“How long are you going to be gone?”

Harry was standing on the last step on the staircase, watching as his father, Arthur, Molly, and Bill got ready to leave the house for the day. The wards had to be put back in place, and if they wanted back in their own comforting beds by the next night, they’d need an early start. Harry didn’t think Draco was even awake, as it wasn’t even light out yet. He, of course, had risen at the first sound of footsteps outside his door.

“Probably late evening, if even then. It takes long hours and energy to put up new wards, Harry,” explained Remus. He and Sirius were also going to help out, and Harry had heard them talking about meeting Albus and Minerva when they arrived.

“Okay. I’ll see you tonight then, if I’m still awake,” he said, doubting very seriously if he’d still be up at the time they were hinting at. He had noticed he got tired fairly early lately, which was just a pain in the arse.

Severus came up to him then and gave him a brief hug. “I’ll come up when I get home, so you’ll know we’re back,” he told him.

Harry truly appreciated that he would do that. He knew he worried too much, but he just had the weirdest feeling about today. He really wished they weren’t leaving, but knew they had to. They couldn’t stay here forever, and Harry did not want that at all.

Harry waited until they disappeared after using the portkey before walking into the kitchen to make himself breakfast. He didn’t think Draco would be getting up yet, but he went ahead and made enough for three. Jensen was still around here somewhere, presumably up and awake getting ready for the day. It was something the two had in common, other than the liking of a certain horse.

He placed some cooked eggs and bacon on a plate and quickly poured himself some juice. Sitting at the table, he wondered how long it would be before someone came to join him.

It took two minutes.

“Wow, that smells good,” said Jensen, sitting down across the table from Harry.

”Thanks,” said Harry and he held out the skillet for Jensen to take. “Want some?”

“Sure, thanks, kiddo,” he said, and Harry thought the man looked so ravenous that he’d eat the entire skillet. But, he needn’t have worried, as Jensen only took his share and saved the rest for his brother.

“You’re kind of young to be cooking, aren’t you?” asked Jensen, his spoon diving into the scrambled eggs as he asked. “I mean, I didn’t even know how to cook until I was 20 years old, and then I couldn’t even cook well enough to keep a person alive!” he explained at the odd look Harry must have given him.

Harry shrugged his slender shoulders. “I’ve known since I was young,” he said, hoping the subject would be dropped.

“How young?” Jensen apparently didn’t get Harry’s ‘just drop it’ vibe, and continued with the questioning.

”I don’t know,” Harry replied, shoving his own fork down into the eggs, but instead of eating them, he mixed them around and made a huge mess out of them. “Would you like some more bacon?” he asked, noticing that the older man had almost completely consumed the lot he’d given himself.

“Oh, no thank you. I’m sure the blonde boy will want some when he comes down.”

“Draco, that’s his name,” he told the dark haired man, with a grin. Maybe he’d finally managed to change the subject.

“Yeah, that’s it. I keep forgetting it, though I don’t know why I do. Draco is quite an original name,” he said laughingly, and Harry hoped Draco didn’t hear him say that about his name. He didn’t like to have his name made fun of, not that Jensen was laughing at him or anything. Draco was just easily irritated, he thought.

“So, is Severus your real father?” he asked, taking Harry by surprise.

Shaking his head in the negative, he said, “I was adopted.”

“Oh, when was that?”

Harry did not like where this conversation was headed, he was sure. “Just last year,” he answered carefully.

“Oh, wow, really? That’s not long then. Did you live in an orphanage before then?” he asked, just questioning off the cuff, Harry thought, but they still seemed too thought out.

“No, I didn’t,” he answered non-committally. He started picking at the bacon still left on his plate, wishing he could just disappear. The bacon started to become hard after a while and it broke easily in his hands.

Jensen suddenly reached out and stilled his agitated movements, placing his hands gently over Harry’s. “Where did you live, Harry?” he asked carefully, awareness in his eyes that something else was going on here.

Harry ripped his hands away. He stood up so quickly that his chair hit the floor with a thud as he scooted back. “It’s none of your business!” he said hotly, and fled out the back door. He couldn’t believe the man kept questioning him like that. What right did he have, anyways? It was Harry’s own personal life, and no one else needed to know about it, especially not some stranger he barely even knew.

Glancing up, he realized he was right outside the newly ‘built’ stable, and he walked inside to find Jupiter. He was just inside the one and only stall, and Harry walked up to him carefully and ran one hand soothingly down his mane. “Hey Jupe,” he said softly, leaning into the animal just a bit for some type of comfort. Harry knew he should feel like a right idiot doing this, but he didn’t care. And besides, Jupiter knew all too well what it was like to be abused. He wondered what it would be like to be an animal and to have no voice to yell and scream at the injustice of it all. It must truly suck, he thought. He wrapped his arms around the large horse’s neck, and was surprised when Jupiter laid his own head down on Harry’s shoulder, like he was hugging back.

It seemed truly odd, but he felt like he was giving Jupiter some of the comfort he probably never experienced before, until he’d met or had been found by Jensen Winchester. He wondered how that meeting had taken place. Who had found whom, and what Jensen had done when he realized this beautiful horse had been sorely mistreated. He wondered if he’d gotten angry and just taken Jupiter away from his previous owner, like Severus had basically done with him. He smiled sadly, remembering Severus coming to his rescue all those times. Merlin, he was pathetic. His mind drifted to other times, times when Severus hadn’t been there to rescue him. It had seemed like such a never-ending nightmare, waking up with his Uncle standing in the room with him, as drunk as he’d ever seen him, and stumbling towards his bed. He cringed in remembrance.

