A/N: HAH YES I'M SO EVIL :D Yeah, that was a pretty evil cliffie. D
BUT I've got another chappy up. Compared to my usual updating, this has been kinda slow, cause the weekend ended and I'm back at school. So I write when I get the chance (between A LOT of homework), but I am NOT abandoning this fic. The most I'll take to update is a few days. Alright well, READ!
Oh and, I've realized that I forgot to add a Disclaimer. Kinda not necessary, cause you all know I'm not JK and that I don't own any of the characters (or else, I wouldn't be here right now :D). But for all those legal people...here you are. I'm only putting this in this chappy.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the HP characters you recognize, the setting, or anything else EXCEPT the plot. So if you steal that, you WILL meet a gruesome death. Oh and I'm not JK. Duh. :)
RECENT NOTE: I re-uploaded this chapter cause one of my betas, Kara, told me she found a few mistakes. I realized they were true, and had to be fixed to avoid confusion.
Chapter 7: Ring A Few Bells?
"Hey guys, look, she's waking up!" a faint voice said.
Her eyes fluttered open. She heard more faint voices, and everything seemed quite foggy and surreal, as if she was in a dream. Many faces peered down at her; however, none were familiar.
"Careful not to confuse her too much. She'll be easily frightened, not knowing who you all are," said another, yet older sounding voice.
"Seven years and we're still taking this crap from that woman," said another voice, in a low whisper.
The girl was absolutely bewildered. Her head ached, and she felt a large bump on the top of her head. The voices droned on, out of reach from her mind, and became all mixed into one. She couldn't take it anymore.
"WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE!?" she finally yelled, causing the room to go silent.
"Merlin, she's awake! Don't worry. We're your friends. We won't hurt you," Ron said slowly, enunciating each syllable as if he were speaking to an animal.
Hermione's face twisted into confusion. "Merlin? Ah yes, that's my name isn't it?" she said, looking around the room somewhat stupidly.
Harry and Ron attempted to hold back a laugh. Ginny kicked Ron slightly, immediately ceasing their laughter.
"Uhm, no, Hermione is your name," Ginny told her slowly.
"What...what happened to me? Who am I? What's happening? Who are you people? I don't seem to remember anything, and it really isn't quite nice," Hermione whined, sounding like a small child.
Ginny sighed and sat down on the edge of her bed. "Alright, I'll explain. Let's just start it at the fact that, strangely enough, Draco saved your life. Who knows what would have happened if—" Ginny began, but was interrupted.
"DRACO! That rings a bell...yes! I remember! Draco...it sounds nice," Hermione exclaimed, going off into her own thoughts.
---
Draco sat on a couch in the Head's common room with his elbow on the armrest and his head tilted against his hand. Although he did not want to admit it, he was sick with worry.
'Oh Merlin, I hope she's alright,' he thought to himself, half subconsciously.
No matter how hard he tried to convince himself, he could not get around the fact that his heart had momentarily stopped when he saw her limp form at the foot of the stairs. Nonetheless, he had avoided the hospital wing all day. The scene played over and over in his mind...
Draco immediately ran down the steps, three at time. He first pressed two fingers to her neck.
'Oh good, a pulse,' he thought to himself.
Without much concern for his reputation at the moment (or without much thinking at all), he scooped up her limp form in his strong arms and walked somewhat casually, despite the repressed panic he felt, up the stairs, careful not to drop her. A murmuring crowd had formed at the top of the staircase, looking down upon the scene.
"LET ME THROUGH! WHAT HAPPENED?!" cried a voice. A familiar red head struggled through the group of students, shocked at the scene before her, and ran down along side Draco.
"What happened?!?" Ginny cried.
"What does it look like?" he said casually, the same blank expression on his face. The crowd cleared aside as Draco quickened his pace toward the hospital wing. Ginny kept the same pace at his side, and in turning a corner, met up with Harry and Ron.
"What the bloody hell—" Ron began, but Ginny put a finger up to
silence him.
Harry and Ron followed, not quite aware of what was going on, but much too scared to question and risk experiencing the wrath of Ginny.
Hermione stayed unconscious as the group rushed into the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey immediately assisted them.
"Oh
my, oh my...what has happened here?" she scampered over to Draco,
as Ginny began to explain.
Draco walked silently to a
nearby bed and placed Hermione down upon it. He turned to Harry and
Ron who noticed that his face was paler than usual.
"Go get Dumbledore," he said in a sullen yet urgent tone.
"What makes you think we'll take orders from--," Ron began to say, but was silenced when Harry grabbed his arm.
"No, he's right," Harry said shortly, turning to leave. Ron threw the Slytherin a dark look and followed.
Draco couldn't bear to look over at Hermione. She lay so lifeless, so still, it seemed as if she would never wake up, never throw an insult his way, and never again lay her lips against his...
He stood with his back to most of the room, gazing out the window. The sky was dark, but even so, there were no stars, but only black clouds from which began to fall lazy yet heavy sheets rain. Not even the moon shone, causing everything to remain dark and empty, just as Draco felt inside. Dark, as if the faint yet strong glow that kept him alive through all the coldness had flickered out...
Draco
snapped out of his reverie as the portrait swung open. Dumbledore
stepped through, and made his way over to Draco, his normally
twinkling blue eyes now filled with worry.
"Mr. Malfoy, I
do have most interesting news," Dumbledore began to say.
