Harry Potter and the Union of the Founders

Chapter Three:
Beginnings of Trouble

Draco spent the next few days glaring at everyone who dared approach him. It wasn't exactly a new thing; he'd always been sneering or glaring at people around him, but this time there was a certain sense of disgust behind the glare that kept people away.

He felt disgusted with himself.

The incident at The Shrieking Shack had definitely not been something he wanted the mighty trio to see; Ginny Weasley had been bad enough, but then he had been basically tossed to the side by one lunatic Ron Weasley and had only been able to trade a few insults with the Boy Wonder before his head had started hurting like mad.

Not one of my finer moments, he thought with a grim look on his face as he looked out the window of the library. He was sitting in his favorite spot, a little corner window in the far back of the library, hidden behind dusty shelves and cabinets from all eyes and ears. It was the one place he could go to that no one, not even Crabbe and Goyle, could find him. Then again, Crabbe and Goyle probably didn't even know where the library itself was, let alone the location of this particular spot.

Draco sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingers in little circular motions. He had not been sleeping well, and he knew that it showed quite clearly in his eyes. The Christmas holidays were coming up soon, which meant he'd have to go home.

Home...

It was a funny word, he thought. For many of the silly, naïve little students at Hogwarts, home was filled with all sorts of ridiculous notions of happy faces and cheery laughs and sweet honey and vanilla smelling rooms.

Draco laughed dryly, closing his Potions textbook. That wasn't home. Home was a barren mansion of the finest dark marble, stone, wood, with beautiful screaming portraits, and decapitated heads floating about, and of course, the loving and painful attention of his mother and father.

He winced, rubbing his arm. It still hurt, but not nearly as badly as it had a few days ago when that little Weasley girl had dug her fingers into it.

Come to think of it, why had it hurt so much then?

Draco frowned, still gently rubbing the skin. Granted, she had grabbed onto him pretty hard, but it shouldn't have hurt that bad. Just a few weeks ago, he'd had a bludger slam right into that arm and damn near break it and it still hadn't been that painful.

He sighed, grabbing his books and shoving them into his bag as he stood up. It was getting late, and his stomach gave a little growl just as he moved. His mind still filled with troubled thoughts, he walked through the stacks of books, heading for the door.

"BLOODY HELL!"

Draco winced as he collided with a blur of red and black, a blur that was swearing up a storm. Oh no, he thought with annoyance, lunatic Weasley. He was not up for a verbal battle at this particular moment, and he half hoped Weasley would just get up and go away.

"Why don't you watch where you're bloody going, Malfoy?"

No such luck, Draco thought sadly to himself as he stood up, brushing off his robe. Weasley looked ready to kill, his fists tightly clenched. Draco rolled his eyes. He knew he probably shouldn't say anything, but he couldn't help but sneer wickedly at the tall redhead, who looked rather awkward despite the fury in his eyes. Ron Weasley had grown a few inches in the past year, and as such, his robes were a bit short on him. That, added with the fact that his hair was a red mess that flopped about when he moved, made Draco almost laugh.

"So sorry, Weasley," he drawled. "I didn't realize they let your sort into civilized places like this. Do try not to dumb up the place that much, will you?"

The remark hit home. Weasley's face darkened, and he rushed forward, grabbing Draco by the collar. He looked like he was about to tear him to bits. For a second, Draco felt a bit nervous. Weasley was already a lunatic by birth and family association; he hated to see him attack out of blind fury because of that one little comment.

"Ron, let him go!"

It was little Weasley, Draco thought with a scowl. Luckily for him, she seemed to be horrified at what her brother was doing, and she quickly walked over to them and hissed, "Ron! You know what Hermione said."

"And what did the little Mudblood have to say?" Draco blurted out before he could think about it.

Oops...

Weasley looked positively livid now. Draco had a feeling this was going to hurt.

He was surprised when the resounding SLAP came not from the tall boy who was practically choking him, but from his little sister instead.

Something about these redheads and their tempers, Draco thought bitterly, wincing at the sting from her palm. She had actually smacked him!

