A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I finally got to 50! Now here's Chapter 11.
****
Emerald Flame
Chapter 11
*****
****Draco's POV****
"Lucius," I said dumbly. My mind was telling me it -couldn't- be true, that my father -couldn't- be standing in front of me in the hard rain, but he was. He sat there calmly, looking at me with the steely gray eyes that I knew all to well.
"I -said-," Lucius said coldly, "How have you been?"
"I've been living in Hell," I answered, my voice easily just as cold, "And it's all because of you."
"Really," He laughed hollowly, "Well that's not what my spies tell me…"
"And what -do- your spies tell you?" I smirked slightly, "To stop touching yourself?"
Lucius glared at me.
"Quite the contrary," He said calmly, masking his anger like he always did, "They tell me you've gotten a girlfriend, a Mudblood actually…"
He smirked coldly.
"You could have done -so- much better."
"Do -not- call her that," I growled, my fists balling up next to my side and my right hand immediately unclenching when a sharp jab of pain shot through my broken finger. Lucius looked startled for a split second before he donned the cold mask again.
"Seem to have hit a nerve, haven't I?" He laughed coldly, "And she's one of Potter's friends, eh? She will die you know. One way or the other, she will die."
I could see it in his eyes. He wasn't lying.
"But, then again, you'll look forward to it."
"And why is that?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Because you'll already be dead."
In a single second, he sprinted towards me, reached into his cloak, pulled a sword out of his belt, and ran it through my stomach. He kept going until the hilt stopped him from going any further. I slumped forward, staring in blank surprise over Lucius' shoulder.
"Remember one thing, Draco," He hissed in my ear, "I never had a son."
He pulled the sword out of my stomach, wiped the blood on the arm of my robes, turned, and started walking towards the Forbidden Forest. I fell forward onto my knees, clutching my stomach, and then fell completely. I couldn't feel the pain. As I said before, it would come. Eventually, it would come. But for now, it was gone and for that I was thankful.
Many memories ran through my head. Most of them either included my mother or Hermione. There were even a few of Eliza and I playing together when we were small children. After a while I realized my life was flashing before my eyes. Was this the end? Wonder when they'd find my body….How would Hermione react? Eliza? The rest of the school? The Slytherins would probably celebrate….Slytherins…This was probably a trap. Pansy was sent on purpose to piss me off and send me outside so Lucius would find me….Not that it mattered now….The pain was starting to come now. It was numb and dull at first, but now it was like a constant throbbing pain. Everything was blacking out now…I couldn't hear the rain anymore…I could barely feel it falling against my face…I stared at a puddle of blood in front of me. It was slowly growing. It was my blood, wasn't it? Didn't know I had that much…Suddenly, a huge boot appeared in front of my face. I used my last bit of energy lifting my head to see who it was. I stared up into Hagrid's face. He said something, but I couldn't make out exactly what it was, partially because I couldn't hear anything at all and partially because I passed out before he was done.
----
"Do we know what happened, Poppy?"
"No Albus, according to Miss Granger he went outside and three minutes later was found by Hagrid bleeding to death."
"Speaking of that, where is Miss Granger?"
"She's waiting right outside the door with Potter, Hawkings, Lovegood, and the two Weasleys."
"Will you let them in?"
"Once we patch him up a bit."
"Do you think he might…"
"I don't know Albus…I really don't know. At this point it's up to him…"
"Is he awake?"
"What? Oh dear! Mr. Malfoy!"
I opened my eyes slightly and immediately closed them against the glare of the lights from the Hospital Wing.
"Mr. Malfoy!" I heard Dumbledore's voice, but it was slowly fading away, "Can you tell us who did this to you?"
I felt my head go from side to side.
"Was it Voldemort?"
My head went side to side again.
"Was it a Death Eater?"
My head went up and down.
"Was it Lucius?"
I nodded one more time.
"I see. Poppy! Go tell--"
I blacked out again before he could finish the sentence.
----
"You might as well let them in, Albus. I've done the best I can do."
"Will he make it?"
"As I said before, he's still on the edge. It's up to him now."
"Fine. Let his friends and let them stay all night if they wish. Draco's going to need them."
----
I opened my eyes and sat up. Wait a second….That's not possible. I looked behind me and saw myself on the hospital bed, looking deathly pale and sick.
-Alright-, I thought to myself, -I'm either dreaming or I'm dead.-
But no, I wasn't dead. My--that is to say, the me on the hospital bed--chest was rising, so I was breathing at least. Thus, unless I was very much mistaken, I was still alive. So the only possibility left was that I was dreaming. So, I might as well sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
The door opened and Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Luna Lovegood, and Weasel walked in. Weasel apparently had only come in because he was having an argument with Hermione. They were trying their best to keep the noise down, but they were having trouble doing so. Well, Weasel was at least. Hermione kept her voice at an unchanging tone with no emotion in it at all.
