Disclaimer: We do not own any of these characters, if we did perhaps Draco and Hermione would have ended up together... But seeing as they did not, JK Rowling owns them.
Chapter One~ Grey Eyes, Puzzles and Mockingbirds
He knew the day had been coming... It was inevitable. But until he saw her standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by all her bridesmaids, dressed in her white dress, he hadn't really believed she was marrying him... Draco Malfoy, of all people. He hadn't really understood it then and he was still struggling to understand it. Until three years ago they hadn't really gotten along... Well that was an understatement. Harry supposed things had started to change in Sixth Year... At least that's what Draco had told him. But how much of what Draco had said could be true? He took a deep breath and knocked on the already open door.
"Hermione?" She turned around to look at him, her Stella York wedding dress twirling around with her, a radiant smile on her face. The dress was strapless and white with a long, tulle princess skirt. The intricately beaded belt that hugged her waist at Draco's insistence that Malfoy women must have some sparkle was the only glitzy accessory on the dress and the utter simplicity of it took his breath away; it was absolutely perfect for her. Her hair was twisted into an elegant knot, not unlike the one she had worn at the Yule Ball so many years ago. But the smile on her face was ten times brighter than it had ever been in Fourth Year. After all, she was getting married to her 'true love' today. Well, that's what he hoped.
"How do I look, Harry?" He didn't think her smile could get any wider.
"Draco's really lucky." He grinned.
"You really think so? Because Ron never liked my hair like this... He said it made my head look too small..." Her smile lost some of it's radiance at the mention of their estranged friend.
"Ron doesn't know what he's missing." Hermione turned away from him to face herself in the mirror one last time, biting her lip nervously.
"Don't worry Hermione." He reassured her. "You're making the right decision. You always do."
"I know." She smiled. "I'm always right." She winked at him.
"Okay then." He laughed as he offered her his arm. "Let's go, we shouldn't keep Draco waiting, it's a known fact that Malfoy's aren't very patient people... Perhaps you could be the one to change that." Hermione laughed, her eyes shining. The pair began to walk down the hallway to the adjoining room outside the church's main doors.
"Harry," Hermione began causally, "You're his best man, so you should know this... Does he look nice?" He smiled to himself.
"Hermione, I think only you or a gay man would be able to determine that. And, might I add, I'm not gay." Hermione laughed at her best friend's words.
"Let's go get me married."
The doors were opened, revealing the large, crowded church. "Harry? Harry!" She frantically felt around for his hand.
"Hermione," he whispered. "I'm right here beside you. He's right there waiting for you. You're right here, and everything is going to be perfect." He grasped her hand tightly and began to walk her towards the large, wooden doors that barred the way to the aisle. She peeked around the door, looking away from the crowd for the very first time and up to Draco. Grey eyes met brown, and suddenly she was taken back to the first time their eyes had really met. It had been Sixth Year in the Great Hall, during breakfast one morning. She had been trying to avoid Cormac Mclaggen's wandering eye when instead, she had caught his.
Sixth Year, Great Hall
His eyes had always been the same shade of intense grey. Always. So why did they seem so different all of a sudden? Why was it that whenever their eyes met she felt something other than the desire to strangle him? It didn't make any sense... He was the boy who had caused her teeth to grow, the one she had punched in Third Year. He was the boy who had given her so much grief about being a Muggleborn, about being ugly. So why did she feel so beautiful when he looked at her like that? A smile tugged at the corners his mouth and he didn't even try to hide it. He would have tried to hide it before. Her thoughts concerning Draco Malfoy were shattered when Ron began tugging profusely at her sleeve.
"Hermione! What in Merlin's name are you doing!?" He cried. His face was beginning to turn a blotchy shade of red that matched his hair.
"I was trying to think of all the homework I have to do tonight, before you interrupted me." She snapped, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
"You're lying to me, Hermione. I saw you looking at Draco Malfoy." He leaned in, "I saw that look he gave you, that look you gave him. Don't pretend." She set her jaw, and leaned in as well.
"I won't pretend if you won't."
"What are you talking about?" He hissed, through clenched teeth.
"Don't pretend to have a say in my love life, don't pretend that I really care what you think. And don't pretend that I like Draco Malfoy."
