Chapter 3

Finding

Harry felt as if his heart would implode when he saw Draco lying on the ground in a rapidly growing pool of blood. Snape clutched Harry´s robes by his shoulder and pulled him up in a decidedly ungentle manner.

"This will have consequences, Potter!" he snarled, not averting his look for one second from the sight of his favourite student lying unmoving on the cold stone floor.

Students were quickly gathering around the fallen Malfoy. Snape harshly pushed them out of his way, dragging the protesting Harry with him.

With "Harry did not do anything to the git!" and "Malfoy attacked him!" Ron and Hermione tried to rectify the situation. They had been only steps away from the two boys and were ready to be witnesses in Harry´s favour if Snape would try to blame Harry. Snape simply ignored their interjections much to the chagrin of Hermione.

"Everybody into the classroom! Read pages 12 to 30 of your textbook before I return! I will deduct 50 points from anybody causing a problem of whatever kind in my classroom while I am not there, 10 points from anybody not having finished his reading material before I return!" Snape bellowed, leaving his moaning and protesting students to rush the two boys up the stairs.

The potions master floated the still unconscious blond boy to the infirmary, not once loosing his grip on Harry´s robes. Blood was dropping down onto grey stone, crimson marking their way up the stairs. Filch would not be happy!

Harry craddled his broken arm, yelping and glaring when Snape pushed him to sit on a free bed to gently place Draco onto another one, impatiently calling for Madam Pomfrey at the same time.

"What do we have here! Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy! Fighting again I see!" the old nurse chided, bustling out of her office. She was clucking unhappily when she checked Draco for the source of his bleeding.

"Mr. Malfoy seems to have received a laceration on the back of his head which is bleeding profusely as all head-injuries tend to do." With a swish of her wand the wound closed and she started to check his eyes for signs of concussion, followed by incomprehensible muttering as she read the outcome of the diagnostic spell which was writing facts into thin air, unintelligible for anybody but the matron. She frowned in confusion before she proceeded to say "He is fortunately only mildly concussed and will awake with a rather bad headache. It is for the best if we allow him to rest." She cleaned the blood as well as possible from Draco´s hair and face before she carefully put a bandage on his head.

"And what would be the problem with you, Mr. Potter? A fractured ulna, I see!" Harry hissed when the matron checked the bone in his left forearm for possible displacement before mending the bone with a simple "Callus!".

"Your ulna is mended, Mr. Potter, but I still want you to stay in the infirmary and have a good night´s rest." Madam Pomfrey was wrapping his arm tightly with a muslin bandage when Professor Dumbledore entered the infirmary with the everlasting twinkle in his eyes.

"Headmaster! Potter attacked my student again! I demand this insolent boy to be punished accordingly!" raved the potions master at once.

Harry started to protest immediately. "We insulted each other and then Draco attacked me! I did not even pull my wand! I have no idea why he came to be unconscious or how he received the head injury! I swear I did not touch him!" Harry was outraged by the greasy man´s accusations.

Dumbledore held up his hand to stop the enraged jabber with a knowing smile. "There is no need for accusation and vindication at this point. I have the impression that Mr. Malfoy will have a say in this also."

As if on command there was a loud groan to be heard from the blond youth. "Ahh, Mr. Malfoy is waking up!" Madam Pomfrey immediately rushed to his side.

Upon opening his eyes and seeing the school nurse Draco groaned even louder. "Oh no, not again!" His head was aching terribly and he was generally feeling sick. When he looked around he saw that Snape and a seemingly injured Potter glared at each other, watched by an annoyingly merry headmaster.

"Mr. Malfoy, please, tell Professor Dumbledore how the infallible Mr. Potter" the name was spit out of Snape's mouth as if it was dirt "here has attacked you!"

Draco was confused to say the least. He could only recall hexing Potter, but Potter attacking him...

"I can´t recall what..." Draco started, eliciting an exasperated groan from Potter. Snape´s triumphant grin vanished when Draco said "As far as I can recall Potter did not attack me. I fell I think, but I don´t know why. I was simply feeling sick and dizzy, the rest I cannot remember."

"Have you been feeling sick and dizzy as you said only before you fainted or already earlier in the day?" asked him the old nurse again, waving her wand in a complicated pattern over him, creating bursts of small lights in different colours. Nobody seemed to be interested in that Draco very well had cursed Potter, but the strange lights above his body occupied his mind too much to waste time on thinking about mentioning that detail to any of the present people.

"I...I didn´t feel very well the whole day long." Draco was terrified and shocked by the idea that he seemed to have fainted, again!

"Did you have any other problems today, Mr. Malfoy?" Madam Pomfrey asked while vanishing the lights to use another spell to write strange signs in the air above his stomach.

"Uh...well...I couldn´t seem to keep anything down the whole day long...and my stomach started to ache after some time and my head as well..." Draco answered very quietly, the knowing and anxious look on Pomfrey´s face making him increasingly nervous. "..though not as much as right now." he added while he gently rubbed his forehead.

"That would be the slight concussion you suffered when you fell and hit your head. I will give you something against the pain in a minute." Draco was really embarrassed now. Falling and hitting your head, definitely something only the most ungraceful berk could manage.

"What is wrong with me?" he angrily asked himself aloud, but it was the old nurse who answered the question.

"You are pregnant, Mr. Malfoy!"

Not a sound was to be heard in the infirmary as all present stared at Madam Pomfrey in shock until Draco started to gasp for air, eyes wide in terror.

