The next morning during Charms, Kit and Su were partnered for a task.

"You and Ron were getting frisky, hmm?" Kit teased. "Otherwise I reckon you'd have come to the dorm earlier and fallen asleep in your bed."

Su blushed. "Shh, don't be so loud."

"I wasn't being loud, I whispered!"

Su giggled lightly, her cheeks pink. "Well, you're not wrong. It was incredible."

"Congratulations," Kit told her, patting her back. "You seem quite happy with how it went."

"I am! It's more amazing than what you let on. You should have told me how good it felt."

Well, that would have proved difficult, considering Kit hadn't actually done it. But she played along. "Oh, well, I didn't know if it would go that well the first time, it um, didn't for me," she lied. "Hurt a bit."

"Yeah, it did at first, but it wasn't that bad, we both were learning and he was gentle— really comforting. I think next time it will be a bit better, too, once we're comfortable."

"That certainly explains why he has a certain glow about him, today," Kit said, smirking as she looked over at Ron, who was quite happy. "Just make sure you're ready to ride your broomstick instead of his when we play Gryffindor in a few days—"

"Kit!" said Su, covering her face and muffling some giggles. "I did not ride his broomstick."

"Didn't you?" said Kit innocently.

"No, but I might next time. Have you... to Draco?"

"No, I haven't," said Kit, so she at least wouldn't be lying.

Su's eyes widened. "Really? You mean— he doesn't mind doing the work all the time?"

Kit tried to think of their work on the Vanishing Cabinet so she wouldn't lie again. "He doesn't mind. He enjoys it, actually. Doesn't want me overexerting myself."

"Wow," said Su. "Not that I mind having to do some work, of course— I heard it can be quite nice. But wow."

Kit squirmed in her seat. "Er— anyway, did you hear that Ginny and Dean broke up?"

"I did!" said Su, not minding the change in conversation. "Oh— wait, Flitwick—"

They both stopped chatting as he made his way toward them. "Let's see, girls, did you turn your vinegar into wine yet?"

Kit and Su both showed him their goblets, which were full of deep crimson liquid.

"Very good," he said happily, moving on to the next row of students.

"Anyway," said Su, "I heard they broke up for some really random reason though— like, Dean pushed Ginny or something and she was saying he wasn't letting her be independent, blah blah blah."

Kit was marveling at how accurate the Felix Felicis had been last night. Harry's luck had included Kit tripping and causing a break up.

"Sucks for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, though," mused Su. "Dean and Ginny won't be as coordinated at our match. But— better for us! We're going to have the upper hand. All us Chasers have our formations down really well. And I'm glad Declan has improved so much— are you sure about him replacing Stewart as Keeper?"

"Yep," Kit answered. "I think he's the one we need to stand a chance against Ginny and Demelza. As for Seeking... you reckon you want to do it this time? I think you'll give Harry a run for his money— better than what Cho can do against him. She hasn't been trying all that hard lately, she's really stressed about her N.E.W.T.s."

Su beamed up at her. "You think so? I really really would like to play Seeker this time. Stephen and Orla worked really well with you in the practice match we had."

Kit nodded. "I think it's the decision to make."

"Oh, I love having you as Captain!" she sighed, putting her arms around her. "You're fair and all that!"

Kit raised a brow. "I'm also your best friend, so you get a teensy bit of favoritism. As unbiased as favoritism can be..."

"Ah, I know it's not really that— you're logical in all of this. Even Cho says you strategize better than Roger ever did. But maybe that's because he and the other boys who graduated had been playing together for so long, they didn't need so much strategy work."

"You still get favoritism," Kit pointed out. "Just a small amount of it, but an amount nevertheless."

"Glad to be on the Captain's good side, then," Su said, wiggling her eyebrows.

After the free period they'd had following Charms, they'd had Herbology, where, as usual, Professor Sprout had presented them with a very dangerous plant to work with. Kit was rather good at dealing with them, but no one in the class was as good as Neville.

"I reckon Longbottom is actually going to teach Herbology," Draco mused as they made their way to lunch. He held onto his stomach. "Bloody Merlin, I'm starving."

"Well, you won't be, soon," said Kit. "And yes, I can see him teaching it. He deals with those Fluxweed plants like nobody's business. That'll change the whole Herbology teacher being Hufflepuff Head of House, though."

