Chapter six
(I hate this damn chapter! Next one's better, they actually manage to put two and two together! Thanks to Loki who reviewed chapter 5, much appreciated mate! AND a BIG thankies to Finchette Malfoy. I don't hate you! Normally people don't bother to reply more than once. I'm glad u r all enjoying it and I'm sorry that this is late but I got annoyed at it cos it wasn't going right, that's why I hate it! The plot gave me some difficulty too so… AAARGH! And poor old Dumbledore…)
It took a while for Hermione to gather the strength to look at her alarm clock.
'07.30'
She groaned and rubbed her head which was pounding painfully and constantly. It hurt to think or move, she tried to sit up but she just felt dizzy. She was on her own in her prefect dormitory so she couldn't talk to anyone and ask them to help her.
Something had scared her last night, she remembered waking up and screaming but anything before that was clouded by mystery. The more she tried to think about it, the more her head pounded so she just lay back down and closed her eyes. No school for her today. Her mind slowly erasing what had happened the day before and the blood that had been there only a few hours ago had totally disappeared as if nothing had happened.
*~*~*~*
Harry and Ron sat in their normal seats in Herbology, the seat in between them where Hermione would normally sit was empty.
"I know I told her to relax but… this is not like her!" Ron looked strangely at Harry.
"She's probably just sick or, God forbid, distressed," Harry replied poking the blue and purple plant that Professor Sprout had placed in front of the two of them. "What the hell is this?"
Silence.
Ron sighed, "So strange not having Hermione being all swotty and correcting us." Ron's face brightened. Harry knew that Ron had just had an idea. "You know… none of this would've happened if Malfoy had stayed the way he was. I mean, he got friendly with Hermione, goes and gets the shit kicked out of him, gets Hermione all worked up then he scares Hermione half to death by doing his disappearing act twice! If I get my hands on that little rodent, he will be SO sorry!"
"Ron," Harry started and then paused. Ron knew that Harry was going to say something to defend Draco. "You're right!"
Ron blinked. "Say that again, that sounded good!"
"Wait! You're right about the fact that none of this would've happened because we'd all be dead now if it wasn't for him!"
"You just have to keep bringing that up don't you?"
"'cos you can't get it into your head, that's why!"
"He's still evil I tell ya and now I do think that he is alive because I think it's all an act! He'll get friendly with us by making us all worried about him and believing that it was You-Know-Who that did it and then he'll stab us in the back! Can't you see that?"
"No! Ron, he has changed and I don't think that what happened to him that night was any accident! Voldemort did it and did it intentionally!"
"Yeah! Now thanks to Malfoy, we're gonna get it too!" Ron didn't even flinch at Voldemort's name he was that intent in arguing his case.
Harry gave up. Ron had a point but he still thought that Draco had changed… where ever he was…
*~*~*~*
"Ginny!" Ginny looked up from her lunch and saw her brother and Harry walk over and stand on either side of her.
"What's up?" she asked worriedly. They didn't do this on a normal basis with those looks on their faces and without Hermione.
"Did you see Hermione up in the girl's dormitories this morning?" Harry asked.
Ginny frowned. "No… why, is she gone?"
"She wasn't in classes this morning and we want to see how she is. In case she's sick," Ron answered.
Ginny thought for a moment before replying, "Well, she wasn't in the girls' dormitory so my guess is that she's in her own prefect dorm. Try there."
"Where is it?" Ron and Harry asked in unison.
"Is it anywhere near the boys' prefect room?" Harry asked. He was a prefect, to Ron's fury as he wasn't one! Ron had been a bit bitter towards Harry for a while after but it all blew over. It didn't help him when he found out that Draco was also a prefect! Harry had always invited him into the boys' prefect common room for a quiet chat when the Gryffindor common room was too crowded. Only problem was, it was never a quiet chat because Draco was always messing around in the background somewhere or asking annoying questions.
Ginny blinked and then sighed, "Come on, I'll show you."
Ginny led them out of the Great hall and down a set of stairs that Harry had never been down before then down a long corridor leading to a portrait of the four founders. Godric Gryffindor smiled down at them broadly, wearing long robes of ruby red, Rowena Ravenclaw nodded at them and Helga Hufflepuff waved royally at them… Salazar Slytherin took one look at their Gryffindor badges and glared at them with distaste.
"Nice to see you too, you grumpy old crackpot!" Ron said sarcastically glaring back.
