I Waste Away In Your Eyes

by lul9000

Its better if you just read it. It gets better as it goes along. Our Time is Running Out.

20. Red Hot Heat

You were in a very long and dark tunnel. You couldn't see an end either way, but you thought you could see some people in one direction. You started towards them. It was a group of girls from Slytherin that you didn't know by name. They were glaring at you.
"Hey, do you guys know where I am?" you asked them.
"You've really done it this time," one said.
"What?" you asked.
"You took Draco from us all, and now you're using him," another said.
"No, no I'm not!" you said.
"You cheated on him with your ex!" the third said.
"No I didn't!" you said. "I love him, no I didn't."
They all started laughing at you. You seemed to keep moving past them as the shrunk into darkness.
The next person you saw appearing in front of you was Harry. You ran to him.
"Oh Harry, do you know what's going on?" you asked him.
"You've disappointed me," he said
"What did I do?" you asked. You couldn't understand any of this.
"You've ruined it! You disgust me!" he said. He was coming towards you.
You started running down the hallway away from him. You didn't look back when you saw Sky, Cho, Katie, Hermione, and Sam ahead of you.
"What's happening?" you asked them. "Harry's gone mad!"
"You are a slut," Sam said. She was so serious, it scared you.
"WHAT?" you said. "Why are you saying this to me?"
"You don't deserve this ring," Sky said.
She pointed her wand at your hand and a spell shot your finger with your engagement ring on it. The ring started melting and your finger fell straight off.
You started running away from them to, your hand bleeding and hurting so much.
A platinum blonde head came into view. It was Draco.
You got to him. "Draco?" you asked.
"Marisa," he said, and smirked at you.
You fell into his arms. "Oh Draco, I was so scared, I don't know what's wrong with everyone..."
"I love you," he said. But it wasn't Draco's voice.
You lifted your head and looked at him. It wasn't Draco anymore, it was brown-haired Bobby.
He was holding your wrists tightly.
"I love you," he said again, his voice getting contorted. His eyes rolled back into his head, his skin becoming purple and scaly. Your skin started to burn where he held you. You tried to get away, but he wouldn't let you loose. He breathed in and breathed out fire all over your face. You hair lit on fire and your skin burned excruciatingly painfully. You started screaming and closed your eyes.
You opened your eyes, still screaming, but you weren't in the long dark tunnel anymore. You were lying in a hospital bed, you couldn't tell where. Your vision was blurry and you couldn't tell where you were. You stopped screaming once you realized it was just a dream, but you still breathed very hard. Your hands came to your face and felt your hair as your senses started to come back. You could hear a heart rate monitor beeping quite fast, and footsteps rushing in your direction. Draco appeared in the doorway and rushed to you.
"Draco," you said weakly. Your voice would not give any more.
You spoke in his head. 'Draco, it was horrible, I was stuck in a horrible dream, everyone was saying mean things, and he breathed fire in my face and--"
"Shh, shh, Marisa it's okay," he said out loud. "Everything is fine you don't have to worry." His voice sounds a bit teary.
He held your hand that didn't have an IV and wrapped his arm around your head. He held you so tightly and, surprisingly, started crying.
Your voice gained strength again. "Draco, what's wrong?" You asked. "Don't cry, darling. Come here."
You made a space for him next to you on your bed. He crawled up with you. You just wiped his tears away and held him, playing with his hair, kissing his hands.
"Draco, please don't cry," you said. "No what's wrong? Please tell me."
"Marisa, they..." He looked into your eyes and put his hand on your cheek. He leaned in and kissed you so lightly, but he never wanted to let go. It was a bit wet because he had been crying. "Oh Marisa, Marisa Tyler Holley, I thought I had lost you."
"Draco, what are you talking about?" you asked.
"Marisa, the doctors, they said..." he was trying to tell you. "They thought that you weren't going to make it."
"What? Why? What's wrong with me?" you asked.
"Nothing now, Marisa, don't worry," Draco said. "But they said you couldn't wake up because the spell he used was an extremely old and dark dragon magic that witches and wizards couldn't cure... They said that the dark energy stuck inside you would torment your mind until it gave up. I offered to donate my heart, my brain, anything, but they said they didn't know whether it would help... I thought… I was afraid that… I would never see your big blue eyes again, or hear the way you say my name, or be sure you still loved me, or what actually happened..."
"Oh, Draco, don't worry, I'm fine, nothing is going to happen to me," you said. You got so close to him and looked right into his eyes. He put his hand behind your head and pulled you into a long kiss. He kissed you more and more passionately as he crawled on top of you, cradling your head in his hands. You wrapped your legs around his middle and your arms around his neck.
He slowly parted from you and looked into your eyes. He was finally smiling, really smiling. He put his hand on your face and caressed you gently. "You are real," he said.
"Yes," you said, smiling back and giggling. "Now you need to stop being sex machine and back to being cuddle machine because we have more to talk about."
"Okay, just one more thing," he said. He started kissing your neck, moving to your collar bone and the other side of your neck. It was making you breathe hard.
He stopped and looked back into your eyes. "Okay, now I'm done," he said. He got off of you and got back next to you. He wrapped both his arms around your neck. "You know I love you, Marisa Tyler," he said.
"I love you too Draco," you said. "Now we're going to do a little thing: I'll ask you a question, and then you can ask me one."
"Okay," he said. "But only if I get to play with your hair."
"You really missed me didn't you?"
"Yes."
"Which brings me to question number one: how long was I in a coma?" you asked.
"Well, do you really need to know?" he asked.
"That long?" you asked.
"It's April 13th, Friday the thirteenth actually," he said. "You've been in a coma for about a month."
"Oh my God, no," you said.
"Yes," he said, playing with your hair. "I've been in here every day after class; I've slept right here next to you, waiting for you to wake up. I've been talking to you too."
"Oh, baby, you have to have a life."
He kissed you. "You are my life," he said. "Now for my question: What exactly happened that night?"
"You want to know everything?" you asked.
"Yes."
"Okay, But it's going to take a while," you said. "Well, Bobby, the guy who attacked me, he is my ex-boyfriend. He's the one that got me into... drugs, and stuff. I broke up with him because he was too into the stuff and I was trying to get away from. But he also had this disease... this very rare thing."
"What was it?" he asked.
You put your head on his chest. "Forgive me if I can't look at you while I tell you this. It's just really heavy..."
"Let me just say one thing," he said. "Being without you was like being dead. Thinking I was never going to see you again was impossible. I was ready to die with you."
"Well I'm here now, aren't I?" you said. "Now this is what he had. It's a disease like werewolvism. It's called Feu Fou. A French man discovered it. It means crazy fire. As you know, dragons breathe fire. So they don't often bite people. When a person is bit by a dragon, they get this DNA in them, a lot like a werewolf bite. The difference is that the person who gets bit is unaffected. The DNA doesn't emerge unless that person has a child. If the child gets the DNA, it is unleashed and it causes strange dragon-like symptoms. Every new moon, which is when the moon can't be seen, the person with Feu Fou goes through what's called preening. Under their skin, scales grow and can be faintly seen if you look closely. It is extremely painful, which causes the person to go into a state where they can't control their actions, but can still access memory and other things from their brain. They are unlike werewolves in this way, because werewolves have no idea who they are or what they're doing. Their irises also turn red, they can burn people with their skin if they try, and they can also... breathe fire. And unlike werewolvism, there is no potion they can take to give them their right mind. It is so rare that not much research had been put into it. This is what my ex-boyfriend Bobby had. When I broke up with him, about a week later, he showed up at my house, he yelled at me, and he burned me... on my arms..."
Draco was silent. "So this is the one that caused you to go to the hospital, three times now?" he asked.
"Yes, wait, how did you...?" You hadn't told him that you had gone to the hospital when you hit that mirror, or when he burned you
"Well, I talked to your mom a lot while you were... down under," he said. "She said that you had told her that he had given you the drugs, and that he burned you, but she didn't know how."
"Oh," you said. "Did my dad, come, to see me?"
"Yeah, he came once or twice," Draco said. "He was really busy with stuff, your mom said. What she meant was that he was busy with feeling responsible and drinking himself to sleep. I kind of... read her mind."
"Draco!" you said. "Why did you do that!"
"I was reading everyone's minds, I needed to know if anyone knew anything they weren't telling me..." he said. "But no one knew more than me."
"Well I have a question for you," you said. "Do you want to see?"
He was silent. But he pulled you from his chest and held your hands. "Show me," he said.
You were about to when you realized you didn't know where your wand was. "Draco, where's my--"
"Oh, of course," he said. He pulled your wand out of his pocket and put it in your hand.
"Thank you," you said. You pointed to your hand and said a little spell. It revealed the scars on your knuckles where you punched the mirror as well as two burns, one on each arm. They matched. They each had four finger marks over your veins, and a full palm and thumb on the other side. They were an almost florescent red.

