Blood Vengeance

Chapter 10

Published: 11/28/2021

Malfoy was staring away from him at the wall, his eyes wide open. He wasn't holding back his tremors nor his tears, anymore. Harry knew how much he hated him there, but Malfoy shouldn't be alone through this. The healers had strapped him to the bed earlier as Malfoy had tried to leave, regardless that his feet were not fully healed. Malfoy was constantly pulling on the bands, not really trying to escape but just wanting them off. The healers had locked them on. Harry probably could magic through them, but he also could be thrown out of the hospital for doing it.

Harry felt for him. Malfoy had been through so much and now was dealing with a long withdrawal. His reserve was something, though. Just like in the memory, when he was being tortured to death, he had accepted his fate and was silently enduring it. Harry supposed that withdrawal wasn't nearly as bad as what DEK did, but Malfoy was fighting his own body, his own memories and the darker side of his soul. It was just as much psychological torture as physical pain.

But Malfoy wasn't crying out for his potions, relief or his mum. He preserved. Harry had seen the desperate things addicts do when deprived of their stash and how their lives unravel. Of course, Harry didn't think that Malfoy was actually living his life. He was hiding in his room, leaving the house once a month, drinking illegal potions and retreating inward. Despite disagreeing with the hospital's decision to commit him, Malfoy needed help. His mother even thought he was suicidal.

Harry just wanted to help him. He wanted to ease Malfoy's suffering. He wanted him to live, again. He just couldn't bear to see Malfoy go back into the darkness and loneliness of his room. Malfoy needed to come back to life, to feel safe and connect with people. Harry didn't care if Malfoy still hated him or hated everyone. He needed a friend, and Harry was determined to at least offer it to him, even if Malfoy was trying to push him away.

A small sob came from the bed, and Harry stared, knowing he was headed into the worse bit. Harry slowly got up and conjured a chair closer to the bed. Malfoy registered his movement, but did not turn to make eye contact. Harry slowly put his hand on his bed and touched Malfoy's pale, clenched hand. Malfoy was no doubt damaging it more, but pain is a distraction for other worst pain. Harry slowly unraveled his hand and let Malfoy grab onto his hand.

Surprisingly, Malfoy immediately latched on, gripping his hand to the point of pain. Harry wouldn't tell him to let up. Malfoy needed the contact. He refused to meet his eyes, still looking at the wall, as though Harry might use Legilimency against him. An hour passed and more tears came out. Malfoy, finally, closed his eyes as though trying to shut down his emotions. He was trying to put up mental barriers to shield and hide from the pain.

"Draco... I'm here. You're safe. No one is going to hurt you while I'm here," Harry breathed.

Malfoy screwed up his eyes and let out another quiet sob. His hand still had a death grip on Harry's, but he refused to look at him.

"It's okay... you're going to be okay," Harry said, probably failing at reassuring a traumatized, severely tortured, sexual assault victim. But all Harry had was what little victim care counseling Auror school gave him and his instincts. Unfortunately, his instincts were telling him that he wasn't reassuring Malfoy at all. He needed to get Malfoy's mind off it... off what happened. He had to try to talk to him and open up.

"So... you were spot on yesterday," Harry began quietly, though Malfoy still wouldn't look at him. "After five fucking years of being an Auror, I'm still on probation. To the seniors, I'm still just an up-jump kid, who survived on luck alone. I've even wondered it, too, but I've solved every case I've been put on so far. Nearly caught that bastard, so I don't want you to think I'm incompetent or anything. But... I kinda got reamed for saving you."

Malfoy's face visibly relaxed. He was listening. Harry had no idea if talking about his case would hurt or help, but he was listening.

"Cause I jumped there without backup. Aurors go in pairs. Fuckers even brushed off the fact that you would have died if I hadn't, like it wasn't a big deal. DEK probably still could have Apparated out, even if I did wait. He was ready and quick. Exit prepared. But... I... I didn't cast a vitals spell on you... and you nearly died. I'm sorry for that, but you were... well... I'm so sorry. My gut turns just thinking about it. Actually, it scared the fuck out of me when your mum reported you missing. Twenty-three hours you were gone, if you didn't know. You're tougher than me, Draco. I couldn't imagine... even watching it.

"I don't know when I'll be able to go to sleep, again. Thank Merlin for Stay-Awake Potions, but I'm sure I'll start hallucinating eventually. Can't live without sleep. I've tried to. I'm sure you have, too. If there's anyone who understands me, it's you. It's always been you. I've always understood you, too. Fuck, sixth year... I knew. I knew what they made you do, and no one would believe me. And then I... I hurt you, when you were vulnerable and desperate. I'm so sorry for that. It was an accident... I didn't know what that spell did, and it still gives me nightmares.

"But I know you, Draco. You're not a killer. You don't even like hurting people. I was there... at the tower."

Draco twitched at that, but he didn't turn his head. He also wasn't crying anymore.

