AN: I loved your reviews for the last chapter. Every single one made my day. Thanks for sticking with me.
Lost Souls of Nott Castle
Chapter 26 - Promises
Draco stopped just outside of the hospital wing. Theo and Blaise were waiting for him.
"Draco," Theo said.
"Don't." He cut off his best friend before he could tell him how sorry he was. Before he could tell him it would be alright. "Stay right here until I get back. Do not let Potter in that room, no matter what."
He didn't wait for a response before he stormed down the hallway headed straight for McGonagall's office.
He came across the headmistress in the hallway and explained to her that Hermione was awake and that she couldn't remember anything from the previous two months. He then asked her if he could use her floo to return home and pick up a few items. She readily agreed.
He stepped out of the floo into Nott Castle. The silence enveloped him, suffocating him.
His entire world crumbled beneath him. His legs carried him as far as the armchair before they collapsed. He sat down heavily, dropped his head into his hands and gripped his hair tightly. Each breath was forced.
The floo roared to life. He didn't even lift his head to see who it was. He already knew.
"Dammit, Theo. I told you to stay there." He tried to sound angry, but it was difficult through his heart breaking.
"Blaise and Weasley are standing guard. I came to check on you."
He took a deep breath and pulled his hands through his hair, then stared at the dried blood on them.
"I'm fine." He lied. He was not fine. He knew it. Theo knew it. "I'm just going to clean up and pack a bag for tomorrow. Then I'll go back to Hogwarts."
Theo sat in the chair across from him. He could feel the despair rolling off of his friend in waves.
"What can I do?" He asked.
"Nothing," Draco answered forlornly. "There is nothing we can do."
Draco stood and made his way to the stairs.
"That girl loves you, Draco." Theo's voice stopped him halfway up the stairs. "And if you love her half as much as I think you do, you'll fight for her, no matter what."
He looked over the railing at his friend. Theo's words shifted something inside of him. The despair he was feeling was nothing compared to the confusion and fear that she must be feeling at the moment.
" You and me against the world." The words he had spoken to her after her panic attack echoed through his mind. " I've got you."
How many times had he told her that? He had meant it, too. Right now, she needed him, maybe more than ever. He wouldn't break his promise to her.
Not now, not ever.
"Thanks, Theo." He took another deep breath, then headed up to his room. This time he had purpose behind his movements.
Within a half an hour he had returned to the castle.
"Any sign of Potter?" He asked Blaise first off.
"Not at all."
"Alright. You guys can go home if you want. I'll see you in the morning."
Slowly, he pushed open the door and slipped inside. The bed she had been lying on was empty. The sheets were still rumpled and stained with her blood.
He put the small bundle of clothes that he carried on the end of the bed and turned to leave.
"Malfoy?" He heard from behind him. He turned to see her coming out of the bathroom. She had a towel wrapped around her chest and the locket he had given her around her neck. She was crying.
His first instinct was to go to her, pull her into his arms and hold her while he told her it would be okay.
Would it be, though?
He forced himself to stay where he was.
"I brought you something to sleep in and clothes for tomorrow." He had also taken a shower and put on blood-free clothing.
"Thank you," she said in a small voice that nearly broke his heart. She took a few hesitant steps towards him while she wiped at the tears on her face. She looked down and seemed to realize that she was wearing only a towel. Her face flamed red. "Could you, maybe, turn around for a moment?"
The words were on the tip of his tongue, that he had seen everything she had before, but she didn't know that, did she? Another pang went through his heart.
He hadn't really let himself think about the ramifications of what had happened. He was trying not to as it would only break his heart.
He turned around and ran his hand through his hair.
"I was just leaving," he said. "I'll be right outside if you need anything."
He walked toward the doors.
"Wait." She cleared her throat and he hesitated. "Could you, I don't know, fill in some gaps for me? All I know is it's been eight weeks since the trial, apparently you and I are a couple, and most likely someone obliviated me for some reason. I need a little more to go on than that."
His lip twitched. She was still there. The witch he fell in love with was still there, she just needed to remember why she had fallen in love with him.
"Can I turn back around yet?" He asked.
"No. Hold on." He heard shuffling behind him as she put on the cotton shorts and tank top he had brought her. "Okay."
He took a deep breath before facing her again. She ignored the bloody bed and went to the one across the way, facing the door. She sat down at the head of the bed with her legs crossed and leaned against the wall. He joined her, sitting in the chair next to the bed.
"What do you want to know?" He asked.
