Hi! Sorry for the slow updates, as always. But I have a bit of an excuse for this one. It is the final chapter, it is about twice as long as my normal chapters and boy, was it hard to write it so I felt satisfied! At least half of it has been pondered over and re-written, and the ending was really really hard to write. But hopefully it is good.

Thanks to all faithful readers for sticking with me!

Chapter 4

I stared at Blaise silently for a minute before laughing in his face. Was he really so stupid as to try to pull that one over me again? Really?

"Yeah right, Blaise." I told him. "Why don't you try something new this time?"

And without waiting for any response from him I shut the door in his face. I had had about enough from him always taking Draco's side, always making it out to be my fault. While it was fine when he would come and whine at me, telling me to treat Draco better, trying to scare me again was not something okay. Despite all of our falling outs I still loved Draco more than anything, really, why else would I have been staying at his side all this time if I hadn't? But mine and Draco's problems were just that, our problems. Blaise would always but in and try to fix things, to mend it between us. Or yell at me to take my ungrateful arse out of his friend's apartment and out of his life.

That was always the time when Draco would interrupt him, funnily enough. He'd sit quietly by as his best friend spewed gall over me, but every time Blaise would even think to mention that I should disappear, he would come to my rescue. And after that, well, it was fairly obvious that we would make up. Because no matter what we were fighting about I couldn't stop myself from forgiving him when he stood up for me.

Even though I had laughed at Blaise when he told me Draco was dead, as the hours passed I found myself more and more worried. I knew he was at a business meeting, and really, I knew well enough that those could take hours, my lover could be gone late into the night, but it didn't take long until I found myself watching the clock, seeing the minutes pass by and wonder where Draco really was. I didn't want to even breach the possibility that he was dead, instead my mind conjured up images of him, angry and drunk, spending the night having restless and violent sex with someone he didn't even care about. Those images didn't hurt even half as bad as what they developed into, because at first, Draco would always come back in the end. But when it was getting closer to ten, my mind started circling around the possibility that he might, never, come back again.

That feeling started growing stronger and stronger as I sat there, and if it hadn't been for the rustle of keys in the lock I'm not sure what I would have done. As it was, I just felt so incredibly relieved that instead of continuing the fight, like we would probably have done otherwise, I just ran over to him, intent on drowning him in love.

"Draco!" I exclaimed as I went over and pulled him into a hug, "I missed you!"

He didn't answer me, and as I tried to move over and kiss him, he dodged out of the way and left me standing alone in the hallway. I felt cold and confused, and with a more intense feeling of heartbreak than I would have expected. Even though I had tried to patch things up with him he still just wanted to fight. He was still mad at me.

I didn't understand why he was acting like that. No matter how mad he had been before, I had never been so bluntly ignored. This fuelled the anger that had previously been hidden by worry and I followed Draco to where he was standing in our bedroom, getting ready for bed.

"You complete arsehole." I hissed, "I was trying to make up with you! It really wasn't that big of a deal, you know, me being late for dinner. It certainly didn't warrant for you to ignore me like this!"

He still didn't answer me. Wouldn't even look at me, actually.

"Well, have you nothing to say to me? You can't keep ignoring me forever, you know! I don't know what came over you to act like this, was it because I didn't buy that stupid scheme I'm sure you set Blaise up to do?"
His only answer was shaking his head. Not a word had come out of his mouth since he got home, and it made me so furious.

"Argh!" I screamed, "Why won't you even look at me!"

I turned to grab his face then, but he flipped my hand away with his arm, as if I wasn't worthy of touching him. I was speechless. How dared he do that to me?

"Oh...!"

Without uttering another word I spun around and marched out, slamming the door behind me. If that bastard wasn't going to act like I even existed, well, then I saw no reason for staying in that apartment.

