Countdown

Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter. Everyone knows that I wish I did. And if you didn’t know that, you do now. Because I do what to own Harry Potter and everyone/thing included with his name. Oh, I want them badly… But I don't own them. I don't make any money off of them. I didn't ask for permission, because I am in no way profiting from this writing. It was just something I did to have some fun and spread some enjoyment to others (hopefully).
A/N: So, this was supposed to be for my birthday some five months ago. It didn’t get finished in that amount of time. In fact, this won’t be posted until March, so it will be some eight months ago when all of you read this. Sorry. I’m not a hurry up and write kinda author. I have to plan. And this one took planning, let me tell you. I got the idea while I was sleeping one night. That’s when my muses usually talk to me. It’s a two-part one-shot. Got that? TWO CHAPTERS!!! I decided I was going to stop it right in the middle of everything. Muah ha ha ha…

Part The First
(Who came up with those sayings anyways? Part the first? Part the second? It sounds weird…)

Harry awoke slowly, as he usually did in the mornings. He tossed and turned for a few minutes before giving up trying to go back to sleep and stretched his arms over his head. He yawned wide and turned to his left, reaching out for the warm body next to him. But instead of the warmth Draco provided, he was met with the icy coldness of an empty bed. It caused Harry to sit up and look around quickly, hoping to see his lover coming out of the loo or up from the kitchen. Reaching for his glasses, it took Harry a moment to remember he didn’t wear them anymore. One of the requirements of being an Auror was being able to see, so he had undergone a few medical procedures at St. Mungo’s to correct his eyesight.

One mystery solved. But still no Draco. Harry moved the covers back and took a few shaky steps to the door to their bedroom. The shower wasn’t running, it was too early for Draco to be at work, and it was the weekend besides, and now that he was heading down the stairs he couldn’t hear any footsteps anywhere. This worried Harry. Draco never left without telling him, flooing him, or leaving some type of note. A look at the fireplace showed that no one had flooed in or out. The door was locked with the deadbolt Harry insisted upon. Likewise with the wards and charms which had been placed on the house and property. Harry wandered into the kitchen, stopping suddenly at the sight of breakfast all laid out for him. Warming and cooling charms had been placed in the appropriate places. Cautiously, he sat down and took inventory.

A small glass of milk; a slightly larger one filled with orange juice. He could smell tea, but he couldn’t see any. Four fat sausages smothered in maple syrup sat upon the left side of the plate while two sunny-side up eggs with a bit of scrambled egg on top sat at the bottom of the same plate. The top right part held five pieces of chewy bacon, smothered in butter. A small plate to the right of this set-up held some hash browns; a squeezable bottle of ketchup sat just above that. A salt shaker, but no pepper shaker, was nearby. Harry smiled. Only Draco knew about his favourite foods like this.

He liked orange juice, but the acid made him feel really sick sometimes. However, the milk coated his stomach and lessened the feelings from the orange juice, so he drank them both. He hated tea, but Draco drank it every morning. Just the smell of it made him feel better. He loved sausage, but it was tasteless. So he would douse it in syrup. If he popped the yolks of the two sunny-side up eggs, the scrambled bits would soak it up before it ran on his plate. The chewy bacon was cooked just enough so it was cooked, but he didn’t want it crispy and hard. The butter also helped to keep it chewy. And breakfast just wasn’t complete without hash browns. Because they were so dry, however, the ketchup was always nearby. Harry hated pepper, and Draco knew this. And salt always varied by food, day, and mood. Like, eggs would have more salt on them than the sausage. But there’d be less salt on the eggs Friday than on Monday.

Draco had been here. That was for sure. No one else knew his eating habits to this degree. Harry dug in, going straight for the sausages this morning. About halfway through the hash browns, Harry froze. His fork clattered to the table. He sat there, stunned, for a moment before moving his hand across the air in front of him. The date was spelled out before him: Monday, July 2, 9:43am. Jaw open, eyes wide, and brain not working, Harry sat in his chair as the letters and numbers faded away again. Today was their anniversary. He was alone on their anniversary. Draco had left him alone on their anniversary.

He slowly came back to his senses and decided it was okay. It was still the morning. There was a whole fourteen hours and seventeen minutes before the day was over. Surely Draco would come home before that. He looked down to pick up his fork and continue eating, but the fork was gone. And so was the food. In fact, all the was there was a table, part of a glass of milk, and a piece of parchment he didn’t recognize. He drained the glass of milk, then picked up the parchment.

