Harry understood the trauma to be entirely different when there was a physically short distance between action and punishment. Harry hadn't had a moment to himself those last years of the war, but at the very least the damage that followed of that was either emotional or self inflicted. Malfoy had truly spent his summers under brutal conditions.<br/>Harry made a point of not letting any pity show on his expression. He didn't feel any, only a deep sense of pained sympathy.<br/>"Does that linger in the house?" Harry instead asked. He had already asked about Malfoy's living arrangements, but it bore repetition, especially now that Malfoy had grown likely to answer the question genuinely.<br/>"Because you were barely in custody after the war," Harry said, the brief furrow of his brow halfway a question, no longer honed on the details of Malfoy's trial; he had once been. Harry had zoned out of existence the months following the Battle, but Malfoy and his mother's trials were among the few moments Harry knew he mentally showed up to, feeling like he had debts to be repaid.<br/>"Did you choose to come back?"