The outside air was cool against my skin, and while I normally relished in the peace that came from being outside on a summer night, at that time I just couldn't. This fight hadn't been like the others. At least I knew what he was thinking when we stood and screamed at the other until the neighbours complained. But being given the silence treatment was simply the worst. It was like being at the Dursley's all over again, all those times when I had actually been doing everything my aunt and uncle had wanted from me. At those times they would just act like I wasn't there, and the saddest thing was that I had used to relish those moments. The only time when I got some semblance of peace.

But it was different when Draco did it. Just so different. He had never treated me like the Dursley's did, and while he had been the one to save me from living there any more, him acting like them hurt worse than anything.

As I stumbled through the park I realised I was crying. I just felt so miserable and my memories from the past kept returning to slap me in the face. Aunt Petunia backhanding me for dropping a pan, uncle Vernon showing me out of the way for no reason at all, and worst when they ganged up on me, the both of them, mocking my parents. I'm not even sure why they did it. Why my father being of a different religion was such a hard thing for them to accept. I would always end up crying when they went at it, even though my parents were but a distant memory, a feeling of a smiling face and love. Yet as they mocked my parents I could feel that it was also aimed at me.

I felt pathetic, walking around like that. Driven out of the house by my insensitive lover, crying and reminiscing about my horrid relatives. It was ridiculous. I was stronger than that, I could handle a bit of misfortune, I should have been able to handle a bit of misfortune. But the thought just made me feel all the more sad, and I sank down on the first park bench I found.

I recalled a time when I could have called Ron in a situation like that, and he would have taken me out to get disgustingly smashed, and we would have roamed the streets, leaning on each other. But I couldn't do that any more, even though I still had his number in my phone. My former best friend was busy living his life with his beautiful wife, and by then, probably some lovely kids. And by god did I miss him. I missed everything from back then, I missed lying in the hospital, the hours dragging on and on. But it was worth the waiting when Draco showed up and the time he spent there would just fly away. Then there was Death. He never really said anything, but he had always shown up when I needed him the most. I hadn't seen him for years now, at least not because he came to see me. I could catch a glimpse every now and then, but nothing more. He was an entity that had disappeared from my life now. Just like everyone else that had at one time meant something.

But I was wrong about that. As I sat, moping on the bench, I suddenly found that someone was sitting next to me. As I turned my head and caught sight of a mop of blonde hair my heart lifted. It was Draco and I was sure he had come to apologise to me. It wasn't until he started speaking that I realised just how wrong I was.

"Took you long enough." I muttered, keeping up an annoyed façade even though I wasn't even that upset with him at the moment. My heart was fluttering with happiness that he was there and of the understanding that he cared enough to come running after me.

"I didn't know you had been waiting."

And there the illusion shattered. It wasn't Draco after all, just lousy old Death. While his company would have been comforting earlier, the revelation that I wasn't important enough for Draco to come after me hurt badly.

"Why are you here?" I asked him, spite in my voice. I didn't want to hate him, but I at that moment I couldn't help but to take out my rage and disappointment on him. He didn't respond to my question. He didn't need a reason to be there, actually, but as he had been gone for so many years I almost felt like he wasn't allowed to be there in my moment of pain. After all, I hadn't gone to Ron and we used to be much closer than I was to Death. Yet it was different with Death. He wasn't a friend, but he was a constant factor in my life, one that could not be discarded no matter how long it had been since I last met him. He would always be the same, and in a way, he was always there when I needed him.

"How come you are the only thing I can rely on, huh?"

I don't know if my question caught him off-guard, or even if anything could catch Death off-guard, but he was silent for a while before answering.

"I'm the only thing humans can ever really rely on."

And at that moment I truly felt like it was the truth.

I went home not long after that, and Death just disappeared without making a noise or even drawing any attention to himself. Draco was asleep in the bed and because I still felt mad at him I slept on the couch. It never felt like the sleep was very deep, but when I woke in the morning Draco had already gone to work and I hadn't even noticed. But I did notice the thing which woke me up and that was the insistent knocking on the door.

"Harry! Harry! Open up already!"

