Note: Hope you all like this chapter and thanks so much for all the reviews!
-:-
The rest of Sunday was spent in a pleasurable, though rather unusual, manner. The foursome decided to visit the Room of Requirement once Ron and Hermione realised Draco already knew about it. They walked passed the secret door three times and thought about how much they wanted Harry to have fun. When they entered the room it was full of every toy known to man, muggle and wizard. Harry couldn't stop laughing as he ran about trying to decide what to play with first. The three older kids stood by the door in companionable silence, watching Harry and knowing what a treat this was for him.
"I never knew his uncle used to hit him," Hermione said sadly, her voice low enough so Harry wouldn't hear them.
"Yeah, me neither. He always said they just ignored him, like he wasn't even there," Ron said, gazing at Harry as the boy started rummaging through a virtual mountain of legos.
"I'm not sure which is worse," Draco said dejectedly.
"Does Dumbledore know?" Hermione asked. Draco shook his head.
"I don't think so. I was about to tell him when I was in his office, but Harry distracted me."
"Yeah, he's good at that," Ron said, lifting the tension slightly. Draco chuckled.
"Oh, yes he can always distract me, sixteen or not." Ron and Hermione exchanged glances with raised eyebrows, but Draco didn't notice.
"Do you think we should tell him?" Hermione asked.
"No, it doesn't matter anymore, and I don't think Harry would want more people knowing about it than absolutely necessary. He's too proud."
"You seem to know him as well as us," Ron commented. Draco shrugged.
"Only as a five-year-old," he answered. "I don't really know anything about him as a sixteen-year-old. Everything I thought I knew turned out to be false… that seems to be happening to a lot of things in my life," he mused. There was another exchanged glance that Draco missed. He shook his head and returned from his thoughts. They all walked over to Harry and started helping him get toys down from the high shelves.
xxx
On Monday morning Draco once again reminded his Slytherin classmates that he needed to eat with Harry, thanks to the Old Coot for suggesting his punishment. The Slytherins were dutifully enraged on his behalf, though he knew they were enjoying his humiliation behind his back. He didn't have time to be upset, however, or plan any form of payback, because Harry was easily distracting him. The little boy seemed to be in an even better mood than usual, maybe thanks to the fact that the other three were getting along easier without the normal tension. They ate inside their bubble, Harry almost falling off the chair as he laughed at some of Ron's food antics.
"Honestly, Ron," Draco drawled, using the redhead's first name as usual in front of Harry. "I almost forgot which one of you turned into a five-year-old. Didn't your parents ever teach you table manners?" Ron looked at him to see if there was anything more than light teasing in Draco's comment. Before Ron could retort Hermione cut in.
"Yes, honestly Ronald, why can't you act your age?" Draco smirked as Ron scowled.
"Harry thinks I'm funny, right?" Ron said, deciding to ignore both of the mother hens at the table. Harry nodded, still giggling too much to say anything. "See!" The other two shook their heads as Ron simply continued playing with his food. The first class of the day was double potions (Wizards have the worst kind of Monday mornings!) and Draco was for once not looking forward to his favourite class. He knew Snape was still angry with him for stooping so low as to play a mindless prank (though Draco did think it turned out rather well). Potions also meant he would have to sit with Harry while there were other Slytherins in the class. Draco left the Great Hall with the others, having eaten very little for breakfast.
Luckily potions went without incident. Draco had to pair off with Hermione (at Snape's orders thankfully) and they made quick work of the potion while Harry sat between then looking back and forth at what they were doing and exclaiming "wicked!" every time the potion bubbled loudly.
The rest of the day went smoothly as well. Ron offered to take notes in Transfiguration like he'd promised, but Draco said he might as well do it since it was unlikely Harry would be able to read Ron's handwriting (this had earned him a smack on the head, something he had never gotten before in his life and consequently spent the rest of the class thinking about, almost forgetting to take notes, but he decided he considered it to be another Gryffindor thing he would just have to get used to). During lunch he sat contemplating why his insults were funnier recently. Indeed, aside from laying off on anything relating to muggle-borns and Ron's family's money issues, his insults hadn't changed that much in character, just delivery. He concluded he quite liked the clever insults he got in return, along with an occasional laugh or slap on the back (another Gryffindor thing), rather than having Ron turn red as his hair and throw profanities at him. It scared him a little, that he was actually feeling good, for lack of a better term, in the company of his so-called enemies, but he couldn't really feel that scared when it was so much fun teasing Ron and then having Hermione take his side (this, he decided was indeed his favourite new pastime).
