Tired (QPR Drarry, mates, ace arospec Harry)

Chapter 13

Remus sat, head in his hands, watching Harry sleep. There was never a day that went by that he didn't wish he didn't have his friends back, but he wished so now more than ever. Even if just as solidified versions of their school time selves. 

James in all his wisdom would know how to improve Harry's experience with the potions, and his habit of slipping past people's walls could get Harry to tell them what he went through with the Dursleys. Not to mention he was always the only one who could get Harry to calm down. 

Sirius would be able to bond with Harry over their pasts, and reassure him that it wasn't his fault. The two would get on well; Sirius may not seem it, but he was good at understanding the boundaries people had without even stepping near them. 

And Lily? Well she had managed to befriend an 11 year old Remus when he was trying to isolate himself out of fear, if she could handle the Marauders than she could handle Harry. Not to mention she was Petunia's sister, so she could tell him how she was when they were younger. 

And Peter? Remus didn't know how to feel about Peter, but it had to be either him or Sirius who betrayed Lily and James, and he would trust Sirius first any day of the week. 

Harry hadn't said a word since the meeting ended, but they never got much information on the Dursleys. They did already have enough evidence to say they had committed a crime, but they would only be able to take them to trial once, and the more evidence they had the better. Abuse came in more ways than physical. 

He had flinched as Remus handed him the potions, but he still drank them all, falling asleep shortly after. 

Though many of the potions had a side effect of making people drowsy, but Remus was pretty sure it was the calming draught Mme Pomfrey had given him for the clear overwhelming fear it seemed was making Harry's breathing harder that finally took him out. 

Remus just wished he could scoop Harry up and take him away from everything that had happened to him. 

But unless he was willing to majorly mess with Harry's development, and break several laws, that wasn't something he could do. 

Why did Harry have to go through this? 

----- 

If he was able to fix any of the magical items in his office Dumbledore would be throwing them with rage, but alas they only fixed themselves in response to their true owner's magic. He also couldn't get them fixed any other way without being questioned, and almost nobody knew how to fix them anyway. 

Had he not spent years making and perfecting these plans? Had he not orphaned a near army of children to take their inheritances? Had he not created the perfect hero who would bow to him and him alone? 

So why weren't things going how he had planned? 

He knew the chance of Potter getting a mate, but that shouldn't have happened without warning, and he had made sure Petunia was giving Harry a potion every evening to block Magic from being able to interfere with his plan and mate the boy. 

So what had gone wrong? 

Dumbledore wasn't even able to force the boy into Gryffindor, the hat acting too quickly. His only solace could be that the Weasley in Harry's year seemed to take a liking to him in spite of his friendship with Malfoy (and how that had happened Dumbledore had no Earthly idea). The Weasleys were a family Dumbledore as good as owned, they should help to influence Harry back to the position he should have been in. 

And then there was Mme Pomfrey; how could he control someone whose magic mingled with Hogwarts' itself? Even as one of the most powerful wizards of all time, who had the young of these generations almost entirely wrapped around his finger had nothing compared to the centuries of magic Hogwarts built up from the experiences of the students within it. 

He had hoped to make Harry hate the idea of being in that place before Mme Pomfrey could really dig deep into his health, but of course that Malfoy brat had dragged him right there. 

Why had his plans for the train not happened, he had even gone so far as to bewitch the carriage so only Harry's magic and a Weasley's magic could enter. Honestly Dumbledore couldn't remember all of those children, but as long as he pretended then they would accept his word as fact. 

But how to get back on track? 

It at least seemed Potter hadn't had an inheritance yet, and neither Lily nor James' wills had been opened, so at least that magic was holding up. Even if he couldn't control when Remus met the boy as much as he would have liked, at least Black was still in Azkaban, and Fudge was still too blind to give him a trial. 

Yes, all Dumbledore had to do was convince Potter that Malfoy was taking advantage of him, and gradually pull him further into his isolating grasp while phrasing it as saving the boy. This situation was still salvageable. 

----- 

"Dragon," Narcissa sighed, looking at her sulking son angrily sorting his potions kit in their living room, having come home to make the conversation more private. "Do you think we're stopping you from helping your mate?" 

Though not verbal, Draco's magic confirmed his mother's suspicion, making her sigh, slipping onto the floor herself. 

"Dragon, you said your role was to protect your ate, right?" Draco nodded, not looking at her but accepting her help nonetheless. "Well right now what he needs protection from is rumours, not from Mme Pomfrey. I know you want to protect him from everything, of course I understand that, but sometimes we have to go through unpleasant things to be able to live better the rest of the time." 

Draco ignored the glass vial she was holding out to him, reaching for an identical one still on the floor. 

"You remember that time you got the flu?" 

Draco nodded. 

"The potions you took then weren't very nice, were they?" 

Draco shook his head. 

"But it was better than being sick for longer, right?" 

Draco nodded, taking the vial from her. 

"That's basically what Harry is dealing with in the Hospital Wing right now. And as far as full moons go, how upset do you think Harry would be if he hurt you while transformed? He might even start pushing you away, and then you wouldn't be protecting him, would you?" 

"But I'm his mate." Draco's voice was quiet, almost pleading as he leant into the hand Narcissa put on his shoulder. "He can't hurt me." 

"But that werewolf won't be Harry until he's 16, and you look too human, even with your inheritance revealed." Narcissa wished she could help Draco, after all, as a mother how could she not relate to the desire to keep someone safe from anything that could hurt them or cause them distress? But wrapping someone in bubble wrap was no way to let them live. 

"But I'm supposed to protect him." Draco complained, wincing as he almost dropped the Dragon blood. 

"And you can; protect him from bullies, from Dumbledore, from Severus, from loneliness, from nightmares, from things you can support him through. Maybe even with your potions." 

Draco's head perked up at that last suggestion. 

"Anyway, once you have this cleared up you need to get back to Hogwarts." Narcissa pressed a kiss on the top of Draco's head, taking her seat back and continuing to read the Daily Prophet.