A/N: *smiles sheepishly at reviewers*

Hi….

I know; I'm sorry, it's just … I have exams … and …. Yea … excuses, excuses. Anyway, I'm finally here! I couldn't keep myself from it anymore!

I have soooo many ideas for this fic, so far I have it planned out till chapter 18. I know it may feel like it's slow-going, but I can't take them out of character and just have them fall madly in love with eachother at first sight … hope all you impatient ones understand. Cool concepts and exciting drama ahead … lol I feel like that guy who's the voice of movie previews.

But …. WOW! You guys are so amazing! I have 31 reviews, count 'em, 31!!! Thank you soooo much! I feel so loved *contented smile*

Rewrites for Chapter 4 are up … on to shout outs.

sabacat – yea, Ginny rocks my world. She's so awesome, hehe. I really could use that hex every now and then … damn Gryffies.

Gemory – thanks again for all your awesome reviews and ideas … I have dark, dark plots forming in my mind *twisted grin* And yes, I'll be explaining the whole natural healer concept soon

Laura – your review is so awesome! Thank you so much *puffs up chest proudly* I hope I continue to meet my own standards, lol. You totally made my day.

Aliesha – thanks for reading!

knot2be - *mwahaha* it is revealed here … in this chapter…. Ready for it?

ash44 – lol that's so amazing!! I really think I might do that. What do you all think? Have Ron get hexed into thinking he looks normal when he's really wearing a hot pink miniskirt and fishnets? Hahahaha lmao … that would be hilarious. I don't want to steal it if it's someone else's though … thanks for the tip! You're one of my cool repeat reviewers *huge grin* thanks so much!

Silver Wolf - *blushes* thanks so much! That last fight scene was a tough one to write… I'm so glad you liked it

Americasweetie – oh my … don't get me started on the sexiness of draco … mmm … hot, blonde Slytherin sex God. Why … why do I have to fall in love with a fictional character?? lol anyways thanks for you comments! You're so sweet!

jane riddle – haha you're the only person to comment on that 'hard-on' line! It was my favourite! *smiles happily* and yup! You have the dubious honour of being my very first, repeat reviewer. ;o) thank you soo much!

Lavenderab – yea, I gotta agree with you on that one. My parents would probably become the object of one of those helpful little hexes if I lived in the magical world … ah well. Nice to dream.

OK! Y'all ready to find out just what it is Draco's hiding?

Chapter 4: Disturbing Realizations

Ginny massaged her temples gently, watching Professor Trelawny's spindly frame steal down the hallway. Ginny had been surprised to see the old clairvoyant three times this week … she was a victim of her own foresight, and was constantly in the hospital wing claiming if they didn't do something, she would die within the 48 hours. Madame Pomfrey had been visibly relieved when she was able to hand the Professor over to Ginny's patient care – the mediwitch had obviously been dealing with Trelawny for all too long. Unfortunately, Ginny was fed up with her as well and it had only been a week.

It was Sunday afternoon, and light poured in through the hospital wing's fading gothic windows to the reflective ivory tiles. Mountains of books and assignments surrounded her, but she couldn't seem to focus. Her mind wandered to the various accidents of the week. She had been quite dumbfounded to observe the clear majority of patients were teachers … various maladies, student curses, student pranks, and even physical accidents. It seemed Professor Sprout had particular trouble with stairs.

Ginny expected that casualties and afflictions would increase rapidly as the year progressed … school was still too fresh for students to be faking it quite yet. Madame Pomfrey had relayed some rather amusing stories on that subject.

A rustle by the door stirred Virginia from her reverie. She looked up through a stray twist of auburn to see something she really didn't feel like handling right now.

Malfoy.

She sighed and stood up, addressing him unceremoniously. "Ferret."

He gave her a pained smirk. It was the least confident she had ever seen him. "Weasel," he returned a little uneasily, struggling to compose himself. "You work today?" he asked smoothly.

Ginny was surprised. She had been expecting some vicious remark … was he … asking her something? In a non-sarcastic tone?"

"You sound reasonable, Malfoy ... Time to up the medication." She quirked her head at him curiously.

He winced a little and gave her an if-only-you-knew look. Ginny stared at him, disconcerted at this unguarded and non-satanic version of Malfoy.

"Umm … yes, I work today. This is Madame Pomfrey's day off."

Draco's eyes grew wide, and he suddenly stomped his foot angrily and let out a loud string of curses.

"Malfoy! Watch it!" She nodded in the direction of a sleeping first year on the other side of the wing.

He rolled his eyes at her and limped over to a bed. Ginny began to wonder what was wrong … he looked to be in serious pain. This was quite strange, to say the least.

"You know Weasley, I'm really quite easy to get along with once you learn to worship me."

Ugh. That didn't last long. She gave him a piercing look.

