Song of The Chapter: Gravity by Sara Bareilles
The next morning, Draco awoke to the sound of soft snores occurring from his left side. Hermione fell asleep resting on his arm, her hand intertwined with his own. Draco sighed in contentment at his dream, but soon realized it wasn't a dream at all. He remembered where he last was. He remembered dueling with Potter before he cursed him. A searing pain occurred within his chest, and then he collapsed. That was the last thing he remembered.
Now he was in the Hospital Wing, and it looks like Hermione might have spent the night next to him. "Hermione," he whispered, nudging her, "Wake up." She arose quickly with a look of complete bewilderment. "Relax, Hermione. It's me," he announced.
"Oh, I must have spent the night," she yawned, "How are you feeling?"
"Sore but better. You didn't have to stay," he started.
"I wanted to." Draco shifted to sit up a little, but winced at the pain from his stomach. "Ugh, what the hell did Potter do to me?" he complained.
"I don't know, it was dark magic."
"Ugh, then throw him a hex for me, will you?"
Hermione smiled and replied, "I might." Draco laid back down defeated, still wincing from the pain. "I need to talk to you about something."
"I told you I'm not telling you anything," he started.
"It's not that," she began, "Last night, Madame Pomfrey told me something about you. She said that you used to visit me, when I was in the Hospital Wing, second year."
Draco gave a stern expression and breathed in through his nose. "Is that true?" she asked.
"If I said yes, what would you ask next?"
"I would ask why-"
"Then, no. No, it is not true," he said sternly.
"Stop hiding things from me, Draco. You can tell me anything!"
"You're much easier to talk to when you're petrified," he added jokingly.
"I'm serious," she reassured. Draco gave her a sympathetic gaze before finally adding, "I'd talk to you about anything. Anything and everything. I know it sounds vague, but it's exactly what it was. My family, my friends, my beliefs, even you."
"If you talk to me again, then maybe I can actually help you, Draco," she offered.
"You won't be able to help, besides I'm not worth your time," Draco stated. Hermione took his hand once more and cupped it gently, before saying, "You're worth every minute of it."
Draco never talked about himself. To anyone. But what made Hermione Granger different...he never understood. Instead, he sat there in his hospital bed and told her everything, beginning with his family. He told her how being raised by pureblood aristocrats make you believe that you are something better, which made himself all the worse. He talked about how he used to see the world differently, and that muggles and muggleborns were not cut out for the Wizarding World.
He told her about how jealous he would get whenever she would beat him at anything. Exams, grades, and all other things involving school. It frustrated him to see her as such a nice person, while his parents always said that muggleborns were inferior. It confused him, which was why he picked on her in particular so much.
And then he told her about third year, when he followed her by the Whomping Willow. She was certainly surprised by it, and that she didn't see him. He told her how he was the one to send Snape into the tree to get to them. He asked her what had happened afterwards, but she didn't tell him that.
Then in Fourth year, he told her how jealous he got when he saw her at the Yule Ball with Krum. He said he would've given anything to just have one dance with her. And later that year, what really surprised her was when he went to Dumbledore to complain about the Tri-Wizard challenge she was in, and how Dumbledore later figured out that he liked her.
Then he explained how things started to change at home, and how his Father began talking to him more about the Dark arts. He regretted ever getting involved with Dark magic, but at the time, he could not say no to his Father. He then explained how he would always keep a watchful eye on her, to make sure she was safe.
He even got a little mad when he questioned her on going into the Department of Mysteries and getting caught in a duel with several Deatheaters. He wanted to be there to protect her, but that's when he realized that maybe being with her is truly impossible. Later that year he would become a Deatheater, and seeing her would only put her in danger. That's why he couldn't be with her. That's why she was his impossibility.
When Draco finished, Hermione could do nothing but stare into her lap. Everything he said had shocked her to the very core. No wonder why he didn't want her to get involved with him. And this whole time, he had been a big part of her life, that she was never aware of.
She held his hand and with a long loving look, said, "We are the most perfect impossibility, aren't we?"
