Hey all. I guess I'll just go ahead and write some more since I have
nothing to do and my roommate has gone home for the weekend. Yippy Skippy,
hip hip hooray, and all that jazz. And I may never get to post again
because I live in Richmond and Isabel is about to blow straight up our
collective butts. I personally can't wait as I sit on the 10th floor of a
200 year old building. Bring it on woman, bring it on!
Please Review people!!!! I guess I'll accept flames, but I'll cry all day long, then curl up in a sock drawer and sleep for days.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I finally got my book back from Kevin though **strokes book lovingly** yes, yes that's grand
Draco clutched the stabbing pain in his ribs as he struggled to match his strides to Snape's long and flowing gait. What in the bloody hell had those bastards meant about his "backstabbing" father? And he thought, for the second time that day, 'What is in those letters?' Draco was so caught up in his own thoughts that he ran smack into Snape's back as he halted in front of the Headmaster's office. Draco drew in a sharp breath as a fresh jolt of pain shot through his middle. He was surprised to feel a comforting hand rest briefly on his shoulder. He looked up into the eyes of his slimy potion's master and, just for a moment, he thought he saw pity. He was a Malfoy for God's sake, NOBODY pitied him! With that thought, Draco straightened up and cocked his head towards the large gargoyle.
Snape seemed to understand because he immediately faced the gargoyle and gave the password, which was "marshmallow peep." (A/N sorry about that, I know its muggle candy.but I do love a good peep) Immediately the Gargoyle split apart and revealed a tightly spiraling, revolving staircase. Draco stepped onto the staircase, followed by Snape. A few moments later, Draco entered his Headmaster's stunning office. Dumbledore was sitting serenely behind his vast mahogany desk, and motioned for his two visitors to take a seat across from him. Draco sank down into the plush, green armchair and breathed in the spicy, comfortable aroma of the old Headmaster's office.
When Draco looked up again, he noticed something rather strange about Dumbledore. The merry, old Headmaster didn't have that happy sparkle in his eyes and his wistful half-smile didn't cross his face. The blond Slytherin felt something coil painfully in his stomach and beads of sweat started to prickle up along his hairline. Something horrible had happened.
"Well Mr. Malfoy, I'll bet you are wonder why you are.." Dumbledore began.
Before Draco could stop his next words, they came pouring out of his mouth. "Is it my mother?" He asked quickly, his fingers inadvertently clutching the arms of the chair. He knew it showed weakness, but at the moment he didn't care. He dreaded the Headmaster's next words.
"You're mother is perfectly fine Draco, she is somewhere safe." The kind Headmaster said, and at this he actually smiled a little. Draco was comforted by the smile, even though it didn't quite reach the Headmaster's eyes. "What we are worried about here is your safety." Dumbledore said gravely, leaning forward slightly.
"Why.what happened?" Draco asked, looking at the Headmaster for explanations, but it was Professor Snape who spoke.
"The Ministry passed a new order." He paused. "All witches or wizards found guilty of being in the service of He-who-must-not-be-named..will serve no time in Azkaban. Instead they will be subjected immediately to the Dementor's kiss." He watched as Draco's eyes widened, but held up a hand to hold off the questions ready to leap from his mouth. "As you know, the Ministry is having a lot of trouble controlling the dementors and guarding the cells of Azkaban. Every Death Eater they capture is just escaping, usually within days of being sentenced. The Minister has had enough. He gave out the order about two weeks ago.and your father.was sentenced just three days ago."
As Draco listened to his Head of House speak, waves of relief and disgust crashed around within him. He hated Lucius Malfoy, but he didn't want him to have the dementor's kiss. He found it cruel and unusual. Draco just wanted him dead. Very dead. He was also relieved because his mother was safe and this meant that Lucius couldn't hurt her or him anymore. Draco just shrugged. If it had to be the kiss then it had to be the kiss. Either way, his father was out of the picture for good. Perhaps, with his father gone and the family name disgraced in the eyes of Voldemort, he wouldn't be asked to join them.
"So my father's been given the Dementor's kiss?" Draco asked nonchalantly.
"Well, no he hasn't, there in lies the problem." Dumbledore spoke this time, folding his hands on his desk.
