Chapter 14

How the Beast Fell for the Beauty

Hermione reached her arms around the boy, who was now overpowering her. He pushed her backwards and held onto her tightly. As he kissed her violently, she trembled beneath him. She was scared and her pulse raced just under her skin. Goose bumps crawled along her flesh and for an instant, she felt as though she would faint. She had felt this so many times before, yet it still took her breath away. It sent her head in a spin and her stomach in a whirl. Swallowing hard, she pulled him closer, though all of her senses wanted to push him further and further away.

"Granger," He looked down at her.

"W-what?" Hermione barely got out.

"You know what this means, don't you? You know what you have to do?" Draco questioned as he kissed her further.

"I know," She nodded, "I know, Draco."

Hermione felt a terrible pain in her body, making her jolt. But it wasn't a pain caused by anything but the given situation. It was her conscious kicking in, her humanity taking over and her mind clearing up. All of it hit her at once as she realized what she was doing—what this meant. Wanting to hurl, Hermione opened her eyes in a scared notion, this couldn't happen, she wouldn't do this to everyone who had loved her. She wasn't this selfish, was she?

"Hermione," A voice called, "Hermione,"

She sprang up from the small cot and opened her eyes, with an open mouth. Grabbing her throbbing head, her lips stayed parted as she tried clearing her throat. Ron watched her carefully to make sure that she was physically okay. It had been a few weeks now of their constant searching and still they had nothing to show for it. Hermione slid her feet to the ground and quickly got up. Pulling out her wand, she looked at it for a few moments and then put it in her pocket. Ron stayed close next to her, not leaving her side just yet.

"If you have something to say," Hermione turned to Ron quickly.

"I do," Ron nodded, "I actually do."

"Well that's great, Ron, since you have been staring at me like a lost puppy for the past few weeks!" Hermione snapped.

"Hermione, what have you been dreaming about? Every single night, like clockwork you begin having these nightmares, can you please just explain them?" Ron asked.

"No," Hermione said sternly as she walked out of the tent and outside, where Harry was currently trying to build a fire.

"If something is troubling you, you should talk about it. It's been proven that if you are having bad dreams, talking about it with someone else can help make those dreams go away." Ron said, "Right, Harry?"

Harry looked over at his friend, trying to react properly, but not really sure how. He didn't want to upset Hermione any further but he didn't want to disappoint Ron either. So he looked at the two for a few moments. Hermione had her arms crossed as she looked out around the forest, probably thinking of something both witty and clever to say. Ron stood hopelessly, trying to get Harry to agree. Harry had watched the two bicker and fight since the night they had reunited. He wasn't necessarily sad that they had met up, because he really did need Granger's help and rational mind. But he couldn't stand how immature the two had been acting. Their behaviors were making it hard for him to concentrate on the big picture. He had almost wished that it was Ginny who they had found—only because he knew that if he could spend time with the one that he truly loved right now, he wouldn't waste it with arguing.

"Yeah, yeah I think I've heard that before." Harry then turned away from the two.

"See? Even Harry agrees, come on," Ron reached for her, but she pulled away.

"If I wanted to talk to you, don't you think I would have said something by now?" Hermione asked.

Ron became silent, realizing that this had two different meanings. He might not have been as bright as her when it came to school work, but Ron was certainly not stupid. He knew exactly what she meant by that statement. Not only would she talk to him about her dreams if she wanted him to know, but she would talk to him about their relationship in regards to where exactly they stand if she wanted to. But it was clear now, as if it wasn't before that she wanted nothing to do with him in that sense. So he nodded, and then calmly walked away back into the tent.

She knew what she said was harsh, and she regretted it a little. But maybe pushing him away was for his own good anyway. If he grew to hate her for just being her, it wouldn't be a surprise when all of her secrets unraveled. It made her sick to think about, but she decided that she didn't care about herself anymore. For that matter, she didn't care if she came out of this dead or alive, she just wanted them to be happy for once, and most of all to be safe. But she also knew that they still had a long road to travel and it would by no means be an easy one.

Not only did she not want to tell Ron about her dreams because of what was in them, but she honestly didn't know if she wanted those dreams to go away. When she first began having them, she despised them and was disgusted by the very idea of it. But over time when she got closer to Draco and especially with their last few breakouts, she almost seemed to cling onto her dreams no matter how depressing or haunting they had seemed. Her dreams were the only place that she could see Draco now. So it was her dreams that she would dwell in.

"You know, you never told me about what exactly happened," Draco sat on his bed and watched Luna from across the room.

"You mean how I got captured?" Luna questioned.

"Yeah," He nodded.

"Kind of hard to explain," Luna looked down at the floor. "But maybe, if you tell me some of your stories, I could tell you some of mine. It looks like we're both going to be here for a while anyway."

"Do you know what they want from you?" Draco asked.

