Chapter 54

The first thing Draco noticed, of course, was the harsh shrilling voice. Next was the second, angry, shouting voice.

The first was coming from the portrait of his great aunt Walpurga Black on the wall, screeching and swearing about mudbloods and blood traitors. The minute she took in the three Malfoy's stepping in the door, however, her yelling instantly and abruptly stopped. She stared, as if there was no way they were actually there and that this must be the work of polyjuice potion. After several seconds, however, she spoke.

"My dear niece! Finally, blood worthy of the black household! Made a proper marriage, unlike your unfortunate sister…" But Nymphadora wasn't listening. The moment they entered the door Harry had shot up the stairs, and Draco's cousin had been sure to follow. Something was very wrong.

Narcissa inclined her head in a noble gesture, and the portrait smiled warmly. Draco chanced a glance at Hermione, and saw her standing with her jaw dropped. When she noticed him looking at her she muttered, "I never have heard her say anything that wasn't utterly vile before…"

Draco snickered. "Yeah, well just wait until she finds out about us. The old bat will be turning in her grave."

Hermione smiled at this. Draco liked taking her side, as it seemed to make her so happy. The only place he couldn't seem to do so was with his parents…that was going to be a problem later. Though Hermione did seem perfectly able to defend herself against them. It was rather a turn on when she got so righteously angry…Draco shook his head. Not the time to be following that line of thought.

Now that the portrait was silent, some of what was being said upstairs flowed down. It was obviously a woman scolding, saying something like, "I TOLD YOU…HOW DARE YOU LET HER COME ALONG WITH YOU….RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY, what could have POSSIBLY been going through your mind…Oh, Harry dear, I don't blame you…don't be silly….RON! She's UNDERAGED…wait until your father gets here from work….Thank god Remus is here…we have a house full of experts on curses…But that's no excuse!….Don't argue with me, young man, you're…"

Draco chuckled, despite himself. Hermione shot him a shocked look. "Oh! Sorry…I know it's a serious situation, but…Bilius…"

Hermione looked like she was trying hard not to smile at that, the corners of her mouth tugging up the tiniest bit. "We can't all have winning names like yours, you know."

Draco feigned insult, placing a hand at his heart. "Ouch. Is my name so unusual, Hermione?"

"Shut up." She said through her laughs.

Draco choked on his laugh as he noticed his parents watching him. A disgusted look crossed his fathers face, a slight twitch to his eye. Draco stared at his shoes, masking his features back to their usual indifference.

"Well…." Hermione said, clearing her throat…nervously? Maybe. It had to suck for her, being forced to deal with his parents. "Normally Mrs. Weasley would show everyone to their rooms and the like, but she's a bit…busy. So, I'll show you three to the room you'll be staying in…"

Room? Did she just say room, singular? Hermione seemed to notice the look on his face and sighed. "We have a lot of people staying here and coming and going in the summer…I have a room that I share with Ginny when she visits, and Mrs. And Mr. Weasley often have to stay…then there's Lupin, Tonks, Moody, Snape…"

"Snape?" Lucius asked in a mocking tone.

"Yes, Professor Snape." Hermione said, daring them to argue about his loyalty. Draco knew enough not to even bring up the issue. In the end, Draco didn't belong to either side in this war; what did he care which side Snape was really on?

"Anyways…" she said, casting a look at Moody. "We have dinner at six, which is only a couple of hours away. Let me show you where you're staying so you can rest a bit before then."

"Thank you." Narcissa said, earning a surprised look from Draco and Hermione, and a worried look from her husband.

***

As the four of them entered the rather small bedroom, Hermione couldn't help but feel embarrassed at the small size of the place. Ok, so there was no reason whatsoever for her to be embarrassed. This wasn't her house, it was actually much larger than her own house, and it was part of the Black family, like Narcissa.

