Linari Tanis: Indeed, Harry is very scary. Sort of the point, haha.
Blonde Dragon: Yeah, I seem to be putting down Ginny a lot, especially in the chapter. I have nothing against her, but she's not supposed to be with Harry! Draco is! And I appreciate the offer of a beta, but I think I'm gonna trudge along by my lonesome for a while. Thanks though!
Lady of the squirrels: First off, let me compliment the screen name. Badass. And I agree, the Dursleys did deserve it. But they're not out of the picture yet, don't count your chickens before they're hatched!
HarryANDdracoAREmentTObe: Are you aware that it's spelled "meant", not "ment" for your SN? I just thought someone should mention it. And I'm very glad you like my story! And I absolutely despise Vernon... Hence why I made him go buh-bye.
Beth: I'm sure you're not a jerk, haha. Beth's a cute name. I don't believe that anyone named Beth can be a jerk... It's like... Unnatural.
Darkfirebird1423: Well... Wow back at you! I think I shall write some more, just because of your enthusiasm!
Fallingshort08: Yeah, I thought Harry was entitled to getting good and angry at all the crap he's gone through. And if you like a MAD!Harry, you'll loooove this chapter.
Yami-hikari Kyoko: Holy moly, that's a big comment! Love! And thank you for all the lovely compliments. And as for the whole "Black" spelling error, I did that on purpose, actually. He's about to say 'Black', but then he realizes it may be disrespectful, so he says 'Your godfather' instead. Kind of like how Dumbledore always used to correct Harry whenever he said 'Snape'. Thank you very much for all your wonderful words! Haha, and yes, I WANT REVIEWS, DAMNIT!
Devo: H/D relationship is definitely beginning in this chapter, and I'm going to start having Harry see Draco in a different light soon. I don't want to give away anything, but can you say HURT AND COMFORT? You'll understand. ;)
Comments are appreciated! I'm going to start answering every review I get, just to be nice, and hopefully get a few more comments in the process. Especially because I give a few hints as to what's to come in my responses. Lord I'm pathetic. ONWARD, HO!
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Their shopping expedition wasn't incredibly eventful, there were no huge revelations, nor were there any life-changing moments to make Harry see Draco in a new way. However, the entire way, Draco explained what had happened to his family, how he'd grown up, the ceremony for the dark mark, Voldemort's fury, how he was in danger.
Harry was not stupid.
He was not naive.
He believed Draco, he did. But then again, Dumbledore believed Snape. Look at where that got him. He absorbed all that Draco said, never interjecting, only listening. He would mull everything over tonight.
In the back of his mind, he was marginally ashamed of going back to the Weasley's. He'd just practically thrown Ginny from him. But damnit, she deserved it. He NEVER let anyone touch him without permission. And she most certainly didn't have it.
"Harry. Want to go back, now? I can barely carry all these bags." Harry glanced over at Draco, who was carrying about seven huge, bulging bags of new clothes, books, and everything he needed to survive. Looking at him nearly falling to the ground from the weight, he smirked and grabbed two of his bags, already holding his four, and now two of Draco's.
"Alright, Draco, let's go before it gets dark."
He began to walk slightly faster, until he realized that Draco had stopped short. He turned back, brow furrowed. "C'mon." he ordered, jerking his head in the direction he had been heading in. Draco slowly walked over to him, his eyes narrowed.
"Harry."
"Yeah?"
"You just called me 'Draco'."
Harry stared back at Draco for several long moments before he snorted. "No I didn't."
"Yes you did! You said 'Alright, Draco, let's go before it gets dark.'"
Harry glared at him. "Shut up. Let's go."
Dropping several bags in the process, Draco's hand snaked out to latch itself onto Harry's wrist. "Listen, I appreciate you treating me like a human being, but it's not like you. What's wrong?"
Harry ripped his arm away from Draco and shoved him away, making him stumble several steps backwards. "I'm not in the mood for this shit. Let's go, alright?" Without waiting for him to respond, he strode away, leaving Draco alone to wonder what had happened to the infamous Harry Potter to make him turn so hateful.
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When they got back to the Burrow, both went into their room, unpacking their things and taking off tags. Neither spoke. Finally, both were done, and they both lay sprawled out on their beds, the sounds of the Weasley's below them the only thing filling the silence.
"When did we start fighting?" asked Draco, his voice monotone. Harry slowly sat up and looked over at the boy on the bed opposite him.
"First year. I didn't take your hand when you offered it to me."
"What did Mad-Eye Moody turn me into?"
Harry struggled to keep a grin off his face. "A ferret."
"What did I call you and Ron when I was mad?"
Harry watched him carefully, but Draco made no effort to make eye contact. Instead, he was looking up at the rafters with an unnatural interest.
"Potty and Weasel. Why are you asking me all this?"
This time, Draco did make eye contact. "I want to make sure you're still you. Or not under the Imperius. One last question."
Harry shrugged, motioning for him to continue.
"Where did you get those marks all over you?"
Faster than Draco could imagine, Harry's face twisted into a look of loathing and contempt. "It doesn't concern you." he spat.
