Heartbreak Warfare

Chapter 18

Harry knew that he should be furious at Draco, but looking at him so vulnerable made his anger dissipate. He knew it would reappear when Draco opened his big mouth, but for now, Harry slept contently in denial.

****

Draco woke up with his face buried in someone's hair. He blinked awake and pulled back to see Harry's wild black locks. He carefully pulled his arm out from under Harry's body and crept out of bed. He saw Blaise sitting on his bed, pulling on his shoes.

Blaise smirked at him. "Sleep well?"

"How the bloody hell did he get in my bed again?"

Blaise's face fell, slightly. "You were having a fit. I tried to wake you up but after a half-hour of nothing—I didn't know what to do. It was one of the worst I've seen so far."

"What made you think that Harry would be able to help?"

Blaise gave him a look. "He's helped you a few times before. You and I both know that he calms you down in a way that no one has or will be able to."

Draco didn't argue. He knew firsthand how soothing Harry's presence was. He didn't fully understand why but he couldn't deny it. "And he just came with you? What did you have to say to convince him?"

"All I said was that you needed help. I didn't have to say anything else."

He let that sink in and fought the blush rising to his cheeks. "Really?"

"Of course. He cares a lot about you."

"It's not like that. Plus, he made it very clear to me that he doesn't care about me anymore. If he ever did."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "He wouldn't be here if he didn't care."

"We wouldn't work. You know that as much as I do."

"You could tell him the truth—"

Draco shook his head, firmly. "No. He can't ever know. He wouldn't forgive me if he found out."

"You don't know that."

"Don't be daft." Draco snapped.

Before Blaise could say anything more, Harry popped his head out from the curtains. He blinked at them before settling his eyes on Draco.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Draco's heart tugged but he didn't let his emotions show when he nodded. "I'm fine. I'll walk you down."

Draco made sure the common room was empty before signaling for Harry to walk down. He walked over to the wall and it opened, revealing an empty corridor.

"I'll see you in class," Draco said as a way of goodbye.

Harry paused at the opening of the wall and looked at Draco. "How long have you had these attacks? And how often do they happen?"

Draco tensed. "It's not a big deal."

"You were scratching the hell out of your arm and wouldn't wake up. That's not nothing, Draco."

"It's none of your concern," he snapped.

"Draco—"

"You don't have to pretend that you care about me or my well-being. You made it clear that you don't want anything to do with me."

"I wanted for that to be true but the truth is that I only said that stuff because I was mad at you. I just wanted you to admit that I meant more to you."

"Then what? That we could be happy boyfriends?" Draco scoffed. "We both knew when this started that it couldn't be anything more than casual."

Harry's jaw clenched. "When you're ready to face reality. You know where to find me."

****

Hermione was sitting in the common room when Harry walked in and he jumped when he heard her speak.

"What are you doing out so early?" She asked.

"I went for a walk," Harry answered. "I couldn't sleep."

"Was it the nightmares again?" She asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Have you been up long?"

She shook her head. But that had been a lie. Hermione had fallen asleep studying the night before and had seen Harry leave with Blaise. Her mind was swirling with thoughts but she didn't want to interrogate Harry. If he wanted to tell her about whatever was going on with Blaise, he would. When he was ready.

"I better go get ready," Harry said.

Hermione watched him go and wondered what secret Harry was harboring and what Blaise had to do with it all.