Woo, slightly shorter wait this time...and I think I've very nearly finished writing this story, so now I just need to type it up (hopefully).

Thank you all yet again for the wonderful reviews, I honestly do appreciate every single one of them.

Fourteen

"Draco, what…" His eyes widened almost comically before he looked back down at the apple. What little colour our kissing session had put in his face drained away as a light sheen of perspiration replaced it. I scrambled to my knees.

"Hermio…" He stopped mid-word as he looked at me absolutely terrified for a second before his body dropped to the floor with a thud, convulsed for another second and then became still. A small trickle of white froth escaped his pale lips and I stared, completely stunned. Where the hell was a Bezoar when you needed one?

I stopped, completely motionless on my hands and knees, having got halfway to my feet and across the room before he'd fallen. The realisation of what had just happened took a couple of seconds to filter through my shocked brain and when it finally hit me, I was instantly furious at myself for not telling him this part of the story sooner. Why hadn't I just told him? Because I'd gotten so wrapped up in our little competition that's why…I had wanted to win.

But then another thought hit me; I was being silly, this was Snow White after all, there was a very simple solution to all of this. I just had to kiss him; that was it, and then he'd wake up. I almost laughed at the simplicity. Granted, our situation was slightly reversed from the storyline, but it was still somewhat following the original…right?

Shifting the comatose Draco so that he was lying flat on his back, I looked down at his sickly looking face, and gently wiped away the froth from the corner of his mouth. It was time to initiate a kiss, and then gloat over how I'd saved his life again. With a small smile at that thought, I placed a hand on his chest and carefully leant over him to place my lips on his.

Nothing happened. His eyelids didn't even flutter. I tried again, but this time I allowed my lips to linger for a few extra seconds…still nothing. "Oh god…Draco…" he wasn't waking up; yet again this stupid place had abandoned the original storyline when it felt like it. With a shaking hand I placed two fingers against his jugular; there was a faint pulse. I fell back, sitting heavily on the floor as I sighed with relief; he wasn't dead…but still unconscious.

I rubbed my face with my hands, thinking of the fairy-tale I'd been told as a child, and almost laughed when I remembered the glass coffin; I couldn't imagine Draco being too happy about that part. But perhaps I needed to complete all the steps, and then the kiss that I would graciously bestow upon him would actually work; I hoped.

Getting to my feet, I cast once more glance at the unconscious man on the floor and then left the room in search of Dobby, I was sure he'd be able to help. Just outside of the door though, I found Kreacher instead, lurking in the shadows. "Kreacher, do you know where Draco got the apples?"

"Kreacher wouldn't know Miss." He said in a falsely incredulous voice. He turned away from me then, heading back towards the stairs. "Not that he'd tell the false Mistress anyway."

"False Mistress?" I mumbled. "Who do you serve Kreacher?" I was trying to remain calm, but being reminded how Kreacher used to act when we had first met was disturbing.

"Kreacher will not betray his Queen."

Queen? My characters supposed step-mother perhaps? "Did your Queen give you the poisoned apples?"

"I couldn't say Miss." With another scathing look, full of hatred the Elf hurried away down the stairs. I certainly wasn't too keen on helping that particular Elf.

I followed Kreacher down the stairs. Dobby was nowhere to be found inside the house, but I did eventually find him outside, once again tending to the vegetable patch. "I hope Miss is feeling better now."

It took me a moment to realise that he was referring to the laces incident. "Oh yes, thank you Dobby." I said a little distractedly. "I think we may have another problem though, it's to do with Draco." His large eyes widened a little, and gradually got larger as I recounted the story of Draco's poisoning. "I think that Kreacher may have accepted the apples from 'his Queen'."

Dobby nodded sadly, wringing his hands together. "Kreacher and the Queen are both…" He leant closer; indicating for me to bend to his height as he also twirled a finger beside his temple. "Well, they're both a bit crazy Miss."

I resisted the urge to laugh at Dobby's assured eyes. "Do you know who the Queen is Dobby?"

"Of course I do; before she married your father, she was known as Bella Black, but now she is Mrs White."

Bloody hell, Bellatrix was tormenting me from beyond the grave as well. I sank to the cold ground next to a stunned Dobby who instantly began berating himself for upsetting me. "No, no Dobby, stop, its fine." I laid a gentle hand on his thin shoulder, and he stilled. Bellatrix was dead, and besides, so far there hadn't been any real interaction with her. If I could break the spell quickly enough, then we could probably avoid seeing her altogether. To be honest, I didn't think it would do Draco any good to see her either.

"Uhm, are the other Elves working in the, err, mines?"

"Yes Miss…"

"I think I need you to make me something. A glass coffin; do you think it's possible? I need it straight away…"

"Don't worry Miss; we shall build the most beautiful coffin for the Master." I almost laughed, if Draco heard that his coffin was 'beautiful' he'd surely sulk. His coffin would of course be 'manly'.

The other Elves returned just before dusk, and set to work almost immediately, carving and grinding as they built a coffin for Draco. They worked late into the night, leaving me very much alone. I attempted to sleep, but it was almost impossible with a comatose Draco lying next to me. He really looked like he was dead, and I had to reassure myself every hour or so by checking for his pulse. It never faltered; faint, but steady.

By sunrise, after hours of tossing and turning which only made me irritable, I couldn't possibly feign sleep any longer. With a gentle kiss to Draco's forehead, I made my way back downstairs. In the lounge I found Kreacher again; he was tied to a chair with rope and was scowling at his feet. "How dare they; Kreacher was helping the Queen, and they tied him to a chair…traitors." He was muttering, and was blatantly very angry. As I moved across the room I saw him watching me from the corner of his eye. It was really creepy and I was happy to be away from him once I made it through the front door.

