He arrived at the burrow with Albus, James, and Lily, and had immediately locked himself in the bathroom at seeing Malfoy by the fireplace with Scorpius. He felt like he had swallowed a mouthful of pixies, and he wanted to be sick. He didn't know where the sudden urge to vomit had come from, but it hit him like a bludger. He took a deep breath and steadied himself, leaning against the sink and staring hard at his reflection in the Weasleys mirror. He had dark bags under his eyes, and his face looked long and exhausted. Maybe he should just go home. No, he knew he couldn't. He hadn't seen Molly and Arthur properly in what felt like ages, and he knew if he left they would only be offended. Plus, the kids were already wary around him, and he figured they would do best to hang around with their friends for the afternoon. Maybe Harry would feel better after they ate.

"Oh!"

He had tripped over his own feet on the way out of the bathroom, and stumbled directly into Draco Malfoy's chest. The blond frowned and helped him to get his balance back, and Harry felt a calmness wash over him, feeling anchored by the warm hands on his shoulders. But then they were gone, and the bitterness was back, and he couldn't explain it at all but for a moment he had felt okay again. Malfoy was staring at him with that concerned, expectant look of his, and Harry realized that he was supposed to say something, perhaps apologize for nearly bowling the blond over. He opened his mouth, but what came out was instead, "Merlin, Malfoy, you've certainly got a thing for putting your hands on me without permission, haven't you?"

Draco looked startled by the venomous tone, and jumped back, grey eyes wide as he huffed, "You fell into me, Potter! It's not like I wanted to put my hands on you!"

"Oh, I'm sure you didn't!" Harry snorted, in a voice that was not his own, "Out of the two of us, which one is gay, again?"

Draco looked stung, and Harry would have given anything to apologize for it, but the words were glued together in his throat, and instead he snorted, "Disgusting, really. Can't keep your hands to yourself for a second, can you?"

"If this is some sort of joke, Potter, it isn't a funny one." Malfoy said, and though his face was hard and angry, his voice was quiet and rounded, and betrayed the hurt he must have felt from the comment. Harrys vision faded, and static filled his ears for a moment as his heart flooded with empathy, but the moment passed quickly, and he felt his mouth moving, but he didn't know what it was saying.

All he knew was that Draco's face had gone pink, then pale, then red, and his eyes had come close to overflowing with tears. What had he just said?

"Harry!" George called, heading down the hall from behind Malfoy, a grimace on his face, "Hey, mate, have you got any idea what's going on with Ron? He's just had a row with Hermione and mum, and I can't get a word of explanation out of him. Has he said anything to you?"

Harry was sure he was missing something with that statement; was certain something huge was buried in his mind; some revelation that was bursting to get out but couldn't manage. His mouth was hanging open, and he couldn't figure out what he was trying to say. It was as if he wasn't in control of his own body anymore. He didn't get a chance to answer anyways, though, because George had noticed Malfoy and had asked gently, his face softening, "Hey, you okay, Malfoy? Ron didn't whack you with a fire poker again, did he?"

"It's nothing." Draco said quickly, and his voice was so soft and vulnerable that Harry's heart shattered in his chest, but he couldn't make himself say anything because he still couldn't figure out what he was supposed to say, or how he could make his mouth work if he did. Fuck, he really liked Malfoy, and here he had just ruined everything, and he was still standing there like an idiot just staring at Malfoy who looked like he was trying increasingly hard to look like he wasn't effected by what Harry had said. He was failing, though. Draco was hurt by Harry's comments, and they could all tell, but nobody knew how to say anything that would close the wound. Draco swallowed and looked at the floor, saying gently, "I should have just stayed out of your life. I won't bother you anymore."

Draco walked away back to the kitchen, and Harry stayed in the hall outside the bathroom, staring after him with words caught in his throat. George didn't say a word, and quickly spun around to follow Malfoy, supposedly to try and work out why he was so close to tears. Harry swallowed, head still buzzing, and nervously made his way to the sitting room, where all the Weasley's were now gathered. Draco and Hermione were out of sight, but he tried not to let it bother him too much. He would find Malfoy later and talk to him when he didn't have a lump in his throat and the back of his eyes didn't sting. Ron was arguing quietly with George in the doorway to the sitting room, and everything felt like it was underwater to Harry, who had gone numb and cold, doing his best to repress the anger in his chest that just wouldn't go away.

