Love Incognito by evanescence17
Chapter Notes: Hey, sorry to keep everyone waiting...here's the second chapter.
Thanks to Ashley (Avada_Kedavra_this) and Danielle (Sour.Apple.) for betaing this...
It was right after the bell went off, signalling the end of the class. A sudden rustle of activities filled up the otherwise dormant corridors. There were so many black cloaks swimming ahead of them that Harry, Ron and Hermione couldn’t think of a way to reach the Hospital Wing first.
Harry suddenly reached into the crowd of rushing bodies and grabbed someone by the waist, someone who was going to be trampled by the chaotic hurry. That ‘someone’ happened to have a smooth mane of brilliant and fiery red hair.
‘Oh Merlin! It’s a complete bedlam,’ panted Ginny. ‘I never realised there were so many students at Hogwarts.’
‘You okay?’ asked Harry, looking very concerned.
‘You saved my life!’ Ginny cried out dramatically, flinging her arms around Harry and kissing him on the cheek. (‘Ginny! Not in the corridors!’ Ron exclaimed irritably) ‘Oh, my valorous knight, where’s your shiny armour?’ she pretended to bat her eyelids at him in an impressed manner. Harry flushed.
‘We’ve to get down to the Hospital Wing fast,’ murmured Hermione, standing on her tiptoes and craning her head over the mad rush.
‘Calm down, Hermione,’ said Ginny, finally letting go of Harry. ‘There are three floors between the Hospital Wing and this floor. Let those baboons run down, we are sliding.’ With that, she turned left to face the wall and walked untill she reached the portrait of a pretty angel in a white flowing robe wearing a wreath and holding a harp. Ginny glanced at the trio and let out a small smile.
‘Being the sister of Fred and George has benefits doesn’t it?’ Her grin widened as she ran her hand across the harp. Following a rather subdued grating noise, a huge slab of brick displaced itself from under the picture, revealing a low dark passageway. Ron’s mouth was hanging open.
‘How come Fred and George helped everybody with the secret tunnels except me?’ he asked indignantly, but Ginny had already entered the tunnel.
‘Let’s go while I’m still young,’ came her muffled voice from inside the tunnel. Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged wary looks before following Ginny into the passage.
Sliding down the stinking, slimy tunnel had its own merits. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were the first to reach the transparent glass doors of the Hospital Wing ahead of the crowd of ‘baboons’ still coming by means of the staircase.
‘I can’t see anything. Where is he?’ Hermione whispered, pressing her nose against the doors.
‘Sympathizing with the enemy?’ Ron smirked. Hermione shut him up with a look of utmost disgust.
Suddenly they heard footsteps. Before anyone could get time to react, they were face to face with the strict matron “ Madam Pomfrey.
‘What is it?’ came her stern voice. ‘What is it this time?’ Her eyes wandered from one face to the next until they stopped on Harry. ‘Oh! It’s you. What’s wrong now?’
‘Nothing,’ muttered Harry, annoyed at being recognised by Madam Pomfrey. Having ended up in the Hospital Wing every year had created a sort of reputation of him being “delicate”.
‘Madam Pomfrey, we heard from Professor McGonagall that Draco Malfoy is currently in the Hospital Wing. We came to visit him,’ Hermione said courageously.
‘Really? That’s nice, he hasn’t had any visitors ever since he was brought here.’ She looked around at them once again. ‘Didn’t you bring him any cheering up present?’ They looked at each other blankly.
‘Of course we did,’ laughed Ginny, waving her wand quietly behind her back. The next instant, Ron drew out a bunch of beautiful red roses from behind his back, looking amazed.
‘Oh, how touching. Well if you must know, Mr. Malfoy was relocated to his dormintory a few minutes ago. His medication is over. He was just resting here. I believe you’ll find him in his common room,’ said Madam Pomfrey.
A distant rumbling noise came to their ears. ‘Thank you, Madam Pomfrey,’ said Harry hurriedly, and they darted from the Hospital Wing, leaving a bewildered Madam Pomfrey to cope up with the crowd that was now thundering down the staircase. The trio and Ginny stopped in the front courtyard, completely out of breath.
‘Well, that was fun,’ panted Ginny, her eyes bright with enthusiasm. Not exactly sure what to do with the roses, Ron handed over the bouquet to Hermione, who took it from him unconsciously.
‘Yeah, it has worked up my appetite for supper,’ said Ron lavishly, rubbing his stomach, and withdrawing a few chocolate frogs from inside his robe pocket. Ginny exclaimed in disgust.
