Aftermath
Harry sat with his two best friends in his dining room, sipping tea; none of them spoke a word. Outside, the sun was setting, as if it were a normal day without any hitch, as if Harry hadn't heard one of the most heartbreaking tales that had happened to an innocent Little. It had been hours since the talk, and Malfoy was still unconscious in the guest room. Harry had carried him there after everything. And now Harry was getting a little worried; he had checked on the blonde many times now, but the blonde hasn't even stirred; it wasn't a good sign; Harry knew that. Harry has even tried to wake him up, but to no avail. All three of them have discussed it and agreed that they'll call Healer Samuels soon if Malfoy still doesn't wake up. Harry looked at the time again, only to see that it had been just 8 minutes since he last checked on the blonde and signed.
"I think we should firecall Healer Samuels. I am not feeling good about this, mate," Ron spoke up, looking as worried as Harry felt.
"I agree; he hasn't had such a long nap since I started taking care of him, not even after he freaked out." Harry added.
"Alright, let's call her and see what's wrong." Mione agreed, finally. She has been reluctant to incur Healer Samuels's weath, which they will, upon hearing they had done something to her patient, in the few hours they have had them in their care. But Harry didn't care anymore. He needed to know what had gone wrong. He was scared to cast any advanced spells on the little one, so all he could describe was that Malfoy was physically fine.
Harry firecalled her Healer Samuels's office, knowing she would be there. She answered very quickly.
"Hello, Healer. I-I wanted to ask if you are free to floo over for a bit?" Harry asked nervously.
"What's the matter, Mr. Potter? Is Draco alright?"
"Uh, about that, he-he is not awake. Been sleeping since morning." Harry was now fidgeting.
"What do you mean he's still sleeping?"
"I checked his basic health; everything seems fine. But he's not getting up. I have also tried waking him up, but to no avail. He-he had a breakdown in the morning, and he was fully in his little space when he went to sleep. So I don't really know...." Harry trailed off.
"What. Have. You. Done. Mr. Potter? Step aside; I'll floo over right now." Barked Healer Samuels.
Harry didn't waste any time in moving aside. Healer Samuels came out of the floo, looking furious.
"Explain!" Healer Samuels demanded
Harry was too worried and nervous to explain to her satisfaction. So Hermione took over and explained in a crisp manner. Healer Samuels didn't say a word; he just nodded and asked Harry to show the way where Malfoy was asleep. Once she entered the room, she forbade any of them from entering with her. Harry knew he was in huge trouble. She has never asked Harry to stay out before.
It was a long 20 minutes in Harry's life to wait for Healer Samuels to come out and say what had gone wrong. Harry and Ron were fidgeting, and Mione was wearing a hole in his living room carpet. Healer Samuels came with a grim face, and Harry's heart sank a little. What if they had pressurized Malfoy so much that he's in danger? What if Malfoy never wakes up again? What if Malfoy's mental health is permanently damaged because of what happened? He was already fragile as it is. Why had they thought doing the talk was a good idea?
"He's not in any danger," Healer Samuels said, breaking Harry's mental monologue. "But whatever you three did today could have resulted in a very dangerous situation with Draco. He might have lost all his memory. You should have consulted me before doing all this." She held her hand up to silence Hermione, who had started to open her mouth to say something. "I understand why you did it. But having a valid reason doesn't give you the right to be careless with a patient whose mental state is already very fragile. You should have known better than this, Mr. Potter." She cast a disappointed stare at Harry. Harry wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. But more than that, he wanted to know what was wrong with Malfoy.
"But, fortunately, he's not in any kind of danger. Physically, mentally, or magically. Making him talk about his trauma has put lots of pressure on his delicate headspace. His magic has forced him to regress to protect his mind. The forced regression has left his body in a healing coma. Because it is the first time he has actually regressed, his body has also undergone several changes in a short amount of time, which were supposed to take months. His body is still undergoing changes at a rapid rate. He will be in this state for a few more hours. By morning, he will wake up. I think he will wake up in his headspace. He will remain in his headspace for a while, until his magic deems his mind healed enough to let him be in his adult headspace. His age in his headspace might vary. Right about now, he will be in the lowest spectrum of his age range. Or maybe lower than that. Be prepared; he might be anything between a toddler and an infant. He will need proper care. And be careful with what you say in front of him. Do not trigger him. I don't want any more complexities to arise. Understood?"
