First Day Tragedy
Harry took a deep breath and stepped through the barrier of Platform 9 �. It was hard to believe that this was the last year he�d be going to Hogwarts. This was the last year he�d rush through the halls on his way to his classes, fly through the air over the Quidditch field, and talk to his friends in the Great Hall.
�Come on Harry!� Hermione�s voice shouted over the sound of the crowd. Harry looked up to see her leaning out of the last compartment. �The train�s gonna leave soon!�
Harry smiled and took off, running up to the compartment and jumping in so that Hermione leapt back in surprise. It was his seventh year, and he was gonna make the best of it.
~~~~~~~~~~
�Get out of the way!� Draco hissed and watched in amusement as the group of first years who had blocked his path scampered off. He looked up at his father proudly, but Lucius Malfoy wasn�t looking at the first years.
�Take this,� his father muttered, handing Draco a black leather book.
�What is it, Father?� Draco asked, opening it to stare at the blank pages. �A diary?�
�You will receive instructions by owl,� his father said, glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. He reached out and shut the diary in Draco�s hands. �Until then, you will not so much as open the cover.�
�Yes Father,� Draco said, bowing his head to show that he understood. He knew it would be useless to ask questions.
�Now, go get on the train,� his father said, giving him a little push forward, �and don�t run. Malfoys don�t run to fit other people�s schedules.�
�Yes Father,� Draco said, �I remember, Father.� He straightened his robes and smoothed his hair importantly before starting off. He walked with long, quick strides, but never quickened his pace, knowing that his father was back there, watching to make sure he didn�t dishonor the family.
Draco stepped onto the train just before it pulled away, breathing a sigh of relief. Then, he quickly looked around to make sure no one had heard him. Luckily, there was no one else in the compartment. He sat down in a seat near the door, propping his feet up on his trunk, which had been carried onto the train earlier by a house-elf. He was just about to look at the diary again when the compartment door opened.
�You�re in here,� Crabbe said stupidly, walking in with Goyle.
�No shit,� Draco muttered, directing his vision down to the diary again. He was just about to open it when Goyle spoke up.
�Blaise told us you were here,� Goyle said, staring at the diary curiously.
�No shit,� Draco repeated, grinding his teeth together. �Why don�t you two go raid the food cart and stop bothering me?�
�Okay,� Crabbe said immediately. He and Goyle left the compartment.
Draco growled slightly under his breath. Those two got on his last nerve, but he had to deal with them. His father made certain that he kept them around as bodyguards. They were the only ones stupid enough, as the only other Slytherin boy was Malcolm Nott. That boy was too smart for his own good. Besides, he was weak, barely able to lift his own cauldron.
Draco shook his head. He didn�t have to worry about these things. If he wanted to, he could pay someone to worry for him. Instead, he went back to examining the diary. He had given up on opening it, as someone always seemed to bother him when he did this. He just looked at the front and back covers, trying to find a clue�
Bingo. Draco had turned the diary over and found a name printed on the bottom of it: Tom Marvolo Riddle. This name seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn�t quite place it. A shuffle of footsteps made him look up in time to see Ginny Weasley look into the compartment.
�What do you want, Weasley?� Draco asked angrily, but the girl wasn�t listening. She was staring at the diary in his hand, fear flashing in her eyes. She slowly closed the door and her footsteps started again, fading into the distance.
Draco frowned and looked down at the diary again. Something about it had bothered the Weasley girl. The question was, was this a good thing or a bad thing?
~~~~~~~~~~
Harry tried to focus on reading from Advanced Transfiguration: Grade 7, but couldn�t help thinking that what was happening in the compartment was much more interesting.
�Come on Ron, stop it!� Hermione said as she tried to concentrate on reading her book too.
�What?� Ron asked slyly, his head resting on Hermione�s shoulder.
