"I hope Mother didn't embarrass me too much. Are you- Merlin Harry what happened?!"
Draco quickly dropped to the floor next to Harry in concern.
"She-she", he couldn't even get the words out through his sobs.
"Shhhh. Let it all out. Come here."
Harry collapsed against Draco, and Draco held on tightly.
"It's okay. I've got you and I'm not going to let you go okay? You're safe. If my mother has upset you I can take you back to yours and we'll figure something out from there. I want you to be comfortable."
With a shaking hand, Harry handed the photo to Draco. Draco frowned. There were many reasons why this could've upset Harry. You could tell where his mother had spelled that... rat out of the photo. It wasn't so easy to pretend that he had never betrayed his friends.
"Is there something I can do for you Scarhead?"
"This."
Draco just continued holding Harry, assuming that was what he meant. To Harry, Draco had quickly become his lifeline. He was terrified of letting go. Harry knew he was going to have a nightmare tonight. With all of these feelings and memories brought up, it was inevitable.
Time was a foreign concept to Harry. He had no clue how long Draco had been holding him before he finally pulled away slowly.
"I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize Potter", Draco chided.
He stood up and held his hand out for Harry to take, who grabbed it without question.
"We'll start the potion later, come on."
Draco brought Harry into his bedroom, closing the door behind them. He immediately started digging around in his closet. Harry just watched confused as he tried to calm down from his outburst.
"I'm getting clothes to change into. We should be the same size. I'm taller than you but obviously you're more muscular. Those kinds of dress shirts aren't very comfortable when they're damp, if at all. It is a good look for you though", Draco added, smiling at Harry over his shoulder.
Harry weakly smiled back at him, and that was enough to reassure Draco that he was stable enough for the moment. He wouldn't say Harry was okay, he was far from it. But he was holding on.
"Here. I picked out a few things that should fit you. Take whatever you want."
Grabbing a blue t-shirt, Harry watched as Draco looked what appeared to be longingly at another shirt before reaching for a long sleeve.
"No", Harry stated.
"Excuse me?"
Harry nodded towards the shirt Draco had been looking at.
"I didn't know you were so perceptive Potter. Really, it's fine. I don't want you to see it."
Rolling his eyes, Harry got up and grabbed the shirt from Draco's closet and handed it to him.
"Potter..."
"That won't set me off."
Sighing, Draco turned around and started unbuttoning his shirt.
"You're unbelievable you know that? Everyone else would've just let it go. Saint Potter", he muttered, trailing off as he turned around and came to face a shirtless Potter.
"Saint Potter indeed", he whispered breathlessly.
"Hmm?", Harry asked, looking up to find Draco staring at him.
"Nothing. Did you want to wash your face first?"
Nodding, Harry slung the shirt over his back, and Draco led him into his personal bathroom.
"Why is your bathroom nicer than my bedroom?", Harry muttered.
"Because I'm in here. I automatically improve the beauty of a room once I step inside."
Harry couldn't deny that.
"Now what's your skin type?"
"Erm, tan?"
Draco's laugh echoed in the bathroom.
"Absolutely ridiculous. You have amazing skin and probably wash it with a 3 in 1 shampoo, conditioner, and body wash."
At Harry's wince, Draco's jaw dropped.
"Merlin Potter, how have you survived without me? I'm going to wash my hands and touch your face okay?"
After receiving Harry's permission, Draco tentatively reached out a hand, and Harry instinctively closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. At this moment in time, Draco really looked at Potter. He had allowed his mask to slip, and Draco could see the pain written across his face, and he felt his heart crack.
"You have dry skin like me, so that works in your favor. I'll let you use some of my products until we can get you some of your own. Did you shower this morning?"
Once he received this confirmation, Draco just grabbed a washcloth, his face wash, and a moisturizer. That would do for now.
"Here you go. The washcloth is clean."
While Harry faced the sink, Draco winced as he noticed the condition of his back.
"Potter?", he asked tentatively.
"Hmm?"
"I don't mean to pry, and you don't have to tell me anything of course, but your back... Have you tried healing those?"
