Disclaimer: I do not own the plot, the world, the characters, or any other aspect of the series Harry Potter written by J.K. Rowling. I do copy exact words from "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and I admit I do not own the text.

This plotline was original but it falls in line with the plot line of the sixth book.


Chapter Nine

Confession


Months had gone by. There was silence from Draco. Sophia's heart was breaking.

They didn't talk to one another, nor look at one another. Sophia had done nothing wrong but offer her assistance and he had taken it the wrong way. He was so defensive, almost insecure…

Sophia had become distant, distant from everything and everyone. She barely talked to her friends, and they became concerned for her. They tried getting her to reveal what was bugging her, but she never told a soul. She could hardly admit it to herself. Her health took a bad turn, and she soon became as ashen as Draco. She never had a decent sleep and ate less and less. She told herself it was stupid to grieve and agonize over such a trivial thing. But she couldn't help herself. She loved him. And she hated herself for doing so.

Sophia blocked out all conversation around her, and never bothered to listen in on common room gossip. Not until she heard his name mentioned. Along with the word 'hospital wing'.

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"Draco?"

"Yes!"

"No…you're lying."

"I swear I'm not!"

"That can NOT be true!"

"It is! Harry Potter did it!"

"I've never even heard of that spell."

"No one has. He must have learned it from a dark wizard or some dark book or something."

"Wow."

"It was his own fault. He brought it upon himself ya know."

"Bloody hell. I can't believe it."

"It was quite the row. Completely destroyed the bathroom."

"Who started it?"

"Yea? You say he brought it upon himself, but who made the first move?"

"I think he did."

"Really? Seems like a thing he would do."

"Did he get into trouble?"

"Well, I don't know. He's in the hospital wing right now."

"He probably will be in trouble when he gets out."

"But is he hurt bad?"

"From what I've heard, Snape came just in time."

"People say that Harry was kneeling by his side! He must've felt bad about it."

"Maybe he didn't know what he was doing, or the damage he would do."

"Yea, he is a pretty truthful guy. But who knows? Maybe he meant to do what he did. I mean, Malfoy eggs him on all the time. I bet he was just fed up with Malfoy's shite."

At the first drop of his name she had stopped her wallowing and listened in on the mob of voices whispering rapidly. At least, they were attempting to whisper, but they gradually just got louder.

Draco was in the hospital wing because of a spell Harry Potter cast. But what spell? Apparently a spell that no one knew of and no one knew what it was either. Harry and Snape must have made a deal not to tell anyone so it can't be used anymore than it already had been. Once was enough.

Draco was hurt. But Sophia didn't care. She couldn't give a rat's arse.

"He was hurt pretty bad. The spell makes you just start bleeding! Snape had to use some sort of jinx or chant to fix up most of it or Draco wouldn't have made it to the hospital wing…"

"That's horrible!"

"Eh, he deserves it the prat!"

"No one deserves THAT! Unless you're You-Know-Who!"

Sophia suddenly felt a pang of guilt. He had almost died? That couldn't be possible. Harry wouldn't know of a spell that bad…or use it.

"They won't let anyone see him."

"Really? That's quite sad."

"Not even his best friends."

"What about his parents?"

"I dunno. Snape seems to try to be hushing it all up. I s'ppose Malfoy's parents don't even know."

"Well they should know!"

"Maybe Malfoy doesn't want them to know either."

"He is the one who started it all…"

"Yea, maybe he just wants to avoid getting into trouble."

"That would be typical of him."

Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let anyone see him? Sophia had to see this for herself.

She stood up and raced out of the common room. Only a few people noticed she had left in a hurry and were surprised by her sudden burst of energy, since she had been sullen for the past few months. Sophia dashed through the corridors and after three full minutes of sprinting she stopped dead in front of the entrance to the hospital wing. Her chest heaved up and down as she gasped for breath. She knocked on Madam Pomfrey's office door and she answered with, "Hello Ms. Dune!"

"Hello Madam Pomfrey. I was just wondering if I could see Draco please," she said hastily.

"Well, I'm sorry dear, but no one is allowed to see Mr. Malfoy at the moment. He is in a very bad condition and I just can't allow any visitors right now. When he gets better I will inform you at once."

"I…" but she decided not to protest because it would be of no use. "Thank you Madam." Sophia walked back to the girls' dormitories and tried to fall asleep, but she was to no avail.

Several days passed by and nothing exciting happened. Harry had received detentions for the rest of the year therefore could not play in the final Quidditch match against Ravenclaw. Gryffindor had won the match against Sophia's house and achieved the Quidditch Cup. Sophia had not played horribly, but certainly did not perform her best during the game. Quidditch was the least of her worries.

