DRACO'S POV
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I was walking back to the common room until Snape called me to his office. I was a bit confused as we never really talk or had any interaction alone, but I followed him into his office anyway, trying not to say anything.
He sit down at his chair and direct me to sit in front of him. I did as I was told.
"Your father, Lucius wanted me to tell you about this since he's busy." he said in his usual tone.
Of course, he's busy. Like always.
"He wants you to know that something is going to happen later this year. And he don't want you participating in it and not ruin it either," he stopped for a second, "by telling anyone about this." he ended.
"What's gonna happen later?" I asked, "Is it that important?"
I exactly know what's gonna happen.
He stared at me for a moment before speaking again.
"You're dismissed." he ordered as he waved his wand to the door to which it opens, signaling me to go.
I quickly walked out of the dim lit office and as soon as I'm one inch out, the door immediately slammed shut behind me. I scoffed as I kept walking down to the common room and replaying all the things Snape said in my head.
"Something is going to happen later this year." "He don't want you participating in it and not ruin it either."
What if the thing he said over the summer is actually going to happen? I mean the group know all about it but.. not exactly about it. What if she knows?
I came to a sudden halt when I see a wall in front of me. I muttered the password and instantly went in when it opened. I was just about to run upstairs but I stopped in my track when I see someone's head poking out from the couch in front of the fireplace.
It was Hela.
"I thought you already have fallen asleep." I chuckled as I sat next to her, putting down my bag on the floor and taking off my robe, stacking the books on to couch to the table in front of us.
"No, I still have to finished this Herbology essay and then I can sleep." she sighed as she looked at me.
She looked tired. Her eyes droopy, wand in her hair while it was messy and ink all over her hands.
"What are you doing up this late?" she smiles, tilting her hand to the side.
"Just helping Snape with something he need," I lied, "And why do you want to know?" I tilted my head like she did.
She looked down at her scroll, pink in the cheeks, "Nothing. Just want to know what you're up to." she smirked as she quickly rolled up her scroll and put it aside her and took out a new one from her bag.
"What are you working on?" I suddenly ask as my hand went across her and grab the scroll, "Belladonna?" I opened it and my eyes instantly scan the beautifully written page.
Her handwriting is beautifully written in cursive that you can actually read. Everything was so neat and in place. No ink scratches, ink spots or smudges.
"No.. Chinese Chopping Cabbage," she exhaled exhausted, as her eyes fixed between the book she has opened on her lap and the new scroll that she just took out which is now almost halfway as she wrote, "I'm almost done."
"Oh, you can look at mine if you want," I blurted out but it was too late to take back my words, "I finished it yesterday." I continued, putting a smile on my face as I rolled back her parchment and gave it back to her. "You have really nice handwriting."
She giggled her famous giggle as she took it from my hand.
"No thanks, I don't like copying and thank you, my mom taught me how to write them pretty." she smiled a little, "She like things to be perfect so." she shrugged, putting the scroll back in her bag as I nodded understandingly.
I mean just look at her. Her clothes are all ironed neatly, her hair, her hands and her fingers are always clean and soft. Even her shoes are always polished and everything is in place.
"And why are suddenly being nice to me?" she asked, squinting her eyebrows as she eyed me suspiciously.
I froze for a second but before I laughed nervously to shrug it off.
"I'm just being genuine," threading my hand through my hair and leaned back down on the couch, putting my hands behind my head, "You know, a human being."
She bursted out laughing, her hair turning blue making the smile on my face faded away.
"You?! A genui-" she stuttered, trying to catch her breath, "A genuine person?" she snorted before her face suddenly straighten when she looked directly at me, "Not even in a million years." she scoffed.
"What?! Can't I be nice for once?" I defended, putting my hands in the air while she kept laughing, "In my defense, I was left unsupervised." I chuckled.
"You've already tried, Malfoy and look where it got us," she recalled pointing a finger at me, "which I still hate you for." she sighed.
She's right...
"Rubbish! Then, do you want me to st-"
Our laughs were cut off by someone stomping down the stairs. I looked at my watch to see it's already 10:42 pm.
It's already past curfew.
Her hand which was rested on my thigh squeezed tight but the person slowly appeared at the end of the stairs was Crabbe. We both let out the breath we were holding.
"You guys scared me." he exhaled, a hand on his chest, "Oh.. Malfoy, we need your help for something tomorrow..." he hesitated.
"For what?"
Please don't say anything. Just don't.
"Umm- a little prank for Granger and we need some ideas so, will you help?" he asked, looking straight at me but flickering his eyes once or twice over to Hela, telling me that he didn't want to talk about it here.
And I remembered she and Granger are friends.
Could he just shut up?
"Sure, I'll come. Just wait for me upstairs." I quickly gestured him upstairs, trying to cut the conversation short and turned to Hela
I was about to say that I don't want to be apart of it, but before I can even open my mouth, she cut me off.
