Ch. 13 Memories and Reconciliation
A few days had passed since many parents had descended upon Hogwarts in fear but that hadn't stemmed the ever growing flow of them. Many would come just to check up on things and some, despite Dumbledore's calm discouragement, would still withdraw their students from the school. There hadn't been an attack again but everyone seemed to be waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Although they would work on their potions assignment at night Hermione refused to speak to Draco after the debacle in the Defense Against the Dark Arts. Draco on the other hand was completely oblivious to her reasons as he saw nothing wrong with the way he'd acted. Her silence was slowly driving him crazy, though.
He hadn't spoken to Snape about his decision as he felt he wasn't entirely sure yet. He had no idea what he was waiting on but he felt his meeting tonight with his father would cement his choice. If it was up to him it would be the last meeting he'd have with his father involving Death Eaters.
He'd silently opened Hermione's door to watch her sleeping safe and sound in her own bed it was a ritual he'd started shortly after the incident in the Forbidden Forest, although now he realized that sometimes she may have been feigning sleep. He'd watched her small form engulfed in the huge red and orange blankets atop the bed. Her caramel hair had blended into the golden colored pillows and her face had been screwed slightly as if she was experiencing an unpleasant dream. He'd watched her for a few moments before quietly shutting the door. The only peace he seemed to have now was knowing that she was safe.
Now he silently exited the castle from the side door he often used. The moon was full tonight and he knew he would have to be out on the look for werewolves. As if privy to his thoughts a howl sounded in the night and he could tell it was coming from the dark woods of the Forbidden Forest. The air was cold and he could see his breath in front of him as he breathed lending a spooky atmosphere to the already ominous night. He stuck his hands in his pockets to try to warm them and sat off down the path that led to the forest.
The wind blew making the cold unbearable and he hunched his shoulders against it. He was nearly to the forest when he saw a pale sliver of white off to his right. His mouth opened slightly as he watched the odd Gryffindor girl walk towards the forest mouthing words that he couldn't understand. She once again wore a white nightgown that made her pale skin appear ghostly and her eyes were wide open looking like two small oceans in the middle of her face.
She moved steadily on ignoring him and he noticed that she appeared to be floating, either that or she was extremely graceful. He quickly looked around him to make sure no one was around and hurried over to her. Her words were clearer now but they still made no sense to him.
"Meleepan hopa. Tangrisie aman akpa. Joy Joy Joy Joyo Joyo. Amanparo. Amanparo."
Her voice was melancholy and carried a lilt as if she was slightly singing or about to. He waved his hand in her face as he walked to keep up with her. She didn't blink. He tried to remember her name. Esther. Esmeralda. Elise. He knew it started with an E but he couldn't seem to figure out what the rest of it was.
Her face broke out into a sad smile and she began to talk more urgently. Her arms reach out as if in welcome and she was nearly to the forest when he reached out and grabbed her. He'd contemplated pretending he hadn't seen her but he could almost see Hermione's disapproving stare. She began to struggle violently in his arms and let out a terrifying shriek that was much worse than she'd done in the corridors that night. He could hear several howls in the distance amid other animals and strange creatures, it was as if everything in the Forbidden Forest was responding to her cries.
She continued to struggle against him and she was powerful in his grip. He was about to let her go when she finally slumped to the ground and he realized that she had been floating. She was breathing quickly and heavily and her pupils were dilated. He bent low and lightly tapped her face hoping she'd wake up but her breathing seemed to increase. He shook her and her head lolled to the side. Her breathing was so harsh and quick her entire body moved with every breath she took it was as if she was losing air by the second. Since he'd never seen or heard of anything like this he had no idea what to do. He pulled out his wand trying to think.
"Tranquilo," he muttered as he aimed the wand at her.