"Why are we at Hogwarts?"
"Eight weeks worth of missing memories, and that's what is weighing on your mind?" He chuckled. He really thought she would ask about their relationship first and foremost.
"Humor me." She rolled her eyes.
"We've been here every day this week taking our NEWT's. We were finishing our exams when you...fell." His brow furrowed. "Actually, I was in the middle of my practicum, so I probably failed that one."
"I never even studied for NEWT's." Her brow furrowed.
"You studied. Trust me. And I'm sure you got the highest marks possible in everything. Even potions." He smirked at her. "Tomorrow we'll receive our scores and graduate."
She picked at the blanket and weighed her next question. He could see the wheels in her head spinning as she tried to figure out what to ask next.
"How long have we been dating?" She asked finally.
There it was.
"Five weeks." He told her. It had been the best five weeks of his life. He wasn't ready for it to be over yet. They had made plans. They were going to move in together.
His chest tightened.
"A specialist is coming in the morning," she said quietly. "To see if they can reverse the memory charm."
She was trying to reassure him that everything would be alright. He sat forward and placed his hand next to hers on the bed.
"Why are you so okay with this?" He asked. "Eight weeks ago we weren't even friends, yet you are sitting here with me, trusting me, with no reason to. Why?"
He wasn't sure what he wanted her to say. Maybe some indication that she still felt something for him.
She chewed on her lip as she thought through her answer.
"I don't know." Tears gathered in her eyes and she blinked them back.
"When I opened my eyes, you were holding my hand and it felt...right...like you had done it a hundred times before." She smiled. "You looked at me like I was, I don't know, special? No one has ever looked at me like that before. Then, after my shower, I saw this."
She held up the locket.
He couldn't resist any longer. She was crying again. He sat down next to her on the bed and put his arm around her.
She hesitated for a moment, then curled into him.
"Do you know who did this to me?" She asked quietly.
"I have a pretty good idea." He told her.
"What do I do if they can't reverse it?"
"I'm trying not to think about that." He held her a little tighter.
The door opened and Pomphrey walked in.
"Mr. Malfoy! Didn't I tell you to leave? She needs rest." The mediwitch stood by the bed with her hands on her hips.
"I'm not leaving." He told her.
"Miss Granger?" She looked pointedly at the witch in his arms.
"It's fine." She answered. He found himself smirking just a little.
"Fine. What do I know, anyway? I'm only a trained professional." She threw her arms into the air. "Since you are in a visiting mood, Mr. Weasley is in the hallway. Would you like me to send him in, too?"
She swallowed, then nodded her head.
"Yes. Please."
Pomphrey's eyes narrowed and she shook her head, but she went to the door and told Weasley to come in. Then she busied herself cleaning up the bed Hermione had been in that still had blood all over it.
Weasley came in slowly. When he saw Hermione still wrapped in Draco's embrace, his eyes lit up.
"Does this mean you remember, then?" He asked as he took the same chair Draco had been sitting in.
"No." She sighed and sat up, wiping at her eyes. "Nothing."
Ron looked to Draco for confirmation.
"Where is Harry?" She asked. Draco tensed. "I don't remember seeing him when I woke up either. Does he know?"
Ron's eyes snapped back up to meet his.
"You didn't tell her?" He asked incredulously.
"I figured she'd had enough of a shock for one day." And he didn't want to be the one to tell her that it was probably her best friend that had attacked her.
"Tell me what?" She looked back and forth between the two of them.
"Mate, we have to tell her. What if he comes by to visit tonight? She has to know!"
Draco ran his hand through his hair in frustration. The other wizard was right, though he was loath to admit it.
"Any time the two of you plan on filling me in would be great." Hermione climbed off the bed and walked away several paces before turning to glare at both of them. "What is wrong with Harry? Was he injured also?"
"Merlin, I hope so," Draco muttered under his breath. She cocked her eyebrow at him.
"Mione, you should probably sit down." Ron told her. She turned her glare on him.
"Potter is the prime suspect right now." Draco told her, then he held his breath.
Her eyes flicked quickly between the two of them, finally landing on Draco. She shook her head and pushed her hair back behind her ears.
"No." She said firmly. "No, Harry is my friend. My best friend. He would not steal my memories from me."
Ron sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"Mione, a lot can happen in two months."
"What could possibly have happened that would make Harry attack me?" She threw her arms in the air. "This is ridiculous."
She started pacing across the floor at the end of the bed.
