DISCLAIMER: I'm just saying that the only thing I own in this story is the
plot. All characters are owned by J.K. Rowling and her own motley crew.
Okay.read!
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`Dreams Might Leave you Heartbroken
The moon lit the dark room, glowing down on her angelic face. Yet, it was a broken, angelic face. Her usual warm, soft, and cheerful eyes were now hollow and void of any emotion; they were red and puffy from the many hours she had spent earlier that night crying. She tried to forget, but the more she tried to push it into the back of her head, the more she thought about it. It was tearing her up inside, yet, it was only a dream. She didn't know how such a dream could've put her in such a horrid mood; such a mood to wish she had her dagger. Yet, it was in her bookbag, downstairs, where Ron and Harry were finishing a game of Wizard's Chess. She hadn't heard any shouts of victory yet from Ron, so she stayed where she was.
`The Next Day.'
Hermione Granger was in the library again, researching for the compare and contrast paper on Shakespeare's version of A Midnight Summer's Dream and the Hollywood version for her Advanced Muggles History paper. Since 'the great' William Shakespeare was actually a wizard who wrote his plays about things he had remembered from his youth, friends, and, of course, of his tragedies.
It was getting close to dinner; her stomach was growling quite profusely. However, she didn't stop. She wasn't going to leave her study table until she finished. She had been out late going on more adventures with Ron and Harry for the past few days, due to their complaining about how she wasn't spending much time with them. She had given in, and now she was paying for it. She didn't think Madame Pince would mind, since Hermione had spent most of her six years at Hogwarts in the library. Seeing that the Madame had left for dinner, Hermione sat back in her seat and gently rubbed her temples. She unzipped her bag and took out a dagger. Actually, it looked like a small sword coming from an action figure. She chuckled.
"So, Hermione, how has the day been?" she asked herself aloud. "Just peachy." was all she said before dragging the miniscule dagger across her forearm. Before long, a thing, flowing river of blood dripped down to her fingers and onto the tabletop. She closed her eyes for a few minutes, reveling in the feeling. The feeling of thinking that through this small little action it could take away all her emotional pain. However, it only worked for a minute. Crash! She had heard something. She picked up her wand, muttered a charm to hide the evidence of her doing anything other than studying, and went to see what had made such a commotion. She had followed the sound to a secluded area of the library, fairly close to the Restricted Section. When she got there, she regretted even checking. However, before she could turn away, a hand grabbed her wrist and brought her to him.
"What do YOU want, Malfoy?" She spit his name out as if it were venom. He rolled his eyes and then looked straight into hers. They were like the windows to her soul, so revealing, yet so innocent. He pushed her back, realising what was going on.
"Nothing YOU can give ME, Mudblood." He sneered, trying to sound annoyed. "I thought you were someone else." Of course, she wasn't the lanky, bushy- haired girl anymore. No, she had filled out quite nicely over the years, curves in all the right places. She was about five foot four, maybe five foot six at the most. When she went to him, he could feel her curves and wondered what she really looked like. 'What the hell? She's a Mudblood. Get a grip, Draco.' He shook his head, and walked off.
"Strange." was all she muttered before turning around to gather her things. She figured that she'd just finish her essay in the Gryffindor Common Room.
*
'God, I'm such an idiot! Why had she made me speechless? Why did she have to grow up! Damn that Mudbl--! Ugh! I can't even SAY it. I hate her so.' 'Now Draco, let's not go saying things that we'll regret later.' 'What the hell? Who are you! I'm not insane.so get OUT of my head!' 'No, I don't think I will. I'm you, just your smarter, more.rational side. It's called a conscience and I'm surprised that I'm still here after all these years. You CAN'T say that you didn't feel anything or want anything when Granger was in your arms. You can't deny that.' 'Yes I can.' 'Prove it.' Draco's rebellious side was speechless, probably for the second time that night, and, the second time in his life. 'Damn it.'
*
Hermione walked back to her dorm absent-mindedly; she was thinking about what was going on with Draco. 'What! Did I just call him Draco!? No.Malfoy. Always Malfoy. Malfoy, Malfoy, Malfoy. There.' She felt somewhat better, but wasn't quite sure of what was going on. Suddenly, she bumped into someone, said a quick sorry, and continued on her way. What she didn't notice, however, that it was Blaise Zabini who she had bumped into, the hottest guy in Slytherin, of course, aside from Malfoy. 'What! Since when do I think of Dra-Malfoy, as HOT? He's anything but hot. But.he is kind of cute.' He looked at her, and sneered. "Well, well, well.what do we have here?" She couldn't hear him; she was so deep in thought.
"I SAID." He was suddenly cut off.
"Huh? Oh, what? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to run into you. I was just pondering about some." Her eyes grew into big saucers as she realized who she was talking to-Blaise. 'No.no, no, no.this is SO not my day.' were one of the many thoughts spinning through her head. She looked down at her feet, as if trying to absorb all her power from her feet.
"Well, Mudblood, I do expect you owe me an apology," he whispered icily in her ear, sending fear through her veins. She was vulnerable, her wand in her bag. "Or do you just want to be.punished?" He emphasized the last word as if he were implying something, which, he probably was. Hermione squeezed her eyes as tight as they would go, praying to God that this was some sort of nightmare. However, he grabbed her hair and forced her eyes open. "I demand an answer.Hermione."
The way he said her name seemed to send shivers of panic down her spine. She was involuntarily shaking, afraid of his next move. Thinking that if she were quiet, he would leave her alone, letting her go on her way to finish her homework. No such luck came to her, though.
He imprisoned her mouth into a searing kiss, immediately bruising her mouth, already seeming numb. He pushed her against the wall, all the while trying to undo both his and her robes at the same time. She, on the other hand, was trying to flail her arms everywhere, trying to push him away. However, when it came to physical strength, she was a lost hope. Still struggling, she stepped on his foot, but he didn't seem to notice. He did, however, notice that she was very curvy, all hidden under the damned school robes. Hermione seemed to realize what her fate was, and didn't stop the tears flowing like waterfalls down her porcelain cheeks. She knew what would happen. She knew everyone was at dinner. She knew he was taller and stronger than she was. What she didn't seem to remember, however, was that Malfoy never went to dinner.
Hermione's stomach growled, hungry from missing her meal. Blaise seemed to have heard and asked, "Hungry?" in a low, menacing growl. She whimpered, and could say nothing more. She felt so embarrassed and vulnerable; two things she hated more than the Dark Lord himself. He grabbed her head and forced himself into her mouth, bobbing her head up and down until he released. Hermione realized what had happened, and spit his own bodily fluids all over his face. His face turned red, and he backhanded her. She cried out in pain, quickly raising her hand to her burning cheek. Tears were coming out as if they could flood the hall, yet still no one would come to save her. As soon as she thought that she heard footsteps coming towards them from the other end of the hall, she put up even a bigger fight. He had finally ripped off most of her clothes, exposing a fair amount of her legs, torso, and chest. She felt weak, and lashed out violently until it seemed as if all her energy were drained. She spit in his face, hate written all over her face. He growled and raised his hand, and she immediately shut her eyes tightly. However, the blow never came. She looked up, and there was Malfoy, hovering Blaise with his wand. Malfoy had put a full body-binding curse on Blaise right before stunning him. Hermione all of a sudden felt like she was going to be sick.
"What the HELL are you doing, Granger?" He asked. Hermione could almost hint a bit of concern in his voice, yet his face remained emotionless.
"I.I." She broke down into another fit of tears.
"You.what?" He was starting to feel pity, almost sorry for her, but the feelings left just as fast as they came. He could obviously tell what had been going on, but he wanted to play stupid, just to see how she'd react. Suddenly, she quietly mumbled something, and fell to the ground.
"What?" He was starting to feel annoyed, although the pity was starting to return.
"All I wanted to do, was to finish my homework." She looked up at him, her eyes threatening to spill even more tears. He honestly didn't know that someone could cry THAT much. Her eyes were so swollen she looked as if a Hippogriff had lived on her face. "And.and look what happened. I start thinking about what to write and I bump into him." She pointed at the still body of Blaise. "A-and then he started advancing.and.he wouldn't stop." her voice trailed off. Her soft sobs were starting to become louder.
'Why did I just tell him all of that? Why would he, Draco Malfoy, even CARE if I had been raped? Why did he even save me from it? And why is he looking at me like that?' She didn't understand it, but for the first time in her life, she wasn't so sure if she wanted to. She tried to stand up, and failed miserably. Nearly falling forward, she quickly leaned all her weight against the wall and fell backwards. She successfully managed to not hit her head against the wall, but wasn't so successful with her tailbone. A low, painful moan escaped her lips and Malfoy just stared at her.
While checking her tailbone, she realized what she was wearing, or lack of. Her eyes went wide, and sat down on the cold stones before crawling over to where Blaise had carelessly thrown her bag. She finally reached it, and grabbed her wand. "Reparo" was all she muttered before her clothes once again became neat and pressed. Smiling to herself, she tried to get up on her own this time, but fell. She didn't hit the ground, instead being held up by a strong pair of arms. Breathing in the scent, she closed her eyes, reminiscing in it. The boy.er.young man smelled exactly like vanilla, her favorite. But when she looked up, her eyes went wide with even more horror than before. She was in the arms of none other than Malfoy! 'Of all people.' she thought embarrassingly before trying to stand up on her own. She realised that he'd been there the whole time, just watching her.
"Thank you.Draco." She barely let the words escape her mouth, but when they did she was sure he hadn't heard her.
Draco's eyes went wide as he heard her say his name. He realised that it sounded far less cruel and demeaning coming from her than from Snape or his father. Hell, he didn't think either man even cared for him, only wanting either to follow their footsteps or to just favor for the hell of making others miserable. From her it sounded more positive, like someone actually feeling sincere towards him. A feeling that didn't involve hate. He liked it, yet, he hated it at the same time. He wasn't used to these weird feelings swimming inside of him. So, before he could do or say anything stupid, he nodded and left, with Blaise trailing behind him.
