A/N: There is a scene in this chapter that's a little bit… disturbing. I don't think it's anything that should change the rating from PG-13 to R, but I thought I'd give a warning.
A/N: Thanks, as usual, to my lovely betas James and Kristin. *glomps them* And everyone else who has reviewed, I love you. Two more chapters left `till the end.
"You wanted to see me about something, Harry?"
Harry blinked at Dumbledore, who was sitting across from him at his desk. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Harry slouched down in his chair and tried not to look the headmaster in the eye. "Yeah, err… I had a dream…"
Dumbledore leaned forward, the good humor disappearing from his eyes. "When?"
"When I was in the hospital, right before Madam Pomfrey released me," Harry paused before continuing, feeling somewhat silly sharing a dream with Dumbledore. "Voldemort was there… I think that he was trying to get me to tell him the prophecy. But it was… different from the… other dreams."
"Hmmm," Dumbledore said mildly, seeming to know exactly what Harry meant. "Why don't you tell me about it."
Harry did, leaving out large portions of what had happened before he met Voldemort. When he finished his account, Dumbledore stared off into space for a very long time, an unreadable expression on his face. Harry cleared his throat, eager for Dumbledore's input.
Slowly Dumbledore shifted his eyes to Harry's face. "Voldemort is desperate to learn what was in that prophecy."
Harry felt a flash of indignation. "Well… yeah," he said, struggling to maintain his composure. "I know that. I just… thought you should know about what he said, is all."
Dumbledore let out a long sigh. "The time is coming, Harry, when you won't be able to come to me for all the answers you seek."
Realizing that Dumbledore had almost unknowingly echoed his own part in Harry's dream, Harry felt a crushing disappointment. Dumbledore would be little help in deciphering Harry's strange dream. "It felt… real, everything that happened, the time I spent there. I'm not sure who was in control… him or me…"
"You're connection to Voldemort is something that even I don't fully understand, Harry. It is a connection that you are both battling for control in. Voldemort is beginning to understand that controlling your subconscious is not as easy as he hoped. You're stronger than you believe yourself to be."
Harry blinked, thinking. "How do I make it more difficult for him, Professor? I can't… I don't think this is something I can lose…"
The headmaster heaved a long sigh and leaned back in his chair, eyebrows furrowed as he thought. "I think that, perhaps, the time has come for you to determine that on your own."
"But-"
"I do not know, Harry," Dumbledore cut in, the regret evident in his voice. "I don't know."
A lump gathering in his throat, Harry kept his gaze on Dumbledore, feeling a sense of urgency rising in him. "Professor," he said quietly. "Do you think that Voldemort's going to… this summer… Hermione'll be unprotected and…"
Dumbledore lifted a hand to silence him. "I've thought of that. Several protective wards are being placed around the Granger's residence."
"Several?" Harry repeated. "That's hardly… Voldemort threatened her. He knows that I'd do anything if she…" Harry trailed off, suddenly embarrassed.
The headmaster seemed old and tired as he slowly got up from his desk and began pacing his office. "I'm well aware of that, Harry, just as Voldemort is. Your love for other people has long been what Voldemort has used against you time and again."
"I know," Harry said, beginning to get frustrated. "But this is different. This is… I don't know what I'd…"
Again, Dumbledore merely lifted a hand to silence Harry's angry tirade. "There's not much I can tell you that you don't already know, Harry." Dumbledore paused, seeming to grow older with each passing minute. "You're growing up quickly, more so every year. What do I have left to reassure you with? What wisdom can I possibly give you?"
Harry stared at him soundlessly, thousands of questions on his lips. To Harry, Dumbledore had long held the answers to even the most impossible questions, a never-ending void of knowledge and wisdom. Yet, here he was, telling Harry that he had nothing left to give, that he was old enough to make up his own mind.
"Is Hermione…" Harry began hesitantly, suddenly desperate for Dumbledore's keen insight. "Do you reckon that it's… that we're… that we…. I mean to say, that my loving her is…"
"Is exactly what makes you strong and what makes you weak, Harry. She is your greatest strength, yet your
greatest weakness." Dumbledore's eyes crinkled in sympathy. "I must say, at first I was quite concerned
that Miss Granger had become your blind spot. However, as time wore on… it became apparent that it was her you'd
ultimately need to defeat Voldemort."
"I don't care if he knows," Harry said suddenly. "About the prophecy. Maybe then we could finally get it over with."
"Perhaps," Dumbledore said serenely. "Or perhaps it would only bolster Voldemort's desire to kill you."
Harry shrugged a shoulder, feeling a sudden apathy towards the entire situation. "Yeah, `cause that'd be wildly different from all the times he's tried to kill me in the past."
Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled slightly and Harry was relieved to see some of the old humour return to him. "It's your judgment call, Harry. Bear in mind, however, that Voldemort's first concern is and always will be his own self-protection."