"Sucks that they loose that match up with the 'H's,'" said Draco, tucking his hands in his pockets. "I can't imagine every being a Head of House. Too much you have to deal with. Helping everyone plan their classes... gross."

"I think I'd have more patience with that than with actually teaching," Kit thought aloud. "I mean, first and second year everyone has the same classes, and after third year, you kind of rely on the kids to have their own ideas for what they want to do in terms of electives. Fifth year is complex, I suppose, because you have to prepare everyone for O.W.L.s, but test prep can't be that bad. Sixth and seventh year career counseling can't be that hard."

"I suppose, but all the Heads of House are already Professors. You'd have to teach something."

"Oh... right," she sighed. "Well, that was fun to think of while it lasted. Say— what are they doing over there?"

They had entered the Great Hall amidst other students, but as they stopped at the Slytherin table to grab a couple of rolls, they'd seen that several Gryffindors were still clustered near the doors.

"Oh, shit," said Draco, getting a bit tense as he craned his neck up to see what was going on. "Katie Bell is back..."

Looking healthy as ever, Katie Bell was surrounded by her jubilant friends. "I'm really well!" she said happily. "They let me out of St. Mungos on Monday, I had a couple of days at home with Mum and Dad and then came back here this morning. Leanne was just telling me about McLaggen and the last match, Harry..."

Kit glanced to where Harry had approached her. "Yeah," he told her, "well, now you're back and Ron's fit, we'll have a decent chance of thrashing Ravenclaw, which means we could still be in the running for the Cup."

"Fuck," sighed Kit, pulling Draco back out of the Great Hall as soon as they grabbed some food. "That fucking sucks. Katie, Demelza, and Ginny are going to give us a good fight. I was hoping Dean would stay as Chaser. I still think I should leave Su as Seeker, so she has a shot of getting us a lot of points..."

But Draco wasn't listening at all. He looked very scared. "Kit," he said lowly as they passed them. "What if she remembers?"

"I don't think she will be able to," said Kit, furrowing her brows as he turned the hall toward the second floor girls' lavatory. "Are— are you worried?"

"Aren't you?" he asked a bit sharply. "She could point us out?"

"She won't. Neither of us were at Hogsmeade, and if she managed to see Rosmerta, no one will know it was us!"

"But what if they do?" he hissed as he yanked her into the lavatory, knowing no one went in there. Moaning Myrtle didn't seem to be around either. "What if they know?"

She put her hands firmly on his shoulders. "Draco, breathe. They don't know. They won't find out..."

But he shook his head wildly, looking as though his mind was betraying him. He was getting overwhelmed with guilt and paranoia. He went to the sink, and turned on the water, dipping his hands in and splashing the water over his face. He shuddered and shook his head, clutching either side of the sink, bowing his head, and letting out the softest of whimpers.

Kit came over and rubbed his back. "You needn't be worried," she whispered, looking into one of the mirrors and seeing Moaning Myrtle had emerged from one of the cubicles. "Er— hi, Myrtle."

She floated over, looking worried. Probably because no one came in this bathroom unless they needed a good cry. She drifted beside him. "What's wrong?" she crooned soothingly. "I can try to help you."

"No," said Draco, starting to shake. "No— no one can help me. This— I should never have gotten you involved, Kit."

"We already established that I got myself involved," she said, leaning down to look him in the eyes. "It's going to be fine."

"It isn't!" he hissed. "I can't do it... not anymore... but I have to! If we don't finish this soon, he'll kill me, and he'll kill my mother, and he'll get your father to k-kill you..."

He let out a sob, tears beginning to flood his blue eyes. "I-I should have done this alone from the start..."

"No one should have to do anything alone," said Myrtle, who didn't understand what they were talking about, but could clearly sense that he was struggling to cope with a duty.

"We discussed this, Draco," Kit pressed on. "Doing this alone would have destroyed you. I... I don't regret having helped you. You would be broken dealing with this guilt by yourself. Don't be worried— we're going to figure this out...."

He moved his head to glance up at her, but his eyes darted toward the mirror, and his pupils dilated.

Kit had only just registered that someone must be behind them, and by then, Draco had whirled around, wand out, shooting a hex at Harry, who'd been the one spying.

