Hello everyone,

next chapter already, before I forget to update again.

Thank you for the reviews.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

I am pouring over one of my textbooks when I hear the door squeak behind me, alerting me to someone entering the room. Since Kreacher always apparates in, it can only be Draco as no one else is currently at the house. Knowing it's easier for him to speak if I'm not staring at him, I just sit straighter but don't directly turn to him.

"Potter," he forces out, confirming my suspicion that I am talking to Malfoy this time, not his childish version, "My mother is still alive, correct?" he asks, but before I can respond, "I want to see her."

He does his best to make his voice sound demanding, trying to recreate his old masks, but I can still hear the tremor in it, no matter how much he attempts to hide it. At his request I turn around in my chair. He is standing in the doorway, one arm poised in his side, pretending to be a mixture between bored and annoyed. But his left hand is clenching in the leg of his pants, clearly showing how uneasy he is. Fixing him with my eyes I think his request over. With taking him to the new stable I am trying to get him used to new environments with more people again. But we were only there this one time, three days ago. Not to mention he barely got in contact with any humans this time, only horses.

As much as I want to take him to Narcissa, that would mean bringing him to St. Mungos. Since we can't just simply apparate to her room, we would have to walk right through the hospital. It's crowded, chaotic and often loud at the best of times. He is nowhere near ready to go there. If I take him I either risk him panicking and having a relapse or even the healers will try to force him to stay if he gets scared in the middle of the hospital. He could use the professional help, yes, but I am afraid of what they might do to him when they realise who he is. So I shake my head.

"I'm sorry, Dra… Malfoy, but I can't take you to her yet," I say carefully.

"Why not?" he glares at me.

"You know as well as I do, that you can't go out into crowds yet. And St. Mungos means a lot of people," I explain.

"So I'm a prisoner in this house," he tilts his head up, crossing his arms across his chest, the movements of his left arm choppy and slow, "I should have known."

I sigh and run a hand through my hair, "No, Malfoy. Don't twist my words. I am not keeping you prisoner. You know your mental state is not stable enough to go out into a hospital in full work. The only times you are properly calm are here and with horses. We can't drag a horse through St. Mungos obviously. I really don't want to risk you suffering a relapse just because you were too stubborn to wait until you are ready."

"This is about my mother!" he glares, but his eyes waver in a way I don't like.

"I know," I repeat, "I understand that she is important to you, but for now you have to think about your own health. Her state can't be changed, not for the better or the worse, but you are recovering and we can't risk a setback."

"So I am going to be confined to this house for the rest of my life," his head hangs, fingers digging into his own skin, "From one prison to another. This one's just nicer."

Hurriedly I come to my feet and approach him, "No, of course not," I glare at him, "You are not a prisoner here," I repeat again. Grabbing his face carefully, I force him to look directly at me, "You are recovering and when you are stable enough I will take you to whatever place you want. But until then, I will not have you relapsing as long as I can stop it."

He snorts and averts his eyes, trying to tear from my hold, but I keep him still, "I want out of here," he growls, gaze turned away as well as he can, "It feels like the walls are closing in on me. And the garden isn't enough."

I stare at him, trying to read him. His hands are still clenched in his clothing, but his posture is straight. He won't back down about this. So I sigh.

"How long have you been awake?" I ask him.

"Awake as in not sleeping or completely aware?" he glares viciously back.

"The second one."

"Not too long. Half an hour before I went to find you perhaps. Why?" suspicion shines from his eyes.

I ignore his question, "Will you let me choose the place we're going?"

"What?" his eyes narrow.

"I am taking you out of the house if that's what you really want. But you will have to let me choose the place because you can't be anywhere too crowded or dangerous."

"You will?" Still suspicious.

"Yes," I shrug, "I am fairly sick of the house too if I'm honest. And it's the logical next step. You can remain clear for a few hours at places where you feel safe. Here or with any kind of horse. The next step is to take you to surroundings where you don't feel safe yet."

"And you would know that from where? Did you read it in a book?" he mocks.

"I am studying to be a healer," I patiently explain, "And since you came here, I have been reading up on trauma patients."

"So I am your project?" he sneers, "Do you need me for graduation?"

I sigh, does he have to see the worst in everything I say? "That's not true as I already told you. My professors don't even know that you live here."

"And I am supposed to believe you?" he snorts, doing his best to regain his old haughty behaviour, but his whole form is tensed to run.

Sighing again, sadness seeping through me at how untrusting he has learned to be, "I can probably say whatever I want and you won't believe it, so I won't continue trying right now," I give him a sad smile, "Maybe one day you can learn to trust again, but for now let's get out of the house."

He stares at me for a few more seconds before he turns and disappears around the corner. I run my fingers through my hair as I walk out after him, heading in the direction of the entrance. After slipping on a jacket and shoes I don't have to wait long until soft footsteps down the stairs announce Draco's arrival. I guess he really is eager to get outside. Nonetheless he is also undoubtedly nervous. His left hand clenches in the material of the coat he is wearing and his movements have become slow and somehow clumsy for the first time in months. I watch him worriedly.

