Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own Harry Potter, cries, but I do have all the books and movies.
Voldyismoldy: I apologize for the horrible cliffy at the end of the last chapter and I am now updating again so you didn't have to wait to long right. Besides it kept you all hanging onto the edges of your seat for the next chapter right, right? Looks around at all of the furious readers and eeps as they run away. All right then will just start with the chapter then. Enjoy and review. Oh one quick thing I had a reviewer ask awhile ago if Harry was going to become pregnant do to all of the rapes the answer is no although I am not adverse to having mpreg in this story. Tell me what you think.
Warnings: Ron, Hermione and Ginny bashing.
Chapter 6. Choosing sides.
Harry glared at the three figures standing in his doorway his arms wrapping around his chest as he shivered from cold. He wanted to grab his shirt and put it back on but he didn't want to show them that they had gotten to him in any way so remained motionless. He only watched as Ron, Hermione, and Ginny barged into his room without answering his question. He only just had time to see the sneer on the other boy's face before it quickly changed into a forced grin while the two girls smiled at him in a way that to him at least wasn't at all pleasant.
"Heya Harry we came to see how you were," Ron told him as Hermione closed the door behind them making him feel even more uneasy and hopping Sirius or Remus would come up to check on him soon. "It must be great having your godfather back. One less death on your hands right?"
"I'm fine and yes it is wonderful to have Sirius back," Harry replied keeping his eye on the three of them and where their hands were, none of them were fortunately near their wands right now. "Now what is it you really want since I already know you don't really care about me."
"That's not true Harry," Hermione told him in her usual know it all tone. It had always annoyed him but now it did more than ever and he frowned. "You're our friend at least you were until you found out about what Dumbledore was doing but if you had just let us explain you would have seen that what we did really wasn't that bad and for your own good."
"Let you explain about how the headmaster who I trusted and respected has been paying you to be my friends and to marry me while he left me to be abused by my relatives. Yes I should have stayed for that explanation I am sure it would have been fascinating," He snapped at his former friend amazed that with all her intelligence and cleverness she still saw nothing wrong with what they had done to him. "And how the hell is what you did for my own good? How could having paid friends be good for me?"
"The Headmaster wanted you protected and to make sure you had the right friends and were in the right house. He couldn't let you go off on your own you were to important," The girl explained calmly in a tone of voice that said it should have been obvious to him or anyone with half a brain. Made him wonder how she had gotten Ron to understand it. "So he paid us to keep an eye on you and make sure you went into Gryffindor as you were supposed to and of course we could never stop being your friend if we wanted to continue to get paid so you never had to worry about losing us."
"Oh well excuse me for not being properly grateful for what the three of you have done for me," Harry replied in disbelief. Did she really think that he would be that accepting and gullible. His relatives had taught him early on not to trust anyone and they had now proven that. "And I suppose me marrying Ginny would have been for my own good to as who would be better to be my wife than someone Dumbledore was controlling and of course she would never divorce me as long as she was getting paid. But I guess love and trust didn't matter to the three of you or him."
"Oh come off it Harry, you're making too big a deal of this. Up until a few weeks ago you didn't know anything about this and were perfectly content so its obvious we didn't act at all like we were only being paid to be your friend," Ron snapped finally annoyed enough to join the conversation. Harry glared at him but said nothing the betrayal still to fresh for him to say anything, Ron had been his best friend more important to him than either of the two girls and so his deceit hurt the most. "Besides who would have wanted to be your friend if they weren't being paid. You're absolutely pathetic being beaten up by your muggle uncle and how many times have we been there to save your life and risk ours. You owe us Harry for everything we were forced to do because of you blasted hero."
"I. . . I didn't ask you to risk your lives for me and I . . . I didn't want to put you or anyone else in danger," He told him his anger instantly deflating as it was replaced by his all to familiar feeling of guilt and unworthiness. "and I didn't ask V . . . V . . him to kill my parents and make me a hero. I never wanted to be one."
God he was pathetic now, he couldn't even say the evil gits name anymore with all of the shame and disgust he felt at himself for what had been done to him by him and his followers. Never before had he been unable to say the man's name but now he couldn't and he was supposed to some how defeat him still. How was he supposed to do that when he couldn't even stop him from raping him? He was weak and afraid and there was no way he could face him again, no way he could win over him, after what had happened.
"Listen Harry we didn't come here to argue or make you feel bad for what's happened," Ginny told him breaking through his thoughts. He looked up, fighting back tears, just in time to see Ron take out his wand to point it at him as he tensed. "We came here to give you a chance to make things right again, to return them to the way things were, when we were all friends."
