Change In A Star's Alignment
Chapter 27:
Draco's POV:
Draco woke before Harry the next day and simply enjoyed the feeling of having his crush in his arms. As he woke fully however, his thoughts turned serious. What should I do? He wondered. I know I should talk to Severus about this, but then Harry would never trust me again… He soon decided that he'd just have to somehow convince the raven-haired beauty to go to Sev himself… Easier thought than done…
He stopped in his pondering as he felt Harry stir in his arms. He watched with a slight smile on his face as the boy of his dreams slowly awoke.
"Hey" Draco said softly.
"Hi." Harry answered with a bright smile before it very suddenly disappeared.
"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.
"Fuck!" the other boy said, looking down at his chest to see that his scars were still visible. "Oh shit… I didn't… I can't believe I…"
Draco's heart sank a little at Harry's words, understanding immediately what it meant,
"You regret telling me, don't you?" he whispered, closing his eyes tightly.
Surprisingly, he felt two strong, though slightly shaking, hands rest on his face. He opened his eyes in shock to find that Harry's were staring intently back at him. He went to speak aloud, but was stopped by a shake from Harry's head.
"I most definitely do not regret telling you." Harry said rather passionately, his green eyes bright with emotions that Draco couldn't quite discern, "It's just that it's so new to me, opening up, that I sort of panicked… I'm sorry…"
His heart warmed greatly at the Raven's words and he couldn't stop himself from reaching for the other boy's hands, which had fallen into his lap. He held on lightly and gave Harry's hands a quick squeeze while saying, "Don't be sorry for your emotions Harry, you've been through a lot and I shouldn't have gotten so upset. So I'm sorry."
Both boys then smiled brightly at each other for a few minutes longer before Harry suddenly jumped out of the bed as if just remembering something important.
"Wait!" Harry exclaimed, "It's only Tuesday! We are so late for class right now!"
"Calm down Harry," he said reassuringly, somewhat amused at the other boy's disheveled state, "I figured we'd take the day off today because of last night."
"Oh, okay" Harry said, finally settling back onto the bed next to him.
Draco pulled the teen close and waited for Harry to relax completely before saying, "Harry, we need to talk for a minute."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked tensely.
He sighed to himself, rubbing circles soothingly on Harry's back. How do I get him to speak to Sev? He wondered.
"Look, I know this is probably the last thing you want to do but… I think you should go see Severus…"
Immediately, the scarred teen was across the room, his glamours once again back in place.
"No" Harry said firmly, "Why would I do that?"
Right as Harry had left his embrace, all he wanted was to apologize and get that warmth and closeness back. However, he knew that he had to go through with this, no matter how long it would take for Harry to be close to him again.
"Harry, you need to go. Even if you only show him your scars and don't speak about them! They need to be looked at by a professional…" Seeing that Harry wasn't budging, he tried one last thing, "Please Raven…" he whispered so quietly he wasn't even sure Harry had been able to hear.
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Harry's POV:
He had been mortified when he had woken up and remembered what had happened the night before. He couldn't believe that he had done that. He didn't regret that he had told the blonde, but he just wished that the blonde didn't have to see his ugly scars. When Draco had mentioned talking to Snape about it, he immediately withdrew from the blonde's embrace, no matter how right it felt. No matter how much he wanted to be back in Draco's arms, he forced himself to stay away.
He had thought he wasn't going to be swayed. That is until the blonde said quietly, "Please Raven…" Harry felt something snap in him then.
Suddenly he recognised that Draco was just looking after him and that he probably wouldn't have even suggested it if it wasn't important. He heaved a sigh before he turned to face the blonde, who was looking down at his hands.
"Alright…" he said reluctantly, "I'll go see Snape…"
Draco looked up in surprise, "Thank you"
The blonde opened his arms to Harry then, and he couldn't resist. He climbed back onto the bed and settled himself against Draco and found himself relaxing slightly as the blonde ran his hand across Harry's back gently.
As they lay there for most of the morning, he couldn't help but think about his future talk with Severus. He wanted nothing more than to get rid of his scars, but he wasn't too sure that is was possible and he didn't think he could handle having that confirmed. What scared him though wasn't that they would never be gone, but that Draco would now know that they're there. Of all the people to see him at his ugliest and it was Draco, the one person who he actually wanted to impress…
"What's wrong Harry?" Draco asked after observing him intently.
"I just… I just never wanted you to see me like this." He explained.
"What do you mean?" the blonde asked, sounding somewhat hurt.
"I never wanted you to see me so ugly…" Harry confessed.
"Harry" Dray said passionately, forcing him to look at the blonde, "You are not ugly."
He smiled slightly, trying to get the blonde to think that he'd believed him.
"Thanks" he said as he hugged Draco tighter to distract him.
"Anytime." Draco said, somewhat skeptical, but not pushing it any further for the moment.
The two boys stayed in each other's arms for most of the day, moving only to eat or use the bathroom. They spoke of trivial things so as to keep Harry's mind off of his meeting with Severus later.
As it got darker and the bright fiery sun completed its descent, the boy's both got up and dressed in their proper clothes. Harry finished first and couldn't stop his shaking hands no matter how hard he tried.
