Chapter 14-

Hello everyone! Here is the next chapter…oh before I start, I want to apologize to all of those people who hate Megan…she is important to the story.

Anyways, enjoy this chapter…

Last Time

Hermione looked up as the boy moved her hair from her face. Her eyes were out of focus for several seconds before she realized with a start that it was Draco. She wanted to scream, but she didn't have the strength. All she did was open her mouth and gap at him. 'What is he doing here? Why is he trying to help me? Why do…' Suddenly Hermione's head began to spin. She felt sick to her stomach, then everything went black…

Present Day

"Hermione? Hermione!!" Draco yelled as he caught her before her head smashed to the ground. He easily picked her up and stood with her in his hands. As he held her, he marveled a how incredibly light she was. Then, as he was adjusting her in his arms, he felt her bones. He immediately lifted her shirt and what he saw brought a gasp from his throat. Her ribs were literally touching the skin. There was no fat or anything between the two things.

'Oh Merlin! What has she been doing? Starving herself?' he wondered as he began running towards the hospital wing. He weaved through many corridors and flew up many steps before finally arriving in front of the door to the infirmary. He hurriedly kicked the doors open and ran through.

"Mr. Malfoy!!" Madame Pomfrey yelled as he burst through the doors, not noticing the frail, unconscious girl in his arms. "What do you think that you are doing?!? This is a hospital, not a ZOO!"

"Look." Draco said as he held Hermione out to the angry woman in front of him.

She screeched. "Why didn't you say so?" she yelled as she pointed to a bed. Draco immediately took Hermione to it and laid her down. "What's wrong with her?" she asked as she ran into her office to retrieve some potion bottles.

"She just…passed out. I think that she hasn't been eating." he said as he gazed at the girl that he loved with tears in his eyes. "Hurry!" he yelled after a minute, thinking that the old lady was taking too long.

"Everything will be okay, Mr. Malfoy. Just leave us alone and I will do what I can."

"No. I won't leave her." he said stubbornly.

"Mr. Malfoy, I am going to have to change her clothes and I do not think that it would be appropriate if you were here." she said as she moved him away from the bed. "Now get out. I will notify you when she wakes up."

Draco still didn't want to leave, but he agreed and went to breakfast. As he was walking towards the Great Hall, he heard someone calling his name. He turned to see Megan approaching with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Draco. What's up?" she asked as she laced her arm through his.

"Not much." he said, as he struggled to keep his voice and face neutral. "How are you, Megan?"

"I'm good. How was your new room?" she asked.

"It was fine."

"Do you have a room all to yourself?"

"Uh, sort of."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I have my own room, but I share a Common Room with another Prefect."

"Cool. Hey, maybe I could come by sometime and you could show me around." Megan said in a very suggestive voice.

"Yeah, sounds great." Draco said with fake enthusiasm.

"How about tonight?" she asked.

"Ah, sure. Why not." he agreed as he opened the door to the Great Hall and held it for her.

"Great!" she said as she entered the Great Hall and took a seat at the Slytherin table across from Pansy Parkinson.

"Hi, Draco. Who's your new friend?" Pansy asked as if she didn't already know and hate the girl.

"Oh, this is Megan Price. Megan, this is an old friend of mine, Pansy Parkinson." he said as he took a seat next to Megan.

"It's nice to meet you, Pansy." Megan said as she laced her arm through Draco's and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Pleasures all mine, Miss Price." she said with venom dripping from every word and hate written on her face.

"Oh, please call me Meg." she said, as an equally evil expression passed over her face. But, Pansy only caught a glimpse of it because it was gone as quick as it came.

Draco noticed none of this, for his mind had drifted back to the girl who lay passed out on a bed in the hospital wing. 'What is she doesn't survive? Is it all my fault? What have I done? She was eating fine at the cabin, wasn't she? I guess I never really noticed…' he thought over and over, and all this thinking brought one conclusion… It's all my fault.

Right then and there, Draco decided that he had to apologize. He would do anything to get her to forgive him. Anything…

Suddenly, Draco was brought out of his reverie by the screeching if owls. He looked up almost automatically and immediately saw his pen-pal's owl fly his way. Triton landed on his shoulder and stuck out his leg. Draco relieved it of the letter and gave it a little bit of his breakfast. The owl hooted happily before soaring off.

Draco opened the letter and read…

Green Dragon,

I can't stand life anymore! I don't know what I am going to do. I feel trapped in someone else's body and I don't know how to get out. I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can barely breathe. I don't think that I am going to be able to make it through the rest of the school year…I just can't live like this…I don't know what I did so terribly wrong to make everyone in the world hate me so.

Do you ever feel like people never look at who you are, but what other people say you are? I have never been mean to anyone with out them being mean first.

You know that guy that I told you about. The one who I thought I loved? Well, he had already moved on and I don't know what to do. I haven't know what to do in a long time. I used to be so organized. I had a plan for everything and I didn't have to worry about friends or boys…I had the two best friends in the world and they were the only guys I thought I would ever need. Why did that have to change? Why did one summer change Everything? I fell in love, and then I lost…everything…

I feel lost and helpless. I wish you were here. I know that you would understand…you always understand…

Well, I got to go. I am not feeling well. I am going to try to go to sleep, but I know that the nightmares will come. I am getting to where I am actually afraid of going to sleep. Sometimes I just wish that I would fall asleep and never wake up again. Life is just not worth living anymore.

