Chapter 8

Before going to dinner, Draco had to clean the dried blood from around his eye, which had been cut when Ron punched him. By the time he finally got to the Great Hall, his friends were almost finished eating. Draco scanned the room, but once again, Hermione was nowhere to be found.

"Was she here?" Draco asked Blaise impatiently.

"I don't know man… I think maybe I saw her leaving with Hagrid right when we got here, but I'm not sure."

Pansy interrupted their conversation. "Holy shit Draco! Weasley really did a number on you. Nott told me he punched you, but I didn't expect your eye to look that bad."

"Thanks Pansy… you always know how to make a guy feel great," Draco replied sarcastically.

"Oh, stop acting so sensitive Draco. Think on the bright side, lots of girls love the bad boy look. Maybe Granger will find your black eye sexy."

"She's not wrong," Blaise joked, "Granger did decide to go for you in the first place… deep down she must have a soft spot for the tortured broken soul thing you've got going on. Why else would she be tarnishing her pristine reputation by sneaking around with a death eater?"

"Oh, you're so right Blaise," Pansy said in a sadistic tone, "little miss Granger definitely has a secret kink for the bad boys. Weasley probably did you a favour by giving you that black eye."

"Shut up," Draco snapped.

He hated listening to Pansy mock her. She didn't know her well enough to talk about her.

"Geez…it was just a joke." Pansy said while grabbing her bag to leave the hall.

As the remainder of his friends slowly left the dining hall, Draco noticed Ginny Weasley walking down the length of the Gryffindor table towards the exit. He decided then, that if he wanted any real answers about Hermione, he was going to have to ask her best friend.

Draco stood from his table and matched Ginny's pace so that they would both be exiting the hall at the same time. He hoped that no one would notice him pull her aside to talk, as he was sure that Ron would view this as another reason to fight. He wasn't sure if she would even be willing to speak with him but had to try anyways.

Just as they reached the large doors separating the Great Hall from the foyer, he caught Ginny's eye.

"Can we talk?"

Instead of responding, Ginny gave Draco an uncomfortable stare.

"I'm not trying to fight or anything, I swear. I just need to know if she's okay."

Ginny nodded and then tilted her head to indicate they would need to go somewhere more private to talk. They walked past a few rooms before making their way into an empty classroom. Ginny closed the door and cast a silencing charm for good measure.

"Alright… why did you want to talk to me?"

Ginny hadn't put her wand away, a clear indication that she didn't trust being alone with Draco.

"I'm worried. I haven't seen Hermione at all since the party and I just need to know if she's okay. I figured you'd probably know more than I do."

"Well, if having a large portion of the school hate you is okay…then she's absolutely splendid," Ginny grinned sarcastically.

Draco put his face into his hands. When Ginny noticed the distressed Hermione's unhappiness was bringing him, she began to lighten up.

"Sorry…that might have been a little bit dramatic," Ginny awkwardly laughed. "I'm sure Hermione will be fine. Ron was just being Ron and freaked out when he heard the news. It wouldn't be easy for Ron to hear about Hermione with any guy… the fact that it was you made it that much worse. And the fact that you're rubbing it in his face isn't helping…"

Draco apologetically nodded.

"I should have thought about how it would affect her before mouthing off."

Ginny's eyes widened. She was clearly not expecting Draco to be apologetic.

"Well anyways," Ginny carried on, "Harry wasn't thrilled about the news either, but he tried to remain as indifferent as possible. The fight probably ruined that though. I told her I would support whatever made her happy. I won't lie though; I wish it wasn't you that made her happy. And I'm warning you now Malfoy, the second you do anything to hurt her, I will put your head through a wall."

"Point taken, but I promise my intentions are not to hurt her. The opposite actually."

Ginny was hesitant to believe what he was saying, but slowly got used to the idea that Draco truly cared about Hermione.

"So, what's happening with her? Why wasn't she at breakfast or dinner?"

"She was sleeping during breakfast, but she was at dinner briefly before you showed up. She didn't really have anyone to sit with given that most of the Gryffindors aren't too happy with her right now. I'm pretty sure she ended up going down to Hagrid's. I reckon he's probably trying to cheer her up right now."

"Do you think she'll want to talk to me again?"

Although he said talk, he really was implying more.

"I honestly couldn't tell you. The last time I talked to her was right after she got back to the common room after kissing you. She was very stressed and preoccupied with breaking the news to us. I'd hazard a guess that she likes you, given that she didn't seem completely disgusted by the kiss, but I know less than you do at the moment about your relationship, or whatever it is that's going on between the two of you."

"So, she wasn't mad about the kiss?"

"Definitely not mad," Ginny laughed.

"Thank you. I'll let you go before anyone wonders where you went but please let me know if anything happens to her. I just need to make sure she's okay."

Ginny stood still looking at Draco curiously for a moment. Before turning away, she said, "it's so strange seeing you like this… like you actually, truly care about someone other than yourself. It makes you seem almost like…a good person."

"I'm trying," Draco mumbled.

