Disclaimer: Still don't own.

: Love Sex and a Bottle of Vodka :

: Chapter Twenty-Six :

Draco felt his entire body tense as icy blood ran through its stony corridors. The room was completely and totally silent. When Draco sought and won control over his mouth again, he said, "Who? Who was it?" Hermione looked about the room then closed them, unable to handle the intensity of her friends' stares. She whispered something. Draco leaned close until his ear was by her mouth. She repeated herself.

Suddenly, the room was in a flurry of motion. Draco had leapt from the bed and pulled his hand from Hermione's grasp. There was a cry of surprise, from Hermione or Ginny, Draco would never really remember, and he ran from the room. Madame Pomfrey was shouting over the cacophony of noises and pressing Hermione back into the bed, insisting she was too weak to get out of bed. In the mess of madness and confusion, Hermione realized that Harry was gone as well. Ginny was by her side, holding her hand, asking her what was going on and Hermione hadn't even noticed until her friend had called her name urgently for the fifth time. She just shook her head.

"The consequences of this I can't even being to fathom," she whispered.

"The consequences of what, Hermione? What did you tell Draco?" Ginny urged. Hermione found she couldn't summon the strength to speak again. The feeling started to rapidly disappear from her body and felt as heavy as lead. It became a labor to even move her chest up and down in her breathing. As Madame Pomfrey pressed a vial to her lips, she let her vision swim before her eyes and finally let her consciousness go. She slipped into blessed darkness to wander the halls of oblivion, the last breath of calm before the chaos.

"Draco! Draco, stop!" Harry chased Draco down the halls, their bare feet hitting the stony floor painfully. Draco ran as if he knew where he was going, or perhaps he was running in madness. Harry could not say as he chased the blonde phantom down the corridors of Hogwarts. Suddenly, Draco skidded to a stop and studied the painting before him.

"This is it, isn't it, Harry? This is the entrance to the Gryffindor common room." Harry looked up. Yes, yes it was. There was the Fat Lady before them, looking as grave as Harry had ever seen her before. Harry suddenly felt apprehension climb in his chest.

"How did you know," he asked, lowly.

"Things in Hogwarts have a way of appearing when needed," Draco said, in a strange sort of voice. It was hollow, as though he was reciting from something he had read before.

"Tell me the password." Harry looked at Draco, stunned.

"What?"

"You heard me. Tell me the password." Harry shook his head and moved so he stood before Draco and the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"I can't. Not when you're so unnerved and there's near madness in your eyes."

"Harry, this isn't the time for noble actions. Don't make me hurt you," Draco said, advancing on the other boy. "I need in now."

"Draco! Be reasonable; what are you going to do, go in there and kill somebody? Who are you after?" Harry demanded. Draco shoved Harry up against the portrait and Harry gasped, the wind momentarily knocked from his body. Their faces were only mere inches apart and it was as though the last few weeks had never occurred. Here they were again, sworn enemies, wishing to crush the other into bits of bone and robe.

They looked at each other, sizing each other up, wondering who would make the first move. Draco searched Harry's hard eyes with his own stony ones. They were completely without expression, only reflecting Draco's face like mirrors. The air was unbelievably thick with tension and the only sound in the hall was their harsh breathing.

"If Dean Thomas drugged Hermione and the consequences led to her near death, I don't think I have to be reasonable," Draco said, low and dangerous. They stared at each other for a moment longer.

"Jabberwocky," Harry whispered. The portrait swung open, soundlessly, and Draco gave Harry a nod. It was both an apology and an offer. Harry accepted both as he followed Draco and they crawled through the portrait hole and into the common room.

"Up those stairs," Harry said, and Draco wordlessly ran up the stairs leading to the boys' dormitory and disappeared through the door. Harry hesitated before the closed door and closed his eyes for a second, everything sinking in. He would lose a friend, that was certain, one that had been a good, solid human being as well. Draco's words ran through his mind again. If Dean Thomas drugged Hermione and the consequences led to her near death…Harry pushed the door open to find Draco and Dean facing each other from opposite sides of the room.

"Harry!" Dean's face opened up and his expression turned to relief. "Thank god, what is he doing here? How did he get in?" Harry pressed his lips together at the sight of his friend's (was he still a friend?) relief. Harry stepped into the room further and stopped behind Draco.

"I let him in," he said, in a low voice. Dean's expression changed from relief to confusion…then to panic.

"I don't understand," he said, slowly.

"Of course you don't," Draco spat. "You don't understand just like how you didn't understand the consequences of what you did when you drugged Hermione. You nearly killed her and you didn't even know." Dean staggered back a couple of steps. He appeared to be sizing up the situation, whether he would get away with protesting that he didn't know what Draco was talking about.

