Since Hermione remained behind him, she couldn't see the unusual colour in his eyes, and she didn't understand when he began to stare at the older man without either of them moving or saying anything. Without warning, Snape gasped and clutched his forearm in an attempt to relieve the sting that was as agonising as a thousand white-hot needles jabbing down into his skin simultaneously. The Potions Master returned to the Castle without escorting either of them to the library, and he had dropped the parchment in his pain. When he was safely in his office, he rolled up the sleeve of his robes and examined his forearm; it was a bright red colour from whatever had just happened to him, and where the symbol as a follower of Voldemort had once been, there was now an image of a black cauldron. Seeing that he specialised in potions, it wasn't as offensive to him as the original tattoo had, and he didn't realise that the rebellious youth had actually done his Head of House a favour; by removing the original symbol, it would be harder for Voldemort to trace him, and it might just have saved his life. Back outside, Hermione looked at Draco in bewilderment, and she said that she had never seen him act like that, and he had never passed up an opportunity to land her in trouble. He agreed with her before walking back inside with his arm around her, and they headed off towards Gryffindor Tower so she could catch up on whatever study she had missed, but they stopped when Draco suddenly doubled up with a broken jaw. He strained his ears to hear where his opponent was over Hermione's worried questions, and he struck a fist out and it collided with metal, causing a few of his knuckles to crack. He snatched out again and reclaimed the Invisibility Cloak from Peeves, who had been hiding in a suit of armour in the middle of a corridor, and the angry poltergeist hit Draco with the arm of the suit again. Since he was unable to talk due to his jaw being broken, Hermione went to pull out her wand for a freezing spell, until she remembered that it was still in her dormitory from the night before (she hadn't expected to spend all night with Draco) and she couldn't do anything to help him. Just as unexpectedly, the knight imploded into many pieces over the corridor and Peeves angrily cackled as he floated through a wall. The Bloody Baron suddenly appeared beside them, and he said to Draco that only a true Slytherin could pull off what he had been doing, and by touching the boy's face with his bloodied scimitar, his bones fixed themselves and he muttered out a form of gratitude, hoping that he meant reclaiming the Cloak, and not what he had done to anyone else. He suddenly felt sick with guilt, until he heard Hermione whisper that they should press on before they became entangled in any further trouble and they continued walking. A pair of jealous eyes glared at them angrily, and the person waited impatiently as they saw them kissing as a form of goodbye, but still they waited until the other two had definitely parted before attempting to get Draco alone, and to make him pay for his actions.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Are you certain that what you're saying is true?"
"What reason would I have to lie about that scum? I saw it with my own eyes"
"It's hard to believe, that's all"
"He was all over Granger, or at least I could tell he wanted to be. Do you think I did this to myself?"
"Of course not. I knew the rumours held truth in them, but I doubted that he was as odious as this"
"So, he looked at you funny and you ended up in another room?"
"I know it sounds absurd, but I'm honest. His eyes went this funny colour and he somehow assaulted me without touching me and without time passing"
"Did he say anything to you?"
"No. He kept going on about how…never mind. I know we aren't friends; it's out of concern for her safety I'm telling you"
"I know. I hated him enough before any of this started, and now he's prizing her away from Ron and myself and she's letting it happen. Sometimes…"
After his final word, Harry trailed off from his sentence and glanced at the wall beside Pansy's face; his expression was a mixture of something that she couldn't figure out, it looked to be like fury, jealousy and sorrow all in one. Ron seemed to be the more infuriated of the pair of Gryffindor boys, yet he spoke with reason instead of channelling his anger at a frightened Slytherin girl. They had been surprised by her approaching them with evidence against a member of her own House, and although they had understood a lot of what had happened to them in the past, including "Mad-Eye's" methods of teaching, they couldn't explain anything that Pansy had said about Malfoy. Harry suddenly got up and announced that he was going to talk to Dumbledore for some advice, but Pansy pleaded with him not to mention it to him; she felt that if the headmaster learned of it, he wouldn't believe her and the school might end up knowing about what had happened to her. So far, she had been able to hide her marks from her friends by saying they had happened due to a delayed reaction from a Herbology class and it had been accepted. Harry promised that he wouldn't, but he went to Dumbledore's office all the same, wishing that Remus Lupin were there to assist him as he had in the past. Whilst he was approaching the gargoyle that hid the entrance to Dumbledore's office, he noticed Snape grasping his forearm as he caused the stone statue to spring to life. Harry squinted his eyes before running forward and jumping onto the moving stairs without giving the gargoyle time to close the exit again. Luckily, Snape didn't notice him, and Harry waited outside the office as Snape heatedly discussed what was wrong, even though Harry couldn't make out they were saying. He moved in the corridor to peer in through the slightly ajar door, and he noticed that Snape was lifting the sleeve of his robes for Dumbledore to see something, and Harry went into a sense of déjà vu; he remembered a similar scene unfolding before his eyes in his fourth year, even though there was someone else instead of Dumbledore then. Their voices rose angrily, but still in sight of this fact, Harry was unable to see what was wrong with his Potions teacher. Harry suddenly felt sick to his stomach; as he was an ex-traitor of Voldemort, there was a high possibility that there was a warning in the Dark Mark on his arm. He heard a crash in the room and Harry decided that it would