A/N: This fic contains: angst, romance, no serious stuff until later, and I use the song Here's To The Night (Eve 6) later.
Here's To The Night
By: Antares Altair
Draco was walking down the corridor to potions, looking up he saw Hermione. "mudblood ." he muttered to himself. His eyes strayed from the stone floor as he looked up again, as he did, Hermione looked his way, their eyes locked, her soft, chocolaty brown ones, with his sparkling silver ones, quickly they both looked away. Taking his seat in Potions, Draco prepared for another session of daydreaming and throwing spit-wads at Harry. "Class," Snape said "today we are experimenting on a repeatius memorius potion. Slytherin and Gryffindor pairing today," an appearance of loathing filled his eyes as they swept over Harry "Dumbledore wishes to keep up good inter-house relations," as he said this a look on his face showed that if anyone dared ask him how he felt about the inter-house relations, they would be making personal relations themselves with the stone floor of the dungeon "so, Longbottom, you will be pared with... Crabbe. Potter with Goyle," Harry groaned "Weasely go to Bullstrode, Granger... with Malfoy," a look of horror shown on Malfoy's face, matched only with that on Hermione's "Finnigan you'll be working with Pansy" Snape kept talking but all of it was blocked out by the haze of the realization that the next hours would be spent with a know-it-all mudblood. Hermione dragged her cauldron to where Draco was sitting. "So... here to have a few lessons eh mudblood?" he said, spitting out the last word as if it where a poisonous snake. "Yup," replied Hermione "figured you could use a couple." "Ouch! Little nippy aren't we?" he retorted "Gee, I don't know, maybe it has something to do with your attitude." She responded. Draco fell silent. Hermione bent over the book, her auburn locks fell over her face. "Twenty three lacewing wings! Yeesh, powerful!" she muttered. "What was that Granger?" Draco asked. "Oh," Hermione said "add three-fourths tablespoon of ground bicorn horn. And then put in half a quart of dragons blood and let it simmer." Draco did as she said, and sat back with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. "Oh honestly!" she told him "make yourself useful! Start plucking the wings off of these." She threw the lacewings at him. "Okay, okay, don't frizzle your hair anymore than it already is, what are you doing for this potion anyway? I'm seeing me doing all the work." Hermione said nothing but glared at him. Draco added the wings and Hermione pronounced it done. "Now, according to this, we're to take a small drop of blood from each other, and drop it into the potion, then drink in one gulp. The effects should wear off in a couple of minutes." She said. "What exactly is this supposed to do?" Draco asked. "Well," Hermione answered "it allows us to look inside each others memories, not what the other person is thinking right now, but memories of things that have happened. Shame it only lasts a matter of minutes, there can be a lot of important things happening in one persons past. Of course, usually it's illegal to use this potion, if you pick the wrong person, things you've seen from their point of view, can scar many a wizard for life. But seeing as how we're 7th years, and it's Dumbledore...." Her voice trailed off. "OH CRAP!!!!!!!" Draco thought to himself "if she's gonna go back in my past, she'll see, I wonder she'll have to, if she can..." "Hermione, the person who goes back into someone else's past, will they simply watch it, or, will they experience it, the pain, or pleasure, or whatever it may be?" He asked. "Well," she answered "they should be able to fully experience everything, unless special precautions are made so that the person can't feel anything, but as it's Snape, he probably didn't." "Okay. Thanks." He replied in a distracted manner. "Thanks? Did he tell the filthy mudblood "thanks"?!?" he thought to himself "Oh well, I guess it's okay, I just can't let it happen again, never again." "Ready?" Hermione said lifting her glass "there should be a 5 second delay before it kicks in." "All right." He said with a light grin as he lifted his cup and downed the potion. Looking at Hermione he said "I'm sorry..." then the potion kicked in, "About wha..." she had time to say before she herself began to flip back through Draco's memories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hermione's Memory~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Draco