Bella was awoken in the night by the soft whispers coming from across the hospital wing.
"Another attack Albus?"
Bella could tell the voice belonged to Madam Pomfrey and she opened her eyes to see three figures standing around something that looked like a block of stone lying on one of the other beds. She couldn't make out the figures in the darkness and she hoped they wouldn't notice she was no longer sleeping.
"I'm afraid so." Dumbledore's tone was grave as he spoke.
Bella's eyes widened when she spotted the curly blonde hair attached to the block of stone and realised it wasn't a block of stone after all, it was a student.
"Do you think he could have gotten a picture of his attacker?" Another voice asked and Bella noted it was Professor McGonagall.
She watched as Dumbledore pulled a small black box from the boys hands and it burst open with a puff of smoke. Bella realised then that the victim lying across the ward was Colin Creevey, a muggle-born Gryffindor in Ginny's year, the same muggle-born boy who followed Harry around taking pictures of him.
"Does this mean -"
"I'm afraid it does Minerva, the Chamber of Secrets has indeed been opened again."
Bella fell into a restless sleep shortly afterwards. First Mrs Norris, now Colin, Bella could only hope Hermione wasn't next.
Bella was yet again awoken by soft voices early that morning.
"Will she be okay Madam Pomfrey?"
Bella smiled softly when she heard Ron's voice
"She will be fine, Mr. Weasley. She just needs time to recover."
"I'm fine Ron." Bella croaked.
Ron rushed to her side as she struggled to sit up. He took her arm and helped her into a seated position, fluffing the pillows behind her back.
"You're as bad as mum." Bella teased.
"Wow, you nearly died and now you're mocking me." Ron laughed.
Madam Pomfrey checked her over to make sure everything was going as it should and once she was pleased her patient was on the mend she allowed Ron to sit with her.
"How are you feeling?" He asked.
"It's still painful and breathing always feels scratchy but apart from that I'm okay."
"I could kill Lockhart." Ron growled.
"How are we going to pay him back?" Bella asked, a mischievous smirk on her face.
"Fred and George said they've got something planned for when you get out of hospital." Ron grinned.
Bella looked beyond Ron to the curtain surrounding Colin Creevey's bed. Ron followed Bella's line of sight and turned back to Bella with a quizzical expression on his face.
"Who's behind the curtain?" He asked with a loud voice.
Bella frantically shushed him, checking Madam Pomfrey hadn't heard him.
"Who is it?" He asked in a whisper.
"It's Colin Creevey." Bella said quietly. "He's been petrified."
"He-He's a muggle-born, isn't he?" Ron asked, panic in his voice.
"Yeah, he's in Ginny's year." She replied.
"Hermione." Ron whispered.
"It's okay, we won't let anything happen to her." Bella comforted.
"Does this mean that the chamber really is open?" Ron asked.
"I think it does."
After her tense conversation with Ron, Bella spent the rest of the day reading in bed. Madam Pomfrey wouldn't allow her to touch any of her school work and so Bella took great pleasure in finishing her book. She'd had various visitors all day, bringing sweets and such to try and cheer her up. Seeing her friends had cheered her up immensely but she was glad to have the evening to herself to relax. Darkness fell on the grounds of Hogwarts and Bella was tucked up in bed, trying and failing to sleep. The door of the hospital wing slowly creaked open and Bella froze under the covers, trying not to make a sound. She heard soft foot steps coming closer to the bed she was lying in and her heart rate quickened.
"Psst, Bella."
Bella audibly sighed in relief when she heard Draco's soft voice call out to her in the darkness.
"You gave me a fright, thought you might have been Slytherin's monster." Bella commented.
"Sorry." He said with a smirk that showed he was anything but sorry.
"How are you feeling?" He asked.
"I'm alright. It's still a bit painful but Madam Pomfrey says I should be able to leave tomorrow."
Bella turned to lay on her side as Draco took the seat beside her bed.
"I bet it hurt when Harry caught the snitch that was right beside your head the whole time." Bella teased.
Draco glared at her and rolled his eyes when she giggled.
"I'm sorry." Bella said as she continued to giggle.
"Yeah, ha ha, very funny." Draco responded dryly.
"I was really worried about you." Draco added quietly.
"I'm okay, it was a close call but I'm okay." Bella comforted.
The pair fell into a silence as they sat together in the darkness.
"I don't like being here alone." Bella commented, eyeing the curtains on the other side of the room.
"What's wrong?" Draco asked, turning in his seat to see the what was bothering her.
"Someone was petrified last night. Colin Creevey, he's a Gryffindor in Ginny's year."
"Is he behind the curtain?" Draco asked.
Bella nodded her head as she pulled her blankets tighter around her body. She yawned into the blankets as a wave of tiredness washed over her.
"Maybe you should get some sleep." Draco suggested, standing from his seat.
Bella grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. He looked down at her hand on his wrist then back up to her face and she pulled her hand away awkwardly.
"Could you... stay, just until I fall asleep?"
Draco took his seat again without a word and Bella lay back down under the blankets.
"The attack has really scared you, hasn't it?" Draco asked.
"Yeah." Bella whispered.
The pair didn't speak again and it didn't take long for Bella to give into the sleep her body so desperately craved. Draco sat in silence as he listened for Bella's breathing to get deeper, indicating she was asleep. He rose slowly from his seat and looked over her sleeping face. He gently brushed the hair from her face and placed a soft kiss to her forehead. He pulled back slowly with his eyes closed and only when he opened them did he realise what he'd just done.