"I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter, Malfoy."

Malfoy sighed deeply and flopped backwards onto the bed. "Oh fuck it Weasley. You aren't worth the breath I'm wasting to destroy your self esteem."

Ginny flexed her hands in restraint. Her skin grew hot, and she felt like pouncing on the arrogant moron and ripping out whatever part of him that was in so much pain. If he thought she was going do anything to help him, he had another thing coming.

Draco let his body fall into the cool hospital sheets, his whole body screaming at him in torment. He forced it to be quiet, letting a chilling numbness take over as he schooled his face into a bored glare at the impassioned redhead above him. He clapped a hand over his forehead and wondered what the hell he was going to do. Worry flooded through him anew as he contemplated for the millionth time what he would say if faced with this very situation. He swore lightly under his breath.

"MALFOY!" Ginny bellowed at him. He rubbed his ear and scowled at her.

"Great Merlin, chill out Weasley. I'm trying to figure out what the fuck I'm supposed to do." Ginny opened her mouth to chastise him further, but flung her hands up in exasperation and stalked over to Pomfrey's desk.

Despite the pain racking his body, Draco couldn't tear his eyes away from her ass as she left his side.

Ginny raged over to the desk and spun around, leaning against the icy metal as she surveyed Malfoy. Another grimace passed over his face. Even if he was being an asshole, he certainly seemed to be an asshole in pain.

He closed his eyes and let out a hoarse whisper. "Tell me again where Pomfrey is?"

Ginny's brows furrowed in confusion. Just what exactly was going on here? She had never seen Draco Malfoy like this … Draco Malfoy, strong, confident, Slytherin god. What could possibly be wrong?

She stood up from the desk and walked brusquely back to his bed, her anger evaporating in the presence of a needy person. Even if it was the Ferret. She touched his pale forehead with the back of her hand, and he flinched visibly.

"Goddamnit Weasley! Don't touch me!" he quaked tangibly as she jumped back. He was burning up.

"Malfoy, what exactly is going on here?"

"Where the FUCK is Pomfrey, Weasel?"

"I told you! It's her day off! I have Sundays now!"

Malfoy closed his eyes in defeat and for a moment, he looked so frail and helpless, Ginny thought he was going to cry. Ridiculous notion, of course. A moment later his mouth was open again.

He glared at her unkindly, obviously displeased. "Shit, Weasley. This is NOT supposed to happen. I can't come any other day except Sunday … people will be suspicious. Why does she have to take Sunday off, of all days? Was she even fucking thinking?" He turned his head a little too quickly and winced, resuming his quiet swearing.

Virginia Weasley didn't know what to do. She really didn't know what to do, and she didn't like it.

"Do you mind explaining yourself Mr. Malfoy?"

Malfoy turned back to her, cold laughter in his eyes. "Drop the nurse act Weasel. Obviously Poppy planned this … fuck her. I guess I'll just have to tell you."

Ginny's mouth fell open in shock, first at the disrespect of her only friend. Then she realized … since when has Draco Malfoy been on first-name basis with Madame Pomfrey?

He took another intolerant sigh. "Sit your ass down, Weasel."

Ginny, too bewildered to do otherwise, promptly sat down on the adjacent bed.

Draco struggled to a sitting position, and in a rush of motherly instinct Ginny reached to arrange the pillows behind him. He gave her a strange look.

Ginny blushed and looked at him hesitantly.

When she met his eyes, their silver depths were boring into hers. They seemed to be reading her very soul. Everything inside her shrieked at her to tear herself away, protect the most secret and dark places that he seemed to have such easy access too. But her eyes were locked to his, hypnotized in their engaging grasp. He studied her, evaluated her, and slowly Ginny came to realize … trusted her.

In surprise, her sharp eyes found a slow trickle of nervous perspiration curving its way down Malfoy's platinum hairline.

But he didn't waver. Never taking his eyes off of her, he began slowly.

"Listen, Weasel, you're the last person I want to tell about this. But as you can see, I really need help right now, and you obviously can't help me until I tell you what's wrong. Damn Pomfrey." His eyes darkened dangerously; the familiar glint reflected in her eyes and she shivered unconsciously. He drew a sharp breath. "I really can't come here any other day except Sunday. The situation is really … compromising." He paused for effect.

Ginny let out an exasperated sigh. "Great! You've now gotten plenty of exercise jumping to conclusions, pushing your luck, beating around the bush, and dodging the issue. Dammit, Malfoy, get to the point!!"

Malfoy looked at her in amusement. "I'm getting there Weasley, I'm getting there." He gave her one last penetrating look before spitting it all out in one, desperate, intense phrase. "Two years ago my father cursed me."

Ginny had suspected it. It was one of Hogwarts darkest rumours; the torment of Draco Malfoy, but no one ever approached him about it. So he was abused.

