Only two chapters up and I have 700+ hits, 10 reviews, and 14 star votes for 5!
djaddict: Thanks, glad you liked the beginning. Can you tell I don’t like Ginny? I’m not a huge fan of GW/HP.
CDGaymer: You’ll see what happens with these two and poor Harry.
nari-chan: Thanks so much!! I’m actually still coming up with the sole reason for Harry’s breakdown. You’ll have to read and find out what’s going on for poor Harry.
SlythindorMalfoy: Glad you liked and looking forward to more. Here’s more. LOL
moodysavage: Yes, I left it there. I am notorious for cliffhangers. Warning for the future. Some of the best (and worst) stories are those with cliffhangers.
Author’s Note: I’m so happy everyone is enjoying my fan fic. I’m hoping to start adding longer chapters as I progress through the story. Chapter Three
The Plot Thickens
Fire was everywhere. It let out a violent screech.“My baby!”“Potter, wake up! It’s not real. Whatever you’re seeing, it’s
not real!”
A baby was screaming. His spells weren’t working.“My baby!”Draco managed to pin Harry’s arms and legs down, but the shorter male still fought violently in his arms. Draco was afraid to pull a hand away to grab his wand and send a Patronus downstairs to Severus. So he did the next best thing.
“Tippy!” Draco shouted.
Pop! A small house elf dressed in a powder blue dress appeared by the bedside. Her large, glass-like orange eyes looked up at the two males in confusion.
“Tippy, get Severus. Tell him Potter is having a nightmare and I can’t wake him. Go, hurry!” Draco exclaimed.
The house elf disappeared with a quick pop. Draco was surprised by how strong the brunette was while asleep. He had to hold the shorter male on his lap in order to hold his hands down and keep him from further hurting himself. It scared him that he couldn’t wake the wizard. Carefully keeping the arms down, Draco used his other hand to smooth up the tear-streaked face and through the wet hair. He tried rocking the body gently.
“Come on, Potter. You’re safe. Wake up…
please.”
He heard a rushed pair of steps racing up the stairs. He thanked his lucky stars when Severus appeared in the doorway and threw the lights on. He could see his lover quickly assessing the situation before flying across the room.
“I can’t wake him,” Draco said, panic creeping into his voice.
Severus nodded his head. He would see to the physical damage once he helped his lover wake the clearly terrified brunette. He placed one hand on Harry’s stomach and started to run his wand over his head. Suddenly, Harry’s eyes snapped open. The green of his eyes were almost completely hidden by the large, black eyes. Both wizards had to work to hold him as he thrashed violently.
Severus whispered in his ear, trying to convince him they weren’t attacking him, everything was okay. Hearing his lover’s words, Draco came up with an idea on the spot. Slipping a hand out to snag his wand, Draco vanished his shirt and pulled Harry’s head down to his chest. He pressed the brunette’s ear to his chest where his heart was. Hearing the beat-beat-beat of a heart under his ear, the fighting slowly stopped and Harry’s trembling came down to small shivers.
Severus watched Harry blink to at least semi-awareness. He shivered as if cold and closed his eyes while pressing harder against Draco. The blonde seemed to care that the sweaty head pressed against his once dry chest. Draco moved his hands to hold Harry around the waist while Severus smoothed a hand over his head.
“Harry? Harry, are you awake?” Severus asked, softly.
With his eyes still closed, Harry slowly nodded his head. Severus breathed a sigh of relief as he stood up. Now that the brunette was awake, the Potions Master could take a better look at his physical being. He almost wished he hadn’t looked. There was blood underneath his fingernails, but the real damage were Harry’s arms. The scratches were bleeding deep and crisscrossed over both arms. Severus summoned Tippy and told her a list of things he needed.
When she disappeared to follow orders, Severus walked around the bed to the bathroom. Draco heard the sink go on as he adjusted the weight on his lap. Harry was blinking slowly as if exhausted (and he probably was!).
“Do you remember your nightmare?” Draco asked.
Harry shook his head. He felt a finger suddenly trail over the scarring on his chest; scars from a spell cast by the wizard in his arms Draco shivered as he brought a hand up to catch the questioning hand.
“We’ll talk about it later, okay?” Draco said.
Harry only blinked and dropped his arm back down into his lap. Tippy returned with the needed items the same time as Severus came out of the bathroom with a wet washcloth. Tippy put the items on the bedside.
“Tippy, can you find Tybalt and bring him here?” Draco asked.
