Chapter 7- Don't Ever Leave
Thanks to everybody who reviewed. Here is the long awaited next chapter of A Fine Line.
"Crucio!"
Hermione fell to the ground, her legs curled up in an odd position. Slowly she began to twitch and shudder horribly. As she shook, her eyes landed on Draco. Her eyes pleaded him to make it stop.
Just watching her made tears prick at Draco's eyes. She didn't deserve this. The Cruciatus Curse was his punishment, not Hermione's.
Draco knew he had to choose between the one person he'd ever considered a "friend", or the girl who had taught him more than he could have ever imagined.
Deciding, Draco ran with his head down straight in Blaise, knocking him over.
"Blaise, what the hell are you doing?" Draco shouted.
"Giving the Mudblood what she deserves," Blaise said darkly.
Draco punched Blaise quickly in the eye, making him topple over.
Blaise got up quickly. He had one mission, and he wasn't going to let anybody – especially not a Malfoy - stop him. Blaise knocked himself into Draco sending him reeling backward, and while Draco was still trying to get up he put the curse back on Hermione, and the twitching and shuddering continued.
Draco felt something warm drip down his face. When he put his hand up to it, it came back dark and sticky.
Draco stood up, Blaise unaware of him, and this time Draco stood to the side of him, and punched him.
Blaise stumbled backward, almost falling, but at the last second he caught himself.
"Do you like this…this piece of trash Draco?"
Draco responded with another firm punch to Blaise.
Blaise turned back to Hermione who looked barely alive. Raising his wand once more he uttered the deathly curse. "Crucio!"
This time Draco was ready. He ran once more into Blaise, causing him to fall. Blaise decided a strike to the eye would ward Draco off, but Malfoy was stronger than that.
Draco was back up, ready to take another hit, but this one he wasn't expecting to be as strong.
One extremely hard hit, and Draco was out cold on the grass.
Through the fog Draco heard Blaise yell, "Detrimentum!"
Hermione, already in extreme pain, felt herself rise up. Spinning, she rose higher and higher until suddenly, with a fierce jerk, she fell down. She felt her arm break, and something cut through her robe. She wanted this to be over, but she didn't know how. She was in so much pain she couldn't even think clearly.
But then the clearness came. Blissfully her mind emptied, and she was just left with the throbbing. While it was comforting, when she looked at the boy performing the curse she couldn't remember who it was, and why she deserved this much hurt.
Draco suddenly realized where he was, and what was happening.
Looking at Hermione, he recognized the purple beam connecting Blaise's wand and Hermione's body.
"The bastard." Draco muttered
Getting up, Draco ran as hard as he could into Blaise, breaking the connection.
The two rolled around the ground hitting each other, until Draco gave a hard punch to Blaise's head.
Both stood up, slightly unaware of the nearly dead Hermione.
"What did you do, Blaise?" Draco yelled.
"I…"
"Run, Blaise! Run where they can't find you."
Draco looked at Hermione as Blaise ran off towards the edge of the grounds. Dropping down on his knees, he put his head to her chest. There was still a heartbeat, but barely. She needed to get into the hospital wing right away.
He tried to pick her up, but his left hand was still burning from hitting Blaise so many times. He finally decided to suck up his pain – this pain was nothing compared to what Hermione had suffered. "Malfoy's never feel pain, Draco," Lucius had said one day after Draco came in with a sprained ankle. " They never hurt, and they never show emotion. The people who show how much they hurt are the idiots." Right now, his father was right, Draco needed to put his pain aside to help Hermione.
So Draco picked up Hermione gingerly and began to walk swiftly to the castle. Once inside he made right away for the Hospital Wing. No one stopped him, not even Peeves, who was mischievously floating around on the second floor.
Draco pounded on the Hospital Wing's door. If Madam Pomfrey wasn't up, she was certainly going to be up now.
He heard footsteps grow louder as he continued to pound.
"What is it now?" Madam Pomfrey asked sleepily.
