Disclaimer: I own nothing. (sniff sniff) It all belongs to J. K. Rowling.
A/N: I am so sorry that I haven't updated in forever. There have been so many things going on at school and here at home. Hopefully I can get back in the swing of updating and I'll have the chapters posted sooner.
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Guide Me Chapter 10: Midnight Attack"Miss Granger, it is urgent that you get up immediately." Professor McGonagall said shaking Hermione frantically.
"What time is it?" Hermione said groggily.
She opened her eyes.
"Professor McGonagall what's wrong?" Hermione asked alarmed. It was the middle of the night and McGonagall looked very worried.
"Get Mr. Malfoy and report to the Great Hall immediately. I must wake up the Gryffindors."
"But Professor, what's going on?" Hermione asked. She didn't like the way McGonagall was acting. It was scaring her.
"There has been a death-eater attack in Hogsmeade." McGonagall said, then she turned and left to go wake up the Gryffindors.
Hermione was shocked. Death-eater attacks going on right outside of school?
She got up and ran to Draco's room. He was sleeping soundly when she started shaking him frantically, trying desperately to wake him up. Draco slowly began to wake up.
"Hermione, what is it? It can't possibly be time to get up. Can it?" Draco asked groggily, sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes. Hermione was trying frantically to pull him out of bed.
"Draco, we have to go. There's been an attack in Hogsmeade." Hermione said, still trying to get Draco out of bed.
"There's been a what?" Draco asked, hardly believing what he was hearing.
"A Death-Eater attack. In Hogsmeade, come on." Hermione said, finally succeeding in pulling him out of bed. She grabbed his hand and together they ran out of the room.
On the way to the Great Hall, they meet up with Harry, Ron, and Ginny.
"Have you heard?" asked Ron. "There's been an attack."
"No, really Ron? Why else would I be up in the middle of the night, running to the Great Hall?" Hermione was truly amazed at how dense Ron could be sometimes.
The Great Hall was already crowded with students by the time they arrived. The tables had been pushed against the walls and instead, there were sleeping bags o the floor.
Dumbledore stood at the front of the Hall, and immediately, everyone grew silent.
"Don't panic." Dumbledore said gently. "You have nothing to worry about. We'll tell you everything you need to know in the morning. For now, just try to get some sleep." Hermione couldn't believe how calm Dumbledore was. Was he not the least bit concern that there was an attack going on right outside the castle gates?
"Look, there's a couple of empty sleeping bags over there." Ginny pointed out. The five of them grabbed five sleeping bags and drug them off into a corner.
Hermione tried to go back to sleep, but she couldn't. She lay on the floor for what seemed like hours staring at the ceiling, which had been enchanted to look like the night sky. All around her, students were falling asleep and snoring, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get to sleep. She turned over to face Draco.
"Draco, are you asleep?" she whispered.
"No." he replied turning over in the direction Hermione's voice had come from.
"I can't sleep." Hermione said. "I'm too worried."
"Here, give me your hand." Draco said holding out his hand. Hermione laid her hand in Draco's and he began to stroke it with his thumb. "Don't worry. Everything is going to be all right. I won't let anything bad happen to you." Draco said smiling.
Hermione felt a lot better. Just knowing that Draco was there with her, holding her hand comforted her.
"I love you Draco. I never thought I'd see the day when the two of us would be laying on the floor in the Great Hall holding hands saying 'I love you'." Hermione said.
"I know, it's weird. But it's a really good king of weird. Every time I'm around you I get this feeling that I've never felt before. No other girl has ever come close to making feel the things that I feel when I'm with you."
Hermione smiled. She loved being with Draco. She closed her eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.
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"Get up get up get up." Professor McGonagall said. She was waking all of the Gryffindors up.
Hermione opened her eyes and saw that the other three Heads were waking their houses up as well.
After all the students were awake, Dumbledore stood up at the front of the Hall.
" Good morning students. I hope you all had a pleasant sleep last night." Dumbledore said smiling.
All of the students looked around at each other. They wouldn't exactly call it a pleasant night's sleep.
"I would like for you all to go up to you dorms, get dressed, and then come back down for breakfast. Then we shall discuss the events that took place last night and also what will be happening in the future."
Hermione and Draco walked with Harry, Ron, and Ginny until they reached the corridor leading to Gryffindor Tower.
"See you guys later." Hermione said as the trio walked towards Gryffindor Tower.
"Bye Hermione . . . and Draco." Ron added after Ginny smacked him in the arm. He still couldn't get used to the idea of being nice to Draco.
Hermione and Draco hardly spoke on the way to the Heads' Dorms.
When they reached the portrait of the French Girl, Hermione gave her the password without realizing they had reached their destination. She was too busy thinking about what was going to happen now. Would school continue as normal? Would they close it down? And if they did, what would happen to Draco?