"Dumbledore froze me. I think you knew... you saw the two broomsticks. But I watched and I heard what he said and what you said. You were so scared and trapped, but you lowered your wand. Even when the others came up... you still refused to kill him. I can't tell you how impressed I was... that you didn't give in. But, I suspect you knew what the consequences were for refusing to kill him."

Draco shuddered and took a shaky breath.

"You still picked the right choice, Draco. It was nearly a year later when I was on my knees in front of you. I saw the fear and recognition in your eyes. You refused to say it was me, even after all you went through. I... read your file. The Cruciatus Curses? DEK had no idea that you understand that pain more than anything. I'm so sorry, Draco. I'm sorry that you were hurt by people you trusted. I'm sorry that you're still paying for things that you didn't deserve, and I'm sorry that you went through another long bout of torture because of another psychopath."

Tears welled in Draco's eyes, again, but he was breathing easier.

"I'm going to find him. I'm going to make sure that he won't hurt you or your mum, again. I'm going to make sure that he pays for it. I want you to feel safe... not just from him, either. You don't deserve to be stuck in that house... in your room, alone. I won't let you," Harry said, and he didn't know where the words were coming from. It sounded stalkerish, crazy even, but there were just some things you followed with your heart. Draco only responded with more tears.

"Well... maybe I can talk about less awkward things? I guess I'll tell you about my friends. Ginny is playing for the Harpies as a star chaser, and she's also going out with Alicia. I guess they hit it off. They made it to the semifinals last year. We never did get back together after the war as we both went after our careers.

"Ron and Hermione married. Ron's working with me, still watching me back. Don't know if you heard about Hermione... as it wasn't really published in the Prophet, but she joined the Department of Mysteries."

Draco's forehead furrowed in confusion, but he still refused to look at him.

"I know, right? I figured she'd be taking on the world in the Wizengamot or the other powerhouses in the Ministry. But no, she's making new spells and doing Merlin-knows-what there. She's gotten so... badass now, that she scares me. There's just something about being an Unspeakable that puts everyone on edge. So, don't think that your mum isn't safe with her. She was the one who figured out how to scan and follow Apparation jump points... really advanced our response. But unfortunately, some jerk in the Auror department sold the 온라인카지노게임 to the Prophet."

"We could've had the "jump" on criminals for a long, long time..." Harry sighed and shook his head. Hermione only gave him the cool stuff now, but all the Aurors really needed to have the Apparation training. "So, DEK knew to do multiple jumps, to try to shake me off. He took me all over and even to a muggle shopping venue. I'm so pissed that I didn't get him, but we got a bunch of leads going. You want to hear them?"

Draco frowned, but his eyes were dry, finally. He squeezed Harry's hand. Harry hoped that meant yes, because he explained about the five-year gap, his suspicions about DEK being just barely legal, canvassing Diagon Alley for clues, Hogwart and MOP's records, and how DEK just Apparated into a muggle building sure that it was safe. Draco listened, almost intently as though trying to focus on him rather than his pain.

He talked longer than he had in a while, nearly an hour without any input from him. Draco hadn't let go of his hand, either. His grip remained tight, though it wasn't a death grip. He was shaking, but it wasn't as bad as earlier. He hadn't made eye contact with him since Harry got there, but he was considerably calmer. Harry wasn't sure if Malfoy was just embarrassed to look at him, or he was afraid that Harry would try to enter his mind.

Around two, an orderly came in to check Malfoy's vitals. Malfoy immediately let go of his hand and became visibly distressed. He took short breaths, was shaking and pulling uselessly on his wrist restraints. Harry hated to see him so helpless and scared. What was worse was that the orderly had no posh and did her checks without expressing simple compassion or sympathy. Harry glared at the woman, no doubt half-asleep, but she should have seen that he was anxious and scared.

"Excuse me?" Harry growled.

"Yeah?" she huffed.

"Can you summon the healer-on-call?"

"For what?" she scoffed.

"If you hadn't noticed, the patient is in distress."

"He's going through withdrawal."

"You all have him fully restrained. A victim who was just bound and tortured. This is cruel and abusive. So get me a healer, or I'll find someone else higher up to talk to!" he snapped, and she paled and fled the room.

Malfoy was trying to keep from crying, but failing really. Harry took his hand until the healer arrived. He refused to rescind the assigned healer's orders at first, but Harry laid it out with him, too. The healer appeared to finally realize he was talking too and mumbled that the patient was a flight risk. Harry shot that down flat. If they thought that, there were other means to keep him confined without restraints.

"He is clearly agitated, and if I had arrived earlier, I would chewed out his healer big-time. Are you all so incompetent that you can't cast monitoring wards? Or move him to the 24-hour watch ward? And I'm also certain I requested hospital security for protection, which isn't in the hallway like it should be. I'm absolutely positive that you are required by Ministry code to have that option for protection in place! And if you had put a security wizard or witch on his door, I'm certain that the patient wasn't going to escape then! Unless you're saying that he can Apparate through your wards without a wand?"

