Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.
~~~
Monday, November 1, 1993
Five weeks later was the first Quidditch match of the season: Slytherin versus Gryffindor. Since they hadn't had a chance to see who won the bet, Draco and Harry carried the challenge over to the game. If Draco caught the Snitch, Harry would tell the whole school that the blond is a better Seeker. If Harry caught it, however, Draco would have to test five of Fred and George's Weasley Wizard Wheezes.
"The score is fifty to thirty, in favor of Gryffindor, and no sign of the Snitch yet," Lee Jordan announced. "Johnson has the Quaffle, going for the score! Passes Flint... Barely missed by a Bludger... And she scores! What's that? I think Malfoy sees the Snitch!"
Draco had, indeed, spotted the Golden Snitch. Harry had, as well, and was racing for it. The two were head-to-head, pushing their brooms to speed up as the flew across the field.
"See something you want, Potter?" Draco taunted.
"Whatever made you think that?" Harry asked, innocently.
The Snitch was just a few feet ahead, and the boys reached for it. They both grabbed it at the exact same time. Suddenly, images and sounds flew through their heads.
"Come on, boy, you know you like this!"
A large woman was underneath a small boy on the bed. An even larger man was on top of the boy's back. All three were naked.
"Please, stop!" the boy cried but he couldn't get away. He was trapped between the man and woman, but he still screamed. "Kill me if you want to, please, just stop it!"
The next thing Harry and Draco knew, they were on the ground. Draco glanced over at Harry, who was breathing heavily and trembling. Draco, himself, was taken over by pain, but he reached a hand out to rest on Harry's shoulder.
"Everything's going to be fine, Harry," Draco whispered, weakly, as several teachers rushed onto the field. "It's all right..."
At that moment, Snape knelt down next to Harry and lifted the boy up into a sitting position. He then pulled a vial from his robes and poured its contents into Harry's mouth. Within seconds, Harry's trembling ceased, and his breathing was returning to normal.
"Draco?" Lupin knelt down next to the blond-haired boy, who was staring upwards. "Draco, do you have a lot of pain?"
"Just sore..." Draco mumbled. "I think I'm fine..."
"Can you tell me what happened?" Lupin asked, checking him for injuries using his wand.
"We both grabbed the Snitch at the same time... Then I think Harry started to have a flashback... But it's strange... I did, too, but it wasn't really a flashback for me... I saw what they were doing to Harry..."
Moments later, Lee Jordan announced, "They both grabbed the Snitch at the same time! One hundred and fifty points to each team, and Gryffindor wins the game with a final score of two hundred and ten to one hundred and eighty!" After being reminded by McGonagall, Lee said, "Oh, right, and Malfoy and Potter are all right!"
"Harry?" Draco stood up slowly after Lupin said that he had no serious injuries. He made his way over to Harry, who was still being held up by Snape. "Harry, you all right?" Harry let out a shaky breath and closed his eyes, resting his head against Snape. Draco looked at the professor.
"He'll be just fine," Snape assured him. "You know he doesn't like to talk after flashbacks." Snape looked back down at Harry. "Do you think you can walk, Harry? We should probably get you both inside."
Harry nodded and, with Snape and Draco's assistance, walked back to the school. Once there, they headed for Snape's chambers. Harry immediately went to the sofa and curled up on it, closing his eyes.
"What was that stuff you made him drink?" Draco asked Snape as they sat in their chairs.
"Just a potion to stop the convulsions and help Harry breath properly after a flashback," Snape replied. "I carry some of it with me wherever I go, if I'm near Harry, and I asked his teachers to keep some in their classrooms. He also has some in his dorm room, in case he has a nightmare."
"That's a good idea," Draco agreed. He looked over at Harry, who was shivering slightly on the couch. "Harry, you awake?"
"Yeah," Harry mumbled, wrapping his arms tighter around himself. Snape reached down to the floor and picked up a blanket. He went over to the couch and covered Harry with it.
"Do you want anything?" Snape asked, gently. Harry looked up at him, his eyes filled with tears.
"All I want is to forget." Snape sighed.
