After almost an hour of battling Draco and his imagination's demons,
Hermione and Harry finally managed to get the weak man to a bed in her
apartment. He curled himself up against the headboard and sat there, wide
eyed for almost two hours. Hermione and Harry had come to realize that this
wide-eyed look of terror was always present on the man's taught face.
Once they had finally reached Hermione's flat, Hermione had fixed two cups of tea and two bowls of soup for dinner, allowing Harry to care for Draco. She had returned to her room to find Draco bathed and clad in some of Harry's clean clothes. She managed to make him drink half of the cup of tea and then had laid down next to him on the bed, taking his hand in hers.That night, Hermione fell asleep on her bed next to Draco, her thumb still lazily caressing his hands. Draco had fallen asleep shortly after. Hermione was scared to death. She, for the first time in her life, felt completely and utterly helpless. The man she had turned to so many times for help needed her and she had no idea of what to do. She had never dealt with anyone who was insane before. She was especially clueless considering that she had no idea what Draco was so frightened about.
Twice he had acknowledged Hermione. The first time, he had grabbed her hand for support when his father came back to haunt him and the second he had actually called her by name. This had given Hermione hope. When she had first seen the weakened person Draco had become, she had feared that state would be permanent. She had wondered if she would ever be able to speak to the same Draco she had known again. That was the one thing that she wanted more than anything. She simply wanted to speak to him again.
She had figured that his father was the "he" that was constantly terrorizing Draco, but with the miniscule amount of information Draco had released about his past, she had no idea what could be tormenting him so badly. Her mind had come up with many stories explaining the memories, each more gruesome and grotesque than the last. Torture, pain, pressure, tears, knives, cuts; so many horrible things had consumed Draco's life and those were only the ones she knew for a fact had been true.
For now, Hermione did all that she knew how. She stayed with him. She held him. She loved him.
Draco's condition improved everyday. It had gotten to the point where he recognized Harry and Hermione all of the time and only occasionally had flashbacks. Those flashbacks were still as horrible as they had been before, however, and Hermione could only think of one solution. And she wasn't too happy about it.
As she stepped off the train in Hogsmeade, Hermione took in a deep breath to calm herself down. She walked the familiar route to Hogwarts, all the while telling herself that this was for Draco's good. The trial was supposed to be in two weeks and if Draco broke down in the middle of the trial, they would have even less of a chance of winning. Plus, if he didn't get more than the thirty minutes of sleep he had previously been getting, his testimony wouldn't be very reliable.
Hogwarts looked very much the same as it had before Hermione had graduated. The squid still rippled the top of the lake and the Quidditch Pitch was still perfectly manicured. Hermione pushed open the front doors and started down to the dungeons, not stopping to inform Professor Dumbledore that she was there.
She barged through the door of the Potions classroom without knocking.
"Professor Snape, I need to talk to you," she strutted up to his desk, forgetting all manners.
"Miss Granger?" Snape stood. "What do you think you are doing, disrupting my class?"
"I told you. I need to talk to you. It is about Dr- someone whom we both care about. I need your help."
Hermione walked out of the classroom and waited for Snape to follow her. Almost a minute later, Snape walked out of the stone doors.
"What does Mr. Malfoy need help with?"
"As you know, Draco has been held in Azkaban for around three months and was recently released. During his stay, he became quite mad. Now, he is almost back to normal, but he keeps having horrible flashbacks, especially at night, leaving him unable to sleep and horribly pained for minutes at a time. I need a potion, any potion, that can keep these memories from resurfacing again."
"Come with me," the Professor spoke coldly before sweeping off further down the hallway, his black cloaks billowing behind him.
Hermione followed her old professor to his office. He, like Hogwarts had not changed in the least. His black, beetle-like eyes still stared unfeelingly at her and he still wore black cloaks that looked suspiciously like the same ones he had worn during her seventh year. The only thing that had changed about Professor Snape was that he no longer intimidated her. Hermione was back at Hogwarts for a reason and she was determined to fulfill it. No nitwit like Snape was going to stop her.
Strange colored bottles still lined the walls of the deranged teacher's office and his desk was still littered with random papers. Professor Snape walked over to the shelves on the wall to their right and picked up a bottle with a murky, aqua-blue liquid in it. He spun around and shoved the bottle into Hermione's hand.
"One tablespoon every night at 7 o'clock. It's a mixture of a dreamless sleep potion and a memory charm. If there are any unusual side effects, contact me immediately. Wish Mr. Malfoy my best."
With that, Snape swept out of his office. Hermione smiled at the bottle in her hand and followed Professor Snape's trail out of the dark room and continued walking until she was out of the castle. She held Draco's freedom in her hand. Freedom from his past.
Hermione sprinted to the Quidditch Field and collapsed on the bleachers. It was so comforting to be back at Hogwarts. Though she and Draco had considered their Hogwarts years to be difficult, they now seemed like their easiest times.
After five minutes of reflecting on her past, Hermione stood up and walked over to the broom shed. She picked out the first broom available and flew over the trees of the Forbidden Forest. As soon as she passed over the last tree, Hermione apparated, the broom she had been flying falling to the ground.
Hermione sighed as she sat the potion down on her kitchen counter and then moved lazily towards the living room.
"Draco?"
Hermione called his name repeatedly, waiting for a reply, but none came. She nervously climbed the stairs to the room Draco was staying in and knocked on his door. Again, no answer came. Hermione began to panic and threw open the door. Draco was laying on the hardwood floor, unconscious, a steady flow of blood mixing with his platinum hair before joining the large, crimson puddle creating an eerie halo around his head.
