Chapter 7- An Enlightening Experience
Draco waited impatiently for Ron to return. He was still slightly irritated with Ron for ordering him to make a sandwich, especially since it looked as though Harry wouldn't be eating it. He fully intended to give him a piece of his mind when he saw him next. Draco Malfoy will not be treated like a house elf!
He wondered what was taking so long. Nearly half an hour had passed now, and it was clear that Draco was not going to be able to resume studying. His mind was still on Harry's unexpected arrival at the Burrow. He had so many unanswered questions about the boy that it was nearly eating him up inside with curiosity. Most disturbingly, however, was the fact that he was extremely concerned for Harry's well being. Could he have suffered as much as Draco had at the hands of his relatives? He shuddered at the thought.
Just when he decided he couldn't take it anymore and that he was going to investigate what was taking so long, Ron appeared on the stairway. He was teary eyed and his face was a mixture of emotions.
As he stepped into the kitchen Draco asked, "What's wrong?"
"Why? You don't care about anyone other than yourself," Ron snapped. He made his way past Draco and sat down on the couch in the living room. Draco sighed heavily at the nasty comment, and he made himself forget about the sandwich. This being nice thing was harder than he thought. Draco followed him to the living room and sat down opposite of him on the couch.
"That's not true and you know it! Other than that first night, I have not made one nasty comment to you out of respect for your family for taking me in. Believe me when I say that I haven't even wanted to either. Everything is different now. I told you already that I was going to be civil to Harry as well if he came here this summer. Now what happened?"
"I don't know. It's kind of personal, and I don't want to use anything against him in order to hurt him. He has been through enough. I am not fully sure that you are a changed person. Why should I trust you?" Ron replied quizzically.
"I know I have been nasty to you in the past, and I am truly sorry for that. But I haven't I done anything to make you doubt me now. I know that I am not fully welcomed here by your brothers and sisters, but I am trying my best to fit in," Draco said quietly.
"Did you just apologize to me?"
"Uh…yeah…I guess I did."
"Do you promise to apologize to Harry and Hermione as well? You know you have been pretty awful to them both," said Ron.
Draco knew that was coming. Damn, this apologizing business sucks. Taking a deep breath he replied, "Yes."
Ron nodded and sat back thoughtfully. He wrapped his arms around his waist like a shield. Draco sensed that he was thinking about Harry again and decided to test the waters about the subject.
"Please tell me what happened to him. Maybe I can help. I sort have some experience with this stuff, you know," said Draco. Did I just say please?
Ron's right hand came up to his face to pinch the bridge of his nose. He looked like he has a headache or something. He looked back over to Draco and began to unfold Harry's tale, or at least what he knew about the situation. "Well, you heard him say that he was locked in the cupboard again, right?"
"Yeah, I was wondering about that."
"The cupboard is under the stairs at the Dursleys house. It was his bedroom for ten years of his life. The Dursleys gave him Dudley's second bedroom when he started Hogwarts because they were scared of the fact that his Hogwarts letter was addressed to the 'cupboard under the stairs.' I saw it once when we picked him up to come to the Burrow. It is really small."
"So the Dursleys are pretty awful to him? I was always told that he was spoiled rotten," said Draco.
"They hate him. The only thing spoiled rotten in that household is Harry's whale of a cousin Dudley. Harry is treated no better than a house elf. He is forced to do all the chores in the house and isn't allowed to have any friends. I don't think Dudley has ever lifted a finger in his whole life," said Ron.
"Wow, I never knew. It seems that I have been very misguided when it comes to Harry. I allowed myself to believe the things my fa…my father told me." With that last comment, he took a chance and glanced at Ron. The red haired boy nodded knowingly. Wanting to change the subject back to Harry instead of thinking about his father he asked another question. "Why did you ask if they were starving him again?"
"Well, because in my second year the twins and I had to rescue Harry from the Dursleys. They had him locked in his bedroom and put bars on the window so he couldn't escape or receive any owls. That barely even fed him. By the time we got to him he was skin and bones. That's why each year we send him food packages and sweets. When his cousin is on a diet, Harry has to be on one too. Haven't you ever noticed how small he is for his age?"
"Not until recently, no. Do you think he is so small because he is malnourished?"
"Possibly," said Ron.
Draco was very impressed that Ron trusted him enough to tell him this much information so far. He couldn't help but ask his next question. "Why do they hate him so much?"
