I know that in the film the bathroom in which Harry attacks Draco is different to how it looks in the second film, but I think in the book of the Half-Blood Prince it refers to the attack taking place in Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom. Also, I thought having a screaming ghost would make it more dramatic.
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A week later, I sat alone in the Great Hall, nibbling melancholically at my breakfast. Honey had a detention this morning, and Sophia was offering extra Quidditch lessons to one of the new beaters, who was in desperate need of extra training. As usual, Draco was nowhere to be seen, and I wasn't particularly in the mood to sit with Hermione, Harry and a now better Ron and listen to Hermione's deflections about how Ron had exactly broken up with Lavender.
I dipped one of my bread soldiers into the boiled egg and scanned the room boredly. Everybody was going about their regular business - chatting with friends about the events of yesterday, catching up on homework due for the first lesson. At the top table, the teachers were talking quietly among themselves, most likely about trivial things, and nobody seemed to notice the missing figures from the room.
I shut my eyes, and found my mind flashing back to another, happier time.
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Everybody was staring at Blaise and I.
Perhaps I should have anticipated the looks of admiration mingled with jealousy, but I hated people looking at me, even then. Blaise lapped up the attention, grinning broadly and waving at his friends, clearly happy with the care I'd taken over my appearance tonight and the fact that his date looked - as he put it - positively mesmerizing.
I had put a lot of effort into my dress, as all the girls had. I'd bought it from Madam Malkin's, and felt stunning in it. The dress was made from midnight-blue chiffon and designed in the style of the Ancient Greek ladies, with an v-neck bodice that cinched slightly at the hips and a dark blue ribbon around the waist and tied in a bow at the back. A few blue sequins had been sewn into the floaty skirt and bodice, and I'd accessorized with a silver charm bracelet and pretty blue droplet earrings. Sophia had done my hair for me - plaiting the sides and pinning it into a bun at the nape of my neck. Along with the blue corsage that Blaise had given me, I felt absolutely stunning.
I nervously allowed Blaise to lead me towards where the other Slytherins in our year were waiting for the entrance of the champions. Sophia looked amazing in a short pink dress with a tutu-like skirt and a beaded bodice, and Honey looked positively fatal in a slinky red dress and matching red lips. The boys, all dressed in their finest dress robes, admired the appearances of the girls as we arrived. I blushed as I heard the approving intake of breathe when their eyes fell upon me.
"Li, you look beautiful" Goyle gasped as if he could hardly believe it. I rolled my eyes, and Sophia slapped his arm jokingly. "She always looks beautiful, twit" she joked. Goyle shrugged his shoulders, "true, but tonight you look..."
"Stunning."
We turned to see whom was behind us and who had spoken. There, the final members of the fourth year Slytherin group had arrived - Draco Malfoy accompanied by a smug-looking Pansy Parkinson. It was Draco who had spoken.
I had never really known Draco - not well enough to call him a friend at least. Despite the fact that we'd been in the same house and year since our first year, he was simply a person that I had never really been particularly close to. His views on pure-blood supremacy had always disgusted me, and his arrogant personality had driven me even further away.
Draco Malfoy was not somebody I regularly associated with.
Pansy on the otherhand was somebody that I was friends with, although not by choice. I despised her, but since she was one of the most popular girls in Slytherin - although some would argue still beneath me in the whole friendship ranking - and I shared a dorm room with her, it was difficult to avoid her. She looked pretty tonight, as much as it pained me to admit it, in a olive green strapless dress with a large, princess-like skirt. A pearl necklace sat on her slim throat, and a conceited smile decorated her face, although it soon faded when she heard her date - and supposedly her boyfriend's - compliment of me.
I smiled softly at Draco, before turning my back to him and focusing on the four Triwizard Champions; Fleur, a bitchy girl from Beauxbatons who was beautiful and knew it; Victor Krum, a long time Quidditch hero of mine although he had so far failed to reach my expectations; Harry, a friend and the youngest Triwizard champion ever; and then finally my best friend and the boy that everybody was rooting for, above even the famous Harry Potter.
Cedric exuded confidence as he strode into the room, with an ecstatic looking Cho at his side. I grinned and clapped along with everybody else; in his dress robes with his bronze curls freshly brushed and his shoes polished, Cedric did look like a fairy-tale prince. Originally he'd asked me to accompany him to the Yule Ball as friends, but I'd told him to ask Cho Chang - whom he'd had a crush on for as long as I could remember - instead. It had clearly been a good decision; in her oriental style silver gown with a small puddle train, Cho looked beautiful, and just like the princess that Ced deserved.
