Just Stay There {Drarry}

Chapter twenty

It was lunch.

Severus didn't bother to try and pretend he wasn't studying the boy in front of him. Multiple things had happened last night. Multiple, previously, undisturbed feelings had stirred. Multiple hours were spent lying in bed thinking them over. Multiple conclusions had been drawn.

First conclusion, something unseen was happening between his godson and Harry Potter. He didn't know whether it was good or bad. He didn't know what Potter had said or possibly revealed, but even before that Draco had been acting odd. He hadn't exclaimed one rash comment, or accidental insult, once while at Rubeus's hut. Which was unprecedented when Draco went anywhere really.

Second conclusion, there were two possibilities to what was going on in Draco's head. One, filtered hate and despise. He could simply be loathing every second he spent in Potter's company, but was trying to mend the seam anyway. Draco, in Severus's opinion, was nothing if not honorable. Well, honorable in the sense he thought he was doing what was best. And to make up the wrongs he caused at Hogwarts, even if it caused his own discomfort, was certainly honorable. Two, some sort of attraction. Whether that attraction was platonic, romantic, simple curiosity, or even sexual. Draco had the tendency to make the abstract and inexplicable, into something understandable. It was very likely that he was confused as to what he was feeling, and was trying to pinpoint it.

Third conclusion, Potter had spilled something close to his chest and wasn't sure how to cope with it. That concept in of itself was simple, but the number of things that it could've been, made it more complicated.

Fourth conclusion, getting that old shoe box out was a very bad idea. He had only kept it in the first place for old time's sake. Quite frankly he had forgotten they had existed, until that absolute bastard had the audacity to challenge his carefully constructed sanity.

Fifth conclusion, whether he was prepared to or not, he would have to eventually get that old shoe box out. He'd sort through them. Taking out the ones where his own voice, and her voice were recorded. He knew he wouldn't throw them out, but dammit all, the notion was tempting.

So here he sat, purposely making Potter squeamish. The boy was wearing his usual day attire, as skimpy as the clothes were, except an... unusual addition was added on top. Well, that was one place to start up conversation. "Why are you wearing my jacket?"

Potter chewed his bite of sandwich, and looked up slowly. "Erm, it was on the coat rack, and I took it."

"I can see that, but why?"

"Why not?"

"Don't get smart with me Potter," Severus said, making his eyes purposely narrow, "what in Heimdall's view did you do last night?"

Potter fell short of answering, and moved his salad around with his fork.

"Potter," Severus let his voice soften, and his true concern bleed through. He knew, to some extent, what he was going through. And had experienced versions of it himself. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you're being overly dramatic in your reaction."

Potter sighed loudly, apparently caving, "it's nothing, really, he said he wouldn't tell anyone, promised."

"Promised, what exactly?"

"That he wouldn't tell anyone,"

"Don't be so thick," Severus scolded, "what did you say to garner the promise?"

Potter took another bite out of his sandwich, and Severus waited impatiently for him to swallow. When he finally did, he said, "I was being stupid and it just slipped out. We were talking, like usual, and I said something stupid like 'starving away at the Dursleys,' I can't remember it exactly, but it was something along the lines of that. He picked up on that being the reason I nap every day, and well..." he shrugged, "it kind of freaked me out."