Okay, so here is the next chapter! Yay, many of you were worried about Draco's decision and now you'll know what happens as a result of that!
-As always, thanks to my awesome beta!
Oh, and I didn't get 1,000+ hits in one day again like I'd hoped, but I did get 800+ in one day so that's good enough for me! :-D
R&R!!!
Draco paced his room for hours, going over his plan again and again. He would have to break into Slughorn's office and hope the Veritaserum was still there. Of course it will be there! He wouldn't have used it for anything, so it'll just be stored with the rest of his potions… He looked at his clock to check the time. In ten minutes dinner will start… I'll wait another ten minutes to be sure the corridors are empty…
Ten minutes later, Draco slipped out the portrait hole and began to make his way to the dungeons. This would be his only chance to convince Hermione to believe him. It wasn't exactly the best of chances, let alone choices, but it was what needed to be done. What he had to do. He couldn't wait until after she saw Harry, because Harry would absolutely kill him if she told.
As expected, Draco reached the dungeons without incident. Glancing at the floor, he saw the blood that had stained the cobbles during his father's fight against Hermione last year. Though industrious house elves had removed the dark patch, Draco could still see it, smell it; feel his father's blood on his hands. Grimacing, he shook the memory form his head.
Surprisingly, Slughorn's office door was unlocked. He cast a spell to detect any defensive spells and found none. Wow, either he is either very trusting or very stupid… Hell, he's probably both! "Lumos." Draco stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw before him. Racks upon racks of potions lined the walls of the office. There's got to be at least a thousand potions here! How the hell am I supposed to find it!? He strode closer to one rack. They aren't even fucking labeled! Shit! He glared around the room, hoping to see a colorless potion, but there were at least twenty that he could see. Okay… Well I don't have time to search this entire place… Ugh, what am I suppose to do? He was beginning to turn to leave when he remembered something that made him want to smack himself again. What am I, a stupid First Year!?
"Accio Veritaserum."
Glass clinked together before a small vial came flying through the air towards Draco. He caught it and smiled to himself. Quickly, he uncorked the bottle and sniffed. Nothing, good! Re-corking the bottle and shoving it into his pocket, he retreated from the office.
Now all I've got to do is get her to talk to me long enough to tell her I'm going to drink this. He half smiled as he hurried back to his room, unsure of how he would get close enough to Hermione without her hexing him.
Silently, he entered the Common Room and his heart left when he saw Hermione sitting there, her back to him. He tiptoed closer to her, sure to place himself between her and her room. Please, please let this work! Clearing his throat, he announced his presence to her.
She jumped and turned quickly. Her eyes held the same amount of anger and hurt as they had earlier. Hermione stood and tried to make her way to her room, but he blocked her.
"Please… just give me one minute. Please?" She continued to glare and crossed her arms over her chest. He took her huff as a sign to continue. "Okay, well I'm really sorry about earlier and I know you don't believe me so I got this." He pulled the vial from his pocket and held it in front of her. "You want the truth, so I'll give it to you."
He could clearly see thought process as she looked from him, to the potion, and back. "I- no! That potion is only intended for use by the Ministry of Magic and I will not let you drink it just to prove something to me."
They were both glaring at one another, his silver eyes meeting her brown ones. Fuck this, I did not go through all the trouble of getting this, for her to not let me use it! Draco shoved Hermione so that she fell back onto the couch. He uncorked the bottle and held it in front of her. "Cheers!" With that, he took an enormous gulp.
She grabbed at him but it wasn't fast enough to stop him. Finally, she retched what was left of the potion from his hands. "You idiot! You're only supposed to take three drops!" He swayed dangerously so she pulled him to sit down. "What the hell were you thinking!?"
Draco's body felt heavy, like a great weight was pushing him down. His eyes seemed unable to focus completely on anything around him. The ability to think escaped him; he reacted immediately. "I had to get you to listen to me." His voice was his own, but it came out in an unrecognizable monotone.
From his semi-comatose state, he wasn't sure how long Hermione sat in silence before she spoke again. "Why do you care what I think about you?"
"Because I like you."
"You… you like me? Why? How? Since w-when?"
"You're beautiful and you challenge me. I think I began to realize it last year when I saved you from my father. At the time, I thought it was only to free myself from him, now I see now that I really did it to save you too. I guess my feelings have been building since then and I only just now figured it out."
"Is… it that why you came to find me Monday night?"
"No, I came because McGonagall told me that you were sick and requested that I check on you. I was so pissed when I found out she had lied to me."
"You mean about telling you I was sick instead of telling you that my parents died?"
"Yes, and for not telling me that you're the lost descendent of Gryffindor."
Hermione gasped. "You- but- I- how… How did you know that!?" Her voice sounded surprised and angry, but Draco didn't notice.
"You were asleep when I came to check on you. I saw the letters and read them. I knew you'd be mad if you found out I'd read them, so I pretended I didn't know anything when you woke up."
She was crying now, though he couldn't tell because of his trance-like state. "Is that why you've been taking care of me, because I'm not a 'Mudblood' anymore?"
"I haven't thought of you as a 'Mudblood' in a long time. I took care of you because you needed it. Your parents just died and you're vulnerable. I didn't want you to have to go through that alone. And if it gets out that you're the last descendent of the purest 'Pureblood' line in the Wizarding World, all hell will break loose. You won't be able to trust anyone; everyone will want to be your friend. People will take advantage of you. I know that you're strong, but I don't want you to have to deal with all that pressure."
She had one last question. And it was the one she was most afraid to hear answered. "Is… is the reason you like me, because of my blood?"
"No…" Draco's head began to spin, blackness closing in around him. "I- I don't feel good…" He tried to stand and felt his legs give out beneath him. Seconds before he hit the floor, he felt warm arms surround him. He smelled mangos before the darkness overtook him.
Bam! What do you think? I wonder what the overdose effects will be, if there are any... Will Hermione take care of Draco, or will she take him to the Hospital Wing and let him get in trouble for his theft? Hmmm...
Press that little green button and let me know what you think! I love the regular 'Great story, update soon' comments, but I also love when you tell me what you like/don't like about my writing because it really helps me with upcoming chapters!!!
