♣- Fidelius -♣

Warm streaks of light sneaks softly in between blue silky curtains, landing comfortably on your skin.

Is it morning already? You loosened your head and opened your eyes, catching a glimpse of the window on the wall behind. The warmth of the sunlight is really relaxing, it feels like you just slept for decades and your eyes felt really warm. Usually when you woke up, you'd feel really tired and immediately return to slumber before giving your step mother or Sam any slightest chance to force yourself up to the bathroom, but this time you feel really refreshed you won't even mind them wrestling you off the bed.


You then slouched your head a bit to the right to look at the wall clock.
Took you some sincere while to realize you're not inside your room right now since the clock is not there on the spot it supposed to be. In fact, your bed is surrounded by a thin, white screen. You reached the right side of your bed in, you realized soon, much more difficulty, and pulled it aside a bit to see what's behind, as a shadow of something tall and thin is visible from your side of screen. The room's a bit unfamiliar too upon more thorough scanning from a slight gap you made, and there are several other beds lined beside yours, neatly made up with sheets folded on one side.
You waited for a while. Your hand's on the screen still, and you sharpened your ears. It's really quiet. You wondered where you just slept in if you weren't in your own room.
Then as you advanced on pulling, your eyes swarming from corner to visible corner of the gap, your finger managed to came in soft contact with something, just a little bit away from revealing the source of the shadow -

Someone in his robe was sitting on a stool right beside the edge of your bed, gazing absentmindedly. He peered from the other side of the screen after noticing you're opening it.


"Been a good Aurora, have you."


"Draco,"
You pressed your elbow down the sheet of the bed to support your upper body. He stuck out his hand to pull the screen some more.

"You read stories? I never thought you had a normal childhood."

"What does that supposed to mean?" He lowered his head, his tone thundering in a silly way.
You laughed and tried to get a better position, but ended up feeling a flash of convulsive pain beneath the neck as you tried to lift it to certain height. Draco stared at you.

"Take another move and that matron would assassinate me."

"Would she? Why?"

"Your injuries."

"..I got injured?" You stared back at his worn out face. There's something in his look that seems to demand you to remember something.

"I'm..-"
He halted for a strange bit, and continued while looking away very nervously, "I shouldn't have brought you there."

Then a shot of memories suddenly swam through your mind, reminding you about what had happened last night.
It was on the Forbidden Forest; you were both looking for the Unicorns, and met two on the occasion. You both engaged in an unepic fight with them - you got hit once - one of the Unicorn chases Draco, and.. you couldn't remember the rest of it for some unknown reason.

"Does it hurt?" He asked abruptly.

"..I don't feel any pain. 'Cept just a small feel around my neck, not that it's that bad. What had happened back then?"

He shifted his sitting position restlessly, looking more tired than you had noticed. "You got hit by the Unicorn." He started with a hoarse voice. "And then you immediately passed to the ground, leaving me all the dirty job. For you to know, I got chased around the entire night like an idjit, and you just slept there on the ground like you just received an apple from the old witch. The next few minutes had me dried up, I tell you, carrying you up to the hospital wing isn't easier than lifting Crabbe, then I had to make up excuses for letting you recover here, save we both get detention for sneaking in to the forest." He explained breathlessly, but you can sense a bit of relief in his tone as he spoke. A snort then slips out of his mouth in a hurry, then followed by your laugh no sooner later.

"Laugh." He stopped and sneered, somehow looking dissatisfied. "Well, you're welcome, don't mention it!"

"I'm not that heavy," You gnarled playfully at him but quickly added, "I should've been more aware. Would've save you all the hard work. Sorry."

"No, I'm serious, go on diet - I'm not stopping you."

You scratched your head; half-smiling, half-scowling at his rude attitude, but then remembered another thing.

"What about the hair and blood?"

He flicked his nose, jerked his head to the cupboard next to him under the window which you wouldn't notice if he hadn't pointed it. A large bowl filled fit with fresh fruits and what seemed to be a remaining of an apple was put ontop of it. Next to it are two small transparent vials, located not far from two familiar wooden wands, glistering under the sunlight. Thin strings of pale hair streamed inside one of the vials, while the other is filled with some strange blue liquids inside.

"That, though," He inquired, as he pointed to the second vial, "came dripping out of the first Unicorn's back - the one you knocked over unexpected luck, using falling trees on your advantage.

Be thankful still I fetch it for you." He then added arrogantly.

"Well thank you, Mr. Handsome. Makes it twice the rescue, then," You giggled, and after a while, you both sat on a silent conversation between the eyes. You flickered your lashes furiously, wondering what made you say that last part. Draco didn't say anything; he just sit there on the stool, observing you even more cautiously just in case you really got hit hard on the head. You quickly looked away to hide your blush after he boomed a sudden sneeze.

"Look," he rubbed his nose and licked his lips to moisten it. "I'm sorry, okay? It was all my fault you got hurt."

You braved to look into his eyes again after few seconds, putting your brain in sudden wonder if this is really the Draco Malfoy you had known never willing to admit anything that's actually his' to blame, and replied, "Shouldn't feel so, you know. It's for the task Snape gave after all."

"That thing's skull's made of rock. It could've knocked a bear, made sure I thrown it hard enough - but it doesn't even looked bothered by it."

"They ain't ordinary creatures, certainly you know. Well, forget that, at least you got the damn ingredient." You chuckled. "I just hope the wound I made on the poor thing will heal up soon."

"How about 'just hope the wound that Unicorn made on you will heal up soon'?" He snickered, then without really standing and walking, slides his butt off the stool onto the edge of your bed. He faked a play with the screen when he actually was pulling it close.