A light blue spark flew out of his wand and hit her chest. It was a simple calming spell but he had no idea if the situation warranted it and he could think of nothing else. She continued to breath heavily and he racked his mind trying to think of something else when her body jerked once and then stopped. He signed heavily and leaned back on his heel. He jumped slightly when the sounds from the forest seemed to increase in volume. It sounded like every living thing was screeching at the top of its lungs or whatever breathing organ that it had. The entire castle would wake up if things didn't quite down soon he felt like his ears would burst any second.
The noise constantly raised in pitch and just when he almost couldn't stand it he watched the girl's eyes flutter open and as they did the forest became eerily quiet. He glanced behind him at the black trees before turning back to her. She coughed and blinked at him. Her eyes seemed to be trying to focus as they slowly returned back to normal from their dilated state. She gazed at him for a long time and leaned up towards him. Even though her eyes were back to normal they still looked through him. He doubted if she was really seeing him now.
"Harry," she reached for him and he stared in shock as she faded.
He reached out to her but felt nothing but air and soon she was completely gone. He stared down at the grass half expecting her to reappear. He moved his hands along the ground as if he'd find her there and stopped when the truth began to sink in. She'd disappeared in front of him. Not only did she disappear she did it on Hogwart's grounds. With the provisions that Dumbledore made no one could apparate from the grounds which is why he had to make the long and miserable trek through the Forbidden Forest every night as it was not Hogwart's property.
What the bloody hell just happened?
He stood up and dusted himself off searching around him not knowing what to find or expect. 'People just don't disappear,' he thought, 'especially not at Hogwarts'. He gave one final perusal of his surroundings and headed into the forest. He didn't hear a howl, hoot, or even a crawl it was as if for the first time the entire area was dead. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. Nothing even emitted a thought. It was the most unsettling feeling he'd ever experienced but he trudged on through wary of his surroundings. His father was waiting in his usual spot and didn't seem to notice the unusual setting they were now in. He eyed him calmly.
"Why are you late? Was it the mudblood again?"
He shook his head feeling anger rise inside of him at his father's callous use of the name even though he'd called her the same not too long ago.
"She hasn't been a problem.........it was something else," he hesitated in telling his father.
He wasn't even sure if he'd even had an encounter with the strange girl everything had seemed so illusive and ghostly but he knew the quiet of the forest confirmed that she had in fact been sleepwalking again.
"Something like what?" his father was curious and watching him intently.
He glanced around him put off that the only sound in the entire forest was coming from he and his father.
"Did you hear it before?" he hoped his father had heard the enormous noise that was coming from here before.
Lucius nodded once, "Do you mean all the animals howling?"
Draco shook his head, "It was more than that. It was like everything here from the insects to the animals to the creatures were all screaming."
Lucius looked slightly uneasy but simply said, "I heard it."
He stared at his father hoping he'd say something else. He didn't want him to pretend as if things like that happened everyday because he certainly had never heard of it. The forest going wild was in direct correlation with the Gryffindor girl's sleepwalking. He didn't understand it but he knew there was a distinct connection. There was something completely other worldly about that girl and the thought of Hermione being around her was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. He also wondered exactly where she had disappeared to and how she had disappeared.
Lucius lifted his head towards the sky and back to him, "We should be leaving now."
He grabbed his sleeve and they apparated away. He expected to end up in some dark cold dungeon as usual but was surprised to find himself within his own home, Malfoy Manor. They were in their father's study and he relaxed slightly as his father moved towards his desk. He hadn't been home since school started and hadn't seen his mother since she'd spoken to him in the fireplace. He turned to leave the study and his father stopped him.
"Where are you going?"
His hands gripped the doorknob, "I'm going to see mother."
His father glanced through a stack of papers on his desk.
"Your mother is asleep, best not disturb her, she gets so little of it these days."
He released the knob and turned around with a sigh.
"Why are we here then?"
Lucius continued glancing through papers for the moment ignoring him. For a brief fleeting moment he'd been excited at the thought of seeing his mother he knew how isolated her life had become with his father constantly gone on Death Eater errands. What did a wife do when her husband was away at night killing and torturing people?
"You still haven't told me why you were late."
