A/N: Thank you guys for being patient with me. Thank you to Fanofbellaandedward for proof-reading this for me!

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters created by J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Two

The long kitchen-come-dining-room had terracotta tiles lining the floor and a rustic feeling running through the entire place, including the copper coloured pots and pans hanging on the walls and shelves above the cooker. A muggle cooker, Draco noted as he stood awkwardly in the doorway. The dining table looked new but well-worn already, the chairs tucked in on all sides. A hunched over house-elf was pottering around the stove, the smell of food suddenly caught in the air and punched Draco in the gut. Whatever was cooking, smelled amazing. He hadn't had much of an appetite in the last few weeks.

The house-elf turned around and froze, his dull eyes growing wide. "Master Malfoy, sir, it is a privilege to be meeting you."

Draco gave a curt nod, suddenly feeling sickened as the elf bowed low before straightening up. He looked a little grubby but completely at home being domesticated. He was old though, that wasn't too unusual.

"Master Malfoy be seating himself, sir," the elf gestured to a chair nearer the stove, "Kreacher is making the shepherds pie. Is Master Black's choice tonight."

Draco settled down, grateful for the warmth emanating from the stove. He hadn't realised how cold he felt.

The dining room was long and narrow, stretching the full length of the ground floor. It was unsettling to think of how Christmas dinners were able to work, if that was even a tradition his cousin partook in. Just as Kreacher levitated the dishes over towards the table, the kitchen door opened and Sirius stepped down into the kitchen. He regarded Draco with a slightly wary expression but sat down opposite him regardless and pulled a plate closer.

They started eating in silence, Sirius dismissing Kreacher to do as he pleased. It didn't last long, however. "So what do you plan on doing now that you've been released into my custody?" he asked.

Draco looked up from picking at his food. "I -hadn't known what to expect after the trial."

"I had a few ideas when I was in prison," Sirius stated, taking a long drink from his goblet. "But they all revolved around killing old friends." He gave a thin smile which sent a shiver down Draco's spine. It must have shown on his face because a sudden bark of laughter from the older man made him jump. "Calm down, kid. The man was killed, friends avenged, I can finally move on with my life. If I can manage it, you will too."

"Somehow that's not reassuring."

This time Sirius gave a proper smile. "Trust me. You'll manage. You just need to figure out what you want to do with yourself."

Draco hunched over his food. It tasted good, he was sure, but to him everything tasted like cardboard. "Most people won't want a Death Eater near them, regardless of how I became one or not."

"Have they recommended therapy?"

Narrowing his eyes, Draco nodded. "Yes ... Why?"

"That's one of the things that Harry insisting on making available for everyone who suffered first-hand in the war. Making sure that they were all allowed therapy. Naturally any criminals or people on trial wanting therapy would need to have Aurors with them, but that was easily done."

"I see," Draco mumbled. "Where is Potter anyway? Too busy with fundraisers to grace as with his time?"

Sirius stiffened a little, his grey eyes darkening. "Bitterness will lead you down a dark path, Draco. I'd have thought it'd be easy to let go of petty playground bullshit considering what you've both been through." He locked eyes with the teen, "You of all people should know the impact Voldemort had on any one person."

Draco bowed his head, "Sorry, sir."

"No need," he said dismissively. "Now let's move on to another order of business."

Draco steeled himself.

"After dinner, we're going to add you to the wards so that you will be allowed to come and go easier, and have protection as long as you remain inside this house." Draco nodded in understanding, "You will make every attempt to be sociable as much as possible. I will escort you too and from your therapy sessions, unless I am unavailable, in which case an Auror will be appointed."

"I'm not a child," he snapped, but there was no heat behind his words.

"I'm aware. It's merely something I have agreed upon. After Christmas we can revisit it depending on progress and whatever else has been done." Sirius laced his fingers together under his chin. "I have also agreed to some terms with the ministry. You have permission to write letters to your mother as soon as she is settled in her house in France, and she to you."

"I ... appreciate that."

"And we can look into opening communication channels to your friends-"

"That won't be necessary," Draco cut in, his jaw rigid.

Sirius didn't ask for him to elaborate and that was just fine with the blonde. He didn't need his cousin to pity him, knowing that he had no friends to talk to. Pansy was out on parole, Blaise and his family had fled to Italy after making a sizeable donation to various charities. He hadn't gotten the dark mark, so Draco didn't see why his friend was running. Perhaps it was just a precaution? Either way, Draco wasn't sure he knew what to say to his friend.

"This is going to be hard for you," Sirius stated, matter-of-factly. What he said next wasn't to be mean, it was just the reality that had been thrust upon them. "It will be hard for a while. People will yell things, spread rumours and constantly piss you off. You need to have some friends."

Draco ground his teeth together.

"I don't know where I would be if I hadn't had at least one."

