Secrets In The Eyes Of The Enemy

Chapter 6 Bitter Sweet Dreams


Jaden steadied the coffee cup in his hand as he prepared to open the potions room door. Only moments before having emptied the contents of the vial his mother had sent him containing the Draught of Death potion. With a few quick stirs the mixture had concealed itself within the cup of dark black coffee. Preparing himself for what he must do Jaden quickly reminded himself this is for my mother. Without a second though he swung open the door and entered the room.

“Oh hello Jaden, you’re just in time. I’ve got the cauldrons set and all the ingredients laid out for us to begin as soon as you’re ready.” She stated with a smile at the young man entering the otherwise deserted classroom.

“I though you might enjoy a spot of coffee before we begin, so I took the liberty of bringing you some. I hope you don’t mind.” Jaden smiled warmly at Hermione who reached out for the cup and nodded in appreciation of his thoughtful gesture.

Hermione had never been a coffee drinker, and on those rare occasions she did out of courtesy she never drank it black. Jaden though had brought her a steaming hot cup of jet-black coffee that she would have set aside to go cold had it been anyone else whom had brought it for her. However the look of hope on his face, that she would appreciate his gesture, was more than she could bear. So she carefully lifted the mug to her lips and grimaced behind the mug as the foul tasting beverage made its way down her throat.

“Jaden that was exactly what I needed to keep me on my toes well into the night, Thank you.” Herm sai said as she set down the mug beside her caldron hoping the remainder of the glasses contents could go unnoticed until she was able to dispose of it later in the evening. Luck however was not on her side.

“Professor Malfoy, by all means please finish your drink before we begin. I would hate for it to get cold on you.” Jaden stated in an uneasy voice. He had expected the poison to work immediately however mixing the poison with the coffee must have either slowed the effects, or required a greater amount to be consumed. Either way he was determined to see her finish the contents of the cup before the night was through.

“Thank you for your concern Mr. Nott however we really must get a move on if we’re to finish the potion before curfew.” She replied; however after seeing the dejected look on the young mans face, she reluctantly lifted the cup to her lips, and shuddered as she drank half of the cups contents. “Now we really must …” Hermione continued before her world began to spin and fade to black.

Before Jaden’s eyes his mother’s foe slumped into her chair, tipping the remainder of the cups contents onto the floor before landing in the puddle herself. A sadistic grin crossed the young man’s face as his accomplishment set in. His father filthy wife was as good as dead before him, and without a doubt his mother would be pleased with him.

****

Distracted from his grading of assignments by a rapping on his office door, Draco rose from his desk to see what could be so important so late in the evening. The moment the door opened, in burst a distraught Jaden.

“Sir, you need to come quickly. Something’s happened to Professor Malfoy. I tried to carry her but she was too heavy for me to lift. “Jaden stated in a shaky voice.

“Calm down Jaden. What’s happened to Hermione?” Draco asked as he gripped the small boy by the shoulders.

“I don’t know sir. We were getting ready to make a pepper up potion for Madame Hedrigal and she just passed out. I tried my best to rouse her but she won’t wake, and she’s hardly breathing.” He replied wincing as Draco’s grip tightened on his shoulders.

Without another word Draco turned and ran towards the potions dungeon as fast as his legs would carry him, robes billowing behind him as he dashed through the corridors like a man possessed.

*****

“Hermione!” Draco shouted as he entered the potions classroom. Sure enough just as Jaden had said, Hermione lay in a heap on the cold dungeon floor. Rushing to her side, he swiftly lifted her damp body up off the ground and cradled her in his arms.

“Hermione dear please wake up love. No games tonight princess, please wake up.” Draco whispered in her ear. Seeing no change in her features, Draco held his wife tight to his chest, as he hurried toward the hospital wing.

Outside the classroom Draco spotted Jaden and barked, “Jaden follow me to Madame Hedrigal. She’ll need to know what happened.” Jaden’s eyes widened at the idea of having to explain the night’s events, but simply nodded as he tried to keep up with Draco’s frantic pace.

****

“Madame Hedrigal! Madame Hedrigal!” Draco bellowed the moment he entered the Hospital wing.

“Professor Malfoy, please keep your voice down.” The mediwitch curtly replied as she came out of her office. Noticing Hermione’s unconscious form in Draco’s arms she immediately brandished her wand and ordered “Set her down Draco. “The instant Hermione’s body was laid down of the nearest bed she set to work casting every spell she could think of to revive the comatose witch.

“Would someone tell me what the hell happened to her, I’ve tried every spell I can think of and not one of them has so much as caused her to bat an eyelid?” The infuriated mediwitch questioned. Yet before anyone could answer the Hospital wing doors once again swung open, this time to reveal Headmaster Dumbledore clutching Rose.

“Miss Nott has had a bit of a shock this evening Hatty. I do believe she could use a bit of rest and a touch of calming draught couldn’t hurt.” Albus stated calmly.

