Protecting You
So this is my first "on request" fanfic. Well, not actually. Somebody, as in, delicate cherry, wanted a fic of this and I was like, "Meh, I like this prompt. Let's get down to business." And I did. Get down to business, I mean. The prompt was:
"Guardian Angels are granted a life on Earth for as many years as they keep their assignment alive. Determined to succeed, you set out only to find you've been given one of the worst assignments possible."
And I kinda started with it, but it developed into something of its own?
Disclaimer: I own…..*drumroll*...NOTHING!
Ikr, surprising. Well, I do own this plot. Not the prompt. And even the grammatical correctness of it all goes to delicate cherry. Without her, this would be just be a bunch of random sentences placed together. Enough of all this sentimental…sentiment. (See? I'm useless without her.) Let's begin! (Don't forget to R&R).
Holding her head in her hands, cursing her luck, legs dangling off the clouds. That's how Harry found her.
"It can't be that bad." Wordlessly, she tossed him her assignment case file.
Name: Draco Lucius Abraxas Malfoy
Date of Birth: June 5, 1980
Present Age: 26
Father: Lucius Abraxas Malfoy
Mother: Narcissa Black Malfoy
Personality Traits: Arrogance, pride over family name, anger, materialism, mild affinity for violence.
And just below that was a recently written entry- suicidal tendencies, helplessness. Frowning, Harry continued reading.
Notable Points in Life:
1. History of bullying people.
2. Previously subjected to domestic violence.
3. A recent development of suicidal tendencies.
Five attempts have been made by the subject to commit suicide.
1st attempt: Purposeful reckless driving
2nd attempt: Alcohol overdose
3rd attempt: Physical injury to wrists by penetrating the skin
4th attempt: Purposeful involvement with underground thugs, indulging in unnecessary violence
5th attempt: Tried to jump into sub-zero water to drown self
Overall Diagnosis: Needs guardian
Threat to Life: 86% [mortality rate]
There was a new addition to the case file.
Caretaker: Hermione Jean Granger.
Qualification: Level 5 Angel, Valedictorian Batch 1998
Assignments Completed: 3
Successes: 2
Failures: 1
Handler: Zacharias Smith
And this was just the first page. This guy's file was one of the thickest Harry had ever seen. No wonder she looked so distraught. He sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay, 'Mione. You are brilliant. You'll ace this case in no time."
She looked at him with bloodshot eyes. "His case… He's exactly like Theo. And Theo...T-Theo...He died…he died! How can, how can Dumbledore assign me to...someone like...him...him again?"
"Trust him, 'Mione. You know he doesn't give people more than they can handle, and nobody could have saved Theo. He was dead way before you got to him."
"Who did you get?"
"A girl named Ginny Weasley. Fiery little thing and always gets into skirmishes. According to Minerva, the DEA should be taking care of her."
"Hellcat?"
"You could…say that. Come to think of it, she is more of a devil. So, we'll leave together?"
"As always."
"You know where to meet once we get there, right?"
"Yeah."
"You'll be fine, 'Mione. You just need to have more confidence in yourself."
"Mhmm."
"Come on, let's go. You know Hagrid's going to hold the gates open for us only for so long." Both of them staggered to their feet.
She didn't want to do it. She didn't want to go through this again. The pain, the despair, the helplessness, the misery, the disappointment. She couldn't do it. She had failed once and would fail again. She remembered the first time she'd been assigned a subject.
It'll be exciting. You'll be learning new things, meeting new people, experiencing a different life altogether. You could save a life. You will.
It had been wonderful at first. She was fascinated by them, those humans. They could do so much, they knew so much, and they didn't even know magic. They were so ingenious. Now, she realized, everything, everything under the clouds, came with a price.
They passed the gates and the veil, each one of them equipping themselves with the essentials before leaving. She was to go to Wiltshire, London first. Harry had been assigned somewhere in rural London. With a sad smile to each other, they parted ways.
The first day and Hermione was already cursing her luck, or rather her handler. This guy was so hard to track. He kept disappearing all the bloody time! She had been forced to confund seven people in one day alone. Seven people! That was seven more than her three previous assignments.
She was searching for him now, in the dark underbelly of London. The last time she had seen him, he had disappeared into some dilapidated abandoned subway.
She was walking along the Thames, looking for him. The waves roared. It had been a really wet day and the river looked really dangerous. The tingling in her head had only been growing louder since the past hour, and she had to find him before he screwed up.
Where the Hell is he? Look for a man standing on the edge, tall, slender, probably black robes, but you won't make out shit in this rain.
Just look, Hermione.
A man stood a few feet away, a hand stuck in his pocket and in the other was a flask. She seized up.
Shit. She'd found him.
Theo, Theo, Theo, Theo. That...that's not Theo! Snap out of it, Hermione!
He jumped. Her mind plunged into guardian mode. She ran over the edge and jumped after him. Somewhere behind her she heard a scream. Her wings extended and she dipped low and caught hold of him, seconds before he hit the waves and succumbed to them. He'd passed out before she'd caught him.
