Chapter 9 Reunion

Blaise stormed into the classroom. "Where's Malfoy?" she demanded.

"He just left." Harry replied. As Blaise left the classroom Harry heard a familiar voice whisper behind him.

"Wench." Harry laughed and left in the direction of the Gryffindor Tower. He entered the common room and walked straight up towards the dormitory. He walked in to find Seamus, Ron and Dean deep in conversation.

"Could you guys give me a moment." Harry asked "I want to talk to Seamus alone."

Ron and Dean looked questioningly at each other, and mumbling, left the room.

"If you've come to apologise about your behaviour this morning it's not me you should be apologising to. Draco didn't do anything to deserve that."

"Would you just shut up and let me explain?" Harry demanded "I had to do that so that I could get Draco alone, so I could… well see for yourself."

Life that had been missing from Seamus' eyes for what seemed an eternity ignited as Draco removed the invisibility cloak. Seamus jumped off his bed and rushed over to kiss Draco. The two embraced for a short while before Draco broke away, and smiling, held Seamus' shoulders at arms length where he could see the other boy.

"Hello gorgeous! I missed you." He kissed Seamus on the forehead and his expression turned more serious. "You've lost a lot of weight." His eyes were filled with concern.

"So have you." Seamus countered. Draco ignored this last comment. He was more concerned about Seamus' health than his own.

"Have you been eating enough? He hasn't has he?" Draco demanded, turning to Harry who shook his head.

"Well you haven't exactly been looking after yourself either. You wear long loose robes to try to hide it, but I can feel how thin you've got. You need to eat more."

"Okay, okay." Draco laughed "We'll make a pact. I'll eat more if you promise to take care of yourself."

"Deal." Seamus agreed as he sat on his bed and pulled the other boy into his lap. Harry decided it would be best if he left them to get reacquainted. After seeing the way Draco reacted to their reunion, Harry was convinced that this was the best thing he could have done for Seamus.

"I go make sure no one disturbs you." Harry said as way of farewell. The two blondes looked up with a start. They had become so wrapped in each other that they had forgotten Harry was there.

As Harry left the room Draco turned back to Seamus and gazed intently into his eyes, as if afraid that looking away would mean the other boy would disappear forever.

"This is probably not a good idea." he sighed.

"I don't care." Seamus replied defiantly "You mean more to me than anyone else in the world. I love you and I never want to lose you."

"I love you too." Draco echoed as he turned around in Seamus' lap. He placed his hands gently behind Seamus' neck and drew the other boy close.

As they kissed Draco was flooded with a sense of perfection he had been missing for the past month. He allowed himself to be consumed by the kiss and didn't want the moment to end. He missed Seamus. He needed Seamus. Seamus was the one person in Draco's life whom he truly loved, and whom he felt sure truly loved him.

They broke apart reluctantly so they could draw breath. Draco wrapped Seamus' arms tightly around his waist. He needed the physical contact. He needed to know this moment was real. Draco sighed sadly.

"What wrong?" Seamus asked "Isn't everything perfect? Isn't this the way it's meant to be?"

"No it's not." Draco replied softly "Don't get me wrong. I love you, really I do, but it shouldn't be like this. We shouldn't have to sneak around. We shouldn't have to lie and disguise our feelings. But we do, and my mere presence is putting you in danger. I hate that I have to act so distant for fear of something happening to you." Draco sighed again and snuggled deeper into Seamus' embrace.

"Don't worry about me. Dumbledore will make sure nothing happens to me."

"But what about when we finish school, what about when you go home for the holidays?" Draco was fearful.

"We will worry about that when the time comes. Besides, Dumbledore's reach is long. After all, he has been protecting Harry for all these years, hasn't he? No, don't worry about me. Let's just enjoy the present." Seamus rested his chin on Draco's shoulder and tightened his hold around his boyfriend's waist, as if the physical contact could transfer his feelings. He wanted Draco to know that he lived him, and that he wouldn't give up. He wanted Draco to know that he was willing to fight for him.

"I would never forgive myself if anything ever happened to you."

