Spirited; Chapter 9 - Finally Looking Up

[tarklovishki]

Chapter 9

It would be another two days before Harry opened his eyes, and they were longest, most horrible two days that I could ever imagine.


I never thought that waiting for something would be a long and arduous process because I had never waited for something this important. Harry was in a coma (as the nurses told us), and I was worried that he would not wake up; even the nurses that came in to check on him occasionally had told us all not to be surprised if he didn't wake up.


Did they know how scared they were making all of us? Would the nurses care even if they did? Probably not. Some of the nurses had soured with age, only there because they needed the money. Did they stare at the clock in their free time, willing the hands to move faster to the allotted time that they were allowed to give up and leave?


James and Lily were quite protective over their son, despite the fact that he was twenty-one years old. I really couldn't blame them, not after this accident. The age of their son didn't matter to them; his safety did.


It was nearly dusk when I saw Harry's eyes flicker. I gasped and wheeled closer to the bed, which proved to be a bit difficult on my own, reaching out to clasp his hand tightly when I got there. My sudden action had everyone on alert.


"What is it, honey?" Mum asked, sounding confused.


"I saw Harry's eyelids flicker." Don't ask me why I whispered that; perhaps it had been the seriousness of the situation that made me play the dramatic. Lily and James stood up immediately and practically flew to the bed.


Harry's eyelids flickered again.


"Do you think we should get a doctor?" Mum asked as she and Dad joined the rest of us at the side of the bed. "He won't react well to the breathing tube stuffed down his throat when he wakes up. He'll choke on it."


"I'll go get one," said James, turning on his heels and rushing out of the room. I could very faintly hear him calling for help.


Within about thirty seconds, James returned with a rather haughty looking doctor in tow. The doctor did not look pleased at having to come to check on a patient. For a moment I allowed my mind to wander, thinking about how unpleasant these hospital staff seemed to be. It was like they were giving us an incentive never to get in enough trouble to warrant another visit to the hospital.


Then, I was wrenched out of my thoughts by the harsh sound of gasping and choking. Harry's eyes were open in panic as he choked on the breathing tube, his hands instinctively coming up to try and rip it out of his throat.


The doctor took charge, calling for a nurse as he nudged us out of his way, ordering us to stay back and let him do his job. Dad grabbed the handles of my wheelchair and pulled me backwards, out of the way.


A nurse ran in. This one was young and had a smile on her face (which surprised me) and she and the doctor started to remove the tube only after Harry had started to calm down. Once it was removed, Harry was handed a glass of water.


The doctor and the nurse instructed Harry to take care of himself and told the rest of us to allow him to rest up, before they left the room, assuring us that we could call them at any time should anything go wrong.


"Welcome back," said James, looking as though he were about to faint with relief. I hoped not; I'm pretty sure the hospital wouldn't like to admit any more of our little group. "You had us all worried about you for a minute there, kiddo."


Finishing a small, almost hesitant, sip of water, Harry said hoarsely, "Where's Draco?"


My heart pounded in my chest so loudly it was a surprise that no one but me could hear it. Silence spread throughout the room, before I waved to catch Harry's attention. He looked at me with an alarmed expression, his eyes trailing from me to the wheelchair.


"I think we'll just give you some private time," said Lily. She walked over to the bed, kissed Harry on the forehead after smoothing away that fringe, then took her husband's hand and pulled him from the room. Mum and Dad kissed me on top of the head before they followed.


Harry and I were silent for a while, the air awkward between us.


"You're not … seriously hurt, are you?" Harry asked eventually, his voice still husky from the tubing. He gestured to the wheelchair.


I shook my head. I didn't know what to say to Harry, so I thought it best just to say nothing at all. If Harry was going to be mad at me, I wasn't going to add fuel to a potential fire.


"What happened to those guys?" Harry asked, leaving me with an impression of who he thought those guys were. "Did they get caught?"


"We've been in here for nearly a week and no policeman has come to see us," I said softly, shrugging, avoiding his gaze. "I'm pretty sure they haven't caught them yet."


"Why won't you look at me?" Harry whispered. I don't think he meant for me to hear him, but in the quiet room, I heard every word. "What did I do wrong?"


"You defended me, you idiot," I blurted out before I could stop myself.


Harry's brows furrowed. "What?"


"You defended me!" I repeated in a much louder voice that made him wince. Now I was the one who was getting angry. "I told you to leave, but you stayed there you stupid moron. I can take a beating, but what I can't take is you taking a beating for me!"


"They would have killed you if I left," Harry whispered, sounding hurt. "There was too many for you to take on your own."


"Who said I was going to take them on?"


Anger flashed through those gorgeous emerald green eyes of Harry's. He looked as though he couldn't understand me. "So you'd just stand there and let them beat you up? How could you, Draco? You deserve more than that!" He looked uncertain for a moment, but then the look was replaced by determination. "Is this because … because of what you told me about? With … with that teacher? Do you think that because he ruined your reputation here that you don't deserve to live happily?"


