The next day, Hermione woke up bright and early. Classes start today! she thought to herself excitedly. Then she remembered the incident that had occurred the previous night, and her heart sunk a little bit. She got up quietly, and cautiously poked her head out the door to see if Draco was there. The door to his room was open once again, and she could see into it - no one was there. The bed had not been slept in the previous night, and everything was neat and untouched.
Wondering where he had went, she dressed in a simple t-shirt and muggle jeans and put on her school robes. Then with a dab of lipgloss, she grabbed her bookbag and hurried out of the door to the Great Hall for breakfast. When she arrived there, Ginny was sitting at their usual spot, but the boys were nowhere to be found.
"Did they sleep in again?" Hermione asked with a chuckle as she seated herself by the younger girl.
"Most likely," replied Ginny with a grin.
The two chatted about their schedules and their teachers this year as they ate. About halfway through their meal, Harry and Ron rushed in with their hair sticking out in all directions and their robes wrinkled.
"Slept in, eh?" Hermione said without bothering to look up. Every year they did; it was nothing new to her or Ginny.
"Yeah," Ron said breathlessly as he sat down across from Hermione. Harry sat down next to him, and the two of them promptly began to stuff their faces with scrambled eggs and bacon.
"Hey, look guys, we have Defense Against the Dark Arts together this afternoon," said Hermione as she scanned over her schedule. "The new teacher seems nice, doesn't he?"
"Sure," Harry mumbled over his mouthful of food.
A few minutes later, Hermione put down her fork and announced that she was going to the library to catch up on some reading before their first class, which was Transfiguration. She kissed each of them on the cheek goodbye, and then ran out the door.
"She's always going to the library, that one," grumbled Ron as he piled more sausages on his plate.
Hermione felt a twinge of guilt as she hurriedly walked to her dormitory. Lately, it seemed, she had been lying more often than not to her friends, and usually it was to see Draco. She put an end to her musings as a fourth year walked by with a fanged Frisbee not-so-cleverly hidden in his back pocket. She took off 20 points from his house, then continued on her way.
She said the password and immediately gasped in horror. The room looked as if someone had spread Erumpent fluid over everything and left it there. The couches, tables, and walls were all ripped and had burn marks all over them, as if a battle had just gone on. The lamp on the windowsill across from her was weakly flickering, and the window behind it had been shattered.
Treading carefully amid all the broken pieces of wood and glass, she reached Draco's room and carefully pushed the door open. Everything in it was neat and just like it had been earlier than morning. Noting this with surprise, she turned around and opened her own room's door. She shrieked loudly and stumbled backwards at the sight that greeted her.
Draco was leaning against the wall while standing on trembling knees and holding onto Hermione's bed to steady himself. His cheeks had long gashes on them, which were bleeding openly. One of his bruised hands held a shirt over his right eye, and his hair was clotted with blood. His robes were torn to the point of no recognition and were dotted with holes and scorch marks.
Hearing Hermione open the door, he groaned, cringing as pain shot up his chest. Why does the Mudblood always have to come at the worst goddamn moments, he thought with frustration. Out loud, he croaked, "What do you want, Granger?"
"What the hell happened here?!" she screamed, rushing over to Draco.
"Nothing," he said as his knees gave out and he was forced to fall to the ground.
"You call this nothing? What happened??"
Draco moaned in pain, then proceeded to say, "Get away from me, Mudblood, I don't need your help. I'm perfectly fine."
"No you're not," Hermione replied as she kneeled beside him. "Please, I'm trying to help. We have to get you to Dumbledore and you have to tell him what happened."
"I'm not," said Draco, pausing to cough violently, "going to anyone. He'll...he'll kill me." With these last words, he turned limp as he fell into a state of unconsciousness.
"Oh Merlin," Hermione said in agitation. "What do I DO?" She knew that she had to get Draco to Dumbledore, or at least Madam Pomfrey. Muttering the word ”mobilicorpus”, she waved her wand at Draco. His body floated into the air in front of her, and, as she headed out of their destroyed dormitory, did so as well.
Luckily, the hallways were empty as Hermione walked towards Dumbledore's office. Everyone's first class had begun, and no one was occupying the corridors other than the ghosts and mice. The portraits watched her in shock and whispered to each other as she passed. Finally, she reached the two gargoyles, and said the password: "Candy apples."
The gargoyles slid apart with a rumble to reveal a slowly ascending spiral staircase. She stepped onto it with Draco's body still floating in front of her, and let it carry her upwards towards the headmaster's office.
Once she reached the top, she stepped off and knocked politely on the large oak door. "Come in," a voice said from behind it. She carefully turned the knob, and pushed open the door.
Dumbledore's eyebrows rose in surprise when he saw Draco's bruised and bloody form. "What happened?" he said with concern, turning his light blue eyes to Hermione.
"I-I-I don't know," she stuttered. "I went to our dormitory after breakfast to try to talk to him, and I found him in this state."
The headmaster stood up and walked over to her to examine Draco's unconscious body. "It looks like he has been in a duel," he murmured to himself. "Trinduy," he said sharply to a portrait as he turned around, "Go call Madam Pomfrey. Tell her she has a patient to look after immediately.
A painting of a short, fat man with dark hair nodded importantly, and hurried off. The other former headmasters in the paintings awakened at the sound of their friend's name, and all began talking at once.
"Miss Granger, you may go back to class."
"I want to stay here though, Professor."
"Very well then. Can you describe the state of your dormitory when you entered it?"
"Well...all the furniture was torn up and burned. The window had been shattered, as if someone had aimed a good few stunning spells at it, and everything was just a mess."
"And where did you find him?" asked Dumbledore with a thoughtful look on his face.
"This is actually the weird part...I found him in my room rather than his. His room was perfectly normal as if no one had been in it since the day before."
The old wizard's mouth tightened slightly. "So he tried to come after you first," he said softly.
"W-wh-what do you mean?" she asked.
Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Madam Pomfrey, the Hogwarts nurse. "What is it, headmaster?"
Dumbledore pointed at Draco, who was still hovering a few inches above the ground. "Take care of him. He has been attacked."
Madam Pomfrey nodded, and waved her wand, causing Draco's body to follow her as she headed back downstairs to the care ward. Now, Hermione and Dumbledore were left alone.
"Miss Granger, I would explain this too you, but I think it would be better for you to hear it from Mr. Malfoy when the time comes. Do you still have the allievrae?"
She opened her mouth to ask him how he knew about that, then remembered that he could see everything that happened on the grounds. She closed her mouth, and nodded.
"Give it to me."
Hermione reached into her pocket and pulled it out. "Is this linked to what happened?" she asked in a whisper.
"No, but it is best that you don't keep something so powerful where...anyone can reach it," Dumbledore answered, his eyes piercing into hers. "Now, go back to class. I will have new temporary quarters arranged for you and Mr. Malfoy."
She gulped, and nodded again. "Good day, Professor," she said as she turned to go out the door.
"Good day to you too, Miss Granger. And good luck this school year," he said quietly. As he watched her retreating form, he thought to himself with a little smile, Brightest Hogwarts witch ever indeed...