Draco’s Remorse

“Lumos.” Hermione's wand glowed a reddish yellow colour. She looked around the room and then looked at Draco. His face was a grimace of pain and she knelt down beside him. “You’re hurt!” She shined the light over him. Draco moved and moaned in pain as he realised that he had landed on something hard. She took his hand and helped him stand. They stared at the thing they had landed on. A sarcophagus! Why would there be a sarcophagus in the castle? “Lumos.” Draco’s wand lit up as well and he looked closely at the room.

It was a rectangular room with three layers of shelves on two of the walls. On each shelf lay a sarcophagus similar to the one in the center. Well, almost, since the center one was more decorated and bigger. They had stumbled into a crypt. “Look, there a something written on this one!” Hermione whispered and brushed cobwebs and dust off the sarcophagus.

*Melinda Slytherin – Born April 3rd 923 – Died August 25th 974*

As they studied the other sarcophagi they found the names Phineas, Samael and Tanit, all with the meaning Serpent and all with the surname Slytherin. Draco was breathless. It made sense. Salazar Slytherin would have wanted his ancestors close by when he has Head of Slytherin house. A shiver went down Draco’s spine as he slowly walked up to the biggest sarcophagus. Could this be…? No, it wasn’t possible and yet… He slowly circled the coffin and found what he was looking for. He read out the words chiselled into the lid.

*Here lies the Great Salazar Slytherin – Master of magic – Founder of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft – Head of Slytherin House. Born January 31st 939 – Died June 5th 1019*

Hermione started to shake and murmured to herself too low for Draco to hear, but he could guess what she was whispering. He had the same feelings and thoughts. They had stumbled upon the Slytherin family crypt. But… How did Slytherin himself end up in here…? Here inside Hogwarts after his death? Draco ran his fingers over the lid. It was beautifully chiselled with a scene of Slytherin’s life. Draco was in awe. His eyes were lit with deepest respect for the wizard laid to rest under this lid.

The look in Draco’s eyes scared Hermione. Who could respect a wizard that wanted to deny every Muggleborn and mixed blood witch or wizard the chance to learn about and live the wizard life? And even worse! A wizard that had kept a fierce beast hidden inside Hogwarts; a beast trained to kill students that weren’t pure-blood. Maybe she had made a mistake in trusting him. Maybe he hadn’t changed at all. She started to back up against the shelves behind her; panic threatening to overtake her mind and body.

Draco looked up and saw the panic in Hermione’s eyes. At first he didn’t know why she was looking at him in fear, but then he realized that she had misinterpreted his actions. “No… It’s not what you think,” he stepped away from the sarcophagus and toward Hermione, making her panic even more and leaning even closer unto the shelves. Her weight caused the lid of one of the sarcophagus to slide off and fall into the sarcophagus with a loud bang, sending bone fragments and dust flying through the air. Hermione screamed and threw herself to the floor, thinking that this was the end; that she would meet her death in the crypt of Salazar Slytherin.

As the dust settled and nothing happened Hermione carefully looked up. Draco was sitting a couple of feet away looking down at her. He looked very serious. “May I explain my reaction before?” His voice was low. “You misunderstood… Yes, I deeply respect the founder of my house… But not for the reason you so quickly jumped to.” He looked away, took a deep breath and continued, “Salazar Slytherin was one of the greatest wizards in the history of magic… He may have had the wrong idea when it came to non pure-bloods… But what I admire was his great knowledge… His power to make people see his way… And the fact that he was willing to fight for his beliefs shows me strength… I admire the fact that he was willing to sacrifice everything… EVERYTHING for what he wanted and believed in… And even when he faced adversity and hardship and he had to leave what he had helped build, he stayed true to himself.” Draco smirked, “Sound like someone you know, Hermione?”

Hermione had sat down during Draco’s monologue and smiled back at him. “Harry!” she sighed. Hermione frowned in thought and then came to the conclusion that Slytherins and Gryffindors had much the same values. Cleverness, determination and courage are significant traits for both Gryffindor and Slytherin students’ even if they used their skills in different ways. She was embarrassed that she had leapt to the thought that Draco admired Salazar Slytherin for his hatred towards non pure-bloods and supported his house founder in these thoughts. She sighed and started to look around the crypt again. The floor was covered with many decades of dust and bone fragments and a smell of something very old lingered in the air. From the first look there didn’t seem to be a way out other than the closed trapdoor over their heads. Hermione stood up and started looking for another way out; a secret door, a portkey or anything that seemed out of place. Draco joined the search, holding his wand high to better spread the light.

