Or so she hoped. Every time she thought about what she was going to do and inched closer to the crowd, she got nervous butterflies in her stomach and pressed herself back against the pillar. I can't do this! This woman is going to think I'm insane, and she'll probably slap me or pull out my hair…I don't know, I've never been in a girl fight but that's normally what happens, right? Oh Merlin, what is wrong with me? I just need to do this. I'm a bloody Gryffindor!
Then Hermione noticed something that had evaded her before. Each time the couple passed by where Giacomo was standing in awe, Cassiopeia turned her a head slightly to the side and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. When she discovered he was watching her, she would then smile as brightly as possible and pull her partner closer, enjoying the look of anger that it caused on Malfoy's face. Now that I can work with!
The next time Cassiopeia passed by Hermione, she grabbed the Italian witch by her arm and yanked her behind the pillar she was currently using as a hiding spot.
"Excuse me! Get your hands off me, you—" Cassiopeia tried to snap at her, but Hermione covered her mouth before anyone noticed her outburst.
"I'm sorry, just listen ok? I need to speak with you, it's very important," Hermione spoke fervently.
The woman eyed her warily, anger still present in her expression for being handled in such a way. She irritably pulled Hermione's hand away from her mouth so she could talk.
"What do you wish to speak with me about? You just took me away from a very handsome dance partner, I'll have you know!" She said, indicating with a glance the man she had been dancing with only moments before—he now looked utterly bewildered that his partner had vanished so suddenly.
Hermione noted that his appearance was quite striking. "Yes, I know, and again I'm sorry, but this is of the utmost importance. All I need is a moment of your time. Please?"
Cassiopeia sighed heavily and then smiled despite herself. "Well, he'll come find me again anyway, they always do! Now what is on your mind young stranger?"
Hermione let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding and relaxed a little. Ok, good, she's listening!
"Well, I just thought you ought to know….Giacomo is engaged!" Hermione told her, acting as if it was completely normal that they would discuss something like this.
Cassiopeia stared at her in confusion and disbelief. "And…why exactly would I care about thatimbecile? I do not associate with him."
The young Gryffindor gulped, nervous about how her plan was working out after all. "Well, you're secretly in love with him, aren't you?" she encouraged with an excited smile.
Cassiopeia threw back her head and laughed. "In love with him! Ha! You must be out of your mind if you think I'd ever love someone like him! Of course, I haven't been blind to his attempts at wooing me, but that's not going to happen anytime soon. He is a vile creature!"
Hermione pretended to be astonished at this news. "Giacomo, vile?! It can't be true, whatever makes you think that?"
The Italian witch's eyes darkened in malice. "He used to call me a name that I have never forgotten; a name that hurt me deeply and scarred my childhood with taunting and hatred."
This was starting to sound familiar to Hermione. "What name was it?"
She started right into her eyes as she replied, "Mudblood."
Fresh anger of her own simmered to the surface inside of Hermione. Malfoys will never change, not even after centuries! She gritted her teeth and nodded at the other woman, letting her know she sympathized.
"I, too, have been called that name by a Malfoy when I was young. Even now, I still hear it from time to time. It's not really a word one hears in civilized conversation," she seethed.
"So then you understand why he is so vile! How could I ever begin to love someone who thinks me no better than the dirt on his shoes?" Cassiopeia explained. "There was a time…but no, that doesn't bear thinking about. There is no way now, I shall never love him!"
Hermione pushed her anger to the side for the moment and latched onto what she just heard. "Wait, there was a time…what? That you did love him?"
"NO!" she shouted loudly, stepping away from Hermione. "Do not pretend to know me, you are but a strange girl—I'm not even sure why I am talking to you about this! Who are you? Why did you come to tell me this?"
Crap. Now what? The truth or more lies? Be a Gryffindor, be a Gryffindor!
"Listen, it doesn't matter who I am, the point is I'm here to help you. I've been where you are right now and the truth is…people can change. I'm not saying Malfoy has, but you need to give him a chance. I learned the hard way that there's more to someone than what meets the eye, and you can discover amazing things about them if you just give them the opportunity. If you keep yourself stuck in the past, you'll never find out what a wonderful future you can have."
