Chapter Eleven
Hermione awoke to pitch darkness and a deathly headache. She only lifted her head two inches off the floor before slowly setting it back down again. She was nauseous.
"Don't move. I'll get you a drink." Said a familiar voice.
"Malfoy?" Hermione said curiously. She couldn't see a thing in the dark, but she could always spot the glow from his white-blond hair even if it was from a mile away.
"Yes?"
"Where are you?"
"I'm at the bar, fixing you a drink."
Hermione could tell by his voice that he was smirking and all of sudden, like a trigger, she was angry.
"I don't want a DAMN drink! That's what got me this hangover! Are you thick?"
"Calm down. I'm making you a potion to cure your hangover."
"Oh." Hermione said, suddenly embarrassed. "I didn't know there was such a potion."
"You underestimate me. I am top of the class in Potions. Did you think that Snape just favored me or something?"
Hermione kept silent. She didn't know what to say. Her head was killing her, and she'd slept the day away instead of doing something productive. And here she was. Waiting for Draco to make her potion, when it was only a couple hours ago that she had refused to speak to him.
After a long, long silence, Hermione finally came up with something to say. "Why is it so dark in here?"
"Well, its 7:30 in the evening and this potion is light sensitive." Draco replied as if he was discussing the weather.
"Are you done make the potion, yet? I don't enjoy sitting in the dark." Hermione said bitterly, as if it was all Draco's fault the sun went down at night.
"Couple more stirs. There. Now it's done. Let me pour you a glass." He said as soothingly as possible. He handed her a glass, and willed her to chug it. "Just so you know, it tastes worse than toe fungus mixed with cat's pee."
Draco could feel Hermione glaring at him, even though it was pitch-black in the common room. "Cheers." Hermione said disgustedly, before chugging it all. She felt the warm, disgusting liquid flow throughout her body, and a second later, she no longer felt sick at all.
"It worked." She said more to herself then to Draco.
"Of course it did." Draco said arrogantly. "I was the one who brewed it. Oh, by the way, you're late for detention."
Hermione stood up switched the light on. Draco was smirking at her, with his blond hair sticking up in all directions and his robes wrinkled. Littered all over the floor were bottles of fire whiskey and the room stunk of stale alcohol. Eww.
"Well, don't you also have to go to detention?"
"No. I've been excused since I'm supposed to be mourning." He smirked, but Hermione knew better than to believe his tough façade. She knew that underneath his skin was an actual human being who felt. Or was that just the alcohol talking?
"Are you going to write to the Ministry about your mom?" Hermione asked quietly.
"Yes. I'm going to arrange a funeral date also. So if you'll excuse me, I've got a few letters to write." Draco said as he walked towards his bedroom, without turning back.
Draco left Hermione sitting in the common room feeling extremely small. She had been giving Draco a hard time for the past couple of days just because of a stupid bet, that she had almost forgotten that there were bigger things in life. Draco's mother had died. Draco's father was MIA. A part of her felt pleased that he was finally feeling pain. After all, it was karma, but another side of her felt guilty for even thinking such thoughts.
Without letting her mind wander away again, Hermione walked out of the castle to the school grounds for her detention.
-:-
She had been picking berries in the Dark Forest for half an hour when she heard a noise. A rustle of tree leaves and branches behind the tall acidulous tree next to her.
"Who's there?" Hermione asked nervously. She heard a tree branch crack. She began backing away from the tree slowly, scared that running will only make matters worse.
Suddenly she saw a flash of blond in the dark covering of tree leaves. With a dawn of comprehension, she was furious. Draco was trying to scare her again. Taking her wand from her pocket, Hermione charged towards the tree angrily, ready to hex the Ferret. "Malfoy! I'm going to hurt you so bad, you're going to cry like a baby!"
"I doubt that." Said an icy voice that belonged to the blond, but it wasn't Draco Malfoy in front of her, but his…father. "Expelliarmus!"
Hermione's wand flew out of her hand and into his. She had lost her only form of defense to a man who had just escaped form Azkaban. Soooo not good.
"What are you doing in the forest, Mr. Malfoy?" Hermione said coldly. "I think you're a bit far away from Azkaban."
"How dare you speak to me, you filthy mudblood." Lucius spat. "For your information, I'm here to find my son. I have a gift for him."
He smirked maliciously, and it gave Hermione shivers at how much Draco resembled his father. Hermione scowled at Lucius, hoping the fear she felt within wouldn't show. He could kill her on the spot if he wanted to.
"Well, Draco isn't here. So may I please have my wand back?" Hermione said mockingly.
Lucius gave Hermione's words no notice, and continued to speak in the same drawl, making him sound exactly like his son. "I know you, Ms. Granger. I've heard from my sources that you've been spending a lot of time with my son."
"Well, your sources are wrong. I only speak to Draco on business terms. He's Head Boy and I'm Head Girl." Hermione said, with a slight quiver in her voice as she stood unarmed.
"You're lying through teeth." He said with a sneer. "If I see you any where near my son, I'll be sure to have you killed. He doesn't need to spend anymore time with a mudblood than the time it takes to kill one."
Hermione had forgotten about the fear that still lied within her. She was about to explode with anger at that point. In fact, she did explode with anger. "Damn you, Malfoy! Your son was the one who turned you in to the Ministry. He locked you under high security. He's no where near on your side, and if anything, he's no where near like you. In fact, he loathes you to the point that he would probably want to kill you…twice!"
"CRUCIO!" Lucius exclaimed.
Hermione fell to the floor wincing in pain, but refused to scream. She fought the curse, not wanting to satisfy the blond asshole in front of her. Soon after the curse passed, she got to her feet with all the strength she could muster. Lucius was laughing spitefully.
"Alright, Granger. I won't finish you off, tonight. Only because I want you to do me a favor."
"Never." Hermione said, her insides still aching
"Well, the thing is, you don't have a choice." His voice mock concerned. "You will bring Draco here tomorrow evening at 8:30. You will tell no one of this plan and no one about my existence here. Obeitarimo!"
Hermione suddenly felt entirely cold inside. She knew what 'obeitarimo' meant. It meant she had to do exactly as he said; the spell controlled her to follow his orders. Allowing this information to process through her head, she fell down onto the dirt ground of the forest, tears leaking through her eyes.
Lucius scoffed at her. "What a pitiful creature." He said as he threw her wand at her before disappearing once again into the darkness of the forest.
Hermione let the tears pour out. She couldn't stand; the fear she had bottled up weakened her wobbly knees. Thoughts raced through her mind. I'm possessed by Lucius Malfoy, and I'm going to help him kill Draco, his own son! This is crazy!
Hermione cried and cried and cried. She felt so weak and helpless; she couldn't believe that this was happening to her. Ever since she and Draco had become friends, everything had been moving to faster than her liking. She felt like someone had pushed a fast forward button. Everything wouldn't slow down for her to think things over; maybe that's why her actions have been so irrational lately.
When she cried to the point where she ran out of tears, she slowly pushed herself up with the small amount of strength left within her.
She walked towards her common room as slowly as possible, hoping that time would slow down along with her.
The faster time ticked, the nearer they were to their fate.
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