~ All these walls are caving' in,
I can't stop my sufferin'
I hate to show I've lost control
'Cause I keep going right back to the one thing
that I need to walk away from ~
Hermione stood fidgeting anxiously outside the Gryffindor portrait hole. The corridor had long since emptied from the after game excitement, the students retreating to their respective common rooms to continue the celebration inside.
No one else seemed to notice the absence of the Gryffindor seeker, except for Hermione. Or maybe they just didn't care.
Hermione wrung her hands and bit her lip when she saw the darkening sky outside the nearby window. She tapped her foot in agitation and looked at her watch for the hundredth time, then sighed and decided to look for Harry on her own, starting with the dungeons.
A few Slytherins were still hanging about the dimly lit passageways, glaring menacingly at Hermione as she passed by. She silently cursed herself for stupidly taking her Gryffindor flag from the game along with her instead of dropping it off in her room first.
She rounded another corner and searched the milling students for Harry. She couldn't see him anywhere, but did see the tall figure of a certain seventh year Slytherin walking away from her.
This was her chance to hopefully get some answers.
"Ethan!"
Ethan turned in surprise and stared at her as she jogged over.
"Sorry to bother you." she smiled apologetically, hoping that Harry hadn't told Ethan about the things she'd accused him of.
"Not at all." Ethan casually slid his hands into his pockets and returned her smile.
Hermione paused, thrown by Ethan's kind attitude. Either he was a brilliant actor or she was wrong about him.
"Do you know where Harry is?" she asked.
"No, I'm afraid not," Ethan answered, with a shake of his head. "He was supposed to meet me after the game and he never showed up. I just assumed that he was off celebrating with you guys."
"No. At least, I didn't see him there."
"If you find him, could you tell him that I'll be in my room later if he wants to come by?"
"Sure." Hermione agreed pleasantly.
"Thanks, see ya."
Ethan turned and continued on to the Slytherin dorms.
Hermione left the dungeons as quickly as possible and stood looking around the Entrance Hall with her hands on her hips. She made up her mind to check the Gryffindor changing rooms, as they were Harry's last known location.
A frown creased her face as she thought back on Ethan's answer, something didn't make sense. Ethan had said that he figured Harry was off celebrating a Gryffindor victory with the rest of his house, but he should've known that Harry wasn't speaking to them and vice versa.
"Maybe he thought that we'd all made up," she reasoned. "Don't jump to conclusions, he did look concerned about Harry's disappearance."
She continued to carry on a debate with herself as she approached the changing rooms and pushed open the red and gold door belonging to Gryffindor.
"Harry?" she called out.
The moonlight was streaming through the large windows, illuminating the eerily quiet room. The lockers stood open, bits of clothing and equipment piled haphazardly inside. A steady drip was coming from the shower room as one of the taps leaked out tiny droplets of water onto the tiled floor.
Hermione crossed the empty room to the window and leaned on the ledge to gaze outside, her curly hair falling to frame her worried face. The grounds below were deserted and still under the glow of the moon.
Just as she was about to give up and go to bed, she spotted the broom shed standing in the shadows at the side of the pitch.
She gave a shrug and decided to check it out.
The outside temperature was extremely cold, laced with a biting wind that whipped around her as she strode across the grass to her destination.
As she neared the dark wooden structure, an uneasy feeling crawled up her spine, causing her heart to hammer in trepidation.
She pulled out her wand and cautiously placed one hand against the rough wooden door. It swung open with little effort and a beam of moonlight fell across the floor, illuminating a single fallen broomstick and a wand. Hermione quickly used her own wand to ignite the candles lining the dusty walls.
She stepped into the storage shed with her heart in her throat and tore her eyes from the discarded objects to look around.
"Harry!" she cried in horror.
Her worst fears were confirmed as she rushed forward and dropped to her knees beside his unmoving form. He was unconsciously slumped up against the far wall, his wrists locked together with a glowing green binding spell.
Hermione immediately checked him over for any injuries, discovering with a gasp his dislocated knee and, what she suspected, was a broken arm.
"Harry?" she whispered fervently. "Harry, its Hermione. Please wake up."
She stroked his cheek and felt him stir slightly at her touch.
"Harry?" she tried again, a little louder.
Harry shifted and moaned quietly in distress.
"Oh, Harry," Hermione sighed under her breath. "What's happening to you?"
Harry moaned again and turned his head to one side, his eyes remaining closed. Hermione sniffed and blinked back tears as she reached out to gently push back the damp tendrils of hair lying across his forehead.
"Harry?"
