Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, etc. etc. etc.

Once again I have lunch and tomorrow to waitress tomorrow so I am hoping to at least start on the next chapter tomorrow. We'll see how the muse grabs me. Read and review. Kudos to people who have all ready reviewed the first chapter. This chapter isn't much, but the next should have more action to it. This is more just set up.

Harry restlessly paced the restaurant for what felt like the millionth time. It was almost closing time for dinner and he was wishing that his last table would leave soon. All day all his customers could talk about was the appeal for Sam Malfoy and the others. Draco had been sullen and moody since the appeal had been officially announced. They both knew he would have to testify again. But since Adrian had decided to testify for Sam and the others, they were worried that just Draco's testimony wouldn't be enough. Harry couldn't help thinking that it just wasn't fair. Draco had been through so much the first time around and he hated the idea of his lover having to go through it all again. 'It never fails,' Harry thought to himself, 'you think your past is behind you and then it comes back to bite you in the ass.'

The last customers finally left and Harry closed up the restaurant and began the hour long walk home. As he walked home in the cold he pulled his cloak around him tighter. At his house he could see the smoke still coming out of the chimney and candles still lit in the living room. He walked in quickly and hung his cloak on the coat hook. Draco was curled up in his chair by the fire with a glass half full with brandy in it.

"How was your day?" asked Harry as he sat across from Draco.

"I didn't go out," said Draco. "I was out for an hour yesterday and I heard everyone talking about the appeal, the trial, what was said. So today I just stayed in. I didn't want to face the world today."

"Everyone needs to hide out once in a while."

"I feel like hiding for a year." Harry couldn't say he blamed him. He remembered after the war was over and Hermione was in St. Mungo's and all he really wanted to do was hide out in some deep dark hole for a century.

"Have you eaten?"

"I... ate some lunch. I took a nap. I got up and started drinking."

"When did you wake up?"

"An hour ago."

"I can heat up something, I was going to heat myself up something anyway."

"That's fine." Harry gently kissed Draco on the forehead before he began heating up some beef and vegetable soup. Once he had heated up two bowls, he brought both into the living room with spoons and handed one bowl to Draco. Draco put down his glass and numbly started spooning the soup into his mouth.

"Draco, I need to ask you something," said Harry, trying to gather the courage to ask him what he needed to ask.

"What is it Harry?"

"You said there were more boys who were tortured by Sam and the others."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, there's some concern that your word versus Adrian's and Sam's isn't going to work. Do you know-"

"No."

"Draco, you must know something."

"I don't want to know."

"You remembered Adrian."

"Only because I had to."

"Well, you have to now. If you want them to stay in Azkaban it's going to take more people who suffered under them and saw you suffer under them as well."

"No, Harry. You can ask me anything. You can ask me to make love to you till you scream or you can ask me to leave and never come back. But you can't ask me this."

"Why? Draco, I've seen you face these people. You never flinched. Why is it so hard to face the people who were tortured along with you?"

"Did you want to see any of us after the war was over!" Draco was shouting now and he stood looming over Harry with a furious expression on his face. "Answer me Harry! Did you want to see any of us after the war was over! Did you want to even associate with us!"

"...no."

"Why! Why didn't you want to see your compatriots! Why didn't you want to see your brothers in arms!"

"I didn't want to be reminded..."

"You didn't want to be reminded of it, didn't you! Now imagine being tortured and raped and absolutely alone except for the person hanging next to you! You stare at them and they stare back at you and both of you wish that one of you could break free and save the other one. And you do that until one of you passes out, and then you know that you're lost. Then you know just how much control they have over you. Then you know, you know for certain, that there is no way out and you are going to die on that wall. And it happens over and over and over again. Every time it makes it worse. Every time you hope that today will be the day that someone makes a mistake and one of you will get free, and every time you die. I don't want to see them because I don't want to see the people I died next to a hundred times over." Draco slowly sat back down in his chair. He leaned back, closed his eyes, and rested his head on his hand. Then they heard a soft knock on the door. "Who the hell is knocking on the door at this hour?" muttered Draco. Harry got up and walked to the door. Looking through the peep hole he saw two people standing on the porch in black cloaks. Their faces were pale and their hair was dark brown. After a second he realized they were identical twins. He opened the door and said in his most polite voice at eleven o'clock at night,

"Can I help you?"

