The Dragon, The Lion and The Serpent

Too Much and Visitor

"Ginny, I can't take it anymore! He's driving me crazy!" Abigail shouted out in desperation as she strolled down the corridor with her friend. It had been two weeks since she had agreed to be Blaise Zabini's girlfriend again and she was seriously regretting her decision.

"It can't be that bad," Ginny suggested softly.

"Gin, he punched a fifth-year last week because he smiled at me! He's completely nuts and utterly obsessed! He never used to act like this," Abigail continued, making her way through the crowd of students before her.

As she reached their Transfiguration class she lowered her voice. "I even asked Pansy if she'd sleep with him," she said confidentially.

Ginny's eyes shot wide open. "What?! Why?"

"'Cause if I catch them out, then I can break up with him for infidelity and he can't get mad in return. I'll have kept my side of the bargain, and he'll keep his. Hopefully! But Parkinslut laughed right in my face and actually refused!" she explained, scowling. "I mean what's wrong with her? Any other day, she would have jumped on the offer; it's like she's suddenly got morals or something."

"Oh Abby, Pansy hasn't suddenly grown a conscience," Ginny explained gently, patting her friend's arm in comfort. "She probably did it to piss you off!"

"Yeah, I know," the Slytherin admitted, looking defeated. She sank down into a chair and sulked.

She was so miserable since she had been seeing Blaise again and, no matter what Ginny said, she knew perfectly well that her Gryffindor friend did not understand her. According to Ginny, Blaise followed right behind Malfoy as the ultimate sex god and so she couldn't understand why Abigail complained about him.

A dark-haired figure suddenly crossed Abigail's mind and she held back a smile. "I talked to Harry again today."

"Oh Merlin, you shouldn't! What if Malfoy or Zabini find out?" Ginny reminded her cautiously, sitting down too and pulling out parchment and a quill from her book bag.

Abigail gave a dry laugh and waved her comment off. "Please, Blaise will never find out and Malfoy - believe me, he wouldn't say anything."

Oh course he wouldn't! I know too much about him and Granger!

"Anyway, Harry seems pretty upset that he can't take part in the match tomorrow against Slytherins. Dumbledore said 'no'," Abigail continued, emphasising the insult on the headmaster.

"Don't call him that!" Ginny said hotly, throwing her a look. "Professor Dumbledore is one of the greatest wizards of the world and if it wasn't for him, You Know Who would have already taken over!"

Abigail apologised, realising she had upset her friend, and quickly turned her attention to Professor McGonagall. Like all Gryffindors, Ginny had some sort of blind faith in the headmaster that Abigail just couldn't understand.

The rest of the day passed by rapidly and soon it was night again. Abigail spent most of her night working on her Charms in the Slytherin common room, ignoring Zabini and his not-so-subtle sexual innuendos.

"Hey Abby," he shouted across the room, sitting among his male friends. "Since you like fiddling with your wand so much, come over here and I'll let you play with mine!"

His friends guffawed with laughter as she shot him a dark look and stormed off to her dormitory.

*****

Abigail woke up late the next morning and missed breakfast again. She scolded herself for missing out a meal, again, but she seemed to constantly run out of time whenever it came to eating.

As she walked hurriedly to the Great Hall she heard angry voices ahead of her. She slowed down as she turned the corner and saw Malfoy and Granger in front of her. She hesitated and anxiously watched the heated conversation they were engaged in in the hallway.

Abigail had noticed them avoiding each other over the past two weeks. She suspected that this was the first time that they had spoken to each other since the incident next to the Black Knight's painting. Neither of them seemed to notice her loitering in the corridor and so she slipped behind a nearby statue to eavesdrop on their conversation.

" - You hate the fact that every day you look more and more like your father -"

Ouch! That's gotta hurt - Malfoy isn't going to like that!

