Disclaimer: I Own Nothing. Well, a couple of things, I suppose. But the closest I come to owning Harry Potter is owning the books, so find somebody else to sue.
~~~
"Hello, everyone!" Katie greeted her fifth-year Slytherin-Gryffindor Defense class the next day. "My name is Katie Snape, but so that there is no confusion, I'd like for you all to call me 'Katie.' For today's class, there will be no lessons. I'd like to go around the room and have each of you tell me your names and something about yourselves. You can also take this time to ask me any questions you may have. I can't guarantee that I'll answer them, but you can ask nonetheless." She pointed at Ron. "You first."
"Ron Weasley," he said, lazily. "I like Quidditch. You're really cheerful; why would someone like you marry someone like Professor Snape?"
"Things aren't always as they seem, Ron," Katie said, firmly. "People aren't, either." She went through several other students, then continued with Draco, who grinned and waved at her.
"Hi, Mum, I'm Draco, and you know I'm not going to be able to call you 'Katie.' It's just too weird."
"Hi, Draco. You know I'm not going to treat you any different than anyone else just because we're family." Katie smirked, and Draco just sighed, shaking his head. Katie then went to Harry, who looked at his hands.
"I'm Harry Potter, and there's nothing special to tell about me." A few Slytherins snickered at this, but Harry didn't acknowledge them.
"Oh, come on, Harry, there's got to be something you can tell us," Katie insisted. "You were just adopted over the holiday, weren't you?"
"Yes, I was adopted by my godfathers, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin," Harry replied, blankly.
"Great, a family full of poufs," Ron muttered. Several people laughed and nodded their agreement. Harry just stared at him, silently and without any emotion in his face. Draco was about to stand up, his fists clenched, when Harry reached over to grab his hand, caressing it soothingly.
"That was completely uncalled for," Katie commented, her eyes flashing. "Detention, Mr. Weasley. Eight o'clock tonight with Mr. Filch." Ron scowled, but didn't say anything more. "Now, class, I will try my best to remember all of your names, and I look forward to teaching you. I have a small assignment that I would like turned in by our next class. I would like you all to write a summary of what Professor Stephens taught you last term. Be sure to include your opinions on the subjects. As we have half an hour remaining, you should take this time to begin your assignment."
As some of the class began to write their summaries, Katie came back and stood over Draco and Harry. She pulled a chair up between them and rested a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"You all right, sweetheart?" she asked, softly. Harry nodded, not looking up from his parchment. Draco gave his mum a worried look, and she nodded. "Harry, did you sleep any better last night?" Harry shook his head. "I'll see if Severus and I can find anything to help."
"Don't worry about it," Harry mumbled. "I'm fine."
"All the same, I'll see what we can do," Katie replied, firmly. She turned to Draco, who was now staring at Ron with anger in his eyes. "Don't even think about it. He'll get his, don't worry."
Draco nodded, still clenching his fists. Katie patted his head and went back up to her desk. Harry, still watching what he wrote, reached out a hand and squeezed Draco's shoulder.
"Don't worry about it," Harry murmured. "It's not worth it." Draco just sighed and nodded in defeat.
~~~
"Harry?" Draco said, softly, as the two sat on the sofa in the dungeons after classes. "Will you tell me what's caused you to be so...I don't know...depressed? You were all right yesterday, before you went off to take a nap. Everything went downhill from there, and you're... You're kind of scaring me." Harry shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know," he replied in a small voice. "I just get in these moods sometimes. I'm sorry I scare you."
"Is it because of your nightmares?" Draco wondered. Harry sighed and nodded. "Tell me about them." Harry didn't reply; he only stared at his hand, intertwined with Draco's. "Do you see your aunt and uncle in your dreams? Are they flashbacks?"
"Sometimes," Harry murmured, laying his head on Draco's shoulder. "Sometimes I see them beating me, I feel it, almost as bad as it was when they actually did it... Sometimes I have dreams about being locked in the cupboard, and I'm suffocating. It was like being inside a coffin, or being buried alive..." He laughed, bitterly. "That's one of the lasting effects of what they did to me. Because of that bloody cupboard, I'm claustrophobic..." The two were silent for a few minutes until Draco spoke again.
"Do you have nightmares every night?" Harry nodded. "How do you keep it from the people in your dorm?"
"I put Silencing Spells around my bed," Harry explained. "So when I scream or cry out, they don't hear me." Draco hugged Harry tightly. "Draco? You never told me anything about your...mother... What was the deal with her?" Draco sighed.
"Every time Lucius decided to...punish me for anything I did wrong...Narcissa looked the other way. Then the one time that she decided to show she cared, she got herself killed. Lucius was being unusually torturous towards me one night, and Narcissa got between us. She died, and of course, Lucius blamed it on me, so she really only made things worse. Her death wasn't made public or anything because Lucius paid everyone off, so that it would be kept quiet. But I wasn't too upset about it... She wasn't really my mother; if she was, then she would have stopped him years ago." Harry nodded his agreement, and once again, the two sat in silence.
"What time is it?" Harry asked after a while. Draco looked at his watch.
"A little after four," he replied. Harry's eyes widened.
"I have to go!" he exclaimed. "I'm late for Quidditch practice!" He gave Draco a quick kiss. "I love you. See you at dinner." With that, Harry ran out the door, retrieved his broom from his dorm, and rushed out to the Quidditch pitch.
"Hey, Harry!" Katie Bell called from the air. "Where have you been?" Angelina Johnson, the new captain, came to a landing beside Harry.
"You're late," she said, smirking. "Lost track of time with your boyfriend?" Harry sighed, knowing that Angelina didn't particularly like his being with Draco. She was one of the two people on the Gryffindor team who didn't approve; the other was Ron, who was Keeper this year.
"Sorry," Harry muttered. "I just--"
"Angelina, leave him alone!" Fred called as he flew over to them. "He's only a couple minutes late. And it's not like he needs the practice."
"Yes, he does," Angelina retorted. "He also needs to get his priorities straight. He's been on this team for almost five years, and he's only been 'in love'--though I doubt it--with that little Slytherin bastard for a few months. He's already started to blow us off just so he can go blow him!"
By then, the entire team had landed to see what was going on. Ron was smirking and agreeing with Angelina, while the rest of the team stood around Harry, shooting death glares towards the other two. Harry only shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground, taking deep breaths as George squeezed his shoulders. Finally, Harry looked up at Angelina, his face expressionless.
"I can see that I'm causing a lot of problems for the team," he said, quietly. "I'm sorry if you think I'm shunning you; I don't mean to. I don't want to be a bother. I don't want to cause any problems, but that's what I'm doing. So the only choice I have is to quit. After the match on Friday, I won't be causing any more problems for you."
At that, Harry turned and began to walk towards the school. The rest of his team stared after him silently. After a minute, George lost it.
"What the hell is wrong with you two?!" he shouted at Angelina and Ron. "Do you know how screwed up that kid's life is already? Now you just had to go and make it worse! Why can't you just be happy for him? He's found someone who truly cares about him, and Draco is the only thing keeping Harry alive! Now he might have finally been sent over the edge, and it's your fault. If anything happens to him..." He shook his head, seething with anger. "You'd better hope nothing happens to him, or else you will regret it for the rest of your pathetic lives."