Chapter Twenty-Three
When Hermione woke up, it was dark outside her window; she couldn't figure out what time it was, but she couldn't sleep anymore. Climbing out of bed slowly, so she wouldn't wake Dragon, she crept out of her room and down to the courtyard. Sitting down on a bench, she looked up at the sky; the stars were beginning to fade and Hermione could see dawn creeping up from the east.
Sighing, Hermione was about to go back inside when she saw Hagrid coming up the hill, from his hut. Running over to meet him, Hermione saw that he was carrying something furry, "Hello Hagrid," she called when she reached him, "What do you have there?" she asked, pointing to the thing he was carrying.
"O' this? Well this is just a niffler. Yer remember them from class, right? Well, somethin's been killin' em. I've been findin' their bodies stashed around the grounds for the better part o' the year." Hagrid shook his head, "I just can't figure out what's doin' it." He sighed, as he walked up to the castle.
Hermione frowned, and made her way down the hill Hagrid had just come up. She remembered the nifflers all right, but she also remembered the blast-ended skewers. Going over to the cages Hagrid kept them in, she saw that the bars had all either been bent or broken off, but there was no scorch marks, so much for that theory… she thought, wandering into the Forbidden Forest.
The sun had just started peeking out from behind some trees, so the air was still a little cool; she couldn't quite see her breath, but Hermione's nose was getting the slightest shade of pink. She stepped over fallen branches, and around broken rocks. It looked like Hagrid had stopped taking the students out into the forest; there were dead leaves piling up everywhere, and stray twigs caught in the lower-hanging arms of the surrounding trees. The forest looked really desolate except for the occasional rustle of leaves or bushes from the smaller critters.
Hermione was nearing a creek that wound its way from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade, when she heard a twig snap behind her. When she turned around she expected to see a centaur or a unicorn or some other magical creature living in the woods; instead she saw Dragon, and he was carrying a squirrel in his jaws, "Hey Dragon," she called, walking back over to him, "I didn't know you were up…did you have fun hunting?" she asked bending down and ruffling his fur.
Instead of letting her pet him, like he usually does, he froze and started growling. Hermione frowned, and looked over her shoulder; she almost had to do a double take. The Mountain Lion she'd found Dragon fighting with was stepping out of the bushes. If Dragon hadn't come along, Hermione would have walked right in to it.
Hermione stepped out of the way just in time for Dragon to drop his squirrel and hurl himself at the lion. Letting out a squeak, she transformed into her animagus form; turning back to face to fighting animals, Hermione saw that the lion had its back to her. Leaping onto its back, Hermione sank her teeth into its rump and shook her head. She felt dark liquid ooze into her mouth and she jumped up. Rubbing her tongue with her paws, Hermione shook her head; there was something wrong with that Mountain Lion. Its blood tasted evil.
Draco felt claws scrambling against his back, as he dug his teeth deeper into the scruff of the lion's neck. He shook his head back and forth trying to rip at the skin; it seemed thick and stringy, but he tore it easily enough. As his teeth tore the skin, Draco felt the lion go limp beneath him, and the claws leave his back.
Draco jumped off the Mountain Lion, and he watched it race back off into the bushes; he looked back at Hermione a wagged his tail. She seemed to be trying get something off her tongue; padding over to her and coked her head. There was a pool of dark sludge around her feet; it looked sort of like blood, and judging from the stains on her mouth, Draco would say it came from the lion.
Bending over and sniffing the goo, Draco jerked his head back; it smelled vile. Twitching his head, he wrinkled his nose and snarled; there was something wrong with that blood. Looking back over at Hermione, he saw that she was now foaming at the mouth and shaking violently on the forest floor. He could see her shape flickering back to human as she started to lose consciousness.
Draco panicked; he didn't know what to do. Transforming back into human form, he grabbed Hermione and threw her over his shoulder. Racing through the forest, Draco almost tripped over a fallen tree and soaked his pants in the creek.
As he charged out of the forest, he could see the sun shining above the trees. Draco guessed that it was around seven am. Madam Pomfrey must be up by now. He trotted through the courtyard and banged the doors open; he hardly saw McGonagall's head shoot around towards him or the old man shoot out in surprise. All he could see were the doors to the Hospital Wing; they were a deep shade of mahogany and looked like they were made of oak.
Draco smashed the heavy doors open and yelled, "Madam Pomfrey! I could use your help out here." He set Hermione down on the bed and thumped over to the office door; he was about to bang his fist on it, but she opened it before he could.
She looked bustled, "Mr. Malfoy, what are you doing-" she started to ask, before seeing Hermione on the bed. The foam had stopped coming out of her mouth, but her skin was almost white. She rushed over to the bed and checked for a pulse; Draco held his breath, but she pulled her hand away and carried on.
As she was checking over Hermione, she paused at her mouth and turned to Draco, "What's this vile red goop?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.
Draco shifted on his feet and glanced at the door to where Professor McGonagall and his aunt had just appeared, "It's alright Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall sighed, stepping into the room, "She knows about Hermione, we needed a healer here at the school who knew about her condition and Mr. Finnigan just wouldn't do."
