Shattered dreams
Hermione woke up from a noise that came from the window. It was an eagle- owl that carried a note. She opened the window, detached the note and gave the owl some water.The piece of parchment carried the words:
Can we meet in the library after breakfast? -Malfoy-
Hermione felt somewhat uncomfortable when she finished reading. Who knows how Malfoy would react to the fact that she knew he was a Death Eater?
Her thoughts went back to last night: her dreams were shattered apart when she had seen the Dark Mark.She had developed some sort of liking for Malfoy. After their incident in McGonagalls office, he hadn't threatened her anymore and treated her with a little more respect. She had met the human side of Malfoy and now she discovered he was the worst enemy that muggleborns could imagine.
Deep in thought, she dressed and left her room for breakfast. When she entered the Great Hall, she scanned the Slytherin table. Malfoy wasn't there. She headed for the Gryffindors table and saw Harry and Ron laughing out loud.
"...And he did what?!?" Ron laughed.
"What's so funny?" Hermione asked.
"Sit down, 'Mione, we've got something to tell you." Harry smiled. When she was seated he went further: "Last night, we've pulled a joke. When you were dancing with Malfoy, I've put a very strong potion in his butterbeer. That way he got really drunk and, to top it all, fell into the..."Harry couldn't finish his sentence, 'cause Hermione slapped him in the face.
"You bastard, he almost drowned because of you!" she hissed. When Ron laughed, picturing a drowning Malfoy, she slapped him in the face too.
"You two will regret this!" she bit and with that she left the Great Hall.
Hermione had to use all her strength to calm herself down before she entered the library.She looked behind every bookcase, but no one was there.
"Looks like you got my message." a familiar voice said. She turned around and faced Malfoy. "Why did you want to see me?" she asked.
"I wanted to give you...this." He put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a black box and gave it to Hermione.
It was made of some sort of expensive wood and when she opened it, the inside was dressed with scarlet velvet. On the velvet lay."A wand?!?" she asked.
She looked closer to the wand and saw that there were two golden letters engraved in the handle. H.G. it said. "This must have cost you a fortune!" she wondered aloud.
"What mean some galleons to you if you live in a manor?" Malfoy thought to himself, smiling.
"What for?" Hermione asked
"For saving my life of course!" Malfoy said and before she could interrupt him, he went on: "I don't know how, but I remember some things from last night, eventhough I was really drunk. I remember that someone pushed me in the direction of the lake. I fell in it and almost drowned. But then you saved me and brought me back to my room in the dungeons. I don't remember the rest, because I must 've fallen asleep. So, I thought it would be appropriate to thank you. I asked Ollivander to find me a new wand and I gave him yours, to see which wand would probably chose you.And if I'm not mistaken, this is: rosewood,10 1/4", swishy, hair of an Abraxan." he said with a smile.
"How could you possibly have my old wand?" she asked bewildered.
"Because I was with Snape, the night he lost your wand."
"So, you are a Dea..." Hermione stopped herself abruptly.
"I know you know about my Dark Mark." Malfoy said.
"You do?" she asked uncertain.
"I woke up this morning, not having any robes on. I wasn't able to undress myself, because I was too drunk. So, I have a feeling that you done it..." he shrugged.
She tried not to blush at his remark.
"That's why you couldn't have missed the mark." Malfoy finished.
"I saw it," she confessed. " So you were there when something happened to Snape?" she asked.
When she saw him look suspicious, Hermione said: Yes, I know Snape got badly hurt. What happened that night?
Malfoy got a sad expression on his face before he said: That nigt, the night of your detention, Snape came to me in the hospital wing. He said his Dark Mark had burned and that ment it was time for my Inauguration. When we got at the meeting place of the Death Eaters, some wizards overpowered Snape and deprived him his wand.and yours too..."
Malfoy paused, he found it hard to cope with the rest of the story. But he went on, not wanting to bottle up this burden any longer.
"Six Death Eaters took Snape away from me and disappeared. My father came to me and guided me to the Dark Lord. Voldemort pulled up my sleeve and burned the Dark Mark on my skin. The pain was killing me, but I wasn't allowed to show it. Then Voldemort said that I had to 'Duel'. It's a habit among Death Eaters that after you inauguration you duel with some muggles. It's to prove your loyalty. Of course, it's not a real duel, 'cause your opponent doesn't get a wand and muggles don't know any spells. But this time it was somewhat different. Instead of muggles, they placed."
