
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/7423654.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      Harry_Potter_-_J._K._Rowling
  Relationship:
      Lucius_Malfoy/Harry_Potter
  Character:
      Lucius_Malfoy, Harry_Potter, Albus_Dumbledore, Ron_Weasley, Hermione
      Granger, Draco_Malfoy, Severus_Snape, Neville_Longbottom, Luna_Lovegood,
      Poppy_Pomfrey, Blaise_Zabini
  Additional Tags:
      Female_Protagonist, Female_Harry, Female_Harry_Potter, Alternate
      Universe, Alternate_Universe_-_Canon_Divergence, Alternate_Universe_-
      Gender_Changes, Alternate_Universe_-_Modern_Setting, Past_Child_Abuse,
      Past_Rape/Non-con, Rape_Aftermath, Rape_Recovery, Unplanned_Pregnancy,
      Teen_Pregnancy, Shower_Sex, Fem!Harry, Evil_Ron, All_Characters_slightly
      OOC, Vaginal_Sex, Vaginal_Fingering, Good_Lucius_Malfoy, Alternate
      Universe_-_Non-Magical
  Stats:
      Published: 2016-07-08 Updated: 2017-08-04 Chapters: 7/? Words: 17315
****** Trust is so Fragile ******
by CrazyFangirl007
Summary
     After returning to school Henrietta has an unexpected encounter in
     the showers that leads to unforeseen circumstance. Will she be able
     to handle thins on her own, or will she find help in some unexpected
     people?
     (Sorry I suck at summaries, warnings for rape scene in text)
Notes
     AN: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. Please remember
     Reviews give me life haha, in all seriousness though please review I
     do love to get your feedback.
     TRIGGER WARNING FOR RAPE AND ABUSE! While the abuse is not explicitly
     described it is implied. I know it is not clearly stated but Harry
     and the rest of her friends are 17 so depending on your country this
     may be considered under aged.
***** Chapter 1 *****
It was the start of a new school year, the only time of year when my Aunt and
Uncle let me ride in the car. This is only because they knew it would get me to
Kings Cross Station for another year of boarding school a lot sooner than
forcing me to walk would have, and that meant I was out of their hair sooner.
Now to any other person I’m sure the idea of being sent away to boarding school
would be the worst thing possible, but to me it is heaven. It is the only place
where I am allowed to see my friends, and I am able to get away from my bloody
awful uncle. It’s also a plus that it was where my parents met when they were
in school. When we pulled up Dudley, my cousin pushed me out of the back seat
straight onto the pavement nearly causing me to land face first and break my
glasses. As I got up and inspected the damage my aunt and uncle pulled my
things from the boot of the car and threw them next to me almost hitting me
with a few of my bags.
As my uncle unloaded the last of my bags he and my aunt got back into the car
as fast as they could and sped away promising Dudley they would take him to get
some food since he was such a good boy during the trip. I laughed at this as I
thought about the fact that he had done nothing but terrorize me the entire
drive, from pulling my hair to calling me disgusting names. As they drove away
I was left to get all my bags to the platform by myself, not for the first
time. I grabbed a nearby luggage trolley and made it a game of Tetris as I
piled all my things on it, pleased to have so many years of practice under my
belt. With the cart loaded I set out for my platform as I started to get close
I heard what sounded like my name being called.
“Harriet!” I heard again I turned to look at the voice that seemed to be
calling me and saw my best friends running towards me with carts of their own,
Ron’s family following close behind.
“Ron! Hermione!” I called back and waved my arms at them partially to make sure
they saw me and partially because I was so pleased to see them. “How have you
guys been?” I asked giving them each a hug.
“Well Ron spent his summer playing soccer with his brothers the entire time.”
She rolled her eyes as if this was the most insane way for him to spend his
summer. I couldn’t help but smile at this since to Hermione anything that
wasn’t school related was the biggest waste of time during the summer.
“Oh yeah? Well Hermione spent hers doing homework.” He said disgust in his
voice. I just burst out laughing hysterically as my friends argued over who had
wasted their summer break. This caused them to stop arguing and look over at
me.
“What’s so funny Harriet?” Hermione asked.
“Haha…I just missed this.” I wiped away the tears forming in my eyes from all
the laughing. “Come on we don’t want to miss the train.”
I ran off laughing as they realized I was trying to race them just as we had
done every year. I was pretty far ahead when I heard them yelling to watch out
I looked over my shoulder at them to see if they were yelling at each other
when I ran into something myself. I looked to see what it was and groaned. It
just had to be him I ran into.
“Hello Mr. Malfoy.” He turned a cold gaze to me that sent a shiver down my
spine.
“Ms. Potter.”
“Sorry about running into you I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“Clearly or we would not be having this conversation.” He said his voice as
deep and condescending as I remembered from second year. ‘Was that a hint of a
smile… no it couldn’t have been, Malfoys don’t smile. Ron and Hermione are
catching up and that can’t happen I need to win this year.’
“Of course Mr. Malfoy, now if you’ll excuse me I need to get going I don’t want
to miss the train.”
“Certainly Ms. Potter but please do slow down so that something like this does
not happen again.” I nodded my understanding and started off for the train
again quickly checking that I had not lost my lead. They had gained on me
considerably but I still had a chance of winning so I put all my effort into a
final sprint and beat them to the train.
“So was that awkward?” Hermione asked as she reached the train as well.
“It was more odd than awkward. He was actually quite cordial and not as cold as
he was in our second year.” I answered confused by the change in Mr. Malfoys
behavior from previous years.
“I will never trust that man he looks at you funny.” Ron said reaching the
train as well. He pulled us up onto the train from the platform and then he
grabbed our things as well.
I rolled my eyes at Ron as we found an empty compartment and put in our luggage
before we went back to say good bye to the Weasleys. After our good byes were
done we went back to the compartment, Ron and Hermione on one side and myself
on the other, and waited for the train to leave. We spent the ride as we
usually did talking with each other and joking around. We tried to catch up
with each other as well.
“Harriet? How come you never really tell us what you do over the summer?”
Hermione asked as she scooted closer to the edge of her seat.
“Because I never do anything interesting I mostly stay inside doing chores.” I
refused to tell them exactly what I did because I wish I didn’t know what it
was I did myself. Hermione must have seen the guilt I felt, due to keeping a
secret from my friends, on my face because she looked over at Ron and asked him
to give us a moment.
“What am I supposed to do while you guys talk?” He asked the tone of his voice
making it very clear that he felt put out by the two of us wanting to talk
alone.
“I don’t know go find your brothers, or Nevil and hang out with them for a
while. I’ll come find you when we are done.” She said with a gentle but
irritated tone to her voice. Ron stood up abruptly and left the compartment
slamming the door shut as he left. “Okay tell me what’s wrong.” She said as she
moved from her seat to sit next to me.
“I don’t want to talk about it Mione.” I said trying to turn away from her to
hide the guilt and shame that I felt. Mione being who she was though wouldn’t
give up.
“Harriet please I’m your friend and I’m worried about you.” She placed her hand
on my leg in a gesture that was meant to be comforting but it just made me
flash back to the summer which I would rather forget. I jolted out of my seat
in a fight or flight response.
“Just drop it Mione! I said I don’t want to talk about, so I’m not going to
talk about it!” This time it was me who left the compartment and slammed the
door. I could feel the panic beginning to set in, so I made my way to the
bathroom and locked myself in for the remainder of the trip.
When we finally arrived at Hogwarts and stepped off the train we saw all the
new students being taken away by Hagrid to get the results of the sorting quiz
that they took upon their acceptance to Hogwarts. The sorting quiz is what
makes Hogwarts special. It is a quiz that every student must take so that they
can be placed into a team, or house as we call them. These houses are meant to
help students make friends more quickly because they have to work together to
earn points for their house throughout their time at Hogwarts. The rest of us
piled into the buses and were taken to the Banquet hall. Once we arrived we all
went to our house tables.
“I hope the headmaster doesn’t have a long speech this year. I’m starving.” I
said as we sat down.
“You say that every year.”
“Leave her alone ‘Mione. You know she’s not the only one who doesn’t want a
long speech so that they can just eat.” I smiled at Ron in thanks for standing
up for me.
I looked towards the head table to inspect who our teachers were this year.
Specifically, the P.E. coach as we get a new one every year, at least we have
since I’ve been coming, I see there is one less chair than usual. ‘Did they get
rid of P.E.?’ And then I see the one thing I didn’t even know I needed to hope
I would never see. The school nurse Madam Pomfrey is missing and in her
place...I gasp.
“Guys Look!” I whisper urgently as I’m pointing to who I can only assume is our
new nurse. They turned and looked letting out gasps of their own.
“The headmaster can’t be serious about hiring him! Maybe he’s just visiting for
the night?”
“Oh come on Ron you heard Harriet on the train earlier, maybe he won’t be bad
as a nurse.” Hermione tried to rationalize.
Ron shrugged his shoulders, put an arm around my waist and pulled me closer. I
pushed him way feeling a little uncomfortable with how protective he was being
after his outburst on the train. For the rest of Dumbledore’s speech about what
the new school year would hold for us, the three of us just sat there not even
paying attention when he brought out the new students telling them what house
they would be in.
The only thing that broke us out of our silence was when the food arrived and
we could finally eat. I dug in like it was the first real meal I had gotten all
summer because honestly it was, all I got at my aunt and uncles were scrapes
and that was only if they thought I had behaved that day. Once we had finished
our food we were led by the head of each dorm to ours rooms.
