Harry (as he sees the map)

My heart jumps to my throat as I see the name. What do I do? Oh god. I rush back down to the Great Hall.

"RON! HEMIONE!" Both of them look up, alarmed. I reach them, and take a second to catch my breath.

"Draco's dad is with him in his dorm room!" Neither of them seem to understand the problem, but they can both see that its bad.

"Okay..." Hermione says slowly. "What's wrong?" Suddenly I realise. I never told them WHY Draco was so messed up.

"Hermione, he's been beating him since he was five!" My voice breaks and I feel tears on my cheeks. "HE'S THE REASON HE'S LIKE THAT AND NOW HE'S ALONE WITH HIM!" The panic sets in. "I'm going to save him!" I turn on my heal and start to run.

"Harry, wait!" Hermione runs after me and grabs my wrist just outside the Great Hall.

"Let go of me!" I shout. I try to pull out of her grasp but Ron grabs me as well.

"Harry, you can't just run in there! Lucius will kill you!" I glare at her.

"LET HIM KILL ME THEN! I'VE GOT TO GET TO DRACO!"

"GO TELL DUMBLEDORE! DON'T BE RASH! HARRY PLEASE!" I stop struggling and break down completely.

"H-He's gonna k-kill him! Or he'll k-kill himself! I C-CAN'T L-LOSE HIM!" Ron looks positively alarmed to see me like this and Hermione stays calm.

"You're not going to lose him, Harry. Come on, we're going to Dumbledore right now."

She doesn't let go of my wrist. I think she's afraid I'll run off again.

Draco

He's right...

Where is he?

What if he's not coming?

I just stay on the floor, sobbing. I need this to end. Now.

"You did the right thing in trying to kill yourself, Draco." Father says gently. "But you're a Malfoy. And that looks bad on me." I say nothing. Everything is hitting me at once, suffocating me. I can't breathe. It's too much. Kill me. "STOP YOUR CRYING!" Father yells, hitting me again. I'm swallowing blood, and I'm starting to feel sick.

I give up. Please. I give up. Let it end.

"What's the matter, Draco?" Father asks, mocking me. "Can't take the truth? You made a grave mistake, son." He kneels down beside me. "You're never coming back to this school. You're never going to see that Potter boy again, and you know what? He's going to be glad I took you away. He won't have to deal with your snivelling little problems anymore. Do you know how sick of you he must be? Having to listen to you cry all the time? Oh he'll thank me for this, Draco, believe me."

"He promised." I whisper. "HE SAID HE'D BE THERE!" I shout. "YOU'RE WRONG!"

"DON'T TALK BACK TO ME!" I feel my shattered nose break even more. "WHY WOULD HE LOVE YOU?" He shouts. "HUH? WHY? THERE'S NOTHING TO LOVE!"

He's right...

Oh god.

He's right.

Harry

"Professor Dumbledore!" I'm shouting at the gargoyle in front of his office. "PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE!" He must have heard me, because the gargoyle spins around, revealing the staircase behind it. I rush upstairs.

Dumbledore's sitting behind his desk.

"Ah, Harry, Hermione, Ron. Come on in. What seems to be the problem?"

"Lucius Malfoy is with Draco in the Slytherin dorms!" I say hastily, wiping tears from my face. Dumbledore nods.

"Yes, Harry, I am well aware of Mr. Malfoy's visit. He wrote me last night and informed me that he'd be coming."

"Sir," Hermione jumps in, seeming to sense that I'm about to start shouting again, "sir, Mr. Malfoy is going to hurt Draco." Dumbledore raises his eyes at her.

"That's a very serious thing to imply, Ms. Granger." Suddenly I grow angry. The longer we take here the more likely we're going to be too late.

"He told me all about it!" I yell, starting to cry again. "I saw his boggart! It was Lucius! Hitting him! He's been abusing him since he was five and if we don't go now we're going to be too late! I CAN'T LOSE HIM!"

Dumbledore gets alarmed, and stands up immediately, coming over to me.

"I wish I'd known. Don't worry, Harry. Because of you, it's going to be okay."

Draco

"STAND UP!" Father yells. "Now!" I struggle to my feet, dizzy, and in excruciating pain. "Before we leave, I want some answers." I nod.

"How long have you been dating the Potter boy?" He spits in disgust.

"Since I tried to kill myself the first time." I say, thinking of him. I'm still crying. He should've let me die. Father hits me across the face again.

"You will never pull a stunt like that, again Draco!" He grabs a fist full of my hair and holds me still with it. "You're a Malfoy." He says, putting his face right by mine. "Malfoy's aren't gay."

As he pulls out his wand, the door bursts open.

"Let the boy, go, Lucius." Says a soft voice. Dumbledore is standing in the doorway, with Ron, Hermione, and... Harry. He came. Father lets go of my hair, and I drop to the floor, sobbing with all my heart. Harry rushes over to me.

