title. presumed innocence
summary. he was one of them. all this time.
disclaimer. jk rowling owns everything harry potter.
author's note. this is my take on draco betraying hermione during the skirmish in hogwarts in book six. hope it's not that bad.
Hexes and curses filled the air as students, teachers and Death Eaters battled for their lives. Hermione can feel the static in the air as jets of light narrowly missed her.
She was duelling with a black-haired Death Eater when all of a sudden she felt a shift in the surroundings. Or maybe it was just her.
Something suddenly felt wrong.
She saw black cloaks swarming and billowing behind the Death Eater who was busy throwing curses at her. She threw a "Protego!" between her and the cackling Death Eater. In the split second that there was peace as the Death Eater cannot get through her effective shield, she saw a white blonde head pass by behind the billowing black cloaks.
Her heart suddenly got caught up in her throat.
The masked Death Eater must've seen the shocked look on her face and threw another "Crucio!" at her. She could feel the sneer on his face as he did it. But Hermione's shield held back. An "Impedimenta!" threw the dark-haired Death Eater to his back, sliding all the way to the back and bumping to another Death Eater. That took the laugh out of him. Feels good too.
But she has more important things to tend to. Before the man was back to his feet, Hermione darted to her side and dodged spells on the way. Thoughts of a blonde head and Dark Marks made her legs run faster. "Hermione!" she heard someone call after her. Probably Ginny. She ignored it and continued running to her destination.
Then she reached an empty corridor. The shouts and screams were drowned in the background as she slowed down to a walk. She strained to listen for sounds, not knowing what to expect. More screams of agony? She walked forward cautiously while running her fingers along the walls. She can feel her heart pounding in her ears. Thoughts of the silvery blond haired boy filled her mind again, and a cold feeling swept through her body again. It filled her veins and reached her toes. No, please, no... She tried shaking the feeling off. The dreaded feeling wavered, but she could still feel it in her extremities.
Faint footsteps reached her ears. Her heart suddenly stopped. She walked faster as the footsteps sounded nearer and louder. Voices joined in the sound of the footsteps, and her heart beat faster and louder than ever.
She turned a corner and her breath got caught in her throat. No, no, no…
Black swooping hoods filled her vision, and yet, a blonde head stood out from her line of sight. Only one thought filled her head before her knees turned into jelly, dragging her to the ground.
He… He is one of them.
He was one of them. All this time.
She raised her wand slowly and pointed it towards them. A hundred images filled her mind. She didn't notice that her hand was shaking, that all of her body was shaking. Tears threatened to pour, but she bit her lip, trying to stop it from falling.
"H-Hermione!" a shout sprang from behind her. She glanced, and saw Ron, wand pointed forward and mouth agape. He was looking behind her, shock filling his face. Ginny appeared behind him, then Neville, then Luna. All of them wore the same expression on their faces.
Hermione glanced behind her and felt cold hands suddenly grasp her heart. The group of Death Eaters were looking at her, at them. A gleeful expression was on Bellatrix Lestrange's face, as well as the others. She recognized Fenrir Greyback, Rudolph Lestrange, Thomas Nott, and… and…
She cannot bring herself to think of his name. More cold hands gripped her heart when she saw his face.
Shock was plastered all over his face, his jaw open, grey eyes wide. But as she watched, a mask of indifference suddenly melted the whole expression. She heard Bellatrix emit a laugh, a cruel, mirthless laugh that sent shockwaves through her core.
"Children… Why don't you all go inside and play?" hissed a gleeful Bellatrix, baring her rotten teeth at them. "Or maybe" she hinted with a cruel tone in her voice, "you want to play with us?"
Her remark solicited chuckles from her comrades. To Hermione it sounded more like the sound vultures make when encircling their prey, more like Death's bells tolling overhead.
She remained rooted in the spot. Her eyes did the same, staring at the boy in front of her and never leaving it. She could imagine her eyes boring into him accusingly, making him feel the pain of betrayal she was feeling inside.
Voices and images started running light-speed through her head…
"No, he's not a Death Eater, Harry!"
His dark gray eyes looking over the canopy…
"I trust you" a whisper echoing through the empty room. That small, sad smile on his face…
She thought there was innocence. She thought there was goodness. She undoubtedly held on to that belief when she saw him alone frequently, and lost in his thoughts. Harry's words always ran through her mind whenever she sees him in such sadness, and she can't help but think about it. What if Harry was right, shouldn't Malfoy be proud of it? Shouldn't he be swaggering in the grounds, threatening Mudbloods in the way? She can never forget the time when she saw his eyes during Potions class, when he was moping again. She saw the sadness and the loneliness. But just like his old self, it suddenly vanished and turned to the glare he often gave her. She walked away, chilled to the bones with what she saw. What was weirder was that the sneer that was often in his face wasn't there.
Unbeknownst to others, she could feel his pain. When Harry, Ron and the others chose to condemn him, she was the one who kept in the dark and chose to watch everything unfold. She hated him, even loathed him, but there was a tugging feeling in her heart that it was all childish hatred, that all will be forgotten in the future. She never believed that such evil will be born out of the castle she called her home, Hogwarts, especially from the generation of The Boy Who Lived.
And that faith strengthened whenever she saw him.
But now, wave after wave of betrayal hit her body, flushing her cheeks and rushing blood to her hands.
Everything looked like in slow motion. She watched Bellatrix's face strain and her wand rise up, pointing towards the bushy haired witch. Behind her, wands raised too, pointing towards the group of students. Hermione barely noticed the last wand that was hesitantly raised. Before she could hear the muttered curse, her wand pointed towards them and emitted an invisible rubber that stretched in front of her and her friends.
She barely felt it. She could feel the curses bouncing off the shield she procured just as she did a while ago and the wooden stick in her hand warm up.
"Sweet Merlin," she gasped.
"I trusted you."