Harry,

You’ve finished breakfast now, whether you were done or not. Sorry. Now then, your job is to figure out where to go next. I’ll give a clue, and you have to figure it out.

It’s been ten years since you started your Auror training.

~draco~

“Ten years since I started my Auror training? What does that have to do with anything?” Harry said aloud. “That could lead anywhere! The training center, Hogwarts, the backyard, the awards ceremony building, the housing station for the first four months. I mean… Draco!” he shouted. “Draco get in here and tell me what’s going on!” He waited, but his demand was not met. He sighed, a bit frustrated. But now he knew Draco hadn’t exactly left him alone on their anniversary. He thought about the message for a moment. ‘Ten years since you started your Auror training… Auror training… training…’ “He specifically said training. I told him about training at Hogwarts, I left for training from here, I had a party the night before at the Burrow, and I left at the Apparition point just to the west of the Ministry building. There are so many–” He cut himself off with a sharp intake of breath.

A memory long forgotten from somewhere pulled him in. Harry was walking across the land just behind his house when a hand grabbed him from behind and another went over his mouth to keep him silent. He saw his wand go flying away from him and whoever was behind him. While his concentration was briefly held by the wand, he was moved backwards and then turned around and flung against a tree. He brought his free hands up to try and ease the pain he’d surely be feeling when he realized, he wasn’t hurting. The shove wasn’t meant to hurt. That thought was reinforced by the feel of a body pressing into him from behind.

“You know, you’re supposed to be paying attention. I thought you wanted to be an Auror.”

“Not want to be,” Harry breathed back, no longer afraid, “will be.”

“That’s a little assuming, don’t you think, Potter? You have to be accepted to these kind of things.”

“I have been accepted, Draco.” They were quiet for a moment. Harry was pressed face first against a large oak tree while Draco held him there, one arm across Harry’s shoulders. Harry started to push back so he could look Draco in the face, but was pushed back against the tree again. “Draco? Draco, what are you doing?”

“Congratulating you.” Draco’s head lowered to Harry’s neck where he attacked it fiercely. There was no softness or romance here. Teeth and lips were everywhere, and Draco was holding Harry’s hands behind his back at waist level. He pressed against the smaller body before him, pressing him into the tree just a little bit more.

“Stop it, Draco,” Harry said in warning. “If I wanted to be congratulated like this I would have sent you an owl.”

“Come on, Harry.”

“No. Get off of me.”

Draco slowly loosened his hold of Harry’s arms and then moved away from the newest Auror-in-training. “Fine.”

Harry shook his head to be rid of the memory. He hadn’t thought of that day in months, years even. Why was it coming back now? He looked around the kitchen as if looking for the answer. The memory started to come back. He couldn’t think of the memory in detail unless it was playing in his mind. It almost had a mind of its own it seemed. “Okay!” he said out loud as the Draco in the memory grabbed him. “I’ll go out to the tree!” The memory stopped abruptly. After a moment of trying to figure out just what was going on, he walked out the door and made his way to the trees he’d been walking by in his memory.

He looked around, expecting to see Draco nearby. Instead, he saw wards around a tree to his right. He went to it, passing right though the wards to get to the piece of parchment floating next to the tree. A quick look around proved that Draco still wasn’t around. The parchments shimmered, as if instructing Harry to pick it up. So he did.

Took ya long enough. So happy you could find the next clue. However, as I think you’ve been able to figure out by now, I won’t be there to help you. It should be pretty simple. Follow the clues.

It’s been nine years since I said I love you.

~draco~

“Nine years since he said he loved me?” Harry repeated. “Well, at least this one is simple. If I’m supposed to go to the place, then he said this at that French restaurant in Hogsmeade. What was it called? Chef Pierre? Chef Francois? Chef something in French! Whatever. I’ll find it once I get there.” He took off back to the house to grab his cloak before flooing into one of the three shops that allowed free access. He nodded to people he recognized as he left the shop, trying to be polite to them as he hurried away. He wanted to find Draco and go home.

