Coldness. Darkness. A rushing roar drumming his eardrums.

Hundreds of fists pounded upon him, beating what air was left out of his body. He tried to breathe, but that only worsened the pain.

Somehow, fate decided that the blonde actually had a purpose in life because the next second Draco could feel himself surfacing. His limbs hardly worked, so fighting the vicious current was futile. He gasped for air, only to choke on more of the dark water that surrounded him.

And then he was pushed under again.

Rushing, spinning, tumbling, sinking, struggling. Suffocating.

But fate still had hope in him, and he surfaced again. He felt so completely drained and disoriented. He didn't know left from right, or up from down. He only knew that floating there, being hit with wave after wave felt like tons of bricks were slamming into him. He kicked and struggled, but it only made him weaker with every attempt. His movements did little to nothing, and the blonde's spirit was close to breaking. Some hard object hit his side, and Draco's face lined with pain as he gasped. A second later, something else hit him on his other side. He did not know what it was, only that it was sharp and dangerous. The current was merciless as it carried him, his body tangling and weaving throughout the surges in the water. The coldness of the rushing river seeped into his bones now, and Draco could feel his heart stuttering to pound.

Oh Merlin, he was going to die. In a river. He was going to drown, something he never before had comprehended. Where was his wand? Had he lost it? Had it broken in the fall and now floated uselessly in the current?

Draco's tears mixed with the water surrounding him, slowly killing him. He felt like a rag doll being tossed side to side as branches and rocks slammed into him. He didn't know how he was still alive. His ribs must have at least bruised if not been broken from all the harshness, including the hard slam that the wild boar has caused.

Where was that beast? Draco wondered in the back of his mind. Had it survived? Was it struggling in the water as he was?

Draco's limbs were now limp in the water. His uneven breathing was growing shallow and the temperature of his body was rapidly dropping. His mind grew hazy with confusion and exhaustion, yet he didn't really mind. He was so sleepy, he could just close his eyes and fall asleep right there. Once he stopped struggling with the water, it actually wasn't so bad. The current swayed him side to side, rocking him to sleep. He could fall asleep right now, and he would never have to wake up. He wouldn't have to deal with the fact that the entire wizarding world actually hated him, nor the fact that his father was in Azkaban prison growing crazier with each passing day. He could forget that his loving mother was waiting for him to return home, only to arrange his marriage to a pretty pureblood girl that suited her liking. He could forget that Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived-To-Defeat-Voldemort, hated him for the rest of both their lives. He could actually forget that he had fallen for the beautiful Gryffindor, and forget that he had embarrassingly been rejected once more. Potter hadn't wanted his friendship back then, and now he didn't want a relationship at all with the blonde. He could forget everything. Forget that he had ever agreed to go onto this trip. He could forget about all of his friends and rivals. He could forget.

And no one would ever miss him. Deep down, Draco knew that was a lie. His mother loved him, a bit. He had his friends, Theo and Blaise. Both were settling down now, though. They each had someone else important to them now. Much more important than Draco would ever be to them. So really, would anyone miss him? Really, really miss him? He knew that they'd get over it with time, he supposed.

His eyes hardened underneath his eyelids.

Draco knew the answer now, and it only furthered his determination to want sleep.

Oh, how he welcomed death. He welcomed it so easily, without pain or regret. He could finally get away from it all, to be freed from his burden to live up to others' expectations. He could finally make his own choices now. This would be his first, and his last. To just sleep. Forever.

Harry yelled again, his fingers clenching tighter to the soil beneath them. Hands fumbled to bring him back, but he struggled against them.

"Draco!"

"Yelling his name isn't going to bring him back, Harry!" Hermione yelled at him, making one last attempt at bringing him away from the cliff's edge. She succeeded, and Harry clambered backwards. His eyes were wide with fear and anguish.

No. Draco couldn't have . . . That stupid Slytherin! Why'd he have to . . . ! Harry groaned. Oh why, did that stupid blonde have to push him away like that? Why couldn't he have acted like his usual selfish self and run?

'Because he's changed,' a little voice spoke from the back of his mind.

Harry shook his head.

"I have to go save him," he whispered. "I have to jump." Hermione gasped from behind him.