He sat down in an antique chair that faced his father's desk contemplating how to explain just what had happened and wondering if he should leave anything out. His father had stopped looking through the papers and was staring at him expectantly.
"There's a girl," he began.
Lucius raised a brow, "Don't tell me you were late because you couldn't tear your self away from some torrid affair," his voice was disapproving.
He shook his head impatiently, "No, of course not. It was a girl in Gryffindor," he explained, "She's weird....she does something called sleepwalking. I've never heard of it before but Her," he caught himself, "Granger told me about it since she's a muggleborn."
His father's gaze grew very intense and he peered at him closely.
"Sleepwalking?"
He nodded, "She walks in her sleep or like tonight she floats in her sleep," he stared at his father questioningly, "She screamed and everything in the forest seemed to scream with her and then she just.....disappeared.........on Hogwart's grounds."
Lucius look at him in disbelief, "No one can apparate on Hogwart's grounds," he spoke as if to a five year old.
He put his elbows on his knees and leaned in closer to his father.
"I know that but she did.........or maybe she didn't. I'm not saying she apparated I'm just saying she disappeared. She disappeared right in front of me after driving the entire forest crazy," he shook his head, "It was the weirdest thing. I've never seen anything like it before. I've never even heard of anything like it before."
Lucius seemed to be in deep thought. He swept his long blond hair over his shoulders and walked to the other side of the room to stare out of a high window.
"You say Granger was with you?"
"No."
He turned back to him.
"Then how does she know about what happened?"
"We were patrolling one night and we saw her. That was the first time."
"First time?" Lucius' voice raised slightly, "How many times have you seen her........sleepwalking?"
"Just the first time and tonight."
Lucius turned back to the window nodding.
"You say she's odd? Who is she?"
He shrugged not being able to remember her name for the life of him.
"I can't remember her name. She's new, an exchange student from Luxbottom, I think."
His father fell silent and he wondered what he was thinking more importantly he wondered what tasks he had in mind for him. He half-expected him to speak of Snape and his proposition but it was becoming clearer to him that Snape had come to him in total confidence and he had been putting his life in his hands, that thought unnerved him just as much as a setup. Snape really was a part of the Order and working to bring them down. Even though he despised his father's actions he was still his father and that other than anything deserved his loyalty but even loyalty had boundaries.
"Have you spoken of this to anyone?" his father finally said breaking the silence.
"No. Granger might have though, I'm not sure."
He was eying his father trying to figure out his thoughts. His father was a master of hidden emotions it was where he had learned himself to keep what he was really feeling from people. Lucius' face was a cool mask and gave nothing away but after years of studying him he could tell that his father wanted to say something else and was forcing himself not to, it was probably why he was staring out the window and not at him. Suddenly he saw his father's thoughts shift completely and he turned away from gazing out at the night back to him.
"You won't be training tonight our Lord wants you to prepare for your part. It is of the up-most importance."
"My part," he mumbled to himself.
His father's words the other day had been nagging at him restlessly ever since. Creating a way for Death Eaters to storm the school was not what he had ever hoped to achieve in his life. His mind had been going over in circles trying to figure out a way to stall the entire situation. His efforts may prove to be futile with Voldemort at the helm. He was hoping his father could change the half-dead creature's mind but he'd never known his father to influence the snake, as far as he knew he only took orders.
"Yes, you're part," Lucius spoke wryly, "You can not fail at this Draco. Out of everything that you have done, out of everything that you have excelled at this cannot be a failure. All of our lives are at stake as much as our well-being."
His father delivered the words in a scornful tone but he'd known him long enough to feel the plea in his undertones. If he wasn't mistaken he could see something that he never thought he would in his father's eyes beneath all the condescension. He saw fear. Fear for him. He'd never seen his father express concern for his well-being since he'd been a child.
When he'd been five years old he'd sneaked out to ride his father's broom. He remembered it had been summer because the day had been hot and smoggy. His inexperienced hands had gripped the handle and straddled it and before he knew it he went zooming towards the sky. He'd been so terrified that all he could do was hang on tight his eyes stinging against the air at the fierce speed. He'd wanted to cry out for his mother but his mouth wouldn't move and he had been afraid that if he did anything he'd fall off to his death.
