CHAPTER THIRTEEN: REALITY

We cannot live together
We cannot live apart
That's the situation
I've known it from the start
-Genesis-

The hospital wing lay in exhausted silence as Madame Pomfrey finally went to sleep and left the guarding of Neville to a weary Snape. And Snape was truly weary of everything.
First, Neville had to be urgently nursed by madame Pomfrey and meanwhile, McGonagall and Snape had been through hell trying to keep Potter and Draco out of the hospital room. They had battled everything from invisibility cloaks to blackmail attempts way below the belt before they were left in peace.
After that, McGonagall had been to see the principle, the horrible, repulsive Umbridge, who had waved McGonagall's requests for personal guards for Neville off, defending Malfoy senior by claiming that a double tried to frame the respectable head of the Malfoy empire. Then Snape had been to see Umbridge, convincing her about the need for guards by blaming Potter and the Gryffindors as the biggest threat.Umbridge had agreed of course, allowing Snape and McGonagall to take shifts by Neville's side.
Snape boiled with anger when he thought about the substitutes sent in to take over his lessons. The students might go soft and Snape would have to start all over again to attain the firm discipline in his classroom.
He tried to savour the silence. In a moment, he would have young Malfoy down with him and he looked forward to it as much as he would if it was Potter. Actually, the Potter situation would be much more stimulating, since the arrogant little Gryffindor now faced the threat of expulsion after trying to hit Snape. However, at the discretion of the Order of the Phoenix, Potter had to be kept within sight and could under no circumstances leave school. But Potter knew nothing about that, of course.
Malfoy on the other hand, had looked way too edgy all day and had skipped lessons to sneak around outside the hospital wing, in case he would find a chance to get in. His anger had spilled over the other Slytherins as they tried to hang around him as usual and Crabbe and Goyle had been sent off, totally at a loss about what had happen.
Snape had told Malfoy to attend after the evening meal, under the pretence of serving detention with Snape. Nobody who had seen Malfoy's behaviour in the school halls yesterday would question that.
Young Malfoy had finally succeeded in forcing Snape way too deep into his sticky business. It had been too late when he had found them in the library that autumn evening, but little could he guess how far into their soapy drama he would need to slide. Now there was also a hospital scene in it and Snape of all people had to play a part!
But his patience with Lucius had hardly increased by this assault on one of his students. Lucius had trespassed on Snape's domains and would pay dearly for it. All torturing of the students were reserved as a teacher's priviligue and the sort of act Lucius had commited reminded Snape only too much of a dark and uncomfortable past.
It was time to put some amount of control over the situation.

Draco had been waiting outside the hospital wing for over an hour. He had skipped dinner since he couldn't get any food down anyway and now he sat half secluded by a column and waited for the clock to show a tolerable time for him to enter the room. It felt like waiting for a death sentence.
His thoughts kept spinning in circles, not offering any satisfying solutions to the mountains of misery that lay ahead.He would be grateful if Neville ever spoke another word to him again and there would be hell to pay at home, not to mention that he had exposed weakness to Potter in the astronomy tower. Snape never looked pleased to see him anymore either.
Thinking about Neville released such cravings of vengeance and hatred directed to his father that he feared he might snap from the adrenaline.
But the worst part was the rare feeling of heavy guilt, like the entire world suddenly came crashing down on him.
"It was your fault."
A dark shadow had fallen over Draco and amazingly enough, Potter stood there, deadly serious in his dark robes with an accusing glare, as if impersonating Draco's newly discovered conscience. For a moment, Draco was too stunned to answer. Then the old familiar feeling of frost towards Potter came creeping.
"I can't remember seeing his Gryffindor friends around for the rescue."
While Draco's voice grew colder, Harry's sounded all the more heated.
"Whatever this game was you played with him, it ends here. None of us will ever leave him alone with you anymore!"
Draco got to his feet, enflamed on Neville's account all of a sudden.
"And as usual, you forgot to ask him?"
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"You would know, Potter" Draco said with dripping venom, "if you could picture Neville with a will of his own just once. Not everybody is eager to run in the Potter leach!"
"And we can all see how well he did in your leach!" Potter shot back.
The accusation struck home, but Draco did everything to keep his mask on, even trying to surpress the growing anger.
"How very unworthy of you Potter, allowing your bitterness to spill out over Neville."
Potter looked very insulted and ready to strike back, but the light blush on his cheeks that Draco searched for was there.
"You're just full of crap, Malfoy!"
"Am I?" Draco gave him a chilly smile. "I think, that the famous Harry Potter, the adored Boy-who-lived with an ego bigger than Hagrid's stupor, couldn't handle that Neville beat him in a prestigious game."
