the boy soldier

04- promises

this chapter discusses sensitive topics, please read safely

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Harry went back to Hogwarts a few hours later, feeling light-hearted. He had friends, and they loved him just as much as he loved them. A lot had happened over the years but he still had Hermione and Ron, as well as a whole second family, the Weasley's.

He went to bed full of treacle tarts and pumpkin juice.

His dreams however weren't as sweet.

He was with Malfoy again in the prefect bathroom, touching his Dark Mark. As his fingers brushed lightly over the snake it began moving, writhing, like it had come alive or something was under Draco's skin, wiggling. Gasping he let go of Malfoy's arm and backed away, frightened. Draco was screaming, trying to get the thing off of him, crying out in pain.

Harry uttered the first spell that came to mind, with his wand out pointed at the boy, "Sectumsempra!" Oh god, no. What have I done, what have I done? Malfoy let out a blood curdling cry, falling to the floor. Blood began to spread out from his whimpering body. He was whispering something, trying to speak but his lips were barely moving.

Harry rushed to the pale body, wanting to hear his words. Blood was dripping from Malfoy's mouth now, making his speech muffled. He could only make out four words as the boy stared pleadingly into his eyes. Icy blue irises looking sadly into Harry's green, "Please... Make it stop."

And then the boy sat up, and grabbed Harry's throat as his eyes rolled back into his head. Draco's mouth opened and he cried out, but it wasn't his voice, it was much deeper, and menacing, "Scared, Potter?" And Voldemort's cackle rang out into the chamber.

Waking suddenly, he couldn't breathe. With mind and heart racing he sat up and put on his glasses. What was that? Dreams didn't usually make any sense, but his mind was reeling trying to understand. This was insane, Draco Malfoy was slowly taking over his thoughts, and now his dreams?

Thankfully the sun was already rising on a sleepy Hogwarts morning, so he decided he would get up and take a walk on the grounds. It was becoming chiller every morning lately as September approached, and Harry pulled on a warm jumper to combat the cold.

As he walked through the dewy grass, his mind kept going back to both his dream and the real meeting with Draco in the bathroom. The look in his eyes was so vulnerable. And his skin had felt so soft. But he couldn't think that way, he wouldn't allow it. This was not the time or place. By the end of his stroll however, he knew for a fact that he wanted to talk to Malfoy, and he wanted to get Draco to talk to him.

-

A week passed, and then another, and then it was two days away from the first of the month. Students were due to be filling up the school again in two days, and still Harry had seen no sign of Draco Malfoy. Not at any meals, not around the grounds, not even in the prefect bathroom. Harry's gut filled with worry, even anger.

Until one night, when Harry decided to check the prefect bathroom one more time. It only took him one second after opening the door to know that he was in there.

"Malfoy-" And then Harry dropped the change of clothes he was carrying and ran. On the floor was a pale partly clothed figure collapsed on wet tile. Harry flipped him onto his back, oh god, is he alive, is he alive, please be alive. Draco's eyes fluttered, but didn't open. He's alive, thank god, oh god he's alive, "Bloody hell, are you alright. Can you hear me?" He started scrambling, covering the boy's skinny body with his jumper, checking his pulse, and then as the boy still did not wake up, he ran.

"Please, anyone. Please!" He was running erratically through the corridors, unsure of where he was going. He was still running as he bumped straight into Professor Flitwick, "Oh, thank god," He panted hard, trying to summon the words, "Malfoy, he is unconscious or something, in the boys prefect bathroom. He isn't okay, Please help, get someone, anyone."

Flitwick grabbed his hand, "Boy, you must breathe. I will get Madame Pomphrey and Professor McGonagall, you in the meantime get back to Draco. Stay with him, I'll get help."

Harry nodded his understanding and ran all the way back to the prefect's bathroom to find Malfoy still unmoving on the ground. Sitting beside him he lifted the boy's head into his lap, "Please be okay. Dear god, what is happening, what did you do?"

Draco's eyes fluttered again and then he coughed and sputtered. Suddenly his eye's shot wide open and he looked around startled, before looking up at Harry's face peering down at him.

"Malfoy, Jesus I thought you were dead, I thought you were dead," And then Harry was crying.

The boy just stared back, tears filling his blue eyes. He just lay there with his head on Harry's legs looking unwaveringly into Harry's green eyes.

"Can you sit up, Draco? Can you move?" Harry whispered.

Draco blinked, pushing tears down to his ears, before slowly nodding no.

"Hey, that's alright. That's alright help is coming, Flitwick is getting help. Are you comfortable, what can I do?" Harry was ranting unabashedly, tears of both despair and relief streaming down his cheeks. He tried, fumblingly, to wipe his tears and push Draco's hair out of his face. Draco weakly lifted his arm towards Harry, grabbing his hand. Harry's breath caught in his throat. I shouldn't be here, Draco would never want me to see him like this. He'll hate me even more now. God, I'm crying, why am I crying. But Malfoy just blinked up at him before letting his hand, still holding Harry's, fall limply above his head.

-

"Is he alright? What's happened?" Harry bolted up right from his spot in the hallway outside the infirmary to greet Professor McGonagall who was looking exhausted.

"Yes, he is alright. Go to bed, Harry, it's been a long night for you, obviously," She replied, rubbing at her temples.

"But what's wrong with him?" Harry wished he could tell her to stop telling him what to do.

"He wouldn't speak to any of us, but it seems he has not been eating. Madame Pomphrey says he is extremely malnourished. A hot bath probably did not help with the dizziness he must have been feeling, oh my. He fainted and knocked himself unconscious, poor boy," She shook her head sadly, "And Potter, before you go. You were right to be worried about him. I should have been more attentive."

"He apparently refuses to speak to anyone, there is no way anyone could have known."

"I suppose you're right, yet there is much we could have done to prevent this. If it's not too much to ask, please keep an eye on him. We will be making sure he is attending meals, so maybe eat with him? Try and talk to him?"

"Of course, that's no problem." And it wasn't a problem at all for Harry. His worries had been proven accurate, perhaps worse than he could have imagined. He had watched enough suffering happen, he would not watch this boy die right in front of his eyes.