Chapter Text
“ Boy, they called me— freak, ” Harry chokes out through the tears and Draco can taste it on his tongue like poison.
He chases it away with a soft kiss, slow and sweet, but Harry only cries harder.
“Shh,” Draco soothes, tracing his thumb over Harry’s bottom lip. “Sweetheart.”
And when Harry’s breath hitches, a small fragile thing—again, “sweetheart.”
Harry drops his head away and Draco cannot help the way his heart jumps at the rising warmth of Harry’s cheeks against the crook of his neck. Or the small smile he presses to the top of Harry’s head, fading into peppered pecks against dark curls.
Harry’s breathing settles and his hands loosen their shaking grip on Draco’s jumper. Draco only holds him tighter, bundling Harry on his lap and rubbing circles on his back. They don’t talk further of the Dursleys or the venom they’d spit.
“Darling,” Draco says instead. “Angel. Sweetheart, I’m here.”