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Draco would do anything for Harry.
Even the things he normally would rather hang himself from the Whomping Willow than do.
So when Harry kissed his cheek and invited him over to Gryffindor tower for a bit…
”We’re just gonna have a game night with my friends, and I really want you to come, Draco.”
…there was simply no way he’d say no.
He threw a quick glance towards the Whomping Willow’s angry branches from out the window. Nope, not today at least. He could hang himself later.
”Fine then, darling, I’ll be there,” he had grumbled. ”But don’t expect me to enjoy it. I assure you I will not.”
Apparently that was the right answer, as Harry’s face had split up in a huge grin and Draco couldn’t help the small smile creeping onto his face as well. You see, that’s the effect Harry had on him.
Friday was the day of despair.
At least that’s how Draco would describe it. A few excited Gryffindors would tell you that they had looked forward to their game night for a long time. Or whatever.
When Draco was met by a rather voluminous lady on the portrait before him, he was so unimpressed that he genuinely considered just going back to the Slytherin chambers instead.
But then the memory of a certain boy with round glasses and emerald eyes came to him, and he sighed.
”Password?” the Fat Lady on the portrait asked curtly.
”The fuck do I know?” Draco shrieked, frustrated with himself for not asking Harry—
”Correct. Come on in.”
Draco stared in disbelief as the portrait slid sideways and revealed the entrance. Gryffindor was undoubtedly the dumbest thing to have ever been invented.
He crept inside the hole behind the portrait and tried not to think about how dusty and dirty his robes would be after this. On the other side was the Gryffindor common room.
”Oof—”
Before Draco could realize what was even happening, Harry had already slung his arms around him, punching the air from his lungs. From the sudden weight pressed onto his chest, he recovered quickly and could return the hug. He rubbed Harry’s back up and down in the way he always did.
When Draco finally parted away from the other boy, it was not without a quick peck on his lips.
Draco let his eyes wander over the other people that were there too. In the other end of the room, were two boys lounging on the red velvet couch, one with a strangely pink complexion and unruly stripes of hair and the other one with darker skin and a smug expression on his face. The latter’s name was Dean, he thought. He couldn’t recall the name of his friend.
Sitting in a rocking chair with a book under her nose, Luna Lovegood and her unmistakable platinum hair in soft waves. The same shade as Draco’s hair, which naturally made him respect her ever since their first year, when he saw their similarity.
Granger sat on the floor in front of the fireplace, giving him a polite smile when their eyes met. That Weasley boy was apparently wholly unaware of a certain Slytherin’s presence. His eyes were glued onto Granger as where they sat together on the floor.
Ugh, Weasley never stopped being so painfully obvious, Draco thought to himself. Granger has to have noticed, right?
Granger is a bright witch… But in the end, she’s still a Gryffindor. Their lot is the most oblivious of us all, he concluded.
As they all gathered to start their evening, it was to Draco’s great horror that they all took a place on the floor. So very Gryffindor of them.
Though it did help that Harry sat glued to his side with his head on Draco’s shoulder as soon as they settled on the floor.
Apparently, the so-called ”games” were basically just different variants of Never Have I Ever and Truth or Dare.
”Malfoy!” the pink boy, whose name was apparently Seamus, called out. ”Your turn. Truth or Dare?”
Draco pursed his lips. He didn’t want to pick Truth… But there was no way in this world where he would submit himself to a Dare. He finally chose to opt for the least awful one, ”Truth.”
Seamus lit up as if he just came up with something extra evil to ask. Which wouldn’t surprise Draco in the slightest. ”Be completely honest, do you actually think that your house is better than the others?”
Dean kicked Seamus in the shin with a mumble about that being unnecessary.
Draco shrugged with a smirk. ”Well, yes I do.” He felt Harry giggle into his shoulder. ”Do you think Gryffindor is the best, Seamus?”
Seamus raised an eyebrow and smirked, grunted, ”Obviously.”
Draco continued. ”See? You’re no better than me.”
Seamus gaped at him while the others burst out in laughter. They all seemed to find it rather funny and Draco felt a little proud of himself.
After that, the night started to feel more and more bearable. Most of all, Draco enjoyed watching Harry be all soft and cozy. Ugh, when did he become this sappy?
When it was Harry’s turn in Truth or Dare, he picked Truth. He’d said the Dares always involved standing up and doing whatever, and he preferred to stay with Draco. Which shouldn’t have made Draco as warm and fluttery as it did, but alright…
”I know!” Dean quipped, ”As a kid, did you wet the bed? And if so, when did you stop?”
Harry opened his mouth and closed it again. Draco vaguely took note of Granger and Weasley exchanging an alarmed look at each other. Harry looked a little off, he thought. What’s going on?
After a few long seconds Harry, who had turned more than a little bit pale by then, finally said something. ”Yeah, it’s a little embarrassing but I did, yes.”
Harry was wearing an uneasy smile as he said it. Draco frantically searched Granger’s eyes for an explanation but she just chewed her lip anxiously. Even Weasley looked worried. It infuriated Draco, because they obviously knew something he didn’t.
