Кассандра Клэр - Draco Dormiens

Draco screamed and crashed to the earth like a tree falling. As he fell, he collided with Harry, who was knocked to the ground with Draco on top of him — blue in the face, but still breathing.

Lucius released his tight hold on the pendant, and Hermione saw it glimmering in his fist — dented, but not broken.

Not yet.

Lucius began striding across the grass towards Harry and Draco. Hermione glanced sideways and saw that Ron, Fred and George all had gone for their wands, and were about to point them at Lucius.

"Not now!" she whispered at them.

They looked at her as if she were crazy.

"Wait," she hissed.

Lucius reached the crumpled forms of Harry and Draco. He bent down and seized the back of his son's shirt in one hand, and yanked him off Harry. He shoved Draco's limp body aside.

Harry lay on the ground with his hands under him, looking up at Lucius.

"Goodbye, Harry," said Lucius, lifting his wand.

Harry sat up — and Hermione saw something silver flash sudden and bright in his right hand. It was the sword he had taken from the fencing-room back at the Manor. He slashed out with it, and cut Lucius' wand in half. Harry jumped to his feet as Lucius yelled and fell back, the fingers of his right hand pouring blood, his other hand still gripping the Epicyclical charm.

Harry turned his head towards Hermione and she knew immediately what he wanted her to do. "Hermione!" he shouted. "Now!"

Hermione pointed her wand. "Accio!" she cried, and the Epicyclical pendant shot out of Lucius' left hand and flew through the air towards her. She caught it very carefully and turned to the Weasleys, who had their wands trained on Lucius.

"Go," she said.

"Stupefy!" shouted Ron, Fred and George.

White light shot from their wands and struck Lucius head-on. Hermione had seen what the combined force of several Stunning spells could do before, but it was no less impressive this time. Lucius was blasted sideways and flew through the air, fetching up against the trunk of a tree, where he lay very still.

Harry dropped to his knees next to Draco, still holding the sword. Hermione and Sirius ran to join him, while the Weasleys hurried to see if Lucius was still conscious, and therefore dangerous.

Kneeling, Hermione put her hand on Draco's shoulder. He was still looking bluish, but his breathing seemed to be regular. She looked up at Sirius worriedly.

"Is he going to be all right?" she asked.

"I think he fainted from the pain," said Sirius quietly.

Draco stirred, and his eyes opened. "I did not," he said. "I don't faint."

"That's right," said Harry. "You just decided to take a rest in the middle of all the excitement."

Draco looked at Hermione. "My father?"

"He's alive," she said quickly. "We Stunned him."

Draco suddenly looked very, very tired. "That's good."

There were black shadows under his eyes. Hermione reached out and, very gently, touched his face. "You were amazing," she said. "You really were."

Draco looked at Harry. "How did you get those ropes off?" he said.

Harry lifted the sword. "Sliced them off on the edge of this," he said, and Hermione saw that his wrists were cut and bleeding a little. "And you know what else?" he added, and turned the sword over. "I think your dad might have been right about you all being related to Slytherin." He turned the blade so the others could see the words inscribed on the handle, just above the green gems: Salazar Slytherin.

"I always knew I was special," said Draco, and shut his eyes again.

Harry looked at Hermione. He didn't look angry any more. Just tired, and worried, and sad.

"Good Summoning Charm, Hermione," he said. "Thanks."

She nodded at him, not trusting herself to speak.

At that moment, Ron, Fred and George came up. Ron was walking ahead, Fred and George were dragging Lucius between them. Sirius glanced up at them.

"Put him in the back of the car," he said.

Although Sirius had doubtless meant them to put Lucius in the back seat, the Weasleys commenced stuffing him into the boot instead. Sirius looked at them, shrugged, and turned back to Draco.

"And when we get back to school," said Draco, turning to look at Sirius, "you´re going to tell me what was up with that pendant thing?"

"Sure," said Sirius, looking anxious.

"And Potter, you´re going to give me that sword back? Cause it isn´t yours, you know. Itś been in my family for years."

"Malfoy," said Harry, without rancor, "you never even noticed it until today, did you?"

"Maybe, maybe not," said Draco. He grinned up at Harry, whose face, to Hermioneś surprise, broke into a very tired, very reluctant smile.

"Whatever you say, Malfoy," he said. "Whatever you say."

References:

1) "This is it," said Harry in the same dead voice. "I have hit rock bottom." "I was wrong," said Harry. "Here's an even lower place." — Buffy.

"Whatever you say, Malfoy," said Harry, and, with surprising gentleness, laid Salazar Slytherin's sword in the crook of Draco's arm.

Draco closed his hand around it. "Thanks, Potter," he said, with visible effort.

Sirius, Harry and Hermione exchanged worried looks. Leaving Harry and Hermione sitting on either side of Draco, Sirius got up and walked over to the flying car. The Weasley brothers had just finished stuffing the unconscious Lucius Malfoy headfirst into the boot, and were looking at each other in a satisfied manner.

"Hallo, Sirius," said Ron as he approached. "We put Lucius in the back, like you said."

"Thanks," said Sirius. "But he isn't the Malfoy I'm concerned about at the moment."

Fred shook his head. "I never thought I'd feel sorry for Draco Malfoy," he said.

"But I kind of do now. Mind, I still don't like him. But his own father trying to kill him like that…" Fred shuddered. "Makes me feel lucky by comparison."

"You are lucky," said Sirius shortly.

Ron was biting his lower lip. "Was Lucius really trying to kill him?" he asked.

"Oh, yes," said Sirius. "Nearly succeeded, too. And might still, if we don't get Draco back to Hogwarts soon. He's dying."

George dropped the car keys. "Dying?" he echoed, staring at Sirius in shock.

"Get the car ready," said Sirius shortly, and walked back to Draco. He knelt down next to him and said, "Can you walk?"

Draco seemed to be giving this consideration. Then he said, with a faint look of surprise, "Actually. No."

Hermione looked as if she were going to burst into tears, but didn't.

"Never mind," said Sirius roughly, bent down, and picked Draco up as if he weighed no more than a child might, not a nearly full-grown adult. As he lifted him, the sword fell out of Draco's grasp and thudded to the ground.

Harry picked it up and held it out to Sirius, who reached out his free hand and took it by the hilt.

And dropped it again, immediately, as if he had been burned.

When he spoke again, it was in an oddly constrained voice. "Harry. You take the sword."

"Okay," said Harry, looking surprised.

"And don't let anyone else touch it," said Sirius, and started walking with Draco back to the car.

"What was that about?" asked Hermione wonderingly.

But Harry wasn't paying attention. Looking after Sirius and Draco, he said, in an tight voice, "I had forgotten how strong Sirius is."

She turned and looked at Harry, and he looked back. It was the first time he had looked her in the eye since their conversation on top of the cliff earlier. She couldn't help feeling like there was something different about the way he was looking at her. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Do you think he's going to die?" she asked.

Harry shook his head. "I hope not," he said, and stood up, picking up the sword as he did so. "But Sirius seems to think he's pretty weak. I really don't know."