"NO!" screamed Kit, trying to stop him from firing another, though Draco merely shoved her out of the way, since Harry had fired back a spell and nearly hit her.

"No! No! Stop it!" squealed Moaning Myrtle, her voice echoing loudly around the tiled room. "Stop! STOP!"

Kit raised her own wand, but there was no telling how she could intercept— they were firing at each other so fast that she wasn't sure how she could safely intervene without one of them getting hurt. "Please!" she cried. "Stop it— both of you— stop!"

Draco had clearly had enough. Face contorted in anger, he jabbed his wand toward Harry. "Cruci—"

Kit had chosen that moment to fire, so that she could disarm him, because there was absolutely no way that she was going to let him use an Unforgivable on Harry. But that left Draco defenseless as Harry, from the floor, bellowed, "SECTUMSEMPRA!"

The spell hit, and blood immediately spurted from Draco's face and chest, as though he had been slashed with an invisible sword. His eyes widened and he staggered backward, collapsing onto the waterlogged floor with a great splash, letting out a hoarse gasp.

"No," gasped Harry as Kit screamed, running toward Draco.

"Hey— hey—" she said, trying to stop him from clawing at his blood-soaked chest. "Stop— let me—" her shaky hands pressed hard over the wounds, though more were appearing in the nearby vicinity as every single second ticked by. He was pale and trembling, his head falling back as he struggled to draw breath.

"Draco— Draco breathe—" said Kit, but her voice didn't sound normal. She didn't realize she'd started crying, hands frantically trying to stop the blood flow, though nothing was working. "Oh— oh God no—" she scrambled for her wand as Draco wheezed. Myrtle was screaming something, but Kit couldn't hear her.

What to do, what to do? She didn't know the types of spells that could heal this sort of thing. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she kept pressing down on the wounds, watching more spots of blood appearing all over his body, making all the water on the floor become murky crimson. Myrtle was screaming and Harry was muttering incoherently in shock, and Kit couldn't think— she didn't know enough of what she needed to do, and it was terrifying her that she was going to fail at trying to save him, that she would be responsible for his death...

"Episkey," she said frantically. "Consano Medeor— Coalesco Integro— oh Merlin— it's— it's not working!"

Draco was struggling to breathe, and blood was pooling onto the floor at an alarming rate. Kit's hands were flying all over, pressing and trying to stop the blood flow, but the spells she was trying weren't working.

"I-I don't— I don't know enough Healing magic yet!" she said, though she was trying desperately to do something— anything. She started to grow paranoid. Had Draco already lost too much blood? Was he losing oxygen to his brain? Was it affecting his lungs? She was panicking despite her hands subconsciously working to stop the blood. Perhaps, she didn't have Healing hands after all...

Someone appeared beside her. "Thompson," came Snape's voice. "Good— you managed to stop quite a bit of the blood, but I need you to repeat after me."

Her wand was ready before he'd finished speaking. He started to mutter an incantation that sounded almost like a song, tracing his wand over the deep wounds. She mimicked him, muttering, "Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur..."

It seemed like this particular spell was exactly what had been necessary to fully stop the bleeding. The spells Kit had tried, combined with her pressing her hands on his abdomen, had eased the flow of blood enough so that Draco wasn't dead, but hadn't been sufficient to heal him completely.

"Get him to the Hospital Wing, now," said Snape sharply as the wounds knitted themselves.

Kit didn't hesitate. Mustering all the strength that she could, she pulled Draco up. He was barely conscious enough to move, but she held him against her, dragging him along and relying on his feet to follow hers. She wasn't anywhere near strong enough to carry him completely, but she was sure as hell not about to give up, even though her body ached trying to support his weight. He was taller and heavier than her, holding more muscle mass than she. She ignored the straining feeling in her arms as she held him upright, not wanting to let him fall. Her legs shook violently, threatening to drop them both to the ground, but somehow she managed, forcing them to carry them back the way they'd come.

"KIT!" yelled Blaise, who'd just been coming out of the Great Hall. "Holy shit—"

"Blaise," she gasped, keeping Draco standing as his head lolled to the side— he'd passed out. "Help— help, please—"

He didn't need to be told twice. He hoisted Draco up by his arms, and Kit took his legs, the two still struggling to carry all the limp weight. It was easier now, but Kit was still shaking. Her face was stained with tears and there was blood all over her robes. Though, that was nothing compared to how drenched Draco's clothes were— crimson red.

