Harry pulled on his school robe and poured a cup of coffee. He added two lumps of sugar and a dash of milk, just the way Draco liked it. As he walked into Draco's living-room, he could hear the sounds of Fred bellowing his favourite song in the shower.
Sure that he wouldn't be intruding on a private moment between his two friends, Harry burst into Draco's bedroom, lit the torches and rekindled the fire. Then he walked over to the still sleeping blond, wondering how in the world Draco managed to sleep while Fred was singing in the shower. Harry winced as Fred and his off-key vocal styling attempted to hit a high note.
"Good morning, sunshine," Harry sing-sung brightly. He pulled the duvet off of Draco's head and tugged on his blond hair playfully. "It's time for you to greet the morning with that dashing smile of yours."
Draco sneered at Harry and threw his pillow at him. "Go away!" he growled. "Do you even realise what an idiot you are sometimes?"
"I come bearing coffee and you insult me and tell me to go away? Oh, the injustice. I'll just have to drink this coffee all by myself."
Draco sat up abruptly. "Coffee? Give it to me!"
Harry smiled knowingly as he handed Draco the cup of steaming liquid. Harry knew better than to come between Draco and his morning caffeine dependency. Draco sipped the hot liquid carefully and asked, "Where'd Fred go?"
Harry nodded toward the bathroom door, where the shower could be heard running. Both jumped when Fred hit another sour note. "He's making himself all pretty for his commentating debut, I take it."
"I can't believe that McGonagall is letting him commentate during the match. Is the woman mental? I mean, I love Fred and all, but his best friend is Lee Jordan, and we both remember his commentating style very well, don't we?"
Harry laughed. "Yes, I know. Fred's going to drive her completely insane, but at least it will be fun to watch!"
"What will be fun to watch?" Fred asked, coming out of the bath and rubbing his hair dry with a big, fluffy, blue towel. He had another towel wrapped carelessly around his hips.
"You driving Professor McGonagall to an early grave with your commentating," Harry replied with a cheeky grin.
Fred feigned hurt. "You think I'll be that terrible?" he asked, his bottom lip protruding.
"When you pout like that, you remind me of him," Harry commented, pointing at Draco. "You spend too much time with him. He's starting to rub off on you."
"Oh, and I suppose that's a bad thing, Potter?" Draco growled.
"If you must know, yes. It's bad enough having one of you around, but two? The very thought sends a shiver down my spine."
Draco glowered playfully. "You want to take this outside? I think I can manage to duel you again."
"I would, really I would, but it's already 8:45 and I want to have breakfast before the match," Harry said, pointing to the clock. "After all, it is the Quidditch Cup finals."
Draco yelped, jumping up out of bed, heedless to the fact that he was completely starkers. "Why didn't you tell me? I'm running late! Why doesn't anyone ever wake me up? It's the final and you're allowing me to sleep in? Make me get up, for Merlin's sake!"
"I was under the impression that I was doing just that," Harry said dryly. "You're the one grumbling about not wanting to get up. What am I, your personal alarm clock?"
"Out of my way! I've got to shower!" Draco said, pushing his boyfriend out of his path and dashing through the bathroom door. He slammed it behind him, and the two could hear Draco cursing from behind the door.
Harry smiled at Fred's exasperated look. "He's in a bit of a panic, isn't he?"
Fred grinned and went over to the closet to search for a shirt and trousers. "Why wouldn't he? You're the one person he can't beat at Quidditch, and the Slytherin-Gryffindor match is always the most anticipated, especially since this is the final match of the tournament."
"I know. I just wish he'd calm down. We don't want him falling off his broom or anything like that. I'm going down to breakfast. See you at the match." Harry dashed across Draco's rooms and into his own, running into Severus in his hurry to grab his broom, which he had been polishing and fixing for the past week in preparation for his match.
"Sorry, Sev. I didn't see you there," he said, grinning at his lover.
"I see that my effort to erase myself from your life is nearly complete," Severus quipped. "Excited about the match?"
Harry nodded. "Of course. I've been looking forward to this match all season. Your House is going to get its arse kicked, and Gryffindor is going to win the Cup when I catch that Snitch!"
Severus laughed heartily. "Oh, you think so? I beg to differ. I predict that my House will be the superior today. Remember, you and Draco are on equal footing, so to speak, since you have the same broom."
"If you recall, Draco had the superior broom in second year and he still didn't beat me," Harry reminded him.
Severus waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Lucius bought his son's way onto the team that year, though I daresay Draco was the best person for the position of Seeker. Now he's at his best. I suggest that you watch out for him. No one else is a better match for you than he is. I still say Slytherin is going to win."
Harry rolled his eyes and glared playfully. "It's nice to know where your loyalties lie," he teased.