"No, Harry! You can't! You'll die!"

"Yeah mate!" Ron cried, grabbing hold of Harry as if to physically ground him back from insanity. "You can't just jump like that! You won't survive that high of a jump."

"And you think Draco will?" Harry snapped, pulling from him.

Four pair of eyes stared at him, each filled with deep regret and distress.

Blaise cleared his throat. "He had to," he muttered, his voice soft. He spoke as if wanting to believe his words himself. "He has to live."

"We'll call for help," Hermione tried to reason. "He'll survive. But Harry, you can't just go. We can't have both of you gone."

Harry gritted his teeth. "You don't understand, Hermione. I have to save him! He . . ." Harry swallowed. "He saved my life. He saved me when he didn't have to. He was so angry with me, and still . . . So I have to save him. I can't just leave him!"

"We're not saying that, mate," Ron said. "We'll call for help. Let the professionals—"

"You can't stop me, Ron. I have to do this." Without another word, Harry threw off his pack of supplies and threw it at the red head in an effort to distract him from pulling Harry back. Harry ran towards the edge, stretched out his arms, and jumped off the cliff.

Hermione screamed as she watched her best friend fall to his uncertain death. But it was too late. She stumbled to the edge of the cliff, only to see her best friend be swallowed by the rushing white waters of the river below.

She sniffed, but eventually turned away as warm arms encircled her waist. Hermione looked up at Theo, eyes sparking with tears. "They're gone," she whispered. "A-Aren't they?"

Theo was quiet for a moment. Then he looked straight at Hermione, serious. "No, 'Mione. There's still a chance. The Ministry won't get here in time to save them, but we can." He looked over at Blaise. "Still got your wand?"

Blaise smirked, fetching his wand from his back pocket. "Of course," he said, ignoring Hermione's narrowed gaze.

Theo nodded, turning back to his girlfriend. "See? Blaise has his wand, and I bet Ron does too." The red head blushed under Hermione's glare. But Theo turned her head towards him. "We're wizards, Hermione. You had the privilege to be raised like a muggle. The rest of us didn't. We're purebloods, 'Mione." Hermione glared at him, but the heat within them lessened.

"You could have told me," she grumbled, her voice still hoarse from tears.

Theo frowned. "I know, baby. I'm sorry. But now isn't the time. We need to go and find Draco and Potter. We'll find them, don't worry," he added when he noticed her skeptical gaze.

"But—"

"No, baby. We'll find them. I promise." Theo looked back at Ron and Blaise, who both nodded at his words, although Ron still looked a bit shaken at seeing his best friend jump off the cliff.

Hermione gazed at her boyfriend, her eyes still shining from tears. But now they also shined with hope. She sniffed. Yes, she thought. They'll find them. They were wizards after all.

The water was ice cold. He needed air. . .

Air.

Harry surfaced and he choked for air, coughing up dark water and struggling to keep afloat. His body racked with shudders from the ice cold river. He felt drained and heavy at the same time as his body continued to keep itself from sinking. Harry couldn't imagine how Draco was feeling being in the water this whole time. If just being in the water for a few minutes was hard for Harry, Draco might've already. . .

Harry shook his head. No. No, don't think like that. Harry refused to believe that Draco was dead, floating lifelessly in the water. He had to find him, because he was still alive. He had to be. It was Malfoy, for goodness sake. The Slytherin Ice Prince. He had to be used to the icy cold, living in the Slytherin Dungeons.

But . . .

Harry bit his lip as he swam along the current, his eyes sweeping across the water for any sign of blonde hair. His body was slowly shutting down, Harry could feel it. But he couldn't give up. He had to find Draco. He had to apologize to him. Merlin, all those horrible things he said . . . Harry knew, deep down inside, that Draco had changed. But for some odd reason, he couldn't let the cold, hard Malfoy out of his mind. It was like he was in denial. But in denial of what?

Harry shook his head. He couldn't think about that now. He had to rescue Draco. He had to find him, if not for the blonde's sake, then for his own. Because he refused to let go of the blonde that easily. He couldn't.