* * *
'What the hell was I thinking? Saving her? Wasn't I supposed to be the one in Blaise's place? Wait.no. That's what Lucius would want. Sadistic bastard.' He cursed his father while heading to the infirmary. He left Zabini with Madame Pomfrey, just saying that he had found him like that earlier. He didn't want to say the counter curse, just incase it would hurt his housemate any more that it seemed. He walked back towards the dungeons, when he heard a soft whimper.
"Who's there?" He spun around with his wand out as quick as his words had left his mouth. He got no answer, and heard the sobs coming from a far off corner down the hall. He slowly crept up to see what was going on, thinking that something similar as to what happened earlier were to appear in front of him again. What he saw, however, was the last thing he would imagine. There, in the corner, was Granger, again. She had curled her knees to her chest, arms hugging her legs as close to her as possible, and her head on her knees. Her body racking with sobs.
"Granger?" He didn't really want to scare her. He thought, even has much of a bastard he was, that an attempt to rape her was enough. 'Hell, that would even make ME a disaster. Especially if the rapist was Blaise.' He chuckled softly at the last part, but his head quickly shot up after he realised that he probably had startled her. She was still sitting there, shaking even harder, if possible. She hadn't heard. For this, Draco almost seemed.grateful. Almost. He cleared his throat this time, a bit loud in order to get her attention.
"Harry? Ron? Oh, I'm fine. Just a bit stressful with Prefect duties and OWLs.no need to worry. I'll be up to the dorm in a minute." She never even looked up. Draco had no idea what to do, so he sat down in front of her, Indian-style. She sniffled a bit, sounding like she desperately needed a tissue. He handed out his handkerchief, wondering what had triggered in his brain to actually do that. He couldn't come to an answer. She gratefully took it, still oblivious to who was there, and blew into it. She started to hand it back, saying a meek "thanks", until he finally spoke.
"No, that's okay Granger. I don't need it back." He started to get up when her face shot up. ".Er, that is, because I don't want your Mudblood germs to infest my robes." He inwardly cringed after calling her a Mudblood. He quickly stood up and started to leave, when she finally found her voice. Events from the previous hours had finally processed through her mind, and she grabbed the hem of his robe.
"Thank you.Draco. For.everything." She tried to hide the blush starting to make its way to her cheeks. She didn't know why she was blushing, but she was nonetheless. She tried to convince herself that it was because she had used his first name instead of Ferret-Boy or Malfoy, but it was hard convincing herself. One look into his eyes, she lost all confidence she had mustered only moments before. She looked up to his face again, feeling the blush start to fade. What she saw was not what she was expecting. His eyes were wide and his mouth slightly parted. In other words, he looked mildly shocked. But, the façade was soon put back into place, crushing all the remains of his astonishment.
"You said my name. What gives you-" She interrupted him.
"Yes, I did say your name, Draco. I mean, that IS your name, isn't it? And I give myself the right to, since you did, after all, save me from a FELLOW housemate. The whole scene leaves me speechless." She finished her little speech, and slowly got up. She fell back softly against the stone walls, however, too weak from the tears.
"Of course that's my name, Mudbl-Granger." He rolled his eyes.
"A simple 'you're welcome' would have done it, but I guess this is the best I could get." She started to pick up her bag to leave.
"Oh. You're.welcome.? I guess." She could tell it was hard for him. She smiled; the kind of smile she only reserved for Harry or Ron. The only problem was, she was giving it to Draco.
'Wow. I didn't know that her smile was so.bright. It's beautiful. Wait! No! This is Mudblood Granger that I'm talking about here! Have I gone insane?' He spotted a place just past her shoulder so she wouldn't have to look directly at her.
"Well, I better get back to my dorm. I need to finish my homework." She turned her heel and started off, but before either one of them knew it, his arm shot out, grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him. Her eyes were wide with terror.
"I'm not going to hurt you. Well, at least not today," he whispered in her ear, feeling her body tense. She relaxed, but only slightly. He smiled inwardly. She looked at him tentatively, wondering what the hell he was doing, grabbing her like that. However, before she could start another thought, his mouth was on hers. It wasn't a kiss like Blaise's-demanding, hungry, and painful. It was a sweet chaste kiss that lasted for no more than a minute, but said everything. 'He cares.' She smiled into his lips while at the same time his tongue traced her bottom lip. She happily accepted. Even though he was cruel, she knew things about him no one else did. She then realised what she was doing. Kissing Draco Malfoy with a passion she never knew she had; a passion she thought she would have felt after she had graduated. Her arms found their way around his neck, while his at her waist. It wasn't a searing kiss, but hungry and full of emotions. Neither held back, until they heard someone clearing their throat.
They pulled apart from one another as if the other were a disease, blushing like mad. Hermione stole a side-glance at Draco, noticing that his cheeks were a nice pale shade of pink. She smiled. He was really adorable when he blushed. She looked to see who had caught them, but none other than Professor Dumbledore. 'Oh no! He's going to EXPEL us! No.' she started to turn pale, eyes as big as dragons' eggs. In seeing her reaction, the headmaster only grinned.
"Do not fret, Ms. Granger. I don't think you really need a detention at the moment to add to your busy schedule. The same for you, Mr. Malfoy." Draco seemed to have a similar expression on Hermione's face, only his eyes weren't as big. "But, since this first time doesn't seem to have anything behind it but some innocent teenage hormones, you can run off now."
Both students were breathed out a sigh of relief they hadn't realised was being held.
"Thank you SO much, Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione's eyes gleamed a warm, light honey color. They weren't the dark shade of amber that burned with fire that Draco was used to. He'd have to say he liked her this way much better.
"Yes, thank you, sir." Draco nodded his head cordially. Hermione decided to give both men a hug.
"Draco! We're not in trouble! Professor! You're soooo awesome!" She kept squealing for a good five minutes more, until Draco started to feel a bit uncomfortable and started to squirm.
"Right." was all she said before removing her arms.
"That's quite alright, Ms. Granger. Good night, then." With that, Professor Dumbledore turned around and headed back to his office.
"Granger, I-"
"Hermione." She corrected him.
He sighed. "Hermione, what did he mean by, 'first time'? Is that old coot acting like Trelawny, now?"
"He's not an old coot! He's an amazing wizard! But.I'm afraid that old bat has rubbed off on our poor headmaster." She furrowed her brow, thinking. She absentmindedly played with a loose curl.
"Yes.well, good night." He left.
"Good night, Draco!" She called. He turned around, gave a small smile, and was gone.
* * *
He couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about how Hermione felt against him. She was perfect. Her body, her intellect, her smile, just.perfect. He really didn't know why he was thinking these things about her, but for some reason he didn't seem to care. All he cared about was that she was happy, and not worried about what would come tomorrow, even though she was always worrying about one thing or another. He smiled as his eyelids finally gave way, falling into a deep sleep only with dreams of a girl with inviting, honey eyes.
-=-=-
She stayed up until midnight finishing her Shakespeare essay with her Arithmacy and Transfiguration homework. She stifled a yawn, set her bag down by the portrait, but not before she fished out her small dagger. 'This was the worst night ever.' she said, immediately wishing she could take it back. 'No.it was CRAZY. I almost get raped and then I feel as if I'm floating, all the while kissing MAL-DRACO! Am I completely nutters?' She shook her head and headed for her Prefect's room.
"Perfect Hermione.why would you cut yourself?" She had a habit of talking aloud to herself when she was alone. "Because it's the only way to fight the emotional pain; the only way to numb it out for a few minutes." She sighed, carving a picture into her right thigh, unsure how it was going to turn out. When she finished, she dried the blood and closed the wounds, showing a perfectly etched picture of a snake coiled at the bottom of a lion.
"What the fuck!" She mumbled a choice of other words, but decided to get some sleep.
`2 Days Later.
She woke up the next morning to the sun hitting down on her face. She looked over at her alarm, reading 8:15. It was a Saturday, so she wasn't really worried. She got out of bed, showered, using her favorite Vanilla body scrub. She got out, dried her hair with a quick spell, and put on a short red-plaid skirt, buckles included. She pulled a black shirt with Tinkerbell, from Peter Pan, over her head, reading the word "Believe" to herself in the mirror. She applied a quick brush to her hair, put on her knee-high boots, and grabbed her robes. She went to the Great Hall for some breakfast, but only grabbed a couple pieces of bacon and a slice of toast.
She walked down to the library, noticing something familiar about the atmosphere. She brushed it off, too early to care, and walked into the library to a back table to read. She then walked to a shelf to find a nice book to read. She skimmed the titles, until one caught her eye. One Thousand and Two ways to prepare Vitalicus Blossoms. She walked back to her table, took off her robe, and propped her feet upon the tabletop. She was so engrossed into her reading that she didn't realise someone else was with her. A strong pair of arms snaked around her waist, scaring the hell out of her.
"What the-" a single finger was pressed to her lips.
"RON! What the fuck do you think you're doing! You.you scared me!" She placed a hand on her chest to emphasize her point.
"Sorry, 'Mione. It's just that."
"What have I told you about calling me 'Mione?"
"Sorry, Hermione." He stressed the first syllable of her name, face starting to tinge with pink. She nodded with approval. "It's just that I have to tell you something. I.Inevergotoveryoufromfourthyear." He mumbled, turning redder by the minute, if it was even possible by that point.
"Huh?" She seemed oblivious to his overpowering blush.
"I never got over you." He gulped. ".from fourth year." He looked down at his feet. She looked no different, though.
"Oh.I know."
"You.you WHAT!?" His voice started booming.
"Well, I could just.um, tell, you know? I sometimes caught the way you'd look at me and stuff. It actually sort of embarrassed me, but I didn't say anything." She started to stand up, taking her book with her.
"Oh." he looked crestfallen.
"But don't worry, my feelings for you never changed." He mumbled something about Harry and quidditch and then left. She let out a big sigh, slightly rubbing her temples. Soon a pair of hands started to massage her shoulders, but at the moment she didn't care. She was worried about Ron. She knew she had hurt him. It's just that she didn't like him in any other way than a friend.
