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So Far Away	By : Gwenling Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 22108 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 32
- 33
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So Far Away
By: Gwen
Rating: NC17 overall
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Warning: AU/Slash/Drama/Angst/Romance
Betas: Tracy & Dorothy
Feedback: Much appreciated
Disclaimer: The "boys" belong to JKR. I just borrow them on occasion. No money is being made from this little adventure.

Summary: Interesting things can happen when you're away from everyone and everything you know.

Chapter 33 - Picking Up The Pieces

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Harry and Draco lay together in one of the twin Island Bay rope hammocks that Allen�s parents had re-hung after the New Year�s party, while their roommates reclined in the other. They had one day left before their holiday ended and none of them were in any hurry to go back to Hamilton. They had found a piece of heaven in the tiny seaside village of Del Mar and were loath to leave it.

Allen and Chad had been discussing something and knew that it needed to be resolved before they went back to school.

"Guys, there�s something we wanted to talk to you about," Chad started, feeling unsure how the others would take their suggestion.

"Must be serious if he�s interrupting our quiet afternoon," Draco teased as his fingers continued to thread through Harry�s dark locks.

"It is," Allen stated. "Well, at least to us it is."

Harry sighed. "So just tell us already so we can get back to doing nothing," he said as the ocean breeze played across their skin, gently rocking the hammocks in a soothing manner. He had found that this was his favorite thing to do here, well, besides shagging Draco senseless, and vice-versa. He and Draco spent many an hour curled up in one of the hammocks, talking quietly, or simply laying together and saying nothing.

"Well, we�ve been thinking about making a change when we go back to school," Allen said.

"We�re not swapping partners, Wells, so you can forget that idea," Draco instructed his roommate.

Everyone laughed. "No, Draco. Nothing like that. Well, not partners anyway. What we were thinking was about swapping rooms so that you and Harry can be together and Chad and I can share a room. That way nobody is put out if we wanted to stay together during the week," Allen clarified.

"Ready to move in together, are you?" Harry teased.

"You and Draco lived together for a week and survived," Chad reminded them. "It can�t be all that bad."

"Actually it was quite wonderful. He was the last thing I saw before I closed my eyes and the first thing I saw the next morning," Draco offered.

"I�ve seen what Harry looks like in the morning, Draco. You don�t have to lie on our account," Chad teased.

"You haven�t seen his new look, the one that says �I�ve Just Been Thoroughly Shagged By Draco Malfoy�. I could wake up next to that look for the rest of my life," the blonde teased.

"All kidding aside, what do you two think? Is it something you might be interested in pursuing? Maybe we could do it on a trial basis for a few weeks and if it doesn�t work, if there�s too much togetherness, then we can switch back," Chad offered.

"What about Headmaster Collins? Would he be okay with the switch or would we just do it and not worry about it?" Harry asked.

"I would suggest that we keep this between the four of us. We could move the majority of our everyday clothes but leave the ones we don�t need in our own wardrobes, in case of a surprise room check," Allen suggested.

Harry and Draco had to agree that their plan sounded good to them. Having to go back to their own separate rooms was the one thing they hated the most. If they agreed to this, they would never have to again, until they went back to Hogwarts, and even then there were ways around that rule.

Harry looked over at Draco. "What do you say? Want to try living with me on a full time basis?"

"If we managed to survive at my house, I think we can manage at school. But I only have one condition," Draco stated. "We sleep in a king-size bed every night."

Harry agreed. "Yes, that monstrosity of yours was quite roomy. Gave us lots of room to move around in," he said with a grin.

"You mean like have sex in," Chad surmised. "How about that, Allen? Should we transfigure our beds into a king-size?"

"Whatever makes you happy," he said as he gently kissed his boyfriend. "So it�s agreed, when we go back we switch rooms."

"Fine with us. Now we don�t have to kick one of you out when we want to get naked," Draco teased.

"Good. I�m glad that�s settled. Now can we please get back to what we were doing earlier?" Harry asked.

"Which was?" Chad queried.

"Be quiet and let us enjoy what�s left of our time here," Harry said as he snuggled back against Draco and closed his eyes. Maybe after graduation he�d find a place on the ocean where he and Draco could lie in a hammock all day, doing absolutely nothing.

