Chapter 1

Sunlight through the windows shone down on the sleeping savior, yet he still did not awaken. The infirmary doors opened and in walked Madame Pomfrey. She looked toward the sleeping Harry and walked over to his bed.

She looked down at the boy's peaceful face and smiled gently, but there was a hint of sadness and maternal concern in her eyes. She reached inside the folds of her mediwitch robes for her wand and held it over Harry's body. She then performed a series of diagnostic spells but Harry's body showed no negative reactions. She performed a few more tests and noted the results. Even though Harry was still unconscious, Madame Pomfrey's tests seemed to find him physically healthy. Most of the test results have remained the same as they were when Harry first arrived unconscious. Madame Pomfrey only paid attention to the subtle changes in Harry's condition.

"What's wrong, Potter? Why won't you wake up?" The woman felt silly talking to her unconscious patient. But she kept hearing Hermione say that muggles constantly talk to patients who refuse to wake. Madame Pomfrey then remembered what Hermione said yesterday. 'In the muggle world doctors encourage family and friends to talk to comatose patients and give them a reason to wake up.'

As Madame Pomfrey kept that tidbit of information in mind she looked down at Harry again and tried to talk to him once more. "Mr. Potter, the wizarding world is in mourning instead of celebrating because you haven't awoken yet. So many lives have been lost already. We can't lose you as well."

Harry still did not stir and Madame Pomfrey heaved a loud sigh. "Perhaps you don't wish to hear such sad news." 'If I were the boy I don't think I'd want to wake up to a world where many of my loved ones have already died either.' "Well then, Mr. Potter, I'll have you know that if you don't wake up soon you might miss out on a possible upcoming wedding between Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger. Sleep any longer and you could very well miss out on little Teddy saying his first word or walking. Miss Weasley is also looking lovelier by the day, so you should…" And still Harry made no indication of waking up.

"Now, listen here, young man. If you don't wake up soon I'll make you drink the vilest potions imaginable!" Even the upset mediwitch's threat had no effect on her unresponsive patient. Once more she sighed forlornly. "Very well. Maybe later you'll wake up when your friends come to visit again."

And just as Madame Pomfrey mentioned Harry's friends, the doors to the infirmary opened once again. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley walked in hand-in-hand with Ginny Weasley trailing behind the couple. They all looked solemn as they headed over to Harry's bed. When they reached their sleeping friend Hermione let go of Ron's hand and took one of Harry's frail looking hands in both of hers. Ginny moved around the bed and took Harry's other hand. All three simply looked at Harry expectantly for a while, taking absolutely no notice of the mdeiwitch standing close by. And when they saw that he remained asleep, their expectant faces slowly turned disheartened. Hermione was the first to break the oppressive silence as she finally seemed to notice that they had an audience to their daily moment of disappointment.

"Oh! Good morning, Madame Pomfrey. Please forgive our rudeness. We should have greeted you earlier." As Hermione said this, Ginny and Ron finally seemed to notice Madame Pomfrey standing by the bed as well. Both looked sheepish as they too belatedly greeted her with a mumbled "good morning."

The mediwitch did not look at all affronted. She simply smiled tenderly at the group. "That's perfectly alright, dears. I know you are very worried about your friend, Mr. Potter." Since the day Harry arrived at the infirmary Madame Pomfrey had seen the three Gryffindors visit the boy everyday. Even though many of the Hogwarts students have returned to the castle already after the end of the war, only these three students were Harry's constant visitors. They would come early in the morning and leave late at night until she had to usher them out. These three also took it upon themselves to entertain Harry's other visitors and accept their gifts, their gratitude, and even their condolences. Madame Pomfrey knew that Harry's condition has taken a huge toll on his friends, so sometimes she checked the three over to see if they have been keeping themselves healthy instead of making themselves sick with worry. And now as she looked at them she noticed the redness of Hermione's eyes and the girl's slightly puffy cheeks. Ron, despite all the previous times the mediwitch had seen him do so, has not eaten a single bite of the sweets that Harry has received. And so the woman suspected that Ron might have lost some weight, making the overly tall boy look even lankier. Ginny Weasley, on the other hand, looked healthy, but the mediwitch was unwilling to take chances with any student's health.

"Well, you three, before I tell you how Mr. Potter is doing today, how about I have a look at all of you first?" At the sign of protest from the group, Madame Pomfrey immediately silenced any objection with a stern gaze. She then looked at Ron directly and gestured toward her desk at the end of the room, opposite the doors. "Come along now, Mr. Weasley. You first." She saw that Ron looked reluctant to leave Harry's side and added, "Not to worry, dear. Mr. Potter will still be there when you return."

Ron looked down at the mediwitch's authoritative stare and resignedly followed after her. One by one Madame Pomfrey examined the Gryffindors. After she was satisfied with her health evaluations she finally talked to them about Harry. The four of them gathered around Harry's bed and discussed his condition.

"Physically, Mr. Potter is healthy. His vitals are stable and all tests for physical damage both internal and external are negative. He will have no lasting injuries when he wakes up and he will suffer no permanent magical effects. His wounds have healed nicely with no scarring. I have also checked his head for any brain damage that might be causing his unconsciousness and all tests are negative. Perhaps the only thing wrong with his physical health is minor weight loss, but even that is not a major concern. The only thing remotely alarming about his state is that he has somehow gotten smaller." At this statement the three friends gave Madame Pomfrey confused looks.

