Part 10: Pluto and Shadowcobra

Lying on a stretcher, Draco was quickly rushed to the emergency room. Cyborg helped to remove Draco's armor, including his helmet. Jinx looked at the now unarmored Draco. He was a 17 year old boy with long reddish brown hair, pulled back in a ponytail. The doctors told Jinx and the rest of the Titans to wait outside until the operation was done. They entered through the doors and the light indicated that they were operating.

In the waiting room, the Titans were worried. Copycat's claws went right through Draco. Along the way, he had lost a lot of blood. They were firmly clinging on to hope. Jinx looked at her hands. Draco's dried up blood was on them. She looked towards the doors of the emergency room then back to her hands. She took a seat with the Titans and hugged herself.

A lot of emotions were being felt amongst the Titans. There was anger and hatred towards Copycat, hope towards Draco's recovery, and worry that he might not make it. They shook off the last feeling, but they still feared that they would lose him.

They all thought of the past few days they'd had with Draco, and if he died, they'd lose something important.

Cyborg would lose someone to play video games with.

Robin would lose a potential sparing partner.

Starfire would lose a new friend.

Beast Boy would lose someone he could hang with.

Terra would lose someone to relate to.

Raven would lose someone who was honorable.

But most of all, Jinx, would lose her (potential) one true love.

Deep within Draco's mind, Draco was talking to Yaminekoryu.

"I'm gonna die, aren't I?" Draco asked flatly.

"Maybe, maybe not," Answered the demon. "The wheels of fate never turn in one direction, Aibou."

Draco quirked an eyebrow, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"If I told you, would it still be a mystery?" Yaminekoryu shrugged.

Draco glared at the demon then sighed. "Maybe you're right. Maybe we should just let fate decide."

Yaminekoryu looked at Draco questionably. "You know, once of your ancestors once said that."

"He did? What happened?"

"Ended up on the pointed end of 100 arrows thinking he was invincible. In fact he was just tempting fate."

Draco looked wide-eyed at Yaminekoryu, worriedly "So you're saying I shouldn't have faith in fate?"

Yaminekoryu shook his head. "I'm saying you shouldn't walk in front of an army of archers and insult them." Draco fainted.

"Aibou? Did I say something wrong?"

The doctors had cut open Draco's leather bodysuit and were patching up the wounds. A lot of anesthetic was injected into him so that he didn't wake up in the middle of the operation. They had managed to stop the bleeding and were able to stitch up the wounds he had in his chest and back. They were now giving him a blood transfusion.

"Let's just hope he pulls through," said one doctor, "It would be a shame for the city to lose a hero."

After all was well and Draco's condition was stabilized, they had him moved into a room and the Titans were told the news. The good news was that Draco was alive (all the Titans, even Jinx, cheered), the bad news was that he was in a coma. The titans quietly entered the room. They saw Draco with bandages over the stitches and hooked up to a life support system. His heart rate and pulse were being monitored and he was given oxygen through an oxygen mask. New blood was also being given to him. Jinx placed her hand on his cheek. He was very pale. Jinx wanted him to open his eyes. She wanted to know what color they were. But most of all, she wanted to see him smiling at her. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned back to see Robin.

"Robin," she started, "I'm sorry."

Robin looked at her confused. "Why?"

"It's my fault," her eyes were tearing up, "If he didn't come to my rescue, he wouldn't end up like this." She placed her face in her hands. "I'm such a curse," she sobbed.

"You're wrong." Everyone turned to Raven. She had her hood pulled up and was talking in monotone, "Draco made his choice, just like you did when you decided to join us." Raven walked towards Jinx and placed her hand on her shoulders. "You are not a curse, Jinx. Stop blaming yourself."

