Chapter Seven
(Beta: Liz)
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Any pain or discomfort Draco had felt earlier had been forgotten. Any feelings of anger or loathing towards Harry Potter were extinguished. In fact beneath his terror, he felt a new respect forming for his rival. And he didn't like it.
He brushed those thoughts aside. If he survived the night then he'd worry about any warm fuzzy feelings he was developing for Harry (oh, so it was Harry now!).
He could hear their chaser gaining ground. His heart nearly stopped when he realized there was more than one set of thundering footsteps. It sounded like an entire herd of monsters were chasing them. They seemed to be all around them.
He silently willed Harry to go faster. But he could tell the other boy was tiring.
Draco knew that Harry must be on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. Fear and panic could only drive him for so long before his body would just give out.
A jolt of pain from his injured ankle made Draco want to kick himself for his earlier bout of foolish clumsiness. If he hadn't hurt himself he'd be able to flee on his own two feet and wouldn't be such a burden to Harry.
In fact, he was quite embarrassed over a lot of the behavior he had shown in the forest. He had never reacted well when panicked. His mind would always become incapable of rational thought.
And, even though he would curse whoever dared say it aloud, he had an extremely low threshold for pain. Even a sprained ankle felt like it could be the death of him. As a matter of fact it could very well be. Not only his death, but Harry's as well.
Draco realized he had a near death grip on Harry's shoulders, hardly noticing his now numb fingers. Frozen digits didn't seem too important when you had a monster (or monsters as the case may be) on your tail.
He nearly lost his grip when something lashed across his face. Whatever it was (probably a low branch) stinging the chilled flesh of his cheek. With it brought a stab of annoyance towards Harry. Now that was a feeling he recognized. It was certainly more comforting than any Potter-friendly ones he was experiencing. He allowed himself to relish in its familiarity for a moment. But it didn't last; he couldn't help but admire Harry's determination and bravery.
For one insane moment Draco considered finding a way to convince Harry to just leave him. But his instinct of self-preservation killed that little inkling of bravery. Courage wasn't one of his strongest virtues.
No, he didn't want to die. And he certainly didn't want to be left behind. He would just have to deal with the fact that he was a helpless burden in this whole mess.
Draco just hoped boy wonder had some sort of plan on how to get out of this mess. As it was, he reminded himself, mostly Harry's fault.
His breath caught painfully in his throat when Harry stopped suddenly. Those ominous sounds were coming from all around them now. He didn't need his sight to realize that they were surrounded.
Harry seemed frozen beneath him, probably from fear at the first sight of the beasts.
All hope Draco had that Harry had come up with some miraculously clever plan to save them both quickly faded.
This wasn't how Draco pictured his end. He always figured he would die some noble way, complete with much weeping. Quite possibly a statue built in his honor and a holiday named after him. "Draco Malfoy Day", had a nice ring to it, didn't it?
He found it highly unlikely they named holidays after teenaged wizards-in- training who wound up eaten by some grotesque monster after getting lost in the forest. Even if said wizard was a Malfoy.
It was more likely Draco Malfoy would be remembered as the boy who died alongside the great Harry Potter. The famous young hero who met his untimely end valiantly trying to protect a fellow student. Definitely not how he wished to be remembered.
He was about to let himself wallow in self-pity when he was lowered to the ground. His quick flash of panic quickly subdued when Harry muttered reassuringly, "Stay put."
Draco hoped that this was a part of a potential plan, as long as Harry's plan didn't consist of sacrificing him to the monsters.
Away from Harry Draco felt very cold and alone as he began to shiver uncontrollably. Though whether from the cold or fear he wasn't sure.
All seemed to be quiet for a few minutes, the creatures making almost no noise other than their low, deep breathing.
He suppressed a yelp of terror when he both heard and felt, through the vibrations of the ground, something very large step towards them. Apparently Harry had froze again, the other boy's frantic breathing was the only sound Draco could hear him make.
His hoped died as Draco braced himself for what now seemed to be inevitable.
He was knocked flat on his back by an unmistakable burst of raw, desperate magic.
From his spot on the ground, ears still ringing from the sheer force of that magical explosion he felt the ground shake as something very large fell to earth.
Draco struggled to regain both his breath and to comprehend just what had happened. Who (or what) had conjured such a powerful burst of magic? What was it that he felt falling to the ground? What happened to the monsters about to attack them?
