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Childish Things by artchick
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Childish Things

artchick

Chapter 25

Fading Away

Harry awkwardly slid down the wall as all the power he'd expended from the spell left him empty and barely able to keep his eyes open. His body ached all over from the punches that Neville had attacked him with and his eyes blankly watched Ron as he scrambled about calling for reinforcements. Other Gryffindors flew quickly to his call and the tattered and unconscious boy was carried out of the cell to be sent to the capable hands of Madame Pomfrey. Ron looked just as wiped out as Harry when he settled himself down beside his friend on the dank dusty floor. Dean and Seamus had arrived in a hurry and looked shocked to see Harry beaten up but didn't say anything, just gathered Neville's things together and got out of their way.

"So. Are you going to tell me how you did that? Is there a reason you can break a magic-dampening spell that no one else can break?" Ron leaned his head back against the cool of the stone and calmly looked back at his weary friend. He tenderly poked an aching jaw and opened and closed his mouth experimentally.

The castle wall softly curved around Harry's form settling him into a more comfortable position that didn't cause his already sore ribs any more pain. Harry smiled a little realizing it was the castle's way of befriending him. Who knew it would react that way to the spell from the past? I guess we did more that just create the Room of Requirement. It looks like we've made a friend of the castle, itself!

Harry just shook his head slightly at his friend's question and shuttered closed his eyes with a sigh. Ron ground his teeth and seethed. Harry was always doing that. Something completely crazy would happen and Harry would shrug and not say anything about it. It's not like they hadn't been friends for ages.

Harry rolled his head against the wall his friend's direction and caught Ron's irritated stare. It just made him even wearier to have to explain it all. Ron never quite got that. He always wanted all the answers after something like this. He fights the most powerful wizard, gets slashed with a knife, a classmate gets killed right in front of him and when he's finally out of danger, Ron wants to sit back with a cuppa and chat about it. Harry just wants to go climb into bed and sleep! Harry finally sighed and stood up with a groan and held his hand out to his friend.

"How `bout a cup o' tea and we talk it over?" Harry grinned.

"Now that's more like it." Ron smiled widely grasping Harry's arm to pull up.

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Hermione's headache was hammering. She had untied her French braid in hopes that that the looseness would relieve the pressure on her scalp; but nothing seemed to help. Her anger was simmering as her frustration with her studies started to escalate. Looking over the classes that she had missed she actually found she was slightly behind in her studies. She had worked so hard to be ahead and all that effort had been snatched away by the time spell. All that work and special hours spent studying late into the night were for nothing. For once she wasn't going to be the one with the first answer. That little image she had of herself was the class brain. Being first in her class was pretty much an all-consuming ambition. Nobody really knew how much work she put into her studies. She was a naturally talented witch, but spells don't write themselves. Everyone would be watching her and expecting her to know all the answers. The first time Snape asks her a question she didn't know…that was going to be completely humiliating! Who knows? She might have to get tutoring! The thought made her shudder.

"Stupid, sodding time spell!" Gritting her teeth and muttering under her breath she emptied out her straining-at-the-seams ruck sack and rifled through various class books looking for something to get started on that didn't make her want to fling it at the wall. Leaning back, she flipped through her Arithmancy with a growl and started scratching down notes for the chapters she had missed. After an hour or so, however, she found herself mentally drifting having read the same paragraph at least five times without retaining a thing. Something just didn't seem right. Hermione couldn't concentrate and she shifted her shoulders back and forth as everything felt uncomfortable. Her jumper was itchy; her shoes felt too tight, even her eyes felt scratchy like she was coming down with allergies or the start of a bad cold.

With a weary groan she pulled herself off the bed and peeled off her school outfit to shrug into her favorite tattered nightgown. She had gotten it her second year at Hogwarts and it always made her feel special. It was the first real `wizardy' thing she had bought that hadn't really pertained to her schooling. It was soft blue cotton with a couple of cute fluffy baby kittens that liked to roll about and play with the ribbon strings at her neck. They tended to drive her a little crazy when they'd run about when she was trying to sleep, fluttering around her torso and flouncing her skirts in play, but the little nightgown made her feel girly and pretty and she had become fond of the silly kits. Their big round eyes and fluffy fur reminded her of her sweet Crookshanks. It had gotten shorter and thinner over the years and was just the right side of decent in her eyes. Lav and Parvati like to prance about in really skimpy outfits, but even those girls never left the dorm room in anything but virtuous flannel. The boys drooled enough around here.

