Chapter 26: The Strange Reply
The next few weeks weren't that great for Draco. Every morning he had to endure taunts from the Death Eaters who were constantly floating around the Manor. They constantly sneered at him, jeering at his inability to kill Dumbledore.
Meanwhile, Snape was doing the exact opposite. Whenever he came by the Manor, he seemed bent on avoiding Draco. Draco ignored this, and simply tried to focus on eating his muffin.
"What, Draco isn't afraid to kill that muffin?" A short, chubby Death Eater screeched. She cackled maniacally from the corner of the kitchen where she stood with a few other Death Eaters. They all joined in her laughter. Draco dropped his muffin onto his plate in frustration and strode out the door without a word. Once he was in his room, he slammed the door shut and collapsed onto his chair.
Why did he have to deal with this? In his own house, too! Draco felt quite annoyed. This was probably just another part of the Dark Lord's plans to humiliate and deface the Malfoys.
Draco leaned forward and dropped his head into his hands. He could see particles of dust floating around him in the light coming from the window. Draco turned to see the sun shining brightly outside his window as if there was something to be cheerful about.
Draco rose out of his chair angrily and stomped over to the window. He yanked the curtains shut, blocking out all the light. He stood in front of the curtain, gazing around at the light gray-blue walls of his bedroom and taking in the dark wooden furniture and green bedcovers. His eyes then landed on the nightstand beside his bed, and he slowly walked over to it. Draco grasped the black handle on the drawer, pulled it open, then took out the tiny notebook that Hermione had given him. He flipped through it, the soft cream-colored pages brushing the tips of his fingers, looking for a sign of a reply from Hermione. Much to his dismay, there was no new response.
Draco dropped the book back into the drawer and rolled onto his bed. He didn't know why he was expecting a reply; one hadn't come in two weeks.
Maybe Hermione expected him to apologize again. Maybe she had not forgiven him. Or maybe, she didn't believe he had forgiven her.
Draco rolled over again so he was facing the ceiling. He gazed up at the old chandelier which was swaying ever so slightly. After a few minutes, he stretched out his arm and plucked the book he had been reading earlier from the top of his nightstand. It was Hogwarts, A History. He was halfway through when he realized that the book was doing nothing to improve his mood. All it did was remind him of Hermione.
Draco got up and picked another book from his bookshelf before collapsing onto his bed again. He read about Quidditch techniques until his Mother tapped softly on the door.
"Draco?" She asked softly after entering the room. "Would you like lunch?"
Draco sat up and contemplated the question for a while. "Are the others still here?" He asked after a moment.
"Yes," Narcissa replied, her head bowed.
"Then no," Draco said, turning back to his book.
"Draco, you have to eat," Narcissa pleaded.
Draco shrugged. "Not really."
"What do you mean?"
"I've gone days without eating," Draco replied in a tone that did not express the pain that not eating had caused Draco.
Narcissa seemed shocked. "You...you...was it because of..."
"The task?" Draco finished for her. "Yes, it was."
Narcissa's face contorted with rage. "That evil..." She began.
"Mother," Draco interrupted. "What can you do about it?"
Narcissa's face fell. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
Draco let out an exasperated sigh. "Mother, stop saying that! It doesn't change anything."
Narcissa nodded. "You're right." She looked up at him. "But, you should still eat. Shall I bring the food up here for you?"
Draco nodded, then fell back onto his bed as his mother left the room. He lay with his hands clasped over his chest, contemplating the situation he was in.
A few minutes later, Narcissa returned with a silver tray laden with food. It was hovering before her, followed by her outstretched wand. She set the tray down onto Draco's desk and handed him a plate. Draco stared down at the plate, which was covered in a few spoonfuls of rice, a chicken leg, and a dollop of mashed potatoes.
"It was all I could get out of the kitchen before the rest of them came in," Narcissa explained.
"This is fine," Draco said. He didn't think he could stomach a full meal anyway. He still felt sick.
The two of them ate in silence until Lucius barged into the room.
"What-" He spluttered. "-are you two doing? Eating in here?"
Narcissa rose, placing her plate back onto the tray. "We didn't feel the need to be taunted while trying to enjoy lunch," she said stiffly.
Lucius's face reddened. "Do you know what this is doing to our family? Our honor? Malfoys don't shrink away from trouble!"
Draco stood up now as well. "Really, Father? Oh, yes, they don't 'shrink away'. They stay well-hidden in prison. Like you did."
Lucius's nostrils flared. "Don't you dare..."
"Oh, I think I will," Draco said calmly. "It's the fact that you were in prison that lead to this. If you hadn't gone to Azkaban, I wouldn't have had to try a task that everyone knew I couldn't complete. I wouldn't have failed at it if you were there. Because if you hadn't gone to jail, I wouldn't have had to become a bloody Death Eater!" Draco's voice had risen to a yell. Footsteps came thundering up the stairs and Bellatrix burst into the room. Her hair was untamed and she had an absolutely malicious expression upon her already evil-looking face.
"I heard-" She began before Narcissa cut her off.
"Leave, Bella," Narcissa said firmly.
Bellatrix looked shocked. "Is that any way to treat your sister?" She said with raised eyebrows.
Narcissa exhaled slowly. "Alright, Bella, would you please leave?"
"No," Bellatrix said, thrusting her chin into the air. She crossed her arms and tucked her wand into her sleeve.
Draco rolled his eyes. They were such children sometimes.
Narcissa gave up on trying to evict Bellatrix from the room and simply turned her back to Bellatrix. Then, she looked expectantly at Lucius.
