The Healer- A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction

Chapter 7

"Well?" Penny prodded me again. I snapped out of my thinking fog.

"I don't know who I fancy yet," I replied sheepishly. "I'm trying to keep an open mind, I suppose."

"Well if your mind is so open, then why not just get it over with and do it with Cade?"

Feeling verbally cornered, I gave in, only to get her off my back. "Fine," I sighed. "I suppose I might as well. But if he has ghastly breath, I won't do it."

Everyone chuckled at that. A smug smile crept upon Penny's face. "I'll make sure he takes a peppermint."

The girls went to sleep not long after that. The room was stuffy, and when it was this warm Greta snored. The rhythmic inhalations from her side of the room that resembled a sputtering broomstick kept me from ever fully closing my eyes. Additionally, I was quite peeved from tonight's conversation. Penny was getting pushier every year, treating us like actors in her make-believe play.

Can I really endure two more years of this? Two more years of being nothing more than her dog? I tossed and turned, the sheets falling to the floor. I let them stay there. My mind itched for something to do, to distract myself. I had to get out of this room, or else I might burst into tears.

I shimmied out of my pajama bottoms and into corduroy pants. I put on some shoes, grabbed my notebook, wand, and a sweater, and went to the common room.

It was late, so I was surprised to see that the common room was already occupied. Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise Zabini, and Pansy Parkinson were all sitting around the fireplace, leaning in like they were in some heated conversation.

"It's our duty to help him," Pansy whispered, her dark brows furrowed just like her younger sister's. "He can't do it alone."

"He doesn't want our help," Blaise responded angrily.

"Well something has to be done-" Pansy began to say, but stopped when she noticed me standing in the corridor. All at once, their heads turned to look at me. My adrenaline spiked. They were a fearsome looking bunch.

"Can we help you?" Pansy said to me, but I could tell it was her way of saying 'this room is occupied, so scram.'

I shifted uncomfortably. "I-I was just going to get some fresh air."

They continued eyeing me as I crossed the room to the exit. I expected Pansy to say something about me breaking curfew, but she said nothing; her only wish for me to leave. Even when my back was turned, I could feel the cold tingle of their gazes following me until the moment the door closed behind me. And in the dark hall outside of the Slytherin house, I was utterly alone.

I could take the staircase up to the rest of the castle and risk being caught by a patrolling prefect or professor. Or, I could take one of the unknown doors in the basement I had never used before. I knew a few belonged to Professor Snape; but I always assumed the others were storage closets.

A storage closet seems like a good place to hide in for an hour or so while I wait for Pansy and her lot to clear out, I decided, and opened the door closest to my right.

To my surprise, it was not a storage closet; it was a passageway containing a staircase. Why haven't I used this before? I wondered. My curiosity drew me forward, and I used my wand to light the sconces lining the passage. As I climbed the stairs, I saw light at the top; and realized that this passage led almost directly to a secret path to the Black Lake.

Perfect. I felt the relief of the cold night air on my skin, and tugged on my sweater, making my way to the sandy bank. There wasn't another soul in sight, but I kept my wand out and ready just in case something were to be lurking in the shadows. If I wasn't feeling so pissed, I might have turned back. But a part of me was kind of looking for a fight.