Chapter 19

Draco felt something cool and wet slide down his cheek. Reaching up, he pressed his fingers against the wet spot and stared at his fingers as if the substance were alien to him. He hadn't cried in years.

Clutching his fist, Draco felt anger well up inside his chest. Everything was an act, all of it. Harmony's parents hadn't cared for her. No wonder she had become Hermione Granger.

Pansy watched as Draco's face contorted into rage which, she could only assume, was aimed at Hermione's family.

"Draco?" she asked cautiously. "Draco, please calm down. Her whole family isn't to blame. They weren't the ones who tormented her after the accident, past when she was released from the hospital. In fact, I think her mother and father as well as Sami tried to help her through this. You shouldn't jump to conclusions."

"Who dared to torment Harmony," the question came out as more of a command to tell.

"The only one who didn't support her," whispered Pansy in response, afraid of Draco's reaction. He could be fierce when angered, and she was well aware how much he cared for Hermione.

"Sami did this?" asked Draco harshly. She was the only one who didn't seem to support Hermione.

Pansy sighed. "Yes, she did torment Harmony."

"I bet she kidnapped Harmony as well."

Pansy's eyes widened and her head shot up so fast it was amazing she didn't get whip lash. "I never said that. All I am saying is don't jump to conclusions. You know as well as I do that things aren't always as they appear when it comes to the magical world."

"But Sami always hated Harmony," argued Draco in return. "She was always picking on her, ever before Melody died. I can't remember much of that time, but I can remember Sami picking on Harmony, the word bully is attached to her name in my mind."

"And her teasing turned to abuse after Melody's death, I know," said Pansy in her most soothing voice "but that doesn't mean we-"

"Sami abused Harmony?" asked Draco with so much anger Pansy feared he would strike her or try to kill Sami the next time he saw her.

"Yes, she did," said Pansy, her voice calming as she could make it.

"What did Sami do to her?" asked Draco, who was seething by now.

"Just like I said, she abused her. Is there an entry in there about Melody's funeral?"

Draco flipped through the pages, but the entries stopped on December 12th. "I don't see one."

Dropping beside the liquor chest, Pansy dug through the books, seeming to look for one in particular. Finally she pulled another small book from the chest, this one with the year 1988.

"Read the first entry," ordered Pansy as she handed the book to Draco.

Glancing at the book, Draco slowly began to read the entry out loud.

"December 22: Melody's funeral was today, though I spent most of it unconscious and in a ditch thanks to my bitch of a sister, Sami. You see, I'm still on crutches even though it's been nearly a year since the fire. The damage to my leg muscles is extensive and I can't walk on my right leg yet nor can I place my full weight on my left leg.

"Today, when the procession to my sisters' grave was taking place, I fell behind due to my injuries. Refusing to slow the procession down, mother told Sami to walk with me and make sure that I got to the grave alright; Mother and Father seem to have calmed down a bit since the incident at the hospital, though I can tell they still aren't happy with me. Or perhaps it's because we have to keep up the appearance of being a united family. Whatever it is, it's at least keeping me from any serious harm minus neglect, and that's something I can deal with. After all, it makes being mute easier.

"Well, I should say any serious harm from my parents. Sami doesn't share their opinion. She seems to feel I need to be punished more for what happened, and perhaps she's right.

"Today, after Mother told her stay with me, Sami wasn't happy. In fact, she was furious. "I can't believe I have to baby sit you! Mother is only making me stay with you to make sure you don't cause any more trouble you know. She still doesn't believe you didn't have something to do with the fire, nor does father. Melody was their favorite too, if you had died instead of her then they probably wouldn't have cared, just been relieved Melody hadn't perished. They're afraid you'll cause more trouble then you already have! You never were devoted to Sorcery like the rest of us, hanging around with riff-raff like that damn wizard boy, Drogan? Drathco?"

"Draco," I replied.

"Shut up bitch! Don't correct your superiors!" shouted Sami as she struck me on the face. I lost my balance and fell, but I lost consciousness before anything else could happen. When I did wake up, the sun was setting and the funeral was over. I spent that night on Melody's grave. When I returned this morning no one asked where I had been, though my mother did glare at me as if I was the foulest being on the planet. I don't think I even want to know what Sami told them. I locked myself in my room afterwards, I didn't feel like eating and didn't want to try to ask for food either, I don't know what the response would have been and don't want to know.

"Sammi just came my room to bring me breakfast. She's the best, she really is. I think, of everyone in my family, she is the only one I can trust. If she ever abandons me, then I don't know what I will do." Here tears began to fall again, blurring the ink beyond recognition.

"That's why Harmony left, she was sick of it," explained Pansy as Draco closed the book in a slight daze. "She would have left sooner but she couldn't think of a place to go. And then, when she received the letter from Hogwarts, she just up and left without a word to anyone. She never told me where she went into hiding, just that it was someplace she doubted anyone in her family would think to look. And I'll admit this is the last place on earth I'd look for her, considering she's claustrophobic."

"She's claustrophobic?" asked Draco with surprise.

"Yes, she became that way after the fire," replied Pansy.

"That explains it then," muttered Draco as he was drawn into his thoughts for a few minutes.

"Explains what?" asked Pansy with confusion.

"Why she had a futon. Her futon was practically new and didn't seem to be slept in. Plus the hole in the wall wasn't natural or originally part of this place, so why would she make a hole in the cave wall, especially if she was hiding from her family. If someone were to walk by the new hole would surely be noticed. But if she was claustrophobic then she would be unable to live in a place like this without a window or some opening."

"There for, she had to take the risk of making that opening," finished Pansy, finally understanding what Draco was talking about.

"There's one more thing that confuses me though," remarked Draco. "How did she become a Granger?"