Broken But Beautiful~Dramione

Chapter twenty six*

Four days had passed making it the first day of October, and no progress had been made. Remus and his group hasn't been able to figure out a solid foundation for the cure, nor did Leah get another lead on the investigation. Everything has been in a standstill, and Hermione's precious hours have been ebbing away. Curiously, Fred and George hadn't gone to join Remus and haven't been seen much since they took samples from Hermione. On the flip side, Kingsley said the proof from Humfrey and Draco about Hermione and Professor McGonagall was too old and said they would have to wait for her to wake up and make the decision. Draco had been spending every spare moment he had at Hermione's bedside. 

"Minerva get some sleep." Madam Pomfrey said softly. Her friend looked sleep deprived, and she was concerned for her health. She had created Hermione's area into a soundproofed room with solid walls so other people could use the Hospital wing again. Draco had just left about an hour ago for a patrol

"I'm fine." Professor McGonagall shook her head, and turned her gaze back to Hermione. "Will these scars ever fade?"

"I'm not quite sure. They look a few months old, but some of them look very deep. Like these nail imprints here...these burn marks...some of them may never go away." 

"Professor McGonagall?" Draco rushed into the room.

"What is it?" Professor McGonagall practically jumped to her feet.

"I remembered something that Leah may want to know." He was internally hitting himself not knowing how he could've forgotten.

"One second." Professor McGonagall sent a patronus to Leah, and within a minute she walked inside the hospital wing, and into the room.

"What is it?" Leah asked, her notebook and quill already in hand.

"I'm not sure how big of a deal it is, but I remembered an interaction between Hermione and another guy earlier at the beginning of the year." Draco said.

"Tell me what happened in detail." Leah's heart soared with the hope of a lead.

"On the night where the champions were chosen, Theodore didn't shake anyone's hand except for Hermione. I remember he gave her a look that she said seemed familiar but couldn't put her finger on where it was from. It seemed to really unsettle her."

"Thank you." Leah nodded and walked out of the hospital wing swiftly with purpose.

"Where do you suppose she's going?" Draco asked.

"Probably to go interrogate Mr. Nott." Madam Pomfrey said. "Good riddance. Everyone knows him crashing into Hermione wasn't an accident."

"What I'm curious about is how Hermione came in contact with a helare." Professor McGonagall frowned. She had been pondering that question for a while.

"It's not something you can easily come across. How long does it take for the effects to kick in?" Draco asked. He himself had done some research on the dark object.

"Could take up to a day, and as soon as within a minute." Madam Pomfrey said.

"So there's no way we can trace that. She could've come in contact with anything in a day." Draco sighed.

"Unfortunately not." said Professor McGonagall.

"I need to go check on my other patients. Mr. Malfoy feel free to stay here as long as you would like." Madam Pomfrey left the room. Draco took a seat next to Hermione's bed so he faced Professor McGonagall.

"How could someone have done something so...disgusting?" Draco's face screwed up at the thought.

"Who knows why. Our world isn't as perfect as some people like to make it seem."