Madness ***Complete***

Chapter 4:
Returning

(((…Mask…)))

Harry entered the living room, avoiding the glares from his relatives. They knew he was using magic to hide his scars, not that they cared…

“Hi guys!” he said happily to the three red headed men in the room. Ron, Fred, and George smiled at him.

“Hey mate. We were worried when you didn’t answer my letters,” Ron told him. Harry just shrugged with an apologetic smile.

“Are you ready to go Harry?” Fred asked.

“Yup!” Harry said with another bright grin.

It took only seconds for them to floo to the Burrow. Harry was greeted upon his arrival by Hermione, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasely. All of whom felt the need to hug him very tightly.

Harry restrained his winces and flinches as wounds reopened and fears resurfaced. He almost searched out Draco’s mind as a memory threatened to resurface but stopped himself. This would all be easier if he kept to the fog. He had to hide it all, even Draco. At least for now.

The others insisted he eat after noticing how thin he was. Hermione started a rant on how his relatives should feed him and Harry nearly burst out laughing. He felt a slight touch at his mind. For a moment he thought it was Draco but the touch wasn’t comforting.

Harry mentally scowled and locked his mind down even tighter, thickening the fog and hardening the stone walls. His mind was a fortress against all but Draco. He knew who was attempting to enter his mind. Subconsciously he let a few happy thoughts float to the surface, so as to keep his mind appearing normal.

Mr. Weasely entered the room a minute later and Harry had to suppress a glare. The man had no right to pry into his mind like that.

After eating and chatting for a bit Harry complained of being tired and was ushered up to a bed. He thanked everyone and settled upon the slightly to small bed, not that he could complain.

After a moment of checking his mental barriers he let the fog recede and greeted Draco with what might have been a mental hug. A flood of relief and warmth filled Harry. Draco had been worried for all that he could still feel Harry’s emotions and faintly hear his thoughts.

‘Sorry,’ Harry said.

‘Don’t be. So just how annoying were they?’

‘Very. And the girls kept hugging me.’

‘Idiots,’ Draco quietly fumed.

‘They didn’t know,’ Harry thought.

‘Doesn’t matter. Their still idiots.’

Harry could only chuckle. It was nice, having Draco back in his mind. He hadn’t even realized how attached he had become to the short tempered blonde.

‘I am NOT short tempered!’

(((…Endure…)))

Eleven days slowly passed as his injuries heeled and scarred. It wasn’t as hard to pretend to be happy now. And the constant banter from Draco helped Harry a great deal. Harry loved his friends but their peppiness had been hard to stand when Harry felt like pounded shit.

The last few days of his stay at the burrow Harry could actually smile without having to force it.

(((…Seeing…)))

They stood on the Hogwarts train platform. Harry silently slipped past his friends and boarded the train. Draco was waiting for him in an empty compartment near the middle of the train. When Harry entered Draco immediately cast a locking charm on the door so that they wouldn’t have to deal with their friends. It would be a little hard to explain why Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter were sitting and chatting like old friends.

“Hey Dray,” Harry said as he sat down across from the blonde.

“Hello Harry,” Draco said with a smile. “It’s good to finally see you again.”

“Yeah,” Harry said, returning the smile.

Draco’s grin faded as he studied the other boy. “Drop the glamour,” he commanded. Harry scowled a bit but complied.

“Now loose the shirt,” Draco demanded.

“Nice pick up line Dray,” Harry said as he stripped off his shirt.

Draco ignored the comment, even as he hushed the budding thoughts that would have confirmed Harry’s insinuation. He studied Harry’s chest with a critical eyes. It was tanned and remarkably scarred. The word FREAK was carved just bellow one nipple. “Their disgusting,” Draco whispered.

Harry didn’t say anything. Only replaced his shirt and settle back against his seat. With a flick of his wrist the glamour had returned, this one far more powerful as it was cast with his own magic instead of a ‘packaged’ one.

“So how was your summer?” Harry finally asked with a smirk.

Draco burst out laughing. “The usual,” he said. Harry grinned at him.

They chatted for a time, all the while trying not to stare to much at the other. It had become increasingly difficult to not broadcast their ever growing lust for one another but somehow the two had managed it…obviously thinking that the other didn’t share their feelings.

But being in the same room as one another seemed to be having an adverse effect on their self control as Draco’s mind was suddenly filled with a thought that definitely wasn’t his own as it concerned his lips and a rather compromising position.

Draco smirked wickedly at the now blushing Harry.

“Really?” Draco asked as he stood from his seat.

“Um…uh…Draco?” Harry stammered his eyes growing wide as Draco advanced on him.

‘I do believe you have been hiding something from me, Harry,’ Draco thought.

“Um…no?”

(((…Dazed…)))

Harry was more than slightly dazed as he stumbled off the train, his robes slightly askew.

‘You look like you were just shagged,’ a half laughing voice announced in his head.

‘Mmhmm,’ Harry thought in a daze, his lips lifting in a dreamy smile.

‘Now you look like you where just shagged by a fucking sex god,’ Draco laughed.

‘Mmhhmmm!’

Several heads turned to stare at the near doubled over Malfoy as he attempted to quell his gasps of laughter. Harry just smirked and climbed into a carriage with his friends.

“Harry,” Hermione shrilled a bit to close to his ear.

“Yes?” he said, biting back the snide tone he had so wanted to add.

“Where were you? We looked everywhere!” She sniped at him.

“I was sleeping,” Harry told her.

“You look like you just snogged someone,” Ron announced oh so helpfully.

Harry sighed and opted to ignore the two. It worked long enough for the carriage to arrive and Harry to flee into Hogwarts.

At the house table Harry had to force himself to keep his eyes on his plate and his lips from twitching. Draco would not shut up about the ‘disease infested, pug faced, simpering little bitch’ Pansy Parkinson who wouldn’t stop hanging all over him.

By the time the feast had ended Harry felt as though his ribs had cracked from the effort of not laughing.
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