Bright green eyes stared shyly up at him, a soft blush spreading throughout his body. Soft, almost feminine hands wandered over leanly muscled flesh, exploring and caressing. A sigh escaped perfect red lips.
"Draco…"
Draco sat up straight in his bed, silently groaning. The dream he had had was not unusual lately, but it was a real pain to wake up every morning with the same, affliction, that hindered most prepubescent boys.
"Damn it, Potter!" he grumbled, mentally damning the boy to an eternity of sleeplessness. Now that he was completely awake, Draco carefully slipped out of the dormitory, and followed the familiar path to the hospital wing. He eased the door open carefully, and snuck into the room, unsure if he should be there. To the naked eye, the room would appear empty, but Draco had been there when Pomfrey had set the wards, and could clearly see the sleeping teen on the bed. If he had been attractive before, he was now almost otherworldly in his beauty. The moonlight cast silvery highlights in his silky hair, and his sooty eyelashes rested softly on his cheekbones. Each feature seemed to be individually accentuated by the moonlight that bathed him in a soft glow. But while the moonlight added to his beauty, it also made the previously unnoticeable scars stand out with stark clarity. Draco tried to ignore the unnatural rage that swept over him at the thought of someone hurting the sleeping boy enough to scar him so much. But no matter how hard he tried, one thought entered his mind. How dare they touch what is mine! Then he groaned. He was Draco Malfoy, for god's sake! He wasn't supposed to feel like this, like he had to protect Harry from harm. He was the one who caused the harm! But that thought only increased his guilt. How badly had his words wounded Harry, truly? He could recall quite a few times when he had driven the boy to tears with his scathing remarks about his family or friends. He groaned.
"What did you do to me, Harry?" he didn't expect an answer, so he was shocked when a drowsy Harry sat up, causing the blanket that had been covering him to slip, revealing a perfectly formed, smooth chest and a surprisingly arousing belly button.
"An innie, Harry?" he smirked, and was rewarded with a delicate blush that covered Harry's cheeks and spread to his chest. The blushing boy yanked the blanket up, staring at Draco shyly.
"You came." the boy seemed surprised about Draco wanting to see him, and for some reason, that annoyed Draco.
"Since I saved you, I thought it would make sense to make sure you're okay." he tried, he really did, but he just couldn't keep that instinctive sneer out of his voice, although he did manage to make it much lighter then usual. After five years of speaking to him in that tone, it wasn't just going to fade away. However, he didn't expect Harry to jerk away from him at the mention of being saved. He sighed.
"Harry, what did you do to make that Ravenclaw so angry that he would risk expulsion just to…do that?" he asked curiously. It was something that had bothered him since he walked into the bathroom that morning. Harry glared pitifully at him.
"I didn't do anything! I had to go to the bathroom and when I turned the corner I ran into him. H-he called me pretty…" Harry trailed off, shivering at the memory. Draco, however, was stunned. He had figured it had been a simple case of a one-night stand gone wrong. It would be just like his previous vision of Harry to be the love 'em and leave 'em type. But this new Harry, this shy, quiet Harry would never do that.
"Were you a virgin, Harry? I mean, before your uncle?" he asked softly. He knew he would regret asking the second Harry opened his mouth.
"W-why do you c-care? So what if I w-was?" if it weren't for the way Harry had stumbled over the words, Draco wouldn't have said anything more.
"Maybe I want to know just how much those filthy muggles took from you. Maybe I want to know how long you managed to remain so…untouched. Or maybe I'm just curious. Take your pick." Harry seemed uncomfortable with this answer, however, and refused to meet Draco's eyes.
