AN: Your response to that last chapter was… amazing. You've brought me past 300 reviews, and I feel like me telling you guys that I love you is starting to get redundant. But I do. This story would be nothing without you.
And see, I didn't make you all wait over a week this time! YAY! Anywho, thanks for your support, and here's the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I only make these characters do my bidding, I do not own them. J.K. Rowling does.
Storming through the Castle, Draco:
He didn't know how long he had before Pansy and Greg noticed that he was gone, but he doubted it would be much time. That said, Draco allowed the fury and confusion welling up inside him to fuel his steps and propel himself forward so quickly that he might as well have been running down to the dungeons to confront Granger. Not that Granger was the only one he needed to deal with; Pansy had something coming to her too for siccing Granger on him in the first place. And Granger, well, Granger had just given him plenty of reason to do as his father bade him in the letter.
Why did Granger know so much? Why did she notice? How dare she open him like a book and then burn his pages? Why did she know exactly what to say in order to invoke a rage so strong that he could feel his magic fighting to break free?
And what was worse- Draco couldn't figure out who exactly his rage was aimed at. Was it really aimed at Granger, who had simply spoken facts? Or was it aimed at his father? His father that had been poisoning his mind and controlling his life since he could speak, all the while ensuring the fact that Draco knew exactly how disappointed he was in him. Nothing Draco did was ever enough. He no longer knew what thoughts were his own and what thoughts had been placed there by his father.
But what did it matter when Draco couldn't decide whether or not he still believed in his old beliefs- or if he ever had, really. Who was he? He knew that he could feel things changing around him, but here he was fighting to hang on to who he is, and he didn't even know who that was. All he had was his past. His decisions, his beliefs, and the consequences he faced were all he had that was grounding Draco to himself. Who did he want to be? All of these questions, all of these things forced into his mind by Granger- no, by his father AND Granger and everyone else who was trying to push or pull him in a certain direction or make him face up to what once was, it was just too much. Which could really only mean one thing.
Somewhere in his mind he knew that it was himself he was truly angry with, but Granger had made herself a target.
And as his thoughts once more focused on Granger, everything else disappeared. He was no longer thinking, just going where his feet were taking him, despite the fact that his grip on his wand was painful.
And the feeling, this possession of his body by his rage, it was almost euphoric. Because in taking over his body it shut off his brain that had been ticking non-stop, questioning everything, to the point of madness. This was better than the non-feeling, because in his non-feeling he still thought, but now all he could feel was his pain and his rage and he no longer had to think about a damned thing. In this one taste of this possession, Draco felt like he could be addicted.
So gone in his thoughtless bliss, Draco did not notice when he entered the common room. He did not notice the stares that were already on the door that Granger had recently fled through, nor did he notice the stares upon his own person. He did not notice when he entered through his own portrait, nor did he know when he went up the stairs and into Granger's room. He did not hear the unearthly howl that tore from his throat when he saw that she was not there or feel the tears splashing against his cheeks, and he didn't notice when his wand arm raised and blasted through the bathroom door. He did not hear the door smack into the wall, and he did not notice that his wand was aimed at the crumpled form of Hermione Granger.
But he did notice, however, the sound of Granger's wand as she threw it to the ground, submitting to what curse was upon Draco's lips.
He stopped cold, and just like that, his euphoric possession of rage had dissipated and he was left to face the truth of what was in front of him.
Despite the fact that everything had been cleaned, Draco knew well the metallic odor in the air, the odor that told him quite clearly that Granger's body had disagreed strongly with its actions. And the sounds… the sounds she was making… the strangled gasps and shuddering sobs that moved her small frame of their own volition so closely matched the ones he had been a victim too not very long ago. Those were the sounds that dug into his soul and wrenched it open, forcing his prejudiced eyes to open and accept what was happening before him when otherwise he may have shuddered his mind and turned up his nose in rejection of the blatant sorrow and despair of the tiny witch with the untamed mass of hair who had discarded her wand, saying to all who could see with clear eyes that she accepted whatever punishment was deserved.
Then there they were. The words that he had been too distraught to pay any attention to earlier, mistaken for a parting dig, they were there echoing in his mind, judging him and damning his all at once.
"I-I was lying, I know that you aren't a coward… I'm sorry! Oh, Godric I'm so sorry!"
His knees gave out beneath him and Draco collapsed to the ground, allowing his wand to fall from his fingers and clatter to the ground. Their heavy breathing was the only sound in the small little bathroom, but it was loud enough to drown out his confusion and helplessness. His puffy eyes met her red tearstained face and Draco had to fight the urge to laugh lest he go completely hysterical. For here they were, two enemies, completely vulnerable and open without a mask in the world to hide them from each other. And neither was making a move against the other. In fact, they seemed to be taking solace in the pain and discomfort of the other, because as they both sat there in the damning and suffocating silence, their tears ceased and their breathing eased. In another time, Draco might have thought the situation comical. But there was nothing even remotely funny about the gravel on stone croak that was Granger's voice as she cut through the quiet.
