Part V:
A Restless SleepRon's and Hermione's jaws dropped. Hermione glanced from Harry's sleeping figure and back to Malfoy. Ron simply made a strange, strangled noise, apparently lost for words.
'How do you know that for sure?' he spluttered at last, finally finding his voice.
'I would know,' Malfoy replied softly, not looking up, and Hermione thought she heard a touch of bitterness in his flat voice. 'My father used to use it on me all the time…when I was younger.'
The two friends just stared.
'There is a counter potion,' he went on, finally facing Ron and Hermione, despite the pain that his eyes filled at the recollection of his father holding him down and forcing the burning liquid down his throat. 'It takes a while to kick in, though, so he could be stuck here all weekend…'
Ron suddenly scowled. 'Why didn't you stop him then? You knew what it was!'
'Didn't you hear me, Weasley?' Malfoy retorted, his voice hard again, all of the friendliness and concern that had been there gone, replaced by irritation. 'I though, you know, with those huge ears of yours, you'd catch on that I was telling four-eyes over there not to drink it!'
Ron was about to snap back when Hermione, who had been staring blankly ahead, whispered, 'Draco, you did say there's a counter potion, didn't you?'
He nodded, surprised that she had called him by his first name. Nobody, not even the teachers, had ever done that, except his parents.
'Well, then all we've got to do is tell Madam Pomfrey and she'll make it.'
'Come off it,' Ron said weakly. 'D'you really think she'd believe that?'
But at that precise moment, the nurse hurried into the room.
'Did he drink it?' she asked worriedly. When Ron, Hermione, and Draco nodded, her face paled, and her lips thinned.
'Oh, I can't believe this,' she muttered, wringing her hands absently. 'The two Sleeping Potions were right next to each other! Why didn't I make sure I had the right one?'
The three teenagers didn't know what to say. It surprised them to see their normally calm nurse so distressed.
'I must go to the Headmaster at once,' she said, more to herself than everyone else, walking to the door. But just then, who should it be but Dumbledore walked right into the room.
'Poppy, I need to speak to Mr Malfoy and Mr Potter at once, if you don't mind,' he said after closing the door.
'Professor,' Draco began, 'Potter has already taken his Sleeping Potion, but—'
'Headmaster!' Madam Pomfrey interrupted, losing control completely. 'The most terrible thing has happened! I—I—' she struggled for words, 'I gave him Draught of the Living Death instead of a Sleeping Potion!'
Dumbledore was staring at her with his intent, non-wavering gaze.
'Not to worry, Poppy,' he said calmly. 'I'm sure we could have Professor Snape make the counter potion for him.' Seeing the miserable expression on everyone's faces, he added, 'Harry is in no immediate danger. On the contrary, I believe this will be quite a restful experience for him. The poor boy has had so many hardships that this could be a favour. Please calm yourself, Poppy, we all make mistakes.' His eyes twinkled in the direction of Hermione, Ron, and Draco. 'And you three would do well not to tell him that I referred to him as a poor boy when he wakes.' Sighing, he turned on his heal and headed for the door. 'Well, I must go and find Severus.' He left.
Madam Pomfrey glanced around nervously, then said to Draco, 'Well, then, Malfoy, I'll just take this back now and get the other one.' He handed her the goblet, and she carried it back to her office.
For a very long time, no one said a word. The only sound that could be heard was the peaceful, even sound of breathing as Harry slept. It would have been a peaceful scene if only the probability of death (no matter what Dumbledore said to them) wasn't hanging over them.
A few moments later, Madam Pomfrey came out again, this time with a golden goblet that wasn't smoking. With a grim glance at Harry's comatose figure, she passed Draco the goblet, then walked back to her office without a word to any of them. Several minutes passed before Malfoy spoke.
'Well, thanks to Potter, I now have no idea what Dumbledore wanted me for,' he muttered.
Ron was astonished.
'Oh, come off it!' he exploded, glaring at him. 'My best friend is lying there, practically dead, and all you can think about is what some ancient old bloke in a beard has to say to you?' He continued to scowl in disgust. 'I'm beginning to wonder why he's forgiven you for all that you've done to him.'
'Ron,' Hermione said quietly, finally drawing her gaze from Harry's body. 'Please be more sensible. Draco's had it tough, look at his father. You can't blame him for being mad at the world. I think it's about time he got a good friend.'
