Chapter Five: Blaise Gets His Slytherin On
Disclaimers: If I owned HP, HP/DM would have been present! JKR owns this- I'm just playing with her characters :)
WARNINGS: SLASH- Seriously, if you don't like it, go elsewhere. It will get heavier later.
McGonagall had left Harry there in the infirmary with Draco for hours. He still couldn't remember anything else that would be of any use to the medi-witch. He was free to go but he just couldn't. He felt terrible for the fallen Slytherin. He had more scars than Sirius and himself combined. Hermione and Ron came by to go to lunch with him and he'd accepted. Though he didn't stay long, and couldn't find an appetite. He found out that Zabini and Hagrid were still missing- Draco the only one aware of the whereabouts. Hermione had even gotten the Marauder's map and checked, they weren't on school grounds. McGonagall was cancelling classes for the week and considering closing down the school for the year. Everything was just going terribly wrong. It was all falling apart. He returned to the infirmary after that with several books on magical creatures Hermione had in her pile. There was still the mystery of the creatures that had saved them and the one that survived the killing curse.
So, Harry sat there in the chair beside Draco's bed. The curtains were closed and the silencing charm still on them. The only sound that would emmit from them would be if Draco were to worsen. Madame Pomphrey had told Harry when he'd returned that Draco was in a magical coma, he may never awaken, and could not survive without the IV potions she was providing. He'd just been hit too hard. She wasn't sure how he'd even made it this far, or how she hadn't noticed it before when he was there. She assumed the curses and whatever else he'd been hit with, were still working within him- causing his condition to worsen.
Harry thought back on the night Malfoy had reappeared, drifting away from the book open in his lap. The dragon thing that had encircled them had been frightening in itself, rows and rows of needle like teeth gleaming this way and that as it snarled. It's tail...feathers... if that's what they were- were razor sharp, having sliced the bottom of Hermione's robes off as it passed. The color it had been reminded Harry of spilled blood. The other creature... the... he didn't know what it was. It had survived the killing curse. It didn't seem as terrifying to him though he knew of at least two students who had... relieved themselves...when it had covered them with it's massive wings. Ron, Harry and several other members of the DA had thrown themselves against the wings to try to escape and had been cut when they did so, like road rash. Yet, Harry had walked away from the battle completely unscathed. He wondered if Bellatrix and the others had followed Malfoy and Zabini to the school, and how long they'd been running.
With that he glanced back up at the blonde lying in the bed next to him, scarred and dying. He couldn't help but to be curious about the boys story. How had he made it? There were so many questions he wasn't sure he'd ever ask. Harry glanced back down at his book, greatful to Hermione for giving he and Ron the ones with illustrated pictures of each character. That way he could just skim through all of them. Ron had been livid and Hermione upset that Harry would most likely be staying the night in the infirmary. They had understood however, that it wasn't something he could talk about and let it go quickly.
Harry thought he heard Draco move and shot up, spilling books everywhere. But, no, Draco still lay still, breathing a little better now in Harry's opinion. He leaned over the blonde to the table on the opposite side of the bed to get a better look at the vials hooked up to him. He would have to regrow bones, there was one for internal bleeding, fever, dreamless sleep, several pain relievers, flesh repairers for the fresher wounds... the list went on. It was insane to Harry how Malfoy hadn't died. He glanced down at him, looking again at the scars that covered the boy. How long had Voldemort kept him there? What had he wanted with him? Harry leaned back to a standing position, just surveying Draco.
It was then that he spotted the large circular scars on the back of Malfoy's hand. Harry glanced up at the boy again before grabbing one of his hands in his, turning it over. Just as he'd suspected the scar went straight through. It was rather large and he noticed the entire hand felt like jelly. This would have been where Madame Pomphrey removed bones for regrowth. Harry assumed they'd grown back together incorrectly and she'd had no other choice. Reaching for the other hand and pulling it closer to see, Harry discovered the same scar on the other hand. Curious, Harry pulled the sheet up covering Malfoy's feet and looked, the same scars were on both his feet, through and through. They'd nailed him to something to hold him there for sure. It disgusted Harry and he became dizzy with the anger from it.