A dazed pair of emerald eyes fluttered open to squint up at her.
"Harry." Hermione smiled in relief.
"'Mione?" Harry mumbled questioningly.
"Yes, now just lie still so I can release this binding spell."
Hermione raised her wand and pointed it at him.
"Finite Incantatem," she cast confidently.
Her wand slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor as she covered her mouth in shock. She had unwittingly released Harry's concealment charm as well as freeing his bound wrists, revealing the horrific appearance of his badly beaten face.
She stared with wide eyes at the black eye, the multiple cuts and abrasions, split lip, and ugly mottled bruising decorating his face.
Harry gasped and sat bolt upright, trying to shuffle away from her, but cried out in pain as he clutched his damaged knee with one hand.
"Harry..." Hermione spoke gently, trying not to scare him off. "Let me help you."
Harry shook his head in refusal.
"Please..."
"No," he managed to gasp out.
"Who did this to you?"
Harry swallowed and looked longingly towards the exit.
"Harry, you have to tell some one."
"No one did it to me," Harry answered, hoping that she would just let it drop. "I had...an accident."
"And tied yourself up afterwards?" Hermione pointed out.
"Just forget it. I'm fine."
"Was it, Ethan?" Hermione asked quietly.
Harry pressed his lips together and glared at her, the throbbing in his knee becoming almost unbearable.
"You can tell me, Harry," she pushed.
"No, it wasn't, Ethan."
"Then who-"
"I already told you, it was an accident," Harry said angrily, the pain adding to his fury.
Hermione frowned and felt helpless and frustrated, wanting to embrace him and wring his neck at the same time.
"Why are you covering for him?"
"Ethan didn't touch me," Harry lied.
"Then who? And don't give me that accident story again, I know that's not true."
"It doesn't matter. Just forget it."
"Harry-"
"No! Leave me alone."
Hermione regarded him silently for a minute. "At least let me take you to Madam Pomfrey."
"No."
"Harry," she sighed in exasperation.
"I said, no," Harry scowled.
"But you're hurt."
"I'll recover."
Harry grimaced as he cradled his broken arm to his chest and tried to ignore the immense pain emanating from his knee.
"Will you let me help?" Hermione pleaded.
Harry looked at her and thought it over, knowing he would never be able to make it out of there on his own.
"Please?" she added, trying desperately to convince him.
Harry finally nodded and removed a shaking hand from his knee. Hermione crawled closer and chewed her bottom lip as she stared down at his leg in thought.
"I'm going to have to rip a hole in your trousers," she informed him.
"It's okay," Harry said, trying to steady his breathing.
Hermione picked up a shard of glass from Harry's broken and discarded glasses and used it to poke a hole in the fabric covering his disfigured knee. She then tossed it aside and pulled the fabric apart with a loud tearing sound, exposing the bare skin beneath.
She shook her head sadly at the sight, but made no comment. Harry's knee cap was out of place, pushing out the side of his leg and stretching the discoloured skin around it.
"I'm going to have to straighten your leg."
"No..." Harry gasped in alarm. "You can't...it hurts too much..."
"It'll be worse of you don't. The longer it's out of place, the more long term damage you'll do."
Harry squeezed his hands into fists and closed his eyes, tiny beads of sweat appearing on his forehead as he swallowed nervously.
"Ready?" Hermione asked.
"Do it," Harry bit out between clenched teeth.
Hermione steeled herself and took a hold of his lower thigh and ankle. She took a deep breath and pushed down on Harry's bent leg in one swift motion.
Harry yelled and almost blacked out from the pain. He quickly covered his aching knee with his one good hand and drew in shaky gulps of air.
"Alright?" Hermione asked, wincing sympathetically.
Harry nodded shortly.
"You'll have to get Madam Pomfrey to fix your arm, I don't know how."
Harry sighed and stared transfixed at his swollen knee.
"Alright, I'll go," he conceded.
"Good." Hermione smiled in relief.
She got to her feet and helped Harry to stand, resting all of his weight on one leg.
"I'll get your wand for you," Hermione offered.
She walked over and leaned Harry's Firebolt against the wall, before picking up his wand.
"Thanks," Harry accepted stiffly.
Supporting him as she went, Hermione began to slowly lead Harry out into the night towards the school. Their progress was slow as he hobbled along beside his ex-best friend.
Harry felt the threatening prickle of tears as he secretly revelled in the comfort of Hermione's supportive arms and encouraging words. All in spite of the fact that he had not that long ago hurled insults at her in a fit of anger.
