Summary: Draco is dying… he only has a year left to live and no amount of magic can save him… Now Draco promises to change-to make his few months of living be filled with laughter instead of tears... D/Hr sooner or later.

A/N: Hi everyone! It's been a while. I'm really sorry for letting you wait for so long. I had a lot of deadlines so I really had a hard time squeezing all this writing in my schedule. Anyway, thank you for all the wonderful reviews… even the bad ones. I'm not sure if I made it clear in my previous chapter but I would really appreciate it if I'm not bombarded with harsh comments. So yeah, before you read the next chapter, let me just point out that I have a strict NO FLAMES policy.

FYI. I changed the previous chapter, so if you read it before, please read it again.

One more thing, let me just clarify some things:

1. Yes. It was deliberate that Draco's in a muggle hospital. Why? Because Narcissa is DESPERATE. Even the best mediwizards can't do anything anymore that's why they suggested her to bring Draco to a wizard who is a practicing "muggle doctor". It's a desperate move if you ask me.

2. So you're curious about Draco's 'mysterious' illness… Let me shutdown all your assumptions, it's not something common. All I can reveal for now is that it's a very rare disease that has no cure.

3. Like I said, I'm not fond of flamers. I'm not 12 years old. Sorry to disappoint. I know I'm not a great writer or anything, so forgive me if I have grammatical mistakes every now and then. English is not my native tongue so I'd appreciate it if flamers would get off my back once in a while, okay? I'm not perfect. If the story displeases you in some way, STOP READING. J It's that simple.

4. I dedicate this chapter to my sister who helped me jumpstart this chapter.

Okay enough with the author's note. ENJOY.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I wish I did, but yeah… sadly I don't so all credits go to J.K. What I do own, however, is the plot of this story.

Chapter 2: Realization

After several hours of walking in the unfamiliar streets of London, bumping every person that obstructed his way, Draco Malfoy finally decided to go home, now that he finally calmed down from all the drama his mother and Dr. Simms had caused him. Draco waved his wand in the air, deciding by instinct to use the Knight Bus to take him home. For some reason, the stress of what transpired earlier, weighed down on him heavily, causing him to feel kind of queasy. He silently waited for his turn, and decided to rest on one of the beds in the bus. He lay down the bed, closed his eyes and started dozing off when the driver suddenly took a sharp turn, causing everyone, including Draco, to fall harshly off their beds.

"Ouch!" Draco shouted in pain. "I'll never ever ride the knight bus again!" he thought angrily. "Reckless driver!"

Draco opted to sit on the bed instead of lying down again. He felt really tired and sick. He wanted to rest. He sighed heavily and checked his watch; it read 8:00 PM. He peered outside and couldn't make out any images because of the pitch-black darkness. He waited awkwardly, doing absolutely nothing when finally…

"The Malfoy Manor! " said the driver.

"Finally!" he rushed to the door hastily and left the knight bus without even giving it a second look. He couldn't take it anymore, he was really dizzy from the ride and now he felt kind of nauseous.

He slowly reached for the knob of his house and clumsily opened the door. He planned to lock himself up in his room as discreetly as possible; so without making any racket, he climbed up the stairs, took a short turn and moved passed portrait after portrait until he reached his room. He was about to enter when suddenly; he heard a loud sob coming from the next room. "Oh Please!" he thought irritably. All the anger and the overwhelming annoyance started flaring up again.

He went barging in to where his mother usually sat in the portrait room and irritatingly shouted at her. "Will you stop that?" Narcissa looked up, startled to see his son again. Draco gave her a piercing look, "I'm perfectly fine! That Dr. Simms is full of rubbish! Stop crying!"

Narcissa bowed her head in defeat; her eyes were so red and puffy it was obvious she'd been crying ever since the doctor's visit. She slowly wiped a stray tear, "I just can't take it! I don't know how to tell your father about this. What will happen to me when… when you're gone?"

"Oh please! Just stop it! I'm not dying, alright?" Draco said irritated. Narcissa stood up and hugged Draco tightly.

"Not again!" he thought while rolling his eyes in irritation. He shoved his mother away from him and took a step back, "Mother, please stop this nonsense. I'm not dying! Not today, not tomorrow, not in the next few months and most definitely, not in the next few years!"

At his words, Narcissa cried even louder and numbly sat on the expensive-looking sofa, her hands covering her face. Draco rolled his eyes again, his mother was definitely pushing it way too further and he was tired of all her sobbing. He knew in his heart she was over reacting. "I'm out of here!" he thought as he turned his back to her. He hurriedly went straight to his room and with all his strength, banged the door shut.

Narcissa just sat there, motionless. She slowly removed her hands from her face and watched as tiny drops of tears fall to her lap, "You keep saying you'll stay with me forever but you can't really assure me that, Draco." Another round of tears fell from her eyes, "I want to believe you, but I can't."

Hermione was lying in bed, staring blankly at her ceiling. A lot of thoughts were swirling in her brain making her unable to concentrate. She kept thinking of her weird encounter with Malfoy and as much as she hated to admit it, she felt a bit worried about him. Like a puzzle, she wanted to figure him out. She knew something was off but she couldn't put a finger on it. No matter what she did, she just can't get Malfoy's facial expression out of her head. She sighed heavily. She sat up and shook her head to fix her muddled thoughts. She slowly got out of bed, stretched her arms and remembered suddenly that she hadn't read her letter. She immediately got her mail out of her pocket and opened the folded parchment.

