Chapter Fourteen ~ Neville's Nerve
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Just before lunch, Harry ran up to his dorm room to check on Draco. Snape had not been impressed that Draco had missed Potions but Harry had managed to convince him that Draco was at death's door. Now he just had to check and make sure that what he told Snape was not true.
He quietly slipped into the dorm room so as not to wake him if he was asleep. He tiptoed over to their bed and pulled back the curtains in time for Draco to sneeze all over him. Harry grimaced as he wiped his face with his sleeve.
"Sorry," Draco said before loudly blowing his nose with a handkerchief. It sounded like a foghorn.
Harry shook his head in wonder. How on earth did a sound that big come out of such a small person?
"Are you okay?" Harry asked, concerned as he placed his hand on Draco's forehead. He frowned, Draco felt hot but he was shivering.
"I dond thingk so," Draco replied, sniffling. "I thingk I've god a cold."
Harry smiled lovingly. Draco looked so cute, bundled up in blankets, with a red nose in the middle of his pale face. Harry leaned forward a planted a kiss on Draco's feverish forehead.
Ron and Hermione suddenly burst into the room and slammed the door shut behind them.
"Quick, we haven't got long before Defence Against The Dark Arts," Ron said, tugging frantically on Hermione's robe.
"Uh, guys," Harry said tentatively.
Ron and Hermione froze. Their head swivelled to look at Harry. They jumped apart and hastily rearranged their clothes.
"Draco, are you okay?" Hermione asked worriedly, having noticed his pale face and watery eyes.
"He's got a cold," Harry said, a touch guiltily.
"And so you should sound guilty," Hermione admonished him. "Honestly, what a stupid bet. The way things are right now, you should be spending as much time together as you can."
Harry hung his head sheepishly.
"Ron," Hermione called, "Go see Madam Pomfrey and get some Revitaliser Tonic from her. Magic can't cure a Muggle cold, but the Revitaliser should speed up your recovery."
Ron looked a little put out that his romantic time with Hermione had been interrupted but he turned around and left the dorm room.
"I think he's seen Madam Pomfrey more times than you this year, Harry," Hermione chuckled as she took Draco's temperature. "He's got a mild fever. Have you got a cloth or something we can wet with cold water to put on his forehead?"
Harry disappeared into the bathroom and returned a minute later with a dripping cloth.
Hermione frowned at him, took the cloth out of his hands and squeezed out the excess water. "For god's sake! Men!"
"You said wet," Harry said defensively. "How was I supposed to know what that meant?"
Draco was lying back in the bed, cloth on his head and his eyes closed. His breathing was ragged and his hair was matted and messy with sweat.
"Here's the Revitaliser," Ron said, handing the bottle to Hermione as he entered the room. "Madam Pomfrey said not to move him for now, but if he gets any worse we should get him straight down to the hospital wing."
Hermione nodded and administered one tablespoon of the Revitaliser Tonic to Draco.
"Harry?" Ron said softly.
Harry glanced over at his best friend. Ron indicated that they should leave the room. Harry looked quizzical as entered the hallway.
"What's up?" he asked Ron quietly.
"I know," Ron said emphatically.
"You know," Harry repeated, not entirely sure what Ron was getting at.
"I know what you're planning to do. You know, what Draco keeps trying to get you to tell him. I know" Ron said a touch desperately.
Harry looked shocked. "You saw it?"
Ron nodded. "I wish I hadn't. I haven't said anything to anyone yet but I think I should tell Dumbledore."
"No!" Harry hissed. "You can't tell anyone!"
"Harry. Be reasonable-" Ron started to say before Harry angrily interrupted him.
"Be reasonable? Why the hell should I be reasonable? Voldemort never is!"
"I can't let you go. What about Draco?" Ron said pleadingly.
"I'm doing this for him. For us. What kind of life will we have if we constantly have to look over our shoulder to see if Voldemort's after us?" Harry asked, crossing his arms across his chest.
"So you're going to go after him?" Ron asked incredulously.
"It's time the hunter became the hunted," Harry said cryptically and strode back into the dorm room to Draco's side.
"Feeling any better, honey?" Harry asked with concern as he kicked off his shoes, pulled off his robe and tie and crawled into bed beside Draco in his pants and shirt. He pulled the blonde boy gently into his arms.
"Now I do," Draco replied as he cuddled into Harry's side. Harry kissed the top of Draco's head and looked over at Hermione.
"Let Sirius and Remus know that Drac and I won't be there this afternoon because of Draco's cold. I want to keep an eye on him," he said.
Hermione nodded and walked over to the door. Ron hung back and stared intently at Harry.
Harry stared back at Ron, silently pleading with him to not say anything.
Ron nodded sharply, although he didn't look pleased about it, and followed Hermione out of the door.
Harry gently rubbed Draco's back and felt the blonde boy's breathing become deeper and more even indicating that he was asleep. Harry stared into space, thinking about his conversation with Ron.
Ever since Voldemort had attacked the school at Halloween, Harry had grown increasingly frustrated at having to wait for Voldemort's next move. So many people were relying on him to keep them safe and as long as he was sitting at Hogwarts waiting for Voldemort to come to him, more people were going to get hurt - not to mention, Draco. He was a prime target now and Harry often worried that their relationship was putting him in too much danger.
Draco. The new Gryffindor had given Harry's life new meaning. Harry had never felt so loved before in his life and as selfish as it was, there was no way he was going to give that up. Harry smiled as he remembered one night in particular, before Halloween, when Draco had shown him just how loved he was…
Harry arrived home late one night after a particularly draining lesson from Dumbledore to find the apartment filled with the muted light of hundreds of candles. Lilies filled the vases that decorated the room and there was Draco, clad in pale gold silk pyjamas, reclined on the sofa, reading his Arithmancy text.