"Mione tried", he answered simply.
"If you want, Mother may be able to get rid of the surface level ones at least. She's a very skilled healer, if you would trust her with that. She would have to look at them first. It's up to you. She was able to fade my scars."
"You think so?"
Draco hopped up on the counter next to Harry and pulled down the neck of his shirt.
"This was dark magic as you're now aware. That's why they won't completely go away, but sometimes you don't even see them unless you're in the right light."
"I'm sorry."
"I know. You finish up, and I'll talk to her okay? But I want to clarify first. I know what she said upset you, but was it something bad?"
"No, not at all. Quite the opposite."
"Okay good. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Millions of thoughts were swirling through Draco's head as he knocked on his mother's door.
"Is everything alright Draco?"
"I don't know. Potter was breaking down when I found him. He's in my room now washing his face."
"Oh poor dear. I hope I didn't dump too much onto him at once."
"There was something I wanted to ask you though Mother. He has a lot of scars."
"Say no more. I'll get right on it."
"Thank you."
"You truly care for him, don't you?"
"I think I always have", Draco responded quietly, turning to walk away.
"Tell him he's welcome to stay for dinner."
"Of course."
As if Draco would let Potter out of his sight now. When he came back, Potter was laying on his bed with his eyes closed.
"Mother said she'll take care of it. She also invited you to stay for dinner, which was not a question."
"Okay."
"Do you want to talk about it? What can I do for you?"
"Just be here."
"I can do that. I've been told that I light up the room when I enter", Draco joked.
"You do."
With a blush, Draco sat on the bed next to Harry. Harry handed Draco a piece of parchment he had written the explanation of what happened on.
"She's right. You are welcomed into the family. Should I call you Malfoy instead of Potter now?"
"Only if I can call you Potter back", Harry replied with a laugh.
"I am happy you're here Potter. I'm not terribly good at all of this... emotional stuff... but I do have functioning arms if you ever need a hug or something. I don't mind, so please don't apologize. I know how it is when you repress your emotions for so long that you act out and do something stupid. I don't want that for you, ever again.
If you ever need something, anything at all, promise that you'll come to me. Owl me, firecall me, apparate here, use my personal floo, I don't care. Just don't suffer alone. You don't have to anymore. I know it's not much, but you have me Harry."
"It's everything Draco. You're everything."
Both men were tearing up, and the room was heavy with emotion.
"Thank you", Harry said, his shaky voice breaking the silence.
"There is nothing to thank me for. Do you want to stay in here for a bit longer before we start on the potion?"
"Please."
They laid there in a comfortable silence for about half an hour until Harry was feeling good enough to get up. Everything they needed to accomplish with the potion for that day had been finished by the time they were called for dinner. Draco was raving about Harry's newfound potion skills all through dinner.
"I have a great teacher."
"I am quite great, aren't I"?
Narcissa laughed and shook her head.
"Harry, you're welcome to stay the night if you'd like. Before you interrupt me, you're not imposing. We have many rooms to spare, but I don't think Draco would mind sharing his. Or even if Draco wants to stay at yours for the night, that is perfectly fine. I know it was an emotional day for you."
After his mother left the room, Draco faced Harry.
"You don't have to stay of course, but I don't think you should be alone. I can just go with you to yours for the night? You're just getting used to The Manor, I think you'd feel more at ease in your own home."
"Please."
"I'll pack an overnight bag, and then we can head out anytime you want."
Harry laid back down in Draco's bed and watched him pack a bag.
"I can't believe your sheets are this soft."
"They're silk. What do you use, cotton?"
"I guess?"
Draco laughed at Potter's lack of what he believed to be common knowledge. After his bag was packed with some clothes, he detoured into his bathroom and opened the linen closet.
Surprisingly, Harry also had one of the larger king size beds. Grabbing a spare set of sheets, he tucked them into his bag.
"Ready?"
"Ready."
Draco linked his arms through Harry's, brought him downstairs to say goodbye to his mother, and then outside so they could apparate. And if Draco held on to Harry tighter than he needed to, so what?