As we got closer to the bathroom on our floor Hermione and I said our good byes
to Ron for the night and went with the rest of the girls to the female dorms.
Our dorms are a little different than most. First there are four different
buildings one for each house, and each of the buildings has 7 floors. Each
floor has one bathroom, a study area, and two massive bedrooms, one for the
girls and one for the boys. The only difference between the floors was that the
first floor also had a common room for all the students to hang out in. Each
floor is dedicated to a single grade, and since this was our final year here we
had the top floor as our living quarters this year.
Mione and I quickly settled into our new room as it was set up the same as
every other room we had been given. Normally once we were settled we would go
and meet Ron in the common room, but this year I just didn’t feel up to it so I
told Mione to go without me since I was just going to go to bed. I waited for
her to leave before I changed into my nightgown and climbed into bed hopeful
for my first good night of sleep in months. Unfortunately, I had strange dreams
that night that ruined that hope. It felt like someone was caressing my body
all night long. I woke up in the morning covered in a cold sweat from the
memories that the dream had brought to the surface, so I quickly made my way to
the bathroom to get ready for the day.
I quickly got into the shower banishing such thoughts from my mind as I let it
wander oblivious to the world around me. I though back on the years my friends
and I had spent together in this building. I though back to when I first met
Hermione and how odd I thought she was; I smiled at how close we had become
over the years. My mind then wandered to the first few months of knowing Ron
and how scared I was because he looked at me the same way that my uncle Vernon
did, but unlike uncle Vernon Ron had never done anything to me other than be
protective of me. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t hear when the door
opened. All I knew was I was suddenly being slammed into the wall. One hand
held my face against the wall while the other hand started to caress my body.
(Rape Scene Begins here if you do not want to read then skip to Chapter 2)
I felt the hands trail from my outer left thigh to my hip and up my waist
before it finally grabbed on to my breast. I wanted to scream and tried to
fight them off when I heard him whisper in my ear words I had heard so many
times before during the summers from a voice much gruffer and angrier.
“If you scream or fight me in any way I will make your life a living hell.” The
words sent a shudder down my spine. I felt the hand on my breast move back down
my body and stop on my hip the fingers massaging circles into my hip.
“For years you have been seducing me, prancing up and down the hall from the
bathroom in your little towel. When you weren’t doing that you were walking
around the common room in your tiny shorts and short tank tops.” The hand on my
hip started to move lower. I thought what I had been through during my summers
away from school would be the worst thing that I had ever experienced until I
was forced to turn around and see the face of my attacker.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Notes
     AN: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. Please remember
     Reviews give me life haha, in all seriousness though please review I
     do love to get your feedback.
     TRIGGER WARNING FOR RAPE AND ABUSE! While the abuse is not explicitly
     described it is implied. I know it is not clearly stated but Harry
     and the rest of her friends are 17 so depending on your country this
     may be considered under aged.
(Rape scene Continued)
I gasped as I stared at the face of someone I had considered to be my friend.
“Why are you doing this?” I whispered trying to hold back the sobs as he
started to mouth at my neck. He moved the hand that had been holding my head
down to my breasts to tweak my left nipple and the hand that had been on my hip
moved closer to my mound.
He pulled away from my neck long enough to look me in the eyes.
“Because I love you." He said as his fingers started to rub circles on my clit.
“And I thought it was time that I claim you as mine.” His mouth then went back
to working on my neck.
I suddenly felt an overwhelming, but familiar, sense of shame as I began to
understand what he had planned, and that there was nothing I could do to stop
this from happening. As the shame began to overwhelm me I could no longer hold
back the sobs as they began to rack my frame. Between the sobs and gasps I took
for breath I tried to beg and plead for him to stop.
“shhh shhh shhhh. It’s okay Henry I’ll be gentle.” He said before claiming my
mouth with his own and moved both of his hands to my hips. Soon I was being
lifted slightly off the ground it not long after this before I felt his length
begin to push in and out of my entrance in slow smooth strokes. I knew, from
experience, the only thing I could do was wait until he was satisfied.
Eventually I felt his thrust speed up and lose all sense of rhythm before he
thrust as deep as he could and I felt something warm spread through my channel.
He started to pull out and looked down before he froze.
“You’re not a virgin?!?” he whispered, but I could practically feel the anger
rolling off of him. “You slut! You are mine! No one should ever touch what is
mine!” He yelled as he brought his hand up and smacked me in the face. “That is
just a taste of what will happen if I find out someone else has touched again.”
He said through clenched teeth before finally releasing me, and looking at the
mess he had made with a cruel smile on his face, as I slumped to the floor of
the shower.  
(Rape scene ends!)
As I sat on the floor of the shower I continued to sob for what felt like hours
as the water washed my tears away. The water was cold by the time I had finally
been able to pull myself up from the floor. I turned the water off and wrapped
myself in the towel I had brought with me before I ran back to my room. Opening
the door slowly I looked around to make sure that I was alone. Normally I had
no issue with coming back from my shower and finding my room mates all sitting
and talking, but after what just happened I needed to be alone to get my
thoughts in order and see what damage and been done.
I quickly went to my wardrobe and pulled out a pair of sweat pant and one of my
cousins ill-fitting sweat shirts that had been given to me when it no longer
fit him. After I was dressed I quickly went to the vanity that I shared with
Mione to see if any marks had been left. I couldn’t stop the gasp I took as I
saw just how awful I was beginning to look from my ordeal. My cheek had started
to swell from where I had been slapped, my eyes were red and puffy from the
crying, my lips were red and swollen from how ruff he had kissed, and my neck
was covered in marks that he had left. I quickly stamped down the panic I felt
rising in my chest as I pulled out the make-up I had been able to buy on
previous trips the students had been allowed to take into town over the years.
I pulled out a cooling compress first and applied it to my cheek to try to
reduce to swelling. I then took my eye drops out in hopes that they might
reduce the redness in my eyes. Once I felt that the two biggest problems were
taken care of I began to work on my neck. I pulled out my concealer stick and
began to apply it to each of the marks before blending it out. Once I was
pleased with the blending I pulled out a liquid and powder concealer and began
the process again. Finally pleased that my neck looked normal I took the
compress off my cheek and did the same process to cover the bruise that was
starting to from.
Just as I finished Hermione came laughing and smiling with the other girls. She
made her way over to me and slung her arm around my shoulders. “Henry you
missed breakfast!” She said a smile still on her face but worry, over why I
would miss a meal, in her eyes.
“Yeah I overslept, so by the time I got out of the shower it was too late to go
get some breakfast.” I said laughing trying to maintain my normal happy tone,
not wanting to worry her any more. “Speaking of being late, if we don’t hurry
we’re going to be late to classes.” I got up from the vanity and gathered my
things for class before rushing out the door. I spent the rest of the day
trying to avoid both of my friends not wanting to deal with either of them
until my feelings had settled down some. I went so far as to pretend to go to
sleep early when instead I sat in bed crying as quite as possible as memories
flooded my thoughts and my dreams.
The rest of the week went much the same. I would pretend to oversleep and miss
breakfast so that I could cover the marks on me cheek and neck, and then would
rush to class to avoid having to answer any questions. Any time I had a free
period I would hide in the library and work on my homework to try to keep my
mind off things.
With the weekend though came a sense of dread for myself, but excitement for
the others. This weekend would be the first of many that we would be allowed to
take into town, but I had no desire to go. When Hermione came to me asking
where I wanted to go this time I had told that I wouldn’t be going, and would
be working on homework instead. Hermione became suspicious of my unusually
behavior.
“What do you mean you’re going to do homework? It’s the first week and you
never pass up an opportunity to go into town.” She gave me a concerned look.
“Is everything okay Henry?”
“Yeah everything is fine Mione. I just didn’t get to do any studying over the
break and I feel a little lost in class so I thought that I would try to get
some homework done so that I don’t feel as lost.” I lied. I had just the
previous day finished the last of my homework that was due. I always felt bad
when I lied to Hermione, but I just couldn’t deal with going into town this
weekend.
“Okay I guess I’ll see you when I get back tomorrow night then.” She gave me a
hug and a smile before she left with the others. Usually the trips into town
were only for one day, but they always made an exception with the first trip
and allowed the students to have an extra day. To ensure that the students who
wanted to stay the night in town were safe the school would book several
different hotel rooms that were available to the students.
I sat on my bed for a few hours trying to figure out what I could due finally I
got up and decided for the first time since the incident, as I was now
referring to it as, I would go get a shower. I had been avoiding taking a
shower all week trying to avoid being in that situation again. With everybody
going into town that day though I hoped that I would be safe. I took my clothes
with me this time not feeling safe with just a towel to walk back in even if I
was alone on the floor. I tried to be as fast I could with my shower since I no
longer felt like I could relax and enjoy being able to take a hot show.
After finishing my shower and getting dressed I looked at myself in the mirror
above the sink and saw the bruises were healing slower than usual so I decided
to go see the nurse in hopes that he might have something to help them heal
faster. Knowing that not many people would be wondering the school hallways on
a Saturday I didn’t bother with trying to hide the marks with make-up, but I
did grab a scarf to cover the marks on my neck.
