Coloured Grey

AN: Another chapter...I didn't actually expect to write it.










Harry watched with unwarrented nerves as Malfoy pulled himself to his feet.

'The bathroom's just through that door there.'

A nod.

There wasn't much else to say.

*

It took a while for Harry to gather enough sense to think to get Malfoy some fresh clothes.

A pair of faded black slacks. His or Ron's he couldn't be sure.

A slate blue t-shirt. His own.

Oh, right and a navy blue towel. Soft and worn. That was his too, but he had others so he could spare it.

**

The bathroom door didn't lock. That was just how it was.

Convieniant. Or not. It depended.

Harry dropped the pile of folded clothes and towel to the grated tile floor.

The steam was thick.

He didn't let his eyes stray towards the shower.

***

The kitchen. That was where he found Ron. Cooking.

It wasn't a habit. But when Harry was out someone had to feed them.

They were running low on the basic necessities. No one had thought to replenish the cuboards since the last time Lupin had visited. That had a been a long time ago. But then a lot had happened since then. And two people had much less of an appetite than three.

There were three people now, Harry had to remind himself.

Funny, he hadn't even thought of that until he caught a glimpse of his bloody sleeve.

He needed to change.

His stomach rumbled.

Ron placed a plate of food on the counter and began to eat himself, straight from the pan, a half-washed fork in his mouth.

Harry decided food could come before cleanliness just this once.

****

'You actually want to keep him here?!'

'Why not?'

'Well because this is the Black House. HQ. Our base of operation.'

'Hardly. Not anymore.'

'Harry-'

'No Ron, you know it's true. We haven't had a real Order member here in weeks. Not since Lupin. And it's not like we're running a huge military operation out of this house. There's no risk.'

'Except Malfoy killing us in our sleep.'

'We've got wands. He doesn't.'

'Magic isn't the only way-'

'Don't you think I know that?!'

Harry heard his voice rise.

Yelling at Ron was never productive, but this time he couldn't help himself.

Did Ron honestly think him that stupid?

'I've checked him for every possible liability before I brought him in the house. No spells. No weapons. No wands. No magical items. Nothing.'

'Did you forget his Death Eater friends?'

'And how do you propose he contact them?'

Ron opened and shut his mouth.

He had no answer for that for quite a while.

And then: 'Well we won't know until he does, will we?'

'Right. Well until then we can't exactly throw him out.'

'Why not?'

Harry shook his head in exasperation.

'Ron have you even seen him? He's a mess.'

'The git deserves it.'

'That's not for you to judge. Besides he could be useful.'

'HOW?'

Ron looked livid.

'How on earth can that Death Eater scum ever be useful?'

'Information.'

'You would trust what he has to say?'

"Yes...maybe...we don't really have many other options.'

'How about forgetting this ever happened and getting rid of the asshole.'

'I'm not about to do that Ron.'

'....'

'This is a war Ron, and I don't intend on taking any unnecessary casualties.'

'If that's the case then you would do well to remove Malfoy from under this roof.'

'No. And I don't want to hear anything more about it.'

'WHY IS IT YOUR CHOICE?'

Harry sighed in frustration. He hated setting Ron off. In the Black house the redhead's angry voice would seem to rebound on him from all sides.

'This is my house Ron.'

Ron was silent for a long time.

'And what? You think Malfoy's your resposibility just because he turned up half dead on your doorstep.'

' No....I don't know...' Harry couldn't really explain it. Ron wouldn't understand. He didn't want Malfoy dead. That's all that he really knew. Malfoy was a Death Eater, but at least he was alive. That was a lot more than could be said for most the of the people that Harry knew.

'I just want to wait and see...'

'Your choice.' Ron said firmly. And Harry tuned out the accusation that laced his best friend's voice.

*****

Harry didn't know how to feel anymore about Ron.

It saddened him that the longests conversations they had since...the incident...had all been arguements.

Ron hardly left the Black House anymore.

Ron didn't do much in fact.

Maybe that was why it was so hard for him to understand. To comprehend that Harry wanted to make something of this situation. That it meant something to him to find his one time rival on his doorstep, so broken.