Harry clenched his teeth in fury, but had no words yet to meet the attack.
"It's no secret" Draco continued, "that your expertise with girls is below all criticism, if we are to judge by Chang's disappointed face and her constant avoiding of you. Clearly, fame isn't everything."
Harry's breathing became slightly faster, as if he stood ready to assault Draco on the spot. Draco could see he wasn't far from the explosion.
"And what sorts of relationships do you have, Malfoy? You set them up and gather the left-overs your dad leave?"
Draco had a dark impulse of strangling Potter very slowly, but he wasn't going to start a scene out there and miss his chance to see Neville. Instead, he struck with the sharpest weapons he had.
"You look quite sexy when you're angry, Potter."
It was a real feast for the eyes to see Potter turn red from the embarrasment, his mouth wide open in shock.
"Wh-what...?"
"Oh, don't stop raging. It's the way I want you." Draco smiled maliciously at him, watching how Potter shakily withdrew as Draco took one step forward.
Then Snape opened the door and ruined the fun.
"I can't remember I sent after you for detention as well?" Snape said, eyening Potter coldly.
Draco was surprised to see how the-boy-who-lived made a frightened jump at the sight of Snape, like being caught in the middle of a crime.
Without another word Potter left, but Draco felt that the small victory hardly made up for anything at all.

As he entered the hospital wing, a knot in his stomach started to ache and by the time they reached Neville's bed, he was in a horrible condition.
It was nothing compared to Neville, though.
The abused Gryffindor had a deadly pale on his cheeks, his face was covered with bruises and the nose carried dark red wounds, even if madame Pomfrey had tamed the swelling. One white hand lay on the cover, exposing the wrapped, broken wrist. It was obvious from the breathing that he was in deep sleep.
Draco forgot to breathe. He forgot to sit down and Snape had to place another chair beside the bed and give him a slight push in its direction to break the paralyzation.
"He has recieved a heavy sleeping draught and a powerful pain remover." Snape said, in a futile attempt to calm Draco into breathing normally.
"Where did the blood come from?" Draco whispered.
Snape looked slightly impatient with him.
"What matters is that he will live and that your plans are better laid this time."
"What are you talking about?" Draco sank down to the chair, unable to release his eyes from Neville.
"Professor."
"Yes, right. Professor." Draco said absentmindedly.
"If I were to put the sorting hat on your head now, it would bellow 'Gryffindor' loud enough to revive the rotting basilisk in the pipes!"
Draco stared at his teacher with his jaw dropped at the insult.
"You are acting like Potter even more than Potter himself." Snape went on, staring accusingly at his student.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco gasped, looking terribly wronged.
"I'm saying" Snape continued, with plain authority, "that when your father sends for you, you will tell him how sorry you are about your disobedience and make it up by obtaining a girlfriend. I'm sure Miss Parkinson would be happy to oblige."
Draco answered with a cold in his voice that would be able to compete with Snape's.
"He's not my father. And concerning Pansy, over my dead body!"
"Could well be." Snape scolded. "But more likely, over Longbottom's dead body."
Draco clenched his teeth together in stubborn silence.
"I didn't say you have to mean it. Only that you will do it." Snape's patience was fading, but Draco couldn't care enough even to look at his potion's master. When Draco shook his head, Snape addressed him more sharply.
"You can't afford this childishness, judging by the fix you've put yourself into. Neither I nor McGonagall will be able to guard Longbottom forever."
"What did he do to him?" Draco asked, clearly looking for fuel to his vengeance plans.
Snape sighed.
"First of all, Malfoy, we should ask ourselves how your father found out."
This silenced Draco effectively. Lead seemed to fill his limbs.
"It was my fault." Draco whispered, his voice staggering in a very unusual way. Snape raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed. And how is that?"
"He found the letter Neville sent me at Christmas. I forgot to burn it." Draco's voice was strangely similar to a whimper.
"You let him send you letters!" Snape hissed, more accusingly than Draco could handle.
Snape suddenly heard a loud sob and looked at the bed. But Neville was in deep sleep. Then he realised with a shock that it came from Malfoy.
Oh no, why did it had to happen on my watch, don't do this to me, I'm not paid good enough for this.
"Malfoy, put yourself together." Snape sounded more commanding than pleading, hoping that Draco would show but a scrap of his former discipline to relieve Snape of this awkward situation.
But Draco shot up from his chair to face Snape and dried the tears away immediatly. Snape could read trouble all over him.
