Note from Quaffle: And you berate me for making things difficult Snitch? The hypocrisy is despicable. What about what you've just done? I may have been the one to make Hermione walk out of the room and away from Draco, but you're the one who just went ahead and had her walk out on him completely! What's to become of our beloved couple now? Well obviously this relationship can't just end in silence, so let me see what new events I can conjure up…
Chapter seven
Too much to handle
Draco felt terrible. It was already four days ago that it had happened. And it had happened so fast… one moment he and Hermione had been snuggling, and the next she had walked out the door. And was it all because he wouldn't tell her what he was working on? It was something he had to keep to himself, couldn't she understand that? It was an important task, one that had been entrusted to him alone.
He wanted to prove his worth, and he had to do it for his family…
If only Hermione knew what he was going through, but he couldn't tell her. If he told her… it would all be over.
The moment she walked out the door, Draco had felt like a strong hand had taken hold of his heart, squeezing. It had been days since this incident, and Draco couldn't bear it. He had to talk to her, he had to make her understand. But she wouldn't let him near her, so what was he going to do? How could he corner her without being seen when her friends were always around?
"Hermione what's wrong?" Ginny asked, following her into the dormitory. "You look so sulky…"
"Do I?" Said Hermione, trying to sound genuinely surprised. Ginny was always quick to pick up on her friend's mood swings, and Hermione wasn't surprised at all that she confronted her with it. They had always talked about everything, but this was something she couldn't tell Ginny about. Besides, she and Draco were over. Why would she risk her friendship with Ginny over an ex boyfriend?
He had hardly been a boyfriend to begin with; they never got much farther than making out...
"Yes you do." Ginny said.
"Oh? Well I'm perfectly fine, so don't worry. I am a bit tired though, maybe that's what you saw."
Ginny looked at her sceptically. "You're not having another row with Ron are you? I swear that boy has got to go get himself a brain some time."
Hermione huffed in agreement. "Right you are. But I didn't have a row with him."
"Then what is it Hermione? You're sulking and I know it."
"I'm fine, really!"
Ginny looked at her for a moment longer. It was obvious she didn't believe her. "Well…" She said. "…tell me when you're ready." And then she walked out the door.
Hermione felt guilty, but it was for the best.
Another potions lesson came to pass. Hermione now dreaded every class she shared with Draco. Whenever he could risk it, he would quickly glance at her, silently begging her to meet him and talk to him. And she would do everything she could not to meet his eyes. That way it would be easier for him too. She didn't want to make it extra hard on him by giving him hope, even though he had hurt her by not confiding in her. She wanted him to forget about her as quickly as he could so he could be happy again.
This lesson they were to make a potion called 'memoriam effluosis.' It was a potion that could bring back old forgotten memories, often from your youth. It was very hard to make, and it was perhaps not a very useful potion; random old memories popping up was not particularly helpful for anything, but it was fun nonetheless. They all had to sample their neighbour's potion after it was finished. As usual, most people had failed in successfully making it, and the results were quite amusing. When Harry sipped some of Ron's potion, he started remembering all sorts of things that he was quite sure he had never experienced, from eating a living frog to taking over the country with his political prowess and natural charm.
"It looks like you've used an excessive amount of Ginko Biloba. It'sa brain stimulant, essential for the potion to work, but the amount you seem to have put in was simply too much for the brain to handle. As you can see, Harry's brain got too much stimulation, causing him to 'remember' things that weren't real." Said Slughorn as he evaluated the results of Rons's potion.
Of course Harry's potion was made perfectly, thanks to the Half-blood Prince, and when Hermione took a sip, long forgotten memories immediately started resurfacing. She remembered sitting in a pushchair, being pushed by her mother on a sunny day on the market. She remembered recording silly conversations with a tape recorder with friends. She remembered being wrongly accused of bullying someone at school when she was ten, and being punished for it. It was quite fun really, Hermione got a very nostalgic feeling from all those memories.
The bell rang, and everyone started filing out, heading towards the great hall for lunch. "I'm going to the library guys, I'll see you after our free period." Hermione said to Harry and Ron. "Aren't you going to have lunch first?" Asked Harry.
"No, I'm not really hungry."
