AN: I'll go ahead and apologize for the length of this chapter. It far exceeded a drabble, but honestly, this little story took on a life of its own. It grabbed my imagination and wouldn't let go! I hope you enjoy it in spite of its size.

Chapter 12: Dancer, Part II

Looking back, Daphne and Pansy's unexpected visit to the quaint old store had been the best thing to convince Hermione of Draco's sincerity in his apologies. Under the guise of looking at the merchandise, the two girls talked in furious whispers while Draco and Hermione listened.

"Daph, I was so mad, I wanted to hex him," Pansy seethed. "How dare he ignore me like I was some Hufflepuff half-blood!"

Daphne shrugged her shoulders. "Sounds like normal Draco to me. He's always been that way. He's a Malfoy."

Pansy shook her head. "No….that's not what it was. I'm used to that. But last night…he was different. He wasn't being obnoxious….he was distracted. Someone caught his attention. Whoever it was, he couldn't or wouldn't take his eyes off her."

"Maybe it wasn't what you think. Maybe he was spying for his father….goodness knows Hogwarts is overrun with Order brats and mudbloods, thanks to our good-for-nothing headmaster.

Pansy wasn't convinced. "No, I would have been able to tell if that was it. It was definitely a female that had his eye. He looked completely bewitched."

Daphne's brow lifted. "Oh? How do you mean?"

Pansy's face became blotchy with anger. "Like he had found Circe herself….or the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow…"

"Uh-oh….that's not good."

Pansy could no longer hold it in. "That's how he's supposed to look at me! He's promised….to me!"

Daphne winced at the volume of Pansy's screeching. "Would you control yourself? Screaming doesn't help anything!" Pushing back her thick golden hair from her shoulders, Daphne couldn't help but add, "And you can't call yourself truly promised until the contracts are signed. That hasn't been done yet."

Pansy stuck out her lip in a nasty pout. "Technicalities. I'll make sure it happens...and I'll take care of this problem, too. Once I find out who it was….even Snape won't be able to cure them of all the warts I'll give 'em."

Daphne chuckled. "That makes me feel kinda feel sorry for the witch, since I've seen what that curse of yours does. Even Hagrid wouldn't touch her after that. Draco certainly won't."

Pansy lifted her pug nose in proud satisfaction. "Draco's mine. He just needs to be reminded of that fact."

The two girls giggled together as they continued to plot the humiliation of Draco's little fantasy, little knowing he and said fantasy had heard their every word before the two witches walked out the door.

"You really meant it, didn't you?" Hermione whispered in wonder after they'd left. "All the things you said to me. Your apology...and the kiss..." Even in near darkness, Draco could see the rosy blush covering her cheeks.

"I told you I was sincere," he softly whispered against her ear as he turned her around to face him. "You just didn't want to believe it."

"I….I was scared to," she admitted as she bit her lip.

"I don't want you to be scared of me," Draco tenderly said before he lowered his head and once again captured her lips with his. This time, Draco didn't hold back. He put all his feelings into that kiss; his regrets, his fears and his hopes for a possible new beginning with the girl in his arms. Hermione finally broke away, gasping for breath.

"You sure you're not just trying to get me hexed with warts?" she said chuckling.

Draco grinned as he traced her swollen lips with his finger. He was proud that he'd been the one to put them in that condition. "I promise. Now, can I see you again?"

Hermione paused. "That may be problematic. If your house was to find out…or your father…."

"Or your friends," he sighed, agreeing. "But I want to try this….whatever this is…with you."

Hermione laid her head against his chest. "Agreed….but how?" She closed her eyes in delight as Draco's hands rubbed circles against her back.

"We could meet in secret, you know. It's nobody's business what we do, anyway."

Hermione snorted. "When did that ever stop Harry or Ron? They're worse than nifflers in sniffing things out. Especially when it comes to all things Malfoy." Running her fingers over his shoulders, she said, "I hate the thought of skulking around….but it would make things easier."

"Certainly less potential for pain," Draco smirked, thinking of Pansy's threat and the reaction of Hermione's friends to their relationship.

