Chapter 5: Pining Heart

Draco put his arms around his body trying to fight the hypothermia that was bound to set in the longer he stood out in the rain.

Why should I care to stay warm, there is no reason to go on…once someone finds out the truth about my feelings for Harry it's over. I could never show my face in the Slytherin common room ever again. The blonde thought as he moved over to the edge of the stone wall and looked over the edge to the ground below.

As he pushed himself up more to clear more of the wall Draco felt someone grab him and pull the blonde up against their chest.

"I know… I know this chest" Draco said softly as he looked up at the blurry face looking down at him and passed out into the warm chest that was holding him close.

The mysterious figure picked Draco up bridal style and carried him down a maze of shortcuts that ended up right outside the hospital wing. Leaving the blonde on the floor the figure stuck his wand in the door and charmed the bell above the door to start ringing till the matron showed up and helped Draco.

"Draco Malfoy what were you doing out in the rain?" Madam Pomfrey asked in annoyance as she brought him back to his bed behind the curtains and magically dried his clothes and put him to bed as she got various potions ready to get him better faster.

She once again fussed over the blonde and looked at him "Draco dear this pain will pass I'm sure of it" Madam Pomfrey said tucking Draco into bed and giving him another sleeping potion.

"But I saw him just now, he's the one who brought me here… I could be wrong… everything was kind of fuzzy." He said as he started to fall asleep. "He… he kept me from falling over the edge… I know it" Draco said falling asleep.

When Draco was asleep Madam Pomfrey stood up and went into her office and closed the door behind her.

--
Hermione had seen everything; she wondered who would just drop someone off in front of the door of the hospital wing. Getting up from her seat she walked outside the hospital wing and looked around for any sign of the person that dropped Draco off.

Going down the hall in the both directions finding it empty Hermione gave a small smile.

"If anyone were here I'm sure they would want to know how Draco is, he's going to be fine… that is if anyone is out here" Hermione said heading back into the hospital wing to get Ron and go back to the Gryffindor common room



As the two left the doors to the hospital opened on its own and close silently to keep the matron from hearing the noise. After making sure that there was no one else in the sectioned area of the wing where Draco was the figure hidden beneath the cloak raised it up to reveal his lips.

"Draco…" he said softly before kissing the blonde's forehead and running his fingers through the soft blonde hair. He couldn't help it as he leaned in and gave Draco another kiss, this time he put all his love into it. Pulling away he looked down at the blonde once more. "Goodbye for now Draco." He said softly as he put the cloak back down and walked out of the curtain area and right past the matron of the hospital ward and out the door silently back to where he came from.
--
In the headmaster's office the group of wizards had conjured up chairs and took their seats in a small crescent circle and waited for the aged headmaster to start speaking. The portraits on the walls were sleeping or missing at the moment. Raising his wand Dumbledore cast a muffling spell on the door and portraits to keep the information the group talked about secret.

Dumbledore paced before the group and then looked at group that was sitting in various chairs that were scattered around the room. "Remus… how is he taking it? I can only imagine the pain that this is causing" the headmaster said as he stood beside his pet bird and stroked Fawkes's head.

Remus sighed softly "Losing Harry is very hard on both of us not just because he's James's son but Harry was like a son to us as well. Sirius is also getting tired of being cooped up all the time but he can deal with it more now that I have moved in to keep him company. I don't want to leave him alone right now." The former professor said twisting a loose thread on his cloak.

Snape choked on a laugh as he tried to hide it with a cough "Yes I expect someone as rowdy as Black to get tired of being in a home like that, when do you two get the time to shag and not get caught by the rest of the Order?" The potion master asked with a smirk.

Sirius glared over at his arch rival from his school days. "Snivellus… I'm warning you, I'm not in the mood for your shite" Sirius growled as he started to get to his feet only to be pulled back down into his seat by Lupin who was stronger then he looked.

Remus gave his lover a stern look "Enough… try acting your age just this once" he whispered before looking back at Dumbledore. His cheeks still dusted red from what Snape had said before about them.

"Right now Voldemort's greatest threat is gone… soon there will be no stopping him if he starts to gather armies and try to take over once again. Soon the Order will be a speck of dust compared to the power of the dark lord." Dumbledore said as he started to pace his office once again before taking his seat behind his desk.



