Yay, my first published Harry Potter fic!
Let me just say that I love the idea of this couple, and wish it were legit.
Quick disclaimer: I don't own these wonderful characters. They are property of Queen Rowling.
Read on!~
She had done many things in her school career that could have gotten her killed, or worse, expelled. Honestly, if she hadn't helped Harry save Hogwarts and/or the wizarding world from disaster at least five times already, she wouldn't have been surprised to hear that the ministry considered reserving a cell in Azkaban for her.
Though all of that was heart racing, death defying, terrifying, and all other sorts of exciting, Hermione had never felt as much doubt and apprehension as she did sneaking down a dark corridor by herself. The new year had just started, and she didn't want to be sent home already, but it was necessary.
The galleon in her hand was still warm from the last message she received just five minutes before. Had she not known his motives better, every alarm that ever went off in her head when she was skulking around with Harry and Ron would have sounded when Draco requested that she meet him in the Muggle Studies classroom. It almost sounded comical, but she knew why he was there. It was far from the Slytherins, who were under heavier surveillance than the rest, for no reason other than even Dumbledore believed some of them might be covert agents of Voldemort, just waiting to earn their place in his ranks beside their parents.
The moonlight shining through the windows made her journey more difficult as she hugged the walls that weren't illuminated, as well as making sure that she didn't make a sound as her dressing gown scraped against the stone. Mrs. Norris would come running from wherever she was stalking an unfortunate mouse, or anything else that moved if her sharply tuned ears detected any unusual noise.
She had to stifle her sigh of relief when she saw the door to her destination, but it didn't last long as her quick mind ran through the logical reasons Draco wanted to see her at such an hour. None of them were good.
Still, she was not one to shrink away from potential danger, especially when she was needed by someone for whom she cared deeply. That's what got her in Gryffindor after all.
As she opened the door and took in the sight of his exhausted form sitting at a desk, she thought, not for the first time, that it might have been easier for them had she been assigned to Ravenclaw. Then, not for the first time, she immediately shook it off with the more pressing matter that she was a Muggleborn. Salazar Slytherin could have personally made an exception to the only purebloods in his house rule, just for her, and it still wouldn't be good enough for Lucius Malfoy, or Voldemort.
"Took you long enough, didn't it?" He spoke as soon as she had closed the door, his head barely turning in her direction.
"Forgive me, but I haven't had much chance to practice shortening the time it takes me to get from one side of the castle to the other when I've been called out of bed at an ungodly hour," she quipped back.
He tried to hide it, but the light from the tip of his wand let her see the small smile that her response evoked. Complaining as he did when things didn't go his way, she was amused to find out that it bored him when he went unchallenged for too long. That was a large part to why he kept taunting the three of them, because heaven knew that he wasn't getting any healthy competition at home.
"Speaking of, are you going to tell me why you summoned me here like a house elf, or should I just quietly wait for you until Filch pokes his head in?"
She was met with silence, and each second that ticked by set her nerves further on edge. He wouldn't ask her to come without reason, she knew that, and she knew that it was likely that his reason didn't bode well for either of them. It was just a question of how hard they'd be pushed.
"Potter saw me, didn't he? When I was at Borgin and Burkes last week?"
"Yes, he did," she answered cautiously.
"What did he see?"
"You were talking to the shop owner about tampering with something?" She couldn't remember exactly what Harry had said, since she was trying to tune him out.
He turned his head to fully face her. "Is that all?"
"I think so. What is going on?"
A heavy sigh was her only response, and it mad her mad.
"Did you really just want to know that? I'm not an owl, and I'm not a rat. When we agreed to have a go at whatever this is, I told you that I will not give up anything that I'm fighting for," she said with a scowl. "If that's it, then I will require that galleon back, and we will return to the way things were."
"That's not it. I wanted to know, but that isn't why I asked you here," he replied, an edge of frustration to his voice.
"Then why?"
He beckoned her over and stood. "Because I don't want to complicate things further by hiding this from you. I know he believes I've followed in my father's footsteps, and I want you to know the truth."
She watched intently as he tugged up the left sleeve of his sleep shirt to reveal the horrible tattoo of a skull and snake, dimly lit by his wand. Her whole body froze in terror while her mind ran even faster, trying to figure out what she thought had happened. She wanted to believe that he didn't have a choice in the matter, that it was the mark or death.
The boy that she found hidden behind all the cruel remarks, deception, setups and all other forms of bullying that was his chosen face wouldn't have accepted that ugly thing marring his smooth skin, despite being thoroughly indoctrinated in its meaning. However, he might have when it was the only way he could protect his family, but would he really act on it?