"I guess it's because they hate everything that has to do with magic. He didn't even know about our world until he received his letter. I don't think Harry even knows what it is like to be truly loved. Do you realize that he had never celebrated a birthday or received a Christmas present before coming to Hogwarts?" asked Ron.
"That's awful! Surely they must have given him something!" Draco was clearly astonished.
"Nope. They have never given him anything that wasn't a hand-me-down from his cousin. All the clothes Harry wears are enormous on him. That why every year my mum makes him one of her special Weasley sweaters. We do what we can to give him gifts for his birthday and Christmas."
"I just figured that his clothes were some odd muggle fashion trend. I had no idea," said Draco.
"He calls his friends his real family. Can you imagine living your life unloved by your own relatives and knowing that your parents died protecting you? I know he feels guilty about all the deaths surrounding him. It eats him up inside. First his parents, then Cedric, and now Siri…Sirius," Ron said tearfully. Apparently he felt the loss of this person as well.
"I heard about both Cedric and Sirius from my father. I can't imagine what Harry must be going though. Were they really that close?" said Draco
"Yes, he and Sirius were very close. He was like a father to him. Harry had always hoped that one day he would be able to go live with his godfather and leave the Dursleys forever. You know he was innocent, right?" asked Ron.
"Yeah, I gathered that much from the death eater meetings."
Ron looked at blond haired boy suspiciously. "It's not what you think. I never wanted to go to the death eaters' meetings. I was forced to. They were awful," said Draco. He had never told the Weasleys anything about how he had come to choose to side against the Dark Lord. His response seemed to be enough for Ron.
It was quiet for the next few minutes as they both sat and thought about the conversation they had so far. It was the most they had ever said to one another at any one time. Draco realized that there was something still bothering him.
"Ron, I am glad that you have told me about Harry, but you haven't explained what happened to cause those bruises on his face and neck."
Ron sighed heavily. "I am not exactly sure what happened because he won't tell me yet. He is hurt pretty bad and I suspect that it is because of the Dursleys."
Draco listened intently as Ron proceeded to tell him what happened when he found Harry in the shower. It was worse than he had expected. How could anyone hurt a child like that? Draco wondered about Harry's uncharacteristic behavior. Maybe there was something else going on that Ron didn't know about. Draco couldn't remember ever reacting that badly when he was abused by his father, but then again he knew he probably didn't go through as much as Harry had.
"Will he need a doctor?" asked Draco.
"Yeah, I am going to ask Bill in the morning what we should do about getting him healed. I think we need to contact Dumbledore as well. I feel that Harry just needs to rest right now. Maybe he will be more willing to talk about what happened tomorrow," said Ron.
"Did you ever find out what happened to his things?'
"No," said Ron softly. "Maybe we could go get his stuff from the Dursleys if its still there." Draco nodded.
"I am going to go upstairs and check on Harry. I am pretty tired. I will probably try to sleep as well," said Ron. And with that he returned upstairs.
Draco sat alone in the living for a few minutes. He was beginning to understand that he and Harry were more alike than he ever thought possible. All of the hidden feelings he had begun to explore in his dreams were beginning to manifest themselves in his conscious brain. His heart felt heavy with worry and anguish about what Harry had suffered. The guilt of treating him so badly over the last five years was overwhelming. Harry was right to refuse his hand on the train during their first year. Draco had been so awful to him. Would he ever accept an apology from him? Would he ever allow Draco to become close to him?
Draco rose from the couch and proceeded his way upstairs. He could hear Bill snoring in Ginny's room and wondered how he could sleep so soundly. Upon finding the twins' room, he opened the door and walked to the nearest bed. He fell upon it fully clothed realizing for the first time he was exhausted. He felt like his brain was mush after all the information he received about his former enemy. Before he knew it he was sound asleep.
He dreamed again about Harry that night, but the dream wasn't about them flying as it usually was. This time Draco was in a dark forest searching for Harry. For some reason he knew that the raven haired boy was there, but he couldn't find him. Finally, he could hear Harry crying for help in the distance. He panicked as he ran wildly through the trees as sense of dread filled his heart. He screamed his name over and over again, but there was no answer. He felt so lost!
Suddenly he woke up in a cold sweat. Someone or something had just woken him from sound sleep. He heard the noise again and recognized where it must be coming from. He tore out of the room to see what was wrong.