Snape cleared his throat "The dark lord is still partaking in celebration right now at Potter's fall; he has no new plans at this time. Though I will keep everyone informed when he decides on a new plan of action." The potion master said sitting up a bit in his chair.

Professor McGonagall looked at the head master "The students are taking Potter's death hard, some more than others. I heard that Draco Malfoy watched it happen. Albus do you think this will affect him mentally in any way?" she asked wringing her hands a bit.

"It's hard to tell right now, he watched a fellow classmate be tortured and poisoned…from What Severus told me when he retrieved them from the island they seemed to be getting along quite well. So this may affect him in a way that nothing will be able to fix it." Dumbledore said sighing and rubbing his temple.

Sirius grumbled "Who cares about him, if he hadn't lured Harry up to that tower then he would still be alive right now." The animagus said crossing his arms over his chest.

Minerva cleared her throat and Sirius cowered back into his chair, despite he was no longer a student he was still scared to death of the transfiguration teacher. "Albus, I must know… why you have called us in here today?" the transfiguration teacher asked looking at the headmaster.

Dumbledore sighed softly and finally took his seat behind his desk. "I have something that I need to share with all of you" he said lacing his fingers together.

"Before I told you all that we are not going to be strong enough to defeat Voldemort… I hate to admit it but I lied to you all that we aren't going to be able to defeat Voldemort. We do have a way of defeating him." He said a sparkle in his eyes.

Snape got up from his seat "I need to check on Draco, he is my god son after all and I do take very good care of him." He said as he reached the door and left the office as a small glass object smashed against the door from Lupin throwing it at him.

The transfiguration teacher looked at her former student/colleague, in all the years she knew him he was the sensible one that to a point kept his friends from getting expelled.

Draco slowly began to woke up he lifted his head up and sighed softly.

Someone saved me and I could have sworn I recognized their chest somehow. Draco thought as he sat up in bed. He wanted to get out of bed and walk around the school but he knew he would just end up on another tower looking over the edge. Looking down at his hands the blonde sighed softly.

I'm losing my mind… I keep imagining him or dreaming of him, I just can't accept that he's gone. Draco thought as he sighed softly and hugged his knees to his chest and closed his eyes.



With his eyes closed the blonde didn't see the shadow move behind the curtain toward the opening. Silently pulling an envelope out of the folds of his robe the potion master laid it down on the bed and left quickly before his godson could look up and headed to his own private chambers down in the dungeons in the bowels of the school.

Turning his gaze Draco saw the envelope and picked it up; the soft candle light that was burning above him was enough to read the letter that was left for him.

My Slytherin Angel,

Snape is being kind for once and allowing me to leave a single letter behind…I have to write quickly. You know how impatient he gets, when I thought of whom to leave this letter for I thought of you and only you. Ron and Hermione have memories of me. But ours aren't as pleasant. There are so many things I want to say to you that I should have said to you before but I will keep this short. Don't hurt too much, I know that when I face Voldemort tonight there is a good chance I won't make it. Please remember that now and forever I will be with you, keep this letter as a reminder that no matter what happens tonight, what torture we endure, I will take the most but it will hurt you more to watch.

I love you and if I don't make it to the next day, I hope you smile again even if I'm not there to see it.

Harry

Draco felt tears once again well up in his eyes as they slid down his face and fell onto the parchment in his hands. The dark ink smudged as the tears soaked into the paper. Folding the letter and holding it to his chest Draco slowly got out of bed and made his way out of the hospital wing and down to the Great Hall for lunch.

The enchanted ceiling showed the rain falling still, the weather seemed to match the mood of the occupants of the Great Hall. Moving from the Entrance Hall doors the blonde made his way over to the barren end of the Slytherin table and try to get something into his stomach. Serving himself Draco sat quietly as he pushed food around his plate before raising his fork to his mouth and ate some of the food. Putting his fork down after a few bites Draco decided to wander the castle for a while.

Getting up from the table Draco walked right into Balise's chest and fell back only to be caught in mid fall. Balise kept his hand on Draco's lower back as he helped the blonde to stand up again, he let his hand linger longer then it should have been. Moving away Balise only smirked.

"You need to be more careful Draco, you wouldn't want people to think you're going weak. What would your father say if he heard you were getting soft? " he said chuckling as he took a seat at the table and started to eat lunch.