But it was still such a tiny room for three people to share, she had to feel somewhat worried. Not for Draco's parents of course, but for him. She really didn't mind that his parents would be uncomfortable…But they were all used to much grander spaces, Hermione was sure. The look of disgust that Draco quickly tried to cover up confirmed her fear. Oh, well. He'd get used to it.

"So we have a pullout for you, Draco." She said, pointing to the smaller bed pushed up to the side. "And if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check on my friend." She turned to leave, wanting to escape the older Malfoy's appraising and critical eyes, but was barely out the door when Draco grabbed her arm. "Hey, I want to come too you know."

Hermione blinked. "I didn't think you would…"

"She got hurt helping me, right? Who knows; I've been around Aunt Bella for a while now. Maybe I can tell what spell she used. Besides, I don't especially mind the female Weasel."

Hermione glared. She knew he was actually saying something kinda nice, but why couldn't he say it in a nice way? Sigh. "Ok." She said, moving down the stairs. The Malfoy's had been placed in the room on the highest floor of the house, and Ginny was in her room on the second floor. As they headed downstairs, she noticed Draco throwing nervous glances over his shoulder. "They're not gonna be happy you're coming with me, are they? Living in the same house is going to mean we'll be seeing quite a lot of each other, so they'd better get used to it."

Draco grinned, looking at her. "You know, I can't really stand up to them. Especially father. But know that you have my full and complete permission to continue to do so, yourself."

"As if I need your permission." She answered, humor in her voice to soften her words. Her smile dissolved, though, as a thought came to her. She stopped just short of the door to her and Ginny's room. Mrs. Weasley's yelling had stopped, and only whispered voices could be heard from the hallway. "First, I want you to tell me what happened to you."

He looked at her innocently, as if to say 'I have no idea what you mean.'

"Your mother said you were injured…and…and…" Hermione took a deep breath. She couldn't even imagine the Cruciatus curse, being that she'd never experienced it herself. To think that this boy in front of her whom she cared about so much had been tortured…it was too horrible.

He sighed. "It's not a big deal. Well, ok, at the time it was, but not anymore. I'm almost all healed up. I just got hit with a severing charm on a mission." He seemed to go a bit pale, lost in some memory. "We we're trying to recruit the Greengrass's, and they refused…I know Daphne quite well…I'm glad she got away…"

Hermione didn't press the conversation further. She wanted to ask if everyone else had gotten away too. She wanted to ask who had aimed an attack at him, and if he had attacked first. She wanted to ask many things, but she thought better of it. He looked pained at the memory of it, and Hermione certainly didn't want to cause him any more pain.

"Where?" She asked gently. Draco gulped and clutched at a spot on his side, right above his hip.

She reached down, touching the spot through his shirt with the tips of her fingers. She didn't say anything, but nothing needed to be said. He visibly relaxed at her touch, and he sighed as he grabbed her hand and brought it to his face.

The door opened behind her, and she spun around. Ron stared back at her wide-eyed. She didn't give him time to look jealous, however, as she quickly asked, "We we're just coming in. How is she?"

Ron's features bunched up in a guilt-ridden expression. "She's still…asleep." He half-whispered. Hermione's heart gave a pang and she couldn't help but fling her arms around her friend. "It's not your fault; your mother's just upset, that's all. Ginny wanted to go. We couldn't possibly have talked her out of it."

Ron just nodded, staring down at the ground. Hermione detached herself and patted his shoulder as she walked past into the room, Draco at her heels. Really close at her heels. She had the distinct impression he was glaring daggers at Ron as they past, though she didn't have eyes in the back of her head so she couldn't be 100% sure. Just a feeling she got.

Ginny was lying on her bed, covered in her patchwork quilt, breathing shallowly. Her skin had an odd gray tinge to it that looked altogether unhealthy, and a sheen of sweat covered her face. Harry sat next to her on the bed, gripping her hand and not even looking up when the two entered the room.

"How is she?" Hermione asked Lupin. Ron had left the room, and it seemed Mrs. Weasley and Tonks were also momentarily absent.

