𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐒𝐎 𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐒

Chapter 2

Chapter Number/Total: 2/44
Chapter Title: What People Think

Harry was cautious around Draco for the rest of the day. The disaster of the almost-sex had been, well, a disaster. And Draco had scared him with his reaction to those official letters they'd received. They hadn't even mentioned them again, but Harry thought of them now as he slipped into pyjamas. They couldn't just ignore them, he knew that, but he didn't want to upset Draco. He frowned, laying his glasses on the bedside table before climbing in between the sheets, thinking.

Draco changed in the bathroom, pulling on the silk pyjamas his mother had given him for Christmas. They didn't chafe against his still-sensitive scars the way other fabrics did. When he came back to the bedroom, he stood in the doorway for a minute as he watched Harry get into bed.

Harry looked over at Draco's slight blurry figure and managed to give him a small smile.

Draco made his way into the room and to his side of the bed, climbing in and under the covers. He turned to face Harry. "I love you," he said softly.

"I know you do," Harry replied quietly, turning his body. "I love you, too." He would've reached out and touched Draco's face, probably kissed him, but he only lay still.

Draco sighed. "What is it?" he asked in a resigned tone.

Harry frowned, and then hesitantly brought an arm around Draco, pulling him closer. "Baby," he whispered, hoping it might calm him. He kissed Draco's ear. "We need to ... talk about ... those letters."

Draco sighed at the touch and wrapped his arm around Harry, too. But when Harry mentioned the letters, he tensed again.

Harry stroked Draco's hair, his own heart speeding up with the fear of Draco getting scared and running off again. "I ... I know you don't want to go .... Maybe I can do something so that you don't have to do it," he tried.

Draco buried his face against Harry's chest. "I can't," he mumbled.

"I don't want you to have to," Harry told him, still stroking his hair.

"What ... what they did ... I can't say it ... not in public," he whispered.

Harry winced. Most of the public already knew the terribly ...wrong... version thanks to Rita Skeeter, but he didn't say so. "I know, Draco," he said instead, feeling his heart clench as he thought about what had happened that night.

"They already had life sentences," Draco continued. "Why does he need a trial?"

"I don't know how any of that works," Harry said truthfully. "I don't know what they're doing this for.
Maybe I could go down and see if they'll take just me."

Draco lifted his face, looking up at him. "But then everyone will know," he whispered.

Harry's heart clenched again. What was the right thing to do? Continue to let Draco think it hadn't got out, or tell him? "Baby ..." he whispered.

"Don't tell them," Draco insisted.

Harry gritted his teeth and squeezed Draco tightly. "I would never tell," he said, closing his eyes.

"Good," Draco said and settled back down with his head against Harry's shoulder.

Harry continued to lie there, feeling tremendously guilty for not saying anything, but he couldn't – couldn't willingly put Draco through knowing about that article. Perhaps he would never have to find out.

***

It was the first time that Harry had actually made Kreacher clean. He wanted the house spotless before Draco's mother arrived, not wanting her to have any sort of excuse to persuade Draco to leave. She'd sent an owl the previous day to let them know she was coming. It had said it was for a visit, but Harry knew she was only coming to check on Draco. He figured Draco probably knew that as well. So the two of them stood waiting quietly for her at the door, as she'd said she would be arriving around five. Harry knew she had to have seen that article. He only hoped she wouldn't say anything about it.