"Don't talk about my situation as if you understand it!" I practically yelled. Thinking about my former teacher wasn't what I'd planned to do when I talked to Harry. Or being reminded of him. "You know nothing about me!"


"I would if you would just tell me!" said Harry exasperatedly. "Why don't you trust me?"


"Because I hardly know you," I said. "Because people have a habit of abandoning me when something goes wrong, and because you've already gotten put in the hospital for me once and I don't want that to happen again."


"I can take care of myself, Draco." Harry was suddenly overcome by a coughing fit. His hand shot out to grab the glass of water and he choked down a mouthful before gingerly returning it to the cabinet beside the bed, behind the I.V pole. "And I'm not going to leave you."


I wanted so desperately to believe that, but I was scared to; trusting outside of my immediate family had always brought me trouble.


"I'm going to protect you to the best of my ability, because you deserve more," said Harry determinedly, clearing his throat. "Because you deserve to be happy."


A choked sob escaped me before I could contain it. Burying my face into my hands, my shoulders shook with the force of my sobs that I could barely hold in. Why was it that my control always slipped whenever I was around Harry? The worst and best of me was always on display to him whether I liked it or not, and I hated that.


Harry made a low, keening sort of sound. "Draco, please don't cry. Not now; you're going to make me cry. It's okay. I understand that you're upset, because I am, too. But not at you, never at you. I just want you to see that you're worth something in my eyes … oh, fuck, I'm crying."


Before I could look at him or make a reply, a nurse who'd probably heard the commotion walked in and told me that I had to leave the patient in peace, and that I could come back later once he was rested. She wheeled me out of the room before I could even say goodbye to Harry.


James, Lily, Mum and Dad sat in the waiting room when I came in. Spotting me coming to them slowly, Mum got up and raced over to me, grabbing the bars and pushing me.


"Are you finished talking to him?" James asked.


"Yeah, but a nurse said we had to leave him be so he can get some rest," I said, hoping that my face wasn't giving my previous crying fit away. "I'm not sure if you can go in there or not."


James looked like he wanted to cuss his head off, but managed to control himself.


"I should probably call Ron and Hermione," he said. "To let them know he's awake."


He stood up and fished his phone out of his pocket and stepped away from us, walking to a potted plant to get some privacy while he talked.


I yawned. Dad noticed. "Come on, kid. Time to get you back into that bed before we get in trouble for exhausting you." He gently nudged Mum aside and wheeled me in the direction of my hospital room, walking much faster than what Mum could have.


When we got to my hospital room, Dad helped me up onto the bed where I sunk, boneless, into the rather uncomfortable mattress, my eyelids drooping, too heavy to keep open. I fell asleep immediately.


. . . .


Within a week, Harry and I were released. Mum and Dad invited Lily, James and Harry back to our place to have something to eat and to rest up a little more. They accepted the invitation graciously.


Not knowing of our new relationship, Mum and Dad allowed me to take Harry up to my room. I wasn't really used to being on my feet for extended periods of time, and so by the time I got up the stairs there was a small pain in the centre of my back, and the top of my thighs hurt like a bitch. Just another thing to curse Hugh and his gang about.


Where was a voodoo doll when you needed one?


That was the day when the police came to tell us that they'd found Hugh and his friends hanging out in some shed out the back of an abandoned home, hiding from them once someone gave their descriptions to the police.


The sheriff was not pleased to have to arrest his son, which made me happier about the sudden turn of events. I wished I could have known who the person was that handed in their descriptions to the police, but that would be breaching the confidentiality I was told, and they were not allowed to do that.


Hugh and his gang were going to have to face court in three months' time. I hoped they wouldn't ask me to testify or whatever they call it; no matter what, I had a feeling I would screw it up. It was better to ask Harry for the details of the attack and my Mum for the details of my past. I wasn't ready to stand in the witness stand again.


Harry hugged me so tightly at the news that they were arrested that I thought my head would pop off my shoulders. I hugged him back, laughing as he forced us to spin around in circles, jumping up and down on the tips of our toes. I liked the fact that Harry was weird like that; it made life interesting.


"Finally, they're getting what they deserve," said Mum, wrapped in Dad's arms. She looked as though a great weight had been taken from her shoulders, and she even appeared younger, too. "No one is going to hurt our son, our baby boy, again."


When Harry released me, I was swept into a family hug by my parents, both of whom had tear tracks on their faces. To be released from the hospital to find I didn't have to worry about watching over my back for attacks anymore was so overwhelmingly shocking that I knew I'd have no idea what to do with myself the next time I walked out my front door to buy a book to read or to go out shopping with Mum.


The fear was over.


To Be Continued. . .


Another short chapter, but oh well. We're reaching the halfway mark of this story, guys! Please let me know what you think thus far, and give me some feedback! The more feedback I get, the better the chapters get and it's better for all of us that way.


Love always,
Tarklovishki.



Chapter 10