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Harry had not been sitting there for very long when he heard a gentle knock on the door.
"Go away." He said dully. He could tell it was not Draco. Sure enough, Ginny's voice filtered through the closed door.
"Harry, open up."
"Not now, Ginny. Just go away." He said, feeling kind of bad for getting angry at her. She was not the problem.
"Harry Potter, you open this door up right now, or I will do it for you!" He could tell by her tone that this was not just a threat. She would do it if she had to.
Harry sighed and, standing up, he unlocked the door. She opened the door as soon as she heard the lock click.
"What happened?" she asked, and Harry could tell she was trying to read the look on his face.
"Nothing," he replied stubbornly.
"Don't lie." she said, "What did Draco say?" Harry's temper flared again at the mention of his name.
"Don't talk to me about him." He said, trying and failing to keep the anger out of his voice.
"What did he do?" Ginny pressed carefully. Harry sighed heavily and then could see no reason why he shouldn't tell her.
"Draco said he thinks I shouldn't look for the Horcruxes. When I said I was going, he said if I did, he would not be joining me."
Ginny looked completely shocked. "Draco wouldn't say that."
Harry laughed a rather derisive laugh. "He would, and he did."
"I'm sorry, Harry." She said, and Harry could hear the compassion in her voice.
"It's not your fault." He said, his temper deflating again.
"What are you going to do?"
"I still have to go." Harry said firmly. "I will try to convince Draco to come with me, and if I can't by tomorrow night, I'll go without him." Harry tried to make his voice casual, but he knew Ginny could tell that this meant more to him than he was letting on.
"Well, either way, you still have me, Ron, and Hermione." She said, "I know we could never be the same as Draco, but we will still have your back."
"Thanks," Harry said, giving her a weak half-smile.
"What are you going to do for the rest of the night?" Ginny asked.
"I already said I'm going to stay—" He said, but she cut him off.
"I know, but we saw Draco heading back here, and if you two are fighting, then I thought you may not want to stay here with him."
"I don't," Harry said at once. He quickly walked over to his trunk and pulled out his invisibility cloak once again. He pocketed it and followed Ginny out of the room.
"Where are you going to sleep?" She asked.
"On the couch." Harry replied simply.
"Okay." Ginny said, "I'll get you a blanket."
"You don't have to—" He said, but she was already gone.
Harry reached the living room just as he heard the back door open. He quickly went over to the front door and opened and closed it loudly. Then he strung the cloak over his shoulders and listened.
"Draco, what happened?" Harry heard Ron's voice coming from the kitchen.
"Absolutely nothing." Draco replied firmly. "Do you know where Harry is?"
"I think—" Hermione said, "I think he just left, but you could go after him—"
"No," Draco said, and the word pierced through Harry's heart, making him angry and upset and so many other things all over again.
"I'm going to bed. Goodnight." Draco said, and Harry nearly ran into him as he exited the kitchen.
Harry watched as he climbed the steps, trying not to think about how much it stung that Draco didn't even care enough to try and go after him.
He should just leave tonight. He knew there would be no convincing Draco to change his mind.
However, he knew he could not go upstairs, not while Draco was still awake. So, instead, he walked back into the living room and removed the cloak. A few minutes later, he heard Ginny return.
"Here is a blanket and a pillow for you to use." She said, handing them to him. "Try to get some sleep."
"Okay. Thank you."
"Of course. Good night, Harry."
"Good night, Ginny." She left the room, and he heard her walk into the kitchen and explain what was going on to Ron and Hermione.
Soon enough, though, they all made their way upstairs. Harry was now all alone on the lower level. He wondered briefly who was keeping watch tonight, but he really didn't care all that much.
He wrapped the blanket Ginny had given him around his body and sank into the warm couch. It would probably be a while before Draco went to sleep, so he could do nothing right now.
Besides, his pillow was so perfectly fluffy that it would be such a shame to waste it. He wouldn't sleep, though; he couldn't. No matter how heavy his eyelids suddenly were or how warm the couch was.
He knew he couldn't…
His mind felt foggy as he slowly regained consciousness. He could tell by the dim light coming through his eyelids that it was now early morning, though how early he didn't know.
Then, he was reminded why he had woken up from his blissfully empty sleep. There was another small scuffle sound from close by, and with that, his eyes popped open. He sat up and saw Sirius standing in the doorway.
"M-M-Morning," Harry said through a yawn.
"Good morning," Sirius said, walking over to his makeshift bed. "Harry, may I ask you something?"
"Sure," Harry said, stretching.
"Why did you sleep on the couch instead of in your bed?"
Harry sighed heavily as the night's events came surging back at him. Along with the memories came all of the sadness and anger Harry had been feeling.
"Draco and I got into a fight last night." Harry said, hardly containing all of the emotions that were swelling up inside of him.
"Really?" Sirius asked, surprised. "Must've been quite the fight. What was it about?"
"Long story short, he thinks I shouldn't go find those objects but should let someone else do it. When I said I wouldn't, he said I could do it without him. So he won't be joining me when I leave later tonight." Harry summarized quickly.
"Draco wouldn't do that." Sirius said, "He must have been overreacting. He wouldn't just abandon you like that. You guys have been through so much together."
"I know," Harry said, his voice blank, void of emotion. "I think he meant what he said, though. He is stubborn, and he thinks this is for the best." Harry paused and then laughed a small, humorless laugh. "You know, in the 17 years which we have known each other, I have always been able to call on him, and he would drop everything to come to me. It was the same for him. If he ever needed anything, I would get it for him, no matter what. We have always had each others backs, we were practically siblings growing up. Now I'm going on a mission that I may not return from, and he is refusing to come with me."
