DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter
So many people are reading…so few are reviewing. You make me sad!! Except those select few who I love with all my heart because they review every chapter. You know who you are. Follow their example, people!
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Moments later, a bright green burst of flame brought Harry and Ron to a dusty, wide open room. Ron jumped out and looked around, sighing with relief.
"Good. I'd hoped we'd show up here."
Harry carefully stepped out of the fireplace with Draco still tightly held in his arms. He recognized the inside of the building almost at once. The Leaky Cauldron. The fireplace was in the very back corner of the inn but Harry could see the front part of the pub around the corner of the staircase. The owner, Tom, was busily setting up stools and chairs as he got ready to open. Ron walked briskly over to him.
"Ron!" Harry hissed at him as he walked by. Ron just waved at Harry reassuringly. Not sure of what to do, Harry draped the Invisibility Cloak gently over Draco. He knew how fast news tended to travel in the wizarding world. Who knew if Tom would report them to the Ministry?
After a few hurried words between Tom and Ron, he jogged back jingling a key in his hand.
"Room 12" he explained, pocketing the key and running up the stairs. Harry followed as quickly as possible, being careful to avoid Draco bumping into anything. The stairway twisted tightly to the second floor, opening to a maze of doors. Harry saw Ron with the key already in the door and rushed behind him to get into the room without anyone seeing them.
Harry laid Draco on the king-size bed as cautiously as possible, replacing the cloak with one of the blankets he found in the closet. He pulled the blanket to cover his chest and that's when he got a good look at Draco's face.
The sides of his face and jaw were a mix of deep purple and a sick looking yellow. These bruises were large, each one almost the width of Harry's palm. Blood stained the skin around his nose and mouth. With a shaking finger Harry lightly brushed away a few dirty strands of blonde hair that had fallen across his face. He could feel a good sized bump formed on the side of Draco's head.
Harry's fingertips roamed around the bruises and cuts, tracing the outline of a gash that reached from his chin to his right cheek. On his neck were red puffy scratches, probably his own doing.
Where there weren't any signs of battering or abuse, Draco's skin was paler than Harry had ever seen it. It almost looked transparent. Harry ran a finger over these small areas, feeling how cold and smooth they were. A drop of water splashed down on one of the cuts on Draco's neck and Harry realized that he was crying. He turned his gaze up towards Draco's eyes. They were closed and bruised, slightly puffy from being beaten. Harry couldn't help but bow his head and brush his lips against each motionless eyelid. Draco never stirred.
The sound of running water made Harry turn. Ron walked out of the bathroom with his hands in his pockets, staring at the floor.
"The bath is filling up. I left some potions on the sink counter. Charlie gave them to me and I haven't gone anywhere without them. Add them to the water one at a time after you've put him in. It should help with the healing."
Harry got up and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. Ron looked up at him and sighed sorrowfully.
"I'm sorry, Harry. I've caused you more trouble than I'm worth. It wasn't supposed to happen like this."
Harry cut him off, shaking his head. "No, Ron. If it wasn't for you, I would never have Draco back with me now. Thank you."
Ron grimaced. "Don't thank me just yet. The easy part is over. Now we have to figure out a way to explain ourselves and keep Malfoy safe from the Ministry until we can prove his innocence. Knowing Fudge," Harry's eyes hardened at his name, "he'll have us all behind bars in Azkaban before the night is over."
Harry's heart sank. He knew just as well as Ron that it was true. They couldn't hide from the Ministry for more than a day, tops. They knew everything and could be anywhere at any time. Even if they had a plan to prove Draco's innocence, Draco wouldn't be well enough to argue his case. They wouldn't allow him time to recover, either. Harry looked over at Draco's still body.
"So…what do we do?"
Silence made Harry turn back to the red headed wizard whose eyes were shifting back and forth in hurried thought. Finally he looked up at Harry with wide eyes.
"You are going to stay here and heal your boyfriend. Use the potions I left in the bathroom and then just let him rest until he, hopefully, heals. I am going back –"
"Like hell you are!" Harry shouted angrily. He would not lose the two most important men in his life to the Ministry.
The look on Ron's face was pained. "Listen mate, if we just stay here and wait it out, the Ministry will be at our door within hours. We don't have that kind of time. I need to buy us a few days and you gotta get him better."
He hated to admit it, but Ron was right. Still, it was such a dangerous thing to do; he didn't want Ron there to handle things by himself.
"You don't have to go back to them," Harry pleaded, "you can have your parents try and reason with them. They're going to know you freed Draco. You knocked out one of their own for Christ's sake! They won't think twice about doing to you what they did to Draco!"
Ron opened his mouth to say something, but paused suddenly and leaned his head back with a groan.
"No…I can't go find my parents. We left our brooms back by the visitor's entrance, remember? The Ministry will have the Floo Network monitored. I'll only have one shot to go anywhere before they're on me. No, I have to go back."
Harry's eyes traveled to the floor. He wanted to protest, but this seemed like the only option they had right now.
"Okay," he whispered, "just…be careful, alright?"
Ron smirked and put an arm around his shoulder. "You worry too much. I'll try to talk to Percy first. Maybe the whole 'brotherly love' thing will pay off after all."
