The Brave at Heart

Chapter 29: A Fight

Ron was gone.

He, like the rest of them, was heavily influenced by wearing the locket. Ron became angry and jealous when he wore it. Draco became quiet and brooding. He snapped when the others spoke to him. Hermione just looked sad. And Harry became self-righteous and determined.

Ron and Harry burst into a rather loud argument and then, Ron was gone. He left Draco, Harry, and Hermione. And they had to keep going.

The day Ron left, Hermione cried herself to sleep. Draco climbed onto the bed beside her, pulling her into his arms and holding her close to himself. He wiped the tears from her face, but let her cry as she needed until she eventually fell asleep on his shoulder. When they woke up, they were entangled and, even though her cheeks were tear-stained, she still looked lovely.

In the following days, none of them mentioned Ron. It was as if his name was Tabooed, a curse to say. It was easier to move on. But Ron was still there, he was the elephant in the room no one would address.

When Draco wore the locket, he missed Ron. He understood his friend's arguments and believed Harry was wrong in the way he reacted. This was Harry's mission and he clearly did not know what he was doing. They were just wandering aimlessly around the English countryside. Draco yearned for the warmth and comfort Grimmauld Place afforded to them.

One day, when Draco wore the locket, a dark cloud soared above him. He often thought about the family he left behind to follow Harry. He was a Malfoy. He was supposed to stand by his family. He was supposed to be Slytherin, supposed to marry a Pureblood, and continued the Pureblood line. He was not supposed to be here like this.

And what was happening to his parents now? Did the Order find his father and protect him as they promised? Was his mother still safe? He was suddenly hit by a vision of Voldemort finding his mother and torturing her. Or, worse, leaving his mother at the mercy of her sister, Bellatrix.

The tears poured from his eyes uncontrollably. He shook as he thought about what he had done. He was the reason this was happening to his parents. Why couldn't he just follow Voldemort? Why did his guilty conscience pry at him? Why was he a stupid, reckless Gryffindor?

A gentle hand fell on his shoulder. Its comforting hold was familiar. Draco covered Hermione's hand with his own. She sat down beside him, pulling him to lean on her shoulder.

When the fear, tears, and shaking subsided, Hermione dropped a book on Draco's lap. With a curious glance, he was able to quickly discern the book to be the one Dumbledore gave him. She gave him a small smile and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Idly, he flipped through the papers. He'd read this book through a few times, still wondering why Dumbledore thought he needed this. Now, however, found comfort in the knowledge that not all of the Malfoys pushing against the lies the locket pressed against him.

"What if I made the wrong decision," he said quietly. "What if this never ends?"

Hermione did not try to find the words to make this better. Instead, she just clung to him in love.

The thoughts the locket produced continued, of course. Every time Draco wore the Horcrux, his bitterness towards the situation returned tenfold. It was only a matter of time before the bitterness, anger, and annoyance boiled over.

It was a simple thing. A small, infinitesimal action of taking the rest of the small dinner Hermione compiled that finally caused Draco to snap. "Of course, potter's taking more than his share," murmured Draco. Hermione looked at him in horror. Her eyes fell on the locket.

"Draco, maybe you should–" she began, but Harry interrupted. He claimed Draco was just annoyed because out there, he didn't have legions of house-elves to wait on him. Naturally, this statement brought out the Malfoy sneer none of them had received, or even seen, since the beginning of their first year at Hogwarts.