A/N: Yes, I know I was evil for leaving you guys like that in the last chapter. I just want a little suspense 0:D

Thank you for the reviews!! :D

To answer some of the readers' question: Yes, I am pretty certain that I will have Draco be healed in this story. However, it won't happen any time soon. So you'll just have to continue reading. ;-)

Warnings: Not much. Swearing? Draco being in pain? That's not really a warning… xP

Chapter 8

A Matter of Trust

Right after Draco collapsed in his arms, Harry panicked. He quickly stood up, stepping on his notebook in the process. The book was the least of his problems right now. The main concern was the unconscious blond slumped in the wheelchair. A small whimper bubbled out from Harry's mouth as he took in Draco's extremely pale face.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" Harry kept on mumbling, even as he lifted the blond from the chair. "I don't know what went wrong… I will never forgive myself if you're hurt more than you already are." Harry's mind was solely concentrated on Draco; he barely realized he was talking to himself. "I need to drain the potion out. I'm sure something went wrong. It was probably the valerian… Or maybe it was the shrivelfigs."

Harry carried Malfoy, bridal style, out of the laboratory. Harry kept his eyes on Draco. The man's breathing was shallow and Harry saw beads of perspiration dotting Draco's forehead.

"You're breaking out in fever…" Harry muttered and quickened his pace to his own bedroom, not Draco's.

As soon Harry was inside his bedroom, he rushed over to his bed and used wandless magic to make his comforter curl into a roll at the foot of the bed. Harry set the blond down, carefully placing Draco's head onto the fluffy pillow, set his body straight, and had the arms stiff at the sides. Harry then took out his Healer wand and waved it over Malfoy's prone body. Draco's jumper was gone and so were his sweats (Draco hardly wore trousers in Harry's house). All that was left was Draco's boxers. If things were different, Harry would've blushed from seeing Draco's almost naked form.

"Okay, alright… Yes, I need to expel the potion in your body." Harry fumbled with his white wand, his hand shaking slightly.

Pressing the rounded tip on Draco's forehead, Harry slowly traced his wand down to Draco's nose. From there he moved the tip of his wand to the blond's lips before making a straight line down to Draco's throat. Harry needed to do all that in order to banish any leftover potion.

"Wake up, Draco… Please," Harry pleaded softly; the wand was now at Draco's chest.

With a swirling motion right over Draco's abdomen, Harry pulled his wand away. A string of brown liquid followed after. That was the potion Draco had ingested earlier. His lips firmly pressed together, Harry flicked his wrist, breaking the brown thread from Draco's body. One twirl of his wand and the potion thread was gone. Immediately after, Draco's body shuddered and his breathing wasn't as labored as before. Harry let out a breath of relief and sat down next to the blond. With some whispered words, Harry spelled Draco's clothes back onto his body. He took Draco's hand and held on, noticing how cold Draco's hand was. With his free hand, Harry placed it on Malfoy's forehead; the man still had a small fever.

He needs a Fever-Reducing potion when he wakes…

Harry was brushing the blond fringe away from Draco's forehead when the pale eyelids fluttered lightly. Harry stopped his hand movements and stared down, willing silently for Draco to open his eyes.

"Draco? Draco, can you hear me?" Harry gripped the blond's hand tighter. "Come on, Draco… wake up."

Draco's index finger moved, touching Harry's knuckle. The green-eyed man smiled, a bit more relieved, and leaned closer to Draco's face.

"Draco… I know you can hear me."

Malfoy's eyebrows scrunched up together and then, slowly, his silver orbs revealed themselves. Draco looked disoriented but that was to be expected.

"… Harry…" Draco licked his lips and smiled lightly. Harry's face was looming very close to his. "Am I…?"

"Shh, hold on. I'm going to do a test on you, just to be safe." Harry muttered a spell and the orange shield enveloped Draco.

No lingering poison detected. All traces of potion were removed. Slight fever.

Harry sighed in relief and the shield disappeared. Draco was still looking a bit dazed, breathing softly through his lips.

Harry looked at the bedside cabinet. A second later, a glass of water appeared. He helped Draco sit up in bed, putting two large pillows behind Draco's back to support him.

"You're fine, from the looks of it. However, you have a slight fever… most likely from the potion and not the pain," Harry said; he looked down. "I'm so sorry, Draco… I didn't know it will give you such a reaction."

