The Lion and the Serpent

In the infirmary, it didn\'t take long for Hermione, Calixa and Draco to regain their mobility and to be cleared to go. Calixa left promptly, with only a quick, reserved nod to Draco.



Draco and Hermione stayed behind, just waiting while Poppy hovered over Harry\'s unconscious body, scanning, probing, investigating. Eventually, she looked at them, a dark shadow crossing her stern face. Only one word came off her lips:



“No.”



Hermione blinked rapidly. “What do you mean, no?” She stammered desperately. “No what? Not tonight?... What?”



“There is nothing I can do for him,” Madame Pomfrey said bluntly. “His injuries are too extensive. He has suffered severe internal bleeding. His internal organs have been nearly destroyed. I can\'t heal him. I can\'t extend his life. I can\'t even wake him, for that matter. All I can do is make him comfortable. He has a few days left. A week, at most.”



“The poison?” Draco asked numbly. He couldn\'t understand how basilisk venom could have caused that kind of damage.



“No,” Madame Pomfrey said again. “The poison has caused some damage, but it was not lethal. The injuries that remain are a result of something else. They have been inflicted by means of Dark Magic, repeatedly – on 4 separate occasions over the course of last week. And I cannot even begin speculate what kind of curse it may have been – so needless to say, I cannot research or develop a counter-curse. In fact, I have never seen anything like this.”



Draco swore under his breath. This was worse, much worse, than the poison, he knew. Effects of poison in most cases could be cured without an antidote – however, healing a deadly curse was not so easy. It required knowing the exact curse, the exact spell that had been used - otherwise there was no hope for recovery. It must have been some curse, too, Draco thought, to cause this much damage... to destroy the person from within.



“How could he function like this?” Draco muttered. “The pain must have been...”



“The numbing potion,” Hermione whispered dejectedly. “He had so much of it... Oh God.... I should have suspected there was something terribly wrong with him. I should have....”



“Me too,” Draco said. “I heard your conversation. I was too busy feeling sorry for myself, as always. And he didn\'t care of course. He just wanted to keep going.”



Madame Pomfrey looked at them grimly. “I will keep working on it,” she assured them. “In fact, I have a firecall conference with St. Mungo\'s later shortly... I will let you know if anything changes.”



She ushered them out of the infirmary, and they left, without protest.



When they returned to Harry\'s quarters, Draco looked around absently. It seemed like an eternity had passed since they were here last. And Draco\'s first day in Harry\'s quarters, only week and two days ago, so terrifying, so lonely, so painful, seemed to belong to a different lifetime altogether.



Draco saw a package lying on the table, with his name on it. Draco opened it and unwrapped it – and recognized his wand. It was whole again, repaired by Wand Master Pavo – he must have owled it in as soon as the repairs were complete. Draco stifled a sob at the memory of that trip, and the last passionate night together.



Hermione went to the bookcase. She used the chair to access the top shelf, the one that had been restricted to everyone. She moved several volumes of books aside, and produced a small box that she handed over to Draco.



“He said to give this to you,” she said.



He opened the box, and saw a small package of hard candy that looked stale and uninviting, with a sealed letter attached to it. Draco chuckled softly, and opened the letter.



He could hear Harry\'s voice as he read:



Draco:



When I accepted your bond, I knew it would be for a short time. A couple of months, at most, I figured. I was confident that you had the Dark Mark, and I wanted absolute control over it. I was expecting to carry out my plan quickly, and have you go free once it was all over – nothing more, nothing less.



You must wonder why I let go of the remnants of my anger so suddenly and just plunged into this kind of destructive relationship – what can I say? You surprised me, Draco. I always thought that all you wanted was to survive, and make it through the day. You proved me wrong. You know, I spent many days in front of the Mirror of Erised myself, when I was younger. Back then, I would have given my soul to be able to touch the image within it. To realize that I myself was that image to someone else ..... I couldn\'t say no to you after that.



So much for playing it safe, for not falling into sentimentality, for not giving in to the Marks... so much for avoiding attachment. So much for making things easier.