The rest of the group was talking about Quidditch, and the kids were out in the backyard practicing their skills with Oliver Wood-who had started dating Ginny when they met at a training camp for their respective teams. Harry wanted to feel happy for her, but couldn't remember what that emotion felt like. His vision blurred as he tried to recall it, and suddenly he couldn't remember anything that had happened over the last hour; only that he had seen Malfoy, managed to upset him, and that no they were avoiding each other. He wasn't sure what was going on, or why he felt like something was distinctly wrong, but he figured it would be worked out later. It was as if a wave had passed.

XXXXXXXXX

Malfoy didn't play Quidditch when offered, and he had been so set against sitting near Harry that he had actually wedged himself between Ron and Hermione-which would have been funny if Harry hadn't noticed how puffy and red Malfoy's eyes looked-and he absolutely refused to look in Harry's direction. What had he done to upset him so much? It must have been bad, if even Scorpius was annoyed with Harry, and though he sat next to him at the elongated table in the kitchen, he didn't say a word to him. Nobody else seemed to sense the tension between them besides Hermione, who kept a hand on Malfoy's knee through the entire meal that had Ron looking concerned and horrified in turn when he noticed. Molly noticed Malfoy's dejected expression early on, and asked him in alarm, making everything more awkward, "Draco, dear, did something happen? You look like you've been crying, love."

"It's only allergies Mrs. Weasley." Draco assured her with a false smile. Harry pretended he didn't notice Scorpius glaring daggers at him. He looked at Hermione instead, and noticed that she looked just as upset as Malfoy, though she was far better at hiding it.

"Yes," Molly mused with a frown, "It's about that season, isn't it?"

Dinner went down much of that same vein, with Draco giving short answers to questions, and Harry trying to remember what he had done that was so bad. He didn't think it would be wise to ask. They were nearly finished when Ron had had enough of Hermione's and Malfoy's closeness and said sharply, "I don't know about how you lot feel, but if a certain Gryffindor doesn't move her hands away from another mans nether regions, a ferret will lose its bollocks."

Ginny and Hermione both clapped their hands down on top of the table, one far more red-faced than the other, and Oliver Wood looked horrifyingly pink in alarm, where Malfoy looked startled and confused. Molly frowned and said, "Just what is going on here, then?"

"Just a bit of fondling under the table, mum, but don't worry, I'm sure it was a mistake, right Hermione?"

Ginny looked relieved, and Hermiones mouth popped open in shock as she cried, "Ronald! That's not what-"

"You think I wouldn't notice? I'm sitting literally right beside you, it was sort of hard to miss!"

"Weasley that's not-" Draco started, but Ron tore his wand out and pointed it directly at Draco's jugular, a silent warning that he would murrder him if he said another word. Hermione's hands clapped over her mouth in horror, her eyes filled with tears. The buzzing was back in Harrys head.

"What is wrong with you lately? If you think I would do that to you-and in front of the kids? Ron, I would never-"

"Shut up." Ron growled, "And here I was, thinking Malfoy was as bent as circle while you felt him up under the table! I should have known that was false as soon as he said it-everyone knows how Fenrir Grayback used to feel him up that same way! Used imperius to get Malfoy to do what he wanted. To think he would still be gay after that, who was he kidding?"

"Dad?" Scorpius asked, a look of devastation on his face. Harry's heart had collapsed into his chest and he felt sick. He hadn't known that, but there was no questioning the validity of Rons accusation when he got a look at Draco's face. He looked as if his entire world had just fallen apart in front of him.

"RON!" Hermione screamed, and Harry had never seen her look so upset before.

"Bombarda!" Draco snarled, without touching his wand, and Ron and his chair flew back into the china cabinet, plates and glass breaking across the floor. "Come on, Scorpius, we're leaving."

"Yeah, run then, Malfoy, just like you've always been known to do!" Ron shouted after him, without moving from the floor. Hermione was leading the kids out of the room with Molly, tears streaming down her face as Harry stood, trying to catch Malfoy's eye. Something about seeing Malfoy look so horrified had shaken something loose in Harry. Ron continued shouting, tears of his own leaving streaks along his cheeks, "Maybe we'll get lucky and you'll go the same way your wife did!"

Ron didn't even have a chance to brace himself. Harry didn't know where it had come from, but a protective surge had flared in his chest, and he was suddenly spitting a curse he had promised himself he would never use, a clear and crisp "Crucio!" flying from his mouth before he knew what he had said.

He hadn't meant to do it, but it didn't matter. his wand had moved on its own, his mouth had opened without his permission, and a spell was being shot out the end of his wand. He tried to pull it back at the last second, and managed to jerk it away from Ron, but instead directed the spell towards Draco-Only it didn't hit Draco. It hit Scorpius.