Harry tried to smile back at him, but worry overtook him. He tugged Ron into a quick tight hug. He finally had Ron back in his life, and now it seemed too soon that he was leaving to risk everything.
"Hurry back," Harry said quietly, "or I'll curse your ass into next week."
Ron forced a laugh. "Yeah, I'd like to see you try." He started backing up toward the door. "Remember the potions. If they're working right, you should start to see some of his injuries disappear within an hour. He'll probably wake up after two or three hours. Good luck."
"You too" Harry whispered as the door was shut. He stared at it for a minute before turning his attention to the statue-like body on the bed.
Pulling back the blanket previously covering him, Harry started removing Draco's clothes. He ripped Draco's shirt down the middle so it was easier to take off and wouldn't cause him any possible pain. All of his clothes had rips and blood stains on them. No one would have been able to guess he was a Malfoy by looking at him. The cuts and bruises on Draco's torso were ten times worse than his face. When Harry saw them, a mangled sob escaped him.
Once all his clothes had been removed, Harry picked Draco up carefully and carried him into the bathroom. The bathtub had been filled perfectly with hot water. Harry slowly dipped Draco's feet into the water, letting his body slide down the tub wall and rest with his head and shoulders above the water. Harry folded a towel in half to act as a pillow for Draco's head on the rim of the tub. He removed his own shirt and tossed it to the side. On the counter he found three tiny flasks; green, purple and yellow. Harry took the green one first.
Removing the cork in the first flask, Harry almost gagged. It smelled like tar. He held his breath and poured the thick green liquid into the water with Draco. He could see it floating on the surface before sinking and blending with the water.
The second flask he opened was, to his relief, a much more pleasant smelling potion. It reminded him of watermelon and blueberries. He easily poured the light lilac colored potion in, watching it swirl around as it hit the water.
When this seemed to mix in with the other potion, Harry popped open the last flask. It smelled very flowery. As it was emptied with the other liquids, it spread out on the surface of the water like an extra layer. Once it reached all four corners of the water in the tub, it dissolved.
Harry took a sponge by the bathtub edge and dunked it deep into the water. He brought it up slowly across Draco's body, bringing the potioned water up his shoulders and neck. Careful around the deep cut on the side of his face, Harry dabbed at Draco's face to make sure every part of skin would be able to soak in the mixed potion. He continued this cycle of shoulders, neck and face until the water became lukewarm. Draco never once showed any signs of movement.
Letting out a loud exhale of air, Harry stood up and grabbed one of the towels hanging on the wall. He pulled the plug on the tub and watched the slightly colored water swirl down the drain. After it was empty, Harry wrapped the towel around Draco's body and carried him out of the bathroom, laying him softly on the bed. He pulled a few extra blankets around him. Looking out the window, Harry guessed that it was around noon. His stomach growled.
Ron did say it takes about an hour for the potions to work…
Harry grabbed the key and ran downstairs to get some food. 10 minutes later he came flying back up the stairs and back in the room with an armful of food so he wouldn't have to leave Draco again. He was still lying on the bed, still as stone. Harry sat cross-legged next to him and ate a sandwich he had bought.
An hour later, he had eaten half the food he brought. Draco still wasn't moving and it didn't look like any of the bruises were healing.
Maybe I just cant' notice it yet.
Another hour passed, Harry pacing back and forth at the foot of the bed. Some of the bruises and small cuts had started to heal, but not even a flinch came from Draco.
Yet another hour went by. Harry had pulled up a chair up to the side of the bed Draco was on. He stared at his healing face without blinking. Most of the bruises on his face had disappeared and the gash was slowly shrinking.
He should be moving by now he thought nervously.
After the fourth hour, Harry started to panic. Nearly his whole body had been returned to its original health, but no part of Draco had so much as twitched. Harry was wandering around the room aimlessly, biting his lip. He anxiously shifted his gaze from the floor to Draco, back to the floor then back to Draco.
What if he never wakes up? Did I do something wrong with the potions? No, Ron would have told me which order they went in. Is it just a healing potion and not a life restoring one? Oh god…it's healing his body but not his soul. He's dead, my baby, my Draco is dead…
With a shaking hand Harry felt Draco's neck for warmth, a pulse, anything that might prove him wrong. It was as cold and still as the rest of him.
Harry collapsed onto the bed in a fit of tears. Uncontrollable sobs ruptured out his mouth. He felt sick, sick and broken. Breathing was barely possible through the river of tears and pain filled moans. Harry wrapped his arms around himself, trying to hold himself together. He felt like he had just lost his life, everything that mattered to him was just taken away. Then the anger started to set in. Clenching his teeth he ran through the people to blame.
Percy…Fudge…the Ministry…the fucking Ministry!
The pain and anguish built up quickly and exploded out of him in a heartbreaking, agonizing scream. He screamed over his love's lifeless body until he had nothing left. He felt nothing anymore, just the cold stabbing wound that took over his whole being and tore him apart. Looking at Draco just sent another round of heaving cries of torment through him. He took Draco's head gently between his hands and cradled him on his lap. He rocked back and forth, sobbing his heart out and babbling apologies to him.
"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…I tried….forgive me…baby I'm sorry…"
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Don't kill me yet! Read the next chapter before you burn me at the stake!