DPOV

I shut the door behind me and slid down the wall with my face in my hands. Everything was moving so fast. There he was, having a panic attack because he elbowed me in his sleep, and all I can think about it touching his face, wiping away his tear…

"What the fuck is wrong with me?" I growled, resisting the urge to put my fist through the drywall in frustration. "What kind of sick bastard can sit there and think about touching a man who has no feelings for him when that guy is having a fucking breakdown?" Tears welled up in my eyes, and my jaw clenched in self-hatred. I couldn't stand this; I couldn't stand pretending not to love him. I was taking advantage of him when he was so broken, and it was disgusting.

I had seen the look of confusion on Harry's face, but I needed to walk out of that room because I knew if I stayed I would have said something, or done something, that would have been disastrous. Every second I stayed there, secretly pining after him, was another second that I should have been leaving him in peace. It wasn't my place to be by his side, because he didn't want me in the same way that I wanted him.

"Fuck," I moaned. But I did love Harry, and that meant doing what was best for him. So I dragged myself up the wall, ribs protesting every move- not that I would ever admit to Harry how sore I was- and over to the fireplace. "To hell with courtesy," I mumbled, jumping right into the fireplace and shouting Granger's address as I did so.

I tumbled out into her kitchen, and immediately felt out of place. "Hermione, is that you, dear?" A woman's voice called from around the corner. Before I could reply in the negative, she entered the kitchen and shrieked, dropping the glass she was holding, which shattered onto the floor. "Good heavens!" She exclaimed.

"Sorry, sorry," I stammered. "Please, let me get that," I said, waving my wand at the shards, which immediately gathered themselves and created a brand new glass for her. "Sorry," I said again. "I uh, I didn't mean to startle you, it's just- is Hermione home?"

The woman continued to stare at me with her mouth slightly agape. "You're the boy whose face was in our fireplace," she said. "The one Hermione went with."

"Yes, ma'am. She's helping me with a situation with, er, a mutual friend," I said, wishing that I were anywhere but in this kitchen with Granger's muggle mother.

"Are you as awful as she says?"

I had to laugh a little. "I'm afraid so, although I'm trying not to be," I told my feet, unable to look this woman in the eye.

"Well," she said slowly, "Hermione should be home any moment now-"

Just then, Hermione walked through the back door. She looked confused. "Bloody hell, Malfoy! What are you doing in my kitchen, talking to my mum?"

"I, uh, just stopped by to see if you were free to help me with, er…"

Her eyes pierced my brain, which was a scary concept. "Yeah, I'll be right there." Without stopping to see what she said to her shell-shocked mother, I turned around and floo'd back to my house as quick as I could.

God, muggles were awkward.

I heard, rather than saw, Granger come through to my side of the network. "How's he doing?"

I sighed. "Physically, he seems to be getting better. But emotionally, he's pretty fucked up." I paused, wondering how much I should tell her. "He's having horrible nightmares. He's not sleeping, and he keeps having panic attacks," I confessed.

"Oh?" she said, eyebrows raising in mock surprise. "I thought he fell down stairs? What's he got to have nightmares about if he fell down some stairs, Malfoy?"

Shit.

One look at my face and Hermione rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot. Your memory charm didn't work on me, Draco. I remember what you said, and I know that it wasn't stairs that did that to him." She started to walk away, towards Harry's room.

I swallowed the lump of dread in my throat that had formed when she said she remembered everything I'd said. But that wasn't what was important. "Oi," I said, catching her arm. "What do you mean? Do you know what really happened?"

She didn't meet my eyes. "I have my suspicions. But if he hasn't told you, it isn't my place to say."

I took a deep breath and counted to ten, trying not to be angry with her. It took some reminding to myself that she was trying to protect Harry, not whoever hurt him, before I could accomplish a semblance of calm.

"Fine. Will you be alright to watch him for a little while?" I said through gritted teeth.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Why? Where are you going?"

"Nowhere," I shot back. "I've got shit to do." Taking it that she wouldn't leave Harry alone, I made my way towards the exit.

"Draco," she called after me, and I turned back to look. "Don't do anything stupid."

She didn't sound like she meant it.

I know I promised action, but this bit turned out a little longer than expected, so I'm breaking it off here. That's a good bit of Draco angst and even some humor, right? But where is Draco going? You'll find out when I post chapter 12, in which I PROMISE there will be action. PLEASE REVIEW. It makes me sad that you don't :'(