Ten Days

Ten Days

Chapter Eleven: A Gift

Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real.

"What do you two think you're doing?" Lupin gaped at the two. His expression dancing across the line between disgust and shock.

Draco leapt off of Harry, and stood up immediately. Harry backed his way into the wall, accidentally hitting his head. Then the world went black for no more than a split second.

***

The sky was clear and dark. Every star in the night sky was visible.

Harry walked with his hands in his pockets, looking up at the sky. Millions of thoughts ran about in his head. Draco acted like nothing happened. He hated that. He hated that he should hate Draco-- but he certainly didn't.

He held his breath and fixed his eyes on one star.

And wished that Draco knew how that felt.

***

Harry shook his head and stood up, not going anywhere near Draco. "Well?" Lupin prompted, not noticing Harry hitting his head against the stone wall, he clearly just expected an answer.

"Harry started it!" was Draco's only attempt.

"Started "it"? And what might "it" be, exactly?"

"A fight, sir. Potter went to strike me... before I pinned him down."

Bemused, Lupin sighed and shook his head. "Was I born yesterday, Malfoy?"

Not even going to try, Draco looked down. "No."

The three stood there, without a sound, for nearly a minute. Harry decided he was going to be the first to speak. "What now?"

After a few moments of thought, Lupin turned to Draco, "You are excused."

Thrilled, Draco nodded and made his way to leave. "Yes, sir."

Lupin watched Draco exit, and then set his eyes on the raven haired boy. A mix of emotions washed over Harry, and a look of confusion crossed his face. "And you, I want to speak with you tomorrow. See me after class. You may go."

Half relieved, Harry left the room after bidding Lupin good night.

***

Draco walked back to his dorm, recapping what had just happened. He and Harry had a little paint fight, that somehow resulted in them two kissing. That feeling Draco hated and loved returned stronger than ever.

But the feeling returned when he was kissing Harry, along with a hint of perfection that was always there before-- the hint of perfection that was always ignored before. It was like he was melting into Harry, and Harry into him, and the world around him was dissipating into thin air. Harry was the only thing in the world that really mattered. Just Harry.

The reality of coming back to see Lupin standing there was like a punch in the face. But he was released; Lupin let him go.

He entered a shockingly quiet Slytherin common room; only a few Slytherins were still up, and the ones who were up, were doing last-minute homework. Draco walked up the stairs to his room, as quietly as possible.

After he changed into his pyjamas, Draco went to his window. He hesitated on opening it, but in fear of waking his room mates (and therefore brewing a bigger headache than needed), he chose not to. It was a beautiful night. There were billions of stars in the sky, and each of them shone brighter than Draco had ever seen.

He pondered, looking at one particular star thoughtfully. He wondered to himself why his wished hadn't come true yet. Did he do something in the potion wrong? Or was it a total fluke? He didn't know.

He walked over the few steps to his bed, and slid in. His last thoughts of the night were about that night, the kiss, and Harry. He wondered how he would have to deal with this in the morning. But at this moment, it didn't care; that wasn't important.

The world around him faded as Draco drifted off to a sound sleep.

***

Harry had remembered something, he knew he had. In Lupin's office he had a flashback. At least, he hoped it was a flashback and not just some hallucination. If his memory was coming back, it was a fantastic sign.

He eased himself into bed and laid down, looking up at the ceiling. He took a moment to think about what happened that night. How it felt so entirely right to him, and he couldn't point out why. It was like magic, kissing Draco. A wonderful new feeling that rushed up and through his body.

These thoughts about Draco were interrupted by suspicion. What if Draco was making him feel this way? What if he had cast a love spell on Harry, and now Harry thought he had feeling for him.

And there was only one thing to do to make sure that these feelings were genuine: Harry had to make Acutus Potion as soon as possible. He had to block any kind of spell or potion that was aimed at him.

Before these feelings got any stronger.

