Distant voices tried to draw him back to consciousness, but the dream held him. Just as it had been on the train, the bright green light flashed while the woman begged and screamed. It was a terrible feeling. That green flash of light kept pulsing. But soon the light shifted. It was still green, but murky. Dark. And then he saw her there. Pansy. Floating, her eyes closed. He panicked and swam up to her. She couldn't be dead.
But the scene changed and she was standing beside him then. The murky green light through a huge glass window that was somehow familiar. Her hand in his, a smile on both their lips.
He was in a dark open room and he saw her there. She was all in black and dancing with abandon and glee. There were others around her, shadowy forms, but his eyes latched onto her as if she were in a spotlight. The beat of the music pulsed and he watched her body move in time with it. God she was sexy.
Then they were in a different room, even larger but light. Her dress was more formal now, and she was in his arms as they danced together this time. Twirling around other couples, none of whom were more than blurry faces. She was still the sexiest woman in the room, but she seemed even happier this time. And that meant everything.
He saw them together sitting on a couch in front of a fireplace but still under a blanket to keep warm. The snow was falling outside. They sipped hot cocoa and the only other light in the room came from the colored blinking strands on the Christmas tree. The tree they had picked and decorated together. They were alone and at peace.
Then they were in the Great Hall. Striding down the aisle, confident, happy, together. No more worries of enemies. No more need for secrets. Relief. Finally.
He heard his friends speaking and slowly allowed himself to wake.
"We don't mind waiting."
"It's alright. You should go eat. Have some hot soup to warm up. Don't want to catch that cold now, do you?" Pansy, for once, didn't have it in her to be angry at those two. Those damn dementors had stressed all of them. But Harry's Patronus had changed everything. Even sitting beside him, waiting for him to wake, waiting to know that he really was okay, she still felt the lingering effect of that beautiful glowing dragon. It had wrung most of the bitterness out of her. She was actually (secretly) touched that Harry's friends cared enough to still be sitting by his bed hours later.
"Come on Hermione, she's right. Harry will be okay, Pomfrey said he was just exhausted. There isn't anything wrong with him; he's just asleep this time."
"I hate seeing him like this. Every year he ends up in the hospital wing. Why do these things always happen to Harry?"
"At least nothing worse happened. Those dementors were just bloody awful."
"It's a miracle no one was kissed."
"It wasn't a miracle- it was Harry." Pansy looked at his peaceful face as he slept on. "He killed a basilisk last year. Everyone in this school owes him their lives and now their very souls as well."
Neither of his friends knew how to respond to that. Pansy smirked to herself proudly. It would be interesting to see if magic agreed with her theory that the entire school owed him a life debt.
More importantly for now though, she just wanted him to wake up.
"You two don't need to stay."
"Then why do you?"
"Because it is my place to be with him." There was a lot unsaid by her statement, and Granger was once again obviously curious about the exact nature of her relationship with Harry.
"Alright. But we'll be back to check on him after dinner."
They finally left with that. She was surprised the weasel's stomach had held out that long. As she heard the door shut behind them, she looked around and noticed that madam Pomfrey was in her office. There was little to do until Harry awoke.
"Hey gorgeous."
Before she knew what was happening, Harry had pulled her over to him and drawn her into a kiss. She began to respond but quickly leaned back.
"You aren't supposed to do that where anyone can see us," she whispered.
"Why do you think I waited till they left?"
"How long have you been awake?"
"Not too long, although I did like being compared to a miracle."
"You're my miracle, Harry." She kissed him briefly. "Let's see if we can get Pomfrey to let you out of here."
Amazingly, they were able to escape the hospital wing after promises for Harry to get plenty of rest both that night and for the rest of the weekend. A promise to not spend the night partying with the Gryffindors also helped.
Walking down the hall, they turned a corner to see Narcissa Malfoy heading their way. Pansy was barely able to keep the smirk from her face.
"Lord Potter."
"Lady Malfoy."
"I was hoping to speak with you."
"I hope you haven't been kept waiting too long, milady." She gave him a brief smile in return.
"There was much to do after the fiasco at the quidditch pitch."
"I can imagine."
"Do you mind if we speak in private?"
"Of course not," he answered but felt his wand just to make sure he could draw it quickly if needed.
Narcissa opened a nearby door and looked inside before turning back to him. "This should do."
"I'll wait outside," Pansy said and Harry turned to look at her. This was unexpected, but Harry trusted her judgement, even if he wondered why she did not want to join him as usual.
He followed Narcissa inside and watched her cast privacy spells after he closed the door. She walked further into the room and he did as well.
"I wanted to thank you, Lord Potter. I know that my son does not have a good relationship with you, but on behalf of House Malfoy we both owe you a debt for today."
