Sorry this took so long! I don't know why but I just couldn't figure out how to write the second half of this chapter...

Thanks to my new beta mandancie who will be betaing the chapters from now on. She read over the beginning of this and gave me a couple of suggestions for the story. The rest will be checked in the next couple of days but I didn't want to make you guys wait any more.
Edit: This has now been replaced with the beta-ed version.

As usual, read, review and enjoy! :D

Broken Like An Angel

Chapter 25
Harry's PoV

~Dream begins~

I looked at the scene before me with no idea where I was actually watching from. Three men were standing in the room, two of whom I recognised from the dream I had before the Quidditch World Cup and the other from the day itself.

One man was instantly recognisable as Lucius Malfoy. He was sporting the expensive robes and the familiar platinum blonde hair that I so loved on another man but hated the similarity on the elder Malfoy in front of me and I felt rage build up inside me at the mere sight of the man with the knowledge of what he had done.

One of the other men was hidden by a cloak but still I could easily tell who it was. Bony hands, barely covered by thin, taut, grey skin emerged from the draping sleeves of the cloak, a large snake coiled and hissed at the figure's feet and the scar on my forehead erupted in burning pain.

The third man in the room was fully visible yet still I struggled to believe what I saw. I had only seen the man three times before and never in person but I knew it was him. His tongue flicked out every now and then and his eyes held a crazed glint. Barty Crouch Junior, who had supposedly been arrested and imprisoned in Azkaban, was standing before me in a dream yet again.

As the men began to speak, I listened trying to gather all I could of the conversation. However, I could only hear small parts of what was said.

"How are things going at Hogwarts?" Lucius drawled in his usual arrogant tone.

"I have suspicions that your little freak may be beginning to get along with the boy." Barty Crouch Jr sneered with another flick of his tongue that made him resemble the serpent currently slithering around the legs of the only chair in the room seating the cloaked figure.

'At Hogwarts? How does he know what's happening at Hogwarts? He should be in Azkaban! Who are the freak and the boy? Is that me and Draco? How dare they call Draco Lucius' little freak!' I thought as rage swelled up anew inside me.

"Well, no matter. He knows what he must do. I made sure he wouldn't be forgetting any time soon... He's only making harder for himself and more entertaining for me." The elder Malfoy drawled with a smug and sadistic smirk.

~Dream ends~

My eyes snapped open and I sat up abruptly, looking around. I breathed a small sigh of relief to find myself still in Gryffindor boys' dorms. I could feel a light sheen of sweat making my pyjamas stick to my skin and my breathing was faster than usual.

'Were they talking about Draco? If so, why? Why did Crouch Jr. say that he was suspicious Draco's getting closer to me? What prompted me to dream something like that all of a sudden anyway? I hadn't had a dream like that since August... shortly before the Death Eater attack at the Quidditch World Cup... Did that mean anything? Is it some kind of precursor to something bad happening?'

Broken Like An Angel

After a quick shower, I had proceeded to breakfast and classes as usual but I had been preoccupied thinking about the dream for the rest of the day. I didn't tell Hermione or Ron – I knew what they would say without having to. Ron would say something like "It's just a dream, mate. Forget about it. Hey, have you done the essay for Charms?!" and Hermione would the contradict him by saying "It may only be a dream but I don't think you should forget about it. It's happened before and it might mean something. I think I once read something about..." and then go into a lecture about some book she read that was vaguely related to my problem.

Not only that but, by telling them about this particular dream, I'd have to tell them at least a little about my relationship with Draco and I had no idea how they would react to that news.

Normally, with anyone else, I would think that Ron would react a little irrationally and get angry about me not telling them sooner while Hermione would be sensible and polite but this was Malfoy and that changed everything.

He had been insulting and degrading both Ron and Hermione's families for the past three and a half years now and I didn't think that would be so easily forgiven or forgotten.

I considered telling Draco but it was hard to know how he would react to mention of his father, especially when they could have been talking about him. The Slytherin had been doing better recently and I didn't want to do anything that could jeopardise that progress.

I could clearly recall the blonde's lack of enthusiasm and motivation about everything only weeks ago. He had asked me why he had to bother going to Potions class, which had always been his favourite class,
saying that he didn't care about it and it didn't matter. He had said that nothing mattered. It had affected me more than I had expected to see Draco so hopeless and despondent and I didn't want to see him like that ever again. I had been worried for a while that he might try jumping off the Astronomy tower again or something. Some nights, I hadn't slept properly from worry, instead spending the nights tossing and turning with terrible possibilities flooding my mind, each worse than the last and my days were spent watching the blonde for anything that might show he would try the unthinkable.

But he was past that now, right? Draco had been more enthusiastic and hadn't been showing any signs of thinking about jumping again, in fact,
he actually seemed quite happy so maybe it would be alright to tell him... or maybe it would bring back memories to him and push him straight back into the depths of despair that he had only just managed to climb out of.