Dobby and the other Elves were working the hours away in a large out-building that was nestled amongst the trees at the back of the house. I could hear chiselling as I approached, so could tell that they were still hard at work. What I saw when I peered through the door though was astounding, but as I moved to get a closer look I was shooed away back to the house.

The sun was fully up by the time the exhausted and work weary Elves emerged. I had seated myself amongst the fallen leaves to watch the colour and atmosphere of the woods change around me as the sun rose, first tinting everything with yellow and orange, then a dusky pink and finally releasing a bright glow which illuminated all the colours around me. It was truly beautiful here; it was just a shame that every time we were brought somewhere lovely, it was marred somewhat by sadistic fairy-tale characters trying to murder us.

Dobby approached me first, looking levelly at me with a small smile. "We has finished it for the Master." Behind Dobby I saw the others. They each held a wooden support beam; atop which was a pedestal that held the coffin.

They placed it down beneath an archway of branches, the few remaining leaves unfurled around the coffin, almost as if caressing it. The Elves had been true to their word; it was beautiful. It wasn't just made of glass, but of diamond from the mines too. Light reflected off of the many facets, casting a rainbow out amongst the plethora of other colours.

I moved closer, entranced by the absolute beauty of such a morbid object. The inside had been swathed in a slate grey silk, a single pillow placed at the head. One side was entirely open; but there was a curved lid that lay over the top. Carefully, I flicked a finger nail against it, and a sharp sound resonated through the trees around us.

Eventually I turned to face the Elves, words of absolute wonderment ready to fall from my tongue, but they were gone. I was totally bewildered for a few seconds as I cast a look around me; but then I saw them. They were just leaving the main house, carrying Draco.

As much as I hate to admit it, a few small tears trickled down my cheeks; it was almost impossible not to cry at what was effectively a funeral procession. In my mind I knew that he was perfectly fine and was suffering the effects of yet another stupid fairy-tale curse…but it was still sad to watch.

The Elves gently slid Draco's body into the coffin, his pale blond hair standing out vividly against the dark silk. Bowing in turn, they then retreated, leaving me standing very much alone with Draco as they formed a wide semi-circle around us.

"Okay, here goes." I whispered as I released a long breath. I moved myself under the curved lid, leaning over his prostrate form…and closed the distance between us. For the third time since he last been awake, I covered his lips with mine gently, before pulling back to observe. Again nothing happened, so I tried once more, this time cupping his cheek as I applied a little more pressure.

Still nothing. "Why aren't you waking up…this is supposed to work." I said, wanting to shake him by the shoulders to wake him. "This better not be your idea of a joke Malfoy." I pushed my lips roughly against his, pressing down until it hurt. "Come on…damn it…wake up." My voice wavered now; fear and adrenalin making my body shake as I willed the git in front of me to wake up. "Please Draco…" I mumbled against his cold lips.

Someone cleared their throat behind me. I turned my head, still half leaning against Draco to see Dobby tugging at my long skirt. His big eyes were shining knowingly. "Perhaps the Miss should try…expressing her feelings for the young Master?"

"Feelings?" I whispered. "But I'm not entirely sure what my feeling for him are Dobby."

He gave my leg a friendly pat. "Start with that."

How was Dobby always so wise? Shaking my head to clear my jumbled thoughts, I turned to look back at Draco…and laughed nervously. "If you could hear my thoughts right now, you'd be thinking I'd gone mental. I…I'm not sure I can go back to calling you Malfoy now…I've progressed to your first name. Unless I'm annoyed with you, which, let's face it is likely to be a regular occurrence."

I felt ridiculous, talking to an unconscious person who probably couldn't even hear me, not to mention that I was half sprawled over him as I leant to reach his ear. "I should probably do as Dobby said then; he thinks that if I 'express' my feelings…then you'll wake up, and if I'm doing this, then you sure as hell better wake up; okay?" Of course there was no response, so taking another deep breath I prepared to begin.

"Right…so I like you alright…well no, that's not strictly true is it? I really like you, and care for you on a whole different level to anyone else I know…even if you do endlessly try to wind me up. Truthfully Draco? I can see myself…falling in love with you. I mean, I'm not there yet, but soon…perhaps." Fantastic, I thought, I was rambling. How did he have the ability to turn an intelligent, coherent person to mush? I was grateful yet again that he wasn't awake to hear my confession.

"I hope this works now…" Hovering above him again, I took a second to calm down, and then I kissed him. At first he remained still, but after a few seconds I felt his lips twitch beneath mine. I smiled, mentally thanking Dobby again for his brilliant idea. Then Draco's arms were around me. I pulled back just enough to see his mercurial eyes once again smiling at me. He winked and using his hand, pulled my lips back to his.

This time as our lips touched, there was an explosion of light, and then everything began to spin. It was horribly reminiscent of the events which led to us being brought here in the first place.

I'm not sure how long it had been, but what felt like a mere few seconds later, I landed heavily on my hands and knees. Reluctantly I opened my eyes into the dim lighting, hoping that the spinning in my head would cease. Was I back at Hogwarts finally? I really hoped I was. What I saw when I finally looked around did not fill me with happiness though; I had no clue where I was again…and this time I was utterly alone.

It may be the longest, but I'm not sure it was my best chapter, but then again, I guess that's up to you guys to decide?

So if you feel like letting me know your thoughts...I won't hold it against you :-)

Gemsibob