Chapter Seventeen: Behind Your Back
"D, cut it out man! You're wearing out the floor!"
Draco turned to Charlie, who was sitting there, looking concerned. Draco had been pacing for almost twenty minutes. Charlie motioned to a chair closeby, and Draco sighed and collapsed into it.
"Why the hell didn't Hermione tell me she knew Jim? Why?"
Charlie shrugged. "Maybe because she didn't know how much Jim meant to you."
"That's ridiculous! Of course she knew!"
"D, be straight with me here. You haven't exactly been honest with G. Number one, you didn't tell her about the train ride down here, so she knows nothing about your entire conversation with Jim. Number two, I don't even think you know what you want right now. You're bouncing back and forth like a ping pong ball!"
"Twelve Angry Men."
"Correct. Now, let's get serious. Yu have to figure out which one you want. There's no other way around it. The time will come when you will have to decide. So think about it now. I'm going to get some food."
"How can you think about food at a time like this?" Draco demanded as Charlie stood up.
Charlie smiled. "Easy. Prime rib roast.... mashed potatoes.... mmmmm, sixty four slices of American cheese."
Draco shook his head, but smiled. "Get out of here."
"If you insist..." Charlie said, and with a smile, he was gone.
Draco stood up and began pacing again, back and forth.
"Aw, hell no! Now, I know you're not walking again, right? It's just my damn eyesight failing me."
Draco turned to see Charlie standing at the door.
"I thought you left."
"I came back for my sweater. What's your excuse?"
Draco shrugged.
"D, I really do hate to have to tell you this, but sit your ass down!"
Draco sighed and sat.
"Good boy."
"You enjoyed that, didn't you?"
Charlie smiled. "I'd be lying if I told you I didn't. Now stay there until I get back."
Draco dropped his head into his hands and sighed as Charlie left. So much had gone on in the last couple of hours, and he really did need to think. He gave a glance down the hall, where Hermione's door was still closed. He sighed and closed his eyes, preparing to think.
*********
The room was bright as Hermione finally opened her eyes. Someone was dabbing her forehead with a wet cloth, gently grazing her skin. She squinted.
"Draco?"
She heard a gentle laugh. "Not quite."
Hermione smiled. "Julie."
"How you feeling?"
Hermione opened her eyes to find her best friend sitting on the side of her bed. Hermione pulled herself into a sitting position, her head against the backboard.
"I think I'm okay. Except that I'm not. And I have to tell you something."
"That your plan backfired?"
Hermione nodded.
Julie sighed. "I had a feeling that was going to happen. I warned you that it would. So what's the problem, now he wants to marry you or something?"
Hermione shook her head. "No... actually, he wants to marry you."
Julie looked a bit taken aback. "Whoa, whoa. What?"
Hermione began to explain, in detail, everything that had happened since she had stepped onto the train. Julie waited patiently until she was finished.
"... and then when Charlie told me that you were here, well..."
"But you knew I was coming. Why didn't you just owl me and tell me to meet elsewhere? You know it wouldn't have been a problem."
Hermione sighed. "I didn't even know what day it was today. Everything's been moving so fast, what with school starting, and Draco getting hurt, and Charlie coming... it's all been so hectic!"
Julie sighed and leaned forward. "You know what this means, don't you?"
Hermione looked puzzled. "What?"
"You have to tell him."
********
"You have to tell her. I know you had good intentions, but you have to tell her all about Jim. There's no other way. It'll be good for both of you if you lay all your cards out on the table. That way both of you can figure out what it is that you want."
Draco sighed. "You're right. I'll have to tell her. All of it. She needs to know everything that happened from the time I stepped onto the train."
Charlie smiled. "Well... not everything, I mean. I don't think she cares when you have your breakfast and stuff... but anything relating to Jim she needs to know."
"Yeah," Draco's voice trailed off as he glanced out the window, "...yeah."
********
"I can't tell him!"
"Yes you can, and you have to. There's no other way, 'mione. You have to!"
"But... he would be heartbroken. Then I'm not the person he thought I was."
"Sure you are. The only thing Draco's holding on to is a short train ride. Eveything else that has happened at Hogwarts... that was all you. You weren't hiding behind a mask when that all happened. You were being you... just like you were on the train."
Hermione straightened, and for the first time in a long time, she smiled. "Yeah, you're right. I'm making this out to be a bigger deal than I thought. It's no problem. I can tell him."
"Well, I sure hope so, because Draco's waiting just outside the door."
Hermione swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. "Okay, I can do this."
"You better be able to, or we're both in trouble."
Suddenly, a shadow came across the window, and a voice came from behind them. "Actually... that's exactly what you're in... trouble."
********
"Okay, I'll go in there right now and tell her... tomorrow. I'll tell her tomorrow."
Charlie groaned. "I swear to God D, if you don't get your ass in there right now..."
Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door. "Charlie! Draco! Let me in!"
Charlie rushed to the door and opened it to find a body hunched over, gasping for breath and clutching at his sides. Charlie had barely stepped forward before it had collapsed to the floor. Draco rushed over and Charlie moved some of the limbs.
"Corvus? Are you okay? Come on, Serpens! I know you can hear me!"
Corvus slowly opened his eyes and moved one of his arms, that Draco now saw was red with blood. He crouched next to Charlie, who was trying to get Corvus to speak.
"Come on, Corvus. What happened?"
"Dremply... he... he said he'd get even... He wrote an owl last night... he's coming to... to get her..."
"Who? Who's coming?"
Draco stood up, silent.
Charlie looked up. "D, what's wrong?"
"I don't hear Hermione."
A look of panic crossed both their faces as they rushed to the door, trying to open it. It was fused shut. Draco banged on the door. "Hermione! Hermione, open the door!" Charlie came back to Corvus.
"Where is he taking her? Where is he taking her!"
Corvus sat up with the help of Draco. "They said something about another Quidditch accident... that's all I heard."
Draco looked at Charlie. "The Quidditch pitch?"
"No, that's impossible. Lynx is stupid, but not stupid enough to take her where Dumbledore is in control."
"Wait... what about Alnwick Castle? They held the Quidditch Cup there last year!" said Draco.
Charlie nodded. "You might be right. Come on."
The two of them helped Corvus up, who was still clutching his arm.
"Corvus, get Dumbledore. Tell him what happened. Get Potter and Weasley too, and tell them to meet us at Alnwick. Then go to Madame Pomfrey and get that arm looked after. Okay?"
Corvus nodded at Charlie, and quickly headed out into the hall. Draco sighed.
"Charlie... if anything were to happen to her..."
"I know, D. I know."
********
"Hermione.... Hermione..." someone said in a sing-song voice, jarring Hermione awake. She was surrounded by darkness.
"Who... who's there?"
"No one important."
"Just two people who would rather see you dead than with Draco Malfoy," said a second voice, very deep.
Suddenly, everything went bright, and Hermione opened her eyes again. She saw that she was in a large cage, one that Hedwig might have dearly loved. She saw another cage with a hunched figure in it. She knew it was Julie.
She turned her head towards the sound of the voices and gasped. One of the two figures stepped forward.
"Hello Hermione. It is Hermione, isn't it?" said Lynx.
Suddenly, the second figure stepped forward. Hermione gasped.
Lucius Malfoy.
*********
Author's Note: I am SO sorry for 1) taking so long with this chapter, and 2) for not thanking everyone personally. You have NO idea how bad I feel about that. I'm at university now, so my time has been cut short slightly. Don't worry though- I'll finish it. And EVERYONE will get a personal e-mail from me as a thank you for reviewing!
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