I'm nearly ready to go, meet me by the Great Hall?
Give me five minutes. Harry dressed quickly and rushed to meet Draco. He was stood with a case by the foot of the stairs. His shoulders drooped and his face was pale. Harry immediately drew him into a hug.
"It'll be okay." Draco hugged him back tightly.
"Thank you, Harry." Draco continued to hold on to him, one arm around his neck and his face buried into him. Harry rubbed his back gently.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, softly.
"I just- I can't lose my mother too." Harry hugged him tighter.
"She'll be okay." Harry felt Draco nod. "Can I walk you to the apparition point?"
"That'd be nice."
The apparition point was a new, heavily warded place safely inside the school grounds where students could apparated out. With the older students in the castle it was very useful for students attending appointments or going home. Like Harry, many students were seeing mind healers. The war had taken a huge toll on all of the seventh year in particular and many of them were suffering from PTSD. Harry knew that without help, the majority of his friends would be nothing like their old selves without help. It had truly terrified him to see them zombielike and always close to tears before they'd had help.
Harry gave Draco another quick hug before he walked up the steps of the beautiful gazebo. He waved once and apparated away. Harry felt the link between them stretch and snap back like a rubber band and suddenly the presence of Draco in his mind that he hadn't even realised had built up had gone. Anxiety surged through Harry. He shuddered, not liking the fact that Draco was too far away at all. He walked slowly back to the castle and met his friends in the Great Hall.
"Where did you go?" Ron asked him.
"Saying bye to Draco," Harry answered, but his mind was far away. He hoped Draco would be okay. He felt panicky and jumpy because he couldn't talk to Draco and check that he was okay. He couldn't really send an owl either, it would take a whole day and a half to get a reply. Harry sighed. His mind was whirring and he tried to use the mechanisms he'd been taught to control it but they weren't working. He supposed he should make a mind healer appointment soon. He'd send an owl after lunch.
He picked at his sandwich, trying to engage in the conversations around him. When he was fed up with his wandering mind and lack of appetite, he stood up.
"Are you okay, Harry?" He nodded to Hermione, whose face was creased with concern.
"yeah, I'm just tired and I'm going to make a mind healer appointment." His friends nodded in understanding and he was very glad they were all in the same boat so he didn't feel so broken for needing help.
Harry made his way back outside to the owlery. The soft hoots from the owls calmed him. He sat down at one of the few writing desks and pulled out a quill, ink and parchment from the drawer in it. He wrote the letter quickly, outlining the reason for the appointment and when he was available. He put a quick spell on the ink to make it dry completely and folded the letter. He addressed the envelope and sealed it with the stick of wax and stamp on the desk. He called one of the school's owls and told them where to take the letter. He watched the owl fly out of the window. He couldn't bring himself to buy another owl after Hedwig. Harry sighed and thought he should probably distract his mind by doing homework and made his way up to the Gryffindor tower.
Xx
For the next couple of days Harry took life slowly. He tried to keep up with his friends and get his work done, but he mainly just wanted to crawl into bed. Harry realised that the drama with Draco had distracted him from his problems and now the blond was miles away everything came back. Harry hadn't realised it had gone but he wasn't welcoming its return. He could feel the fog taking over his brain again. He was also worried about Draco. He hoped he and his mother were okay.
xx
Harry had felt sadness coming through the link for the last half an hour and he was beginning to get frantic. He'd been half studying, half chatting with his friends when the link with Draco suddenly snapped back into place and he was punched in the stomach with panic and was so strong harry was nearly brought to tears himself and his own panic made his body shake. Hermione had to ask three times why he'd suddenly frozen and gone ghostly pale before his brain registered it. His friends had asked what had happened and tried to calm him down but harry was desperate to search the school for Draco and help him. He'd tried asking Draco through the link what was wrong and where he was but got shoved out so strongly he hadn't dared try again.
"I have to find him," he told them over his shoulder on his way out of the common room. Being up and rushing through the corridors helped his nerves a little but his heart was still hammering in his chest with anxiety. He knew most of the panic was Draco's but he couldn't ignore it for a second longer. He ran to the library, then the great hall, then the astronomy tower. He thanked merlin he was still fairly fit from the war so he was able to move as quickly for as long as he did. When none of the places he could think of contained Draco he made his way to the dungeons. He didn't think Draco was in his common room or he was sure he would have been calmer. He also had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that Draco was suffering alone and it only made him more desperate. He banged on the brick wall impatiently. A young girl eventually opened the door for him.
"Is Blaise around?" he asked, immediately. She huffed.
"What do you want?" Harry growled in frustration.
"Just get him for me, please." She must have seen the worry on his face because she nodded and disappeared. A few minutes later Blaise was with him.
"Have you seen Draco?" Blaise asked immediately and Harry's stomach sank.
"I was going to ask you the same question. He's definitely back, right?" Blaise nodded.
"Haven't seen much of him though."
"I'll keep looking for him. It's getting late." Blaise nodded.
"I'll stay here in case he comes back." Blaise was mainly staying because he, and probably everyone else in the castle, saw how much Harry and Draco cared for one another. He wanted to comfort Draco but after seeing the almost frantic expression on Harry's face he decided to let him find Draco. It was obvious he'd never settle if he didn't. Blaise smiled secretly to himself while Harry hurried off, feeling almost affectionate towards him. Blaise was glad Draco had found someone that cared about him so much. He also made a promise to hex Harry into the next century if he hurt Draco.
Harry could have hit himself for forgetting the Marauder's map. It would have made the search so much quicker. He considered going to get it but it was half way across the castle and up so many stairs. He decided to check the Room of Requirement since it wouldn't show up on the map anyway and if Draco wasn't there he'd go and get it. He reached the place in the corridor in record time, his worry speeding him up. He thought hard about Draco, about his smiles, the teasing between them, his tears. A wave of sadness rushed through the link. Relief flooded through him when the door appeared. He felt a little bad for barging in but he had to make sure Draco was okay.
xx
Apologies for this chapter being a little rough around the edges. The next chapter is very exciting and I couldn't wait to write it! Thank you for the reviews, keep letting me know you like the fic!