Hi everyone I'm back. Sorry for the delay finishing UNI, starting a new job and balancing all of that with a life are quite hard work! Anyway I'm hoping to find more time to write now that I'm settling in although after receiving almost no response to my Hermione's angry story's last chapter after so many people really wanted the end was quite disheartening and I considered giving up writing all together. Anyway it's something for me to think about. If I get enough response from my other stories I'll continue if I don't I may just stop and focus on my originals. Anyway let me know if you want me to continue.

All right here we go, hope you enjoy it. I will warn there are involved explanations about the Malfoy family in this chapter which may be a little confusing. If anyone needs clarification just send me a note.

Hope you like it, let me know if you want me to continue after such a long break.

Animals and Explanations

They spent the rest of the day talking, reading and a little of it sleeping in the early afternoon. They had dinner together up in Draco's room since the young Malfoy was adamant Harry needed to stay in bed as much as possible. After dinner Draco said he had study to do and asked Harry if he'd like something to read. Harry considered the offer for a moment before declining and asking Draco about what he was studying.

"Potions, healing craft, illusions…there's quite a bit actually," Draco replied with a small smile.

"Why are you doing so much study while you're on holidays?" Harry asked curiously.

Draco looked at him considerately for a moment. "It's…complicated," he replied. "I'd like to tell you but I'm not sure if I should just yet, I'm sorry, it's kind of a family secret," he explained looking at Harry guiltily.

"That's okay," Harry replied with an understanding smile. "Which are you studying tonight?" he asked.

"Potions," Draco replied holding up a large book.

"Read some to me," Harry suggested slipping down a little further under the blankets.

"Huh?" Draco asked confused.

"If you're going to be reading it anyway read it out loud," Harry clarified. "If what you're reading about is anything like that healing draught I'd definitely be interested in hearing about it," he finished settling down comfortably on his side.

Draco frowned for a moment then nodded. "Okay then," he agreed and opened up the book to the page he'd marked. As Draco read to him Harry closed his eyes, listening to the words but mostly just listening to Draco's soft voice. He'd always heard about parents who read to their children to help them get to sleep at night and he'd always thought it was a silly notion, surely the reading would just keep the children awake, or so he'd thought. Harry however, was swiftly being proven wrong as Draco's lovely soft voice washed over him lulling him to sleep.

Sometime later he awoke just a little to feel a gentle hand brushing his hair away from his face and soft lips pressing against his temple.

"Goodnight, Harry," he heard Draco's lovely voice whisper and he fell back to sleep with a soft smile on his face.

XX

The next few days passed quickly and at last Harry was healed enough to get up and walk around without pain. He'd had another couple of nightmares over the last few nights and was always awoken gently by Draco who calmed him and lulled him back to sleep. Their nightly ritual hadn't changed either after that first night, every evening Draco pulled out a different book and read aloud until Harry fell asleep before reading the rest of the chapter in his head and finally going to sleep himself.

Harry hadn't been awoken on any of the following nights by Draco's soft hands against his hair however unless he was having a nightmare and he was starting to think that other time had just been a dream. He was extremely disappointed by that thought.

They had breakfast together and each had a shower and dressed before heading over to Harry's aunt and uncle's house to collect his things. Harry was nervous all the way there, he was really hoping he'd be able to convince Draco to stay outside when he went in, he could only imagine the problems that might arise if he were to come face to face with Vernon. They arrived at the house in Draco's magically, self-driven car –it was the funniest thing Harry had ever seen, all black with dark windows and a steering wheel that turned itself- and Draco climbed out before holding the door open for Harry.

Harry got out and took a deep breath before heading up to the front door. He found the spare key they had hidden in a fake rock and unlocked the door before heading in. He called out to see if anyone was home and sighed in relief when no one answered. He ushered Draco inside before closing the door behind him and headed up the stairs as quickly as possible. He reached his room and flung the door open only to stop in the doorway, frozen.