"Thanks Raven," Jinx gave her a small smile

Meanwhile, outside the hospital, on top of another building, two figures were watching the Titans with great interest. From a closer view, it was easy to tell that they were both Zodiac Knights. One of them was clad in a familiar purple suit of armor and holding a cobra scepter. His companion would be considered a Batman look-alike with his helmet and cape, except that he wore a silver visor that had two points that ended up just above his head. The visor had several vertical slits running over his eyes. His armor was black with a silver chestplate, shoulder guards, and worn over a dark blue bodysuit. He also wore black gauntlets and boots and carried a sheathed sword, which was worn on the left side of his belt. He took a side-glance at his partner.

"What?" Shadowcobra asked in annoyance.

"Do you want him to die?" the other knight asked.

"Of course not, Pluto," Shadowcobra answered, regarding his partner.

"We should help."

"It's better if we stay in the shadows. We don't want to attract too much attention." Shadowcobra crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, Draco attracted attention and looked what it got him. New friends, a new home, a potential new girlfriend," Pluto listed.

"Okay, okay! I get it!" Shadowcobra waved off the explanation.

"So, what's your answer?"

Shadowcobra sighed. "Fine, let's help him."

Pluto drew a card from his belt and inserted it into his sword.

"Portal Vent!" A mirror appeared before them. Inside, they could see Draco's room in the hospital. "After you?" Pluto offered.

"Age before beauty," Shadowcobra said as he jumped through the portal, with Pluto following behind.

"Um guys," Beast Boy started, "Do you see what I'm seeing?" All the Titans were alarmed when they saw the portal forming in front of them. They were ready for anything that walked through it. When a purple armored figure came out, Robin lunged at him, only for him to side step the attack. The black, silver and blue armored figure came through the portal seconds later and stood next to the first one.

"Wow. A welcoming committee," Pluto stated. Shadowcobra rolled his concealed eyes and walked slowly to Draco's bed. Jinx stood in front of him blocking his path.

"I won't let you hurt him again!" Jinx yelled defiantly. All the Titans surrounded the two newcomers.

Shadowcobra sighed. "Listen Titans," he continued, "I'm not Copycat in disguise. I'm the real Shadowcobra."

"How do we know you are telling the truth?" Starfire asked, her eyes glowing green. Terra stood next to her. With her anger, she could summon an earthquake at that very moment.

Shadowcobra explained, "If I was Copycat, you'd all be dead by now. Besides, there is no honor in killing an opponent in his condition." All the Titans let their guard down. Knowing who Shadowcobra was from Draco's battle with Copycat, they regarded the other Zodiac Knight who came in with him. The first to speak up was Robin.

"Why do you look like Batman?" Robin asked Pluto.

"Batman? Does my dog armor really make me look like Batman?" Pluto responded.

"Pluto. It's the helmet and cape. No matter how dog-like you claim yourself to be, you will always look like a Batman wannabe," Shadowcobra teased his friend. Pluto glared at him.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Zodiac Knight Pluto." He pointed to Shadowcobra. "And you already know my friend Zodiac Knight Shadowcobra."

"It's rude to point," Shadowcobra said coldly.

Pluto coughed. "Anyway, we are here to help Zodiac Knight Draco."

"How?" All the Titans looked questionably at the pair. Jinx was looking at them hopefully. Shadowcobra answered their question by placing his hand onto Draco's body. His hand glowed white, causing the Titans to tense up but Pluto smiled under his helmet. Shadowcobra was using magic to heal Draco. Raven watched with slight interest. When the glow subsided, Shadowcobra withdrew his hand and, surprisingly, whacked Draco upside the head with his scepter.

"HEY!" All the Titans and Jinx yelled at him.

"Ouch!" All the Titans looked shock at the reawaken and annoyed Draco, who was clutching his head in pain. "What's with ya Shadow?"

Shadowcobra shrugged. "You needed waking up."

"Try to be more gentle." Shadowcobra glared at him. "Or not," Draco said meekly. He then looked at the shocked Titans. "What's with you guys? Why are you looking at me like that? You look like you've seen a ghost." He touched his face and frowned. "Where's my helmet?" All the Titans and Jinx had happy looks on their faces and tears of joy in their eyes (except Raven). They all lunged at Draco and gave him a group hug. Draco was confused, in pain, but mostly confused. "Could anyone please tell me what's going on?"

