CHAPTER 21-




Draco felt as if red-hot irons were being driven through his body. His brain felt wooly; he couldn't think straight. Scratch that. He couldn't think, period. 'Maybe this was how people felt when the cruciatus curse was put on them.' He thought.

He was hot; No he was freezing. He wanted to get up from the hot, uncomfortable bed; No, his legs wouldn't support him. He wanted to lie there forever. He wanted to groan, wanted to give vent to his emotions, but no sound came out of his mouth. He tried opening his eyes, but they wouldn't obey. It was like they were shut down with glue. Why was this happening to him? He twisted and turned, trying in vain to find a comfortable position. To top it all, he could hear voices.

"Foolish boy! You'll pay for disobeying me." Voldemort's venomous voice hissed.

"Kill him." Slytherin's cold voice felt like kinives cutting through his heart.

 "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Was that his voice screaming in horror?

Suddenly a cool hand was laid on his forehead. "Poor child." A voice murmured. He felt somebody kiss his forehead. Immediately he felt all his worries and thoughts slipping away. He felt as if he was floating on a cloud. The hand smoothed his hair away from his eyes. "Sleep my child." Said the voice soothingly. Draco felt sleep wash over him like a tidal wave. In a moment he was asleep, a calm slumber devoid of dreams or nightmares, the kind of sleep that everybody wishes for, but one hardly gets.

~*~*~*~*~

"You say Mr.Malfoy is in some kind of coma?" asked Helga incredulously.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, Professor. We-"

She was cut off by Helga demanding, "Where is he? Is he alone?"

"No, he is in our room. There is…umm..there is a lady watching over him."

"A lady?" asked Helga sharply. "Do you know her name?"

"No, Professor." Hermione looked down at her feet. "She didn't-"

Again she was cut off in mid-sentence. "Never mind. Let us go to your room at once."

As both the girls prepared to follow her, she turned around and said, "One of you come with me and the other go with the house-elf and call Professor Gryffindor, Professor Ravenclaw and Prof-" She broke off and bit her lips in vexation. "Ask both of them to come to Miss Weasley's room-"

This time it was Hermione's turn to interrupt. "But Professor, the lady who is with Draco said that she would be taking him to the sick-room and asked us to bring you there."

"Very well." Said Helga. "Bring them to the sick-room." She told the house-elf. She walked out of the door with Hermione following her. Ginny meanwhile went with the house-elf.

~*~*~*~*~

She sat beside the boy on the bed and gazed at his serene face, which was only a minute ago a battleground of agonizing, conflicting emotions.

"I wonder what troubles and worries you harbour." She whispered stroking his head.

She knew that the spell she had cast to make him drift into a calm, untroubled sleep was only temporary. She knew that a stronger spell was needed to bring him back to normal and only if his ailment was identified could the curing spell be cast. To discover his disorder, Helga was needed. She was the most experienced and competent mediwitch among The Great Four.Just as she was thinking this the door opened and Helga entered, followed by Hermione.

"Malra!" exclaimed Helga walking into the room. "So you are the lady whom Miss Granger was telling me about."

"Yes, it is I." Replied Malra standing up.

"But what happened?" asked Helga. "How did you come to be in their room? And what is the matter with Mr.Malfoy?"

"I will tell you all, but first have a look at this boy. He seems to be very troubled. He keeps shouting out and can't lie still. I cast a spell to make him fall into a peaceful, unworried sleep, but it won't last long. It's your skill that he needs."

Helga bustled over to the bed where Draco was sleeping. She felt his forehead. "Yes, he has a high fever. Shouldn't wonder if it was influenza."

Hermione gave an involuntary gasp. "Will he be alright, Professor?"

Helga looked startled as if she just then realized that Hermione was there. "Don't you fret dear. We'll have him up and about before the term starts. Now why don't you run along and get some sleep? You've done all that you could. You go have a nice refreshing sleep."

Hermione reluctantly left the room. Malra turned towards Helga. "It isn't anything serious, is it? I got the feeling that you were trying to hide something from that girl."

Helga sighed. "It's too early to tell. He has got a very bad case of influenza and that combined with something else, (I can't detect what it is) has produced these symptoms. We'll have to cast some spells on him to discover what that something else. I'm waiting for Gryffindor and Ravenclaw to arrive before I proceed with anything."

Just as she finished speaking Godric and Rowena entered. "What is it, Helga?" asked Godric coming inside the room. " Miss Weasley brought us here saying that-" He stopped as his eyes fell on Malra. "Malra!" he ejaculated. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard some sounds in the night." Said Malra. "As you know, I'm a very light sleeper. I came down to investigate. I entered the room and saw two girls, and a boy" she indicated the figure on the bed, "on the floor. I was just asking them what they were doing when the boy suddenly fainted. So I asked the girls to fetch you."

Godric and Rowena walked towards the bed. Rowena did as Helga had done. She put her hand on his forehead. Draco shivered and turned on his side. "A high temperature Helga." Rowena said.

Helga nodded. "He has influenza. And something else, but we'll have to cast a spell on him to find out what the other thing is, that is affecting him."

Godric looked grim as he placed his wand on Draco's heart and muttered a spell. He closed his eyes and seemed to be in deep concentration. After a few minutes he opened his eyes. His face looked more severe than ever. "This is serious. The imperius curse as well as the cruciatus curse has been cast on him while he was asleep."

A gasp broke out from all the ladies.

"And," continued Godric "traces of the 'illusory' potion can also be found."

As all of them took in Godric's revelation (including Ginny who had been forgotten in the sudden turn of events) there suddenly came a voice.

"What is happening here?"

Slytherin stood at the doorway.

A/N- Didn't expect an update this soon, did you? *grins* This is for all of you who waited patiently for the 20th chapter 'without complaining' *winks*
Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter too. By the way, Did you guess that the lady was Malra?
And Keep those reviews coming!