Chapter Eleven: If it weren't for Malfoy
"Here's you're work," Malfoy pointed to the large pile of work she had appeared to miss. She looked at him confused, but still angry. His eyes were staring into hers as when he directed her to her home work, familiar, but why?...she thought about his eyes as he turned for the door left the room as she had ordered.
Hermione was extremely tired and tried to remember how she came about getting in the Hospital Wing. Last she remembered she was...walking with Ron and Harry, they were off to Quidditch. She for once in her life ignored awaiting work and lay back down in the hospital bed. She realized she had no cuts or blood, but extreme pains in her back. They went off to Quidditch...and I walked down the stairs...Hermione closed her eyes and tried to remember beyond that but was having no luck. She was feeling sleepy and drifted off into another dream, hope fully not as bad as the one she just had. And hope fully she wouldn't wake up to see that slimy Slytherin in the middle of her bed this time; although she wouldn't mind the eyes again.
Hours later, she heard voices; familiar voices. One female, two male and there were only the three most obvious people.She felt a hand holding hers tightly. It's Harry, she thought groggily. She listened to what they were saying for a moment, not having the strength to open her eyes.
"Looks like Malfoy has been here," Ron said.
"Why would he come here before the end of the day when he knows we wouldn't be here?" Harry asked, rubbing his thumb tenderly over Hermione's thumb. Hermione tried to hide her smile.
"Well other then the fact its Malfoy...," Ginny said. Ginny? Hermione thought, now recognizing the female voice...I thought she was mad at me, "Maybe he had plans after school and just found it in his heart to bring her the work earlier...maybe incase she woke up?"
"Plans for what? Fucking Pansy after classes?" Ron said harshly.
"Ron! That's no way to talk about him," Ginny snapped. What in bloody hell? Hermione felt as if she was going crazy when Ginny said those words even though Ron was a bit out of line as always, "Like I said maybe in the good of his heart...,"
"What heart?" Harry asked.
"You both know he has one!" Ginny defended, Hermione didn't know it but she was pointing at her. Ron and Harry both gave their famous sighs, used by them for every Professor when they were turned down an opportunity to further their mischief.
"I'm just saying," Ron said, "How does one good deed revoke a life of horrible actions?"
"Ron, this good deed could make up for over 1000 bad deeds. It's not as if I want to be his friend, but I'm just saying maybe he's not that bad!"
"We already decided last night, we still hate him. He didn't mean to do this," Ron said simply.
Okay, now I'm confused. I hate being confused. I'm never confused. What good deed could EVER relate to Draco Malfoy? What in Merlin's name are they talking about? I need answers! She thought enraged, but opened her eyes slowly.
"So, you know you're thankful for his actions," Ginny defended.
"But Gi-," Ron stopped in mid yell and every one turned their attention to Hermione, "hey," he said in a much quieter tone sitting opposite of Harry on her Hospital bed.
"Hello," She said tiredly. Although her brain was not tired at all, her body was completely weary.
"Hey," Harry said. The grip on her hand became much tighter then she welcomed his smile and returned it.
She turned to Ginny, "Hi," she sounded nervous, "how are you doing?"
"Good question," Hermione answered sitting up in bed.
Ron and Harry jumped pushing her back under the covers, "Just take it easy," Harry said softly.
What the..., "Another good question," Hermione said as she was forced back on her painful back, "is...what am I doing here? What happened to me?"
Their expressions were completely changed with these words. "You don't...You don't remember?" Ron said.
"Um, no," She said confused. They were all exchanging looks. Beginning, and then stopping speeches on how to tell her, "Look, will just one person please explain this to me?"
"Well I didn't witness it," Ginny said appointing the duty to either Ron or Harry.
Ron and Harry both exchanged looks and Harry began to tell the story. He talked fast; got it over quickly, and seemed more bothered by how helpless he was to save her then how helpless she was falling down seven flights. But Hermione took all of it in, not really believing much of it.
"I fell?" Hermione questioned once Harry concluded.
"Yea," Ron said.
"And you guys didn't do any thing?" Hermione asked going wide eyed.
