Here's the next chapter, originally it was going to have more to it but i decided to put it into the next chapter instead. There is alot of Hermione /Draco interaction in the next chapter so keep on the lookout for it.
I do not own harry potter
Chapter Seven: The Manticore
The next morning found the Slytherin and Gryffindor sixth years heading across the grounds towards Hagrid's hut. All the students were cautious and wary, Hagrid's penchant for dangerous creatures was well known and they were wondering if today would be any different.
"Alrigh, alrigh, we ave a special lesson today" Hagrid stated, once the students were all gathered around him. He stood next to a large object covered with a black cloth.
"Hagrid, what's under the cloth?" Hermione asked tentatively, she had a feeling about what it could be but for the sake of two particular students, she hoped she was wrong. Hagrid reached out and pulled the black cloth off the object. The students all gasped and stepped back. Harry and Draco however, scuttled back about ten feet upon seeing the thing they both most feared at the moment.
"Its all righ, its dead, Dumbledore preserved it so it can't hurt yeh" Hagrid reassured his class,
"Hagrid, is that the one that attacked us?" Harry asked quietly, indicating himself and Draco. They both still refused to move any closer.
"Yes 'arry it is" Hagrid nodded. Harry and Draco both glanced at the Manticore. It had a man's head that was surrounded by a lion's mane. A red lion's body and a green scorpion's tail.
"Hagrid, I'm not sure that this is such a good idea" Hermione said tentatively, with a concerned look at Harry and Draco, who were both pale.
"As I said, its dead, it can' urt yeh. It was Dumbledore's idea, and the Potter's and the Malfoy's both gave their permission" Draco looked up at Hagrid,
"My parents gave their permission?"
"Yea, they did. We all though it was important to yeh, to learn abou' em, and ow to defend yeself from em" Hagrid replied, "Now I know yea two dun wan ta come closer, an that's fine, but ye still ave ta participate in da lesson" he added. Draco and Harry looked at each other, then without a word then moved forward about five feet, then sat, refusing to come any closer. Hagrid nodded in agreement and indicated for the rest of the class to take a seat. Blaise, Theo, Hermione and Ron, all moved and sat near their friends, who even though they weren't friendly, were finding security in their shared knowledge and fear.
"Alrigh, who can tell me what the Manticore's weapons are?" Hagrid asked once they were all seated. Hermione went to raise her hand but stopped when she saw that both Harry and Draco had their hands raised, though they were shaking, "Arry, Draco, what are they?"
"It has three rows of razor sharp teeth, these are strong enough to break bones and to rip the flesh from their prey" Harry answered paling,
"Their tail is that of a scorpion, though the venom is different, it is used to paralyze you so that it can move in for the kill, but if it is able to inject enough into you, then it can cause your organs to shut down and kill you" Draco continued quietly, then he paused and added, "Its claws are also like small daggers, they can cut through your skin and muscle as if it were soft butter" Hagrid nodded,
"Correct, ten points to Slytherin and Gryffindor" then he turned and started talking about the lives of the Manticore. Hermione however had tuned out Hagrid's lecture. She was intently watching the play of emotions on Draco's face. Harry appeared to be coping alright, but Draco looked to be on the verge of panic. His breathing was shallow and quick, his eyes were wide as they stared at the dead Manticore, and he appeared to be incapable of listening to anyone. Blaise was trying to talk to him, but was getting no response. Looking around, Hermione noticed that the rest of the class had moved closer to the Manticore, and that they were oblivious to the six students who remained behind. Hermione glanced at Ron, Blaise, Theo and Harry, they had all noticed that Draco was getting close to the edge of hysteria. Hermione, made up her mind then,
"Blaise, Theo, can you two go and get Lucius and Narcissa, don't make a big deal out of it, we don't want to cause a scene. Harry, Ron, somehow you have to get Hagrid to cover the Manticore and to get the students out of here without alerting them to Malfoy's condition, I'll stay with him"
"Mione, are you sure?"
"Harry, you would know what he's going through, please, do you honestly think that when this breaks, that he wants anyone else here, I may not be his friend, but I'm not a guy, so therefore its not going to be as embarrassing for him"
"She has a point Potter" Blaise agreed, "If Draco breaks, then the least humiliating person for him to do it in front of, would be Hermione" he looked at Draco in concern. The bell rang, signaling the end of class, Blaise and Theo immediately gathered their books and went in search of Lucius and Narcissa, Harry, Ron and Hermione surrounded Draco so that the passing students couldn't see him, eventually it was only the four of them left on the grounds. Hagrid, having gone into the forest for who knows what.