I was actually in the best mood I had been in since the incident until I got to
the nurse’s office and tried the door only to find it locked. I just stood
there staring as I felt an unjustified bubble of anger and betrayal over the
nurse not being there. Finally sighing and shaking my head to disperse the
feelings before they could take over my thoughts. As I turned to go back to the
dorm I heard steps behind me as a voice called out to me.
“Ms. Potter is there something I can do for you?” the voice asked me.
I turned and saw Lucius Malfoy walking toward me in what appeared to be a white
doctor’s coat.
“Oh I was just hoping to talk with the nurse, but I guess Madam Pomfrey hasn’t
returned yet.” I said trying to bush off my visit to the nurse as nothing.
“Ah! I would assume that means you were not paying attention to the
Headmaster’s speech at the welcome feast.” He said with what I can only
describe as amusement in his voice.
“Well…ummm…No.” I said as I hung my head from the shame I felt at admitting
this.
He let out a chuckle before responding. “Do not worry Ms. Potter, I myself was
struggling to keep my attention on what the Headmaster was saying.” I looked up
at him confused by what appeared to be a genuine smile on his face before the
memory of him sitting at the head table came to the forefront of my thoughts.
“speaking of which what were you doing at the welcome feast, and why are you
here now?”
He chuckled again and this time I realized what a warm sound it truly was.
“Well Ms. Potter to answer both of your questions I am here as the school nurse
this year.” I also noticed that as he said this the smile on his face softened
it, from the severe mask that usually sat on the man’s features, considerably.
“I mean I kind of assumed you were going to be since I didn’t see Madam Pomfrey
at the feast but I thought it would just be for a few days. Why would you agree
to be the nurse for the whole year? You don’t need the money as Draco often
make a point of reiterating how well off you are.” I saw his smile slip
slightly at the mention of his son’s behavior.
“That is precisely why I agreed.” I couldn’t help the confusion that was clear
on my face, but this only caused the man to chuckle again. I was starting to
really like that sound. “Draco’s mother and I have had different thoughts on
how to raise our son over the years, and I’m afraid I may have let her have
more freedom with him than I should have. It is because these disagreements as
well as other reasons that Narcissa have been separated and going through a
divorce for years before our divorce was finalized this past summer.” The smile
that had been on his face at the start of the conversation was no longer there.
“I’m sorry.” I said unaware of what he and Draco had been dealing with
throughout those years.
“Oh don’t be.” He said the smile returning to soften his face again. “I was
able to get full custody of Draco this past summer and because I was not as
involved in his childhood as I wish I had been I thought I would see if there
was a position here that I could take so that I could spend more time with my
son.”
“Well then that explains why you’re here, but where is Madam Pomfrey?” I asked
still unclear why the position had even been open.
“Ahhh yes…I told her my credentials as both a trained Nurse and as a trained
psychiatrist to convince her that the students would still be in capable hands
both physically and mentally, and then offered that if she would take this year
off I would provide her with an all-expense paid trip to wherever she wished.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at his response.
“I can see where Draco get his slytherin qualities from.” I had to wipe tears
from my eyes I was laughing so hard. When I was finally able to calm down I
noticed that I had taken my scarf off to wipe at my eyes and froze. I was
suddenly afraid of what this man would think of the bruises on my neck. I tried
to recover my composure as quickly as I could but when I looked at his face I
could see that all mirth that had been there from our conversation was now
gone. I tried to put my scarf back on to cover the marks I knew were still
plainly visible, but Mr. Malfoy had grabbed both my wrists to stop the action.
“Ms. Potter I suggest that you come into my office if you do not wish to cause
a scene where somebody might walk past.” He released my wrists and turned to
open the door to the nurse’s office. Once the door was open he gestured for me
to enter first. Although unlikely the man did have a point that someone might
walk past, and I could tell that he would not just let me walk away without
some of the questions, that he no doubt now had, being answered. I took a
breath and stepped into the office.
***** Chapter 3 *****
Chapter Notes
     AN: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. Please remember
     Reviews give me life haha, in all seriousness though please review I
     do love to get your feedback.
     TRIGGER WARNING FOR RAPE AND ABUSE! While the abuse is not explicitly
     described it is briefly and generally described. I know it is not
     clearly stated but Harry and the rest of her friends are 17 so
     depending on your country this may be considered under aged.
 “Have a seat Ms. Potter.” He said motioning to one of the chairs in the office
as he closed the door. Once the door was closed he grabbed one of the other
chairs and set it down so that he sitting right in front of me with his arms
crossed over his chest and a stern mask taking over his features again. “Now
Ms. Potter would you care to explain the particular combination of bruises that
you have.” He said taking on a tone that I had only used by one other person
before, and that person was Snape when he was scolding me for ruining the
experiment we were working on in class. It immediately made me feel like a
small child once again, a feeling I did not appreciate.
“To be honest no I would rather just find out if you have anything to help and
leave.” I said a bit of sass in my voice as I crossed my own arms immediately
feeling defensive. The response that I got was Mr. Malfoy releasing a large
sigh as he slumped into the chair and ran a hand over his face in what I
assumed was annoyance.
“Ms. Potter I assure you I am only concerned for your welfare, usually when I
see bruises like yours it is due to an abusive relationship. If this is the
case, then I want to reassure that I am here to help you out of that
situation.” He looked me in the eyes with complete seriousness as he said all
this.
After seeing how serious Mr. Malfoy was I realized there was no true need to
feel defensive, but I also was reluctant to sharing anything personal with this
man.
“I understand that sir but really it’s nothing, and I would rather leave it at
that. Now that this conversation is over is there something you can give me to
help with these bruises?” I asked as I tried to stand up, but Mr. Malfoy was
faster than I was and put his hand on my shoulders forcing me to stay in my
chair.
“I’m afraid there is nothing I can do about your physical bruises.” He said
looking me in the eyes still. I could tell from the tone he used and the way
that he seemed to not just be staring at me but at my soul that he was trying
to imply that he could help me in other ways. This realization shook me to my
core as I had spent years perfecting a façade that I could hide behind when
thoughts of my summers resurfaced and had recently been using that same façade
when I couldn’t shake the memory of what had happened in the shower. With the
knowledge that this man seemed to be able to see through my own mask I couldn’t
hold myself together anymore and just broke down into sobs in this man’s
office.
He quickly saw my distress and tried to pull away to get the shock blanket that
he kept in the office for emergencies, but before he could move away I grabbed
onto his shirt not wanting to be alone as these feelings assaulted me and I
continued to sob. Mr. Malfoy wrapped his arms around me in what felt like both
a comforting and protective embrace.
“Shh, it’s okay. Nothing is going to hurt you hear. I’ve got you, your safe.”
He started to whisper these and other calming thing into my hair as he ran a
hand up and down my back. We sat like that for what felt like forever but I
later realized it had only been an hour. Once I finally felt calm I tried to
reluctantly release myself from his arms.
“I’m sorry about that sir. I don’t know what came over me, maybe I just need
some more sleep. I’ll just go back to my room and try to get some.” I said as I
pulled back from where I had buried my face in his chest, but quickly realized
I couldn’t pull away further than that. “Umm…Mr. Malfoy you can let me go now.”
Said confused why this man wasn’t letting me go.
“I’m afraid Ms. Potter that I cannot.” He said but quickly continued seeing
fear start to make an appearance on my face. “Not for the reasons you are
thinking I can assure you, but because I believe that you just had an emotional
break down caused by external factors in your life. I believe it would be best
if you and I go have a conversation with the Headmaster to see what can be done
to prevent such a thing happening in the future.” He said still keeping that
calming tone in his voice.
“Please sir I’m sure it was nothing I’m just not used to being back at school
yet so I’m just tired.” I said hoping that he couldn’t hear the fear that was
creeping into my voice at the thought that I might finally have to share my
darkest secret of what happened over the summers I was sent home and what had
happened earlier this week.
Mr. Malfoy let out an exasperated sigh. “Just answer me this one question. Has
this ever happened to you before?” He asked with a look that made it impossible
for me to lie.
I hung my head in shame as I answered my voice the smallest it had been since I
first started at Hogwarts. “Yes.” It was barely above a whisper, but it was
loud enough. He quickly picked me up in a princess carry before I could object
and started out of the office and down the hall. The entire time I was
struggling to be released and pleading that I was just sleep deprived and would
be fine if he would just let me go to sleep. It wasn’t long before we were in
front of the Headmaster’s office, but with me in his arms I realized he would
not be able to knock and before I could even begin to suggest he put me to free
his hands he began to kick the door.
“Albus! Albus I know your there open the damn door!” He yelled trying to ensure
the Headmaster could hear him.
Finally taking a break from his yelling and kicking allowed me to hear the
footsteps on the other side of the door before it opened revealing Albus
Dumbledore still in his lounge wear.
“Ahh. Lucius what bring you hear on your day off? ...With Ms. Potter no less?”
Dumbledore said with an ever present twinkle in his eye.
“Ms. Potter has just revealed some distressing news to me after having an
emotional breakdown in my office, and I thought it best you were involved in
the discussion that was to be had to prevent such a thing from occurring
again.” He said his voice taking on a tone of superiority.
“In that case please come in and take a seat. I will make some tea. I think
chamomile would be best.” He said as he ushered us into his office while
closing and locking the door behind us before he made his way over to the wood
burning stove in the corner behind his desk to start on the tea. “Please make
yourselves comfortable, and Lucius do put the child down I’m sure this is a
conversation she would rather have in her own seat.”