Why does she always have to cut me off?
"Go, go," waving her hands to the stairs, not looking at me from her book, "Go make Hermione's day more brilliant." she sighed, patting her hand on my thigh before taking it away, "Just.. don't tell me anything about it. That is quite possibly the last thing I want to hear anyways." she chuckled harshly.
I just looked at her with a frown on my face, not moving.
"Go! They're waiting for you." now finally looking up and pushed my shoulder lightly.
"Alright, alright!" I sighed, "Bloody hell, you really want me gone that badly, huh?" I forcefully laughed as I got up, grabbing my bag and my robe with me, "Well goodnight, Hela." I said as I run upstairs, not waiting a response from her.
I wish I can explain to her but she never give me a chance to do anything. I wish I was more nicer to her when I first met her... like I always wished that I was nicer to Potter when we first met. I regret a lot of shit in my life.
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HELA'S POV
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While at breakfast next morning, I feel myself eyeing Draco and the boys waiting for the bomb to explode with what they did. I really wanted to ask Draco what he did but still I don't want to hear anything from him with what I said to him last night about not wanting to hear anything about it.
My thoughts were interrupted by the drops of mails from above.
They instantly looks at the Gryffindor table and my eyes also follow their direction. It landed on Hermione. One owl after one drops the mails in front of her and also spreads across to Ron and Harry.
"What are you lot looking at?" Pansy asks, looking up between me and Theo after she has folded the Daily Prophet that she was reading and put it on the table.
"The boys did something to Hermione." I whisper back as I carefully watch Hermione opens the piled up mails one by one with the help of the two boys around her.
"What?!"
I look back at Draco to see that he was so interested for her reaction that he didn't even care that I was looking at him.
BOOM!
I turn back to Hermione whose hands were now covered in yellowish green thick liquid that starts to steam up. Laughter fills the hall as soon as the mail exploded. They start to burn her skin as huge boils form on them, making it looks like she's wearing thick knobbly gloves.
Fred, Harry and Ron tries to clean them off using magic or just with plain cloth but it wasn't working. But just making it much more worse with the rubbing force of the cloth that Ron was using.
She quickly grabs her bag, tears running down her face before heading out of the door.
"What was that?!" I turn around to the boys who were having fits of laughter. "I'm asking, what was that?!" my hair turning red as I clench my jaw.
Draco stops laughing and clears his throat.
"Undiluted Bubotuber pus." he says.
"And whose idea was that?"
The boys shared some eye contact, looking very uncomfortable. I read Theo's mind and I instantly knew the answer. I quickly got up, grabbing my bag and walk out of the hall.
"Hela, wait! We have herbology in 5 minutes!" Daphne yells but her voice just fades away as I quickly walk to the hospital wing.
He will pay for it.
I walk in to see Hermione trying her best not to slip tears out of her as she bite her lips while Madam Pomfrey cast spells and put potions on it.
"Are you alright, Mione?" I ask as I got near her, looking at her hands which was now slowly starts to loose more of the red and green color.
"Yeah." she nods and sniffs, her voice cracking due to the agony that she's feeling.
She winces and hisses as Madam Pomfrey put more potions and cast spells as her mouth rumble words after words.
"I will get them back, Mione." I exhale, looking at her face filled with pain and dried tears, "Sorry, you have to go through all of these... you know.. all these hate mails."
"Well.. they don't really bother me that much, no worrie-" she winces once again when Madam Pomfrey starts to bandage her hands.
"Sorry, dear but these boils will even eat your hands in a minute if I didn't put them wrapped them up with the bandages and the potions." she smiles apologetically, "Hold on for a moment." she carefully put down Hermione's hands on her lap before she walks away to get more supplies.
"Does it hurt?" I ask, jokingly as I smile to cheer her up.
"No, it doesn't, Hela. It feels great." she smiles back but laughs when I start to laugh.
"I'm sorry about this, Mione. Draco did it to you." I carefully take one her of hands and look at the damage that they did, "I will kill him later."
"Hermione!" someone yelps from behind me.
We look behind me to see an out of breath Marie who slowly walks to us and sits down on the opposite bed beside Hermione. She coughs a couple of times before taking a deep breath and exhaling.
"Malfoy did this, didn't he?" as soon as her breathing calms down.
"Yep."
"Bloody git." she cusses under her breath when Madam Pomfrey came back with more potions and loads of bandages in a tray.
We all sit in silence for more 30 minutes while Madam Pomfrey slowly put bandages after bandages and potions after potions in finished layers, trying her best to be cautious wrapping Hermione's now fragile fingers. Hermione's occasionally wincing or hissing during the process and Madam Pomfrey looking up to her face and back down to her hands as she carefully finish the process.