"It's ridiculous that Harry attacked you, but perfectly plausible that you are fucking Malfoy?" Ron laughed at her. "Come on Mione!"
She froze. Time seemed to stop as realization dawned.
"Dammit, Weasley!" Draco's blood boiled. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"We are...we have...oh, Merlin!" She stuttered. The color drained out of her face. She stumbled forward and grabbed the end of the bed.
Draco had no idea what to do. Should he provide comfort? Give her space?
"Get out," she said quietly. "Now."
"Mione, I'm sorry." Ron blanched. "It was just a figure of speech. I didn't...I mean, I don't…"
"Get out. Both of you." She glanced up at him. Tears were rolling down her face again. "I just want to be alone."
Ron reluctantly left.
"I'm not leaving," Draco told her.
"Why not?" She asked as she folded her arms over her stomach, her shoulders slumping down. She collapsed to the floor, leaning against the bed with her head between her knees.
He sat on the floor next to her with his back against the bed frame and his knees pulled into his chest, mirroring her pose.
"I made you a promise." He swallowed thickly. "Even if you don't remember it."
The reality of what Potter had taken from them settled in and he was finding it just as hard to breathe as she was.
"Tell me," she said. "Tell me everything."
She leaned her head against her knees, facing him.
"I don't know if I can," he told her. The pain in his chest was spreading. He rubbed absently at his heart.
"Please. I need to know. Are we...have we...slept together?"
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Yes." He confirmed that it was true.
She took a shaky breath.
"Is Harry so against us being together that he would actually do this to me, to us?"
He licked his lips and ran his hands through his hair.
"It's a little more than that, actually." He let his head fall backward against the bed frame. "He asked you out a couple of times first, and you turned him down."
Her face wrinkled in confusion.
"Wait. Harry asked me out? Why?" She sounded almost as horrified as she had when she had first told him.
He chuckled humorlessly.
"Yes, well, he didn't take the rejection well. When he found out that you and I went on a date, he threatened you."
"He threatened me?" She leaned her head against his shoulder.
"Several times, actually."
They sat in silence for several long moments. He started to wonder if she had fallen to sleep. Slowly, she took a deep breath.
"So my best friend is my enemy. The boy that bullied me throughout my school years is my lover. I studied for and took my NEWT's. Any other high points I should know about?"
He cleared his throat and wiped his eyes that may or may not have been wet.
"You had your first job at Flourish and Blotts, which you absolutely hated. Potter harassed you while you were working there, so you quit."
She groaned and put her head back in her hands.
"Anything else?"
"You taught yourself how to perform the charm to make a location unplottable. Then you cast that charm on Nott Castle."
She lifted her head and blinked several times.
"You're joking, right?" She asked.
"Not even a little. It was magnificent. Afterwards, you applied to the Charms Guild and accepted a paid apprenticeship in London. I myself applied to the Potions Guild. I have been working as an assistant to Master Abbott in Diagon Alley for six weeks. He is taking me on as his apprentice once I officially graduate Hogwarts."
She blinked several more times and took a deep breath, letting it out very slowly. Draco could almost pinpoint the exact moment when her sorrow was replaced by anger as he watched her eyes harden and her hands clenched into fists.
"Harry better hope the Aurors find him before I do," she seethed quietly. "Because the next time I see him, I'm going to kill him."
"You'll have to take a number," he told her.
"You can't attack him, Malfoy. That's what he wants you to do. You're still on probation."
"Right," he sighed.
"Is there more?" She asked.
"Probably. Like Weasley said, a lot can happen in two months."
"Are the two of you friends now?" She stretched her legs in front of her and leaned her head back on his shoulder.
"Good Merlin, no." He slid his arm behind her back and wrapped it around her waist, tugging her in closer. "We have a mutual understanding to try to get along for your benefit. That's all."
Her breathing started to even out and he could tell she was drifting off to sleep.
"Why Nott Castle? Is that Theo's home?" She muttered against his shoulder.
"Let's save that one for tomorrow," he sighed. "Come on, Princess. You need to get some rest."
He shifted away from her and stood, then he held his hand down to help her up.
"Did you just call me Princess?" She asked with a small smile.
"Another story for tomorrow."
She took his hand and let him pull her up off the floor and into his arms.
Instinctively he moved to kiss her, freezing halfway there.
She blinked up at him.
He released a deep sigh and led her around to the bed so she could lie down. Then he sat in the chair next to her and watched over her as she fell asleep.