Hermione Granger was in hysterics and not the good type, not tummy-clutching funny laughter… well… the tummy clutching maybe. Bent over the toilet in her dormitory, Hermione was emptying the entire contents of her stomach into the basin. She always cried when she was sick, but this time it was different: she was in excruciating pain. Hermione was running a fever and had a splitting headache which was strange because it had suddenly come out of nowhere.

She had been at dinner, eating a sensible amount of food at a sensible speed when the strangest thing had happened. No, even stranger than Malfoy spontaneously dancing on the table. She had felt horribly sick all of a sudden. A weird feeling swept around in her stomach and her right hand had twitched and reached across the table to pick up Ginny's quill. Of course, she had stopped her hand before any of her friends had noticed, slipping away from the hall easily as Malfoy was dancing with Parkinson on the table.

She really hadn't thought much of her sudden affliction, because once she was out the hall her hand stopped twitching and her mind cleared. She had leant against the wall breathing deeply and staring at her right hand, horrifically frightened. That had been it.

She had decided she was tired and that she should have an early night, so it was around quarter past eight when she snuggled down into her sheets, not at all worried that Ron and Harry didn't know where she was. She was sure Ginny would check and let them know. She fell asleep peacefully, feeling fine, not aware that as she dreamed the fingers of her right hand had twitched.

And here she was, two hours and thirty-five minutes later (10:50 at night precisely) losing her lunch. And she was scared: she never felt this bad before, her entire body was trembling with nausea. She knew she should get to the hospital wing, but she could barely stand. However, being the sensible girl she was, she knew she would have to go.

Wiping her mouth, Hermione stood up shaking like mad and stumbled out of the bathroom, gripping on to the doorframe as she almost fell. Stomach churning, she groaned aloud, not caring if she woke her friends up. She walked down to the hospital wing, her world spinning around her. She was sure that she was sick in the corridor a few times, but she was stuck in a state of semi-consciousness and therefore was neither aware nor particularly cared. When she finally reached the hospital wing, she did not have any more energy and collapsed onto nearest bed in exhaustion. Unfortunately, this bed contained Draco Malfoy.

Draco was still lying wide awake long after Pansy and his friends had left at ten o'clock. He didn't have a clue what time it was now. Not that it really mattered, anyway: the time was the last thing on his mind. He was still coming to terms with his sudden outbursts. Earlier when he had thought about it, he hadn't thought it strange, but now he did. A little bit, anyway. He normally didn't act like this; he was sure of it.

He stared blankly at the ceiling. 'Well,' he thought silently to himself. 'It's a good thing I've got a nice voice.' At least he didn't sound like a strangled cat or something equally as disturbing.

He continued staring at the ceiling. He knew lying there and worrying about himself wasn't going to help in the slightest, but he couldn't do anything more. He did not normally worry about things. Hell, he didn't even have a conscience! He didn't worry or feel bad about anything, which was simply the Malfoy way of things. Should this situation be an exception? Was he making a fool of himself? He sat and thought about it for a moment… NO!

Malfoys do not worry and this Malfoy certainly was NOT making a fool of himself. He was just being… eccentric.

"Yeah, you go along with that, Draco," he muttered to himself. Rolling onto his stomach and staring out the window above his bed, he tried to block out all these intense feelings. He couldn't help but feel… cold. Was this how everyone felt, this strongly? This deeply? Just thinking about another person bought a new way of feeling.

Blaise, for example… thinking about Blaise almost made him laugh aloud. The crazy little things he did, the little pranks he pulled, he was always winding everyone up. Blaise wallowed in the misery of his friends, especially when he had caused it. Draco bet that his friend was laughing at his misfortune right now. Unless he was in earshot of Pansy, then he'd get a thick ear. Blaise's laugh just made Draco smile. He sounded so alive and … free.

Draco chose to ignore that last sentence his brain had processed and continued staring out the window at the stars. He could see Orion's belt, the Dog Star Sirius, and his own constellation if he looked closely enough. Yes, there was Draco. As he gazed, he finally allowed himself to feel; it was as if he was feeling for the first time. The stars made him feel quite emotional. He didn't even realise he was singing softly under his breath.

"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, save it for a rainy day, catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, never let it… fade away." It wasn't an outburst like before, barely a whisper, and when Draco stopped singing, he wasn't sure if it was the potion or him. His hand slipped underneath his chin as he fell asleep, and he barely registered the shift in weight as someone fell beside him.

Draco shot up in bed; he had just had the weirdest and most horrible dream in his life and it unnerved him. He shook the horrific thoughts from his head and turned back over, falling instantly back to sleep.

When Draco woke for the second time, it was just as unpleasant as the first time. There was a loud crash of a plate smashing, a scream and then:

"THERE'S A MUDBLOOD IN HIS BED!"

Draco rolled his eyes then tried to get back to sleep. Upon trying to roll over, he discovered he couldn't move because of the slight pressure on his chest. Looking down, he noticed that a mass of messy curly brown hair was curled up on his chest.

"WHAT THE FUCK! THERE'S A MUDBLOOD ON MY CHEST!" he screeched, panicking. However, as he looked at down her, he couldn't help but feel bad. He was feeling… was that pity? And as he felt it, last night's dream came back to him and he felt a void. Draco swallowed thickly as he looked down at Hermione on his chest, just staring… thinking.

He didn't hear the yelling of Pansy Parkinson, or Blaise trying to calm her down: he heard and felt nothing. He didn't even register the words falling off his lips. He was stuck in a world of emotion and only self-expression could let it out.

"I dreamed I was missing, and you were so scared, but no one would listen, because no one else cared, and when I was done dreaming, I woke with this fear, what am I leaving, when I done here?"Draco sang softly, his eyes filling up with unshed tears that would never fall, because after all, Malfoys do not cry.

The arguing came to a halt, everyone exchanging a look. Blaise in particular looked very concerned.

Draco didn't notice the room was silent because his world was shrouded in silence. He didn't notice Pansy come and sit down next to him, or Blaise's almost-guilty gaze on him. All he felt was the heart that was beating on his stomach.

"I want you to know, when my time comes, forget the wrong that I've done. Help me leave behind some reason to be missed? Don't resent me, and when you're feeling empty, keep me in your memories, leave out all the rest, just leave out all the rest." He suddenly felt the tears that had dared to wet his face, slowly coming to the realization that his friends were there. He suddenly he didn't feel as bad as he had before.

He looked down at the girl on his chest. He did not smile, or feel any sort of warmth, but simply bad for her. Maybe he could take care of her, she looked very sick.

"OH MY GOD THERE'S A FERRET IN HER BED! MY EYES ARE BURNING, I'M GONNA KILL HIM!"

Fuck that thought.

"Catch a Falling Star" is a song composed by Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance, and recorded in 1957 by Perry Como. "Leave Out All the Rest" is a song by Linkin Park, the song was released as the fifth and final single from their third album Minutes to single was released on July 15, 2008.

Fanfiction by Faith Valconbridge. This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.