Disclaimer: -whistles-

Author's note: As much as I want to keep this story going, my inspiration is kind of gone. I've got ideas but I can't write them down properly so I'm not going to leave you guys hanging and end it with this extra long chapter. Thank you to everyone who's read this story and a special thanks and a cookie to the people who took the time to review. I enjoyed reading all of your reviews and comments. And I had a blast writing this story! Don't worry, this is by no means my last HPDM story, there will be more. I just don't know if there will be any long chapter fics. Anyway, on with the story!

Right Kind of Wrong
Endings and beginnings

They made it back to the castle in a record time. Snape had done his best to fix Ron's leg before taking off but had not been able to heal it completely. Because they had not wanted to take the risk of Ron falling off his broom, he had flown on the back of Blaise's. Snape had taken Draco on his broom. The others had been fine to fly on their own although Harry was more sore after the flight on the broom than before. It had done him little good but his only concern was for Draco.

Dumbledore was waiting for them on the grounds. He had a serious expression on his face and his hands were folded in front of his body. Harry swallowed. They were doomed.

"The hospital wing is ready for Mister Malfoy," Dumbledore spoke as soon as they came within hearing distance. His voice was calm but there was a hint of anger too. "After you bring him there, I would like a word with you in my office, Severus."

"Professor-" Harry started but was interrupted.

"I was not speaking to you, Mister Potter. I suggest all of you get taken care of and then I will decide what to do about this situation." He turned on his heels, his cloak flew behind him and he walked back inside.

Snape clenched his jaw and headed into the castle, holding Draco carefully in his arms. The castle was quiet, no one knew what had just happened at the Malfoy mansion. Harry was sure though that by the next night, the entire school would know. The little group headed up the stairs. Blaise was still supporting Ron and Pansy was now helping Hermione who was limping slightly.

The trip to the hospital wing seemed to take forever. Adrenaline was slowly starting to fade and he could feel his bruises now. He was aware of the throbbing in his arm where a curse had hit him. He was aware of every bruise he'd gotten. It hurt like hell. He guessed the others were in a similar state. Only now, the pain was starting to fully sink in.

Finally, they made it. Madame Pompfrey was waiting. Her eyes widened upon seeing them all. "Oh my. What did you all get up to?" She asked but she didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she took Draco from Severus who then left and placed him on the nearest bed. She looked at the other teens.

"Everyone lie down and I will come check on you as soon as I can." She spoke, not looking up at them as she started to remove Draco's clothes to check for the damage that had been done. Harry got into the bed closest to Draco and carefully kept his eyes on the other boy. He

winced when he saw all the bruises again and hate bubbled up. Not as strong as before because he simply couldn't bring himself to feel it. He was too tired and too sore.

A minute later, professor McGonagall stormed in. Her hair was messy, she'd just got out of bed but at least she was dressed. Her mouth dropped open as she took in the scene in front of her. Gryffindors and Slytherins spread out over the hospital wing, some more bruised than others.

"I cannot believe Severus put you all in danger like this," she muttered angrily under her breath. Harry sat up straighter in his bed.

"We did what we had to. And good thing we did or Draco would've been dead." Harry said. He was more than ready to defend Snape on this one. For once, Snape had done the right thing and he would make sure everyone knew that.

McGonagall's eyes fell on Draco and an expression of horror appeared on her face. It seemed as if she could exactly guess what had happened to him. Her expression softened slightly.

"You should've asked for help."

"We did. Professor Dumbledore said he couldn't do anything so we did it on our own." Hermione piped up. Harry looked at her. A determination was clear in her hazel brown eyes. She too believed they had done the right thing, she too would defend their actions.

McGonagall rubbed her forehead and appeared to be thinking.

"Minerva, instead of standing there, do you think you could maybe check their injuries?" Pompfrey asked without looking up.

"Right, right. Of course." She came up too Harry first and was about to take his arm to look at his injury.

Harry shook his head. "Help my friends first."

Much to his surprise, she nodded and went over to Ron.