But something else suddenly caught her attention. A tall, dark-haired figure had also noticed the heated argument from the other side of the corridor and was marching down the corridor towards the couple. Thinking it could be a teacher, Abigail decided to leave quietly before she got into trouble herself, but as she turned away she did a quick double-take as she spotted green eyes.

It was Harry!

Oh Merlin! What on earth is he doing? Trying to get himself killed?

However, her mouth dropped open as she saw Harry stand up to the Slytherin Prince and even taunt him. That was how she remembered Harry from her first four years at Hogwarts and all of a sudden, she was actually glad to see Harry stick up for himself again.

She was happy for him, but at the same time, she noticed Malfoy was holding tightly onto his wand, as if he was about to strike back at the Boy Who Lived. Panicked that such an assault might frighten away all the recently gained confidence from Harry, Abigail did what she thought was best.

She cursed Malfoy.

"Petrificus Totalus!" she whispered, pulling her wand out.

Instantly, Malfoy froze on the spot as if his body was fully bound. Abigail waited cautiously for Harry and Granger to hurry away from his frozen form before coming out of her hiding place and stepping up to him herself.

She looked directly into his face and grinned at him mischievously.

"I know you can hear me," she said, waving a hand in front of his face and smirking. His eyes, the only part of him that was free, glared at her viciously. "You didn't see that one coming, huh?"

She chuckled to herself, putting her wand back inside her robes. "Oh don't worry, it'll soon wear off. You should know - I'm sure you've used this curse many times as a Death Eater!"

Seeing his grey eyes flickering angrily back at her, Abigail's expression became serious. "Malfoy, I'm only going to warn you once. Stay away from Harry Potter or deal with the wrath of a Serpent! He's only just building his confidence again and I don't want you breaking it up. Not now."

She gazed into his silver eyes, trying to make him understand the severity of the situation. "Harry's the only one who's capable of saving us from Voldemort and I don't care if you're a Death Eater or not; you leave him alone."

She spoke sternly as she threatened him and took pleasure from the fact that Malfoy was still frozen and would remain that way for a little moment still.

"Hum," she thought aloud, a smile grazing her lips, "What on earth am I going to do with you now?"

"I was just about to ask the same question," a hoarse voice spoke up behind her.

She whipped around in fright to find Filch and his dreadful cat staring right back at her.

"Shit," she breathed out.

*****

An hour later, after being forced to pay attention to Filch, who continuously threatened her in his office, Abigail looked up the long, narrow staircase, leading up to the headmaster's office nervously. She had already been inside a few times, but it always scared her how Dumbledore behaved around her. He always stared at her from behind his half-moon spectacles as if trying to decipher her inner secrets. It was quite disturbing, especially as he seemed to keep an even closer eye on her this year.

"Ah, Abigail Serpent," he said, lifting a white bushy eyebrow at her. "Mr Filch has reported to me that you have used magic in the corridors against another student - the Head Boy in fact."

Oh crap! I'm done for! Filch surely exaggerated the whole thing times ten!

"You know very well, that use of magic on another student is strictly forbidden, but coming from you, that does not surprise me," he continued, sitting behind his desk.

Abigail, who had been avoiding his gaze the whole time, suddenly looked up.

"Err - excuse me?" she dared to ask. Surely she hadn't broken that many rules! Of course, she had had her share of detentions and points taken off her house, but nothing in comparison to the Weasley twins.

"Well your grandmother was a troublemaker too when she was a student here. She looked and behaved just like you actually; always breaking school rules. She also thought that she was better than everybody else because she knew more about magic than the average student."

He looked at her sharply through his spectacles and she felt herself inexplicably drawn in to what he had to say.

"Indeed, it comes as no great surprise that she helped Voldemort at his beginnings."

Abigail stared back at him, stunned. Her grandmother had joined forces with Voldemort? What the hell? That certainly couldn't be true.

Lost in her thoughts, she jumped back in surprise, as several of the portraits hung behind her began to stir and mumble.

