Chapter 7

Draco looked after the black car that had just shot at them. He knew drive-by shootings were common on this side of town, but he never thought he'd be in one.

"What do you think that's about?" said Draco turning to the other teenager before gasping. "Potter, you're hurt!"

"I'm fine," hissed Potter clutching his shoulder.

"The hell you are! You have a bullet hole in your shoulder. We have to get you to a hospital."

"I'm fine," Potter repeated stressfully. "Are you okay?"

The look of sincere concern on Potter's face made Draco freeze in surprise. He was used to people asking if he was feeling healthy enough to start a day but they did it without concern for him. Potter was.

"I'm all right. The bullets missed me. I'll call an ambulance." Draco reached for his phone but Potter grabbed his hand.

"No, no ambulance. Just get me home."

"But, Potter, you've got a bullet in your shoulder. You could be bleeding internally."

"Don't argue! Get me home, and call Pomfrey."

"The school nurse? Why?"

But Potter had all but passed out from blood loss. Draco managed to get Potter into a comfortable position in the back seat of Potter's now ruined car and drove back to the Black/Potter residence and called Pomfrey from looking up the number on Harry's phone.

"Hello? Harry?"

"I'm afraid not, Mrs. Pomfrey. It's Draco Malfoy. Potter's hurt and he told me to call you…."

"Where are you?" she asked. Draco was surprised by the immediate tone of concern in her voice.

"I'm heading back to his house right now."

"I'll meet you there."

And she hung up. Draco drove through the back ways to avoid the police and into the driveway of Potter's house and carried Potter's to the porch, one of his arms over Draco's shoulder and Draco holding him up on by his waist.

"Potter, are you still with me?" Draco vaguely remembered that you needed to keep a persona wake if they're losing blood or they would go into shock. "I need the security code. Five digits."

"Seven, three, one, eight, one," Potter mutter almost inaudibly and Draco punched in the numbers. The door opened and Draco dragged Potter inside to his room at the entrance of the other teenager's bedroom Draco looked around the room in surprise and smiled.

"Thank God, Potter, you're normal."

"Very funny."

"With you I wondered," said Draco. He set Potter on the bed just as the door opened and someone walked up the stairs. Draco grabbed Potter's gun and pointed it to the door just as Nurse Pomfrey ran in. She stared in shock at the sight of the gun for a moment before smirking at him, hand on her hip. The other clutched a black medical bag.

"You won't do much damage with that," she said. "Magazine's spent."

Draco sighed in relief. "He's hurt," he said motioning to Potter.

"Of course he is," said Pomfrey walking to the bed, "or else he wouldn't have you call me."

"Why did he have me call you," asked Draco.

"My husband was a cop before he died," said Pomfrey ripping off Potter's bloodied shirt. "I was an EMV medic at the time."

"Riddle?"

"Riddle," agreed Pomfrey with a nod. "Harry, can you hear me?" Potter moaned in response. "There's a bullet still in. I'm going to have to dig it out. It'll hurt, but I have pain killers to take some of the pain away. It's the only way." Potter nodded and Pomfrey turned to Draco. "Go to the bathroom and get me some towels."

Draco did, gathering as many towels as he could carry and returned with them as Pomfrey injected morphine into Potter. The other teenager's face relaxed a bit, but it was still slightly grimaced in pain. Pomfrey took a small hand towel, rolled in long way and placed it in Potter's mouth to bite down on.

"You'll have to hold him down," said Pomfrey, putting on latex gloves. "I didn't give him much. He's too close to being in shock. He'll feel the pain even through the morphine."

Draco walked over to the bed and held down both of Potter's arms firmly to the bed as Pomfrey reached into her bag. He tried to not look at the bloody hole in Potter's shoulder but it soon drew his attention. It looked like a pencil hole through a piece of paper, only the paper didn't bleed liters of blood. Draco felt himself nauseous just looking at it and even more at the fact that he may had caused it. Pomfrey made a small sound of triumph and took out a pair of surgical hemostats.

"Sorry, Harry," she said softly and carefully inserted the hemostats in the bullet wound.

Through Potter had been shot with morphine he still felt Pomprey dig the bullet out of his shoulder. He screamed through the towel and thrashed away from Pomfrey.

"Hold him down!" yelled Pomfrey.

"How?!" asked Draco all but throwing himself on Potter.

"Sit on him!"

Draco blushed at the thought of sitting on another boy, but didn't think much on it. He straddled Potter's hips and held down both his feet and legs, grabbing his hands in his to keep Potter from harming himself, shouting words to comfort Potter over the screaming.

After a few minutes Pomfrey pulled the bullet out and placed it on a plate. Pomfrey dug into her bag again, pulled out a vial and syringe, filled it a quarter full with the white liquid and injected it into Potter.

