This is an important chapter for the story so it's longer than usual and I'm really not sure about how I wrote this so reviews on this one would really great so I know if you think I wrote the scene ok.

Quietstar: (I would have sent you a PM like I do everyone else but since you don't have an account I couldn't.) I'm so glad you liked the last chapter and if you thought that was long you're in for a surprise with this one and the next one - They're really long! (For my chapters at least.) You didn't have to wait too long for this one and I hope it's as great as you thought it would be. :)
Thank you very much for your review. :D

Read, review and enjoy. Reviews make me very happy! :D

Broken Like An Angel

Chapter 14
No PoV

As Draco saw the familiar head of messy black hair walk over to Weasley, clearly angry, and began yelling, started to mentally prepare himself. Despite their rapid progress behind closed doors, he had to make sure that nothing changed around everyone else.

There was no way of knowing what the consequences of other people knowing about their... friendship(?) would be but Draco was positive it would not be good. Especially depending on who exactly it was that found out... So Draco had to make sure that, by the time Harry reached him, he was fully prepared to act as Malfoy, Potter's enemy. That required insulting the boy he loved, probably hurting the boy he wanted to protect and most likely himself as well and all for the sake of appearances and self-preservation. Cowardly as it was, Draco would rather act like he hated Harry in public than risk facing his father if he found out that he was getting closer to Harry. If he had to endure a repeat of the summer, Draco was not sure he would survive it. The agony was more than he could stand and the emotional pain was even worse. The guilt, shame and misery would probably drive him insane before he died from his injuries. So for his own safety, he was purposely hurting the boy he loved. 'Pathetic...' he thought with disgust.

"Why so tense Potter?" The blonde jeered. Potter just ignored him and continued walking and, as much as he wished he could. Draco couldn't just let him go. Malfoys did not let themselves be ignored.

"My father and I have a bet, you see. I don't think you're going to last 10 minutes in this tournament." Malfoy taunted, jumping down from the tree he had been sitting in and sauntering over to the angry black haired boy.

Honestly, his heart was breaking a little more with each word his own traitorous lips uttered and he was repulsed by the idea of doing such friendly things as gambling with the man who he was reluctantly referring to as his father – only in the most strictly biological sense of the word was that title valid.

"He disagrees. He thinks you won't last 5." The blonde continued, forcing a chuckle and looking away from the boy in front of him to hide the guilt and pain in his eyes at saying these things although, on second thought, perhaps it would be better he see so he would know that these were just lies he was forced to spew to keep up appearances. For him to see this though would be to publicly show weakness which he just couldn't do.

"I don't give a damn what your father thinks Malfoy." Harry spat as though the mere thought of the man left a bad taste in his mouth, shoving the other boy in the chest to emphasise his point. Despite the situation, Draco couldn't deny the pleasant shiver that Harry's touch sent down his spine. "He's vile and cruel. And you're just pathetic."

All the happiness the blonde had gained as Harry had insulted his so-called father vanished. He could see a hint of apology in the other boy's eyes but it did nothing to fend off the hurt and genuine physical pain he felt after hearing his own thoughts confirmed by the one person he had begun to trust. His chest ached like someone was trying to crush his heart and he took a step back, breath hitching for a few seconds before returning erratically. Trying to hold back tears that longed to shed, he forced back the hurt and summoned all the anger he could find.

"Pathetic..." Malfoy finally managed to mutter, drawing his wand to send a mild curse to the source of his current distress but his attention was drawn away from the messy haired boy by yelling nearby and the next thing he knew the world was bigger and was moving rapidly up and down around him. He couldn't understand what exactly was going on.

"I'll teach you to curse someone when their back is turned." Mad Eye Moody, who was now in front of him, said.

