2
Invisible Chains
"Baby?" Adrienne heard faintly. "Adrienne?" She heard the voice again, louder this time. She opened her eyes, light hurting them at first. She saw Harry and breathed a sigh of relief. Draco was in the background, leaning against the wall. She wasn't sure whether she was happy or sad to see him.
She got to her feet with the help of Harry. He kept his arm around her waist and his hand in hers, just to make sure she was alright. "W-what happened?" she looking around her. She, Harry, Draco and Professor Dumbledore were the only ones there. 'There' turned out to be a large, dark room with no doorways or windows. Draco stood up fully and came over, clearly interested in the subject at hand.
"I came back from the bathroom and opened the compartment door and saw you two unconscious. That's the extent of my knowledge." Draco laughed. That's for sure he thought.
"Malfoy don't be a prick." Adrienne snapped at him. Draco looked at her confused.
"What did I do?" he asked. She thought for a moment. She didn't know what he did. Something about him laughed at Harry and was just rude.
"I- I don't know," she said, holding her forehead. It was hot, she must have been coming down with something.
Draco sensed her dislike and worry, and walked over. "Are you ok?" he asked, genuinely concerned. Harry looked up immediately.
"What do you care Malfoy, you're probably the one who did this," Harry snapped, leading Adrienne away from Draco. No! she thought, and turned around quickly, looking at Draco with longing. He returned the look, not knowing what feelings were coming over him. Dumbledore saw this and quickly stepped in.
"Ms. Bates, Mr. Malfoy, come over here with me please. Mr. Potter, step back behind me," Dumbledore ordered, walking toward the center of the room.
Dumbledore placed them back to back, heel to heel. They stood there, a few inches away from each other, not knowing what to do. Dumbledore looked from the pair to his watch, back and forth, back and forth. Harry stood behind him like he was told, glaring at the floor. Minutes passed, no one did anything. Adrienne was about to say something when her stomach began to churn. She began to breathe faster. Where's Draco! Her heart raced, she saw images of Draco dying in her head. He was screaming, calling her name. She couldn't stand it, it was torturing her from the inside out. She thought she was going to explode! They both whipped around and held each other, not realizing that the hatred that was normally bubbling inside of them.
Harry saw this and ran to them, breaking them apart. He backed Draco into the wall, even thought Draco was an inch or two taller than him.
"Keep away from her," Harry glared into Draco's cold stare. Draco smirked and began to stand up straight. Harry pushed him back into the wall forcefully. "I mean it!" he yelled.
"Harry!" Adrienne snapped in a loud whisper. "There's not need for that. As soon as the Headmaster here cures us, I'll never go near him again, don't you worry."
"What's wrong with us anyway?" Draco asked, coming away from the wall. Dumbledore took a deep breath and looked at his watch again. It was beginning to piss Adrienne off.
"Six minutes and twelve seconds," he began. "That's how long you can last." All three students were confused.
"Last before what?" Harry asked, taking Adrienne's hand in his. Dumbledore paused.
"The smoke you and Mr. Malfoy breathed in, Ms. Bates, was a binding potion. That is how long you can last without contact of some sort with each other. Touching each other, eye contact, hearing each other's voices, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that you have to be in contact by the end of that six minutes and twelve seconds."
Adrienne and Draco couldn't believe their ears. Adrienne squeezed Harry's hand harder. "So," she began, tears beginning to form. "Is there a cure? If not, do we have to go everywhere together? What about sleeping? Going to the bathroom? What do we tell our friends!" She was becoming hysterical. Harry began to shush her and hold her, and she found comfort in this.
"Can you cure us Headmaster?" Draco said, trying to remain calm. Dumbledore shook his head. Adrienne held Harry close to her. Draco cursed in the corner and slammed his fist into the wall. "There is no cure right now, but there is a wizard in New York City working on potion cures. I'll write to him. In the meantime, all of your classes will have to be synchronized. You can use the Prefect Dorm to sleep. Going to the bathroom shouldn't be a problem, just go quickly. You friends on the other hand," Adrienne looked up from Harry's shoulder. "That's not something I can help you with."
He smiled faintly with a look of pride in his eyes. "6:12, you two make a strong couple."
"They are NOT a couple." Harry glared at Draco.
"Pair. They make a strong-"
"They and NOT a 'pair'"
"Mr. Potter, if you please!" Dumbledore yelled.
Adrienne took Harry by the hand and led him to the opposite corner as Draco. "Harry, I love that we're together, and nothing could make me happier that you're going to help me through this. But it's not going to help if you're blinded by jealousy and see me only as a possession. You know I hate that." Harry looked down at the floor. He took her hand and kissed it, then kissed her cheek. They walked back over.
"What happens if they aren't together at the end of the time they have?" Harry asked with concern.
"They will both enter into seizures and…. well let's just hope it doesn't come to that." Harry was about to object and ask what else, but the look in Dumbledore's eyes told him it wasn't something he wanted to talk about. "Enough chit chat, I think it's time we get down to business. Is there anyone out there who would want this to happen to you two, any enemies?"
"You mean besides each other?" Draco asked. Adrienne scoffed.
"I can think of a few people who hate Malfoy. How about… everyone!" Adrienne's voice rose.
"Well I can list a bunch of people who hate you, bitch," Draco replied slyly back.
"That's enough!" Dumbledore calmed them down. "Let's go, I'll have the Prefect Dorm set up for you. I think it's time you explain this to your friends."