monstrous. However, I could still use this situation to my advantage. I pointed my wand at this little girl.

"Don't make me hurt her." The words came through clenched teeth. I would never have done it, but my past would back up my threat.

"Please! No!" Ginny was crying, sobbing with her face half in the grass. "Just do it!" She squirmed against her bindings, the little girl next to her shedding her own tears as she sat on the cold ground. "Just promise me you'll leave the children alone."

"I promise." I bent down, laying my wand against her face for a brief moment. I needed this to work out perfectly, and in order to do that, this couldn't be just any obliviation. No, I needed Ginny to believe she wanted Harry gone from her memories, that she volunteered for this to happen. She wouldn't remember it was me, and she wouldn't remember much of Harry-just that she no longer loved him. This was more than erasure, it was mind-bending. I took a deep breath, imbued my intentions, then gave my wand a flick.

"Obliviate."