A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews! I'll try and update faster but I thank everyone for their patience with my crazy finals schedule then the vacation that I took right after. A shout out to those at Emmawatson.net, I'll try and check out your thread when I get some time. This story is way too long, isn't it? It's growing into a monster!
The Unexpected Guest
My dad he gave me a name
Then he walked away
Daddy gave me a name
Then he walked away
My dad gave me a name
Father of mine
Tell me where have you been
I just closed my eyes
And the world disappeared
Father of mine
Tell me how do you sleep
With the children you abandoned
And the wife I saw you beat
I will never be safe
I will never be sane
I will always be weird inside
I will always be lame
(Father of Mine-Everclear)
~*~
"Okay."
"Okay."
"Right, then."
"Right."
Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville stood in a semi-circle around the silver cup with water inside. Hermione had gotten the idea, trying to break the horcrux by putting it with water again. Now they stood in the drawing room, alone, with Ginny and Luna out to Diagon Alley for some last minute holiday shopping. They stood there wondering who was brave enough to drink from the cup, their wands were drawn and at the ready in case something, and most likely, went horribly wrong.
"Wait," Ron said, "how do we know this will work?"
Hermione shook her head. "I don't know if it will. This is just a stab in the dark. We have to start somewhere, why not with what worked last time?" Ron nodded his head slightly as if in agreement.
"Okay," she let out a breath and reached out for the cup.
"No," Harry said firmly as he reached out and snatched her wrist.
"Harry!" she protested. "What are you doing?"
"I don't want you to drink from it. What if it works?" he said.
"That's kind of how it's supposed to work," she reminded him.
"Not you. I don't want you doing this."
Hermione gaped at him. "Harry, you can't stop me from trying to help you."
"Wanna bet?" he challenged her.
Neville looked between Hermione and Harry and Ron, whose attention was on his two best friends. Summoning his Gryffindor courage he reached out and grabbed the cup, touching his lips to the cool metal and drinking the water inside.
The trio, startled at what he had done, held their breaths.
Neville looked at them then shook his head. "Nothing, sorry."
A collective sigh came from the group, happy that nothing had happened to Neville, frustrated that they had to come up with something new.
"I think Hermione may be onto something when she said that maybe a specific potion would be needed," Harry said grimly.
"Can you think of anything in Voldemort's past or present, a potion that has some sort of significance?" Hermione asked him.
Automatically, Harry's hand went touched the crook of his other arm. "One but I seriously doubt that is it," he said quietly. Hermione reached out and held his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"I'm going to keep checking in the books. There must be something we can try," she said determinedly.
They heard the front door open and Harry quickly took the cup and left to hide it, Ron and Neville sat down on opposite ends of the chessboard and Hermione plopped down onto a sofa to read.
"Hey guys," Ginny said cheerfully as she and Luna entered the room. Their cheeks and noses were red and they still had snowflakes that were melting on their hair. "You should've come with us."
Ron wrinkled his nose. "Shopping's not really my thing," he replied.
"Whatever," she sighed and plopped down next to Hermione. "So, anything exciting happen in this house while we were away?"
~*~
Harry came out of his bathroom after his shower, rubbing his damp hair with a towel. Hermione was on his bed, thumbing through a book.
"There's got to be something in here," she said to him. She was wearing a dark violet slip with pink lace trimming. Her creamy smooth legs rested the length of the bed, crossed at the ankles, her hair fell in soft curls.
"No luck?" he asked.
"Not yet," she muttered and turned the page.
Harry crawled up onto the bed and plucked the book from her. "Then try again tomorrow," he whispered before capturing her lips in a kiss. She moaned softly and brought her hands up to his shoulders, feeling the damp skin beneath her fingertips. Harry dropped the book off the side of the bed then placed both his hands on her hips, sliding her down the bed to rest on her back. Conveniently, the action caused the slip to bunch at her hips and he became delirious with delight when he discovered she wasn't wearing anything underneath. Hermione breathed him in, smelling the fresh clean smell of his soap and running her hands through his damp hair. He moved one hand from her hip and lifted his own hips slightly to remove the towel that separated them. He placed his hand against her and murmured the charm.
