Harry slowly trudged his way down the seemingly never-ending staircase, tripping up a few times as his feet didn’t seem to coincide with the rest of his body. As per the usual, he’d had another sleepless night, starting only a few hours after going to sleep. Thankfully, his father hadn’t put another charm on him indicating whether or not he was sleeping. Otherwise he’d have graced him with his presence forthwith.

When he finally reached the bottom of the staircase, he noticed a familiar voice coming from behind the closed dining room doors. Normally those doors remained opened. A few moments later he realized why as a great big dog came barreling out of the room followed by a shrill scream.

”Zane!” Harry momentarily forgot his wariness and dropped down to his knees as the Rottweiler jumped onto his chest, nearly knocking him to the floor. He hadn’t seen this particular dog since the end of school term. He’d missed him terribly.

“Harry,” spoke a soft voice. Looking up, Harry saw the bottom hem of a light purple dress. Dragging his head up the rest of the way he smiled gently at the woman who stood over him.

“Good morning, Deliverance,” he said, his face still showing the warm smile at the sight of his grandmother. She wasn’t really his grandmother, at least not by blood or in any other sense, but she cared about him and that was all that mattered to Harry.

The older woman leaned down and planted a firm kiss upon his forehead. Harry had to force himself not to flinch at the sudden contact and succeeded fairly well as Deliverance stood back up and smiled at him once more.

“You look exhausted, Harry. Did you not sleep well last night?” she asked, causing the hair on Harry’s neck to stand on end. How could she tell these things so easily when concerning him? He noticed Severus standing at the edge of the room looking at him curiously. This wouldn’t do at all. Now he’d have both of them on his back for all eternity, trying to see if he was okay and forcing him to bed early.

“I’m fine, just woke up too early,” he said as an excuse. “What’s for breakfast?” He hoped they would take the bait and allow the subject to be changed. Luckily, Deliverance seemed to think he needed food more desperately than sleep, for she was soon ushering him into the dining room and gently pushing him into the nearest chair.

“I made breakfast this morning, as you can certainly see,” she pointed to the wide variety of breakfast foods on the table, causing Harry to grin. She’d always been one to cook for an army instead of a two or three person meal. Not waiting for Harry to decide what he wanted, she proceeded to heap ample amounts of each type of food on his plate. “Eat up, sweetie,” she pulled his shirt collar down, getting a good look at his small frame. “You’re still entirely too thin,” she muttered to herself, not noticing when Harry yanked his shirt out of her hand and back in place.

“I’m not that hungry,” he thought to say, but neither adult listened to what he said.

“You need to eat, Harry. You haven’t eaten a well balanced meal in quite a while,” remarked Severus, sitting down beside him at the table. His plate was decidedly less full than his own, but Harry decided to keep his mouth shut on the matter. No use in complaining when they wouldn’t even hear him out.

“Why hasn’t he been eating well?” asked Deliverance, setting her fork down on the table and staring Severus down.

Severus rolled his eyes. “Stop looking at me as if I’m starving the child myself, woman.”

Deliverance raised a brow in a startling imitation of Severus’ own brow raise. Harry wondered if he hadn’t picked it up from her at some point or another. “Don’t you speak to me with that tone, Severus Snape. You’re lucky I haven’t smacked you again for your cheek.”

Harry perked up at this. It was quite an interesting moment back during the school year when he’d actually witnessed Deliverance smacking Severus Snape upside the head. He’d never forget that, despite the somber circumstances surrounding it. He could clearly remember the scene in his head after Severus has asked Sirius and Remus to take him away. He’d gone to Del, hoping and praying not to be rejected and had gained an ally. She had confronted his father and, when the man wouldn’t listen to reason, had smacked him. He couldn’t help the grin that graced his face at the memory of Snape’s shocked expression.

Severus glared at his cousin. Harry’s grin grew larger. “I’m eating,” he said, trying to stop the argument from escalating into a full-blown fight with the two cousins. They could go at this for the entire evening if he let them. When the two looked in his direction he popped a fork-full of French toast into his mouth, grinning all the while. “See?” he raised a hand to cover his mouth, still full of food.

