She haunted his dreams at night, giving him no rest. He knew he wanted her, had wanted her for years. That want slowly turned into a sick obsession. He was purely and truly addicted to her and there was no escaping that. As these thoughts ran through his mind, the young blond sat and stared out of the window at the bleary and boring weather, eyes silvery and stormy as the skies with confusion.
From downstairs, he heard his aunt's mad laughter, and shivered, the woman had always given him the chills. Something truly evil must have happened for her to be this happy, something to restore the family honor. Honor was a pathetic word and he no longer had care for it, not after seeing what happened when his family lost it.
Without a knock his door swung open and he turned to see his mother, she looked burdened and older by the ordeal that their family was going through. She still held her cold regal appearance as she stated with simplicity, "You are needed downstairs, Draco."
Draco was nervous, knowing that the Dark Lord was still angered by his failure at killing Dumbledore. One more mistake could mean his entire family's death, a burden that he did not want on his shoulders. He found himself in the manor's main sitting room, with three quite dirty looking people before him. Quickly, he wiped all emotion from his face, suppressing the shock, his angel lie there on the floor, stunned, covered in dirt, and looking broken, along with Potter and Weasley.
"Draco," his aunt cooed, "Think very carefully... Is this the Potter boy and his two little friends?"
Potter's face was swollen, most likely thanks to a powerful stinging jinx cast by his angel, she was so smart. Draco leaned in, pretending to examine Potter, squinting and scrutinizing. If he played things right he could get them out safely.
"This isn't Potter, " Draco said with what he hoped was conviction is his voice.
Bellatrix however, was having none of it, she looked to Draco, madness in her eyes, "Are you sure?"
His father looked nervous, ever since his aunt had been tasked with the running of the household, he had taken to drinking and become a recluse. Today, with this decision before them, he looked even more nervous, since his son was the only one in the household who could properly recognize the three. If his son was right, honor would be restored, but if he was wrong, their family destroyed.
"Draco, you know what this could do for us if it is him and we present him to the Dark Lord." Narcissa stated, hope in her eyes for the first time in what seemed like forever to Draco.
"But if it is not him, the Dark Lord will be even more angered." Lucius stated dryly, staring at the three.
Draco weighed his options, locking eyes with Potter, his expression his silent apology, "This is definitely the Weasley boy... I'd heard rumors that he and Potter separated."
His angel appeared different, almost completely unrecognizable, but he would know that face anywhere. Her hair was short, a deep dark chocolate brown, and straight as an arrow. Her eyes were the same almond brown as always, but more full of worry than he had seen in years.
"I don't know who the girl is, perhaps I'll keep her for myself."
There was no protest from the three adults, and Bellatrix took his angel's wand from her captors and handed it to Draco so he could handle it. She was so cute as she sat there, seething at him quietly. Since he did not have much time, he turned his attention to Potter with a smirk on his face, "As for the ugly one, throw him and Weasley in the dungeons until the jinx wears off..."
Again there was no protest from the adults, and the boys were taken down into the cellar by Wormtail, who had been given to them by the Dark Lord as well.
Draco walked up to his angel, taking her forcefully by the arm and leading her up to his room. A quick silencing spell was cast at his door as he smirked, "Hello, Granger."
"What the hell do you think you are doing, Malfoy!"
"Keeping you safe for the moment. After dinner tonight, you, Potter and Weasley can leave."
"You knew? Why didn't you give us away then?" Granger asked, golden eyes full of shock.
"Of course I knew, Angel," Draco drawled, stalking closer to her, "Do I look stupid?"
"Angel?"
"Don't answer questions with questions. While you're here, you'll be posing as Angel Thornheart, a home-schooled pureblood. You won't be here long enough to have to worry about family history or mannerisms, so don't worry about it."
Draco paused, leaning down, mere centimeters from her face, smirking, "Or would you rather have me give you away and have you all dead, Angel?"
Granger gulped and his eyes were drawn to the pale skin that made up her neck, watching it as she spoke.
"No, but I don't understand why you of all people would do something like this."
"Because Granger, all that is gold does not glitter. You and your friends think I do this by choice. My father selfishly threw me in front of the Dark Lord at 16 to atone for sins he committed," Draco paused, taking in a few short breaths, "I've always been jealous of you, Weasley and Potter. What I've always wanted has been here right in front of me the whole time. Where I can see but can never reach.
Again her response was paused by a gulp, and hope lit a fire inside of him, were his deelings returned?
"And what have you always wanted?"
You, he thought, I've always wanted you. Yet aloud he said, "Friendship, love, a chance to be myself and not have to hide behind a foolish mask."
They did not have much time until dinner would start, and she would not be going there battered and covered in dirt and in near rags for clothing. She looked nice in her transfigured form, but he was not about to admit that aloud.
"Pinky, show Ms. Thornheart to the washroom and see to it that she bathes and dresses in the clothes provided." His voice was clear and calm, the calmest she'd ever heard him speak to a house-elf. She stared at him confused by his unusually kind demeanor, turning to look back at him as the elf guided her towards the washroom.