"They took everything from me. He took everything from me. I've only had one friend outside of Hogwarts, and she promised to help me, that she was going to tell her parents about the Dursleys and then I could move in with them, but her parents didn't believe her, and told her not to talk to me anymore. When he found out I had told someone what they were doing to me he got even worse. When I was little Aunt left him for a few months, went on a trip, or something, and at night he would come into my…room, and t-touch me. But then she came back and I got my Hogwarts letter, and everything just stopped, until this summer. I only ate three or four times, and even then it was only stale crusts or rotten fruit. The first time he did…that, i-it hurt, so much! Why did he do that to me?" Draco didn't reply, and felt the little bit of his heart his father hadn't frozen break into a thousand little pieces when Harry began to openly sob, his thin shoulders shaking. It was the most he had heard Harry say since the bathroom, and while it had been punctuated with sniffles and sobs, it was reassuring that he wasn't too scared to talk about what had happened to him. He tentatively reached a hand out and placed it on Harry's knee. That was all it took. In a split second he found his arms full of wet, sobbing Harry. He gently stroked the soft black hair, whispering soothing words to the boy. He couldn't help but wonder if any other damage had been caused by the muggles, because Harry seemed very childlike, and Draco had a feeling that Harry wouldn't have responded like this if anyone else that had saved him. He looked down at the now sleeping boy in his arms and unthinkingly pressed a soft kiss to the boy's temple. Then he laid the boy back on the bed and settled himself in the chair closest to Harry's head.
"Don't worry, Harry. I'll keep you safe." He mumbled, head lolling to the side.
"—at's he doing here?! Slimy git's probably the reason Harry's in here in the first place!" the oh so pleasant sound of Ron Weasley's grating voice was what Draco woke to, although he was smart enough to not let that show. Instead he watched through narrowed eyes as Granger scolded the teen.
"Ronald! You need to calm down. Just look at Harry, he obviously needs the sleep, and if Malfoy helps him sleep, I won't hesitate to hang him in your dormitory!" Weasley's indigent huffs could still be heard, although they did lessen in volume. He turned his eyes to Harry, who was curled up facing him, his small hands clutching one of his like a lifeline. Just as Harry began to shift in his sleep he realized a very serious issue. In a half hour classes would begin, and he didn't want to risk a fight with the Gryffindors that might end up scaring Harry. He heard shifting and was not surprised when Harry sat up, but was stunned when, instead of releasing his hand, the boy tightened his grip. Draco gently stroked the inside of Harry's hand, tracing the delicate lines. When Granger reached over to hug the boy, Harry surprised them all by crying out and huddling into Draco's side. Weasley was appalled.
"Harry! That's Malfoy you're sitting on! Mate, I think you need to have your head checked." Granger smacked him soundly on the head, before turning back to Harry.
"Harry, you know I wasn't going to hurt you, right? I would never do that to you." But Harry seemed unbelieving, and Draco decided it was time to get up. Without dislodging Harry, he sat upright in his chair and turned to the Gryffindor currently residing on his lap.
"Harry, they won't hurt you. You know that. Just relax. You're in the hospital wing. You're safe here." He kept eye contact with the boy, and was satisfied when he nodded slowly. Weasley and Granger were speechless. Before they could say anything he explained. It wouldn't do to have his Harry's friends hate him.
"I'm the one who found Harry before that sick seventh year could do anything seriously harmful to him. I guess he decided to trust me because I saved him. And before you do or say anything rash, remember that whatever you say will just hurt yourselves and Harry more then it'll hurt me." Especially after I kill you for hurting him, he added silently. Granger seemed to accept this, but Weasley was a different story.
"Harry, what's wrong with you? Decided to go Dark on us, have you? Knew a Parselmouth like you could only be bad. To think, I let you stay with me over summer hols!" by then Weasley had already reduced Harry to tears, and seemed to be out of words. Then his fist drew back, aiming for Harry's tearstained face. Before it ever made contact Draco had grabbed the offending limb in his own, somewhat larger, fist. Harry was curled up on the bed next to Granger, shivering and crying, and Granger looked like all she wanted to do was rip Weasley's heart out and feed it to him. While her hands were carding through Harry's soft hair she glared at Weasley.
"Ron, how could you? You and I both know what happens to him over summer hols! How could you actually try to hit him? Plus, you know all about his condition, he can't help who he bonds with! Just be lucky it's someone who could treat him right, and not some jerk who hits people with serious mental health problems!" at this Draco perked up.
"What condition? What mental problems?" he asked, his hand tightening around Weasley's fist. Granger spoke up.