felt as if he where spinning in a whirlwind, around and around, blurs of many objects of different colors and shapes where flying around him, and suddenly, they all stopped. Around him he saw a pastel colored room with small decorative black bats and fake orange pumpkins. By the door sat a large bowl of sweets, which he mused contained none of the traditional chocolate frogs and Bernie Botts Every Flavor Beans. Instead there where a variety of brightly colored, cylinder shaped objects. His head shot up as a small ring came from the front of the house. "Hermione! Could you get that?." "Yah, sure mom!" he found himself speaking, except it wasn't in his voice, it was much higher, he looked down, and saw a black dress on his body and a rather stupid looking witch hat adorning his head. He felt himself standing up from the sitting position he had previously been in, picking up the bowl of sweets and walking to the door. Upon opening it, he was greeted with a chorus of "Trick Or Treat!" followed by many sacks being held out, he felt himself leaning down and passing out the treats to the children, and broad smile creased his lips, something he was quite unused to. Having shut the door, he found himself gracefully moving across the floor, putting the bowl down and returning to the sitting position. Looking across the room at a mirror, he almost yelled in surprise, the face staring back at him, was that of a young Hermione Granger. "Herm! Are you almost ready?" her mother yelled down. "Yes mum!" she replied. I get it now, Hermione's in control, all I have to do is stand back and watch, this must be something important that happened in her life, that's what this potion does, doesn't it? Show one of the most prominent memories, I guess this is what she was thinking about when she took the potion, a Halloween, a muggle Halloween. That meant... the last thing he had been thinking about, was... "Come on Herm! Time to go!" Hermione's mother came down the stairs, she was hot, sorry Hermione, but I mean... whoa! Hermione's mother ushered her out the door, carrying a plastic pumpkin and a fake wart on her nose, she and her mother approached their neighbors house. These are all rather small dwellings, but, maybe they suited the muggles well enough, he had never heard anyone complain about them, not like he conversed with muggles often. Watching as her small hand reached up and rang the doorbell, he thought about his father, and secretly wandered why he had never done anything like this with him. He saw through Hermione's eyes, as an old lady came to the door, he heard the words "Trick or Treat" come from his mouth, and felt the same pleasure Hermione must have felt taking the candy. But, something wasn't right, he looked down, and saw the plastic pumpkin was glowing a bright orange, as if by... magic. He realized, Hermione must have been about 10, soon to be 11, and her witch powers where being revealed, whenever she felt happy. Moving on like this, from house to house, her pumpkin lighting up every time, no one seemed to notice however. Upon reaching one house however, an old, mean-looking lady came to the door "What are you supposed to be? A witch? Ha!" she sneered "Witches are purely fictional! Nothing but myth!" With this, she slammed the door in her face, this time, instead of lighting up the lantern, it began to rain, rain cold salty drops, forcing them to retreat to the safety and warmth of their home. Wrapping up in a fluffy towel Draco sat on the couch, sipping a hot cup of cocoa, watching the rain pour. This is actually quite nice, I can understand why she's happy, this is a warm home, with loving, supporting parents, I can also understand her work drive, a place like this would make anyone want to succeed, god, the rain drops look gorgeous in the sunset. He closed his eyes and almost fell asleep, listening to the rain fall. Awakening with a sudden jolt, he opened his eyes as a mass of feathers flew over his head. "AHHHH!!!!!" he heard himself scream, in Hermione's voice of course, until he recognized it as an owl, much like the ones in the Hogwarts owlery. Tied to it's leg was a yellow envelope, immediately ripping it open, he watched as she read eagerly, the same words he had read 6 long years ago. Then, he felt the world swirling, everything going forward this time, colored blurs moving faster and faster, until it all came to a complete stop, in front of him he saw a shaking Hermione, looking at him in pure terror. "Oh Crap." He said to himself.