"Hermione's been under the Cruciatus Curse." He said, not wanting to tell any more than that.
"Excuse me Mr. Malfoy?"
"Are you an idiot?" Draco asked sharply. "I said she's been under the Cruciatus Curse, and she needs magical attention."
Madam Pomfrey looked slightly taken aback. Recovering quickly, she nodded.
"Put her on the bed closest to the window in the back." Draco walked quickly to the bed where he gently laid Hermione down. As he did, a loud crack issued from his wrist.
"Damnit!" He muttered. He knew he had broken it. Putting the stinging pain aside, he looked at Madam Pomfrey.
"Password."
"What?" She asked, slightly befuddled.
"I need the password to get into Dumbledore's office." Draco said harshly
"Oh, right. 'Sugar Quills'. I…" But before she could finish Draco was out the door, running towards the tower
"Sugar Quills." Draco spat at the gargoyle. As it sprung to life, all he could think about was how Hermione could be mentally insane by now. She could be fighting inside, and he would never know.
He ran up the moving staircase, and began to knock on the door. After a few knocks the door swung open on it's own.
"Ah Mr. Malfoy, what can I do for you?" Dumbledore said cheerfully.
"Hermione's been under the Cruciatus Curse." Draco said.
Dumbledore's eyes, which had been a cheery blue, were now dark and determined.
"Do you know who it was?"
"No." Draco lied.
"Mr. Malfoy, you must tell me everything on the way." Dumbledore said calmly. He got up swiftly and opened the door to let Draco out.
As they walked down the stairs Dumbledore asked again.
"What happened?"
But Draco was so concerned about Hermione he either couldn't, or wouldn't tell what happened.
"What happened Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore persisted.
"Mr. Malfoy?"
Draco closed his eyes and took very slow, deep breaths. When Draco wanted to tell him about what happened he would. He would do it in his own time.
"Mr. Malfoy?"
"NO! I WILL NOT TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED UNTIL I KNOW ABOUT HERMIONE. SHE'S DOWN THERE DYING, AND ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS MAKING SURE THAT YOU KNOW WHO DID IT. THE PERSON WILL GET JUSTICE. DON'T YOU WORRY ABOUT THAT. NOW CAN WE PLEASE WORRY ABOUT HERMIONE?" Draco yelled. His voice seemed to echo ten times in the empty hallway.
Dumbledore's gaze flickered on Draco, but then went back to the hallway.
They finished their power walk, and soon both were inside the Hospital Wing. Draco saw curtains around Hermione's bed, and Madam Pomfrey stirring a cauldron full of what looked like wet asphalt.
Madam Pomfrey turned at the sound of footsteps.
"Oh Albus, you're here! I'm making up a pain relieve potion especially for the Cruciatus Curse right now, but I don't know what else to do."
"It's alright Poppy." He turned his head towards Draco. "Now that we are here will you tell me what happened?"
"She was under the curse off and on for about ten minutes. She also was under the Detrimentum curse for maybe two or three minutes," He said, looking away.
Dumbledore's eyes turned even darker. They almost looked like they were reflecting a hurricane.
"What does that curse do Albus?"
"It spins the person in the air, up to a height of 10 feet, and then slams them down on the ground repeatedly. Their memory is wiped clean, although most times it comes back. While their memory is gone all they can focus on is the pain," Draco answered quietly.
"No!" Madam Pomfrey gasped.
"She shows all the signs of that. Mr. Malfoy wouldn't lie." Dumbledore said sadly. "The cuts, the bruises, and what looks like a broken arm."
"Will she be alright, Professor?"
"You said off and on again, correct?"
"Yes," Draco said, sounding impatient.
"Alright, well we will just have to wait and see. There isn't a lot of research on this curse, but many patients seem to make a full recovery, if it was under 5 minutes. " He paused, as a glimmer of hope was lit inside Draco. "Although…"
The glimmer was gone. Snuffed out like a candle in the wind.
"Although what, Albus?" Madam Pomfrey asked the question that Draco didn't want to hear the answer to.