"You're welcome, Lady Malfoy. I am glad that nothing worse happened. I've been dismayed that those creatures were allowed to be so near to the school."
"I definitely agree with you on that, milord."
"Perhaps you could help then?"
"Oh?"
"I believe we need to put pressure on the ministry to have the dementors sent back to where they belong. Capturing Black is a job for aurors and hit wizards. I'm pretty sure none of them would try to suck out the souls of innocent students."
"That is a good idea. I believe I could contact a few people to help in this endeavor. Going to the Daily Prophet would be wise."
"I thought so as well."
"Excellent. I was wondering if you had any plans for the upcoming holidays?"
"Not anything specific yet, milady. Why do you ask?"
"We often have parties for the New Year. I would like to invite you this year. Especially after what you did for my family today, it would be a great honor to have you attend."
"I see," Harry paused and thought for a moment. He could really use Pansy's advice on something like this. "I am not sure whether or not I would be able to join you for that just yet, but I do appreciate the invite. Perhaps I could let you know once I have worked out what I might be doing for the holidays, Lady Malfoy."
"My friends call me Narcissa."
"Are we friends then?"
"We could be," she said with a coy smile.
"Then I suppose you should call me Harry, Narcissa."
"You would be able to bring a guest if that is a concern, Harry. Pansy, or whoever else. I realize it may cause a problem were I to only invite part of House Potter. I would be most disappointed if you could not join us."
"Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint a lady, now would I?" he chuckled. "I will contact you as soon as I can finalize my plans."
"I will await your owl then, milord." She smiled and walked away, and Harry closely watched the sway of her hips. Was it exaggerated or had he not truly watched her move before? There was definitely something intoxicating about Narcissa Malfoy. He schooled his features as she opened the door. He did not need Pansy to notice that.
"Wait till we're back in our quarters," Pansy whispered to him. Harry nodded and looked briefly at Narcissa as she disappeared down the hall.
"Is it still dinner time?" he asked.
"I think it is just about over. We could get Dobby to bring us something."
"Good idea. Let's go."
The weather was still a nightmare as they made their way back to Gryffindor tower. They ran into a few people along the way, many of whom looked rather star-struck at Harry. He supposed it was a nice change compared to last year's looks of fear. A handful even thanked him for protecting them at the quidditch match. Harry must have looked pretty wiped out though, as it was easy for him to excuse himself.
Finally, the Fat Lady's portrait swung open and they stepped inside to hear a roar of cheers go up around them. People swarmed Harry, patting him on the back and asking a hundred questions all at once. It seemed the tower had been in a state of flux between celebrating and waiting for Harry to join them for the partying to get truly raucous. As someone handed him a butterbeer, Harry held his hands up and people finally started to quiet down enough to hear him speak.
"Thanks for the warm welcome everybody." Another cheer went up.
"Unfortunately, I am really wiped out from today and need to get some more rest." A boo followed.
"If Pomfrey finds out I partied with you guys, she'll have me chained to a bed for a week." Laughter in response.
"What was the final score anyway?"
Wood answered with a shout of 230-40.
"I did say there was no way in hell I'd lose to Malfoy." More laughter ensued.
"But I really do need to lay down. So, I hope you'll all celebrate in my place tonight."
Harry grabbed another butterbeer as he noticed Pansy making her way through the crowd behind him empty handed. After accepting a few more congratulations, he finally stepped into their private quarters. The quiet that followed as the door shut behind Pansy was a great relief.
"Dobby?"
"Master Harry! What can Dobby do?"
"Could you bring us something to eat? Preferably something hot."
"There is a beef stew the Hogwartsies elves made for dinner."
"That sounds great to me. What about you, Pansy?"
"Sure, thanks Dobby."
The elf disappeared and Pansy sat down next to Harry as he handed her one of the bottles of butterbeer.
"Cheers."
"So... what did Narcissa Malfoy want to talk about?"
"A couple of things. She wanted to thank me, in spite of what she knew of how Draco and I don't get along, for saving their lives today. She was rather formal."
"That's not too surprising I suppose. I was surprised she was still here at school though."
"Me too."
Dobby re-appeared and sat two places for their dinner on the table before them.
"That would be Dobby's fault, master." The little elf looked ashamed and rather afraid as well. Harry and Pansy began to eat as Dobby continued. "Old mistress asked for Dobby after master Harry was with the healer witch. Old mistress said she wanted to thank master Harry for his great magic. Old mistress was not being bad like the old master, so Dobby told her when master Harry was awake. Dobby could tell old mistress was not telling lies."
"Did you hear what Narcissa said to me, Dobby?"
"Yes master Harry."