Draco shrugged, looking upwards again. "Yeah it does. If you did them yourself, I need to know, because I don't want to have a psychopath in my room who'll kill me in my sleep. Vital information." He got off the bed and brushed himself off casually, a move that positively infuriated Harry. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I'll just go tell the Weasleys that you should be checked in to St. Mungo's." he said, walking to the center of the room and bending over to open the trap door.
Harry jumped off his bed, barreled into Draco, and slammed him up against the wall. "Don't you EVER threaten me." he growled, his face two inches from Draco's own. Draco didn't flinch. "I am NOT a psychopath, and I don't APPRECIATE being accused of being one."
Draco smirked back at him, looking exactly how Harry remembered him back in sixth year, while he snuck around planning to kill Dumbledore. "You seem pretty damn psychotic to me, right now."
With a snarl, Harry pulled Draco closer to him, only to slam him back into the wall, his head connecting with the rotting wood with a dull thump. "You want to know where I got these marks? Huh?"
Draco, with eyes burning with both pain and fury, nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
"I got these from my uncle. My oh-so-fucking-loving uncle who used to beat the shit out of me nearly every day. Who would do the sickest things imaginable to a little kid just for the thrill. My uncle who used to starve me and lock me in a little five by four cupboard for weeks at a time. The man who put BARS on my fucking windows. THAT'S who I got them from."
A swirl of emotions arose in Draco's blue-grey eyes as he stared at Harry. The only emotions he could decipher were pain, and apathy. Damnable apathy, the very emotion he strove to avoid.
Before Harry could yell at Draco not to pity him, Draco rose his hand and dragged the tips of his fingers down Harry's cheek, tracing the scabbing cuts from Dudley's nails.
"What about these?" he asked quietly, eyes boring into Harry's.
Caught completely off guard, he smacked Draco's hand away and turned from him, walking quickly to the trapdoor, yanking it open, and descending. Draco couldn't really place the feeling that rose in his stomach at that very moment as Harry ran from him, but all he knew was that he was at an utter loss as to what to do. He wasn't used to dealing with temperamental and violent roomies. He was used to getting what he wanted, when he wanted it. 'That was back then. This is now' he reminded himself. 'Now, you can't get whatever you want. You have to earn it.'
He finally moved away from the wall and went and lay down on his bed, feeling decidedly dizzy. He needed to wait a few minutes so he wouldn't bump into Harry when he went downstairs, anyway.
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Harry slammed the door into place, rubbing at his face with his hands, trying to rub away the feel of Draco's fingers. Fingers too long, too slender, too cold for a normal human. The look in his eyes, and his touch, had been nearly reptilian in a way. Yet, in another way, strangely enticing. A foreign feeling began to eat at him from the inside, goose bumps rising on his skin, yet, he felt as though his entire body was on fire.
He tried to shrug off how uneasy he felt, but he couldn't seem to do so. In his daze, he didn't notice Ginny standing in front of him, legs apart, hands on her hips, until he nearly bumped into her.
"Jesus, what're you doing?" he snapped, irritated to begin with. She whipped her hand back and smacked him, hard, across the face.
"You ass! How DARE you treat me like that!"
Harry smirked at her, a red hand print burning angrily across his cheek. "You forget, princess, you kissed me beforehand. And I'm not the one smacking people, here, you are."
Tears welled up in her eyes. "I thought you loved me. If you loved me, you wouldn't care if I kissed you. You'd WANT me to kiss you!"
Harry rolled his eyes and pushed her aside so he could go down the stairs. "I never said I loved you, Ginny." he said, his voice softer than usual.
Ginny stomped her foot, tears now flowing freely down her face. She gave him a hard, short push as he began to go down the stairs. "I hate you!"
He jolted forward, and if his hand hadn't been on the railing, he most likely would have fallen. He whirled around, and stormed back up to her. Grabbing both of her wrists in one of his hands, he pulled her against his chest and grabbed her under her chin, tilting her head back to look at him. "I could put you in so much pain, you'd forget who you are. Don't push me. I'll push back FAR harder." he whispered darkly. Ginny's eyes grew larger, terror flashing briefly through her bright brown orbs. His grip on her wrists became tighter. "You will not hit me. You will not hug me. You will not kiss me, and you will not push me. You will treat me as a friend, nothing more, and nothing less. If you don't like it, I dare you, I DARE you, to try to push me over the edge."
"O-okay." Ginny murmured, her voice cracking. He released her and went down the stairs, leaving her shaking in the hallway. She stood there, unmoving, for several long seconds that seemed like an eternity.
"Ginny?" Draco was across the hall, quietly closing the trapdoor. With a squeak, she ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck. He jumped, then slowly pulled her closer, into a comforting hug. "You alright?"
She shook her head, sniffling and sobbing, her head buried in his shoulder. "I wish he was back to normal. I wish he wasn't so weird towards me anymore."
Draco stiffened for a moment. "Ginny... Why do you want him to be normal? So that he'll stop acting like this and hurting everyone and himself... Or because you want to be with him again?"
