It's amazing that the animals are even noisier asleep than they were awake. I remember staying up night after night, my eyes locked on the clearing, hoping to see the Slytherin come back. If waiting for Malfoy didn't keep me awake, the loud persistent noises coming from the other stables did. Hermoine's words still ran through my mind, making me uneasy. I get what she meant. I keep getting into trouble trying to save everybody. That my hero complex would eventually get me hurt or killed, but she doesn't understand.
He grabs his arm during class, then he yanks his hand away like it burned him. He stares at his left forearm during meals, no, he glares at it. He pushes almost all of his food away from him without eating a bite, sickened. Malfoy...Draco walks through the halls all night, every night. His tiny footprints on the Marauder's Map would walk aimlessly around the castle for hours before disappearing in the Room of Requirement. Every day, it's the same heart-wrenching routine. If it were me, Hermoine and Ron would have already tied me up and sent me straight to the Hospital Wing, but his housemates couldn't care less. He sat at the Slytherin's table every day completely alone.
I have to save him. He obviously doesn't want this. And then his animal was a pheonix? How does Hermoine not see that as a sign?
Draco was asleep in his stable, his head tucked under what was left of his wing. Almost all of his feathers had fallen off and what few he had were almost completely gone with decay. The flesh on his body was a dull pink with large blotches of black and gray. He looked like hell! Draco was miraculously asleep, despite his ragged breathing. I crept forward and brushed his wing with my thumb.
"Draco," I whispered, not wanting to wake up these beastly, regardless of their species, Slytherins...and Ron. The large bird shivered, but didn't move. "Draco," a little louder. His twitched the wing over his face. I finally flicked his foot with my fingers. Draco's head shot up and he screeched. The sound was hoarse. His silver eyes focused and narrowed to slits. If looks could kill...right? "Draco," he straightened up. The very effort it took him to move made me cringe. "I know where to get you some decent food. Here." I held out my arm to him. He bent his head to peck at my hand before jumping to my forearm. He shifted his feet while I pulled the cloak out of my bag. "Okay, Draco, this is my Invisibility Cloak. I'm going to drape it over us, and I would like you to return the favor of secrecy on this. Got it?" Draco cooed shakily. It took a few tries before I finally wrapped the cloak around us. He climbed up my arm to my shoulder as we left the clearing. At one point, I could have sworn he bumped his beak against my ear before cooing.
I could tell that this was a part of the castle that Draco hasn't seen. His head twisted from side to side, watching in amazement as we approached a painting of fruit. He watched curiously as I tickled the pear and the door swung open, where two saucer-sized gold eyes were shining with joy.
"Harry Potter, sir! Dobby knew Harry Potter would come see him again!" The house-elf ran excitedly through the kitchen, knocking over pots full of steaming liquid and large plates, the sound of breaking glass ringing through the room. Draco ducked his head as I pulled the cloak off and ducked into the warm chamber. "Dobby tell all the other house-elves that Harry Potter likes Dobby and that he was coming to see Dobby. They say Dobby was wrong, but Dobby knew he was right!"
I smiled and bent down to pat Dobby's head. "Hello, Dobby. I came to ask if you had any quality scraps for my friend here." The bird turned his head to me, before screeching. I shook my head. "Hagrid was trying to give him some rubbish and well, what did Draco favor while you worked for the Malfoys?" Dobby's eyes dulled at the mention of his former masters, but it didn't last long. Soon, he was just as excited.
"Oh, young Master Draco loved the best cuts of beef. Dobby remembers Master Draco smiling every time Dobby placed a delicious filet in front of him at dinner. Dobby never had to scrape scraps from Master Draco's plate." He smiled warmly. "Young Master Draco liked Dobby. Sometimes Master Draco would beg his father not to hurt Dobby. Dobby would always feel sad when Master Draco was punished for defending Dobby." He still smiled, but sadly. "Dobby misses Master Draco." Draco suddenly jumped down from my arm and stood in front of the elf. Dobby sat down to pet the bird. He paused to look up at me. "Why does Harry Potter want to know about Master Draco? And why did Harry Potter bring a burning bird to the kitchen?"
"Um, Dobby. You know how you said you missed Draco?" The elf nodded. "Well, now's your chance to speak to him. Draco is the pheonix." Draco cooed to the elf. Dobby looked closer at the pheonix before his face broke into a large grin.
"Oh! Young Master Draco! Dobby is so happy that Harry Potter brought Master Draco to see Dobby! Dobby missed Master Draco since Harry Potter freed Dobby. Dobby will go fetch Master Draco's favorite meal." The elf snapped his fingers and vanished with a crack. Draco turned to me and did what looked like a shrug.
"Your father didn't know this, but Dobby kept, well, he thought, he was helping me all throughout second year. Your father was mistreating him, so I tricked him into freeing Dobby. He would have killed me, but Dobby saved my life. Dumbledore asked him to work here, and he's trying to convince other elves to free themselves, but he seems to be different than the others." Another crack and Dobby was back, shoving a small dish under Draco's beak.
"Dobby brought juicy scraps of beef to Master Draco. Dobby also brought Master Draco tomato soup with bleu cheese and no crackers just as Dobby remembers." Draco bent to peck at the food while Dobby pulled me aside.