Oof. He's heavy.
You got this.
She channeled all her strength into balancing them both, and soon, they were gliding over the Thames. Luckily, the dark had provided her with some sort of cover, but she would still have to talk to Smith once.
Draco woke up with a splitting headache. Wait. He woke up?
Darn it. Somebody saved me. Again. Wait. This is not my bed, and this is not my room. Where the fuck am I? Wait. Are those voices?
He sat up quietly. There were voices coming from the other room.
"I know! He just jumped! What did you expect me to do? Stand there and cast a spell when all I could think was that I had already screwed up?"
There was some murmuring on the other end. He could hear someone stomp a foot. He quietly slipped out of the bed.
"I know it's a bloody swish and flick, you daft idiot! I can do it better than you! It was a reflex, dammit!"
He took another step, out of the bedroom; supposedly. There was a long corridor, leading to something that looked like the main room, where the voices were coming from. He took another tentative step. Unfortunately, the floorboards creaked under his foot, and the voices ceased immediately. There was some murmuring and before he could get to the main room and there was a loud crack.
She…was sitting in front of the television, sipping something.
"Where the fuck am I?"
She turned her head slowly.
"Hello?"
Shit. She… How could…how could she be alive? No…what was this? This was another nightmare. Hermione- his Hermione, how could she be here? She'd died. She'd died in front of him. How? What? No. No, no, no.
All he could manage to say before he passed out again was, "I remember you, Granger."
"I remember you."
Remember? Remember what, exactly? She'd never met him. How could he remember her?
After he had passed out, again, she had laid him down onto the bed. His forehead was burning up. Whatever he had thought he had seen was taking a toll on his health. She slowly eased his shirt off of him. He was very thin; his ribs showed. She changed the washcloth on his forehead and placed both her hands on the center of his chest.
"Enervate."
A warm glow passed from her hands to his body, spreading along his muscles, slowly healing the damaged muscles and removing all the scars, only to leave thin lines everywhere. She sighed. He looked so…clean now. He didn't look haunted anymore. She wished she could keep it that way. Knowing this guy's record, the moment he got to walk again he would probably go and jump off another bridge again, or heaven forbid, find a new way to kill himself.
She absentmindedly traced her hand along his jaw, slipping her hand behind his ear. Her hand hit a scar - more of a scratch really - there. She inhaled sharply. That…feeling… That scar… She'd felt it before. She'd done this before.
Her hands slowly traced along his jaw as she cupped it and pulled him close. His warm breath hit her lips, and she shivered. He smelled of spearmint,leather, and musk. His hand closed around her waist as he pulled her flush against his chest. Both their bodies were gently swaying to music that wasn't playing. They were dancing, she realized. She looked up. His silver eyes bore into her brown ones as if he was seeing into her soul. His other hand came up to her face and he slowly moved his fingers over her face. They traced her lips, memorizing every crook, every sliver, as if he would never get to do this again. His hand came to cup her jaw as hers fell to his chest. They did not realize, but they had slowly leaned in towards each other till their lips were almost touching.
"Hermione?"
"Mhmm?"
"I'll always remember you. Will you?"
"I will, Draco. And I'm not going anywhere."
He smiled. That smile that he only reserved for her. He pulled her even closer, if that were possible, and leaned in…
She gasped loudly as she came out of her thoughts. That was… She didn't know what that was. She'd never gone that far back before. Those…were…memories. Her memories? But, Draco? Her assignment? And they'd kissed. Or almost did. How could she have known him at all when this was the first time she had actually seen him in person,met him? Was she imagining it? No, she couldn't. She wasn't attracted to him in…that sort of way. Maybe. Once he was clean, he was not that bad on the eyes, actually.
Snap out of it, Hermione.
She should probably just forget about it. It was nothing, or at least that was what she told herself.
Under her hands, Draco stirred. Blushing, she pulled her hands off his chest and draped a blanket over him. He slowly opened his eyes, and her breath caught. She'd seen those eyes before, hadn't she?
"Hermione?"
"How do you know my name, Draco?"
His eyebrows scrunched in confusion.
"How do you know mine?"
"Uhh…I...I've seen you before. On the...news. Yes."
Both of them knew that she was lying, but he made no move to contradict her.
"I promised I would remember," he whispered.
She gasped, remembering that weird memory/dream that had come to her mind.
"I tried so much you know. To forget. You didn't go at all. See? You're here now. How can you be here if you're dead?"
"Draco, you need to rest."
"You'll just go away. You always do that. Whenever I am almost about to die you come, you save me, you tell me to rest, and you leave. Every fucking time. I am not going to close my eyes."
She huffed, placed her hands on her hips and said, "Draco Malfoy, if you don't rest now, I'll make you."
All the while, his eyes were wide, as if each movement of hers was something he had seen before. Shaking his head he said, "I won't, and you can't make me."
"Fine then. We'll do this the hard way."
Before he could say anything, she whispered.
"Stupefy."