"And we're done, my dear." Madam Pomfrey mumbles as she seals the end of the bandage with a soft tap of her wand.
We all look at Hermione's now thickly bandaged hands as she raises them up in the air to look front and back.
"You can just use a spell to get the bandages off whenever you feel its starts to loosen and," Madam Pomfrey shows Hermione a bottle of purple looking potion, "thinly rub this all over your hands before going to bed." she advices as she puts the small bottle into Hermione's bag.
"And everything, including scars and marks left by the boil will be all cleared by morning." she added before cleaning everything.
"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." Hermione smiled and Madam Pomfrey smiled back before putting away the tray fills with empty bottles with a wave of her wand.
"By the way, my dears, what happened?" she asks, looking stern as she rests a hand on her hips.
"Hate mails from students and one of them has this." Hermione's shoulders slump as she answers with a sigh, "But I will be alright now I have everything for it be gone." She quickly smiles appreciatively which Madam Pomfrey returns with such happiness.
"Okay, you all are free to go now."
"Thank you once again, Madam Pomfrey." We all glance at her as we walk out of the infirmary.
"We have missed Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures but we can get in time if we actually want to go." Marie rumbles on as she looks at me and Hermione from her schedule.
"And me and Marie will deal with Draco and the others later." I smile as we open the front door of the castle, "And don't worry what will happen next to us, we can deal with it and I know that you can too." I compliment us, making both Marie and Hermione grin.
"You guys are the best." Hermione smiles as she brings us closer by our necks and hugs us, "Now let just enjoy the day today with peace." she exhales as we walk to Hagrid's cabin to see that students were always walking back to castle, out of it.
"Hermione! Marie! You missed the best lesson ever!"
"Hela, you missed the best lesson ever!"
Pansy, Theo, Ron and Harry excitedly exclaimed as soon as we got closer to them before looking at each other with what they said.
We all laughed before we all depart from Hagrid's cabin, back to the castle and continue our classes for the day.
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Today was a very long and exhausting day. Like always, Draco was still making fun of the golden trio while the others laugh along except for Pansy, who has been weirdly in a bad mood since morning to which I don't questioned.
And I have been seeing the same girl that I saw a few days ago when the incident with Snape and Karkaroff happened, getting a bit too close to Draco at times.
I never paid much attention to her until today. I was just not in the mood to play along by anyone's side or read anyone's mind since I got a little bit of sleep last night and had a bit of nightmare.
Days are getting long and getting more tired and tired everyday. I think it's just me... I really don't know.
At dinner, I ate only a little as I was very sleepy and tired that I can't even kept my head raised to even know what I was eating. I told the group I'm just gonna go back to the dorm to sleep early and Draco gave me a weird look while talking to the same brunette girl.
I ignored him and lazily walked out of the hall and down to the dungeons, trying my best to open my eyes.
I prop down on my bed, sighing, not even caring to take my uniform off but it's started to make me feel uncomfortable and tight on my body the more I think about it, so I took everything off.
I feel loads better.
I finally look at myself in the mirror to see a tired, worn out and red eyed me looking back.
I look terrible.
Getting such little sleep and having nightmares again never do well for me. It never did.
I thought they would get better when I'm here. But clearly they find a way to come back to me whenever I'm under pressured.
I sit down at my bed again and was about to write a letter to mum, but knowing better not to make her worry, I stopped and just laid down on my bed. And as soon as my head, hits the soft pillow underneath, I fell asleep.
I'm suddenly in a cold place, surrounded with tall hedges. My wand in hand, ready to attack whatever is coming to me. I can feel fear everywhere in my body as I frantically look around my surroundings. I can even feel my bare feet touching the soft but wet grass ground.
Not this place again.
I took another scan around my surrounding to find an escape but I was fully blocked by hedges. Everything direction I took, hedges. Another direction, branches. Next turn, hedges. Another turn, tree.
Branches. Leaves. Hedges. Tree. Branches. Leaves. Hedges. Tree.
This goes on what it feels like ages, like it always has been. The air around me has gotten more thicker like it always has been and my lungs are having a hard time trying to breathe in.
Like it always has been.
My eyes start to spin but they finally land on a tall broad man, standing in the same position like he always does. His hair, long to his shoulder. Black and wavy. His wand also in hand, ready to attack the same person he attacked last time.
Me.
My body froze and I even felt my brain turn into ice but it burns like hell.
He's here. Again. I can never see his face whenever I try.
His wand hand would always copies every movement I made and sometimes, I would be killed by him.
But this time, he has his wand lowered to his side. Even if I can't see his face, I can still feel his eyes on me. One wrong move and it will get nasty.
"Who are you and what do you want?!" I yell, trying not to let him hear my voice trembling as my body trembles, "Tell me!"
