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

Chapter Forty-Five

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Draco shot upright in bed, panting heavily, drenched in a sheen of sweat that cooled instantly on his skin. His heart was racing, white noise screaming in his ears as he tried to recollect what had woken him up. His chest ached, rising and falling rapidly. The tent was dark now. He grappled blindly for his wand at the head of the camp bed, silently praying that he hadn't woken Harry.

'Lumos.'

His blood stopped, frozen, in his veins.

Harry's camp bed was empty. A hasty rummage around the blankets determined that they still held the ghost of a warm body.

'Maybe he's in the bathroom?' he frantically loped across the tent, barely keeping himself upright as he knocked on the wet-room door. "Harry?!" he called, his voice rising hysterically. "Harry, you in there?"

Silence greeted him.

Pointing his want at the door he hissed, "Alohamora!" He yanked the door open and had to grip onto the doorframe to keep his legs from collapsing. The room was empty. "Fuck!" he hissed, snagging his shoed and clumsily stuffing his feet into them as he tore through the tent flap. Wand aloft, he looked at the nearest surroundings but saw no sign of Harry. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

He spun on his heel to glare at the neighbouring tent. Pointing his wand at it, he spat, "Finite Incantatem!" banishing the basic silencing charm and locking charm placed upon it. Ripping the flap open he shouted, "Have either of you seen Harry?"

Hermione shrieked, hastily tugging the thin blanket up to cover herself.

"What the fuck, Malfoy?!" Ron snarled, his throat thick with sleep as he brandished his own wand, with one eye open.

"Harry's not in the tent!" Draco panted, his knuckles flashing white. "I don't know where he's gone!"

"What?" Hermione twisted out of the blanket and scurried out into the night air, her thin cotton pyjamas leaving little to the imagination. Her own wand was gripped in her hand, shaking slightly. Ron scrambled out after her. "Where could he have gone? We're in the middle of a field!"

"I'm aware!"

"I just -I don't -what happened? Before he left?" she looked at Draco, searching his face for an answer he couldn't give.

"I don't know, otherwise I'd have found him already!"

"Boys, we don't have time for this!" Hermione snapped, clawing a hand through her hair. "Right, he can't have gotten far. We need to split up and look for him. Whoever finds him first, send a patronus to the others and we'll reconvene as soon as we can."

Draco blanched, eyes flitting back and forth. "Well, I can't cast shit, so one of you will have to come with me."

"I'll go down the left side of the field," Ron volunteered, before looking down at his girlfriend, "You go with Draco. Now let's move, before he hurts himself."

With clenched jaws and panic in their veins, all three cast 'lumos' and set off through the knee-high grass, the eerie glow of their wands feeling like an unnecessary attraction to any hidden predators. Walking through the grass as it hissed and whipped around their ankles, Draco felt the hairs all over his body stand up on end. He felt sick to his stomach and stupid; of course, Harry had been able to get through the basic privacy charms. He'd set them, it was far too easy.

"Any luck?" Hermione breathed, her voice trembling as the dark shadows of trees rose around them.

"Not yet."

They skirted along the edge of the wooded area; Ron's light having disappeared over the crest of the hill some time ago. Somehow, it left Draco feeling even more exposed. If he was quiet enough, he could here Hermione's soft whimpers whenever her foot caught awkwardly in the darkness, as well as the gently trickling of the stream through the trees. He prayed Harry hadn't gone into the woods.

Time passed them by as one-by-one the stars overhead started to wink out.

A cold fear clenched at Draco's insides, his mind veering off into the ugly, snarling void that threatened to break loose, reminding him with every breath that he was a failure, utterly useless and devoid of promise and potential.

"Draco?" Hermione's soft voice broke him out of his panic. "Is that him down there?"

Raising their wands, bodies rigid at what they might find, the two advanced on the crouched figure. At they drew closer, Draco recognised the loose blue t-shirt that Harry had worn to bed that night. Relief flooded through him, crushing him beneath its weight.

"Hermione," he touched her shoulder, "Send a patronus to Ron."

As if having heard their whispers, Harry's head snapped up. He whipped around in the grass to stare up at them, and Hermione barely concealed a scream. Harry's face was pallid, his lips raw and white, his pupils shrunken to pinpricks and his eyes -his eyes were a sickening, familiar green. A raw, ugly, acidic colour that pierced through to your soul. They stood frozen, all three of them staring at one another.

