Title: My Missing Love

Author's Name: BADxLUCK

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters that are in this story. They all belong to J.K. Rowling. Also, this story contains slash (male/male), so if you do not like this, hit the back button on the top of the screen and go somewhere else.

Pairings: Harry/Draco, Hermione/Ron

Summary: Harry has gone missing and no one knows where he is, but when five days pass, everyone declareshim dead... except for Draco, who declares that he'll wait for Harry forever...

Author's Notes: Hello, my wonderful friends. This is my first one-shot. So, be nice and review for me. If you do not know me, I am also the author of Tragic Yet Fortunate and I Want Him Dead. This is a little one-shot I have created while sitting on a long journey to another country and I was bored. Please, be nice and review! Thank you all!

My Missing Love

Hermione met Ron in the common room in the early hours of the morning before breakfast, when the sun was shining through the open windows, lighting up the scarlet and gold colored furnishings. When she stepped off the last step of the stairs, she was surprised to see Harry was not with Ron.

"Where's Harry?" She asked, fixing her robes around her shoulders and glancing around the common room in case Harry was here and she hadn't noticed him yet… but he wasn't here at all.

"Oh, I think he's still sleeping. Don't worry, he'll be up soon." Ron assured her and she frowned, disapproving of Harry waking up late, but she nodded and followed Ron out of the common room.

-

In the Great Hall, Ron and Hermione sat down next to each other in front of Ginny, Neville and Seamus. Neville was the first to notice Harry wasn't with them and he looked behind them in case he had been lagging behind.

"Where's Harry? He's going to miss breakfast if he doesn't come now." Neville said after swallowing a mouthful of eggs.

"Probably upstairs sleeping still. He'll come down soon. Might miss breakfast, but it doesn't matter—he hasn't be eating for a while." Ron said and Hermione looked at Ron incredulously.

"Ron, how can you be so insensitive? You should be concerned for Harry. If he doesn't start eating, it's going to start affecting his health." Hermione said wagging a finger at Ron, hoping a little discipline would get to him… apparently it hadn't.

"Thanks for that bit of information, nurse," Ron said and Hermione made an annoyed face at him. "But I can't make Harry do anything. It's his choice to do whatever he wants." Ron said and Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head, knowing that Ron would never understand, but at the same time, she knew he was right.

After breakfast, Hermione and Ron followed by a whole flock of Gryffindors were walking towards their Potions class and Harry still hadn't joined them.

"That's not like him. I mean, sure he's the type to be late for class, but not like this. He's never woken up this late that he would miss breakfast. Maybe he's ill and we don't know," Hermione said frantically and she turned to Ron. "Ron, we should check on him. Maybe he's unconscious or hurt." Hermione grabbed Ron's arm, but he pulled her in the direction of the dungeons.

"And be late for Potions? No way. He's Harry—he can take care of himself." Ron said and Hermione continued to look worried. Seamus walked up next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Ron's right. When has Harry not been able to take care of himself? He might be late for Potions, but that's his decision. He'll come down when he's ready. He's probably just extremely tired. He was up all night—said he couldn't sleep." Seamus consoled and he followed Ron and Dean down a flight of stairs.

"Did he look like he wasn't feeling well?" Hermione asked feeling suddenly concerned for the missing raven- haired boy.

"Nah. He just looked tired." Seamus said and they approached closer to Professor Snape's class and the Slytherins who were waiting for the Potions teacher to arrive joined them.

Hermione was biting her lip and she didn't even notice when Draco and approached them, with Crabbe and Goyle standing on either side of him.

"Well, well, if it isn't Granger and Weasley." Draco sneered and then he was about to make a witty comment when he noticed that Harry wasn't with them. "Where's Potter?" He asked and Ron was looking furious even though Draco had done nothing wrong.

"Shove off, Malfoy." Ron said menacingly, but Draco wasn't at all a bit fazed.

"Don't piss me off, Weasley. I have done nothing wrong, so get off my back." Draco said angrily and Ron was taken aback by the outburst. Then Draco suddenly spoke with a quieter tone. "All I did was ask a simple question… where's Potter?" He repeated the question and Hermione stepped forward, ignoring the looks Ron was throwing at her.