On the street, he paused for a few moments to get his bearings. ‘There! That shop there. I remember passing in on the way to the restaurant that night. Was it on my left or my right? I believe it was my left…’ Turning to his right, he made his way down the street at a brisk pace to, hopefully, find the restaurant and Draco or Draco’s next clue. ‘I remember that night. I choked on my pumpkin juice when he said it. And it was as if he’d been saying it all his life; he was almost flippant about it.’ He stopped suddenly on the road as the memory washed over him.

Draco had come to Harry’s house that evening wearing one of his better cloaks. He instructed Harry to change into the best clothing he had and to be quick about it. Then he led Harry out of his house and into town. Harry continued to question him as they walked, but he got no answers, only trivial talk and such. They walked by many people and shops that both recognized, only nodding their heads to people as they passed. Draco stopped and opened a door at one point, ushering Harry in before him. He spoke with the hostess in some language Harry couldn’t understand, French maybe.

She nodded, grabbed two menus, then showed Draco and Harry to their seats where Draco pulled out a chair for Harry to sit in before sitting down himself. After the hostess gave them their menus, Draco took Harry’s and continued with the small talk they’d been enjoying on their walk. A different woman came back to take their orders, but Draco ordered for the both of them in the same language he’d used when they’d first arrived.

“What did you just say?” Harry asked. “What am I going to be eating?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Draco answered. “It’s good. Even you will like it. I’ve ordered all of your meat well done and lightly spiced. Don’t worry about it. I promise, you’ll like it. Now then, how goes your training? I haven’t heard a word about it since you started.”

“What’s there to tell? I fight, I train, I sleep a little. Occasionally we eat. We train and train some more. We get up early and go to bed late because we’re training. That’s all we do: sleep, eat, train, fight, and train.”

“Surely you’ve met some of the other men there?”

“Not really. I’ve mostly met the women.”

“What? Why? They’d didn’t place you in the women’s barracks, did they?”

Harry blushed and looked down at where his plate would be in a few moments. “They… well, they’ve never had a gay Auror before, so they’ve separated me from the other men for their comfort. Some of the guys were talking one night, and I was there as well. We were talking about our lives, our pasts our futures, loves we’d left behind. I talked of my schooling at Hogwarts. And of you. I didn’t come right out and say that we were seeing each other, or anything of that sort, but some could tell apparently. One guy, I think Michael is his name, asked if I was gay. I wasn’t going to back down and say no. I don’t lie.

“I said I was, strongly and proudly, and that if he had a problem with that then he could leave and come back in eight months when my training was done. Because the only way I’m quitting Auror training is if I die. Someone must have left the room and told the older officers because Shaklebolt, Tonks, and another, Kramer I think, came in and asked what was going on. I told them and they asked what the problem was. Michael said that he wasn’t staying in a room with a poof and that he wanted me gone.

“Tonks said I was one of the best in the grou, and that they weren’t going to send me away just because I happened to like men. She said I had good taste in men besides.” Harry was blushing something fierce at this point. “Regardless of what they said, Michael and some of the others were adamant about me being gone. So Shaklebolt suggested new rooms for me. They wouldn’t be any worse or any better than what I had, and I’d still train with everyone else like normal. They were agreeable to that. Tonks apologized to me for having to move me, but helped move my stuff to a single room close to the women’s rooms. Tonks left me there and apparently went to the women and told them what had happened because soon there were eight women in my room, talking to me.”

He stopped when their food arrived. “Merci beaucoup,” Draco said as the server left the table. “Go ahead.”

“Well, one of the women asked if Derek really had abs like he’d boasted a few days ago. And I was shocked that none of them seemed to care and wanted to talk about the other guys. So for a little over an hour we talked about our lives and the guys and stuff. I didn’t tell anything personal that might have been told to me because I wasn’t going to be like that.” He took a few bites of his dinner then continued. “And that’s the way it’s been ever since. I train like normal with the guys and girls alike and sleep near the women. They don’t mind that I’m gay.”

“As well they shouldn’t. I love you just the way you are,” Draco said, reaching for his glass of pumpkin juice.

Harry sputtered and sprayed a bit of pumpkin juice onto the table. “Wha– What did you say?!”

“Harry, lower your voice. We’re in public. Why are you yelling anyways? I just said that I loved you the way you are.”

“Say it again. Tell me that I’m not hearing things,” Harry whispered. “Please, just say it again.”

“What? That I love you? Okay. I love you.”