He moaned softly in her ear as he slid into her warmth, one hand slid under her and curled to rest on her shoulder, the other moved from her hip, up her thigh, hooking it on his hip before sliding back down to rest on the mattress next to her for better leverage. She brought her other thigh up, arching her chest to him as he kissed her neck, moving from one side to the other.
"Harry," she whimpered softly as he moved against her, filling her, moving back and forth within her.
He was losing himself in her oblivion. The friction of her inner thighs against his hips sent desire flushing through him. The coolness in the room soothed the heat that was coming from him from his exertion. The smooth satin of her slip against the skin of his chest felt wonderful and he brought his hand up to brush against her hardened nipple. Her mouth was hot and wet as he plundered it, mirroring the velvety softness that surrounded his cock as he moved in and out of her.
Her fingers tightened their grip on his arms, the telltale sign that she was very near coming and he broke their kiss to pick up his own pace. "Oh!" she cried out softly as he felt her walls around him become wetter and tighter, clasping him as he thrust into her a few more times before finally releasing himself.
He rested between her trembling thighs to catch his breath as she gently stroked his hair. He felt absolutely and blissfully spent, letting his eyes droop as he rested his head on her chest. He could hear her heart beating loudly and quickly.
"Harry?"
His eyes opened wide and met Hermione's. "Shit, that's Tonks!" he hissed as he unceremoniously pulled out of Hermione. She quickly scrambled off the bed and dove under it as Harry called out. "Just a mo, I just got out of the shower!" He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and opened the door. Thank Merlin his hair was still wet and he wrapped the towel around his neck.
"Yeah?" he asked, hoping that he didn't look too guilty. Hermione stayed quiet under the bed. She moved her hand that was resting on something when it caught her eye, a folder marked Case 2574991. Curiosity getting the best of her, she opened the file.
"Shacklebolt is downstairs. He said he wanted to talk to you about tomorrow's training or something," Tonks said.
Harry closed his eyes. "Oh I forgot he was coming by tonight!" he said as he closed the door behind him.
Hermione scooted out from under the bed and placed the file on top of it. In front of her lay pictures, presumably taken from a muggle surveillance camera, of her and Draco in the muggle jewelry shop. Hermione stared at them a moment before brushing them aside to read a report underneath them.
"The victim claimed to be attacked by a diamond choker necklace received from a Mr. and Mrs. Kensington…," she murmured. She looked up, "Draco!" she hissed angrily and closed the file, stuffing it back under the bed.
She went to the door and opened it. There were voices coming from downstairs, Harry and Shacklebolt were talking in the drawing room. Hermione tiptoed past, peeking inside to see the two of them huddled over a stack of papers. She slipped down the steps, careful not to step on the squeaky ones as she went by the coat rack and retrieved her pink trench and a pair of clogs. She quickly opened the door and slipped out.
*
She ran through the halls of Hogwarts, skidding to a stop outside of the Slytherin portrait door and retrieved her Head Girl badge to put it into the slot. There was no one in the common room, those that had stayed behind for the holidays must all be upstairs in bed. She went up the stairs to Draco's room and opened the door. She quickly found herself yanked inside then spun around, a wand pressed to her throat.
"For crying out loud, Granger!" Draco exclaimed as he lowered his wand, Hermione lowered hers as well. "What are you doing here?"
Hermione pushed him away from her. "Deal's off, Draco," she hissed. "I want to be released from our binding spell."
Draco took in her appearance, pink trench open to reveal a satin slip underneath that fell mid-thigh. "You came all this way to tell me this?" he asked.
"The muggle jeweler we went to was attacked by a diamond choker in your mother's collection," she explained angrily.
"What?!" He had the nerve to look genuinely surprised.
"I'm under investigation by the aurors, so are you! Draco, that's a serious offense. We could go to a wizarding prison because of this!" she shrieked.
"My mum doesn't own jewelry such as that. They lower the value of them, she only likes genuine gems," he replied.
"Why should I believe you?" she sneered. "You're a Malfoy!" she spat and he winced. "You pride yourselves on harming and degrading muggles and, and mudbloods!"