Slytherin's eyes narrowed and he turned around swiftly, making his emerald green cloak fly out around him, and he stalked off out of the painting. Gryffindor's grin broadened and he winked at the three of them.
"Demiticus osuro," Ginny said to them.
The three remaining founders grabbed their wands and pointed it to the centre of the portrait. A few seconds later, the portrait split into two parts making a doorway big enough for them to crawl in through.
Ginny took them up a twisting flight of stairs to a door, Hermione's room.
"Hermione? You there?" Ginny called.
There was silence for a minute until they could hear movement and then Hermione's voice.
"What's wrong?" she moaned in a tired, cracked voice.
"Harry and Ron are here. They want to know if you're OK, you weren't in class," Ginny called back.
"I have a headache, that's all," she replied in her normal voice. What she asked next took the three of them by surprise. "Is Draco OK?"
"How are we supposed to know? We lost him, remember?" Harry asked.
"No we didn't. He's up in the hospital wing; Madam Pomfrey was going to see what's wrong with him. He is alive you, know… I can feel it!"
Harry, Ron and Ginny stared at each other.
"Hermione, what day is it?" Ron asked.
"Monday you dolt!"
"It's Tuesday!" Ron replied.
"No, no! It's Monday. Yesterday was Sunday, I remember that, it was the day we found out about Draco… have you been to see him yet?"
"She's lost it!" Ron muttered to Harry.
"… er, we'll go now… OK?" Harry called.
"Great! He will be OK, won't he?"
"It's not him I'm worried about! She has totally lost it this time!" Ron muttered again.
"Sure, we'll be back after classes OK?" Harry began to walk away. Ron and Ginny followed.
"Ginny, go back down to the Great Hall. Ron, up to my prefect common room, now!" Harry ordered.
"Why can't I help?" Ginny glared.
"Because you're not a part of our little Scooby detective gang. Now go!" Ron answered.
"Humph!" Ginny walked away towards the Great Hall while Ron and Harry ran up to the Boys' prefect common room.
*~*~*~*
"Do you think she really has gone insane on us? Normal people tend to know what day it is and what happened the day before!" Ron asked sprawling out over the black leather sofa.
Harry paced up and down in front of the fire. "She's just sick. Your mind can play up when you're very sick."
"She seemed fine last night… not sick anyway…"
"People can get sick very quickly. She's been through a lot lately with that encounter of the evil kind and with this whole episode concerning our dearest Draco! I can see why she has broken down like this."
"All seems a little odd doesn't it… now that you mention Malfoy and You-know-who," Ron rubbed the back of his neck. The bell went but neither of them moved.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Ron, this has nothing to do with your theory!"
"How do you know?"
"Because… because I trust him!" Harry paused to think about what he was going to say.
Ron raised an eyebrow. "That's what he wants, for you to trust him! Do you believe his word over mine?"
"Your word is just a thought… Ron, when I was in the hospital wing, Draco came to visit me and told me why he helped us like that. He was able to look me in the eye and tell me and I could tell that he wasn't lying. The look in his eyes was different, there was no trace of malice in them… he couldn't be lying to me!"
"Then why is he playing up like this? Why did he run and hide from Hermione?" Ron asked unusually calmly. "First he plays dead then we see him up and running around and then he hides from us! I think he's up to something and trying to hide something from us!"
"How is Hermione's memory connected to Malfoy? Why do you think it's him?"
"Hermione was fine until she chased him. I still think he's done something to her!"
"Why interfere with her memory? What would he gain?" Harry was determined to show Draco's innocence in all this.
"I don't know! It's his plot, he's the criminal mastermind here… oh, wait… that's giving him far too much credit!"
"Prove it's him!"
"Prove it's not!"
"I will! I'm going to find him and see what's going on!" Harry walked over to the stairs.
Ron stood up. "What are you going to say to him then, 'Oh, hi there Malfoy, I was just wondering if you have been wiping people's memories or plotting anyone's death lately?'! Yeah, nice plan Harry!"
"I'm going to use my dad's invisibility cloak and hide in the Slytherin common room. If Malfoy does have anything to do with this then the rest of them are bound to know! And if he doesn't have anything to do with it then will you please close the matter?"
Ron looked up at Harry darkly. "What if he does?"
Harry thought for a moment. "I'd be surprised but we'll find a way to deal with him before it goes further…"
*~*~*~*
"Oh my God, did you check out what she was wearing?"
"Ya, like, hello? Fashion sense?"