Jaden rushed to his sister’s side and held her hand in his as she was placed across the room from Hermione. Having set Rose down, Dumbledore took notice of the others in the room for the first time. Seeing Hermione prone on the cot startled the elderly man, who quickly looked over his granddaughter with concern apparent in his eyes. After casting a few spells of his own he said in a broken voice, “Hatty please contact Severus, we’re going to need his help with this one. It appears as though Hermione’s been poisoned.”

A shriek came from the other side of the room as Rose who had woke to hear the headmasters comments screamed “Jaden what have you done!” as she looked in horror at her brother.
In an instant, Draco pounced on Jaden pinning him to the infirmary wall as he bellowed, “What have you done to her!”

In a rush both Madame Hedrigal and Dumbledore moved to stop Draco and free the young boy from his clutches. Grasping the collar of Jaden’s cloaks, he lifted him high into the air as he spun around wand in hand chanting, \"Silencio and Stupifey” In quick succession. Caught off guard, they sank to the floor.

Jaden squirmed nervously against his professor’s tight grip, and winced as Draco began pounding the boy against the wall as he shouted, “What have you done boy! What have you done to Hermione.” Relentless as he shook the boy, he tighted his grip further as he growled, “Tell me now or by Merlin, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”

As Jaden began coughing up blood, Rose sobbed, “Professor Malfoy stop, please stop, you’re hurting him.” It wasn’t until she yelled with all her might “Father, stop.” That Draco realized what he was doing and released his son from his grip.

Crumpled on the floor, rage burned in Jaden as he struggled to breath. Wiping away the blood from his mouth as he rose from the cold stone floor, he growled at Draco who was shaking as he looked down at his blood-splattered hands, “What does it matter what happens to her. You care more about her than you do about your own son. You would have killed me and thought nothing of it, just like you haven’t thought about Rose or I for the past eleven years. She’s nothing to me but a whore.”

With a resounding slap, Rose struck her brother. The small girl shaking with anger had made her way from her cot to help her brother, now stood disgusted before him as she shouted, “She’s not a whore. She’s our mother Jaden.” While pointing toward the pale form of Hermione. “We were taken from this very room as babies. Taken from them. Pansy was never our mother.”

“Lies.” Jaden yelled into his sister’s face.

“No it’s not Jaden. Think about what the hat said and you’ll know it’s true. It’s not their fault Jaden. They didn’t know.” Rose pleaded.

“This is all that Dumbledore fault, he’s done something with you Rose. She’s not our mother and you saw him he would have killed me, he doesn’t care, never has.” Jaden retorted.

The argument came to a sudden halt as the doors of the infirmary swung wide open. In a cloud of billowing robes, Severus Snape entered wand drawn. Surveying the room, he took note if the stunned headmaster and nurse, as well as Draco transfixed on the blood on his hands. The most likely source being the young man hunched against the wall red-faced, robes crumpled, traces of blood still lingering on his lips and across his cheek. Away from everything lay a pale still Hermione for whom he’d been called. Before he would be able to attend her, he would need to make sense of what was happening in the room around him.

With a swish of his wrist he stated in a firm voice “Finite Incantatum” quickly followed by “Ennervate” As the groggy headmaster and nurse woke, he turned toward Draco and cast, “Scourgify” Unsure what would have cause Draco to harm a student he choose not to heal the boy, but rather ask “Would someone kindly tell me what in the name of Merlin is going on here?”

“Ah Severus so good to see you again my boy, I only wish it were under more fortunate circumstances.” The ageing headmaster stated with a smile.

“Get on with it. I’m summoned for Hermi and and find the two of you stunned and Draco having apparently injured a student. What has this school come to?” Snape tightly replied.

As if shaken from his stupor, Draco raced to his wife side.

Dumbledore simply smiled as he said, “It’s a long story, and one I feel best told after more pressing matters have been attended too.”

Understanding the headmaster completely, Snape nodded and made his way to Hermione’s bedside. There he found the once vivacious Gryffindor breathing so shallowly she looked not be breathing at all. Her body was cold and clammy beneath his touch, and her playful pink lips were now a striking blue hue. Her state wasn’t natural of that he had no doubt and as his mind raced through all the possibilities of spells and potions that may have been used, he looked up at the group of faces surrounding the small cot as he asked, “Who saw her last before this happened?”

Unable to lift his eyes from his wife’s face has he gently ran his thumb over the back of her hand, Draco croaked, “Jaden.”

However, when the groups eyes turned back toward the rear of the room where the boy had been, the found him gone, the still swinging door of the infirmary announcing his departure.

*****
Write more, write faster, I know 100 lashes with a wet noodle. But here it is, I only hope it was worth the wait. Thanks for sticking with me. I had held of posting on aff for the lack of \"action\" in this fic, but it will come eventually so no point making you wait. For a quick hit though take a peek at my Moments in Time Songfics, where every tale is full of juicy goodness :)

Hunnypeach