A Waltz in Darkness
Chapter Six
Hermione's POV
It did not take long for me to regret sending the only person who has yet to judge me for my situation away. Within a matter of seconds of his absence I replaced my pajamas with jeans and a sweater before casually following the very steps he had taken. I did not rush my pace; there was no sense in causing him to believe I actually…missed him. Because I did not miss him, I simply…decided I did not mind his gesture and it was rather rude of me to have sent him away in the manner in which I did. The least I could do was apologize. Yes, I would apologize and allow him to be the one to send me from his presence. An excellent plan…if I wanted to appear as hopeless and foolish as I now felt.
I glanced down at my feet, imprinting my steps into the light dusting of snow and the feeling of foolishness only grew until I heard frantic voice calling my name. I lifted my gaze to see Dalisay running towards me with an expression I did not think could ever grace her features: concern.
I did not care for the girl, despite knowing next to nothing about her but I'd like to think I knew enough to know she was far from the type of individual I would care to know personally. I had a strong desire to ignore her but the intensity of her voice calling out to me became too much to overlook. I stopped in my place and awaited an explanation for her panicked demeanor.
Suddenly, beneath the flickering streetlight I felt her grab fistfuls of my tweed petty coat and pulled me inches to her face. Her dark eyes swelling with tears she refused to let fall.
"Can I help you?" I asked while trying to pull from her grip only to have her jerk me even tighter in her grasp.
"Get your know-it-all ass to the apartment now!" She demanded. Her eyes flickered with both rage and fear as she shoved me forward.
"Excuse me but-"
"Oh don't pretend you weren't on your way there in the first place! The only difference is I am hurrying you along! GO!" She was screaming at this point, I didn't have the slightest idea what was happening but there was desperation in her voice and I didn't want to linger here a moment longer creating a scene for the gathering sets of eyes to enjoy.
"I'm going!" I snapped while straightening my coat and took off in a slight jog towards the apartment. Something had to have happened for Dalisay of all people to demand my presence…but what?
I received my answer the moment I released the knob of the door illuminating the horrific scene that was laid out before me. I felt the air escape my lungs; there was blood…everywhere. The apartment was littered with dust and debris while the floor was covered in pools of blood that seemed to be soaking into the very grain of the wood.
I spun around, preparing myself to demand an explanation from Dalisay but she was no longer behind me.
"D-Dalisay?" A voice strained in the shadows.
"Malfoy?" I replied without hesitation. My heart dropped, my senses began spiraling out of control as the horror before my eyes started to shift into something far worse…it became something real, something to fear…something I thought I would never experience again. Anxiety was itching to take its hold over me with every step towards the designs of red stretching towards a figure slumped against the wall. Malfoy.
"Well…I didn't…expect to see you here Granger." He muttered before leaning his head back against the wall he propped against. I honestly did not know whether to fling myself to his side or remain at bay…but one thing was certain, as my eyes traveled upon his blood stained clothes I felt tears swelling within my eyes.
"You know…you're ole pal Potter…cast this spell…a few years back. Nasty little curse…" I focused my eyes until I realized I was no longer standing in the distance, I was crashing to my knees beside him, carefully peeling back the layers of clothing upon his chest. My fingertips traced his skin gently as I quickly found relief in the realization that the injuries he had endured were all but gone; only the blood remained. Dalisay had a hand to play in his healing state I would imagine. Well…thank goodness for that.
"You could at least…buy me dinner first." He whispered. I instantly pulled my hands away, my cheeks burning hot from his words. I then looked at him, he appeared so exhausted, drained of all strength and yet he still found the energy to make such a remark. I smiled at the thought before searching for his eyes.
"Who did this to you?"
"Nobody. It was…an accident." He replied calmly.
"This is no time to play games Malfoy!" I hissed only to see him smirk in response.
"Must you be so infuriating?"
"Must you be so nosey? Not everything is as open as a book…for good reason. People get hurt." He spat.
"Someone already did get hurt." I quickly added. Why wasn't he telling me what happened? What on earth could he be hiding? Surely he wasn't protecting this person…was he? I stood up; my thoughts were racing until a certain thought stopped and drew up the proverbial red flag. Had Malfoy gone back to his old ways?