Hermione laughed. "Well, I'm game if you are. Now we just need to figure out where we can meet."

oOo

For the next several months, Draco and Hermione kept their relationship under wraps. They would vary their meeting location, so as not to establish any sort of pattern for their nosy friends to find. One time it would be the Shrieking Shack; another time would be the Forbidden Forest; still another time would find them in the Room of Requirement. They would always meet at odd hours; often they would sneak out in the dead of night to meet. That they were both prefects made it easier; also helpful was that when in the presence of others, they kept up their old ways of acting toward the other. Even so, there were times when neither could resist the temptation to speak to the other in double entendres.

"What's that horrible smell?" Draco asked one day in Charms class when he, Crabbe and Daphne had found seats in front of Harry, Hermione and Ron.

"I don't smell nuthin'," said Crabbe.

"Are you sure? It smells like something from a bog," Draco said as he turned around, smirking. "Or maybe it's just mud I'm smelling."

Daphne laughed out loud. Harry and Ron looked like they were about to jump out of their chairs to throttle him.

"Shut up, Malfoy," hissed Ron. "The only thing you're smelling is the rot coming from your brains."

"Don't talk to Draco that way, blood-traitor," Daphne sneered, immediately losing her smile.

"Can you call off your dog, Malfoy?" Harry retaliated on Ron's behalf. Daphne gasped. Ron laughed. Crabbe's mouth was too stuffed with the muffins he'd hidden in his robe to be able to enter into the conversation, if one could call spewing insults back and forth such a benign term.

"Honestly boys, why are you wasting your breath? Malfoy just likes to hear himself talk," Hermione airily said. She secretly laughed to herself. Just that morning, right before dawn, Draco had held her in his arms while telling her how wonderful she always smelled. Like a freshly baked sugar cake.

"Is that the best you've got, Granger?" Draco said, his eyes glittering with some deep emotion. "I expected more than that."

"Watch out, Malfoy. You're up against a big girl now," said Hermione. It was all she could do not to laugh at the sudden darkening of his eyes. "I know you. You're not happy unless you're running your mouth. Talk, talk, talk. That's all you ever do."

"You sure you want to see me in action, Granger?" he said, satisfied that his words caused the girl before him to blush furiously. "Don't know if you could handle it."

"Try it and see," she retorted.

"Just name the time and place, witch," he said. Draco was having a hard time not taking her into his arms and kissing that smug grin off her face. She knew what she was doing, the little minx!

"Come on, 'Mione. Just leave it. Like you said, he's just a talker," said Harry as he placed his hand over hers. Draco stared down at their joined hands. He suddenly turned around to face the front of the class. It was either that or rip St. Potter's arm off his body.

oOo

Two nights later found Draco with Hermione in the Room of Requirement. He was lying on a cushy sofa the room had produced and she was lying beside him, her arm draped across his chest.

"You thought you were being a clever little thing in Charms class the other day, didn't you?" he asked while lazily playing with her curls. "Convinced now?"

Hermione grinned against his chest, her eyes shut in contented satisfaction. "You sure showed me. Consider me properly convinced. You are definitely more than a talker."

Draco laughed at that and gathered her more tightly into his arms. "I love you, darling girl."

"Mmm…I love you, too."

oOo

Hermione paced the floor of the Shrieking Shack. It had been four nights since she and Draco had last been able to be together and he was already an hour late.

It's not like him to make me wait like this, she thought nervously. Had something happened to him? Had someone found out about them? Hermione's thoughts swirled in anxious circles, an ever-growing and tightening maelstrom in her mind. She was just about ready to leave to go in search of him when she heard a sound coming from the tunnel underneath the house. The trapped door opened; Draco came inside and immediately took her into his arms.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked when she felt him trembling. At first he said nothing; he just pulled her tighter into his body.

"Draco?"

He still made no sound, but Hermione could sense his anguish.

"Draco, you're scaring me…..what is it?"

In answer to her question, he slowly pulled something out of his pocket. "I received this message from my father after dinner. He….he…"

Not waiting for him to finish, Hermione grabbed the parchment and began to read it. "Oh…no. Draco…."

"You don't have to say it. I've known it was coming." Letting go of Hermione, Draco began to tread back and forth on the threadbare carpet. "I don't know what to do…. I've walked the grounds for hours…I can't think of any way to escape this…."

Hermione watched her secret love as he paced before her. Lucius Malfoy had insisted his son come home for the Easter Holidays. He'd hinted that a great honor awaited him. There was no doubt in either of their minds that this 'honor' entailed being branded with the mark of the Dark Lord.