"And how do you intend to do that?" Harry questioned looking warily at the other boy's wand and knowing there was little he could do to stop them without his own wand. "Use the imperious on or something?"
"Of course not we would never use an unforgivable on you," Hermione told him affronted by his question her hands on her hips. Harry felt a slight wave of relief at that but only slight as the other boys wand was still pointed at him. "We're going to obliviate you Harry. We will take away all of your memories from the time you over heard our conversation that way you will know nothing about it and we can all go back to being friends."
"What and you think I am just going to stand here and let you do that to me?" the green eyed boy questioned his eyes widening as they flickered between the three people he had once trusted more than anything. "That I would let you take away my memories and continue to use me."
"Think about it mate we can take away all of your memories of this summer, everything your uncle did to you, and what you-know-who and his followers did to you too. Wouldn't you like to forget about how they tortured and raped you. Draco and Snape told us all about it you know," Ron told him a pleased look crossing his face when he saw Harry visibly falter at his words looking uncertain for a moment as to what to do. "We can go back to the way things were, you'll never know about what we did and what you don't know won't hurt you right. And you'll be so much happier without those memories and with us as your friends or did you think you would survive Hogwarts by yourself with no friends. Is that what you want to be alone."
"I . . . no. . . but I have Sirius and Remus and Snape and . . . And Draco," Harry replied faltering at the last two as doubts filled his mind. He was torn between wanting to keep his memories and not wanting to remember what Voldermort and his followers had done to him. There was a part of him too who wanted these three back as his friends despite what he had done leaving him confused and uncertain. "And they will know if you do this because I won't remember them so how would you keep the people here from finding out that you obviated me."
"Well if we had your permission to do so how could they argue but you wouldn't be staying here anyway after we did it," Hermione told him. He glanced at the girl not wanting to take his eyes off the boys wand for to long in case he choose to do it without giving him a chance to decide. "We have a port key that will take you to a secret location of the headmasters where you are supposed to stay for the rest of the summer."
"Now I understand you don't want me back as your friend you're just doing this because its what Dumbledore wants you to do and because you're getting paid by him. It has nothing to do with what's best for me or our friendship," He said in understanding now knowing that these people had never really been his friends at all despite the small flicker of hope he had kept alive in his heart until now. "And you thought I would agree to that? Let you obliviate me and then take a port key that for all I know could take me right back to the Dursley's for the rest of the summer. How stupid do you think I am? I may not want those memories but there are a lot of memories that I don't want and can't rid myself of so I will just have to deal with them just as I have all the others."
"To bad Potter you had your chance but we are doing this with or without your agreement," Ron sneered all pretenses of friendless gone from his face and voice. Harry was strangly saddened by the loss of them even though he knew they had never really been there before. "Really we're doing you a favor who would want you after what Voldemort and his death eaters did to you. At least this way no one will know how pathetic and worthless and used you are, you should be thanking us for being so kind to an undeserving freak like you."
Harry flinched at his words the last ones hurting him more than anything else they had said and done to him. That they would call him that, the word his uncle had always used when he was beating or raping him, shattered his last shreds of confidence. If he was a freak even to his fellow wizards than he knew everything his uncle had told him was true. He was worthless and undeserving of love or care, undeserving of even friendship. His eyes lowered and his shoulders slumped in defeat. What was the point of trying to fight when he had no wand and no way to stop them from casting the spell? Should he even try to stop them or was this for the best? After all of what use was he except to defeat Voldemort and let others have the use of his body.
His arms wrapped around his bare chest his hands clutching them as he shivered again though this time not from cold but from his own patheticness. He felt the tears break free from his eyes to stream down his face as he waited for the spell to be cast taking away what little freedom he had gained in the last few days. He would go back to being a tool for Dumbledore, back to believing people who weren't his friends were, and once the war was over he would marry Ginny or who ever else they wanted him to and never have a life of his own. He was undeserving of one any way, undeserving of freedom or the ability to choose for himself, so he shouldn't morn the loss of what he had never really had.
"Obliv . . ."
"EXPELLIARMOUS!" a voice shouted from behind them. Instantly Ron's wand flew out of his hands and the boy was pushed back away from Harry due to the force of the spell. "What the hell do you think you're doing in here?"
Harry looked up in surprise to see Draco standing just inside the door way of his room his wand raised and pointed at the two Weasley's and Hermione. His face was flushed with rage and his silver eyes seemed to burn with it. Behind him stood the twins who looked just as angry as the blonde boy did with what they had found going on in the room. How they had managed to open the door with none of them noticing Harry didn't know but he was glad of it even if he didn't deserve their help.