The elder Weasley seemed to be quite surprised by his sister's blatant violence, and he loosened his hold on Draco.

"Ron," little Weasley said sternly, "Get out of here and go find Hermione. She's waiting for you still about your Charms project."

"But-"

"You need to cool down."

"But Gin-"

"RON."

Despite himself, Draco felt the corner of his mouth twitch. This girl was vicious; she could hex people, slap people, and now she was ordering her big brother around with the kind of superior and annoyed air that would have made a Malfoy proud. Not that a Malfoy would ever even consider paying any sort of attention like that to a Weasley, he added as an afterthought.

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't realize he had been standing there for a few moments now, with elder Weasley long gone and this little red haired witch staring coolly at him, her mouth set into a thin line.

"What do you want, Weasley?" he said casually, relaxing against one of the large shelves of books. She seemed to be studying him, her gaze flickering over him. She did not reply, and Draco felt a little uneasy as she continued to stare at him. It was almost as if she were sizing him up somehow.

"What is it Weasley?" he finally spat out, his annoyance clearly showing in his tone.

The girl shrugged, looking at him with those large, pretty brown eyes. Well, pretty for a Weasley, Draco amended, wondering momentarily why he had to keep amending his own thoughts about this girl.

Finally, she spoke, and her voice sounded strangely devoid of emotion to him.

"Why'd you do it, Malfoy?" she said quietly.

What the blazes was she on about?

"Do what, Weasley?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Malfoy."

"Your brother ran into me, Weasley."

"No he didn't," she said quietly. "And that's not what I mean."

"Well then bloody explain yourself, because I have things to do, Weasley."

He did not expect her to take two quick steps right up to him, and then, without warning, grasp his left arm firmly with her slim fingers.

Draco wasn't prepared for the sudden surge of white-hot fire that seemed to burst from his arm, traveling up towards his chest. He let out a low, guttural cry and wrenched his arm from her grasp, backing away quickly.

He was breathing hard, and when he finally managed to get himself under control again, he saw that Weasley was lying on the floor, ghastly pale and breathing just as hard. Her dark eyes were brilliant, a few tears spilling over onto her freckled cheeks.

"That," she whispered, before fainting dead away.

***

Hermione knew instantly that something was wrong as she watched Ron approach her table, slamming his bag down with considerable force. He then proceeded to take out each textbook, slamming them down one at a time as well onto the table with just as much vehemence. Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"Are you all right?" she asked cautiously.

A low mumble was the only response she received.

"Ron...what's going on?"

Another mumble, but this one was a bit more coherent. Hermione's eyes narrowed.

"Malfoy?" she said, and at the sound of the name, Ron slammed another book down. Hermione jumped a little, but she now understood why Ron was acting so crazy. Well, crazier that normal, she added mentally with a small smile. Not one of his finest traits, but definitely one of the more endearing ones.

"What happened?"

He sighed, resting his chin in his arms as he glared up at her.

"Ran into him in the library," he muttered. Hermione strained to hear him. "...stupid git...called you names...Ginny smacked him...git...lousy ferret..."

"So you had a fight with him, Ginny saw you two, and then she hit him?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, opening his Charms book. "And then she bloody orders me to come find you so I could 'cool down'. Girl gets more like Mum every day..."

"Wait, so you just left her and Malfoy together?"

"Well what the bloody hell was I supposed to do, Hermione?"

"All right, all right!" Hermione said soothingly, reaching across the table and taking his hand. She didn't even notice his ears turning a bright shade of red as she stroked his hand, trying to calm him down. "Ron, it's okay. I'm sure Ginny's fine; she sounds like she can definitely handle herself. But how about, just to check, let's go see if we can find her, okay?"

"Well what about this Charms project?" Ron looked a bit confused as Hermione stood and began to put her books and quills away.

"We'll do it later," Hermione said firmly. "Let's find Ginny first, okay?"

Nodding, Ron quickly shoved his things back into his bag, his motions less violent than they had been before. They were just about to walk off together when a blur of green and red ran past them, making them both stop and gape for a moment before collecting their senses.

