Pariah: The Other Malfoy

Chapter 62: Sectumsempra

I took Snape's advice somewhat and forced myself to nap before the full moon, after downing my potion. I knew I would be exhausted in the morning for Apparation lessons. I was aware that falling asleep would result in nightmares, but I just needed a bit of rest before my transformation. Just a minute of sleep.

I woke up just before I needed to get down and see Madam Pomfrey. I ran down the stairs, still feeling exhausted, and was taken to the Whomping Willow.

Thankfully, the sleep had helped and I wasn't too ill in the morning, much to my surprise. I had imagined my lack of sleep would have badly impacted my condition, but Wolfsbane was a lifesaver. I managed to skip a trip to the Hospital Wing and got straight to breakfast.

I smiled at myself and downed them, feeling even better than I had before.

"Ready for lessons?" Tobias asked me, standing up as I entered the hall.

"No, she's not. She won't be having any today!" McGonagall was heading towards us, "You look exhausted, Malfoy. Missing one lesson, won't hurt. You certainly won't fall behind!"

"But miss!" I whined, "I feel better than usual!"

"No buts! Go get some rest!" she escorted me to the common room.

I sat down and decided to do some homework. I worked hard to avoid nodding off, I needed to get back to my usual routine sooner rather than later.

That evening was rather eventful. Ron had taken chocolates from Harry's bed that were laced with a love potion and ended up completely overdosed on it. Harry took him to Slughorn where they went to share a glass of mead after curing him, only for Ron to keel over, foaming at the mouth.

Harry thought quickly, giving him a bezoar and saving his life. Hermione and I rushed to the Hospital Wing the moment we heard, finding Ron in a stable state, yet unconscious.

"Quick thinking on your part, Harry. Using a Bezoar. You must be very proud of your student, eh, Horace?" Dumbledore asked as we stood around Ron's bed.

Hermione was sat by his side with Ginny across from her, and Harry and I were standing along with Dumbledore, Slughorn, McGonagall, Snape and Madam Pomfrey.

"Hm?" Slughorn was dazed, holding a bottle of something, "Oh. Yes... very proud."

"I think we all agree that Mr Potter's actions were heroic. The question is: Why were they necessary?" McGonagall spoke.

"Why indeed," Dumbledore took the bottle from Slughorn and sniffed it, before handing it to Snape, "This appears to be a gift, Horace. You don't by chance remember who gave you this bottle, do you -- which by the way possesses remarkably subtle hints of liquorice and cherry when not polluted with poison."

"Actually, I had intended to give it as a gift myself," Slughorn said.

"To whom, might I ask?" Dumbledore pressed.

"You, Headmaster," before anyone could react, the door burst open.

"Where is he? Where's my Won-Won? Has he been asking for me?" Lavender Brown rushed in, freezing the moment she saw Hermione holding Ron's hand, "What's she doing here?"

"I might ask you the same," Hermione replied haughtily.

"I happen to be his girlfriend," Lavender snarled.

"I happen to be his... friend," I stifled a laugh at Hermione's words.

"Don't make me laugh. You haven't spoken in weeks. I suppose you want to make up with him now that he's suddenly all interesting," Lavender snapped, the awkwardness in the room rising.

"He's been poisoned, you daft dimbo! And for the record, I've always found him interesting," suddenly, Ron began to stir.

"Ha! See? He senses my presence," Lavender ignored Hermione's comments, "I'm here, Won-Won. I'm here—"

"Er... My... Nee," Ron muttered, "Her... mione."

I could feel rage radiating off Lavender as she pushed past me, storming out of the Hospital Wing without another word. We were all silent until the door slammed again, I glanced at Harry, smirking slightly.

"Ah, to be young and feel love's keen sting. Come, everyone, I think Mr Weasley is well-tended," Dumbledore spoke, leading the teacher's out.

I glanced at Ron and Hermione, smiling to myself, before following them out of the room.

While work seemed to pick up more, Harry became obsessed with my brother. He had spied on my brother before our next Quidditch match but didn't have time to follow him, asking Dobby to follow him instead. The Quidditch match was awful - since Ron was out of action, McLaggen took his place. He pelted a Bludger at Harry's head when trying to demonstrate to one of the Beaters how to hit it, knocking him unconscious, and losing us the match. With Harry out of action, I took the job of lecturing McLaggen, and suffice to say he had no intention of talking back after I was done.

Harry and Ron left the Hospital Wing on the same day, and Harry was back to obsessing about Draco, while Ron was somewhat confused about his breaking up with Lavender. He had discovered he was using the Room of Requirement, not leaving the school like he'd previously thought, but had been unsuccessful in gaining access.

He was distracted somewhat in his investigations by Dumbledore's task for him. It wasn't until April that he succeeded, finally finding out what Slughorn had told the Dark Lord all those years ago that had made him so ashamed to admit.

He was using Horcruxes. A form of dark magic that involved you splitting your soul into pieces so that you could never die - the process was unknown to most people, but it was described to be something that only the darkest wizards could achieve. The diary that Harry had destroyed in second year was one Horcrux, but Dumbledore didn't know how many existed. To defeat the Dark Lord, all of them would need to be destroyed.

When Katie Bell returned to school in late April, Harry questioned her about who had cursed her. She couldn't remember, but Harry caught sight of Draco walking into the Great Hall behind her, even I could see the look of fear on his face as he quickly exited again.

I was sat with Tobias, enjoying our lunch together, when I caught sight of it happening. Harry waited a moment before rushing after Draco. I froze, frowning after the two boys. What would Harry do if he caught up with my brother?

I stood suddenly, a fear gripping me. Tobias jumped at my sudden movement, calling after me as I rushed out of the Great Hall. Where had they gone, I had missed the direction!

"Stupefy!" I heard a yell, turning on my heel quickly and running in the direction of the voices.

I skid to a halt outside the door of the boy's bathroom, clenching my fists slightly. Maybe I had misheard? Surely Draco and Harry weren't duelling in the bathroom, that would be stupid! But there did seem to be flooding inside, what had caused that?

"Cruci—"

"Sectumsempra!"

There was a howl of pain from inside, and I pushed the door open without hesitation. I ran through the water, passing Harry without a second glance, dropping to my knees beside my brother.