I winked at him as he swept past, and in return he shot me a pained expression. Cedric hated slow dancing, particularly when he was the centre of attention as one of the Champions, and now he would have to make it through an entire song without stumbling. Over the past three weeks I'd spent hours trying to teach him how to do the simplest dances possible, but perhaps Cedric's only flaw was that he had two left feet. Turning and leaping didn't come naturally to him, and although he was a wonder on the Quidditch field, he clearly was nowhere near as talented on his own two feet. I crossed my fingers behind my back, wishing him all the luck I could.
Everybody watched as Cedric and Cho, Harry and Parvati Patil, Fleur and Michael Corner, and shockingly, Krum and Hermione Granger all lined up on the dance floor and took their positions for the waltz. Suddenly the music started, and the men had whisked their partners away. I gasped in surprise as Cedric flowed impeccably in time to the music, lifting Cho at the right moments and not fumbling a step. How had he learned to dance all of a sudden? A wide grin was plastered on his face and Cho looked equally as surprised as I was as Cedric jumped in time with the drum and twirled Cho to the violin.
On the other side of the dance floor which seemed to be made entirely from slip-free ice, Harry was stumbling and having more difficulty than Ced, making Parvati turn red with embarrassment as he lifted her a full two seconds after every other female had touched the ground. Poor Harry - perhaps I should have spent my time teaching him rather than Cedric, who seemed to be having no trouble now.
Soon came the moment for everybody else to join. I dutifully followed as Blaise led me to the centre of the dance floor and we joined in, twirling and jumping with everybody else. At least some of the attention was taken away from Harry and his dreadful dancing.
All too soon the song was over, and Blaise disappeared to get us some drinks. I felt somebody tap my shoulder, and turned to see a beaming Cedric looking down at me.
"Ced!" I exclaimed, giving him a hug. "How did you learn to dance like that?"
Cedric winked cheekily at me, before looking at my appearance, and his smile changing into an 'o' shape. I blushed as Cedric took my hand and twirled me slowly. "Juliet..." he whispered in disbelief, "what happened to the little girl I used to throw mud at?" I smiled awkwardly and gave him a quick peck on the cheek as Blaise returned. "She grew up." I called back.
Cedric refused to let me go however. He barely looked at Blaise as he removed the drink I had just been handed from my hand and shoved it back at my date. "You're dancing one with me," he said, more of a command than a question, and took my hand and dragged me away. I giggled as he led me to the now empty dance floor, and we began to sway in time to the waltz.
"How did you become so grown-up Jules?" he breathed. I shrugged my shoulders and smiled cheekily. "How did you learn to dance so suddenly? Isn't the world full of questions!"
Cedric rolled his eyes with a smirk. "I'll tell you my secret if you tell me yours."
I twirled beneath his arm and chuckled heartily. "Fine, you first."
Cedric lifted me up into the air and turned slowly, holding me aloft. My cheeks flared red as everybody turned to watch us, and yet Cedric hardly seemed to notice the attention. He set me down with a light thump, and then grinned. "Soloman's Soiree Shoes."
I gasped, "you bought dancing shoes?"
Cedric grinned. "Yep, enchanted by Soloman himself and guaranteed not to let me fumble a step."
"Cedric Diggory, that's cheating! I thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be incredibly loyal and true?"
Cedric twirled me beneath his arm. "You're right, but it's hardly cheating. I'd call it something else, just like Potter and that trick with the broom in the first task."
I rolled my eyes. "And what would you call it, Ced?"
"Resourcefulness."
I snorted in an unlady-like fashion, and Cedric began to chuckle too. We said no more for the rest of the dance, I simple shut my eyes and remembered the feeling of security I always felt with Cedric nearby, so that I could never forget.
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When I opened my eyes, two years had passed and Cedric was dead.
I was back in the Great Hall, eating my breakfast alone, without a friend in sight. Except now when I looked up I saw a flash of blond hair at the entrance. My heart picked up as Draco stepped forward a little, but when I saw the panicked expression on his face and followed his gaze to Harry who was in a deep conversation with Katie Bell, my stomach dropped with dread.
No Draco, please no.