"I don't know. The boys that stay with him in his dormitory say he was still sleeping because he couldn't fall asleep last night, but I don't think Harry would sleep this late and not even tell us anything." Hermione said in a whisper, speaking most of her answer to herself and forgetting that Draco was standing in front of her.

"What? Does he have to tell you two everything? I bet he gets sick of you two hanging all over him like you were his parents." Draco said and Hermione looked up from where she was staring at the ground. She hated to admit it, but in a way Draco was right.

She raised an eyebrow at Draco's comment and the blonde decided to continue.

"He doesn't have to tell you everything. The lot of you keep circling him, annoying him with your constant rubbish and telling him how much you worry so much. I say if you truly worry about him, you would give him some space to be by himself. He doesn't need you two pushing him away and then pretending to be his friend when you need him most." Draco said and Ron grabbed the front of Draco's robes, staring squarely into silver eyes.

"We're not pretending, Malfoy! Hermione and I are actually his friends, so don't talk about Harry like you know him more than we do." Ron said, but Draco glared at him and knocked Ron's hand away to be free from his grip.

"Really? You really call yourselves his friends? The way you and Granger are constantly snogging each other, Harry gets pushed away and you forget about him. You two are too caught up in each other to even notice the sad look in his eyes every time you shove him further away. Sooner or later, he's going to stop coming back and that's when you'll realize you've lost him forever." Draco said his voice filling with emotion and Hermione noticed something.

"You just called him Harry." She said and Ron was silently seething with anger towards the Slytherin boy—using every bit of self- control he had to refrain from punching Draco.

"Why do you think you understand him so much? You hate him!" Ron said emphasizing the word 'hate'.

"Harry and I are more alike then either of you will ever realize." Draco said softly and before Hermione asked what he meant, Snape rushed through the mob of students and opened his door, letting them all flood inside and getting straight to his lesson.

Halfway through the class, Hermione and Ron were partnered together and neither of them had heard anything about the whereabouts of Harry. She was instructing Ron to put in certain ingredients when she stopped reading from the Potions book and looked at Ron.

"What do you think Malfoy meant by all those things he said? It seems like he has become fond of Harry or something." She said and Ron poured a jar of thick green liquid into their cauldron and watched it change from a dull orange to a vibrant blue color.

Ron shrugged.

"Who cares? Malfoy doesn't know anything. He just thinks he rules the world and we all have to listen to what he says. He's such a bastard." Ron muttered and Hermione shook her head.

"No… there was something more. I just can't put my finger on it…" She said and she drifted off and was about to look at the book in front of her once more, when suddenly Professor McGonagall burst through the door and was looking around the room frantically.

Snape got up from his desk and strode toward her, but she didn't wait until they could speak out of earshot of the students.

"Professor Snape, do you not have Potter in your class?" She said looking around the room, hoping that she somehow over looked him.

Snape shook his head.

"No, it seems Potter decided to skip my class today." Snape said bitterly and McGonagall pursed her lips together.

By now the entire class had stopped what they were doing to listen to what the two teachers were talking about.

Soon, a low whisper developed through the dungeon.

"This is horrible. It seems Potter has gone missing." She said and the whisper grew until everyone was beginning to talk to one another—all the Gryffindors were feeling frightened that the worse had happened to their fellow house mate.

"The headmaster wanted a word with him, but he was no where to be found. The entire grounds has been searched and there has been no sign of where he could have gone." She said and Hermione took Ron's hand in her own, hoping that nothing has happened to the raven- haired boy.

However, everyone was too caught up in the situation to even notice that Draco was in a state of shock and he stood by his desk with his head bowed, not speaking or even moving.

Pansy Parkinson approached Draco from where she was standing.

"Maybe," She started in a whisper. "If we're lucky, maybe he's dead." She said and Draco's head shot up and he took a step away from her, staring angrily into her eyes.

Then before she could continue, Draco pushed past her and hurried out of the dungeon, not carrying that everyone was watching him.

