|In The Dark|

86

3 DAYS LATER...
THEODORE NOTT

Draco still hasn't woken up. I mean- he's in and out. He wakes just long enough for us to give him some water or a nutrient potion. Madam Pomfrey said he lost a lot of blood and his body is exhausted. She said he'll be ok, he just needs time. She better be right. "We're back." Pansy said. Her and Blaise walked in, with new clothes. We've been taking breaks in shifts to get food and shower and change our clothes. "Theo, why don't we go next?" Tori said. "Sure." I said. They nodded and we left. As we walked back, Tori wasn't quiet. When we finally got to Slytherin, she followed me to my dorm. "Tori, don't you want to get cleaned up and change?" I asked. "We need to talk." she said. I paused. She walked past me and into my dorm. I followed her and shut the door. "What's wrong?" I asked. "I can't do this anymore." she said. My face fell. "What?" I said. "You don't love me, Theo." she said. "What?! Yes, I do." I said. She smiled sadly. "No, you don't. And it's ok." she said. "Tori-" I started. "Theo, it's Annabelle. It's always been Annabelle." she said. "That's not- that's not true." I said. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't love her. Tell me you feel nothing for her." he said. I sighed heavily. "Tori, come on. This is-" I started. "Theo. Please." she said. I looked down, rubbing my temples. "I love you." I said. "Not the way I want to be loved. Not the way you love Annabelle." she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I didn't mean to! I just- I wanted to love someone else but I can't." I said, my voice catching on the last word. "It was cruel, Theo. It was cruel of you to pretend to love me when you knew it was her." she said. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you. I thought- maybe- I could love you. If I tried hard enough." I said. "I understand." she said. I sat down on the edge of the bed and tears filled my eyes. She walked over, standing between my legs and tilting my chin. "Love her well, Theo. Promise me." she said. I nodded. "I promise." I said.

ANNABELLE LUPIN-BLACK

A few hours later, everyone had returned from freshening up and eating and the sun had gone down. "Anna-" a weak voice said. I was half-asleep, resting my chin on my hand when I heard it. I quickly sat up and looked around. The sun was up and hours had passed. It was the morning. Everyone was still asleep. "Anna-" I felt his cold hand on mine and I looked down. Draco's eyes were barely open, and he looked at me. His face was pale, his lips were chapped and there were bags under his eyes. I smiled gently. "Draco, I'm here. I've got you." I whispered. He nodded. "Let me wake everyone-" I started. He shook his head. "Not yet." he said. I paused and looked around, leaning closer. "What happened?" I whispered. "He knows." he said. My face fell. "He knows about Katie." he said. Draco, thank Merlin you're awake!" Pansy said. Everyone woke up and he looked at me, shaking his head. "Draco, mate. You gave us a right good scare." Blaise said. "What were you thinking? Getting in a duel with Potter?" Pansy asked. "He was being a prat." Draco mumbled. "We're glad you're ok." Theo said. He nodded. "Can you get my wand?" he said. I nodded. "Where is it?" I asked. "Probably still in the bathroom." he said. I stood up to leave and Theo spoke. "I'll come with you." he said. I stopped and looked at him. "Just stay here, Theo." I whispered. "No." he said. I started walking and he followed me. "Go away, Theo." I said. "I need to tell you something- Tori and I-" he started. "Harry knows." I said, cutting him off. His face dropped. We walked into the bathroom and he looked around, making sure it was empty. "How much?" he asked. "He knows Draco cursed Katie. I'm sure he has other theories but he doesn't have proof of anything." I said. "What are you going to do?" he asked. "Me?" I exclaimed. "He's your brother! Your best friend!" he said. "Draco is my best friend." I snapped. "Draco is my best friend too. And I won't have Potter sending him to Azkaban so he can play the hero again." he spat. I spotted Draco's wand on the ground and picked it up, handing it to him. "I'll talk to Harry. Just go back to Tori." I said. Then I turned to leave.  "And maybe watch over Draco in between the snogging." I grumbled. Then I walked out.

I headed straight to Gryffindor and up to Harry's dorm. I knocked on the door and Neville answered. "Hi Anna." he said. "Hi Nev. Is Harry here?" I asked. He nodded and opened the door further. I walked in and Harry was sitting on the bed. He looked at Neville and he left. "Anna-" he started. "Draco is alright, in case you were wondering." I said. He sighed. "I'm glad to hear that." he said. "Are you? Are you glad to hear that?" I snapped. His face faltered. "I didn't mean to- it was the spell- I didn't know what it did." he said. "Harry, don't insult your own intelligence. You are smart enough to know not to use a spell when you don't even know what it does." I said. He looked down. "It was a duel- we both got carried away." he said. "But you weren't the one that almost bled out on the floor." I snapped. "I'm sorry, ok? But he's not innocent either!" he yelled. "Don't-" I started. "He cursed Katie Bell. Did you know that?" he asked. "You don't know that." I said. "Yes, I do." he said. "Did she tell you, point blank, Draco Malfoy cursed me." I asked. He frowned. "No, but-" he started. "Harry, you almost killed him." I said. "I'm sorry." he said. "You should be." I said. "How can I fix this?" he asked. "Did you get rid of that book?" I asked. He nodded. "Good. Now just stay the hell away from my friends. I'd appreciate it if you didn't kill any of them over some half-baked theories." I said. Then I walked out. I stopped by my dorm and took a shower and changed my clothes. Then I went back.