Chapter 13 (Something in return)
Verisaterum…
Verisaterum…
Verisaterum…
The word kept on repeating on his mind. It would not stop. And soon, he would have to have it against his will, wait until the next full moon to do so. Just to prove his innocence. He had no choice.
'It's all your fault… I shouldn't have saved you. I should have let you fall down to your death. I saved you and this is what I get in return… I hate you.'
Draco slowly sat down on his bed, his hands covering his entire face. He was shaking. His hair was a mess. Everything was a mess. He hadn't gone out of the room for two straight days since that unfortunate incident last Friday. The Slytherin House Elf was the one that brought him food, one that he rarely touched. He was supposed to be in the Quidditch field right now, practicing with his teammates.
Earlier that morning, Pansy had knocked on the door to try and put some sense into him but to no avail. She wanted to see what was wrong with Draco. It hurt her to see him suffer or at least that's what she feels is happening to him right now.
Draco stubborn as ever, refused to go out. He just wanted to be alone, drown in his misery, now why can't anyone understand that?
He knew that word of mouth was powerful. He was certain that by now, rumors were circulating around the campus of his so-called encounter with the mudblood. But did he care? He certainly did. You'd think that by now he'd be proving everyone wrong of those unfair accusations thrown upon him, but he wasn't. He was completely drained of his energy.
This wasn't the same Draco who would fight strongly for what he believed in. Everything had changed. He had changed.
Meanwhile, in the hospital wing…
"I'm scared Harry… She hasn't woken up in days. And here I am, holding her hand, hoping to get some kind of a reaction but it's not working. I want to know what exactly happened. I want her to be the one to tell me," said Ron, who was sitting alongside Harry near Hermione's bed. He looked at the girl with deep longing and concern.
Harry could see how much Ron really cared for their best friend Hermione and to think that the last time they talked with the girl was in an argument. He could never forgive himself for that. He wanted the three of them to be friends again, to start a new but Harry knew that it could only happen once Hermione stopped pushing them away.
"Err… Ron… I heard that it was Malfoy."
"Malfoy? What's he got to do with all of this?" Ron, more alert at hearing their enemy's name sat still in his chair.
"Remember that third-year named Slone, the one who was shrieking in pain when we first visited Hermione? He was the one that used that bed over there," Harry said pointing over a remote bed on the other side of the aisle, "Well, he was here when they brought Hermione in and he overheard her say that Malfoy tried to kill her by pushing her down the stairs."
"He what!" Ron roared in anger. He suddenly stood up, dropping Hermione's hand hastily. His face was contorted in deep anger. "Why didn't anyone mention this to me sooner?"
"Calm down, Ron… I didn't know it myself. I just learned it recently from Slone when he passed a short message to me in the Great Hall awhile ago. He wrote in that message that Dumbledore asked him not to tell anyone about it."
"Dumbledore… Now why would he try to defend that… that… murderer… that filthy scum. When I find Malfoy, I swear I'm going to kill him!"
"You can expect my support on that one Ron…" Harry said determinedly.
"Severus, how's the Verisaterum going?" asks Dumbledore.
"It is going well, headmaster. Full moon will be next week and it will be ready by then."
"I am tired of waiting, headmaster. My patience is running out. We can't just simply wait for this potion to show us what we're looking for. For all we know, Mr. Malfoy might be thinking of his new victim!" said McGonagall.
"I assure you, Minerva that my student is not capable of doing such a thing to anyone. I only agreed to make this potion because headmaster asked me to do so but if not; I would completely put my trust and do everything on my power to prove that my pupil is innocent. It is your student, Ms. Granger that we should be careful of. I fear she is not in her right state of mind." Snape said with a disdainful smirk on his face.
"Now2x, you two… Stop this arguing and let's all just wait for what is about to happen. And you, Minerva, remember that a person is innocent until proven guilty. Keep that in mind." Dumbledore said.
