The Brightest Black - A Dramione Fanfic

The Shifting Room

Draco had just finished bottling the potion with Neville when the door opened to reveal absolutely nothing.

It closed a second later and then Harry and Ginger appeared. Ginger folding up the invisibility cloak as Harry rushed over to Hermione's side.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"She underestimated Umbridge," Neville said simply, cleaning his knife before tidying up the rest of the potion ingredients.

"How?" Harry ground out, looking utterly furious.

Draco didn't blame him, now that he had Hermione safe and a potion to help with the effects of the vititus he had has own little bubble of anger growing

"Umbridge served tea and Hermione drank it. That bitch had a small piece of vititus mixed in with the tea leaves," Neville said. He pulled out his handkerchief and showed the small sliver of golden fruit

"Where did she get vitius? Could it have been-" Ginger started.

Draco interjected, "It couldn't have been Barrow or Montague. They both got seven years in Azkaban. Don't know about Mclaggen."

Neville shook his head, "I've been keeping a close eye on Mclaggen. He hates us, but he hates the Ministry more, believe it or not. He wouldn't have helped Umbridge."

"Nev, you're in NEWT level Herbology, does Sprout have a vititus tree?" Harry asked, his green eyes practically glowing with controlled anger.

"She used to, but it disappeared after the incident two years ago. Maybe she has some fruit still? Locked away? But she wouldn't have given it to Umbridge. Do we know if Umbridge visited Professor Sprout at all? She could have stolen it."

A memory pulled itself up and Draco remembered now, Hermione telling him about Mcgonagall sending Umbridge to Sprout for clothes after she was thrown out of the Headmistress' Tower. They'd both found it amusing to picture the bow-bedecked Umbridge wearing Professor Sprout's plain, serviceable robes. He could just guess where Umbridge got the vititus, but that wasn't important. It wasn't like they could prove it.

He grabbed one of the three potion bottles and approached Hermione's bedside. "It doesn't matter how she got it. We need to get her back."

"And make sure she does this to no one else," Harry added.

"Point," Ginger and Neville said.

Draco sat down on the bed and lifted Hermione into a sitting position, Harry moved to help while asking, "What will the potion do?"

"Make her dreams fade somewhat," Neville answered. "One of the greatest dangers of vititus is becoming addicted to the dreams. They're supposed to be magnificent, showing the dreamer's greatest desires. We give this to her now, another when she wakes up, and a third dose an hour later."

No one said what Hermione would dream that would be so addicting. Draco guessed it would involve her parents being alive and no scars on her body. The others likely assumed this as well.

He wondered what he would dream about. Perhaps...

No. That was dangerous. You couldn't bring back the dead.

And the only way to defeat Voldemort lay in the future, not the past.

Still...

Something poked his shoulder and he looked up to see Ginger staring down at him.

"You going to give her the potion or not?"

"Huh? Oh! Yes."

With Harry's help Draco administered the potion, watching her sleepily swallow it, smacking her lips and then smiling.