Title: Angelus an Diabolus

Author: Eris Mackenzie

Rating: M

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

A/N: Erm...surprise? I know I said I was going to take this down, but, uh...it kind of bit back at me. So. Yeah. I wrote this all in like two hours, and it's not beta'ed, so if you see words spelled incorrectly and whatnot, you'll understand why. Enjoy, and I'll try and get the next chapter out soon. I suddenly feel like writing for this.

The mud squished under their shoes as they made their way back to Hogwarts. The rain drizzled lightly, so unlike the way it had down poured just ten minutes before. Harry could not even explain the way he felt. In truth, he thought his mind was still in a daze from the shock that Draco, his mate, was finally, after all this time, truly his. He shook his head even as he thought about it, earning a glance from Draco, who was walking with him, an arm slung around his waist.

"Are you alright?" the blond asked softly, almost as if he was not sure whether it was his place to ask or not.

Harry put a smile, tired and thin but real, on his face. "Yes," he said, with conviction he hadn't felt for months, because this time is was true. "Yeah, I think I am."

He shivered involuntarily, and Draco squeezed him gently.

"Almost there," he murmured.

Although Draco's healing had already started repairing most of the damage, it also brought with it all the pain, fatigue, and hunger that Harry had put off for days. Every little ache and twinge was making itself loud and clear. His head was pounding, and he winced a little at the emptiness he felt in his stomach. It felt like acid was eating the lining away.

Draco must have picked up on Harry's pain, because he looked at him and said, "I know," sympathetically. Harry just smiled again and trudged on. As much as he hurt, it felt good for Draco to care for him.

It seemed to take a ridiculously long time to get back to Hogwarts, but get back they did within the next few minutes. They had to round around the left wall of the school from the direction they were facing to get to the doors. Harry was not surprised to note that he was out of breath by the time they got to the huge stone doors. He sagged against the stone archway as he watched Draco push the doors open and help him in.

"Christ, I feel like a child," Harry joked tiredly. In truth, he felt like falling over and sleeping right there on the stone floor.

"Why's that?" Draco asked, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"You having to help me walk like I'm two years old."

"Well, you haven't eaten, or slept, I'd imagine, in three days. What do you expect?"

Harry laughed a little ruefully. "I'm sorry I acted like such an idiot."

Draco smiled at him. "As I am. I know you probably won't let it go until he really talk about it, but now it not the time. First we need to get you to the hospital wing, get you checked out, fed, clothed -" he wrinkled his nose; "-preferably both of us washed first, and then you need some rest."

"And what about you?" Harry returned his look. "You gonna sit around and watch me sleep?"

"As appealing as that is, no." Draco steered Harry to a portrait on the ground level. The painted witch started and awoke. "I need my sleep, too."

Harry would have replied more in the same vein, but just was he went to speak, a yawn burst from his mouth.

"Right," Draco said, "I think it's time to stop talking. Fall of Marion."

The portrait opened on its hinges to reveal a set of winding stairs leading up steeply. Draco led Harry through the doorway and started up the stairs as the painting swung shut behind them.

At Harry's questioning look, Draco explained. "This is a faster way to get to the hospital wing. Leads up all the floors straight to Pomfrey's office."

"Hah," Harry laughed dryly. "I wish I had known about that years ago. Would've saved me a lot of waiting for those damned staircases to stop moving."

"Hush up, you. You're already out of breath, and I don't fancy carrying you all the way up the rest of these stairs."

Harry did as he was told, and they climbed the rest of the way in silence.

-----------

Madame Pomfrey gasped and rushed to meet them as they stepped out of the secret passage. In the dimly lit Infirmary, Harry made out Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape standing in a semi-circle. The looks on their faces would have made Harry laugh had he been in another situation and healthier.

"Hello, all," Harry croaked as Draco led him into the room. Snape looked like he had just been doused with ice water, McGonagall looked like a cat had just crawled up her skirt, and Dumbledore...well, Dumbledore just looked like he always did. However, Harry thought he detected just relief in his expression before the twinkle went back into his eye and he walked over.

