A/N: Thanks to MissBlack2 and my Guest reviewer for leaving a review on the last chapter, they made me smile! Aurora: to further reply to your review on the last chapter, Arianwen's father died in the summer before sixth year, the key that she saw in the memory of her father dying was the same key that was featured in her dream about The Great Keep in Pembroke Castle - you'll learn more about that soon, I agree the torture scene was passable but like you I'm also squeamish haha! I'm not a Latin student no, but I did study law for a while so picked up a few latin phrases there!
Chapter Twenty-Three: Confidant
The month of May was spent cramming as much panic-revision in as possible. Arianwen and Draco hadn't been able to make much time to see each other, so Arianwen found herself sneaking down to the boys' dormitories to wait for Draco most nights. Draco certainly didn't mind this, it was nice for him to be able to slip into bed next to her and fall asleep, and Arianwen was always careful to be seen in her own bed first.
She had become a lot more like herself in the weeks that had recently passed. She was back to enthusiastically helping out in the Hospital Wing and doting on the patients, sending out money from her family's charitable fund to help the less advantaged in her counties, and hadn't been mentioned in the headlines for weeks. Leah had been sending Arianwen frequent demands for money, even though she knew that her main accounts had been frozen, so Arianwen had sent her very last bag of money to her. She told herself not to mind sending the money, Leah and Lloyd undoubtedly needed it more than her after all, but Leah was refusing Arianwen visitation of her cousin and she was starting to worry for his welfare.
Arianwen and Draco were enjoying a rare few hours of free time together on a bench by the lake. It was a delightfully sunny day but the air was still quite crisp and cold so Arianwen was glad when Draco put his arm around her and tucked her into his cloak.
"Mother asked me to give you this, by the way." Draco pulled a letter from his pocket and passed it to Arianwen.
"Oh really? What does it say?"
Draco laughed, a rare laugh that for a second could make you forget the constant strain on his features these days. "I don't know babe, I didn't open it."
"Oh, okay then," Arianwen murmured as she ripped the letter open and read its contents.
"Oh, how lovely!" She exclaimed after a few minutes, Draco simply raised an eyebrow questioningly. "She wants to know if I still want to visit your estate in France at the end of the summer. Will you be coming too?"
Draco shrugged, looking out over the black lake. "Not if the Dark Lord has anything to say about it." He looked at her from the corner of his eye and saw the worry on her face; he'd have to distract her. "Besides, I'm sure Mother wants to go alone with you, she's become quite fond of you for some reason."
Arianwen laughed and dug her fingers into his robes, pausing ominously next to his armpits. "Draco Malfoy, you had better not upset me, I know your weakness and I'm not afraid to use it against you!"
"What? I was simply informing you of how much my Mother likes you, hardly a crime, dear," he said innocently. She lowered her hands and leant back on the bench.
"Although when she hears you snoring at night, she might change her mind…"
"Right!" Arianwen shouted, jumping onto Draco's lap and baring her hands threateningly. "You asked for this, Malfoy!"
She plunged her hands inside his robes and started tickling him feverishly; he cracked up into uncontrollable laughter and she grinned triumphantly. Just as she was starting to get overly triumphant and cackling evilly, he scooped her up, threw her over his shoulder and started walking back to the castle.
"Hey! Put me down!" She shouted indignantly, from her upside-down position.
"Oh no," he drawled, "no I'm afraid I won't be able to do that for you darling, the view is far too good from where I'm standing," he teased, referring to her bottom which was right next to his face.
"Draco!" She wailed, sounding much less confident than before. "Put me down!"
He grudgingly obeyed and when she had regained her composure, she immediately crossed her arms and huffed at him. "You were just humouring me, weren't you? You could've stopped me tickling you whenever you wanted!"
Draco laughed at her pouty face. "Yes, of course I could, but that wouldn't have been any fun would it?"
She made another odd huffing noise and stomped one of her feet before attempting to march back to the castle, but when Draco caught her arm and pulled her back to him, her face was full of smiles.
They both laughed for a while before Draco cupped the side of her face and pulled her into a long, passionate kiss. She felt her heart dance as it always did when he kissed her and sighed contentedly against him, she snaked her arms behind his back so she could pull herself as close to him as possible.
In that moment, she knew that if this was what life with Draco would always be like, she would be a very happy woman.
The couple sat together at dinnertime, Draco reading an article in the Daily Prophet and Arianwen making changes to a medical essay she wanted Madam Pomfrey to read over.