"What do you mean?" Draco asked, completely befuddled. "You just said that he would get it. Why didn't he?" Dumbledore and Snape exchanged glances, both seeming almost anxious about continuing the conversation. Draco looked back and forth between the two men's faces. Silence weighed heavily on the room, moments passed like hours in the tense atmosphere. "Well!" Draco prompted, shattering the quiet that had settled.
"Your father revealed some of his fellow death eaters." Dumbledore stated quietly. "He informed the ministry as to the practices and whereabouts of Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle's fathers. That will explain to you their actions earlier." Dumbledore said resignedly, eying Draco's jaw. Draco felt numb. He had always known his father was scum, but he had never known he was a rat. Draco felt what was undeniably shame and he tried terribly hard to push that feeling away. Malfoys were not ashamed of anything.
'Yes, but they are snakes in the grass, dirty, backstabbing rats..' A little voice inside his head whispered. His whole family had been completely and totally disgraced. Even if the Malfoys had been on the side of evil, much to Draco's annoyance, they were still a proud and respected family. Now that was all shot to hell. Up until that very second, in Dumbledore's plush and homey office, Draco had been proud to be a Malfoy. Now he despised it. He found himself mentally hacking away at his surname, severing ties. He looked up into the penetrating gaze of Albus Dumbledore who, in his infinite wisdom, seemed to know exactly what Draco was thinking.
"Don't worry Draco," The headmaster said, addressing the young man by his first name, knowing he would cringe if he heard the name of his father. "We will find a way to keep you safe. I'm not sure that you will be secure here on school grounds, but everything will turn out alright in the end."
"What will I do now?" Draco asked, intensely studying his feet. He looked up just in time to see Dumbledore smile reassuringly at him. Draco knew he would keep up a brave front. He could handle whatever was going to happen, he knew it. He also knew that he would never be the same.
"We will figure that out in due time Draco," Dumbledore replied softly, pride glowing in his eyes for the blonde young man in front of him. The road ahead may be long and hard for him, but he seemed willing to face it. "Right now, you need to get down to Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital wing and have those ribs taken care of. Then we'll see what we can do about your situation." With that said, Dumbledore looked towards Snape and nodded. Snape rose, graceful and bat-like from his armchair, and whisked Draco out of the room.
Soon, Snape and Draco were walking side by side down the hall towards the Hospital wing. All that could be heard in the entire castle were the soft, hollow sound of their footsteps echoing throughout the cold corridors. As they approached the doors, Snape turned to Draco, breaking the mutual silence that had held since they left the stone Gargoyle.
"You will stay in the hospital wing tonight. Crabbe and Goyle are being watched so you need not worry about them. You will be perfectly safe, alright?"
"Yea, fine." Draco said, not really wanting to hear an 'everything is going to be alright' speech from Snape. Because, frankly, Draco didn't believe that everything would be alright. He had lost his good name; the only thing that gave him any power. He felt like he didn't have a leg to stand on. With Draco's words, Snape gave a curt nod, turned on his heel, and strode down the hall. Draco shrugged at the potion master's diminishing figure and headed into the infirmary.
**** )()()( ****
Hermione lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling for what seemed like days. She watched that shadows move across the bed sheets and the walls as the sun sank into horizon. She watched as they grew long and distorted, and then disappear as darkness settled over Hogwarts. Everyone else was asleep. Everyone else was having happy dreams about boys they liked, or places they loved, or things they wanted to do. Everyone else was lucky. Every time Hermione closed her eyes, she saw horrible red eyes, set in pallid white skin. Every time Hermione closed her eyes, she woke up with a scream stuck in her throat and chills running down her spine. Though Hermione's eyes itched to be closed, she would not obey. She just continued to stare at the ceiling, hoping the dawn would come quickly. Hermione stared for another 15 minutes or so before her eyelids began to droop down. The brunette shot into a sitting position as if she had been electrocuted. No, she would not fall asleep.
The floor was cold and hard under Hermione's bare feet. She tip-toed out of her room, trying hard not to wake her roommates. The door appeased her, opening and closing silently. Hermione walked cautiously down the halls, always on the lookout for Filch or that disgusting, disgruntled cat Mrs. Norris. Hermione had been walking aimlessly for at least a half an hour when she got the feeling. It was one of those creepy, raises the hair on the back of your neck feelings. She ignored it a first but soon the feeling was so strong she decided to head back to her room. She was still a few hallways away from Gryffindor tower when there was a crash behind her.