"Mmm." She closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of whomever's hands were massaging her now relaxed shoulders. She felt as if she'd recognise them, but she just let a smile play at her lips.
"Comfortable?" Draco whispered into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.
"Mmmhmm." was all she said, before opening her eyes and turning around. She didn't look pissed though. A little stressed, but happy nonetheless to see him.
"Well, I think I'd like the same treatment." He pouted, making him look innocent. She laughed.
"Huh?" He gave her a quizzical look.
"No.nothing!" she managed to say between giggles.
"Right." he got that mischievous sparkle in his eyes, and leant forward to kiss her. She eagerly accepted the kiss. Neither of them separated until a few minutes later, both panting hard.
"O.k." Hermione was confused, but it felt right regardless.
"Hermione.we need to talk."
"Okay, talk." She brushed her confusion aside. The look on his face told her it was serious.
"Not here. Meet me by the entrance hall tonight at ten."
"Mmmk." She was staring into his steely-blue eyes, getting lost in them. He got up, pecked her on her forehead, and left.
* * *
It was eight forty-five in the Gryffindor Common Room, and Hermione was finishing up some homework assigned the previous day.
"God Hermione, do you ALWAYS do homework?" Harry was complaining; he hadn't really talked to her in weeks.
"Mmmhmm." She wasn't really doing her homework. She was cursing at the clock for slowing time down just to tantalize her. She frowned. Harry noticed she didn't hear what he said. 'She must be thinking really hard.' He decided to take advantage of her lack of attention.
"Don't you think McGonagall is having some sort of affair with Snape?"
"Mmmhmm."
"And don't you think Malfoy's gotten really sexy this year?"
"WHAT!" Her eyes flashed with something Harry didn't recognise. Her head immediately shot up as she had faintly heard "Malfoy" and "sexy" in the same sentence. He didn't seem to care about her sudden outburst much and started to laugh instead.
"Harry James Potter! How could you even say such a thing?" 'But yes, Harry, he's damn sexy. I just want to kiss him senseless and tell him I love him and.' She stopped herself. Did she just say that she loved Draco? 'I'm blooding going crazy.' Her eyes grew, shrunk, and shook her head.
"Hermione, is anything.wrong?" Harry's eyes were filled with concern.
"No, nothing. Just.a bit of a headache. I'll be fine." He looked skeptical, but seemed to accept her answer. She hated lying to her friends, but she wasn't sure if she should tell him. "Oh, nothing's wrong, Harry! Everything is wonderful! I'm in love with your worst enemy, too!" She didn't think that would've gone over too well.
"Well, I guess I'll just be off to bed now. That headache is really getting to me." She trailed off, but not before glancing once more at the clock. It was nine forty-five. 'Bugger.'
She walked up the stairs, grabbed her Vitalicus Blossoms book, and ran down to Harry.
"Oh my God, Harry! I forgot to return this to the library. I promised Madame Pince I'd bring this back tonight. May I borrow your invisibility cloak to bring it back?"
"But aren't you a Prefect?"
"Yes. But.but it's after hours. I already patrolled, remember?"
He finally obliged and went up to get it. When he came back down, Hermione grabbed it out of his hands and ran out the portrait. He figured she just was in a hurry to get back, so he sat and waited.
* * *
Hermione dropped the book off and started for the entrance hall. She didn't see him anywhere, so she sat down at the bottom of the stairs, still concealed by the invisibility cloak. She looked down at her watch. 9:58. She sighed, stood to get some feeling back into her legs, and almost screamed. Someone had grabbed her from behind and placed their hand over her mouth. She shut her eyes and broke out into a cold sweat.
"Boo!"
"Oh my GOD, Draco! What did you do that for?!" she was panting now, her color now returning to her face.
"Sorry.I couldn't resist." He smirked, but it wasn't as convincing as usual, with his eyes laughing at her.
"Haha, very funny." She rolled her eyes and asked, "So.you wanted to talk?"
"Yeah.follow me." He led her down the hall and to a tapestry near the entrance to the dungeons. He placed his wand right behind the tapestry and said "Spirare noctu." A doorway appeared, and he let her enter first. He then entered and the door shut, blending back in with the stone walls.
The room was gorgeous; it had deep crimson walls with a light grey carpet. Black leather furniture was sprinkled around the room, complementing the furnishings, which were a deep grey marble. Silver candles glowed around the room, and a four-poster bed set to the left. A fire was already burning in the fireplace, and she walked straight over to a couch. He followed her, sat down, and took her hand in his.
"Talk."
"Hermione, I know we never got along for the past five years, but I don't want to leave you with you thinking that I was a sadistic, evil, cold- hearted bastard." She started to speak, but he held up his hand and continued. "When I was little, I was put under the Imperious Curse and did whatever Lucius and Voldemort wanted. 'No one would ever suspect a child' they'd say, so I was sent off to gather information or lead muggles back to our house to torture." She winced. "While I was under the Imperious, blood was taken from me, and mixed with the Pater et Filius potion, given to both Voldemort and me. So, in other words, if I don't become a follower of Voldemort, the potion will kill me slowly and painfully, taking only but a week." Hermione shuddered. She knew all about the potion, reading about it in several different books. She hugged him, acting as if it would take away all his pain.
He held onto her tightly, until they both had to let go before either one of them passed out from lack of breath. Hermione's eyes were spilling with tears, but she refused to wipe them away. He pulled her into a kiss, and she immediately accepted it. Once they pulled away, he looked into her eyes, and held her chin in his hand.
"Hermione." He began. She burst into another fit of tears. "Don't cry. Please, don't cry." He embraced her, but then pulled back to wipe her tears off her porcelain cheeks with his thumbs, kissing away as many tears as he could. He tasted the bitter salt taste, but seemed oblivious to it. "I don't want to see you like this. Please.don't cry."
"I can't help it, Draco. It's just all so.terrible!" She fought back another round of tears, and looked into his eyes; her comfort place. He looked right back at her.
"I love you, Hermione." He bit his bottom lip. He didn't mean to say that. He didn't want to be rejected.
"And I, you. More than anything." She replied, smiling the biggest and brightest smile he'd ever seen.
He embraced her again, fighting not to just pick her up and spin her around. Instead, he kissed her, full of hunger, love, and assurance.
He led her to the bed, gently placing her down onto the silk sheets. She started to unbutton his shirt while he worked on her skirt. Once they had completed that task, she ran her fingers down his torso and back, sending shivers of pleasure down his spine. 'Damn quidditch did his body good.' Hermione thought. She smirked inwardly. In turn, he gently caressed her thighs. When she reached for his belt, he grabbed her hands.
"Are you sure?"
"Do pigs fly?" He smirked, remembering the flocks of pigs that fly by his house in the spring.
She started for his belt again, while he her shirt. While pulling off her shirt, he unclasped her bra and threw it over his shoulder, he stepping out of his pants, leaving them both in their underwear, Draco on top. [A/N: No, I'm going to leave it at that. You know what they'll do. I can't write that stuff.]
* * *
The next morning, Hermione woke up with an arm around her waist. Last night's events came flooding back to her, and she smiled. She turned around to see Draco's beautiful form sleeping like an angel next to her. She actually felt happy that she had lost her virginity to him last night; she wouldn't have it any other way. He stirred, opened his eyes, and smiled.
"God morning, sleepy head." She gave him a lopsided gin, too lazy for anything else.
"Good morning." He yawned and kissed her forehead.
"You know.I know you were a virgin, but.would you've ever thought that your experience was no worse than mine?"
"You mean.YOU were a VIRGIN? The Great Draco Malfoy, Sex God of Hogwarts?"
He blushed. "Yes, that's me. Only, cut out 'Sex' out of 'Sex God'." She smiled.
"God I love you."
"I know.
* * *
They got dressed and headed to the Great Hall. Once there, she gave him a quick kiss and opened the doors. She walked over to the Gryffindor table, sat down next to Ron and Harry, and started eating. It wasn't until about five minutes later when Draco emerged and all the girls swooned. Hermione rolled her eyes and gathered some marmalade for her bagel.
"Hermione, where were you last night? I waited for you after you left." Hermione dropped her knife and blushed.
"Oh, sorry about that, Harry. I, uh, saw the moon last night and fell asleep while admiring the night sky." She quickly lied, but thanked the gods that she suddenly remembered that there was a full moon last night.
"Oh.okay. I was just wondering."
"Yeah, sorry about that. I'll return your cloak to you after classes today, okay?"
"Yeah, okay." He turned to Ron, who, wasn't talking to her for some odd reason. 'I guess he's still embarrassed.' She shrugged. They were talking about quidditch again, and felt the hairs on the back of her neck shoot up. She lifted her head at Draco, who was just looking at her, and their eyes locked, even though for only the briefest second. He suddenly got up and started towards her table.
"Well, well, well." He drawled in that tone that Hermione absolutely hated. And he knew it, too.
"Go away Ferret-Boy. You're not wanted." Ron's hands were clenching and unclenching.
"I didn't even say anything, and you're threatening me already?" He quirked an eyebrow at the redhead.
"Actually, it doesn't matter if you said anything or not." Harry jutted in, eyes narrowed.
"Does it?" Draco's eyes sparkled with something that Harry didn't like.
"Go away." Hermione finally said something, although very quietly.
"And why is that, Granger?" She could see in his eyes that he actually just wanted to do something to get away from Pansy, who was, yet again, draping herself all over Draco. His eyes shone with laughter, so she joined in.
"Because, Malfoy, if you don't, I'll hex you." She said simply, getting her wand out.
"Tut tut, Granger. Don't say things you don't mean." He winked at her. She playfully glared at him.
"Huh?" Ron finally found his senses.
"Nothing." Hermione said simply, before standing up and leaving.
"Hermione, where are you going?" Harry was quite.well, he wasn't sure. He felt like she was keeping something from him.
"Library." Was all she said.
Draco went back to his table to gather his things. He left the Great Hall only moments later and in the direction of the library. Hermione jumped out of the shadows, scaring the shit out of Draco.