Apparently it was just Draco and the other two that had noticed that something wasn’t right. The others were laughing and chatting with each other merrily. Harry continued, ”And about when I stopped, it’s so bad, I was… um, eleven.”
More laughter and chuckles were exchanged around the room. But something was so wrong. Draco couldn’t stand the sight of his Harry looking pale as a ghost.
Before he could think twice, he stood up and pulled Harry with him. He declared that they were going to get some fresh air. Before he left with his hand firmly holding Harry’s, he caught Weasley’s eyes and saw him nod with an approving little smile.
Harry followed Draco wordlessly, which was so unlike him. He led them off towards what he thought would be some sort of secluded area, but he really just took a wild guess. Fortunately, they ended up in what looked like the common room but a lot smaller. Even though the room was perfectly warm enough for Draco, he was aware that Harry preferred a warmer environment than he did. So he quickly pulled his wand from his pocket and ignited the fireplace.
When he turned to face Harry, he was met with glassy green eyes and an uncertain expression. He wanted to reach out, but what if Harry didn’t want that? What if that would just make everything much worse?
”Harry… Um, is it okay if I hold you?” he whispered cautiously.
Harry wasted no time and nodded sharply. Draco took one long stride towards Harry and wrapped his arms tightly around him. He pressed a light kiss to his forehead.
”Please tell me what’s going on, darling. I can tell something is wrong.”
Harry took a shaky breath. ”I think, um… Well Ron and ’Mione are just overreacting, obviously… Because they know about some things that happened at the Durs— my aunt and uncle’s place where I live.”
The thing was that pretty much everyone knew that Harry Potter lived with some muggle relatives. And there were rumors spread around, gossip and such. People liked to speculate.
Therefore, most students at Hogwarts knew to some degree that those muggles mistreated the boy in one way or another.
Naturally, Draco had heard about it already in his first year. He never did believe in most of the crazy shit going around. At first it was because people were always spreading the most insane rumors about Potter.
But then, around his second or third year, he realized that the reason he shrugged it all off as just a rumor, wasn’t just because he didn’t believe in gossip.
It was also because whenever he really thought about what had allegedly happened to Harry, he felt like throwing up. And then pass out. And then throw up again. He had to tell himself none of those things were true because he couldn’t fucking stand the possibility of Harry actually having lived through them.
After Harry suddenly knocked on his door in the middle of the night and asked if he could kiss Draco, he could soon see it clear as daylight.
Draco went to Granger to confirm what he suspected. The awful things he’d heard weren’t all exactly true. But most had at least something to do with a real instance. Some things were even worse than the rumors.
”I’m sorry, it’s a bit difficult to talk about. It’s just so awful…” Granger had said while wiping her eyes discreetly and he was grateful for that. She was the only Gryffindor other than Harry that he didn’t despise. Seeing the brightest witch of her generation crying would be too much to bear.
All this to say, it wasn’t like Draco had no idea how bad Harry’s upbringing was.
”Harry, my angel, please talk to me,” Draco pleaded.
A few beats went by. Draco started wondering if Harry had even heard him. Then he heard Harry mumbling something.
”What? I can’t hear you…” he whispered back.
Harry slowly inhaled through his nose, and then exhaled sharply, ”Hermione said she thinks that all of these things I always thought were kind of bad were actually fucked up bad. Like, um…”
Draco felt his heart squeeze painfully but forced himself to stay calm. He lifted his hand up to caress Harry’s cheek and gave him time to figure out how to put his words together.
”You remember when I told you that I had to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs?” Harry asked uncertainly. As if Draco could ever forget.
”Well. I— I guess I didn’t tell you the whole truth,” Harry said softly. ”I wasn’t allowed to leave the cupboard. Like, ever. Or wait, no, I could. Once every day I was allowed to go to the bathroom. Also, one extra time every Wednesday to shower, and uh—… Yeah.”
How could anyone be so cruel?
”So, um. That’s why I… yeah. You get the point.” Harry swallowed dryly.
Draco stroked his thumb over Harry’s cheek and jaw. Their eyes met, and Draco saw the terrified look in his eyes. He wondered if Harry had been wearing that same expression when he was just a little child. The thought made him sick.
”That’s awful, darling. Really fucking awful.” Draco rubbed his back up and down, as he always did.
Harry continued, ”They told me it wasn’t normal to have to go to the bathroom more than once a day. I was so convinced that I—” he closed his eyes briefly, ”—that I was disgusting and wrong. I wasn’t allowed to change… what’s the word? Oh, bedsheets, yes. I wasn’t allowed to get clean sheets and covers very often. Was told I might learn to hold it in if I— if I slept in my own mess. To like, teach me a lesson, I think. I know it’s gross, I wasn’t going to tell anyone at all, but now you know I guess.”
”They are gross. Not you, my love, not you,” Draco assured him. ”And Harry? I’m so happy you feel safe enough to tell me that. I’m lucky to have you.”
Harry’s eyes welled up again and a broken sob escaped his throat. Draco only held him closer, whispering, ”You can tell me anything. I hope you know that. And also, I love you.”
He hoped that his poor attempt at comforting Harry was at least acceptable. It seemed to work, as the sobs quieted down after some time.