When the Snow Melts

Cold

Without thinking, Draco jumped in after him, splashing into icy cold water. He was momentarily stunned as his body tried to get over the shock of it. A hand passed in front of his face, forcing his brain to snap into action. He latched onto it with all his might and made for the shore, swimming one-handed until he reached the edge of the creek. Using a tree root for leverage against the mud, he dragged them both onto the shore. Draco lay there a moment, his blood rushing noisily in his ears as he caught his breath. Harry lay beside him coughing up river water.

"You idiot," the Slytherin gasped out, expecting a sharp and angry retort. When none came, he glanced over in concern.

Harry was shaking violently. He hadn't been in the water that long or at least Draco didn't think he had. Did hypothermia even happen that fast?

"Are you okay?" he asked, struggling to keep his tone neutral.

Harry nodded weakly, breathing heavily. Draco gave him a dubious expression.

"Can you make it back?"

The boy nodded again.

Draco scanned the bank, looking for a way back up. Deer had made a path along the side of the ravine and it looked good enough for the two of them to use.

"Come on then," he urged, getting up and heading towards the path.

Harry stood, wavering slightly before following him. The path was steep and slick with mud, their feet slipping frequently as they struggled to make their way up. If not for the roots sticking out of the side of the ravine, he doubted they would have succeeded. When they got to the top, both boys sprawled out on the ground breathing noisily.

Draco glared at the shivering Gryffindor and stood back up, trying his best to ignore the boy as he stomped back towards the castle. He felt ill just thinking about what he had done but decided to worry about the repercussions later. They both needed to get dry and warm first.

Harry got shakily to his feet, coughing weakly before staggering along behind Draco.

"Your idiocy caused me to ruin my favorite cloak," Draco scolded without turning around.

Something heavy fell against him and he spun around in surprise, unexpectedly catching Harry in his arms. He was the only thing holding Harry up and without thinking he dropped the boy face-first in the mud.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked in revulsion, taking a few steps back.

The dark-haired boy rolled over with a groan, breathing heavily. Draco nudged him with his foot. Even from this distance he could feel the heat radiating off the smaller boy.

"You're burning up," he exclaimed, glancing about nervously as he tried to formulate a plan.

"Don't you dare die on me," he threatened, finally pulling out his wand and sending up red sparks. "Everyone will think I pushed you in the river if you're not alive to tell them it was your own damn fault."

Harry gave him a weak smile, wiping mud off his face. Draco breathed a sigh of relief. If he could still appreciate the humor of the situation, then he couldn't be that bad off.

"You're getting a kick out of this, aren't you?" Draco growled.

Harry chuckled weakly, "I'll be fine in a moment. I just need to take a little..." another coughing fit interrupted him.

"I just took on a little water," he finally finished when the coughing subsided.

The Slytherin sat down on the ground next to him, shivering as a brisk wind passed through his damp clothes. When they were moving the cold hadn't seemed so bad. Now with the wind blowing and the rain splashing onto his already frigid skin it wasn't long before Draco was shivering just as violently as Harry was. He pulled his cloak tighter.

"Where is that stupid oaf? Maybe he didn't see the sparks," the Slytherin grumbled, realizing in that moment that Fang was nowhere to be seen either. Figures.

Harry's eyes were closed, his face flushed. Despite what Harry had said, Draco was certain he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, but they couldn't just sit there waiting.

"Fuck this shit," he cried in frustration. "We'll freeze to death before anyone shows up. We've got to get moving."

He glanced at the Gryffindor in disgust.

"Can you walk?" he inquired, suspecting that Harry would probably lie again.

He nodded, pushing himself up with a determined expression. As Draco had expected, the boy swayed unsteadily on his feet. Draco managed to catch him just as his legs gave out. Harry was light – almost too light. Draco wondered why he hadn't noticed it before.

"Twice in the same week," he remarked. "Don't go making a habit of this, Potter."

He could feel the warmth radiating off the boy in his arms – it was sort of nice.

Now he was faced with a dilemma. It was clear that Harry was in no shape to make it back to the castle, but he couldn't just leave the boy there to defend himself in his condition.

"Sorry," Harry mumbled into his shoulder. "Tired."

Draco shuddered at the thought, but there was no other way. He would have to carry him.

"Just hold still," he said, hoisting the boy onto his back. It wasn't long before Harry dozed off, his face resting gently on Draco's shoulder, his warm breath ticking the back of his neck. Draco was moderately unnerved by the whole situation, but at least he felt warmer as he trudged along.

Despite Harry's slight frame, Draco's arms were beginning to tire. He couldn't continue like this forever. He eyed the mud in distaste, contemplating his next move. With a sigh, he resigned himself to adding more mud to his already soiled garments. He eased Harry down so that the boy could rest his head in his lap.

Rain began pouring down more fiercely as Draco struggled to reach his wand without disturbing the sleeping Gryffindor. He sent up more red sparks and waited, watching Harry as he slept. Without really thinking, he took the boy's glasses off and placed them with his wand for safekeeping. They would get broken if he dropped the boy again. His glasses off, Harry looked surprisingly fragile. How was he the Dark Lord's most feared enemy? He was nothing.

Draco shook his head in exasperation, he was starting to have weird thoughts and they needed to get moving again. He didn't bother trying to get the boy on his back this time, opting instead to just carry him in his arms. Manual labor was not something that he was well-suited for, but neither was freezing to death in the woods.

Just when Draco was thinking that he needed to take another break, he heard a crashing noise and labored breathing from up ahead. Fang, his master in tow, came barreling down upon them.

Upon seeing the unconscious boy in Draco's arms, the giant paled.

"What happened to yeh?" he questioned, taking in their disheveled appearance.

"We both decided to take a little dip in the creek," the blond snapped in agitation.

Hagrid looked appalled. "Yeh what?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "You idiot," he growled. "Potter fell in the river and I went in after him. Now hurry up and take him, my arms are tired."

Hagrid snapped into action, taking Harry out of Draco's arms. Even in sleep, the raven-haired boy would not relinquish his hold on Draco's cloak. Draco wasn't even sure when the boy had latched on to it. It was a disconcerting thought.

"I guess yeh'll just have ter walk real close," Hagrid grumbled.

Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust, mumbling something about stupid Gryffindors, but secretly he was pleased with the arrangement. He wasn't quite ready to give up the warmth the other boy provided – he was freezing.