The bath was amazing, and almost as grand as the prefect's bathroom at Hogwarts. The bubbles were a mint green color and smelled of rosemary and peppermint. A strange sense of calm filled her as she entered the bath, her body relaxing in the warm water. Pinky gently washed her hair with a shampoo that smelled similar to the soaps that made the bath smell so rich and inviting, as the dirt eased off of her skin, giving it a gentle glow.
As she stepped out of the bath, she was wrapped in a soft green towel. She was then lead into a closet that was as big as her room in her parent's house and found her clothes. A deep green corseted dress with an open fronted skirt that ruffled and cascaded down, paired with some short green shorts to cover her thighs where the skirt did not. The shoes paired with it were heels, yet they were not too high and gave her the perfect height. She blushed as she was quickly dressed and then sat down in front of the mirror.
"Pinky what are you doing?"
"Your makeup, Miss... Is you angry at me?"
"No, I'm just not used to it, Pinky."
The elf was already working on her face, adding subtle tones and highlights, "Sorry Miss, the young Master was very specific in his instructions."
Draco leaned against the door frame, watching the two interact. She never spoke an unkind word to the elf even in her discomfort at being primped and fluffed up. She truly was an angel in human from. She was even more striking, the silvery eyeshadow over her golden eyes, making them glow and smoke, drawing out the color. If she had been a pureblood, a romance between them would have been possible. These thoughts saddened the Slytherin prince, his gray eyes clouding once more. He was pulled from his deep thoughts when Pinky turned her around, revealing her beauty. Her hair still too dark and too straight was made longer to match her fancy dress, her eyes locked upon him. Her striking appearance took control of the rhythm of his heart, making it beat faster.
He stepped towards her, taking what felt like an eternity to both of them to cross the room. Realization slowly came to him, this was nervousness, this was the feeling that others dreaded. Granger made him nervous, the thought was foolish, but there was no way to deny it. More proof was brought to him when he realized how shaky he was when he took her arm to lead her. If Draco was nervous, Hermione was a mess, dinner with the Malfoys was not on her list of things to do before she died. She knew that this dinner could very well lead to her death.
His appearance was sleek and refined, he looked good in gray and utilized that fact often. His hair was slightly messy but no where near Harry's messy mop. She could see why half of the girls at Hogwarts had a crush on him. His earlier words echoed through her mind, still haunting her, she couldn't believe that Draco had been jealous of Harry his whole life. She was slowly pulled back into reality when Draco pulled her chair out for her and motioned for her to sit down, being the gentleman he was raised to be.
Lucius wasted no time in pouring himself some fire whiskey, staring at the strange girl that had been brought to his his home, "Who are you?" he asked, his gray eyes mirrors of his son's straight on hers. He wasn't a Legimens and he wished that Snape had accepted his invitation to dinner.
"I am Angel Thornheart, I've been home-schooled since I was 10."
Lucius arched a brow, but did not question her story, the Thornhearts had a tradition of home-schooling their children. Those children grew up to be monsters, extremely talented in the magical arts. It was rumored that they could even use elemental magic.
Dinner went forward without a hitch, but Draco and Hermione were not worried about dinner, they were worried for what was to go down afterwords. As Bellatrix turned and bent to open the cellar, Hermione whipped out her wand, quickly casting, "Flipendo!" The spell sent Bellatrix crashing to the floor, rendering her unconscious.
Lucius's reaction to draw out his wand was slow, being that he was drunk, but Narcissa was uninhibited. "Stupefy!" the older woman cried, but the spell was cut off by an impediamenta cast by her own son.
Hermione returned Narcissa's spell with a confundus charm, leaving Draco to deal with Lucius. Draco did what he wanted to do for years and pointed his wand at his father, "Don't move."
Lucius froze, staring at his son, never had such an act of defiance been committed. He'd never heard his son speak so coldly, not even about Harry Potter.
Hermione went to the cellar, opening it, but was met with the ugly face of Peter Pettigrew. She raised her wand, glaring down at him, "Move before I make you move, Pettigrew."
The rat moved to grab her, but she would not let him, with malicious intent in her voice, she said calmly, "Petrificus Totalus."
Draco froze, never believing his angel could be so harsh or cruel, but he kept most of his focus upon his father.
Hermione swept down the stairs, opening the door to find Harry, Luna, Ollivander and Ron, all of whom were being held prisoner by the Malfoys.
"Come on boys.. We don't have much time."
"'Mione?" Both of them asked, staring at her transfigured form and new clothes.
She ignored the question and tossed both of them their wands, which she had found on Pettigrew after incapacitating him.
Draco heard all of them coming out of the cellar, raising their wands at Lucius as well. He frowned slightly, taking a page form Hermione's book, "Flipendo." He cast at his father, sending him flying backwards, yet not knocking him unconscious.
`Lucius however was smart and pretended to be unconscious, hearing what happened next.
"Draco, you can come with us... It's your choice, you can have what you've always wanted.." Her angelic voice was full of hope.
And Draco knew that she was being honest, he could hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes. The boys didn't object, she must have told them the truth in the cellar.
And finally, Draco stepped into the light, but Harry Potter was not his savior, Hermione Granger was.