I am sorry that I didn't get this updated yesterday. I was going to try to finish it last night, but I was so tired and I never got round to it!

But here it is - Enjoy!

Concealed Torture

Chapter Three – Truce

After waking up from his nightmare, Draco did not fall asleep again. It was almost impossible for him to ever sleep after he had them, and he didn't even bother trying. Instead, he simply lay on his bed sheets, staring up at the ceiling through the early morning. After a while, his thoughts shifted from his dream to the task the Dark Lord was planning for him. His father had said that Voldemort had wanted to test Draco's loyalty, and Draco knew that meant that he wasn't going to be given anything easy. It was probably going to something which both he and the Dark Lord knew he couldn't do. If he was assigned to take someone's life again, then there was absolutely no chance that he would be able to go through with it, even if it was Ron Weasley. He was almost certain that he will be assigned to kill someone, and when he failed, that would be the end of him... In, most likely, a way that would be nowhere near painless.

Suddenly, his muggle alarm rang, making him jump terribly in his frightened state. He sighed, and waved his wand at the clock to stop its ringing. The time on it read 6:00, the time his concealing charm would have faded away. He brushed back the hair on his forehead, realising how long he must have been laying there for. He was naturally very tired, but he knew that he definitely won't be able to get any sleep until that night.

He placed his wand by his side, and then proceeded to remove his nightwear, his fingers avoiding his delicate skin as much as possible. He then picked his wand back up, and began to conceal the bruises, cuts and scars inflicted on his body. Naturally, it wasn't necessary for him to conceal everything which his father and some of the Death Eaters did to him, but he felt much safer concealing it all. It took him at least five minutes to cover it all and to make sure that there was nothing he had missed, as he wanted to avoid any suspicions at all costs.

Because everyone else would most likely not be out of bed until around seven, and he obviously wasn't going to sleep until then, he decided to take a long shower. His concealing charm, of course, did not fade way from contact with water. He entered his bathroom, and ran his hand under the pouring water until he was satisfied with the heat. As he stepped inside the shower, he winced at the water washing over his cuts, but his body quickly got used to the contact. He sighed when the water began to calm him, and closed his eyes. It was very soothing, but unlike the characters in several books he had read, the water didn't 'wash away his troubles'.

He had stood in there for an hour before he faintly heard a knock on the door of his bedroom, which he only had managed to hear due to him leaving the door of his bathroom open. Instincts of living in his dangerous home over the summer took over, and he quickly turned off the shower, jumped straight out of it, and grabbed a towel. He hurriedly wrapped it around his waist and grabbed his wand, looking at the door.

"Draco, are you awake?"

He relaxed when he heard Pansy's call through the door. He placed his wand down on his bed, feeling ridiculous. Of course it would be her, who else would it be? However, he did realise that his behaviour was understandable. After having Death Eaters roaming around his house, as well as his father, he had naturally become very cautious.

"Yeah, hang on a second, I'm just going to get some clothes on," he called back to her, and quickly threw on his Slytherin uniform. He opened the door, and greeted her with a smile, which she returned.

"I thought for a moment that you had overslept! You normally would have come to make sure I'm wake by now!" she grinned.

"I know, I was just having a longer shower than I usually have," he explained, gesturing at his wet hair.

"Ah, that makes sense," she chuckled. "I'm going to go and get myself ready, then. I'll meet you in the common room at 7:45, okay?"

"Sure, that's fine. See you soon," he replied. She waved, and walked back to her room.

He took his wand and used it to dry his hair. As he brushed his hand through his hair, he decided he was too tired to use any gel – but, after he ruffled his blonde locks, decided he preferred to keep it natural anyway. He grinned slightly at his reflection. Even though he hated being a Malfoy, he loved the colour of his hair, and they did make for attractive people. Before he grabbed his bag and headed up to the common room, he grabbed his favourite earring – a silver ring with a green snake curled around it with rubies as eyes – and placed it in his left earlobe.

He settled in one of the green velvet armchairs in the Slytherin common room while he waited for Pansy. He smirked when he saw that the time was 7:44. Trust her to come at literally 7:45, he thought to himself. Pansy had always been someone who was on time, and never was a minute late or a minute early.

