Sustenence and Poison Of The Dragon

Chapter 3: New Orders "Sustenance And Poison Of The Dragon"

Draco just stared at him. He realized how bad this must look, him holding a bloody, passed out Hermione Granger, a mudblood, someone he was believed to hate. Not to mention the two corpses right next to him, one his arch rival.

"Weasley, this isn't how it looks, I'm just trying to help. Please, just listen to me. Here," Draco said, tossing his wand at Ron's feet while trying to keep as calm as possible, "You have me wand, I'm not going to hurt you or anybody else in any way."

"You have one minute, Malfoy, explain, or I'll kill you myself. I want to know why my two best friends are fucking dead! I want answers Malfoy! Now!" Ron shouted, with tears in his eyes.

"Hermione isn't dead, she is just passed out from loss of blood, you can see for yourself. I got here just in time to save her, and...and kill Voldemort," Draco said, while Ron shuddered at the name. Draco, growing up with a Death Eater father, never had a problem saying his real name.

"TELL THE TRUTH! WHAT HAPPENED HERE? MY BEST FRIEND IS DEAD AND I WANT TO KNOW WHY, NOW TELL THE TRUTH!" Ron shouted again, obviously not believing Malfoy's story at all.

"It isn't a lie, Weasley. It's all the truth. I came here to save Potter, but got here too late. I knew all about the plan to murder him, so I wanted to stop it, but I failed. I got here just in time to save Hermione. I tricked Vol...sorry, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and got the best of him. I killed him once and for all," Draco told him, looking forcefully into his eyes, hoping Weasley could look past his own selfish existence and see he wasn't just lying.

Ron thought over what he said for a moment, then spoke, "Why aren't you dead, I thought you where heir to the Dark Throne or whatever," he said to Draco.

"I've already told you, I'm not a Death Eater, I'm not like them. Though you may not know it, I too can feel love and compassion and I can care, just like you. Shocker, 'eh, Weasley'?" he said sarcastically, getting aggravated with all the questions he was getting from the Weasel. "You can ask Hermione when she wakes up, she will tell you,"

"You're just trying to buy yourself time, I know you Malfoy, you don't care about me, or Hermione, or Harry, you only care about yourself and your big Death club. This is a trick, a master plan of yours. You just want control over the dark world, that's why you refused to become a Death Eater and that's why you killed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, you wanted to rule, wanted to kill. Well, I'm smarter than I look, I can see right past you. I'm turning you into the Ministry of Magic right now for the murder of Harry Potter and of Voldemort, along with the attempted murder of Hermione Granger!" Ron shouted at him, shaking with rage that he would do that to his best friends.

At that, he swiftly walked over to where Draco sat holding Hermione in his arms. Ron lifted his fist and pelted it as hard as he could into Draco's face, blood spilling out of his mouth.

"What the fuck Weasel! Why did you do that?" Draco screamed at Ron, lifting a finger to touch his now tender cheek. As much as Draco wanted to hit him back, he couldn't, that would put him in even more trouble.

"Shut up and put out your hands!" Ron said to Draco and he did as he was told. Boy, did he hate him. Ron wrapped a piece rope from his own cloak around Draco's wrists, tying the end in a tight knot. He then apparated himself, Hermione, and Draco to the ministry headquarters to see the new Minister of Magic, Albus Dumbledore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh my goodness, what happened?" the slightly voluptuous receptionist at the Ministry asked Ron, who had tied Draco's hands behind his back. Ron slipped Draco's wand into his front pocket to hand over to the Ministry for inspection. Then, he taped Draco's mouth shut. Everybody was running around the office, they obviously knew about the attack on Voldemort and the others some how, they just didn't seem to know where it was or who did it.

"I have information on the death of...of...Lord Voldemort," Ron said like the words where poison to his mouth, "and, I've caught the killer, Draco Malfoy," Ron said, a smile slightly appearing on his grim face, while holding the still unconscious Hermione. "But I need help first, she is bleeding quite badly," he told the woman at the desk. Many of the people around them had stopped and where listening and looking in their direction.

"Security, we've got him!" the woman said into her wand, while her voice echoed throughout the building. In less than an instant, Ministry Security Guards appeared with a little 'pop.'

"Come with me Mr. Malfoy. You know, we have been after your family for sometime now, we finally have you, with all the evidence we need. Neil, take the girl to the hospital wing," The big guard said to another man in the same uniform. The man called Neil took Hermione in his arms and began to walk off without another word, Ron right behind him. "Mr. Weasley, the Minister would like to question you on what happened," the guard told him.