"Ah, Harry, my boy," Dumbledore welcomed warmly. Draco did not let his arm fall as the headmaster pulled Harry into a bone crushing hug. Harry hissed a little at the pressure on his side. Dumbledore heard the soft growl Draco let out warning him to let Harry go and wisely backed up before the blond could say anything.

"Let's get you checked out, shall we?" He beckoned to Madame Pomfrey.

She nodded and gestured to the nearest hospital bed. "Sit, please. You too, Mister Malfoy."

They did as they were told, Harry with a small wince as he sat down, and Draco with a look of discomfort that quickly passed from his face. Madame Pomfrey caught both but decided to question Harry first.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Well...um...I was attacked in the forest." At look of alarm on the three inhabitants, Harry elaborated. "I don't know what it was. It was kind of hard to tell. It, uh, slashed me up pretty bad, broke my wrist...but Draco killed it," he looked up; "and he's been healing me ever since. My wrist is fine now, and most of the skin has been repaired."

Madame Pomfrey gave him a studious look. "Well, all the same, we need to do a few body scans just to make sure nothing was permanently injured."

She was wise enough to silently ask Draco for permission, and after he gave her a barely imperceptible nod, she set to work. She said a few strings of Latin that were too complicated for Harry to even try and figure out. He felt an odd tingling sensation all over his skin; the small cuts all over his arms glowed blue and closed before his eyes. A pinkish cloud spewed forth from Pomfrey's wand and settled around Harry before sinking into his body. A warm feeling, like he had drunk Butterbeer, flowed through him. His headache left and so did most of the stomach pain, though he was still ravenous. He guessed that Draco had taken care of most of the major injuries already, probably without knowing it, because Pomfrey breathed a small sigh of relief as she cast one more spell and then stepped back.

"Okay, Mister Malfoy's turn."

Harry felt Draco tense as the first of the spells fell over him, but under Harry's gaze, he relaxed and allowed the nurse to do her job. Harry recognised some of the spells as ones Pomfrey had cast on himself, others he did not know.

Within a few minutes, Pomfrey finally gave a satisfied nod. "Well, I'm not going to say that you're healthy, but the worst has thankfully been averted. There's nothing a week's rest, plenty of food, some restoration potions, and some more healing magic won't take care of. You're both very, very lucky. Normal wizards would have been far worse had they gone through what you have. What you both need right now is to get cleaned up - no, no baths tonight, just a few cleaning spells - and get some food into your stomachs. Then, you both need to sleep."

She turned and looked at Harry. "We were all worried about you, Harry. However, I think everyone will agree with me in saying that we are happy to have you back." She smiled with more emotion than Harry had ever seen her display. He felt uncomfortable with the tenderness in her smile and returned the expression a little nervously.

"I'm sorry," he apologised. He looked at the other inhabitants, including Snape. "I really am. I didn't-I didn't mean to have everyone worry. I just..." He tried to find the right words, but was gratefully interrupted by McGonagall.

"It's alright, Mister Potter," she smiled humourously. She glanced at Snape before she said, "We're all just happy to have you back." She looked back at Harry. "Just don't think that we will tolerate any more of this running away and skipping classes."

Harry grinned at her joke. "I promise not to, Professor," he replied. He squeezed Draco's hand. "I don't have any reason to."

Something Harry could not define passed through his head of house's eyes, but then she smiled back at him.

"Good."

Harry went on staring at McGonagall until the headmaster intervened and said, "And now, I think the boys need their rest." He nodded at the nurse. "Let us let Madame Pomfrey finish her job, shall we?" He ushered the other two teachers toward the entrance before turning around and smiling back at them.

"It is good to have you both back after all this time," he said. Harry knew he meant more than the three days he had been in the forest.

Harry smiled back at him. "Yes, I am, too."

"Harry, let's get these clothes off," Draco murmured after Dumbledore had left, and Madame Pomfrey set two sets of pyjamas on the end of the bed that she had sent a house elf to retrieve.

