The Battle of the Highest (Dramione)

Chapter 12: Afterward

*HERMIONE*

I wake up in a daze. I sit up, realizing that I'm in the infirmary. I lay back down and close my eyes. I open my eyes immediately when I hear the chair beside me creak. I turn to see...Draco?

I scoot as far as I can away from him.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Draco says.

"Y-y-you're dead," I stutter.

He looks at me strangely. "How can I be dead if I'm sitting right here?"

"B-but I s-s-saw you! You were laying right there..." I feel my eyes tear up.

"See, I'm solid." He sets his hand on my bare arm, and I shiver at the cold. I shake him off.

I shake my head. "You're just a figment of my imagination..."

"Hermione, please-"

"Get out, boy! She needs her rest!" Madame Pomfrey hurries over, then escorts Draco out. That's probably my imagination, too. I'm probably just dreaming.

*DRACO*

Madame Pomfrey escorts me out; we pass by Smith's dead body as we leave the infirmary. Well...as I leave the infirmary. I'm met at the doorway by McGonagall.

"I must speak with you, Mr. Malfoy," she says. I wipe my sweaty palms on my pants and follow her to her office.

"Am I in trouble?" I ask.

"Not exactly," she replies darkly. She sits down behind her desk and I in the arm chair in front of it.

"Not exactly?" I say, puzzled by what she meant.

"I know what you did during the first challenge was knowledgeable, that you didn't know you weren't supposed to help Miss Granger, but this time...you weren't supposed to save her."

I frown.

"The Ministry's rules specifically say no alliances."

"I didn't have an alliance with Gr-Hermione," I say quickly.

She sighs. "Even if you didn't, you weren't supposed to help her. It was part of the tournament."

She sits up straighter. "And I must inform you of Miss Granger's state of mind and her instability."

I listen in on this.

"After her fall, after you saved her from falling into the ground, while you were still on the course...Miss Granger had a spasm from emotions."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Well," she says uncomfortably, "Miss Granger had a mental attack, sort of...she wouldn't let anyone get near her or touch her, and before she left for the castle she had a little conflict with me." McGonagall's eyes turn glassy with worry. "She was talking about you."

I swallow. "M-me?"

"Yes. I don't think she knew what she was talking about, though. She kept saying you were dead and it's my fault...but I was just trying to protect you both." A tear runs down her cheek. She's a tough teacher, a tough nut to crack, but I think she just broke.

"You should probably talk to her, Mr. Malfoy," she says quietly, avoiding my eyes.

"But, I-I've tried, Professor! I was just in there, and she was saying I was dead and I was just her imagination!"

"You need to break through that barrier, Mr. Malfoy. She's been affected terribly, and it'll take a great deal to get her back. You need to get her back before the next challenge."

She stands and I follow her lead. "Please go back to the prefect's house." She then walks away and disappears around a corner, and I turn and walk toward the prefect's house.

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Sorry for the shortness! It's just the next chapter I'm thinking is jumping into the future by a little bit.

What happened to the box?

Will Draco get Hermione through her mental barrier?

I'll update soon! 💗