As soon as he was a good distance away from the Potions classroom, he began jogging down the hallway until he was running up a flight of stairs and facing the portrait that led to the Gryffindor common room.

The flat lady stared suspiciously down at the Slytherin.

"Sorry, but this entrance is for Gryffindors only. Now run along." She said, watching Draco closely through her painted eyes.

"No, this is urgent you have to let me in. I have to check if it's true. I have to check if Harry is really missing. Please, just this once." Draco said desperately and the fat lady seemed surprised at the teary eyed look Draco was giving her and by the news that someone was missing.

"Harry's missing? You mean, young Mr. Potter? Oh, dear. Alright, I'll make an exception, though just this once." She said stressing the last part. "Only because you look like you love him very much." She said and Draco blushed, but nodded anyway and stepped through the portrait hole.

Once inside, Draco began calling Harry's name and then he rushed up to the boys' dormitories and searched around the room to make sure Harry wasn't still here sleeping.

"No… it's not true… they're all wrong." Draco said firmly and he rushed into the bathroom and checked inside, calling Harry's name a few times.

Then he hurried back into the boys' dormitories and for the first time noticed a white owl perched on the table next to a bed that he assumed to be Harry's.

"Hey, you're Harry's owl. Do you know where he is?" Draco asked suddenly feeling foolish that he was talking to an owl, but then again, owls were very smart.

The owl hooted a couple times and Draco frowned, then once again, the owl started hooting and Draco made his way toward the door, only to find that the owl was following him.

"Do you want to help me search for Harry?" He asked and the owl hooted and Draco opened the window and let the owl outside. "You check the grounds for him. I'll start on the inside." Draco said and the owl flew off and Draco hurried out of the Gryffindor common room.

After checking many classrooms, running up several flights of stairs and startling many first years, Draco made it outside and still no sign of Harry. He walked over to the side of the lake and sat down beside it, soon greeted by the beautiful white owl. The owl hooted in a tone that sounded oddly sad to the blonde.

"So… I guess they were all right. He really is gone… but he'll be back, right? All we have to do is wait."

Back inside the Potions classroom, Hermione and Ron finished their potion and were now cleaning up when Hermione began talking again.

"I wonder what was wrong with Malfoy. He seemed pretty upset." She said, picking up jars to put back in the cupboard.

Ron rolled his eyes.

"Would you stop bringing him up. Don't worry about him, he's not worth it." Ron said and Hermione looked offended.

"I'm not worried about him. I was just wondering… haven't you noticed the way he gets whenever Harry is mentioned? I mean, it's like he turns into a different person and stands up for him. It doesn't make sense." She said and Ron shook his head.

"No way. Maybe Malfoy is sick. He's still the same git we've known all these years." Ron said and Hermione bit her lip once again.

"It's almost as if… as if Malfoy was in love with Harry."

-

Five days passed and Harry was never found. Many students around the school declared him dead and even Ron and Hermione had given up hope to him ever showing up, so the Gryffindors wept for their lost companion and they stopped looking or waiting for the day he would return.

Now, the entire school sat at dinner in the Great Hall and it was quieter than normal and Hermione sat next to Ron at the table, eating her food solemnly. When Ron glanced in her direction, she smiled and continued eating not bringing up the subject about Harry. They all tried to forget him, hoping that it wouldn't be as hard to let him go.

"So, um, I wonder where Malfoy is. I haven't seen him in a while." Ron said aloud and Hermione looked up and glanced over at the Slytherin table where she noticed a gap between Blaise and Goyle where Draco would have been sitting.

"Yeah, he hasn't even shown up for dinner or breakfast this morning. As a matter of fact, he hasn't been in any of his classes all week." She finally realized, but she shrugged putting it off, as it wasn't her problem.

"Maybe he's locked in a tower somewhere, starving to death." Ron said and Hermione shrugged and returned her attention back to her food.