He had glanced down beneath him only for a second and when he saw the ground miles below him he'd finally shouted for his mother. He'd doubted she could hear him through the thick walls of their mansion and had leaned down tighter on the broom which made him spin wildly about. His little knuckles had turned stark white gripping the handle and he had felt himself slipping away.
"Draco!" he'd heard a voice but amidst his fear all he could think of was falling to his doom. Suddenly his hands had slipped away and he was falling fast...fast...towards the ground. He'd closed his eyes falling almost as if he was going to sleep when all of a sudden the speed at which he fell slowed considerably and he felt himself being wrapped in strong muscular arms. He'd immediately recognized his father's scent and his little body had shivered in his arms.
He remembered how he had gripped him so tight he couldn't breath. He'd turned him in his arms and looked over him to see if he'd been hurt and crushed him to his chest. He hadn't been able to speak and he'd barely got out, "F-father." Lucius had clung to him as if he'd fly away and he continued to struggle to catch a breath. He held him for so long and so tightly that he'd wondered if his father was hurt before he'd finally pulled away to look at him.
His father's face had been stricken with fear and relief. He'd lowered him to the ground and squatted in front of him before shaking him hard once. "What is wrong with you? You're too young to try to fly on the broom! You could have been killed!" He'd just stared wide eyed at his father as tears had poured silently down his face. His father's expression had softened and he'd pulled him to his chest again hugging him tightly.
He blinked returning back to the present. He'd almost forgotten about that. His father's face was no where near as grief stricken as it had been that day but he could see behind the facade that the emotions were the same as they were on that hot summer day. His father was asking him to risk his life to risk others lives and had the gall at the same time to be afraid for him in the only way that he could. He wanted to scream in frustration but instead he only nodded.
"I will play my part," was all he said.
He would play his part he just didn't know which part that would be.
Hermione poured over books in the library feverishly researching any and everything that had to do with one hearing voices, so far she had come up with absolutely nothing. As far as Hogwart's library was concerned there was no such thing as strange voices summoning you in the night. With every book that she read through her heart grew more and more heavy. If she couldn't find the answer to this she would have failed Harry and that just wasn't acceptable.
For the past few days Harry had resembled the walking dead. He had been trying to avoid sleep at night as that was the only time he heard anything. He'd fallen asleep in class on more than one occasion and had almost fallen off his broom at Quidditch practice. Because of many parent's outrage and storming the school they'd yet to have a word with Dumbledore as he'd been busy with fighting to keep many students here.
Ever since Draco's possessive show the other day she'd yet to say a word to him as she was still pissed off and wouldn't say anything to him until he apologized which she knew was asking a lot from him. She'd stayed up every night hoping that he would stay put and so far he had except for last night when she'd fell asleep from pure exhaustion and hadn't woken until this morning. She hoped that he hadn't went anywhere last night but she wasn't willing to bet on it.
The library was silent and only the ruffle of pages could be heard from Hermione's table. There were a few other people but they were walking around quietly studying the shelves for their intended books. A dark haired girl in Ravenclaw who reminded Hermione of Estrella was walking by reading a book and nearly ran into a nearby shelf. The girl righted herself and gazed around embarrassed looking for anyone who might have seen her. Hermione nearly gasped at the action and then subsequently felt like an idiot. She'd almost completely forgotten about Estrella and her sleepwalking.
She closed the book she was reading and stood up to find a book on the subject since she wasn't getting anywhere trying to help Harry. She searched through the shelves picking up books she thought would pertain to the subject and returned to her table. She had searched for nearly a half hour and only found three books. She would ask for help but Pince was hardly the librarian to go to when in need.
The first book gave her absolutely nothing as did the second one. Sleepwalking was most definitely not normal in the wizarding world not unless it was pertaining to muggles which they rarely, if ever, familiarized themselves with. She searched through the third book and was just about to give up when she caught the word on one of the last pages.