"Have the Malfoys often had New Year's Eve Parties?"
"Most years, yes master Harry."
"I've gone to a couple of them in the past," Pansy added.
"What were they like?"
"Fairly formal, but not quite as stuffy as some other pureblood parties I've attended. The adults would drink a bit more than usual though, so that's to be expected I suppose. Children were to be on their best behavior, but depending upon how their parents were acting, many would often get a bit rowdy. At least as far as that sort of thing goes. The Malfoys tended to be a it more restrained. Lady Malfoy isn't known to drink to excess. Draco, of course, would always act like a spoiled brat and got away with much more than the other children. I had figured out that he had inherited his father's arrogance years before I ever came to Hogwarts."
"That's good to know then. Narcissa invited me, or rather us I guess, to the New Year's Eve party she's throwing this year."
"Did you accept?"
"I told her that I would have to finalize my holiday plans and let her know. It seems like it could be interesting to go. Possibly useful too, but I wanted to discuss it with you first. You have a lot more experience with that sort of thing, obviously. Should we go?"
"You know that she'll be using you if you do go?"
"I assumed something like that might be true. But how so, exactly?"
"Well, the Malfoy influence took a big hit with Lucius being sent to Azkaban. Especially with the rather scandalous nature of the affair. And with the old rumors of him being a Death Eater, the Malfoys would be natural enemies of the famous boy who lived. So, if Lady Malfoy could get you to attend, that would turn a lot of heads. It would help her reputation greatly, and that of her family as well. With Lucius still locked up, it would make her look even better though- she would seem to be a great diplomat, working with someone from a rival family.
"You would have to be careful, some might think you weak if it appeared she had befuddled the naive young Lord Potter. So, you would have to be on guard against that and need to be extra confident, speak to a lot of people rather just being there as her guest."
"Okay, I understand all that. But should we go?"
"Do you want to?" She looked intently at him. Harry took a rather large bite to give himself a chance to think of how to respond.
"In some ways, yes. Like I said, it seems it could be useful to do something with the upper crust of magical society, rubbing elbows with the influential and all. I'd need you to give me some etiquette lessons, I'm sure. Of course, we would have to hide our relationship as usual, and I don't know how that part of it would go. Would it be a bad idea for me to show up there with my supposed servant? And what would it be like for you to go there? Because if it would be awful for you, then we won't go."
"That's sweet Harry. But it wouldn't be too awkward for me. I see a different problem for us. Namely, running into my father there."
"I could probably ask if he's going to be there and avoid it if he is. I could probably even request for Narcissa to not invite him- she did seem rather keen to get me to agree to appear. I suppose I would be something of a guest of honor."
"That's true."
The conversation paused for a moment as they both ate more.
"I notice you call her Narcissa now."
Harry felt her judging him, even as she did not look over at him but continued to eat.
"She suggested that I call her that, as that's what her friends do."
"So, you're friends with her now?"
"I asked her that as well. I guess she's feeling more friendly towards me because of today. It was probably also part of her trying to butter me up to get me to accept her invite."
"Good that you can see that."
Harry finished his stew with great relish. It was just the right meal for that night, hearty and filling as well as warm. He took a bite of bread and washed it down with the last of his butterbeer. Pansy hadn't felt the need to gorge herself in quite the same way and was therefore not yet finished eating.
"If we can be sure that my father won't be attending, I think we should go," she finally answered.
"Alright. I won't write to her just yet though. I don't want to seem too eager, after all."
"No, you don't."
Harry relaxed and sat back, waiting for Pansy to finish eating.
"Why don't you go take a shower, Harry?"
"Do I smell that bad?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Drying and warming charms don't feel as refreshing as a nice warm shower. I believe you still have a reward for your victory today. We wouldn't want you falling asleep too soon, would we?"
Harry didn't take any more convincing than that. This was one of the reasons he wanted out of the hospital wing, after all.
The water was refreshing. Pansy was right as usual. He soaked for much longer than he had meant to as it just felt so good after the draining day.
Eventually, he came out and dried himself off. He left the towel in the bathroom, slightly disappointed that Pansy hadn't joined him in the shower. Harry was still naked when he entered his bedroom and saw Pansy waiting for him. She was wearing that wonderful silk robe again, the one that covered so little and hinted at the curves of her form underneath it. It was really goddamn sexy.
"I love that robe," he told her.
"This old thing?" she said with a sly grin and a maddening twirl.
"You do seem to only wear it for sexy special occasions. And I love those special occasions."
"Get in bed, Harry. You have to have your rest tonight, remember?"
He pulled back the covers and sat on the bed, looking expectant for her to join him.
"I believe we were supposed to have a private victory celebration first."
