Author's note: Hey guys, I would have posted this sooner, but I was a little lazy getting it to ya. And I'm sorry it's so short, but I promise the next one won't be. Anyway, thanks for reviewing and all that other stuff, it's greatly appreciated. Love you guys!
Harry awoke to the smell of bacon and groggily got out of bed, not bothering to put on pants because it was only Draco out there after all. He made it to the kitchen still half asleep and wrapped his arms around the man at the stove, kissing his neck and whispering in his ear.
"Morning gorgeous." He moved one hand down to Draco's perfect ass, and the other up to his oddly shorter hair.
The giggling snapped him out of his sleepiness immediately and he realized he'd just done that to Ron. He then turned to see Hermione nursing a steaming cup of tea and snickering. He remembered where he was and turned a shade of red to match the underwear he was in. He backed away from Ron who stood there wide-eyed, dropping the cooked bacon back into the pan he took it from.
"Still a little tired mate?" Ron's voice was unusually high, and the red of his face matched Harry's.
"Yeah, I-I forgot where I was. I thought you were Draco," Harry then remembered where Draco was. "Shite, Draco! I've got to get back to the hospital!"
"Sit down Harry, we'll go after breakfast. You need to eat something," Hermione smirked at Harry's nightwear and sipped at her tea.
"Fine. We should bring Draco some too; he hates the 'poor' quality of the food served at St. Mungo's and I wouldn't be surprised if he refused to eat it. Are you coming too Ron?"
"No, I've got more work to do. I barely scratched the surface of Auror files last night, so I have to look through more today," He sat down with his plate and set a much smaller one down for Hermione.
Harry got his and ate quickly, the taste reminding him of Mrs. Weasley's cooking.
"'Mione makes it like my mum, doesn't she Harry?" Ron said through bites of egg and pancake.
Harry could only nod, and Hermione smiled proudly. Soon all three finished and Hermione boxed some up to take to Draco while Harry got dressed. He decided he would wear Draco's favorite outfit of his, to hopefully lighten his mood. After everyone was ready Ron kissed Hermione and Apparated to the Ministry, and Harry and Hermione went to St. Mungo's.
Even outside of the door Harry could hear Draco complaining. He was ranting about how terrible the food was and that he wanted to get better instead of die of food poisoning. Harry smiled and shook his head, stepping inside and putting the food they brought on the blonde's lap.
"You brought me a present," Draco said happily, and he almost cried tears of joy when he saw its contents. "And it looks fantastic! Thank you so much."
"Harry insisted we bring you breakfast, he said you'd sooner starve than eat the food here," Hermione smiled as Draco gracefully ate the magically warmed food.
"He was right, it's disgusting. But this tastes absolutely wonderful," Draco replied after he swallowed a bite of pancake.
"I'm glad you like it, Draco. How are you feeling?" Hermione took the container once Draco was done with it and shrunk it down so it would fit in her purse.
"Better than yesterday, but still weak."
"Well the medi-witches said it would take a few days for the blood replenishing potions to work fully," Harry stated, sitting next to Draco's bed.
"I'm not staying here for a few days, I refuse," Draco said firmly.
"No one said you had to, Draco. They're keeping you here until you can keep yourself upright and then we can go home. You'll just have to take it easy." Harry reassured the blond.
Just then Ron entered the room, looking slightly flustered and holding a manila folder. "I think I found a lead. Does she look like the woman who attacked you Draco?"
"Pretty close, just put a cloak over her and I'm sure we've found my assailant. Who is she anyway?" Draco looked at the picture he was given.
"Name's Adeline Turnhill. She was an Auror for fifty years, but she retired before the first Wizarding War. She kept up with who was on what side during both wars, and it seems her pattern of victims were all Death Eaters who hadn't been sent to Azkaban," Ron read off the contents of the folder.
"She wasn't as well informed as she thought then, she believed I was my father and he has been dead for almost five years. Has she hit anyone else?" Draco sat up again with the help of Harry and Hermione.
"Not that we're aware of, but that doesn't mean anything. She could have done it privately again, and no one has found the body. But now that we've identified her, we can start looking for her and hopefully get this taken care of. Have they told you when you can go home yet?" Ron stood at the foot of the bed while he spoke.
"No, but then again I haven't been awake for more than half an hour. I'm sure they'll come in soon with something for me to take and tell me. I'm not exactly worried though," Draco said dismissively.
Almost as if on cue, the door opened and the tall witch from yesterday came in with a bottle in her hands.
"How are you feeling today dear? I've got some pain reliever if you want it," She smiled and placed the bottle on the bedside table when Draco refused it.
"Better than earlier, but as I told Granger here I'm still a little weak," Draco replied.
"Well that's normal, it will take a couple days for the potions to replace all the blood you lost. But I'm sure you'll be strong enough to go home tomorrow, we'll just have to see," the woman assured him. "By the way, your mother is here to see you. I'll send her in."
The witch left and Narcissa Malfoy came in quickly, a newspaper in hand. She looked mildly furious, and Harry fought the instinct to cringe away from her.
"Draco Malfoy, what is the meaning of this? First I read that you're in a relationship with Harry Potter and then I get an owl that you've been hospitalized! Are you trying to kill me? You should have told me, instead of having me find it out for myself like this!"