Draco's hand reached out and touched one. "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him. Right now, I'm finding that little bastard and--"

"Draco, no, you can't, it wasn't him," you said. "Just like it wasn't him when he gave me the coke in the first place, and it wasn't him a month a go when he attacked me. The difference is that you were there to save me last time."

"No, no I wasn't," he said. "You almost... you almost died Marisa."

"But I didn't," you said. "I'm fine now."

He just ran his hand over your burns and the scars on your knuckles. Then he lifted your hands and kissed over every scar and over both your burns. You flicked your wand and they disappeared again.

"There. All better," he said. "Now I have a question for you: Do you want to see my scars?"

"Your scars? You have hidden scars too?" you asked.

"Yes," he said. "But I like to think that mine aren't as bad as yours."

"Well I'd like to see," you said.

He let go of one of your hands to pull out his wand. He pointed his wand at his face and swished it. Slowly appeared five scars: two were in a line on his left cheek, another was under his right nostril, and the other two were under his right eye, one was and on his bottom eyelid, the second was long and parallel underneath it. They were all very dark, and the only thick one was the one under his nose.

"Oh Draco," you said. "Don't tell me this was--"

"Yeah, it was my stupid dad," he said. "He wants only what he wants and I just can't give him that."

"Well that's wrong of him," you said. "You are the most amazing boy that I've ever met. You are so sweet and kind, you were in here every day with me even though you thought I was going to die, instead of out with some other chick. You are perfect Draco Malfoy, and I love you more than anything."

And he got just a little teary eyed. "And that's all that matters to me," he said. "I don't care about my stupid dad anymore."

"Well good for you," you said.

"But just so you know... My mother and he came to visit you."

"What?" you said. "Okay, I get your mom coming, but your dad?"

"He said that he needed to see you once," Draco said. "He said if you died before he got to see you, than he would not be happy. I asked my mom what he meant, apparently she didn't know. She lied, she did know, but reading her mind didn't tell me anything. It just said that she knows more than she's revealing. She must know some Occlumency."

"Being married to your father, I can understand," you said. "Maybe I should learn some too since I'm marrying you." You smirked at him.

He smirked back. "You are such a devil," he said. He took your face and then ran his fingers through your hair. "Oh God, did I miss you." He kissed you slowly and gently. Then he slowly parted from you. "Does an IV hurt?" he asked.

"It hurts when they first put it in, but not now," you said. "You've never had an IV before?"

"No, I've only broken my arm," he said. "Stupid Hyppogriff..."

You laughed. "Aww, I love you," you said.

"Oh my God, I've missed your laugh," he said. "I don't understand your magic."

"I'm just as magical as you," you said. "I'm just a small down witch living in a lonely world."

"Took the midnight train going anywhere," he said, finishing the song.

"Oh, I've so missed you singing," you said. "Please, please, please sing me something."

"Alright, I will," he said. "But after that we need to call everyone and tell them you're awake."

"Oh, yeah!" you said. "Okay, deal."

Draco started singing. " Look at the stars, Look how they shine for you, And everything you do, Yeah they were all yellow, I came along, I wrote a song for you, And all the things you do, And it was called yellow, So then I took my turn, Oh what a thing to have done, And it was all yellow. your skin Oh yeah your skin and bones, Turn into something beautiful, you know you know I love you so, You know I love you so. I swam across, I jumped across for you, Oh what a thing to do, Cause you were all yellow. I drew a line, I drew a line for you, Oh what a thing to do, And it was all yellow. your skin Oh yeah your skin and bones. Turn into something beautiful. you know for you I'd bleed myself dry, For you I'd bleed myself dry. Its true look how they shine for you. look how they shine for you, look how they shine for you, look how they shine for you, look how they shine for you, look how they shine. look at the stars look how they shine for you and all the things that you do."

"So, you're perfect, no arguing," you said. "It's not even funny."

"Well I love you, and you are perfect too," He said. "Now shall I call them?"

"Yes," you said. "You kissed him quickly before he got of the bed and stood up.

He was about to do something on his hand, but you interrupted.

"Draco, your scars..." you said.

"Oh right," he said. "Thanks, baby. That would have been bad." He pointed his wand at his face and his scars disappeared.