"Holy fuck!" Draco was still recovering from the shock.
Hermione rolled around on the cold stone laughing as if there were no tomorrow. She hugged her sides, which were already starting to tense with pain.
"Oh" *gasp* "my" *gasp* "God!" She kept laughing.
"What'd you do that for?" He put on a fake hurt look.
"Just to piss you off." She finally stopped laughing and got up.
"Well, you didn't succeed. Instead, you mastered the art of scaring the shit out of me."
She just giggled and started for the library, where no one was. Draco followed, obviously intrigued as to what she was doing. He, too, knew that everyone was eating breakfast.
The opened the doors to the library and no one was there. Not even Madame Pince. They walked over to the farthest table in the back and began kissing.
"OH MY GOD!" Ron was screaming, face red with anger.
"Ron!" Hermione was able to squeak.
"What the HELL are you doing snogging MALFOY? You're SUPPOSED to be snogging ME!" Ron bellowed, aiming a fist at Draco's jaw. Draco looked ashen.
"Hermione?" Draco said, barely above a whisper.
"RON! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? IF I WANT TO KISS DRACO THEN I WILL! AND WHY AM I SUPPOSED TO KISS YOU? WE'RE NOT GOING OUT! I ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT! IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE FACT THAT I LIKE, NO, EXCUSE ME, LOVE DRACO THEN GET OUT!" Hermione was screaming now. But before Ron could even move, Hermione ran out of the room, bawling. Draco ran after her, only being stopped by Harry.
"Potter, move." Draco spoke dangerously low.
"Why?" Harry wanted answers, and he wanted them now. He had heard Hermione's little outburst.
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Just.MOVE!" Draco stepped to the right, and Harry stepped right in front of him.
"Tell me."
"No!"
"Now."
"No!"
"TELL ME RIGHT NOW OR I WON'T MOVE!"
"FINE!" Draco let out an exasperated sigh.
"I love Hermione. Hermione loves me. We're together. Got it?"
Harry was too stunned by all of that, and seemed to be glued to the spot. Draco took this as his opportunity to catch up to Hermione, but before he could, Harry grabbed his arm.
"Look, Malfoy. I know Hermione probably better than you, so I will tell you this once, and only once. I knew she loved you, I could see it in her eyes when you passed by. But, if you hurt her, at all, I will break ever bone in your body until you wish you were dead. Understood?" Harry narrowed his eyes and continued. "She's my friend and I can't control who she goes out with or likes, and I trust her decision. However, I do not trust you. Don't look at me like that. I'm more controlled than Ron is." With that, Harry let go, letting Draco nod, dumbfounded.
Draco raced after Hermione in the direction she went. He caught up to her and finally managed to catch her arm. She was flung back into his chest and just cried. He stroked her hair, whispering soothing words into her ear. She soon calmed down, and wrapped her arms around his waist. He led her back to "their room" and let her sleep while he sat there, watching her. However, his ickle little angel was soon stirring in her sleep due to a tapping sound. Draco turned around, seeing his father's eagle owl with a letter.
"Bugger," Draco muttered before letting the demon owl inside. The owl stretched out his leg and flew off.
Draco, You're time approaches. One month to be exact. The Dark Lord and I have anticipated the day you'd join the ranks. And don't think you're going to get out of this. You already chose your fate. Father
"Bastard!" he whispered.
She stirred. "Draco? Is everything okay?"
"Hey.feeling better?" He wanted to do everything he could forget that letter.
"Yeah.what about you?" She seemed quite worried. "You don't look so good. Want to lie down?" He immediately jumped on the bed next to her. He sighed.
"Thanks. Nothing's wrong, really. It's just that Lucius sent a letter. That's all." He trailed off and closed his eyes, wrapping one arm around Hermione's waist.
"WHAT?! That's ALL?" She looked flabbergasted; after all, it was Lucius Malfoy, hater of all things having to do with Muggles.
"Yeah.it's no big deal. I mean, we've already discussed it. I know that I'd want to die rather than serve Voldemort for the rest of my life, but that potion hurts just too damn much." He remembered the many books he'd read about it ever since he was told about his "happy childhood." 'Happy my ass.' was what he said to that.
"Draco, what would you say if I told you that I'd join the ranks?"
"WHAT?!" It was basically suicide. A Muggle-born being in the ranks of Voldemort.
"Yeah, I mean, I might suffer a little, but at least we'll be together." She gave a small smile.
"I refuse for you to do that. It's basically suicide, Hermione!"
"Not really. They can't refuse the smartest witch to ever come to Hogwarts in over one hundred years. Besides, we'll be together."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you'll get hurt."
She sighed. It would be of no use to try and persuade him. "Fine." She was being quite the stubborn girl.
"That's my girl." He playfully patted her head. She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed.
`One month later.
Draco took his invisibility cloak and walked towards the forbidden forest. He walked through the forest for about twenty minutes, feeling that his cloak wasn't necessary anymore. He walked briskly to the other side of the forest, towards a cove. There, about fifty deatheaters and Voldemort were before him. As soon as he got into range of seeing the snakelike features of the Dark Lord's face, he stopped and got on one knee, face down.
"My Lord." Draco was whispering. He was taught to show respect. But he was also scared shitless inside.
"Young Mr. Malfoy. How nice it is for you to finally join us. Soon, all those filthy Mudbloods will perish, along with that old git, Dumbledore." Draco could feel the tension flowing off of Voldemort at the name. "Arise, Draco, and you shall become one of my faithful servants. And when the time is right, maybe you'll be lucky enough to stand right by your father." Lucius bowed his head at the "compliment". Draco inwardly cringed, but his head shot up as soon as he heard a shout.
"What is the meaning of this?" Voldemort inquired. "Didn't you come ALONE, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Why, yes. Of course, My Lord. I have no idea who is responsible for this disruption." Draco knew who it was. He was shaking hard, but tried his best to calm himself down. 'Fuck! Why did she have to follow me here? Didn't I tell her to STAY at Hogwarts? That girl never listens.' He was worried out of his mind. If Voldemort killed her, he didn't know what he'd do. She was thrown next to Draco.
"Well, look what we've got here. A little Mudblood. To what, do we owe this visit?" Voldemort looked as if he was trying to Avada her with just his icy glare. She looked straight into his beady little slits of eyes.
"I was thinking if you'd mind if I joined your ranks?" She asked in a saccharine sweet voice. "I mean, since you ARE the most powerful wizard, I thought that maybe I could get a little too?" She smiled a little. 'God, what the hell is she doing?!' Draco was surprised at how brave, yet, stupid, Hermione was being at that moment.
"It looks like we have a Mudblood who wants to join ME! Hahahaha." Voldemort let out a laugh. Actually, it sounded more like a dying cat rather than an actual laugh.
"Please?" Hermione pouted. 'God, what the fuck am I doing?' Hermione was yet to answer her own question.
"No!" She pouted and he took his wand out. "Crucio!"
She fell to the ground almost immediately, writhing in pain. She felt as if all her bones were being pulled apart, mended, and then broken again just for the pain. Her nails dug deeply into her palms, drawing blood. 'Why did I even come? Oh yes.hi Draco!' She looked over at him, pain and horror shining in his eyes. Before she knew it, the curse was being lifted. Then she suddenly remembered. Her dream. This was exactly like her dream! She was going to get killed, but if that meant that she couldn't be with Draco, death was better than being desolate. She suddenly started to panic, but one look at Voldemort's face brought her seething. She hated him for killing so many innocents. She hated him for the many wars. But most of all, she hated him for trying to steal her Draco away from her life forever.
"Still want to join?" Voldemort actually found this quite entertaining. She spat at his robes instead.
"Thought so." Voldemort smirked. "Avada Kedavra!" Green sparks flew from the end of his wand, aiming straight for Hermione. However, the spell never hit her. Thump! She looked at her feet. Draco lay there, dead. His lifeless body looked like he was in pain, but his eyes had that spark to it telling her that he loved her. Tears spilled over and she clung to his lifeless body.
"No.God please no." was what she kept mumbling over and over, trying to rock life back into him, although failing.
"You BASTARD!" She pulled out her wand. She knew that fifty-one against one wasn't a very good match, but then again, she was pretty powerful. "Omni Stupefy!" Everyone was stunned, well, excluding Voldemort. "I challenge you to a duel!"
Voldemort was impressed with her courage, but he was still having fun. The ickle seventeen year old, challenging him. He had to laugh at that. They took their positions, turned, and walked five paces. Soon, hexes and curses were being thrown back and forth.
"Crucio!" Voldemort cried, barely missing Hermione who had jumped out of the way just in time.
"Obscuritas!" Hermione screamed, hitting Voldemort with the blinding curse. He yelled, remembering that only that caster could remove the spell. "Avada Kedavra!" Hermione regretted saying the curse as soon as the words left her mouth. The curse hit Voldemort directly between the eyes, turning him into a pile of ashes. She dropped her wand, hands quivering.
"Oh my God!" She slumped down, sobbing. She wasn't sobbing for defeating Voldemort. She was sobbing for Draco, for using an Unforgivable, for being alone. As she turned to head back to the castle, she levitated Draco's body behind her, grabbing both his and Harry's invisibility cloaks, straight for Dumbledore's office.
* * *
`One week later.
Draco's funeral was quite depressing. Although he was cruel to just about everyone at Hogwarts, most of the student body was present. They may have hated him, but they respected him. Narcissa Malfoy was there as well, bawling her eyes out. Hermione refused to cry, telling herself that she had cried enough. Even Snape, who seemed apathetic towards just about everything, seemed stricken.
Hermione was the last one to leave. She stayed there, reading his epitaph for the billionth time.
Draco Malfoy
September 3, 1987 to April 28, 2004
May you rest without the despair and hate in this world that in which
brought you to your end.
She finally let one single tear escape.
"I love you, Draco. I'll never stop."
And with that, she turned and left.