"I will be back with the food in five minutes," she said as she left the room, locked the door, and preceded to go about doing what she said.

"God, I really am hungry," Harry groaned as he pulled off his heavy, sodden shirt and flung it on the ground ungracefully. His stomach growled at the thought of food. He had not realised how much he needed it before.

"Yes..." Draco agreed as he helped Harry get his pants unbuckled and his own shirt off.

Most of the mud had washed off in the rain, but streaks of it trailed across his pale chest. A lurid purple bruise shone on Draco's shoulder; although it looked painful, Harry could not stop the spreading warmth as he looked at the spot the proclaimed to the world that Draco was his alone.

As if sensing Harry's gaze, Draco looked up, then followed his line of sight. He saw the bite mark on his shoulder and fingered it lightly. He looked back to Harry and smiled; he knew what it meant to him, too.

They proceeded to take the rest of their clothes off and Draco cast a few cleansing spells and drying charms before they tugged on the new outfits.

Harry breathed deep of the fresh scent as he buttoned the top and relished the feeling of cotton against his skin. He was surprised to see Draco dressed in cotton also; he would have thought he'd prefer silk, as per usual. Draco did not seem to notice, however, and beckoned to the bed next to the one they had been sitting on. The aforementioned bed was a bit wet where they had sat, hence the move.

Harry sighed as he sat down, wishing that he could just curl up next to his mate and sleep for hours, but Draco shook his head when he went to lay down.

"No, Harry," he refused gently as he, too, sat down; "you need to get something in your stomach first. You should know that taking the potions Pomfrey is bound to give both of us is no good on an empty stomach. That, and you haven't eaten for days."

Harry made a face at Draco. "Can't I just lay here for a while? I promise I won't fall asleep."

Draco looked like he would refuse, but finally nodded. "Alright, just don't go to sleep."

Harry shook his head as he lay back, Draco situating himself to lay beside him, and he finally settled with one arm slung across Draco's belly and his head resting on his chest. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of his mate. It was so incredibly comfortable that he did not think he would ever want to move.

Some time later, he felt a soft kiss being pressed into his hair, and Draco whispered, "Time to eat, love."

Harry yawned, noting that he had broken his promise not to fall asleep, and looked around to see Madame Pomfrey setting a tray down on the metal rack at the end of their bed. He caught a whiff of Shepard's Pie and sat up.

Draco pulled the tray up to them, and Harry saw that it was indeed full of Shepard's Pie, thick slices of homemade bread slathered with butter, some kind of vegetable soup, and pumpkin pasties for dessert. He grabbed a goblet from the tray and poured himself some pumpkin juice. He knew he was dehydrated and intended to get liquids in himself first.

"Well, I'll leave you to it, I suppose," Madame Pomfrey said. She pulled out two vials from one of the pockets hanging from her dress. She set them down next to the food.

"Drink these after you eat. They will help replenish the liquids and nutrients lost and will also mend and repair any trauma your body went through. It, also, contains some ingredients in sleeping potions that will make you groggy, also, so don't fight the urge to sleep."

Draco nodded and thanked the nurse.

She, too, nodded and started backing up. "If there is anything you need me for, do not hesitate to call. I will just be in that room, there." She pointed to a small room at the end of the Infirmary, presumably where she slept. "On that note, boys, goodnight."

"Goodnight," Harry answered. "Thank you so much."

"No need, Mister Potter, no need," she smiled as she departed, leaving the two to eat their meal alone.

"Don't eat so fast," Draco admonished as Harry started shoveling food down his throat. "It'll make you sick."

"Sorry," Harry blushed. "I'm just really hungry."

The look on his face softened as he said, "I know, love, just take it easy, okay?"

Harry smiled. "I will."

They continued eating in silence, with Draco occasionally rubbing small circles against Harry's back, and Harry brushing up to Draco every once in a while. Harry realised as Draco took the hand he was not eating with and twined it with his own that he had never appreciated just how much could be said without words.

Within in twenty minutes, they were sated and full. The only thing left to do now was drink the potions and curl up together for a long night's - or rather, into the next day - sleep.