"Professor Dumbledore," an old lady holding a monocle cried out indignantly. "It is not your place to say such things to the girl -"

"I do not wish to hear your opinion on the matter Calantha," Dumbledore answered sternly, still keeping his gaze fixed on Abigail.

She looked back at him incredulously. "What are you talking about?" Abigail asked, looking quizzical. "My grandmother never joined the dark side, my mother told me that she was a good witch and died saving another witch's life."

She felt her eyes grow wide in astonishment as Dumbledore laughed right back at her with wicked amusement. "She died in battle some twenty years ago, killed by an Auror - Everett Thompson, I believe."

Killed by an Auror -? What?

Abigail's grandmother had died when Abigail was still a baby so she had never met the woman, but her mother had always told her that she was a good witch. Hell, everyone in the Serpent family was good, or at least neutral, since no one could take sides.

And yet, as she searched into Dumbledore's sparkling blue eyes, somehow she knew that every word he had said was the truth.

The realisation made her feel like someone had just doused her with an enormous bucket of ice-cold water. Her mind suddenly began to spin as thousands of questions shot through it. Why did her mother lie to her? Why had everyone kept it secret? Why and how did her grandmother join forces with Voldemort?!

"No, it can't be true! She couldn't have joined sides, she would have lost all of her magic," Abigail explained, feeling her voice becoming overwhelmed with emotion. "Besides Mother wouldn't lie to me - she wouldn't!"

She was speaking more to herself than to Dumbledore, as if trying to reassure herself that it was all a lie.

The headmaster merely shrugged at her words, a quill playing between his fingers. "Well then, your mother must be a formidable liar. She certainly hasn't told you the truth; your grandmother killed many people during her time and died as she deserved to."

"How can you say that?" Abigail cried out, feeling tears sting her eyes. Several other portraits, now all awoken, whispered in agreement behind her.

Dumbledore's twinkling blue eyes snapped back up at her and he slowly got to his feet, frowning deeply. "Because your grandmother taught Lord Voldemort part of her knowledge, because she was the reason why he became so strong, because she helped him kill -"

"Enough, enough!" Abigail cut off, shaking her head as tears flowed down her face. "I believe you."

He sat back down, ruffling through some papers. He obviously had no sympathy for her and regarded her with contempt. Abigail was stunned - she had never thought he could be so harsh to one of his students! She had never seen or heard him like this before.

"Now, I must also advise you not to approach Harry Potter again. Do I make myself clear?"

"What? Not see Harry again?" she echoed, briefly thrown off by the change of subject. "But why?"

"Because you are a Serpent and as all Serpents, you are dangerous. You are a bad influence on him and I will not see you in his company again," he steamed from behind his desk.

She felt the air being sucked out of her lungs as she took in his words. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could Dumbledore say that to her? She had never known that he hated her family so much.

"But this is ridiculous!" she retorted, wiping the tears out of her eyes. "Whatever my grandmother did, my mother is a good woman and I'm a good person too. You know very well that the Serpent family can't choose sides on this war. And - I want to help Harry! He lost all confidence in himself last year and he needs someone to help him, Professor!"

The room became deathly silent after she had finished shouting. Abigail gulped unconsciously as Dumbledore looked back at her angrily.

"Considering what happened two summers ago, I do not believe you to be a good person, therefore I shall ask you once again to leave Harry alone!"

Abigail jumped back at his words. How does he know about that? How does he know that I used magic on a Muggle?

"What? You can't judge me on that!" she glowered, balling her hands into fists. "That man had violated some Muggle friends of mine and he deserved what he got. The Ministry agreed that it was self-defence, I wasn't doing anything wrong!"

"Miss Serpent, you used magic on a Muggle!" he responded gravely, making her step back in fear. "It is strictly against the Ministry of Magic's laws."

"I -" Abigail choked, but he cut her off.

"You use magic for your own benefit, you cannot deny it, and that makes you no more worthy than Lord Voldemort," he concluded in a very flat, very cold and very final voice.