"He's a Slytherin, Hermione!" Weasel half-yelled as everyone except Hermione and himself pulled up a chair and started to watch the shouting match.
"So?" Hermione sighed and turned to face him, "Is it any different from a Gryffindor dating a Ravenclaw? Or a Hufflepuff?"
"Of course it is!" Weasel's face was starting to turn red.
"How?" Hermione crossed her arms over her chest, "Tell me how, Ron."
"Because…"
"Exactly."
"Think of everything he's done to you Hermione!" Weasel was getting desperate now, "All the name's he's called you!"
"He's changed, Ron!"
"How do you know that for sure, Hermione? He could be putting on an act!"
"Accept it Ron!" Hermione finally screamed at him, stamping her foot on the ground, "I chose him over you! Get over it!"
Weasel looked at her with a dumbstruck look on his face for a second, then his face changed into one of intense anger. He let out a yell and shoved Hermione backwards. Her cheek caught on a loose jagged screw sticking out from the corner of my bed and a gash appeared across her face. I nearly leaped at him, but remembered that it would make no difference. Eliza hit him for me anyway. She stood calmly, her normally green eyes glinting yellow, and punched him directly in the nose. Then kept on punching him for two minutes straight until Harry got up from his seat and gently pulled her off him.
"You're going to kill him if you keep on" He said softly.
"That's a bad thing?" She raised an eyebrow, watching as a very bloody Ron got up of the floor and looked at Harry.
"You're supposed to be my best friend Harry," Weasel said slowly, "And you, Ginny, you're my sister."
"You aren't Ron," Ginny said, standing up and walking to stand next to Harry, "My brother would never have hurt his friends."
Weasel started at her for a second before swearing loudly and leaving, slamming the door after him.
"He's not going to jump off a tower now, is he?" Harry asked Ginny.
"Don't -think- so…"Ginny sighed and collapsed in the seat behind her, "Wouldn't be surprised if he did though."
"Shouldn't you go talk to him?" Luna looked up at Ginny with unnaturally wide eyes, "If he dies won't you be sad?"
"Hey," Ginny shrugged, "I get another room if he dies."
Eliza looked over to Ginny for a moment before she let out a bitter laugh.
"We shouldn't wish for any more death," She said softly, "We're surrounded by enough of it already."
She looked at me sadly as Hermione picked herself of the floor, tears falling silently down her face. She grabbed a chair and slid it next to my bed, taking my cold hand in hers and staring blankly at my face. Eliza and Harry sat down next to Luna and Ginny and they all sunk into silence. The tears kept falling down Hermione's face, and even though I knew it wouldn't help at all, I reached forward to brush them off. Surprisingly, a single tear got caught on my finger, and Hermione gasped and looked up at where I was sitting. It was almost like she knew I was there, like she saw me for a split second before I was gone.
"What is it?" Eliza asked when she heard Hermione's gasp.
"Nothing…" Hermione tore her gaze away and tried to smile slightly, "Just thought I saw something."
"Okay…"Eliza shook her head slightly in concern.
"I'm fine," Hermione said, "I really am."
"That's what Draco always said," Eliza said softly, "He used to sneak into my house when he was young after Lucius beat him and sleep on my floor…Most of the bloodstains are still on my carpet…"
"That's horrible," Hermione grimaced.
"He never showed the pain though," Eliza muttered, "Never once."
"He's good at that," Hermione said, smiling bitterly.
"True," Eliza smirked, "I've seen him break his leg and never even yell."
"That's not human," Ginny muttered, sinking down lower in her seat.
"If you have veela blood in you, you can usually stand pain more than normal humans."
"So he -is- part veela," Ginny said, "I thought his hair was to blonde."
"Hey!" Eliza said in mock anger, allowing her own white-blonde hair to fall over her shoulders.
"Oh," Ginny acted like she was hurt, "I'm so sorry! Please, have mercy!"
They started to laugh slightly, not sure if it was a proper moment. They were saved by a knock on the door. Luna stood up and opened the door, allowing Dumbledore to walk in.
"Have you found him yet?" Eliza immediately asked.
"No," Dumbledore sighed, "But we did find out a few things about the new forces Voldemort has managed to round up."
"How bad is it?" Hermione asked.
Dumbledore sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Apparently he has gathered the Dementors, half of the vampire and veela clans, as well as most of the centaurs and giants," He said gravely.
"You're joking," Ginny said unbelievingly.
"I'm afraid not Miss Weasley," Dumbledore sighed, "In fact, the only thing preventing him from attacking Hogwarts at this very moment is his troops. He's waiting to gather them all here before he attacks. As I said before, there -is- a war beginning. My only concern is, how many of Hogwarts students will stay on our side?"
A/N: Okay, there's Chapter 11. Tell me what you think! Chapter 12 to come soon.