His questions were cut off suddenly when something fell on top of him, knocking the wind out of him again. Reaching up to push whatever it was off he realized it was a body. Definitely a human shaped body.
A quick exploration with his hands confirmed it was indeed Harry that had fallen on top of him. From what Draco could tell he was alive but unconscious and unresponsive. But why? What had happened to him?
Realization dawned on Draco then. That burst of magic must have come from Harry. But how? He had heard of wizards using magic without wands before, but never as powerful as what he had just felt. Harry must be a very powerful wizard to accomplish such a feat, without a wand no less.
To say Draco was impressed would have been a grave understatement. He was in complete awe of the other boy. And a little frightened.
Now he could see why everyone seemed to think Harry Potter was so great.
After all the effort the other boy had put out Draco could understand why Harry was unconscious. After all the goings on of the night Harry definitely deserved a rest.
Draco tried to find a comfortable position beside Harry on the cold ground, praying their attackers had been successfully banished by Harry's burst of magic and weren't just lying knocked out nearby. They wouldn't stand a chance if anything decided to attack them now.
He kept his ears trained for any sound of danger as he kept his vigil by Harry's side, the sound of the other boy's chattering teeth distracting him.
He felt a very unfamiliar (and unwelcome) rush of gratitude towards his unconscious companion. And as though of their own accord he felt his fingers unfasten his cloak and clumsily cover Harry with it.
Draco drew his knees up to his chest, the freezing night air cutting through is thin shirt, and wondered what had possessed him to show such kindness towards his greatest rival.
Was he, Draco Malfoy, turning ~nice~?
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A/N: Argh! Draco was being such a pain this chapter! I couldn't get him to act like I wanted him to. ~Hits Draco over the head with a pillow~ So I'm a bit disappointed at how it turned out. But I'm lazy so it'll have to do. I still plan to finish this little story in a few chapters or so, crappy or not!
Thanks so much for the reviews! DClick: That would have been an interesting typo indeed, lol Mindel: This is as comforting as I could get Draco to be, hehe. There really isn't much he can do in his condition.
Up next (I think) Snape vs. the Cockatrice duo...
(Beta: Liz)
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Any pain or discomfort Draco had felt earlier had been forgotten. Any feelings of anger or loathing towards Harry Potter were extinguished. In fact beneath his terror, he felt a new respect forming for his rival. And he didn't like it.
He brushed those thoughts aside. If he survived the night then he'd worry about any warm fuzzy feelings he was developing for Harry (oh, so it was Harry now!).
He could hear their chaser gaining ground. His heart nearly stopped when he realized there was more than one set of thundering footsteps. It sounded like an entire herd of monsters were chasing them. They seemed to be all around them.
He silently willed Harry to go faster. But he could tell the other boy was tiring.
Draco knew that Harry must be on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. Fear and panic could only drive him for so long before his body would just give out.
A jolt of pain from his injured ankle made Draco want to kick himself for his earlier bout of foolish clumsiness. If he hadn't hurt himself he'd be able to flee on his own two feet and wouldn't be such a burden to Harry.
In fact, he was quite embarrassed over a lot of the behavior he had shown in the forest. He had never reacted well when panicked. His mind would always become incapable of rational thought.
And, even though he would curse whoever dared say it aloud, he had an extremely low threshold for pain. Even a sprained ankle felt like it could be the death of him. As a matter of fact it could very well be. Not only his death, but Harry's as well.
Draco realized he had a near death grip on Harry's shoulders, hardly noticing his now numb fingers. Frozen digits didn't seem too important when you had a monster (or monsters as the case may be) on your tail.
He nearly lost his grip when something lashed across his face. Whatever it was (probably a low branch) stinging the chilled flesh of his cheek. With it brought a stab of annoyance towards Harry. Now that was a feeling he recognized. It was certainly more comforting than any Potter-friendly ones he was experiencing. He allowed himself to relish in its familiarity for a moment. But it didn't last; he couldn't help but admire Harry's determination and bravery.
For one insane moment Draco considered finding a way to convince Harry to just leave him. But his instinct of self-preservation killed that little inkling of bravery. Courage wasn't one of his strongest virtues.
No, he didn't want to die. And he certainly didn't want to be left behind. He would just have to deal with the fact that he was a helpless burden in this whole mess.