All three of them bobbed their heads eagerly. "This is a step forward in his case. It's good that he's in his headspace now. It will do the stubborn little thing some good. But, Mr. Potter, do be careful. One more such mistake, and I will personally see an end to your career. Saviour or not. I will need to go back now. I have kept a few draughts at the bedside table. Make sure you give them to him after every meal. And get him proper furniture and equipment. You are a caregiver, Mr. Potter; I understand you know how to handle him when he's in his little space." Harry nodded again.
"You mentioned physical changes?" Hermione asked, ever the curious one.
"I reckon you haven't looked at him properly after what happened. Do go and do that; you'll know what I'm talking about. I'll take your leave now." With that, she left through the floo with a whoosh. Leaving all three to breathe a sigh of relief. They all rushed inside the guest room to check in on the blonde. The blonde was still fast asleep, little puffs of breath escaping his nose; his mouth was slightly open, showing a peek of his teeth. His hands were in little fists. That's when Harry noticed that those fists were smaller than before. His cheeks held baby fat in them, and his whole face looked smaller and more childlike. Harry tentatively tugged the blanket aside to reveal Malfoy, who had clearly shrunk from before the talk. He stood about 4'4 if that. Maybe slightly less than that. He has lost nearly 8 inches. Someone gasped at the sight of Malfoy. But Harry was too busy looking at the Little infront of him to see who. The pajamas Harry put Malfoy in, after he had cried himself to sleep, were large on him. Malfoy was drowning in the extra fabric. But he looked so adorable in his big pajamas that Harry had to restrain himself from awing. But he couldn't resist himself from smoothing the blond hairs. He turned back to his friends and then slowly tucked the boy under his blanket. He also cast a charm to keep him from falling down his bed in his sleep. It'd let him get down if Malfoy was conscious. He also cast a monitoring charm, just in case, and all three headed out.
*****
The first thing Harry did after dinner was get his books related to Little and start studying. He was an apprentice; he needs to know more than what he knows now, and he has to catch up on his studies anyway. Harry kept reading until midnight before he passed out due to exhaustion. He woke up at 8 in the morning, still sitting on his chair, his head resting on his table. Getting up, he regretted doing that when he felt a sharp pain in his lower back. Sighing, he went on to get freshened up and immediately went to check in on Malfoy, who was still peacefully sleeping. But he had changed his position, which meant he was out of his healing coma and was just sleeping. Then he headed out to his kitchen to make some breakfast. Ron and Mione had promised to come as soon as they could in the morning, so he made a big breakfast for the three of them. He didn't know what Malfoy's age would be when he woke up, so he reckoned he could make do with the leftover formulas and baby food he had from St. Mungo's if Malfoy needed any of it. Just as he was setting up the table, the floo whooshed, indicating his friends had arrived.
They were all sitting in his living room, talking about everything and nothing, when they heard the monitor charm chime. Realizing that Malfoy was up, they waited for a few minutes to see if he'd come out of the room on his own. When they heard no other sound, Harry slowly made his way to the guest room to find the bed empty. He turned around to check the en suite bathroom and found it open and empty too. Looking around the room, he could see no one. Where did he go? He couldn't have apparated, nor could he get out of the window, seeing that it was a magical one. He ran his eyes around the room again, getting worried.
"Malfoy?" He called out to see if he would get a response. Harry strained his ears to hear something when he heard a small, barely there, muffled sob. Harry breathed out, calming his nerves, and wracked his brain. Malfoy must have woken up in his headspace. Where would a child hide if he woke up in a strange place? Think Harry. Under the bed? Harry kneeled down to see if Malfoy was under it. Where else? He couldn't see any legs below the curtains, so he couldn't be behind them either. Where else? Harry ran his eyes again, trying to think where a person could hide. His eyes fell on the large mahogany cupboards. He slowly opened those, not making any sudden noises. He turned around when he heard footsteps to find Ron and Mione looking worried. He motioned for them to remain silent and fully open the door.
