Darkness Falls

Sixteen

1993 - Second year

Draco lay in his bed, waiting, counting down the minutes before he could leave the Slytherin common room without his absence being noticed.

All he had thought about since he heard the news mid-afternoon about the most recent attack, was going to see Hermione in the hospital. The one thing he couldn't do so easily.

He glanced over at the clock that hung on the wall and saw that the time read 11:53. He told himself that he wouldn't go to see Hermione until after midnight when he knew for sure the teachers, as well as the students, would all be in bed. However, the minutes on his clock were moving by painfully slowly and he seemed to be laying for eternity in bed.

He turned and glanced at the clock once more, 11:54. A minute had passed. Draco lay thinking about everything he had done wrong over the past few months, everything he wished now he could take back and do-over.

He turned again, 11:55. He thought back to his argument with Hermione that started the rift, to begin with, the argument that split and ended their friendship. He thought about how he should've handled the situation and how they should have had a more in-depth conversation about what had actually happened.

11:56, everything felt so trivial now, knowing Hermione was laying in a hospital bed after being petrified by a monster his father had helped into the school, a plan he knew all about and hadn't warned her. His argument with her felt so silly in comparison to the current situation.

11:57, all he wanted was to say sorry. To tell her he regretted everything and he wanted to take it all back, but he knew the damage had already been done. He knew she wouldn't be able to hear a single thing he said to her when he finally saw her, but he also knew he had to say it.

11:58, for a moment Draco allowed himself to imagine what would happen if she were awake. If he arrived at the hospital and she had been cured and she was conscious to hear him. He told himself he would tell her everything, he would grovel on his knees if he needed to just so he could have her forgiveness. The saddening truth cut through him as he told himself that she wasn't going to be awake when he got there. She would be lifeless, there in body but not in spirit, and he was the only one who could've prevented that.

Without realising, more time had passed and when Draco looked at the clock once more he noticed it was past 12. He jumped out of bed, as quietly as possible, put on his robes and left the dormitory. Without a second glance in the common room to see if anyone was still awake, he left through the portrait and headed towards the hospital wing.

He made his way through the corridors, his heart racing the closer he got to the hospital wing. Once he arrived he stood outside for a moment, staring at the doors. He took a moment to gather his thoughts, to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to witness. He had seen Justin's petrified body after the first time he went to find Madame Pomfrey to request some Dreamless Sleep potion, the sight of him hadn't fazed him. However, he knew Hermione was going to be different.

He had a sense of déjà vu, this was the second time he found himself standing outside the hospital wing knowing Hermione was on the other side. Draco inhaled and pushed through the doors, slowly walking into the hospital. There were four beds with the curtains pulled around them. He recognized the first three as he walked past them and knew Hermione wasn't in any of those as he had seen them before. He stopped at the last bed, his heart beating fiercely against his chest. Reaching forward, he used his shaking hand to pull back the curtain to reveal Hermione.

"Hermione.."

Draco chocked, his entire body stiffened at the sight of her. Her body was rigid, frozen in the last position she had been in, her arm in the air and her fist clenched beside her. That wasn't what made Draco's stomach turn, it was the expression on her face.