[THE END]
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
[A/N] Okay, I figured to just make this all one long chapter because I was really lazy and didn't feel like making this into a bunch of small, short chapters. I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are always welcome! :]
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`Dreams Might Leave you Heartbroken
The moon lit the dark room, glowing down on her angelic face. Yet, it was a broken, angelic face. Her usual warm, soft, and cheerful eyes were now hollow and void of any emotion; they were red and puffy from the many hours she had spent earlier that night crying. She tried to forget, but the more she tried to push it into the back of her head, the more she thought about it. It was tearing her up inside, yet, it was only a dream. She didn't know how such a dream could've put her in such a horrid mood; such a mood to wish she had her dagger. Yet, it was in her bookbag, downstairs, where Ron and Harry were finishing a game of Wizard's Chess. She hadn't heard any shouts of victory yet from Ron, so she stayed where she was.
`The Next Day.'
Hermione Granger was in the library again, researching for the compare and contrast paper on Shakespeare's version of A Midnight Summer's Dream and the Hollywood version for her Advanced Muggles History paper. Since 'the great' William Shakespeare was actually a wizard who wrote his plays about things he had remembered from his youth, friends, and, of course, of his tragedies.
It was getting close to dinner; her stomach was growling quite profusely. However, she didn't stop. She wasn't going to leave her study table until she finished. She had been out late going on more adventures with Ron and Harry for the past few days, due to their complaining about how she wasn't spending much time with them. She had given in, and now she was paying for it. She didn't think Madame Pince would mind, since Hermione had spent most of her six years at Hogwarts in the library. Seeing that the Madame had left for dinner, Hermione sat back in her seat and gently rubbed her temples. She unzipped her bag and took out a dagger. Actually, it looked like a small sword coming from an action figure. She chuckled.
"So, Hermione, how has the day been?" she asked herself aloud. "Just peachy." was all she said before dragging the miniscule dagger across her forearm. Before long, a thing, flowing river of blood dripped down to her fingers and onto the tabletop. She closed her eyes for a few minutes, reveling in the feeling. The feeling of thinking that through this small little action it could take away all her emotional pain. However, it only worked for a minute. Crash! She had heard something. She picked up her wand, muttered a charm to hide the evidence of her doing anything other than studying, and went to see what had made such a commotion. She had followed the sound to a secluded area of the library, fairly close to the Restricted Section. When she got there, she regretted even checking. However, before she could turn away, a hand grabbed her wrist and brought her to him.
"What do YOU want, Malfoy?" She spit his name out as if it were venom. He rolled his eyes and then looked straight into hers. They were like the windows to her soul, so revealing, yet so innocent. He pushed her back, realising what was going on.
"Nothing YOU can give ME, Mudblood." He sneered, trying to sound annoyed. "I thought you were someone else." Of course, she wasn't the lanky, bushy- haired girl anymore. No, she had filled out quite nicely over the years, curves in all the right places. She was about five foot four, maybe five foot six at the most. When she went to him, he could feel her curves and wondered what she really looked like. 'What the hell? She's a Mudblood. Get a grip, Draco.' He shook his head, and walked off.
"Strange." was all she muttered before turning around to gather her things. She figured that she'd just finish her essay in the Gryffindor Common Room.
*
'God, I'm such an idiot! Why had she made me speechless? Why did she have to grow up! Damn that Mudbl--! Ugh! I can't even SAY it. I hate her so.' 'Now Draco, let's not go saying things that we'll regret later.' 'What the hell? Who are you! I'm not insane.so get OUT of my head!' 'No, I don't think I will. I'm you, just your smarter, more.rational side. It's called a conscience and I'm surprised that I'm still here after all these years. You CAN'T say that you didn't feel anything or want anything when Granger was in your arms. You can't deny that.' 'Yes I can.' 'Prove it.' Draco's rebellious side was speechless, probably for the second time that night, and, the second time in his life. 'Damn it.'
*
Hermione walked back to her dorm absent-mindedly; she was thinking about what was going on with Draco. 'What! Did I just call him Draco!? No.Malfoy. Always Malfoy. Malfoy, Malfoy, Malfoy. There.' She felt somewhat better, but wasn't quite sure of what was going on. Suddenly, she bumped into someone, said a quick sorry, and continued on her way. What she didn't notice, however, that it was Blaise Zabini who she had bumped into, the hottest guy in Slytherin, of course, aside from Malfoy. 'What! Since when do I think of Dra-Malfoy, as HOT? He's anything but hot. But.he is kind of cute.' He looked at her, and sneered. "Well, well, well.what do we have here?" She couldn't hear him; she was so deep in thought.
"I SAID." He was suddenly cut off.
"Huh? Oh, what? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to run into you. I was just pondering about some." Her eyes grew into big saucers as she realized who she was talking to-Blaise. 'No.no, no, no.this is SO not my day.' were one of the many thoughts spinning through her head. She looked down at her feet, as if trying to absorb all her power from her feet.
"Well, Mudblood, I do expect you owe me an apology," he whispered icily in her ear, sending fear through her veins. She was vulnerable, her wand in her bag. "Or do you just want to be.punished?" He emphasized the last word as if he were implying something, which, he probably was. Hermione squeezed her eyes as tight as they would go, praying to God that this was some sort of nightmare. However, he grabbed her hair and forced her eyes open. "I demand an answer.Hermione."
The way he said her name seemed to send shivers of panic down her spine. She was involuntarily shaking, afraid of his next move. Thinking that if she were quiet, he would leave her alone, letting her go on her way to finish her homework. No such luck came to her, though.
He imprisoned her mouth into a searing kiss, immediately bruising her mouth, already seeming numb. He pushed her against the wall, all the while trying to undo both his and her robes at the same time. She, on the other hand, was trying to flail her arms everywhere, trying to push him away. However, when it came to physical strength, she was a lost hope. Still struggling, she stepped on his foot, but he didn't seem to notice. He did, however, notice that she was very curvy, all hidden under the damned school robes. Hermione seemed to realize what her fate was, and didn't stop the tears flowing like waterfalls down her porcelain cheeks. She knew what would happen. She knew everyone was at dinner. She knew he was taller and stronger than she was. What she didn't seem to remember, however, was that Malfoy never went to dinner.
Hermione's stomach growled, hungry from missing her meal. Blaise seemed to have heard and asked, "Hungry?" in a low, menacing growl. She whimpered, and could say nothing more. She felt so embarrassed and vulnerable; two things she hated more than the Dark Lord himself. He grabbed her head and forced himself into her mouth, bobbing her head up and down until he released. Hermione realized what had happened, and spit his own bodily fluids all over his face. His face turned red, and he backhanded her. She cried out in pain, quickly raising her hand to her burning cheek. Tears were coming out as if they could flood the hall, yet still no one would come to save her. As soon as she thought that she heard footsteps coming towards them from the other end of the hall, she put up even a bigger fight. He had finally ripped off most of her clothes, exposing a fair amount of her legs, torso, and chest. She felt weak, and lashed out violently until it seemed as if all her energy were drained. She spit in his face, hate written all over her face. He growled and raised his hand, and she immediately shut her eyes tightly. However, the blow never came. She looked up, and there was Malfoy, hovering Blaise with his wand. Malfoy had put a full body-binding curse on Blaise right before stunning him. Hermione all of a sudden felt like she was going to be sick.
"What the HELL are you doing, Granger?" He asked. Hermione could almost hint a bit of concern in his voice, yet his face remained emotionless.
"I.I." She broke down into another fit of tears.
"You.what?" He was starting to feel pity, almost sorry for her, but the feelings left just as fast as they came. He could obviously tell what had been going on, but he wanted to play stupid, just to see how she'd react. Suddenly, she quietly mumbled something, and fell to the ground.
"What?" He was starting to feel annoyed, although the pity was starting to return.
"All I wanted to do, was to finish my homework." She looked up at him, her eyes threatening to spill even more tears. He honestly didn't know that someone could cry THAT much. Her eyes were so swollen she looked as if a Hippogriff had lived on her face. "And.and look what happened. I start thinking about what to write and I bump into him." She pointed at the still body of Blaise. "A-and then he started advancing.and.he wouldn't stop." her voice trailed off. Her soft sobs were starting to become louder.
'Why did I just tell him all of that? Why would he, Draco Malfoy, even CARE if I had been raped? Why did he even save me from it? And why is he looking at me like that?' She didn't understand it, but for the first time in her life, she wasn't so sure if she wanted to. She tried to stand up, and failed miserably. Nearly falling forward, she quickly leaned all her weight against the wall and fell backwards. She successfully managed to not hit her head against the wall, but wasn't so successful with her tailbone. A low, painful moan escaped her lips and Malfoy just stared at her.
While checking her tailbone, she realized what she was wearing, or lack of. Her eyes went wide, and sat down on the cold stones before crawling over to where Blaise had carelessly thrown her bag. She finally reached it, and grabbed her wand. "Reparo" was all she muttered before her clothes once again became neat and pressed. Smiling to herself, she tried to get up on her own this time, but fell. She didn't hit the ground, instead being held up by a strong pair of arms. Breathing in the scent, she closed her eyes, reminiscing in it. The boy.er.young man smelled exactly like vanilla, her favorite. But when she looked up, her eyes went wide with even more horror than before. She was in the arms of none other than Malfoy! 'Of all people.' she thought embarrassingly before trying to stand up on her own. She realised that he'd been there the whole time, just watching her.
"Thank you.Draco." She barely let the words escape her mouth, but when they did she was sure he hadn't heard her.
Draco's eyes went wide as he heard her say his name. He realised that it sounded far less cruel and demeaning coming from her than from Snape or his father. Hell, he didn't think either man even cared for him, only wanting either to follow their footsteps or to just favor for the hell of making others miserable. From her it sounded more positive, like someone actually feeling sincere towards him. A feeling that didn't involve hate. He liked it, yet, he hated it at the same time. He wasn't used to these weird feelings swimming inside of him. So, before he could do or say anything stupid, he nodded and left, with Blaise trailing behind him.
