Title: Save Me From The Dark
Author: Princesspepper
Rating: I think I can get away with R.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling.
Pairing: Harry/Draco (suggestion of Ron/Hermione, but, of course, that is not important).
WARNINGS: Sexual content (later), adult language, self-harm (cutting, more specifically—it says suicide, but it doesn't get that far), kinda dark, and some Ron-bashing in later chapters.
(A/N): More Harry/Draco interaction here! This chapter is where you see the first big changes from the original version—the original was so much cheesier.
This chapter is dedicated to adina, SummerlandJM, Darkness08, MishapsErrors, creepy clown doll, cinder, ozumas girl, Jordan (twodollartrick), lovesdracolots, and Madeline! Thank you all so much for reviewing.
(Chapter Four: Secrets)
The instant that Draco passed out again, Harry took a moment to absorb what Draco had just said.
He's afraid I won't love him… Harry thought. This was so weird. He had no idea what to do… or think. He couldn't deny that the thought that Draco had feelings for him exhilarated him. He wasn't sure if he was quite ready to admit his feelings for the blond, but he decided he'd deal with that later. Because right now, he had to get Draco some help.
Harry's eyes darted around the room, looking for something that might aid him. He found nothing. He was sure Draco would not want to be taken to the Hospital Wing; Madam Pomfrey would most definitely discover what happened and demand that Draco get help, which, again, Draco would object to. So Harry decided to take matters into his own hands.
Harry conjured a stretcher out of thin air and carefully lifted Draco onto it. He cast a charm on the stretcher so it would hover in midair behind him. Lunch was already in session, so nobody was in the hallway, therefore, Harry was able to bring Draco into Gryffindor tower undisturbed.
Once they got there, Harry brought Draco up to his room and placed him upon his four-poster bed. He closed the hangings and dashed down to the Great Hall, seeking Hermione, for she would surely know what to do.
As Harry burst through the ornate doors of the Great Hall, everyone turned their heads to stare at him, being as he was panting and looking quite distraught. He staggered over to the Gryffindor table, stopping only when he stood in front of Hermione.
"'Mione, come quick…" Harry panted, "Someone needs your help…" as he said this, Harry sunk onto the bench next to Hermione, trying to catch his breath, knowing it would be mere seconds before they were off again.
"Harry? What's wrong? Is someone hurt? Are you okay?" Hermione squeaked, quite afraid of the answers to these questions.
"N-no time…to explain… come now!" Harry gasped as he grabbed her arm and bolted towards the door, her stumbling away behind him.
When they reached Harry's room, he yanked aside the curtains to expose the unconscious Draco Malfoy to Hermione. She gasped as she realized whom it was she was going to help.
"Harry—what—what happened?" Hermione gasped as she took in the sight, which she found terribly strange—and suspicious. 'Harry's arch nemesis is lying on his bed,' Hermione thought, 'and he is unconscious. Harry did not knock him out. He is trying to help him. What the hell is going on?'
However, Hermione managed to tuck away her suspicions for later analysis. She had to face the problem at hand. Although she strongly disliked Draco Malfoy, she did not want him to die. She wouldn't wish that on anyone. Well, except Voldemort of course. 'And maybe Rita Skeeter,' Hermione chuckled to herself at that last thought.
Hermione rolled up her sleeves and began to work. Harry was collapsed on Ron's bed, trying to catch his breath, so he wouldn't be much help. She analyzed Draco's condition, but all she could see is that he was paler than usual. No scratches or anything. But it seemed as if he had suffered from… blood loss!
Hermione did the same as Harry had when Draco was first discovered. She yanked the sleeve of his robes up a little until she saw the latest gash. She slowly edged it up until it reached his shoulder, where the cuts began. She felt her eyes well up with tears despite herself. That kind of thing was so sad; it always got to her.
She felt a pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach, for who knew how many of these self-destructive cuts had her or one of her friends induced by their harsh words?
"Harry, did you see this?" Hermione said, still quite shocked at her discovery. Harry only nodded with his eyes closed, still catching his breath. Hermione fished her wand out of her pocket and searched through her memory banks for a few moments before she came up with a charm to replace lost blood. She cast it upon the comatose Draco and turned to Harry to explain the circumstance.
Harry was now sitting upright, watching her carefully, and watching Draco even more carefully for any sign of movement. Hermione approached Harry with a concerned look on her face, preparing what she was going to say next, because she simply HAD to find out what was going on; this was way too odd.
As soon as Harry noticed she was drawing nearer, his eyes snapped away from Draco's unconscious form and focused on Hermione.
"Will he be alright?" Harry asked, sounding very frightened, while cracking his knuckles nervously.