Hermione quickly realized how much she needed to take her own advice, but with a different blonde-headed Malfoy. I've been so stuck in the past that I haven't been able to see the person right in front of me…I'm..I'm just as bad as a Malfoy when it comes down to it—living by my own foolish prejudice! She trained her attention back on Cassiopeia as the two witches stared at each other, one hopeful and one skeptical.
"But you have told me he is engaged now, there is nothing to be done about it," Cassiopeia replied, still wary about revealing things to this stranger.
"Win him back! He loves you Cassiopeia, I know he does. All you have to do is tell him how you really feel and you can be together. Don't let your past and pride get in the way of having true love!" Hermione exclaimed animatedly.
A flicker of a smile flashed across the Italian witch's face, momentarily lighting up her features. "Do you really think so?"
Hermione impulsively grabbed her hands in her own. "I know so. Now go! Go get your man back!"
"Put—me—DOWN!" Draco yelled, getting as much spit as possible onto Giacomo in the process. He threw the younger Malfoy to the floor so he could wipe the spittle from his face, fury evident in every movement he made.
"You come to ruin my plans, foolish boy! I care not that you are kin, I would kill my own brother if he stood in my way!" the elder man shouted as he stood over Draco.
Even though a cheerful party was happening only a few feet away, Giacomo was focused on making sure that this oddly familiar stranger didn't mess up the only chance he had at real love. Although, he had to admit, it was hard to stay on task when the object of his affection was standing mere yards away. Every time Cassiopeia twirled by with her dashing dance partner, all Giacomo wanted to do was throw him up against a wall and choke him to death, or rip out his hair, or bash in his teeth—anything to get his filthy hands off of his beloved. Seized with jealousy, Giacomo did the only other thing he could at the moment, which was torment the young Malfoy so that he didn't get in the way a third time.
"I don't get you, why don't you just use a love potion or something? What's the big deal about this jinx?" Draco snarled up at him.
"You don't think I've tried that? Tried everything? She sees right through me and evades drinking it, or gets someone else to so that it backfires and some random woman is in love with me instead. She does enjoy trifling with my emotions, I'll tell you that much!"
"Why does she hate you so much? No one simply dislikes another right off the bat, there must have been something—"
"She's a Mudblood," Giacomo stated, sounding disappointed and disgusted all at once, although whether it was with himself was unsure.
Draco stared at him, completely confused. "So…she hates you because you're a pureblood? I've certainly never heard that one before."
For a moment Giacomo looked slightly ashamed of himself, but it passed before Draco could be sure (those expressions weren't common among Malfoys, you see). "Well…I…she, she didn't exactly hate me because of my blood status. She hated me because I might have been a tiny bit prejudiced against hers."
He rolled his eyes then, mentally kicking himself for not figuring this out sooner. "She hates you because you've been calling her a Mudblood for years, haven't you?"
"Well she is one! I don't exactly approve of dirty bloodlines, me being a Malfoy and all. What would my family think? My father! He would turn over in his grave if he knew I even talked to her at all!"
Somehow this was all sounding extremely familiar to Draco. Sheesh, us Malfoys never really change, do we? Even after all this time…you'd think there would be some evolution, but I guess we are as stubborn and rotten as they come. Sensing it was probably safe to do so, Draco stood up and brushed himself off. He then took a deep breath and started straight into Giacomo's eyes.
"Alright, listen up mate. You're a Malfoy, right?" Draco paused to let Giacomo nod his head. "Ok, well then I think it's clear what you have to do. Be a bloody Malfoy, for Merlin's sake! You've got just as much power and right to do as you please as everyone else in this blasted family, and if you don't stand up for what you want now, they're going to be running your life forever! Is that what you want? Do you really want to blindly follow our family's sick tradition of blood prejudice, or do you want to screw all of that and be with the woman you love?"
As soon as the words left Draco's mouth, he realized how true they were, and not just for Giacomo.Bloody hell, I'm preaching to the choir. How come none of that ever made sense before it came out of my own mouth? He thought in wonder. Before he could dwell on the mess that was his heart, though, Giacomo stood up straighter with a mad gleam in his eye.