The Titans explained to Draco of what happened.

"Copycat tried to kill me?" Draco asked, assessing the latest bit of information that the Titans were giving him. Shadowcobra leaned against the wall, arms crossed, impassively as Pluto sat in a nearby chair.

"No surprise there," Shadowcobra quipped, with a hint of humor in his voice. "She's been coming after us for awhile now."

Draco took a glance at his friend then looked back at the Titans. "So Cy decided to strip me of my armor, then the doctors stitched me up, bandaged me and then pumped me with new blood?"

"That's about the size of it, yeah," Robin said.

"Seems unbelievable."

"You waking up when the doctors confirmed you were comatose was unbelievable," Raven said.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Jinx said, holding Draco's hand. They both blushed a crimson red, but they didn't let go. Jinx finally saw Draco's eyes. They were a brilliant emerald green, just like the lenses of his helmet

"Friend Draco! It is good that you are awake!" Starfire said happily, hugging Draco. Draco was gasping for air from the bonecrushing hug. Shadowcobra looked away in disgust at how cheery the Tamaranian was. Raven noticed this and walked away to the group to talk to the Snake Zodiac Knight.

"What do you want?" Shadowcobra asked harshly. Raven didn't even flinch at that.

"I wanted to thank you for healing Draco. But what puzzles me is that it seems that you care about Draco, but you act impassive towards him," Raven said. Much like myself with my friends, she thought.

"He is my friend, and also my rival. I respect him and dislike him most of the time," He said with much thought. "Is that what you want to hear?"

"Yes," she smiled softly, then her eyes widened in surprise when she realized that she just smiled at a stranger.

"Guys, where's my deck?" Draco asked. Shadowcobra pointed at the bedside table where his mentioned items lay. "Thanks." Shadowcobra nodded. Getting out of bed, even under the Titans and Jinx's objections, he grabbed the deck and did a few poses then yelled out his transformation command, "ZODIAC FORCE! DRAGON!" the belt appeared and Draco attached the deck to it.

The crystal imbedded in the middle of the belt exploded with red light, engulfing the whole room. The Titans shielded their eyes form the bright light. After the light faded, Draco was once again clad in his armor. His helmet was once again on his head and his face was once more concealed under the helmet. He started to walk to the door. Both Robin and Cyborg stood before him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Robin asked, suspiciously and worriedly.

"You can't leave yet dawg! The doctors just patched you up," Cyborg added.

"Let him go. If he wants to check out, there's no way you can stop him," Shadowcobra said. Draco waved at them and then disappeared. All the Titans looked around confused. "Don't bother looking for him. He's probably teleported out of here and headed to the closest eatery." Shadowcobra told them.

"HE CAN TELEPORT?" Everyone asked at the same time.

"Draco's a psychic, at least 1/3 of him is. The rest is feral and elemental. Then again, that's what you get when both your parents are metahumans," Pluto explained.

"HE'S A METAHUMAN?"

"Of course. What? You thought that his only power was in his armor?" All the Titans looked at him sheepishly. "Oh my god, you did!" Pluto exclaimed then laughed. Jinx ran out of the door and grabbed one of the Titans' communicators

"Hey that's mine!" Robin yelled, but she had already gone.

"She probably went to look for him," Shadowcobra said.

"But where could he be?" Beast Boy asked. "The closest place with food around here is…" Then the idea donned on the Titans. They figured out where Draco was.

In the hospital cafeteria, Draco was munching and eating everything on the menu. He needed the food to heal himself faster. His high metabolism needed sustenance. Besides, he was really hungry. While swallowing his 20th donut, Draco caught a glimpse of a pink haired girl running towards him. She was angry at him for leaving his room and not telling them where he went. He was about to teleport out, but somehow his powers weren't working.

