Everything To Fight For
Chapter One A Change Of Heart
Hey guys! This isn't my first fan-fic, but it's the first I decided to put up! Please Read and Review!
Disclaimer - Just for your information, I do not own Harry Potter and if I did, I would be one of the happiest people alive and Draco Malfoy would be mine! So anyways, please enjoy!
Hermione smiled and looked over at Victor Krum. She couldn't believe he had finally proposed, and she was still in shock when it was over three weeks since then. She let out a sigh and grabbed onto his arm, hugging it and holding it so tightly, as to never let him go.
"Can you wait?" She asked.
Victor looked down at her and raised his eyebrows. "Yes." He said. "Think of all the crummy news reporters we will have to fight of later… Victor Krum getting married? It will make first page in the Daily Prophet! Of course, that would bring in much more money considering the increase in sales." He said meekly.
Hermione paused. "Yeah…" She said.
As soon as Victor had proposed, it seemed all he could talk about was the sales of his tickets, and the money he would earn. Hermione had no doubt however, that she loved him, considering all the times he had told her that and all the times he had sworn his devotion to her.
Hermione stood up and said, "I think I'm gonna go hang out with Harry and Ron now. I'll be back soon."
Victor stood up and grabbed her arm tightly. "You aren't cheating on me… are you?" He asked roughly.
Hermione shook her head. "Of course not! You know that I love you, and they are just my friends." She said.
Victor nodded. "I know, just so soon to the wedding is making me worried." He said.
Hermione nodded in understanding. "Don't worry." She said calmly.
Hermione then turned and headed down the hall of Victors large home, and made her way out on the streets, listening to her shoes make a hollow noise and the souls clicked against the pavement.
On Hermiones way down the street, she thought of how much she missed Hogwarts. She and the others had graduated a little more than seven months ago, and one month before Victor had proposed. Things hadn't changed that much, and she planned to find a job after the wedding. The guys however, had a part time job to support themselves, and Ron was just discovering what he wanted to do with life and Harry, well, he had always wanted to be an Auror.
She stopped at a red light and watched the cars driving down the street. She longed to know where her life was headed, but all she knew was how deeply in love she was with Victor. She looked both ways and started on her way down another sidewalk to the small shack where Ron had made a home. She figured Harry would be there as well, since the two were inseparable.
When she knocked on the door, no one answered. She thought that they must have been out getting a bite to eat, and that she would talk with them later. She didn't want to go back to Victors just yet, so she made her way over to the park where she sat on a bench and brought out a book from her purse labelled, 'Another Way In Sorcery.' It was a new book that just came out last week that she was dying to start. It was a biography of one of the greatest sorcerers in the world, Natt Wimm.
She read the first couple pages and looked around. It was a beautiful day, and all the people in the park were herself, an old man and his dog, and another man on the other bench across the way reading a book as well. She couldn't see his face, for he had the book pulled up so that it covered.
Hermione looked back down at the pages in her book, and with curiosity, brought it down to see the name of the book the other man was reading. She looked at the title and gasped with surprise. The same book she was reading? It couldn't be! She looked at the title harder and gave a small smile.
"Hi." The man reading the book said. He brought the book down to look her in the eyes. "I couldn't help noticing you were staring at me." He said.
"Well, I couldn't help noticing you were reading the same book as I am…" She stopped and looked at the man.
He laughed. "Well, we have the same interests. I knew that since we were in Hogwarts."
"I knew it was you!" Hermione gasped. "Draco!" She said, lifting the book back up in front of her face.
"Hey…" He said, "That wasn't very nice! As soon as you figure out it was me, you completely ignore me." He smirked.
Hermione put down he book just enough so that her eyes were visible. "I have my reasons." She said, raising an eyebrow.
"It looks like your questioning that…" Draco teased.
"No," She said, "I'm just wondering why all of the sudden you are being nice to me."
Draco laughed. "I thought it was clear as day." He said. "My father was watching my every move, he had a grudge on Harry, and well, I guess I grew to dislike the little bastard as well. You were just his friend, a half-blood, so you know… I had to have my reasons."
"One, Harry isn't a bastard. Two, I don't care if Voldemorts army was watching you; you were still a jackass. And finally, three, like I care." She said.
"Well," Draco said, "I'm totally insulted. I try to apologize and you nearly bite my head off!" He smirked.
"Oh yeah, and those stupid jokes you say all the time? What are you a comedian? Because no one cares or thinks it is funny… at all." Hermione said, pulling her book up close and trying to read the sentence without being dragged away by Draco's peppermint smell or the way he was trying to become friends with her.
"Look, I'm only trying to make the peace. You are not cooperating." He said.
"Wow, aren't we observant." She said sarcastically. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'm reading."
Draco laughed. "You make it sound as if I care." He said, with yet another smirk drawn across his face.
"And you should." Hermione said, clearly agitated. She had now read the same sentence over nearly fifteen times.
Draco smirked. "So, you want to go do something?"