'Gee, I feel so loved. The madness never stops around here, does it? Well, I'll just leave you two at this happy little discussion, shall I? Good night.' Malfoy stopped, picked up his goblet, and lifted it to his mouth.
'Wait a second, Draco,' said Hermione. She locked his gaze with her big brown eyes. 'Thank you for trying.' Draco shrugged and gulped down the potion. Instantly, he was carried off to sleep.
Hermione watched as he fell back onto his pillows, matching the smooth rhythm of Harry's breathing with his own. Ron made several attempts to say something, but refrained from speaking.
'Well,' he said at last. 'There's no point in staying here all night, it'll probably take a while to get that counter potion made…C'mon.' He gently took Hermione's hand and tried to pull her form her chair, but she wouldn't budge.
'You go ahead,' she said quietly, 'I'll be there in a minute.' Ron stared at her for a while, shrugged, and walked out the door.
Once she was sure he was gone, Hermione stood up, walked around Harry's bed, and stood next to Draco's. After looking at him for about a minute, she bent over him and whispered in his ear.
'Good night, Draco,' she said softly, and kissed him on the cheek. Quickly straightening up, she sighed at the two peaceful figures and strode out the ward.
*******
Hermione descended down the stairs, but her mind was still upstairs with Harry and Draco. She loved and admired Harry, but somehow couldn't think of him as anymore than a friend. She would gladly accept if he asked her to be with him, but there was something keeping her away from that kind on relationship that she couldn't figure out.
Then there was Draco. Her heart ached for him. He had had such a terrible childhood, and Ron wasn't helping matters much…
'Password?' said a voice.
Hermione blinked. Her feet had carried her all the way to the Fat Lady without her even realising it.
'Err—turnabulbs,' she stammered. The Fat Lady swung forward to admit her into the common room. Ron was standing there, waiting for her. He looked extremely nervous about something.
'Hey,' he said softly. Seeing the expression on her face, he added, 'You alright?' Hermione nodded. 'He'll be fine,' he whispered to her in her ear, putting his arm around her shoulders. 'We can go and see him again in the morning.' She nodded again, and, stepping from Ron's comforting embrace, headed for the girls' dorms. Ron sighed, watching after her, and climbed the stairs to the boy's dorms.
*******
Hours later, Hermione lay awake, her mind not giving her rest from her thoughts of Harry and Draco. It just didn't seem fair…Ron was treating him so badly…
********
In the boy's dormitories, Ron wasn't sleeping either. His heart was torn. Everything had to happen to Harry. The Boy Who Lived had too much to deal with. Maybe Dumbledore was right that he deserved this sleep.
Ron liked Alex a lot, and was pretty sure that she liked him, too. But then there was Hermione. There was something special about her that he couldn't place. Somewhere behind that mask of a bossy know-it-all was an imaginative, sweet girl of many worlds. But he could tell that she liked Harry. It was odd. They just seemed to go together. Harry and Hermione. Hermione and Harry. They even looked something alike. No one ever thought of Ron and Hermione or Hermione and Ron. He rolled over in bed, feeling very out of place in the calm atmosphere of his dorm. He sighed and closed his eyes.
*********
'Well, Wormtail, have you yet seen the boy?'
'Why, y-yes, My Lord.'
There was a sudden hiss.
'Didn't I tell you to kill him on sight?'
The second voice whimpered.
'I-I don't recall—'
'Liar. You knew perfectly well that I wanted you to kill him. You knew perfectly well that it would have saved us so much time…and no one else would have to die…'
'My apologies, My Lord….It was just that, the other boy was with him, and he almost Stunned me—'
'Fool! You could have killed them both and been done with it!'
There was silence. Then, suddenly, a spell was cast.
'Crucio!'
Screams of pain rang through his head…he couldn't wake up, and he needed it to stop—
Draco sat up. He was breathing hard and fast, looking wildly around into the dark corners, and it was awhile before he realized that he was safe in the hospital wing. Where had those voices come from?
He glanced out the window. The silvery moonlight contrasted strongly with midnight-black sky, pouring into the room, striking eerie shadows on the walls. He supposed that the Sleeping Potion must have worn off a while ago so he could have heard the voices….