Not more than an hour later, they were all taken care of. Harry had gotten some kind of painkillers which had made all the pain go away and which left him dozing slightly. He was still very much aware of his surroundings but he didn't care, nor could he form a coherent thought. The bed felt as if he was lying on a white, soft cloud. His face felt warm, it seemed as if rays of sun were warming his face. He smiled and drifted off into a peaceful sleep. He didn't dream, he didn't think, there was nothing.

When he awoke several hours later, his blissfulness had gone. He felt sore. His arm had been healed but it still hurt. His millions of bruises had not been healed but they didn't really need to be. Only the life-threatening or more or less bad bruises had been healed. The rest would heal on their own, something Harry was not so happy about now. He sat up. Why was it so blurry? He felt for his glasses but they were not where they were supposed to be. He reached around for his glasses on the nightstand and finally, his hand connected with them. He put them on and blinked a couple of times. The curtains around his bed had been drawn.

He stood up and winced. He opened the curtains. Light was streaming in through the many windows. It was probably somewhere in the afternoon. He could hear voices drift up. Normal school sounds. It was weird that not even twelve hours ago, they had been fighting for their

lives. He smiled a bit. The hospital wing was quiet, apart from snoring. His companions were sleeping. He didn't exactly worry about them, he knew they were fine. His worry went out to Draco. He pulled back the curtains around Draco's bed and closed them again after himself.

Draco looked peaceful. His face had various colours from the bruises. Harry couldn't see the rest of them. He carefully sat down on the side of the bed. He couldn't stop the tears from welling up. He had never before been this relieved, Draco was fine, he'd pull through. He took the hand that was laying on the sheet into his. Unlike the night before, his hand was now warm and he could even feel Draco's pulse beating steadily. It was comforting.

"He's under heavy sedation."

Harry pretty much jumped and turned to look at Pompfrey. He had not heard her approach.

"He was in pretty bad shape, he's going to be in a lot of pain too so it's better for him if he sleeps some more, give his body some time to heal." She explained further.

Harry nodded and turned his attention back to the boy on the bed. He loved Draco so much, more than he ever thought would be possible. If anything, he had realized they were meant to be together. A little voice in his head told him they couldn't but he was in favour of ignoring that voice. It was time to listen to his heart and his heart was telling him they could make this work if they tried hard enough. There would still be fights but they just had to figure out a way to talk calmly about stuff. It would be different now too, they wouldn't have to sneak around anymore. They could let people know now.

He leaned down close to Draco's ear. "I love you, Draco."

Draco probably couldn't hear him but it didn't matter. It felt right saying those words. It was love. Perhaps he was too young to say those words or even know what they meant but he could not explain that feeling in his heart. He was lost without Draco, he wanted to be with him for the rest of his life. If that wasn't love, then he didn't know what was.

He had no idea how long he sat on the side of Draco's bed , just looking at him, holding his hand to reassure him that Draco was safe and just thinking. The next to disturb his thoughts was Snape.

"What did Dumbledore say?" Harry asked.

"It was wrong of me to put you all in harm's way, I should've known better, I should not have dragged you out there."

"But you didn't!"

"He wants to speak with you and the others too tomorrow, as soon as you all feel better."

"What will happen?" Harry asked cautiously.

Snape sighed. "I don't know, Potter. I honestly don't but I could lose my job."

"I won't let that happen, professor." Harry said. He had never thought he would try to help Snape but he wanted to.

"I'm going to see if the others are awake," he said so Snape could spend some time with Draco. He found Hermione sitting on the side of Ron's bed and holding his hand. Ron had a stupid smile on his face and Hermione's eyes were brighter than ever. He silently snickered.

"Hey. You two okay?" he asked as he sat down on the other side of Ron's bed.

"We're fine, you?" Hermione asked.

"I'm good." Harry smiled, "How about the Slytherins?"

"Still asleep, I think. Haven't heard anything." Ron answered.

Harry nodded.

"How's Draco?" Came Hermione's worried voice.