"I'm sorry."
To which Draco replied, "Thank you."
Because really, what else to do you say to someone who tore herself to bits in order to free you from the non-feeling prison that your father's words condemned you to suffer inside? Despite the rage, and his confusion, and the millions of questions that would at some point need to be asked and answered between them, there was nothing else appropriate to say. Nothing else fit.
"You're not a coward," she told him.
"Never call yourself that name again," he answered.
"Your father is a bastard," she said, because it did need to be said. For her to say and him to hear.
"So was my aunt," he offered, because that needed to be said too. For her to hear and him to acknowledge as truth.
And then they were both nodding silently, and the tension eased, because that was what was needed and nothing more.
Caught up in their own moment, neither noticed the invisible figure that was Ginny head out of Hermione's room and back out the portrait to inform a hysterical Pansy that no one was dead.
Gryffindor Girl's Dorm, Daphne:
Despite the fact that she knew she had a place with the boys, there was just something serious about sleeping with someone you were involved in. And although neither of them was exactly sure how it happened, but after the events that morning Daphne had decided that she needed her happiness wherever she could get it, and Neville was the only person who could really make her smile. Did she wish she was cuddled up next to him right now? Of course. But the Pratil twins were having their friend Lisa Turpin over for the night and Daphne though that maybe because of that, things would be okay. So, despite the arguments of everyone else, Daphne was curled up in her own bed, doing her best to ignore the giggling that was coming from the corner.
It wasn't until she was about to fall asleep that they attacked.
Suddenly she was tossed from her bed and onto the floor while they laughed their glee. When Daphne got to her feet and summoned her wand to her hand, she saw that Turpin was laughing just as hard as the twins. At that, Daphne snapped, and although she knew it was foolish to try and attack three opponents at once, she did it anyway.
It just wasn't fair. Didn't she have enough to deal with, what with her sister publicly disowning her? Daphne knew that her parents wouldn't be far behind, and it was miracle that it hadn't been done already. She refused to allow the females to make her life harder on her than it needed to be, not without fighting.
Some corner of her mind wondered when exactly the penchant Slytherin trait of self-preservation had been replaced with Gryffindor rashness. Was it before or after the Sorting? But soon these thoughts were driven from her mind as she needed to focus all of her energy on not allowing herself to be murdered. Little Red had threatened that if Daphne got herself killed by her own stupidity, she would have to deal with Her afterwards. The threat was a real one, and Daphne, for one, did not want to be forced to figure out exactly how Little Red would manage it.
A stinging jinx caught Daphne in this cheek and knocked her into the door, but before that Daphne had hit Padma with a successful body bind. Instead of trying to revive her, Parvati and Turpin continued to assail Daphne with a legion of hexes and curses, moving so quickly that soon she only had time to block. And then something happened, and the door behind her opened and Daphne was sent flying down the stairs, hitting painfully, until she landed flat on her back in the common room.
She had landed on her shoulder, and pain from it was trying to cloud her ability to think. But that wouldn't do because she could hear their laughter getting louder, and Daphne no longer had her wand. Somewhere between falling down the stairs and dislocating her shoulder, she had been disarmed.
Not a stranger to wandless magic, she did her best to erect a shield, but it was pathetic at best, and try as she might she just couldn't shift her weight around enough to be able to stand. That did not, of course, stop her from trying. Ignoring the pain shooting daggers into various points of her body, Daphne made it to her knees by the time the three girls reached the foot of the stairs. And when they walked into the common room, wands raised, all three of them were disarmed and stunned and Daphne was flailing trying to see where the attack had come from.
The question was soon answered as Harry, Theo, and Neville all dropped their disillusionment charms and came to her aide. All three were cursing loudly and Harry had to stop Theo from stomping on their faces. And though Neville's voice was harsh as he ranted on about airheaded bints that were a disgrace to society, his hands were gentle as he healed Daphne's various cuts and bruises, fixing her shoulder last. When he was finished, he half pushed/ half dragged Daphne up the stairs to the Boy's Dorm and left Harry and Theo to deal with her attackers.
"Seriously, Daph, unless Ginny is here you're sleeping with us," Neville began once he had closed the door behind them. "I can understand if you don't want to sleep with me cause we've only just started and all, but we'll come up with something, yeah?"
Daphne answered by crawling into Neville's bed and burying her face in his pillows, no longing caring about what was proper and what wasn't.
That night, Neville held her and comforted her as she cried herself to sleep.
AN: Not a lot of dialogue in this one, but I'm a firm believer that sometimes dialogue doesn't matter. And I know this one is kind of short, but its quality vs. quantity, right?
Er… right, guys?
No?
Fine! I'll try to make the next one longer.
Sorry about all the notices, but I forgot to add this on. I'm going to be going back through all of the chapters and correcting little errors that I find, so unless you want to read everything again, just wait for the alert from me that says 'Chapter 17'. Thanks!