***

Waking up early the next morning came easy to Harry. If he wanted to get the book containing the Acutus Potion with next to no suspicion, he would have to hurry. He didn't waste the time putting his uniform; he would have time for that later. He grabbed his pair of shoes and made for the school library.

He was pleased to see that the halls were empty without a student, teacher, or ghost in sight. He opened the library door, and as soon as he entered, he received a sceptical look from Madam Pince. He took no time in asking her where he would find the potion.

Harry cleared his throat. "Excuse me?"

"Yes, Mister Potter?"

"I was wondering where I would find a book containing the Acutus Potion." He almost nervously awaited her response as she tapped her nails on the counter in front of her.

"It'll be in 'Remedies for Common Curses of the Modern Wizarding World.' ...Will that be all?" There was an unnerving curiosity in her voice that made Harry want to get away from her as soon as he could.

Harry headed off in the direction in which she pointed. He nodded in appreciation and said, "No thank you, that's all."

He heard the door of the library open and close again behind him. He tried to seem unconcerned, but was failing severely. Possibilities of who it could be swirled around in his mind. And all his paranoia made him think it was Malfoy. His heart pounded as he tried hard not to turn around, this was all happening too fast. He didn't want Malfoy to find out he was casting a spell to counteract the one put on himself. He walked faster as he heard rushing footsteps catch up with him, and a hand clamp down on his shoulder.

"Harry!" said a voice that certainly wasn't Malfoy's, "What in the blazes are you doing here so early?"

Harry spun around to face Ron, half-smiling. "I could say the same thing to you."

"Quidditch Practice! I tried to get you while you were leaving the common room, but you were moving so fast that I lost you. Nearly Headless Nick said you entered the library, and here you are."

Harry's mind was still set on the potion. "So what does that have to do with me? I hardly remember what this Quidditch is."

Ron looked astonished. "Are you kidding? You're Harry Potter! You were phenomenal your first time on a broomstick! I can't imagine why this morning you'd perform any different. If anything I'd say you should at least watch us practise, maybe it'll help you remember some things."

"Maybe later, Ron. I have to find something..."

"Later will be breakfast!" Ron took a gaze over the books to the left of him, right of Harry. "What are you looking for, anyway?"

"A book to help me memorize a few things."

"So what do you say about Quidditch practise?"

"I told you later, Ron." Ron let out an aggravated sigh and walked off, while mumbling something about Quidditch being better. Harry paid no attention to this, and begun to look at the books to his right.

There were so many books. Harry thought for a moment that he would never find Remedies for Common Curses, Enchantments and Spells of the Modern Wizarding World. He looked past plenty of books with similar titles (Remedies for Common Curses being just one of them), before he came to what he was looking for.

Harry grinned, and pulled the book out of it's place on the shelf.

***

A roar of laughter erupted from the Slytherin common room.

Grumbling on about this rude awakening, Draco climbed out of his bed, and began to get dressed. The laughter in the common room was none of his concern. That is, of course, until Crabbe and Goyle ran in to tell him the news.

"At last you're up!" Crabbe exclaimed.

Draco muttered an "unfortunately" but neither of the other boys caught the comment.

"Ronald Weasley fell off his broom during practice this morning!"

Draco stared at his fellow Slytherin blankly. "That is what all that commotion was about?"

"Well... er... yes." The two troll-resembling boys smiled.

Draco began to ignore the two and resumed to get dressed.

***

With the copy of Remedies for Common Curses, Enchantments and Spells of the Modern Wizarding World safely stowed away in his bag, Harry ate his breakfast with gusto. For the first time he could literally remember, he felt as if he were genuinely on top of the world. Until Hermione came bustling in delivering the news.

"Harry! Thank goodness you're here!" Harry gave her a confused look, and she continued, "Ron's been hurt!"

Harry didn't know how to respond, the simplest response, he decided, was to retort with a question. "What happened?"

Hermione took the chair right next to him. "Well, he fell mid-air and landed on his ankle the wrong way."