Hermione laughed. "Look, Draco, if I may call you that, I'm getting married in less than two weeks to Victor Krum. Yes, THE Victor Krum. I don't want to seem rude or put it out in the open, but I'm reading, and I would love it if you would just go away." She said.
Draco pulled open his book. "Well then, I am reading too. And yes, I'm staying right here." He said.
Hermione glanced over at him, where he sat comfortably beside her reading. He was farther ahead in the book than she was, and she was a little confused on why he was trying to make conversation.
"So what do you like most about the book?" Draco asked.
Hermione sighed. She had not completely finished the sentence she had been reading for the ten minutes he was annoying her. "Well, it would be great to know, if I actually had a chance to read the book." She said turning to him angrily.
"And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, what we all have been waiting for! When Hermione Granger snaps! Careful not to get too close, folks! She's angry." Draco said with another smirk.
Hermione sighed heavily and stood up. "So I guess I'm not going to get any reading in till after the wedding!" She said.
"Great," Draco said standing up, "before you can start reading I can tell you how it ends. Then you wont have to read it." He said.
"And ruin the ending? You must be crazy!" She said.
Draco laughed. "I see you got the point of me doing that."
"Oh, to annoy me? Agitate me? Get on my nerves and make me want to slap you across the face?" She asked.
Draco nodded. "But I guess you have to get all ready for Victor, seeing as though you will be on live in every Wizard network!"
"Yeah," Hermione said, "And you can watch and look at me all you want thinking of why you don't have me… And you never will."
Draco smirked. "Like I would want to Granger! I was only trying to be nice and make conversation." He said.
"Nice?" Hermione asked. "That's a word that I don't think is quite present in your vocabulary." She said smiling.
Draco smirked. "Sure." He said.
Hermione smiled. "I don't have time for your small talk." She said. "I'm leaving."
"Yeah, go make-out with lover boy!" He yelled after her as she turned on her heel.
Hermione walked quickly away and laughed to herself. He clearly enjoyed teasing her as much as she enjoyed teasing him. Draco could be completely harmless with his humour sometimes, and she had to admit that she enjoyed the times when he was.
Hermione had to admit that Draco was wrong though. She was not on her way to see Victor for the next little while. She was off to see how Harry and Ron were coming along, seeing as though they should be home by now.
Hermione knocked on Ron's door and he opened it, looking as though he was about to be sick.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.
Ron groaned. "Just wait till they tell you." He said.
Hermione walked in and looked at Ron in confusion. "Who?" She asked.
Sitting on the couch of Ron's comfortable home was Ginny and Harry, who looked quite pleased with themselves as they chatted about their day and looked deeply into each other's eyes.
Ginny was the first to notice that Hermione was standing uncomfortably in front of them.
"Sit down!" Ginny squealed. "Quickly! You will need your balance." She said.
Hermione sat in the armchair across from them as she looked at the two of them smile. Harry moved his hand down Ginny's arm and clutched her hand in his. She exchanged a loving look with Harry and then turned back to Hermione.
"All right, ready?" Ginny asked.
Hermione nodded. "I sure am." She said.
"Me and Ginny," Harry said pausing and looking at her.
"Well," Ginny said, "We have decided to get married!" She laughed.
"WHAT?" Hermione screamed. "Are you serious?" She asked.
Ginny nodded. "He proposed last night… down near the docks on a boat. Where he said he wanted to get married. Oh, it's a beautiful boat Hermione! A large cruise ship with everything you can imagine!" She said.
Hermione clasped her hand over her mouth. "No joke? Oh my god! Ginny, Harry… Its wonderful!" She said.
After a while of chatting with Harry and Ginny, and comforting Ron from the shock of his best friend and sister marrying, she decided that at 11:00 she should go home to Victor. She gave them all a hug and went on to surprising Victor with staying the night with him, something she had never done.
She came to the door, which she found locked. She opened it with the spare key he had given her in case of emergency and walked into the house. It was dark, and he must have been asleep considering the noise in the house, which was as silent as it could get.
Hermione went to the dressing room where she put on a satin red nightgown and brushed her hair through so that it rested down along her shoulders. She slid one of the spaghetti straps off her shoulder so that it hung loosely around her body. She was finally beginning to trust someone, and she was fairly ecstatic about it.
She walked up the staircase and over to his bedroom where she stood there listening to the silence from inside it. She wondered how she should wake him up, and if she would look good enough for him. She finally shook off all her thoughts and silently turned to knob as to not wake him before she was inside.
She stepped in and whispered, "Victor, hunny. It's me." She said, leaning her shoulder on the side of the door.
"Leeann?" Victor murmured.
"What?" Hermione asked, as she turned on the light.
She stumbled back to see Victor in the bed with another woman. She was lying on top of him, and they had their clothes off. She gasped and closed her eyes, trying to think of any possible way this could be a dream. She looked at the different ways she could think about it, and all she could think of was that there was no possible way to look around it. Her fiancé was in the bed with another woman, and there was no getting around it.
Hermione ran as far away as she could, down the hall and into the streets. She kept running, through the bustling cars and down to the park, where her legs finally collapsed and she sat near the pond in the dark loneliness of the night, crying.
