Authors Note: Rating has been changed to M
Chapter Five
Harry struck first with a sharp yell, his spell hitting the beast directly between the eyes as it raced toward them.
Hermione screamed as they flung themselves aside to avoid being trampled.
Sprawled upon the ground she raised her head and spat dirt from her mouth. Lifting herself to her knees, her heart leapt to her throat as Harry's scream of pain tore through her chest.
They had avoided being crushed, but a razor-sharp horn had sliced Harry's thigh as the beast thundered past. Harry was curled inwards on the ground, clutching his thigh as dark blood gushing from a long, jagged gash.
''HARRY!'' Ron yelled, leaping to his side and shoving his hands over the soaked mass of broken flesh, trying desperately to quell the bleeding.
Ignoring the danger at her back, Hermione aimed her wand at the open gate. The door slammed shut and thick ropes shot from her wand, twisting and knotting themselves to lash it closed.
A heartbeat later, a heavy form slammed against the wood. Thankfully, the ropes held, preventing the other Graphorns from escaping the enclosure.
Hermione spun to find the loose beast turning to face them once more. Belatedly, she realized she had separated the beast from its family, placing the unfortunate heroes directly between the aggressive animal and its trapped offspring.
Harry's stunning spell had been completely ineffective. It was too strong. Far too strong for them to fight.
''Í-I can't move.' Harry gasped, his face clenched tight as he clutched his ruined leg. 'Go. Go! You- You have to run.'
His voice was strained with pain, weak from blood loss.
Hermione stared wild eyed at Ron, the fear and alarm in his eyes mirroring her own. They moved closer, Harry lying between them.
''Never.''
'Not bloody likely mate.''
Together, they raised their wands.
The beast surged forward.
Ron and Hermione fired spells and curses in a hopeless attempt to impede it.
With a broken yell, Hermione's wand unleashed a blinding blue light that blasted forth in a howling gust of ice and frozen air. The Graphorn twisted mid-stride to avoid the wave, instinctively veering away. Hermione's wand arm trembled.
The beast ran in a wide circle before facing them once more, tossing its head in challenge. She heard Ron's rough curse the beast surged forward and the space between them was rapidly devoured by thundering legs which shook the ground.
''REDUCTO!''
The strong voice came from Hermione's left. A lone elm tree exploded centimeters from the beast's head. It released a roar of fear before stumbling heavily to the ground.
Draco Malfoy was sprinting down a shallow slope toward them, wand in hand, firing clumsy stunning spells.
There was no time to process this unexpected development.
'We're going to be overrun!' Ron shouted, waving his wand wildly as it spat out stunning spells. Hermione was unsure whether this comment on their impending doom was meant for her or Malfoy who had skidded to a halt by her side.
'Orbis!'' Malfoy shouted and the Graphorn bellowed in anger as several inches of its legs sunk through the ground, gripped in quicksand. The clever spellwork gave them a moment of respite as it struggled to wrench its legs from the hungry earth, its eyes rolling wildly.
'Oh well done Malfoy,' Ron yelled. ''Now you've really pissed 'im off!
''Shut it Weasley and grab Potter! We're going up there to the trees on our left. Granger, I'm offense, you're defense! Let's go. NOW!
For once, Ron chose not to argue and promptly lifted an unconscious Harry into his arms. Draco was already weary, due to the continuous stream of stunning spells he had been firing since he reduced the unfortunate elm to a pile of smoking twigs.
''Protego!''
Hermione's shield projected itself twenty metres ahead, a fragile glimmer of silvery light standing between the haggard students and the enraged animal. Unfortunately, the charm was a primarily a defense against curses.
It was not designed to withstand the magical properties of the Graphorns golden horn, or the crushing weight of the maddened beast. The Graphorn threw itself against her barrier, brimming with magical energy.
Within moments it shattered, hitting Hermione with a wave of exhaustion.
She rapidly cast another.
Fifteen metres.
The group scrambled to the left, Ron hunched and staggering under Harry's dead weight, Draco's wand going wild as he fired curse after curse to impede and distract. As each of Hermione's shields were broken, her strength wavered until her legs felt like lead. Mustering every scrap of her determination, she focused on maintaining her shields.
Don't stop. Don't fall. She silently willed as she staggered. Keep moving, or we are all dead.
Twelve meters.
Hermione's ragged breath and rapid heartbeat thundered in her ears.
Eight.
The space between them shrunk.
They flung themselves at the edge of the slope and Ron surged ahead of, trusting them to protect his back as he carried Harry to higher ground.
Halfway to the shelter of the trees Hermione relinquished her latest shield, and with an exhausted wave of her wand, set the grass at the foot of the slope alight. With some rapid spellwork, Draco used the last of his strength to coax the flames into a raging wall of fire.