Draco glanced down at their intertwined hands; he gave Harry a light squeeze. Potter felt the touch and gasped, trying to move his hand away. He totally forgot he was still holding Draco's hand. Draco, however, refused to let go. He held on. Harry blushed and let Draco hold his hand.

"I think I remember saying that it's not your fault," Draco whispered; his voice was still hoarse. "You were—" Draco stopped and coughed a few times. Harry looked alarmed and reached for the glass of water.

"Don't talk too much, Draco. Here, take a sip." Harry pressed the rim of the glass on Draco's parched lips. Draco greedily drank what Harry offered him. After drinking half the glass, Harry set it back down on the cabinet. He moved Draco until the blond was half lying onto the pillows. "I'll do the talking for now, alright?"

Draco rolled his eyes but nodded at Potter, smiling.

"First of all, I have to admit that I'm not too sure what just happened. You were in great pain, that's for certain, but I don't know if it was because of what I mixed, or if you are allergic, or… your spinal nerves just absolutely refused to be healed."

Harry knew the last couple of words were harsh, but he had to say it. He looked at Draco; the blond didn't even flinch at his words.

"I'm not so sure if it was because my nerves refused to be healed, Harry," the blond said, frowning, "if they were… I shouldn't even have the pain." Draco let out a small chuckle. "We're talking about my spinal cord as if it was a person, a living being. How crazy is that? And stop glaring at me. I know you said I shouldn't talk, but I can't help it." Draco smirked at Potter when the brunet scowled at him for speaking up.

Harry sighed and looked down at Draco's legs. "It could be the poison effect… maybe I didn't add enough valerian…" Harry looked uncomfortable after saying those words. It made sense. Pain, fever, and muscle spasms were signs of aconite and sopohorous poisoning…

Harry paled. "I did poison you, Draco! It is the valerian! I didn't put enough… Not enough to counter the aconite and sopohorous! If-if I didn't expel the potion from you body quickly enough… it would've spread to your brain and… Oh my god…" Harry shook his head and didn't meet Draco's searching eyes.

"Harry… it's alright. I'm alright." When Harry still refused to look at him, Draco glowered. He took Harry's other hand and held them together within his. "You're an excellent healer, Harry. If you weren't, St. Mungo's wouldn't have made you their top Healer. I know for a fact that my life is safe in your hands. Even though I was poisoned, I'm alive now, aren't I? You prevented the poison from spreading to my brain. That alone shows you know what to do when a patient's life is in danger. You will not let them die. You won't let me die." Draco smiled when Harry looked at him, with an adorably confused expression on his face.

"You put so much trust into me… What if I can't heal you, Draco? What if I make you sick again?"

I can't lose you, Draco, not when I just found you…

"I trust you," Draco said again, firmly.

Funny how I can trust you so quickly… But I think I always had trusted you.

Silence passed between them. When it became uncomfortable, Harry cleared his throat and grinned. He extracted his hands from Draco's and stood up from bed. Draco looked worried but Harry reached out and tucked Draco's hair behind his ear. Harry chuckled softly when Draco blushed, his pale skin showed the pink patches clearly.

"I'll be back. I'm just going to fetch you a Fever-Reducing potion. You're still slightly warm. "

"Oh…" Draco felt his forehead; it was indeed warm.

"Stay put, and close your eyes or something. You need rest," Harry said firmly and turned away. Before he took a step, Draco's hand wrapped around Harry's wrist and stopped the brunet from going any further.

"Tell me something, Harry." Draco waited until Harry was looking at him with questioning eyes.

"Yes?"

"How did you get the potion out? Did you pump my stomach like how they normally do it at hospitals? Like the Muggle hospitals?" Draco pouted a little.

"Pump your stomach? I don't even have the machine here in my house. No, Draco, I have my own way of bringing bad substances away from a body. If you were conscious, I could've given you a potion to force you to vomit everything back out… but since you were out cold I did something else.

"I created a spell, you see, to bring a substance out from a patient's body. All I needed to do was—" Harry made a swirling motion with his index finger right where his belly was, "—and pull my healer's wand away and with a flick, everything is gone."

Draco gaped at the man standing beside him. That procedure was painless and quick! Much better than being forced to barf out all his meals from the previous day, not to mention there was also the horrible aftertaste…

"Wow… you did that to me?" Harry nodded. Draco shook his head with a small smile. "You-you're brilliant… By doing that, I don't even have to suffer from stomach cramps!"