"Uh oh." He found himself surrounded by the Teen Titans. He shrunk in his seat. He also saw Pluto and Shadowcobra.

"I can explain…" Draco squeaked. The Titans lifted him up and carried him back to his room.

"Friend Draco, you must stay and recuperate," Starfire said.

"Can't have you fighting with those injuries," added Raven.

"Guys I'm fine! Really! All I need is a little food! The armor's healing the rest of me as we speak," Draco said. All the Titans looked at the two additional Knights.

"Is that true?" they asked in unison.

"Yes," Shadowcobra answered. "His metabolism and physiology enable him to heal faster, added with the fact that I did mostly heal him. All he needs to do is eat and he'll be just fine."

"But he has to stay for observation," they said again in unison.

"Not exactly. All he has to do is sign a few papers and he's out of here," Pluto said. Draco nodded him a thank you.

"Then let's go!" All the Titans ran towards the main door. They had forgotten they were carrying Draco. The doorframe was low so…

BAM!

Draco hit his head on the doorframe and fell unconscious. Shadowcobra and Pluto were left in the cafeteria with amused expressions under their masks.

"Same old Draco," Shadowcobra said.

"Want to grab a bite to eat Shadow?" Pluto offered

"Sure."

Back in Titans Tower, Draco was in the kitchen, gulping down a full course meal of meat products, vegetables and fruits. He washed his meal down with a barrel of juice. He rubbed his mouth and patted his stomach.

"Now that's good eatin'!" he belched. All the Titans looked amazed at how much food Draco could eat. It was like Terra on her first day in the Tower when she ate Starfire's pudding. Shadowcobra and Pluto walked in.

"Enjoy yourself, Draco?" Shadowcobra asked.

"Sure thing Shadow!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Shadowcobra said. Pluto went toward the fridge expecting to get something to eat. All the Titans panicked and protested. Pluto opened the door and slammed it shut when something blue and fuzzy lunged at him.

"Shadow! You're not going to believe this! There's mold in there and it tried to attack me!" Pluto said, panicking. Shadowcobra looked at him strangely. He turned to the Titans to confirm if it was true. They confirmed it.

"Haven't any of you tried to clean it up?" Shadowcobra asked. All the Titans shook their heads.

"Dude! That stuff tried to eat us!" Beast Boy said.

"I found out on the first day guys," Draco said from his seat at the kitchen table. Jinx was sitting next to him. She looked at him with hearts in her eyes. "You'd need an army to get that stuff out."

"Or just two Zodiac Knights," Shadowcobra suggested.

Pluto smirked under his mask "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking."

"Most definitely." Both Knights drew a card from their belts and inserted them into their card readers. "Purify Vent!" Suddenly, they were dressed in rubber aprons, rubber gloves and were armed with industrial strength cleaning supplies. The Titans looked wide-eyed at this.

"ATTACK!" Both Knights yelled as they opened the fridge door and fought back the evil blue mold that lunged at them.

"Back monster!" Shadowcobra sprayed disinfectant and cleaner at the mold while Pluto used a scrubbing brush to scrub away the mold in the fridge. It was like a battlefield. The Titans were spectators while the two new Knights were like soldiers at war. The mold was the enemy. After hours of spraying, pulling and brushing, soap and scrubbing, the inside of the fridge looked like the inside of a fridge again. The blue mold was dead and laid in a nearby plastic bag. Shadowcobra tied up the bag and proceeded to dispose of it.

"Draco, I might need your fire power for this." Shadowcobra held the bag arms length from his body and signaled Draco to fire.

"Combustion." Draco shot a fireball at the plastic bag and incinerated it, with its contents inside. Shadowcobra finally teleported it away to the closest garbage dump. The Titans looked into the fridge. It was clean and fit for food storage. Robin walked toward the two Zodiac Knights and held out his hand.

"Wanna join the team?" he offered.

