DISCLAIMER: yeah, it says it all in chapter one…..
WARNING: there's no smut in this chapter but I promise there will be more to "come" ; ) *snickers*
Chapter 2
It had been nearly three weeks since the last attack (and one blissful week since Draco and Harry had confessed their love for each other) and Draco was feeling cautiously optimistic. Maybe people were finally getting over the fact that he was dating Harry. Well, he knew they weren't because the young men still got glares and insults wherever they went in the school, but at least they weren't being beaten every other day. At the moment, Draco was in the library for some much needed study time while he waited for Harry to finish with his meeting with Professor McGonagall. She'd been trying to figure out who'd beaten them the last time (which was the only time they'd gone to the teacher's for help) and she was relentless in her questioning. Respecting Harry's wishes, Draco had kept his mouth shut when his Head of House had tried to interrogate him. Not that it was hard of course since he couldn't stand Slughorn. When in the sorry excuse for a man's presence, it was easier to keep his mouth shut otherwise he'd end up saying something that would get him into trouble.
Snorting in disgust at the teacher, Draco shook his head slightly, bringing his focus back to his Transfiguration essay. He was almost finished; he only needed an inch more and he'd be finished. He dipped his quill into the ink and held his hand poised over the parchment, thinking for a moment about what he wanted to write. Just as he started to write, a shiver ran up his spine, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. Draco had long ago learned not to ignore these feelings and his molten silver eyes immediately left the parchment to look around him. Someone was watching him—he was sure of it. Narrowing his eyes slightly, the blonde's gaze fell on a familiar head of bushy brown hair. He let out a sigh of relief as the young woman slipped around the corner and approached his table at the back of the library.
"Merlin Hermione, you scared me." Draco grumbled before going back to his essay. "What do you want?" he asked, not unkindly, as he kept his eyes down. She hesitated, as if trying to decide if she should say what she clearly wanted to say. The young man looked up after a moment of prolonged silence, his perfect eyebrow arching. "Hermione?" he questioned, starting to feel uneasy.
"Uhm….D-Draco…." She started, her voice trailing off as she looked over her shoulder. Draco had never seen her like this before. In all the years he'd known (and hated but secretly respected) her, she was always confident in herself, at least as far as he saw. She was brave, something that she'd proven beyond a doubt during the battle You-Know-Who; to see her like this unnerved him. He laid down his quill, his instincts telling him he needed to be on guard.
"Spit it out, Granger." He demanded, getting frustrated now. The use of her surname seemed to spur the girl into action as her worried brown eyes flicked back to his face. She nodded and steeled herself, her back straightening as she spoke softly but clearly.
"They're planning another attack." Draco's stomach dropped at her words and he could almost feel his face paling. He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off, speaking hurriedly now. "Draco, listen to me. When you leave the library, go left ok? Left. Don't try to go back to the Room just yet. They've been watching you and Harry, trying to figure out where you two disappear to when you're not in class." The blond gave a curt nod, knowing what she meant. When they left the library, they always went to the right, always going back to their safe place. Hermione glanced over her shoulder again, fear in her eyes when she looked back at him again.
"Hermione what is it?" Draco asked, his voice softer this time. Damn, Harry was starting rub off on him if he was starting to give a shit about Gryffindors (other than his boyfriend of course). But there was something she wasn't telling him and he wanted to know what it was. The young woman bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes.
"Ron knows that I know where you guys stay." The Slytherin sucked in a harsh breath as his stomach dropped to his feet. Hermione, seeing the panic in his silver eyes, rushed to finish what she was saying. "I didn't tell him! He tried to get me to tell him where you went…but I told him I wouldn't." Draco felt a strange feeling in his chest; after a moment he realized it was gratitude towards the girl for her unwavering loyalty towards her friend, even in the face of her boyfriend (although the git didn't deserve her in Draco's opinion). "He tried….he tried to get me to tell him…"Her voice broke and she stopped as a quiet sob escaped her lips.
"What did he do?" Draco asked, his voice low and tense with anger. If the Weasel hurt her….well he was in for a rude awakening. Hermione bit her bottom lip again, visibly shaking. On a split second decision, the blond boy crossed the space between them and pulled the girl into a tight hug. This seemed to be her undoing as she suddenly let herself go, gripping Draco's robes as she sobbed into his shoulder.
"He p-pulled me into his d-d-dormitory and told m-me that if I didn't te-tell him he'd take what he w-w-wanted from me…" Draco's arms tightened around Hermione comfortingly as she kept talking. It was almost like she couldn't stop. "I s-said that he cou-couldn't do th-that and he said that I was h-his girlfriend and he could d-d-do what he wa-wanted with m-me…and to me." Oh shit. Draco's breath caught in his throat as he understood what it was that the red-haired git had done to his (new) friend.
"Hermione he won't get away with that." He promised, his jaw aching from clenching it so hard. The young woman shook her head, her face still buried in his shoulder as she gained her composure again.
"You don't understand…..he already has….multiple times already." Despite her fear and tears, her voice was hard with anger and disgust. They stood there for a moment in silence, the boy's hand rubbing comforting circles into Hermione's back. She pulled away, stepping out of his embrace with an embarrassed smile. "Sorry…." She muttered as Draco shook his head, brushing away her apology.
