Chapter four

(Thanks for the reviews peepz! In answer to ur questions and remarks… I am from Britain (Northern Ireland to be exact) and I will try to make it scary, it only gets scary when they realise about Draco.  I sortta rushed chappie 3 so I'm surprised u liked it, it's not even scary or gory! I will make it gorier if u want me to… reply to that in your reviews! In this chapter Harry's back in town! The middle part is boring!)

Very important note!- I have edited chapter 3 slightly to make it more detailed and changed a few things! Don't worry, you don't need to read it again (unless u really want to) cos u will come across them in this chappie, just ignore anything that seems weird OK? Sorry 'bout that and thanks again!

Harry burst out of the hospital wing laughing insanely.  "I'm free! Haha! I'm free at last!" he ran down the hall and burst into the Entrance Hall.  "Hello evil statue of Slytherin who is always attacking me… hello stained glass window, long time no see…" he trotted down the stairs to where a very freaked looking Ron was standing with Seamus, Dean and Neville.

Ron shook his head, "I knew this day would come.  Harry Potter has finally lost it!"

"I'm just so glad to be out of there!"

"We guessed that much!" Seamus nodded cautiously.

"Where's Hermione?" Harry looked around

"She went looking for someone… Malfoy I think…" Neville replied.

"Those two are getting too close for my liking!" Ron glared.

"Hermione knows better than that!" Dean looked up at Ron.

"She'll have Ron's temper to answer to if anything's-" Harry stopped when he saw Hermione rushing in through the doors leading to the grounds.  "Talk of the devil and he knocks on your door! We were just talking about you Hermione… Hermione are you OK?"

Hermione's eyes were red and puffy, tears were still streaming down her face and she was walking strangely quickly.  Harry held an arm out and stopped her from walking on.

"What's wrong? And don't say nothing, I know you and there is definitely something up!" he asked.

"Where's Professor Dumbledore's office?" she squeaked.

"Tell us what's wrong first, Hermione!" Seamus put a hand on her shoulder.

Hermione sniffed, "Something awful has happened…"

"What?" they all asked in the same irritated voice.

She shook her head. "I can't say here… where's his office?"

"It's hard to explain, Hermione, I'll take you if you want," Harry took her by the hand and began up the stairs.

"Thanks Harry…" she smiled slightly.

"I-I'll come too! Wait for me! See you later guys!" he added waving back at Seamus, Dean and Neville.

When they were nearing Dumbledore's office Harry asked again, "What's going on Hermione.  Tell us or we won't tell you the password!"

Hermione's eyes narrowed, "You will tell me that password whether you like it or not! If you want to know what's going on, you can go down to Hagrid's hut and find out for your selves because I really do not want to talk about it!"

"Is Hagrid OK?" Ron asked hurriedly.

"Hagrid's fine.  Now tell me the fucking password Harry!"

Harry's eyes widened.  It was very rare for Hermione to swear in any situation so whatever it was must've been terrible.  He decided it would be best to tell her then go straight to Hagrid.

"It's Fizzing Whizzbes.  We'll meet you at Hagrid's alright?" he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah… thanks Harry," she smiled weakly and walked past them over to the statue of the eagle.  "Fizzing Whizzbes."

Soon after, Hermione was out of sight.

*~*~*~*

Harry ran the last two hundred yards to Hagrid's hut and knocked on the door.

"Hermione, yeh back already?" came Hagrid's familiar booming voice.

"No, it's Harry and Ron.  What's going on?" Harry called back.

There was silence for a moment before Harry could hear movement from inside and the door opened showing Hagrid's pale face.  Something has scared him good.  "Take it yeh found Hermione then?"

"Yes, she was in hysterics! What the hell is going on and don't you keep it from us either!" Ron added eyeing Hagrid evilly.

"I wasn't planning on keeping it from yeh, but yeh won't like it Harry, he'll be after you next," Hagrid moved back to let Harry and Ron in.

"Say what? Who? What's hap-" Harry asked as he stepped in and then his eyes fell on Draco lying on the sofa with a purple towel over him.  "Hagrid… please don't say… he's not… is he?" Harry knelt down beside Draco and gave him a shake.

"That's why Hermione's went ter fetch Dumbledore," Hagrid and Ron walked over to Harry's side.

"He's faking it!" Ron shook his head and sat down on Hagrid's 'one-seater' (that could've sat both Harry and Ron) and folded his arms.  "Doing it for attention he is!"

