Healing

Dark Wizards can't hug

Harry looked so peaceful and Draco wondered if he always looked like this in his sleep. Then he began to think that perhaps it was a bit creepy to be sitting there watching the man as he slept so he turned towards the pile of books and homework on the table. There was, he noted, also a book in Harry's lap, he'd obviously fallen asleep reading it and it was still open because his hand rested on the page. Draco pulled his gaze away from studying Harry's hand too, this was really getting a bit weird, he thought to himself. It was the book that they had been reading in their DADA class earlier. Draco noted he was already on chapter five, ahead of the required reading. So, at least Fungbury hadn't put him off his work.

He picked up the book nearest to him and began to flick through it but it was the Advanced Potions book so there wasn't much of excitement there. There was another book on sleeping potions so Draco assumed he must have been tackling the potions homework. He picked up one of the scrolls and, sure enough, the title read 'The correct methods of brewing Draught of Living Death, it's properties and comparisons with other comatosing potions'. Draco began to read through Harry's work. Surprisingly, considering his performance in classes previously, it wasn't bad, once he'd got used to the awful handwriting. He too knew the benefits of crushing the Sopophorous bean and adding an extra one, then he thought back to the little snigger he'd heard in class and a piece fell into place. Harry had been stood right behind him, observing him and Neville. A little chill ran through his body at the thought. As he read through, he noticed a number of spelling mistakes and the odd missing word, so he picked up the quill and started to make some small corrections. He really couldn't help himself.

He was deeply engrossed in working out how to subtly correct a rather more major mistake so the Slughorn wouldn't notice, when Harry said, 'I hope you're not sabotaging my homework.'

Draco jumped and nearly threw the scroll across the table in the shock of being caught. 'No,' he tried to affect his languid drawl to cover up his fluster. 'You've added the sloth brain before the powdered root of asphodel and I was trying to work out how to correct it without Slughorn noticing.'

Harry raised an eyebrow, a look of amusement on his face.

'And there were a few spellings I've corrected, you've a tendency to miss a p and o out of sopophorous; there's also the odd missed word; and your grammar is appalling, and...'

'...I think I can only take so much criticism in one sitting.' However, his eyes were sparkling in amusement.

Draco snapped his mouth shut. He'd been wittering: Malfoy's didn't witter. He tried to collect himself. He took a deep breath and looked into those emerald green eyes that were studying him. His throat went dry under the scrutiny.

'I see you've copied the method Neville and I used in class.'

'Actually, I already knew about it. I had Snape's Advanced Potions book in sixth year, he had usefully annotated it with tips like this.'

'Snape's book! Oh, I'd like to see that.'

'Unfortunately, I haven't got it any more. I hid it in the Room of Hidden Things, after, you know,' Harry waved in the direction of Draco's chest. 'The sixth-year bathroom incident...' he added lamely.

'Oh.'

They fell silent, neither that particular incident nor the memories of the Room of Hidden Things were something either of them particularly wanted to dwell on, though Draco couldn't help the unbidden images of the Fiendfyre that come rearing into his imagination. He shuddered.

In the desperation to move the thoughts away, he blurted out, 'is this where you've been hiding since you came back?'

Draco groaned inwardly; he knew immediately it was the wrong thing to say. If Malfoys had a mask, well, Harry had one to beat all of them put together. His eyes dulled, the glint gone, the quirked eyebrow stilled, the slight upturn of his lips straightened, the way his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard and the way his jaw clenched slightly: it all signalled emotional distancing.