"You aren't planning on telling anyone, are you?" The man lifted the blond boy from the floor by his neck, then pulled out a wand.
"No, Father! I'm not going to tell anyone!" The boy was then thrown back to the floor.
"You'd better not," the man said. "Because if you do, your punishment will be worse than ever before. And you don't want that, do you?"
"N-no, sir..." The man glared at the boy, pointing his wand at him.
"You know what I want you to do now." The boy nodded and weakly sat up against the wall, removing his clothes, as did the older man.
When the man was finished with the boy, he put his clothes back on and threw the boy at the wall. The boy fell to the floor, and the man once again pointed his wand.
"Crucio," he said with an evil smirk on his face.
~~~
Harry awoke with a start after the dream. Looking around the hospital wing, he saw that he was alone in the dark. He reached for his crutches and quickly left the room, heading for Dumbledore's office.
"Oh, Merlin, I don't know the password," Harry whispered. At that exact moment, the portrait hole opened, and Professor Snape stepped out. He stopped short when he saw Harry.
"What are you doing out of the hospital wing?"
"I-I need to talk to you or Dumbledore or someone," Harry said, quietly. "Something happened, something bad..."
"Come in, Harry." Snape held the door open for Harry, then followed him in. "Headmaster, Mr. Potter needs to speak with you."
"Of course, Harry, is everything all right?" Dumbledore showed Harry to the sofa, where the boy could sit with his leg up.
"No, sir," Harry murmured. He shivered with cold, as well as fright. Dumbledore looked at Snape.
"Professor, please get the boy a cup of tea and a blanket," the older wizard requested. As Snape walked away, Dumbledore looked at Harry. "You look like you've had a nasty shock. What's the matter, child?"
"I-I just woke up," Harry began. "I'd had a dream... A man, a wizard, was...throwing his son against a wall, and the floor..." He continued to explain to Dumbledore, and Snape, what had happened in his dream, ending with, "The man raped the boy, then pointed his wand at him and said 'Crucio.'" Dumbledore and Snape gasped. "What does that mean, sir?"
"It's the Cruciatus Curse, Harry," Snape explained. "It's one of three Unforgivable Curses, because it causes an excruciating amount of pain." The professor's eyes glazed over a little, as though he were remembering.
"Harry, do you know who the boy in your dream was?" Dumbledore asked, gently. Harry nodded his head, wrapping his blanket tighter around himself.
"It was--" he hesitated. I'm sorry... he thought to himself. "It was Draco Malfoy."
"Are you absolutely sure?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes, sir," Harry whispered. "I-I'm not supposed to tell you this, sir, but Draco and I were talking yesterday, and he said... He said his parents abuse him." He told the older wizards about the conversation from the day before.
"I tried to talk to him myself yesterday," Snape added once Harry was finished. "I could tell that something was wrong, because he and Harry have never really liked each other, and Draco seemed rather worried after Harry's attack. Draco said he couldn't tell anyone else what was going on. That's when we got the message that he was needed at home for the night."
"What are you going to do, sir?" Harry asked Dumbledore, who was deep in thought.
"I think..." the old man started. "I think that tomorrow, when I see young Mr. Malfoy, I will speak to him about this. Then I will decide what to do after that." He looked at Snape. "Professor, could you please escort Mr. Potter back to the hospital wing? It seems that he is becoming tired."
"Of course, Headmaster," Snape agreed, looking at the young boy who was close to falling asleep on the sofa.
"Thank you for telling me all of this, Harry," Dumbledore said, softly, as he rested a hand on Harry's.
"I wasn't supposed to tell," Harry mumbled, sleepily. "He's going to be angry with me..."
"Don't worry, my child, in the end, he'll be grateful."
~~~
Wednesday, September 15, 1993
The next morning, Draco wasn't back at the school by the time Potions class began. Snape noticed that, as the students began to make their potions, Harry kept glancing from Draco's seat to the door.
"Mr. Potter," Snape called from the front of the room. "Come up here, please." Harry got his crutches and made his way up to Snape's desk. "I know that you're worried. But there really is nothing you can do until he gets here. So I suggest you try to concentrate on your potion."
"I'm trying, sir," Harry insisted, quietly. "I really am." He lowered his eyes. "He should have been back by now. I think something's really wrong, Professor."
"I'm not going to lie to you, Harry," Snape sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I think something is really wrong, as well. But as I said before, we can't do anything until he gets here. So we shouldn't waste our time worrying about it when we have other things that require our concentration." He changed the subject. "How much of your make-up work do you have finished?"