Stepping back so that he wasn't so close to the blonde, Harry slid on one of the books he'd dropped and fell forward. His upper body landed hard on top of Malfoy and Harry cried out, trying to get off of him quickly. The bed was on wheels and had moved suddenly to the right and Harry did his best to keep it from hitting the vials and knocking anything over. Draco let out a cry in his sleep and Harry jumped backwards, staring down at him. He was just dreaming and the alarm didn't sound so Harry couldn't have made him worse. He leaned back over to check the dreamless sleep potion. If Malfoy's dreams were anything like his, he'd need more. Yet, there the vial was, full. The bed hadn't even touched the table. He thought he could hear footsteps and he quickly pushed back, careful not to fall again. Harry grabbed up the books he'd dropped and stacked them quickly.
He had just sat back down when Madame Pomphrey swung open the curtains. Behind her stood none other than Blaise Zabini.
"Oh, Dray..." he moaned, collapsing in the chair opposite the side Harry was on, "you should have never removed the charm... he's going to be so upset..."
"The charm, Mr. Zabini, is why Mr. Malfoy is out cold. His body couldn't take any more magic outside of his own!" Madame Pomphrey snapped, turning with a huff and flurry of her night robes before leaving. Harry and Zabini stared at each other.
"They don't know if he'll make it..." Harry offered.
"I *know* that Potter!" Blaise lashed out over his friend, Draco moaned again and then more sofltly Blaise tried again, "I mean, I know, they told me. I'm just upset. He's going to be upset about the charm. I'm the only one who's ever seen him this way. He's very vain, you know." Blaise took Draco's limp hand in his and stared quietly.
"Are... are you charmed too?" Harry ventured. Blaise just nodded quietly.
"Draco... Draco... please come back. I did it Draco, Hagrid and I did it- the school..." he teared up, "the school will be safer. They'll all be safer Dray- can you hear me?"
Harry felt very awkward and got up to go.
"Um, I guess I'll be leaving now..."
"NO!" Blaise yelled, then checking his composure, tried again, "no, Potter, stay. I do have to go. The adults want me in the Headmaster's office. They're having a pow wow of some kind. Just... just do me a favor... please?"
"Well that depends. We're not exactly friends you know."
"Draco... he's very sick. Very very very ill, they did some crazy stuff to us..." Blaise paused and appeared to be thinking. Harry interpreted the look as Zabini remembering their pain and suffering. He didn't realize that Blaise was now 'getting his Slytherin on'.
"They had a curse, dark magic, I've never even heard of and the last four generations of my own family have been Death Eaters- plus, I'm in Slytherin. It was ancient, old, like decrepit magic. Apparently, the only way he'll heal is if someone he hates or that hates him- even dislikes, one way or the other, has bodily contact with him. So, I know you guys fought a lot..." Harry paled considerably when he realized where this was going, "so could you like... I don't know hold his hand or... something, just while he sleeps?" Harry blanched, "you don't even have to hold his hand Pot-Harry. You can just put your hand on his arm or whatever... I'm sure it would help an awful lot." Blaise could see the embarrassment Harry felt so he added,
"I'm good at charms Potter, I'll lock the curtains, no one will see you- I promise. It's not like you're molesting him here. I'll make sure no one finds out either- I just... I just want my best friend back." He added an extra sad pout for good measure, feeling hypothetical horns grow at the top of his head, "and I'll come back in a few hours, before sunrise, I swear on my life."
"I'll think about it." Harry mumbled.
"B-But... Potter..."
"I *said* I'll *think* about it." Harry snapped.
"Okay well... I've got to be going though. If he does wake up...tell him I'll be back. Tell him I accomplished...what we were doing. It'll make him happy."
"Will do, Zabini," Harry snapped, watching the slightly younger Slytherin leave- "locking" the curtains behind him. "You'd better not fucking disappear again either!" Harry yelled at his back, not realizing Blaise couldn't hear him. He turned to look down at Malfoy, still just as vulnerable, still way too skinny.