"It's not what you think," he finally said, slowly.

"It's not what I think?" Draco repeated, as though he was appalled at the other boy's audacity. He spoke again, his voice filled with scorn. "Then enlighten me, and Harry too because I know he's just dying of curiosity. What is it then, if it's not precisely what it seems?" Dean stared at the other boy and swallowed, trying to bring moisture into his dry mouth.

"I don't know where to start," he said.

"Why did you drug Hermione? Now there's a nice, clean place to start, don't you agree Harry?" Draco said, keeping his eyes on Dean the whole time.

"A man approached me in the beginning of last summer," Dean said. He watched both of them carefully as Draco slowly drew out his wand and pointed it at him.

"He held my little sister for ransom. He promised me he would kill her if I didn't do as he said. He assured me that no lasting side-effects would be present if I slipped a potion into Hermione's drink that night, just that once. He knew where she'd be, when she'd be there. He told me if I did that, my sister, my family, would be safe. I did it to save my little sister. He promised me that Hermione wouldn't be hurt."

"And who might this man be?" Draco asked, some of the contempt fading from his voice.

"I don't know," Dean said, defiantly. Draco searched the other boy carefully.

"You're lying," he deduced.

"I can't say," Dean amended. He was started to become more flustered.

"I think it'd be best if you told us, Dean," Harry said, quietly. Dean jumped, as though he had forgotten Harry was in the room. Dean was shaking openly now.

"You will hurt me if I say. You would not believe me," he said.

"Try me," Draco said.

"Your…father. He introduced himself as Lucius and I looked him up. I knew it was your father I recognized the resemblance I failed to see when I met him." Draco looked at Dean carefully to make sure the other boy wasn't lying. The shock took a long time to register in Draco's mind.

"I didn't even truly know Hermione until that night. What could have motivated my father to ask you to do something like that? Why?" Draco finally said. "Why would he go out of his way to hurt her so much? Hermione's nothing to him; she's insignificant, a mere useless pawn in the workings of his power mongering-"

"Don't you see already, Malfoy?" Dean blurted out. "This was never about Hermione, it never has been. Your father did this because of you." Draco shook his head, stepping back.

"No, no I don't understand, I don't see." Draco found himself refusing to comprehend Dean's words. What was that boy saying? Was he actually saying that it was…it was his fault, that he was to blame? Was it he, Draco Malfoy, who really, truly almost killed Hermione?

"You're lying!" he yelled. He shook the wand again, now pointed straight at Dean's chest. Dean's eyes widened.

"Draco, no!" Harry shouted, grabbing at the other boy's wand, trying to wrestle his aim down. While the two boys were struggling against one another, Dean used the opportunity to grab an object from underneath the mattress of his bed.

"Get out," Dean said, breathing hard, pointing the object at Draco. "I told you what you needed to know. Go to your father if you want to know more." Harry froze the moment he saw Dean draw out the gun. His hands fell from Draco's arm and Harry took a step back. Tension arose, thick and heavy, and Harry swallowed hard. Something told him to keep from making sudden movements. Dean was completely on edge and there was truly no telling what he might do.

"Dean," he said, warningly. "Put it down. Put down the gun, now." Dean shook his head and kept shaking the gun at Draco. Draco eyed him apprehensively.

"It's a gun, Draco, a muggle invention. It will kill you sooner than you can utter any spell," Harry said. "I think you should leave." Draco ignored him.

"You can hardly believe you can get away with murder, especially in front of a witness," Draco said, scornfully.

"Don't think for a second I wouldn't," Dean said, breathing hard. "Don't think for a second I would regret killing you. Don't think for a second that I don't believe that you're just like your father! Lying, scheming bastards who will hurt anyone to climb to the top."

"You don't know the first thing about me," Draco growled. Deanjust shook his head andpointed the gun clearly at Draco's chest.

"I know you swagger and act like you're king of this school but you can't even measure up to please your murdering father," Dean said. "You would kill Hermione the first chance you get to prove to him that you're man enough."

"Dean," Harry said, sharply. "You know that's not true." The tension in the room seemed to break Dean. He whirled on Harry, eyes wide, sweat beading on his forehead.

"He almost killed my sister!" he screamed. "Don't tell me I don't know what they're capable of!" He swung the gun towards Harry this time. Draco waved the wand and shouted a spell that hit Dean in the chest, knocking him back against the wall as he inadvertently pulled the trigger.

Two shots rang out

And everything faded to black.