Hermione and Draco went their separate ways; she went to her room and he went to his. They got dressed and meet back in the common room.
"I wonder if Dumbledore will close the school down and send all the students home." Hermione thought out loud as they exited the Dorm.
"I don't have a home to go to." Draco said.
"What would you do, if Dumbledore sent us home."
"I don't know, I guess live at the school with Dumbledore like I did over the summer."
Hermione hated seeing Draco like this. He used to be a cocky, arrogant, Slytherin god that boasted on all the things his Death-Eater father bought him. But now, he was a mere shadow of the his former self. Befriending Gryffindors, relying on others for help, and the most shocking of all, falling for her, the bushy haired, buck-toothed, know it all Gryffindor.
"Draco, why don't you have a home to go to?"
"I didn't do what I was told, I didn't fulfill Voldemort's duty."
"Are you still—I mean—are you still a . . . a Death-Eater?"
Draco was silent for a while. Then he lifted his left sleeve, revealing a large scar.
"They burnt it off right before they . . . before they blinded me."
Hermione could tell that Draco was having difficulty talking about it so she didn't talk the rest of the way to the Great Hall.
Hermione and Draco were some of the last to make it back to the Great Hall.
"Draco, do you want to sit with us?" Hermione said. She knew that nobody talked to Draco at the Slytherin table, at least he'd have friends.
Draco nodded.
They receiveed lots of stares when Draco sat down at the Gryffindor table. They majority of the Hall immediately broke out into whispers.
"What's he doing here, he's a Slytherin?" Seamus asked angrily.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm sitting with my friends and my girlfriend." Draco snapped.
The Hall broke out into even more whispers after Draco said that. Hermione couldn't help but smile. Draco had said that if he could, he would tell the whole world about him and Hermione. He hadn't told the world, but he at least managed to let the entire school know.
Other than the students' whispering, starring, and pointing, the rest of breakfast went smoothly.
Dumbledore stood up at the staff table and the Hall immediately grew quiet.
"There was an attack, on Hogsmeade last night." Dumbledore said.
"Well duh." Ron said under his breath.
"Shhhh!" Hermione hissed.
Dumbledore continued. "Three people were killed and many more injured." Dumbledore paused. "A war has begun students, whether we like it or not."
The students began whispering frantically.
"Silence!" Dumbledore bellowed. "For you safety, the school has been closed. First through fourth years must go home immediately. I would like for all students, first through fourth years, to report to their dorms and begin packing. Your Head of House will tell you everything you need to know. I need to discuss a few things with my older students."
The first through fourth years began filing out of the Hall. Once they were all gone, Dumbledore started talking again.
"The majority of the students before me are mature and responsible young adults. That is why you all have the choice to stay and fight, or to go home along with the other students." Dumbledore paused again. "The Hogwarts' Express leaves today at noon. Your parents have all been notified of the situation. I hope you all think long and hard on this matter for it is a very important decision to make. If you choose to stay, you will be putting you life possibly on the line. It will not be an easy task. And for those of you who wish to return home, once you leave, there is no turning back. Actually, that goes for all of you, no matter what decision you make. Please notify your Head of House of the decision you make by 11:30." And Dumbledore sat down.
As soon as he was seated, the Hall erupted. Students were asking each other whether they were staying to fight, or going home with the younger students.
"I'm staying to fight." Harry said immediately. "There's no way I'm going back to the Dursley's and letting you all fight Voldemort without me."
"Me, too." Ron and Ginny said in unison.
"I'll stay." Hermione said after considering the alternate. "Draco?"
Everyone sitting around the group was curious to hear whether Draco was leaving or fighting. He really didn't have a choice though, but nobody else really knew that.
"I'm staying. Definitely." Draco added.
"If Hogwarts is shut down, that means there's no classes right?" Ron asked.
"Ron, I am amazed just how senseless you can be sometimes." Ginny said shaking her head disbelievingly at her brother.
After breakfast, Hermione and Draco went back to their common room.
"Draco, what's wrong? You've been unusually quiet since Dumbledore made that announcement at breakfast." Hermione said as they walked through the portrait hole.
"I've just been thinking." Draco said, still obviously deep in thought.
"About what?" Hermione asked grabbing Draco's forearm and forcing him to stop and talk to her.
"Well . . . how can I defend myself if I can't even see?"
Hermione thought for a minute.
"Well . . . just don't worry about it. I'll be right beside you the entire time."
Draco smiled. "I love you, Hermione." Draco said softly.
"I love you, too." Hermione said smiling. Then she kissed Draco softly on the lips.
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A/N: Well, I finally got the tenth chapter up. Yay me! I really am sorry about not updating sooner. I hate it, every time I get on the computer to write, something comes up and I have to put it on hold. Oh well, hopefully it won't be too long before I have the 11th chapter up.