Thanks, Mate
chapter nine; Sorry
Disclaimer: I only wish that Fred could be mine. THAT'S ALL I ASK! -dies- too bad.
"As it is, it is a requirement of the council that each student be perfectly capable of casting this spell, should the need for self-defense arise. Teaching such a dark craft is not something I am altogether proud of, but it must be done for protection's sake. So, then, we will be performing the first half of the spell, and only the first half. Should I catch any one of you in the process of carrying out the spell revealed to you by this charm on your classmate, I shall have you on strict probation in every aspect of your life at Hogwarts until your graduation. Do I make myself clear?"
She said it. He knew she said it; he remembered hearing it as he was drawing the third boob on his little portrait of Harry. She was one for her word, as far as he could tell; no one that emotionally disturbed would say that without meaning it completely.
So why the hell did he do it?
"Mister Malfoy, pay attention!" Professor Mcgonall shrieked as she slammed some random unidentified object on her desk, causing him to jump. Merlin, he'd never seen her so tested. "You are on thin ice, young man, so I suggest you listen when your superiors speak to you!"
He yawned subtly, no longer all that phased by her words as he propped his head up against his fist, looking at her with only a look of complete annoyance (and a slight grimace of pain that had become so frequently seen on his face that it was no longer noticeable.). Only when he shifted slightly to accommodate for the tenderness in his cheek, moving his fist up towards his temple, did the silence cease.
"Now, then, as I was saying. . ." Madame Pomfrey said tentatively, looking around at McGonagall, Snape, and Trelawney to confirm she was indeed allowed to continue. "While Draco's healing nicely, he's still got a bit of time before he loses the sensitivity; he's still got multiple bruises that haven't quite healed. I don't think it wise to release him from the hospital wing just yet."
"There are potions for that; there's no need to keep him any longer."
"Yes, Severus, but I'm afraid the best way for them to heal is to let nature take its course. He just needs a bit of time, that's all."
"And just how much time do you think we have to waste, Madame Pomfrey?"
"And we still haven't even approached the task of assigning his punishment!"
"Honestly, Sybil; one might think you would enjoy seeing him suffer."
"Suffering is outshined in the face of justice, Minerva!"
"I don't suppose my opinion might matter?" Malfoy piped up tiredly, and the women seemed to fume over his audacity. Snape, however, as the boy's single biggest fan, as it seemed, motioned for him to continue. "I don't know what Madame Pomfrey here's talking about, because I feel fine. As if any damage done by Lavender Brown could possibly keep anyone in a hospital bed for more than a few hours."
"Extraordinary situations cause people to do extraordinary things, Mister Malfoy. She could have cracked your skull if she so desired." Trelawney murmured darkly.
Silence consumed the room, and Malfoy's face flickered into a humbled expression for what seemed a millisecond before he snapped back in character, snorting at her confidence. "It would have been worth the crack just to see her try." he said, his tone still not having made the transition to its comfortable arrogant pitch.
"That, I believe, is precisely the curious attitude that landed you here in the first place, Mister Malfoy. Maybe you'll lose it while undergoing punishment; it would be in your best interest." McGonagall said curtly, turning to Madame Pomfrey. "Poppy, I've heard there's a shortage of help in the hospital wing as of late?"
"Oh, yes; you just can't find much help these days. . . Most are too squeamish to be bothered with it. But, oh, what rewarding work. . ." She paused, relaying the same question that was running through everyone's mind. "Just what are you suggesting, Minerva?"
"As you are forbidding Mister Malfoy to leave the hospital wing and Sybil is. . ." She paused, choosing her words carefully. ". . . anxious to make sure he is disciplined properly, I suggest he serve his sentence in the hospital wing as a volunteer for all hours excluding classes. He may work in the hospital wing all day today, but staring tomorrow, he will need to return to classes."
"What?" Malfoy burst, staring at her with such an intense malice in his eyes. "You can't possibly think. . . You don't approve of this, do you, Professor?" he said, looking to Snape whose expression lay completely unchanged.
