The Healer- A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction

Chapter 2

Penny, Greta, Evelyn and I settled in right away into our four poster beds, and after Penny gave us an impromptu fashion show of all the clothing her parents bought her over the summer we settled into our usual gossip circle. I took out my leather-bound notebook that I used to make my scenic paintings, a hobby that I had grown to love in secrecy, and was made easier with the painting spells I taught myself that allowed me to easily switch colors while using the same brush. I drew aimlessly while everyone chattered. I made a point to chime in every now and then, making some irreverent comments about which boys in our year had now grown facial hair.

"Let's play a game," Penny announced, smacking on some lemon-mint gum that lasted forever. Her eyes drifted over to me and noticed my nose was in my notebook. "Erica, are you going to play, or make your doodles all night?"

I completed my stroke and reluctantly closed my book. "Yeah. I'll play," I agreed, but was a little annoyed at Penny's bossiness. She was the self-proclaimed leader of our friend group. But I think she only got that title from feeding off of her sister Pansy's infamy.

"What's the game?" Greta asked. She had just rubbed some hair-vanishing salve on her legs, and I could tell it burned by the way she was gritting her teeth. The things we girls did for beauty.

"Snog or hex," Penny grinned mischievously. "Or as Muggles call it, smash or pass. I say a boy, and we all decide whether we would snog them or hex them."

Great, another situation in which I have to pull some answers out of my arse, I thought nervously. Sometimes I wondered why I even bothered playing along with this nonsense. But weighing my options; the only other girls in my year were even worse than the ones I had chosen to be my friends. And by that I meant there wasn't a single brain cell between the lot of them. And even though they spent their time obsessing over boys, Penny, Greta and Evelyn were all talented witches with their own specialties. Penny excelled at potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, both of which were subjects I got the worst marks in. Greta could transfigure almost anything; and Evelyn had the most accurate Divinations Trelawney had ever seen.

"The first subject in snog or hex...." Penny said, "Is Harry Potter."

That was a no-brainer. Everyone immediately replied, "Hex." I didn't have a particular opinion on Harry; I actually felt rather bad for him. But the status quo said that Slytherins and Gryffindors were enemies. There was no way to change that; especially when Draco and Harry had been enemies since the second they set foot in Hogwarts.

"That was too easy," Evelyn complained. "How about Conan Trevil, the fifth year Ravenclaw? You know, the one with the eyes the color of-"

"Sapphires?" I finished her sentence. "You've fancied him since he helped you off your broom first year. You know he has a girlfriend, right?"

Evelyn waved her hand. "It doesn't matter; it's just a game. And if he had helped you off of a haywire broom, I bet you would feel all hot and bothered, too."

"I would snog him," Greta shrugged. Penny agreed.

"....Sure. Snog," I said, not really feeling it.

Penny's eyes lingered on me, and I worried that she could tell I wasn't interested in the game. She thought for a moment, and then said with satisfaction, "Draco Malfoy. Snog or hex?"

Greta groaned, her face twisted into a pained look of desire. "Can I hex him to snog me?" I scoffed and looked at my lap.

Penny continued staring at me. "I want to hear Erica's answer."

I looked up, surprised to be the center of attention. I fumbled over my words. "N-not that he would ever snog me, but... I suppose I would like to snog him." Penny seemed satisfied enough with my answer. "But doesn't he fancy your sister?" I asked her, "After all, they're both prefects."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Pansy's been sending signals to Draco for years, and he still hasn't done more with her than a little peck on the cheek at the Yule Ball. Besides, I've caught word that Draco is no longer a prefect," she dished with a raised eyebrow.

"What?!" Greta exclaimed. "B-but... why? How?"

I was just as shocked as Greta. Draco was someone who excelled at almost everything he did, even if those interests never seemed to stick for longer than a year, such as his brief stint on the Quidditch team. But being Prefect was something I thought he loved. It was perfect for him- a way to show off his success while also forcing others to do his bidding. Not that he needed a title to do the latter.

"Pansy said he was too busy," Penny informed us. "But seems rather odd, doesn't it?"

Nobody had any guesses to explain Draco's strange behavior, but I had one. "Maybe it has something to do with his father," I suggested. They considered that, and agreed that his father being in Azkaban was a good enough reason to resign as Prefect. It would take a toll on anybody, having an absent father- I would know. But at least no one knew my family secret; Draco's family's business was all over the school.

I think that the reason why I was placed in Slytherin was due to my one truly mastered talent: lying. I lied to my friends all the time. It started in our first year when they asked what my parents did for a living, and I replied that they were both Obliviators for the Ministry. And my mother did actually work as an Obliviator- or at least, she did until this year. Obliviating memories is hard work that takes a toll on a person. She decided to take a three day vacation, which then turned into three weeks, then three months, and so on. She hasn't been to work in almost half a year. Despite her long respite from work, she was smart and talented- a Ravenclaw.

And my father... he didn't even go to school. He was a nobody. And that's who he was to me. Nobody. And even though my mother was a Ravenclaw, you'd think she would have been smart enough to pick a husband who wouldn't leave right after I was born. And that was the thorn in my paw I have been licking for almost 15 years. My own private wound that I swore never to show anybody, in case they were to doubt my blood purity. But I would not have been sorted into Slytherin if I were not a pureblood, I assured myself, my own vindication that I reminded myself of every time I wondered about my father's identity.

Penny continued rattling off names until she had gone through almost the entire Hogwarts male student body; and a few professors. Evelyn, Greta and Penny settled into sleep not long after. I wanted to do the same, but the persisting thought of my art going unfinished kept me awake. Casting lumos right now would surely wake them all up- so I slid out of bed in my sateen pajamas and put on slippers to head to the common room. Notebook and wand tucked under my arm, I crept away, following the flickering candles lining the walls of the corridor. Seeing as it was already late, I would be up until an unreasonable hour tonight. But that was something I was familiar with due to my long struggles with insomnia.

There was a 7th year girl who had the same struggle, and she and I would meet in the common room on occasions when neither of us could sleep. She had figured out how to brew Sleeping Draught in her advanced potions class and would occasionally put a few drops into our tea before retiring to our respective dorms. Unfortunately, she had now graduated; and I wouldn't dare attempt to brew Sleeping Draught on my own for fear of making a mistake and accidentally never waking up. I missed the 7th year- Opal Clemson.

The common room, despite its lush furnishings and numerous fireplaces, almost always had a chill in the air. I chalked it up to the fact it was in the basement of Hogwarts. There wasn't a single window in the common room, so no way to tell if it was a cloudy or clear night. But I made myself cozy on a sofa, pulled a fur blanket over my feet and imagined that it was a beautiful, starry night above the layers of stone and magic. And that's what I painted; a starry sky over a moonlit lake.

My body wasn't tired at all, so I continued meticulously working on my painting for a while. No one else came through the common room, so I suspected it was probably 2 or 3 in the morning, and all were most likely asleep. I had just about finished when I heard a pained male voice utter the Slytherin password, "Salazar's Strumpet" and stumble into the common room.