You Wouldn't Know

Chapter 3: Out of the Forest

Draco woke up, his head throbbing. Bloody hell! What a headache! Where am I? Why is it all dark? He tried to push himself up but let out a small cry of pain. What happened to my arm? It feels like it's been run over by the Knight Bus! Again, he tried sitting up, using only his good arm. He finally pushed himself up, his vision slightly blurry. He looked around him and saw only dark shadows. He glanced up and saw the stars twinkling back at him. Then all his memories came flooding back to him. The Harmertan, the battle, the meeting with his father, he remembered it all. But what about... Hermione!

He looked to his left and saw a small lifeless body lying there. He pushed himself up so he could walk and ran over to her, his motionless arm swinging painfully at his side. He reached her and got down on his knees. He found her a mess and freezing cold. Her chestnut hair was plastered to her face and she had deep gashes running up and down her body everywhere. Her leg was bent at an awkward position and her breathing was forced it was painful to listen to.

"Hermione?" Draco whispered in her ear. "Hermione, wake up!"

Nothing happened and Draco started to become worried. It was well into the night and he did not want to wait until morning to get back up to the castle. What if that treacherous beast came back? But what about Hermione? Draco! Wake up! Her name is Granger not Hermione. And why do you care about the Mudblood? Always better than you in all your classes. But right now, you need to escape this forest and you can just leave the girl! He assured himself. He stood up with difficulty and looked down at the small body on the ground. Goodbye Granger. With that, he turned away and walked to the trees. He reached the end of the small clearing. He stopped there. He just couldn't get the image of Hermione out of his head. She was so helpless and weak. If the beast were to come back, she would be gone for sure. Dammit Malfoy! Why can't you just act like a normal Malfoy? Merciless and selfish!

With a sigh, he turned back around and got next to Hermione. But then another thought struck him. How was he going to get her back to the castle? He couldn't carry her, he had a broken arm. She couldn't walk, she was unconscious. If only he could make her float somehow... Then he remembered Hermione's wand. He looked around, searching for it. He noticed it right over on Hermione's other side. He grabbed it and quickly stood up.

"Leviosa," he whispered into the dark night, pointing the wand at Hermione. She lifted gracefully into the air, looking as if she was asleep on an invisible bed. But she was so cold. Malfoy looked down at his clothes, almost feeling sinful because he was so warm. He pulled off his cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders. Malfoy stared at her for just one moment. Her face was like porcelain, flawless and perfect, her skin smooth and small. Her eyelashes whipping in the wind. Draco had never noticed how pretty she was. God Malfoy. Get a grip on yourself. This is Granger! She is my worst enemy and one of Potter's sidekicks. Remember? The ones you hate? Snap out of it! He walked briskly, directing Hermione with his wand. He was angry. Angry with himself for actually caring about Hermione, angry that his father was the way he was, angry that every step he took, his arm flooded with pain. He looked back at the peaceful floating Hermione and allowed himself a small smile.

* * *

Hermione's eyes fluttered open. Her vision was slightly blurry and she could only make out white shapes. Why is everything white? She asked herself. Am I dead? She tried to sit up but she fell back down with a small groan of pain. For the first time she felt pain shooting up and down her body. Why is this happening? What the bloody hell happened? She laid her head back and was surprised to find that it was cool metal. She closed her eyes and sighed. What happened? She repeated again, this time, a little calmer. Then, all at once, the memories came flooding back to her. Malfoy's battle, the Harmertan, the forest, her injuries.

She inhaled sharply and opened her eyes. Her vision had cleared up some of her questions, but not all. She looked around searching for something, actually someone. Where is he? Did they find him? She whipped around to her left and saw a short lock of platinum hair. Malfoy! Just then, Madame Pomfrey bustled into the room carrying a long, lethal-looking needle. She noticed Hermione awake.

"Ah, Ms. Granger. I see you are awake. It's about time too. You have been unconscious for four days now." Madame Pomfrey said gravely. She walked over to Hermione bedside. "Mr. Malfoy over there has been awake since about noon yesterday. We were getting a bit worried about you. Magic can fix most things but unconsciousness is not one of them. You have picked an excellent time to awaken though. Professor Dumbledore is coming in about five minutes to discuss with you about what exactly happened in that forest. I must say, I too am curious. These injuries are some of the worst I have seen. However, Dumbledore wants to see the damage so I will heal you after he comes in. Right now, all I can do is bind your leg with some bandaging and give you some pain killer for your pain. I will come and fix you up after he has left though."

Madame Pomfrey gave a quick flick with her wand and instantly Hermione leg was bound. She summoned up a bottle of murky purple syrup and walked away. Hermione reached over to her nightstand and took the bottle of pain killer. Hermione sat as straight as she could, considering she felt a terrible pain in her chest. She measured out five teaspoons and took gulped it down.

The medicine burned her throat as it went down and she felt like her stomach was on fire. She quickly reached for a glass of water, almost knocking it down and washed the last of the medicine away. She heard a creak to her left and saw Malfoy squirming in his bed. He turned to Hermione and looked surprised to see her.

"I didn't expect to see you awake," Malfoy said in his usual drawling tone. "After all, you have been out for, what is it, four days now?"

"Yes, well, I must have hit my head hard when I fell. But it is a good thing that we are both awake now, because Dumbledore should be here any min..."