Severus pulled him close and kissed him. "I know what you're capable of, Harry. My heart is yours but my school loyalty belongs to Slytherin alone. It's my House, and I want Slytherin to win the Cup today."
"Yes, I know. I'd better get to breakfast before my team loses their heads. The last thing I want to do is not eat. Knowing my luck, I would probably faint in mid-air, fall off my broom and plummet twenty feet to the ground. Now that would be fun."
"Then go eat. No one is stopping you. Where's Draco?"
"Ferret boy was in the shower when I left. At the speed he was going, he's probably out and dressed by now."
Severus gave Harry another kiss. "Good luck today and be careful."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ready for your match, Harry?" Sirius asked, sitting down on the empty seat next to his son.
Harry grinned and nodded. "I can't wait! I always like playing against Draco. Don't tell him I told you, since we don't want to give him an inflated head, but I've always thought he could be better than me. It's just that he tries so hard to beat me, that he sometimes loses concentration on what he's doing. But this is going to be a lot of fun, and it's for the Cup!"
"Yes, well, you just be careful, and have an eye on those Beaters on the Slytherin team. I have a bad feeling about them," Sirius said, his narrowed eyes peering over at the Slytherin table.
Harry smirked. "Crabbe and Goyle are enough to give anyone a bad feeling. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Honestly, you and Severus are like a couple of mother hens. When you're quite finished, go taunt Severus. You know you want to, and I know he's just dying to throw some sarcastic comments your way."
"I believe that I'll do just that," Sirius said, his eyes falling on the Potions professor, who had finished his breakfast quickly and was gliding towards the main doors of the Great Hall.
Harry watched his father run after his lover, and Harry smiled when he heard Sirius yell, "Oh, Severus!" Harry shook his head. He had a feeling that they were going to bet on the betting. He was nervous enough as it was.
Harry turned and looked at his team; each was a mixture of excitement and nervousness. Everyone was chatting about the game, and about what their chances were against a team as good as Slytherin. He listened to them for a long while before interrupting.
Harry told his team, "Look. Our team is only thirty points ahead of Slytherin in the standings. This is anyone's game. Everyone, just do your absolute best and we'll win the Cup. We all know our jobs, and we've practised harder than ever. I know this team can win, even if we are playing against the best team Slytherin's had in a long time. I have faith in this team. Have faith in yourselves, and have fun!" Harry looked at his watch. It was now 10:19. "It's time to head out to the field."
The sun shone brightly and there was a light wind blowing as they walked toward the Quidditch pitch. 'The weather is perfect,' murmured Ron. There had been the possibility of rain, but the rain clouds had either passed them by or evaporated away, leaving only a speckle of white, fluffy clouds in their wake.
They checked the pitch to make sure everything was in order, and then they headed to the dressing room to change into their uniforms and go over their strategy for the match.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Is everyone ready?' Harry asked as he picked up his broom.
Everyone answered with a resounding 'Yes!' and the seven players marched onto the field. They had practised relentlessly for this match, and Ron had even put aside his prejudices in the quest to 'kick some Slytherin arse.'
The two teams met in the middle and Harry and Draco shook hands. They mounted their broomsticks and kicked off the moment Madam Hooch blew her whistle.
'Welcome to the match we've all been waiting for, between Gryffindor and Slytherin. This match will decide who will win the Quidditch Cup. I'm your guest commentator, Fred Weasley. Many of you may remember that I was a Gryffindor Beater along with my brother George. If I may say so, we were the best-'
McGonagall cut him off impatiently. 'Where did you go, the Lee Jordan School for Longwinded Commentators? Just get on with it!'
George grinned at his former head of house. 'Yes, ma'am! I was simply giving the spectators a little background information about who I am. We must give the public what it wants!'
'Mr Weasley, no one wants to know your life story, and the entire school knows perfectly well who you are. You spend more time here than you do at that joke shop of yours!'
'Yes, well, when you have a gorgeous boyfriend like I do, it's hard to stay away. Incidentally, my boyfriend, for those of you who don't know, is the incredibly sexy Slytherin Seeker, Draco Malfoy. Doesn't he look adorable in that uniform?'
'MR WEASLEY, WOULD YOU PLEASE?'
'Oh, all right. Keep your hair on. Gryffindor Chaser Ron Weasley, my little brother, has possession of the Quaffle-'
Harry and Draco were high above the action, looking for the Snitch and laughing at Fred's commentary. As Harry flew by Draco, he yelled, 'I don't think McGonagall will ask Fred to commentate again!'
Draco snorted. 'If she did, it will be for a Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw game! Look out!'
Harry sent his broom into a dive as a Bludger narrowly missed his head.