"Hey!" Harry had leaned his head in, joining their ridiculous powwow. "Uh guys, people are looking, so maybe we could go somewhere else to talk about this-" Hermione interrupted him.
"Never mind, I'm going to the library." Hermione snapped her book shut and ran from the Great Hall. Neither her, Harry nor Ron noticed the pair of silver eyes that followed her retreating form.
"Harry?" She whispered, leaning her head slightly against his shoulder. "Do you think Ron will come today? I mean, I didn't invite him... But do you think he might come anyway?" She tried to keep her voice from shaking. After all, what did she care if Ronald Weasley did or didn't come to her wedding?
"Hermione, this is Ron we're talking about. I wouldn't think so. He would never come to congratulate his enemy on marrying the girl he loved." Hermione nodded, and pulled away, looking back into Draco's grey eyes. Memories began to resurface. She remembered that day so vividly... Her and Ron had had another fight, resulting in yet another shouting match, Ron making out with Lavender Brown yet again, and Hermione's tears, once more. Normally their disagreements concerned homework, Ron's emotional constipation, Qudditch, Lavender Brown, Crookshanks, Viktor Krum and many other trivial matters. Though, at the time, they had seemed so important...
This fight had been different, and Hermione and Ron's relationship had never been the same after. Ron had been carrying on about Draco Malfoy and all his petty crimes. Quite honestly, she had had enough. She snapped. She felt that Draco needed someone on his side, for once. So she had defended him. She never regretted doing so and she had never apologized to Ron. She blinked and the church was once again transformed into Hogwarts.
Sixth Year, Stairwell
"Granger?" The brunette looked up, hastily wiping away the tears that streaked her face. "Have you been crying?" His voice was unnaturally soft.
"If you've come here to gloat, Malfoy, fine. Go ahead... Congratulations, you've won."
"Actually, I'm not here to gloat, believe it or not." She raised an eyebrow.
"I don't.
"Figures." He shrugged and sat down on the stone steps beside her. A moment of silence passed between the two before Draco spoke again. Hermione was surprised that the silence wasn't an uncomfortable silence.
"I heard what you said to Weasel back there..." She sighed, looking down at her hands which were intwined in her lap.
"I said a lot of things to Ronald back there... You're going to have to be more specific."
"You said that I wasn't a bad person." His swirling grey eyes penetrated hers. Hermione was quite for a moment. "Did you mean it?" Hermione paused, considering her answer.
"I don't believe that anyone is a bad person... Yes, some people, including yourself, have made bad decisions in the past that put not only themselves at risk, but others too... And yes, some people have done terrible things... But that doesn't make them evil... I believe that everyone deserves a second chance."
"Even me?" His voice was small. Hermione smiled slightly.
"Yes, Malfoy. Even you."
Draco didn't understand it. For years, he had gone out of his way to make this girl's life a living hell... This was the girl whose teeth he had caused to grow abnormally large in Second Year... This was the girl who he had once hoped would be tortured by Death Eaters at the World Cup... This was the girl that he called Mudblood at least once a week... This was the girl who he never passed up a chance to send a jinx her way or knock her books over. And here she was telling him that he wasn't a bad person. How could this girl be so incredibly good?
"How do you do it?"
"Do what? She looked over at him.
"Not hate me."
"I've never hated anyone, Draco."
"But I've been horrible to you... I- I wanted you to be tortured once..."
"Why?" Her question startled him.
"I- I don't know..." He admitted.
"Am I really that terrible?" She paused, watching his pale face. "Yes," she admitted, "There have been many times where I have had to repress the strong desire to throttle you or punch your pale, pointed face." Draco laughed at this.
"Well as I recall, you did once."
"You were being a prat!" Draco's lips turned upwards into what could have been a smile.
"You're right," he admitted. "I was being a prat... And I deserved a slap in the face."
"Did you hate me after that?" She asked. Draco chuckled slightly.
"Quite the opposite really... I admired what you did."
"Really? You admired me when I punched you in the face?" Draco shrugged.
"You surprised me." Hermione looked over at him. "What?" He shifted under her gaze.
"You're very strange, Draco Malfoy..."
"Strange?"
