I was not ready for the news that awaited me when I returned to the Hogwarts castle after my trip to Diagon Alley.

Apparently, Draco and Harry had gotten into a fight, then ended up dueling each other, and Harry seemed to have used a deadly curse on him.

Well... Now that's something I find unbelievable.

Harry and deadly curses just didn't sound right. His go-to spell for even dueling with the Dark Lord was Expelliarmus, for goodness sake!

But I was proven wrong when I went to the Hospital Wing and heard Madam Pomfrey and Snape talking to each other. Madam Pomfrey was aghast that a Dark spell had been used on Malfoy while Professor Snape was surprisingly trying to persuade her against it.

If Harry had used a Dark spell on Draco, then Snape should have taken Draco's side, right? But there he was, convincing Madam Pomfrey that it was a blunder Harry made and not an intentional curse.

Shocking. To this day, I can never understand where his loyalties lie.

He paused as he seemed to have noticed I was there and turned to look at me.

"Miss Weasley, eavesdropping again," he remarked in his cold voice, sweeping his black eyes over me in what seemed to be very evident disgust.

"I was not eavesdropping," I replied, my tone turning quite defensive, "I came to visit a friend."

"A friend?" He raised an eyebrow as if honestly surprised, "The only person staying in the infirmary currently is Mister Malfoy and I don't recall you ever being on friendly terms with him."

Well, if he wants to be uncivil then I would gladly repay the favor. 

"That's none of your business, Professor," I remarked just as coldly and stepped aside to go in, ignoring the glare he had sent my way.

I heard Madam Pomfrey dismissing Snape after that and she joined me shortly with a tired look on her face. "Katerina, dear, if you're here to see Mister Malfoy, he requested to be kept in the back."

Oh. In the back meant Draco wanted to rest in the isolated part of the infirmary where other students normally weren't allowed to go.

Perhaps he didn't want people coming up to see him in such a state. I heard from Myrtle that his whole body was slashed.

I wonder if he would want me to see him as such either. But then I couldn't just leave without making sure that he was okay. It felt like an obligation to look out for him.

"Thank you, I will just check how he's doing and leave. I don't want to be any hindrance to you whatsoever," I replied politely and it made her smile.

"That's alright, dear. You're not bothering me at all. You can stay for as long as you like." She still looked quite exhausted as she added, "I think it will be good for Mister Malfoy to have some company too. And do make sure that he has taken the vials I gave him to lessen the pain."

I nodded and as she left, I approached the other side of the hospital wing. I pushed aside the curtain and stepped in, spotting Draco's bed no long after.

I saw that Draco was lying on his bed, the blanket hiding any injuries he might have received. his eyes were shut and it seemed as if he was asleep but his features weren't peaceful.

I noticed the vials that were placed on the side table and he had not taken them as Madam Pomfrey advised. That meant he would still be in pain.

It was so odd seeing him like that. He was the sort of person who made a fracture out of a single scratch but right then, he was unbelievably silent.

"Draco, I hope you don't mind me coming here," I called out softly, letting him know of my presence.

His eyes fluttered open in surprise and his head tilted to look at me, standing awkwardly in the corner.

"I... I don't mind."

Hearing that, I stepped closer and when he did not object at all, I pulled up a chair close to the bed and sat down.

"You haven't taken your painkillers," I said, referring to vials on the bedside table.

"I don't need them. I am fine."

"If you won't do as I say then I will leave," I warned and just as I expected, he groaned in defeat, sitting up and eyed the painkillers in distaste.

I didn't say anything until he finished the vials and when he had placed them down, I remarked, "It's very strange to see you not making a scene. You used to get so worked up on just getting a scratch from a certain chicken."

He paused but then realized what I was referring to, "You're never going to let that rest, are you?"

"I still laugh each time I think about you proclaiming how Hagrid's bloody chicken almost killed you."

He looked embarrassed, a faint red creeping over his face as he recalled how awfully I used to tease him about it. But he couldn't deny that it wasn't funny. His eyes crinkled and a smile flickered on his face but no sound came out as it must hurt him to talk much.

"I heard you're in here because of Harry," I decided to ask him directly about it, "what happened?"

His smile dropped almost instantly and he didn't look so eager to reply. Strange...

"We got into a fight and he challenged me to a duel. I threw equally worse spells at him, the only difference was Potter didn't know the spell he used was a dark curse," he mumbled, grey eyes flickering in an unfathomable expression, "he must have read it somewhere, I don't expect him to know such spells otherwise."

"What spell did he use?"

"He said Sectumsempra," he told me, "and then deep cuts appeared on my body. He was horrified, that's how I know it wasn't intentional."

At least he was being honest, I could see that Draco didn't keep anything from me.

"I don't know what happened next but I heard from Madam Pomfrey that Professor Snape brought me here."

Right... But where could have Harry read a Dark Curse? And why did he use it without even knowing its effects?

That's not like him at all. Or perhaps the fact that none of us took him seriously each time he blamed Draco made him desperate.

But then he was right about his assumption of Draco being a Death Eater. What if he was right about the other things too? I knew Harry wasn't the sort of person to suspect without any strong reason.

Perhaps he was right.

"Hey, you got lost in thought," Draco's voice startled him and I made up my mind to indirectly ask him about Harry's accusations.

He wouldn't lie to me. I won't let him.

"I was just thinking what happened between you two that caused this fight? Harry has never lost his temper so soon."

He stiffened and I could feel the unease radiating off him, "Nothing happened. We were both being reckless."

"He thinks you cursed my friend Katie at the Three Broomsticks," I put it right out there just to see his reaction, and much to my discomfort, his face went white as a sheet, "did you curse her?"

"Katerina, I have no idea what you're talking about."

He couldn't look me in the eyes and say that.

He was lying.

"You're not telling the truth," I remarked, standing up to leave because I felt infuriated that my friend was in St. Mungo's due to him, "I should have known you would still not tell the fucking truth about anything... You hurt Katie and that hurts me."

"Kat... No, Thia, I didn't mean to..." He looked panic-stricken and his hands were trembling as he tried to reach out and stop me.

But I knew there was no use listening to him right then. He would still not tell me anything. He never did.

In the end, I always have to find things out myself.

***