"Well, its not regular for a person to be in the park in almost nothing at around one in the morning, crying." A voice behind her said.
"Oh my god, will you ever leave me alone?" Hermione said, wiping her tears and standing up.
She turned to Draco and sighed. Her hair was matted, her nightgown was ruffled and dirty, and her mascara was running. She shrugged and stared at him. Draco stood there, seeming to have gotten up from the bench he was on earlier, still with the same book in his hand.
"So what brings you here?" He asked her.
Hermione sat down again and looked at the pond as it rippled and showed reflections of the trees and moon in the water. "Nothing." She said. "And why do you read boring books in the dead of the night anyways?" She asked.
"Well," Draco said sitting beside her, "They aren't as boring as people make them up to be. And well, probably the same sort of reasons you are here."
Hermione laughed. "Oh yeah? I bet not." She said.
"Try me." Draco said.
"Okay." Hermione said looking over at him. "A cheating fiancé and no where to go because it was what you called home, even though you didn't live there. Then when you go to surprise him he calls you another name while he is in bed with someone else."
Draco looked out toward the black sky. "A family who kicks you out because you are against what they do, and then you have to find a home far away from them and you have no where to sleep. I guess standing up for what you think is right, leaves you homeless and hungry. But you know…" He said.
Hermione paused. "Really? What were you against?" She asked.
"Doesn't matter." Draco said. "All I know is that I'm going to be out of your hair soon enough. I'm leaving tomorrow." He said.
Hermione sighed. "Well, it wasn't the same problem." She said.
"It was in the same ball park." Draco said. "And anyways, I guess I owe you something. It was a bet."
Hermione laughed. "It's okay. I'm not sure what to do though… Everything seems so upside down." She said.
Draco looked over at her. "You okay?"
"Yeah. I just don't know who I am anymore." She said.
Draco laughed. "Easy enough. Your Hermione Granger. Smartest girl known to Hogwarts! The person nominated for most likely having the best job, and everything that goes with that! God, Hermione, we are only nineteen! Think of all of the opportunities!" Draco said. He took her hand and pulled her toward the water.
"Draco," Hermione laughed, "What are you doing?"
Draco sat with her close to the edge of the water. "Now, look in the water. What do you see?"
Hermione peered into the water. "I see Draco Malfoy, and a big hunk of nobody on the right." She said, hitting the water.
"No," Draco said pulling her hair behind her ears, and cupping her cheek in his hand. "I see someone much more than that. More like a really big block of nobody." He said smirking.
"Hey!" Hermione said, pushing him into the pond.
Draco fell onto his butt, staring at her with a smile. "I take it you see a bit more than a nobody?" He asked.
Hermione stood up and outstretched her hand to Draco. "Just a bit." She said.
Draco took her hand and brought himself up. He tugged on her hand, causing her to fall forward into the water.
"Hey!" Hermione laughed.
She tripped him and they both fell through the water laughing. They stood up, soaked. They looked around and found that the water reached up to just below Hermione's chest, and right above Draco's belly button.
Hermione pushed her wet hair back and allowed a couple strands to fall in her face. She laughed as Draco lost his balance and then fell back into the water; He gained it again and stood up smiling.
"Thanks, Draco." Hermione said.
Draco felt close to Hermione as he stood there admiring her in her wet nightgown and long hair. "It was all you, you know." He said.
"Yeah right." She said sarcastically.
He smiled and Hermione did something she never thought she would do to Draco. She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He smelled of mint and pepper, a smell that never drained. She felt him hug her back, after a slight moment of shock.
Hermione released him and smiled. He smiled back at her for a long time and then looked away.
"Well, bye." Draco said, walking out of the pond and twisting his shirt so that the water drops drained from it.
Hermione ran after him. "Wait! Um, will I see you again? Where are you going to stay the night?" She asked.
Draco bent down and picked up the book. "Hermione, I already told you that I'm leaving this place."
"Right now?" She asked, shaking her hair.
Draco nodded. "I'm on my way to pick up the tickets and then I'll wait there for a couple hours. Take the first flight out to wherever I decide to go." He said. "Bye, Hermione. I don't think I will ever see you again."
Hermione stopped. "You can't do that! You cant all of the sudden be all nice and then get up and leave! Seriously…" She said.
"Hermione, talking with you like that was something I have always wanted to do. And well, it looks like I am leaving. I have to. It's been nice while it has lasted." Draco said.
Hermione felt a lurch in her stomach as Draco picked up his suitcase. Did she really want him to not go, or was it the feeling of being alone that scared her the most? By the time Hermione looked up, Draco was already walking in the direction of the airport.
"Thanks again! For everything!" Hermione yelled after him.
Draco didn't look back. He didn't want to feel the need to stay where he was. He wanted to get away and stay away. He heard Hermiones words of thanks, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to look back at his life. He didn't want the pain.
A/N: Hey! I hoped you like it! It wasn't much, and I'm sorry it might have not been that interesting, but trust me, I just had to introduce most of it! PLEASE R/R. Tell me all about what you think! Please R/R
With Love,
Kit!