"Back off Ferret face this doesn't concern you," Ron snarled getting to his feet again to glare at the other boy out raged by his interference. "We were just having a talk with our friend."
"A talk with you pointing your wand at him while he didn't have his and about to cast a spell on him," Draco snapped without lowering his wand. He could see that Harry was trembling and there were tears staining his face and he wanted to go to him but couldn't while the three of them were still a danger to him. "That was no talk you were going to do something to him until I stopped you not something friends would do to each other."
"We weren't going to hurt him just take away some of his memories," Ginny told them as if it was a matter of little consequence which was obviously not the case to the three other teens. "It was what the headmaster wanted us to do and it would have been better for him, he would have been able to forget what that madman and his followers did to him. I don't know how he can stand it remembering how their hands were on him and how they were inside of him it would have driven me mad with shame and disgust. We were doing him a favor."
"Dumbledore wanted you to do this to Harry? The same man who was paying you to be his friend?" Fred questioned looking at his brother and sister like he was only seeing them for the first time and didn't like what he was seeing, George had a nearly identical look on his face. "I can't believe you three, that you could be so cruel to someone who has never done anything to you and you can be sure mum and dad will hear of this and we'll see what they think of Dumbledore's orders."
"Yeah something tells me they won't be to be pleased to hear about this," His twin agreed arms crossed over his chest. Harry had never seen the twins so serious or upset before and he very much preferred the grinning pranksters they usually were to this. "Now get out of here and down into the kitchen we need to talk and you can be sure we won't let you near Harry alone again."
The three of them frowned but with Draco's wand still pointed at them and the two older teens hands near their pockets where they were sure their own wands were they made no move to protest. Ron grabbed his wand from where it had fallen and the three of them left the room without a word. Harry watched them leave relieved that they hadn't succeeded in their plans and as soon as they were gone his legs collapsed under him and he slumped to the floor trying to stop his tears.
"Don't you worry little bro we won't let those three any where near you again and you can be sure mum and dad will see them punished for this," Fred assured him as he and his brother knelt in front of him grins having returned to their faces allowing a small smile to come to his as well. "And you can trust me and the rest of your big brothers not a one of us has ever taken money from that old coot to be your friend or anything else and neither have mum and dad we promise."
"Yeah little bro we'd never take money to be your friend, in fact we should be paying you for letting us be your friend oh great savior of the wizarding world," George agreed jokingly. They were both pleased when Harry actually chuckled at his words and gave each of his shoulders a squeeze. "We have to go now to take care of our way word siblings but if you ever need a big brother to talk to or something you just come get any one us we'll always be here for you."
"Thanks guys I appreciate that," Harry told them grateful that he still had his adopted big brother even if he didn't have his best friends anymore. "Don't be to hard on them they just made some bad decisions you know."
They both nodded though neither looked as ready to forgive the others yet as he did then again he had always been told that he was far to forgiving. They got up and nodding to Draco left the room to confront the three that had already left. Draco had already put away his wand once the two youngest Weasley's and Hermione had left and immediately went over to Harry with the departure of the twins. Harry looked at him with in obvious desperateness to his eyes and Draco knelt in front of him and took him into his arms to give him the comfort he needed so much.
"It's all right Harry they're gone and I won't let them hurt you again all right," He told him as he held the smaller boy close to his chest. Harry gave a small nod as he buried his face in his shirt hurt and humiliated by what they had done. "Can you tell me what happened Harry?"
"I came up here after I finished talking to Siri and I was getting undressed to take a nap cause I didn't want to wrinkle the new clothes you gave me," The green eyed boy explained sniffling. Draco nearly laughed at his desire not to mess up his clothes but wisely kept from doing so not wanting to upset him further by doing so. "I had just gotten my shirt off when they came in and closed the door behind them saying that they wanted to talk. They told me that I didn't understand that what they did to me was for the best and that it was the only way I would have friends by them being paid. That Dumbledore and them were just doing it for my own good can you believe that."
"They're fools the lot of them and it's not true Harry none of it," Draco growled wishing he had cursed them when he had the chance but he was sure they would be properly punished by their parents, the weasels anyway, he wasn't so sure about Hermione since her parents weren't here. "I swear I am your friend and no one is paying me to do so."
