Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my imagination and whatever else is in this story that doesn't make sense. I was inspired by J.K. Rowlings wonderful world. Enjoy!
Chapter 10
Her Cold Dark Corner
Scene 2
Draco tossed the payment for his meal across the table, and stood up from his seat, and turned to fetch the cloak that hung from the back of it. His cloak, - dammit! Now it occured to him that he must have left his cloak on the bed.
"Smitty, is it?" Draco tried not to sound intimidating to the fat face cook.
Mr. Smitty stopped wiping the glasses and looked up at Draco.
"Who's in charge around here?" Draco asked
"Tom."
"Tom eh …and where is he"?
"Gone," answered Smitty "back bout mm..nine thirty er so."
Draco took a quick glance at his watch. "Nine-thirty, that's nearly four hours away." he said.
The cook nodded slowly and went back to drying more glasses.
"Where's the old lady, the one that was just here - the waitress?"
"Gone," Smitty answered again "caught the last night bus outta London."
"Not the most reassuring bloke are you?" Draco said lowly, or so he thought he had, but the stern look from his rather un-wordy informer said otherwise. "It seems that I've forgotten my room key. Be a good man and send a house elf to fetch it for me will you."
Smitty picked up another glass.
"Gone," he grunted. "Left ages ago won't work! -no raise! can't say I blame 'em."
Great! Thought Draco, so was he suppose to just sleep on the countertop, or the fucking floor. "Look," Draco said now taking his full height, surely this miserable fool had no idea who he was talking too. "Frankly, I don't give a damn how or what you have to do but I need somewhere to bloody sleep for a while."
Draco was getting a little pissed off with the whole careless arrangement, this was no way to run a business, and if it wasn't for the fact that it was fifty below outside and for the simple fact that he was so damn exhausted he would be in search of any place other than this dusty hell of a hotel.
"If you can't fetch my bloody key for me and if this god forsaken establishment can't supply me with another suitable room!!" his temper was at its peek now. "Then -"
"NO!" Smitty shouted slamming a clear glass on the surface top of the counter. He not so much as flinched when Draco rose his voice. "No Mr…-Monsieur ..Malfoy." Said Smitty. He shoved his hands to his hip and gaving a titter-tot mimick like a sissy girl.
"I can't get yer blooming key! But there's a open room on th' fifth floor 'er so at the end of th' hall…." He snatched something up from the counter and began marching out of sight. "Room without a number on it. Ye can sleep there!." he shouted, and he left.
Half an hour later…
Little by little the busy morning routine on the muggle streets began. With only a few days until Christmas, the streets sprung to life quickly with walkers, shoppers, current events for the season and of course those seeking their steamy cups of cocoa latte`s.
Hermione entered by way of the fireplace below, wearing a seasonal red cape and holding her ginger-grey cat, who was still resting peacefully in her arms. A mixture of current problems and hidden worries, could not be easily hidden behind those amber eyes. Confusion and anger, resentment and the uncertainty of her own future.
The ending of the war, was not the same for her and seeing Malfoy again reminded her of that. The memory of the war at Hogwarts, the forgotten faces of others fighting so willing passed along freely in her mind as she made her way up the steps that would lead to her room. Hermione closed her eyes to that perfectly preserved moment in her life, it played back like a silver screen matinee.
She was looking directly into the face of Peeves. He had stop fighting and was hovering over her body. "Inlky dinlky girlly got the shaky waakies?"
Hermione didn't answer, she wasn't sure why she was lying with her back on the floor, she was only thankful to be still alive, She and Ron had split apart to speed up the search for the other horcrux. She shouted at the poltergeist and he whizzed away, towards the explosion just north of the castle. Hermione, ran her hands up and down her body and along her face. Searching for blood, but found none. She hadn't been hit she was sure of that much and her body felt fine for now. She found Ron and the others soon enough
She had tried to hide the symptoms, and in the beginning Ron had been very comforting and she knew he only wanted to reassure her that everything would be just fine. However, he knew of the curses, far better than she or Harry.
The morning after the battle ended, the seriousness of what Bellatrix had done to her took its toll and she had been rushed to St. Mungos. Because it had happened again, this time before the entire school and for all to see. She her fell over helpless, shaking, and clawing at the ground. Scorching flaring magic filled the Great Hall.
The sounds of her screams….Some said they thought she was dying.
But no she would not die, not in the way they had expected her to. The Scary truth of it was that Hermione would now have to learn to compromise her life and accept that she would never be well again.
Not the wellness as in; let's have a brilliant jog around the block... No, wellness in a different sense. She was healthy alright, and as fit as any witch her age, smarter than most, a quick thinker, brave enough to accept and master when most would toss their spell book at the problem. But, her drawback, her one handicap… were seizures. Cruciatus Seizures.
That night, at the Malfoy Manor when she, Ron and Harry had been captured by the snatchers. That encounter left Hermione terribly ill.
You see the thing about an unforgivable curse is that it is indeed unforgiveable. The Cruciatus Curse known as the torture curse did not leave or simply stop at the flick of your wand. Once hit, once truly struck with the forbidden spell you were destroyed, doomed, never the same again, driven mad from it, or if you were lucky enough died from it… and Bellatrix used the curse on her without mercy that night. Hermione could still recall how badly she wanted to die and even now she would often wake from horrible, painful dreams, each time she relived the curse...This one will do it…..
This time will be the last….
....she will surely die after this one….