"Can you believe Harry?" you asked. "He is so unafraid to put his scar out there."
"Yeah, but everyone also already knows about it," Draco said. "I guess there's no real point in him hiding it if everyone already knows its there." Then he pointed his wand at his hand and used it like a pen.
He turned it around so you could read it. It said "Marisa woke up!" in sparkly purple. "We all got quick scroll so we could send messages to each other fast."
And just when he finished speaking, you heard many apparating noises.

The first person you heard speak was Sky. "Oh my God, Marisa!" She ran to you and threw her arms around you and started crying.

"Sky I'm fine, Jesus," you said.

Sam was next. "Marisa, Oh thank God you are alive..."

Harry was definitely the worst. "Oh, Marisa," he said. But instead of throwing himself all over you, he just put his hand on your head and felt your hair. He ran his other hand over yours, trying to avoid your IV. His eyes were a little teary. "I couldn't live through losing you too."

"Shush, Harry, I'm not dead yet," you said.

You used your strength to lean up and kiss his scar. "You are the only one who isn't afraid, Harry," you said. You quickly looked towards Draco for a second. He looked surprised, but had to give up his spot next to you.

Hermione and Katie appeared at your sides. "I'm really happy you're alive, Marisa," Katie said. "Poor Marcus was going ballistic."

"Oh, I'm sure," you said.

"But really, Marisa," Hermione said. "Poor Harry was up at all hours of the night worrying about you."

"And Draco was running himself into a coma," Hermione said. "I only saw him in class. He was here at all other hours of the day. He missed the last four Quidditch games. Marcus was fine with it, of course."

The next person was someone you were waiting to see. "See, the Irish never die, what did I tell you? Even the half Irish." It was Seamus.

"Seamus. Seamus!" you said. He came and knelt next to you. You threw your arms around his neck. "Oh my Gos, Seamus, if you were the only one in Ireland, I would just, I would..."

"Die?" Seamus said. "Well everyone thought you were there for a while." He detached you from him and ran his hand over your hair. You put your hand up and petted his short brown hair. "Everyone believed everything the doctor's said. I was the only one who knew about your scary Feu Fou ex from Bulgaria. I wasn't trusting them for a second to know what they were talking about. Plus, you've got the Irish in you."

"Oh, my little Irish Boy," you said. You kissed him on the cheek. "I missed you."

Marisa." You heard two familiar voices.

"Fred and George get over here this instant," you said. They appeared and hugged you, kiss you on either cheek. They looked a bit teary.

"Aww, are you guys crying?" you said.

"It's not like I haven't recently," Fred said.

"There's too much we hadn't done for you to die," George said.

"I'm not dead, guys jeez," you said. You kissed them on either cheek. Then you sat up on your bed so you could look at everyone.

"People! are you seeing me? I'm not dead!" you said.

Everyone cheered. Who was in the room? You surveyed: Sam, Katie, Harry, Seamus, Hermione, Ron, Fred and George, Sky, and Draco.

"Where are all the significant others?" you asked.

"They decided to stay at Hogwarts to get the word spread and keep the awkwardness level down over here," Sky said.

"Well, then, that's perfect," you said. "Because I trust you all with my life."

Silence.

"Laugh. That was a near0death experience joke," you said.

There was a forced laughter.

"Okay great!" you said. "Now let's get serious: I'm sure you are all wondering what happened to me..."

Everyone nodded.

"Well one of you already knows half the story," you said, looking at Harry. "And two of you already know the whole story." You looked at Draco, and then Seamus.

Draco looked surprised.

"This is heavy stuff, you guys, and if you are sure you want to know, I will tell you," you said. "But if I do, I guarantee that it will change the way you look at me.

"No, it won't, Marisa," Seamus said. "It's not your fault."