***
Harry returned slowly to Gryffindor tower. Exams were only days away. Hermione nearly had an aneurysm when she'd learned he was taking an hour break from studying to speak with Dumbledore. Exam stress did not make Hermione the most pleasant person to be around and Harry silently resolved to drag her away from her books for a little while. It had been a long time since they'd had silent time together and, after his talk with Dumbledore, he found himself craving the simple comfort of her presence.
Reaching the Fat Lady, Harry was surprised when the portrait swung open and a familiar red headed sight greeted him. Ron's face was completely hidden behind two broomsticks, one of which was Harry's Firebolt.
"Ron…" Harry said, somewhat surprised. "What're you doing?"
Ron shoved Harry's broomstick at him. "C'mon," he said. "Fancy a game of pick-up? Seamus and Dean said they'd meet us out there."
"Err…" Harry said, disturbed to find that the prospect of Quidditch did little to entice him. "I'm not sure if…"
"Harry," Ron cut in, looking a little irritated. "I've been waiting on your for ages. Nicked your Maurader's Map, wanted to see what was taking so long. I knew I had to cut you off before Hermione found you. She's on a steaming rampage, I reckon she thinks that you purposely went to see Dumbledore to annoy her."
Not finding the prospect of having Hermione annoyed with him particularly appealing, Harry made to go around Ron, slightly angry when he refused to move out his way. "Ron, I'm not in the mood, okay? Maybe after exams…"
"That's three weeks, Harry! It's just one game of Quidditch! It's not going to bloody do you in!"
Momentarily stunned by the anger in Ron's voice, Harry took a step back. "I'm sorry, Ron. I just don't feel like it."
Ron's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Are you going to go study some more?"
Harry shrugged. "Dunno. Thought maybe me and Hermione could go for a walk."
Harry knew that he'd made a mistake as soon as the words left his mouth. Ron chucked his broom at the wall, his face beginning to get flushed. "Oh, is that it?" Ron snapped. "You can go for a walk with Hermione, but you can't be bothered to head down to the Quidditch pitch?"
"C'mon, Ron, what's gotten into you?" Harry said, desperate to get out of the situation. "I've had a long afternoon, okay? I just need a bit of quiet."
"Well, fine!" Ron yelled. "Quidditch can be quiet, you know!"
"No it can't," Harry yelled back. "Besides, I just told you, I don't feel like playing Quidditch."
Ron let out a hollow laugh. "That's bull, Harry. You just want to spend all your free time with
Hermione-like you always do. It's not enough that you eat together, that you study together, whatever free time the
pair of you have is spent taking nice long walks around the lake! What if I wanted to go, Harry? What then? Would you
tell me that walking with three people is too loud?"
"Of course not, Ron," Harry said impatiently. "But you haven't been around much, either. You're with Luna practically every night. So don't blame this all on us."
"I've been with Luna because when you two are together you don't notice that I'm there! I could disappear for all you'd care!" Ron stopped, breathing hard. "Face it, Harry. Things have changed. You don't… I'm not the best friend that you used to need."
"For Merlin's sake, Ron! There's no need to get all dramatic about it! That's hardly the truth. You and Hermione are the only people in my life that I-"
"Hermione's the only person in your life that you need!" Ron bellowed, face turning a deeper shade of red. "I'm so tired of only being needed when you're not around each other! We used to be a trio! We used to be inseparable! You wanna know what we are now, Harry? We are nothing. It's Harry and Hermione, and Ron. Don't you see that?"
"Of course it's Hermione and Harry!" Harry shouted, taking a step closer to Ron and bawling his fists. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but Hermione's my girlfriend. If you want to carry on about how left out that makes you feel then fine. I don't care. But you know what, Ron? You're a prat if you think your friendship suddenly means nothing to me."
Ron looked dangerously close to punching him and Harry almost hoped that he would, just so he could have an excuse to release some of his own built-up anger. "Well, what else am I supposed to think, Harry? For all you care, I could disappear and you wouldn't even notice!"
"You don't really think that," Harry said in a low voice.
That gave Ron pause. "I don't know what I think," he admitted, seeming to gather himself together. He picked up his fallen broom before turning back to Harry. "For a long time it was difficult to live in your shadow. But I never thought… I never thought I'd have to live in her shadow."
Without another word, Ron hefted his broom over his shoulder and headed down the corridor. Drained, Harry turned back to the portrait hole, where the Fat Lady had fallen asleep.
"Podfungus," Harry said loudly, waking her up.
The Fat Lady gave a startled jump and narrowed her eyes at Harry. "Finally done shouting, I see," she sniffed.
With a grunt, Harry entered the Gryffindor common room, tiredly swinging his Firebolt in one hand. He returned it to his dormitory, taking a bit longer than was necessary before returning to the Gryffindor common room. There, he surveyed his surroundings, unsurprised to see a familiar head of bushy hair bent obsessively over a book. He smiled a little to himself, resolving to get both of them out of the castle.
"Hey," he said quietly, reaching her side.