Draco swallowed against the lump in his throat, "H-Harry? It's us."

Unseeing eyes snapped to regard Draco and he fought the urge to throw-up. Then, as if struck by an invisible force, he reeled back, yelling loudly and clutching at his head. Hermione crowded back against Draco, shaking so much her lit wand was wavering. They watched as Harry scrambled to his feet, panting, looking all around him and looking distressed and confused. Didn't he know where he was? Was he sleepwalking again? Draco's eyes immediately tried to find Harry's hands through the dim light but didn't see any signs of blood.

Then he bolted.

"Fuck!" Draco cursed, lurching forward. "Send the patronus, Hermione!" he snapped over his shoulder, his legs carrying him away across the grass.

She must have listened, because out of the corner of his eye, he saw a silvery-blue shape swivel through the air and disappear over the hillside.

Draco continued to sprint, angry and upset that Harry was able to outrun him even in his current state, whatever that was. He was so close to catching up with Harry when he felt a horrible tug of magic launch him through the air and ram him into the hard, bristly ground.

"Fuck!" he cursed, feeling the hissing sting of his probationary restrictions sear through his flesh, forcing him to wriggle back a few feet until he felt his skin stop blistering. He was drenched in sweat, panting heavily, not even more angry and scared than before.

CRACK!

"Draco!" Sirius hurried to his side, barefoot and in pyjamas and a t-shirt, wand held aloft, messy curls tied into a bun. He grabbed the front of Draco's shirt and pinned him down a little, his grey eyes wild. "What the fuck is going on here? What are you doing?"

"Harry ran off!" Draco gasped, saliva and blood pooling beneath his tongue. Had he bitten it? "We only just found him. Let me up, Sirius! I almost had him!"

"Draco, calm down, we'll find him," Remus' calmer tone still shook at the gravity of the situation.

"That's not good enough!" Draco spat, wrangling himself out of his cousins hold. The tee ripped, the stitching around the collar breaking completely. Backing away from the two men, Draco gripped his wand tightly before turning and sprinting down the meadow. He could here the other two following him, but he was still able to see Harry up ahead. He didn't care about anything else, he just needed to get to Harry.

Suddenly there was a loud crack through the air and Harry toppled to one side, making Draco's adrenaline spike. As he drew nearer, he faltered a little, breathless, as he saw Ron and Hermione with Harry. Hermione was waving her wand and doing diagnostic spells on him, while Ron had the younger teen gripped by the shoulders and talking in a low voice.

Upon noticing the others approaching, Ron raised his hand with a strained grin. "It's okay, he's awake. A bit shook, though."

Draco barely broke stride as he shoved past the other two and snatched Harry roughly by the shirt. "You great, stupid prat!" he snarled, clutching Harry to his chest and burying his face into the mop of unruly black hair. "Don't you ever run off like that again or I swear to Merlin, I'll fucking chain you to the bed if I have to!"

Harry let out a choked gasp as Draco tightened his hold on him. Draco didn't care. He was done caring right then. He could only remember being truly fearful one another time, and of course it centred around Harry Sodding Potter. He was keenly aware that he was shaking with anger, his fingers digging into Harry's flesh. He let out a dry, croaking sob and blinked away the angry and relieved tears.

He was dimly aware of Harry reaching up and hugging him back, but it barely registered before a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"Let the boy breathe, cousin," Sirius snarked tightly. Draco begrudgingly agreed, before Sirius turned his attention to his godson. Taking the young boys face in his hands, he stared straight into his eyes, unflinchingly. "Harry, I need you to focus on me, okay? What happened?"

Harry tried to turn his pale face to all of them, his eyes still somewhat bleary. Sirius held him firmly, his thumbs stroking softly against Harry's flushed skin. "I … I really don't know … Was I sleep walking again? I … it felt so real …"

"What did, Harry?" Remus asked gently, looping a comforting arm around the young boy.

"The snake …"

Silence.

"Are you … are you talking about the snake a-attacking my dad?" Ron breathed, his insides turning to ice.

"We can talk about this later," Sirius cut across him. "Right now, I think it's best if we pack everything up and head back to the Burrow. Molly's already frantic with worry, but we told her we could handle it. Expect a lot of fussing when we get back."

"Sirius," Remus shot him a look, arching an eyebrow. "Let's get back up the hill and help them pack."