Mr. Malfoy put me down and took a seat on the coach that was across from the
desk. Unlike the principle and headmaster offices I had been sent to before,
when I still attended school with my cousin, Dumbledore’s office was very cozy
and more like a sitting room than an office. The only piece of furniture in the
room that made it feel like an office was the large mahogany desk with the
large leather swivel chair. The room was filled with different knick-knacks and
pictures that had been collected over the years, and the only other seating in
the room was a large sofa across from the desk.
 I had been in this room so many time of the years I had been here but never
before had I felt as awkward taking a seat as I did now sitting next to Mr.
Malfoy. I knew the conversation that we were about to have was contributing to
my awkwardness as was my proximity to the older man. I was afraid that the
conversation might cause another break down so I began to try and bury the
painful, and haunting memories in the depths of my mind again where I wouldn’t
have to deal with them.
I didn’t get as much time as I would have liked before the headmaster was
handing mugs with tea to myself and Mr. Malfoy before sitting in his chair
while resting his elbows on the desk and placing his fingers to his chin. “Now
my dear child what has caused you such distress that it brought you to the
breaking point?” He asked the twinkle in his eye dimmer than I had ever seen it
before.
The bluntness of his question surprising me, since he usually skirted around
any topic that might cause someone distress. I was unsure how to answer, not
because I didn’t trust the man sitting across the desk from, but because I had
never said any of it out loud. The thought of admitting what had happened to me
seemed daunting. Almost as if he could read my mind Mr. Malfoy shifted in his
seat, so that he was facing both Dumbledore and myself, and began speaking to
me.
“I understand that this is a difficult conversation for you to have Ms. Potter,
but the headmaster and I both promise that we will not share any of the
information you tell us to anybody without first receiving your express
permission.” He said resting his hand on my knee, while normal this would have
freaked me out he some made it feel comforting. There was still a hint of the
superiority in his that seemed to always be present in front of other adults,
but mostly his tone had regained the comforting aspect that had been present
earlier in his office. I took a deep breath when I realized that if I ever
wanted to be able to behave like a normal person again I would need to discuss
what had happened.
“I don’t know where to start. I’ve had to deal with this alone for so long
because I didn’t want anyone’s pity. I still don’t want pity, but I know I need
to move past this.” I said looking down into my mug as I held it tightly in
both hands. I felt the hand on my knee move to my back and continue the
soothing rubbing it had provided earlier in the office.
“It’s okay child take your time.”
“Yes take your time, from what I saw earlier this will not be an easy
conversation and I would rather you didn’t push yourself to that point again.
Maybe start with precisely how long you have felt the need to handle this issue
yourself.” I could tell my breakdown in the office had really freaked Mr.
Malfoy out and that he wanted to ensure I would be able to get through this
conversation without another. I took another deep breath before I responded.
“I have been dealing with this on my own since I was 10.” I continued to look
into my mug until I heard a crash next to me. I looked over and saw that Mr.
Malfoy had dropped his mug and now looked like a fish gasping for air.
“You have been dealing with something that would cause you such grief by
yourself for the past 7 years?” I had never seen the man look more shocked or
upset than he did at the revelation.
“My dear poor child.” I heard the headmaster whisper so quietly I almost didn’t
hear him. Beginning to feel the pity they both now held for me I quickly felt
the need to defend my past.
“It wasn’t to be to begin with. Usually it only happened if my Aunt Petunia and
cousin Dudley had left the house for the day, and even then all he ever did was
let his hand linger slightly longer than he would normally.” I felt my cheeks
begin to heat at the memory of being left in the house alone with my Uncle
Vernon. I felt Mr. Malfoy become as still as a statue while he continued to sit
next to me. I was afraid to look at what his expression might hold for me, but
decided I needed to know what he thought of me, but what I saw was not what I
expected.
I had thought he might be looking at me with disappointment or disgust; instead
I saw anger, but it was not directed at me as I had thought it would be. Mr.
Malfoy Was glaring at the Headmaster who seemed to have lost the last of the
twinkle in his eyes, and was now slumped back into his chair.
“How long until those lingering touches turned to more?” Malfoy said through
gritted teeth the hand on my back having long since been removed now sat in his
lap sitting balled into a fist, along with the hand that was previously
occupied with his mug of tea. I had to think about the answer to this question
as I couldn’t remember exactly which had been the first time his hands had done
more than just linger.
“I…I’m not sure. I think maybe the summer after my second year.” I said looking
down at my feet again trying to remember, while also keeping the memories away.
“SECOND YEAR!” He yelled pushing off the couch causing me to flinch.
“I’m sorry Ms. Potter I did not mean to startle you with my reaction, but
perhaps we should not dredge up such old memories any further. I would like to
say we are done but I must ask when was the last time you were touched in such
a manner.” He asked still seeming to be calm, but I could see the anger that
was barely restrained.
“The last time I was touched the same way that he touched me was the first day
of the term earlier this week, but the last time he touched me was just before
my 17th birthday this summer.” Said trying to detach myself from what I had
just said not waiting to remember what had happened in the shower.
When I looked up at the two men I noticed that they both looked angry but
unsure of what to say. Finally, after what felt like ages Mr. Malfoy broke out
of his stupor he moved from the couch to kneel in front of me. He proceeded to
talk my hands in to his and give them both a slight squeeze while keeping his
attention fully trained on me.
“Ms. Potter are you saying that somebody here has forced themselves on you?” I
could still hear the restrained fury in his voice but also something else,
something I couldn’t quite place. I had tears streaming down my face as the
memories of the shower resurfaced and refused to leave, and didn’t think I
could trust my voice at this point. Instead I just nodded my head as it also
became harder to breath. Suddenly I was wrapped in the same protective and
comforting embrace from earlier, my hands immediately grabbing on to the shirt
in front of me.
“My dear child I’m so sorry that you have had to go through this, but I must
ask who was the last person to do this to you.” Dumbledore said in a tone that
conveyed his sorrow and compassion over the subject, more than the words he
spoke. I knew that if I wanted to feel safe again I would need to tell them,
but I was scared of what might happen when they confronted him. It was that
fear the pushed me to shake my head vehemently. At this motion the arms around
me tightened slightly and pulled me from the couch into Mr. Malfoys lap, my
grip on his shirt tightened to the point that I thought I might rip the fabric.
“Ms. Potter I know you must be scared, but I promise you that we will do
everything in our power to ensure that you are safe from any future harm that
your attacker might try to inflict upon you.” I heard the soothing voice of Mr.
Malfoy say into the hair on my head.
I took a shaky breath and looked towards Albus. “Ron…he ra-raped me.” I buried
my face back into the comforting chest in front of me as the tears on my face
were soon joined by the sobs that caused my frame to shudder. I felt his arms
wrap tighter around me and heard Albus gasp at this revelation. Suddenly I felt
exhausted from everything that amount of crying that I had done today and
wanted nothing more than to escape from the world, so I let the exhaustion take
me as I slipped into unconsciousness.
***** Chapter 4 *****
Chapter Notes
     AN: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. Please remember
     Reviews give me life haha, in all seriousness though please review I
     do love to get your feedback.
     TRIGGER WARNING FOR RAPE AND ABUSE! While the rape and abuse are not
     explicitly described in this chapter they are alluded to. I know it
     is not clearly stated but Harry and the rest of her friends are 17 so
     depending on your country this may be considered under aged.
I was still half asleep when I started to hear what sounded like arguing.
“What do propose we do Albus? Let her go back to that dorm where he can have
free access to her? Are you truly that unintelligent Albus?” I heard someone
growl at the headmaster, it sounded as though the person were talking into a
pillow.
“Of course not Lucius, but where else can she stay? We don’t exactly have any
extra room on the grounds.” Shocked by what I was hearing I couldn’t bring
myself to move not even open my eyes that were still closed. The room suddenly
so quite I was afraid that even my breathing would start the arguing to resume.
“She can stay with me.” I heard Dumbledore gasp at the suggestion.
“Lucius are you sure that is a good idea?”
“No, but she needs safety and support both of which she will receive by staying
with me.”
“How can you ensure her safety?” I heard skepticism in Dumbledore’s voice as
these two men tried to work out the logistics of where it would be best for me
to stay.
“She will have her own room in my rooms and she will be able to retreat to an
area where most other students are not allowed. That is how she will be safe.
He won’t be able to get near her outside of the classroom and if we alert her
other professors of the situation he won’t be able to reach her in classes
either.” It was clear from his tone that he would not budge on this matter, and
to be honest it sounded pretty nice to be able to go somewhere Ron couldn’t
reach me.
“And comfort? You know she has never really liked you or your son, and both of
you will be present if she is to live with you.”
“Yes we would be, but again she would have her own room and I would not force
her to interact with either of us. I might encourage it as I have a feeling we
would both do everything in our power to protect her. Ultimately though this
should be her choice to make and we would support her either way.” Realizing I
was laying down on the couch I slowly pushed myself up, and swung my legs over
the edge.
“Ah Henrietta I’m glad to see you have awakened.” I looked at Dumbledore and
saw that while he sounded cheerful the smile on his face was a sad one.
“I was actually awake a few moments ago but thought it would be best to give my
opinion on what you were talking about.”
“Oh and what is that my dear?”
