I barely saw Draco at all that weekend; he seemed to be purposefully trying to keep his distance from me, and I have to admit, I was only too happy with that.

It wasn't just that I didn't like him, but there was also something dark about Draco, something dangerous like a secret. And I knew that if I got too involved with this boy, I'd be trapped and never be able to get out again…

The night before Lucius and Narcissa were due to return, however, I was awoken by a soft knock at my door. At first I thought that I had dreamt it and was about to drop off again, when my dreams were shattered by another knock; a semi-decibel louder. Reluctantly, I rose and made my way slowly over to the door, dragging my feet as I went, to see who the intruder was.

At first, I could make out nothing in the ominous darkness…or it may've been that I was looking in entirely the wrong place…either way, a soft tug on my trouser leg made me look down.

It was Draco- pallid and ghost-like in the gloom. A stab of irritation shot through me. How dare this boy wake me up in the unknown hours of the night?

However, he looked so distressed I couldn't help but ask what he wanted. Draco stared at me like he was trying to tell me telepathically. I, unfortunately, was in no mood for children's games and was about to turn away and shut the door, when a small voice spoke up,

"Please, Sir…" his voice, instead of sounding demanding and imperative as I had expected, was quiet, barely more than a whisper, but there was an edge of urgency to it as well. The shock of hearing Draco actually speak was enough to catch my attention and I turned around.

"Draco, what's the matter? Why are you awake at this hour?"

The little boy watched me nervously for a moment, unsure whether to speak further, then he dropped his gaze quickly to the ground as though afraid that I would accuse him of impertinence.

"P-please Sir…." he mumbled so quietly that I had to stoop to hear him, "I-I-I got sick, Sir. I tried to clean it myself, honest I did, but…but I can't do it Sir."

A stab of pity for the pathetic looking creature standing dejectedly before me, nothing more, made me go with him, having grabbed my wand and donned my slippers.

It became apparent as soon as we'd entered his room, that Draco really had made a desperate attempt to clean up, as there werevarious towels and cups of water strewn about the place and discarded at the foot of the ridiculously immense bed; far too big for such a small child. As soon as we had set foot into the room, Draco fell back against the wall, chewing his bottom lip furiously.

There wasn't as much sickness as I had anticipated, probably because Draco hadn't eaten much the day before, and it was clear that he had tried to run to the bathroom but had fallen at the last second. I scourgified the carpet easily and then sorted the bed out with another flick of my wand, removing all of the various pieces of material thrown onto it.

"See? There was nothing to worry about." I said, drawing back the bed covers, ready for Draco to get into it, but then something caught my attention. A damp patch, dark against the pure whiteness of the sheet.

It was not water.

"Draco, what is this?"

The little boy winced and drew further back.

"I didn't mean to." he whispered, eyeing me fearfully, "It was an a-accident." An accident…an accident… I grimaced as the truth struck me sharply about the head with a broomstick.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" I asked. Draco flinched as though I was shouting at him, biting his lip all the harder.

"I'm sorry Sir." I sighed more impatiently than I actually felt and made the damp patch disappear with a deft movement of my wrist.

'Now for the boy,' I thought. Something or other was obviously bothering him to have got him in such a state, and I felt it my duty to find out what it was and comfort the poor child as best I could.

I turned back to my godson who was watching me apprehensively from the shadows, unaware of the droplet of blood that was trickling down his chin from where he had bitten his lip too hard. I took a step forward, my intent to make him feel better, but my movement simply served to frighten Draco all the more.

I frowned, "What's wrong Draco?"

"You gonna belt me, Sir?" he whispered hoarsely. I was momentarily startled, his words echoing through my head. 'You gonna belt me, Sir?' So that was why he had been so keen to avoid me. That was why he seemed so scared to come to me tonight…That's what Lucius had meant when he said that he hoped I could 'knock some sense into him'. 'Damn you Lucius!'

"Why should I do that?" I asked, forcing myself to keep my voice steady.