"Good night, Harry," she said before Potter fell asleep. She turned her attention back to the task at hand. "I'll let him keep that." She gestured to the bullet. "That boy has a thing for collecting bullets."

"How long will he be out?" asked Draco. He was surprised to hear the tone of worry in his throat. He had gotten off of Potter and inspected his hands. Potter had cut into Draco's and shallow half-moon marks spread across them.

"The rest of the night, I reckon," said Pomfrey sewing up the wound with surgical needle and thread. Draco looked away to keep himself from being sick.

"I'm sure that if Potter was awake he'd thank you," said Draco.

"Don't worry. He'll thank me when he can." She took off her latex gloves, dug in her bag and brought out a prescription bottle. It was half full of pills. "Antibiotics. As soon as he wakes, give him one, and one a day till it's empty. Understand?"

Draco nodded as Pomfrey dressed the wound and packed up. Both she and Draco cleaned the room and Draco blanched at the spots of blood on the bed sheets. Reaching over Pomfrey smoothed back Potter's hair.

"He's a very special boy," she said and turned to Draco. "You take care of him."

Draco nodded again and watched her leave. Reach on the night stand he picked up the bullet pendant Pomfrey had taken off to work on Potter and put it back around Potter's neck. Digging into his pocket he took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Hey, Blaise, I need another favor….."

XXXXXXXX

"Harry James Potter, what the hell did you think you were doing?!" yelled Sirius the next morning. Harry groaned and turned from the light, wincing at the pain in his shoulder. He had woken from the anesthesia a few hours ago and wanted to get some real sleep before he confronted Sirius, but his godfather had other plans.

"Hello, Sirius, how was your night?" asked Harry.

"It was fine, thank you, till I heard you got shot!"

"I was doing my job," said Harry flinging back the covers and got up, heading toward his closet and taking out his school clothes.

"You get back into bed right now!" ordered Sirius. "Pomfrey said you had to have at least a week of bed rest till you can move around again."

"Since when have I listened to her?" asked Harry. "It's just my shoulder that got shot, not my brain. I have to get to school. I have a study session with my friends."

"That would be a bit difficult," said Malfoy. He was standing in Harry's door way with his arms crossed and leaning against the frame. "School's out."

"How long was I unconscious?" asked Harry in surprise.

"All day," said Sirius. "I told Dumbledore that you came down with a nasty case of the flu."

Harry sat on his bed with a sigh and looked at Malfoy. "Don't tell me you went to school."

"I'm not an imbecile, Potter," said Malfoy. "Of course I stayed here."

"But don't you have to go home?"

"My record for staying away from home's a month," said Malfoy. He dug into his pocket and took out the bullet that had been in Harry's shoulder. He tossed it to Harry and Harry easily caught it. "Souvenir. You seem to like them."

Malfoy left. Harry looked at the bullet. It was still somewhat intact and had a sharp point. Sighing Harry put it in a drawer. That doorbell rang and Sirius left to answer it. Two sets of footfalls ran up the stairs and burst into Harry's room.

"Harry, Sirius told us you were hurt," cried Hermione running into the room and threw herself onto Harry. He cried out in pain when she jarred his shoulder. Quickly she jumped off him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"

"You just had to find some trouble," said Ron putting down a folder full of papers.

"I don't find trouble," said Harry rubbing his shoulder. "Trouble finds me."

"Gift from Snape," said Ron pointing to the file. "He says, and quote, 'If the brat thinks he can oversleep and miss important work then he can make it up with extra work.' End quote."

"Basically more work for me," said Harry and both nodded. Harry groaned. "I'm not well enough for this."

"I can imagine," said Malfoy walking in with a glass of water and two pill bottles. "Weasley. Granger."

"Malfoy," both said curtly if weary of Malfoy's presence, watching his every move. Harry looked at all three in surprise.

"Was I out for a day or a year," he asked.

"Sirius explained it to us this morning," said Hermione.

"He told us Malfoy became your personal nurse," said Ron with a mixed look of shock and distain.

"If you don't shut up right now, Weasley, you will need a nurse," said Malfoy and handed Harry the glass and some pills. "Drink and swallow."

"What are they," asked Ron suspiciously. Malfoy turned to glare at him.

"Antibiotics and pain pills," he said. "Pomfrey gave them to me last night. She said to give them to him every time he felt in pain and every day so I am."

"Well, we can give them to him now."

"Like hell you bloody are not!"

"Now it's orders," said Harry swallowing the pills and taking them down with a gulp of water.

"Why were they shooting at you," said Hermione. "Is it because of…?" She looked at Malfoy but Harry shook his head.