“Do you mean it?”

“Of course I mean it. I don’t say things I don’t mean. Did you not want to hear it? I won’t say it again if-”

“No! No, it’s… Don’t stop saying it. Please.”

“Monsieur Malfoy? Iz everyting to your liking?” a waiter asked, throwing weird looks at Harry.

“Oui, Garson. Everything is perfect.”

“Chef Maurice would like to thank you for choosing his restaurant, Monsieur Malfoy.”

“Not a problem, Garson. Merci beaucoup.” Garson walked away, leaving Harry still staring at Draco with his mouth wide open. “Close your mouth Harry. That’s unattractive.”

“Chef Maurice, that’s it!” Harry said before practically tearing down the street toward the restaurant. Once there, he threw open the doors and ran inside. He attracted much attention as he grabbed the nearest waitress and asked for the mater de between pants. “Excuse me,” he said once the man stood before him. “My name is Harry Potter. Was there anything left here for me by Draco Malfoy? I was instructed to come here, and I’m expecting to either see the man in question or receive a parchment from him. Please tell me you have one of those.”

“Oui… monsieur,” the man said with a sneer on his face. He reached into an inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a parchment. Harry snatched it from his hand and opened it excitedly. This was getting interesting. He heard the man make a noise of dismissal or something before walking away, but Harry paid him no mind in favour of reading the message.

You remembered. I knew you would. You’re such a sentimentalist. Now then, since I’m sure you’ve ruined any chance for us to ever grace Chef Maurice’s again, quietly leave the restaurant.

That was all it said. Harry looked around as if there was something he was missing. He read the note again, but it was the same as before. He looked at the door behind him and then walked out it, looking for Draco. Maybe that was the end and his boyfriend was waiting for him. But no, there was no Draco on the street outside. He looked around before reading the parchment again for answers. However, there were different words on the parchment now.

Now that you’re outside, since the parchment will only change if the outside air hits it, I’d like to remind you that it’s been eight years since I began my Healers’ training.

~draco~

Harry groaned in annoyance. This was just like the first clue. There could be several places this one could include. There was the place Draco told Harry about his acceptance letter, St. Mungo’s, the same Apparition point Harry used to get to Auror training, Hogwarts, Malfoy Manor, or a bazillion other places! He looked around the street hoping the answer would appear out of thin air. After a few moments, he realized it wouldn’t. Magic couldn’t do everything it appeared. A quick look at the note again reminded him, again, of the first clue. ‘If the first clue was telling about the place I told him I had been accepted into Auror training, then maybe this one is too. He told me he was going into Healer training… at St. Mungo’s. I had just come back from a mission…’

The memory hit him as if it had a mind of its own.

“You know, this is getting really annoying,” Draco drawled as they entered St. Mungo’s. He had one arm wrapped around Harry’s waist, and the other hand kept a firm grip on Harry’s left arm. It looked like it had been broken in two or three different places, was severely bruised. The wrist was either sprained or twisted because it was swollen. They approached the reception desk.

“Mr. Malfoy? We’re not supposed to see you until Thursday. What are you doing here?”

Both men turned to face a woman in a white doctor’s coat. A quill writing on a clipboard was floating beside her. Draco smiled, but never loosened his grip on Harry. “Hello Maurine. I’m here because of Harry. He just got back from a mission and is all banged up, as you can see. Think you could help him?”

“Why would you need to be here, Draco?” Harry asked.

“No problem, Mr. Malfoy,” Maurine said with a smile. “Take him on back. I’ll be there in a moment.”

“You can call me Draco you know.”

“Sorry, Malfoy. Rules of the programme.” The woman smiled and walked away, clipboard and quill following.

Harry was led past the reception desk and through a few doors until he was sat on a table top-like bench to be examined. Draco was slowly and carefully pulling his robes up and off him, so he wouldn’t hurt Harry’s arm. Once he folded them and put them aside, he slowly looked Harry over for any other injuries. Meanwhile, Harry was still asking questions. “I don’t understand, Draco. Why do you need to be here Thursday? How do you know the woman, Maurine? Why didn’t we check in at the reception desk? Are you okay? Is there something I need to know about? Draco, answer me!”

“Mr. Potter, what have you gotten yourself into now?” a female voice asked. Harry looked up to see Maurine standing in the doorway. “That arm looks pretty bad. What happened?”

