Chapter 2 - Draco

My expectations of Pansy not agreeing with how I treated her last night were right, unfortunately. I already couldn't stand her, but with the mere two hours of sleep I eventually managed to get, she really seems to have a death wish by stopping me in my tracks within seconds after I leave my dorm.

'What was all that last night? You look terrible, by the way,' she tells me, something I really don't need to hear from her. I saw myself in the mirror only minutes ago and know pretty well how dark the circles beneath my eyes are. 'I already told you, it's none of your business. Now get out of my way,' I snap at her, pushing her aside so I can leave the Slytherin common room with the other students and visit the girl in the Hospital Wing before breakfast.

'Where are you going now? The Great Hall is right over there, you know,' Pansy tells me, in a very know-it-all voice that scarily sounds like mudblood Granger. I don't bother to respond to her and simply keep on walking towards the staircases that will take me towards the Hospital Wing. 'Draco! I thought we'd get breakfast together,' Pansy now whines, leaving me no choice but to turn around and throw her a filthy look that seems to have an impact already. 'We never made plans, stop dreaming! I have to go somewhere, so just go, I'll eat later today,' I say, sighing deeply because I can already tell that she is not buying it.

'No, I am going with you then. If that something is more important than breakfast, I really want to know what that is,' she states, crossing her arms over her chest as if it will make her look more convincing. She really isn't going anywhere but wherever I am going.

'Suit yourself then,' I groan and drag myself up the stairs with Pansy hot on my heels, but I do keep in mind that she might leave me alone once she realises that I am planning to visit another girl. Pansy Parkinson is the most jealous girl I have ever met, she even scowls at my own mother when I hug her! She would never accept it to see my attention going to another woman, let alone saving her life like I did yesterday. And Pansy will fill in those blanks soon enough once the mysterious girl leaves the Hospital Wing.

I am right, as usual, because we haven't even reached the third floor yet when Pansy stops me dead in my tracks with a very annoyed and confused look on her face. She roughly tugs my sleeve to stop me, very annoying!

'Draco, I have no idea what you are up to, but as far as I know, there is no Slytherin in the Hospital Wing. How could they be? Term hasn't even started yet!' she says, I don't really bother to hide the massive grin appearing on my face while I look back at her. She just gave me the perfect opportunity to touch her on the raw;

'Oh, but I never said she was in Slytherin,' is my only response, not taking any effort in trying to keep the gender out. This is exactly what I want Pansy to know! And by the looks of it, I really did hurt her. Seeing the tears forming in her eyes makes this dreadful morning a little better, Pansy really can't stand to see how I have attention for other women.

Good.

'She? You're taking me to the Hospital Wing to visit another girl? You call that taking care of something important? Well, I want no part in it. Look luck with the little whore, I am out!' she yells at me, turning on her heel even before I manage to respond. Her footsteps echo through the hallway as she makes her way back to the Great Hall while I climb the final few steps to get to the Hospital Wing, feeling quite satisfied.

I can follow my own trail of blood that I left behind last night, for some reason I really don't like looking at it and hope it will be clean before I have my lesson here on this floor. People don't have to see what it does to me.

Eventually, I enter the Hospital Wing and greet Madame Pomfrey with a short nod before walking towards the bed where I left the girl last night. Her bed is still soaked with blood, telling me that it was probably no use to clean it yet because it's still bleeding. It also looks like she hasn't moved at all since I left her here, but I can tell that her breathing is more steady and calm.

Madame Pomfrey must've treated the wounds, because I feel a little uneasy when noticing how the girl's upper body is only covered up in a lot of bandages. Nevertheless, I drop myself in the empty seat next to her bed to wait for her to wake up.

'Mr Malfoy, I urgently have to ask you not to wake her. She has had a very rough night with all the potions I had to give her. She's only been asleep for a mere two hours,' the nurse tells me with a stern look when seeing how I slowly bend over towards the girl. Her words kind of shock me, since it also has been only two hours since I finally fell asleep. The uneasy feeling I'd been having all throughout the night suddenly disappeared on that moment.

'I doubt it was that bad,' is my immediate sneer, leaning back into the seat while ignoring the filthy glare I get from Madame Pomfrey. 'Actually, it certainly was, Mr Malfoy! The wound on her back is caused by a werewolf! She is very lucky to be scratched and not bitten, although she will have a permanent scar for the rest of her life,' she tells me, causing that strange feeling of panic to return again! Why does it feel like I care?!

