Silver Knight
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter stories
A/N: And I want you all to know, then nothing makes me more happy then reviews. . . please people, let me know what your thinking!
Chapter One
The darkness around me,
It swallows me whole,
In the night they come,
Devouring my soul.
They do not sleep,
They do not eat,
They hunt and kill,
And devour the weak.
Thunder crashed over head, rumbling against the window pain. The night was late and the wind howled against the roof. Rain was hammering on the glass as though a person was fighting desperately to get inside. A slight shiver traveled down the boy's body as he softly brushed a blond lock away from his eye. A fire burned in the corner, but he felt no heat from its flames. . . not on this night. . .
This was it. . . tonight was the night when all his hopes and ambition would be shattered, and his life devoted to something he truly didn't want a part of.Never had he been so frightened in all of his life. No one understood or knew the truth about Draco Malfoy, or the thoughts which passed through his head. No one knew of the pain.
A single tear rolled down the boys cheek, as he rolled over on his bed, glancing up at the ceiling.
For years he had listened to his father's talk of ambition and great glory. Though the Dark Lord lay hidden, preparing to strike on those apposing him, the well known pure-blood boy, Draco Malfoy, wanted no part of it.
Son of Lucius Malfoy, the most respected and feared man in the Wizarding world, Draco had obligations to fulfill. Though he acted strong and superior to the rest of the world around him, deep down he was afraid and utterly miserable. Acting as though his life was one of glory, hope, and success, he hid those feelings through being cruel to others.
Silver eyes lay transfixed on the fire, and did not stir. His heart beat softly in his chest. His breathing was steady and calm, though his mind was racing.
Tonight was the night the Dark Lord would be holding his great ceremony, summoning forward the children of his followers, and transforming them into members of his ever growing, and ever powerful army.
What could a boy like Draco Malfoy do, to prevent such things from happening to him? Nothing, there was nothing he could do, but sit their dwelling on his unavoidable fate.
Suddenly, a shrill voice sounded from outside of his bedroom door.
"Draco! Draco, get down here right now, we have to leave!"
He did not move, did not even bat a blonde eyelash.
"DRACO MALFOY!"
--
" Draco!"
The silvery blue eyes of the seventh year Slytherin opened very suddenly, a view from the small window of the Hogwarts express coming into view through the blurriness of exhaustion.
Draco sat up and rubbed his eyes with his cold fists, realizing that he had passed out. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting across the compartment from him, both wide eyed and slightly frightened in appearance.
Draco stared at them both, lowering his eyebrows in a slight aggravated manor.
"You were moaning." Goyle stated, gulping loudly, as though afraid of what Draco may do to him.
"So," Draco hissed, his cold eyes falling onto Goyle's massive face. "What the bloody hell did you wake me up for?"
Crabbed and Goyle both exchanged nervous glances, and looked back at Draco.
"Erm." Crabbe spoke quietly, fidgeting slightly. "We thought you were having a bad dream, is all."
Draco snorted rudely; crossing one leg over the other, resting is head on his hand and staring blankly out the window once more.
He cringed slightly at the constant aching in his wrist. Catching a glimpse of the Death Eater marking, his pulled down the sleeve of his black school robes. He felt relieved that he was going for his seventh year at Hogwarts, for it was the one place where he could escape from his father.
He felt shivers pass down his back.
Damn my father.
There was a great ruckus outside of the compartment door suddenly. The three Slytherin companions all turned to see what it was, Goyle attempting desperately to see around Crabbe's massive figure. Outside of the glass of the sliding door, the sight of the three companions Draco loathed so intuitively came into view. They seemed to be laughing hysterically, as Weasley picked himself up from the carpeted floor and dusted himself off.
--
Hermione found herself giggling to the point where she felt her lungs were going to explode. Ron had just attempted to eat an exploding butter tart, and before even successfully placing the treat into his mouth, it had burst. This had lead to an extremely massive mess along the compartment windows and floor, and Ron lying on the ground in shock.
"Bloody hell." He said, in his high pitched tone he so often used when experiencing something to his dislike.
Suddenly, the compartment door just ahead of them slid open violently. All three friends stopped laughing instantly, as Malfoy appeared in front of them, both his large companions at either side of him. He stood there, eyes silver and menacing, arms crossed as he stared at them with a scrunched face.