-

Outside the Great Hall, near the Hospital Wing, Draco sat in the corridor on the hard ground, leaning against the cold stonewall and staring down at his hands. His thoughts wondered to other things and his stomach growled loudly, but he ignored it and stared off into his own imagination. An image of Harry's smiling face flashed thorough his mind and Draco began shaking with silent sobs, bringing his knees up to his chest and clutching at a his pants desperately.

-

Back inside the Great Hall, it has only been a few minutes into dinner and the noise level of the students seemed to have risen. They were becoming more absorbed in their dinner and talking to their friends and enjoying the fact that tomorrow was the weekend. They were all chatting mindlessly, but everything came to a sudden halt as if the Great Hall had been muted and they all stared toward the entrance of the Great Hall in a shock.

Standing the doorway, breathing heavily, was Harry.

He could feel every pair of eyes on him and he realized just then that he looked very battered. His hair was messier than usual (if that was possible) and there were several splits in his black pants in which blood was visible on his legs. He was wearing a dark green sweater with a hood that was dirty in several places and blood had dried all over the arms of the sweater in places where there were holes in the sweater and you can see his arms underneath. His arm was on his chest and a place where a deep gash was visible between his fingers and the blood ran freshly from the open wound.

Harry stood in the door, calming his heart and then he finally looked around and smiled sheepishly.

"Uh… hi." He said and it was in a rush that a flood of Gryffindors and several Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, that Harry was surrounded by students asking him questions about where he was and what he was doing.

Harry heard a confusion of words that jumbled together and he couldn't understand any of the questions asked—part of him was in pain anyway, so half of him wasn't even listening.

Harry was saved, however, when Professor McGonagall pushed through the crowd and told the students to give Harry some room.

"Please, everyone go back to your tables. I'm sure Potter would love to tell the reason why he was missing for so long." McGonagall said stressing the last part, indicating that she wanted to know as well.

Harry just grinned.

"But that would have to be tomorrow. For now, I want all of you to finish your dinners and then head straight up to your dormitories and leave Mr. Potter to rest for a while." She said and she made sure that everyone went back to his or her tables before turning to Harry.

"Now, I want you to head straight up to Madam Pomfrey and tomorrow I want an explanation." She said and Harry nodded and left the Great Hall, not even glancing at Ron or Hermione.

Harry walked in the silent corridors and he examined the wound on his chest and decided that it wasn't as bad so he pulled his sweater down to cover the blood that was running down his skin.

Harry made a right and began walking down another corridor, when he noticed a lonely figure sitting on the ground. For a minute he didn't know who it was until he drew closer and he saw the pale skin and the blonde hair.

"Malfoy, what are you doing…?" Harry said, but was cut off when he saw Draco look up at him and their eyes met. The amount of sadness found in those silver depths startled Harry.

Draco gasped aloud and stood up quickly, staring unbelievingly at Harry, unable to accept that Harry was standing directly in front of him.

"Harry…" He whispered, his voice raspy from not talking for a while and Harry shook his head, taking a step forward.

"Malfoy, what happened to you? No offense, but you look horrible." Harry said sounding genuinely concerned, but he was indeed right about Draco.

The blonde boy's eyes weren't as bright as they used to; they were now dull, gray orbs. He looked thin and frail from not eating. His usual neat hair was hanging over his eyes in unkempt strands that looked like he had just woke up. His clothes were wrinkled and we wasn't dressed in his usual expensive clothing, but in a plain pair of black pants and a dark blue shirt.

Draco stared at Harry for a minute longer until he snapped out of his thoughts and rushed forward, throwing his arms around Harry's neck and hugging him tightly. Harry stood in shock; alarmed that Draco was hugging him and was even more shocked that he didn't push him away.

"I missed you so much. I was worried I had lost you forever." Draco said and he buried his face in Harry's neck, his body beginning to shake gently.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, standing and waiting for Draco to let go when he was ready.

"You were missing for five days. Everyone thought you were dead. But I knew better, I wasn't going to let you go. I was going to wait because I knew you'd come back… and you did." Draco said and he looked up to gaze into Harry's eyes and he smiled, though tears were falling down his cheeks.