The monstrous animal gave a final roar of anger which shook leaves of the surrounding trees before it relented, backing away from the flames. With one last look at their broken group, it turned and fled, crashing through the forest to the west. Within seconds, Draco's strength abandoned him and the hastily conjured flames vanished into the air, leaving nothing but smoking grass and their broken gasps for breath.
They crawled to the top of the rise and collapsed into the cool, welcoming shelter of the elms.
Hermione began casting weak healing charms on Harry whose face was white as a sheet from blood loss. His eyes fluttered as he drifted in and out of consciousness.
Ron stood over him protectively, wand raised, adrenalin coursing through him as he searched for further threats.
Satisfied that her healing charms had begun their work, Hermione paused briefly in her ministrations to remind Ron to send for help.
Screwing his eyes up in concentration, Ron managed to cast his Patronus; a small terrier which immediately raced toward the castle.
Hermione stopped the bleeding in Harry's leg, and numbed some of his pain. Unfortunately, that was the extent of her knowledge; the rest would have to wait until he could be delivered into Madame Pomfrey's expert care.
Hermione sank back into the grass beside her unconscious friend, sighing softly in relief. After several minutes, she twisted her neck to gaze at Draco, who lay on his stomach several meters to her left, face buried in his arms with his white uniform shirt drenched in sweat.
Hermione's mind spun as she tried to understand why Malfoy, of all people, would have come racing from the shelter of the trees to aid them. Even with his help, it had been a miracle that survived, which left her with a startling conclusion; Draco Malfoy had voluntarily risked his life to save them.
As she attempted to process this stunning revelation, Draco tensed. As though sensing her stare, he turned his head on his arm, his eyes immediately finding her own. Hermione took a breath and went to speak, but then paused. She tried to read something in his face, to gauge his reaction to the fact that they had almost been tragically trampled or gored to death. Her eyes wandered briefly over his features. His breathing slowed and she found herself simply staring into his cold, emotionless grey eyes.
'Hermione.'
Ron's voice snapped her back into reality and she staggered clumsily to her feet. He was pointing through the shadowy trees, where she could just make out a small group of people following the shining light of his Patronus.
She let out a sharp laugh of relief that was almost a sob and they a shared a grateful smile; they were safe.
The next ten minutes passed by in a blur as they made their way back to the castle, Harry's unconscious form eerily leading the way in the fading light, as he was levitated ahead of the group on a stretcher.
Ron was gesticulating wildly as he explained what had happened to McGonagall and Pomfrey. Hermione's thighs protested with every step as exhaustion attempted to convince her the ground looked soft enough to take a quick nap on and she fell behind the group. She glanced behind to see Malfoy a few steps further back, bringing up the rear and slowed again until they were walking side by side.
''You… Thank you.'
'Draco paid her no notice.
''You saved our lives. All of us.'' She pressed.
Silence.
''You could have died, Malf-''
''Yes, I was aware of the risk.'' Malfoy said, a slightly exasperated edge in his tone.
''But you hate us.''
''I don't hate you, Granger'
''But… why? Why would you do that?' Hermione demanded, frustrated at his airy façade'.
''Why would you risk your life to save-''
Draco stopped abruptly, and Hermione turned to stand directly in front of him. He chose not to meet her eyes but gazed over the lake instead. Dusk had truly settled in, casting shadows over his pointed face. She waited.
'Hogwarts isn't safe. And what happened back there, it wasn't an accident.'' His eyes flickered quickly across her face, reading her expression.
Draco raised an eyebrow and smiled at her. 'So. You already knew. Or suspected at least. I'm not surprised'. His smile widened, and before she could reply, he brushed past her and continued walking toward the castle.
Hermione almost stamped her foot in frustration. Spinning around she hastened to catch up to his wide stride.
''And how, may I ask, do you know that Malfoy?' she huffed, her words dripping with suspicion.
''Malfoy? Is Mr. Malfoy here!?' McGonagall's surprised words cut through the night.
''Where is—Oh, there you are. I didn't realise you were here.' McGonagall began backtracking hurriedly towards them.
Draco glanced at Hermione. 'Too late. '' he said with a smirk. 'Now you'll never know.'' He added loftily.
Before Hermione had a chance to reply, he had already charged ahead, his long legs carrying him far beyond ear shot and to McGonagall's side in a matter of moments, leaving Hermione alone in the open night air, cursing his existence.
oooOooo
'Hermione!' A calloused hand grabbed her sleeve and tugged, almost causing the disoriented brunette to fall from the bench.
It was early Saturday morning and Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, wondering if her pounding headache would allow her to eat.
'What is it, Ron?'' she said, shaking him off and steadying herself.
'Elidi McKenna is missing!' He hissed. ''Yesterday, disappeared somewhere between the Forbidden Forest and the Great Hall.''
Hermione snapped to attention, blinking rapidly.
''Disappeared?''