As I stood, hovering over him, I wanted so badly to interrogate him to find out the truth right now and apprehend him immediately if I had the slightest inclination that he was partaking in some sort of uprising the Ministry had not yet heard of. I wanted to know…I wanted to know the truth without a second to spare but even with my suspicions escalating…I stood silent. As if I was afraid to hear it or maybe I just wanted so badly to believe he had changed…that he too was different now.
I released a sigh before shaking my head; I really had done it this time. Allowed my emotions to cloud my judgment; I was so desperate to feel less alone in the world that I may have created an illusion to hide his true nature in order to fill the void in my life. Honestly Hermione…how dumb can you get.
"I should have the Ministry here…but for some…unknown reason I'm just going to walk away. Whatever trouble you're in…just remember that making the same mistakes twice…makes you ignorant and deficient."
"Deficient? Wow…you've got more nerve than…I g-gave you credit for. Here I sit…barely able to hold my head up. My blood…beneath the soles of your feet and you…you have the audacity to speak to me like you know me. That I somehow brought this upon myself, no Granger. That makes you ignorant and deficient." His eyes were fixated upon me. The chill of his disdainful stare was enough to bring hesitation to my thoughts.
"What do you expect me to think when you refuse to tell me what happened?"
"I expect you to think…better of me than that. Would I have even asked you for a drink that night if I were the same person you believe me to be? If you must know…to ease your heroic mentality…then I'll tell you. But swear to me…you won't get the Ministry involved…not until I know she's s-safe." Until he knows she's safe? Well I wasn't too far off with my judgement then, he was protecting someone, but who? And why? Then it struck me, this was not Malfoy's apartment alone. He shared it with…
"Pansy." I breathed. I watched him lower his head, as if it pained him to even hear her name.
"There's something wrong with her…like something was using her body as a puppet. I suppose…possession isn't impossible is it?" He continued, I could sense the guilt within him…so, I guess the infamous Draco Malfoy had changed after all. I wanted to smile at the thought, but this was not the time to celebrate a victory in personality within my once rival nor was it the place.
"I should have seen it…" He strained while struggling to stand. He winced slightly causing my hand to instantly reach out only to have him shove my hand aside. I painfully watched the proud man force himself to his feet. His garments were rigid from dried blood; I could here the starch like fabric folding as he moved. The moon had started to spill into the space, bringing light to the droplets of perspiration upon his forehead and to my surprise, the trail of a single tear tracing down his pale cheek.
"This is all my fault…I just left her alone in there…with that stupid book as her only company…"
"Book?" I interjected.
"Books really are all you care about…I swear I-" He began to shout until I shook my head frantically.
"Just shut up! Is the book still here? Where is it? Where did you get it?" This nightmare of a situation was beginning to make sense; it was no coincidence that Pansy's behavior took place around the same time the artifact had gone missing. But I had to see the book for myself before I could confirm a proper explanation.
"Bedroom." Malfoy spat. He was not about to indulge me in my quest for an explanation; I should be more sensitive to his feelings, he had just endured a very painful experience but it…it wasn't my place to comfort him. Even if I wanted to tell him it was all going to be alright; I couldn't. He deserved the truth, not an overused lie.
I wasted no time in my search through the bedroom. I scrambled through the tossed piles of clothing, rummaged through every nook of the space and pulled open every drawer the oversized furniture had to offer me.
I was desperate to find it; it had to be in here somewhere. I was sifting through the nightstand drawer. I felt the corners of parchment grazing my fingers before feeling the slick surface of a photograph. Far from the item I was searching for, but my curious hands refused to pass by it without bringing it into sight. In the candlelight dancing about the gray painted walls, my gaze lingered upon this simple, moving scene captured in frame. There, in a beautiful summer scene, was Malfoy lifting Pansy into the air above him. He gently spun around, never once allowing his eyes to leave hers. My lips parted slightly at the sight of Malfoy genuinely smiling at the sight of the dark haired girl laughing in his arms. He had this…look about him, a certain glisten in his eye; it was love. The same look Ron had shown me in the past; it was an unmistakable look that every girl dreams of receiving. Some never get to see it and then there were others, like me, that saw it once and then watched as the look slowly faded away until there was nothing but a dull, loveless glare that remained.