Sleepwalking; The extinct Imperials would perform tasks in sleep, the rest went on to talk about some old King and his many wives. She swept through the rest of the pages hoping to find more but became exasperated when she realized that was it. Extinct? Imperials? Who were they and what type of tasks did they perform while asleep and why wasn't there more information on them?
She returned the books and searched in vain for more on the subject. She spent the rest of the afternoon scouring the library and getting scowls from Pince when she was being less than quiet. She decided to give it a rest and felt guilty when she realized she could have been using the time to help Harry more instead of feeding this growing curiosity about his girlfriend. She headed back to her room asking herself dozens of questions that she was no closer in truth too.
Who were the Imperials and what did they have to do with sleepwalking? Why was there no information on sleepwalking? Why was Estrella sleepwalking if no one knew anything about it and it was supposedly connected to an extinct group? What was the voice that was summoning Harry every night and how was it able to do so? She'd reached her dorm with absolutely no answers and no way of getting them and it irritated her.
She was surprised to find Draco sitting at a table studying. He looked up from the paper in front of him and gave her a slow smile. She forced herself not to smile back and strode into her room ignoring him which she realized over the course of these last few days was definitely not easy. Everything about Draco Malfoy demanded attention in some respect and she was having a hard time pretending it didn't. When they worked on their potion was the worst. He would brush up against her or intentionally touch her and then smirk as if he knew exactly what contact with his body did to her.
One more question she added to her list was him. What exactly was going on between them? They were attracted to each other that much was obvious but that didn't seem to bring them any closer to a normal relationship; friendship or romantic.
She had just removed her robe when she hard a loud bang as if something was being slammed down, soon after she heard quick footsteps to her door.
"Open the door," his voice was hard and scolding on the other side.
She looked at the door as if she could see through it and her eyebrows lifted. Open the door? Who did he think he was? She knew he was accustomed to getting what he wanted but there was no way he was going to think that he could just boss her around at whim. She decided to continue to ignore him hoping he'd get the hint. She began to place her robe in the closet and the door behind her shuddered as he banged on it.
"Hermione," he growled, "Open the door. We need to talk."
She closed her closet door and turned to stare at the one that had a blond prick on the other side of it.
"Talk about what exactly?"
She heard him shuffle his feet and she could imagine the uneasy look on his face.
"For starters about how you've been ignoring me," his voice was slightly exasperated and she could tell that he was majorly annoyed.
She moved towards the door and leaned on it.
"Is this going to be a talk about how Draco Malfoy is too great a wizard to be ignored by some muggleborn witch and doesn't deserve his time of day anyway? If it is, I'll pass."
She could feel his frustration through the door as he said, "That's not what I was going to say," he paused, "Can you open the door now?"
She smirked slightly, "Not until you say the magic words."
"Alohomora?"
She almost laughed when she realized he wouldn't understand the muggle phrase.
"Please."
"What?" he asked exasperatedly on the other side.
"Please. The magic word is please."
She heard his sigh and waited for him to say something. A long moment passed in which she feared momentarily that he would just walk away but he finally cleared his throat.
"Will you please open the door, Hermione, so that we may talk?"
He didn't have a trace of sarcasm in his voice so she turned the knob to opened the door. He stood there eying her expectantly and suddenly she felt very shy. A lock of his blond hair had fallen in his eye and she resisted the urge to brush it away. His gray eyes were intense and seemed to see through her and she unconsciously swept her hands through her hair.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"Are you going to invite me in," he nodded towards her room, "Or are you going to come out? I prefer not to talk in doorways."
She moved out of the room towards the couch and leaned on the back of it crossing her arms.
"Well?"
He walked lazily towards her and stood way too close. She could smell his scent which was spicy and manly.
"So," he motioned for her to speak and she raised a brow.
"So, what? You're the one who wanted to talk," she pointed accusingly.
"You're the one who's ignoring me and I want to know why."
