Hey, everyone! Sorry you had to wait a while! I was going fast, but then I hit writer's block. But, I'm back! Hope you like this one!

Disclaimer: Oh, I wish!

They Shouldn't Know

Chapter 2

Praying For A Recovery

12 Grimmauld Place

"How is he! What happened!" Nacrissa asked panicking as Tonks and Sirius walked back into the room.

"Okay, okay! Quiet!" Tonks said, actually having to yell over Nacrissa and surprisingly the other four's questions. Hearing it all go quiet she sighed thankfully. "Thank you!" Turning to Sirius she silently begged him to explain it all.

"I can't," Sirius said. "I went in after the vase exploded."

"A vase exploded?" Harry asked confused.

"How did a vase explode?" Ron asked.

"We're not sure what it was exactly," Tonks said sadly. "The head injury could have caused a seizure or it was just a really bad nightmare. He just started thrashing around and his powers went crazy."

"A seizure?" Hermione questioned, worry growing in her eyes. "How bad was his head injury?"

"I had noticed it when we were at the manor. I mean how can you not notice blood falling from a person's head when you pick them up?" Tonks said hugging Nacrissa as the blonde cried.

"Is he okay now?" Nacrissa asked through her tears.

"We can't be sure until he wakes up," Tonks said shaking her head sadly.

"When will that be?" Ginny asked.

"It's up to him," Tonks said shrugging. "Could be in a few minutes could be in a few days. We don't know."

"Sorry to interrupt," Remus said as he entered the room.

"What's wrong with him?" Nacrissa asked as tears continued to fall from her eyes.

"His left leg was broken, but we were able to mend it," Remus said shaking his head as if trying to tell himself that this was all just a dream and that this hadn't happened. "His right arm looked like it had something huge dropped on it. It was almost completely crushed."

"Is it gonna heal?" Harry asked as he remembered having his arm broken by the rouge bludger.

"The bones were pretty much gone so we had to do the charm to remove them, and then give him the Skele-Grow. It'll heal, but it will take a while," Remus said.

"Should he be alone then?" Hermione asked. "What if he has another seizure or something?"

"We have the pictures watching him right now," Sirius said.

"Which room is he in?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I thought there weren't any others," Ron said.

"There're two hidden rooms here," Sirius said. "We put Draco in the one at the end of the hall and we'll put Nacrissa at the one at the other end."

"But, why?" Ginny asked confused.

"So that no one besides the people here will be able to find him," Harry said as realization dawned on him.

"Right," Remus said nodding. "It's like the common rooms back at Hogwarts. You need a password to get in."

"Can I see him?" Nacrissa asked hope shining in her eyes.

"We just need to speak with you privately about a few things first. That way we can get it out of the way and you can stay with him," Tonks said.

Sighing Nacrissa nodded. "About Lucius?"

"Yeah," Sirius said trying to hide the anger in his voice.

"All right," Nacrissa said nodding.

"Um…would you four mind?" Remus asked gently.

"It's okay," Harry said. Giving his friends a quick look he saw the three nod. "Can we go see him?"

"Yeah," Sirius said nodding. Standing he said, "I'll take you guys. I'm the only one Yuki will open for right now. Follow me." Leading the four teenagers to the end of the hall he stopped in front of a picture. "Hey, Yuki."

"Hey, Sirius," Yuki said smiling. "Visitors?"

"Yup," Sirius said nodding. Turning serious he asked, "How is he?"

"No change yet," Yuki said shaking her head making her hair go wild in the wind. Seeing Sirius sigh sadly she allowed her picture to expand to the floor and open.

"Thanks," Ginny said smiling gently. Following the others in, she gasped in shock.

"Oh, God," Hermione gasped. As if forgetting her friends were there she walked forward and sat down on the edge of the bed. Slowly reaching her hand out, she gently moved a piece of white blonde hair off of Draco's forehead mindful of the large bruise on his left temple. "How can someone do this to their own son?" she asked horrified as her eyes filled with tears. Draco's face was covered in bruises and cuts along with what she guessed was a deep cut that ran from the back of his head to the base of his neck.

"I don't know, 'Mione…I don't know," Harry said.

"Gin, you okay?" Ron asked his sister with worry.

"Yeah," Ginny said as if snapping out of a daze. "Just kind of in shock still."

"I think we all are," Harry said nodding slightly. "'Mione? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Hermione said nodding. "I just don't get it."

"Get what?" Ron asked.

"This," Hermione said, gesturing towards the blonde. "I mean…at school he's all high and mighty. Always bragging about what a great dad he has…but in reality…"

"In reality his dad is a child abusing bastard," Ginny said shocking the group with her language.

"Although, I don't like your choice of words, I do agree," Ron said.

"Supper!" Mrs. Weasley's voice yelled from downstairs.