'Hermione, she disappeared at the same time we were almost mowed down by the Graphorn!''
Hermione blinked and tuned into the conversation being held around her.
''Wasn't anyone with her Neville? Why was she going back to the castle by herself?'' Ginny asked, aghast.
Now that Hermione was paying attention, she saw that the Gryffindors were leaning in towards Neville, whose face was pale and sick with worry.
'She said she couldn't find her Potions book. She said she must have taken it out of her bag when was looking the apple in her bag, during Care of Magical Creatures class. I should have gone back with her to help her look, but it's not dangerous on the very edge.''
''It's not supposed to be.' Murmured Dean Thomas and several Gryffindors nodded in agreement. The air was tense.
Neville swallowed looking miserable. ''I should have…''
''It's not your fault Neville'' Ginny said softly. Several more nods of agreement accompanied her statement, unnoticed by Neville, who now stared dejectedly at his untouched plate of toast.
'I kept waiting at the hall for her. She never came back. I told the professors that she should have been only a few minutes behind me, and they sent a search party, but she was just… gone. ''
''Neville,'' Hermione said gently. ''Where exactly did she leave her book? ''
'Just within the edge of the forest, between Hagrid's hut and the lake. Maybe, 100 metres from the water's edge. ''
Hermione frowned.
''Good idea Hermione, we can organize our own search party, can't we?' Ginny said encouragingly while offering a treat to the large barn owl that had delivered her newspaper.
''As long as we stay in a group.'' Dean muttered quietly. More nods of agreement ensued from around the table.
Hermione rose to her feet and made her way out of the hall, dragging Ron behind her.
'What is it Hermione? Do you think the Graphorn got her?''
They stopped just beyond the Great Hall doors, out of earshot.
''I don't think it could be a coincidence. But-'' She bit her lip.
''But?''
'The Graphorn headed west. The opposite to where Elidi would have been.''
Ron's brow furrowed, thinking furiously. 'So, you don't think she was attacked? It's unrelated?''
''I... I'm not sure. Something about this just… there must be a connection, I'm just not sure how.''
Ron expelled a great gust of breath.
''If anyone can figure this out, it's you Hermione. ' He said with an encouraging smile.
Not alone. She disagreed silently.
But maybe she wouldn't have to- Malfoy had information. She just had to persuade him to tell her.
oooOooo
It wasn't until Charms class on the following Monday morning that Hermione was able to corner the tall Slytherin. Reasoning to herself that the simplest plans were often best, Hermione cast a spell at his bookbag, causing it to split open just as class ended.
Simple, yet effective.
Harry had been released from the hospital wing the night before, and they had spent the entire breakfast hour arguing. Both boys had naturally been opposed to asking for Draco's help, opting for violence over logic.
''We'll just force it out of him. Find out what he's done.'' Ron had whispered furiously over breakfast that morning.
''He won't want to speak to either of you. And we don't know that he's done anything wrong'.
Hermione added some scrambled eggs to her toast, flicking her hair away from her face.
''It's not about what he wants, we'll just make him talk to us.' Ron growled, uncharacteristically ignoring the great mountain of food spread before him.
''We can't trust anything he says anyway.'' Harry said venomously ''Not without Veritaserum''.
This had only led to further arguments between the two boys as they came up with wild plans and even wilder accusations which convinced Hermione that any attempted interrogation involving Harry and Ron would result in a duel rather than information.
Which is why, as Malfoy cursed his split bag on Friday afternoon, Hermione exited the classroom with Ron and Harry, only to tell them she had left a book behind and would catch up with them at dinner.
She made it back to the Charms room and shut the door behind her just as Draco re-çlasped his newly mended bag, his back to the door.
''What is it Granger?''
Hermione started in surprise.
''How did you know it was me?'' She asked curiosity getting the better of her.
''As I've mentioned before, you're not subtle.''
Draco looked over his shoulder at her, a curious smile playing on his lips.
''You've been staring at my back for days, which is extremely irritating by the way, and this bag is new.' He said pointedly, as he placed the aforementioned bag on his shoulder.
Hermione lifted one shoulder in a casual shrug as she meandered toward him, inwardly berating herself for being so transparent.
'I need to know what you saw that night.'
Draco's face twisted.
''You can't leave it alone, can you? You and bloody Potter and bloody Weasley. Let me guess, Potter is under the impression that I'm up to no good. Probably thinks I'm involved in some nefarious, dark plot.'' Draco blustered, clenching his fists. 'Why can't the three of you just leave me alone?''
'Probably because two years ago, you were involved in a nefarious, dark plot''. Hermione spat at him as she rounded the last desk.
Draco glowered at her; all hints of his previous smile eradicated. Hermione sighed. This was not going as she had hoped.
