"I'm blaming you for this, Lucius," Draco heard his mother say. He had enough sense to keep his eyes closed and wait for his parents to finish their conversation. His father sighed.
"He was not supposed to be there in the first place," Lucius returned, but Draco could hear the worry in his father's voice, even if it was infinitesimal.
"You should not have given that book to the Weasley girl," his mother continued, her voice lowering a little so that they wouldn't be overheard. "Why do you want to the Dark Lord to rise again anyway? We have a good life. And you almost cost us everything!"
"Narcissa–"
"Our son nearly died because of your actions, Lucius."
"He will be fine. And that was never any intention of mine."
"But it still happened." Draco squirmed a little, pretending to wake up.
The first thing Draco saw when he opened his eyes was his father's scowling face. His felt stiff and he wanted nothing more than to sit up and walk around. What had happened? He vaguely remembered following Granger to the library. He should have known that Granger would be the death of him.
Slowly, and with a small groan, he sat up. "What happened?" he muttered.
"You were petrified," his father said simply. "Madame Pomfrey was able to reverse the effects. Though, what you were doing in the library with that Mudblood is beyond me."
"Don't call her that," Draco reprimanded. "And she shouldn't have been walking around the castle by herself."
"You should have been getting ready for the Quidditch match." Draco had a retort poised on his lips, but before he could say anything, his mother sat down beside him, granting him a rare hug.
"How are you feeling, Draco?" she wanted to know.
He shrugged dismissively. "I fine," he told her. He felt as though he had just been asleep for a little while longer than he was used to. Feeling a little stiff, he stretched and yawned. "Is Hermione, alright?" His mother nodded, her lips pursed. He knew his mother held the same point of view as his father did when it came to Muggle-borns. But at the moment he really didn't care, he was just glad that Hermione was alright.
His mother's eyes were deeply red from her tears. She must have been extremely worried about him to even think about crying in public. He decided now would be a good time to change the subject. "Did we at least win the Quidditch match?"
His parents shook their heads. "The match was cancelled because three students were found petrified in the library," his father said, "You shouldn't have been there."
"I stand by what I did, Father," Draco told him bravely. He thought for a second what he had heard his mother telling his father. Draco shook his head. "Do you really hate the Weasleys so much that you wanted to drive her crazy with that book, probably nearly get her killed along the way? I knew you had provoked the Weasleys intentionally that day in Diagon Alley."
His mother intervened before anything more could be said. "Just rest now, Draco. You'll be able to join your friends in the Great Hall for dinner."
But Draco wasn't tired. And since Hermione Granger had been petrified for the last month or so, she decided that Draco needed to hear all of the thoughts and opinions that she hadn't been able to divulge. She was also probably bored out of her mind in the Hospital Wing, as Madame Pomfrey had yet to dismiss all of them. Apparently, Harry and Ron had been by to see her while Draco was still coming out of his stupor. They had wanted to see Draco, too, but decided against it at the sight of his father.
YOU ARE READING
The Brave at Heart
Fanfiction"He could only imagine what his father was going to say when he heard. Oh, he had really done it this time. His father had once told him he was a disgrace to the Malfoy name and now he really was. It wasn't supposed to have gone this way. He was sup...
