Meanwhile, Harry, Malinda, and Lindsey had all reached Snape's office. Harry wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, but it didn't matter; Severus Snape had stepped out into the hallway, stopping dead as he caught sight of Potter and the two muggles he dragged behind him.
His eyes were wide as he observed Harry. Harry's hair, was, if possible, even messier than usual, and his glasses were dirty and askew. His usual Gryffindor uniform (consisting of a black cloak, a sweater, and black pants) was soiled and rips were evident throughout the cloak.
Snape's cold, dark eyes slipped over to Lindsey next, who was looking up at him with a determined glare. Her dark jeans were stained at the knees, and her honey-blond hair was far from tidy. The only thing that remained the same, had been her navy blue, cotton tank-top.
"What…" Snape said, finally letting his eyes rest on Malinda, "have we here?"
Malinda's usually curly hair greatly resembled that of an old mop, resting atop her head. Her eyes were teary again, scared by Snape's dark appearance. Holes were found in her jeans, and her plain red T-shirt was stained with mud and grass.
Before anyone could respond, Snape grabbed all three of them by the collar, and pulled them into the office with such force that they had been momentarily choked.
Throwing them roughly into three plain, black leather chairs, Snape started his questioning in a grave, ungrateful tone, "You two. You are wanted by the Dark Lord. What do you think you're doing here?"
"We were trying to help Draco," Lindsey snapped, causing both Harry and Snape to stare at her with bemused expressions. It was quite rare that anyone would stand up to Snape, much less with a tone like she had just used. Malinda on the other hand, didn't look quite so confident in her voice, and stayed silent.
Severus' black, ridiculously never-washed, greasy hair, was long, falling almost down to his shoulders. He was, like most male Death Eaters, wearing a large, black cloak that made him, personally, look like an aloof chimpanzee, complimenting his big, dark eyebrows.
"Where is he?" asked Snape, a chisel of concern in his voice. Lindsey and Harry exchanged a quick glance before Harry answered.
"Hospital wing." Snape's eyes grew even larger.
"Why…is he in the Hospital wing?"
"That's not why we're here," Lindsey said, impatience in her tone. Snape glared at her.
"Tell me, now."
"He lost a lot of blood," Harry said quietly, looking away from Snape; Lindsey hadn't lowered her glower yet.
"How?"
"Broke a mirror," Lindsey replied, crossing her arms. Severus did the same, leaning on his desk towards her menacingly.
"Why?" he spitted out.
"I. Don't. Know."
"Why. Don't. You. Know."
"Because."
"Because. Why."
"I. Don't. Know."
"Are those the only words you know?"
"No." Snape stopped leaning on his desk, and uncrossed his arms at her annoying little words. Tension immediately left the air, and Harry was finally able to breath again as Snape fidgeted his hands.
"The Dark Lord is after you," Snape said simply, not looking at Lindsey.
"I already know Voldemort's after us," Lindsey corrected calmly, smiling innocently up at Snape, who's eyes were suddenly tracing the patterns on the wall.
"But you especially," he replied after some silence. Lindsey's smile faded, as she became puzzled.
"Why?"
"Why do you think? You stood up to him. You convinced Draco to leave. You managed to escape, alive."
Lindsey sat in silence, thinking over Snape's words before responding casually. "So he wants me dead right? That's not any different than if he wasn't interested in me as much."
"He…doesn't want you dead," Snape said softly, almost inaudible. Harry and Lindsey stared up at him. Snape continued after no one replied, picking up a bottle of purple liquid on his desk as if he were inspecting it, "He wants you…to join him."
"He…what!?!" Lindsey replied, not bothering to keep her voice down. Malinda stared at Snape, shocked. Harry had nearly the same response as Malinda, his mouth hanging open absently.
"Yes, he finds you quite…interesting," Snape said casually, as if this were simply a matter of everyday events. Lindsey didn't say anything, blinking back oncoming tears (that she wasn't sure why were there).
"Rumor has it, you were able to stop the pain on Draco's Dark Mark." Harry and Malinda both turned their eyes towards Lindsey, who looked down at her pale hands.
"Only numb it," she mumbled, twittering her thumbs together. Snape set down the vial he was inspecting, to watch her with raised eyebrows.
"Even so, that's quite amazing. Never heard of. Much like no one's ever heard of someone living through the killing curse," Severus said, nodding towards Potter, who met his gaze ruefully.
"It's not amazing. And I'm not joining him. Final," Lindsey stated, still speaking towards the floor. Snape let the tiniest smirk escape his large mouth.
"Of course your not," he said in his cold, crisp voice, "You are free to spend your time here in the castle. Perhaps there is something 'special' about you. But I will not be held responsible for your life."
"Fine," Lindsey said, finally looking up into Severus' eyes, "But I'm not, 'special'." At this being said, Lindsey stood up and stomped off towards the door, swinging it open violently.