"By Merlin, you're right! I am a bloody Malfoy! I do whatever I want, when I want, and I don't take directions from anyone, especially not my own family!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "I'm going to do something no Malfoy has ever done, and probably never will do following this day—I'm going to apologize!"
With that, the Italian wizard marched off in search of his lady love, leaving Draco standing there wondering how he had actually pulled that off without being hexed.
Hermione struggled to follow Cassiopeia as she weaved in and out of the large crowd, searching for the elder Malfoy.
"Wait, Cassiopeia! I can't get through—" Hermione shouted above the din. In another second, though, the woman was lost within the throng.
"Blast! Where did she go?" she cursed aloud.
"Hermione!" Someone grabbed her forearm at that exact moment, spinning her around. Upon seeing who it was, she lit up with joy and relief.
"Draco! Oh, thank goodness you're ok!" she cried, throwing her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug. Even though any other time he would have balked at the idea of hugging Hermione Granger, Draco grinned and pulled her closer, relieved himself that they were no longer separated, even if it was only ten feet. It did not escape either Head's notice that they called one another by their first names, yet for the first time they didn't find it strange.
She pulled away and looked up at him, still smiling and…was she blushing? Draco was fairly certain that she was. This thought made his stomach flop over a little.
He pulled them both to the side and out of the way of all the dancing people where they could hear each other better. "Well, what happened? Where did you go?" he asked, breaking the not-unpleasant silence.
Hermione's eyes immediately got wide with excitement, just like they always did when she was bursting with news. "I found Cassiopeia! Draco, she's in love with Giacomo, she just hated him because he always called her—"
"—a Mudblood?" he finished knowingly.
Hermione looked curiously shocked. "Well, yes! But how did you know?"
"Giacomo and I had a little chat while he had me pinned against the wall," he said with a sarcastic laugh. "He told me all about it, and then I convinced him to screw his family prejudice and go be with her."
She beamed up at him upon hearing this. "That's excellent! Although, I sort of told Cassiopeia he was engaged to make her jealous, but then I told her to let go of her past hatred of him and give him a second chance."
Draco laughed at this. "I guess great minds think alike, eh?"
"Yeah, I guess they do." Hermione smiled back.
Suddenly, Draco's grin faltered a bit. "Wait, you told her he was engaged? What's going to happen when she finds out you lied to her? And, hold on, where did they go anyway?"
The pair looked all around them and in every direction, but there was no sign of either Giacomo or Cassiopeia.
Hermione's hope deflated like a popped balloon as her shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Great, now what are we supposed to do? Just hope that they fall in love and live happily ever after? I'm not betting my future on that, thank you very much! I just wish there was some way we could figure out where they went…"
Draco snapped his fingers all of a sudden. "That's it! Hold on, it's here somewhere…" He began to rifle through the pockets of his robe until he latched onto something and drew it out for his classmate to see.
"Twink!" She grabbed her book out of Malfoy's hand and hugged it to her chest.
Draco raised a curious brow at her. "I'm sorry, Twink? You named your book? Even that's a little strange for you, Granger," he chuckled.
Hermione played it off by rolling her eyes at him. "Look, that's what the lady at the bookshop called it, ok? Now tell me, where did you get this?"
"I just shrunk it and put it in my pocket when you were getting stuff together before we left for Hogsmeade. I always saw you looking stuff up in it, so I figured it might be useful while we were here," he shrugged.
Hermione crushed him in another hug. "Draco! You're brilliant!"
Draco coughed and feigned being unable to breathe. "You're—killing—me—Hermione." She laughed at this, releasing him.
"And yes," he added, still smirking, "I'm quite aware of my brilliance."
Hermione once again rolled her eyes (she did that a lot around him), and took out her wand, muttering a spell to bring the book back to its original size.
"Hermione!" Twink exclaimed in relief as her face appeared on the cover, "I was getting worried, I thought the slimy git had stolen me from you!"
Draco stared at the book with a look of shock. "I'm sorry, but did that book just talk to you?" He shook his head as if to clear it, and blinked rapidly as if to make sure the face would still be there the next time he opened his eyes.
Hermione had completely forgotten that he had no idea about her magical book, and quickly explained. "Oh, Malfoy, this is Twink, my magical book. She can talk and can basically show me anything I want to see or know."
