Against the Dark - A Dramione Fanfiction

T w e n t y - n i n e

Draco entered the Head Common Room to find Hermione standing motionless before the fire, staring into its bright, smoky depths. Draco advanced quietly, not wanting to startle her, but when he laid a hand on her shoulder, she gasped and jerked away. As soon as her eyes met Draco's, she quickly averted her gaze and shifted her attention back to the warm fire crackling in front of her, not uttering a single word.

Draco didn't know what to do to comfort her. He knew her conscience was beating her up more than a Crucio would, but he had no words at all. What was he supposed to say? Hey, thousands of people are born every day, there's no harm in killing one off.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked tentatively. Hermione didn't respond, only closed her eyes.

With a start, Draco suddenly saw Hermione's shirt, which was soaked through with blood. The piece of cloth was as good as dripping red, which made Draco think the wound underneath was still bleeding.

"Merlin, Granger, you're hurt. We need to get you to the Hospital Wing immediately. You're losing a lot of blood." 

"No need," she replied in a small voice. "I did a Numbing Charm."

"Yeah, but that's not going to knit the wound up, is it?"

Hermione shuddered slightly and didn't reply again. Draco knew he had to get her to the hospital somehow. He had no idea how she'd managed to stay standing for so long, but if she didn't see Madam Pomphrey, she'd be as good as dead in a matter of minutes. But for that, he needed to calm her down, and he was no good at this kind of thing.

"Hey," he said gently. "Sit down and breathe. It's okay."

"Okay?" Hermione said. "This was anything but okay, Malfoy. Don't try to sugarcoat it to make it easier on me. I know what I did."

"Yeah, but you were provoked," he said, trying to comfort her in some way. "You were not responsible for that."

"Of course I am," Hermione said. "Being angry, being provoked - that's no excuse for killing someone. Hell, there is no excuse for killing someone like that. I attacked behind his back. There's no excuse for that."

Draco didn't reply. He was the last person to be with her right now. She needed her friends.

"Should I get Potter or - "

"No," she said immediately, turning towards him. "Don't."

"Okay, but sit down," he said. Seeing her like that scared him. No, scared was too strong a word. It made him concerned. It was still better to see her crying, sobbing, screaming with rage, throwing things around. But this silence, this was worse than anything. This meant that her soul was broken beyond repair.

"Granger," Draco said. "I know it wasn't you who did this."

Hermione looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that the person who killed Avery was just  - not you. I saw hate in your eyes, just too much of it. You're not capable of such emotions. It was like something snapped when you cast that Fiendfyre - you were just not... you anymore."

Hermione nodded subtly. "I was out of control."

"You could put it that way, but there was nothing you needed to control in the first place. I admit, Fiendfyre's Dark stuff, but it doesn't affect you till you've grown too dependent on it."

"I don't know," she said. "When I cast the fire, I just felt so much rage. I'd never, ever, experienced such heights of rage before, not even when Remus and Tonks died. It was like I wanted to destroy him. I actually enjoyed doing it. I know that's not me. I just don't know what happened."