A/N: I am sooo sorry about the long wait for this chapter. I was in Gulf Port, MS for a week working with the Hurricane Katrina relief and then I got lazy and then I had no idea what I wanted for this chapter. I hope I still have some readers that haven't given up on me yet. Well, here's the next long-awaited chapter. Oh, and italics represent the past in this chapter.

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Needing You

Chapter 8: A Secret, A Past, and Some Gifts Revealed

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"Move," Dean ordered distractedly. After checking for a pulse and finding one, he then put his ear to her mouth and nose, trying to find a hint of breathing. According to his frowning face, Jas was not taking in precious air. Draco fluttered around, much like anxious little girl, muttering to himself in staccato sentences. Finally, Dean looked up and spoke to the worried study group. "Alright, I need to do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Seamus, you take over."

While Dean started trying to bring Jas to rights again, Seamus turned to address the rest of the group with the most serious look on his face they had ever seen on him. "Amy. Get the first teacher you see in here as quickly as possible. Pansy, go to the Hospital Wing and alert Madame Pomfrey to the situation. Blaise, find Madame Pince and tell her to clear the library." Seamus excluded Draco from his orders, knowing it would be useless to try and separate the Slytherin from the unconscious girl.

Two minutes later the library had been cleared and Seamus had gotten Jas breathing again, but not awake. The conscious students left in the library jumped when Professor McGonagall rushed into the room, leaving the door barely on its hinges from her powerful entrance. Without speaking to the children, she conjured up a stretcher after quickly checking Jas over and hurried towards the infirmary.

Giving each other a confused and concerned look, the group moved towards the Hospital Wing as well, brushing past bewildered students in the hallway, nearly knocking over a few first years. By the time they reached the Wing, Jas had already been ushered inside and the door shut, leaving Pansy out in the hallway with the rest of the group.

"They won't let us in. They didn't even say anything, just pointed me out. I'm really scared for girl, even if she is a Ravenclaw. Thomas, how did you know what to do?"

Dean answered with his eyes closed, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache, "I took a first aide class a few years ago, seeing as I play soccer a lot. Never thought I would actually have to use anything I learned…." The last part was mostly to himself and left everyone silent.

As the minutes ticked by, everyone eventually sat down on the floor, too tired to do much else than gaze at the far end wall. Seamus held a tearful Amy, Draco sat looking miserable, and the other three simply sat with downcast expressions.

Two or three hours later, Professor McGonagall walked out of the Wing, nearly tripped over Draco, and let out small cry of surprise. "What are you children doing out here? It is after hours, you should all be in your dormitories. Really, now."

Cutting off her tirade, Draco said, "Professor is she alright?" It seemed he could not ask anymore than that.

McGonagall's face softened just a tad and replied with, "She is stable at the moment. Come to my office tomorrow morning before classes and I will attempt to explain her situation a little better. Before I left, Miss Hattori gave me permission to tell all of you what has been happening. Yes, Mr. Malfoy, she was awake, but is sleeping now. Off to bed, all of you."

Not exactly happy with her answer, but glad that Jas had awoken; the six trudged to their respective dorms, falling into bed and asleep almost instantly.

After a tense breakfast the next morning, the new comrades found their way into the Professor's office, sharing brief hellos before settling in to hear McGonagall out.

The elderly woman spoke softly but quite audibly from behind her desk. "As you all know, your young friend is ill. This is not a recent sickness, but an ongoing one that she has been battling for a few years now. It is a muggle disease known as Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, or ALL. There is a problem with her blood cells and as a result it can make her very tired and worn out, as well as give her headaches, cause weight loss, and generate nausea. Some of you may have noticed that Miss Hattori is quite thin for her age and does not eat much. This disease has affected her in this way the most, as well as her frequent headaches. Before you ask, there are some treatments available, but only one is an option for her at her age. She needs what the muggle doctors call a bone marrow transplant. I do not know too much about the illness other than this information. You may visit her one at a time starting tomorrow during breaks, meals, and after class."

The students sat, pondering over the new information given to them and wondering why Jasmine had kept this from them for such a long time. They left a few minutes later for class after thanking the Professor for explaining things.

The rest of the day was hell. Between worrying about Jasmine, doing all their assigned work, convincing people the rumors about Jasmine's reputation were untrue, and avoiding a confrontation with the Trio, the entire group was thoroughly exhausted. However, by supper time, most of the rumors had died down and the Great Hall was abuzz with anger at the Golden Group and curiosity as to where the Ravenclaw girl was.

Ignoring questioning looks and annoying questions, Draco left the Hall in a huff, desperately wanting to go to Jasmine and speak with her, despite the order to wait until the next day. So to take his mind off of things, Draco went to the owlry and delivered a letter to his mother, asking for sweets and a secret little something to give to Jas when he visited her.