They searched for awhile without finding anything when Draco noticed a rounded stone on Salazar's sarcophagus. It looked somewhat like a button; he knelt down and called Hermione over. “Do you think it’s what I think it is?” he asked and looked intrigued at the round stone. Hermione nodded and bit down on her lower lip. “Hold on to me, just in case.” Draco whispered and offered Hermione his slender hand. She hesitated for a split second then she let him pull her close, placing his hand on her waist. A scent of cedar wood and lavender with a hint of patchouli made her take a deep breath, as a warm feeling stirred in her lower stomach. As he touched the rounded stone, it disappeared and then the room started to turn. Round and round making them both dizzy, then with a pop they stood knee-deep in muddy water, small red eyes starring at them from the shadows. “The sewers? Great!” Draco looked down into the water, happy it was too dark to see just what drifted under the surface.

Hermione tightened her grip round Draco. She hated sewer-rats! They were known to attack anyone stupid enough to get too close. “Let’s find a way out quick. I don’t like it in here,” she whispered, staring into the shadows. Draco felt his heart skip a beat as she tucked her small body closer to his. He knew it was only because she was scared and he was the only one around, but he liked the feeling of her warm body pressed against his. “Come. Let’s get out of here,” he whispered down into her hair breathing in her scent. She smelt divine and once again he was thankful it was to dark
to see much. It would have been quite embarrassing if she could see how he reacted to her being so close.

They could feel a faint breeze on their faces when they turned slowly around. That usually meant that there was an exit to fresh air in that direction. Slowly they started walking through the water, hoping that the exit wasn’t fare. The sound of tiny paws followed the two as they followed the breeze toward what they hoped was an exit. Draco held an arm tightly around Hermione’s shoulders and the other one high above their heads with the wand as guiding light.

To stay calm they talked about everyday things and ended up talking about Draco’s childhood. How his father had been very strict and punished Draco for even the smallest thing. Like when he went home for Christmas after his second year when he had brought home a test paper with the grade E. Lucius had yelled that he was so disappointed and that any son of his had to score the highest mark on every test. Lucius had sent him to his room and denied Draco the pleasure of joining the Christmas party that night and told him that he didn’t deserve a Christmas present that year. Narcissa had pleaded for Lucius to be forgiving and let their son attend the party, but she had just received a slap over the face for daring to defy her husband’s orders. So that Christmas Draco had spent alone in his room only visited by a house-elf that brought him some food and goodies, “because young master need to feel its Christmas too!”

Since that time Draco had struggled hard to ace every test and task to please his father, “and every time you beat me as best-in-class, my father made it clear it wasn’t acceptable for a Malfoy to lose to a Mudblood,” his voice has hoarse with anger and his face was a mask of hatred. He couldn’t count the times his father had cursed him, whipped him with magical chains and one time even used the Cruciatus Curse on him and only stopped when a fellow Death Eater guest said that it was enough. If his mother tried to intervene she would get the same or worse punishment. One time Lucius’ beatings had caused her miscarriage when 4 months pregnant with Draco's baby-brother or sister. It had caused her to become barren and she had been in great sorrow for a long time, finally becoming cold and unkind toward everybody except Draco. He had begged her to leave Lucius, but she didn’t dare for fear that Lucius would seek them out and kill them.

Draco had so much hatred and anger build up inside that he took it out on his fellow students and because Hermione had been his biggest competitor, she had become his prime target. One thing Draco didn’t understand was that even with his father making his childhood hell on earth, it still got to him when someone made a joke or insulting comment on Lucius' behalf.

Hermione felt her heart bleed for Draco. No wonder he had been such a bastard towards her and her friends. She wiped a tear away hoping he didn’t notice. She knew that Lucius Malfoy was an evil bastard, but she had never once thought that he was so distorted that he would hurt his pregnant wife. “Poor Narcissa,” she sighed and leaned her head towards Draco’s shoulder. The more they talked the better she understood him and trusted him. Draco had never shared the secrets of his childhood with anyone, but here in the dark with Hermione by his side, it came naturally and the more he told the more the years of pain lifted from his shoulders.

The breeze became stronger and stronger as they continued down the path. Hermione felt the needed to share something personal with Draco, to keep them equal so she started to tell him about why she had broken up with Ron. She had always liked Ron and at the Yule ball their 4th year ended with a big scene, she knew she had fallen in love with him. It had been so odd to be around him and after the whole Lavender episode; she had been somewhat more reserved around him. When they finally got together it had been more out of what other people expected and 2 months after Dumbledore’s funeral, she had explained to him that she saw him more like a friend than a boyfriend and that she was sorry and hoped he still would be her friend. “It was awful. Molly Weasley hates me for hurting her son. Ginny tells me that it will pass but it’s hard.” Harry had been caught in the middle refusing to take sides. And the Golden Trio had had their worse clash ever, ending with them splitting up. They went 2 whole weeks with out speaking to each other unless they had to while working together in the hunt for the remaining Horcruxes. But with the final battle drawing closer the Trio found that they needed each other as friends and made peace. Ron still had feelings for Hermione, but in the end faced the fact that she didn’t share the same feelings.