All of a sudden, Harry turned to look at Draco, anger on his face. Draco's face changed to one of dread, and he turned on his heel and quickly strode from the room. I found myself rising as Harry turned away from Katie and began to stride after him. I couldn't let them hurt each other.
I grabbed my wand from the table and ran out of the Great Hall, barging past Perseus as I did so. "Juliet?" he called as I rushed onward, quickening my pace so to catch up with Harry, who was disappearing around the corner, most likely hot on Draco's heels. I tried to call after my friend but he didn't hear me, and continued to race after Draco. I quickened my pace, following as Harry began to bound up some stairs. He was quicker at running that I.
I panted as I ran along the corridors - Harry was now out of sight - and searched desperately for either boy. They couldn't have gotten that far.
I stopped as I heard a crashing from down the hall, emanating from the first floor girl's bathroom - Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Was it just the ghost making a commotion?
I shook my head - don't be foolish Juliet, how could a ghost smash things, their hands would pass straight through it.
The bathroom had been abandoned since Myrtle's murder 50 years ago. In our second year, Harry, Ron and Hermione had utilized it for the creation of their polyjuice potion (I was, admittedly, furious when I learned that they had knocked out two of my friends, stolen their hairs, infiltrated the sacred place that is the Slytherin common room and impersonated the two said friends). At the end of the year, they discovered it was there that the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets lay, and Ron and Harry entered and rescued Ginny, defeating Tom Riddle in the process. As far as I knew, it was locked the rest of the time, but a simple usage of 'alohomora' was enough to give you entrance.
The door was unlocked now. I slowly turned the handle and stepped inside, my shoes instantly meeting a puddle of water. I scan the room and raise my wand defensively. The sinks have been smashed in a clear fights, the water pouring from taps and open drains. The wood of the toilet cubicles lays in splinters on the ground, battered from the various curses that had clearly been thrown. Pieces of porcelain from the broken toilets and sinks cracked beneath my feet as I nervously stepped forward.
A piercing scream came from above. I looked upwards and saw the pale form of Moaning Myrtle, perched on top of one of toilet stalls, sobbing uncontrollably. She barely noticed me as she screamed and cried, no wonder she had earned her nickname.
Fear flooded through me and I raised my wand defensively in front of me. "Draco?" I called weakly, my heart pounding in my chest. "Harry?"
Neither boy responded. I repeated both names, but there was no reply.
I stared down at my feet, and saw that a small trickle of red blood was being carried by the water. I followed the trail slowly along the row of toilets, the blood grew from a stream into a river as I got closer to the sinks and main portion of the room. The direction in which Myrtle was facing.
Nausea rose in my throat as I shook violently, my wand barely pointing straight as I turned the corner. Then I saw him.
Lying in a great lake of his own blood, struggling for breathe. The cloth of his white school shirt was slashed in places, and I stared in horror as I saw the blood pouring from each individual wound. His skin was paler than ever, his eyes bulging as he writhed and fought to clutch onto whatever life he had still in him. The life that was quickly washing away as the blood was swept into the drains of the bathroom by the flow of water. His wand lay a metre or two away, and there was no sign of his attacker, although I was sure that the attacker wouldn't hurt me.
I dropped to Draco's side, tears streaming down my face as I pulled his weak body into my arms and rested his head on my lap.
"Draco..." I whimpered, tears falling from my eyes and landing on his skin. I wished that I could cry rivers and wash the blood away. I wished that my tears could heal his wounds, just as Fawkes the Phoenix could.
I wished I could stop his pain.
I pressed my forehead against Draco's - his skin was frightfully cold. "Draco I'm so sorry that this happened to you, please don't give in. Please just hold on a little bit longer, for me?"
Draco whimpered and his eyes flickered, his pale eyelashes dancing on his cheeks. I saw his mouth move as he tried to speak my name, to ask me to help him, but his voice abandoned him and a tear escaped his eye too. It was not like Draco to cry.
"I love you Draco" I declared, "I love you so much, and you have to keep fighting. I'm selfish, I'd never realised it until now, but you can't die. I won't let you. Because I need you, Draco Malfoy, I can't survive without you. How am I going to live in our little treehouse by myself? How could I ever move on and fall in love again, marry somebody and have children, knowing that it's not with you?" I wiped some of the scarlet blood from Draco's face, only for it to reappear from the cuts.