“I would like to take Mr. Malfoy up on his offer. I know I haven’t always
gotten along with either Malfoy, but I’m willing to try if it means that I
won’t be where Ron can get to me easily.” I said ensuring that my eyes never
wavered from the old man.
“Very well I shall file the paper work so that you may change housing.”
“Thank you Headmaster.” I said a smile on my face for the first time since I
had my break down in the nurse’s office. “If it’s not too much trouble can I
change rooms tomorrow before everybody gets back from town?” I looked at Mr.
Malfoy this time hoping he would understand why I wanted to move so quickly. He
looked at me with understanding and a smile that softened his features. I
decided that I liked it very much when he smiled, he didn’t look nearly as
imposing.
“Of course, and if you would like I will even come to your room today to help
you pack and move what you will not need between today and tomorrow so that you
can come over when you are ready tomorrow Ms. Potter.” The smile on my face
grew even large as I gave him a sharp nod.
“I would like that very much Mr. Malfoy, but if I’m going to be staying with
you than I would prefer you called me Henry.” I said trying to get the man to
drop the formality.
“I will do no such thing.” My smile faltered when I heard this. “You have a
perfectly good name and if you wish me to call you something less formal than I
shall use that name. Is that understood…Henrietta?” His own smile growing
slightly. “And if I am to call you by your name than I would be happy to extend
to you the same offer while we are in private.”
“Of course Lucius!” The smile I had on my face at this point felt like it would
split my face in half.
“Very well I shall let you two go so that you might get dear Henrietta pack,
and I will begin on the paper work.” With that Lucius and I began to make our
way towards to door. “Oh and Lucius, I will be calling a staff meeting tomorrow
evening so that we can explain the situation to the rest of the staff.” Lucius
turned and gave the Headmaster a sharp nod.
“Of course sir.” With that he unlocked the door and we made our way to the
Gryffindor dorms. We spent the walk discussing our different expectations of
what would happen when I officially moved in to his rooms the next day, so I
didn’t seem to take very long before we were in my rooms.
“So what would you like to start with?” He asked once we were inside.
“Well I haven’t unpacked much since we’ve only been here a week. I guess I
should start with pulling out what I need for tomorrow, and then we can pack
everything else into my trunk.” I said as I looked around the room. I went to
my wardrobe and pulled out my clothes and set them on my bed next to where
Lucius had taken a seat. Going through them I set aside the sweats I wanted for
tomorrow and started to put the rest into my trunk that sat at the end of my
bed. A hand on my wrist stopped me as another hand took hold of my chin and
pulled my gaze from my cloths to Lucius’ face.
“Is there a reason why it seems that aside from your uniform you appear to only
own ill-fitting sweats?” Again there was anger in his eyes and something else
that I could not quite place. I sighed as I turned away from him to continue my
task.
“Because they were My cousins before he out grew them, and my Aunt decided that
instead of buying me new clothes they would just give me Dudley’s cast offs and
hand-me-downs. The bigger ones were given to me this summer. I used to have
some that fit better but I got rid of them recently because I no longer felt
comfortable in them.” I said as I pushed the clothes down into my trunk not
even bothering to fold them.
“In that case we will need to take you shopping the next chance you have to go
into town so that we can get you some clothes that make you comfortable and fit
you.” He said a smile on his face as I stared at him in shock.
“Bu-but I don’t need new clothes these are fine.”
“Yes but I happen to know that what you wear will influence your mood, so I
want to ensure that you have cloths that will brighten your mood rather than
pull your mood down.” I quickly turned away from him and made my way over to my
vanity so that I could get away from this conversation.
“I-I guess that makes sense.” I still didn’t know what to think of getting new
so I tried to brush the thought off, when a new one occurred to me and caused
me to snort out a laugh.
“What has you laughing Henrietta?” He asked not moving from his spot on my bed.
“I was just thinking of how Draco is going to react when he gets back tomorrow
only to find me living with his father.” I said no longer trying to hold back
the laughter this thought summoned. I turned to look at Lucius to see what he
thought and began to laugh even harder. The man had gone even paler than he
already was.
“Yeess. I will need to make sure that I call him this evening so that he can be
prepared for that when he returns tomorrow.” He was running his hand through
his hair at this, and it made me wonder how soft his hair really was. I quickly
brushed the thought away and returned to packing my things.
It didn’t too much longer for me to sort out what I would need for the night
and morning before I was done packing. I closed the lid of my trunk after I put
the last thing in it, and looked at what I had left out. I had left myself a
pair of sweats, my toothbrush and tooth paste, and my stuffed snowy owl I had
gotten when I started at Hogwarts. Looking at it I realized I really didn’t
need much for my last night in the dorms. The thought that I would be here by
myself made my chest feel constricted as I suddenly was having difficulty
breathing. It felt as though the walls and ceiling were beginning to close in
on me before I felt strong arms around me.
“Breath. Just take some deep breath I know it’s hard but try. Your safe here
it’s going to be okay.” I tried to do as Lucius instructed and slowly was able
to calm down. “Maybe we should just move you in tonight so that you won’t be
alone if that happens again.” He still had me in his arms around me and was
running one of his hands over my hair while the other rested on my back. It
felt very soothing when he held me in his arms I noticed.
“I-I would like that. I don’t think I can be alone in this room anymore.” My
voice sounding small and broken even to my own ears. He gently placed a finger
under my chin and lifted my head from his chest to look him in the face. “Then
grab your things from your bed I will grab your trunk, and we can go and get
you settled into your new room.”
We made sure that I didn’t forget anything before we each grabbed our loads and
made our way to his rooms. It was perhaps the furthest place from the dorms,
but that was because all the staff quarters were on the other side of the
building that held our classes. Although it was furthest from the dorm it was
closer to the build. I was surprised to see that each staff member had their
own houses so it looked like a little town rather than the apartment building I
had been expecting.
When we reached his house he set my trunk down on the porch and opened the
door. After the door was open he picked up the trunk again and motioned for me
to follow him inside. I closed the door behind myself and quickly followed him
up the stairs until we reached the landing.  
“Okay why don’t you wait here for a bit I just need to move a few things, and
then we can get you settled into your new room.” He said setting my trunk down
again and giving me a big smile before he entered the door at the far left end
of the landing. I surprised that he had such a spacious house. The landing had
four different doors that exited on to it. The one that was furthest from the
stairs was the one Lucius had just entered to my left after having just come up
to the landing. Then there were two more on the wall directly in front of me
and a final one that was directly to my right. I sat quietly waiting for Lucius
to return and tell me which of these doors would lead to my room.
I sat the for almost an hour, according the clock I could see down stairs,
before Lucius emerged with what appeared to be a trash bag full of things. I
looked at him confused, but he said nothing and just threw the bag into the
door to the right on the wall in front of me.
“Okay now we can get you all settled into your new room.” He said as he closed
the door. He picked up my trunk and brought it into the room that was at the
end of the landing. I was amazed when I walked in the room was much more
spacious than any that I had as my own before without having to share. There
was a large queen sized four poster bed, on the far wall, centered between two
floor to ceiling windows. There was a small desk in the corner to the right of
the door, so I wouldn’t even need to leave to work on homework. I noticed to
more door on either side of the room, and looked at Lucius unsure if it was
okay for me to explore. He gave a soft chuckle at the look on my face.
“The door to your right leads to your closet where you are welcome to put all
the cloths you currently have and any that we get you in the future. The door
to your left leads to the ensuite bathroom.” He looked at me an chuckled again
at the look of surprise on my face. I was just about to thank him when a
thought occurred to me.
“This was your room and you just cleared everything out.” It wasn’t a question
but the slight nod and slight apprehension on his face told me all I needed to
know. I quickly wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his chest
again. “Thank you Lucius you have no clue how much this means to me.” He
wrapped his arms around me and gave me a tight squeeze in response.
“You are welcome. Now why don’t you unpack and I will have dinner ready for you
by the time you come down, as I do believe that we both missed lunch earlier.”
***** Chapter 5 *****
Chapter Notes
     I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. Please remember Reviews
     give me life haha, in all seriousness though please review I do love
     to get your feedback.
     TRIGGER WARNING FOR RAPE AND ABUSE! While the rape and abuse are not
     explicitly described in this chapter they are alluded to. I know it
     is not clearly stated but Harry and the rest of her friends are 17 so
     depending on your country this may be considered under aged.
I took a few minutes to truly explore the room before I began to unpack. I
first went to explore the closet which was almost as big as the bedroom itself.
‘There is no way I will ever be able to fill this closet.’ Right wall was
divided into two types of organization. When I turned to face it I saw that the
left half had two rods clearly meant for clothes that were to be hung on
hangers. The right half looked more like a wardrobe. The top half had two doors
that hid three different shelves, while the bottom half was made of three
drawers. The left wall also had a section for hanging cloths but then it also
had another section of rods that seemed to stagger down, it took me awhile to
realize it was meant for shoes. Final the wall at the back is what surprised me
the most as it held a washer and dryer as well as what appeared to be a folding
station, and four different hampers labeled to help me divide my laundry.
Once I felt I had explored the closet to the fullest I made my way over to the
bathroom. Again the room was very large and appeared to be done in a more
traditional Japanese style, which greatly supposed me. The room had tiled
floors with a drain in the center of the floor. The walls were also tiled
almost all the way to the ceiling. There was a shower head mounted on one of
the walls and the other wall had a door that I found led to a small room that
held the toilet and sink. At the end of the tiled room was a huge bath tub that
almost looked like a small pool. I was surprised that Lucius would give me such
an extravagant room given the fact that we hardly knew each other.
