BANALITY : Draco Malfoy

40

Ron and I manage to sneak upstairs and hide the wand in my bag before we go to the others. When we arrived back home, I gave him his cloak, so he is the one to put it in my suitcase. As he does, I avert my gaze. Maybe a charm was put on it like the one whoever changed my memories put on me. At least, that would explain why me eyes feel repelled from it.

Once we go to the others, they all seem worried. Draco is not among them. Now, the search party is trying to look for Draco. There is no way to communicate with him without living the charm which mitigates magical tracking. Everyone decides to go out on a search on brooms for Draco. They assume he won't have gotten very far.

Hermione is the one who stays behind with me, because they are even more convinced after the events of tonight that I am not to be allowed to exist at my own devices. She and I eat in the dining room together. Now that she doesn't have to hide her research from me, she props up the book and reads while she eats. She is deep in thought over the text.

"My poor concentration, headaches and dizziness, they are all because of the memory alteration?" I ask.

She doesn't look up. Like before, she doesn't seem to hear me. I guess I don't need her to elaborate because I am quite certain that I am correct. There was no fall that hurt me. My body remembers it, but it didn't happen. I don't understand how that possible. Every night I have nightmares loud enough that they keep Draco awake. I remember. My body remembers.

Really though, I dated no one in Brighton. Gaines does not exist. It makes me sick. I push my food away.

Hermione closes the book and shakes her head. She looks down at the plate in front of me, "do you want apple juice to help wash your food down?"

"What?" I ask. "Surely if you think Vitamin C will help my memory, we might as well buy orange juice."

Hermione blinks. She yawns, before leaning forward, "Marty liked apple juice. Do you not?"

"I don't know," I tell her. I mean, I do enjoy the juice, but not all that much. If my body remembers a different life than hers, has my physiology changed too? Am I only Marty in our physical appearance?

"We've noticed a few differences," Hermione points out, mechanically. "Well, I don't know exactly how many. We didn't spend time together often. Malfoy says your alcohol tolerance is significantly higher than Marty's, although that could be from a variety of non-magical factors. You're also a bit thinner, though I suppose dizziness could suppress your appetite. Your taste in literature is the same."

I look at her, feeling my mouth falling ajar, "what literature?"

"Those Classic novels," Hermione explains. "You had Lord of the Flies on you when we met in Hogsmeade, and today you were reading 1984. I'd have sworn Marty read 1984, but it might have been Animal Farm. It was definitely something by George Orwell though. I had always preferred non-fiction to fiction but you... well, Marty... anyway."

My stomach feels worse. They've been giving me drinks that Marty likes, and books that she has read. They are using me like a meat suit that can replace her.

"I think I'm going to bed," I grab my plate, still with food on it. If I eat more, I am sure I will puke. "If you must, you can sit outside my bedroom door and listen."

Hermione looks down at her plate. She grabs it as well as her book and follows me out of the room. I do my dishes and then head upstairs with Hermione on my trail. Once she is sitting in the hallway, I get ready to sleep. It is later than I had thought. I lost so much time when I panicked and bolted. Eventually, I am ready for bed and so I lie down still with my clothing on. The pillow is cold. Does everyone get this exhausted, or is it just me?