A/N: Hello everyone! -
I cannot begin to express my gratitude for all the amazing reviews I've been getting, I am just so thrilled. Thank you all a thousand times over! I don't know what it is about this fic in particular but it just seems to really make me want to write more and more, I want to make this story go on forever!
I have this totally ridiculous idea for the plot and why Hermione has the dark mark. I'm not sure how it will go over with her avid fans, because it is going to make her seem a totally different person! I want to say that it's slightly realistic, but in this case it might not be, I just don't know how well it will go over, hopefully for the best!
I guarantee you this will be a plot you have never read before. I noticed that for the most part the Dramione fics are always slightly the same⦠Draco dark and torn, and blah blah. Well I have this crazy new idea which just sprouted in my mind, and I want to try it out!
Lol, anywho, as always love to hear from you, and here are some responses to your reviews:
LadyNorth76: I'm not sure what it was about reading your review, but it inspired my idea for the plot.. . . well I mean it didn't but I thought of this plot right when I was reading your review, it was when you said you hoped it was really good, and I decided that I needed something more OUT THERE then what I had. So thank you to you for making my idea all the better!
Snapeysnape: It is driving me crazy as well don't worry! I just didn't feel the idea I had was a good enough one, but now I do! So you will be finding out in this chapter, I think!
Fitjess: Now that you say it, you are right the slave prison would have been better somewhere else, I never really thought of that. But I kinda did think that even though Voldemort looked at it as his home, he also loathed it all at the same time because it had kept so many he wanted dead safe from him for so long. Thanks for the review!
Thank you to all the rest who I did not include in my responses!
Enjoy!
I KNOW THIS PLOT IS DIFFERENT THEN ANY EVER READ BY ANY OF YOU! CLAPS
Chapter Eleven
The Secret of the Dark Mark
A day had passed over Malfoy Manor, cold and silent. Neither of the two staying there had spoken, and neither had attempted to change the matter. Both were feeling overwhelmed with feelings that they did not understand, and both were confused.
They had not been down to the Library to look for the book Draco's mother had given them, nor had they even uttered the matter. Hermione grew more and more restless, wanting desperately to know of the plans to resurrect her dearest friend.
Harry.
If only he knew of what she had done so long ago.
If only he knew of her intentions to do wrong to him.
She sat alone, staring blankly out the window, massaging her wrist where the dark mark throbbed.
She knew Voldemort was trying to reach her; he had always been trying to reach her, since as long as she could remember. She had outwitted him, and taken the risks of blocking him from her mind. She had learned to block him from her mind at the age of thirteen.
She stood up suddenly, feeling slightly dizzy. She staggered towards the door, and opened it without hesitation. She was tired of sitting around when there was work to be done. She needed to know of the plan to bring back Harry. She would have gladly gone to the Library to look for the book herself, but she did not know where it was located and did not want to get lost in the labyrinth of hallways and corridors.
She made her way to the bedroom down the hall, and pounded on it sternly with her fists. She leaned her ear towards the door, listening for any sounds at all inside.
Silence.
She pounded on the door once more.
"Malfoy! Malfoy!" She hollered, knocking even harder. "Open up!"
Silence.
Finally, losing all of her possible patience, she raised her hand to the door knob, and shut her eyes tightly. She concentrated very hard, and muttered soft words under her breath.
The door clicked quietly.
She opened her eyes, grabbing hold of the handle and tearing through the door without thought. Malfoy was sitting on his bed, but immediately stood to his feet when she barged in, eyes wide with shock.
"Granger!?" He gasped, looking from her hand and to the door, noticing she had done it without a wand. "What are you-how did you get in here?"
She stormed over to him, eyes flaring and hair tossed every which way. Without a word, she pointed her hand towards him and he shot backwards onto the bed. He scrambled back against the pillows, taken back by her magic capabilities. He looked around desperately for his wand, but she had already caught sight of it, and summoned it into her hand.
She pointed it towards him, eyes piercing into his soul.
She could see him shaking.
--
Draco felt frightened for the first time in a very long time that evening, as she stared at him like a raging bull ready to charge, pointing his own wand towards his still beating chest. She had let herself in, knocked him backwards, and taken his wand without any wand of her own, as though she didn't need one at all.
"Where is the Library Malfoy!?" She hissed, stepping closer to him, wand still pointed between his eyes. "Tell me where it is!"
He opened his mouth to speak.
"TELL ME!" She roared, jumping forwards until the wand was jabbing him between the eyes. He could feel his hands beginning to shake, his blood boiling.
She seemed to see that he was overwhelmed and frightened, because her eyes grew gentle and her frown faded. Eyes watering, she lowered the wand to her side, though continuing to watch him closely.
"It's, on the fourth floor." He said quietly, sitting up slightly and rubbing his head where it had bashed against the bed board. "But you can't get in there without the password, the statue won't allow it."