"No, they were aiming at me," said Harry. "I don't think they even saw Malfoy."

"I hit the deck when the first shot was fired," said Malfoy. "They didn't see me."

"Good," said Harry attempting to get up but Malfoy pushed him back down.

"Easy there, hero. Pomfrey doesn't want you trying anything for a few days."

"Like I'm going to listen to her," said Harry.

Malfoy glared, reached into his pocket, took out a pair of handcuffs and snapped them onto Harry's uninjured wrist. He snapped the other end to the metal bed frame.

"What the hell?! Where did you get these?"

"Agent Black. He said you'd be stubborn and try to do something you shouldn't, so he gave me these to tie you down. Through I can think of other ways of keeping you in bed…."

"Don't even go there," said Harry with a glare of his own.

"Please," said Ron as Hermione's face went pink. Malfoy's phone rang and he answered it, walking to the corner of the room for some privacy.

"Harry, Sirius told us the basics, but not what's really going on," said Hermione in a low voice.

"What did Sirius tell you," asked Harry wincing as he sat up on his bed.

"Just that Malfoy was in trouble and you were helping him," said Ron.

"Something like that," said Harry rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"That was Pansy," said Malfoy. "She wanted to know when she'd see me again. I told her a 'friend' from out of town was sick and I was taking care of him."

"Gee, thanks," said Harry sarcastically.

"Why is it that I don't believe you," asked Ron glaring at Malfoy and crossed his arms.

"Ron!" hissed Hermione and hit her boyfriend. "Be nice. He's telling the truth. I heard the whole conversation."

"Good mind, good hearing, and bad judge of character," said Malfoy.

"Why you…."

"What's first on the list," asked Harry looking to Hermione before Ron started a fight with Malfoy. Hermione immediately brought out the file, text books, paper and pencil.

"Can I get let off this?" asked Harry waving the handcuffs. "Kind of hard to write with only one hand."

"I'm sure you'll manage," said Malfoy with a grin. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ron pull pillows stuffed in the closet and a small table out. It looked like one of the tables he saw in Japan when his father took him there on a business trip.

"What if I promise to not over exert myself," said Harry. He looked up at Malfoy and lifted the handcuffs.

"No, because I know you'd try to get away."

"What if I have to use the bathroom?"

Malfoy stood still as Ron laughed. With a scuff Malfoy un-cuffed Harry's hand and Harry got out of the bed. Harry rubbed his wrist, got up and stretched. Going to his closet he grabbed pair of blue jeans, Hermione carefully kept her eyes from looking away from Harry's face, and the look she had told Malfoy it wasn't the first time she walked in on Harry half-naked.

"First subject," said Hermione handing him a book.

"Chemistry," said Harry with a groan. "I hate that subject."

"Which is why you need to study it," said Hermione.

"You did get a bad grade last time," said Ron.

"What was it?" asked Malfoy joining them.

"A fifty-eight," said Harry propping his head in his hands. Malfoy looked at Harry in surprise. "To Snape, that's a bad grade."

"But if anyone needs to study, it's Ron," said Hermione poking her boyfriend in the shoulder.

"Why," asked Malfoy.

"Because he got the lowest score of all of us," said Harry and Ron tackled him. Both playfully wrestled as Hermione tried to pry each other off.

"Ron, Harry's hurt already. Get off him!"

"Are they like this often," asked Malfoy as they stopped fighting and attempted to disentangle themselves. Harry checked his bandage and was glad that the stitches still held.

"Too frequently," said Hermione.

"Hermione, can you tell Sirius to order us some pizza," asked Harry. "It is my turn and Nurse Malfoy won't let me out of his sight."

Malfoy scoffed as Hermione went to find Sirius.

"I asked Charlie to bring me here," said Ron. "My car broke down this morning."

"How's he taking it," asked Harry.

"Considering it is a 1961 Chevy with leather upholstery, pretty well. But he did say he wasn't going to tell Mum, that you owed him one, and that he was going to shoot your other arm."

"All in all, pretty normal," said Harry and both friends laughed. "Tell him thanks for not telling your mum."

Even through Harry cared for Molly Weasley like a second mother, she was too protective of him. She screeched at Sirius for teaching Harry how to use a gun and for taking him on raids when it called for a teenage operative. Sirius stopped trying to argue with her and just let her yell. If she heard about the drive-by she would be shrieking at both of them for weeks.

"You keep strange company," he said. Harry smirked up at him.

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said.

Hermione walked in as two out of the three attempted to study.

"It would help if the books were open," she said to Harry and Ron. Both grumbled and opened their books. "Supreme pizza with pepperoni, sausage, extra cheese and no anchovies."

