Come and hold my hand, I wanna contact the living
Draco glanced over his transfiguration essay on his lap. "You like chocolate ice-cream" he tried.
Harry slowly shook his head, while finishing a sentence on his divination essay. "Nope" he said after he was finished and looked up. "Vanilla."
Draco snorted. "Figures" he muttered before going back to his essay.
Harry continued to stare the top of Draco's head, contemplating. "You play the piano" he finally said.
Draco didn't look up but shook his head.
"The cello?" Harry tried again.
This time Draco looked up. "Close" he admitted. "I used to take violin lessons."
Harry smiled at this admission.
"I hated it" Draco continued. "My mother..." Draco did a dismissive wave with his hand as if it explained it all.
"Why do I get this strong image of little Draco Malfoy, standing on a footstool with a tiny violin in hand, moaning and bitching about it?" Harry said with a smile.
"I controlled my disgust for the vile instrument quite fine" Draco said with a sneer. "And I most certainly did not stand on any stool."
"I wonder where that came from" Harry pondered. "It must be from that one time when we were having our robes fitted at Madam Malkin's. The image of you, standing on a footstool, moaning and bitching, must be engraved in my mind for all eternity."
The boys smiled a moment at each other. "You really like saying that, don't you?" Draco said.
"What?" Harry asked innocently. "'Moaning and bitching', you mean?"
Draco just rolled his eyes. "Now you tell me an embarrassing story from your childhood and we're even."
The smile died from Harry's lips. "I don't have a story" he said quietly and went back to his essay.
"You didn't do anything embarrassing as a child" Draco carried on, doubtful.
Sure Harry had embarrassing memories, but they weren't cute-embarrassing, they were shameful-embarrassing. Not any memories Harry wanted to share with Draco, anyway.
"No tap-dancing? No dressing up in your aunt's clothes?" Draco kept on going, determined to get Harry admit something. "Nothing?"
"No, nothing!" Harry finally gave up hunching over his essay. He stood forcefully up and the parchment rolled on to the floor, along with his quill. "I didn't have any embarrassing hobbies, because I didn't have any hobbies" he explained, walking to the desk of drawers. He took a big breath, trying to calm himself. Then he faced Draco and said with a much calmer voice "I did my chores and for the rest of the time I was locked in my cupboard, 'keeping the hell away from their sight'."
Draco didn't say anything.
Harry studied the slytherin for a moment. "You made your point, okay?" he said. "I shouldn't have made fun of you playing violin, because I wouldn't want anyone making fun of my childhood either."
At this, Draco rolled his parchment and put it on the floor next to his inkwell. Then he laid down on the couch on his side, and propped his head up on his hand. "Harry, come here" he said gently. Harry didn't move. If it was pity that Draco was offering he didn't want it.
Draco waited for a moment and then said "I wasn't trying to make a point. I didn't know what your childhood was like."
Harry realized it was true. 'Since when have I started to believe the world revolves around me?' he asked himself, truly perplexed.
Harry left the desk of drawers and went to lie down on his back next to the slytherin. Draco immediately slid his hand under Harry's jumper and started tracing little patterns on his belly through the soft material of Harry's shirt.
"Your muggle family, they locked you in a cupboard?" Draco asked carefully.
Harry didn't say anything, just stared at the ceiling, but nodded nevertheless.
"Did they abuse you?" Draco asked after a moment.
"No" Harry replied in a hoarse voice, still keeping his focus on the ceiling. "Uncle Vernon was a bit rough sometimes, but he didn't hit me." The words came out surprisingly easy.
Draco stopped with the little patterns and laid the whole palm of his hand flat on Harry's belly. "Did they mentally abuse you?" Draco finally asked.
This time Harry turned his face to Draco, unsure what he was talking about.
"Did they ever belittle you?" Draco explained. "Did they threaten you? Did they make you feel unavailing, unwanted or unloved?"
Harry quickly faced the other way in order to hide the shameful tears in his eyes. He pushed his glasses on his forehead and covered his eyes with his hand, trying to calm his breath. When he finally felt under control again, he tried to inconspicuously dry his cheeks with the back of his hand. He couldn't face Draco.
He felt Draco's hand leave his belly and appear on his cheek, wiping off some of the wetness that had lingered there. "'Boys don't cry'" Draco said softly while doing this. "That's what my father always told me when I was sad. 'Boys don't cry.'"
Harry slowly turned his head. Draco put his glasses on properly and the world came to focus again. Harry looked at Draco, but the blonde only shrugged a bit.
"I'm sorry about your childhood, though" Draco said.
"It wasn't so bad" Harry said bravely. Draco said nothing. "I could always imagine that my parents would miraculously come and take me away from the Dursleys, bring me home and love me forever. Well, they didn't... Obviously" Harry said with a sad smile. "But Hagrid came. And he brought me home. To Hogwarts."
"Well that was a bit anticlimactic" Draco commented.