The blonde boy glanced up from his book to see his love framed in the doorway – the very picture of exhaustion. He smiled sympathetically as he put his book aside. He crossed the room to Harry and simply pulled him into his arms. Harry leaned into him, relaxing for the first time that day.
"Let's go have a bath, love," Draco whispered in his ear.
"Where?" Harry asked, "We don't have a bath…"
"The prefect's bathroom, of course!" Draco replied with a laugh. "Come on."
Draco picked up a bag, grabbed Harry's hand and led the tired Gryffindor down the corridor to the prefect's bathroom. Soon they were standing in front of the portrait.
"Evergreen," Draco said.
"How do you know the password?" Harry asked curiously, neither of them were prefects.
"Hermione," Draco said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh yeah," Harry replied sheepishly. "I keep forgetting she's head girl."
"That's because she doesn't flaunt it, she just quietly goes about her work," Draco replied, revealing his admiration for his new friend, as they entered the bathroom. Luckily it was empty. Draco locked the door just in case any prefects felt in need of a bath that night.
Harry and Draco quickly slipped off their clothes and Draco turned on a few jewel-encrusted taps. When the bath was full, they immersed themselves in the warm soothing water. Draco sat down on the step that was halfway down the side of the pool. He pulled Harry back against his chest and wrapped his arms around the dark haired boy. Harry sighed happily and closed his eyes.
"Let me take care of you tonight, love," Draco whispered in Harry's ear.
"Mmmm," Harry replied sleepily. He loved this deliciously warm safe feeling he got whenever Draco 'took care of him'. Somehow, the blonde boy managed to take all his worries away and leave him feeling protected.
Draco softly started to massage Harry's tired muscles.
God, Draco has incredible hands, Harry thought with a smile. This is heavenly.
Harry had just about dozed off when Draco shook him gently.
"I think we'd better go before you drown," he said softly in Harry's ear. Harry groaned in protest but allowed Draco to pull him out of the huge bath. Draco grabbed a big fluffy towel and gently dried Harry off before handing him some scarlet silk pyjamas. Harry pulled them on and watched as Draco pulled back on the pale gold silk pyjamas that he'd been wearing earlier. Draco must have bought these especially, Harry thought, because I don't remember seeing them before. Suddenly he realised that they were wearing Gryffindor colours. Draco had really embraced being a Gryffindor.
Back in their living room, Harry sat back on the sofa and watched Draco putter around the room. He had obviously put a lot of effort into planning a romantic evening for the two of them. Thank god Dumbledore had given him the day off tomorrow.
Draco looked so beautiful in the flickering candlelight. Harry sighed happily. If it weren't for that little problem of Voldemort attacking at Halloween, life would be perfect.
Draco set down two plates and two sets of cutlery on the coffee table in front of Harry.
"Dobby gave me these especially for tonight. All we have to do is tell the plates what we want and it will appear," Draco explained as he sat down beside Harry.
"Oh, like at the Yule Ball in our fourth year," Harry remembered with a rueful smile. What a disaster that had been! Even back then it was clear that he was not cut out to date girls.
Draco made a face at the memory, "Yeah, but this time I don't have Pansy all over me, thank god."
Harry smiled, "This time you have me all over you!"
Draco smiled seductively, "You can be all over me any time you want!"
"Is that right?" Harry asked with a grin as he launched himself at the blonde Gryffindor. Draco let out a startled cry as Harry landed on top of him, pressing him back into the sofa. Harry's lips captured Draco's in a heart-stopping kiss. Draco wound his arms around Harry's neck, drawing him closer.
Harry pulled back slightly, reluctantly. "I love you, Drac. I will always love you."
"Promise?" Draco asked softly, his eyes shinning brightly up at Harry.
"I promise," Harry said firmly as he kissed Draco again.
"I promise I will always love you too. I can't imagine ever not loving you," Draco said confidently.
Harry smiled as he remembered just how Draco had shown him how much he loved Harry. He kissed Draco's hair. The blonde boy was still sleeping soundly, thanks to Madam Pomfrey's tonic.
How on earth can I leave him? Harry wondered despairingly as he stared up at the canopy above his bed. Unfortunately there were no answers up there for him. The thought of leaving Draco and Hogwarts was tearing Harry apart but as far as he was concerned, there was no other option. Once Draco was better, Harry knew he had to leave.
He really wasn't sure what he was going to do once he left. He was kind of hoping that it would come to him once he had actually made the break and left the only place he felt safe. All he really knew was that he had to find Voldemort and finish this once and for all.
It was unfortunate that Ron knew of his plans but Harry trusted Ron and he knew that the red-head would not tell anyone…unless he thought it was for Harry's own good. Damn, Harry thought. He's probably going to tell someone, probably Hermione and she would insist on at least telling Sirius and Remus and then where would Harry be? Probably locked up – for his own good.
Harry frowned. This wasn't going to work. He would have to leave as soon as possible, before Ron had finished arguing with himself over whether to tell anyone or not. Luckily Ron was pretty argumentative so he probably had a good hour or two.
Harry eased himself out of Draco's embrace and left the blonde boy cuddling the pillow. So beautiful, Harry thought, like an angel.
Harry picked up a piece of parchment and a quill. He sat down on the end of the bed and stared at Draco for a moment before he started writing. This was the second time in as many months that he had written a farewell letter to Draco while the blonde was sleeping.
When he'd written all he had to say, he folded up the letter, sealed it and wrote Draco's name on the front. He placed it on the table beside the bed, so Draco would see it when he woke up.
He picked up his school bag, emptied out all the books and started shoving some clothes and underwear in.
"What are you doing?" a soft voice enquired.
Harry looked up, startled.
"Drac! You're awake. Um, well, I'm…" Harry's voice trailed off as he struggled to think of an answer to his boyfriend's question.
"You're running away?" Draco suggested teasingly.