Hermione's eyes finished scanning the page she was reading before slowly raising her head. Her eyes were blurry and a small spot of ink had collected on her right cheek. Harry smiled, rubbing his thumb over the ink spot until it vanished.
"Hey," she said drowsily, yawning a little. "Don't think that you can save yourself from a lecture just because you're smiling all cute and sheepishly at me."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
"Well-good, because I've been waiting here for the last two hours, Harry, and exams are only…" Hermione trailed off, focusing on his face. "What's wrong?"
"Lots of things, actually," Harry said honestly. "Do you think… I know you're busy, but… will you come for a walk with me?"
"I…" Hermione glanced down at her books and seemed to struggle with herself for a moment. Frowning, she
resolutely shut her book before standing up. "Of course I will, Harry."
He smiled gratefully, taking her hand. Outside the castle, they silently made their way to the lake. The sun had just set and the darkening sky cast ominous shadows around them.
The water was a still and dark pool and the quiet was broken only by the hooting of an owl from somewhere within the Forbidden Forest.
Her curiosity getting the better of her, Hermione gently tugged on his hand to bring him to a stop. "What's going on, Harry?"
Instead of answering, Harry tipped her chin up and leaned down to kiss her. All other thoughts flew from his brain as their lips met. He concentrated on the feel of her in his arms, the soft touch of her lips against his, and the peace that settled down around him as they kissed.
He wasn't sure how long they kissed for, only that time stopped having meaning. While they kissed, nothing else mattered. Finally, Hermione's insistent pushing on his chest broke the spell and he pulled away, feeling slightly dizzy.
"You…" she said, her breath coming out in short gasps. "Are avoiding the question."
Her cheeks were slightly flushed and her lips swollen from their long snog. Harry cupped her cheek with his palm, her skin feeling warm against his hand. "Uh huh," he finally responded, leaning forward to kiss her again.
"Harry," she managed to say sternly, between kisses. "You're… should… what's… tell… me… going… on…"
They broke apart and Harry felt he last few hours settle with a heavy weight on his mind. He took a deep breath to clear his head and reluctantly pulled himself out of the shelter of her arms. Hermione reached for him, frowning a little when he continued to back away.
"Harry, I swear to God, if you don't tell me what's troubling you this very instant, I'm going to-"
"To what, Hermione?" he said, voice harsher than he intended. "Maybe it's not any of your business."
She flinched, but met his eyes. "Well," she said calmly. "I'm assuming that you took me out here because you wanted to talk. Because, quite frankly, if you were only using me as a way to keep your mind off things, then I'm going back inside."
Harry shoved his hands in his pockets. "I do want to talk," he said quietly.
"Good," Hermione said, swallowing hard. "Then we don't have a problem."
Harry clenched his jaw. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "I didn't mean to snap at you. Or to make you feel like I was just snogging you to escape dealing with everything."
"That's alright," she said gently. "Now, please, Harry… just tell me what's going on."
Harry nodded glumly. He started with the strange dream he'd had in the hospital wing, relating to her every encounter he'd had in it, right up to his meeting with Voldemort. Though her eyes widened in several parts, she didn't once interrupt. He told her about his meeting with Dumbledore and the Headmaster's insistence that he could no longer give Harry the advice he needed. Finally, he ended with the meeting he'd had with Ron outside the portrait hole. She gasped when he told her the words they'd exchanged, but she still did not interrupt.
Harry gratefully let the words pour out of him, relaxing as he continued the story. Hermione had settled herself down in the grass at some point, but kept her eyes trained on his face as he recounted everything that had been happening. When Harry finished, he realized that he'd been pacing and he suddenly felt ridiculous, standing there, waiting for her to respond. Unable to meet her gaze, he started kicking at pebbles on the ground in order to vent his anger.
"Harry…" Hermione's voice was soft, but calm. "Harry, it's okay…"
"It's not okay!" he said loudly, kicking a pebble with more force than was necessary. "Nothing's okay! Ron hates me! Dumbledore can't help me! Voldemort's controlling my dreams! It's not okay."
"Ron doesn't hate you," Hermione said, a little bit of amusement in her voice. "He's just jealous, but he certainly doesn't hate you."
"Then I'm tired of him being jealous!"
"Honestly, I'm not all that surprised-don't you see, Harry? It's difficult for him-he's been your best friend for so many years…" Hermione thought for a moment. "I suppose he feels like I'm taking away his place in your life."
Harry scowled. "I don't care, okay? It's not my job to constantly reassure him!"
Hermione sighed. "No, it's not, but..."
"I've got other things to deal with!" Harry burst in furiously. "I've got… I'm just so tired of it all…"
Hermione's hand was on his arm and Harry finally raised his head to meet her eyes. She smiled softly at him, her eyes warm and calm. Barely aware of what he was doing, Harry pulled her closer. He pressed his face to her neck, releasing a long breath when her fingers gently came up to comb through his hair.
"Harry…" she murmured. "I promise you, one day… it'll all be okay…"
Harry closed his eyes, allowing the simple pleasure of Hermione's comfort to wash over him. As before, time ceased to have meaning. He was only aware of his beating heart and the way he could hear each breath that passed through her body.