"Don't worry about it. You're important to Harry, therefore you're important to me." He told her, his voice still hard from his anger at the Weasel. She looked at him uncertainly and he sighed, letting his shoulders droop a little. "You're as much my friend as you are Harry's." He flashed her a reassuring smile, one that she returned gratefully before becoming serious again.
"Just remember, when you leave go left as quickly as you can, ok? I'm tired of seeing bruises and cuts all over your and Harry's faces," she admitted, sadness creeping into her deep brown eyes. Draco nodded and with a parting smile, Hermione quickly slipped away and to the other side of the library. He knew she was taking a huge risk by coming to warn him. Again, he felt that strange gratitude and admiration for the muggle-born girl.
Draco turned and quickly packed his things, planning on finishing his essay in the safety of the Room of Requirement. With his things in his bag, he quickly shrunk it and slipped it into the pocket of his robes. The blond had learned that lesson the hard way about a month ago when a student had charmed his bag to split open and a group of Gryffindors (and a few Slytherins) had jumped him when he stopped to pick up his things. Now as a precaution, both Harry and Draco shrank their bags before leaving anywhere. He left the library quietly, pulling his wand out once he'd stepped into the hallway. Glancing to the right, Draco turned left, trying to think of where he could go. Unfortunately both the Room and McGonagall's office were to the right, so heading for home or Harry were both out of the question.
Halfway down the hall, Draco heard someone scream in pain and his footsteps halted. It could be a trap. Keep walking, his Slytherin side whispered, urging him forward. But there was something familiar about that scream, something that made Draco's chest ache. His eyes widened in fear when he realized who it was. Harry. He was coming from McGonagall's office….which was to the right of the library.
Turning on his heel, Draco sprinted back the way he came, turning the corner to see a group of students aiming their wands at Harry who was curled into the fetal position, desperately trying to cover his head. Spell after spell was thrown at him, his body jerking with each hit, although no sounds of pain escaped his tightly clenched jaw. Some of the students who weren't firing spells were aiming physical blows on his boyfriend between the blasts of light that emanated from the ends of the wands. Silver eyes moving quickly, Draco counted the number of students; there were so many of them—at least 15. Off to the corner Draco could see a furious Weasel, gripping a terrified Hermione by her upper arm. His eyes met with the girl's and she silently begged him for help. Giving a curt nod, the blonde Slytherin raised his wand and started hexing people.
"Stupefy! Stupefy! Incarcerous!" Moving quickly, Draco dove at the group of people after firing off multiple spells, managing to take out at least half of them from surprise alone. Draco jumped to his feet and quickly cast another hex. "Affligo!" he cried out, watching as a red welt appeared on a Slytherin's face as if Draco had thrown a physical punch. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Weasel raise his wand and aim it at the blond, the words of his hex carrying in the otherwise quiet hallway.
"Castreo!" Draco's silver eyes widened as he dodged the blue stream of light, diving just as the spell hit where he'd been standing and bouncing off the highly polished floor. It hit one of the offending Gryffindors, the boy's hands going to cup his crotch as tears of pain welled in his eyes. He fell to the floor and Draco had to fight a vindictive smile as he ran to Harry's side.
"Harry….Harry, love, wake up please" Draco begged, his eyes darting from his lover's unconscious face to the group of boys there were starting to gather around them again (minus the boy who'd been hit in the crotch and the two Draco had managed to tie up). Heart beating painfully fast, Draco searched his head for a hex, a curse, anything that would help him in the odds he was at. The only thing he could think of using would be an Unforgivable Curse—which he really didn't want to do, despite the situation. Harry would never forgive him if he used one on these boys, whether they deserved it or not. But as they inched closer to the unconscious boy and his protector, Draco could see no other way out.
Raising a shaking hand, the blond pointed his wand at the nearest boy, ready to cast a Crucio on him. I have to…to save Harry he rationalized, taking a breath to steady himself. He opened his mouth to utter the incantation when suddenly the boy turned and ran in the opposite direction. Confused (and a little frightened although he would never admit it) Draco looked around. One by one, the boys started to turn and flee, no explanation given. Looking over at Weasel, the Slytherin could see the rage clear as day on his face….just like he could see the young woman behind him aiming her wand at the clueless boys and muttering under her breath. After a few more moments of hastily whispered hexes, there was only Draco, Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"What is your problem, Weasel?" Draco hissed, holding Harry's head gently in his lap. The boy was breathing irregularly, something that was seriously worrying the blond, but he couldn't do anything about it until Ron was taken care of. The look of fury on the boy's face would have been amusing, had the situation not been so serious. Hermione stood silently behind Ron, shifting her weight uneasily between her right and left foot. Ron glared at him for a moment before turning to look at the brunette girl behind him.
"Go back to the common room and wait for me there." His voice was low, demanding and cold. A look of angry surprise flashed across the girls face before it disappeared and she nodded slowly. Tossing one more look at Harry and Draco, Hermione left without another word. Turning back to the boys on the floor, Ron drew his wand, pointing it at Draco's face. It wasn't the wand that made the Slytherin's breath catch in his throat; no, it was the red-haired boy's words driving a cold, sick feeling into Draco's stomach.
"He's supposed to be mine. And you took him from me."
Author's Note: *gasp!* who knows what's going to happen next! Lol I do haha anyway, sorry for the short chapter : ( work and school have me incredibly busy but I will keeo writing! *crossed heart and hopes to live* btw, thanks for reading : ) oh and the spell that Hermione uses is Depello-de-PELL-oh-Causes the victim to flee.
