Out of Hand by relativelypositive
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I make no money from the use of J.K. Rowling's characters.
Chapter 18: Untouchable
For the rest of his life Draco Malfoy would always claim he didn't remember the moment he became engaged.
In truth, the moment rarely left the back of his mind for years to come.
Everyone felt the magic flowing around the room like a physical caress. It was powerful and overwhelming. It made Draco's skin prickle.
Draco thought it was Pansy at first. He had just finished letting her know exactly how he felt about her and the things she had done, and she had already been enraged. Losing control of your magic happened sometimes, when the situation was extreme enough.
The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, looking up at a horrific sight.
Revealed, as though a veil was being lifted, was a tiny, bloody, bald girl, with her magic visibly swirling around her body in gold swaths. She was breathing heavily and her dark eyes were both ferocious and unseeing.
Draco had the vague thought that this was a horrific mythical creature come to life. Which one he wasn't sure, but he was positive it was the stuff of nightmares.
Snape was the first to react, shooting an unknown spell at the girl, causing her to crumple to the ground. Her magic still swirled over her skin.
"No one touch her," Snape ordered. As though anyone wanted to.
Dumbledore conjured another short couch and gently levitated the girl onto it.
Draco was only a few feet away, but he was incapacitated by pain. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't move. His legs were numb and his brain had short-circuited from the pain and shock.
"Albus?" McGonagall had finally joined the world again. "What's happening?"
"I will tell you as soon as I figure it out."
Blaise was the first to physically approach. "She looks kind of familiar."
"Do not touch her!" Snape snapped.
"Shit, I'm not gonna!" Blaise snapped back.
"Professor Snape, would you summon Madam Pomfrey? We are in need of her expertise." Dumbledore was finally taking control, and diffusing a fight before it happened.
Draco had a hard time taking his eyes from the girl's bloody face.
Suddenly, he knew who it was.
And it didn't matter that he was in pain. Or that her magic was still visibly agitated.
Someone had tortured Hermione Granger. Here in this castle. Where she was safe.
He crawled to her and touched her bloody cheek.
"Granger," he whispered.
"Mr. Malfoy, please don't touch the girl. You could be affected by her magic, and we don't know if she used a dark spell," cautioned Dumbledore.
"She wouldn't," he said, more to himself than anyone else in the room.
He could see the remnants of a few hexes. She had bruises and welts, two black eyes, and possibly a shattered cheekbone. Not to mention all that blood.
Who would do this to her?
He briefly thought of his father, but in all honesty his father wouldn't have stopped at torture.
Pansy.
Everyone had forgotten the incapacitated witch. Draco turned to her to see that her rage had passed, and that she was as horrified as everyone else by the bloody mess in front of her.
She didn't do this.
"Draco, man, maybe you shouldn't…"
"Blaise, it's Hermione!"
The fear dissipated from the room as everyone suddenly approached. Concern eclipsed everything else.
"Miss Granger? Miss Granger!" Professor McGonagall pushed her way next to her star pupil. "What in the world?"
Blaise pulled Draco back. "Come on, let's go. They'll take care of her. You need the Hospital Wing, and I have a feeling Granger will be right behind you. Can you walk?"
Draco lifted himself to his feet. But he didn't move away.
Pomfrey and Snape stepped cautiously into the room. Now there were too many people in the small room to provide adequate space for Pomfrey to help Granger, so Blaise and Draco promised to go directly to the Hospital Wing.
XXXXXXXXX
Hermione woke slowly. She spent ten minutes or so just realizing she was alive. Voices were filtering in as garbled murmuring, making no sense.
After a few minutes, words started to congeal in her brain.
"Hey, when do you think they'll summon you home?"
"Why would they? The damage is done."
"I'm sure there's some dark mojo your dad has up his sleeve."
"Whatever. I am possibly never going to see my parents again."
"It wasn't your fault! I swear, she was deranged! It shouldn't have counted!"
"Blaise, just be quiet. I'm thinking."
"About what? Your life of disgrace?"
"Actually I'm thinking of something either Vince or Greg said. I may have lucked out."
"Don't become delusional."
"I may as well make the best of it, right?"
"The best of what? Your family will take care of this one way or another."
"Whazzgoin?" In Hermione's mind she had asked what was going on.
"Shit, I think she's waking up!"
"Granger?" Hermione recognized Malfoy's voice. He sounded like he was talking directly into her ear. "Hey, you waking up?"