Hermione desperately tried to think of a way to get Harry to confide in her, but could still sense reluctance in the brunette by her side.
Harry carefully limped up the staircase to the corridor leading to the infirmary. The pair stopped outside the door and Harry let go of her to put a hand on the door knob.
"You don't need to come in with me," he said distantly.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, thank you for your help."
"Okay," Hermione answered uncertainly.
Harry flashed her a tight-lipped smile, then turned and pushed through the door.
Hermione watched the door click shut behind him, then slowly walked back to Gryffindor tower, knowing that it would be a long time before she fell asleep that night.
Harry leaned against the closed door and removed his wand from his pocket. He immediately placed the cool wood against his temple and set the concealment charm back in place. He then set his jaw in determination and entered Madam Pomfrey's office without showing even a trace of a limp.
"Mr Potter," Madam Pomfrey exclaimed in surprise from behind her desk.
"Sorry to bother you..."
"Is there something you need?" she asked with a motherly smile.
"It's just...I've broken my glasses and I don't have another pair."
"That's no problem, I can make you up a new pair in no time. How did you manage to break them?"
Harry trailed behind her as she led the way into the medical supply room across the hall.
"Erm, during Quidditch," Harry lied.
Madam Pomfrey 'tutted' and shook her head in disapproval, muttering something about barbaric traditions as she sorted through the student files.
Harry leaned against one of the shelves and rested the toe of his foot on the ground to ease his discomfort. He painfully manoeuvred his broken arm so that his hand was in his pocket, the position making his arm appear less suspicious.
"Wait a minute!"
Harry looked up at Madam Pomfrey in alarm.
"How do you feel about letting me magically fix your eyesight? I don't usually perform the procedure on students, but you're always breaking them due to your rather, er...dangerous life."
"No glasses?" Harry said in amazement. "I don't know, I've had them all my life..."
"Well, why don't you try it for a few days while I make you a new pair of glasses? If you're not happy, I can easily reverse it," she suggested.
"Okay," Harry decided, feeling a little thrill of excitement at the prospect of a glasses-free life.
"Just keep your eyes open and hold still, dear."
"Now?" Harry exclaimed in surprise.
"It's a very simple charm," Poppy smiled.
The matronly nurse stepped over and lifted her wand to cast the powerful spell; a pale, blue light shone out from the tip into Harry's eyes and the thin beam altered the shape of his irises slightly to improve his vision to near perfect. It was all over in seconds.
"How does that feel?"
Harry blinked a few times and his face split into a grin as he looked around in amazement.
Madam Pomfrey chuckled and glanced down at his torn trousers, noticing the bruised and swollen knee beneath.
"I suppose that's from Quidditch as well?" she asked.
Harry looked down at his knee. "Yeah...Quidditch."
"Do you want me to take a look at it?"
"No," Harry answered hurriedly. "I just banged it a little."
"Would you like some pain reliever potions?"
Harry tried not to let the extreme relief he felt at her words show as he answered. "Alright."
He watched her open up a large cupboard and remove a tiny vial of purple liquid.
"Here you go, Harry," she smiled as she handed it over. Harbouring a soft spot for the famous Gryffindor and feeling a motherly sense of protectiveness for him.
"Thank you," Harry smiled.
"I'll let you know when your glasses are ready, then you can tell me whether you've decided to keep you new eye-sight or not."
Harry tried to keep up with her as she showed him to the door, his stomach churning nauseously from the building pain.
"Take care, Mr Potter."
Harry waved goodbye, not trusting himself to open his mouth.
He left the hospital wing and leaned against the wall for fifteen minutes, then slowly started off for the blessed comfort of his bed.
He arrived at the Fat Lady pale and shaking.
"Ambulo absisto," he gasped out the password quietly.
Hermione was still awake and sitting with Ron by the fire. They immediately stopped talking as Harry entered.
Harry felt a flicker of annoyance. "Real subtle, guys," he commented sarcastically, forcing himself to once again work through the pain and walk without a visible limp.
Ron glanced at Hermione as if to say, 'See? He's still an arrogant prick.'
Hermione patted his hand and whispered for him to stay put. She got up and ran to meet Harry as he started climbing the stairs to his room.
"Harry?"
"I don't really feel like chatting," Harry expelled tiredly.
"What did Madam Pomfrey say?"
"Look," Harry turned to face her. "Thank you for helping me, but can we just go back to the way things were?"
"You mean, back to being rude and throwing insults?"
"Just pretend I don't exist and we'll get along fine."
With that, Harry turned and stiffly made his way up the remainder of the stairs alone.