"And her hair!"
All five started giggling in high-pitched squeals. Harry was close to crossing the line between sanity and insanity as he followed a group of five fourth-year Slytherin girls to the Slytherin common room. It had been four years since he had last been after all but following this lot was the worst decision ever, it was torture! How did Draco ever put up with those banshees? Draco had better bloody well appreciate what I am doing for him!
The five girls stepped through the entrance hole into the common room and Harry jumped in just before the entrance closed. He looked around the familiar room. It hadn't changed, although he never expected it to anyway, it was still slightly bigger than the Gryffindor common room but it was still colder, darker and harder looking. Harry couldn't see Draco anywhere so, to take extra precautions, he sat down in between the sofa and the wall and waited for any relevant information. His ears pricking up when he heard certain words or names but it just ended up being about something else like homework or a joke about Harry. All Harry had to do was wait but he felt that he could be waiting for quite a while.
Harry must've dosed off because he jumped awake when he heard a familiar voice shouting. Draco's voice.
"No, not yet! No one can know until the master's ready!"
Then Harry heard another voice but he couldn't see anything because he was hiding behind the sofa but he listened. It was another boy that sounded about their age.
"I know that Malfoy! What I want to know is has anyone noticed anything? Anyone suspect anything's going on?"
Harry frowned and swallowed. He hoped that it wasn't what it sounded like.
"I reckoned that that mudblood Granger suspected something, but I dealt with her. Doesn't remember a thing!"
"Anyone else?"
There was silence for a moment which told Harry that Draco was thinking. "No. Don't think so."
"What about Dumbledore or Potter?"
"Dumbledore? Probably, he's not stupid and Potter? Ha! Enough said!"
Harry narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. Ron was right, Draco was up to something. Harry felt so stupid for believing Draco in the first place.
"Keep it up Malfoy, but keep on the look out too. If anyone finds out, the master's plan will go wrong… and he's not a very forgiving person, so unless you want to be no more, you'd better stay where you are for a while!"
Harry had to get a look at this mystery person. He was in his invisibility cloak after all so neither of them will see him. He crawled out and poked his head around the corner.
Draco was standing beside the roaring fire, leaning on the mantelpiece casually wearing black, high-neck robes and a black cloak. His hair looked paler and no light reflected off his normally glittering eyes. He looked healthy enough, it was as if he was never hurt. This confused Harry. The other boy was taller than Draco and had long, messy, dirty-blonde hair. He had his back to Harry so he couldn't see the other boy's face. Harry edged out further to get closer but he stopped when he looked up and saw Draco staring straight at him, eye to eye. Harry's heart missed a beat and began to race. The other blonde boy began to speak again but Draco didn't take his eyes off Harry.
How can he see me? Can he? Harry thought. Did he dare make a run for it?
"MALFOY!"
Draco looked away from Harry. "Hmn? Sorry, what was that?"
"What are you staring at?"
Harry shrunk back slightly.
Draco slowly stared back down at Harry and grinned malevolently.
The boy turned around. He had startling blue eyes half-hidden by his long hair and a pale face. He grinned when he saw Harry.
How can they see me? This is not right!
Draco walked over swiftly to where Harry was sitting and pulled his invisibility cloak off.
"Hello Potter… nice of you to join us!" he grinned. There was something wrong about that grin, something sinister and not normal.
"Yeah but I think I've out-stayed my welcome, so I'll just leave you two to your… er… chat! Bye!" Harry tried to get up and run but Draco put his arm around Harry.
"Out-stayed your welcome? Oh, come now Potter. You're very welcome here… you're just not welcome to leave yet," Draco narrowed his eyes.
"I trusted you! You cheating, lying bastard! What are you up to?" Harry snarled.
Draco laughed with a mouth full of straight, sparkling, sharp teeth. "Do you honestly think that I'm going to tell you?"
"You know too much as it is," the other boy said from Harry's other side.
"I'll tell Dumbledore about this! He'll put an end to your party plans!"
"You're not going to tell anyone, Potter," Harry looked round to face the taller boy and found himself staring into his bright blue eyes, unable to look away. "You won't know a thing…"
He's hypnotising you, look away damn you! Harry's mind told him but it was hard and it took all his will-power to do it, but eventually he closed his eyes and turned away.
"You're not as stupid as Malfoy makes you out to be, Potter!" the blonde boy laughed shortly.