"Ms. Granger will have nightmares about this for the rest of her life. Such a powerful curse leaves imprints on the mind. Some Muggles call it Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. It's when something triggers your mind to relive that experience. For Ms. Granger we will just have to wait and see what triggers the memory."Dumbledore looked at Hermione at pointed to the injuries on her arms and legs.
"Poppy can you fix these up?"
Madam Pomfrey nodded. With a quick flick every bruise, and cut was gone, except for one.
Right across her arm, a deep gash surrounded by a swelling purple bruise remained.
Madam Pomfrey gently lifted up Hermione's arm, and felt the elbow and her wrist.
"She broke her arm in three places alright. I can fix that, but the gash will leave a scar."
Draco gave a brief bob of his head to indicate he knew what had happened, as Madam Pomfrey looked at him.
"Now Mr. Malfoy, I ask may we fix your injuries?"
"What? Oh, no." He said.
"What ever happened to you?" Madam Pomfrey asked, tisking at his sorry state.
"It's a long story. I don't need to be cared for. It's Hermione you need to worry about."
"Nevertheless I will fix up whatever is hurting. Whether you believe that pain is real or not, it is."
Draco held out his wrist, as pain shot through his arm.
"I think I broke it." He said quietly.
Madam Pomfrey gently tried to flex his fingers, and then move his wrist.
"Ouch!" He said loudly. Draco pulled back his wrist, and gingerly laid it across his stomach.
"Oh it's broken all right. Here." She said, quickly waving her wand.
The pain subsided, and Draco carefully rolled his wrist around. It didn't hurt at all.
"Now Mr. Malfoy, if there is nothing else, I would advise you to go back to your dormitory. It is late, and your friends are probably wondering where you are."
"Please sir, may I stay with her? I just want to make sure she's alright."
Both adults looked at each other, then at Hermione, and finally at Draco.
"Mr. Malfoy you know I have very strict rules about my Unforgivable Curse victims right?" Madam Pomfrey asked sharply.
"Yes Ma'am. I will do whatever you ask, just as long as I don't have to leave her."
Dumbledore smiled. "I'll have a house elf bring you your books, and some clothing. I'll also notify all your teachers of your absence."
"Thank you, Sir."
"My pleasure Mr. Malfoy."
"It's Draco, sir. Draco."
"Alright then Draco. Have a good night."
Draco sat behind the curtains all night, just staying by her. While he nodded off once or twice, he tried to stay up. He wanted to be there the instant she woke up. He knew it wouldn't be for a while, but he kept hoping, kept wishing that she would wake up in the next minute.
"Here." Madam Pomfrey said quietly. Draco had dozed off again. He looked out the window and saw the sun raised slightly over the horizon.
She handed him a tray of food, and put a bag of books and clothes beside his bed.
"I brought you breakfast, and the bags are from your room."
Draco ate the breakfast before him. It was a large breakfast, but the food had no taste to him.
After he finished breakfast he just sat, watching Hermione's chest rise with each steady breath she took.
Draco heard a door slam and two sets of footsteps came running into the room. He could only guess who it was. Potter and Weasley had realized that Hermione had been attacked, or Dumbledore told the whole school.
"Where is she?" Weasley demanded.
"She's resting."
"Can we see her?" Potter asked, his voice sounding a little kinder than Ron's.
"No. I only allow one person at a time to visit her, and somebody is already seeing her."
Both Harry and Ron looked through the curtain. There was somebody sitting by the bed, his head in his hands.
"Who is it?" They could tell it was a male, but they thought maybe it was just Neville. They couldn't tell because there was only a shadow, no descriptive features stood out to the two.
"I can't tell you. The person who wanted to see her asked that he be alone, and if anybody asked not to say his name. It is my right as a Healer to respect his request."
"What idiotic person doesn't think that they can tell us that they care about Hermione after she was under the Cruciatus Curse?"
Draco smirked, keeping his head down. If they knew they would kill him for sure.
"Let him be. He's had a bad enough day. He deserves a break."