"It would suit you, wouldn't it?" Draco snapped. "To have everything back to normal, so the Malfoy dinners went all smooth again?"
"Lower your voice, Potter...I mean Malfoy." Snape said cynically. "You're in a hospital."
"I bet it's very inconvenient that you had to stop Lucius from killing him! It would be better for you if Neville had died, hadn't it?"
Probably, Snape thought, but he continued to listen, putting on a face of frank boredom.
"I'm sorry to disrupt your plans, professor, but if you think I'd trade Neville for the friendship between you and my f... Lucius, then you are naive indeed! And you'd best get used to not seeing Lucius, because I'm telling you, unless he can survive what he put Neville through, he's done for!"
"Now you listen, you spoiled little failed Slytherin!" Snape's eyes were flaming. "I'm not your servant and neither is any staff member on this school. Not only do I outrank you as your teacher, but concerning the mark on your left arm, be grateful that I haven't thrown half a dussin of Crucio's on you already!"
Draco flinched as Snape rose from his chair to intimidate him further. The survival instincts finally flooded through Draco, making him realise that he spoke to the Dark Lord's favorite Death eater. He quickly wondered what he could do to have Snape calm again. Was he expected to go down on his knees? Hesitantly he looked to the floor.
"Well?" Snape demanded.
As Draco started to put one knee to the floor, Snape pulled him up harshly and grabbed his shoulders.
"An apology will do, you imbecile!" he hissed.
"I'm sorry, professor!" Draco shot out, as quickly as he could.
Snape let him go without ceremony and placed himself on the chair again with a displeased sneer.
Draco didn't dare to breathe a word, worried that Snape would take his anger out on Neville when he wasn't around.
"Now", Snape said in a voice as calm as if nothing had happened, "I expect a civilized conversation. You will do as I have told you to, because your father has sent for you. You are to return home as soon as the circumstances will allow."
Draco went absolutely cold.
"I have told him that the school insisted on executing your detentions first. That leaves you another twentyfour hours."
"But...Neville..." Draco's voice trailed off at the murderous glare from Snape.
"Longbottom is done for, unless you are Slytherin enough to tell your father what he wants to hear."
A weak cough was heard from the bed and Draco threw himself at the bedside opposite from Snape, grasping the white hand on the cover. Neville's eyelids quivered a little as Snape wearily turned his back on them to snatch a bottle from the shelf.
"What's that?" Draco said, glaring at the bottle with great suspicion.
"That is to ease my building headache." Snape answered sarcastically.
"What?"
"It's Longbottom's sleeping draught, you fool!" Snape hissed.
"Draco?"
Neville's unsteady, rasping whisper nearly made Draco jump to the roof with relief. He fixed his eyes on the half-closed simmering brown ones that seemed unable to focus, while squeezing Neville's hand as light as he could in his desperation.
"Neville!" he eagerly whispered back. "I'm here, I'm not leaving, I'll kill him, I swear..."
Feeling Snape's burning gaze upon him, Draco quickly changed the subject.
"Can you hear me?"
For a moment, Draco thought he saw fear flicker through Neville's face. Then a tear came rolling down the blackened, soft cheek.
"I...thought I'd never...see you...again."
"Oh Neville, it was all my fault, Lucius found the letter you sent me for Christmas and mom managed to send me a letter arriving just a little too late and I'm so sorry, I ran as fast as I could, it wasn't fast enough I know, just, please, say whatever I can do to make you forgive me and I'll do it, and I'll make sure noone ever touches you again..."
Snape let out a loud, contemptous sigh.
Draco felt Neville's fingertips pressuring his hand slightly.
"It wasn't ...your...fault." Then he coughed again.
Draco wanted to stroke his cheek but thought better of it as the bruises practically covered all of it.
"I look terrible." Neville whispered apologetically.
"Don't be stupid!" Draco snapped, kissing Neville's forehead very carefully.
Neville closed his eyes and made a small, pleased sound.
"Are you in pain?" Draco asked, the anger suddenly rushing through his veins like leaping fire. "You must tell me what he did, Neville, because I'll do exactly the same to him, every little..."
"That's enough!" Snape interrupted and Draco could see how Neville's features changed into despair.
"Longbottom needs his rest and your detention is over." Snape broke their handcontact, realising that he would have to wait forever if they were to be left to their own devices.
Draco rose, but refused to move until Snape grabbed his arm and gave him a hard push towards the door.
"I have to stay with him!" Draco protested.
"Not another word on the subject!" Snape shot back. "You prepare your speech in front of your parents instead and do contemplate on what I said."
"What if I just don't leave?" Draco's voice was low and threatening.