"It's funny how quickly things can c-change." Malfoy spoke as he eased himself onto the bed. I quickly placed the stack of parchment and photograph back into the drawer.
"I told you…that you were nosey." He smirked, trying to disguise the look of pain and exhaustion as he reclined onto the silk sheets below.
"I'm sorry." I whispered.
"I'm not. People fall out of love…just as quickly as they fall into love. It's l-life and I'm over it now." I wondered just how honest he was being with me but I didn't belabor the subject.
"Here's the book. It was under the pillow. I don't…see why this is so important. It's j-just a copy of Frankenstein." He struggled to lift his head and grasp the book but soon it was tossed into my hands. So it was true. In the written reports of this artifact it was said to be bound in a disguise; as the true nature of evil often was. This was not just a copy of Frankenstein. It was far from the mere muggle paperback version of a classic tale; this was indeed the artifact I was hired to find. The Ministry is very desperate to have this back in their hands and not to be spoken of again; except the power of this book was no longer within its pages. In this state, this book was useless. Its captive had been set free; the greatest fears of the Ministry had now been realized.
I glanced over at Malfoy; despite being healed there was much time needed to recover completely. Wounds can be healed by magic it was common sense, but what some fail to realize is that magic only heals skin deep. The body must take over the rest. Blood must be replenished, the pain still needed time to fade and the mind needed even more time to recover from the shock. It was a long process, merely cut short with the aid of a spell.
He was so close to drifting to sleep; his eye lids fell lower and lower into his gaze. To reveal to him the information that I regrettably gathered from the dusty book within my hands would surely injure him further. But I couldn't exactly keep this to myself.
"I think you should know…that wasn't Pansy that attacked you." I said while nearing the bed. The wooden posts rose high, nearing the ceiling itself. Deep hues of green fabric were draped about the posts much like the curtains of the Slytherin Common room I imagine. I guess the slytherin pride ran deeper than I thought.
"Tell me something I don't know." He spoke, his voice no longer revealing pain in the struggle to speak. His breathing was relaxed, I watched his chest rise and fall ever so gently as I walked closer to him. The candlelight graced his features so kindly; it was very hard to overlook the fact that Malfoy was in fact, very handsome.
"She's been possessed by a spirit that would have rivaled Dumbledore himself. He was plotting against Lord Voldemort, which was ultimately his downfall. His name isn't written in any books, no lore will shed light to his existence but the Ministry knows all about him and the…terrible things he had done. They did not tell me much more than that; but what I do know is that this is not the sort of character that should be left to wander the streets of the magical world. Not when we still have not recovered from the aftermath of the war. All of Voldemort's followers have not been accounted for; they're practically wands for hire…just waiting for something like this to happen. We got to-"
"We got to wait until morning." He breathed.
"I don't think you quite understand the severity of the situation."
"I understand better than you think Granger. I'm not exactly in the best condition to charging through the streets, wands ablaze and between you and I, I simply don't have the energy to see Pansy…like that…again just yet. I have seen enough for one night. Just indulge an injured man and keep your fearful words and warnings to yourself for now." Fair enough. I had been told to shut up before, in many different ways, but this was the first time I felt the need to heed those words. He had seen far too much, even for him, this was evil at its highest level.
"Make yourself at home Granger, it's not much of one…I'm sure it's far from Granny's standards given the blood and all but-"
"It's more than fine Malfoy. Thank you." I did not intend on staying, but I had the feeling we shared in one thought: this was not the sort of night to be spent alone.
I studied his face, his eyes no longer trying to remain open. I watched his hands fumbling for the comforter across the bed until I reached across his tired frame and pulled it gently over him. I went to pull away only to feel his hand take hold of my wrist.
"I'm glad you came." So am I Malfoy.
A/N:
Dork Dog: Absolutely adore seeing your reviews my friend thank you again for following along with my written works! Glad the intensity was added to the interest for you! It was a fun, chaotic scene to write! Glad to be a part of your stories as well, we can keep each other motivated! I am far behind on my reviews with Torn Apart though, I've been meaning to read on, I will get to that soon my friend, I'm excited! Thanks again, hope you enjoyed this update!
PuffyUnicorn: Wow! What an amazing review to receive thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed the update, hope to hear from you again! Thanks!