"You're a mystery to me, a puzzle that I can't quite solve."
"Well," Draco quipped. "You let me know when you figure me out."
"Would you let me?" Hermione asked. "Figure you out, I mean?" Her chestnut brown eyes searched for something in his piercing grey eyes. Draco thought for a moment.
"Perhaps."
The stairwell fell silent once more.
"I don't want to be the reason you and Weasley never speak again..." Draco said, avoiding her eyes.
"You're not the only reason, Malfoy." Hermione sighed. "A fight like this was bound to happen anyway... You were just the catalyst." Tears began to prick at the corners of her eyes once more. Draco glanced over at her.
"He's not worth your tears, Hermione... He doesn't deserve you."
"What did you just say?"
"I said that he doesn't deserve you-"
"No, before that. You said my name... You said Hermione."
Draco rose to his feet, looking down at her. "Well what else am I supposed to call you? That is your name, is it not?" Hermione gaped at the man standing in front of her. She was beyond disbelief.
"I'll see you around... Hermione." She thought she caught the ghost of a smile flicker across his face before he disappeared.
There was once a time that Draco's eyes had been hazy, unfocused. There were times were his eyes were wild and terrified, like a caged animal's. And there were many times in Sixth Year that his eyes hardened like steel, becoming cold and unforgiving, filled with fury. She remembered the day that his swirling silver eyes had glistened with unshed tears... There had been no malice in his eyes that day, only heart-wrenching brokenness, fear and vulnerability. Draco Malfoy was exceptionally skilled at hiding his emotions, maintaining a poker face and his cool, indifferent facade. Professor Trewelany had once said that eyes were like windows to the soul... Hermione begrudgingly admitted that this was true.. It was his eyes that had always betrayed him.
His eyes danced with unrestrained happiness today. No longer were they glittering with malice. They were bright and beautiful. Yet, there laid a haunting darkness. The darkness had been repressed, but she knew that it would never vanish. It had been a part of him, what he had done would never go away...
Sixth Year, Room of Requirement
She had been in the Room of Requirement for hours. It was the one place in the entire castle that she could really think. When he first came in, she stayed silent, hoping that he would leave soon. But that just wasn't the case.
When he pulled the drape off the Vanishing Cabinet, she covered her mouth with her hand, stifling her gasp of horror. It wasn't possible... The Cabinet resided in Borgin & Burkes. She had seen it before the school term began whilst following Draco. The man in question gently placed something into the cabinet and closed the doors, resting his head against the door. With great caution she crept forward, unsure of her intentions.
"Draco?" Her voice was higher than normal. He whirled around at the sound of her voice, panic stricken.
"Granger?" He growled. "What are you doing here?" He calmed down slightly, but his shoulders remained tense.
"I uh, I come here to think sometimes..."
"You shouldn't be here." He answered gruffly, turning away from her.
"You're here." She stated, inching closer.
"Well, I don't have a choice." He snapped.
"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" She asked him curiously. He moved his pale hand in front of the cabinet lock, almost as if he was guarding whatever lay inside.
"Nothing." He glared at her. "I come here to think." Hermione nodded, skeptical.
A sudden whisper from inside the cabinet broke the stillness of the room.
"What was that? Just your mind thinking a loud?" She teased.
"Get out." He hissed, his eyes flashing.
"I'm not leaving." She crossed her arms across her chest defiantly.
"No?" His voice was dangerously soft.
"I want to see what's in that cabinet..."
"Stay out of it, Granger." His hands curled into fists at his side.
"Why?" She cried out. "What are you so afraid that I'll find out about?" Draco lunged forward, slamming her back into the cabinet, his body pressed against hers, his hands on either side of her head, preventing her escape.
"Don't you dare presume me to be afraid." He spat. The word tasted like poison in his mouth. "Perhaps I'll send you to the other side next time..." Hermione's eyes widened in fear.
"The other side?" Horrific realization washed over her.
"I'd be doing the world a favor, anyway," he continued thoughtfully. "No one would miss a know-it-all Muggleborn..." So there was a twin cabinet... There was a pathway from Borgin & Burkes that led straight into the heart of Hogwarts...
"For God's sake, Malfoy!" She cried, tears filling her hazelnut eyes as she struggled against him. "Just open the damn door!"