�You know what,� Hermione said. �You haven�t stopped bothering me all summer.�
�Wait, time out,� Harry cut in, holding up his hands. �You two spent the summer together?�
�Yeah,� Hermione nodded, blushing slightly, �and octopus here couldn�t keep his hands off me.�
�Oh come on,� Ron said, �you know you liked it.�
�Oh yeah,� Hermione said sarcastically, �I really enjoyed the fact that my mother�s first glimpse of us together was when she walked in on us making out in the living room.�
�If you guys are gonna continue talking about this,� Harry spoke up, �please do me a favor and put me out of my misery.�
At that moment, their conversation was interrupted as the compartment door slid open. Ginny stumbled into the room, looking extremely pale.
�What is it Ginny?� Harry asked. �You look like you�ve seen a ghost. Did Peeves hitch a ride on the train again?�
Ginny didn�t answer. She just went to the empty seat next to Harry and sat down, wringing her hands nervously.
�Ginny, are you okay?� Harry asked, reaching out to touch her hand. Her skin was cold as ice and he felt her hand shiver under his as she looked up at him. Her eyes were full of fear and showed that there was something she wanted to say but couldn�t.
�Ginny what is it?� Ron asked as he and Hermione stood up and moved to stand around Ginny.
Ginny had just opened her mouth to answer when the lights went out and the train came to a screeching halt. There was confusion for a moment before a beam of light from Hermione�s wand lit the compartment again.
�Not again,� she muttered, �I thought Dumbledore was going to talk to Fudge about this.�
�That was two years ago, Hermione,� Ron said. �Face it, there�s no reasoning with him. Harry, you gonna be all right?�
�Yeah, don�t worry about it,� Harry said dismissively.
�They�ll start with us,� Hermione said, holding her wand up so that the beam of light fell over the door. �They always start in the back.�
There was a rattling outside the door and they all fell silent. Harry didn�t know about the others but he was holding his breath. He squeezed Ginny�s hand reassuringly and waited. The door slowly slid back.
Two dementors glided into the compartment, looking around as they checked for anything that seemed out of place. They both took a rattling breath at the same moment and an intense cold washed over Harry, making him fall from his seat and onto his knees.
�Harry�� Hermione�s voice sounded far away as she knelt beside him.
�I can handle it,� Harry muttered. He had just reached into his pocket for his wand when the dementors inhaled again and, this time, Harry wasn�t their target.
Ginny�s hand tightened painfully around Harry�s and she fell down next to him, shaking violently.
�Hermione, get the light over here,� Harry said. The beam of light moved to shine over Ginny. She was in bad shape. She had gone ghostly white and her eyes were rolling madly in her head. �Come on Ginny,� Harry pleaded, gripping her hand even more tightly, �snap out of it.�
�Harry,� Hermione�s faint voice said warningly, but it was too late. The dementors drew another breath and the voices started in Harry�s mind. He barely had time to even think about the Patronus spell before he saw a flash of green light, heard a roaring in his ears, and fell into darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~
Draco didn�t even flinch when the lights went out. He�d known all along that this was coming. After all, it had been his father�s suggestion to Cornelius Fudge that had led him to order that the train be checked on its way to and from Hogwarts every year.
The door slid open and two dementors came in. They drew in rattling breaths, and the temperature in the compartment plunged. Draco, who was used to cold temperatures from having spent the better parts of his life either in an unheated mansion or the damp dungeon that was the Slytherin common room and dormitories, leaned back in his seat, folding his hands behind his head. A few years earlier these creatures might have scared him, but now they were just part of the scenery. At least, that�s what they were at the Deatheater gatherings.
But, unlike the year before, the dementors didn�t leave quickly. Instead, one of them drifted toward Draco, stopping just a couple feet away. Then, it reached out a gray, decaying hand toward the diary, which shuddered in Draco�s hands. He was just about to throw the diary across the compartment when it suddenly produced it�s own, electric blue force field that stopped the dementor�s hand right where it was. The dementor backed away and did something that Draco had only ever seen them do in the presence of You-Know-Who. The dementor bowed its head and the pair of them left the compartment.
Within a few minutes, the lights came back on and the train roared to life again. Draco looked down at the diary, but all he saw was just that: a normal diary. It would�ve been easy to just tell himself that he�d imagined the force field. After all, dementors had a way of messing with your mind.
