All This Time, You Were Missing From My Heart

Chapter Four

"Really, Harry, you need to eat more!" Hermione told him as the seventeen-year-old picked at the roast beef.

"I'm not that hungry, Hermione, ok?" Harry tried to say nicely, but it still came out annoyed.

"I'll tell you what. If you eat everything on your plate for a week, one full week, I'll lay off," Hermione proposed. Harry agreed, a plan forming in his mind already. When no one was looking, Harry transfigured the food into several napkins and threw them under the table.

"There! I ate it all, Hermione," Harry pointed, his wand back in his pocket. From the teacher's table, obsidian eyes watched the green eyed boy put on a fake smile and tried to keep out of the conversations around him. Across the hall, silver eyes saw the same thing.

***

"So why didn't Snape take you in?" Harry asked the silver-eyed boy sitting across from him.

"He's got to keep up the whole Death Eater façade. Can't be taking in people who refused to kiss Voldemort's arse," Draco grinned. "Besides, I liked where I was just fine, thank you."

"I bet you did. Ron's straight, though, so that's one less," Harry smirked at him.

"Yeah, but Percy, Fred, George, and Charlie are gay though. Percy's dating though, so he's out of the picture. He was too snooty, however. I think Charlie might be seeing someone. He hinted. The twins aren't, and two is always better than one," Draco smiled suggestively.

"You're perverted, you know?" Harry shook his head at the blonde.

"Guilty as charged," grinned Draco. He noticed something on Harry's wrist. "What's that?"

Harry looked to where he was pointing and pulled his sleeve down quickly, to hide his wrist.

"Harry," Draco's voice held a warning tone. "If you don't promise not to do that anymore, I'll tell the Headmaster."

"No!" Harry panicked.

"I'll tell him, Harry. And I'll tell Hermione and Ron," Draco told him.

"No, Draco!"

"Promise me, Harry."

"Fine. I promise," Harry cast his eyes downwards.

"You really promise? You're not just saying that?" Draco reached over and tilted Harry's chin up to look into his eyes. Harry nodded slightly. "All right."

"Thanks, Draco," Harry looked away again.

"We all need some help sometimes."

***

"Hey! There you guys are!" Hermione smiled at the Slytherin and Gryffindor sitting together. "Glad to see you're getting along."

"Aw, leave them alone, 'Mione," Ron snickered, plopping down on the ground beside Harry. "Although, the two of you look pretty cosy together."

Harry and Draco flushed. Ron and Hermione laughed at their faces. Hermione sat down next to Draco.

"I like red heads, thank you very much," Draco huffed, crossing his arms. He winked at Ron, causing the Weasley to turn scarlet.

"And I like smart people," Harry stuck his tongue out.

"Hey!" Draco pouted.

"Hey, what? You're a blonde," Harry shrugged at him.

"I'll have you know that stereotypes are very demeaning!" Draco sulked.

"Oh give it up," Harry laughed.

"You're a bitch," Draco glared at him.

"That may be true, but at least I'm not yours," Harry smirked at him.

"That was below the belt, Harry," Ron chuckled, patting his friend on the back. Harry winced and tried to hide it. Draco saw, and looked over at him in concern.

"So, Harry, if you're not interested in this git, who do you like?" Hermione grinned slyly at him.

Harry turned crimson and the three laughed at him.

"I'm not going to tell, since you laughed!" Harry took a leaf out of Draco's book and huffed at the trio.

"Aw, c'mon, Harry!"

"Nope!"

"Fine, I'll tell," Draco smirked at Harry.

"NO!" Harry yelled, clamping a hand over Draco's mouth. "You tell, and I'll tell Hermione what you did to Ron!"

Ron and Draco both turned bright pink. Hermione glared at the three.

"You'll tell me anyway," Hermione ordered, giving them all intimidating looks.

"No! Don't tell! I'll be good, I promise! She'll slap me!" Draco screeched from underneath Harry's hand. Hermione smirked at his behaviour.