‘Ron, is there anything else in this world that could interest you more than food?’ she asked him rhetorically. Then turning to Hermione, she added, ‘Hermione! Why so pensive?’
‘His own people did this to him. I mean I know they are an inconsiderate lot, but you’d expect them to treat their fellow members better, right?’ Hermione pondered aloud. Ron suddenly choked on his third frog.
‘You’re feeling sorry for that…that git?’ sputtered Ron incredulously. ‘Hermione, he’s a Death Eater for Merlin’s sake.’ Hermione's eyes flashed dangerously at Ron, as they always did whenever he tried talking to her these days.
‘Yes, he’s a git and a Death Eater, but he’s also a human being, Ron,’ Ginny muttered impatiently.
‘Precisely,’ nodded Hermione in approval. But as Ron continued staring at her shrewdly, Hermione felt her anger rise its hood again, ‘Oh, just forget it, Ron! I’d expect nothing more from an insensitive wart like you,’ she muttered in a stage whisper and stomped off indoors.
Harry raised his eyebrows. ‘What was that all about?’ He didn’t notice Ron’s ears going pink.
Hermione passed through the Entrance Hall, just glancing over her shoulder at the students having their meal. She had suddenly lost her appetite. The noise in the Great Hall reduced to a rumble as she crossed the driveway. She was still fuming about Ron’s comments when she walked on the grassy slopes of the hillock near Hagrid’s hut. I had actually fallen for this unfeeling jerk? She found herself wondering.
And her thoughts suddenly switched to what Ron had said, ‘He’s a Death Eater.’ If he’s one of them (Ron’s a hundred and ten percent sure about it) then what was he doing here? Why was he banished from the Dark side? And what wrong could he have possibly done that merited such extreme punishment? Hermione couldn’t think of answers to these intriguing questions. From the moment Professor McGonagall had revealed his identity, Hermione was one person who was neither shocked nor sorry for Malfoy. She was curious.
She suddenly took a deep breath and shook herself mentally. STOP thinking about Malfoy. Looking around, she realised that she had traversed all the way until the level of the lake. It was very serene there, with not a single student around. She sat down on the hard ground, watching the descent of the sun across the lake; illuminating its surface and making it sparkle like a diamond. She saw the lazy progress of a dried leaf on the water, and looked up at the misty edge of the Forbidden Forest. What she saw made her freeze.
There was someone on the other side of the lake, right next to the boulders that marked the entrance to the Forest. She could see a hazy outline but due to the distance and twilight, couldn’t make out who it was. Maybe a sixth year, she thought, but now, at this hour? She decided to go and investigate. As she reached near the cloaked person, she saw he’d crouched over with his head drooping, as if he was asleep.
‘Excuse me! What are you doing here? You should be back inside the castle,’ Hermione raised her voice authoritatively.
‘Yeah? Well, then what are you doing out here?’ responded a wheezy voice Hermione couldn’t recognise.
‘I’m a Prefect. I’ve the authority to go and check if there’s anyone outside,’ said Hermione.
‘Yeah? And where’s your badge?’ the wheezy voice retorted.
Hermione indicated at the lapel of her robe for an answer, hoping that he’d see her red and gold Prefect badge in the steadily approaching darkness.
‘What am I supposed to be looking at?’ he asked, his voice now barely hiding his amusement. Hermione looked down at her robe in confusion, which soon turned to a jolt of surprise as she found that her Prefect badge was missing.
‘But it was right here!’ she exclaimed in astonishment. ‘It must have fallen off when we were coming downstairs through that stupid tunnel. Oh, I should never have listened to Ginny,’ she muttered irritably, although more to herself.
‘Secret tunnels, huh?’ he asked in a teasing voice.
‘It’s not what you think,’ she retorted, although she wasn’t sure why she was justifying herself. ‘My friends and I were just trying to be quick in making it to the Hospital Wing,’ she said.
‘Oh, I am sorry,’ he said suddenly sobering up.
‘Never mind,’ she waved away his apology. It was quickly getting dark now that the sun had completely set, and they were vulnerable, standing next to the Forbidden Forest. She glanced at her watch.
‘Can we please go inside now. It’s getting really late. Filch will shut the doors anytime now,’ Hermione begged. Finally, the stranger started getting up. Thank Goodness. Hermione noticed that he had trouble getting up. When he was on his feet, she whispered, ‘you seem to be hurt. I think you should go to the Hospital Wing first.’
‘No,’ came his short and simple reply. ‘Madam Pomfrey’s against serving good food in the Hospital Wing,’ he added, making Hermione smile.
