Chapter Four: Back to the Infirmary
Disclaimer: on going, I own nothing.
Warning: SLASH
Draco, Blaise, and Hagrid rushed from the castle and onto school grounds- the sun was up now, though still early morning.
"Where is he? Where's Fang?" Hagrid asked, stopping to find out where to go.
"Hagrid, we have to hurry, don't stop, come on!" Draco said, anxious to get Dumbledore to a safer place than the shrieking shack.
At that exact moment the Harry Potter chose to top the next hill, Fang at his side. Hermione, Ron, Neville and Ginny weren't far behind.
"Well there's old Fang!" Hagrid said loudly as they approached.
"FUCK THIS SHIT!" Blaise yelled, drawing his wand. Before he could do anything, Draco grabbed his wrist, forcing his wand down, causing him a great deal of pain.
"Don't make me kill you Zabini," he hissed, real malice in his voice. Blaise swallowed and lowered his wand.
"WHAT IS GOING ON?" Hagrid roared as Harry approached cautiously.
"Okay, it's not Fang. But someone is hurt, we're sorry we lied, but we have to go... please, just trust me, we have to go now." Draco said, pulling at the half giant's arm.
"Who's hurt? We need to get help." Hagrid was saying when Draco cut him off.
"NO! No one else, just you. We have to go," he urged. He could feel Harry getting closer, the burning itch was turning to pain, nearly forcing him to black out.
"Now! We have to go NOW!" Blaise said, pulling on the large groundskeeper.
"What's going on Hagrid?" Harry called, quickly approaching, the rest of his group still out of earshot. Draco collapsed to the ground, near tears and grasping his chest. He felt like he couldn't breathe. Blaise knealed beside him, trying to help him back to his feet. Draco writhed in pain.
"Go get help!" Hagrid yelled back at Harry's friends. They all ran toward the castle, all they'd seen was Draco collapse to the ground.
"Malfoy! What happened?" Harry asked, drawing his wand and glancing around for any danger, turning as he watched.
"He just collapsed Harry, I don't know what's going on, they said Fang was hurt..."
"Draco, Dray- please, please get up. There's going to be too many soon. We have to go. We *have* to go. Fuck them Draco, we'll do it alone. We're always alone-"
"Shut. Up." Draco said, gasping for breath. Every fiber of his being burned, urging him to just reach out and touch Harry. Just one touch. He did his best to fight it- Harry didn't like him anyways. That particular thought set him ablaze and he gasped again.
Harry knelt down beside Draco, reaching his hand out to shake him by the shoulder,
"Malfoy, are you okay? Help is coming...Malfoy?" Draco's body had relaxed and he was no longer gasping for breath. He lay there, still, relishing the touch. Harry shook him again- rattling him to the core. Slowly he sat up- though Harry's touch had eased it greatly, the pain was still there and ravaging him. In the distance, Draco could see McGonagall and Madame Pomphrey closing in, Harry's housemates right behind them. Further off, Narcissa, Rose and Severus followed. The school grounds were dotted with parents, coming to retrieve their children. He couldn't get up, though he tried. He glanced over at Blaise. It would be okay with Dumbledore to take Harry, he knew that much, but it wouldn't be okay with him. The Death Eaters could be all over Hogsmeade from last night. He wouldn't risk his bondmate like that.
"Blaise, go get help." he whispered, staring down his life long friend. That was all he needed to say, though it wasn't much. Everyone was upon them now, just a yard or two away. Blaise drew his wand and whispered an incantation to strengthen Draco's concealment charms, in case he couldn't come back soon. Just as the spark touched Draco, he fainted. Harry grabbed Draco again, shaking him,
"Malfoy? Malfoy, you git, get up!"
All the others were there now, asking a lot of questions and watching as Madame Pomphrey leaned over the boy- evaluating him with her wand. So many different colors showed at the tip, changing again and again with each diagnosis. Harry had never seen so many colors, and Madame Pomphrey looked shocked as well.
"Harry, what happened?" McGonagall asked as she knelt beside him.
"What did you do to my boy?!" Narcissa roared.
"Potter- what spell did you cast?!" Snape snapped, trying to figure out what potions they would need.
"Is he okay?"
"Harry didn't do anything!"
"Malfoy collapsed before Harry got here!"
"Is he dead?"
All the questions were coming at once, all directed at Harry. He was beginning to get confused.
"SHUT UP!" Madame Pomphrey yelled, and since the woman rarely yelled and was hardly ever this crass, they all did. She cast a spell to levitate Draco's body so she could move him to the infirmary, "Harry, I need to know what happened. Did you see anything at all?". They were all moving quickly toward the infirmary.
"No, I... we," he gestured back to his friends, "were looking for Hagrid and we just wanted to ask him about those creatures last night. We were coming back when Fang rushed passed us, so we followed, and we saw Malfoy and Zabini arguing with Hagrid. When I got up here, he nearly fainted. He seemed like he was dying- I tried to help him up...and then Zabini said some spell-" with this he looked for Blaise. He was gone. So was Hagrid. They had apparently vanished, "where'd Zabini and Hagrid go?!" They had entered the infirmary now.