Harry was taken aback and he suddenly felt a rush of emotion toward Draco when the blonde buried his head into his shoulder. Harry found himself wrapping his arms around the blonde's waist and resting his forehead on the blonde's shoulder.

"I'm sorry." Harry whispered and Draco shook and Harry could feel warm tears falling onto his neck and he pulled the blonde closer to his body.

They stood in the hallway like that for what felt like forever until Draco pulled away and wiped the tears away, suddenly feeling ashamed of them. Then he was about to wipe his other cheek, when Harry's hand stopped him and he looked up in confusion.

"Don't." Harry said and Draco let his arms fall to his side. "You shouldn't be ashamed of your tears." Harry said and Draco smiled and Harry couldn't stop the feeling of noticing how beautiful he looked. "I'll see you later. I have to go to the Hospital Wing." Harry added.

"Can I go with you?" Draco asked and he nodded and together they walked side-by-side toward the Infirmary and Harry secretly slipped his hand into Draco's.

When they entered the white room that was lit by candles Madam Pomfrey rushed over and instantly began working on Harry, shaking her head about how Harry should try and stay out of trouble.

Harry just smiled.

"Now, Mr. Potter, you need plenty of rest and I don't want anyone bothering you until I say so. So, Mr. Malfoy, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She said and Draco was making his way to the door when he heard Harry's voice.

"Wait. Please, let him stay." Harry pleaded and she thought for a minute before nodding and beginning to tend to Harry's wounds.

Draco stood by watching silently, never saying a word or looking at Harry for that matter.

When Madam Pomfrey was finished bandaging the wounds that needed to heal themselves, she picked up her supplied and left the room, leaving the two boys alone.

"Why did you ask me to stay? I thought you hated me." Draco said, his eyes half-lidded and his voice filled with exhaustion.

"I don't hate you. I asked you to stay because… I don't know why. I guess I just wanted you here." Harry said and Draco nodded and sat down on the side of Harry's bed.

"Harry, will you tell me where you've been?" Draco asked and Harry shrugged.

"Just taking care of a few problems that came up."

Draco leaned forward and laid his head on Harry's chest, inhaling the scent of Harry's body.

"And what do you think would've happened if you died?" Draco asked and Harry thought for a moment. He hadn't really considered that.

"Um… I wouldn't be sitting here, I guess. Then again, no one would've cared if I died." Harry said and Draco gripped at the sheets that were covering the bed.

"Don't you ever say that again." Draco warned and Harry raised an eyebrow at the comment. What did Draco mean when he said that? Was he saying that he would've cared if Harry died? Harry had a hard time believing it, considering he never got entirely close with any of his friends. He trusted them… but he didn't trust them with his life. But somehow Draco was different… there was something forming between them.

"I'm sorry, Draco. It's just that…" Harry started but when he looked down he saw Draco's eyes were closed and his breathing had evened into a soft snore. Harry was surprised at how quickly the blonde boy had fallen asleep, but he smiled anyway and pulled Draco onto the bed and covered him with his blanket.

Harry sat next to his sleeping form and watched him—watched the way his eyelashes caressed his cheeks and the way his lips parted slightly when he was sleeping. His hair was in disarray, laying all over the pillow in untamed strands. Harry realized that he never noticed these certain traits about Draco and for the first time in his life he truly felt happy.

Soon, he found himself falling asleep beside the Slytherin prince, not noticing when Draco silently slipped his hand into Harry's.

-

The next morning, Harry woke up to a bright and beautiful morning. The room was shimmering in its white glory and Harry had a warm and fuzzy feeling inside his body. He stretched and that's when he noticed that his fingers were intertwined with Draco's slender ones. He smiled for a moment before he heard footsteps and he quickly detached himself and threw his legs over the side of the bed.

Madam Pomfrey came into the room and Professor Dumbledore, who was laughing to himself about some joke he had just made, closely followed her. Harry looked up to see the headmaster smiling at him and Harry grinned back, suddenly becoming conscious that he was only dressed in the pair of pants that he wore yesterday.

Professor Dumbledore stood off to the side, waiting while the nurse did a small check of Harry's wounds, some involving her wand and others involving her poking and prodding his body.