"He'll live. He's under heavy sedation so he'll be out for a while. Dumbledore wants to see us all tomorrow."

Hermione sighed, "Do you think he'll expel us?"

"For doing the right thing?"

"For breaking about a dozen of school rules AND the law." Hermione corrected.

Harry shrugged. "We'll see. We did the right thing, we had no choice."

"We know, Harry." Ron said soothingly.

The Gryffindors and the Slytherins were officially released from the hospital wing the next morning. They decided that getting breakfast would be the best option. After that, they could face the headmaster. They got some weird looks especially since four Slytherins now sat at the Gryffindor table. No one asked though.

Snape descended from the teachers' table to come over to them. This got them more weird looks but more curious ones this time. Snape gave them to password to Dumbledore's office. The teens made their way over in silence, not sure what to expect. They took the staircase up. Harry knocked on the door.

"Enter."

The seven teens entered. Seven chairs had been drawn up and they sat down.

Dumbledore studied each one of them which made everyone but Harry feel uncomfortable. He'd undergone this stare many times before, he could stare back without fidgeting now.

"After I clearly told you not to interfere, you did anyway."

"We had to, professor!" Hermione said, much to Harry's surprise. He had not expected her to speak first. "They were going to kill him! We did what we believed we had to, as did professor Snape. If you or anyone else is going to hold this against us, then so be it."

"Is that so, Miss Granger? Don't you think there are quite a few wizards out there that want you dead now after your little stunt? Do you think the Death Eaters are going to let you get away with this?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"We've faced them before, we'll do it again." Ron spoke bravely.

"My dear boy, it is a miracle you got out alive at all. You have won some battles in the past, both by talent and sheer luck but you are nothing against fully trained Death Eaters."

Ron paled considerably.

"You did not think about the consequences before you acted."

"We did think about the consequences if we didn't act!" Harry spoke heatedly. "I was not about to let Draco die! If they want to come after me, fine! Let them." He crossed his arms and glared.

"Harry, you have gone through a lot, faced a lot of challenges and overcome them but don't let that interfere with your judgement. Fact is, what you did out there was foolish."

"That maybe so but we're glad we did." Pansy said.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I am glad to see some house unity although I wish it could have happened under different circumstances. Lucky for all of you, I managed to get the situation under control. The Death Eaters will not hurt you."

Harry felt relieved but also wary. "What did you do?"

"Let's just say I have some contacts in high places who owed me and helped me out a bit. No one beside the Death Eaters present last night, you seven, professor Snape and I know about what happened last night. Let us keep in that way for all of your sakes."

"What will happen to us now?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing. You will continue to follow lessons here at Hogwarts. I admire your bravery for saving Draco but I hope you understand that your little adventure could have easily cost you all of your lives."

"What about professor Snape?" Harry asked.

"He shall continue to teach Potions. I do not agree with what he did but it has become clear he did not pressure any of you into joining him. There's nothing I can or want to do."

"What about everyone else? They'll ask questions." Pansy said worriedly, "We can't tell them the truth."

"I'm sure you can come up with a plausible story. After all, you managed to make up an escape plan. Whatever you think of will be fine. Be sure to let me know. Now, if you excuse me, I have some business to attend to."

The shocked group left the office. Harry could not believe they had gotten off that easily. No punishment and Dumbledore had cleaned up their mess. He felt more than a little guilty about that. Yet he still believed they did the right thing. They had had no choice. The hallways were quiet. Lessons were in progress but they had better things to do then follow some lessons now.

"What do you think he did?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think I want to know." Ron replied.

"It's a good thing no one but us knows what happened." Pansy answered.

"About that, we need a cover up story." Blaise said groaning, "I think that just might be our punishment. How on earth are we going to come up with something believable that will explain Draco's bruises, your bruises and our lack of bruises?"

"Well, Draco could've gotten back from his parents' early. Their family problem had been solved. You all ran into us three and we got into a fight. We uttered a couple of curses we didn't know the effect of, Malfoy got caught up the most. We were caught by Snape. Now we have to spend time together as punishment and have to get to know each other." Ron said.