* * * * *

Once back at Hamilton, everyone settled into the new living arrangement with ease. It was decided on the train going back that Harry would move into Draco�s room, leaving Allen to move in with Chad, since Draco had entirely too many clothes to move. Harry took pity on his lover and agreed to move his own things instead.

"Hey Draco?" Harry called as he walked back into their room from his old one.

"Hmm?" the blonde answered from the bed where he was reading one of the books that he had brought back from Malfoy Manor.

Harry joined him on the bed, the snow globe their Headmaster gave them in hand.

"Do you remember what Dumbledore said before we left, when he gave this to us?" Harry asked.

Draco looked up from his book and nodded. "So you do not forget where you came from," he repeated. "Why do you ask?"

"Do you have any clue what he was talking about?" Harry asked as he rocked it back and forth, watching the faux snow swirling around the castle.

"If I had to guess I�d say that by giving us a replica of the castle, he was giving us a reminder of our beginnings, of who we once were. He put us in this program for a reason, for us to work beyond our differences and become who we are today," Draco offered. After setting his book aside, he moved to lie by Harry�s side and brushed a strand of inky-black hair away from his lover�s face. "And I, for one, am proud of who I am today, of who I�ve become."

"Draco was always there, you know," Harry said as he looked into Draco�s eyes. "He�s always been a part of you. It just took coming to a new place for him to finally reveal himself."

"Actually I found Draco before we came back to school," the blonde admitted.

"And just where did you find him?" he asked with a grin.

"Lurking in the shadows at Malfoy Manor," he said as he rolled onto his back and looked at the ceiling. "With my mother off on one of her infamous extended tours, I had more free time on my hands than I knew what to do with. Of course, being the good student I am, I tackled all of my summer studies first and two weeks later, I was through. I didn�t have any friends who I could go see or spend time with, and for the first time in my life, I wondered why. So I started looking at myself, at who I was, or rather, who Malfoy was."

Draco rolled to his side and propped his head on his hand, looking at Harry now. "My father had molded me into a miniature version of himself and I was expected to behave a certain way, associate with certain people. He taught me that the Malfoy name was law, that I could do or say anything and not worry about the consequences of my actions. But after my father was gone, I realized I didn�t have to behave a certain way, that I could drop the Malfoy mask and become the person who had been hiding. I could finally be the one who wanted to run down the hallways as a little boy, who wanted to play in the snow and not get into trouble for getting my robes dirty, who wanted to have friends over for a fun game of Quidditch."

The blonde reached out and took Harry�s hand in his. "I wanted to have friends who I could pal around with, like you did with Weasley and Granger, friends who I could confide my deepest, darkest fears in and not worry they would be used against me at some point in time. I wanted to know what it would be like to have you for a friend, to have you laugh at my jokes, not that I knew any, but still. Before I came back to school I had decided to show you who I really was, to show everyone that I was a real person and not the irritating prat everyone thought I was."

"So what happened? Why did Malfoy show up and not Draco?" Harry quietly asked.

"Ever heard the phrase �easier said than done�?" he asked, earning a nod from his partner. "That�s why. When I saw you and your friends, everything that had been instilled in me came back to the surface and I found that it was easier to just give in and be Malfoy for one more year than to try and change. After school, once I was away from everyone, that�s when I could become Draco and start off with a clean slate. Dumbledore knew what he was doing when he sent us here. He knew that it was time for me, and you as well, to grow up. So I decided that since nobody knew me here, except for you, Draco could take over. Chad was pretty close to the mark with his comment about a split personality. That�s sort of how I felt at the time, that I was two people and they were at odds with each other, vying for the right to be here. Draco put Malfoy in his place and the rest, they say, is history," Draco said as he reached out and touched the snow globe that was lying on the bed. "This is our past, Harry. This is who we were."

"And our future?" Harry asked.

"Our future belongs to us, to discover for ourselves," Draco imparted.

"And in this future we have yet to discover, are we together?"

Draco lifted their joined hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to Harry�s. "I�m hoping so. I know that we haven�t really talked about what we�re going to do after graduation, but I�m hoping that we�ll still be together. I�ve become rather fond of having you around."