Hermione spun around, hoping that Filch wouldn't recognize her. But it wasn't Filch behind her. Hermione stood in open-mouthed horror at the two death eaters in black robes struggling to untangle themselves from a suit of armor.
"Get off me Crabbe, she's seen us!" One of the death eaters yelled at the other as he broke free from the fallen knight. Crabbe? It must be Crabbe and Goyle's fathers. But what were they doing here? Hermione didn't have a lot of time to worry about it because she just barely side-stepped a stunning spell shot down the hall at her. Hermione turned and ran with all her might. Her mind was a blur as she tried to think of the closest place she could be safe; and just at that moment, it loomed up ahead of her. Without a second thought she slammed through the doors to the hospital wing.
**** )()()( ****
Draco awoke to the sound of a door being practically wrenched off its hinges. He sat up quickly, the moonlight from the nearby window dancing along his bare skin. A bandage wrapped securely around his torso held his tender ribs while they healed. Draco leaned over and peeked around the curtain that surrounded his bed for privacy. He was truly and honestly puzzled by what he saw. Granger was tearing across the infirmary, her bare feet making soft sounds on the tile. She looked up and crossed right in front of his curtain, to Madame Pomfrey's office door. She pulled on the doorknob, but to no avail. Draco knew that Madame Pomfrey wasn't in there. She had retired to her personal quarters hours ago. He was about to make his presence known to Granger when two black robed men entered the room. Granger took a few steps away from the door to face them, blocking his view through the gap in the curtains. Draco leaned back a little. He could see Granger's slim silhouette through the gauzy curtain.
"Hand that over to us mudblood.and we promise we won't hurt you." One of the men said. Draco was taken aback. That was the voice of Mr. Crabbe, a voice he had heard in his father's study repeatedly. He had no doubt in his mind that his black robed companion was Goyle's dad. What in the hell would they want with Granger.
"What do you want from me!?" Hermione cried out. Good girl, Draco thought. He knew she was yelling because she was hoping someone would hear her. Draco just knew that nobody would.
"We want what's around that pretty little neck of yours." Goyle's sickening voice slid through the infirmary. "Maybe a little more, but we'll probably leave you alive." Draco felt his fists balling up in the sheets, his blood beginning to boil. The only thing running through his head was what he would do to them if they touched her. 'Where the hell is that coming from?' his little voice said, but it was quickly drowned out by images of Crabbe and Goyle's fathers spitting up blood and bone splinters.
"You can't have it you disgusting, waste of life!" Granger screamed. Draco would have been convinced if her voice didn't waver quite so much.
"Look you little tart, you can give it to us willingly or we can pry it from your cold, dead fingers." One of them said. Draco knew he was serious and got to his knees on the hospital bed, his eyes locked on Granger's back.
"You can't have it!" She screamed again. He heard one of the men curse and saw Granger take another step back toward the bed. He knew from her reaction that one of them had raised a wand.
"You asked for it you little bitch! Avada Kedavra!"
Just as the last syllable left the man's mouth, Draco lunged forward and grabbed Granger around the waist, pulling her and the curtain back and rolling off the bed. A brilliant flash of green light screeched over their backs as they lay face down on the floor, tangled in the milky white curtain. Draco could feel Granger's small body quaking under his and he could tell she was freaking out. He just thanked his lucky stars she hadn't started screaming. Draco quickly leaned down, his lips just hair's breadth away from her ear.
"Shhhh," He whispered softly in her ear. He certainly didn't want her to start screaming as soon as he shifted positions. He swiftly reached up onto the nightstand and grabbed his wand.
"There's two of them I swear I saw another kid!" Goyle yelled, both the death eaters taking slow cautious steps towards where the two lay. Draco and Granger quickly untangled themselves and slid under Draco's bed.
A/N Well that's all for now! What will happen to Draco and Hermione??? How will they get out of this one???.......
