Chapter Three
Friendship
Draco's came first. He was already trembling with fear, feeling a sharp prickling in the back of his eyes. Then his harsh voice reached his ears, making his heart wrench.
"My father, Lucius Zane Malfoy, murdered – by the use of the unforgivable curse' my sister, who was six months and fourteen days younger than myself, Draco Zane Malfoy."
Tears were streaming down his face, he was no longer in the little greenhouse on the rolling lawns outside Hogwarts, but stood by a lake. The shadow of his family manor looming over him and in front of Draco was a small, trembling girl with flowing blonde hair and big, blue, innocent eyes. She was crying silent, but looked as if she was talking to herself; he walked towards her wand raised. It was his first Christmas home from Hogwarts but it had not snowed at his home. As he reached the girl, placing himself before her, his father appeared. With a glint of madness in his cold, steely eyes he laughed.
"This'll teach your slut of a mother not to sleep around Draco. Just you watch."
Only then did the young boy realize what was going to happen. He was going to kill her, his beautiful sister.
"No father, no" he cried throwing himself in front of his sister. "Please don't!"
"Oh get out of my way you snivelling brat"
Draco didn't move an inch.
"Fine if you want to do it the hard way. Crucio!" Sneered Lucius
And with that one simple word, Draco was writhing in pain on the floor screaming out. And at that moment when he closed his eyes, when the pain got too much the curse was lifted. Draco forced his eyes open, there was a maniacal smile pasted on his fathers face. He tried to move but his muscles were screaming, the pain still lingering. All he could do was watch as his father raised his wand.
"Avada Kedavra you little bitch"
A flash of green light and Draco heard her fall to the ground, Lucius sneered striding over to the place the small girl had fallen grabbing her arm and throwing her into the lake behind him. Slowly she sank to the bottom. The last thing he saw before he passed out was his mother running down from the manor screaming; obviously she had been made to sit in the house, unable to do a thing. Then he passed out, succumbing to the darkness in his heart and soul.
Draco snapped back to the humid air in the green house, to find everyone present staring at him. Oh god no! I've got to get out of here. With that thought, he bolted out of the hot glass building. He ran and ran not knowing where he was going or of the commotion he'd caused back in the green house. People where talking in load voices and Professor Sprout was busy writing a letter to Dumbledore about the new offence to Lucius' name. Hermione, however, was horror stuck, at Lucius, at Draco for holding it in and most of all, at her self. All those time's… when I said…Oh God I have to apologise! And with that thought still in mind she grabbed her bag and snuck out the room, slipping away with ease, hearing her secret being spilled to a room of uninterested 7th years. No one heard but her.
He was sitting in a tree. One leg pulled up to his chest, his head resting on the kneecap, the other hanging limply down. His blond hair had created a curtain around his face so Hermione could not see if he was crying or not. There was no movement so she assumed he wasn't. Taking a chance, she called his name.
"Draco?" He didn't move. "Draco?" She called again, still no reply. "Draco!" There was a snort and his head shot up. He had been sleeping.
"I'm up! I'm up! I'm…" He looked down at the bushy haired Gryffindor. "oh its you, Granger." He sneered turning to look the other way, folding his arms on his knee and laying his head on them. She ignored him switching to her surname and called up to him again.
"Draco, look at me." He didn't say anything. "Draco! Look at me! I'm warning you!" She made her way to the trunk of the tree. "I'll come up there if I have to." She saw his face flinch a bit with something that looked like worry, but it was gone as soon as it came. Still he said nothing. "Right that's it." She looked at the trunk and swept her clock behind her, placing her foot on one of the indents. Slowly she made her way up the tree. It didn't look that far from the ground, only the third branch up but when she reached the second branch, she began to get dizzy. That's when she slipped. She felt her mouth open and the feeling of falling then a hand closing tight around her arm. She opened her eyes and saw Draco straddling the branch and stretching out to grab her, his eyes glistening with tears again. She just looked back up at him her head spinning.
"Well grab onto the branch, you stupid girl!" He snapped at her, his voice sharp but worried at the same time. She did as she was told and hulled her self into a sitting poison next to him. She watched as he sifted his weight so that they were balanced and the branch wouldn't snap. This meant he was sitting only inches from her. She looked up and him, searching his face for the pigheaded, pride ridden, stuck up boy she hated but wish she could see right now. That boy was better then seeing this one. One who's eyes where now glazed with tears. One who looked as though he was reliving the day she had only heard of. One who she felt so, so very sorry for. She had no idea what to do, the only person she had ever known in this boy was fading away right before her eyes. He was weakening and she wasn't sure whether this was good or bad. So she did all she could. She sat there, just being with him. Being a friend.
"Ah, Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger." Hermione jumped when she heard the voice. She looked side to side and saw that she was still in the tree. I must of fallen asleep. It was then that she realized two things. One that Draco's head was on her shoulder and that her arm was round his shoulders and two Professor Dumbledore was down on the ground and could be looking up her skirt.
"Yes Sir?" Draco answered. HE WAS AWAKE! WITH HIS HEAD ON MY SHOULDER! He removed his head from her shoulder and looked down.
"Could you both come with me please? We need to talk." Hermione was still looking shocked at Draco when he looked back at her.
"What?" He asked a sight smile on his face.
"N-nothing." She turned and climbed down the trunk, a knot in her stomach that wasn't there before he smiled at her.
