A Snake's Secrets ~Draco&Hermione FF~

Chapter 7 ~ Infiltration

Draco's POV

               I paced the girls' lavatory in the Three Broomsticks tensely. This wasn't the best plan. But I had to try something before Father got suspicious. He was putting the pressure on me to get things going now. And I was running out of time before the Dark Lord started to get angry as well.

               I moved into the shadows quickly when I heard someone coming in the bathroom. It was Katie Bell. Perfect. I hit her with the Imperious curse before she even had a chance to look up and moved over to her.

               "You will take this to Dumbledore," I hissed, staring into her blank eyes as I put the black box in her hands. "It's very important that he gets it immediately. You will take it to him as soon as you leave here. Don't open it or let anyone else see it. You will not remember me."

               She went out the door silently with the box tucked under her arm. I waited a minute, and then left the Three Broomsticks quickly. I followed the girl at a distance, pulling my hood up to cover my face. She was arguing with her friend as she walked, but she was still following my orders.

               Then I saw Hermione, Potter, and Weasley walking up the path not too far behind them. I moved to the shadows quickly, afraid they would see me. If Hermione saw me, I didn't know what I would do.

               And then things went bad. Katie's friend tried to grab the package from her and tore the wrapping. Katie screamed and was lifted into the air slowly. She was suspended in the air for a minute, and then she crashed to the ground, hard. I moved farther back as Potter and Weasley went to help. Hagrid was already carrying the Bell girl up to the school.

               Hermione still stood in the middle of the road. She turned toward me suddenly, and I thought she could see me. Our eyes met for a moment. But then she just hurried after her friends silently.

~*~

               The corridor was dark and empty, but I still walked quickly and quietly. I only managed to relax a bit when I was safely inside the Room of Requirement. I moved through the maze of piled objects to the back of the room. Then I pulled the dusty sheet off the cabinet.

               I took the apple from my pocket and placed it in the cabinet. After I closed the door, I pointed my wand at it and whispered the incantation. A soft whooshing sound let me know it worked. I said the incantation again, and then opened the door.

               The apple had a bite taken out of it.

~*~

               My next attempt at killing Dumbledore didn't work out at all. I gave Slughorn a bottle of Dumbledore's favorite wine that I poisoned because Slughorn was going to give it to him for Christmas. But somehow, Weasley ended up getting poisoned instead. And even worse, he didn't die. Now Father was angry and pushing me even more.

               I went to the Room of Requirement again. This time I took a small white bird to send through. It went away easily, but I had to repeat the incantation a couple times to bring it back. And when I opened the door again, the bird was dead.

               Cold dread filled me. This was not good. I was running out of time. The other Death Eaters needed to get into school using this cabinet. But it wouldn't work if they got killed in the process.

               I did everything I could to fix the vanishing cabinet. Then I tried again with a little black bird. This time, the bird was chirping when it came back. Relief coursed through me, and I quickly sent a message to my father. He replied that the Death Eaters would be taking Hogwarts in less than a week.

               Katie Bell finally came back to school a couple days later after being in St. Mungo's for a few days. I avoided looking at her when she entered the Great Hall, but I heard her saying she didn't remember who cursed her. Still, I could feel Potter's glare. I was already nervous enough without him watching, so I got up and left the hall.

               I went to the closest bathroom and splashed water over my face, trying to calm down. This would all be over soon. The Death Eaters would take over the school, but I could get away with Hermione. We would go into hiding-

               "I know what you did, Malfoy."

               I whirled around to face Potter, taking out my wand. But I didn't do or say anything yet. I just glared at him coldly, daring him to push me.

               "You cursed Katie. You probably had something to do with Ron getting poisoned," he said coolly. "And you broke Hermione's heart!"

               My eyes widened for a moment before I composed myself. Then I just laughed. "Okay so maybe I almost killed your friends. But how could I have hurt Granger?"

               "I know about you two being together!" he snapped. "Then you just left her, didn't you?! She wouldn't come out of her room for days! She was always crying!"

               I was tired of listening to him and just shot a curse at him. Potter instantly returned his own curse. Then it turned into a battle. A few sinks and stalls were destroyed in the process. He wasn't holding back, and neither was I.

               "Sectumsempra!"

               It felt like a sword was slicing away at me mercilessly. I fell to the wet floor, blood staining my shirt from the deep cuts in my chest. My body hadn't even registered the pain before I went under.

~*~

               I knew I was in the hospital wing as soon as I woke up. The bed was hard and uncomfortable, and I could smell the medicines around me. But what made me open my eyes was a soft hand squeezing mine.

               Hermione was sitting next to my bed, watching me sadly. I looked around quickly to make sure no one else was around. Then I looked back to her, just taking her in. She looked a bit paler than usual, but she was still beautiful.

               "You shouldn't be here," I whispered, holding her hand tightly.

               "Don't worry about that now," she said, kissing my cheek gently. "I just had to come make sure you were okay."

               "I'm fine," I said quietly, pushing myself up into a sitting position. I pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "The Death Eaters will be taking over the school very soon. Just wait for me in the Astronomy Tower when the fighting starts. We can run away together and put all of this behind us."

               Hermione wrapped her arms around me gently. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

               "I promise," I said softly, wrapping my arms around her waist. "I love you."

               "I love you too," she said sweetly, bringing her lips up to mine.

               We kissed for a minute. But then she pulled back and made me lay back down. I watched her walk out the door before I closed my eyes.

~*~

               I got out of the hospital wing the next day. My Dark Mark was burning, so I knew it was time. I went to the Room of Requirement and opened the Vanishing Cabinet. Black smoke swirled around me, and I stepped back. When the smoke cleared, the Death Eaters started coming out.

               "Well done, Draco," Aunt Bellatrix said as she passed me. "Now, let's get to work.