The Half Blood Prince
The weeks following the return to Hogwarts from break were quite pleasant ones. The sun came out and shone brightly, melting a considerable amount of snow, although I was sure it wouldn't be long before the remaining flurries of winter blew in and covered everything in snow one final time.
A sign had been hung outside the Great Hall announcing the apparation lessons which would begin on February first. I was looking forward to finally learning to apparate. Of course I'd read all about it. It sounded like it would be rather tricky and potentially painful at first, but with practice there were many advantages to apparation.
After returning to Hogwarts, I immediately checked for the bag of treats I'd left Malfoy before break outside of the Room of Requirement. There was no trace that the sweets had been anywhere near the Room, but whether Malfoy or Filtch got them was a mystery.
Speaking of Malfoy, I hadn't seen a trace of him anywhere either in the two weeks since break. He wasn't in Potions class or Transfiguration. Malfoy was someone who wouldn't be told what to do, but he also wasn't one to skip classes. I couldn't help but wonder if he was in the Hospitable wing from undernourishment or sleep deprivation.
However, the answer to my unspoken question came sooner than I had expected. And certainly not in the way I expected.
I was walking to the Gryffindor Common Room for my study period to grab a few of my books before heading to the library.
No sooner had I reached the painting of The Fat Lady and she asked for the password, I was whipped around forcefully and shoved with my back on the painting by none other than Draco Malfoy.
"Malfoy what-" I was going to be angry and shove him off just as forcefully, but I stopped. His eyes were more bloodshot than usual and they were brimmed with tears.
"God damn it, Granger! I asked you- begged you- not to tell anyone," he said between grit teeth.
"I didn't tell anyone!" I insisted.
"Then how the hell does Potter know?"
"Harry doesn't know anything," I said, trying to make him believe me. "all he knows is that Snape wants to help. He said something about an unbreakable vow?"
Malfoy relaxed his grip and glanced down, relieved. "Well, he managed to figure out that I've been in the Room of Requirement," he sighed. "How does he know about Snape anyway?"
"The night of the party, he followed you and Snape after you left," I said, reluctant to rat on Harry. "But I don't know how he knows about you being in the Room. He probably saw you come out or something."
"Do you mind?" The Fat Lady in the painting asked, annoyed.
Malfoy glared at her and pulled me off the painting and around the corner.
"You're not having any luck with the cabinet, are you?" I asked, noticing that he was still thin and frail. Part of me was glad that the cabinet was going nowhere and part of me wanted it fixed for Malfoy and his family's sake.
He looked away from me again.
"There's still time for you to tell Dumbledore!" I pried.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again I could see that he was tearing up again.
"You need to eat," I said, changing the subject. "Did you get the sweets I left you?"
"Yes," he said reluctantly.
"You didn't eat them?" I asked, although I hadn't really expected him to eat them anyway.
"I tried. I try to eat at meals too. Nothing stays down," he confessed.
It was then, I think, that I fully realized how much this was really stressing him out. I had to do something. My Gryffindor instincts kicked in with the need to help.
"Let me help you," I insisted. "I'll make some potions or bring you some food or something."
He shook his head and backed away. "You've helped enough already, Granger."
I took a step forward defiantly. "No I haven't. I'm going to make you eat, Draco Malfoy!" I shrieked.
He looked taken aback at my use of his full name and my sudden determination.
I took a deep breath and lowered my voice. "Look. I don't like you. I really don't like you," I said, wrestling to keep his eye contact. "You've made my life hell for the past five years. But that doesn't mean I hate you. And it definitely doesn't mean I want to see you suffer. So, let me help you or- or-" I tried to think of a threat that would actually work. "-I'll tell Harry."
He glared at me. His nostrils flared and his nose crinkled up.
"I fucking hate you, Granger," he fumed.
"No you don't," I said smugly.
"Don't tell me what I do and don't hate," he spat back.
