I don't own HP at all, period, ever, make no profit here. It all belongs to J. and co.
AN: Ok, so two chapters coming up full of action and drama. Hope you're ready!
Draco cracked his eyes open and peered about himself as best he could, which wasn't much. He felt…like the Hogwarts Express had used him as a piece of track. For the entire trip to Hogwarts. And back again.
No, that wasn't quite right. Maybe he felt more like Voldemort had used him as his personal practice dummy. The Cruciatus Curse made one ache in places one didn't even know existed, right? Or perhaps he felt as though he'd been dragged across hot nails, face down.
Or maybe he just felt like Harry Potter had tried to kill him by slicing him open.
Yeah, that was it.
With some effort, he opened his eyes a little wider and tried to speak. Someone was by his side in an instant, helping him sit up, pouring something down his throat, then gently laying him back down. His eyes flicked over the face of his helper and he managed to croak something out.
"You don't look like Pomfrey."
"Because I'm not," Severus snapped at him, though his brow was furrowed deeply with concern. "The curse you took is one of….my specialties. Therefore I'm best suited to look after you in these early stages of your recovery."
"So I will recover?"
"You're not dead, are you?"
"Beats me. I always figured I'd go to hell and here we are, so-"
"Flippancy does not become you in this situation, boy."
Draco fell silent and Snape fussed over him a bit longer before standing back and relenting.
"What were you thinking?" he asked in a low voice. "Confronting Potter?"
"I didn't," Draco replied. "He followed me. Like I'm in any shape to confront anybody these days."
"Well you certainly aren't now. Gods help us, I don't know how you're going to get through the rest of your task-"
He broke off Madame Pomfrey rounded the corner, a jar of salve in her hands.
"Here's what you asked for, Severus. Though why you couldn't just use-"
"Thank you, Poppy, that will be all," Severus responded coldly. Poppy gave a distinct harrumph and then left. Snape turned his attention back to his pupil. Without any ado, he deftly unbuttoned the pajama top Draco was wearing and separated the folds to expose his chest and abdomen. Draco started to look down at himself, but Snape caught his chin in one hand and met his eyes.
"Don't, Draco. It's better if you try to forget it entirely."
"Forget it?" Draco hissed. "Like it was just a bloody bad dream, Potter trying to kill me, just standing over me and watching me bleed as if he'd never seen it happen? Just bloody standing there-"
Draco broke off and jerked away from Snape as he felt tears choking him, streaming from his eyes. The sobs that would have wracked his tired body never came, though, because his still healing body was too weak to support them. So he suffered on for some minutes, staring at the wall blankly as tears fell, coughing pitifully when he wanted to scream, to howl his grief at the obscenity of it all. They were bloody children, supposed to be in the safest place for them, and here they were, at war with one another, pawns in the schemes of adults who were too impotent or too cruel to do for themselves. And as a result he'd nearly killed two students, might very well lead to the injury of others, and Harry fucking Potter couldn't even kill someone properly.
They were all doomed.
Severus let him cry for a few more minutes, then peremptorily rolled him back over and began applying the salve to his chest. Draco continued to sniffle through this process and when the noise finally stopped, Severus spoke, not looking up from his task.
"Feel better?"
"A little," Draco admitted.
"You're not wishing he'd succeeded, are you?"
Draco managed to snort at that. He would've rolled his eyes, too, but it just took too much energy.
"Hardly. I don't want to die. I might think things like that from time to time, but that's what you do when you've just been the cause of a fellow student's cursing. I mostly just want this to be over."
"Good. Well, under no circumstances-"
"I'm not going to go after him for retribution or something equally stupid. He's fucking dangerous."
"Language."
Draco did roll his eyes then. Snape expelled a small breath.
"You are dangerous as well, Draco. Don't forget that."
"What are you talking about?"
Snape would have gone on, but just then the sound of students at the door of the infirmary interrupted them.
"Ah, it seems you have visitors. That is my signal to-"
"Wait, Professor, what did you mean?"
Severus paused and glanced back at him, the concern on his brow still quite evident.
"Just that, Draco. We are all dangerous to one another right now. As we are all in danger. And Draco…"
"Yes?"
"You may want to button your shirt again."
Draco glanced down at himself, flushing, but realized that any sort of scars he might currently bear were all covered by a thick layer of the shiny, green salve. He wrinkled his nose and buttoned his top back up anyhow, then lifted his head to see Snape had snuck out, only to be replaced by Hermione standing at the foot of his bed, his mother right behind her.
"Oh, Draco," Hermione breathed, her lip quivering, and he felt his heart respond. Of course he would survive this. He had every reason to, right? Narcissa didn't say a word, just walked around to one side of him and leant over, pressing a kiss to his forehead.
"My son," she murmured, tears shining in her eyes.
"Mother," he whispered, then swallowed hard. Narcissa kissed him again, then straightened up, though one hand stroked his hair protectively, gently. She glanced up at Hermione, who was staring at Draco, her face drawn, eyes glassy with tears.
"I've been here a while already," Narcissa said, "working things out with the Headmaster and Severus. We're hoping to keep this fairly quiet, for the sake of the task. I just wanted to stay until you woke up, make sure you knew. Make sure…but I can stay longer if you want me to."
Draco held back, wishing she could stay, no, wishing suddenly that he could simply go home. But that would hardly do him any good, either.
"Go home, Mother," he said. "I'm alright now."
"Ok," Narcissa said. She ran a hand along his face, cupped his cheek. Then she pressed one last kiss to his pale forehead and swept away. She paused only at Hermione's side, to gently squeeze the girl's hand, before she left.