Ok see here's the problem, I don't know what will happen next and I don't know how they will get out of this. To be perfectly honest I have been sitting on this chapter for 2 weeks now and still haven't got a damned clue as to what I should do. If anybody has any suggestions you can give them to me in a review or my email address is in my profile. Please help me! Thanks so much! Love, Luck, and Lollipops! Little Nothing
Please Review people!!!! I guess I'll accept flames, but I'll cry all day long, then curl up in a sock drawer and sleep for days.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I finally got my book back from Kevin though **strokes book lovingly** yes, yes that's grand
Draco clutched the stabbing pain in his ribs as he struggled to match his strides to Snape's long and flowing gait. What in the bloody hell had those bastards meant about his "backstabbing" father? And he thought, for the second time that day, 'What is in those letters?' Draco was so caught up in his own thoughts that he ran smack into Snape's back as he halted in front of the Headmaster's office. Draco drew in a sharp breath as a fresh jolt of pain shot through his middle. He was surprised to feel a comforting hand rest briefly on his shoulder. He looked up into the eyes of his slimy potion's master and, just for a moment, he thought he saw pity. He was a Malfoy for God's sake, NOBODY pitied him! With that thought, Draco straightened up and cocked his head towards the large gargoyle.
Snape seemed to understand because he immediately faced the gargoyle and gave the password, which was "marshmallow peep." (A/N sorry about that, I know its muggle candy.but I do love a good peep) Immediately the Gargoyle split apart and revealed a tightly spiraling, revolving staircase. Draco stepped onto the staircase, followed by Snape. A few moments later, Draco entered his Headmaster's stunning office. Dumbledore was sitting serenely behind his vast mahogany desk, and motioned for his two visitors to take a seat across from him. Draco sank down into the plush, green armchair and breathed in the spicy, comfortable aroma of the old Headmaster's office.
When Draco looked up again, he noticed something rather strange about Dumbledore. The merry, old Headmaster didn't have that happy sparkle in his eyes and his wistful half-smile didn't cross his face. The blond Slytherin felt something coil painfully in his stomach and beads of sweat started to prickle up along his hairline. Something horrible had happened.
"Well Mr. Malfoy, I'll bet you are wonder why you are.." Dumbledore began.
Before Draco could stop his next words, they came pouring out of his mouth. "Is it my mother?" He asked quickly, his fingers inadvertently clutching the arms of the chair. He knew it showed weakness, but at the moment he didn't care. He dreaded the Headmaster's next words.
"You're mother is perfectly fine Draco, she is somewhere safe." The kind Headmaster said, and at this he actually smiled a little. Draco was comforted by the smile, even though it didn't quite reach the Headmaster's eyes. "What we are worried about here is your safety." Dumbledore said gravely, leaning forward slightly.
"Why.what happened?" Draco asked, looking at the Headmaster for explanations, but it was Professor Snape who spoke.
"The Ministry passed a new order." He paused. "All witches or wizards found guilty of being in the service of He-who-must-not-be-named..will serve no time in Azkaban. Instead they will be subjected immediately to the Dementor's kiss." He watched as Draco's eyes widened, but held up a hand to hold off the questions ready to leap from his mouth. "As you know, the Ministry is having a lot of trouble controlling the dementors and guarding the cells of Azkaban. Every Death Eater they capture is just escaping, usually within days of being sentenced. The Minister has had enough. He gave out the order about two weeks ago.and your father.was sentenced just three days ago."
As Draco listened to his Head of House speak, waves of relief and disgust crashed around within him. He hated Lucius Malfoy, but he didn't want him to have the dementor's kiss. He found it cruel and unusual. Draco just wanted him dead. Very dead. He was also relieved because his mother was safe and this meant that Lucius couldn't hurt her or him anymore. Draco just shrugged. If it had to be the kiss then it had to be the kiss. Either way, his father was out of the picture for good. Perhaps, with his father gone and the family name disgraced in the eyes of Voldemort, he wouldn't be asked to join them.
"So my father's been given the Dementor's kiss?" Draco asked nonchalantly.
"Well, no he hasn't, there in lies the problem." Dumbledore spoke this time, folding his hands on his desk.
"What do you mean?" Draco asked, completely befuddled. "You just said that he would get it. Why didn't he?" Dumbledore and Snape exchanged glances, both seeming almost anxious about continuing the conversation. Draco looked back and forth between the two men's faces. Silence weighed heavily on the room, moments passed like hours in the tense atmosphere. "Well!" Draco prompted, shattering the quiet that had settled.