"Almost all of it," Harry replied. "I'm still having some trouble using my right arm, and it aches when I write too much at one time."
"Do you think you'll have it finished by the end of this week?" Harry nodded.
"Professor," Lupin said, appearing at the door to the room. He seemed a little distressed as he came over to Snape's desk. "He's back. He came in through Albus's fireplace, and they took him straight to the hospital wing."
"All right, I'll be up there in a few minutes. I need to find someone to watch my class." Snape went across the hall to another classroom and found Professor Sinistra. "Professor, I need you to keep an eye on my class for a while."
"Of course," Sinistra agreed. Snape went back to his classroom.
"Class, I have to leave for a while. I probably won't be back before your class is over. Professor Sinistra is going to watch you, so behave yourselves. If you don't, you will regret it." He looked at Harry, who was still at Snape's desk, with Lupin. "Harry, come with us."
"Severus," Lupin said under his breath as the three headed up to the hospital wing. "I don't think it's a good idea for Harry to see this."
"Remus, if I'm not mistaken, then it will be better for Harry to be there with Draco. Trust me on this one."
"All right, well..." Lupin sighed. "Madam Pomfrey is still cleaning him up, and she needs to fully examine him. After that, Harry can see him, but until then, he has to stay away."
"Fair enough," Snape agreed.
~~~
It was a short while before Harry was able to see Draco, and when he finally was allowed, he was shocked by the sight. Bruises covered nearly all visible parts of the boy's body, and there were also several large cuts on his arms, legs, and face. Bandages were wrapped around his head and chest, as well as his arms. Harry sat in the chair next to the bed and looked at Draco, who seemed to be asleep. As soon as Harry pulled the chair closer, however, the blond opened his eyes.
"I'm awake," he said, sleepily. He saw the look on Harry's face and smiled weakly. "It looks worse than it really is." Harry sighed, placing his head in his hands.
"Draco, I'm sorry, but I had to tell them," he whispered. "I had a dream last night, and I saw¼him¼doing all kinds of things to you, and I¼I had to tell them. I'm sorry."
"What did you see?" Draco asked, quietly.
"I saw him throwing you against the floor and the wall¼ And I saw him raping you¼ And the Cruciatus Curse." Draco's face paled even more with every word.
"That's-That's what he did last night, Harry," he choked out through tears. "How could you see something like that in your dream?" Harry shrugged his shoulders, and the two were silent for a few moments. Finally, Draco said, "Thank you."
"For what? I didn't do anything¼"
"Thank you for telling. Merlin knows I wouldn't have been able to do it myself." He changed the subject. "The professors are taking me out of my parents' custody, just like they did with you. They're going to be my guardians, too. Now I know what you mean about feeling like an inconvenience."
"Their being my guardians, that doesn't really change anything for me," Harry realized, softly. "I never went home, anyway, except for during the summer."
"I only went home for the summer and Christmas holidays," Draco agreed. "But then there were times like last night, when I was 'needed at home¼' I wonder what's going to happen for us during the summer." At that moment, Snape appeared from behind the curtain.
"I need to speak with you two for a moment," he said, pulling up a chair. "Headmaster Dumbledore thinks that it is necessary for the two of you to meet with me, maybe once a week; it's kind of like a Muggle counseling session."
"Why you, sir?" Harry asked, curiously.
"Let's just say that I know what you're going through," Snape replied, quietly. "But if you're not comfortable talking to me, then I'm sure other arrangements can be made." He changed the subject. "Draco, Madam Pomfrey said that, depending on how you're feeling, you may be released tomorrow afternoon, at the earliest."
"I feel fine," Draco sighed. "As I told Harry, it looks a lot worse than it really is."
"You actually want to go back to classes?" Harry asked, incredulously.
"Just don't want to miss too much."
"Well, as long as you aren't out for two weeks, you'll be fine," Harry assured him, giving him a small smile.
"Speaking of going back to classes, Harry, you need to be getting back, yourself." Snape handed Harry his crutches.
"Need anything else before I go?" Harry asked Draco, who thought for a moment.
"Don't tell anyone yet, all right?" he requested, quietly, as he looked up at Harry. "I don't want anyone to know until after I'm officially out of their custody."
"I won't," Harry promised. "You take care, all right? I'll try to come by later on." Draco nodded, and Harry left.