Chapter 17

Severus stared at Harry for a moment. They�d talked about him? "You talked about me?"

Harry refused to meet Severus�s gaze. "He wanted me to ask you to tutor me in Potions," he replied, fidgeting slightly.

"What else?" Severus asked, narrowing his eyes. Certainly something as simple as that wouldn�t make the boy so nervous.

"Um, that�s all," Harry lied. Severus�s brows furrowed, and, grabbing Harry�s chin in one hand, he turned the younger man�s face so he could look him directly in the eyes.

"Don�t lie to me. What else did you talk about?" he asked firmly. Harry swallowed hard. Severus could have sworn he saw fear flit across those emerald eyes.

"It�it wasn�t important," Harry replied, his voice dropping to a hoarse whisper. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn�t tear his eyes away from the Potions master�s. Staring into those dark orbs was causing a warm, tingly feeling to develop in his abdomen, spreading from his belly to his chest and�lower regions. What he wouldn�t give just to get lost in those depths�

Severus, meanwhile, was having quite the internal struggle. The boy didn�t realize just how tantalizing he was � those soft lips, those flushed cheeks, those beautiful eyes that he could have sworn were starting to cloud with desire� He couldn�t pull his gaze away. He desperately wanted � no, needed � to feel those soft lips beneath his, to taste the inside of that beautiful mouth, to run his fingers through that silky hair�

Before either of them could realize what they were doing, they began to draw closer to each other. Harry�s eyes fluttered closed as he waited for the soft pressure of his professor�s lips. He could already feel the man�s breath on his face�

A knock on Severus�s chamber door broke the moment, and they quickly pulled apart. Harry blushed wildly while Severus inwardly cursed, although he wasn�t sure if he was cursing because he�d almost kissed a student or because he had been interrupted before he�d actually gotten to do so.

Severus cleared his throat before answering the door, only to find an out of breath Ronald Weasley standing on the other side. He had to struggle not to strangle the boy. "What is it? I believe I told you to leave?"

"Hermione...hospital wing...Harry..." the redhead panted as Harry came up behind Severus to see his friend.

"Ron? What�s wrong?" Harry asked, concerned. "Calm down."

Ron took a few deep breaths before trying again. "Hermione collapsed and she�s in the hospital wing. She said she wanted to see you and�Malfoy," he nearly spat the name in distaste. He turned to Severus. "Professor, please, do you know where Malfoy might be?"

Severus sighed. He was hoping not to get dragged into this. "I�ll fetch him and send him to the Infirmary," he eventually ground out after looking down into Harry�s pleading eyes.

Ron looked quite relieved with that answer. "Thanks. Come on, Harry," he said, grabbing his friend�s hand and nearly dragging him, barefooted, to the Infirmary. Severus shook his head before heading for the Slytherin common room. The things he did for that boy�

"Harry Potter, where are your shoes?" Madam Pomfrey scolded the moment she caught sight of him. "Honestly, are you trying to make yourself sick?"

"Sorry, Madam Pomfrey," Harry replied, casting his eyes downward in what he hoped was a repentant look. She sighed and fetched him a pair of slippers.

"And don�t let me catch you wandering around the castle barefoot again!" she warned him before leading the two Gryffindors to their friend�s bedside. Hermione smiled weakly when she saw them.

"Hey, �Mione. How are you feeling?" Harry asked, pulling a chair up beside her bed while Ron did the same on the other side.

"I�ve felt better," she joked weakly just as Draco burst into the Infirmary.

"Potter, Weasley," he acknowledged the other two boys before directing his attention to Hermione. "You wanted to see me?"

Hermione smiled up at Draco weakly. "Yeah," she replied, then gave him a look. Draco�s eyes widened in comprehension.

"Is this about�?" he began, and she nodded. He sank down into a chair beside Harry, and Ron glared at him.

"�Mione, what�s he got to do with any of this? What�s going on?" the redhead demanded, turning his attention back to his girlfriend.

