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It was the day after Malfoy's trial that Madame Pomphey was fired.Draco's trial that is.The press had a field day. First with the countdown to putting the infamous Malfoy men away for good. Then for the poor boy who had been failed by the every grown up he'd ever met.The school was under investigation for gross negligence with multiple counts of suspected child abuse and injuries reported from the likes of Snape and Flitwick swept under the rug by Dumbledore.Now so much made sense. Brainwashing a child was so commonplace amongst the purebloods that it was a open secret, and a mentally disabled child raised only ever seeing other purebloods was much easier to manipulate.Then there was Pomphey.Draco was in and out of the hospital wing like a yo-yo. His longest stay being the single night he stayed in with the curse scars Harry had inflicted on him. Everyone always thought he was a drama queen, complaining about pain that was never truly there.Old injuries came to light. Draco's determination to have buckbeak punished made a lot more sense- he was lucky he hadn't lost the use of his arm. Then there was multiple broken bones from the time he was flung about as a ferret- for which he was given no treatment and much much more.Most worryingly of all though was the Crucio damage. That the Azkaban healers estimated had dated back to the age of 5... possibly earlier. Something that the prophet eagerly reported even a Healer in their first year could've picked up with a basic diagnostic spell.A major failing by Pomphey at best- and deliberate at worst.Draco was the Prophet's darling from then on. "The boy with no choice". A abused child, who by the time he realised he'd been brainwashed, only knew he had to protect his equally abused mother and knew couldn't trust anyone.Harry felt sick.
The worst thing is- he couldn't even defend Pomphey. She had always been cold and short with Malfoy and the evidence was overwhelming.Harry thought back on his time at Hogwarts. The acceptance letter that was sent to his cupboard, that he was very obviously starved over the summer, that Dumbledore knew of how much not only how he was suffering, but that Voldemort himself had begged to be saved from the Orphanage he lived in.Snapes words ran through his mind
“I thought…all these years…that we were protecting him for her. For Lily.”
“You have kept him alive so that he can die at the right moment?”
"You have been raising him like a pig for slaughter--”And Dumbledore's cold responses.Ron and Katie had nearly died and Dumbledore knew all along that Malfoy was struggling under the weight of his Misson. That he didn't want to do it at all- and was nearly killed by Harry himself for it. Looking back at the information he knew by the time Voldemort had died was bad enough. Dumbledore would've been well within his rights as a caregiver to take Malfoy away from his parents and have him placed into protective custody from the start. Instead 3 children under his care were lucky to survive and one was forced to become a war criminal. Hell. With the Death Eaters in Hogwarts every child under his care had been at risk.It was easy to look at the past with rose tinted glasses and remember all the good times he'd had there. But now he looked back on the failures and saw himself as complicit.How long had he been watching Malfoy fall apart and only thought of what he was up to and not how he could save him. Mertle had even told him "He's sensitive and people bully him too, he feels lonely and hasn't got anyone to talk to. He's not afraid to show his feelings and cry"What had he and Ron done when they knew it was Malfoy in there crying and Mertle kept his secrets? Taken the fucking mick!
"You'd not take his secret to the grave? The Sewers maybe" Ron had snorted.Then later- his biggest regret. Harming- no. Nearly murdering a distraught Malfoy with a spell that he'd not even bothered to look into, but not before using the spell that his own Father had brought him shame with by using it to humiliate Snape.He was no better.
Hell- if he was any normal person he would've been sent to Azkaban and yet he complained at length about the punishment he did get.
It was no wonder Malfoy had dispised him.It was a few months later that Madame Pomphey was convicted of wilfull child neglect. The sentence was Azkaban.Harry felt he should've followed her.Looking back on it all Malfoy's lack of social skills made sense. He only ever had lackeys hand picked by his Father- the only friend he'd ever made for himself was a ghost who equally struggled socially. The way he'd hate for others to touch him except to stroke his hair- and how proud Parkinson was to get that honor. How he'd never truly looked anyone in the eye- always looking above their eyeline. How he tended to think of people more in terms of what they were instead of who they were.
How obsessive he was about things.It was Harry that took him in after Malfoy's Mother had killed herself. There was no one else who could back then. Ticks he'd previously thought of as weird habits were more prominent and a "break-out" room had to be provided for Malfoy to go if he had time before a meltdown truely hit him. The prophet had wrongly gushed over their supposed Forbidden love. Pretending to have 'known all along' that they'd "been secretly in love".Harry had scoffed at the article. Malfoy had tilted his head as he processed the story. Harry wondered at that moment if Malfoy was capable of love outside of familial.Harry cried alone the night Draco kissed him. It was a simple press of the lips but Harry had frozen all the same. Draco hadn't said anything before or after and Harry worried Draco had felt obligated. That he felt that this was just another thing he had to do- rather then what he wanted. The natural progression of things.Harry cried over how much he hated and wanted it all at the same time.
How he craved so much more.
He felt like a monster.It was Bill that finally convinced Harry to see a Mind Healer. Harry folded up his arms onto the Healer's desk and cried when he'd realised he'd not been thinking of Draco as a proper Human. That he thought of him as still being incapable of having his own wants and desires. He didn't even let Draco select his own food or pick his own clothes for Merlin's sake!Draco had told the trial that Voldemort had called him his Doll- was that the way Harry was treating him?The Healer recommended muggle workshops he could attend to learn more about Draco's needs and recommended writing a list of questions he wanted to ask.
When Harry returned he wouldn't- couldn't look at Draco the rest of the evening and cried himself to sleep once more.Eventually, under the advise of his Mind Healer, Harry suggested couples counselling as a option. Draco had brightened "is that what we are?" He'd asked Harry.
Harry had learnt better by now. "It's not just for those that are together. But if you want to-we could be"Draco pressed his lips to Harry's just for a second and laid his head on Harry's lap. Harry thought he understood a little more now as he stroked Draco's hair, showing him affection in the way Draco felt most comfortable.He could love him forever just like this,
And they could heal together.