"Alright. Do you...do you think I could go see Hermione later, would I be allowed?" At these words, Draco felt very protective of her, he didn't want Ron near her. He had to find a way out of this all, or he would be spending the rest of his worthless days in Azkaban.

'Wake up Hermione, it's your turn to help me now, please wake up!' he thought to himself as she was carried farther down the long hall.

"Come on, man, we've 'gotta lock you up. I reckon Dumbledore'll be in in a little to question you. Doesn't look like you'll have a trial, no sir, not 'lookin good for you. 'Less that girl wakes up and tells the same story you did, you don't have a prayer," the guard laughed at Draco's suffering as he dragged him off, holding the back of his next, his hands still tied. "Ah, here we are. In with you now, go on," said the man, motioning for Draco to get into the damp, little, dimly lit cell.

"An oo et es of mee pwes?" Draco asked the guard, referring to the spell-o-tape that was still over his mouth, interfering with his speech. At that, the guard reached over and harshly ripped off the tape, slamming and locking the barred door behind him. "Oh Merlin, how am I ever going to get myself out of this? What if Hermione doesn't wake up for days, or even weeks? This is bad, Draco, real bad," he muttered to himself.

Four long hours later, Dumbledore appeared at the door, his eyes looking sad.

"Sir, I..." Draco began, but was cut off when Dumbledore raised his hand to quiet him.

"Mr. Weasley has told me everything, everything you said that happened and everything he believes happened," Dumbledore stated, looking into Draco's eyes.

"I can explain Sir..." Draco began, but was cut off by Dumbledore once again.

"And, Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger has also told me her side of the story. How you saved her from death at the hands of both Voldemort...and herself. She told me she wanted you to kill her, but you talked her out of it. You showed her what was most important, love. That was quite a noble thing for you to do, Mr. Malfoy. I must say, you have changed a lot since your days at Hogwarts. Also, your wand had been checked. You did kill Lord Voldemort, but that is the only record we have of the killing curse on your wand. You will not be punished for the death of Lord Voldemort, however, you will be rewarded," Dumbledore said, smiling down at Draco.

Draco's heart was racing, he had never been so relieved in all his life. Hermione was well, he was free, and now he was going to be rewarded! This was too good to be true, nothing good ever happened to Draco Malfoy.

"As you may know, the reward for killing Voldemort is one million gallons." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling again.

"Wah...ah...One Mill...Million Gallons?" Draco asked, astonished. He had no idea there was a reward for killing the monster, he just thought he would get a ribbon or something, not a cash reward for killing. He had never ever expected something like this. He would have enough money to live off of for years!

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. I suggest you spend it wisely, though. You don't want to spend it all in one place, do you? Save some of your fortune, for your children, why don't you," Dumbledore said, smiling down at him. "But," he began, his tone more serious, "we must deal with the matter at hand. Please, follow me," he said, motioning for Draco to follow him.

"Umm, Profes...I mean Minister," Draco began saying to the old man.

"You may call me Professor, I still am, you know. I juggle them both. Professor McGonagel takes over for me at Hogwarts when I am away on business," Dumbledore informed him.

"Well, Professor, I'm still, erm, a little tied up. Do you think you can undo the ropes for me?" Draco asked, standing and holding his hands out behind his back.

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore said as he used a spell to untie Draco, "There you are now, good as new. Now, follow me, I must speak with you, Miss Granger, and Mr. Weasley in private.

Doing what was asked of him, Draco followed his old Headmaster down a few hallways, wondering all the while what it was Dumbledore wanted to talk to him about. He wondered about many other things, as well. How was Hermione? Would she remember the brief kiss the two had shared? Did she feel the same way about him? Merlin, he loved her, he just wished she would feel the same way about him. With his luck, she would never want to see him again, she would go back to hating him after this. He was beginning to think he should have killed himself when he had the chance. He almost regretted that sweet kiss. Almost.

At last, they reached the door to what must have been the meeting room of the Ministry of Magic.

"I have something to attend to, so if you would be so kind as to wait in the room with Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger for about ten minutes. Just a last minute thing, won't take long at all." Dumbledore told him.

"Of course, Sir" Draco answered, entering the room as Dumbledore walked back down the hall they had just come from.

The building itself was extraordinary, but this room was phenomenal, it reminded Draco of the great Hall at Hogwarts, only it was slimmer and didn't look quite so old. On the walls, there where pictures of all the former Ministers Of Magic. Above the head of the long table, there was a large, moving painting of Dumbledore. In the seats closest to the door sat Ron and Hermione. Ron was the first to notice they had come in, looking up, he gave Draco the most terrible look of loathing he had ever seen. It was of pure hatred. Hermione, on the other hand, didn't notice they had entered right away, she was looking at a spot on the table about two feet in front of her, silent tears drifting down her face. Draco just looked at her. Unlike Ron, who he wasted no time looking at, only a quick glance to process the Weasels feelings and a quick smirk to let him know the feeling of hate was mutual, Draco stared at Hermione, trying to capture her soul and all her feeling with just his eyes.

