Just Breathe

Chapter Ten

Draco turned to the back of the couch and pulled the blanket up to his neck. The cold he'd caught from his last patient was really taking its toll on him. He'd been out for nearly two days and he didn't think he'd even be back to work for another couple of days. He could barely get off the couch. His stomach growled loudly, and he wilted at the thought of the one lone soup can in his kitchen. His nose started running again and he grabbed for a tissue before a sneezing fit overtook him. He sat up and his head throbbed, the pressure building in his ears.

He was just rolling back onto the couch when he heard a knock on the door. He ignored it but it came again, and he groaned. He had no idea who would be here at his apartment. No one knew where he lived aside from Kingsley and the Talleys, but he couldn't imagine why either of them would be there. He tossed the blanket onto the floor as another knock assaulted his ears. He grabbed his wand and opened the door a crack.

"Who is it?"

"It's Harry. Can I come in?"

"Oh, sure," he said, standing back and fully opening the door. He held his arm out and Harry came more into the room.

"So, uh, I've brought something for you to look at. I would've brought it to the hospital, but Kingsley said you were home for a few days and I didn't know how long you were going to be out."

"Okay, yeah, I'll take a look." He tossed his wand at the couch, but it clattered to the floor. Harry watched it and then his eyes widened.

"Are you sick? If I had known you were sick... I'm sorry. I can take these back... well, actually I need them looked at." He ran his fingers up and down the strap of his bag.

"I'll look at them, I just need to sit down. I'm a little lightheaded."

"That's fine," Harry said, jamming his hands into his pockets and looking everywhere but at him. So, he was upset with him...

"What did you need me to look at?"

"Oh, right. These." He pulled a file folder out of his bag and handed it to him. He looked at the photos inside and saw a man wearing a dark cloak skulking around the corner of a building.

"Is this the Ministry?"

"Yes. The next two are Thompson's house and then outside your doors at St. Mungos." Draco's ears roared and he closed his eyes. Right outside of his own doors. He looked more closely at the photos, but Draco couldn't place his name. He did look familiar, but each photo seemed to be different in some way. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He knew the face but that was it, and barely even then. He handed the file back to Harry.

"I'm sorry but I can't give you a name. I recognize the face somewhat, but I can't place it."

"No one else could either."

"Did you notice how the face seems different in each one? The clothes, the demeanor, stay the same, but the face-"

"Ever-changing... yeah, we noticed that. I haven't seen it before. It's like it changes minute by minute. The first one and the last one were taken within hours of each other." Draco nodded, narrowing his eyes, trying to remember something, but nothing would come to him. Harry put the folder back in his bag and sighed deeply.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be more help."

"Me too," Harry said quietly as he zipped up his bag. Draco bristled at his agreement.

"Excuse me?" Harry snapped his head up at him and his cheeks burned red. Draco took a deep breath before jumping in with the question that had been foremost in his thoughts since their last conversation. "Are you mad at me for some reason?"