Draco threw the paper down on the table, glowering. "Ridiculous!"
Arianwen jumped slightly, his outburst taking her by surprise. She picked up the newspaper and skimmed over the article he had been reading, it was about his father's imprisonment in Azkaban.
"Those vultures are bloody obsessed, they jump on any scrap of information they can get and then produce this drivel for weeks on end!"
Arianwen put a hand over his and cooed, "Draco," soothingly. Her calming tactics seemed to work, for his face softened and he sighed heavily.
"I thought you said he'd be released soon enough anyway?" She said, hoping the thought of his father being released would comfort him.
In fact, it did the exact opposite. Draco looked more distraught than she had ever seen him; he put his head in his hands and gripped his hair.
"He'll only be released if I can get it to work and finish my bloody task!" Draco whispered from behind his hands.
"Get what to work? Draco, come on, let me help you!"
Draco looked up slowly and smoothed his hair out, he arranged his face back into his usual expression of careful control and stood up to leave.
"Sorry, Ri, I'd better get going."
"Draco!" She called after him, jogging to catch up as he rushed out of the Great Hall. She managed to pull him to a stop just outside it. "You would tell me if you needed anything, wouldn't you?" He said nothing. "Even if you just wanted to talk about everything, you would speak to me, right?"
He plastered a fake smile on his face and kissed her cheek. "Of course I would," he lied, "but I'm fine, just a little stressed, that's all."
She nodded slowly, trying to decide if he was being truthful or not. "Okay then. I'll be in the Hospital Wing if you need me."
He smiled tightly and squeezed her shoulder before dashing off down the corridor.
Draco didn't go to the seventh floor immediately, he knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate when he felt like such a failure. It was a feeling he was used to of course, he would get it every time he heard that Hermione Granger had beaten him on a test for he knew that his father wouldn't take the news lightly, but this time it was different. This time there was no hope. When his grades fell, he could work harder and they would improve, he could make snide comments to Granger or play tricks on her to meddle with her psyche; this task he had been given however…it was impossible.
He had considered asking Snape for help, it would be the easy way out certainly, but he didn't want Snape to steal his glory and the potential redemption of his family. He considered telling Arianwen how he felt, she had some unearthly ability to calm him in any circumstance after all, but she was finally recovering from her grief of her father and he didn't want to put this extra stress on her.
At the beginning of the year, he had tried to speak to his mother about it, but all she would ever do is cry and whine about how they needed his father. The thought gave him an inexplicable urge to punch something.
How could Father leave me in this mess?
It wasn't even the thought of killing the old fool, Dumbledore, that was bothering him, he would cross that bridge when he reached it, but he needed to get the Death Eaters into the castle and the vanishing cabinet was still broken.
He couldn't shake the image of Voldemort slowly torturing and murdering his parents in front of him as punishment for his incompetency, it was a thought that would send anyone to the brink of utter despair. He felt his chest constricting, the back of his throat become painful and raw and his face contorting to prevent the tears from falling. He knew he couldn't control himself this time, he needed to let it out.
He ran into the nearest bathroom on the third floor and slammed the door shut behind him. As soon as he was satisfied that no one was in there, he let them fall. Painful sobs ripped at every fibre of his being, his breathing inconsistent and wretched; he staggered over to a sink and gripped its sides for support.
"Don't," crooned Moaning Myrtle, he was ashamed to say that she had seen him like this on more than one occasion. "Don't…tell me what's wrong…I can help you."
"No one can help me," Draco spat. His whole body was shaking. "I can't do it. I can't…it won't work…and unless I do it soon…he says he'll kill me."
Pull yourself together boy, you're a Malfoy! The voice of his father echoed through his head. He gasped and gulped and then, with a great shudder, looked up into the cracked mirror and saw Harry Potter staring at him over his shoulder.
He wheeled around, drawing his wand. Instinctively, Harry pulled out his own. Draco's hex missed Harry by inches, shattering the lamp on the wall beside him; Harry threw himself sideways and flicked his wand at Draco, attempting to cast a non-verbal spell, but Draco blocked the jinx and raised his wand for another.
"No! No! Stop it!" squealed Moaning Myrtle, her voice echoing loudly around the tiled room. "Stop! STOP!"
Draco ignored her and fired another spell at Harry, there was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded. Harry threw another jinx back at Draco but he missed and it backfired off the wall behind Draco's ear and smashed the cistern beneath Moaning Myrtle, who screamed loudly; water poured everywhere and Harry slipped.
