Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or any characters associated.
I was walking along the corridors patrolling when I heard a slight whimper, then a loud 'sectumsempra'. The voice was unmistakable, for I knew it was Harry's. I recognized the spell as one written in his potions book, with unknown effects. I saw a pale Harry run out of the bathroom immediately, before hearing a muffled scream coming from the bathroom. Harry didn't even see me as he ran the opposite direction. I ran into the lavatory, only to find the floor covered in bloody water. I saw the almost lifeless form of Draco Malfoy laying on the floor, blood seeping out of his wounds at a rapid rate. At that moment I didn't care who he was. I didn't care how much hell he had put me through, whether or not he hated me. At that moment, he was just another boy. A boy who was about to die if I didn't act.
I rushed over to his side and kneeled on the wet floor next to him. "Malfoy! Malfoy! Bloody hell, Draco! Open your eyes!" I screamed at him. He lifted his lids barely, but it was enough to see that he was still somewhat conscious. I thought back to my reading about healing spells. I always knew they would come in handy. "Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur." I repeated over and over, watching the blood rushing back into the deep slashes on his chest, eventually healing the cuts themselves. After I was finished, he looked at me before muttering, "please, help me" as he closed his eyes and went limp in my arms.
I couldn't very well take him to Madame Pomfrey as it was Harry who cursed him. I couldn't believe Harry would curse him then leave him to die. I pushed the thought from my mind as I thought about what to do with an unconscious Draco Malfoy in my arms. I immediately rose from the floor, casting a disillusionment charm on Malfoy before levitating him out of the lavatory. I walked as fast as I could levitating him up to the seventh floor.
I walked back and forth three times In front of the wall at the end of the corridor, muttering "I need somewhere safe." Before the door appeared to me. I quickly opened it and levitated Malfoy inside before shutting the door. There was a large couch and two armchairs beside a roaring fireplace. The room itself was gold and silver, a large bookshelf on either side of the fireplace.
I levitated Malfoy to the couch and sat in one of the chairs, grabbing a book on my way. I would wait for him to wake. My curiosity overtook my hatred of him in the moment that he asked for my help. I sat in the chair reading for about an hour before I heard groans coming the boy on the couch. Within a second, he had sat up, searching for his wand, which was securely in my hand. I wasn't about to let him hex me after saving his life. After realizing it was no where around him, he looked at where we were, then to me, his face contorted in shock.
"Where's my wand? What have you done with it?!" He yelled at me, trying to stand, but failing as he was still very weak and hurt.
"It is safe. I will give it back after you explain." I said to him commandingly.
"I have nothing to explain to you, you filthy little-"
"Mudblood? Right. Because that is one way to talk to the very person who just saved your life and has your wand? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this if you explain. Your reputation won't be tarnished." I said coldly. I noticed when I had said Mudblood that he had winced.
"Don't call yourself that." He said with malice.
"Oh, so you can call me a Mudblood, but I can't? That's rich. Isn't that what I am to you? A filthy little Mudblood, know-it-all, bookworm, with bushy hair and buck teeth?" I was seething in anger as I spat the words that he had said before multiple times.
"If you believe that, then why did you save my life? You could have just let me die. Your Saint Potter was going to." He said angrily back at me.
"I couldn't just let you die." I said in a small voice. My face still red in anger.
"I'm sure you've wanted me dead plenty of times, Granger." He said as he looked away in defeat.
"No." I murmured. His head shot back around to look at me.
"What?" He asked curiously. I looked up at him.
"As much as I have hated you, I have never wished you dead." I said honestly.
"They are just hollow words, you know." He muttered after a few minutes. I looked at him in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"The insults, threats, the names." He said putting his head in his hands. "I don't actually believe it all." I stared at him in shock. Had Draco Malfoy just said he didn't believe in the insults he used against me? I stayed silent, not knowing what to say.
"Why?" I finally asked, my voice cracking the slightest bit. He looked up at me as if I had just hit a nerve. But as I looked in his eyes, a tear had managed to escape from my own. I was still covered in his blood from the bathroom, but I didn't care. Something seemed to break inside of him.
"I was raised to believe it all, by my father, of course. To believe that the blood running through your veins was tainted. That you were below us purebloods." I winced at his words."But since day one at Hogwarts, you have been the best at everything. The brightest witch of our age. I've seen your blood, it looks the same as my own." I looked down at my bloodstained shirt and skirt.
"If you truly believed that, then why do you continue it all? The insults?" I asked quickly. I needed to know. His eyes looked away as he ran his hands through his platinum locks.
"I had no choice. If I just stopped, my father would have heard about it." He said, still looking away. I knew. Lucius Malfoy was a cruel man, but would have have done something so bad to his own son, enough to make him afraid like this? "Where are we?"
"The room of requirement." I said absentmindedly. His eyes shot to mine, looking shocked and panicking. "Tell me what happened?" I pressed.
"I can't." He said blatantly. I growled in protest. I knew it had something to do with Voldemort, I could tell by his panicked expression.
"You can and you will. I know it has something to do with Voldemort, so out with it." I said with malice. He looked at me shocked when I said the name everyone is so afraid of.
"How did you-?"
"I'm not the brightest witch of our age for nothing, Am I? It doesn't take a genius to see that you are worried about something. You've been skipping meals, classes, I've seen you sneaking off during my patrols. If you tell me the truth, there may be a way to help you." I said honestly. He looked down at the ground.
"No one can help me." He said, his voice dripping with sadness. I walked over to him and sat on the couch next to him, making him slide away as Instinct.
"You say you don't believe. I can help you. Dumbledore can help you." I said, reaching out to touch him before pulling back, remembering who it was I was talking to.
"You don't understand, if I don't do this, he will kill her." He said, a tear ready to escape from his eye.
"Kill who?" I asked quickly.
"My mother." His voice cracked as he spoke. I suddenly understood his position. If someone were to kill my parents, I would do anything to save them.
"What do you have to do?" I asked, knowing I was pressuring him. He looked over at me, an unexplainable emotion seeping into his eyes.
"What does it matter to you? There is nothing you can do to help. I can't let him kill my mother!" He said angrily. "Some things cannot be undone." He whispered, lowering his head back into his hands. I knew what he meant as soon as he said it. He was a death eater. However, my opinion of the boy in front of me had not changed. He did it to save his mother and probably himself as well. He had no other choice.
"Did you want to be one?" I asked quietly. His silvery eyes shooting up to look at me, pleadingly. I knew his secret.
"No." Was all he said. I took a leap of faith and placed my hand over his, waiting for him to pull away in disgust. He didn't. "Why are you helping me, instead of running off to tell Potter?"
"Because I can tell that you aren't lying. You didn't have a choice. If my parents lives were at stake, I would do anything I could to save them. Tell me what your mission is, let me help you." I said, gripping onto his pale hand underneath mine. His hands were warm, which surprised me.
"No. Don't you realize that I am already one of them? There is nothing you can do to help me. Even if I wanted your help." He said, letting the tear fall.
"Do you?" I asked. He looked at me confused. "Want my help, that is?"
"I already told you there is nothing you can do to help me."
"If you had the choice, which side would you choose?" I asked curiously.
"I just said I didn't want to be a death eater. But I don't have a choice." He answered.