The next day, Draco rushed from his last class of the day to his dorm to pick up the packages that had come for him that morning and then to the infirmary. Well, rushed is a bit of a strong term, he was a Malfoy after all, and Malfoy's never rush, they simply walk briskly exuding confidence and poise. The first thing he saw when he entered was a closed off portion surrounded by curtain hangings. The hangings were open, however, letting sunlight pouring in from the great windows fall onto the figure reading on the bed. As soon as she saw Draco though, Jas grinned and laid her book to the side.

"Hey, you," Jas greeted softly, obviously not fully recovered from her ordeal two days prior.

"Hello, love. I hope you are feeling better." The latter was more of a question than a statement, and was interpreted as such.

"Much." Even though it was only a little.

"I brought some things for you. I owled my mum yesterday about what happened and she sent some sweets for you. Quite a bit of chocolate. I've always wondered what it is about girls and chocolate…. Anyways, I was hoping we could talk a little about your," here he paused a bit, "condition."

Sighing in defeat, Jas closed her eyes for a brief moment, and then slowly opened them once again. "Okay. But please, tell your mom thank you for the candy and chocolate, I see she sent some of my favorites. You can sit down, you know. This may take a while for I have much to say." Draco obeyed, but instead of sitting in the chair beside the bed, he – gracefully – plopped down on the bed next to her. With a small smile Jas continued. "I suppose I should really start at the beginning, at where most of my troubles began…

A twelve year-old Jasmine sat in the library of her home, reading a book of poetry in the dying sunlight. Coincidentally, it was the same book of poetry that now sits at her infirmary bedside. The young girl looks up at the slamming of a door, eyes widening in fright at the sight of her drunken father.

"What do you think you are doing in here, child? You should be in your room, not reading like some kind of bratty scholar. Women. The only thing they are good for is bearing heirs." He continued his rant, quickly advanced upon a frozen Jasmine who had begun to shake and whimper in distress.

"I'm sorry father, I will remove myself from your presence."

"Idiot girl. How dare you speak to me without permission?" A resounding slap knocks the child's head into the wooden back of the chair, making a dull thudding noise. As Jasmine cowers and bites her lip to keep from crying out from the pain, her father takes her by the collar of her dress and yanks up, bringing her to her feet unsteadily. Before she can fully gain her balance, her father punches her jaw, sending her flying to a heap on the floor, mouth bleeding slightly.

"Please, father…"

"JUST SHUT UP YOU STUPID LITTLE GIRL! AND STOP CRYING!" Many kicks to the ribs and stomach follow these statements, causing the tears flowing from the little girl's eyes to increase in volume despite her efforts to stop them. Again and again he hits and kicks her, until Jasmine can take no more and finally loses consciousness.

When she awakens, she notices she is bound at the wrists and lying on the floor of the parlor room. Despite the pain she is feeling, she tries to move to a kneeling position, hoping to stand up. The chance doesn't come however, for she hears footsteps approaching. Walking into the room is father, leading what seemed to be all the servants and maids of the house into the room. With a slightly insane look in his eye, her father speaks up.

"As you all know, this is my worthless daughter. She has upset me greatly and now she will pay for it. I have ordered you here to watch so you will all know the consequences of disobeying me." Walking over to a nearby table, Jasmine's father picks up whip, which had gone unseen by Jasmine earlier. Attempting to scramble away, Jas is stopped by a harsh pull on her long, flowing blonde hair. Her dress is torn from her body, and she shivers uncomfortably and fearfully from her semi-nudeness.

Crack! The whip is brought down harshly onto her already bruised back, and Jasmine, startled, cries out at the burst of pain she suddenly feels. Several cracks of the whip later and she is screaming for it all to stop. She can feel the blood running down her back from the open wounds afflicted upon her. She cannot see the servants in the room, crying along with her, horrified at the appalling sight. Blackness once again engulfs her, and the next time she wakes up she is lying in a hospital bed.

After the cruel display, her father left the room, leaving Jasmine's maidservant to take her and clean her wounds. Having had enough of the wickedness of her master, the maid, Jeanette Carson, stole away from the house with Jasmine in the middle of the night and to a nearby city where she brought Jasmine to the local hospital. It was the last time Jasmine would see her father or be in her magnificent mansion.

There at the hospital she was treated for her numerous wounds as well as had tests run for other problems. A few days later the doctors informed her she had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. For the years to come, Jasmine lived with her distant aunt Rachel, well hidden from her father who may or may not have been looking for her. Her leukemia progressed some, but she hid it from others at school, hoping nobody would ever have to find out.