"You two... Go down and have your dinner. Visiting hours are over. Just come back in the morning," Madame Pomfrey said briskly to Harry and Ron.
"But can't we just stay a little while longer? We won't disturb anyone, we promise."
"No… And that's final. Now go down before I lose my patience."
"Don't worry Ron. We can come back later after eating. We'll use my dad's invisibility cloak, ok? Now don't worry about it." Harry said in a hushed tone as Madame Pomfrey led them out of the hospital wing.
Draco made up his mind. Tonight, he would be paying Hermione a little visit and maybe give her a hell of something in return. It was time he found out the truth and not just bits and pieces of it. He wanted to make her pay for the lies that she so greatly made up and had him suffer for. Enough was enough. He'd show her what he was made of. After this night, nothing will ever be the same again.
Knock Knock
In came the Slytherin house elf to give Draco his dinner for the night.
"Is there anything else you want Mr. Malfoy?" The house elf squeaked.
"All is well. You may go now."
The house elf flinched uncertainly, bowed his head and went out of the room in a hurry.
"Now… Don't blow your chance." Draco said to himself as he buttoned up his blouse while looking at his reflection on a full-length mirror, pleased with his appearance. He has grown a few inches taller than last year and numerous trainings in Quidditch gave him a broader and stronger body. Muscles were developing on his upper torso and girls could notice them very much, well, Pansy could, especially since she spends half of her time dreaming about him.
Draco sighed as he sat down on his bed once more with nothing to do but wait till the other Slytherins went up the boy's dormitory and slept. By the time everyone was at their beds, that would be his cue to go to the hospital wing and pay Hermione a visit.
This time, Draco would not be going without any sort of help. A gift sent to him by his mother, obviously purchased at the Sleuths and Stones, will aid him in his quest tonight.
A simple cloak?
He thinks not.
This will be the perfect opportunity for him to try out his new gift, a newly manufactured invisibility cloak with a much better enhanced prototype.
"Hmmm… Let's see…" Draco continued as he inquisited upon the cloak's wrapper, looking for some piece of paper about the product.
Surprise, surprise. Instead of a single piece of parchment, Draco saw two folded ones. He opened the first and saw that it was a letter addressed to him by Mr. Sleuthstone himself, the owner of the store. And it read,
Dear Mr. Malfoy,
I give this to you on the request of my very good friend, your mother, Narcissa, to aid you in whatever situation that you feel needs your outmost attention and effort. She, your mother Narcissa, thinks that at these dangerous times, you her beloved son must take outmost care and be in the company of safety at all times. That is why this invisibility cloak I bestow upon you is unlike any other of its existence. (Please see the other parchment attached to this package and you will find the information you seek of this wondrous product.)
Keep in mind to not tell anyone of this priceless possession for I am forbidden to sell such a valued cloak to ordinary civilians much less a student like you. For you see, I am only advised to share this invention to Aurors and to anyone of Ministry of Magic descent.
Yours in Sleuths and Stones,
Mr. Edilbert Sleuthstone
Order of the Warlock-in-arms,
5th Most Honorable
"Thank you, mother…" Draco drawled as he tossed the letter aside and reached for the second parchment. "Now this… is what I'm looking for…"
Draco finished reading the whole parchment with a smile on his face. Obviously contented with what he had, he voiced to himself the important features of his cloak. "…will expand to any size that the bearer wants it to, is able to accommodate a large number of people but will serve one person faithfully, in addition however, it cannot be worn by another person unless its master allows it to, can also change from a cloak of invisibility to visibility to give a mirage of a seemingly harmless cloak, can never be detected by any sort of incantation or any form of magic even to its most powerful extent, will appear out of nowhere in the hands of its master when it senses that its bearer is in danger or is in need of its help, will disappear almost immediately when it senses other people who wants to steal it for their own personal gain but will return however to the hands of its rightful owner, can never be destroyed unless its master wishes for it to self-destruct, etc, etc…"
This is great… This is perfect…
I like it…