They gave each other an uncomfortable grin and Ginny left the room. Draco waited a few minutes before leaving because he didn't want anyone to notice him and Ginny spending time in an empty classroom together. The last thing he needed was for rumours to circulate around Hogwarts about him that would lead to Ron wanting another fight.

Draco collapsed onto his bed. He hadn't slept in almost 48 hours and the wide-eye potion providing him energy was beginning to wear off. He wanted to drift off to sleep as soon as his head hit the silk covered pillow, but the sound of crumpling paper alerted his attention.

He sat up on his bed and noticed an envelope resting on his pillow. The letter was sealed shut with black wax imprinted to display an elegant M, exactly like the one he received at the start of term. He reached to his bedside table for a letter knife and traced the edge of the envelope, causing it to open.

My dearest Draco,

I hope things have been well at school. I do wish you would write me more often with updates, as I am constantly wondering how you are. However, I understand that there are probably more exciting things to do at Hogwarts than write letters to your mother. Oh, how I remember what it was like to be your age, running around the school, making amazing memories with my friends. I do hope you are not getting into too much trouble. Nevertheless, please do consider writing me more frequently.

Today I am writing with good news! The ministry has finally answered my request to visit your father and they have approved monthly visitations! Of course, everything will be heavily supervised, but I am grateful for anytime I can spend with him. The first visit is scheduled for November 15th. It would mean the world to me if you would consider coming. I know for a fact that your father would want you there too. Please Draco, do it for our family.

Let me know soon so I can arrange with Professor McGonagall transport from Hogwarts to Azkaban for the day of the visit.

Love,

Your Mother.

To say his blood was boiling would be an understatement. Draco was absolutely furious that his mother was trying to organize a reunion. His father encompassed everything wrong with the Malfoy family. He maintained strict, outdated views that dragged Draco and his mother into the grasps of the Dark Lord. It was his father's fault that Draco had nightmares about torturing innocent people, friends being brutally murdered, and strangers begging for forgiveness. Draco's peers look at him like he was the worst person on the planet because of what his father made him do. How could his mother call this good news?

Fuming, Draco pulled a Quill and some parchment out of his bedside table. He began to aggressively write,

Mother,

I can't believe you are stupid enough to think that this would be considered GOOD news! There is no way in hell that I am ever visiting that man in Azkaban. He can rot in there for all I fucking care.

Don't you realize what he did to our family? Don't you see all the fucking pain he has caused? And don't even try and say he has changed or that he's seen the errors in his way. I know that it is all just bullshit he's telling the ministry. I heard him after his trial yelling about mudbloods and the death eaters rising again… that man is nowhere near reformed.

In my opinion, he is no longer my family. If you continue to try to keep this family together, you will be dragged down with him. If you go to Azkaban to meet with him, the media will love it because they will get to write all about how Narcissa Malfoy still believes in the Death Eater cause and is supporting her husband to the end. I bet I'll wake up on November 16th to the Daily Prophet with a headline saying something like "Malfoy Family Plotting Revenge". Think this through. The world is giving you and I a second chance. If you want to do something for our family… don't ruin the only opportunity you're going to get.

-Draco

His hand was shaking in anger when he finished writing the letter. Normally, Draco would never talk to his mother that way. But tonight, he didn't care. His rage had thrown all manners out the window.

Draco sealed the letter in an envelope and walked directly to the owlery. He didn't care that it was almost curfew or that he was in desperate need of sleep. He needed this letter to be sent tonight. He needed his mother to know his opinion, no matter how harsh she might find it.

He tied the note to the first school owl he saw and sent it to the Malfoy Manor. As he watched the bird take flight, he hoped that the letter attached would be enough to convince his mother to reconsider. If it wasn't, he would likely have to deal with the consequences.

Returning to his dormitory, Draco collapsed onto his bed once again. This time, there was no sound of crumpling paper to distract him. Almost instantaneously, he drifted to sleep. His mind, still angry from the letter, promptly started the flash of images Draco relived every night. It began with the faces of the victims the Dark Lord brought to him last year. He heard their cries and felt their pain. The images then blurred. When they came back into focus, he saw a large snake slithering across his kitchen table towards a lifeless body. Unable to look away, he watched Nagini feed.

The images blurred again, and all of a sudden, he was standing beside his father. A flash of gold from his father's cane shot into his vision before it hit the back of his head. His father's cold voice then began to tell him how much of a disappointment he was. How he could never be the son he wanted.

In the background, Draco began to hear screams of pain coming from a woman in another room. She sounded like she was experiencing the most agony anyone had ever experienced. As the screeching pitch blocked out his father's words, Draco began to notice the cries belonged to Hermione.

"I swear I didn't take it…" she cried between screams.

He needed to save her. He ran past his father towards the room he knew she was being tortured in. But no matter how fast he ran, he could never get to her. Every turn he made led him back to the room with his father. The Malfoy Manor had become a maze with no exit. No matter what he did… it was impossible to escape his family.

Just as she began to screech again, Draco awoke covered in sweat with tears streaming down his face. It was still dark outside and thus, he concluded, it must have been the middle of the night. He considered going back to sleep but was too scared that he would hear her pain again. So instead, he pulled a book from his nightstand and started to read a muggle book he had once seen Hermione holding.