Author's Note- I thought I should speed the story up a bit, so I'm skipping to the end of book one. In order to get this far, Harry and Ron snuck into the forest and discovered Quirrell drinking unicorn blood for Voldemort. Thank you all, please read and review. Trigger WARNING! a bit of torture. I am not the glorious J.K Rowling.

HARRY-

" So, what about me?" Draco asks, " I can't go with you, and I can't leave with Hermione."

I pause, the vial of potion resting just upon my lips.

" I could drink half of it," I suggest.

" It will only take one, and you have to drink it all. I'll stay here. I'll wait for Dumbledore and he'll only come if Hermione tells him he needs to, so you have to go," he says.

Hermione smiles at him and slips through the flames. If Draco cents calmly almost four and waves me on my way. I'm going from a bottle and walk to the fighter. I walk into a large room.

" I've been waiting for you, " Professor Quirrell says.

"Where's Snape?" I ask.

I try to push Quirrell behind me. He allows me to and suddenly I feel my hands pulled behind my back and tightly bound with a rope. The Mirror of Erised is here and Professor Quirrel peers desperately into it. The fibers of the rope dig into my wrist and each halfhearted jerk of my arm causes it to dig a little deeper as the bonds tighten.

He notices my struggle and mumbles something to himself in a low voice, almost like a hiss. He walks to me and slaps me across the face. It stings badly and my eyes water. I hold my teeth together and make no sound. I stumble and land on my knees. I look at the back of his head and glare with hatred.

"Where is he?" I ask again.

"You fool! You think that Severus Snape, that bumbling idiot, could have done anything at all? Come where I have come? Serve who I serve with a heart as strong as it needs to be? No. You were mistaken and we allowed you to be mistaken for it kept you out of our way," Professor Quirrel says.

While he looks at me, his voice grows in intensity.

"I had this room set up so that I could recieve your... assistance, Harry Potter," he hisses.

I crawl pathetically away from him. Not because I am weak, no, nor because I'm afraid. The heat of the cavern twists around me, suffocating me. He fills my head with lies. Behind everything, I hear him laughing. The Imperius Charm, I think bitterly.
He forces me to crawl away from him on my knees with my hands drawn behind my back. The action pulls the rope tighter and I know my skin will break beneath it soon. I reach the other side of the room and slam my head into the wall.

"Tell me where the Stone is, boy!" He shouts.

I shake my head as furiously as I can and bite my tongue. I can fight him.

"I don't know," I say.

My nose drips blood onto the floor and there is silence. Only the sound of me trying to stand and then CRACK.

I fall down again. I'm hit with something hard and cold. Metallic. I can feel my leg break.

He pulls me up roughly and throws me in front of the mirror while removing his turban. and I bite my lip so violently that it bleeds. Voldemort hisses instructions to him from the back of his head. It's horrific. I curl into the ground but Quirrel rips at a handful of my hair and presses my face to the cool glass.

"What do you see?" He yells.

I stare into it with all of my waning strength and wish for nothing but Voldemort to never find the stone.

"I see nothing," I say, "Only me winning the House cup."

He slaps me again, harder this time.

"You lie!" Voldemort hisses.

I look into the mirror. Let me find it. Please, let me find the Sorcerer's Stone.

Quirrel holds his hand as though he's been hurt.

"Get him!" Voldemort says while Quirrel mumbles something about pain. My head hits the ground and everything seems to come in pairs.

He lurches towards me and grabs my throat. My scar burns and for the first time, I allow myself to scream. I close my eyes and writhe in pain while everything goes black.

-HOSPITAL-

I open my eyes to find myself in Madame Pomfrey's care.

"Hello, Harry," Draco whispers gently.

I stare at him in confusion while I try to remember why I'm surprised to see him. And then I remember in flashes of red and I look down at my wrists. Faint bruises are my only visual memory.

"It's safe, Harry. You did well," Dumbledore says.

"Dumbledore?" I ask.

"I ran into Ms. Granger while I was searching for you. On my way to retrieve you from the dark and dangerous situation you had put yourself into, I found Mr. Malfoy keeping watch. I carried you up here, along with Mr. Weasley who seems to have a concussion," Dumbledore says.

I lay my head against the pillow and force myself to think. One part of that story doesn't make much sense.

"You carried us both?" I ask.

There is a momentary silence.

"No. I carried you," Draco says quietly.

I turn to him and whisper my thanks, knowing that he doesn't want to be embarrassed.

"I should go now, Harry. Madame Pomfrey watches me disapprovingly," Dumbledore says.

Draco nods at him. They seem to have a wordless conversation, after which Dumbledore smiles and says, "At your own peril then, Mr. Malfoy."

I play with the edges of the bedsheets while I try to gather my scattered thoughts into something worth talking about but when I try to do that all I can think of is what I just went through.

"You can cry, if you need to," Draco says. He pushes the sheets out of my hand and slips under the covers.

"I was afraid," I say quietly. A teardrop rolls down my face.

He guides my head down to his chest and lets me lay there and cry.

"Can I.. can I ask you what Ron wanted to talk to you about, Draco?" I hiccup.

I've been curious for awhile. Whatever it was, it seemed to have changed his relationship with Ron. They seem both closer and farther apart.

"What about you?" Draco asks.

"He didn't know that I'm gay," I say.

He looks shocked that I, the chosen boy, could keep a secret.

"I was afraid that he would leave me behind and hate me for who I love," I whisper. He runs his fingers through my hair and laughs a little, but not in a mean way.

I look expectantly at him and wait.

"Oh.. um, I borrowed his.. um.." Draco stutters.

"If you don't want to tell me, then you don't have to. But please, please, don't lie to me," I say.

He smiles at me gratefully and stays silent. I follow his lead and turn my face into his chest, hoping he won't feel the tears as I ease myself into a fitful sleep. When I wake, he's gone.