Stillness

Chapter 21

Hermione woke up the next day with Draco's words still echoing through her. A part of her knew Pansy was right, that he didn't mean them, but a small voice in her head was saying I told you so. She had thought his affections had silenced that voice but it had always been there, waiting for him to pull the rug out from under her.

Her friends had found her in her bed at the end of the day and she told them that Draco's father had died. They assumed she had spent the day with him and she didn't bother correcting them. She wasn't ready for them to know. Wasn't ready for the truce with the Slytherins to break and to hear that they had been waiting for it too.

Hermione and Ginny got ready for the day in silence, Ginny not knowing what to say. It was kind of bittersweet to Ginny, Lucius' death, so she was afraid she would say the wrong thing. Hermione had just entered the Great Hall behind Harry, Ron and Ginny when someone grabbed her arm.

"Granger." Pansy said in a frantic whisper.

Hermione turned around to see what the other girl wanted. Pansy was as pale as Draco, bags under her eyes showed she hadn't slept but it was the tears in her eyes that alarmed Hermione. Something worse must have happened for her to let those tears show in public.

"It's Draco." Pansy said and Hermione thought her heart stopped.

Hermione rushed into the Hospital Wing behind Pansy. They found Theo hunched over in a chair and Blaise leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Hermione's hands began to shake as she took in their bloodstained robes. Hermione could barely look at them without seeing Colin Creevey and Lavender Brown, bloody and dead in their uniforms, in her mind's eye. A curtain slid open and all four of them jumped as Madam Pomfrey waved them forward.

"I've stopped the bleeding. You can see him while I gather up his potions. He may be a little out of it from the blood loss though." She explained before brushing past them into the back office.

"What happened?" Hermione snapped as they gathered around Draco's bed, Draco as white as his sheets, you could see his veins in his closed eyelids.

"I don't know. An accident.." Theo started but was interrupted by Draco's soft chuckle.

"Accident." He breathed out.

"Draco." Hermione whispered and he started laughing.

"You think it was a fucking accident?" He snapped, turning to Hermione. "You shouldn't even be here."

"Draco, shut up." Blaise snapped.

"You knew I wouldn't fucking want her here." Draco growled out, then he began laughing again. "Merlin, I'm useless. I can't do shit properly, can I? Couldn't kill Dumbledore, can't kill myself."

"Draco." Hermione whispered again.

"At any rate, it probably looks better now." He mumbled, raising his bandaged left arm.

As he began picking at the edge of the bandage, Hermione reached out and laced their fingers together. His cold grey eyes moved from his left arm to stare down at their twined fingers, something igniting in them. His fingers closed around hers and he held onto her hand like he would disappear if she let go.

"You should hate me." He breathed out.

"Draco, I don't.." she started but he interrupted her.

"I do." He pulled his hand from and took a deep breath, swallowing hard.

"Mate." Theo said softly.

"Shut the fuck up, Theo." Draco snapped. "You should hate yourself too."