"What appears to be the problem?" Mme Pomfrey asked calmly, directing Draco to put Harry on one of the empty beds, annoying Draco with her calm air.
"I don't know, we were going to Transfiguration early, and then he started acting really scared before he went completely relaxed and started walking the wrong way, and wouldn't respond at all, he wouldn't even look at me." Draco said, looking at her with his eyes wide.
"Did you hear or see anything unusual?" Mme Pomfrey asked, looking more worried now.
"Um, he said something in Parseltongue, but I don't know what he said." Draco said, after all, he wasn't a Parselmouth.
"That's... What is the sleeping mask there for?" Mme Pomfrey asked, trying to keep the air of calmness around her as the worry started to settle in.
"Oh, it's something that makes the wearer sleep, it's perfectly safe, so I figured it was better than trying to use a spell." Draco said a little awkwardly, they weren't technically illegal, but things like this were often frowned on because of negative connotations with curses, so Narcissa had told him to be careful about them.
"Good idea, we don't want more problems to come from shoddy spell work due to rush or panic, but I'm going to take it off now and see how he's acting or if it's stopped." Mme Pomfrey said, motioning for Draco to step back as she lifted the sleeping mask.
Immediately, Harry's eyes shot open, but they looked hollow, empty as though there was nothing behind them seeing what was going on. Not caring about the blanket that had wrapped around one of his legs, he got up and started walking towards the door. He didn't seem confused as to where he was, even though a person would usually feel that way after being taken somewhere while asleep, which couldn't do anything but add to the worry.
"Harry?" Mme Pomfrey asked, her voice stern as she stood in front of the doors, blocking the exit. Harry didn't respond, but his blank, almost unnerving, face turned to look at her, sending an unpleasant shiver down her spine. "Where are you going?"
Harry didn't respond again, though, but turned his attention back to the door, trying to get past her and through it. Draco grabbed Harry's arm to pull him back from the door, but he only made it a few steps back with Harry before the arms was pulled from his grip with a strength he didn't know Harry had.
"Petrificus Totalus." Mme Pomfrey said, pointing her wand at Harry, the spell hitting him square in the chest, freezing him in place with his arms and feet stuck together, although it wasn't a visible change, his jaw clenched, but his eyes were locked open. "Right, so I'm guessing it was like that earlier."
"He was a little slower earlier." Draco said, looking at Harry rather then Mme Pomfrey.
"It seems like he's being controlled by something, if it has bad intentions with him or not we can't tell, but I feel like we can reasonably assume." Mme Pomfrey said, collecting herself and going to grab her medibag.
Before she could start to do medical checks on him, though, a loud, terrifying hissing spread through the room, and Harry began to move again, more quickly then before again. Draco, who had been holding Harry's shoulder to reassure himself was the first to respond, pulling the sleeping mask back over his eyes as he opened the doors, catching him swiftly and bringing him back to the bed.
"Mr Malfoy, you stay here and watch him, this is a matter that needs the Headmistress. I'll lock the doors to keep him in." Mme Pomfrey said, immediately marching through the door, closing it immediately behind her and Draco heard the click as it locked.
He sat beside Harry's bed, holding the small boy's hand as he tried to get his breathing back to normal.
-----
"Poppy?" Natasha asked, getting up quickly as the woman rushed into her office looking scared, an unusual expression for the usually calm and collected woman. "What's wrong?"
"I need you in the Hospital Wing, Potter was just affected by Parseltongue magic." Poppy said urgently through her sore, raw feeling throat, her eyes almost looking mad.
"I'll contact his guardians first." Natasha said, scribbling something hardly legible on a scrap of paper, giving it to the small blue tit perched in Fawkes' old spot, both women then using her fireplace to go to the Hospital Wing.
"Has there been any change?" Mme Pomfrey asked quickly, barely shaking the soot off her as she rushed back to Harry's bed.
"No, the mask seems to be working." Draco said, significantly louder than he needed to, but nobody seemed to notice.
"I'm guessing it's because there's no counter spell." Natasha muttered.
"This is beyond what I can deal with, I need to contact St Mungo's." Mme Pomfrey said, rushing into her office and returning in about a minute. "I'm going to unlock the door, but be ready if whatever is controlling him manages to get past the sleeping mask."
"Draco, he'll be fine, we won't let any harm come to him, that's why he's being taken to St Mungo's." Natasha said gently, sitting beside Draco and rubbing his shoulder. She couldn't tell if he was listening to her or not, his eyes fixed on Harry.
"Poppy," Natasha whispered, having walked over to the woman, "is there anything you can give Draco for the shock? I think he needs it."
Mme Pomfrey looked over at Draco and sighed. "I'll offer him something, I can't force him to take anything though, I can only do that under extremes this doesn't fit under." She said, walking out of sight and returning with a potion that smelled much nicer than the ones she would give to the patients.
-----
Sirius and Remus were also in the Hospital Wing with Harry and Draco by the time the St Mungo's mediwitches and wizards showed up, Harry flopped, looking incredibly uncomfortable, as they put him roughly onto the magical stretcher they were using to carry him tot he disapparition point.
As Draco wasn't family nor was he Harry's guardians, he wasn't allowed to go to St Mungo's with them, Sirius and Remus had to argue with the mediwitches and wizards that were there to be allowed to accompany Harry as it was, they were incredibly rude about it.
Draco watched, feeling a sense of dread pool in his gut, as Harry disappeared to St Mungo's.