Nothing Else Left

Chapter 5

When Hermione convinced Draco that she didn't need to go see Madame Pomfrey, they said goodbye and headed off towards their own houses. Hermione approached the Fat Lady guarding the Gryffindor dorms. When greeted her and said the password-doobobble (who comes up with these?), she found Harry and Ron playing wizards chess.

"Hey Hermione," greeted Ron, not bothering to look up from their game.

Harry rattled off some move and then looked up at Hermione. His eyes narrowed briefly. "What happened? Your neck is bleeding."

Hermione, startled, reached up and felt something warm and sticky leaving a trail on the side of her neck. Must have cut when Draco pulled off the necklace, she thought. "Oh, it's probably nothing," she replied, not wanting to get into what happened at the moment.

"But there's a red mark all around your neck," Harry insisted. He narrowed his eyes once again into menacing slits. "Did Malfoy do something to you? Tell us what happened."

Both Harry and Ron still didn't totally trust Draco, even after all this time. Hermione guessed it was instinct. After all, Draco's father is a death eater, and some of that could rub off on his son. Hermione knew better though, but she didn't blame Harry for being suspicious. "No, Draco didn't do anything except help me out. The necklace he gave me started to burn and I couldn't get it off, so he did it for me, so to speak. I'm fine."

"Wait, what? Why was you're necklace burning? Was it hexed?" Ron face didn't show it, but Hermione knew he thought that Draco might have put a spell on the necklace before he gave it to her.

"I don't think so. Don't worry about me, I'm fine, go back to your game. I have some work I need to catch up on." Harry raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask any more questions. Ron shrugged and turned his gaze back to the game. Hermione made her way up to her dorm. There was no one there, which Hermione was grateful for. Hermione sat down on her bed and gently touched where she had been burned only minutes before. It still throbbed, but the pain was receding. She looked at her clock. Six fifteen. Dinner in the Great Hall would be soon, but at the moment, Hermione didn't feel up to it. She was exhausted and had a lot to think about. Maybe I should take a nap, she thought. She lay her head down on the pillow and, thinking about the necklace, drifted off into a dreamless sleep

* * *

Hermione awoke the next morning several minutes late for breakfast. Hurriedly, she got out of yesterdays clothes and changed into clean robes. She had just started to gather her books for her first class, Care of Magical Creatures, when she noticed that her throat no longer hurt. She walked over the mirror on one of the walls. As soon as she saw her reflection, she screamed.