Part 4

Darkness. That's all there was. Am I dead? This can't be death. It just can't be. Wake up Tori, wake up. But the darkness stayed. Darkness and silence. Wait! Voices? But I can't see anyone. Where are they? The voices started disappear. No! Don't leave! Take me with you! No one could hear me and the voices left me alone. Alone with the darkness. Alone with the silence. Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!

I opened my eyes. Everything was blurry, so I blinked a lot. Once everything became clear, I realized that I was in the Hospital Wing. I tried to sit up, but as soon as I did, I became dizzy. I grabbed my head with one hand and tried to lean against the headboard with the other. Then, I heard footsteps. Madame Pomfrey came around the corner and smiled when she saw me.

"Welcome back, Miss Potter. How do you feel?"

"Ok, I guess. A bit dizzy, but I can handle that." I returned the smile. "Can I go back to my room now, or do I have to stay here?"

"I think you're ready to go back, unless, of course, you feel like you need to stay here."

"No ma'am. Thank you." I got up and left.

I looked my watch. It was dinner time now. Most everybody would be in the Great Hall right now. I walked down the halls, my head feeling a tad better, until I got to the portrait. I said the password and headed up to my dorm. I grabbed another robe and headed to the shower. After about 20 minutes in there, I got out, put my outfit on, and magically dried my hair straight. Then, I headed down to the Great Hall.

When I entered, at least half of the people there looked up. I felt their eyes on me for a minute, then most went back to their supper. But a few eyes remained--those of my friends and a certain someone. I could feel his eyes on me and a shiver went down my back. I ignored it and went to sit down by Ginny and Hermione, who gladly made room.

"Are you alright? We were so worried about you? How do you feel?" These questions and more were fired at me the second I sat down.

"Guys I'm fine. I promise. Can I eat please?"

They nodded and went back to whatever they'd been doing. I reached for everything I could get my hands on. I hadn't realized how hungry I'd been. Of course, I hadn't eaten breakfast that day and I only ate a bit of candy after that. I hadn't had a proper meal in...how long? It was then I realized that I didn't know how long I'd been in the Hospital Wing. I'll ask later.

When I'd finished eating, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and I all got up and headed back for the common room. I didn't notice someone follow us out a few seconds later. "Are you ok.?" asked a worried Ginny. "I heard all about it. I was really worried. We all were."

"I'm alright. My head hurts a bit," They all looked up. "But only off and on," I said, calming any fears they had. We walked for a bit in silence.

"Well, I've got a ton of homework to finish," Ginny said. We said bye and she left.

"Aww, man. I do, too. Hermione, would you help me in Potions?" Ron asked.

"Sure. We'll leave you two alone." They headed off. Harry and I walked for another minute in silence.

"How long was I out?" I finally asked.

"A bit over 24 hours."

"Really?" He nodded.

"Yeah, you hit your head pretty hard."

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Now he was concerned.

"All I remember is this. Malfoy was gonna hex you so I stepped in front of it. Then I remember hitting something. The next thing I know, I'm in the Hospital Wing."

"Oh. Well, you flew about 10 feet in the air, hit the wall, and fell to the floor. We thought you'd just lost consciousness, but then your head started bleeding, so I carried you up to the Hospital Wing." He stopped walking. "Why did you do that? You should have let him hex me. You could have died."

"You could have died, Harry. I didn't want you to get hurt; I knew I could take it." I sighed. "You're my bro, right?" He nodded. "There. What more do you want me to say?" We continued walking.

"I think I'm gonna go out for a while," I said. "I feel like some fresh air. Plus, I love being outside at night." I ran into the common room and changed clothes.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Only if you want to. But I think I'll be fine."

"Okay. I think I'll stay here. You're probably sick of people around you."

"Kinda." With that, I headed outside.

I walked outside and stopped. I had no idea where I was going to go. I decided not to think about it and let my feet take me wherever they wanted. I walked down to the lake and began walking along its edges.

After walking for about five minutes, I decided to head back up towards the castle and find a tree sit against or climb. I love to climb trees. I was almost to a climbable tree when I heard footsteps. I stopped and looked around, but no one was there. Shrugging, I walked up to the tree and began to climb up. I had climbed about fifteen feet when I started to feel dizzy. Everything started to spin a bit. I clutched my head. In doing so, I let go of the branch. My foot slipped and I fell towards the ground. I was almost to there. I braced for impact, but it never came. Instead, I felt someone holding me. Whoever it was probably saved my life. The person set me down against the tree. Still holding my head, I blinked a bit, trying to make the spinning stop. When it did, I looked up and was met with the eyes of the one who saved me. His icy blue eyes gazed into mine. I just stared back. I was lost in those eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I tried to stand, but everything started to spin, so I sat back down.

"No you're not. You can't even stand." I looked up at him. His eyes were filled with...concern? A Malfoy's eyes...filled with concern? No way. I must still be dazed. I tried to stand again, but he held me down.

"Let me go, Malfoy," I said tiredly. I wasn't in a good mood. Then again, I wasn't in a bad one. I really didn't know how I felt.

"No. Look, I wanted to say...that..."

"Spit it out, Malfoy." I was getting a tad irritated.

"I'msorry.Ididn'tmeantohurtyouatall." He mumbled.

"Wow. I didn't know you spoke gibberish. How long did it take to learn that?"

"Ha Ha. Funny." He took a deep breath. "I said that I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you at all."

"I know. But you tried to hurt Harry. I wasn't about to let that happen."

"He deserved it for what he said to me." I stood up, holding the tree for support. He shot up, about to protest.

"Oh really? I don't see what he said that was so horrible."

"He called me a ferret. You'd be insulted, too, if that had happened to you."

"That still doesn't give you any right to try to kill him!"

"You shouldn't have stepped in front of him. You could have died"

"Don't try to change the subject, Malfoy," I spat.

"I'm not. It's just that what you did was stupid."

"Well, sorry for trying to save someone I love!" I turned and walked away, but I stopped. "Oh. By the way, Harry's probably gonna try to kill you the next time you get him ticked. Don't get yourself killed, Malfoy. I won't have anyone to take my anger out on, then." I turned and stormed off, leaving a stunned Malfoy behind.

I went straight to my dorm, my head beginning to hurt again, and listened to Cold. I began to mouth the words. Getting lost in the song, I didn't notice that I had begun to sing out loud. When the songs were over, I saw Ginny standing there.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just felt like listening to Year of the Spider," I lied. Luckily for me, she believed it.

"Okay. I was just on my way to bed. Good night, Tor."

"'Night Ginny." She left.