But he couldn�t dismiss the strange behavior of the dementors so easily. Something about the diary had commanded their respect, just as something about it had spooked the Weasley girl. And whatever it was, it probably had something to do with the original owner of the diary.
The train arrived at the school a few hours later. Draco stood up and groaned at the stiffness in his back and legs. Sitting for hours on end did not suit him well. He stretched for a moment before slipping the diary into his pocket and stepping off the train.
There was a great commotion going on outside, more than usual. Everyone seemed to be gathered around the last compartment. From where Draco was, he could see two stretchers being carried out.
Draco dismissed this immediately. One of them had to be Potter. He was always getting himself carried away on stretchers, dementors or none. The other must be some other weak student who couldn�t stomach being around dementors either.
So he got in one of the carriages that would bring him up to the school without thinking much more about it. Crabbe and Goyle soon followed, but, upon receiving a deadly look from Draco, they didn�t say anything for the whole trip.
When the carriages reached the school, Draco got out immediately and, holding his head high, walked up toward the school. Though he had the foresight to make sure he kept his family honor, he was not paying enough attention to enjoy the fact that second years, third years, and even fourth years dove just to avoid being in his way. If the first years had been there, they probably would have too, but they were on their way across the lake at the moment.
~~~~~~~~~~
You know that dark, dreadful place between sleep and consciousness. That�s where Harry was. He was aware of all that was happening around him. His eyes were open and he could see Ron and Hermione standing over him. He could hear them talking, but he couldn�t communicate with them.
�Harry,� Hermione�s voice echoed, as though from far away, �Madam Pomfrey says you can hear us. You�re going to be all right. She says you�ll be back to normal by tomorrow.�
�What about Ginny?� Ron�s angry voice said loudly, making Harry flinch inwardly. �Madam Pomfrey won�t even let us see her!�
�Ron,� Hermione hissed, �you know how much Harry loves her. If he really can hear us, he doesn�t need to be worrying about her right now.�
Harry stirred a bit in his sleep and silently mouthed the name �Ginny.�
�I think I saw him move! Harry?� Hermione�s hopeful voice came and Harry could feel her hand on his shoulder. �Harry, can you hear us? Harry, please wake up!�
~~~~~~~~~~
Draco rolled his eyes as the Sorting Hat finished its song. The poems got more ridiculous every year. Personally, he thought it was time they threw out that ratty old hat and got a new one. What felt like several hours later, the first years were finally sorted and Professor Dumbledore stood up to give his traditional speech.
�This year students,� he said, �I must sincerely apologize for the train check this afternoon. As our older students are already aware, the searches were ordered by the Ministry and were not my doing. That said, let�s get on to the more relevant issues. A warning to first years, and a reminder to everyone else, the Forbidden Forest is just that: forbidden. Second, the list of forbidden items has been updated to include enchanted handcuffs and other forms of restraint.� His eyes twinkled a little on this last comment and he chuckled.
�And,� he added, �I would also like to speak to the Head Boy for a moment. So, Mr. Malfoy, if you�ll please follow me.� He stepped away from the staff table and walked out into the hallway.
Draco stood up too, aware that everyone was looking at him. Several Gryffindors made very rude gestures in his direction and snickered. Draco straightened his robes and started across the room toward the door.
The truth was, he was just as surprised as everyone else. He hadn�t gotten a badge by owl like all the other Head Boys did in the past years. He also wondered what Professor Dumbledore wanted to see him about.
�What is it Professor?� Draco asked, trying his best to be respectful.
�It�s the strangest thing,� Dumbledore said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a badge, which he handed to Draco. �The owl I sent this with returned several weeks later with half it�s feathers missing and the badge still with it. I suppose that�s why your father picks up all of your school supply lists himself.�
Draco smirked. Now he knew what had happened. The owl had flown over the house, hit the force field that his father had installed, and decided no delivery was worth that. He�d have to owl his father to inform him that the security system was working perfectly.
Draco was just about to walk away when Dumbledore stopped him. �There�s also something else I would like to discuss with you,� he said, �but first, we need to find the Head Girl, as this concerns her too. Follow me.� He started walking down the hallway and Draco, caught off guard, had to rush to catch up.
