WOW! I got so many more reviews for that chapter! THANK YOU! And it fits. For chapter 8, I got 8 reviews, lol. Anyway, I think (or I hope) that you guys will like this story. Let me know what you think! Oh, and everybody gets free smiles, and cookies too, for reviewing. Cookies and smiles all around!
QueenThayet12990 – Yeah, I liked how Draco was concerned too. You're right, it did keep him in character, and that's something I really want to do. But he had to be a little concerned too. He can't be completely heartless. And yes, I decided to give cookies too.
louey31 – Yeah, I almost wanted him to kiss her, or vice-versa. I just didn't think the time or situation was right; it was too soon. But don't worry, it'll happen in the future. I think this chapter will answer some of the questions you were wondering.
IMustNotChaseTheBoys – I completely agree. I don't really like Jenny that much either. I know the whole thing with everybody ignoring was a bit out of character, but it gets better. You'll see…
Lacey – Thank you. And thank you so much for reviewing. Hope you like this chapter!
kz – Thank you! Yeah, I don't like the stories where they start kissing and making out in the first chapter, right after they get done cursing each other. It's just not right.
Torri-Chiobie – Wow, you were right. I became patient for reviews, and guess what? I got more reviews! Lol, you must be physic or something. Thank you for reviewing!
dragonlayer – Well, thank you for giving into your temptation and reviewing; it means a lot to me. Please keep reviewing!
CoolMilena – I'm glad you like it! Please please please keep reading and reviewing.
Disclaimer – Well I'm flattered that you would consider suing me over this, but please don't.
Chapter 9: The Trouble Starts
Draco woke up the next morning with his throat feeling like sandpaper. When he tried to breathe, his chest constricted, making the task tedious. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and took several shallow breaths.
Last night had been horrible. The last thing on Draco's mind before he fell asleep was Oleaney Juriac. In Draco's opinion, the man was crazy. Who would let two students go wandering around in a snow storm like that? And the storm itself was something to wonder about. It never snowed that early at Hogwarts.
Peering out his window, Draco still saw a few flakes falling from the very dark sky. The ground was invisible, and it looked like a winter wonderland. Draco thought about Ginny. She looked and sounded terrible by the time they had gotten back to the castle. In the woods, when she had been coughing her lungs out, Draco had actually been slightly worried, which worried him even more. Draco never worried over anybody but himself. And why had he helped her up when she fell? Because, Draco told himself, we never would've gotten out of there alive if we slowed down. That, and her brothers would've murdered me if I left her. Draco could handle Ron Weasley, he could even take on him plus the twins, but all six of them?
Draco got out of bed and got dressed. His throat still hurt, but it was nothing a little food wouldn't fix. Draco never got sick; he couldn't remember ever getting sick. Why should he start now?
When he got down to the Great Hall for breakfast, he looked over at the Gryffindor table. Ginny wasn't there, and neither were her brother or friends. Odd, thought Draco. At least one of them is always down here. He sat down next to Crabbe and Goyle who seemed to be eating everything in sight.
"Erwahyuastigh,haco?" Goyle asked through a mouthful of porridge. Some of it slipped out of his mouth and plopped onto the table. Draco looked on in disgust.
"What?" he drawled. It hurt immensely to talk.
"I said, where were you last night, Draco?" Goyle repeated, shoving more porridge into his mouth.
"Out," Draco said. He would never tell anybody that he had gotten lost; it was a very un-Malfoyish thing to do. The fact that he had gotten lost troubled Draco because he always took that path coming from Hogsmede; it was much faster. True, he had never taken it at night, or in a snowstorm, but that was no excuse to get lost. He just hoped the little Weasel would keep her mouth shut about it.
After he was done eating, Draco wondered around the castle. He had a little bit of homework left to do, but he really didn't feel like doing it. He was just turning a corner when somebody zoomed by him, knocking him backwards. He stood up, ready to say something nasty to whoever it was, and saw that Harry Potter was running down the corridor at top speed. He shouted, "Watch where you're going, scarhead!" and kept on walking. He had just gotten around the corner when once more somebody hit him and sent him sprawling. Looking up from the ground angrily, he saw Madame Pomfrey hurrying to catch up with Harry. What is that all about? Draco wondered. He stood up, brushed himself off, and continued walking.