"The boy is right, Professor McGonagall; it's a bit harsh, would you not agree?"
"Three of my students, Severus. . ." she said heavily, adjusting her glasses as she got a firm grasp on her composure. ". . . Are suffering for this boy's actions, which he rightfully knew were forbidden. Three students, Severus; I haven't even included those who are suffering severe emotional stress." She stopped, staring Malfoy in the eyes with quiet intensity. "I don't believe it harsh in the least."
"My father - . . ."
"Your father has no authority here, Mister Malfoy, nor does his money." she said coldly. "Severus, as his house head, you reserve every right to assign him to other punishment, however, I beg you do not allow favoritism to shadow the magnitude of his actions."
Uncomfortable silence followed as Malfoy sat in silent fury, staring at Snape's still unchanged face. "Punishment has been issued. There is no need for prohibition on my behalf."
Malfoy's eyes bulged, more from utter shock than anger. He just sat there blankly, processing the memory to be sure he hadn't imagined it. How could Snape do this to him? Of all people!
"You may go, Mister Malfoy." Professor McGonagall stated, and Madame Pomfrey rose to accompany him downstairs.
"Come along, dearie." she said, waiting for him to stand. But he didn't. He just stared. "Draco?" she tested, and he jumped as he fell back into consciousness, standing and walking out of the room as rudely as he could manage.
"They're ready for you, dearie; just go on in." Madame Pomfrey said gently, and Malfoy raised his eyes to see who she was speaking to; Hermione, looking as pale as she had for weeks, seeming a bit uncomfortable as she faked a smile and a thank you. He watched her as she stood slowly, leaning against the frame of the door as she knocked lightly.
"Three of my students, Severus, are suffering for this boy's actions, which he rightfully knew were forbidden. Three students, Severus; I haven't even included those who are suffering severe emotional stress."
. . . So why the hell did he do it?
"Miss Granger?" Snape greeted as the door opened, and he offered his hand curiously. She paused for a moment, taken aback as she accepted, using him for support as he walked her to the chair Malfoy had occupied only a moment before. She shifted slightly, and even before she was given the time to murmur a word of thanks, he turned to Trelawney and McGonagall as he spoke. "So then, I suppose Sybil and I will speak with you later?" he said, waiting until Trelawney had made her way to the door before leaving, closing the door behind them.
"I don't suppose you might know where your classmates are?" McGonagall asked, standing to take her rightful seat behind her desk.
"Lavender and Ron? They're in detention now."
"Ah, yes. . . for. . ."
"For hitting Draco, yes." she finished bluntly, not sure she could handle hearing one of McGonagall's clever word tricks.
"As it were." she confirmed, a bit rattled at Hermione's bluntness. "I would have preferred at least Ron be present here, but seeing as they are elsewhere at the moment. . ." She paused, looking at Hermione's curious expression. "The Ministry, of course, has been notified of this, and they've already issued the date that the warrant for Ron's detainment will take effect."
The breath caught in Hermione's throat, and she bit her lip. "I see." she murmured.
McGonagall continued, only the slightest degree of sympathy weighing her usual tone as she shifted her glasses, skimming the document in her hand. "It's in about two weeks; the Ministry allows the father to stay with the mother for the first four months of the pregnancy before he is sent to Azkaban, where he will stay, of course, until the child is born and the trial takes place. You're not familiar with the events that take place, I take it?" She managed a head shake. "The trial is more or less of a formality; it is by no means fair and has always resulted in immediate execution of the young man upon completion."
Hermione grasped her hands together, and she felt her chest heaving before she comprehended why. Her vision blurred slightly as tears welled in her eyes. "Ron. . . does he know that?"
"The fact that he is still as confident as he is tells me he doesn't." she responded, adjusting her glasses once again to look at Hermione, who was looking at nothing but her hands. "He will die, Hermione; regardless of what fantasies you both had of him escaping it somehow, it is utterly impossible. Thinking otherwise is completely hopeless."
