Chapter Five: It IS as bad as you think, and they ARE out to get you.

Harry, meanwhile, was already in Kiyoshi's room. He'd donned the invisible cloak he'd inherited from his father and was feeling very powerful indeed, creeping around in broad daylight with no one the wiser, until Kiyoshi opened his eyes, sat up in bed, and looked straight at him. Harry froze. He watched in horror and confusion as Kiyoshi reached for a tiny sugar-cake on his nightstand, gripped it and weighed it in his hand for a moment, then hurled it at Harry, who was too shocked to dodge. It hit him in the forehead with a satisfying phlunk, causing his glasses to fall off of his face and clatter to the floor, visible without the protection of his cloak.

Harry stared at Kiyoshi, who glared and reached for a vase of flowers. Spooked, Harry scooped up his glasses and hastened out of the room, nearly running into Draco on the way. He ran all the way back to the Gryffindor dorm before remembering to take off his cloak.

Ron was sprawled on his bed, looking bored. He started and yelped when Harry suddenly appeared out of nowhere, then relaxed when he saw the cloak slump to the ground. Ron propped himself up on his elbows and frowned at him. "Where've you been? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"He saw me, Ron, even with the cloak on!" Harry exclaimed, grabbing his friend by the wrist. "Let's get Hermione. There's something wrong about that boy!"

Ron wrenched himself out of Harry's grasp, then fell off of the bed, dragging the bedclothes with him. "Who? Where? And why does Hermione have to come?"

"Kiyoshi Kamagaki," Harry said breathlessly, hauling Ron to his feet. "You know, that new kid in the Slytherin house, the one who never says a word. He fainted in Professor Wolf's class, and they sent him to the hospital wing—I went there with the invisibility cloak, and he threw a cake at me!"

Ron staggered along as Harry dragged him down the hall. "Wait—what? What does a cake have to do with this? And why does Hermione have to come?"

By this time they were already in the girl's dorm, where Hermione was furiously trying to memorize her Occult Literature textbook. She looked up as Harry and Ron stumbled in. Harry gasped something about mud and cakes and flower vases, while Ron shook his head at Hermione and shrugged. She was dragged along.

When the trio staggered into Kiyoshi's room in the hospital wing, Draco was sitting in a chair next to the young boy's bed, reading a book. He didn't even look up as they crowded in the doorway; just turned a page in the book and ignored them. Kiyoshi was snuggled amongst the sheets and blankets, presumably asleep.

There was a short silence as Ron and Hermione looked at Kiyoshi's innocent sleeping form, then at Harry, who was flushing scarlet.

"He threw a cake at me," Harry blurted.

Draco looked up from his book and quirked an eyebrow. Even Ron had to try hard not to laugh. "The cake that I gave Kiyoshi has been sitting on his nightstand this entire time," Draco said smoothly, gesturing at the cake. Harry turned a few shades redder.

Kiyoshi turned over in his sleep, sighing, and Draco stood up, setting his book next to the cake on the nightstand. "Now look," He said irritably. "Get out of here, the lot of you, you'll wake him. He needs his rest."

Harry tried to look dignified as he dragged Ron and Hermione back down the hall.

Draco sat in his seat again and was reaching for his book when Kiyoshi opened his eyes and yawned sleepily. Draco smiled. "The nurse said you can come back to the dorm to sleep tonight," He said softly. "She said there's nothing terribly wrong, just a case of nerves. You're feeling okay, right?"

Kiyoshi's eyes sparkled. Draco looked at him for a moment, heart pounding, then blushed and went back to his book.

***

Draco helped Kiyoshi back to the dorm that night, and into his bed. He hung around as long as he dared, then retreated regretfully back to his own room. Once there, he lay awake, staring at the silvery-green of the canopy. There was something different about Kiyoshi, something good. There certainly weren't any other students at Hogwarts who could cast massive spells without a wand, for one. And another, Kiyoshi seemed to get along fine in all his classes, with the exception of Professor Wolf's, without saying a word. It seemed like—

Draco sat up as he heard Kiyoshi cough weakly in the next room. Hastily yanking on his robes, he ran down the hall to where Kiyoshi slept.

Kiyoshi was curled in his bed, shivering. He seemed to be asleep, but as Draco crept closer, he coughed again and opened his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Draco whispered. He laid a hand on Kiyoshi's arm and felt goosebumps there. "Is it too cold?" He glanced at the window, and saw that it was standing open. A magpie sat on the windowsill, a piece of rolled parchment in its beak. Draco went to it and took the letter, and the bird flew away before he had a chance to thank it.

"Here," Draco said, sitting on Kiyoshi's bed and showing him the letter. "Do you want me to read it for you?" Kiyoshi nodded, and Draco unrolled the parchment.

"Kiyoshi,

Trying to get back to you, but They're still following me, and I can't

Risk leading them to you. They might already have someone there

Looking for you—be careful. It looks like I might have to go to the Icelands

After all… You'll have to wait there until I can send someone. Don't worry

About me—it doesn't matter what happens to me as long as you're safe. If

I don't see you sooner, I'll wait for you in the next world.

Try to be nice to the other children.

Nuncio."

Draco looked up at Kiyoshi, whose eyes were brimming with tears. "Hey," Draco said softly, setting the letter aside, "I'm sure Nuncio's gonna be fine. He sounds tough." When Kiyoshi hiccuped and looked away, Draco put an arm around him. "Let me close the window, so you can warm up a little." He moved to the window and sighed, then eased it closed. After debating a moment, he turned and slid into bed with Kiyoshi, who shivered against him.

"Don't worry about Nuncio," Draco said in his ear. "Everything'll turn out okay."

Kiyoshi closed his eyes again, and eventually his shivering eased. As they fell asleep, the Baron looked in to check on them, shook his head, and floated away.