On The Tightrope 15/48
Title: On The Tightrope ~ Hero Complex (15/48)
Author: Lire lire_casander
Pairing: Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy
Rating: PG this chapter. NC-17 overall.
Word Count: 810
Beta: Lovely B. Any mistakes left are my own fault.
Disclaimer: I do not own in any form or shape these characters, JK Rowling does. Just playing with them for my own amusement and yours.
Summary: Harry Potter has saved the world, and now the world has left him out. When desperation becomes too much to bear, he finds solace in an unexpected act of salvation committed by an unexpected hero.
Warnings (overall): Angst. Intents of suicide. Dark themes. Fluff. DH-compliant, including epilogue. Takes place between the final chapter and the epilogue.
Warnings of this chapter: Angst. Mentions of cutting and attempted suicide.
Author's Note: Written for 100quills's prompt table using prompt 17. Grave.
McGonagall's voice broke through Harry’s thoughts and took him back to the reality they were living.
"Harry, I need to speak to you."
He nodded, the edge of the blade still resting in his pocket as he removed his bleeding hand from it and hid it behind his back. He followed the teacher outside the hospital wing, wondering what she might want to tell him - whether she was going to reprimand him for visiting Draco when he was still asleep.
"Harry, this cannot happen again," she started, once the swinging doors slapped shut. "I don't want to think about what would have happened to Draco Malfoy had you not gone after him. Poppy says that a few minutes later and..." McGonagall closed her eyes a brief moment. "Draco needs help, but he won't go seeking it. Moreover, no one seems to care about what happens to him, what happens with him. No one except you and the few who had fortunately listened to you."
Harry shifted uncomfortably, moving his weight from one foot to the other. "I don't think I understand."
"I need you to make sure he doesn't make another stupid mistake. He needs to be taken care of, but I cannot focus only on him while I try to run this school out of the weariness surrounding it." McGonagall sighed, the heaviness of her words - of the defeat behind the sounds - imposing itself between them. Harry had never seen her that crushed. "You share a bedroom with him; I think that you are our best option, Harry. You saved him once; now he needs to be saved a second time."
Harry shook his head. He didn't see it as clearLY as McGonagall was putting it. "We are no longer enemies, but we aren't friends either, Professor. And he is as stubborn as a mule when he doesn't want something. Draco won’t accept this." He remembered the first night back at Hogwarts, how the blond had saved him from falling, from doing exactly what Draco had attempted to only that morning. The feeling swelling in his chest threatened to drown him, but he managed to tame them. "I can try, Professor. But who would look after him while I teach?"
The headmistress smiled softly. "I'm sure your friends will be pleased to help you with this."
The memory of his previous row with them came to his mind at once. He wasn't as sure as McGonagall about Ron and Hermione helping him. Ginny was completely out of the question, with the way he had treated her lately, and their break up so fresh in the air. Harry looked back at the closed doors, imagining the defenseless lithe body lying on a bed, Madam Pomfrey checking on him as he rested in a self-induced sleep. Harry shuddered - thinking about a world in which Draco Malfoy might not be, a world without his arch nemesis, and the thoughts scared him. Too many things had changed over the years - since his parent's death, his life had been constantly transforming. But, through all those alterations, two things had remained untouched. His friends' support, and Malfoy's hatred.
He needed them both to remain sane.
*-*-*-*-*-*
"Malfoy what?" Ron managed to screech with his mouth full of Chocolate Frogs, as the friends were sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room. "You 'ave to be kidding."
Hermione slapped her boyfriend in the arm to make him shut up, and asked in an interested, yet solemn voice, "But why, Harry? He doesn't seem to be the type of boy to try and... Well, not to me, at least."
Harry shook his head. "But he did. You should have seen his arms, 'Mione. Those scars... they hit at me, and I hadn't even touched any of them. It hurt... it hurt somewhere deep inside, and I can't even understand why." Harry closed his fists, his nails digging into his palms.
"So, what now?" Hermione demanded, her bushy hair like a halo around her head as she leant against the wooden back of her chair, her voice grave and thick with worry. "If he's tried to... kill himself once, he may as well try twice."
"That's what McGonagall wants to prevent," Harry explained. "I'm supposed to watch him, but I won't be able to while I am teaching."
Ron squared his shoulders and spoke sharply. "We will be with him then, don't worry." Hermione patted his shoulder, a soft and fond smile on her lips, as Harry gaped at his friend. "Hey, don't look at me as if I had grown a second head, Harry. You were going to ask us to, weren't you?"
"Yes, yes, I was but--- I thought you couldn’t stand him."
"And I can’t," Ron said, his fingers reaching Hermione's and lacing their hands together. "But maybe you aren't the only one with a hero complex."