"What are you smirking at?"

Draco looked at Dickens who was standing by the armchair, and rolled his eyes.

"An amusing thought which does not include you, Dickens, so keep out of my business, please."

Dickens glared at him, but stormed off to his friends without replying.

"What was that all about?" Pansy, who had just walked up to him. Draco chuckled, before getting up off the armchair to stand next to her.

"It was nothing more than an annoying first year who thinks they are so tough because they got sorted into Slytherin."

"Oh, of course. Goodness, I hope we were never that bad!" Pansy laughed. "Anyway, I don't know about you, but I am starving. Should we head over to the Great Hall?"

"Yeah, we have to take the first years there anyway to remind them of where they have to go," said Draco.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about them," Pansy laughed. "First years, follow us to the Great Hall, please!"

They led the first years to the Great Hall, and took their usual seats. Draco sighed when he looked across the Hall and noticed that Ron Weasley was still glaring at him. Did the redhead have nothing better to do or something?

"Pansy, what was it exactly that made the Weasel want to constantly glare at me?"

"I don't know myself, Draco," she said, and looked over at Potter and Granger curiously. "It seems as though Granger and Potter are in a bit of a mood with him, from the looks of it. I wonder why? You don't think it's from yesterday, do you?"

"I'm really not sure. I've been wondering what is wrong with them myself."

Draco looked down at the food on the table, uninterested. The thoughts of his dream and what Weasley had said to him the previous day had made him lose his appetite completely. Instead of putting some sort of food on his empty plate, he grabbed the orange juice and poured himself a glass. Pansy put down the bagel she had just started to eat and looked at him with a mixture of concern and seriousness. She hesitated, before deciding that it was time for her to say something.

"Draco, you really need to eat something. You're becoming seriously underweight."

The blonde sighed, but knew that it was no use arguing with Pansy, and he also knew that she did have a point. He grabbed a slice of toast, and nibbled at it with very small bites. At least he is actually eating something, she thought to herself. Even though he only ate one half of the slice and left the other, she felt less concerned about him now that she knew he had something to eat.

Soon enough, it was time for the students to go to their first lesson. Draco's lesson was Potions, which was shared with the Gryffindors. He and Pansy said goodbye to each other, before they parted ways. Draco still adored Potions, though he missed his godfather. He hadn't spoken to him over the summer, and even though he was angry that Severus had actually killed Dumbledore, it still upset him. Severus was the closest he ever had to a father figure.

Before anyone in Professor Slughorn's class could take a seat, he interrupted them.

"I'm sorry everyone, but I feel like you will benefit more if you are not in your friendship groups for this year, so I shall be deciding your partners. So, I think we will be mixing you all up a bit. Let's see... Granger, your partner shall be Nott, while Weasley will be with Zabini. Brown, you shall go with Thomas. Longbottom can go with Greengrass, which leaves Potter with Malfoy. Any questions?"

No one said anything, though he could tell that most of the students were generally not happy with their situation. However, they all sat down by their partners without complaining. How bloody typical, Draco thought to himself as he sat down by Potter. I have to get paired with someone who I've been trying not to think about. Ah well, at least it's not Weasley.

"Right, I trust you all have your textbooks with you?" the professor asked, and received a series of nods. "Okay, that is good. We will be starting from the front of the book to the end, thankfully, so turn the pages until we reach Veritaserum. Once we are done, I will have to take them from you in case you end up using them on each other, or a younger year somehow gets hold of it. Understand?"

The students nodded again.

"Alright, all of the ingredients and instructions are listed, so get started."

Draco sighed, looking at Harry.

"Alright, we both know how hopeless at Potions you actually are, without that handy book you had last year. I promise to keep an eye on you, okay?" he said, smirking.

"Oh ha ha, Malfoy. I'm not that bad. Come on, I'll get the cauldron and equipment; you get the ingredients," he said, and walked off. Draco stared at his back as he walked away, surprised at the lack of arguing, or even a sign of him being annoyed. He pondered over this while he gathered the ingredients they needed. Harry returned shortly after, a look of annoyance on his face.