Malfoy swallowed hard. "They placed Karkarov and Snape in front of me. Some Death Eaters had weakened them first by the Cruciatus Curse, so it was easy for me to kill them. Voldemort said it was for their treason. The Death Eaters formed a circle around us. They didn't care who, but two people in the circle had to die. Karkarov and Snape just stood there, there was nothing they could do. I.I drew my wand and killed Karkarov with an Avadra Kadavra Curse.Luckely, I was weakened by the amount of energy the spell took and.the wounds you had given me. Exhausted, I yelled Avada Kadavra at Snape and he fell to the ground. All Death Eaters cheered and went to a nearby muggle village to 'celebrate' my inauguration, leaving me behind with the corpses. I checked them both, Karkarov was dead but Snape had a weak pulse. I put some healing charms on him, he woke up and fled."
"That explains why Ollivander felt those Unforgivable Curses of your wand." Hermione whispered, "But if you weren't hurt, how come you have all those cuts and bruises?"
"After the Dada practice my father sent me an owl, asking me to come home.He had discovered that Snape wasn't dead and he punished me for it."
Hermione looked at Malfoy in bewilderment and saw that he sat down and was staring vacantly, tortured by his thoughts. She felt sorry for this broken boy, but she was also a bit confused. Here they stood, Muggleborn and Death Eater.
"Why did you want to become a Death Eater, Draco?" she asked quietly.
He startled. Had she just said his name?
There was a silence for a few minutes, then Malfoy said: I pictured a Death Eater like you saw during the Quidditch World Cup. You know, having power, pestering muggles,... But it was somewhat different than I had expected. I'll never forget that night: to celebrate my inauguration the Death Eaters caught some muggles. They cursed them, tortured them and then abused them. I was wrong, I'm not made to be a Death Eater, I can't live with this sence of guilt." he wispered, "Please don't hate me for this."
Hermione kneeled before him: I don't, I believe that there's still a goodness inside you, you can still retreat from the dark side.
"No, I can't. I know too much of voldemorts plans. I have the same fate now as Snape once had: spying on him for Dumbledore until I die."
At this moment, Malfoy couldn't prevent a tear from falling down on his cheek.
Hermione saw it and took a tissue. While she wiped the tear away, she said softly: "Don't worry, I'll be there for you." She looked in his grey eyes and smiled: "Whether you like it or not, I'm your friend now." She stood up and left the library.
Malfoy shook his head and whispered: "No, you're more than that."
Authors note: This was such a difficult chapter for me to write!!!!But it explains a lot, doesn't it? Now it's time for some action.
Hermione woke up from a noise that came from the window. It was an eagle- owl that carried a note. She opened the window, detached the note and gave the owl some water.The piece of parchment carried the words:
Can we meet in the library after breakfast? -Malfoy-
Hermione felt somewhat uncomfortable when she finished reading. Who knows how Malfoy would react to the fact that she knew he was a Death Eater?
Her thoughts went back to last night: her dreams were shattered apart when she had seen the Dark Mark.She had developed some sort of liking for Malfoy. After their incident in McGonagalls office, he hadn't threatened her anymore and treated her with a little more respect. She had met the human side of Malfoy and now she discovered he was the worst enemy that muggleborns could imagine.
Deep in thought, she dressed and left her room for breakfast. When she entered the Great Hall, she scanned the Slytherin table. Malfoy wasn't there. She headed for the Gryffindors table and saw Harry and Ron laughing out loud.
"...And he did what?!?" Ron laughed.
"What's so funny?" Hermione asked.
"Sit down, 'Mione, we've got something to tell you." Harry smiled. When she was seated he went further: "Last night, we've pulled a joke. When you were dancing with Malfoy, I've put a very strong potion in his butterbeer. That way he got really drunk and, to top it all, fell into the..."Harry couldn't finish his sentence, 'cause Hermione slapped him in the face.
"You bastard, he almost drowned because of you!" she hissed. When Ron laughed, picturing a drowning Malfoy, she slapped him in the face too.
"You two will regret this!" she bit and with that she left the Great Hall.
Hermione had to use all her strength to calm herself down before she entered the library.She looked behind every bookcase, but no one was there.
"Looks like you got my message." a familiar voice said. She turned around and faced Malfoy. "Why did you want to see me?" she asked.
"I wanted to give you...this." He put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a black box and gave it to Hermione.
It was made of some sort of expensive wood and when she opened it, the inside was dressed with scarlet velvet. On the velvet lay."A wand?!?" she asked.
She looked closer to the wand and saw that there were two golden letters engraved in the handle. H.G. it said. "This must have cost you a fortune!" she wondered aloud.
"What mean some galleons to you if you live in a manor?" Malfoy thought to himself, smiling.