"You were in pain already, Draco… and your life was in danger. I couldn't wait so I had to do what was quickest." Harry looked troubled for a moment before a smile spread across his face. "Now, let me go get that potion for you." With that said, Harry left.

He was back not three minutes later, holding a vial of blue liquid. Harry sat down at the edge of the bed and uncorked the vial. Draco took the potion and downed it, making a face as the thick concoction slid down his throat. Harry immediately handed the blond a refilled glass of water.

"Sorry about the taste. I still can't make potions taste better," Harry joked; Draco mock-glared at the brunet and handed the glass back to Harry.

"Potions will always taste like shit, no matter what."

"Well, I did try to get rid of the awful taste, but that turned out badly." Harry shrugged and grinned when Draco looked at him sarcastically. "What? I did try, but the taste got amplified instead… I never tried again after that."

Draco hummed and settled deeper into the pillows propping his back. It was then he realized he was not in his own room but Harry's.

"Harry… Why am I in your room?"

Potter cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. "I was frantic… didn't really care where I took you. I was scared, and all I thought about was that you would be alright and that you would wake up." Harry reached for his rolled up blanket and pulled it up, covering Draco's body with it. "You can stay here tonight. I don't want to move you since you are still recuperating. I'll sleep in your room or something for the night."

"That's not right! I'm the guest and I'm forcing you to sleep in the guest bedroom?! Just take me back to my room, Harry, I'm fine!" Draco argued. He felt flattered that Harry cared about his well-being, but it really wasn't right to make Harry sleep in his room instead.

"No," Harry said firmly. "You're staying here and that's it. As your healer, I'm telling you to rest now. As Harry, I'm still telling you to rest and that you don't have to worry about kicking me out from my own bedroom." Harry winked at Draco, causing the blond to roll his eyes. "How about this? If you go to sleep now and stop thinking so much, I'll take you out tomorrow."

"Are you bargaining with me, Potter? You should never bargain with a Malfoy," Draco said, smirking, "but since you said shopping, how can I refuse?"

The green-eyed man laughed. "You can't because I know you're the type that loves shopping," Harry said. "Remember, if you need anything, just touch the orb, okay?" Harry then gestured to the orb on his bedside cabinet.

"Mm… I think—" Draco let out a yawn, "—the potion is kicking in. I'm starting to feel drowsy… did you mix some Sleeping Draught in it?"

"Yeah, I want you sleep better," Harry murmured and got up; he smoothed the blanket and smiled down at Draco. "I'll see you in the morning."

Draco yawned again and closed his eyes.

"G'night…"

"Draco, would you stop picking at your jumper? It's going to have holes by the time we get there," Harry chided. He had his eyes on the road, but he still could see Draco nervously tugging and picking at his grey jumper.

"Shut up…" Draco muttered without malice. He bit his lower lips and stopped fidgeting as Harry had asked him to. "I-I haven't been out in the public since the accident… You can't blame me for feeling a bit agitated, Harry."

Harry sighed and with one hand on the wheel, he reached out with his other hand to pat Draco's thigh comfortingly.

"I asked you, which was stupid on my part, if you've been to the Muggle part of London before—of course you have—so I know that's not the problem," Harry said and placed his hand back on the steering wheel. "Just stop thinking about it, alright? I'll be there with you." Harry looked to his left and found Draco staring out the car window, watching the other cars in the street zoom by.

"I know you will be, Harry, but it's not the same…" Draco muttered to the window. "People will stare at me. The reason I lived among Muggles was because they don't know who Draco Malfoy is. To them, I was just an ordinary young man with blond hair and grey eyes. I blended right in with them. They couldn't tell if I was a wizard or not. Now, I'm a man in a bulky wheelchair… a man that seems too young to be disabled. I really don't like the extra attention…"

Harry frowned but kept silent.

"As I had said before, I'm not used to having somebody be around me all the time. I was independent and I had planned on staying that way. Sure, I made friends, went out with them, and hung out, but… I was still somewhat distanced from them."

"Does that mean you don't like it when I'm around you too much?" Harry just had to ask. He didn't want Draco to feel uncomfortable living in his home. If Draco wanted privacy, he'll give it.