"The only problem with that is that the Slytherins will hate you."

"I know something. It's a bit out there but it might just work," Hermione spoke up.

Harry smiled. Leave it to Hermione to come up with something.

"What if Lucius wasn't really Lucius? Someone kidnapped Draco by using poly-juice potion. Pansy, you followed and you noticed how the man turned back and Draco got kidnapped. You ran to us for help although you hated it but you knew we could help. We tracked down the man, found out he'd been torturing Draco. He had a score to settle with Lucius for torturing his own son. Harry, Ron and I fought with the man while you, as Draco's friends, went over to help him. We came back to the castle and that's that." Hermione explained, crossing her arms and smiling smugly.

Blaise opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again and nodded. "That will work."

The others nodded. They discussed the details for a while longer and made sure they had their stories straight. By the time they were done, it was noon and the seven went for lunch, this time sitting at their own tables.

It wasn't long before the questions came and they all answered with their well rehearsed story. Everyone bought it and everyone thought Harry was even more of a hero. Harry hated the fact how everyone thought he was so awesome. Fact was, he couldn't have done it without his friends, yet no one seemed to realize that.

He was glad when he could escape to Gryffindor tower with his friends.

"Well, that's going to take ages to blow over. They all love you again, Harry." Ron said grinning.

Harry groaned. "I couldn't care less about all of that. Honestly. I hope they'll cancel the third task."

"Oh yeah! I'd forgotten all about that." Hermione exclaimed, looking worried.

"It's still far away, nothing to worry about yet. And I really don't want to now either." They reached the common room and entered.

Somehow, it felt strange being back. It seemed as if they hadn't been there in ages while in reality, it had only been two days. They sat down in front of the fire. The full situation really sank in for the first time.

"We came really close to dying." Harry said, staring into the flickering fire.

"I know but we didn't." Hermione spoke, "We always get through stuff like this."

"Perhaps one day we won't."

"Come on, mate. Don't worry about that now. We got through it, we're all safe and we brought Malfoy back. Mission accomplished. Do no worry about what could have been, it will only drive you crazy." Ron spoke soothingly.

"I know." Harry said but he couldn't help but think about all the things that could've gone wrong. It was silly. They were back, it was over. They had nothing to worry about. Still, Draco could've been killed. Hermione and Ron could've been killed. The Slytherins could've been killed. He buried his head in his hands. He couldn't keep the thoughts from running free in his head.

"As much as I hate to say it, it's time to grab our stuff and go to class."

"Yeah, I guess." Harry said. He wanted nothing more than to go see Draco but the other boy probably wasn't even awake anyway so there was no point in going to sit by his side. They needed to get back to their normal lives.

Harry and Ron went up to the boy dormitories to grab their stuff. They waited back in the common room for Hermione. The trio headed for Charms.

Their lessons went by quickly enough but by the end of the day, Harry was quite annoyed. If he caught one more person staring adoringly at him, he was going to either kill that person or kill himself. The former sounded better. Ron and Hermione had repeatedly told him to let it go, they said it would blow over. For everyone's sake, he hoped it did. He was so tired of being seen as the big hero, the saviour. He was a teenager for crying out loud. If Voldemort came back, they would all expect him to defeat him while in reality , he didn't know if he could. He'd survived his previous encounters because of his friends and sheer luck. It was as simple as that.

After dinner, Harry immediately headed to the Hospital Wing. Madame Pompfrey told him Draco had not yet woken up but she predicted it wouldn't take much longer. Harry sat in the chair by his bed. Draco's face was now almost healed again.

Harry reached out and took Draco's hand in his again. He pressed a kiss on the back of his hand.

"Wake up, Draco. We need to talk," Harry murmured. He studied Draco's face carefully. There was no sign of him waking up yet. Perhaps that was better. He didn't want Draco to have to think about what happened. And if he did, Harry would be there for him every step of the way. He would make sure Draco knew he was safe and that they couldn't hurt him again. He didn't know yet what would happen at the end of the year but Draco was not going back to Malfoy Mansion, over his dead body. No chance in hell. Draco could come with him. The Dursleys could say what they wanted about it.

