Disclaimer: I do not own or take credit for any of J.K.R's Harry Potter characters or ideas used in this fanfic. Anything mentioned in this about HP or J.K.R is not mine. The whole thing is basically about the Harry Potter series or JKR and I own nothing.
Heartless
Chapter Eight
Hermione Granger.
.
And I've lost who I am
And I can't understand
Why my heart is so broken
Rejecting your love
Without love gone wrong
Lifeless words carry on
But I know, all I know
Is that the end's beginning
I will not be silenced
All this time spent in vain
Wasted years, wasted gain
All is lost, hope remains
And this war's not over
- Shattered; Trading Yesterday
.
'What the hell is he doing here?' Ron shouted angrily, attracting the attention of every single passer by and shooting daggers at Draco, Luna and Hermione.
...
'Shut up Ronald!' Hermione snarled angrily at Ron, watching as he flinched like she had reached out and slapped him again. 'If anybody should be asking that question it's us, asking what you're doing here!'
Ron choked back a furious laugh, 'me? Why shouldn't I be here? I certainly have more of a right to be then he does.'
'At this point Ron, I really beg to differ. You've been nothing but unkind to me, Luna and even Harry lately. I don't know what's gotten into you. You're not the same lately. Your cruel and unkind.'
'Well if that's what you think, I'll just leave shall I?'
'Maybe you should…' Hermione said, her words peppered with venom and laced with sadness.
'I've lost my appetite now anyway.' Ron snapped, doing a perfect imitation of Malfoy's old sneer that he used to pull out whenever he wasn't getting his own way.
And then Ron turned on his heel and stormed off back up the staircase, dashing out of sight before she even had time to call after him.
Hermione shook her head angrily and then turned back to her friends. She wasn't surprised to see them fawning over Malfoy, more worried about Draco's feeling then Ronald's. After all, they were all used to Ron's jealous outbursts by now. Ginny more then anyone else.
'I'm sorry my brothers such a git.' Ginny was saying while Harry shook his head angrily. She could tell that both of them were as over Ron's attitude as she was.
'Yes, he's a very touchy person at times. But I'm sure he'll come round.' Luna reassured the blonde.
'Tha…Thank you for that. H-Hermione.' Draco muttered quietly. She noted how he said her name tentatively, as thought trying it out. Why was he so afraid to use her name?
Hermione smiled at the uncomfortable looking boy. A lot has changed, she thought. Just the other year neither would have dared speak to each other and now they were on a first name basis.
'After you, Draco.' Hermione said, gesturing for Draco to follow Luna into the hall and over to the Gryffindor table. Their flight was met with curious eyes and open stares, even some looks of disgust, but Hermione ignored every single one of them, moving to walk next to Draco so that she could distract him from his surroundings.
'Ignore them.' She leant over, whispering to him as they walked. Right now would not be a good time for the old Draco's personality to rear his head, so she wanted to keep him as pacified as possible without having madam Pomfrey sedate him.
A few days ago, Hermione would have been startled to see Draco look at her as he was doing now. Like he was seeing her through new eyes and in a new light. But right now it seemed like the most normal thing in the world.
She was saddened to think that Draco was now a shadow of his former self. She was literally watching people who had once claimed to be his friends, turn their back on him and shun him like he was nothing but dirt. And that thought made her suddenly very angry and she gripped Draco's arm a little tighter then was strictly necessary.
He gave her a questioning look, but soon thought better of it and concentrated on making his way, with her help, over to the hushed Gryffindor table.
'Granger, I'm really not welcome here…' He muttered, leaning down a little to speak quietly in her ear just as they reached the table.
Hermione gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile and guided him to a seat next to her. 'Just relax. We're only eating dinner. And besides, Ginny perfected wordless spells last week so I doubt anybody would be likely to mess with you while she's sitting here.'
Both Draco and Hermione glanced over at Ginny. The girl was taking a seat opposite them at the table, chatting happily with Luna. Hermione could tell that Draco didn't think much of Ginny, but he would take that back if only he could see her cast a wordless Levicorpus and lift someone into the air by their ankles like she had done to the two Slytherin boys harassing a tiny first year Hufflepuff last week.
Hermione plonked herself down on the bench next to Draco and set about choosing her food. Tonight she was strangely in the mood for chicken. So chicken and mash potato with gravy it was.
She raised a slice of chicken speared on her fork to her mouth about to take a bite of it when she noticed Draco sitting awkwardly, elbows plated on the table and his eyes downcast.