~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Draco's Memory~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spinning, rapidly, objects, first few, than many, streaming by me in endless, shapeless blurs. Then, the whole world came to stop, as soon as everything came into focus, she wished it would've kept going. Looking around she found herself in cold metal shackles, suspended about three feet off the ground, where she came just about level with a man she recognized as Draco's father: Lucius Malfoy. He was standing there grinning, the same evil grin Draco used when he had just gotten Hagrid sent to Azkaban, that must be where he gets it, she thought to herself. Looking down, she yelped in shock, the sight that met her, was not her own pink skin, under fine black robes, but Draco's usually uniquely white skin, covered in a fine layer of blood and grim. As if feeling her bare back against the wall for the first time, she cringed, there where multiple, wide gashes across her shoulder blades and lower back, these where being rubbed and further torn by the small sharp stones that adorned the wall of the cold, and rather damp dungeon she was being held in. Across from her Lucius was holding a whip, which she noted, looked as though it had been used on many horses, although, now it was covered in a thick layer of sticky, red blood. Through a dim haze, she became vaguely aware that she was being spoken to. "How many times have I told you?! You are not, under ANY circumstances to leave this house, without your mother or I accompanying you!!" Draco's father yelled. "But fath-" she felt herself begin. "I don't care if you where just walking up to the gate! You still left this house unaccompanied! That is a minded disregard to the rules your mother and I have set for you!" Lucius interrupted. "But mother said I could!" Hermione felt herself protest. "Well then" he replied "this is what you get for listening to a women." He spat the last word out in disgust. Then uttered a single word, holding his wand towards his son. "Crucio." An all-consuming, white hot pain shot through her body, she began to spasm and in doing this, she ripped the gashes on her back further, rubbing them up and down against the wall, leaving a smeared trail of blood. Opening one hazed eye, she saw Lucius, standing there, laughing. "Extremio Crucio!" he yelled in the delight of seeing his son suffer. As he did so, she felt as if her entire body was being ripped apart, slowly, first crushing the bones, then tearing at the muscle, driving blades into her flesh, then a feeling as if salt where being ground into those wounds, her eyes felt as if they where being ripped out, and her hair was threatening to be yanked away and take her entire scalp with it. "Finite Incantium." He uttered "I hope you have learned, disobeying me is VERY, VERY dangerous." As he said this, he undid the binding shackles and threw her to the floor. "Go." He ordered. Hermione felt herself begin to run, trying in every effort to move in a straight line, she ran to Draco's bedroom, and shut the door. She felt herself collapsing on the down bed, her eyes closing, she felt the agony his body was in, the feeling of every cell exploding was enough to make anyone appreciate the simple pleasures of parents who gave a damn about their kids. She lifted a hand to her/Draco's face, there was no moistness of any kind. "Oh yah," she remembered "Malfoy's never cry."
The swirling began again, she still ached all over from the cuts and bruises the curses had left, the blurs swirled around her, but she had slipped into a sense of not caring, but as she awoke, finding herself staring into Draco's eyes, terror crept over her, it was as if realizing for the first time, that he went through that, every time he went home...
Disclaimer: Plot is mine, characters belong to J.K. Rowling
REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!! OR I WON'T POST ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!
Here's To The Night
By: Antares Altair
Draco was walking down the corridor to potions, looking up he saw Hermione. "mudblood ." he muttered to himself. His eyes strayed from the stone floor as he looked up again, as he did, Hermione looked his way, their eyes locked, her soft, chocolaty brown ones, with his sparkling silver ones, quickly they both looked away. Taking his seat in Potions, Draco prepared for another session of daydreaming and throwing spit-wads at Harry. "Class," Snape said "today we are experimenting on a repeatius memorius potion. Slytherin and Gryffindor pairing today," an appearance of loathing filled his eyes as they swept over Harry "Dumbledore wishes to keep up good inter-house relations," as he said this a look on his face showed that if anyone dared ask him how he felt about the inter-house relations, they would be making personal relations themselves with the stone floor of the dungeon "so, Longbottom, you will be pared with... Crabbe. Potter with Goyle," Harry groaned "Weasely go to Bullstrode, Granger... with Malfoy," a look of horror shown on Malfoy's face, matched only with that on Hermione's "Finnigan you'll be working with Pansy" Snape kept talking but all of it was blocked out by the haze of the realization that the next hours would be spent with a know-it-all mudblood. Hermione dragged her cauldron to where Draco was sitting. "So... here to have a few lessons eh mudblood?" he said, spitting out the last word as if it where a poisonous snake. "Yup," replied Hermione "figured you could use a couple." "Ouch! Little nippy aren't we?" he retorted "Gee, I don't know, maybe it has something to do with your attitude." She responded. Draco fell silent. Hermione bent over the book, her auburn locks fell over her face. "Twenty three lacewing wings! Yeesh, powerful!" she muttered. "What was that Granger?" Draco asked. "Oh," Hermione said "add three-fourths tablespoon of ground bicorn horn. And then put in half a quart of dragons blood and let it simmer." Draco did as she said, and sat back with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. "Oh honestly!" she told him "make yourself useful! Start plucking the wings off of these." She threw the lacewings at him. "Okay, okay, don't frizzle your hair anymore than it already is, what are you doing for this potion anyway? I'm seeing me doing all the work." Hermione said nothing but glared at him. Draco added the wings and Hermione pronounced it