Chapter Two: Insane Love
With his hair washed and cut, and having taken a bath, Harry looked almost presentable. He would still need to eat proper meals to start filling out again; he had been skinny to start with but was almost skeletal now. But nothing could dim those terrible eyes of his.
And nothing would prevent Draco Malfoy from helping him as he struggled to regain his identity.
The first time the reporters accosted him, his eyes had grown wide with terror, and he had clutched at Draco as a drowning man might a life-line. The blonde's eyes had gone steely, and taking Harry's arms, he had steered the frightened boy away. And afterwards, Harry had lain in Draco's arms, secure in the knowledge that the other boy would keep him safe.
He spoke infrequently, but when he did, his madness was even more evident. Disjointed sentences, words that made no sense. They poured out of his mouth at random intervals. Hermione and Ron didn't know how to deal with the new insanity that was now Harry Potter. For the most part, they tried to avoid him. One day, they found solace in each other's arms. And then, avoiding Harry became all the more easier. It seemed to push Harry closer to the edge. Draco would never forget the day he had had to fight Harry, pin him down and keep him away from the knife that he wanted to kill himself with.
And the reporters lapped it all up.
Cornelius Fudge had been demoted. Indeed, he had all been kicked out of his office. It was very bad publicity for the Ministry of Magic, and for once, Rita Skeeter's sensational articles had more than a grain of truth in them. Lucius Malfoy had somehow gotten the coveted position of Minister for Magic. Draco told Harry about it, and about how his father spied with Snape for Dumbledore. About how both men were reconsidering their loyalties. Whether it should be with the one who would kill Harry, or with the one who had let him rot in Azkaban, believed him guilty of murder.
Harry shifted and croaked out, "Voldemort."
Somehow, Draco understood.
No one knew why Snape and Draco had been the only ones to believe Harry. Why they had been the only ones who had worked so hard to uncover the truth. After all, the two seemed to hate him. But Harry, on the other hand, understood perfectly. Even in the midst of madness, he understood. And he reciprocated.
His kisses were jewels that sparkled on Draco's lips for days after. The blonde never knew when he might kiss him, but he looked forward to those moments all the same. Snape, always an uncle to Draco, had agreed to help the infatuated boy.
It was real now. Harry may not have fully understood his feelings for Draco, but they were real now, and evident. The boys were inseparable.
When the papers found out, they had a field day over it. Was it his madness, brought on by Azkaban, that had caused him to switch sexual preferences? In truth, it wasn't. It had nothing to do with Azkaban. Harry had always been bisexual, always aware of Draco's constant, seductive presence. It was just that now, he could show it, wasn't afraid of the repercussions.
Now he had the courage of the insane.