"I wish so much," Hermione whispered. "That you didn't have to feel all the pain that you do, that things had been easier for you. I wish that you weren't Harry Potter… I wish it was someone else who had your responsibility." Hermione paused, her fingers stilling in his hair as she prepared herself for her next words. "But… at the same time… how can I? How can I wish to take away everything that makes you the person you are?"
Harry pulled away from the warmth of her embrace, staring at her in disbelief. "The person that I am? Hermione, I'm not anything special! I'm grumpy and stupid and I make loads of stupid mistakes…"
"And I love you," she said calmly. "For who you are. I know you don't see yourself as much, Harry, but you're everything to…" Hermione stopped herself and smiled apologetically. "Remember when you saved an irritating know-it-all from a troll when you were only 11-years-old?"
"Oh, well…" Harry said, beginning to feel embarrassed. "Ron also-"
"Came because you made him," Hermione said, still smiling. "I knew, from that day on, that I was going to stand next to you in whatever you faced because you'd never run or try to pass the difficult stuff off on someone else."
Harry swallowed, amazed by her absolute faith in him. Taking her hand, he slowly rubbed his thumb in circular motions over the back of her hand. "Hermione…"
"Shhh, it's okay," she said quietly. "You don't have to say anything. I know."
Harry nodded mutely. By unspoken agreement, they decided to return to the castle. They walked without speaking, but Harry felt as though a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
They entered the castle, the halls dark and abandoned. Harry gave Hermione a sheepish smile. "Sorry," he mumbled. "Guess I talked a little longer than I thought. You don't mind, do you?"
Hermione waved a hand. "Harry, I've been your friend for six years. If I haven't learned to break the rules by now then I'm terribly afraid that we just won't ever work out."
They shared a smile and stealthily crept along the hall, trying to be as low key as possible. "I'm a prefect, you know," Hermione said softly. "I could lose my badge for taking these late night snogs."
"Talks."
"Oh, that's right. When we get caught for being out after hours, we'll just explain to Professor McGonagall that you needed to talk. I'm sure she'll be perfectly understanding."
Harry stopped and frowned at her. "Sarcasm is not appreciated."
"I was hardly being sarcastic, merely pointing out the reality of the… what are you doing?"
Harry grinned and steered her up against the wall, his hands settling themselves on her hips as he pushed up against her. "Well-if we're going to get in trouble for snogging-might as well make it warranted…"
Hermione giggled and managed to put up a decent show of trying to look irritated with him. "Harry, we have to set an example, you know…"
"Yeah…" he said easily, leaning forward until he could feel her breath against his nose. "Let's do that…"
"Not…" she said haltingly. "This kind of an example…"
"And what example should we be presenting, then?" Harry asked innocently.
"Well…" Hermione said hesitantly, her resolve quickly crumbling. "That's… uh…"
"Yeah?" Harry prompted, even as her arms wound around his neck to pull him closer to her.
Their lips were a hairsbreadth away when a low chuckle shattered the moment. The noise sent a shiver down his spine and Hermione let out loud gasp. Slowly, Harry turned around, trepidation creeping over him.
Malfoy. Only it wasn't just Malfoy, he'd brought an entire gang of Slytherins with him. Harry recognized Crabbe and Goyle standing by his elbows, but there were at least four or five others he'd never met. In typical Slytherin fashion, what they lacked in brains they made up for in sheer massive bulk. Malfoy was standing in front of them, a large, cocky smile spreading across his face.
"Well, well, well," he said slowly, looking delighted. "Hardly an appropriate display for a Gryffindor prefect, Miss Granger. Good thing we put a stop to it before things got out of hand."
Harry heard Hermione take in a sharp breath. "Harry," she whispered, sounding frantic. "My wand… it's gone..."
Keeping his eyes on Malfoy, Harry surreptitiously checked for his own wand, unsurprised to find that it was missing from his pocket. He felt his heart rate go up a notch, the danger of their situation beginning to sink in. Without their wands, he and Hermione were all but powerless. Physically, they were no match against the much larger Slytherins.
Malfoy's eyes were glowing. `He planned this,' Harry thought. `He knows, he knows that we can't find our wands and he's savouring putting us in this position.' For a long time, Malfoy did nothing but stare, pure joy written on his face. As the seconds ticked by, Harry found himself growing increasingly nervous. There was pure malice written on Malfoy's face and the rest of the Slytherins were quivering with barely concealed eagerness. They were surrounded, backed up against a wall, and at that moment it didn't matter that Harry had fought Lord Voldemort himself, he felt the helplessness of the situation press down upon him.
Hermione seemed to come to the same conclusion he did, he could feel her body begin to tremble. She was gripping his arm with force that was painful. Malfoy continued to watch them, his smile widening in anticipation.
"Malfoy," Harry said, trying to keep his voice perfectly controlled. "We don't want any trouble."