Jupiter seemed to sense his feeling heading in the opposite direction of happy and nudged him with his nose. “Sorry, boy,” he said softly, standing back and looking up into huge black eyes. “It just really sucks,” he muttered into Jupiter’s silky mane, “that I used to think my life was fine, just a few hits and smacks in my childhood, only to realize it had been so much worse than that,” he said quietly. “How could I have forgotten?” he whispered, still plagued by the new memories and horrifying details he’d shoved viciously into the back of his mind.

The big horse seemed to cuddle even closer, if that were possible, and Harry almost ended up with a mouthful of Jupiter’s mane. “Jupe,” he laughed and gagged all at once. “Back up a bit, horse,” he said, and pushed off gently. Jupiter moved backwards but his eyes seemed planted on Harry’s own. “It seems like you really do understand,” he said softly, and once against rubbed his hand up and down the side of the brown horse’s neck. “And, I think you really would, too. Considering.”

He sighed and leaned back against the stall’s door. Jupiter rested his head on Harry’s shoulder again, and the small boy patted him absent-mindedly. Harry wasn’t sure where it came from, but the desire to talk suddenly awoke within him so strongly, the words just spilled out of his mouth heedlessly. He spoke of every single thing that was ever done to him. It was good to just talk sometimes, and knowing Jupiter wouldn’t exactly spill his thoughts to anyone else, he let himself have this moment. When tears started to run unchecked down his pale cheeks, the horse nudged his face comfortingly. When he thought his entire body would shake apart from the violent shivers that were racking his frame, Jupiter pressed his face under Harry’s chin and stayed there until the boy quieted. “Why did this happen to me?” he asked, raising his hands up to his face and continuing to cry.

It wasn’t until he heard a noise over in the corner that he realized he’d been overheard. Harry almost gave himself whiplash at the rate he moved his head. He vision swam when he saw who was standing inside the building, well within hearing range, and looking quite horrified.

Harry felt it as all the blood drained from his face, leaving him looking pale as a ghost. “I-I have to go,” he muttered, his face beginning to flame as he realized Jensen probably overheard every single thing he’d just said.

“I think Jupiter just got as much comfort out of you as you were able to attain from him,” Jensen said quickly, yet softly. “He knows how you feel, at least partially,” he remarked casually.

Harry was stopped before he’d ever really started moving. It had felt like Jupiter knew exactly what he was feeling. It was almost as if the horse was emphatic or something. If that made any sense, he didn’t even know, and he wasn’t about to ask Jensen about it. But, his words left him standing and looking critically at the big brown horse.

“Jupe’s a great horse, Harry. He’ll be able to understand more than you’ll ever know, if you want to keep talking to him,” he whispered.

Harry just stared at the bigger man. “It seems like there is something…more,” he said softly, “to him that meets the eye.” He hadn’t planned on saying anything, but he never could seem to keep his big mouth shut when it really mattered.

“There could be something special about him. I never would have thought so, other than it’s always been really easy to talk to him whenever I was feeling so low to the ground I thought I’d sink right into it. But, after seeing all of this,” his hands reached out as if to take in everything around him, “I think I’m more than willing to believe there’s more to Jupiter than meets the eye.”

Harry nodded and reached out to touch Jupiter’s nose with his hand. “I think there is, too,” he whispered carefully, almost afraid he’d brush his hand off.

“Are you okay?” asked Jensen, unable to keep his curiosity at bay for much longer.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Harry dismissed the question as best he could. It didn’t help much though, Jensen was nothing but impatient when it came to getting answers out of someone, Harry had come to realize.

“When I was twelve, my dad hit me for the first time,” he started slowly, getting Harry’s immediate attention. “He was drunk, which seemed to be a permanent thing with him at the time. My mother had just died the year previous, and he blamed me for everything. He thought if I hadn’t been at school that night for rehearsal, she never would have been killed,” he sighed, shrugging his shoulders. “She came for me that evening, in the pouring rain, and ended up getting killed by a drunk driver,” he gave out a bitter laugh. “You’d think my father would have steered clear of the alcohol because of that! But, he didn’t. A week later, he started with the abuse. It only lasted about a year, when one night he nearly killed me and his eyes seemed to finally awaken to what he was doing to me. Two things stopped that night, the drinking and the hitting. He never did it again, but I’ll never forget it,” he whispered.

Harry didn’t quite know what to say. “Did you forgive him?” he asked suddenly, wondering what the answer would be.

Jensen shrugged a shoulder and glanced at the smaller boy out of the corner of his eye. “Yes. I couldn’t help but love the bastard. He’d been good to me before then, and he was good to me after. I just don’t understand what made him do it in the first place. I think it was the grief. And I think he turned himself around knowing my mother would have come back from Heaven to kick his arse for what he was doing to me that set himself straight. Plus, I do think he loved me somewhere down deep in his heart, he just couldn’t seem to find himself during that one painful year.”

Harry had been looking at the floor quite liberally by the time Jensen was finished talking. “My family never loved me,” he spat out quietly. “I never stood a chance.”

Jensen had his hand on the slender shoulder before Harry even realized the man had moved. He tried to stop the flinch, but it escaped him any ways. “Sorry,” he muttered pathetically.

“Some people have it worse than others, kiddo. From what you said earlier, your home life was something no child should ever even have to hear about, let alone endure. Your relatives were monsters, nothing more, nothing less. There was something wrong with them, for doing that to you. You’ve got to be one of the sweetest, nicest, well-mannered children I have ever met in my life. Despite their awful abuse of you, I think you turned out as one hell of a kid. I’m fairly certain they can’t say that about themselves, or their own child,” he said meaningfully.