Harry decided to make a run for it now, he had to get away and tell Ron before something bad happened. He reached into his pocket for his wand slowly and unnoticeably, keeping his eyes firmly shut.
"It won't help you know, we will-"
"Pardeserum!" Harry yelled as he quickly drew out his wand and pointed it in front of him. He knew that he had hit one and so opened his eyes and made a dash for the exit.
"GET HIM!" Harry heard the blonde boy yell in a choked voice.
Draco was already chasing after Harry. Students returning to their common rooms for curfew dodged out of their way in freight. Harry was getting tired but didn't slow down; he kept running at top speed towards his prefect dormitory where Ron would be waiting.
Harry ran out of the dungeons and closed the door in Draco's face, which should buy him some time. The dim late evening daylight was fading away but it was still strong enough to make Harry blink after being down in the dark dungeons for so long, he had to stop for a moment before he could go on to get his vision back properly. He heard the dungeon door open behind him and spun round wand at the ready to face Draco.
Draco took a few steps out and stopped, the sun-light lighting up his pale face and high-lighting his already white hair. His eyes widened and he yelled as he pulled his cloak over his face and backed away back into the dungeon corridor.
"Don't think you've gotten away Potter! I will deal with you later!" with that, he ran off.
Harry stared at the door for a while longer in confusion, what was that all about? But he wasn't complaining that Draco was no longer chasing him and so he carried on running up to the prefect common room. He had so much to tell Ron.
*~*~*~*
Hermione sat up and rubbed her eyes. She'd had it again… that feeling of deja vous (?). She saw Draco standing in the darkness crying out for help then she would be in her dormitory with blood over her face and neck in her dreams again. She'd had little blurry visions like that all day and she could help but think that it had happened before.
Her head felt better now and she wanted more that anything to go for a walk and stretch her legs… and get something to eat while she was at it!
She knew it would be better to go to the kitchens and get something because it was already eight o'clock. She would go back to the Gryffindor common room after, she wanted to see Harry and Ron.
*~*~*~*
"This is bad, Harry… very bad!" Ron said again shaking his head. "Did I mention that I told you so?"
"What did I say about saying that?" Harry narrowed his eyes.
"I'm sorry," Ron grinned not looking very sorry at all. "this just rarely happens. Me right, you wrong!"
"OK, can we stick to the dilemma in hand here before Malfoy kills me?"
"You didn't hear what he was up to?"
"No. It has something to do with Voldemort but I got caught before they went on. I've never seen that other boy before though…"
"Probably from another year. And Malfoy couldn't catch you? Pathetic!"
"He just… stopped. We ran out into the Entrance Hall and he ran back into the dungeons… it was as if he couldn't go out there or something… but that's not important, what is important is the fact that he is up to something and we need to deal with him before this plan of his goes ahead, or stop it if it has!"
Ron groaned, "Do we have to do it ourselves? Fighting the forces of evil once is enough!"
"Well, we could take the easy way out!"
"What's that?"
"Snitch! Come on, we'll go find Dumbledore!" Harry walked out of the common room closely followed by a satisfied looking Ron.
*~*~*~*
Hermione had stayed in the kitchens for longer than she had planned. The house-elves insisted upon her staying with them for a cup of tea (Dobby's idea!) and a chat. Of course Hermione was always set to treat them as equals and said that she would love to stay. By the time she left, it had dropped dark and she had to sneak around to avoid getting caught out after curfew.
OK, I'll go back to the Gryffindor common room and talk to Harry and Ron. They're probably worried about me. She thought as she walked out into the Entrance Hall but she stopped as she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Hermione turned round to look at the stained glass window that was placed high on the wall above the main stair case, but it wasn't the window that caught her eye, their was someone sitting on it's window ledge.
"Draco?" she called, "Is that you?"
Draco slowly looked down at her and smiled. "The one and only!"
Hermione smiled broadly, "You're OK! I knew it, I knew it!"
Draco jumped off the window ledge and ran down to her. Hermione ran into his arms and hugged him close to her, near to tears with happiness and relief.
"Thank God you're alright! I was so scared that you were dead, we all were!" she choked.
"Didn't know Weasley cared…" Draco drawled.
"He does really! Lets see," she drew back slightly and went to examine his neck. "It's gone."
"Madam Pomfrey saw to that," Draco replied rather quickly, but Hermione didn't notice, she wanted to know more.
"What happened?" Hermione had been busting to ask him this.
"That's exactly what I want to know mister Malfoy."
