DISCLAIMER: I own nothing you recognize.

WARNING: This WILL EVENTUALLY be SLASH, meaning Male/Male relations, and implied MPREG, meaning Male Pregnancy.

SUMMARY: This is gonna be based on the novel "Girl With A Pearl Earring", sorta. Eventual HPSS, though SSBW (Bill Weasley) and LMBW implied. Back when Harry was 11, his aunt convinced him that the letters he was getting were from bad people who wanted to kill him. So he wished they never find him and this wish made him unfindable. No one who has the purpose of finding him will do so. Now Harry is 16, and totally oblivious to the magic world. Meanwhile, Lord Voldemort is on the rise. And Severus Snape finds himself practically on Harry's doorstep. Read on to find what happens!

RF's note: Sorry for the long delay, guys!!! I just was SO caught up with other stuff that the plot of this next chapter took the longest time to form. Sorries. :) I hope you like it – it's sorta hastily written. Please Review!

Previously:

With a last smile at his friends, Harry made his way to the Hospital Wing. He was anxious to tell Severus all about his day.

Because he knew Sev could hear him. He could.

And he'd wake up soon. He would.

Blinking away the tears, Harry walked on.

Chapter 10

"Accio feather."

The tiny object stirred weakly at Harry's half-hearted attempt at a summoning charm.

Harry's forehead hit his desk with a thud.

"I can't do this," he mumbled into the cool wood.

Next to him, Professor Flitwick sighed heavily. "Yes you can," he asserted. "You know you can."

Harry's neck felt wooden as he tried to upright himself. "Do you see the feather moving?" he inquired sarcastically.

"Well," Flitwick paused, "the Accio is a difficult charm. You must have a clear image in your mind of what it is that you wish to summon. And--" he eyed his student carefully, "it seems to me that you can't really focus on anything. You heart and head just aren't in it."

Harry fought the urge to yell out a big fat "DUH!!"

"Can I just..."he hesitated. "...Can I just go now?" he muttered. Meeting the Professor's eyes was quite a challenge.

"Of course," Flitwick smiled with sad understanding. "Go see him, child. It'll give you some peace."

Thanking him with a weary nod, Harry walked out.

Two weeks had passed since that torturous night...and Severus wasn't waking up.

As Harry made his way to the Infirmary, his legs felt like leaden sticks, head heavy as an anvil.

A week ago he lost his sleep.

Four days ago he lost his smile.

Now all of his existence was turned toward one thing...praying to God that Severus would wake up.

Food was forced into him by Hermione and Ron.

He could not focus on anything.

He did not want to.

All that mattered was the limp body lying silently in the Hospital Wing.

All that mattered was Sev.

No longer was the Infirmary unfamiliar to Harry. He spent days and nights here now. Days in watching...nights in wistful contemplation.

Wearily he drew open the curtains around Severus' bed, just enough to step through. Soon he was beside his master, and the rest of the world was cut off.

He lowered himself into 'his chair'.

From the opposite side of the bed a black-haired youth looked up apathetically. Green eyes held icy blue ones.

Many an evening they had spent together lately beside Severus...neither speaking...both grieving...both hoping...both waiting.

Wordlessly, Draco looked away. He was trembling slightly, blinking away tears.

Moved by inspiration, Harry crossed over to Draco's side of the bed.

"It'll be okay," he whispered, touching the boy's shoulder comfortingly. "He'll be fine."

"Oh yeah?!" Draco shrugged the hand away violently and sprung up. With a visible effort he put on his evil façade.

"How do you know, apprentice boy?" he drawled. "So all-knowing, are we?" He shot a look at his father. Something faltered in his mien.

"It'd be better if he just got it over with and died already," he squeezed through gritted teeth, eyes flaring. "Even in a coma the git manages to unsettle and piss everybody off."

Unhesitating, Harry's hand shot up.

A slap resounded in the curtained cubicle. A red blotch now marred the white flesh of Draco's cheek.

Harry's eyes were blazing with emerald fire, burning Draco.

"Hiding your feelings behind a wall of lies will solve nothing," he snapped. "He who faces suffering with lies is not a man, but coward, and in doing so he doubles the pain."

His gaze softened. "You love your father. I understand that you have a façade to put up in front of your Slytherin posse, but here is neither the time nor the place for it. Here you must be true to yourself. Because if you aren't, then you're betraying him."

