The Eighth Year - Under Major Reconstruction

37 - Infirmary

The large group follows McGonagall to the Infirmary where Draco could be...fixed.

Everyone was completely silent. The only noise coming from any of them was the clicking of McGongall's heels and the slow dragging of Alexandra's feet as she slowly led to her demise.

Pushing open the door of the infirmary, McGonagall shouts for Madam Pomfrey, "Poppy! We have a...situation. It seems Mr.Malfoy here has been the victim of a love potion. I didn't want to bother Corinna with such a trivial matter. She's quite swamped with marking this week." McGonagall explains what had happened from what they had all told her.

"Well...Let's get this all sorted out and perhaps Mr.Malfoy here can provide some insights." Poppy sighs, walking back to the storage cupboard and grabbing a bottle of liquid.

After a minute of silence from everyone as the effects of the love potion wore off, Draco looked around confused as to why he happened to be in the infirmary when a look of realization dawned on his face as he remembered everything.

"Oh no...what did I do...all I remember is eating the cake, then this rush of need to be around her!" Draco said, pointing a finger toward Alexandra

Everyone looked at Alexandra who was holding up a strong front and seemed unaffected by Draco's blame.

"I told you...I didn't give him a love potion. While I may have fancied him...I did not potion him. I don't even know how to make one!" She says, attempting to defend herself

McGonagall steps forward thinks for a moment, and then speaks, "While in normal circumstances, this would not be cause for expulsion...but alas, these are not normal circumstances. We seem to have two very different accounts of what happened so if your heads of house seem fit, we will have no choice other than to use veritaserum to uncover the truth. I never wish to use this on a student, but with the current situation, you could have broken the law set in by the Ministry if you would follow me, Miss Ricci. Mr.Malfoy, you may stay in the infirmary until Poppy releases you. Miss Granger, you may stay as well. The rest of you please return to your normal activities. This does not involve you." McGonagall says, walking out of the room with Alexandra - who did not seem affected by any of this - by her side.

Hermione took a seat on Draco's bed while the rest of the group left awkwardly.
The pair sat in silence for a few minutes deciding on what to say...finally Hermione decided to speak first.

"Do you remember what happened?" She asks, twiddling her thumbs

"I remember bits and pieces; more come as we sit here. I am truly sorry, Hermione. It seems I'm always apologizing, doesn't it? None of what I did was on my own accord. The only person I want in my life is you. Only you." He tells her, taking her hand in his and grasping it firmly as if it could disappear any second.

"I know it wasn't your fault. It seems bad things always happen to us...you're the only person I want in my life too. Godric. You don't know how horrible it was for me. You should see my journal entries...they're all totally faked bc you were always with her. Promise me we won't have any more crazy circumstances..." Hermione begs, looking Draco in the eye, waiting for his promise

"I wish I could promise that. But we live in a magic world, Jean...nothing about the last eight years has been normal, and I don't think we'll ever have a normal per se. We have to ride the...circumstances...out. We'll find out what happened when they give Ricci the veritaserum. Then maybe we can focus on preparing our wedding." Draco smiles. This is the first time he has really been able to think about it. And he was excited. He couldn't wait to marry the woman before him, which shocked him even though he knew he was ready to marry her.
He still wasn't sure about the whole love part, though.

"A few nights ago, I had a dream...I'm kind of embarrassed to tell you this. I was trying on wedding dresses. Ginny was there with me, and she was pregnant...is this what it's gonna be like?" She asks him

He smirks, nodding.

Thinking about the next few months didn't scare him anymore. He was excited.
For the next few minutes, they sat in silence while Draco thought of Hermione in a wedding gown and Ginny Weasley pregnant...he'd make sure to stay far, far away from her when that happened. She was a spitfire as it was; he didn't want to see her as a pregnant woman. She'd be dishing out curses like candy. Poor Potter.

"What are you thinking about?" Hermione asks suddenly

"How terrifying Ginny Weasley will be pregnant. Her curses and hexes are terrifying now...just imagine how they'll be when she's pregnant...keep me far, far away from her."

Hermione just looks at him, "That's what you were thinking about? I thought you were thinking about our wedding or something...but nope...you're thinking about my best friend and how scary she'll be...strange." She laughs

"Oh no...imagine how scary you'll be..." he laughs loudly, causing Hermione to frown and slap his arm, annoyed.

"Mr.Malfoy. From that laugh, I'm assuming you're fine. You may go." Madam Pomfrey says as she is tidying up the area

Hermione and Draco leave the infirmary together, hand in hand. They talk about random things they missed while Draco was under the love potion and how different things were for that short time. Reaching their common room, they give the password and head straight to their room to wait for McGonagall to tell them what would happen to Alexandra.

By the time they received McGonagall's owl, it was half nine, and Hermione was knackered and nearly ready for bed.

"It seems they've decided to use Veratiserum on her. She's asked both of us to come to her office." Draco tells Hermione, pulling her out of bed and quickly getting ready for the drama that was most likely to ensue.

\\~//
Oop.
I'm back.
This isn't my best seeing as I just came off a break but it's so good to be back!
The next chapter is great imo.
I hope you liked it!
Tell me what you think is going to happen! >>>

Thank you all for your kind words while I was gone, it meant a lot to me to know I had so many understanding friends :)

I hope you are all doing well during this difficult time.

Remember! It's Mental Health Awareness month!
If you ever need someone to talk to I am always here for each and every one of you.
Shoot me a DM and we can chat.
As someone who has experienced quite a lot of mental health issues, I know my way around the block...which isn't necessarily a wonderful thing but....

Anyway it's lovely to be back and I'm sorry it was a quite short update but I'm just getting back to everything!

Also...thanks for 30k reads HOLY COW!

Lots of love to ALL of you,
Shelby xxx