"What?" Pluto asked, surprised by the offer.

"I said, wanna join the team?" Robin repeated.

"Yes," Pluto replied.

"No," Shadowcobra answered.

Both Pluto and Robin turned to Shadowcobra, who had his arms crossed.

"Shadow…" Pluto groaned.

Shadowcobra huffed, "Why should we waste our time and join these insignificant children?" At that statement, a few of the Titans fumed.

"HEY!"

Draco placed his hand over his face, "Not again…" he moaned.

"Is he always this cranky?" Jinx asked Draco.

"Ever since I met him," he answered.

Shadowcobra stared Robin straight in the eye, "C'mon, Robin, give us one, absolutely, positively, good reason to join your little club," Shadowcobra said.

Robin glared at Shadowcobra and sighed. "Because, we thought you'd be a good addition to the team."

"So it's all about power, isn't it?" Shadowcobra said, "Of course."

"Shadow…" Pluto warned.

"Pluto, might I remind you that the only reason we came was for Draco and Draco alone. Why should we stay and waste our time here and these insignificant children?" Shadowcobra turned to Pluto. "They're nothing compared to us, Zodiac Knights."

Draco got up and walked towards Shadowcobra. He then slammed his fist right into the side of Shadowcobra's head, knocking him over.

"These 'insignificant children' happen to be my friends, Shadowcobra!" Draco said. "Now apologize!" he demanded.

Shadowcobra got up and glared at Draco. Six black slits met with green lenses.

They were challenging each other. Afterwards, Shadowcobra sighed. "Very well." He turned to Robin. "Sorry, Robin. I apologize for insulting your team. You must be more than I thought to be able to get Draco here to join." He offered his hand. Robin took it and they shook.

Starfire flew over, her anger at Shadowcobra already gone. "Glorious! Now new friends? What are your names? How did you get here? Where are you from? What are your favorite colors? And will you be my friends?" she asked rapidly, batting her eyes cutely.

Pluto eyes were wide under his visor, "Um…Pluto, mirror portal, Japan, blue and I guess…"

Shadowcobra answered calmly, "Shadowcobra, mirror portal, England, black and purple, and maybe…"

Starfire beamed and swept Pluto and Shadowcobra in a group hug. Both Knights struggled to get out of her grip.

"Help…" Pluto squeaked.

"Can't breathe…You're crushing me…" Shadowcobra rasped out.

Starfire let the two down.

Shadowcobra glared at the Tamaranian before messaging his sore muscles.

Draco sighed, "You have to forgive Star. She can get a bit excited and loves to make friends. Hugging is a way she shows her affection."

"Tell her to tone it down a bit," Shadowcobra said.

"I think she broke something," Pluto groaned.

Raven looked at Shadowcobra. There was something about him that was…akin to her. He was interesting. She smiled.

LATER…AT THE OBSTACLE COURSE…

Behind Titans Tower was a huge obstacle course. Robin and Raven stood at the platform operating the controls while the others stood on the sidelines as spectators.

"You two ready?" Robin asked.

"Pluto…Let us make this thing a little interesting. What do you say?" Shadowcobra challenged.

"What do you have in mind?" Pluto asked, interested.

"A race…" Shadowcobra hissed.

Pluto grinned under his helmet.

"GO!" Robin shouted. Both of the Knights ran forward. "Wait! I meant one at a time!"

"This saves time!" Pluto countered. Robin sweatdropped.

The Titans weren't cheering for any of the two, the way Shadowcobra preferred. At least this way he could fully concentrate on the course. Concentrating, he disappeared.

"Where'd he go?" Robin asked, confused, as he looked around for any signs of the snake knight.

"He can turn invisible!" Draco yelled out, explaining to Robin.

Meanwhile, Pluto had received an extremely powerful blast from a laser cannon. However, he was still moving.

"And Pluto is invincible and immortal! Nothing can hurt him!" explained Draco again.

