Harry briefly thought about not opening the door, but he feared Severus would get mad about it.

"Potter!"

"Malfoy," Harry spat back with the same venom that Draco had used.

Draco strode arrogantly into the room, brushing Harry violently on his way.

"What do you want?" Harry asked, annoyed.

"Why should I tell you? It's not as if you would belong here, Potter. You are just a parasite, who takes advantage of the kindness of Severus and Ivy." Draco came closer to Harry and spat his next words directly in his face. "Playing the poor abused baby to trick them to take you in out of pity, Potter. You disgust me."

Harry was shocked. Each word was like a stab with a dagger in his heart. He shied away from the blond boy. "It's not like that."

"It's exactly like that, you pity seeker. You are nothing but a crying baby. The Prophet has reported about ‘Poor Potter' every day. Poor Potter let his relatives hit him. The Snapes take pity and take Poor Potter in. Poor Potter breaking down crying in a shop for making people laugh about the Snapes. How does it feel to make a family the laugh of the wizard world, Potter?"

Harry could not think straight at the moment. The words were ringing in his head. It was all what he thought the whole time. Severus had taken away some of his fears when he spoke with him this morning, but now they were back full force. He could feel his chest tighten and his breathing become harder. Frantically he grabbed for his applicator and used it.

"What's that, Pottybaby?" Draco asked and knocked it out of Harry's hands. "You weak little freak."

Harry didn't know why, maybe these last words put him over the edge. He struck out and hit Draco's chin full force.

Draco fell back and clutched his chin. Blood was oozing from his mouth and through his fingers.

Harry was shocked and paralysed for a few seconds, but then the fear kicked in and he ran. He ran as fast as he could out of the door and into the halls. He had screwed up. They would first beat him like hell and then throw him out. The castle wasn't safe any longer. He couldn't stand a beating from them. He didn't like the Dursleys, and so it wasn't so hard to take a beating from them, but the Snapes he liked, maybe even loved, if he was truthful. Never could he stand their disappointed faces and their hateful beating. And so he ran as fast as he could in the direction of the entrance door.

He had run for a few minutes when he ran around corner and collided with someone. First the person was puzzled and wanted to help him up, but when he realized the state Harry was in, and that he was fighting to get free, he tightened his grip. Alastor Moody didn't know what had happened, but he knew that Harry needed to calm down. So he grabbed Harry from behind and pressed Harry's back against his chest. "Calm down, Harry!"

"No, let me go!" Harry screamed and fought like hell. He tried to pry Alastor's strong arm away from his torso with no success. Slowly, he steered Harry into a quiet classroom.

Alastor took a chair, sat down and positioned Harry on his lap. He caught Harry's legs with his, held him tight by his waist and with his free hand he pulled Harry's head slightly backwards against his shoulder.

Harry's arms were captured by the arm Alastor had wound around his torso and so was totally paralysed. He couldn't move an inch.

"Calm down so that we can speak about what caused this all, Harry!" Alastor commanded, but in a gentle and calm voice.

"Please let me go," Harry said miserably. He felt vulnerable in this position, but at the same time, safe and cared for and, most important, not alone. These feelings confused him and soon tears were running down his cheeks.

"Have you taken your potion, Harry?" Alastor asked when he felt the boy stop struggling.

"Yes," Harry said between sobs.

"Okay, I will let go of your head now. If you start struggling again, you will be in this position again. Do I make myself clear?" Alastor asked with calm determination.

"Yes," Harry replied again between sobs. When Alastor released his head, he let it sink onto his chest. "Please let me go." He weakly tried to free his arms.

"Not now, Harry, and remember what I told you about struggling again."

Harry stilled and waited for the scolding that surely would follow.

"So, what caused this all, Harry? Tell me what happened," Alastor ordered.

"I can't," Harry said. His chest hurt just by thinking about what happened a few minutes ago, and imagining what would happen when Severus and Ivy found out about it made Harry shiver.

"You can, and you will, Harry. I won't let you go until you do."

"I...I made a mistake. A big mistake." Harry forced himself to speak. The lump in his throat didn't make it easier. "I was bad." He slummed down even more. It was out, and now he only had to wait for his punishment.

"You are not bad, Harry. Maybe you did something bad but you are not bad. And now tell me exactly what you did so that we can find a solution for this problem."

"There is no solution. They will throw me out!" Harry tried to move again, but this time not to free himself but to lean into Alastor's chest and hide his face in it.

Alastor loosened his grip and allowed Harry to lean into him. "Severus and Ivy would never throw you out, Harry, whatever you have done. Maybe they will punish you, but they would never throw you out."

Harry whimpered at the mention of punishment, but he would take anything willingly if they would just forgive him and let him stay. His chances of that were less than zero, in his opinion.

"Punish, not beat, Harry." Alastor thought he would make sure Harry knew this even though he didn't have mentioned this fear. With his background it was easy to guess what went on in Harry's head. "And now tell me from the beginning what happened!"

In his current position it was easier for Harry to speak. He didn't have to face Alastor or the empty room. He could hide his face in Alastor's broad chest. The strong arms that encircled him made him feel safe. "I hit Draco."

"Go on," Alastor said calmly when Harry didn't make a sound to continue his tale.

Harry sighed heavily. "Draco came, and he said cruel things to me. I didn't want to hit him, but I couldn't stop myself. I just wanted him to stop saying all those bad things."

"What bad things, Harry?" Alastor asked, still in his calm voice. Feeling Harry's head rub against his chest while the boy frantically shook his head, Alastor added, "Just tell me, Harry. You will feel better after it."

Harry's words were muffled as he told Alastor everything Draco had said because he pressed his face in Alastor's robes, but Alastor could understand him nevertheless.

"He is just jealous, Harry." Alastor explained calmly, "Severus is his godfather, and now he has to share him with you. That's what made him say all those things. I don't want to excuse his words, but I want you to understand his reasons. You shouldn't let his words hurt you so much. Severus and Ivy love you, and they like to have you around. None of what Mr. Malfoy said is true. He just wanted to hurt you, and he was obviously successful. I think we should call Severus now and sort this out."

"No!" Harry screamed, and tried to jump off Alastor's lap.

The old Auror still had good reflexes, and so Harry was soon in the position he was in at the beginning of the conversation. "Harry, calm down! You have to speak with Severus. He has surely already found Mr. Malfoy, or the other way around. So he has only heard Mr. Malfoy's version of all this. Do you really want to let it stay like that?"

"Please, I can't speak with him. He will be mad with me," Harry said miserably.

"He will not be happy that you hit Mr. Malfoy, but he won't bite your head off. You can not run away from your problems. And you should definitely tell Severus your version. I'm sure Mr. Malfoy has left out some important parts."

"I don't know," Harry said desperately. He was glad when Alastor let his head go and loosened his grip on his torso.

Alastor took out his wand and locked the door. This made Harry groan in frustration. "Just a precaution, Harry." Alastor stood up and placed Harry back on the chair.

Harry slummed on the chair. He was scared about what would follow, and he wished the ground would just open up and swallow him. Too quickly for his liking, Alastor came back with Severus in tow. Harry didn't dare to look up. He could hear a chair being moved in front of his chair and Alastor saying, "I'll see you later."