She nodded absently, not catching on to the gravity of his voice at first. She was just beginning to wonder what kind of curse would have him struggling to sit up and spilling his soul to his family's arch-nemesis when he fumbled with his wand.

Malfoy mumbled a few words under his breath and pointed the wand at his chest.

A glamour charm, Ginny thought in her last moment of rational thought.

Suddenly, like water pouring over an open wound, Ginny had the distinct impression that Malfoy was … crumbling. Falling away. A silvery waterfall cascaded down his body, and what was left behind caused Ginny to choke back a sob. And Ginny wasn't one to show her emotion easily.

Malfoy had transformed into an emaciated, deathly pale and frightened young boy that stared out at her from hollow, sunken eyes. His face was covered in bruises, and a slow trickle of blood drew a line from his temple to chin. Scars decorated his visage like war medals, yet somehow in a much less honourable fashion. Beneath his thin black robes she could sense the emanating pain – her body was almost flung back at how strong the vibes were. Moments before, she had only been faintly aware – Ginny now realized the young man was in excruciating pain, and she knew what she was feeling was only a taste, a moment of his eternal suffering. How was he doing it? His face showed no signs of anguish - only hurt, fright, and the superior look of one who is weak but in desperate denial of it.

Large purple bruises dotted his arms and legs, and there was blood everywhere … soaking through his robes, drenched in his hair, in the whites of his eyes. The contradiction of paradoxes in her mind was unbearable – the proud, arrogant, and yes, admittedly sexy Slytherin tormentor she knew and hated was gone … yet at the same time, still there. He was exposed, the very core of his soul disquietingly naked and open to her criticism and pity. What was she supposed to do?

She couldn't take it. His agony reverberated off the walls of her being, and she fell to her knees, tears pouring down her cheeks. He didn't need to say anything. What he was going through … inhumane didn't even begin to describe it. She still had no idea what it was … it didn't matter. She swore right then and there that she would do everything in her power to rid him of the dark, menacing presence that she could feel all over him … and that she would stop the blood. Stop the pain. Ever fiber of her being longed to heal him.

Natural healer, Poppy had said. Ginny had doubted it until this moment. As emotion coursed through her veins, she felt her mind kicking her emotional backside for being sympathetic to Malfoy, of all people! She should be laughing at his pain.

But she couldn't.

Slowly, she rose above the torment he was feeling and looked up into his face, her eyes filled with horror. His head was turned away, and he spoke very slowly, his voice no more than a whisper.

"Fuck off Weasley, I don't want your goddamn sympathy."

Ginny choked. What could she say? She hated this! She rose uncertainly to her feet, her body shaking uncontrollably. She willed herself to be strong, to be practical and medical – or to at least stop the damn trembling.

"Malfoy … you have to tell me what's going on. Now." A warm tear trickled down her cheek.

His eyes refused to meet hers – the impervious confidence had been wiped away with a single flick of the wand. His perfect blonde hair fell messily around his vacant gray eyes. Hoarsely, he made a final attempt at explaining.

"Two years ago, my father placed this curse on me. It's called the Curse of Ruledour Nainec … the curse of past pain. Every pain, every hurt - emotional or physical - that I've ever experienced manifests itself regularly. Some are triggered by certain memories, smells, sounds and sights. I relive it all, everyday." He turned to her, his hollow eyes challenging her. "Don't look at me like that Weasley! This is necessary! It's a training device! It's my father's last kindness to me … he's raised me to be strong. I have to do this. I have to become strong." She could feel the pain ringing in his soul. He had decidedly cut short the details of his suffering. "Of course, you wouldn't understand. Weasleys know nothing of power." He snorted weakly.

The insult made it possibly for Ginny to slowly reconnect the old Draco with this new one.

"You know nothing of pain. And no, there's no cure … my father has to lift it." He stiffened. "And he won't do that until I have completed my education and training to his satisfaction. So don't get any ideas."

Despite his words, Ginny could sense something else. Something unspoken, but more important than anything he had said verbally. She could see it in his eyes – a silent plea to help him; even though he wasn't allowed to articulate the words. He was dying. And he didn't know how to escape. She wanted to scream in outrage – no one deserves that kind of punishment! And for what? Nothing? Training? Pain doesn't train you … it hardens you. Whatever potential Draco Malfoy had had was slowly being drained out of him as the endless blood flowed.

She watched in alarm as a new wound opened and crimson regret spilled down Malfoy's neck.

He must have seen her cringe and reach for her equipment, because he raised an arresting hand. "No, Weasley, it's ok. It happens all the time. I can't die from blood loss. That's not the purpose."

Ginny just stood there, numb from his pain and consumed with compassion.