Of course, I know how dangerous a werewolf can be, even in human form they are very nasty and I've seen what it can do to people first hand. It never bothered me like it does now though, all these people simply deserved it. Why can't I think the same about this girl?

'Mr Malfoy, you saved her life by bringing her here, but why did you?' Madame Pomfrey now asks me, sitting down in the seat next to mine, but I can't really come up with an answer. I know very well that rescuing this girl is the complete opposite of what I'd normally do, it doesn't fit the image people have of me! Even in the condition that this girl was in, I normally would have just stepped over her and let others take care of it. I really don't have a clue why I did this.

Fortunately, her attention is drawn away from me when the girl suddenly stirs in her sleep, she seems to be very restless but the nurse beside me leaves it to her to wake up on her own, which eventually happens.

Her eyes flutter for a moment, but then those big green eyes come to view again and I can't help it but stare in awe when realising that they look at me right away. Out of all places she could look first, she looks at me? Could she feel that I saved her?

'You...' she whispers, getting up at a stretch while the fear of last night still lingers in her eyes. Those big Bambi-like eyes surely have a very powerful source within them, because I really don't feel like my true self when I lean forward in an attempt to calm her down. To my surprise, it actually works! Yet I really don't know what has gotten into me when I can't get myself to look away from her, it must've been the lack of sleep from last night that messes with my head.

'Am I safe here?' she asks me, I immediately nod. Despite the very strong opinion I have about the rules and principles of this school, Hogwarts is without a doubt the safest place in the entire Wizarding world at this moment, so she will definitely be safe! She probably ran from some kind of danger chasing her in the Muggle world, but I can't be quite certain if it actually could be a threat caused by the Muggles, since it could easily be the works of a very Dark wizard whose magical powers are still growing every single day.

'And you took me here?' she continues, she does ask a lot of questions! Still, I nod once more and drag my seat a little closer towards the bed.

'I couldn't exactly leave you out there in the cold now, could I? You were wounded,' I answer, surprising both Madame Pomfrey and myself by the kind and gentle tone I manage to push from somewhere deep inside. Yet at the same time, it seems to come all about by itself...

I can't blame the girl for frowning a little as if she questions my intentions, because the nurse behind me doesn't bother to hide her amazement at all and quickly pushes me aside to get access to the girl herself. Though she is not the only one doubting my actions, I am quite surprised myself!

'You've had a very rough night, my dear. How are you feeling?' Madame Pomfrey asks the girl sweetly, I am going to vomit.

Nonetheless, the question doesn't really seem to reassure the girl, as she slowly crawls back beneath the covers once she becomes aware of her half-naked appearance in front of Madame Pomfrey and me. I can almost hear the thoughts roaming in her mind and once again this strange and very annoying urge to calm her down gets to me.

'I am fine, I suppose. A little confused though,' the girl eventually mumbles, to which the nurse asks how so. 'Well, I had a very strange dream last night. About werewolves attacking me and some man ordering to make a healing potion, but that's just crazy... right? I must've fallen on my head or something,' she chuckles, as if she already feels embarrassed by just telling this.

To me, it only confirms my suspicions that she doesn't have any clue of the existence of the Wizarding World, or the fact that she is a witch herself! Madam Pomfrey also seems to realise it, because she suddenly seems to swallow her next routine questions to think them through.

I want to know who this girl is and am about to ask her name, but once again I don't get the opportunity to talk when the girl throws a look at the little jar on her nightstand.

Why does she freeze?

'Powdered silver and dittany...' she mumbles, looking at the scripture on the bottle that clearly holds the ingredients that were used to heal the injury on her back. Apparently, she does know something about her night here in the Hospital Wing.

I can see her thoughts roaming all over the place, multiple emotions are seen within her eyes and although she still seems pretty calm at first, but I know that she's very confused again when the deep frown on her forehead returns. It seems like she doesn't really know how to feel, but eventually her eyes show the same frightened look in them when I found her last night.

Madam Pomfrey doesn't manage to step in on time, as the girl has already taken the wand out of her hands before she can conjure a calming draught and stands next to the bed. It only makes her freak out even more because now she can clearly see the blood drenched sheets on her bed. The bandages covering the wound on her back also turn a deep shade of red, telling both Madam Pomfrey and me that her wound has opened up again.