'Not hungry?' Hermione asked, lowering her fork back down to her plate and turning to face Draco so that she could look at him properly. Now that they were sitting under the warm glow of the hall's thousand floating candles, she could see how drawn and pale the boy looked. In fact, he looked sick like he hadn't seen sunlight for months. And she supposed he hadn't, what with holing himself up in that little room of his since school started up again. But hopefully, she, Luna, Ginny, Harry and hopefully Ron, could change that.
She felt like she was committing to a project that would change somebody for the better. And she liked that thought. She was well aware that Draco Malfoy was not anybody's experiment or test-rat, but still it felt good to have a purpose again.
'Err, bit too nerv… yeah exactly, I'm not hungry.' Draco sighed, catching his slip up before it was too late.
'You should eat something you know. If your going to join us for a bit of after dark quidditch later then your going to need your strength.'
'Am I?' Draco looked at Hermione in amazement, like nobody had ever asked him to join a game before.
Hermione rolled her eyes. 'Of course you are. Our whole group gets together once a week and plays. And now that means you do as well.' She smiled sweetly at him and was happy to see him smile timidly back.
Well this was certainly not the Draco Malfoy she was used to; but she could get used to this new one without a doubt.
'That would be good. I haven't played quidditch in so long. I've practically forgotten how to.'
Both Hermione and Draco laughed quietly at this.
'Quidditch tonight, Draco?' Harry asked from across the table, hearing Hermione's words and attracting the attention of everyone in their close-knit little group who were curious about his answer.
Hermione couldn't keep the small smile of happiness off of her lips. She was so glad that Harry and everyone else had taken what Luna said to heart and fully invested himself or herself in helping Draco. She was so proud of Harry. Because both she and Luna had known, that if Harry accepted someone, everyone else was likely to follow willingly.
Draco nodded his head as he raised a fork full of gravy-smeared vegetables to his mouth and took a bite. Clearly he was trying his best to overcome his nerves and apprehension and now that was easier because he could see that the group was sincere and meant him no harm.
The group around them nodded and smiled in agreement. So far all of them were taking their new addition into the group with a sense of grace and kindness that the war had taught them to afford people.
'Did you end up finishing that transfiguration essay you were writing in the library?' Draco leant over and asked Hermione quietly.
She shook her head in disappointment. She had been rather looking forward to turning that in tomorrow, completely finished two weeks earlier then it was actually due. 'Extenuating circumstances meant I barely even got two pages written.' She smiled, inclining her head first in Harry's direction and then in Draco's.
'Sorry about distracting you earlier. Thought you ought to know that your friends were looking for you though.'
Hermione shrugged, 'I'm glad you did. If you hadn't then maybe we wouldn't be eating dinner together now. And that would be a shame.'
Draco seemed to consider her words for a moment. 'After the game, we could work on them together? I still have mine due.' He suggested submissively, like he couldn't decide whether his suggestion was a good idea or a bad one.
Hermione didn't want to commit herself to too much right away. After all, in the last seven years she had bitten off far more then she could ever chew, and this year was supposed to be the time to let the past settle and digest before she launched into anything that would set her on a new course or tie her down.
'We'll see what time it is when the game finished. Sometimes Harry manages to keep the game going for hours.' She laughed, trying to keep the obligation and dedication out of her words as she changed the subject.
Draco seemed pacified by her answer, because a few seconds later her defied his nerves and turned his attention back to shovelling mash potato into his mouth.
Hermione watched him eat out of the corner of her eye and thought back that one time this year when she had seen him sitting in the hall eating breakfast. Of course, that was before the guy had been bombarded with all the bollocks some of the students could muster.
She took in the clean-shaven cut of his chiselled jaw and the long thick eyelashes that grazed the top of his flawless pale cheek lovingly. She watched his sculpted lips part and close as he ate and the delicate way in which his tongue would sometimes flick out to snag the stray spot of potato or gravy that had attached itself to his lip.
But it was the scalpel silver eyes that really captured her attention. To say that they were grey or blue would have been a miscalculation, but to say they were purely silver would be conceited. They were a mix of the three, blended together to create a steely gaze that shone as brightly as polished silverware. She had never seen anything like them and that was what enticed her.
She broke her gaze away, worried about where her thoughts were heading. She had never thought about people in terms of beauty and looks before, and she wasn't about to start now. That just wasn't who she was.
''Mione, Are you going to play tonight?' Ginny asked for the thousandth time this year, even though she already knew the answer.
'Ginny, I never play. I don't like flying. I'll keep score like always.' Hermione rolled her eyes and stabbed another piece of chicken with her fork before popping it into her mouth.
Tonight was going to be a pleasant dinner. So far neither Ronald nor Harry had asked for her help with homework, so she figured she had got off scott free.
And then she realized that she had jinxed herself because –
'Hey, 'Mione… I don't suppose you could give me a hand with that Transfiguration essay tomorrow could you?' Harry asked sheepishly, blinking at her with those puppy dog eyes from across the table.
