Fascination|𝐴 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 (𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚛 3, 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 1)

Chapter Thirty-One | Amnesia

Draco took a deep breath, trying to calm his raging pulse. He looked up at Theodore who stood with his arms crossed, waiting for an explanation to Draco's odd behavior. Draco winced inwardly. Who knew what Ginny had told him. If it was as bad as he thought, Draco had probably been painted out to be the bad guy. He couldn't blame her. That was exactly what his imposter had been aiming for. Draco blinked several times trying to clear his vision as it had become fuzzy. He tried to price a sentence together but his blasted nose was throbbing again, causing him a horrid headache. "Fix my nose then I'll tell you."

Theodore crosses his arms and shifted his weight while raising an eyebrow. "Why should I trust you?"

"Listen, I've got a logical explanation, but you have to trust me on this. I can't tell you anything until this bloody headache dies down and it won't stop until my nose is healed. I can't heal it myself. You know that very well. I do not preform magic well on myself. Now, I will tell you everything, but there are parts of this I can't remember so your just going to have to trust me."

Theodore dropped his arms and sighed. "I know I'm going to regret this." He pulled his wand from his pocket and sighed. "Episkey!" There was a loud crack as his nose snapped back into place and Draco let out a loud groan. Theodore pocketed his wand and returned to his skeptical posture. "Well?"

Draco sighed then nodded and relayed the story of how he had been kidnapped and immobilized. He told Theo how the mysterious boy stole his hair for a polyjuice potion and made him watch as he broke Hermione's heart. Draco's blood boiled as he recalled the detail of the boys maliciousness and Hermione hurt and scared expression. Theodore listened silently, his expression becoming more and more grim with every word. He looked a bit taken aback by the whole story and Draco had been afraid he wouldn't believe him. But when Draco finished Theodore nodded and blinked. "Who was the boy?"

Draco's shoulders dropped. "I don't know."

Theo raised an eyebrow and his brow creased. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"He modified my memory. I can remember the entire scene but I've forgotten the name and face of the culprit."

Theodore looked astonished but seemed to believe Draco as he swore under his breath. "Well then..." Theodore strokes his chin and began to pace, making Draco extremely nervous.

"Well then what?"

"We need to find a way to one, convince her that it wasn't actually you, or two, find a way to help you to move on."

Dracos eyes widened. "Are you serious?! No way! I'll never be able to move on. Not after her! I loved her Theo!" Draco stuttered. "I... I love her. I have to convince her that it wasn't me! I'm determined to convince her." He said with finality.

When he looked back to Theodore, he was wearing a wide grin. "That was all I needed to hear. Your pretty convincing, you know? But it'll take more than that to win her over. I mean, that was pretty convincing, might even leave her dumbstruck, but would she believe it? That's what we need to find out. What she will believe and how she will believe it. We'll find a way. Don't worry, Drake. We'll figure something out. The Slytherin Prince and the Gryffindor Princess will be reunited."

Draco groaned slightly at the stupidity of their nicknames but could keep from smiling. "Are you sure?"

Theo raised both eyebrows. "Positive."

Draco let out a shallow laugh and shook his head. "What has gotten into you? I'm afraid you've been spending too much time with Ginny." Theo punched Draco on the arm and he groaned with a laugh.

   Uncertain of what he was going to do next Draco began to pace the hall. He racked his mind for any idea but then he was distracted by the sound of someone sobbing. Theo looked out the window over Draco's shoulder and frowned. He sighed, shaking his head. "Uh oh, we're in trouble. We're going to need to work up plan and soon."

"What? Why?" Draco asked confused and spun around. But as soon as he did he wished he hadn't.

There Hermione stood, in the same spot they had been earlier with her arms around Weasley's neck. She cried, burying her face in the weasel's shoulder as tears streamed down her cheecks. Weasley wrapped an arm around her back, a soft smile at his lips. Draco felt a surge of energy stimulating from his own anger and jealousy. He had the nerve to enjoy her sorrow?! And in such a dark time for her?!?! That slimy git was enjoying her attention as she leaned on him for support both mentally and physically. Draco stomach knotted. He wanted to be the one she leaned on, the one she shared her sorrow with, the one she came to in times of need.

   Draco's blood boiled. How dare that weasel touch his girlfriend?! Draco knew that she was no longer his to call his girlfriend, but he was determined to change that. He intended to win her back. Then Weasley would pay for messing around with her. Draco knew full well that the weasel had no good intentions. He would break her heart just as Draco had... or Draco's imposter had. A part of Draco wanted to let her be. Maybe she would be better off with Weasley, better off without him. Draco shook his head. He couldn't think such things. He needed her, he couldn't live without her.

With a deep breath, Draco began to make his way over to the Golden Trio but something caught his eye. A familiar figure that stood at the bottom of the hill. It was small and petite with a pink hoodie, jeans, and a mess of bushy brown hair. Draco's eyes widened. Impossible! He couldn't believe it. It was Hermione! But how could that be? She was standing before him, clinging onto Weasley for dear life. Two Hermione's? How? There couldn't be two of them. Draco's mind raced, his heartbeat pulsing. Clearly there were two of them as he could see them both currently. He tried to figure it out but froze when he saw what the Hermione at the bottom of the hill was doing.

   Pulling on the reins of an annoyed Buckbeak, was a beaten and bruised Hermione, with Potter trailing behind. She had cuts all across her face and hands and her head had a large gash just along her hairline and bruise above her eyebrow. Draco could barely make them out becaude she was so far away but the blood and blue/purple mark above her eye was unmistakable. But Draco still couldn't understand how there were two. How was it possible? Was someone using polyjuice potion and impersonating her? Draco's heart raced. And if so, was the girl who had punched him, the girl who was currently weeping and hugging the boy he hated, actually Hermione?!

Theodore came up alongside Draco, his eyes wide. "She... she's helping the bird escape!" Draco nodded. "But how's that possible? We can see her standing right there with Weasley and Potter."

Draco shook his head. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to find out."

Author's Note:

So, one more chapter then we are finished with Fascination. We will then be moving on to year four, a book that will be called Determination. I hope you all enjoyed, please be sure to leave feedback and let me know what you think.