He grabbed her forearms and yanked her against him. "Never speak ill of me or my mother," he said in a slow and threatening voice.
Hermione didn't back down as she gazed up at him fiercely. "I want out of this arrangement," she said firmly.
"They're called Unbreakables for a reason," he replied coolly. "Believe me, if I knew how to release you from it, I would. I'm getting sick of associating myself with a mudblood as yourself."
"I could tell when you kissed me the other night," she narrowed her eyes as she said this.
Draco looked at her for a long time before releasing a quiet snort. "Believe me, that will never happen again." He let her go, taking in her appearance one last time. "You'd better get going. I'm sure Potty's bed is getting cold."
SLAP!!!
Her hand stung slightly where she had made contact with his cheek. His cheek was slowly turning pink as he stared at her with an unreadable look on his face. She stepped away from him and turned to flee.
Draco turned and placed both hands on his desk. "Fuck!" he swore and wiped everything off of it. He grabbed his cloak and a small package with a card on it, both tied together with red and green ribbon and he left his room.
Hermione was too far ahead of him, he heard her apparating as he reached the cellar of Honeydukes. He covered his tracks and made his way to the alley where he too apparated.
The alley in London that he usually apparated to was only a few blocks away from the hotel where his mother was staying. It was a quiet night, snow fell silently and Draco watched it for a brief moment before continuing on his way. But almost immediately, he sensed that he was not alone. From the shadows in front of him, stepped out a familiar figure.
"Hello, Draco," said the cool voice of his father.
*
Harry and Shacklebolt were still in the drawing room when she tiptoed past. She was upset and tired and welcomed the comfort of her own bed, slipping under the comforter and wrapping herself within it. She slowly began to cry herself to sleep. But it was a fitful and restless sleep. She only settled down when she felt the mattress sink behind her as Harry slipped in and wrapped an arm around her waist. Only then did she become calm enough to fall into a deep sleep when she heard his rhythmic breathing of rest.
~*~
"CRUCIO!!!"
"Aaaah!" Harry exclaimed as he sat upright, grabbing his scar.
"Harry, what is it?" Hermione said, startled from her sleep. He could see the grey dawn of early morning in her window.
"Lucius," he replied. "Voldemort was very angry with Lucius Malfoy," he gasped.
"What?" she gasped. "Harry, I thought you cleared your mind last night."
"I did but he can still punch through if he's really angry about something," he said with slight irritation. "Sorry," he muttered immediately.
"We should tell Lupin," she advised but Harry shook his head.
"I don't think it was that important," he said. "Whenever Voldemort is pissed at his own Death Eaters, that's good news for us."
Hermione stared at him.
"What?" he asked. "Look, I'll tell him later. I'm not going to over and knock on his door this early in the morning for this." Hermione continued to look at him. "I swear I'll tell him!"
Satisfied, Hermione lay back down with him, nestling her head on his chest as he wrapped an arm around her. Soon, she could tell he was asleep and if he could fall asleep that easy, maybe it really wasn't a big deal. Okay, well, it was a big deal but just not that big of a deal.
Harry snuck out of Hermione's room a few hours later and tiptoed down the hall. He had just about reached Ron's room when the door opened and Luna snuck out. She jumped when she saw him and Harry quickly covered her mouth as she let out a yelp of surprise.
"Shh!" he whispered and they both stayed silent for a moment until Harry removed his hand.
"Hi," she whispered awkwardly, both of them soooo busted.
"Hi," he whispered back, fidgeting slightly.
"So, I hear we're having French toast for breakfast," she said, breaking the silence.
"Oh, I like toast," he replied.
"Okay."
"Yeah."
They both moved past each other and on their way. Although, Harry could swear that she was faintly humming `Weasley is Our King'. He gave a silent thumbs up to Ron's door.
It was a crowded table that morning for breakfast as the Weasley twins and their parents flooed in to join them as Molly brought the food. But everyone was in good spirits and as Harry looked around the table at his friends, the Weasleys, Tonks and Lupin laughing and smiling and Hermione, beautiful at his side, he wanted to capture this moment forever, keep it forever locked in his memory and in his heart.
