Hold On My Heart II

Hermione stared at the clock on the wall. She hadn't heard from Draco since he'd left work, not that that was entirely unusual. In the pit of her stomach she just had a bad feeling. With everything that he'd told her about Harry, she wondered how things were going to go. Harry always had been the type to avoid asking for help, even when he needed it more than anything.

Sighing, she stripped down to a filmy nightgown and pulled her hair back. She nearly screamed when she heard a distinctive POP from her living room. Her heart stood still as she imagined the worst. Had something happened at the Burrow? She rushed into the living room.

Bill stood in her fireplace with a bottle of champagne in one hand, dusting himself off with the other. He stared at her hungrily. "You look gorgeous," he said.

Looking down, she gave a little shriek and hurried back in the bedroom to at least grab a robe. When she came back out, he was still grinning. "I meant to catch you around dinner time," he explained, glancing toward the clock on the wall.

"You're three or four hours off," she said dryly. "I was just getting ready for bed."

He laughed. "I still say you look beautiful. Maybe next time I'll do it deliberately to see what I can find you then."

Heat rose to her face. "Next time you'll owl me first."

"Am I too late? I'll leave if I'm bothering you." He looked earnest and extremely sexy in his black dragon skin jacket.

"No, but don't you have to work tomorrow… or today or whatever?" she asked.

"I took a personal day," he said with a shrug. "Do you have glasses?"

Hermione went to the kitchen and pulled out a set of crystal wine glasses Draco had bought her for Christmas. With a wave of his wand, Bill had the bottle open and poured them each some of the bubbly liquid. "What should we toast to?" she wondered.

"To something new," he replied.

Hermione raised her glass. "To something new."

Setting the champagne aside, Bill pulled her close. "What's wrong, Hermione? I know that all of your trips to the Burrow aren't about my parents…or even me."

"Oh, Bill, I'm not sure I should tell you," she said softly.

"Don't you trust me?"

She nodded. "But it's not my secret to tell."

Sighing heavily, he began to knot his fingers in her hair. "That big, eh?"

"Huge," another voice answered from the door.

They had been so intent on each other that neither or them had heard Draco come in. The blonde threw his long, black coat over the back of a chair, and seated himself without being invited. He looked deathly pale and had dark circle under his eyes. Hermione hadn't seen him look this bad in years. "Did you tell him?" he asked.

"No," she replied. "I haven't told anyone. Draco, what happened? Is everything ok?"

"He tried to kill himself."

"Oh, my God!"

"He's going to be fine," Draco assured her. "He asked for help."

Bill cleared his throat. "I don't mean to be rude, but who exactly are we talking about here?"

Draco glanced from Bill to Hermione. "Can we trust him?" Hermione nodded and that was enough to secure his faith. "You can't tell anyone this…especially not your mother. I don't think he's ready for that."

Obviously frustrated, Bill agreed, "I won't tell anyone. Now what is going on here?"

"Harry's alive, Bill. I found him."

Blue eyes went wide and looked to Hermione for truth. "But how?"

"After he killed Voldemort, he came to the muggle world. I'm not quite sure of the details yet, but he ended up in New York and found out about my design company. I've been desperately trying to get him to open up and this is the first time it's worked," Draco explained. "He needs help, but I'm not sure I'll be enough."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"He's addicted to drugs…oxy contin, to be exact. The doctor told me something about rapid detox."

Hermione shuddered. "I don't know much about that kind of thing, but I know it isn't good. The symptoms of withdrawal are brutal."

"That's what the doctor told me too," he confirmed.

Bill stood up. "What about Severus? Surely he could come up with something to get it out of Harry's system without too much damage."

Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Bill, that's brilliant!"

Draco smiled widely. "Hermione, I'm going to use your fireplace."