The Aftermath
Sasha was barely conscious as Draco fought away the werewolf with magic, and she had almost blacked out as Draco picked her up and half carried, half dragged her out of the Forest. Then, her vision blurred and she lost consciousness.
Sasha woke in the hospital wing late that night to the sounds of whispering voices all around her. She opened her eyes a crack, and was surprised to see Dumbledore, Mcgonagol, Snape and a number of other faculty members crowded around the bed, whispering together.
"It must remain a secret!" Mcgonagol was saying urgently.
"No, it cannot be made public," Dumbledore agreed.
"Her transformations will prove difficult to manage. What will she do?"
Sasha squished her eyes shut, and tried to block out their voices. No, it's not true, she told herself. I'm not a werewolf, I'm not!
But in her heart she knew it was true.
Madam Pomfrey tended to her wound, which was slow to heal. Sasha stayed in the hospital wing for the next few days, but she was not permitted to have visitors, due to the fact that the reason she was there must remain a secret. Her parents came to see her, and they were furious with the school.
"Mom, the school is not at fault for what happened to me. I'm the one to blame," she told her mother as she sat beside her bed.
"Oh?" her mother said, raising her eyebrows.
"Yes. It's my fault, mom," Sasha sighed, preparing to tell the story.
"How is this? You were in the Forest of your own accord? Without a teacher?" her mother said angrily.
"Yeah, yeah, without a teacher. But not alone," Sasha mumbled. Her mothers eyes widened as the truth dawned on her.
"The Malfoy boy? Sasha! I told you not to see him anymore! What were you doing?" she asked furiously. Sasha looked down at her hands and picked at her nails.
"I couldn't stand being so uncertain with him, so I decided to get the truth out of him." Sasha told her mother about the entire Vertiaserum incident, and it's aftermath. "See why I did it? That is why I love him. Now I know what he wants, mum."
Her mother hadn't interuppted her tale, and now she shook her head in disbelief.
"Mum?"
"He is different from his father, that's for sure," her mother said quietly.
"What are you talking about? How do you know Lucius Malfoy?" Sasha questioned. Her mother smiled weakly.
"Yours is not the first Sorbelle-Malfoy relationship here. I was in much the same situation with Lucius as you are in with Draco, Sasha."
Sasha was unable to speak, then:
"What?!" she cried. Her mother sighed.
"It's true. We dated for most of our Hogwarts years, even a few years after graduation. I broke up with him just after he got involved with You-Know-Who. But there was a time when Ella Sorbelle and Lucius Malfoy were quite the item!
"It really astounded me when Demitra told me about you and Draco. My first thought was, 'Oh, what a strange coincidence!', and right after that thought I knew he would be a bad influence on you..."
she trailed off. Sasha looked her mother in the eye, shaking her head.
"No. He's not a bad influence at all. Draco's wonderful! I just wish he would come to see me here," Sasha blinked back a few tears, and her mother held her hand.
"Oh, Sasha, is that what you want?" Sasha nodded, and her mother continued. "Well, if it's possible, I'll go and get him for you. Where would he be right now?" she asked softly. Sasha smiled at her, and sighed.
"Unless I am very much mistaken, he is outside that door, in the corridor," she pointed to the entrance to the hospital wing. Ella Sorbelle raised an eyebrow, but walked over and pushed the door open, disappearing through it. After a few moments she entered again, leading a pale-faced Draco by the hand. His lip trembled as he saw her laying there and Sasha opened her arms to him. He embraced her and then sat on her bed beside her. Sashas mother smiled to her daughter and left the room.
Sasha studied Dracos face as he stared at a random spot on her blanket. His eyes were red, and he was paler than usual. He looked very tired.
"How- how have you been?" he asked her shakily. Sasha shrugged and gave him a small smile.
"Oh, not that bad. You look worse-off than I do, Draco," she said sighing.
"Yeah, well, I haven't exactly been happy these past few days. It's my fault you're here, Sash," his eyes welled up with tears, and he brushed them away. Sasha shook her head.
"No, it's not. How could you have prevented what happened? You couldn't have. I don't blame you," she told him reassuringly. Draco sat in silence. Sasha toyed with the silver band she always wore on her thumb. A faint smile played upon Dracos lips.
"Your mother doesn't trust me with you, does she?" Draco asked Sasha, who looked up at him, blushing.
"For a long time she didn't. She knew your father, and she thought you were like him,"
Dracos head shot up.
"What do you mean, she knew him?"
"Apparently they dated for many of their Hogwarts years, and they broke up a few years after graduation," she said, smiling. Draco gaped at her.
"Really? That's strange, father never spoke about her," he said, surprised. Sasha nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes, it is strange. I didn't know until today. Anyways, does anyone know what happened to me?" she asked, thankful for a change of subject.
"Just your sister. Professor Snape told me to make she she knew. Other than that no one knows," he replied. Sasha sighed, nodding.
There was complete silence for a few moments, and Dracos hand held Sashas tightly.
"I'm scared for you, Sash," Draco said suddenly. Sasha frowned.
"Why?"
"Because. It'll be hard, and painful I imagine. I just hope you can manage it," he was referring to the transformation. Sasha bit her lip.
"From Defense Against the Dark Arts class, I know it won't be easy. But I'll have to do it, and I will," she said strongly. Dracos hand strayed to her braided hair. Sasha closed her eyes, and tried to stifle the tears she could feel coming. Draco hugged her.
"If you need to cry, I'm right here," he whispered. Sasha lay her head down in Dracos lap, and let the tears come.
Sashas mother entered the hospital wing a while later to see her daughters head in the lap of her ex-boyfriends son. Sashas eyes were wet from crying, and were closed in sleep. Draco had fallen asleep also, laying on Sashas bed with her head across his lap. Ella Sorbelle watched them for a moment, then left them alone together.
A week had passed since Sasha was bitten, and she was back in classes. The wound on her calve was now simply a scar. Sasha had spent quite a lot of time in the library, researching werewolves and their monthly transformation. She would sit at a table reading, and sometimes Draco joined her, doing homework or reading with Sasha.
While Sasha was reading a rather large volume entitled 'Anatomy of a Werewolf', she spied, out of the corner of her eye, Hermione Granger sitting at one of the neighbouring tables, staring at Sasha with a thoughtful expression.
This continued on for quite a few more days, before Hermione came to sit with Sasha one day.
"May I sit here?" Hermione asked politely, gesturing to the seat across from Sasha. Sasha looked up from the pages of 'Anatomy of a Werewolf' and nodded slowly. Hermione smiled and sat down. She opened one of her books, but watched Sasha read instead. Annoyed, Sasha looked up at Hermione.
"What are you looking at, Mudblood?" she snapped. Hermione shrugged, but her friendly smile was replaced by a hurt expression. Sasha felt a pang of guilt.
"You're awfully interested in werewolves, aren't you?" Hermione asked in a whisper. Sasha regarded her warily. Can she know my secret? "Yeah. What's it to you?"
Hermione looked around discreetly before going on.
"You are one, aren't you?"