"It's okay." He says, wrapping his arms around me as tight as he can. "Shh... It's over. It's all over." I don't speak. I can't speak. I just cry. I thought he wouldn't come.

"This doesn't concern you, Dumbledore!" Father growls. "It's up to me how I discipline my son."

"Ah, Lucius, you see, it does concern me. You're hurting a student of mine. And you're on the school's property, so yes, it very much is my business."

"Come, Draco." He spits at me. "We're going home." Harry lets go of me and stands up. He walks over to father, wand drawn. I take a deep breath and wipe my tears. I look around.

"Don't touch him!" Harry shouts. "He's not going anywhere!"

As Harry talks, I spot a knife on Blaise's beside table... I pull myself to my feet. No one notices. Ron and Hermione are busy holding Harry back. Father is focussed on him and Dumbledore, who have their backs to me.

"Now, now, Potter." I hear father saying as I reach for the knife. "Don't over work yourself. Once I take him home you won't ever have to deal with him again. I'm doing you a favour."

Wrong. I'm doing him a favour.

I grab the knife.

"You sick fuck!" Harry shouts, attempting to lunge at father. "I LOVE HIM!" I hear father laugh.

I try to stifle my sobs. I can't draw attention to myself.

"You don't love him." Father says. "No one could love him"

I put the knife to my throat.

"That's a lie!" Harry shouts. "I LOVE HIM! HE'S THE ONLY ONE I'VE EVER LOVED!" I smile, glad that this is the last thing I get to hear. I apply pressure. I'm killing myself in a room full of people...

And no one even notices...

I release my grip on the knife ever so slightly and take one last moment to look at Harry. I wish I could say goodbye.

Suddenly Harry turns around.

Harry

I turn around to see Draco with a knife to his throat.

"DRACO!" I shout at him, and rush over as fast as I can.

"Just let him do it, Potter." I hear Lucius drawl as I try to wrestle the knife out of his hand. Dumbledore has his wand pointed at Lucius, and Ron and Hermione seem unsure of whether they should step in. Draco won't let go.

"LET GO!" he shouts at me. "I W-WANT THIS! THE W-WORLD WANTS THIS!" I feel the blade of the knife slice through my hand. I notice small beads of blood at Draco's throat and I burst into tears.

"NO ONE WANTS THIS, DRACO! STOP!" I manage to wrench the knife from his hand and throw it across the room as he collapses to the ground again.

"You disgust me, Draco." Lucius speaks from across the room. "Greyback will deal with you when we get home." I wrap my arms around Draco, only mildly feeling the pain from my sliced hand. He clings to me, and I rock him back and forth, crying with him.

"You don't seem to understand Lucius." Dumbledore says. "Draco is not going to be returning to Malfoy Manor."

"Did you hear that, Draco?" I say, still rocking him back and forth. "You're not going back. It's over. It's all over."

"He has nowhere else to go, Dumbledore." Lucius says calmly. "You have nowhere to take him."

"He can come stay with me." I say, automatically. "Aunt Petunia will hate it, but I don't care."

"I'm not so sure about that, Harry." Dumbledore says. "But don't you worry, he won't be back at the Manor."

Draco

I refuse to let go of Harry. I bury my face in his shoulder.

"It's over." I whisper.

"Shh..." he says. "That's right. It's all over. It's okay."

"I suggest you leave this property, Lucius." Dumbledore says to father. "I will owl you to inform you of the situation later." I hold Harry tighter.

Harry

I don't know how long I hold Draco like that, but it feels like years. When Lucius leaves, Dumbledore comes over and kneels beside us.

"Draco," he says gently. "It's okay now." He shakes his head into my shoulder. I've stopped crying, but he hasn't. "He's gone now. We need to take you to the hospital wing to fix up your injuries, okay?"

"Draco," I say softly, into his ears. "Come on. I'm not going anywhere. We've got to get you fixed up." He pulls away a little and looks at me.

"Okay." He chokes out.

"Can you stand?" I ask him.

"I think so..." I stand up and help pull him to his feet.

Draco

Harry helps me walk to the hospital wing, and as we do, all I can think of is fact that he's still here. He didn't let father take me.

"You okay?" He asks me. I shake my head.

"No." I whisper. "Not right now. But I will be. As long as you're here."

And as soon as I say it, I know it's true.

"I'll always be here, Draco." He says. "Always."

And as we reach the hospital I smile.

I'm going to be alright.

It will take a long time and a lot of struggle, but I have Harry.

And eventually, I will be okay.

He's all I need.

Well there you have it folks. I'm thinking about doing a sequel to this, so let me know if I should. Just so you know how it ends, Draco does eventually go to stay with Harry and the Dursley's, because Dumbledore can't think of anywhere else to send him. PLEASE REVIEW. This is the last chapter so let me know what you thought of it all, and if I get enough requests, I shall write a sequel about their summer.