CHAPTER SIX: NEW BEGINNINGS

Draco woke up, practically bouncing from excitement. He had the pleasantest of night, in an exciting adventure trip to the muggle world, sneaked Harry Potter right out of his boring little muggle house, and slept in his parents' ginormous bed and enjoyed the most exciting adventures with Harry, in his dreams all night. He could hardly wait to rush over to where Father and Mother had appointed Harry for the night and make all his dream adventures come true. But Tilly just had to burst his bubble.

She wasn't wrong of course, even if she was only a house elf. Draco needed to look his absolute best, and his most energetic self when he finally met Harry. It wouldn't do to be in messy pyjamas, with smelly breathe or bad hair or cranky mood from skipped breakfast. So this once, he was willing to eat all his breakfast, drink all of his milk, even munch some elven berries, and brush, and bathe hurriedly and then spent nearly an hour hysterically going through his wardrobe to find the perfect robe set. Eventually, his still needed Mother's critical eye and immm.. immm.. impeccable taste de jour couture.

It was close to lunchtime by the time Mother pronounced him perfect and ready to tackle the world. And suddenly, Draco wanted to sit down and think it through. What if Harry didn't like Draco? Narcissa was stunned to see this unfamiliar vulnerability in her perpetually sunny and happy child. So she sat him down, perched on her lap and gently pried into his inner thoughts. And was astounded to see how lonely for peer company her son had been.

Vincent and Gregory had not elicited any amount of interest, given how uncommunicative and non-interactive those two boys had been. The three times she had introduced Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott Jr and a few others in their social circle, they had been brutal as only children can be, and her Draconis had turned out to be ever so sensitive to their jeers and jealousies. Pansy had hounded him with her clingy talk of marriage and babies and weirded him out. And he had felt out of place and lost at each of their social gatherings. But taking their word as the law, he had taken to acting like a true prince, stiff upper lip and all.

And in his buried loneliness, he had stumbled upon those books, seen a boy who did all those things he found wonderful and exciting, and proceeded to build up this huge fantasy around Harry Potter child adventurer, from those blasted books. This was one of those heartbreaking moments as a parent, she supposed, and gathered all her love and courage and set about preparing her boy for his first dose of reality. And the reality was a world of imagination, completely separate from the reality of a wounded, sad little orphan boy who would need all of Draco's compassion and sensitivity to heal and flourish, himself.

So she first explained to him how those books are made and what kind of people wrote them. And then she talked about the reality of a little boy who was nought but a wee baby when his parents died, and he had no family either. She explained how some strangers had decided that he must be hidden away, because he was so powerful he was in danger, and thus, left him in a basket, with nothing more than a letter at the doors of some muggles. She reminded Draco gently, that in reality, their world had probably never gone to check in on him.

And he had remained forgotten for four years until Draco wanted to see him, because yesterday, they had rescued a very sick and sad child who was locked up and forgotten for a long time. Now that Draco had rescued him, it was up to Draco to be the real hero, become his friend and confidante, and keep him safe and hidden. Narcissa would be there to help, but Harry belonged to Draco now; to guard, to cherish and to protect. And she watched in delight as compassion light a fire in his mercury grey eyes, now wide with eagerness, all previous fears and doubts forgotten.

Draco nodded solemnly and straightened himself. He was the hero for a change. And he would keep Harry safe. But that meant that Harry needed to move into his suite at the earliest. And no one should know about Harry living here. Or the enemies would come searching to hurt his best friend. He could be in danger even now! Draco had to hurry and reach him before any others. Off he dashed, Narcissa laughing as she chased after him all the way to the guest wing. Distractedly, she wondered how Draco knew where to go.

Draco dashed past the partially open door and skidded to a halt, absently pushing his golden locks out of his eyes. Green eyes met grey and they coolly studied each other, both hiding their nervousness. Severus had just vanished the Muggle IV system and was meticulously scanning and testing Harry's vitals, and very pleased with the results. He turned to embrace Draco, who already flung himself into the dark man's torso without care.

Severus offered a small smile as he tousled his godson's hair. "Draco, you will be very pleased to know that your friend is now fully recovered physically and ready for indoor games. He will still tire easily and need loads of sleep and good food and all of your hugs and smiles to get fully back to his expected strength. Isn't that right, Harry?" When he turned to look at him, the green-eyed child only looked scared and puzzled.

"Ummm.. who is Harry?" His voice was soft and barely audible, and then he snapped his head up to look at Severus fearfully, almost hunched inwards in anticipation of another blow for asking questions. Freak Boy wasn't even allowed to ask questions, after all. He was just so surprised to find himself still in the fine bed, in fine clothes and not aching in pain or hunger that the question somehow slipped out. He wondered who Harry was; if he was so generously allowed to ask questions, sleep in good beds, and wear good clothes. Maybe they found the wrong boy.

He had no idea what was going on; most of yesterday's conversation had been beyond his comprehension. This beautiful looking blond boy had wanted the older people here to save his life and help him heal and they had done so for this Draco. He looked so much like a fairy-tale angel that even Harry himself would have done everything to please him. When no blow seemed forthcoming, he dared to raise his eyes and look around and study their faces, testing for cues.

Draco seemed shocked, and the pretty lady standing behind him seemed upset. Since no one seemed inclined to punish him for speaking, maybe it was safe to talk to the child? He could maybe say something nice and make them feel better? "You must be Draco. You are very pretty. Thank you for asking them to save me." And he watched in fascination, as the pretty child's pale cheeks turned rosy and his eyes fairly sparkled. A slow smile built up in the pretty one's face and he eagerly stepped closer. "Harry. You are Harry. That's your name. And I'm your best friend, Draco. Draco Malfoy."

"Aunt 'Tunia and Uncle Vernon always called me Boy or Freak. I didn't know I had a proper name like my cousin." He confessed. "Harry seems like a nice name. Better than either boy or freak. Nothing like Draco though. Now that is a fine, fine name." Draco smiled, immensely pleased, and tilted his head to study his new friend. "Would you like a name like mine, then? I was named after a constellation of stars in the sky. There is a book in the library that shows all the constellations and has lots of names. would you like to choose one?" Harry was astounded."I can choose my own name? Oh, that would be so neat! And it will be cool to be named after a star."