Once I was satisfied with my exploration I began to unpack my trunk. I didn’t
take me long to unpack my things and put them away, so I made my way down
stairs and began to search the rest of the house for Lucius. I eventually found
him in the kitchen-dining area sitting at the table with a plate of sandwiches
in the center of the table and his laptop in front of him, and made my way over
to the table to take a seat across from him.
“I thought when you said you would make dinner that I would come down to
something hot.” I said jokingly as I stood behind the chair I intended to sit
in. I heard Lucius give a chuckle.
“Well I was planning to make you something hot but when I got down here
realized I haven’t had a chance to go to the store to get any groceries.
Although honestly I probably could have gone and gotten some with how much time
you spent up there” He said with a slight smile on his face he shook his head
as he gave a shrug.
I blushed slightly and looked down at the ground embarrassed that I had not
realized I had taken so long. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to take so long.” I
heard the sound of a chair scraping the floor and steps being taken before I
felt myself being wrapped in strong arms.
“Hey now,” I felt fingers under my chin lifting my face to look up. “I was only
teasing. I had a feeling that, although you didn’t have much stuff, it would
probably take you awhile to unpack and come down and I wanted to make sure that
I would be here when you did come down.” The hand that had been holding my head
up soon moved to hold the side of my face. “Now why don’t we wipe those tears
away and sit down to enjoy some food together.” He said as he used his thumbs
to wipe away the tears I was unaware I had even shed.
“That sounds good.” I said as I took my seat and Lucius returned to his. “What
about Draco?” I asked as I took two of the sandwiches from the plate in the
center of the table to place them on the plate in front of me. “Have you told
him yet?” I asked before taking a bite out of one of the sandwiches. I looked
up at Lucius and saw the apprehension from earlier on his face yet again.
“Not yet I have been trying to get ahold of him so That I can video chat with
him Because I know that if I try to just call him he won’t pick up.” He said
running a hand over his face.
“Oh? Have you tried to contact him through Crabbe or Goyle those two are always
following him around.” I said nonchalantly as I took another bite of my
sandwich. He stared at me slightly shocked.
“Why didn’t I think of that! Okay I will try to contact him that way you eat as
many sandwiches as you like I have already had my fill.” The smile returning to
his face as he began to call and text all three boys.
It was another 20 minutes before he was finally able to get Draco on skype. I
had just begun cleaning up from lunch what I heard Draco greet his father.
“What is it Father? I was just about to go out when Crabbe and Goyle dragged me
back to the room and forced me to call you. Also why are you bothering my
friends?” I could hear the irritation in his voice as it sent a shiver down my
spine. That was always the tone he had before he and his buddies would gang up
to bully me verbally.
“I was ‘bothering’ your friends as you put it because you would not respond to
any of my attempts to contact you.” Lucius was also beginning to sound
irritated. I continued to try to clean the kitchen as quietly as I could.
“Yeah because this is one of my free weekends where I don’t have to deal with
anything annoying not even Potter since she apparently decided not to come.” I
could hear the pleasure of my absence in his voice and could even picture the
vicious smile that went with it, and I could not help the whimper of fear that
came with that thought. “What was that Father?”
“That is not important at the moment.” I turned to look at Lucius confused.
‘Wasn’t the whole reason he called Draco to explain that I was staying in the
house from now on?’
“What I want to discuss at the moment is why you despise Ms. Potter so much.”
He said a stern look on his face.
“If that all you want to talk about Father then I will talk to when I get
back.”
“If you hang up on me now Draco I will come and get you myself and will ground
you from going into town for the rest of the school year!” Lucius said with
anger in his voice that I had not heard since I had told him what my uncle had
started doing when I was twelve.
“You can’t be serious Father!” I heard the shock in Draco’s voice along with a
slight tremble of fear.
“I assure you Draco I am quite serious! Also I think this is a conversation
best had without the audience of your friends!” I could tell Lucius was already
done with his son’s behavior and would like nothing better than to be given an
excuse to punish him if he continued with his current attitude. I heard Draco
mumbling as he sent his friends out of the room as well as the opening and
shutting of the hotel room door.
“Okay Father they are no longer in the room.” Draco sounded so small and
defeated, to be honest it kind of scared me that he could sound like that.
“Good now I was serious I want to know why exactly you act as though you detest
Ms. Potter.” Lucius seemed much calmer now that his son seemed to be acting
more respectful. I heard Draco give a sigh before he began speaking again.
“It’s not that I detest her. It’s just I wanted to be her friend so badly when
we were younger and she just completely snubbed me for the weasel brat. Then
any time I tried to approach her over the first few years she was never alone
the weasel brat was always hanging all over her like she was his property and
anyone who tried to get close to her could go to hell. It just irritated me,
and then when she finally started to have moments when he wasn’t around I was
already so mad and Irritated I didn’t know what to do and started to take it
out on her. Trust me if I could find a way to explain to her and apologize for
everything I would.” He pleaded with his father.
I had been in the process of getting the plate that still had a few sandwiches
on it from the table when I was shocked by what I had just heard and froze in
place. I felt my knees go weak from all the information before I just collapsed
on the floor with a large thump unable to hold myself up any longer from the
shocking news.
“What was that Father? Is everything okay?” Draco now had a bit of worry to his
tone
“Everything is fine.” He said with a chuckle. “I think Ms. Potter was just
surprised to hear such news come from you with such conviction.”
“Wait…s-she’s there? With you? And she just heard every… oh god! Father! You
could have warned me!” there was a tone I was unfamiliar with in Draco’s voice
that I was curious about. Still not trusting my legs fully I crawled over next
to Lucius and used the edge of the table to pull myself up so that I could see
Draco’s face. What I saw surprised me even more. He had covered his face with
his hands in a manner that I could only assume was to hide the blush on his
face. It was actually kind of endearing to see this kind of side of him and it
gave me the courage to speak.
“You…really wanted to be my friend?” I asked my voice coming out more timid
than I wanted.
Draco slowly moved his hands away from his face and gave a squeak when he saw
me kneeling next to his father. He slowly nodded his head in answer to my
question.
“Then I want a public apology from you in the great hall when everybody is back
and a promise that you will never do anything to hurt me again, and will do
everything you can to make sure that nobody else will hurt me.” This time more
voice was more solid and could even be said to sound stern.
I saw Draco’s face slowly morphed from scared and embarrassed to a bright smile
as I gave my conditions.
“Yes Absolutely!” He said nodding his head so fast I was worried he might hurt
himself before he suddenly stopped and his face became very concerned. “Why did
you not come into town this weekend Potter? And why are you at my Father’s?” He
asked the concern growing into worry.
“First of all if we are going to be friends no more of this calling me Potter.
I want you to call me Henry like my other friends. Secondly I can answer both
of those questions fairly simply. Ron Weasely is a bastard who should burn in
hell and I never want to be in the same building let alone the same room as him
again if I can help it!” I was trying to explain without having to go into
detail but still I felt tears begin to fill my eyes and my body begin to shake
before I was being lifted off the ground and placed in Lucius’ lap. He situated
me so that my legs were hanging off one side of his lap while my head was in
the crook of his neck, and placed my own arms around his neck as I began to let
the tears fall. Once I was seated comfortably in Lucius’ lap he wrapped one arm
around my waist to soothingly rub my back and placed the other on my head as he
stroked my hair.
“Father?” Draco asked worry clear in his voice.
“It’s okay Draco. She will be fine. The headmaster has been informed of what
has occurred and has decided that Ms. Potter is no longer to stay in the
Gryffindor dorms, and will instead stay here where she will be taken care of. I
will explain more once you have returned and Ms. Potter is in better shape. We
will both see you once you return, I must tend to Ms. Potter for now good bye
Draco.”
“Good bye Father.” I heard the distinct sound of the skype call ending before
Lucius placed on arm under my knees and the other around my back before getting
up from his chair and carrying me up to the room that was now to be mine. He
gently set me on the bed before getting a blanket and placing it over me.
“Take a nap Henrietta. You have had a very emotional day and need to rest. Once
you are awake then I will make you some more food.” He said as he moved my hair
out of my face. I smiled up at as I felt my eyes begin to get heavy. ‘How did I
not realize I was so tired?’
“Thank you Lucius this mean a lot to me that you were willing to give me a
place where I know I will be safe.” I said before starting to drift off, and
before I was fully asleep I felt a light pressure on my forehead and then I was
out like a light.
***** Chapter 6 *****
Chapter Notes
     AN: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. Please remember
     Reviews give me life haha, in all seriousness though please review I
     do love to get your feedback.
     TRIGGER WARNING FOR RAPE AND ABUSE! While the abuse is not explicitly
     described in this chapter, but it is alluded to multiple times. I
     know it is not clearly stated but Harry and the rest of her friends
     are 17 so depending on your country this may be considered under
     aged.
I don’t know how long I was asleep, it couldn’t have been more than the night.
When I awoke I heard what sounded like people having a conversation on the
landing outside my room. I still felt drained from the activities of the
previous day and decided that since I had a bathroom all to myself and didn’t
need to worry about anybody coming in that I would take a bath to try to relax
some. I slipped out of bed with the blanket that Lucius had placed over me
around my shoulders and made my way over to the bathroom. Once there I saw that
the bath was already full but that the water had gone cold. I saw that there
were temperature controls for the water on the wall by the faucet for the tub.