Draco gulped, "Cause…'cause I did bad, Sir. Father said you were to punish me if I was bad. He said you was allowed to hit me, Sir." I felt my heart break and at the same time anger at my best friend.

I had never registered before how much Draco reminded me of Lucius. Not only in the physical sense but also in his attitude. I should've have realised before why he seemed so hostile towards me. I should have seen the similarities in myself as well as Lucius…

"Come here, Draco." He did as I bid, albeit uneasily, looking all the while as though he were going to cry. But, of course, he did not.

I scooped him gently up into my arms and removed a handkerchief from my pocket. I couldn't believe how light Draco was, almost weightless, even. His body was tense and shivery as though he were cold,

"Look at me," I ordered. Slowly, he turned his ashen face to me. To say that he looked terrified would be an understatement to say the least.

"I don't hit children," I said, I said as I dabbed the blood away from his lips. Draco said nothing, simply holding the already damp material up to his mouth at my instruction,

"Come on." I murmured, adjusting him on my arm, "Let's go downstairs."

Please talk to me

Whatever's wrong?

You know I'd help you out

How will I know,

If you won't say

What this silence is about?

Pushing a large mug of milky tea into Draco's unresisting fingers, I sat down beside him, cradling my own mug in my hands. Between the deep settee, his huge cup and his feet dangling from the edge of his seat; Draco seemed quite tiny compared to everything around him. He studied the creamy-brown liquid carefully, but I could see him watching me out of the corner of his eye, apprehensive and fearful of my next move.

"What's all this about, Draco?"

"Excuse me, Sir?"

"Are you okay? Is anything upsetting you?" His eyes flicked briefly to my face, questioning.

"I-I'm fine Sir," he said, "Honest I am." I raised my eyebrows sceptically and the boy looked away self-consciously. "I'm fine," he repeated stubbornly, sipping his tea and wincing when he realised it was still too hot. Any normal child would've made a fuss at this point, more likely than not crying and throwing things at the wall…well, maybe not the throwing things bit, but you get the gist. But Draco just stayed silent, although his tongue was obviously painful from the way his nose crinkled with discomfort.

"Why don't you cry?" Draco frowned at the suddenness of this delicate question and turned away from me.

"Nobody can hurt me that way," he said very quietly, "If they don't see me crying, I don't get hurt so bad."

"Do you get into trouble if you cry?"

"I don't cry." Draco repeated, my scarlet stained handkerchief still clutched tightly in a white-knuckled fist, "I used to, though. I used to cry. But I don't anymore 'cause I figured it don't do any good and it just hurts more." The shadow of a smirk crossed the boy's lips, "Nothing makes me cry no more," he stated with a hint of pride, "Not Father when I gets punished, nothing."

"Is that why you don't talk too?" I pressed, intrigued by my godson's explanations. Draco gave a small, barely discernible nod. "But you talk to me? You must like me, huh?" He shrugged nonchalantly,

"I guess, I didn't used to. I thought you was like Father's other friends. I thought you was going to belt me. That's what Father said. He said you were gonna make me pay for my disobedience, he said you was gonna put me in my place, Sir. I thought you was gonna hit me worse than Father does." Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my hands and I gave a yelp; my tea had been subtly trying to burn me alive and I hadn't noticed 'Treacherous tea!' Regaining my composure and ignoring the strange look that Draco was giving me, I asked,

"Does your father hit you hard?" Draco's eyes narrowed, displeased with my question.

"You saw him, Sir," he reminded me stiffly, "You saw him hit me." To be honest, I hadn't really been paying attention to the severity of Lucius' blows and had just assumed that the harshness of his actions was due to frustration and a sudden lack of control on his part. Certainly not a recurring thing, but the pain and resentment in Draco's eyes told a very different story.

"Has this happened before, Draco?"

"What, Sir?"

"This." I waved my hand around, "Getting sick in the night. And…well, you know what I'm talking about."