Dumbledore didn�t speak again until they had reached the hospital wing. He stepped inside for a moment and Draco heard him say, �Miss Granger, may I speak to you for a moment?�
Granger came out, gave Draco a dirty look, and turned to Dumbledore. �Yes Professor?� she asked so innocently that Draco had to fight not to gag.
�Well, there�s something I would like to discuss with the two of you,� Dumbledore said, taking off his glasses briefly to clean them. �It is tradition that the Head Boy and Girl move into the main student dormitory, just down the hall from the Charms corridor. Now, what this means is that you each will have your own room to yourself, but you will be sharing a common room. I know the conditions are not�ideal, but I�m sure it won�t be too hard to adjust. Now, if there is any trouble, I might be forced to reconsider. Is there going to be any trouble?�
�Ask him,� Granger said simply.
What the hell am I getting myself into? Draco asked silently, but said out loud, �No trouble.�
�In that case,� Dumbledore said cheerfully, �I�ll arrange for your trunks to be sent to your new dormitories and I�ll show you the way after dinner.� He winked and left, humming to himself.
Once Dumbledore was gone, Granger took a couple steps forward and raised her hand like she was going to slap Draco, making him flinch involuntarily.
�I still got it,� she said just loud enough for Draco to hear her. She lowered her hand before speaking again. �Just a warning, in case you think about trying anything.� Before Draco could think of a good comeback, she turned and went back into the hospital wing, slamming the door behind her.
�What�s her problem?� Draco asked nobody and went back to the Great Hall.
~~~~~~~~~~
�Hey Hermione, get over here! He�s awake!�
�He is? Harry, can you hear me? Say something!�
Their voices, loud as they were, were magnified about ten times to Harry, making his head pound. �Yes, I can hear you,� he groaned, �but if you don�t stop yelling, I won�t be able to. All right, who�s the one with the hammer? My head is killing me!�
�If that�s the best joke you�ve got, you must be in pain,� Hermione laughed. �Can you sit up?�
�Hmm�I don�t know,� Harry said. He pulled himself a couple of inches, groaned as the muscles in his back screamed in protest, and fell back down. �Guess not.�
�You�re pathetic,� Hermione giggled. �Seriously though, are you all right?�
�Well, let�s see,� Harry started counting things off. �I ran into a couple dementors, passed out for the first time in three or four years, and end up in the hospital wing with a stiff back and feel like someone�s running a power drill through my skull. But I gotta say, it looks like I�m doing better than Ron at the moment.� He nodded his head toward Ron who had turned beet red and was looking around nervously.
�Ron,� Hermione said, sounding surprised, �I do believe you are jealous.�
�Me?� Ron asked pointing to himself. �No.�
�Oh come on, Ron,� Hermione said, walking over and wrapping an arm around him. �Admit it. You haven�t blushed this much since that day my mom came home early from work and saw you in your boxers.�
�Ugh, bad images,� Harry groaned, covering his eyes with his arms. �Please don�t torture the ill.�
�Oh, you�re not ill,� Hermione said, giggling, �and besides, you�ve heard worse. For example��
�Can we please talk about something else?� Ron interrupted.
�Sure,� Harry said, �Hermione, what did Dumbledore want to see you about?�
�So, you could hear,� Hermione said bitterly. �Well, apparently the Head Girl and Head Boy have to move into a different dormitory and share a common room. It�s tradition.�
�Why didn�t you tell us you were Head Girl?� Ron asked.
�I�m wearing the badge, isn�t that enough?� Hermione asked angrily, breaking away from Ron and turning her back to him.
�Well, who�s the Head Boy?� Ron asked, wrapping his arms around Hermione and resting his head on her shoulder.
�You�re not gonna like it,� she warned. �It�s Malfoy.�
Ron�s eyes widened as he spun Hermione around and held her shoulders tightly. �You�ve gotta be kidding me,� he said. �You said no, right?�
�Ron, you�re hurting me,� Hermione said, pulling out of his grasp, �and no, I didn�t. I had no reason to.�
�No reason?� Ron said faintly. �How about the fact that he�s made our lives miserable since day one?�
�That�s not a good enough reason for Professor Dumbledore, and you know it,� Hermione argued.