"Is that all it takes?" Draco found himself asking, even daring to look up at the brunette man. "From going mad?"

Sirius inclined his head, "Believe it or not, once you open the door for one, usually a torrent follow whether you like it or not."

In spite of how he felt, Draco felt his face muscles wanting to smile. It almost happened. Almost. He managed to eat a few more mouthfuls before his stomach protested. Pushing his plate away, he drained the last of his juice and shuddered. "I ... don't think I can eat anymore," he stated apologetically.

Sirius waved him off. "It's fine. It'll keep. For now, I think you'd best have a bath, wash the day off you, and have an early night. I find sleep often ... troublesome. I had the liberty of ordering something that might take the edge off."

Draco gut dropped. Was it a whole crate of dreamless sleep? He found he didn't really want to know the answer. He was just about to step up into the hallway when he stopped. "Where exactly is the bathroom is this ... maze?"

"Up the stairs, second floor, down the corridor and it's the door on the right."

.

.

The bathroom wasn't as large as Draco was used to but at the same time, it wasn't claustrophobic. The floor was black and white tiled like a chess-board and the walls were a deep blue colour. The ancient knobs and taps looked like pewter and were deeply engraved, much like what Draco had back at the manor.

Even the taps were engraved to resemble snakes.

The claw-foot tub stood proudly underneath the window, the pipes gurgling a little as Draco turned the hot water on. Slowly, the tub started to fill, bubbles foaming up as soon as he remembered that he had to add the bubble-bath now. That would take some getting used to.

Perched on the edge of the tub, Draco looked around the rest of the room. There wasn't much to see; there was an oval mirror above the sink that looked older than he was, and there were shelves stacked with various soaps, shampoos and after-shaves all in different colours and scents. Draco had merely used the bottle perched on the window-sill.

Once the bath had filled, he stripped out of his clothes and climbed into the tub, sinking down beneath the bubbles.

Once he'd washed his hair and scrubbed his skin raw, he stepped out onto the mat on the floor, dried off and dressed back into his clothes. The grandfather clock in the hallway announced it was 8PM. He had never felt more ready to sleep in his entire life. Padding up the small staircase to his room, he let the door creak open and froze when he saw the trio of large orbs hovering over by the dresser. He frowned up at them, pressing himself back into the door. What the fuck was that?

"This was something that I'd gotten as a present," Sirius' voice made him jump. The man was too damn quiet sometimes. "They adjust to your emotional state of mind; when you're tired they'll dim down, when you have a nightmare they'll be bright enough to calm you down, or change colour, depending."

Draco glanced at the older man. "I'm guessing it was a gift from Potter."

"Yes," Sirius hummed. "There's only so much waking up and screaming either one of us could take. Darkness was the main catalyst."

"Hopefully they work," Draco murmured apprehensively.

"If they don't we can try something -"

An ear-splitting cry shattered the moment.

Draco cringed away from the door, grabbing blindly for his wand and only finding air. "What the fuck was that?" he grimaced, clenching the bedpost. "Was that a ... Do you have a baby?"

Sirius was already hurrying out of the door. "Not exactly!" he shot over his shoulder.

Draco didn't know what that could possibly mean but he decided he didn't have the energy to find out. Slamming the bedroom door closed he was grateful that it kept the crying to a dull echo, even without a silencing charm. Rooting around in his trunk, he pulled out the worn-out dragon. A tremor ran down his spine as he tugged the covers of the bed back and burrowed down underneath. Despite it being the middle of summer he was glad for the cool weight of the blankets pressing down on top of him. Burrowing under the pillows, he deafened himself to the rest of the world and clenched his eyes shut.

Clenching the dragon's neck tightly, Draco willed himself to sleep.

~0~

Draco sat bolt upright in bed at 7:34AM.

The lights were a dull yellow, sending soft swirling patterns of golden light around the room. His breathing was ragged, his skin drenched in a sheen of sweat. The nightmare had rendered his bath the previous evening completely useless. Scraping his hair back off of his forehead, he started shaking as the cool morning air rushed over him. There was no fire in the grate. His heart sank even further in his chest; usually the house-elves would have lit a fire so that he wouldn't have to wake up to a cold room.

'I hadn't realised how much I relied on magic,' he thought bitterly as he kicked his covers aside and hunted through his trunk for something -anything -to wrap around himself to ward off the chill.

Bundled up in thicker layers than necessary, Draco felt as though he could sleep no longer, despite how tempting the bed looked. In the end, his gut decided that he was hungry enough to warrant padding down to the kitchen. The fire in the fireplace and the stove were on, Kreacher was pottering around making eggs and bacon with toast. Draco almost doubled over with hunger as he settled down at the table.

"Morning Master Malfoy, sir. Kreacher is making the master's's breakfast! Would the young Master be needings something he likes?"

"Do you have any sausages?" Draco asked, trying to keep his tone polite.