"Then what is the password?" She asked him, her voice less violent now.
Draco looked at her carefully, as though examining a rare creature. He felt perplexed and speechless. Then his eyes fell onto her wrist, and once again his head began filling with questions.
"Eye for an eye, Granger." He sneered, sitting up fully and moving towards the edge of the bed. "Tell me why you have the mark of the Dark Lord, and I will tell you the password to the Library."
Her eyes seemed to flicker towards her wrist, though they still remained on his own eyes. He could see himself in their dark pools, pale and frightened looking. Her hair was scattered over her face and her chest was breathing heavily, but her eyes remained on his.
"Why I have the dark mark, is none of your business Malfoy." She said quietly, raising the wand and pointing it back towards him. "Now, tell me where the Library is, or I swear I will kill you."
Draco snorted arrogantly, rolling his eyes.
"If you kill me, how do you suppose you are going to figure out the password?" He sneered. "You tell me why you have the dark mark, and then I will tell you the password to the Library, Granger."
She looked taken back by his wits, as though she had always thought him incredibly stupid.
She lowered the wand once more, her eyes shooting darts and her breathing growing more and more heavy.
"Alright Malfoy, you win." She droned, running her hand through her hair and sighing loudly for him to hear. "But I want you to know, that I've never spoken of the reason to anyone, except one other."
He nodded, as she walked over and took a seat on the edge of the bed next to him, and stared at the floor.
"Did you ever hear about that muggle who went missing all those years ago? You would have only been about five. The parents had said that she had just vanished from thin air, and it was all over the news and headlines for months?"
Draco shook his head no, and she continued.
"Well it was. The news had described it as the parents going mad, even though both were determined to let the world know that they had both seen her just disappear from her stroller in downtown London."
"I think, I do remember that." Draco muttered quietly. She looked up at him, eyes flashing excitedly for a moment. "Didn't the Ministry of Magic get involved, because they knew it must have been someone from the Wizarding World who took the child?"
Hermione nodded.
"Yes. They never found out who did or what happened to the child. The parents were sent to a muggle institution for insanity and never came out, and after a few years the world seemed to forget all about the little girl who had gone missing."
"What does this have to do with you having the mark of the Dark Lord, Granger?" Draco droned, once more rolling his eyes.
She stared at him.
"Because, Malfoy, that little child was me."
He watched her for a moment, not daring to speak. He was so incredibly taken back, that no words would leave his lips.
"You want to know who took me?" She continued, raising her eyebrow towards him.
Silence fell over them.
"Your father."
Draco stood up suddenly from his bed, in an outrage.
"That's a lie!" He snapped fiercely. "Why would my own father steal a muggle-born child!?"
"Because Voldemort had directed him to do so." Hermione replied, her eyes not leaving his.
Draco knew that he couldn't believe what she was saying.
He wouldn't believe it.
"I was kidnapped and taken to the Lestrange Manor, away from where anyone could find me. Even though Voldemort was 'dead', he was still able to give orders to your father, who trapped me like a slave. He beat me and tortured me, and taught me everything there was to know about the Dark Arts. By the time I was eight, I could already kill with the Avada Kedavera curse, and had mastered Imperius.
I was a living breathing experiment of Voldemort. His play thing, as you might call it. I was taught that everything in life was meaningless, except the death of a boy who I knew nothing about. The boy's name was Harry Potter.
The training continued, until I reached the age of eleven. By that time, I had mastered the art of magic without a wand, and could do so if I wish. Then I was placed under the care of my two current parents, who are not my real parents of course. They were enchanted into believing I had been their daughter all along, and that they had raised me since I was very young. When the letter came for my acceptance into Hogwarts, they let me leave without hesitation, thinking they had known me their whole life.
The night before I was sent to Hogwarts, two hooded Death Eaters visited me in my new muggle bed, and burned the mark of Him into my arm. I had never seen Him, before, nor spoken to Him, but I knew that he was very very real. When I got to Hogwarts for my first year, I was sent a letter with instructions to befriend the boy named Harry Potter, and stay friends with him until the time came.
At the time I did not know that the time when Voldemort would return would be in the fourth year, but I knew what to do. I became as close to Harry as I possibly could, and did my very best to pretend that I had not learned all of the lessons that were being taught. Yes, that's right Malfoy, I was not the greatest witch of my age, I had already been taught everything I could possible need to know.
By the third year, I had become incredible close to Ron and Harry both, and even though I knew nothing of the proper morals, I knew that I was not going to be able to help Voldemort kill Harry when the time came. I began researching on Occlumency, and studying it as best I could. I learned to block out all powers of dark magic, which is why Voldemort cannot summon me using my mark. I also went to Dumbledore, and I told him everything.