'Oh! Did you see that! Crabbe hit a Bludger toward the Gryffindor Seeker, who narrowly missed getting his head caved in. Now if it were me-'
'Well, it isn't you. Now would you keep your eye on the game? Look, see there. Your brother just scored and you missed it.'
'Sorry about that, Ron! All right, Blaise Zabini of Slytherin is in possession…Dean Thomas makes a spectacular save. He throws the Quaffle to Hermione Granger and she's heading toward the goal. She dodges the Bludger sent her way by Vincent Crabbe of Slytherin. She takes her shot and…score!'
Harry didn't hear any of this, because he quickly forgot about Fred and his irritated head of house as he searched for the Snitch and kept an eye on the Bludgers. Catching the Snitch would be impossible if he were out cold. As he passed by the Slytherin stands, he heard the ecstatic cheers from the Slytherins as one of their Chasers scored again.
He took the chance to glance quickly at his lover, who was sitting with his house. He looked back just in time to see Gregory Goyle send a Bludger his way with a resounding 'thwack!' Harry rolled and the Bludger sailed by, causing half of the Slytherins to duck out of the Bludger's way. Neville sailed up behind the Bludger and slammed it toward one of the Slytherin Chasers.
'You all right there, Harry?' Neville asked.
'I'm great! Don't worry about me!' He glanced at Severus again and saw that he was a touch paler than usual. Harry smiled and winked at Severus, in an effort to irritate his lover out of his worrying, before soaring above the game in an effort to find the elusive little ball.
Ten minutes later, Gryffindor was up by twenty points. Harry spotted the Snitch to the right of the Slytherin goal. He accelerated quickly, hoping to get a head start on Draco.
No such luck…Draco had spotted the Snitch at almost the same time Harry did. He pulled up close to the Gryffindor Seeker and grinned at him. Harry chuckled and sent his broom into a dive as the Snitch flew toward the ground. Draco followed his lead and soon they were flying four feet above the ground, chasing that little golden ball.
The Snitch soared back into area of play, with Draco and Harry following close behind. They bumped each other, trying to throw each other off their game, all the while dodging through the players. Draco narrowly missed running into Ron.
Harry vaguely registered that Gryffindor had scored again and were now thirty points ahead. Draco swerved away from his course as a Bludger was knocked his way, causing him to lose track of the Snitch.
Harry was nearing the Snitch, but a kick to the back of his broom by Goyle knocked him off his course, and the Snitch disappeared. The Gryffindor supporters groaned while the Slytherins cheered loudly.
Both Slytherin and Gryffindor scored back and forth as the two Seekers searched for the little golden ball that could hand their teams the Cup, but it wasn't until the score was tied at ninety points a piece that they caught sight of the Snitch, this time just above the Gryffindor goal.
Harry flew as fast as his broom could go. He knew Draco was right behind him. He sent his broom into a dive as the Snitch headed toward the ground once again. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Draco pulling up right next to him. He carefully watched the Snitch, and when he realised that it was going to fly back up, he aimed his broom toward the area he thought the Snitch was heading. He was right, and a few seconds later, he could feel the little ball fluttering in his hand.
The crowd cheered loudly, all houses except for Slytherin screaming their congratulation. Harry circled around a few times and then faced Draco, who smiled at him. Harry felt awful for his friend, knowing how much Draco wanted to win the Cup, at least once. He could see the disappointment in Draco's eyes, even if he was happy for Harry.
As Harry started to fly toward his friend, he saw Draco's face turn from disappointment to absolute horror.
'Harry, look out!' he heard Draco scream as he pointed directly behind him.
Confused, Harry turned his head just in time to see two Bludgers that were aiming for his head. Pain exploded inside his head as he felt the impact of one of the Bludgers on his left temple, and darkness fell in his mind as he felt a second impact at the back of his head, near the base of his neck.
Everyone watched, paralysed with horror, as Harry fell off his broom toward the hard ground thirty feet below. Draco tried to reach him before he hit the ground, but it was impossible, and his stomach lurched as he heard Harry hit the ground with a sickening crunch.
Draco landed next to Harry. 'Harry!' he yelled, kneeling down beside his closest friend. 'Oh, Merlin!' he whispered as he took his first good look at the Gryffindor Seeker. Harry's legs were all twisted, as were his arms, and blood was seeping from his mouth and his shirt, where a broken rib had broken through his skin. Draco was sure that Harry's skull was broken as well, in the places that the Bludgers had hit. 'Please be alive,' he whispered as Harry's team-mates stepped behind him.
With the exception of a few screams from some of the younger female students in the stands, the crowd stood silent as the teachers ran out of the stands to Harry's still body.
Severus was the first to arrive. After his heart fell into his shoes while watching Harry plummet to the earth, he'd screamed at Blaise Zabini to come over there. He'd thrown the young man off his broom and into the stands and used the broomstick to reach the ground.