"Dobby thanks Harry Potter for bringing Master Draco. Can Dobby see Master Draco when he is Master Draco again?" His large golden eyes looked up at me, reminding me of a child begging for a bike for Christmas. The image made me smile.
"Dobby, I'm not sure if Draco will still talk to me after this, but I promise that I will make sure he comes down to see you at least once, okay?" The elf embraced my legs and squeezed tightly.
"Dobby loves Harry Potter! Thank you Harry Potter!" The sudden release of my legs made my knees buckle. I was picking myself up off the ground when I saw the elf petting the pheonix gently. "Dobby can't wait to see Master Draco again! Dobby wants Master Draco and Harry Potter to visit Dobby together. Dobby has so much to tell Master Draco!" Draco climbed back up to my shoulder and we left, promising Dobby another visit, and yes, Harry Potter and Master Draco will come back together.
Draco stayed still and silent the whole way back to the clearing. Occasionally, the pheonix would wheeze or shiver, but other than that, nothing. By the time we reached his stable, his shivering wouldn't stop. I placed him on the stable long enough to take off my robe, leaving me in my jeans and shirt. I grabbed him and wrapped him in the cloth, cradling the large bird to my chest. There was no need to ask. I could tell just by his eyes that he wasn't okay. He shook violently and screeched. He struggled in my grip, but I just started petting his head, shushing him.
It wasn't until I was rocking back and forth against the wood of his stable's door that I realized I was on the ground. I sat there in the grass curled around the pheonix's shivering form. The last of his feathers fell off and his screeching quieted into high-pitched cries.
"Draco, calm down. It's going to be alright. If something bad was happening, Hagrid would have done something to stop it." Wouldn't he? Of course, he would! Right? Draco's cries quieted even further and his eyes were closing. My heart was pounding as Draco was, for all I know, dying. It has to be that Dark Mark. Because of that damn mark, he won't eat. He won't sleep. Because of the mark, he is dying. Whether he is or not right now, it's killing him. In my mind, Draco was back to his human form, lying in my arms, shivering and groaning in pain. I pictured Voldemort above us, and for some reason, his parents, chained together and being led by Voldemort. They were deathly pale, terrified, beaten. Words started spilling out of my mouth before I knew what I was saying.
"Draco, listen to me. He may have your parents under his reign, but while you're here, with me, you are untouchable. He may have Marked you, but at Hogwarts, you belong to no one, but yourself. If the Mark is so repulsive that it is killing you, then kill it. Leave that behind and stay here. As long as you are with me, I will protect you with my life, something that the Mark will never give you. Join us, and I promise you, I will die before I see you become infected with anything like this ever again." Draco screeched long and loud. His body thrashed in my grip and he twisted in agony. I felt the ground shaking and heard loud booms rush up to us.
"'Arry! Put Malfoy inn'is stall!" Hagrid was hurrying towards us as I threw the door to the stable open and laid Malfoy on the ground on top of my robes.
"What's happening to him?" I called back. The giant reached the stables and knelt next to me, watching Draco convulse.
"He's dyin', as a Pheoni's. I'll need te get Dumbl'dore. When he's re-born, we'll turn him back. He's ler'nd enough." I sat there helplessly watching Draco twitch and screech in pain. The black lesions on his skin started bubbling, almost as if there were puddles of boiling oil sitting on him. His wings flapped wildly, looking as if he was trying to claw his skin. The largest black spot on his left wing suddenly ignited. Draco shrilled as loud as he could. The flames turned bright green, but the very center of the flame grew darker until it was black. As suddenly as it started, it vanished, along with Draco. In the sudden, suffocating silence, there was nothing but a large pile of ash.
"He's gone," the words practically fell out of my mouth. Panic flooded me. It was like Dumbledore's office in second year all over again. "I didn't know what to do, Hagrid. He seemed better when we went to see Dobby. He ate all of the food Dobby gave him. He was fine until we came back. We-we...Hagrid, he's dead! He's gone! What do we do?" Hagrid shushed me, smothering me with his huge palm. I stopped talking for the simple reason of no air. We sat there in total silence a while before I tapped his knuckle. Hagrid slowly let me go, watching me gasp for air.
"He'll be a'right, 'Arry. Draco 'ill be back in de mornin'. Come strai' here tomorrow." I nodded. The pile of ash sat in the stable, black and smoking. A strong breeze would make it disappear forever. My heart pounded hard. Draco just...vanished. Whatever that black disease did, it killed him. "'Arry, go back to yer dorms. Come back firs' thing tomorrow."
The trip back to the Gryffindor Tower was longer than usual. Every step I took made my feet heavier. If Hagrid hadn't have said he would have McGonagall escort me back, I would have stayed. I would have stayed there until Draco came back. Just to make sure he was okay, of course. Not because the idea of Draco dead suddenly made my blood run cold. The largest hope I had, however, was that the fire destroyed that bloody mark on his arm. When he's human again, he will go back to that depressing, life-stealing, routine if that mark was still there. When my head hit my pillow, my body felt like iron sinking into the mattress. The pane window across the room let the moonlight streak the floor with it clean, white light. It made me think if that clean light was shining on that filthy pile of black ash. That ash better be the remains of the Dark Mark, I thought. Voldemort, I will take Draco Malfoy away from you if it's the last thing I do. I promise you that!