Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
AN: I forgot to add this last time so here you go! Set in modern times, muggle universe (they're still wizards), and Draco is good :)

Hermione POV

Oh, Merlin, I feel terrible. I can't help but think that I should have known. Harry is one of my best friends and I spend over half my time studying, whether it's books or people. I'd like to think I know quite a lot about him. I should have seen this one coming! I have clearly observed him in cramped spaces before, and I've spent enough time with him to know that he simply can't sit still for long. I should have seen the signs.

He's claustrophobic. There's no other explanation. The moment I mentioned an escape room I could see his body physically tensing up. He was stressed and at the time I didn't know why. But now I do. He was uncomfortable at the thought of being stuck in a single room for so long. Of course, most phobias have a beginning, a cause. I must remember to ask him about it later. I wonder at the cause of his phobia.

But, oh, Merlin, this is all my fault! He's trapped now and the fire department is coming to help, and I can hear his ragged breathing even through the thick walls of his little room. If being in this room made him freak out so much, I can't imagine how terrified he must be now! I really never should have had this party! I just wanted a little fun time before school started! I never meant to cause such distress to my best friend!

My lips start trembling and my eyes fill with tears. But no! This is no time for crying! I have to help Harry! Only, I don't know if Ron and I will be enough this time. From his frantic breathing to the sharp knocks of his fists pounding into the wall to the hysterical pitch to his voice when he speaks with us, I just know that something terrible must have happened to get him to this point. And I really, really want to help but I fear that I will have to be consoled myself when this is all over, for it is my fault that any of this has happened. Ron will have his hands full with me, plus Neville, Ginny, and Luna don't know Harry well enough to truly be of help to him.

There's probably only three other people who know Harry as well as Ron and me: Remus, Sirius, and Draco. Remus is currently living at Grimmauld Place and is only accessible through a patronus or by floo. Sirius is still technically an escaped convict (even in the muggle world) and is also only accessible through magic, which leaves only Draco. I suppose Draco is the best choice anyways, for I don't believe Harry would be near as comfortable sharing feelings such as these with anyone other than Ron, Draco, or me.

Harry has been in there for almost 45 minutes now. I don't have to wonder at how he's doing. I can still hear him. For a while I thought he had calmed himself down, but not long ago I started hearing him. I suppose it's not even the sounds that tell me he's not okay. I can feel it. It's like a wave of anxiety pulsing from the room he's in. I can't tell by the others' faces, they feel it too. We're still waiting for help to come.

I dearly wish for my wand. Then again, my wand wouldn't really do much good right now. We're in the muggle world—in the presence of a muggle—and I'm underage. After the whole 'ministry hearing' debacle last year, I'm definitely not going to risk doing underage magic.

The firemen show up and they're talking with Matt and Harry, telling them the process of extracting Harry from the tiny room. I'm debating on what I should do about Harry's claustrophobia when I hear a low whine come from the room and our steadily rising stress levels spike dramatically. They've just told Harry that he'll be in there for at least another hour. I've made up my mind. I'm calling Draco. There's no way Ron and I can handle this one by ourselves. I'm sure that once Harry calms down a bit he'll talk this out with us, but I really think he needs a minute before then.

Ron stops me as I'm walking out of the escape room. "Where are you going?" He says. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yes, I'm fine Ron. Just worried about Harry. I can't believe I didn't see it before. He's claustrophobic. He must be. I can't help but wonder about what in his past would cause it."

"What's … you know what? Never mind. I've been wondering about his past as well." Ron says, sounding very guilty.

I send him a look. "How so?" I question.

"Well, when we were just beginning our second year, Fred, George, and I went to get Harry from the Dursleys. Of course, you know why we went. He wasn't responding to our letters. I mean, now we know that Dobby was keeping the letters from him in the first place, but he told me that before he met Dobby, he had assumed that we just stopped caring about him and didn't bother to write. He said that's what his relatives were telling him. I've been thinking about his relatives a lot lately. From what I've heard from him, they make him out to be repulsive, a monster, practically evil, just by existing. He told me that they used to lock him in his room when he did anything out of the ordinary. I believe it. That's how we found him, remember? He was locked in his room, bars on his window. They're scared of magic. Scared of Harry. He suffered because of them. I'm not exactly sure how all of this relates but I think we need to have a talk with Harry about it. I'm not saying that anything they've done is definitely the cause of his stress, but it makes sense, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does." I sigh. I think we just found the cause. If Harry was trapped in a small room for a long time as a child, it would make sense for him to be uncomfortable in other small places. "I'm going to call Draco," I say.

"Wait, what? Why?" Ron says, sounding frantic.

"He could be helpful, don't you think? Harry really trusts him, and I know you don't like him, but we can't handle this all by ourselves. And besides, he's Harry's boyfriend. He should be the one to comfort him right now." I watch Ron's face get more and more incredulous as I speak.

"'Mioneeee! We don't neeeeeeed his help … I've known Harry for six years. If anyone can help him right now, it's his best friends, not a bloody Malfoy."

"Ron. I thought we had talked about this. Harry isn't ours. We don't have a choice who he likes or who he dates. And either way, Draco and his mother have joined our side. It's not like they're dangerous."

"But I don't like him."

"Ronald Weasley! I cannot believe you! Your best friend is in that building having such a mental breakdown that we can physically feel it from outside and you're too busy worrying a stupid childhood rivalry to do what you can to help him! Draco will help. I am going to call him, and if he doesn't answer, you are going to call him. We're going to continue to do this until he responds, or we get some other information. Do you understand me?"

Ron swallowed, glanced at his feet, sighed … and nodded. Oh, thank Merlin! I did not want to call him alone. No matter what I say, Draco will probably always be intimidating to me.

We took turns calling him on my phone. We were on the third ring of the ninth call when he finally answered.

"WHAT!?" He shouted through the phone. "What in Merlin's name has made you call this stupid muggle thing NINE times in less than 15 minutes?!"

"We need your help." I say, hoping he won't be mad at Harry because of this.

I can hear him sigh through the phone. "My help? Are you sure I'm the one the Order needs right now?" He says through another sigh.

"It's not the Order that needs you … it's Harry. We're worried about him. We think he could use your support right now." I say.

"Harry? What's wrong? Is he okay?"

"Um … well…" Ron and I take turns filling Draco in on what's been going on and why we need him to come help. He's silent the whole conversation and at the end simply asks us to confirm the location then hangs up. Ron and I share a look. I really hope that wasn't all pointless. The stress wafting from the building has at least doubled since we've been out here. I really hope the muggles haven't been too heavily affected. Ugh, forget the muggles. Harry needs us!

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