After dinner the foursome spent the evening in the Room of Requirement, this time making sure to produce a few couches and chairs, as well tea and a chess-set. Harry wanted to learn the game and sat on Draco's lap while they both beat Ron two times out of three. Hermione sat doing her homework for the most part.
"Ok, Harry, now you say it," Draco whispered as his queen moved slowly across the board.
"Checkmate!" Harry cried as the queen came to a halt in front of Ron's king.
"Good job!" Draco said, giving the green-eyed boy a congratulatory hug.
"When did you get to be so good at chess, Harry?" Ron asked conversationally. Harry grinned at him.
"I didn't do it, Draco did!" Harry said, looking up at Draco and smiling. Merlin, didn't the boy like to take credit for anything? The Slytherin smiled down at Harry.
"I couldn't have done it without you," he said, making Harry's grin widen as Draco's heart melted just a little bit more.
"Alright, time for bed," Hermione spoke up, rising from her chair as she began to put away her books.
"Aw, come on, 'Mione, one more!" Ron whined.
"No, she's right, it's way past bedtime for little Harry," Draco said, rising and lifting the boy with him. Harry yawed and rested his head on Draco's shoulder. Ron sighed and relented. They walked to the portrait hole before Draco tried to hand Harry over to Ron, but Harry held tight.
"I don't want to go," he said, actually sounding like a five-year-old for once.
"Come on, Harry, it's very late," Draco said.
"No, I want to stay with you."
"I'm sorry, Harry. That's impossible."
"But what if I need you?" Harry asked, still holding tight around Draco's neck. Hermione suddenly had an idea.
"Draco, do you have a few galleons?" she asked. Draco frowned.
"Yeah, why?" he asked, nevertheless fishing out a couple from his pocket and handing them to her. She took out her wand and Harry's attention was immediately focused on her. She cast a spell and then handed them back to Draco.
"It's just like we had in the DA," she explained. "Harry has one and if he presses it you feel it straight away." Draco smiled at her. She really was brilliant sometimes.
"Hear that, Harry?" Draco asked, handing one of the coins to Harry. "Just press it and I'll be there as fast as I can. But only if it's an emergency. Ok?" Harry nodded, studying the magic coin with wide eyes. Draco wondered if he would ever tire of looking into those green depths. Finally Harry released him and he was free to go down to the Slytherin dorms, his hand unconsciously fingering the coin in his pocket.
xxx
Draco woke with a start as the coin in his pyjama pocket pulsed. He quickly checked the time and saw it was almost midnight. Getting up he quickly grabbed his school-robe and put it on over his pyjamas. He hurried quietly out of the dorms and across the common room. Once in the dungeons he started sprinting, praying to Merlin that no one would catch him. When he reached the portrait to the Tower he said the password and breathed a sigh of relief when it turned out they hadn't changed it. Draco slipped inside; hoping he remembered which dorm was Harry's in the dim light from the windows. When he opened the door he quickly took in the scene. Harry was crying softly, clutching at Ron who sat on the bed looking more than a little lost. The other occupants sat on their own beds, none of them knowing much about comforting a five-year-old. Draco huffed as he walked briskly over to the bed. He sat down in front of Ron.
"Harry?" he said. The little Gryffindor responded immediately.
"Draco!" he cried and flung himself at the Slytherin. Draco hugged him tightly, the sobs coming in full force now. Draco wondered how many times Harry had to cry himself to sleep alone and his heart gave a painful jolt.
"It's ok, Harry, sssh, it's ok," he said, stroking soothing circles on the boy's back. He had actually done this kind of thing before (more than once), last time at a family gathering when one of his younger cousins had cried after her mother had yelled at her for spoiling her dress in front of guests. "Can you tell me what happened?" he asked when he heard the sobs die down. "Was it a nightmare?" He felt Harry nod against his chest. "Do you want to tell me about it?" Harry nodded again and sat back, drying off his own tears with the sleeve of his shirt.