"Fine! But we're coming back later."
Harry and Ron walked out of the Hospital Wing, slamming the door behind them.
Earlier that morning at breakfast Dumbledore pulled Ron, Ginny and Harry aside.
"Can you three please follow me?"
The three followed him silently, all coming up with different explanations for why they were being called, in their heads.
Once they were inside his office, Dumbledore gestured for them to sit down.
"What's wrong Professor?" Ginny asked, still smiling.
"Ms. Granger was attacked last night."
"WHAT?" The three exploded.
Ron jumped up, his face redder than his hair. He was ready to kill whoever hurt Hermione.
"Please sit, Mr. Weasley."
Ron reluctantly sat, but glared at an instrument on Dumbledore's desk.
"Last night while Ms. Granger was on prefect duty she was attacked by two powerful curses. The first being the Cruciatus Curse, the second the Detrimentum Curse. Both cause extreme pain. Currently Ms. Granger is in the hospital wing, in a coma."
"It was Malfoy," Harry said darkly. Ron looked over and nodded in agreement.
"While it may look suspicious, I can assure you both that Mr. Malfoy did not perform these curses against Ms. Granger."
"Did you check his wand?"
"No, Mr. Weasley, I trust Mr. Malfoy when he says he did not curse her."
"But how can you be so sure?"
"I have my ways of knowing things, Mr. Weasley."
"You should still check it," Ron mumbled, slumping back in his chair.
"If it will provide some sense of comfort, I can have Mr. Malfoy's wand checked. For the meantime, I suggest you let us figure out who could have done this."
They sat in silence for a while until Harry spoke up. "Even if his wand doesn't show the curses on there, he could have been using someone else's wand."
"That may be true, Harry, but I would like you to remember back when you bought your first wand."
"Okay," Harry asked, agitated. As he spoke, the facts began to dawn on him. "Ollivander told me that no wand would work for a wizard or witch quite as well as its owner. So, if Malfoy stole somebody else's wand then the spell wouldn't work as well."
Then another thought struck him. "What about fourth year when Pettigrew killed Cedric with Voldemort's wand? Or when Barty Crouch Jr. used my wand to fire the Dark Mark?" Harry asked.
"Remember, he said work as well. Cedric's death was unfortunate, but it was because of Voldemort's pure hatred that flowed through him that helped Pettigrew kill him. Voldemort had poured part of his power into the wand – it was so used to being used to kill that it thought of it as second nature."
"When can we see her?" Ginny asked.
"I'm sorry but she is only allowed to be visited by one person at a time. Madam Pomfrey has very strict rules for Unforgivable Cure victims."
"Victims?" Ron spat.
"She isn't a victim. She's our best friend," Harry said, understanding what Ron was thinking.
"I understand. Now I would like you three to go down to breakfast. I would advise you to be careful where you discuss this. There are people who have had damage done to their family because of these curses in this school. It does no good to cause them more pain."
Suddenly Ginny thought of something. "Sir is she in a lot of pain now?"
"I believe most of the physical pain is gone, but she is still probably in a lot of emotional pain. It will take a while for her to return to a close representation of her old self. She may not ever be completely the same."
Dumbledore paused to survey the expression on all of the students' faces. One seemed scared, one angry, and one looked exhausted.
"Anything else? If not I would like to get some work done."
The three got up solemnly. As they were just about to leave Ron turned.
"You'll check Malfoy's wand?"
"I promise." Dumbledore said assuredly.
Draco sat cross-legged on his hospital bed doing a makeup essay for Transfiguration.
He was almost done when he heard footsteps that weren't Madam Pomfrey's. Someone poked their head through the curtains.
"Draco may I have a word with you?" Dumbledore asked.
"Sure professor." He hopped off the bed, and went to where Dumbledore was standing.
"To make some students feel better they asked that I check your wand."
"Potter and Weasley right?"
"Yes Draco. Now may I have your wand?"
"Yes." Draco handed Dumbledore the wand.