"Guys, can you cover the Manticore, then get to transfiguration, tell McGonagall what happened, and let her know that I doubt that I will make it to class" Harry and Ron nodded, then did as she asked. Hermione turned her attention back to Draco.
"Malfoy?" she called gently, there was no response, his eyes were fixed on the Manticore that Harry and Ron were struggling to cover. Hermione moved and knelt in front of him, blocking his view to the Manticore, "Malfoy?" No response. Hermione moved her head until she was staring straight into his eyes, she saw Harry and Ron leave from the corner of her eye, but kept her attention on Draco. "Draco?" using his first name felt strange, but altogether better than she had thought, "Draco, its ok" Hermione kept her eyes locked with his. His face was white, his pupils dilated and his whole body was rigid. "Draco, come on, its ok, just focus on me, tune out everything except my voice and focus on me"
Draco could feel fear engulfing him, swallowing and drowning him in its intensity. He couldn't see anything but the Manticore, heard nothing but the sounds it had made that day when it had nearly killed him. He felt himself falling into an abyss, unable to escape, panic started to set in and his whole body became rigid, then, something else registered in his panicked mind. A soft voice calling his name.
"Draco, its ok" the voice was louder this time, "Draco, come on, its ok, just focus on me, tune out everything but my voice and focus on me" Draco felt his senses coming back to him, he focused on the voice and was finally able to see the warm amber eyes locked with his own.
Hermione saw his pupils shrink and his eyes focus slightly on hers. Keeping her eyes locked with his she moved closer so that her bent knees were almost touching his,
"Draco, just focus on my eyes and my voice" his eyes focused a bit more, but his body relaxed only slightly. Hermione leant forwards and placed her hands on his shoulders, ignoring the strange shock that went through her system when she touched him, she continued to keep her eyes locked with his. "Relax, its ok, just focus on my eyes, listen to my voice" over Draco's shoulder, Hermione saw Lucius and Narcissa both approaching quickly from the corner of her eyes. Without breaking eye contact she held up her hand and shook her head slightly. Lucius and Narcissa stopped and nodded. Understanding what she was doing, both sent her a worried smile.
"Draco, take slow breaths, relax, its ok, I'm here"
Draco felt gentle hands on his shoulders but was too encased in his fear to notice the tingle that went through his body at the touch. He could hear her voice, telling him to focus, to concentrate on it. Finally his fear eased enough for him to realize that it was Hermione that was talking to him. Hermione who was slowly breaking the barrier of the fear that surrounded him. Slowly he felt his body relax slightly, his mind fought against the overwhelming fear and his eyes focused intently on the amber ones locked with them, and he hesitantly whispered her name.
"Granger?" Hermione's hands tightened on Draco's shoulders when she heard him whisper her name,
"Yes Draco, its me. I need you to relax, concentrate on my eyes and let go of your fear"
"I can't" he whispered,
"Yes you can, you can do this" Hermione insisted,
"I can hear its cries, still feel its claws, feel its breath"
"Draco, hear my voice, feel my hands, my breath" Draco slowly relaxed and his hands that had been clasped tightly in his lap, slowly moved up to rest lightly on her shoulders. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that soon it would be over. Then a slight breeze blew across the lake and ruffled the black cloth that covered the Manticore. Draco's eyes were distracted from her own and drawn towards the cloth. Immediately his body became rigid once again and his pupils dilated, his hands gripped her shoulders painfully and his breathing became more rapid. Hermione was not going to give up that easily. Her hands moved from his shoulders and cupped his face, she dipped her head and pressed her forehead against his, forcing his eyes to meet her's again.
"Draco, focus on me, come on, concentrate on my eyes" Draco started to shake his head,
"I can't"
"Yes you can! Look into my eyes! Take a deep breath and focus, you can do this!" Draco closed his eyes for a split second as he took a deep shuddering breath, then he opened them again and locked his silver orbs with her golden ones. Hermione continued to keep their gazes locked, watching the fear slowly ebb away to be replaced by despair.
"I keep seeing it, I thought I could handle it. But then when I answered the question about its weapons, everything came back to me, the pain, the horror. But most of all the fear, I thought I was going to die Granger!" and suddenly the dam broke. Draco threw his arms around Hermione and buried his face into the crook of her neck. His heart wrenching sobs shook both their bodies as he finally let out all the emotions and fear that he had kept locked up in his mind since the attack.
