Draco startled awake at the feeling of someone sitting on top of him and no... No, not again. Harry hadn't even been here for one night and he was- No. Draco refused to put up with this. Draco groaned, rolling over and pulling the pillow over his head. "No classes. Too early. Sleep." He had no reason to be up early, he refused to be up when it wasn't necessary.
"We should go flying." Rolling over had only made it so Harry was no longer sitting on top of him and instead beside him, hands tugging at his shirt and occasionally at his pillow. "Or maybe you can show me more of the Manor. Or the grounds? It looked pretty big. We should just- We should do something."
"Go explore. Fly. Whatever." Draco whined, curling up tightly and pulling the blanket further over him. Why was he putting up with this- Why was he dealing with this? Draco was a good person! ...Sometimes!
"Or we can just sit around your room for a bit- You still need to help me with my chess strategies. I also was looking through my homework and had some questions about our Potions essay, and everything else. Do you remember all the class lessons from where you've been through them before? How did you keep getting wrong homework answers if you remember?" Draco whined again, now putting his pillow over Harry's head.
"It's too early." There was a sharp jerk and squirm from Harry, the child wiggling out from under the pillow and looking panicked and frazzled for a moment and oh... Now that Draco was looking, Harry looked like hell.
"It- Never too early. We should...just not sleep." Looking Harry over, Draco made a decision and nodded. He wrapped an arm around Harry and tugged him down, curling around the boy and closing his eyes.
"Just go back to sleep." There was a moment of Harry being tense in his arms before relaxing against him, curling closer and giving a small sigh. Like a crup puppy, honestly. Just needed to be held to get him to stop moving.
"Sorry, just... Nightmares."
Draco gave a nod. "I get them, too." He pulled the blanket up over Harry, and nudged the pillow under his head. Finally. Now he could get some decent sleep. It would be absolutely per-
"Draco?"
"What, Harry?"
"Thank you." The voice was so utterly grateful, words soft and quiet as Harry curled even closer to him. Draco was already falling asleep, again. And... This was always nice. Knowing he wasn't alone, and that Harry was as safe as Draco felt at the moment. It... It was nice.
::
There was a knock to Draco's door that had him waking up, Narcissa's voice heard getting clearer, "Draco, I checked on Harry and I couldn't... Ah, found him, then." Draco was holding Harry tightly, his arms around him. Blinking, he squinted and looked over towards the door.
"...Mother?" There was something wrong here but Draco was much too tired to put the effort into figuring it out. Besides, Harry was warm and soft and made a great cuddler.
"I just wanted to let you two know that breakfast will be ready shortly. Harry, I also visited the Ministry of Magic yesterday to let them know the magic done in your house was through no fault of your own." There was a small mumble from Harry that could have been a thank you, the child hiding his face in Draco's neck. Draco gave a vague wave in her direction before rolling back over, his eyes closing once again. "I'll see you two boys shortly, then. Draco, we'll be talking later."
That had Draco's eyes opening as the door closed. "She's going to kill me." A soft hum from Harry was the only response, the child still curled up on top of him. "Harry. Harry, I'm going to die. My mother is going to kill me."
"She's not going to kill you," Harry groaned, rolling over in order to hide under the blankets. "She's probably just going to ask why I ended up in your room last night. Tell her... I dunno, tell her I got lost, or something."
"Harry, your room is next to mine." Huh... Draco hadn't thought much about it, yesterday, but he wondered if he should tell Riddle that Harry was staying with him, now. If anything, Riddle would be pleased. Especially with how he described his own childhood.
"I got really lost," Harry laughed, giving up hope of sleeping more and sitting up to rub at his eyes. "Would your parents care if I wear muggle clothing? Or do I have to robes all the time? I don't have any robes besides my school ones- I have jeans, though."
"Mother wouldn't much mind," Draco said with a sigh as he sat up. "She's most likely going to take you out shopping." Nodding, Harry slid out of the bed and headed towards the door, glasses missing - had probably walked here without them last night.
"Alri- Wait. Shopping? Why- No. No."
"We've high standards," Draco shrugged. He looked over Harry. "You...could use improvement."
"Gee, thanks." Ah, there was the sass that was so wonderful about Harry and made Potter so fun to poke and prod at. "Really, thanks so much. So sweet of you to say."
"You're welcome," Draco said with a genuine hum. "Go get dressed. No pajamas at the table." An enraged Harry was adorable, truly. Aa, it was so nice to know the boy was safe and sound in Malfoy Manor, instead of suffering under those ridiculous muggles. Getting out of bed, the blond yawned and stretched as far as he could before stumbling over towards his closet. Now... What would he be wearing, today?