“That’s quite lovely, Harry,” Deliverance snickered, grabbing Harry in an affectionate half-hug from her standing position. “I have missed you,” she said suddenly, her voice sounding suspiciously teary.

Harry hugged her back, not wanting an emotional scene, but fearing he might not be able to do anything about it. “I missed you too.”

A loud noise from the foyer beyond the closed doors sent all three to their feet. “What was that?” demanded Cella, appearing in the dining area with a sudden pop.

Severus nudged open the door with his foot, his wand raised. A chair that normally sat against the wall was lying on its side on the floor, while what appeared to be a porcelain figurine of some type lay broken beside it.

“That was my mother’s!” scathed Snape silently, noticing the broken figurine on the floor. He didn’t get a chance to open the door any further before it was sent crashing towards them and a loud bark pierced their ears. Severus ended up on the floor, along with Deliverance and Cella. Harry found himself knocked to the floor a moment later when Zane once again pounced on him and began licking his face.

“Zane!” he yelled, trying to push the dog off of him but to no avail. Looking up over the enormous dog, he could see his father getting to his feet with a very annoyed expression in his face.

Harry finally managed to force Zane up and off of him and gingerly got to his feet. “Sorry, dad,” he said sheepishly. Deliverance might have brought the dog home, but it was still his dog. He was responsible for it and knew he was in trouble just by the look he was receiving from Severus.

“Take that thing outside,” demanded Severus, earning a harsh nudge in the leg from the Rottweiler as they passed. Harry would almost swear Zane was glaring at the older man. Sometimes he wondered about this dog.

……………………………………..

The wind made Harry’s hair blow haphazardly around his face as he walked out the door and onto the back terrace. Zane was still where he’d last left him, wandering about aimlessly and chasing any animals that might make the mistake of entering their back yard. The Rottweiler trotted up to him for a moment and licked his hand before running back into the nearby trees to hopefully catch the rabbit he’d just spotted. Harry frowned, hoping the rabbit got away, but made no move to get up from his spot he’d just found in the gently blowing grass.

Lying back, he watched as the clouds passed above him, sometimes taking on extremely weird shapes, such as the peanut he was now witnessing. He swore it looked exactly like Mr. Peanut from the Planters peanuts commercials. Having closed his eyes, he didn’t notice the figure that was slowly making its way out to him, but when a shadow covered his small form, his eyes shot open and a gasp halted in his throat.

“Draco!” he exclaimed, sitting up and hurriedly getting to his feet. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry, I thought you heard me. How are you doing?” he asked, standing a little too close for Harry’s comfort.

“I’m fine,” he replied slowly. “How are you doing?” he thought to ask, wondering what was with all the stupid small talk.

Draco shrugged. “Fine. Are the…Weasley’s here?” he asked, clearly forcing himself to use their last names in a civilized tone rather than the hateful one he’d originally intended to use.

“No. I think Mrs. Weasley is making them do housework today. They probably won’t stop by again until tomorrow.”

“Ah, how nice,” remarked Malfoy. “Did you have any plans for today?” he asked, glancing towards the doors leading into the house. “I noticed Severus’ cousin is here.”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t think we have plans, but who knows with those two,” he indicated with his hand. “Why, did you want to hang around for a bit?” he asked, actually hoping that he would. He had the feeling Deliverance and his father would want some time to themselves to catch up and all that, and he wasn’t exactly looking forward to keeping himself company. His thoughts had been plagued with his nightmares lately and Draco could at least keep his mind off the awful thoughts with his incessant talking and whatever he would come up with this time to keep them busy.

“It’s not like I have anything else to do, or anywhere to go for that matter. I just didn’t want to intrude on you if you wanted some time to yourself,” he said casually. He still felt awful for hurting Harry the day before, and wanted to make it up to him in whatever way possible. “Why are you out here by yourself?” he finally asked, sitting down on the grass beside the other teen, albeit reluctantly.

“No reason, its just such a nice day outside, why not, you know? Besides, Zane’s out here and he looked kind of lonely at the time,” he added, pointing towards the trees where they could hear a distant bark.

“Lonely?” he asked.

“Well, that was before he saw the rabbit.”

