Title: Leap of Faith

Disclaimer: J.K Rowling and Associates own these characters. I am writing this story for fun and not profit.

Pairing: Eventual Harry/Draco, mentions of others

Rating: T

Content Notes: Eventual Romance, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Canon-typical violence.

Summary: AU of OotP. Eventual HP/DM Slash. Draco Malfoy is patrolling the castle, contemplating the life he is being forced to live, the choices he will have to make, and Umbridge's startling resemblance to a troll, when he comes across an injured Harry Potter in a hidden alcove. Draco decides to take a chance.

Author's Notes: This will most likely be a pretty long fic. It will also likely get darker over time. I'm not quite sure how much as of yet, which is why the tags are pretty generic. When needed, I will change them.

Leap of Faith

Chapter 1: Taking a Chance

As night fell on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry a lone figure wandered the halls. Draco Malfoy had been assigned to patrol the halls after curfew and bring anyone he caught to Umbridge immediately. As he walked, he looked down briefly at the badge Umbridge had given him. Silently, he cursed the badge, Umbridge, and everything about his current life. He sighed in resignation, there was no point in dwelling on it all. As he continued walking, he drifted into a state of thoughtlessness, only paying enough attention to his surroundings to avoid running into walls.

"Dammit! Why won't it stop bleeding?! Curse that evil bint!"

Draco nearly jumped out of his skin as the shout echoed through the seemingly empty corridors. Once he was sure he could breathe properly again, crept down the hall to the alcove where the shout had come from. As quietly as he could, he pulled back the curtain. It was Harry Potter, nursing a bleeding hand and cursing under his breath.

Draco reflected as he silently observed. He'd known for nearly a year now that he needed to approach Harry. There were apologies and explanations he needed to give. He'd tried since the start of term, but each time he was gripped by fear and fell back into the same old patterns of rivalry. Tonight was no different. Draco still couldn't face him, especially not now, while the Gryffindor was injured and cursing the world.

Cursing his own cowardice, Draco turned to leave. Caught up in his thoughts once again, his foot hit the wall a bit as he turned. The noise was small, but deafening in the silence. Slowly, he turned back and forced himself to face Harry. It would do no good to run now. He might as well face the consequences of his spying and get it over with. After seemingly an eternity, grey eyes met emerald green, and the world stood still. All at once, Draco felt as though he was frozen to the ground, pinned beneath the emerald green eyes which seemed to spark with fury. His mouth went completely dry, and he found he couldn't say a word.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry hissed.

Draco's defences were up immediately. His first instinct was, as always, to fire off the first insult he could think of. It was his natural reaction when faced with anger and scorn from the Gryffindor. Just as the words were on the edge of his lips, he paused. Harry was no longer even looking at him. His focus was once again on his injured hand. Harry never let down his guard when alone with Draco. Every other time they had met alone, he relentlessly tracked Draco at all times, looking like a predator ready to pounce. This time, though he had seemed as angry as ever, he had completely turned his attention. This caused Draco to pause, and remain silent. He wanted to see how Harry would respond, no doubt expecting to hear a taunt from his rival.

Harry sighed, "Well? Are you just going to stare at me all day Ferret? In case you hadn't noticed, I'm a little busy here. Why don't you go round up some helpless first years? I'm sure Umbridge would love to have some more students torture themselves under her nose…..Bloody hell why won't the bleeding stop! Just get out of here Malfoy. I don't have time for your pathetic attempts at insults today."

Rather than rising to the bait, Draco remained silent and sat next to Harry, who looked confused but said nothing. After a moment's thought, Draco reached out and swiftly but carefully pulled the injured hand into his own, leaning closer to get a better look. Startled, and not knowing what Draco intended, Harry started to pull away. This had been the wrong thing to do, as he let out a yelp of pain and promptly ceased struggling.

"What the devil are you playing at Malfoy?"

Draco ignored him, completely focused on his task. Harry grumbled slightly, but remained still, knowing it wasn't worth the pain to fight the Slytherin.

After dabbing at the wound, Draco was just barely able to make out the lines seemingly carved into Harry's hand, although he couldn't read the words due to the blood still seeping from the wound. He had to struggle to keep his face impassive. The horror and anger he felt on Harry's behalf was nauseating. He wanted to be sick at the sight of it. Finally, he addressed his, for lack of a better word, patient.

"From what you said earlier, I'm assuming Umbridge is responsible?"

Shock passed over Harry's face, and he nodded.

"This was done using a blood quill, correct? I'm guessing it was your detention?"

He took Harry's stunned silence as confirmation. The wound was still bleeding, and he doubted Harry understood why. Blood quills weren't a common form of punishment, at least not these days.