Maybe this, possibly that- Oh, no that, that was hideous. Why did he even have that, honestly- Ooh, that wasn't so bad. If he had the right tie to go with it, though- Nope, better idea, that tie, that shirt, and- "Are you seriously- Draco, it's been almost twenty minutes."
"Mm. I'll be right with you," he called absently. Ugh, purple. Why did he even have that in his wardrobe? It clashed horribly with all the colors he did like. No, no, no. Purple wouldn't do whatsoever.
"Just throw something on, it's breakfast with your parents, not a Christmas party you need to look your best for."
"Yes, but most likely, we'll be going out soon after, and I can't look anything less than my best." This was why uniforms were so much easier! You never had to think about showing people up when you wore uniforms! Although he always did, anyway.
"But...you always look your best."
"Oh, hush, I've heard that one often enough."
"Worth a shot," Harry laughed, Draco hearing footsteps before the child was beside him. "Why not the silver tie with the green shirt? Too much silver makes your skin look even more pale than it already is. Which is impressive."
"Too much green is..." Draco wrinkled his nose. "They're both meant only as accent colors. Except when in robes, then a dark emerald is acceptable." A glance to Harry showed the child was staring at him as if he had just spoken another language.
"O...kay?"
"Don't worry. You'll learn."
It took another twenty minutes, but soon enough and the two were heading down to breakfast. As they walked, Harry was a step behind Draco, curled behind him and near hiding. Draco grabbed his hand and tugged him along, giving a reassuring smile. He released him once they got to just outside the dining room. "Good morning, boys," Narcissa greeted, smiling warmly at the two once they entered.
Draco smiled and nodded. "Mother. Father." Sitting down in his usual seat, he wasn't surprised when Harry sat right beside him, looking rather uncomfortable with the whole matter. Only giving him a smile, Draco looked back to his father. "Any news with the Ministry?"
"Nothing too spectacular, at any rate," Lucius hummed, flipping through the Daily Prophet. "Good morning, Harry. I trust you slept well?"
"Oh, ah, yes, sir. Thank you, also. For letting me stay here." Draco waited until his father set the paper down before he was snatching it up as casually as he could appear. Really, some of the stories were so much more interesting than they once might have been. It was also amusing to have Harry peek over his shoulder, reading the articles as curiously as he was.
"It's not a problem at all," Lucius replied, Draco already working on tuning him out. "By the way, Draco, have you seen a leather bound book in the library? It would have been small, not much touched."
"Huh?" Draco blinked, looking up at him. "Oh, no. I'll tell you if I do, though." A leather bound book? Small? Hardly touched? He... He couldn't possibly mean Riddle's diary. It wasn't anything important. Probably something else.
Lucius nodded, turning back to his conversation with Narcissa. It seemed like they were discussing Harry, or at least trying to do so without worrying Harry. Which was moot, since the child was completely wrapped up in reading the Daily Prophet. Draco glanced it over before sighing and handing it over to Harry. Honestly, he was entertained by the smallest things.
"So, Harry, you recently turned twelve, didn't you?" Narcissa asked, startling the boy from where he had been turning the page, and, ah, right. Harry had his birthday a few days ago. A few days ago...when he thought his friends no longer cared for him. Ah. Lovely. Draco would be sure to make it up to him as best as possible.
"I, ah, yes ma'am," Harry nodded, fidgeting a little in his seat. "On the 31st."
"Another summer birthday," Lucius hummed. "How nice."
"I...yes?" Oh, he would definitely have to work with Harry on how to improve his small talk. And his fashion sense. And- Everything. He had to work on Harry with everything.
Once breakfast was over, Draco looked to his parents. "Would it be alright if I had Blaise and Pansy over, tomorrow?" While Lucius raised an eyebrow, Narcissa only gave a serious nod.
"You three will have a lot of work to do, especially since he'll be attending the ball this year." Draco gave a nod, his disposition just as solemn.
"We best get started right away."
"Where did you two go so wrong," Lucius sighed, shaking his head and looking like he was hiding his amusement. "I can only hope Harry's presence here, as a sane person, rubs some sense into you two."
"Mm, of course."
::
'My father was looking for this book. Why is that?'
'I wouldn't know,' Riddle wrote back, words a bit less neat and tidy like they had been at the beginning. As if they were more comfortable, now. 'Perhaps because this diary - my memory - is one of the only reliable counts from when the Chamber was last opened?'
