Just To See You
Chapter Four: Teach Me To Live
By Darkmeadow777
"Try to forgive, teach me to live
Give me the strength to try" -Sarah Brightman-
Harry walked in Malfoy's room ready to not take any crap. He went straight to Malfoy's bed, pulled the table across his lap, and set a food tray down.
"I brought you some food," said Harry. "You must be starving."
"I'm not eating that shit," Draco made quite clearly. His unseeing eyes glared holes in Harry's waist. For a moment, his eyes were bright and recognizable as the Draco he knew before.
"Is it because you don't want to or can't?" Harry seemed to strike a nerve. Perfect.
"I. Can't. See. It," Draco growled.
"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't notice," Harry said, sarcastically.
"Lucky you," Draco said softly. He pulled back into himself, and all his fight seemed to leave him. He looked down at his tray. Draco reacted exactly as Harry had planned.
Harry cheered to himself and silently took Draco's protesting hand and put a fork in it.
"Eat," Harry said, again. "I got you some real food. It's roast chicken and some vegetables."
"Why are you doing this?" Draco whispered to his knees. "I've done nothing to deserve this from you. You should be throwing this in my face!"
"Well, that would be just rude," Harry replied, avoiding the question. Do I even have an answer? "Just eat it. I promise it's not poisoned."
"Well, unless I eat with my hands, it's not going to happen because I can't see anything to put on the fork. And a Malfoy does not eat with his hands," Malfoy declared, arrogantly.
Ah, there's his 'Malfoy' attitude back full force. Harry smirked. "Do you want me to feed you?" Harry asked, knowing the answer.
"No."
"Well, how will you eat then? I know you're hungry." Draco's stomach chose this moment to let out a loud growl. "Fine. I'm feeding you," Harry said, taking the fork from Draco and stabbing a small piece of chicken for him. "Here." He held the fork in front of Draco's mouth.
Draco smelt the chicken wafting in front of his nose. After a day of not eating anything, the chicken smelled amazing. He reluctantly opened his mouth. A small piece of chicken was placed in his mouth and he bit it off the fork. A small moan rumbled in this throat and he heard a small snicker above him.
"Shut up, Potter. Who made this anyway?" Draco asked after he finished chewing. This chicken tasted like heaven compared the "chicken" the hospital used.
"Me," Harry replied, stabbing another piece of chicken for Malfoy. "Here."
Draco opened his mouth again, gladly. His pride was about to protest with a scathing remark but his stomach wouldn't let him.
"I was thinking of taking you for a walk tomorrow. I daresay you wanna get outta this place for a bit. If you want to, of course..." Harry trailed off.
"Do I look like I need some fresh air? I haven't seen what I look like for a while." Draco replied dryly.
Harry paused and took in Malfoy's appearance. His face was almost too pale; the dark circles under his eyes seemed more pronounced from the day before. His lips were still chapped and peeling. Draco's eyes were once again dim and dull. Draco's usual slick hair now resembled Harry's own untameable style.
"Well, you could do with some color. You're really pale...even for you. You could do with a hair brush, as well," Harry said putting more chicken into Malfoy's waiting mouth.
Draco nearly choked at this statement. He prided himself with his hair, but he had a good excuse to look the way he did. He shrugged the statement off, realizing he really couldn't argue with that. "Yeah, I need a bath, too," Draco said, grudgingly.
Harry smiled. "I'm sure we can arrange that, too. Open. I can help you bathe after you're finished my delicious chicken."
"Wait. You're going to help me bathe?" Draco nearly choked again. His wide, silver eyes danced frantically in Harry's direction. Draco didn't seem to notice that his mouth was half open.
"Yes. Is that a problem? I'm sure the hospital would be kinda upset if I let you die from slipping and cracking your head open." Harry tried hard to keep the smile out of his voice. Draco's reaction was priceless. He had never seen the blonde look so undignified. Harry shoved a piece of chicken into Draco's half open mouth.
After Draco had finished the last bite of his meal, Harry asked, "So, hot bath?"
Draco immediately turned bright red. Too embarrassed to say anything, he just nodded.
"Don't worry; I have lots of practise. Actually, I'm not really proud of that...for every good body: I've had about 20 nasty, old people. But I haven't killed anyone, so don't worry." Harry rambled. "Uh...I'll start the tub." Harry walked away.
When the bath was full, Harry reached for Malfoy's hand and led him off into the small bathroom. Harry shut the door behind them and waited a moment before asking, "Are you planning on bathing in your hospital gown?"
"No." Draco stood awkwardly, head bowed.
"The other nurses bathed you, right?"
"Yes." The word was said with the deepest contempt.
"So, it'll be the same."
"Yeah, but my...rival...is going to give me a bath. That's really awkward."
"Rival, eh?" Harry smiled. "That's not really the case, now is it? You're blind. I could take you really easily. I promise not to drown you; the hospital would get upset. That would be awkward"
"Whatever," said Draco. "Turn around."
Harry raised his eyebrows. Malfoy wouldn't be able to know if he was turned around or not. Not to mention that Harry was also going to be washing him, so he would see everything anyway. Harry turned around. Harry heard some rustling and then a small, "'Kay."
Harry's first thought of Malfoy's body was it was pale and godlike. Lean, chiseled muscles were apparent even though Malfoy stood awkwardly, his head bowed. Draco was holding the gown in front of him. He looked like a Michelangelo sculpture. Then Harry saw the scars. Malfoy's entire body was covered in scars. Long, thin, deep, and short. They marred his creamy skin in the way the Mona Lisa would look if someone had written graffiti on it. It was like a tragedy. It was wrong. The Dark Mark stood out dark and grotesque on Malfoy's left forearm. Harry's guess had been confirmed. Then Harry realized that the mark did not move of its own accord. Does that mean that the Death Eaters had tortured him? Had they disowned him? Harry decided to worry about the mark later. Harry could feel his hatred for the Death Eaters and their leader increase as he fought his bubbling rage down.
In Harry's mind, a conscious change happened: "Malfoy" was now "Draco". A man. Mortal. At this moment, Harry did not care that Draco was his rival; he wanted revenge for Draco. He would get it; it was only a matter of time. No one had the right to do this to another living human being. No one had the right to suffer in this way. No one had the right to feel that much pain. Harry fought his anger down with difficulty. He took some deep breaths, feeling himself calm down. . Deep down, Harry always knew that Draco was not evil. What he didn't know, was that Draco knew the same thing.
A/N: Next chapter Harry gives Draco a bath…need I say more? I need more reviews to continue this story, please!
