The Other Side

Chapter Fourteen

He was having a panic attack.

He woke up abruptly, drenched in cold sweat. It was all blur yet so realistic to him. It was flashes of the Room of Requirement, and the swirling darkness was closing in on him.

He felt like he was drowning, breathing in heavily and quickly, but none of it was reaching his lungs. Tears streamed down his face as he screamed trying to find some way out of the prison, he was in. Harry's vision was going blurry and his whole body was shaking; he trashed around in his bed as he tried to get out and to his dresser. He had vials upon vials of calming draught in the drawer to his left, but he was running out. He was so thankful that he had put up a silencing charm in his part of the room, he'd be just a burden to everyone he would wake up on the daily.

As the brunet stumbled around his bed and fell to his knees once he got to his drawers. He pulled every single one of them out of the main frame looking for vials.

"No, no, no. Not now, it can't be happening" He muttered softly under his breath.

He had finished he last vial of calming draught a couple days ago and he had nothing to stop him from the hurricane of thoughts that flooded his mind. He felt his chest grow heavier, he felt his breathing getting faster and turning into wheezing. He needed to get more, he needed it. He felt like he'd die if he couldn't get his hands on something that would calm him down.

He got up from the ground and quickly as he could, stumbling over but saving himself on his bed frame.

Without much thought, he rushed down the hallways, his head was spinning, he was sweating and he felt dizzy. He was in pain, and couldn't find any other way to get out of it. His hands were shaking violently and his breathing has yet to be tamed. His robes were stained with tears and so were his cheeks.

Harry was just at pantry of potion ingredients when he collapsed. He looked over to the room that was semi-opened from his attempt at getting into it, but he couldn't move. He knew that he needed to fight, but he also knew that just one vial would make it all go away. Pain was lancing through his body as it tremored uncontrollably.

He could hear soft footsteps at a distance, but walls were closing in on him, and he was slipping away. He grew weaker, pain coursing through his veins. The dizziness only grew as he closed his eyes, crying softly.

Slowly, strong arms wrapped themselves around his chest and pulled him backwards. He struggled against the confinement.

"Harry," A familiar voice whispered against his ear, in a comforting way. "It's okay, I'm here." He rested his head against the slender shoulder. His eyes flickered to Draco who seemed to have lost the color from his cheeks. He just needed the potion. His mind kept going to the place of 'Just one more vial. You just need a little more of it.'

He should have known better to give into the lie that he had told himself many times before, but the withdrawal was getting stronger. He had broken out into a profuse cold sweat. He was trembling, and the pain was so excruciating he had to bite his tongue behind his cracked and faded lips to keep himself from screaming out in agony.

His desperation was only growing, and he didn't want to feel the pain.

"Y-You h-have to—

"Help you?" Draco filled in dryly. "You need the calming draught, don't you?"

Harry slowly nodded, but he didn't let go of the blond. He was grasping his robes, to ground himself. Draco stroked his hair, crooning soft promises, and soothing praises into his ear. Yet, he still felt pain. "I'm sorry I didn't realize sooner."