Harry could only stare at him in shock. He had expected to be gone before Draco woke up so he wasn't prepared for this conversation.
"Oh my god. You really are running away," Draco said, his voice trembling as he took in Harry's 'deer caught in headlights' look. "Why? I love you so much and I thought you loved me."
Harry was deeply moved by Draco's distraught manner and immediately climbed onto the bed and pulled a tearful Draco into his arms. He held him tightly for a moment before pulling away and holding Draco's face in his hands, forcing the blonde boy to look him in the eyes and hear what Harry was about to say.
"I love you more than anything in the world. Never ever doubt that," Harry said fiercely. "But I have to go."
Assuming that was the end of the matter, Harry kissed Draco lightly, got off the bed and resumed packing his bag.
"What? Why do you have to go? And where?" Draco asked bewilderedly.
Harry sighed. "I explained it all in that letter," he said, pointing to the letter propped up on the table.
Draco picked it up with shaky hands and stared at Harry's busy form for a moment before ripping open the letter.
Dearest Draco,
I'm sorry that I have to write you another one of these letters, but please believe me that this is for the best. I have to go after Voldemort.
Draco gasped in shock and tears filled his eyes.
I've thought this through and this really is the only option. You are in too much danger with Voldemort out there and I have to protect you and the rest of my family (Sirius, Remus, the Weasley's, Hermione…).
Please don't worry about me. There really isn't any other way to stop the madness. With Voldemort gone, we can live our lives without fear.
I love you.
Harry
Draco looked up at Harry, tears pouring down his face. It was the Halloween incident all over again. Harry was going to go and battle Voldemort alone. Last time that happened, Harry had almost died. That had shown Draco that he couldn't live without Harry. With that thought, he made his decision.
"I'm going with you," Draco stated calmly, climbing out of bed, his cold forgotten. He picked up his own school bag, dumped the books onto the floor and started packing.
Harry stopped what he was doing and stared at Draco like he was insane. "No. You're not com-"
"Yes I am!" Draco practically screamed at him. "I'm not letting you do this alone. Not after last time."
"But you've got a cold," Harry protested.
Draco blinked. He glanced around the room and his gaze fell on the bottle of Revitaliser tonic that Madam Pomfrey had sent up. He reached for the bottle and downed the lot in one gulp.
"There. Now I can go," he said decisively, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.
Harry was so shocked that he didn't react for a moment, then he snatched the bottle from Draco's hand and read the label. He sighed with relief when he realised that there weren't going to be any adverse side effects.
"I can't let you do this. What if you get hurt, or worse?" Harry pleaded with him.
"Either we both go or neither of us does. It's up to you," Draco said, crossing his arms as he gave Harry an ultimatum. He started tapping his foot, waiting for Harry's reply.
The two boys glared at each other defiantly. Both too stubborn to back down. Draco was having trouble keeping still but he had no problem staring keenly into Harry's eyes, as if trying to project his will onto Harry.
"Hey guys, what's going on?" Ron asked warily as he and Hermione entered the room. They both looked from Draco to Harry and back again before anyone spoke.
"How are you feeling, Draco?" Hermione asked, noting his erratic behaviour.
"I'm fine. Harry is leaving Hogwarts to go after Voldemort," Draco announced, his eyes never leaving Harry's.
Ron didn't react as he had already seen Harry leave. He was relieved, however, that he was no longer the only one who knew about it.
Hermione gasped, "What? No, Harry you can't."
"I have to, Mione. It's the only way I can keep everyone I love safe. I have to kill him once and for all," Harry replied.
"Surely you're not going to let him go, Draco?" Hermione asked incredulously.
"Let him? Draco doesn't own me," Harry spluttered indignantly.
"I'm going with him," Draco said, cutting through Harry's tirade, which was just warming up. By now, Draco had started pacing restlessly around the round room.
"What?" Ron roared, this was something he hadn't seen.
"I'm not going to let him do this alone again. So either we both stay or we both go," Draco explained, speaking very fast.
Hermione stared at him curiously. "What's up with Draco?" she asked Harry curiously.
"He drank the entire bottle of Revitaliser tonic," Harry informed her.
"Oh my god, he's going to be hyped up for hours!" she exclaimed.
"What?" Harry and Ron asked.
"Too much Revitaliser tonic is kind of like too much caffeine, or sugar. He's going to be hyperactive until it wears off," she explained in a low voice as the three of them watched Draco pace in front of them, not noticing that they weren't listening to him lecture them on the importance of sticking together through thick and thin.
Hermione looked thoughtful, "You really are serious about going, aren't you Harry?"
"Yes," he replied quietly.
"To be perfectly honest, I've been thinking the same thing. But I don't think you should go alone. I think all four of us should go," Hermione said firmly. Ron stared at her like she was nuts.
"Are you out of your mind?" Ron asked, "First you're demanding Harry stay and now your telling him to go, and us too? I don't get it."
"There is nothing we can do here at Hogwarts except go to lessons, which quite frankly have become extremely boring. I think we've learnt more in our adventures than we do in our lessons. It's also obvious that there is nothing Dumbledore either can do or is willing to do at the moment. And as long as Voldemort is out there, we are all in danger. I suggest we face that danger head on and try to fight it. We're not Gryffindor's for nothing!" Hermione finished her little speech and smiled smugly at the stunned boys before her.
"I'm in," Harry said, a tad unnecessarily since he was the one who was raring to go.
"Me too," Draco said with a quiet but edgy strength.
"Count me in," Ron said, making a quick decision. He couldn't let his best friends and his girlfriend go off into danger without him.
"Great. I suggest we go tonight, 1am. I'm going to go pack. Oh, and Ron, don't pack your robes. We want to blend in with the Muggles," Hermione said brightly before skipping out of the room.
"Anyone would think we were going on a trip to the zoo, the way she's acting," Harry said, shaking his head.