�I swear, if he tries something�� Ron broke off, gritting his teeth angrily.
�If he tries something, you have my permission to beat the living shit out of him,� Hermione finished, surprising both Harry and Ron with her language. �That is, if there�s anything living left once I get through with him. I can take care of myself, thank you very much.�
A tense silence followed this statement. Harry imagined that, with how quiet it was, he could even hear the flickering of the flames on the candles that were spaced around the room to provide light.
Sensing a need for another change of subject and wanting to ask before the others left, Harry spoke up. �How�s Ginny?� he asked.
As soon as he said it, Harry wished he hadn�t. Hermione immediately glanced at Ron, her expression changing to something that looked to be something between fear and sympathy. When Ron started to walk away, she tried to stop him, but he just brushed her hand aside and went to lean against the wall on his shoulder. Though he was facing away from them, Harry could see that his head was bowed and his shoulders were shaking slightly.
�We don�t know,� Hermione said softly, sitting down in a chair by Harry�s bed. �Madam Pomfrey wouldn�t tell us. Hell, she wouldn�t even let us see her. I�m sorry, Harry. I know how much she means to you.�
�You don�t think she�s�� Harry broke off, unable to say it. �Never mind, I don�t want to know.�
�For what it�s worth, no, I don�t think she is,� Hermione said. �If she was, Madam Pomfrey wouldn�t be keeping Ron in the dark about it.�
�Why don�t you tell him that?� Harry asked.
Hermione shook her head. �Ginny�s his little sister, Harry. She means everything to him. Whenever she�s hurt, if you so much as mention her name, he gets all quiet and won�t talk to or listen to anyone until he knows she�s okay.�
�But he�ll listen to you,� Harry insisted. �He cares about you too.�
�It wouldn�t do any good to tell him,� Hermione said. �He�ll never believe a good thing unless he can see it with his own eyes. Which means that until he sees Ginny alive and well, he will assume the worst. But the thing is, even if he sees Ginny and is all right again, what if she�s not so lucky next time? Harry, I am scared to death that if he outlives Ginny, he�ll never forgive himself.� Her voice broke on the last few words and she buried her face in her hands, crying softly.
Harry didn�t know what to say. He would�ve touched Hermione�s shoulder to try to comfort her, but he still couldn�t lift himself more than a couple inches. He ended up just lying there awkwardly as Hermione spent her tears.
Hermione finally got her crying under control. �I�m sorry,� she said, sniffling, �I�m being selfish, thinking about myself at a time like this.�
�No,� Harry momentarily forgot about his back as he propped himself up on his elbow to say something to Hermione. He didn�t get to say it, however, as pain laced through his back. Harry winced and groaned as he lowered himself back down onto the bed.
Hermione�s eyes widened and her hand flew up to cover her mouth. �Are you okay?� she asked, looking to be on the verge of tears again.
�I think I bruised my ego, but, besides that, I�m fine,� Harry gasped as the pain subsided to a dull ache. �As I was about to say, how could you think you�re being selfish? You�re thinking about Ron�s happiness, not your own.�
�But I was only thinking about his happiness in relation to my own,� Hermione said, bowing her head, �and I was only hoping for Ginny to be all right so that he would be happy again. I know how much you care about her and��
�And I know how much you care about Ron,� Harry interrupted, �but I also know that even if Ginny�s condition didn�t affect him so badly, you would still be worried about her. But I understand why you are unwilling to believe this. You�re a good person, Hermione, and good people tend to blame themselves for things they didn�t do or things that aren�t their fault.�
�Harry�� Hermione started.