“I was on a–”

“Fractured radius and ulna, it’s a clean break. Sprained wrist with bruising and swelling. Several other bruising sites,” Draco interrupted. “It’s not the worst we’ve been through. I think it was another Auror who did this.”

“It wasn’t his fault!” Harry said. “Frank was–”

“You sure is was a clean break, Malfoy?” Maurine asked, ignoring Harry.

“Yes, there are no outward signs of fragments or unclean breaks. No extra bruising to show excess internal bleeding, and no skin breakage.”

“Any other injuries?”

“I’m fine! Just the arm. And it wasn–”

“Nothing major. Maybe some scrapes and bruises. I’m not worried about those right now.”

“No head injuries?”

“Nothing he’s not used to.”

“Hey! I resent that!”

“What about a silencing spell?”

“Maybe.”

“I can speak just–” Harry kept talking, but no noise came out. He looked accusingly at his boyfriend.

“That’s better. So we’re looking at a clean break of both bones in the forearm and a sprained wrist? No problem. We’ll have you two home in an hour tops.” Maurine left the room, closing the door behind her.

“No, I won’t take the charm off. You need to listen to me for a moment. I need to know what you think. And I do mean what you think. I don’t want to know the first thing you spit out of your mouth when you hear what I’m about to say. So just think about it for a moment, okay?” Draco asked. Harry nodded. “I’m not sick, I’m not dying, and there’s nothing wrong with me, first of all. So just calm down.” Harry sighed and relaxed a little. “The reason I’m supposed to be here Thursday is because I start my Healer training that day. I know we agreed we weren’t going to do anything major that would change both of our lives without talking it over first, but this just feels right, Harry. I want to do this. I want to do something that no other Malfoy has done before: help people.”

Harry stared at his boyfriend in shock. ‘Draco wants to be a healer? He’s never said anything like this before. But… He really wants to. This is something he wants more than anything. He is sincere about this. I don’t… I don’t know what to say. Yeah, we agreed not to make any major decisions without first consulting the other, but if he really wants this then I won’t say no. I can’t say no. Even if I do he’ll do it anyways. I don’t need to hold his hand. Speaking of which…’ He looked down at his arm, still being held carefully by Draco’s soft hands. He looked up into Draco’s eyes, smiled, and nodded.

“You don’t mind that I didn’t tell you?”

Harry shook his head.

“I’ll have to work weird hours for a while.”

Harry nodded understandingly.

“I’ll be away for days on end for the first month. Maybe even weeks.”

Harry nodded again.

“Thank you, Harry.”

What was he supposed to do? Forbid him to help save people’s lives? Harry smiled and shook his head. He needed to get to St. Mungo’s and fast. Quickly, he made his way back to the Three Broomsticks to use their floo. Once he picked himself up off the floor at the hospital and dusted off the floo powder, he looked around to get his bearings. As he turned left to make his way to the reception desk, a hand caught his sleeve. There was a woman standing there in a white doctor’s robe. Harry searched for the girl’s name.

“Kelli, hello,” he said with a smile.

“Hello, Harry. Nice to see you again. I hope you’re here for this,” she pulled out a piece of parchment with Draco’s handwriting on it, “and not because I need to fix you up proper again.” She flashed a bright smile.

“Nope, just the parchment will do. Thanks, Kelli!” She walked away and he opened the letter to read it.

I do hope you remembered Kelli’s name. It will be most embarrassing on Wednesday morning if you didn’t. Please tell me you didn’t embarrass me at work, Harry. What am I writing this for? Of course you embarrassed me. Oh well.

Seven long years we spent in the same building together. And we hated each other each and every single year spent there. Snape had some of the cleanest cauldrons though.

~draco~

“Cauldrons? Snape? What kind of clue is that?” Harry asked the room around him rhetorically. “I don’t want to even think about Snape on our anniversary. However, this is very important if it’s what I think it is. Seven years, hated each other, Snape, and more specifically Snape’s cauldrons? Hogwarts. School. Looks like I’m going to see Dumbledore.” He walked out the front doors of St. Mungo’s and Apparated to the gates of Hogwarts. As he walked through the wards and up to the front doors, a memory assaulted him once more. This one he’d never forget…

“And what do we have here?” a voice drawled from behind him.

