Sorry for taking so long to upload more to the story. I had some family stuff come up and it prevented me from writing. Hopefully I will be able to write more frequently now! Enjoy the chapter :)
Chapter 12
Sitting in the Great Hall felt like torture. Draco hadn't managed to get any sleep because he was too stressed about what the morning would bring. He was sure the Daily Prophet's article would be bad news for him and his mother. Rita Skeeter was notorious for spinning everything to create more drama, and that was the last thing Draco needed. He wanted to crawl into a hole and hide from everything and everyone. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option.
He continuously glanced up to see if any owls were arriving. If he was lucky, he would get his paper early enough that he could leave the hall with his copy before other students noticed the article. That way, he might be able to avoid the angry glances and offensive comments.
It would only be temporarily though, Draco thought. Even if he managed to escape the initial reaction… eventually, he would have to face his classmates.
He wondered what Hermione would think of it. She of all people knew the lies Rita Skeeter was capable of spinning. In fourth year, she had published numerous articles about Hermione's love life that were far from the truth. Despite knowing this, Draco still worried that she would see whatever twisted article Skeeter created about his family and run for the hills.
Worry was growing in his chest every second he got closer to the post arriving. As he looked at the assortment of food in front of him, his stomach turned. He felt like he could throw up at any second. Maybe he would be better off to leave the hall now and hope that a fellow Slytherin would bring him a copy of the paper.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, the first owl flew into the hall. It soared above Draco's head and dropped an envelope on the Ravenclaw table. Following the bird, was a dozen more owls, each carrying its own parcel.
Papers floated down towards the table. Many students reached upwards to catch letters from parents, deliveries from various stores, and their own copies of the Daily Prophet.
A large grey owl glided above the Slytherin table and released the newspaper onto Draco's plate. He lost his breath as he took in the bold letters on the front page:
Malfoy Family: Continuing the Death Eater Legacy?
By Rita Skeeter
Below the title was a large image of his mother and father embracing each other at the visitation.
Draco looked up to see angry faces already glaring at him. It was too late to escape now. He might as well continue reading, he thought. With a gulp, he looked down at the paper,
The Malfoy family name has long-standing history in the magical community. Years ago, they were regarded as elite, given their wealth and pure-blood status. However, after the war, the nobility of the Malfoy name has fallen due to their outdated values and dedicated support for you-know-who.
Lucius Malfoy, currently serving a life sentence in Azkaban for death-eater associated crimes, has shown no remorse for his actions during the war. In fact, inside sources at the prison informed me that when he was brought to his cell, he was heard yelling, "treating the pure bloods like we are mudblood filth [I apologise for the profanity] is unforgivable. The Dark Lord might be dead, but the death eaters will rise again." This is a clear indication that he continues to support the death-eater agenda.
Despite threatening to bring back the death-eaters, Minister Shacklebolt saw fit to grant Lucius visitation rights with the remainder of his family. This is highly uncommon for Azkaban protocol, as visitations were previously only for dying inmates. Many are questioning if the changes made to Azkaban security are making the prison too relaxed.
Draco wished Kingsley Shacklebolt never approved these changes. If only there was something that could force his mother to stay away from his father.
Yesterday afternoon was the first visitation for the Malfoy family. Narcissa Malfoy is continuing to support her husband. No one from the prison was able to quote what was discussed between the couple during their two-hour visitation period, leading me to question if some sort of conspiracy is occurring. Are the Malfoys planning to bring back the death-eaters, as Lucius previously suggested?
Draco Malfoy, the only Malfoy heir, was not present at the visitation. However, his participation in their scheme should not be ruled out yet. He refused to give a statement to the Prophet against his family when questioned. It is a well-known fact that Draco Malfoy received the dark-mark in his sixth year at Hogwarts, making him one of the youngest official death-eaters. During his time as a death-eater, he made many unsuccessful attempts to kill the late Albus Dumbledore, tortured innocent people, and helped his family host you-know-who in his family's manor. It is highly likely that Draco continues to share his father's beliefs.
