Thanks to reviewers:-

Legolas19 – thanks

Leeanna-Marie-Malfoy – yea, I was thinking of doing that

grin - ta muchly, yup they spoke...19th june – how I loved it

sniff – draco always leaves so I wanted to do a harry left one

lampshadesrgreat – thanks, but who doesn't loves complications?

sakura blossoms4 - thank you

HedwigSasso – nah, no mpreg – didn't really want to

Kt – thanks, I won't ask about your weird awkward silence thing

5. Flashing lights

Draco sat at his desk, his feet on the table, watching as his fifth year Griffindor/Slytherin class entered the dungeon and slid into their places. He failed to understand why, after so many years of disastrous potions lessons involving the two houses, they were still forced to have the double periods twice a week together.

Once everyone had settled down and the room and became quiet, Draco lowered his legs with a sigh and stood up.

"Good morning," he said pleasantly.

"Good morning Professor Malfoy," the class chorused.

"Today we will be making a very simple potion. This is only OWL level, so it's not exceedingly powerful, but, were we to be making a potent potion, who can tell me what the effects would be?"

Several hands went up and Draco grinned – classes were certainly more relaxed now he was teaching.

He pointed to Aki. "Miss Chang is it?"

"Yes sir."

"I remember your mother. She was in the year above me at school. Very beautiful woman." He shook his head and focused on the lesson. "Sorry, what would a full powered healing potion do?"

"Any wound or sickness, no matter how serious, is healed within a matter of minutes. A person can be brought back from the brink of death to full health."

"Correct. Ten points to Griffindor." Draco smiled at Aki quickly, and then continued. "However, we cannot make a potion of this potency as it's very complicated and fairly dangerous. Besides, it takes months and I get bored pretty fast."

Turning his back on the class, he waved his wand and the instructions appeared on the board. "All ingredients can be found in the cupboards and if you need any help feel free to ask."

The class began working and Draco settled back into his seat, picking up a stack of third year essays and beginning to mark them.

For about ten minutes the class was working will with minimal noise and, as of yet, no explosions. Suddenly, there was a loud thump.

"Professor Malfoy!" shrieked a scared and shaking voice.

Draco was on his feet to find the source of the noise. Arianna had fallen from her seat on to the hard stone floor. Her eyes had rolled up into her head, now almost only the whites visible, and her face was contorted into what could be perceived to be a grimace of pain. Her body was convulsing violent and there was a gagging, gurgling sound coming from her throat.

Draco was by her side in a matter of seconds. "Has this ever happened before?"

Her friends and several other students shook their heads, their faces pale with worry.

He knelt on the floor and held Arianna's head in his hands, stopping her from banging her head any more or hurting her neck.

"All of you, go outside," ordered Draco, looking at the terrified class. "Someone go get Professor Potter and Madame Pomfrey."

All alone in the classroom, Draco supported Arianna's head, noticing her right arms bent in an abnormal position beneath her body. His heart was beating unbelievably fast and his body was trembling.

The dungeon door flew open and Harry ran in, his face constricted with worry. Immediately, he knelt opposite Draco and took Arianna's left hand in his.

"How long has see been seizing for?"

"Um...two or three minutes."

"Okay."

They sat in silence for another minute until Arianna fell still again. Harry took off his robes and folded them up, placing them under his daughter's head.

"What now?" asked Draco, his voice quiet.

"Now we wait."

Harry stretched himself out on the floor, still stroking Arianna's hand. "Come on Ari."

Madame Pomfrey entered the dungeon. "What's going on?"

"Ari had a fit. There's nothing to be done. We just need to wait for her to wake up and then we'll move her to my room until tomorrow morning."

"Harry, what about her arm?"

"Oh," he frowned.

"It looks broken," remarked Madame Pomfrey. "I'll fix that once she's in your room."

"Thank you."

Harry lay watching his daughter and, like Draco, did not remove his eyes from her. Slowly, Arianna's eyes opened but stared ahead, blank and unfocused.

"Ari," said Harry softly. "Hey baby."

He got to his knees. "I'll carry her back to my room now. Draco, Poppy, if you will help me?"

They both nodded.

"Draco, you're students are in with mine and Ron's keeping an eye on them."

"Oh, thanks."

Silently, the three of them, Harry carrying Arianna, walked through the schools quiet corridors until they reached a huge painting of a lion.

Harry whispered something and the portrait swung forward, revealing a large sitting room with a huge, currently unlit, fire place and a red sofa. Harry led them through a door into a room decorated in gold and red with a huge four poster bed with embroidered hangings/ He lay Arianna down on this bed and smoothed out her hair.

Madame Pomfrey placed two potions on the bedside table. One was blue, the other pink. "She will need to have the blue one as soon as she wakes up, to reset the bone. The pink one is for the pain, you may not need it."

Harry smiled gratefully. "Thank you Poppy."

"I'll be back to check on her in a few hours, but there was an incident in a first year Herbology class."

She ruffled Harry's hair affectionately and then left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Harry sat on the bed and leant back against the headboard, continuing to stroke back Arianna's long dark hair.

"Harry?"

He looked wearily at Draco. "Yes?"

"What was that?" the blond ventured.

Harry sighed and motioned for Draco to sit on the bed. He obliged and curled his legs underneath him at the foot of the bed.

"Arianna has a muggle illness called epilepsy."

Draco frowned. "What's that?"

"It's like a short circuit in the brain."

Draco still looked clueless, and then Harry remembered that Draco knew little, if anything, about the muggle world and probably had no idea of what electricity was, let alone short-circuiting.

"It's like there's a connection in her brain that sometimes breaks and causes her to fit."

"So that's happened before?"

"Yea, quite a number of times actually."

"Was she born with it?"

Harry shook his head again. "No. When she was twelve she just had a fit one day. Doctors still don't know what caused it."

"Is there anything to stop it?"

"You mean like a cure? No. Ari takes pills but...they don't seem to do much."

Draco bit his lip. "How does Arianna handle it?"

"Better than me." Harry chuckled slightly. "She's a very strong girl. Amazingly so. She just copes with it and leads a pretty normal life."

"Look, I know we're not on the best of terms but...if you ever need someone to talk to, or a shoulder to cry on...or someone to punch, I'm here for you."

Harry smiled, a soft smile, like the ones Draco remembered from their time together. "Thanks Dray."

There was a soft moan from Arianna as she opened her eyes a bit.

"Hey baby," said Harry, his voice once again soft. "How you feeling?"

"My head hurts."

"I know it does." He leant over and took the two bottles of potion from the table. "You have to drink these."

Frowning slightly, Arianna obeyed and drunk the two potions with Harry's assistance.

"Daddy, I'm tired."

Harry kissed her forehead. "Go back to sleep baby."

Arianna nodded and sighed softly as she snuggled further under the duvet and fell back asleep. Beckoning silently to Draco, Harry left the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

Draco stood nervously just inside the sitting room, while Harry sprawled on the red velvet sofa, his eyes shut.

"Sit down Dray," he quietly implored.

Draco curled his legs underneath him in a red armchair near the sofa and look at Harry with longing as the dark haired man stretched out, his eyes still closed. He just wanted to take Harry in his arms and hug him and hold him and tell him that everything was okay.

But that wasn't an option, Harry had made Draco certain of that.

"Thank you Draco."

"What for?"

"I don't know. Everything. For not freaking out with Ari and for helping me with her."

"That's okay Harry."

Harry nodded and made a somewhat non-committal sound in his throat.

"Harry?"

"Yea."

Could he do this? "Never mind."

Apparently not.

'I love you Harry.'

Hmm....

Review please