"I know, Harry, I know, but you have to deal with this sooner or later. I wish you didn't, but you do, and the only way to deal with it is to talk about it." When Harry didn't say another word, Snape turned to Draco. "Can you tell me what you saw tonight, Draco?"
"I saw Harry¼on top of his aunt, underneath his uncle on a bed¼" Draco swallowed hard. "They were naked, and he kept screaming, crying, and they were yelling at him¼ He told them to kill him if they wanted to, but stop what they were doing to him¼"
"Stop!" Harry suddenly cried out, covering his ears with his hands. "Just stop, please!"
He burst into tears, taking his hands away from his ears and wrapping his arms around his legs, hugging his knees to his chest. As he began to slowly rock back and forth, Snape knew that the boy was reverting back to post-flashback habit that he'd thought Harry had stopped weeks before.
"Harry," Snape said, gently, as he sat next to the boy on the couch. He cautiously took Harry into his lap, cradling him in his arms as he tried to offer comfort. "Harry, it's all right. Everything is fine now¼ Did you see the same thing Draco saw?" Harry wiped some tears away and nodded his head, before laying it back on Snape's shoulder. "Draco, please go to my fireplace and call up Professor McGonagall. Inform her that Harry will not be returning to Gryffindor Tower tonight. Tell her not to worry, and that he will be fine."
Draco made his way to the fireplace in the next room, took a pinch of Floo powder from the jar on the mantle, and threw it into the fire.
"Professor McGonagall."
McGonagall's face appeared in the fireplace, looking a bit flustered. She sighed when she saw Draco.
"What do you need, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Professor Snape told me to let you know that Harry won't be going back to the Tower tonight. He's staying here for the night, and Professor Snape said not to worry. Harry will be fine."
"Has something happened?" McGonagall asked, concerned. "Aside from the events at the Quidditch game, I mean."
"Harry kind of¼snapped a bit," Draco explained. "Remember when he used to curl up and rock back and forth a couple of weeks ago? He's doing that again. He's pretty upset, so Professor Snape probably just wants to keep an eye on him." McGonagall nodded.
"All right, then. Thank you for informing me, Mr. Malfoy."
With that, the professor's head disappeared, and Draco went back into the other room. There he found Snape holding Harry in his arms, whispering words of comfort to him. Draco barely got a glimpse of Harry's face before the boy turned to bury it in Snape's robes, but if he hadn't known otherwise, Draco would have thought that Harry was a great many years younger than thirteen.
"Harry, I'm going to put you to bed, all right?" Snape said, softly. "There is an extra bedroom right across the hall from my own."
Harry nodded, tiredly, and allowed Snape to carry him to the spare bedroom. The professor lowered Harry to the bed, then removed his robe, and hung it on a chair. Then Snape covered Harry with some blankets. Finally the older man removed a small vial from his robes and placed it on the bedside table.
"If you have a nightmare and panic afterwards, drink this," Snape instructed him. "All right?" Harry nodded. "I'll be right across the hall if you need anything. Goodnight, Harry." Snape turned to leave, but Harry reached a hand out and grabbed him.
"Draco," Harry mumbled, sleepily. Snape smiled slightly.
"I was going to ask him to stay as well. Do you want him to stay in here with you?" Harry nodded his head. Snape pointed his wand towards another corner of the room and conjured up another bed. "Do you need anything? Something to help you sleep?"
"No, thank you¼" Harry whispered, closing his eyes. Snape murmured another 'goodnight,' then went to the living room, where Draco was sitting on the couch.
"Draco, could you stay as well?" Snape asked. "I think I might need some help with him." Draco nodded his agreement. "Thank you. Harry wishes for you to stay in the spare room with him, so I put another bed in there." Draco's expression became that of sadness.
"He's really scared, isn't he?" Snape nodded, sighing.
"Yes, he is. I'm afraid we've got a long way to go with him... But Draco, while you're trying to help Harry, keep yourself in mind, too. Don't make it all about him."