Then there was just the two of them, staring at one another, neither moving or speaking for what felt like a long moment.
"I'm so sorry," Hermione finally ventured, though she didn't move from her position. Draco blinked at her wearily.
"Why? You're not the one who tried to kill me."
"No-"
"And so maybe I deserved it, too," he said softly. "Just a little, don't you think? After all that's happened?"
Hermione shook her head.
"How can you even say that?"
"He's not the only one I've been awful to. You-"
"All that's behind us!" Hermione replied fiercely. "We agreed to all of this! And that…it's over. All we have is now," she finished, echoing Ginny's own admonitions to her. But it didn't make it any less true. She watched Draco's face, his body, and he finally closed his eyes.
"Fine," he breathed. "I don't want to argue about it. Not now."
"Not ever," Hermione said. "There's no point."
"Alright, alright," Draco said, opening his eyes again, cracking a smile and then wincing. Hermione was at his side in a second, but before she could reach down and kiss him, embrace him, he'd settled one hand on her belly and was caressing it, his face serious.
"Draco?"
He addressed her stomach.
"You hear that? All this is for you. I hope you're grateful, little witch."
"Draco!" Hermione gasped and grabbed his hand away. He smiled up at her weakly and she couldn't help returning the small grin. "Well, I'm glad you're feeling better, at least."
"Me too," he replied.
"And that…you're…"
"Still alive?"
"Draco."
"Hermione."
Their conversation ground to a halt briefly while she battled off more tears. Always the brave one, she was, he thought mildly.
"Why don't you pull up a chair. Sit with me a while."
"As long as I'm allowed," she murmured. "But alright."
"So," he went on, once she was settled, "how are you?"
"Me?" She looked up at him, startled, and then realized what he meant. She put a hand on her stomach and thought for a minute, then looked at him again. "Ok. We're ok. I was devastated when I heard, of course, but…no. Everything else is fine, at least."
"Good." He gave another weak cough and licked his lips, stared at her some more. As if he wasn't sure he'd ever see her again. Then again, he hadn't been sure of that, just a few short hours ago.
"I'm not going to see Harry for a long while," Hermione said abruptly. He gave a small start and examined her as closely as he could. She was nervous, and perched on the very edge of her chair, hands clasped across her stomach protectively.
"Why?"
"Because. With what's happened…I can't take it. He's been such an idiot all year…and I love him, like a brother, and he knows that. He knows I'll forgive him anything, but I can't be around him right now. Not after this. Not with how dangerous things have gotten."
There was that word again. Danger. They were all dangerous. He licked his lips again.
"Hermione…he's the better friend to have right now, not me."
"Oh, don't even bother with that, Draco. We've been over everything already and you're not going to change my mind. For my own mental health- maybe for his health, more like- I just can't stomach him right now. He needs to straighten himself out, for once. I clearly can't do it for him. So."
"So," Draco repeated. "What will you do, then, until school ends?"
"I've been thinking about that," Hermione said. "I even talked it over with Ginny, on the way here. She agrees with me. I only have to write my parents about it, but I think they'll support me too. What I'll do…I'm yours. From here until the end of school. By then the baby will be due, or very soon, at least. Once I've had her, I'll leave her home with my parents. We'll work out some way of protecting the three of them. And then…and then I'll do whatever I have to in order to help Harry. But until then, I'm yours."
"Hermione," Draco said slowly, "are you sure about this? Things are going to get very bad. What I have to do…the Order will be in the know, Hogwarts will be adequately protected, but that's still no guarantee…"
"I know all that," Hermione said. "And it's not as if I'm going to follow you around like a lost puppy. And I have no desire to chum about with your Slytherin friends. But as for my friends, my best friend…"
She trailed off and looked away, out the window. Draco wondered what she was thinking about, before another worry crossed his mind.
"Hermione, the baby- would you really leave her alone with your parents?"
"I might have to. Just because I chose to have a child doesn't mean I can avoid the fight. I'm a useful person, you know. They need me. Harry needs me. Just…not right now. But he will, and I have to be ready for that."
"But, your baby- right after you've had her? You can't-"
"Don't try and tell me now what I can and can't do!" Hermione cried out, before lowering her voice again. "All this year that's all anyone's been saying and I'm sorry, but I don't really have a choice in this, either. I knew, before I fooled around, before I decided to keep the baby, before everything, that I'd be in it with Harry, and Ron, helping to defeat Voldemort-"
"Hermione, please-"
"-and I'm hardly going to sit by just because I've a baby. Even if I want to be there for her, I can't! I want the best for her and the best means making sure there isn't a god-awful madman running amok all over the countryside, killing her kind, you see? Don't you see that, Draco?"
He was quiet, but reached out and took her hands in his, forced her to look down at him, to calm down.
"I see," he said quietly, over and over. "I see. I'm sorry."
"Me too," she whispered, awkwardly bending over their hands, wiping her cheeks against his bed linens. "I'm so sorry for it too, Draco. I wish it didn't have to be this way. I wish I could just be…normal. If that even exists."
"I doubt it does," he replied. "But it's ok. Who wants normal?"
Hermione laughed some and lifted her head again, straightened out her now protesting back, and they regarded one another silently again until, some moments later, Draco spoke, a small smile curving his lips. That ghost of a smirk.
"So," he said, "mine for the rest of term?"
Hermione wasn't sure if she should be horrified or laugh.
AN: Cooookie?