"Help me sit him up," Snape ordered Draco, who promptly did as he was told and moved to the head of the cot where he lifted Harry by the shoulders.

Snape waved his wand and kept enchanting something, but Harry wasn't listening. He was concentrating on trying to breath and ignoring the sound of the air laboring to get past his throat.

"What's wrong with him?" Draco asked, scared. His godfather ignored him for a few moments as he said another long healing spell, but when Harry finally drew in a long deep breath that reached his lungs, Snape let out a deep breath and motioned for Draco to let him back down.

"He had broken ribs. It appears that when he rolled off the cot a few minutes ago that one of them punctured his lung."

Harry was still sucking in deep breaths, trying to make sense of what was being said. He only remembered waking up face down on the floor. At first he thought he'd just gotten the wind knocked out of him, but had panicked when he couldn't get any air back.

"I have healed him to the best of my ability for the moment, but we still can't move him until his fever breaks, or apparation will only make it worse."

Harry felt nauseas and dizzy then as he lay there staring at the ceiling that seemed intent on spinning, and closed his eyes trying to block everything out.

"What do I have?" he asked.

"Probably pneumonia. Your immune system was weakened from the injuries and many days of travel."

"Is Draco ok?" Harry asked then. He really hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him since he'd sat at the table allowing Draco to heal him.

"I'm still a bit bruised," Draco said. "Uncle says we'll have to wait until we get back to the castle for some bruise balm. But other than that I'm ok."

"Good," Harry said.

Snape moved off to do something at the kitchen counter, and Draco brought a chair over to sit next to the cot.

"What happened after I left?"

Harry looked at him for a moment, and then looked away. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh," Draco paused, "ok."

Closing his eyes, Harry allowed himself to drift off into another uneasy sleep, tormented by nightmares of Sirius in his fever. In his dream, Harry sat in a shadow in timeout as Sirius threw nasty comments at him about being a death eater and a shame to his mother and father's memory. When Harry woke once again on the floor, and was lifted back onto the cot by Snape and Draco, he thought, ‘If I'm a shame to my parent's memory for helping somebody, than I'd rather not be their son.' It was a thought that only served to throw him further into the darkness he felt was engulfing him.

* * *

It was almost 12 hours before Harry's fever broke and he was helped to stand where he was allowed to lean weakly on Draco as Snape apparated them to the castle boundaries.

While Harry knew that Snape disliked him, and that the feeling had often been mutual, he felt bad that it seemed like Snape didn't want to touch him at all. Harry fell several times on their way to the castle, and Draco helped him up, sometimes struggling, but Snape never once made a move to help, several times even looking irritated that Harry was holding them up. By the time they made the Hospital Wing, where Snape deposited Harry and then left with Draco, apparently to heal him privately, Harry wasn't sure if he was more emotionally or physically exhausted. This was where Sirius would know to look for him, Harry thought, and the only two people Harry felt could protect him had just walked out the door.

As Madam Pomfrey gave Harry some medicine and administered bruise balm to a large portion of Harry's body, Harry wondered at how safe he had felt around Snape. Draco he could understand... he felt like he'd relied on him somewhat at Grimmuald Place during the month they'd spent there together, but Snape? Snape had gotten him out of there... a prayer answered, he reminded himself, and then healed Harry at the cabin, although reluctantly and probably at Draco's insistence.

Before Madam Pomfrey left, Harry asked what other staff were in the castle, and she told him only Professor Snape. Dumbledore was in another country as was McGonagall, and the other professors were with their families. Even Hagrid was gone, although Madam Pomfrey wasn't sure to where.

"I'll be leaving as well tomorrow morning. There's training I have to attend at St. Mungos. It's lucky you got here when you did," she told him, and then went to her office.

Sirius will find me, Harry told himself, alone again in the quiet ward. It was a certainty. He lay there awake, trying to formulate some sense of security for himself, but there was none. Sirius would find him, and he would be angry. Harry hugged himself, but it didn't help.

* * *

Harry had tried sitting alone to eat breakfast at the Great Hall, he really had, but all he could feel was exposed, and had not been able to eat anything that the elves had made for him for the fear that had taken permanent hold over his heart. His eyes had remained glued to the door, and his wand out under the table. Madam Pomfrey had released him and then left for her three weeks of training. Harry assumed Draco and Snape had either already eaten, or had left him there by himself in the castle, and he felt truly alone.

After sitting in the Great Hall for 20 minutes without even serving himself, Harry had startled at a noise somewhere in the distance, and jumped up from the table. Afraid that Sirius had finally come to the castle to look for him, he hurried out the teacher's entrance behind the staff table and disappeared up to his dormitory in Gryffindor tower, where he warded the door shut and sat huddled on the bed.

It was an hour before Harry moved, letting his eyes leave the door. He had to pee for one thing, and for another, he couldn't just sit there all day without doing anything. Eyes scanning the room he spied a book Ron had left on their shared desk. Across the room was an old Poster of Dean's depicting Muggles playing football, and on Seamus' nightstand there was another book which looked like a worn novel.

Sighing Harry wondered how much longer he could deny his bladder. He'd have to venture out and to the bathroom eventually, but all he could think about was that last night at Grimmuald place, where he'd tried to sneak to the bathroom, only to get caught by Sirius who'd been lurking at the end of the hall just waiting for him.

Sirius never did go after Draco once he left, Harry tried to reassure himself, but in the last few weeks since he'd started to see Sirius Black's true side, Harry's own assurances had never done much of anything for him.