When the door clicked shut behind him, she looked up at last and met his gaze. Her sorrowful expression softened up slightly when she looked into his eyes. What had changed in him? It was like a whole new Draco. In this long, horrible night, he had showed her so many emotions. He had showed her love, something she had felt like she was without for quite sometime now. He showed her what it is like to feel true pain, his pain, the pain of never feeling real love directed at him. It made her so sad just to look at him. It was a wonder to her that he could carry on each day. He gave her a look into his sad, lonely life. He had opened up to her, something she was sure did not happen often with anybody he met. He smiled warmly at her, she smiled back.

Draco walked over to where she sat, putting his hand on the back of her chair. "Are you alright, Hermione?" he asked, his eyes studying hers.

"I'll be OK, they told me my wounds will heal in a week or two. Are you OK? Oh no, Draco, they never treated this cut on your arm. And what happened to your face? It looks like you got hit with something, something hard. look at your shirt and pants! Oh, you're a mess. Here, let me help you," She told him kindly.

"Thank you," Draco answered her softly, still looking into her eyes with a gentle gaze.

"Anytime," she answered, returning the glare. After a few moments, she looked away and reached for her wand that lay on the table

"What are you doing, Hermione? Don't help him, have you forgotten who he is?" Ron asked in disbelief at the way she was acting around Malfoy.

"Number one, Ron, shut up! And number two, I do remember who he is. He is my friend, and he saved my life." she said, and want back to what she was doing. Ron's eyes danced back and forth between Hermione and Malfoy in disbelief. What had he done to her to bring about this change?

"This looks bad, Draco, you really should have had it cleaned as soon as you got here, why didn't you?" she asked him while cleaning the cut on his arm.

"I wasn't exactly in a position to make such requests," he said, glancing at Ron who looked away as soon as their eyes made contact. "It doesn't hurt much anymore, really," he lied. Ron got up from his chair then and began to walk around the large room.

"Don't play tough guy with me, I saw it happen, I know how deep that blade went, you might have tissue damage or something. We have to get you to a doctor as soon as we get out of here. In the meantime, I'll clean it as best I can," she said to him, once again meeting his gaze with a warm smile.

"Thank you, Hermione, nobody has ever done something like this for me, thank you," he told her again. He was telling the truth this time, nobody had ever cared about him, or cleaned his cuts, or showed any kind of real feeling toward him beside hate. She really was as kind as he had observed her to be in his last year at Hogwarts.

"It's the least I can do, you did save me, after all," she answered, saddened once again by the memory of what had happened that night. A tear slid down her cheek as she though about Harry, how his life was cut sort. How she had hurt him. How he sacrificed himself for her, to give her another chance at life. All these thoughts slipped away, though, when she felt a now familiar hand wipe away her tear. She looked up to see Draco looking down at her kneeling form on the ground.

"Please don't cry, it kills me to see you unhappy. I'm sorry about Harry, Hermione. I guess I didn't tell you that earlier, what with everything that happened. But, I learned to think about all the good things that you're loved one did, the memories you have. Focus your mourning on the good times you had with Harry, the times you did have, not the times you could have had. If you think of what might have been, you will lose yourself in a world that doesn't exist. A world of 'what ifs.' You don't want that, trust me Hermione," he told her, thinking on how he himself lived in a dream world of 'what ifs,' a world where Hermione was his, where she loved him back.

"Thank you," she answered softly.

"It's the least I could do, you did save me, after all," he answered her, repeating what she had said to him earlier. She looked at him questioningly and was about to open her mouth to speak when the door to the large room opened and Albus Dumbledore walked in and sat down, Hermione taking her own seat, still looking at Draco, trying to understand what he had said to her.

"I have called all of you here now to explain the procedures we will be taking until all of this death hype calms down. Since about two thousand Death Eaters have dropped dead because of the death of their leader, the Ministry will be swamped with doing many memory charms and such on the Muggles who witnessed the death of the Death Eaters. This is the biggest clean up job the Ministry has ever been faced with. Since you are the three main witnesses of the crime, we must ask you to sort of hide out from all the reporters and such until this all calms down, we don't want there to be trouble between the three of you and some incredibly angry Death Eater related peoples. We are asking you to do this for your own safety, especially you two, Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger. There are, of course a few people that aren't very happy with you at the moment and would do anything, and I mean anything to get back at you for what you have done to their lord," Dumbledore informed them, looking very sternly over the rim of his half moon spectacles.