****
Emerald Flame
Chapter 11
*****
****Draco's POV****
"Lucius," I said dumbly. My mind was telling me it -couldn't- be true, that my father -couldn't- be standing in front of me in the hard rain, but he was. He sat there calmly, looking at me with the steely gray eyes that I knew all to well.
"I -said-," Lucius said coldly, "How have you been?"
"I've been living in Hell," I answered, my voice easily just as cold, "And it's all because of you."
"Really," He laughed hollowly, "Well that's not what my spies tell me…"
"And what -do- your spies tell you?" I smirked slightly, "To stop touching yourself?"
Lucius glared at me.
"Quite the contrary," He said calmly, masking his anger like he always did, "They tell me you've gotten a girlfriend, a Mudblood actually…"
He smirked coldly.
"You could have done -so- much better."
"Do -not- call her that," I growled, my fists balling up next to my side and my right hand immediately unclenching when a sharp jab of pain shot through my broken finger. Lucius looked startled for a split second before he donned the cold mask again.
"Seem to have hit a nerve, haven't I?" He laughed coldly, "And she's one of Potter's friends, eh? She will die you know. One way or the other, she will die."
I could see it in his eyes. He wasn't lying.
"But, then again, you'll look forward to it."
"And why is that?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Because you'll already be dead."
In a single second, he sprinted towards me, reached into his cloak, pulled a sword out of his belt, and ran it through my stomach. He kept going until the hilt stopped him from going any further. I slumped forward, staring in blank surprise over Lucius' shoulder.
"Remember one thing, Draco," He hissed in my ear, "I never had a son."
He pulled the sword out of my stomach, wiped the blood on the arm of my robes, turned, and started walking towards the Forbidden Forest. I fell forward onto my knees, clutching my stomach, and then fell completely. I couldn't feel the pain. As I said before, it would come. Eventually, it would come. But for now, it was gone and for that I was thankful.
Many memories ran through my head. Most of them either included my mother or Hermione. There were even a few of Eliza and I playing together when we were small children. After a while I realized my life was flashing before my eyes. Was this the end? Wonder when they'd find my body….How would Hermione react? Eliza? The rest of the school? The Slytherins would probably celebrate….Slytherins…This was probably a trap. Pansy was sent on purpose to piss me off and send me outside so Lucius would find me….Not that it mattered now….The pain was starting to come now. It was numb and dull at first, but now it was like a constant throbbing pain. Everything was blacking out now…I couldn't hear the rain anymore…I could barely feel it falling against my face…I stared at a puddle of blood in front of me. It was slowly growing. It was my blood, wasn't it? Didn't know I had that much…Suddenly, a huge boot appeared in front of my face. I used my last bit of energy lifting my head to see who it was. I stared up into Hagrid's face. He said something, but I couldn't make out exactly what it was, partially because I couldn't hear anything at all and partially because I passed out before he was done.
----
"Do we know what happened, Poppy?"
"No Albus, according to Miss Granger he went outside and three minutes later was found by Hagrid bleeding to death."
"Speaking of that, where is Miss Granger?"
"She's waiting right outside the door with Potter, Hawkings, Lovegood, and the two Weasleys."
"Will you let them in?"
"Once we patch him up a bit."
"Do you think he might…"
"I don't know Albus…I really don't know. At this point it's up to him…"
"Is he awake?"
"What? Oh dear! Mr. Malfoy!"
I opened my eyes slightly and immediately closed them against the glare of the lights from the Hospital Wing.
"Mr. Malfoy!" I heard Dumbledore's voice, but it was slowly fading away, "Can you tell us who did this to you?"
I felt my head go from side to side.
"Was it Voldemort?"
My head went side to side again.
"Was it a Death Eater?"
My head went up and down.
"Was it Lucius?"
I nodded one more time.
"I see. Poppy! Go tell--"
I blacked out again before he could finish the sentence.
----
"You might as well let them in, Albus. I've done the best I can do."
"Will he make it?"
"As I said before, he's still on the edge. It's up to him now."
"Fine. Let his friends and let them stay all night if they wish. Draco's going to need them."
----
I opened my eyes and sat up. Wait a second….That's not possible. I looked behind me and saw myself on the hospital bed, looking deathly pale and sick.
-Alright-, I thought to myself, -I'm either dreaming or I'm dead.-
But no, I wasn't dead. My--that is to say, the me on the hospital bed--chest was rising, so I was breathing at least. Thus, unless I was very much mistaken, I was still alive. So the only possibility left was that I was dreaming. So, I might as well sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
The door opened and Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Luna Lovegood, and Weasel walked in. Weasel apparently had only come in because he was having an argument with Hermione. They were trying their best to keep the noise down, but they were having trouble doing so. Well, Weasel was at least. Hermione kept her voice at an unchanging tone with no emotion in it at all.