"I reckon in the way this is your first time getting in the hospital wing?" He softly said as his finger left the screen and patted on the smooth blanket. "Feels great I bet, not having to be woken up by the mortal alarm clocks in your room."

"Feels great to woke up on my own will. That stool must've made you tired of sitting." You imploringly said at him, who's currently stretching his body up, producing small cracking sounds that came off his bones.

"Well," He dropped down his arms and played around with his eyes as he talks, "if you know how long I've waited for you to wake up since last night and by how I don't fall asleep after having a good marathon with the Unicorns, you would understand. The matron - who you'd call her again - Poppy? (a damp sneeze can be heard echoing from outside the dormitory just as he said so. He lowered down his voice in annoyance then continued) She won't allow me to place a single finger on the other beds, no matter how droopy these eyebags had gotten. Keep on saying how she tidied it up herself last month and that she's so proud of the tidiness she can't afford seeing someone not sick ruining it. I just have to rely on my back and the wall of course, rather than returning back once again to the forest to hurt myself just for a good sleep here; every now and then waking up just in case that Peeves had the stool or wall bewitched and make me fell through it. And earlier this day before you even had got your head up awake, every two minutes, sometimes twice faster, that old hag'll come around, smacking me with her feather duster, shooing me outside with an accusation of doing restricted things to you when she saw you change sleeping position. Men, she says." Draco stuck out his tongue. "And telling that you have to rest more than I believed you'll ever needed. Last time she came, you're still asleep and I have to hide under your bed so she didn't notice."

Stunned for what he had gone through in one night because of you, you can't help but blush and titter in your bed after he had done story-telling and looked at him, for the first time in your life, in respect and great overflowing happiness you couldn't understand yourself. You thought any morning couldn't felt so happy before.

"I'm flattered," You pinched his arm and chortled weakly, "but really, you don't think you should? After the tiring fetch, you should've gone back to the dormitory. I don't see any reason for you to stay if you couldn't get any rest here."

"Stupid berry," He leaned his head forward to you, gliding his eyes around. "if I left you here all by yourself, imagine what people would say after they found you this morning in the hospital wing unaccompanied by her supposed-to-be boyfriend."


Something in his words made you wince. Your mood sank several level quite suddenly, making you hesitant to talk. You are, after all, still in the drama you're both playing in front of the other students. Then you leveled your eyes down, looking at Draco's palm before taking a long exhale. He trails his finger down yours tenderly without you really noticing, then looked up at you in slightly worried expression ..or at least you thought so.

"..what's wrong?" He asked. His pale, grey eyes fixed on you rather distantly.
You chose not to answer.

"Your neck hurts?"

You gave an exasperated shook in the head then heard a loud sound of scuffling from outside the other side of the screen; the old woman who worked as the matron just swept inside the hospital wing, slides open the screen on your left-hand side, then greets you in a perky welcome.
"Why dear, such a fine morning, isn't it? The weather never gets so friendly before. I'm glad you've woken-"

And there's this sudden, alarmingly tense eye lock between Draco and the matron. Her favorable genial eyes, to your surprise, turned almost instantly to a much ferocious one, as though they were about to blaze out fires from your left side of the bed, while Draco's seemed to pop out in a terrified way from your right side.

"You're still here?!" She barked frantically, hopping back out of the hospital wing to the counter where you suspect she had left her mighty furry weapon. Without further lag, as you turned your head to the right, Draco flopped down from the edge of the bed hitting the stool, quickly grabbing his wand off the cupboard and said in a hurry as he stood unbalanced, one of his hands repositioning his shoe which had been held up the height of his knee, "If you have fully recovered, it'd help me alot if you get out of the hospital wing," before he sets off rushing outside in a remarkable speed. By the time you see him slamming the door and his footsteps had faded away from your earshot, you saw the matron came back to your bed from your left side, angrily equipped with a huge, brown feather duster, but looking rather flustered as to find no sight of Draco anymore.

"That boy!" She bellowed, so loud it made you jolt. "He even ate the apple I'd prepared for you! Look at that," She scurried out of sight behind the screen then reappeared again beside the stool Draco had just knocked, bent down to the cupboard top and picked up the apple remaining off the bowl with thumb and forefinger. "Best one I got off Diagon Alley for the nursed pupils, too, and he had to eat it while the table's over at the Great Hall is filled with gazillions of them! Well, I daresay, not as best though.."

Rather than defending him, you decided to just sled back down to your bed. Your eyes suddenly felt lazier than before, it's so tempting to close it again but it would be rude to the matron. You stroked your spine, then thought.
So all he did for you until now was under the impression of people seeing him as a good boyfriend, and that he wanted no more than to prove it was true?

Well, you don't expect for more yourself, knowing someone like Draco.. This is fake after all.
But you somehow couldn't help but to feel angry about it. Your ears are getting hot. And there's a great pang of unexplainable disappointment dwelling inside you.


You began to wonder if -


if you really do, like him, in some or other way.
With all these expectations and hopes, there's no denying you indeed have a feeling towards him. Only that you are sure of: you don't know how he thinks about this. Suspecting you might've just been an annoying piece of boulder that kept bugging him this entire time, you decided to not let your hopes up, digging your bones and burying it deep inside instead. Even after all those gossips about you two -
He wouldn't.
As of now you had already almost forgotten about that sentence that used to bother you about Draco. It's better that way, you thought, as you slowly began to close your eyes again in your bed after the matron forcefully gave you an awesomely sour tonic. You don't care. Tonight you'll owl Ginny, replying to her seemingly long-forgotten letter. You've felt bad enough for leaving it hanging long without a touch from your quill.

But then just as your eyes are getting hold of it, you force it open again. You looked to the cupboard under the window.
Instead of only one vial, there are two of them ontop of it.