Chapter 1 - So Much Red

It was in fifth year, late at night after Potter dragged the rest of Hogwarts idiots to the Department of Mysteries to save a man who hadn't actually been injured. Of course Potter wouldn't have realized what he was seeing wasn't real because the idiot had no aptitude for Occlumency. Though most of the school didn't know that information, he only knew because Professor Snape informed him of the details of his Father's capture. He'd offered his services to Professor Snape for the night, knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep, the thought of his mother in the Manor without his father protecting her from Voldemort made his blood run cold.

He'd been brewing a batch of blood-replenishing potion when a very frantic Madam Pomfrey burst through the door, levitating a very bloodied behind her. The very bloodied body of Hermione Granger. She was losing a lot of blood and judging by the dark color that was spreading through her veins from a very nasty looking cut; he knew it had to be dark magic. The healer barely acknowledged his presence, only speaking briefly to the potions master before pouring potion after potion down her patient's throat. Snape began barking orders at him to apply ingredient after ingredient to the cursed wound, while he waved his wand over her body, muttering incantations Draco hadn't heard before.

When they were finally finished tending to the Gryffindor, Draco could only stare at his hands. Hands that were covered in very red blood. It made him sick, knowing that his father or his aunt could have been the one to injure the fragile girl. If his father had his own way, he would have to do the same, injuring and murdering all that refused to bear the Dark Mark. It was only when he choked back a sob that Madam Pomfrey noticed his presence. She was about to reprimand him for being there when she noticed the blood that stained him. She pushed a cloth into his hands, followed by a calming draught and walked him down to the Slytherin common room, not saying a word the entire way.

He ignored the worried questions that came from his house mates when he walked into the common room. He just walked into his dorm, again ignoring the occupants' protests and questions. It was only when he was staring at his reflection, leaning on the sink in front of him, that he noticed that the blood was not only on his hands but smeared across his shirt and in his hair. He ripped off his shirt, throwing it into the bath and setting it on fire; he didn't want to look at it any more. He began scrubbing at his hands, trying desperately to remove the red that had sunk deep into his skin.

"Stupid bloody Granger." He muttered. His housemates had most likely pieced together that the blood belonged to the muggleborn, but they probably hadn't realized why he was frantically scrubbing away her blood. It didn't disgust him like it would his friends; it only made him want to sob. It was as if he thought he could undo everything she had to endure to receive her injuries by simply scrubbing harder at his skin.

"Draco?" A quiet voice pleaded from the doorway, pulling him slightly out of his hysteria. Daphne Greengrass was leaning against the doorframe, her expression one of compassion. "Tell me what happened."

He could only stare at her, unsure of how he could explain what he had seen, the image of her blood still burning in his mind. He knew his breathing was panicked and erratic, probably one of the contributing factors to Daphne's concern, but he couldn't calm down. The image of red was all he could see, like it was haunting him. He squeezed his eyes shut, slumping against the wall in an effort to escape from the images assaulting his brain.

A cold hand was on his cheek and what felt like a potion was being pressed to his lips. He drank, not questioning what it was. Within a few moments, the red that had been assaulting him was gone and Daphne was knelt down in front of him. She was very worried now.

"Draco, you're crying." She barely whispered, wiping his cheeks with the end of her sleeve. "What happened to you?"

Draco took a few moments to breathe, knowing he couldn't tell his friends everything. But maybe he could tell Daphne, she had been very vocal about her dislike of blood purity over the last year. Though it didn't surprise him, she had a very big heart for a Slytherin.

"Granger." He muttered, running his hands over his face. "She was hit with a pretty bad curse, or something cursed cut her, I don't know." He shook his head, trying his hardest to remember what happened, trying to battle through the foggy effect the potion had on his brain. "It took hours to heal her. She just kept bleeding. She wouldn't stop bleeding."

Daphne's worry softened into a sad smile, as she worked out why Draco had panicked so much. "Your secret's safe with me." She smiled, helping him to his feet. "But I know it's not the only thing bothering you. You're worried about your mother."

"How did you…" Draco tried to ask, only to be cut off by the blonde.

"My father sent me an own about the good news." Daphne rolled her eyes. "He's been accepted into the Dark Lord's inner circle, he's pressuring me into choosing one of the marriage contracts he's been arranging."

Draco rolled his eyes, completely understanding Daphne's disgust at the idea. If he was forced into the marriage contracts the Malfoy family had left for him, he'd either be marrying Pansy or Daphne's little sister Astoria. He dismissed the Parkinson contract immediately, he couldn't stand Pansy. Astoria however, was the sweetest girl he's talked to, being that she was in her third year and treated him like a big brother. She was ecstatic to hear that, she even entrusted him with the knowledge of her crush on his friend Theo.

"You shouldn't worry about your mother." Daphne smiled, as if what she had to say was a miracle. "Your aunt dotes on her. Bellatrix may be insane but she won't stand for anything happening to her dear baby sister."

Draco laughed slightly, imagining Bellatrix on a murdering rampage because his mother had been offended. Though it wasn't hard to imagine. She'd had quite a lot of fun murdering muggles and wizards alike since her escape from Azkaban.

"You need to get some sleep." Daphne ordered, a rather Slytherin smirk on her face. "That calming draught won't last forever and I don't think you want to be awake when it wares off."

He pulled the blonde into a quick hug. "Thanks Daph." He whispered. It was rare for him to thank people, and rarer for him to hug them.

She sauntered away, giving the rest of Slytherin house a quick rundown of what happened to him. He'd had to help Madam Pomfrey with Granger. He'd protested but Snape had ordered him to. He couldn't bear having her blood on him and panicked when her blood wouldn't come off. It wasn't true really, he hadn't questioned healing Granger, even he didn't understand his eagerness to help his rival. He just pushed it from his mind and pulled on a green jumper before falling onto his bed, ignoring the nagging voice in his head. The voice sounded like his mother. He ignored it's protests to him sleeping above his sheets in a cold dormitory and allowed the calming draught to drag him into a peaceful sleep.

AN- I hope you guys like my attempt at a Dramione fic. I've been writing some pretty long winded, plot heavy fics and I felt like changing things up a bit, especially as I've hit a spot of writer's block.

Like I said this should be pretty simple. You will probably notice I write a little OOC so I'd like to apologise for that in advance. Please let me know what you think and follow this story if you'd like to read more.

Amyx