"He's a Slytherin, Hermione!" Weasel half-yelled as everyone except Hermione and himself pulled up a chair and started to watch the shouting match.
"So?" Hermione sighed and turned to face him, "Is it any different from a Gryffindor dating a Ravenclaw? Or a Hufflepuff?"
"Of course it is!" Weasel's face was starting to turn red.
"How?" Hermione crossed her arms over her chest, "Tell me how, Ron."
"Because…"
"Exactly."
"Think of everything he's done to you Hermione!" Weasel was getting desperate now, "All the name's he's called you!"
"He's changed, Ron!"
"How do you know that for sure, Hermione? He could be putting on an act!"
"Accept it Ron!" Hermione finally screamed at him, stamping her foot on the ground, "I chose him over you! Get over it!"
Weasel looked at her with a dumbstruck look on his face for a second, then his face changed into one of intense anger. He let out a yell and shoved Hermione backwards. Her cheek caught on a loose jagged screw sticking out from the corner of my bed and a gash appeared across her face. I nearly leaped at him, but remembered that it would make no difference. Eliza hit him for me anyway. She stood calmly, her normally green eyes glinting yellow, and punched him directly in the nose. Then kept on punching him for two minutes straight until Harry got up from his seat and gently pulled her off him.
"You're going to kill him if you keep on" He said softly.
"That's a bad thing?" She raised an eyebrow, watching as a very bloody Ron got up of the floor and looked at Harry.
"You're supposed to be my best friend Harry," Weasel said slowly, "And you, Ginny, you're my sister."
"You aren't Ron," Ginny said, standing up and walking to stand next to Harry, "My brother would never have hurt his friends."
Weasel started at her for a second before swearing loudly and leaving, slamming the door after him.
"He's not going to jump off a tower now, is he?" Harry asked Ginny.
"Don't -think- so…"Ginny sighed and collapsed in the seat behind her, "Wouldn't be surprised if he did though."
"Shouldn't you go talk to him?" Luna looked up at Ginny with unnaturally wide eyes, "If he dies won't you be sad?"
"Hey," Ginny shrugged, "I get another room if he dies."
Eliza looked over to Ginny for a moment before she let out a bitter laugh.
"We shouldn't wish for any more death," She said softly, "We're surrounded by enough of it already."
She looked at me sadly as Hermione picked herself of the floor, tears falling silently down her face. She grabbed a chair and slid it next to my bed, taking my cold hand in hers and staring blankly at my face. Eliza and Harry sat down next to Luna and Ginny and they all sunk into silence. The tears kept falling down Hermione's face, and even though I knew it wouldn't help at all, I reached forward to brush them off. Surprisingly, a single tear got caught on my finger, and Hermione gasped and looked up at where I was sitting. It was almost like she knew I was there, like she saw me for a split second before I was gone.
"What is it?" Eliza asked when she heard Hermione's gasp.
"Nothing…" Hermione tore her gaze away and tried to smile slightly, "Just thought I saw something."
"Okay…"Eliza shook her head slightly in concern.
"I'm fine," Hermione said, "I really am."
"That's what Draco always said," Eliza said softly, "He used to sneak into my house when he was young after Lucius beat him and sleep on my floor…Most of the bloodstains are still on my carpet…"
"That's horrible," Hermione grimaced.
"He never showed the pain though," Eliza muttered, "Never once."
"He's good at that," Hermione said, smiling bitterly.
"True," Eliza smirked, "I've seen him break his leg and never even yell."
"That's not human," Ginny muttered, sinking down lower in her seat.
"If you have veela blood in you, you can usually stand pain more than normal humans."
"So he -is- part veela," Ginny said, "I thought his hair was to blonde."
"Hey!" Eliza said in mock anger, allowing her own white-blonde hair to fall over her shoulders.
"Oh," Ginny acted like she was hurt, "I'm so sorry! Please, have mercy!"
They started to laugh slightly, not sure if it was a proper moment. They were saved by a knock on the door. Luna stood up and opened the door, allowing Dumbledore to walk in.
"Have you found him yet?" Eliza immediately asked.
"No," Dumbledore sighed, "But we did find out a few things about the new forces Voldemort has managed to round up."
"How bad is it?" Hermione asked.
Dumbledore sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Apparently he has gathered the Dementors, half of the vampire and veela clans, as well as most of the centaurs and giants," He said gravely.
"You're joking," Ginny said unbelievingly.
"I'm afraid not Miss Weasley," Dumbledore sighed, "In fact, the only thing preventing him from attacking Hogwarts at this very moment is his troops. He's waiting to gather them all here before he attacks. As I said before, there -is- a war beginning. My only concern is, how many of Hogwarts students will stay on our side?"
A/N: Okay, there's Chapter 11. Tell me what you think! Chapter 12 to come soon.