Harry had finished packing the bare necessities so he placed his bag on the bed, with the curtains around it so Neville, Seamus and Dean wouldn't know what they were doing. He sat down to watch (that is, supervise) Ron and Draco packing. The two boys were about as far from being Muggles as you could get and a few times Harry had to drag a robe out of their bags.
"What on earth are you bringing these for?" Harry asked, pulling out Draco's pale gold silk pyjamas.
"They're my favourites. I'm not leaving with my favourite pyjamas," Draco pouted as he grabbed the pyjamas, folded them neatly and placed them carefully in his bag.
"You do realise we'll probably be camping most of the time, don't you?" Harry asked cautiously. Draco was a bit volatile at the moment.
"Yes," Draco replied primly as he added his hairdryer to the bag.
Harry sighed and silently admitted defeat. It was just no good talking to Draco when he was like this. Harry sat down on the bed. He had to admit, he felt relieved that the other three would be joining him. Of course, he was worried about their safety, but there was safety in numbers, two heads were better than one and all that.
"You'd better write a letter to Sirius and Remus," Draco said to Harry. "They're going to be worried if we're not here in the morning."
Harry nodded and grabbed his quill and parchment and started writing.
Hermione waltzed back into the room then and sat down on Ron's bed to watch the proceedings.
"While I was packing, I was thinking about the Order of the Phoenix room. I think we should go there before dinner and look at those maps to see who is where, maybe we can find a way to find Voldemort," Hermione said.
"Why don't we ask my parents?" Draco suggested, "Dad was a Death Eater, he'd probably know where to start looking. We can Floo to the Manor, stay there the night and speak to them in the morning. We can go from there."
"Sounds like a plan," Harry said, smiling at his hyperactive boyfriend. "But we need some Floo powder."
"There's some with the fireplace in the Order of the Phoenix room. We can use that," Ron said. "But won't your parents send us straight back to Hogwarts?"
"We're seventeen now, Ron. They can't make us do anything," Draco pointed out jumpy.
"You haven't seen where Voldemort is, have you, Ron?" Harry asked.
"No," Ron said dolefully.
"Oh well, it was worth a try. Let's get going to the Order of the Phoenix room," Harry said, reaching out for Draco's hand.
The four of them trooped into the Order of the Phoenix room and were relieved to discover that they were the only ones in there, apart from the house elf that is. Hermione and Draco started studying the maps on the wall while Harry and Ron studied the mirrors on the opposite wall. Ron smiled at his Dad, even though he knew his Dad couldn't see him.
"Find anything, Harry?" Hermione called out across the room.
"No," Harry called back. "You?"
"Only that Draco's parents are at home," she replied.
The four of them met up in the middle of the room.
"Hey, Hermione, I just had a thought. You're Head Girl. You can't just leave," Draco said anxiously.
"I know. I thought of that and I've handed over the job to Lavender Brown, the Gryffindor prefect," Hermione said matter of factly.
"Oh," the three boys said sympathetically. They all knew how much the position of Head Girl had meant to Hermione.
"What did Lavender say when you told her?" Harry asked curiously.
"She doesn't know yet. I've left her a letter with the badge which she will find in the morning," Hermione replied.
"So where do we go from here?" Draco asked.
"We go to dinner. We act like there's nothing wrong. We go to bed. We sneak out at 1am exactly. Got it?" Hermione replied, naturally taking leadership of the group.
"Got it," the three boys replied.
Later that night, after dinner, the four of them entered the boys' dormitory to make sure they had everything they would need for the trip and found four people waiting for them.
"Hi guys," Harry said nervously. "What are you doing?"
"Waiting for you," replied Ginny.
"Yeah. We found your bags," Dean said questioningly.
"Where are you going?" Seamus asked curiously.
"Are you going too, Hermione?" Neville enquired hesitantly.
"Yes," Hermione replied firmly. "We're going to find Voldemort."
Neville, Ginny, Dean and Seamus gasped at this calm announcement.
"What? Are you out of your minds?" Ginny cried.
"Look, Ginny, it's the only way. I have to get rid of him once and for all," Harry said comfortingly.
"If you're going to go after Voldemort, he's going to have all his Death Eater dudes with him," Seamus said.
"Yeah, so you'll need all the help you can get," Dean said, glancing at Seamus. "We're coming with you."
Seamus nodded enthusiastically.
"What? No. This is getting out of hand," Harry said, distressed at the thought of all this friends in danger.
"I'm coming too," Neville said quietly but firmly.
"You?" Ron asked, sceptically but not unkindly.
"Yes me!" Neville replied defensively. Harry smiled at him kindly, knowing that Neville was thinking of his parents and what the Death Eaters had done to them.
Ginny sidled up to Neville and slipped her hand in his. Hermione, Ron, Draco and Harry stared at her. They had obviously been so wrapped up in their own dramas that they had missed a relationship blossoming before their very eyes.
"If Neville's going, so am I," Ginny announced resolutely. Hermione grinned at Ginny, glad to have some female company on a testosterone-filled trip.
"No, no, no," Ron said just as resolutely. "No way in hell are you coming with us!"
"And why not? Because I'm a girl, or because I'm the youngest?" Ginny challenged her brother.
"Because…." Ron paused, knowing that there was no right answer to his little sisters question. "Because I say so."
"Nice one, Ron," Draco said sarcastically before addressing the group. "Look, if you guys want to come with us, then you'd better pack. We leave at 1am. But just so you know, this is going to be dangerous and any one of us might not make it back from this trip. So be prepared. If you don't want to come, that is totally fine. We won't think any less of you. You don't have to come."
"We are not going to let you face that bastard alone," Seamus said emphatically.
Harry grinned at him. "Thanks, mate."
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to be continued
A.N. Thanks for all the incredible reviews!!! I love you guys!!