'Why would he want that account? There's no evidence that says the Chamber will open, this year.' There was nothing that even suggested it, and Draco was willing to be it was a whim that Weaslette had ended up with the diary at all.
'I'm only a diary of a sixteen-year-old, Draco. I don't know why someone would want this book, or why they would think the Chamber might open. There's much I don't know, and the magic I used... Well, it wasn't exactly thoroughly-tested magic.'
'I've known a few certain sixteen-year-olds...' Himself. Potter. The Golden Trio in general, really. The four of them had all been in the thick of it, when they were sixteen.
'Yes, well... I'm sorry I can't help you further. Perhaps if you're correct in something happening this year, I might be able to help, but until then, I'm little more than a diary that can talk back.' Feh. Draco knew there was something about this diary besides the fact 'it could talk back.' He just needed to figure out what... Hearing a knock on his door, he closed the book and tossed it under his bed.
"Hello, darling!" Pansy threw the door open, Harry held tightly in her grasp. It looked like the boy had tried to escape, and was now looking slightly panicked. "We're here to help!"
"Yes," Draco sighed. "We need your help, desperately." Draco only gestured to Harry. Nodding seriously, Pansy pulled the boy further into the room, Blaise following them up and shutting the door.
"Right, crash course for our new Slytherin here," Blaise grinned, Harry's panicked look fading for an unamused, raised eyebrow.
"'New'? Oh, that's just insulting. I've been a Slytherin since day one, that tarnished piece of scrap cloth, however, thought different, in the end. That and I wasn't leaving Draco on his own. Probably would have murdered the idiot Gryffindors."
"Oh, don't let him fool you. Around those in our age range, he's perfectly Slytherin, but adults... And look at his clothes!" All of them looked to what Harry was wearing, a pair of jeans and a ripped shirt that was nowhere near his size.
"I mean, unless you want me to go around wearing my uniform every day," Harry shrugged, Pansy making a noise of pain. "Did you really drag them here to 'teach me to be a Slytherin'."
Draco shrugged. "Not in so many words." Rolling his eyes, Harry wiggled out of Pansy's grip and plopped himself down on Draco's bed, looking very huffy about the matter.
"Ron's going to kill you for 'corrupting me', you know."
"...Pansy, I'm thinking blue."
"Mm, maybe," Pansy mused, crossing her arms and studying Harry for a moment. "As much as I hate to admit it, red actually does look good on him. Not gaudy Gryffindor red, of course, but maybe cooler tones... A bit of green to bring out his eyes, of course. You have very nice eyes, by the way." Draco gave a nod.
"They're bright, aren't they? Well, you know where my wardrobe is. Fit him in whatever you deem necessary." Draco turned to Blaise. "Small talk."
"That bad?" Blaise raised an eyebrow, crossing his own arms as Pansy flounced off to Draco's closet. "So, Potter, it's been a while since we've seen each other. It's nice that we can catch up."
"I... Ah... Thank...you?" Harry shot a look to Draco, eyes wide and confused and oh, dear.
"Oh, wow, that is bad."
"Yes, see-"
"Wait. That was small talk?"
"We have so much work to do," Blaise sighed, rubbing at his eyes. "We need to give him a crash course. Alright, up you get, Potter. Pansy, come on. We're going shopping-"
"Wha- No, no, no," Harry slipped off the bed, hiding behind Draco. "Let's- No. Let's not. Why do we need to go shopping? What's the purpose? No. Just- No." Draco only walked over to the door.
"Mother," he called. "Can we go to Diagon Alley?"
"As long as you four are back in time for lunch and don't go anywhere dangerous!" Pansy and Blaise were already dragging Harry out by his arms, the child looking completely defeated.
::
"Alright. So. What have you learned?" The four had just arrived back at the Manor through floo powder, Harry stumbling out and near falling to the floor before Draco caught him.
"That in a conversation you never want to give away too much information, you have to always make it seem like you're in control, and you need to influence the conversation without making it so obvious. Also oranges and purples should never be in my wardrobe, black is good with most anything except dark neutrals-, red is okay in small amounts, and emerald 'brings out my eyes'." As Harry repeated everything he had 'learned', Severus was raising an eyebrow from where he had been walking through the room. "Also that it doesn't count as being against the rules as long as you don't get caught or admit to anything."
Draco sighed happily, putting an arm around Harry's shoulders. "I'm so proud," he proclaimed. "We've made a lot of progress today. Of course, we're nowhere near finished."