"Check out the newest decorations!" George said proudly, as he presented a small box at the table.
"We've nearly sold out of them and we put them out yesterday!"
Hermione took out one of the ornaments, a miniature Santa elf that stuck its tongue out at her then turned around and mooned her. Harry nearly sprayed his drink all over the table.
"You can't put these on the tree!" she exclaimed.
"Oh, they're brilliant!" Harry said cheerfully, taking another one out that made a rude gesture at him with its tiny middle finger.
"Lupin! Tonks! Potter!" Kingsley's voice rang out in the kitchen, bringing everything to a standstill.
"What is it?" Tonks replied, not hiding her dread.
"We have an incident at Hogwarts," he replied and gasps came from the students at the table as they all stood.
"What?!"
"What happened?!"
Kingsley held up a hand, gesturing for silence. "Draco Malfoy is missing from the castle."
"Oh…is that all?" Ron replied uncaringly as the faces around the table relaxed. Except one. Hermione slowly sat down as Harry watched her.
"I need you three up there," Kingsley ordered them and they reluctantly left the jovial atmosphere at the table.
Out in the foyer, Harry put on his jacket. His eyes fell on Hermione's coat. Looking around him, he slipped a hand inside one pocket and then the other, pulling out her shiny Head Girl badge. He dropped it back inside then followed the others out of the door.
"The students say that they saw him at dinner last night and then again in the common room where he retired to his room. One student says she heard a commotion in his room around ten o'clock that night, shouting. His voice and a young lady's voice before she heard a door slam. There was a loud clatter after that and then nothing." Kingsley explained to them as they made their way.
"Fight with a girlfriend?" Lupin asked.
"Maybe but none of the young women have stepped forward as the other voice in the argument," Kingsley shook his head.
"The portrait door?" Tonks asked.
"Vaguely remembers opening the door several times but to let people out, not in."
"Has anyone verified Ernie MacMillan's whereabouts?" Lupin asked. "When you use the Head Boy or Girl badges, the doors automatically open, no password needed."
"I'll check in with his family. I believe he said they were in Switzerland, skiing," Tonks offered.
"And Hermione?" Kingsley asked as Lupin and Tonks both scoffed at the notion.
"She was at Grimmauld," Harry answered.
"Yes but all night?" he asked.
Harry shifted uncomfortably. He hated lying, he wasn't sure, really. "Yeah, um, all night." Thankfully, his lie was masked as awkwardness at having to admit that he was with Hermione all night.
~*~
Hermione hung up the delicate glass ornament on the enormous tree in the drawing room. She looked up at the clock in the room. Harry and the others had been gone half the day already. To pass the time, she made herself busy by decorating the tree, the others joined her soon after. They were laughing and joking but she just couldn't bring herself to join in. Guilt ate at her. Was she the last to speak to Draco? Did she say something that made him go out and do something stupid?
The distant sound of the front door opening brought her out of her misery and she shook her head and picked up another ornament.
"MUNDUNGUS!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" they heard Molly shriek.
There was a loud moan of pain after that and the group scrambled out of the drawing room.
"Oh my God!" Luna gasped.
Molly and Mundungus were hovering over a pale young man covered in blood and moaning. Hermione grabbed on to the railing to steady herself. It was Draco.
"Have you gone mad?!" Ron said as he thundered down the steps.
"Why did you bring…him here?!" George said, hot on his heels.
"I couldn't just leave him to die in the alley," Mundungus defended himself.
"But you're not supposed to apparate someone in this condition! You've made his injuries worse!" Molly scolded.
Hermione found her strength and bustled down the stairs. She knelt down next to Draco who was still moaning. His eyes fell on her.
"Hermione," he cried in a soft whisper. She looked up at everyone standing there.
"Somebody go and find Harry!" she ordered. "And bring Madame Pomfrey right away. We can't take him to St. Mungo's in this condition." Draco reached out for her, coughing up blood as he did so. "Draco," she said to him in a stern but gentle voice. "It's very important that you do not move, okay?" She looked back up at everyone. "GO!" Everyone scattered.