"Harry, wait!" Hermione called up to him.
He paused on the landing.
"Ethan told me to tell you that he'll be in his room tonight if you want to see him later."
Harry was glad he was facing away from her as he closed his eyes in fear. He snapped them open as something suddenly dawned on him; Ethan had left him tied up in the shed and if he wasn't still there in the morning, then he'll know that some one helped him escape. It wouldn't take him long to work out that it was Hermione, and that would put her in danger. The last thing he wanted to do was put his friends, (or ex-friends), in danger, which is what he'd always tried to avoid throughout his action-packed life.
Harry turned and retreated back down the stairs, watching Hermione out of the corner of his eye.
"Thanks for the message," he said in passing.
"Your welcome," Hermione replied sadly. "Remember, you can always talk to me anytime you want."
Harry nodded and stepped through the portrait hole.
As soon as he was safely out in the corridor, he uncorked his vial of pain reliever potion and downed half of it in one go. He closed his eyes and almost whimpered in relief as a numbing sensation spread throughout his entire body.
He straightened up and found it a lot easier to walk as he went back to spend the rest of the night in the shed where Hermione had found him.
* * * * * * * * *
Hermione sat back down next to Ron and turned sad eyes towards him.
"We have to help him."
"But he's still acting like a prat," Ron said, unconvinced. "And he looked just fine to me."
"Well, Madam Pomfrey healed his arm and knee, and he's obviously put that concealment charm back on to hide his face. Don't you see, Ron? He's hiding everything. He's in so much pain..."
"And you think it's Ethan?"
"I think so. Somebody definitely beat him up pretty badly tonight."
Ron looked towards the closed portrait and came to a decision.
"So, what are we going to do?"
"You're going to help?" Hermione asked hopefully.
"Of course," Ron shrugged. "He may be an insufferable prick, but no one deserves to suffer in silence like that. Well, maybe, Malfoy."
Hermione threw her arms around Ron's neck and promptly burst into tears.
Ron patted her back awkwardly. "What's wrong?"
She pulled back and sniffed. "I was so sure that you were going to say no."
Ron smiled and handed her a handkerchief.
"And don't say that about, Malfoy."
"Why not?" Ron asked, puzzled.
"Because we're going to get him to help us."
"What!?"
"I know he and Harry were happy together. I mean, remember when we found them-"
"Stop! No, I don't want to remember," Ron exclaimed with a cringe.
Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Anyway, Harry was happy, happier than I'd ever seen him, when they were together. And I'm guessing that Malfoy is nursing a broken heart as well, no matter how hard he tries not to show it."
Ron wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"Ron, you didn't see him lying on that floor, bleeding and broken. And how frightened he was when he saw that I knew about his concealment charm. He's not the Harry we used to know anymore..."
Hermione broke off and wiped the tears from her eyes.
Ron immediately softened and put a comforting arm around her.
"I'm afraid we're going to lose him," she choked into his shoulder.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked in concern.
"He told me to pretend that he doesn't exist. What if he really doesn't want to exist anymore?"
Ron squeezed her gently and pulled back to look into her tear stained face. "Okay, we'll talk to Malfoy tomorrow."
Hermione smiled in relief, and they spent the rest of the night devising an ambush attack on Draco.
* * * * * * * * *
"What the fuck!?"
Draco swore in surprise during lunch break the next day as someone grabbed him from behind and threw a cloak over his head. He struggled angrily as he was forcibly herded into a side corridor.
The cloak was lifted and he gaped in fury at the sight of Hermione and Ron standing in front of him - wands drawn.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded.
"Go keep a lookout, Ron," Hermione instructed, keeping her eyes on their prisoner.
Ron nodded and walked off to guard the corridor entrance.
"Start explaining, Granger," Draco warned.
"I'll be blunt," Hermione said seriously. "We need your help."
"And this is how you ask me for a favour?" Draco snorted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"It's the only way we could get you to talk to us," Hermione explained. "Anyway, it doesn't matter, what matters is that Harry is in trouble."
"Harry?" Draco questioned with a raised brow. "What has he gone and done now?"
"He's done something incredibly stupid and incredibly dangerous."
"What?" Draco asked impatiently, not really sure if he wanted to know, but unable to stop himself from asking.
"He's suffering and he doesn't want anyone to know. He won't ask for help and he refuses to accept it from anyone as well."
"What are you on about?"
"Someone is physically hurting him."
Draco blinked in surprise. "How do you-"
"I found him last night-"
"Found?" Draco interrupted.
"Yes, he was unconscious."