Draco nodded and turned back to Madam Pomfrey, "We were out in the forest when a Mountain Lion, who had attacked me earlier this month, jumped at us. Hermione must have bit it or something, because that was the same liquid that came out of it when I'd broke the skin. I think it's its blood, but it looks…evil..." he said shuddering.
Madam Pomfrey must have understood what he was saying, because she nodded her head and waddled her way over to her office. She was about to step inside, when she saw Andromeda standing in the doorway, "Mrs. Tonks," she started, smiling, "Would you be so kind as too go down to the dungeons and bring up Professor Snape please. I believe there was a form of poison in the lion's blood." Andromeda nodded once and hurried of to find the Potions Master.
Draco was pacing back and forth in front of Hermione's bed; it seemed to him that her skin was about as white as a ghost now. He growled and rounded on McGonagall; he wasn't really angry at her, and she seemed to know that, but she was the only other conscious person still in the room, "What kind of security do you have at this place witch; letting a vile creature onto the grounds like that!"
McGonagall stiffened, 'The same way you got into the grounds. Our magical barriers aren't set up to react to animals passing on and off of the grounds; otherwise our alarms would be going off day and night. And because animagus's have that same genetic makeup as the animal they're turning into…there's no real way to distinguish them from the real animals."
Draco was about to nod, but then he frowned, "Then how is it you and Andromeda knew who I was that day on the Quidditch pitch."
McGonagall only had time to smirk before Snape billowed into the room with Andromeda on her heels. He went over to Hermione's bed, not even sparing a glance for Draco, and waved his wand over Hermione trice in a counter-clockwise direction before turning to Draco. Blinking, Snape took a vile of a pale purple liquid from his clock and measured some into a cup and filled the rest with a greenish thicker liquid he got from another vile. It seemed like Snape had known exactly what was wrong with Hermione; he was pouring the contents of his mixture down Hermione's throat when Madam Pomfrey waddled back into the room. She went to stand next to Snape, and when she saw what he was doing, she went back into her office and pulled out the bowl of thick soap like cream that she'd been making in there.
She started putting the cream around Hermione's mouth and on her hands; it seemed as though she was putting it everywhere the liquid had touched. When she was done with Hermione she made her way over to Draco and did the same for his hands, "You need to leave this stuff on for an hour." She said, setting the bowl down on a nearby bed, "You might as well stay here." She said smirking as she turned to go back into her office.
Draco looked back over at Snape, and saw him pouring the last of the coloured liquid into her mouth. When he was done he came over to Draco, "You should drink some of this too; it won't harm you in anyway, but there's a chance you've ingested some too." He said, drawing out every word. It drove Draco crazy when he talked, but he let him make him some liquid anyway.
It tasted like a mix between rat piss and doxy shit; Draco shuddered as he swallowed it, but nodded his thanks none the less. After Snape left, Draco went over to Hermione's bed and sat down on a nearby chair.
He was conflicted, he felt bad, but then at the same time, not bad; it seemed like it was his fault, but he was also the one who warned Hermione that the Mountain Lion was there. Draco shook his head, why did Hermione have to be the silver wolf.
Hermione was dreaming, she was running around in the falling snow. It looked like the same forest she'd been in during that weird dream she'd had on her way back to her room. The snow wasn't falling as fast, but the trees looked similar; there were paw prints all around her, and she could smell the rest of her pack nearby. She was just about to race through a snow pile when she felt something land on top of her; rolling over and squirming out from under it, she saw that it was juts her mate. Hermione's brain paused her mate was a black wolf with a white paw; it was Dragon.
Hermione jolted awake, her eyes were glued shut and her arms felt like they were chained to cement slabs. It took all the strength Hermione had to open her eyes, just to have to blink again; but it wasn't so hard to get them open the next time and the time after that was even easier. Hermione found that the more she blinked the less effort it took.
When Hermione looked around the room she suddenly wished she hadn't even bothered to open them. There was a pale blond head resting on her bed about a foot away from her left hand, "Malfoy!" she exclaimed, shrinking back into her pillows.
Her sudden movement woke him up; he lifted his head up and looked around groggily. When he looked over at Hermione he froze and looked around quickly. Draco stood up and held out a hand in plea; Hermione flinched away and tried to climb over the other side of the bed, "Here me out Granger." He started, eyes widening.
Hermione glared at him, but stopped trying to get out of the bed, 'You have one minute." She said coldly.
Draco let his arm fall to his side and shrugged, "I brought you up to the hospital wing after you passed out."
Hermione frowned, "And why is it you knew where I was?"
Draco sighed and took a step back and held up his hands when she started to climb off the bed again, "I just need to show you something." He said calmingly, as he transformed into a wolf right in front of her. Hermione gasped, Draco's animagus form was a black wolf with a white paw.
AN: Yes, I kept Snape :) I just don't see Proff. Slughorn being from an old enough family to know about the animagus legacy and all.
Also, yes I know Draco now has a white paw instead of a white ear, I've been editing my novel and changed his marking; I couldn't find a picture of a black wolf with a white ear.