'What is this place?' the girl then asks, the fierce look in her eyes is quite impressive, yet somewhat scary at the same time. I mean, she was a helpless, innocent girl in need only three seconds ago! I can see now how she managed to survive the dangers lingering within the Forbidden Forest, she is feisty...

'You said I was safe here!'

The accusative tone in her voice makes me snort for a moment, who does she think she is to talk to me like that! I am the Slytherin Prince, no one has the right to tell me off!

'I will answer all of your questions, my dear. But I must ask you to return that to me,' Madam Pomfrey tells her, pointing at the magical wand in the girl's hands. I can also see the red sparks dripping from the tip. 'Why? What is so special about this thing?' the girl now asks, she throws a very suspicious look to both me and the nurse, but immediately drops the wand when seeing what it does. The frightened look in her Bambi-like eyes once again give me the urge to sit down with her and not leave her side until she's calmed down. What is wrong with me?!

'What the fuck is happening here?!' the girl shouts, slowly backing away from us and I am a little confused by the word she is using. 'Please, honey. It is really important for you to calm down, the herbs and potions have a serious effect on your physical well-being,' says Madam Pomfrey, as if the girl will calm down after hearing that! 'Bullshit! You have that weird stick back, so I want answers. What is this madness?!' the girl commands, she has a point since the nurse promised her this. I can definitely tell that she is not from our world by the language she uses, in the short period of time that she talked, I seriously have questions about certain words she used. It doesn't sound very friendly though, which is something that Madam Pomfrey doesn't really approve and while the girl keeps ranting, she successfully conjures a calming potion to stop this girl from harming herself even more. Blood is seeping from the wound again and I can hear the nurse mumbling about how she can start right over with her treatment.

As the girl slowly sits back down again without saying a word, a blurry glance lingers in her eyes that shows the potion is doing its work. But it slowly seems to wear off already, since I can see the brightness of her green coloured eyes return almost right away.

'Mr Malfoy, would you go and fetch professor Dumbledore for me? He will be in the Great Hall and probably knows best what to do with her,' Madame Pomfrey says, I follow her orders without arguing. Of course, this surprises her because I always try to argue with her!

My only goal for this morning is to know as much as possible about this girl, according to her feisty attitude, I bet she can do a lot. So I immediately make my way to the Great Hall to get professor Dumbledore, only to bump into him even before I've turned the first corner of the third floor. Apparently, he was already on his way to the Hospital Wing and it really doesn't surprise me to realise that he already knows about this girl. This man knows everything!

Which is also a great concern of mine because of the plan I need to execute this year...

'Good morning, Mr Malfoy. I assume you were sent by Madame Pomfrey on account of the girl you brought in last night?' he asks, I can only nod and follow the Headmaster back to the Hospital Wing, where Madame Pomfrey is pretty occupied with the wound on the girl's back again. It surely is a nasty one!

'Thank you, Mr Malfoy, you may go,' she says when seeing that I have returned with professor Dumbledore, but I have no intentions to leave.

Not before I have at least her name...

'I found her, it's more likely for her to stay calm when I am around when she wakes up. I am not going anywhere,' I tell her, a deep sigh is heard from the nurse. This is exactly how she's known me for the past six years. Yet, she still allows me to take a seat next to the bed of the girl. Our Headmaster takes the other one and with that, we wait for the potion to die down on the mysterious girl. Who apparently is even stronger than she seems, because it actually takes a while before she begins to stir again. Madame Pomfrey must've used a strong dose.

Nevertheless, the girl still seems to break through it herself, as she gets up at a stretch and looks around in confusion. She probably doesn't have a clue of what just happened.

I can't hold back a massive grin when I turn out to be right about what I told Madam Pomfrey, the girl is close to panicking again, but the fear in her eyes dies down a little when she looks at me. My moment of triumph doesn't last very long, however, as she reaches for her shoulder and cries out in pain due to the injury. She must've forgotten her panic because of that...

'What happened to me? Where am I?' she then asks, mainly directed at me as she throws a quick glance at the headmaster beside me. A suspicious look appears on her face when she sees the wand in the nurse's hands and I can see her back away once again. According to the way she keeps looking at me, I have gained a little trust already.

'We will tell you anything you want to know, but could I ask for your name first, please?' asks professor Dumbledore. Very annoying!

Anyway, I am quite curious to her name as well, so I put my annoyance aside for now and carefully listen to what the girl replies with;

'Darcy Valentine.'