Recap: "Draco, read this. I'll explain things once we get there." Snape pushed him into the fireplace with his trunk, standing next to him. Draco glanced down at the paper, before looking at Snape confused.
.::.
Harry didn't have time to reply. The portkey activated and Harry felt the familiar jerk behind his navel, propelling him towards the one place he had dreaded seeing the most this summer.
Note: Draco was taken to GP in the afternoon, Harry at night.
Mad About You
Chapter Two – Dinner and Conversations
Grimmauld Place, afternoon
The spinning stopped suddenly. Draco was still next to Snape with his trunk, coughing as old ash rose into the air at their arrival. 'Where the hell did he take me?'
Snape stepped out of the fire and took the trunk with him. Draco followed after, glancing briefly around the room. It was dark, and slightly dusty from not being used in a long time. A dark leather couch and sitting area set were grouped around the fire, accompanied by large, dust-covered silver lamps. At the first look, it reminded him of the Slytherin commons room. Odd.
Snape motioned for him to be quiet as Draco moved after Snape, leaving the room to go into the entrance hall and up the stairs. Draco caught sight of house-elf heads hanging along the wall of the entrance hall, joined by the serpent-shaped candelabra. 'Most definitely a dark wizard house.'
Snape took him up to a bedroom on the second floor. The room was furnished in black and maroon, with a four-post twin bed in the center of one wall. A dark mahogany armoire stood against the opposite wall, in the corner.
Snape turned around and faced Draco with a sullen face replacing the usual sneer. "I regret having to bring you here, Draco, but it was for your safety."
"Where –"
"Wait, let me finish explaining. The paper in your hand is from Professor Dumbledore. You are in the Order of the Phoenix's headquarters. The professor has requested that you stay for the duration of the summer, and I trust he will speak with you once term starts to determine further. He also wished me to tell you your mother is not dead." Snape said calmly while looking at the teen.
Draco looked at Snape sharply, "What do you mean? She's alive?"
"Yes. She was not hit with the Killing Curse. She's in St. Mungo's. She'll probably be there for awhile, considering the types of curses the Death Eaters know." Snape's lip curled.
"Right… Sev, aren't you a Death Eater? What's with the Order of the Phoenix?" Draco's relief at hearing his mother wasn't dead showed on his face, along with curiosity.
Snape studied Draco for a moment before responding, dismissing the old nickname Draco often used. "I trust you have been rethinking your future as well as your beliefs since your father has gone, Draco? Am I right in saying you no longer wish to follow the path of your father?" He waited until Draco reluctantly nodded before continuing, "Yes. I am a Death Eater, but I am a spy for the Light. I can't reveal much about the Order of the Phoenix, besides telling you that they are working against the Dark Lord. I feel I must tell you that, " his lip curled in disgust even more, "The Golden Trio of Hogwarts spend time here, though I don't know if their great leader will want to return here anytime soon. I doubt you will wish to associate much with them, but they are the only children here, besides the other Weasleys." Draco's heart sped up at the mention of Harry Potter, and he wondered if he'd see him anytime soon, regardless of the mention of Weasleys poking about.
"Sev, do you think Ha-Potter would agree to… to a truce?" Draco refused to meet Snape's eyes. He had to remember to call him Potter.
This wasn't exactly what Snape had wanted to hear, in the least. He looked at his favored student with a baffled expression.
"… Potter might, eventually. I don't know about Granger or Weasley though. Though why you would want to bother eludes me, Draco." Snape answered carefully, studying Draco's face all the while.
"Professor Dumbledore would probably quite agree with you," Snape handed Draco a vial full of potion, before heading to the door. "Sometimes I wonder if what the Daily Prophet was saying about Dumbledore was right. Take that potion. It should allow you to sleep well enough until that Weasley woman makes dinner. I'll have to tell her you're staying." Snape nodded curtly before closing the door and heading downstairs.
Draco pushed his trunk to the foot of the bed before moving and sitting on the side. His mother was alive. Snape worked against You-Know-Who. He was staying in the same house as the Weasleys. Harry Potter might be staying there too.