She sighed softly and rubbed her face and eyes wearily. So much had happened while they were gone. She had missed so much. Her face troubled when she imagined the horror Ron had felt when he found Neville betraying them all. How could Neville have turned into a Death Eater? How!? The thought of her friend tragically turning away from the Light and choosing to work for Voldemort made her want to cry and throw up at the same time.

Her head was still pounding and her wrist had started stinging again. How irritating! After all that time in the past without even a twingeand I am going to have to pull an all-nighter just to catch up to tomorrow's class in Potions. She hated being behind.

Hermione sat down in the small comfy corner at the window seat and watched the stars slowly peek out as if heralding the approaching winter moon. Blowing softly on the pane of glass it fogged in delicate crystals in which she wrote "HP + HG 4-ever" with a giggle. The letters softly melted away with the heat from the smoldering fire in the grate that warmed the room.

She tried to read a little more, but she just didn't seem to be able to concentrate. There was something niggling at the back of her mind and she absently scratched at her wrist as it delicately started to bleed from the pressure of her fingernails. Her emotions simmered in frustration in her mind until all she could feel was the pounding pressure of the headache throbbing angrily. She leaned her head against the chilled pane of glass and her eyes slowly dilated. Her forehead was creased in confusion, but gradually they smoothed leaving an expression of quiet blankness. She smiled vacantly and scratched and scratched pulling the skin in thin strips with her nails as she never even noticed the drips of blood that were starting to stain her nightdress.

With a soft blink, she nodded to herself as if talking to a friend. "Yes. Yes. I do so love the library. I'll just go then." She slid off the window seat and started ambling listlessly toward the door when she paused, looked around for a moment as if to collect herself.

"Wait, what was I doing? I was…no…NO! I don't want to go …yes. Yes. The library." Her face looked horrified for a second then resettled back into the blank stare. Whatever she had been struggling with apparently was put to the side and she continued on her path.

The stone floors were icy, but she didn't even pause for her fluffy kitty slippers or warm dressing gown but slid quietly through the hallway and down the stair to the common room. It was early yet, and several people called to her as she walked past them but she didn't even pause. Lavender thought Hermione was mad at her or something. Hermione was always a little stand-offish anyway. Silly cow.

Hermione slowly exited out the Portrait hole and passed Seamus who made a snarky crack about the whole kitten nightshirt. She didn't say a word or even acknowledge he was there. He had always been a little intimidated by the pretty and brillant girl but he couldn't help but stand back and admire her legs as she strolled past.

Too bad Harry got first crack. Potter could crush me like a bug. Harry's a good bloke, but I wouldn't have minded dating those legs. Hermione sure turned into a pretty girl.

Seamus grinned appreciatively as he watched her leave the hallway and lightly trip down the stairs.

I wonder where she's going dressed like that? I mean, we all dress down in the common room, but geez if a Slytherin catches her in that outfit, she might be in a little trouble. I'd better tell Harry. I don't care if she tries to bite my head off for sending for her boyfriend. I've seen Draco eyeing her enough times to know he'd take whatever advantage he could. His smile turned into a face of puzzled worry as he lost sight of her at the turn of the stair.

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Harry and Ron had walked silently to the infirmary where the Nurse was administering mysteriously smoking potions and murky vials to the unconscious Neville. Snape and the Headmaster were obviously but awkwardly quarrelling over something in front of Madame Pomfrey and were pretending that they weren't. They would say something low under their breaths then smile her direction very unconvincingly. Her lips were pursed tightly closed and she kept flashing angry eyes at the two men standing in the corner where she had forced them to be out of her way. If she could have lit them on fire with her eyes, they would have been mere grease spots on her otherwise immaculate floor. Actually, as a witch she could do that or something equally drastic, and that was why they obligingly kept their distance.

