1993 - Second year
Draco lay in his bed, waiting, counting down the minutes before he could leave the Slytherin common room without his absence being noticed.
All he had thought about since he heard the news mid-afternoon about the most recent attack, was going to see Hermione in the hospital. The one thing he couldn't do so easily.
He glanced over at the clock that hung on the wall and saw that the time read 11:53. He told himself that he wouldn't go to see Hermione until after midnight when he knew for sure the teachers, as well as the students, would all be in bed. However, the minutes on his clock were moving by painfully slowly and he seemed to be laying for eternity in bed.
He turned and glanced at the clock once more, 11:54. A minute had passed. Draco lay thinking about everything he had done wrong over the past few months, everything he wished now he could take back and do-over.
He turned again, 11:55. He thought back to his argument with Hermione that started the rift, to begin with, the argument that split and ended their friendship. He thought about how he should've handled the situation and how they should have had a more in-depth conversation about what had actually happened.
11:56, everything felt so trivial now, knowing Hermione was laying in a hospital bed after being petrified by a monster his father had helped into the school, a plan he knew all about and hadn't warned her. His argument with her felt so silly in comparison to the current situation.
11:57, all he wanted was to say sorry. To tell her he regretted everything and he wanted to take it all back, but he knew the damage had already been done. He knew she wouldn't be able to hear a single thing he said to her when he finally saw her, but he also knew he had to say it.
11:58, for a moment Draco allowed himself to imagine what would happen if she were awake. If he arrived at the hospital and she had been cured and she was conscious to hear him. He told himself he would tell her everything, he would grovel on his knees if he needed to just so he could have her forgiveness. The saddening truth cut through him as he told himself that she wasn't going to be awake when he got there. She would be lifeless, there in body but not in spirit, and he was the only one who could've prevented that.
Without realising, more time had passed and when Draco looked at the clock once more he noticed it was past 12. He jumped out of bed, as quietly as possible, put on his robes and left the dormitory. Without a second glance in the common room to see if anyone was still awake, he left through the portrait and headed towards the hospital wing.
He made his way through the corridors, his heart racing the closer he got to the hospital wing. Once he arrived he stood outside for a moment, staring at the doors. He took a moment to gather his thoughts, to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to witness. He had seen Justin's petrified body after the first time he went to find Madame Pomfrey to request some Dreamless Sleep potion, the sight of him hadn't fazed him. However, he knew Hermione was going to be different.
He had a sense of déjà vu, this was the second time he found himself standing outside the hospital wing knowing Hermione was on the other side. Draco inhaled and pushed through the doors, slowly walking into the hospital. There were four beds with the curtains pulled around them. He recognized the first three as he walked past them and knew Hermione wasn't in any of those as he had seen them before. He stopped at the last bed, his heart beating fiercely against his chest. Reaching forward, he used his shaking hand to pull back the curtain to reveal Hermione.
"Hermione.."
Draco chocked, his entire body stiffened at the sight of her. Her body was rigid, frozen in the last position she had been in, her arm in the air and her fist clenched beside her. That wasn't what made Draco's stomach turn, it was the expression on her face.
He moved around the bed to stand beside her and looked into her once honey brown eyes that used to make him feel nothing but happiness. They were now black and vacant, a shadow of what they once were. For the first time in his life, Draco felt the start of tears begin to pool in his eyes. He could see the fear on Hermione's face, her eyes wide and her mouth on the verge of a scream.
He glanced towards her bedside table and noticed the mirror he had given her, minus the page he'd wrapped around it. He could only imagine how scared and alone she felt when she was attacked, what's worse, she knew it was coming.
Draco pulled up a chair and moved to sit beside her. Without thinking he put his hand in hers and tucked one of her curls behind her ear.
"Hermione, I am so sorry," he started, his voice breaking midway through his sentence. "I know you can't hear me, but I have so much to tell you..."
He sat upright and moved his chair closer to her bed, keeping their hands linked the entire time.
"Maybe if I say it all to you now, I'll have the courage to do it when you're awake because I'll feel like I've already told you... But then, that seems like the coward's thing to do," he said, more deflated this time.
"Hermione, I fucked up. I knew all of this was going to happen, one of the meetings I attended with my father over the summer, he told everyone about the diary. He said it was the key to opening the Chamber Of Secrets again. He told me what that would mean. When we started back up at school I wanted to tell you everything, I knew you would find a way to get yourself involved, so I wanted to tell you before... Well before something like this happened," he sighed and moved back on the chair, keeping his arm outstretched to hold her hand.
