Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.
This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096
Nicky: Yes, I love torturing Harry and hurting him all the time. It creates drama, and I'm a sucker for drama.
A. Potter: Don't worry, Harry will be just fine…Maybe. *grin*
~~~
The next day, the boys' first class was Defense Against the Dark Arts with Katie. She, and most of the fifth-year Gryffindors, gave Harry and Draco warm, reassuring smiles as they came in, but the Slytherins just glared at them. Draco held Harry's hand tightly, and the two went to sit in adjacent desks. Katie followed and leaned over to speak to them quietly.
"If you two need anything, or if anyone bothers you, tell me," she said, softly. "We're due to learn more about the Unforgivables today, so if you need to leave at any time, go ahead."
"Thanks, Mum," Draco said, quietly. Katie went back up to her desk, and Hermione turned around to face her friends.
"It's good to have you back," she told them with a small smile. "I've missed you." Harry smiled back slightly, and Draco nodded.
"Today, class, we're going to go more in-depth with the Unforgivables," Katie announced. "Can anyone tell me how long a person can be held under the Cruciatus before insanity sets in?" Neville raised his hand. "Neville?"
"Twelve minutes," he said, quietly. Katie nodded.
"Five points to Gryffindor."
Harry shook his head and tugged on Draco's arm. Draco watched as Harry used his left hand to write the number '16' on his parchment. The blonde gave a soft sigh and squeezed Harry's hand.
"Do you want me to say something?" Harry shrugged his shoulders.
"Harry, Draco, do you two have something to add to our discussion?" Katie wondered. Harry nodded and looked at Draco, who closed his eyes and took a breath. He opened his eyes again and found that the entire class was looking at him.
"Harry was held under the curse for sixteen minutes," Draco said, quietly. Nearly the whole class gasped in surprise, including the Slytherins. Katie let out a sad sigh and took a moment before answering.
"Well, I suppose it would be different for everybody," she commented, finally. "Twelve minutes is the average."
~~~
The next class after Defense Against the Dark Arts was Potions. Severus assigned partners for the class, and he paired Harry and Draco together.
"Today we're going to make a generic type of Skele-Gro," Severus told the class. "It is called the Bone Regrowth Potion, and it has generally the same effect as Skele-Gro. It is easier to make, but it has worse side effects. The recipe is on page 368 of your textbooks. Ingredients are in the back of the room."
Severus glanced around the room as the students began to prepare their ingredients. His eyes stopped on his son and Harry, whose faces had turned pale. Draco said something to Harry, then stood up shakily and retrieved their ingredients. When Draco sat back down, Severus made his way back to their table.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, gently. Draco sighed and didn't look up from the roots he was slicing.
"They used this on us," he muttered, bitterly. "They thought it to be highly amusing to remove our bones and regrow them. They enjoyed seeing us in pain."
Severus clenched his fists and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. After visibly calming himself down, he crouched down so that he was level with the two boys.
"If they weren't already dead, I would go out there and kill them myself for what they did to you both," Severus said, softly. "There are more Death Eaters out there, and if I ever find out that any of them are trying to hurt you¼ They're dead. I will kill them, I promise you that."
Without another word, Severus swept back up to his desk, ignoring the stares from his students. Draco whispered something to Harry, then went up to Severus.
"I need to talk to you in your office," Draco said, quietly.
Severus nodded and went into the office with Draco, closing the door behind them. The two sat down at a table and were silent for a moment, before Draco spoke.
"Dad, I love you and Mum; you know that. And I know you're upset that I haven't told you much of what happened. But put yourself in my shoes: if you'd been held hostage for a month, beaten and tortured, and nobody came to get you out, what would you think when you escaped and were instantly expected to trust everyone again? I know, people were searching for us that whole time, but...it's still kind of unbelievable that nobody found us. It hurt to feel like nobody cared enough to rescue us.
"I know I should trust you again, but you have to give me time, you know? And I'll tell you things, eventually. I don't like to talk about what happened; Harry and I don't even talk about it. I don't like to think about it, and that's really bad, considering that aside from Harry, it takes up most of my thoughts."
"I know you need time, Draco," Severus assured him. "Your mum and I are willing to give you as much time as you need. Meanwhile, we're always here for you. We love you, more than anything." He eyed the tired expression in his son's eyes. "Draco, you've spent so much time worrying about Harry that I'm afraid you haven't been allowing yourself time to recover. You need to focus on yourself a little more." Draco shook his head.
"I'm recovering just fine. If I didn't have Harry to worry about, then I would've killed myself by now. He and I help each other." Severus nodded, leaning back in his chair.
"You love each other very much," he observed. Draco gave him a small smile.