Draco laughed. “Yes, I suppose not even your company can compare to a good hunt,” he paused for a moment. “I kind of thought your dog had gotten killed, you know, by Professor Dillard, but not Professor Dillard.”

Harry turned his head to get a better look at his friend. “Nah, he was just hurt, but Dillard didn’t bite him or anything. We were worried for a while, but he’s fine now,” he answered, remembering what David Dillard had looked like after getting turned into that thing, some kind of werewolf, presumably. The man had been bitten in the Forbidden Forest after kidnapping Harry. He shivered in remembrance of the man and all he had done to him.

“That’s good,” replied Draco, having noticed his friend shivering and decided to change the topic, but Harry beat him to the punch.

“How do you like your new room?” he suddenly asked, taking Malfoy by surprise.

“It’s not exactly new, you realize. I stay in it every time I visit with my godfather,” he said, sounding condescending, but not meaning to be.

“Sorry,” mumbled Harry, having realized this must be a difficult subject for Draco, considering the circumstances behind him staying here.

“No, it’s nothing. It’s just different, without my mother and father around to constantly pester me about school and our alliances. Mostly our alliances,” he stated, recalling all the fights he and his parents had been in, ones that had turned violent after he refused to side with them. He shuddered.

“Are you hungry?” asked Harry suddenly.

Draco knew the diversionary tactic for what it was and was grateful for it. “I could go for a snack.”

The two teens climbed from their seated position. Standing up too fast, Harry felt momentarily dizzy and nearly ended up back on the ground, but for Draco having grabbed his arms to steady him.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

Harry nodded, knowing there was more to his dizziness than just standing up too quickly. “Fine. I must have just lost my balance for a moment there.”

Draco nodded as well, but still kept close by him just in case.

Upon entering the Manor, Harry discovered the place was completely silent. “Dad?” he called out, but no reply was forthcoming. “Hmm…maybe they went out for a bit.”

Cella appeared before them then, holding one of the porcelain figures Zane had broken earlier. He noticed it now looked brand new and shining once more. “Master Snape and Madam Deliverance went into the village. If you want to later, Master Snape said you were both welcome to join them for dinner,” she explained before disappearing again without an answer.

“I’m not really in the mood to deal with the crowds down there, are you?” asked Harry, glancing at Malfoy.

“Not especially. I’d rather stay here than deal with those idiots. Besides, you’re all they talk about anyways. Every time I’ve gone into Diagon Alley I’ve heard at least ten people mention your name.”

Harry groaned. “You’re kidding!”

“You killed the most evil Dark Lord of our time, Harry. Of course I’m not kidding!”

“Oh, this is just perfect,” scathed Harry, wishing he’d been kept in the dark, but then feeling glad Draco had told him. It would have been quite the shock to enter the Village and be bombarded by questions about Voldemort.

“We’re having dinner in tonight, then?” asked Draco, heading towards the kitchen when Harry remained rooted to his spot in the foyer.

“Yeah,” whispered Harry, his mind on other things.

…………………………………….

Cella was nowhere to be found when they entered the kitchen. Harry knew she would be upset if she found out they’d made their own snack, but he wasn’t about to call her to them when she was obviously busy fixing the porcelain figures Zane had broken earlier in the morning.

“What do you want?” asked Draco, having already thrown open the cupboard door and was searching through it, occasionally throwing a few sweets out onto the counter behind him.

“Do you honestly plan to eat all of that?” asked Harry, eyeing the counter full of chocolate and candy. “You’ll definitely spoil your dinner,” he added, somehow channeling his father for a moment. He grinned sheepishly at the look Draco was giving him.

“I don’t plan on eating it all right this moment, you idiot, I plan on hiding the rest in my bedroom. It’s easier than coming down here every day when I need a sweet fix. Besides, Severus normally keeps this all behind lock and key when I’m around. I figure I’d better grab some while I still can, otherwise I’ll be stuck eating nutritious crap for the rest of the holiday,” he said, still rummaging through the cupboard.

Harry couldn’t help but laugh at the image of Draco sitting up late on his bed, eating all his candy secretly behind closed doors. “He’ll let you have some after dinners are over, you realize?”

Draco shrugged. “You never know when you’ll crave something sweet, or salty for that matter,” he muttered, throwing a bag of chips onto the counter as well. “Always better to have some on hand.”