"Is that all you brought me here to tell me, Professor?" she said, ruder than she'd ever spoken to McGonagall in all her life.
"No, I suppose not." she replied, speaking with a gentler tone than before. "It pains me to say it, but you have to consider what you are doing to him."
Hermione paused. ". . .What?"
"You're both so young, Miss Granger; do you really expect things to be fine? You're not in love, Miss Granger; you're still a baby. You can't make a commitment to him, and he can't for you, either; you don't know what it means. I realize you're trying so hard to fix this, but honestly. . ." she paused. "This has to stop."
"What does?"
"All of this! You can't. . ." She paused, breathing in deeply; rarely was she at such a loss for words. "Are you really ready to let him die? Can you carry that on your shoulders for the rest of your life? Letting him die for a child that came too early for him to handle it, for you to handle it? I don't care what silly notions of bravery or nobility you have in your mind, Miss Granger, but I beg you; this boy's life is in your hands. His very life."
"That's not. . . it's not. . . I swear it's not. . ." she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "It's not like that, Professor, I promise. . ."
McGonagall sighed. "All the ministry cares about is the population. They only want him so the population will balance; but if there's no baby, they'll let him live."
Such a silence that took over that Hermione could barely breathe. Colors swirled around her eyes as she panted, yet she barely realized she was doing it. Then, all thought, all movement, all rational human behavior, it all stopped in the wake of one, single question. "A. . . Are you suggesting. . . abortion?"
"At least stop moving for one bloody second!" Malfoy muttered, and only then did Hermione look up, hearing him speak for the first time.
"Hm?" she questioned shakily, though her attention span only gave way for that one response before her complete daze took over, shivering and tears and all.
"Here." he said, fixing her bed tray before setting her lunch on top of it.
"Oh." she murmured, barely coherent enough to recognize what it was or to say anything more.
Not really waiting for a thank you in the first place, Malfoy took off to the corner of the room, continuing on with the million chores that had all of a sudden become his. What happened to 'hasn't quite healed'? 'Still a bit sensitive'? 'Isn't well enough to leave the hospital wing'? How about 'the house elves have a purpose, here at Hogwarts'? Yeah, he thought so. They didn't want to 'punish him for his wrongdoings'; hells no. They wanted a maid.
She barely noticed Malfoy causing such a racket on the other side of the room; how could she? Every word, every look, every tear still shook her from the inside with intensity, suffocating her, driving her mad. She shivered, finally recognizing the tray in front of her as food, and reached out a hand to grasp the glass of water that stood there.
"The trial is more or less of a formality; it is by no means fair and has always resulted in immediate execution of the young man upon completion."
He's going to die. . . isn't he?
She grasped the glass, raising it as if it were the heaviest thing she'd ever lifted, trying to bring it closer to her and failing dismally.
"I don't care what silly notions of bravery or nobility you have in your mind, Miss Granger, but I beg you; this boy's life is in your hands. His very life."
My hands? What. . .
She tried to pull it closer, but it seemed as if her arm completely stopped responding. She gaped at it, concentrating so hard just to bring it to her lips. The water stared back at her, teasing her, mocking her sense of thirst so unforgivingly. . .
"But if there's no baby, they'll let him live."
Let him live. . .
No baby. . .
No. . .
She heard a high pitched scream echoing throughout the room, and she winced, unable to take the sound. She didn't even notice it was her who had been screaming until she felt a hand on her mouth, felt herself stop abruptly as a reflex. "Don't do that." her companion said, and she felt him moving the bed tray away before wiping up the spillage with a towel. "You'll scare the hell out of people." Only then did her eyes focus, watching Malfoy as he tried to pry her blanket away from her hand grasped around it so tightly that her knuckles were white. She stopped, slightly shocked by the sudden appearance of another person.