Eventually, the blonde walked over to him, grabbing Harry's hands in his before saying, "I'll be right beside you the entire time Raven…"
"Do you promise?" Harry asked, feeling like a child for needing the confirmation.
"I promise" Dray said, brushing some of Harry's raven-locks out of his green eyes. "You ready?"
He only nodded in confirmation, not trusting his voice just yet. They both stood and started their descent towards the Dungeons. While passing the Common Room he noticed Hermione and Blaise starting to get up, no doubt to demand as to why they hadn't been in classes that day. Luckily, they stopped when Draco gave them a sharp look and shake of the head.
Harry let go of the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. He really had not wanted to explain as to why he was absent to anyone right now. Thank Merlin Draco is here for me, he thought, I don't know what I'd do without him...
After a whole lot of feet dragging on Harry's part, the pair finally managed to get to Severus' rooms. Harry noticed the other boy staring at him intently after knocking on the door.
"I'm not going anywhere" Draco said.
Harry hadn't realised how much he had needed to hear that until it was said. He felt himself relax a little and managed to steady his breathing as much as he could before the door was swung open to show a sneering Severus. Normally, the sneer would disappear when he saw him and Draco, but today the sneer only got worse.
"And where were you today?"
"That's why we're here Sev…" Draco said quietly, giving the Potions Master a pointed look.
Severus eyed Draco curiously before turning to look at Harry. Whatever the other man found there, made him lose the sneer and step aside to let the pair in. The whole time, Harry could feel himself shaking slightly and avoided making eye contact as much as possible.
Why did I agree to this? He questioned himself sternly. He turned and looked at Draco, who was giving him an encouraging look. Oh… That's why… Harry thought while he gave the blonde a short nod before heading into Snape's private rooms.
He and Draco sat on the couch while Severus took the armchair across from them. Snape flicked his wand to summon tea, all the while keeping watch on Harry's every move as if trying to decipher a tough puzzle.
"What's this about?" Severus asked gently, obviously understanding that he should tread carefully so as to ensure he doesn't scare Harry off.
Harry looked to Draco who then sighed in defeat, realising that Harry was not about to start this conversation.
"Harry has told me some things about the Dursley's and that is why we were absent this morning." Draco said.
"Alright then…" Severus said, his eyebrows reaching as if to meet his hairline, "So why are you here now?"
Harry, not wanting Draco to have to speak for him the whole time, finally said something quietly, "Because of my scars…"
"I assume it is not mental scars that you are referring to…" Severus said quietly.
"No…"
"May I see them?" Severus asked gently.
Harry looked once again to Draco for support. The blonde moved a few inches closer to show his support. Harry started to unbutton his shirt, but found it to be a difficult task, as his hands were shaking extremely hard. Soon enough, he felt hands wrap around his wrist, forcing him to stop trying to undo his buttons. He turned slightly to face the blonde and blushed lightly when Draco released his hands and started undoing the buttons for him.
Harry was glad for the support, even though it was highly embarrassing that Severus was in the room with them and no doubt seeing his blush. This thought only made him blush deeper. Finally, Draco was done and he straightened up, giving Harry one last encouraging look, before taking the shirt completely off of him. He turned so that Severus could see the scars full-on.
He didn't know what he had expected, but it definitely wasn't what happened next. He heard Severus gasp, but he didn't open his eyes until he felt someone wrapping their arms around him. He had expected Draco, but soon realised that it was the Potions Master himself who was currently hugging him like a father would a son.
"Oh Harry…" Severus said, "I am so very sorry… I… I should have done something…"
Harry couldn't believe what was happening. He had known that Severus hadn't hated him, but he hadn't realised how much the other man must like him.
"There's nothing you could have done, you had no way of knowing…" Harry said gently, hugging the Professor back.
"I just feel like I failed you… Like I failed Lily…" Severus said so quietly, Harry almost missed it.
He pulled out of the embrace quickly and gave Severus a reproachful look.
"Severus… You didn't fail anyone! Not me, and definitely not my mother." He said passionately.
"You're right… Of course you're right Harry…" Severus said, nodding to himself, "Here you are making me feel better, when I should be making you feel better."
"This is Harry Potter we're talking about Sev!" Draco said teasingly, "When is anything ever the way it should be with him"
"Very true." Severus teased back before turning back to Harry, "Alright then, let's take a look at those scars."
Harry could feel himself starting to shake, but soon felt the blonde's hand in his own, steadying him. He gave Draco a thankful look before focusing back on Severus' sharp gaze. After a few minutes of staring, the Potions Master turned and headed for his potions supplies. He re-appeared with a potion and some sort of salve.
"This one," Snape said, holding up the potion, "will make sure everything gets properly healed. And this" he continued, now holding the salve, "is a salve that will hopefully clear away those scars. You might had a faint trace showing of some of the deeper ones, but the shallower, the more it will disappear."
Harry quickly downed the potion Severus handed him and reached out to take the salve as well, but Draco was much quicker and grabbed it before he could. Harry eyed him questioningly, but the blonde shook his head slightly.
"Sev, we should get back now. I'll be sure he puts this on." Draco said.
"Alright…" Severus said with raised eyebrows.
"Good night Severus." Harry and Draco said together.
"Goodnight boys."