"Here," Draco said as he handed Harry a vial of sky blue potion. He had his own uncorked and was getting ready to drink it.

Harry took it with a softly murmured "Thanks," and slowly started sipping it. He grimaced, preparing himself for the vile taste that most potions had, but as it slid over his tongue it was actually quite pleasant. It had a tart taste that was vaguely sweet, like flavoured toffee, and Harry found he did not mind it at all.

After a few moments, he found himself getting groggy as Madame Pomfrey had said, and he set the empty vial down next to Draco's.

"M'tired," he mumbled sleepily as he took off his glasses and laid down on the sudden much more inviting bed.

"Yeah," Draco agreed as he settled down next to Harry, resting an arm over his back.

Harry smiled gently and, without opening his eyes, moved on his side to cuddle close to his mate. He felt Draco move to accommodate him, and then all was silent throughout the room. Harry was starting to drift off to sleep when he gradually became aware of a blossoming feeling, like the sun warming his skin on a cold day, in his chest. He opened his eyes and was greeted with Draco's face not an inch away. At such a close distance, his features were a little blurred but otherwise clear. His silver eyes were wide awake and curiously clear as he lifted his hand off of Harry's hip and brushed a few strands of hair behind Harry's ear. Harry smiled at the gentle gesture and shuffled closer, resting his head on the blond's shoulder.

"Love you, Harry," Draco whispered almost imperceptibly into the soft hair at the nape of his neck.

Harry turned his head against Draco's shoulder and burrowed his nose. "Love you, too," he mumbled.

For a brief second, the hold on Harry tightened, but as they both started to fall asleep, it faded into a gentle embrace.

--------------

The sun shining warmly on his face was what finally woke Draco. He awoke, slowly at first but then opening his eyes to the sight of Harry sleeping next to him. It took a few moments for everything to rush back at him, and when it did, Draco could not stop the smile that spread across his face. He brushed his hand through Harry's tangled locks a few times before resting it on the side of his cheek. The skin was warm, soft, like a baby's. He ran the pad of his thumb across it to trace Harry's cheekbone.

At the movement, Harry stirred. A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth as he tried to stop the tickling feeling across his cheek.

Faintly, he heard someone chuckle. It took him a few more moments to fully wake up and register who it was. He opened his eyes, a smile already on his lips.

"Hey..." he greeted in a soft, sleep-ridden voice.

"Hey."

They did not say much after that, each just basking in the other's presence. Harry pulled Draco's lips down to cover his in a gentle good morning kiss.

"It's so nice to finally be able to do this," he sighed after they broke apart.

He did not recognise the look in Draco's eyes.

"Yeah, it is." Draco continued looking at him as he said, "I just want you to know that I'm sorry about everything that's happened. I know I told you before, but I...I just needed to say it again."

Harry nodded understandingly. "Surely not everything?" he joked before becoming serious. He stroked the side of Draco's face. "I do know what you mean, though. I'll probably be saying it so many times that you'll finally get so sick of hearing it that you'll curse my mouth shut."

"Mmm, no," Draco murmured as he captured Harry's lips in another chaste kiss. "I don't think I would ever curse this mouth shut."

Harry grinned before something else hit him. His expression instantly went cloudy, and Draco hurried to find out what was wrong.

"What?" he asked, frowning at the sudden change.

"Hermione and Ron," Harry admitted in a worried tone, "what have they been doing? They must have been tearing their hair out over me."

"Taking up temporary residence in the Infirmary, more like," Draco sighed. "Hermione has not missed an hour to be here. In fact, I'm quite surprised she and the Weasel aren't here right now."

Harry did not bother correcting Draco's slur. "It's been that bad?"

Reluctantly, Draco nodded. "Yeah."

Guilt visibly flooded Harry. "God, it's all my fault," he shook his head.

As that glazed look started settling back in Harry's eyes, Draco rushed to say, "Hey, hey, Harry, don't. Stop and look at me."

Harry looked into Draco's calm and steady eyes as he grasped his face in between his hands.