He nodded to himself. Good plan. He was so lost in thought about what he would say to the Dursleys and the possible scenarios that he didn't notice the flutter of Draco's eyelids. It wasn't until he heard Draco groan in pain that he realized the boy was waking up.

He stood up, not releasing Draco's hand. Draco slowly opened his eyes. An expression of pain was clear on his face.

"Where am I? What happened?" he asked confused.

"You're in the hospital wing. You're safe." Harry said, smiling.

Draco seemed to relax a bit. "What… what happened? Last I remember is wanting to die."

Harry winced. He sat down on the side of the bed and started telling about what had happened. He paused briefly when Madame Pomfrey came in to check Draco's wounds. He tried to keep it as short as possible because he didn't think Draco was up for any long stories now.

"Thanks. But that was foolish, Harry! You could've gotten killed!" Draco exclaimed, voice rising slightly.

"I wasn't about to let you die, Draco," Harry spoke softly, "I would never be able to live with myself if he had killed you."

Draco shook his head. "I wish I had died. I can't hide from my father or other Death Eaters forever, neither can you."

"Dumbledore said they'd leave us alone."

Draco laughed humourlessly. "You know they're not just going to let you get away with this. They'll want revenge. They'll want me back."

Harry hated seeing the fear in Draco's icy blue eyes, he hated seeing the pain in those depths.

"I'll protect you, I'll do what I have to, to keep you safe."

"What if that isn't enough? What if they get their hands on me again? I can't go through all of it again! I won't!" Memories seemed to hit Draco all at once and tears started to form. Harry moved closer and wrapped his arms around the other boy. Draco started crying and he clung to him, hands holding on tightly to the back of his shirt. Harry had never hated a sound more than he hated the sound of his love sobbing. The sound seemed to come straight from his heart. He never wanted to hear Draco cry like this again.

He didn't dare to rub Draco's back but he kept up a stream of soothing words. He had no idea how long he sat like that with Draco crying in his arms but eventually the sobs quieted down. He didn't let go and kept whispering words of comfort. Draco was the first to pull away. His eyes were puffy and swollen, tear tracks were clear on his slightly red cheeks. Harry tenderly wiped the remaining tears away and smiled a bit.

"I'm sorry," Draco said miserably.

"Don't be, you need to get it out. I'm here for you."

Draco looked down at his folded hands.

"I really thought I was going to die. For a while, I was so angry with myself for letting myself believe in our love but eventually, I realized it was the best thing that happened to me." Draco spoke calmly, tried to keep his voice devoid of emotion but there was a slight cracking that Harry easily picked up.

"I was really scared.. I love you more than anything, Draco. I promised myself that I would give us another chance if you still want to."

Draco's eyes lit up and Harry was glad to see the joy in his eyes. A genuine smile broke out across his face.

"Of course I still want to." He answered. He made some room for Harry in the bed. Harry got the idea, toed of his shoes and sat back against the headboard with his legs under the covers. He placed an arm around Draco's shoulder and let the other boy lean against him.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Harry asked, breaking the silence that had settled between them. Draco tensed up.

"At this moment, I don't think I can talk about it without breaking down completely. I just want to forget what happened and focus on the future."

"Take it from someone who's undergone his fair share of pain, it's better to talk about it now than bottle it up."

"I think I'll just repress it."

Harry let it go. He didn't want to pressure Draco into talking about what happened but he had the feeling it wouldn't be long before he did anyway. Repressing stuff like that usually didn't work out so great. Harry would be ready for when the next break down came. He'd be there to pick up the pieces.

"You should probably try to get some more sleep." Harry suggested.

"Will you stay with me?" Draco asked. His voice sounded small again. He felt Draco's need for him to be around and face his demons with him.

"Of course."

