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A.N.- Italics are flashbacks.
Entering Planet Earth
Draco's P.O.V.
The twins grabbed my arms and marched me out of the room. I led them down the stairs and out to the coffee shop, where we could talk more about Armand privately.
"Is there anything else I should now about Armand?" I asked.
"He was very selfish with his toys," said one.
"He wouldn't even store them in the same drawer as ours," said the other. "I assume he'll act the same way around Hermione." When we had had lunch, I had notice that his arm was wrapped around Hermione. I also noticed an expression of distress in her eyes.
"To what extent would he go to keep Hermione with him?" I asked. She could be under a compulsion charm. I would have to ask Harry to check for signs of magic around her.
"I don't know. He always seemed," started the twin on the right.
"To get everything he wanted from Mum," finished the other. "She called him."
"A real charmer," interrupted the twin on the right.
"If he weren't a squib, I'd suspect a Compulsion Charm," I stated. The twins turned to give each other a cautious look.
"We never said he was a squib. We said," said the twin on the left.
"That he was practically a squib," continued the other, stressing the practically. "He stole Dad's wand once and he made us give him our desserts."
"So, he is good at compulsion charms," I inferred. The twins nodded.
"He started to be able to control people easily," said one twin.
"That could be why," continued the other.
"Do you see the couple walking down the street? That's them," I said, pointing at Hermione and Armand. One twin pursed his lips, the other's eyes narrowed. If they were one person, they would pass for Professor McGonagall. Hermione caught sight of me, and waved. I waved back. Even from a distance, I could tell that Armand was tense. "What do you boys think of an introduction?" With a grimace, both twins nodded stiffly.
"Hey Rebecca, Drew, I want you to meet two friends of mine. This is Fred," I said.
"Actually, I'm George. The ugly guy over there is Fred," said George.
"Oi! I'm handsomer than you!" yelled Fred.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," said George, rolling his eyes at his twin.
"It's nice to see you again, Armand," said Fred.
"My husband's name is Drew," said Hermione, turning towards Armand.
"Maybe we should all go inside. We all have a lot to explain," said Armand. Once we were inside, he began to tell his story. "After I fell from the broomstick, I could scarcely move. I managed to drag myself into the cave we had explored the day before. I figured the two of you would look for me there. When you didn't, I realized that you would never really care what happened to me, so I started walking. I was walking by the road when Nana picked me up."
"She brought me here, to this house, and raised me as her own," he continued. "I received a letter from Hogwarts, but declined. I didn't want to see you again. I lived as a Muggle until Rebecca wandered into my backyard, almost dead."
Armand's P.O.V.
"Please, help me!" she said. I noticed the wand in her hand.
"You're a witch," I stated.
"Yes, cast a memory charm on me. I want to forget," she said. She taught me the motions and the words. Once I was performing to her satisfaction, I cast the charm on her.
"Rebecca, are you all right?" I said when she woke up. We had agreed to pretend that her name was Rebecca and that we were dating.
"To this very day," I finished, "I don't know what her real name is."
"Your name is Hermione," said Draco, addressing himself to the woman sitting next to me. "Hermione Granger. Would you like me to reverse the memory charm?"
Hermione looked at me with a desperate question in her eye.
"It's your life, your memories," I said. Hermione nodded at the blonde. Draco waved his wand and Hermione collapsed.
"She's going through all of her memories. She'll be out for a few hours. I'll carry her to her bed. I'm sure you three have a lot to catch up on," said Draco, scooping Hermione up.
"The bedroom is the third door on the left," I said, before turning to my triplets.
"Armand, we're sorry. Really, we thought," started Fred.
"We thought you were dead. Sorry," finished George.
"It's ok. I forgave you long ago, I just felt so abandoned then," I said.
Draco's P.O.V.
I laid Hermione down on the bed and pulled up a chair. I didn't want her to wake up alone and I would be intruding on the newly reunited family in the living room.
"Ron, Ron, please don't," she moaned in her sleep. "Please don't leave. I'm trapped. Please stay! Stay!" I knew that she would recover her memories in reverse order. It was the final battle; she was trapped under a boulder.
"Ron!" she yelled out, not knowing that I was there. I wore Death Eaters robes, but I was a spy. Harry told me after I reported back to him to hide in the Forbidden Forest so I wouldn't be killed. I levitated the boulder off of Hermione, expecting her to run back into battle. She plunged into the woods.