The healer was now fully awake and stammering, "I-Well-He... I don't th-"

"Regardless of all that, I'm a fucking Auror. I will watch over him. Undue the bindings, now!" Harry growled, vehemently.

The healer swallowed nervously and waved his wand over the bonds. They released, and Draco immediately pulled his hands to his chest, turned on his side, faced the wall and pulled his knees upward, getting in a clear fetal position. He was letting tears fall, again. Harry brushed off the healer, and he left quickly. Harry brought his chair over to the other side of the bed. Draco was looking straight ahead, clearly avoiding eye contact.

"I'm so sorry, Draco," he murmured.

Draco maintained his death stare with the wall. Harry put his hand on the bed near his, and to his surprise, Malfoy's fingers reached out and took his hand. He wanted, probably needed, some positive contact, some reassurance. Harry gripped his hand, trying to ground him. A few times Draco snuck a look, but he never really looked him in the eyes. He was shaking more, almost convulsing. The potion withdrawal was really starting to hit him, and Harry could tell that he was in pain. It took an hour of tremors, but pure exhaustion finally forced him under.

Harry knew it when his grip loosened that he had fallen asleep. He put up some motion charms and other wards. Then he locked his hand in position on Draco's so Harry wouldn't wake him accidentally. Then he closed his eyes briefly. He had just a short nap before his wards triggered, and he woke up, as Draco leaned over the side of his bed and retched. It was another withdrawal symptom, and Draco only had nutrient potions in his stomach, so it was mostly acid.

Harry vanished the mess, though Draco's head was still overhanging the edge, like he was not sure that he was done. Harry's hand lightly reached forward and gently touched Draco's shoulder. Though he knew that Draco was both a victim of severe abuse and torture, he couldn't help himself. He wanted to comfort him, and Draco's hand gripping his wasn't enough. Draco twitched at the unexpected contact, but didn't brush him off. Harry rubbed his shoulder supportively as Draco dry-heaved a few more times, before his stomach finally stopped. Now he was trying to get all the bile out of his mouth and nose.

"I can... spell it out?" Harry whispered.

Draco breathed deeply for a few seconds and nodded. Harry unobtrusively cleaned his airway and did a Mouth Freshener Charm that Hermione had taught him. Draco swished his mouth awkwardly, but relaxed his head into his pillow. He rolled his shoulder, and Harry pulled backhand, assuming that he wanted it removed, now. Aside from telling him to "fuck off" when he arrived that evening, he hadn't said anything. As evident from the memory, Draco was quite capable of refusing to speak.

Harry had to consider that he was restrained when he arrived, and Draco was decidedly at his mercy even more than before. Harry also knew that Draco had only one person in his life, now. He was not used to talking, to opening up, to letting people in. His social skills were probably gone. Draco was so used to suffering in silence that he might never connect with anyone, again.

That fact made Harry's heartache. Draco deserved none of this. Harry had read his file. People had abused him for so long and so much that he was practically in a dissociative state. He was in pure defensive mode. Harry wondered if he even let his guards when he was hunkered down in his room. Draco was staring at his wall, now, barely hanging on. Harry squeezed his hand, needing to remind Draco again that he wasn't alone. He never wanted him to think that anymore.

Draco suddenly let out a sob, and the shaking suddenly increased as though Harry had snapped him out of wherever he was in his mind. Fucking hell, Draco's distress was agony for him. Harry needed him to believe that there was an end to this pain.

"I'm here, Draco. I'm here, and I won't leave you. I'll protect you, now... I promise," Harry vowed.

Draco sniffled, and tears came out. Slowly, Draco's eyes finally met his. Now, he knew why Draco had refused to look at him. Harry didn't need to know Legilimency to see into Draco's mind. His grey eyes were so open that Harry could see everything. He could see how vulnerable he was... that he was a scared, traumatized, lonely kid, who had nothing left to give. Harry could see that he wanted to die, with every fiber of his being and, literally, his mother was the only thing staying his hand.

"Shh... I'm here for you, Draco. Please believe that. You're never going to be alone, again, Draco. We're connected... we always were. I'm sorry that I didn't come for you these last five years... but I did miss you. And I'll be here for you... I'll help you recover, Draco."

Draco's eyes watered and tore them away to bury his face in his pillow. He was crying, nearly unrestrained. His mental guards were trying and failing to reassert themselves. Merlin, Harry could see, no... feel how much Draco just wanted relief from the pain. Harry reached with his free hand to connect with Draco, again. This time he gently touched his head, almost petting his hair. Draco stilled, the tremors nearly stopping, and one eye turned to look at him, briefly, before he turned back to the wall, calmer.

"I'll get you out of here soon, Draco. We can talk, and I'll do whatever I can to make you feel safe and loved. You're not going to be alone anymore. I'm going to find whoever hurt you and make sure they pay for what they did."

Draco glanced at him as though he didn't believe him, but his hand squeezed his. Harry assumed that it was the only thanks Draco was inclined to give.