"Remember when I pulled you under the archway, the first day back? We arranged to meet up, I planned to tell you, Hermione, I promise I did. But, then things got so messy, I don't even know how they got the way they did! I'm sorry for everything, I'm sorry for all of the things I said and I did. I should never have listened to Pansy, you were right. She told me you and the twins were on the train, taking the piss out of me. Which, I could live with but that's not what bothered me. What hurt was she told me it was all for your entertainment, at your request. I understand that our friendship was a difficult one, that we have to put on an act around others but I hadn't expected that and I lashed out. I was wrong to, I should've asked you what happened. I was so scared we would come back after the summer break and things would be different, I questioned you and I didn't believe you. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did, especially when I've said some hurtful things too, as you know," he shifted slightly so that he was crossed-legged on the chair and put both hands were on hers, desperately trying to keep the connection.
"I did say I hoped it would be you that was killed by the Basilisk. I have called you a Mudblood behind and to your face, but I swear to you, I did not mean any of those things. I said I hoped it would be you to deter Crabbe and Goyle away from thinking there was anything between us. I never for a second, thought anything would actually happen to you. I know I shouldn't have said any of those things but Blaise is always riding my arse about how we are friends. He's known me for the longest, he sees things, he reads my reactions to things. Like today, when Pansy told us that you had been attacked, I couldn't control my reaction. Where everyone else would've thought I was uninterested by the news, Blaise would've seen my face and knew I was affected by it. He would've known I was worried about you and that all I wanted to do was come to see you. My friends aren't like yours, Hermione. They're quick to stab each other in the back, they're not loyal to anyone other than themselves and if he found out... If Blaise knew for sure that we were friends, he would tell my father and after what I have witnessed this summer, I can't guarantee he'd take it out on solely me," he rolled his shoulders and yawned. He felt so light finally telling Hermione everything, even if she couldn't hear him.
"I need you to get better, Hermione. I need my best friend back. I might not be yours, I know you have Weasley and Potter, and I know I've said and done some unforgivable things but you're my best friend. You're the one person I know I could trust with anything. You're the only person who listens, truly listens to me. You see me for me, I can hear it now, the first thing you'll say to me 'You're a complete ass Draco Malfoy'," he mimicked her, chuckling to himself. His small smile soon fell from his face as he glanced back at her, "Just, wake up Hermione, if not for me, for those twits you call friends. They won't survive without you, you're too important for us to lose," he blinked and a single tear rolled down his face. He quickly wiped his eyes on his robes and rested his head on his arms, his hand still stuck to hers.
Before long, Draco felt his eyes becoming heavy and soon enough he drifted off. For the first time in weeks, despite his uncomfortable position, he slept without a single nightmare disturbing his dreams.
~X~
Draco woke to a sharp pain in his neck and his eyes shot open. He glanced towards the ground and spotted a sweet on the floor. He reached down to pick it up and glanced around the room to locate the culprit who threw it at him but there was only himself and Hermione.
He rubbed his eyes and stretched before looking up at the clock, 6:35. Breakfast would be starting in an hour, which meant visiting hours would start soon. Draco stood up immediately, moved his chair back and looked at Hermione once more.
"I'll come visit again tonight. You might not want me to, you might not even know I'm here but I'll come anyway," he said before he closed the curtains and hurried out of the hospital wing and headed towards the Slytherin common room. He hadn't noticed the figure standing outside the hospital, the person responsible for throwing the sweet and waking him up.
~X~
Ron sat beside Hermione, staring down at her frozen features. He couldn't bring himself to turn away from her face, the fear written across it and it tore him up inside as he stared into her eyes.
Harry moved to sit beside her, at a loss with what to do. He knew she was at risk for being attacked but he never imagined she would be one of the victims, he hadn't prepared himself for the possibility.
"I wish you were here Hermione. We need you," Harry said as he climbed on the bed to sit next to her, "Now more than ever."
Ron dropped his head, finally being able to tear his gaze from her. He placed his head in his hands and exhaling deeply. Harry placed his hand in Hermione's and he sighed at the coldness of it. When he looked at her he didn't see a friend lying in the hospital, he saw his family. A girl that was like his sister, who had been hurt when she was alone. He couldn't shake the guilt he felt for her being here, he felt as though he should've been with her, protecting her.
As he moved his thumb across her hand he felt something unusual in her palm, as though she was holding something. He pulled at the object to discover a piece of parchment scrunched up.
"What's that?" Ron asked as he lifted his head from his hands.
"I'm not sure..." Harry responded as he opened the parchment, "It looks like a page from a book."