Malfoy took a step closer to him. "Is that fear I sense, Potter?"
"Of you?" Harry said, raising his eyebrows. "If you remember correctly, I'm the reason that your daddy's in jail. I hardly think you're going to be much more dangerous."
"Oh, Harry, don't…" Hermione moaned faintly, gripping his arm even tighter.
Malfoy's eyes glinted, flickering over to Hermione before settling back on Harry. "About that," he said, taking a few steps closer to them. "I never really thanked you properly. Father taught me to always stand by your family."
Harry felt his stomach drop as tendrils of fear began to creep inside him. Instead of answering, he glared at Malfoy, praying that someone would find them. Snape, anyone, because the look in Malfoy's eyes told him that the Slytherin wanted revenge.
"I suppose you've noticed by now," Malfoy said conversationally. "That you've both misplaced something rather important." Slowly, Malfoy withdrew two objects from his robe, which Harry quickly identified as his and Hermione's wands.
"Stealing a witch or wizard's wand is a crime, Malfoy," Hermione said, voice controlled. "This time you've gone too far."
Malfoy laughed and, after a moment, the rest of his Slytherin gang joined him. "I promise you, Granger, that we will be committing much more serious offenses tonight than stealing your wand."
"Touch her, Malfoy, and I will kill you."
Harry was surprised by the steel in his voice, though he had meant every word. The Slytherins looked a little startled by his dark tone, stopping their laughter and glancing questioningly at each other. Malfoy merely smiled wider, approaching Harry until they were staring eye-to-eye with each other.
"Careful, Potter," he spat. "You're fondness for the Mudblood might be used as a weakness."
If Hermione hadn't been gripping his arm with such terrified force, Harry probably would have launched himself at Malfoy. But despite the roaring in his ears, Harry stayed where he was, determined not to leave Hermione vulnerable.
"You're vile, Malfoy," Hermione said in a choked voice. "Absolutely horrid! Ambushing us in the middle of the night, you know you outnumber us! Taking away our only ability to defend ourselves…" Hermione trailed off and steadied herself. She dropped her voice. "You're a coward-you're nothing more than a coward."
Harry could tell that Hermione had struck a nerve. The smile vanished from Malfoy's face and he backed up several paces, his fists clenching. Harry's heart began to pound. Sudden worry for Hermione had him back up against her, trying as best he could to shield her from harm.
Malfoy glared at his gang of Slytherins. "What are you doing?" he demanded, gesturing angrily. "Go! Grab them! Seize them! Whatever… just do it!"
Harry's worry turned to nearly full-blown panic. He bawled his fists, intending on doing something, anything to defend himself. It was only Hermione that snapped him out of his momentary panic.
"Don't fight them," she whispered, letting go of his arm. "You'll only provoke them further. It's what Malfoy wants. I know you feel you have to protect me, Harry, but you can't beat them physically. You know you can't."
Harry knew she was right. Swallowing hard, he allowed his arms to drop uselessly by his sides, not putting up a fight when two large, meaty Slytherins grabbed him by the upper arms and wrenched him away from Hermione's side. They slammed him against the wall on the other side of the hall, keeping a firm hold on his arms. Malfoy looked disappointed that he hadn't put up a struggle, but watched Harry hopefully as Goyle easily twisted Hermione's wrists behind her back and held on with one hand.
Hermione winced a little in pain and Harry felt his anger soar to new levels. It took all his self-control to hold himself in place.
"Malfoy, of all the stupid things you've ever done…" Hermione's voice was trembling and she took a deep, steadying breath. "This is, by far, the stupidest. Do you really think that no one's going to notice that Harry and I are missing? Do you really think that you can get away with whatever you're planning?"
Harry ignored the vice grips the two Slytherins had on his arms and hastened to continue Hermione's line of thinking. "Do you really think that Dumbledore doesn't know everything that happens in this school, Malfoy? If you think that you can just-"
"Just what, Potter?" Malfoy spat. "Do you think that I fear that great Muggle-loving halfwit? Times are changing. Because of you, my father is in jail. But the Malfoy family has always served the Dark Lord." Malfoy paused and stalked towards Hermione, stopping to meet her defiant gaze. "Malfoys, Miss Granger, can get away with anything."
"I'm not afraid of you," Hermione snapped. "If you think you can intimidate me, you're wrong."
Malfoy pretended not to hear her. "You know, Potter," he began calmly, studying Hermione with an intensity that further sparked Harry's anger. "For a mudblood, she isn't half bad. Of course, when she first arrived here, all bossy and bushy-haired, I doubt anyone believed that she'd be snogging the Great Harry Potter in six years time."
On cue, the Slytherins dissolved into fits of howling laughter. The ones holding on to Harry leered at him, great grins lighting up their faces. It made Harry feel sick and he watched the scene enfolding before him with growing horror, the whine of panic in his head growing louder.
"And does it bother you, Malfoy," Hermione said crisply, her voice hard and audible over the guffawing laughter. "That, me, a Muggleborn, everything you despise, is far more powerful and cleverer than you, a pureblood, can ever hope to be?"