She sat underneath a tree that sat on the edge of the lake. This was her favorite spot for when she wanted to be left alone. For the past few days she was worried about Draco, and at the same time worried that she had become a bad person for doing so. She settled silently against the large oak tree, her mind wandering off. She allowed her head to fall backwards, resting against the bark, and she closed her eyes. She exhaled a deep sigh and suddenly a branch snapped and footsteps could be heard a few yards away. Sophia propped her head up and looked towards the direction the noise came from.

There, walking straight towards her, still a bit bloody and scars here and there, was Draco Malfoy. Coming to see her. Sophia couldn't make sense of his arrival but she didn't care. She shot up, lunged at him, and thrust her arms around his neck. He staggered backwards but regained his balance. He placed his arms gently around her back. She squeezed hard, never wanting to let go, and managed to whimper, "I'm so glad you're okay!" Her voice was weak and shaky, but she didn't care. She didn't have a care in the world right now.

"I…I'm fine." He seemed so much more sensitive. Or maybe she was imagining it. Maybe he wasn't even really here and he was still up in the hospital wing. Maybe she had gone mad…"Sophia?"

"Hm?" She looked up into his face. Did he get taller?

"Look…I don't say this often…at all actually," he stammered. Sophia knew exactly what he was going to say. A smile spread across her face before he even said it. "I'm sorry."

As the words came out of his mouth, she propped herself onto her toes and kissed on the cheek. His pallid face blushed and his gray eyes gazed into her coffee-colored eyes. She pressed her face into his chest and they stood there soundless for a few minutes. He lifted her head with his hands and tears were streaming down her face. The spot where her face had been was dark and sodden. He let his hands fall to his sides and he leaned against the oak tree. He let himself gradually fall to the ground. Sophia gracefully sat herself next to him, but didn't dare utter a word, for fear that it might break their bond and cause him to be enraged again and leave her flustered once more.

"I really am." He had broken the silence. He wasn't going to get angry again. But she didn't have a response to that. She wanted to tell him what an arse he had been and how much he had hurt her, but she again resisted the temptation. "I didn't want help from anyone. I wanted to do it on my own. But I…I can't. I told this to somebody else—"

"Who?" The question popped out of her mouth before she could stop it. She hadn't meant to interrupt him. She held her breath, and he sighed.

"Moaning Myrtle. Potter overheard me talking to her. I saw him and got so furious. I tried to curse him but I missed. We kept shooting jinxes and spells at each other for a whole minute. Then…well I'm sure you now what happened."

"What…" Sophia hesitated before asking, but continued on, "…spell did he use?"

"Sectumsempra." Sophia gaped at him in confusion. "I don't know where he learned it, and I don't think he knew what it was going to do." Sophia hardly cared about the spell and where Harry had learned it. She just wanted to know what Draco had been talking to Moaning Myrtle about.

"So, what were you telling Myrtle?"

"The same things I just told you." Sophia simply stared at him. "I can't do it. I shouldn't have blown you off like that. You offered to help and…I just got angry because I knew there was nothing you could do."

"I want to help."

"Even after the things I said to you?"

"Yes."

"Bloody hell, you're unbelievable."

"Am I?"

"You're bloody nuts."

"Thank you."

"That's another thing I should have said a long time ago. Thanks."

"Your welcome." Sophia couldn't believe what she was hearing. Draco Malfoy was apologizing, and now thanking her? "What caused your sudden change of heart?"

"I'm giving up. And there is no point pretending anymore that I can do it. Because I can't. So there's no use trying—"

"—Do what?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Yes you can." He stared at her, his gray ices piercing her heart. "Well, let me just tell you something. Don't give up. Giving up will show that you are weak. I know how you loathe weakness. Not to mention giving up is pathetic." Draco's face contorted as the words came from her mouth. "See?" He nodded in agreement. "So don't surrender. Don't withdraw. Push forward. Continue. I know you can, and I know this sounds so corny. I probably sound like a git right now."

"No," he stated bluntly. Sophia wanted to kiss him again. And again. And again.

"Please. Don't."

"But I—"

"Draco." They stared at each other. Sophia felt as though she could not stop encouraging him until he agreed to persist. "Please. You won't fail. I promise."

"That's a big promise."

"I don't care."

"Okay."

He was giving in to her!

"I'll…try."

She did it!

"But only because you are irritating me." Sophia's smile twisted upside down and Draco laughed. But he wasn't snickering at her; it was an innocent, light-hearted laugh. "I'm only joking Sophia. Don't take things so seriously."

"Well it's a bit rough ever since you pronounced me pathetic." Draco's face went cold. His body was tense, and his eyes full of regret.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay." She stood up and held out her hand. He took it and hauled himself up. She laid her delicate lips on his cheek for a second time. "Good luck. And please."

"I know." They stared at one another and a silent goodbye was passed between them.

That night was the happiest sleep Sophia had had in eight months.