Draco's throat felt like it was closing in. His chest was tight. The room was shrinking. He needed to get away.
Dropping the paper on the table, Draco stood and walked directly out of the hall. He could feel the glares on his back as he left.
Once in the foyer, he glanced towards the stairs leading down to the dungeons. He couldn't go back to the common room. Not now. Too many people would be there. He needed somewhere quieter. Somewhere he could be safe from the whispers.
Draco ascended the moving staircases and fled towards the room of requirement. As he paced by the tapestry on the seventh floor, he knew he needed to be specific in what he asked the room. If he simply said he needed a place to hide, someone might find him if they knew about the room. Instead, he paced by the empty wall, thinking that he needed somewhere no one who disliked him could find.
When a green door appeared on the bare stretch of wall, he was pleased. At this point, the entire school hated him. And so, he would be safe behind the door.
He threw himself onto the brown sofa in the center of the room and dropped his head into his hands. His breath was heavy and yet, he felt like no oxygen was entering his body.
His thoughts were a blurry mess. There was so many things running through his mind that he couldn't concentrate on anything.
He hated his father. He was irritated with his mother, but knew she too was a victim. He loathed the way people judged him before ever giving him a chance. He hated the stories people said about him behind his back. But most of all, he hated himself.
If the entire article was a lie, Draco would have simply been angry at Rita Skeeter. But when he really thought about it… Rita Skeeter was right. Not about everything, but about most of it.
Draco was marked with a skull and serpent on his forearm. He was one of the youngest people to join the death eaters. He did try numerous times to kill Dumbledore. He spent majority of last year following inhumane orders, torturing the innocent, and bending over backwards to please Voldemort while he stayed at the Malfoy Manor.
While he thought of all the horrendous acts he had committed in his life, tears streamed down his face. He tried to push them away, but nothing could stop the pain.
He stared down at the reminder on his arm. There were still scars surrounding it from the first night in the castle when he had tried to cut the mark off his skin. If only that attempt had been successful… or if only the blood loss had killed him, Draco thought.
He wasn't sure he would ever be able to leave this room. How could he ever face everyone on the other side of the wall?
As his mind continued to torment him, a quiet voice spoke behind him, "Draco…"
Draco whipped his head around and drew his wand towards the visitor. There stood Hermione at the entrance of the room. Relived, he lowered his wand. If she was able to enter the room… that meant she didn't hate him.
Suddenly, he became increasingly aware of the tears on his cheeks. Embarrassed that Hermione was seeing him like this, he quickly wiped them away and unsuccessfully attempted to steady his breath.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was worried. I looked all around the castle but couldn't find you."
Her voice was so soft and beautiful.
"Just needed some space from everything," Draco responded.
"I'm sorry about the article…"
Anger returned at the thought of Hermione reading that story.
"Why? It's fucking true," Draco stated bitterly.
He walked around the sofa, so that he was directly across from her. Nothing stood between them. Hermione's face looked confused… as if she didn't remember all the horrible things Draco had done before.
In a fit of rage, he ranted, "My father really does want to bring the death eaters back. My mother still supports him no matter how fucked up he is. I begged her not to go… but she'd never listen to me. She's delusional. She thinks we can go back to being one big happy family."
He took a step towards her and continued, "My family does have horrible, outdated beliefs. I mean god Granger, I called you a mudblood for years and you're stupid enough to care about me now!"
Hermione snapped back, "That was before. You're not like that anymore."
It was almost funny to him how she was trying to defend him. Maybe she was delusional just like his mother.
"I'm not?" He laughed sarcastically.
Draco reached to his sleeve and held up his dark mark for Hermione to see.
"Look at this," he yelled. "Look at this fucking mark. It will always be there. I will always be a death eater Hermione! I am the fucking villain. That's what I was raised to be. That's what everyone sees when they look at me."
"But that's not the real you," Hermione fought back.
Walking towards her he bellowed, "the real me? How would you know the real me? I did all those things she wrote about. I did try to kill Dumbledore. It almost killed Katie and your beloved Weasley and god knows who else. I did torture innocent people under his command. I did host him at my house. I did serve him during the war."