"I'll be alright." Seamus assured him "It's you who we should be worried about. If your father finds out he'll take you out of school, and there's no knowing what he would be willing to do to turn you into the son he wants you to be."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

/Oh but I do worry./ Seamus thought /If you were removed from school I'd still be safe within the Hogwarts grounds. You would be at home, and I don't think that there is anything that Lucius is not capable of. I think he would torture his own son if he thought it would get him what he wants./ That thought was enough to make Seamus tighten his grip on Draco. He didn't want to ever let him go. He hated the thought of anyone hurting his boyfriend. He was startled out of his reprieve when Draco winced.

"Oh I'm sorry." He loosened his grip. Seamus was confused. He had been squeezing, but he didn't think he had been holding on all that hard. He may have slightly restricted Draco's breathing, but it wouldn't have been enough to cause pain. Draco rubbed at his ribs.

"No, it's not you. I've got some old bruises."

"Show me." Seamus demanded, suddenly very concerned.

"Oh it's nothing. Just the usual injuries sustained in Quidditch. It's like you say, the game is barbaric." But there was no point arguing. While he tried, Seamus had opened the front of his robes and pulled them down, leaving the Slytherin naked from the waist up.

Seamus inspected the other boy's torso and what he saw there left him shocked. There were cuts and bruises all over his body. Far worse than anything he had seen on Harry from Quidditch. Seamus poked tentatively at the injuries and found two ribs he suspected were broken. The injuries were all over his arms, and Seamus suspected they went down further. Draco looked as though someone had been using him as a punching bag. Or several someones.

/So that's why you've taken to wearing long, loose robes all the time./ It hurt Seamus to see the other boy is such a pitiful state. "Draco, how did this happen?" he demanded.

"I told you. Quidditch." Draco repeated.

"Don't lie to me Draco. Even Quidditch isn't that violent. Someone has been hitting you, haven't they? Why haven't you gone to see Madame Pomfrey about this?"

"Oh yes, and how was I supposed to explain that? I can see it now. 'Excuse me Madame Pomfrey. You see I have these injuries all over my body from where my housemates have been beating me. Could you fix them up? Oh, and please don't make a fuss.' Yeah. That would have gone down brilliantly." Draco regretted the harshness of his comments as soon as the words left his lips. It wasn't Seamus' fault that he was in this situation, and he shouldn't be taking his frustrations out on the other boy.

"But why are they doing this to you?" to Seamus the concept of having your own housemates beat you like that regularly was unfathomable.

"Oh I don't know." Draco could not keep the sarcasm from his voice "because they are in a bad mood. Because they feel like it. Because I disgust them and I deserve it."

"You do not deserve this. Nobody deserves this." Seamus grasped Draco's chin and forced him to look into his eyes. "Nobody has the right to touch you. They should not be doing this to you."

Draco looked away and Seamus sighed. How was it that someone who could appear to be as self confident as Draco could have such a poor sense of self worth? Who had done this to him? Seamus' chain of thought was broken by Harry's return.

"I can't keep them out of here forever. It is their dorm as well you know." Harry called as he walked in. "Honestly Seamus, couldn't you find somewhere more private than a shared bedroom to strip your boyfriend? Anyone could walk in on you…" Harry's voice trailed off as he registered the horrendous state of Draco's body. The blond Slytherin hurriedly tried to cover himself, but it was too late.

"What happened to you?" Harry demanded.

"Nothing." Draco lied. He really didn't wand Harry involved.

"He won't go see Madame Pomfrey." Seamus told Harry, wishing that there were something the dark haired boy could do to remedy the situation.

"Right." Harry replied "Well, you are going to have to leave now. The others will be up here soon. You two can meet somewhere tomorrow, but right now Draco is going to see Madame Pomfrey."

"I don't want to." Draco argued "I'm fine. Really."

"I don't care whether you want to. I am going to go there with you regardless, and if you don't come I'll tell Seamus." Draco looked at Seamus and seeing the concern in the other boy's eyes, the Slytherin was flooded with guilt. He didn't need to be causing Seamus any more pain but leaving him to worry.

"Alright, all right, I'll go."

"Good. Now come on." Harry said handing Draco the invisibility cloak that had been left lying on Seamus' bed. Draco once again disappeared under the fabric, and Seamus watched as Harry led him out of the dorm.