"Just…be careful," Snape said, as Lindsey rounded the corner, out of sight. Harry glanced once at Snape before following Lindsey out the door, while Malinda scurried behind them both.
"Merlin's beard, you scared me!" Ron cried as a distressed Lindsey stormed through the Hospital wing; Harry and Malinda followed shortly behind.
Lindsey didn't say anything, pulling up a chair next to Hermione who had woken with a jump.
"What happened?" Ron asked, Hermione still in a groggy state. Lindsey didn't respond, and stared down at Draco with un-seeing eyes.
"I'll tell you later," Harry said, standing behind Ron and Hermione. Hastily, Hermione started to get up to give Harry some room to sit down but her refused her offer with a hand gesture.
"I think I'm heading off to bed," said Harry, his tone hinting that they should too. Hermione and Ron exchanged a brief glance with each other before standing up, ready to leave the Hospital wing behind.
"Go ahead, I'll watch after Draco," Lindsey said in a monotone, her arms folded across her chest as if she were cold, which may have been the case with her clothing choices.
"Umm, Madam Pomfrey said to give Draco the drink on the table if he woke up," Hermione said softly, feeling guilty for having fallen asleep when they were left in charge of watching Draco. Lindsey nodded, and the trio disappeared through the giant, marble doors.
"You should get some sleep too," Lindsey said to Malinda, who had stayed behind. Her mother didn't move, but looked at Lindsey, her eyes soft and concerned. This was the first time they had been truly alone with each other (minus an unconscious Draco of course) since the incident.
"So should you," Malinda said, resting her hand on Lindsey's. She didn't respond, still watching Draco absently.
"You like him…don't you?" Malinda asked, causing Lindsey's face to burn a faded shade of pink.
"Yes," Lindsey said truthfully, letting the color slowly die from her face; this wasn't the question she had expected from her mom.
"Do you love him?"
"Yes," Lindsey said, a little, mischievous smile on her lips, "But I don't know if it's the way you think."
Malinda didn't say anything, but had a thoughtful glint in her eyes. Lindsey finally took her own eyes from Draco's body to meet her mom's.
"If you need me, I'll be here," Malinda said at last, and Lindsey smiled.
"I know you will be," she said, "You need some sleep now."
"Alright, I love you," Malinda said, walking slowly over to the other side of the room to a clean bed.
"Love you too, Mom," Lindsey replied, going back to looking at Draco. She listened as Malinda crept into her bed, pulling the sheets over her shoulders tiredly. A strip of moonlight escaped through the windows, causing Malinda's face to radiate brilliantly against the darkness in the room.
Careful not to wake Draco, Lindsey gently situated her hand on top of his; Draco's hand freezing from the lack of blood and recent strain. "Sleep well Draco," she whispered.
Draco's blond hair fell over his face, no longer covered in dirt and pebbles; a courtesy of Madam Pomfrey. His pale, blue eyes was resting greatly beneath his pale eyelids. His clothes had also been changed to the required, blood-free hospital shirt and pants.
He felt her there with him, Lindsey. Her hand was warm against his, like a warm cup of hot chocolate. With gooey white marshmallows, slowly melting and swirling into the chocolate; like his mother used to make when he was young.
Draco remembered coming home during the winter holidays to see his loving mother. He remembered sitting by the warm fireplace on Christmas, opening his usual presents that consisted of lots of cakes and treats, as well as new robes and quills for school. He would, not play, but sit out in the snow, watching each flake fall down to the ground contently.
"Don't be out too long," his mother would call out from their house window, "It's not good to get a cold before school starts up again. The Malfoys aren't sniffling, huffing muggles after all."
Draco remembered laughing, sneering at the pathetic, worthless muggles that were stopped by a common cold. Coming inside from the day's activities, he would always have a cup of the warm, mummy-made hot chocolate. Always having exactly three, fluffy white marshmallows in it; the same number of houses at Hogwarts who deserved an appreciation (Hufflepuff was the one they had left out).
Oh, how Draco missed his mom right then. She had always been there for him, no matter what his faults were. Narcissa's snowy-blond hair, always smelling of sweet shampoo, her crystal clear blue eyes that she had passed on to him, all of these memories past through Draco's young, tired mind as he lay there on the hospital bed, Lindsey at his side.
And then his father, oh his father, Lucius Malfoy. Draco's thoughts turned dark as he remembered his father, his father who was locked up in Azkaban, for being a slave to the Dark Lord.
It was as if Draco were looking into a mirror, his blond hair and pointed face were exact replicas of Lucius'. Except Lucius' face was darker, sullener, than Draco's had ever been.
Although Draco had indeed been serving the Dark Lord, he had not yet had the chance to become as cold as his father had. Years of discipline, pain, and suffering were evident in Lucius' eyes.
