CHAPTER 11 (WHEN I COME AROUND)
DISARM by THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
Disarm you with a smile
And cut you like you want me to
Cut that little child
Inside of me and such a part of you
Ooh, the years burn
I used to be a little boy
So old in my shoes
And what I choose is my choice
What's a boy supposed to do?
The killer in me is the killer in you
My love
I send this smile over to you
Disarm you with a smile
And leave you like they left me here
To wither in denial
The bitterness of one who's left alone
Ooh, the years burn
Ooh, the years burn, burn, burn
I used to be a little boy
So old in my shoes
And what I choose is my voice
What's a boy supposed to do?
The killer in me is the killer in you
My love
I send this smile over to you
The killer in me is the killer in you
Send this smile over to you
The killer in me is the killer in you
Send this smile over to you
The killer in me is the killer in you
Send this smile over to you
"No offence dude, but Draco's taking an awful lot of time to make that Shepard's pie." whined Ron leaning back on his chair.
"Ron, my god…food's all you can think about isn't it? But leaving that aside what's up with Malfoy tonight? He's acting totally weird with all this grinning and cooking on a whim. Plus he hasn't talked to us the entire evening." observed Harry looking at Draco's empty seat.
"And neither has granger. In fact they didn't talk to each other the entire time. Makes me smell a rat. Something's definitely up." said pansy shrewdly, looking a little dissatisfied.
"Oh I don't think so. Hermione and Draco are totally chummy now." piped in Blaise. Just then Darlene got up and announced "I'll go check up on Draco in the kitchens. Anyways its getting late and selena will start worrying. It was really nice meeting all of you again. Good-night, bye." Everyone bid her good-night and then she started walking towards the kitchens. Yup pansy was right; there was something definitely wrong with Draco. Although never boisterous or chummy, he always made an effort to socialise. But today he was just brooding. The minute Darlene entered the kitchen, a strong pungent smell hit her nose and she moved her hand to cover her nose and mouth. But stopped as soon as she saw Draco lying on the floor on his side in a foetal position. She ran to his side and sought out for his wrist. Her fingers felt a very faint pulse. Immediately she turned him on his back and ripped off his shirt jacket and loosened his shirt buttons. As she tried giving him CPR she started to get dizzy and decided that they should get out of the gaseous environment as soon as possible. She made Draco stand and slung his arm around her shoulders and yelled for help. As she staggered out, a couple of waiters rushed out to help. Just then the others spotted her and rushed out to help her. Ron hurried over and slung Draco's other arm around his neck and said "we're taking him to St'Mungos. You guys disperse the crowd and check for the cause of this" and then both Darlene and him disapparated. Harry and pansy ran towards the kitchens while Blaise set off a series of bangs from his wand to calm the crowd.
"Everybody is requested to leave, please. There has been a mishap. This ball room is now quarantined. Everybody out." He yelled as people spilled out of the hall. Then he caught hold of a waiter and asked "why weren't any of you guys in the kitchen with Draco?" the waiter cowered under Blaise's piercing gaze and answered "its Mr Malfoy's rule. When he's in the kitchen no one else is allowed inside. Please sir, is Mr Malfoy alright?" Blaise shrugged and told him to round up the other waiters and leave. He watched as the last stragglers filtered out and used his wand to seal off the entrance. Then he turned back to see pansy and Harry walking towards him.
"There's a leak. We've taken a sample for testing. I think the air conditioning line's faulty. We checked all corners for a magical trace and found none so it can assertively be said that there was no one in the kitchen except Draco." Said Harry as he showed Blaise a small glass vial filled with the noxious gas. Pansy put her cloak on and said "I don't think Draco was attacked either, but we'll leave that for later. Now let's see how he's doing." Towards the end pansy's voice was overcome with emotion and while Harry comforted her, Blaise held both their hands and disapparated.
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As soon as they reached the reception desk, Harry yelled "Draco Malfoy" to which the reception which replied "Hootie Flounder ward, second floor." The trio rushed towards the stairs. When they entered the foyer they saw a morose looking Ron consoling a teary Darlene.
"Where's he?" shouted pansy, wildly.
"He's inside. A dozen healers are working on him right now. They're saying his lungs were exposed to a gas called carbon monoxide for a long time and hence he's not responding well to their potions. But they still have a steady pulse. So…" said Ron, leaving the last word hanging in the air.
"There was a leak in the air conditioning vent. Maybe that's the source of this carbon monoxide thing. By the way did you guys seal the vent?" said valise looking at Harry.
"Yup." answered Harry pacing anxiously "I'd better inform Ginny." and walked towards the communal fireplace.
"I'll just intimate Hermione about all this" said Ron as he whipped out his wand and his dog shaped animagus shot out. Then he sat down and put his head in his hands. Harry joined them a couple of minutes later and slid into the seat next to pansy who was now quietly sobbing.
"Ginny is extremely, worried and the only reason she's not here right now is because she has a baby inside her. And I swore to her I'll update her every 30 mins. Hey did anyone inform Hermione?" he asked. Ron nodded and after that all of them just sat and waited for any news. After about 15 mins, a haggled Hermione burst out of the elevator and into their midst.
"What happened? Ron said Malfoy's in the hospital? Is he ok?" she rattled off. Harry stood up and sat her down on a chair, knelt down and said "Mione, there was a gas leak in the restaurant kitchen and Draco's lungs were exposed to carbon monoxide for quite some time. He's still not responding to potions, but they have a pulse."