Down in the lowest rack, he spied a little leg peeking out. He lowered himself to the ground, sitting on his haunches. The sight in front of him twisted his heart. There, amidst the linens kept, was the small boy, his hands pressed against his mouth to keep himself from making any noise, while silent tears dripped down his little face. Malfoy looked so scared, and he was shaking with suppressed sobs, wracking his body. Malfoy was completely in his headspace. Harry reckoned that, as Healer Samuels said, he was on his lowest spectrum of age. Suppressing his sigh, Harry spoke up,
"Hey there, why are you hiding here, little one?" When Harry got no response other than Malfoy staring at him with those tear filled eyes, he tried again.
"Malfoy?-" Before he could utter anything, he was stopped by the violent flinch from Malfoy. Maybe calling him by his last name is not really right.
"Draco? What's wrong, little one?" Harry asked in his softest voice.
"Are you scared?" Harry prompted again. After a moment, he got a hesitant nod from the boy.
"Oh, Draco, none of us are going to hurt you; instead, we will protect you. I promise. Can you come out for me?" Malfoy shook his head at that.
"Do you remember me? I'm your friend, Little one. You can talk to me. Tell me, why are you scared? I promise I'll do everything I can to help you." Harry spoke again, feeling helpless in the face of a crying little boy.
After a while, Malfoy spoke up, sniffing, "Meanies. Hurt" and a sob broke out of the little. And he instantly covered his mouth with his hand, looking scared at the prospect of making any noise. Harry suppressed the rage brewing inside him and concentrated on the facts and symptoms exhibited by Malfoy. His speech was broken and simple, which has to mean he must be anywhere around 1-3 years old. And he remembers everything that had happened, might be in a childlike version, seeing Healer Samuels had removed the worst of it. But even after that, if Malfoy was this scared and traumatized, Harry did not want to know what the 'worst of it' consisted of.
Taking a deep breath Harry spoke again, making sure none of his inner turmoil leaked into his voice. "Yeah? Did those Meanies hurt you? That's not nice of them. How is this?I and Ron will beat up those meanies if they ever come near you. And, Hermione over there? She's very good at magic, and she will magic the house to make sure no one else comes in. And then you need not be scared anymore, and we can play! What do you think?" Harry made his voice as excited as he could. Mione and Ron, who had come and sat behind him, waved at the blonde when their names were mentioned. Harry knew they would have a warm expression on their faces to ease the little one.
Malfoy seemed to think it over; by this time, he had relaxed from the frightened little boy to just a scared boy. It was progress. Harry thought. "We pawy?" Malfoy asked in a small voice.
"Yes! We'll play whatever you want. We can play blocks; we can read stories! And I thought we could eat those very yummy Chocolate Truffles that I have. We can then play King! You will become the little prince. How does that sound?" Harry exclaimed, wracking his brain to think what else a toddler could play. He had to get some toys for the boy soon.
Malfoy was already bouncing on his spot. "And-and chocate? 2 chocate! Me? And no meanies?"
"Yes! No meanies. You will get two chocolates after you have your breakfast! And we have yummy milk too! Don't we, Ron?"
"Uh-Oh yes! We have chocolate milk! And we can have pancakes with lots of syrup for breakfast." Ron continued catching up.
Malfoy was nodding frantically, his fears forgotten for the time being.
"So will you come out now? Or else your chocolates will be sad that you didn't eat them." Malfoy looked at all of them and slowly crawled out of his hiding space. Harry was so happy that he wanted to cheer at that.
The moment Malfoy was near him, Harry all but grabbed him and was about to go back to the kitchen when he felt it. Wet pants. Looking down at the linens, he could see a wet spot there as well. Harry was thinking about how to broach the subject when Ron spoke.
"Did you have a little accident, buddy?" Harry and Malfoy whipped their heads towards Ron. Harry was glaring while Malfoy looked down at his pants, and noticing the wetness, his lips trembled before a small sob emerged. Malfoy covered his mouth again, and silent tears rolled down. He kept mumbling through his hands, "I-I so-sowwy." Harry sighed at that. This was going to be a long day.