Harry, barely paying any attention to the story and paying almost all of his attention to his food, asked her, "Well don't you have magic to fix that sort of thing?"

"Well, of course we -- Madam Pomfrey has the potion to mend broken bones and those sort of things. She just doesn't want him on his feet today, but I thought I ought to tell you." Harry nodded half-heartedly. "Harry? Isn't something bothering you?"

He shook his head. "No."

She cocked a brow and thought better than questioning it. "Well, I told Ron that I'd bring him some food -- since I'd rather do it myself than a poor house-elf do it. I'll be in the infirmary if anything happens between now and our first class. Okay, Harry?"

He nodded his head and mumbled something that sounded vaguely like an "okay" before Hermione left the Great Hall. As soon as she exited the room, Harry set his plate to the side and opened Remedies for Common Curses, Enchantments and Spells of the Modern Wizarding World.

He had the page with the Acutus Potion already book marked, so all he had to do was flip a few pages. He scanned the ingredient list curiously; there were plenty of peculiar things here. Although, he wasn't sure what a normal list looked like.

"Dragon nail clippings, no more than three lizard scales..." He read the entire list aloud, and then he got to the final ingredient. That almost made him want to laugh....

"One teaspoon of crushed Unihorn."

***

Harry took his time in packing up as the classroom emptied out. He had no idea what Lupin wanted to say to him -- well, he had an idea, he just wasn't sure as to how he was going to react to what was said to him. He took a few breaths as the last students left the classroom, and approached the front desk.

"Professor..." he began to say nothing in particular when the classroom door closed shut.

"Harry." Lupin folded his neatly on a pile of recently handed-in home works. "Now I know what I saw last night--"

"I can explain!" Harry blurted out, without actually having any explanation in mind.

"There is no need for an explanation, Harry. And under normal circumstances, I would have been disappointed in you. But that is not the case."

Harry was confused. "It's not?"

"No, but this is only because of your current condition." After hearing that, Harry was slightly agitated; the last thing he wanted was pity. "You don't know anything about Draco Malfoy than what you've been told. You don't have your memories to know how much of an evil person he is, but you should take it from: steer clear." Harry responded with a small nod. "Is that understood?" Another small nod. "Good, you may go."

With another reason to brew the Acutus Potion, Harry left the classroom silently.

***

"Harry!" Hermione was shocked. "You're not serious, are you?"

Harry used his spoon to sculpt various things out of his mashed potatoes. "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?"

"Common potion or not, sneaking into Professor Snape's office and looking for something that Malfoy broke isn't going to help you -- no matter what the circumstances are. And besides-- how could you think of such things while your best friend is in the hospital wing and you have not gone to see him all day?"

"Why should I visit him?" Harry was tired about hearing about his "best friend" from Hermione all day. He didn't remember anything about him, he wasn't going to waste time to visit Ron for a healing ankle.

"Because he's you're best friend, Harry!"

Angrily, he stood up. "Is that all?"

Hermione grabbed him by the loose end of his sleeve. "No, Harry James Potter, that is not all." He stood still for a moment, giving her a moment to state her reason. "I should let you know that not only is unihorn rare, but crushed unihorn is exceptionally toxic, Harry."

Harry wasn't going to believe her for a moment. He tugged his hand away and marched out of the Great Hall.

***

Draco was going mad -- or at least, he felt like it. It wasn't much like a Slytherin to feel guilt, never mind compassion for another but oneself.

He stared at the fireplace in the common room in front of him and envied it's warmth. He has always been cold throughout his life. But these days, he was the coldest he has ever been, and he almost hated himself for it.

His looking at the fire was interrupted by footsteps coming from the girl's dormitories, followed by a voice.

"You're up late, Draco," said Pansy. He ignored her. "I said" --she sat on the nearest couch -- "you're up late, Draco."

He contemplated ignoring her entirely, but decided against that notion. If she got too boring, he could always leave, after all. "I know."

"Why is that? Something -- or someone on your mind?"