“Whatever,” replied Harry, going over to the cold box to find something more suited to his tastes. Suddenly craving ice cream, he pulled out a container and placed it on the counter beside Draco’s stash. He normally didn’t like ice cream, but suddenly he wanted some. He looked up when he felt Draco standing beside him.

“Here,” stated Draco, handing him a bowl and spoon.

“Thanks, Dray,” he said quickly, taking the utensils out of his hands and placing them beside the container. “Would you like some?” he asked.

“No thanks, I’m good,” he said, standing still for a moment as he pondered Harry’s words. “Did you just call me Dray?”

Harry grinned. “Yes.”

“Oh,” he shrugged. “So long as you don’t refer to me as Drake, I’ll allow it.”

“Deal.”

……………………………………………

Later than evening, Harry sat on the sofa in the sitting room. Draco seemed intent on keeping by his side no matter where he went or what he did.

The room had grown chilled and he went to start a fire in the fireplace, but Draco, having noticed as well, quickly flicked his wand towards the fireplace and a few steady flames leaped into life. Harry sighed and retook his seat on the sofa, having felt a tinge of dizziness just the same. It was probably better that he not stand up only to fall back into his seat.

“I was going to do that, you know?” he said, more a statement than a question.

“I thought you were going to do it manually,” he offered, shrugging. “So I started it myself. Besides, you should probably stay seated, don’t you think? You seem awfully unbalanced today.”

Harry groaned, he’d thought he’d hidden it so well. “I’m just tired,” he answered honestly and unthinkingly. He would have cursed his stupidity if he’d had the energy, but he simply didn’t.

“It’s only eight o’clock,” he said, glancing at his watch to check. “But, maybe you should turn in early if you’re that tired?”

Harry shook his head. “No, I’ll wake up in the middle of the night if I go to sleep now,” he said, not telling the real reason for avoiding his bed.

“Suit yourself. Do you want to play Wizard’s Chess?” he asked.

“Sure, why not?” he told the blonde teen. Anything to keep him awake and his mind occupied on other things was just fine with him. “I’ll go get the board from the library,” he said and stood up.

“No, I’ll get it, you sit here,” started Draco.

“Hey, I’m capable of getting it myself, thank you very much. What’s with you today? You’ve been hovering over me like a mother hen all day!” exclaimed Harry, finally having the courage to ask his friend what was going on.

“I’m not mothering you, Harry!” he yelled, looking aghast at the mere word. “I’m just trying to be helpful!”

“Well, I don’t need you to. I can do it myself. I don’t need your help,” he said quickly. It just felt weird having Draco do everything for him. No one did it for him before and he wasn’t going to let him now.

“Sometimes you do,” answered Draco quietly. “Just sit down, Harry,” he stated when the raven-haired teen teetered on his feet.

Harry shook his head at which point Draco had had enough. Stomping over to the boy, he grabbed his shoulders and pushed him down into the chair, guiding him so the Gryffindor didn’t hurt himself. Harry jerked away from the touch.

“Harry?” asked Draco, watching concernedly.

“Fine, go get the damn Chess set,” he said hotly, refusing to meet his friends eyes.

Malfoy sighed angrily. “Fine, I will,” he stormed out of the room, not meeting Harry’s eyes.

The smaller teen groaned, this time at his own idiocy, and got up to follow after his friend. Draco didn’t deserve to be yelled at just because Harry was exhausted beyond all reason and being plagued with disconcerting nightmares.

“Draco!” he called, taking three steps before the world tilted and he found himself sitting dazedly on the floor. “This is so pathetic,” he muttered to himself, grabbing onto a nearby table and attempting to pull himself from the floor. After three unsuccessful attempts, he gave up and slumped back onto the floor, staring up at the ceiling. This was entirely too embarrassing for words.

“Harry!” exclaimed Draco. Harry heard rushing footsteps before the blonde teen was standing over his fallen form, looking extremely worried. “Are you all right?” he asked, taking Harry by the arms and helping him to sit up.

“Yeah, just got a little dizzy.”

Malfoy sighed. “I told you to rest!”

“Yes, I realize that.”