'Is he breathing?' he asked his nephew as he kneeled on the ground. He looked over Harry's body and his heart died a little. There was no way that his lover was going to come out of this unscathed.
'Just barely,' Draco managed to squeak past the lump in his throat. 'Is he going to die?' Draco couldn't bear the thought of losing one of the few people he actually trusted, one of the few people he loved and loved him in return.
'I don't know, Dragon,' Severus answered truthfully. As much as he would love to tell Draco otherwise, he couldn't do it.
'Please, everyone, out of my way!' Madam Pomfrey yelled, pushing her way through the Gryffindor team. She had been watching from one of the windows, and she had seen someone fall to the ground. Knowing that she may be needed, she had quickly gathered her bag and run outside.
Madam Pomfrey gasped as she knelt beside the unconscious boy. 'Merlin!' she choked. Gathering herself, she pulled out her wands and started shouting orders.
'Minerva, you and Hooch get the teams and the other students back to their rooms immediately. They'll only hinder our progress by milling about.' Minerva and Hooch nodded and immediately started gathering and calling the students.
'Sinistra, I want you to immediately go to St. Mungos. Tell them we have a student here with severe head trauma, at least twenty broken bones, including a fractured skull, and internal bleeding. If they have a problem sending their very best, tell them it's Harry Potter, and he cannot be moved until he is stabilised,' Pomfrey ordered. Sinistra nodded and ran for the front gates. As soon as she was out of the wards, she Disapparated.
'Fred Weasley, you, Granger, and your brother and sister will make sure the halls are cleared from here to the hospital wing. You have my express permission to hex into oblivion anyone who dares to get in the way.' The five nodded, not daring to do anything that would hinder recovery for their friend, and ran toward the school, wands drawn.
'Draco, go find the Bloody Baron. Tell him that we have a severely injured student that we will be transporting to the hospital wing, and he's to have an eye on that Peeves. If that poltergeist so much as makes a peep anywhere near Harry, I will personally find a way to rid Hogwarts of that menace forever. 'Albus, you take care of Remus, Sirius, and Severus. Draco, after you find the Baron, help Albus. I need to help Harry now, and I can't do that with them hovering about.'
Draco reluctantly got up off the ground. He hugged his uncle before running toward the school. Albus pulled Severus away from Harry's body and made sure that Remus and Sirius kept their distance, all the while struggling to leave Harry be and wait for Pomfrey to do what she must.
All the while Pomfrey was barking orders, she ran her wands over Harry, assessing the severity of the injuries. 'Professor Sprout, be a dear and comfort Hagrid. I can hear him bawling from here,' Pomfrey stated, her hands not stopping for a moment.
Albus watched the school's mediwitch as she worked. 'How bad is it, Poppy?'
'I'm not going to lie to you. It's bad…very bad. I'm afraid to move him before the mediwitches from St. Mungos get here. Right now I'm just trying to stabilise him enough and stop some of his internal bleeding.'
'Will he live?' Sirius asked hoarsely. He was clinging to Remus's side, as if he would fall apart if he were to let go. He'd just got Harry in his life on a permanent basis, he'd just adopted him, and he wasn't ready for his son to be taken away from him so soon. He didn't think he could stand life without Harry in it.
Remus was crying openly, not caring what anyone thought. He was clutching Severus's hand like a lifeline, silently praying to any and every god that was listening that Harry would be all right.
Severus was standing as still and rigid as a statue, displaying no emotion on the outside, but inside he was frantic. He didn't know what he would do if Harry were to die now. He'd spent so much time saving the boy, and now that he was in love with Harry, he didn't know what he'd do or who he'd kill.
'I don't know,' Pomfrey replied truthfully. 'The mediwizards at St. Mungos are the best, and if they can't help him, no one can,' she explained, working on Harry all the while.
Fifteen minutes later, Professor Sinistra returned with three mediwizards in tow, and four mediwitches.
As soon as they reached the wounded boy, they immediately got to work, ignoring the wizards standing around, watching them. Pomfrey told them his status and what was wrong with him. They worked for another thirty minutes and then deemed him stable enough to be moved into the hospital wing, provided that they move extremely carefully.
Albus and Severus took the lead, making sure that the hallways were empty of both people and items that could hinder the mediwizards' progress, and Sirius and Remus followed behind the group, to make certain that no one tried anything stupid.
All of them knew one thing for sure. They had all watched the end of the match, and they all saw that Crabbe and Goyle deliberately aimed those Bludgers at Harry's head. There was no doubt in any of their minds that this incident was carefully planned out. The two Slytherins had meant to kill Harry, and they very well may have succeeded.