After that Draco paid no attention to the deputy headteacher, panic beginning to take over his senses. Then he watched in dread as Moody, pulled the front of a boy's (he thought it was Goyle but, in his current situation, didn't really care) trousers and levitated him in. The panic started to overwhelm him as he saw himself fall past pants and bare legs. His vision was going a little blurry and his breathing had sped up to almost hyperventilation. 'Is this what a panic attack feels like?' He wondered briefly. Bits of memories began to swim around in his head; yelling, pain, guilt, shame and self-loathing fought for space in his mind.

Then suddenly he could feel cool air on his overheated skin and his head snapped up. Students were standing around him, laughing and pointing. He felt thoroughly humiliated. Making one last ditch attempt to retain some semblance of dignity, he shouted "My father will hear about this!" Honestly, he prayed to any god there may be that the elder Malfoy never heard anything about this. Seeing Moody move towards him, the usually pristine boy tried to run around the tree he had previously be perched in so calmly only to be caught by a hand gripping painfully tight around his wrist. Then hot, disgusting breath in his ear and a hissed warning that made his skin crawl and his heart almost beat out of his chest before he escaped and ran like his life depended on it.

He heard the former Auror yell "I could tell you stories about your father that could curl even your greasy hair, boy!" and just kept running. Running away from the humiliation and the laughter, the panic and fear and mostly away from the people who had seen him so weak. But he couldn't escape the humiliation and fear... and the memories...Only once he had reached the Astronomy tower, the place he felt safest in the whole school, and closed the door firmly behind him did he slump down against the wall and even begin to consider the words Moody had spoken.

"Don't forget that your father knows what you do at school. He has... connections. Lucius thinks Harry Potter is getting far too close to finding out your... little secret. The Dark Lord isn't happy about it."

Draco would never forget the first time he had heard that warning from his father...

Broken Like An Angel

After Draco had run away from them, the crowd had dispersed and Moody ordered Harry to follow him. Almost jogging to keep up, the boy followed him to what he supposed was the ex-Auror's office though his thoughts were still with Malfoy. At first Harry had h found it kind of funny when the Slytherin had been turned into a ferret but then he remembered that, despite the act, that was not the arrogant, cruel and absolutely infuriating Malfoy who probably deserved such treatment. Malfoy had changed and the miserable, haunted, self-conscious Draco certainly didn't deserve it. This new Malfoy needed support, comfort and reassurance that Harry intended to give him though he still couldn't understand why he wanted to help him so much. Lost in thought, he almost didn't notice that they had arrived at their destination.

The room was relatively small and quite gloomy even though it was still rather bright outside. The weather would soon start to worsen as they got closer to winter and he absent mindedly realised that Moody would probably need some candles once winter weather really set in.

As Moody started to talk, Harry tried to focus on the first task and how he was going to deal with a dragon. He'd been trying not to think about it, which had proved reasonably simple with the effective distraction of a certain blonde haired Slytherin, because, quite frankly, he had no idea what to do and every time he thought about it he panicked. How was he, a 14 year old boy, supposed to defeat a dragon?! None of the spells he had learnt so far would work. He had considered a spell such as Petrificus Totalus but there was a high chance that it wouldn't work for such a large creature as a dragon. Harry turned his attention back to what Mad-eye was saying, knowing that it might be important to both completing the task and to actually surviving it.

Moody was talking about playing to his strengths but the only thing that came to mind was his skill at Quidditch though he couldn't see how that would help him and told the man so. He laughed at the boy's apparent naivete and proceeded to tell him about a spell called Accio. It sounded like a great spell and Harry was sure it would be very helpful but he didn't have the time, patience or concentration to listen to him explain it. He was sure that Draco was more upset than he had let on and he had an undeniable urge to find him. He quickly told Mad-eye that he would research the spell in the library and teach himself and that he would ask if he had any questions and was excused from the dreary office.

