Mute (Drarry) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 38

"So, I guess the rules have already changed..." Draco said, awkwardly, looking back at Ven who was sitting on Draco's bed and reading through one of their books that they told Draco they needed to do for homework.

"Melissa and Harry have something to work on together, but we still want to keep the two of you safe seeing as what happened the day before yesterday. It's a shame your parents needed to go home, but I guess I understand." Ven said with a sigh. Melissa hadn't told them either, and they hadn't seen Harry's hands yesterday. All they knew was that Harry wanted Melissa to help him with something.

"Is there any reason I can't know?" Draco asked, he didn't know why he felt so unhappy about the fact that Harry wasn't asking him for help or even telling him what it was that he was getting help with.

"Well, I'm guessing it's personal, only Harry and Melissa know. It's not that he doesn't trust you, some things are easier to do with people you know less well." Ven said, truthfully, they also wanted to be involved, but if Harry needed there to be only one person there and he chose Melissa then so be it.

"Why would it be easier to talk to people you don't know? Surely it would be more difficult because you'd be more worried they'd judge you about things you haven't even done." Draco said, looking at Ven as though they were crazy.

"I honestly don't know, but there's a lot about in in muggle psychology stuff." Ven sighed, sitting up. "Besides, you're supposed to be doing transfiguration homework right now."

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"Okay, Harry, relax. You're completely safe right now, and nobody's going to get angry with you or hurt you. Try saying something simple, like hi." Melissa said after she had emptied the room of everyone except herself and Harry.

Harry was fiddling with his fingers, he wanted to talk, but he was also scared. Nothing had ever gone well if he had spoken, usually that ending up with him being hurt, underfed, and locked in the cupboard under the stairs for week on end. But he was also scared that Draco, Predawn, Melissa, and Ven would get bored of him and leave him if he didn't make himself more interesting. 

The teachers already hated him for not being able to talk because they had to spend longer to teach him the same thing as everyone else. If he was normal then people would like him more and his friends would take longer to leave him. He hated himself for becoming dependent on others, but at the same time it felt nice, it felt like people cared about him for once. He would do anything to get them to want to stay with him.

"H- h- h- hi-" Harry stuttered out, his breathing unsteady and getting faster as he tried to make himself calm down, but achieving the opposite.

"Harry, please look at me, breath, you're doing well." Melissa said, moving her face into Harry's direct line of sight, loving concern the only expression on her face. "Breath in through your nose to 3, and out through your mouth on 4. In through your nose, 1... 2... 3... Hold for a second. Out through your mouth, 1... 2... 3... 4..."

Melissa repeated talking Harry through the breathing exercise a few times, Harry managing to focus on her and his breathing enough to get his breath and heartrate back down to a normal speed. His eyes were watery and large as he looked at Melissa.

"You're doing so well, Harry. Just let me know if you want to stop for today. It's just the two of us here, you're not going to get hurt." Melissa said, looking at Harry carefully. "Do you want me to get you your dragon plush?"

Harry nodded, fiddling with the sheets on Melissa's bed. He was the one who wanted to learn how to talk, but he was the one stopping himself and messing up everything, as Mr Vernon and Mrs Petunia always told him he did.

"I'll go get it, you're doing really well, Harry. I promise." Melissa said, softly, she wanted to kiss him on the forehead, but she felt that Harry wouldn't want that and she wasn't close enough to do that yet, so she settled for gently ruffling his hair.

Harry wasn't sure if he believed her, she would tell him he was doing a good job when he failed a spell everyone else could do. She would always tell him he was more impressive than everyone else because he was doing them non-verbally, which was apparently something that was done after OWLs, but Harry didn't now how she'd know that seeing as how she was in her OWL year.

Harry looked at the sheets that would be frayed to shreds if they were his pathetic excuse for a blanket with the Dursleys. He couldn't be sure if it was because of magic, or the better quality. Melissa's bed was nice, a four poster with Slytherin green curtains like everyone else's, but her sheets were a warm cream with red and blue pillows and a quilt with the Hogwarts crest on it. It look distinctly handmade, and Harry remembered he thought he saw her kissing a Hufflepuff in the corner of the common room once, that was probably where she got the quilt, otherwise it didn't look like something she would make.

Melissa wasn't gone for long, coming back with the rather large silver dragon Harry was especially likely to hug when Draco wasn't there or if he was busy. Harry wasn't willing to disturb someone who was doing something unless someone else was the one who needed something or the person doing something would miss something important or was in danger.

"Do you want to try saying something else, or do you want to stop here for today?" Melissa asked, sitting next to Harry as he wrapped his arms around the plushie, sinking into it slightly as he hid about half of his face.

Harry shuffled uncomfortably, hiding his face in the plushie and freeing his hands to sign to her that he wanted to try to say something else.

"Okay, why don't you try saying.... Hmm... Predawn. It's the password and would be a good thing for you to be able to say in an emergency." Melissa said. She had a feeling that she knew why Harry wanted to learn to talk, more than his fears of inadequacy, but she wasn't completely sure he knew.

Before Harry could splutter any sound out, he ended up having a coughing fit. Melissa put her foot down after that that Harry had done enough for the day.