Disclaimer I don't own Harry Potter and anything that's recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling.

CHAPTER 15 – Confessions

Madame Pomfrey walked over to Harry's bed and waved her wand over his body.

"Well in one week you should be able to leave here" she told Harry.

"Yes!" Harry said, happy to be able to finally leave. It was already the beginning of January and he was sick and tired of staying in bed all day.

"But remember to rest, eat, and get enough sleep, otherwise I will keep you here longer" she said sternly.

"I will" Harry replied.

"You better" she said and walked back to her office. Harry was looking out the window when he heard the doors to the infirmary open.

"Harry" a voice called and Harry turned around to see Severus pulling a chair up to his bed.

"Severus" Harry greeted.

"How are you feeling?" Severus asked.

"I'm fine" Harry replied.

"That's good. Remember how we talked about needing to finish the Dark Lord?" Severus asked, and when he saw Harry nod, continued, "Well I thought it would be a good idea to start training you so that you will be ready for him."

"Okay…but who will train me?" Harry asked.

"I could…if you would allow that" Severus said.

"Of course Severus…I-I trust you" Harry softly said, leaving Severus speechless for a few minutes.

"Good…" Severus said, not being able to come up with anything else to say.

"When will we start?" Harry asked.

"Well I was thinking we could start once you get out of here," Severus said.

"Alright. So what will you teach me?" Harry asked.

"I thought that maybe you could come to my office five times a week, in the evening, and I'll teach you something different each night. Right now I've just thought to start with Dueling, Occlumency and Legilimency, Charms, a bit of Transfiguration, and Potions" and at Harry's face, Severus chuckled and said, "Yes I know…Potions. Although you might not be the best…they can be really useful towards enemies."

"So will you give me a schedule then?" Harry asked.

"I will give you one the first time you come, which will be the first day you're out of here," Severus said.

"Great" Harry sarcastically said.

"You better remember" Severus said, and after a few minutes of silence, he got up to leave.

"By the way…have you told your friends about…?" Severus trailed off.

"I will" Harry said.

"Good…now I must be off…I will see you at our first lesson" and with that left the infirmary.

Harry was a bit apprehensive about the training. Although he was eager to learn more, it just made everything more real about him having to defeat Voldemort.

The next day, both Ron and Hermione came to visit him. Harry realized that he still needed to tell his friends about everything, but he didn't know if he could tell them.

"Umm…Ron…Hermione, I have to tell you guys something" Harry said, looking at his hands. Hermione noticed that he was nervous and grabbed his hands. Harry smiled, grateful for her support.

"I know I've told you about…well the drinking…but you guys don't know everything and I thought that you both deserve to know" Harry said.

"What is it Harry?" Hermione asked, worried about her friend.

"Well during the summer…I started to get overwhelmed by emotions…nightmares every night…and I guess I found a way to control all the pain I had been feeling. I…I began cu-cutting" Harry said, barley able to say the words. He thought that maybe he hadn't really said them, but by the gasp from Hermione and Ron, he knew he had.

"Oh no….Harry" Hermione said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Yes…well…then I met some muggles, who I became fast friends with. That is when I started my drinking I guess. They also got me smoking. They would send me stuff every week and I would sneak off at night to drink. I would also sneak back to muggle London, I actually did that twice. That's why I researched glamour spells" Harry said, and saw all the pieces click in Hermione's mind.

"But then Ron found about my drinking and wouldn't talk to me, and my day was just horrible and I had a terrible nightmare that night….and I guess I went a bit too far and Sev- I mean Professor Snape found me. He started to help me, to get me better. But I still snuck out at night, and then Draco came one night, and you know about all that. And then Christmas came, and I was stupid and didn't listen to everyone saying that I shouldn't leave Hogwarts…well I did. And that got all of my friends killed" Harry bitterly said.

"That was why you were in the hospital?" Hermione asked and Harry nodded.

"Yeah…and then I had a nightmare that night and I went…and cut. Draco found me and you know the rest" Harry said.

"Oh Harry!" Hermione said, hugging him.

"Yeah well…I had a bit of an explosion again and Professor Snape found me…and he's decided to train me. To prepare myself so that I will be ready to kill Voldemort once and for all" Harry said.

For a couple of minutes, there was a tense silence, but then they talked about school and classes.

-----

For the next couple of days, Harry didn't see Draco at all. He didn't come once, and Harry started to wonder why. But then the second last day before he was released, he saw a quiet Draco walk up to his bed.

"Draco" Harry greeted, but got not reply. Harry started to wonder what was wrong.

"Draco? What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"I'm getting marked" was the only reply he got. Stunned, Harry didn't know what to say.

"What?"

"You heard me. I'm going to become a Death Eater" Draco said, hate evident in his voice.

"No you won't" Harry said. Draco outright laughed.

"Yeah right. How are you…the great Harry Potter going to stop the Dark Lord from doing that?" Draco sarcastically asked.

"I…I'll give you a Portkey. You can use it if you can't get away. Just tell you father you won't take the mark and if he won't leave you, just Portkey out," Harry said.

"Right…I will just tell my father that I won't become a Death Eater and he'll just say okay and then we'll go flying…right" Draco drawled.

"It's better than getting marked" Harry said.

"Let's just forget about it for now…I still have a month" Draco said, and with that changed the subject, talking about Quidditch for the rest of the night.

-----

For the next month, Harry got into a routine. Monday he would work on Occlumency and Legilimency, alternating each week, Tuesday he would work on Charms and Wednesday he would work on Transfiguration. Thursday he would work on Potions and Saturday evening he would work on dueling.

"Concentrate!" Severus shouted.

"I can't" Harry weakly replied.

"You have to" Severus said.

"I can't!" Harry yelled. Severus sighed.

"What's on your mind Harry?" Severus asked.

"Do you think he's okay?" Harry asked.

"Who? Draco?" Severus asked and at Harry's nod continued, "I'm sure he's fine. He has your Portkey, right?"

"Yeah he does. I gave it to him two days ago" Harry said.

"Then there's nothing to worry about" Severus said.

"Right" Harry said.

"Good…now let's get back to work. Legilimens"

For the next two days, Harry didn't see Draco at all. He was starting to wonder if he was okay and if he was in the school hiding somewhere or if he was still at home. Deciding to take the chance and see if Draco was really in the school, he took out the Marauder's Map.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" Harry said, and then checked the map for Draco's dot. He finally found it and breathed a sigh of relief. He was in an unused classroom in the dungeons. Harry took his cloak and map and left his dorm.

He finally came to the classroom and opened the door. He definitely wasn't prepared to the sight before him. There, in the corner, was a figure lying in a pool of his own blood. The only reason Harry knew that it was Draco was by the platinum blond hair.

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