Broken Like An Angel

With a cloudy mind, Draco emerged from his memory to find himself standing in front of the railing and leaning dangerously far over it. He couldn't remember how he had gotten there yet he wasn't surprised. As the thought about it, it started to make more and more sense. No one wanted him at Hogwarts and no one would care if he wasn't there anymore and there was nowhere else he could go. All that he would find at home was his father's abuse and his mother's feeble attempts at caring for him. It would be so simple to lean a little bit further and then just let go. Only once or twice before had he considered suicide, usually after a particularly brutal beating or rough... session with his father as a way to escape the pain and stop it happening again, but now that he was there and it would be so easy he found it a difficult temptation to resist. He wondered why he was trying to resist it at all when messy black hair and captivating emerald eyes entered his mind.

Harry. Would Harry care if he toppled over this railing and fell to his death on the ground below? They had been getting on better but that didn't mean that he would actually be bothered if the blonde was not around anymore. They probably weren't close enough that he would find it at all difficult to forget about him. He knew he'd been in love with Harry for a while now but he also knew that Harry didn't feel the same way about him so was it really worth continuing his horrible life for him? Just to be around him without an actual relationship?

The feeling of strong arms wrapping around his waist and tugging him backwards pulled him out of his thoughts. He was dragged a few feet away before the arms retracted and left him wanting them back though a hand remained on his arm. Regardless of the fact that he already knew who it was (only one person could cause that warm and tingly feeling wherever he touched), he turned to face the other boy and saw that there was a slight pink tinge to his cheeks and his breathing was unusually quick but it did nothing to decrease his attractiveness. The messy black hair and bright green eyes that had been in his thoughts were right in front of him, their eyes meeting as he turned.

"What are you doing here?" Draco breathed, unable to think properly under the intense stare of those mesmerising eyes.

"I had a feeling something was wrong so I got away from Moody as soon as I could and ran here. Just in time by the looks of things. What the hell were you doing?!"

'So that's why he's out of breath...' Draco thought offhandedly.

"Nothing... Just... looking at the view." The blonde mumbled.

"The only view you'd have from there is of the grass!" Harry yelled and Draco winced slightly at his raised voice. Seeming to notice this, the Gryffindor lowered his voice and calmed down. "Is it to do with the nightmares?"

Searching his face for traces of anger or any other emotion that might mean he was trying to trick him then, finding only kindness, nodded slowly.

"Can you please tell me what they're about? It'll be good for you to tell someone and i'll be able to help you better if I know what the problem is."

After the flashback he had just had, the feelings of paranoia had become stronger again making Draco even more unsure about telling Harry.

"I can't... He'll know... And then it will happen all over again." He stuttered, fear evident in his voice.

"No it won't. Hogwarts is the safest place for you. Nothing will happen to you because I won't let it. I won't let anyone hurt you Draco." Harry enthused. Draco thought his heart might have stopped beating for a moment before it started trying to beat right out of his chest. His eyes went wide and his face went bright pink as he took in what Harry had said and repeated it over and over in his mind trying to remember it forever. He couldn't remember his name ever sounding so good when spoken by anyone else.

"You promise?" Draco asked shyly, feeling very childish but not caring.

A brilliant smile spread across Harry's face and he lightly ruffled the boy's soft blonde hair making said blonde's blush darken and his feeling of childishness increase tenfold yet he couldn't stop the fluttering feeling in his stomach despite the slight fear that remained in his mind. "I absolutely promise that I, Harry Potter, will not let anything or anyone hurt you, Draco Malfoy." He spoke very formally, making it sound like an official vow.

Immediately, he felt safer. If Harry Potter, the boy who lived and the boy he loved, said he'd protect him, what could possibly hurt him? He was sure that as soon as he left the other boy's presence he would feel in danger again but in this moment with Harry still touching his arm and vowing to protect him, he felt completely safe.