Draco still stared at her in disbelief, apparently trying to get his head around a talking book. Meanwhile, Twink glared at him angrily, her eyes narrowed and menacing. Suddenly, she started shouting at him, "You should be ashamed of yourself, Draco Malfoy! You have been nothing but horrible to this poor girl, and she has done nothing to you! You, with all your arrogance and pride, walking around like you're God's gift to women! Ha! You disgust me! She cares for you more than yo—"
Hermione's eyes widened at her outburst and she covered Twink's face hastily with her robes to muffle the shouting.
"Er…sorry about that, I didn't know she was the…uh…protective type," Hermione apologized awkwardly, Twink's stifled cries still present in the background.
Evidently Draco had broken out of his stupor due to being scolded by a book, and was now looking at Hermione, an unexplainable expression on his face. Hermione stared back, unable to discern if he was about to laugh at her or yell back at Twink.
He opened his mouth to say something, but soon after closed it, frowning. It seemed as though an intense internal battle was occurring inside of Draco and, after what felt like an hour to Hermione, he finally spoke.
"I'm…sorry, Hermione."
It took her a moment to realize what he had just said, it being so rare a phrase that came out of her fellow Head's mouth. She was going to ask him what he meant, but was spared when he continued.
"I really have been horrible, haven't I?" he grinned a little, self-mockingly. "After all we've been through, after everything, you don't deserve to be treated like anything less that the wonderful woman you are. I'm sorry that it was at my hands that you were made to feel so terrible, Hermione. I misjudged you completely, and hope that one day you will be able to forgive what I have done—what my whole family has done—to you and your friends."
Hermione stared at him, wanting to gape but being unable due to the increasing amount of moisture that was threatening to fall from her eyes.
"You…," she began softly, stepping closer to him an inch. She smiled and laughed a little, shaking her head in disbelief. "You apologized. Draco Malfoy apologized to me. I never thought I'd see the day."
It was Draco's turn to roll his eyes and puff out his chest, trying to shrug it off in an effort to salvage his pride. "Real men have the ability to admit they were wrong. Seeing as I am a prime example of one, I do tend to apologize now and then. But you really should accept, it's quite rude to leave me unforgiven, you know."
Hermione raised her eyebrows at him laughingly. "Oh, is it? Well then I most definitely accept your apology, Mister Malfoy. Seriously, though," she stopped laughing and looked into his eyes. "Thank you. It means more than you know."
Just when Draco was thinking that their eye contact was getting a little too close for comfort, a small voice piped up, making both parties jump in surprise.
"Excuse me! I'm still down here, you know, and I'd like to know what's going on!" Twink said irritably.
Hermione chuckled at her book and explained what had happened in the past few hours.
"So what do you need me to find for you?" Twink asked once she had finished, ready to be used once again.
"I need you to find Giacomo and Cassiopeia, we lost track of them and have no idea where they went," Hermione said as she rifled through pages. "Aha! This is perfect Twink!"
Hermione had landed on a page that displayed a map of the surrounding area with little dots that indicated where Giacomo, Cassiopeia, and Draco were. She even spotted a little red circle with her own name on it. It currently stated that she and Draco were in the town hall and, looking over a bit, that Giacomo was fast approaching Cassiopeia near the Owlry.
"They're by the Owlry, just there!" Hermione cried excitedly to Draco as he leaned over for a better view. "Hurry, we have to catch them before things get ugly!"
The pair darted out of the town hall and around the corner as fast as they could, Hermione stowing Twink inside her own robes (despite the book's many protests to see all the action). Draco stopped abruptly at the end of the building and peered around the side to view the Owlry without being seen himself. Hermione stepped up close behind him and watched from over his shoulder.
Cassiopeia was standing in the middle of the semi-circular outpost that was the Owlry. It appeared that she was searching for an owl with whom to send a letter, but was interrupted as Giacomo finally caught up to her.
"Draco, go!" Hermione whispered urgently. "We have to stop them and tell them the truth!"
"Shh!" he chided quietly. "Let's see what happens first, they may not even need us to intervene."
"Cassiopeia!" Giacomo exclaimed as he tried to catch his breath. "I have been looking for you everywhere—"
"You have?" she cut him off, her voice anxious, her stomach a knot of anticipation.