Once they had finally reached Hermione's flat, Hermione had fixed two cups of tea and two bowls of soup for dinner, allowing Harry to care for Draco. She had returned to her room to find Draco bathed and clad in some of Harry's clean clothes. She managed to make him drink half of the cup of tea and then had laid down next to him on the bed, taking his hand in hers.That night, Hermione fell asleep on her bed next to Draco, her thumb still lazily caressing his hands. Draco had fallen asleep shortly after. Hermione was scared to death. She, for the first time in her life, felt completely and utterly helpless. The man she had turned to so many times for help needed her and she had no idea of what to do. She had never dealt with anyone who was insane before. She was especially clueless considering that she had no idea what Draco was so frightened about.
Twice he had acknowledged Hermione. The first time, he had grabbed her hand for support when his father came back to haunt him and the second he had actually called her by name. This had given Hermione hope. When she had first seen the weakened person Draco had become, she had feared that state would be permanent. She had wondered if she would ever be able to speak to the same Draco she had known again. That was the one thing that she wanted more than anything. She simply wanted to speak to him again.
She had figured that his father was the "he" that was constantly terrorizing Draco, but with the miniscule amount of information Draco had released about his past, she had no idea what could be tormenting him so badly. Her mind had come up with many stories explaining the memories, each more gruesome and grotesque than the last. Torture, pain, pressure, tears, knives, cuts; so many horrible things had consumed Draco's life and those were only the ones she knew for a fact had been true.
For now, Hermione did all that she knew how. She stayed with him. She held him. She loved him.
Draco's condition improved everyday. It had gotten to the point where he recognized Harry and Hermione all of the time and only occasionally had flashbacks. Those flashbacks were still as horrible as they had been before, however, and Hermione could only think of one solution. And she wasn't too happy about it.
As she stepped off the train in Hogsmeade, Hermione took in a deep breath to calm herself down. She walked the familiar route to Hogwarts, all the while telling herself that this was for Draco's good. The trial was supposed to be in two weeks and if Draco broke down in the middle of the trial, they would have even less of a chance of winning. Plus, if he didn't get more than the thirty minutes of sleep he had previously been getting, his testimony wouldn't be very reliable.
Hogwarts looked very much the same as it had before Hermione had graduated. The squid still rippled the top of the lake and the Quidditch Pitch was still perfectly manicured. Hermione pushed open the front doors and started down to the dungeons, not stopping to inform Professor Dumbledore that she was there.
She barged through the door of the Potions classroom without knocking.
"Professor Snape, I need to talk to you," she strutted up to his desk, forgetting all manners.
"Miss Granger?" Snape stood. "What do you think you are doing, disrupting my class?"
"I told you. I need to talk to you. It is about Dr- someone whom we both care about. I need your help."
Hermione walked out of the classroom and waited for Snape to follow her. Almost a minute later, Snape walked out of the stone doors.
"What does Mr. Malfoy need help with?"
"As you know, Draco has been held in Azkaban for around three months and was recently released. During his stay, he became quite mad. Now, he is almost back to normal, but he keeps having horrible flashbacks, especially at night, leaving him unable to sleep and horribly pained for minutes at a time. I need a potion, any potion, that can keep these memories from resurfacing again."
"Come with me," the Professor spoke coldly before sweeping off further down the hallway, his black cloaks billowing behind him.
Hermione followed her old professor to his office. He, like Hogwarts had not changed in the least. His black, beetle-like eyes still stared unfeelingly at her and he still wore black cloaks that looked suspiciously like the same ones he had worn during her seventh year. The only thing that had changed about Professor Snape was that he no longer intimidated her. Hermione was back at Hogwarts for a reason and she was determined to fulfill it. No nitwit like Snape was going to stop her.
Strange colored bottles still lined the walls of the deranged teacher's office and his desk was still littered with random papers. Professor Snape walked over to the shelves on the wall to their right and picked up a bottle with a murky, aqua-blue liquid in it. He spun around and shoved the bottle into Hermione's hand.
"One tablespoon every night at 7 o'clock. It's a mixture of a dreamless sleep potion and a memory charm. If there are any unusual side effects, contact me immediately. Wish Mr. Malfoy my best."
With that, Snape swept out of his office. Hermione smiled at the bottle in her hand and followed Professor Snape's trail out of the dark room and continued walking until she was out of the castle. She held Draco's freedom in her hand. Freedom from his past.
Hermione sprinted to the Quidditch Field and collapsed on the bleachers. It was so comforting to be back at Hogwarts. Though she and Draco had considered their Hogwarts years to be difficult, they now seemed like their easiest times.
After five minutes of reflecting on her past, Hermione stood up and walked over to the broom shed. She picked out the first broom available and flew over the trees of the Forbidden Forest. As soon as she passed over the last tree, Hermione apparated, the broom she had been flying falling to the ground.
Hermione sighed as she sat the potion down on her kitchen counter and then moved lazily towards the living room.
"Draco?"
Hermione called his name repeatedly, waiting for a reply, but none came. She nervously climbed the stairs to the room Draco was staying in and knocked on his door. Again, no answer came. Hermione began to panic and threw open the door. Draco was laying on the hardwood floor, unconscious, a steady flow of blood mixing with his platinum hair before joining the large, crimson puddle creating an eerie halo around his head.