"Invisibility and invincibility. Who could contend with that?" Raven admitted.

Tired of staying out of sight, Shadowcobra turned visible again to have some fun. He summoned up a scythe of shadow energy and sliced half the laser guns to shreds.

Pluto drew his sword and reflected the shots back at the guns, destroying them. He also used his cape as a shield.

The robots then appeared in front of them only to be pulverized by a blast of Shadow energy and being slashed repeatedly by Pluto's sword.

Finally, before them, came the biggest robot they've ever see. It was ten feet tall and bulky, with large arms and legs. The Brute-Bot.

The Brute-Bot swung its fists down but was being resisted by Shadowcobra and Pluto, who each grabbed a fist. They pushed back with all their might and the Bot actually fell on his back. At that precise moment, they both drew their cards from their belts and inserted them into their respected card readers.

"Final Vent!"

Pluto's cape suddenly spread out behind him like a pair of bat wings before he leaped into the air. The cape wrapped around him, forming into a drill, as he dropped down on the Brute-Bot.

A purple cobra came slithering out of nowhere and was behind Shadowcobra. He then jumped up and did a back flip, allowing the cobra to catapult him forwards in a stream of acid and venom. He started swinging his legs up and down, kicking rapidly.

"DEADLY IMMORTAL'S DRILL!"

"GENOCIDE CRUSH!"

They smashed right into the Brute-Bot at the same time, resulting in a huge explosion, right before claiming the flag at the finish line at the same time.

They both had finished the course in less than a minute as well.

Draco smiled under his helmet and all the Titans watched agape at the scene. They then erupted with cheers and applause.

"That was a good workout wasn't it, Shadow?" Pluto said as his hands reached up for his helmet.

Shadowcobra shrugged slightly as he reached up for his own helmet, "Perhaps. It was invigorating."

They lifted up their helmets, revealing their faces to everyone. Pluto had spiked up dark brown hair and blue eyes. He appeared to be eighteen. Shadowcobra had a pale complexion with shoulder length blue hair and piercing blue eyes. On his forehead was a blood red mark in the shape of an inverted triangle. Raven found herself staring intently at the Snake Knight. Shadowcobra noticed this and smirked at her. She blushed and pulled up her hood.

"Interesting…"Shadowcobra hissed, smirking.

After the obstacle course, both Pluto and Shadowcobra were given the full tour of the Tower. Actually, only Pluto went with it, Shadowcobra had disappeared somewhere

Pluto was currently in the Vehicle Bay/Garage with Cyborg and Raven.

"And you actually built this car?" Pluto exclaimed as he inspected the T-Car.

"Yep," Cyborg answered proudly, "She's my baby! I built her with my own two hands!"

"Eh hem!" Raven cleared her throat behind him. Cyborg sweatdropped.

Cyborg added, "Ok, Raven helped put her together too"

"This is one sweet ride!" he exclaimed. He looked at the T-Sub/Ship and the R-Cycle. "And did you build these too?"

"Actually, the T-Ship is mine. The motorcycle is Robin's," Cyborg answered.

"Impressive," Pluto commented. Cyborg grinned.

"Thanks, dawg!" Cyborg placed is arm over Pluto's shoulder, "Something tells me that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!"

Raven rolled her eyes and muttered, "Boys…" she then walked out of the Vehicle Bay.

Exiting the elevator, Raven arrived in the training gym to see Draco, Starfire, Jinx and Robin sparring. Draco was partnered with Robin while Jinx was partnered with Starfire.

Draco effectively blocked some of Robin's blows, although the Boy Wonder did manage to land his own. The dragon Knight then flipped over Robin to sweep kick him from behind. Robin leapt over the kick and slammed his bo-staff onto Draco. Draco rolled out of the way and flipped back to his feet.

Jinx and Starfire were fighting hand to hand. Although Starfire was stronger and could fly, Jinx was more agile. Jinx was able to flip over all of Starfire's punches and even flipped the alien onto her back when she grabbed a hold of her fist.