"They are fine. I am fine. You're fine. We're all okay. There's nothing to worry about."

"But -"

"No, no buts from you. What's the point in worrying over something that's already over? Everybody is fine. No permanent damage."

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but he soon quailed under Draco's resolute gaze.

"I guess you're right," he admitted finally. "Doesn't stop me from feeling guilt, though."

"Of course not," Draco replied as he sat up, dragging Harry with him. "You wouldn't be Harry Potter if you didn't."

Harry knew better than to argue and instead looked at the clock hanging on the wall.

"It's almost 7:30!" he exclaimed.

"Well, of course," Draco said with an amused look. "We weren't very well going to get up at dawn, you know."

"But it's past dinnertime already!"

"And?"

"And...and...well..." Harry did not really know what the point was except that it was late. And he found out he was hungry again as his stomach suddenly grumbled.

Almost as if waiting for a signal, a house elf popped up beside the bed. Harry jumped at the sudden appearance.

"Mota is sorry if she interrupted the masters, but the nurse sent Mota to see if the masters would like some dinner once they woke," the small, wobbly elf cited so rapidly that Harry had to stop and think about what she had said before he replied.

"Er, yeah, sure."

"Okay, Mota will bring the masters some food at once!" she said as she popped off as quickly as she had come.

"Good," Draco said as he laced his fingers and laid back against the pillows. "I was hungry anyway."

A short time later, Mota reappeared with a tray laden with more food than either boy could eat. There were turkey sandwiches, pastries, and pies along with other sweet items and a pitcher of what Harry assumed to be pumpkin juice.

"Thank you, Mota," Harry said kindly as the house elf set the tray down.

"Oh, no problems, sirs! If you is needing anything else, Mota will gladly get it for you!" The female house elf bowed so low that her long nose almost brushed the ground.

"We're fine, thank you," Draco said politely, and with a nod, the house elf disappeared. "Well, let's eat."

Once they had again eaten their fill, they soon found that there was a shower and towels in the Infirmary bathroom. They each took a shower separately before summoning a house elf to retrieve them some clothes from their room. After getting dressed and finding the room had been cleaned up while they were occupied, they settled down on the bed again and waited for Madame Pomfrey to come back.

It turned out they did not have long to wait, as the nurse walked in a short while later with two more potions in hand.

"Good morning or, I should say, night, gentlemen," she greeted as she made her way over to the bed.

"Good morning," they both answered.

"What are those?" Draco questioned.

"Oh, they are a few more potions that I will be having the both of you take for the next few days to make sure everything is fixed."

"What will they do?"

"Well, they will generally do what the potion last night did, only in smaller doses so you don't get tired during the day."

This seemed to satisfy Draco, because he nodded. "Alright."

She handed them over, and they obediently drank them.

"Um, Madame?" Harry asked as she started to turn away.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Erm, will I be able to see Hermione and Ron soon?"

She smiled. "Of course. Your friends have already been informed of the occurrences last night and should be around tomorrow morning."

"Oh. Thank you."

She nodded. "And now, you'll just have to find something to amuse yourselves with for the next few hours, until the sleeping component of the potion kicks in."

"'Sleeping component'?"

"Well, yes. This potion is like the one you took last night. It only worked so fast because you were already exhausted."

Harry nodded absentmindedly. "Alright. Thank you again."

"Goodnight again, gentlemen." She swept out of the room and shut the doors behind her in half a minute.

"Seems kind of weird to me that we're going to be going back to sleep after we just woke up," Harry stated as he laid down and stared at the Infirmary ceiling.

"Yeah, but we need it, I reckon," answered Draco.

"Still..."

Draco smiled at Harry's childish tone and leaned over to press the softest of kisses on his lips. When Harry lifted his hands to thread his fingers in the blond's hair, Draco looked down at him and smirked.

"Doesn't mean that we have to sleep right now."

Harry smirked back. "No, it doesn't."

And they did not sleep until those few hours were up and the potion fully kicked in.

A/N: So, review, please? I promise to write more - and soon!