When she was satisfied, she got up and left the room.

"Hello, Mr. Potter. I assume you are feeling well this morning. You look a lot better than you did when you came in last night." The old wizard began and Harry nodded, silently. "I daresay you had us all worried."

"No one was worried about me. They probably wished I were dead. Most of the people I thought were my friends are starting to act differently. They all push me away and don't talk to me until it comes to the point where they want me to save them." Harry said miserably and Dumbledore shook his head.

"You really do have people who care deeply for you." Dumbledore said and for the first time he turned his head and looked at Draco, who was still in a deep sleep. "When we first noticed you were missing, Mr. Malfoy did a check of the entire school by himself, unwilling to give up looking for you. He stayed up all night and sat in the Great Hall with your owl, waiting and hoping for your return. He stopped eating, drinking, sleeping, speaking and stopped going to his classes altogether. He just continued waiting for you. I'm afraid to say that many declared that you wouldn't come back, but Mr. Malfoy refused to give up hope, at least not until the day of your return. That is why he is able to sleep so peacefully, because he knows he has you back."

Harry was deeply moved by what Dumbledore told him and for the first time he felt love for the boy next to him.

Had he really been the only person to wait for him? Had Draco really felt emotions for him? Did Draco love him?

Harry smiled at the headmaster and stared at Draco for a few seconds before turning back to the old man.

"Professor, if it wouldn't be too much to ask, can I have a few minutes alone?" Harry asked and the headmaster smiled and shook his head.

"No, not at all. Take your time. I actually need a word with the nurse, I'll come back later, Harry." Dumbledore said and he took his time walking out the room. "It's amazing that love can be found in the most unexpected people." Dumbledore muttered on his way out and was finally out of view.

Harry raised an eyebrow at Dumbledore's last statement before he turned back to Draco. He was having a hard time deciding whether to wake him up or let him sleep longer and they would talk later. Harry decided on the former and reached over to rest a hand on the sleeping boy's shoulder.

"Draco…" Harry whispered, shaking his body gently to wake him up. Draco stirred fairly quickly and opened his eyes slightly.

"Good morning, Harry." Draco whispered and he sat up only to be startled by Harry throwing his arms around his shoulders and pulling Draco tightly to his chest. Draco's eyes went wide for a moment and the blanket was now tangled around them both, partially covering each boy.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I didn't mean to worry you. You are the only person who's cared for me the way you do and I can't believe I was too stupid to notice it before." Harry admitted and Draco was surprised, but he wrapped his arms around Harry hoping to live this moment forever.

"I was stupid too. I should've told you the truth before." Draco said and Harry pushed Draco back so that he could look into his eyes.

"The truth?" Harry asked and suddenly Draco became nervous, but he spilled out his feelings anyway.

"The truth… the truth that I love you." Draco said and he looked down at the bed waiting for Harry to yell at him or push him away, but when he looked at the expression on Harry's face he was surprised to see Harry smiling at him.

Draco was about to speak again when he was suddenly pulled forward into what he thought was another hug, but was stunned when his lips met Harry's in a soft kiss. He felt like he was frozen in time and everything felt perfect. He gripped at the sheets that covered them and his other hand was wrapped around Harry's middle. A moan escaped his lips and he couldn't help pushing himself closer until he was practically on Harry's lap.

The pulled apart slowly and Harry rested his forehead on Draco's.

"I love you, too. It's taken me seven years to realize it and it only dawned on me last night." Harry said and Draco grinned.

"But you have to promise me that you'll never pull one of those stunts again where you go off and not tell anyone anything." Draco said suddenly becoming serious and speaking in a firm tone.

Harry couldn't help but laugh.

"I promise."

They leaned in again for another kiss and it deepened when Harry pulled Draco closer until Draco was on his lap and their bodies were touching. Harry swayed slightly to an imaginary tune that flowed through his head, somehow sharing the music with his new boyfriend.

Oblivious to them both, was Dumbledore peaking at them with a smile on his face, his eyes still twinkling…

Fin


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