Chapter 8: He keeps me up
Notes:
Hello :)
I've seen people, like, 'advertise' on Tik Tok and other places but the fear of someone finding this and knowing I wrote it is not letting me do that. If you feel compelled to do it in my place then go for it, as long as you don't take credit thanks? I really doubt anyone will but yeah, anyway,
CW/TWs:
- Abuse
- Panic Attack
- Violence (Mentioned)
More information at the end.
Enjoy :)
And as it's the coronation of King Charles today, and I'm English, I just wanted to say as always:
Stan Diana
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Look, I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm simply saying you're a fucking idiot." Ron was saying on their way out of Transfiguration. The class had been on Animagi, which led to Harry saying he wanted to become one.
"Why not? I could avoid the press and it can't be too hard." Harry protested.
"And when people find out? And you're straight back in the press again and being arrested for not being registered?" Hermione, the voice of reason, added. It was a good point, but it would mean at least a little while of him being able to walk about without hearing cameras go off.
"Fine, fine. I'll think about it but won't do anything without telling you first?" He offered, getting a curt nod from Hermione. She promptly grabbed Ron's arm and dragged him towards their next lesson, one Harry didn't have. He laughed his way towards the dorm, watching Ron's face beg for help.
He jogged his way up the stairs, but paused when he spotted the scene laid out before him. Blaise, who also didn't have class on a Tuesday afternoon, stood holding a few pieces of parchment. His eyes were scanning the pages. Draco, in contrast, was sitting on his bed. He looked tired. Drained. Like all of Harry's work had been undone. He had abandoned his tie and clutched an envelope in his hands.
His eyes gently rose to Harry, a small smile curling on his lips before dropping his head back down. Blaise had clearly finished whatever he was reading, and looked about ready to kill.
"What's going on?" Harry asked, walking through and dropping his books on his table. Blaise turned to Draco and raised the papers, who nodded in return.
"Someone's father managed to send him a letter. Read it." He pushed the papers over to Harry, and sat down next to Draco.
Clearly it wasn't going to be good.
Draco,
Hopefully this reaches you, and the guard keeps his word. It's costing me a lot to get this to you.
I do hope your mother is okay. I'm sure you've not written to her. Everything we sacrificed for you, and nothing in return.
I heard you were attending Hogwarts again, a mistake in my books. You would really return to where our name is so badly tarnished.
"The fuck is this guy on?" Harry asked, dropping down on Blaise's bed, opposite both boys.
While your mother and I aren't there to keep an eye on you, I trust that you will continue the legacy. Pure blooded Slytherin girls only. Had the dark lord not been defeated, we would have arranged a possible marriage to Miss Parkinson.
"Pansy?"
And I trust you will do what is necessary to continue the bloodline. None of this nonsense you were pursuing before. I'm unable to intervene here, but I have connections to stop you. I'd trust you're sticking to your own social circles and not fraternising with anyone below our class.
You have been an embarrassment Draco, but that does not mean you can't improve. Marry the right girl and you can set this right. Unable to follow orders was something I hoped I could beat out of you.
"He what?" Harry's eyes shot up, connecting quickly with Draco's. Blaise's arm snaked it's way around the boy's shoulders, trying to calm him. Harry could feel the anger in his skin pulsating.
If you visit, we could set up a plan of action to fix the mess you have bestowed onto this family. The Malfoy's are respected, educated, and strong. You are being everything but. You've left your own father to rot while you got a key out of here. It is pathetic to say the least. An embarrassment to me, to your mother and to your family.
But it can be fixed, visit me. We can fix this. You can get me out of here, we can start anew.
Do visit.
Your Father, Lucius.
"You're not going to visit him, are you?" Harry asked, trying to keep his temper at bay.
"No, he's not." Blaise answered for him. Doing worse than Harry to keep his emotions down. "You are not going back there to be told off by a man in prison." Harry's eyes skimmed the page again, landing on a part that confused him.
"What were you pursuing?" He asked, giving Blaise a moment to breathe. They both looked at each other, having a silent conversation. Draco shook his head, causing Blaise to respond.
"Sorry, Potter, nothing." He answered. The man abruptly stood, strolling towards the window to crack it open. Draco and Harry kept eye contact, and it was clear to Harry that Draco wasn't going to speak for a while.
Stupid fucking Lucius.
Writing a letter and ruining the work it took for Draco to be healthy.
"I mean, he's in Azkaban and decides to write a letter to you, slating your life choices. What a fucking dick." Blaise began, pacing around the room. "He's lucky he's there. If I got my hands on him, by Merlin."
"Blaise, perhaps we calm down slightly." Harry offered, nodding his head towards Draco slightly.
"Right, sorry. I just- the fucking audacity of it, Draco." Draco nodded, grasping the letter in his hands tightly. It was still his father. The only contact he'd had with his family for months and it was a hit piece. He looked like he could cry. Like he could laugh. Like he could do a lot of things. But instead, he sat still. Hands trembling, struggling to breathe.
Why did he send that fucking letter?
Harry moved between the beds, placing his arm around him like the first time he caught him having a nightmare. His thumb rubbing back and forth and Draco visibly calming. He leaned into the touch.
"It's just a letter, he has no way of knowing if it reached you." Harry offered quietly, as a tear fell from Draco's cheek. How this man could cry silently was a skill. "You can just pretend you didn't get it."
"But I did get it." He whispered back, voice croaking. His head dropped to Harry's shoulder.
"I know, I know. It's okay." Thanks to the letter, both boys forgot about the other person in the room. Who had stopped pacing and instead stared, mouth open.
"Okay, so, what the fuck?" Blaise stated, not moving. His eyebrows were almost touching his hair. Draco's shoulders stiffened as he raised his gaze.
