Taken

Disclaimer: *sighs* No, I don\'t own. Don\'t sue.

Chapter 9:

Sweeping in grand Malfoy fashion through the halls of Hogwarts, Draco led the group of Slytherins to the common room. Blaise, Greg and Vincent had caught up with Draco and Chantel shortly after leaving the Great Hall, allowing for them all to walk together and chat amiably with each other. Once they reached their final destination, they all sat around the fire, getting comfortable before they started what they knew would be a very serious discussion. They wanted to make sure that they were all ready for what was to be said because they knew it wouldn\'t be pretty. And although they felt pity for the boy, they pushed this emotion away, knowing it would do no good and would only anger Draco. Everyone present knew that Draco had nearly become an abuse case as well, and having dealt with a father that was, he knew what types of emotions were acceptable when dealing with someone who had suffered abuse. He had made it quite clear to them all before when they had come across a fellow Slytherin who had been abused, but not to the extent that Harry had been.

Keeping her calm about her, Chantel smiled at the Slytherins present. "So, my towheaded companion, how is our little Slytherin?"

Cold, calculating steel gray eyes appraised her before softening at the thoughts of Harry. Sighing quietly, Draco recounted what had been told to him, leaving no details out. These were the students that seemed genuinely concerned for Harry; he thought they deserved to know everything. They could handle it.

Finishing his tale, Draco was not shocked to see the anger blazing in the eyes of those present. They all thought that the despicable muggles that Harry had to live with should pay. They felt worse for Harry though, considering that he would have to relive these memories over yet again for the trial. He was already reliving them now, it would only get worse for him. Of course, they also felt pity for Draco. They saw the subtle hints and clues that the blonde boy was falling for Harry, and they all knew that it would be a long hard road if they were to hook up. Although, they were pretty sure that a relationship with Draco was exactly what Harry needed right now. Draco would always be there for the boy. He would comfort him, hold him, tell him that he was loved, needed, and that it wasn\'t his fault. Draco would help Harry rebuild the emotional wall that had been broken inside of Harry\'s spirit.

\"Well, I personally feel that they should have their souls sucked. I don\'t care if they are muggles; what they did was irresponsible, irreversible, and wrong on so many levels. No one should ever be subjected to what Harry was subjected to, and it only makes it worse that this was his own family that did this. I mean, family is supposed to be about love and trust, not hate and betrayal.\" Seething in anger, Chantel started angrily pacing the room, a manic glint entering her eyes. \"Oh how I wish that the Ministry would just hand them over to us, or Voldemort. I\'m sure that even that man wants to get his hands on them.\" Finally settling down, Chantel took calming breahts before addressing those present again with a very different attitude.

Giving a wavering and watery smile to her companions around her, Chantel rose from her seat, moving towards Draco. "You are a true Slytherin, Draco. A true Slytherin. You stick by your friends and do what is necessary to protect them. I\'m glad that Harry has someone like you in his life." Giving the boy a pointed look to get her point across, Chantel gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Well then, I think I will head to the Infirmary myself to see Harry. After all, it isn\'t curfew yet, and I\'d like to see my young friend as well. Care to join me?" Turning to watch the other students, she watched as they rose to follow, smiling at them as she realized that Harry would have more than just Draco as a friend in Slytherin.


"Excellent idea, m\'dear! Lead the way." Standing and bowing in an over-exaggerated manner, Blaise followed Chantel from the room. Starting a friendly conversation with the seventh year Slytherin about classes, and asking her what NEWTS she would be taking this year.

Following the group, Draco lagged behind the rest by a significant distance, thinking on everything that had occurred. It appeared to him that even Vincent and Gregory were going to attempt to be on friendly terms with Harry. He really wished that Pansy would come to her senses, but it didn\'t seem to him that she ever would. Sighing, Draco continued his slow trudge, not truly intent to get there. What if he got there and Harry was in the throes of another nightmare? He didn\'t think that he could see or deal with any more of Harry\'s flashbacks today. If that girl hadn\'t done what she Dra Draco wouldn\'t have had to yet.

Incompetent nuisance. I am so glad that I am gay. And if I weren\'t, well, I think that Pansy\'s advances would have been enough to turn me gay. Damn, here she comes. Sneering in a definite Malfoy way, Draco continued to the Hospital Wing, picking up his slow trudge to a rather fast trot. Hopefully Pansy would realize where they were heading and decide that she didn\'t want to go there. Of course, since that is what he wanted, it didn\'t occur. She followed them into the wing.

****

Frowning at the lot that came in, Severus wred red what they were here for. Harry was asleep. They were wasting their time. His frown deepened when he noticed who brought up the rear of the entourage. And what is that girl doing here? Surely she hasn\'t had a change of heart. I\'ll have to watch her.

Pulling himself from his thoughts, Severus raised an eyebrow at the group, gesturing to it with a sweep of his hand when he started speaking. "Pray tell, what are you doing here? As you can clearly see, Mr. Potter is sleeping. I think it best...." Severus trailed off as he caugtirrtirring in the bed beside him. Turning to watch the slumbering boy, he was frustrated to see that they had interrupted his sleep.

"Sev?" came the groggy and sleep filled voice, only a minute amount of panic tingeing his childlike voice. Reaching tender, pale and frail arms out in a searching manner, Harry smiled as he felt the familiar feel of the Potions master\'s hand take one of his. Feeling the bed beside him dip deeply, Harry scooted himself into the man\'s lap, taking comfort in his presence. He could sense others in the room, but didn\'t let them bother him. He just wanted to be held.

"Did you sleep well, little one? We didn\'t disturb you, did we?" Looking anxiously down at the small boy on his lap, Severus tensed as he waited for his reply.

