With All My Heart, Forever

THE WEASEL AND THE FERRET

'BLOODY FUCKING DAMNIT WEASEL!' Draco ran his hand over the bottom of his nose, feeling the warm blood ooze out of his nostril. As a reflex he shoved his plate to the side of the table, causing it to shatter after it touched the ground. With his Seeker speed he hurled across the table to grab Ron by the collar with his free hand, inching closer and about to strangle him.

'Draco, don't' Hermione begged, feeling slightly intimidated by Draco's sudden burst of anger.

'Get your hand off me bloody ferret!' Ron barked. He struggled to pull himself away, but his recent recovery haven't allowed him optimum levels of strength yet, and Draco was strong.

Malfoy tightened his grip around Ron's collar and started choking him single-handedly. Although Draco had to lean over the table to reach Ron, along with being restrained by Hermione, he managed to start choking Ron by the neck.

'Malfoy, let him go,' Harry said forcefully, but it was ignored by Draco.

'Stop it! Draco, just stop it. Draco!' Hermione shouted and yanked at Draco's arm but he didn't budge. His grey eyes looked menacing as they pierced through Ron's blue ones, ignoring the pain of the blood trickling down his nose.

'Malfoy, let Ron go! MALFOY!' Hermione screamed, and Draco hesitantly let go of Ron, sensing pain in Hermione's voice. Ron's face was red from the blood rush and he was coughing from the lack of oxygen. Draco turned to look at Hermione who had panicked to the extent that she had actually started crying. The actions of the Slytherin scaring her to the bone.

Draco sat back down to blow of some steam, avoiding any eye contact with the ginger bitch. He only stopped because he was scaring Hermione, and he didn't want to see her sad because he was having a fight with her fucking friends. He looked over to Hermione, who was glancing over at Ron now, to see if he was alright. She dared not make a move to approach him, because she would be backfired with the 'I told you so' look in his enraged face.

'You see what I fucking mean,-' Ron intended to continue but was stopped by Harry, shaking his head no towards him. The situation was too delicate, and since it ended, it better not start again. Ron forcefully stood up, kicking his chair back and causing it to let out a loud scrape as it was dragged against the floor, he slammed his hands against the table and went up to his room, shoving past Harry.

' `Mione, sort Malfoy out, I'll try to get through to Ron.' Harry read Draco's mind before he had time to act, and went up the stairs to settle his best friend.

'That slimy git, bloody asshole, fucking ginger.' Draco stood up while swearing under his breath, ready to retrieve his wand from his pocket when he felt Hermione placed a hand over his. She stood up in front of him, shaking her head no while looking deep into his eyes, hoping that he would understand the situation. After all, his nose was still broken, and who could say no to those beautiful sad eyes of hers. She had no words at all for Malfoy.

'Fine. Only because I've outgrown that sad excuse of a human being,' Draco replied, saying it especially loud just so that Ron could hear it.

Episky!' Hermione muttered, and with a loud crack, Draco's nose was back in place. He screwed his eyes shut and shook his head with the sudden relief from the pain.

'Thanks Granger,' he mumbled, eyes fixed on the staircase where Ron had just went up a few moments ago. Hermione wiped her tears away, sitting down silently next to Draco to continue her breakfast. She didn't know what to say to him, whether to scold him for his actions, or not. He was just angry that Ron hit him, but he was pretty intimidating when he was angry.

'So, Weasley has a thing for you huh?' Draco rested his head against his palm, elbow on the table so that he could face Hermione as she tried to avoid his eye contact while she was eating.

'He's just being protective,' she mumbled softly, not intending to continue the conversation. After all she was still disappointed in his actions.

'No, Potter is protective. Weasel is plain jealous, of me.' Draco smirked, eyeing Granger to see her response. Hermione blinked at the plate of pie in front of her, unsure of how to respond to him. She had to admit that she did have feelings for Ronald, and she certainly did miss him, but she didn't like it when he was being all sour and angry. In a flash all the tension dissipated, and apparently they were back to normal again.