"Whatever you say," you said. "Now I think you should all take a seat, because this is going to be a long one." You flicked your wand and chairs appeared for everyone.
"Now first tell me, what do you know about what happened that night?" you said.
"All they told us is that you were attacked by some guy," Sky said. "Guys are absolutely no good."
"Alright, well I'm starting from the beginning then," you said. "Lean back and relax because this is going to take a while. Now, I have an ex boyfriend name Bobby. Some of you already know about him." You looked at Sam and Katie. "He is the one that attacked me, and... attempted to... well, rape me."
Fred, George, Harry, and Ron stood up.
"Where is this little ass-hole?" George says. "I'm going to curse him to next year."
"Well I'm going to kill him!" Fred said.
"I'm right behind you," Harry said.
"No, you guys, sit down," Draco said.
"Yeah, there's more you are going to need to know," Seamus said.
"Right," you said. "Now this Bobby, he has this rare disease that's like werewolvism, but is extremely rare. It's called Feu Fou."
Hermione gasped. "Oh my God, I've heard about this. The victim exhibits dragon-like symptoms from Dragon DNA inherited from a parent..."
"Yes," you said. "He lives in Bulgaria, and his father was bit by a dragon as a child. He gave Bobby Feu Fou. Every new moon, when the moon can't be seen, he experiences preening. Scales grow in under his skin and can be seen through his skin. Its really painful, which they think may cause the mental distortion. Unlike a werewolf, he can still access memories and other information from his brain. So when he goes into this mental state, he can't control his actions, but can still remember previous events. They also have dangerous abilities. Their irises turn red, they can burn people with there skin, and breathe fire...
"So this Bobby, I was with him in a time of great... vulnerability. I don't know how many of you know, but my parents fight all the time, and my dad... he has a bit of a drinking problem. So, I guess I was looking for someone to save me, and I thought he did. So the end of the school year party at Pansy's house after third year: I was there with Bobby. At this time, I didn't know about his disease, or that it was a new moon. I didn't notice his eyes because I was drunk as can be. So when my boyfriend was like, 'Here's some cocaine, why don't you do it,' I was just like, 'Okay.' So getting addicted wasn't part of this plan. There really was no plan, but it became like a routine. Every time I heard crashing and yells downstairs, and just pulled this little bag of coke out of my medicine cabinet and did some.
"So my little Bobby would just give me more whenever I asked for some. And the one day I was completely out, and I needed some... Well, I looked at myself in the mirror, and I hated what I saw, so I just... punched it. And I nearly bled to death on my bathroom floor... And the one who actually found me was Seamus. He lives really near me, and he just came over to see me, ended finding me unconscious in a puddle of blood." You looked from your hands to Seamus. "Thanks for that, mate."
He came over to you and hugged you. "Anything for my favorite Irish girl. And that be saying something."
You made a space for him next to you on your little hospital bed. You put your head on his shoulder. "Do you want to tell story for a little while?" you asked him.
"Of course, I'll give little Marisa a break," he said. "So next, Marisa realized what drugs were doing to her, and with a little help from moi, she went completely sober. Her boyfriend didn't like her spending lots of time with me. She broke up with him because he gave her the poison in the first place and he was too controlling. Marisa here is a free spirit, so she couldn't deal with him. So then she had a little fling with me--"
You punched him on the arm. "Lies!"
"Okay, sorry, sorry, I had to add a little humor in there," he said. "About a week later, Bobby came over to Marisa's house in the middle of the night, during a new moon. From what I gathered from her, he yelled at her, acting crazy, and grabbed her. He burned her arms where he held her, in his rage. Next thing I knew, Marisa had apparated into the middle of my room, sobbing and suffering second degree burns.
"I took her to the hospital, and we talked to Bobby's parents. This is when Marisa, and I, found out about his... condition. Since then, they've kept a close eye on him, and the fact that he showed up a month ago on a new moon must mean he was kept pretty shut up if he was still thinking about her."
"Now that's the end of my knowledge," you said. "As far as how he escaped or anything, I have no knowledge. I've kind of been out of it for a while."
"Marisa, are you going to show them...?" Seamus said, running his hand over your arm.
You replace your head back on his shoulder. "Do you guys want to see the scars?" you asked.
Everyone nodded solemnly.
You pointed your wand at your arms. All the raised lines and crosses appeared on your knuckles of one hand. The two burns appeared in their bright red glory about halfway up your forearm. Everyone gasped.
And talking this out to all the people you cared about, seeing Bobby again, it brought tears to your eyes. You got on your knees on top of your little bed. You held up both your arms so everyone could see the knuckle scars, the IV, and the finger marks side of the burns on your arms.
"This is why I didn't trust boys," you said. "This is why I can't believe every word they say. Because one did this to me." Your voice sounded so teary and sad. You had let yourself go off. You sat back down and just cried in Seamus's lap. But before you knew it, you were being lifted off your bed (on the side where your IV was) and being snuggled into Fred and George's cuddles.
"Please don't cry, Marisa," Fred said. He stroked your hair.
"We're not going to hurt you. Not emotionally, definitely not physically, not ever," George said.
Harry was next. He wrapped his arms around you and put his chin on your head.
"Marisa, I'm sorry, I didn't help your chances of trusting guys at all, I left you completely alone, I--"
You got away from him. "Hey!" you said. You addressed everyone. "You all listen. I don't want you feeling sorry for me because of this. I'm not fragile anymore, okay? And just because I'm on an IV doesn't mean I'm sickly. So don't pity me, don't you dare."
"I wasn't," Harry said. "I just feel responsible..."
"Okay, none of you are responsible," you said. "There is nothing you could of done unless I told you, and the only person who knew was Seamus because he kind of got intertwined by accident."
He came over to you and put his arm around you. "Well, this is the third time we've been to the hospital together for this guy. Can this be the last?" he asked.
"Yes, of course," you said. "Where's my Draco?"
"I'm right here," he said, coming out from the crowd. He took your hand and held it tight. He looked at you, his face a little dappled and red.
"Baby, no, no more crying," you said.
"You trust me don't you?" he asked.
You lifted your other hand that had the IV in it. You put it in front of his face. "Go ahead. Rip it out," you said. "Rip it out, and blood will go everywhere. Go ahead."
"No, I'm not going to."
"Well if you don't, I will," you said. He grabbed your hand and held it away from you. "No, mamacita, you are not."
"Fine then I'll get Harry to do it," you said.
"If he does, I'll punch him in the face," Draco said.
"See, I trust you," you said. "There it is. You will save me from anyone else, you will save me from you, and most importantly, you will save me from me. I used to HATE me, Draco. And that sort of thing can come back. So you are going to have to save me from me someday." You leaned up and kissed him. "And so is Ron."
You looked at him and winked. He giggled a little. "Now can we be light-hearted again? Now I know I've just dropped a bomb on you, but I've been in a coma for a month. I need to have some fun."
"Okay, okay," Sky said. "What do you want to do?"
"Oh, Shit," you said. "I missed spring holiday!"
"I'm sure they'll give you remission time," Ron said.
"Where are we?" you asked.
"Well, good old St. Lucy's," Seamus said.
"We're in Ireland?" you asked. "Yay!"
You grabbed your IV bag (that was on wheels) and wheeled over to the window. All you could see were big rolling hills of green and some sheep.
"Oh Draco, please holiday with me," you said. "Let's stay. We can rent a whole castle to ourselves and listen to the wind at night, and get drunk off our asses which won't matter because we can't have sex anyway. Oh, it will be great."