Draco inclined his head a bit as to face the Headmaster.
"Ever since Hermione's state of consciousness, all she seems to remember is your name," Dumbledore mused.
Draco seemed shocked, yet at the same time interested.'Out of all of her friends...people who showed her more compassion and kindness than I ever did...she remembered me?'
"Me?" he said abruptly, then paused. "Do go on..."
"When Madame Pomfrey attends to her, she asks about you. In her sleep, she often mentions your name. She constantly questions about where you are," Dumbledore explained.
'HAH! SHE DOES LIKE YOU!' yelled a voice in Draco's head, causing him to wince.
'Shut the hell up,' Draco thought to himself, quite annoyed."I see...and what do you conclude of this?" Draco said, unsure of what else to say.
"I suggest we go and pay her a visit now, hmm?" Dumbledore said, his eyes once again twinkling.
Draco cocked an eyebrow in confusion, but did not protest.
"This may work better than I imagined," Dumbledore said softly to himself.
--
Draco entered the bland hospital wing, followed by Dumbledore. He looked around and found Hermione, now comfortably sleeping on one of the beds. He made his way over to her. She looked quite peaceful, as if she had no care in the world.
"Please see me in my office after your visit," Dumbledore said before exiting the wing.
Draco turned back to Hermione. He was overjoyed that she was alright, but at the same time enraged at the fact that she made him feel so many things. But no, he couldn't feel anything but hate for her. She was a mudblood. His family did not mix with that kind.Regardless of this thought, he knelt beside her and reached out to take her hand. As he did so, a memory flashed through his mind...
Draco stood at the window and began to leave as he heard Dumbledore speaking in a low voice.
"What are the conditions, Poppy?" the Headmaster asked.
"Well Headmaster, I am quite afraid to say, she seems to be suffering from a case of amnesia," Madame Pomfrey replied.
Draco felt as if he had been punched in the stomach.
Draco snapped out of his day dream quickly as Hermione awoke.
"Draco?" she whispered softly.
Draco, quite unsure of what else to do, nodded.
"Oh, I'm so happy you came to see me! I've been asking for you, but that...oh what was her name, Gelly..." Hermione trailed off.
"Ginny," he said shortly, repressing a laugh.
"Oh yes that's right, Ginny. Anyway, I'm so glad to see someone I remember! The nice people have told me what's happened, but I'm still so confused," she said, sighing.
Anyone who saw Draco just then would've thought he'd just seen a thestral try to tap dance. Both eyebrows were raised and he seemed quite lost.
'Play...along...," he reminded himself.
"Oh yes, well, I...I'm glad," he said.
He noticed that she still hadn't let go of his hand. This didn't bother him as much as he thought.
Just then, Madame Pomfrey came out from her office.
"Alright Mr. Malfoy, you can see her again tomorrow if you wish, but visiting hours are over," she said, signaling to the door.
Hermione's face fell slightly, but Draco was somewhat relieved to leave. She gave him a small wave as he left.
Draco wanted desperately to go back to his room, but remembered the meeting with Dumbledore. He sighed and headed in the direction of the Headmaster's office.
--
A/N: HOW WAS THAT?!!? This chapter was going to be like, eight or nine pages on Microsoft Word, but I decided that was much too long, and plus, I would keep you guys waiting too long. Not that I wouldn't enjoy watching you all suffer :) So, this chappy is now like, broken into two or three, depends.
Oh and I'd like to introduce another one of my betas, Kara! (JaxDepp)
Now for my reviewers..
littlewolfdemon1: Thanks! Except more soon
JaxDepp: Lmao will do! Thanks -hands you sticker that says Beta.2-
KatieBell90099: Mwaha, yes, I AM evil D Yep, they both –secretly- feel stuff, but they don't ABSOULTELY know it yet. There's something coming up like, at the end of the story, that will explain A LOT. Enjoy the rest of the reading!
Hpequalsgreatlit: Domo arigato very mucho (:P). I try to keep the dialog very clear, cause then the story will be easier to read. Yep, I think that's like, one of the biggest cliffies in the story...along with one other one. Which you will see later D
Pharaun: Lmao, yes, I am sooo bad D Merci, merci :D Glad you like! Hermy get's Draco in the end, so no pity necessary
sugar n spice 522: Don't worry, I wouldn't do anything COMPLETELY life altering. Yep, hormone-run teens for you. There's also the fact with background and too much confusion. Not to mention, they both got much better looking over the summer. It'll all tie up in the end so that everything can make sense.
InDyxx: Hah, thanks I will update when I can! –nudge nudge-
paper-sky: Thanks!! I try to keep them not OOC so that the story is a bit more true to the books. Hope you keep reading!
cokechix: Hola Andie! Lmao, I had to give Seamus something after making him all sad like that. Even though he didn't really end up with anything...o.O Gracias, y que tengas buena suerte con el 'fic' tuyo! (Thanks, and good luck with your 'fic!') xD Glad you liked the cliffie, and of COURSE I'll help you. Just IM me when you want.
MJ432: Lmao yeah, biggg cliffie, eh? Thanks Unfortunately, updating will be a bit slower during the week cause of school responsibilities and homework. But during the weekend, I write like, a whole chapter (usually two or more) in a day (if I'm not doing anything) so you can expect faster updates then
That's it for now! Until next time, -insert funny closing comment here-