* * *
'What the hell was I thinking? Saving her? Wasn't I supposed to be the one in Blaise's place? Wait.no. That's what Lucius would want. Sadistic bastard.' He cursed his father while heading to the infirmary. He left Zabini with Madame Pomfrey, just saying that he had found him like that earlier. He didn't want to say the counter curse, just incase it would hurt his housemate any more that it seemed. He walked back towards the dungeons, when he heard a soft whimper.
"Who's there?" He spun around with his wand out as quick as his words had left his mouth. He got no answer, and heard the sobs coming from a far off corner down the hall. He slowly crept up to see what was going on, thinking that something similar as to what happened earlier were to appear in front of him again. What he saw, however, was the last thing he would imagine. There, in the corner, was Granger, again. She had curled her knees to her chest, arms hugging her legs as close to her as possible, and her head on her knees. Her body racking with sobs.
"Granger?" He didn't really want to scare her. He thought, even has much of a bastard he was, that an attempt to rape her was enough. 'Hell, that would even make ME a disaster. Especially if the rapist was Blaise.' He chuckled softly at the last part, but his head quickly shot up after he realised that he probably had startled her. She was still sitting there, shaking even harder, if possible. She hadn't heard. For this, Draco almost seemed.grateful. Almost. He cleared his throat this time, a bit loud in order to get her attention.
"Harry? Ron? Oh, I'm fine. Just a bit stressful with Prefect duties and OWLs.no need to worry. I'll be up to the dorm in a minute." She never even looked up. Draco had no idea what to do, so he sat down in front of her, Indian-style. She sniffled a bit, sounding like she desperately needed a tissue. He handed out his handkerchief, wondering what had triggered in his brain to actually do that. He couldn't come to an answer. She gratefully took it, still oblivious to who was there, and blew into it. She started to hand it back, saying a meek "thanks", until he finally spoke.
"No, that's okay Granger. I don't need it back." He started to get up when her face shot up. ".Er, that is, because I don't want your Mudblood germs to infest my robes." He inwardly cringed after calling her a Mudblood. He quickly stood up and started to leave, when she finally found her voice. Events from the previous hours had finally processed through her mind, and she grabbed the hem of his robe.
"Thank you.Draco. For.everything." She tried to hide the blush starting to make its way to her cheeks. She didn't know why she was blushing, but she was nonetheless. She tried to convince herself that it was because she had used his first name instead of Ferret-Boy or Malfoy, but it was hard convincing herself. One look into his eyes, she lost all confidence she had mustered only moments before. She looked up to his face again, feeling the blush start to fade. What she saw was not what she was expecting. His eyes were wide and his mouth slightly parted. In other words, he looked mildly shocked. But, the façade was soon put back into place, crushing all the remains of his astonishment.
"You said my name. What gives you-" She interrupted him.
"Yes, I did say your name, Draco. I mean, that IS your name, isn't it? And I give myself the right to, since you did, after all, save me from a FELLOW housemate. The whole scene leaves me speechless." She finished her little speech, and slowly got up. She fell back softly against the stone walls, however, too weak from the tears.
"Of course that's my name, Mudbl-Granger." He rolled his eyes.
"A simple 'you're welcome' would have done it, but I guess this is the best I could get." She started to pick up her bag to leave.
"Oh. You're.welcome.? I guess." She could tell it was hard for him. She smiled; the kind of smile she only reserved for Harry or Ron. The only problem was, she was giving it to Draco.
'Wow. I didn't know that her smile was so.bright. It's beautiful. Wait! No! This is Mudblood Granger that I'm talking about here! Have I gone insane?' He spotted a place just past her shoulder so she wouldn't have to look directly at her.
"Well, I better get back to my dorm. I need to finish my homework." She turned her heel and started off, but before either one of them knew it, his arm shot out, grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him. Her eyes were wide with terror.
"I'm not going to hurt you. Well, at least not today," he whispered in her ear, feeling her body tense. She relaxed, but only slightly. He smiled inwardly. She looked at him tentatively, wondering what the hell he was doing, grabbing her like that. However, before she could start another thought, his mouth was on hers. It wasn't a kiss like Blaise's-demanding, hungry, and painful. It was a sweet chaste kiss that lasted for no more than a minute, but said everything. 'He cares.' She smiled into his lips while at the same time his tongue traced her bottom lip. She happily accepted. Even though he was cruel, she knew things about him no one else did. She then realised what she was doing. Kissing Draco Malfoy with a passion she never knew she had; a passion she thought she would have felt after she had graduated. Her arms found their way around his neck, while his at her waist. It wasn't a searing kiss, but hungry and full of emotions. Neither held back, until they heard someone clearing their throat.
They pulled apart from one another as if the other were a disease, blushing like mad. Hermione stole a side-glance at Draco, noticing that his cheeks were a nice pale shade of pink. She smiled. He was really adorable when he blushed. She looked to see who had caught them, but none other than Professor Dumbledore. 'Oh no! He's going to EXPEL us! No.' she started to turn pale, eyes as big as dragons' eggs. In seeing her reaction, the headmaster only grinned.
"Do not fret, Ms. Granger. I don't think you really need a detention at the moment to add to your busy schedule. The same for you, Mr. Malfoy." Draco seemed to have a similar expression on Hermione's face, only his eyes weren't as big. "But, since this first time doesn't seem to have anything behind it but some innocent teenage hormones, you can run off now."
Both students were breathed out a sigh of relief they hadn't realised was being held.
"Thank you SO much, Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione's eyes gleamed a warm, light honey color. They weren't the dark shade of amber that burned with fire that Draco was used to. He'd have to say he liked her this way much better.
"Yes, thank you, sir." Draco nodded his head cordially. Hermione decided to give both men a hug.
"Draco! We're not in trouble! Professor! You're soooo awesome!" She kept squealing for a good five minutes more, until Draco started to feel a bit uncomfortable and started to squirm.
"Right." was all she said before removing her arms.
"That's quite alright, Ms. Granger. Good night, then." With that, Professor Dumbledore turned around and headed back to his office.
"Granger, I-"
"Hermione." She corrected him.
He sighed. "Hermione, what did he mean by, 'first time'? Is that old coot acting like Trelawny, now?"
"He's not an old coot! He's an amazing wizard! But.I'm afraid that old bat has rubbed off on our poor headmaster." She furrowed her brow, thinking. She absentmindedly played with a loose curl.
"Yes.well, good night." He left.
"Good night, Draco!" She called. He turned around, gave a small smile, and was gone.
* * *
He couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about how Hermione felt against him. She was perfect. Her body, her intellect, her smile, just.perfect. He really didn't know why he was thinking these things about her, but for some reason he didn't seem to care. All he cared about was that she was happy, and not worried about what would come tomorrow, even though she was always worrying about one thing or another. He smiled as his eyelids finally gave way, falling into a deep sleep only with dreams of a girl with inviting, honey eyes.
-=-=-
She stayed up until midnight finishing her Shakespeare essay with her Arithmacy and Transfiguration homework. She stifled a yawn, set her bag down by the portrait, but not before she fished out her small dagger. 'This was the worst night ever.' she said, immediately wishing she could take it back. 'No.it was CRAZY. I almost get raped and then I feel as if I'm floating, all the while kissing MAL-DRACO! Am I completely nutters?' She shook her head and headed for her Prefect's room.
"Perfect Hermione.why would you cut yourself?" She had a habit of talking aloud to herself when she was alone. "Because it's the only way to fight the emotional pain; the only way to numb it out for a few minutes." She sighed, carving a picture into her right thigh, unsure how it was going to turn out. When she finished, she dried the blood and closed the wounds, showing a perfectly etched picture of a snake coiled at the bottom of a lion.
"What the fuck!" She mumbled a choice of other words, but decided to get some sleep.
`2 Days Later.
She woke up the next morning to the sun hitting down on her face. She looked over at her alarm, reading 8:15. It was a Saturday, so she wasn't really worried. She got out of bed, showered, using her favorite Vanilla body scrub. She got out, dried her hair with a quick spell, and put on a short red-plaid skirt, buckles included. She pulled a black shirt with Tinkerbell, from Peter Pan, over her head, reading the word "Believe" to herself in the mirror. She applied a quick brush to her hair, put on her knee-high boots, and grabbed her robes. She went to the Great Hall for some breakfast, but only grabbed a couple pieces of bacon and a slice of toast.
She walked down to the library, noticing something familiar about the atmosphere. She brushed it off, too early to care, and walked into the library to a back table to read. She then walked to a shelf to find a nice book to read. She skimmed the titles, until one caught her eye. One Thousand and Two ways to prepare Vitalicus Blossoms. She walked back to her table, took off her robe, and propped her feet upon the tabletop. She was so engrossed into her reading that she didn't realise someone else was with her. A strong pair of arms snaked around her waist, scaring the hell out of her.
"What the-" a single finger was pressed to her lips.
"RON! What the fuck do you think you're doing! You.you scared me!" She placed a hand on her chest to emphasize her point.
"Sorry, 'Mione. It's just that."
"What have I told you about calling me 'Mione?"
"Sorry, Hermione." He stressed the first syllable of her name, face starting to tinge with pink. She nodded with approval. "It's just that I have to tell you something. I.Inevergotoveryoufromfourthyear." He mumbled, turning redder by the minute, if it was even possible by that point.
"Huh?" She seemed oblivious to his overpowering blush.
"I never got over you." He gulped. ".from fourth year." He looked down at his feet. She looked no different, though.
"Oh.I know."
"You.you WHAT!?" His voice started booming.
"Well, I could just.um, tell, you know? I sometimes caught the way you'd look at me and stuff. It actually sort of embarrassed me, but I didn't say anything." She started to stand up, taking her book with her.
"Oh." he looked crestfallen.
"But don't worry, my feelings for you never changed." He mumbled something about Harry and quidditch and then left. She let out a big sigh, slightly rubbing her temples. Soon a pair of hands started to massage her shoulders, but at the moment she didn't care. She was worried about Ron. She knew she had hurt him. It's just that she didn't like him in any other way than a friend.