Draco jumped and drew away from Hermione so quickly that it made Hermione blink, startled. She looked up and saw Dumbledore standing at the top of the main staircase. Draco was looking up at him with a look of surprise… or was it fear?
"P-p-professor Dumbleodre, sir… Y-you startled me…" Draco stammered.
Dumbledore walked slowly down the stairs while saying, "Nice to see you well again. Looks like it'll take more than that to get rid of our Draco, eh?"
Draco didn't reply.
"Care to re-live your experience with us? Maybe we will be able to stop this happening again. You can start by telling me what you were doing out there after curfew." Dumbledore's eyes fell on Draco's.
Draco looked away and stared at the ground. "I-I was out there… for a walk, it hadn't dropped dark yet but I fell asleep by the lake and when I woke up again, it was dark." He muttered.
"So you weren't in the forest?"
"No sir."
"How did you get in the forest then?"
"I was walking back up when someone grabbed me and trailed me in."
"Who?"
"I couldn't see, they had a mask."
"And did they attack you?"
"Yes, there were more of them in there. They had wands and other weapons… all I had was my wand."
"Do you remember anything else?"
"No. I just felt pain and then nothing…"
"Care to explain how you have gotten better so quickly and where you have been the past few days?"
Now Draco was stuck, he couldn't say anything about Madam Pomfrey because he knew that Dumbledore knew that he had disappeared before she could do anything. He knows what's going on! Think Draco think!
"Didn't Madam Pomfrey heal it?" Hermione asked looking confused.
Dumbledore stared at her then looked at Draco. Draco could feel Dumbledore's eyes on him and he looked up, their eyes met. Draco could tell that Dumbledore could see right through him… see the truth.
"Ah yes… sorry about that, my memory isn't what it used to be." He still kept his eyes on Draco.
At that point Harry and Ron appeared.
"That was quick! He must be able to read minds!" Ron laughed.
"Is there some sort of party going on here or something?" Harry looked down at everyone.
"Everything is fine Harry, I was just checking on mister Malfoy here. Everything seems to be normal and I am happy that he has recovered. Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to my office, I have some books to read." Dumbledore passed Harry and Ron, who had looks of shock on their faces.
"B-but Professor, we have something important to tell you!" Harry spat out as he ran after Dumbledore.
"Yeah, you might want to reconsider what you just said about Malfoy!" Ron followed.
Draco glared after them. Everything is falling apart, the master's plans are going to be ruined and it'll be my fault! I can't let this happen!
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.
"I feel sick, I'm going to bed."
Hermione stared after Draco with a raised eyebrow. There was something wrong, something he wasn't telling her. She again felt as if she was missing something important and it made her feel uncomfortable and vulnerable.
*~*~*~*
Dumbledore rubbed his head as he closed the book. He had just shooed Harry and Ron away telling them that he had a headache and that he would listen tomorrow. After much arguing, they left and Dumbleodre had began looking through his books.
All those signs, they all fit. Why though? What is his plan?
As Dumbledore thought this, he heard a noise coming from the balcony that stood over his desk. He stood up and looked round.
"Hello Professor." It was Draco.
"Draco, I know what has really happened to you and I know that you and Voldemort are up to something and I will not stand for it!"
"OH! So scared, I'm quivering in fear!" Draco replied sarcastically, his sharp teeth bared in an evil grin. "I knew that you knew what was going on, I could see it. I can't let you spread it around and stop us!"
"There is nothing you can do, people will find out about this, they will begin to get suspicious."
"No one was supposed to know yet. I have already failed my master's orders not to be seen yet, I will not let it go further!" Draco jumped off the balcony and floated to a soft landing in front of Dumbledore.
Dumbldore could see the hollowness of Draco's dark eyes, there was nothing behind them… no life, no soul, just darkness. He could also see those two sharp teeth that were the trademark of his kind, bared in anger. Dumbledore was not afraid of him.
"Don't do something you will regret Draco. You'll just dig yourself in deeper."
"Who says I will regret this? Besides, no one will ever know!" Draco smiled as something like a ball of red electricity formed in the palm of his hand. "Don't be telling anyone now!" At that, Draco laughed and through the spell at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore tried to move away but he wasn't quick enough in his old age. Fawkes screeched loudly as Dumbledore fell back onto his desk before collapsing to the ground. Fawkes flew over and hit Draco hard in his face with his sharp talons and flew off out of the window. Draco stared angrily after the phoenix before disappearing in a cloud of mist.