She was left alone with him. Her knee was by his side and she looked down to see an odd shape in his pocket. She gingerly reached in and pulled out a wrapped package with an envelope wrapped in red and green ribbon. There was only one word on the card: Mum. Hermione bit her lip. He left to give his mother her Christmas present. She took the package and stuffed it underneath her sweater as she heard people coming back.
"Can we give him anything?" Ginny asked, looking down at him as he winced in pain.
Draco raised his head and coughed, spraying out blood as Ginny, Luna, Neville and Ron jumped back. He moaned loudly. With trembling hands, Hermione ripped open his shirt and the girls gasped.
His chest was black and blue, and as she peeled back the shirt, blood poured out of a cut on his lower left side. Instinctively, she placed her hand on it, putting pressure on it and ignoring the sticky warmth that flowed beneath her hand.
"Somebody give me something!" she called out to her friends. "A clean rag or something."
Neville quickly took off his sweater then tugged the t-shirt underneath off, handing that to Ginny who snatched it and did a quick cleaning charm on it before giving it to Hermione.
"I've never seen someone die," Ron said softly when he saw Hermione's blood covered hand when she put the t-shirt over Draco's deep wound. Draco hissed in pain.
"Shut up, Ron," Hermione said softly. "He's not going to die," she whispered.
The front door opened and the rest of the morning's company came running in accompanied by Madame Pomfrey. Harry stared down at Draco bleeding in the foyer and he was forcibly reminded of the time that he cast the Sectumsempra curse on him.
"Oh my goodness!" Madame Pomfrey shrieked. "What happened?"
"I found him like this in the alley," Mundungus explained. "I couldn't leave him there bleeding to death so I brought him here."
"You shouldn't have apparated him," Molly hissed.
"You apparated?" Madame Pomfrey looked at him. "His injuries could be worse. Let's move him to a bed, gently," she emphasized.
Hermione moved over as Arthur, Mundungus, Kingsley and Lupin stepped forward. "On three," Lupin said. "One…two…three."
Draco groaned loudly as they moved him carefully up the stairs to an empty bedroom that Madame Pomfrey could work in. The others followed behind and watched as they rested him on the bed.
Hermione looked over at her friends standing in the doorway, watching what was going on. Draco reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Don't leave…Hermione," he coughed. "I don't want to die." Hermione looked back to Harry, seeing his face for only a moment before Molly shut the door.
~*~
It was quiet in the drawing room as the Gryffindors and Luna sat, doing their best to keep their minds off the dying teen in the room across the hall. The door would open once in awhile when Molly would go and get hot water and clean towels. In that small moment when the door was opened, they could hear Draco crying out.
"Who do you think did that to him?" Luna asked softly.
"Who cares?" Ron shrugged, although it was said without conviction.
Harry was sitting behind a desk, quiet and pensive, with his feet propped up on it. He wasn't sure how long he had left Hermione last night to talk to Shacklebolt but was it enough time for Hermione to sneak out of the house and up to Hogwarts?
The door across the hall opened and Lupin, Mr. Weasley, Shacklebolt and Mundungus filed out. The teens stood, except for Harry as Lupin walked in.
"Is he…," Neville asked, unable to finish the sentence.
"No," Lupin replied. "He'll recover although it will take some time. Madame Pomfrey has given him a powerful sleeping draught. He'll not wake up until sometime tomorrow."
"He's staying here until then?" Harry asked. Lupin shifted uneasily. "Do you think that's wise?"
"Harry we can't move him to St. Mungo's just yet."
Harry frowned and got to his feet. "Where's Hermione?"
"She's down the hall in the loo cleaning up." Harry nodded and set out to find her.
He could hear the water running from the other side of the door and he slowly opened it. Hermione was standing in front of the sink, vigorously washing her hands. The white porcelain was stained with splashes of pink. Harry stepped in and closed the door behind him.
"Are you okay?" he asked, leaning against the wall next to her.
"I'm fine," she answered automatically. Harry looked down and saw that her hands were red and raw from the hot water and the repeated washing with the soap.
"Hermione," he said. She seemed to ignore him. "Hermione," he repeated. She still ignored him. He reached over and turned off the faucet and grabbed her hands. "They're clean, Hermione," he said, turning her to face him.
