I AM SO SORRY. It has taken me over a month to post this. I truly am sorry. But JULY 21ST! Who else is as excited as me?? Haha, ok, on we go. Please read and review. It's my fuel.

Chapter 7: Meet Flicky

Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to get out of bed that day. He wished he had a time stopper. The more that time passed, the closer Harry came to having to say goodbye to Draco. Harry wasn't going to lie to himself. He had no idea what he could do. He didn't have a clue what he could do to keep Draco out of the hands of his father… and even worse, Voldemort.

Harry heaved a pained sigh and rolled over in bed. He slowly got to his feet and got dressed. Ten minutes later, Harry, Ron and Hermione met up with Blaise and Pansy for the trek to Hogsmeade station.

When the teenagers arrived, Draco was already there with his godfather. He was sitting on his suitcase with his head bowed low. He looked up abruptly when Severus greeted the group. It wasn't until the five kids came closer that they saw the tears threatening to fall from the blonde's eyes. Harry couldn't refrain any longer. He broke into a run until he found himself staring Draco in the eyes. Immediately, Draco found himself in a rib crushing embrace by the Griffindor.

"Come back to me, okay?" Harry whispered in Draco's ear. He knew that Draco had no control over the matter. He had no idea what else to say.

Draco responded with silence. The whistle of the train made the smaller boy shiver in Harry's arms. Harry let him go, feeling that he may never be able to touch him again. He watched with an overwhelming fear inching its way up his throat as he watched Draco hug the others, and finally stopping at Snape.

"You'll be alright. I'll be there to check on you later." Draco simply nodded at this and boarded the train… alone.

The ride seemed shorter than it had ever been before. Before Draco knew it, he saw the sign for platform nine and three quarters, and he could have sworn that it was sneering and taunting him. He felt that way about everything around him.

He was engulfed in dread as he got off the train and met his father. He was greeted with a snarl and a pull on his robes.

"I have a treat for you, boy…"

And with that, a tug behind his navel found him in his own living room.

Harry had never felt this nauseous in his life. The thought of what Draco was being subjected to at this very moment was eating away at his insides. His friends sat in silence. Hermione was shedding silent tears, and Ron had his hands fisted into tight balls. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He slowly turned around to find Snape staring him straight in the eye.

"I'm going to go see how he's making out." His voice cracked with emotion. "I'll let you all know as soon as I get…"

"I'm coming with you." Severus' eyes widened at the boy's outburst.

"You can't, Harry. It's far too dangerous. Who knows who might be there?" Snape turned to Harry's friends for support, but neither offered their services. In fact, they provided just the opposite.

"Sir, I think Harry should come with you. You might need some help if Draco's not well. Plus, Harry cares so much for him. Keeping him here without knowledge looks like it might kill him." Snape growled in response to Hermione's suggestion.

"Fine. Potter, come with me. I don't want to see any attempts at that Gryffindor bravery that we've all come to know and love." He hissed. "I'm not doing this for you," he added coldly. "This is strictly for Draco. Do I make myself clear?" Harry nodded nervously. "Good. Grab your invisibility cloak and come on." Confused as to how Snape knew about the gift from his father, he snatched it up from his bed, gave his friends a flicker of a wave and ran after the speedy potions professor.

They made the hike to Hogsmeade, and Harry felt that same hand on his shoulder again, but this time it was not as gentle. Without warning, he felt the familiar sensation behind his navel and watched the world begin to spin. He was sure that this wouldn't help is nausea. He fell like a sack of galleons to the ground and looked up to find Snape landing gracefully next to him. The potions master couldn't help but snort at the small boy. He was as graceful as a plumber doing ballet.

The manor came into view as Harry turned his head to follow the older man. Leaping up and running to catch up, he noticed that Snape looked very unsettled.

"When we get there, put your cloak on and don't say a word. Do you hear me? Even if Draco's lying in a pool of his own blood shouting your name in a fit of hysterics, you will NOT show yourself." Harry gulped and nodded. He hadn't thought about how he would react in a worst-case scenario. They approached the door and Harry pulled the cloak around himself as Severus knocked loudly on the door.

After a few moments, a shy house elf emerged from behind the door. "Sev! It's so nice to see you! Flicky missed you!" Snape blushed as his legs were enveloped in a death grip of a hug from the creature. Harry struggled not to laugh out loud. "Come in! Come in! Master is down in the dungeons, sir. He will be up soon. He's been down there for hours!"

"What has he been doing, Flicky?" The house elf's happy expression quickly morphed into a frightened one.

"He's – He's down there with Master Draco, sir. And- and Voldemort. They've been down there for so long, sir. Flicky thinks Draco is in trouble. All I hear are Master and Voldemort shouting, and Flicky sees lights flashing! Sometimes the house shakes, sir, but Flicky hasn't heard a peep from Master Draco." Snape nodded, worriedly.

"I would appreciate it if you went about your business here, Flicky. When Lucius comes back upstairs, please do not inform him of my presence." Flicky nodded and scampered off. Harry removed his cloak angrily.

"We have to go down there! Who knows what they're doing to him?" Snape shot him a glare.

"And what do you propose we do once we get down there, Potter? Oh, I know. You go first, confess to Lucius your undying love for his son, ask for his blessing, and sweet the boy off his bruised and battered feet and live happily ever after! Why didn't we think of this before?! No, Potter. We have to wait for them to come upstairs. They will leave Draco down there, and we will sneak down and take care of him. Understood?" Silence was the response. "UNDERSTOOD?" Harry took a step back and nodded. "Good. Now let me in that cloak with you. They're coming.

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