"What's up with you, Potter?"

"It's nothing. Ron has just been acting like a git to me and Hermione," he muttered. Wait, why am I even telling him this? Harry thought to himself. He probably doesn't even care.

"He's being a git to you? How come?"

Harry looked at him, curious as to why he would ask. Was he actually concerned? No, come on, this is Malfoy. As in, someone who has been your rival since first year and is the son of Lucius Malfoy. Get a grip.

"It doesn't matter."

Draco paused, considering what to say.

"He's forever a git to me. He's actually been glaring at me since you three pretty much ambushed me on the train and on the platform, in fact. I think it's his new goal to not keep his eyes off me for a minute," he said. Harry looked over at Ron, who was indeed, glaring at Malfoy. He's actually glaring at both of us, he realised, when he noticed his gaze was actually fixed on both of them. Harry turned back to Draco.

"Just ignore him; he needs to get a grip. Alright, Mr Potions expert, is there anything you need me to do?"

Draco thought he would have said that in a bitter tone, but he actually sounded like he was joking. Perhaps Potter didn't hate him quite as much as he had done previously, or maybe even not at all? Throughout the lesson, they worked well together, even though they didn't speak a lot. Harry's mind was set on figuring out Draco's secret, whatever it may be, while Draco simply enjoyed the boy's presence, hoping it didn't show. The potion they had been making came out brilliant in the end, which shocked Slughorn. He told them that after the 27 days of brewing, it would be perfect.

Maybe those two can get along better than any of us would have guessed, he thought as he watched the two students clean up their equipment in silence.

A couple of weeks later, the first Quidditch game of the season was about to commence. Gryffindor against Slytherin was a great way for them to start.

Draco fidgeted with his Nimbus 2001, trying his best not to let his nervousness show through. He had thought that being back on the team would help distract him from his thoughts, and so accepted Slughorn's request for him to return as the team's Seeker and also be its captain. But now, he realised how much of a bad idea it was. He had been okay in the practices, but they were much less brutal than the actual games. He had expected his injuries to have almost healed by now and so he would be fine, but the bruises and cuts inflicted on his skin had only faded, and his body still ached a lot from the spells and physical damage it had endured. The high amounts of Cruciatus curses being used on him were also still evident, and couldn't be healed with simple charms. He had never dared to use charms on any of his injuries, in fact, since he had been told for years that he had to deal with them and it would have been pathetic for him to avoid that using charms.

He would have been a lot less worried if their opponents had been Hufflepuff, or even Ravenclaw, but the Gryffindor's reckless bravery is what made them often outshine the other teams.

Draco led his team out onto the field, and walked over to the Gryffindor captain, Potter. He gave Draco a smirk, and reached out a hand for him to take.

"Good luck today, Malfoy. You're going to need it!"

"Is that so, Potter? I have a feeling your own luck is going to run out and Slytherin shall be the victor!"

Draco took Harry's hand, and shook it. Their smirks grew, and Draco's worries almost disappeared completely. Despite them slowly starting to move on from their rivalry, even though they still had their fair share of squabbling, that was completely forgotten on the pitch and they were back to being full rivals.

He zoned out while the rules were being told to the teams, which were mainly directed at Slytherin, but as soon as the game started, he was wide awake.

"Alright, first game of the season, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin! The Quaffle is thrown into the air, and Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor has got it! She zooms past Vaisey, dodges a Bludger from Crabbe, and passes it to- Wait, Warrington blocked it! He passes it to Nott, who spins round Robins of Gryffindor – very nice – aims for the middle hoop but it is blocked by Ronald Weasley! Great save, Weasley, well done! He passes it to Dean Thomas, and Gryffindor are back in control. He barely scrapes by a Bludger hit by Goyle, and just about manages to throw it through the left hoop! A close call, but ten points to Gryffindor!"

Draco kept his distance from the other players during the game – he didn't want to injure himself any further, and being so far off the ground, as well as trying to focus on searching for the Snitch, was starting to make him feel dizzy. He slowed down his broom, and scanned the field once more. Harry soon joined him, and grinned.

"You alright there, Malfoy? You seem a bit tense to me!"