"I really don't think it's possible to pretend to be dead so convincingly, Ron," Harry turned round, Ron simply sat further back into the chair.

"Don't know if he's even dead, 'arry," Hagrid replied.  "He seems ter twitch sometimes an' he looks alright, not too pale or anythin'."

"Maybe he's stunned," Harry suggested hopefully.

There was a knock on the door and Hagrid rushed to answer it.  Dumbledore's voice floated into the small, dark hut.

"Where is he Hagrid?"  he asked calmly.

"Lying on the sofa Professor," Hagrid walked back over to where Harry was kneeling and Dumbledore walked in behind with Hermione creeping along the walls like a shadow.

Harry moved so Dumbledore could kneel down to look at Draco, Dumbledore nodded his thanks and Harry noticed that the sparkle had disappeared from his eyes and concern had settled in.  Dumbledore removed the towel that covered Draco and handed it to Hagrid who gave it to Hermione to put away so she didn't have to see.

Dumbledore turned Draco over, the coldness of his body sent a shiver up his spine and then he saw the deep, black/red slash and the dried blood on Draco's neck.  He leaned back in horror.

Harry had seen it at the exact same moment and whispered, "Holy shit… oh, sorry professor!" he added for swearing.  Ron just stared with a look of disgust on his face, plainly ready to throw up.

Dumbledore didn't reply but he touched the slash gently with a trembling finger.  Just as Hagrid had said, Draco's face twitched into a wince for a second before going blank again.  Dumbledore didn't react to this although he was getting more confused.  He took Draco's wrist and searched for a pulse with no success.  Finally, he hobbled up with his creaky bones and up onto the arm of the chair.

"I really don't understand this." He shook his head and sighed.  "What did you say that you thought happened?"

Hagrid sniffed, "I just found him in the forest last night, sir.  Hermione says that she thinks it was You-know-who… but I don't see how-"

"Neither do I Hagrid.  It doesn't seem the kind of thing he'd do.  Slitting throats isn't his style but also, there doesn't seem to be any sign of struggle, no other visible cuts or bruises or even any dirt.  If it was him, then I'm sure he would've tortured him first. I'm confused at this one." Dumbledore cut in.  "Another thing is the blood.  There should be more of it with a cut this deep."

"Maybe we should take him to the hospital wing," Hagrid suggested.

"Madam Pomfrey may possibly know what this is.  He can't be dead if he can react to my touch," he stopped and looked at the slit again, where a very small amount of fresh blood appeared.  Dumbledore brushed it off, "Or still bleed."

"Maybe it's a spell," they all turned round when they heard Hermione's voice.  "Maybe it's just like out of Romeo and Juliet.  Like when she took that poison that made her look as if she was dead.  Maybe it's a spell just like that."

"What would Voldemort gain from doing that?" Harry wondered outloud.

"We'd better take him to Madam Pomfey anyway.  I wouldn't like to announce that he's dead and then him waking up and walking around the school the next day!"

So Dumbledore put his cloak around Draco to keep him warm and cast a spell on him to make him light enough for Hagrid to carry without any problems.  They set off back to the castle and up to the hospital wing.

*~*~*~*

"OH DEAR LORD!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed once she saw Draco and the slit on his neck.

"We simply need you to find out if there is a spell on him or if he, God forbid, really is dead.  We wouldn't like to bury the poor boy alive," Dumbledore explained calmly trying to calm the hysterical nurse down.

"Wouldn't want that now would we?" Ron muttered sarcastically.  Harry hit him hard in the ribs. Ron glared back.

Madam Pomfrey gulped, "I-I'll see what I can do Professor Dumbledore.  I'll have a look at him first thing tomorrow morning, now if you excuse me, I think I'm going to be sick!" she ran off.

Dumbledore told Hagrid to go and calm her down before taking the three teenagers out of the hospital wing.

"I'd better be on my way down to dinner.  You don't have to come down if you don't feel like eating, I know I don't." Dumbledore added to Hermione.

Hermione nodded as Dumbledore turned and walked away muttering  something like how could he let something like this happen.  He was obviously very concerned and felt like it was his fault.

Hermione sighed, "It's a spell… it has to be… he can't die, not after all that's happened.  It's not fair!" she cried.

Ron, who didn't seem to give a damn about Draco, gave Hermione a comforting hug.  He hated to see her like this.  It was Draco who was doing this to her and if it turns out that he's not dead, it wouldn't matter because Ron would kill him for what he has put Hermione through.