�I know this,� Harry said, answering her question before she could ask it, �because it�s how I lived for much of the time after finding out the truth about how my parents died. I blamed myself whenever someone got hurt by Voldemort, because he�s after me. I still sometimes think that I could have done more for them.�
�Harry, you can�t blame yourself,� Hermione said. �You can�t help that Voldemort came after your family.�
�And neither of us can help the fact that Ginny�s hurt,� Harry said. �All we can do is pray that she will be all right, for Ron�s sake, as well as her own. Until then though, you need to try to reassure him that everything will be all right. He loves you, and he will listen to you, no matter what you might think.�
Hermione looked up at Harry and was silent for a moment. Then, she made a sound that sounded halfway between a laugh and a sob. �How can I argue with an injured person?� she asked.
�Don�t think of me as injured,� Harry said, smiling. �Just think of me as your average student who can�t sit up without feeling like their spine is gonna snap.� Then, he became serious again. �Go to Ron. Even if you don�t tell him or he doesn�t listen to you, please just stay with him. It might not seem like it, but he needs you right now. You could even try talking about something else to get his mind off of it.�
�But is that a good thing?� Hermione asked. �I mean, it would be like leading him off into a fantasy world, when the reality is that his sister is in here, possibly fighting for her life. Shouldn�t he be focusing on reality?�
�Yes, and that�s what he�s doing now,� Harry nodded, �but Hermione, without you, all he has is reality.�
Hermione flinched slightly, looking surprised. She couldn�t seem to find the right words as she turned to look at Ron, who was now sitting with his back against the wall and his knees drawn up to his chest, staring off into space. This seemed to help Hermione make up her mind and she stood to leave. Then, she turned back to Harry, looking apprehensive.
�Are you going to be all right?� she asked.
�Yeah,� Harry said, �don�t worry about me. Just concentrate on helping Ron. I�ll ask Madam Pomfrey about Ginny when I see her.�
�Okay,� Hermione said, coming over to kiss Harry on the cheek. �Thank you,� she whispered as she straightened back up. �We�ll be back tomorrow morning. Madam Pomfrey said you could leave then.� She turned and went over to where Ron was sitting. After a while, she managed to convince him to get up. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and led him to the door.
A few minutes later, Madam Pomfrey came out of her office, holding a potion bottle and muttering to herself. When she saw Harry, she quickly put the bottle in her pocket. �Mr. Potter, so good to see that you�re awake,� she said quickly. �Are you feeling all right?�
�My back�s a little stiff,� Harry said. That was, of course, an understatement, considering that if he even tried to lift his head, he felt like someone was stabbing him repeatedly.
�How stiff?� Madam Pomfrey asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
Harry figured he might as well be honest. �It�s about one step away from me screaming bloody murder,� he said threw gritted teeth. He didn�t care if he got in trouble for saying it. He needed potions, strong potions. If he was a Muggle, he felt that morphine might be appropriate at the moment.
�Well, we can�t have that, now can we?� Madam Pomfrey said. �I�ll see what I can do.� She went back to her office for a few minutes and came back out with a bottle of dark gray potion.
�I warn you,� Madam Pomfrey said as she poured some of the potion into a glass, �this is a very powerful potion. It should help with the pain, but it�ll knock you out for several hours, so don�t expect to wake up much before dawn.�
�What happens if it doesn�t work?� Harry asked.
�Then you�d better get out your galleons, Mr. Potter,� Madam Pomfrey said, �because you�ll have to buy yourself a wheelchair. I can do a spell that will help you sit up if I have to, but standing is another story. I don�t even think Headmaster Dumbledore could do that.�
Madam Pomfrey set the potion on the table and pulled out her wand. �I�ll need to elevate the bed so you can drink the potion. This is gonna hurt.� She waved her wand and Harry felt the bed slowly start to move underneath him. His back screamed in protest as he was forced into a semi-sitting position. Madam Pomfrey put her wand back in her pocket and handed the potion to Harry.
Harry was just about to drink the potion when he remembered. �How�s Ginny?� he asked.
�I�m afraid I can�t tell you that, Mr. Potter,� Madam Pomfrey said, shuffling her feet uncomfortably. �Maybe tomorrow, but not right now. Just drink your potion.�
Harry sighed. He knew he wasn�t going to get an answer today. When Madam Pomfrey made up her mind, nobody could change it. He took a deep breath and drank the potion.