"Excuse me, Professor, but what is it exactly that we must do? How do you want us to get a way from all of it?" Draco asked him.

"Now, I know you aren't going to like this, especially you, Mr. Malfoy, but you must know it is for your own safety. I am asking you to, please, give me your wands right now," he told them, they did just as he said. Well, at least Ron and Hermione did, Dumbledore already had Draco's wand, Ron had given it to him when they had arrived at the Ministry. "I will be keeping these wands for the next month, until all of this is sorted out. You will all have to live your lives without magic, so your wands cannot be traced by media or any attackers. I must ask you to live amongst Muggles until it is safe for you to come back to our world," Dumbledore said, looking at Draco most of the time.

Draco didn't know what to think. He never thought he would be put in this position. He always thought he would have the security of his name and money, but things had changed. Perhaps they had changed for the better. Hermione didn't seem at all repulsed by the idea of being in the same room as him, let alone hug and kiss him. Where would he stay? He had never even talked to a Muggle, now he would have to live around them!

"I have already arranged places for all of you to live," Dumbledore began, but was interrupted my Hermione.

"Sir, I still live with my parents, they are Muggles, it won't be a problem for me. There is an apartment complex right next to where I live, Draco and Ron can get flats there, at least then we will all be close together if nothing at all," she said, giving Draco a sideways glance when she spoke about them being close.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all, he thought to himself. "Sounds good to me," Draco said.

"Yeah, OK, just as long as I don't have to share a flat with him and I get to go back to my house after all of this is over," Ron said to the elderly man.

"Deal, Mr. Weasley. All of your things have already been summoned for you to take with you. You will be leaving tonight for your new homes, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy. Miss Granger, you will be going to your parents. I will take care of the rent and I will do a memory charm on the owner of the Complex to think the two of you have lived there for some time and have the best rooms there are...on opposite sides of the building," Dumbledore added with a slight smile.

"What...what about Harry?" Hermione asked, her voice cracking a bit when she spoke.

"There will be a memorial wake in four days at witch Harry's body will be laid out. He will then be buried alongside his parents in Godric's Hollow on the following Sunday. Sunday will be a private ceremony, for all those close to Harry in his last days with us. Naturally, you are all invited, including you, Mr. Malfoy. Harry would have wanted you to be there after all you did," Dumbledore told him.

"Thank you, Professor, I'll be there," Draco said, even though he knew he would feel uncomfortable. Even in death, a huge fuss was still made over Potter.

"The three of you may go now. There will be a Muggle taxi waiting for the three of you at the Leaky Cauldron to bring you home. Your things are already in the car," he said to them, standing to show them to the door.

"Thank you for everything, Professor," Hermione said, throwing her arms around the old man's neck, once again crying.

"There, there Miss Granger. It will be alright, go on now, you must be getting home," he said, pulling out of the hug.

"Professor, what about my family? They don't..." Ron began but Dumbledore was quick to answer.

"Your family has been informed of all that has happened, that's why I was a bit late for our little meeting. I pleaded with your mother, and, after a while, she gave in and is letting you go for the month. You will see your family at the...well, you'll see them soon, no need to worry about that dear boy," Dumbledore said to him, patting him on the shoulder.

They left the room after that. Almost immediately after the door was shut, Ron pulled Draco to the side of the hall.

"Hermione, can you please walk on ahead, I have to talk to Draco about something," he said gently to a softly crying Hermione. She nodded and walked away. As soon as she was around the corner and out of sight, he spoke again. "I don't know what you thing you pulled back there and I don't know what your up to, but just stay away from Hermione. She doesn't need you, she has me. You're nothing at all, so just stop trying to be her friend," he said threateningly, holding Draco up against the wall, their faces just inches apart. with all his might, Draco pushed Ron off him, Ron hitting the wall on the other side of the hall.

"I'm not going to hurt her, so just relax, and I'm not going to hurt you either, unless you give me reason to. I'm not like I used to be, I've changed, Hermione knows it, she understands. Why don't you just leave her alone right now. I understand what she is going through right now. I saw everything she saw, and it was too much for her own good. Weather you like it or not, she does need me right now, and I'm going to be there for her until the very end. You'll just have to get used to it, I'm going to be around from now on, I'm involved now, I can't just walk away. Things have changed, Ron, and they will never be the same. I'm not trying to replace Harry, if that's what you think. I'm just giving her a hand to hold on to while she finds her way out of the dark. Now, if you would excuse me, I'm going to find 'Mione," Draco said. Without another word, he ran down the hall after Hermione.

"That's what you think," Ron muttered to himself as he began to walk after the two of them.