“Well, if you’d listen to me!” Draco was aghast and a little annoyed all at the same time. Didn’t Harry know when to listen to reason?

Harry shifted uncomfortably on the floor. “Help me to the couch?” he asked, and grabbed Malfoy’s outstretched hands. He had to lean more heavily on his friend than he would have liked, but eventually found himself sitting back on the comfortable sofa. He glanced up and took in Draco’s concerned visage. “I’m fine,” he muttered softly.

“Sure you are. You’ve just been on the verge of falling over all bloody day long!” he said suddenly. “What’s wrong with you? It’s not…not because of you hitting your head, is it?” he asked, looking utterly horrified at the prospect.

“No, Draco, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

Harry grimaced, having not wanting to get into this particular conversation. “I’ve just not been sleeping well lately,” he tried to explain and not give up too much information.

“Well, that’s obvious, Harry. You’ve looked like hell every time I come over.”

“Gee, thanks, Draco,” responded Harry, downcast.

“Sorry, Harry. It’s just, you don’t look good, and you haven’t for a while. Especially in the past week or so. Are you sure it’s just due to lack of sleep? What about those headaches? Those look…painful,” he stuttered, not knowing how else to describe them. It had been a horrifying experience, watching as Harry collapsed and screamed because of a headache.

“I suppose those play a factor for my appearance, too,” he said quickly, gladly letting the blonde believe that was the reason he looked like such a disaster lately.

“Severus will be back soon, maybe you should just take a Dreamless Sleep potion and turn in early, this way you’ll sleep all night without having to wake up in the middle of the night.”

Harry shrugged his shoulders uncertainly. “I’m not sure if I can, what with the pain reliever still in my system,” he said quietly. He’d had to take another dose of the potion this morning, as he still hadn’t been completely recovered from the remnants of his headache.

“Just the same, you should still turn in early. Does Severus know how lightheaded you get?” he asked, sitting beside Harry on the couch now.

Harry shook his head. “No, this is the first day it’s happened, really. Right after I destroyed Voldemort, I would get really woozy like this, but that’s not the case now. Just sheer exhaustion, I think.”

“Are you going to tell him?” asked Draco, truly curious if Harry would trust his father and tell him the truth. Harry had been known to keep some things to himself, especially lately.

“Yeah, I’ll tell him. I don’t want him fussing all over me like you’ve been doing today,” he mentioned, giving Malfoy a slight glare, but smiled afterwards, letting the teen know he wasn’t really upset with him. “But, I might not be able to help that.”

“No, probably not. When will they be back?” asked the Slytherin.

Harry shrugged. “Not sure.”

As if summoned by the mere mention on them, Severus and Deliverance walked into the sitting room and saw the two boys sitting on the sofa.

“Hello, Harry,” started Deliverance before she glanced at the other boy with him. “What’s your name again?”

“Draco, ma’am, Draco Malfoy.”

“Ah, yes, pleased to see you, child,” she said softly, knowing the two teens had had issues in the past but were now friends. Severus had also told her of the turn of events in the Malfoy boy’s family. To have your mother abandon you, just like that. How horrible.

“You as well, ma’am,” he replied, turning his gaze to Harry and smiled when he saw the raven-haired teen nearly asleep against the armrest. He saw Severus approach and lightly touch Harry’s arm.

“Harry?” he whispered, placing his hand gently against his son’s cheek.

Harry’s eyes snapped open and he was instantly upright. Severus sighed. “Come, let’s get you in bed,” he said softly, helping the boy to his feet.

But the Gryffindor shook his head and pulled his arm out of his father’s grasp. “No, I’m not tired yet, dad.”

Severus sighed once more. “You were just nearly asleep, Harry.”

Draco placed his hand on Harry’s arm then. “Weren’t you going to tell him something?” he asked, indicating the man who was towering over them both.

Harry glowered at his friend before turning to face his father. “I kept getting dizzy today,” he said calmly. “It wasn’t anything too bad, just a little wooziness.”

“Nothing too bad?” asked Draco, incredulous. “I found you laid out on the floor earlier. That’s what I distinctly refer to as bad.”

Turning to Malfoy, the green-eyed teen nearly spat. “Would you please keep your ideas to yourself! I told you I didn’t need your help and that goes for this as well! Just mind your own damn business!”

