XXXV. I awake to the sound of a heartbeat, the heavy, rhythmical thumps rattling my ribcage as it forcefully pushes blood through my veins. Humid air, heavy with the smell of greenery and soil, rush in between my lips and into my starved lungs, my chest rises and then falls when I exhale, and the air takes with it the dregs and clogs of lifelessness. I open my eyes, disoriented, and find my face pressed into the crook of a neck. It is a pale, familiar neck and there is pale blonde hair brushing my cheek. With a slight smile, I nuzzle closer, but then hands grip my shoulders and I'm held at arm's length. I blink in surprise when I find Draco's grey gaze staring wildly at me, and I wonder what's wrong.
"Merlin, Harry! You're alive!" he exclaims.
I stare at him in incomprehension but then he cups my face and pulls me closer, and his lips are on mine, and the next thing I know, there's his hair between my fingers and we're kissing. He's kissing with a desperate need that I am all too happy to return, almost as if he wants to make sure that I'm really there and isn't about to disappear. I moan when one of his hands finds my neck and I press myself closer and closer still.
Too soon, it ends and we sit with our foreheads together and gasp. Draco's hands are dancing over my body, over my shoulders and down along my arms, my chest and around to my back, and he gives a slightly hysterical laugh.
"I thought you were dead, Harry," he breathes.
For a moment, I wonder what he means, but then it all returns to me; Travers, here in the Greenhouse, coming to kill me, and the flash of green light – "Do you want them back?" I jerk back and stare at him and he frowns at me.
"Harry? What―?"
I whip around and stare, dumbfounded. Travers is hanging limply in the Vampireflower's grip and the plant's teethed mouth is clamed around one of his arms, the stem pulsing as it swallows mouthful after mouthful of blood.
"I, um… wasn't sure what to do about that," Draco admits and I turn back around to stare at him; he gives me a wry smile in return. "Honestly, I'm not sure I want to do anything about it - he tried to kill you."
"He tried to kill you," I correct him and give him a quick, hard hug before I rise and walk over to the Vampireflower with long strides.
My legs are slight unsteady under me and it feels as if I haven't walked in a long time, but after a few staggering steps I retain control over them.
"Stop that!" I say sharply and the plant pauses but doesn't let go. I stroke the stem the way Neville has shown me and ever so slowly, it eases its grip on the unconscious man.
I notice that Draco's beside me when he helps me catch Travers and lay him down on the brick path, though not too gently. Once we're done, I simply stand there and stare at the Death Eater as it all rushes through my head. I turn to look at Draco who's standing close by my side; he looks pale and ruffled but fine and he gives me a weak smile.
"Are you okay?"
"Am I okay?" he exclaims disbelievingly. "Of course I'm okay – you're the one who almost died!"
"I did die," I answer quietly and Draco's eyes widen. "Again."