I fiddled with the controls for a while hoping that I had set it correctly and
made my way to the toilet area to brush my teeth while waiting for the water to
re-warm.
After I brushed my teeth I went to my closet to grab a towel hoping that by the
time I got back the water would be warm enough. I found that not only had
Lucius gotten me a blanket last night but that he had also filled one of the
shelves in my wardrobe with clean fluffy towels. I grabbed two and made my way
back to the bathroom. When I checked the water I found that although it was not
as warm as I hoped it was still warm enough that I would not freeze in my
attempt to bathe. I quickly stripped and submerged my body in the water.
I sat for a few minutes just relaxing and trying to ensure that I would be
ready to face the day. Once I felt mentally prepared for the day I quickly
washed my hair and body before I climbed out of the tub. I quickly dried my
hair with one of the towels before I wrapped the other towel around my body and
made my way back to my closet put my towels in the washer and chose which
sweats I would wear for the day. Once happy with the clothes I had chosen, and
not really feeling up to eating in the dining hall, I decided to make my way
down to the kitchen and see what Lucius had to eat.
When I finally made it to the kitchen I saw that it was actually much later
than I had thought, it was closer to 1 o’clock rather than the 9 or 10 that I
had assumed I had assumed. I also found that I was not alone in wanting food. I
saw Lucius sitting in his robe at the dining table along with another blond.
“Draco? What are you doing back? I thought everybody was supposed to return
tonight for dinner like usual. Did something happen?” I asked as I made my way
to take a seat at the table next to Lucius who passed me a bowel of what I
assumed was tomato soup as he also handed me a plate with a grilled cheese
sandwich. I saw Draco give a slight smile.
“To be honest I was worried about you. I know Father said that you would be
fine but I wanted to make sure that you knew I was serious about what I had
said yesterday. I want to be your friend and I want you to know that I will be
there for you if you need me. So I decided to come back early to do just that.”
He said sounding very proud, but also quite sincere.
“Thank you Draco. That means a lot to me,” a smirk took over my face as I
pointed my spoon at him. “but I still expect the public apology even if it has
to wait until tonight.” He gave a slight chuckle at my behavior. The rest of
our lunch progressed much the same way. There were some sincere moments as well
as several moments of teasing.
“So how are you felling today Henrietta?” Lucius asked me as he cleared the
table.
“I feel much more relaxed and happier than I have almost this entire week.” I
said giving him a smile and taking a bite of my soup, which was indeed tomato.
“I had the first good night of sleep that I’ve been able to get since….and I
was able to relax with a nice bath. Oh and thank you for the towels Lucius it
was very nice not to have look very far to find them.”
“Of course my dear. I am glad to hear that you have had such a wonderful
morning so far. Are you feeling well enough that we might go to the nurse’s
office so that we might preform a complete physical.” His voice was entirely
void of joy as he spoke about doing a physical.
“Why would she need a physical this early in the year Father? Wait does this
have to do with the weasel? Also since when do you call each other by your
given names?” He asked looking between the two of us. At the mention of Ron, I
immediately felt myself tense as a shudder went through my body.
“Yes it does. I really would rather not go into more detail than that right
now. We agreed that since I would be staying with him we should be on a first
name basis at least when we were in private. Lucius is a physical really
necessary? Is there any way that I could do it next weekend?” I could feel
tears welling up in my eyes. ‘Damn I hate how much I have been crying over
this. Why did I ever befriend that bastard?’
“Unfortunately dear I’m afraid that this is necessary, and it would be best if
we did it sooner rather than later to ensure that we are able to gather all
injuries for when we file the report.”
“W-wait report? Who said anything about a report?” I asked a little worried
about what would happen if a report was filed.
“Well I assumed Henrietta that you would want to press charges.” He had a
skeptical tone in his voice and concern was clear on his face. All I could do
was stare at him in disbelief.
“Father I may not be certain what exactly is being discussed but I can tell
that Henry seems very distressed. Perhaps it would be best if we don’t try to
push it.”
“Normally I would agree with you Draco, but in this case because of certain
factors I truly do believe that it would be best for Henrietta to report what
has happened.” While I appreciated what they were doing I was also starting to
get super annoyed.
“Henrietta can also make decisions for herself!” I said as I stood taking my
lunch plates into the kitchen after losing my appetite. It is not often that I
turn food away when I have the chance to have more than the crumbs I was given
at my relatives, but the way this conversation was going I knew that I wasn’t
going to be able to stomach another bite. When I turned around after placing my
plates in the sink I saw both of them staring at me.
“What? You were both talking as if I was a child who wasn’t present, and
couldn’t make their own decisions. Which, by the way, I am neither.” I took a
dep breath. “And before either of you begin, let me say my peace on this
subject. I. DO. NOT. WANT. TO. PRESS. CHARGES. All I want is to put this whole
mess behind me. The only way I am going to have a physical done is if you
honestly think that I need one for my own health that is it. Not to help with a
report but to ensure that I am physically healthy. AM I CLEAR?” By the end of
my outburst I was leaning on the counter panting trying to catch my breath. I
heard a chair scrape across the floor, and when I looked up I saw Lucius
walking over.
“I am so sorry Henrietta.” He said as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders
and pulled me into a hug. “I did not mean to upset you so much. I honestly was
only suggesting what I thought was best but if you would rather not than I will
drop it but I do want take you to the office and do a complete physical to make
sure that you are okay and that there was no serious damage that was missed.
While I can’t say that it will be a pleasant process, I can say that I will do
everything I need to in order for you to be comfortable while I preform the
physical.” As he spoke he slowly ran one hand over my hair. I realized then
that I could get used to this man comforting me.
 “If you are up to it, we can perform the physical in a few hours at the
nurse’s office.” Lucius said as he stood. “For now I will get dressed and then
I will head to the office to make sure that everything is ready. Why don’t you
two spend that time together to try to truly put everything in the past.” He
said as he made his way out of the room.
“Are you going to let him preform the physical?” Draco asked me once his father
was out of the room. I sighed feeling a sense of defeat envelope me.
“Probably. I mean I understand why he wants me to file a report, but I just
can’t. So to make it up to him I will let him preform the physical to give him
some sort of sense of peace. So in that case what should we do to kill the
time?”
“Hmmm well we could go toss a rugby ball around outside for a bit or we could
just sit and chat.” He suggested caution clear in his voice.
“How about we do both? We can toss around a rugby ball for a bit and then just
sit and chat for a while.” I said giving him a smile.
“That does sound good. Why don’t I get the rugby ball, and you can put on some
shoes?” He asked.
“Sounds like a plan.” I made my way back up to my room and grabbed my sneakers
and put them on before going back down stairs to find Draco waiting by the
door.
“So Do you want to go to the field to play or would you rather just play right
outside?” Draco asked as I approached.
“I know that the rest of the students won’t be back until tonight, but I would
still feel better if we just went outside and tossed the ball around for now.”
And that is what we did for almost an hour until Lucius finally came out of the
house.
“Okay now I expect to see you in the office in no more than 2 hours. Am I
understood?”  He said his voice stern but a smile was clear on his face.
“Yes sir!” I said as I gave a faux salute getting a chuckle from both Malfoy
men.
“I will make sure she is their Father.” Draco said shaking his head at my
antics. We quickly said our good byes and Lucius gave us a wave before he
headed to his office.
“So do you want to go back to tossing the ball around or do you want to finally
tell me what happened? If you, one of the strongest people I have met, needs a
safe place away from someone who was once your friend then I can only assume
that something terrible has happened.” Draco said as he turned to me all joking
and joy gone from his attitude. I let out a sigh.
“I promise Draco that I will tell you what has happened if for no other reason
than I want to make sure you understand what you are signing up for when you
agree that you will protect me from ever getting hurt again. I just would
prefer if your Father was there when I do so. It’s odd to admit or even think
but your father has been a real comfort to me through this ordeal ever since he
found out.”
“I understand. Then let’s toss this ball back and forth a bit longer and then
we can make our way over to the office for your physical. After wards I expect
to get the truth out of you.” He said the smile returning to his face as he
spoke. We played around for about another hour before we finally decided we
should call it quits and go meet Lucius.
***** Chapter 7 *****
Once we were done messing around we quickly put the rugby ball away and started
over to the nurse’s office to meet with Lucius. Being able to just walk and
talk with Draco was so refreshing especially after having to look over my
shoulder all the time to feel even slightly safe for what felt like months
already. As we made our way to the office I decided it was time that I got to
know Draco for who he was and not who I assumed he was.
“So, Draco since we’ve never really talked before I was wondering how do you
spend all your summers?” I asked.
“I don’t really do much.” He said looking over at me with a grin. “Besides I’m
sure, being the celebrity that you are, that your summers are way more
interesting and fun than mine are.” I could tell that he was teasing from the
chuckle that he gave after words, but I was still anxious about him knowing how
awful my summers really had been.
“I still want to know.” I smiled at him hoping that I was able to hide my
anxiousness. “So, what is it you do? There is no way that it is more boring
than what Hermione does.”
“Let me guess she spends it with her nose in her books.” He said while
laughing.
I couldn’t help but join in as I responded. “She hardly even takes the time to
talk to me she gets so caught up in it.”