"Do you mind? It's rude to stare," he muttered irritably. "Just get my file and the potion Pomfrey usually gives me. It helps for a while. That's why I come every Sunday, if you really must know, to get the reliever and to ensure that nothing life-threatening has happened over the course of the week." His tone was eerily ironic, yet at the same time deadly serious.

Virginia shook her head stupidly and muttered "Accio, file: Malfoy, Draco."

The file left specific instructions on where to find Draco's Relieving Potion. After administering it to him, she watched in fascination as he spent several long minutes reapplying his glamour charm. Soon, he was once again the disdainful, handsome and carefree Slytherin she was familiar with. He took a deep breath, and to her utter shock, stood up resolutely and walked through the door without a word.

Ginny collapsed to the bed and stared at the bloodstained sheets across from her. All she could imagine was the suffering, tortured soul that had been there only minutes before and was now walking through the halls of Hogwarts, unguarded and defenseless to the malice of the world. But when he had walked out, it had been as if nothing had ever happened. His proud, aristocratic air had returned, and his face was held in the perfect smirk that had bought him his reputation. No one would ever guess anything was wrong. So horribly wrong

A strangled sob escaped her again, and she scolded herself mentally. Now that he wasn't lying here, now that she couldn't feel his pain, it was all too easy to forget and look at Draco Malfoy in the light she always had.

But the bloodstained linen glared up at her, not letting her forget, promising horrible consequences if she ever did.

She absentmindedly stripped the bed and carried the soiled sheets to Laundry. Her mind flickered back to the note that had been hastily pasted to the top of Malfoy's file – "Now you know. I'll talk to you about it later. It's important that you help him. He needs a caretaker in my absence. The Relieving Potion is …"

Needs a caretaker. She suspected she would be seeing a lot more of Draco Malfoy over the next year than she could ever possibly have wanted.

As he walked down the hall to the Prefect's Dormitories, Draco felt the cool fingers of the potion reaching through his limbs. A smidgen of assuagement flowed in his veins; the first relief since Friday when the pain had reached its predictably unbearable level. Draco hated Fridays.

Sundays were the only days to look forward to in his life, a miniscule step above the dregs of pointless existence. He wondered if she could even fathom how excruciating his summer had been.

But he wasn't really thinking about that.

For a few moments, all reason flew from Draco's mind. He didn't care that he had just told Ginny Weasley, the dirt beneath his shoes, his deepest and most haunting problem. He didn't care that the potion still hadn't quite set in. He wasn't worrying about why Pomfrey abandoned him, or why she left such curious yet subtly direct instructions for Ginny. He wasn't even fretting about what his father would say if he knew he was seeking help, something he often anxiously contemplated after his Sunday afternoon appointments.

No. All he could think about was that moment where she had touched him. For the first time in two years, he had felt an undeniable … tranquillity. The absence of pain was so alien to him, when she had touched his forehead it had hurt so much he had almost lost his breath. Pain to the point of numbness – and somehow she had taken it away in one simple touch.

He found his body craving that relief, begging for it with all he had, screaming at him to forget his backstabbing father's gods damned pride and run back to find that solace. That … peace. That quiet in the eye of his storm.

How had she known how to get him there?

There was so much he hadn't told her – that Ruledour Nainec wasn't just a curse, it was a disease. That it was eating away at his insides every day, and he was powerless to stop it. It was one of the rare Krankefluchia strains – that bizarre mix between a magical disease and curse. Intuitively, he reached behind to the nape of his neck and fingered the wound that lay there beneath the wisps golden of hair. It was the only one that couldn't be hidden by his glamour charm.

His bane.

He hadn't shone her that either.

Somehow, he knew she would find out.

A/N: *waits expectantly* What do you think?

The Curse of Ruledour Nainec … awfully original if I do say so myself *bashful smile* la douleur ancien means 'past pain' in French (for those that didn't know, French is my second langauge) and Ruledour Nainec is a rearrangment of those letters. There'll be more details on the curse … plus an interesting new twist introduced by *gasp* Madame Pomfrey? in the next chapter.

Oh, and btw, Krankfluchia – krankheit is 'curse' in German and fluch is disease. Does it sound corny, or does it work? I couldn't think of another way to represent a deadly cross between disease and curse … it sounds ominous to me. Let me know what you think – xangelicfirex@yahoo.com. Or IM me on AIM at xfire Angeliquex

lol you have no idea how painfully difficult to refrain from using that line from Pirates of the Caribbean … "So there is a curse? That's very interesting…" I wanted to use that so bad!!

Click that review button! I know this is going to be a rather controversial chapter … tell me everything. Is it too corny? Unbelievable? Strange? Directionless?

much love to all my reviewers! The instant I finish my Chemistry exam next Tuesday (with some remote inkling that I haven't failed) I will update. However, if I failed, I forewarn you that I might go into deep mourning for a few weeks. Hopefully not though.

Review!