''Whatever you and your stupid little friends think I've done, you're wrong.'' He snarled. ''I haven't harmed anyone and I've no intentions to, but if I find any of you following me around, you'll regret it.''
Hermione's temper flared.
''It doesn't matter what your intentions are! If people are being killed and you have the power to prevent it but choose to do nothing - then you're just as guilty!''
Draco flinched as though she had physically struck him and he lurched backwards, his thighs hitting the desk.
He turned away from her too slowly as she saw the guilt that marred his features. His hand gripped the arm that bore the Dark Mark.
The moment hung in the air. Just as Hermione opened her mouth to say something, anything, there was a deep rumble and then an earsplitting crack as the desk he leant against split down the middle. For a moment it swayed, and then crumpled inwards to crash upon the floor.
''It.. it wasn't my fault. What they did. It wasn't my…''
Draco took a deep trembling breathe as Hermione held hers, wondering if her words of accusation had pushed him too far.
When he turned back to face her, he had managed to regain control, and with a gentle flick of her wand, she repaired the desk, it's wooden surface as perfect and unmarred as before Draco uncontrollable outburst of magic.
For a moment they simply glared at one another until finally, Draco looked away and his shoulders slumped in defeat. Running a hand through is hair, he leant back onto the desk.
''Fine.'' He muttered. 'Just don't…''
''Í won't.''
Hermione gave a cautious step forward, unsure of what she was agreeing too but knowing he was on the cusp of giving her the information she needed.
''I just want the truth.'' She pleaded softly. ''I don't believe you're involved, but you know something. It could be important… Please.''
Her words caught him off guard and his eyes lost the last of their heat as she edged closer to his tall frame.
Crossing his arms across his chest, Draco let out a long breath and began to speak, his voice low.
'I was heading toward the Slytherin dungeons, past the statue of Barnabus.''
Hermione's brow furrowed.
'Why would you go-?''
Draco hesitated. ''I wanted to avoid the southeastern stairwell.' He paused.
''Bad memories''. He said quietly by way of explanation.
Hermione's expression softened, and she moved to sit lightly upon the edge of the desk opposite his tall frame.
Hogwarts had been repaired after the battle so that not a single shard of broken glass remained, not a single speck of blood. But almost every Hogwarts student had places they could not go-memories they could not stand to re-live. It had marked them all.
Draco cleared his throat and put a hand through his soft hair, clearly uncomfortable by his small admission.
''I had just reached the base of the northern stairwell when I heard it. A scraping sound''
Hermione leaned forward. Perched upon the very edge of the desk, she appeared moments away from toppling off.
Pausing momentarily to study her precarious position with a wary eye, Draco continued.
''I assumed it was students, or perhaps Peeves, so I followed the sound.''
'A Slytherin student?''
Draco begun shaking his head in disagreement but then paused and gave an elegant shrug instead. 'It wasn't near the entrance to the Slytherin common room. It's a maze down there. If I had chosen the quickest route I would have been on the southern side, and I never would have heard anything. But coming from the northern staircase to get to or from the Slytherin common rooms doesn't make sense.''
'So, who was it?''
'Draco paused and met Hermione's intense eyes. Whatever her expression, it convinced him to go on.
'I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. The shadows were - alive. It looked like a mass of liquid ink but-but then blurred around the edges into smoke and shadows, just in the middle of a was sucking up all the light around it.
I heard the scraping sound again, and the shadow moved back, but just before it disappeared through the door-'' Draco swallowed, his voice dropping to a whisper. 'I looked down and saw a pair of legs, protruding out. Someone was being dragged away by it. That's what was making the sound.''
Hermione inhaled sharply, and then immediately realized her error as the miniscule movement disrupted her fragile balance. Her arms flung out in front of her as she began to tip. With lightning reflexes that only a Quidditch Seeker could possess, Draco moved to catch her. Grabbing her open hands in his own he pushed her back, preventing her fall.
Despite herself, Hermione couldn't help but give a grateful smile in relief.
'Thanks, I'm not usually so uncoordinated-
He shot her a dubious look.
''Alright, maybe I am. A little.''
''A little? You may be a genius Granger, but you can't fly a broom to save your life''.
Hermione went to deliver a withering remark but changed her mind when she realized he wasn't mocking her.
''Well, I wouldn't trade my brains for your- '
''My?'' Draco asked, sounding intrigued.
Hermione realized his hands still grasped own and snatched them back as though burned, lowering her eyes to study the dusty floorboards.
'So this-this shadow. What do you think it was? And who was it taking?''
Draco moved a step back shaking his head while returning to his original position against the opposite desk.
'No bloody idea, Granger. I was going to follow but this green light came straight at me and I bolted. I knocked my head against a wall, tripped over a suit of armour and then ran into you. I don't know what it was. I can't explain it. As for who was being dragged - all I saw was a pair of black shoes and blue, flamingo socks.''