Ron wouldn't understand that the blond's bloody form would haunt his nightmares for nights to come. And why should he? It wasn't his burden to bear.

But then that was why it wasn't his choice to make either.

******

Harry climbed up the stairs, the food he had swallowed churned heavily in his stomach.

His head was aching, slightly more than usual.

The door to his room was open just as he'd left it.

Malfoy was a jaded grey lump wrapped in a damp navy towel against the shut bathroom door.

Harry's clenched hands made his jagged and uncut nails bite into the palm of his hand.

Malfoy was trembling.

Without a sheet of blood clinging to his skin he looked paler than ever. A ghost.

'The bed's more comfortable.'

No response. No indicattion that he had even heard.

Harry went to the low couch by the half shuttered grimy browning windows. He threw himself down and closed his eyes against the pounding headache that built behind his temples like the early rumblings of a viscious storm.

Every once in a while the wind rattled at the window panes, blowing gusts of snow on and off the ledge outside.

At one point Harry might've called out a question of 'food?' but if he did he didn't remember getting an answer.

*******

He wasn't sleeping, merely zoning out.

That was the only reason why he heard Malfoy's feet shuffling across the floor.

Harry cracked open an eye. Saw Malfoy close the gap between Harry and his previous seat against the bathroom door.

He stopped with a good couple feet still seperating them.

Harry noticed that his blond hair was still damp, and in places it was still dyed a pinkish tinge with the residue of unwashed blood.

A blackened bruise was livid against Malfoy's pale cheekbone. Another cover half of the exposed skin of his neck and collarbone.

At this distance Harry could see that a steady trickle of blood flowed from Malfoy's left earlobe, down his neck to be soaked up by the collar of the t-shirt.

The last thing Harry's eyes fell on was the twisting black of Death Eater branding.

'Why?'

'What?'

'...am I alive?'

'I don't have an answer for that.'

It was the truth.

Perhaps not what Malfoy needed to hear, but still, it was the truth.

Harry's gaze was steadily focussed on Malfoy's arm, on the mark. The blond shivered as though feeling Harry's eyes and pulled his arm up, pressing the inside of it against his stomach.

Harry looked out the window.

'It would be easier if I was dead.'

'For who?'

Malfoy didn't answer. Harry didn't expect him to. That question had been his own silent rebellion, not really something aimed at the blond.

'What now?'

Harry didn't so much as start at the sudden shift to a business like tone.

It heartened him that Malfoy still had some control over his sense of self.

'You can stay here as long as you need.' Harry stood up. 'Ask if you need anything.'

'That's it?' Just as suddenly Malfoy seemed terrified again. As though he expected something much worse. And perhaps he had a right to considering the condition Harry had found him in. But then Harry had no motivation to propogate Malfoy's fears. It felt odd when just a few years ago he would have given nearly anything to have the chance to nurture such terror in his rival. Now. Nothing. Nothing really mattered. Not so much. Except for that little nagging feeling. That one that so quietly whispered to him that he didn't want Malfoy dead. That was all he had to go on. What type of feeling it was he couldn't quite discern. But for now that was enough of a rational.

'There's not much beyond that.' Harry muttered in way of parting.

This time he shut the door behind him.

********








AN: Well then. That was odd. More storylike than chapter one. And that's how I wanted it. Parts of it will obviously be more coherent than the rest. Hopefully it makes for a good effect.

I had this chapter written for a while but I wanted to write more before posting it. Sadly I haven't really written any more. Uni kills my time. But I wanted to post this because I was randomly in my own profile looking at my reading list and I saw that I actually had new reviews for all my fics by one person, linagabriev, and it made me feel like I should be writing more, or at least giving those people who do read my stories something new to read.

This story, I know isn't text intensive, and one would think that it doesn't take very long too write a chapter. In a sense that's true. But I'm a bit of a perfectionist so if something that I wrote bothers me even a little I'll be reluctant to post it until I've worked it out to my liking. Reviews, however, make me less detail-oriented and far more motivated.

So if you liked this, or even if you didn't I prompt you to leave a review.

- Incessant_Darkness