It was nice to hear, though he doubted the Dursley’s would have felt that way about themselves. He knew what horrible people they had been, what they had become, but they would never get a chance to realize it, would they? They would never get the chance to think back at the way they had treated their only nephew and regret what they had done. They were dead. All but Vernon, and Harry knew he wouldn’t ever regret the awful things he had done to his only nephew. But that was their loss, not his.

He couldn’t believe Jensen thought so highly of him. It was actually quite a shock that someone even thought he was the nicest and sweetest kid they’d ever met. I mean, he’d been told many things about himself in his lifetime, and that had never been one of them. He had always been called names and told he was worthless. It was nice to hear differently, especially from someone who didn’t know who he really was, someone who could only go on their gut instincts about him, not his fame and stupid background. He suddenly realized it was just really nice to be complimented.

“Thanks, Jensen,” he muttered quietly, slightly embarrassed about the entire thing, but pleasantly pleased as well. “I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier,” he thought to mention, knowing now he’d let his emotions get away from him. He couldn’t believe how much of a brat he’d been to the man.

“Don’t worry about it, Harry. I can understand where you were coming from. And besides, it wasn’t very polite of me to just dig into your past like that. It’s your business, and I already feel awful for overhearing what you said to Jupe. I have to admit, when I realized what you were confiding in him, I just couldn’t make myself leave. I thought I might be able to help you in the long run, and I knew you’d never admit to it yourself. I’m so sorry, Harry. Truly, I am,” he said apologetically.

Harry just shrugged. “Actually, if you hadn’t been out here eavesdropping on me,” he said with a small grin. “You wouldn’t have known about my past to talk to me about it. I’m really kind of thankful that you did. I wasn’t at first, but now I am,” he told the older man shyly.

“Well, at least something good came out of the whole thing.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” returned Harry. Nothing had exactly been ‘fixed’, but he did feel more understood. Like he had an ally or friend who truly understood where he was coming from. It was actually quite a relief. He felt like there was a possibility he could someday get over this. That one day, like Jensen, he’d be able to sleep at night without nightmares. That some day soon, it wouldn’t feel like his life had come to an end. There was an end in sight.

“Are you ready to go back inside now? I’m actually getting kind of cold out here. The temperature must have dropped,” he muttered, stepping outside of the stable and looking towards the sky. “Well, it looks like it’s going to rain again,” he realized unhappily. “Why does it always have to rain just when I want to be outside?”

“No clue, kiddo. Let’s get inside before we get drenched, though,” he said and quickly ushered the smaller boy into the house and shut the door firmly behind them.

………………………….

It was later on that day, around four in the afternoon, when they got some company. The Weasley boys, Ron, Fred, and George, all tumbled out of the fireplace, looking disheveled but ready to see their friends.

“Hey, Harry!” called Ron, walking into the living room where Harry was reading on the couch and plopped himself down beside the smaller boy.

Harry looked up in shock and surprise. “Hey,” he started uncertainly. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Oh, Mum was worried we’d get into too much trouble by ourselves and sent us over here so we’d be occupied with you lot,” he said, waving his arm around at the room full of people. Harry wasn’t the only one who had decided to just sit down and read a book. Draco and Jensen, with nothing better to do, had made themselves at home at a table near the fireplace. Draco was attempting to teach the older man the basics of Wizard’s chess. Harry thought it might take a while.

Ron, seeing what was being played, went over to give his own ‘expertise’ to the two.

Fred and George sat down on either side of Harry and looked over his shoulder as he read.

“Whatcha’ got there?” asked George, trying his hardest to be annoying by reading over Harry’s shoulder and invading his personal space in the process.

Harry sighed and looked at Fred with a pleading look on his face, then turned back to George when he got no sympathy from the other twin. “It’s a little thing I like to call a ‘book,’” he said slowly, as if talking to a four year old.

George grinned and snatched the thing out of Harry’s hands, throwing it somewhere behind the couch. “Come on, we can find something better to do than that,” he said, trying to drag the slender boy off the couch. Harry stood his ground, or remained where he was seated.

“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m actually kind of tired. I’d like to just sit here and veg out, if you’ll let me,” he said, letting loose with a jaw popping yawn at the same time.

“You are tired, why don’t you go lie down and take a nap,” asked Fred, looking with concern now, at his friend.

Harry shook his head. “I’m not that tired, thanks.”

“Just looking out for your best interests,” insisted Fred, pulling on Harry’s arm to take him upstairs. “You look drawn out anyways. What have you guys been doing today, any ways?” he wondered, taking in Harry’s pale and tired face.

Harry merely sighed and shook his head. He wasn’t about to tell the real reason behind his exhaustion. Talking about his past was always emotionally and physically draining, but that was something he planned on keeping to himself. Only one outburst per day was allowed, he figured.

“I’m really fine, guys. And, I’d rather stay down here, so stop pulling on my arm,” he said, pulling futilely on the limb still within Fred’s grasp.

“Hey, leave him alone. If he wants to stay down here, let him stay down here,” said Draco, standing up from the game with Jensen and Ron. Harry knew he was going on the defensive again. But, he didn’t realize that Draco still felt bad about doing the same thing to Harry the night before, when they’d been at Jensen’s before the Death Eaters chased them. He worried Harry’s arm was still sore from it.

Fred gave Draco a sullen look. “Look at him, Malfoy. He needs some rest. He won’t exactly get it down here with everyone yelling and talking and playing games,” he said insistently.

Draco shook his head. “Who cares? He can sit quietly and read like he was doing before. That’s not exactly physically exhausting you know. He can stay down here with us,” he returned just as insistently.