"So, you are one of them now."
"Did you ever really believe that I wouldn't join them?" He nearly scoffed. It would have put her off when they began their secret relationship, but not now. Now she understood that it was his defensiveness talking, and she couldn't find blame with that.
"Do you think we'd be here if I didn't?"
He stared at her, letting his arms fall to rest at his sides. His eyes analyzed her, trying to detect any falsehood. He would find none.
"Draco," she started, her feet carrying her toward him. "I know that you didn't choose this for yourself."
"Does that matter? I still chose it."
She faltered, the words stinging her like the needle her father used to administer anesthesia to his patients, but then persisted.
"Yes, it matters. Choosing it for someone else, like your mother, is noble."
Grey eyes narrowed and his mouth firmed from a defeated frown to a scowl.
"How can you say that, after everything I've done to you, said to you? You know that this mark means that I've pledged to kill you and your family for something you can't control."
He half hoped that would drive her away. He didn't want to tell her to leave him outright. No, she was something he felt he needed in his life. If she made the choice herself, then he would let her. If she just realized how dangerous he was, and how damaged… He'd have no choice but to let her walk away.
"Draco," came her soft whisper as her slipper shielded feet carried her toward him. When she closed the distance between them, she brought a gentle hand up to rest on his arm, over the small picture that shocked fear into the hearts of anyone who saw it, even those who possessed it. Her intelligent brown eyes that never seemed to miss anything stared into his own. "The fact that I'm standing here with you is why I can say that. You made a choice that in that moment protected your family, and I wouldn't ask for you to do anything less. Out of anyone who has borne this mark, I imagine that you wanted it the least."
"Are you sure about that?" He countered.
"Yes, I am," she stated adamantly. "As I'm more than just books and answers, you are more than that mark, and you are more than your father's legacy."
His hands trembled as he lifted them to wrap around her body, holding her as he would his final connection to life. His attachment to Hermione Granger was far more than he would tell anyone, even her, but in that moment, he didn't care if his actions spoke for him. She felt like redemption, and he wanted it more than anything.
"I don't know what will happen in the future. I can't say that I won't fight on the other side," he muttered into her mess of thick, curly hair.
"I know. I can't say where we'll stand then," she responded honestly. "But from where we stand, we have something to hold us together."
He pulled back just enough to make eye contact, his shimmering with fear and uncertainty. "And what is that?"
Her lips formed a kind smile, and her eyes sparkled the same way they did when she knew every answer on a test.
"A hope for a future where anyone can be respected regardless of blood or family. Where 'Mudblood,' 'Death Eater,' and 'Pure Blood' are terms found only in history books. That's what I believe in, and if given the choice, I think you would too. Can you say anything in the contrary?"
His reflex was to question her, to tell her that she didn't know anything about what he believed in. However, he recalled the vow he made to himself when he saw her at the Yule Ball that if he did pursue her, he would let his defenses down, at least the ones that kept everyone else away.
"No, I don't think I can."
Her face lit up like the stars in the sky and she embraced him in turn. "I didn't think so. You really underestimate me if you think I would have said yes to you a year ago, after what happened at the ministry without having any foresight, or trust in who I know you to be."
Finally, finally, he allowed his tense from frowning lips to lift into a relieving smile. "I thought I knew never to underestimate you from the start, but I was wrong."
"Clearly," she quipped. "Now, I want you to know from this moment on is that right now, we have a dream. No mark can take that from us if you don't let it."
"All right, you insufferable know-it-all," he mocked. "Let's get to bed before that cranky old fart of a caretaker or his demented cat find us."
"Yes, Malfoy," she acquiesced with a roll of her eyes. "I'll slip out first."
She returned to the door, opened it a crack, and peered around for said caretaker of the castle.
"Oh, and Granger?" He spoke up, a bit louder than he should have, but he wanted to tell her before she was out of earshot. It did the job, and she turned around.
"If I run into you tomorrow with any of the others around, I will throw some simpler hexes."
"Good to know," she chuckled. "I'll throw in some counters. All for appearances, of course."
"Of course."
Like a shadow, she disappeared into the hall, and to him, it felt like she left a spark of hope in her wake. It was small, but it was like a star he could look to for guidance.
Her star.
There you have it.
This is based off of a beautiful song, A Dream Worth Keeping by Sheena Easton. I urge you to go check it out.
Thanks for reading, and please leave a review, even if it's only five words!
Bye lovelies,
Chlyri