Author's Note: Once again, thank you for all your reviews! I appreciate them a lot, really. But just on a side-note, I don't really welcome reviews that make no sense. I don't wish to point out names but so far there's been one person who's said some stuff that I do not appreciate. Sorry but comments such as those should be kept to yourselves, thanks. I'm new to writing fanfics and this is only my 2nd story, and the first one with more than one chapter so pleaseeeee be nice to the noob here D: But to ALL the rest of my reviewers, I'll try to satisfy you guys with my story ^^ I'm trying to make it as TOTALLYAWESOME as possible, but I've been having some sorta mind block lately. In fact, I'm amazed that you guys liked the last chapter o.o Thanks! And here's your reward…Chapter 10 has arrived early!
Acceptance
Chapter 10
Can't Help It
I waited for about fifteen minutes for Draco to fall back into peaceful slumber again before making the tough decision of leaving him in my room to go find Ron and Hermione. I needed to tell them about the information I just got. Sure, Dumbledore needs to know, but whatever, friends ALWAYS come first! Before I left the common room, I appointed Neville to guard the room. Why him? Only because he was the only other Gryffindor cooped up at Hogwarts during vacation…
Conveniently, I caught sight of Ron and Hermione in the distance, doing…oh god, were they making out? ALREADY? Things were happening so fast, first Draco spilled the beans and now my best friends were making out in the open grounds of Hogwarts. As usual, at times like this, I would do the only logical thing possible…
"RON! RON! RON! RON! RON! RON! RON!"
Upon hearing my voice, the two shoved each other away in the blink of an eye, looking red in the face. "God, Harry, why are you always such an extra guy?" Ron spluttered, wiping his mouth. Yup, they had been kissing alright. I strode towards them getting ready to start teasing them, because that's what best friends do to each other in awkward situations like these. But then I recalled what I was here for.
"Sorry to destroy your little moment, guys. But here's some breaking news…"
And so, I told them everything that Draco told me. Basically we came to the conclusion that the 'professor' that Draco spoke of was Voldemort. Obviously Voldemort wanted Lucius Malfoy to turn his son into a killer at an early age, but he refused and ended up getting punished. In an attempt to keep his son safe from the wrath of Voldemort, Draco's parents de-aged him and left him somewhere seemingly safer than Malfoy Manor.
"But why was de-aging necessary? Couldn't he have just left him somewhere safe in his teenage form?" Ron scratched his head.
"Well, Draco's dad obviously was incapable of caring for his son if he left him somewhere else, so he probably expected someone to take him in. And honestly, if you had to pick, would you take care of a teenage snob or an adorable little kid?" I grinned. "See how it all fits now?"
"Yeah, but I bet Lucius Malfoy would NEVER have expected his dear son to end up in the hands of famous Harry Potter," Hermione remarked.
She had a point there. For God's sake, the Malfoys despise me and my guts. How would they react if they found out that Draco was with me? And come to think about it, Draco wasn't exactly 'safe' in my hands because I'm the guy that every evil being tries to kill. Basically, he wasn't much safer than he was before…
"Better than letting him get man raped by voldy," Ron scoffed. "Speaking of Draco, where is the little guy?"
"I left him in the room, but don't worry, Neville's protecting him."
"…Neville?"
"What?"
"Seriously, Neville?"
…
"Point taken, Ron. Let's go back to the common room."
With that, the three of us returned and found Neville asleep at my door. Heh, figures. Luckily we were only gone for a few minutes… Hermione woke Neville up and he apologized profusely until Ron slapped him to make him shut up. I turned the knob and found Draco still curled up, asleep on my bed. But he sensed my presence and shot up to a sitting position.
"Harry, Ron, Hermione!" Draco greeted with a bright smile.
Ron waved and Hermione commented on how much healthier he looked than when she last saw him. Draco simply giggled and jumped off the bed, running towards me. I bent down and felt his small body against my chest. Through this whole period of spending time with him, I realized that this little Draco really enjoyed hugs. Then my face fell. Would Draco still hug me when he's back to normal…?
Ron sensed my sudden solemnness again and shook a finger. I nodded, realizing that I needed to stay happy around Draco if I wanted him to be happy too.
"Harry, Draco wanna go play!"
"Anything you want, Dray."
"Draco wanna have party with the Griff-doors like last time? Remember? Last time was so fun! Every Griff-door love Draco~"
Ron, Hermione and I exchanged glances before breaking the news to the young Slytherin that the only Gryffindor left besides them was Neville. Draco froze for a moment before shaking his hand awkwardly, which obviously meant he was calling the party off. Haha, this little guy was really picky with his friends. No wonder he always hung out with the same standard people last time. Then I began questioning myself about whether Draco would have preferred living with his house instead of the Gryffindors. Well, the clothes Snape provided him with were all green or white. And he also gave him a mini slytherin uniform. Strangely, none of us ever felt weird having a slytherin roaming about in our common room so far. He just seemed to fit in with us.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
"I'll get it!" Hermione exclaimed, hopping to her feet and opening the door to reveal Dumbledore standing outside.
"!" Draco screamed, pointing frantically at the lush beard before him. I placed my hands over his eyes in exasperation and he calmed down almost immediately. But wait- what's this wetness I'm feeling at my…damn, he peed on the carpet…
"I'm sorry, Harry. Is this a bad time?" Dumbledore asked in a shaky voice, obviously still stunned by the unexpected loud scream from Draco. I shrugged and pointed at the wet stain on the carpet, "Oh I don't know, sir. What do you think?"
"I must apologize for that. But however wise and knowledgeable I may be, I must admit I still failed to figure out what's so scary about my beard…"
"Me neither,sir."
"Professor Dumbledore."
"Yes, Mr. Weasley?"
"Have you ever considered getting a shaver…"
Hermione and I rolled our eyes helplessly at the statement. Unbelievable…
As expected, Professor Dumbledore ignored the question and instructed me to go to his office with him. I had no choice but to follow, figuring that he knew Draco had talked and wanted to get answers from me.
"Take care of Draco," I told my friends as I released my hands from Draco's eyes. "Be good, Dray. I'll be back soon."
"Dun die Harry! Draco love you!" Draco smiled, but turned away the moment he caught sight of the oh so scary beard. "Yeah, I love you too," I pat his head before turning to leave. I heard Hermione go 'aww' as I shut the door.
As we walked, I heard Dumbledore chuckle. "What is it, sir?" I asked.
"What you said back there to Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore paused. "Did you really mean it?"
"Well I…you know…I just…"
"Careful, Harry. Remember what I told you before. You must not get too attached."
"Yeah…I Know…"