Draco wondered why Snape had said Potter might not want to return here. He shrugged uncharacteristically, figuring he'd find out soon enough. He tipped up the potion and swallowed its contents, lying down comfortably on the bed. 'Cheers, Potter.'
.::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::.
Grimmauld Place, evening
Harry appeared just inside the entrance hall of number twelve Grimmauld Place. He stared at the floor, refusing to look around at the dreary place. Lupin and Tonks apparated with twin pops next to him, holding his trunk in between them. They were both looking at him with worry etched on their faced.
"Harry, why don't you head downstairs first? Molly made dinner an hour or so ago, she had enough to save for –" Lupin was cut off as Tonks tripped, as usual, over the troll foot holding umbrellas.
"Damn, stupid thing -" And Tonks was cut off from swearing with a loud screech from the wall.
"FILTH! TAINTED BLOOD, FOUL CREATURES –" Mrs. Black screeched from her portrait at the top of her lungs.
"OH, PUT A SOCK IN IT!" Molly Weasley came up from the basement door, her long hair tied back in a messy bun. Though short, plump, and looking a bit haggard, she was a sight for sore eyes for Harry. She marched over and forced the curtains around the portrait – which had flown open at some point, Harry realized – shut, before turning around to the new arrivals.
"Harry dear! What in all of the wizarding world happened to you?!" Molly paled at his sickly state. Harry wondered idly when they would stop doing that. She quickly enveloped him in a warm, motherly hug.
"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley, really," he stood unmoving in her arms, feeling more than a little out of place at the show of affection. He was beginning to become a little self-conscious with everyone staring at him in jeans and a stained t-shirt. She didn't look like she believed him much, but she didn't voice it.
"Alright, well, there's a plate of dinner in the kitchen for you. I suspect Ron and Hermione will come down soon enough to see if you're here. We'll be in in a minute, dear." Mrs. Weasley cast a look towards Tonks and Lupin.
"Yeah, alright." Harry made his way down to the kitchen from the door Mrs. Weasley came out of, leaving the three free to talk about him. His anger, which was so close to the surface since last year, began to rise from being in the house again. He stomped down the stairs and found a flat bowl of potatoes and stew warming on the stove next to some bread rolls. His stomach growled as the smell wafted up from the plate. 'Thank Merlin.'
Harry took the plate and sat down, spooning the stew into his mouth hurriedly. He'd been hungry for a week, stuck in the cupboard.
He heard someone coming down the stairs and looked over to the door as Ron Weasley trumped down the last few steps. He had grown a few more inches – 'How much more is he going to grow?' Harry wondered – and his hair looked messy, as if he had just woken up. Hermione Granger flew down the stairs behind him, her bushy brown hair looking much like Ron's. She had also grown a bit in his absence, becoming more of the young woman she would be.
The looks on their faces when they saw Harry were similar to Tonks's, Lupin's, and Mrs. Weasley's. Logically, he knew he looked worse than he had previous years, but it still grated his nerves.
"Harry!" Hermione took the initiative by shoving Ron to the table. She sat down next to him sharply and Ron was on his own standing, looking at Harry, his best mate, as if he had just told him he was joining Lord Voldemort. Harry snorted to himself, 'As if.'
"H-Harry, what happened to you, mate? You… look like shit." Ron stammered. Hermione looked slightly annoyed with Ron's bluntness, but she did not disagree.
"Oh, Harry, what did you do?" Hermione said around her hand, which was clapped over her mouth in horror. Her eyes had a sadness that caused him to buckle.
"What do you mean 'what did I do'? Is that what you think? That I starved myself with grief and started inflicting pain on myself?" He gestured angrily to his still present bruises and almost-healed cuts. "The muggles did this! Really, you two out of everyone should know I wouldn't do this!" His voice was rising with his anger. He didn't want to mention the starving part, because deep down he knew he had been, in a way. He had refused to leave his bedroom several times, even for food, and the Dursleys didn't care enough to bring any up.