His room had been ransacked, things thrown about everywhere, as if someone had been looking for something. He felt anger pulse through him as he realized it was probably Dudley looking around for things he could steal. He stepped into the room, anger radiating from his every pore. He stopped when he heard a crunch under his foot and looked down to find the photo of his parents lying face down in the middle of the floor. Afraid of what he may find he leant down and picked the picture up from the floor holding it for a moment before turning it over. The frame was broken from where someone had probably stood on it. He felt his hands beginning to shake as more anger coursed through him and magic began to sizzle in the air around him. He wanted to hex the bastards, all of them. He'd done nothing but serve them his whole life and never asked for anything, how dare they do this to him?

"Harry."

He'd show them, oh yes he would! How would they feel if he destroyed their house and all their memories?

"Harry."

He would burn this place to the ground; destroy all their precious pieces of junk they valued so highly.

"HARRY!"

He snapped back to reality at Draco's worried cry and turned back to find the other boy standing in the doorway, his normally perfect hair windblown, and it was then that Harry realized he must have been working up quite a magic storm with all the anger churning through him. "I'm sorry," he said humbly pulling back from the anger and looking down at the picture once more.

Without warning tears began to slip from his eyes and they fell on to the photo in his hands. He was angry, yes, but more than anything he was hurt. He knew they didn't care for him at all but he never thought they'd do this. He didn't hear footsteps but the next thing he knew Draco was beside him pulling Harry into his arms. Harry held the photo against his chest and buried his face in Draco's shoulder sobbing.

"I'm sorry," the young Malfoy whispered stroking his hair softly. "I can't believe they did this to you, what monsters."

Harry couldn't disagree with the young Malfoy, he was definitely right there. As soon as he'd calmed down enough to pull away he looked around the room for his trunk. He found it still under the bed and pulled it out placing it on the bed and opening the top. He searched around the room for anything he might want to take with him and if he found something he cared enough about he threw it into the trunk. All his Hogwarts things, his photo album, birthday gifts from his friends, his father's cloak which thankfully Dudley had no clue about. He opened his closet and pulled out the few clothes he had that were worth taking and threw them in too. He was doing one last cursory examination of his room when a small box appeared in front of him. He looked down at it and found that it was his box of letters from his friends.

"It doesn't look like there's any that are damaged but I wouldn't know if any of them are missing," Draco said quietly.

Harry took the box and opened the lid. Indeed they weren't damaged and it didn't look like any of them were missing. He replaced the lid and slid the box into his trunk with everything else, whispering a thanks to Draco. He resumed his examination of the room and suddenly froze. There was something valuable missing from his room.

"Hedwig," he heard himself gasp and ran to the window calling desperately for his owl. When he heard nothing he began to panic. No, surely they wouldn't take her; they didn't even like her in their house. "Hedwig!" he called again tears beginning to burn his eyes once more. He was about to call her again when a loud screech sounded overhead. Draco moved to his side and they both looked up to see Hedwig flying toward them. More tears burnt at Harry's eyes only these weren't born out of pain. It was like he'd lost everything only to find the most valued thing he'd ever known was still there and in a way that was true; Hedwig was his only link to Sirius.

She landed on his outstretched arm and he pulled her close cuddling her to him. "I'm so sorry," he whispered into her feathers. "I'm sorry I didn't come for you sooner."

Hedwig made a quiet hoot and tilted her head into him.

He pulled back after a few moments and said. "We're leaving this place, okay; can you fly yourself to Malfoy manor for me?"

The owl hooted quietly and rubbed her head against him once more before taking off and heading in the direction of Draco's house.

Sighing in relief Harry turned to look at Draco.

"Are you ready to go?" the Malfoy asked him quietly.

Harry nodded and headed back to the bed. He closed the trunk and pulled it off the bed before picking up the broken picture of his parents and heading out of the room. They headed out to the car and were loading the trunk into the boot when the Dursley's car pulled into the driveway and Vernon leapt out with Dudley hot on his tail.

"Potter!" Vernon spat racing up to him and Harry was more than a little surprised when Draco stepped in front of him and scowled at the man.