Memories of Draco's past wrong-doings and mistakes came drifting into his thoughts, most of them having to do with Potter, Granger, and Weasley.
Every year, Draco had made mistakes. Every year, his father had punished him, whether with words or physical violence, it didn't matter. Now that he was able to think clearly, Draco never once remembered his father praising him. Even the Dark Lord, for a fairly small task, had called his work "a job well done".
Lindsey watched as Draco started tossing around, and removed her hand form his. It didn't appear to be the Mark that was bothering him, and so she assumed he was just having a bad dream.
"Draco," called Lindsey, placing her hand on his forehead cautiously. Although she knew that he was most likely not having a good time at the moment, she had never felt so relieved in her life. If he had enough strength to move around in his sleep, surely he would be able to recover completely from the incident.
Exhausted with relief, Lindsey propped a pillow from a nearby bed onto her chair, and with one hand intertwined with Draco's, she drifted off into a well-needed, deep sleep.
She wasn't sure how long she had slept, but the sun was beginning to shine into the Hospital wing, so it had to be nearly morning. Stretching, she lifted her head from what she presumed to be her pillow. Only, when she turned around to look, she found Draco's pale, blue eyes looking back at her.
Jumping away, she stuttered mercilessly, "Wha…Draco…you're….I'm sorry…I didn't…"
Laughing playfully, Draco responded, "It's fine. You didn't do anything wrong."
Lindsey looked around to find herself sliding off of her chair, leaning in towards the bed Draco was sleeping on. He himself was propped up against the headboard, and she, blushing slightly, realized that she had not been sleeping on a pillow, but Draco's shoulder.
Her face burning, Lindsey pulled herself back onto the chair awkwardly. It was then that she realized her hand was still mingled with Draco's. He seemed to notice where her thoughts were headed, and answered for her.
"It was actually me who did that. You looked sort of miserable, sleeping like that on the chair. So I decided to let you use me as a pillow," he said, his old, Slytherin grin spreading on his face, "Not that I expect to be used by anyone after this."
"Oh," Lindsey said, finally taking her hand away from Draco's, wondering if it had been him who had done that too, or if they had actually been holding hands all night.
"That was you though, I believe," Draco answered, reading Lindsey's mind. Slowly, it was beginning to kick into Lindsey's groggy system that Draco had just woken up from his near-death experience.
"Oh, Madam Pomfrey-" Lindsey began, but Draco cut her off.
"-I took it already. I figured that's what it was for. No worries." Lindsey looked next to her to find an empty, clear container on the bedside table.
"It took everything I had not to spit it out on you though," Draco said, a bright grin on his lips, "It was horribly foul."
"Oh, well thank you Mister Malfoy," Lindsey said sarcastically, elegantly bowing to Draco. He sneered at her sudden eloquence, before coughing dreadfully. Lindsey placed her hand on his shoulder, concern in her voice, "Are you okay?"
Draco nodded, coughed once again, before turning back towards Lindsey, "I'm fine. I guess it's just too much right now to be laughing."
"Rest then," Lindsey said, pushing Draco back into a lying position.
"Fine. But I'm not going back to sleep," Draco said stubbornly. Lindsey nodded, ignoring Draco's rude, obstinate tone.
"We can just talk," she said. Draco's throat felt as though it were on fire, probably a side effect of the potion he just drank. His head still hurt considerably, and he was sure that his body had been turned to jelly.
"What do you want to talk about?" he asked, suddenly feeling weaker than he had before.
"Whatever you want to talk about," Lindsey said, pausing, wondering if it was safe to put her hand back on Draco's. He noticed her glancing at his hand, and smiled; or perhaps smirked was a better word.
"You can go back to holding it, if it's bothering you," he said, wondering himself where the sudden sympathy had come from. He didn't think long however, for Lindsey had grabbed hold of his hand again, causing a warm feeling to radiate from it.
"You are warm," Draco said, closing his eyes pleasantly, feeling as if the rest of his body was trapped in a freezer.
"And you are cold," replied Lindsey, letting a grin creep across her face. He smiled back, his eyelids still closed.
"You really ought to sleep," Lindsey said, seeing how tired he truly was. Draco felt an involuntary frown cross his features, but didn't argue with her.
"Thank you," Lindsey said, realizing that Draco wasn't going to bicker with her about it.
"Just promise me something…" Draco started.
"Anything," Lindsey said, letting her hand gently sweep his arm.
"Promise me you won't leave me," he said. Lindsey was momentarily stunned by his wish, but soon followed through.
"I promise."
With this being said, Draco fell, once again, into a deep sleep as his body slowly regained some of the health he had lost.
Finally finished this chapter. ^^ Major thanks to my only two reviewers, Hyruleepona (Shinji) and yugiohgx5dsgrl (Pollinelia) for helping me continue this story, couldn't do it without you guys! If you are reading this, please please please review! It helps me want to write more of this story!