Knowing this was his best opportunity, Draco, his face contorted, cried, "Crui-"
"SECTUMSEMPRA!" bellowed Harry from the floor, waving his wand wildly.
Blood spurted from Draco's face and chest as though he had been slashed with an invisible sword. He staggered backward and collapsed onto the waterlogged floor with a great splash, his wand falling from his limp right hand.
He scrabbled at his chest, it felt like ice cold knives were clawing at his skin, his hot, sticky blood pouring out onto the floor. He vaguely heard someone's voice beside him, though he couldn't make out who it was or what they were saying.
A ringing sound was reverberating through his ears, its deafening crescendo blocking any other external noise. His eyes had clouded over and all he could see was white; glowing, serene white, and he smiled.
I'm going to die now.
It was not a scary thought as he had always expected it to be, in actuality it was quite nice, he was free from responsibility, free to drift off to his next life.
His serenity didn't last long.
Hands hoisted him into an upright position and he could make out a man saying, "you need the Hospital Wing. There may be a certain amount of scarring but if you take dittany immediately we might avoid even that. Come."
Somehow his legs were able to take his weight and he moved, his body supported by the other man. He didn't hear anything more until they burst into an overpoweringly bright room.
Someone shouted, "Draco!" and lifted his face. He just about made out a pair of wonderful green eyes before his vision blurred over again. A pleasant sweet aroma was dancing up his nostrils and he felt the urge to smile, it was so familiar, so enticing…and then his world went black.
Arianwen begged Madam Pomfrey to allow her to stay in the Hospital Wing with Draco that night, and after some persuasion, the matron agreed. She had rushed to Draco as soon as Professor Snape brought him in, and while she had felt the initial intoxicating rush of panic, her more urgent medical rationale took over.
She had never seen a spell quite like it; for so many lacerations to tear the body all at once, the user could not have intended to maim or injure, they would have intended to kill. Snape had said that Harry Potter was Draco's attacker, but she had not had time to dwell on the information yet.
"What am I going to do with you, Draco?" she whispered, brushing her fingers through his hair rhythmically. He did not wake but simply continued to breathe slowly through his nose, his mind far away in his dreams.
Arianwen had cleaned Draco's blood from every inch of his body by hand, insisting that to use magic would be far too harsh on his raw skin. Professor Snape had managed to seal most of Draco's wounds with his quick counter-curse and Arianwen gave him dittany to help with the scarring. Some of the larger wounds were still in the process of healing as Snape hadn't recited the counter-curse for long enough but it wasn't a major issue. Arianwen had bandaged the worst affected areas and planned to treat them once or twice a day as required.
She was now slumped in a chair beside Draco's bed, her head resting on the mattress; Madam Pomfrey had suggested she sleep in one of the adjacent beds but Arianwen couldn't bear to be so far from him. She watched his chest move steadily up and down as he slept and silently thanked the heavens that Snape had reached him in time.
Arianwen did not know how long she had been asleep for but when Madam Pomfrey gently shook her shoulder to wake her, she felt as though her eyes could have only been closed for a moment.
"Good morning, dear. Have you been asleep like that all night?"
Arianwen rubbed her eyes and nodded, yawning. "Yeah I think I must have. Have you heard anything more about what happened to Draco? Professor Snape said it was Harry Potter?" Arianwen probed, knowing that Madam Pomfrey would have already been to the brief staff meeting that they held every morning so it might have been discussed amongst the other Professors.
Poppy shifted uncomfortably, wondering whether to divulge the information to a student; but Arianwen wasn't any old student, she reassured herself.
"Yes it was Mr. Potter that cast the spell that made Mr. Malfoy so…" she gestured at him in an attempt to make her point, "…ill. However, as Malfoy apparently threw some dark curses in Potter's direction also, Professor Dumbledore has decided that the punishment that Professor Snape gave at the time of the incident is sufficient."
Arianwen raised her eyebrows questioningly. "And what punishment is that?"
"Potter is to attend detention every Saturday until the end of term."
"Detention." Arianwen repeated slowly, sounding out every syllable as if she was unfamiliar with the word. After Poppy nodded firmly, Arianwen calmly got to her feet and smiled widely. "That's fucked up."
She reached Dumbledore's office minutes later, she could hear someone else in there with him but she didn't care. The door flew open and she marched in, undoing her blood-stained apron and throwing it down on the headmaster's desk.
