— t h i r t e e n —
dread

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"Father!" A Young Draco called as he ran with his new artwork. He wanted to impress his Father. He wanted to show his Father that he was capable of doing art too. He wanted to show his Father that he was talented. He had drawn a Niffler, an animal he had recently learned about from a Hufflepuff friend of his.

". . .mudbloods will be petrified by the basilisk." A voice said, telling his Father and Draco stood behind the wall, slowing down his footsteps as he remained quiet. He frowned, when the word mudblood was said. It was a bad word and he didn't like that someone was saying that to his Father. Draco wanted to interfere and protect his Father from the man. His Father was a good man. Listening in on the conversation, Draco Malfoy realised that muggleborns were in danger this year.

Hermione Granger.

That was the first thing that came to his mind. Will Granger be in danger? I have to help them.

Draco Malfoy learned more about the plan. He wanted to help desperately. Grabbing Dobby The House-elf, he told the elf to tell Harry Potter that he was in danger. And, he warned the elf that he shouldn't tell Potter his name. Later, In Flourish and Blotts, he found a book with a page that contained information about the basilisk. He ripped out a piece of paper and tucked it into his cloak. When he got the chance, in the train, he popped the ripped piece of paper inside Granger's bag without letting her know.

He had tried to warn them as best as he could.

Draco Malfoy woke up, his eyes wide and his jaw tight. He had always tried to help them as best as he could. Mostly, he had always tried to help Hermione as best as he could. The hard thing is, you try to help them, but you are always the bad one. Before he could stop himself, he stood up from his seat, and looked at the sleeping form of Hermione. He admired her. Her features were much softer in sleep, the lines that usually creased her eyebrows replaced by the youthful appearance that matched those of others their age. She looked peaceful, from all the war, pain and hurt. Wanting nothing more than to curl up into the curve of her body, he clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes.

He pulled up the blanket over her and turned around. His eyes widened when he saw Harry Potter standing there, with a look of indifference on his face. But, Draco knew better. Potter's eyes looked towards Hermione before looking up at him. Sighing, Potter walked away, before grabbing himself a glass of water. Malfoy stretched his neck and walked away to the front of the tent.

He sat down on a piece of log, and looked towards the night sky which were void of any stars. It was moonless, starless. There was no twilight, only blackness. Draco felt claustrophobic, like he was in a cave. The low sky had become a ceiling of grey black rock above. Only the wind let him knew that they were in the open. The colours of the forest become less bright, as if he was viewing them through dark glasses. The breeze had a dampness to it that wasn't there a short while ago, it's cooler and fresher too.

"Apple?"

Malfoy perked his eyebrows at Potter before grabbing the Apple from Potter's hands. Wet and crisp as he bit into it, it broke between his teeth with a soft crunch. The lingering sound drifted around his ears, filling his heart with pleasure. Icy sweetness filled his mouth and for a moment, all fell still, as if a wave of content had drifted past and frozen the world solid. Apple had always been his drug. Potter sat down beside Malfoy, a few feet away from him, of course. An awkward silence fell on them and Draco wanted to run away for an instant. He bit into the apple, which created a good distraction for him.

"Look, I don't hate you. But, I don't particularly like you either." Potter broke the silence and Draco sighed, and pressed his lips into a thin line. "I can say the same too, Potter."

"Your mother saved me." Harry said and Draco tensed, his Apple quickly forgotten. The shock was evident in Malfoy's face as he looked at the green eyes of Potter. The kind of green that pushed its way through the piles of gritty snow to remind you that spring was coming. "She was the only person who knew I was alive when Hagrid carried me." Draco felt a rush of affection for his Mother.

"And, you saved me too. In Malfoy Manor. I know you recognised me but you remained silent about it." Harry said and in that moment, Harry seemed like the better person and it wasn't a bad thing but it was annoying to Draco. Because, he felt like a child getting scolded and being told that it's okay to make mistakes.

"But, what I can't digest is that, you didn't save Hermione."

The sentence stunned Draco and he felt guilt surface inside of him, as flashes of the moment came and echoes of her agonising screams revolved around his mind. It's the main reason of why he hates the cruciatus curse the most. Pain and torture is always worse than sudden silent death.

"But, I can tell that you feel guilty for it. Your actions speak louder than your words."

Draco Malfoy remained silent, as he bit into the Apple. "I just wanted to tell you, thank you." Potter said. Malfoy remained silent. "Last time, Ron left the tent, she was crying all the time. I had to cheer her up. This time, Ron is really gone. She wouldn't have coped up well, if not for you. Thanks for taking care of her." Potter said, his voice sounded too sincere that the gravity of the situation dawned upon the blonde Slytherin. Potter stood up and walked back inside the tent.

Draco furrowed his eyebrows before getting rid of the thoughts of her.

His cold hands unconsciously found itself getting wrapped around a Slytherin scarf that kept it warm.

It's a cold world and you need a scarf to keep you warm.

It did keep him warm.

Crunch.

The unmistakable sound of a twig breaking under someone's feet reached his ears and immediately Draco stood up, his wand clutched tightly in his hands. His feet started walking forward, trying to make as little sound as possible. Casting a glance behind, he saw that everyone was asleep in the tent. A bad feeling itched his stomach as he stood at the edge of the protective shell Hermione had casted around. Draco waited for another sound and it came. Another crunch. Much louder and closer than the time before.

Walking forward, he felt a presence towards his right. There stood, majestically, a Nundus. A creature he had eagerly learned about during his school days with a friend of his. Nundus are beautiful, and mysterious, and he had never seen one before now. This one was clearly a male, because it was huge. His wide eyes were watching it's every move when suddenly it turned around to capture Draco's eyes on it. Draco felt enamoured. He was completely and utterly amazed. The figure eclipsed the moon. It stood on it's large foot and stooped as it's wrinkled face stared at me. It's peaceful aura immediately changed as it gave off an aura of pure hate and evil expressed in its dull black eyes.

It was only a moment later Draco realised that he was out of the shell but the creature was already dashing towards him in full speed. He knew a simple, 'Flipendo' or 'Stupefy' wouldn't do any good. A bloodcurdling roar came out of the creature's mouth.

A sudden green fog started coming out of the creature's mouth. It's breath causes disease which can eliminate entire villages. Draco gulped and narrowed his eyes before taking a quick step back.

Run.

That was the only option left so Draco took off towards the camp with a frantic looking Hermione searching around. She must have heard the roar. His legs were fast. He jumped over logs, throwing strong hexes behind his back, which he knew were no use. He didn't look back but he could hear the animal chasing after him. Draco was not a slow runner, but compared to the Nundus, he was slow enough. He didn't know he had walked this far from the tent as he looked at the distance. Hermione was searching for him and Draco couldn't help but smile even in the moment of absolute fear.

Granger's eyes fell on him and widened when she took a glance behind him. She quickly called out inside the tent. Potter and Lovegood ran out. Their eyes widened and Draco gestured for them to get ready. Granger shouted an hex towards the animal which only enraged it but Draco knew the foul breath was itching his black coat from behind.

The tent was shrunk and kept in Hermione's pocket, his hand interlaced Hermione's who reached out for him, and he took one last glance as the green fog was inches away from him before they apparated out of the place.