(disclaimer: I don't own the characters in my story. Or the song at the end. I own merely the plot.)
Cold
Chapter 1:
Never Meant To Be So Cold
Hermione woke to the sound of yelling. Her parents were at it again. It seemed like all they did was fight anymore. She got up and locked her door knowing
she didn't, the fight would be in her room in a few minutes. Since she was up, she decided to take a shower in her adjoining bathroom.
She put on her Crossfade cd and turned her cd player up all the way to tune out any noise. At least she knew that by the time she got out, her parents would've both left for work. She was singing Cold as she got out and went back into her bedroom. She went over to her dresser and got out her clothes and just as she went to let her towel drop, she heard something that sounded a lot like someone clearing their throat.
She grasped her towel firmly around her toned frame, and pulled out her wand, pointing it at the source of the noise, only to find that it was a beautiful golden eagle that had made the sound. She noticed her window was open and wondering how it could've gotten open for the strange bird, she went to shut it.
She told the bird to hold on for a second and went into her closet to change into her clothes. She just didn't feel comfortable changing in front of the bird. When she got out she was instantly thankful for her good instincts. She took a note from the bird's beak. It read: Stand back. Don't be frightened. Please let me explain.
She did as told, she stood back, but as she saw the bird change from a beautiful golden eagle, to Draco Malfoy, she couldn't follow the second or third requests. She proceeded to scream and pull her wand on him. This was Draco Bloody Malfoy! She couldn't just not scream and pull her wand out. This was the boy that had tortured her for six years straight with insults and spells.
"How did you get in here? What do you want? Leave." Hermione asked, quickly turning her features from scared to calm indifference.
"Nice to see you, too, Granger," Malfoy said, his usual smirk coming into place. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you weren't happy to see me."
"Oh really, sorry to give you that impression. I'm very much delighted to see you here. In my bedroom," Hermione said with sarcasm dripping off her voice.
"Well that's good on account I have some important news, and I need your help as well. I'll start with the news I have. You, Hermione Jane Granger, are adopted by muggles. Your biological parents are death eaters that just came out of hiding in the United States. Your parents are Edward and Lucinda Zabini. Your twins with my good mate Blaise. The bad news is that they want you to join ranks with Voldemort and become a death eater in less than two weeeks along with Blaise and Me. The good news is that I got here just in time to save you from that because naturally I am not serving that arrogant pig and neither is Blaise and so we're planning on us all going to stay at a house that I've had secretly set up. It's unplottable so there's no way to be found." He glanced at her nervously, not sure that she'd believe him. Not sure she'd come with them. She did look rather pale, like she'd seen a ghost. "So what do you say?"
"But if my ...parents...were in hiding, then how has Blaise been going to school? And how did you know that I'm their child? And how did you know where my house is? And since when are you an animagus?" Hermione asked, still hesitant.
"Well, your parents had a photo of you when you were younger...some of your characteristics were the same and your first name was the same so they did a background check on you and found that you were the Zabini twin. Blaise has been living at my house since your parents went into hiding. He lives in his own seperate wing at the manor. And Blaise went through some of his baby stuff and found one of your baby sweaters so from that I did a tracking spell that led me here. I've been an animagus since fifth year because my father forced me to become one. I really do love my eagle form though. It gives me all the joy of riding a broom - without the broom," Draco explained. "We don't have much time. You need to pack your things so we can leave for the manor. You will stay in Blaise's wing so you can get to know him and we'll leave tomorrow."
After she packed, and shrank all her bags to fit in her pockets, she stood there, clinging to Draco's arm. She looked around before they apparated away. She wouldn't really miss it. Any of it. And with that, they were gone and she was now standing in a huge bedroom in a huge manor.
"Welcome, my fair lady, to the Malfoy Manor..." Draco said in a thick French accent. But then breaking his accent, he yelled, "Blaise! My man! Delivery!" Out of nowhere Draco had pulled out two pizzas, and Blaise coming in didn't even notice Hermione there until he had started on his pizza.