"It's not their fault," Ginny said, "wands aren't allowed at practice or even games, they could be broken or misused,"
Hermione nodded, "Okay then," she said still upset that even Harry or Ron couldn't have come to her rescue,"...so, but, wait- Malfoy...Draco...Malfoy...saved my life?" Hermione looked at them with their serious expressions and began to laugh, "But that's impossible! How would he, how could he possibly-," But Hermione stopped laughing and remembered Draco visiting earlier, with all of her work. That could have been why he was here...but it just doesn't add up! Malfoy saving a mudblood, it's impossible! Why would he bring my work any way? Although the staircase thing is even less possible to have happened. "How would I fall off a switching stair case, they don't move when a student is walking on them,"
"Our guess is since you were walking so slowly and were reading it didn't notice," Ron said, although his guess made no sense.
"Our real guess," Harry sighed, "is that there was some thing faulty, this has never happened before,"
Hermione shook her head, this was all so weird. "You're sure Malfoy caught me?"
"Seems that way," Ginny said.
"But I-," Hermione closed her eyes and rubbed her head with the opposite of the one Harry was holding. Now that they had told her the story of her falling she could remember, but only bleakly, parts of what happened. It's possible she fell, that would account for my back injuries. But Malfoy...then her brain froze, she remembered grey eyes. That's why they were familiar when I saw them before he left! The last thing I saw before I passed out was Draco Malfoy's eyes! His beautiful ey- wait! Saving my life doesn't give him a get-on-my-good-side-free card, not after every thing that has happened.
"We were surprised too," Ron explained, "a bit more worried about you though to worry about Malfoy,"
"What did you say?" She demanded.
"Thanks and stuff," Ron said plainly, "I didn't know what else to say,"
"Oh okay, well- oh no...," in her mind she remembered how horrible she had been to Malfoy earlier.
"What's wrong?" Ron and Harry began asking immediate questions "are you cold?", "are you too hot?", "are you hurting?"
"No, it's none of that...it's just...Malfoy, he came here earlier,"
"And?" Harry asked firmly.
"I knew it! What'd he do?" Ron asked jumping to more conclusions.
"Nothing! That's exactly it. I think he was trying to explain why he was here and what happened but I yelled at him," Hermione sighed. "I mean he saved my life, I should be grateful! Even if it is him,"
"Don't feel that bad 'Mione," Ginny comforted, "It's not as if he's never yelled at you for any reason,"
"But...I wouldn't be a live right now if it weren't for him. If it weren't for Malfoy...,"
Ron, Harry and Ginny left soon after that. All Hermione had done was bask in her regret about how she had snapped at Malfoy earlier and soon enough complained about being tired. He saved my life...It still wasn't ringing a bell in her head, although his eyes were the proof that it must have been him, they were the only things she could remember from her so called fall. I still don't see how this all came to happen...how do I not notice a switching stair case, even if I am reading, I'm more alert then that. I've went hunting after death eaters! And how do I forget every thing that happened, and why is it so hard to believe Malfoy saved me? The Slytherin Common room is on the first floor. The last question had to be the easiest one to answer because well, it was Malfoy. Since her very first night at Hogwarts he had shown to be the cruel, sniveling type she wanted nothing to do with.
And even with avoiding company with him, being in Harry and Ron's company only provoked it more, because some how it was Malfoy's goal in life to bring them down, and her as well once he found out of her up bringing. In third year she had done some thing totally unthinkable, totally unpredictable, took all of her hate out on him with violence. That was just being as bad as him...Hermione had told herself when her moments of glory from Harry and Ron had ceased.
But it wasn't till Fourth year he become popular in Slytherin with the ladies, especially Pansy Parkinson, at the Yule Ball. Fifth year he was sucking up to that horrible Umbridge and making our lives horrible. And now in Sixth Year he saves my life? After tormenting it and bringing it down as deep as he could as if it were his reason to breathe? It was probably an accident, him being there as I fell...but once he saw who it was...couldn't he have just dropped me? Or in the real Malfoy style, couldn't he have just let me or any person land on the marble floor? It just seems unlike the Malfoy we all know and hate...
Hermione sighed and laid her head down. Malfoy has had the upbringing of a Sherman tank. That is if you look at this matter in muggle warfare. Completely controlled by some one else and can only cause terror. That's- was, the description of Malfoy. But has he really changed? Can this really effect what he has been programmed to do and learned how to live for his whole state of being? Hermione wanted to find comfort in the fact that she may never have to listen to Malfoy call her mudblood again, since saving a life may affect him. But the more she thought about him and his past, the less hope she had as she fell asleep. In her dreams she imagined what Malfoy and she would be like, being civil. Perhaps even being friends. It would never happen, but that's why they call it a dream.