Chapter six.
The next morning Hermione awoke in a bed in the hospital ward of Hogwarts. She could here whispering from behind the screen which averted her bed from the gaze of others.
"Do you think a student was controlling him?" A woman's voice said
Hermione could recognise the voice of Madame Pomfrey.
"No If I was to hazard a guess I would say he was sent back under the imperius curse by a death eater. He only just returned and he may be a trouble maker but never in his life would he think of performing an unforgivable." Another woman replied.
'Professor McGonagall' Hermione thought. 'Unforgivable? Are they talking about Draco?'
Hermione made to get out of her bed when she felt her head begin to throb.
"Argh." she groaned and lay back down. The screen moved across and Minerva and Poppy entered.
"You'd have quite the headache I would assume dear." Poppy said and handed her a potion. Hermione drank it and the pain eased instantly.
"Professor who were you talking about? Who performed an unforgivable? What happened? Last thing I remember is being flung into a desk and passing out!?"
"Miss Granger, it appears that Mr Zabini may have been under the imperius curse upon his return to Hogwarts a few days ago. He… he used the Cruciatus curse on Mr Malfoy when he attempted to rescue you." Hermione's eyes went wide.
"It wasn't used for long but he seemed to already have been in a fragile state from a previous attack which I assume was the night you found him. So it affected him more than it should have."
"Is he okay!?" Hermione said her voice constricted as she scrambled out of her hospital bed and tore behind the screen in search of Draco. She saw him lying on the bed beside her in an unconscious state. He was paler than usual and seemed limp and more fragile than she had ever seen him before.
"He will be. He just needs a bit of rest and to take it easy for the next few days."
Hermione moved to his side and traced her finger tips up his arm.
"What will happen to Blaise?" She said quickly turning around.
"Well we're not quite sure, we were hoping for your help on the matter. It seems he was most definitely under the imperius curse, as he awoke thoroughly shell shocked at the fact he had done that to Mr. Malfoy and saying he couldn't have possibly done it as he doesn't remember anything since he returned to Hogwarts." Minerva said.
"Well how do you know he wasn't lying!?"
"We… we thought that considering the extreme circumstances we had no choice but to use truth serum on him and he was most certainly clueless. The only problem now is what to do with him? I do not believe it would exactly be safe for him to be expelled and return home but I was not quite sure if you two would want him here anymore all things considered. It is up to you Miss Granger."
Hermione sighed.
"He shouldn't have to leave. It wasn't his fault. He… He's safer here than out there."
"Miss Granger I am terribly sorry. Our student's protection is of utmost importance, especially this year. We will try our best to ensure everyone's safety. Miss Parkinson though was not under the imperius curse at all and she has been expelled indefinitely. I'm hoping that will serve as a warning to all who attempt anything out of line."
Hermione nodded.
"Miss Granger you are free to leave today when you feel up to it and will be returning to your regular classes tomorrow." Madame Pomphrey said.
Professor McGonagall smiled at Hermione and glanced at Draco with a withering look before turning and exiting followed by Poppy, leaving Hermione alone with Draco who still lay limp on his hospital bed. She sighed and pulled a chair over next to him crossing her legs and settling in.
"Draco…" she said softly. He didn't reply.
Hermione hung her head.
"I'm sorry. I….Argh this is so frustrating! I thought being back here would be safe! That this wouldn't happen. I thought you would be safe. You shouldn't have done that Malfoy!" She began to yell. "You should have continued acting like an obnoxious arse so this didn't happen!" She buried her head in her arms on the side of the bed and began to cry.
"But I promised your father Granger." A soft voice said. Hermione felt a hand on her head stroking her hair. She looked up at Draco whose pain was obvious by the look on his face. His hand was shaky on her head.
Hermione managed a little sigh of relief at seeing he was at least awake and gave him a little smile.
"I'm glad… I'm glad I found you that night Draco." She said taking his hand from her hair and holding it tightly within hers.
Draco snorted. "Well good cause I'd hate to think you still wished me dead!"