Looking at the blonde he motioned for him to sit down. "Draco you have to tell me everything that happed to Potter, everyone knows you were there when it happened, I want all the details. Did he beg for mercy at all? Please tell me he didn't just do that hero thing be all silent like. I would have loved to see Potter getting tortured. You were so lucky to see it." Balise said not even noticing Draco's face going a little pale at that moment.

Draco left the Great Hall in a hurry and ran up the marble staircase; he remembered that he saw Snape go into Dumbledore's office before. Draco needed to talk to his godfather, he hoped that the meeting was over or that he could get a moment to speak with the potion master during the meeting.

Bounding up the stairs Draco shoved a couple first years down that had gotten into his way as he made it to the floor with Dumbledore's office. By that time Draco was out of breath and needed to sit down.

Sitting on the stone floor he closes his eyes and breathed heavy. He felt a bit dizzy when he stood up again, he knew he stood up too fast but he more important things to worry about at that time other than his blurry vision and the pounding in his ears.

Moving down the hall he made it to the gargoyle and mentally cursed when he didn't know the password. After a few dozen tries Draco sighed "I don't think Dumbledore would do something like Pumpkin Tarts" the blonde said with another sigh, just then the gargoyle sprung to life and moved aside letting access to the staircase behind him.

Running up the stairs the blonde stopped and reached for the door when he heard Harry's name. Freezing in front of the door Draco stood there and listened in on the conversation inside the office.

--

"At the beginning of the school year I spoke to Harry and we both agreed that something was possibly on the verge of happening with the dark lord." Dumbledore said as he opened a small container of lemon drops and popped one into his mouth with a smile.

Everyone in the room was confused and in the back of their minds they wondered if the headmaster was finally losing his marbles.

Sirius shifted in his seat. "No offense… but why are we talking about a plan that means nothing right now?" he asked.

Dumbledore looked up the twinkle in his eyes was prominent. "Severus and I devised a plan a month ago when we learned Voldemort was going to go through with his plan to kidnap Harry. But some things happened and as you know both Harry and Draco disappeared for a week." The headmaster said calmly.



Professor McGonagall let out a small huff "Albus, I know how you like to drag important information out but for the love of Merlin just tell us all read" she said a bit hotly.

"Of course Minerva, well to the point I guess. When Snape contacted me and said that Harry and Draco had been located we put our plan into action. When Harry faced Voldemort he was cursed with the Crutciatus curse and then he was poisoned… or so Voldemort thought."

Lupin felt his head spinning a bit "Wait, what are you trying to say sir?" he asked putting his hand on the bridge of his nose and rubbing it a bit.

Dumbledore chuckled softly "Harry is still alive, Severus switched the potions at the last moment and it was a temporary potion." He said getting up from his seat once again and going over to the large oak doors and opening them.

"Ah, Draco… I was hoping to talk to you privately later about this subject. Oh well the cat is out of the bag so to speak." he said a bit displeased that the blonde had overheard the conversation.

Draco looked at the floor "This just some cruel dream I'm having, it would explain everything… he really is gone and I just can't seem to accept it. I've gone out of my mind; you might as well ship me off to St. Mungo's before the day is over." Draco said not caring who heard him at the moment.

"I'm sick of this" A voice said from behind Draco, soon there was a rustling of fabric and Harry appeared behind Draco, his invisibility cloak lying on the floor at his feet forgotten at that moment.

Turning around the blonde looked at his secret boyfriend for a moment before raising his hand and slapping him hard across the face. "You're such an arse Potter…" he said softly as he buried his face in Harry's shoulder.

Harry smirked and put his arms around the blonde and held him close. "I'm sorry Draco, but don't worry I'm not going to leave you alone." the raven haired boy said softly rubbing his boyfriend's back softly.

Draco looked up into Harry's emerald green eyes. "Now that I know this isn't a dream I better tell you something important before you disappear on me again. I love you too; I wish I told you before all this happened. I was worried that you died without knowing it.

"Harry, don't forget that you're leaving soon, I've forwarded all your things and Hedwig as well to where you will be staying" Dumbledore said looking at the two embracing boys.

Draco felt his heart start to plummet once again. His hands tightened into fists gripping the fabrics of Harry's tee shirt.