"Yech," said all three boys at the same time. Harry and Ron looked at Malfoy in surprise.

"You don't like anchovies," asked Harry.

"Despise them," said Malfoy crossing his arms.

"Harry, I hate to say this," said Ron turning to his best friend, "but this guy may have some potential."

"Don's get your hopes up, Weasley," said Malfoy.

All three smirked and the studying got started. Malfoy admired that Hermione had pushed the other two into studying, especially in Science and Math. Harry especially in Chemistry. When Hermione held up a homemade flashcard for him to study the periodic table with he was unable to voice his answers.

"Nutriac acid?" asked Harry when Hermione held up a flashcard.

"Nitrogen," corrected Hermione and put the cards down. "What is the full context of DNA?"

"Uh…."

"Oh, come on, Harry. We learned this in the tenth grade."

"Exactly. How am I supposed to remember something from three years ago?"

"Deoxyribonucleic acid," said Malfoy while doing his Math homework. "Really, Potter, if you don't know the stuff why do you take it?"

"Required," said Harry, in an un-amused tone.

"Hermione, can you help me with this," asked Ron bowing over his calculator. Hermione turned her attention to him as Harry took up the chemical elements charts. It seemed to be a normal session for them.

"You guys do this often?" asked Malfoy.

"Every Thursday," said Hermione. "Sometimes Ginny joins us but she's getting help somewhere else. She's running off lately."

"I just hope she'd not running off to a guy," grumbled Ron. Hermione gave her boyfriend a smirk.

"Would you prefer she ran off to a girl?" asked Hermione and Ron blanched. All three laughed at his expression.

"I'll never get this," said Harry throwing down the chart.

"Let me see," said Malfoy and picked up the chart. "Try this one: Kr, atomic number 36?"

Harry scratched his head. "Uh…I don't know. Krypton?"

Ron snicker and Hermione cuffed him over the head.

"Easy, only K in the element. How about CB?"

"Chlorian?"

"Columbian. You do suck at these? How did you pass the test if you can't remember the symbols?"

"I don't know. It's weird with me. I know the answers, but I just can't put them in words."

Malfoy frowned, picked up the flash cards, shuffled them, picked up a piece of paper and handed them to Harry. "Answer."

"You want me to write down the answers from the cards?" asked Harry. Malfoy gave him a look.

"No, I want you to play poker. Yes, I want you to write down the answers."

"Okay." And Harry picked up the paper and flashcards. Each gone back to their subject as Harry wrote. Sirius arrived after a while with soda and pizza and all four eagerly dug in. He stood in shock at the four of them working on the low table set in the middle of the room.

"Have I been gone for an hour or a year," he asked. All three looked at him in surprise. "I just came to give you your food and I find you all working together on homework! It's a shocker."

"Now I know where he gets it," said Malfoy nodding toward Harry, who glared at him while Hermione and Ron laughed.

"What do you want, Sirius," asked Harry.

"I'm going to be at a friend's for a while," said Sirius.

"How long in a while?" Malfoy looked at Harry curiously. He could have sworn there was an amused tone in the teenage boy's voice.

"A couple of hours at the most," said Sirius. "But after yesterday I don't want to leave you alone for long."

"I can take care of myself, Sirius," said Harry taking a bit of his pizza. "I've Ron and Hermione here."

"And me," said Malfoy in a serious voice. Harry smirked over at the blonde before turning to Sirius.

"Go visit your friend," he said.

Sirius looked down at Harry. "If you say so, but if you need anything, and I mean anything….."

"I'll call Tonks and Remus. Go, Sirius. Have fun."

"He seemed reluctant to leave," said Malfoy as Sirius left the four to study on their own.

"He was most anxious to leave, actually," said Harry. "Just reluctant to leave me alone. I wouldn't blame him, not after last night."

"He needs a girlfriend," said Ron.

"I've tried," said Harry.

"And?" asked Hermione.

"You've seen the result," said Harry handing the paper and cards back to Malfoy. He returned to his math homework as Malfoy checked his answers. He had just finished one answer just as Malfoy finished checking and looked up at Harry in surprise.

"Potter, all of these are correct," he said.

"I know."

"But in class you act as if you don't have a clue on what Snape's teaching."

Hermione giggled and Ron smirked as Harry rested his head in his hand.

"When someone has already branded you as an inferior, who am I to dissuade them," said Harry. He looked up at Malfoy and smirked. Malfoy looked back in amazement.

"Potter, are you saying you're actually smart?"

"No, Malfoy, I'm not smart," said Harry with a laugh. "I just understand people a lot better than I do books."

"Potter, there is more to you than meets the eye," said Malfoy with a smirk. Harry just smiled up at him.

"Why thank you, Malfoy."

TBC