"What?" Lucius spat. "You expect me to respond to what my son just said to me?!"
"Yes," Narcissa said sharply. "Do you have any idea what you've put him through?"
"Yes, I think I do," Lucius said coolly. "He just screamed it in my face!"
Narcissa glared at Lucius, then stormed from the room.
"You don't know what you've put her through, either!" Draco growled. Lucius glared at Draco before leaving the room as well.
Now Bellatrix was the only one besides Draco left in the room.
"Ooh, Drakey!" She cackled. "Fighting with our parents now, are we?" She walked up to him and prodded his face with her wand, turning his chin away from her own face. "It sounds like something Harry Potter would do."
"He doesn't have any parents!" Draco snarled.
Bellatrix laughed her evil, twisted laugh. "Ah, yes," she said with a sneer. "The Dark Lord took care of that. And I'm sure he could arrange the same for your parents if you're not careful." She giggled, then swept from the room, shutting the door slowly until all Draco could see was a sliver of her face. Then the door clicked shut and Draco was alone again.
He stood stiffly for a minute, his head tilted to the side slightly and a scowl upon his face. His chin was still in the same awkward position Bellatrix had prodded it into. He stood there breathing heavily. Bellatrix was right. He had to be careful.
Draco jerked his head quickly to face the window, which was still obscured by the curtains. He strode over to them and yanked the curtains aside so he could see the empty gardens. A stray peacock walked majestically across the lawn before it disappeared into the shadow of the weeping willow beside the lake. Draco watched a swan glide across the surface of the lake. The swan swam gracefully until, all of a sudden, it snapped its head downward to plunge its beak into the water. Then, the swan lifted its head up again, slowly this time. It had not caught anything. Then, it continued swimming regally across the water, ripples encircling it.
Draco felt like the swan. Before he had gotten the Dark Mark, he had gone about his life calmy. But then, everything had taken a sharp turn when he had gotten the Mark. And the Mark hadn't given him any reward. Now he was slowly going to have to raise his head high again and move on. But he knew that even once he had regained his confidence, nothing would be the same. The Dark Mark had caused rippled to slice through the calm water of his pond.
But was his pond calm? Draco knew that even if he hadn't taken the Mark, something bad would have still happened because his father had the Mark. Maybe Draco would have had to take the Mark no matter what.
Draco found it extremely depressing that, no matter what, his life would be handed over to the Dark Lord.
Draco turned from the window and picked a piece of chicken off of the plate still sitting atop his desk. He ate it slowly, swallowing only after the chicken had been decimated by his molars. Then he walked slowly over to his chair and sank into it. He thumbed through a few books as he sat in silence. It was eerily quiet. It seemed like the entire house was empty. Not a sound was heard excluding the quiet sound of pages being turned as Draco read through Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
It grew dark. The light from outside turned from a pale yellow to a golden orange. When there was no longer any light to see what he was reading, Draco finally looked up. He blinked rapidly. His eyes felt sore and dry.
Draco rose slowly and lumbered over to his bed. He flopped onto the bed and buried his face into his pillow. He drifted off to sleep to the sound of silence.
Draco was halfway into oblivion when a rattling noise woke him up. He turned his head groggily toward the sound, which was coming from his nightstand. He reached out an arm slowly to slam his fist against the wooden frame of the nightstand. When the rattling did not stop, Draco sat up in frustration. He knocked the nightstand over, but it still shook. Draco stood up and righted the nightstand. Then, he yanked the drawer open. he looked down to see the notebook from Hermione sitting in the drawer trembling slightly. Draco picked it up, and it stopped shaking. The nightstand lay on the ground, unmoving.
Draco sat down on his bed and opened the book. He turned on the light and turned a few pages until he found the new addition to the contents of the book. Right underneath what Draco had written a few weeks previously, Hermione had added another letter.
Dear Draco,
I'm so glad that you've forgiven me. I'd just like to say again that I truly am sorry. If you hadn't forgiven me, I don't know what I would have done.
So much has happened since you've left. We had Dumbledore's funeral last week. Harry told me about what happened at the top of the Astronomy Tower. I knew there was still good left in you.
I hope you're doing all right. And I hope you're father isn't too upset with you. I hope you're mother's doing well.
If you feel alone, just know that I am too. You still have your parents, but if they're not speaking to you, you're in the same boat as I am. I had to erase my parent's memories just last night. I'm at the Weasley's now. As far as I know, my parents are in Australia right now. I wish I could be there with them. And that you would be there too. But I understand if you wouldn't want to come. I can't go, either.
If this letter seems strange to you, it probably is. I'm half asleep right now, writing to you from the kitchen at the Weasley's. They're all asleep, I hope. Though sometimes Fred and George like to test their inventions in the dead of night...
Anyway, I hope you're doing well. I miss you.
Sincerely,
Hermione Granger
P.S. Sorry about any disturbance the notebook may have caused. The spell I put on the book was supposed to make your wand glow when a new message arrived, but since you're underage, I'm not really sure what the spell will do. Good night.
Draco shook his head. That was a strange letter. Draco figured Hermione was just tired and worried about her parents. He ran his fingers over the letter, trying to decide how to respond. That part of him that still resented Hermione rose to the surface and reminded him, once again, of everything had happened. Draco wondered how long it would be before he would forgive Hermione completely. He set the notebook back in the nightstand and closed the drawer. Then, Draco rolled back into bed and tried to decide what he would write back to Hermione as he drifted off to sleep again.