With a grudging sigh, Sirius nodded and cast 'lumos' to help guide them back up towards their campsite. There would be time to answer questions later when they were a little more settled.

.

It didn't take long to pack everything up, and the sky was barely lightening with the promise of dawn by the time they apparated back into the Burrow's front garden. Sirius helped steady both Draco and Harry, whilst Remus appeared behind them a little way away, his arm gripping both Ron and Hermione. Everyone looked weary and a little frazzled.

The moment the door swung open, Molly was on her feet, fussing over the lot of them, dusting them down, hugging each one tightly and ushering them towards the kitchen for a cup of tea. It was only when someone cleared their throat did they all realise that there were to new presences in the lounge.

Draco froze. He knew those maroon robes anywhere. Aurors.

Fuck.

Sirius took a protective step in front of his cousin, fingers flexing subtly over the handle of his wand in his waistband. "May I help you gentleman?" he asked coldly.

Ignoring Sirius, a tall Auror stood up and produced a scroll from within his robes. Belatedly, Draco recognised the other auror, who was still seated on the sofa, as Buxley. The two made eye contact, and Buxley grimaced, silently asking Draco what had happened. He suddenly felt incredibly lightheaded. He didn't even register the words until several voices rose in uproar beside him.

"Are you insane?!"

"In a life or death situation, that is what was agreed upon!"

"How dare you come into this house and accuse him!"

"ENOUGH!" The first Auror, Hagden, hollered across the din. "We are here to take Mr. Malfoy in for questioning in regards to this incident tonight. If you do not escort him willingly, Mr. Black, you will be held in contempt, and both you and your cousin can spend the night in a cell."

"A cell?" Sirius frowned. "What cells could you possibly have at the Ministry?"

Draco felt the pit drop out of his stomach to be replaced with ice. Oh God, he wanted to throw up. It was a good thing both Sirius and Remus had a hand gripping his arm, otherwise he just knew he would have collapsed on the floor. At the mention of the cells, Remus' hand gripped him so tightly, he felt pins and needles in his left arm. He clenched his jaw to stop himself from crying out.

Werewolf cells.

He knew about them, of course he did. Greyback had made a song and dance about them back when he was terrorising lone wolves to join his little army with a promise of a better tomorrow. Dirty little rooms, he'd said, all brick from floor to ceiling with no windows, and only a silver-plated door with a small window with bars on it for them to check periodically come the morning. They were never cleaned, he'd claimed. Years of piss, blood and shit probably stained the floor and seeped into the brickwork, giving off a putrid, gamey stench that never went away.

The thought made bile rise up his throat.

"There will be no need for cells, gentlemen," Sirius snarled, his lips curling upwards. "I shall escort my cousin to the Ministry. I expect the Minister has been summoned?"

"Of course."

"Good. We'd best get this over with then."

Hagden and Buxely made their way out of the front door so that they could apparate. Draco heaved a sigh, tried to stand as tall as possible and strode out into the night. Sirius gripped Remus' shoulder tightly, their eyes locked in a silent conversation, a promise, before Sirius let his hand drop to his side and head for the door.

"Dad, wait, you can't just let them take him!" Harry cried, hurrying forward. "Dad, this is my fault!"

"No one is to blame here, pup," Sirius sighed, brushing a hand through Harry's damp hair. "You stay here and rest, okay? I promise I'll make this as quick as possible."

"But -"

"Don't argue with your dad, Harry," Remus gently coaxed the boy backwards. "We will get this sorted. Besides, you're still only fifteen. Do you really want to give Rita Skeeter a good payday?"

"It's the middle of the night, she won't be there!" he protested with a huff.

"Never underestimate that witch."

Harry huffed, tiptoeing to try and catch Draco's eye over Sirius' shoulder, but the blonde was steadfastly ignoring everything behind him. Harry sank back to earth, his heart in his throat, throbbing with fear. He chewed his bottom lip, feeling defeated. Remus gave his shoulders an affectionate squeeze as they stood in the doorway, watching as Hagden disapparated with Sirius, and Buxley disapparated with Draco.

The cracks were like lightning.

Remus closed the front door. Harry was guided to sit on the sofa, still feeling far too dazed by the last hours events. He felt cold and hot and sick all at once. Remus stroked a hand through his hair softly, but Harry barely reacted, staring off into the middle distance. With a downtrodden expression, Remus retreated back into the kitchen where Arthur had, thoughtfully, poured him a shot of firewhiskey.