Well, maybe I can make at least one thing easy for you. Graduation. I never de-enrolled you from your courses. I realize that you now have less than three weeks left until the end of the year, and you\'ve missed more lectures than you\'ve attended. However, Minerva assured me that if you do really well on your exams, she will let you graduate. So, I hope you like candy. The green is Herbology, the Blue is Divination, the Black is DADA, the purple is Potions, and others, I don\'t remember exactly. Just do me a favor and keep it quiet. (Knowledge serum is illegal in all of Europe and I don\'t want to embarrass a certain anonymous person in the Department of Confiscated Magical Objects who had helped me under the influence of the Imperius...)



As for the practical component of your studies, I\'ve arranged for you to have a series of make-up labs and sessions throughout the summer. Hermione said she can help you with those. I think you already know that Hermione is a great person to have as a friend. She\'s intelligent, warm, and has a strong sense of ethics. Basically, all the things that I am not... so I think you will get along quite well.



There are some additional practical matters remaining, but they are outlined in my will. Needless to say, you are one of my heirs, along with Hermione, the Weasleys, Luna, Minerva, Hagrid, and (don\'t faint), the formidable Miss Cain and the rest of the Others. The Malfoy estate is untouched, as well, and of course, it\'s all yours.



You have your life back now. Be happy. Be free.



I would tell you that I love you - but I don\'t think I have the right. As you well know, love is an action, not an emotion. People who love wouldn\'t do the things I did to you.



Good-bye, Draco.



Draco handed over the letter to Hermione and buried his face in his hands. This time, Hermione did not reach out to comfort him in any way. She just sat silently, her eyes lowered, saying nothing. Draco was grateful for that – the healer in her knew instinctively when to let go, and allow the pain to run its course.



Absently, Draco took his now mended, whole wand and traced the length of it with his fingers. Suddenly, a bold thought crossed his mind.



Maybe Harry knows something, he thought. He doubted that Harry knew who exactly cursed him, or what kind of curse was used – but perhaps they could find some hint, some clue, in his memories. Hermione glanced at him and saw the look in his eyes. She understood him instantly.



“Let\'s do it,” she said firmly, and together, they rushed back to the infirmary. It didn\'t take them all that long to convince Poppy to permit them to use Legilimency on Harry. She hesitated briefly, due to the risks of attempting to enter someone\'s mind while they were in a coma (it could hasten the person\'s death). Draco just gazed at her serenely and asked the winning question: “What have we got to lose?” She relented then, and let them.



They drew their wands and stood next to each other, pointing them at Harry\'s head.



“Legilimens!” they commanded together, the magical energy pushing through the gates of Harry\'s mind, and letting the two of them inside.



Draco stood silently, enveloped in blindingly white light. In Harry\'s mind, there were no thoughts, no dreams, no memories. Just an expanse of dazzling, spectacular whiteness, as far as the eye could see. The light was threatening to blind him, and Draco shut his eyes. It didn\'t help at all, as the light, blazing and unyielding, continued to pour into him through his eyelids. Draco stepped forward tentatively, cautiously, not hearing his footsteps, feeling with his hands. His fingers touched the light, and the light passed right through them. Draco gazed ahead, and saw Hermione standing in front of him. Like Draco, she seemed to have realized that Harry\'s mind was shutting down, along with his body.



Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, He heard her voice echo throughout the expanse.



So bright, Draco thought back. I almost can\'t stand it.



Look around you, Hermione insisted. Because of you he will not die as Voldemort. He will not die in the dark. He will be Harry, until the end.



Harry! Draco shouted, hoping that Harry could hear him. His voice thundered, echoed, and eventually disappeared in the distance, unheard and unanswered.



It\'s not so bad, Draco, Hermione said firmly, her voice echoing with Harry\'s final words. I wouldn\'t mind dying like this. No fears, no regrets, no shadows. Only light, only sunshine, until the very end.



Draco lifted his eyes and looked at her in agony and wonder. Two brilliant tears rolled down her cheeks, glowing like new-born stars.



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