I am SO SORRY that I have waited this long, you have no idea. It has actually been haunting me. lol, but anyway... I think I may have lost my mind slightly with this next twist. Again, I'm very sorry for the wait, but in my defense, college apps have taken up a majority of my time. But don't fret, I got into college and now I am back to (hopefully) finish this up soon enough!
Chapter 17: Boiling Over
Harry found it hard to sleep that night. He had tried to confront Draco about their misunderstanding, but Draco had heard nothing of it. He turned on his heel and walked away as Harry called his name.
Now, Harry was alone and feeling worse than he had in a very long time.
Maybe Draco wasn't worth this much pain and constant confusion.
Harry shook his head in a manner that resembled a wet dog to shake this thought away as soon as it had come. Draco was the one he loved, and anyone who meant that much to him was worth more than Harry's thoughts. There was no question about that.
Then why was he second-guessing this whole thing? Harry wasn't a quitter. Everybody knew that. In fact, he was downright hard-headed and tenacious at the best of times.
An image of Draco on the night when they arrived at Hogwarts that year flooded his mind.
Draco shivered in the cold while waiting for the carriages to fill. It had been a surprisingly mild night, so Harry did not understand the sudden movement from Draco's direction as they stepped into one of the awaiting carriages. This time, Harry had the opportunity to sit next to Draco, while Hermione and Ron took the opposite seats. The three made the move to look out the window in silence again, but Harry refused to let them do that. He blindly groped for a way to spark up a conversation.
"So, Draco," he started, but paused to clear his throat as his three companions turned to face him. "Uh, how was your summer?" Harry felt like an idiot. 'The kid's depressed, you stupid git,' he thought to himself. 'Obviously it had something to do with an occurrence over the summer.' He mentally slapped himself repeatedly.
Draco simply stared at him for a moment, and the boys' eyes locked momentarily. Harry could read into those eyes very clearly, much to his surprise. Draco was not one who could be read easily unless he willingly let his guard down. This look he gave, it was a look of "Help me, Harry. I've been broken and I need you to fix me."
He thought of that look that the blond had given him for quite some time. By the time Harry had made a decision about what he was going to do, the sun had risen and Ron had left for breakfast without him.
Draco was walking to breakfast by himself, trying to look as care-free as possible. He wasn't doing well. The bags under his eyes had doubled in size last night, to the point where they practically came down to his chin to absorb his entire face.
"Damn Potter." He muttered. "Invading my mind like it's his for the taking."
He rounded a corner angrily to be face-to-face with the culprit himself. He had a tendency to meet up with the people he is least anxious to see. It really was becoming a problem.
He tried to go around the taller boy, but Harry wouldn't have it. To the students walking by, it must have looked like they were dancing with each other. They, quite frankly, looked ridiculous, and Draco was not happy about it.
"Move it, Potter. Seriously."
Harry frowned back at him.
"Are you just going to stand there looking disappointed while I starve to death, or are you going to let me eat some food today?" He tried to move past again, but this time Harry held him by his shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" He growled half angrily, half scared. Harry let go as if he had been burned.
"I just want to talk. Please, Draco. It's been two days. I've given you time to cool off, now let's sit down and talk it out…"
"…You think this is something that will just clear up like the weather, Potter? Have you completely lost it? I'm sick of you hurting me. I'm sick of you acting like you care about me. I'm sick of you messing with my head all the time, and I'M SICK OF YOU."
You could almost hear the chins hit the floor as their fellow students' jaws dropped. Little did they know that this was only the beginning.
Before anyone saw it coming, Harry's eyes clouded up angrily, and he snapped.
Blaise turned the corner to see something that he had not planned on. Harry had Draco pinned against the wall and was yelling… no… SCREAMING at Draco like Draco had just killed Hedwig.
"I DO CARE ABOUT YOU. I'M NOT TRYING TO PLAY WITH YOUR HEAD. I JUST WANT TO SHOW YOU THAT I CARE, BUT SOMETHING ALWAYS GETS SAID THE WRONG WAY BECAUSE YOU'RE JUST SO GOD-DAMN FRAGILE AND YOU CAN'T STOMACH THE TRUTH."
Blaise ran over to the scene as Harry began to shake a trembling Draco by the shoulders.
"Get off of him!"
Harry shook him again as he cried incoherently. Draco whimpered.
"Harry, stop!"
Again.
"You're hurting him! Please…"
Again.
BAM.
"Draco, come on. It's okay, come here." Blaise held out his arms as Draco pushed past a very dazed Harry Potter. Bringing his hand up to his nose, he felt blood spilling from his nostrils. He couldn't wrap his head around it. Blaise had punched him.
"Hurting him wasn't what I had in mind, Potter. Never mind what I said." Blaise said as Draco disappeared into the Great Hall. "Stay away from him, or I swear to Merlin, Potter, it won't be your nose next time.
"Ron, look."
Ron turned to follow where Hermione's finger was pointing. It led to Draco sitting next to Pansy with tears in his eyes. Next thing he knew, she was embracing him and cradling him back and forth like a small child. Then his gaze was led to the door.
Blaise Zabini was storming in with a fiery anger in his eyes. His gaze softened as he approached Draco and he tightly embraced him in a comforting hug. He whispered something to Draco, and Ron could make out the words, "Thank you" forming on Draco's lips.
"Come on," Hermione said as she got up. Ron followed suit. The walked to the Slytherin table, earning them some funny looks by the other Slytherins as they approached.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked fearfully, hoping that Nott and Flint hadn't shown up again.
"Go ask Potter." Blaise answered bitterly. "You'll find him in the infirmary I'm sure. I left him with quite a bloody nose."
"What?!" Ron was ready to defend his best friend. "Why would you do that? Just because he and Draco are fighting doesn't mean…"
"It was in defense of Draco…"
"Yes we know that, but…"
"No, you don't know!" People paused to stare at Blaise for a moment before turning back to their breakfast. Blaise continued in a hushed tone. "Harry was hurting him."
Ron stared blankly at him.
"Shaking him."
Ron couldn't comprehend it.
"Screaming at him. Scaring him to death."
Ron's eyes shifted from Blaise, to Pansy, to Draco so quickly he became dizzy. Then he sprinted from the Great Hall, determined to find out what happened from his best friend's own lips.
Harry wouldn't… no. Not Harry. There's something wrong. He can't have…
Ron caught his breath in front of the infirmary doors as Harry opened them from the inside on his way out.
"Harry, why would you ever…?"
Before he could finish, his best friend was sobbing into his shoulder.
What's up with Harry? Has he lost it? I don't know! Well, yes I do. But you probably know, too. I'll update soon this time, probably within the week. Please review!