Panic rose in Abigail's throat and the room began to spin around her as she felt hot tears touch her cheeks.

"Albus!" an old man dressed in bright robes cried out. "For Merlin's sake, think about what you are saying!"

"Albus, do not mistake her for her grandmother!" Armando Dippet reminded him.

"You are no good for Harry, you are no good to anybody," Dumbledore continued harshly. "Look at what happened to your mother, she has been driven mad because of her thirst for power and it will be your destiny some day too Miss Serpent!"

Abigail was frozen on the spot, unable to speak. Normally, she would have fought back, she would have screamed, but Dumbledore's words about her mother and even about herself held some truth and they hurt. Her mother had obviously lied to her - she had always been thirsty for knowledge and now she had gone insane and Abigail would surely follow. Numerous questions rattled her mind and Abigail couldn't hear herself think, she couldn't even speak - she was just so confused!

Several portraits continued to cry out their protests, but Abigail did not hear them in her own confusion and Dumbledore purposely ignored them as he opened some files before him.

"I think that will be all for now."

She turned away, still speechless, as her headmaster's words sunk in. However, as she reached the door, she turned back to face him.

"Did you - did you ask the Hat to put me in Slytherin? " she finally whispered.

Dumbledore looked up at her and smiled. "Of course not Miss Serpent, you belong there."

Abigail rushed out of his office; she couldn't bear to hear anymore. She continued to run down the staircase and down the corridor to the Great Hall, stopping only to catch her breath.

It had all been a lie! How her grandmother had heroically died to save the life of another, how her mother had constantly assured her that the Serpent family could not take sides in wars, how she was supposed to keep holding the family honour when Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of their time, loathed it!

It had all been a lie! Her own mother had lied to her!

Abigail thought she might lose her mind. She had never known about her grandmother, she had no idea that she had played a part in the First War by helping Voldemort. How was she supposed to face Harry or Ginny now, knowing what she knew? How could she face anyone knowing what a monster her grandmother had been?

Abigail leant against the nearest stonewall and closed her eyes, praying that it was all just a dream, which would come to an end, but it wasn't. Her body suddenly began to ache and the truth finally sunk in.

Oh Mother, why didn't you tell me? How could you keep this from me?

Her heartbeat increased rapidly and the walls around her began to spin faster. She thought her head was swimming in nothingness and she tried to take deep breaths, but it only made things worse. Her vision blurred and her legs buckled underneath her.

All of a sudden, Abigail felt tired, so tired, as if she had not slept for days. She tried stumbling across the hallway, but the dizziness overtook her and she blacked out.

She did not see Harry, running towards her down the hall as she collapsed to the ground.

*****

(Draco's POV)

Focus, focus on the match! Come on, find the damn Snitch!

Draco watched the air like a hawk, trying to catch a glimpse of gold, whilst his mind kept drifting away.

Come on! Potter's not here today! Slytherin can win this!

He watched as the Weasel girl scored once again and the Gryffindors went wild in the stands.

That's 60-20 for Gryffindor! Come on, all you have to do is find the -

At that instant, the Golden Snitch whizzed past him and flew towards the crowd. Reacting instantly with instincts honed by years of practice, Draco zoomed after it at great speed. The Gryffindor seeker, noticing it too suddenly lunged towards the stands and followed Draco.

But it was too late, the Gryffindor was too far away to catch up and Draco's outstretched hand was mere inches from catching the Snitch. He shot past the stands, keeping his trained eye on the Snitch, which abruptly swerved and fell at great speed towards the ground, obliging Draco to follow it at neck-breaking speed. If he didn't catch it soon, he would have to abandon the chase or crash for certain to the ground.

Come on, just a little bit more - Got it!

His hand clasped firmly around the flying golden ball and he swooped dramatically back up into the air, causing the audience to gasp and then the Slytherins to cheer and applaud wildly.

