Disclaimer: All characters belong to Ms Rowling only - and sadly.
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Hermione sat beside the hospital bed, holding onto Ron's hand and putting it close to her cheek. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she looked at the Stunned look on her friend's face.
"Ron? Ron? Wake up. Stop stoning like that. It's bad for your eyes…" her voice trailed off as she felt a lump in her throat.
Harry, who had been staring at the window - his face clearly stricken with pain - looked down at Hermione and awkwardly put out a hand to stroke her bushy curls. "Hermione…"
"Ron?… Oh Ron…wake up!…"
"Hermione, it's a Stunning Hex, it'll take a while."
She shook her head. "This is all my fault. I should have known better than to irk Malfoy. I should have known better than to…it's my fault Ron is lying here…" and she bit her lip to stop herself from crying out loud. Now the image of Ron on the hospital bed became blurry as the images of what happened earlier resurfaced clearly…
---
"Hermione, we…sort of heard about what happened in Arithmancy just now…"
"You can get to the point," said Hermione simply, not looking Ron in the eye as the trio sat together for dinner.
"As in – what the hell happened between you and Malfoy again!"
Ron's sentence culminated into something a bit of a yell as he glared at Hermione, while Harry tried to calm his agitated friend down. "I mean, seriously, first you're covering up his stupid stuff at our Quidditch ban – and by the way, Gryffindor's losing points like crazy cos we can't even compete in last week's Quidditch match – "
"You can play starting from next week."
"Hermione Granger that is not my point!" Ron began to turn purple. "And then you zone out all the time because that stupid ferret became a Death Eater – and now he blows up in Arithmancy class because…because…"
"What happened, Hermione?" Harry asked gently, but his tone was urgent. His patience with his good friend was wearing out, especially since she had kept so many things from them. Sometimes he wondered, he wondered if…
"I don't know," confessed Hermione. "I'm really going crazy nowadays…I – I sort of can hear Draco's thoughts in my head…and it – it really hurts. I – I don't know what to do, Harry, it's hurting my head so badly – but I can still hear him…" her eyes suddenly grew wide. "And he…he can talk to me! And…and I talked to him too…"
"So now what? Telepathy?" Ron snorted vehemently, but Harry put his hand on Ron's arm. "Go on, Hermione."
"And…and I told him not…not to be a Death-Eater…" Suddenly Hermione wanted to tell her best friends everything, everything that she had bottled up inside for the past few weeks; everything that had hurt her so badly and robbed her brain of all sanity for the past few weeks. "He told me to shut up…I…"
"What's new?" Ron grunted, but Harry eyed him annoyedly.
"He…he suddenly became mad in Arithmancy – I pushed it…I was so angry with him…because, because…" And then Hermione stopped, eyes still wide, but brimming with tears.
"Because what?" Ron asked impatiently.
"Nn-nothing."
"What are you hiding from us?" Ron glared at her.
"Nn-no. He…He just got mad and then you know what happened."
Ron still looked suspicious, but Harry looked at Hermione seriously. "Hermione, why didn't you tell us all this before?"
"I was too confused…I…I didn't know what to do…" and she closed her wet eyes, feeling the water trickle down her hot cheeks.
"Alright, alright, don't think about it anymore," said Harry, hastily, but Ron interjected. "You know what this means, Hermione, you know this means one day Draco Malfoy will come up to Harry and cast all kinds of curses on him…including the Avada – "
"Knock it off, Ron!" Harry cried, sternly, but Ron ignored him. "And you know that he'll eventually kill us all at Hogwarts under the command of You-Know-Who and you know that he'll probably usurp You-Know-Who to become the most powerful dark wizard and you know…"
"That's enough, Ron!" Harry shouted, and the whole Hall turned to look at them. Hermione stared at her food, unmoving. Ron, who had agitated himself into standing up, sat down in a huff, his face burning with anger. Harry felt his face flush red with embarrassment as the whole Hall was staring at them now.
After a while, the focus went back to the food on the table, and Harry recovered himself to speak. "Now whatever it is, I don't want you two to be fighting at this time. Hermione – Ron's right – Draco Malfoy is a dangerous person in Hogwarts now, and we can't have you too near him…"
"Do you think I want to?" Hermione looked up, incredulous.
"No, no, that's not what I meant. As in you should try not to reciprocate any form of communication he initiates with you, much less you try to communicate with him. He is our enemy now that he works for…"
Harry's voice broke as he came to the name, and Ron put an arm around his friend awkwardly. "Sorry Harry, I didn't mean to get so worked up. And you shouldn't start thinking about all this."
"Shouldn't?" Harry laughed bitterly. "Every year I meet him. What are the odds this year's an exception? Furthermore, he's gotten someone in our school to be his minion. I am fated to meet him. And – I will have to take revenge." Harry uttered the last phrase with so much determination, yet it was laced with bitter pain. Hermione closed her eyes once again. "I'm sorry too Harry, I really shouldn't have started this whole thing."