If the potion had a taste, Harry didn�t notice it. It felt like liquid fire in his throat and he coughed violently. Meanwhile, he could feel the potion spreading throughout him, first burning and then turning icy cold in his veins. Madam Pomfrey waved her wand and the bed moved back so that Harry was once again lying flat on his back.
But Harry barely noticed this. The potion was already starting to take effect. He felt his entire body go numb, and he was suddenly feeling very tired. He closed his eyes and slipped into a dreamless sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~
Draco glared at Granger and Weasley as they came into the Great Hall. Granger seemed to be leading Weasley as they went to the Gryffindor table. They were late, but, of course, they didn�t get in trouble, because they were friends of Saint Potter. Potter was nowhere in sight though. Draco supposed he was probably in the hospital wing. That�s where he always seemed to end up.
Draco looked back down at his plate. He hadn�t been especially hungry, so he had just filled up his plate and spent his time pushing it around his plate. This was an old habit that he used at home so his mother would think he ate more than he actually did. She had been on his case about this lately, claiming that he was too thin for a boy his age. Draco, of course, didn�t give a shit.
Finally, tired of the nervous glances he was getting from people, Draco stood up and started toward the door. When he got to the hallway, he remembered that he was supposed to meet Dumbledore out there, so he leaned against the wall and waited.
He didn�t have to wait long. Dumbledore came out a few minutes later. �As soon as Miss Granger gets here,� he said, �I�ll show you to your new dormitory.�
After what felt like an eternity, but was actually about ten minutes, Granger finally showed up, leading Weasley out with her.
�Is it all right if Ron comes with?� she asked Dumbledore. �He�s in really bad shape after what happened.�
�Of course,� Dumbledore said, nodding, �follow me.� He turned and started down the hallway. Draco and Granger glared at each other for a moment before following, Granger, of course, pulling Weasley along with her. They were silent as Dumbledore led them through the school. Draco made a mental note to remember where he was going so he would be able to find his way back.
Dumbledore stopped in front of a portrait of the Hogwarts Crest, a shield with a lion, a snake, an eagle, and a badger on it. �Here it is,� he announced rubbing his hands together. �Each separate symbol has it�s own password, four in total. The trick is that each one is a strength of the house and they need to be said in clockwise order. So the password is �bravery,�� he pointed to the lion, ��cunning,�� he pointed to the snake, ��intelligence,�� he pointed to the eagle, ��loyalty,�� he pointed to the badger.
The portrait swung open to reveal a set of stairs. �I�ll let you get settled,� Dumbledore said, turning around and walking away. Granger, seeming to have forgotten that Draco was even there, wrapped an arm around Weasley and started to lead him up the steps.
�Hey,� Draco yelled, �you can�t bring him up there!�
Granger whirled around and gave a dry laugh. �Why, are you gonna stop me?� she asked. �Because I�d damn well like to see you try.� She turned her back on him and climbed the rest of the stairs up into the common room. Draco growled under his breath and followed.
When he stepped into the common room, Draco had to rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing right. The size of the room itself was enough to surprise him. One side of the room had a green couch, a green chair, and a desk, while the other was a mirror image, except with scarlet instead of green. A gigantic fireplace was built into the wall in front of the two chairs, the same distance from both of them. On the side with the green, there was a door with a snake carved into it. When Draco turned to the red side, he saw a door with a lion carved into it.
Granger had already led Weasley over to the red couch. Granger was sitting next to Weasley, brushing his hair out of his eyes. Weasley didn�t seem to be paying attention to her though.
�What the hell�s the matter with him?� Draco asked as he went to sit on the green couch across the room.
�None of your damn business,� Granger snapped.
Draco didn�t press the issue further. He wasn�t in the mood to get slapped tonight. Instead, he got up and went to the door with the snake, which he assumed was his dormitory. When he went inside, he knew he was right.
This room was about half the size of his old dormitory, but that was made up for with the fact that there was nobody else in this one. There was one bed, twice the size of his old one, and a desk. The rest of the room was depressingly empty, save for Draco�s trunk and empty owl cage, which were at the foot of the bed. The wall directly across from the door had a window, which looked out onto the Hogwarts grounds and let the moonlight filter in, giving everything an eerie glow.