"That's odd, I can't imagine Hermione tearing a page from a book," Ron said, he moved around the bed to stand next to Harry, looking over his shoulder as he read.
"Ron this page... I think it's about the monster that attacked Hermione," Harry said quickly as he continued to read.
"What?
She figured it out!?"
Harry stood up and moved quickly towards the lamp on the wall, "It's a snake, a giant snake. It's called a Basilisk," Harry told Ron. "It's stare is deadly, it says here that all who are fixed with the beam of its eyes shall suffer instant death,"
"But, nobody has died," Ron pointed out. Harry looked up and glanced over to Hermione, then to the curtains that were drawn around the other victims. He lowered his arm and started to walk out of the hospital wing, Ron following close behind. Once they passed through the doors Harry caught sight of himself in the window.
"Of course," he whispered, Ron remained confused beside him, "Nobody stared at it directly in the eyes.." Harry turned to Ron to explain further, "The night we found Mrs Norris, there was water on the ground, and Collin, he had his camera on him so he must've seen it through the camera."
"And Justin?" Ron asked, the pieces falling into place for him too, only slightly slower.
"He must've seen the Basilisk through Nearly Headless Nick. Hermione and Penelope both saw it through the reflection of the mirror," he answered Ron. They both moved towards the lamp on the wall and Harry lifted the page up once more.
"Spiders flee before it," Harry said as Ron shivered. "It all makes sense Ron!"
"But how has a great big snake been making its way around the castle? Surely someone would've noticed it," Ron asked. Harry turned back to the page and saw nothing that would indicate how it would manoeuvre around the school unseen. Just as he was about to give up, he noticed a squiggle at the bottom of the page, 'pipes' it read and the boys both looked at each other in unison as they read the word.
"She really did think of everything, remind me to tell her how amazing she is when she wakes up," Ron said and Harry nodded, both running off to the Gryffindor common room to figure with their new information.
~X~
"I heard McGonagall talking to Professor Snape earlier, she said they might have to close the school with all of the attacks going on," Draco heard Pansy telling the group as he sat down and joined the Slytherin table for supper.
"Just when things were getting interesting," Blaise commented, noticing Draco's appearance, smirking at him. Draco nodded as he reached for some food, despite having no appetite, "after all, the Mudbloods don't stand a chance with Dumbledore gone," he added, the
Slytherin group nodding with him.
"Won't be long now before someone gets snatched and killed like last time," Blaise said, making Pansy jump as he pretended to launch for her. Her squeal sent shivers down Draco's spine, he looked up at Theo and noticed it had the same effect on him, rolling his eyes at Draco he looked back down at his food.
"How're you're advance potion lessons going?" Theo asked Draco without looking up from his plate.
Draco had continued to have his fake lessons with Professor Snape after summer, although the frequency of them and Snape's methods had changed. Snape decided when the lessons would take place and they would usually be spontaneous. He would start them by casting the spell when he would least expect it, ensuring Draco was caught off guard. After which, he would converse with Draco about the different methods he could keep his shield up without it taking too much of his energy and requiring more focus than necessary.
By Christmas, Professor Snape and Draco were fully confident that he would be able to keep his shield up should a reasonably talented Legilimens cast the spell on him. However, if someone as skilled in the art as his Aunt Bellatrix or Voldemort cast the spell on him, as it stood, he might not be strong enough to keep them out completely, as Snape constantly likes to remind him. Although Draco didn't consider this an issue seeing as his Aunt was locked up in Azkaban and Voldemort was dead.
"They're going well thank you, Theo, although they're becoming boring and unnecessary," Draco responded.
"Conside yourself a potions master already Draco?" Blaise sniggered.
"Not at all Blaise, but I haven't learnt anything new for a while, so I consider myself as only being better than you, but then that doesn't take much does it?" he smirked in response as the surrounding Slytherins chuckled as his comment.
Blaise changed the subject and the group started to talk amongst themselves as Draco started to move food around his plate, uninterested in eating anything. Theo watched as he did this and took it upon himself to pull him from whatever thoughts were floating around in his head.
"I hear Hagrid's being blamed for these attacks," he said quietly so that only Draco could here. He looked up at Theo with a raised eyebrow and waited for him to continue.
"Apparently, and I don't know how much of this is true, but I heard whispers that he was blamed for the last attack, 50 years ago," Theo went on.
"How could that great oaf have anything to do with this?" Draco questioned.
"I'm not sure, perhaps his love for weird beasties has something to do with it? I don't know whether it is true, I've just heard rumours that he is the main suspect and they took him away, around about the same time they took Dumbledore."