"Oh yes Harry, he'll be fine. He needs to stay here until he wakes up though." As Hermione said this, she watched Harry's face light up, which concerned her even more. "What I'm more worried about, Harry, is you. You've been acting very odd lately."
Harry paled a bit as he said "How so?' and flicked his eyes to Draco, making Hermione's suspicions even more plausible.
So Hermione went on to explain all of her evidence to Harry, starting from the odd stare fest in the Great Hall, from being concerned enough to go looking for Draco. By the end of Hermione's explanation, Harry was looking very nervous indeed. His eyes kept darting from her face, to Draco's unconscious body, to the door of the room.
"Harry, you know you can tell me anything, right?" Hermione said gently, cupping his chin in her hands.
Harry carefully avoided her eyes, but when Hermione didn't give up, he finally looked at her. "I know, it's just a little hard for me to say…"
"You know I won't judge you no matter what. I don't care about anything but making sure you are all right. I can tell you need to talk, so please, tell me what's going on."
Harry sighed and finally gave in. He told her all the facts of what had happened in the past few days, but none of how he felt. Hermione listened attentively and didn't say a word until he was done.
"Wow, did Malfoy really say that?" Harry slowly nodded. "Well I'm glad you told me what happened, but I can't help noticing you didn't tell me how you felt about it, which is the most important part."
Harry took a deep breath, hoping he was making the right choice in telling her. 'Hermione will understand, she's never showed any prejudice,' Harry reassured himself. Slowly he began to explain…
"… and Hermione, please don't hate me for this, but I—I think I really DO like him…"
"Harry," Hermione said, quite hopefully, to Harry's surprise, "does this mean you're—you're—um, gay?"
"Yes." Harry whispered, as he looked her right in the eye. He said this almost defiantly, as if he had just decided to admit it to her as well as himself.
A huge smile spread across Hermione's face as she jumped up from her place on an armchair and ran over to Harry to give him a huge hug.
"Mmph, what was that for Hermione?" Harry said, relief apparent in his voice, for he was surprised at how well Hermione had taken his news.
"Harry, every girl wants to have a best friend who's gay, it's like an unwritten rule," Hermione said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "but I'm also very happy for you. I'm glad that Draco makes you happy, and I'm glad that you were able to tell me. You must really trust me, huh?' Hermione said this last bit with a huge smile on her face.
Harry returned the smile with full force, "Of course I trust you, 'Mione, but I'm not sure if Ron is ready to hear this. Could you please not tell him? I don't think I want him to know, at least for now."
"Of course, I won't if you ask me not to. I agree, I think Ron needs to open his mind more before he hears this…" Hermione said with a foreboding sound to her voice.
Harry smiled at Hermione again, thinking about how fortunate he was to have a friend like her. "I better get back to lunch Harry, would you like to come? Or would you prefer to stay here…?" said Hermione, turning to Draco and giving Harry a wink.
"Uh, I think I'll stay here," said Harry, looking quite shaken up from the wink, "In case he wakes up, you know, he'll want to know where he is."
"Sure Harry, I'm positive that's why you're staying," Hermione said with a sarcastic smirk, "but seriously, that is a good idea. We have Transfiguration next don't we?" Harry nodded, "alright, well I'll tell McGonagall you're not feeling well. Same for Draco… I just hope she doesn't get too suspicious." Hermione gave Harry one last smile and wave, and with that, she walked out the door and descended the stairs.
Now that Harry was alone, he was getting quite panicky. He didn't know what he was going to do or say when Draco woke up. Harry started pacing the dormitory fervently, glancing at Draco now and then, and searching for any hint of him returning to consciousness. But a whole hour passed by and not so much as a flutter of an eyelid could be seen from the young Malfoy. Harry began to get worried again.
Harry strode over to the bed that Draco lay on and sat beside him, studying his flawless face. He started at the bottom, with his lips. They were perfectly pink and looked quite soft. 'How lovely,' Harry thought to himself as he moved on to Draco's perfect nose. Then Harry looked further, up to the blonde's closed eyes. Again, there was a soft lock of hair falling over Draco's eyelids, and Harry lovingly brushed it away. As if in response to Harry's touch, just like the awakening of Sleeping Beauty, Draco's eyelids fluttered and he slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing Draco saw when he opened his eyes was Harry Potter staring intently at him. 'I must be dreaming' Draco thought slowly; still quite sluggish from the hours he was unconscious. But slowly, slowly, Harry came into sharper focus and Draco realized this was no dream, which lifted his spirits considerably.
"Draco—I mean Malfoy, are you alright? How are you feeling?" Harry repeated what he had said the first time he found Malfoy unconscious.
Draco propped himself up on one elbow and stared into Harry's eyes, trying to see past the beautiful emerald green right into his thoughts. They were quite clouded, and Draco couldn't tell what was going on inside that head of his. So he decided to answer honestly.