Silence. The Slytherins were all staring at Malfoy and Hermione, their mouths hanging open. Malfoy seemed stunned and he blinked at Hermione a few times before her words sunk in. A scowl twisted across his mouth and his eyes visibly darkened. The Slytherins drew in a breath, watching Draco expectantly.
"She's right, you know, Malfoy," Harry said quietly, his heart beating very fast. "For all your "pureness" you didn't even have enough balls to take us on with our wands. Hermione's right, you're nothing but a weak, petulant, coward."
Harry's words had the desired effect. Malfoy's attention swung from Hermione to focus on him. Eyes narrowed, Malfoy approached him, stopping until they were a foot apart.
"Weak am I, Potter?" he breathed. "Answer me something… is this weak?"
Unblinking, Malfoy swung back and plowed his fist into Harry's stomach. For a moment, Harry was only aware of Hermione's sudden shriek before pain reverberated through his body. If the two Slytherins hadn't been holding him up, he would no doubt have fallen to the floor. Tears springing into his eyes, Harry sucked in a laboured breath and forced himself to meet Malfoy's eyes.
"Call off your goons," he gasped. "And we'll see who's stronger."
Malfoy's fist plowed into his abdomen again and Harry grit his teeth, more prepared for the blow. "C'mon, Potter," Malfoy taunted. "Stand and take it like a man."
This time, Malfoy swung his fist towards Harry's jaw. Head snapping back, a wave of dizziness overtook him, his legs buckling beneath him. The underside of his face screamed aloud in pain. It was nothing like the punch Ron had lain on him after his failed date with Hermione in Hogsmeade-this one was real. Malfoy knew was he was doing and he knew exactly how to inflict as much damage as possible.
"Harry!" Hermione shrieked. "Draco, stop, you're hurting him…. Stop… please, stop!" Hermione was practically sobbing as she struggled uselessly against the bind that Goyle had her in.
Paying her no heed, Malfoy focused on Harry again. "This is nothing, Potter," he seethed, eyes wild. "When the Dark Lord finally kills you-you'll miss this."
Malfoy used his knee this time, bringing it up into Harry's midsection with a sickening crunch. Harry gasped for air, his ears and head ringing. Coughing wildly, he tried to gather himself together before Malfoy continued his beating.
Malfoy paused momentarily, eyes traveling to where Hermione was yelling herself hoarse and pulling uselessly against Goyle's death-grip. "Shut her up, will you?" Malfoy said irritably. "Goyle, you know we can't have anyone finding them until we're finished here."
Goyle nodded and clamped a hand over Hermione's mouth. Satisfied with that, Malfoy turned back to Harry. He looked down at his fist, a small smile curling across his face. "You seem to be bleeding on me, Potter. Now… where were we?"
Body shaking, Harry tried to hold his head high. "You'll never win, Malfoy," he croaked out. "The only way you can get the upper hand is to tie me up… hardly says much about you…"
Malfoy's eyes were flat at his fist connected with Harry's ribcage. Harry closed his eyes, hearing something inside him crunch.
"C'mon, Potter…" Malfoy said cruelly. "I don't mind if you beg…"
"Got to hell," Harry managed to rasp out.
"I was hoping that you'd-"
"ARGH!"
Malfoy spun around, a look of complete shock on his face. Goyle was jumping up and down, waving his hand as little droplets of blood flew all over the place.
"That bitch!" he yelled, waving his hand. "She bit me!"
"What?" Malfoy hollered, looking furious. "You let her go?"
Goyle, suddenly realizing the error of his ways, stopped waving his hand with a look of horror on his face. "Oh… yeah…" he said sheepishly. "Oops."
"You stupid, brainless moron!" Malfoy shouted. "Where did she go?"
Harry tried glancing around, his heart sinking when he spotted Crabbe and another Slytherin dragging Hermione back down the hall towards them. Her cheeks were tear stained, her chest heaving as Crabbe roughly shoved her towards Malfoy. Harry struggled uselessly against his captors, everything in him filled with a fierce determination to try and help her.
"Good," Malfoy said approvingly. "At least one of you has got some brains."
Crabbe smiled eagerly. "Thought you wouldn't appreciate Potter's girlfriend running off."
"You're sick, Malfoy," Hermione said, voice breaking. "You're truly horrid."
"I'd tell you to bite me, but…" Malfoy trailed off and took a step closer to her. "Do you have any comprehension of what I'm going to do to you?"
Hermione was trembling again. "Please, let us go, Malfoy… you've proved your point…"
"I haven't proved anything," Malfoy said, leaning forward until Hermione shrunk back against Crabbe. "And you should know, I'm only going to hurt you so I can hurt him…"
"Malfoy, I swear to you, if you so much as touch her, you will pay," Harry croaked out, trying again to struggle free. The panic in his head was overshadowing any pain he was in, but the Slytherins didn't so much as bother tightening their grip. Harry could only watch, helplessly, as Malfoy stepped closer to Hermione.
