Chapter 20
Draco was trying to keep his voice calm as he called out into the deserted halls, “Pansy? Where are you? I know you’re here so just come out and talk to me.” He sighed, irritated. “I want an explanation.”
Pansy stepped out from behind a door frame with her wand raised. “I think if anyone here deserves answers Malfoy, it’s me and your true friends.”
He knew this time would come, he was just hoping to get one more good night of sleep in first. “Pansy, I think you need to sit down.”
Taking a step closer to him with her wand still drawn, she let out a shaky laugh. “I’ll stand, thanks.” She looked him up and down. “So it’s true? You really did turn traitor? Now instead of the Golden Trio, it’s the Golden Quartet. How quaint.”
Draco sat on a nearby bench and put his head in his hands in frustration. “It’s not that cut and dry, labeling me as such. I had a very difficult summer! Lucius . . . he . . . he . . .”
Pansy finished what she thought he was trying to say, “We know! He set you up to receive your Dark Mark, Draco. That should have been an honor! What happened . . . you ran? Are you insane?”
Draco interrupted her, “That’s not what I was getting at, Parkinson.”
She stopped and glared at the use of her last name. He continued.
“You don’t understand. Lucius killed my mother, Pansy. He did it in cold blood out of…”
Pansy stepped forward. “Don’t blame your father for what happened to Narcissa…”
“… Out of hate, Pansy! You’ve got to believe me!” Draco began to get a desperate edge to his voice that she was not used to but she stood her ground.
“She was weak, Draco. She was weak and so are you.”
His face fell. He looked at her cold dark eyes, lacking in any emotion but pity. Pansy stepped back.
“My dad, he can tell me what happened. I must owl him now.”
As she walked out the door, she glanced back at the blonde prefect. “I’ll deal with you later,” she said. “We’re not finished.”
He watched the door close and, a few minutes later, left to check on Ginny and tend to his prefect duties, determined to keep a level head.
As he turned the corner towards the hospital wing, Draco was met by a wide variety of expressions. Ginny was in bed staring off towards nothing in particular. Hermione appeared to be teetering between fury and helplessness. Harry and Ron, however, walked up to him in concern. He was approached first by Ron.
“Did you get everything squared away?”
Malfoy shrugged. “I tried to come clean to her about everything. It was all I could do when she asked me why I cared about your sister getting hurt. She didn’t believe me and now she’s going to owl her father.” Draco looked dumbfounded. “Ron, what have I gotten into?”
At that moment he received a sharp punch to his chin. He felt blood in his mouth. Harry stepped in.
“Ron, what was that for?”
The red haired wizard had tears in his eyes both from fury and despair. “Before you wallow in your self pity, Malfoy, take a look at my sister over there.”
Ron grabbed a submissive Draco by the face and turned him towards the bed where Ginny was laying. He continued.
“School hasn’t even begun and one of your so-called friends has Ginny laid up in the hospital with a broken leg and a slight concussion! Where is Pansy, by the way? Is she out torturing some poor Hufflepuff now?
Draco walked by Ron while he continued to yell and approached the injured Weasley. He looked at Hermione and she stepped away from the bed. He closed the curtain for privacy and sat on the edge of the bed, slowly bringing his gaze to Ginny.
“Could you ever forgive a Slytherin git such as myself for all of this?”
Just then she did something that he was not expecting. She reached out for his hand. Looking down with a hint of surprise in his eyes, he covered it with his.
He spoke softly, “She will not do this again, all right?” He began to move his hand off of hers but before he walked away he leaned in and whispered, “If you tell anyone about this,” motioning to their bonding moment, “I will vehemently deny it.”
Ginny laughed lightly as he swept through the curtains but she stopped when her brother and two friends came into view.
“He promised it would never happen again. Can I leave yet?”
Pansy made her way towards the owlery to send the letter to her father. She replayed the earlier conversation with Draco in her head and then tried to think of an explanation for the events which had plagued the youngest Malfoy.
Narcissa was weak. She must have done something to anger the Dark Lord; Lucius wouldn’t kill in cold blood, especially Narcissa. And Draco… ugh, he’s a true traitor! My oldest friend is now spending time with *them*.
Sitting on a large stone in the owlery, she prepared to send the letter. As she attached the parchment to a random barn owl she was surprised when a large black owl approached her with a letter in its beak. Glancing at it, she noticed her name on the envelope and removed it, curiosity taking over.
Could it be? She opened the letter and sat on a window ledge, ignoring the bird droppings beneath her.
Miss Parkinson “
The Dark Lord has determined that you have great promise in your future amongst the other dark wizards…
Pansy had a gleam in her eyes as she continued reading the letter from Lucius Malfoy.
Harry sat in the Gryffindor common room with Ginny while Ron and Hermione did their rounds together. Not many people were in there “ most were getting reacquainted with their dorm mates after the long summer break. This time around, however, Harry thought his time would be best spent with Ginny.
It had taken a lot of begging on Harry’s part, but Ginny was allowed to return to the dorms after her leg was mended. Thankfully it was a clean break and she had been given a potion for the pain in her head.
Ever since earlier that night in the hospital, he felt as if he needed to protect her. Ginny appeared to be perfectly content with her present company. She sat in the large chair with Harry at her feet. They silently read random school books while waiting for Ron and Hermione to return.
As if on command, the portrait hole opened to reveal the two giggling prefects. The two who had been waiting looked up. Ginny shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“Did you two actually patrol tonight or just take advantage of the dark hallways?”
Ron smacked his forehead in mock shock. “Did you hear that Hermione? We had empty school halls we could have taken advantage of! Quick “ do we have any time left?”
Hermione chided him. “Maybe these two would like a few more minutes to themselves.”
Harry and Ginny quickly stood up.
“Hermione!” they both shouted. Harry gave what could have been described as a nervous laugh.
It got quiet all of a sudden. Hermione made the first move.
“Goodnight Ronald.”
He kissed her gently in reply and said, “Night, love.”
Ginny looked over at her friend next to her and shrugged. “Night, Harry.”
Harry gave her a tight hug. “G’night, Ginny.”
Everyone made their way back to their dorms for the night.
Safe Haven by NikkiSue
Chapter Notes: They knew their first night at Hogwarts with their classmates would not be easy but no one was expecting injuries. Things are starting to unfold and get messy . . . A huge thank you to Alyssa for a super quick beta job.