"M-Madam Pomfrey!" Kit cried as she threw open the door. Her voice cracked, and she felt herself starting to cry again. "Madam Pomfrey! Help!"

The matron came running, and pulled them to the nearest table, where she began treating him immediately, shoving some dittany down his throat, and pulling his shirt and pants off to rub a paste over the scars, which were still not receding.

"What the hell happened?" said Blaise quietly as Madam Pomfrey began to wave her wand over Draco's body.

"Harry," breathed Kit shakily. "He— he cursed him— he— he overheard us in the bathroom—"

The color drained from Blaise's face. "He knows?"

"N-No— not— not completely but... b-but his suspicions will d-definitely be confirmed. H-He knows I'm i-involved now..."

It was hours before Draco awoke, and Kit had been crying the entire time.

This was a different type of devastation. It had pained her greatly seeing Katie and Ron hurt. It had tortured her to watch her mother die.

But this was hitting far closer to home. Knowing she'd been powerless to stop him from being hurt. Knowing she partially caused it, having disarmed him and leaving him defenseless. Blaise had brought Draco's wand not long ago, and all Kit could do was stare at it. If it hadn't flown to the side because of her, he would have been able to shield himself, but he might have cast a Cruciatus Curse on Harry, which would have gotten him in trouble...

It was filling her with more paranoia and pain. Her chest felt like it was going to explode from how much that she had cried. Snape said that she'd managed to stop some of the blood flow, but she hadn't done good enough right away. She had flown into a state of panic and it could have cost Draco his life. Did she have what it took to be a Healer? Now, being the one in the waiting room, she felt powerless and afraid.

He gave a hoarse gasp as he opened his eyes, and she launched herself forward, taking his hand and squeezing it. "Draco!" she choked, her face blotchy and her eyes red. "D-Draco— you're okay— you're fine..."

He looked around wildly at first, but then fixated his eyes on hers. "What— what happened? I just— a lot of blood... and pain..."

"H-Harry hexed you," said Kit shakily. "Some— some curse I've never heard of before. You passed out... you lost a lot of blood. But Madam Pomfrey fixed you up completely, even made sure there were no scars..."

She pulled him into a hug, beginning to sob all over again. "I-I'm sorry!" she wailed. "I'm sorry— this is all my fault— I shouldn't have disarmed me— I couldn't even do a good enough job of Healing magic— you could have died if Snape hadn't come— I was useless!"

"You're not useless, Kit Kat," said Draco quietly when she pulled away. "You were doing Healing spells on me— you did something. You were trying to save me even though you've never been put in that situation before... I should be thanking you."

"No, you shouldn't," she cried, covering her face, ashamed. "I let you get hurt— I was supposed to be helping you, supposed to be keeping you safe, and I almost lost you! I almost fucking lost you!"

"Shh..." he shook his head and pulled her in to kiss her forehead. "You tried to stop me from doing something that would have gotten expelled. I... I'm okay now. I don't feel hurt. I'm fine, Kit Kat, and that's thanks to you."

She sniffled as he raised the blanket to wipe the tears off of her face. "I'm okay, baby," he whispered very softly. "I'm not leaving you. I'm right here, and I'll always be here. I'll always protect you, just like you protected me. I swear it."

"I love you," she blurted out.

It felt like the thing she needed to say. She had almost lost him. She had been waiting for hours for him to awake, fearful that he would have some other type of damage, that he wouldn't want to be with her. In that moment, despite everything they'd already been through, it became chillingly real for Kit that they really were in a great deal of danger. She had watched him face death, and she had barely managed to do enough to save him. She shuddered to think how it might've gone if she hadn't already known those spells, or if Harry had put a bit more power behind the curse, or if Snape had arrived late or if he hadn't know what to do.

"I never, never want to live without you," she continued when he didn't immediately answer. "And I don't want to go another moment without telling you the truth about what I feel. I love you, Draco Malfoy, and I don't want to ever lose you."

He sat up and placed his lips onto hers, wrapping his arms tightly around her and making her whimper from how hard he was kissing her, practically sucking the air out of her lungs.

"I love you, Kit