Eclipse

Chapter 17

Harry awoke slowly from a deep, dreamless sleep. He was so relaxed, so well rested, it was wonderful. He hadn't slept well in months. Or weeks. Or had it been exactly three weeks ago that he'd been taken forcibly from Hogwarts in the middle of the night?

As soon as that thought permeated Harry's sleep-fogged brain, he came awake with a start. He sat up, feeling a surge of panic ripping through him like too much caffeine as realization set in. Today was the last day before the eclipse. One last chance to find the final ingredient. Less than twenty-four hours to live, unless Draco's plan worked.

Draco.

Harry looked down; the spot where he thought Draco had been sleeping was empty. He looked around the tent. "Draco?" No response. Harry quickly patted around for his glasses and jammed them on his face. Without a second glance, he bolted through the tent flap. "Draco, where are - Ouch!"

"Well, you found me the quick way," Draco said, rubbing his forehead as he stepped back. "But next time, could we try for a less painful approach?"

Harry stumbled the rest of the way out of the tent, rubbing his own forehead in imitation of Draco. "Sorry," he muttered. "Woke up and you weren't there."

Draco dropped his hand from his face and folded his arms across his chest. He almost looked amused. "I went to the same place I go every morning. To piss. Did you miss me already?"

Harry opened his mouth to make a short reply, but rethought his response quickly. He looked away. "I woke up and realized what day it was. Kinda panicked and wanted someone there."

"Aaaah," Draco said slowly. "I understand. I'm not going anywhere, Harry."

"I know," Harry replied, still not looking at Draco. He turned his attention to the food sack lying on the ground by the tent. "What's new for breakfast?"

"Now look who's being funny," Draco drawled. "But actually, I was digging around in there this morning, just to see what I could find, and I found about two dozen hard-boiled eggs that were hidden beneath that pile of corned beef sandwiches. No wonder we never found them, right?"

Harry stole a quick glance up at Draco; he was smiling. Harry gave a half-hearted grin in return. "Now all we need is some hot buttered toast and tea, right?"

"Buttered toast!" Draco groaned as he sat down. "I can't wait to have some real food again! You're making me hungry! And I already ate!"

Harry snickered, flopped down across from Draco, and started digging into the pack. There was indeed a large pile of eggs nestled where there used to be corned beef sandwiches. "You could always eat something else. Don't you keep saying that we need to keep our strength up?"

Draco looked like he was about to glower, but instead, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "All I want right now is a really strong cup of coffee. Espresso might be nice. I'm so tired."

Harry looked up from the egg he was shelling. "Didn't you use the sleep-aid charm on yourself?"

"It's not that. I just had a really nasty dream. Woke me up early."

"It wasn't another vision from Voldemort, was it?" Harry asked in a rush. "If it was -"

Draco waved his hand dismissively. "I would have told you about something like that immediately. No, it was just a weird, messed-up dream."