"Your father revealed some of his fellow death eaters." Dumbledore stated quietly. "He informed the ministry as to the practices and whereabouts of Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle's fathers. That will explain to you their actions earlier." Dumbledore said resignedly, eying Draco's jaw. Draco felt numb. He had always known his father was scum, but he had never known he was a rat. Draco felt what was undeniably shame and he tried terribly hard to push that feeling away. Malfoys were not ashamed of anything.
'Yes, but they are snakes in the grass, dirty, backstabbing rats..' A little voice inside his head whispered. His whole family had been completely and totally disgraced. Even if the Malfoys had been on the side of evil, much to Draco's annoyance, they were still a proud and respected family. Now that was all shot to hell. Up until that very second, in Dumbledore's plush and homey office, Draco had been proud to be a Malfoy. Now he despised it. He found himself mentally hacking away at his surname, severing ties. He looked up into the penetrating gaze of Albus Dumbledore who, in his infinite wisdom, seemed to know exactly what Draco was thinking.
"Don't worry Draco," The headmaster said, addressing the young man by his first name, knowing he would cringe if he heard the name of his father. "We will find a way to keep you safe. I'm not sure that you will be secure here on school grounds, but everything will turn out alright in the end."
"What will I do now?" Draco asked, intensely studying his feet. He looked up just in time to see Dumbledore smile reassuringly at him. Draco knew he would keep up a brave front. He could handle whatever was going to happen, he knew it. He also knew that he would never be the same.
"We will figure that out in due time Draco," Dumbledore replied softly, pride glowing in his eyes for the blonde young man in front of him. The road ahead may be long and hard for him, but he seemed willing to face it. "Right now, you need to get down to Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital wing and have those ribs taken care of. Then we'll see what we can do about your situation." With that said, Dumbledore looked towards Snape and nodded. Snape rose, graceful and bat-like from his armchair, and whisked Draco out of the room.
Soon, Snape and Draco were walking side by side down the hall towards the Hospital wing. All that could be heard in the entire castle were the soft, hollow sound of their footsteps echoing throughout the cold corridors. As they approached the doors, Snape turned to Draco, breaking the mutual silence that had held since they left the stone Gargoyle.
"You will stay in the hospital wing tonight. Crabbe and Goyle are being watched so you need not worry about them. You will be perfectly safe, alright?"
"Yea, fine." Draco said, not really wanting to hear an 'everything is going to be alright' speech from Snape. Because, frankly, Draco didn't believe that everything would be alright. He had lost his good name; the only thing that gave him any power. He felt like he didn't have a leg to stand on. With Draco's words, Snape gave a curt nod, turned on his heel, and strode down the hall. Draco shrugged at the potion master's diminishing figure and headed into the infirmary.
**** )()()( ****
Hermione lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling for what seemed like days. She watched that shadows move across the bed sheets and the walls as the sun sank into horizon. She watched as they grew long and distorted, and then disappear as darkness settled over Hogwarts. Everyone else was asleep. Everyone else was having happy dreams about boys they liked, or places they loved, or things they wanted to do. Everyone else was lucky. Every time Hermione closed her eyes, she saw horrible red eyes, set in pallid white skin. Every time Hermione closed her eyes, she woke up with a scream stuck in her throat and chills running down her spine. Though Hermione's eyes itched to be closed, she would not obey. She just continued to stare at the ceiling, hoping the dawn would come quickly. Hermione stared for another 15 minutes or so before her eyelids began to droop down. The brunette shot into a sitting position as if she had been electrocuted. No, she would not fall asleep.
The floor was cold and hard under Hermione's bare feet. She tip-toed out of her room, trying hard not to wake her roommates. The door appeased her, opening and closing silently. Hermione walked cautiously down the halls, always on the lookout for Filch or that disgusting, disgruntled cat Mrs. Norris. Hermione had been walking aimlessly for at least a half an hour when she got the feeling. It was one of those creepy, raises the hair on the back of your neck feelings. She ignored it a first but soon the feeling was so strong she decided to head back to her room. She was still a few hallways away from Gryffindor tower when there was a crash behind her.