He walked over next to you and stroked your ring that still lay on your left hand. "I'll do anything you want, little girl," he said.
'Will you do me?' you asked in his head, while looking into his eyes.
'Oh I wish,' he responded in your head.
He swept you off your feet and dipped you into a passionate kiss.
Everyone cheered. When he finally let you go, you looked to Seamus.
"Where do you recommend, my good man?" you asked.
"Well, if anything, I'd say, go to Lisheen Castle," he said. "It's a beautiful place, quite haunted though. But the rooms are beautiful, with ceiling molds and decoration, so many bedrooms, its great."
"Where is it?" you asked.
"In Tipperary," he said. "But if you really want to rent it, it's owned by muggles."
"Oh great, a trip to the bank," you said. You turned from the window to everyone else. "So, does anyone know where my parents are?"
"Uh, well..." Harry said. "They're in court."
"Doing what?" You asked.
"Well, suing Bobby's parents and getting a restraining order from their family."
"Oh, shit. I just wreck everything, huh?" you said.
"No you don't," Draco said. "You make everything perfect. Now I want you to come take a little talk with yourself." He took your hand and pulled you to the painting you had given him on Valentine's Day. You hadn't noticed it until now, but he had hung it next to your hospital bed.
You looked at yourself long and hard. She just stared back at you. "So were you in a coma too?" you asked.
"No, I wasn't," she said back. "I was worried sick about you though." She leaned in as if to tell something in secret. "I didn't know if I should tell Draco about Bobby, so I didn't say anything."
"Oh, well, he knows now so you can tell him if you want to."
She smiled at you. "I knew you were going to make it," she said. "I told Seamus so, and he believed me."
"He knew as much as you," you said. You turned to little Draco. "So do you know more about Draco than me?"
"Not anymore," he said. He waved his hand in front of his face, making his scars appear, and then waving it back so they were gone.
"Well, I'm better at magic than I thought," you said. "You guys turned out extremely well."
Draco put his arm around you and steered you to your bed. "Now lay down," he said. He handed you the scrapbook he gave you for Valentine's. "Now read this, I'm going to tell everyone to go, and I'm going to go find your doctors."
"Aww, okay," you said.
Fred and George reached the side of you. "We're going to miss you, love," they said. "We'll see you very soon."
"Hey, I'm going to be at Hogwarts later, so just hang around there later."
"How do you know you're going to be at Hogwarts?" Sam asked.
"Whether they let me out, or I bust out, I'm getting the hell out," you said. "I'm totally fine, I don't need to be here anymore."
"Well see you later than, doll," Sky said, kissing your cheek.
Harry came next. He still looked a little teary. "I'll, I'll see you soon," he said. Then her smiled.
"Please, Harry, no more crying on my part," you said.
"I can't help it," he said. "I thought I was going to lose you, like everyone else, but you're still here." He smiled again.
"Well I'm here to stay," you said. "So please don't worry, Harry."
Seamus came next. "So who loves me?" Seamus asked.
"Me," you said. "I can't thank you enough for protecting my secret, and being here with me when I needed you, and helping me, and knowing Ireland better than me--"
"Think nothing of it," he said. "Its a friend to friend commitment."
"I owe you big," you said.
He leaned down and kissed your forehead. "All you owe me is equal friendship back."
"Forever," you said. He got up and joined the others. They all poofed away in one fail swoop.
Draco knelt next to you. "I love you baby," he said. "I'll be back in a minute."
You furrowed your eyebrows. "I don't want you to leave," you said.
"It'll only take a minute," he said. "I know exactly where they are. Just read for a minute, and you'll be fine." He kissed you gently on the lips and stepped a few steps away. And with a crack he was gone.
You sat for a moment, turning through the pages. You came to the page with you and Draco in the hot tub the night before New Year's. You were thinking about that whole night and the great party when you just drifted off into a nap.
You started to dream. You were with Draco in an extravagant bedroom. He came towards you and started kissing you. you were on the bed with him. He kiss you and slowly started taking off your clothes, and getting closer and closer to having sex.
You were almost there when someone was stroking your hair and saying your name.
"Marisa Tyler," Draco was saying.
Your eyes opened and you took a deep breath in. You continued to breathe hard. You had two doctors, a girl and a boy, and Draco staring down at you.
""Oh, thank goodness, I thought I had lost you again," Draco said. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," you said. You flicked your eyes at your butterfly bracelet so he would look towards it. He did, noticing it had turned red.
"Oh," he said. He smiled. "Well, Marisa, these are your doctors, Dr. and Dr. Carren. They are the experts of Feu Fou in Ireland."
"Nice to meet you," you said, offering your hand, but then offering the other without the IV. You shook both their hands.
"Well, we are very glad you are awake," the woman said. "We just want to look at a few things, and if everything checks, you can go."
"But if you feel sick at all, or fall into unconsciousness, just come back and we can check you out," said the man.
They took out their medical wands and probed your head a little. They asked you if you felt anything unusual, dissyness, etc. and you said no. They probed more around your internal organs, especially your kidneys. They asked to see your burn scars, and you showed them. They said a lot of "I see..." But maybe an hour later, they were done with all the poking and prodding.
"Well, Marisa, you seem fine," the woman said. "Now, we don't know much about this disease, but you have helped us understand it more. Most of the cloudiness comes along when the dragon magic comes into play. But you have survived it, which is the important part."
"So just try to take it easy for a while, no heavy partying, no late nights, eating three square meals. I'm sure your fiance will help you with it. He was in here everyday."
You took his hand and squeezed it. "Well thank you doctors, you are responsible for me being alive."
"Oh, I think you would thank Mr. Malfoy for that," the man said. "Because we have no idea why you woke up."
"Well then," you said. "So I'm out of here! Can I get rid of this IV?" you asked.
"Oh, yes, of course." The woman pointed her wand at your IV, it disappeared and a small bandage wrapped around your hand.
"I'm sorry, did that hurt?" the woman said.
"Oh, no, its fine," you said. "I'm just glad to be well."
You got off your little bed and waved your want to change out of the hospital robe and into normal clothes.
You waved to the doctors as Draco put his arm around you and used his wand to swirl you into his Hogwarts dorm room.
You jumped on the bed and felt the green silk. "Oh our bed..." you said. "How I've missed it."
Draco came over and sat next to you. "Now, mademoiselle, tell me what you were dreaming about."
"Well..." You said. "We were doing this." you started kissing him passionately. "Then you started to do this." You moved his hand to your shirt and cuffed his hand around it. "And then we were both naked, and I was like, 'Yeah, yeah!' and then you were like 'Marisa Tyler,' and I woke up."
He smiled. "Wow, you missed me in a different kind of way, wow," he said. "Now you heard the doctors. We have to take it easy, no parties..."
"Aye, papi," you said. "Please can we party, please?" You pouted.
"We can have a party, but no drinking for you. Not for at least two days."
"Well we'll be in Tipperary indulging by then, so thats fine."
"Do you want to go see everyone now?" he asked.
"Yes!" you said. But he put his hand on your knee before you could get up.
"Eat this first," he said. He conjured up a plate of butterfly noodles with red sauce.
You took the plate and gobbled it up. You hadn't eaten in a while, so it tasted really good.
You suddenly realized something very troubling. You hadn't looked in the mirror since you had woken up.
"I've got to go look in the mirror," you said.
"Wait, Reese, don't!" Draco said.
You were already in the bathroom. You turned to the mirror and screamed.
"Holy shit, I'm a redhead!" you said. And it wasn't just carrot top either. Your hair was the color of blood, or a strawberry.
Draco came in and stared at you.
"Oh, my hair!" you said. "My pretty blonde hair..."
"No, its okay, its fine," Draco said. "The doctors said that it should grow out..."