"It's always the same. I don't know why it's scary," Harry said softly, looking down at his hands.
"It's ok, Harry. Nightmares can be scary for a lot of reasons." Harry nodded, still not looking up. "What's your nightmare about?"
"A green light," Harry said and the temperature in the room seemed to drop almost instantly. Draco felt a shiver run down his own spine. The other boys all shifted nervously.
"Nothing else?" Draco asked. Harry shook his head.
"No… I don't think so. Just this big green light. But it's scary."
"I know it is, Harry. Come here." Draco held out his arms and Harry crawled onto his lap and hugged him tightly. "Are you feeling any better now?"
"A little," Harry whispered.
"Do you think you can go back to sleep?" Draco felt Harry tense in his arms.
"Could you…" the boy fell silent, looking nervously up at Draco.
"Could I what Harry, you can ask me anything," Draco reminded him.
"Stay with me?" Harry's words were so full of hope Draco didn't want to deny him, but there were the other Gryffindors to consider. He glanced at the others around the room, finally landing on Ron.
"If you don't mind then I don't think we mind. We just want what's best for Harry," Ron said and Draco saw the others nod out of the corner of his eye. He nodded his thanks silently and lifted Harry's chin gently to look in the boy's eyes.
"I can stay, Harry. You don't have to be alone anymore." Harry smiled, his face wet with tears and Draco dried him with his own sleeve this time. If this is what the Dark Lord did to such an innocent young boy he sure as hell wasn't getting Draco's vote. Draco felt his heart melt completely and he realised he would do anything to help little Harry. His sense of righteousness had been awakened (who knew he had one?) and he wanted to savagely strike down those horrible muggle relatives along with the Dark Lord. Slowly he untangled himself from Harry and slipped off his robe. He gently lifted Harry back under the covers and settled himself in. Harry immediately clung to him and they quickly fell asleep, both thankfully free of nightmares for a change.
xxx
On Tuesday Draco woke up feeling more rested than he could remember. He felt a small body curled up against him and realised with a slight jolt where he was. He relaxed soon, however, and didn't wake the sleeping boy. Carefully he lifted his head and saw there was only a minute or so until the alarm went off. He lay his head back down and frowned to himself, thinking about the events of last night. He wanted to curse and scream, but he didn't of course, Slytherins don't do that. Instead he imagined all forms of devious ways to get back at those muggles, none of which he would actually be able to pull off, but they made him feel better nonetheless. The alarm rang and a collective groan was heard from the other sleeping teenagers. Draco chuckled, not at all surprised that Gryffindors were heavy sleepers (always so trusting!). Draco gently touched Harry's shoulder.
"Wake up, Harry," he said softly. The little boy stirred and turned over, a grin spreading across his face as he saw Draco.
"Draco!" he said, giving the Slytherin a morning hug.
"Are you feeling alright?" Draco asked concerned. Harry nodded happily. "Good. I think you need a shower this morning."
"I can do it myself," Harry said immediately and scrambled off the bed. He reached into his trunk and got out a clean set of shrunken clothes and headed for the bathroom. Draco frowned. A five-year-old shouldn't have to be that self-reliant. He was just about to get up himself when Ron appeared at the foot of the bed.
"Ah! There's a Slytherin in our dorm!" he cried in mock horror. The other Gryffindors laughed, and even Draco chuckled. He went to get himself cleaned up and to brush his teeth. Harry had decided to take a long shower and Draco thought the boy deserved it (he deserved anything he wanted really). When Draco came back he stopped short.
"Damn, I don't have any robes!" Draco suddenly remembered as he saw Seamus Finnegan put some on. "I can't sneak back to the dungeons now. I mean I'm sneaky, but I'm not that sneaky, and I'm not wearing the ones from yesterday." The other boys just laughed at him, but strangely Draco didn't take offence.
"Take a set of Harry's un-shrunken robes and spell the red green," Ron offered. "He's about your size. You've both got seeker build."