"What, you want to keep the wet one? So you spilled your drink all over yourself on purpose? Merlin, they did want a maid. Come on, now; I'll get another one." he prodded impatiently, and she finally let go of it.
She swallowed down hard, taking her wand from inside her robes and pointing it at her sleeve. "Sis-Sic-" She stopped mid-spell, trying hard to stop herself from shaking long enough to say it properly. "Sicciusescs. . ."
"Siccus." Malfoy said simply as he tapped his own wand against her shoulder, drying her clothes instantly. "It's not that hard." he said in a strangely gentler tone than usual, however, his arrogance still shown brightly through the way he unfolded the new blanket that accompanied him, whipping it carelessly through the air rather than taking the time to smooth it out properly. He was amazed to see her snatch it from him, shivering as she covered herself, seeming to sigh with relief when she found herself under a blanket once more. He stood there for a second, just staring at her as if having something to say, yet he hadn't quite found the proper words yet. ". . .What's wrong with you?" She looked at him as if that was all she had had to do in reply. "Are you okay?" he rephrased, feeling a bit guilty for the attitude.
"I. . ." She paused.
One minute passed. Two. Three.
"I. . . Ron." she said, as if Malfoy understood it completely as a sentence. Not taking the time to recognize whether he did or not, she threw the blanket off of her, jumping out of her bed so abruptly that she slipped, only narrowly catching the bedpost for support.
Malfoy snapped to attention, running around to the other side and grabbing her hands to support her back to the bed. "What the hell are you doing? Are you mad? Lie down!"
"Ron. . . I need to talk to him. . ."
"It's only fifth period; he's still in classes for another 3 hours."
"No, now. . . now. . ."
"Not now; lie down."
"Now. . ."
"Granger, look at me." She shook her head furiously, starting to whimper, but Malfoy had become so accustomed to ignoring her feelings entirely, he barely cared. "Look at me!" She finally looked up just to stop him from yelling. "Look, Madame Pomfrey will kick my ass bloody if you go any more than half a meter from that bed; especially after this morning. So you'd better. . ."
"This morning?" she echoed, not altogether caring what else he had to say, or simply not noticing he had continued to speak.
He stopped. "This morning. . . ya know, when you fainted? Or am I just imagining things at this point?"
". . . fainted?"
"In the middle of your meeting with McGonagall. Hit the floor cold. What, you didn't notice waking up in bed when you hadn't fallen asleep there?"
Hermione stopped dead cold, stepping backwards uncertainly so she fell back onto her bed. Fainted? How do you faint and not realize it happened? . . .Did Malfoy make it up? Would he do that? It was true that she thought the meeting with McGonagall ended a bit. . . abruptly. . . and she didn't remember being dismissed, walking back downstairs. . . none of it.
". . . Oh my God. I fainted." she whispered, so low that no human could have possibly been able to comprehend it. She swallowed hard, holding her stomach almost painfully as she spoke. "I. . . I don't even know what's going on with me anymore."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"I . . . I just. . ." she stopped. "I really, really need to see Ron. Right now." She whimpered weakly, getting up off her bed again and racing past Malfoy, who only caught up with her at the door, holding her tightly by the wrists.
"Look, Granger, I don't know what the hell you think you're doing. . ."
"Draco, please . . . please, please. . ." she begged, her eyes tied shut as she tried to control her breathing. "She won't know I'm gone. . . just cover for me. . . please, Draco. . ."
"Cover. . .? Are you serious? What makes you think I'd ever do that for you?"
"Because you need me in that bed to make sure Pomfrey won't beat the shite out of you, don't you?"
Malfoy gritted his teeth. "Listen. . ."
"So? Will you?"
He stood there brooding, biting his tongue as he retrieved his wand, pointing it at her bed as he nearly spat a spell. "Repleo Aeris!" Just then, her bed sheets inflated into her exact form, making it look as if she were sound asleep in her own bed.
"Go." he said, walking back to his broom in the corner without even looking her in the eye.
