Chapter ten: Truce
"It's not acting, alright? He's really out."
"Well, I've seen him pretend more than just a fainting fit back at Hogwarts so you never know."
"Ron, stop it. Just because you're angry with me doesn't mean you can spit venom at everyone else," Hermione said.
"Do you really think it's wise to put his bed in here?" Ginny asked. "I mean, he and Harry never were on friendly speaking terms."
"I think it's a good idea. They might have a lot to talk about. And besides, this way Harry can keep an eye on him and his visitors," Hermione said touchily.
"Do I get a say in this?" Harry asked loudly. "Not that I prefer loneliness, but Malfoy…well, let's just say that it's a different story with him..."
"Shouldn't there be someone at his door permanently? A guard of something...Didn't they send an Auror or someone from the Academy, or the Ministry?"
"Not likely," Ron said to his sister. "Budgets are tight as it is. As long as Harry is breathing normally they can't afford to be too worried about him. They're counting on himself as his best guard. 'He's had worse', they said."
Draco opened one eye and looked at them. They all seemed to be a bit more than just a face with a name attached, now. He groaned, causing them all to swerve their attention to him.
"You up, then?" Ginny asked roughly.
"Apparently," he remarked dryly. "Aren't you worried I'm dangerous to your precies wonderboy over there?"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "You seem unexpectedly like your old self. What happened, falling down triggered your memory, did it?" he said sarcastically.
"Your sense of wit hasn't improved much over the years, Potter. But that's to be expected when you keep hanging around the same pack of idiots all your life," Draco said painstakingly as he rubbed his temple with an agonized look.
"At least my friends don't lie and stab me in the back. Wasn't Parkinson your girlfriend?"
"Oh, a low blow!" Draco responded mockingly. "Never expected you to stoop to my level. But at least get your facts straight, she was never my girlfriend. Not for lack of her trying, though."
Hermione bent down a little and looked into his eyes as if she was examining him. "You do seem sure of your own facts...Did you really just remember that or are you possibly just covering up shame?"
Draco pushed her away. "Stop touching my face, Mudblood. I'll probably get an allergic reaction..."
"He seems to be the old Malfoy we all know and despise," Ron said, leaning against the wall. "I wonder what happened."
"I'm pretty sure I preferred the confused and lonely, memory-less Malfoy to this cocky bastard," Ginny sneered.
"Malfoy, just tell me. Do you remember anything from before coming to the hospital or not."
Draco looked at Hermione, and after a moment he turned his head away. "I don't think that's any of your business, Granger, whether you are a Healer or not. You've been meddling in my business enough for now. I'll let you know when I feel up to sharing."
Hermione put her hands on her hips and huffed. "I only had your best interest at heart, Malfoy. That's what Healers do."
"Oh yeah? Did you have my best interest at heart when you tried to make me believe all of us were old pals from Hogwarts?"
"So you do remember something," Hermione said triumphantly. "Can you tell us what happened to you before you were brought here?"
"I told you, I'll tell you when I feel up to sharing. Now will all of you please leave, I have things to do."
"Whatever, ferret-boy. Just keep in mind you're lucky you're in a hospital. Otherwise it would have been straight off to Azkaban with your pale furry butt. Come on Ginny, Ron. Let's leave these two to acclimatize to each other."
Ginny threw Harry a quick glance before Hermione ushered her out of the room. Ron followed them slowly. He turned around and opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but he changed his mind the last second and closed the door quickly on his way out.
Draco stared from the closed door over to Harry in the bed opposite him and rolled his eyes.
"It's not exactly my idea of a good time to share a room with you either, you know," Harry said coolly.
"Then I suggest we ignore each other. That should keep us both happy," Draco sneered.
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Alright then."
"Will you shut up?"
"...Fine."
"Arhg!"
"I want a word with you, Hermione!" Ron hissed when he had caught up with the girls.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her into one of the smaller corridors. She looked at him, angry that he was hurting her. But the furious look in his eyes stopped her from fidgeting.
"I didn't want to say this in front of Harry and Ginny, but I am really angry with you! You promised me to stop messing about with this stuff because I didn't want you to get tangled up in something you couldn't handle. You promised me! And I trusted you! And now I have had to endure my little sister lecturing me about you and then I told her to stop lying because I believed your promise. You've turned me into a liar."
"Ron, first of all, let go of me. I'm not having this conversation with you when you're hurting me," she said icily.
Reluctantly he released her arm.
"I know what I promised and I'm sorry I didn't hold myself to it, but I had a good reason, Ron! He was being conned! I just felt something was wrong!"
He rolled his eyes. "I don't get you," he growled. "For years he has been mean and hurtful to you. What happened that all of a sudden this git is so important to you that you feel when he's- A relationship is built on trust, Hermione. And I don't think there's much trust between the two of us if you can manage to break a promise to me for the likes of him!"