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Just before lunch, Harry ran up to his dorm room to check on Draco. Snape had not been impressed that Draco had missed Potions but Harry had managed to convince him that Draco was at death's door. Now he just had to check and make sure that what he told Snape was not true.
He quietly slipped into the dorm room so as not to wake him if he was asleep. He tiptoed over to their bed and pulled back the curtains in time for Draco to sneeze all over him. Harry grimaced as he wiped his face with his sleeve.
"Sorry," Draco said before loudly blowing his nose with a handkerchief. It sounded like a foghorn.
Harry shook his head in wonder. How on earth did a sound that big come out of such a small person?
"Are you okay?" Harry asked, concerned as he placed his hand on Draco's forehead. He frowned, Draco felt hot but he was shivering.
"I dond thingk so," Draco replied, sniffling. "I thingk I've god a cold."
Harry smiled lovingly. Draco looked so cute, bundled up in blankets, with a red nose in the middle of his pale face. Harry leaned forward a planted a kiss on Draco's feverish forehead.
Ron and Hermione suddenly burst into the room and slammed the door shut behind them.
"Quick, we haven't got long before Defence Against The Dark Arts," Ron said, tugging frantically on Hermione's robe.
"Uh, guys," Harry said tentatively.
Ron and Hermione froze. Their head swivelled to look at Harry. They jumped apart and hastily rearranged their clothes.
"Draco, are you okay?" Hermione asked worriedly, having noticed his pale face and watery eyes.
"He's got a cold," Harry said, a touch guiltily.
"And so you should sound guilty," Hermione admonished him. "Honestly, what a stupid bet. The way things are right now, you should be spending as much time together as you can."
Harry hung his head sheepishly.
"Ron," Hermione called, "Go see Madam Pomfrey and get some Revitaliser Tonic from her. Magic can't cure a Muggle cold, but the Revitaliser should speed up your recovery."
Ron looked a little put out that his romantic time with Hermione had been interrupted but he turned around and left the dorm room.
"I think he's seen Madam Pomfrey more times than you this year, Harry," Hermione chuckled as she took Draco's temperature. "He's got a mild fever. Have you got a cloth or something we can wet with cold water to put on his forehead?"
Harry disappeared into the bathroom and returned a minute later with a dripping cloth.
Hermione frowned at him, took the cloth out of his hands and squeezed out the excess water. "For god's sake! Men!"
"You said wet," Harry said defensively. "How was I supposed to know what that meant?"
Draco was lying back in the bed, cloth on his head and his eyes closed. His breathing was ragged and his hair was matted and messy with sweat.
"Here's the Revitaliser," Ron said, handing the bottle to Hermione as he entered the room. "Madam Pomfrey said not to move him for now, but if he gets any worse we should get him straight down to the hospital wing."
Hermione nodded and administered one tablespoon of the Revitaliser Tonic to Draco.
"Harry?" Ron said softly.
Harry glanced over at his best friend. Ron indicated that they should leave the room. Harry looked quizzical as entered the hallway.
"What's up?" he asked Ron quietly.
"I know," Ron said emphatically.
"You know," Harry repeated, not entirely sure what Ron was getting at.
"I know what you're planning to do. You know, what Draco keeps trying to get you to tell him. I know" Ron said a touch desperately.
Harry looked shocked. "You saw it?"
Ron nodded. "I wish I hadn't. I haven't said anything to anyone yet but I think I should tell Dumbledore."
"No!" Harry hissed. "You can't tell anyone!"
"Harry. Be reasonable-" Ron started to say before Harry angrily interrupted him.
"Be reasonable? Why the hell should I be reasonable? Voldemort never is!"
"I can't let you go. What about Draco?" Ron said pleadingly.
"I'm doing this for him. For us. What kind of life will we have if we constantly have to look over our shoulder to see if Voldemort's after us?" Harry asked, crossing his arms across his chest.
"So you're going to go after him?" Ron asked incredulously.
"It's time the hunter became the hunted," Harry said cryptically and strode back into the dorm room to Draco's side.
"Feeling any better, honey?" Harry asked with concern as he kicked off his shoes, pulled off his robe and tie and crawled into bed beside Draco in his pants and shirt. He pulled the blonde boy gently into his arms.
"Now I do," Draco replied as he cuddled into Harry's side. Harry kissed the top of Draco's head and looked over at Hermione.
"Let Sirius and Remus know that Drac and I won't be there this afternoon because of Draco's cold. I want to keep an eye on him," he said.
Hermione nodded and walked over to the door. Ron hung back and stared intently at Harry.
Harry stared back at Ron, silently pleading with him to not say anything.
Ron nodded sharply, although he didn't look pleased about it, and followed Hermione out of the door.
Harry gently rubbed Draco's back and felt the blonde boy's breathing become deeper and more even indicating that he was asleep. Harry stared into space, thinking about his conversation with Ron.
Ever since Voldemort had attacked the school at Halloween, Harry had grown increasingly frustrated at having to wait for Voldemort's next move. So many people were relying on him to keep them safe and as long as he was sitting at Hogwarts waiting for Voldemort to come to him, more people were going to get hurt - not to mention, Draco. He was a prime target now and Harry often worried that their relationship was putting him in too much danger.
Draco. The new Gryffindor had given Harry's life new meaning. Harry had never felt so loved before in his life and as selfish as it was, there was no way he was going to give that up. Harry smiled as he remembered one night in particular, before Halloween, when Draco had shown him just how loved he was…
Harry arrived home late one night after a particularly draining lesson from Dumbledore to find the apartment filled with the muted light of hundreds of candles. Lilies filled the vases that decorated the room and there was Draco, clad in pale gold silk pyjamas, reclined on the sofa, reading his Arithmancy text.