"Corrupting your friends yet again?" Severus shook his head, trying to look stern. Trying. Draco could see through his act in a second. "Narcissa told me that you would have company for the rest of the holidays."
"Yes, Harry's staying with us." Draco beamed, nudging Harry towards Severus. Instead of shying away behind Draco like Harry normally did with adults, Harry only gave a cheery smile.
"Hi, Professor. I didn't know you visited the Malfoys." Severus rose an eyebrow.
"Yes, I have been, for a few years, now."
"He taught me potions when I was little," Draco explained. Nodding, Harry gave a small grin before he was launching into near a hundred questions about what Severus was doing there, what Draco was like when he was little, how he found the Manor, help for the Potions essay he had assigned them, and countless other things. Draco gently touched Harry's arm, giving a smile. "We're still teaching him."
"So I can see," Severus chuckled. "Your second year book will help you on the essay, and I'm here to check on some potions I've been brewing for Draco's father." Draco laughed and tugged him along.
"Come on. Let's get your clothes put up." And this was good. This was very good, Harry warming up to an adult - and to Severus, especially. Considering how they had been in Draco's timeline, it was surprising, but...it was good.
::
"Ah, Draco, there you are." Narcissus gave a tight smile, looking...tense. "I wanted to talk to you. About Harry."
Draco gave a nervous smile as he looked up at her. "Mother. What about? If he's done something, I haven't yet told him the house rules-"
"No, no, nothing like that," Narcissa waved off, pacing in front of Draco from where she had found him in the library. "I was more... Do you think he likes it here? At the Manor? He's happy?" Draco's eyes widened at that.
"What- Of course. Mother, he loves it here. He's always wanting to fly, or explore." What kind of question even was that. Harry loved it here almost as he loved it at Hogwarts.
"So... If he had the option to come here for the holidays, instead of back to his relatives... Do you think he might consider it?" Honestly, Narcissa was fretting far too much over such an easy matter.
"Mother, last year, he didn't even leave Hogwarts. That's how much he hates them." Honestly, how on Earth could she think he didn't like it here? They were feeding him through a cat flap, for Merlin's sake!
"When you can, let him know that he's always welcome at the Manor," Narcissa nodded, stubborn determination showing on her face. "Also let him know that if he never wants to see those monsters again, I will take care of everything so he doesn't have to."
Draco smiled and nodded. "I'll do that right away." He turned and went to Harry's room, knocking on the door. There was a quiet 'come in' shouted back to him, Draco opening the door to see Harry sitting in the middle of his bed, pieces of parchment spread out around him with various things scribbled across them. A closer look showed it wasn't writing, but /drawing/. Draco smiled a bit brighter, walking over towards him. "Having fun?"
"Mm? Oh, yeah- I mean, I guess? Got bored and decided to sketch a few things out," Harry shrugged, making a space for Draco to sit down in. "Places I've seen around the Manor and Hogwarts and stuff like that."
"I- Oh, wow. These are really good." Draco sat down beside him. "You're really good." The detail alone was incredible, especially taking into account that Harry was twelve.
"Not really, they're just doodles," Harry shrugged off, currently sketching a scene of the peacocks outside. "Just something to do when I got bored. I mean... There were always things to draw."
"Certainly better than me," Draco hummed. "Ah, right. Mother wanted me to tell you you're always welcome here, and that if you don't want to see the muggles again, she'll take care of everything so you don't have to."
There was a snap from where Harry was sitting, his quill - a muggle one - snapping at the tip as he stared at Draco with wide eyes. "I... What?"
"That's what she told me to tell you. If you'd like to speak with her about it more in depth, I'm sure she'd like to speak with you about it." Staring, Harry opened his mouth before slowly closing it.
"You... So if I- If I didn't want to go back...if I told you that I'm scared to go back, I... I wouldn't have to?"
Draco smiled and leaned against him. "Mother said she'd do everything in her power to make sure of it. And she has quite a bit of power." He had barely finished when Draco felt himself tackled backwards, Harry wrapped tightly around him and laying on top of him. Draco laughed quietly. "Alright. I'll get her to do what she can."
"I really don't know what I'd do if I hadn't met you." And... Oh. That... That was new. Someone sounding so utterly grateful just to have Draco, that... That was new, but it was nice.
Smiling softly, Draco shrugged. "You'd get on fine without me. You know that."
"Yeah, but I know that here, right now? The two of us? It makes it better."
Draco hugged Harry back. "I'm glad I have you, too."