He shivered and glanced at Harry. How could he put up with all this?
Draco sighed and rubbed his eyes. The weird thing was that before he had really fallen asleep, he vaguely remembered someone whispering in his ear and kissing him on the cheek. But that was absurd. No one had ever so much as hugged him in his life. Assuming this was just some trick that the potion had played on him, he stood up and stared around the nearly pitch black room.
'Damn that potion wore off fast…oh, shit, my arm HURTS!' His arm had fallen asleep, and he just now felt the blood rush back to his fingers, making them tingle with a prickling sensation. He continued talking to himself as he pulled on a fresh robe, the ones that Madam Pomfrey had laid out the night before. He sat down again on his bed and gazed out the window to the moonlit forest below.
For some odd reason, he suddenly desperately needed fresh air. He felt like he was suffocating. Running to the nearest window, he tried to haul it open, but to no prevail. He looked around wildly, his body drenched with sweat. Draco began to gasp for air, his bloodshot eyes widening, then in a flurry of desperation, he drew up all his strength and sent his fist flying through the window. Thrusting his head out, he gulped in the cool night air. Dimly aware of the blood flowing freely down his arm, he pulled himself out onto the windowsill. Yanking his wand out of his robes, he concentrated on an image of his shiny new RapidFire3000 (the newest broom he had managed to con out of his father—Harry's Firebolt was nothing in comparison).
'Accio RapidFire3000!' he shouted into the night. After a few minutes, the broom zoomed up next to him. The handle was shiny black with the words 'RapidFire3000' written on the side in bright orange flame lettering. He stood for a while, admiring its unsurpassable beauty by the silvery-white glow of the moon before mounting it and speeding over the Forbidden Forest. Bringing the broom to a half-halt, he lazily meandered by the border.
Suddenly, he caught a silver flash out of the corner of his eye. Dropping quietly to the ground, he crept silently closer to the two shadowy figures standing a few yards away, just close enough to he could distinguish their conversation, and hid behind a wide oak tree.
'Well, Wormtail, have you yet seen the boy?'
'Why, y-yes, My Lord.'
There was a sudden hiss. Draco subconsciously backed up into a tree. The voices! he thought wildly. The voices I heard in my dream!
'Didn't I tell you to kill him on sight?'
The second voice whimpered.
'I-I don't recall—'
'Liar. You knew perfectly well that I wanted you to kill him. You knew perfectly well that it would have saved us so much time…and no one else would have to die…'
'My apologies, My Lord….It was just that, the other boy was with him, and he almost Stunned me—'
'Fool! You could have killed them both and been done with it!'
There was silence. Then, suddenly, an incantation split the still silence of the dark night.
'Crucio!'
The screams that could be heard shattered the silent night air like breaking glass. Draco gasped and dropped his broomstick on a pile of leaves with a loud thump. Instantly, the screaming stopped. The one man had dropped the curse, and was now walking towards Draco. The world began to swim before his eyes and he suddenly felt nauseated. He wanted so badly to open his eyes and realise that this was just a dream…he began to keel over backwards…then he snapped out of it. Think what I would normally do…The tall man came to a halt right in front of him. Draco couldn't see his face, but could make out two glittering red eyes narrowed at him from the depths of a hood.
'Aren't you Malfoy's boy?' he asked in a soft voice.
'Err, yeah,' Draco answered from the ground. There was no mistakening this cold voice. It was, without a doubt, Lord Voldemort, and his minion Wormtail. He worked his face into his best grin. 'And I know who you are. You're that Voldemort dude. Father's told me all about you.'
Voldemort's eyes flashed at being referred to as, 'that Voldemort dude.' Wormtail wrinkled his nose in annoyance and mumbled to himself, 'Obnoxious, isn't he?'
Draco glared at him, but Voldemort spoke before he could say anything.
'What are you doing out here so late, Draco? Shouldn't you be asleep?'
'Let's just say Potter and I got into a brutal fist-fight, knocked each other senseless, and ended up in the hospital wing. I'm just out for a little walk while Potter sleeps off the uppercut I gave him…' Voldemort began to get an impatient look, so Draco added, 'What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be off terrorizing some Muggles or something?'
Voldemort lapsed into a thoughtful silence, seemingly pondering the question.