Raven sighed, He's not here either…She walked back into the elevator and pressed the button to the top floor.

In the living room, Terra and Beast Boy were sitting in front of the big TV playing a video game. It was a fighting game and Beast Boy was losing.

The computer spoke, "Player 2 WINS!"

Terra cheered, "Hah! In your face!"

"No fair!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "Rematch!" he challenged. .

"You're on!"

Raven walked up behind them. "Um…guys? Have any of you seen Shadowcobra?" she asked them.

Beast Boy turned his head, "The big snake dude?" Raven nodded, "I think he's on the roof!" he turned his head back to the game, "Damnit! TERRA!"

Terra laughed, "You snooze you lose!"

Raven walked up the set of stairs leading to the roof. She soon found him standing on the roof and looking at the city. He wasn't wearing his helmet.

"I knew you'd be here," Shadowcobra said, without turning around.

Raven arched an eyebrow, "How did you know?"

He shrugged, "I have my ways." He looked to the skies, "It's so peaceful up here."

"Wait till the alarm sounds, then it's not so peaceful," Raven commented.

Shadowcobra sat down in a lotus position and started to meditate. Raven saw this and was a bit surprised.

"Join me?" he asked.

Raven replied, "Might as well. I was coming up here to meditate anyway."

If Shadowcobra was smiling, she couldn't see it. She sat next to him and began chanting, "Azerath Metrion Zinthos…" Over and over again.

"What a lovely chant," he commented. Raven's left eyebrow twitched. He then resumed his own meditation.

Later that night, Draco heard a knock on his door. He went over to it and opened it to see Jinx. "Jinx?" Jinx was dressed in pink pajamas she'd borrowed from Starfire. She looked up to see him still in his bandages and a pair of red shorts. She then embraced against him and started crying into his chest.

"Jinx, what's wrong?" he asked, puzzled and panicked as he held her.

"I'm...I'm so sorry!" she apologized, sobbing. Jinx felt guilty since she felt she was the reason Draco got hurt. She had never felt guilty until now. Maybe Draco was the first person to have given her a chance in her whole life.

"Why?"

She looked up at him, tears streaming from her beautiful pink eyes, "I got you hurt!"

Draco shook his head before putting his hands on her shoulders. He looked her softly in the eyes. "Jinx, it wasn't your fault," he told her, "Trust me."

"But, but-"

"Hush!" he held her against him. "It wasn't your fault Jinx, and no buts this time, kay?"

She nodded, giving him a small smile. He carefully wiped away her tears.

"There's another reason you're here, isn't it?" he asked.

"I had a nightmare," she replied.

"Want to come in and talk about it?" he offered. "If you want, you can sleep with me."

Jinx blushed and then Draco did as well.

"I don't mean like that! I mean, we'll sleep in the same bed, just not do anything!" Draco said, blushing bright red.

"I'd like that."

Jinx followed Draco into his room and then sat on the bed. Draco followed and lay down beside her.

"Lie down, Jinx," he said, pulling her down gently by the arm. She lay down and turned to face him. "Want to tell me what this dream was about?"

"It was about you, getting," she sobbed, "Killed."

Draco placed his hand on hers and held it.

"You were scared, weren't you?" he asked her. She nodded. "Listen, stop blaming yourself. Copycat found me and tried to kill me, plain and simple."

"But she used me to get to you."

"Remember what I mean about no buts, Jinx. What she did was underhanded, evil and scheming and don't you go blaming yourself." He yawned. "How about we get some sleep?" he pulled up the blanket over them. "Goodnight, Jinx."

"Goodnight, Draco," she said softly before closing her eyes. She then snuggled up against him. "Mmmmm…You're so warm," she mumbled.

He ran his hand on her cheek and stroked it, "I'll always be your friend and I'll always be there for you, Jinx," he promised. Kissing her on the forehead, he then dozed off.

To be continued…