"Mmm." She closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of whomever's hands were massaging her now relaxed shoulders. She felt as if she'd recognise them, but she just let a smile play at her lips.
"Comfortable?" Draco whispered into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.
"Mmmhmm." was all she said, before opening her eyes and turning around. She didn't look pissed though. A little stressed, but happy nonetheless to see him.
"Well, I think I'd like the same treatment." He pouted, making him look innocent. She laughed.
"Huh?" He gave her a quizzical look.
"No.nothing!" she managed to say between giggles.
"Right." he got that mischievous sparkle in his eyes, and leant forward to kiss her. She eagerly accepted the kiss. Neither of them separated until a few minutes later, both panting hard.
"O.k." Hermione was confused, but it felt right regardless.
"Hermione.we need to talk."
"Okay, talk." She brushed her confusion aside. The look on his face told her it was serious.
"Not here. Meet me by the entrance hall tonight at ten."
"Mmmk." She was staring into his steely-blue eyes, getting lost in them. He got up, pecked her on her forehead, and left.
* * *
It was eight forty-five in the Gryffindor Common Room, and Hermione was finishing up some homework assigned the previous day.
"God Hermione, do you ALWAYS do homework?" Harry was complaining; he hadn't really talked to her in weeks.
"Mmmhmm." She wasn't really doing her homework. She was cursing at the clock for slowing time down just to tantalize her. She frowned. Harry noticed she didn't hear what he said. 'She must be thinking really hard.' He decided to take advantage of her lack of attention.
"Don't you think McGonagall is having some sort of affair with Snape?"
"Mmmhmm."
"And don't you think Malfoy's gotten really sexy this year?"
"WHAT!" Her eyes flashed with something Harry didn't recognise. Her head immediately shot up as she had faintly heard "Malfoy" and "sexy" in the same sentence. He didn't seem to care about her sudden outburst much and started to laugh instead.
"Harry James Potter! How could you even say such a thing?" 'But yes, Harry, he's damn sexy. I just want to kiss him senseless and tell him I love him and.' She stopped herself. Did she just say that she loved Draco? 'I'm blooding going crazy.' Her eyes grew, shrunk, and shook her head.
"Hermione, is anything.wrong?" Harry's eyes were filled with concern.
"No, nothing. Just.a bit of a headache. I'll be fine." He looked skeptical, but seemed to accept her answer. She hated lying to her friends, but she wasn't sure if she should tell him. "Oh, nothing's wrong, Harry! Everything is wonderful! I'm in love with your worst enemy, too!" She didn't think that would've gone over too well.
"Well, I guess I'll just be off to bed now. That headache is really getting to me." She trailed off, but not before glancing once more at the clock. It was nine forty-five. 'Bugger.'
She walked up the stairs, grabbed her Vitalicus Blossoms book, and ran down to Harry.
"Oh my God, Harry! I forgot to return this to the library. I promised Madame Pince I'd bring this back tonight. May I borrow your invisibility cloak to bring it back?"
"But aren't you a Prefect?"
"Yes. But.but it's after hours. I already patrolled, remember?"
He finally obliged and went up to get it. When he came back down, Hermione grabbed it out of his hands and ran out the portrait. He figured she just was in a hurry to get back, so he sat and waited.
* * *
Hermione dropped the book off and started for the entrance hall. She didn't see him anywhere, so she sat down at the bottom of the stairs, still concealed by the invisibility cloak. She looked down at her watch. 9:58. She sighed, stood to get some feeling back into her legs, and almost screamed. Someone had grabbed her from behind and placed their hand over her mouth. She shut her eyes and broke out into a cold sweat.
"Boo!"
"Oh my GOD, Draco! What did you do that for?!" she was panting now, her color now returning to her face.
"Sorry.I couldn't resist." He smirked, but it wasn't as convincing as usual, with his eyes laughing at her.
"Haha, very funny." She rolled her eyes and asked, "So.you wanted to talk?"
"Yeah.follow me." He led her down the hall and to a tapestry near the entrance to the dungeons. He placed his wand right behind the tapestry and said "Spirare noctu." A doorway appeared, and he let her enter first. He then entered and the door shut, blending back in with the stone walls.
The room was gorgeous; it had deep crimson walls with a light grey carpet. Black leather furniture was sprinkled around the room, complementing the furnishings, which were a deep grey marble. Silver candles glowed around the room, and a four-poster bed set to the left. A fire was already burning in the fireplace, and she walked straight over to a couch. He followed her, sat down, and took her hand in his.
"Talk."
"Hermione, I know we never got along for the past five years, but I don't want to leave you with you thinking that I was a sadistic, evil, cold- hearted bastard." She started to speak, but he held up his hand and continued. "When I was little, I was put under the Imperious Curse and did whatever Lucius and Voldemort wanted. 'No one would ever suspect a child' they'd say, so I was sent off to gather information or lead muggles back to our house to torture." She winced. "While I was under the Imperious, blood was taken from me, and mixed with the Pater et Filius potion, given to both Voldemort and me. So, in other words, if I don't become a follower of Voldemort, the potion will kill me slowly and painfully, taking only but a week." Hermione shuddered. She knew all about the potion, reading about it in several different books. She hugged him, acting as if it would take away all his pain.
He held onto her tightly, until they both had to let go before either one of them passed out from lack of breath. Hermione's eyes were spilling with tears, but she refused to wipe them away. He pulled her into a kiss, and she immediately accepted it. Once they pulled away, he looked into her eyes, and held her chin in his hand.
"Hermione." He began. She burst into another fit of tears. "Don't cry. Please, don't cry." He embraced her, but then pulled back to wipe her tears off her porcelain cheeks with his thumbs, kissing away as many tears as he could. He tasted the bitter salt taste, but seemed oblivious to it. "I don't want to see you like this. Please.don't cry."
"I can't help it, Draco. It's just all so.terrible!" She fought back another round of tears, and looked into his eyes; her comfort place. He looked right back at her.
"I love you, Hermione." He bit his bottom lip. He didn't mean to say that. He didn't want to be rejected.
"And I, you. More than anything." She replied, smiling the biggest and brightest smile he'd ever seen.
He embraced her again, fighting not to just pick her up and spin her around. Instead, he kissed her, full of hunger, love, and assurance.
He led her to the bed, gently placing her down onto the silk sheets. She started to unbutton his shirt while he worked on her skirt. Once they had completed that task, she ran her fingers down his torso and back, sending shivers of pleasure down his spine. 'Damn quidditch did his body good.' Hermione thought. She smirked inwardly. In turn, he gently caressed her thighs. When she reached for his belt, he grabbed her hands.
"Are you sure?"
"Do pigs fly?" He smirked, remembering the flocks of pigs that fly by his house in the spring.
She started for his belt again, while he her shirt. While pulling off her shirt, he unclasped her bra and threw it over his shoulder, he stepping out of his pants, leaving them both in their underwear, Draco on top. [A/N: No, I'm going to leave it at that. You know what they'll do. I can't write that stuff.]
* * *
The next morning, Hermione woke up with an arm around her waist. Last night's events came flooding back to her, and she smiled. She turned around to see Draco's beautiful form sleeping like an angel next to her. She actually felt happy that she had lost her virginity to him last night; she wouldn't have it any other way. He stirred, opened his eyes, and smiled.
"God morning, sleepy head." She gave him a lopsided gin, too lazy for anything else.
"Good morning." He yawned and kissed her forehead.
"You know.I know you were a virgin, but.would you've ever thought that your experience was no worse than mine?"
"You mean.YOU were a VIRGIN? The Great Draco Malfoy, Sex God of Hogwarts?"
He blushed. "Yes, that's me. Only, cut out 'Sex' out of 'Sex God'." She smiled.
"God I love you."
"I know.
* * *
They got dressed and headed to the Great Hall. Once there, she gave him a quick kiss and opened the doors. She walked over to the Gryffindor table, sat down next to Ron and Harry, and started eating. It wasn't until about five minutes later when Draco emerged and all the girls swooned. Hermione rolled her eyes and gathered some marmalade for her bagel.
"Hermione, where were you last night? I waited for you after you left." Hermione dropped her knife and blushed.
"Oh, sorry about that, Harry. I, uh, saw the moon last night and fell asleep while admiring the night sky." She quickly lied, but thanked the gods that she suddenly remembered that there was a full moon last night.
"Oh.okay. I was just wondering."
"Yeah, sorry about that. I'll return your cloak to you after classes today, okay?"
"Yeah, okay." He turned to Ron, who, wasn't talking to her for some odd reason. 'I guess he's still embarrassed.' She shrugged. They were talking about quidditch again, and felt the hairs on the back of her neck shoot up. She lifted her head at Draco, who was just looking at her, and their eyes locked, even though for only the briefest second. He suddenly got up and started towards her table.
"Well, well, well." He drawled in that tone that Hermione absolutely hated. And he knew it, too.
"Go away Ferret-Boy. You're not wanted." Ron's hands were clenching and unclenching.
"I didn't even say anything, and you're threatening me already?" He quirked an eyebrow at the redhead.
"Actually, it doesn't matter if you said anything or not." Harry jutted in, eyes narrowed.
"Does it?" Draco's eyes sparkled with something that Harry didn't like.
"Go away." Hermione finally said something, although very quietly.
"And why is that, Granger?" She could see in his eyes that he actually just wanted to do something to get away from Pansy, who was, yet again, draping herself all over Draco. His eyes shone with laughter, so she joined in.
"Because, Malfoy, if you don't, I'll hex you." She said simply, getting her wand out.
"Tut tut, Granger. Don't say things you don't mean." He winked at her. She playfully glared at him.
"Huh?" Ron finally found his senses.
"Nothing." Hermione said simply, before standing up and leaving.
"Hermione, where are you going?" Harry was quite.well, he wasn't sure. He felt like she was keeping something from him.
"Library." Was all she said.
Draco went back to his table to gather his things. He left the Great Hall only moments later and in the direction of the library. Hermione jumped out of the shadows, scaring the shit out of Draco.
"Holy fuck!" Draco was still recovering from the shock.
