Title: Unbroken

Author: Arawna

Disclaimer: Anything pertaining to Harry Potter and Co. does not belong to me, rather to JKR and anyone else who has stuck their hand into this cauldron.

Warning: May cause throat to constrict, eyes to dampen, heart to hurt (slightly), and a weird little sound to come out that sounds something close to a high pitched 'aw'. Any who are overly prone to such emotions may continue at own risk, but don't say you weren't warned.

Tears were pouring down Harry's face as he was forced to stare ahead and a pathetic whimpering sound emanated from his mouth as he rocked as best he could in the chair. If it weren't for the thick leather straps binding his wrists and ankles, he would've been quite content curling himself up in the fetal position in the nearest corner and crying himself into oblivion. However, both Ron and Hermione had thought about that when they'd strapped him into his now prison and leaving him for hours on end, only coming into the dimly lit room to switch tapes or to ask if he'd changed his mind yet.

Of course, this is exactly how Draco had found him when he walked into the Room of Requirement, seeking solitude, but instead finding Harry Potter strapped to a chair watching het porn films - obviously against his will. He grimaced slightly as a woman on the film gave a rather lustful moan.

Harry's eyes flickered to Draco, but that was all the acknowledgement he received before the Gryffindor started pleading with him.

"Help," came a pitiful sob.

Feeling slightly sympathetic toward the other boy for being condemned to such cruel and unusual punishment, Draco stepped forward and, after flicking his wand to shut the film off, began to remove Harry's restraints. He started with the ankles then moved to the wrists. However, the leather strap around Harry's forehead seemed to prove formidable.

"Why on earth did they have to restrain your head?" Draco questioned, trying to work the clasp free.

"When Ron and Hermione left the first time, I knocked my glasses off so I wouldn't have to watch." Harry's voice was low at first, but by the end, it was a barely audible whimper again. "When they came back, they decided they'd have to secure my head. Then - then they used a charm so my eyes would stay open…it was painful." He went on to mumble something about nightmares worse than Voldemort's.

By this time, Draco had managed to remove the last strap, and Harry crumpled into his seat, drawing his knees up and wrapping his arms around his legs. His rocking became more pronounced now, and he kept mumbling as he stared off into space.

"So," Draco said, having the strangest sensation that he should comfort the clearly distressed youth. It wasn't like he wanted to do the comforting thing; it just felt odd looking at the other boy who looked as though he would go through a mental breakdown any moment. And he couldn't be doing that if he was expected to go slay Voldemort one of these days. So, in retrospect, it was a saving-his-own-arse thing that Draco was about to attempt, and in no way, shape, or form could it be called comforting. "Why exactly did your friends lock you into the chair and make you watch porn?"

Harry stopped mumbling and rocking, but he still stared off into space. After a moment, he began rocking again.

"I told them," Harry explained ambiguously after another moment. "I told them and they tried to 'fix' me - like I was a broken toy or something."

He began his anonymous mumbling again.

Draco looked over his shoulder at the door, wondering if it was too late to back out now. He had just about come to his decision when Harry started to talk coherently again.

"You'd think they'd be able to accept something like that," he murmured. "I mean, Fred and George are the same way-"

"Wha-" Draco tried, but Harry kept going as if he weren't even there.

"-And I'm sure Seamus is the same, too. Then there's no denying that Justin is; it's so obvious-"

"He's what-" Draco attempted again, but to no avail.

"-But of course, the Great Harry Potter can't be, can he? No!-"

"Oh, now you're just talking to yourself, aren't you?" the Slytherin asked, knowing he wasn't being heard. "At least you're not mumbling anymore."

"-They'll let me endanger my life, risk others - although in the end, it was them who followed me against their better judgment…poor Cedric - break rules, breaks laws, maim and kill a few Death Eaters every now and then - usually inadvertently - but the moment I decide to have a love life they say it's unethical and bind me and force me to watch-" Harry shuddered. "-straight porn!"

Draco had given up and was pinching the bridge of his nose when he felt Harry's gaze on him. The other boy's eyes seemed to gaze right through him when he continued.

"Would it mar the perfect image everyone has of me if they knew I was gay?"

Draco just stared down at the other boy as he folded back into himself.

Well, at least he's not rocking anymore, Draco thought.

"I'm just a broken toy; I'm just a broken toy…" Harry repeated over and over again.

Remembering how his own parents had treated him when he'd presented them with the same bit of news and how he felt afterwards, Draco had the slightest inclination to tell Harry that he wasn't some broken toy in need of repair.

He stepped in front of the chair and pulled Harry from his fetal position - which was a tad bit harder than Draco had thought at first - before he crouched down at the other boy's feet and took one slightly shaking hand in both of his own.

"Potter. Potter. Harry, look at me," Draco ordered, only succeeding on the last try, at which point Harry looked at him with a confused look in his eyes.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" he asked.