I just shook my head and frowned at him, already contemplating what potions I could get my hands on that would help him eat better. I don't know why I was doing it. Pity, maybe? Or perhaps defiance. That was probably it.
Malfoy gave me an angered once over with a sneer on his face and then stalked off.
In the Common Room that evening, Ginny gave me some startling news.
"Dean and I are back together!" she squealed.
Harry looked crestfallen and was making an effort not to look at her.
"Oh, Gin!" I said. I thought I had already convinced her that she and Dean weren't right together.
"No, Hermione." she said quickly. "I'm making the right decision. Please don't try and tell me differently."
I snapped my mouth shut and, with an effort, said nothing.
"We had a good long talk," Ginny continued. "Everything is okay now."
I sighed, but kept my silence.
Harry took out a book and bent over it on the sofa, something I didn't often see him do.
I leaned forward and was able to make out that it was our Potions book, but this was that ratty one Harry couldn't tear himself away from.
"Harry? Is that our Potions book?" I asked him, thinking that I could maybe get a better look at it and look up some potions for Malfoy at the same time. "Do you mind if I barrow it for a moment? I need to look up this one potion and I left mine on my bed."
He looked up and subconsciously wrapped is arms over the book to block it from my view.
"Well... er... it's rather fragile," he said nervously.
"That's alright," I held out my hand. "I'll be careful."
He stood up quickly and his face went ashen.
Ginny stood up too. "Harry, give me the book," Ginny said firmly.
We were starting to attract the attention of the other Gryffindors in the room. Even Ron was looking our way.
"I think I'll just go to bed," Harry made a move for the stairs.
But before he could take one step, Ginny lashed out and swiped the book from his hand in one swift movement.
"Hey-!" Harry yelled, grabbing at the book as Ginny kept her back to him.
She cracked it open and scanned the page with her eyes.
"Who's the Half Blood Prince?" she asked after a moment.
Harry stopped fighting for the book. Ron had made his way over now. Nosey little-. I had to remind myself that I was trying to be civil with him.
"The Bloody What?" Ron asked.
Harry looked frightened and extremely guilty.
"The Half Blood Prince," Ginny corrected him. "It says right here," she pointed to the page where 'Property of The Half Blood Prince' was scrawled. "Is this how you're suddenly so good at potions, Harry?" she flipped through the moth-eaten pages, allowing me to see scribbles, drawings, and hand-written notes in the margins of almost every page.
Harry made a hesitated move and then snatched the book from Ginny's hand. I watched him, hoping he would elaborate, but he scampered up the stairs to the boy's Dormitory and out of sight, mumbling, "It's nothing," as he went.
I gave Ginny a worried look, who in turn raised an eyebrow at Ron and I.
"He's always with that book," Ron whispered to us.
The rest of the Common Room turned their attention back to their own devices.
"He even sleeps with it under his pillow," Ron continued. "And once, when he was reading it in bed, he made me levitate! Just by reading the bloody thing!"
I didn't know who the Half Blood Prince was, but he sounded like a dangerous bloke. So I decided that there was only one thing to do; find out who the Half Blood Prince was, and there was only one way to do that; go to the library. My system for figuring things out hadn't failed me yet and I doubted it would fail me now.
My system was definitely failing me.
Two weeks of tireless searching, and the library seemed to have absolutely nothing on the Half Blood Prince. Not one mention in Hogwarts: A History. There was nothing in Fabulously Famous Witches and Wizards of the Last Fifty Centuries. And still no evidence what so ever in The Dark Book of Dangerous Dark Wizards or many others for that matter.
It was like the Half Blood Prince never existed.
On a brighter note, I found a simple potion that could cure stomach sickness and hopefully get Malfoy eating again.
He was still missing classes, skipping meals, and when he did show up, he looked like death warmed over.