With that, the door swung open, and on the threshold stood the Headmaster. His long silver beard tucked into his robes, his eyes twinkling mischievously, and his lips twisted into a small smile. He walked over to a stool next to Hermione and sat down. Malfoy sat up and put his legs over the side of the bed and Hermione lay against her pillows in an upright position.

"Good afternoon Ms. Granger, Mr.Malfoy. I am glad to see you both awake. However, I am here for a certain purpose of which I am sure you know. I am dreadfully glad to see you both all right, for the most part, but I need you to tell me something. I need you to tell me the story of what happened that night," Dumbledore said, his face grim. "I do know some assorted details of it though. Like the fact that it was the Harmertan that attacked you. Am I correct?"

Both Hermione and Draco nodded. "And I know that you, Mr.Malfoy, assisted in saving Ms. Granger here. I thank you for that. And I know that Mr. Malfoy also transported Ms. Granger down to the hospital wing," Dumbledore said. "But what I really need to know is why you two went down there in the first place. Ms. Granger disappeared into the forest a little after Mr.Malfoy, so am I right to assume you were going to try and warn him, Ms. Granger?"

Hermione nodded her head again, her mind spinning with all the information she just received. Dumbledore asked, "Then my question is for Mr. Malfoy. Why did you go into those woods?"

There was a moment of stillness following this question. Hermione just looked around, trying to appear uninterested. But she was. After all she was the one who went after him and she wanted to know. Finally Dumbledore spoke, "Mr. Malfoy, I have seen the marks on your body and some are not from the Harmertan, yet they weren't there until that evening. Can you please explain that to me?"

"I feel that that is not important," Draco said, defiantly.

"I am sorry, Mr.Malfoy, but what may seem unimportant to you is very important to me," Dumbledore said determinedly.

"I apologize, Headmaster, but I cannot tell you," He said, looking tired, but trying to look determined.

"Well, Mr. Malfoy, it is very unfortunate that you feel that your position would be compromised if you told me," Dumbledore said. "Unfortunately, I must try to encourage you to tell me. Therefore, as much as I wish not to, I must make you choose whether you want to tell me or serve detention until you do."

"In that case, I guess the only option I have is detention then sir," Malfoy said, mustering up all his pride.

Dumbledore hung his head and look down at the floor. "I feel very sorry about having to do this, because I know that there is a story behind this that would prove you innocent, but as soon as you are ready, please let me know."

"Now, Ms. Granger. I first wanted to thank you for caring enough to try and warn him about the Harmertan. That was very noble of you and not many students would've bothered. It was what a true Gryffindor would do," Dumbledore said, with a twinkle in his eye. "But I must ask you this one question, why did you run into the forest alone knowing that the Harmertan was there, without any staff, or even without Harry or Ron?"

There was silence. Hermione just sat there lost in her own thoughts. Why the bloody hell did I go after him? He probably didn't even need my help? But maybe it was his scared face. He looked truly frightened. I almost felt sorry for him. But I will not tell the Headmaster or Malfoy this. I have to lie about feeling sorry for him, that's for sure. Finally, Hermione announced, "It was just my instinct, sir. I saw him and assumed that he needed help. I do admit that it was quite reckless."

"Now that all the personal questions are answered, or at least as close as they will be," Dumbledore said, with a glance towards Draco. "I need you two to tell me exactly what happened that night. You can start from the part where you found Mr. Malfoy."

And so went the story. Draco and Hermione took turns telling different parts of their night until Dumbledore had heard it all. After the whole story had spilled out, Dumbledore announced, "I am truly amazed that you survived this battle. There are not many fifth years that can tackle a full-grown Harmertan and live to tell the tale."*

"I will now finally allow Madame Pomfrey to heal your injuries. I just needed to see what the major damage was. After this, I don't think that you will find a Harmertan on these grounds again. I will send you post as to when you will serve detention, Mr.Malfoy. Good evening, Hermione, Draco, Poppy. Oh and here," He indicated as he pulled out a bag of lemon drops. "It's a little something for your bravery."

With a smile, he left the hospital wing with a swish of his cloak. Madame Pomfrey hurried over with her wand out, looking furious. Draco heard her muttering things under her breath like; "I am now allowed to heal my students... Never thought I'd need permission to do my job..."

Then Madame Pomfrey ran over to her. She silently whispered a few spells under her breath and instantly, Hermione felt better. She looked down at her leg and saw that it was rightened again. She tried moving it around and only felt a slight ache in it. As hard as it is to admit, even magic has their flaw. She held up her arm and saw that her gashes were still there. And her breathing was still a bit rattled.

But Hermione just sat there thinking over all that she had just heard. She bit her lip. Why wouldn't he tell Dumbledore why he went into forest? It couldn't have been that bad, could it? And what did Dumbledore mean by marks on his body that weren't made by the Harmertan? What was that supposed to mean?

"Dr- I mean Malfoy, why did you save me from that forest? You know that you could have just as easily left me there," Hermione said, blushing. She had almost called him by his first name, and she had never done that before.

Draco noticed her error. Why would she call me that? But he ignored it and simply answered, "It doesn't the bloody hell matter."

He was trying to seem conceited as to cover up for what he was feeling. He thought that by being arrogant that he would forget the image of Hermione lying on the ground. How lifeless she was. Her pretty face. Her delicate figure. She was so perfect. But he knew that this was wrong. It probably wasn't even feeling this. Maybe he was still in shock from the attack. Yes, that was probably. Or was it more?