Twenty

"…Kago…me…?"

The Gryffindor girl felt something between elation and dread, as her heart attempted to tear itself from her chest with the quiet sound of his voice. Her hand stilled upon his pale cheek, cradling his face gently. The knowledge that he was alive had filled her with hope, but the knowledge that he had recognized her presence with a simple call of his name was unlike anything she had ever felt before.

"…me?" There was a slight flash of gray beneath his lashes, as his face twisted into a pained grimace.

Worry flooding through her, knowing he needed help, Kagome took only a moment to wipe quickly at her wet eyes. The world was a blur through her thick track of tears, but she tried to feel strong for him. "I-I'm right here, Draco," she told him, brushing his hair back away from his eyes. "I'm right here."

The Slytherin boy released a groan, slipping away from her once more.

"No, no, no," she cried desperately. Hysteria gripping her to the core, Kagome leaned into him and pressed her forehead against his own, hoping that he could sense her there. That he would come back to her again. "Please, don't leave me. This isn't how it's supposed to be."

Her newfound tears dripped onto his face, but the Malfoy did not stir.

"This isn't what I see," she whimpered. The blur in her vision clouded with the veil of the unseen, despite her best efforts to shake it away. The future seemed so bright and wonderful, suffocating her, even as she tried to press herself closer to the boy that never truly left her alone to dispel the sight. "You're always here with me, so please, don't leave me."

"…pid half-blood."

Kagome blinked down at him, breaking away from the unseen, as she felt the telltale sting at the soft insult. However, the feeling was swiftly swept away when she felt his cool lips press softly against her mouth. The Gryffindor girl nearly choked, returning the gentle kiss without the compulsion she had often felt from the future for the first time.

Draco fell away from her a moment later, weak and drained.

Listening to his labored breathing, another tear streak down her cheek. "Tell me what I'm supposed to do." She felt useless. She could not leave him while he was in so much pain, but what else was she supposed to do? The advanced magic needed to help him was not even taught until seventh year. "I don't want to leave you."

"Don't," his face twisted, as it became increasingly difficult to speak, "…cry."

"Don't tell me not to cry!" she snapped.

The sound that Draco released could almost be called a snort, if it had not been swallowed by his struggle with unconsciousness.

The frustration and anger she felt washed away with the quiet sound, leaving behind an empty hole in her heart. Kagome choked down another sob suddenly, as despair began to sink in. She was a witch, for goodness sake! She had been chosen to learn magic within one of the most prestigious schools known throughout the magic community! Did that not mean something?

But, what use was there for magic when she had not been taught one single spell that might help the boy she—?

The boy that she what?

The thought remained unanswered, hanging silently in the back of her mind, when the world seemed to suddenly tilt on its axis. Kagome felt herself sink heavily into the slip of gray that revealed Draco's struggle, with only the beat of her heart keeping her from fully fading away from reality. Voices slipped by her ear in a mere whisper, barely catching her attention, as her sight remained focused on the Malfoy heir that smirked lightly in her direction.

He seemed so real that she wished that he was, despite knowing that her gift could only reveal that which held truth. That the Slytherin lived in the future, that he survived, brightened the darkening spot in her soul and filled her to the brim with elation.

Her future spoke, the words drifting away uselessly.

"…Higurashi?"

Surprise flooded through her when she heard him reply clear as day. It was odd, though. Why in the world would he still continue to use her surname in the future? Was it simply because—?

Draco's mouth opened once more, but the voice was not quite right, "Miss Higurashi, if you would please."

Ripped away from the future in an instant, Kagome snapped her head up instinctively as her vision cleared. The hand settled heavily upon her shoulder barely registered before she felt herself being pulled away from the boy lying helplessly upon the floor. A gasp caught in her throat, her face streaked with tears and her robes stained with blood, she could only sob once more at the sight of Draco's salvation.

Professor Snape barely gave her a glance when he began to chant, "Vulnera Sanentur."

Note: I want to apologize for the wait. If you ever wonder why it is that I don't update nearly as often (or stuff that's nearly as long) as I once used to, you can blame my job and the fact that I'm addicted to playing League of Legends. I feel no shame. lol

KibaSin