"Weasley! Granger! You and the rest of your house mates either go look for Hagrid and Mr. Zabini, we need to know what that spell was!" Madame Pomphrey snapped, moving Draco to a bed. They all left, rushing. Harry went to follow when Madame Pomphrey grabbed him, "not you Harry, I'm sorry. You're all I've got to go on as to what happened. I may need you here." Harry nodded and looked around noticing that the students that had been injured had all had minor injuries and were gone now, the last just leaving with the help of one of Madame Pomphrey's assistants- trying desperately to see what was causing all the commotion as they were ushered out.
"Narcissa, Rose, come with me," Snape ordered, heading for the door, "Rose, I need you to go help them find. your. son. 'Cissy, to the dungeons, Poppy will need more potions," then he added, "he'll be okay Cissy, he's going to be okay." Snape knew she would only be in the way in the infirmary. Narcissa nodded in understanding, a look of pure fear and terror on her face. She rushed forward to kiss her son before leaving with the others, leaving only Madame Pomphrey, McGonagall, and Harry with Draco. Madame Pomphrey's assistant rushed forward with trays of potions on a cart.
"Harry," McGonagall said quietly, as the infirmary assistant closed the curtains above the bed around them "can I trust you to keep a secret for Draco?"
Harry nodded, confused, watching quietly as McGonagall cast a spell so that one besides the four of them could hear the conversation. Pomphrey was setting up something he hadn't seen before, like an I.V. for the medical potions.
"Harry, young Mr. Malfoy was captured by Voldemort over your break. As was Mr. Zabini and and his father. Mr. Zabini- Sr. that is- was killed. Narcissa Malfoy and Rose Zabini escaped capture. Draco and Blaise, however, were tortured without mercy. Our own Severus helped them escape, then lost them during that same escape. They were thought to be dead. He's on our side Harry, as far as we know, he's no danger. Be careful with any insults please. They are still looking for them, I'm sure. Severus too, he had to openly betray them."
"That's not my secret to tell, Professor, thank you for the heads up though- I understand why you told me. I won't tell anyone. However," Harry paused here, unsure of himself suddenly.
"Yes Mr. Potter?"
"Why did Voldemort want them?"
"Now *that*, Harry, is not my secret to tell." McGonagall replied, glancing at Draco sadly, "stay as long as you need, Harry, Poppy may really need you and any information you might have. I don't think you realize this but he may not make it."
Harry nodded in understanding. He felt very guilty now for everything he'd said to his schoolyard nemesis. It must have hurt badly, and he hadn't meant to do that- not on that level. Suddenly, he thought of something that might be useful,
"The spell Zabini cast, when it came out of his wand it was like little dotted sparks of light, white or a very light color," Harry remembered because they'd looked like muggle Christmas lights without the string, "they circled him before they went into him. Like a spiral." Madame Pomphrey's head snapped up from her work,
"From his feet up?"
"Yes ma'am, do you know what that is?"
"A charm Harry, something to do with looks most likely," McGonagall interjected, "good job, Harry, excellent."
Madame Pomphrey shifted through her vials, holding one specifically up like a prize when she found it before adding it to the IV type set up. Then, before his eyes, the disillusionment charms began to fade. McGonagall, Harry, and Madame Pomphrey all gasped in unison. Draco was covered in scars, some big and some little. They entertwined over almost his entire face and arms. His normally alabaster skin was smudged with bruises, dirt and filth. His hair appeared to be in the stages of matting. It had been a very powerful charm.
"Harry," Madame Pomphrey whispered- shocked at the amount of damage done, "could you please...look away? I need to remove Mr. Malfoy's clothing."
Harry had no problem with that request, he felt very ill now, and supposed he very well might vomit. He stepped outside the curtain for a moment to breathe and find a small trash receptical. Holding it between his legs, he sat- nearly collapsing- on one of the nearby empty beds. He wasn't there long before Snape appeared, walking briskly toward the place where his godson lie.
"Snape," Harry said, "McGonagall has cast a spell- you can't go in there." He received a sneer- full of hate- in response. "Also- I know you don't like me- and I don't know Mrs. Malfoy, but he had a disillusionment charm on him- they took it off... and it's bad Professor, it's really bad... you might not want her to come up here... if that's possible... am I making any sense?" Snape paled. He knew what the Dark Lord was capable of. If only he'd known sooner that Draco and Blaise were there... he shook himself out of his own thoughts and looked at Harry.
"That's very thoughtful of you Potter... I'll figure something out." with that, Snape swooped off, like a bat in the night. He did pause at the door, to look back at Harry. "Thank you... Harry," and then he was gone. Harry just gawked after him and shifted uncomfortably on the bed. How...out of character... he thought, noticing the vials the Potions Professor had set on the table at the foot of the bed. Quickly he gathered them up, and brought them to her.