The Dark Side (A Dramione Story)

Chapter 13

She returned with so much food that she had to rely on a levitation charm, as it was too much to carry. Malfoy was sat on the couch, staring at the wall. He chuckled in amusement when he saw her with the varied cuisine, which included pumpkin soup, Cornish pasties, a steak and kidney pie, steamed vegetables, flobberworm fritters, baked beans, and some sort of roasted meat. For dessert, she'd gotten treacle tarts, carrot cake, no-melt ice cream and trifle.

"Maybe I got a little too much," she said, glad to see him smile. She didn't want to care about him, but it wasn't like she could just abandon him with his mind in such a fragile state.

"I didn't mean to tell you that I'm trying to... you know," he murmured, looking at his feet. "You don't have to try to help me, we can just pretend it never happened. I've made up my mind, it's what I want."

"Shut up and eat," she replied sharply.

They glared at each other, each willing the other to back down. Malfoy eventually cowered under her menacing stare, and reached for the pumpkin soup. He slowly raised the spoon to his mouth and swallowed a mouthful. After a couple of tentative spoonfuls, he began shovelling them down. When he had finished the soup he reached for the vegetables and devoured them all.

"You should eat some meat if you can, to get your strength back," Hermione said, relieved that he was finally eating.

"Erm... I'm sort of a vegetarian."

She laughed before she could help it.

"What's wrong with that?" He said defensively.

"Nothing, I think it's great. I just didn't expect it from you." Hermione laughed.

He shrugged, seeming abashed, and Hermione dropped the subject. She grabbed a dish of trifle, and they fell into a comfortable silence as he slowly nibbled a piece of carrot cake. Her curiosity overpowered her courtesy as she softly asked, "So why did you decide to be a vegetarian?"

His hand paused, holding a spoonful of cake suspended in the air in front of him. His face conveyed a sense of discomfort, so she quickly apologised and told him to forget that she'd asked.

"No, it's okay. It's just... hard to explain. No one's actually asked me before," his voice trembled, and Hermione became aware that this was the most vulnerable she had ever seen him. "I'm not really sure when, but one day I just realised that I was responsible for the loss of so many lives. I didn't want any other blood on my hands."

Hermione couldn't find her voice; she simply sat in stunned silence with her eyebrows raised.

"I know, it sounds stupid-" he started.

"Malfoy... that is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard," she breathed. He looked away, embarrassed. Hermione studied the features of his face, noticing for the first time a small scar on his forehead. She wondered if it was the result of a harmless childhood accident, or whether it had been given to him by his father or another Death Eater as punishment.

After a period of awkward silence, she began to yawn and stood up to go to bed.

"Hey... Granger?" Draco mumbled. "Thank you, for what you did tonight."

She smiled in return and bade him goodnight, before heading up the corridor to her bedroom. As she turned for one last glance at him, she wondered when the last time someone had cared for him had been. All of a sudden, she realised that a feeling of deep sorrow was slowly oppressing her hostility towards him. 'Oh Merlin,' she thought. 'What am I getting myself into?'