“Tippy is to be finding Master Draco’s ferret,” Tippy answered before disappearing again.
Severus didn’t question his lover’s motives as he sat down on the bed in front of the two wizards. He gently grasped one of Harry’s wrists and pulled his arm closer. Harry’s arm jerked lightly up when the washcloth came down on the cuts. Severus shushed him gently as he carefully cleaned the arm up.
“I need to clean your arms in order to get a good luck at the cuts,” Severus explained, softly.
Pop! Tippy reappeared beside the bed with a very awake Tybalt wiggling in her arms. She came closer to the wizards and gently placed the ferret in Harry’s lap. Tybalt nuzzled into Harry’s stomach and curled up while bumping his head against Harry’s free arm. Harry curled it inward so he could softly stroke the ferret’s head.
“I think I’ve been replaced,” Draco chuckled to him.
Harry didn’t show any signs of hearing him. He kept his gaze downward on the furry little creature. Severus finished cleaning the first arm and pointed out one of the potions vials to Draco.
“The green one.”
Draco snatched it up carefully and popped it open before handing to his lover. Severus gently layered the potion over the cuts, earning a strong wince from Harry. The Potions Master finished with that arm with the scratches now stitching themselves closed. Severus stood up to stretch out his stiff legs while Draco got Harry to turn around in his lap so Severus could better get at the still injured arm.
That one was cleaned up and doused with potion as well. Harry looked as though he were ready to fall back asleep, but he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) allow it. When Severus was done and cleaning up, Draco convinced Harry to hop in the shower real quick and let him take Tybalt with him.
“God knows the thing could use a quick shower, too.” Pause. “And don’t fall asleep in there.”
Harry disappeared into the bathroom, which they both noted he left cracked open. It was strange, but kind of relieved both of them. Draco slid off the bed to stand beside his lover.
“I’m going to stay with him tonight and hopefully he doesn’t have a repeat performance,” Draco said.
Severus nodded in agreement. Even his most severe case at Hogwarts had never been
that bad. Sure, the child had had nightmares, but the worst problem had been bedwetting. With that thought, Severus withdrew his wand and flicked it at the bed. The mattress was dried and cleaned with new sheets replacing the bloody and sweaty sheets.
“There’s more to this than what we’re seeing…isn’t there?” Draco asked, quietly.
Glancing at the bathroom door and still hearing the shower running, the older wizard nodded.
“Yes. That nightmare was…wizards don’t have nightmares that severe. He puts off as depressed but this is a culmination of at least a few years,” Severus commented.
“So something’s happened in the five years since the war. Weren’t the Weaslette and Potter engaged during that first year after?” Draco asked.
Severus nodded with a grim look on his face.
“Yes, but it broke off after that first year. I’m surprised there wasn’t something in the press,” Severus hinted.
Draco agreed. Surely, the break-off from the Boy Who Lived would have been newsworthy, especially so soon after the end of the war.
“I’ll look into it at the Ministry.”
“Good. I’m going to retrieve a Dreamless Sleep.”
“Okay.”
Severus left the bedroom as Draco sat back down on the bed. Potter had looked so helpless and in pain. He looked up when he heard the door crack open and a timid Potter stepped out. Draco couldn’t help but flash him a small smile. He crossed around the bed and over to the wizard. The brunette had Tybalt curled onto one of his shoulders.
“Feeling a little better?” Draco asked.
Harry, refusing to meet his eye, nodded his head. He hated to be a burden; this is why he had wanted to stay at St. Mungo’s. He hated to admit to himself that it had felt nice when Malfoy had been holding him. His gaze locked on to the familiar scarring cracking across Malfoy’s chest. Sixth Year. That was
his fault.
Draco noticed where his gaze went. He sighed before bringing a hand up to tip Harry’s chin and gaze upwards.
“I guess later is now.
Listen to me. We were both young, both very stupid. I was about to cast an Unforgiveable on you and you cast a spell you weren’t familiar with. I bear the scars, but I’m not in pain.
I forgive you, Harry. Please believe me,” Draco told him.
Harry blinked slowly before nodding. Draco dropped his hand before running a nervous hand through his hair.
“I’m going to stay here tonight. With you.” Pause. “Is that okay?”
Harry gave him a confused look. Why on Earth would Malfoy want to stay? Look what had happened when he was alone. Draco brought a hand up to his free shoulder, forcing Harry out of his private thoughts.
“I want to make sure you get some sleep,” Draco explained.