.

Molly was desperate to go to Harry and coddle him with hot tea, biscuits and wrap him up in a duvet. It took a good ten minutes of bickering with Ron, Arthur and Remus for her to finally back down with a huff of indignation and potter around noisily in the kitchen. Rolling his eyes, Ron quickly made three mugs of tea, despite how balmy the night was, and shuffled into the living-room with Hermione in tow. They left Remus and Arthur at the table, sharing the firewhiskey and dolling out playing cards to distract themselves. They murmured in low voices, but their words were too quiet for even Molly to pick up on.

Settling down on the opposite sofa, Hermione handed Harry the third mug of tea and settled back down, her messy hair unravelling from the braids she'd had them in. They were all still wearing their thin pyjamas, but no one really had the motivation to move and change.

"Harry?" Hermione's voice was soft. Gentle. He liked it. He looked up at her, eyebrows barely rising. "What happened in the meadow? What was your nightmare about?"

Suddenly his throat felt dry. He didn't want the tea, though. It was far too hot for tea. What he needed was Draco's weight sat beside him, his cool, pale skin against his own, his hand rubbing soothing circles on his back -not that Draco had ever done such a thing, but he needed the illusion that he might.

"It was … the s-snake … i-it attacked … um … your d-dad …"

"It's okay, mate," Ron gave a tight smile. "We've been through this before, remember?"

Harry gave a nod, feeling numb. He stared down into his tea.

"And y-y-your dad? He's … he's okay?"

"Well, the snake did do a number on him, but your vision -nightmare -helped save his life."

"But I -I -I w-was the snake … in the dream …" he choked on a dry sob, almost dropping the mug onto the table and hiding his face in his hands. "M-Merlin … he looked terrified! I d-did that!"

"Oh Harry," Hermione hurried over to his side and wrapped her arms around him, coaxing his head into the crook of her neck. She rubbed soothing circles into his back. It was okay, he thought. Not great, but he really needed to be held. "You did nothing wrong; you weren't to know what would happen, okay? The point is that Arthur was saved and is alive today thanks to you."

Ron settled on his other side, "You did your best, mate. That's all we ever asked from you, if anything."

Harry gave both of them a tight squeeze. If Molly heard the commotion of a child sobbing, she made no show about it. He could feel Ron and Hermione having a silent conversation over his head. They did that a lot more now that they were dating. He was used to it, having seen it happen and develop over the years.

"Hey mate? Why don't you sleep down here tonight?" Ron suggested, giving Harry a squeeze. "I know you don't like feeling confined after a nightmare. Down here is nice and open and light. I think it'll help."

Harry sniffed and cuffed his nose on his wrist. "Yeah … yeah, thanks."

The silence was broken by Hermione yawning behind her hand. She blinked owlishly before blushing. "I'm sorry, Harry, do you mind if I head up to bed? I feel exhausted. I'll stay down here with you, though, if you like?"

Harry gave her a shattered smile. "I think I'm good, 'Mione. I think Arthur and Moony will be up for a while yet."

"If you're sure," she sighed, stroking his finger from his eyes. "I'll grab you a pillow and blanket, okay?"

He nodded, giving her a fleeting smile as she stood up. Ron still had an arm around his shoulder. Harry cast him a look with a raised eyebrow, "Aren't you going to go with her?"

"Nah, mate, not if you need me."

"Ron, I promise I'm okay," Harry nudged his knee with his own. "Go. Shoo. I'll be okay down here. I appreciate the offer though."

Ron furrowed his brow, not looking convinced. "You're not going to get any sleep, are you?"

"I want to wait up for them," he shrugged.

"Mate, you should sleep, okay? Even just for a few hours. They could be gone a while."

"Still."

They stared at one another for a little while; Ron reclining back against the sofa, striped pyjamas bottoms hiking up his skins, while Harry was hunched forward as though to reach for his tea, though he doubted he'd drink any. Eventually Ron groaned and heaved himself upright, hands in the air.

"Alright, I know when I'm beaten."

Hermione reappeared with a pillow and a thin blanket. "Here you are Harry. Try and rest, okay? Sirius and Draco probably won't be back until tomorrow morning."

Harry inclined his head, "I can't promise anything, 'Mione. I'll see you both in the morning, yeah?"

"Sure, mate. Goodnight."