"W-we know you wouldn't, Harry, I didn't me-mean it like that." She glanced quickly at Ron, unshed tears making her eyes glitter. "We've been so worried about you. All Dumbledore would say to us is that you'd be picked up sometime in August, or is he couldn't help it anymore. And y-you're a week early. Something must have happened, and judging by your state, something did." She glanced at Ron again, who was still standing dumbstruck.
Harry spooned more stew into his mouth, thinking if he should tell them. A silent war waged inside him as he chewed. They'd kept secrets from him all summer, and now they stood in front of him, making weird glances at each other, almost scared to death that he might crack – or of him. Harry paused. 'Are they really scared of me?' He looked between the two and realized they, like the others, were just concerned for his well being which was in danger. 'Though they don't know half of it, since I haven't said anything about that damn prophecy,' he thought bitterly.
Swallowing slowly before answering, he cast around for the words.
"Words were said, and I got in a muggle fight with Dudley. Vernon found us, shook me around a bit, and I got to spend the week locked in the cupboard." He kept his eyes on the almost empty plate of strew. He didn't want to see Hermione's disapproving-yet-understanding look.
Ron spoke up for the first time in a shaky voice, "Fat prig probably deserved it, right mate?" Harry looked up and grinned at his best friend.
"Deserved it more than even Malfoy would have." Harry provided. 'Huh. Malfoy. Wonder how he's doing without Lucius.' Harry stopped. He did not just wonder how Malfoy was.
Ron laughed, "Ferret-boy… are you sure about that? God, I would love to see the look on his face again…"
Ron babbled on as Harry's thoughts drifted back to Malfoy while he listened half-heartedly to Ron and ate. The Slytherin didn't anger him anymore. Since the ride home from Hogwarts, when almost all of the D.A. members attacked him, Harry was actually sorry for him. He knew Malfoy would be angry if he found out Harry, the Boy-Who-bloody-Lived, felt pity towards him.
The feeling had moved on though, to an almost tired resignation. He didn't want to fight Malfoy anymore. It was rather pointless, and had been since finding out there was more shit for him to deal with than petty bickering and rivalry. He himself rather thought Malfoy was acting for the sake of his reputation and beloved Slytherin audience – and his father – than anything else. The last few times he fought with Malfoy he had felt only anger, not hatred like he expected, rolling off the blond in waved.
"Right Harry?" Ron broke into his thoughts. Harry panicked for a second wondering what he was supposed to be agreeing with, before Hermione saved him in the nick of time.
"Yes it would be funny Ron, but I'm sure Harry is rather tired from getting here." Harry looked over to Hermione and smiled his first real smile that summer in silent thanks. She'd been watching him thoughtfully, still possessing a look of abject horror and sadness, though it was toned down since his outburst.
Harry got up and moved around the table to the sink, rinsing his plate off and setting it down. He grabbed the rolls that were by the stove and turned back to face them. Ron dropped himself down into the place he had vacated, turning his blue eyes onto Hermione, who shook her head slightly at the look from him. 'What the hell is going on with these two?'
The anger, which had finally died down in Harry, started to rise again. He had told them what happened with his summer, now it was their turn.
"Actually," he waited until both looked up at him, "fill me in now. Your letters have been pretty useless." He didn't want to say it that way, but the little barb flashed guilt across their faces and he found himself not at all sorry for it. They were hiding something and it, like their concern over him, grated his nerves. Had he not shared almost every little detail of his life with them until now? Had he not shared his dreams of Voldemort or the details of what happened with Cho last year, or everything that happened when they weren't there to watch over him? Did they feel they couldn't trust him?
"Harry, you know we'd tell you everything once you got here. Moody and Dumbledore don't want us to put anything in letters that give anything away. You know that from last year." Hermione intoned calmly. Harry knew she was right; their letters couldn't have had anything important in them in case they were intercepted.