"Well, that explains why we haven't seen him," Draco said, playing along with Theo's conversation, despite knowing full well what had really happened.
He pushed his food around for a moment longer before he finally excused himself from the table, having endured enough. He headed out of the great hall, not knowing fully where he was going. Although it was too soon, he wanted to see Hermione.
As he wandered around the castle he remembered back to the day Dumbledore had been suspended and removed from the premises alongside Hagrid. He thought about how his father had felt with the situation.
Draco stood outside the hospital wing, peering in through the open doors and glancing around to see if there were any visitors. When he realised the coast was clear, he walked forward before a hand gripped his shoulder firmly. He turned to his side to confirm who the hand belonged to and looked up at the tall figure standing next to him.
"Father," he stuttered, not expecting him to be there so soon.
"Draco," his father said slowly, "What are you doing here?" He turned and looked towards the victims of the Basilisk attacks, lying in their beds. Draco glanced towards the wing and back at his father before speaking once more.
"I like to come here to make sure they're all still petrified, I wouldn't want any of them waking up too soon and spoiling everything," he told his father, a lie he seemed to believe as he smirked and let go of his son's shoulder. "Why're you here?"
"It appears the ministry believes the Groundskeeper has something to do with these attacks," Lucius told his son before turning slightly and walking at a slow pace up the corridor, gesturing for Draco to follow.
"How?" Draco asked,
"Because he has a history of housing dangerous creatures. That, and the last time the chamber was opened, he was their first suspect," Lucius explained.
"I understand that but, well, look at him. How could he be the one who is controlling the Basilisk?" Draco asked, still confused.
"Hush now Draco, people might hear your ramblings," he said sternly, "I never said he is responsible, I simply said the Ministry think he is. So I'm here to ensure that he is dealt with," He said more quietly this time.
"Dealt with?" He asked his father, knowing he was pushing his limits when Lucius clenched his jaw in annoyance.
"Yes. Now follow me, you can watch if you like. There's more fun happening tonight than just the removal of that disgusting halfbreed," Lucius said as they walked through the doors leading out into the courtyard.
It was dark outside, difficult to see the other, but Draco knew they were heading to Hagrid's hut. He followed quietly as he tried to think what his father's words could mean. What else was going to happen?
Once they arrived at the small hut his father turned to him once more. "Stay here and keep quiet," he told him before shoving him slightly round the corner. Draco could hear voices inside, he recognised Dumbledore and Hagrids but the third he wasn't familiar with.
With two knocks from his father, Hagrids door swung open. "Ah, Cornelius, you're already here," Lucius said as he stepped through the doorway.
"What're you doing here?" Hagrid asked, "Get out of my house!" His voice boomed.
"Believe me, I take absolutely no pleasure in being inside your - you call this a house?" He scrunched his nose as he finished speaking and inspecting Hagrids home, before turning back to the group in the room.
"No, I simply called at the school and was told the headmaster was here," he said, eyes fixed on Dumbledore.
"And what, exactly, do you want with me?" Dumbledore asked calmly.
"The governors and I have decided it is time that you step aside," Lucius told him, "this is an order of suspension," he said as he held out the piece of parchment towards Dumbledore. "You'll find all 12 signatures on it, I'm afraid we feel you've rather... Lost your touch. What with all the attacks, there will soon be no Muggleborns left. I can only imagine what a great loss that would be to the school," he finished.
"Ye' can't take Professor Dumbledore away, take 'im away and the Muggleborns won't stand a chance!" Hagrid protested, "You mark my words, there'll be killings next!"
"You think so?" Lucius said curiously as he looked towards Hagrid for the first time since he stepped into his home.
"Calm yourself Hagrid," Dumbledore spoke softly to his friend, "If the governors require my removal than I shall step aside. However," he said as he stepped towards Lucius, "You'll find that help will be given to anyone at Hogwarts, should they ask for it," he looked down his half mooned glasses as Lucius screwed up his face in disgust.
"Shall we?" He said to the room before he opened the door to Hagrids hut.
Draco watched as his father led the way back up to the castle with Dumbledore, Hagrid and the Minister of Magic following close behind. He stood still for a moment, choosing to linger behind momentarily so as not get caught.
He thought over the conversation that just transpired in Hagrid's hut, amazed at his father's powers of manipulation. He knew there was no way those governors had willingly agreed to sign the petition to get Dumbledore to step down, this was all a part of his plan.