‘Great,’ Harry thought. ‘Just what I need right now. Malfoy.’ He finished picking up his books and tried to walk past the blonde-haired git only to find his pathway was blocked. “What do you want, Malfoy? I’m kind of in a rush.”

“What happened, Potter? Someone knock your books out of your hands?” he teased in a babying voice.

“Stuff it Malfoy. I’m going to be late for Potions. And so are you.” He started down the stairs.

“Snape’s my godfather. He wouldn’t punish me. You on the other hand…” He stuck his leg out and watched with a sick smile on his face as Harry went face first into the steps.

“Son of–!”

“Ah ah ah, Potter. No cursing allowed. I’ll have to take off points for that.”

Harry knelt awkwardly on the steps, both hands over his bleeding and broken nose. Nasally, he threatened Draco. “I’ll get you, Malfoy. You are so dead. Not only will I get points taken for being late, but for fighting and bleeding in his classroom as well probably. He may be your godfather, but he can’t always be there to save your pompous arse.”

“That will be another five for cursing. Really, Potter, do you kiss your aunt with that mouth?”

“Stuff it! And get out of my way!” Just as he stood and began shoving his books in his bag, the stairwell started to move. “Great! That’s just great. I’m already late, Malfoy breaks my nose, and now the stairs are moving. I’m dead. If I weren’t so afraid for my life, I’d just skip Snape’s class!”

“Another five points for disrespecting a teacher. Really, Potter, have you no decency?”

“If you ‘really Potter’ me one more time I’m going to shove my boot right up your–”

“My what? What were you going to say Potter? Nothing, that’s right. Nothing. Why? Because you can’t do anything about it. Not only would Snape take points from you, your children, and your grandchildren, but McGonagall would as well because the old bat is tough on everybody equally. Snape will never take points from me, so you can’t touch me. I suggest you get used to it, Potter. This is the way our final year is going to go from now on.”

“Oh, really?” a new voice questioned. “And here I was thinking neither of you were teachers.”

Both boys turned and looked, in horror, at their Potions professor. “P-professor Snape, s-sir,” Harry stuttered nasally. “We were just on our way to class. Sorry about being late, the staircase moved.”

“I know, Potter. I watched it move. However, you are not on your way to my class, and I hope you would have been smart enough to realize that. It seems, however, my hopes were misplaced. The Infirmary, Mr. Potter, is where you should have been and where you should now be heading. You were correct in your assumption that I would be taking points should you bleed all over my classroom.”

“You heard that?” Draco whispered, his eyes wide.

Snape turned to face him. “Oh, yes, Mr. Malfoy. And godson or not, I will not be talked about as such. Especially by you, Draco. Now then, I believe punishment is due. Mr. Potter. For being late, ten points. For fighting, another ten points. For the cursing, fifteen points altogether. And for the disrespect of a teacher, ten points.” Harry didn’t look as shocked as he felt. When his mouth had dropped open, it hurt his nose, so he promptly shut his mouth once again. “Mr. Malfoy. I think… five points for disrespecting a teacher and five points for breaking a fellow student’s nose.”

Now Draco’s impression of a fish out of water almost made Harry laugh. Almost. “Both of you shall lose an additional five points for making me leave my classroom to find you, and leaving Miss Granger in charge. Be glad it’s not more. Draco, get to class. Potter, get to the hospital wing. Now.” Both boys scattered, but not before Snape could throw out one last bit. “And detention every night for two months, both of you. I think scrubbing cauldrons will make you think twice about being late to or missing my class.

It had been the longest two months of Harry’s life. Snape would stand over them while they cleaned, rinsed, shined, and polished each and every cauldron that man ever made it seemed like. If they made any noise whatsoever, another half hour was tacked on to their detention that night. The only allowances made was once every other week for Quidditch practice. Since each team practiced three times a week, that meant the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams were without seekers for five out of every six practices for two months. It would have been a crushing blow had both boys not been so good.

“Come in, Harry!”

Harry was jolted out of reverie. He hadn’t even realized he was in Hogwarts, much less that he had made his way up to and now inside of Albus Dumbledore’s offices! He shook his head and pasted a smile on his face. “Hello, Albus,” he greeted. “Sorry about that. I didn’t realize I’d been so deep in thought.”

“It’s okay, my boy,” Albus said with a wave of his hand. He pushed a tray of tea and lemon drops toward Harry. “What can I do for you today?”