Hermione looked down to the floor of the train instantly, feeling suddenly overwhelmed with thoughts.
On any other day, before the summer had arrived, she would have been infuriated to even see his sniveling face. However, an unlikely turn of events, taking place only a month before, had changed her entire outlook of the boy known as Draco Malfoy.
"Well," Draco drawled, his eyes darting from Ron and then back to Harry once more. "If it isn't the dynamic duo of miscreants and their muggle-born follower. What a pleasant surprise."
Hermione lowered her eyebrows at those words. She couldn't believe he had just said that, after what had happened between them.
The thought of what really had happened made her sick to her stomach.
"Surprise indeed." Ron said sarcastically, crossing his arms as well and glaring back at Malfoy with equal amounts of distrust and hatred. "I'm sure you're surprised to see Hermione alive, hey you lousy good for nothing prat? Figured she was dead, did you?"
Draco stepped closer to Ron, face filled with malice and rage.
"No Weasley, I didn't, I knew perfectly well she was alive and well." He spat, taller then Ron by a few inches.
"Of course you did." Said Harry lightly. Draco turned to look at him now, rolling his head as if tired of their little game. "You were there the night Voldemort was going to murder her."
Draco felt himself cringe a little at the sound of that name, but kept his composer all the same.
Hermione looked up from the floor, which she had noticed was a lovely shade of crimson, and watched for Malfoy's response.
She wondered if he would tell them.
She wanted him to tell them.
He snorted loudly, in a mocking fashion, catching eye of Hermione for a brief second. For a moment she saw his frown fade, as his icy eyes met with hers. They both paused for a while, as though captivated by one another's gaze.
Tell them Malfoy. Tell them what you did.
He seemed to read her mind, because he shook his head softly.
No.
She felt flooded with disappointment.
She had been aching, literally dying to them about how she escaped from the Death Eaters, but she had a curse placed on her preventing her from doing so, and no matter how hard she researched, she couldn't find the antidote.
She thought to herself that he wasn't looking at her as kindly as he had in the summer, and she found herself flooded with disappointment.
Why are you disappointed Hermione?
It is a good thing he doesn't want anything to do with you.
She snapped out of her thoughts and realized he was still watching her, his eyes like silvery pools of hypnotic steel.
She could not find the strength to look away.
He was the one that broke off the stare, and turned back to Harry and Ron.
"Well," He droned, making obvious that he was very bored with their chat, as he rubbed his eye and yawned. "We all have our little secrets, don't we?"
He looked back at her, and once more she stared at the ground.
Harry and Ron looked slightly confused at these words, though it seemed they were ignoring them, because Harry spoke once more.
"Anything else, Malfoy?"
"Nope, I think I'm finished." He hissed, stretching once more. "I've wasted enough time with you lot."
Hermione couldn't help but watch his lips as he spoke. They were soft looking and swollen.
Swollen?
She double took on his bottom lip once more.
Yes, it was definitely swollen, as though he had been hit.
She lowered her eyebrows in confusion.
Though, before she could manage to comprehend the situation any more, the three Slytherin had taken off down the hallway, and out of sight.
"What did he mean, Hermione?" Asked Ron, looking at her with that expression of bewilderment he so often gave her.
She was caught off guard.
"Erm," She replied, trying to think of a decent response. "Who bloody knows, it's Malfoy."
She let out a soft sigh. Harry and Ron looked satisfied with this response.
The truth was she knew exactly what Draco was speaking of. He had been talking about the summer, of how she had escaped the grasps of the Death Eaters.
She had lied and told them she had escaped all on her own.
What a terrible lie.
--
Draco felt frustrated with himself as he marched down the hall of the Hogwarts Express. He felt frustrated that he couldn't bring himself to be kind to Granger, even after the events in the past between them. The truth of the matter was, he had never truly been able to be kind to anyone, not even his closest friends.
He felt aggravated by the fact that Crabbe and Goyle were both right on his heel.
He spun around sharply, causing them both to halt immediately, nearly crashing into him as they did.
They looked taken back.
"Why do you two always INSIST on following me everywhere that I go!?" Draco snapped loudly, his hands thrown out in an aggravated and questioning manner. "Did you ever think for one moment in time, that I didn't want you around!?"