They got more comfortable in the bed. Harry was lying on his back. Draco was curled up on his side with his head on his chest and one arm over his body. Harry ran his fingers through Draco's hair. He heard his breathing even out pretty quickly. Harry tried to force himself to stay awake but he found that he couldn't. His eyes drifted shut and sleep took over.

He awoke abruptly to a loud scream that echoed in the empty hospital wing. Draco was sitting up and shaking like a leaf. Harry wrapped his arms around the shivering boy and just held him close.

"T-they b-beat me up s-several times," Draco started. Words tumbled out of his mouth as he started telling about what had happened. He couldn't seem to stop. Harry just listened, holding Draco close and rocking him in his arms. With every word said, he felt his hate for the Death Eaters grow. He wished he had managed to kill some, just for the sake of killing them. He wished he'd been able to hurt them as badly as they had hurt Draco.

Eventually, Draco was done talking and all that was left were more tears.

"It's okay, you're safe. They can't hurt you anymore." Harry kept repeating the words as a mantra. He pressed a kiss on Draco's forehead and kept rocking him until he noticed Draco had fallen asleep again. This time, Harry just couldn't sleep anymore. The things that Draco had just said kept echoing into his mind and much to his annoyance, he could form pictures of what had happened. It just made him want to throw up. It was beyond him how people could torture other people.

When the first rays of sunlight fell through the window, Draco stirred in his arms and stretched out. He looked up and smiled.

"Thanks for staying. You were right, I did need to talk about it."

"See? Sometimes I do know what I'm talking about."

This earned him a chuckle and he smiled but the smile faltered soon. "There will be more nightmares."

Draco nodded. "I know, it's going to take me a while to get over this."

"You'll have me to help and you'll have your friends. Some emotional scars may never heal but it will get better." Harry promised.

"I still can't believe my father did that to me. I mean, I know he's strict and all but I'm his own son. How could he torture me like that?" Draco sounded absolutely heartbroken. Harry wanted to make it better but there was little he could do.

"I don't know, Draco." Harry pressed a kiss on Draco's forehead, "I don't know."

The door to the hospital wing opened and they could hear Hermione and Ron arguing with Blaise.

Harry was about to get out of bed but Draco tightened his hold on him.

"They might as well get used to it. It's not as if we really have to hide it anymore." Draco said with a sad little smile.

Their friends opened the curtain.

"Ah, so that's why we couldn't find you this morning," Hermione said, smiling easily at the couple. Pansy's smile was easy too. The boys seemed to have a little problem coping with the situation but they would have to get used to it.

"How are you feeling?" Blaise asked.

"Alive, thanks to you guys. Really, I owe you a lot." Draco spoke gratefully.

"It was our pleasure. Trust me." Pansy replied. Crabbe, Goyle and Blaise nodded their agreement.

"When are you allowed to get out of here?" Crabbe asked.

"Tomorrow morning. Wish it was today though because it's really boring and the walls are totally ignoring me." Draco pouted slightly which made everyone laugh.

Harry was relieved Draco could still crack jokes. He realized Draco was far from recovered but at least, he seemed to be willing to try to get over it and act normal. However, that could seriously backfire so Harry had to make sure he was there in time to make sure Draco didn't crack completely.

"Hate to break this up but we've got lessons." Hermione said.

Harry wasn't exactly pleased with the idea of leaving Draco alone. His boyfriend seemed to noticed because he smiled reassuringly.

"I'll be fine."

Harry leaned in for a quick kiss. When he broke free, the others were all looking anywhere but at them.

Harry got out of the bed, much to his regret. "Get over it, guys!"

They said their goodbyes to Draco and left the room.

Harry's eyes were wide, the expression in his eyes haunted. He had just seen Cedric get killed, he had seen Voldemort rise once more. The thought of Cedric's death worried him more though. The other boy died because of him. How many others would die in this battle against the ultimate evil? He didn't even want to think about it. He couldn't.

He rested his chin on his knees and stared out over the quiet Hogwarts grounds. He shouldn't be out here, it was already dark but he did not want to be in the castle where everyone looked at him with either pity in their eyes or a look that clearly said he was crazy. He didn't want to face anyone right now, least of all his friends.