Harry shrugged his shoulders and sat back down on the couch. He wasn’t leaving, and that was final.

Fred eventually gave up on his useless plight, Harry wasn’t going anywhere, it seemed, and he didn’t want to get into an argument with Draco. He knew how upset it made Harry when they did argue with the blonde. He wasn’t going to tread down the same path his little brother had. He knew the end results.

They spent the rest of the afternoon in the living room, with Harry on the couch reading, with Fred by his side doing the same. The other four ended up playing rounds of chess. It only was two games, but with Ron there, he kept beating out everyone else, except Draco. The Slytherin was actually rather good at playing chess, and had even beaten out Ron.

“I can’t believe you beat me,” said the redhead in shock. “No one ever beats me.”

“Yes well, Lucius taught me how to play when I was five,” he said offhandedly. “Is it time for dinner yet?” he wondered aloud, standing and stretching his lean frame before collapsing back into the hard chair.

Harry glanced at the clock on the mantle and decided it was most definitely time for dinner.

Draco looked slightly perplexed. “Is Cella here?”

“No, she’s helping out with the wards. So is Deliverance. We’re on our own, Draco, in making supper for ourselves,” he said, watching as the blonde’s face fell into a frown.

“I can’t cook to save my own life,” he muttered.

“Don’t worry, I can cook.” Harry hefted himself up off the couch and nearly fell back into it. He was tired, but he hoped no one had noticed his little dizzy spell. But, Fred pushed him back down when he tried to get up again.

“I said you were too tired, didn’t I?” he asked defiantly. “Maybe next time you’ll listen.”

Harry just shook his head and waved him off. “I’m perfectly fine. But, I probably will turn in early tonight, just the same,” he said to appease the annoyed look on the older teen’s face.

“You know, isn’t the adult supposed to take care of the kids?” asked Jensen, standing up and making his way to the kitchen. “Unless you all don’t have a working stove, I can make just about anything.”

“Yeah, we have a stove. I’ll have to show you how to use it, though. It’s a little weird,” mentioned Harry, slowly following after the rest of them.

………………………..

Dinner was a quiet affair. Jensen had ended up making some simple grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup that he’d found in the cupboard. “My own Mum used to make this for me when I was a kid. It was my favorite growing up,” he’d said when he found the soup behind a bunch of items he’d never even seen before.

Harry nodded. He’d enjoyed it too, whenever he’d made it for the Dursley’s on a summer evening and managed to steal a bite or two. It had been good.

“How much longer before the Wards are completely finished?” asked Jensen, trying to start a conversation with the boys he found himself in charge of. Plus, he was very interested in everything he’d learned in the past day and a half. To realize that there was a world like this outside his own was amazing and he planned to learn as much as possible.

“Oh, probably by late this evening,” said Harry. “At least, that’s what my Dad told me. It could be later, but regardless, they’ll be home sometime tonight.”

“I still can’t believe Death Eaters got past the wards in the first place. I just want to know how they found out where you all live and how to get passed the wards Snape had up. I mean, who would know what type of wards he had up around his place?” asked George curiously.

Draco shrugged. “Who knows, I mean, Severus used to be one of them, maybe they knew something about his wards that Sev just forgot to fix,” he paused for a minute re-thinking what he’d just said. He shook his head. “No, he wouldn’t have forgotten something like that. Someone must have followed us home or something, one day. We have been out a few times since we moved in. I’m sure someone would have recognized us at one point or another,” he explained, trying to rationalize it all to himself.

“Well, it still doesn’t answer how they got through them. Even if someone did follow you home, they’d still have to get passed all the spells and wards keeping people away from your home before they could get inside. But, I guess if someone wanted in, they’d find a way,” said Fred, sitting back in his chair after finishing his cheese sandwich. “That was really good. Thanks, Jensen.”

The dark-haired man nodded his head, easing his own half-eaten sandwich on the plate before him. He’d tried for two sandwiches, and now he was just to full to eat the rest of it. He would offer the rest to one of the boys, but that just seemed kind of weird. He knew these kids, but not that well.

“Does anyone want to go play another rousing game of chess?” asked Ron, having finished his own sandwich as well and ready for something else to do.

“I think it is about time for bed, wouldn’t you?” asked Jensen, glancing at the clock. He was also giving Harry a critical once over.

It was still early in Harry’s opinion. It seemed extremely strange going to bed after just eating supper, but they had let the time get away from them and had eaten a late meal. “I wanted to stay up and wait for my Dad,” said Harry in a hopeful tone of voice.

“Harry, you’re exhausted. I tried to get you to go to bed earlier and you wouldn’t do it. I think you should turn in now,” said Fred, his worry for his friend showing clearly in his eyes. “In fact, I insist.”

Draco actually agreed with the older teen this time. “Harry, Severus said he’d come and wake you up when they got home. Why don’t you just go on to bed?” he asked. “You do look a little fatigued.”

Harry looked anything but pleased, threw his napkin on the table, and rose from his chair. “Fine,” he muttered, feeling slightly ganged up on.

“Well, don’t go off feeling upset,” insisted Jensen, standing as well.

“I’m not upset!” said Harry, leaving the room. He really was tired, he realized, but it just felt wrong having them all tell him what to do. It’s not like they were much older than he was, and there they were acting like he was 4. He’d be 16 in a month, thank you very much. He stumbled up the first stair on his way up and took the rail to steady himself. With a blush starting up his cheeks, he looked towards the steps into the kitchen to make sure he hadn’t been observed. Somehow, he knew that would just top it all if he’d been seen nearly falling up the stairs. Down was one thing, up was an entirely different embarrassment.