"Oh Merde." Draco muttered. Sighing and dropping the letter on the bed beside him. French?
"Don't go French on me, bitch. You speak to him before me?" Blaise looked slightly hurt. Moving quickly to his bed and dropping down, demanding an answer. Draco, instead, went completely silent.
"You speak French?" Harry asked, trying to ignore the flutter in his stomach at that revelation.
"Yes, he does. He also speaks apparently." Blaise's volume was rising, and suddenly that look was back in Draco's eyes again. "Pourquoi lui? " Another sigh from Draco as he realised what Blaise was doing. Harry couldn't respond for him if he didn't know the language.
"Je ne sais pas." He muttered. There that flutter was again, twisting his stomach and heating up his skin.
"You wanted him to talk, I got him to talk." Harry said to desperately move from the French. Stop him speaking French. Blaise hummed in agreement and went quiet.
The conversation faded out. They stayed in silence for a while. Harry knew Blaise wasn't angry, and he was sure Draco knew that too. He was hurt. Hurt that his best friend trusted someone more than him. But it wasn't about that. It wasn't trust. It was unbiased. Harry had no reason to get Draco to speak, he saved him from a life in Azkaban. But Harry tried anyway, he helped him sleep, made him eat. Didn't force him to say anything, didn't make a big deal when they spoke about nothing.
No it wasn't about trust. Harry was just there. The truth was that Harry needed to get him to speak. He needed to help him. Needed to give himself purpose. Help the man that didn't hand him over. Help a man who was helping him. Because Harry was sleeping better, he had to admit that. He was eating properly now. He was talking to someone, occasionally saying things that needed to be said.
They were helping each other. And that was what set Harry and Blaise so far apart. They both cared for Draco. But Draco was only helping one of them. They hadn't discussed anything in too much detail, which Blaise would have tried to do.
The trust was still there. Draco still trusted Blaise more, that's why things were hidden. Why couldn't he tell Harry what it was he had been pursuing? Why didn't he show Harry the full extent of the scars?
They hid the letter, placing it back in the envelope and into a drawer, locked. They didn't mention it for the rest of the day. Blaise didn't tell anyone that Draco was talking, but still tried to get him to say something. Which, in turn, Draco did. Of course, only in French and only when they were alone or with Harry. And the French was becoming a problem.
They didn't tell Blaise that they slept during their free periods in the same bed. They also didn't mention anything that they had talked about, agreeing silently that it was between them.
They went to dinner, ate their food, and joked with their friends. But the looks held a bit more. Harry avoided Pansy's eyes, not wanting to think about how they may have married. How Draco's life was going to be decided for him. Blaise and Harry silently set up a babysitting job of Draco. Keeping an eye on him so he couldn't dash off anywhere.
It worked. It was all hidden, empty rooms and closed doors, but it worked. They continued their routine, agreeing on one thing.
They would help each other.
It was going well. Until the middle of October, when breakfast on a Wednesday morning led to a headmistress appearing at the table.
"Mr Malfoy, may I have a word?" All eyes around the table turned to him, he looked to Blaise and smiled meekly, before rising from the table and following the woman from the room.
Harry and Blaise looked at one another, worried about what might have happened. Blaise mouthed the word 'letter?' and Harry's skin flared. They both turned towards the door, hoping they would come back and it was just some missed homework.
They didn't.
The conversation around them picked up again, everyone else concluding it was just something simple. Harry and Blaise did their best to join in, to not worry. But as it ticked over into the next hour, they couldn't help it. They all collected their things and headed towards lessons. Blaise waited until he was nearly late before having to rush off.
"I'm sure he's fine mate, go to your lesson." Offered Harry, not believing his own words. Blaise nodded and strolled out the great hall .
Harry thought that, had Draco gotten bad news, he would have returned to the dorms. A quick jog back answered his question. Draco was there, pacing around the room, hand in his hair. Tugging out of stress. The mark on his arm was on show, and bleeding again.
"Draco, what happened?" Harry stood in front of the man, trying to figure out what to do. How to help. His breathing was rapid, like a panic attack. He didn't get a response, so Harry wrapped his arms around him. Draco in turn clutched the back of Harry's shirt and buried his head into his neck. He was shaking again.
"It's okay, it'll be alright."
"My Mother, she…" His voice trailed off, a deep breath and he tried again, "She was attacked." Harry waited for the boy to continue. Hugging him tighter and rubbing a hand up and down his back. "She's not even awake."
There was silence, the knowledge of why she was hurt hanging in the air. Draco pulled back and rubbed his face. Trying to compose himself.
"I can't lose her."
"You won't." Harry assured him, as he pulled his wand out and ran a healing spell over his arm. "It'll be okay." They didn't say much else. Wordlessly going over to Harry's bed and laying down. It was definitely domestic. But he needed someone right now and Blaise was in lesson. So Harry would be the next best thing.
So there Draco was, cuddled into a man that was his enemy for years.
Scared to respond to his Father, more scared to lose his mother.
Stuck between everything and simply trying not to drown.
Notes:
Thanks for reading!
CW/TWs:
- Abuse. Lucius' flawless parenting. Mentioned in a letter than he wished he could 'beat' some behaviour out of Draco. More mentioned than depicted.
- Panic Attack. Draco receives a letter talking about his mother's attack, he is having a panic attack when Harry shows up. Silent tears, shaking and quick breathing. It is resolved and not shown from his POV.
- Violence (Mentioned). Draco's mother is attacked. The violence is not depicted, simply mentioned. She is unconscious after.
As always, take care of yourself and don't read if this will cause any issues for you.
Translations:
Oh Merde - Oh shit
Pourquoi lui? - Why him?
Je ne sais pas - I don't know
Next chapter: 10/05/23