Just as Draco turned to head back to the castle, Hagrids door opened once more. He quickly crouched down behind the piles of logs once more and peered over to find Harry and Ron emerging from thin air.
'Had they been in there the whole time?' He thought.
Draco watched as Harry pointed towards the Forbidden Forest and began heading in the same direction. Ron lingered behind, clearly not wanting to follow his friend but before long he picked up his pace and caught up with Harry. He wondered for what reason would they want to go trudging into the Forest so late in the evening. Torn between wanting to speak to his father again before he left and wanting to know what Harry and Ron were up to, he turned and headed towards the thick woodlands, his curiosity getting the better of him.
Draco made his way through the uneven grounds of the forest, keeping Harry and Ron in his line of sight whilst maintain a distance. He couldn't quite hear what they were saying or fully see where they were heading, but he had come this far and he wasn't turning back now.
"Harry, I don't like this," Draco heard Ron, realising he was gaining on them, "Harry, I don't like this at all," Ron said, his voice increasing in pitch.
'He's always complaining about something' Draco thought.
He climbed over the branch in front of him and felt something run across his had. He stood still for a moment and focused on the ground, he had no source of light so it was difficult to make out what he could see moving across the ground. However, after a few moments of staring down, his eyes adjusted and he could make out the eight-legged creatures that were heading in the same direction as him, the same direction as Harry and Ron.
Thankfully, spiders weren't on his list of things he feared and he managed to shake one off without it bothering him too much before he carried on following Harry and Ron.
Pausing slightly as he realised they had disappeared from his view, he squinted towards the distance and noticed an opening in a large tree that clearly lead underground, there was a faint glow coming from inside that he could only imagine was the from the lamp Harry had been carrying with him.
Once he reached the entrance to the tree he lingered outside, crouching slightly to get a better view of the two Gryffindor's. From what his eyes could make out, they were speaking to the largest spider he had only ever read about in books.
"That's a lie!" Draco heard a deep voice echo through the trees, "Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets."
"Then you're not the monster?" he heard Harry's faint voice ask the spider.
"No, the monster was born inside the castle. I came to Hagrid from a distant land, in the pocket of a traveller." The voice echoed once more.
Draco took the opportunity at the pause in conversation to examine his surroundings and, for the first time, he noticed just how many spiders were gathering, making their way into the burrow. Although he wasn't scared of spiders, he could sense something was off with the amount there were around. Sensing the ever-growing impatience of the Giant spider that Harry and Ron were talking to, along with the number of creatures building outside, Draco thought it best to leave and so he began his descent back to the castle, thankful the spiders were more interested in whatever was going on down below.
Draco shook his head as he broke out of his train of thought, the reminder of all those spiders caused him to shiver. Although he didn't fear spiders, he still felt uncomfortable by the memory of the hundreds he came across that night. He soon realized his feet had subconsciously taken him to the hospital wing. It was still too early for him to visit Hermione, however, it was past visiting hours. Deciding to peep in and simply check on her, he walked through the doors to be greeted by Professor Snape who was standing at Hermione's bedside.
"Mr Malfoy," He said without looking up at him, Draco moved forward to join him at her bed. He didn't look down at her straight away, although the image of her frozen, terrified face will be embedded into his mind for the foreseeable future.
"Isn't it a little risky to be checking in on Miss Granger so early on in the evening?" he asked and turned to face Draco.
"I didn't realise I was wandering here until I was already outside the doors," Draco responded honestly. "I was thinking about the last time I saw my father, and I ended up here."
"Hmm, interesting," Snape said. "You know, Draco, I understand the predicament you're in. More so than anyone, but you might want to consider what kind of person you want to be."
"Excuse me, professor, I'm not sure what you mean?" Draco said defensively.
" I understand you have to do as your father asks of you, but just remember, you're your own person. One day, you'll have to make a decision for yourself, especially if the wrong one is going to affect someone you care about," he said before he turned back to Hermione. "Next time, she might not be lying in this bed injured. Next time she could be dead because you couldn't grow a backbone and warn her of your father's plan," He snapped.
"How-how did you know I knew?" Draco asked.
"I know a lot more than you realise. Think about what I've said," Snape finished before he left the hospital wing.
Draco stared down at Hermione, his eyes lingered on hers for a few moments as he went over Snape's words. The sounds of students running frantically through the corridor brought his attention away from Hermione and he headed to investigate what was going on outside the Hospital Wing.
Author Notes:
Disclaimer - I do not own the world of Harry Potter, I wish I did, but I don't.
MASSIVE shout out to KoraKunkel for being the best beta!