That made Harry smile. "More like around, under, inside, on top," he teased.

"And don�t forget behind or in front of," Draco added with a smirk.

"And yet again, we find that it all comes down to the sex," the raven-haired wizard commented.

Draco�s eyes darkened as he pressed Harry back onto the bed. "You say that as if it�s a bad thing," he quietly said before lowering his lips to Harry�s.

Tan fingers wound themselves through Draco�s blonde hair as the Gryffindor was kissed thoroughly. When Draco finally pulled away, Harry smiled. "Care to christen our new bed?" he asked as he trailed a finger over a pair of flushed, swollen lips.

A calculating grin slid into place. "Before or after we christen each of our desks, the chairs, our wardrobes, the floor, or each of the walls?" he asked.

Harry groaned. "Draco you�re going to kill me, love," Harry teased. "How about the bed first and then we�ll eliminate one item off the list each week?" he offered.

Draco looked around the room for a moment and then nodded. "I think that�s doable. It will take us to the beginning of April, at least, and then we can start all over."

"Fine by me," Harry agreed as he pulled Draco back down again. "So let�s get the first one out of the way, shall we?" he asked before meeting Draco�s lips with his own.

* * * * *

The halls of Hamilton were adorned with red and white streamers and floating hearts in honor of the fast-approaching holiday. Tiny cupids flitted about, looking for unsuspecting passers-by whom they could ping with their arrows. More than once Harry found himself dodging the miniature spears that were meant for someone else. Obviously one of the cupids needed glasses.

In keeping with the Hamilton tradition, all years attended the Valentine�s Dance that was held in the Great Hall, the upper-classmen leaving mid-way through the festivities for the less structured party held at Club Hush.

Draco had dressed in a pair of low-riding black leather trousers and a sheer blood-red shirt that made Harry want to rethink their decision about leaving the room. Gods but his boyfriend was abso-fucking-lutely gorgeous and the epitome of good and evil all rolled into one. He had the face of an angel and a body made for sin, and the clothes he had chosen to wear didn�t help in the matter. Harry had resigned himself to the fact that he would not let Draco leave his sight tonight, not even to go to the bar alone.

Harry, in turn, had dressed a bit more conservatively, although he still looked good in a pair of black Muggle low-rise jeans and a white button-down. Draco insisted he leave the majority of the buttons undone once they arrived at the club and Harry was never one to deny his lover anything. As if he wanted to. He loved the feel of Draco�s hands on his sweat-slicked skin as they danced together, blunt nails scraping across his shoulder blades and tailing down his spine. He especially loved it when they slid around to the front and mapped the contours of his chest, catching a nipple between a thumb and a forefinger.

Once behind closed doors, the impatient blonde grabbed the material and pulled in opposite directions, sending buttons flying to different corners of the room.

"If I didn�t know better I�d say you wanted something," Harry teased as he felt warm lips close around a puckered nub, teeth tugging gently.

"I always want something, Harry," Draco answered against the warm skin of Harry�s chest.

"What is it this time?" the raven-haired wizard asked as his fingers slid into blonde sweat-soaked hair for no other reason than to be touching the other man.

"Do you even have to guess?" came the answer in the form of another question as nimble fingers made quick work of Harry�s jeans and boxers. With that task complete, Draco quickly shed his own clothes and pushed his lion back onto their bed. Harry landed flat on his back and Draco took advantage of the position. He moved to stand between open legs, his eyes roaming over the display before him.

Harry�s cock twitched with anticipation as he watched Draco�s tongue slide over parted lips, wetting them.

"Do you know how bloody fucking hot you looked tonight," he asked as his gaze traveled higher, looking his fill. "Your shirt half open, that gorgeous tanned skin exposed to everyone�s eyes," he said as he slowly crawled onto the bed, his eyes never leaving the body beneath him.

"What about you?" Harry asked as he arched his back, trying to make contact with the pale body hovering above him. "It should be against Wizarding law for you to wear trousers like that in public. And that shirt. Merlin, Draco, could you be any sexier wearing that particular shade of red?"