Hermione rolled around on the cold stone laughing as if there were no tomorrow. She hugged her sides, which were already starting to tense with pain.
"Oh" *gasp* "my" *gasp* "God!" She kept laughing.
"What'd you do that for?" He put on a fake hurt look.
"Just to piss you off." She finally stopped laughing and got up.
"Well, you didn't succeed. Instead, you mastered the art of scaring the shit out of me."
She just giggled and started for the library, where no one was. Draco followed, obviously intrigued as to what she was doing. He, too, knew that everyone was eating breakfast.
The opened the doors to the library and no one was there. Not even Madame Pince. They walked over to the farthest table in the back and began kissing.
"OH MY GOD!" Ron was screaming, face red with anger.
"Ron!" Hermione was able to squeak.
"What the HELL are you doing snogging MALFOY? You're SUPPOSED to be snogging ME!" Ron bellowed, aiming a fist at Draco's jaw. Draco looked ashen.
"Hermione?" Draco said, barely above a whisper.
"RON! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? IF I WANT TO KISS DRACO THEN I WILL! AND WHY AM I SUPPOSED TO KISS YOU? WE'RE NOT GOING OUT! I ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT! IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE FACT THAT I LIKE, NO, EXCUSE ME, LOVE DRACO THEN GET OUT!" Hermione was screaming now. But before Ron could even move, Hermione ran out of the room, bawling. Draco ran after her, only being stopped by Harry.
"Potter, move." Draco spoke dangerously low.
"Why?" Harry wanted answers, and he wanted them now. He had heard Hermione's little outburst.
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Just.MOVE!" Draco stepped to the right, and Harry stepped right in front of him.
"Tell me."
"No!"
"Now."
"No!"
"TELL ME RIGHT NOW OR I WON'T MOVE!"
"FINE!" Draco let out an exasperated sigh.
"I love Hermione. Hermione loves me. We're together. Got it?"
Harry was too stunned by all of that, and seemed to be glued to the spot. Draco took this as his opportunity to catch up to Hermione, but before he could, Harry grabbed his arm.
"Look, Malfoy. I know Hermione probably better than you, so I will tell you this once, and only once. I knew she loved you, I could see it in her eyes when you passed by. But, if you hurt her, at all, I will break ever bone in your body until you wish you were dead. Understood?" Harry narrowed his eyes and continued. "She's my friend and I can't control who she goes out with or likes, and I trust her decision. However, I do not trust you. Don't look at me like that. I'm more controlled than Ron is." With that, Harry let go, letting Draco nod, dumbfounded.
Draco raced after Hermione in the direction she went. He caught up to her and finally managed to catch her arm. She was flung back into his chest and just cried. He stroked her hair, whispering soothing words into her ear. She soon calmed down, and wrapped her arms around his waist. He led her back to "their room" and let her sleep while he sat there, watching her. However, his ickle little angel was soon stirring in her sleep due to a tapping sound. Draco turned around, seeing his father's eagle owl with a letter.
"Bugger," Draco muttered before letting the demon owl inside. The owl stretched out his leg and flew off.
Draco, You're time approaches. One month to be exact. The Dark Lord and I have anticipated the day you'd join the ranks. And don't think you're going to get out of this. You already chose your fate. Father
"Bastard!" he whispered.
She stirred. "Draco? Is everything okay?"
"Hey.feeling better?" He wanted to do everything he could forget that letter.
"Yeah.what about you?" She seemed quite worried. "You don't look so good. Want to lie down?" He immediately jumped on the bed next to her. He sighed.
"Thanks. Nothing's wrong, really. It's just that Lucius sent a letter. That's all." He trailed off and closed his eyes, wrapping one arm around Hermione's waist.
"WHAT?! That's ALL?" She looked flabbergasted; after all, it was Lucius Malfoy, hater of all things having to do with Muggles.
"Yeah.it's no big deal. I mean, we've already discussed it. I know that I'd want to die rather than serve Voldemort for the rest of my life, but that potion hurts just too damn much." He remembered the many books he'd read about it ever since he was told about his "happy childhood." 'Happy my ass.' was what he said to that.
"Draco, what would you say if I told you that I'd join the ranks?"
"WHAT?!" It was basically suicide. A Muggle-born being in the ranks of Voldemort.
"Yeah, I mean, I might suffer a little, but at least we'll be together." She gave a small smile.
"I refuse for you to do that. It's basically suicide, Hermione!"
"Not really. They can't refuse the smartest witch to ever come to Hogwarts in over one hundred years. Besides, we'll be together."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you'll get hurt."
She sighed. It would be of no use to try and persuade him. "Fine." She was being quite the stubborn girl.
"That's my girl." He playfully patted her head. She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed.
`One month later.
Draco took his invisibility cloak and walked towards the forbidden forest. He walked through the forest for about twenty minutes, feeling that his cloak wasn't necessary anymore. He walked briskly to the other side of the forest, towards a cove. There, about fifty deatheaters and Voldemort were before him. As soon as he got into range of seeing the snakelike features of the Dark Lord's face, he stopped and got on one knee, face down.
"My Lord." Draco was whispering. He was taught to show respect. But he was also scared shitless inside.
"Young Mr. Malfoy. How nice it is for you to finally join us. Soon, all those filthy Mudbloods will perish, along with that old git, Dumbledore." Draco could feel the tension flowing off of Voldemort at the name. "Arise, Draco, and you shall become one of my faithful servants. And when the time is right, maybe you'll be lucky enough to stand right by your father." Lucius bowed his head at the "compliment". Draco inwardly cringed, but his head shot up as soon as he heard a shout.
"What is the meaning of this?" Voldemort inquired. "Didn't you come ALONE, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Why, yes. Of course, My Lord. I have no idea who is responsible for this disruption." Draco knew who it was. He was shaking hard, but tried his best to calm himself down. 'Fuck! Why did she have to follow me here? Didn't I tell her to STAY at Hogwarts? That girl never listens.' He was worried out of his mind. If Voldemort killed her, he didn't know what he'd do. She was thrown next to Draco.
"Well, look what we've got here. A little Mudblood. To what, do we owe this visit?" Voldemort looked as if he was trying to Avada her with just his icy glare. She looked straight into his beady little slits of eyes.
"I was thinking if you'd mind if I joined your ranks?" She asked in a saccharine sweet voice. "I mean, since you ARE the most powerful wizard, I thought that maybe I could get a little too?" She smiled a little. 'God, what the hell is she doing?!' Draco was surprised at how brave, yet, stupid, Hermione was being at that moment.
"It looks like we have a Mudblood who wants to join ME! Hahahaha." Voldemort let out a laugh. Actually, it sounded more like a dying cat rather than an actual laugh.
"Please?" Hermione pouted. 'God, what the fuck am I doing?' Hermione was yet to answer her own question.
"No!" She pouted and he took his wand out. "Crucio!"
She fell to the ground almost immediately, writhing in pain. She felt as if all her bones were being pulled apart, mended, and then broken again just for the pain. Her nails dug deeply into her palms, drawing blood. 'Why did I even come? Oh yes.hi Draco!' She looked over at him, pain and horror shining in his eyes. Before she knew it, the curse was being lifted. Then she suddenly remembered. Her dream. This was exactly like her dream! She was going to get killed, but if that meant that she couldn't be with Draco, death was better than being desolate. She suddenly started to panic, but one look at Voldemort's face brought her seething. She hated him for killing so many innocents. She hated him for the many wars. But most of all, she hated him for trying to steal her Draco away from her life forever.
"Still want to join?" Voldemort actually found this quite entertaining. She spat at his robes instead.
"Thought so." Voldemort smirked. "Avada Kedavra!" Green sparks flew from the end of his wand, aiming straight for Hermione. However, the spell never hit her. Thump! She looked at her feet. Draco lay there, dead. His lifeless body looked like he was in pain, but his eyes had that spark to it telling her that he loved her. Tears spilled over and she clung to his lifeless body.
"No.God please no." was what she kept mumbling over and over, trying to rock life back into him, although failing.
"You BASTARD!" She pulled out her wand. She knew that fifty-one against one wasn't a very good match, but then again, she was pretty powerful. "Omni Stupefy!" Everyone was stunned, well, excluding Voldemort. "I challenge you to a duel!"
Voldemort was impressed with her courage, but he was still having fun. The ickle seventeen year old, challenging him. He had to laugh at that. They took their positions, turned, and walked five paces. Soon, hexes and curses were being thrown back and forth.
"Crucio!" Voldemort cried, barely missing Hermione who had jumped out of the way just in time.
"Obscuritas!" Hermione screamed, hitting Voldemort with the blinding curse. He yelled, remembering that only that caster could remove the spell. "Avada Kedavra!" Hermione regretted saying the curse as soon as the words left her mouth. The curse hit Voldemort directly between the eyes, turning him into a pile of ashes. She dropped her wand, hands quivering.
"Oh my God!" She slumped down, sobbing. She wasn't sobbing for defeating Voldemort. She was sobbing for Draco, for using an Unforgivable, for being alone. As she turned to head back to the castle, she levitated Draco's body behind her, grabbing both his and Harry's invisibility cloaks, straight for Dumbledore's office.
* * *
`One week later.
Draco's funeral was quite depressing. Although he was cruel to just about everyone at Hogwarts, most of the student body was present. They may have hated him, but they respected him. Narcissa Malfoy was there as well, bawling her eyes out. Hermione refused to cry, telling herself that she had cried enough. Even Snape, who seemed apathetic towards just about everything, seemed stricken.
Hermione was the last one to leave. She stayed there, reading his epitaph for the billionth time.
Draco Malfoy
September 3, 1987 to April 28, 2004
May you rest without the despair and hate in this world that in which
brought you to your end.
She finally let one single tear escape.
"I love you, Draco. I'll never stop."
And with that, she turned and left.
[THE END]
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
[A/N] Okay, I figured to just make this all one long chapter because I was really lazy and didn't feel like making this into a bunch of small, short chapters. I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are always welcome! :]