'And why would he be jealous of you?' Hermione raised an eyebrow at Malfoy, expecting a solid answer from his previous statement.

'Well, look at me Granger, isn't it obvious why any guy would be jealous of me?' Draco waggled his eyebrows, pushing his ego to its limits just to annoy Hermione. Although, it was hard to deny that Draco was right, why wouldn't Ron be threatened by his best friend being stuck with his personal enemy who happened to be a rather dashing bloke.

'No Malfoy, I can't see it. It's shrouded by that thick mist of your bloody ego and self-absorbance.' Hermione rolled her eyes and continued eating, trying to avoid the whole 'The Great Draco Malfoy' conversation which they had bantered about several times in the past few days. To be honest, Hermione secretly thought that it was one of Malfoy's favourite topics to talk about, himself; and one of his favourite reactions from her is to see her annoyed face trying to deny everything he said. Draco knew for sure that she couldn't stay mad at him if he'd use this conversation. It was foolproof.

'Come on Hermione, you know you're going to give in some day,' Draco retorted. He didn't like the way Potter and Weasley called her `Mione. It was simply a bad nick name for an amazing name like hers. Before this, Malfoy had no problem at all dealing with them, with Ron sick, Harry had steered clear of any possible conflict because he saw the importance of them not going against each other. Harry matured, too, like Draco did. They didn't expect Ron to behave as maturely as Harry and Draco did, and they were right. He was still ill-tempered, but he did care about Hermione, with all his heart.

'I won't say I definitely won't give in, with your daily routine of reminding me how so-called amazing you are, but not soon. You still haven't proven that you are anything close to what you claim you are,' Hermione reasoned.

'My face is already proof, my dear Granger, and I'm simply stating facts,' Draco leaned closer to Hermione, so that all she saw when he turned to his direction was his face, and his flawless features from his nicely shaped eyebrows to his lusciously long blonde eyelashes, to those enchanting stormy grey eyes, down to his sharp nose, followed down to his perfect kissable lips. Draco Malfoy was perfect alright, if it were possible for any person to reach perfection. A part of him felt obliged to do this every day, to boast about himself to Granger and then make her give in, partially flirting with her while getting to know her better.

At this point, he was very comfortable to be around Hermione- besides the fact that she was a girl and sometimes there would be a few misunderstandings when it came to shower time- , and it was quite a refreshing feeling for him because he never felt that way towards anyone else. Parkinson had always been slobbering over him, so eager to please him that it annoyed him to the bone, and Greengrass just wasn't his type. But Hermione, she was absolutely different. She knew when to make a comment about him, and sometimes it may be slightly annoying for someone to point out his flaws, but it kept him grounded and wholesome. Deep inside he knew that he didn't mean all the things he said about himself- although he admitted that he was not the bad looking- but if it annoys the hell out of Granger, then it's worth mentioning at least once a day.

The best part about their little quarrels is that at the end of it, one of them will say something pleasant to make them feel mutual about the situation, because if one of them felt offended it would be hell for the other, being stuck to someone who is pissed off at you from something you said. This time the quarrel ended with Hermione saying,

'If your face is proof then why do you spend more time looking at me than at the mirror?' Hermione turned to him and raised an eyebrow, trying to pull of the trademark Malfoy smirk. She wasn't going to seem weak in front of him.

'Ah, Hermione. Trying to fish for compliments?' he waggled his eyebrows at her, looking deeply into those mischievous brown eyes of hers.

'No, I'm simply stating facts, Malfoy!' she giggled lightly, flashing a cheeky grin to Draco who was slightly shocked by Hermione's response.