"Yes, Kreacher is having the sausages." He bustled over to the pantry and returned with a plate of sausages that he added to the frying pan.

The sizzle was loud.

"Thanks."

"No needing to thanks Kreacher, sirs."

Draco opened his mouth to argue but promptly shut it as footfalls echoed down the stairs. He braced himself to deal with Sirius after, what he could only assume, a sleepless night. The door behind him swung open. Much to Draco's chagrin, the older man didn't look much different from last night. His hair looked a little bushier, reminding him of Granger, and he had a fresh shirt on but otherwise looked unchanged. Except for the baby in his arms!

Draco bristled. "Where the hell did that come from?"

Sirius shot him a look but didn't say anything as he transfigured a regular chair into a high-chair, settling the squirming infant into it. "Kreacher prepare some milk."

"Kreacher is getting the milks for the baby Potter."

Draco's jaw dropped. "What -what the fuck?" He leaned over the table, staring right into the brat's eyes. They were bright green and shining, rimmed by thick lashes. The trademark scar was puckered and raw on his forehead underneath a fluffy black fringe. "Oh Merlin's beard! Is that POTTER?!"

Sirius waved him to sit back down, hissing a loud "Shhhh!" as he did so. "Don't be too loud, you don't want to set him off again."

"ME?!" Draco snapped, aghast. "I've not even been here a day! How do you expect me to deal with this?!" He gestured at Potter who was currently suckling on a bottle that Kreacher held out for him. Standing up, appetite gone, Draco backed away to the kitchen door. "I can't -I can't do this!"

"Draco wait!"

The door crashed open, almost smacking the blonde in the face. Remus Lupin -really? Him?! -stood framed in the doorway, looking like thunder, his eyes blazing gold as he glared over Draco's shoulder at the scene before him. The whole look was sort of diminished a little by the baby strapped to his chest. The man barely glanced at Draco as he came down the two steps.

"Mr. Malfoy I suggest you go to your room," he stated darkly.

Despite the instinct to argue his right to know what was going on, Draco decided that angering a werewolf was not a lot different to angering a hippogriff, so he did as he was told. For now. Stepping around the tall man, Draco hedged along the hall towards the staircase and gingerly backed up to his room. Before he'd even reached the first landing, the shouting started making him flinch.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"Moony, don't start -"

"DON'T YOU 'MOONY' ME, SIRIUS! WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE?!"

"Didn't you get my letter?!" Sirius snapped. "He made his decision! I just helped him, that's all!"

"AND THAT JUSTIFIES THIS?!" Lupin snarled. A shiver ran through Draco's limbs as he crouched beside the bannister, feeling very much like he was an infant again. "IF HE WAS FEELING THIS WAY THEN HE NEEDED PROFESSIONAL HELP NOT TO RUN AWAY FROM HIS PROBLEMS!"

"HASN'T HE HAD ENOUGH OF THAT, REMUS?!" Sirius hollered. It was the sound of a caged animal, a wrecked soul barely holding itself together. It hollowed Draco out. Was this was Azkaban did to you? Was that what it'd do to his father? "HE HAS DONE NOTHING BUT BE THERE FOR EVERYONE ELSE, DOING WHAT THEY ALL ASKED OF HIM! THIS WAS ... This was the only thing I could do for him ..."

There was a heavy pause.

"I suppose there's not much that can be done," Lupin's gravelly voice stated in a resigned manner. "For what it's worth, this is the single most STUPID THING you've done."

"Is that including escaping from Azkaban or ...?"

"You're lucky these two are here, otherwise I'd bludgeon you with a chair!"

The voices dropped even quieter to the point where Draco could only make out a few words here and there. He sat, hunched over on the stairs with his shoulder slotted between the poles of the bannister. He felt vulnerable and as low as he'd felt since before the trial. What was he doing here? It was barely convenient and now there was this mess with Potter to deal with?

'Typical,' he thought bitterly. 'Not even being forced into someone else's care and being on trial is enough for the spotlight. Potter always manages to upstage me somehow.'

The thought barely lasted a moment before the reality of Potter's dilemma sunk into his brain. To revert oneself to an earlier version of themselves -a younger version -one really had to be suffering.

'Maybe he had the right idea,' he thought idly. 'What I wouldn't give to worry about nothing but crapping myself every few hours.'

Letting out a long, weary sigh he used the bannister to help hoist him back up to his feet. His body was stiff and aching with fatigue. Even his hunger couldn't convince him to return to the kitchen, no matter how tempting the sausages smelled.

Dragging himself up the remaining stairs, Draco re-entered his bedroom and pushed the door closed, hearing the satisfying 'click' of the lock. Shedding any unnecessary layers, he crawled back underneath the cool weight of the covers and shuddered as the lights lowered themselves to a dull glow.

Exhaustion washed over him within moments.

A/N: A bit of a shorter update, but hopefully you guys like it! x