"Tha-"
"Go!" he said, and he watched her leave before he picked up the broom and stroked it across the floor uselessly. He stopped, staring at nothing in particular, but certainly staring as he thought. What did he just do? Did. . . did he just let. . .?
"Merlin, Son of a Bitch. . ." he cursed wearily, enchanting his own bed to inflate as he ran out of the room, closing the door behind him.
"Please. . . please, hurry up. . ." she begged silently, watching the clock in the hallway tick ever so slowly as she leaned against the door of Snape's classroom. She could have sworn fifth period was supposed to end 20 minutes ago, but she wasn't about to barge into Snape's classroom proclaiming that. She sighed, closing her eyes, breathing steadily. "Calmly." She whispered to herself. "Keep it calm." Only, she hadn't been calm in all of three months; it was a little hard to start now.
Just then, salvation hit her as the bell rang loudly, and she buckled to the floor in an emotion she couldn't even name. The door opened as people came flooding out, none of which seeming to notice her as the flow continued in the opposite direction; not even Ron, who was completely indulged in the practice of using any and every curse in his vocabulary to describe his anger about detention (and a rather messy potion mishap that had happened only minutes before) to Lavender, who seemed extremely tired of hearing it. . . or, just generally extremely tired.
"Oh my God, are you alright?" she felt two hands grabbing hers, trying to lift her off the ground, and looked up to find Harry. "What're you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be downstairs?" she sighed from the effort of standing, watching him as he yelled across the hall to flag Ron down, who came speeding back with Lavender in tow.
"No, Harry, I'm fine; I just wanted to talk to Ron, you don't have to. . ."
"You look really bad; you should go back downstairs."
"I'm fine, I promise. I just -"
"Oh my God, what happened?" Ron interrupted, panting from just having run against the flow of people from nearly a whole floor away to come back. He reached out his arm to drape around her shoulders, his signature gesture for all things comfort, and she shirked away slightly, leaving Lavender who already had her supported on herself as if she had broken a leg. Ron only stared, feeling entirely awkward.
"Come on, we'll get you back; it's okay, I promise." she said gently, starting to drag her friend as if not even noticing her talking.
"No, Lavender, I'm fine; I swear. I just came to talk to Ron, honest."
"Not looking that white, you didn't; back downstairs, now!"
"Lavender, it's ok; I got her." Ron protested, trying to cut her off from walking, but she just kept finding alternate routes.
"She's way sick, Ron; she should be in bed."
"No, seriously, I got her. Go up to class with Harry; I'll be there soon."
"Nope, she's going right wh-"
"Lavender!" he yelled frustratedly, and she stopped completely. He sighed, bowing his head apologetically. "Look. . . I got her, okay?"
Lavender looked at Harry, who motioned for her to come with him, then at Hermione, who only nodded. "Oh. . . alright." She said softly, untangling herself from Hermione before walking down the hall with Harry without saying another word. The hall was so completely empty, only resounding with the sound of Harry and Lavender's shoes against the metal dungeon staircase.
"Are you okay?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep himself from touching her on reflex. "You don't look so good. . ."
"I'm . . . I'm fine." she stammered, covering her face as she exhaled slowly, then rubbed her arms as she spoke. "I just. . . really, really need to talk to you."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. . . um. . ." She swallowed hard. "I just. . ." She paused, staring down at the ground as she finished. "Do. . . do you think we made a mistake?"
Silence.
"What do you mean, mistake?" he asked quietly.
She sighed, flustered. "Please, Ron, spare me the drama; I can't take it. Do you think we made a mistake?"
He exhaled slowly, shuffling his feet and watching as he did so, thinking softly. He looked up at her as he shook his head, a little startled by the question. "Truth?" he asked quietly.
She nodded. "Truth."
"Okay. . ." he said, processing what to say next. "Yeah." he said finally. "I do." She nodded solemnly, not looking as if she was planning on continuing the conversation. "But hey. . . I mean, it was a mistake. A big one. But we can't change it now, so. . ."