"You tell, Harry, and I'll tell McGonagall it was you that pulled that prank last year," Ron warned.

"Oh come of it, Ron. She knows it was me! She doesn't care, either. It was on that horrid Trelawney, and everyone knows McGonagall hates her," Harry scoffed at him.

"You'd better tell me, Harry, or I'll tell Snape it was you that stole the boomslang skin in second year," Hermione grinned deviously at him.

"But that was you!" Ron and Harry exclaimed.

"But he doesn't know that," Hermione raised her eyebrow at them.

"You...you Slytherin!" Ron cried out.

"Hey, Slytherin present, thank you very much!" Draco glowered.

"You're welcome," Ron replied offhandedly.

"We'll continue this later; it's lunchtime," Hermione said to the three boys.

Harry groaned. "Do I have to get up? I just want to sit here!"

"You can't miss any meals, Harry. That was part of the deal," Hermione told him.

"No it wasn't!"

"You've got to eat or the deal's off, and I'll send you straight to the Infirmary," Hermione crossed her arms after she stood.

"Fine. Next, you'll be giving me scheduled bathroom breaks," Harry scowled.

Draco and Ron stood, laughing. Draco stuck his hand out to help Harry up and the Gryffindor took it. As he stood, Harry stumbled backwards, dizzy. Draco looked to him, very concerned.

"Harry? You all right?" Hermione asked the raven-haired boy.

"Just a bit dizzy. I stood to fast, that's all," Harry lied to her.

"All right," Hermione glanced at him suspiciously.

***

At lunch, Harry once again transfigured his lunch after taking a few bites. Again, only silver and black eyes saw him do this. Harry looked up, directly into the eyes of Severus Snape, who stared back. Harry quickly looked away, fighting the blush creeping up his face. He looked down at the table, hoping to hide the flush in his cheeks.

"Hey, Hermione, I finished. I'm going to head back to the common room, ok?"

"All right, Harry," Hermione smiled at him. He weakly returned the grin and stood, again dizzy. Ignoring Hermione and Ron's concerned questioning, he turned and left the Great Hall. As he left, the black eyes of Severus Snape never looked away from him.

***

Harry let a couple drops fall into the glass of water before he downed the potion with the water. The flavour of the potion overrode the blandness of the water and he could clearly taste the chocolate strawberry tang of the numbness potion. He corked the phial and hid it underneath his pillow. He did so just as Seamus and Dean entered the dorm, hand in hand.

"Hey, Harry!"

"Hey you two. Put a silencing charm, all right? I'm going to take a nap," Harry requested.

"What makes you think we're going to do anything? We may just be taking a nap too," Seamus said innocently.

"Seam, shut up, okay?" Dean rolled his eyes, shoving the Irish boy onto his bed. "I'll do that, Harry."

"Thanks, Dean," Harry grinned at him.

"No problem," Dean smiled back, before joining Seamus in the bed.

***

Harry slept straight through dinner, but woke up when his scar began burning around midnight after a terrible nightmare. Groaning, he quickly entered the bathroom where he threw up what little he had in his stomach. The nightmare had been horrendous. Voldemort had killed another muggle child. Apparently, though, the muggle children he'd been killing would have been wizards and witches. Muggle borns. Then, after the death of the child, Voldemort had put the Cruciatus on Professor Snape until he had passed out. Harry felt another wave of nausea coming on and he threw up again until it was just dry heaving.

Harry felt his blood boil. Fudge still hadn't believed Voldemort had returned. Even after all the deaths, he still told the press that it was the doing of Sirius Black, who the Ministry still hadn't caught. Harry thanked Merlin for that.

After washing his face, Harry left the bathroom and the dorm, heading for the common room. In his favourite chair he sat, staring into the fire all night. He got up when the clock chimed five-thirty. He went back up to his dorm room and dressed before going out to meet Draco by the lake.

End Chapter Four