As if in slow motion, Malfoy reached out to trace his fingers across Hermione's cheek. Hermione stayed perfectly still, tears in her eyes, but didn't make any other moves to defend herself. Harry met her eyes, surprised by the fierce determination he saw in them. `She's doing this to protect me,' Harry suddenly realized. `She's going without a fight because of… me…'
"Can't say Harry didn't warn you, Malfoy."
Malfoy and his goons whipped around as Harry felt hope blossom in his chest. He turned his head, amazement slamming into him at the sight of Ron, flanked by most members of the DA. They all had their wands out and were slowly moving toward Malfoy and his Slytherin goons.
Luna, Neville, and Ginny were at the front of the pack with Ron, but Harry could also see Dean and Seamus, as well as the Creevey brothers and several members from other houses, including Cho Chang.
Malfoy looked dangerously close to being sick. "Weasley," he said, backing up a step. "This… is a surprise…"
Ron's eyes were flat as he continued to approach Malfoy, the rest of the DA members with him. "You made a mistake, Malfoy. You should always make sure you have the entire trio accounted for before pulling some ill-conceived revenge attempt, you git."
For several tense moments, Ron and Malfoy faced off, the two of them starring eye-to-eye. Finally, Malfoy flinched and gestured to his goons. "Let's get out of here," he said, practically choking on the words.
"Give us our wands back, Malfoy," Harry said, trying to make himself sound firm but failing miserable at it.
Ron merely raised an eyebrow. "Taking their wands, Malfoy?" he asked, waving his own wand threateningly. "You bloody coward."
Malfoy scowled widely, but removed Harry and Hermione's wands from his pocket and dumped them unceremoniously on the floor. "This is far from over, Weasley."
Without another word, Malfoy turned and ran. After a few seconds, the goons followed suit. Against his valiant efforts to the contrary, Harry's knees buckled and he slid toward the floor. He pulled his knees to his chest and leaned back against the wall, the pain from Malfoy's beating beginning to hit him as adrenaline left his system.
"Harry!" Hermione and Ron cried together, rushing for him.
"Oh my god," Hermione said in a horrified voice, sinking down next to him. "Harry… are you… Oh, I'm going to kill him…." She trailed off, looking at Ron pleadingly.
"I'm fine," Harry managed, leaning his head back against the wall and coughing a few times. "Don't worry…"
"I'm sorry, mate," Ron said in a regretful voice. "Got here as soon as I could…"
A few tears trickled down Hermione's face. "Ron, we need to get him to the hospital wing."
Ron nodded soberly. "Yeah, okay… think you can walk, Harry?"
"Of course he can't walk, Ron!" Hermione shrieked, sounding hysterical. "Look at him! You never use your head, do you?"
"S-sorry…" Ron said, taken aback.
"Hermione…" Harry said weakly, reaching out for her. "It's…"
"Don't talk!" she said sharply. "It's going to be fine, you are fine."
Harry nodded weakly, too dizzy to do much else. Ron stood and pocketed his wand, turning back to the worried DA members. "We need to get Harry to the hospital wing, but they're going to be okay."
There was an instant flurry of talk and movement after Ron's pronouncement, but Harry found that he couldn't concentrate on any of it. With Ron holding him up on one side and Dean on the other, they slowly made their way to the hospital wing, flanked protectively by members of the DA.
Madam Pomfrey was horrified as soon as she got a look at him and he had no more than lain down when she was hovering over him. "Honestly, Mr. Potter, with the frequency I see you in here, I dare say you should be the one paying my salary…"
Harry merely grunted in response and closed his eyes, letting Madam Pomfrey hover over him. She waved her wand over his midsection and Harry felt warmth spread over the dull ache of pain. She repeated the motion over his aching jaw. Feeling better, Harry opened his eyes and struggled to sit up.
"Am I…?"
"Certainly not," Madam Pomfrey said scathingly. "You have several broken ribs, internal bleeding, not to mention the bruising you're going to suffer through later on… I've barely even started on you, Potter, so don't even attempt to go running off…"
Harry became aware that there was a loud scuffle going on just outside the hospital wing. He began to hear bits and pieces of voices and he was startled to realize that they were discussing that what just happened in his confrontation with Malfoy.
"It's preposterous to think that any member of this school would behave in the way these children are describing Mr. Malfoy of behaving…"
"I'm telling you, that's what we saw! Malfoy was all set to kill them, I reckon! If we hadn't gotten there in time…"
"Professor, Ron's right, we all saw what was going on… he had taken their wands from them…"
"Headmaster, I'm merely suggesting that it might be wise to get Mr. Malfoy's side of the story… after all, Potter does have a history of finding himself in these unfortunate accidents…"
"This wasn't an accident! He planned this! He stole their wands!"
"As you know, Headmaster, Weasley and Malfoy have a long history of mistrust, I would not put it past him to fabricate something of this nature…"
"FABRICATE???"