"It's not your fault," said Harry, picking up his fork and putting it down again. "Voldemort is coming up with some kind of plan again, that's why he chose Malfoy to be his minion. He wants to infiltrate Hogwarts. Do you remember when the school had to close part of the compound but never told us why?"
"I remember," said Ron. "What happened?"
"I asked Professor McGonagall a few days after it happened," said Harry, his face grim. "All she could tell me was that the school sacked one of our handymen because of it. And it was no small matter, something to do with the alteration of some potions and equipment that could have been potentially lethal. My guesses are that this handyman was no other than another of those sinister minions of Voldemort."
Ron choked. "Are you sure?"
"A week later, Lucius Malfoy came to Hogwarts."
Harry and Ron stared at Hermione. "What?"
"I saw him at the gate of Hogwarts. I think he went to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione, quietly.
"Blimey, whatever for?" Ron stared.
"Chances are the handyman was linked to Lucius Malfoy then," Harry lowered his volume when a few other students started to look a bit interested in their conversation. "They might have planted the handyman in the school to be an added spy, especially in terms of staff and Forbidden Areas, since Draco Malfoy would be unable to enter those areas. And – the other day, Professor Nell – "
"Professor Nell?" Ron looked disgusted. "You talk to that old fogey? I suspect he's just full of rubbish and comes to class to spout them all out at us!"
"Let Harry finish," said Hermione, and Ron glared at her once again. She said nothing.
"I just happened to be nearby and he started the conversation," said Harry, a little defensively. "And he was telling me that the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom there was in mayhem. As in serious mayhem; the creatures were all let loose and tearing at parchments and pulling down equipment; it was just thankful he had cast a spell on the doors and windows of the classroom to prevent these creatures from escaping."
"An attempt to mess Hogwarts up…" Ron scowled. "And now they get Malfoy Junior."
Mentioning Draco in such a spiteful manner suddenly stirred up something in Hermione, and she gripped her utensils so tightly her knuckles turned white. Harry and Ron stared in alarm as her fists shook so badly she looked like she was having spasms. "Hermione…?"
"Stop talking about this. Stop talking about him. I don't want to hear anymore!"
Ron suddenly felt something rise in him too. "And why don't you want to? You have a guilty conscience or something? I bet you're still hiding things from us! Stop shielding that git will you, Hermione, don't be a fool!"
Hermione suddenly looked up and the two boys were taken aback to see them blazing. "Yes! I AM a fool to shield him all the time you two try to take him down! I AM a fool to keep talking to him when I know what potential danger he poses! I AM…"
"Hermione…" Harry tried to calm her down, seeing that the Hall was once again interested in their affairs being publicised, but to no avail.
"I know I've been a stupid fool all this while, so just give me a break will you! I can't take it anymore!"
"Neither can I!" cried Ron, in a fit of rage, and stomped out of the Hall, leaving the rest of the Hall to gape at him, while Harry sat there, white and helpless, watching Hermione bury her head in her arms on the table and sobbing uncontrollably.
---
As Hermione saw the Stunned figure of Ron lying on the hospital bed, she regretted so badly. She regretted making him worked up and stomping out of the Hall without Harry and her…she regretted making him so angry he was probably past the level of rationality…and going out there…getting Hexed by most likely a Slytherin…
But in her despair, she couldn't believe it was Draco Malfoy who did it.
She couldn't…
I have to meet him tonight. Damn it. I don't want to be given recognition for something I didn't do, I didn't want to do – bloody hell. Damn Parkinson. And what the hell am I doing here listening to that Mudblood preach silly love words to that Weasel. I'm getting out of here.
A deep, pain-laced growl.
And the curtain opposite flung open.
Hermione jerked. Harry spun around.
Draco Malfoy stared at them.
"Malfoy…" Harry's eyes narrowed into slits, his hand ready to dip into his pocket for his wand.
"Potter!" spat Draco.
"You…" Hermione's lips trembled.
"Mr Malfoy! Have you got out of bed! You naughty boy, you're NOT well yet!"
"Whatever, Madam Pomfrey, I've more important things to do than to lie there and rot in your prison beds!" Draco barked, then glared back at Harry and Hermione, then finally his eyes rested on the Stunned Ron lying on the bed.
Why….why did you do this…
Draco looked at Hermione. Her eyes were filled with pain and bitterness.
"Malfoy, you…"
And Draco left the room, ignoring Harry's threats and Madam Pomfrey's shouts echoing behind him, with only the image of Ron lying motionless on the bed, with the pain-stricken Hermione sitting beside him imprinted in his line of vision, with only Hermione's whispers of incredulity in his ears…hurting him…