This dilemma had also been plaguing me throughout the day and as I walked into the great hall with Hermione and Ron for dinner, I still hadn't figured it out. I was torn between trusting Draco's strength and wanting someone to talk to about it, and despising the very idea that I could cause him a relapse into that dark place he'd been stuck in before and the possibility that I might not be able to pull him out of it... or at least not in time.

Broken Like An Angel

Walking hesitantly to the Astronomy tower, I began to question my decision. I had only made it moments ago but already, it seemed like the wrong choice. The other, however, also presented problems and I was just utterly confused with no one to talk to about it all. I was sure that the only way I'd made it through all the shit that had happened in the last 3 years was because I hadn't been in it alone. I'd always had Hermione or Ron to talk to, or if that wasn't an option, the other Gryffindors. Even Malfoy's taunting had been a brief reprieve from the stresses of the years but none of those were possible. I couldn't tell anyone about what was going on and while Draco wasn't the broken boy he had been at the beginning of the year, he was not yet ready for insults or mocking – he was still far too self-conscious and afraid of offending and losing me that even harmless teasing was rare – and it left me feeling isolated and completely overwhelmed.

Forcefully pushing my conflicting thoughts to one side, I pushed the door open and stepped through to see Draco already there waiting for me.
Despite my tumultuous feelings, a small smile still crept onto my face at the sight of the platinum blonde hair, pale skin and steely grey eyes. The smile was returned when Draco saw me.

"Hi." The Slytherin said softly.

"Hey." I greeted in reply, sitting down next to my boyfriend. The word still sounded strange to me when I used it to refer to Draco, yet it wasn't a bad kind of strange. It was scary, confusing, exciting,
uplifting and weird, but it wasn't bad.

"You seem bothered by something. What's wrong?" The blonde asked with concern.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong Draco." I replied, somewhat unconvincingly but I hope the other boy wouldn't notice.

"Don't lie to me, Harry. Don't you trust me? After all of the things I've told you, do you not trust me enough to tell me what's making you upset?" Draco asked, sounding angry but mostly just hurt and I hated to be the cause of that.

"Of course I trust you! I love you Draco and I trust you more than anyone else in the world! Please don't doubt that."

"Then why won't you tell me?" The blonde demanded. I couldn't help the flash of pride I felt that Draco could demand something like that now.
In previous years I might have done anything to have stopped him, but now I was happy he felt safe enough to do that without thinking I would hate him or hurt him for it.

"I just... I don't want to risk bringing up any bad memories for you."

"So you're just going to be upset instead?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah. That was the idea."

"You really are too selfless for your own good sometimes, Potter." The Slytherin chastised hesitantly, nervousness obvious.

I laughed a little and reveled in the cautious smile that appeared on Draco's face before replying. "Yeah, maybe."

"So are you going to tell me?" Draco asked, a little impatiently.

"I guess... Only if you're sure though. And you'll tell me if it starts to trigger anything?" I asked, still not fully convinced this was a good idea.

"Yes Harry. You don't need to worry quite so much. I've been doing better, right?"

"Well yes but that doesn't mean you're completely better now. We still need to be careful."

"I know that better than anyone but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you be upset just because you won't talk to me about it. I'm your boyfriend, remember? You should be able to tell me anything."

"...OK." I agreed, somewhat reluctantly. I knew I should trust Draco if he said he was fine with it – I wasn't lying when I said I trust Draco more than anyone else, even Ron or Hermione – but I also knew that he couldn't tell what would trigger a memory. "Well I had a dream. I saw Voldemort, a man called Barty Crouch Junior and... your father." I waited a moment to see Draco's reaction before I carried on. He seemed to be struggling with something and then his expression turned thoughtful for a few seconds.

"Barty Crouch Junior... as in Barty Crouch from the ministry's son?" I nodded. "Wasn't he sent to Azkaban?"

"Supposedly, yes. It's just a dream though so I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." I said to reassure both him and myself.

"So what were they doing? Was it a... Death Eater meeting?" Draco asked,
unsure about talking about this.

"No, it was just the three of them. They were just talking..." I hoped the blonde wouldn't ask what they were talking about but of course, he did.

"What were they saying?"

"I couldn't really hear much and the dream wasn't very long. I... I think they were talking about me and you though." I paused, still worrying about Draco. "Your father said you know what you need to do and you're just making it more difficult for yourself." I said slowly,
carefully watching the blonde's reaction for any signs of distress and saw none.

Unbeknownst to me, said blonde was fighting to repress memories that were struggling to surface in his mind.

"Well, it was just a dream. Nothing to worry about. Just your mind own trying to scare you I imagine." Draco rambled.

"Yeah, I guess so." I said, still slightly doubtful. I couldn't figure it out or explain it. I just got the undeniable feeling that this wasn't just a dream that meant nothing, and I shouldn't just forget it. I was sure it was important somehow.

"We should really be getting back to the dorms now. It's late and we have classes tomorrow. Good night Harry." The Slytherin said curtly.

"Oh... well, OK. Night Draco." I replied, confusion seeping into my tone as the other boy turned and began to leave.

I didn't see the tormented look that spread across his face when he turned or the build up of tears in his eyes, only his black-robe clad back as he walked away.

Broken Like An Angel