"Yes, we do. I'd do anything for him, and he'd do the same for me." Severus reached over to mess up Draco's hair.
"Then go help him with that potion," the older man said, smirking. "I doubt he can finish it by himself, what with only having one arm to work with."
~~~
That evening, Draco and Harry invited Fred, George, Ginny, and Hermione to dinner in their quarters. They really had missed their friends, and they were trying to get back to normal. The six of them sat around the kitchen table, but they weren't having much success with conversation. The twins told Harry and Draco about some new tricks. Ginny told them that her mother wanted them to come visit sometime during the summer. Hermione explained a Care of Magical Creatures assignment that the boys hadn't quite understood. They soon ran out of things to talk about.
Suddenly, Harry's raven, Midnight, flew into the room from the living room and perched on Harry's shoulder. Harry gave the bird a piece of food, then waved him away, but Midnight didn't move.
"Bored," the bird cawed. Harry rolled his eyes, while the twins just chuckled.
"Midnight, cage, sleep," Draco commanded. "We don't care if you're bored; in case you haven't noticed, we're trying to eat dinner." Midnight squawked at him, then flew back to his cage.
"Interesting bird," George commented, smirking.
"I'm starting to regret giving Midnight to Harry," Draco said, just loud enough for the bird to hear and reply with another screech. "Should've gotten him a snake." Harry nodded his agreement. "Next time, love."
"So term is over in three weeks," Ginny commented. "What are you two doing for the summer?"
"I think Sirius and Remus were thinking of taking Harry, Sean, and Kayla to America for a while," Draco replied. "Mum and Dad still want to take me to Australia. Then the baby's due at the end of July. Then, of course, we have to study all summer and catch up for our O.W.L.'s, since we're not taking them until August."
After everyone finished dinner, Harry got Draco's attention and pointed at the clock. It was seven-thirty, and Harry had an appointment with the specialist that Dumbledore was bringing in.
"You want me to go with you?" Draco asked. Harry nodded. "Sorry, everybody, we have to go up to the infirmary." The two boys hugged their friends. "It was nice spending time with you guys. We've really missed you."
Everybody left the room and went their separate ways. Draco and Harry went up to the hospital wing, where Dumbledore greeted them. Sirius and Remus were also there, as well as Madam Pomfrey and a man with light-brown hair.
"This is Dr. Sayer," Dumbledore told the boys, pointing to the unfamiliar man. "He's the specialist who will be examining Harry." Draco nodded a greeting, while Harry just watched the man.
"Harry, please lay down on the bed," Dr. Sayer requested. Harry did so, and the doctor sat next to him on the bed. He took out his wand. "I'm going to put you to sleep for about five minutes, all right? You shouldn't feel any pain at all."
Harry nodded, and with a flick of the doctor's wand, the boy was asleep. Dr. Sayer pressed the tip of his wand against Harry's forehead and murmured a few words, closing his eyes.
"Seventy-three..." the doctor muttered to himself. "Sixty-two. Does anybody know exactly how long he was under the curse?"
"Sixteen minutes," Draco said, quietly. All of the adults gasped in surprise.
"It's amazing he hasn't lost his mind," Dr. Sayer murmured.
After a few moments, he woke Harry and put his wand away. Harry opened his eyes, sleepily, and Draco sat next to him, holding his hand and stroking his hair. Everyone looked at the doctor.
"There is a small amount of brain damage," Dr. Sayer confirmed. "It's a miracle it isn't worse; that curse should have killed him. There is a certain potion that he needs to take. It's a brain restorative." He began to scribble on a piece of parchment. "Severus Snape teaches here, correct? I'm sure he'll be able to brew this potion with ease. Harry will need to take a spoonful of it every day, for one month.
"Some side effects are headache and nausea, but it is only slight. If he has really bad side effects, or if you have any questions, contact me again. Harry should stay on bed-rest until after his first dose of the potion. He should be all right by mid-July. The ability to talk will return slowly, but it will return. There may be times when he still feels a little...slow to voice his thoughts, even after a month of the potion, but that is normal. Any concerns, like I said, contact me."
The doctor left, and everyone looked at Harry, who lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Draco looked at Madam Pomfrey and asked if he could stay. She said he could, as long as he didn't disturb Harry. She made sure Harry was comfortable, then went into her office. Sirius transformed and climbed up onto the foot of Harry's bed, curling up and staring at the boy. Harry crawled across the bed and lay down, curling up against Padfoot's middle.
"Are you going to stay?" Remus asked his husband, who gave a quiet bark in confirmation. "All right. I have to take the kids home." Remus scratched Sirius's head, then kissed Harry's forehead. "Good night, Harry. Sleep well. You, too, Draco." Harry waved, then closed his eyes and fell asleep.