The War. The worst war the Wizarding world has ever experienced. Good versus evil. Light versus darkness. And I'm fighting.
Harry could be dead. Ron could be dead. Everyone I care about could be dead, but Voldermort is still living, so I have something to fight for. The tears rolling down my cheeks trickle into the open gashes and cuts on my face, running out red with blood. Tears of blood. Fires blazing all around me, spells and curses ricocheting off the pillars of stone surrounding me. Flashes of light, the last screams of my friends and enemies echoing through the air.
I hear a voice yelling out. Above all the rest. I realise the voice is aimed at me.
"Granger!" Not what I want to hear right now. I need to live. I need to know that Voldermort will die. I won't be killed by Draco Malfoy.
"Granger!" He knows where I am, I run from my safe, secret place. I run, run to nowhere. That's the only place I'll be safe now, nowhere. I hear him run closer to me. Tears running down my face, blood dripping from my clothes, sweat clinging to my hair and face, I keep running, because my life depends on this, and this alone. I must run.
"Hermione!" I heard him say it. I know I did, but it wasn't his voice. Not the voice that makes me sick, that makes me cry, that doesn't know my name, but a different voice, one that speaks my name, that knows my name, that would never hurt me…
"Hermione!" I stop, I turn around. Is this what he wants? Is this a plan, another way to kill me? For all I know It could be, but still, I turn around to face him. I take in every detail, his gelled blonde hair blown out of place and painted with blood, his bottom lip, swollen and bleeding, his stunningly grey, but bloodshot eyes, his right hand, clutched tightly around his mother's wand…
I jump back and start stepping away, does he really want to kill me? Could he do it? I know he hates me, but it takes someone very sick, very deranged to kill a person, hate isn't enough. My life is hanging by a thread, with only one person who can control whether I live or die. Draco Malfoy.
He stops, looks at his hand, releases his wand a little and looks back up at me. I sigh silently, he can't have any power over me. I won't let him, but what does he want? "Hermione, listen, please… I know you probably think I'm going to kill you now, am I right?" I nod silently, waiting to see if he's just leading me on… He continues quickly "Hermione, I don't want to kill you. You don't need to know why. My father is coming. He does want to kill you, but I have a way to stop him, you are-" I start to speak, but he cuts me off before any sound can come out "You aren't going to like it, but whatever I do or say… please don't fight it. To save our lives."
I still don't quite understand, and Mr. Malfoy isn't around, so I assume there is time for him to explain quickly what I need to do, or why he's helping me. "Mal- Draco… I don't know why you're doing this, but thank you, I just want to know why you'd risk your life for me… what if it doesn't work and he kills us both?" He sighs "Hermione, that's something we're just going to have to ignore for now, if he kills you, I'll wish I was dead, if he kills us both, I won't have to, and if he doesn't kill either of us… then we consider ourselves lucky… ok?"
I'm a little confused still, some things make sense, but more questions are starting to appear in my head; Why does he want to risk his life for me? Why would he want to die if I died? What is this 'plan' going to do that will stop his father from killing us? Is he making this up so I'll trust him and then he can kill me? Does he really hate me? The way he was talking makes me think that he might not…
Just as I am about to ask the first of these questions, he takes hold of my shoulders and pulls me towards himself quickly, pushing his forehead against mine. I cringe and tense up. He whispers "My father is coming, he's going to kill you if I don't do this, he might do it anyway, but it's worth anything to try and stop that. Please don't hate me for this!"
Just as I'm about to look up at him, he pulls me in closer and kisses me, his hands move from my shoulders to my back and he pulls me closer into his body. I want to let go of him, pull away, but I know my life is depending on this, and he told me to play along. So, reluctantly, I put my left hand on his waist, and reach my right hand up to his hair and clench a fist full of it.
"Draco!" all of a sudden he pulls away. Lucius Malfoy is standing in front of me, looking disheveled, shocked, and overall furious. "Father," Draco began, sounding genuinely surprised (he's a good actor, I'll give him that), but Lucius cuts him off "Draco Malfoy! You dare to defy the name of Malfoy like that? This mudblood is our enemy, she-" Draco cuts Lucius off this time "Don't call her that! Don't you ever! She hasn't got dirty blood-" he pauses and looks me up and down, at the cuts and gashes in my skin "Well not in that sense anyway. Hermione has muggle parents. That shouldn't bother you. I hated her for it a long time ago. Now I realise how childish I was to think that."
Mr. Malfoy looks stunned, as if he has been slapped in the face. "Draco! How dare you speak to me in that way!" he hisses. "Granger is fighting for the wrong side. Surely you must know that." Draco closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "No, father. You are fighting for the wrong side."
Lucius stops and his eyes widen. He exhales menacingly, then disapparates. Draco turns to me. "Hermione I'm so sorry about that, please don't hate me for it! I hope you know I did it for a reason, I did it to save our lives, and you can't be too upset, it worked, and you-" I try to take in what he is saying, but he's going way too fast and I feel the need to interrupt "Draco! I know you did that for a reason, I know you had to, and I guess I should thank you for it. Look, it's great that I'm still alive, and it's great that you are too, and you know what…" I sigh as he looks at me, waiting for me to continue "You're a great actor. I guess that's something I didn't know about you."
I start to leave, but he stops me "Actor?" he says, looking confused and slightly taken aback. I look at him, taking in his expression, he seems to mean what he said, but I suddenly remember all the questions that I was going to ask before his father interrupted us. I can't think of how to say them, so I jut say what my mind is thinking "Before, what did you mean by 'if he kills you, I'll wish I was dead'? Do you really not hate me anymore? Or was that just a way of getting me to go along with it?"
Draco just looks at me for a moment. "I really don't hate you Hermione. Why would I want you to live, why would I risk my life for you if I still hated you?" he says, smiling. I don't think I've ever seen him smile kindly "That was my next question." I whisper, wondering whether it's bad that I still dislike him a little.