Dear Hermione,

I have good news! Starting next summer, I'll be emancipated from the Dursleys! I never felt so happy in my life! Everything's finally falling into place. I don't know if you've heard but Sirius got cleared from all criminal charges after that funny incident where wormtail got jinxed while transforming. Who would've thought, right? It's just funny how he accidentally showed himself to the public! (Pure stupidity if you ask me – Ron)

Anyhow, we have some news about the Malfoys. According to our sources, Lucius Malfoy aggressively wants to get out of jail soon. Some people were saying he's worried about some affairs at home. If you ask me, I think it's just a ploy. Everything seems cooked to me considering he's winning the case even if all the evidence lead otherwise. Can you believe that? His name will be cleared again and then that stupid son of his will – Hermione then notice the sudden change of handwriting, clearly it was continued by Ron's messy scrawl – Yeah, his son will ruin the fun out of everything! Remember what he did last time? I bet he'll do it again! I'll never forgive that crazy… that… that stupid son of a bi – The handwriting changed yet again to Harry's – you get the idea. Ron couldn't help but write in here, too. (You bet! I'll never forgive Malfoy! – Ron) I better end this letter before Ron magically destroys it out of anger. We miss you! See you when I see you! Take care of yourself!

Harry (oh, and Ron, too.)

Hermione smiled as she closed her letter. She was really happy for Harry, she always wanted him to have a home and now that he'll be living with Sirius, she doesn't have to worry about him anymore. She stared at the letter in her hand and remembered Malfoy's worried face. Hermione wondered if it was because of his father's case that made him so shaken up. She contemplated on that idea for a bit, and when it dawned on her that she's thinking about Malfoy again, she shook her head in frustration. She took a deep breath and decided not to worry about stupid things. She then went out of her room and decided to help her mother make dinner.

Draco was sitting in his black velvet sofa, in his cold dimmed lighted room just in front of the fireplace, feeling perfectly normal. He was reading the latest copy of the daily prophet and his father; Lucius was on the front news just like any other day.

He rolled his eyes as he watched his father's picture objecting and defending himself. "What a waste! He'll always win no matter what," he tossed his copy of the daily prophet on his table, feeling a bit apathetic.

Suddenly, just as he was about to stand up, he felt something piercing in his abdomen. Draco ignored it, thinking it was just a common stomachache. He then sat comfortably and decided to busy himself with a book. He grabbed his copy of Hexes and Jinxes, turned it to his desired page and started reading its content. All seemed well, until he felt the pain in his stomach worsen. He dropped his book on the floor and tightly clutched his stomach. He started to sweat as the pain tortured him every second. "Oww—" he moaned uncomfortably. Draco curled up in his sofa like a defenseless little boy. The pain was unbearable. He couldn't speak; he rolled to his side and accidentally fell on the floor. Draco tried to hoist himself up the sofa but failed and fell flat on the floor. He felt like throwing up. So with a lot of effort, Draco willed himself to stand up, ran straight to his bathroom and without any warning or whatsoever, threw up in the sink.

After a few seconds of regaining his strength, he slowly wiped his sweaty face with a towel and stared at his reflection. He examined his face absentmindedly. He looked really pale. He pinched his cheeks to put some color in it, but nothing happened. He felt relieved after throwing up. The pain finally subsided.

Draco left his towel near the sink and was about to leave the bathroom when he suddenly caught sight of the sink. He stopped dead on his tracks. "What the—" he re-entered the bathroom and stared down the sink. "Oh… my… God." He said, shocked. His eyes widen in disbelief. He felt all the blood rush in his face. "I… vomited blood?" he muttered in denial. He slowly analyzed what he just regurgitated and felt traumatized. "I AM really dying…" he muttered slowly as he sat down on the floor, feeling defeated. "I am dying," he repeated. He didn't want to believe it but there's no other explanation but that. He felt a sudden pity for his mother, "I'm dying… and I didn't believe her," he thought, heartbroken. He felt his eyes sting, as images of his young life flashed through his mind, he felt scared and pathetic. "I don't want to die… I'm too young to die."

Narcissa had finally calmed down. She still felt heavily burdened but somehow, she's done with being in denial. She knew it was inevitable and as Draco's mother, she had to stop wallowing in self-pity if she wanted to help her son get through all of this. She looked at one of the portraits in the room; it was of her, Lucius and a 7-year old Draco, laughing together in the garden. It was the only portrait that made them looked like a real family. It was her most favorite portrait; she knew that if there was one time she'd like to repeat, it was that day.

She stared lovingly at the portrait when she suddenly heard Draco come out of his room. She immediately tried to rearrange her features so that she wouldn't look like a mess like she did earlier. She looked at the door and waited as Draco approached the room.

Draco slowly entered the room, his eyes red. Narcissa immediately stood up, shocked. She rushed towards him and reached for his face, her eyes started welling up again.

"Mum…" he said softly.

Narcissa hugged her son tightly, "Draco…"

He hugged her back with all the strength he could muster, "Mum, I'm sorry for not believing you. I don't know what to do… I'm not ready to die…" he whispered, sobbing. Narcissa hugged him tighter. "I just… I don't know… mum, is there something we can do? I'm… I'm scared." Narcissa patted Draco's back gently, "I don't know if there's something we can do…" she held on him tighter, "but I'll do my damn best to find a cure for you." A soft sob escaped her throat and she closed her eyes, wanting to remove her son's burden for him. "I'm also not ready to let you go, son. It's too soon."

A/N: R/R please