"I believe Harry is decidedly shorter than me," Draco drawled, but he still went over and searched in the trunk. "Luckily for you that I, in my brilliance, can spell them longer," he said as he laid the clothes out. Ron snorted.
"Hey, Neville's trousers are getting a bit short. I'm always telling him to write to his grandmother, but he says he doesn't want to bother her," Dean said, coming over fully dressed to watch as Draco preformed the necessary spells. Draco eyed him before looking over to Neville's bed, only to see the Gryffindor staring wide-eyed and shaking his head. Draco sighed and started putting on the Gryffindor-now-Slytherin uniform while he thought about it. He really didn't care for Neville. Then again he had been allowed in their dorm, which was something no Slytherin would ever have agreed to. If he was mean they would probably throw him out and then Harry would be upset. He sighed again and figured maybe Neville wasn't that bad. The boy was a coward and a poor wizard, but so what? It wasn't like he was going to rat Draco out to his fellow Slytherins.
"Ok, Longbottom. Get over here so I can spell your trousers. You don't have to take them off or anything." Everybody in the dorm stopped and stared at him (that's what you get for going seemingly out of character). Draco huffed. "What?" he asked, half glaring at the other boys.
"No, thanks," Neville piped up suddenly. Draco frowned at him, which didn't exactly help.
"I'm not going to hex him for Merlin's sake!" Still no response. "Fine! That's what I get for letting you pathetic Gryffindors rub off on me," he mumbled as he turned away and tied his tie. All the Gryffindors in the room exchanged shocked glances. Dean went over and pushed Neville forward, who looked like he would rather confront Snape at that point.
"Eh… ok, Malfoy, I, eh, you can, I mean, would you fix my… I'm not really good at that spell, so could you, maybe, do-"
"Yes, yes, alright, just shut up before you hurt yourself," Draco snapped, though it wasn't as mean as it would have usually been. Ron, Seamus and Dean grinned at each other as they watched Draco spell Neville's trousers so they were the perfect length.
"Wow, thanks, Malfoy," Neville said, sounding genuinely surprised that he hadn't been hexed. Draco shrugged uncomfortably.
"Yeah, well, you should really all learn the spell. A first year could do it."
"Whatever, Malfoy," Ron said, grinning. Just then Harry came back all dressed and ready to go. He grinned up at Draco and the Slytherin thought that he looked like the perfect little wizard.
"Ready for breakfast?" he asked, his mood lightening in a matter of seconds. Harry nodded and held out his hand hopefully. Draco grinned and took it. They walked down together, followed by a grinning and whispering bunch of Gryffindors.
Once at breakfast Weasley couldn't stop grinning that damn grin of his and Draco really wished he had hexed Longbottom. Draco tried his best to ignore it. Unfortunately Hermione hadn't been informed of that arrangement.
"Ron, why are you grinning?" she asked. Ron turned to her, the grin still in place. Draco huffed.
"I believe Weasley is suffering from a very nasty hex. At least he will be soon if he doesn't stop grinning like a loon," Draco said darkly, only causing Ron to grin even wider. Clearly Draco had lost his touch! He cursed under his breath. Hermione glanced back and forth between them. Harry was watching the confrontation attentively too.
"Ron?" Hermione pressed.
"We're rubbing off on him," Ron said simply. Draco groaned.
"You do realise I could throw at least ten different comebacks at you now?" he snapped. Hermione frowned in confusion.
"Yep, but you're not doing to because we're-"
"So help me, Ron if you don't shut up I will personally show Harry here how to cast a Bat-Bogey hex!"
"Are you sure you don't want Ginny to show you?" Ron asked innocently, ignoring the warning. "I believe she got you good last time with it, didn't she?" Draco sighed exasperatedly. It was no use. Gryffindors could be useless at magic and irritatingly noble and self-sacrificing, but they were also known for their stupidity (Draco's word for bravery) and that meant that threatening was pointless and frustrating. He decided to ignore Ron and concentrated on Harry for the rest of the meal, his spirits high by the end of breakfast thanks to the little Gryffindor.
-:-
I love chapters with fluffy endings. Draco is really letting those Gryffindors rub off on him. Harry can melt even the coldest Malfoy heart!! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!