"I'm guessing that you don't know much about blood quills besides what they do. Yes, they are tools of dark magic used to carve a message into one's skin, while simultaneously writing the same message in that person's blood. Pureblood families and tutors often threaten punishment with them, but they are considered archaic by the majority, and rarely are the threats carried out. What many don't know is that blood quills are impervious to magic, other than spells designed to make the punishment worse, for example, Poison, boils, or reopening of the wound at random times even after it has healed. From the look of it, I would say she's been having you use the blood quill on its most basic setting until this point. This time around, however, Umbridge has used your pride against you. She somehow knew that you would not seek help for this wound, and would instead try to fix it yourself. Because of this, she used curse magic on the quill so that the marks would continue to bleed and increase in pain as long as you tried to treat it yourself. These marks will only begin to heal when someone else tends to it. Otherwise, it would simply torment you until you have in or the curse was removed. You wouldn't have died, even from blood loss, but the pain would grow to unimaginable levels. I imaging Umbridge would have removed it after some time, though how much time is anyone's guess. Sadistic bitch."

After finishing his lecture, he paused to gauge Harry's reaction. He would have expected rage, and maybe accusations of lying after such a speech; there were none. Harry's face seemed frozen in shock. His eyes were wide and he had gone pale.

"Har-" At this Harry's head snapped up. Silently Draco cursed himself for getting too comfortable in his mind. He cleared his throat and continued, "Potter. If you want this to get better you are going to have to show someone." The stubborn idiot started to shake his head and protest, but Draco would not allow him to interrupt. "I know that you being here trying to fix it yourself means that you don't want to show the healer or Dumbledore. And I don't imagine those friends of yours would be of much use." He paused, expecting the usual Gryffindor loyalty in defence of his friends. He had to mask his shock when all he received was a slight nod, gesturing for Draco to continue. Encouraged by the lack of insults or injuries thus far, Draco made his offer. "I could patch this up for you. I can't do as much as Pomphrey or Dumbledore, but that doesn't particularly matter. I can stop the bleeding and ease the pain, allowing the wound to begin to heal."

The silence that followed was deafening, and he could see nothing other than contemplation on the other boy's face. Draco thought he would crack from the pressure until finally, "Why do you want to do this Malfoy? We hate each other. We always have. What's in it for you? I should think you would be glad to see me injured. Why now?"

Once again Draco was nearly thrown into shock. This had been the last thing he expected. He knew Harry had no idea of who Draco really was, and had hoped beyond hope for a fresh start. It never occurred to him how little he actually knew about his long-time rival. At once he was gripped by fear. Although his father had never actually hurt him, Lucius Malfoy did not permit defiance and was certainly a dangerous man. Though he had never been on the brunt end of his father's rage, he had seen it enough times to be afraid of it. He also had no idea how the other Slytherins would react once word got out. He could be ostracized, disowned, possibly even hurt or killed. Could he risk all of that for a chance to be free? He knew if he remained silent he would be forced into servitude under that madman, and soon. He would no doubt be tortured regardless of any efforts he made. He would eventually be forced to hurt others, to kill. That thought decided for him, and he knew what he had to do.

"I'm doing this because I care. I never hated you. Not really. I was angry with you when you dismissed me on the train our first year. Of course, now I know what a pompous arse I was, but I didn't at the time. All that I knew was that you had dismissed me for someone I thought lower than myself. I decided to torment you any way I could because of it. I resented you, and Weasley and Granger. I don't anymore. I'm not the same person I used to be. I only wanted to be friends with you back then because of your fame. Your scar. But that's not the case anymore. And I certainly won't stand by while you've been tortured by Umbridge. If you'll let me help you, I will."

If Harry was shocked before, he appeared to be reeling now. "How….Malfoy….But you…..there have been hundreds of chances since then! If you realized you were a git, which you were, why continue? You've still been nothing but a complete arse every time I've seen you! You work for Umbridge; you've even got that ridiculous badge to prove it! On top of that, your family supports Voldemort! How can you want to befriend me when he's out to kill me?!"

Draco had expected this line of questioning and decided to risk it all and go for the full truth. But first, there was Harry's hand. "I'll explain everything to you, I give you my word. But first, your hand really needs to be seen to. I'll explain everything I do. This may take a while and you shouldn't have to be bleeding and in pain while we talk. Will you permit me to tend to it?"

With a small amount of hesitation, Harry nodded. Draco reached into his robe and pulled out a miniature pack. He enlarged the pack and explained that it was a medical kit. Harry looked surprised until Draco explained that every Slytherin carries one for emergencies. From the pack he pulled out a small silver bowl, a bottle of water with a permanent warming charm, an ointment to prevent infection, an ointment to ease pain, clean cloths, gauze, and a wrap. Most of the items were self-explanatory. Harry only asked for clarification on the ointments because they weren't labelled.