Having been enrolled at the Salem Institute since she moved in with Aunt Rachel, Jasmine approached her fifth year there with confidence. However, in the middle of the year, one of her school nemesis, Stacy, stole her medical records and spread them around the school, exposing her best kept secret. From then on, she relied on her friends and boyfriend, Bryan, to help her through all the teasing that came from her fellow students. She finally decided it was too much to handle when Bryan left her because she wasn't popular anymore. Many tears and goodbye hugs from her friends later, Jas and Aunt Rachel moved to England, where Jasmine enrolled at Hogwarts to continue her witching education.

Throughout the entire hour Jas had been telling her story, Draco had sat quietly, staring at Jas with sympathy for her situation, anger for what her father had done, and sadness she had to leave everything behind her.

To comfort her, Draco pulled her closer to his body and placed an uncharacteristic gentle kiss to her forehead, telling her that things would get better and that he and her friends here would never abandon her. While whispering sweet promises in her ear, a tired Jasmine fell into sweet slumber.

This time when she had woken up, Draco was gone but two red roses and one white one were lying where he had last been.

The next few days she had many visitors and presents, more so than Potter had ever had. Draco visited everyday for at least an hour. Amy, Seamus, Dean, Blaise, and even Pansy also came and wished her well, dropping off her schoolwork along the way. Exactly one week after she been admitted to the Wing, she was released under the watchful gaze of Madame Pomfrey, who had quite enjoyed the company of the young girl during her stay.

After entering her dorm room and finding nobody there, Jas glanced curiously around and saw a folded note on her bed.

Jas – Come to the Room of Requirement (the place I told you about your first week here). Oh, and where something nice. How about that gorgeous dress the twins sent you as a get well present? Hurry, – Amy.

A hint of a smirk on her beautiful features, Jas set about getting ready and cleaning herself up. After a quick shower, she pulled her hair back with a butterfly clip, dusted on some light makeup, and went over to the box Gred and Forge had sent her after hearing about her ordeal. She had been overwhelmed by the stunning dress she had taken out of the box. It was a full length, shimmering, light blue gown with little silver beads and sparkling jewels covering the front and the skirt part to make the dress practically glimmer. Donning it, Jas looked into the mirror to see a princess staring back at her.

After making her way up to the seventh floor, she was greeted at the entrance to the Room of Requirement by a pristine Draco Malfoy, looking his best in a tux and crisp new dress robes. His mouth fell open slightly when he took in her appearance, overwhelmed by her dazzling looks. Jasmine noticed his dazed looks and walked up to him, kissing him on the cheek and closing his mouth with her finger. Regaining his composure, Draco told her she looked incredible and took her arm to lead her inside.

Within the secret room, a full out party ensued. Even with everyone looking elegant and spiffed up, they still managed to create an air of teenage casualness. All of Jasmine's friends had been invited, including people from all houses. Fred and George Weasley were there, since they had been the one to pay for most of it and get everything ready. Jas thanked the twins profusely for the dress, giving them each a kiss on the cheek that left the twins blushing.

Draco stole her away at the height of the festivities and brought her into an adjoining room, claiming he wanted to give her something.

"When I wrote to my mum about the sweets and everything, I asked her to send this as well. It was my grandmother's. She told me when she gave it to me that when I found the special girl I was looking for, I should give her this. I've realized from the time you arrived here to now that you are that special girl." Jasmine stood there next to him gazing at the necklace he held in an antique box with a slightly astonished look.

"Wow. I mean… wow. What you said, and this… wow."

"So you like it, then."

"Are you kidding? I love it Draco. That's the best thing that anyone has ever said to me. Your grandmother must be a great lady."

Draco stepped behind her, Jas lifting her hair out of the way so he could clasp it around her neck. It was a beautiful sapphire and diamond necklace with a thick silver band to accentuate the thick jewels.

"She is a great lady. And so are you. I know it may be a little soon to be asking you this, what with all that has happened in the past couple of weeks, but this feels right. Will you be my girl?"

"Yes, Draco. Yes, of course the answer is yes. I've been hoping you would ask me that the day I first locked eyes with you. Even though it took a punch to the nose and a few tears for me to realize it." Draco's own blue orbs lit up with that last sentence, and he embraced her softly. The two felt no need for more words.

Rejoining the party, nearly everyone there noticed automatically the two holding hands, the soft joyful smiles on their faces (though Draco's was more of a smirk), and the new piece of jewelry Jas had acquired. People came up to them the rest of the night, congratulating them and wishing Jasmine well.

The night was like a fairy tale for Jasmine. She had a lot of fun and for once, didn't dwell on the future.

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A/N: Once again, I'm terribly sorry about the wait. Please don't hate me. Anyway, I'm leaving for the beach for a week on Wednesday, and then I start school two days after I get back. So it might be another while before I can get another chapter up, but hopefully not a month. I'm kind of pleased with this chapter, even though I'm not sure how long it is.

If you liked it (or if you didn't like it), please tell me. E-mail or review, pick one.

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