"I know¼ It was terrible, what I saw in that flashback. That, and all the things he's told us. I have nightmares sometimes, and I remember a lot of the things my parents did to me. But my flashbacks are never that bad." Snape sat next to Draco on the sofa.
"Draco, you said several weeks ago that your father had been planning something; something that had to do with you and Voldemort." Draco sighed, hugging a small pillow to his chest.
"Voldemort¼ There is always one person who is basically his slave. This slave never goes out to do what the Death Eaters do for Voldemort; rather, he or she fulfills¼personal requests for the Dark Lord." Draco glanced up at the professor with tear-filled eyes. "The slave is always the child of Voldemort's most loyal, highest-ranked servant, as soon as that child turns thirteen." He smiled slightly. "Harry told you and the Headmaster about my parents just in time. Father was planning on taking me to the Dark Lord soon after Harry told you."
"Thank Merlin for Harry, then," Snape sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. He looked down at Draco, who was slightly pale and shaky as he thought about what had almost happened. "Perhaps you should go to bed, Draco. Go on. I'll wake the two of you for breakfast in the morning."
~~~
Tuesday, November 2, 1993
"Draco, Harry?" Snape stood in the doorway to the spare bedroom the next morning.
Draco lay on Harry's bed, on his side, with his head propped up by his arm as he spoke quietly to his friend. Harry sat against the headboard of the bed, hugging his knees to his chest and resting his head on his knees. Glancing at the bedside table, Snape frowned when he saw that the vial he'd put there was empty.
"Everything all right?" Snape asked, softly. Draco and Harry glanced over at him, and Draco nodded. "Class in an hour. You should both go to your Towers and get ready for breakfast."
"Are you going to be all right?" Draco asked Harry, who nodded. "All right. I'll see you in Potions then." Glancing at Snape, Draco smirked and winked at Harry. "Terrible class, Potions."
"Hey!"
"I know what you mean," Harry agreed, smiling weakly. "Can you believe that teacher? Miserable old man, that one."
"Oh, I'll get you two. Trust me on that one. Now go on, both of you."
Harry went up to Gryffindor Tower and changed into a clean uniform, then gathered his books and went down to the Great Hall. He sat at the Gryffindor table with his friends, who all greeted him.
"Where were you last night, Harry?" Ron wondered. Harry put a little bit of food on his plate.
"Stayed downstairs with Snape and Draco," he said, quietly. "At the Quidditch game, I had a flashback, and Draco saw the same thing I did. Snape asked Draco what he saw, and after Draco told him, I...snapped."
"Are you feeling all right?" Hermione wondered. Harry nodded his head. After a while, he pushed his plate away.
"I'm not very hungry. I'll see you all in Potions, all right?" He took his books and went to Snape's classroom.
"You're early," Snape commented. He didn't look up from the parchment he was writing on.
"Finished breakfast early," Harry replied. He sat down in his seat and opened his textbook.
"Harry," Snape said, suddenly. He put down his quill and looked at the boy. "I was thinking that, since you don't like to talk about your nightmares and flashbacks, perhaps you could write them down afterwards. It will help me to help you better if I know exactly what's going on in your mind."
"Okay," Harry agreed. He looked back to his book.
"Are you all right?" Harry nodded his head, then suddenly closed his book and looked at Snape.
"Professor, you loved my mother, didn't you?" he asked. The professor's head snapped up to look at the boy in shock, and Harry explained his logic. "You said you were good friends with my mother. You said that you loved--and still love--a woman who died twelve years ago. My mother died twelve years ago."
"I'm sorry, Harry, but this is neither the time, nor the place, to be having this discussion." Snape looked back to his writing, until he heard Harry's sad voice.
"People never tell me about her, you know," he said, quietly. "They tell me how I'm so much like my father. We were both Seekers and what-not... All I've been told about my mother is that I have her eyes, and she died protecting me." Snape sighed and looked back at the boy.
"I'll tell you what, Harry," he said, softly. "One of these days, I'll set aside some time to talk to you about your mother. I'll answer any questions you have about her. Just not today."
"All right," Harry agreed. And with that, he opened his book again.