Chapter Four.
Extra Attention.
Theodore stopped his assault on her body and looked around. In the middle of the corridor, blocking the only way out of the little alcove that they were hidden in stood none other than Harry Potter. Firebolt in one hand a wand ready in the other. Draco noticed a piece of some silvery fabric sticking out of his pocket.
"Oh, don't worry Potter, I have just been walking Draco here to her room in the Slytherin dormitories," and Nott made a casual motion towards his pocket to retrieve his wand.
But before his hand even crossed half the distance, it was hit with a stinging hex.
"She told you to leave her alone." Harry raised his eyebrows in explanation, "now off you go, unless you enjoy being hexed. And trust me; a stinging hex was just a mild warning"
Draco had no doubt about that, and to his great relief Nott seemed to be of the same opinion.
"Alright, alright, I'll go."
He released Draco and slowly made his way past Harry towards the dungeons. He walked as casually as possible even as Harry's watchful eyes and wand were still trained on his back. When he almost made it around the corner he turned:
"I guess you just want the little lassie all for yourself, ha, Potter?"
And then he tripped on the flat floor and slammed into the wall. It looked suspiciously familiar.
"Thanks for the tip, by the way", Harry slightly tilted his head towards Draco after Theodore scrambled off the floor and disappeared from view. But Draco couldn't respond to the pleasantries. Now, that Nott's hastened footsteps have died away it all suddenly came crushing on Draco. She started shaking violently, her knees grew weak and her stomach lurched. She vaguely realized that she was violently sick on the floor while supporting herself against the wall with her left hand, but the main reason she was still upright was because a strong hand was bracing across her chest and supporting her by the shoulders. She also realized that there was another warm hand drawing circles on her back and a low soft voice in her ear was whispering soothing things that she didn't quite have energy to understand. The shaking subsided; as did the vomiting and Draco found herself leaning heavily against strong body.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Draco. I came as soon as I saw him, but I wasn't fast enough. I'm sorry".
"Ha?"
"You need to see Madame Pomfrey, she'll help. I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner".
"What?"
"Let's go, come on, I got your school bag. Can you walk?"
Draco nodded, but as she tried to stand on her own she realized that it was probably not going to happen. She shook her head.
"Oh, of course, how stupid of me to ask. Of course not, not after,…" and he trailed away. "Let's see, how can we do it. I wish I could conjure a stretcher, but that's Snape's specialty." He said grimly. "Listen, we can ride my broom together, just sit sideways on it and hold onto the handle, and I will steer. There you go."
They awkwardly mounted the Firebolt. Harry first, then slid a bit backwards and Draco joined in front of him. They flew barely a two feet above the ground at slow pace. The broom was really made for just one rider. Halfway up the staircase Draco suddenly realized that she was all but surrounded by Harry Potter. His arms were reaching around her to hold onto the broom handle, his chest firmly pressed against her back and his inner thigh was pressed against her hip. She didn't even want to think what part of his body was pressing against her buttocks. Draco suddenly grew very hot and was sure that Harry could hear the heart frantically beating in her chest. But nothing in his stature or his breathing indicated that he was in any way affected by the contact. His breathing against her ear was regular, very regular, and very slow, almost deliberately slow. An absurd thought crossed Draco's mind, that perhaps Harry himself was realizing what a compromising position he was holding her in.
The corridors were thankfully deserted, as it was almost curfew. Draco also suspected that Harry knew that they would be so, although she had no idea how.
It was a huge relief when they finally reached the hospital wing. They silently dismounted the broom and went inside. Madame Pomfrey burst from her office as Harry led Draco to the nearest bed.
"Oh, my goodness, dear, what happened to you? Another Quidditch accident?"
"No, I'm fine. I really shouldn't have come." Draco tried to protest weakly.
"Madame Pomfrey, I think… that is, I think that someone has hurt Draco." At the inquiring glare of the mediwitch he added suggestively: "Theodore Nott. He hurt Draco."
"Oh, dear. Step aside, then, let me draw a curtain. I will need to examine you, Draco. Mr. Potter, you can go, there is really nothing you can do. Thank you for bringing Miss Malfoy here. Oh, what a tragedy."
Draco was puzzled. Madame Pomfrey continued bustling around bringing a chair, drawing curtains, setting the bed, having Draco change into hospital gown and sit on the bed and soothingly muttering nonsense.
"I am fine. I just threw up, but I'm fine."
But at the sad look from Madame Pomfrey he suddenly understood it. She and Harry as well, for that matter, thought that Nott raped Draco. The way Harry looked at her, the way he made her sit sideways on the broom handle, why he didn't ask any questions, and the sadness in Madame Pomfrey's eyes.
"I wasn't raped!"
Madame Pomfrey studied her very carefully. "I never said you were, but it is school policy to inspect a girl if there was a threat. This is to make sure you really aren't hurt and not just trying to deny what happened."