"But why Draco? Why would you want to be my friend knowing everything that has been done to me , after seeing it being done yourself?" He asked his voice barely more than a whisper. He sounded so young and vulnerable that it nearly broke the other boy's heart to hear it. "Aren't you disgusted by me? You should hate me for what I let them do to me, I am the one who is supposed to defeat that . . . That madman and I couldn't even stop him and his followers from raping me. You should hate me and not wanting anything to do with me no one should."
"Hush Harry that's not true and there is no way I could ever hate you or be disgusted by what you were made to suffer. Your just one boy, Harry, savior or not and you should have been protected from that and from your uncle. Should have had people taking care of you and protecting you. There is no way you can defeat him and his followers alone and it is foolishness for anyone to think that you could no matter how powerful you might be," He told him his silver eyes flashing as his arms tightened around him. He could hear Harry's quiet sobs and a dampness to his shirt and rubbed his back comfortingly as he spoke. "You need people to stand with you like me and Sev and your godfather and Remus and the rest of the Weasley's. You can't do it alone and you shouldn't try to and as for me being your friend why wouldn't I want to be? You are one of the kindest, most forgiving and loyal people I have ever met and beautiful too."
Harry looked up at him in surprise wanting desperately to believe him but unsure if he could and Draco smiled at him. For a moment they only stared at each other aware of the feelings they had for the other that one wanted desperately to be returned and one believed never would be. Then Draco did something that he would later regret as he brought his hand to the other boys face caressing his check. Harry tensed at first and then relaxed slightly enjoying the soft touch, one of the first he had ever gotten from anyone. Everything would have been fine if the blonde haired boy had left it there but in a moment of weakness and desire he brought his lips to the smaller boy's never realizing just what he had done.
For a moment Harry couldn't think or do anything as he felt the other boy's lips on his soft and gentle, so very different from the other forced kisses he had been given. Then all at once his mind exploded in a multitude of questions and fears as he stared wide eyed at the boy. Oh god why is he kissing me? What does he want from me? Does he like me? But that can't be nobody would ever like me like that. I don't deserve to be loved or wanted, I'm a freak, uncle and Ron said so, so what does he want from me?
There were so many doubts and fears and questions running through his head that he could only barely register that he was enjoying the kiss himself the first time he ever had. He intended to ask Draco what the kiss meant once it ended but he was stopped by the look in the others boys eyes, a look he had seen in far to many others. It was a look of longing and desire, of need, and he knew then what he wanted from him. He wanted what everybody else did, his body, that was why he was his friend, for sex and nothing more.
It hurt more than he had thought it would to know that the only person he had thought was his friend by choice really only wanted to fuck him and nothing more. He felt his heart shatter as he realized that everything his uncle and Ron had said about him was true and it was a struggle to keep his pain from showing on his face. Draco was all he had and he would do anything to keep him even let him fuck him if that was what it would take for the other boy to be his friend. So he resisted the urge to pull away from him and only let him continue to hold him burying his face in his chest again.
If he had looked closer into Draco's eyes or even asked him what the kiss had meant as he had intended he would have known that sex was the last thing Draco wanted from him at that moment. Yes he wanted to be with the other boy and hoped that at some point they could be that intimate with each other but he knew it wouldn't happen any time soon. Not after everything Harry had been through and he was willing to wait as long as it took for them to get to that point. He would have seen the love and concern and the fear Draco felt for him and would have realized that what his uncle and Ron had said about him was wrong and he was worthy of love but he didn't and Draco not realizing what he had seen and assumed said nothing about the kiss as he held him and let him cry.
He merely believed that he was upset over what his former friends had tried to do to him and that the kiss had been to soon for him but nothing more than that. So he let him cry and when he drifted off into an exhausted sleep he lifted him carefully in his arms and brought him over to the bed where he pulled back the blankets. He laid Harry down in the bed and covered him with the blanket and was just about to turn away to let him sleep undisturbed when he felt something grab his arm.
"Stay with me Dray please," The smaller boy mumbled softly on the edge of sleep. Draco smiled and agreed climbing into the bed with him and laying his head in his lap while he sat against the head board and ran his hand over his hair. "Thank you . . ."
"You're welcome Harry now sleep," Draco told him with a soft smile the other boy never saw as he fell into a deep sleep that for the first time was empty of the terrible dreams that usually plagued him.
Draco sat there with him, stroking his hair, and listening to his deep even breathing for a long time. It felt nice to sit there with the other boy watching over and protecting him while he slept and he only wished he could have been there sooner for him. It had taken longer than he had expected to get his things with Severus without alerting any of the death eaters or Voldemort about his presence at the manor. When he had returned he had gone looking for Harry only to be told he had gone back to his room to take a nap by Sirius and that Ron, Ginny and Hermione had gone upstairs as well by the twins.
