bullying, food consumption problem, insomnia, depression, hurt comfort, angst, slow burn, ptsd, happy ending
________________________________________
Ever since they came back to Hogwarts to finish their education, Harry Potter couldn't help himself but bother Draco Malfoy at every chance he got.
Mind you, he had a very solid reason why he couldn't leave the blond male alone. And no, he was not obsessed with Draco like Sixth Year.
After the war, the Malfoys went under a few trials by the Ministry. Lucius Malfoy was sent to serve a life sentence in Azkaban without a single bat of an eye from the Judge. Due to the fact that Lucius was a loyal Death Eater to Voldemort, the Malfoys fortune was also seized away and their vaults were frozen. Not only that but he was also banned from doing any magic so the Ministry had confiscated his wand away. As for Narcissa, since she was not a Death Eater, she was only put under house arrest and banned from doing magic for 2 years.
Draco Malfoy, however, received special treatment. Knowing that the Ministry was to send Draco to Azkaban along with his father, Harry decided to step in and testified for him. "No, you can't send him off to Azkaban. Who said so? Me. Harry Potter said so. Why? He is a minor. Voldemort forced him to take the Dark Mark when he was sixteen. He had no other choice but to stay to save himself and his family. Besides, Malfoy had saved my life when I was captured in their house. He refused to give out the truth that it was me when Bellatrix told him to identify me. He also gave me his wand when we escaped the Manor since mine had been taken. His wand was the exact wand I used to defeat Voldemort. His wand was faithful to me," Harry had said.
"But Harry, he was tasked to kill Albus Dumbledore," Kingsley started but Harry was having none of it when he glared fiercely. "Kingsley, with all due respect, I know all of you think I've gone nuts to protect Malfoy of all people and I'm not saying that I will but I will and I will do so. Severus Snape was the one to kill Dumbledore. I was there. I saw Malfoy stalled the time and I saw him lowering his wand. Snape and Dumbledore had already planned Dumbledore's death because he was already dying a slow painful death from a curse: poison."
"Malfoy had no choice. He was born on the wrong side. He couldn't decide. Imagine this, Kingsley, your father was already a Death Eater. That psycho maniac lived in your house. Do you really think for one moment that you could go to the Light side and seek protection?" Harry passionately said. "He's just a boy, Kingsley. Like I am. He had no choice but to be a villain as I had no choice but to be the Saviour. He's just a boy of my age, fighting for the sake to survive this war while keeping his family safe at the same time. He didn't choose any sides. He chose his family. What he needs to do is just finish his education. Let him finish his education. That's it. That's all."
Thankfully Harry's testimony had Draco escaped any punishment.
So, why had Harry been bothering Draco then? Simple, really. Draco Malfoy was unrecognisable. At first, Harry didn't mind because he thought that it was a good change, for once. But then he realised that the Slytherin was behaving weirdly and it disturbed Harry so much.
Let's take a look at the event.
1. The bullying.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna were on their way to Charms class when they encountered a horrifying scene in front of them.
"Hey, Death Eater scum!" a gaggle of younger Gryffindors and Ravenclaws approached Draco, who was walking towards Charms class alone, with sneers on their faces. Harry saw Draco kept his head down, clutching his books to his chest, figure tensed and showing signs of discomfort.