They both exchanged looks with one another.
"GO!"
They both jumped as he roared at them, and walked away in the opposite direction, not saying a word of protest.
Draco let out a sigh of relief, thankful to just have one moment of peace. He ran his hand through his hair, trying for just one moment to relax. He had only just turned to continue down the hallway, when he heard a shrill and high pitched voice behind him.
"Draco!"
He rolled his eyes, just in time to have a raven haired girl straddle him with her long arms. She hopped up and wrapped her legs around his hips.
He stood there for a moment or two, taken back, arms outstretched without a single effort to hug back.
The girl pulled away, her dark eyes sparkling and her smile wide. He forced a slight smile back.
He wasn't sure why she was so excited; she had seen him just last week.
"Exactly one year until our wedding!" She squealed, clapping her hands together and hopping up and down excitedly. The sound of those words made his stomach lurch, and he couldn't help but show no happiness whatsoever.
He just gave her an exhausted look.
"Not right now Pansy, alright?" He asked her, though his voice was not cruel.
Her face dropped a little, as she caught sight of his lip.
"Oh, Drakie, what happened to your lip?" She asked him, touching her cold fingertip to it. He yanked his face out of her reach, taking a deep breath and trying to refrain from blowing up at her. He scratched his nose angrily and stared out one of the windows, vast countryside slipping by them.
He rested his hands on his hips, then turned back to look at her.
"I'm just fine Pansy, really." He said, as he began to walk past her.
She held out her arm and stopped him. He spun around on his heel ever so slowly, rolling his eyes towards her.
"What is it?" He droned. "What did I possibly do in this life so terrible, that I was given the curse of you haunting me so?"
She giggled, as though she thought he was kidding.
"I just wanted to give you a kiss." She said, placing her hands on his cheeks. They were cold, but considerably soft feeling.
He stared at her with a blank look, as she touched her mouth with his.
He let this go one for only a second, before pulling away, resting his hands on her shoulders and forcing her back gently.
"I will see you at dinner, Pansy." He said, turning and this time, finally, escaping from her. He heard her let out a pout-like whine behind him, in an effort to make him stay, but he ignored her.
--
Draco let out a yell of pain as his father threw him to the floor. The boy tasted his own blood as his face smacked against the stone. For seconds he just lay there, afraid to move, afraid to fight back.
"Get up!" Came a loud voice above his head. Pain surged through his skull, as his father picked him up by grasping his hair, and pulled his head back to look into his eyes. Draco closed his eyes tightly, quivering all over.
"Let go." Draco whispered, his eyes still shut.
"Look at me." He father snapped. "Look at me!" Draco's eyes snapped open as his father began shaking his only sons head furiously. Lucius stopped when Draco was finally making eye contact, and once again spoke.
"You will go and get you things," He whispered. "Then, you will get into the limo with your mother and I with no more arguments. Is that understood?"
. . .Silence. . .
"IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"
Once again Draco was thrown to the ground with a loud crash. Draco lifted himself with a weak effort, nodding to his father's wishes.
"Good." Said Lucius calmly, straightening out his cloak. "Now, go get cleaned up, hurry up or we'll be late."
--
"Are you alright, Hermione?" Harry asked quietly, as the three sat in the Great Hall after the sorting and ate their meals. "You are being very quiet."
Hermione looked up from her plate, which she only just realized she had not touched.
"Yes, Harry." She replied. "I'm just fine, thank you."
Harry smiled back at her, going back to his meal.
Ron was chewing very loudly next to her, grabbing third helpings of roast beef.
"Seventh year, can you believe it." He said, taking a swig of pumpkin juice. "Seems like just yesterday we were meeting for the first time, at eleven years old."
Hermione looked across the room for a brief second, just to clear her mind. It was at that moment she realized Draco was looking right at her. He smiled faintly as she watched him across the hall. Hermione looked away quickly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked back up; he was still making eyes with her.
She felt her hands beginning to shake slightly.
What was she going to do?
She took a deep breath, attempting to go back to her dinner.
She couldn't.
She couldn't think straight.
A/N: Alrighty, thanks for reading. . . love to hear from you. . . of course!