𝐁𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 | Dramione

Chapter 18

February 21 2000

time is an elusive thief

blink and the years fall away like pages in the wind

~

It took two days for Headmistress Minerva McGonagall to announce the news to the students of Hogwarts. The recent attack on student Hermione Granger had been an isolated, rogue attack. This particular dementor had traced an exponential amount of Dark Magic around her person and mistaken her for Death Eater. An attack of this nature would not occur again, McGonagall had assured the worried students and extended the wards past the castle doors. 

The only one who really knew the truth behind this odd detail which almost killed his best friend was Harry Potter. And he was already planning to confront the bloody bastard who was responsible. 

However, Draco Malfoy was nowhere to be found. Not in the Great Hall, nor in class, or found lurking in the dungeons common room. 

And for nineteen days, he remained missing from school with rumours floating that he had gone back home for an undetermined period of time. 

~*~

On the first Wednesday of Hermione's medically induced coma, Harry and Ginny returned to visit their best friend in the hospital. They brought everything they believed would make her comfortable when she woke: muggle clothes, a pillow, a wizard's chess set, her favourite sweater, and her wand, which had been found lying under the Gryffindor table in the Great hall. 

Visits from Hermione's closest friends were short and consisted of much hand-holding and squeezing and talking to one another, instead of to her. 

Ron thought it would be nice for Hermione to be able to hear familiar voices (if she could even hear them) to know that they were there for her. "That's not fair, you just cheated!"

"No Ron, this is how the game works. I move my pawn there and destroyed your king. Sorry mate..."

Nighttime would fall and visiting hours would come to an end as the lot would say their goodbyes and floo back to Hogwarts.

This is how Healer Sima and Draco Malfoy had begun to form an unlikely, mutual relationship. Purely beneficial to both individuals and strictly professional, Healer Sima was greeted with a generous check owled to her at the start of every morning and Draco Malfoy would get access to the only person he deemed important (and not insane) in this wing. 

He would never admit to this lucrative dealing however. This was something he kept to himself and only two of his friends knew about his visits. First, Theo who had accompanied him the first night and second Blaise, who had already told his friend about the three-way enchanted lock on the door (in case he would ever need that information) with a wink and a gesture of his hand, zipping an imaginary seal over his lips. 

So this is how the routine of visiting Hermione Granger had begun. He often found himself muttering some incoherent phrases, no doubt answering the ongoing dialogue happening in his head. 

"How dare you feel the need to visit this mudblood. I can't believe it, my own son and only Malfoy heir sneaking around with a mentally deranged muggle-born witch! Truly unbelievable Draco, just when I thought you couldn't be more of a disappointment, you have proved me utterly wrong."

However, the sight of her sleeping beauty was always one that banished his father's voice to the depths of hell. 

On this particular night, the window in her room was left ajar, and a small breeze tiptoed its way in. Draco chilled at the sight of Hermione's body uncovered and cold.  She looked dead. If it wasn't for the slight crimson scattered across her freckled cheeks, he would have thought so. Her lips, on the other hand, were dead cold, pale and blue. Draco conjured an extra blanket, draping over her frail body. He opened the medical binder laying on the side of the bed.