Disclaimer: Same as it always was.

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Chapter 6 Part 2

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I didn't know if it was going to be a good idea to try this or not, but Draco was so close to being sucked into that gaping maw of a lighted face, that I didn't dare not try. I walked forward past Draco and toward the door. This time Draco didn't even give me a glance. He had his own battle to worry about right now. Beads of sweat were pouring down his face, his hair was still rising off his head. There were little electrical charges snapping off of him. I could see the shaking in his arms and back, I didn't know how much longer he could hold on.

This whole situation was out of my experience. Generally I knew what sort of spell I was fighting. Now I had so many unanswered questions, not the least of which was, how had Draco known about the door?

A low moan was forced from Draco's lips and I turned slightly to see him sway on his feet and then catch himself. I had to act fast.

I squeezed my eyes shut and said a few dozen prayers to just as many deities in hopes that someone somewhere was listening and then raised my wand arm. I pointed to where the green sickly light from Draco's wand was meeting the red light and I tightened my fist upon my wand. Centering my power as I had been taught I narrowed my eyes, I hoped that the simple spell I was intending to use would do what I wanted it to. Sometimes magic depends on the power and intent of the caster more than the actual strength of the original incantation itself. After all even though Harry had used an unforgivable on Bellatrix in the Ministry his intent hadn't really been strong enough to hurt her and so she had shaken it off, just as that was the case the other side of the coin was also true. If my intent and power were focused enough I could make this work. I hoped.

I breathed in deeply and then "Dissendium!" A simple separation spell.

There was an immediate flash of white light, it started out by consuming the juncture of red and green and then moved outward. Light shouldn't hurt but it did and as it expanded to me I felt searing pain. I knew that I would have burns along my skin where it touched me. The light was now so bright I couldn't see, but I could hear screaming and it took me a moment to realize that it was Draco and myself that were doing that blood curdling screaming. I put my hands over my eyes and kept on wailing, at the time it seemed like the right thing to do.

There was a boom and then the hall was dark again. When my vision returned slowly to normal, besides the flashpoints of light that kept flickering into my line of sight, I muttered a spell under my breath and the lamps in the hall were lit again.

In that light, I could see Draco was on the floor on his back. For a moment his arms were crossed in a protective gesture over his eyes, before they slid to the floor.

I went to him and dropped to my knees.

"Draco!" I put a hand against his chest and jumped back when a spark of residual electrical current chased itself up my arm.

I shook my hand to stop the pins and needles feeling.

More cautiously I smoothed the pale hair from his face, not touching his skin a second time.

"DRACO!" There was no response.

"Draco!" I called to him again.

"MOTHER!" There was a cry from behind me and I turned to see the force of the releasing of the spell had blasted back the nursery door and it was standing wide open. The children were positioned just inside the darkness of the room, the light from the hall making them blink, as I had done earlier, due to the brightness.

"Ilse, go away from the door." I stayed kneeling by Draco.

At my words Ilse's little back straightened and she rubbed her eyes to try to get them accustomed to the illumination.

"Where is our mother?" She asked, a slight tremble to her voice.

"Ilse your mother is not here." I sighed, turning back to Draco again. There was still no movement. Did I dare try to touch him to see if I could detect a pulse?

"YOU LIE! Our mother is coming for us, she told us!" Ilse had her hands in fists, the boys at her side stood impassive not moving or saying a word.

"Ilse we will talk about this in the morning, go back to bed." I gave the command, without even thinking about it.

She stamped her feet at my words.

"Where is MY MOTHER?" She screamed the words at me in childish fury.

I didn't have time to deal with this right now, I didn't know if Draco was dead or alive, I didn't know what spell the nursery door had had placed on it. I didn't know where her mother was. I didn't know anything and to top it off my head was starting to pound.

"Ilse! Your mother is not going to come get you. You live with your Uncle Draco now." I tried to be calm and say the words slowly in a soothing manner.

It didn't work.

"Fithy Liar! Filthy MUD-BLOOD LIAR! Liar! Liar!" She started screaming her face the picture of rage. That was it, I had had enough. It was the straw that had broken the proverbial camels back, and right now the camel's back was my patience!

I took up my wand and pointed it in the direction of the nursery.

"Colloportus!" I whispered fiercely, my voice shaking with anger. The door to the nursery slammed shut and sealed itself with a squelching sound. My breath rushed from my lungs in a derisive chuckle and I shook my head. Hermione Granger what have you done? Well at least I had just locked them in their room for the night, at least I hadn't bespelled them to sleep like Drac...like Draco...Draco. I turned and looked back at him.

The time for indecision was past, I touched his arm carefully ready to pull away in haste if need be. I felt nothing but his red burned flesh beneath my fingers. I looked at my arms, the hair had been seared off and I looked at though I had spent a very unsuccessful day at the beach. Since Draco hadn't been wearing a shirt his whole chest looked like that. Hairless and bright red, like a fully cooked lobster, in silver pajama bottoms. But now was neither the time nor place for those ridiculous type of observations.

I placed my palm flatly on his shoulder, nothing happened, it was clear that whatever electrical charge had been remaining had now dissipated.