"Night."

He watched the pair climb the rickety staircase and disappear out of sight. Harry felt a twinge of envy somewhere deep inside himself but shook the feeling away. It was absurd. He had watched those two dance around one another for years. Or it had felt that way at least. He was happy for them and wanted them to remain happy for as long as possible. Still, he couldn't help but notice how absent the room was without them or someone else. He missed Draco; his whole being ached for the blonde. He hated the not knowing. Not knowing was what got him into this mess in the first place. If Dumbledore had just told him about his connection to Voldemort …

He sighed, feeling a headache begin to build behind his eyes. Maybe lying down on the sofa wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. He was determined to stay awake, however. He shifted so that he had a clear view of the front door over the back of the sofa. He would remain awake until he was sure that Sirius and Draco had returned home, safe and sound.

Besides, he didn't want to suffer through another nightmare again.

~0~

"Mr. Black, Mr. Malfoy, you've been cleared to go."

Draco jerked awake, panic setting in instantly at the harsh lights and loud babble of voices coming from somewhere down the corridor. He stomach was sick with delayed panic and fear, plus he hadn't had anything to eat since dinner last night.

He blinked heavily for a few moments, gathering his bearings. He felt his cheeks flush as he realised that he had been using Sirius' lap as a pillow, his long limbs curled into a tight ball across two hardbacked chairs, while Sirius had reclined back in his single chair, head tipped back against the wooden panelling, legs crossed at the ankle. Draco detected a faint hum of a protection charm around them. He also knew his cousin was a light sleeper. Almost as paranoid as Moody, some days. He was dimly aware of a weight falling from his head. Had Sirius been stroking his hair? His cheeks grew hotter.

Squinting up at the tall, robed figure before them, Draco furrowed his brow. He couldn't believe his ears. "Wha-?" he grunted eloquently.

Hagden arched an eyebrow. "I said, you've been cleared to leave. You are dismissed. You may return home."

"That's it?" Sirius asked drily.

"Yes, the Minister has reviewed both your memories of the evening in question and has issued a verbal warning on this one occasion. No further actions will be taken."

"Good. We shall be apparating back in due course," Sirius kept his voice cold, his grey eyes hard and staring fixedly at Hagden looming above them. It seemed to do the trick. Draco hadn't seen anyone beat Sirius in a stare-down. With a swish of his maroon robes, Hagden flounced off down the corridor. Groaning, Sirius raked a hand through his hair and smacked his lips together. "What a shit-show of a night," he sighed.

"You're telling me."

Sirius cast his cousin a side-look, before standing up and stretching. Several loud cracks reverberated through the corridor, making Draco cringe. It was almost as embarrassing as wearing muggle pyjamas in the middle of the Ministry. He was already itching to run away and hide.

"What time is it?" he grumbled.

"Tempus," Sirius flicked his wand. "10:34."

"They kept us here all night."

"At least it wasn't in a cell."

"Nope, just a public sodding corridor where anyone can see us," Draco sneered, eyeing the people milling about. They were still a safe distance away to not be immediately recognised, but even so. "Fuck, can we just get out of here?"

"Sure thing. I'm going to cast a disillusion charm and then we're marching straight to the apparition points."

Draco nodded, forcing himself to his feet. Everything ached from sleeping awkwardly in Sirius' lap. The thought still made him feel embarrassed. It wasn't as though their corridor was particularly secluded, either. Anyone could have walked by. He was well aware that the sweat from the previous day still clung to him, and that his hair was lank and greasy. He was dishevelled and only had small ankle socks on. His mouth felt fuzzy where he hadn't brushed his teeth in hours and then slept.

The disillusion charm felt scratchy against his skin, but he didn't fight it. He watched Sirius wave his wand over himself and, once done, he frogmarched Draco across the main lobby of the Ministry of Magic, past the ghastly fountain erected after the war, and towards the apparition points.

.

'I fucking hate the floo,' he thought bitterly the moment he was spat out onto the Weasley's hearth rug. Granted he only stumbled and righted himself instantly, but even so, he already felt embarrassed enough. Thankfully there was hardly anyone downstairs to notice.

The lights were low, dawn was still a little ways off, and Arthur and Remus seemed to have conked out on the kitchen table, an almost-empty bottle of firewhiskey stationed between them. The roar of the floo behind him, made Draco flinch. No one else was disturbed.