Without saying a word they followed the headmaster to his office, not even stopping to laugh at the password of 'Soursnapes'. They entered the circular room in a daze, the portraits all murmuring to one another – casting suspicious glances at Draco.
"Sit my dears," said Dumbledore indicating to two chintz armchairs "Have some chocolate." Both knew it was a demand as a box of Honey dukes best chocolate was thrust under their nose. But after eating it, they both felt much better.
"So Draco, are you alright?" asked the headmaster, his hands sat on the desk.
"Yeh I'm fine, I don't want to talk about it."
"That's fine Mr Malfoy." After Harry's performance at the end of his fifth year, he knew better than to force people, especially hormonal adolescents to talk. "But I must inform you that I have to report this allegation to the Ministry of Magic, and you may be called in for questioning and be subjected to the use of both Vertiserum and a Pensieve. I'm sorry for this Draco, but your father must be punished if this is found true."
Hermione saw Draco visibly tense, when Dumbledore queried his sisters' murder. She put her hand gently on his arm, in hopes to calm him slightly.
"IT IS TRUE!" screamed the distressed boy, tears starting to slide down his chiselled face "I saw it." the last three words were barely a whisper.
"Well I haven't seen the proof myself, but that delightful little plant does only speak the truth so I have to believe you. You may go if there is nothing you wish to say." Before turning to Hermione as if he just remembered her presence "Thank you Miss Granger."
The two young adults left the room, and in silence returned to their quarters. Hermione was the one to break the silence.
"Draco, you've got to talk about this…" she whispered
"I don't want to, it's nothing, none of your business." And with that he stormed off to the single bedroom, leaving Hermione to sink onto the couch and cry.
Over the next few days, this continued, Hermione trying to get Draco to vent, Draco refusing to tell her the full story. Hermione started to spiral into closure and she drew back from everyone, even Ron and Harry. She didn't even notice that one night Draco didn't even sleep in the bed, until the morning, when she found the sheet wrapped around her and her waist was free of warm arms. Quickly getting dressed, she ran down to breakfast and scanned the teacher's bench. He wasn't there.
"Hey Hermione!" She whipped her head round at the boy's voice, hoping that Draco would be standing there but all she saw was Ron and Harry.
"Oh, hi guys." She said turning round again and scanning the hall for any sign that the blonde had been there at all that morning.
"Are you ok, 'Mione?" Harry asked, his voice riddled with concern.
"Yeah, you haven't been in here at all in a week…" Hermione gave up on the blonde and turned round to face her old friends.
"What date is it?" Hermione asked. Time had flown by, she knew that but it can't have been a week.
"7th of November…" Harry said.
"Oh… Well, I've just been busy, that's all."
"Yah busy with Ferret boy!" Ron snapped.
"To busy to eat?" Harry asked ignoring Ron's comment.
"Look, I…" She stopped mid-sentence. She saw the blonde haired boy walking silently across the stone floored hall. "…I…I have to go!" She said pushing thought the two boys, Draco already walking up the stairs.
"Hermione?" Harry said turning to see where she was going. She flew across the hall and up the steps, following Draco.
"Now she ditching us for him?" Ron asked. "This is not right." Harry didn't answer. "Hey. You don't think their… you no, dating or anything… do you?" Ron said uneasily.
"No." Harry said after a moment. Hermione flew round the corner, Draco still not answering her calls to him. "But something's up with Hermione."
"Draco!" She rounded the corner and saw him, still walking fast, trying to avoid her. "Draco!" she shouted again, to no success. She steadily walked behind him and concentrated. I know I read this some where, I just have to concentrate. Suddenly with no warning, no pull or anything, She was standing in a hallway different to the one she was just in, this on had a tapestry in it, and Draco was standing very confused, in front of a wall.
"What the…!" He exclaimed and whirled on Hermione. "What did you just do!" She didn't answer, she just walked up and down 3 time in front of the tapestry. She then pulled it back. Draco, sensing what was going to happen, tried to get away, but before he knew it, he was being dragged into the room. It was red and gold, making Draco cringe, and had a table and two chairs set in the middle. These where green and sliver, much more to his liking, and the rest of the room was empty. He watched as Hermione dumped her school bag and walked over to on of the chairs.
"We're going to be late you know." Draco said wearily.
"We have two free periods." Hermione said not looking at him. "Now sit!" Draco dropped his bags and walked over to the chairs. This was when he noticed the chessboard.
"What's this for?" Picking up one of the pieces. Instantly it, and its teammates, turned sliver, as did every black square on the board. Hermione picked up a white and it did the same only her pieces turned to gold.
"We play, I win, you talk. We play, I lose, I let it go." Draco raised an eyebrow at her.
"No." He said simply, putting down the pawn, which he had picked up, and walking over to the door. Hermione pointed her wand at it but said nothing, It was only when he could not open the door, that Draco realised she had locked it. He sighed, staying calm for a few moments, then kicked at the door. "What! Do! You! Not! Understand! About! The! Word! NO?" Hermione sat there calmly as he kicked the door on each word. This was followed by silence the only noise being that of Draco ragged breathing. "Fine." He whispered, after his breathing was regular. He turned and walked over to the board. "But, if I win, you don't only have to drop this stupid thing, but you have to tell me your secret." Hermione pondered this. It could make or brake everything, but did she want to risk it. Yes.
"Ok, Done." She said sticking out her hand, which Draco took. They shock on it thinking the exact same thoughts: I have to win this game!
A/N: Starlight and Pricey:Ok what you think? Review plz!