Snape rolled his eyes, before fixing them venomously on Draco.
"Then your parents can collect the remains of you both in Hagrid's dog bowl tomorrow!"
As soon as Draco had left the room, Snape turned to Neville, who seemed to be drifting in and out of the waking world, fighting to keep his eyes open as he heard Snape's voice.
"We have a slight problem here, as you have noticed." Snape said, using his lecturing voice. "Tomorrow, Draco will be sent home and professor McGonagall and I will be responsible for your safety."
Neville whispered something, looking very anxious.
"What was that?" Snape asked and leant down to hear him better.
"You can't...send Draco ...home."
"Oh, yes I can and I have no choice in the matter. However, his continued wellfare depends on you."
"I...don't...understand."
"If you tell Draco about your wounds, he will try to attack his father and recieve a punishment that renders him beyond recognition."
Neville looked miserable, tears sliding down his cheeks in shame over the mentioning of the wounds. But Snape was set on seeing the conversation through.
"One more thing. You cannot be together here or anywhere else. As soon as Mr Malfoy returns, he will choose Miss Parkinson as a more fitting partner to display."
"No...!" Neville seemed devastated, turning a pleading pair of eyes to Snape.
"You put yourself in this situation, so don't even dare to lay the blame on me! Stay away from Mr Malfoy, or it will mean disaster for you both!"
Neville bit his lip, the tears running in great strides as he sobbed heartbrokenly.
"It's not fair." He whimpered.
Snape's limit was reached. It filled him with burning anger to be confronted with the full weight of his past thanks to this weak, pathetic Gryffindor, having the nerve to demand justice. Snape leant down and whispered into Neville's ear, sterner than he intended to.
"I'll tell you what else isn't fair. Some of us, like Mr Malfoy, carry the mark. Yes, I know you've seen it. Now, take wisdom from your past and heed my words. You will be grateful for this when Mr Malfoy has been ordered to commit his first murder. Because he will have to do it, you see, and after that...there is no turning back. For any of you."

When Draco awoke the next morning, he had slept no longer than an hour at most. He couldn't handle the thought of leaving Hogwarts while Neville lay in his present state. He decided to make an early breakfast and hurried to the hospital wing as fast as he could. Crabbe and Goyle wasn't halfway trough their meal as he left.
As he entered the hospital room very carefully, he saw that McGonagall sat by Neville's bed, reading a big book aloud. Neville seemed awake, his head pushed up alittle by several fluffy cushions.
McGonagall looked up at Draco as he walked nearer, bracing himself for the Gryffindor head's reaction. But McGonagall only gave him a friendly smile of the sort she had never done before. Draco looked back at her, full of suspicion.
"Mr Malfoy. How nice to see you! Do sit down."
"Thank you, professor." He said, meeting Neville's gaze. It was hard for once to guess Neville's thoughts. Draco had not expected him to look so hurt.
"I was just telling Mr Longbottom about your rescue operation the other day." McGonagall told him. "Seemed only fair, since most of the school took quite an impression of your visit at Mr Binns."
She eyed Draco sternly behind her reading glasses.
"You couldn't have arrived more properly." she continued. "I need to go through some tests, so I'll be over there if you need me." She nodded towards a huge desk in the other end of the room and made her way to it, before Draco could answer.
As soon as she left, Draco bent down and kissed Neville's lips.
The hurting didn't seem to fade from Neville's eyes, however.
"How are you today?" Draco asked, noting how a little colour had returned to Neville's skin.
"Better, I guess. The pain is removed and Pomfrey says she'll be able to restore me."
Draco sat down on the bed, stroking Neville's curls.
"That's my boy." he said, smiling.
"Draco?" Neville's lower lip was quivering.
"What?"
"Are you going to hang out with Pansy now?"
Draco frowned.
"Did Snape tell you that?"
"Just answer the question." Neville pleaded.
"If I do, you know it's only for show, right?"
Neville's eyes suddenly shot daggers.
"Fine. Then I'll just hang out with Potter!"
Draco went absolutely livid, but held it in check behind a mask of ice.
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Oh, it's only for show." Neville said, his voice carrying an uncommon edge.
Draco raised an eyebrow, taken off guard by Neville's sudden blackmailing instincts.
"If Potter touches you, he can switch beds with you at once!"
"Don't say that!" Neville couldn't hold the tears back any longer.
Draco lay down beside Neville and embraced him gently, not sure about where the worst wounds were. Neville cried into his shoulder a little while, before speaking again.
"I almost died for you." he sobbed. "And now you'll just run to Pansy instead?"
