Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
He had to have known. There was no other explanation. She watched him. Checked his arm. No mark. She almost wished there had been. It would be simpler. Easier with someone to blame. Though when she got down to it, if Draco had known about it, why ask?
She grimaced. Somehow between August to now, he'd become Draco in her head. Not Malfoy.
He was more relaxed now. Funny, one would think that nearly collapsing off your broom and falling to near death, you'd be more on edge. She shut her Charms book with a huff and dropped it on the table in front of her. Her mind wouldn't focus on the damn thing.
The door to the dormitories opened and Draco walked in, book casually held at his side, humming. Merlin, humming. He dropped his book at the counter and turned into their tiny kitchen, ignoring her.
Her temper flared, how could he do that? Feign ignorance and calm, when he'd dropped such a bombshell on her. She felt her feet move on their own toward the humming.
"Why did you ask?" She says coming into the kitchen.
He stiffened hearing her come in. He began to move slowly, grabbing an apple from the icebox.
"I fear the Greeks even when they come bearing gifts."
The quote floors her. The way the lines crinkle around his eyes. He knew it. The prat was laughing at her.
"I thought you purebloods were above reading muggle literature."
Draco took a bite from his apple, chewing slowly. "I'm disappointed in you Granger; no one actually knows if Virgil was a muggle or not. Though in this case, I suppose it doesn't matter. The Romans, even the Greeks, were the most civilized, and yet, the most barbaric societies. The appeal on either side of the spectrum is almost intoxicating."
She bit her tongue before retorting. "Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another."
Draco stopped chewing. His eyes narrowed.
"Who wishes to fight must first count the cost."
Different era, but still far reaching. She wondered just how many books were in the library at Malfoy Manor. It certainly seemed like Draco had dug his hands deep into quite a few. Though the image of a young Draco reading the Art of War, almost sent her laughing.
"I suppose it's fitting then, that we are in fact talking about war." She said, forcing the mental image away.
He tossed the apple in the waste bin before moving to walk past her. She stuck her hand out to stop him. He sighed, and the expression on his face was almost painful.
"No man will hurl me down to Death, against my fate. And fate? No one alive has ever escaped it, neither brave man nor coward, I tell you - it's born with us the day that we are born."
They remain there. Her hand on his chest. He completely rigid beneath her touch. It's quite a bit of time, before he takes another breath.
"Please Granger, let me go." He was drained, practically swaying in front of her. She dropped her arm, and he disappeared to his room. Trembling, she ran to her own room and slammed the door shut. She pressed her back to the door and slid down to the floor. It was too close. They'd been too close.
She shut her eyes and leaned her head back. The only thing she'd gained from her interrogation attempt was more questions and lingering pain in her heart.
She left him alone. If he was grateful, he never said. That night after their kitchen confrontation he'd slept in the Slytherin House. He didn't come back for a week. When he did, she left. Ginny took her in, spouting insults directed at Malfoy. She didn't have it in her to correct the other girl.
"Any news." She sat by Harry in the Common Room. It was late. Most of their housemates were in bed, and the few that remained weren't paying them any mind.
He shook his head. "I think they're planning something. Something bigger than...than what happened to Tonks." His hand went carefully to his forehead, before dropping it suddenly. "I have something I'd like you to look into." he leaned in to whisper before passing her a folded piece of parchment. She stuck it in her pocket.
The question is dancing on her tongue, begging to be asked. There's no harm now. If war is imminent, lines have to be drawn. Allies separated from enemies.
And she had to know where Malfoy stood.
"Has Dumbledore said anything about Malfoy?"
Harry narrowed his eyes. "Why?" His tone is accusing. She shook her head in response.
"I meant if he knew where he plans to stand in all of this?"
Harry relaxed and leaned back into the couch. "If he trusted him, he wouldn't say. You know how Dumbledore is." he waved his hand in the air.
"But."
Merlin help her, she'd been dying to hear that word.
"But I did see him going to meet with Dumbledore. I was leaving and there he was." Harry bit his lip, "I think he was expecting him."
That was it then. A declaration of a side. The proof of it was worth more than finding nothing scrawled across his arm. The thought warmed her, spreading from her gut all across her body.
The door to the Common Room opened and slammed. She cleared her throat, and moved away from Harry.
"Calm down Ron." Ginny exclaimed, walking into the room. The other redhead in question was not far behind.
"Bloody prat didn't even apologize." He was muttering.
Hermione turned to the girl who shrugged her shoulders. "When has Malfoy ever apologized for running into anyone." She said tersely coming to sit beside them.
"He should have. You'd think with all those manners beaten into him, he'd actually use them."
Harry grinned at Ron's exasperation. Even she cracked a smile at Ron's frustration.
"Well, in all honesty it wasn't his fault. He seemed distracted." Ginny pursed her lips and eyed Hermione, "Let's just count ourselves fortunate he didn't dock house points like he did to some first year Hufflepuff last week."
Hermione shook her head. She'd had to return the points later under the guise of something else. Docking House points for something so trivial was just absurd.
"Well, I'm going to bed." She said moving off the couch and toward the stairs. Ginny chimed in her agreement and looped her arm in hers. When they got to the room, Ginny asked, "
So what's happened between you and Malfoy?"
She inhaled a sharp breath. "Nothing." She said, hoping she sounded calm. Ginny shook her head before closing the door.