The Slytherins had won; the match was over. They had beaten Gryffindor.

*****

Draco was left alone in the changing rooms after the match. He had taken his time getting changed, appreciating the silence around him. It had been wild after he had caught the Snitch, but now most of the Slytherins were back in their dungeons, celebrating their victory. Draco, however, had other things on his mind, or actually, another person in mind.

He hadn't seen Hermione at the match today and his mind kept wondering where she could have been. He got his answer as he heard someone creeping up on him from behind. Turning around abruptly, he grabbed the mysterious aggressor by the collar and slammed the person in the lockers.

"Dammit Malfoy!" Hermione shouted at him.

Realising who it was Draco let go instantly. "Granger? What the hell are you doing creeping up like that?"

"I was scared someone else might be in the locker room," she retorted, suddenly catching a glimpse of his naked torso.

Draco smirked as he realised that she was staring at his body. "This seems familiar," he whispered, whilst closing the gap between them.

But seeing her distressed face, he knew something had happened. "What's wrong?" he asked, frowning deeply at her anxious eyes.

"Malfoy, Abigail's in a coma," she blurted out in a panic. "Harry found her in the Great Hall, unconscious and when I went to see her, Snape wouldn't let either of us in. He won't tell us anything; only a Slytherin can see her. We don't even know if she's alright!"

Tears began to well up in her eyes as Draco looked stunned in return. Grabbing his black shirt, he slipped it on and took Hermione's hand.

"Don't cry Granger," he breathed out closing the gap between them. If she started to cry now he wouldn't have a clue as to what to do next. He always left his mother or Pansy alone when they started crying. In the end, he had no idea how to comfort them or how to comfort anyone.

"Come on," he ordered, leading her out of the changing rooms. They walked silently back to the castle and through the corridors until they reached the hospital wing. Snape was at the door, apparently guarding it.

"Stay here," he told Hermione, sitting her down on one of the benches in the hall.

"Professor Snape," he greeted.

"Draco, congratulations for the game," Snape said in return. "Are you here to see Miss Serpent? Madame Pomfrey will let only you in for the moment, seeing as you're Head Boy and Slytherin."

Draco nodded and Snape opened the door to let him in. Draco stepped inside and noticed several other students also in bed. He looked around hurriedly for Abigail and spotted one of the beds with its curtains drawn, closing it off from the rest of the hospital wing. As he made his way over, Madame Pomfrey suddenly called out to him.

"It's about time you got here, Mister Malfoy," she said harshly. "Honestly, as Head Boy, you should have been here an hour ago! But at least you're here now."

"What happened?" Draco asked.

"I have never seen anything like it," the school nurse whispered anxiously. "The girl is incredibly thin and suffering from some sort of anorexia. It is not very common in the wizarding world and Miss Serpent's case surprised me. If Mister Potter had not found her in time, Merlin knows what might have happened to her. She woke up for a bit after we stabilised her, but she has fallen asleep again. I do not understand how her friends or teachers had not noticed it her illness before. Her physical appearance is enough to alarm anyone. Had you not noticed it yourself?"

"No," he lied.

Madame Pomfrey eyed him suspiciously for a few seconds, but she lead him to the bed nonetheless.

"You may only stay a few minutes with her as she is still asleep. These next weeks are going to be very hard for her so I recommend that you visit frequently and help her feed herself. She needs someone by her side, someone who she may count on and who will make sure she eats."

She paused, looking intently at Draco. "I'll leave the curtains drawn," she finished, leaving him by himself.

He thought about what Madame Pomfrey had just told him and paused. Maybe he wasn't the best person to take care of Abigail, maybe someone like Hermione or Pansy would be best. He would have to tell Pomfrey when he left.

Opening the curtain slowly, he stepped in confidently. Behind it, Abigail was fast asleep on the bed; her skin had gone pale and her limbs looked very skeletal. He looked at her with a frown on his face, appalled by her appearance and the numerous magical potions lying on her bedside table.