"Alright… so tell me. What's happening with the Ministry? Are they getting prepared? What's happening in Azkaban – the dementors – what's the Order doing? What's Voldemort up to? What about Dumbledore?" Harry asked in a rush, "What have you two been doing, or the twins or Ginny? Why leave me until August?" His stomach flipped over when he mentioned Dumbledore. His anger at the two in front of him quelled down as guilt over yelling at Dumbledore and destroying his things at the end of June surfaced. He wouldn't blame the wizard if he was angry or ignored Harry for the year again after that. No wonder he might have wanted to leave Harry at the Dursleys until August.
"Enough – that's enough, you three. Harry just got here! He needs some sleep. You can fill him in on everything tomorrow," demanded Mrs. Weasley, interrupting from the doorway. Harry looked over and saw Lupin standing behind her, still looking at Harry with a shadow of emotion Harry couldn't place. It touched Harry, not with guilt or anger, but with a peaceful realization: He still had Lupin.
"She's right. I should get some sleep. Same bedroom as last year?" Harry said abruptly, setting the rolls back down on the counter forgotten as he addressed Mrs. Weasley and Lupin with the last question. Lupin opened his mouth, but Ron beat him to it.
"Ah, no. Dumbledore gave you your own room on the second floor, next to the bathroom. Don't know why, really."
Anger flooded Harry's senses again. He was glad he wouldn't have to share a room with the redhead, just simply to maintain his sanity. His emotions were becoming one big roller coaster from seeing everyone. Being in the house, seeing that Hermione and Ron were in their own little world, being concerned for all of a sudden… he suddenly felt nauseous. He swayed slightly as he made to leave the kitchen. Hermione, who had been watching him, made a move to get up when she saw him sway. Lupin took him by the arm and led him upstairs. Mrs. Weasley moved out of the way to let them through.
Ron and Hermione looked at her once Harry disappeared from sight.
"Looks like he ate a little too fast, poor dear." Mrs. Weasley said as she suddenly busied herself with finishing washing the dishes.
"Mum… aren't you concerned about him? He looks half dead! He was beaten and starved!" Ron exclaimed. Hermione shook her head slightly at Ron's unbelievable tact. He really wasn't paying attention; Mrs. Weasley's back was turned to them, and her shoulders were shaking as she cried. She couldn't really answer him.
"Ron, your mother's worried sick about Harry, be a little more respectful. She thinks of him as one of the family and she's seen him at the worst possible moment. He just lost Sirius, and he's been holed away at the Dursleys. She can't possibly ignore the state he's in, and you're not helping it any." Hermione whispered fiercely in his ear. Hermione apologized to Mrs. Weasley and grabbed Ron's arm, dragging him from the kitchen.
.::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::.
Draco woke up the moment whatever foul banshee downstairs decided to start screeching.
"FILTH! TAINTED BLOOD, FOUL CREATURES –"
"OH, PUT A SOCK IN IT!"
He rolled over and stared at the clock on the nightstand. It was well past dinnertime. He had woken up earlier, but when he heard all the Weasleys galloping about, he hadn't felt like dealing with them long enough to sit through an entire meal with them. From what he understood, only the Weasley woman knew. She'd brought up a plate of food for him to eat when he hadn't shown for dinner and watched him like a hawk until he ate it all, saying he was too skinny. She wasn't that bad. She seemed much like a motherly hen.
Voices could be heard now, downstairs. Draco tried to discern what was being said, but they were hushed, sounding like murmurs. One was obviously the Weasley woman; he knew her voice from when she had been up in his room. She had yelled at whatever started yelling first. The other two voices he didn't recognize. The murmurs sounded worried. Was she telling others about him staying there?
Draco sat up on the bed and slid off gracefully, moving carefully to the door. He pulled it open slightly and peered down the hallway in the direction of the stairs. The voices were louder now that he wasn't listening through the door.
He could only hear fragments where the Weasley woman was saying things like "It's a wonder he's alive" and "How could they let this get so far?" Draco ran a hand through his hair as he strained to hear from the other two voices what exactly they were talking about.
"It'd be easier if you used one of these, Malfoy."
Draco whipped around to face the young redheaded Weasley girl. She was holding up a long fleshy-colored tube and looking at him with curiosity and amusement.
"What are you talking about?" He paused waiting for her to ask why he was there, but when she continued looking at him, he voiced the question.
