Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and the song 'Because of You' belongs to Kelly and her producers.
A/N: Wow! lots of guesses. Might I say that HgBookworm has almost got it. Good job! Well, here is another chapter for you, and thanks to the wonderful reviews you sent me.
Chapter 7:
Hermione sat in the library humming to herself as she looked up some things for an essay. Finding nothing in the book, she closed it and put it back. She moved to another book and looked through it. She continued this process and occasionally wrote something for her essay.
"Hi 'Mione."
She turned to see the owner of the voice. "Oh, hi Harry. Hi Ron."
Harry looked at Ron and he nodded. Hermione watched the two with a suspicious look. Then Harry said, "Hermione, can we show you something?"
"Sure." she answered and got up grabbing her bag and parchment.
Harry, Ron and Hermione walked for a few minutes before they came to a stop in front of a door. Ron opened it and lead Hermione inside, to her horror, Malfoy was waiting for them. "Ah, Potter, Weasley, about time."
Hermione turned to look at the two of them then turned to leave, they stopped her by putting their arms around her middle and pushing her back into the room. "Harry! Ron! Let me go! I don't want to be here anymore."
"Sorry Mione. But, you need to talk to him." Ron said, struggling to keep her from leaving.
"I don't want to talk to him!" she said trying to get out the door again.
"I got her wand." Harry said pushing her from around the middle. "Come on Ron." Having defeated her, they walked out and locked the door.
She stood staring at the door. Then turned to face him. Disgust and hurt showing in her face. "Is this some kind of sick joke? Because its not funny."
"No. No joke." he answered softly.
"Right. So that is why my two best friends have locked me in a room with you?" she asked crossing her arms.
"I know. You don't want to talk to me, you don't even want to see me, but, please hear me out, I..."
"No! I don't want to hear you out! I don't want anything to do with you, you slimey, lousy, lying, unfaithful creep!"
He stared at her. She turned to the door, trying the doorknob. "Harry! Ron! Let me out! This is not funny!"
"Your right its not funny. That's why we need to talk." Malfoy said.
"Harry! Open this door!" she continued, banging on the door and shouting.
"No! Not until you talk to him!" she heard him say from the other side.
"Fine! You want me to talk to him! I will! After you open this door!" she yelled at him.
"Nice try Mione. But we're not falling for it." she heard Ron say.
"Ugh!" she through herself against the door, tears falling from her eyes.
He watched her, tears falling. Walking forward, he picked her up off the floor after throwing herself at the door. He held onto her, letting her cry onto his shoulder. "Please, you have to forgive me. I didn't realize how much it hurt you, not until the talent show. That was when you opened my eyes." he said softly, lifting her head up so he was looking at her face and not her hair. Finally realize what was happening, she push him away.
"You didn't know how much it hurt me! Oh please!" she said through sobs. "You don't realize anything but your ego and yourself! I don't even know why I even said yes to you! What was I thinking! Sure I thought that you changed, but I was wrong!"
"No your not! I have changed." he said placing his hands on her upper arms.
Shrugging them off she said, "So that is why you cheated on me! With three different girls Malfoy! Three! And one of them being Pansy!"
He looked down to the floor, then whispered, "I know. I was having doubts."
She looked at him, her eyes blurred from her tears, "Doubts?" she choked.
"Yes." he whispered.
"About what?" He was silent. "Malfoy?"
"About me loving you." he finally answered.
She stared at him. Disbelief hitting her. "Y-you, l-loving me?"
"Yes." he answered looking up into her eyes.
Her tears started falling heavier, shaking her head, she tried the doorknob again, but to find it still locked. Sinking to the floor, sobbing. "How can you have doubts about loving me? All I did was love you, and then you say you had doubts." she cried.
He watched her, knowing that she had probably heard enough. He was about to yell to Potter to let her out when the unthinkable happened. From her spot on the floor, he heard her choke out "I loved you. I always have." then passed out.
"Potter! Open the damn door!" he yelled rushing forward to Hermione.
As told Harry opened the door, but to hit something, blocking it from opening. "Hey! Careful!" he heard Malfoy say from the floor. "Okay."
Harry opened it all the way, to reveal Hermione passed out on the floor and Malfoy leaning over her. "What'd you do?"
"What makes you think I did Potter!" he spat back. "She passed out."