"But…they have to do more. Maybe muggle doctors can help him. My uncle's a trauma doctor. I'll go ask him." said Hermione and ran for the elevator.
"Well we should try everything." Said Ron as everyone stared at Hermione, mouths agape. Almost an hour later the doors of the Hootie flounder ward opened and a tall female healer came out and addressed the group "well we were able to stop the gas from affecting other parts of the body but we can't get it out as it neutralizes all of our potions. I've never worked with this gas before but I can tell that prolonged exposure can't be good. At least it's not getting worse. We're keeping Mr Malfoy in a sedate state so as to minimize the chances of progression of the gas. You can go in now, but be sure not to touch him or move him in any way." Quietly and with heavy hearts the group marched in to the ward. Draco lay there enclosed in a blue mesh of protective magic. The only way that someone could see that he was alive was because his chest was rising and falling, otherwise his entire body was a pale ghostly white and his throat region was turning a pale light navy blue. Pansy couldn't take it any longer and clutching Darlene's arm she broke down completely "why? It's always him; he doesn't deserve all the pain. What sort of a sick life is this? Oh Draco…." Blaise reached down and held her hand while she cried. Silent tears were running down Darlene's face, Ron and Harry were both stoic. A crash signalled Hermione's arrival and behind her were the healer and a tall middle aged man with salt and pepper hair.
"This is Uncle Greg, he knows that I'm a witch and has agreed to help Malfoy. We can erase his memory afterwards. Healer Giselle has given her consent. He's Malfoy's only chance." poured out Hermione as she held onto Ron's arm to catch her breath. They all watched as healer Giselle removed the protective mesh surrounding Draco, then Hermione's uncle took out a thin sharp pipe and attached it to a shiny plastic balloon. He then signalled to Hermione and said "Herms go to my hospital and ask Nurse Fritz for a life support system. Bring it as fast as you can. Take someone with you to help you carry it." Hermione and Ron rushed out of the ward while Dr Greg removed Draco's upper body clothing and started to swab it. He then asked healer Giselle to remove Draco off the sedative. By then Hermione and Ron had arrived with a huge contraption on wheels, which Dr Greg attached to Draco's mouth, wrist and arms. With the shiny pipe in his hands, he drew his arm back and brought it down on Draco's chest with a dull thud. There was no reaction from Draco, but Blaise, pansy, Darlene and Ron had there up to a terrified Dr Greg in no time. Harry and Hermione had to explain that this was a part of the procedure, pacified they retreated. Back to work, Dr Greg made sure that the tube was firmly in place he flicked the life support system on. Then he opened the valve and slowly the shiny balloon started to inflate. He waited till something on the life support blinked then he slowly removed the pipe and stitched the incision up. One by one, he removed the tubes from Draco's arms, wrists and mouth. After injecting Draco with something, he said "he'll wake up after 6-7 hrs, so you people can rest during that time. He's responding well and will require these medicines to recuperate. The ones in the red bottle are to be taken once a day in the morning and the green bottle contains capsules that should be taken once every night before dinner. Continue the medicines for 4 days. That's all." Everyone in the group thanked him profusely and then Harry took Dr Greg and Hermione to the obliviating authorities.
When they returned the rest of the group were crowded around Draco's bed. "Guys lets take a break and get some rest. We'll get back here in the morning. Someone'll have to stay here and take watch. I've to go coz Ginny's already going berserk, if I delay any longer she'll come here." said Harry.
"I'll stay. I live nearby and plus if complication arises I'll contact uncle Greg." said Hermione as she took off her coat. She was still wearing her evening gown which was now badly crumpled.
"Are you sure? I can stay with if you want…." said Ron suppressing a yawn.
"I'll be fine. Thank you. I'll keep you guys updated. Anyways see you guys in the morning. And I think I'll head home to get a change of dress and something to read." answered Hermione as everyone bid her good-night and streamed out of the door. Hermione pulled a low chair near Malfoy's bed and sunk into it. She leaned back and closed her eyes. The last 3-4 days had been a whirlwind, first she had been livid at Malfoy for not asking her to the dance, then lee had appeared and finally tonight. And why she even thought that Malfoy would consider her more than a friend was baffling. Not that she was jumping at the chance of going out with Malfoy; she just thought that it would be nice. But after all she was 'buck-toothed granger' to him and nothing more. And on top of that he had already got his eyes set on some Spanish stunner.
When she had received that message from Ron, Hermione had just got inside the house and was in the process of taking her gown off. But after she heard that Malfoy was at St Mungo's, all thoughts of the uncomfortable garment were wiped out of her mind. At first Hermione thought it was another suicide attempt and she was a little annoyed, but after Harry told her what had happened she felt incredibly guilty. Carbon monoxide poisoning seemed like a cruel way to go and a little ill-fitting for Malfoy. But apparently even magic couldn't make a dent in stopping the deadly, silent killer. Then it had hit her that it was a silent, deadly yet a NON-MIGICAL killer. She had immediately rushed to Uncle Greg and the events had unfolded which had led her to be seated next to a drugged Malfoy. Hermione yawned and stretched and got up to go home and change. But she felt too tired and so decided to wear the pair of pyjamas kept in the night stand beside Malfoy's bed. Once changed and comfy she laid down on the lounge chaise and felt sleep take over her.
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A/N— Howdy? Nothing interesting happening on my side, but if something happened to you that blew your mind away…please feel free to share. By then read and review. Oh and keep walking.