Draco saw another door on the right wall. When he opened it, he was met with the sight of a bunch of hangers floating in midair. �A closet,� he muttered, �that�s new.� He shut the door, deciding that he�d hang up his robes tomorrow.
Instead, he went to the bed and lay down, marveling at the fact that he could actually stretch out. Even at home his bed wasn�t this big, but that wasn�t really saying much he supposed. Though his father liked to spend money to show off, he was actually very cheap when it came to everything else.
Draco lay there for another ten minutes or so before sitting up. He wasn�t tired yet. He considered going to the common room, but shot down this idea immediately by reminding himself that Granger and Weasley were probably still out there.
His thoughts went back to the diary in his pocket. He now took it out and began looking at the front and back covers compulsively. He knew there was more to this diary than its appearance. He just couldn�t figure out what. He was about to open the cover when he stopped himself, remembering his father�s words.
�You will receive instructions by owl,� his father had said. �Until then, you will not so much as open the cover.�
Draco drew his hand back. He would wait. He might ignore a teacher when they told him to do something, but he would never ignore a command from his father. In the Malfoy family, the ultimate punishment for a child�s disobedience was to be disowned, and this meant unofficial banishment from the wizarding world. This meant that, if the person was seen again doing magic or wandering around a wizarding village by a Malfoy or a close associate of the family, the penalty was death. A loophole in an old wizarding law made this perfectly legal so long as the witch or wizard had been living in the Muggle world at the time.
But Draco still wanted to open the diary. He was sure that the secret to it must lie inside, though the pages were blank. Otherwise, why would his father have forbidden him from opening it? And there was something else. Draco couldn�t explain it, but it was almost as if the diary was sending out a signal that it wanted to be opened. It wanted someone to find out its secret and read the words that weren�t there.
Draco didn�t open the diary though. Fear can be a powerful weapon when used right. His fear of his father was enough to fight off the urge to open the diary. Instead, he dropped it onto the floor beside his bed and lay back down on top of the blanket. He didn�t have blankets at home, as they by his father as an �unnecessary expense.� He was so used to being without them that they actually made him feel claustrophobic.
Even as Draco shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep, he still thought of the diary. He wondered how long it would be before he received instructions and what they would say. He also wondered if he would once again have to think of Malfoy family codes to carry out these instructions.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione sighed and looked at her watch. It was getting late, but she couldn�t leave Ron yet. She only had to think of what Harry had said to know that she had to stay. She had to at least try to help Ron.
�Ron,� Hermione said, touching his shoulder. He didn�t even blink to show that he was listening. He just stared at the wall as if in a trance. �Ron, I don�t know if you�re listening, but I�m going to say this anyway. For what it�s worth, I think Ginny�s still alive. Madam Pomfrey wouldn�t keep something like that from you, or from your family.�
Ron still didn�t move, keeping his eyes focused on that one spot as if it held all the secrets in the world. They were the eyes of one who has all but given up, blank and seemingly emotionless. Hermione knew they were the eyes of one who is beyond tears, lost in a world of darkness, where they are blind to any glimmer of hope that should penetrate, even if it is right before their eyes.
�Just stay with him,� Harry�s words came back to Hermione. She reached up and pulled Ron down so that his head rested on her shoulder. She stroked his hair like he was a small child, knowing all the time that he probably didn�t even notice that she was there.
Some time later, Hermione didn�t really know how long, she looked down and saw that Ron had fallen asleep. She stood up, careful not to wake him up, and slowly lowered him onto his back. She grabbed a blanket that was folded over the back of the couch and covered him with it. Then, she knelt down beside the couch.
�Don�t give up,� she murmured, kissing his forehead softly and standing up again. She walked to the door of her room and stopped just outside, looking back at Ron�s sleeping form. She didn�t want to leave him out here, but she didn�t have a choice. She would just have to hope that she woke up before Malfoy did.
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Author's note: I started this story before Order of the Phoenix came out, so don't expect every single detail to line up.
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