It was true. She hadn't been very hungry at all lately, with all those worries on her mind. She started walking in the direction of the library, her mind still lingering on her long lost memories. Suddenly she was pulled out of thought and into an empty classroom by a strong hand. Before she knew what was going on, she was standing in front of Draco, who looked at her with an expression that was unfamiliar to her; a mix of fear and frustration.
"Hermione…" He said. "…what is going on? Why won't you talk to me?"
Hermione was stunned by the abruptness of the whole situation. She just stared at him.
"Hermione I'm sorry that I can't tell you what that thing is that I'm working on, but don't you think it's a little over the top to just walk out on me and stop talking to me the way you did? Can't we at least talk about this?"
Now Hermione got a little angry. "Talk about it? Talk about what, exactly? If you won't tell me your 'big secret,' then what is there to talk about?"
"Well you could at least hear me out about why I can't tell you about it. Maybe I've got a very good reason for it!" Draco retorted, getting a little heated himself.
"I'm listening…" Hermione said angrily.
Draco remained silent for a moment, thinking about how to explain himself.
"I can't tell you because… it's something really important to me and… it's something I need to do alone, something I need to keep to myself until it's finished. Besides… if I told you… I don't think you would understand."
Hermione looked utterly unimpressed. "Right… something you need to keep to yourself… thát I already knew." She said, gesturing wildly in her still mounting anger.
"And something that I wouldn't understand? You think that's a good enough reason to hide it from me? That's not the way it works Draco! You can't keep things from me just because I wouldn't understand!"
Draco huffed. 'Well…" He said crossly. "…what do you want me to do then?"
Hermione looked as though he just said something really stupid. "I thought I made that pretty clear. If you're going to hide things from me, then it's over. I can't be with you like this Draco. I want you to tell me right now, or else I'll walk right back out that door, just like last time."
There was turmoil in Draco's eyes, and Hermione could see it. She could see he was considering it, but that it was a very difficult decision for him. 'Maybe I shouldn't even bother to wait for this. If it costs him that much effort to tell me, he might as well forget about it. I need him to be able to be honest with me.'
She was about to turn around and walk away, but her inner voice was not done talking yet. 'But maybe I should give him a chance. I care about him so much, I shouldn't give up on him that easily. Let's at least give him this chance…'
Draco had turned his back towards her, his fists were balled, and it was as though the decision cost him physical strength. Then he turned around abruptly. "Fine." He said. "I'll tell you."
Hermione sat down on a table, and Draco did the same, sitting opposite her.
"It's a job I'm doing…" He said, his voice now calm and almost embarrassed, as though any moment he expected her to slap him for what he was about to say.
"It's for the Dark Lord…"
Hermione's heart skipped a beat, no, a dozen… "What?" She said in disbelief. Her voice shook.
"My father's in prison and… he failed the Dark Lord… so the Dark Lord wants me to do something for him now."
Hermione covered her mouth with her hand, shocked. "Draco…" She said. "Draco you mustn't…"
"I have to Hermione." Draco said sternly.
"No you don't!" Hermione replied immediately. "You don't have to do something just because he tells you to. You can refuse. I know it's scary but… Dumbledore will keep you safe, I know he will… if you don't refuse him now you'll get caught up in this forever Draco… if you don't…"
"I have to do it Hermione!" Draco yelled desperately, standing up. He started pacing back and forth in front of her.
"I have to do it! If I don't, he'll kill my family!" Hermione was shocked once again. She stood up too, tears forming in her eyes. "Oh my god… Draco…" She whispered. She slowly started walking towards him, but he took a few steps back. And then he spoke five devastating words:
"I have to kill Dumbledore."
Hermione's heart froze over and she stopped dead in her tracks. 'This is a joke. This is a nightmare. This is anything but real.'
"I have to kill Dumbledore, or the Dark Lord kills my family… I don't have a choice."
As all the blood left her face, Hermione felt a strange sense of numbness. 'This is definitely not real.'
Extra note from Quaffle: There, let's see how you handle this, Snitch! #Laughs wickedly#
P.S.: Sorry that I took a while on this chapter, but still, it was only a few days… Also, Snitch won't be home for a while, what was it, a week? So unfortunately you won't see a new chapter until after she gets back. Sorry once again…