"Oh, I overheard them talking about you with Snape this afternoon." She waved her hand in the air, dismissing it. "And I'm talking about hearing what they're saying. I have an extra Extendable Ear from Fred and George, and it would be much easier to hear what mum, Lupin, and Tonks are talking about if you used it."
Draco just looked at her suspiciously, as if she were insane, standing there in the hallway talking to him about eavesdropping like it were an everyday thing.
"Oh, for heaven's sake." She pushed him back into his room and followed him in. She shut the door behind her and looked at him. "Mum'll go batty if she found us talking out in the hall." She tsked. "She doesn't trust us at all."
"What are you on about, Weasley? Why are you even talking to me?" The girl should have positively been steaming mad at him for the way he'd treated her family. He couldn't understand why she was willingly talking to him.
"As I said, Malfoy, I overheard Snape talking to mum in the kitchen. And if Dumbledore trusts you enough to have you here, I don't see why I can't talk to you. Besides, you'll have enough trouble to go on with once Ron figures or finds out you're staying here." She looked at him expectantly.
"Alright… so what are you on about then, Weasley? Your mother doesn't trust you?"
"My name's Ginny, Malfoy. And no, mum doesn't trust any of us kids. Might have something to do with us trying to interfere with every meeting they've had, trying to hear what they're talking about in and outside of meetings, or Fred and George's inventions that help with that." She held up the fleshy thing again.
Draco took of that in. "Okay… and what's that?" He pointed to the cord.
"This is an Extendable Ear. You put this side in your ear, the other part goes down close to mum and the others, and you can hear what they're saying." She made to give him the Extendable Ear, but more yelling drifted up from the kitchen.
"Oh, goody, sounds like you won't need it." Ginny turned her back on the blond and opened the door, allowing the yelling to be heard. Draco scrunched his face up when he heard about muggles. The voice sounded awfully familiar.
"… Who is it?" he asked the young Weasley – Ginny, he reminded himself. He had to get on better terms with these people if he was going to stay there. At least with the girl, she didn't seem half bad. Not like the Weasel, at any rate.
Ginny looked at him surprised, "Don't you recognize Harry's voice?"
Draco's traitor heart skipped a beat. "Potter's here?"
"Yeah, sounds like he's having a go at Hermione and my brother."
Draco stared at the open door next to Ginny. Potter was downstairs somewhere. Ginny must have mistaken the look on his face because she spoke up quickly.
"Don't go fighting with Harry, Malfoy, I'm warning you. It's a wonder Lupin and Tonks ever even got him into this house again, he doesn't need to have fighting you added to the lot."
"Lupin, the werewolf? Who's Tonks, and why exactly is it a wonder he'd come back? Sev said almost exactly the same thing." Draco was curious now. They all seemed dead concerned for their Wonder Boy.
"It's not my place to tell you why he might not come back. Tonks is one of the Order. I believe she's a cousin or something of yours in fact." Ginny answered him honestly.
"Alright. I'm not going to fight with Ha – Potter. It's still a wonder you're talking to me normally." Draco assured her. He didn't know why, but she was easy enough to like.
"Good. I could say the same for you. Don't you hate my family or something?"
"… Change of heart, I guess. My father expected it, but he's not around anymore, and I've been able to rethink some things. 'Sides, the Weasel is the only one who really bothers me." Draco sat down on the bed and looked at her, expecting her to defend the Weasel.
"My brother is brainless sometimes." Ginny grinned at him suddenly. "I haven't had anyone to talk to really all summer. Hermione and Ron have been too wrapped up in each other to notice. And I can't wait 'til Ron finds out I've been chatting with the Evil One."
Draco laughed, "The Evil One? Is that what he calls me?" He had to admit it now; the girl wasn't bad at all. He couldn't believe she'd been ignored almost all of summer.
"Ohh, he calls you all sorts of things. He calls you Ferret-boy, mostly. Funny, seems how you call him Weasel." Ginny stilled next to the door.
Draco's face crumbled into a sulk. "Damn, I hate that name."