“Harry!” exclaimed Deliverance, reaching out and grabbing Harry’s arm. “There’s no reason to talk to him like that. He’s just trying to be your friend,” she explained, but was surprised when Harry instantly shook off her hold.

“Don’t touch me,” he said, not liking the touch, but still glaring at all three of them. He quickly left the room and rushed up the stairs for his room. He heard someone’s footsteps following him but ignored them. For once since he’d started living here, he wished he still had a door, if only to keep others out of the room, rather than him inside of it.

“Harry!” called a voice. Harry ignored his father and stormed into his bedroom. He wasn’t sure why he was so angry, and had a feeling he wouldn’t be so cranky if he wasn’t so tired, but was in no condition to consider the implications any further as a shadow suddenly stood over him. He tensed in anticipation, of what he didn’t know. It was a reflex that he wasn’t sure of the origin of.

“What?” he asked plaintively, irritated at himself for wanting to shy away from the man. What was wrong with him?

“What’s gotten into you? Are you feeling all right?” asked Severus, placing a calming hand on his son’s shoulders. They were tensed and he could feel the apprehension rolling off the teen in waves. “Harry?” he asked, suddenly worried.

Once more, Harry pulled away from his father and turned to face him. “What?” he asked again.

Severus sighed, seeing from the blank expression on his son’s face that he had shuttered himself from them. He gently cupped Harry’s face, startling the boy for an instant, but he allowed the touch this time. “You’ve been lightheaded?” he asked.

Harry nodded. “It’s not as bad now,” answered Harry, avoiding his father’s gaze.

“I’ll supply you with a potion just the same. Are you certain you are all right?” he tried to ask once more.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he answered, his voice as deadened as the look on his face.

His son needed sleep, if only he could have it without being plagued by horrifying nightmares. He sighed, wishing Harry could just have some peace for once. “I’ll get the potion and a calming potion as well. I believe it will be safe for you to take,” he said slowly, leaving the room only to return a few minutes later with both potions in hand. “Here, take this one first,” he stated, handing him one of the vials. Harry assumed it was to help with his dizziness, as the other one was obviously to calm his nerves.

Severus stayed in the room as Harry went about getting ready for bed. He disappeared into the bathroom to change into his pajamas before reemerging and climbing into his bed. Snape handed him the other vial and Harry downed it as quickly as he could. Neither potion had tasted incredibly good, they never did. Harry rolled onto his side, facing his father, his eyes already drooping from the potion as well as his own exhaustion.

“Sleep well my son,” whispered Severus, one hand brushing the stray locks of hair out of his child’s face while the other rubbed his back comfortingly. Harry was too far-gone to protest, thankfully, otherwise he didn’t think the teen would be allowing the contact. As Harry slipped completely into sleep, Severus tucked the covers nearly up to his chin before lightly kissing the boy on his forehead. It was becoming almost a nightly ritual now, the light kiss, before he could even leave the room.

Severus stood by the doorway and watched for a few more moments before finally leaving the room. He wanted to speak with Draco about the dizziness he’d witnessed Harry experiencing. And it would be nice to spend a few extra moments alone with his godson. He knew Draco needed some of his time, especially considering what happened with his mother. He sighed, standing in the hallway outside of the sitting room. He could hear Deliverance speaking with the boy but couldn’t make out what they were saying. He was suddenly grateful the woman had arrived when she did. He was going to need all the help he could get.

…………………………………..

“Did Harry go to sleep?” asked Draco as soon as Severus had stepped into the room.

“Yes, but only after a dose of a calming draught,” he muttered to himself.

“He told me he’d been having trouble sleeping,” nodded Malfoy, seemingly thinking to himself of the day’s events. Harry was truly beginning to worry him. He was becoming his one and only friend, his best friend, and he didn’t want anything happening to him. The dizzy spells from earlier in the day were a big concern weighing on his mind.

“He told you?” asked Severus, a little surprised. Harry had barely told him, and that was only after a lot of persuasion on his part.

“Well, why wouldn’t he? It was fairly obvious, he looks like the embodiment of hell.”