"We're looking for Malfoy," said one.

"Draco Malfoy," said the other. Harry turned back and looked at Draco who was still sitting in his chair. Then he turned back to the brothers.

"May I ask who's calling?"

"Little lost boys," said the first.

"What?" he heard Draco whisper behind him. Then he heard Draco's bare footsteps quickly come up next to him. Harry turned and saw recognition on Draco's face. "What you are the two of you doing here?" Draco said in a weak voice.

"We heard about the masters being put in jail," said the first.

"We heard that Adrian is trying to get them out," said the second.

"We came to help," said the first.

"We want to help," said the second.

"Why did you come to me?"

"We know you were the person who put them in jail the first time," said the first.

"We know that you need help to put them in jail again," said the second.

"I thought the two of you were never going to leave Switzerland once you got back there."

"We found a reason to leave Switzerland," said the first.

"This is important. We want to make sure they are kept away from everyone," said the second. Draco stood stunned in the doorway. Harry felt the need to somehow help.

"Do you need a place to stay?" Harry asked. "This house is protected by magic and there's a guest room."

"We have a place to stay," said the first.

"We have another brother," said the second. "He lives near here. We will stay with him at this address." The brother held out a small piece of paper which Harry took.

"We will see you soon," said the first and then the two turned away and walked down the road. Harry gently closed the door behind them and looked at Draco. His lover had turned a color that almost looked more pale than usual.

"Are you all right love?" he asked gently. Draco didn't react until Harry touched Draco's hand. He reacted like he had been stung and his body slammed into the wall. He stared at Harry with frightened eyes and was breathing in ragged gasps. Harry had seen that look before in Draco's eyes. It usually happened when Draco woke up from a nightmare or got lost in bad memories after an especially bad day. Harry kept the distance that Draco had put between them but he spoke to him to bring him down slowly.

"It's all right Draco, you're here at my house. You're safe with me. Nothing can touch you here. No one can hurt you here. I won't let them." Draco's breathing was slowly returning to normal as Harry spoke. He reached forward and Harry gently took his lover's hand in his.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't prepared for Crispin and Noel to just show up on our door step one night. It's not something I had ever expected to happen."

"It's all right. I have to admit the timing was kind of uncanny since we were just talking about the others who were tortured with you."

"They have uncanny timing like that. I never have figured out how. I keep thinking it must be some twin thing. You saw how they talk. They practically share a brain."

"It's kind of hard to miss."

"Yeah, they... they were with me in Romania." Harry nodded. Draco took a step forward. "I'm sorry I shouted at you. I just... I've been thinking about what happened in that God forsaken place all day and thinking about the people I went through it with all day. Three people... didn't make it. The twins and two others were still alive when I left. I checked around for the other two and either they're dead or otherwise unreachable. I never thought that the twins would do this so I didn't even try to find them. It was a relief. I didn't want to see any of them. It's bad enough that I have nightmares and night terrors and on like that. I was scared what would happen if I saw any of them."

"Well, you've seen the twins now. And you lived."

"I lived. Now can I live through this appeal?"

"You will. I'll be there."

"I'm sorry Harry, I appreciate all the support and all, but I'm really tired and a bit drunk."

"It's all right," said Harry gently. "Go on up to bed, I'll be there soon." Harry kissed him gently on the cheek before Draco quietly went up the stairs. Harry cleaned up the dishes, blew out the candles, and stirred the last embers of the fire. Harry went up the stairs and quietly slipped into their bedroom. Draco was all ready curled up under the covers and trying to get to sleep. Harry put on some sleep pants since it was a cold night and got in under the covers. As he pulled Draco towards him, he realized that Draco had been crying and had been trying to hide it as Harry had gotten ready for bed. Harry gently kissed away the tears on Draco's cheeks and held his lover close. They didn't speak, but no words were necessary.