Lost Boy- A Drarry Fanfic

Chapter 2- Calming Presence

Darco Malfoy was one of the few students who had returned to Hogwarts to finish his education. Unlike his father, Lucius Malfoy, Darco was not sent to Azkaban as his innocence was proven during his trial at the Ministry of Magic. It soon came to light to others that he did not have any other choice but to join the dark lord for the safety of his mother and himself. This not only gave Darco the chance to be free but also the chance to return to Hogwarts for his 8th year, something which he was forever grateful for. However, his mother, Narcissa Malfoy, was not as lucky as him. While she was not sentenced to Azkaban, she was placed under house arrest for 5 years and was not allowed to use magic until her punishment was finished.

Draco's heart ached as he thought of his mother being alone at the Manor but he reminded himself that his mother could have received a much worse punishment similar to his father who was imprisoned in Azkaban for the rest of his life. This was of course all thanks to the boy who lived, Harry Potter. Not only had the boy gone out of his way to save his life in the fire at the room of requirement but he also defended Darco and his mother during their trials stating how he would not be alive if it weren't for both of them. The thought of ending up in Azkaban terrified Draco so once again he owed his life to Harry.

The dark mark on his left arm was a constant reminder of his past mistakes and these remainders had changed Draco in ways people never expected. During the 6 months before returning to Hogwarts, Darco was stuck in the Manor other than the few visits he made to his best friend's houses as he didn't to leave his mother alone even though his mother insisted he didn't have to. This had given the boy a chance to dwell on his past behavior and how he viewed things.

Draco's behavior was not the only thing that changed during those 6 months, his looks did as well. As there were not many enjoyable things to do around the Manor, Draco took a liking to go for runs and exercising frequently making the boy more muscular and taller than he used to be. He also grew his hair out and stopped gelling it back like he used to causing it to fall on his forehead elegantly.

Coming back to Hogwarts had not been the easiest task for Draco. Even though he was cleared of chargers from the ministry, the people around him only saw him for whom the dark mark made him. According to others, he was still the same stuck-up prejudiced death eater who deserved to be locked up in Azkaban along with his father. Whispers and stares followed him as he walked in the hallways but along with help from his two best friends, Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson, he was able to enjoy his time at Hogwarts for the first time in years of studying there.

After the war, the hatred towards the Slytherin house increased immensely, as it was believed that any witch or wizard in Slytherin would turn dark, even though almost all of them were not a part of the dark side during the battle. Seeing that after the battle almost all students in Slytherin were picked on by other houses, Draco took it upon himself to help all the students in Slytherin to be proud of the house they were in and made them feel at home, something he never experienced growing up. This made others, including the teachers, see that Draco had changed for the good and slowly the hatred towards the house and Draco decreased.

It was now 1 am and the blonde was slowly making his way towards the Black Lake. He had just finished up all his assignments and thought it would be a good idea to get some fresh air before he crashed for the night. As Darco came closer to the Black Lake, he saw a figure standing at the edge of the water. He soon realized that it was none other than Harry Potter standing before him.

"What is Potter doing here at this time? It's bloody freezing outside!" Draco thought to himself as he slowly approached the smaller boy.

Draco had not seen the other boy after his trial at the ministry that took place 6 months ago and this made him frown. Now that he thought about it, Draco had not seen Harry since the school year had started and it's almost been a month since it had. He hasn't seen him in the great hall once during any of the mealtimes or even in class where he sits in a corner with his head down and seemingly disappears as soon as class is over. How had Draco noticed this before?

"Potter?" Draco said cautiously trying and failing to keep the concern that crept into his mind. Draco noticed the boy stiffen at the sudden noise and mentally cursed himself for scaring him.

Harry slowly turned around to face Draco and stared into his eyes in shock seemingly lost for words. Draco took this opportunity to observe the timid boy in front of him. His body looked scrawny and weak making Draco wonder when the boy had last eaten something. His eyes had huge dark circles under them. Draco assumed that Harry had used a glamour charm to hide as it was not noticeable unless looked close enough. Draco felt something inside him break as Harry continued looking up at him. His green eyes which used to be filled with joy and mischief were now blank and withdrawn. Harry absentmindedly started picking on the skin around his nail. This was something Harry did whenever his anxiety became too much to handle. Sometimes he found himself doing it so hard that his fingers would start to bleed which is exactly what he was doing currently.

Draco seemed to notice what the smaller boy was doing and tentatively grabbed Harry's hand in his own. This made Harry snap out of his daze and back to reality. A flicker of panic flashed through Harry's eyes and he instinctively tried to pull his hand away from Draco trying to get away from him.

"Hey hey, it's okay... I'm not gonna hurt you Potter." Draco spoke with a soft voice as he continued holding onto his hand, trying not to scare the boy even more. Draco gently started creasing the back of Harry's hand as he pulled Harry closer to himself. Harry let out a shaky breath as he closed his eyes. He wasn't sure if it was the way Draco's thumb was softy rubbing against the back of his hand or the warmth radiating from the taller boy's body due to their close proximity but Harry found himself calming down. All his depressing thoughts slowly faded into the back of his mind as he concentrated on the feeling of Draco holding his hand and the soft breaths of the taller boy.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm always open to comments about my writings or any suggestions about the plot so feel free to leave a comment :)

I hope you have a wonderful day/night <3

~Lily