Ron could see the deep scars on his wrists and others on his arms, neck and face. He, himself, still had nightmares about what he saw at Azkaban when he went undercloak there. None of the other prisoners were chained down like Draco had been, but it was still horrifying. He had done the interviews and watched the memories (which he would never ever tell Draco or Harry that). So, he knew exactly what those bastards did to Draco. Ron didn't understand how he was even functioning.
Draco did look a lot better than the last time Ron had seen him, and a hundred times better than when he left prison. His face was fuller. Clearly, he had been eating more, and his skin and hair looked better, though he still had "bed hair". Ron guessed that Harry was not a fan of mirrors, because there were none in the room. He idly wondered if Harry always did Draco's hair. It seemed so... domestic. Ron often wondered about the nature of their relationship as Harry was so protective of Draco. Hermione had mentioned that Harry and Draco had often looked at each other when she came before the trial to do the interview.
Joel and Draco finally stopped staring at each other. Joel was going to be a mind healer and knew some Legilimency. At least, that was what Ron guessed was happening. Draco finished his tea and took a deep breath.
"Sorry, it's hard," he said, quietly.
"It's completely fine, Draco," his wife assured him, but then Ron nudged her with his foot to prompt her to talk. Malfoy didn't tense up nearly as much when she spoke. "But I think it'd be better, if Ron went out into the hallway, Draco. I'll tell him everything. I'm sure Harry didn't mean that he had to be here. Just said that he needs Ron help. It'll make it easier for you."
Malfoy shook his head, idly spinning his empty teacup on the table with one finger. "I know what he said, and we don't have time. If Blaise doesn't get here...."
"I'm here," Zabini said, coming in the door, and Neville came in behind him. "Sorry, had to arrange substitutes for both of us."
Ron nodded hello to Neville, trying to avoid talking for Draco's benefit. He eyed Zabini, though. He was still a little peeved about the whole eavesdropping thing, but this wasn't the place for confrontations. Neville had owled the next day to apologize, but emphasized that they had wanted to make sure that Harry was okay. The fact that Zabini had helped track down Harry and got him to a safe place, definitely diminished his anger. He would need to actually talk to the man before he forgave him.
Hermione waited until Blaise conjured a chair between Draco and Joel to say, "Alright, we're all here. You spoke to Harry?"
"Not exactly," Draco said, grimacing. "But he-he said that Higgs dosed him. Gave him a salve form of a Panic Potion. He said that it was the reason he freaked out during the evaluation, and Higgs gave him another dose for the night, too."
Zabini straightened up, Joel swore under his breath, and the others gasped in shock and anger. Ron, however, had to maintain his emotions. He didn't want to make Draco stop talking by getting worked up, needlessly.
"That's highly illegal! Higgs can be charged for that. But wait... was it just absorbed through skin contact?" Hermione asked.
Draco nodded and his eyes flickered back and forth between her and the table. "He had a huge rash on his arm. His emotions were completely out of control when I first got there. It took a bit to calm him down, and even then, he still was barely in control. It was several hours old, too, so I imagine a fresh dose would really mess his emotions up."
Ron grimaced. Harry barely had a hold on his emotions as it was. A Panic Potion was just cruel.
"Well, I can test his skin for the potion, and there is certainly no medical need for it. It should stay on his skin for a few days. Did you touch it?"