Aftermath • Drarry

018

I love you

not only for what you are,

but for what I am when I am with you - unknown

***

It was around nine o'clock, something that could only mean one thing: group therapy. Now that I had met all the other group members I felt a little relaxer, my anxiety had not disappeared completely, that seemed to be almost impossible. Talking to Dr. Dolan alone me made very nervous and talking to the girls that were in here made me nervous. The only person that did not made me feel this way was Harry Potter.

'Draco,' Harry called out my name as soon as I sat down on my usual spot. 'Would you, you know, sit next to me?' he then asked while his cheeks got a soft red colour. 'I mean, only if you want to of course. If you want to stay there that is fine as well, you do not have to sit next to me.'

His rumbling only made the red colour on his cheeks a shade darker, something that created a smirk on my lips. The fact that he suddenly felt so insecure made me smile as well, it was absolutely adorable.

'Of course I want to sit next to you,' I broke off his rumbling. A smile crept upon his face, formed by his beautiful lips. His hips moved a little to the left so mine could fit on the right side of the sofa. I brought my lips very close to his ear and whispered softly to him, knowing that it would make him feel very awkward. 'Or did you think that I prefer to see Dr. Dolan from that close when I get the offer to see you from even closer?'

His reaction was exactly the one I had hoped for: his cheeks turned even redder than they had done before. Before I turned away to look at our therapist I winked at him, making sure that he caught me doing that.

'Good morning everyone,' Dr. Dolan greeted us with a small smile on her lips. Her eyes wandered off to the now empty space where I used to sit. 'I see you have left my side, Mr. Malfoy,' she spoke.

'Yeah, I did. Sorry about that,' I spoke, suddenly feeling a boost of confidence flowing through my entire body as I felt how a smaller hand grabbed mine. I had never felt that confident before while talking in a group. A smile appeared on my face together with a light shade of red on my cheeks.

A moment later I realised that the raven-haired boy made me feel that way. He was the one who gave me confidence, just by sitting next to me. Just by holding my hand.

How to feel about that I did not know. He was not supposed to make me feel anything other than hate or jealousy. To be honest, I had no idea how to feel about this sudden change in feelings that he unconsciously putted me through.

'It is okay,' she spoke with a gentle smile. 'I assure you Mr Potter will make it as difficult for you as I tend to do.'

'I am sure he will,' I spoke without reconsidering my words like I normally used to do. I felt how Harry's hand gently squeezed mine after I had said those words out loud. Steel-blue met sparkly green before we both smiled and looked away from each other.

'Well, now that that is settled I think someone else would like to make an announcement, is that not right Ms Whitley?'

It took me a moment to realise that she was directly speaking to Serena, all of a sudden. She carefully folded her hands together and laid them on her lap. 'I do have an announcement to make,' the girl spoke with a low but nice voice. 'I am leaving.'

'You are leaving?' Lydia asked, sounding surprised. 'Why do you get to leave but not me? You are far from better,' she continued. My eyes found a pair of green ones, that looked just as confused as mine steel-blue ones. 'You cannot be serious Dr. Dolan. Serena is far from better and I am. Her last outbreak was only two weeks ago, I have not had one since weeks.'

'Serena's recovery is not your concern Ms Simons, we would all appreciate it if you would not interfere with it.'

'She is just jealous,' Honey spoke out loud. From our last conversation I understood that she did not really like Lydia, or at least she did not see her as a real friend. 'That she has to stay here and Serena can go, I mean,' she explained herself. 'She despises every one that gets to leave this place before any of us. Maybe that is the reason she will get to see all of us leave this place before she can.'

'You take that back!' the other girl shouted angrily. Her body language spoke for itself; she looked like she was ready to kill Honey.

'Just sit back and enjoy the chaos for once, especially since we have no role in it,' Harry whispered into my ear, making me chuckle softly.

'Girls, please, behave yourself,' our psychiatrist said with a stern voice, making them growl softly. 'Is there anyone that wants to say something nice to Serena?'

'Yeah, I do,' I said before thinking twice, again. 'Even though I do not really know you I would like to wish you the best. I really hope that when you had the change for a better life you grabbed it with both hands and now you can finally life that happy life.'

'Thank you, Draco,' she spoke while smiling at me with a genuine smile. It must really suck hearing others saying the sort of things about them that Lydia had said. No one deserved that, especially not after working that hard.

'He is just being kind to you to impress his little boyfriend there, like he always is. Harry is not even worth that effort though, I mean, he has the psychological stability of a squirrel,' Lydia said angrily, suddenly attacking me, but even worse: Harry, when I was just trying to do a nice thing.

'Excuse me?' I spoke with a stern voice. 'I would highly appreciate it if you would take that back. I am not trying to impress my boyfriend. I would also appreciate it if you would not say anything that is not nice about Harry. He is to kind to deserve that. First of all, your mentally stability is far worse than him, and secondly it is none of your business,' I said, only to realise that she meant Harry. This caught me off my guard for a second, making me feel something I could not explain. 'Oh, and for the record: Harry is not my boyfriend. I would like it if you would just mind your own business, maybe then you can finally leave.'

Lydia seemed to have lost it. The old me came to the surface to yell at her once again, something that caused Harry to let go of my hand. However, I was to caught up in the moment to understand why.

'Now you have gone to far,' she said while standing up from her chair.

'Lydia Simons, that was enough!' Dr. Dolan suddenly screamed. We had all seemed to have forgotten about her presence. 'You should not behave this way! And neither should you Mr Malfoy and Ms Ornwell. Cecilia?' she called out for the kind women that took care of us. She immediately entered the room with an expression on her face that gave away that she had heard the argument.

'Take both Ms Simons, Ms Ornwell and Mr Malfoy to the room of silence please. They need to reconsider what they have said to each other, this kind of behaviour will not be accepted here.'