"Maybe she fell back asleep?"
"I don't know. Maybe we should get Madam Pomfrey."
"Maybe we should hightail it out of here. Do you really want to be here when she wakes up and someone tells her she's engaged?"
"Enayzzed?" Hermione muttered in confusion.
"She's really waking up. I'll get Pomfrey."
"Granger?" Malfoy was talking to her again. "Hey, talk to me! You need to tell me how this happened to you. Pansy claims she left you chained in the Room of Requirement. The welt on your cheek is the only injury she'll admit to."
"Penzzist." Pansy is an idiot. Her mind was screaming it, but nothing was coming out correctly.
"I can't tell what you're saying!" Was Malfoy getting mad at her? Why?
Hermione heard Zabini and Madam Pomfrey arguing as they approached.
"But she makes no sense!"
"It can be residual. She'll be fine. Stop worrying."
"I'm not worried."
"Sure you're not. That's why you've been camped out in my infirmary."
"I'm here for my friend. He's worried."
"Miss Granger?" Hermione felt the soothing brush of a diagnostic spell. "You're mending well. I've administered…well, so many potions and spells I've lost count. But you are going to be right as rain. You just rest for a few minutes. Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster will be here soon to talk to you."
The elderly medi-witch paused, and Hermione wondered what she didn't want to tell her.
"Your magic has been charged. Even now, I'm not sure if anyone should touch you. Mr. Malfoy wasn't harmed, but that may be because you're affianced. I won't know more until we know all the spells and hexes that were used in your torture."
"Torrrr." Hermione was about to give up.
"You don't need to speak. I believe Professor Dumbledore will be bringing his pensieve. He will use Legilimency to extract the pertinent memories. You won't feel a thing."
Hermione gave up the fight and fell back asleep.
XXXXXX
Draco was shooed out of the Hospital Wing when the Professors showed up.
"Do you think her hair will grow back? It would be odd to have a bald wife."
"According to you I'm not getting married, so what does it matter?"
"You sound sad about that."
"I'm not—no. I'm not sad or happy or anything."
"You know, I believe you. I would have thought you'd be raging against this."
"Blaise, you know. You do. Someone is going to be dead in the next couple days. Most likely it will be Granger."
"There's your easy out. Let it happen."
"Really? You think I could just let that happen?" Draco suddenly wondered if all his friends thought he was a heartless bastard.
Blaise stopped Draco and pulled him into an unused classroom.
"Sit."
"Why?"
"Just sit."
Draco sat.
"I know you better than you know yourself."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Do too. Shut up. You know the difference between me and Pansy?"
"You don't want to marry me?"
"Well, that's true, but that's not what I'm talking about. Pansy never tried to understand you. You and me? We're the same person. Your mother and my mother? They're the same person. If my father were still alive, he'd be the same as your father. The only thing that separates us is that my entire family has impulse control problems."
"How so?"
"My mother allegedly killed my father. She marries and allegedly kills husbands at an alarming rate. If my father and mother were still together, they'd be repressed and full of rage, just like your parents."
"Get to the fucking point!"
"I've been engaged for years because I couldn't control my impulses. I don't regret it. I am stupidly happy! If you had given in to your impulses, your engagement to Pansy would have been formalized before I even met Dalila. I am you with no impulse control."
"So thank the heavens that I'm not you."
"You know I like to play devil's advocate. I also love to play Lucius Malfoy when I see you thinking for yourself. If a little of your father's views or advice doesn't sway you, then I know you feel strongly about something."
He let that sink in for a moment, then continued.
"I've been calling her a Mudblood. You've been following suit out of habit. I've been telling you to forget her. I've been telling you she's wrong for you. I've been telling you to give up. You keep talking about her. You keep watching her."
"That doesn't prove anything."
"Bullshit. Draco, this is your chance. I know you like her. You may not love her yet, but you will. I can see it. If I were you, and I think I've established that I am, I would give in to my first impulse."
"And what is that?"
"Take Granger and hide."
A/N:
Sorry if the last chapter was confusing to anyone. I didn't explain where all the furniture was or anything, but I'm not sure how I could help that without making it incredibly boring to read.
Anyway, I hope this chapter cleared up any confusion.
I always love to hear from you! Thanks to Vukk, KodeV, Chester99, brighteyes2889, werevampluvr, CrazedKitty13, Tar-Silmarien, and ASJS for taking the time to let me know what you're thinking.