"Detention? You're letting Potter get away with detention?"
"Lady Arianwen, please sit down." He gestured towards a chair opposite his desk but Arianwen's eyes didn't leave his and when it became clear that she would not do as he requested, he continued, "I haven't taken this decision lightly, but I think you'll find that the other Professors and I are in agreement that Mr. Potter's punishment is fair-"
"Fair? How the hell is it fair that Potter gets detention for attempting to kill Draco, when I got suspended for inflicting a few harmless burns? Potter should be expelled at the very least!"
"Harry Potter did not intend to cause serious harm to Mr. Malfoy, Arianwen, whereas you did mean to hurt Miss Parkinson."
Arianwen gaped at him, was he really going to turn a blind eye to Potter's actions just because he was the golden boy?
"You can't really believe that Potter acted without malice aforethought, Professor. He cast the spell, it didn't cast itself; he knew what he was doing!"
The Professor sighed and pressed his fingertips together sedately. "I'm afraid I still do not agree with you, your Ladyship. Mr. Potter read the spell in a book and used it without knowing its use, therefore I do not believe that he acted maliciously."
"So he used a spell that he didn't even understand? Well that's just foolhardy! Attempted manslaughter then, if you refuse to call it attempted murder. He should be tried by the Wizengamot!"
"That will not be happening, Lady Arianwen," Dumbledore said with a tone of absolute finality. "Now if you would care to take a seat, I shall be happy to explain my decision further."
Arianwen threw her hands in the air exasperatedly and span around to take the seat he had gestured to earlier, it was only then that she realised that Mrs Malfoy had been in the office the whole time, perching on the chair next to hers.
"Mrs Malfoy! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there, I-"
Narcissa shook her head to stop her string of apologies and stood to greet her, placing a kiss on each cheek. "Arianwen darling, how is Draco?"
Arianwen opened her mouth to speak but the headmaster answered for her. "Draco is stable, Mrs Malfoy. Perhaps Arianwen can take you to visit him?"
Arianwen glared at him, he knew she wouldn't refuse Mrs Malfoy. She attempted to give him a glare that said 'this isn't over' as she followed Draco's mother out of the office, but by Dumbledore's polite smile she wasn't sure if she had achieved her aim.
When they entered the Hospital Wing, Draco was awake and being fussed over by Pansy Parkinson. He looked tired but certainly much better than he had the night before, but even so, Mrs Malfoy rushed over to him and started gushing about how worried she had been.
Arianwen hung back, watching Pansy simper to Mrs Malfoy and Draco in turn.
Wow, this bitch really doesn't quit.
Draco looked past them both and locked eyes with Arianwen, he gave her a small smile which she returned, moving to stand at the foot of his bed. She picked up his chart and jotted down the only observation she could make until she could get closer to him: '9:15am - Patient is conscious and talking.'
Pansy, who had still not noticed Arianwen's presence, was trying to impress Mrs Malfoy. "I came as soon as I heard that poor Draco had been attacked. I wouldn't want you to think that he was all alone, Mrs Malfoy, I looked after him for you. Draco said I was like his guardian angel!"
Arianwen raised her eyebrow at Draco in a way that indicated that she was thoroughly unimpressed.
"I did not!" He protested, his eyes widening.
Pansy and Mrs Malfoy finally noticed that Draco was not looking at either of them and looked between him and Arianwen silently.
"I'm going to freshen up." Arianwen announced eventually, breaking eye contact with Draco as she disappeared into the matron's office.
Poppy had assigned her a small armoire to keep spare clothes in; she removed some fresh robes and a clean apron from it, changed and washed her face before re-emerging into the ward.
She frowned as she approached Draco's bed, she could see blood slowly fanning across the white sheets over his chest. Without uttering a word to Pansy, she slipped past her and pulled Draco's duvet down to inspect his bandages.
"Draco, what have you done to your bandages?" She asked sternly.
"It wasn't him," Pansy answered, stepping forward authoritatively, "I loosened them, I can't see why you decided to tighten them so much, poor Draco was too afraid to tell you it was uncomfortable!" Then, in an exaggerated whisper to Mrs Malfoy, she said, "He's often too afraid to contradict her, she's so hard on him all the time!"