I just needed to get the ingredients and find time to make it. It wouldn't be that hard to convince Slughorn that I wanted to make the stomach sickness potion for extra credit, so I decided to ask to use the Potions room after classes on Thursday, and like I had predicted, he said it would be marvelous.
On Friday I had the potion bottled and ready for use, the only problem being how I would get it to Malfoy and how I would make him take it. I decided to wait for him outside of the Room of Requirement that night after appariation lessons.
I announced loudly to the Common Room that I was going to the library to study, and as I expected, no one batted an eye or volunteered to come with me.
And I wasn't lying. I did go to the library because I did need to study. But I couldn't concentrate. The flask of stomach sickness potion was burning a hole through my pocket and my mind kept wandering to ways I could make Malfoy drink it.
Shutting my book, I decided to do something I very rarely did; visit the kitchens.
I made my way quickly down the hall toward the painting of fruit and wasted no time in extending a finger to tickle the pear. The green fruit squealed with delight and the painting swung forward, opening up to dozens of House Elves who were hustling to and fro, washing pots and pans, handing food from one to another, and already beginning to plan tomorrow morning's breakfast.
My nostrils flared as I stepped into the kitchen. I still wasn't convince that the Elves could actually enjoy a life like this, but I was only greeted with scowls from each House Elf who seemed to remember my attempts of my S.P.E.W. campaign back in fourth year.
"Miss Granger," an older House Elf had stepped forward and bowed in front of me.
"Hello," I said, putting on a kind face and trying to ignore his bow.
"What can Knacky get you, miss?" he asked, still in a deep bow.
"I just came to see if you had anything extra from the feast," I said politely.
He stood up strait. "Of course, miss!" and he scampered off to grab a few dishes.
Meanwhile, I stood waiting and trying to keep myself from helping every House Elf that passed. But when a small elf with a particularly heavy looking pot stumbled past, it was only Knacky coming back with a paper sack full of food that stopped me from running forward and taking the pot from the elf.
I took the bag, said thanks, and left before I did something stupid.
After waiting forever for Malfoy outside of the Room of Requirement, I decided that it was getting too late for me. It was creeping around twelve o'clock and I was starting to wonder if he would go to the Room at all that night.
I magicked a piece of parchment and a quill, deciding to leave everything for when he got there, it worked okay last time.
Here is a stomach sickness tonic and some food from the feast, which I noticed you were missing from. I wrote. Feeling that I needed to add a close, I said: Don't make me cram it down your throat.
I didn't sign my name, I had a feeling he would know who it was from anyway, plus, if anyone else found it I didn't need them asking me questions.
And then I left it there. All I could do was hope he'd take it, for my own peace of mind.
The next day was Saturday, but I woke up early anyway so I could inhale some breakfast and then spend as much of the day as I could in the Library looking for evidence of the Half Blood Prince.
I was the only one up when I awoke, because, like normal people on Saturdays, the rest of the Gryffindors were sleeping in.
I got dressed, brushed my teeth, and attempted to tame my hair before leaving through the portrait hole toward the Great Hall. However, something stopped me before I could take five steps.
That something was Draco Malfoy.
He was waiting around the corner with the bag in his hand and a scowl on his face.
I looked at him and rolled my eyes at his expression. What did I do now?
"Granger," he growled.
"Why are you always so angry when you talk to me?" I asked him. "You could at least pretend to appreciate my attempts of kindness."
He frowned with his mouth opened like he was about to retort but decided not to.
"I-" he said, cocking his head. "I was going to ask you to eat this with me."
A/N: Howdy! Geez! I feel like I haven't written in forever! And I'm so sorry for that! This was a little shorter than I wanted it to be because I wanted to give you a longer one since you had to wait so long, but.
So, who's doing NaNoWriMo? I am! But I'm kinda cheating because I already started. (SHhh!) Anyway, here's to the upcoming sleepless nights and crying over our keyboards or notepads! Yeah!
Make sure to leave a comment!
With love,
Wren Gebel