'I suppose I can trust you, young Malfoy,' he said lazily. 'Yes, why not?' He glared at Wormtail before continuing, 'We've used Polyjuice Potion to take a girl as a hostage, so I guess you could say we've got Potter in the palm of our hands…' He chuckled evilly from what could only be the wonder of finally killing Harry Potter. Draco shuddered. 'Well, Draco,' he said, 'best get back to the hospital wing on that admirable broom of yours.'
Draco had already started walking away when the Dark Lord's voice carried over to him.
'And you would do well to hold your tongue about what I told you. Lord Voldemort always has ways of tracking down those who betray him.'
Draco turned. 'Did you realise that you've started talking in the third person?' he asked with innocence mixed with sarcasm.
'Go!' Voldemort hissed, and Draco scurried away, not wanting to be the next target of the Crucatious Curse.
*******
Back in the hospital wing, Draco quickly landed, Banishing his RapidFire3000 back to his dorm. He kept out his wand and fixed the damaged window, then quietly changed back into his pyjamas and crept back into bed. Glancing down at his right arm, he was fully aware for the first time that he was bleeding. Or at least he was. The blood was clotting and some had even dried. He drew a shaking breath and held his head in his hands. Voldemort was on the school grounds. What was he supposed to do now? Harry was practically dead, and Draco was sure that telepathy wouldn't work in this state. Ron and Hermione wouldn't believe him, and certainly not Dumbledore, knowing that he knew his father was a Death Eater. He groaned impatiently, almost slamming himself down against his pillows, willing sleep to claim him, but it wouldn't come; it was a faraway country that he couldn't touch, no matter how hard he tried. Giving up, Draco sat up and reached for his goblet of unfinished Sleeping Potion and swallowed it down. Waves of sleep washed over him at last, and he fell asleep.
*******
There was daylight when Draco awoke. His stomach rumbled, so he assumed it was past lunchtime. He gave a start when he saw Ron, Hermione, Professor Dumbledore, Snape, and Madam Pomfrey standing there. Draco noticed that Snape was holding a beaker full of a sick sort of yellow liquid. Hermione held Harry's hand as Snape handed the beaker to Madam Pomfrey. Ron looked as if he was about to be sick, and the pallor of his face only supported that notion. Draco assumed the substance in the beaker was the counter potion. They all watched uneasily as the nurse poured it down Harry's throat, making him cough and splutter in his sleep. She straightened up and glanced at Dumbledore, who looked at Ron, Draco, and Hermione.
'How long will it take to take effect?' Hermione asked timidly. Dumbledore sighed.
'As to that, Miss Granger, we can only guess,' he said. 'A few hours, maybe, but perhaps even many days.'
Hermione gave a small squeak of protest. Ron glanced at Malfoy, who looked as if he had been sucking on a lemon.
'You may stay with him overnight, in case he wakes,' Dumbledore continued, 'but if he hasn't by morning, then I must insist that you return to your dormitories.' He shifted his gaze from one worried face to another, giving them a reassuring smile, and left the room, Snape right behind him.
Silence as thick as a fog settled around them. Madam Pomfrey walked back to her office, seemingly distressed. Soon Draco broke the silence.
'Well, that's it, then, isn't it?' he said. Hermione and Ron glanced at him.
'Malfoy—' Ron began warningly.
'No, he's right, Ron,' Hermione interrupted. Her eyes rested on Draco. 'All we can do now is wait.'
And so they waited. They didn't talk at all. Madam Pomfrey brought out lunch trays, but only Malfoy ate all of his. Ron could barely swallow, and Hermione wouldn't eat a bite.
******
Hours later, Ron and Draco fell asleep. Hermione couldn't let go of Harry's hand. Several times, his eyelids fluttered open, but only to close again. He made a few noises as if to wake, but slept on.
Hermione was beginning to lose hope. It's over, she thought, What if Snape's potion was the wrong one? What if it doesn't work? What if was really poison? What if—
A hand suddenly ran through her hair, and she sat bolt upright. She had fallen asleep, holding Harry's hand, her head on the bed next to him. Smiling up at her, his vivid emerald eyes tired yet open, was Harry. She smiled back.
'Hey,' he whispered weakly. Hermione just smiled, though scolding herself inside forever thinking of losing him to a Sleeping Potion.