"Can you just….not go?" Hermione asked weakly, her heart too broken to think rationally. Draco looked at her with an incredulous expression.

"How does that solve anything? At best, it would just delay things. And give Voldemort a reason to be sadistic. I don't need to give him an excuse to hurt my parents….especially my mother." His eyes filling with unshed tears, he confessed, "That's what hurts me the most. The thought of what will happen to her if I refuse this. My mum's innocent, Hermione. I have to protect her."

Hermione sat there, desperately trying to be objective so she could think more clearly. "You fear what would happen if you refuse to take the mark. Tell me about it, then. Is it just a tattoo? Or is it something more?"

Draco quit his pacing and dropped down beside her on the rug. "It's more. It's a bond. It connects the follower to the Dark Lord. That's how he senses them….knows where they are….what they're thinking. Bleeding slavery, that's what it is."

Hermione absorbed that information. "Is it a blood bond?"

"You mean like a blood covenant? No. But it's the next thing to it."

"But the point is, his is not the strongest bond." Hermione began to talk excitedly. "There is something greater…something mightier than his mark."

"Well, yeah. But I don't see how that will…" Draco paused, his eyes getting a glazed look. "Ah...I see where you're going with this. You're implying that if I were already bonded into a blood covenant, I would be protected…"

Hermione nodded. "Exactly. The greater the bond, the greater the hold. You wouldn't have to refuse the mark, because no matter how many times they tried to brand you, the weaker bond would not be able to take. And he couldn't blame you or your parents for his mark not working, because he wouldn't know why it didn't. "

Draco looked puzzled. "You lost me there. How would he not know?"

Hermione grinned. "Because a covenant doesn't leave a mark. He would have no clue you ever entered into one."

Draco's eyes took on a shine. "And knowing his ego, he'd probably think my inability to receive his mark was some sort of sign."

"You could always play it up as that. Being too young, or not clever or capable enough, or worthy enough..."

"Hey! Whose side are you on?"

"Yours, of course," said Hermione. "But who cares what he thinks as long as it keeps you and your mother safe?"

"True. Well, that means the only thing left is to find someone who would covenant with me. Would…...would you?"

"Of course, you silly man. I do happen to love you, you know."

Draco smiled, his face lit up with hope. "What would I do without you?"

Hermione chuckled as she gave him a kiss. "Have more freak outs, that's for certain. Now, try not to worry. This will work. You'll be fine. We just need to find out how to perform a magical covenant and do it before you go home."

Hermione rued her words the next day after she and Draco had looked up how to perform the rite.

"I…I don't know what to say," Draco said miserably. "I can't believe this."

"This is just as bad as making a horcrux," Hermione said, dismayed and shocked. "Human sacrifice? What kind of monster does that?"

Draco gave his girlfriend a look.

"Uh...other than Voldemort, I mean," she hastily added.

"Guess that explains why this book was in the restricted section."

Hermione shuffled once more through the pages. "I wonder…what about an animal sacrifice? Would that be enough?"

"Not according to that book. Not enough to trump Voldemort's bond."

Hermione let out a very un-lady like expletive. "I can't accept this! There's got to be something we can do that's not darker than the kind of magic you're trying to avoid."

"There isn't. The only way out is murder. Ironic, when you think about my future." Draco said bitterly. "Let's see…do I kill now or kill later as a bloody Death Eater? What wonderful choices lay before me."

Hermione stared dismally at the hand-written tome. The shedding of innocent blood safeguards the participant(s). Without this sacrifice, there is no covering or binding. She sighed. "Well, at least this explains Harry's protection. His mum willingly gave her life for him."

Draco looked at Hermione. "I couldn't let anyone die for my well-being."

"You could let me," a voice beside them said.

Draco and Hermione startled in fright when a comely girl materialized before them. Draco gasped. It was the merry dancer girl from the Harvest Moon festival of years gone by.

"You! How can this be?" he asked.

The girl shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know how to explain that. I never studied magic."

"Who are you? What are you?" asked Hermione. "Are you a ghost?"

The girl took in Hermione's appearance and smiled. "Not exactly. I'm a spirit. We're not quite the same thing. We muggles aren't given the option of returning in ghost form."

"Then why are you here, now?" This question came from Draco.

"To meet your need. You need a sacrifice to seal a covenant. I'm offering my blood for that."

"Er….not to be indelicate….but how can you give what you no longer have? Uh…since you're dead and all," Hermione pointed out.