‘Lumos,’ Hermione whispered and the region where they were standing was filled with a strong beam of light.
‘Could you keep that away from my eyes? It hurts,’ he requested.
‘Sure,’ she lowered the wand so that only the path was lit. But in that instant when her wand’s light filled the space between them, she had noticed something gleam on his chest.
‘Hey, are you a Prefect too?’ she asked him, suddenly curious. The stranger didn’t reply immediatly.
‘Yes, but it’s a pain in the neck,’ he replied smugly. Hermione was surprised.
‘You really think that way? I think being a Prefect is a work of great responsibility,’ she said. He shrugged for a reply.
‘If you don’t mind my asking, what were doing out there, all by yourself?’ asked Hermione as they crossed the spot where she had been originally sitting.
‘Just felt like being alone for a while. Things in my dormitory are too fast to keep pace with,’ he replied quietly.
‘And what about your injuries?’ asked Hermione, unable to contain herself.
‘What injuries?’ he asked innocently. The Great Hall was a few feet away.
‘You were…are… limping,’ explained Hermione. She could see the candles floating inside.
‘Oh! You know, bumps and bruises,’ he said airily. They were about to cross the broad driveway.
Hermione realised that she was still holding the bouquet of roses that Ginny had conjured. ‘Well, you can take these.’ Hermione handed the roses to him. They really didn’t mean anything to her. Maybe they’d cheer him up.
‘Thanks.’ He appeared a bit surprised. ‘Actually this is a role reversal; shouldn’t the guy be giving roses to the girl? Well, maybe I can return them sometime when I’m better from my limping,’ he added hopefully. It was good that it was so dark; the stranger couldn’t see her cheeks getting redder by the minute. They were almost at the huge doors to the Entrance Hall.
‘Well, thanks for your time. It’d have been a pretty boring walking all the way up here without company,’ he thanked her. He sounds sincere, thought Hermione, thank goodness, not all people are as rude as Ron is.
‘You are welcome. So, after this enticing conversation, do I get to know your name?’ she said in a playful tone, finally looking at the stranger’s bruised face in the lighted Entrance Hall.
‘I’m Draco Malfoy. I’m in -’ He stopped abruptly, seeing Hermione’s face. His pale face went even paler (if that was possible). His eyes widened and his mouth slowly dropped open. He couldn’t believe this. Granger? It was Granger all this time…I was flirting with the…? Bloody Hell! he thought suddenly mortified.
‘Slytherin, we know Malfoy,’ called a voice from behind Hermione. She whipped around to see Ron facing Malfoy, a look of utmost contempt on his face. ‘So you came back. Your Death Eater pals not good enough for you any more? Hey, what happened to your face? Tell me Malfoy, did they really smack you up, or did you do this to yourself?’ said Ron, leering in an unusual manner.
Hermione was also looking as though she had been struck by lightening. She was too stunned to speak. Malfoy! I was chatting with Malfoy? I couldn't recognize him? She made a quick mental note to kick herself when she'd get to her dormitory. For a moment, Hermione was convinced that she was in a gentleman’s company, the way he joked with her and thanked her. But she couldn’t imagine in her wildest dreams that the gentleman was, of all people, Malfoy.
‘It’s because of you piece of rubbish, that Dumbledore’s dead today. You messed up Malfoy, you messed up big time,’ Ron was really having a go; he was attracting attention now. People were starting to come out of the Great Hall, although surprisingly, no Slytherins yet.
‘Tell me, how many people have you killed ever since you joined the ranks of the Death Eaters? Loads I bet,’ Hermione could see Harry and Ginny rising from their seats at the end of Gryffindor table. Malfoy had not retaliated. Not yet. ‘And now you’re here, to terrify others no doubt. You know Malfoy, you deserve the same fate as You-Know-Who did. You should be taken off this earth too!’ Ron finished triumphantly.
He looked around expecting cheers from the crowd, or at least from the Gryffindors, but none came. Everyone was too busy taking in the dishevelled appearance of Draco Malfoy standing alone, helpless in the Entrance Hall, the lights hurting his eyes. Hermione was taken aback with the sharp things Ron said. She had expected an outburst from Ron and maybe he was right in his place, but the crudeness in his voice disturbed her. She just stood there between him and Malfoy who still hadn’t said anything in his defence.
Then, inexplicably, Malfoy turned around and started walking toward the entrance to the Dungeons, still clutching the bouquet of blood red roses tightly in his hands. Hermione merely stood there, staring at his retreating back
A/N Sorry for the wait...How did you like it? Feedback needed folks! Hope you enjoyed reading it and kindly review if you have time.