"Draco." I took his shoulders in my hands and shook him gently at first but at no response from him, more harshly.

I leaned down and pressed my ear against his chest and then held my breath. Please let there be a heart beat, please, please. I couldn't hear anything but my blood rushing in my ears.

I sat up and brushed back the tangled strands of hair, that had escaped my braid. I needed to calm down. I took a deep breath and held it. Leaning over Draco I put one hand on the cold floor on the opposite side of his body, and moved in close. Please let him be alive. I listened my ears straining for any tale tale sound of his heart beating. Was that? Was that his heart beating? I put my ear more firmly against his chest. The feverish silk of his skin pressed against the side of my face. There it was the glug, glug of a human heart pumping blood. Oh thank goodness his heart was beating but was he breathing?

I put my hand under his nose to see if I could feel anything. At that moment I wished I were Ginny, with her medical training she could have just drawn her wand over his body and determined the level of damage. I was forced to do completely asinine things like put my ear to his face to see if I could hear or feel his breath.

I raised up away from him and took his shoulders in my hands. Shaking him hard, I called his name again.

"Damnit! Malfoy, you are a pain in the arse! You better not be dead!" I released his shoulders and leaned over him again. My upper body hovering over him, my face turned to the side so I could hear or feel his breath on my ear, I tried to stay motionless. It seemed like I was there forever, my arms started shaking with holding myself over him like that, and I finally just gave in and leaned against his chest fully. The heat of his burned skin soaked through the flannel of my nightdress, yet I kept straining to hear for any indication that he was breathing.

I felt so impotent, the smartest Witch of the decade as touted by "Weirdling's Weekly" and here I was rendered helpless. I hated that feeling.

I could feel the pinprick of tears coming to my eyes. It wasn't because Draco could be dead, or that I could have just become guardian to three of the world's worst little children, or that my skin was red and raw to the touch, or the that I hadn't had a good nights sleep in weeks. I wasn't crying, it was simply that my eyes were tired, and I had a headache. I sniffed and felt a tear slip from my eyes. Ok who was I fooling I was crying!

"Merlin, Granger what's with the waterworks?" Draco's harsh whisper sent a shiver through me, he was alive and well enough to be insulting!

I reared back from him a smile on my face.

"Draco you are alive!"

"Obviously! Though with you weeping all over me I was starting to wonder there for a moment." His voice was weak.

"Are you alright?" I leaned in and tried to pull him to a sitting position.

I had him halfway up and cradled in my arms when I felt his hands slide around my back and fasten themselves in my hair. I looked into his face with shock. There was a dreamy expression on his burned face. It was sort of creepy.

"Draco?" He didn't say anything but just began caressing my head and shoulders in small fleeting movements.

"Draco, snap out of it!" I shook him slightly. Still the dreamy expression and the running of fingers over my spine. A frisson of sensation caused the hair to stand up on my neck. (My arms hair had all been singed off or I imagine it would be standing on end as well.)

"MALFOY! Malfoy!" I shook him again, and his eyes snapped to mine. The dreamy expression gone, but the look in those eyes made me want to beg for the dreamy thing again. There was an intentness about his look that made me catch my breath in my throat and try to remove him from my arms, but he clasped onto me harder and those hands behind my head started to move my face down to his. I tried to shake him free of me, but closer and closer he came. I was seeing double unable to focus, as his lips touched mine. They were hot and smooth against me and I felt suddenly powerless to move.

Draco Malfoy was kissing me, I hadn't seen this one coming. We did hate each other after all, and contrary to popular opinion, you don't go around kissing someone you hated, well at least I didn't.

I made another attempt to get away, but Draco just tightened his hold on me and breathed a sigh over my cheek. His hot breath fanning against me making my already burned skin uncomfortable. His lips moved back to mine again, more urgently this time seeking some sort of response, it took me a few moments to realize that I had closed my eyes to better savor the feeling he was evoking in me. His hair was a soft as it looked, the silvery strands slipped between my fingers. A tight cramp of pleasure gripped my stomach and it was all I could do not to moan.

At his chuckle I became conscious of the fact that I hadn't been successful in the not moaning thing. Damn! I hated this! I struggled in his grip, this was wrong! Yes, wrong, wrong, wrong, a little voice in my mind sang out. Draco smoothed strong fingers over my lower back which made that little voice's opinion unimportant. This time when Draco's mouth came to mine it was fiercely met. We struggled together in that pleasure pain of desire. For long moments there was, no sound in the hall but that of our labored breathing.

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A/N All the spells and such are from the "Harry Potter Lexicon" and are directly from the book. I don't fancy myself good at creating incantations, so wouldn't even venture to try. ;)

Thanks for the reviews, I really love reading your input! Sorry this is so long in the coming, I have been packing my house for my big move but wanted to put a bit more of this story out before I go. I will see you all at the end of January. Any questions I will TRY to address next time I am too busy at this point. Happy back to school for a lot of you!

Its been mentioned that its against TOS to recommend fictions to read on the "idea" that that is some sort of advertising (that's the only reason reading TOS that I could come up with,) so I shan't do it, but if I were going to you all know who's I would say to read. I am guessing at some point I better take out the previous chapter's recs as well.