Disclaimer: No characters you recognize are owned by me. They're J.K. Rowling's. This is just what I think could've happened in the situation presented in the chapter 24 of Book 6, from which this title was taken. Which means J.K. owns the scene and some of the wording, and all I own is the twists.

Rating: R

Summary: A myriad of emotions ran across his face in a matter of seconds, too fast for Harry to identify them but enough for him to be surprised. Malfoy, the one who he'd always considered strong and ice cold, was becoming human, truly human, right before his eyes. My take on the famous bathroom scene from HBP. Contains spoilers.

A/N: This is what happens when I spend hours reading Rhysenn's dissection of HBP over and over and end up sucked into this particular passage of the book. There'll be some slash undertones here, and more in the next chapter. You have been warmed.

Sectumsempra

By Lenari Ryan

Chapter one: Trick on the mind, strike to the heart

Harry pressed his ear against the bathroom door anxiously, expecting to hear Moaning Myrtle begging for mercy. He found himself hearing nothing instead, and with a last look over his shoulder to make sure Filch wasn't around, he pushed the door open very quietly and peeked in, curiosity getting the best of him. The sight that greeted him was nothing like he'd expected, yet it was no less disturbing.

Draco Malfoy was standing with his back to the door, his hands clutching either side of the sink tightly as he deposited his weight on it, his white-blond hair falling in his eyes due to his bowed head.

"Don't," crooned Moaning Myrtle somewhere nearby. "Don't. Tell me what's wrong… I can help you."

"No one can help me," he replied in a monotone, the effort to keep emotion from creeping into his voice very apparent even as his entire body shook. He began speaking again, his voice unsteady. "I can't do it. I can't. It won't work, and unless I do it soon… he says he'll kill me." He whispered the last few words, bowing his head lower, and Harry realized with shock that Malfoy was crying, actually crying, tears streaming rapidly down his thin pale face straight into the grimy basin. He gasped and gulped, trying to control his emotions, and shuddered as he forced himself to look up at his reflection in the cracked mirror. The raw emotion visible in his face froze as his reflection's eyes connected with Harry's green ones, which were posed in a spot over his shoulder.

He wheeled around, drawing his wand in sudden panic as he rearranged his features into cool emptiness. Before he could jinx him, Harry spoke. "What is it you can't do?"

"There's nothing I can't do," he spat defensively, his eyes returning to the detached silver color Harry had come to know so well.

Beneath the proud façade he could see that Malfoy was faltering, and he tried to exploit it to his advantage. "There is something you can't do, something you're being forced to do, and it's tearing you apart."

"No, it's not!" he replied indignantly. "I am perfectly fine, and absolutely capable of doing what I must do. What I will do," he corrected, trying to erase any shreds of weakness from his self.

It was obvious that Malfoy was having problems believing that himself, and Harry surprised himself with his next words. "You can tell me," he coaxed, much like Myrtle had. "I can help. Or I can get Snape to help you."

Malfoy suddenly drew himself to his full height, his arrogance firmly in place. "I don't need help from either of you!" he snarled. "Stop acting like you care, Potter!"

"How can I, when I do care?" Harry replied in strangled voice, and Malfoy shook his head.

"You don't! You never have, you never will, and I don't give a bloody hell if you do!"

"Liar," Harry replied quietly, without knowing why, and Malfoy's face changed completely. A myriad of emotions ran across his face in a matter of seconds, too fast for Harry to identify them but enough for him to be surprised. Malfoy, the one who he'd always considered strong and ice cold, was becoming human, truly human, right before his eyes. His shock must've been written on his face, for Malfoy's features hardened again, and Harry drew his own wand instinctively as Malfoy's hex missed him by inches, shattering the nearest lamp on the wall. Harry flung himself to the side and flicked his wand as he tried to cast 'Levicorpus' without speaking, but he blocked the jinx with ease and raised his wand to retaliate.

"No! No! Stop it!" squealed Moaning Myrtle in fright. "Stop! Stop!"

A loud bang interrupted her squeals as a bin behind Harry exploded, and he attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that passed Malfoy's ear and bounced from the wall behind him, smashing the cistern Moaning Myrtle was on. Myrtle screamed, moving away from the water that was pouring out into the floor and making Harry slip. Malfoy contorted his face in concentration and cried "Cruci-"

Harry didn't let him finish, and, in panic, he bellowed "Sectumsempra!" and waved his wand wildly. Malfoy staggered backward and collapsed onto the wet floor with a loud splash, blood spurting from his face and chest as his wand fell from his limp hand. The sight of him on the floor covered in his own blood chilled Harry. "No," he gasped, horrified, and he staggered to Malfoy's side. His eyes roamed over Malfoy's scarlet-stained face, down to the pallid hands that scrabbled over the blood-soaked chest. "No… I didn't…" He didn't even know what he was saying, and he remained glued to the spot, looking at him helplessly. "Oh, Draco." The whispered exclamation passed his lips impulsively, and he fell to his knees next to him. Malfoy was shaking uncontrollably in a pool of his own blood, his gray eyes looking at him with an unidentifiable expression. Harry continued shaking his head in denial, murmuring apologies over and over again.

The scene made Moaning Myrtle scream. "Murder! Murder in the bathroom! Murder!"

The door opened almost instantly, and Harry watched in horror as Snape walked in. Looking livid, he pushed Harry away from Malfoy roughly and knelt over him, tracing the wounds with his wand as he frantically chanted an incantation. Harry watched as if in a trance, horrified what he had done and not noticing that his robes were also soaked with blood and water. Snape helped Malfoy sit, ignoring Moaning Myrtle's wailing and speaking in an almost fond tone. "You need the hospital wing. There may be a certain amount of scarring, but if you take dittany we might avoid even that. Come…" He supported him across the bathroom, and was about to leave when he turned to Harry and spoke, his gentle tone exchanged for one of complete fury. "And you, Potter… You wait here for me."

Snape exited, and Harry stood up slowly, trembling completely. He looked around him, staring at the blood that was spiraling in the water, and clenched his eyelids shut. He felt ashamed of himself for attacking Malfoy so fiercely when he'd been so broken… forgetting that Malfoy had been about to perform the Cruciatus Curse on him. All he could think of was that he'd almost let Malfoy bleed to death. Because of wounds that he'd carelessly inflicted.

"This is Malfoy. Draco Malfoy, who's been so nasty to you. Whose father is a Death Eater and delivered Ginny to be used by Voldemort. This is Malfoy and you hate him," he tried to remind himself, repeating it over and over like a prayer, but he knew that something had changed. He didn't hate Malfoy and he probably never had. He was obsessed, plain and simple, and there were more reasons for it than just the one he'd used to justify his actions in the eyes of Ron and Hermione.

His heart wrenched as his mind filled with images of Malfoy lying on the floor, swathed in his own blood, and he hung his head, waiting for Snape to return and punish him. He'd hurt someone, badly, and he wasn't going to allow himself to go away and pretend nothing had happened and that it didn't matter to him. Because it did matter. And because if he paid for it, maybe he'd be able to forgive himself. Maybe.

A/N: All these words flowed out and refused to leave me alone until I finished, so here it is. It sounded better in my head, but it's not too shabby, in my opinion. So please, let me know what you think.