Wand out, Harry rushed to the bathroom just outside the 6th year boy's dorm room and up one flight of stairs, and then back down into his room, locking the door and spelling it shut behind him. He was feeling panicky after his quick jaunt out from the safety, but he couldn't help it. Feeling a little relieved now that it was over and done with, Harry investigated the book Ron had left. It was the fifth year Potions text they'd come to despise together. Harry had just barely scraped by with his OWLs enough to continue on with NEWT Potions. Ron had not. Deciding to ignore that book, Harry went to look at the novel and found that it held little interest for him either, being about a Muggle who fought crime in the night while wearing a mask. He was surprised Seamus had had any interest in it at all and thought it likely that Dean had given it to him.

There is an entire library of books you can read, Harry thought, but that would require leaving the dorm, and he didn't want to do that alone.

Almost as if in answer to an unspoken prayer, there was a knock on the door. Harry stiffened briefly until he heard Draco's voice on the other side.

"Harry, are you in there?"

Harry unspelled the door and opened it to find Draco looking curious on the other side.

"Maybe," Harry said.

"I uh, I went to the Great Hall for breakfast but you weren't in there. It'll be boring hanging ‘round the castle for the rest of the summer. We might as well find something to do."

"Like? Your broom is gone along with the rest of my things." Harry held up his arms to show he was still in the same pair of clothes he'd been in for days now.

"Well we're not restricted to the castle are we? We might as well go buy you some new clothes in Hogsmead."

Harry fidgeted with his fingers. "We're not?"

"I've never been when I've stayed over part of the summer before."

Harry felt like he'd been struck. "You've stayed the summer before?"

"Sometimes father was away on business and mother was visiting family in France or other countries and I didn't want to go, so I stayed here with Uncle Severus while he was finishing up coursework for the next term."

How many times had Harry asked to stay and been denied? And here Draco had been allowed just because he didn't want to go to France?

"C'mon, we can go to the Gringotts office and get some of your money and then get some new clothes. I've need to order a new broom anyway and for that I'll need a catalog."

Harry nodded hesitantly, not wanting to go anywhere where Sirius might be able to get to him, but felt better about Draco going with him. He half hoped that Draco was just extending an invitation to an outing hosted by Snape, because that would be even safer, but it looked as though it would just be the two of them.

They were quiet down through the castle and across the grounds until they hit the road to town.

"How'd you get into Gryffindor tower anyhow?" Harry asked.

"They reset the house passwords during the summer. It's the same one for every house every year."

"Oh." Well that made Harry feel a whole lot better. Sirius would likely know about this and know how to get right into Gryffindor tower.

They reached Hogsmead without any crazed godfathers of interest leaping out from the forest to detain them, although Harry was still on edge when they reached the Gringotts office and Harry asked for a transfer of some funds. From there they headed to the only clothing store in town and Harry set to work quickly rebuilding his wardrobe as Draco purchased and poured over several Quidditch magazines.

"You know Potter, I think I'll buy this one. That broom of yours just seemed a little too rusty for my taste."

Harry turned from the shirt rack to look at the picture Draco was pointing at. The caption read, ‘Lightning Bolt.'

"Sirius bought mine," Harry said dully, turning away.

"Oh, well then, you'll need a new one too," Draco said.

Harry scoffed. "Like I've money for that." He pointed to the price tag in the magazine. "See, 40 Galleons."

"Not if you trade in your old one," Draco said. "They're bound to knock off at least half."

Harry purchased his clothing and after a brief stop at Honeydukes for more candy than Draco could carry on his own, they made their way back up to the castle, Harry still looking over his shoulder as often as he could manage without looking strange to Draco.

Back in Harry's dormitory Draco sat on Harry's bed as Harry put his new clothing away.

"See, I'll get the Lightning Bolt and you can trade that ratty old broom of yours in for the Cleansweep 9000."

Harry laughed then. "A Cleansweep?"

"No," Draco corrected him, "A Cleensweep 9000."

"I'll never win a match again."

"Exactly." Draco grinned and Harry came over to snatch the magazine away from him.

"Give me that." He plopped down in the desk chair and flipped through the pages. "No, I think I'll have the Blue Zephyr."

Draco peered at the page Harry was looking at and ogled a little. "It's an extra ten galleons. I thought you said you didn't have money for that."

"Well for an extra leg up on you this season I'll work it off."

"Doing what? There's no work to be had at Hogwarts."

Harry thought for a few minutes and then said, "I can brew potions and send them away by owl. A mail order business. Hermione said she read something about the apothecary in Diagonalley accepting potions. Maybe I can do business with the one in Hogsmead."

Draco laughed then, surprising Harry.

"What?" Harry asked.

"You? Brewing potions? Uncle Snape would have a fit. I saw your OWL scores when they came in, remember?"

"Well, maybe I can just brew the easy ones."

"Maybe you can just buy the Cleansweep," Draco said then, and Harry tossed the magazine at him, making Draco laugh again.

* * *

Try as he might, Harry could not fall asleep in his bed, even with the hangings closed and warded shut. Sirius had managed to get into the castle in the middle of the term during their third year, and waltz right into their dormitory where he proceeded to slice Ron's curtains to shreds in search of Peter Pettigrew.

Every noise the castle made in the darkness set Harry's senses tingling. Every stray shadow made Harry feel panicky. Finally around two in the morning, exhausted and feeling jittery from the overflow of adrenaline and stray emotions, Harry climbed under his bed with his pillow and cast a spell around the perimeter to keep intruders out. He didn't know why he'd be any safer under here than up on top of the bed, but he did, at least enough to fall into a fitful sleep.