Harry Potter and the Year After

Chapter Fifty: Mandrakes

Chapter 50: Mandrakes

"Draco," Ginny whispered. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. They sat by themselves at the end of the Slytherin table. "I can't stand it."

"What is it telling you to do now?" Draco asked flatly.

"The same things as always, but it woke up a bit when I saw Harry just now. It wants me to kill him."

"The potion isn't working then?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Maybe we should double it. You took the Calming Draught too, right? If only Snape were still around..."

"I don't know what to do," she said, gritting her teeth. "It's like he's screaming in my ears."

Draco drew his wand and did a complicated wave. Silver sparks shot at her.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I think I should just go to Madam Pomfrey. It's been weeks of this... I think I'm going mad..."

"You'll be expelled if they find out how this happened. You could possibly even go to Azkaban, depending--"

"I don't care at this point," she said, holding her head in her hands.

"Maybe we could just tell Potter? He'd be a bit... safer. And get Granger's nose in some books on this sort of thing. I dare say they'd help you."

"No," Ginny said at once, "No. You can't tell him. He'd be so angry."

"Yes, he would, but I still fail to see why that matters," Draco said, and took a sip of pumpkin juice. "Anyway, you can't go telling Madam Pomfrey because once you're in St. Mungo's they will label you as a dark witch and keep tabs on you. Something similar happened to Bellatrix when she was young and she was never the same after that. That's what my mother told me."

"Oh, bloody hell," she said, laying her head down on the table. Draco raised his eyebrow as he looked over at her.

"Come. Some evening Quidditch practice. Your dramatics has put me off of my food."

She lifted her head. "I'm starting to think you just like to watch me ride a broom."

"It takes your mind off of things, that's all."

They both stood and started toward the doors. "You'd better watch out though, we're playing each other in a couple of weeks. You're going to teach me all your moves."

"No, you don't know half of them," he drawled. But then he half-smiled at her and she smiled back. "I should tell you, I owled my mother yesterday morning."

"What about?"

"I asked her if you could come to visit at Malfoy Manor during Christmas break. She replied enthusiastically yes."

"Really? What did your father say?"

"He does whatever Mother says anymore," Draco said without looking at Ginny. "But in any case, we'll have full run of the library for research. I doubt father would care and Mother certainly wouldn't think we'd be up to anything in there."

"Thank you."

"Well, it's the least I could do."

"No, it's the most you could do." They were out on the grounds now. They both pulled their school robes tighter about themselves and performed warming charms on themselves. It smelled like snow, though it hadn't snowed yet.