He could hear footsteps approach. He didn't even bother to look up. Three figures appeared in his line of vision. He didn't have to look up to know that it was Draco, Hermione and Ron. Draco sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, Hermione sat on his other side and Ron in front of him. They didn't speak, they just sat there with him, offering comfort. He couldn't control the tear and soon they were flowing freely over his cheeks. Draco started rubbing his arm, offering him the comfort he had offered Draco a couple of months ago up to that very moment.

Harry felt slightly guilty for breaking down like this because Draco had not yet fully recovered. His sleep was still filled with nightmares, he still woke up screaming and crying. He should be worried for Draco and not wallow in self pity but there was nothing he could do to stop the tears. Shock had worn off and he was now even more than before fully aware of the awful truth. He realized his battle against evil had just started. The next years would be crucial, the next years he would have to look over his shoulder with every step he took.

"It's going to be alright, Harry." Hermione whispered. "We're here for you, we'll help you."

"I don't want you to. This is my fight. I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me." His voice sounded so small.

"Mate, we've gone over this. We're in this together and we have been since the day we met." Ron spoke confidently.

"You were there for me, now let me do the same for you." Draco said and pressed a kiss against his temple. "You've got a lot of people willing to fight with you, Harry. A lot of people who want to fight with you. Let them all help. Let us help. This isn't something you can do on your own."

"He already killed Cedric, I don't want more people getting killed!"

Hermione smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, Harry, more people will get killed, it's the sad truth. Not every person's death is your fault or responsibility."

"I feel like it is though!" Harry exclaimed and furiously rubbed his scar, "He put a curse on me even worse than the Death curse when he put this on me. I'm forced to watch people I care about die because he feels the need to kill me in order to get world domination."

"We're going to stop him but it will take certain sacrifices. This is war, Harry. No one is going to get out unharmed or unscarred. We'll all have suffered losses at the end, some more than others. You're going to be seeing a lot of death but you will have to deal with it eventually." Draco said. He sounded way older than his age all of a sudden. His tone was matter-of-factly.

"I don't want to deal with it." Harry stated. He sounded rather childish. Now that Voldemort was back, he would more than ever be looked at as the saviour, the Golden Boy. They would all count on him. The weight on his shoulders seemed to became more.

"We'll see what happens. Don't try to think about what's still to come." Hermione spoke wisely. They were dealing with this better than he was but they were not the ones who'd seen the life disappear out of Cedric's eyes. They'd not been faced with too much Death Eaters and Voldemort. They had not fought him. They didn't know, they wouldn't. Anger bubbled up inside of him. Anger at the entire universe for screwing his life up like this.

He let out a scream that even made the hair on his arms stand up. It felt good to let it all out. It helped, at least a bit. When he'd finished, his friends and boyfriend were staring at him with worry.

"You don't know what it was like at that cemetery, you never will so don't go telling me what to do." Harry spoke calmly.

"Perhaps we don't but we're still here for you. We want to help you but we can't if you don't let us. You've got to accept we're in this together. The sooner you do that, the less fights we'll have," Ron said a little jokingly.

It didn't make Harry smile all that much

"We can better go back inside. We have to get up early tomorrow to go home." Hermione spoke.

Harry nodded his head. This conversation would continue to go in circles anyway. Draco helped him to his feet and wrapped his arm around his waist. Harry leaned into the warmth of his boyfriend's side. The four friends headed inside in silence.

The next morning, the Hogwarts express left the station. Harry sat staring out the window at the nearly black cloud that had formed above the express. A loud rumble broke the silence and rain fell hard against the window. It had just started and there was much more to come.

The End

Author's note: well, that's that. If I feel like it, I could still pick up this story and do a couple of follow up chapters or just a one-shot. Who knows? But no promises! I'm sorry if this is kind of rushed, I tried to make it as coherent as possible. Thanks again for reading!

Love, Kelly