He looked around, trying to find Draco, but he couldn't see him. He couldn't see anything but the rushing water and the vague impression of the brown and black landscape blurring by him. And then Harry hit something in the water, hard. He cried out, inhaling a lungful of water in the process. He choked and coughed, and his lungs burned for air again. That and the pain in his arm from where he was hit threatened to drag him under.

And then he saw blonde hair.

Harry very narrowly kept himself from screaming with joy, which would've only made matters much worse. He was very much sure it was Draco, and Harry forced himself to swim faster, to ignore the iciness of the water, and erase the thought that Draco might already be dead. He plunged in and out of the river, deftly avoiding sharp rocks and debris floating around him in his hurry to reach Draco. Just a few more feet and he could grab hold of the blonde. Harry swam harder and reached his hand out, his eyes wild with determination as he watched himself get closer and closer to Draco.

And then he had him. Harry wrapped his hand tight around Draco's limp arm and dragged him closer to him, breathing out a huge sigh of relief as he held the blonde close.

Harry had Draco. Finally. But they weren't out of danger yet. They had to find a way out of the water. They were free-flowing with the current and Harry frantically searched the edges of the river for any loose rocks or tree roots he could grab hold of. The river was wide and the sides seemed impossibly out of reach. He tried to swim along the edge, but debris knocked hard against him. Now that he had Draco, it was harder to keep afloat and Harry was soon struggling just to keep his chin above the water.

He heard a groan come below him and Harry looked down to see Draco's eyes begin to flutter. Harry breathed a shaky sigh of relief.

"Draco," he whispered. "You're alive."

It was disorienting, but Draco could suddenly feel warmth around him, despite the rushing cold water that he knew had surrounded him earlier. He could hear a heartbeat too, just below his ear where it rested against a hard, smooth surface. Draco wanted to move around, but he could feel that he was too weak and drained of energy to do so. He briefly wondered where the hell he was, and just whose arms were around him, right before everything came rushing back.

"Ah!" Draco cried, his eyes opening wide and his body tingling as he finally became aware of his surroundings. He thrashed around to try and keep hold of something, and then the arms around him held tighter and a voice was speaking in low tones.

"Shh, shh D-Draco. Y-You're alright, I-I-I've g-got you."

Draco whipped his head up, the movement causing pain to lash out against his head and neck, and stared into the green eyes of his savior. Harry Potter. Of course.

"P-P-Potter. . ." Draco stammered out, the freezing water seeping into his bones. Once again. "H-How. . .?"

"I j-jumped in a-after you," was Harry's stuttered and forced out reply. "W-We have t-to find . . ."

Suddenly, a dark shape emerged ominously behind them as an uprooted tree plunged along the current. Draco could see it, but Harry had his back to it.

"Harry!" Draco just had time to shout out before the tree slammed into them. Harry felt blinding pain shoot through him as the hard trunk bounced off him, the rough bark tearing his shirt and his skin as branches stabbed at his arms and legs.

Draco felt the impact through Harry's body and heard his agonizing cry. He quickly grabbed hard onto Harry's now limp body, his heard thudding in his chest as Harry was almost carried under. He pulled Harry against him, the brunette's back to his chest, letting Harry's head fall against his shoulder. Draco fought to keep both their heads above water and to avoid the swirling debris around them. He clung to Harry, protectively shielding him from any rocks or branches that floated by. His arms were going numb and losing strength, and he could feel Harry's body become heavier and heavier with each passing second.

Yet only one thought crossed his mind in all this.

Don't let go. Never, never let go of him.

Despite all the crashing and rushing water around them, Draco only had thoughts for Harry.

Please, please, Draco prayed to Merlin, if not both of us, then let Harry live. Please.

And then, like magic, Draco could feel the current changing, sweeping them closer to the edge of the river. Soon enough, they were inches from grabbing hold onto the earth and Draco stuck out his hand. His hand clutched dirt and mud and with every bit of strength he had left, he pulled.

Thank you for all of your reviews! I very much appreciate it. Please review! Hopefully I get the next chapter out next week around Thursday or Friday. For those of you who have read this story on the Adultfanfiction site, I'm sorry I haven't updated. I'll get around to it as soon as I can. Thanks for all of your support, it helps a lot :)