Redemption.

Chapter 6

The next morning, Draco was sitting next to Blaise, halfheartedly eating his bacon. He was however, distracted by the arrival of the mail, where hundreds of owl swooped in carrying packages of every size, and delivering it to it's owner. Draco's throat constricted. Who would he get the mail from? Nobody. He remembered all the times he gloatingly opened his usual parcel filled with sweets from his mother. Who would send it to him now? Nobody. His mother was in Azkaban along with his good for nothing father.

"Draco.." Blaise's voice interrupted his thoughts. "What's on your schedule?"

Draco looked down having just seen his time table. Professor Slughorn had come over to give their term schedules just before breakfast was served.
"Transfiguration, Charms, Defense," Draco read. "Potions and Herbology."

"What?" Blaise said incredulously. "How did you get into Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts? Nobody in our year passed except for the bookworm." he said, jabbing his finger in Granger's direction.

"Guess I'm spending time with her, then." Draco said casually. "Wish me luck."

Blaise patted him on the back, sympathetically. What he didn't know was that there was a ferocious inner battle going on in Draco's mind.
You get to be alone with her!

Keep your mind in check, she's still your enemy.

The war's over! And I don't care about blood anymore.

Even if you don't, will she ever accept you?

But...but, she's...

It's Granger! Are we forgetting what place she holds in your mind?

No, I just... And in his mind flashed an image of Granger lying on his bed, Draco on top of her...

"Draco!" Blaise snapped his fingers in front of his eyes.

"What?" Draco said irritably, annoyed that such a good scene had vanished from his he was angry with himself for thinking that way.

"We have Herbology now. Stuff your bacon, and let's go." Draco did as he was told.
Professor Sprout was waiting for them in Greenhouse 8, the last one, that she evidently kept only for her N.E.W.T year students.

"Morning chaps." Sprout said crisply. "It's good to see so many of you back for Herbology." Draco noticed that there were only a few people- Granger (his eyes stayed on hers longer than the others), Longbottom, Lovegood, a pair of twin girls (Patils were they?), Blaise and himself.
Sprout lead them into the Greenhouse, Draco trailing along behind everyone else. There were all kinds of weird and wild looking plants Draco had never seen before. The seven of them stood around the long table, facing Sprout.

"Right. This year is going to be difficult. No point pretending otherwise." she said. "We're going to team up now, Longbottom can work alone. They're going to be your partners for the rest of the year, mind."
Draco involuntarily turned to Blaise, but his friend wasn't there. He looked around and saw that Blaise was walking towards the Lovegood lady, with a very glazed expression on his face. Draco's jaw dropped as he saw his friend interact with her. He was blushing furiously, and stammering all the while. And at long last Lovegood nodded, and Blaise looking relieved, stood next to her, occasionally glancing at his partner.

Draco looked around. The Patil twins had paired up. Longbottom was alone. Blaise (that prick) was with the Loony, and the only person left out was...Granger. Draco sighed internally, frustrated that he seemed to be running into her wherever he went. This greatly tested his resolve to stay away from her, as he had not only seen her naked (not to mention what she was doing), but he'd also seen her the previous night wearing that delicious see-through gown.

Granger looked around and her eyes fell on him. Blushing very mildly she came over and dumped her bag between them. Draco cleared his throat. He glanced at the bag, not sure if he was angry or relieved at it for being between them. Great, now he was showing his emotions towards inanimate objects.

Sprout came around giving them a set of papers that looked suspiciously like a test and waved her wand so that they each had a copy in front of them.

"This," she called. "will test how much you remember from..before the war." There was silence in the room, where everyone glanced at each other. Sprout looked slightly down, Longbottom was frowning, Lovegood looked exceptionally sad, Blaise was biting his lip, the Patil twins were shaking their heads. Only Granger and Draco weren't bothering to look up. He'd already started on his paper, and found surprisingly, that he could answer most of it.

When he was almost finished with his paper, Granger's arm brushed against him, and it was as though a jolt of electricity went through him. He froze, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He glanced at her sideways, and saw to his relief (or disappointment) that Granger hadn't felt anything. Her forehead was creased in concentration and her tongue was sticking out. Draco had a sudden, inexplicable urge to suck on her tongue, maybe her neck too... He realized he was drooling slightly, and shook himself back to reality. He quickly got up, submitted his paper and walked out of the Greenhouse.

He wanted to wash his face, rid his mind of any thoughts that were related to her. He went onto the prefects bathroom on the seventh floor, but in his preoccupation forgot to lock the door. He threw his bag down and gripped the edges of the sink, breathing deeply. He glanced up into the mirror and his reflection stared back at him looking haunted. In that moment he was back in the drawing room of his manor again...

He stood next to his mother and father, watching. His aunt Bellatrix was walking to and fro, thinking furiously. Granger stood, her eyes darting everywhere, as though looking for an escape. Suddenly Bellatrix came to a stop and turned to face Granger, her eyes filled with malice.
"Yes..." Bellatrix whispered. And she lounged at Granger pinning her to the ground. Granger shrieked in surprise and tried to wiggle her way out, but Bellatrix's grip was too strong.

"Where did you get the sword from, sweet little girl?" Bellatrix asked.

"Dumble- Dumbledore gave it to us."

"Liar!" she screamed and her wand was pointing at Granger's throat. "Where did you get the sword from?" she hissed.

"Dumbledore-"
But with a wave of fury, Granger's words were cut short.
"Crucio!" Bellatrix snarled.

Granger's screams filled his ears, rooting him to the spot. She was writhing on the ground as though thousands of painful hives were sticking to her skin. She screamed and screamed but Bellatrix didn't seem to be satisfied. Draco watched horrified as Bellatrix slashed her wand in the air and there was a deep gash in Granger's skin, on her collarbone. Granger's eyes shot open, and she cried a blood-curdling scream, her brown eyes filled with pain. Draco stood and watched...watched her struggling on the floor, her blood dripping to the ground, and he did nothing. He stood and watched, feeling sick to his stomach. But that's just it. He watched. He did nothing. Absolutely nothing.

He was back in the prefects bathroom, and suddenly he was crying. He was crying like he had never cried before, bawling his eyes out, heaving for breath. He shuddered and gasped, clutching at his throat which was constricting again. His shoulders shook with renewed sobs and he dropped to the floor, unable to stand anymore.