Dragon's Flame- Chapter Eleven
Warnings
By darthelwig
I do not own Harry Potter's universe. That honor belongs to J.K.Rowling.
PG-13, though we seem to be getting a bit darker, eh?
Thank you to all my faithful readers and reviewers. I hope this story is living up to your expectations. I really appreciate all of your kind comments!
Draco was sitting in the Slytherin common room, resting after a long day of getting his ass kicked in their latest Quidditch match against Gryffindor, when the owl came. It was a rather large screech owl, and he recognized it immediately as his mother's. The bottom seemed to drop out of his stomach all at once. He stared at the letter the owl had dropped onto his lap, knowing this couldn't be good. His mother was rather preoccupied of late, what with his father being taken into custody by the Ministry, and hadn't bothered sending him a letter for weeks.
She knew. She knew about his relationship with Hermione, and she wasn't pleased about it. That was the only explanation for receiving this letter now, of all times. He dreaded opening it, dreaded hearing her lecture him or lay on the guilt. He just wanted to pretend he'd never received the letter, but he knew doing so was pointless. He would have to face the music sometime, better sooner than later.
He picked up the envelope and broke the seal quickly, before he could have a change of heart. The letter was just as he'd feared it would be.
"Draco Darling,
I hope this letter reaches you before anything horrible happens.
I don't understand why you have chosen to betray your father and myself in such a manner, but it will stop immediately. This infatuation with a mud-blood is below your station and I believed we had raised you better than this. I hope you know how humiliating this is for me, having all of our friends know that my son has been consorting with a filthy perversion of nature such as her.
How could you do this to the family name?
With your father in Azkaban at the moment, it is my duty to uphold our family's honor, and I will do so at all costs. Know this, my son…you will suffer should you continue as you have been doing, for the Dark Lord does not take treachery of this kind lightly. Save yourself and your family from this disgrace now. End it.
-Your fearful mother."
He reread the letter a couple of times, wondering what his mother meant by "before anything horrible happens". Surely Voldemort had better things to do than punish him for seeing Hermione. Surely his plans had nothing to do with Draco Malfoy. What horrible thing could possibly happen here at Hogwarts? His mother was just being her usual manipulative self, playing on his fear. They were safe here, of all places.
He was saddened to know she was having a hard time of things, though. She was still his mother, and he loved her. He knew how horrible their so-called family friends were probably being to her with the gossip and disdain they were so keen on bestowing to those they deemed unworthy or foul. His actions did reflect on his parents, and his mother was without his father's steadying force to guide her. But he would not be forced to leave Hermione, not for anything. If his mother didn't like the way their friends were treating her, she could always make different friends. Draco had done so, hadn't he?
It angered him to hear his mother call Hermione a "filthy perversion of nature". He knew that was exactly as he had thought of her at one point, and his own guilt made him detest the term even more. She was pure and wonderful and sweet and intelligent…and everything the opposite of that phrase. He couldn't stand to hear her talked about like that anymore, and had punched one Slytherin boy right in the nose for saying it just the other day. It had earned him a detention, as it had happened right in front of Professor McGonagall, but it was well worth it. And detention hadn't been that bad. Hermione believed McGonagall had gone easy on him because of the "nature of his crime". Draco was inclined to agree, since polishing and trimming the schools broomsticks definitely hadn't been a bad job to do.
Bringing himself back to the letter at hand, though, Draco worried about Hermione. If Voldemort really did care about his "betrayal", she would be in danger. Hogwarts was safe, but other places were perhaps not. Hogsmeade was an obvious choice for a move against her, as was the summer break, though Draco had a hard time imagining the Dark Lord waiting so long for his revenge. No, Hogsmeade visits would give him a perfect opportunity to send one of his followers after her, and there was one coming up in just a few short weeks. He wondered if his mother knew something about a possible plan being hatched. Is that why she had warned him? Were they really going to attack her during the trip?
Worry was gnawing at his insides. He knew that he alone would not be able to protect her from a Death Eater or two if it came to that. He would need help. He thought of Potter and Weasley. Yes, he would tell them about this. They had handled situations like this before and would surely be able to help him. If worse came to worse, he would keep Hermione at the castle on that day- anything to protect her.
Now that he had decided on a course of action, he felt a bit better, though he wouldn't feel completely at ease about it until that day had passed uneventfully. He needed to talk to Potter and Weasley immediately, or he would never get to sleep that night. He knew the Gryffindors would probably be in their common room celebrating their victory, so he folded the letter and stuck it in his robes, heading off to warn them. How he was going to get past the picture of the Fat Lady was a bridge he would cross when he came to it. He just thanked his lucky stars Hermione had told him where their common room was located or he'd be searching the castle all afternoon.
He didn't look behind him as he left, or he would have seen Pansy's evil smirk as her eyes followed his retreating form.