Draco just hoped boy wonder had some sort of plan on how to get out of this mess. As it was, he reminded himself, mostly Harry's fault.
His breath caught painfully in his throat when Harry stopped suddenly. Those ominous sounds were coming from all around them now. He didn't need his sight to realize that they were surrounded.
Harry seemed frozen beneath him, probably from fear at the first sight of the beasts.
All hope Draco had that Harry had come up with some miraculously clever plan to save them both quickly faded.
This wasn't how Draco pictured his end. He always figured he would die some noble way, complete with much weeping. Quite possibly a statue built in his honor and a holiday named after him. "Draco Malfoy Day", had a nice ring to it, didn't it?
He found it highly unlikely they named holidays after teenaged wizards-in- training who wound up eaten by some grotesque monster after getting lost in the forest. Even if said wizard was a Malfoy.
It was more likely Draco Malfoy would be remembered as the boy who died alongside the great Harry Potter. The famous young hero who met his untimely end valiantly trying to protect a fellow student. Definitely not how he wished to be remembered.
He was about to let himself wallow in self-pity when he was lowered to the ground. His quick flash of panic quickly subdued when Harry muttered reassuringly, "Stay put."
Draco hoped that this was a part of a potential plan, as long as Harry's plan didn't consist of sacrificing him to the monsters.
Away from Harry Draco felt very cold and alone as he began to shiver uncontrollably. Though whether from the cold or fear he wasn't sure.
All seemed to be quiet for a few minutes, the creatures making almost no noise other than their low, deep breathing.
He suppressed a yelp of terror when he both heard and felt, through the vibrations of the ground, something very large step towards them. Apparently Harry had froze again, the other boy's frantic breathing was the only sound Draco could hear him make.
His hoped died as Draco braced himself for what now seemed to be inevitable.
He was knocked flat on his back by an unmistakable burst of raw, desperate magic.
From his spot on the ground, ears still ringing from the sheer force of that magical explosion he felt the ground shake as something very large fell to earth.
Draco struggled to regain both his breath and to comprehend just what had happened. Who (or what) had conjured such a powerful burst of magic? What was it that he felt falling to the ground? What happened to the monsters about to attack them?
His questions were cut off suddenly when something fell on top of him, knocking the wind out of him again. Reaching up to push whatever it was off he realized it was a body. Definitely a human shaped body.
A quick exploration with his hands confirmed it was indeed Harry that had fallen on top of him. From what Draco could tell he was alive but unconscious and unresponsive. But why? What had happened to him?
Realization dawned on Draco then. That burst of magic must have come from Harry. But how? He had heard of wizards using magic without wands before, but never as powerful as what he had just felt. Harry must be a very powerful wizard to accomplish such a feat, without a wand no less.
To say Draco was impressed would have been a grave understatement. He was in complete awe of the other boy. And a little frightened.
Now he could see why everyone seemed to think Harry Potter was so great.
After all the effort the other boy had put out Draco could understand why Harry was unconscious. After all the goings on of the night Harry definitely deserved a rest.
Draco tried to find a comfortable position beside Harry on the cold ground, praying their attackers had been successfully banished by Harry's burst of magic and weren't just lying knocked out nearby. They wouldn't stand a chance if anything decided to attack them now.
He kept his ears trained for any sound of danger as he kept his vigil by Harry's side, the sound of the other boy's chattering teeth distracting him.
He felt a very unfamiliar (and unwelcome) rush of gratitude towards his unconscious companion. And as though of their own accord he felt his fingers unfasten his cloak and clumsily cover Harry with it.
Draco drew his knees up to his chest, the freezing night air cutting through is thin shirt, and wondered what had possessed him to show such kindness towards his greatest rival.
Was he, Draco Malfoy, turning ~nice~?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Argh! Draco was being such a pain this chapter! I couldn't get him to act like I wanted him to. ~Hits Draco over the head with a pillow~ So I'm a bit disappointed at how it turned out. But I'm lazy so it'll have to do. I still plan to finish this little story in a few chapters or so, crappy or not!
Thanks so much for the reviews! DClick: That would have been an interesting typo indeed, lol Mindel: This is as comforting as I could get Draco to be, hehe. There really isn't much he can do in his condition.
Up next (I think) Snape vs. the Cockatrice duo...