"Leaving the boy in a prison cell! This is not acceptable!...An obvious lack of investigation…look at all the loss of blood!…" She mumbled under her breath while shooting glares at them both. Dumbledore looked abashed while Snape carried a haughty and indifferent face.

"Now, Poppy…how were we to know such a dark device had been…" She cut the older man off with a wave of her hand.

"A sixth year doing a basic spell-ending charm caught it! That's why I am so angry. If you had trusted him as much as Harry did you would have seen…" She stood ramrod straight and stared at them both as if daring them to try to explain.

Snape rolled his eyes and was actually about to apologize when Harry and Ron silently entered the room. The Potion master's eyes snapped narrowly and his mouth closed into a pinch.

"It appears your favorite is here now, Albus. I am apparently useless in the sight of his greatness. I'll just remove myself, shall I?" Snape sneered sarcastically and billowed out of the room in a huff. It was all Harry could do not to whip the scornful man back around and shove his wand in his face. Madame Pomfrey took one look at the two battered boys and rolled her eyes, closing them as she counted to ten. In a few moments she huffed to herself and marched into the office to pull out several potions that would help the battered boys with their more obvious hurts. Ron winced as he tried to smile engagingly at the nurse and with his tongue wiggled a back tooth that had apparently become loose.

Neville's face was bunched up in an expression of pain and weariness that made Harry's heart hurt to see. He knew Neville would never deliberately hurt anyone and he would NEVER turn to Voldemort EVER. The two boys sat down on Harry's usual bed and watched their friend start to thrash about as if he were fighting imaginary demons. Ron stood up to help but was waved away by the nurse who forced a dreamless sleep potion down Neville's throat. He became motionless but his hands were still clenched into fists as he fell back into oblivion.

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Hermione walked slowly down the stairs humming to herself. Her hand touched the wall lightly and she barely felt the chill of the stone. Shadows drifted across the steps as clouds floated past the high castle windows. She opened the towering doors that led to the Hogwarts library and tilted her head as she took in the musty smell of old magic and even older books. Her hands drifted across piles of manuscripts and tomes of learning that puffed up soft clouds of dust settling around her like perfume.

The library was enormous. Three large fireplaces stood on one wall with comfortable but old couches and wingback chairs set in place to maximize seating and warmth. The ceilings went high like a cathedral and the highest shelves were almost unreachable without magic. She danced fancifully as if she was five again and she twirled on her toes remembering ballet classes from her early childhood. Giggling girlishly she tip-toed up to the corner of the shadowy room and paused in front of a narrow but serviceable outer castle door.

Leaning forward she sighed as she examined the door knob and would have continued had someone not stopped her. Draco Malfoy stepped out of the shadows as if a ghost himself. His paleness seemed suited to the moonlight and the malevolence in his face fit the chilliness of the night. Hermione tried to pass by him as if he was just an object in her way, but he grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him.

"Walking alone at night? No Potty Scar-Head around to play hero? Tisk, tisk, Miss Granger. You should know there is evil in the shadows." He smiled sweetly but there was no kindness behind his eyes. Hermione seemed to come to herself a bit and her eyes cleared to take in the situation. He had pushed her hard up against the wall and was hurting her wrist by twisting it hard. She noticed there was blood and she was afraid.

I don't have my wand! Why am I here? I've never seen his eyes like that before. He looks so…cold. My wrist! It hurts! She started to tremble as he stood so close she could feel his warm breath on her face.

He pulled his wand and ran the tip of it gently across her cheek. She couldn't bear to look at him and she closed her eyes tightly shut.

"Now, now Miss Granger. That's no way to treat at a classmate. I've always looked fondly at you." He managed to make the statement seem foul and frightening.

"You may be a mudblood, but you definitely have started to show promise this year. And your lovely outfit. I must say, is quite…charming." His voice was chilling and cruel and her whole body cringed when he pulled her face to him with a harsh hand at her neck.

"Look at me, Mudblood. LOOK AT ME!" He hissed through his teeth right into her ear. She wildly opened her eyes and tried her best not to cry with the pain at her wrist and at her neck.