Hermione chuckled. "Even if I don't have Harry and Ron around anymore. I'm just glad to know I've at least got a friend in you... that's all." She blushed and drew her gaze down at the floor. Draco felt a pang of disappointment at hearing her say 'friend' and he frowned but Hermione didn't see this as she was staring at the floor still. Neither could manage to put into words what they were feeling as they were all so unsure of what was going on inside their own heads, so instead Draco gave Hermione's hand a tight squeeze and she looked up and smiled. He began to shift across away from her on the bed.
"What are you doing Malfoy?" She asked feeling quite shocked to see him moving away from her.
"Making room for you of course." He said and attempted to grin but instead grimaced as he felt pain shoot through him at the sudden movements.
Hermione got up hesitantly from the chair and settled next to Draco on the little bed. She felt his arm go around her and pull her close as she nuzzled into the crook of his neck. Draco closed his eyes and smiled. Even through the pain which was evident in every muscle of his body, having Hermione so close was comforting beyond extent and made the pain seem to drift away. He came to a decision. Draco was never going to let his new found comfort go. Call him selfish, but he felt he could no longer live without it.
……………………………………………………………………….
Meanwhile somewhere in Germany…
"What have you done to her!? Where is she scum!?" Ron screamed to the death eater in a body bind before him.
"I 'ave already told ya I 'ad no idea the mudblood was ever in there! It was empty when we broke through!" The death eater spat back.
"Liar! You're lying!" Ron screamed and rammed his foot into the gut of the death eater.
"Ron stop it. I think he's telling the truth." Harry said pulling Ron away.
When Harry and Ron had returned that night they found their tent was already visible and six death eaters were inside. With the invisibility cloak still on, they snuck into the tent. He saw Lucius Malfoy standing fuming in the centre of the room snarling viciously as the rest were trashing all they could lay their hands or wands on as if looking for something. And where was Hermione? A death eater Harry instantly recognised as having a striking resemblance to his high-school "chum" Goyle yet only aged twenty years flung a chair across the room and Harry ducked. Unfortunately Ron didn't see it coming as he was busy watching another death eater torching his Quidditch figurine collection. The chair hit him smack in the head and he let out a yelp.
"Stupefy!" Lucius yelled in the direction he had heard the yelp and the chair come to an abrupt stop in what seemed to be mid-air. Ron was flung back stupefied in full view of the death eaters. Lucius cackled. Harry was still going un-noticed beneath the cloak.
"Buttonhark!" Lucius screamed at a deatheater near by and gestured for him to approach the unconscious Ron. "The rest of you! If his side-kick is here then he must be too! Start looking!"
The death eater who was quite small in comparison to the others approached the unconscious boy and Harry took this as his chance. There was no way he would be able to take down all these death eaters single handedly and he needed to get Ron to safety. As soon as the death eater Harry now knew as Buttonhark was close enough he grabbed both he and Ron by the arms and immediately apparated. The rest of the death eaters looked around tumultuously.
"What the fuck!" Goyle shouted as he ran to the spot that he had seen the two disappear moments ago.
Lucius turned to him with a vile look on his face.
"What the fuck indeed…" He said before lighting the tent on fire with a flick of his wand and apparating away.
Harry now sat on a rock somewhere further down the German Highlands with his head in his hands as well as an extremely ill-tempered Ron and a death eater in a body-bind before him.
"How did you know we were there Buttonhark?" Harry asked.
"We didn't! We were chasing tha' vile piece of shit an' all of a sudden found ourselves unable ta enter the middle of the field! We 'eard voices and knew somethin' was there but got in an' it was empty!"
"What vile piece of shit!?" Harry asked.
"Lucius son!"
Harry sat mouth agape. Of course he most certainly thought Draco Malfoy was a vile piece of shit but for the death eaters to as well? What if Malfoy had hurt Hermione!?
"What did he do?" Ron said
"The bastard betrayed us! The mudblood loving coward deserves to be dead!"
Harry and Ron were gob smacked. Coward definitely! But mudblood lover??
But then where was Malfoy now? And more importantly what had happened to Hermione? Harry decided that he no longer had a choice. He needed help and since the Ministry was so corrupt these days and Dumbledore had been murdered, their safest bet was McGonagall…
A/N: Yeehhhh. Thought people might be wondering what happened to Harry and Ron so here's your answer. Ladidadida. I have to go study Bos Indicus breed cattle... wooht.. cough. laterr.. xo