From the Grave

Chapter Four- Draco

   "Whoa, what happened here?" Her voice echoes in the Great Hall. I stop myself. Their voice? His voice? How was I supposed to know they weren't a girl? They fell from the flipping sky after the bloodiest battle I've ever seen, and then suddenly people are jumping on top of me for opening my mouth and this random stranger is kneeing me in the balls for calling them a girl. That's not my fault. I'm not the one who brought them here. I didn't ask for this to happen. Professor McGonagal is explaining things to them, which I think is rather hasty, considering no one even knows who they are. And who names their kid Venus? What kind of a name is that? I realize I'm still lying on the floor, so I push myself up to a sitting position. A wand pokes me in the chest. I open my mouth to snap off an insult and stop. It's him. Harry Potter. I swallow, my hands suddenly clammy and my heart racing. "Uh, uh, Potter," I stammer. His beautiful face stares back at me, dirty and bloodstained, yet still radiant. "Cat got your tongue, Malfoy?" He taunts me. I'm tired of all the back-and-forth. My death mark burns on my arm and I want to cry. I never wanted any of this, and now here I am, the bad guy. He stops and stares at me, and I struggle to compose my face. I try desperately to come up with an insult, but I can't. I can't insult him anymore. The realization that he can never be mine stops my heart and makes it difficult for me to breathe. "Shove off," I finally mumble. Potter hesitates then offers me a hand, and I take it, marveling at the touch of his hand against mine. His hand clasps mine for a few more seconds after he helps me up, and I wish I could freeze the moment so I could keep it forever. He finally drops his hand and I stand there, surrounded by hostile people. Professor  McGonagal comes over to me. "Mr. Malfoy, what have you got to say for yourself?" She asks me sternly. "Give me one good reason not to ship you for off to Azkaban this very moment." She stares at me, and I wish I could disappear. "I can't." I mumble. "Just kill me now and get it over with."
   "The killing curse is illegal," she tells me. "However, that's not the only spell in the world. What you've done is very, very wrong. Yet," she pauses. "I see in you regret for your actions. Tell me one thing you can do to make amends, and I'll let you stay and rebuild Hogwarts with the rest of us."
   "We're rebuilding Hogwarts?" Hermione asks, shocked. "Professor, a great amount of people have just died here! We can't reopen the school!"
   "It's what Dumbledore would have wanted," she replies, then she turns back to me. "Well, Malfoy? I'm waiting." The school is quiet, waiting for my answer. I don't know what to say. An apology alone probably won't be enough. It's got to be something more. Either way, I'm running out of time. "I'm really sorry about what I've done, Professor. I didn't want to join the death eaters, believe me. My father forced me to and I couldn't say no or Voldemort would kill me. I have some money saved; you can use that to help rebuild Hogwarts if you'd like." I focus on Harry Potter's face instead of her disapproving one. She stares at me, and my heart sinks. No way she'll believe me, even though every word I spoke is true. "Alright, Malfoy," she says at last. "I'd like to believe you, so here's what we'll do. Venus!" Their head snaps up. "Yes?"
"I'm assigning you to be the official guard of Draco Malfoy. He makes one wrong move, and you have my permission to kick him where it counts, you hear me?"
"Sure!" They exclaim, a gleam in their eyes- which terrifies me. What counts as a wrong move? "I can help rebuild, too," they say. "In whatever ways you need."
"That is much appreciated, dear," McGonagal says. "Why don't you go find a place in the castle to store Malfoy and start working on cleaning up the area around you?"
"Ok, thanks!" Their bubbly personality disappears as they march over to me. They grab my arm so tightly it hurts. "Let's go, jackass." I fume silently as I'm dragged past the broken doors of the Great Hall and into the crumbling interior of Hogwarts.