The Purist / DRAMIONE (COMPLETE)

Poisoned Prefect

All in all, it most certainly had not been one of Ron's better birthdays. Hermione wasn't sure what her emotions were; they were all jumbled, and odd phrases like 'keep taking Essence of Rue' and 'stay a week or so' kept flitting round her head. She'd hurtled, white-faced, up to Harry when she'd first heard the news and had then refused to enter into his and Ginny's almost obsessive discussion about how exactly Ron was poisoned, choosing instead to stand beside them in the Hospital Wing, clench-jawed and frightened-looking. When the twins' presence finally forced her to speak, it was thankfully to speak logically, even if she sounded as though she had a cold.

"Well, I don't think it's Quidditch, but I think there's a connection between the attacks."

Strategically, all the other five stopped to listen to her; she was called the brightest witch of her age for a reason.

"How d'you work that out?" Asked Fred.

"Well, for one thing, they both ought to have been fatal and weren't, although that was pure luck. And for another, neither the poison nor the necklace seems to have reached the person who was supposed to be killed. Of course, that makes the person behind this even more dangerous in a way, because they don't seem to care how many people they finish off before they actually reach their victim."

Or makes the person even more desperate, Hermione commented to herself. She and Harry cleared off with Hagrid when Mr and Mrs Weasley arrived, and she hastily excused herself to go to bed before McLaggen who she'd seen, but not Harry, lurking in an armchair, could interrogate her.

*

Her meeting with Draco was rather subdued, no doubt due to Ron's current state. Hermione hadn't wanted to miss the opportunity to see her friend, but was still upset and withdrawn when she arrived in the deserted classroom they found, and only spoke after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"Draco, I don't know if you know," Hermione said quietly, "I'm afraid of darkness."

"You're afraid of the dark?" Draco asked curiously, but also fearfully. Did this mean she was frightened of the beast he became every full moon? This wasn't the brave Gryffindor he knew.

"Not the dark, the darkness," Hermione looked up at him, a strange look in her eyes. "I fear the impenetrable, suffocating darkness that always threatens to overcome us." Draco felt he knew what she was getting at, and sure enough, he was right. "I don't scare easily, but one thing that frightens me more than anything is evil. Darkness is seen as evil, and that is what I'm afraid of. I don't ever want to be frightened of you."

"Hermione," he took her by the shoulders. "You won't ever be scared of me. I promise. And I keep my promises. Just like a Gryffindor should always be brave."

That put a smile on her face. Then she said, in a spooky imitation of the Sorting Hat, "You would do well in Hufflepuff: loyalty is their virtue."

Which left Malfoy thinking whether he had the heart of a Slytherin, if he spent so long with a Gryffindor; one that seemed to understand his heart better than he did.

*****

A.N. Also, I've realised how terrible this story is, so, once I've finished this fic, in 15-ish chapters, I will go back and edit the whole thing to make sure it actually looks presentable... and exciting.

In addition, this will quite possibly next be updated in several MONTHS as I have exams so please be aware of that! I'd like to think that people can wait that long, but they usually can't. This is a heads-up for those of you who have got this far and, horror of horrors (!), want to keep reading for some unknown reason. xD

Thank you for reading, my few loyal fans, and PLEASE COMMENT!!