Draco looked at him as if he'd gone off his rocker - which he had not five minutes before - and with a quick shake of his head, replied, "It's not important right now, Potter. But you need to know something: you're not broken, no matter what your friends or anyone else makes you think, alright? People like you, they're out there, and they don't feel broken, they feel normal, just like Granger and Weasley. So, don't worry, just ignore them and stay who you are."

The words of encouragement felt odd on Draco's tongue, like a bitter foreign chocolate, so obviously an acquired taste and one that he'd never seem to acquire.

Harry could see this in his eyes; he could see just how different it was for Draco to be saying such things. But it felt just as different to be hearing them.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked in a small voice.

The Gryffindor could see a dilemma being discussed behind Draco's gray eyes and he noticed the change when the decision had been made.

"Because I'd been told once that I was broken," he said at last. "And it took me much longer to realize that I'd been lied to by those I thought cared about me."

The longer Harry looked into Draco's eyes, the easier it was to recognize the same anxiety and betrayal that he felt when Ron and Hermione had left him in there.

"Okay, Harry, so what is it this time? Great Balls of Fire or - oi! Malfoy, what're you doing here?"

Both Harry and Draco looked away from each other and to the pair who'd come to a halt in the doorway.

"Well, Weasley," the Slytherin drawled as he slowly rose. "Clearly, I'm undoing the mental damage you two imbeciles have caused. You can thank me at another time."

Ron's face became red and Hermione's brow furrowed.

"Why would we thank you, Malfoy?" the female Gryffindor asked dubiously.

"For obviously saving Potter from a trip to the fourth floor of St. Mungo's," Draco sneered.

Hermione took a step toward the blonde. "But we were saving him from that trip! He's not normal! We have to fix him!"

"You're so incredibly stupid for being so incredibly genius, Granger, you know that?" Draco spat. "You can't fix something that's not broken - and if you try, you'll just make matters worse."

"He isn't normal, though!" Hermione tried to reiterate. "How could matters get any worse? He's supposed to want a wife and kids, not the Seeker for the Canons! How could you possibly know what's best for him?"

For reasons beyond him, Draco just got more and more angry and more and more defensive of the boy now clutching at his robes and trying his best to hide from his friends.

"You're right," Draco nearly growled. "How could I know what's best for him? After all, I'm not his friend, but youare and as such, you're supposed to say to hell with it and protect him from bastards like me. You know it's a truly pathetic day when the enemy is protecting the hero from his own friends."

There was a contempt in Ron's eyes that Draco's only seen on a few occasion and a venom in this voice that he wasn't sure he'd ever heard. "Fine,you be his friend. Youchoose what should be done about this; after all, you seem such an expert on the matter."

Draco could hear the insinuation in the words, so he raised his chin as he challenged, "So what if I am an expert? What're yougoing to do about it?"

Shock passed through both the Gryffindors' eyes before Ron answered. "Absolutely nothing." The redhead's glare flickered to Harry then back to Draco. "He's your problem now, you deal with him."

Ron turned on his heel and left the room. Hermione just shook her head, mumbling something about thinking he knew better, before she followed Ron.

Harry just stared after his two friends.

Ex-friends, a voice in his head reminded him.

Draco was still breathing heavily through his nose when Harry decided to speak up again.

"When I told them, they asked why I'd live my life like this, like it was a choice," he said, his head hung low and his fingers playing with the folds of his robes. "They asked me what happened to liking Cho and if I'd like it if they introduce me to some nice girls. I told them it was useless, that this is who I am and I can't change that. I told them I'd been living how everyone wanted me to live, but now I wanted to live my own life, and they didn't want that to happen, so they brought me in here." Draco heard the hitch in his voice. "What happened to friends accepting you no matter what? What happened to supporting you and staying behind you through thick and thin?"

Hearing the other boy's morose tone cooled Draco's anger and he felt the need to pull Harry into his arms and comfort him, and tell him it's going to be alright. But he didn't want to lie to the boy.

"I don't know," he whispered. "Obviously they weren't friends at all."

Harry sniffled loudly and raised his head to look up at Draco. His eyes were red, but no tears had fallen from them, although they threatened to.

"Draco." His voice was minute and Draco strained to hear him. "Can I come be not broken with you?"

It had taken a moment for the impact of the words to fully hit Draco, but when it had, he couldn't help but smile softly, something he hadn't done often.

"Of course, Harry. We can be not broken together."

FINS

A/N: This is not how I had originally intended this story to end. No…I had started it with the intention of it being a funny/cute story, not a…well, not what it turned out to be. But, nevertheless, I hope you liked it and will review. Hell, even if you didn't like it, still review - all you're risking is my eternal wrath…

…Ha…J/K about the 'eternal' part.