Draco frowned in disbelief. "Who?"
"We don't know for sure, but I suspect it's-"
"Ethan," Draco concluded.
"Yes."
Draco averted his eyes and stared at the stone wall across from him.
"And what exactly do you want me to do about it?" he asked in a flat, detached tone of voice.
"Ron and I don't like you...Draco," Hermione said disdainfully. "But Harry does, quite a lot, and we only want to see him happy. He won't talk to us, but perhaps he'll open up to you."
Draco shook his head. "No, he's not going to talk to me. I'd be the last person-"
"Just try!" Hermione exclaimed in aggravation.
"And then what?" Draco snapped. "We can return to being a happy couple again?"
"Why not?" Hermione challenged.
"Why not?! Because...because my father...I'm a Slytherin..." Draco shook his head angrily. "Why am I even bothering to try and explain myself to you? How do I know that this isn't just some trick of yours, or Potter's, to humiliate me?"
Hermione slapped him.
Draco clutched his cheek in shock.
"Fine, don't believe me," she said tearfully. "Go see for yourself."
She turned and started to walk off towards Ron.
"See what?" Draco called after her.
"See what he's hiding beneath that concealment charm."
Draco watched as Hermione joined up with the red-head and left the corridor behind. He left shortly afterwards, and retired to his dorm room to think things over.
He lay on his back on the large four poster bed and stared up at the dark green canopy above.
"Harry wouldn't just take that kind of abuse," he thought with doubt. "It just doesn't make any sense."
He rolled over and stared at the wall.
"The only thing that makes any sense, is the possibility that Ethan is a right bastard after all. But then that would mean that Harry really is getting hurt..."
He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, resorting to pacing up and down the floor restlessly.
"I shouldn't care. Harry can handle his own problems, he always has."
But just forgetting the whole thing gave him an unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach. He stopped and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
"I guess I could go check out this whole 'concealment charm' thing. No harm in that."
He resumed his pacing again.
"Harry wasn't at breakfast this morning, and afternoon classes are about to start, so...I'll just have to wait until tonight."
Draco grabbed his books and headed to class, wishing for once, that he did have potions with Harry today.
"What are you doing, Malfoy?" he asked himself on the way out.
* * * * * * * * *
Draco cursed under his breath as the final few stragglers left the Great Hall after dinner to return to their dorms for the evening. Harry hadn't shown up for dinner either, and Draco had only caught fleeting glances of him between classes.
He stood up and sighed as he felt a headache coming on. He decided to make a detour to the infirmary first and grab a headache cure before going to bed.
Madam Pomfrey wasn't in her office when he entered, so he sat down in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs to wait.
It wasn't long before he heard the door opening from down the hall.
He stood up and looked around the doorframe to greet the nurse, but his eyes widened when he saw Harry carefully closing the hospital door behind him. Draco quickly ducked back into the office and hid behind the door, peeking through the small crack of the door hinge.
Harry crept up to the office and glanced inside, checking to see that it was empty, then walked across the hall to the medical supplies room. Draco snuck out into the hallway and watched him through the small space in the open doorway.
Harry wrenched open one of the cupboards and snatched up a small vial of purple liquid. He tossed aside the cork stopper and downed the entire contents, sighing in relief and sagging against the counter. After a few seconds, he removed his school bag from beneath his robes and opened it up, then started loading it with the purple potions.
Draco frowned, recognizing the potions as quite strong pain reliever tonics. He quietly took out his wand and pointed it at Harry's back.
"Finite Incantatem," he cast under his breath.
Harry paused, feeling a strange tingling sensation sweep over him, then fade. He shrugged and chalked it up to the effects of the potion, then closed up his bag and shut the cupboard.
Draco gasped when Harry turned around.
It didn't even look like the same person, especially with his trademark glasses missing. Harry's face was covered with patches of discolouration among the multiple scrapes and cuts, his eyes were ringed with the dark evidence of sleepless nights, his cheeks gaunt and his skin pale.
He looked like the walking dead.
Harry stopped to grab some bandages and slip them into his bag as well.
Draco noticed that Harry was only using one arm to do everything and he was limping quite heavily on his left leg.
Harry exited the storage room and quietly limped down the hallway towards the door. Draco walked out from behind the door and hollowly placed the concealment charm back on Harry before he could leave.
The door shut behind the injured Gryffindor and Draco slid down the wall to the floor in a daze, his headache long forgotten. His mind bombarded him with images of what Harry must have gone through to end up looking the way he now did.
He felt sick to his stomach.
"Oh, Harry, what have you done?"