Draco was so bored later that day that he ended up finishing his homework. It was an essay professor Sprout had assigned him, and it had been extremely easy. It was still early in the afternoon, and Draco was considering going out flying. The sun had come out a little, and it was a bit warmer.
He was walking past the Hospital Wing and stopped when he heard a familiar voice.
"I don't know, I just found her lying there," Hermione Granger was saying. He stepped unnoticed into the room. On a bed, looking extremely pale and unconscious, was Ginny Weasley. Her thick red hair cradled her head, and her eyes were shut tight. She was sweating, and even being unconscious, she was shaking. There was a purple and black bruise swelling on Ginny's right cheek, and it was about the size of Draco's fist. Ron and Harry were standing on either side of her bed.
"Well do you know what she was doing all of yesterday then?" Pomfrey was bustling all about the room, looking in various books and checking different potion bottles. "What she ate, where she went, anything?"
"Well," Ron said, still staring at his sister, "we saw her early in the day. Then she left, said something about buying quills, I think."
"We thought she came back to Hogwarts, but we never saw her," Harry said. "Then the feast started, and we went down to eat."
"Yes, and then this morning I went into her room to see if she was still sleeping, and I found her lying on the floor," Hermione was biting her fingernails. "She was shaking so much, and I don't know what's wrong with her."
"You mean to tell me," Pomfrey slowly put down the bottle she had been looking at, and stared at Hermione, Ron, and Harry, "that you did not see her at all since yesterday morning, and you weren't the least bit worried? That you were so busy you couldn't find your own sister?" Pomfrey was looking incredulously at Ron, who was squirming. He looked up at Pomfrey, but when he met her gaze, he looked down at his Ginny. Madame Pomfrey clucked her teeth and shook her head.
Draco smirked softly. Everybody seemed to sense Draco, or maybe he made too much noise, because everyone in the room turned to look at him. Ron and Harry started giving him dirty looks, which he heartily returned.
"She's sick, can't you tell?" Draco sneered, pushing off of the wall he had been resting against and striding over to stand at the foot of Ginny's bed.
"Of course we can tell, anybody could!" Ron snarled. "What are you doing here?"
Draco leaned over Ginny and started to reach into the pocket of her robe. Ron's hands gripped Draco's wrist and wrenched them away.
"Relax, Weasel, I'm not doing anything," Draco said. After a very long glare between the two, Ron stiffly released his hands, watching Draco closely. Draco reached into Ginny's pocket and pulled out the note Professor Juriac had given them the night before. He held it up in the air between two fingers, and Ron snatched it. He opened it and started reading it. When he was done, he passed it to Harry, and looked confusedly at Draco.
"What's that supposed to mean? It's not addressed to Ginny."
"Yes, you're very observant, aren't you, Weasley?" Draco sneered. "No, it's addressed to Professor Dumbledore, from Professor Juriac. He ran into both me and her at the same time last night, and he asked us to deliver this for him. Said he'd be staying the night in Hogsmede and didn't want anybody to worry about him." Everybody was looking at Draco, so he continued talking. "We were coming a different way back to Hogwarts and the snow kept getting worse and worse. It was hard to see where we were going, and it took a long time to get back." Draco paused for a moment, remembering Ginny's coughing bout in the woods. "She kept coughing while we were out there. Then we got back, and everybody was at the feast. We both went our separate ways, and that's all I know."
The room was silent; everybody was staring at Draco. Then Pomfrey pulled another book off the shelf and started flipping through it, murmuring to herself about professors with no concern for students' safety. Ron looked once back at Ginny, and then pointed accusingly at Draco.
"This is all you fault, Malfoy!" He shouted. "And what's that bruise doing on her? What did you do to her?" Ron started over towards him, but Harry held him back. Ron didn't put up much of a fight.
"She fell," Draco said simply. "Must've hit her head when she did. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have places I'd much rather be right now." Draco turned and was starting to walk out the door when Madame Pomfrey stopped him.