"Because of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his relatives, Harry's mind only developed to the age of a very childish twelve year old. He can't control his emotions at all, and he has a very short attention span. He is, in all senses of the phrase, like a lost puppy. He scares easily, and dislikes meeting new people. And Dumbledore, brilliant man that he is, cast a spell on Harry so that when he found someone who was capable of protecting him and loving him, they would become bonded. And I'm going to venture a guess and say it's you, judging by the fact that you didn't leave his side all night, and he seems reluctant to be so far away from you right now." Indeed, Harry was impatiently pulling away from Granger's soothing strokes, staring at him the whole while. Reluctantly, she let him go, and he ran straight to Draco, only stopping when he neared Weasley. Draco quickly shoved the redhead away, hating him more then ever for hurting his boy. Harry was shaking badly, and was making small whimpering noises. Draco wasn't sure how to calm him, and looked pleadingly to Granger. The girl very badly mimicked hugging someone, and looked like she was trying to summon the Devil, but Draco got the main gist. He reached out for Harry, and was surprised when he almost flew into his arms. Harry's head only came up to his chest, and while Draco wasn't the tallest male in the school, by any means, he still towered over the small Gryffindor. He mentally drew up all the third and fourth years in Slytherin, and they all were taller then the fragile thing now huddled against his chest.
"Why is he this short? I bet even the second years are taller then him." Harry glared at him.
"Only one!" Granger seemed shocked when she heard Harry's high, clear voice. Then she stared calculatingly at him,
"I need to check something out. I'll be back later, Harry!" then she was gone, dragging an indigent Weasley behind her. Before they had gone through the door, however, Weasley threw a rude hand gesture at the two on the bed, which resulted in Granger accidentally slamming the door on his face.
"Oops. Sorry Ron!" she hissed. Something in the look in her eyes told him she was going to be taking the stairs a lot today. Just as the front doors slammed closed Pomfrey's office door flew open.
"Why did you not get me the moment he awoke? Can I heal him without knowing when he's awake to do so? No! Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy will be leaving for now, if you would please release his arm?" In response he tightened his grip, glaring up at the woman.
"No!" he cried, turning from her. Draco sighed, and easily released the hand that was fisted in his robes. The devastated look on Harry's face would crack the most hardened criminal, and Draco was horrified he had put it there.
"Why are you leaving me with the mean witch? Don't you like me any more? I like you." Harry's pitiful voice rang out clearly in the room.
"Of course I still like you! But the mean witch needs to make sure you're okay, and I'll only be in the way. I promise I'll stay where you can see me." Harry nodded hesitantly, before turning to face Pomfrey with a somewhat sheepish look on his face. But the nurse was too caught up in her test to notice. After a few minutes of silence, the nurse sighed.
"Well, Mr. Potter, you are still severely undernourished, and will continue to take the nutrient potions I gave you, and then you'll need the usual bruise salve and healing potions, and a special potion that should help us detect any serious damage from the, ah, sexual abuse." At this Harry flinched, thin arms wrapping around himself pitifully. "And I am very sorry, but it seems your condition is worsening. If we don't find some cure for it, you will continue to lose important mental skills. Yesterday you were about the average twelve to thirteen year old, but today it seems to have skipped a few years. Mentally and emotionally, you're either a very advanced nine year old, or a very behind ten year old." At this Harry hung his head in shame and embarrassment. Draco, however, was shocked.
"So, you're saying that every day Harry mentally deages a few years? What happens when he runs out of years?" Pomfrey and Harry shared a look, and shrugged. Not very comforting at all.
Author's notes- Yes, I know the Ron in this chapter completely differs from the Ron in the first chapter, but you have to understand. After five solid years of hatred, there is no way in hell Ron's just going to submit and become Draco's life long BFF. Just look how judgmental he got in the fourth book after Harry's name came out of the goblet! And that wasn't even something Harry could control! But this he can, and naturally, Ron feels very betrayed. And Hermione, while she sides with Draco against Ron, also has her own reservations about him. So it's going to be a fun time!
Random Thought- For any sophomores out there, we ROCK!! At our school we won the spirit stick for this quarter!! Which is freakin' awesome, because we always lose to those damn seniors. Class of 2011, Beeyotch!!
