Chapter 5- Revelations
"No, I was locked back in the cupboard again," he said quietly.
Ron and Draco gasped at this comment at the same time. They looked at one another horrified. Draco could not believe that his relatives would do something like that.
There were few moments in which it was eerily quiet. Examining Harry more carefully, Draco realized for the first time that he was rather small for his age. So much so that he could probably pass as a third or fourth year student. He appeared to be wearing some type of muggle clothing that was much too large on his frail body. His jeans were held up by a frayed rope, and there were tears in the worn fabric of his shirt. His glasses had apparently been broken at the bridge and taped back together using cellophane tape. He was in a frightful state.
He looked so sad and lonely looking down at the kitchen floor. Harry was now shivering from being caught in the rain and hastily moved one arm carefully around his waist in a vain attempt to keep himself warm. The other hand still hung tensely at this side appearing to hold some invisible bundle.
Everything he ever thought he knew about Harry was crumbling down around him. He was supposed to be the savior of the wizarding world. The god damn Boy-Who-Lived! Draco had always believed that Harry was spoiled rotten at home, and that he lived off his fame. And now here was Harry looking like a broken shell of his former self. This was not the way things were supposed to be. Draco found himself completely confused at the situation as if his brain didn't want to comprehend the sight before him.
The light was pretty dim in the small kitchen, but that didn't prevent Draco from noticing the faint bruising around the boys face and neck. He didn't think Ron had noticed it yet, but Draco certainly recognized the signs of abuse when he saw it. He was all too familiar with this type of treatment. Draco started to reflect back on all the injuries that he had sustained living with his father. He wondered to what extent Harry had been hurt. Clothes had a way of hiding the more serious of injuries.
Thinking about his past and Harry, Draco felt something inside him began to stir again. Surprisingly, he realized that he was angry that his known enemy, Harry, was treated this way. But worse yet were the feelings that compelled him to want to go and comfort the boy. He always wished that someone would comfort him after his father had finished with him, and his mother was never to be found during those horrific episodes. He restrained himself from the urge to comfort Harry and watched the interaction between the two best friends instead.
Ignoring Draco, Ron motioned Harry to come have a seat at the kitchen table. Draco decided to stay put in the kitchen and lean against the wall so that he could observe the scene properly. He knew that he was listening to a conversation between two friends that should be private, but there was no way he was going to miss this. Ron reached out to touch Harry's shoulder, but he shied away from the gesture.
Ron began to question the small boy. "Harry, he locked you up again? Why? How long? Are the Dursleys starving you again too? Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?"
Draco looked at Ron annoyed with his stupid questioning. Didn't he understand that Harry was incapable of processing all those questions at once and form an intelligent response? He looked scared out of his wits. Draco noticed that Harry sat at the table numbly, still shivering. It looked as if he wasn't going to try answering any of Ron's questions.
"Draco, go make Harry some tea. And find him something to eat. Maybe a sandwich or something," Ron ordered Draco.
Draco threw Ron a look of utter disgust, but went about fetching the food anyway. He knew his way around the kitchen pretty well by now, and started putting a sandwich together while the tea boiled. At least now he wouldn't be accused of eavesdropping in their conversation. Besides, Harry did look like he could use a bite to eat. He was fretfully thin.
"Harry, are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt? How did you escape? Why didn't you just floo over? Do you want me to contact…Si...I mean, Professor Dumbledore?" Ron caught himself quickly. He had almost slipped and said his dead godfather's name. Draco listened carefully as he gathered something to eat for Harry. The small boy was silent after each one of the questions, not daring to look up from his unwavering focus at the table.
When it seemed that Harry finally had had about enough of the questions, he made it clear that he did not intend on talking about anything right now by shaking his head slowly from side to side. His messy black locks dripped rain water onto the floor. He held up his right hand to stop Ron's incessant questioning.
"Ron, not right now. Okay? I only want to shower and go to bed. Do you mind?"
"Uh… no…go right ahead. As long as you are all right. There should be fresh towels in the bathroom, and you may sleep on the guest bed in my room."
"Fine," said Harry. He got up slowly from his chair and plopped his invisible bundle on the table. A shimmery cloak appeared before them. Within its folds, they could see Harry's wand and a photo album. Harry looked as if he no longer cared about anything anymore. He turned towards the steps, wrapping his arms around his waist, and gradually made his way upstairs.
Once Harry was out of earshot, Draco turned to Ron to ask him a question. "Ron, didn't he imply that he ran away from the Dursleys?" Ron turned toward him and looked at him suspiciously.
"Yeah, why?"
"Don't you find it odd that he ran away and yet he doesn't have a trunk or a bag or anything? All he brought with him is his wand, an album, and an invisibility cloak. Where is the rest of his stuff?" Draco asked.
"You're right! I wonder what happened. Maybe he didn't get a chance to pack or something. I am so worried about him. He is not acting like himself. We got into a huge fight last summer when he found out we were staying at the order's headquarters and he wasn't. He must of screamed at me for at least a half an hour. I thought for sure that he would be furious when he discovered that you were here all summer and he wasn't. He acted like he didn't even care. That is so unlike Harry."
Draco shrugged his shoulders. He really didn't know the boy all that well to pass judgment, but he did seem to be acting differently. He couldn't get the image of Harry when he first saw the small boy out of his mind.
"He will probably need something to change into after his shower. I doubt he will want to put those wet and dirty rags back on," said Draco. Ron glared at him for his comment about his clothing, but knew he was right.
"I guess I will go upstairs and find him some pajamas. He mentioned getting some rest. Do you mind sleeping in the twins' old room?"
"No, I guess not," said Draco. He really didn't care that he was getting kicked out of the room at this point.
"Thanks," said Ron.
"Hey Ron?" Draco was still thinking about the bruising on Harry's face, and wondered to what extent his relatives had abused.
"Yeah?"
"Something is definitely wrong with Harry. He had some bruises on his face, and I recognize the signs. Should we tell Bill or your father?" Draco asked carefully.
"I noticed the bruises too, but he doesn't seem to want to talk about it right now. I am going to wait on telling someone until I know for sure what is wrong. I don't want to cause any alarm unnecessarily. I am going to go on up and check on him."
Draco nodded and watched as Ron ascended the stairs. He looked over at the forgotten sandwich he had made, and decided to place it in the food keeper until tomorrow. It was about the size of the breadbox and was used by wizarding families to keep foods fresh.
Draco sat down at the kitchen table and thought about Harry. He looked like an emotional wreck. Draco decided that he was going to try and gain his friendship so that he could help him overcome whatever abuse had taken place. Maybe they could be something more. Draco certainly had enough dreams about the boy to realize that he was beginning to have feelings for him. No matter what happened, Draco knew that he had a lot of apologizing to do in order to gain Harry's trust. And apologizing was not something he had ever done before.