done. "Now, according to this, we're to take a small drop of blood from each other, and drop it into the potion, then drink in one gulp. The effects should wear off in a couple of minutes." She said. "What exactly is this supposed to do?" Draco asked. "Well," Hermione answered "it allows us to look inside each others memories, not what the other person is thinking right now, but memories of things that have happened. Shame it only lasts a matter of minutes, there can be a lot of important things happening in one persons past. Of course, usually it's illegal to use this potion, if you pick the wrong person, things you've seen from their point of view, can scar many a wizard for life. But seeing as how we're 7th years, and it's Dumbledore...." Her voice trailed off. "OH CRAP!!!!!!!" Draco thought to himself "if she's gonna go back in my past, she'll see, I wonder she'll have to, if she can..." "Hermione, the person who goes back into someone else's past, will they simply watch it, or, will they experience it, the pain, or pleasure, or whatever it may be?" He asked. "Well," she answered "they should be able to fully experience everything, unless special precautions are made so that the person can't feel anything, but as it's Snape, he probably didn't." "Okay. Thanks." He replied in a distracted manner. "Thanks? Did he tell the filthy mudblood "thanks"?!?" he thought to himself "Oh well, I guess it's okay, I just can't let it happen again, never again." "Ready?" Hermione said lifting her glass "there should be a 5 second delay before it kicks in." "All right." He said with a light grin as he lifted his cup and downed the potion. Looking at Hermione he said "I'm sorry..." then the potion kicked in, "About wha..." she had time to say before she herself began to flip back through Draco's memories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hermione's Memory~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Draco felt as if he where spinning in a whirlwind, around and around, blurs of many objects of different colors and shapes where flying around him, and suddenly, they all stopped. Around him he saw a pastel colored room with small decorative black bats and fake orange pumpkins. By the door sat a large bowl of sweets, which he mused contained none of the traditional chocolate frogs and Bernie Botts Every Flavor Beans. Instead there where a variety of brightly colored, cylinder shaped objects. His head shot up as a small ring came from the front of the house. "Hermione! Could you get that?." "Yah, sure mom!" he found himself speaking, except it wasn't in his voice, it was much higher, he looked down, and saw a black dress on his body and a rather stupid looking witch hat adorning his head. He felt himself standing up from the sitting position he had previously been in, picking up the bowl of sweets and walking to the door. Upon opening it, he was greeted with a chorus of "Trick Or Treat!" followed by many sacks being held out, he felt himself leaning down and passing out the treats to the children, and broad smile creased his lips, something he was quite unused to. Having shut the door, he found himself gracefully moving across the floor, putting the bowl down and returning to the sitting position. Looking across the room at a mirror, he almost yelled in surprise, the face staring back at him, was that of a young Hermione Granger. "Herm! Are you almost ready?" her mother yelled down. "Yes mum!" she replied. I get it now, Hermione's in control, all I have to do is stand back and watch, this must be something important that happened in her life, that's what this potion does, doesn't it? Show one of the most prominent memories, I guess this is what she was thinking about when she took the potion, a Halloween, a muggle Halloween. That meant... the last thing he had been thinking about, was... "Come on Herm! Time to go!" Hermione's mother came down the stairs, she was hot, sorry Hermione, but I mean... whoa! Hermione's mother ushered her out the door, carrying a plastic pumpkin and a fake wart on her nose, she and her mother approached their neighbors house. These are all rather small dwellings, but, maybe they suited the muggles well enough, he had never heard anyone complain about them, not like he conversed with muggles often. Watching as her small hand reached up and rang the doorbell, he thought about his father, and secretly wandered why he had never done anything like this with him. He saw through Hermione's eyes, as an old lady came to the door, he heard the words "Trick or Treat" come from his mouth, and felt the same pleasure Hermione must have felt taking the candy. But, something wasn't right, he looked down, and saw the plastic pumpkin was glowing a bright orange, as if by... magic. He realized, Hermione must have been about 10, soon to be 11, and her witch powers where being revealed, whenever she felt happy. Moving on like this, from house to house, her pumpkin lighting up every time, no one seemed to notice however. Upon reaching one house however, an old, mean-looking lady came to the door "What are you supposed to be? A witch? Ha!" she sneered "Witches are purely fictional! Nothing but myth!" With this, she slammed the door in her face, this time, instead of lighting up the lantern, it began to rain, rain cold salty drops, forcing them to retreat to the safety and warmth of their home. Wrapping up in a fluffy towel Draco sat on the couch, sipping a hot cup of cocoa, watching the rain pour. This is actually quite nice, I can understand why she's happy, this is a warm home, with loving, supporting parents, I can also understand her work drive, a place like this would make anyone want to succeed, god, the rain drops look gorgeous in the sunset. He closed his eyes and almost fell asleep, listening to the rain fall. Awakening with a sudden jolt, he opened his eyes as a mass of feathers flew over his head. "AHHHH!!!!!" he heard himself scream, in Hermione's voice of course, until he recognized it as an owl, much like the ones in the Hogwarts owlery. Tied to it's leg was a yellow envelope, immediately ripping it open, he watched as she read eagerly, the same words he had read 6 long years ago. Then, he felt the world swirling, everything going forward this time, colored blurs moving faster and faster, until it all came to a complete stop, in front of him he saw a shaking Hermione, looking at him in pure terror. "Oh Crap." He said to himself.
