Changes

Chapter 8

When he woke up, he was in the arms of someone else. He knew from experience that it wasn't Severus that was holding him-he wasn't as toned as this person was. And he was certainly taller than this other person because his arms were longer.

He opened his eyes only to find himself staring straight at Draco Malfoy.

The sight scared him so much that he started to cry. He couldn't handle being around someone like him because he knew that this fragile friendship could end up breaking his heart. At least with Severus he knew that the older man would never go out to find another to be with and would, therefore, never leave Harry. Draco, however, could leave him. Anytime he wanted, in fact. And that scared Harry more than he thought could ever happen.

Hence, the crying.

He expected Draco to leave him then, but he didn't. Instead he felt his arms wrap around him tighter. They held him to his chest, something Harry wasn't too sure what to think of. His body relaxed, but his mind was supplying a stream of unpleasant memories, all of which made him cry even harder. He didn't know what to think anymore.

Eventually the tears subsided and he heard a gentle humming filling the air around him. His hand involuntarily clutched at the shirt Draco wore, a sign that he wasn't going to start crying again but he didn't want to speak first.

"Everything will be alright. I didn't mean to scare you like that." The admission confused Harry more than his internal battle he had with himself earlier did.

"You didn't scare me..."

"Yes I did. You knew I wasn't Severus and you didn't know what to think, so I scared you. I'm sorry, I should've said something so you wouldn't have gotten upset. I don't like upsetting you, you know." Harry's face wrinkled in confusion. "Even when we were kids. I never liked hurting you. I just didn't know how else to get you to pay attention to me. And then when I figured out I was going about it all wrong, I thought that you and your friends would never believe me because of the way that I had treated you in years past. So in my mind, I was forced to continue to hate you for you to keep talking to me. Even if it was shouting in my face like you did."

Harry, still in Draco's arms, simply laid there to contemplate what had been told to him. After what seemed like forever, Harry finally found something worth saying along with the voice to say it with.

"I forgave you a long time ago for everything that you did. I had worried at the time that it wasn't the right choice to make, but now I can see that it was definitely the right choice. You're worth knowing, that's for sure. I'm not sure where I'd be right now if it weren't for you helping me through this. And I know that you don't really think that you're doing anything...but trust me. You are.

"You've helped almost as much as Sev has, maybe more. And for that, I can't thank you enough. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't agreed to help me out. Even if you just sleep in the other room. It's hard to deal with the things I've had to deal with on top of defeating Voldemort and the media trying to get their paws all over me.

"You don't scare me, rather...my nightmares scare me. Sometimes they're so similar to what I woke up to today that I can't tell the difference between dream, memory, and reality. This was just one of those times where the lines blurred together. It's not your fault, really. You were really the only thing that grounded me as a child, and as such you don't scare me anymore.

"You used to, oh you used to scare the shit outta me. But I eventually got over that. I adopted your demeanor outside of closed doors and came up with both a personality that I like and that makes me feel safe inside my own skin. And I have you to thank for that. So no, you really didn't scare me."

After his long-winded monologue, Harry took a deep breath, noticing that he was slightly panting after his little tirade. He hadn't spoken so much at once in years, and he wasn't used to needing so much oxygen all at once.

Draco nodded after all of this and picked him up after he had caught his breath again. Carrying Harry to the kitchen was no difficult feat, and he managed easily. Harry looked at him in askance, wondering why they were in the kitchen of all places.

"You are going to eat. I don't care if you don't tell me anything or everything or only bits and pieces of how you got to be like this," he indicated to Harry's ribs, which were painfully obvious at this point. "but I'm determined to help you get past it and healthy once more."

With that, the blond went about making breakfast for the one person that he never thought he'd get to know.