He was only inches away from her now.
"While you were risking your life to kill him… I was obediently doing what he asked. I had so many opportunities to be better and I never even tried."
Hermione wouldn't give up. She yelled back at him, "Yes you did! You could have identified us that night in the manor, but you didn't. You saved us…"
"Saved you?" How fucking delirious are you? I trapped you!"
It always baffled Draco why everyone clung onto that night so tightly. Everyone believed it proved he was a good person. They even used it as a defence during his trials earlier that year. But deep down, Draco knew he didn't identify Hermione and her friends because he was scared. Because he was a coward.
"You and I both know that's not true. You refused to identify us. That's the only reason why Harry, Ron, and I are still alive."
"I just stood there and listened while Bella tortured you."
He reached to her and grasped her wrist tightly. Pulling up her sleeve, he revealed the scar spelling out mudblood on her wrist.
"I watched her carve this into your skin and I did nothing," he spit.
Hermione was relentless. She twisted her arm, trying to break free, but Draco's grip was too strong. Then she cried, "there was nothing you could have done. The second she saw the sword…"
Not wanting to hear any excuses he punched his fist against the door behind her. Hermione flinched at the bang, as if she expected his fist to hit her instead.
"I'm a fucking coward. If your friends didn't step in, I probably would have watched her kill you…"
Tears were running down her face. He was spreading his pain to her. Making her feel just as bad as he did. But still, she argued, "You're trying to be better. I can see it."
"A few lousy potions can't change the past."
"It does for me. I forgive you Draco."
He yelled, "I don't forgive myself," while banging his fist against the door again.
"You should," she said softly.
Draco couldn't fight her. Seeing the pain in her eyes was worse than reading the article. He hated what he was doing to her. He needed to stop putting his anger onto her.
He released her wrist and move his hand to the door, pinning Hermione against it. For a moment, he just stood there, listening to their breathing. His was heavy and Hermione's was unsteady.
As he looked at her, she glanced down from his eyes towards his lips for a brief moment. Draco wondered what she was thinking. What did she want from him? Why was she here? Draco needed to know.
"Why did you come looking for me?"
He made sure to keep his voice calm and soft. He wanted her to know he wasn't fighting her anymore. He might hate himself, but he could never hate her.
"Because I was worried for you. I care…"
Draco didn't let her finish her sentence. Even the first two words were too sweet for him to bare. Hearing Hermione tell him that she cared about him was all he wanted, and yet, he couldn't handle hearing it out loud. So, he pressed his lips against hers and breathed in the unspoken words.
He pushed her back into the door and slid his right hand down to her neck. Her thick curls wrapped around his fingers as he tasted her.
Hermione didn't fight him. She wanted this too. She slid her hands up Draco's back and pulled his body closer to hers.
In the heat of the moment, Draco pulled at Hermione's lip with his teeth and then returned to kissing her. She tasted like peppermint. She smelled of parchment. Draco wanted to take it all in. Take her all in.
As they embraced, the bells outside began to ring, indicating the start of classes.
Reluctantly, Draco pushed her away and smiled, "looks like you've got to get going."
Selfishly, Draco wanted to keep her with him forever. They could hide in the small room built just for them and avoid the students on the other side of the wall. He could call the elves to bring them food and books. But Draco knew Hermione deserved better. She deserved to go to class and live her life. She didn't need him bringing her down, causing her to miss lessons.
He twisted the door handle behind her and cracked the door open.
"We wouldn't want to ruin your good girl reputation."
Without a word, she backed out of the room and Draco closed the door between them. He fell to his knees and grasped his head in his hands.
With her gone, all the pain returned. All the bad memories and worries for the future were back. Hermione was a moment of light in the darkness. She was his hope, his inspiration, and his relief. He felt guilty being with her but was simultaneously terrified to lose her.
Draco stayed in the room of requirement for the remainder of the morning. After lunch, he would work up the courage to enter the hall.
