Disclaimer: I own nothing.

~~~

"Dad, why are Harry and Draco sleeping so long?" Kayla asked as she, Sean, and their fathers sat in the infirmary with the two comatose boys a week later. Kayla sat in Sirius's lap, and Remus and Sean sat in two other chairs.

"They're sick, Kay," Sirius replied, patiently, though they'd had this same discussion several times before. "And they're really tired. They'll wake up when they're ready."

"Peachy always makes Harry feel better when he's sick," Kayla commented. She looked up at Sirius. "Can we bring her in here later? She'll make him feel better, and he can wake up." Sirius sighed and kissed the top of Kayla's head.

"We can try, sweetheart, but I don't think it will work."

"It's almost lunchtime," Remus observed, looking at his watch. "Kay, Sean, are you hungry?" The two kids nodded. "All right. Grab your coloring books, and we'll take them back to our rooms before going to lunch. Wait for me by the door."

Kayla and Sean ran off (after Kayla kissed Draco and Harry's foreheads, of course), and Remus stood behind Sirius, gently squeezing his shoulders. Sirius reached a hand up to rest on one of Remus's, but he didn't take his eyes off of Harry. Remus leaned over to kiss Sirius's temple, then wrapped his arms around his husband and spoke quietly in his ear.

"Do you want anything, darling?" Remus asked, softly. Sirius shook his head.

"No, thank you," he replied, his voice quiet. "I'll get something later." Remus nodded and gave Sirius a tiny kiss on his lips, then left the room with the kids. Sirius reached over to grab Harry's hand and continued to watch the boy 'sleep.'

~~~

Why's it so dark? Harry sighed in his mind when he couldn't see anything. Oh, right. It's been like this for a while.

He didn't like the voices he was hearing during the times when his mind was actually alert. They sounded too upset. But if they were upset, they would have helped him, right? If they loved him, if they cared...

There was only one voice he liked. The little girl's. Her voice was so familiar, and he was sure that he knew her and loved her. He could trust her; she wouldn't hurt him.

But the others... They didn't care. What did they say before? It had been over a month that he and Draco were missing, and nobody came to save them?

If they'd cared about him and Draco, they would have come.

~~~

When Remus came into the infirmary a couple of days later, the sights and sounds that he was met with shocked him.

Katie stood next to Draco's bed, crying and staring helplessly at the boy. Draco was curled up on the bed, hugging his knees to his chest. He was obviously in a lot of pain, but he didn't seem to care as he screamed at Katie. Anger, and fear, flashed in his eyes.

"Don't touch me!" Draco cried. "Don't touch me, you don't care! I kept telling Harry, over and over, that someone would come for us! Every time he started to lose it, every time he started to give up, I told him someone would come, but nobody came! Go away, don't touch me! I hate you!"

He buried his face in his arms, no longer screaming but still shuddering with each sob. Remus stepped over to Katie and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, speaking quietly.

"Where's Poppy?" he asked.

"She's taking a break," Katie sighed, wiping her eyes. "She's not supposed to be back for another hour or so, and we weren't expecting him to wake up like this, so..." Her words trailed to an end. Remus cast a Sleeping Charm on Draco, then carefully moved him into a more comfortable position.

"Come," he said to Katie. "I'll take you to see Severus. These two will be fine for a short while."

He gently took her by her elbow and led her down to the Potions classroom. Severus was seated at his desk, while his fifth year Slytherin/Gryffindor class worked at their own desks. Remus stepped into the doorway and cleared his throat, to get Severus's attention. Severus quickly strode out of the room and, upon seeing his wife, enveloped her in his arms.

"Did something happen, Kate?" She merely nodded, and Severus looked at Remus. "My class is only writing essays. Do you think you could--"

"Of course," Remus cut him off. He went into the classroom. "Class, due to an emergency, I will be taking over the rest of this hour for Professor Snape." Most students ignored him, but after hearing the word 'emergency,' Hermione went up to the desk, where Remus now sat.

"Is something wrong?" she asked him, quietly. Remus summoned an extra chair to come next to his own, and he motioned for Hermione to sit down.

"Draco woke up," he told her, softly. "His reaction to Katie wasn't good, to say the least."

"What happened?" Hermione wondered, her eyes growing wide.

"Screamed and cried," Remus sighed. "He was angry because he'd kept telling Harry that someone would come for them, and he thought that we didn't care because nobody got them out."

"But--" Hermione stuttered. "But nobody could find them! Nobody knew where they were!"

"Draco doesn't know that," Remus reasoned. "He has no idea what we were doing while he and Harry were gone, and I don't think it would be a good idea to tell him for a while yet. Not too much at once, at least." The two were silent for a moment, and then Hermione spoke again.

"How is Harry? I haven't been able to visit him since two nights ago."

"No change," Remus murmured. Hermione sighed.

"Well, at least he's not getting worse," she commented. Remus nodded his agreement.

"He lost all of his magical energy, and that's a lot. It will take a long time to gain it back. Whether or not he'll recover… We won't know until he wakes up."

All of a sudden, a note materialized on the desk. Remus picked it up and tried to decipher Severus's scribbly handwriting.

Remus,

No more classes after Slytherin-Gryffindor. Kate asked if you can take over her DADA. Only one: 7th year Gryffindor-Ravenclaw, 10:30. If you can't, cancel it.

Draco is awake, calmed down considerably. Still angry, mostly upset about Harry.

Thank you.

Severus

"This is going to be hard," Remus sighed, and he glanced at Hermione. "Everyone is going to need all the support they can get." Hermione nodded.

"I'll do anything I can to help."