He sneered as her eyes locked with his. Hermione couldn't stop shaking, but she forced herself to lift her chin and match his eyes with her own. She had one arm captured by his rough hand and the other forced back behind her against the wall. She couldn't do magic without her wand and she couldn't even remember how she got here. No one would know where she was or even that she was missing until the morning. It was completely up to her to somehow survive this. She didn't even want to think about what could happen if she didn't get away.

"Malfoy! Stop it! You have no reason to hurt me! Please, I won't tell anyone…I'll just go back to the dorm and no one will know…" She gasped as she found herself pleading.

"He'll know. He always knows." Malfoy's eyes dimmed in his own fear and despair.

"We can protect you." She whispered barely loud enough for him to register her words.

He leaned in closer and she could almost taste the terror in his voice. "You can't even protect yourself, Granger. We all have roles and mine has been chosen for me. The wizard Shakespeare one said, `all the world's a stage, and all the men and women are merely players…' I am apparently the villain here. There's no turning back." He pulled back and shoved his sleeve up to reveal a pulsing and reddened dark mark.

Hermione gasped when she saw the snake and skull tattoo on her classmate's shoulder. Her eyes darted from his arm to his face in a flash as his expression of pain shuttered and his normal sneer returned.

"Yes. It normally gets that reaction."

"Malfoy…Draco. Why would you follow Voldemort? All he does is destroy people. Do you really think he's going to win and give you all kingdoms of Muggles to rule or something? He'll kill you all when he's done with you." She was desperately trying to reach the young man. Surely he wasn't really that far gone. He was an irritating prat sometimes, but not really evil. Not yet.

He sucked in air at the voicing of Voldemort's name and stepped back letting his face bathe in the soft moonlight. His eyes glittered and hopelessness was evident in his face. "Do you think I want this? To be another faceless toady to a man who takes my family's money and belittles and tortures my father? I am a Malfoy!" He pushed her back against the wall and tilted over her to whisper into her ear.

"I am in this for me. No one else. Not my father, Not the Dark Lord. I know darkness. I've been trained to it. It is a power that consumes and commands you. Potter could never stand against the Dark Lord. He is so much more powerful than even you could imagine. No, I'm for Draco, no one else."

Hermione couldn't help but cringe at the finality of his statement. She knew that without her wand, there was nothing she could do but try to survive.

She took a gasping breath and shoved her knee hard up to catch him unawares, but he sensed her move and ruthlessly blocked her with his body.

"Filthy mudblood!" He shoved her hard against the stone wall and knocked the breath out of her sending her to the floor. She could feel the blood pool around her knees as the rough floor scraped them raw. He grabbed her hair and pulled her back up to face him as he laughed at the fear evident in her face.

"You have nothing to fear from me, mudblood. But my Lord has a few ideas for you that I would be very much afraid of. You won't die right away, but you will wish you had. I have only been to one Dark Revel when I received my Dark Mark, but believe me, Mudblood, you have much to fear." He slammed her roughly against the wall making her head swim in pain and stars cloud her vision.

I need help! Please someone help me! She screamed inside her head. Her hands slid down the wall slicked with her own blood and she heard someone whimper, slowly realizing it was her own voice.

She could hear Malfoy walking softly to pick up his wand that she had knocked from his hand in the scuffle. He started to laugh low in his throat, almost like a growl.

"I can't wait to see Scarhead's face when he realizes it was me who took you to the Dark Lord." He laughed again at his own cleverness.

Her breath was racing and she knew if he ever got her out of the castle she would be dead. "I can't leave the castle. I can't leave. Please, someone help me!" She whispered desperately as she clung to the wall.

Suddenly the stone started to warm. Hermione could begin to feel the roughness soften and her fingers could push through the hard rock like it was dipping into clay. A sudden sob racked her body as she understood what was happening. She leaned her whole body against the wall and quickly looked back at her assailant. He had picked up his wand and was pointing it toward her as he was considering which spell to cast. The wall shimmered and it became as soft as butter then clear as water. With a cry, she fell through the wall to disappear. Malfoy growled then slammed against the wall in anger. The stones had solidified leaving him alone in the empty room with only dark shadows and a stain of blood against the wall.

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