In the final battle the Trio fought under different attack-leaders and therefore in different places on the battlefield. They had fought like hell to help their team members and to stay alive. Hermione had thought that she was ready for the reality of war. But when she saw the first of her fellows fall she had screamed in fear and sorrow. And when she looked over the battlefield and saw the stomach-turning sight of dead bodies, blood covered and eyes wide open, she had become sick and thought she would surely die. Tonks had come to her rescue and brought her mind back in focus on the battle and just in time. Harry stood face to face with the Serpent Lord and really needed her help and without considering the outcome, she ran to his aid and screamed the only spell that came in mind.

When she mentioned the Sectumsempra spell Draco shivered remembering all to well how it felt as magical claws ripped across ones body and he was only hit by one caster. He could easily picture what 4 simultaneous Sectumsempra's would do to the human body. “Guess we are both a frequent users of Madam Pomfrey's sleeping potions then,” he said in a cynical voice making Hermione laugh even though it wasn’t funny when you thought about it. They walked a little in silence consumed with their own thoughts. Then it seemed that the dark got a little less dark and then they could see a round greyish shape further down the path. “I hope that’s the way out,” Hermione said and started to walk faster and then faster, as she let go of Draco’s arm she almost ran through the water, that became lower and lower the closer she got to the grey circle. Draco followed close behind her, longing to get out of this dark sewer and breathe in the fresh night air and the get back to the castle for a long hot bath.

Hermione slowed down and looked out into the greyish light. Time had really past by quickly in the dark; it was only moments before the sun would rise. She looked back over her shoulder and saw a filthy, soaked and very tired looking Draco smiling back at her. She reached out her hand towards him, thinking that she had done the right thing in joining Draco in his punishment. “Look! The sun is rising… We’ve walked all night,” she looked to the east as the sky started to change from dark grey to light red. When Draco put his arms around her, she leaned her body back against his and thought that it felt quiet nice. They watched the sun rise, thankful for being out in the fresh air and thankful for being in each others company.

Yawning, Draco looked around. From what he could tell, they were somewhere between Hogsmeade station and the Shrieking Shack. Which meant that they had walked under the great lake? Which again meant that it wasn’t a sewer they had spend the night walking through, but a secret passageway in and out of the Hogwarts’ dungeons. It must have been how Salazar’s sarcophagus had been placed in the family crypt. As he looked back over his shoulder towards the way they had come, the entrance was nowhere to be seen. “What?!” Draco let go of Hermione and turned to stare at the place he knew the entrance had to be. “How?” Hermione turned around and blinked a couple of times. She was tired, but still her logical mind told her that the entrance must be cloaked under strong magic. Draco must had had come to the same conclusion because they both cast Dissendium. A small shimmer of the air round where the passageway should be was seen, but it didn’t reveal it self. Who else knew of this passageway? Did the Headmistress know?

“Let’s get back to the castle. McGonagall would want to know about the crypt and hidden passageway into the castle,” Draco frowned as he continued. “There are still Death Eaters out there. Greyback still roams free and if he finds out…” he shuddered. Hermione took his hand and the two apparated to the gates leading into the Hogwarts grounds. The gates were locked so Hermione called out from the top of her lungs for Hagrid using Sonorous.

“Hermione?!” Hagrid came trotting across the lawn shuffling his keys. “Hermione, we’ve been looking al’ over for you… Where ‘ave you been...? You al’right…? Was’it Malf…” Hagrid spotted Draco and murmured a low “oh… sorry 'bout that… I shouldn't ‘ave said that.” and unlocked the gate ignoring the sour expression on Draco’s face. When would they ever trust him?! He ground his teeth… He would never, NEVER hurt Hermione! He put a protective arm around her waist as the two walked into the safety of the grounds, making Hagrid’s eyes widen in surprise.

“We’re alright Hagrid, but we need to speak with McGonagall right away! We have found something that might be a big security breach,” Hermione looked very concerned making Hagrid frown and quickly lead them to the Headmistress office.

As Hermione, Draco and Hagrid knocked on the Headmistress’ door Draco let go of Hermione. He didn’t want McGonagall baffled by the fact that the two arch-rivals had become… close friends? He didn’t really know how to describe the connection, not wanting to put anymore on it that wasn't realistic. Hermione looked a little puzzled by it, but like Draco she would like McGonagall to focus on the danger, instead of the incipient friendship between them. She smiled and Draco’s lips twisted in a warm smile, which for a moment changed his normally cold and cruel expression. But when the door opened it was scary how unapproachable he looked. Draco’s eyes changed to two orbs of cold slate and his usual sneer appeared. It felt like a knife was driven into Hermione’s heart at the thought that Draco felt it necessary to hid behind a mask so bitter and foul. Fighting back the urge to take his hand, she walked into the office followed by Hagrid and, lastly, Draco.