It seemed as if Blaise was back again, here to yell at me that I wasn't good enough for Draco again. I couldn't even be bothered with opening the door. Instead I flipped open the cover of the mail-slot.

"What is it, Blaise?"

There was no immediate response, but a second later I found myself facing Blaise through the tiny gap. It might have been the bad angle and light, but he looked, if possible, even worse than the day before. But he was glaring at me, and that was familiar.

"Harry, open the door like a normal person. I really need to talk to you."

I shook my head and told him that I didn't feel like it.

"Potter, stop messing around!" he must have been really upset, because after endless of nagging from Draco, Blaise and I had started calling the other by first names and that was something he never broke. Once you got to a first name basis with Blaise there was no going back. "Open the bloody door and let me in already!"

I shrugged. While I was sure he would only spring more tales of Draco's death on me, I supposed it was quite rude to leave him standing out there.

"Come on in!"

He didn't, however. Instead he grabbed hold of my shoulders, with a grip that almost made me wince. That combined with the utter sorrow that was painted on his face almost made me believe that he was telling the truth when he blurted out that I should listen to him and that Draco was dead! The only reason why I didn't believe him was because of the fact that Draco had returned the night before, and that he was most definitively alive and well. Well enough, in fact, to keep holding a grudge on me.

"It's amazing how good your acting has become, Blaise!" I exclaimed, "Really, you almost had me convinced, even though I know for sure that Draco is alive and kicking."

His face fell as I said that.

"Do you still think this is some kind of joke? Harry, you have to come to your senses! Why won't you accept the truth?"

While it had been amusing at first, his continued insistence was starting to piss me off. I was sure that it was Draco who had set him up to do this and since the blonde brat obviously was mad at me, he hadn't even bothered with calling it off, knowing how much it would annoy me.

"Look, Blaise," I said and dragged his hands of my shoulders, "while this might have been slightly amusing yesterday, Draco still refuses to make his peace with me and I am not in the mood, so please, please, just turn around and leave."

I helped him along with a good shove and slammed the door after him. The action made me feel quite good, until I realised that he hadn't left yet. He was still pounding the door and calling my name.

"GO AWAY!"

I couldn't stop myself from shouting at him. What was wrong with him anyway? He was being even more obnoxious than when I first met him, and considering how much I used to hate him, that said a lot. So obviously he didn't move from the spot anyway, and all through breakfast I felt like the knocking was driving me nuts.

He had gone away by the time I came out of the showers and I could only breathe a sigh of relief. Finally some peace and quiet. For the moment I felt almost happy.

By the time I got home from work that feeling was gone. Draco had arrived home before me, but just like the night before he didn't say a word to me, even though he did look up when I came in. The fact that he was still ignoring me was making me furious. After all, I had not done anything that was bad enough to warrant the silent treatment. So, acting like a child, I decided to treat him in the same way. We ate the dinner I had cooked in silence and even sat next to each other while watching the telly, but not a word was spoken. During that time I even refused to really look at him, even though I noticed him staring at me with a forlorn expression on his face from time to time. But in my anger all I could think was "serves you right."

We slept in separate rooms that night too, and the next morning Draco was gone again. It wasn't until then that sadness hit me again. How long would we stay like this, never saying a word to the other and not acknowledging the other's existence? At that moment I was sure, completely sure, that this was the end of our relationship. We would split up without even a word traded between the two of us, and it would end with my moving out in silence. I would never even find out the reason as to why he was so angry at me.

I called in sick that day, unable to go to work because of the sadness that sat lodged in my chest. All day I did nothing but sit and stare at the clock, watching it move slowly forward to the time when Draco was going to come home from work. The phone rang a couple of times during the day and when I didn't pick up the answering machine cheerfully recorded the message that was left.

It was Blaise again. He was still keeping up the charade, insisting that Draco was dead, and that he was to be buried that Saturday. At that point I found that he was really pushing it too far, a joke could only be tolerated that much. I ran around the couch to pick up the phone, but when I got there he had already ended the call before I could vent my frustration on him. So instead I tore the answering machine out of its socket and threw it on the ground. The carpeted floor wasn't enough to break it, so I stepped on it a couple of times for good measure.