"I will talk with him, make him see straight."
"You don't have to…"
"I want to." Sirius insisted.
Harry just shrugged, knowing it wouldn't make much difference if Sirius did or not. He looked away, carefully structuring his face in a way that would suggest that Draco's abandonment had not hurt him.
"Harry," Sirius said quietly, "You know you don't have to pretend." He sat down next to Harry on the couch.
"Pretend what?" Harry asked, avoiding his eyes still.
"Pretend that Draco means nothing to you. I know you are trying to. I can see it all over your face."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, making sure his face was void of all emotion. It was stone cold.
"You can take off your mask when you talk to me, you know? You don't have to be so strong all of the time. You have your mask on, Harry. I know what it looks like when you try to hide something, and I know what you are trying to hide."
"I am not hiding anything." Harry said stubbornly. "Of course I want Draco to see reason, but it's not like I have a choice. I have to go, with or without him."
Harry's eyes were glued to the floor, and even though his face was calm and cold, on the inside, his emotions were swirling like a tornado. He trusted Draco to always have his back, and now, when Harry needed him most, he was abandoning him.
"Look me in the eye and say that again." Sirius challenged.
"What?" Harry asked, glancing up confused.
"Look me in the eye and tell me your best friend, the man who has been with you for seventeen years, the person who has always had your back even to the point of leaving his home because they did something toyou. Tell me he means absolutely nothing to you and that you are willing to die, never having made up with him."
Harry hesitated for a moment and met Sirius' eye.
"He means more to me than you could ever know, but I obviously don't matter very much to him. What no one seems to be able to grasp is that I have to go now; I don't have an option. I do not have the luxury of waiting, and I will not send anyone else to do it for me. It has to be me for more reasons than you realize.
"He knows that, and he is still trying to stop me. I would love nothing more than to sit back and watch everyone else find the objects, but I can't, not anymore. I have to go, and I have to fight, even if I do it without him." Harry turned away from Sirius, messing with his already unruly hair absentmindedly.
"Harry, you have to at least try to talk with him again." Sirius said
. "I will, of course I will," Harry said quietly, "Like I said, though, Draco is very stubborn, especially when he thinks he is protecting me."
"And likeIsaid, I'll talk with him too. Draco will come to his senses in the end. He knows the possible consequences of not making up with you, at the very least."
Harry just shrugged, not saying anything. He knew Draco better than Sirius did. He started to rub his scar slowly, thinking.
"It's hurting you again, isn't it?" Sirius asked.
"What?" Harry asked, looking at Sirius again.
"Don't play dumb. I know your scar is hurting."
"Wha— oh, yes, it is." Harry said, dropping his hand.
"Has it been bothering you a lot?" Sirius asked, and Harry could hear the concern in his voice.
"No, actually. It hurt once yesterday and once the day before when I went to talk with Dumbledore, but other than that, it hasn't been bad. It hasn't really been hurting; it's just… odd."
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.
"Well… when I saw Voldemort, the past two times were… different. It's like he knew I was there. He seemed to be pushing me out now. I don't know how he knows, but I'm fairly certain that he does. Usually, him pushing me out makes me much more sick."
Sirius looked extremely worried at this, so Harry said, "I'm sure it isn't a big deal."
"On the contrary, I think it is a very big deal." Sirius said, getting to his feet quickly. "I am going to talk to Dumbledore."
"You don't have to bother him." Harry said quickly, but Sirius was already walking into the kitchen.
Harry sat alone on the couch with only his thoughts for company. He wanted to do anything except think.
If he thought he would have to think about leaving Draco behind. He would have to think about the danger and the possibility he would not return from this mission.
And most importantly, he would have to think about his scar, in which the pain was only building the longer he sat there and tried not to think.
He pressed down hard on his scar with the palms of his hands, hoping to get rid of some of the pressure stored up in it. But that had never worked before, so why should this time be any different?
Harry knew he should leave the house. He didn't want to wake anybody up with his screams. Just as he was getting up, Sirius reentered the room. Dumbledore, however, was nowhere to be seen.
"Dumbledore is wrapping up something, but he is going to come over here as soon as he is done. He didn't want you traveling by Floo powder for obvious reasons."
"Okay." Harry said, trying to resist the ever-building pain in his forehead.
"You okay?" Sirius asked, spotting Harry's ill-disguised discomfort.
"Just my scar, it's nothing." Harry tried to dismiss it, but it was getting worse. He knew he would not be able to resist Voldemort's attack.
"Go outside, Harry. I know you want to." Sirius said, and Harry didn't need to be told twice.
He pushed his way past Sirius and exited the house as quickly as he could without running. The moment he was down the porch steps, he stopped trying altogether.
A burst of pain sent him to his knees. Though he did not want to, he shoved his fist into his mouth. He did not want anyone to have to hear him scream. His vision started to become blurry around the edges and started to go black.
Then he succumbed to the pain and willingly let his mind sink into Voldemort's. It was easier and less painful than struggling against him. Harry knew a losing battle when he saw one.
He was in a room which he recognized far too well. It was the small office where he and Voldemort had shared most of their private lessons when he was growing up. Harry was sitting facing the door, behind the desk, apparently alone.
"Harry Potter." He said in his high, cold voice. "I don't know how you have managed this, but it seems a connection has formed between us."
Harry laughed a high, cold laugh before continuing. "Now, you will pay the price for your betrayal. I will find you, Harry Potter, and when I do, you will die. Until then, though, I have other plans, ones which will hurt you in more ways than you realize.
"You can run, Harry, but just like your weak mother and father, you can't hide from Lord Voldemort."
Voldemort's laugh rang in Harry's ears as he lurched back to his reality once more.