AN: I have several more chapters written and will be uploading them as soon as I can. Just a quick reminder none of this in my story will be slash. It will explore the closeness of friendships to the point where the friends become family and father/son relationships but nothing will be slash. Oh and the chapters will be getting longer.
~~Chapter 5~~
School Begins
A week later, Draco was released from the hospital wing; just in time for the new school term to begin. While Draco had laid in the hospital wing recovering from the flu and his injuries, Snape had gone to Diagon Alley and bought the third year's schoolbooks and other materials. His trunk along with the remainder of his possessions had been sent from Malfoy Manor after the Ministry of Magic was done examining it for clues on Lucius' whereabouts. Snape had also made a habit of spending time with Draco trying to help him feel more at ease and the other teachers visited as well to see how he was. The changes in Draco were noticeable. Gone were the infamous Malfoy sneer and arrogant attitude. In it's place was a shy young boy who was afraid to look anyone in the eye and tended to flinch whenever a teacher or Madame Pomfrey came close. It was instinct brought on by years of abuse by his father.
Draco feared the start of the term. Something told him that his schoolmates knew about his father and what had happened. The night before everyone was due to arrive, he laid awake in his dormitory with several different horrible scenarios running through his head. He finally managed to a few hours sleep toward 4 o'clock in the morning. When he awoke late in the morning, he realized he had missed breakfast and the Hogwarts Express was probably on it's way. He quickly dressed and walked out of the dorms. All his bandages had been removed but Madame Pomfrey had given him the brace for his wrist to keep incase his wrist started to hurt as it was still tender. He stepped into the hallway to see Snape headed toward him.
"Good. I'm glad to see your up," the Potions Master said. "You missed breakfast. I was worried."
There was silence and Draco nodded, unable to look at his godfather in the eye.
"Draco, what's wrong?" Snape said gently.
There was another moment of silence before Draco asked in a whisper. "They know, don't they? About my father and what he did?" He looked fearfully at Snape.
"Yes, Draco, I'm afraid they do," Snape said gently. "Your family was one of the most prominent in the wizarding world. There was no stopping the Daily Prophet from finding out what happened. I'm so sorry, Draco. Your classmates will more than likely know."
Draco nodded. He had been expecting that but he couldn't stop the wave of terror that overcame him.
"Oh, the reason I wanted to find you was to offer you a place to stay. I have no doubt in my mind that your house will have heard of your father's true intentions." Snape feared the Slytherin house was going to hurt his godson in some way. He knew most of their parents were Death Eaters and with Draco not only escaping his father but any intentions of turning him into a Death Eater, the children of the Slytherin house would not be happy at all with their former leader. "There is an extra room in my quarters that I want you to feel free to use at anytime." He paused and knelt beside Draco so he was eye-level with the scared child. "Draco, I know this is going to be a hard year for you but I want you to know that I will be here for you anytime you want or need to talk. My quarters are now also yours whenever you need them. This room will be yours and only yours, okay?"
Draco nodded and Snape smiled toward the boy as he stood up. "Now I have something for you that I though you would like." He handed the boy a thick book on Potions, a subject that Draco adored and flourished in.
Draco took the book and smiled as Snape left to prepare for the arrival of the students. Draco walked outside and sat under a tree near the lake. He settled against the tree and began to read in the peace and quiet of the beautiful late summer day.
* * *
Later that night, the students of Hogwarts arrived and Draco slipped into the hustle of students heading into the Great Hall unnoticed. He sat at the end of the Slytherin table and he was left alone as all the Slytherins purposely ignored him. Everyone quickly settled and the sorting began. Draco watched with no interest as the scared first years were sorted into the four different. Though his own house ignored him, the other houses noticed the isolated and quiet Slytherin.
"He looks so lonely," Hermione Granger said to her two best friends, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter as they ate dinner at the Gryffindor table.
"So? He deserves it, Hermione," Ron said. "He wasn't exactly the nicest person to us, the horrible git."
"Ron's right. He's finally getting what he deserves. Let him see how it feels to be alone," Harry said, glancing at the blonde-haired boy picking at his food. He felt a little sympathy for the boy who finally knew what is was like to be unloved and unwanted.
Dinner was over quickly and the students headed to their dorms. Draco was walking quietly his eyes glued to the ground when a leg tripped him and he landed hard on his injured wrist when he put his hands in front of him to break his fall. Unbidden, tears filled his eyes as the students in the corrider began laughing. He quickly got up, wincing as his arm started throbbing even more, and hurried to his dorms. He didn't notice his godfather watching silently behind the crowd nor did he notice that Harry and Hermione weren't laughing and trying to stop Ron was laughing so hard he was doubled over.
"It's not that funny, Ron," Hermione said sternly. Ron simply threw her a look and the three continued to their dorm rooms.
Draco ran through the hallways until he was at the entrance to the Slytherin dormitory. He quickly said the password and hurried to his room. Still fighting the tears, he got ready for bed, grabbed his brace for his wrist and was climbing into bed when he heard the rest of the third year Slytherins climb the stairs to the dorms. He pulled the dark green hangings over his bed closed and put a silencing spell around his bed. He had no desire for them to hear him nor did he have any desire to hear what they would say to him.
As his dormmates went to bed, Draco looked at his wrist and winced. His wrist was swelling and turning purple. He slipped the brace on and slowly fastened it. The tears began to fall as he laid down and curled around his pillow. Soon, the tears quickened and he was sobbing heartbreaking sobs that hurt his chest and prevented from breathing deeply but he couldn't stop. He was crying so hard that he never heard the curtains being pulled back. Snape gathered his upset godson and Draco buried his head into his godfather's robes, stifling his sobs. Wordlessly, Snape levitated Draco's books and other belonging into his trunk, then levitated the trunk to follow him as he carried the still sobbing child to his own quarters.
TBC…