He climbed into bed, and glancing at the clock, he noticed it was only half past ten. Not too late, but way too early in Harry’s opinion, considering it was holiday and he always stayed up a little later than this. He grudgingly put on his pajamas and got ready for bed. Climbing between the sheets, Harry hoped his father would be home soon and that what Draco said was true. He knew his father had said he’d come and wake him when he got home, but all night he’d felt something was different, like he should stay awake. It was odd, but he decided not to let it bother him. He turned off the lights and settled down into his pillows, but sleep was slow in coming that night.

……………………………….

“Well, that went well. Now he’s mad at us,” said Fred, sitting back down in his chair.

“Well, you did basically tell him to go to bed,” remarked Draco, leaning up against the wall with a cup of hot tea in his chilled hands. “I’d be a little upset myself.”

Fred, George and Ron all glared at him. “You told him to go to bed, too,” they said almost in perfect unison.

Draco blinked. “No, I merely suggested he go to bed, I’m not the one who ‘insisted’ on it,” he muttered, taking a sip of the hot liquid. “I know how to talk to my brother,” he added absentmindedly.

“You’re not his brother,” spat Ron, looking extremely angry.

Draco looked up alarmed. He didn’t realize he’d said that out loud, and found himself feeling extremely flushed over it. And a little angry. “I think my relationship with Harry is none of your business,” he said hotly.

Ron looked sorely annoyed. “He’s more my brother than yours. We’ve been friends with him for a hell of a lot longer than you have. You can’t go off saying stuff like that, Malfoy.”

“Why the hell not? Severus is going to adopt me too, you know. We’ve talked about it for a while now, and if that happens, we will be brothers,” he said haughtily. “Legally!”

The redhead looked about to burst into flames he was so upset. “Not where it counts!” he said firmly, slapping a hand to his chest, directly over his heart. “I know he cares about us more than you! You were nothing but a bully when I was always a friend. You’re lucky he even talks to you, let alone thinks of you as more than a nuisance he has to put up with because his father just so happens to be your godfather!” he hissed, and immediately wondered where the hell that had come from. Why was he even fighting with the blonde? He looked at Draco’s face and realized he’d just said something completely hateful and awful. Draco looked really and truly hurt.

“Ron!” said Fred, looking aghast and royally pissed off. He knocked his brother up the side of the head, then he looked at Draco. “He didn’t mean that, Draco,” he said, his face a mask of sympathy. “That was mean and hurtful,” he began, but Draco was already standing up and giving Ron a glare that ended up making the older boy feel like the worst type of person ever.

“No, just don’t talk to me. I know where you all stand now,” he whispered and left the room in a hurry. He barely heard one of the twins threaten to kick Ron’s ass as he disappeared up the stairs.

………………………

He didn’t know what to think, how to feel, or where to go. It was completely stupid of him to believe a word Ron had said in anger, but for some reason, he was letting it all take root in his head. And his hurting heart. Did Harry really think that of him? Did he really only tolerate his presence because Severus was his godfather? It seemed completely asinine, but what did Draco know? It could be true.

He shook his head. Nothing seemed to make sense and all he wanted to do was go pound on Harry’s door and wake him up. All of his doubts were driving him crazy, and the only answers lay behind the door he refused to disturb. Harry had been so tired earlier that Draco couldn’t even bring himself to raise his hand to the door, let alone knock.

It was actually rather startling that he found himself on the third floor. He hadn’t meant to end up here, knew he wasn’t supposed to even step foot on this floor, yet here he was. He wasn’t sure which door was forbidden, but found himself searching for it. It was like something had just awoken in him, and he felt the need to find this mysterious door. Oddly, he hadn’t even thought about it until just now, not even before when he was still in good spirits with Harry and his friends. The teen sighed, realizing he’d started thinking that the Weasley’s were really starting to like him as a friend too. Just as he’d started to consider them friends. It was something else that weighed heavily on his chest, something he couldn’t seem to get rid of.

All the doors up here were locked, he realized, probably to make it more difficult to find the actual room no one was allowed in, but Draco could feel a strong pulse coming from a room three doors down on his left. It was more heavily barred than the others and Draco knew that was the door he was searching for.

Knowing he wasn’t supposed to be doing this probably just made it more appealing, so Draco took out his wand, knowing he would probably get into trouble once the adults found out what he did, and attempted to unlock the door. It was harder than he thought it would be, as the locking spells were stronger than just a good old alohamora could get through. It took some previous knowledge that Lucius had given him to break through the spells and charms on the door, and he suddenly found himself in a dimly lit room. “Hello?” he called out anxiously, wondering for the first time if there had been another reason to stay out. He realized too late that he shouldn’t have ever unlocked that door.

……………………..

Harry sat up in bed so quickly he felt dizzy. “Oh, shite,” he muttered, flinging off the covers and climbing out of bed. He wasn’t sure what was wrong, but he knew something was. It didn’t take two minutes to get out into the hallway and up the stairs. He wasn’t sure where he was going; he just went where he felt he should be. It wasn’t a pleasant realization when he ended up on the third floor. He wasn’t supposed to be here, but the door that wasn’t supposed to be open…was open.

Peering down the dark hallway, Harry tried to make out if there were any shapes in the darkness that he couldn’t make out. Like a person. There was no one there, however, he sensed a presence somewhere down the hall.

Walking closer, he stopped in front of the open doorway and stepped foot inside it. As soon as he did, he heard voices and realized there must have been a silencing charm on the door. One of those voices was too frighteningly familiar and he cringed when he heard it. But, it wasn’t possible. He wasn’t supposed to be here!

…………………………….