Narcissa started forward as soon as she heard Draco's sobs but was stopped when Lucius placed a restraining hand on her arm.
"Leave him Cissa" Lucius stated gently,
"But Lucius, he's upset" Narcissa protested,
"And that's exactly why. Draco's pride would suffer if he was to be found with a weakness in front of us" Narcissa sighed when she realized that Lucius was right,
"Why is this happening now? He never showed any signs of fear like this, if he had, we wouldn't have granted permission for the Manticore to be used in today's lesson"
"Perhaps he wasn't aware of it himself, until faced with it" Lucius replied as he studied his son, wrapped securely in Hermione's arms.
"Hermione seems to know what to do, though I wonder why he responded to her when Blaise said that he couldn't break through" Narcissa replied,
"I believe that there may be more to Draco's feelings for Hermione than we first thought, and vice versa" Lucius responded thoughtfully,
"You believe that her feelings reflect his?"
"I do, but I think it may be time for us to leave, Draco seems to be gaining control, the last thing he needs is to know that we were watching his breakdown" Lucius stated, then he turned and guided Narcissa back up to the castle.
Hermione was unprepared for the force with which Draco threw himself into her arms, but recovered quickly enough that they didn't go sprawling onto the ground. Wrapping her arms around him, she gently stroked his back, all the while whispering gently in his ear that it was ok, to let it all out and to take all the time he needed. Eventually his sobs ceased, though he still held to her tightly, as if afraid to lift his head and face her. Finally Draco pulled back and Hermione felt him withdraw, not just physically but emotionally as well.
"Granger" Draco began hesitantly
"Its alright Malfoy" Hermione replied, instinctively knowing that saying his first name now would cause him to withdraw even further. Draco rose to his feet, then, after a slight hesitation he held out his hand to help her stand. Hermione tentatively took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. The both bent and collected their things, then silently they started walking back to the castle. It was lunch time, and as they reached the Great Hall they both stopped. Hermione saw that Draco seemed to be gathering himself together, when he moved to open the doors, he paused,
"Thankyou" he whispered quietly, before opening the doors and striding into the Great Hall. Hermione waited for a few minutes before she too entered the Great Hall. She glanced briefly at the Slytherin table and saw Draco sitting between Theo and Blaise, all three acting like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Hermione made her way to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Ginny. When Harry opened his mouth to ask what had happened, Hermione subtly shook her head, indicating that it was not up for discussion. Harry closed his mouth and nodded in acceptance. Hermione filled her plate and started to eat, listening to Ron moan about the amount of homework that McGonagall had set them.
"Here Hermione, McGonagall gave this to me to give to you, its an overview of today's lesson as well as the homework that she set" Harry stated, handing her a thick pile of parchment,
"Thanks Harry"
"No problem" Harry replied with a smile, then he returned his attention to his meal and to Ron. Hermione felt eyes upon her and turned in her seat to see who was watching her, her eyes met the silver gaze of Draco and he nodded subtly before returning his attention to what Blaise was saying. Glancing up at the head table, she saw Lucius and Narcissa watching the interaction between her and Draco, when they felt her eyes on them, they turned towards her and both smiled at her, silently thanking her for what she had done.
Draco sat listening to Blaise and Theo moaning about the Herbology homework that they had been given. Blaise had already given him the homework, but apart from that they were both acting as if nothing unusual had happened. For that Draco was thankful, but, even though he appeared to be listening intently to the conversation going on around him, his thoughts were on the muggleborn Gryffindor sitting at the table across the hall. Once again Hermione Granger had saved him, this time from his own fear. A fear that he hadn't even realized that he had until he was faced with it at point blank range. Even now, he could still feel the shivers running down his spine when he thought about the Manticore, though his fear was controlled, he knew that faced with it again he would fall to pieces like he had earlier, and who knew if Hermione Granger would be there to help him back out the next time.
"Hey Draco, what have you got next?" Blaise suddenly asked,
"Double Divination, followed by Ancient Runes, you?"
"Muggle Studies, then double Arithmancy"
"I'll never understand why you and I have Arithmancy on different days" Draco commented,
"Who knows" Blaise shrugged as he gathered his things and stood. Draco and Theo followed suit then they left the Great Hall, splitting up to head to their respective classes.
well there it is, not really that good but it starts to bring out the whole Draco/Hermione thing Read and Review please, but no flames.