"I'm fine, just looking out for- WATCH IT!"

Harry and Draco quickly dodged out of the way of an incoming Bludger, sent their way by Crabbe.

"Crabbe of Slytherin seemed to want to try and take out the Gryffindor Seeker there, but Potter managed to evade it! During this distraction, Nott has managed to throw the Quaffle past Weasley and into the hoop, so that is ten points for Slytherin, and now we are tied!"

Draco gripped his head as the dizziness increased after the quick movement. He closed his eyes for a moment when his vision began to darken, and when he opened them, he saw Harry looking at him with concern.

"Malfoy, you okay?"

"I'm fine," Draco replied. His gaze quickly landed on a certain golden ball which was hovering behind Harry's shoulder. The Gryffindor noticed this, and quickly turned around, making the Snitch fly up into the sky. The two of them glanced at each other for a moment, before they began to race after the small object.

"It seems as though both Potter and Malfoy have spotted the Snitch! They've both gone shooting up into the clouds – and now they are both out of sight!"

Harry and Draco flew faster and faster through the clouds, trying to reach for the Snitch. Eventually, however, the ball was out of sight, and they slowed to a stop.

"Damn it! We might as well get back to the pitch," Harry said, about to fly back down through the clouds, but hesitated when he heard no reply. "Malfoy, we- What's wrong?"

The blonde was desperately trying to stay on his broom. A shaking hand clutched at his head, and his face was sweaty and pale. His eyes drooped as though he was struggling to stay conscious.

"I-I..." he said, before his eyes closed completely and his body went limp. Harry quickly rushed over to catch him as he fell off his broom, which fell down to the pitch below.

"Malfoy's broom has just fallen down onto the pitch! But where is its rider?"

Harry ignored the commentary from below and focused on the unconscious form of Malfoy on his broom. What's made him faint like that all of a sudden? He asked himself silently. Is he ill?

"Malfoy?" he said, shaking him softly. When he got no response and could tell that Malfoy wouldn't be waking any time soon, he focused on positioning him in a more comfortable position. "Hang in there..."

Harry carefully flew down to the pitch, and ignored the collection of gasps from the crowd once he was in their eyesight. He hovered by Madam Hooch, who had beckoned him to fly down to her.

"Potter, what on Earth happened to him?" she cried.

"I don't know, but I'm going to go take him to the hospital wing."

"Wait, Potter-"

But Harry ignored her, as well as the stares from everyone on the pitch, and quickly made his way to the hospital wing. He landed outside of it gracefully, and caught Malfoy before he fell, lifting him up. It was only then that he noticed that not only was Malfoy now smaller than him, he was also extremely light. How little does he actually eat?

Madam Pomfrey was clearly shocked at the sight of the Boy-Who-Lived carrying Draco Malfoy into the infirmary in his arms, bridal style, but she quickly hurried over to the two boys.

"Potter, whatever happened?" she questioned, gesturing for him to place Draco onto the nearest bed.

"I don't know, he seemed to be... Well, off during the entire game. He kept clutching his head and such, and he fell unconscious after we chased the Snitch. Do you think he could be ill or something?"

"That is a possibility, but I'm not too sure," she said, placing her hand on his forehead. "He has a fever, but I can't explain the shaking."

Harry looked down at one of Draco's hands. The shaking was quite subtle, but every few seconds, it would twitch.

"I'm sure he was like that on the Hogwarts Express yesterday," he murmured.

"I can't be certain, but it seems like it could be an affect from the Cruciatus curse."

"The Cruciatus curse?" Harry echoed, tilting his head at her. "Who on Earth would cast a Crucio on him?"

"Well, I can't imagine he was having the best of times living with Death Eaters over the summer. He never completed his task, so maybe that is why he would have been attacked by that?"

Harry couldn't believe that the thought had never crossed his mind. Not once did he think about how dangerous it might have been for Draco living in his own home. It wasn't exactly an unpopular fact that a lot of the Death Eaters were relentless, and certainly wouldn't be afraid to hit a teenager with a Crucio. But how come his father didn't stop the attacks?

