Hello all!

Here's the next chapter of SDiE. Unfortunately it's a bit shorter than the first, but on the other hand, the story will start up a bit more from next chapter and on. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 2

That same night, in the mid of all feeling fluttering around inside of me, I realised that I was missing something. Missed it so badly it hurt. I don't know if my stay at the hospital had made my brain weak, or if it was the lack of Hermione's intellect that caused my brain to cease working, but it wasn't until Death came that night that I realised what I had been missing.

"Ron!" I shouted, almost throwing myself at the figure appearing in the doorway. But he shook his head.

"No."

It was a voice that was impossible not to recognise.

"Oh, it's you."

I might have been disappointed, but I also realised just what it was I was missing. I told you before, didn't I? Death can appear the way people want him to appear. And right at that moment I wanted to see Ron so bad his form had been forcibly changed into it.

"You sure come to see me often, these days. Am I going to die soon, or what?" I laughed. I didn't really think it was my time to go, it felt stupid considering all the pain I had gone through ever since I went on the subway.

"It is not."

I shook my head at his short answer. So typical. He would probably never learn to understand sarcasm, that one. I turned over the other way, so I wouldn't have to look at him when he looked like Ron.

"I'm going to sleep now."

He didn't answer me, and I didn't look to see if he had left. I didn't quite care either way. Perhaps most people would find having Death watching you sleep creepy, but to me he was a familiar figure, even more so after my stay at the hospital. So I fell asleep and no horrors haunted my dreams. At least they didn't that night.

The next morning I fought my way out of bed to reach the hospital's payphone. What I really wanted to do was to leave to go to Ron's, but there was no way I would be able to get all the way to his home.

"You have reached The Burrow, this is Molly Weasley speaking."

"Mrs. Weasley!" I exclaimed, glad to hear her voice, "This is Harry. How are you?"

"Oh, my dear," she answered, "I'm glad to hear your voice. But I'm the one who should ask how you are! Ronald told me you were stuck at the hospital after that horrible accident. How do you feel now?"

"Oh, I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley. The rehab is going well, so I think I might be allowed to leave soon."

"I'm so glad to hear that, Harry! You must come here once they let you, you hear me! The hospital food is horrid these days and we all know you need as much nutrition as you can get. You know what? Next time Ron goes to visit you, I'll send along something nice for you to eat, al-right?"

I couldn't help but smile. Mrs. Weasley always made me feel better with her warm mothering.

"Thanks," I replied, "and speaking of Ron, could you put him on for me?"

"Yes, certainly dear. I'm was just on my way on going to wake him up, either way. Just hold on a minute while I wake him, okay?"

Of course I had no problem with that. Talking to Ron was worth a couple of minutes of waiting. But when she mentioned that it was time to wake him up I grimaced. He had such an horrible morning mood, and it didn't help that we hadn't spoke for weeks.

"...What do you want?"

"Ron!" I exclaimed, glad that he had at least chose to answer, "I'm so sorry!"

The only answer I got was a huff. It was obvious he didn't find it enough to forgive me.

"Really, Harry. Am I really the one you should be apologising to?" he asked, "Do you have any idea how upset Hermione got?"

"...No, I don't, but I can imagine. But I am really sorry for that. I don't know why my mood was so bad. I just lashed out at all and everyone. And that included you and 'Mione. I'm really sorry. I don't want to lose my best friends over this, I truly don't."

When Ron had started yelling at me I had felt my eyes tear up and my voice was unsteady during a large part of the conversation. I felt so bad about what I had done and that it had taken me so long to contact my friends again.

"Please, please, forgive me."

"Oh Harry..." I could almost hear his sigh over the stupid friend that was me as he continued. "Of course I forgive you. We know you didn't mean it, you know? But it still hurt Hermione. That you would actually call her... that. Just like one of those snobs who think we shouldn't be at school."

"I know, I know! And I feel horrible about it." I think I was sobbing slightly by this time and Ron's answer came out panicked.

"Hey, hey, mate, take it easy! It's alright. I forgive you, and I know 'Mione will too."

"Thanks Ron," I said shakily, "but I might need your help with Hermione."

"Haha, yeah, she can be a bit tough at times."