"I'm sorry Mother, I was under the impression that you weren't supposed to bring your lover home until you're absolutely certain you wanted to marry them. And how could I have told you I was in the hospital, they practically had me unconscious by the time I got here. I didn't want to worry you Mother," Draco winced at he sat up straighter, not going unnoticed by his mother.
"Take this dear, they gave it to you for a reason. I just don't want to lose you as well. You're all I have left, and I just want you safe," She gave her son the pain reliever on the table and cast a sideways glance at Harry. "And I guess you could have done worse than him. Though if you hurt my son, I'll have someone skin you alive Potter."
Harry nodded, undoubting the blonde woman spoke the truth. Ms. Malfoy only stayed for a few minutes more, then kissed Draco's cheek and walked out the door. Ron left shortly after that, to start looking for their suspect. Harry sat by Draco's bedside and said nothing for the remainder of his visit. When he and Hermione left late in the afternoon he was still silent, which worried his friend terribly. He didn't speak the rest of the day, or the next morning either. He stayed in his mind, beating himself up. Why hadn't he done anything to protect Draco, why had he just stood there? It was undoubtedly his fault, and that's all he could think about.
The next morning when he and Hermione went to the hospital, Harry was still dead silent. Hermione hoped Draco could help him to talk again, because no matter how hard she tried he was still quiet. Meanwhile Draco's healers were there discussing when he could leave.
"I'm telling you I feel fine now, I want to go home," Draco sighed, he'd been telling them that for half an hour now.
"You still need to rest a while, maybe you can go home tomorrow," The short witch shook her head and tried to feed him, but he smacked her hand away.
"I'm perfectly capable of feeding myself, thank you. I'm not waiting until tomorrow, I want to go home now," Draco looked murderous, and he pushed his covers off and began to stand up.
"You need to get back in bed, Mr. Malfoy. If you don't we'll have to sedate you," The tall witch said, pushing him back down.
"Let him leave," Harry said, his tone making everyone turn to see him.
"We can't allow that, he is still too weak to get out of bed," The two women replied together.
"From what I've seen you haven't allowed him to try, so how would you know what he's capable of?" Harry made his way to the bed, to Draco.
"Thank you Potter," Draco smirked and stood up slowly, trying to keep himself from falling.
Harry saw him struggle, but he wanted Draco to leave as much as the blond wanted it himself. "He seems pretty normal to me."
"But—he's not strong enough; the potions haven't worked long enough—"
"He looks fine to me. Maeve, April, why is it that you want Mr. Malfoy here to extend his stay longer than necessary?" Healer Corner stepped the room and looked at the two curiously. "Hello Harry, Draco."
"He isn't well enough, M-Michael. He has to stay until he's fully healed." The one Draco assumed was April, the tall one, twisted her hair nervously as she spoke.
"I'm sure that Mr. Potter will make sure he's fully healed at home. What matters is that he is well enough to safely travel home, which he appears to be. Now give me the release papers so we can stop wasting Mr. Malfoy's time," Michael held his hand out for the paper and the two woman scrambled to get them.
Draco's little charade lasted just long enough for Corner to sign the papers and let them leave. Once they safely made it through the floo Harry had to support Draco and help him to the couch.
"Thank you Potter," Draco said as he comfortably rested on the couch.
Harry nodded his reply and quietly tended to Draco's needs for the rest of the night, until the blond finally caught on to the silence and said something as Harry was helping him to bed.
"Don't start this up again," Draco sighed as they walked down the hallway. Harry said nothing, but he gave a confused look. "Don't look at me like that; you know exactly what I'm fucking talking about. I didn't get you to talk just so you could clam up again."
They reached the bedroom and Harry silently helped the blond out of his clothes and into the bed, but Draco wasn't done. As Harry turned to leave, Draco got out of bed and stopped him.
"I swear to Merlin, you aren't going anywhere until you say something to me," Draco turned the brunet to face him. "I'm serious; you can't solve anything by not speaking. This isn't even your fault for Salazar's sake!"
Harry's silence infuriated Draco further. "Damn it Harry, talk to me! What is it gonna take, because I can't keep playing this game. What do you need to hear to make you say something?"
"Get back in bed, Draco," Harry sighed. "You don't understand."
"So help me understand! Is it really so hard, or do you just think I'm too stupid to get it?" Draco raged, not moving.
"You aren't stupid. It's just I feel so…guilty."
"I knew it. Why do you feel guilty, you didn't know what that crazy bitch would do to me! Stop blaming yourself for everything, not everything is your fault you know."
"It is my fault, Draco! I just stood there while she tried to kill you! I even let her get away. I knew you wouldn't understand," Harry couldn't take it anymore; he wished that it had happened to him instead of Draco so he could pretend to feel too weak to talk, and so he wouldn't feel so bad for not protecting him.
"It wasn't your fault, you thick arse! It wasn't anyone's fault but hers. Now please stop trying to find things to blame on yourself and come to bed with me, two days is enough without you snoring next to me."
"I don't snore," Harry smiled and complied, helping Draco back in bed and settling beside him.
"Yes you do," Draco snuggled close and Harry pulled him into his arms, and those were the last words said before the two fell asleep.
Draco's dreams were filled with Harry and him having a wonderful date, and Harry's were filled with the image of Draco getting cursed over and over in front of his eyes.