"D! What took you so long with the pi-" He stopped short as he had just looked up from his seat at the table that had been conjured up and was staring at the girl before him. Hee looked to Draco, then back to Hermione. "Draco. It isn't...you told me you were just going to get pizza, I didn't expect you to come back with my long lost twin sister."
Draco made to sit down, but Hermione quickly manuevered into the seat before him, "Ladies first, right?" She said to Draco, and looking at Blaise she felt an instant connection to him, she merely smiled and said hey, that was all that needed to be said for when they both looked at each other they seemed to know what the other was thinking.
Draco conjured up a third chair and sat down to eat with them. He looked at Hermione when she wasn't paying attention and noticed that she seemed really comfortable around them now whereas before she had been rather uptight. It's like as soon as she had seen her twin the pieces had fallen into place.
After eating, Blaise still had to pack so they all went up to Blaise's wing and Draco showed Hermione to her room while Blaise began packing. From her room, Hermione had the most spectacular view of Draco's very own Quidditch pitch. It made her wistful. How she wished she could fly. She was rather envious of Draco. He had all these things she wanted; he had a quidditch pitch, could fly beautifully, and had an animagus form.
Draco noticed her looking out the window towards the quidditch pitch wistfully so he decided to take her out there. "Come on, let's go," he said taking her hand and gently pulling on it. She looked up at him startled by his actions, but smiled genuinely and let him pull her out to the field.
He summoned his custom-made Firebolt, and after a good ten minutes of convincing, he had Hermione climbing on behind him. "Please go slow. I've never flown before," she said desperately. He had been about to take off, but this statement shocked him. "Never flown? But you are such good friends with Potter and Weasley...they've never taken you out on a broom before?" he asked wondering what kind of friends she had. "No, they were always too busy or I was always studying..." she said quietly.
While they were in the air (and after Hermione had finally opened her eyes) she started asking questions, not being able to forget her curiousity any longer. "Do you really hate your family?" he seemed to ponder this question for a while. "Yes, I've always hated my father. Since the day I was two and he beat me for calling him Dad. It was father from then on out. My mother wasn't any better really. She's just a coward. She doesn't ccare about anyone or anything else as long as she's not the one getting beaten." he answered her. "That soounds really awful, I'm sorry," she sympathized. "It wasn't all bad, I got some good things out of it. I learned a lot from it, how to fly, how to become and animagus, how to stratigize, and how to be good and not evil just being a few." The rest of the ride went by in a comfortable silence.
When they were on their way back to the manor, Draco stopped Hermione, "Listen, I've been thinking a lot about this, and I know an apology could never make you forget what I've done to you the past years, but I hope you accept, for I truely do feel so sorry for all the torture I've placed upon you."
Looking back at me I see
that I never really got it right
I never stopped to think of you
I'm always wrapped up in things I cannot win
You are the antidote that gets me by
Something strong like a drug that gets me high
What I really meant to say is
I'm sorry for the way I am
I never meant to be so cold
I never meant to be so cold
What I really meant to say is
I'm sorry for the way I am
I never meant to be so cold
I never meant to be so cold to you
I'm sorry bout all the lies
Maybe in a different light
You could see me stand on my own again
Cause now I can see
You are the antidote that got me by
Something strong like a drug that got me high
What I really meant to say is
I'm sorry for the way I am
I never meant to be so cold
I never meant to be so cold
I never meant to be so cold
I never really wanted you to see
the screwd up side of me that I keep
locked inside of my so deep
it always seems to get to me
i never really wanted you to go
so many things you should have known
I guess for me there's just no hope
I never meant to be so cold.
What I really meant to say is
I'm sorry for the way I am
I never meant to be so cold
I never meant to be so cold
What I really meant to say is
I'm sorry for the way I am
I never meant to be so cold
I never meant to be so cold
song: Coldby: Crossfade