Bitten

Venom

Draco made it back to the school with Riley in his arms. Harry and Stephanie had also returned and warned the headmaster. When Draco appeared at the school's gate, he was instantly with Stephanie. She had seen Riley and, fearing the worst, began bawling. The blonde-haired girl clung to Draco, sobbing loudly and asking why the world was so cruel.

Draco rolled his eyes, "She's not dead, you blubbering fool." He hissed. Stephanie blinked once, her sobbing ceasing immediately. She looked up at Draco who was scowling down at her.

"She's not?" The blonde-haired girl asked. Draco's scowl deepened.

"No. She's not, thank you very much." He growled lowly. Stephanie's body flooded with relief and her water works started all over again. Draco sighed, a headache beginning to form between his eyes.

Stephanie showed Draco to where Dumbledore was. He was up in his office. The elder instructed Draco to place Riley on the couch in the office and the blonde-haired boy did as he was told. Dumbledore walked over to Riley with his calm gait. The man looked Riley over, waving his hand from the top of her head to her toes.

"It seems as if Miss Sterling has been poisoned," He announced.

"What?" Stephanie shrieked, "How can that be?"

Harry put his hand on her shoulder, "Stephie, calm down." He murmured. She brushed his arm off of her.

"Don't touch me! I'm not going to calm down! Riley's my best friend! If she's poisoned there must be an antidote!" She yelled.

"I'm afraid it's not that kind of poison my dear," Dumbledore said calmly as he placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

She looked up at him, "Headmaster," she whispered. The elder man removed his hand from Stephanie's shoulder and regarded the group calmly.

"It appears to me that the effect of the horcrux on Riley's psyche were devastating. It could take weeks or even years, before she completely loses herself to the evil." He said. Stephanie gasped and turned to bury her face in Harry's chest. He gently rubbed her back with his hands.

"Is there nothing we can do, Professor?" The brown-haired boy asked. His headmaster looked at him for a long time, then averted his gaze.

"I'm afraid, of that, I am not certain." He said gently.

~X~

Draco sat outside in the cold. The school had returned to normal and only a few students were left wondering around during the Christmas holiday. The grey-eyed boy was on a bench, pulling his jacket tightly around his shoulders. He also tightened his scarf around his neck. Snow was everywhere and continued to pile up as the flakes fell gently from the sky. He sighed and stood up. He trudged down the paths towards the Slytherin dorms. He made it to his room and unlocked the door. He took off his coat and dropped it to crumple on the floor in a pile. His scarf slithered off his neck and joined the coat on the floor. The boy plopped down face first on his bed. He pulled his legs up and curled in to a half-ball. Even though he was snuggled in his bed, he still felt numb. He closed his eyes. What was he doing, he asked himself.

~X~

Riley opened her eyes slowly. She brought her hands up and rubbed at her eyes. She didn't bring her hands all the way away, but let them frame her face instead. Her body felt heavy and she was still consumed by exhaustion. A splitting headache made the light in the room painful. With a sharp pang, she curled on her side and held her stomach. She felt as if she was going to be sick. Whimpering softly, her body shook with continuous tremors. She reopened her eyes halfway and looked around. Where was she? She saw a picture on the wall and realized she was in her dorm room. Her stomach clenched again and she inhaled sharply as she doubled over again. She gasped for breath. What was happening? It was as if her body was having problems existing in the world it was in. Suddenly, she had an idea. She glanced down at her left hand. The link to Draco which allowed her to be back in the Waking World until she had healed herself was gone. Swallowing hard, she scrambled to her feet. She had to find Draco and fast.

"Where are you, Draco?" She breathed.

~X~

"Where are you, Draco?" A voice whispered in Draco's ear. Draco was startled awake and he sat up.

"Riley?" He asked the air. He felt foolish as he looked around and saw he was still in his dorm room. But he could have sworn that he'd heard Riley. He hissed in pain as the scar on the back of his palm flared with heat. He cradled his hand to his chest and scowled. Something was wrong. As he grabbed his coat and scarf he rushed out the door. The cold hit him hard as he buttoned up his coat. He hurried down the paths towards the Hufflepuff dorms. Halfway there he saw a person knelt down by a bench. They were breathing heavily, their breath visible in haggard breaths.

"Riley!" Draco yelled, catching the person's attention. Their head snapped up and she looked at him with hazy blue eyes.

"Draco," she said gently. He saw her effort in trying to stand and he was by her side in an instant. He had his hands under her elbows and helped her on to the bench. She was breathing heavily and seemed to be in pain. Draco stood in front of her. She was also shivering so he took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. Her blue eyes sliced up to his.

"L-Link," she whimpered. He blinked and looked down at his left hand. The ring was gone! Convulsions ripped through her body, "Can't st-stay," she said. Draco let out a breath.

"Maybe if you didn't go around breaking your bonds so easily," Draco hissed. He knelt down on his knees in front of Riley. Would this work in the Waking World?

After a second, he took in a deep breath to steady himself. He had an idea and if it didn't work, he didn't have a back-up plan. In his head, he envisioned the Ancients and made them into a charm. He continued to repeat the charm in head head over and over again as he reached forward. He pushed his hands in to Riley's. Their palms touched gently before he repositioned his fingers in the slots between hers. Again, they fit perfectly together.

A sort of shock ran up both of their arms. Draco could feel a small bond beginning to form between them, but it was missing something. It felt almost like the spell needed a sort of exchange or anchor. Riley winced and Draco remembered he had to act fast. He could only think of one thing to do. He bit his lip and hesitated. What if it didn't work? Draco began to pull away from Riley and she whimpered. He was shocked to realize that this girl—whom he barely knew—really needed him. Her body was shaking and he knew she was in a lot of pain. With a tremendous amount of effort, he pushed his fear and cowardice away. Slowly, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Riley's.

A light exploded around them and glowed for a minute. The orb shrank back down and hovered above each student's left hand. It vanished in an instant, leaving two new rings. The rings wrapped around the fingers of the boy and girl. On Riley's hand, the ring looked like a snake. It had two grey gems for small eyes. However, on Draco's finger, the ring wrapped around and ended in the shape of a small bird at his knuckle. The bird had two small sapphires for eyes. After a moment, the two students broke apart from each other, their breathing slightly heavier than before. Grey eyes stared in to pale blue as neither of them spoke.