“Yes well, he’s been very closed mouthed about it with myself and his godfather. Even Lupin couldn’t get answers out of him for a while. I was just a bit surprised he confided in you so soon after you’d arrived,” he explained, eternally grateful that Harry could talk to someone, even if it wasn’t him. “How are you doing?” he asked, taking a seat beside his godson and changing the subject.

“Oh, fine,” he said quietly. “Have you heard anything about my mother?” he asked, knowing the man had been looking for her, along with some other Order members.

“No, I’m sorry, Draco. There’s been no trace of her so far.”

Draco nodded, having expected that. “She’s probably out of the country by now, considering where her loyalties lie. And with father in Azkaban, she’ll want to get as far away from the negative publicity as possible. And take all the money she can with her, but if father ever gets out of prison, she’ll come back,” he said, speaking quietly and more to himself than the two others in the room. His mother was cold-hearted and vicious, he’d known this for a long time, but had hoped something in her would change. Oh well, he thought, better not to dwell on things that wouldn’t change.

“Do you think-“ he stilled, not wanting to think about his mother any longer, but the thoughts were still there.

“Draco?” asked Deliverance, having debated with herself on whether or not she should stay. In the short time she’d spent with the blonde teen, she’d discovered he wasn’t as hard-core as he wanted everyone to believe, and he was beginning to show his true self as well.

“It’s nothing,” decided Draco. “It just would have been nice to have parents who actually gave a damn,” he muttered.

Severus sighed, also wishing that the Malfoys had cared for their son. He couldn’t believe he’d spent all of Draco’s life believing the front they’d put on for the public. It had all been a lie, a carefully constructed lie that no one had seemed to notice. Not until now, at least.

“I think I’m going to go turn in,” said Draco, standing up stiffly from the couch. “I’m really tired.”

Severus and Deliverance each nodded in turn, having been getting tired themselves. “Goodnight then, Draco,” he said, enveloping the teen in a quick hug before he swept out the door.

…………………………………

Draco had gotten ready for bed and was finishing brushing his teeth in the bathroom down the hall when he heard a faint sound coming from across the corridor. Quickly spitting out the toothpaste and rinsing his mouth, Draco stuck his head out the door and listened intently. Severus had long since gone to bed, and Deliverance was housed in the first floor guest room, so it couldn’t be either of them. Slipping further into the hallway, Malfoy slowly made his way across the floor, grateful for the elaborate rugs decorating the expanse of the hallway, as the stones beneath them were incredibly cold at this time of night.

Another light noise drew him to the door-less room just a few feet from the bathroom and Draco quickly made his way to it, having assumed now what the noise was.

“Harry?” he called gently as he stole into the darkened room.

The only answer was a quiet whimper and a shuffle of covers. Moving closer to the bed, Malfoy got a good look at his friend and rushed determinedly to his side.

“Harry, wake up, come on!” he exclaimed quietly, not wanting to wake up anyone else in the house. Gently taking Harry’s shoulders, he shook the teen, hoping for a response.

He got one, but not the one he’d been expecting. Almost as soon as he had laid his hands on the boy, Harry jerked away from him, nearly falling from the bed.

“Harry!” he whispered softly, and grabbed him around the waist to prevent the fall to the floor. He realized as soon as he’d done it that it hadn’t been a good idea, as his friend’s fist slammed into his stomach. He dropped Harry, and fell to his knees, gasping for the breath that had been knocked from him.

The raven-haired Gryffindor slowly came to his senses after falling to the floor. Seeing Draco gasping in front of him, Harry quickly scooted over to help his friend.

“Are you okay?” he asked, knowing now that he was fully awake that he’d hit Draco, not his Uncle. “I’m so sorry, Dray,” he whispered, trying to pull his shirt up to get a better look. He hadn’t thought he’d hit him that hard, but maybe he had.

Draco swatted his hands away. “Don’t worry about it, Harry. You just knocked the wind out of me, is all. I’m all right,” he said, smiling at his friend to show he was telling the truth. “Remind me to never get on your bad side,” he said jokingly.

Harry shrugged, still upset at himself for hitting his friend, but Draco didn’t seem upset at all.

“I guess now we’re even, then?”

The green-eyed boy watched him confusedly. “What are you talking about?”