"Hold it," she ordered, slamming her book shut. "Mr. Malfoy, about how long would you say the both of you were out in that storm?"
"I don't know, two hours, maybe. I wasn't exactly keeping time."
"There is no need to be rude, I am merely doing my job," Pomfrey said, her head held high. "She has pneumonia," she said, turning to address the whole room. "You may have it too, Mr. Malfoy, since you were out there just as long as Ginny. How have you felt this morning? Does your throat hurt, have you had any trouble breathing?"
"I'm fine," Draco said coldly. Then he turned and, for the second time, left Ginny Weasley in the hospital wing.
That night as Draco was walking towards the Slytherin common room from dinner, he found that his feet carried him to the Hospital Wing. He poked his head in, and saw Ginny still lying on her bed. Nobody else was in the room, so he entered and made his way to her side.
Looking down at her, Draco noticed that this time she seemed a bit more peaceful. She was now wearing a hospital gown, and her vibrant red hair stood out against the white sheets. She seemed to be sleeping. The bruise was gone from her face. No doubt Pomfrey had healed it already. Ginny stirred slightly, and turned towards Draco. He stepped back when he heard a noise from behind him.
"Not disturbing my patient, are you Mr. Malfoy?" Madame Pomfrey whispered, moving to stand next to Draco.
"No," Draco said softly.
"Are you feeling sick at all?"
"No," Draco repeated.
"Oh." They were silent for a moment, both gazing at Ginny. "Well, then, is there anything in particular you came here for?"
"No," Draco said once again. In truth, he did not know why he had come. He wasn't worried about Ginny. No, never that. Maybe he felt a little guilty. I did get us lost, after all, Draco thought. But it's not my fault she went and got sick. She didn't have to do that.
Draco looked over at Madame Pomfrey, who was studying him. The corners of her mouth twitched, and she looked back at Ginny.
"She'll be alright, you know; she'll probably wake up tomorrow. In a few days, she'll be back to her-"
"I don't care," Malfoy said harshly. "Why would I care?" He quickly left the room, leaving Pomfrey shaking her head slightly in the moonlight.
Draco hurried through the hallways. Did he care? Was he worried about someone other than himself for the first time in his life? Draco cursed himself for letting any feelings show. That was the number one rule to being a Malfoy: Never reveal your true emotions. That led to pain. Pain led to death.
As Draco left his last class of the day on Monday, he sighed with relief. He had been given so much homework in all of his subjects that he doubted he'd ever get it all done. He casually walked by the Hospital Wing, and looked in as he walked by. He briefly saw Ginny sitting up in bed, and Hermione was sitting next to her in a chair, reading a book. That was all Draco saw before he was past the open door. He smiled slightly to himself, and kept walking.
The next morning Draco was eating breakfast in the Great Hall. To his surprise, he saw Ginny sitting over at the Gryffindor table in between Ron and Harry. She was talking quietly with Ron and Harry while Hermione read a book. Then Dumbledore stood up.
"Students, I have some grave news," Dumbledore said in a strong voice. Whispers broke out among the students even before the announcement was made. "I'm sure you all will remember when our own Albert Harding disappeared last month. Well, I think that situation is upon us again. Trent Johnson, a 1st Gryffindor boy, has disappeared." Now the hall broke into loud voices. It seemed everybody had forgotten about Dumbledore.
"Quiet!" rumbled Dumbledore, and the hall immediately fell into silence. "Now, we will not be having the students participate in searches this time, because we cannot disturb you from your studies. The teachers will be searching the castle, and I urge all students to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. Since Mr. Harding has lost the memory of what happened to him," all eyes turned to Albert, who shrank down into his seat, "we do not have any clues. We do not know if whoever took Mr. Harding is the same person to take Mr. Johnson," Professor Dumbledore glanced at Professor McGonagall, who returned his look. Then he turned back to face his students. "Classes will be starting soon, and I am sure you have places to be. I only ask that you remain calm in this situation, and I'm sure that we will find him."
When Dumbledore sat down, only a few people got up and left the Great Hall. Many stayed behind, talking loudly to their friends. Draco remained silent. Another student was missing? It didn't seem right; this sort of thing didn't happen at Hogwarts. Draco stood up, looked once at the Gryffindor table, and walked out of the room.