Arianwen would have snapped at Pansy had she not been worried about how much blood Draco was losing. She teased the bandage away, deciding she would have to redress the wound but before she could do anything his blood spurted from the deep cut and splattered over Arianwen's face and chest. She quickly pressed her hand to it to stem the flow of blood but due to the sudden blood loss, Draco leant over the side of the bed and threw up all over her feet.
Pansy leapt back and shrieked, complaining loudly that Draco's vomit had nearly touched her. Arianwen didn't jump, shriek or complain however – she didn't even grimace, blood and vomit were minor issues for her now.
With one hand still pressed to Draco's wound, she pulled out her wand, produced a bowl, and passed it to him.
"Sorry." He said, his voice thick with nausea.
"Pass me those bandages please, Parkinson." Arianwen asked through gritted teeth. Pansy eyed her moodily but passed the bandages all the same.
She carefully redressed Draco's wound and pulled the covers up to keep him warm. "I had to make his bandages tight so that there would be enough pressure on his wound for it to remain closed and the skin to heal around it. When you loosened the bandages, you dislodged the fragile skin that was forming over the wound and reopened it. I would strongly advise that you do not attempt to fiddle with such things again in the future and rather wait for the opinion of someone who is actually qualified." She explained, struggling to keep the irritation from her tone.
She heard Pansy huffing from behind her but ignored her, instead taking a pillow from the adjacent bed and placing it behind Draco's head, arranging the other pillow to sit more comfortably for him. When she was satisfied that he wouldn't be sick again, she took the bowl from him and vanished the vomit from the floor and her shoes. Draco took her hand carefully and brought it to his face, brushing his lips against it gently.
Arianwen gave him an attenuated smile before announcing that she would have to freshen up again as Draco's blood started to harden on her face.
"I suggest you give Mrs Malfoy some time alone with her son, Parkinson." Arianwen said commandingly before she left.
"She seems tense." Draco said weakly to his mother when Arianwen and Pansy had gone.
Narcissa nodded, smoothing Draco's hair affectionately. "I dare say she is, darling. She burst into the Headmaster's office when I was there earlier, started shouting at him for not expelling the Potter boy, you must have given her quite a fright when Severus brought you in."
"Oh," was all he could manage. He leant further into the pillows and shut his eyes, allowing his mother's soothing touch to calm him as she questioned him about what happened the evening before.
After twenty minutes or so, Madam Pomfrey came to check on them. "Good morning Mrs Malfoy," she greeted. "How are you feeling now, Mr. Malfoy?"
"A fair bit better, thank you," he replied politely.
"Good. Not that I'm surprised of course, Lady Arianwen has been keeping a close eye on you, dear. Very promising healer that one," Madam Pomfrey continued without encouragement. "Though she is rather stubborn, insisted on staying by your bedside for the whole night, bless her." She chuckled to herself and bustled off to another patient at the end of the ward.
Narcissa smiled at her son warmly. "Wonderful girl. Have you considered a possible engagement, Draco? We really ought to start considering your future."
Draco felt a twinge in his stomach as he contemplated telling her that he doubted he would have a future if his efforts to complete the task that the Dark Lord had set him continued as they had been. Although as Arianwen was walking towards them with a tray in hand, he simply settled for a warning, "Mother!"
Arianwen set the tray down on a table at the end of Draco's bed and pulled a chair up for Mrs Malfoy. She passed a small cup to Draco and told him to drink it, "it's a blood replenishing potion, doesn't taste great but it'll make you feel a lot better."
She watched him drink it and then passed a cup of tea to Mrs Malfoy. "I have to go to Transfiguration now but I'll come back to check on you at lunch time. I wish I could have seen you under better circumstances, Mrs Malfoy, but it was a pleasure nevertheless."
"Goodbye, darling." Mrs Malfoy said, pulling the girl into a grateful embrace. "Thank you for looking after Draco. I'll write to you when I have more information about our little getaway this summer."
Arianwen smiled at Narcissa, then moved to Draco's bedside to place a kiss on his cheek. "See you later," she whispered.
"Thanks, Ri." He said softly. "Don't take any notice of Pansy, will you?"
She laughed and shook her head, "I won't, don't worry!" She called as she left the Hospital Wing. However, when she got to Charms after her Transfiguration lesson and Pansy started telling her that she'd heard that Draco had been confiding in Moaning Myrtle, the depressed ghost, over herself, it wasn't so easy to let Pansy's words roll off her.
A/N: Not much response on the last chapter :( Is there something you'd like me to do differently? Please let me know by PM/review!