Tired (QPR Drarry, mates, ace arospec Harry)

Chapter 12

"Mr and Mrs Malfoy, thank you for coming today." Mme Pomfrey sat in front of the couple, Draco, Remus, and Harry. "I am sure everyone here is aware of what this is about." 

Harry, sitting between Draco and Remus, looked at his hands. He had no idea what this was about; he hadn't done anything but sign the papers he was given the day before. Maybe he should have not signed? Maybe he was supposed to kick Draco and Ron out? But Ron wasn't here too. Was he supposed to have left the Hospital Wing by now? But if it was that, why was Draco here too? 

"We had tried to make sure that Dragon wouldn't reveal it, but I guess we didn't put enough thought into what about his mate made him change." Narcissa sighed, putting a hand on Draco's shoulder as she looked at the small, scarred boy, so obviously Harry Potter, but at the same time looking far too young to even attend Hogwarts. 

"Harry, I would usually talk about this privately, however this is a more unique situation. In the wizarding world there are mates, rather like what muggles call 'soulmates', though slightly different. There is no need for romance, the mates are chosen by magic to fulfill the needs of the other or others. Draco is your mate." Mme Pomfrey, and everyone else, were looking directly at Harry, who felt extremely uncomfortable under the attention. 

"Uh- um." Harry didn't know what to say, but the silence and attention made him feel like it was his turn to speak "So... Draco is something that I need?" 

"Draco is who magic has decided can best provide what you need, and you for him. It's likely why he was so insistent on taking you here on the first night and tried to get in the way of treatment. You two aren't fully settled together yet, so the response to a need will be less controllable." Mme Pomfrey explained gently. 

"I, um, is that why we're here?" Harry physically couldn't take his eyes away from his feet, he was shaking and his eyes were damper than usual. 

"It is a little. First of all, I believe it is important for the Malfoys to understand your condition and why Draco underwent an early inheritance, as well as discuss with everyone the best steps moving forwards. If you don't feel comfortable sharing everything it doesn't have to be, just raise your hand or something else." Mme Pomfrey wasn't sure if Harry really would, but if she didn't want Draco revealing his inheritance to the whole student body, or destroy the castle, then he and his parents had to know what was happening with Harry. 

"Hey," Remus whispered and he leaned in to Harry, offering the 11 year old his hand. "If you want it to stop, just squeeze my hand." 

Harry nodded, taking Remus' hand, shifting a little closer to him. 

"When is it that Draco's inheritance came through?" Mme Pomfrey looked at Lucius and Narcissa, knowing Draco will have been thoroughly thrown for a loop in the process. 

"32 days ago." Lucius answered immediately, Narcissa not even having time to open her mouth. 

"I believe Draco changed because Harry was bitten by a werewolf. We don't know who it was that bit him, but we can be sure it wasn't Fenrir from the clean bite." Mme Pomfrey glanced at Harry as she explained, he looked but showed no signs of trying to get her to stop. "Thankfully it was before students were really allowed in the halls, but he broke out of his room to come here the other day. I am sure this will only get worse from now on. We need to find a way to keep Draco calm during these times." 

"I see, that's definitely something we need to look into. Do you need us to cover any damages Draco did?" Narcissa nodded, brushing a strand of hair out of Draco's face. 

"No, we do understand the situation around early inheritances. We need to better reinforce his room for future instances." Mme Pomfrey shook her head, Hogwarts couldn't expect parent to pay when the school had been prewarned about a possible danger. 

"Can't I just be with Harry during the full moon? We're mates, he can't kill me." Draco looked between Harry, who was finding his thighs very interesting, and his father. 

"Absolutely not." Remus and Lucius spoke up at the same time. 

"While we may have the wolfsbane potion now, it requires extremely regular drinking to work, even a small mistake can lead to losing your mind. When a werewolf loses their mind in a transformation, even being mates won't stop them from attacking to kill. You aren't immune to the werewolf bite either. Even if the potion does work, it's not exactly the same as your untransformed mind. At least until Harry is 16 you cannot be around him during a full moon. Don't worry though, he won't be alone, I'll also be with him." Remus gave Harry's hand a small squeeze. 

"And that leads me to the next issue. Harry, I am aware that you are doing your best in order to recover for the majority of this school year. While I will support you in this as much as I can, I want you to be aware that there is no shame in needing to take some time out of the castle. If you're focusing on joining the other students you will end up losing all of your holidays to treatment." Mme Pomfrey's voice was gentle as she looked at the small, scared boy. 

"I-" Harry's voice suddenly cut off, Harry licking his dry lips, "I don't want to be behind everyone else." 

"Well alright, just know the option is there if you need it." Mme Pomfrey nodded, ticking off something on the parchment in front of her. "I will contact your healer at St Mungo's so they're up to date with your treatments." 

Harry nodded, his hands shaking, but he wasn't squeezing Remus' hands. Remus decided not to wait, seeing how uncomfortable. 

"Unless there's something else that the Malfoys desperately need to know, I think it's time for it to be just me and Harry." Remus just gave Harry a small glance, and a small squeeze to his hand, which Harry returned. 

"Right, unless you two can think of another solution I believe Draco should take a strong sleeping potion on nights with a full moon." Mme Pomfrey was looking at the Malfoys, not Harry and Remus. "Please let me know if there are any allergies or preferences." 

"Thank you, we'll send it by owl." Narcissa nodded, grabbing her husband and son's shoulders to make sure they followed her. 

"But mum! He's my mate! I should stay and look out for him!" Draco complained as both parents guided him out of the room. 

"Draco," Narcissa bent down so she was on eye level with her son once they were outside the room, the door closing slowly on its own. "Your mate is vulnerable, leaving him with his new guardian and giving him space is how you look after-" And her voice immediately cut off as the door closed. 

"Harry," Remus was the first to start talking. "I know this is something that will be difficult for you, but would you be willing to tell us, and others, about what happened with the Dursleys?" 

Harry immediately tensed, letting go of Remus' hand. His breathing became more rough than before. His head was still down, but his eyes were darting around. 

He hadn't said anything about what the Dursleys did. 

He didn't do anything wrong this time. 

Hadn't he? 

"You aren't going to have to go back to them, Remus is your legal guardian now. You only have to see them if you want to, or if you agree to be a witness to have them legally punished." Mme Pomfrey looked at Harry kindly, though he couldn't see. 

"I-" Harry's voice was shaking too. "They didn't do anything illegal." 

Harry had tried to talk to teachers in the past, but none of them believed him, and wherever it did go was nowhere important, and it just made things worse. Heading to Hogwarts was not the first time that his hair had been cut that way, and it definitely wasn't a haircut anyone thought was acceptable. 

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it until you're ready, you're not going to be punished no matter what you say." Remus wanted to lay a hand on Harry's shoulder, but if his experiences with Sirius had taught him anything, it was that unexpected touch was not welcome in times like these.