Redo

Chapter 14

"Harry!" Hermione's tear filled eyes was the first thing Harry saw when he was finally able to open his eyes again. "Are you alright? Is your throat sore? Do you want a drink? Something to eat?" 

Harry opened his moth to speak, but his throat was extremely dry, feeling like sandpaper. He coughed rather than spoke, but that alone was enough to make the irritation in his throat worse. 

"Potter, drink this." Mme Pomfrey handed Harry a white ceramic cup, filled with a thick, pinkish liquid that was slightly warm to the touch. "It will soothe your throat." 

Harry did as he was told, whatever it was tasted sweet, and no sooner had it reached his throat than he felt normal again, at least his throat did. 

"How are you, mate?" Ron made himself known, sitting beside Harry, further back than Hermione was, though now she had moved back. 

"Better." Harry looked down at his hands which were shaking. 

"You don't every have to tell them anything, but the Daily Prophet has been trying to contact you about what happened. Obviously they couldn't talk to you before, and they weren't able to see you closely. Honestly I don't recommend talking to them, they're very..." Ron trailed off as he tried to find the most polite word to describe the newspaper that was more lies than news. 

"Sensational." Hermione finished his sentence. "Honestly it's worth reading to see what they're on about, but they have no credibility." 

Harry didn't know how they wanted him to respond, but even after the potion he didn't really feel up to long conversations. Maybe it was because while he felt safe with Ron and Hermione, it was still more attention than he was really comfortable with. 

He obviously didn't know what was happening while he was asleep, nor could he see, but it seemed like they, Draco, and Neville stayed by him most, if not the whole time. Harry was glad, but at the same time he was almost scared that they were being so kind to him, he knew he couldn't return it. 

"You may go back to your dorm, but Ms Granger and Misters Weasley, Malfoy, and Longbottom will be checking up on you and you are not to be going to classes until next week." Mme Pomfrey knew that he was not the kind of person who would be willing to stay in the Hospital Wing for long, especially after something as sudden and traumatic as the allergic reaction. Besides, regular check ins from his friends who knew more than she did was likely more useful. 

"Thank you." Harry mumbled, looking down at his hands that Hermione was holding. 

"I'll send some potions with your friends, be sure to take them regularly and at least ask one of them if you need anything." Mme Pomfrey gestured for Ron to follow her to get the potions. 

----- 

Harry didn't know what to do with himself, it wasn't comfortable for him to stay in the dorm, and he was told to make himself as comfortable as possible, but it wasn't much better in the common room. In the time he was trapped in his own body it seemed that the whole world had found out about what had happened, and he couldn't stand the looks they gave him for it. He had already read through his textbooks with Hermione, and she had been reading a few of them to him when he was unresponsive. 

"Hey." Draco came into view in front of Harry, sitting opposite him on the sofa. 

Harry just waved at him, not feeling any words in him to use. 

"You doing alright?" Draco looked a little concerned. 

Harry just nodded, picking at his extremely worn top, it was the best one he had, but that meant little. 

"Not feeling up to talking?" Draco frowned a little as Harry nodded, though it wasn't at Harry. "Just so you know, you're coming to mine over Christmas. We're also going to get you some new clothes." 

"Don't have to." Harry couldn't make his voice very loud, and the 'You' that was supposed to be the start of the sentence. He hated how it was a struggle to speak at the moment, but at least he was talking to someone who wasn't getting mad at him for it. 

"I know, but I want you there, and honestly I don't want you going back to your relatives." Draco shrugged, Harry still had yet to tell any of them about what happened in that house, but knowing what they did, it was pretty easy to see the signs. 

Harry's breath hitched, a little scared. He wasn't supposed to let anyone know specifics about what happens at the Dursleys, it was such a high, important rule that it was drilled into him from before he was even told not to ask questions, and it was drilled in harder. While it still gives him goose bumps, he can ask questions, but he was never able to form words about what happened. His mind would either spin enough to make him feel like he was going to throw up, or would go completely blank. 

Then again, from what Harry had heard around the castle it sounded like purebloods like Draco didn't really like muggles. It didn't sound like Draco was like that, and while Harry honestly didn't have anyone he was close to, Harry was not alright with that way of thinking. 

"I'm pretty lonely over the holidays. Being at home is better than the castle is sure to be, but I don't really have any friends at home. It doesn't look like you want to go back to your relatives anyway, and I want friends at mine, win win, right?" Draco shrugged. 

It wasn't entirely a lie, Draco had been extremely lonely until about third year when he had met Pansy, but he was a 17 year old trying to act like an 11 year old who wanted to be an adult, Harry being his top priority. It wasn't even surprising to his parents that he was friends with Harry, though his mother may have misunderstood. 

"I... I want to meet my uncle over Christmas." Harry honestly did want to stay with Draco, the castle was a nice place to be, but he just found family he had long lost hope of finding. 

"There's a limit on how long you can stay with them, right? You can stay at mine for the rest of the time." Draco was a little disappointed he was lower down the list than Remus, but then again he couldn't begin to imagine how Harry felt being given a family member who loved him after so many years. 

Harry just nodded. It almost felt like he was being led along the whole conversation by Draco. 

----- 

Father,  
I have found your long lost sister, and as long as the letters are sent through me and her adopted niece she is willing to reform a relationship with you. I have enclosed the letter she wanted you to have with this letter. I hope this makes you feel better about what happened back then.  
I have now told Harry that he's coming for Christmas, so you can't say that he can't come now.  
Love you,  
Draco 

Lucius had never read such a letter from Draco before, since when did Draco sign off letters with "love you"? And he didn't even remember telling Draco about his sister. This change in Draco's attitude seemed to have been happening since they went shopping for his school supplies, but nothing to note had happened. 

But how had Draco managed to get in contact with Lyra? And since when did she have an adopted niece? Of course, Lucius sighed as he lent his arm on the table, pressing his hand on his forehead, he wouldn't know anything about Lyra. 

Sometimes he was jealous of her, she got to go off and do who knows what, while he was left to be controlled by his parents. He still didn't know if he was sad about their deaths. Other times he just felt pained by the absence of his one and only sister, though he knew how much harder it was for her. 

"Lulu?" Narcissa brought him back to the table, his bowl of topokki in a sweet spicy sauce now cold from how long he had abandoned it. "Are you alright?" 

"Draco forwarded me a letter from Lyra." Lucius leaned back in his chair, letting out a firm breath, fingers finding the envelope. 

"That's a good thing though. I'll take care of today's business, you deal with the letter." 

"What would I do without you?"