Disclaimer: Nothing related to Harry Potter belongs to me. It belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Thirteen: Difficulties and a Helping Hand

That night, after getting Draco settled into his own room next to Remus', the werewolf and Severus approached Harry, who had been brooding on Remus' couch all day. Draco had opened his mouth several times that day as if to say something to him, but had ended up remaining silent, unable to say whatever it was.

Harry felt them coming and looked up, a wan smile on his face. "Hey, guys," he greeted softly, before returning his gaze to the fireplace.

Remus sat next to him and rubbed his back in large circles, offering what comfort he could. "Do you want to talk about it, Harry?" he asked gently, hoping to coax some sort of answer from his godson.

Severus snorted from where he stood by the fireplace and sneered, "If Potter wanted to talk about it, you stupid canine, he would have. He's just trying to get attention." Both Remus and Harry stared up wide-eyed at Severus. They thought he had mellowed a bit to this bond by now. Apparently, they were both gravely mistaken, and Severus appeared to be taking a great delight in proving this to them.

"Well, boy? There's no reason for you to be sulking about like this just because Draco, who's my godson by the way, has joined us," he sneered. "It's not like it's the end of the world, and I refuse to coddle you, unlike your pet wolf. If you're going to sulk, go somewhere else and do it."

Harry's eyes teared up as he glared at the Potions Master. Jumping to his feet, he cried out, "You bastard! How could you! You have no idea what this is like, this protectiveness. And now I'm possessive as well about all of you, Malfoy included, and he wasn't supposed to hear anything," he raged, beyond caring at this point. "I can't hurt any of you, but that doesn't stop you from hurting me. First you hit me, now you abuse me verbally as well. Well, you know what? Fuck you, Snape! Go back to your little 'Master' and lick his boots, because I'm through with you and your self-absorbed, superior attitude!" With that, he fled the room, not bothering to close the portrait behind him.

Remus just glared at Severus, who had paled a great deal upon realizing what he had just done. A Jachyra, once it had given its loyalty, did so for life, no matter how it was abused by those it was bonded to, and Severus had just given him a verbal lashing, deliberately intent on provoking him, and he had enjoyed it. He had not lost Harry's loyalty, but he may have very well just lost his trust, and all because he had taken his frustration concerning Draco out on Harry.

Hearing a slight noise behind them, Remus and Severus turned towards the portrait, hoping to see Harry there so they could apologize. Instead, they saw a blond, silver-eyed Slytherin glaring at them, and more particularly Severus. "Damn you, Severus," he hissed, using his godfather's full name to let him know how pissed off he was. "Harry's confused because while he's protective of me, but it's a different kind of bond than he has with you. He explained it to me on the way down to the dungeons from the Headmaster's office."

Remus inquired softly, trying to avoid upsetting Draco off any further. "How is the bond with you any different, Draco, and why should it affect him so badly?"

Draco looked at him with contempt, "You should be asking him, not me. But seeing as that he's incredibly distraught right now," he spat, glaring at his godfather again, "I'll tell you."

"I overheard what he said, and his protectiveness comes from a desire to keep his secret from others who would use it against him, such as Voldemort. Since he did not actually confide in me when I heard everything, we're still bonded, but it is not yet a bond based on trust, but rather on need, and it pulls at him constantly, urging him to keep a constant eye on me to make sure I don't give away any of his secrets."

When he was finished, silence reigned in the room, until Remus started to move towards the portrait door. He stopped in surprise when Draco blocked his way with his body. "No, Lupin. He's a mess right now, and you didn't help him. Just like when you were a part of the Marauders. You may have watched their pranks disapprovingly, but that's just it. You watched, but you didn't do anything to stop them. That nearly led to Severus getting killed because you wouldn't put your foot down. Now, you've made the same mistake with Harry, and I won't let you hurt him anymore."

"Leave him be for now," he ordered. "I'll take care of him. He's going to have to learn to trust me anyhow, sooner or later." With that said, he walked back through the portrait, slamming it shut behind him. They felt a number of wards and locking and silencing charms going up, and realized that they were locked out of Draco's room. They could break the wards if they really had to, but the Slytherin had made his point, and they wouldn't intrude.

Remus turned to Severus, who looked remorseful, but that didn't matter to him anymore. Draco, though much younger than either of them, was right. His inability to put his foot down had led to Severus nearly being killed. His refusal to speak up in Sirius' defense when he was taken to Azkaban had led to his best friend missing twelve years of his life, and Harry's. And now, his silence when facing Snape's biting tongue had quite possibly cost him Harry.