"Help him!" Myrtle screeched. "He's not like everybody thinks - people bully him you know, they're unfair to him. It's not his fault that they've asked it of him. They'll kill him otherwise!" Myrtle whined and threw her hand to her head dramatically. "Who?" I hissed at her, stroking Draco's forehead as I did so. "What do they want him to do?"
The ghost simply screamed once more and then crashed into the toilet basin, disappearing into her sewage network with an almighty splash. I immediately forgot her as I looked back to Draco. "HELP!" I screamed as loud as I could. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
There were slow footsteps behind me. I glanced over my shoulder, and saw Harry walking towards us, horror on his face.
"You did this?" I muttered.
Harry stared back at me, his mouth open as he stood still and watched Draco and I.
Draco croaked hoarsely in his agony. "HELP ME!" I screamed once more, tears clogging my throat as I bawled in horror. Draco was going to die - Harry had murdered him. My body racked as I stroked Draco's head. I didn't know any spells to help him, all my knowledge having abandoned me. My wand sat uselessly by my side.
There was splashing through the water as finally, somebody answered my calls for help. Professor Snape dropped down onto Draco's other side, hurriedly assessing the damage. "What happened here?" he asked me, his voice frustratingly level. How could he be so calm?
I shook my head. "I found him like this, please help him Professor."
Snape pulled his wand out. I squeezed Draco's hand as Snape began to recite a spell, pointing his wand at the failing heart in Draco's chest. "Vulnera Sanenter." I watched helplessly as - miraculously - the blood that had poured from Draco's wounds seemed to stop flowing away from him and turned back on itself, rushing towards it's master. The red trails washed over Draco's body and flowed back into the wounds, as if he had never lost any blood at all. Snape repeated the incantation a second time, and the wounds seemed to heal and the skin closed. Draco's white skirt was clean again, simply wet from lying in the water.
Finally, Snape repeated it once more, and lowered his wand. Together we watched as a small amount of colour returned to Draco's skin and cheeks, and he no longer looked so dead. I stroked his cheek gently as air filled his lungs and he gasped, his heart beating strongly once more. He was alive, my Draco was alive.
Snape stood up, leaving Draco, who was waking, to see to Harry. He stopped in front of my friend - whose eyes were still transfixed on Draco and I - and hissed something in his ear. Harry barely reacted as he continued to watch us, only finally tearing his gaze away and hobbling out of the bathroom.
"Ju...Juli...et?"
I stared down at Draco, whose eyes were still closed, but his mouth whispering my name. "I'm here darling" I whispered, pressing my lips to his forehead. "I'm here."
"We should take Mr Malfoy to the hospital wing immediately" Snape declared. "If dittany is applied quickly enough, we can get rid of those scars that will no doubt form. Can you walk, Miss Weasley?"
I nodded, and helped Snape to raise Draco to his feet. We tossed an arm over each of our shoulders and supported his weight, working together to hold him upright. I picked up Draco's wand and shoved it into my pocket, before helping Snape to haul Draco from the room and away from the scene of the crime. How would Harry be punished for this? Not only had he destroyed a school bathroom, but he'd nearly murdered a fellow student.
At that moment, he could rot in Azkaban for all I cared.
Draco - despite being slim - was heavy, and Snape did most of the carrying. I held onto Draco's hand tightly as we passed other students, who all stopped and stared at the scene. The whispers followed us as we made our way through the castle as if on a silent death march. We passed Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout, who both gasped in horror as they saw Draco's weak state and the red scars that we could hopefully banish with a little dittany. No doubt that the gossip of Draco Malfoy's attack would be around the entire school by the end of first lesson.
When we finally reached the hospital wing, Madam Pompfrey leaped into action, helping us to settle Draco onto a free bed and rushing to gather the various medicines she needed. "Can you stay with him whilst I fetch Professor Dumbledore?" Snape asked me. I nodded weakly as he swept off, black robes flying, and perched on the side of Draco's bed as Madam Pompfrey returned.
She uncorked the small bottle containing the Essence of Dittany, and I watched as she took the pipette and took a deep breathe. She removed Draco's shredded shirt and started to dispense small droplets of the brown liquid into each cut. Draco's eyes flew open as he screamed out in pain. Madam Pompfrey was undeterred, continuing to administer the potion. "You're hurting him" I whispered. The matron shook her head. "I never said it would be pretty to watch, if you don't want to, then you can leave."
