“Where is her body?”
He could feel their shock filled eyes boring into his back, their minds working hurriedly to form an answer that would satisfy him in his unstable state.
He resisted the temptation to turn around and look at them. He wouldn’t, couldn’t allow them to see him in this state of weakness. They had already seen too much. He sucked in his breath, willing the tears to stop falling.
It was Bill who finally answered; with another question. A typical Weasley, he thought with a sneer.
“What are you doing here Malfoy?” Bill asked more harshly than he intended. He winced at the sharp look Snape gave him.
Yes, what indeed was he doing here, Draco thought almost idly as he finally got hold of his emotions. What the hell was he doing here, kneeling in the girl’s bathroom, drenched in Ginny’s blood? For that matter, why in the world was he crying, when he knew she wasn’t dead, knew logically, that she couldn’t die? Not with the key that hung around her neck.
His answer to Professor Weasley’s question was to stand up suddenly, slightly swaying on his feet. He turned around, the blank expression on his face masking his true emotions. He asked again, this time his voice icy and demanding.
“Where is the damn body?!”
Bill tried to suppress the thought that arose unbidden; he wasn’t facing a student anymore but a dangerous, slightly unhinged man. The Malfoy that now stood in front of him reminded him of his father, Lucius, the hardened criminal, heavily guarded at Azkaban.
“Why do you ask Mr. Malfoy?” Snape asked quietly, almost soothingly, as if he was talking to someone who was just a little hysterical, instead of the too calm figure of Draco Malfoy.
“Was there a necklace, anything, any type of jewellery hanging on her neck?” Draco asked in desperation, frustrated at the two men. Why weren’t they just answering his question?
As Snape opened his mouth to answer, Myrtle, who had been floating there, completely forgotten, said something.
“You mean this shiny thing?”
As Draco spun around and advanced towards the dark corner under the sinks indicated by Myrtle, he dimly heard her continue in her whiny voice.
“She took it off, right before she slit her wrists. She had stood there staring at it for such a long time that I wondered if she was ever going to go through with-”
A sharp piercing cry interrupted Myrtle’s gruesome recount of Ginny’s death. It had come from Draco, who had sunk to his knees, cradling the unknown object in his arms.
Astonished, at the sudden transformation from dangerous creature to boy, Bill silently walked towards the child, mentally reproaching himself for being over-dramatic.
Snape was faster. He reached down to touch the boy’s shoulder, only to freeze as he spoke again.
“She was haunted you know. By Tom Riddle. Ever since the Department of Mysteries incident, he used to haunt her, send her images, like he did with Potter. That’s why she used to come down to the potions lab,” Draco said in an odd voice, sounding distant to his own ears. He breathed in deeply, to stop himself talking as well as to keep the tears at bay.
Bill waited with baited breath, dreading yet also hoping the Slytherin would continue. When the silence stretched on and it became clear Draco wasn’t going to say anymore, Snape reached down and laid a hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“Come,” Snape, said gently, “You’re in shock. Let’s get you to the Hospital Wing”. He waited for Malfoy to rise, before leading him out of the blood filled girls bathroom, the hand still resting on his shoulder. It was surprisingly easy, considering this was the same disagreeable child that he taught in class.
Bill risked a glance at the young man’s face, and then wished he hadn’t. There was a blank look in the Slytherin’s eyes, as if he wasn’t really there. To distract himself from the hollow gaze and thinking about how his sister had the same look on her face when the found her lying on the stone floor of the bathroom surrounded her own blood, he looked down at the object lying in Malfoy’s hand.
It was a plain silver chain, nothing too spectacular or eye catching until one looked at the pendant. It was slim, a twisting piece of silver gold and emerald, and bore a striking resemblance to the Slytherin crest. With one significant difference. Instead of a snake or basilisk, this crest had a tree-like figure with what seemed like a blue-green trunk on it. The locket appeared to be alive, twisting and morphing, constantly changing and giving off a dazzling array of colours.
Bills vast knowledge of charmed items and other artefacts didn’t give him any sort of idea as to where this necklace could come from. Even if it was hidden away within the Malfoy lands, surely it would have been mentioned? Because to have a pendant made of living metal, metal that had raw magic and power of its own, was very rare indeed. And Bill had a niggling thought in the back of his mind that he had seen the tree-symbol somewhere before, relating to something very important. He glanced back up at Malfoy’s blank face, only to see an amused look on Snape’s face.
Cursing inwardly at the fact that he had been caught staring openly, Bill cleared his throat and turned his to focus on the corridor they were walking in, trying to ignore the smirk on Snape’s lips.
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When Draco awoke, it was to a sun filled room, the light blaring through the open window. Funny, when did I ever sleep with the curtains open?
Suddenly, he sat up, the horrible events of last night returning to his mind. The hope that it was just a nightmare did not last too long in his practical mind.
“Oh Gods!” he groaned, covering his face with his hands, wishing he were asleep again. There, at least, the image of a happy, laughing and alive Ginny might greet him.
A movement in the corner of his eye, alerted him to the fact that he might not be alone. He spun around, the sheets around his legs hampering his movement. No, it was just fluttering of a curtain, white and simple that hung around a bed, shielding it from the rest of the room. But why-?
He slowly got out of bed. Could it be? No, they wouldn’t leave a body just lying here would they?
Half dreading what he might find hidden behind the curtain, he cautiously walked over the bed. Heart in his mouth, he reached up to move the curtain aside.
He briefly glimpsed ruby red hair spread over pillows before a loud voice interrupted him.
“Mr. Malfoy! What are you doing over there?” Madam Promfrey demanded her voice particularly loud in the quiet of the Hospital Wing.
He jerked back from the enclosed bed, his heart thudding against his chest, sighing quietly in disappointment yet also very relieved. He didn’t think he could stand to see her cold, pale body against the crisp white sheets of the hospital bed. To know that the hand he was reaching out for would be cold and lifeless.
He walked over to where Madam Promfrey was standing, wondering distantly why he was feeling so calm about everything. Maybe I am still in shock? He sighed and allowed the nurse to hastily check him for any sign of an injury. When it was clear there wasn’t anything physically wrong with him, she sniffed disdainfully and said that if he was well enough to walk around, he might as well go back to his room.
The school nurse had always treated him scornfully, maybe because he was more often than not the cause of the injuries sustained by the students who came to the hospital wing.
As he donned his robes, which were lying on the chair beside the bed Really, when had he taken that off?, he suddenly remembered the necklace he had picked up from the bathroom floor the night before.
He frowned, reaching down to pat the hidden pocket in his robes. Yes, it was still there, though he didn’t remember putting it there. He resisted the urge to take it out and hold it, for though its feel would comfort him, he would forever remember how it looked against Ginny’s pale, freckled skin when she had first worn it.
He clenched his jaw, determined not to break down again in front of anyone else, he had done enough damage to his image.
Then he realised the absurdity of his last thought. Ginny was dead and he was worried about his image? Suddenly feeling he needed to hold on to something, or stiff drink, he exited the Hospital Wing.
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So, how did I go? I personally think I royally sucked and made Draco too indifferent but my betas have assured me that I’m just imagining things. Feedback would be lovely, but I have to warn you, the next chapter won’t be coming out as fast.
To Be Continued.
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