latest charge…a mini-dog-looking-thing that had a strange fish-like tail and webbed paws.

“You mean you read the book too?”

“No, 'Mione told me. What are you going to do?”

“What can I do? I like Draco Malfoy as much as you do.”

“Which isn’t very much then,” Ron met Hermione’s glare. “What? I’m being truthful.”

Harry smiled softly. “I know you’re trying your best to support me, Ron. Stop looking at him like that, Hermione. After all, as long as I don’t reject Malfoy over there, nothing bad happens.”

“Are you sure about this Harry?”

“Positive. I will not be bonded to Malfoy.”

“Thank you Merlin,” Ron muttered under his breath, earning another glare from Hermione.

All three started at Pansy’s shriek. “Professor! It’s Draco! He fainted!”

Hermione turned shocked eyes to Ron and Harry, who shrugged and continued watching the sleeping “mini-dog-like-thing”.

“He couldn’t have heard us Hermione. He’s half a field away, for Merlin’s sake. You could hardly see him from here,” Ron pointed out.

Hermione nodded. “Yes, I’m just jumping to conclusions.” But deep down, she wondered if she was jumping to the right conclusion. “Harry, you know how you always carry your cloak with you?” she asked, emphasizing “cloak” so Harry would know what it meant.

“Yeah, why?”

“May I borrow it?”

“Sure…wait right now?”

“I want to find out what’s going on.”

Harry shook his head but relented. “Just make sure you don’t get caught.”

Hermione nodded, slipping into the shadows of invisibility.

Lucius Malfoy burst into the infirmary, wings snapping in anger, followed by a somewhat irate looking Professor Snape who’d been sent to fetch the elder Malfoy. All eyes in the room (which included any staff who weren’t teaching at the moment) were trained on the boy lying, deathly pale, on the bed.

“I don’t know what happened,” Madam Pomfrey said worriedly. “ording to Hagrid, he just fainted. There was no cause. He doesn’t have any characteristics of being sick…he just won’t wake.”

Lucius cradled his son’s hand in his own, his fingers tracing the vein back up the boy’s arm to the point when it was nearest the surface. Draco’s blood was as cold as ice. What had Potter done? For the first time in his life, the Malfoy facade threatened to crumble.

“Dumbledore. I will be taking Draco to his room,” he spoke abruptly, his eyes searching out those of the Headmaster and then those of Snape. The Potion Master’s own eyes widened in recognition as Dumbledore gave his permission despite Madam Pomfrey’s protests.

After Lucius had left, cradling his son’s body to his own as if he would never have the chance to do so again, Snape spoke. “Don’t bother trying to protest, Pomfrey. Draco should at least be able to die in his room with his remaining family.”

“Die?”

Shrouded eyes widened as Hermione made her way out of the room. Draco had heard Harry. Now all she had to do was get to Harry to tell him. But would Harry care enough to save him even though that meant practically chaining himself to Draco Malfoy for the rest of his life?

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