Disclaimer: is it really necessary to repeat this? I DO NOT OWN THIS AND I NEVER WILL. So stop worrying, jeez!
Okay so this is the first chapter. Please note that some dead characters are not dead in this fic. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1
Voices. He was dead, so why was he hearing voices? Two people, they were near him. By the sounds of their voices he could tell they were female. One was still very young, maybe in her late teens, the other sounded middle-aged. Why were they there? Their voices weren't familiar, so why were they near him? People avoided death eaters and in his case, former death eaters. Something soft touched his chest and pain shot through him once again. Why was he feeling? Wasn't he in oblivion?
"I think he got hit by the sectumsempra curse... might leave a scar," Hermione said mostly to herself. Mrs Weasley had been with her a few moments ago to inform her that lunch was ready and left immediately after. Everyone was stressed out and irritable. Voldemort had escaped when he realised his last horcrux was destroyed. He was still alive and that meant the war wasn't over. The fact that she had brought a death eater home with her didn't lighten the mood at all. They had all seen him fight for them, but it didn't right all his wrongs. They wanted to leave him there to die, but she had refused. She had told them that he deserved a chance, told them that they shouldn't judge people for what they had done in the past, but what they did to right those wrongs, told them that they would be no better than death eaters if they left him. They reluctantly agreed to help him, but taking care of him would be her job; not even Mrs Weasley offered her help. She could understand how they felt; she felt the same, but she could put those feelings aside. She would never kill anyone, she had no right to take any life and if she had left him when she could save him then she would be a killer, even if it's indirectly she'd still be the cause of his death.
She dabbed at the wound again. He had been unconscious for a week now and she would come to check on him every hour or so, sometimes spending the entire day in his room with a good book. The tension in the house was just too thick and she had a feeling that her presence downstairs just thickened it further. Ginny would talk to her, but it wasn't the same. It was like she was trying her best to accept Hermione's decision. Hermione was grateful for her effort, it was more then her two best friends had done. Ron would always start yelling at her and Harry flat-out ignored her.
She noticed that his body would tense whenever she dabbed his wound. This must've been a serious curse. She had only heard a brief description from Harry the previous year. He was paler than normal and he was losing weight. She hoped he'd wake up soon. He would die without nourishment. This wasn't a muggle hospital where nutrition wasn't a problem. They weren't in St. Mungo's either, they were in a room at the headquarters of the Order. All she could do was force potions down his throat and apply ointment to his wound. She didn't know why, but she was really worried about the man that lay before her. He was always horrible to her, always insulting her heritage, he watched as she was tortured with a smirk on his face; but if he was perfect then he wouldn't be human. Everyone had their flaws, his were just a bit over the edge and not normal in any way.
The room quieted down when she entered. Were they just talking about her? She didn't really care. She grabbed a tray from the table and piled it with sandwiches, a glass and a jug of pumpkin juice. She wouldn't have to come down for a snack later. Ignoring all the looks they sent her way, she carefully made her way back up to her patient's room.
He had woken up to an empty room. So he was alive. He could hear people talking somewhere below him. The talking came to an abrupt end for some reason. He wondered why. The door opened a few minutes later and a girl entered with a tray laden with a mountain of sandwiches and a jug of pumpkin juice. There was only one glass, was she going to eat all of that by herself? She looked rather petite. He watched as she sat the tray down and took a sandwich, sighing as she swallowed her first bite. It was the mudblood he noticed. What was she doing here? Was he a prisoner? Wouldn't they have rather left him there instead of going through all this trouble?
"You're awake," she said solemnly. "Are you hungry? I can go and make you some soup." She didn't wait for a reply as she stood from her seat and briskly walked out. He wondered why she was being civil toward him. He was never nice to her. She had every reason to hex him into nothingness. He was bedridden; it would be her perfect chance.
Hermione entered the room half an hour later with another tray, this one holding a bowl of soup, a glass and a jug of water.
"They are aware that you have awoken. You will be questioned when you are well," she said and placed the tray on the bedside table. She poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice and had another sandwich. His cold grey eyes watched her intently. Was this a trick? He wouldn't touch that food.
"You have to eat, Mr Malfoy. You've been unconscious for a week," she said in that solemn tone again. She had expected him to act like this. The wealthy, pure-blooded Mr Malfoy was too good to eat food prepared by a mudblood. What, did he think she poisoned it or something? She sighed in frustration when he didn't make a move."If you don't start eating now then I'm going to feed you." She almost laughed at his wide eyed expression, but realised that she might really have to feed him. He looked very weak. He picked up the spoon hesitantly, why was she watching him eat? It was unsettling. He wasn't used to this.
"Why did you bring me here?" he asked in a raspy voice.
"You helped us, so I helped you. But one shouldn't have a reason to help another," she replied, taking another bite from her sandwich. Hmmm, he seemed rather out of character. No 'filthy mudblood'? That's a first. She watched him as he struggled to keep the spoon steady, she could tell he was humiliated. "I'll go and run the bath while you eat. You haven't had one in a week." She entered the joint bathroom and closed the door behind her. The bathroom was average, nothing a Malfoy was used to, but he had no choice in the matter. She turned on the water and watched it run, lost in her thoughts. The tub only took a few minutes to fill and she closed the taps when she was satisfied with the temperature of the water. She walked back into the room just as the soup bowl crashed to the floor. Harry had her patient at the neck.
"You should thank Hermione for helping you. We would've left you to bleed to death," Harry said venomously.
"Harry, leave now!" Hermione commanded with her wand pointed at him. He pushed her patient back with force and left. She looked at him quizzically for a moment then realised that his arms were bound to his sides and his legs together. She performed the counter curse and cleaned up the mess. "I'll fetch you some more soup after your bath."
He was a proud man, she knew, but pride alone wasn't going to get him to the bathroom before Christmas. He refused her help every time she offered, glaring daggers whenever her hand came too close. She finally became too frustrated and grabbed his arm, half dragging him to the bathroom and leaving him there. Now she could get back to the book she had been reading before he woke.
He opened the bathroom door half an hour later and stumbled out. She rushed to his side and helped him back to his bed. He was wearing the clean pyjama pants she had left for him. She reached for the ointment on the table.
"Don't touch me," he said glaring at her.
"Please Mr Malfoy, I have to apply the ointment to help your wound heal," she said and bound his body again. He glared at her, it was all he could to while she spread the ointment over his wound. The pain was unbearable every time she touched the wound. She could feel his muscles tense. She handed him a potion for the pain after freeing his limbs and fetched some more soup as she had promised.
Okie dokie so that's chapter one, hope you enjoyed reading it. Please leave a review, your feedback is really appreciated and will help me improve.
Before anyone says that Lucius Malfoy is out of character, I know he is, but keep in mind we only know so much about him. He'll obviously be more mature than his son so he wouldn't be as dramatic as Draco would be in his situation. If any other characters are a bit ooc it's because they have to be like that for my story. If they are too ooc then please tell me so I can fix it.