"And did Mr. Weasley beat up Mr. Potter himself, then, Severus?"
"Hardly, Minerva, I'm merely suggesting that it was dark and that Weasley here is jumping to conclusions…"
"Conclusions…"
"There are no conclusions…"
"It was Malfoy, Sir…"
"We all saw it…"
"If Ron hadn't gathered us all together…"
"Harry looked near unconsciousness…"
"Crabbe and Goyle were there, too…"
"Thank you, everyone, that will be all." There was a long moment of silence and Harry felt a sudden comfort at the sound of Dumbledore's calm tones. "Now, if you please, Miss Granger, did Mr. Malfoy lead an unprovoked attack on you and Harry earlier this evening?"
There was a silence that hung in the air before Hermione's simple, hoarse reply. "Yes."
Madam Pomfrey, who had stopped fussing over Harry in order to listen to what was happening outside the hospital wing, suddenly cleared her throat and turned her attention back to her patient. Harry stared at the doors, surprised when they opened and everyone came pouring in.
Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape led the pack, followed closely by Ron, Hermione and the rest of the DA. Ron had an arm around Hermione's shoulders, who was pale and trembling slightly. The three adults stopped dead in their tracks when they caught sight of Harry's physical condition. Madam Pomfrey stood protectively in front of Harry, radiating furry.
"If you please," she snapped. "This is a hospital wing, it is hardly procedure to have this many people bursting in on my patient. Mr. Potter here needs urgent attention."
Dumbledore's eyes softened immediately. "You are quite right, Poppy," he said gently. "We did not mean to intrude."
"No," Harry said firmly, sitting up and throwing his legs over the side of the bed. He faced them all, a determined look on his face. "I need to know… Malfoy, what's going to…" Harry stopped, a sudden thought occurring to him. "Something is going to happen to him, right?"
"Of course, Potter," McGongall said, her eyes flat. "Malfoy committed a serious offense tonight."
"He'll be gone." Everyone turned to Hermione, who had spoken up, a trembling note to her voice. She seemed surprised that she had spoken aloud. "I just mean…" she continued weakly. "He'll know what's going to happen to him. He said that… he said that V-Voldemort would protect him…"
Everyone but Dumbledore and Harry flinched at Voldemort's name. Hermione seemed to lose the rest of her energy and she clung to Ron, wavering slightly on her feet. Madam Pomfrey picked up on it right away and her eyes flashed indignantly.
"Well," she said irritably. "That enough! I will not tolerate anymore harassment of my patients tonight. Granger, kindly settle yourself down, you'll be spending the rest of the night in the hospital as well."
"Thank you, Poppy," Dumbledore said, smiling a little. His eyes swept over Harry for a moment. "I'd like a short talk with Harry first, if it's not too much trouble."
Madam Pomfrey struggled with herself. "His injuries…"
"Require immediate care, I know," Dumbledore said, still smiling indulgently. "It won't be long, I promise."
Everyone else left. Ron gently steered Hermione to one of the beds and looked hesitant to leave. After several pointed throat-clearings from Madam Pomfrey, he went, promising to be back first thing in the morning. While Madam Pomfrey went to care for Hermione, Dumbledore sat down on the edge of Harry's bed, eyes deeply troubled. Harry looked away from him, his body beginning to ache again.
"Harry, I believe I owe you an apology," he said softly. "What Mr. Malfoy did tonight… well, I must admit, I always knew it was somewhat of a possibility. I knew his dislike of you bordered on an all-consuming hatred, only intensifying last year when you managed to evade Voldemort again and his father was imprisoned. I had hoped that there was still time to change him, that Hogwarts could still offer him a chance to build his own future." Dumbledore let out a deep sigh. "For turning a deaf eye to the obvious warning signals, I am sorry. What happened tonight should never have occurred."
Harry looked away, eyes settling on Hermione. She finished drinking a potion Madam Pomfrey had given her and dropped off into sleep after mere seconds. Harry felt a sudden chill watching her. If Ron hadn't shown up… if Malfoy still had them cornered down in that hall…. He rubbed his arms, remembering his complete inability to do anything, his powerlessness without his wand…
He rubbed his eyes, feeling exhausted. "I don't care about what Malfoy did to me," he finally said. "He almost… I think he would've to Hermione…" Harry trailed off, unable to voice the words aloud. "Just to hurt me."
"As will be the same danger in the future, Harry." Dumbledore peered at him shrewdly. "Because the three of you together are powerful-much more so than alone. Voldemort would love nothing more than to destroy the bond you have with Ron and Hermione, especially with Hermione. And you must not let him."
Harry nodded numbly and Dumbledore stood. "Get some rest, Harry."
As soon as he was gone, Madam Pomfrey went back to hovering over Harry. "Here," she said, thrusting several vials of liquid at him. "Drink up."
Harry did, though they tasted terrible. She must have given him the same potion she had given Hermione because his eyes growing heavily. Grateful, he surrendered himself to rest.
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