Draco placed his hands on either side of Harry�s head and looked into dark emerald eyes. "Probably," he said with a grin just before lowering himself onto Harry�s body, everything between their foreheads to toes touching. "So how shall we finish out our first Valentine�s Day together?" the blonde asked as his lips worked their way from Harry�s neck up to his jaw, first nipping at the skin and then soothing it with his tongue.

"This seems like a perfect conclusion to me," Harry said as he turned his head to the side, exposing more skin for Draco to tease.

"What, me lying here licking you like a lolly?" the Slytherin teased.

"If you want something to lick on, I�d suggest you move a bit lower then," the dark-haired wizard suggested. "I know how much you like that particular piece of candy."

Draco chuckled. "You know me so well," he said before kissing his way down Harry�s body to find his favorite treat waiting to be tasted.

* * * * *

Harry sat at his desk and stared at the calendar on the wall, or rather, one day in particular. Today, the first day of March � the day that his former-best-friend turned eighteen and Harry wasn�t there to help celebrate his big day.

According to the letter that was waiting for him when he finally crawled out of bed earlier, Hermione and a few others had planned a surprise party for Ron at The Three Broomsticks the following weekend. What better way to surprise someone than with a late birthday bash? she had asked.

And when he thought the day couldn�t possibly be any worse than it already was, she dropped the bomb.

I�m so sorry, Harry, but you know how Ron can be at times. While I�ve tried everything I can think of, he�s not ready to let go of the anger that he wraps around himself like a blanket. We still have three more months until you come back and I�m hoping that by that time he�ll have realized that enough is enough. I�ll continue to work on things from my end but right now it doesn�t look good. I�m sorry.

Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and pulled him close. He knew how much his lover was hurting and wished there was something he could do. But there was nothing. Or was there?

* * * * *

The week of Easter Break was a welcome change from formal classes, although the majority of students could be found clustered together in study groups as they prepared for end-of-term finals. The library and Great Hall were filled, as were the lounges on each floor of the dorms.

Draco, however, had been called back to Malfoy Manor for some �emergency business�, as he called it.

"Still don�t understand why your solicitor can�t take care of it. He does everything else," Harry grumbled as he watched his lover pack the last of his clothes and then Magically shrink the bag, stowing it in the pocket of his jacket.

Draco slid his arms around Harry�s waist. "He usually does, which makes me wonder about this," he said before pulling Harry flush against him.

"You don�t think it�s something bad do you?" Harry asked.

The blonde shook his head. "Probably not, but the sooner I can get over there and take care of whatever it is, the sooner I can get back," he said as he pressed a kiss to Harry�s lips.

"We finally get a break from classes and you�re off gallivanting to another country. I see how you are," Harry teased as he nipped at Draco�s bottom lip, sucking gently and then releasing it. "You owe me for this, Draco."

Pale hands slid into the dark hair as Draco held his boyfriend�s head gently. "I promise to make this up to you," he said before giving his Gryffindor a proper kiss.

Harry�s arms wound themselves around Draco�s lithe frame and pulled him even closer, his hands settling in the center of the blonde�s back as he showed his boyfriend just how much he was going to miss him. When they finally broke apart, Harry smiled. "That�s a good start," he said. "Now, go and do what you have to do and hurry back. I�m not looking forward to sleeping alone."

"Me neither," Draco admitted. "I�ll be back before you have time to miss me."

"Too late. I already miss you," Harry stated before kissing Draco one last time. "Now, go before I decide to keep you here."

The blonde nodded. "Love you, Harry," he said as he slowly backed away from Harry, his hands sliding down long arms to stop when he reached Harry�s tapered fingers.

"Love you too," Harry replied as their hands finally slipped apart. "Be safe."

Draco nodded before leaving Harry standing in their room while he made his way to the Headmaster�s office.

Five minutes later he was standing in the center of another Headmaster�s office, on a different continent, thousands of miles away.

"Welcome back, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said from behind his massive desk that looked ready to collapse under the weight of the clutter that sat atop it. If Draco�s memory was correct, nothing had been touched since he was here last, over six months ago. Either that or the clutter seemed to be multiplying. "Come, come, have a seat. The others will be here in a few minutes."

"Thank you for agreeing to this," Draco said with sincerity as he moved to one of the two chairs that were in front of Dumbledore�s desk. "I�m sure you were surprised when you received my request."