"He's still alive, Hermione.  He's probably just… stunned," Ron comforted.

"Yeah…  stunned…" Hermione whispered hopelessly trying to convince herself.

"What I want to know is, what was he doing out there in the first place and why would Voldemort, sorry Ron," Harry added seeing Ron flinch, "why You-know-who would do that?"

"I don't know and I don't care, I just want Draco to be OK," Hermione cried on Ron's shoulder.

"Come on, we'll get you up to the common room," Harry took her hand and led her back up to Gryffindor tower.

(A/N- Getting bored now! Need something interesting to happen…)

*~*~*~*

The clock in the hospital wing chimed mid-night, the ring echoed through the silent room.  Draco was still lying in his deathly stillness where Hagrid had left him until the twelfth chime.

On the second the final chime filled the room, Draco's eyes flew open wide in terror.  He scanned the room with his big, bloodshot eyes before shakily sitting up on the bed.  He looked down and saw that he was still wearing his black trousers, shirt and cloak. 

How'd I get here? What happened? He thought in fear as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and tried to stand up.

Draco stood up and pain shot through him making him dizzy and fall back down onto the bed.  His head spun and he automatically rubbed the back of his neck.  He brought his hand around the side and felt something rough.  Draco gulped, jumped up and, despite the pain and dizziness, he ran over to the mirror to see what it was.

He stood in front of the mirror and stared.  No tall, pale, blonde haired teenager stared back.  All he could see was the room around him and yet, he seemed to accept this, he accepted the fact that his reflection had disappeared and no fear filled him.  All his fears floated away and realisation dawned, he grinned evilly just as he heard a noise.  Draco spun around on the spot when he heard the tapping sound coming from the window.

He looked over to see Raven hovering outside winking at him.  Draco ran over and let her in.

"Come with me.  We can't stay here," she whispered taking him by the hand and trailing him out the window.

"I'll fall!" Draco tried to pull back.

"You have so much to learn, you know that?" she gave one final pull and Draco toppled out the window.  Raven caught him by the arm before he fell.  "I'll have to teach you a thing or two."

Raven floated down so Draco could stand back on the ground.  She had barely touched down herself before she trailed him into the Forbidden forest.  She led him to a large clearing near the centre of the forest and let him go.

Draco didn't feel out of breath, in fact… was he even breathing? He couldn't tell.  Raven turned and smiled at him.

"Looking good Draco!" she smiled.

Draco smiled back, "I'm one of you now… aren't I?"

Raven pushed his collar back slightly and looked at the slash on his neck, which was rapidly healing itself.  "Yep.  One of us."  They both leaned in and kissed at the same time.

"I think someone wants a word with you…" Raven whispered once she had pulled away.

"Who?" Draco whispered back.

"Take my hand and I'll take you to them," she held out a pale, sharp fingered hand for him to take.  Draco took it and as soon the forest around them disappeared and a new surrounding materialised around them.

It was a large room with high, cracked windows and moonlight spilling through them.  Cobwebs were everywhere and still, muggle paintings were hung up around the room.  A chair sat in front of a roaring fire in  a huge fireplace and a familiar figure stood up when Raven spoke.

"Here he is, master.  Just as you wished." She took a few steps back.

Voldemort grinned and another figure, his father, stood up and stared at his son for a while before grinning just like Voldemort.  Voldemort advanced towards Draco, who didn't move from where he was standing.  Draco looked up at Voldemort with dark grey eyes rimmed with blood red, his face considerably paler than before with dark shadows under his eyes and his hair, which was already bordering on white, had turned pure white.

Voldemort seemed satisfied, "Welcome back young Malfoy.  You are back where you belong."

Draco grabbed his cloak and pulled in round his chest and bowed to Voldemort.  "Thank you master…"

(MWAHAHAHA! Draco's evil now! I rushed the middle slightly, it was boring for me to write.  What do u all think then? It's getting on well now and it'll get going even more when they realise what's happened to him (chapter 6 if I'm not mistaken!) In the next chapter, Hermione is over the moon that Draco is still alive but Harry's not too sure about Draco's attitude now and Dumbledore finds out about Draco…

OH! Before I forget.  I want an international BETA reader and I want to know if any of you are interested! I will e-mail you new chappies so u can read them and tell me if it's good enough.  I already have a local one, my friend Nicky but I want one from another country.  Please say if ur interested in ur reviews! Thanx a bunch guys!)