"Don't you dare come near him you filthy muggle," Draco spat.

"And just who are you?" Vernon demanded.

"I'm the wizard who would like nothing more than to hex you into oblivion and the only reason I'm not is because Harry doesn't want me to. He is above you, so far above you that you may as well be a cockroach under his shoe and he'll not be staying here for you to mistreat him anymore!" Draco snarled and Vernon looked like he wanted to explode.

"How dare you speak to me like that?" Vernon spat.

"I shall speak to you anyway I wish, animal!" Draco snarled in response. "You know after spending some time with Harry I was beginning to think maybe I'd been wrong about muggles, after all he turned out to be a decent person and he was raised by you beasts. Now I see I was right all along, you are animals, filthy, violent, beasts and you will never be anything more! Now we are leaving, don't try and stop us!" Draco snapped before turning to Harry and ushering him toward the car.

Harry, for his part, knew he should be arguing with Draco that muggles weren't all that bad, but he couldn't bring himself to, not after what they'd done to him. He turned away from the muggle family he'd grown up with and headed back to the car sliding in when the door opened for him automatically. He was about to slide across when he heard Dudley call out something and he looked back to see the boy charging at Draco. Draco turned back just before Dudley reached him and Harry saw a flash of green as Dudley hit an invisible barrier and fell backwards holding his nose that was now gushing blood.

Harry watched in shock as Draco looked down at Dudley distastefully before turning his attention to Vernon who'd rushed forward to tend to his son.

"Leash your dog will you," Draco said, with that superior air only he could pull off so well, before turning and heading back to the car. He slipped in beside Harry and shut the door behind him.

"Take us home," he ordered the car before turning to look at Harry. He reached out and pulled Harry into his arms holding him gently and stroking his hair. "I'm sorry," he whispered pressing a kiss to Harry's hair before burying his face in it.

Harry cuddled into him pressing his face into Draco's shoulder. He could smell that lovely shampoo of Draco's lingering in his silken blonde hair and Harry took a deep breath feeling the scent wash over him and calm him as it had done the first time he'd come across it. They rode back to the Manor in silence and when they arrived Draco climbed out of the car before helping Harry out and ushering him inside.

He ordered Elsie to get Harry's things out of the car and take them up to his room before taking Harry up there too.

Harry dropped down on to Draco's bed and looked sadly at the picture which was still in his hands. He heard Elsie pop into the room with his things and Draco dismissing her before the young Malfoy came and joined him on the bed. He reached out and tilted the picture toward himself so he could see it a little better and studied it for a moment before drawing out his wand. Harry watched at Draco held the wand to the picture and whispered.

"Restituo statua."

Harry watched wide eyed as the photo sparkled and the frame slowly inched back into place before becoming solid once more. His parents looked up at him and smiled once more before looking over at Draco and mouthing their thanks.

Draco nodded to them before turning his attention back to Harry. Harry looked back at him with a grateful smile.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Draco returned his smile before pulling Harry into his arms like he had done in the car. Harry cuddled into him looking down at the photo whose inhabitants were now back to smiling and waving. As he leant his head on Draco's shoulder it struck him how familiar and comfortable the hold was. By all rights it should be more awkward, after all they'd spend most of their lives fighting and snarling at each other, but Harry found he felt nothing but a sense of contentment and calm like he'd never known before. Wasn't that interesting?

"What do you want to do now?" He heard Draco ask after a while.

Harry thought about it, what did he want to do? Well, to be honest, he wanted to curl up beside Draco and sleep for a few hours but could he really ask for that? "I want to sleep for a while to be honest," he replied softly.

"Do you want me to leave you alone or stay with you?" Draco asked.

Well, if Draco was giving him the option. "Stay, please," he replied quietly.

"Okay," Draco replied before pulling away and climbing up the bed. Harry followed and once he was settled Draco lay down beside him. The young Malfoy's eyes burnt into him for a moment before he asked. "Are you all right?"

Harry nodded. "I'll be okay. Thank you, Draco," he replied quietly.

