Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Summary: Prelude to Forgotten Emotion. I don't suggest you read Forgotten Emotion if you haven't read it yet if you read this story first, you can, but that will tell you what happens to Harry and Draco in the end. Now why ruin that surprise? ;) What is left for a hero after the death of an enemy? Harry tries to pick up where he left off before Voldemort's defeat but it's not that easy to pick up a stick and walk down an unwalked trail. Harry's bound to fall flat on the ground in the mud eventually.

Pairings: One-sided HP/DM, DM/BZ

A/N Okay I promised to get a prelude out for Forgotten Emotion, and here it is! Note that this is the beginning of Harry and Draco's realtionship after Voldemort is destroyed. I hate writing Voldemort's death but I will try it. Enjoy!

The room was filled with dark figures everywhere, shadows flitting past him at every turn. Harry couldn't remember much, only that his Avada Kedavra hit its mark straight on. He knew he'd destroyed the other Horcruxes with a great deal of energy, and yet still he had not faced Voldemort.

Now it was time to watch the hooded, snake like creature fall to the ground at his feet. The hate he felt in that one moment was greater then ever and the power flowing through him while he cast the curse had been terrible. It had felt great but a real taste of that had woken Harry up.

No wonder wizards fell for it, the dark power was enough to make someone high for life. Harry wondered if it was like a drug in some ways. But now all he saw was dark shadows and he felt nothing. Was he in danger of losing his life? He couldn't tell.

Suddenly and slowly, Harry started to hear the voices. "Is he going to wake up?" He'd tried to answer the question himself countless times but his lips didn't move. 'Yes! I'm awake!' he tried to cry out, but it never came out.

Now they were saying, "Minerva, he's not going to wake up. He hasn't responded for two weeks." Who was that? He couldn't tell and he was still trying to lift up his eyelids to see.

"He will, he has to. He's survived this long, he will survive a little longer." That was McGonagall, wasn't it? Harry knew that stern voice anywhere. 'I'm awake! See my eyes are opening!' Harry tried to say again.

His lips opened but he only made a squeak. His eyes lifted yet a heaviness pulled them down again. It was like waking up and still being tired only he was bursting to get up and moving.

"Did he make a noise?" McGonagall asked urgently. Harry heard footsteps and scrambling on the floor. At least he thought he did. Oh yes, he did. Someone defiantly pushed the bed he was lying on. If he was lying on a bed… It only made sense, though, for him to be a bed that was this comfortable.

"I think he did," someone said to his side.

"Hermione? Is that you?" Harry tried to say. Yet again all that came out was a squeak of a voice. With great effort and concentration Harry lifted his eyes open to be blinded with the light in the room.

"HARRY!" was the response he got, many voices shouting at him from every side he could imagine at this time. Harry moaned and closed his eyes again. He couldn't take the light no matter how much he wanted to see Ron and Hermione's faces again.

"Harry, you're awake! We were afraid you'd gone and left us. Oh Merlin, it's so good to know you're awake, I was so afraid!" Hermione rambled on and Harry groaned again. He was flattered Hermione was hysterical to know he was awake but could she not tone it down? He felt awful.

"Hermione, you're going to make him more sick then he already is." That was Ron, Harry was sure of it. 'Hehe, Ron, you're right, she is going to make me feel more ill now,' Harry thought. He was through with attempting to speak; it obviously was not going to happen anytime soon.

"Mr. Weasley, would you please take Miss Granger out for a bit? Madame Pomfrey needs to examine and help Harry wake up," McGonagall was saying to his friends. 'No, don't take them away from me!' Harry thought, but his friends were already agreeing and leaving the room.

'So much for friendly faces when I wake up,' Harry grumbled to himself. "I trust you know how to wake him up," McGonagall said. 'You don't know how to wake me up?' Harry tried to cry out.

"Yes I do, Minerva, stop worrying about it. Mr. Potter, if you can hear me, which I'm sure you can by now, stop trying to speak. You won't be able to for some time," the healer said to him.

'Wondeful, I will have so much fun recovering from whatever this is,' Harry thought.

"Blaise, what's with Granger?" Draco asked his friend at dinner that same day. They were finally going to start their seventh year of Hogwarts and finish school. The war had taken a year out of all their lives, but now was the time to finish up their schooling.

Or something like that. Draco hadn't been listening to the speech McGonagall gave the first day of school, which had been five days ago. He'd been looking over at the seat that Potter would have been occupying if he wasn't in the hospital wing recovering from his encounter with Voldemort.

The whole school was itching to hear the truth, straight from Harry, about what had taken place on that final battleground between the two wizards. Draco was one of those, as he was planning on showing his full support for the 'light side' this year. He now had a few reasons for this, but he wasn't going to think too much on those this year. It was time to forget his past and move on, at least that was what he'd told himself time and time again.

"I heard she's overwhelmed. Potter showed a sign of life today," Blaise replied, he always knew everything going on in the school. Draco didn't want to know where he got the information from, all he wanted to know was what it was.

"Well that's good, I guess," Draco replied. Inside, though, he was relieved. Now he could visit Potter and ask him if the information Draco had given the order once had been worth it. He still felt satisfied with himself for doing that little job and not getting caught by the Death Eaters.

"Yeah, I know. They've got their saviour back now." Blaise laughed, and Draco joined in with him. Draco looked to his right and sighed. Pansy was sitting beside him, looking displeased that Granger was so happy. Pansy wasn't fawning over Draco this year and it was a blessing of sorts.

"Oh joy," Pansy replied, punching Draco in the shoulder to feel better. Draco allowed her to do this, as they'd finally settled on being 'just friends.' Draco would leave it at that.

Draco and Blaise only laughed at her response. They all couldn't say they cared about the Gryffindors, but they'd agreed this year to be nice to them. The war had taught them a few things, and now being nice was all they could do.

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