The old wizard�s blue eyes twinkled. "Quite the opposite. After Professor Snape returned from Malfoy Manor with his findings, and then when Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger returned from their holiday, I had a feeling we would be speaking at some point before your return to Hogwarts. I take it Harry doesn�t know you�re here, does he?"

The Slytherin shook his head. "No sir. And I�d like to keep it that way, if you don�t mind. As for when I tell him, that depends on the outcome of our meeting."

"Understood," the Headmaster said with a nod. "We still have a little time before the others arrive, so tell me about America. Ms. Granger has already given me a brief report of the things that Harry has written about, but I�d like to hear your account of your time there thus far."

As Draco recounted the various differences between the two schools, Dumbledore took this time to study the changes in the young man. While his appearance hadn�t changed all that much, his attitude had. Gone was the arrogant boy who thought he owned the world, or at least the right to torment those in it, and in his place the young man the Headmaster knew was there all along.

Another thing that the elder wizard didn�t miss was the number of times Harry�s name drifted into Draco�s musings of living in America. Whether it was intentional or not, Albus could not say. But he could tell by the young wizard�s ramblings that Draco�s feelings for Harry exceeded even his expectations.

Draco stopped mid-sentence when he heard a knock on the Headmaster�s door and his heart felt as if it weighed three-times its normal weight. He braced himself for the inevitable explosion that was sure to come when the red-head realized who was back at Hogwarts.

Hermione entered first, which was exactly how they had planned it. Unbeknownst to a certain raven-haired Gryffindor, Draco had written to Hermione telling her everything that Harry had been going through. He had tried to keep the hurt from seeping through, tried to tramp down the feeling that his best friend in the entire world had abandoned him. But Draco knew better. He had noticed little things that nobody else would have, like when he had changed their calendar from January to February, his eyes lingered on it a tad bit longer than necessary, knowing that Ron�s birthday was the next month; or the way he reacted when someone mentioned their going back to Hogwarts when the program was over. Only Draco knew how much it hurt his lover to think about things like that.

After Draco�s heart-felt plea for help, Hermione had given in and after many, many letters between the two, had come up with a plan to have Draco come back to England on the pretense of business. In reality he was coming back to Hogwarts and between the three of them, Dumbledore included, would try to get the unforgiving Gryffindor to see reason.

As soon as Ron stepped through the doorway, his blue eyes landed on the bane of his existence and his hand went directly to his wand, but after a quick "Expelliarmus" from the Headmaster, the immediate threat had passed.

"What is he doing here?" Ron shouted as stood in the doorway.

"Mr. Weasley, would you kindly lower your voice? We�re not deaf, you know," Dumbledore said as he rose from his desk to greet his visitors. "Ms. Granger, please take a seat and we�ll be right with you. I want to have a few words with Mr. Weasley before we get started." He patted her shoulder and moved towards the angry young man. "Now, Mr. Weasley, I know that Mr. Malfoy was the last person you wanted to see right now, but he has decided to try and put things to right between you and Harry."

Cold blue eyes started at the Slytherin who was speaking quietly with Hermione.

"If they�re so keen on patching things up then why didn�t Harry come himself?" Ron asked as he took a defensive stance, his arms crossed over his chest.

"That, my boy, is for Mr. Malfoy to explain. But before we get to that, I want your word that you will contain yourself. I will not stand for any shouting in my office. If you feel the need, I would suggest that you close your eyes and count to ten quietly. I�ve found that it works quite well. And there will be no fighting either, so do not think you can revert back to your old ways in an attempt to settle things. This will be handled like gentlemen, and women, since Ms. Granger is an intricate part of this," he said as he looked over his shoulder to where the two were still in a quiet discussion. "Now, do I have your word?" he asked as his knowing gaze landed on Ron again.

"Do I have a choice?" the irritated red-head answered.

Dumbledore laughed. "Of course, my boy. You always have a choice. Whether it�s the right one or wrong one is for you to decide," he said as he extended his arm towards his desk. "Now, will you be joining us?"

Ron wanted to hear nothing that conniving Slytherin had to say but before he could turn back towards the door, Hermione�s voice stopped him.