Harry shot him a glare. "He's really a nice man" he said a bit angrily. "He would never hurt a fly... I don't understand why you have to be so mean to someone who's so harmless."
"I don't know" Draco said, irritated. "I don't like him. He's slow and smelly. And he puts the entire student body in risk on a daily basis."
"So you're just acting out of concern for your peers" Harry said mockingly. "I'm touched."
"It's not like it's anything personal, per se" Draco admitted, sounding bored. "Magical creatures is just a really boring class, so I spice it up a bit. It's not like it's a big thing. I could just as easily be doing something else."
"So why don't you ease up a bit on the despising everything and everyone I hold dear, hm?" Harry coaxed. "I won't tell anyone..."
Draco rolled his eyes. "I hate it when you try to make me into a better person."
A wicked smile appeared on Harry's face. "What?" Draco asked a bit hesitatingly.
Harry chuckled a bit. "I love it when you try to make me bad."
Draco didn't say anything first. "Sometimes I think that I'll corrupt you" he finally said without looking directly at Harry. "And then the flowers will stop blossoming and the birds will stop singing" he added dramatically.
"You're really not as evil as you think you are" Harry said, dismissive. "I know that deep down, you're just a softie."
Draco looked appalled. "That... I resent that."
"Well, see here" Harry demonstrated. "You're hair is soft." Harry ran a hand through Draco's blond hair. "You're lips are soft." He traced Draco's lips with his finger. "And..." Harry brought his hand under Draco's jumper and unbuttoned one of the button's on Draco's shirt. "You're skin is soft" Harry concluded, while caressing the skin on Draco's belly with the back of his hand.
"You're so corny" Draco said, shaking his head disapprovingly.
Harry just smiled and Draco leaned down to kiss him.
Draco pulled back and rested his head on his bent arm. Harry was laying silently in front him, looking at the ceiling again. He hadn't given much thought to Harry's childhood, but never in a million years would he have imagined that the Boy Who Lived had been mistreated.
Draco remembered what it was like, growing up in the wizarding world, post Harry Potter. The Dark Lord's 'demise' had been a bit of a taboo in the Malfoy Manor. Lucius Malfoy had had a hard time convincing the authorities to let them get on with their lives.
Draco had always felt guilty about it, like he was betraying his father, but he used to pretend he had an imaginary friend in 'Harry Potter'. That Harry Potter had been nothing like the real one. He had been loyal to Draco, but also naughty and reckless, always causing trouble for Draco. When he ever got into trouble, he would always blame it on Harry Potter.
Another memory came to his mind as he lay there, thinking about what Harry had just told him. "You were like the Invisible Child" he said aloud.
Harry faced Draco, brows furrowed. "What?" he asked.
"I just remembered a story I was told when I was little" Draco said slowly, trying to remember the details. "About a little girl, who had to live with her aunt, or someone. The aunt didn't like her, and she was always mean to the little girl. But there are only so many times you can scare a child. Finally the child became invisible."
Harry looked Draco seriously in the eye, as if trying to figure something out. "So what happened to her?" he asked.
Draco thought about it for a moment. "Well, it all ended well" he assured. "She moved in with a new, loving family. Little by little, she became visible again, all except her face. That finally became visible when she got really mad and bit the tail of her adoptive father..."
Harry's eyebrows shot up. "The tail?"
Draco chuckled a bit. "I know, I can't really remember why he had a tail" he admitted.
"What a weird story" Harry said finally. "Who told it to you?"
"I think it was my nanny" Draco said. "Mamman, that's what her name was" he paused a bit at this. "Or that's what I called her, anyway" he added pensively. "I can't believe I had forgotten about her. She was... nice. Then she just disappeared. Nobody ever told me where she went."
Draco was lost in memories for a moment, then he refocused on Harry. "That story, it used to really freak me out when I was little" he said seriously. "Imagine becoming invisible. They had to tie a bell around her neck to know where she was..." Draco paused for a moment before continuing. "It said that the aunt was terribly ironic. The things she said to the little girl... I remember having thought that she sounded awfully like my father. I didn't want to become invisible."
Harry had a shy smile on his face when he said "Well, you didn't."
Draco returned the smile. It was true, he had never been invisible.
Harry looked back up to the ceiling. "I think I did" he said softly.
Draco kept quiet for a moment. "So are you visible now?" he asked.
Harry thought about it. "I think so" he replied. "I haven't yet gotten to the point where I'm so angry that I'd pull on Dumbledore's beard or something, but I've been close." Harry smiled a bit lopsidedly like he was remembering something. "No, I think I'm only invisible to the Dursleys anymore, but that's okay. I don't need them to see me anymore. I have other people for that in my life now" Harry said with a soft smile to the ceiling.
Title of the chapter from Feel by Robbie Williams
Draco refers to the short story The Invisible Child by Tove Jansson. The adoptive father, like the whole family were Moomin-trolls, that's why they had a tail.
A/n: Thank you for reviewing, once again. I really appreciate it!