The room was so dark he almost couldn’t make out the form coming at him, but when he was suddenly grabbed by the arms and violently shaken, he finally recognized the large face mere inches in front of his own. He’d seen this man only once before, and he would never forget the damage he had done to his friend. His shock at that moment couldn’t be said in words, his eyes merely widened and he knew he had to keep this man away from his brother.

“Thought you’d come to gloat, did you boy?” he hissed, shaking Draco harder. It was in that moment that Draco realized this man thought he was Harry. He’d probably gone a bit crazy, as it was obvious this room hadn’t been visited in quite a while, and the man residing within had been held prisoner here. “Well, I’ll make you regret you ever came up here, you little shit!” he screamed, and Draco was shocked to find himself bodily lifted and thrown onto the bed.

Realizing the man’s intent, he scrambled backwards towards the edge of the bed only to feel one of his ankles grabbed as he was roughly pulled back towards his attacker. Kicking at the man’s face, he managed a small connection with the side of Dursley’s cheek and paid for it. He was viciously grabbed by his throat and punched in the face. Draco let out a moan and fell back onto the bed, not completely there as his consciousness tried to fade away from him. He held onto it valiantly, knowing if he passed out now what would be done to him. And, he couldn’t let the man find Harry.

He vaguely noticed Dursley was speaking to him again, but the words weren’t making a whole lot of sense, but he knew they were threatening him in ways he’d never been threatened before. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, boy!” he hissed, and Draco felt the hands around his neck tighten further. “I’m going to kill you, Potter. You realize that, don’t you?” he said, and squeezed his hands around the slender neck. “But first, you’re going to suffer,” he muttered, and Draco felt a hand slide down to his trousers. He kicked out defensively but only met air.

“You always hated this boy, didn’t you? Now it’s going to be the last thing you’ll remember before you leave this earth. You’re going to die screaming,” he said hysterically, almost manic with his glee at hurting his nephew in such a way. It still hadn’t registered that the form beneath him looked nothing like Harry Potter, he was so deranged and psychotic by this point. He just wanted to hurt the boy.

Draco tried to get out some sort of scream, but even with the hands restricting his breathing, he knew no one would ever hear him. He was fairly certain there were silencing spells on the damn door. He was going to die up here and no one was even going to know until tomorrow morning. He thought of Harry then, probably sleeping soundly in his bed downstairs. Draco was actually glad the boy wasn’t enduring this right now, that this insane man would hurt him and never realize he wasn’t Harry. He just hoped and prayed that the man would leave once he was done and not go after any of the others.

Just as his consciousness was about to fade completely away, his air having been almost completely restricted, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head as well as he could and saw the horrified eyes of his brother. ‘No,’ he thought desperately. He wanted Harry to run away. If Dursley saw him…he let the thought wonder off. But, when he saw Harry start to back away, he felt his heart almost shudder to a stop. All his earlier worries that Harry didn’t even care about him came back and he felt his heart break at the realization that his ‘brother’ was just going to leave him here.

……………………………..

Harry heard the words the man spoke. He knew in that instant as he stood in the doorway who it was in the bedroom. But he couldn’t fathom how the man had gotten inside Grimmauld Place. ‘Oh, God,’ he thought, the words the man was speaking finally registering in his head. His Uncle meant to do it to him again! He’d been seen. He cautiously started to back away from the door, his heart hammering in his chest, a mantra of ‘Oh, God,’ running through his head continuously.

Then he saw something that before he seemed to have just…not recognized. There was someone else in the room. He finally registered that there was someone underneath his Uncle. The man hadn’t been talking to him; he’d been talking to the person in the room with him. He hadn’t even been seen yet! And then his eyes finally met the gray ones and realization struck. Draco. Any idea of fleeing the area was abruptly dismissed as his eyes hardened and he looked up at his Uncle in rage. ‘Nobody touches my brother,’ he thought angrily. He would not allow what happened to him to happen to Dray. He wouldn’t let him be broken the way he had.

Harry felt like he had somehow stepped away from his fear and embraced his anger. It was the only way he was going to be able to do what he was about to do. Entering the room completely, he almost shuddered as he saw where the man was touching Draco, but Draco didn’t seem to even be noticing. He was just staring at Harry in shock, as if he hadn’t thought Harry would help him. Well, if that wasn’t a kick in the stomach, he didn’t know what was. He felt his heart drop when he realized Draco must have thought he was leaving him when he’d started to back away from the doorway. That made him even angrier and his hand came up in a defensive posture, and with a wide sweep on his arm, Vernon Dursley found himself flying across the room to smack dead into the wall. The house reverberated from the impact, and Harry hoped to all that was good in the world that the others had bloody well woken up! He needed some help.

Running to Draco, he helped the older teen to sit up on the bed. “Are you all right?” asked Harry shakily.

Draco nodded and suddenly pulled Harry into a tight hug. He just held the smaller boy securely in his arms, making the younger of the two wonder who was comforting who here.

“Are you?” asked Draco, rubbing stiffly at his neck. It still hurt from where Dursley had his hands wrapped around it. He was just glad he could breathe again. He shivered. He couldn’t believe what that bastard had tried to do to him, what he had done to Harry in the past. He looked at Harry and smiled weakly. “I had hoped you wouldn’t end up waking and coming up here somehow,” he said sadly.

Harry shivered in response to that. “I’m glad I did,” he whispered, jotting his head in the direction of the unconscious man on the floor. “He would have hurt you.”

Draco nodded and groaned. “He thought I was you.”

Harry looked at Draco in growing horror. “What?” he asked, feeling more and more responsible as the moments passed. “I’m so sorry, Draco!” he said, distressed, and threw his arms around the older boy once more. “I’m sorry,” he whispered again.