Draco nodded his gunmetal eyes studying Harry for a moment. "I'm sorry I was cruel to your relatives, I didn't mean to be, I was angry," he said after a few minutes.

"It's okay, it not like they don't deserve it," Harry replied. "What did you do to Dudley by the way?" he asked.

"Nothing," Draco replied. "I put up a shield and he ran into it. I have to admit, if I hadn't been so angry at the time I probably would have laughed," Draco admitted with a small smirk.

Harry chuckled quietly. "I probably would have too," he replied. They shared a grin for a moment before Harry spoke again. "Thank you for what you're doing for me," he said quietly. "I really appreciate it."

"Like I said the other day it's my pleasure," Draco replied with a soft smile. "You're probably going to think I'm crazy when I say this but I like you being here, it's nice getting to know you outside of school and away from everybody else," the young Malfoy admitted.

"You're different," Harry noted quietly. "You're not like you are at school, why is that?" he asked. "Are you just being nice to me because I got hurt?"

Draco looked away and for a while he didn't answer. Just when Harry was about to ask if he was okay, Draco spoke. "No, that's not why," he said in a voice which was so quiet Harry only heard him because they were lying so close together. He waited for Draco to continue and after a few moments he did. "What I said the other day about father being different on the outside, well, I have to be like that too," he explained. "If I wasn't everybody would know my weaknesses and they'd try to use them against me, I couldn't handle that," he admitted quietly.

"Who would?" Harry asked quietly.

"Everyone; the faculty at Hogwarts, the rest of the school, the ministry, my father's relatives, probably them more than anyone and believe me they're everywhere. The less anyone knows about me the better, no one else gets hurt that way," Draco explained quietly.

"You have friends at Hogwarts though," Harry argued quietly. "Are you not concerned about them?"

"You'll notice everybody I befriend has nothing to fear from anyone," Draco explained. "Crab and Goyle have nothing really to lose when it comes to academics so the faculty can't penalise them for being my friends and none of the other students at the school are game to touch them. Parkinson, Zambini are my other friends and their parents' influence over everybody protects them a lot like mine protects me. You'll also notice that our interactions aren't anything like friends talking to friends, they're more like a master addressing his subjects."

Harry thought about it; that was certainly a fitting way to describe the way Malfoy always spoke to those around him. "You're right, it is like that," he admitted.

Draco nodded. "You'd never guess we'd all been friends since infanthood and that they matter more to me than pretty much everything outside of my parents would you?"

Harry shook his head.

"Exactly, it's all part of the game we play," Draco said with a sad smile. "It would be nice not to have to but…" he trailed off and shrugged. "We don't have that luxury."

"Wow," Harry said quietly. "I would never have guessed that."

Draco nodded, "That's right, you wouldn't would you. Hence the game is working the way it needs to."

"That must be exhausting," Harry said with a grimace.

Draco shrugged. "It used to be, I'm just kind of use to it now. When it gets to me too much I just remind myself that I'm doing it because I care for them," he said with a wry smile.

"It's sad though, that you have to pretend like that, are you sure it's necessary?" Harry asked.

"Sadly, yes. Do you want to hear something really funny though? And you're not going to believe me," Draco asked.

"Okay," Harry agreed.

"The Weasleys, Arthur and Molly, my father doesn't hate them," Draco told him.

Harry just stared at Draco like he had a screw loose. "You're right, I don't believe you," he replied.

"Told you you wouldn't," Draco replied with a grin. "He doesn't hate them though, I'm not lying."

"Why is he so awful to them all the time then?" Harry asked.

"Why are we all the way we are?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow in Harry's direction.

"Protection," Harry replied.

"Exactly," Draco said with a nod. "Protection. The Weasleys need more protection than anyone else does from the ministry," he explained.

"Why?" Harry asked confused.