Hermione voiced the group's confusion. "What do you mean by smaller, Madame Pomfrey? Like Harry somehow shrunk? Is that what's keeping him from waking up?"

"Well, Ms. Granger, the only conclusive thing I could tell you is that Mr. Potter has somehow gotten a couple inches shorter. Never in all my years as a mediwitch have I seen that happen unless it was caused by a spell or potion or was some sort of magical side effect. But none of those apply to what is happening with Mr. Potter. You might have been too worried to notice this in the past couple of days but it seems that Mr. Potter's frame has also become much more, shall we say, compact. His torso is not quite as broad as it used to be anymore. From what I've gathered when I performed tests on him this morning, however, the changes are slowing down and are close to finishing."

"What does that mean?" Ron asked.

"I'm afraid I do not know the answer to that, Mr. Weasley. We can simply hope that means Mr. Potter will be ready to wake up soon," Madame Pomfrey responded.

For a moment everyone gathered around the bed was silent as each glanced down at Harry's serene face. Ron, Ginny, and Hermione finally noticed the subtle changes in Harry. Not only was he slightly smaller, his unruly locks seemed glossier, his lips were fuller and were rosier by a few shades, and his complexion was just a bit fairer. He also seemed to be emanating some sort of very faint glow. Not one of them knew what exactly was happening to Harry but all of them were hoping they would be able to see those striking green eyes open once again.

After a while Madame Pomfrey excused herself from the group and headed over to her desk. Ron, Ginny, and Hermione made themselves comfortable around Harry's bed. They prepared for a long day of receiving Harry's endless visitors, ranging from fellow students to witches and wizards allowed on school grounds for the purpose of visiting the sleeping savior. Of course other magical creatures were welcome to visit as well, provided that they do no harm to the students and would actually fit through the castle doors. The three Gryffindors stayed with Harry until Madame Pomfrey declared visiting hours were finally over.

***** DMHP *****

A couple hours after Harry's friends left and Madame Pomfrey finally retired for the night, the infirmary doors opened slightly to once again admit Harry's nightly visitor. Draco stayed close to the shadowed walls as he approached Harry's bed. When he reached Harry he took one of the boy's hands into both of his and stared at the peacefully sleeping boy's face. Draco continued to look at Harry for a few moments. Then he hopped onto the edge of Harry's bed, not once letting go of his hold on the brunette's much smaller hand. Draco contented himself with just staying by Harry's side, watching the beautiful sleeping face and the slow, rhythmic rise and fall of the boy's chest as he breathed softly.

"I hear you have more and more visitors coming to see you everyday, Potter. You see? People are very worried about you. Don't you like making people happy? So, you really should wake up." Draco continued to talk to Harry about anything he could think of. The one-sided conversation went from new brooms displayed at the Quidditch shop on Diagon Alley to Draco helping with the rebuilding effort after the war. His family's last minute defection from Voldemort may have prevented his being sentenced to Azakaban but his guilt and regret, not to mention all the atrocities he witnessed while in the 'care' of his Aunt Bella, caused him to finally accept his compassionate side and help those who are less fortunate after the war.

"I usually see Weasel, Weaslette, and the Mudblood visit you. Granger always looks like she's been crying all night and Weasel doesn't even stuff his face at every meal time anymore. Even the Weaslette doesn't go gallivanting off with any male she finds attractive lately. Do you really want to trouble them so much?" Draco may be helping with the rebuilding effort and trying to be more compassionate, but he was still far from being a nice and friendly guy.

"You know, Weasel and Mudblood are growing closer. But if you don't wake up soon, they might worry about you too much to even move forward in their relationship. Do you really want to stop your friends from being happy? Come on, Potter, you'd never want that to happen." Harry just continued to sleep and Draco continued to ramble. "I'll even make a deal with you. If you wake up soon I'll even stop calling them Mudblood and Weasel. You always did hate it when I called them that. Sorry. Old habits die hard, but I'll try harder if you promise to wake up."

A few hours passed with just Draco talking to Harry and Harry just lying still. When Harry still refused to open his eyes after all of Draco's efforts at conversation, the blonde Slytherin sighed heavily and hopped off the bed. He looked at Harry one more time. And again he kissed the back of Harry's hand just as he had done every night he has visited since the end of the war. "Even if you won't wake up for your fans, at least wake up for those that care for you. Wake up for the sake of your friends. Wake up for…" Me. As Draco's sentence trailed off, he released Harry's hand and glanced out the window briefly. It was close to sunrise and he knew he had to leave. If the mediwitch and Potter's friends saw him there, they might not be too happy with him. And so Draco mumbled a short farewell to Harry and left the sleeping boy alone in the infirmary once again.

***** DMHP *****

Meanwhile, somewhere in Knockturn Alley a pair of red eyes was watching the very few passersby from the shadow of an old, dilapidated shop. As the dark figure slowly emerged, it became clear that it was a handsome young man with jet black hair and pale skin. He was tall and slender. An elderly witch passed him by and he smiled at her, making his handsome face look even more charming. The witch's eyes grew wide for a second before she bowed her head to hide her blush as she continued on her way. When he knew that the witch could no longer see him, the young man's charming smile suddenly turned into a sinister smirk. He walked through the dawn's earliest light in search of a particular dark arts shop, Borgin and Burke's.


Thanks for reading. I would greatly appreciate reviews to let me know how I'm doing. I tend to write better when I have ideas to bounce off of. Hope you're enjoying the story so far and stay tuned for more.