"Be quiet, someone's coming." She pulled the door shut just in time. Someone passed the door quickly and went into the bathroom. They could hear someone retching even with the door shut.
"Uergh. Disgusting." Draco made a face. Ginny also made a face before biting her lip in concentration.
"What?""It's Harry."
Draco looked at her in almost awed exasperation. "Is there any moment where you can't tell when it's Harry?" He didn't like it, but he sounded almost jealous of the young Weasley. What should he care if she could pinpoint Potter's voice anywhere, anytime? He shouldn't, damnit.
Ginny stared at him for a minute before answering, "You called him Harry."
"Oh." 'Damn'. "So?"
"You usually call him Potter or some other name. When did you start calling him Harry?"
"Since never. It slipped because you said it. Anyway, can you always tell when it's him?"
Ginny looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "Yeah, usually I can. I had a crush on him first through third year."
"You don't any longer?" Draco stared at her, waiting for her answer.
"He's more of a brother now. I'm going out with one of his dorm mates." She replied coolly.
"So Potter's in there puking his guts out?" He was starting to wonder about Potter now. He didn't seem the sickly type; he was more of a healthy Hero. 'What the fuck is going on?'
"Not anymore." She listened for a second. "He's talking to Lupin." Of course. He'd always been friendly with the Werewolf back in third year when he'd been Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts.
Draco shook his head. "You don't need those Ear things, you have super hearing as it is."
Ginny beamed at him. "Yes, well, now that Harry's here, Mum'll be coming by to do bed checks soon enough. You should come out of your room tomorrow. There are plenty of other rooms to look around in and now I can have someone else to talk to besides Ron's owl."
"Hey, now that you mention it, whose house is this, anyway?" Draco asked quickly before she left.
Ginny was quiet a moment. "It's being used as Order headquarters. I don't know whom it belongs to now. Night Malfoy." She tossed the Extendable Ear to him and exited the room.
Draco stared at the long cord, thinking over what just happened. God he was confused.
.::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::.
Lupin helped Harry up the stairs to the second floor bathroom, giving Harry just enough time to lean over the toilet before losing his stomach's content. He lost everything he had just eaten, ending in a few dry heaves.
Harry shut the seat of the toilet and flushed, resting his head against the porcelain. He felt empty and horrible; his head was starting to pound from everything that had happened so far.
Lupin sat down on the side of the bathtub and waited until Harry was done. He watched as pain, anger and loneliness passed across Harry's face before finally settling on grief. Damn he hated the muggles Harry was forced to live with. He'd give anything to be able to turn around and go back to give them a piece of his mind and magic.
"God, when will it stop hurting so much, Lupin?" The quiet, pain-filled question that was burning inside the young boy leaked out. Lupin stared at Harry's back as he took in long, heavy breaths, trying not to cry in front of the older man.
"I don't know, Harry. Sometimes, it won't be noticeable, other times it will become unbearable." Lupin touched Harry's back, making the boy meet his eyes. "Sirius loved you. Just like your parents. He'd expect a grieving period, but he wouldn't want you to waste your life away, Harry."
Harry just looked at Lupin. He knew what he was saying was right, but it was painful to accept. Sirius was gone. He'd had trouble accepting it all summer. Lupin probably had just as much trouble accepting Sirius's death, if not more; he had known Sirius for a lot longer than Harry.
Lupin himself didn't look like he was better off than Harry, though Harry expected Lupin had eaten well enough since Mrs. Weasley was there to ensure it. Lupin's eyes had circles under them, probably from sleepless nights. He was still dressed in the muggle clothes he had on when he picked up Harry. Harry hadn't been paying attention to the moon's cycles; it looked as if Lupin had undergone his werewolf transformation not long ago.
"Thank you, Lupin." Harry followed his urge and hugged the man as if his life depended on it. Lupin, to Harry's surprise, hugged him back equally as fierce.
"Harry, call me Moony or Remus. I'm here if you need to talk or anything. Don't let it get this bad again though, you'll scare everyone out of their wits."