"It's beautiful." Dumbledore noted.
"Thank you sir."
"Priori Incatatem," Dumbledore said plainly.
A small pincushion ghost came from the tip of his wand.
"Transfiguration," he muttered.
"You can check Professor McGonagall to see if we were transforming hedgehogs into pincushions if you like." Draco said simply.
"That won't be necessary Draco. I trust you completely."
"Alright."
"Draco I have one request though."
"Yes Sir?"
"Let Harry and Mr. Weasley see Ms. Granger sometime."
"Yes Sir."
"Nothing more"
Draco nodded, and walked back behind the curtains. He finished his homework, checking on Hermione every so often.
Draco returned to his seat beside Hermione's bed. He didn't want to leave, except when he had to.
Draco sat beside Hermione for four days, never leaving the hospital wing.
"Draco?" Madam Pomfrey called.
"Yes?" He asked tiredly.
"Go for a walk outside. It's a beautiful Saturday and you will do her no good if you're sick and tired yourself."
"But…" He protested.
"Go. I'll send someone if something happens."
Draco nodded his head. He was ready for a breath of fresh air. Being careful to avoid any students he went out to the lake.
He plopped himself down on the cold sand, looking out towards the horizon.
"Why?" He asked to the wind, letting a lone tear drip down his face.
Harry and Ron were in the Gryffindor common room playing wizard chess when Harry had an idea.
"Ron, how about we see if Hermione has any visitors. I've been wanting to see her." Harry said, capturing Ron's knight with his bishop.
"But won't whoever is staying by her still be there?"
"They have to be gone eventually."
"True. Let's go."
The two left the common room, stepping into the warm sunshine. The walked, talking about the homework Snape has assigned all the way to the hospital wing.
"Oh nice to see you boys!" Madam Pomfrey said, when they entered.
"She's alone, so whomever wants to see her first may."
"I will." Harry said calmly.
"Okay, go ahead. But please close the curtain behind you."
Harry walked behind the curtain, closed it, and sat down.
"Hermione I don't know if you can hear me, but we miss you. I promise once you get well we'll spend a whole day just with you. On S.P.E.W. or whatever you want. Come back Hermione. We need you."
Harry gave Hermione a gently hug, and kiss on the cheek before leaving.
"Go ahead Mr. Weasley."
Ron gulped, and nodded. He too, slipped behind the curtain to sit down.
"Hermione I know Harry already told you this, but we…I miss you. I love you Hermione. I always have, and I always will. I need you, Hermione. I will find whoever did this to you and I'll kill him."
Ron looked at Hermione. He looked for a sign, any sign to see that she understood. He was crushed when she just stayed the way she was. He thought maybe…just maybe she would wake up when she heard his voice. He walked out, deciding he had read too many fairytales to Ginny.
Draco felt something was wrong. Something just wasn't right.
"Hermione!" He thought quickly.
He jumped up, and ran towards the castle. Draco skidded to a stop in front of the door and went inside.
His eyes landed on Harry, who was sitting on a vacant bed, and Ron who had just closed the curtains surrounding Hermione.
"What the hell are you doing here Malfoy?" Ron spat his last name out like it was poison.
"I needed a potion for Professor Snape." He lied. He could only hope that Potter and Weasley would believe him.
Madam Pomfrey smiled. She knew perfectly well that Professor Snape didn't need a potion. It was something they made up in case this did happen.
"I'll get it to you in a moment. Dra…Mr. Malfoy. I need to check on Hermione."
Madam Pomfrey slipped behind the curtains and gasped, dropping the tray she was holding.
All three boys pushed the curtain aside to see what was wrong.
"She's awake!" Madam Pomfrey gasped.
Hermione feebly opened her eyes again, and looked at Draco. She, then, whispered the word that made Draco's heart break into two, causing him to fill with joy.
"Draco?" She whispered.
I know, it was extremely long, but I'm glad you guys (and gals) stayed in there. The next chapter won't be as long I promise.
Feel free to review.
Ann