He chuckles roughly, "We've been here before, darling. I told you before, your own biggest fear." he slowly raises his wand at me but when I was about to raise mine, "Oh, I wouldn't do that if I was you." he cackles.
"I need a name!" I yell again, tightened the grip on my wand.
"A name?" he laughs manically, "Oh, I'm sure you know who I am." he slowly walks to me while I walk backwards, trying not to stumble, "Don't be scared and give me a smile, come on."
I didn't move my lips an inch and I couldn't run away more. I was back into a hedge and there's no more escape.
Like it always have been.
"I SAID SMILE!"
His voice fills with anger but it also sound amused. My body stiffen as his wand now pokes into my cheek but I wouldn't dare to move any parts of my body. My mouth has gone dry and hallow and now I was struggling more to breathe.
"Wak..."
"Crucio!"
My body sizzles with agony as though electric was coursing through my body. I yell and shout with every energy I have that has left in body with my eyes shut tight that it starts to hurt my own eyes but nothing comes out. The sizzling wouldn't stop but gets more worse and I can't fight back the tears I was holding anymore.
I open my eyes to look up at the supposedly face in the dark with the strength I can feel left in my body. He pins down my hands with his knee when I tries to fight back with everything I have but it was no use.
He was much stronger. Stronger than last time.
I have never in my life felt this useless. Helpless. Worthless.
"Wake up..." a voice can be hear softly far away from me.
"Let me go! LET ME GO HOME!" I finally cry out with the best in me, trying my best wiggle out of the mass of his body, using my legs for help but they were lifeless and lumpy.
"Oh you are home.. with me." he cackles.
"Wake up, Hela! Wake up!" another voice slowly pierce into my ears.
"AVADA KADAVRA!"
I jolt up, screaming, still in my bed with Pansy looking at me with her hand to her mouth. I can feel that I was cold sweating. They were dripping down my head and back, hot fresh tears running down my face, shaking and breathing harshly. My hair soaking wet with sweat as well as my silk night dress.
I look up to see everyone looking back at me with fear and concern in their eyes.
I hug the first person nearest me tightly, Pansy.
"You're burning up, Hela." she acknowledges, hugging me back as she strokes the back of my head, "What happened?"
"He's back to kill me, Pansy. He pinned me down and wouldn't let me go. He's back, much more stronger. He's back."
"Who's back?!" Pansy pulls away in panic, her eyes widen and her hands trembling as they hold my cheek.
Everyone including Daphne, Theo, Blaise and Draco is now around my bed.
"He's-" I take in a deepest breath I have ever took in my life as Pansy runs her fingers through my wet hair while Daphne cast some spells to cool and calm me down. "It's-"
"Where did all this bruises come from?" Draco questions as he takes my left arm and scans it. "Who did this?!"
"I-" I looked at his angry face in confusion before looking down at my own arms, "It's the place where he pins me down with his knees."
Pansy finally releases me and takes my right arm and sees the same purple hue on it.
"Is your dreams effecting your own life?" Daphne finally speaks softly as she looks at me.
"It never happened before." I sigh as I close my eyes but every time I do, he reappears back.
"Look, it's fading." Blaise points out.
Everyone eyes are now looking between my two arms as the bruises slowly fades into my skin.
"How does the man looks like?" Draco asks again, now much calmer.
"I don't know. I could never see it." I whimper, "It always covered with his hair or the darkness around us." now tears streaming down my face. "What time is it?"
Everyone looks at whatever they're wearing on their wrists.
"11:11" Theo finally speaks, "Why?"
It's the same time every night I wake up.
"Nothing, I'm just making sure." I sigh, "I'm alright now, don't worry. Thank you for worrying about me. You guys should go to bed now." I wave them away with my hand, "It's late and Daphne, you have healer classes tomorrow early morning. I don't want you to be late." I rub my eye while she nods and takes off her robe, "You lot needs sleep."
"Are you sure?" Draco softly asks as he looks at me. His eyes soften as soon as mine's fell onto his face, "I can sleep with you if you want." he blurts out, shocking everyone in an instance.
Blaise clears his throat, Theo having a fit of chuckles in the back with Daphne on her bed while Pansy was too stunned to even move.
"I mean, not like that." he shakes his head in embarrassment, "I'm just asking you need me to sleep with you- I mean, yeah- I mean, no-"
We all finally burst out laughing, while I giggle softly, cutting him short to where he's now going to explain everything but at last, he joins in and laughs along with us.
"I mean, if you want to but I'm go change now and.." I stand up, slowly to which Draco's eyes follows me and helps me get up, "you should change into something comfortable too." I smile, taking my wand with me before going into the bathroom with the girls.
I immediately put on a silencing charm as soon as the door closes behind us and Daphne squeals in excitement.
But I can't help but be worry about myself.
How are things gonna go after this?
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dont worry, blaise is sleeping on the couch in their room.
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