Lupin looked up from his chair beside her bed. His expression worried her; he looked altogether puzzled. Clearing his throat he answered, "Molly and Dora went to floo Dumbledore and find Snape. One of them should have some solution. Otherwise…it seems similar to the draught of living death, but it was certainly a curse and not a potion…"

Hermione thought hard through all of knowledge of that particular draught and nodded. "Similar, but very different."

Lupin blinked. "How so?" He asked in a way that let said he actually knew the answer, but wanted Hermione to say it. Once a Professor, always a Professor…

"Well…she's sweating and her breathing is ragged. That wouldn't happen with the draught…though the sickly skin tone is correct…"

Draco stepped up beside Hermione and she glanced over at him. He was staring down at the unconscious girl, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Venter Distraho." He said finally, after taking in her symptoms. He knew his aunt's work; she liked this spell too much. He had watched her use it not a week ago on Mr. Greengrass…

Hermione couldn't stop the shocked gasp from flying out of her lips. Draco looked at her out of the corner of his eye briefly, not bothering to turn his head. Then he continued to stare at Ginny and nodded. "Should have figured you'd know what it was, even if it was too nasty to be anywhere but the restricted section at school."

"Well, I try to study everything. If you don't know anything about dark curses, then how can you combat them? Although…" She blushed. "I'm not much for breaking the rules, so I can only gather what info is available from the normal library. I heard of this spell mentioned in passing, but the mechanics of it where heavily edited."

Draco smiled, but it came across as more of a grimace. "It's not edited in my father's library."

***

"Well!?" Harry growled, making them both jump. "What the bloody hell is it!? More importantly: How do we fix it? Spill it, Malfoy!"

Draco scrunched up his face, wanting to launch into an argument. He looked indignant at being yelled at, but suddenly his sneering features softened. He looked back down at Ginny. He was shocked at the rolling feelings of guilt and worry. He expected to be unhappy with anyone getting hurt because of him, but this…it was worse then he had thought. His stomach felt tight as he worried about the Weasley girl. It wasn't a feeling he was accustomed too, really. This wasn't his family, wasn't his friend, wasn't his lover…this was just a girl from a stupid family who got in the way of his aunt's spell. Yet it was killing him that it had happened because of him. He should have pulled his wand on his aunt right away, or pushed her, or something

"It's…a rather terrible, slow acting curse. I think the counter for it is a potion, and Professor Snape should indeed be able to prepare it. It's just a matter of the time it takes to prepare…"

"What is it doing to her, Malfoy?! Just answer me, dammit!" Harry growled.

Draco frowned. "Your knowing won't help her, Potter."

Harry looked struck, as if he had forgotten how to speak. To Draco's utter horror tears began to leak out of the Great Hero's eyes. "I just need to know…" He said in the smallest voice.

Draco gulped. God, he had never, ever wanted to be in a situation where he felt sorry for Potter! In fact, he had often wanted to be in a situation with Potter crying pathetically in front of him…but this was not at all what he had had in mind. Dammit. Draco didn't like sympathizing with the Golden Boy, but he just couldn't help himself. What if Hermione had been hit with the curse? Draco's insides churned at the thought.

Hermione saved him from having to explain it, however, and with a strained voice answered, "It's messing with her insides, Harry. Like a poison. The curse slowly dissolves her stomach…" Hermione stifled a sob the best she could, a hand at her mouth. "No!" She said suddenly through her tears. "No, there's no need to cry! We'll get Snape here, soon. How long does the curse take to…to…Draco?" She asked, turning pleading eyes to him.

Draco, unlike Hermione, was not the type to absorb everything he read, however. He shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. He wasn't sure what to do with his hands. "I know a bit more of Dark magic than the average Wizard, but I don't remember everything…I know it's made to last awhile but…well, I think there's a chance if Snape has some of the correct potion brewed."

Draco really hoped Snape did. And he really, really hoped they were right about trusting Snape in the first place.