Her sharp words broke me from my foolishness and I clutched Draco's hand, staring as she squeezed more and more of the liquid into the wounds. It seemed to smoke as the potion - which hardly seemed to be one of healing at the moment - seeped through his skin and fought against the poisons within. A fresh layer of skin began to grow and Draco clenched his teeth, the pain having been enough to wake him from his unconsciousness. His skin had gone from cold as ice to burning hot, and I watched as Madam Pompfrey squeezed the potion into the last cut and then screwed the lid back on. "You're in for a rough night Malfoy - the dittany has to be applied every three hours." Madam Pompfrey snatched the bottle back up and stormed back to her desk.
I took a piece of cloth that she'd left on the table and slowly dabbed Draco's sweating forehead. He watched me as I cleaned his face with cold water in an effort to stop the stinging from the potion. Suddenly, he grasped my hand and stopped me. Terrified that I'd hurt him, I stopped and stared down at him, only to see he was smiling.
It was a painful smile, but a smile nonetheless.
"Thank you..." he whispered, his voice still weak and barely distinguishable. But I heard his thanks and it lifted my heart to know that he was ok, and he appreciated me, not that I had done much. "It was Snape who saved you Draco" I told him as I continued to wash his face and neck. "But why did he need to?"
Draco attempted to shrug his shoulders but simply winced. "Potter just attacked me."
I shook my head. "Don't lie to me Draco, why did he attack you?"
Draco stared at me. I took a deep breathe. "There was something Myrtle said, about somebody going to kill you if you didn't do something. What did she mean?"
Draco's eyes bulged in horror. I stared at him nervously as I awaited his reaction, any reaction. I silently urged him to speak, to tell me the truth that I needed to hear. I needed Draco to tell me what I feared I already knew. He'd been put up to something by the Death Eaters, and they were going to kill him if he didn't complete their task.
Whatever it was, Draco refused to tell me.
There was a swish of cloaks as Snape - accompanied by Dumbledore, McGonagall and Madam Pompfrey - returned to the room. I sighed as I stood up, still not letting go of Draco's hand, and allowed the teachers to crowd around the bed.
"Quick work Severus" Dumbledore commented as he stared down at Draco. I noticed that Draco had shut his eyes and was pretending to be asleep, although there were clear veins of uncomfortableness protruding from his forehead. Draco clearly hated being surrounded by so many teachers. "Who was responsible for Mr Malfoy's attack?"
"Potter" Snape sneered with obvious delight at snitching on his least favourite pupil.
Dumbledore sighed. "Minerva, I suggest that you confer with Severus about the appropriate punishment for Mr Potter. After all, this attack cannot go unpunished."
McGonagall nodded her head. "Perhaps expulsion?" Snape suggested hopefully.
"You know that's out of the question, Severus" Dumbledore replied.
"Miss Weasley, I think you should return to your lessons, Mr Malfoy is well-tended for here." McGonagall addressed me. I shook my head. "I'm not leaving him." I retorted firmly. McGonagall opened her mouth to object, but Dumbledore simply held up his hand. "No, let her stay. It's not as if she'd be concentrating in her lessons anyway. Minerva, track down Mr Potter please, I want to hear what he has to say."
"Professor, Harry attacked Draco" I said suddenly. Dumbledore looked at me in surprise. "He might be my friend, but Draco could have died. He would have if it weren't for Professor Snape. You have to punish him in some way or another."
Dumbledore simply stared at me, but then he nodded. "I will take your concerns into account, thank you Miss Weasley." His voice was quite cold, but I couldn't care less. I'm sick of Dumbledore and the other teachers showing preference to Harry in every single thing. Sure, his parents are dead, he had a terrible childhood and he's supposedly the Chosen One and will never have a normal life, and the Dark Lord is out to kill him. But if it had been anybody else who had savaged another student, they'd have been punished. Dumbledore needs to see that his preference towards Harry won't go unnoticed any longer.
The teachers left Draco and I, who didn't reopen his eyes. From his gentle breathing, I realised that he had actually fallen asleep. With a sigh, I took Draco's wand back out from my pocket and set it down on the table beside him. I moved from the bed and took the empty seat beside it, resting my chin on my hand as I watched him sleep.
As reluctant as I was to admit it, I knew why Harry and Draco had been duelling in the first place, and I could hardly blame Harry for his anger.
It was Draco that had hexed Katie Bell.