But words can't say, And I can't do
Enough to prove,
It's all for you
I thought I'd seen it all
'Cause it's been a long, long time
But then we'll trip and fall
Wondering if I'm blind
All For You ~ Sister Hazel
Narcissa was trembling and she had trouble keeping Hermione's face in focus. Lucius reached out to hold her, but she side-stepped him, still furious.
"He's going to be okay," Hermione told them.
Relief flooded Narcissa. When her body relaxed, she lost her balance. Lucius caught her before she hit the floor, but she quickly stepped out of his arms, moving closer to Harry.
"We should sit," Hermione said.
Hermione started towards the waiting room. Before Lucius could attempt to touch Narcissa again, Harry offered her his arm. She readily accepted, allowing him to guide her down the short hall. Lucius stayed close, glaring at her escort, but had the good sense to keep his mouth shut.
Once she was settled between Harry and Lucius, she looked to Hermione. Now that she was seated, her vision returned to normal and she was shocked by the young witch's appearance. She was dressed for a night out, but her hair was slightly askew and her eyes were red as if she'd been crying. Obviously, she'd come running when she heard about Draco, putting her own life on hold. Narcissa was grateful.
"Are you all right, Narcissa?" Hermione asked with genuine concern in her eyes.
"Yes," she replied, forcing a small smile. "Please, what's happened to Draco?"
Hermione bit her lip, looking at each of them. It was obvious that she feared their reaction to whatever she was about to reveal. As much as Narcissa had grown to like the girl, her patience was wearing thin,
"Hermione, please."
"It appears that Draco attempted to cut off his Dark Mark."
Beside her, Lucius tensed and Harry gasped.
"Why?" Harry choked.
"I have no idea," Hermione replied with a helpless shrug. "I haven't spoken to him. He's been unconscious since he arrived. The wound was severe and we were unable to heal it, most likely due to some dark magic in the Mark. We were eventually able to stop the bleeding, but he lost a lot of blood."
"Why weren't you with him?" Narcissa demanded, turning to glare at Harry. Part of her felt guilty, attacking someone Draco cared for, but fear and anger currently controlled her actions. "He was going to you. How could you let this happen to my son? He trusted you."
Harry stared back, wide-eyed and clearly confused. For a moment, she thought he was going to respond with some cruel comment. It wouldn't be the first time, but a lot had changed since then.
"Draco wasn't with me tonight, Mrs. Malfoy," he told her. "He was supposed to be, but he never showed. I assumed he was with you." His eyes were filled with worry and sadness. Guilt reared its head again. She shouldn't have accused him. He was as upset as she was.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I know you wouldn't hurt him." She managed a smile. "He thinks the world of you."
"When can we see him?" she asked, turning back to Hermione.
Once again, the young girl looked nervous.
"Well," she began, "we're not sure just when Draco will wake-up, but it should be soon. We're keeping him overnight to ensure there are no unexpected side-effects." She hesitated, glancing at each of them. "He's likely to be disoriented when he wakes. For that reason, Madame Bulstrode has requested that only one of you sit with him. Not to mention, from what I've seen tonight, I'm not at all certain the three of you could be in the same room together any length of time without a duel breaking out."
Narcissa wasn't sure if the last comment was meant as a joke or not. She had to admit, it was sadly accurate. Emotions were running high and they all had explosive tempers.
"I'll leave you three to work that out," Hermione said, getting to her feet, "but keep in mind Umbridge would love a valid reason to remove any of you from the hospital." With that she left them.
"Who's Umbridge?" Narcissa asked. She was only able to place Dolores Umbridge, who died in Azkaban.
"A bitch," Lucius said.
"Satan," Harry replied at the same time.
Well, they agreed on something. Maybe there was hope that they'd learn to get along, for Draco's sake.
Not wanting to waste any more time on the topic of the unpopular Umbridge, Narcissa looked towards her son's hospital room with longing. More than anything, she wanted to run in there, wrap Draco in her arms and assure herself that he was all right. But she knew this wasn't the time to be selfish.
She had to think about Draco. He was bound to be happier waking in the arms of his lover than in the arms of his mother. Besides she didn't have much time left to comfort and care for him. He'd have to learn to accept that from Harry and hopefully Lucius.
Putting her own desires aside, she did what she believed was best for Draco.
"Go sit with him, Harry."
She waited for Lucius to argue, but he said nothing. She was relieved, but uncertain if his silent agreement was caused by an understanding of their son's needs or a desire to avoid her temper. She hoped for the former.
Harry looked at her with a blank stare and she struggled not to laugh. There was no denying her son had good taste. This boy was adorable.
"I-I'm sorry, Mrs. Malfoy?"
"Please, call me Narcissa," she told him. "You've brought a lot of happiness to my son, Harry. You may not be what I was expecting, but I'm grateful you're in his life, all the same. Now, please, go sit with him. It's you he'll want to see when he wakes."
"B-but you're his mother." He still looked adorably confused. "I know you want to be with him. Please, go ahead. He loves you so much."
So they'd discussed her. The thought made her smile, but she wasn't sure why. Of course, they'd discussed her. She was Draco's mother and she was dying. It was likely they discussed her a lot.
"Yes, I want to be with him," she admitted, "but it's you he needs by his side tonight."
Lucius cleared his throat. "If you two keep bickering, I'm going in there myself, and we all know neither of you want that. I don't think I've ever been glared at so many times in one night before."
Ignoring her husband, Narcissa remained focused on Harry. "Go. Draco needs you."
"Thank you, Narcissa," he said before hurrying into Draco's room.
Lucius reached for her hand and she didn't pull away.
