Whisper

(Harry Potter / Draco Malfoy)

Summary: Harry, in ruins after Cedric's death is teetering on the edge of life and death. Friends unable to save or reach him, Sirius unable to talk reason into him, it doesn't seem there's much that can be done… Until a very unlikely person comes into the picture.

WARNING: Slash, self-harm, thoughts of suicide (The warning wouldn't fit in the summary box... XD)

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. I just own the plot. P

Chapter 1

Draco could tell the minute Potter walked onto Platform 9 and 3/4 on September 1st that something about the boy had changed over the summer. And it wasn't just a small change such as gaining a few inches in height or that his hair had grown longer since June.

No, this change was something much, much bigger. Although unsure of what it was, it was unmistakable that Potter was different. You didn't have to be a genius to see it. And it wasn't just the thinness of his face; showing that he hadn't been eating well, or the way his hair seemed; if possible, even more unruly that before. It wasn't even the deep purple circles under his eyes, which were no longer quite as bright as they used to be. Actually, it was Potter's eyes that really set off warning bells in Draco's head.

Once a deep, vivid shade of emerald green, and ablaze with determination and life, they were now dull and dead.

Draco was not the type to admit that he cared for anyone's well-being, let alone The Boy Who Lived, but the sight of Potter looking so run down, clearly, distressed him.

Tearing his gaze from the raven haired boy, Draco made his way towards the train.

For the first time in all his four years at Hogwarts, Draco was boarding the train without either of his parents there to see him off.

Draco wasn't surprised though. He hadn't expected them to be there. He had had a small shard of hope that perhaps his mother would show, even if he knew for certain that his father wouldn't be there.

And even if it had been a very small inkling of hope that his mother would be there, it still didn't stop the feeling of disappointment from washing through him.

Shaking his head and smiling bitterly to him he boarded the train. As if he could have expected his mother to come. He knew how terrified she was of his father.

He knew as well that he couldn't expect his fellow Slytherins to greet him with open arms either.

There was no doubt that Lucius would have carried the news of his son's "betrayal" to his circle of death eater friends, in an attempt to make life difficult on the boy, most likely in hopes of changing the 15 year olds mind.

Hah, as if his father had any chance of doing that! Draco was a Malfoy, or at least in his mind he still was, and Malfoy's could get very stubborn. It also helped that Draco happened to be a strong believer in sticking true to his beliefs, and he believed that what The Dark Lord and his followers were doing was wrong.

Therefore, he had told his father the moment the topic was brought up, that come his seventeenth birthday, he would not be accepting the dark mark.

Well… That hadn't gone over well.

The end result was Draco spending the summer months at the Leaky Cauldron and disownment.

Draco still had no idea what he was going to do, his only hope really was that his godfather, Severus, would be willing to help him out.

Draco was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of the train whistle, signaling that the train was preparing to leave.

Hurriedly, Draco found himself an empty compartment, stored his trunk on the luggage rack and seated himself for the long journey ahead.