Harry gave Lupin a small half smile. "Alright, Moony." Yes, he did still have Lupin.
Lupin had known both his parents and Sirius for a lot longer than he had, and he couldn't believe he hadn't turned to Lupin in the first place. He thought of him as a close friend and the best substitute for the parents he'd never had besides Sirius. He should have written to Lupin about his grief a lot sooner.
"You'll be here tomorrow, right?" Harry watched as a small smile lit up Lupin's face finally at his question.
"At some point, I should be dropping in. You should probably get a shower or some sleep right now though, or Molly will have my head for keeping you up talking so late."
'Eurgh… I haven't had a shower in a week.' Harry thought, pulling back from Moony, making a face while cringing.
"Shower it is then. I'll tell Molly." Moony laughed as he left the bathroom to Harry. He walked back down the stairs with a bounce in his steps that hadn't been there before.
.::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::.
After the very needed and refreshing shower, Harry wrapped a towel around his waist and made his way out of the steamy bathroom to his room. Ron had said it was next to the bathroom.
Sure enough, the door next to the bathroom was open and his trunk had been moved inside. The door across from his was closed, and Harry wondered if Ron was sleeping in there, or Ginny and Hermione.
Harry had time in the shower to reflect over the evening. He felt really terrible about how his mood had fluctuated so much when he had been talking to Ron and Hermione. It really wasn't their fault they couldn't put anything in letters, and they had seemed honestly happy to see him, if not a bit in shock about his physical state. He would have to apologize to them tomorrow, or today, as it was a little past midnight. He still hadn't figured out if he'd tell them about the prophecy or not. It was just cause to worry about him more, and he didn't need that. He just needed his friends to be just that: friends. He had Mrs. Weasley and Moony to worry about him, and he was grateful. It meant people cared about him, something he shouldn't get upset about.
Ron and Hermione still had to answer his questions in the morning, however.
Harry pulled on clean boxers and a shirt from his trunk before towel-drying his hair enough to lie down on the bed. His stomach growled from being filled and then emptied so quickly. Harry had felt almost sick again when he saw his reflection in the mirror. He hadn't thought he was that bad off, when if fact he was worse than he possibly dreamed. The cuts on his head, particularly the one gash on his scalp, looked angry, red, and infected. The bruises were now a sickly green-and-yellow faded coloring. The blotchy blue-and-purple ones on his chest and arms stood out on his pale skin. He could count the ribs under his discolored skin, and he was skinnier than ever before. He was just plain sickly.
Harry made a promise to eat slower tomorrow to try and keep something down, and to go out in the sun at some point the next day. He wouldn't waste away like Moony had said.
Harry thought a little more about what he would do tomorrow, in the dreadful house, before drifting off to a fitful sleep.
Unbeknownst to him, a blond slept across the hallway, dreaming of him and the own events he'd witnessed that day.
A/N: Hurray, second chapter. I couldn't follow my Next Chapter questions for this chapter. I thought it was too soon for them to see each other, and they'd had enough of an eventful day. Hopefully everyone liked it. How's the whole Ginny-Draco friendship? I wasn't sure about that.
Glyph: ta, thanks for pointing out the error.
NiamhAingeal: Thank you soo much for your positive feedback! It makes me blush. I hope the chapter was up to snuff for you, for waiting so long =)
Ssjmiraitrks: I'm glad you like it!
Arwen Urodumiel: Thank you! We'll see how Harry reacts, I promise!
Hermione21: thanks! Hope you like the new chapter.
Robin the bird: Thanks! Hopefully you like where it's going.
Sheree: Ahh, your review made me want to make them get on his nerves (just a bit!), but I don't think I did it justice.
BiF NAKED: Nice name, good band! Hope you don't mind me not answering all the questions, but they'll come into play soon enough.
Next Chapter: Next day at Black Manor, Harry eats! And goes outside like he promised himself! And apologizes to Ron and Hermione! Ginny will visit Draco again and we might hear more of this special truce Draco wants. Will Harry finally meet Malfoy? Will Ron freak out like a little girl – if he finds out? Hmmmm…