"You're leaving in two weeks." she stated. He stopped completely, staring at her, waiting for her to keep talking. "McGonagall told me this morning."
". . . Oh." he said, his face wrinkling in thought.
She wrung her hands, staring down at them as she did so, looking for anything she could possibly say to end the silence. It was too horrible to even deal with. "I fainted this morning, Ron." He gasped subtly, yet she kept talking. "I started. . . screaming, out of nowhere, and I had no idea I was doing it until Malfoy shut me up."
"Malfoy?" he asked.
"He's working in the hospital wing now; it's his punishment." she said softly, and he cut her off.
"After what he did, that's where they put him?" he said, almost growling. "I don't want him near you, Hermione; nowhere near you. We don't know what else he'll. . ."
"Please, Ron, could we not talk about this right now?"
"No, I think we need to." he said, sounding quietly enraged. "Do you know what he did, Hermione? Do you realize? The only reason we're going through all this crap. . ."
". . .is because we made a mistake, Ron; Draco didn't do anything, so don't blame him for this!" Ron stopped, completely taken aback. She paused, composing herself as tears started tugging at the corners of her eyes. "He's trying to be nice to me, Ron; the least you could do is try to be nice to him, even if you're pretending." He nodded slightly, humbled, and she continued softly.
"He's sorry; so, so sorry. I know he is. He just. . ." She paused. "He just can't say it. He doesn't know how."
"Umhm." Ron said, not altogether ingesting it in the first place. "I, uh. . ." he started, thinking. "I'm a lot. . . angrier now. I dunno, I just. . . I just get so frustrated with people. . . so easily, too. . ." He paused. "I. . . I've never talked to you like that before." He paused. "Sorry." He added. She nodded.
"Maybe, uh. . ." he cleared his throat. "I should take you back. You shouldn't really be up."
"No, it's alright. . . go to class, you're already late."
"Exactly. No point now." He smiled weakly, and she returned it with the same amount of awkwardness. "Come on. Let's go."
They couldn't even find one single word to say the entire way back.
"Here." Malfoy said, placing her dinner in front of her. "And. . ." he said, handing her a napkin, "Maybe you won't spill it again."
Hermione nodded slightly, ignoring the humor in the situation. "Thanks." she said, and he watched her sit up comfortably before he sat against the wall where his own tray of food lay, eating slowly as he played with the full bucket of soapy water and scrub brush idly. Hermione paused, watching him for a moment before sighing. ". . . Draco?"
"Hm?" he asked, his attention still fixed on popping all the bubbles in the water.
She stopped, intimidated by his lack of attention as she wrung her hands, deciding whether or not she really could trust him. "I. . . if you had to chose. . . had to decide between two people who you loved more than anything. . . what would you do?"
He stopped, looking up at her with no real change in expression. "Are you asking me for advice?" he questioned, not really understanding why she would in the first place.
She threw her arms up in the air and let them fall at her side, her voice weighted by tears as she responded wearily. "Oh God, Draco; just answer the question?" He picked his drink up, sipping it and swirling it in his hand as he thought. "These two people. . ." she started, clarifying the question. "One's. . ."
"I know who you're talking about." he stated, cutting her off. She stared at him. "Ron and the baby?" he asked.
She nodded. "How'd you know that?"
"I heard you talking before. . . to that Weasel of yours, when you left. . ." he said.
She bit her lip. "Don't call him that."
"I don't think he caught the meaning." he continued, stifling the urge to comment on the lack of mental capability that prevented him from understanding.
Hermione nodded slowly. "Me neither."
"Okay, look." Malfoy started, sitting at the foot of her bed before continuing. He paused in thought. "Well, you and the Weas-"
"Ron." she corrected, but it didn't come out as rudely as she had wanted.
