Bad Blood: A Dramione Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Four

Draco

I wake up in my common room, with only darkness surrounding me. The clock in the corner tells me that it is midnight. My heart beats slower than usual, and my mind has trouble creating thoughts. McGonagall must have used some sort of tranquilizing spell. I pull out my wand and point it where the fireplace would be, if I could see.

"Incendio!" I shout. Flames transfer quickly from my wand to the fireplace, and the room illuminates. It comes in and out of focus many times before settling.

I notice that the place is untidy, so I begin to clean to clear my mind. I put the books in the bookshelf, wipe the spilled ink off of the desk, and fold the blanket on the couch, all in an effort to keep myself from thinking about what could be happening to Hermione. But as I finish, I do succumb to these thoughts. Is she okay? Where is she? I know that it is my dad that kidnapped her. However, now he is in Azkaban...

Immediately, I nearly run out of the door. It is past curfew, obviously, but I am the Head Boy. And it's not like it would matter if I got in trouble after this, anyway. I step into the corridor, which is eerily silent. The only light comes from the dimly lit torches on the wall. All of the portraits are sleeping, and I wouldn't doubt that I am the only one awake in this castle.

I approach the bronze griffin that leads into McGonagall's office. My brain tries to think of the password to enter, but it is unable. Perhaps it will still accept Dumbledore's password, I think as I say the old password aloud. I wait impatiently for it to ascend, but it doesn't. Frustrated, I run my hands through my hair.

"I just need to see McGonagall!" I say, exasperated. At that moment, the griffin begins to spin upwards. Surely that wasn't the password? I hear McGonagall's voice calling me from the top of the stairs, and I ascend to her. How did she know it was me?

"Merlin's beard, Mr. Malfoy, it's midnight." She sighs, her hair in a long braid down her back.

"Yes ma'am, it is, but I didn't think I could wait."

"Have a seat," She instructs, and I sit in the chair in front of her desk. "And I do apologize for using magic on you today, but I believe the situation called for it. Now what is it that you need?"

"I would like to withdraw myself from Hogwarts." I tell her, staring at the floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see her eyes widen.

"Why?" She asks, "You're Head Boy! We're already missing our Head Girl." She realizes this may have been the wrong thing to say.

"Don't remind me," I tell her, my voice an unintentional hiss.

"What I mean to say is this: Everyone knows what happened last year, of course, but that ended. Now, everyone has entered a sense of security, which, given the events that have occurred recently, may be false. We can't let them get scared again. We have to keep morale up, make them think that everything is still alright."

"I don't know who this 'we' is, but I know I'm not included. I can't stay here under a false sense of security like the others. I can't convince myself that nothing is wrong, because, in reality, everything is wrong; and I'm not just going to sit here and watch as it gets worse."

"But Mr. Malfoy... You have such talent. It would be a shame to see it go to-"

"I'm withdrawing from Hogwarts, Headmistress. And I'm afraid there's nothing you can do to stop me."

*   *   *

Within a few minutes, I am at my apartment. The Hogwarts Express was- obviously- not running, so I had Apparated here. When I reach the door that says 394, I reach into my pocket to retrieve the key. To my dismay, the key is not in my pocket. I should have known.