That day Draco found it hard to concentrate in class. All through his lessons people would be passing notes back and forth and whispering behind the teachers' backs. The professors were constantly handing out detentions and taking away house points. Once, Draco passed Ginny in the hallways. However, a sea of first years separated them and he got no more than a glimpse of her hair before she disappeared. There was a foreign feeling in Draco's stomach, one he wasn't accustomed to. He couldn't figure it out. Was it concern? Relief? Guilt? True, Draco was happy that Ginny was alright, but only because he might've gotten in trouble if she had died. At least that's what Draco told himself. Part of him seemed to have a sort of connection to her. He had changed after being lost in that storm. He seemed to appreciate the finer things more, like food, his bed, warmth, school. He was still an egotistical jerk, but maybe to a lesser degree. Ginny had been lost with him, and part of him felt they had, for maybe the first and only time, something in common.
A few days passed with no word on the missing boy. However, trouble was stirring in Draco's life. He had gotten a note from his father.
Draco,
I have exciting news. The Dark Lord will be spending Christmas with us. He wishes to meet you in person, and to see how your training is coming along. You will be coming home for Christmas and I expect you to be prepared. You will not embarrass me or put a stain on the Malfoy name. If you do, your punishment will be most unpleasant.
- Lucius
Draco crumpled the note into a ball. How cheerful, he thought. He threw the letter into the fire. He was sitting in the Slytherin common room, and tonight, the darkness seemed foreboding. He had never met Voldemort, and he was filled with dread at the upcoming meeting. What would he do? He knew he'd never become a servant for that man, never in his life. But would he still be that strong and determined when the time came? Draco was afraid.
This wasn't the only disturbing thing in Draco's world at the moment. There had been rumors spreading throughout the school over the past few days. It's Malfoy, he's the one doing this. Those words reverberated in Draco's mind. They think I'm the one taking these students, he thought numbly.
More than once that day, groups of two or three students would come up to Draco and say something nasty to him, or yell at him to give Trent back. They called him a Death Eater. Then they would run away before Draco could curse them. He was not a Death Eater, and he never would be. They know nothing about me, Draco thought furiously, staring into the fire. They think they do, but they don't know the first damn thing about me.
It got worse.
The next morning as Draco walked into the Great Hall, it became silent. All the students turned to stare at him. Most of the Gryffindors were openly glaring at him, and some of the Ravenclaws as well. Others just stared blankly. He glared back.
Sitting down at the Slytherin table, he glared at each and every student to make eye contact with him. Only his fellow Slytherins seemed normal. Of course, if they thought that Draco was the one kidnapping these kids, they would never say so. They'd be too afraid. And some, the ones that had Death Eater families, thought it was brilliant. This fact strongly supported the belief that Draco was the culprit: both Albert Harding and Trent Johnson were Muggle born.
That's…just...great, Draco thought as he furiously spread butter on his roll. He did it too hard, however, because the roll broke into tiny crumbs, and he threw it onto the table in anger. Just my luck, that whoever decided to kidnap someone, decided to take Mudbloods. Yep, that just my luck…
That afternoon, as Draco was walking through the halls, he was pushed from behind and fell forward. His face smashed into the ground, and his nose gave a sickening crack. As he as standing up, he heard someone shout, "Death Eater!" He looked around quickly as blood poured out of his nose, but he couldn't see whoever had shoved him. People moved around him, as if they didn't want to touch him. He glared at everybody, and then started walking towards the Hospital Wing.
When he got there, Ginny was sitting on the edge of one of the beds, kicking her feet back and forth, and Madame Pomfrey was in her office. She looked at him curiously, and then watched Pomfrey as she came out, leading a 2nd year who had shockingly blue hair.
"Now, you just take that medicine I gave you, and I'm sure your hair will be back to normal in no time," Pomfrey showed the boy out of the room, and turned around, shaking her head. She didn't seem to see Draco, and turned to Ginny.
"Ah, Miss Weasley, I'm glad to see you remembered out appointment. How are you feeling? Are you still getting dizzy?" Madame Pomfrey was pulling a bottle off of her shelf, and was pouring some into a cup.