"Was that-?" Ron asked slowly.

"I think so," Hermione said, her voice worried. "Come on, let's go."

"Go where?"

"After them, of course. They've got to be heading for the Infirmary."

With that, she grabbed his hand and ran out of the library.

It took them only a few moments to rush through the dimly lit hallways to the Infirmary. As they reached the doors, Ron broke into a dead run and practically burst through, his face wild with concern.

Hermione cringed. The sight in front of them wasn't going to make Ron feel any better. She instinctively grabbed his hand again, partially to make sure he didn't leap across the room, and partially because she felt that he needed the support at the moment.

Madame Pomfrey was hovering over the bed, and to Hermione's dismay and Ron's outrage, Draco Malfoy was leaning against the window on the other side of the bed, his arms crossed firmly as he stared intensely away from them all.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER, MALFOY?"

Hermione winced. Really, the boy had no control at all. She had both hands firmly grasping his, practically pulling him backwards so that he could not attack Malfoy. Granted, Hermione half wanted to slap Malfoy herself for even being remotely related to Ginny being hurt, but the cool, collected side of her forced her to slow down and take things into perspective. If Ron attacked Malfoy here, he'd be the one in trouble, not Malfoy. She gritted her teeth.

"Mr. Weasley!" Madame Pomfrey admonished Ron, looking quite cross as she walked over to them. "Kindly lower your voice!"

"Sorry," Ron mumbled, still shooting a death glare at Malfoy. Hermione sighed, focusing on Madame Pomfrey.

"Will she be all right?" Hermione asked. The nurse seemed grateful to be talking to someone who didn't look like a madman at the moment, and she nodded, offering a little smile.

"She'll be fine, Miss Granger. She simply fainted, most likely from exhaustion. I'll need to keep her overnight just to make sure, but she appears to simply be resting right now."

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Ron asked then, but it was more of a shout towards Malfoy than to Madame Pomfrey. She glared at him, and to his credit, Ron had the sense to shut his mouth and blush.

"As I said, Mr. Weasley, your sister fainted in the library. Mr. Malfoy was kind enough to bring her here. Now," she continued, as though sensing that Ron was about to explode again, "I must ask all of you to leave immediately. My patient needs rest and quiet, which she'll not get if you all stay here."

With that, she moved away and back towards Ginny's bed.

Hermione shivered, pulling against Ron's arm with all her strength, but he was so tense that she could not move him at all. His jaw was clenched tightly, his eyes a darker blue than she had ever seen them.

"Ron," she said quietly, trying to tear his attention away from the fair-haired Slytherin boy who was still whole-heartedly returning his glare. "Ron, let's go. We're supposed to meet Harry for supper anyway, and we still have that Charms project to do."

"I'm not really caring about some bloody homework thing right now, Hermione," Ron replied with a grunt, his eyes still on Malfoy. Hermione sighed, moving to stand in front of him. Grabbing him squarely on the shoulders, she forced him to look at her.

"Ron," she said slowly, pleading with him. "Let's go. Ginny will be fine, and Malfoy has to leave too, so there's nothing to worry about. Now, please, can we go?"

"Ms. Granger! Mr. Weasley! Mr. Malfoy! Out!"

The healer's sharp voice seemed to cause Ron to snap out of his angry staring contest with Malfoy. He looked down at Hermione, and to her relief, she saw his eyes soften slightly.

"Come on then," she said softly, and took his hand again. He nodded finally and allowed himself to be dragged to the door.

"Hang on," Ron said, just as they reached the door. "Get that git out first."

"No need to rush, Weasley," Malfoy said quietly. Hermione was surprised to see no sign of that superior sneer on his face; in fact, he looked quite pale. Well, even more than usual, she noted wryly.

Malfoy pushed past the two of them quickly, as though he did not want to be in the room any longer, and disappeared down the hall.

Ron stared after him, and for once, Hermione had a hard time reading his expression. She let him have a moment before she called him back to reality once more. Then, still unconsciously holding his hand, she led the way to the Great Hall for supper.