Seeing her in such a state made Draco feel sick. It reminded him awkwardly of Voldemort's victims, those who were kept for fun and starved to death. It had often happened in his own mansion, in the dungeons although Draco had refused to attend such gatherings.

Merlin's beard, Abigail! How could you have done this to yourself!

He noticed her stir and meant to leave, but her eyes fluttered open and she noticed his presence next to the bed. Her dark eyes were dull and lifeless and her face showed signs of exhaustion.

However, Draco did not pity her. Even if pity had been in the Malfoy nature, to him Abigail deserved no pity as she held sole responsibility for her current state.

"What are you doing here?" she spoke in a feeble voice.

"I'm Draco Malfoy. Do I need a reason?" he answered haughtily with a smirk.

She stared back at him, her face devoid of expression.

"How do you feel?" he asked politely.

"Fine," she lied.

"Pomfrey said it's a good thing Scarhead found you in time."

"Harry," she corrected him flatly. "Is he here?"

"No," he told her, but seeing the disappointment in her eyes, he added. "He wasn't allowed to. I'm the only one Pomfrey allowed in."

"Oh."

He hated seeing her like this, but it angered him as well. How could she, a Serpent and a Slytherin - he wasn't sure which was more important in the grand scheme of pride - let herself become so weak, slowly kill herself? Why hadn't she done something about it before? Why hadn't he done said anything about it before? Maybe he just didn't care for her either, like everybody else. After all, his father had taught him to be that way; cold and selfish.

"I'd better go. You need to rest, I'll be back tomorrow."

She smiled at him. "Thank you Draco."

It was the first time she had called him by his first name. He nodded and made to leave, but instead she called him back.

"Er - could you please not let Blaise in? At least, not yet?"

He nodded again and left her, closing the curtain behind. As he walked out of the hospital wing, Hermione came rushing to him, inquiring over Abigail. Potter was leaning against the wall, behind her, listening intently to Draco's response.

"She's fine," he said quickly, waving away Hermione's myriad questions and took his leave for the Slytherin dungeons.

*****

The next morning, Draco was having breakfast alone and thinking about the previous day. He couldn't understand why it had bothered him so much to see Abigail in such a state. He had seen worse working for Voldemort, many of it his own handiwork, but he didn't know what to think about this sort of human suffering. In some weird way, he felt guilty that he hadn't done anything about it before, but on the other hand, he still didn't feel any pity for her. The problem was that he didn't understand why Abigail had let herself starve like that and it was so hard for him to help her. Never before had he helped someone in his life, but never before had anyone in his entourage suffered like this. He didn't even remember ever going to hospital to see any of his Slytherin friends when they were sick. Granger was right; he really was a selfish bastard!

He picked at his waffles, deep in thought, and finally decided that it wasn't up to him to help Abigail; he had no reason to. Besides, if he didn't help her Granger or the Weasel girl would; it wasn't as if she didn't have anybody else.

But suddenly, as he reached his decision, having finished his breakfast, an incredible pain shot through his head accompanied by a loud screeching noise; a voice!

Draco! Help me!

Looking around the Great Hall, Draco realised no one else seemed to have heard it. Not many people were around so early in the morning and the students who were up continued eating their breakfast as usual, paying no attention to him. The voice hadn't come from someone in the hall; it had been inside his head!

Draco suddenly froze in his seat. He didn't know of any spells that could make wizards or witches speak in someone else's mind, therefore what in Salazar's name had just happened?

Was he going mad? Had it all been his imagination? Maybe it was simply lack of sleep or the constant pressure he was under that he caused him to hallucinate.

But something else bothered him. The voice had seemed familiar to him, he recognised it, knew it from somewhere. Standing up from the Slytherin table, he walked out of the Great Hall, struggling to remember who the voice belonged to.

And then it hit him - Abigail!

