The Dark Side (A Dramione Story)

Chapter 20

That day, Hermione drifted around as if wrackspurts had crawled into her ears and nestled themselves in her brain.

When Professor Binns called on her for what year the International Warlock Convention had occurred, they were both surprised to find that she couldn't recall the answer.

In Potions, she accidentally tipped a whole jar of hedgehog eyeballs into her cauldron, causing the purple mixture to gurgle revoltingly, overflow onto her bench and splatter all over her robes. She cursed and tried to ignore Harry's suspicious glances, yearning for the day to be over so that she could see Draco again.

She took cover in the library during meals to avoid seeing Ron, hoping to read up on some extra information on the topics they were studying in her classes to atone for the day's dull-wittedness. However whenever she tried to read, the words swam all over the page and when the day was finished, she was no more informed about the 1752 Goblin Rebellion than she had been that morning.

The second her last class ended, she bolted to the second floor and into their common room. The living area was empty, so she took off down the hall and knocked on Draco's green door. There was no answer, so she walked back over to her armchair and started reading the book she had left there a few days before.

The seconds ticked by painfully, and she started to worry about what he was doing. Almost an hour had passed when she heard someone enter the passageway, making her jump to her feet. She deflated when she saw Cho and Ernie, hand-in-hand.

"Hey Hermione," Cho said chirpily. "How was your day?"

"Ah, not too bad thanks," Hermione replied impatiently. "Any chance you've seen Malfoy around?"

"Oh, you didn't hear?" Cho smirked. "The slimy little traitor got rushed to Madam Pomfrey. Apparently he collapsed in his Astronomy class. "

The air suddenly became suffocating and a liquid form of dread trickled through her veins. She needed to get to him.

"Yeah, his Dark Mark probably started hurting. It'd be his Death Eater friends trying to get in touch with him again," Ernie snickered.

"Shut up, Ernie. You don't even know him," Hermione snapped.

Her anger stifled their chortling, and made them stare at her in surprise.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A muggleborn defending Draco Malfoy? What has gotten into you Hermione?"

"Listen Ernie, I'd watch your mouth because the last time you went around spreading rumours about someone, you were accusing Harry of being the Heir of Slytherin," Hermione growled, her voice so menacing that Cho took a step back and gripped Ernie's arm.

"Alright, that's enough, both of you," Cho intervened. "Ernie come on, let's go somewhere else."

Her stony eyes didn't leave Hermione until her and Ernie had exited the common room. Hermione quickly grabbed her wand from her carry-bag and traced their steps down the hall, before darting off towards the Hospital Wing.

When she stormed into the infirmary, Madam Pomfrey looked up at her whilst leaning over a third-year who had flames shooting out from the tips of each of her fingers.

"Oh, Miss Granger. I'm afraid you've missed Mr Weasley, I sent him off to class this morning a little worse for wear, but in much better shape than he was in last night," the witch said as she walked towards her. Hermione shook her head and asked where Draco was. "Draco? You can't possibly mean Draco Malfoy? Why on earth would you want to see him?"

Out of patience, Hermione pushed past the witch and started tearing curtains open, peering into the hospital beds. Her eyes searched for the blonde-haired, grey-eyed man she'd hated less than a week ago, eventually finding him in the far corner of the room.

Her throat tightened when she saw his frail body entombed in the hospital bed, his face pale and the dark circles under his eyes more prominent than ever. He was either unconscious or sleeping, she couldn't tell, but the extent of his stillness struck her. He looked almost... dead.

"What happened to him?" She stammered.

"Professor Sinistra said he just fell right out of his chair in the middle of her class. Some of the students helped get him here – quite reluctantly, I might add. He is in a very bad way, my dear. It looks like he hasn't eaten for weeks. I've given him some medicine that will help provide his body with some nutrients, which will put him to sleep for at least a few more hours." She paused, and Hermione waited for the question she knew was coming. "If you don't mind me asking dear, why are you here for him? After all he's done?"

"Let's just say that everyone deserves a second chance. He needs someone to be here when he wakes up."

"Very well then, Miss Granger." Hermione could tell from the sceptical tone of her voice that she didn't approve. "He'll need to stay here for a short while, until he builds some strength up. I'm surprised that he was still functioning at all, and that he made it here in one piece. His bones were so weak that the slightest bump could have caused them to fracture. I have to ask dear, do you know why he would possibly let himself get in such a severe state of starvation? I've never seen anything like it in all my years of healing."

Hermione paused for a few moments and tried to stop her voice from breaking when she answered.

"I'm sorry, Madam Pomfrey. I have no idea."