"You and Ron," he repeated, continuing on. "are pretty tight, right? I mean, you probably wouldn't be here if you weren't. That kid's always trying to cuddle you, and kiss you, and ugh. . . and you love it, don't you?" She smiled weakly, staring at her hands as she nodded softly. Malfoy snickered. "Loser."
"Oh, shut up." she said, and he sipped at his drink again before continuing.
"But then. . ." he said seriously, trying to find the right words. "Even if it's not really wanted in the first place. . . your baby's your baby, I guess."
Silence.
"I love it." she whispered.
He looked at her. "Hm?"
"The baby. I love it." She teared, placing a gentle hand on her stomach. "It's. . . I dunno, strange. . . but I feel like. . . like I'm the only one who gets that. . . it's a person. Not once has anyone treated it like anything but a disaster. The thing Ron's dying for. But. . . it's just as much a person as Ron, right?" Malfoy nodded quietly. A small trail of tears continued down her cheeks, and she bit her lip, her voice shaking. "That's why. . . if it died, I'd feel just as. . . murdered inside." She looked up at Malfoy, his face wrinkled in thought, not really knowing what to do. "Is. . . is that selfish?" she asked, pleading that it wasn't.
He shook his head slowly. "No." She covered her eyes, sobbing lightly, trying to control herself and failing miserably.
"Napkin." Malfoy said, and she looked up.
"What?" He reached over, picking her napkin up off her dinner tray and handing it to her. "Oh. Thank you." She lay back against her pillows as she wiped her face. "I'm okay. So now. . ." she said, trying to change the subject as she sniffed. "Why the wine?"
He stopped, looking at his drink before looking at her funny. "How'd you know this was. . .?"
"Are you kidding? Do youknow how strong a scent Shiraze has?"
Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "Huh." He drank from it again before answering the question. "I nicked it from Snape. Not that strong, though; I'll see what else he's got."
She sighed. "You drink?"
"Only lately. Only thing that keeps me sane around here, I guess."
"You shouldn't; you could get really sick from that if it mixes with all that stuff Pomfrey's giving you."
"That? Nah. She's trying to wean me off it anyway; I barely got any of it in me anymore. Besides," he said, standing as he pulled her bed tray away. "You wouldn't have gotten even half that conversation out of me if I wasn't four glasses in right now." he joked, however true it was, but she didn't find it that funny. "Sleep. You weren't eating much anyways."
She nodded, turning over in her covers to find a comfortable spot as he walked back to his food tray, eager to empty it out. He stopped, turned around and thinking as he looked at her, sighing. "Hey, uh, Granger?"
She turned in her spot, looking at him. "Hm?"
"What you. . . what you told Ron before, to be nice to me? Don't force him; he's got a right to be mad, ya know? It wouldn't change much for me, anyway."
"You didn't do anything, there's no reason to be mad."
"I appreciate it, really, but I know what I did. Maybe he's a little slower to get over it, but that doesn't change it much." He shrugged. "I did what I did, that's all."
She paused. ". . . okay." she said, turning back in her spot.
He swallowed. "And, uh. . . I am, you know. . ."
"Hm?"
"I, uh. . ." He sighed. "I'm sorry. Really sorry." She stopped, sitting up as she looked at him. "Just to clarify." he added. She nodded slowly. With that, he turned around again, walking once more to his waiting food tray.
". . . Thank you, Draco."
He turned around, looking at her as he nodded. She paused a moment before rotating over once more in a good position, falling asleep almost instantly. He sighed slightly, plopping down beside his food as he began to eat, thinking strangely.
AN: Okay, guys, there it is! -jumps up and down- yaaay, I did it! Well, the next chapter is already underway, which means less wait this time. It'll be a lengthy chapter, too; I can't believe I was gonna have this all one chapter. What the hell was I thinking? Honestly. Anyways, there it is, hope you liked it, and please, please review; if you had time to read all this, you have another second to hit review. Thanks so, so much!
Suki
formatting updated July 26, 2006