He was kind to me, and offered to help me. He said that he knew of everything already, and knew where I had come from and why I was there. He said he had made sure to invite me into Hogwarts deliberately, so that he may have the greatest and most powerful witch on the proper side of the battle when the time came.
Even through all of the torture, and all of the darkness, I managed to work it all out and become a good person. I fought off any bad urges, and any evil that had poisoned me, and instantly became the witch I was meant to be. I stood by Harry's side, and by the fourth year I was far too powerful for Voldemort to reach, and was not there to aide him in the cemetery that night.
That is why Voldemort placed me in the highest tower of the slave pens, and next to Ron so that I could hear him scream."
Draco blinked twice, but did not say a word. Then he fidgeted slightly, as though nervous.
"You lost your mind while locked up, didn't you Granger?" He asked her flatly, snorting softly and realizing just how preposterous the idea really was.
She just looked at him, and he knew that she was dead serious.
"So, let me get this straight." He said, adjusting himself where he was sitting. "Basically, you are trying to tell me, that you are a muggle, kidnapped and transformed into a trained warrior, who would eventually lead up to Harry Potters death?"
She nodded to him.
"I was the one who put the diary in Ginny's cauldron in the second year." She said flatly, still staring at him. "It wasn't your father at all."
"You are completely off of your rocker." Draco muttered, rubbing his forehead in an exhausted manner.
"No, Malfoy, I'm not." She said softly. "Does it not all make sense to you?"
"No it doesn't, because you were way too nice to him to ever have been evil-"
"Just because I was raised up to be evil doesn't mean that I am evil Malfoy." She cut in angrily, getting to her feet and towering over him. "I'm not the same as your father, who is just evil!"
Draco went to retaliate, but he had no come back. He could not argue the fact that his father was an evil man. He could not argue that he himself was evil. He knew both of these statements to be very much true.
He shook his head, confused and worn out.
"But, why would the Dark Lord use a random muggle, instead of someone from this world?" He asked out loud. "It just doesn't make sense."
"Yes it does." She responded abruptly. "Think Malfoy! Stealing a child from the muggle world, he could get away with it, but stealing a child from this world, it would never fly. Do you think any parents in their right minds would let their child go through such hell? NO!"
"My father probably would have let me go through it." Draco muttered quietly.
"Yes, but would your mother have?"
At those words, Draco felt his bottom lip tremble. He did not wish to think about his mother, or see her face. The longing he had to have her back was overpowering and sickened him, making him feel weak.
"It's never too late to do something good." Hermione said to him, sitting down beside him once more. "Never."
"That's easy for you to say, you never actually did anything wrong."
"A student could have died at Hogwarts, the year I gave away the diary and allowed the Chamber of Secrets to be opened." Hermione said, sniffing softly as she stared back to the floor.
Draco turned and watched her. Suddenly he felt closer to her then he ever had before.
"I've killed Granger." He said sternly. "I've wiped blood of innocent people off of my hands and face. I've stood there as people screamed and cried and let them die."
There was silence for a moment as they both sat there deep in thoughts.
Neither knew what to do or say now.
There was a moment where their eyes seemed to meet for the first time, as though they were seeing life through one another's vision and understanding the others pain.
Once again that feeling came over Draco, that odd sort of feeling he did not understand. His breathing grew hoarse and his face hot as he looked at her. For the first time in his life he actually thought to himself that she was beautiful. Maybe it was the fact that she was more like him then he had even known, forced into something she did not want to be a part of. Maybe it was because she was being open with him for the first time. He did not know.
All he knew was that he wanted more than anything at that moment, to kiss her.
He looked away from her brown eyes suddenly, shaking his head and running his hands through his hair, which were clammy and cold. He felt nervous around her.
She was still looking at him, he could feel it.
He looked back at her, his heart jolting suddenly in his chest as he did. She was making him feel completely helpless and dizzy, and he was not sure what was happening.
There was an awkward silence surrounding them, but still they continued to watch one another.
Suddenly, the silence was broken, and Draco could have smacked himself for his own stupidity.
"Wolf Fang." He said softly, looking back at the floor, his lips trembling and an uncomfortable throbbing making itself known between his legs. "The password is Wolf Fang. There Granger, now you can leave."
He waved his hand towards the door, as though she was his slave.
He felt confused as she continued to watch him.
Then, he felt as though his heart had stopped, and his hands would never be still, as she leaned forwards and pressed her lips against his cheek for a moments time, giving him a warm and gentle kiss.
He shivered uncontrollably, and turned to her.
He wanted more then anything now to kiss her completely, but she had already risen from the bed and had made her way towards the door and out of the room.
Leaving him alone and stricken.
A/N: OMG OMG! Please please tell me you liked it, I thought it all fit really well in the end. Because you don't really know a lot about Hermione's parents and yeah, and just her being so smart and knowing everything, and just yeah please tell me what you think.
I hope you are all satisfied!