Love, Scarlet Cat…

p.s. where do you go to school? I want to meet you. I know that you probably don't want to, but I need a friend and a hug…So you go to Durmstrang or Beuxabatons? I figured that it is probably one of them because you can't be too far away. My owl can fly there in one day or less. Please write back when you can…

Draco stared at the letter. 'Meet? She wants to meet me? Do I want to meet her too? Well, it sounds like she really needs me, but I don't go to either Durmstrang or Beuxabatons. Maybe she doesn't know about Hogwarts? No, that's not possible. Well, I will go write her and tell her now.

Draco excused himself and ran off to his room before Megan could say anything. When he got to his room, he found that Triton was sitting on a chair in the Common Room. "Gosh, you sure are a smart bird." Draco said as he went to his room and got a piece of parchment and a quill.

Scarlet Cat,

I am sorry everything is going so badly for you. I wish that I could be there to give you that needed hug. I would definitely like to meet you. I go to Hogwarts, do you know where that is? Where do you go? Where can we meet? Do you still want to meet? I might not be who you think I am…

Well, write back as soon as you can. Don't do anything drastic… I am your friend and even if you don't have anyone else in the world, I am here for you.

Write back…Green Dragon.

Draco then rolled up the parchment and ties it to the owls leg. Then, he sent the owl off into the night.

After sitting for a few minutes, Draco's attention was drawn to the fireplace. It cracked and sparked for a few seconds before a face appeared in the flames. It was Madame Pomfrey. Draco immediately went to his knees in front of the fire.

"Mr. Malfoy. You had better get down here, quick!" she yelled and then she was gone before he was even able to reply.

Draco jumped up and was out the door, racing through the halls before the flames were able to settle in the fireplace. When he arrived at the infirmary he once again, kicked open the door and ran right into Madame Pomfrey.

"Mr. Malfoy, thank Merlin you're here. Go to her. She has been screaming for you for the last ten minutes and we can't wake her!" she said as she motioned to the struggling girl.

Draco nodded and turned towards her. She was laying on the bed, but she was violently thrashing against it. She was quite for a minute before she suddenly screamed, "Draco!! HELP!!!"

Without a second thought, Draco ran to her side and took one of her hands. He held it tightly and bent over to whisper in her ear. "I'm here. It's me, Draco. I'm sorry I left, but I'm here now."

Hermione began to relax slowly as Draco spoke softly to her. Then, as if she thought that he might leave, she flung her arms around him and buried her head against his chest. Tears were streaming down here cheeks and soaking Draco's shirt, but he didn't care. He just held her and rocked her back and forth. "It will be okay. I am here and I am not leaving again." he said before leaning in and he whispered in her ear, "I love you."

"You do?" Hermione said as she pulled away and looked at him.

Draco jumped but didn't pull away. "I-I…I didn't know that you were awake." he stuttered.

"I just woke. Why are we in the hospital, Draco?"

"Well, you passed out and so I brought you here."

"I passed out? Why?" Hermione said in a genuinely confused voice.

"I can answer that." said a visibly shaken Madame Pomfrey. Hermione and Draco looked at her and waited for her to elaborate. "Well, Miss Granger, you have been starving yourself. Your body have nothing to run on and it couldn't take it anymore. Why haven't you been eating, Miss Granger?"

Hermione looked away from the stares of the two other people in the room. "I wasn't doing it intentionally. I just…couldn't nare to eat in the Great Hall with…with…"

"With what?" Draco asked.

"With all the people that hate me." Hermione replied, still not meeting their eyes.

"Who, who hates you?" Madame Pomfrey asked, concern written on her old face.

"Everyone." Hermione replied so quietly that they could barely hear her.

"What about Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley?" she asked

Hermione just shook her head. "Everyone."

"Mr. Malfoy doesn't hate you."

Hermione looked up at that. She met the older woman's eyes and nodded. "yes he does. This is all just a dream. When I wake up I will be all alone again…" Hermione's voice drifted off and was replaced by silent tears. After a few seconds of confusion, she pulled away from Draco and began walking towards the infirmary doors. "It was a nice dream though."

"Miss Granger! Come back, you are not strong enough…" Madame Pomfrey yelled after finally snapping out of her trance.

"Hermione!! Where are you going?" Draco yelled when he caught up with her and grabbed her wrist.

"I am going back to bed. I know that this dream will turn out badly and I don't want to be here when it does. Although, I have to say that it was nice to have you love me in one of my dreams. I just wish that it wasn't just a dream. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted, but I need to wake up now. Goodbye Draco." she said as she pulled away from him and continued her walk to her room.

Draco turned back to Madame Pomfrey only to see her face white. "What is wrong with her?" he asked as he approached her.

"I think that she has been having such repetitive, bad dreams that she can no longer tell the difference from them and reality. She thinks all the things that just happened were a dream. This is not good, Mr. Malfoy. Not good at all."

"I'll go find her and make sure that she gets back to her room okay." Draco said before turning and leaving.

"I fear that that is all that can be done." the nurse said to herself before going to the fireplace and sticking her head inside.

Draco followed Hermione back to their room and watched her climb into bed. 'What am I going to do now?' he thought as he walked down to the Common Room and curled up on the couch.

AN- That's chapter 14!! Hope you enjoyed!! Please Read and Review!!!