"I'm feeling very confused. What happened?" Draco looked quite puzzled, so Harry decided he couldn't have been playing games. Either that or he was an extremely good actor. He didn't put it past Malfoy, but still.
"Well you passed out, um, on the washroom floor. Don't you remember?" Harry said nervously, afraid Draco had hit his head too hard and gotten amnesia. But then Harry remembered Draco hadn't hit his head (go figure).
Draco squinted his eyes in concentration. Slowly, Harry saw the dawn come as Draco remembered the events of the past few hours. "Oh, right. I had just—crap, you know! And then I said—oh shit, oh SHIT!" Draco said, his expression suddenly becoming very guarded. He sprang to his feet and made to dash out the door, but Harry caught his arm and forced him back onto the bed.
"No, wait, you're still a bit peaky, I wouldn't do that if I were you." Harry said as Draco squirmed under his grasp.
"I don't need your sympathy, Potter!" Draco spat, still writhing under Harry's grasp. "I don't even know why you're talking to me!" Harry took one look at him and could instantly tell he was miserable, humiliated, degraded, and desperate. Harry knew that if he let Draco go, not only would they both continue to be miserable because of their un-confronted feelings, but also Draco would probably return to the washroom and slit his wrists!
"Look, Malfoy" he said firmly, "I'm not so pleased about this either. It's taking a lot out of me to help you like this. I've hated you since the day I met you! But I wouldn't wish death upon anyone. That's why I want to help."
Draco seemed to be considering what Harry was saying, his expression still cold and guarded. "I don't get it," he said finally, "I'm starting to wonder if you remember what I said when I was half unconscious. Do you remember?" he raised a sculpted eyebrow at Harry.
Harry turned slightly pink at the words. "Huh? Oh, I wasn't sure if I heard you right." he stammered. Draco smirked triumphantly.
"Pfft, you must be freaking deaf, Potter," he scowled, crossing his thin arms across his chest.
"Grrr," was all he could say. He wasn't about to admit he really did hear it. That would be far too awkward for the both of them! Harry couldn't believe that this stuck-up prick was the same boy that he found passed out on the bathroom floor. Around other people (when he wasn't about to die of blood loss), he was such an ass!
Instantly, Harry felt bad for what he said, and what he thought. Draco looked genuinely hurt. "Fine…" he muttered, "I'll just go then…" he stood up dejectedly and was about to go to the door when Harry decided he had to shelve his pride.
"Draco, wait!" he cried, running up to him and putting his hand on his arm. "You have to stay the night. You're still really weak." Harry didn't know where this was coming from; he had no idea how he was going to hide Draco from the rest of his dorm! And there was NO WAY anyone else could find out about this. Everyone would laugh SO HARD if they knew he was being kind to Malfoy.
All that was going on in Harry's head, but Draco could only think of one thing. "You called me Draco…" he said softly and his facial muscles relaxed into a rare smile.
Harry stiffened instantly, not willing to give into the other boy. "Yes, I did," he snapped, "I obviously can't think for myself at the moment."
Draco glared, but settled back onto Harry's pillows. "Okay, fine. I'll stay. I know you want me to." Harry blushed. "But… wait a minute. Who else knows about this… about, me? Who else did you tell, Potter? You couldn't have done all this by yourself!"
Harry cruelly prolonged his answering of the blonde's question, enjoying the power he had over the other boy. He always loved seeing Malfoy squirm. "You have no faith in me, Malfoy," Harry said, smirking. "I'll admit I had SOME help, but I did manage to get you up here without anyone noticing."
Draco blushed at the thought of Harry carrying him, but quickly covered it up by yelling. "WHO DID YOU TELL!"
Harry chuckled. "Just Hermione. I made her swear not to tell anyone though. Honestly, I don't hate you THAT much."
"Ouch, Potter, that hurt," Draco said, only half joking. He didn't appreciate the harsh words.
Harry merely shook his head, smiling slightly. "Shut up you prick. Look, I'm going to go down to The Great Hall. It'll be dinnertime by now. Do you want me to get you anything? You must be hungry."
Draco noticed his stomach growl. "Yeah, starving. Thanks," he said genuinely, looking Harry in the eye. He saw Harry's expression soften, but when Harry realized this, he quickly stiffened again.
"Whatever," he mumbled, going back out the door.
(End Of Chapter Four)
(A/N): Sorry for the shortness. This and the next one was originally one chapter, but I decided to cut it off. See, I re-wrote chapters four and five coz they were too sappy and cheesy and unrealistic. I hope it's better now! Ugh, I hope this doesn't mess things up later… anyway, review please!
XOXO Princesspepper OXOX