"It's... my father. He's always been quite strict and he uses... physical punishment to correct my behaviour but this summer... it got worse. He... He..." Draco couldn't say it. It was too hard to admit that he had been defiled, emotionally tortured and broken. He couldn't tell Harry he had been raped. Despite all that he had been through with the Dark Lords so far, Harry was still innocent and Draco didn't want him to know that he was tainted. He didn't want Harry to know that his innocence had been ripped from him. If he knew, he'd be disgusted and then this strange friendship they had would vanish.

As if reading his mind, Harry moved closer to him and reassured him. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. I'm not going to just abandon you no matter what you say."

Once again searching the other boy's eyes for any trace of deceit and finding none, Draco took a deep breath in and began to speak again. "Over the summer, my father... he raped me." The blonde mumbled, looking resolutely away from the black haired boy. He didn't think he could bare to see the hatred, pity and disgust. He was shocked to feel arms wrap tightly around him in an embrace. Panic rose up for a second or two before he reminded himself that this was not his father. His father would never hug him so comfortingly or hug him at all really. This was Harry Potter, the boy he loved. The panic ebbed slowly away and Draco revelled in the feeling of being hugged by Harry.

"Oh Draco, i'm so sorry. How could he do that?! The sick bastard! Next time I see him, I'm going to kill him!" Harry growled and Draco felt panic rise up again.

"No! You can't! He'd know that I told you! He can't find out that you know! That's why I didn't want to tell you. Father has ways of knowing what's happening in this school. He told me before the term started that he'd know exactly what I was doing this year... It's my fault anyway so there's nothing you can do about it. He raped me as punishment so I deserved it every time..."

"Every time? This happened more than once?! Don't say it's your fault! This couldn't possibly be your fault. Nothing you could ever do would make rape a suitable punishment. Ever. What did he tell you'd done wrong?" Harry demanded.

Still keeping his gaze anywhere but on Harry, Draco yet again mumbled an answer, uncomfortable with how this conversation was going. He was telling the black haired boy far too much. "It's because... I'm gay."

"You're gay?" The other wizard repeated and the blonde tried to prepare himself for what was almost definitely coming. "That's it?! That is absolutely not a reason to rape someone! That's absolutely ridiculous! It doesn't matter if you're gay or straight, rape is rape and rape is illegal." Harry stated his tone leaving no room for argument.

Unbeknownst to him, while Draco was enjoying the closeness they had at that moment and the utterly euphoric feeling of having shared his biggest and darkest secret and having been accepted by the guy he loved, Harry was absolutely livid. How dare Lucius rape his own son and then somehow brainwash him into thinking that it was his own fault just for being who he is! There were no words to explain how angry he was right now and it took all of Harry's willpower not to go and hunt the elder Malfoy down right now and slaughter him – with his bare hands, no magic. He could scarcely imagine what the summer must have been like for Draco; beatings, rape and even just living with the seemingly distant and cold Malfoys generally. He was pulled from his musings by a hesitant voice from very close to him.

"Harry. Harry! You're squashing me. Can you please hug me a little less tightly please?" Draco whined and Harry realised that his thoughts had led him to almost suffocate the other boy. Letting go completely, he moved back slightly, apologising all the while.

"We should probably head back to our dorms now anyway. It'll be time for dinner soon and we shouldn't show up together." The blonde said, a little forlorn at the idea of leaving Harry's side. With Harry he was safe – he had promised to protect him – but away from it, that feeling of safety and warmth left him with only guilt, anxiety and emptiness. Then something occurred to him. "You won't tell anyone about this, right?" He pleaded.

"Of course not! I'll take it to my grave if that's what you want!" Harry replied, dismayed at the mere notion.

The idea of Harry's death made Draco feel cold and miserable but he pushed it aside; Harry was fine and standing right there in front of him. "Thank you." He said with a sigh of relief.

"Well I guess I'll see you later then." The black haired wizard said awkwardly before turning and walking away.

"Yeah, see you." Draco replied, slightly glumly. 'Really soon, I hope...'

Broken Like An Angel

Sorry about the ending. I really don't like it but I wasn't sure how to end this chapter...