Back | Next
Author: Lire lire_casander
Pairing: Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy
Rating: PG this chapter. NC-17 overall.
Word Count: 810
Beta: Lovely B. Any mistakes left are my own fault.
Disclaimer: I do not own in any form or shape these characters, JK Rowling does. Just playing with them for my own amusement and yours.
Summary: Harry Potter has saved the world, and now the world has left him out. When desperation becomes too much to bear, he finds solace in an unexpected act of salvation committed by an unexpected hero.
Warnings (overall): Angst. Intents of suicide. Dark themes. Fluff. DH-compliant, including epilogue. Takes place between the final chapter and the epilogue.
Warnings of this chapter: Angst. Mentions of cutting and attempted suicide.
Author's Note: Written for 100quills's prompt table using prompt 17. Grave.
McGonagall's voice broke through Harry’s thoughts and took him back to the reality they were living.
"Harry, I need to speak to you."
He nodded, the edge of the blade still resting in his pocket as he removed his bleeding hand from it and hid it behind his back. He followed the teacher outside the hospital wing, wondering what she might want to tell him - whether she was going to reprimand him for visiting Draco when he was still asleep.
"Harry, this cannot happen again," she started, once the swinging doors slapped shut. "I don't want to think about what would have happened to Draco Malfoy had you not gone after him. Poppy says that a few minutes later and..." McGonagall closed her eyes a brief moment. "Draco needs help, but he won't go seeking it. Moreover, no one seems to care about what happens to him, what happens with him. No one except you and the few who had fortunately listened to you."
Harry shifted uncomfortably, moving his weight from one foot to the other. "I don't think I understand."
"I need you to make sure he doesn't make another stupid mistake. He needs to be taken care of, but I cannot focus only on him while I try to run this school out of the weariness surrounding it." McGonagall sighed, the heaviness of her words - of the defeat behind the sounds - imposing itself between them. Harry had never seen her that crushed. "You share a bedroom with him; I think that you are our best option, Harry. You saved him once; now he needs to be saved a second time."
Harry shook his head. He didn't see it as clearLY as McGonagall was putting it. "We are no longer enemies, but we aren't friends either, Professor. And he is as stubborn as a mule when he doesn't want something. Draco won’t accept this." He remembered the first night back at Hogwarts, how the blond had saved him from falling, from doing exactly what Draco had attempted to only that morning. The feeling swelling in his chest threatened to drown him, but he managed to tame them. "I can try, Professor. But who would look after him while I teach?"
The headmistress smiled softly. "I'm sure your friends will be pleased to help you with this."
The memory of his previous row with them came to his mind at once. He wasn't as sure as McGonagall about Ron and Hermione helping him. Ginny was completely out of the question, with the way he had treated her lately, and their break up so fresh in the air. Harry looked back at the closed doors, imagining the defenseless lithe body lying on a bed, Madam Pomfrey checking on him as he rested in a self-induced sleep. Harry shuddered - thinking about a world in which Draco Malfoy might not be, a world without his arch nemesis, and the thoughts scared him. Too many things had changed over the years - since his parent's death, his life had been constantly transforming. But, through all those alterations, two things had remained untouched. His friends' support, and Malfoy's hatred.
He needed them both to remain sane.
*-*-*-*-*-*
"Malfoy what?" Ron managed to screech with his mouth full of Chocolate Frogs, as the friends were sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room. "You 'ave to be kidding."
Hermione slapped her boyfriend in the arm to make him shut up, and asked in an interested, yet solemn voice, "But why, Harry? He doesn't seem to be the type of boy to try and... Well, not to me, at least."
Harry shook his head. "But he did. You should have seen his arms, 'Mione. Those scars... they hit at me, and I hadn't even touched any of them. It hurt... it hurt somewhere deep inside, and I can't even understand why." Harry closed his fists, his nails digging into his palms.
"So, what now?" Hermione demanded, her bushy hair like a halo around her head as she leant against the wooden back of her chair, her voice grave and thick with worry. "If he's tried to... kill himself once, he may as well try twice."
"That's what McGonagall wants to prevent," Harry explained. "I'm supposed to watch him, but I won't be able to while I am teaching."
Ron squared his shoulders and spoke sharply. "We will be with him then, don't worry." Hermione patted his shoulder, a soft and fond smile on her lips, as Harry gaped at his friend. "Hey, don't look at me as if I had grown a second head, Harry. You were going to ask us to, weren't you?"
"Yes, yes, I was but--- I thought you couldn’t stand him."
"And I can’t," Ron said, his fingers reaching Hermione's and lacing their hands together. "But maybe you aren't the only one with a hero complex."
Back | Next