'Are you okay?' she whispered back.
'Yeah, but I seem to have no feeling in my fingers.'
'Oh! Sorry…' She let go of the death grip she had on his hand at last.
'Thanks.' His gaze travelled over to Ron, who was asleep in his chair, his mouth half-open, then to Draco, who lay sleeping on the bed next to Harry's.
'I'm glad to see I'm still popular,' he commented. He started to sit up, but slumped back again, his hand on his head.
'God, my head hurts like hell,' he moaned. 'And what kind of sleeping potion was that? It hit me like a brick….'
Hermione's smile faltered.
'Oh,' she said again, and explained all about the Draught of the Living Death.
'…and you should've seen the look on Madam Pomfrey's face when she found out! I know this sounds like Ron talking, but she was positively freaked! It was most unlike her…'
Harry grinned. 'Well, it could be that time of month again,' he said slyly, 'if you know what I mean…'
'Harry!' Hermione said indignantly, punching his arm, 'That's not funny!'
Harry snorted with laughter, wincing slightly.
'Damn, girl, you've got quite an arm there.'
'Watch it, Potter, or it'll be going for your face next,' she threatened playfully.
'Okay, okay,' he said, throwing up his hands. "I'm injured, I'm ill…be careful with the sick one, alright?" Then Harry glanced at her thoughtfully. 'How about you get some more sleep? I could use some too, as a matter of fact….'
'You've been sleeping all weekend!'
'Yeah, but it wasn't relaxing at all. And you look terrible.'
'Oh, thanks.'
He grinned again. 'Just doing my job.' Ron suddenly gave a loud snore, turned his head, and slept on. 'C'mon,' Harry whispered, 'let's go to sleep before we wake someone.'
'Too late…' came a muffled voice from half way across the room.
Harry and Hermione looked over at Draco, who had his head buried in his pillow, obviously trying to drown out their voices. Sitting up, he added, 'And I'm sorry to break up the snogging session.'
'We weren't—snogging,' Harry muttered. Draco snorted.
Hey, Potter, is Granger listening?
No, I don't think so…let me check…Hermione?
No response.
I've got to tell you something.
What?
Well, last night my sleeping potion wore off, and I went for a *ahem* stroll by the forbidden forest…
What are you trying to get at, Malfoy?
I'm getting to that. Well, as strange as this sounds, Voldemort was on school grounds. He was with Rat Boy…
Are you sure the sleeping potion wore off?
Suddenly Draco held up his unhealed arm that he had smashed through the window the night before.
'Does this look like a dream to you, Potter?' His sudden out burst had startled Hermione, who hadn't been listening to their telepathic conversation, to topple off Harry's bed in alarm, and woke up Ron. Malfoy had kept his arm under the blankets so no one could see the large cuts and clotted blood until now. Ron turned a bit green.
'What in bloody hell…?' he muttered weakly, staring from Malfoy's fixed expression to his raised fist.
'What happened to you?' Hermione asked, standing back up.
For the first time in a while, the three witnessed Malfoy blush a brilliant shade of pink. 'I got a little frustrated with the window,' he muttered.
Harry nodded. Okay, so what happened?
Well, Voldemort's got a plan to kill you…
Tell me something I don't know.'
No, it's got something to do with a girl.
I told you, I already know. Like you said before, I see things, you hear things. And I suppose you heard Voldemort and Pettigrew talking?
Yeah…and Voldemort was yelling at him to have killed you on sight instead.
Harry made a funny noise that sounded like a strangled hiccup.
'Oh, I really shouldn't have said that,' Malfoy said aloud.
'It does explain a lot, though,' Harry replied thoughtfully. 'I guess Dumbledore was right when he said I would actually be glad I saved his life…and when he told me to run…'
'Huh?' Draco and Ron said confusedly.
Harry shook his head. 'I'll explain later.'
Ron shrugged and Draco stared at Harry, who could feel his face burning.
'But—' Draco began.
'Later.'
Hermione nodded, and bit her lip.
Suddenly the door opened, and in stepped Dumbledore.
**********
A/N: Pathetic, isn't it?? Well, at least I tried…And thank you, Crissy, for all your help! *tearsnifftear* I couldn't have done it without you! J