"I don't want her, you know that!" Draco said, his voice not hiding any irritation. He didn't like the guilt Neville caused in him. "But I don't want you to die either and I'm telling you, until I know a way to get rid of Lucius, I'll do what I can to direct his anger away from you."
"Draco? If they...you know who...asked you to commit a murder, would you do it?"
"Only if it was on Lucius." Draco answered immediatly, his voice cold with anger at the mentioning of it.
"What if you don't have a choice?"
"Why don't we just drop the subject?" Draco sighed, not wanting to venture into it further.
Neville moved his head up to kiss Draco's lips.
"You're the only one I have." Neville whispered. "If I have to lose you to those..."
"You won't. But I'm going home today and unless I can convince my parents about the opposite, he'll go for you again and I will not allow that to happen."
"It's so unfair." Neville whispered. "And you shouldn't have to go home!"
"It's that Umbridge bitch." Draco whispered. "As long as she keeps kissing Lucius' ass, I'm at her mercy."
"I wish Dumbledore was here."
"I wish everybody were gone, except for us."
"Hem, hem."

Draco flew out of the bed at the familiar sound, his face turning white as he saw headmaster Umbridge at the door. To his relief, she was talking to McGonagall, who seemed to block her sight intentionally, by standing in a proper angle towards Neville. Draco cast one glance back at Neville and for a second, he saw the wounded Gryffindor look very sad. Draco felt like panicking, but forced his face straight and walked up to McGonagall's side very quickly.
"Ah." McGonagall said. "There you are. I hope all the medicine bottles are properly sorted out?"
"Of course, professor." Draco answered in his polite teacher's pet-voice.
Umbridge smiled in a very sinister way.
"I didn't know that the heads of the houses switched students between each other?" she asked, giving McGonagall an accusing eye.
But McGonagall answered with a perfect mask of hurt pride.
"Usually they don't, headmistress. But considering Mr Malfoy's dreadful behaviour the other day..."
"Now, I'm sure professor Snape could handle that, couldn't he?" Umbridge said in her sweet girlish voice, laying her fat, porky hand at Draco's back to direct him out of the hospital room.
Draco followed her obediently, not daring to cast even one look behind him. He just upheld his ingratiating smile while they walked towards her office.
"Your father is here, Malfoy dear." she said, sounding a lot more fawning. She had obviously no idea what had brought the visit on.
Draco's feet turned cold at the information, but he struggled to make his eyes shine in an expectant way, as if he was actually going to enjoy the meeting.
"Is my mother here too, headmistress?" he tried, making his voice mildly curious and eager.
"No dear, but your father will take you home, since there is some very important and private family errands to be dealt with. It will be nice leaving school for a while in all this stress about the final exams, won't it?"
She gave him that toady smile again and Draco smiled back, gritting his teeth.
Oh, clever. Picking me up at school to leave mom out of it. I wonder if she even knows. And that headmistress with a face like Trevor...
As they entered Umbridge's office, Draco had already made at least twenty different pictures in his head of torture instruments that might be used against him. The quick glances exchanged between Draco and his father promised a lot worse methods than anything Draco could dream up.
But outwards, both of them held their positions in a perfect play of mutual devotion.
"My dear son." Lucius said, smiling while he held out his arms to embrace Draco, who walked into them with a great amount of self-control. As Lucius closed the hug with his hands on Draco's back, Draco felt as if the jaws of a monster had locked him.
Oh no, he has never embraced me before, not since I was four, this is bad...
Lucius let go of him casually and put a hand on Draco's shoulder as he turned to Umbridge with an aristocratic air, rewarding her with a smile.
"I'm so pleased you found him for me. Again, I do apologize for the sudden urgency..."
"Oh, think nothing of it!" Umbridge fussed, letting out a horrible little laughter. "The families of the students are of great concern to us and we want them to feel safe and comfortable here!"
I wonder how safe you'll feel, when I let the black squid in the lake nibble on you, feeding you to it bit by bit, real slow...
Lucius smiled at Umbridge, beaming at her with his charismatic look. Draco really hoped he didn't see what he thought he saw. Umbridge couldn't glare at his father like that! It was too horrid!
"We are most grateful for your efforts." Lucius said. "You must join us for dinner some evening. But for now, Draco and I must be moving along."
He turned to Draco with one eyebrow raised, revealing nothing but the loving father, if it wasn't for those cold, calculating eyes.
"Unfortunately, your mother had to attend a very important meeting. She will be back tonight, however, which leaves us nearly twelve splendid hours to spend together. Won't that be something?"
Lucius winked at him, patting his back encouragingly.