He was furious. He held up a hand to cut off whatever Snape had to say, snarling, "No, don't. Just...don't. Draco is right. You were positively vicious to Harry, and I did nothing to cut you off. Go way, Severus, just go away until I'm ready to see you again...until Harry's ready to see us again."

The other man just nodded silently and turned around, disappearing through the portrait into his own rooms, determined to make some potions for Madame Pomfrey's stores to calm himself down and give himself time to think. Remus, in the meantime, poured himself a generous amount of firewhisky and sat in his chair in front of the fire, staring into it pensively as he wondered if Harry would ever forgive him.

BREAK

Draco returned to Harry, who had flung himself into his room and onto his couch. Not saying anything, he led the distraught and emotionally exhausted boy into his bedroom and stripped him down to his boxers, then climbed in beside him, holding the raven-haired teenager close to him. Harry stiffened at first, then relaxed slightly as his sobs slowed to sniffles before finally stopping altogether.

Raising a tear-stained face to Draco, he murmured his thanks. Draco just waved it off and wiped the few remaining tears from his eyes. "It's all right, Harry. Severus realizes what he's done, and so has the werewolf. They're very sorry for what happened."

Harry just snuggled further into the warmth the tall, pale boy was freely offering him before answering. "I know that, Dray, but does Severus always have to act like that?"

Draco smiled sadly down at the mop of Harry's hair, stroking it with one hand while the other held him close and stroked up and down his back in a gesture of comfort. "He's afraid of something, Harry. He cares for you, and that scares him, so he reverts back to his Death Eater persona in an attempt to push you away without realizing it. My arrival hasn't helped matters, either. He's paranoid, and I am…was," he corrected himself, "the son of Lucius Malfoy, Death Eater Extraordinare."

Harry chuckled quietly, and then fell silent for several long moments, absorbing this new information. "So he's trying to push me away by being cruel in order to avoid caring too much."

Draco smiled and replied, "Exactly, Harry." Unfortunately, he had just made a big mistake as Harry withdrew from him with a resigned sigh and slid out of the bed.

Puzzled, Draco called out to him, "Wait, Harry! Where are you going?" Harry looked at him, and Draco's breath choked in his throat when he saw the pain and sorrow in those green depths.

When Harry spoke, his voice was thick with unshed tears. "He knows that I'm not worth being cared about, so he's pushing me away. He'll let me protect him because he can't stop me, but he won't love me." The bitterness was heavy in his tone.

Draco nearly cried at the heartbreak in Harry's words. "What about Remus? He cares," he pointed out, hoping to derail Harry's current train of thoughts, as they weren't healthy for him.

However, the raven-haired wizard refused to be sidetracked and stated bluntly, "He doesn't see me. He sees James and Lily Potter's son, and Sirius' godson. He doesn't love Harry, he loves the image he has of me, just like everybody else. I thought that Severus was different. At least he treated me just like he treated everybody else, like I was nobody special and was just a normal person."

Draco flinched, knowing that Harry had a lot of issues that would need to be worked through, but not knowing how to go about it. Maybe when he calmed down some, he'd go to Lupin and his godfather for some suggestions. For now, he had to convince Harry that people did care for him. Hmmm...perhaps the Weasel and Granger? They might do.

In his rush to get his words out to prevent Harry from wallowing in self-doubt and insecurity, he didn't bother to censor what he was saying. "What about Ron and Hermione? I know you told them about your being a lycanthrope and bonded to Sev and Lupin. They care. I care. I know I haven't shown it in the past, but I was hurting, and I wanted others to hurt. I realize now how stupid that was, but I'm going to do my best to make up for it. Please, Harry. I care. Let me show you."

Harry watched him hesitantly, biting his lower lip nervously and looking like he was debating on whether or not to flee the room. "You can't run around the hallways in just your boxers, and if you go next door, you're bound to run into Remus, and maybe Severus as well," Draco pointed out in a last ditch effort to make Harry stay.

Harry sighed in defeat and walked back over to the bed, slipping under the covers. Once he was settled, Draco reached over and pulled him close to him. "It's okay, Harry. You know they're both here and safe, so go ahead and sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up," he assured the other boy as he nodded off to sleep. Laying a gentle kiss on his forehead, Draco lay back down and stared at the ceiling, wondering just what he was getting himself into.