"No!" The was a tone of finality in his voice. Hermione was sure there would be a bruise on her back come tomorrow morning.
"Stop it," She whimpered. "You're hurting me."
He leant down, his breath caressing the shell of her ear, sending shivers down her spine. "Leave, Granger," he hissed. Hermione's heart raced at his sheer closeness.
"No. I want to see what's inside." Hermione pushed him away from her with all her strength and whirled around, fiddling with the ancient lock. A thrill of terror raced through her body when she finally succeeded in unlocking the cabinet.
"Hermione, no!" The wooden doors opened with a resounding crash.
"Oh, Draco." Her eyes remained fixated in horror on the dead bird lying limply within the cabinet. "What have you done?" She whispered. He shook his head frantically, willing the tears to go away.
"Draco, please," she begged. "Please don't tell me that this is nothing. It is something if that lifeless bird was alive not five minutes ago... Did you do this?"
"I didn't kill it. I can't kill it. How could I? It's innocent, defenseless... But it's my fault that this mockingbird will never sing again." His voice broke. "I'm weak." He had begun to shake.
"Relinquishing the power that you hold over a living creature, whether it be a man or a tiny mockingbird is not weak, Draco. That's strength."
"I think he would disagree, don't you?"
"Where did you send it?" She asked him softly. His beautiful, haunting, silver eyes looked like a shattered mirror.
"I think you know..." He chuckled darkly. "You're too smart for your own good, Hermione Granger."
"You sent the bird to Borgin & Burkes, didn't you?" Draco remained silent. "And there was someone on the other side waiting, wasn't there? To verify that the bird made it through safety... By killing the mockingbird he or she told you with not so many words that it had worked..."
"Please don't tell anyone." He sobbed, sinking to the ground.
"No, no." She knelt down in front of him, taking his head in her hands and drew him close, holding him. "This stays here. All of it. What you say to me, what I say to you, and most of all, this thing that you are doing. I don't want to know what you're doing, I don't care. But I do care about you, Draco. You need to leave this behind you. This will be the biggest mistake of your life... and it's consequences? Draco, the consequences of this mistake will be deadly. Please avoid it... I- I don't want you to die." She reached out and grasped his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "If you care about anything or anyone at all, than you will leave this all here, while you still have the chance." She began to walk towards the door.
"If I left this all behind, Hermione- would this new world, would it include having you?" She stayed facing the doors, her hand brushing the brass doorknob, allowing herself a small smile.
"Perhaps," she whispered, not looking back.
"Hey, Hermione?"
"Yeah, Harry?" She whispered back, clearly distracted. Her best friend paused.
"Do you really love him?" The question snapped her back to reality. This was the question she had been waiting for. Everyone else had already asked her. Everyone but him.
"I really love him. I love the way he makes me feel. I love the way he makes me laugh. I love the way he looks at me. I love talking to him. I am in love with him. He is a good man, Harry. He makes me so happy, so alive."
"A good man with lots of mistakes." He mumbled.
"There will never be a perfect guy, Harry. Every good man comes with his own baggage. It's just a matter of if you're willing to accept all that baggage."
"And are you, Hermione?"
"Yes." The finality in her voice booked no room for argument.
"He treats you well? Like a princess?"
"Harry, this is Malfoy we're talking about... I have been spoiled beyond measure. He's treated me better than anyone ever has." Harry shot her a pointed look. "Other than you of course."
"You love him?"
"Yes, Harry. I really do." She smiled that same small smile. She had finally achieved her ultimate goal: earning Draco Malfoy's love.
Author's Note: Love it, like it or hate it, please give us some feedback! We always love hearing from our readers and your reviews motivate us to update faster! Constructive criticism is welcome, but we ask that flames be kept to yourselves... If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all :) This is our first Dramione fanfic that we are doing together (we have previously co-authored 2 Percy Jackson fanfictions) and we are very excited about this story! This story will most likely be a three-shot (with perhaps a fourth chapter for "deleted scenes") outlining significant moments from Draco and Hermione's Sixth Year, Seventh Year and "Eighth Year." Please R&R!
~Katherine and Kathleen
(2OwlsaTweeting)