The girl laughed. "Well spotted. But an exception was made on my behalf."

Looking at the lovers in front of her, the little girl explained. "You weren't the only one noticing people that night, little blonde boy. I watched you, too. I saw you were different than the others around you. There was a light in your eyes that was absent in theirs. I didn't know then what you were. I found out the night I died that you were a wizard like the monsters who killed me."

She stopped for a moment. Frowning, she said, "I don't like to recall that evening. But right before I died, I asked that I would be given a chance to help you somehow. I didn't want you to turn out like them."

She looked steadily into Draco's grey eyes. "You've got to understand. I didn't want my death to be a meaningless one."

Draco swallowed loudly. "So, all this time… you've been waiting to come back?"

Shaking her head, the spirit before him said, "No. It's not like that. Things are different there. There is no concept of time...of waiting. Everything is now. All I know is, I was told my plea had been heard and I ended up here. I heard what you and your lady friend were discussing and then I knew why I had been sent."

Well. Draco and Hermione didn't know how to argue with a story like that.

Hermione murmured, "When you put it that way…."

The dancer girl laughed again. "I hoped you'd see it my way. Now, I won't be allowed to stay long. The ritual must be completed tonight." She then reddened as much as a bloodless entity could. "And just so you know….tonight, when you enact the covenant, I will appear as I was the night I was murdered."

Seeing Draco and Hermione's horrified expressions, she quickly assured them, "Don't worry….I won't be able to feel the wounds again. I am dead, after all. But you should be prepared. I won't be a pretty sight."

oOo

Later on that evening, when the rest of Hogwarts was asleep, Draco and Hermione flew their way over to the Quidditch pitch on Draco's broom. It was a mild spring night, the full moon shining brightly on the new grass. Waiting for them there was the spirit.

"Do you know what to do?" she asked the couple.

Draco looked at Hermione and nodded. "We've memorized our parts and the steps."

"Well, let's get started then. I'll just go lie over there," she said, pointing to a patch of grass in the middle of the glade.

Once she was situated, her appearance transformed to that of the victim she'd been at the revel. Hermione shuddered and hastily looked away after one glance. The little girl had been right; she was not a pretty sight. Draco fought not to retch. It was harder for him than it had been for Hermione to see the girl; for all he knew, his father could have been the one who'd wreaked the damage showing on her delicate frame. Her face was bloodied and bruised; her neck purple from being strangled; and worst of all, a dagger was sticking out from her abdomen. Who knew what other hidden torments she'd suffered that night?

The girl must have felt Draco's distress, for she lifted a broken hand to touch him and softly said, "It doesn't hurt anymore. Let it go."

Draco nodded and tried his best not to look down at her bloodied corpse. Instead, he and Hermione joined hands beside the spirit's body as she once again invoked what had been her final request:

"Please look upon the suffering of thine handmaid, and remember me, and grant me this one boon; that thou wilt give me this man child to save; so he shall be able to love, preserve and serve the one who is helper to him who shall free his people from the evil to come. And with the saving of this life may my life be raised to merit and my death to honor."

When she was done, Draco and Hermione spoke the vows of commitment memorized from the covenant; while they did this, the dancer girl looked on. She knew they didn't know the pledge they were speaking was an eternal one; they didn't know they were binding themselves to each other with cords mightier than the created worlds. She chuckled to herself. They didn't know it yet. But soon….soon they would. And with that knowledge would come a power that would be key to freeing their world of the darkness threatening to destroy it. Once again, the young spirit smiled. She had chosen well. Her death now had purpose.

When it came time for Draco and Hermione to move, they turned in measured steps in cadence with the rhythm of their oaths; each footfall patterned after the Great Dance of the cosmos. Gliding along in tandem, they made a complete orbit around their sacrificial lamb.

Soon, the rite was completed. Draco took one look at Hermione and hugged her. "I love you. You've saved me from a lifetime of hell."

Kissing his cheek she said, "Not me, love. Your little friend did that."

Draco looked back at the dancer girl and said softly, "I never knew your name...but thank you. I am forever in your debt." He watched as the spirit gave him a nod of understanding. "Carina," she said. "And I know how you can repay me."

Hermione watched with a full heart as the spirit once again donned her Sunday best, and for one last time, danced merrily under the light of a full moon with Draco as her partner.