"They don't play the game, they don't hide their feelings, they don't guard themselves well enough. Arthur Weasley is in the lowest possible position he could be in and my father ensures he stays there, because while he's down there he's not a problem for anybody in the ministry and they have no reason to look at him. If he were just a little more cautious and wary of the ministry he'd be able to ascend through the ranks, but he won't change and any higher position would make him a target for the ministry's wrath which would put his family in danger," Draco explained. "I know you think the ministry are all good wizards who care about us and want the best for our world and so does Arthur, but it just doesn't work that way, Harry, corrupt people are everywhere, influencing everything and they could do a lot of damage to Arthur and his family if they wanted to." Draco finished.

"And your father's so cruel to him because-"

"Because he's the one responsible for keeping Arthur where he is and if the ministry thought, even for a moment, it wasn't because my father hated him his family would become targets," Draco finished the sentence for him.

"Wow, I really hate politics," Harry groaned quietly.

"You and me both," Draco replied with a wry smile.

"If the ministry hates your father so much why not just remove him from his position?" Harry asked.

"They can't because of his family's influence in the ministry," Draco replied.

"But you said his family hate him," Harry argued.

"Yes, but the ministry don't know that and no one will ever tell them. If anyone ever found out that one of the Malfoy family split off from the rest it would look like the family was weak and the ministry would attack them, hence, none of the family will ever admit that there's a rift between us. My father has threatened them with revealing the truth about our withdrawal if they ever lay a hand on my parents of myself, it's kept them at bay for quite a while," Draco divulged.

"So why hide your feelings from them?" Harry asked.

"Because if they had something to hold over us too we'd lose the upper hand and become vulnerable to attack," Draco replied.

"Okay, now my head hurts," Harry groaned.

Draco chuckled, "This is far too heavy a conversation for us to be having after the day you've had anyway," he said quietly. "Go to sleep for a while, hey."

Harry sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right," he agreed.

"Harry, I'm a Slytherin, by definition that means I'm always right," Draco said with a smirk.

Harry laughed. "You're such a modest creature aren't you," he said jokingly.

"Of course," Draco agreed sarcastically.

Harry smiled at the Slytherin and closed his eyes, allowing his mind to wander back to what Draco had said earlier about weaknesses and people exploiting them. Really, if he thought about it, it made sense as much as he might wish it didn't. He was surprised to find himself suddenly worried about the young Malfoy and his family, surely knowledge like that wasn't easy to live with. Add to that the fact that his relatives all wanted him dead because of some stupid belief about evil and Draco had really had a difficult life. Harry may have grown up without his parents but at least, for the first 10 years anyway, he'd never known what it felt like for someone to want him dead and he'd never had to pretend he didn't care about someone to keep them safe.

He opened his eyes and looked at Draco to find his own gunmetal eyes closed, a lock of soft, blonde hair having fallen over them. Harry had always thought of the young Slytherin as the enemy, untouchable and unconcerned about everyone and everything around him. He'd always thought Draco lead such a charmed and carefree life, how wrong could he have been.

Without thinking he reached out and brushed that lovely lock of platinum hair away from Draco's face, surprised by how soft it was even though he really shouldn't have been. Draco's gunmetal eyes didn't open but his hand came up to grip Harry's tightly.

"Are you afraid?" Harry whispered.

"Every day," Draco admitted. "Fear is as second nature to me as breathing. Are you?" Draco asked in return.

"Since I learnt about Voldamort, all the time," Harry admitted. "That was one thing about growing up away from the wizarding world; I never knew what kind of horrors were really out there waiting for me."

"Would you go back?" Draco asked.

"Not for anything," Harry answered immediately. "Particularly not now."

"Miss Granger and Weasley would you?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, that and I'd have to move from here and I'm far too comfortable," Harry replied with a grin trying to lighten the mood.

Draco laughed and Harry knew his plan had worked at least somewhat. "Good point," the Slytherin conceded.

Harry closed his eyes once more, feeling at least a little better if not really all that much. He realised after a few moments that Draco was still holding his hand and he reached up with the other one to place it comfortingly over the Slytherin's. He smiled warmly when he felt Draco do the same right back.

XX

End of chapter

Ok so like I said a little detailed but hopefully understandable. Again let me know if I should continue with this story or not. See ya

Kayla