"Sometimes, Sir," Draco admitted, burying his face in the over-sized mug, "Sometimes I get nightmares, Sir, that's why I had accidents. I don't usually get sick though." He added with a frown, "But…but I thought you was going to be angry with me and I got scared, Sir. I always feel sick when I get frightened."

"I'm sorry," I said sincerely, "I'm sorry for scaring you. I didn't know you thought of me like that."

Draco gave me a small, shy smile, "It was a misunderstanding, wasn't it Sir?"

"Yes." I replied absently, "A mistake. Draco?" The boy looked up expectantly, "If you don't mind me asking, what were you dreaming about?"

Draco stiffened and I could see the cup shaking in his trembling fingers,

"I wasn't dreaming, Sir," he mumbled. I frowned, not knowing what else could frighten him so much in the middle of the night. Although I had had no previous experiences with small children, I had enough instinct to pick up my godson and wrap my arms around him.

"So what happened? What were you thinking about?" Draco shrugged and feigned interest in a loose button on my night-robe, "Draco?"

"Mummy and Father are coming home tomorrow," he mumbled, lip trembling. There were shadows of tears in the corners of his eyes, but he brushed them quickly away before they could fall.

This wasn't a situation I had expected to be in. I had hoped that by now I would be in a substantial job earning a substantial amount by doing very little. Not babysitting my best friend's obnoxious son who turns out not to be that obnoxious after all and, though, I hate to even think it; Draco was obviously being emotionally deprived and quite possibly abused too.

Merlin, why couldn't anything in my life be simple for once?

"You're not going, are you?" a little voice said quietly "Tomorrow, when they come back, I mean." He looked so hopeful and worried a horrible feeling of guilt crept up my spine.

"I'm sorry Draco…" His face fell as he caught onto what I was trying to say. I winced slightly at Draco's white fingers bit into my arm, like he was desperate to hang onto me and terrified of what would happen if he let go,

"Please Sir, don't go! I don't want you to!"

"Draco," I said more firmly, removing his fingers gently from my robe, "I can't stay here forever. I'll come back though, of course I will." I laughed and gave the boy a quick hug, "Don't worry, Draco."

"Don't laugh at me!" Draco yelled, jumping to his feet, suddenly angry, "I knew you were just the same! I knew it and you lied to me!" His rage, as unjustified as it was, was understandable and I willed myself to keep control. It would do no good to either of us if I lost my temper.

"Stop." I told him tightly, putting both hands on his shoulders and forcing him to sit back down, "I'm sorry for laughing at you, I didn't know it would make you react in such a way." Draco ground his teeth at me, folding his arms irritably across his chest in a very child-like manner. "Come sit with me."

Grudgingly, he obeyed, climbing clumsily up onto my lap where he sat stiffly, not moving, not looking at anything. I said nothing also, waiting for Draco to make the first move when he was ready.

Finally, after many minutes of silence, he said quietly, "You're going to tell Father, aren't you? That's why you're not punishing me, so Father will do it." He glared, "I'm right, aren't I?"

"I told you before that I do not hit children," I murmured, playing absently with a strand of Draco's baby-fine hair, "And that means that I do not favour it in any circumstance. So no, Draco, I will not be telling your Father, for there is no need to do so. You haven't done anything wrong."

"I'm bad! I'm bad!" Draco wailed miserably, "I have to be punished so's the badness is knocked out of me, else I'll be bad for always!" My soul bled for the boy and I pulled him close, wrapping my arms tightly around his thin frame.

"You're not bad, Draco. You're just a confused little boy who has been hurt too badly to know any different." Gradually, his body relaxed into my embrace and he finally allowed himself to be comforted.

"Let me help you." I appealed, resting a hand on the back of Draco's head. The boy was still and silent, almost as if he were dead, his breathing shallow but steady and I could feel his fingers as they clutched once again at my robe.

"Come on," I murmured, picking up the sleepy boy, "Let's get you back to bed."

Thankyou to all who have reviwed! I promise new stuff in 2 chapters, i'm just re-posting all the old stuff fist :)

Lily xxx