"I think we both know what they want from me. They want answers, information, all these things that I can't provide from them, but they won't believe me." Luna looked to him and then back to the ground. She had several large bruises and cuts on her body that were visible. They were treating her much like they had treated Hermione.

"What do you want to know about my story, Luna?" Draco crossed his arms.

"I want to know how exactly the beast fell for the beauty," Luna replied, "Or even how the beauty fell for the beast."

"I would like to know that too," Draco laughed, and then fell silent thinking back. "Hermione saved me, the night of the dance." He thought back, "My father came to take me away, and when they saw her, they took her too. They treated her the way you're being treated now. But she didn't know anything. I didn't believe her to be honest, but after a long while of being close to her, I began to figure out how to tell if she was lying or not."

"She was never a good liar," Luna smiled.

"No, she definitely was not." Draco stated. "She began to change me…in a lot of ways that I still can't quite understand. The way she spoke to me, the way she acted, I don't know why she did what she did for me. But she gave me miles and asked for nothing in return. She saved me that night in the astronomy tower, but she saved me more than once. I think she might have saved me in a lot more ways than she will ever know."

"It's not surprising," Luna giggled, "I mean, you both are so stubborn, but…if two people who are complete opposites are around each other for long enough, they'll begin to realize how much they actually have in common."

"Maybe," Draco snapped back into reality, "Now, tell me your story."

"It was just a wrong place, wrong time situation. I was on my way to Hogsmeade." Luna said, "I happened to overhear something that I don't think I was supposed to. Your father was talking in hushed tones to someone who was covered in all black. I never made out exactly what they were saying, but they didn't believe me. The cloaked one wanted to kill me, but your father decided that I might know something. He said that he'd seen me around Hermione before and that if she knew anything, I would also know."

"I don't understand what their obsession is with thinking that everyone knows something. Everyone knows that Potter and Weasley are out looking for horcruxes, but they did it in a sly manner, so no one could follow their tracks and no one would know. The two idiots thought they would keep all their friends safe by not telling them any information," Draco sighed, "But all that they did was put them in harm's way." He paused and shook his head. "And damn that Granger for going out there like some sort of hero,"

"Heroine," Luna corrected.

"Whatever!" He stammered, "She shouldn't be in the middle of this, this isn't her problem! It's not her mess to clean up, yet she's so quick to jump for those two brats."

"Those two brats are her best friends, Draco. Take that into some consideration. Think of—of Crab or Goyle. If they were in a life-threatening situation, wouldn't you go and help them?" Luna questioned.

Draco stared at her, feeling low. She didn't know that he'd already been put in a position that he had to decide whether to help or not. But he didn't. But maybe it was different because Draco never had any real friends, who really cared about him for who he was. He had acquaintances, and people who loved him for who they thought he was. He had people like Pansy who was only with him because of his bloodline and wealth, and yes at one time that's all that he thought mattered in life. So at that given point in his life, he thought that those were friends and that she was a lover. But when Hermione changed his point of view, everything changed with it. He realized that those weren't true friends and he knew that he still didn't have any. The only thing he had left in the world was Hermione and she was off trying to save the world and mend all the pieces together to make sense of things, just like she always did. And here he was, being cowardly and afraid, staying in the shadows, wishing he could do something, anything. But he also had a vow that he could not break, because his life depended on it.

"Get up," Lucius whipped open the door.

Luna scrambled to her feet and took a deep breath. Lucius grabbed her by the back of her hair and threw her to the floor, just for fun. As he yanked her up from the ground, he punched her, pushing her against the wall. She slid down to the floor once more and let out a small shriek of pain. Draco watched with wide eyes. He imagined Hermione as Luna for a few moments. He had witnessed this all too many times before and it was driving him insane. If she was Luna, if she was being hammered into by some man like his father, he would knock him senseless until there was no life left in the man. Luna had showed him kindness, she had showed him loyalty and respect, which he never gave to her. So without hesitation, Draco pulled his wand from his pocket and pointed it at his father who was turned away from him.

"Stupefy!" Draco shouted and his father fell to the ground.

Luna looked up to see Draco standing there boldly.

"Why—why did you do that?" Luna asked, trying to push herself up using the wall to balance herself.

"Because you are my—my," Draco stopped, this was the hardest thing he had ever had to say. Draco didn't say these kinds of things, to anyone for that matter. It made him feel uneasy and uncomfortable. So he cleared his throat again and then softly spoke, "Because Luna, you are my—my uh, my friend."

Luna smiled slightly as she walked over to Draco. Reaching her arms around him, she hugged him. Though Draco stood there in a tense and edgy manner, he forced himself to put his arms around her and tap her back lightly. That's when it hit him that this would be what proved to her that she could trust him. This might be his only chance to get to Hermione again.

Author's Note:

Hey guys! Hope you've liked it so far and continue to read more! It might be a while for the next chapter to be uploaded because my college classes have started and I have a ton of work to do. But thank you for being so patient and kind!

Thanks!