"Well, you did win." There was that sexy smirk of hers again as she played with the belt of her robe and stepped nearer. "Maybe you even earned a bonus what with the magical display and all. I guess some sort of reward is in order for saving my soul from those monsters."
She pushed him back so that he leaned against the pillows as she finally, oh so slowly, removed the robe.
"Your soul is most precious to me," he said as she climbed on top of him and kissed him. "As precious as all of these other wonderful parts."
He captured a breast with each hand and sucked on one of her nipples. Pansy giggled slightly before she pushed him back down.
"You have to rest, my Lord." She almost purred the words at him. Her legs were straddling his waist and she reached down to guide him inside her. "Tonight, I will take care of your needs."
She sank down on top of him and he was once again in bliss.
"Just lay back and enjoy the ride."
Harry slept late the next day and not even Pansy enjoying a Dobby-provided breakfast in bed could awaken him until nearly noon. By the time they were dressed and heading to the Great Hall, lunch had already begun. For once, Harry wanted the attention his arrival was bound to cause. He had a purpose today.
The doors were open and the tables were filled with students as Harry walked in, with Pansy following in his shadow as usual. She carefully began to watch the faces around her.
Cheers erupted at Harry's appearance, and he got most of a standing ovation. Many of the Slytherins joined in, despite the long rivalry and the loss of the game. Apparently keeping their souls meant a lot even to people like Pansy's former roommates Greengrass, Davis, and Bulstrode. She noticed that Malfoy and his goons didn't even clap. Some people just had no class.
Harry smiled at his reception. After a moment to let it die down a bit, he raised his arms and waited for quiet to descend.
"Thank you everyone. I am relieved to see all of us here today as yesterday could have been a terrible tragedy. I am glad to have been able to do my part to deal with the mess that the ministry caused.
"I would like to ask all of you to now do your part to fix this. Write to your parents, older siblings, friends- anyone you can think of. Write to the Daily Prophet. Write to the ministry if you know of someone there that will listen. Dementors do not belong anywhere near a school. Those monsters would have gladly killed us all.
"Sirius Black may have killed a dozen people." The silence got extra heavy at the escaped convict's mention, but Harry pressed on. "Those monsters would have killed hundreds yesterday. They are more dangerous than one lone wizard, even one like Black.
"We have aurors and hit wizards for a reason. Tracking down a dark wizard is what they are paid to do. The ministry must be made to see reason. Send them back to Azkaban where they belong, far away from here.
"Thank you." Harry walked a bit further in and took a seat, near Granger as usual a bit to Pansy's disappointment. Dumbledore led more clapping at Harry's speech and the teachers all seemed to approve. Even Snape applauded, although not too enthusiastically and bearing his trademark scowl. Some things never change.
"Are you sure you're not the one with an evil twin?" Granger asked with a grin.
"Fairly certain, Hermione."
"The Harry I know would hate to give a speech like that."
"Maybe so, but he also would hate to have to fight off dementors over and over again all year long. Getting rid of them is worth it."
"That makes sense, I suppose."
"Harry, mate, we've got some bad news."
"Alright, what is it?"
"Well..." Ron trailed off, seemingly not wanting to spit out whatever was bothering him.
"Yes?"
"Oh, honestly Ronald, it's just a broom," Hermione said with irritation. "When you passed out after casting your Patronus, your broom flew off out of control. Apparently, it had the misfortune of heading towards the whomping willow."
"Ouch," Harry winced. "How bad is it?"
"Broken in several pieces, I'm afraid. I doubt it will be able to be repaired, although we haven't had enough time to ask anyone to check it out yet."
"I see. But someone was able to recover it?"
"Yeah, I went to look for it with Fred and George once we knew you were going to be okay." Ron answered. "The weather had cleared up a bit, thank Merlin. I think we got all the pieces, but I'm pretty sure it's a goner, Harry."
"That sucks. I guess I'll have to see about getting a new broom for Christmas." Harry surprised those around him by suddenly smiling. "At least I've got an excuse the next time Wood wants us to practice for hours on end now."
Several people laughed with him, and the rest of the meal continued pleasantly. The Weasleys all agreed to write to their parents, and Harry was all too pleased to let them borrow Hedwig to send off their letters for them. Colin Creevey had been taking photos at the match, to no one's surprise, and he thought he had a few good shots of Harry, the Patronus, and the dementors. He was thrilled to be able to help his hero, even more so after the previous day, and was happily going to send off copies to the Daily Prophet.
Harry hoped the pictures would turn out well, as seeing was believing. Getting rid of the dementors was his primary purpose at the moment, and he wanted that endeavor finished as soon as possible. He had other things to do, and it looked like his holiday break was going to be quite eventful.