"Can't be nothing. Don't get me wrong, I love when you stay over, but you haven't been back to the Head's Dorm in 2 weeks. And Malfoy…" she trailed off, "Well, he's been all sorts of crazy for just as long." She put her hands on her hips in a manner eerie of her mother and waited.
Hermione was silent. Ginny raised a brow. "I'm not telling Ron, if that's what you're worried about."
She shook her head. "We had an argument."
"About?"
Again she shook her head. What had they been arguing about? The war. The Order. Trust.
"You know how he's been since the broom incident." She started, "I just confronted him about it, and"
He answered me in riddles.
"And he got very defensive. I think I pushed too hard, so I decided we needed some space."
Ginny's brow was furrowed. "It must have been some argument, because I've never seen you back away from anything."
She shivered recalling how her hand had pushed against his chest. His gray eyes had seemed like silver.
"No one alive has ever escaped it, neither brave man nor coward, I tell you - it's born with us the day that we are born."
"This was different." she said weakly. Ginny shook her head before opening her trunk and rummaging around for her night clothes. "Whatever it was, I'm sure you're in the right."
She said nothing, taking the clothes that Ginny handed her. She wasn't though. Not really. Ginny, thankfully, let it rest. Soon, the redhead was snoring. She tucked part of the duvet under her head and was soon lost in her thoughts. As she succumbed to sleep, she decided she would go back. She wouldn't hide anymore.
Well maybe until Friday. It gave her two days to prepare herself. Though, she wasn't sure how much that would help.
After Charms, she'd worked up enough Gryffindor courage and devised a plan. She would not engage in anything. They wouldn't need to even mention it again. Forgiven. Buried. But not forgotten.
She tugged at the sleeves of her rob as she turned the corner toward the tower.
"Granger." She heard someone call from behind her. Pansy Parkinson. She suppressed a groan before turning toward the girl.
Pansy strode toward her almost like she was dancing. Her dark bob swaying as she stepped.
"You haven't sent Draco out on some Hogsmeade trip recently, have you?" She said stopping a foot from Hermione.
She frowned. "Why would I send…"
"I haven't seen him in two days." Pansy interrupted. The concern was visible in her eyes, though the rest of her face was like stone. She stared down Hermione. "And you haven't seen from longer." She said then.
"You don't think he's missing." Hermione blurted out. He couldn't be missing. The Headmaster or Snape would have announced it by now. He had to be hiding out somewhere. Though two days. An unsettling feeling came over her.
Pansy seemed to ignore her as she hunched over a particular bracelet on her arm. She watched as the girl muttered something to herself, before straightening.
"Oh I think he's where he's supposed to be." She finally said before placing a potion vial in her hand. "Give him that will you. He's probably in dire need of it."
She turned to leave, when Hermione called back after her.
"Where do you think he is?"
Pansy regarded her over her shoulder. "I imagine his room. Isn't that where most students go when they don't have class?"
Hermione scowled and didn't move until Pansy's light footsteps could no longer be heard. "Which room?" she muttered, before the statue came into view. She whispered her password and walked slowly up the stairs. His door was slightly cracked open. She put her book slowly on the couch before she stood at the door. There hadn't been a single sound since she'd come in. She paused at the doorway before knocking lightly. One second. Two. Nothing. Then a low moan. She opened the door stepping in.
She wasn't sure what she expected to find, but it wasn't a clean room with a stack of books on the desk that had been dragged up closer to the window. Her eyes drifted to the bed where Draco lay tangled between dark green sheets. He muttered something before burying his head into the pillow and coughing roughly.
It was then that she noticed the empty vials at his nightstand, casually thrown next to a lone box of kleenex.
"Dra-Malfoy." She said, correcting her mistake quickly. No response.
She inched closer. "Malfoy." She tried again louder. He twisted to his side, and she made out the words; Mum. No. Run.
Run.
His muttering seemed to turn distressful as he jerked back the other way.
A nightmare.
She put the vial on the stand and gently shook him. "Draco." She didn't bother correcting it. "Draco." She called again louder. His eyes fluttered open, and he jolted awake, panting. His eyes darted across the room before settling on her. "What are you doing in here?" His voice was hoarse.
"I came to give you this from Pansy." She pulled the vial from the stand, "And you seemed to be having a,"
Nightmare.
"Bad dream." she finally said.
He nodded slightly, leaning back into the pillow and taking the vial gently from her hands. "Thank Merlin for Pansy." he murmured before downing the contents of the vial. Then it dawned on her. Pain potion.
He added the empty vial to his growing collection before he turned back to regard her. He raised a brow, expectantly. She blushed before moving off the bed. "You're sick."
"Very Observant." He said before coughing into his arm.
She scowled before crossing her arms.
"For how long?"
He grimaced rubbing his temples. "Two days." he mumbled. She nodded. It fit with Pansy's story. He rubbed the back of his neck, not truly meeting her gaze. She'd be willing to bet he hadn't moved much from his spot in all that time. He didn't exactly seem capable of taking care of himself.
"Are you hungry?" She blurted.
He snapped back to regard her.
"So I know whether to make soup or tea." She continued, trying not to be fazed by his obvious scrutiny.
He frowned, obviously confused. She stifled a grin at the sight. He looked so young and innocent, the way his lip had jut forward as he'd examined her like a puzzle.
"Consider this my peace offering." she said softly. He hesitated before nodding.
"Tea."
She smiled as she turned toward the kitchen.
"Granger." She turned. He bunched the sheets in his hands. "You don't have to."
"I think I want too."