Her lower lip trembled and her face crumpled as she collapsed on the floor in tears. Harry sat down on the floor with her.
"They, uh," he began slowly, "they said that he had a visitor last night. A Slytherin third year heard him arguing with a girl in his room." He paused a moment and Hermione sniffled, filling the silence. "Was that you?" he asked.
She didn't say anything for the longest time and Harry considered go about another way but she finally spoke up. "I asked him to…negate, to go back on, what we," she gestured between the two of them, "talked about awhile ago."
Harry sighed. "You asked him to release you from your Fidelius or Unbreakable? Oh, Hermione…" He reached out to her, bringing her into his arms. He had asked some of the best aurors about those charms and vows and so far, no one had given him any hope on how to break her free from him.
"Sometimes when we feel cornered and trapped we do things that…we regret later on," he said to her. "We lash out and--."
"I didn't do this to him," she looked up at him fiercely. "I swear I didn't. You know I couldn't do something like this."
Harry looked at her. It was so easy to think that she would do something like that because Harry had daydreamed about pummeling the shit out of the ferret since he had learned that he had Hermione in a bind.
"Did he say who did this to him?" he asked.
Hermione shook her head. "He couldn't say much but…I think I have an idea who," she looked up at him. "His father," she finished. Harry let Hermione's guess sink into him.
"The things I said to him when I left," she sniffled softly.
Harry cradled her face in his hands. "Hermione, look at me," he said. "You always want to see the best in people, to believe that there is some good in them." Hermione closed her eyes and let a tear fall as her lip trembled. "It's one of the things about you that's…you. A part of you that I admire." He smiled softly at her before his face became serious again. "But there are some people in this world who are what they are and you cannot change them. There are people out there that do not have any good inside them. Trust me, I know," he said grimly. "And I don't want to see you destroy yourself by wasting the goodness in you on them. It's a waste of a precious gift."
That night, Hermione couldn't sleep. Images of Draco bleeding his life out before her eyes were permanently etched in her mind. Many times she had visited Harry in the hospital wing, his body bruised and battered and it ate at her, tugged at her heartstrings. But never before could she think it was possible for a father to do that to his own son. She was sure it was Lucius, the way he and his mother spoke about him, the hardness in Draco's grey eyes when he spoke about him. Lucius was searching for Narcissa for whatever reason and would use her Achilles heel, their son, to smoke her out. How any parent could do that to their own child was beyond her. She thought of her own happy childhood filled with warm and pleasant memories of her parents. She thought of what Ron's must have been like with parents that loved him like the Weasleys. She thought of the stolen one that should have been Harry's with his parents, the happy one filled with love instead of the cold and abusive one with the Dursleys. She thought of Draco's and wondered if that was how his childhood had been.
She gave up on sleep and tossed off the covers, the cool air causing her skin to goosebump. She put on a robe and some slippers and left her room, tiptoeing down the stairs. She opened the door to the room where Draco was staying and found Madame Pomfrey was awake and quietly reading a book.
"Hello Miss Granger," she said in a quiet voice. Hermione smiled slightly then her eyes shifted to the bed. "The first twenty-four hours are critical," Madame Pomfrey explained. "I want to be sure all the potions and charms are indeed working."
"How is he?" she asked.
"He's doing much better than I assumed he would," she replied.
Hermione nodded. "Would it be okay if I stayed and visited?" she asked.
"There's a chair over there," Madame Pomfrey said, nodding to a chair in the corner. Hermione walked over to it and sat down, curling her legs under her as she stared at the still young man lying on the bed.
She must have fallen asleep at some point.
"Hermione. Hermione, wake up," Tonks said, gently shaking her. Hermione looked up at her, blinking rapidly. She sat up straight in the chair and looked around her. Madame Pomfrey was gone but Mrs. Weasley was in her place. Draco was still lying silent and still in the bed.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"Almost eight," Tonks replied. "Breakfast is ready, are you hungry? Everyone is downstairs."
She got out of the chair and stretched. "Yeah, I'll go down."