"Well, it sure is different," you said, running your fingers through it. "But I guess I kind of like it. If only until it grows out. Do you like it?" You looked at Draco.
"Yes," he said. "It's like sex."
You went over and punched him. "I'm not an object."
"Ouch, jeez," he said. "I was just speaking in terms of color use. Red is mostly associated with love and sensual activity." He smirked at you.
"Well, you are just naughty, now aren't you?" you said. "Come here, you."
He walked over to you, you grabbed the front of his shirt, and kissed him. He ran his hand through your hair.
You stopped kissing his. "Wait, is this why everyone was touching my hair?" you asked.
"I'm sure," Draco said. "It looks very different."
"Well let's go see everyone," you said.
"Okay," he said. He took your hand and led you out of the dorm. You went down the stairs, where all your friends and lots of other people were waiting.
Everyone cheered.
"She's home, woohoo!" Sam said. She ran to you and put a red tiara on your head.
Fred and George came over to you. "So you're better?" they asked.
"Yes," you said.
"SHE"S BETTER!" they yelled.
Everyone cheered again.
"You guys could have told me that I'm a flaming redhead!" you said.
"Well, the good news is that we can pretend your related to us," Fred said.
"Maybe we'll want you less then," George said.
"Now--"
"Do tell."
"Will you be partaking?" they asked, pulling out a bottle of fire whiskey.
"Draco says no drinking for me," you said. "My health is in danger, or whatever."
"Awww, no fun," Fred said.
"Yeah, I know," you said. "But the doctor is always right." You winked at them. "Catcha later!" You started pack towards everyone else, but they grabbed you before you could go. They enveloped you in a hug.
"We really did miss you, darling," Fred said.
"If you were gone, its like, there's so much we haven't done," George said.
"Yeah, we haven't even made out with you yet," Fred said.
You got out of their snuggle. "WOAH. You guys want to make out with me?" you asked.
"Um, who doesn't?"
"Werll you guys are whores," you said. "BUT I'll see what I can do."
You walked back towards everyone else.
"We're going to PARTY!" Sky said. She had a glass of something in her hand.
"Lucky you," you said. "I'm on a no drinking policy."
"Bummer," she said. "Well at least you can have crazy hot sex dancing without actual sex since you can't."
"Yeah, my life rules," you said. "At least I'm alive."
You kept walking. "Harryy!" you said. "Are you going to get your party on?"
He laughed "Yes, I suppose," he said.
"Well, do I get a dance?" you asked.
"Oh course," he said.
You kept walking to where you found Draco.
"Darling, what do you think of me making out with Fred and/or George?" you asked.
"I think its called cheating," he said. He walked to you and put his arms around your waist. "Why?"
"They just said that with me on the brink of the death, they didn't want me to lay down and die before they got a chance to," you said.
"Oh," he said. "Why, do you want to make out with them?" He looked concerned
"Oh, no darling," you said. "No worrying, you. I was just wanting to make them happy."
He leaned down and kissed you. "Well I think its a bad idea." he said. "I'm comfortable with them hitting on you all the time, but that would just send me into a jealous rage."
"Okay, then I will on my bachelor-ette day," you said.
"I'm okay with that. Now, Marisa, may I have this dance?" Someone was blaring the music.
"Of course you may my darling," you said. "But you have to give me up sometime, because I promised a dance with Harry. And I'll probably dance with Fred and George, Seamus, and anyone else thats glad I'm not dead."
"I'm glad you're not dead," he said. "And I am going to sacrifice my drinking privileges just to be even with you."
He was leading you to the middle of the people to get in a good dance.
"Aw, you are sweet," you said. As you walked, people were patting you on the back and touching your hair.
Draco got to his desired spot and turned you around. He was being very gentle with you, so you didn't grind too hard. It was just a mellow dance that was more affection than sex. It was new to you, but you liked it. You danced with him for a while, just relaxing and watching everyone watch you. I guess the near death thing was making everyone stare.
After maybe half an hour, there was someone in front of you that you had seen recently. "Seamus," you said. "How are you?"
He was sporting a nice Irish drinking glow. "Oh, I'm fine. Will your fiance let me snatch a dance from you?"
"Of course. Right baby?" you asked, looking at Draco.
"Alright," he said. "Go have fun."
"Yay!" You kissed him and walked to Seamus. He took your hand and led you to another area.
"So, how naked are we getting?" you asked.
"Not at all," he said. "You need to take it easy. Speaking of which, you haven't been drinking, have you?"
"God, why is everyone all concerned about me?" you asked. "I was in a coma for a month, sue me if I want to have some fun."
"I can understand that," he said. "Luckily, I am Irish, and Drunk. It's a good formula for fun." He giggled and turned you around. Then he gently pulled you towards him and moved you hips to the beat with his.
You smiled. "Mr. Finnegan, do you object to me going wild on you?" you asked.
"Not at all," he said.
You put your hands on your knees and gave Seamus a bit more ass.
"Marisa, you're taken, no getting me in trouble," he said.
"Oh I won't," you said. You leaned back up and arched your back so your cheek touched his.
He was talking in your ear. "Marisa, naughty naughty," he said.
Suddenly, a slow song started playing.
"Aww, no fun," you said.
Seamus turned you around and put his arms around your waist. You buried your face in his chest.
"You just can't be free today, huh?" Seamus asked.
"Well I was trapped in a bad dream for a month, I think I have a right to want to be free," you said.
He put one hand on your head. "Was I in your dream?" he asked.
"No, you weren't actually," you said. "But be glad. Everyone was being really mean to me."
"That's sad," Seamus said. "I guess what the doctor's said about negative energy trapped in your body was right." He held you tighter.
"I'm not going to die, Seamus. No worrying."
"Do you feel more Irish being a redhead?" he asked.
"Not really," you said. "But being with you does."
"Well, what can I say, I'm a bit of an Irish stud," he said.
"I've missed the way you used to take care of me," you said.
"Well that's Draco's job now, lassie," he said.
"Of course it is," you said. "But I can never have too many friends."
The song ended. You looked at Seamus. He kissed your cheek. "Now off with you," he said. "Go on, find Mr. Potter." He smiled and pushed you in the right direction.
You looked back and him, smiling. Then you headed out of the mass of people to the edge of the common room. You saw Harry talking to Ron.
"Hello," you said as you reached them. "Where's Hermione?"
"She's not well," Ron said. "She was a little too affected..."
"Oh no," you said. "Is she okay? It's all my fault."
"No, it's not," Harry said.
"Well, Mr. Potter, come with me to go get her. There's no reason for her to be missing this."
You turned to Ron. "Don't worry, we'll have your lover back here in a flick of the wrist." You pulled out your wand and flicked it. It seemed that nothing happened, but then you opened your mouther and blew a heart of red smoke at Ron.
You grabbed Harry's arm and you both walked out of the Slytherin common room.
The halls were completely empty. You could hear only your footsteps on the marble floors. It was very dark, too.
Harry put his arm around you.
"What are you doing, Harry?" you asked.
"I just don't know who's around," Harry said.
"Don't worry, my ex boyfriend can't get into Hogwarts," you said. "Plus, its not a new moon anymore. He's not looking for me. What's with everyone trying to protect me?"
"I just don't want anything to happen to you."
"Well, I must admit, it is fun to have five knights in shining armor protecting me," you said.
Harry pulled out his wand and said "Lumos," lighting it up. You both walked toward Griffyndor common room.
"So, what's the deal with Hermione?" you asked. "How could she be so upset? She doesn't even really know me that well."
"I think that's what scared her," Harry said. "Because she knew you on the surface. And really, Marisa, Your surface personality and the one at your core, they're very different."
"So she didn't know? She thought I was like, an air head?" you asked.
"Well maybe not an airhead, but something along those lines..." he said. "She was just majorly affected by your traumas. You know, I'm the only trauma she's ever had." He grinned.
"Well, yeah, you can be traumatic," you said.