“I will admit that I do more interesting things than that.” He said once we had
both been able to calm down out laughter. “I do use part of my summer to do the
homework, but the majority of it is spent traveling with my father, or
interning with uncle Severus in his lab.” There was a fond smile on his face by
the time he was done. “What about you Harriet?” I stumbled when I heard that
dreaded question and felt the blood in my veins turn to ice. I still wasn’t
comfortable with him knowing the truth but I also didn’t want to start this new
friendship with a lie. Even if I was ready to tell him I knew I wouldn’t be
telling him where others might over hear. In the end, I decided to tell the
truth without any of the awful details.
“My summers were never really all that great I hardly left the house to be
honest.” I hoped that would be enough to have him drop the topic.
“Really you don’t even have one good story from the summers?” He said shock
clear in his voice and on his face.
“Nope my summers have been spent mostly doing chores. Although there was one
summer when I got to tend to a garden.” I was trying so hard not to think of
what would happen inside the house. Thankfully before we could talk about it
anymore I heard my name being called. As I turned toward the sound I felt my
blood run cold as I saw Hermione run towards us with a giant smile on her face.
I could tell the moment she noticed whom I was with. The smile dropped from her
face and she stopped dead in her tracks.
“What the HELL are you doing with that snake?” She said as she glared at Draco
the clear in her voice and eyes.
“Relax ‘Mione we’re just walking. Draco and I have decided to let the past stay
in the past, and try to get to know each other for who we are now so that we
might be friends.” I knew my answer would just upset her more, but I really
didn’t want to have another secret from her, nor was I ashamed of being friends
with Draco.
“Seriously Harriet!?! After everything he and his goons have done to us? To
you?” She said more shocked than angry as she stood there with her mouth
hanging open.
“Yes seriously. Like I said we’ve decided to let go of the past.” This wasn’t
the first time I had to defend my choice of friends to Hermione. A very similar
situation occurred when I decided to befriend Luna Lovegood after my godfather
had passed away during our 5th year. In fact, the only person who was ever
supportive of that choice, or who has ever tried to be nice to her was Nevil
Longbottom. “When are you going to understand, I am my own person? You can’t
tell me who I can and can’t be friends with!” for the first time in a long time
she was speechless. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down before I spoke
again. “I’m sorry for losing my temper ‘Mione. You clearly had something else
you wanted to talk about when you called out to me, so what was it?” Asking her
this seemed too wake from her shocked stupor, and brought a slight smile back
to her face.
“Well I’m not sure I forgive you, but I can’t keep this news to myself
anymore.” Her smile got bigger as she spoke. “So yesterday while we were out in
town Ron asked me if I wanted to go to a café with him. I of course said yes.”
Her smile was now just as big as it had been when she first approached us. “It
was so lovely! It was just the two of us sat in a booth at the back. After we
finished our food He reached across the table and took my hand in his and asked
me, well just the best question.” I felt the blood in my veins turn to Ice once
more only this time Draco must have noticed how worried I was because he put
his hands on both my shoulders. It helped to act as an anchor to keep my mind
from wondering and remembering a memory that I would much rather forget
entirely. “He asked me if I wanted to be his girlfriend!” And just like that I
was standing there staring at one of my best friends as the world around me
fell apart. If not for Draco I probably would have collapsed.
“Harriet what’s wrong? You look like you’re going to be sick.” As if on cue I
puked. Just the thought of what that monster might do to my friend set me on
edge. “Oh my god Harriet!” Hermione took a step back at the sight of my being
sick while Draco came and stood next to me.
“And on that note Granger we must be on our way to the nurse’s office now.”
Draco took one of my arms and wrapped it around his shoulders while holding me
up at the waist as he guided me towards the nurse’s office.
“Of course, I’ll come with you.” Hermione said as she started to follow us.
“That really isn’t necessary Granger I have the situation completely under
control and you will only get in the way at the moment, so why don’t you go
find your weasel of a boyfriend and bother him instead.” As Draco spoke he took
on the cruel cold tone that was all too familiar. It must have worked though
because I soon heard Hermione storm off without another word.
“Are you alright Harriet? Do you need to sit down? Do you need to vomit again?”
His said as we continued to make our way towards the office, his voice
returning to the warm and caring tone that I was quickly becoming familiar
with.
“Honestly I think I just need to go see your dad as soon as possible.” I said
as my legs started to give out when suddenly I was in Draco’s arms as he
carried me and ran as fast as he could. The entire time I couldn’t stop
thinking ‘I can’t believe this! What if he does something to her? What if he
turns against her? What if he tells her what he did to me?’ It wasn’t to long
before we were in front of the office and Draco was setting me down. Once I was
back on my feet he began to knock until the door was opened. A soon as the door
opened I practically collapsed while basically sobbing into Lucius’ chest. He
quickly wrapped me up in his arms and started to run his hand over my hair.
Being in his arms, surrounded by the warmth and smell that was Lucius, really
helped to calm m down again.
“What on earth has caused you to become so worked up my dear?” Lucius asked
once my sobbing had become just a few tears and sniffles.
“On our way over we ran into Granger.” He seemed to think that was enough of an
explanation. I looked up at Lucius and noticed the confused look on his face.
“As we were walking over we ran into Hermione and she shared some news that was
upsetting to say the least.” I took a deep breath to try to calm myself before
continuing.
“Apparently, she and r-ro-Ron have started dating.” Immediately I was wrapped
up tightly in Lucius’ arms again as my tears feel silently this time. It took a
while for my tears to stop and for Lucius to release me from his arms. Lucius
sat down in one of the chairs in the room and motioned for me to sit in the
other chair.
“Now I do understand that hearing about that boy so unexpectedly would be
upsetting, but I also get the feeling that something else is bothering you.” He
said, his voice gentler than I had heard it be before. I realized that at some
point Draco had left the room without me noticing.
“Where did Draco go?” I asked hoping to put off the talk that I knew Lucius
wanted to have if even for only a moment.
“He is just waiting for us outside the room so that we can talk freely.” He
said as he sat forward in his chair. “Now Henrietta please tell me what else is
bothering you.” He took my hand in both of his. I took a moment to truly make
sure I was calm before I began to explain.
“to be honest at first I thought it was just hearing about him, but on the way
over here I realized that there was more to it than that. I realized that that
I’m both worried about Hermione and hurt by her choice.” I wiped away the tears
that had started to fall with my free hand. “I’m worried that he is going to do
something to her. I mean I never would have thought he could before, but now…
I’m just so scared for her and at the same time I’m just as hurt. I’m hurt that
she would even consider dating him after what he did to me, let alone be happy
about it. I know she doesn’t have a clue but it still hurts.” At this point I
was staring at the ground with tears flowing freely down my face. Lucius used
the tips of his fingers to gently lift my face so that he could look me in the
eyes.
“Henrietta, I want you to understand something, what you are feeling is
completely valid. You had someone whom you trusted completely not only violate
that trust but violate you as well. This is not something that you are going to
be able to just put behind you. Now I will do everything in my power that I can
to help. For now, let’s focus on making sure that you are physically healthy
and then we can work on making sure that you feel safe and are mentally healing
as well.” His voice was so soft and gentle as he spoke it was a comforting as a
soft blanket. I hardly even noticed when I stopped crying and he wiped the last
of my tears away. We both stood from our chairs I climbed onto the exam table
as Lucius double check that he had everything.
“Okay now I hate to do this but before we begin I do have to ask you a few
questions. First when was you last period?” he asked his tone takin on a more
professional tone.
“I guess it was about a week before I came out here for the school year.” I
said. It has always been hard for me to keep track of the dates.
“Okay. Now I’m sorry but I have to ask, do you remember if… that boy, or… your
uncle ever used…condoms?” He was clearly trying to be careful with the words he
chose to say.
“Well I know that after I had my first period that my uncle did, but I doubt r-
Ron even th-thought about it.” I said while trying my hardest not to puke at
the thought of what they had done to me but it wasn’t easy.
“Shh you did great my dear, now do you have any questions for me?” There was a
slight smile on his face when he asked.
“Just one… why do you have those blood vials when there isn’t a way to check
them here?” I asked trying to hide the worry I felt from my voice.
“Because I want to make sure that you are completely healthy, and to do that I
need to take some blood, and since there isn’t equipment to analyze it here I
am going to take it to an acquaintance who owes me a favor and has access to a
lab, for analysis.” He gave me a reassuring smile. “Now it’s going to be a
fairly simple checkup. I am going to start by taking your vitals, and then I am
going to have you pee in this cup, and then I am going to take some blood. So,
are you ready?” His tone has still professional but it was plain as day on his
face that there was still trying to put my needs first. Lucius was right, the
whole process didn’t even take a whole hour.
“Now how about we get Draco and go have some food? How does that sound
Henrietta?” He asked as he helped me off the table.
“I think that sounds really nice.” I said as we walked out of the room to meet
with Draco. We didn’t have to go very far though because Draco was waiting for
us right outside the office.
“Well Father? Is she okay?” He sounded calm but I could tell from the way that
he was shifting back and forth between his feet that he was worried.
“As far as I can tell so far Henrietta is just fine, but I do have a to drop
off a few samples off at the lab to have some tests run and those results are
going to take a few days at least.” Lucius said surrounding very pleased with
my results so far. “For now, though let’s return back to the house and have
some lunch.”
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