This was unlike Pansy; not what she said, but the way she said it. Usually it was her asking the latter question with a tone of hope. This question was a statement. She knew something.

"No."

"Don't lie to me, Draco."

Draco looked around the room coolly. "Who's lying?"

"I know what is going on. And I think it's down right offensive."

This was his exit cue; Draco began to stretch, implying that he was leaving in a few seconds if she didn't shut her mouth. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Honestly," Pansy scoffed, "don't pretend that I don't know."

"About what?"

Pansy rolled her eyes and stood up, beating Draco to the chase. "Well, maybe you're not ready. So just you never mind that." She walked silently out of the room, leaving Draco to the concise crackling of the fire that was soon to go out.

***

He checked and double checked, and there he was, sitting on his bed, with all the ingredients he needed for the Acutus Potion.

Except one.

But that was soon to be taken care of; when he was sure the Gryffindor common room was silent and empty, he planned on leaving for Snape's office. Harry jumped off the edge of his bed, and swept all of his ingredients behind the curtains the sheets created. He then went to the common room to wait for the few remaining students to leave.

The only two Gryffindors left, were just about the two students Harry could live without seeing there that night. He considered turning around and going straight back to the dormitories before Hermione scolded him.

"Now, don't tell me you're actually going to go through with this!"

Ron looked at Hermione and then turned his gaze to Harry. "Go through with what?"

Harry shot a glare at Hermione. "Nothing."

"That's exactly what it is, Ron. Nothing. Now, I'm sure Harry just knew you were here and decided to say hello to you for the first time today." She took a deep, aggravated breath. "Now isn't that right, Harry?"

For a moment, Harry didn't know how to respond. Seconds later, Harry found out that he didn't have to; their tiff was interrupted by an owl flying into the room, and dropping a letter at Harry's feet.

Grateful for this distraction, Harry hastily picked the letter up and unfolded it. Then without a word, he left the common room, with Hermione's shouts following him until the portrait shut behind him.

***

Draco must have been the most daft Slytherin there ever was (save for Crabbe and Goyle). He sat himself down atop of a table in the Great Hall -- the Gryffindor table. He sat for a moment, and looked around while he fumbled with the thing her brought deep in his pocket.

And although he was in the same Great Hall that he sat and had all three meals a day for all these years... it seemed... different. All it took was a change of perspective. A change in the time of day. A change in a seat.

Everything changes. Everything.

***

Harry made his way to the Great Hall. His plan was to hear whatever Draco had to hear, and then make his way straight to Snape's office. Two birds with one stone. And he'd try not to worry about "having" to explain anything to Hermione. Who made her in charge? Nobody did, after all.

So as Harry neared the Great Hall, his heart pounded faster and faster. He had no idea why Draco wanted him there, nor did know why he was actually going. He approached the entrance and walked in.

He saw Draco, sitting there on the Gryffindor table. He stood still for a moment, because Draco didn't notice him yet. The blond was looking around the Great Hall, in an almost wonder. It was precious, Harry thought-- too precious to be disturbed. So he didn't. He let Draco find him first.

And once he did, that moment of preciousness was almost entirely lost. "You asked me to meet you here," Harry stated.

"I did," Draco said while hopping off of the table.

"What is it that you want?" Harry didn't take his eyes off of Draco, and noticed that one of his hands were firmly placed in his pocket. Harry eyed the pocket closely.

"I wanted to give you this." Draco removed his hand from the pocket, and held out a small golden ball. Harry cocked a brow. "I'm quite serious. It might jog your memory a bit. Being a seeker and all, it might be a bit of importance to you."

"Importance... right.." Harry reached out and took the Golden Snitch gently, brushing his hand against Draco's slightly. Causing a familiar shiver to run up his spine. "Thank you," he said awkwardly.

"Just... don't break it, will you?"

Harry cleared his throat and spoke softly, "I won't." He then turned and left the Great Hall, returning to the Gryffindor common room.