Bent- By Hannah Davenport
Bent- By Hannah Davenport
Summary: Abused by his father, his mother unable to protect him, Draco Malfoy is a lonely young man. He is lost in a twisted world of his own fears and desires, his only solace - perhaps - lies in his cousin, who takes over the DADA position - yet that doesn't even work. It is another story, though, when Ginny Weasley tries to befriend a troubled Draco and tries bringing him into a better world.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J. K. Rowling. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. It's just fan fiction!
Work Cited: Harry Ptter Realm
"You were very smart to bring her to me, Mr Malfoy." Madam Pomfrey said as she examined Ginny. "What did you say happened to her?"
"Well," Draco began awkwardly. "Professor Malfoy was putting us each under the Veritas Curse, and she asked Ginny what she saw every time a dementor got too close. You do remember her first year, don't you?"
"Goodness me!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. "And she told the whole class!" She looked sympathetically at Ginny, who was still crying. "Poor thing. I think she had best have some rest."
She then bustled away for some sort of dreamless sleeping potion.
Ginny looked up at him, her face stained with tears, and her glasses wet. "Draco," She stammered between sobs. "Thank you for trying to stop Professor Malfoy."
"It wasn't a problem, even though I didn't succeed," he replied quietly.
"It was still very thoughtful of you," she continued softly.
"Well, I couldn't just sit by and do nothing while you told the whole school that you see Tom Riddle. I know more than you think I do about all that." Draco shifted in his place uncomfortably.
Just then, Madam Pomfrey came back in. "I'll give her this," She said, showing Draco a bottle full of pink liquid. "And you had better get to lunch."
"All right," he replied stiffly. "But - when she wakes up, will you come and get me?"
Madam Pomfrey gave him a weak smile. "Of course, Mr Malfoy. Now, run along so she can have some peace."
All throughout lunch Draco wondered how she was doing. After all, she was, in a way, his friend. When time for Charms came, he still wondered about her.
"Today class," Professor Flitwick said happily. We will be learning the time freezing charm, which is called the Derefous Charm. The incantation is simply --"
"Professor Flitwick?" Draco turned in his chair, to see Madam Pomfrey. She looked as though she had run all the way down from the hospital wing.
"Yes, Poppy?" Flitwick asked, looking a tad confused.
"Mr Malfoy is needed somewhere else, so may he be excused?" she asked, looking hopeful.
"I'm going to need an explanation before I can let him go," Professor Flitwick replied as a look of concern shot across his face.
"Well . . ." Madam Pomfrey paused. "There's someone in the hospital wing who's asking for him. It's very urgent. Perhaps you could have someone bring him his homework later?"
Flitwick looked thoughtful, and Weasley, Potter, and Granger shot Draco looks of confusion. "I suppose. Yes, Mr Malfoy, you may go. Can I have a volunteer to bring him his homework?"
Only one hand went into the air, and to Draco's frustration, it was Granger's hand. He quickly piled his things into his bag, and exited, following Madam Pomfrey up to the infirmary. "Has something happened?" he asked, panicking slightly. "Is she all right?"
"She keeps having nightmares, even after the dreamless sleeping potion I gave her. And she woke up, and told me she wanted to see you immediately," Madam Pomfrey answered quietly.
A knot formed in Draco's stomach, and a lump in his throat. When they reached the infirmary, Draco ran to her bedside, and dropped his bag on the floor next to a chair.
"Ginny, are you okay?" He asked quietly, looking at her imploringly. She sat up, put her arms around his neck, and began sobbing into his shoulder. Madam Pomfrey looked at the two of them with what seemed to be wistfulness, and then went back to her work. Draco was glad of it, because he didn't want to talk in front of Madam Pomfrey. "Are you okay?" He asked again. "Ginny, please answer me. You're scaring me really badly,"
"He's there, Draco. He's there," she moaned, her voice muffled by her sobs, and her face being pressed against his shoulder. "Tom is there, in my head. He won't leave me alone, Draco. You have to help me. Please... please Draco - help me."
He was vaguely reminded of himself on the night before his return to Hogwarts. He sighed, and placed a hand on the back of her head to hold her up. "I'll do anything I can to help you, Ginny." He replied. And he suddenly felt the need to change the subject. "Did you get my note?"
"Yes," She said through his cloak. "Yes I did, and I'm very excited to be going with you. I wanted to go with you, because you're nice to me, and I didn't want to get stuck with someone like Malcolm Baddock. He's an awful person."
"What happened to 'I try to be nice to everyone, even if they aren't nice to other people'?" he asked with a laugh. He knew she was somewhat getting back at him for what he wrote in the letter about their "reputations."
She lifted her head up, and narrowed her eyes. "Hold on," She replied, reaching over to a table on her left side. She put her glasses on, and looked at him in wonderment. "He's not a good person," She added with a shudder. "He doesn't do good things. It's not just unfriendliness that makes a person bad, Draco. It's what they do when they think no one is watching. And I don't like to be around people like that."