Everyone was indeed up and chatting away at the kitchen table. She went to the cabinet, got a plate and served herself some breakfast. She plopped herself down at an empty spot across from Harry who slid a hot cup of coffee in front of her.
"Thank you," she said to him.
He gave her a small smile. "You weren't in your room this morning," he said in a low voice. "Rough night?"
"I couldn't get back to sleep," she replied. "Images of Draco bleeding to death are forever etched in my mind."
Harry frowned sympathetically. "I'm sorry you had to witness that. Images of death never really go away and I'm not sure they get any easier over time," he said in a far off voice. "I guess you just sort of expect the painful memory so it doesn't seem as shocking anymore."
Hermione knew he was speaking of his godfather and Dumbledore, both murders he had witnessed. She reached out for him and he met her hand halfway across the table, giving it a gentle squeeze.
~*~
He felt as if he were underwater. He could hear muffled voices and he felt as if he were swimming in darkness, swimming toward the light above. Then he surfaced and his eyes fluttered open.
He didn't recognize this room. It was softly lit, there was wallpaper in the room decorated in soft pink vertical stripes with little flowers on it. How tacky. His tongue felt thick and dry, there was a bitter taste in his mouth and when he swallowed, his throat burned painful. But he was very thirsty.
"Where am I?" he said in a soft and raspy whisper. Two faces suddenly hovered over him, Madame Pomfrey and…Weasley's mum?! His eyes widened with the realization that he was no longer in Hogwarts. Images came at him in a rush and he remembered his father's sneering face, the Crucios delivered, the boot that collided with his body, hitting his head, his ribs, his stomach, his legs. He knew he was going to die alone out there. Then he remembered someone picking him up, he smelled strongly of tobacco. He felt himself apparating and then pain, pain like his insides were being ripped out. He wanted to pass out from the pain but he was afraid that he would never wake up.
Then he saw her face. Hermione Granger's face hovering above him and he clung to her like a buoy in a turbulent sea. She had blood on her and he knew it was his, how much had he lost? He remembered feeling very cold and the pain, the pain. Then…darkness.
Now he felt as if he had awoken in some weird parallel universe.
"Hermione?" he croaked.
Madame Pomfrey nodded to Mrs. Weasley who left the room.
"He's awake," Molly announced to those that were sitting in the drawing room, carrying on in their usual evening activity. Harry and Hermione were sitting at a table.
"Has he said anything?" Harry asked. "Does he know where he's at?"
Molly shook her head as she walked to them and placed a gentle hand on Hermione's arm. "He's asked for you dear," she said softly.
"Oh," she replied and looked at Harry who shook his head. "Um, okay," she said uneasily as she got to her feet and crossed the room, feeling all eyes on her. Harry stopped her just outside of the room.
"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed at her.
"What am I supposed to do, Harry?" she replied harshly, yanking her arm from him.
She opened the door to the room, feeling Harry's eyes burning into her. Draco was sitting up as Madame Pomfrey was giving him a cup of cool water.
"Easy…small sips," she was saying to him.
Hermione stepped forward into view when he was done. He looked up at her then at Madame Pomfrey. "Could we?" She nodded and left the room.
"I'll be just outside," she said and closed the door.
"Where am I?" Draco asked her as Hermione took a seat on a chair by his bed.
"I can't tell you," she replied. "But you are safe here." Although I would stay away from Harry at the moment.
"I have to get out of here," Draco said. "You have to get me out of here."
"Draco I can't move you. Your injuries…you're still healing. You could do some serious damage," she replied.
Draco shook his head. "You don't understand…I have to leave. My father. He'll find my mother." He shook his head again and blinked his eyes. "What's the matter with me?"
"There's a sleeping draught in the water," she answered him. "You need it to help you heal."
"I have to get out of here. My father found me only a few blocks away from my mother. He'll find her. I know it." He was feeling very tired and his eyelids began to close involuntarily.
"I'll go," Hermion said. "I'll move her."
Draco's eyes shot open. "NO! Hermione don't! My father!" He felt as if he were being pushed underwater again, the darkness overcoming him as he flailed wildly in his dream state, screaming Hermione's name, fighting to get to the surface.
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