"I'll talk as I work. It will help you focus on something besides the discomfort. As for what I'm going to do, it's fairly simple. I can't work any healing magic on it, nor would I if I could. I'm not trained for it. The bleeding has slowed down a fair bit since you've stopped touching it. I'll be able to clean it properly and apply the medicine to it. After which I just need to apply the gauze and wrap your hand. Alright?"

Harry nodded. Draco began to speak, while slowly cleaning his hand.

"I don't support Voldemort. My father does. But I'll get to that in a minute. As to why I never said anything, by the time I realized the truth of the matter, we were firmly on different sides in the eyes of the world. I did as my father expected. As the enemy of the Dark Lord, you were to be hated. I was expected to torment you and best you in every way. Just as an example, my father bought my way onto the quidditch team just to pit me against you. It's the same way for nearly all of Slytherin. We are expected to hate you because of who we are."

He paused. He noticed the words in his hand read, "I must not tell lies". He made a mental note to ask Harry about it later and applied the ointments to his hand. As soon as he was done, he saw a great amount of tension leave Harry's shoulders. He felt another twinge of anger as he realized the boy must have been in far worse pain than he cared to show. He placed the gauze over the ointment and began the slow and careful process of wrapping the hand. Once he had a good start on the wrap, he began speaking again. "As for Voldemort, he is the reason I'm talking to you about this. Even when I believed the ideals my father spouted, I never wanted to kill for them. That's what I would be made to do, eventually. Voldemort has come back into power, and my father is in his inner circle, or at least he was the first time around. I would be made to get the dark mark. To serve. To torture. To kill. Maybe not right away. But it would happen. I know the truth. Voldemort is completely mad. I may not have been there for it. But I've heard the stories, just like everyone has. He will destroy everything. I will not scrape and serve beneath the robes of that mutated piece of filth. But if I'm going to be free of that, I'm going to need your help. Once I tell my father, I'll likely be disowned at the very least. School will become a danger once Voldemort gets word. He doesn't take kindly to refusal, no matter who they are. He will want me disposed of, just for the sake of sending a message to the others. The only possibility I have of avoiding it is with your help."

With those last few words, he completed the wrap on Harry's hand. He placed a mild sticking charm so the wrap would not come undone on its own and let go. He sat and watched as Harry gingerly moved his hand around, wincing slightly but looking extremely relieved nevertheless. After he finished his inspection, he met Draco's nervous gaze.

It seemed as if Harry was staring directly into his soul, and Draco struggled to keep eye contact. He refused to back down, and let the honesty and sincerity he felt show on his face. Surprise showed on Harry's face, and finally, he spoke.

"Thank you for helping with my hand Malfoy. I appreciate it. I have one last question for you. Did you know Umbridge was doing this to students?"

Even under Harry's piercing stare, Draco didn't hesitate, "No I didn't. I may have been forced to work under her and capture students on her behalf, but I didn't know these were her methods. She doesn't tell us anything besides where to be and who to target, and I haven't served detention with her. I doubt anyone in Slytherin has truthfully, self-preservation and everything. No one wants to be alone with her. But even if they did, they wouldn't say anything. They would be mocked for complaining if they did."

Draco wasn't surprised this time when Harry immediately nodded. He knew he was telling the truth and had been sure it would show on his face. He did not need his Malfoy mask and had decided against using it with Harry.

Harry turned to leave and Draco's hopes plummeted. He assumed this meant he was being rejected once again, and tried to keep from being overcome by the devastation until he was alone. He started when, as if hearing Draco's thoughts, Harry turned and spoke to him again, one hand on the curtain that separated them from the rest of the castle.

"I'm not rejecting you Malfoy. I just need time to think. Give me a day. You've said a lot tonight, and most of it rather shocking. I had my suspicions about some of the things you said, but I didn't expect it to be of this magnitude. At most I think I expected things to be less hostile. And maybe hoped you'd changed your beliefs. I've had a long and painful day, and it is rather late. Meet me tomorrow after curfew, on the seventh floor, across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. It'll be safe to talk there. "

He didn't wait for Draco's agreement and left the room without another word. Draco sat, stunned, his earlier hopes returning. He knew he couldn't risk anyone seeing the emotions in his eyes or the exhaustion on his face, even at this time of night; so he spent some time in the alcove calming himself until he was sure no one would notice any difference. Once he was satisfied, he swiftly made his way to the dungeons. The common room was empty and everyone in his house was already asleep, at least from what he could tell. He was just barely able to dress and lock his curtains, before the night's events rushed back at him and he was overcome with exhaustion. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. That night he dreamt of happy things for the first time in months. He dreamt of flying and freedom and slept soundly through the night.