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that apparentally we don't have that serious a relationship, judging by your actions. And if the relationship isn't that important, then I don't see any reason for us to get married!"
It had happened so fast that he hadn't even seen it coming. The only hint he had as to what had actually happened was a burning cheek where her hand must have hit him. He looked at her with a mixture of shock and surprise, to find tears welling up in her eyes.
She was doing her best to keep them in and bit her lip in an attempt to calm down. When neither of them spoke, she snapped around and ran off. Still holding his hand to his burning cheek, he stepped out of the corridor slowly and leaned against the wall.
"You know..." Ginny's voice sounded from behind him "When I noticed you two sneaking off, I expected to find you snogging somewhere. I didn't expect the typhoon of words that carried all the way down the hall."
He looked at his sister blankly. She sighed at his dazed expression.
"You never get it right when you're angry, do you. I know she wasn't being honest, but she didn't deserve what you just did either."
"Well who asked you," he snapped. "I haven't got time for this, I'll see you later."
Hermione stared angrily at the dark contents of the mug in front of her. Usually she drank coffee, she only chose hot chocolate when she felt horrible. And she felt horrible right now. Ron was being so unfair, she felt. She had tried to explain the situation and he just hadn't listened to her properly.
"As if I was being unreasonable," she muttered. "I'm sure anyone would have done the same in my position."
"Not everyone though," someone said behind her.
She turned around. "What are you doing here? You should be in bed."
"As if I could endure sharing with Saint Potter."
Hermione snorted. "I hoped you two would find a way to get along for the sake of peace. Even if it was only a truce..."
He sat down at the table. "And I bet you hoped I would spill my guts to him about what happened, now I've got my memory back?"
"A little," she admitted.
He sighed. "Look Granger, I appreciate what you did for me. And...I suppose I'm also grateful that you tried to give me memories that weren't real."
"I though that if your old friends could harm you like that, you might be in need of some new ones. Perhaps I should have thought it through some more."
"It was a nice gesture at any rate...even though it was misplaced," he ran his hand through his hair. "I just...I just don't understand why you were so dedicated to helping me. I've never been nice to you. I'm a Death Eater and you're Potter's friend. Why on earth would you spend your time aiding me?"
She stirred her hot chocolate carefully and kept her eyes fixed on the mug. "I don't really know either. At first, when I found out you had no memory, I thought I could get you to join our side. But that would have been immoral, wouldn't it. And then, when I researched your injuries a little more...what I found was so horrible...And then Pansy showed up and I just couldn't get myself to believe that you had ended up marrying her, or that you were the father of that baby she was hauling around. It all seemed...too fake."
He hesitated, but then took her hand. She started and noticed a small blush creep to her face.
"Granger...will you please tell me what you found? About my injuries? I need to know whether I was being used..."
She nodded. "If you believe my answers then I will. I found that...runes like the scars on your chest were used centuries ago to invoke magic of huge power. Celestial magic, you might call it. But those runes were never used on the vessel that was be...sacrificed."
Suddenly he rammed his fist on the table.
"I knew it," he hissed. "Those bastards! Only because I failed...Punishment for my shortcomings."
She gasped. "You knew? You knew what they were going to do to you? Then why did you stay?"
"It's not like I had much of a choice!" he snarled. "They came to me, saying that the Dark Lord was going to reward me with some ritual to pay me honour. I found it unconvincing but didn't have enough reason or opportunity to run. Punishment can consist of a lot of things, you know. I never expected to be used as a sacrificial animal! I'm Draco Malfoy for Merlin's sake. You don't sacrifice me!"
He stood up and started pacing around the room.
"But how come...I always wondered," she started quietly, "how come you ended up here?"
"Alive, you mean? Well, something obviously went wrong, didn't it Granger. Merlin, I thought you were supposed to be smart. I can't tell you how I got here. All I know is waking up in a white bed, while I don't remember going to sleep in it."
Suddenly Hermione gasped. "Parkinson! She was so eager to take you home! You can't go with her, they'll do it all over again! They don't know you remember, now."
"But they do know that you know, correct? That's why Potter's my roommate all of a sudden. He got injured during an attack, he told me. I'll bet that's why you and Weasley are butting heads so much as well. You know it's not good to marry someone when you're angry at each other all the time."
"Who says I'm going to marry him..." she muttered quietly, trying to ignore the tears begind her eyes. "I don't like you poking around in my personal life, Malfoy."
"Just repaying the favor," he remarked smugly.
She stood up and opened the door of the Healers' break room.
"I'm going to walk you back to your room," she said stiffly. "You shouldn't be up and I don't know why I've been talking so openly with you. I hardly know if I can trust you."
He walked out obediantly and followed her through the door of his hospital room. Before she could leave, he grabbed her hand softly, again causing colour to wash across her face.
"Just one thing," he said before letting her go. "Do you honestly think I would go back and support the people who wanted to kill me? That I'd trust those who had betrayed me? Think about that, will you Granger?"