“I believe you have something of mine,” Harry answered, politely refusing the refreshments.

“Oh? And what would I have of yours?” Albus asked, genuinely curious.

Harry faltered. “Draco… Draco didn’t give you something to give to me?”

“No, I don’t believe he did. Would it be something I would remember receiving?”

“Oh, yes,” Harry answered quickly, now a bit worried. Draco was working up to something, something big by the looks of things. All the clues had been major points in their lives. “You see, today is our anniversary. I woke to an empty home, but I’ve been sent on a scavenger hunt of sorts. I am given a clue as to where the next clue will be. The last clue led me here, to Hogwarts. It’s the only answer. And you’re the Headmaster, so he would have given the next clue to you.”

“May I see the last clue, Harry?” Dumbledore asked, reaching out for the paper. Harry silently gave it over. Dumbledore read it and then read it again. “No, not me, Harry. Read the paper and tell me what this is telling you.”

Harry took the paper back and began to read. “‘Seven long years we spent in the same building together. And we hated each other each and every single year spent there. Snape had some of the cleanest cauldrons though.’ He was talking about Hogwarts. We spent seven years of schooling here, and Draco and I had one of the biggest rivalries since Salazar and Godric themselves. Snape was usually the one to punish us and usually by cleaning his cauldrons in silence.” He paused. “It’s not you! It’s Snape! Snape has the next clue!”

“Very good, Mr. Potter.” Harry whirled around to face Snape, who was standing in the open doorway. “When it took too long for you to show, I decided to come see Albus. I had a feeling you’d come to him first. Tell Draco he owes me.” He thrust a piece of paper at Harry and then stalked off in that way that only Snape could do.

“Huh?” Harry looked down at the paper.

You went to Dumbledore, didn’t you? Damn it! Now I owe Severus five galleons. Give me five galleons when you next see me, okay? Otherwise, I’ll never hear the end of this. Well, it doesn’t matter. Sev will never let me forget this day.

Oh well. I’d do it all over again if I felt like it. Next clue: It’s been six years since I asked you to spend the night. And I don’t mean for a party!

~draco~

“‘Spend the night’?” Harry wondered aloud. He looked up at Dumbledore with a puzzled expression.

“Sorry, my boy, I was told not to help you.” Dumbledore smiled that knowing smile of his and carefully shooed Harry out of his office with the advice to go somewhere where he could think.

“Somewhere I could think… Somewhere I could think…” Harry once more walked the halls of Hogwarts deeply lost in thought. As he reached the Apparition point just outside the gates, he froze. “Wait a minute! Everyone says that Draco is the thinking part of our pair! Draco always thought best at home. But, our home wasn’t always his home. His apartment! We kept it as a storage unit. He would always go there to think. Everyone knew it. And he was the first to ask the other to stay the night. Draco’s flat.” With those two words, Harry Apparated away. He appeared on the doorstep to the apartment Draco used to stay in. “Let’s see…”

He looked all around the door of the flat, looked under the mat and in the mailbox. He looked around the railing and around the neighbour’s door. He tried casting a revealing spell, a show me spell, and a point me spell. None of them worked. Growing irritated with Draco once again, Harry shoved his wand back into its holster and shouted at the door, “Give me the paper, you stupid door!”

Now, most kids were taught that the magic word was ‘please’. Apparently, there were different magic words because the magic words this time were ‘Give me the paper, you stupid door’. Once those words left his mouth, a note appeared on the door.

I wanted to know if you’d really insult the door just because you couldn’t get the paper you knew would be here somewhere. I am amazed that you actually did. I had charmed it so that if you didn’t insult it within five minutes, it would appear anyways.

Five years, my love, five years since you asked me to stay at home.

~draco~

“This is getting just plain weird, Draco,” Harry groaned. “I’ve had to think about every clue, so let’s think about this one for a minute. Five years since I asked Draco to stay at home. Where is home? Home is where we are now. Five years since I asked Draco to stay. The night I asked him to come back to my house! We were still living separately, but I wanted him to be a more permanent figure in my house since it was bigger!” And with that, he rushed down the stairs away from the flat.

..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l..

A/N: Whaddya think? There's only two chapters, so the next will be posted next week, on Wednesday. See you next week! -dpa06-