"Are you sure about this, Draco? You don't look too good," I try to reach out to him, but he bats me away.

"I am fine, Potter. And don't call me by my first name," he snaps back, eyes fixed past me on the front door.

Stubborn idiot. But he won't be deterred and now is as good as any time to take the next step, especially if he is the one initiating it. We can still end the attempt within a moment if it turns out to be too much for him. I have chosen a quiet muggle café around the corner for our first outing. It's just a small bistro, with only local customers. By foot it takes less than two minutes to get there and there are booths in the back, that shield you from the people out on the street. The fact that it's muggle also means that we have to worry less about anyone recognizing either me or Draco and causing a scene, even if we don't use glamours.

"Do you want me to go first?" I ask Draco as he is standing in front of the door, hand hovering in the air nervously.

He shoots me a look that is trying very hard to seem annoyed but to me panic sounds more appropriate. He makes a sound like a growl, I would say he is frustrated with himself. But in the end he does a step back and lets me open the door. I move past him slowly before passing the doorstep. I don't walk any further though, remaining on the top step. The sidewalk is still a few meters away and we are still inside the protection charm so none of the people walking past can see us. The moment the door swung open and the sounds of the street flooded in, Draco stiffened, doing half a step back before he can stop himself. He looks caught somewhere between fear and determination. Not exactly knowing what to do I wait patiently for him to make his move.

When he hasn't so much as twitched after two minutes, I start to get worried, "We can stop this if it's still too much, Malfoy," I say carefully, "If you can't go out on the streets yet, that's completely fine, we will just try again some other time."

At that he glares at me but finally with a deep breath does the first step forward. Another one and he is past the door, nearly standing next to me on the landing. Scared eyes search me out for one moment before he does the next step, past me now and down towards the sidewalk. He stops again right in front the invisible wall of the protection charms as if he can see them. I close the door carefully and approach him again, making my presence known so he won't startle.

My eyes never leave him while I slowly make my way down to the sidewalk. I pass the charms, making myself visible to everyone there. I halt and glance up at my companion. Since I can look past the charms, I can see him standing there on the steps. His eyes are wide and he is staring at the street behind me, cars moving past. For a moment I frown, maybe taking him out onto a muggle street wasn't such a good idea. Did he ever encounter cars before?

But he doesn't give me time to ponder it longer as a new jolt of determination seems to shoot through him. His figure straightens and his hand loosens from where it was clutched on the railing. The left arm is dug deep into his coat pocket, whether to hide it or to grip onto something to ground him, I don't know and won't question. Instead I glare at a bulky muggle who gives me an annoyed look for standing still on the sidewalk. By the time I turn back, Draco is nearly standing next to me. His steps are slow, but to anyone not looking he would probably look as regal as his father used to walk. Malfoys probably don't run or speedwalk either.

I give my charge an encouraging smile when he catches up to me. However no matter how collected he looks on a first glance, he is breathing far too heavily for my liking. His eyes are still a bit too wide if you look closer and his hands are clenched, artfully hidden in clothes to keep people from seeing their state without making it obvious he's hiding them. I shake my head, amazed and kind of saddened by how good he is at hiding his inner state behind a mask of haughtiness.

I don't say anything though, because it would just cause him to snap at me. Not to mention he seems better than I expected, even from what I can see behind his covers, so I don't want to disturb him, afraid me addressing him might break his concentration. Instead I turn and walk down the street. I match my pace to his slow one, making sure to always keep him in my peripheral vision.

It's around eleven on a workday, so there aren't many people out on the street much to my relief. Whenever someone approaches us on the sidewalk, I make sure to walk directly next to Draco, as to shield him from the strangers. He tenses every time someone passes us and on occasion tries to back towards the houses on the other side. He has less problems with the cars, unless they don't make any abnormal noises, like a honk or the squealing of brakes. My guess would be because there is no way he can connect a muggle car to any kind of bad memory, but people are a different matter.

He only startles badly once when a child too young for kindergarten wheels past us with a loud squeal on a bike without pedals. The little girl came from behind, so I didn't see her on time, therefore she manages to cause Draco to startle badly and nearly jump into the fence to his right, probably banging his hip on one of the metal bars. He stares at the child in fright, clearly holding in a scream he doesn't want to release in public. It takes him some time to remind himself that it was just an infant that can't really harm him. I am ready to go back home then and there, but he gives me a glare that clearly says 'Don't you dare', so I wait until he manages to unclench his hands from the iron fence, worry never leaving my eyes.

In the end he does get there on his own, taking a step away from the fence. He connects his eyes with mine again, giving me a minute nod. I return the gesture and slowly continue my path. He follows me, but keeps even closer to the houses than before, nearly trampling through someone's flowerbeds in the process.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading.

We are making progress, I guess. And no horses this time ^^.

Hope to see you at the next chapter and reviews are always appreciated.