The blonde boy glanced up from his book to see his love framed in the doorway – the very picture of exhaustion. He smiled sympathetically as he put his book aside. He crossed the room to Harry and simply pulled him into his arms. Harry leaned into him, relaxing for the first time that day.
"Let's go have a bath, love," Draco whispered in his ear.
"Where?" Harry asked, "We don't have a bath…"
"The prefect's bathroom, of course!" Draco replied with a laugh. "Come on."
Draco picked up a bag, grabbed Harry's hand and led the tired Gryffindor down the corridor to the prefect's bathroom. Soon they were standing in front of the portrait.
"Evergreen," Draco said.
"How do you know the password?" Harry asked curiously, neither of them were prefects.
"Hermione," Draco said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh yeah," Harry replied sheepishly. "I keep forgetting she's head girl."
"That's because she doesn't flaunt it, she just quietly goes about her work," Draco replied, revealing his admiration for his new friend, as they entered the bathroom. Luckily it was empty. Draco locked the door just in case any prefects felt in need of a bath that night.
Harry and Draco quickly slipped off their clothes and Draco turned on a few jewel-encrusted taps. When the bath was full, they immersed themselves in the warm soothing water. Draco sat down on the step that was halfway down the side of the pool. He pulled Harry back against his chest and wrapped his arms around the dark haired boy. Harry sighed happily and closed his eyes.
"Let me take care of you tonight, love," Draco whispered in Harry's ear.
"Mmmm," Harry replied sleepily. He loved this deliciously warm safe feeling he got whenever Draco 'took care of him'. Somehow, the blonde boy managed to take all his worries away and leave him feeling protected.
Draco softly started to massage Harry's tired muscles.
God, Draco has incredible hands, Harry thought with a smile. This is heavenly.
Harry had just about dozed off when Draco shook him gently.
"I think we'd better go before you drown," he said softly in Harry's ear. Harry groaned in protest but allowed Draco to pull him out of the huge bath. Draco grabbed a big fluffy towel and gently dried Harry off before handing him some scarlet silk pyjamas. Harry pulled them on and watched as Draco pulled back on the pale gold silk pyjamas that he'd been wearing earlier. Draco must have bought these especially, Harry thought, because I don't remember seeing them before. Suddenly he realised that they were wearing Gryffindor colours. Draco had really embraced being a Gryffindor.
Back in their living room, Harry sat back on the sofa and watched Draco putter around the room. He had obviously put a lot of effort into planning a romantic evening for the two of them. Thank god Dumbledore had given him the day off tomorrow.
Draco looked so beautiful in the flickering candlelight. Harry sighed happily. If it weren't for that little problem of Voldemort attacking at Halloween, life would be perfect.
Draco set down two plates and two sets of cutlery on the coffee table in front of Harry.
"Dobby gave me these especially for tonight. All we have to do is tell the plates what we want and it will appear," Draco explained as he sat down beside Harry.
"Oh, like at the Yule Ball in our fourth year," Harry remembered with a rueful smile. What a disaster that had been! Even back then it was clear that he was not cut out to date girls.
Draco made a face at the memory, "Yeah, but this time I don't have Pansy all over me, thank god."
Harry smiled, "This time you have me all over you!"
Draco smiled seductively, "You can be all over me any time you want!"
"Is that right?" Harry asked with a grin as he launched himself at the blonde Gryffindor. Draco let out a startled cry as Harry landed on top of him, pressing him back into the sofa. Harry's lips captured Draco's in a heart-stopping kiss. Draco wound his arms around Harry's neck, drawing him closer.
Harry pulled back slightly, reluctantly. "I love you, Drac. I will always love you."
"Promise?" Draco asked softly, his eyes shinning brightly up at Harry.
"I promise," Harry said firmly as he kissed Draco again.
"I promise I will always love you too. I can't imagine ever not loving you," Draco said confidently.
Harry smiled as he remembered just how Draco had shown him how much he loved Harry. He kissed Draco's hair. The blonde boy was still sleeping soundly, thanks to Madam Pomfrey's tonic.
How on earth can I leave him? Harry wondered despairingly as he stared up at the canopy above his bed. Unfortunately there were no answers up there for him. The thought of leaving Draco and Hogwarts was tearing Harry apart but as far as he was concerned, there was no other option. Once Draco was better, Harry knew he had to leave.
He really wasn't sure what he was going to do once he left. He was kind of hoping that it would come to him once he had actually made the break and left the only place he felt safe. All he really knew was that he had to find Voldemort and finish this once and for all.
It was unfortunate that Ron knew of his plans but Harry trusted Ron and he knew that the red-head would not tell anyone…unless he thought it was for Harry's own good. Damn, Harry thought. He's probably going to tell someone, probably Hermione and she would insist on at least telling Sirius and Remus and then where would Harry be? Probably locked up – for his own good.
Harry frowned. This wasn't going to work. He would have to leave as soon as possible, before Ron had finished arguing with himself over whether to tell anyone or not. Luckily Ron was pretty argumentative so he probably had a good hour or two.
Harry eased himself out of Draco's embrace and left the blonde boy cuddling the pillow. So beautiful, Harry thought, like an angel.
Harry picked up a piece of parchment and a quill. He sat down on the end of the bed and stared at Draco for a moment before he started writing. This was the second time in as many months that he had written a farewell letter to Draco while the blonde was sleeping.
When he'd written all he had to say, he folded up the letter, sealed it and wrote Draco's name on the front. He placed it on the table beside the bed, so Draco would see it when he woke up.
He picked up his school bag, emptied out all the books and started shoving some clothes and underwear in.
"What are you doing?" a soft voice enquired.
Harry looked up, startled.
"Drac! You're awake. Um, well, I'm…" Harry's voice trailed off as he struggled to think of an answer to his boyfriend's question.
"You're running away?" Draco suggested teasingly.