You reached the Gryffindor common room. Harry said the password and let you both in.
Hermione was sitting and staring at the fire.
"Hermione," you said. "What's wrong?" You walked over and sat next to each other.
"I just, didn't know," she said. "I'm starting to think you are like Harry. Like there's more to you than I know."
"Well, guess what?" you said. "Join the club. I don't know anymore than you. None of us do. But you're in the loop now, so I'll keep you posted."

"Now will you two please come back to the party?" Harry said. "I haven't got my dance with Marisa yet."
"And you're little Ron is lonely," you said.
"Okay, okay," she said. "But Marisa, I--"

"Hermione, you can't fix me. I'm not broken anymore," you said.
"Alright," she said. You both stood and walked to Harry. All three of you walked out of Gryffindor common room and back to Slytherin common room.
When you walked in, the loud music and flashing lights made you want to party more than ever.

"Hermione, your lover boy is over there sucking on the wall," you said, pointing. She walked off to find him. "Now Harry, may I have this dance?"

"Of course, darling," he said. He took you by the hand and led you to the center of everything.
"Look at little Harry being all assertive," you said.

You turned around and danced all over Harry.
"I've had enough of being shy with you," he said. "It does no use," he said.
"Well good," you said, smirking.

You just got dirtier and dirtier dancing on Harry. He wasn't being as shy with you, but he was still timid to do anything. He just quietly kept his hands on your hips. You dance with him for at least fifteen minutes. You were about to move your hands from your knees to somewhere even lower, but a slow song started playing. It was U Got it Bad by Usher. You stopped dancing dirty. You turned around and snuggled your head to Harry's chest.

"Did you miss me, Harry?" you asked.
"Yes, oh God, yes," he said. "I thought… I thought…"
"Shush you," you said. "I'm going to die when I'm like, eighty and completely bonkers."

He laughed. You liked the feeling of his laugh from his chest. "Alright, that makes me feel better."

He ran his hand over your hair. "Do you like the new hair?" he asked.

"It's pretty ridiculous," you said. "But it's a fun change. My hair had been lots of colors, but never red."

"Well I like it," Harry said. "It gives you more depth."

"Alright then, queer," you said. "Seriously, Harry, don't go homosexual."
He laughed again. "I won't, don't worry." He kissed your head after he let go of your hair.

And then the song ended. You looked at Harry's face.

"I missed you too, Harry," you said. "But I must go dance with Fred and George before the night is over." You kissed him on the cheek and ran off.

First you found Draco. "Oh darling, I'm sorry," you said to him. "I had to go do damage control on Hermione, and I was dancing with Harry, and I must dance with Fred and George before the night is out." You kissed him for a while. "Hopefully you won't be too bored."

"Oh, well maybe I'll just go dance with some other girls," he said.
You wouldn't be surprised if your irises had crack in half like an egg. "You do that," you said. And you walked off.

You knew he was following you, but you got lost quick. You found Fred and George.
They saw the look in your eyes. "Okay, who's hurt our little redhead?" Fred asked.

"Draco," you said. "He's off getting promiscuous."

George looked at you questioningly. "That can't be right," he said. "I'm sure he wasn't serious."

"Actually, you're right," you said. You closed your eyes and found Draco wherever he was, and talked in his head. 'Draco, I'm sorry, I overreacted.'

He answered. 'No, its my fault. You're fragile. I shouldn't be teasing you. I love you.'

'I love you too, Draco. But I'm going to dance with Fred and George. I'll see you soon. Kiss kiss.'

You felt him smile. Interesting. You turned back to Fred and George.

"Okay, all sorted out," you said. "Now let's dance." You walked towards them, but George put up a hand to stop you.

"Sorted out?" George said. "You just stood there!"
"Oh," you said. You realized how silly that must have been. "Well, can you two keep a secret?" you asked.

"uPromise/u" they said, holding out all four pinkies. You took two and they linked the other two together.

You all leaned in so all your heads were touching. "Me and Draco can talk to each other inside our heads," you said. "It's like we're twins."

"Imagine that," Fred said sarcastically. "Moving on: Let's dance!"

In less than three seconds, you were sandwiched in between Fred and George. You danced with them for another fifteen minutes. You got closer and closer to the ground, and when all three of you were about to hit the floor, the music stopped mysteriously. You stood up, realizing that Fred and George were gone.

You started walking toward the wall when you realize that in front of the fireplace, Fred and George were standing on a stage suspended in mid air.

"Now, we all hope you had a wonderful time," Fred said.

"But sadly, as it is one in the morning, the night must come to an end," George said.

"Now, we would like to call up the person who this whole party was thrown for."

"We also bailed on her. Sorry, love."

"Marisa, where are you darling?"

You walked up to the front. When they saw you, they flicked their wands in unison. You floated up to stand next to them.

Everyone clapped.

"Now did everyone miss her?" Fred asked.

"We sure did."

Everyone clapped.

"And who loves her knew hair?"

Louder clapping and whistling.

"Now, in honor of her, we are going to play her favorite song as the last of the night."

Everyone clapped. They turned to you, quieter. "What is your favorite song, love?" George said.

"I don't have a favorite," you said.

"OH, come off it!" Fred said.

"Okay, okay," you said. "How about, Let's get Married, by Jagged Edge?"

"Ooo, do I hear wedding bells?"

"The remix?" George asked.

"Of course," you replied.

They let you down from the alter. You stood next to Draco. When the song started, he just grabbed you and started dancing with you. You looked into his eyes as he sang the song to you.