"But, why would I lie about that? If a girl was raped, why would she try to deny it?" Draco just couldn't understand it.
Madame Pomfrey sighed and went on to examine Draco's body. She was lifting parts of the hospital gown and muttering spells here and there. It wasn't invasive, Draco was afraid that she would feel exposed and violated, but it was more like soothing comfort to know that someone really cared. They discovered a bruise that started forming around Draco's ribs, where Theodore pushed her against the wall. She didn't realize how hard he was pushing at the time. The worst part was, however, coming close.
"I just need to quickly check between your legs. I just need to make sure there is no bruising".
But there it was, darkening blue against the pale skin on her inner right thigh.
"That's… that's where he was… pressing with his knee" stated Draco quietly
"Oh, dear. Just scoot down a bit, it won't hurt. Just look at the ceiling, there is a pattern to the cracks". And it was true, the little cracks in paint formed a flower shape. Draco mused for a second if this was done on purpose to distract distraught girls during internal examination, and then wondered how many girls had discovered that flower on the ceiling.
"Do you see a lot of girls that have been raped?"
"Well, see, it's not easy. Mostly they will try to hide away in the dormitory and unless there is a good friend a girl trusts with what happened, noone ever finds out. And this is the worst part. These girls need help, but they are too scared to tell what happened."
She was done with the examination and was now covering Draco with a warm blanket.
"I will need to keep you for observation until morning. You may be fine physically, but the emotional trauma after being attacked should not be neglected. You reacted very strongly – usually the girls will throw up after being raped, not merely pushed against a wall. It probably has something to do with the fact that you are new to all this. Girls are used to be on their guard and they learn these skills since childhood. Avoid deserted dark corridors, never walk alone after dark, not to trust strangers, and how to avert unwanted attention. It was just too much of a shock for your system. My tests also indicate that you will ovulate in a few days and that means a change in your hormonal levels and that might have some affect on your mood. I just want you to be prepared. And keep in mind, that it is not uncommon for a girl to feel increase in sexual desire prior to ovulation. Your body also sends these invisible signals that it is ready to conceive and you may find an increased level of interest towards you from the male population. The boys don't know why this is happening, and if they knew they would be terrified – if you were to have intercourse, you would surely get pregnant, you realize that?" – Draco nodded too overwhelmed to respond - "but they just pick up on the signs and act. And being hormonal teenagers as they are, they don't always know how to moderate their behavior. Oh, I am not trying to justify what Mr. Nott did, or tried to do. Boys should all be able to control their carnal impulses."
She patted Draco's leg and stood up from the stool that she has been sitting on.
"I'll let you rest now. You should be expecting your menses in about two and a half weeks time. Feel free to come to me should you have any questions".
She turned to leave. Draco knew it was late and not a good time for discussion, but she had to know, it was too much of a puzzle.
"Madame Pomfrey"
"What is it, dear?"
"Why do girls try to hide if they were raped? Wouldn't they want the boy who did that to be punished?"
"Would you?"
"Of course I would! I would want the other girls to be aware of Nott and know what he is capable of!"
"Really? Would you tell the whole school that you only narrowly escaped being raped by the miracle appearance of Harry Potter? Or, if Harry did not arrive in time, that you were forced to loose your newfound virginity to Mr. Nott? It's not easy to admit defeat, especially after being intimately violated. But we do need awareness, and I am glad you understand it."
She turned to leave again, but another thought occurred to Draco. He remembered that time in his second year when Pansy came to the dormitories late one night while he was the only one studying in the common room. She threw up and the other girls later told him that Pansy was crying in her bed. At the time everyone thought she just had an upset stomach. But after that night, she never left Draco's side, always clinging to his arm.
"Madame Pomfrey"
"Yes?" she sighed, "what is it?"
"Was Pansy Parkinson raped in our second year?"
The mediwitch sighed again. "That would be for Miss Parkinson to answer the question, and you know that."
"She couldn't have been, she was only 12!"
"One would think so. Unfortunately, the younger girls are not immune to the advances of older boys. But, enough for today. Hush, sleep tight or I will be forced to give you some dreamless sleep potion."
She moved the curtain aside to return to her office and revealed a disheveled looking Harry Potter sitting on the other side of the room, close enough to hear their conversation, but far enough to not be heard as he wrote in his journal.
"Mr. Potter, I believe I was clear enough and told you to leave over half an hour ago!"
Potter stood up and guiltily looked at the mediwitch.
"Well, see, Madame Pomfrey, it is past curfew, so I will need a note from you to return to the dormitories."
His eyes shifted sideways and Draco had a distinct impression that this was not the whole truth. That warm feeling that Draco felt during the broom ride returned and she only hoped that she wasn't blushing.