“Stop it, Harry. It’s not your fault,” he said emphatically, his voice a little hoarse. “I don’t blame you at all.”

That didn’t seem to help Harry’s guilt though, for the next thing he said made Draco realize the boy was blaming himself for just about everything. “And, I almost walked away from you, too! God, what kind of person am I?”

Draco wasn’t sure how to go about answering that. Harry had come back, but for a minute, Draco himself had thought the raven-haired boy was going to leave him.

“I just didn’t realize you were there. I thought he was talking to me at first,” he muttered.

Draco sighed. “Technically, he was,” muttered the older teen. “But, you came back.”

“Yeah, of course I did. I saw you.”

“Then what else matters?” asked the blonde.

Harry just shook his head. “What is he doing here any ways?” he asked. He glanced over at where his Uncle was only to realize his body was no longer there. “Oh, God!” he said, alarmed. “Draco, where’d he go?”

“What?” he looked towards where he’d last seen Dursley and saw that he was indeed missing. “Oh, shite,” he muttered, his heart suddenly thundering in his chest. He was trying to put on a brave face, but hell, the man had just tried to molest him. He hadn’t done anything, really, but he’d tried. He couldn’t help but worry, and the fact that now Harry was here, too. He wouldn’t go after him this time; he’d go after Harry. “We have to get the others,” he said suddenly, jumping up from the bed. “Come on.”

Harry was literally clinging to Draco’s arm. “But where did he go?” he asked quietly, looking at all the dark corners the man could be hiding in. “Draco,” he said, feeling more and more helpless. He’d just thrown the man across the room, but here he was terrified of him.

“Calm down, we’ll get the others and we’ll be fine,” he said, feeling more and more frightened as well. And knowing he was going to have to be the strong one. They wouldn’t get downstairs unless someone took the lead, and that someone was going to have to be him. He now understood Harry’s terror. He’d do whatever it took to protect the smaller boy.

A sudden noise from behind them had Draco spinning around and ripped a scream from Harry’s throat. The upside to it all…they weren’t in the sound proof room any longer.

“Harry!”

Draco couldn’t have been happier to hear Ron Weasley’s voice as he was at that moment. Vernon Dursley was standing directly in front of them now, but help was storming up the stairs. Draco shoved Harry behind his body protectively as the man advanced on them. He couldn’t find his wand and realized he must have lost it somewhere between the Dursley incident and escaping the room. It was no longer in his pocket. “Harry, I don’t have my wand,” he whispered harshly to his friend. He wasn’t mad at Harry, he was angry with himself for dropping the damn thing.

Harry was momentarily confused by what he was supposed to do about the fact that Draco didn’t have his wand, when he realized he still had his in his on him. Searching blindly for it, he pulled it out of his sleeve and handed it to the older teen. He was now pressed securely up against Draco’s back, completely and utterly terrified. Then he felt a hand on his back and nearly screamed again.

“Harry, we’re here,” said Ron, suddenly behind Harry. Harry glanced back and saw a wall of friends standing protectively behind him, wands pulled and pointing ruthlessly at the man in front of them. Harry let out a sigh of relief. It was as if the wave of terror that had consumed him just moments ago left him. He held out his hand and summoned Draco’s own wand and watched as it came flying through the air to land in his hand. He and Draco traded and soon had their own wands securely in hand.

“Get back in the damn room,” hissed Fred, his wand whipping from the room to Dursley and back again. “Move it!” he yelled, his voice as harsh as Harry had ever heard it before.

Vernon was just staring at them, and his eyes kept moving back to Harry with a look within that made everyone shudder. Harry couldn’t stand the look he was receiving, and when the man still wouldn’t move back into his room, he once more raised his hand. “Get in there or I’ll make you go in there,” he said threateningly.

Dursley laughed as if that was the most pathetic thing he’d ever heard. “I’d like to see you try, you little shit!” he yelled and made to attack him.

Harry waved his arm and the man was suddenly flying into the room. The door slammed shut and the harsh grating of metal on metal sounded as the door was firmly locked. “I don’t have to,” muttered Harry shakily.

Draco turned around as Harry was still standing slightly behind him and pulled the teen into his arms once more. “Are you all right?” he asked, clearly shaken as well.

“What the hell was he doing here?” asked Fred, having suddenly figured out that the thing on the third floor, as they’d also been warned to steer clear, had been Vernon Dursley. “Are they insane?” he wondered aloud. “They left that monster with us alone?” he asked.

Jensen was standing there too, looking a little out of sorts but pissed off as well. He understood that the man Harry had just sent flying into the bedroom was the boy’s Uncle. He knew enough about the boy’s past to absolutely hate the man. He had been shocked to see the amount of power that small, little thing had within him. He had always been a very laid back person, but good lord. That was amazing. “Are you two okay?” he asked, coming up behind the teens that were surrounding the two others.

Harry just shook his head and looked up into Draco’s face again. “Are you okay? Really?” he asked, his concern now almost overwhelming.

“I’m fine,” he said, his voice belying the brave tone he was trying to put into it. “Someone should go get Severus,” he muttered, knowing he wouldn’t feel safe again until their father was with them. He finally released Harry from his protective embrace and stood with his hand just lying lightly on his shoulder.

“Draco?” asked Fred, looking at him concernedly. “Are you all right? You’re awfully pale,” he said.

Draco just shook his head. “I’m fine.”

Ron came up then and placed his own hand on the blonde’s shoulder. “Look, I know this is extremely weird timing, but I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I never meant a word I said, ok?” he said slowly, the regret he felt showing clearly in his eyes.

