Title: Emotion Sickness

Author: Miss T

Spoilers: Takes place after The Chamber of Secrets book - kind of my own interpretation of their 3rd year at Hogwarts. Or how I would like it to be.

Rating: PG13, so far

Main characters: Draco, Harry

Pairings: DM/HP to come later, so if you don't like slash, don't read it

Notes:4th chapter bla bla etc :P bit of a short one. But o well. Hehe.

Disclaimer: Ms Rowling owns the characters and everything… not me :( However I am responsible for the plot. Oh, and JK - kudos for the excellent world of HP.

Dedicated to: everyone who has given me great reviews so far - inspiring me to write more! i love you guys *group hug*

Emotion Sickness

Chapter 4 – Thinking of You

After about ten minutes of deciding on whether he should go after Malfoy and make an apology, Harry found himself knocking on Draco's bedroom door.

No reply. Knocking again, Harry decided to open the door, poking his head in side and see what was going on. Draco sat at the end of his bed, and his eyes wore dark rings of red around the brims of his eyelids. Harry could tell he had been crying, and felt a sharp pang of guilt in the pit of his stomach. *Me? Feeling sorry for Malfoy? Has hell frozen over yet?*

"What do you want?" Draco snapped, glaring at Harry.

"I… I came to see if you were OK" Harry never thought he would have ever asked Malfoy this question, not in a million years, but he still had another 14 days of him and hated the fact that he was at war with him already.

"Of course I'm bloody OK" Draco retorted, this time less convincing to Harry, and even himself. *Why does he care so much anyway?* Draco thought to himself. *Like I said before, he doesn't know me… or want to for that matter.*

"Well, alright… if you're fine then you'll come back down with me to the common room" Harry replied.

"And why would I do that, Potter?" Draco spat. He hated to admit it, but he loved the tone of voice Harry was using on him – it almost sounded like he was begging. And it felt good.

"Well, I hear you play a pretty mean game of Wizard's Chess. I thought I'd challenge you." Harry smiled awkwardly, hoping that Malfoy would get over himself and at least make some effort to forgive him.

Draco raised an eyebrow, and suddenly his usual sneer was set back in place.

"Think you can rise to the challenge?" Harry smiled and pushed his chest out, which made Draco make a small laugh, and Harry was relieved to see the spark back in Draco's grey eyes.

"Of course, Potter. Be prepared for a bollocking."



For the first half an hour or so of the chess game, Harry and Draco remained silent, before Harry finally cracked and blurted out the first thing that came into his head. "So, are you a natural blonde then." Realising what he had just asked Draco, Harry cringed.

Draco stopped half way through a move at Harry's question. A mixture of amusement and sheer inquisitiveness washed over his face.

"Of course I am, Potter." He said, running his hand through his silvery locks. "Platinum blonde is the Malfoy trait." He gave Harry a mock-dashing smile, which if he wasn't mistaken, Potter blushed at. *Interesting…* Draco thought to himself. *Very*

"O." Harry whispered and made his next move. "I can't believe I'm playing chess with Draco Malfoy." He thought out loud.

"Pfft… believe me, Potter. I'm about as stunned about it as you are… check mate." Draco sat back smugly and placed the tips of his fingers together.

"Bloody hell, Malfoy – good game!" Harry was impressed. *Ron would be fuming at this* he thought, secretly smiling.

"Another Malfoy skill" Draco sighed, and looked at his nails.

Harry sat back in his chair. "So, are you going to explain that episode earlier or am I going to have to drag it out of you?" Harry couldn't quite believe he was asking Malfoy this – but he just had to know what made the infamous Ice Queen so upset.

Draco stared hard at his nails, his forehead burrowing into a frown. His lips were now pressed tightly together.

"That is… if you don't want to tell me. I'll understand." Harry began to get up and clear the chess pieces away before a pale hand reached up and stopped him.

"No, it's OK" Draco's voice was barely a whisper.

*This is so bizarre!* Harry thought to himself. *I feel sorry for the guy. For Malfoy! The guy who has been torturing me for the past three years! And he's finally agreed to talk to me like a human being. Surreal!*

"You can probably already guess that my Father and I… have a, should I say, close relationship." Draco gestured Harry to sit back down.

Harry nodded, and a slight look of fret played across his forehead.

"Well not everyone knows what it's like. To be in a family where the highest is expected of you, and when there's no room for adolescence, or even childhood. You're basically born into the Malfoy name a Man." Draco was now looking up at Harry.

He couldn't believe what he was telling Harry. This stuff was so personal, yet he felt that Mr Do Good would be the only one who would listen to him. *Why IS he listening to me? After all, I am just a dishonest git to him*

"I know you and all your little friends hate me because I'm a git, and I have to admit it – I AM a git, but its not just because I hate the lot of you…" Harry frowned at his. "… its because of the pressure my family puts on me. My Father is supposed to be my God, Potter. I have to follow in his footsteps. Otherwise I have hell to pay." Draco's voice was now soft.

"I had no idea." Harry mumbled. *Is Malfoy telling me the truth?* an idle thought ran through his mind.

"Well, you still don't, Potter. And you never will. I'm a Malfoy. As far as my Father is concerned we're the best, and everyone else is lower than us…" Draco thought for a second. *Just tell him the truth, you idiot.* "… I should rephrase that. What I meant is, my Father is the best. And everyone else is lower than him. Especially me." Draco looked down at his lap as he spoke.

It was then that Harry noticed the ghosts of rosy finger marks around Draco's wrists. The dark underneath his eyes had become so much clearer. Lucius was abusing Draco.



Draco was ashamed. Ashamed what he had told Harry, ashamed that he had told the truth about his father, and ashamed with himself. *What is Potter supposed to do?! Feel sorry for me?*

"I'm sorry" he finally mumbled. "I should have kept my big gob shut. You don't want to know all this – you don't care."

"I do care!" Harry blurted out. "I do care because I've been there, Draco!"

*He used my name. Potter actually called me by my first name. Was I winning his respect? Pfft… like I care.*

"What?" Draco demanded.

"Those muggles I stay with… treat me like utter crap. I know it's probably not as bad as you're situation – but they have done stuff to me. Bad stuff, that has made an imprint on my life. If it wasn't for Hogwarts, I don't know WHERE I would be now." Harry leaned down so he could catch Draco's eye.

"What… what did they do to you?" *Potter's been abused to? No – no way. Not possible. The guys too bloody straight laced.*

"Well, I didn't even have a proper bedroom until I was 12 – I had to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs for eleven years!"

Draco frowned. *That's absurd!* He thought to himself. *No wonder the boy's so short.*

"And last year, for a punishment – they locked me in my bedroom, refusing to let me out for food or anything – just so I couldn't go to Hogwarts again. Luckily Ron showed up to save me!" Harry felt a small giggle rise in his voice. After all, that situation was particularly funny – Ron and his brothers showing up in a floating car outside his bedroom window.

Draco laughed along with this. "So, Weasel reckons himself as some sort of Superman, then? I'd pay anything to see that bloke in a cape!"

Harry and Draco were in fits of laughter now – the image of Ron in tights and a cape with his underwear on the outside was enough to make anyone double over with giggles.

After the laughter faded away, there was a sudden silence. A realisation. Acceptance. It was comfortable.

Harry smiled at Draco, and he could feel warmth build up in his stomach. *What is this?* he thought to himself. *I'm actually having a good time with Potter? Good god – I need some sleep*



**new chapter up v soon! i promise!**