Draco swallowed hard. He felt strange. Like he was that bad person she described and his father was the watcher determining his wickedness . . . Was Lucius watching him all the time? No, He finally decided. If he were watching me all the time, I would probably be in a body cast.
"What color are your dress robes?" Ginny asked him, moving on. She wiped her eyes underneath her rectangular spectacles.
"Black," He replied. "Why? Do you have something against unfriendly colors?"
"No," She said with a giggle. "I'm going to color-coordinate. You know what that means, right?"
"Of course I know what that means," He said, raising his eyebrows. "I'm not stupid."
"Well, most boys don't know what it means. Somehow, they don't care if the girl is wearing silver, and they're wearing bright orange." she said with another giggle. "But, I'm glad you know what it means. I bet you look great when you go to parties,"
"I try to refrain from going to my father's parties." Draco said hurriedly.
"Oh."
Just then, the infirmary doors opened, and Rhiannon stood there, clutching a stitch in her side. "Draco, can I talk to you?" she gasped.
Draco shot her a very annoyed look, then nodded. "I'll see you later, Ginny." he said, and picking up his bag, he followed Rhiannon out into an empty corridor. "What do you want?" he demanded tersely.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for not listening to you," She replied quietly. "even if she is a Weasley, no one deserves to be that humiliated. No --"
"What do you mean by that?" he shouted, his chest heaving with emotion.
"Draco, you know what I mean..." she said, looking uncomfortably at her feet.
"Then I suppose you know Ginny is my friend, and I won't tolerate anyone saying anything like that about her," he snapped. "Not even you, and mark my words, you will pay for that."
Rhiannon walked over to him, and placed a hand on each shoulder. "Draco," She whispered. "Calm down. You're over--"
"I am not overreacting." Draco snarled, ripping away from her. "I have every right to be angry with you, Rhiannon Carlotta Malfoy. Every blasted reason. She is the first person who has tried to be my friend without wanting something in return. She's a nice person, and I won't let you disrespect her in any way."
He pulled out his wand just as she began to try and calm him down again. But he didn't want to be calmed down. He wanted people to leave Ginny alone. "Amphibius!" he cried, and where Rhiannon had stood, there was now a toad. A very nasty looking toad.
"Malfoy, what are you doing?" a voice shouted in alarm.
Blast, Draco thought as he turned to face Granger. Blast, blast, blast, and more blasted blasts.
"I'm trying out a new spell, Granger," he said coolly. "And my dear, sweet cousin, Rhiannon volunteered to be my guinea pig, so to speak."
"And you turned her into a toad, because?" Professor Dumbledore asked kindly as Snape and McGonagall waited in the background of the old man's circular office.
"Because she deserved it," Draco said with a smirk. "And I won't say any more unless McGonagall and Snape leave." Dumbledore looked at him questioningly. "Not a single, bloody word. So tell them to leave if you want to know what went on."
Dumbledore looked at McGonagall and Snape, and they both, rather reluctantly, left the room.
"Will you tell me now, Draco?" he asked apprehensively.
"She was being disrespectful to one of my friends, and I couldn't take it." Draco said flatly. "And the name of my friend is not to be disclosed."
"What I want to know," Dumbledore said quietly. "Is what Professor Malfoy could have said about Ginny Weasley that upset you so?"
Draco gritted his teeth. "It's not polite to read minds like that," he replied. "And besides that, it's unnerving. But," He paused. "If you must know, and since you are the Headmaster, you do, she seems to think that the Weasley's are less than the Malfoy's because of who they associate with. But Ginny isn't like that at all."
A smiled teased the corners of Dumbledore's mouth.
"I don't think much of the rest of them," he added as an afterthought. "Especially not Potter's friend, er, Ryan? But Ginny is a really nice person, and no one should say anything like that about her at all. She's fantastic. She's --" He paused, and looked at Dumbledore's expression. "I really don't like you." He said stiffly, feeling very annoyed at the old, smiling wizard. "I don't know what you do to make people talk like that, but it's really, really obnoxious."
"I'm not doing anything, Draco," he responded cheerily. "It's hard not to think highly of Miss Weasley. She is a very wonderful girl."
Draco kept glaring. "Well, if you're going to punish me, it would just tear me up inside if Rhiannon had to stay a toad," he said hopefully.
"Not going to happen, Draco." Dumbledore said with a smile. "And I won't punish you. But I expect you should have a chat with Professor Snape about the things you just told me. After all, he is head of your house."
Draco's stomach lurched. Snape was the last person on earth he wanted to talk to about Ginny. The very, very last person.
"All right, Professor. I'm going to dinner now," he announced.
He stood up and did just that - and was pleasantly surprised, to see Ginny was sitting at the Gryffindor table when he got there. She smiled and waved, and he did the same. He was happy enough then not bothered when Pansy asked him, once again, to go to the Halloween Ball with her.
Sequel to come soon. !