Harry’s shoulders moved up and down as he sighed. He was just so exhausted. He would try and make sense of all this in the morning. He looked around Draco when Severus came in the room with a potions vial in hand. Draco released his shoulder and stepped back to face his side to his lover.
“Is that the Dreamless Sleep?” Draco asked.
Suddenly, Harry clapped both hands over his mouth and shook his head. Draco shot him a bewildered look before glancing at his lover. Severus shook his head as he came further into the room.
“It appears Harry is highly allergic to some of the key ingredients in the Dreamless Sleep. No, this is one of my modified sleeping draughts. No fairy wings. No wormwood. Just simple ingredients that will help ease your mind and let you sleep,” Severus explained.
Severus took the stopper off and offered the potion to Harry. The brunette reached up to gently take it from him before downing it. He screwed his face up as he swallowed and handed the vial back.
“Yes, foul tasting. Sadly, that is so one does not get addicted on it,” Severus advised him.
Harry weakly nodded his head while reaching a hand up to pet Tybalt. The little ferret was giving his cheek and ear little kitten licks that, thankfully, didn’t feel like sandpaper. Harry looked dead on his feet but he looked ready to drop right then. He almost did until Severus and Draco both grabbed an arm. Draco threw back the covers and they helped him to climb into bed.
Harry curled up into a ball facing away from them and his face buried into a pillow. Draco pulled the covers back over him. He told Harry he would be right back. A small head nod was his only reply. Draco followed Severus over to the bedroom door where Severus stepped out and Draco stayed just in the doorway.
“
You’re going to do an all-nighter, aren’t you?” Draco murmured.
“
Yes. He needs help and we need answers. The sooner we have our answers, the sooner we can help him,” Severus murmured back.
Much as he hated his lover to be pulling all-nighters, Draco couldn’t help but agree with him. He spoke a few more words with him and stole a quick kiss before closing the door. Draco turned around and relit his wand so he wouldn’t walk into anything on the way to the bed. Once there, he extinguished the light and slipped it under his pillow; it was a force of habit from the war.
He laid down on his back and whispered a quiet good night to the sleeping Potter. He closed his eyes and started to fall asleep. He wasn’t surprised when he felt a little weight crawl on top of his stomach and curl into a ball. However, he got a surprise when another, heavier weight, came down to rest on his chest.
Draco’s eyes shot open and he looked down. With a hand softly petting the ferret, Harry had scooted over to lay his head down on Draco’s chest. It was in the same place where he could hear the steady heartbeat. Draco squeezed his arm out from under the smaller male and wrapped it around his shoulders to hold him close.
As he drifted off to sleep, Draco kept telling himself that it was just his imagination. That his former rival really didn’t feel
that good in his arms. Meanwhile, downstairs, Severus was coming to some conclusions of his own.
The papers currently laid out in front of him were only from the last five years. Harry’s injuries included but weren’t limited to second-degree burns, a broken wrist, malnutrition, and sleep deprivation. It seemed the burns lasted for a while and, according to the doctor’s report, he still had a little scarring on his back. Severus noted that Harry seemed to suffer from malnutrition quite often.
Holding the paper with the information, Severus leaned back in his chair. Closing his eyes, he thought back on all of the mealtimes in the Great Hall. Harry seemed to eat a decent meal, but not very fattening food. He recalled some of the elves mentioning a few times when the young wizard had snuck down to the kitchens for a late snack.
The Potions Master made a silent vow to visit Hogwarts and see if he Albus or Poppy could shed some light on this. He knew Poppy would likely still have Harry’s Hogwarts medical file, which could provide more information. Tomorrow was a Saturday and it was only mid-September so the school year wouldn’t be too busy for them just yet.
Severus could contribute the sleep deprivation to nightmares like the one Harry had had tonight. It was rare to be allergic to anything found in the Dreamless Sleep potion and Harry wouldn’t have had anyone proficient in potions to ask to brew him something different.
Not that I ever gave him any reason to come to me to brew a potion for him, Severus thought.
All the sudden, he righted his chair with narrowed eyes. He recalled the Legilimency “lessons” in Harry’s Fifth Year; flashes of moments at home with his family and snippets of Hogwarts moments. A small chuckle popped out when he recalled one of those memories as an extremely embarrassing kiss between the Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw Cho Chang.
Severus glanced up at the ceiling.
You are a mystery, Harry Potter. Just when I thought I knew you, you go and surprise me, Severus thought.
End of Chapter Three
The Plot Thickens