"Um, I think he needs you a bit more than I do at the moment," Ginny pointed towards Draco, and Madame Pomfrey turned.
"Oh my goodness, what did you do to yourself?" Draco smiled inwardly. He was sure his injury appeared much worse than it actually was because of the blood.
Ignoring her question, Draco leaned forward to keep the blood from landing on his robes.
"Here, let me have a look," Madame Pomfrey came towards Draco and tilted his head back, examining his nose. "I think your nose is broken."
"No, really?" Draco asked sarcastically. "I couldn't tell."
Madame Pomfrey swatted the back of Draco's head. "Ow," Draco muttered as he eyed Pomfrey grabbing another bottle from her cabinet. Then she came back over to him. With a wave of her wand, all the blood on Draco disappeared.
"Now, this may sting a little. Lean your head back," Draco did as he was told. A cold liquid trickled onto his nose, and it stung badly.
"Geez," Draco hissed, pulling back. "Are you trying to kill me? What is that stuff?"
Ginny giggled on the bed, and Draco glared at her. "It's a bone strengthening potion, so that hopefully, this won't happen again," Madame Pomfrey said irritated. Then she waved her wand at him again, and the pain was gone. Draco wrinkled his nose and then rubbed it. It felt back to normal.
"How did you break your nose?" Madame Pomfrey asked casually.
Draco thought for a moment. "I fell," he said simply. Madame Pomfrey nodded her head knowingly, and turned back to Ginny, apparently finished with Draco.
"Now, Ginny, how are you feeling?" Ginny glanced once at Draco, and then at the healer.
"I'm alright. I've been taking that potion you gave me, and since then, the dizziness has stopped."
"Well, that's wonderful. I just need you to take this one other potion, and then you'll be free to go…"
Draco left the Hospital Wing. His nose felt much better. However, everybody glaring at him was starting to get on his nerves. They all believed him to be a Death Eater, to be just like his father. He wanted to scream out loud, yell at everybody, and curse anyone who looked at him accusingly. The knowledge that he was being branded as evil, and he could do nothing about it, was infuriating. But what could he do?
Draco walked into the library and made his way to a corner. He just needed to be alone so he could think in peace. There had to be some way to prove his innocence. He could think of only two ways: 1. Hope that Trent Johnson was found with his memory intact, and he could vouch for him, or 2. Find whoever the real kidnapper was. The former seemed unlikely to happen. Albert Harding had no recollection of what had happened to him; there would be little chance of Trent Johnson being returned in better condition. The latter, however, would be just as tough. The logical place to start looking would be where they had found the Harding kid, but where would he go from there? He had no clue as to who the culprit was. Draco sighed in frustration.
His situation seemed hopeless.
The next morning, as Draco was trying to eat breakfast, his owl swooped down towards him, carrying a letter. Draco was fully prepared for another letter from his father, but that was not what it was.
Meet me in the Astrology tower tonight at midnight. Come alone.
Draco furrowed his brow, puzzled. He turned the note over, but there was no name anywhere. He looked around the Great Hall, trying to find someone who was watching him. He saw nobody. Should I go? Draco asked himself. It could just be someone wanting to hurt him without any witnesses. I'm a Malfoy, I've handled worse. If I can see him, I can protect myself just fine.
That night, at ten minutes before midnight, Draco started up towards the tower. He held his wand in front of him, ready for anything.
When he reached the Astrology tower, the door was partially open. He kicked it, and it flew in. He cautiously walked forward. The light was poor; there was no moonlight that night. However, in the far corner of the room, a candle was lit, casting shadows everywhere. He saw somebody sitting at the table next to the candle, waiting for him.
"There won't be any need for your wand," a calm voice said.
"You," whispered Draco.
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A/N: Yes, yes, I know, evil cliff hanger. But don't worry, I'm already working on the next chapter, so hopefully you won't have to wait long to find out what's going to happen. I ended up updating this a lot sooner than I had thought I would, but I got so many reviews, and I just couldn't resist giving ya'll another chapter. Please read and review!
Lauren