"Coming!" Ron, Harry, and Ginny yelled back.

"You coming, 'Mione?" Ginny asked looking at her friend.

"Um…yeah," Hermione said nodding. "I'm just gonna stay a couple more minutes. I'll meet you guys downstairs."

"All right," Harry said nodding. "We'll save you some food."

"Thanks." Hearing her friends leave Hermione took Draco's limp hand in her own. What is this? I'm supposed to hate him…but if I do then why was I so worried about him? And why did I go straight to him when we came in? Feeling Draco's once limp grip suddenly harden around her hand she jumped slightly. "What the?" Seeing Draco suddenly begin to thrash around in his bed she began to panic slightly. "Malfoy?" Seeing that get no response she tried again. "Draco?" Panicking she ran to Yuki's portrait. "Yuki!"

"Yes?" Yuki answered politely appearing on the other side of the portrait.

"Can you get to the kitchen from here?"

"Yes, why?"

"There's something going on. Tell them that it's probably not that serious. I just can't get him to settle down or respond. I think it's a nightmare."

"I'm on my way," Yuki said disappearing.

Hurrying back to Draco's side she noticed his sleeves had had gotten bunched up revealing cuts and scars covering both arms. He used knives too? What kind of father is he!

"Hermione, what happened?" Remus asked hurrying to Draco's side with Tonks, Mrs. Weasley, and Sirius following.

"I don't know," Hermione said shaking her head. "I was sitting here and he just started thrashing."

"The sleeping potion wore off early," Mrs. Weasley said with a look of worry on her face.

"I remember Cissy saying that Lucius always had a thing about potions when he was in school," Sirius said as he tried to hold Draco in place. "He probably used them on Draco."

"So do you mean his body might be used to different potions and need extra doses?" Tonks asked.

"Yeah," Sirius said nodding. "If Lucius had used multiple potions on him his body probably built up a kind of immunity where extra doses would be."

"But couldn't that be dangerous?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "What if he was given too much and went into a coma?"

"I think what Sirius means is that if you wanted to have him asleep for an hour or so give him the amount that would make him sleep for two," Hermione said catching on.

"Yeah, we wanted to just settle him down at the time," Mrs. Weasley said. Walking over and taking a sleeping potion from the shelf Mrs. Weasley waited until Tonks and Sirius were able to hold his arms down and Remus his legs.

Carefully avoiding the cut and bruises Hermione took his head in her hands and held it still as Mrs. Weasley slowly poured the liquid into his mouth and massaged his throat until he swallowed. Feeling him go limp in her arms Hermione gently wiped away the tear that he had shed in the struggle. "Is he going to be okay?"

"We're working on it," Mrs. Weasley said fixing his covers.

"It's going to take time," Remus said. "Lucius probably put him through so much abuse that it'll take a while to heal."

"Probably abused the kid in more ways than one," Tonks said.

"You okay, Hermione?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," Hermione said softly. "I was just…there were signs."

"Signs?" Sirius questioned.

"Of the abuse," Hermione explained. "When Harry accidentally ended up in Knockturn Alley he'd mentioned to us about Lucius bullying Dra-Malfoy. And then World Cup, I remember seeing Lucius punch him in the chest with his cane. Draco had looked like it really hurt."

Clenching his fists in anger Sirius asked through clenched teeth, "Have you seen anything else?"

"Not that I can re-wait! During the attack at the Cup I'd gotten separated from everyone else and I remember Lucius throwing Draco into a tree. When I saw it I thought he'd just gotten Lucius mad. And there's one more thing."

"What?" Remus asked.

"When the fake Mad Eye Moody was still teaching, we were learning about the unforgivables. And when he'd yelled crucio Draco had just stiffened up. He had just looked so scared…I didn't think anything of it. I mean it scared half the class and I was focusing on Neville. Oh, my god," Hermione said in disbelief. "There were so many signs. How could we have been so blind?"

"We never considered the fact he was abused," Tonks said looking down. Falling into her own thoughts she continued to stare at Draco's unconscious form.

Malfoy Manor

"Nacrissa! Draco!" Lucius screamed in anger as he threw a glass paper weight into a mirror across from him. Watching the broken shards fall he angrily stepped on one and smirked as if it were Draco below his foot. "You can't hide for long," he said, his eyes glowing a terrifying glint.

TBC

Anime Girl23: DONE! Okay, first of all I am so sorry it took so long! I kept getting stuck at parts and giving up. I'll try to make your wait shorter next time!

Draco: Why do I have a feeling you're going to cause me a lot of pain?

Anime Girl23: Because you're a smart kid. You know what's coming. :P

Draco: Just kill me now. --()

Anime Girl23: But, then there's no fun for me. Anyway, I'll try and post the next chapter a little faster, but I can't promise anything with seven other stories still going.

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Until next time!