'Fine, I will admit that you are a sight for sore eyes so long you admit that I am the most amazingly perfect person that you have, and will ever meet in your entire life,' Draco took in a deep breath of air, looking upwards to emphasize his aura or superiority, which resulted in Hermione bursting out in laughter. She enjoyed how Draco would do things of that sort to make her laugh. He was definitely the most charming person she had ever met.

'No, not today. Maybe not ever, even. So don't press your luck Draco! And hurry up and eat. Your food's getting cold,' she urged, ending the argument almost instantly. Draco shook his head and continued eating, thinking about how he could be so carefree when the world outside these walls were a total havoc, and the only problems which he were facing were ginger weasel wanting to beat him up and whether Granger would submit to him being perfect, which was a total joke. His stomach cringed when he thought about the day where they were going to leave Grimmauld Place, and what of Hermione. When she figures out how to unlock the handcuffs what would it be for them? Would she still be this caring towards him if she weren't forced to spend every moment with him? He swallowed hard, and realised that he lost his appetite. Looking over to Hermione who was engrossed in eating her breakfast, he decided to toy around with his food so that she didn't realised that there was anything wrong with him.

..

'Ron, what's the matter?' Harry knocked on Ron's room door, and entered without waiting for permission from his best friend. Ron was sitting on his bed, hugging his knees towards his chest, looking very angry.

'Don't you feel bothered that that bloody ferret is constantly having his hands all over `Mione?' Ron spat bitterly, refusing to look at Harry. Harry shut the door silently to prevent Draco from possibly hearing in on their conversation. He slowly approached Ron and sat on the edge of the bed, understanding that he needed some space to cool off.

'Ron, don't you think that you owe it to him enough to treat him properly for what he did for Hermione?'

'I have been, Harry. It's just that I can't stand that he's always close to her, like he's trying to rape her or something. Don't you feel it too mate? And didn't you see what he bloody did to me?'

'Yeah you're right. But that's because you, well, started it,' Harry explained softly, trying not to enrage Ron further. 'Ron, have you considered,' Harry swallowed hard, 'that you might be, jealous of Malfoy?'

'Jealous? Why would I possibly be jealous of that annoying harasser of a bloody foul git?' Ron shouted. Harry simply took it all in, expecting that Ron would react this way, and it was obvious that Ron had cultivated feelings for Hermione. He might be crazy in love with her but he wouldn't have admitted it to Harry, and now that Malfoy is in the picture, he might never admit it to anyone. Harry didn't know what to do, it wasn't like he could shoo Malfoy away any time soon. Hermione's the brilliant one, and if she can't find a way to get rid of those ruddy things then none of them could. Ron had already opted for Malfoy to blast his own arm out but it was rejected by Hermione who deemed it absolutely barbaric and it was her fault. If anyone had to sacrifice their arm it would be her, which brought Ron to the edge even more because Malfoy was actually being defended by Hermione herself, something Hermione barely did for anyone except for Harry and himself.

'Okay Ron, whatever floats your boat. But please, you know how messed up everything is out there. Please don't try to create any problems with Malfoy because we do need him to get back into Hogwarts,' Harry tried to phrase his words as properly as he could, so that Ron wouldn't think that he was siding Malfoy, but there was no way to conceal the fact that Harry wasn't on his best friend's side on this argument.

'I won't as long as he keeps his hands to himself and away from `Mione,' Ron rolled his eyes and turned away from Harry, facing the window this time. Oh what he would give for all of this to end soon. He did miss home, and his nice soft bed, along with the amazing smell of his mother's cooking which usually filled the house. Out of the trio, he still had a reason to quit it all and go back home, for Harry had nowhere to return as long as Voldemort was out to kill him, and Hermione had already sacrificed her parents for the sake of helping him. Ron on the other hand, had done this solely to support his best friend, because Harry needed the help, and Ron was always there for him. The days have been especially dull and there hadn't been any progress except for Ron's recovery, which he reckoned that he could've recovered faster under the care of his own mother. It's been quite some time since he saw his family, and it would be a lie to say that he didn't miss them. Ron sat alone in his room for the rest of his room, indulging in losing himself in thoughts of his family and all the good times they had together, instead of acknowledging the breathing ferret being locked to his best friend.