"His body is also very weak, and not just from the Cruciatus," she said as she cast a spell to show her his injuries. "He's covered in a concealing charm, but that only conceals the appearance of his body. This spell is allowing me to see through it and see his injuries. They've almost healed, but it is covered in bruises and cuts. His body itself must be under a lot of pain, and he even has a cracked rib, though I can heal that easily. There is some damage, however, that even I can't heal."

"How has he ended up in this sort of state?" Harry asked, staring at Malfoy in disbelief.

"Perhaps for the same reason – Death Eaters aren't afraid of hurting people. But during previous times of him being here, I've noticed damage to his body then. It was nowhere near as bad as it is now, but it was still there."

"Why would he-"

"Ugh, my head..."

Harry and Madam Pomfrey both looked at Draco, who was now sitting up and holding his head.

"Malfoy, what happened to you out there?" Harry asked. Draco sighed, and shrugged his shoulders.

"I was just not feeling right through the whole match. I was really dizzy and such, and I guess my head couldn't take it after we chased after that Snitch."

"I had to do a test on your body to see the cause," Pomfrey started. "And I saw that your body is extremely injured. How did this happen?"

Draco's eyes widened, and he hesitated for a few moments before he spoke.

"I... Well, I guess you can work out yourself that I'm not exactly liked very much in the inner circle."

"They did all of that to you?" Harry asked.

"...Yes."

"Draco, I need to know if you're telling the truth," Pomfrey said. "Did the Death Eaters do this to you, and was that the reason why you weren't well enough to compete?"

"Okay... Yes, they did, and yes. Can I go now? I feel fine."

"Well, your fever has gone down..." she said, pressing his forehead. "But I think it might be best if you rested for a while, even if it's in your own room. And, of course, I forbid you to play Quidditch from now on, at least until your injuries have healed more."

"That's fine, I wasn't planning on playing anyway," Draco said. He got up off the bed, a little too quickly, and stumbled. Harry caught his arm to stop him from falling.

"Draco, are you alright?" he asked, surprising himself from using the Slytherin's given name. It felt weird for him to say it.

"I'm fine; it was just a dizzy spell."

"Harry, I think it might be best for you to take him there, just in case," said Madam Pomfrey.

"I will do," said Harry, nodding.

"I can go by myself-"

"Come on, let's go," he interrupted, and the two of them left the infirmary.

Luckily, the corridors were empty, due to it being dinnertime. They walked to the dungeons in silence, though it was a comfortable silence, rather than an awkward one.

"Are you sure you are alright?" Harry said once they were stood outside of the common room. "I mean, do you need me to help you to your room, or keep you company or something?"

Keep him company? What the hell is wrong with me?

"I'm too exhausted, but... If you ever need company, just come here."

"Wait, are you serious?" Harry asked, staring at Draco. The blonde blushed slightly, and shrugged.

"Well... Yeah. You did catch me out there and all, even though you really didn't have any reason to help me. It's the least I can do. The password is Anguis, if you ever need to use it."

"Okay... Sure, that sounds good, I suppose," Harry replied, smiling slightly. "I better get off to the Great Hall, now. Ron and Hermione are probably wondering why I'm taking so long.

"Yeah, that's true," Draco said. Harry began to walk away, but Draco called after him before he had a chance to stop himself. "Harry?"

Harry turned, looking at him, questioning what he was going to say.

"What is it?"

"Can we..." Draco paused. "Can we be... Friends?"

Harry smiled softly, and he replied without even thinking about what he was saying.

"Yeah, sure."

Even though he has been a git to us for years, AND he is a Death Eater, I still say yes to his request to put all that aside and be friends? What is wrong with me?

However, the thought of what had happened over the summer had changed his look on Draco. The poor boy must have been terrified through the whole of the break. Sure, Harry had hated summers for a lot of his years in school, but he had never had to worry about something as big as that. Madam Pomfrey had also said that in the past, Draco had injuries then. So what had caused them?

He knew that he had to find out, otherwise the thought would drive him insane.

This was actually a pretty decent length!

Thanks to all who have shown their support of the story! Your feedback and people reading this is what keeps me motivated to keep writing. Feel free to click that review button and leave me a few words. It helps a lot!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Until next time.