Harry could only stare at him in shock. He had expected to be gone before Draco woke up so he wasn't prepared for this conversation.
"Oh my god. You really are running away," Draco said, his voice trembling as he took in Harry's 'deer caught in headlights' look. "Why? I love you so much and I thought you loved me."
Harry was deeply moved by Draco's distraught manner and immediately climbed onto the bed and pulled a tearful Draco into his arms. He held him tightly for a moment before pulling away and holding Draco's face in his hands, forcing the blonde boy to look him in the eyes and hear what Harry was about to say.
"I love you more than anything in the world. Never ever doubt that," Harry said fiercely. "But I have to go."
Assuming that was the end of the matter, Harry kissed Draco lightly, got off the bed and resumed packing his bag.
"What? Why do you have to go? And where?" Draco asked bewilderedly.
Harry sighed. "I explained it all in that letter," he said, pointing to the letter propped up on the table.
Draco picked it up with shaky hands and stared at Harry's busy form for a moment before ripping open the letter.
Dearest Draco,
I'm sorry that I have to write you another one of these letters, but please believe me that this is for the best. I have to go after Voldemort.
Draco gasped in shock and tears filled his eyes.
I've thought this through and this really is the only option. You are in too much danger with Voldemort out there and I have to protect you and the rest of my family (Sirius, Remus, the Weasley's, Hermione…).
Please don't worry about me. There really isn't any other way to stop the madness. With Voldemort gone, we can live our lives without fear.
I love you.
Harry
Draco looked up at Harry, tears pouring down his face. It was the Halloween incident all over again. Harry was going to go and battle Voldemort alone. Last time that happened, Harry had almost died. That had shown Draco that he couldn't live without Harry. With that thought, he made his decision.
"I'm going with you," Draco stated calmly, climbing out of bed, his cold forgotten. He picked up his own school bag, dumped the books onto the floor and started packing.
Harry stopped what he was doing and stared at Draco like he was insane. "No. You're not com-"
"Yes I am!" Draco practically screamed at him. "I'm not letting you do this alone. Not after last time."
"But you've got a cold," Harry protested.
Draco blinked. He glanced around the room and his gaze fell on the bottle of Revitaliser tonic that Madam Pomfrey had sent up. He reached for the bottle and downed the lot in one gulp.
"There. Now I can go," he said decisively, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.
Harry was so shocked that he didn't react for a moment, then he snatched the bottle from Draco's hand and read the label. He sighed with relief when he realised that there weren't going to be any adverse side effects.
"I can't let you do this. What if you get hurt, or worse?" Harry pleaded with him.
"Either we both go or neither of us does. It's up to you," Draco said, crossing his arms as he gave Harry an ultimatum. He started tapping his foot, waiting for Harry's reply.
The two boys glared at each other defiantly. Both too stubborn to back down. Draco was having trouble keeping still but he had no problem staring keenly into Harry's eyes, as if trying to project his will onto Harry.
"Hey guys, what's going on?" Ron asked warily as he and Hermione entered the room. They both looked from Draco to Harry and back again before anyone spoke.
"How are you feeling, Draco?" Hermione asked, noting his erratic behaviour.
"I'm fine. Harry is leaving Hogwarts to go after Voldemort," Draco announced, his eyes never leaving Harry's.
Ron didn't react as he had already seen Harry leave. He was relieved, however, that he was no longer the only one who knew about it.
Hermione gasped, "What? No, Harry you can't."
"I have to, Mione. It's the only way I can keep everyone I love safe. I have to kill him once and for all," Harry replied.
"Surely you're not going to let him go, Draco?" Hermione asked incredulously.
"Let him? Draco doesn't own me," Harry spluttered indignantly.
"I'm going with him," Draco said, cutting through Harry's tirade, which was just warming up. By now, Draco had started pacing restlessly around the round room.
"What?" Ron roared, this was something he hadn't seen.
"I'm not going to let him do this alone again. So either we both stay or we both go," Draco explained, speaking very fast.
Hermione stared at him curiously. "What's up with Draco?" she asked Harry curiously.
"He drank the entire bottle of Revitaliser tonic," Harry informed her.
"Oh my god, he's going to be hyped up for hours!" she exclaimed.
"What?" Harry and Ron asked.
"Too much Revitaliser tonic is kind of like too much caffeine, or sugar. He's going to be hyperactive until it wears off," she explained in a low voice as the three of them watched Draco pace in front of them, not noticing that they weren't listening to him lecture them on the importance of sticking together through thick and thin.
Hermione looked thoughtful, "You really are serious about going, aren't you Harry?"
"Yes," he replied quietly.
"To be perfectly honest, I've been thinking the same thing. But I don't think you should go alone. I think all four of us should go," Hermione said firmly. Ron stared at her like she was nuts.
"Are you out of your mind?" Ron asked, "First you're demanding Harry stay and now your telling him to go, and us too? I don't get it."
"There is nothing we can do here at Hogwarts except go to lessons, which quite frankly have become extremely boring. I think we've learnt more in our adventures than we do in our lessons. It's also obvious that there is nothing Dumbledore either can do or is willing to do at the moment. And as long as Voldemort is out there, we are all in danger. I suggest we face that danger head on and try to fight it. We're not Gryffindor's for nothing!" Hermione finished her little speech and smiled smugly at the stunned boys before her.
"I'm in," Harry said, a tad unnecessarily since he was the one who was raring to go.
"Me too," Draco said with a quiet but edgy strength.
"Count me in," Ron said, making a quick decision. He couldn't let his best friends and his girlfriend go off into danger without him.
"Great. I suggest we go tonight, 1am. I'm going to go pack. Oh, and Ron, don't pack your robes. We want to blend in with the Muggles," Hermione said brightly before skipping out of the room.
"Anyone would think we were going on a trip to the zoo, the way she's acting," Harry said, shaking his head.