He stared at her, nervous but intent. "Yes, yes I had to see you, to talk to you. I had a revelation tonight, one that has been a long time coming."
He paused for a moment and took a deep breath, during which time Cassiopeia watched him with a certain amount of impossible hope.
"I wanted to say…I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the pain I have caused in your life, all the names I called you and taunted you with. I was a horrid person, not even worthy to be called a man, or be in your presence for that matter! You should cast me aside even now; it would be justified, albeit painful for me. But I matter not! It is you, my dear Cassiopeia, that matter more, more to me than you can fathom. My past taught me that you and I were not to be, but I say differently! I say that I can be with whoever I want, and that blood should not be the thing that stands between us and our happiness!"
"Oh, Giacomo!" Cassiopeia cried, turning away from him and putting her face in her hands. She looked up at him through bleary eyes, her expression pained.
"How am I supposed to believe you? How am I supposed to forgive years of torment and self-loathing? I hated myself because of you—hated my blood and parentage because it made me unable to be with you! Don't you understand that?"
Giacomo, who was clearly unprepared for this reaction, quickly went to her, taking her hands in his own. "Forgive me, I was a foolish child! I only said those things because it was how I was raised, and only now do I see how wrong I was, how much I wish I could take it all back! Your blood does not define you, nor does mine define me. We are who we choose to be, and we love who we choose to love. I choose you, Cassiopeia, I choose you."
Her lip trembled as she tried to hold back her tears, but it was of no use. They spilled out onto her cheeks and she broke away from Giacomo abruptly, taking a step backwards while she shook her head.
"You cannot choose me, you have already chosen someone else!" she wailed, hugging her arms close to herself in comfort.
Giacomo's brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"You-u…you're engaged," she said as fresh tears made their way down her face. It was at this point that Draco and Hermione exchanged looks of fear, and they edged slightly closer in case they needed to break in upon the unhappy scene.
"Engaged!" Giacomo exclaimed in disbelief. "Who on earth told you that? I am not engaged, nor would I be to anyone but you!"
"I—I don't know! Some strange girl, she ambushed me at the hall and told me you were engaged!" Cassiopeia replied with a wimper.
"A strange girl? But who could poss—," Giacomo paused midsentence, understanding dawning on his face and quickly replaced with anger. "Those meddlesome fools! They have tried to thwart me twice, but they will not get a third chance—I will end them once and for all!"
It was fortunate that the two Heads had been watching this entire scene, for they now took out their wands and approached the two Italians slowly and cautiously.
"I wouldn't advise that if I were you, Giacomo."
The older wizard whirled around, clearly startled at the appearance of his supposed relative and the bushy-haired girl from earlier. His anger did not subside for long though, and soon enough his own wand was pointing in their direction. Cassiopeia stood nearby, oblivious and confused even though she did recognize the girl.
"What's going on, Giacomo?" she questioned him.
"It's them! These two have been trying to mess up my plans all night, and I've had about enough of them!" he shouted as the three started circling each other.
"Mess up your plans?" Draco countered. "Wasn't it I who encouraged you to apologize to your lady in the first place? Wasn't it I who helped you see the error of your ways?"
"Yeah, and wasn't it I who pushed you to go after him, Cassiopeia?" Hermione chimed in. "I'll admit, I told you he was engaged just to make you jealous and help you discover that you still loved him, which you did. How exactly did that ruin your plans?"
Giacomo stopped circling them now and glanced back and forth between the two of them, but his gaze finally rested on Cassiopeia as he lowered his wand.
"Is it true? Do you love me?" Giacomo said quietly, almost as if saying it too loud would jinx it.
She nodded slowly. "Yes," she whispered fervently. "Yes, I do."
After a brief moment of silence in which the Italians stared at each other and the students watched them, Giacomo dropped his wand and ran to Cassiopeia, enveloping her in an embrace. He lifted her off the ground and twirled her around in joy, and only when her feet touched back down did he kiss her, long and passionately. The tears of sorrow that had clouded Cassiopeia's eyes only moments ago now turned into tears of happiness.
And it was at that precise moment that Draco and Hermione felt the jinx break.