"It's disconcerting really, Malfoy. You're such a bull headed asshole, you know?" Harry said, sitting down and not caring if the blonde could hear him or not, "Personally I can't believe you'd get yourself caught up like this. You are vain... boy, you're gonna be pisssssssed. Though I can't say I'm happy about that. It's sad really, I would have thought you knew enough dark magic to escape..." Harry paused, "and maybe...I'm talking to a wizard that hates me who can't even hear me because he's in a coma. I'm even talking to myself. You see the shit you get me into Malfoy? DAMNIT!" Harry threw himself back in his chair with that, picking up another book and thumbing furiously through it's pages before tossing it angrily to the floor.
Harry picked up another, and another, going through them at a lightning fast speed. Occasionally he'd look up to see the same picture- Malfoy, in a coma. Ever unmoving. He thought back on what Blaise had said. He didn't hate Malfoy... though he supposed he did dislike him. On second thought, Harry didn't even know the Slytherin. The boy he grew up fighting with would have been on the other end of the wand- not the position he was in now. Harry sighed. Did Draco hate him? They did fight a lot... and Harry couldn't think of anyone Draco appeared to hate more than himself. He honestly didn't even know why he was doing this, sitting here watching over him. Maybe he felt that he knew what Draco had gone through more than anyone else- besides Zabini. He too was covered in scars from Voldemort- though not like Draco. Sighing again, Harry positioned his chair to be right up next to the bed and reached up to pull the Slytherin's hand down to hold while he read the one book without pictures Hermione had sent.
He was half way through the book before Harry glanced back up at Malfoy, he really was looking a lot better. Maybe Zabini had told the truth! Then he noticed that the blonde's breathing pattern had changed... and his hand, he'd moved his hand to his chest on his own! Harry hadn't even heard him move. He almost laughed aloud.
"Damnit Malfoy, that asshat told the truth! You're gonna be okay!" He paused, not releasing the Slytherin's hand, thinking. Draco appeared to be having another nightmare. He'd have to remember to talk to Snape about the age on those potions. Occasionally, they didn't work on Harry either. Especially with the nightmares involving Vold- Harry's chain of thought stopped.
Voldemort. Was that what Draco was dreaming about? Ron sometimes crawled in the bed with Harry when he dreamed like that. Neville, Hermione and even the Weasley twins had done it for him as well before. Should he go get Blaise to help the blonde? What if he woke up while Harry was gone? Harry highly suspected he'd panic. He could hurt himself... and he wasn't about to hold Draco's hand with anyone else there, how embarassing.
"You fucking owe me Malfoy! I want a new broom. And chocolate frogs... so many frogs. So many. This is crazy." Harry said, placing his own locking spell on the curtains and climbing into the hospital bed with the sick teen.
He lay there, very stiff, an arm placed over Draco's chest, his hand on top of Draco's.
"This is so bloody uncomfortable." Harry growled. He hated the hospital beds. He shifted around again, careful not to mess up any of Madame Pomphrey's work. He found that there was no way to do this comfortably- not in this bed. Not without cuddling.
"For FUCK'S SAKE!" Harry roared, sitting up and readjusting himself; this time he draped a leg over one of Malfoy's, hand in the same position and his head on Draco's shoulder. It was actually kind of nice. Malfoy did smell good now that Poppy had used a scourgifying spell to clean him.
When Harry awoke, a few hours before dawn, it was with a start. He didn't know where he was, but it didn't take long to remember. Not with the artist style fingers draping over his shoulder, Draco having pulled him in closer. Nor the platinum blonde head resting on his chest. Their legs were entangled together, both of Harry's arms wrapped tightly around the Slytherin. He hadn't meant to fall asleep. Carefully, he tried to pull away, checking his watch. Had Blaise come back? If he had, he couldn't have gotten in. Nor could Madame Pomphrey. They could all be standing right outside the curtains, waiting. Right now. This would be hard to explain...
Harry hadn't realized it right off but Draco was moving. He nuzzled his head into Harry's chest, inhaling deeply. His arms tightened around Harry's shoulders. Then, what Harry had been waiting for, happened. Draco's platinum head snapped back and charcoal gray eyes stared back into emerald green. Shocked, Harry pushed away from him, and promptly fell in the floor. Hard.