Harry had finished packing the bare necessities so he placed his bag on the bed, with the curtains around it so Neville, Seamus and Dean wouldn't know what they were doing. He sat down to watch (that is, supervise) Ron and Draco packing. The two boys were about as far from being Muggles as you could get and a few times Harry had to drag a robe out of their bags.
"What on earth are you bringing these for?" Harry asked, pulling out Draco's pale gold silk pyjamas.
"They're my favourites. I'm not leaving with my favourite pyjamas," Draco pouted as he grabbed the pyjamas, folded them neatly and placed them carefully in his bag.
"You do realise we'll probably be camping most of the time, don't you?" Harry asked cautiously. Draco was a bit volatile at the moment.
"Yes," Draco replied primly as he added his hairdryer to the bag.
Harry sighed and silently admitted defeat. It was just no good talking to Draco when he was like this. Harry sat down on the bed. He had to admit, he felt relieved that the other three would be joining him. Of course, he was worried about their safety, but there was safety in numbers, two heads were better than one and all that.
"You'd better write a letter to Sirius and Remus," Draco said to Harry. "They're going to be worried if we're not here in the morning."
Harry nodded and grabbed his quill and parchment and started writing.
Hermione waltzed back into the room then and sat down on Ron's bed to watch the proceedings.
"While I was packing, I was thinking about the Order of the Phoenix room. I think we should go there before dinner and look at those maps to see who is where, maybe we can find a way to find Voldemort," Hermione said.
"Why don't we ask my parents?" Draco suggested, "Dad was a Death Eater, he'd probably know where to start looking. We can Floo to the Manor, stay there the night and speak to them in the morning. We can go from there."
"Sounds like a plan," Harry said, smiling at his hyperactive boyfriend. "But we need some Floo powder."
"There's some with the fireplace in the Order of the Phoenix room. We can use that," Ron said. "But won't your parents send us straight back to Hogwarts?"
"We're seventeen now, Ron. They can't make us do anything," Draco pointed out jumpy.
"You haven't seen where Voldemort is, have you, Ron?" Harry asked.
"No," Ron said dolefully.
"Oh well, it was worth a try. Let's get going to the Order of the Phoenix room," Harry said, reaching out for Draco's hand.
The four of them trooped into the Order of the Phoenix room and were relieved to discover that they were the only ones in there, apart from the house elf that is. Hermione and Draco started studying the maps on the wall while Harry and Ron studied the mirrors on the opposite wall. Ron smiled at his Dad, even though he knew his Dad couldn't see him.
"Find anything, Harry?" Hermione called out across the room.
"No," Harry called back. "You?"
"Only that Draco's parents are at home," she replied.
The four of them met up in the middle of the room.
"Hey, Hermione, I just had a thought. You're Head Girl. You can't just leave," Draco said anxiously.
"I know. I thought of that and I've handed over the job to Lavender Brown, the Gryffindor prefect," Hermione said matter of factly.
"Oh," the three boys said sympathetically. They all knew how much the position of Head Girl had meant to Hermione.
"What did Lavender say when you told her?" Harry asked curiously.
"She doesn't know yet. I've left her a letter with the badge which she will find in the morning," Hermione replied.
"So where do we go from here?" Draco asked.
"We go to dinner. We act like there's nothing wrong. We go to bed. We sneak out at 1am exactly. Got it?" Hermione replied, naturally taking leadership of the group.
"Got it," the three boys replied.
Later that night, after dinner, the four of them entered the boys' dormitory to make sure they had everything they would need for the trip and found four people waiting for them.
"Hi guys," Harry said nervously. "What are you doing?"
"Waiting for you," replied Ginny.
"Yeah. We found your bags," Dean said questioningly.
"Where are you going?" Seamus asked curiously.
"Are you going too, Hermione?" Neville enquired hesitantly.
"Yes," Hermione replied firmly. "We're going to find Voldemort."
Neville, Ginny, Dean and Seamus gasped at this calm announcement.
"What? Are you out of your minds?" Ginny cried.
"Look, Ginny, it's the only way. I have to get rid of him once and for all," Harry said comfortingly.
"If you're going to go after Voldemort, he's going to have all his Death Eater dudes with him," Seamus said.
"Yeah, so you'll need all the help you can get," Dean said, glancing at Seamus. "We're coming with you."
Seamus nodded enthusiastically.
"What? No. This is getting out of hand," Harry said, distressed at the thought of all this friends in danger.
"I'm coming too," Neville said quietly but firmly.
"You?" Ron asked, sceptically but not unkindly.
"Yes me!" Neville replied defensively. Harry smiled at him kindly, knowing that Neville was thinking of his parents and what the Death Eaters had done to them.
Ginny sidled up to Neville and slipped her hand in his. Hermione, Ron, Draco and Harry stared at her. They had obviously been so wrapped up in their own dramas that they had missed a relationship blossoming before their very eyes.
"If Neville's going, so am I," Ginny announced resolutely. Hermione grinned at Ginny, glad to have some female company on a testosterone-filled trip.
"No, no, no," Ron said just as resolutely. "No way in hell are you coming with us!"
"And why not? Because I'm a girl, or because I'm the youngest?" Ginny challenged her brother.
"Because…." Ron paused, knowing that there was no right answer to his little sisters question. "Because I say so."
"Nice one, Ron," Draco said sarcastically before addressing the group. "Look, if you guys want to come with us, then you'd better pack. We leave at 1am. But just so you know, this is going to be dangerous and any one of us might not make it back from this trip. So be prepared. If you don't want to come, that is totally fine. We won't think any less of you. You don't have to come."
"We are not going to let you face that bastard alone," Seamus said emphatically.
Harry grinned at him. "Thanks, mate."
**************************************************************************** ****
to be continued
A.N. Thanks for all the incredible reviews!!! I love you guys!!