Hermione could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. Ron was going to hate her...

"Shut up, Weasel. You�re just upsetting her," Draco snapped before turning back to Hermione. "Go on," he urged her in a soothing voice. Harry hid his surprise at his tone, and instead focused solely on Hermione.

Hermione took a deep breath and swallowed the sob threatening to escape. "I think I�m pregnant," she confessed, her voice barely above a whisper. Harry gasped, and Draco just sent her a saddened look. Ron, however, exploded.

"You�re WHAT?! That�s not possible! We�ve never even�" He turned his eyes to Draco as Hermione began openly weeping. "YOU! You did this to her!" He lunged for Draco, but Harry jumped between them and held Ron back. "Let GO of me, Harry! I�m going to kill him!"

"Which is exactly why I�m not going to let you go!" Harry retorted, struggling with his friend.

"Hermione, I think you should explain," Draco suggested, not taking his gaze off of Ron.

Hermione quieted her sobs as Harry managed to get Ron under control. "Ron, Draco didn�t do anything to me," she began, looking at her enraged boyfriend. "His father did," she admitted. "The day when�you know�" They all knew what she was referring to, "�Macnair and Lucius�they�" she began crying again. Draco frowned, then turned to the other two boys in the room.

"They raped her," he said simply.

Ron looked as though his whole world had come crashing down around him, and he fled the Infirmary. Hermione began crying harder, and the two remaining boys looked at her mournfully.

"Hey, �Mione," Harry said in his most soothing voice as he took one of her hands in his, "it�ll be okay. Really. Ron�s just being hotheaded; he just needs to calm down."

"Yeah," Draco added, taking his cue from Harry and moving to her other side to clasp her other hand. "He�ll come back in here before you know it, feeling like a total git." He gently brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face and smiled at her reassuringly.

To say that Harry was surprised at Draco�s gentle behavior was an understatement, but he was grateful for it. Draco looked up at Harry and smiled, and Harry smiled back. Maybe he wasn�t all bad.

The two of them returned their attention to Hermione, who was beginning to calm down again. "Thank you," she whispered to the two of them just as Ron came charging back in, looking relatively calmer. He looked at Hermione, then at Draco and Harry. "I�m sorry, but could you two possibly give us some time alone?" Ron asked. Harry and Draco exchanged glances before looking down at Hermione. She nodded, and they released her hands and headed for the door. Before Draco left, however, he paused and glared at Ron.

"You make her cry again, Weasel, and I swear I�ll�"

Harry, sensing a potential altercation coming on, quickly went back and grabbed Draco by his upper arm, pulling him out the door.

The two boys leaned side by side against the wall outside of the hospital wing.

"God, �Mione..." Harry whispered to himself.

Draco turned his head to look at his rival. "You don�t think he�ll hurt her, do you?"

Harry shook his head. "Ron may be a stupid, stubborn git sometimes, but he loves her, and he�s smart enough to realize that this isn�t her fault," Harry replied, then turned to face Draco. "How did you know about this, anyway? Hermione never once even hinted that something like this had happened to her."

Draco smiled sadly. "I happened to walk in just as Macnair was starting in on her," he explained softly, his ice-blue eyes beginning to cloud with tears. "My father had already finished with her, I think," he added, as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

Harry�s eyes widened. He�d never seen Malfoy show this kind of emotion in public � it was considered a weakness. "Draco?"

"Yeah, the blond whispered back, quickly brushing the tears out of his eyes.

"Did..." Harry swallowed, then continued. "Did something else happen?"

"Not really," Draco replied. "I just bound Macnair and killed Lucius. That�s all." His voice had cracked on his father�s name, and Harry could see the tears building up in the other boy�s eyes. He came to a decision and, moving quickly, pulled the other boy into a tight embrace.

"Cry, Draco. Go ahead � I won�t tell anyone," he whispered into the Slytherin�s ear. That seemed to be all it took, because Draco suddenly clutched Harry�s robes and cried, his body shaking with the force of his sobs.