"What for?" Hermione asked
"For saving my life of course!" Malfoy said and before she could interrupt him, he went on: "I don't know how, but I remember some things from last night, eventhough I was really drunk. I remember that someone pushed me in the direction of the lake. I fell in it and almost drowned. But then you saved me and brought me back to my room in the dungeons. I don't remember the rest, because I must 've fallen asleep. So, I thought it would be appropriate to thank you. I asked Ollivander to find me a new wand and I gave him yours, to see which wand would probably chose you.And if I'm not mistaken, this is: rosewood,10 1/4", swishy, hair of an Abraxan." he said with a smile.
"How could you possibly have my old wand?" she asked bewildered.
"Because I was with Snape, the night he lost your wand."
"So, you are a Dea..." Hermione stopped herself abruptly.
"I know you know about my Dark Mark." Malfoy said.
"You do?" she asked uncertain.
"I woke up this morning, not having any robes on. I wasn't able to undress myself, because I was too drunk. So, I have a feeling that you done it..." he shrugged.
She tried not to blush at his remark.
"That's why you couldn't have missed the mark." Malfoy finished.
"I saw it," she confessed. " So you were there when something happened to Snape?" she asked.
When she saw him look suspicious, Hermione said: Yes, I know Snape got badly hurt. What happened that night?
Malfoy got a sad expression on his face before he said: That nigt, the night of your detention, Snape came to me in the hospital wing. He said his Dark Mark had burned and that ment it was time for my Inauguration. When we got at the meeting place of the Death Eaters, some wizards overpowered Snape and deprived him his wand.and yours too..."
Malfoy paused, he found it hard to cope with the rest of the story. But he went on, not wanting to bottle up this burden any longer.
"Six Death Eaters took Snape away from me and disappeared. My father came to me and guided me to the Dark Lord. Voldemort pulled up my sleeve and burned the Dark Mark on my skin. The pain was killing me, but I wasn't allowed to show it. Then Voldemort said that I had to 'Duel'. It's a habit among Death Eaters that after you inauguration you duel with some muggles. It's to prove your loyalty. Of course, it's not a real duel, 'cause your opponent doesn't get a wand and muggles don't know any spells. But this time it was somewhat different. Instead of muggles, they placed."
Malfoy swallowed hard. "They placed Karkarov and Snape in front of me. Some Death Eaters had weakened them first by the Cruciatus Curse, so it was easy for me to kill them. Voldemort said it was for their treason. The Death Eaters formed a circle around us. They didn't care who, but two people in the circle had to die. Karkarov and Snape just stood there, there was nothing they could do. I.I drew my wand and killed Karkarov with an Avadra Kadavra Curse.Luckely, I was weakened by the amount of energy the spell took and.the wounds you had given me. Exhausted, I yelled Avada Kadavra at Snape and he fell to the ground. All Death Eaters cheered and went to a nearby muggle village to 'celebrate' my inauguration, leaving me behind with the corpses. I checked them both, Karkarov was dead but Snape had a weak pulse. I put some healing charms on him, he woke up and fled."
"That explains why Ollivander felt those Unforgivable Curses of your wand." Hermione whispered, "But if you weren't hurt, how come you have all those cuts and bruises?"
"After the Dada practice my father sent me an owl, asking me to come home.He had discovered that Snape wasn't dead and he punished me for it."
Hermione looked at Malfoy in bewilderment and saw that he sat down and was staring vacantly, tortured by his thoughts. She felt sorry for this broken boy, but she was also a bit confused. Here they stood, Muggleborn and Death Eater.
"Why did you want to become a Death Eater, Draco?" she asked quietly.
He startled. Had she just said his name?
There was a silence for a few minutes, then Malfoy said: I pictured a Death Eater like you saw during the Quidditch World Cup. You know, having power, pestering muggles,... But it was somewhat different than I had expected. I'll never forget that night: to celebrate my inauguration the Death Eaters caught some muggles. They cursed them, tortured them and then abused them. I was wrong, I'm not made to be a Death Eater, I can't live with this sence of guilt." he wispered, "Please don't hate me for this."
Hermione kneeled before him: I don't, I believe that there's still a goodness inside you, you can still retreat from the dark side.
"No, I can't. I know too much of voldemorts plans. I have the same fate now as Snape once had: spying on him for Dumbledore until I die."
At this moment, Malfoy couldn't prevent a tear from falling down on his cheek.
Hermione saw it and took a tissue. While she wiped the tear away, she said softly: "Don't worry, I'll be there for you." She looked in his grey eyes and smiled: "Whether you like it or not, I'm your friend now." She stood up and left the library.
Malfoy shook his head and whispered: "No, you're more than that."
Authors note: This was such a difficult chapter for me to write!!!!But it explains a lot, doesn't it? Now it's time for some action.