~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Draco's Memory~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spinning, rapidly, objects, first few, than many, streaming by me in endless, shapeless blurs. Then, the whole world came to stop, as soon as everything came into focus, she wished it would've kept going. Looking around she found herself in cold metal shackles, suspended about three feet off the ground, where she came just about level with a man she recognized as Draco's father: Lucius Malfoy. He was standing there grinning, the same evil grin Draco used when he had just gotten Hagrid sent to Azkaban, that must be where he gets it, she thought to herself. Looking down, she yelped in shock, the sight that met her, was not her own pink skin, under fine black robes, but Draco's usually uniquely white skin, covered in a fine layer of blood and grim. As if feeling her bare back against the wall for the first time, she cringed, there where multiple, wide gashes across her shoulder blades and lower back, these where being rubbed and further torn by the small sharp stones that adorned the wall of the cold, and rather damp dungeon she was being held in. Across from her Lucius was holding a whip, which she noted, looked as though it had been used on many horses, although, now it was covered in a thick layer of sticky, red blood. Through a dim haze, she became vaguely aware that she was being spoken to. "How many times have I told you?! You are not, under ANY circumstances to leave this house, without your mother or I accompanying you!!" Draco's father yelled. "But fath-" she felt herself begin. "I don't care if you where just walking up to the gate! You still left this house unaccompanied! That is a minded disregard to the rules your mother and I have set for you!" Lucius interrupted. "But mother said I could!" Hermione felt herself protest. "Well then" he replied "this is what you get for listening to a women." He spat the last word out in disgust. Then uttered a single word, holding his wand towards his son. "Crucio." An all-consuming, white hot pain shot through her body, she began to spasm and in doing this, she ripped the gashes on her back further, rubbing them up and down against the wall, leaving a smeared trail of blood. Opening one hazed eye, she saw Lucius, standing there, laughing. "Extremio Crucio!" he yelled in the delight of seeing his son suffer. As he did so, she felt as if her entire body was being ripped apart, slowly, first crushing the bones, then tearing at the muscle, driving blades into her flesh, then a feeling as if salt where being ground into those wounds, her eyes felt as if they where being ripped out, and her hair was threatening to be yanked away and take her entire scalp with it. "Finite Incantium." He uttered "I hope you have learned, disobeying me is VERY, VERY dangerous." As he said this, he undid the binding shackles and threw her to the floor. "Go." He ordered. Hermione felt herself begin to run, trying in every effort to move in a straight line, she ran to Draco's bedroom, and shut the door. She felt herself collapsing on the down bed, her eyes closing, she felt the agony his body was in, the feeling of every cell exploding was enough to make anyone appreciate the simple pleasures of parents who gave a damn about their kids. She lifted a hand to her/Draco's face, there was no moistness of any kind. "Oh yah," she remembered "Malfoy's never cry."
The swirling began again, she still ached all over from the cuts and bruises the curses had left, the blurs swirled around her, but she had slipped into a sense of not caring, but as she awoke, finding herself staring into Draco's eyes, terror crept over her, it was as if realizing for the first time, that he went through that, every time he went home...
Disclaimer: Plot is mine, characters belong to J.K. Rowling
REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!! OR I WON'T POST ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!