Hermione spun around, hoping that Filch wouldn't recognize her. But it wasn't Filch behind her. Hermione stood in open-mouthed horror at the two death eaters in black robes struggling to untangle themselves from a suit of armor.
"Get off me Crabbe, she's seen us!" One of the death eaters yelled at the other as he broke free from the fallen knight. Crabbe? It must be Crabbe and Goyle's fathers. But what were they doing here? Hermione didn't have a lot of time to worry about it because she just barely side-stepped a stunning spell shot down the hall at her. Hermione turned and ran with all her might. Her mind was a blur as she tried to think of the closest place she could be safe; and just at that moment, it loomed up ahead of her. Without a second thought she slammed through the doors to the hospital wing.
**** )()()( ****
Draco awoke to the sound of a door being practically wrenched off its hinges. He sat up quickly, the moonlight from the nearby window dancing along his bare skin. A bandage wrapped securely around his torso held his tender ribs while they healed. Draco leaned over and peeked around the curtain that surrounded his bed for privacy. He was truly and honestly puzzled by what he saw. Granger was tearing across the infirmary, her bare feet making soft sounds on the tile. She looked up and crossed right in front of his curtain, to Madame Pomfrey's office door. She pulled on the doorknob, but to no avail. Draco knew that Madame Pomfrey wasn't in there. She had retired to her personal quarters hours ago. He was about to make his presence known to Granger when two black robed men entered the room. Granger took a few steps away from the door to face them, blocking his view through the gap in the curtains. Draco leaned back a little. He could see Granger's slim silhouette through the gauzy curtain.
"Hand that over to us mudblood.and we promise we won't hurt you." One of the men said. Draco was taken aback. That was the voice of Mr. Crabbe, a voice he had heard in his father's study repeatedly. He had no doubt in his mind that his black robed companion was Goyle's dad. What in the hell would they want with Granger.
"What do you want from me!?" Hermione cried out. Good girl, Draco thought. He knew she was yelling because she was hoping someone would hear her. Draco just knew that nobody would.
"We want what's around that pretty little neck of yours." Goyle's sickening voice slid through the infirmary. "Maybe a little more, but we'll probably leave you alive." Draco felt his fists balling up in the sheets, his blood beginning to boil. The only thing running through his head was what he would do to them if they touched her. 'Where the hell is that coming from?' his little voice said, but it was quickly drowned out by images of Crabbe and Goyle's fathers spitting up blood and bone splinters.
"You can't have it you disgusting, waste of life!" Granger screamed. Draco would have been convinced if her voice didn't waver quite so much.
"Look you little tart, you can give it to us willingly or we can pry it from your cold, dead fingers." One of them said. Draco knew he was serious and got to his knees on the hospital bed, his eyes locked on Granger's back.
"You can't have it!" She screamed again. He heard one of the men curse and saw Granger take another step back toward the bed. He knew from her reaction that one of them had raised a wand.
"You asked for it you little bitch! Avada Kedavra!"
Just as the last syllable left the man's mouth, Draco lunged forward and grabbed Granger around the waist, pulling her and the curtain back and rolling off the bed. A brilliant flash of green light screeched over their backs as they lay face down on the floor, tangled in the milky white curtain. Draco could feel Granger's small body quaking under his and he could tell she was freaking out. He just thanked his lucky stars she hadn't started screaming. Draco quickly leaned down, his lips just hair's breadth away from her ear.
"Shhhh," He whispered softly in her ear. He certainly didn't want her to start screaming as soon as he shifted positions. He swiftly reached up onto the nightstand and grabbed his wand.
"There's two of them I swear I saw another kid!" Goyle yelled, both the death eaters taking slow cautious steps towards where the two lay. Draco and Granger quickly untangled themselves and slid under Draco's bed.
A/N Well that's all for now! What will happen to Draco and Hermione??? How will they get out of this one???.......
Ok see here's the problem, I don't know what will happen next and I don't know how they will get out of this. To be perfectly honest I have been sitting on this chapter for 2 weeks now and still haven't got a damned clue as to what I should do. If anybody has any suggestions you can give them to me in a review or my email address is in my profile. Please help me! Thanks so much! Love, Luck, and Lollipops! Little Nothing
