DISCLAIMER: THE BOOK BELONGS TO J. I HAVE ONLY BORROWED BOTH CHARACTERS AND PLOTLINE.

WELL I HAD THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A LONG WAIT BUT THIS CHAPTER SORT OF JUST CAME TO ME AND I WANTED TO FINISH IT BEFORE I FORGOT.

CHAPTER 31

Waking up, Harry squint his eyes against the penetrating light in the room "Water" he croaked out, "Get me some water."

"Harry you're awake!" trying to sit up while looking around groggily, Harry laid his eyes on Darren who looked like a mess. He was sitting beside Harry squeezing his hand almost painfully with tears streaming down his face.

Then he abruptly stood up and ran to get Madam Pomphrey. Harry was still dazed and slowly realized he had been sleeping in the hospital bed and was trying to remember why. Suddenly the school's Head nurse and Darren came running through the door, Madame Pomphrey bearing a look of immense relief. Walking up to Harry she gently and efficiently gave him a thorough check up and deemed him healthy and out of any danger.

Harry looked from her to his beaming brother and asked what happened while slowly sipping on the glass of water Darren had poured for him. Madame Pomphrey told him that his fall from the broom had been from a great height so his spleen had been damaged causing a massive internal hemorrhage, he had also had several ribs broken and one that had almost pierced his lung. Harry didn't understand much of the medical jargon but gleaned from the tone of her voice that it had been serious. It had taken several strong potions, spells and close observation for nearly two days to save him.

Once Madam Pomphrey left to inform the teachers, Darren climbed into Harry's bed and gently held him. He pushed away the messy black strands of hair from his eyes and he let out a heart wrenching sob burying his face in crook of Harry's shoulder, rocking his brother carefully saying "I'm sorry" over and over again. Harry feeling tired and drowsy from all the sedatives started to cry as well looking at Darren and after some time feeling a bit better he registered what Darren had been saying and looked confusedly at him.

"Why are you sorry Darren?"

Darren stayed silent for a while and the stared to speak while hiccupping "I had made a promise to myself Harry, that during this match my first priority would be you. To help you in case you got hurt. I had been faithful to that promise until I spotted the snitch. I forgot myself in the excitement of it all, focusing only on catching it, and didn't even realize the bludger had been coming for me."

Then suddenly he shuddered and pressed himself closer to Harry, "When I had heard that awful crash above me, my hand had already closed over the snitch. Looking up to see what had happened, I saw you fall, completely unable to do anything. When I saw you hit the ground I went blank."

"I had been powerless to help you, and by the time I had reached you they had put you on stretcher and were taking you away from me Harry" he started to cry again "they were taking you away from me… they shouldn't have… they weren't supposed to… we're supposed to be together forever" he said crying openly without shame, "I couldn't protect you and they took you from me."

Harry held Darren tightly and said "I'm here now. I'm here, so please don't cry Darren. There was nothing you could have done. I saw the whole thing; it was a rogue bludger that was after you. How were you supposed to avoid it? As for me, I saw it come at you and did exactly what you would have done in a reversal of situations."

Darren stopped crying gradually, never letting go of Harry and fell in to a deep sleep. He had not slept for forty eight hours now, waiting for Harry to wake and now feeling warm in his brother's arms, he slept at last. Harry smiled softly at him wiping away the dried tears and fell asleep too.

"Didn't Draco come?" Harry asked, wolfing down large portions of breakfast on the morning of the third day he had been in the hospital wing. Darren had told him how Lockhart had tried to 'help' Harry, when Draco had come running from the stands and slugged him. Professor Dumbledore had held back the furious man and told placated him saying it was from the stress of the situation.

Now however, Darren looked a bit apprehensively and said "He came, Harry, staying till you had been declared safe. But Ron who had been waiting with me had been saying that you so amazing and a hero, when Draco lashed out and called you a fool and went stalking off in anger."

When Harry had kept quiet Darren asked him slowly "Harry, he really cares for you, doesn't he? At times I thought he cared only because you were my brother. Also I think I was a little jealous of him, since you like him so much but seeing him get angry on your account, looking at you like he really cared I understood why you like him so much. He's good for you, he lets you come out of that little shell you live in and that makes me happy." Harry smiled and then sighed Draco was going to kill him when they met the next time.

It was on the fourth day that Harry had been considered fit enough to leave. His parents had wanted to come and see him badly and had almost arranged everything with Dumbledore when Harry had told them it was stupid since they'd be home soon for Christmas and then they could fuss over him as much as they wanted to. Darren had stuck firmly to Harry tending to his every need and Harry had been happy to have so much of unwavering attention from him.

On coming to the great hall for breakfast he found some people clapping for him and cheering for him for so heroically taking the hit for his brother. Hiding his reddening face he almost ran to the table and sat down trying to disappear when he remembered Draco. Turning around to search for him, he saw him deep in conversation with Blaise Zabini not even looking at him once. Harry felt a bit angry, what had he done that had been so wrong that it warranted such coldness. He sent a short note to Draco to meet him in the classroom after dinner that evening and started to eat not waiting to see his expression.

On the way to his first class which was transfiguration, he bumped into Ginny who had had a haunted look on her face. "Ginny" he called trying to catch her attention but she just kept walking ahead not bothering to respond.

"She won't answer you." said someone standing beside him. Looking to his side, he saw it was Colin Creevey, the boy Darren had been avoiding because he had taken to stalking him around taking photographs of him all the time "She's really changed" he said.

Standing unmoving Harry silently watched her retreating back disappear into the crowd, noticing that people always kept a distance from her.