be for his best if he weren't in the area whenever someone left the office. He raced back to find Ron, but he was brought to a sudden halt when he heard a miniature explosion coming from the direction of the dungeons. He resisted temptation to see what it was and carried on towards the Fat Lady; since he didn't want anyone to know that he had seen something wrong with his Potions teacher, he certainly bore no desire to be found near his classroom if something had gone wrong. Not to mention the fact that he loathed him for no real reason. He resumed sprinting up the stairs and he found Ron talking to Ginny; it would appear that he was trying to take his angry thoughts off the matter regarding Hermione. When he had become jealous after her liaison with Krum, it was nothing compared to how he felt now, considering the fact that Krum had been one of his idols, and Malfoy had always been a detestable creature in his eyes. He knew that she only saw him as a platonic friend, and he doubted her opinion would change, but it was still infuriating that she would prefer a wretched Slytherin's company as opposed to her two closest friends'. He saw Harry nod to him from the far end of the room, and he excused himself from his sister's company before walking to his dormitory with Harry so they could talk in private.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Draco's mind was swarming with thoughts regarding the extra essence in his body after he had kissed Hermione goodbye, and he was so distracted by them that he only realised he was being followed when they were five feet behind him. He stopped and his eyes returned to an electric blue colour as his follower remained paralysed behind him. He turned around and saw Neville in a frozen form of terror, and he noted that his eyes were scrunched firmly shut. Draco released him from his paralysis and asked the terrified Gryffindor why he was following him, although he knew the answer before it escaped his mouth, in a most uncivilised manner.
"No, I'm not mistreating Hermione in any way, and there's no chance of you seeing me do that to anything, never mind myself. Is there a point to your 'stay away from her or else' speech, or are you merely acting as a careless annoyance to me?"
"I mean it Malfoy, I'm not afraid to protect her, using any means possible"
"Take your best shot, I dare you"
Neville decided to follow out a threat for once in his life, and he took a swing at Malfoy that caused his fist to collide with his face, and there was a satisfying crunch of bones breaking as the contact was made. Instead of being annoyed or angry, Draco coolly whispered:
"I think you should see Madame Pomfrey about that fist, and maybe consult someone who can punch without breaking their own hand"
Neville couldn't hold back the tears of pain as the Slytherin resumed walking back to his House, and Draco moved his jaw a couple of times to remove the protective barrier that he had instated just before Longbottom's punch. His heart was suddenly lighter than it had ever been; He had a power that couldn't be figured out by anyone in Hogwarts, including himself, and now he had two different sources of that power imbued in him. He had felt a surge through his system when the Bloody Baron had raised his rapier to his skin, and it was that power that had given him the ability to create the shield of protection from the imminent punch. The factor that was raising his spirits the most significantly was his courtship with Hermione; his strong feelings for her were supported greatly by the jealousy shown towards him for his success with her—if it wasn't by her friends, it was from his Housemates. He reached the common room without any more interruptions, and the identity of the sole occupant, Pansy Parkinson, surprised him. She glanced up once, and as soon as she saw who it was, she jolted up and warned him to stay back from her. He ignored her demands completely and walked over to the frightened girl, and he trapped her against the wall yet again with ease. She shrank back from his touch and he ran his fingers along the marks that his careless first spell had left on her skin; even though she was frightened by him holding her against the wall, she became petrified when she felt the injuries seal up. He tilted her quivering chin upwards and the tone of his voice etched through her spirit, and not in the same sense it had done when they had gone out together.
"I see you've been abandoned by your friends, is that why you went running to Potter? 'Please help me, that evil little man has hurt me, yet I spread rumours that were untrue about him a couple of weeks ago that destroyed his reputation and lost him a position on the Quidditch team.' Was that what you said about me?"
"Of course not"
"Of course not—that would involve
telling the truth for a while, wouldn't it Parkinson?"
"Don't call me that"
"It's your name and it's a disease like you are, or would you rather be known as a homosexual?"
"Shut up Malfoy"
"Say it again please, you know hearing that so often by plenty of people makes it so much more enjoyable when I hear it the next time. Go on, Parkinson, turn me on"
"You're sick"
"So are you, if memory serves correctly. Since you love spreading filthy rumours about me, enjoy not being able to talk for a while"
He ran his hand along her neck before leaving for the solitude of his bed, and as he inhaled Hermione's scent from his pillows, Pansy began sobbing frantically, but silently, against the wall. He fell into a light sleep as he continued to recall Hermione sleeping in his bed, and Voldemort and company also troubled this one.
You were told to stay away from them both
"And so what? I'm not afraid of you anymore, and I'll act how I please with them both. Having trouble, trying to locate him?"
You'll regret your actions, whelp. For your information, I can easily provide another spy at Hogwarts, and there won't be anything you can do then. I see that my curse didn't work on you either; I've tried commanding you but you seem to have avoided it like Potter did. Perhaps I should just kill you now
"I'd like to see you try. You're washed up; you supposedly rose again, yet there's no fear in the atmosphere. There was me thinking you could pose some threat against the world"
AVADA KEDAVRA!
But Draco was entirely unaffected by this curse; all he did was glare at the magic that zoomed towards him, and then he reflected it against everyone else there, including his father.