She sighed and shook her head with a smile. 'Fine. But only because you're so busy with the quidditch team. But from now on you can do the rest of your assessments by yourself.'
Harry grinned and blew her a kiss. She watched Ginny and Luna laugh at Harry's goofy antics and then she felt herself being drawn in to listen to a silly joke Neville was telling, just a few people down.
And then it happened.
Out of nowhere somebody shrieked "Traitor", but she couldn't tell whether the voice was male or female. And then a wordless spell hit Draco from behind, throwing him forward onto the Gryffindor table and binding his body with invisible bonds as the caster put him under the Petrificus Totalus body-bind spell.
A hush fell over the crowd in the hall and if a pin had been dropped, it would have echoed in the eerie silence.
Hermione's body froze for a moment and she couldn't think straight as she watched as Draco's stiff, vulnerable body was levitated into the air and he was dangled upside down, much to the ridicule of every Slytherin student in sight.
And then her senses kicked in and her body registers basic Auror training and she, along with Harry, Ginny, Luna, and Neville sprung quickly into action.
They jumped up from the table, wands drawn and pointing menacingly in the direction of the Slytherin table, from which the spell had surely originated.
A delighted, high-pitched laugh, which set the tiny hairs on Hermione's arms on edge, erupted from the packed Slytherin table.
And Hermione recognized that cackle immediately. It was Pansy Parkinson's old lump of a sidekick, Daphne Greengrass. But strangely enough, Parkinson was absent.
Daphne's eyes shone wild with excitement in the dim light of the hall, and Hermione felt sick just looking at the girl. It brought back those disgusting, painful memories that she had tried to squash of the Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange and her feral look of exhilaration as she tortured her victims.
Harry, Ginny, Luna, Neville and Hermione moved in unison to point their wands at every vital point of Greengrass's body.
She had just broken an unspoken rule. You never, never under any circumstances assaulted, whether verbally or physically, the friend of another. Even if they are your enemy. Because guaranteed, the person you hurt had friends who could hurt you much worse.
And she knew that she was sharing that same thought with her friends as they banded together against Draco's attacker. He was their friend and he was part of their group now. And friends protected friends. That was a valuable lesson she had learnt so many years ago.
'Expelliarmus!' Harry and Hermione both roared at the same time, pointing their wands at the Slytherin girl's exposed chest.
The force of their combined spells hit Greengrass with such power, that she was not only disarmed, but also thrown backwards into the stone wall, where she fell to the floor in a crumpled heap.
As Greengrass's hex broke, the spells lifted from Draco and he fell from the air and crashed to the cold floor, landing on his arm with a sickening crunch and emitting a dull thud as his head hit the side of the wooden bench and he was knocked unconscious.
Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Luna and Neville stared in horror as blood began to seep from a deep gash in the side of Draco's head, staining his wheat blonde hair red.
Hermione heard herself scream for somebody to call Madame Pomfrey immediately as she crouched beside the boy and watched haplessly as the tiny bit of colour drained from Draco's cheeks.
The blood pooled around his head and soaked his shoulders and robes right through, seeping deep into the cracks of the floor and staining the stone as a reminder of what had happened.
She was vaguely aware of students deserting their half eaten dinners and either running from the hall in a commotion or curiously gathering around the scene to get a better look at the wounded boy.
And then Dumbledore's voice trounced the rest, his bellow echoing around the castle as he rounded up the laughing Slytherin's and sent the rest of the watching students to their dormitories, accompanied by the swarms of staff that rushed down from the high table. She couldn't understand why nobody had stepped in sooner to prevent this. Could it have been prevented? If it hadn't happened now, perhaps it would have happened later when Draco was alone with nobody to defend him. And that thought sicked her so much that bile actually rose in her throat. But she swallowed it back down as Harry knelt beside her.
Her thoughts were all a jumble, but one stood out in particular. Why was she so vested in making sure her sworn enemy of seven years was protected?
Hello :)
Well that was rather exciting, wasn't it? It was for me anyway.
So, Ronald is a total git isn't he? Personally, I had to restrain myself from jumping up and down screaming "Go Hermione" when she owned him at the start. Sorry if you're a Ron fan.
All right, so next chapter is my surprise chapter and I think your going to like it! But whether or not I put it out depends on your responses to this chapter, so comment/review away haha.
As I was writing this I was watching the Live streaming of the last ever Harry Potter premiere in Trafalgar Square and bawling my eyes out. A month after the last HP film is released, my childhood ends. Quite literally because I turn 18. So this is an emotional one for me. Long Live PotterUntil The Very End!
Comment/Review/Inbox me!
Love,
R. xx