She leaned back, glaring through her tears. "He didn't want to break up with me in the first place. He didn't want me to be hurt, like everyone else that's close to him. He still feels the same way, he just can't get over how stupidly protective he is."
He nodded. "Just wondering." he said. Apparently that was close enough to what she wanted to hear, because she leant forward again and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before moving away. "Thanks Draco. I needed that."
He nodded, restraining the urge to check his new sweater for snot. "Anytime."
Ginny never noticed the sticky blood dripping down from Draco's head to coat his back.
She never heard the low groan he uttered as she moved out of sight.
She never saw him collapse.
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Meanwhile, as Harry came down the stairs, Ron came in the front door. Upon seeing Harry, he reached out and grabbed his arm. "I've got to talk to you, mate. Take a walk?"
Harry shrugged, and allowed Ron to drag him outside. They walked around the side of the house to the backyard, which was thankfully deserted, and sat on a bench. Harry watched Ron expectantly.
"Alright. Now, you need to tell me what's going on with you."
Harry shrugged. "There's really nothing to tell." Ron rolled his eyes.
"Nothing? Bull. You've been yelling at everyone, you've been ignoring me and 'Mione, you've barely talked to Bill, Fleur, Fred or George, and what's worse, you've been yelling at my Dad, barely speaking to my Mum, and you've been treating Ginny like a prick!"
Ron had stood up at this point, waving his arms furiously, his face reddening. Harry's eyes began to glow softly with rage, but he tried to quell it. "Everything that I've said, or done, has been justified." he said quietly, struggling to keep his face impassive.
"Justified? Justified! You bloody threw my sister across the room!"
Harry stood up as well, not intimidated in the slightest that Ron was several inches taller than him. He met his furious stare head on. "Yeah, AFTER she kissed me. THEN, she hit me across the face, because she was pissed I didn't want her to."
"You don't hit a girl, ever, especially your best mate's sister!" Ron yelled, moving forward until he was a foot from Harry.
"I didn't HIT her, I PUSHED her away. There's a difference. You should worry less about how I handle keeping her the hell away from me, and worry more about her keeping her skirt on!" he bellowed.
With a cry of fury, Ron curled his hand in a fist and went to hit Harry. At the same time, Harry also let out a yell, only he lifted his arms into the air, causing Ron to be enveloped in a red glow and be lifted into the air. When Ron's fist met nothing but air, he yelped and began to flail his arms. "Harry! Harry! What the hell is going on!" he screeched.
Harry looked up at him, also emitting a red light. "You. Will. Not. Hit. Me." he snarled, his voice deeper than usual, nearly demonic. "I will not allow you, nor anyone else to hit me again."
Ron merely gaped down at him. "What..! Harry, let me down!"
Harry snarled, shaking his hands, making Ron shake as well, like a rag puppet. "Do you understand!"
Ron waved his hands back and forth, motioning Harry to stop shaking him. "Yeah! Yeah! Let me down!"
Slowly, Harry lowered his arms, and Ron came down just as slowly, before settling gently on his feet in the grass. Ron immediately sat down, looking up at Harry in wonder. "Bloody hell, mate. Where'd you learn that?"
Harry paused for a moment, before sitting down as well. "I just... Kind of did it."
"Was that the first time?" Ron asked, the stormy look now gone from his face, excitement and curiosity sparkling in his eyes.
Harry chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Erm... Yeah."
"That's amazing! We have to tell 'Mione!" he exclaimed. "She can go and look up stuff about it, then we can learn how to control it, and,"
"Ron!" Harry yelled, interrupting him. Ron stared at him, snapping his mouth shut. "I don't want anyone to know. I'm abnormal enough, you know? Let's... Just keep this between us for now, alright? A best mate secret?"
Ron beamed at him. "Right!" he said, sticking out his hand. Harry caught himself almost smiling as he accepted Ron's hand, and Ron shook it heartily. "But, have you decided what to do? With Hogwarts?"
Harry stared at him. "How did you know?"
Ron blushed. "Well, Fred and George found these things called walkie-talkies in a muggle shop, and we stuck one in the kitchen, one in their room. We heard most of what happened."
Harry paused. "I think I'm going to keep it. He left it to me... I suppose I should respect his wishes."
Ron nodded. "Bloody hell." he murmured. Harry looked up at him. "What?" he asked, confused.
"It's just.. Now you're going to be even MORE famous." he said with a sigh.
Harry's lips quirked up momentarily. "Hey, you hang out with me. Maybe you'll get in on a few pictures for the Daily Prophet. Then all the girls will come running." he said, trying to keep a grin at bay. Ron brightened immediately. "Hey, yeah!" he whooped. "Alright, c'mon. It's nearly dinner-time and we want to get there early before all the food's gone."
Harry didn't try to hide his smile this time as Ron pulled him to his feet and led him inside.
By this point Draco had been unconscious for 20 minutes.
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Oh no! Harry hurt Draco! Whatever will happen? I suppose you'll just have to wait and find out...
Reviews make me work faster. -grins-