Need [ dramione ]

Chapter 4

5 October 1998 - Full Moon

Draco stares at the stack of books in front of him, each of them completely useless. He had found nothing on Blood Curses when he had searched the normal stacks, which was why he had broken into the Restricted Section.

Something, surely, had to have details regarding Blood Curses. While the dagger Bellatrix had used on Granger that Easter night was a Black family specialty, anything that would have given him a starting point could have helped.

He had found books on torture methods, on poisons, on various charms that did far more harm than good, and even the spell that Moody or Crouch, whomever it was, had used on him to turn him into a ferret. He knew things he never needed to know, and yet-

Curses of the blood? The way that you could turn someone's very insides against them? The entire reason that he had spent hours in this library?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

He had already written to his mother through the ministry. He hadn't spelled out exactly why he needed to know about that dagger, save to say that he suspected a student had been harmed by it. His mother would remember that night, and would soon respond... if the ministry passed on the letter. Technically, he wasn't allowed to contact her.

He had also sent an owl to his mother's sister, Andromeda. While he had never met his Aunt, he knew of her. He knew that, while she may have been burned from the family tapestry, she was still a Black.

If anyone knows about the dagger that had cursed Granger... well, they're the two people alive that would know.. One of them has to have answers.

The problem is, and he knows it, as he returns each book to their place, that Granger doesn't have time to wait for their replies. She had only just barely been upright when he last saw her outside of the infirmary. One strong breeze, one hex, one jinx, and she would be dead.

It wasn't working , she had said. Her body was rejecting it .

Whatever she had done, whatever attempts she had made at curing herself, it wasn't working. She's dying, and he's just sitting in the library, doing research. Research that turned out to be pointless.

He wants to scream, to curse, to get angry. It's the first time in so long that he has actually felt anger.

Until this point, it had been apathy. He was apathetic to his circumstances. Complacent, even. He had accepted his fate, only to be sent to Hogwarts. And, upon arrival, he had simply been moving from one place to another, not really relaxing or establishing himself, simply trying to survive.

But now... Now, he isstuck in one place, unable to do anything. He doesn't even know why he cares, but it doesn't matter. Five months ago, he had watched her be tortured. And now... now, he is going to be forced to watch her die.

He can't, though. He can't just stand aside and let her die. After everything... he can't just let it happen.

Something about that thought, about her... the idea of the Wizarding World without her in it... he can't even face the prospect of it.

He shoves the last book into the shelf, then slips out of the Restricted Section. He's not even sure what time it is, but something about the library, and even the castle itself, feels far too restrictive. His body aches and he wants a shower, but he has to get out of here, before the walls start closing in.

That's a new thing, lately. Waking up and feeling like the walls are closing in. Ever since the dreams with Granger had stopped... Well, he misses them, whatever they were. Misses how, even if they weren't real, and he never really got to finish... They were better than waking up, feeling like he's choking on ash and everything is pressing in around him, leaving him trapped.