We chatted for a while longer, and it felt good to be catching up with him. He told me how Lavender had got together with Dean, but we both laughed at the thought. They wouldn't last a month. Lavender was too demanding for a laid-back guy like Dean. And he had heard from Ginny that the Patil's had swore never to date again after Seamus had cheated on the both of them. It was nothing essential, but I had missed it. So badly. For a while I completely forgot about Draco and what had taken place the evening before.

Then we got to planning on how I would get back in Hermione's good graces. I wanted to call her straight after I hung up with Ron, but he didn't think it would be a good idea.

"It's better to meet her face to face, mate. Show your affection by hugging her would be a hundred times better than a phone call, trust me."

I had to agree with that, but I still weren't allowed out of the hospital, so going to her place was out of the question. Instead, Ron promised he would manage to get her to where I was, hopefully that day even.

I don't know what he told her to make her go to the hospital, but later that day they both showed up. I hadn't known when they would come, so when they did I wasn't prepared. The speech I had prepared in beforehand that I was going to present to Hermione was wiped from my mind. Instead I wove my way over to them on my crutches and undeterred by her unhappy glare I threw myself, as good as I could, around her neck, hugging her close and telling her how sorry I was for what I said, and what a fool I had been. And it turned out Ron had been completely right when he pushed for a meeting. She melted against me and hit my back and told me how stupid I had been and cried.

When it was all over she straightened up and grabbed my shoulders.

"I forgive you, Harry James Potter, but if you ever do such a thing again, my friendship won't be so cheap."

I nodded. "Of course not. And it will never happen again. Ever."

She nodded back.

"Of course it wont. Now..." She moved back and peered at me. "I want to know how your rehab is going. Actually, better you take me to your nurse and let her tell me."

I slept well that night, and the next day Draco showed up.

"Hey there," he said as he leaned over my bed, "hope you're not too tired to spend some time with me today. I heard you had an active day yesterday."

"Draco!" I exclaimed, suddenly aware that my heart beat faster. "Of course I'm not too tired!"

A smile lit his face then, shining like a sun. The emotion that had made his eyes darker disappeared with it and he seemed just like normal again. But it made me a bit uneasy. The night he had been over before, I had definitively felt like something special would have happened, if Blaise hadn't interrupted us. Like a teenage girl I had been hoping for a kiss. But had it all been my imagination, or did Draco feel something for me in return? I didn't know if I had the courage to ask, not about that. But Draco solved the problem for me.

"Hey, Harry..." he said, and grabbed my hand, running a finger down its back. "I know this might seem stupid, but..." He hesitated and shifted a bit in his seat.

"I like you. And this might be presumptuous of me, but I think you like me too."

I blushed beet-red. And I was also incredibly happy. It was ridiculous, I had barely known him for a couple of weeks, and in addition to that, he was a man. It wasn't so much that homosexuality was something unknown to me, but as it was something I had never really considered it before. But now the thought hit me, and the first thing that came to mind was something uncle Vernon said.

"Those damn fags are ruining this country! I bet you'll grow up to become one of them, boy!"

So my answer came out twisted and wrong, destroying my happiness in a second.

"I do like you, Draco... but... I...I … I'm not going to become a fag."

It was not a good answer. Draco's eyes went dark again and he dropped my hand.

"What kinda answer was that?"

His tone was much colder than I had ever heard it and in a haste I tried to explain myself.

"Wait, no, that came out wrong. What I mean to say was, that this is really new to me. All of it. And then that we're both boys. I, I never though about this before. So, um..."

I'm not sure what his answer would have been, but at that moment Ron and Hermione bundled into the room, happily greeting me. And Draco only said that he would see me later and left. Just before my friends reached me Blaised ripped the curtain away from this bed and gave me a malicious smirk.

"Well, you handled that well, now didn't you?"

I couldn't even bring myself to give a comeback. Then the curious questions from Ron and Hermione started raining down on me. I sank back in the bed, despairing at how the situation had turned out.

Right. Well, perhaps not too much action in this chapter, right? And yes, I do realise that problems and relationships might appear to be solved easily or move on very quickly. Well, there is a reason for that, and by next chapter this story should be moving in a slightly darker direction. Hopefully no one has any problems with that^^

As always, Please R&R!