"Oh, dear," Sirius tutted quietly, brushing soot from his sleeves. "Looks like they tried to wait up for us."

The man crouched down beside the sofa, where Harry was sprawled out awkwardly on the over-stuffed sofa. It seemed to sag under the weight of all the cushions, although Draco had to admit it did look comfortable. The crick in his neck was definitely protesting at having slept on his cousin' lap for hours. Sirius pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead, gave Draco a consolatory squeeze on the shoulder, before walking quietly over to the kitchen. Draco only half paid attention to his cousin sending the firewhiskey back to the liquor cabinet, sending the crockery to the sink, the cards to their box, before bending over Remus' prone form and murmuring softly in his ear.

Remus grumbled, everything about his being protested at being disturbed. With a little more coaxing Remus, and Arthur by proxy, were gently roused from sleep long enough for Sirius to nod towards the stairs and whisper, "Let's head to bed."

Arthur rubbed at his eyes with both fists, yawned wildly and barely cracked his eyes open as he ambled clumsily up the stairs, gripping onto the banister for his life.

It took a little longer for Sirius to coax Remus up, their voices low and rumbling in the quiet. He watched as Sirius murmured something to low for him to hear, Remus' dopey, sleepy smile and then they butted their foreheads together gently, like canine's were prone to do. It was an affectionate, intimate moment and Draco tore his eyes away before he was caught staring.

Instead, Draco decided to watch Harry as he slept, head turned towards the door and a leg hanging awkwardly over the edge of the sofa. He gently lifted the end of the blanket, tucked Harry's foot back into place and then decided that, fuck it, the sofa was comfy enough. Lifting Harry's legs, he wriggled into the empty space at the back of the sofa and rearranged themselves to top-and-tail amongst the cushions. At long last, Remus was on his feet, walking like he was drunk up the first flight of stairs and nearly knocking his head on the low ceiling. Sirius sighed and shook his head before sparing a glance at the boys.

'You okay?' he mouthed, frowning.

Draco nodded. 'Just tired,' he gave a hapless shrug.

"Goodnight," Sirius whispered, before waving his hand and extinguishing all the lights, save for the small lamp in the corner behind the sofa.

He shuffled around, making the pillows as comfortable as possible. Even though there was a perfectly plush sofa across the room, he couldn't deny that he just wanted to sleep next to Harry. He wanted the comfort of someone else nestled against him. Loathe as he was to admit it out loud, the stupid, scar-headed prat made him feel safer. Git that he was.

He didn't know how long he stayed like that, but soon his limbs were sagging under the weight of his fatigue and his eyelids drooped so much he just decided to close them and pray that sleep would soon follow.

Harry shuffling around in his sleep drew his attention a little, but he didn't have the energy to open his eyes.

"Draco?" Harry whispered through the dim light. A hand touched his and squeezed. "Draco are you awake? I tried to wait up for you … sorry …"

Heaving a sigh, Draco rolled his head so that he could just around see Harry. "I'm really tired, Harry. Can we talk in the morning?"

Harry nodded, scrubbing his free hand through his hair, "Yeah, yeah, of course. Sorry. Let's just try and sleep."

Draco squeezed his hand, before snuggling back down among the soft, mismatched cushions. Harry slumped back down on his side of the sofa, wriggling onto his side and attempting to recreate the comfort he'd had not two minutes ago. It seemed like a futile effort, and Draco was far too tired to whack the teens leg whenever he shifted onto his back or his side. Eventually, Harry sighed in defeat. There was a lot of movement, the disappearance of Harry's legs from alongside his stomach surprised Draco, until he felt himself being nudged forward. Harry settled down behind him, curling his legs around the back of Draco's and hesitantly sliding a hand over his abdomen in a hug.

"Potter, what're you doing?"

Silence. "Hugging you?"

"Fine," he slurred sleepily. "Don't make a habit of it."

As both boys relaxed into their new position, Draco finally felt the weight of sleep pressing down on his eyelids. Just as he was drifting off, he felt Harry clumsily lace their fingers together. He knew Harry wouldn't have been brave if he'd known Draco was awake -barely -but for once, Draco was going to allow him this small victory. The weight of the last ten hours melted away from his mind just enough for him to succumb to sleep, feeling safe as he gave Harry's hand a soft squeeze in return.

A/N: Please leave some lovely reviews! I hope you liked the update!