That took care of whatever anger I had left, and for the next few hours I was slumped down on the floor next to it.

At exactly 6.32 pm Draco came home. He looked almost as weary as I felt and I could simply not keep ignoring him. Rushing up from where I was sitting I confronted him, my hand gripping his arm. It was cold, almost chilling me to the bone and I felt a pang of sympathy that he must be freezing.

"Draco!" I said, "What have I done that is so horrible that you can't even yell at me for it? When did you start hating me?"

I was going to say more, tell him every thought I had had for the last two days, but my throat constricted and I found myself crying instead. Crying almost desperately and my hand felt weak as it fell from his arm.

He didn't give me any explanation, instead he simply pulled me into his arms and whispered an apology in my ear.

"I'm sorry."

The voice sounded odd, strangely hollow and distant, but it was heartfelt.

We slept together that night, even though I kept tossing and turning because I was freezing. Draco must have been cold too, because when I touched him his skin was like ice.

Perhaps that was the thing that should have tipped me off and made me vary long before I actually realised it, yet it didn't. I was relieved that we had made up and filled with joy simply because I could feel his strong arms holding me while we slept and that was something I had been missing dearly. Because I didn't realise it, I was completely sure that things would be fine now, and that everything was al-right. I didn't even mind finding that Draco had already left when I woke up. He had always kept a much busier schedule so it was nothing unusual.

That day passed almost instantly. At least until I realised that it was Friday, which would mean that I and Draco could have a whole day for ourselves, just spending time together and really making sure that everything was the way they should be. The new realisation brought the quick pace to a halt and I felt as if the day would simply not end. When I finally got of work it was with a spring to my step that I almost ran out, eager to get home before Draco to surprise him with a romantic dinner.

Things did not quite turn out the way I had wanted them to, because when my lover finally got home, much later than I had expected, leaving the food cold and dull, the oppressive silence was back. But despite the fact that Draco did not say a word to me as I chattered over dinner, he still did everything he could to make me feel loved. There was the small smiles, the gentle touches and nods when he agreed with something I said, but he still wouldn't say a word to me. It saddened me, because even thought I believed we had made up, there was still something wrong.

Yet I didn't bring it up that night. I didn't want to start another fight. And I didn't feel as if the silence was because of something I had done, no, I almost felt as if Draco's love was tangible in the air from the way he acted and from the way he cuddled close to me in the couch that night, his eyes never focusing on the screen, but only on me.

We did spend the next day together, even though the day felt just like I did when I woke up in his arms, cold. And there was something... something that was bothering me about Draco, but my mind would not let me find out just what it was. So I went out, after our lunch, without Draco. It was an attempt to clear my mind, to work the stress out of my body.

It didn't work, instead I found myself walking faster and further away than I had even planned until I ended up in a cemetery. It was widespread, almost to the point where I couldn't see the end of it. But before me was a church and I could hear voices from a ceremony, low voices breaking out in a hymn and the melodious speech from a priest.

It sent shivers down my spine.

I was terrified of going closer, I had been at funerals before and they had never made me feel like that. So I told myself that it was nonsense and ignored all of my urges to turn around and run away, never to return to that place. It felt like forever for me to get close enough to hear what the priest said, close enough to realise that the funeral wasn't taking place in the church, but a little bit beyond it. And it took another forever for me to realise that the person who went up to hold a speech for their dearly departed was Blaise.

That was when I ran, with my heart trying to pound out of my chest and my brain going haywire. He hadn't been lying..! Blaise wasn't lying! And I had known it, hadn't I? I had realised that something was so very wrong with Draco, almost like he was another person. And there was only one answer as to who it was.

My mind slowly wrapped itself around the new reality and the walk I had taken extended itself until it was dark out. That's when I went home. Because it was time for him to look me in the eye.

The End.