When the twins had learned that Harry had gone upstairs by himself they grew concerned as well and the three of them had decided to check to make sure they hadn't done anything to Harry. None of them had expected to find him in the boy's bedroom with Ron pointing his wand threateningly at Harry. He was only glad they had gotten there in time to stop them from taking away a portion of the boys memories and making him a tool for Dumbledork again. He would never have forgiven himself if that had happened and he had lost him as his friend again.
How long he sat there with him he didn't know but he was unsurprised when Severus, Remus and Sirius came into the room to check on Harry having heard of what had happened to him. They were relieved to find him sleeping peacefully in the bed with his head resting in Draco's lap. Seeing that he at least appeared unharmed they crowded around the bed to reassure themselves that he was indeed ok.
"Is he all right Draco?" Sirius asked as he looked down at the black haired boys face. Draco nodded without stopping his stroking as it seemed to soothe him. "How long as he been sleeping like this?"
"I think he's all right just a little shaken up by what happened and he's been sleeping for a little while now but he didn't want me to leave," The boy explained. The three men looked relieved at that and Sirius ran his hand over his forehead gently with a small smile. "But I did something before he went to sleep," he began hesitantly as the men looked at him in curiosity and concern. "I kind of kissed him and I don't think he was quite ready for it but I swear not to do anything like that again unless he wants me to I just kind of got carried away a little."
"I don't think that was the smartest thing for you to do Draco, Harry is incredibly confused and vulnerable right now," Snape told him frowning. Draco nodded knowing he was right and slightly ashamed of what he had done. "Just don't let it happen again and once he has recovered some what from everything that has happened we will have to have a talk with the both of you to make sure you both understand what your getting into and what it means."
Draco's face flushed in embarrassment already dreading what he knew would be a very uncomfortable conversation for all of them. Of course his father had already given him the sex talk and all that but he doubted this conversation would be any less humiliating for him or Harry. He doubted to that Harry had ever had the sex talk but then again he had just been shown all of it unwillingly by his uncle. It pained him to know that this boy had known all about sex and the different ways of pleasuring someone by the time he was ten, an age that was far to young for that kind of knowledge.
"For now we will let him rest but I think we will have to consider moving you two to Snape's home sooner than we intended too," Sirius said his face drawn with worry as he stared at his godson's sleeping face. He looked so innocent and helpless with his head resting in the other boys lap and he feared what could happen to him if they remained here much longer. "I doubt this is Dumbledore's only plan to get to Harry. He wants him to fight this war against Voldemort and he won't stop trying to get him back under his control so easily. You'll both be safer at Spinner's End than here."
"The house elves have already prepared for our arrival at my home we can go there at any time," Severus assured them much to their relief. Sirius and Remus nodded glad to know that their cub wouldn't be in danger for to much longer. "I suggest however that we wait at least until he wakes up and is able to say goodbye to the others. They should at least know he is leaving though no one but us will know where he is going. We can't allow Dumbledore to get that information from one of them."
The two other men and Draco nodded and the three men decided to leave them alone so that Harry could continue sleeping undisturbed. He needed rest and peace and quiet more than anything right now and they intended to see him get it. He would be safe in Snape's home and able to recover properly from what his uncle and Voldemort and his followers had done to him. It would also give the chance for the relationship between Draco and Harry to grow before they returned to the pressures of school something they thought would be good for both boys.
Once they had left Draco looked down at the boy again with a small smile as he stroked his hair. He was glad the others hadn't been to upset with what he had done and he swore he would talk to Harry about it later and make sure he understood just what he meant to him. Carefully he removed the boys head from his lap and slid down under the blankets until he was laying down next to him before carefully taking him in his arms. He laid the smaller boys head on his chest with his arms wrapped around him and soon drifted off to sleep himself too emotionally drained from what had happened that day to stay awake any longer.
A/N: Now was that worth waiting for or what? I hope the scene with Ron and the others was good, aren't they jerks? And I gave you some sweet Draco/Harry action to bad poor Harry misunderstood what was going on but it will all work out in the end promise. As for Dumbledore well this isn't the last we will see of him and just what else is he planning to do with Harry and how will Harry defeat both Voldemort and him? Suggestions anyone cause I am in need of some. I have some ideas of where I want this story to go but I could still use some help so any suggestions you have are welcome and needed. Any way hope you enjoyed and please review or the story will die.