"See first of all, I know these so called players wouldn't tell you this, But, Imma be real and say what's on my heart. Lets take this chance to make this love feel relevant. Didn't you know I loved you from the start yeah. Then I think about, all the years we put in this relationship, Who knew we'd make it this far. Then I think about, where would I be if we were to just fall apart, And I can't stand the thought of losing you. Meet me at the altar in your white dress. We ain't gettin no younger we might as well do it. Been feelin' you all the wild girl I must confess, Girl let's just get married I just want to get married. Meet me at the alter in your white dress. We ain't gettin no younger we might as well do it. Been feelin' you all the wild girl and I must confess. Let's get married. Said I done it all, but frankly girl I'm tired of this emptiness. I wanna come home to you and only you, Cause making love to just anyone ain't happenin'. I just gotta be with you. Did you think about, us finishing something we started so long ago. I wanna give you my all, And did you think about, maybe us having some babies. come on wont you be my lady, forever girl. What's going on across the sea? It ain't nothin' I ain't frontin', Shorty coming with me. Now I done already gave you the keys to the Range, And your last name 'bout to change. Now your Mrs. Simmons, Got a better livin'. What the difference, Grab my name. I used to be the snake type, Hangin out late night. Girl you done made me change my life. Ever since you met me, Keys to the Bentley. Now they call you the preacher's wife. I'm the type of guy that Take you out and buy that Ring with the rock that will break your arm. Players won't try that. Now you can't deny that, Triple dub rev to the run dot com. Meet me at the altar in your white dress. We ain't gettin no younger we might as well do it. Been feelin' you all the wild girl I must confess, Girl let's just get married I just want to get married. Meet me at the alter in your white dress. We ain't gettin no younger we might as well do it. Been feelin' you all the wild girl and I must confess. Let's get married."

You smiled and put your head on his chest for the last few repeats of the chorus.

The song ended. Draco lifted your head and kissed you. "I'm sorry baby, I feel horrible. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but I was feeling a little jealous."

"Silence, it's over, it doesn't matter anymore," you said.

He put his hand on your cheek. "I don't want to lose you again."

"You didn't lose me," you said. "You only thought you did."

People were patting you on the back as they walked out. Suddenly, you, Draco, Fred, George, Harry, and Seamus were the only ones left.

You turned around in Draco's arms and looked at them.

You walked to Fred and George. "How long until you come visit?" you asked.

"We'll be here tomorrow," Fred said. They both took your hair.

"Please don't die while we're gone," George said.

He turned his head a little. You put your hand under his chin so he looked at you. His eyes were a little watered up.

Then you looked to Fred. His eyes were watering to.

"You know, when you two are crying, you look completely different," you said. "No please, no more crying over me."

"uOkay/u," they said. They let go of your hair.

"Now, smiles," you said. You put your hands on both their cheeks. They smiled.

"We missed you, Love," Fred said.

"And we love you very much," George said.

"Now get out of here," you said, hugging them tight.

You let them go and they went out the door.

You turned to Harry and Seamus. "Gryffindors! I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."

You hugged them. "Thanks for being there for me, both of you. You are the truest of all friends."

"You know, not all boys are bad," Seamus said.

"Oh, I've figured that out," you said, looking back at Draco. You winked at them as they headed out of the room.

"And then there was Draco Malfoy," you said. You walked to him and grabbed the front of his shirt.

"Let's bed," you said. He took your hand and led you to his dorm slowly.

"You can stay with me tonight," Draco said. "You must."

You walked in. "It's ours now," you said. "Sam is probably renting mine out."

"Not really," Draco said. "I think there's a love shrine on it."

"Weird," you said.

"But if you don't mind, my darling, I'm going to shower," he said. "You can go to bed, you don't have to wait for me."

"I do too," you said. "I've missed you."

He scooped you up. "You can't imagine the gravity in which I was missing you. I cried in that month more than I have in my whole life."

"Draco, I'm fine, okay? No more tears."

He smiled at you and kissed you.

"I'll be quick. Five minutes."

"Okay." You smiled at him. He walked into the bathroom.

You turned to the painting of you and Draco.

"Did Draco bring you back here?" you asked.

"Yes," little Marisa said.

"Was Draco really crying everyday?" you asked.

"Yes, but less some days than others," Little Draco said. "Some days he just teared up, other days, he just… sobbed."

"No," you said. You were mortified.

"Yes, it was sad," little Marisa said. "There was one day that was the worst…"

"He was sitting next to you, looking through the scrap book you made him, and he was just sobbing, getting tears all over it," Little Draco said.

"Show me," you said.

"I don't think you want to see," Marisa said.

"Yes, I do."

"Alright, she said. She waved her hand. You closed your eyes and could see a memory, one that wasn't yours. First Draco was standing in front of the painting.

"Is she going to be okay?" Draco asked them.

"You just need to love her, Draco," little Marisa said. "That's the thing you need to do for her to survive."

He walked away from the painting and sat next to you in a chair. He gently took your hand and held it. Then he took the book from the little table next to your bed. He let your hand go to flip through the book, looking at the moving pictures, and reading. When he came to the one of you two sleeping together, his eyes started watering. Soon he was crying. Then he was sobbing, uncontrollable heart-wrenching sobs. He became short of breathe for a second. He got out of the chair and knelt next to you. He laid his head over your heart and said, "I love you Marisa. Please don't leave me." And he stopped sobbing, but still cried heavily. The memory was gone.

"Oh my God," you said. Your eyes watered a little just thinking of Draco like that.

You heard the bathroom door opening. You turned to see Draco in sweatpants.

You ran to him and threw your arms around his neck.

"Oh, Draco, I'm fine, please, you can't sob over me anymore please," you said. "It hurts me to think that you had to be hurt because of me."

"Hey, it's not your fault, baby," he said. "Now it's time for you to shush. You need not worry about me anymore. You're here now, and that's all I care about."

He put his wand above your head to change you into jammies.

Then he scooped you up and put you gently into his bed. He crawled in next to you. He lifted the crown of your head and put it on his bed side table. Then he wrapped his arms around you.

"Night," he said to the painting.

"Night," they said back in unison.

He looked at you. And his eyes watered up.

"No, no, no, no more," you said. You wiped his eyes and kissed him for a long time.

"I'm afraid to let you go to sleep," he said. "I can't have you not waking up."

"I'll wake up," you said. "Don't worry, please baby. I can feel it. I'm perfectly fine, and all arrows point towards you as the cause."

"I love you Marisa," he said. "At least let me stay up so I can make sure your safe."

"You have to go to sleep the second I fall asleep," you said.

"He kissed your forehead. "I promise," he said. "Now, night Reese. Go to sleep."

You looked at him for a second. You put your hand on his face. Then you put your head on his heartbeat. And you were asleep.