It was her voice that had shouted in his head, and without hesitation he ran off to the hospital wing, forgetting all about his previous decision to leave her to Hermione.

As he reached the infirmary, he heard shouts coming from inside. Opening the door cautiously, he suddenly felt something collide into his chest.

It was Abigail.

"Malfoy!" she exclaimed, looking panicked. She was only wearing the usual white hospital gown and her usual sleek black hair looked messy and wild. "Thank Merlin, I knew you'd come! Pomfrey's gone nuts! They want to keep me here for the next two weeks, but I'm fine, I'm fine - tell them I'm fine!"

She spoke very quickly and out of breath, her dark eyes wide with dread, but before he could answer her, Pomfrey and Snape appeared behind her and dragged her back to her bed by her arms.

"Now stop this fuss, Miss Serpent! It's for your own good!" Pomfrey scolded her, whilst tightly holding onto her arm.

Snape, on the other hand, looked beyond annoyed. "Miss Serpent, if you continue this tantrum, I will be obliged to take points off Slytherin. And trust me, you don't want to make me take off points from my own house!"

They pushed her back on the bed and Draco noticed that Snape was summoning invisible binds around her limbs. Seeing the pleading look on Abigail's face, he decided to say something.

"Madame Pomfrey, surely you don't need to strap her to the bed," he argued, approaching the hospital bed.

"I caught her smoking this morning Mister Malfoy," the nurse replied, looking at him sternly through her glasses. "And ever since she woke up, she's been trying to escape the hospital wing."

"But she looks better," Draco admitted, noticing that Abigail had recovered her brown complexion and overall looked a lot healthier. He was actually glad to see her full of energy rather than feeble and tired like the previous day. "I'm sure you don't need to keep her here for another two weeks!"

Madame Pomfrey pulled out a wand from her pocket. "She has been using glamour charms on herself last night to alter her physical appearance. Merlin knows where she learnt them, but believe me when I say that she is far from well!" With a flick of her expert wrist she stripped away the glamour charms, revealing the painful apparition that had caused Draco to wince yesterday.

Draco looked hopelessly back to his Head of House, but Snape merely shook his head at him. Hearing the thrashing and writhing intensify behind them, Draco spun around and watched as Abigail helplessly tried to free herself from Snape's binds.

"Let me go, you old hag!" she shouted angrily. "You have no idea how ridiculous this is; I'm perfectly fine. I don't need your help!"

Draco winced at the insult, feeling both Pomfrey and Snape's anger escalate a couple of notches. Pomfrey's face had turned crimson at her words and Draco decided that it was best to keep his mouth shut.

"Now you listen here young lady," Pomfrey commented hotly, "you will stay where you are until you are fully recovered and I don't care if it takes days, weeks or months!"

The school nurse took a few steps forward and pointed her finger menacingly at Abigail. "You are suffering from one of the most dangerous forms of anorexia - a completely unconscious aversion to taking care of yourself, which is consequently very difficult to treat! Until you admit it and eat your meals three times a day, I will not give you permission to leave the hospital wing!"

She stomped off into her office, slamming the door behind her and Draco then turned to Snape, who shook his head and marched off in the same manner out of the infirmary.

"If I had known that you were such a baby, I wouldn't have come," Draco finally taunted, lifting his eyebrow amused.

"Well, since you were no help to me at all, you can leave now," Abigail said glaring back at him, unamused.

She wriggled on the soft bed, trying to make herself comfortable although the straps kept her down firmly. Her bedside table had been cleared of all bottles, giving way to an empty tray of food. At least she was eating again.

Draco's smile soon faded giving way to his trademark emotionless smirk as he suddenly thought about the voice inside his head.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

"What?" Abigail answered casually, avoiding his silver gaze.

Draco didn't miss a beat. "Your voice in my head."