"Hermione, what are you doing? What kind of Gryffindor bravery is this?" I asked when I caught up to her.
"I don't want to die." She turned from me, and fled farther into the woods. I didn't follow.
"Draco, don't do this. Tell him you're trying to get closer to Harry through me," she said.
It was seventh year and it was snowing outside. I had asked Hermione to meet me in the Heads Common Room. A fire was blazing merrily in the fireplace, but I was cold.
"Draco? What is it?" she asked me, obviously full of concern. I handed her a letter from my father. She read it carefully.
"I think we should split up. I don't want to place your life in danger," I said.
"Draco, this isn't the only way."
"It is Hermione, I've thought of everything. It's the only way to keep you safe."
"Don't do this to me, to us. You could tell him that you're trying to get closer to Harry," she said.
"Mia, he has Pansy working on that through Ron." She looked at me with her large brown eyes and I felt my reason for being melt away.
"I understand. We could keep it hidden." I was so tired. She looked tired.
"Hermione, my occulmency isn't so good, neither is yours. Snape would find out and then where would we be?"
"Draco, this isn't the end. After the war…"
"No, this is the end. If one of us were to die in the final battle," I paused. "It's to be next week. He told me he would kill you himself. Hermione, if you died, I wouldn't be able to live. We can't keep going on with this. It's too dangerous."
"You're probably right. But I wish there was a way," she smiled at me, before walking out of the room.
"DRACO! Watch out!" yelled Hermione.
"Are you two okay in there?" asked Armand, who had come to the door.
"Yea, just remembering," I replied.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense," said Armand. "Hey, can you tell Hermione that I'm sorry? Thanks. This letter should explain everything." Armand ruffled around in his bedside table and drew out an envelope.
"I'll make sure she gets it when she wakes up," I told him. The redhead left the room. I felt a tingling in my gut, always a bad sign.
I was sitting by the lake, watching Hermione teach some first years how to ice-skate. I had just sent a letter to my father explaining why I was dating Hermione. She helped me write it the night before in the Common Room. One of the first years tripped and began sobbing. She looked over at me.
"DRACO! Watch out!" she yelled. I whipped around and saw several Slytherins attempting to sneak up on me. I cast a shield charm, while Hermione stunned them one by one from the lake.
"Hey guys, we'll continue this ice skating lesson later," she said. The first years trundled off. "Timmy, can you make it to the Hospital Wing or do you want me to walk with you?"
"I can go," said the first year, before following his classmates into the warm castle.
"As for you, you follow me," ordered Hermione after waking them. All the kindness evaporated from her voice as she addressed my fellow Slytherins. "Draco, you bring up the rear, make sure nobody tries anything." She lead the group to Dumbledore's office, recounted what had happened and then headed to the Hospital Wing to check on Timmy. I watched her close the door, before beginning to tell the same tale from my perspective.
"Draco, please, don't, no, stop, stop," she said, smiling.
It was November and all the trees were stripped of their leaves. It was getting colder, but winter hadn't truly begun yet. I stepped out of the shower after a long and arduous Quidditch match against Ravenclaw. The Seeker that replaced Cho Chang was fantastic. They nearly won, but Crabbe, our new beater, aimed a bludger at him just before he reached the illusive ball.
I had left my wand on my bedside table, so I didn't dry my hair. I stepped out of the bathroom. A pillow fell on my head. It was the old pillow from the couch and it was ripped. The feathers stuck to my wet hair.
"HERMIONE," I bellowed at my girlfriend, who was giggling on the couch. She summoned and repaired the pillow. I ran over to her as she was finishing and began tickling her.
"Draco, please," she said, gasping for breath amid loud laughter. "Don't, no, stop, stop." I gave in to her pleas and stopped tickling her. We spent the rest of the evening in each other's arms.
"Of course, I will," said Hermione.
It was reaching the end of October; Hermione and I weren't dating yet. We had finished planning the Halloween Ball the night before.
"Hermione, will you go to the ball with me?" I asked one morning before breakfast.
"Of course, I will," she replied. "Dumbledore asked us to promote inter-house unity."
"No, I meant," I said, feeling a light blush tinge my pale cheeks. "Will you go with me because you want to?"
"Of course, I will," she echoed.
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