"But you said that you could not determine a possible pregnancy until after a week!" objected Snape angrily.

"Well, it seems that this pregnancy is not proceeding as any other would. The signs are much stronger and he is showing symptoms at a time already where there should be none." Madam Pomfrey defended herself, her face turning pink.

"You are lying! You said I was bleeding too much for it to settle. You made a mistake, check again!" Draco whispered. He could not make his voice to work above a whispering and wheezing level. His heart was beating like mad and his thoughts seemed to tumble around his mind so fast that Draco could not catch a single one of it.

"I am afraid I cannot tell you what you want to hear, Mr. Malfoy! It seems that the internal bleedings were partly due to the settlement of the embryo which can sometimes cause minor bleedings, but usually they do not happen before one or two weeks after the insemination. In this case there was extensive bleeding from the anus also. It generally seems that all possible symptoms in this pregnancy seem to be aggravated. This pregnancy is not going to be easy on you, Mr. Malfoy, but I will do my best to support you!" Madam Pomfrey sent him an imploring glance before she bustled away to get something to treat his headache.

Harry watched the developments with growing pity and unease. Draco looked definitely unwell. He was white as a ghost, staring at his stomach and shaking in terror. When the nurse returned with a small phial with light blue contents in her hand the blond boy looked up at her beseechingly, whispering: "Make it gone, please, take it out. I don´t want it, take it out!"

Madam Pomfrey halted, compassion in her eyes. "I cannot perform an abortion on you without a court order. I´m sorry!" Draco´s face fell just to show hope again as he directed his beseeching look at the old headmaster.

"Please, Professor Dumbledore, you are the chief warlock of the Wizengamot. Can´t you just give the permit?"

Harry could not understand. What had the Wizengamot to do with it?

"I would like to help you, my dear boy, but you are not of age. Your mother will have to apply for the permit as she is your legal guardian." The merry twinkle had a sad light to it, but the old man still gave him an encouraging smile. "I will of course inform her immediately of these dire circumstances." the headmaster promised.

"Narcissa will not apply for a permit." Snape said quietly with a vacant stare.

Nobody had to say it out loud as they all knew it. Narcissa Malfoy was too loyal and afraid to go against her Lord´s wishes.

"Why can´t you simply abort it, Poppy? Draco was raped, definitely it should be allowed for him to choose if he wants this child or not!" Harry interjected angrily.

"In the wizarding society abortion is forbidden by law as the population is so low that every newborn child is welcome. Only in certain cases, which would apply to Draco´s also, they have the right to apply at the Wizengamot for the permit to abort. In Draco´s case his mother would have to do it as he is still underage." Dumbledore explained with a tired smile.

"This is not right, Professor, the muggles perform abortions. Maybe we can take him to a muggle hospital!" Harry wanted so much to help the blond who seemed to be not able to even understand any longer what was going on around him.

"Brilliant idea, Mr. Potter, we will take Mr. Malfoy to a muggle hospital and leave it to you to explain to the muggles how it is possible that a sixteen years old boy is pregnant and therefore wants an abortion!" snorted Snape.

"Oh!" Harry blushed. Well, that had not been a useful idea.

"Professors, I must ask you to leave the infirmary now, my patients need to rest. You can continue your discussion tomorrow!" Madam Pomfrey vehemently ushered the two men out of her infirmary.

"Kindly drink the pain relieving medicine now and try to sleep then." The nurse handed Draco the tiny phial, which he downed without further ado, just to gag and bring it up the next moment all over his front and the bedcover in one forceful gust. Madam Pomfrey looked rather alarmed while she changed the bedcover and helped Draco to wash his mouth and change into fresh pajamas, all the time muttering to herself.

"I will be back shortly. I have to check something and prepare a different type of medicine. Be good and take a nap, you both need to rest. I believe it will ease your headache also, Mr. Malfoy." she finally told Draco and Harry and left the infirmary.

Harry quietly watched as Draco snuggled into his blanket, pulling it over his head, moaning softly. After some minutes the blanket started to shake and there were small hiccups to be heard. Draco was crying! The sounds made Harry flinch, making him want to go and do something to make the other boy feeling better again, happy. He wanted to give Draco comfort and protect him. He wanted so badly to hold him in his arms, feel Draco snuggling against him again, wanted to touch his silky hair again.

Harry got up, contemplating if he should go and comfort the blond, risking to be cursed by him on sight. Harry decided it was worth the risk and stepped closer.

"Draco!" he whispered softly. "Are you crying?" 'Stupid question', Harry thought annoyed on himself. He carefully pulled the bedcover away from Draco´s face just to have Draco flying at him like a shrieking banshee.

"Can´t you leave me alone? You want to play some more with me? Saint Potter out to save me again just to let me fall when he hears the nasty details? You fucking son of a bitch!" Harry tried desperately to hold Draco´s wrists to keep him from hitting his face again and again.

"I´m sorry, Draco, I didn´t mean to, please, I´m sorry!" Harry begged the hysterical boy with tears in his eyes. Draco was not impressed by Harry´s pleas at all, so Harry did the only thing he wanted to do at least once in his life. If Draco hated him now and this was his only and last chance he would do it right now while he had Draco in a secure grip.

So Harry bent forward and captured the screaming boy´s mouth in a desperate kiss. Draco stilled immediately. Harry feared that the blond would bite him hard, but it would have been worth it he decided.

His eyes opened wide in shock when Draco´s mouth relaxed and a soft tongue slipped into his mouth.