He stared expectantly and she gaped at him. Could he really be this clueless? She shook her head remembering who this was she was talking too. Draco Malfoy was spoiled and handed everything and anything he wanted including girls. He'd probably never had a girl upset with him over anything least of all his jealous rages. He probably honestly had no idea why she was upset. She'd have to literally spell it out for him.
"First of all you opened a gift that was sent to me," she counted on her fingers, "Second of all you took said gift without permission. Third of all, and the worst offense, you tried to give the gift back in the process treating me like something that you own, which I most certainly am not."
She watched his expression change from one of true curiosity to one of confusion and bewilderment.
"Are you serious?" he asked incredulously, "You've been ignoring me because you're upset that I returned Blaise's pathetic gift and told him to stay away from you?"
She said nothing inaudibly giving him a yes to his question, "You don't have a right to do that especially after I told you that I would return the gift myself. You ignored my wishes and did what you wanted."
He looked at her dumbfounded as if she'd been speaking an alien language.
"Do you really think you politely telling Blaise you're not interested would've stopped him from pursuing you? Do you really think I would just stand by while he did?"
He seemed to be genuinely asking her so she opened her mouth to respond before he started up again.
"I doubt you go around kissing everyone."
She blinked startled, "What do you mean you doubt I kiss everyone?"
"When we kissed that wasn't done lightly," her face heated in acknowledgment, "As far as I'm concerned that makes you mine."
He'd said it as if it would be obvious to her and she was completely insane for not understanding from the get-go. This time it was her turn to look at him in confusion.
"That's what I'm talking about! I'm not something that you own. I am a living breathing person. You don't get to lay claim to me or brand me like cattle."
He watched her for a long moment as her words sunk in. She could tell the concept was foreign to him as all he knew was possession and ownership being a Malfoy.
"But you're my girl and he and everyone else can go screw themselves if they think otherwise."
Her heart melted at the words, my girl, and she felt herself begin to smile like some giddy idiot before she stopped herself.
"How can you expect him or anyone else to know that I'm you're girl when in front of everyone else you call me a 'filthy mudblood'?"
She had meant to say the words casually but she could feel and hear the hurt in her words. His expression softened and he took a step closer to her. She looked away feeling her eyes moisten and he gently turned her face back to his.
"I haven't called you that in a long time," he said softly his gray eyes clouding over with guilt.
A tear, despite her efforts, trailed down her cheek traitorously.
"Not so long," she whispered.
He wiped her tear away with his thumb and leaned his forehead onto hers. They stood quietly almost rhythmically sharing the same breath. She breathed in and he breathed out. His eyes were intently on hers and neither blinked away from the intensity and sincerity in the others eyes.
"I'm...sorry for ever having called you that, Hermione. You're not filthy to me. I'm.....so sorry."
She let out a choked sob at his words and he captured her lips with his. She grasped his shirt and kissed him back desperately before pulling away abruptly. She felt embarrassed and a bit ashamed for letting him see her cry and practically admit that every time he uttered the foul prejudiced words that they stung as if they were the first time. Despite her ever-growing feelings for him she wasn't entirely sure that she could trust him. As far as she knew he could be gathering information to hurt her, the thought sent a sharp pain through her heart and she looked at him trying to figure out if he was.
He was staring at her as if her pain was his and she could tell that the regret on his face was genuine. He ran his hands through his hair and looked extremely perplexed.
"I apologize if it hurts you that I treat you like a possession," he gazed at her as if trying to find his next words, "But that's who I am. I guard what's mine fiercely and I do consider you mine, Hermione, and I don't want you or anyone else to doubt that."
She definitely didn't agree but she understood that he nor she would change over night to suit the other. She smiled at him and leaned in for another kiss.
"Apology accepted."
Sorry, for the late update. It seems like everyone in my family decided to graduate this year and this week. I promise I'm starting on 14 now and hopefully it'll be up in a few hours. Hope you enjoy and remember don't be afraid to review even if it's not something I exactly want to hear. :)