Your Star

Chapter 7: After Taste

Harry's eyes opened and he looked at the two of his friends. "When did you guys get here?" Hermione put her arms around him. Harry winced at her touch.

"Did Malfoy do this to you, Harry?" Hermione asked. Harry stayed silent. Ron looked at Hermione with a look telling her this wasn't the time to be asking questions with Filch and Peeves looking for them. Ron lifted Harry onto his back and once again joined Hermione underneath the cloak. They walked steadily for a while; having Harry on his back was making Ron's pace a great deal slower than what it should have been.

The halls remained clear of Filch and Peeves, which made things a hell of a lot easier for Hermione and Ron. After a good long walk they finally reached the Fat Lady, who was snoring away, mumbling to herself. Hermione whispered to the Fat Lady and then told her the password. Ron hurried Harry inside, thankful that they didn't get caught. Hermione helped Ron lay Harry on one of the chairs, then when to go mix potions together to help Harry cope with the pain.

"What happened with that bloody Malfoy, Harry?" Ron demanded, looking worried for his best friend. Hermione returned to where Harry was laying with a bowl full of Murtlap essence. She soaked a face cloth in it then placed it gently onto Harry's chest. The wound stung for a bit, but then the pain was replaced with a warm, fuzzy feeling. "Harry, can you hear me? What happened between you and Malfoy?" Harry looked up at Ron and apologized.

"I don't really know. I'd rather not talk about it right now." Hermione and Ron nodded consecutively. "Sorry guys." He put the face towel back in the bowl and pushed himself off the chair. "I'm going to head to bed now." As Harry made his way up the stairs, Ron looked at Hermione.

Harry flopped down on his bed; he couldn't sleep so there was no point in trying to. He pulled the sheet up over him, rolling over to his side. When he heard Ron's footsteps coming up the spiral staircase, Harry closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. He wanted to avoid talking to Ron. There was absolutely no way he could tell Ron or Hermione what had happened with Draco. Ron knew he was awake; Harry's snores just weren't believable, but he figured Harry didn't want to talk, so he didn't bother him.

The stars outside plastered the midnight colored quilt draped over the land, each star slightly illuminating a small portion of the night sky. Ron was soon fast asleep. Harry looked up at Ron and then down at himself. He pulled his knees up to his chest and flinched as the skin around his wound moved. A trickle of blood ran down Harry's chest. With his right forefinger, Harry wiped up the blood and then licked it off the tip of his finger. The warm somewhat bitter taste covered his lower lip. Harry swung his legs over, onto the floor and climbed out of bed. He walked over to the window, a cool breeze catching his unbuttoned nightshirt. With the help of the wind Harry let his shirt fall to the floor. The fresh air blowing in through the opened window was especially appealing to Harry. He walked over to the window and lifted himself up into it. After a few minutes of trying to get into a comfortable position, he finally found a decent spot, with his back propped against the inside wall of the window.

His left arm fell into place across his stomach, with his hand wrapped around his hip. There was no way Harry could manage even a wink of sleep, there was too much racing through his mind. His fingers played with the edge of his right pocket in his pants. The wind blew against Harry's small body, setting some of his wild hair into his face. Harry looked towards the sky through his hair; his eyes glistened and reflected the moonlight. Placing his right hand over his heart, the tips of his fingers graced over the torn flesh. Draco's imaged flooded Harry's brain. Harry's fingertips traced over his chest, circling around his nipples, stimulating his mind. His fingers running down his skin sent chills down his back. Harry closed his eyes, smothering himself with his thoughts about Draco. Although it took him a while, Harry finally found peace with his mind and was able to fall asleep.

Chapter 8: Solitude

Ron woke up at dawn. He let out a yawn and stretched for a few minutes. Finally when he felt somewhat awake he got out of bed and put on some slippers. He glanced over to Harry's bed and saw that he was no longer there. The first thought that came to him was that maybe Harry went down to the common room, but as he started down the stairs he noticed Harry sleeping in the window from the corner of his eye. He back tracked a bit then walked over to the window. Harry was shivering in his sleep. The morning air was a bid frigid, Ron thought to himself. He took the quilt on Harry's bed and placed it over Harry. As he was laying the blanket down, he saw the scar Draco had left on Harry's chest. If he were Hermione he would probably flip out, but Ron figured it was just a battle scar and it looked as if were healing, so there was no need to cause a fuss.

Although Ron tended to be a little more calm than Hermione when it came to Harry, he still wanted to keep an eye on him, so he flopped himself down on the floor next to the window Harry resided in. The sun was slowly overcoming the darkened sky. The sound of birds chirping flooded the once silent morning. The suns rays were soon peeking over the trees warming the air all around Hogwarts.

Harry awoke to the bright light beaming in his eyes. He wiped away the sleepy dust around his eyes and blinked at Ron. "Morning Ron." Harry said embracing the warmth of the sun.

"Morning. How are you feeling?" Ron asked hoping he would get some details about what happened with Draco.

"Still a bit tired, but alright..." Harry decided that what happened between he and Draco would remain only in his head.

"Uh, Harry," Ron stuttered, "you know if you want to talk to someone about what happened last night, I'm here for you, mate."

"I appreciate that Ron, but there's really not that much to talk about. We got into a small fight, but look," Harry pointed to the floor next to his bed, "I got my broom back."

Ron figured Harry wasn't telling everything about what went on with Draco, for he failed to mention the scar on his chest. But Ron decided to leave it alone; the boy had a right to his privacy. "What do we have this morning?" Harry inquired.

"Double Potions... I would really rather not deal with Snape in the morning, but Snape and Draco at once, that's torture," Ron complained to Harry.

Harry was fixed on Ron's words, especially 'Draco' and 'torture'. Ron looked at Harry with a puzzling look and waved his hands in front of Harry's eyes. "What? Did I say something?"

The words repeated themselves over and over in Harry's head, but then he broke free from their hypnotizing effect. Harry shook his head, "No, no... Sorry, I'm just a bit tired. Lets head down to the common room shall we?"

Ron nodded and they both got up, "You should throw on a shirt though, before we go." Harry looked down and realized he was shirtless. He agreed and found his nightshirt on the floor and slipped it on, buttoning it up while they proceeded down the stairs.

Hermione, as Ron had suspected, was sitting in one of the plush chairs waiting for them to get up. She gave Harry a warm and caring smile. Harry returned the kind gesture, "Morning Hermione."

"Good Morning Harry. Are you feeling better, now that you've rested?" she asked with a voice filled with concern.

"I feel better, thanks." Hermione smiled and gave him a tight hug. Harry winced a bit a first because she squeezed down on the scab, but then covered up his pain with a funny looking smile. Hermione, however, didn't seem to notice, she was too happy to notice.

Ron's stomach growled, "I'm hungry, let's got get us some breakfast. Sound good?" Hermione and Harry nodded consecutively and the three of them left for the Great Hall.