"No! No… I-I… Not you, Harry." Draco looked away from the window and stared straight in front of him. "You're… different. Don't make me explain why you are… You just are."

Harry chuckled and they didn't talk about that topic for the rest of the car ride.

Harry huffed and dumped five shopping bags onto the hardwood floor of his flat. Storm flew out from the living room and started barking and yipping when he saw Harry. Draco chuckled and set the bag that was on his lap onto the floor as well. Storm then bounded over to that bag and sniffed around. The puppy's eyes stared up at the blond and barked. Draco bent his body and reached for the tiny black pup. Storm happily walked between Draco's outstretched hands and let the man pick him up. Harry rolled his eyes and waved his hand over the discarded bags; they floated off the floor and followed Harry as the brunet pushed Draco further down the hallway.

Because they were out with Muggles, Harry had given Draco a normal wheelchair instead of the floating one he used around Harry's flat.

"You see? All that worrying for nothing," Harry said as he pushed the wheelchair. Draco was playing with Storm's ears and he looked up at Harry.

"Worrying?" Draco smirked.

"Yes, worrying. You were worried that the Muggles would stare at you like some kind of monster."

Draco sighed and scratched Storm's head, making the pup whine happily. "Okay, fine, I was scared. I would be a total liar if I said I wasn't. I really thought they would look at me as if I'm from another planet… But they didn't. I have much to learn about Muggles…"

"Well, it's not really weird to see a person sitting in a wheelchair, Draco. Just because it's rare in the Wizarding world, doesn't mean it's the same in the Muggle community."

Draco hummed and leaned back against the wheelchair; he held Storm close to his chest and just hugged the black puppy.

"Come on, Potter, make haste. I have much unpacking to do."

Harry looked behind him. The six shopping bags were close to exploding. Draco went crazy once he saw clothing stores. Harry was sure five full bags were of Draco's clothes; Harry only bought himself a new winter coat. Some of Draco's clothing was put into the sixth bag as well… so that meant Draco had five and a half bags of new clothes. Usually Harry loathed shopping, especially for clothes, but when he saw how carefree Draco was during their shopping time, he realized he didn't mind so much.

"That's what happens when you buy six bags of clothes, Draco," Harry said, laughing, "it's a good thing your room has a closet big enough to fit them all."

"You just don't appreciate the beauty that is clothes," Draco sniffed, "but at least I persuaded you to buy that coat. It was gorgeous and looked wonderful on you." Malfoy turned around and gave Harry a warm smile. Harry blushed and smiled almost shyly.

"Really? You really think I looked good in it?"

Harry never shopped for things that looked good. All that mattered was that they were wearable.

"Of course! I had you model for me. Trust me, Harry, I'm an expert when it comes to fashion."

"I'm not going to argue with you on that!" Harry laughed, agreeing with the blond. "I needed a new winter coat anyway."

As they neared Draco's bedroom, the blond gently placed Storm on the floor. The Labrador pup bounced away from its owner and Draco, most likely back to the living room.

"Your dog is so happy all the time… I sometimes wonder if dogs have moody moments," Draco said suddenly. Harry opened the bedroom door and pushed Draco inside, with the bags following.

"I'm sure they do," Harry answered. "Besides, Storm is practically a baby; he's not even one yet."

"Storm doesn't have things on its mind… not like you and me," Draco murmured. "You know… I had wondered about how things would be if I never came back to England. I never told you… but I lived in France for a year."

"You did?!"

I wouldn't have seen you again…

"Yeah, I didn't like it though… That's why I came back."

Harry turned halfway around and waved his hand at the shopping bags; they dropped to the carpeted ground silently.

"Things would be different, I'm sure," Harry whispered and he picked up three of the bags. He walked over to Draco's bed and put them on the mattress.

"There was another reason… Do you know why I came back?" Draco asked; his eyes wide with something close to fear.

Harry turned and sat down on the edge of the bed. He tilted his head to the side and his face broke out with a lopsided grin.

"Why would I know? I haven't seen you or heard of you for eight years, Draco."

Malfoy gulped and wheeled himself a bit closer to Potter. When he was three feet away, Draco stopped and stared at Harry's green eyes, unblinking.

"I came back… because there was somebody I could not forget."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Chapter 8! Done! :P Is that another cliffhanger? Gasp? I'm such a… bad author! ;x

Thanks for reading! :D