Giving a small chuckle, Harry scooted even closer to the older man, which was qui fee feet seeing as how there had appeared to be no space between them. "I slept fine, Sev. Thank you for asking. And no, you did not wake me." Grinning in the general direction of the others in the room, Harry began talking again. "Hullo. I\'m not sure who else is here at the moment, but I have a vague idea." Nodding his head, he said, "Chantel, Draco." Beaming at the two, a thoughtful look overcame the boy\'s face. "Um...and the rest...er...sorry, I\'m not sure."

Staring at the boy, Draco wondered how he knew that he and Chantel were in the room. They hadn\'t said anything and yet he knew. Shaking his head, he smiled softly at Severus before speaking to Harry. "Good evening, Harry. You are right, Chantel and I are here. We also brought Blaise, Greg and Vince."

"Hello then, Blaise, Greg, Vince." Smiling slightly again, Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Lo, Madame Pomfrey." Hearing a startled squawk from behind them, they turned and watched the medi-witch\'s face turn red.

"Hello, Mr. Potter. How are you feeling?"

"I\'m fine, thank you. Where is Snuffles?" Cocking his head to the side, Harry turned murky emerald eyes on the medi-witch, melting her heart a little more. He patiently waited for her to answer.

"Er...hehe. Letjustjust go get him for you, dear." Scuttling off the far side of the Infirmary, P unb unbound the dog and released the spells before scowling fiercely at the dog that scowled at her. "Well go on then, shoo!" Herding the dog forward, she watched as it gleefully bounded to the raven haired boy before frowning in disgust. That filthy dog is going to be on my clean sheets again. Cringing as she was proven correct, she left Harry with his friends. She really oughtn\'t, but couldn\'t bring herself to not allow it. They brought a smile to the boy\'s face, and that was something she treasured seeing.

****

Happily listening to the chatterings of his friends, Harry occasionally added in his own thoughts, but kept his participation to a minimum. Although he was accepted, he still felt like the outsider at the moment. He couldn\'t remember any of them. He didn\'t know if they used to be friends, or how they normally acted. He didn\'t have a clue as to some of the things they spoke of with such familiarity to one another. Sometimes they acted as though it were something that Harry should remember before the air around them took on a somber mood until it was broken up by a swift change of topic by Draco. At times like those, Harry contented himself to just listen, smiling softly at the group.

Whipping their heads around quickly when they heard a throat clear, they started admittedly protesting when their Head of House told them they were to return. "No arguments! It is late, and soon you will be breaking curfew if you stay." Shooing them from the room, Severus gently grabbed Draco\'s arm. "Stay behind, please, Mr. Malfoy."

Shooting reassuring smiles and glances at the others, Draco shook his head, hanging back in the wing as the others left. Following the older man back towards Harry\'s bed, Draco felt his heart beat pick up when he looked at the other boy. His face was flushed with pleasure, a soft pink stain falling across his pale, porcelain like complexion. His sightless green eyes were bright with happiness, and a soft smile was playing on his full rose colored lips. The tousled dark locks that the boy sported only added to the effect. Gulping, Draco thought that maybe Severus had been right, and that he did have feelings for the new Slytherin.

"I believe, Harry, that we have something important to discuss. Something dealing with your \'family\'." Severus sneered when he said family, a startlingly grotesque look of pure hatred over taking his face with the word. Draco was glad that Harry was not able to see; he feared that the look on the man\'s face would scar him further. "We must discuss the trial..."

"Trial? What trial?" Screwing his face up in confusion, Harry cringed when he realized what he had just done. "I\'m sorry for interrupting, Sev. Please, continue." Firmly closing his mouth, he waited to hear what the man had to say.

"Your interruption was quite all right, little one. No worries. Now, as I was saying," pausing, he cleared his throat to continue. "Your relatives will be held accountable for what they have done to you. But unfortunately, due to them being muggles, they are protected from the use of potions, magical devices or something such that will force the truth from them. Due to this unfortunate turn of events, you will have to be subjected to a spell that will project your memories for all to see. You also will relive this memories in your mind."

Harry\'s mouth dropped open when he heard what he said; he was unsure of how he was supposed to react to news like that. "Y-you can\'t be s-serious?!"

"Regrettably, I am. This is the way that it will have to be, but I will be here for you. As will Draco, right?" Turning his questioning obsidian eyes on the youth, he pleaded with him to say yes.

"Of course. I wouldn\'t dream of leaving you all alone, Harry." Stepping forward, Draco sat on the bed next to Harry. Slinging a companionable arm around his shoulder, Draco gave him a friendly squeeze, but was quite shocked when he flung himself into the blonde\'s lap, sobbing.

"I-I don\'t want to remember! I don-don\'t want to fa-face them! Or my m-memories!" Sobbing and hiccuping on the steel eyed boy, Harry clung desperately to him. "Please don\'t make me!"

Rubbing his hands soothingly along the boy\'s back, Draco murmured comforting reassurances, rocking him in his lap. "It\'s all right, love, we\'ll be there. We\'ll protect you. You will be fine. Sshh. It\'s okay." He continued this until the ragged breathing evened out, with only the sporadic hiccup breaking it. Tears no longer fell from the emerald orbs, an mor more whimpers left the boy. He had fallen asleep in Draco\'s lap.

TBC
Well there you go, a new chapter. Hopefully I will come out with more sooner, but for some reason I doubt it. *sighs* Tell me what you think. This got booted off ffn, so I am only able to really get feedback from you wonderful readers here on adultfanfiction, so spill!

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You should go look. Well, you don\'t have to. Hehe...I\'m just hyper.

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