Harry turned his attention back toward Severus. For a few minutes all was silent. Draco seemed to be contemplating something.

At last, Harry was not surprised to feel a wand press between his shoulder blades.

"I know more Dark Magic than you do any magic," hissed Draco into his ear. "I could blow you to bits right now."

Harry turned around slowly.

"But you won't," he asserted softly, looking into the young man's eyes.

"How can you be so sure?" spit Draco.

"Because you're crying," smiled Harry sadly.

Draco's hand fell limply to his side as he realized how tear-streaked his face was.

"No..."he whispered. "I don't cry. I can't cry. I shouldn't..." he tried to will the tears away.

"I think you'll find," said Harry quietly, "that tears are one of the best things that could happen to you. Don't hold them back."

It was as Harry looked into Draco's eyes that Draco realized just how wise the young man in front of him was, and just how powerful.

It was at this moment, too, that he realized that from now on he'd give his life for Harry, and Harry would do the same for him.

He felt his façade crumble to bits.

Surrendering, Draco cried.

Weary, but oddly relieved, Harry walked into Severus' chambers to retrieve some clean clothes for himself.

He stopped short when we saw a person standing in the hallway.

"You..." hissed Bill like an angry snake, eyes burrowing into Harry's with a fiery hatred. "It's all your fault," he spit.

Harry stared. "What..." he trailed off uncertainly.

"If you hadn't gone and invaded my husband's body, doing Merlin knows WHAT to his spirit, he'd be up and running by now!" yelled Bill suddenly.

Harry blanched. "What are you talking about?" he exclaimed. "If I hadn't done it, he would have died before Dumbledore got there!"

"Nonsense," scoffed the red-head. "I specifically asked Lucius to go easy on him..."

Harry froze.

He was vaguely aware that Bill was still talking, but he didn't care. Words were playing over and over in his mind. "Specifically asked... asked Lucius... specifically asked Lucius... Lucius."

Time seemed to screech to a halt as realization entered Harry's eyes.

"You...asked...Lucius."

Slumped over his father's bed in the Hospital Wing, Draco never noticed as Severus' hand stirred and flexed imperceptibly.

RF'S NOTE!! BIG THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED AND VOTED!!! And yes, I realize that Still some of you guys Would have reviewed but could not. So I thank you anyway. And Guess what!! The VOTE is still going on. The phoenix is still IN the lead, but it's not too late to turn things around. So PLEASE, everyone, answer my very awesome question that reads,

Which Animagus form do you think Harry should have?

a. Unicorn

b. Mini-Dragon (A real dragon, only not-so-huge)

c. Phoenix

d. Other. (Please specify, and remember that it must be a mythical/magical creature).

Other suggestions I've gotten are: Serpent - the orient dragon/the Chinese dragon; Royal Eagle; black panther w/green eyes; Sphinx; Suicune; Thestral; Dire Wolf; Griffin; Pegasus; Peryton, Chinese fireball; winged lion; manticore; Basilisk; Dyheli; Selchie; cwn annwn; kraken; darcorn; white dementor; and Augurey. Thanks for suggesting these, guys!

A Peryton is a deer with wings that casts the shadow of a man.

A Suicune is a legendary dog from Pokemon, but the suggestion is to make it a bit more feline in nature.

Big thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 9!!!: Arcadian cerberus, Kaaera, shiroiryu144, Crissy Potter, 'Pyrefly, I was deactivated' (I put your name in parentheses cuz it contains a comma, and I use commas to separate people, so you'd have been two people. :-D), silentauror (a stag isn't mythical, is it?), Sykoticstalker27, E.A.Saraby, fiend, blubb-blubb, Sabby-chan Yaoi Fan, agge, Sanity is Relative, MoonysGurl, oracale, Doneril, Elebereth, Ruth01, The Snake Charmer, bitchmonkey2000, Dea Puella, TommieBoy182, Jade Dagger, Character Flaw, SerpentSlaveChik, SailorTerra1, Shadowsphinx, clarence, Delinka, Phat Kat, Lutheyl, NephilimTear, RandomnessDotCom, BlackRaven13, Little Nadeshiko (hey, email me if you still wanna translate. That'd be cool.:)) GY, Mikito, Queen Zephora Yami, Ava Blaire, and pheonixelemental!!

THANKS, GUYS!!

And please everyone, review this chap? The more reviews I get, the fast I'll write. And don't forget to vote!! Thanks!!