Harry was woken by the breeze from the window and Draco shivering beside him, although his pale skin was still slightly flushed in his sleep despite the coolness of the room. He attempted to move his arm carefully from Draco's waist to draw the blanket around their shoulders, but a cold hand gently clasped his wrist, preventing him from moving.
"Just leave it." His voice was muffled as he tried to bury his head further into the pillow.
"But you're cold." He whispered, hoping not to wake Draco from his halfway state between dreams and reality, thinking him the most beautiful at this time of day, with stripes of pale sunlight highlighting the soft contours of his face. He felt his arm pulled closer to Draco's chest.
"You can keep me warm." Harry giggled lightly and Draco smirked, partially because of the delightful sound of Harry's laughter and partially because of the warm breath on his ear. "God, you're beautiful." The utterance was barely audible, but loud enough for Harry to hear and blush. He pushed himself up on his free elbow and kissed Draco clumsily on the cheek.
"Are you okay?" The words were out before he could stop himself and he flinched, remembering Snape's unexpected tirade yesterday. Draco brushed a stray golden lock from his face and sighed.
"I guess." He paused, gathering his words into something more coherent than the clutter of thoughts in his head. "Do you think my dad and Severus will split up? I now my dad's not the easiest person to get along with, but he treats him well, right?" Harry was glad Draco had his back to him, and so couldn't see his face. He wanted to reassure Draco, and probably had no reason not to, but something about the couple's reactions to one another wasn't quite right. All the same, an anxious look was a weak foundation for questions to be raised about their relationship, and he wasn't eager to interfere with the two imposing Slytherins' lives. "I don't think I could lose another parent." The distress in his voice was enough to remind Harry of the heartache and feelings of abandonment Draco had endured when his mother had left, and his promise to himself to never, in any way, contribute to his unhappiness.
"They'll be fine, Draco. It was just an argument. People are bound to have quarrels when they've been together as long as they have." Draco turned around and buried his head in Harry's shoulder, finally allowing Harry to pull the covers over his shoulders.
"I suppose. What would I do without you?"
"I'm flattered." Harry was disgusted yet faintly amused at how much he sounded like Snape. He captured Draco's chin with two fingers and tipped his head upwards to look at him. "Smile for me." Draco put on his most condescending expression.
"Malfoys don't smile." Harry grinned.
"I beg to differ." Draco yelped as Harry broke the promise he'd made never to exploit Draco's ticklishness. Draco laughed and tried to squirm away, all thoughts of Severus and his father forgotten for the moment.
22
Harry heard it again and sat up. Draco stirred but rolled over and carried on sleeping. Harry got out of bed, careful not to wake the sleeping blonde, and walked over to the door. He pressed his ear to it and listened for the sounds he'd been hearing for the past few minutes. He heard the doors down the corridor opening quickly, one by one, then close slowly, with a click, then a few moments silence before the next one swung open, hitting the wall with a muffled crash.
He dithered behind the door, unsure of whether he should go back to bed or into the corridor. He opened the door slightly, pressing his eye to the slit and staring into the dim space, lit only by the wavering flame of a candle moving towards him. The light cast flickering shadows across the walls, and he caught sight of the corner of a robe disappearing through a door opposite him, where he was sure there hadn't been a room before. His natural curiosity got the better of him and he ventured into the corridor, taking a quick glance at Draco to make sure he was still asleep.
He crossed the few paces to the opposite side of the narrow corridor to discover that he'd been right, there wasn't a room there. He stood before the wall, wondering whether he had imagined it, oblivious to the light drawing ever closer to him. Suddenly a hand shot out and pulled him into the hidden room. Another hand clasped around his mouth, preventing him from shouting out.
Severus turned to face him and motioned him to be quiet, before uncovering his mouth. He looked even paler than usual, and there was a dark trail of something Harry suspected of being blood leaving a jagged line down the side of his face. The sound of slamming doors grew closer, and with it came a whispered voice Harry recognised instantly.
"Sev? You can come out now. Severus." The candlelight spilled under the door, which had been invisible from the outside. Severus, obviously scared that Lucius had seen him pull Harry out of view, worried at the hem of his robes. Lucius' voice became louder. Severus flinched as Lucius' fist smashed into the wall, his hands jumping up to touch his neck. "Severus, get the fuck out here now!" All of the fake compassion in his voice was gone, replaced by anger and impatience, and obvious malice. Severus closed his eyes. "Snape where the fuck are you?" Harry was shocked by the obscenities used by the normally chaste and dignified man, and more than slightly afraid. Eventually the light dimmed and Lucius' footsteps faded into the distance, as did his whispered curses.
"Lumos." Harry started at the sound of Severus' voice, having forgotten that he was there, still pressed into the corner. The light revealed a disused bedroom, home to a bed, wardrobe and bedside table. There was a door to the left, which he assumed led to a bathroom.
When he turned to face Severus he was slowly working his fingers up the side of his face, investigating where he was bleeding so freely from. His wide sleeves dropped to his elbows, showing recent purple and blue marks and older, yellowing bruises. His wrists were red and littered with the crescent shaped cuts which could only have been made by fingernails. Snape caught him looking and dropped his hands to his sides again.
"Snape-"
"What?" He recoiled at the venom in his voice and that poisonous obsidian glare.
"What the hell's going on?"
"I don't think that's any of your business, do you?" He thought that he should've known better than to expect the most secretive man he knew to spill his secrets because he'd been privy to a late night game of hide and seek, with a twist he shuddered to think about.
Severus strode into the bathroom, trying to hide a slight limp and started to wipe the blood from his pale skin with a damp cloth. Harry noted the pink stains on the cloth and was revolted when he realised that the room had been used before tonight, and on a more regular basis than he would care to consider. Snape touched the wound on his head and hissed
"Would you like me to do that?" Snape sneered.
"I can take care of my own injuries, thank you." When he was finished he sat on the edge of the bed and lit a cigarette before looking at Harry. "Why are you still here?"
"When will you be going back to your room?"
"Whenever I damn well feel like it." He sounded confidant, but something in his eyes told Harry that he wasn't leaving his hiding place anytime soon.
"I can stay with you, if you'd like." He sneered again, but Harry thought it was more a force of habit and attempt to regain his dignity than the look of reproof he often favoured him with.
"Suit yourself." Harry sat on the bed beside Snape, as far away from him as was humanly possible, and they settled into an uncomfortable silence, which spanned into the early hours of the morning and was broken only when the summer sky started to pale.