"But how could she pass out?" Ron asked.
"I have no clue Weasley!" Malfoy answered, picking Hermione up. "I'm taking her to the Hospital Wing."
3 hours later, Malfoy was still sitting in the Hospital Wing, waiting for Hermione to wake up. Slowly nodding off to sleep. His eyes opened when he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Standing at the end of Hermione's bed was Dumbledore. "Mr. Malfoy, have you been here the whole time?"
"Yeah." he answered with a yawn.
"You missed dinner." Dumbledore stated.
"I know."
"Mr. Malfoy, can I have a word with you?" he asked.
Malfoy looked at him funny, the last time Dumbledore asked that question, he found out about Hermione and other things. Slowly he stood, "Sure."
Beaming Dumbledore led them out into the corridor. When the door closed behind them he spoke, "Well, I feel I have to confess something to you Mr. Malfoy."
Curiously Malfoy watched the old coot. What would he have to confess? And to me as a matter of fact?
"Mr. Malfoy, you remember the night of the talent show? Of course you do, well, when I ran into you in the corridor, I was planning something." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. "After talking to you and getting the answers I needed, I turned the staff and said to them 'Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger have most of you for teachers. You often have your students working in partners. So, in the event of pairing them, I want you to pair Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger together.' They asked questions of course. Wanting to know why I wanted you two to be paired. So I told them, and they agreed. Though Professor Snape was a little reluctant, he agreed in the end."
Malfoy stood listening to Dumbledore closely, then asked, "Sir, why are you telling me this?"
"I tell you this Mr. Malfoy is because, I see the hurt in Miss Granger's eyes. You want her back. So, basically, if you two were paired all the time, then maybe you could resolve the problems between the two of you and move on. I know you both still love each other." Dumbledore told him.
Malfoy couldn't move, Dumbledore was helping them. The old coot was helping him, Draco Malfoy, get Hermione to forgive him. And he was using her best friends to help him. Maybe bring Potter and Weasley into it was a bad idea, maybe, giving her time and space is a better choice.
"So, answer this, please. What are you going to do? Because it is all up to you, I am not going to meddle in things that aren't to be meddled in. This is your choice." Dumbledore said calmly, turning to leave, then turning back, "And using Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley is not the answer. Good-night." and disappeared down the hall.
Malfoy stood thinking to himself, He's right, the old fool is right. Using Potter and Weasley is a bad choice. I guess, the only choice I have is...
Hermione slowly opened her eyes, Where am I? she thought to herself. Looking around, she noticed she was in the hospital wing. She was trying to remember how she got here or anything that would have explained how she got here. Through all her thinking she still couldn't remember, carefully sitting up she noticed a figure sleeping in the chair by her bed. Immediately she thought it was Harry, or it could have been Ron. But as she looked closer, she saw that she was wrong with both conclusions. Her eyes caught the blonde hair as the head leaned slightly to the left. She knew by the blonde hair that it wasn't Harry or Ron, but that it was Malfoy.
Suddenly as if time raced backwards, which she knew what was like, Hermione began to remember what happened to make her end up in the hospital wing. Shaking, she tried not to believe it. She tried to not believe that she had said it. "I didn't say it. I didn't say it." she whispered to herself over and over. Tears rolling down her cheeks, she looked back up at Malfoy, she looked up at the man that she felt she didn't love anymore, the man that she believed she hated, the man that she would never forgive, the man that meant the world to her. Looking at him, his eyes closed, his hair messed up, and a smirk not spread across his face, she knew that hating him was not something she wanted to do, because hating him was the most exhausting thing in her life, and she didn't want to hate him anymore.
As her tears fell and landed in her lap, all the hate and agony that she felt towards him slowly departed. She knew that the man sitting next to her, was a man that was not proud of what he did, was not proud of lying, and was not proud of leaving her unhappy and distraught. Hermione knew what she had to do. And doing this could affect them both. She had to do it, she couldn't go back, she needed to end the agony, the unhappiness, the distraught ness, and most of all end the most exhausting thing in her life, she needed to end the hate. And by ending all of that, could only leave her clear to start over. Start over with someone she hoped would come with her.
Well, I need you to review. I need to know if this chapter was a flunker, or if the chapter was okay. Please review. Mess531y.