..

'Well I guess all whose left is Potter now,' Draco chuckled while watching Hermione finish up her breakfast.

'What do you mean?' Hermione turned to Draco, puzzled.

'He's the only one who hasn't took a blow at my nose,' he replied. At that moment, Hermione recalled third year, when she had punched him in the nose for being a terrible person. She blushed immediately in embarrassment of remembering the incident, feeling sorry for Draco.

'I'm really sorry about that, though, I must say you deserve it,' Hermione tried to hide her face behind her bushy hair and go on without Draco noticing her cheeks reddening.

'Because I was a 'foul loathsome evil little cockroach' back then? Draco chuckled, imitating Hermione's voice a little bit too high-pitched.

'I do not sound like that! But yes, maybe not evil, but a foul loathsome little cockroach,' Hermione laughed.

'How about now Granger, am I still what you claimed I am a few years ago?' Draco inched closer to Hermione, tilting his head towards her.

'Well, no. You changed,' Hermione turned to him seriously, 'Now you're more of a foul ferret, you're not little anymore, that's for sure,' she playfully winked at him and started laughing. Draco tried to ignore the fact that she was still playfully insulting but ended up laughing along while shaking his head in disagreement.

'But I'm not loathsome anymore, right? You don't loathe me as much as you did in the third year.'

'No, you're not loathsome anymore, but hey, who can hate a ferret?' Hermione started laughing again, not intending to get serious about this. In fact she was avoiding it on purpose. If Draco were to ask her whether she loathed him, the answer was a very solid no. But if he were to continue from there and ask her what she felt about him, she didn't have a straight answer. She could tell him that she thought that he was a good friend, but she was a sore liar and he would be able to tell immediately. But she didn't know how to feel about Draco, they just fit. She hadn't had any terrible quarrels with him and he could handle all her habits and vice versa. Hermione had considered the fact that they were being stuck together as one of the reasons that they had to compromise with each other, but what if they weren't? Could they fit like before? Unknowingly, Hermione was falling bit by bit for Draco, and every day they are together those feelings grew stronger.

'Apparently Weasel can,' he replied quietly, and all the laughter faded away. The tension of the silence was too much for Hermione to handle and she nudged Draco lightly on the shoulder, but before she could open her mouth to speak, Draco let out a loud scream of pain, flipping over his plate of breakfast by accident.

'Draco! I'm sorry did I hit you too hard or something?' Hermione stood up immediately, but Draco was already off his chair over the floor writhing in pain, crunched up into a ball as his right hand clutched onto a part of his body.

'Tell me what's wrong Draco, please. You're scaring me,' Hermione began to panic, not knowing what to do. He looked at her blonde companion as if someone had Crucio-ed him right on the spot, but no, he was clutching on to something, it was his left arm.

'Gran-ah-ger, It's urgh, it's the Mark, argh, it-'and he yelped in pain again. Hermione had to turn him over so that she could get a close look of his arm without him crouching over it. The Dark Mark which was branded on his skin was turning from black to a dark ashy red, and the skin around Draco's arm was reddening from the burning. The body of the serpent was moving in a wave motion, and it seemed like the waves were radiating heat off of them onto Draco's arm. Hermione was helpless as she watched the head of the serpent move to stab its fangs deep into Draco's arm and blood started oozing out in small droplets. She had never witnessed such sorcery before.

'Gr-granger, m-make it stop!'

Last post of the week :D ! Yep.
PS : I made a mistake and Draco's Dark Mark is on his LEFT arm instead of right [yes I realised after staring at the GIF of him pulling up his sleeve on tumblr a thousand times] , so yeah, I tweaked the previous chapters a li'l.
Enjoyy (; Loves x