He took a step closer, peering into her eyes. He was already thinking about the future, about his future - if she ever opened up to him. If she ever told him more about her magic, taught him her secrets; then he would become his own master as he had always wanted. He would curse Voldemort and his father to hell for everything they had put him through and then, he would do what ever he wanted with his destiny.

"Family secret," she retorted, holding his stare.

"Why me?"

"Who else?"

"There are other people who care about you," he corrected her. "Granger, Weasel girl, Potter."

"Are you saying you care about me too?" she asked puzzled.

Draco stepped up to her, towering over her figure. His silver eyes continued to bore into hers.

"My offer still stands." His voice dropped lower. "I can give you the one thing you desire the most, but in return you must tell me about some of your secrets."

Abigail's stare turned icy. "Get out."

Draco smirked down at her and turned away, ready to leave. He knew that any second now, she shout out say -

"You don't know what I want!"

Bingo!

"You've already told me - friend," Draco replied slyly.

"But - but that's impossible! Even you don't have that sort of clout!" she exclaimed from her bed.

"We shall soon find out then," he finished as he started to walk out.

As he made to leave the hospital wing, Abigail suddenly shouted out across the room from her bed. He was startled to hear that she was continuing their conversation, but he soon turned around as her words hit him.

"Why are you so interested in the Serpent books?" she demanded curiously. It didn't seem to bother her that other students were around, though most were sound asleep or drugged with potions.

"Is it because of him? - Voldemort? Is it him that's driving you to discover what you can about them?"

At her words, Draco paled. How dare she speak his name in public, especially to him? And how dare she guess that fact so easily? He quickly walked back to her bed, closing the curtains around her.

"Never say his name in my presence," he warned her dangerously.

"Why, are you scared of him?" she taunted him.

He glared back at her, but quickly added, "No, but I don't want people to have the wrong idea."

Abigail snorted at his words. "Oh come on, everybody knows you're a Death Eater."

She stopped abruptly as realisation seemed to hit her and she suddenly smiled to herself. "Is that what you were arguing about with Granger?"

Draco froze at her words.

"Is she trying to save you from the Dark side?"

His eyes darkened in anger as she continued to speak and she quickly stopped, noticing the sudden change in his face.

"What's Hermione to you anyway? You still haven't explained that!" he whispered to her dangerously.

Abigail shifted her body weight uncomfortably on the bed as she spoke, but she felt a glimmer of satisfaction that Blaise had kept her secret. "And I have my reasons not to."

As she settled down again, she stared into Malfoy's eyes for a while before she spoke up again.

"You should stay away from her," she cautioned.

"Why?" he asked amused.

"Because you've already harmed her enough and it will lead to no good," she reminded him, with a worried expression on her face.

He turned away from her uneasy. "You're talking nonsense. Nothing will ever happen with the Mud-"

"You already admitted it once," she cut him off. "So what are you going to do about it? I bet she's already asked you to join the other side."

Draco's head snapped back at her.

How the hell does she know all this?

"Is that what you're going to do, Draco? Join Dumbledore, go from one leader to the next?" she demanded.

He broke from her gaze betraying his answer.

"I thought not," she added.

Abigail looked at him with compassion as her dark eyes bore into his own. She seemed to read him like a book. "You're better than that Draco. You don't need Voldemort or Dumbledore, you can be so much better than that. You are the Dragon after all."

"What?" Draco asked.

Did she say the Dragon?

"Never mind," she quickly answered. "But just think on what I said. You don't need anyone to decide for you; you must decide for yourself what your own path will be."

He looked at her silently for a while before leaving. It was weird how Abigail continuously surprised him, either by her words or actions. It was like she knew what was going to happen, what he was supposed to do, when he obviously didn't have a clue. However, she hadn't told him anything new, she had only spoken out loud how he felt deep inside.

But what about Hermione? Was it true that he shouldn't see her again? Could it be true that she was doing all this only so that he would switch sides? Was she possibly only playing with him like he had done with so many others? Was it all just a fraud?