Draco nodded. “I know, Ron. Thanks for apologizing, though,” he said, knowing now that Harry really must care for him to completely face his most horrifying nightmare just to save him.

“I’ll go get Snape,” said George, having stayed silent throughout.

Harry nodded. “Thanks, George,” he said, feeling the same as Draco. He wasn’t going to feel safe until his father was home. “Let’s go downstairs. I don’t think I can stand it up here a moment longer,” he said, and they all quickly agreed and descended the stairs to the comfort of the dining room.

………………………………….

George tumbled out of the fireplace and rushed into the foyer. He wasn’t sure where they would be, he’d assumed outside, but considering it was so late at night, he didn’t know where they’d be. He assumed they must be putting up the internal wards at this point in the entire thing and just started yelling.

“Mum!” he screamed. “Dad!” He yelled as loudly as he possibly could, just wanting them to get there. He was worried about leaving the others back at Headquarters.

“George!” he heard his mother’s voice and heard as everyone came running in from one direction or the other. “What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked, taking in his pale face and frazzled appearance.

He waited until everyone was in the room, also so he could catch his breath, before he said anything. He looked directly at Professor Snape. “He got out,” he said quickly and watched as the blood drained from the man’s face.

“Is everyone okay?” he asked, already moving towards his study. He had to get home to his children.

“I…I think so,” he said, unsure. “When we got upstairs, Draco had him at wand point,” he informed them all. He noticed everyone looked upset and worried. “You all knew he was in the house?” he finally asked.

“Yes,” said his mother furiously.

“And you let them stay there?” asked George, clearly upset at this news.

Severus sighed. “The door was warded ten ways to Sunday. He shouldn’t have been able to get out,” he said, guilt gnawing at him.

“Well, he did!”

Severus tried hard not to growl, he really did. “Is Harry all right?” he asked.

“As far as I know, he is. Draco had him behind him all protective-like when we got there. We just don’t know all the details,” said George.

And then they were all flooing. Severus stepped out of the fireplace and immediately heard voices coming from the dining room. The doors flung open as he approached, his anxiety at its peak, and walked through the doors. Harry and Draco were sitting on the couch with Fred and Jensen standing protectively around them.

“Harry? Draco?” he asked as soon as he was able to get his voice. They both looked so pale. He had them both in his arms and held tightly to his chest. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?” he asked, trying to pull them away, but Harry seemed to have a deep grip on his shirt. “Did he hurt you?” he repeated, concerned to his core.

Harry shook his head. He glanced at Draco, waiting for him to say what had happened to him, but he didn’t say anything. Harry sighed. He didn’t think Draco was dealing with any of this. “Dad,” he started, but he was instantly elbowed in the side for his efforts. “We’re fine,” he finally muttered, willing to let Draco make up his own mind about when to tell Severus.

“You’re sure?” he asked, concern and guilt still eating him alive. “I’m so sorry I left you here alone with him. Merlin, I knew something would happen the second we left you alone. How the hell did he get passed the wards?” he asked, his anger starting to show in his voice.

Draco cringed and looked up at his father’s face. He noticed the anger there and didn’t know how he was going to tell the man what he’d done. But Severus saw the look on his face and his angry gaze feel on his godson. “Draco?” he asked, clearly trying to keep his anger in check.

“I was upset…” he muttered, not sure how to explain what made him open the damn door. Severus shook his shoulders and Draco cringed again.

“We told you not to open that door!” he yelled, exasperated at the boy for basically not thinking or listening to what he had been told.

Draco roughly pulled himself out of Severus’ grasp on his shoulders, reminded painfully of just a few moments before when Vernon Dursley had shook him, yet more violently. “I’m sorry!” he yelled, tears brimming in his eyes. He was appalled that he was even tearing up! This was ridiculous. The man didn’t even do anything to him, so why was he suddenly so damn emotional?

“Do you know how much danger you put yourself and Harry in? Do you know what he would have done to him?” he asked, still incensed at Draco’s supposed thoughtlessness.

Draco’s face went suddenly hard. “Yes, I know,” he whispered and turned and walked stiffly out of the room.

“Draco! You get back here right now. We’re not done talking about this!” yelled Severus.

Harry was angry. He’d been unable to say anything before, because he knew Draco didn’t want him to. But now he didn’t think he could just stand by and let his father punish Draco. He’d more than paid for what he’d done, in Harry’s opinion.

“Leave him alone!” he said hotly, and Severus stopped suddenly to look at his smaller son.

Severus turned to his son, looking worried again. “Harry, I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have yelled at him like that. But, that was completely reckless on Draco’s part. He knew to stay away from the third floor, let alone the actual bedroom,” he said, trying to make his son understand. “I know he protected you, and I’m grateful for that, but he’s still going to get in trouble for opening the door in the first place.”

Harry looked up with sad eyes. “And who protected Draco?” he asked, making the entire room go quiet.

“What?” asked Severus, taking in the distraught eyes looking into his own.

Harry’s voice was cold and hard as he spoke. “Draco opened the door. He was alone with my Uncle, Dad,” he said, a tear silently rolling down his cheek. “Believe me, he’s more than paid for opening a door to a threat he didn’t even realize was in it!”

The entire room was looking at Harry with dawning horror. “Stop yelling at him and try to figure out a way to help him get through what just happened to him!” screamed Harry. He spun around to run after Draco before stopping and turning back to his father. “And get that monster out of this house!”

And then he was gone up the stairs, leaving the rest of the room standing in stunned disbelief. Severus raised a hand to his face and sat down heavily in the nearest chair. “What have I done?”