Book of Cherished Flames
"Well, well, well. It's our very own Mudblood bookworm in, what other place, but the library. How…sickening," Draco Malfoy joked, sauntering up to Hermione Granger, who had snapped her head up at the voice coming toward her.
Ignoring he and his sniggering oafs following him, she almost immediately downcast her face to her book.
Malfoy raised his eyebrows amusingly, surprised by her lack of vocal response, and tried another tactic.
"What would you do if something ever…happened to one of your precious books, Granger? Would you throw a fit? Cry, maybe? I think all of Slytherin would love to see that, a Mudblood crying over a stupid book!"
He, Crabbe, and Goyle laughed, but Hermione merely gave one quick glance upwards before being just as quickly attracted to the words on the page once again.
Malfoy was tried of being aggravate by this lesser girl; that was his job, to annoy her, not the other way around!
In an effort to win back dominance, he snatched the book from her hands; instantaneously, she jumped up and climbed across the table to get to him, which did startle him…just a little.
"Give that back right now, Malfoy! Give it back!" She cried as it was thrown between the three Slytherins, and Hermione had no choice but to simply jump and strain to retrieve it, having left her wand back in the Common Room, as she had not expected to need it on a peaceful trip to the library…
As today was the middle of the weekend and also a day of rest for the staff, not one person was in the library with them, not even Madam Pince. Therefore, Hermione was alone with the three Muggleborn-hating troublemakers, much to her dismay, and with two heavy disadvantages toying with her, she and her book were at their mercy.
Finally, she became fed up with their childish behavior, throwing her book around like it was a ball in Transfiguration rather than a delicate work of art, and let loose.
"DRACO MALFOY!!" The boy stopped dead in his place, as did the others, and gazed at her with wide eyes. Now they were in trouble. "You have absolutely no right to take that from me! It was a Christmas present from Harry! Now, for goodness sake, give it back and act your age!"
Her face, which had been classified as loathing and infuriated before, quickly transformed to a very uneasy white. Her eyes widened with horror as Malfoy's expression turned mischeviously malevolent, his own eyes narrowing as if he'd just read between the lines of a storybook.
"So…" He tossed the book up once, again, and then held it, the letters on its front spelling out the title, New Theory of Numerology, for the first time, gleaming silver in the light that streamed in through the windows. He looked from the words to her curiously. "Scar-Face gave this to you, eh? Mind telling me what makes that so special, Granger? Do you have feelings for him, Mudblood?"
Hermione stiffened and subconsciously took a half-step back, her face appearing as if she were about to be sick if she so much as opened her mouth to breathe.
"I…um…I…" Her cheeks highlighted pink, she could say nothing more as her heart was palpitated wrenchingly. Malfoy's eyes widened for an instant, but then narrowed as a new strategy formed in his mind.
He peered at the book again, scathingly this time, as if just the idea of Harry's hands touching it made him want to drop it and run from the room…but he didn't. Keeping his eyes on it, he said,
"Well, if this is from Potter, all the more reason to destroy it! Ha! Ha!" He threw the book up and cried, "Incendio!"
"No!" But Hermione was too late; the book burst into flames the next second and came down upon one of the large wooden tables, beginning to burn it, too, as the leather-bound reader incinerated.
Without a second thought, Hermione lunged forward and thrust her hand into the flames, her panic and loyalty clouding her better judgment.
Her senses kicked in again soon enough, but she continued to reach for the book, only letting out a mostly muffled scream as the first wave of pain rippled through her.
She tried her best to fight the tears that were intent on falling, but more than a few of them did escape as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the intense hurting.
Her hand was burning severely and she knew it, but she would not let that book burn to resemble firewood remnants; she couldn't. Because it had been a gift from Harry, it was, for her, as though it were a connection to him, a part of him that she couldn't live without.
The hurt that had seared through her before was now just a numb memory, and her hand was almost a blur through the different hues of the fire as she strained to rescue the smoldering mound of pages.
The whole while, Malfoy and his entire gang (Pansy had joined them after Hermione's shriek had sounded) were watching her risk her hand, and soon to be arm, for a book of all things; it had been given to her out of the hands of Pot-Head, no less!
Malfoy's eyes, in particular, were incredibly huge, realizing that his supposed-to-be joke from before had actually been correct…
Flashback
"Mind telling me what makes that so special, Granger? Do you have feelings for him, Mudblood?"
"I…um…I…"
End Flashback
It seemed impossible to him, being born of such a rich, high-society family, that a Mudblood and a famous wizard, best friend of the dirty-blooded filth, could ever combine in real love and be one.
But as he observed the girl now, fighting for something that appeared so trivial to him, yet so precious to her, he feverishly found it was not unbelievable…because he believed.
When he at last took hold of reality again, he was amazed to see her nearing the book; just a few more inches, and it would be hers once again. However, what really took his notice was the condition of her hand.
It was obvious that the injury was already far past third-degree, and he was blatantly surprised she hadn't lost that limb yet, as it seemed that merely one layer of skin remained before the inner bones, muscles, and blood was exposed.
As his eyes scanned her up and down, he found that her body was not in the best condition either: her hair and robes were sticking to her heavily perspirating body due to the heat, and he could see that she was having quite a hard time breathing through the sky-high temperature.
Yet, she would never give up.
A/N: Please tell me what you thought in a review! Thanks! By the way, can you guess the book, and/or part of that book, on which this story is based?