"Are you going to join us and try to work through this or are you just going to toss six years of friendship out the window because you don�t agree with Harry�s choice of partners?" she asked.

"And you have?" Ron asked as he stood rooted to the same place he had been for the last few minutes.

"We�ve come to an understanding," was all that the witch offered.

"An understanding? Why don�t you enlighten me just what this understanding is?"

Now Hermione was annoyed. "Ronald Weasley, if you know what�s good for you you�ll get over here and listen to what he has to say."

Reluctantly, Ron left his place by the door and slowly moved further into the room, three sets of eyes on him the entire way. The Headmaster Summoned another chair and Ron sat beside Hermione, his blue eyes never leaving silver.

"So, tell me Malfoy, why exactly are you here?" Ron asked with a cutting voice.

Draco looked at Dumbledore, who nodded. Taking a deep breath, he launched into his story. He told Ron the same things that Harry had, with one difference � Draco told him from his perspective, and in doing so, hoped that the angry Gryffindor would understand exactly how much he truly cared for Harry and would never do anything to hurt him.

Ron sat quietly through the impassioned speech, the tightening of his jaw every now and then the only sign giving away the fact that the only place he was calm was on the outside. He had counted to ten at least a dozen or so times already, and would do so a dozen more if it meant that this prat would finish and get the hell out of here.

"Look, I�m not asking you to accept me as your friend, but what you did by walking away from Harry that day was probably the worst thing you could have done. I know he said that when you found out who he was dating you went off like a cannon, but after he explained everything to the two of you, you never said a thing," Draco said.

"What could I say?" Ron asked belligerently. "He�d already told us that no matter what we decided he wasn�t breaking things off with you. Why should I have stayed and become angrier than I already was? I did what I felt was right."

"And now?" Draco asked. "Does the thought of Harry never speaking to you, or laughing with you, or confiding in you, have any affect on the way you feel now? Because let me tell you something � I�ve seen the hurt he tries to hide, the way he looks away when he catches me watching him. He�s hurting more than he lets on. Do you want me to tell you how there have been times that I�ve held him in hopes that he�ll open up and admit that it�s killing him, knowing that you don�t want to have anything else to do with him?"

The blonde shifted positions in his chair, his elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped before him. "Like I said Weasley, I don�t care if you never accept me, but I would hope for Harry�s sake we could be civil to one another if we�re ever in the same place. And this isn�t Malfoy talking, it�s Draco. Malfoy hasn�t been around for quite some time, and because of that, Harry and I are where we are today. He loves me Ron, but he loves you too. You were his best friend, his brother, for six years. That has to count for something. What�s that phrase? Blood is thicker than water? I�d think about that before you toss something away that you�ll never be able to regain."

Ron�s eyes slid to Hermione. "And just how do you fit into this?"

"I have to agree with him, Ron. If you don�t want to lose Harry�s friendship forever, you need to make things right. While I haven�t completely accepted everything just yet, you can tell from Draco being here that Harry means something to him just as we knew that Draco meant something to Harry when he told us at Christmas, whether we wanted to believe it or not," the witch admitted.

Ron took a few moments to digest what both Malfoy and his girlfriend had just said. He hadn�t really thought about how Harry was dealing with everything; he just assumed that he went on about his business. It hadn�t occurred to him that Harry might have been affected as much as Ron had been with his hasty decision to just walk away from everything. But here was Malfoy letting Ron know, in no uncertain terms, that Harry was indeed hurting because of the way things were left at Christmas.

Ron should have just accepted the fact that things had changed, been happy for Harry, and none of this would have ever happened. Yes, he would have to deal with Malfoy because he was in Harry�s life now, but he wouldn�t have spent the last several months being miserable over something that he himself had caused. If he didn�t fix things, he only had himself to blame. As much as it killed him to do this, the words that he spoke surprised everyone on the room, including himself.

"I know I can�t take back what�s been done, but I�m at the point now that I don�t care who Harry�s dating," Ron said as he looked at Malfoy. "Even if it�s you. Harry has been my best friend for six years and I made the mistake once and let you come between us and look how things turned out. But never again. I made a mistake at Christmas and I�ve been paying for it ever since. While I�m not saying that I agree with his choice of partners, as long as he�s happy, and I mean HAPPY, Malfoy, then I�ll be fine when you two come back for graduation. But make no mistake - you will NEVER be considered a friend. Got that? I�m only doing this for Harry," he said.