“I pushed you, you punched me, viola, we’re even. Now, you’ve just got to smack Weasley upside the head,” he stated seriously, one finger braced on his chin, looking contemplative.

Harry couldn’t help but laugh at the image that crossed his mind at the thought. Hmm…that could be fun. “I am sorry, though, that I hit you,” he said, plaintively.

Draco shrugged. “Don’t worry about it, you didn’t hurt me. Surprised me more than anything, really, I hadn’t expected you to do that,” he sat watching Harry for a moment before plunging in. “Who did you think I was, Harry, that you felt you needed to defend yourself?”

The smaller of the two teens would have cursed if he’d had the energy. Instead, he sighed and lowered himself carefully back onto the bed. “It was nothing, Draco, really.”

Malfoy wasn’t buying it. “Have these nightmares been the cause of your sleeping problems?” he asked instead, hoping to at least get some kind of answer out of his friend.

Harry frowned. “It was nothing, Dray, just let it drop.”

“How can I, when your automatic reaction to my hands on your person is to lash out? Something is wrong, Harry, please, just tell me what it is?” he tried to persuade the boy, but Harry seemed to clam up even more.

“I was just having a regular bad dream, but I can’t remember what it was about. Maybe someone was attacking me in my dream and I just instinctively struck out when you touched me,” he said, trying to come up with any explanation that would get Draco off his case.

“You don’t remember the dream at all?” asked Draco.

Harry shook his head. “It must not have been that memorable if I can’t remember it. I’m sorry if I woke you up,” he thought to add, wondering what his friend was doing up. Glancing at the clock, he realized it wasn’t much later from the time when he went to bed.

“It’s no problem, I wasn’t asleep, just brushing my teeth.”

“Oh, okay,” answered Harry, his thoughts beginning to wander to the nightmare that he in fact could remember. He shuddered as the thoughts went through his head, the same nightmare he’d been having, but it seemed so real. But it couldn’t be.

A light touch on his shoulder jarred him from his thoughts and he had to literally struggle not to flinch away from it. Harry nearly yelled in frustration. Why was he doing this? It was just Draco for crying out loud. He knew the Slytherin wouldn’t hurt him! This was absolutely ridiculous! He glanced up and saw Draco watching him and schooled his features into looking less confused and more attentive.

“Sorry, spaced out there for a second,” he said, grinning at the look on Draco’s face.

“Spaced out? What the hell is that?”

“Nothing, just a Muggle saying,” explained Harry.

Draco cringed. “Well, don’t say it anymore. It just sounds stupid, probably due to where it comes from”

“Hey!”

“What?” asked Draco, looking innocent and failing miserably.

“I grew up with Muggles!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah, and they were evil little bastards too, weren’t they?”

Harry couldn’t deny that. “Well, they weren’t little. They were actually quite fat…except for one,” he said, grinning.

Malfoy scrunched up his face, having seen the fat Muggle once before. “Well, I’m ready to hit the hay,” he said nonchalantly, having seen Harry stifle a yawn.

“We could talk some more, if you want?” asked Harry, not really wanting to go to sleep, even though he was beyond exhausted.

Draco could see Harry wanted him to stay, but knew his friend wouldn’t get any rest if he did. “Do you think you’re going to have another nightmare?” he asked in concern, wondering if that wasn’t the reason Harry wanted him to stay.

“Oh, no. I just didn’t want you to leave if you were only leaving on my account,” he hastily said. “I can understand if you’re tired, though.”

Malfoy nodded. “A little bit. If you want me to stay, I will though,” he added.

Harry was quick to deny it now, not wanting Malfoy to think he was too scared to go to sleep or something. “No, it’s okay. I’m feeling a little tired myself, actually. Thanks for offering, though.”

“Sure,” replied his friend, standing up from his spot on the bed. “Sleep tight, Har,” he said.

Harry smiled. “Did you just call me Har?”

“Hey, if you’re calling me Dray, the least you can expect is a nickname of your own!” he said, smiling as well.

“Fine, so long as it’s not Harold!” he said, remembering Draco’s condition of not calling him Drake.

“Who would call you Harold?” asked Malfoy, looking appalled.

Harry laughed. “My sentiments exactly!”