Three stunned people watched as the red-head stood and made for the door. Only when it closed behind him did Draco relax, slumping back in his chair.

It took the three remaining occupants a few moments to process what had just happened. It was Draco who spoke first.

"That went better than I expected," he admitted.

"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked.

"I�m still in one piece," Draco said with a small grin. "What would I have told Harry if I had gone back to Hamilton covered in bruises? That I didn�t like what my solicitor said so we settled it with our fists?"

"It probably would have worked," Hermione said with a smile. "I�m glad you came, Draco. Ron needed to hear what you said, as well as they way you said it. Putting this on parchment wouldn�t have gotten the point across. Just by you being here made Ron face the fact that you care about Harry."

"Thank you, Hermione, for everything," Draco said as she stood, him doing the same.

"Are you going to tell Harry the real reason for you leaving Hamilton today?" the witch asked as she walked with Draco to the door.

"As much as I hate to keep something from him, I think we�ll leave this one alone for a little while," he stated. "I�m not sure how he would react to the fact that I took things into my own hands where his and Weasley�s friendship is concerned. He might think that I�m overstepping my boundaries as a boyfriend."

"I doubt that very seriously if it gets those two back on speaking terms, but I�ll keep your secret. Well, our secret, for however long it takes. I guess I need to go find Ron now. I�m sure he�s going to have plenty to say about my involvement with all of this," she said as he reached for the door, his hand resting over the knob.

"Good luck and thanks again. And for what it�s worth, I�m really sorry about everything that Malfoy put you two through."

"Just take care of him, okay?" she asked and received a nod from Draco.

"I love him, Hermione. Of course I�ll take care of him," he said with a grin. "Want me to give him a kiss for you?" he teased.

She rolled her eyes. "If you must, but that�s it."

"Fine, the rest of it will be from me then," he said as he opened the door for her. "Good luck with Weasley."

"Thanks. I�m going to need it," she said and then she was gone, Draco closing the door behind her, leaning against it.

"So what do you think? You�ve been awfully quiet," Draco said to his Headmaster.

Tired blue eyes crinkled at the corners. "I think you�re going to have a wonderful graduation," he stated as he rounded the desk and placed a withered hand on the young shoulder. "I�m proud of you, Draco, of what you�ve become, of what you and Harry have accomplished," he said with pride.

Draco smiled. "I am too, Headmaster, I am too. And again, thank you for your help with this. I must get back and figure out what pressing piece of business called me away," he said before stepping away from the elder wizard.

"I would say personal affairs and leave it at that. It is true, isn�t it?"

The Slytherin smiled. "Indeed it is," he said as he walked over to stand in front of the fireplace. "We�ll see you in a couple of months."

"Yes you will," the Headmaster stated before Draco said the incantation that transported him back to Hamilton.

Harry looked up in shock as Draco walked through their door a few minutes later, his emerald eyes drinking in the sight of his lover. "Wow! That was quick," he said as set aside his book and scooted off of his twin-size bed. He had decided he wasn�t sleeping in the king-size unless Draco was there.

Draco slid his arms around Harry, capturing the Gryffindor�s lips with his. "Miss me?" he asked quietly.

Harry smiled. "You were gone for a little over an hour, Draco. Was I supposed to miss you?" he teased.

"I can leave and come back in a few days if that would make you happy," he said as he dropped his arms and stepped away, only to be held captive by Harry�s arms now.

"Oh no you don�t," he said as he backed Draco against the wall, long fingers sliding into blonde hair. "You�re not going anywhere," Harry said as he leaned in and kissed Draco�s neck. "Unless it�s to bed."

Draco looked over Harry�s shoulder at the two twin beds that graced their room during the day. "You know, we haven�t christened the twin beds yet," he said with a wicked grin. "Care to take care of that little detail?"

Harry pushed away and tugged Draco with him. "Thought you�d never ask," he said as he covered Draco�s lips again, their hands taking care of their clothing in record time.

TBC

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So Far Away