"Absolutely."
"And this thing that you're doing now, your mission, it's going to change everything, isn't it?"
"Yes."
Hermione wiped a tear out of the corner of her eyes and asked, "And when can I ever see you again?"
"You won't."
"Oh God," she sobbed, "It's really happening."
"Yes it is. Which is why this is the last time you'll be seeing me," he said sadly. She looked up at him with more tears in her eyes. The truth hurt, but understanding it was so much more painful. She wasn't going to fight, she wasn't going to argue. She was going to let this happen, because there was no way around it.
She stood up slowly, holding onto the bed for support. Tears fell down her face and onto the white bandages on his chest. And with one final bruising kiss, Hermione slowly muttered, "I love you," and backed away from his bed. She gave him one final look before turning away, muffling a sob with her sleeve, and finally left Draco to fight his battle alone.
Hermione slowly made her way back to Gryffindor tower. She wrapped her arms around herself as an attempt to hold her broken soul together. Not Ron, not Cormac, not Viktor, and not even Harry could have hurt her more than she already was. She had just professed her love for Draco to him, and walked out on his life as if it meant absolutely nothing. She didn't care if he didn't feel the same way, she just wanted to leave him with something to remember her by.
And now all she had to do was wait anxiously for whatever Draco was about to attempt. And whatever it was, was going to change everything. Whatever it was, was going to take him away from her forever.
At times like these, you can't have faith. You can't have hope that things would get better, because in reality they won't. You can't wish on a stupid shooting star and expect everything to be okay again. You can't expect to find some answer to the world around you, because it won't get any better. The only thing you can say to make yourself feel any better, is that it can't get any worse.
Hermione looked up to find that she hadn't walked to the Gryffindor Tower like she thought. Subconsciously, she had walked straight to their Tower. She clutched her shoulders tightly and proceeded up the stairs.
The Tower had a beautiful orange glow to it, with morning sun threading itself into the room. She walked forward towards the railing and breathed in deeply. The air smelt grassy and natural. It was like freedom.
As she backed away from the balcony, something caught her eye. Hidden behind a stack of books, were stems. Hermione stepped forward and pulled out the stems to reveal the most beautiful flowers she had ever seen. It suddenly occurred to her that that night she came up here, Draco was holding a flower just like these.
The flowers were beautifully colored, with the inside as a vibrant red and eventually fading into a dusty gold. Everything about them spoke pure Gryffindor, which was probably why he brought them for her.
"Nice flowers," a voice interrupted her thoughts from behind. She turned around to find Harry, standing at the top of the staircase. "Thank you," she said.
"Do I have to guess who they're from?"
"If you did, you'd probably be right," she stated, "How'd you know I was here?" Harry pulled from his back pocket the Marauder's Map and gave her a knowing look. Hermione moved back to the balcony, and leaned against the railing with flowers in hand. Harry followed her and stood against the balcony fence.
"I'm really sorry, Hermione."
"No, you don't have to be sorry, Harry. I should be the one apologizing," she started, "For the way I've been betraying you."
"You can never betray me. I understand I can't always be around to protect you, I shouldn't have been so involved."
"It's not your fault, Harry. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you for being involved. And if anything, you are my family, Harry. You're like my brother. And I love you for that."
"I love you too, Hermione." Harry pulled her in for a hug which she gladly took. Harry was right, they were family, and family sticks together no matter what. Whatever was about to happen to them, she would make sure to always stay by his side, like he always has for her. As he pulled away, he reached for something in his pocket. "And that's why, I'm giving you this," he stated, handing her a small vial of a clear liquid she immediately recognized as Felix Felicis.
He continued, "When Dumbledore and I looked at Slughorn's memory, Slughorn had given Voldemort all he needed to know on Horcruxes. He said that it was like a person ripping parts of their soul apart and putting them in some sort of object. Dumbledore believes that Voldemort made six and he wants me to help him find one."
"And what's the liquid luck for?"
"I didn't want to bring this up too soon, but I believe Malfoy is going to try something tonight, and whatever it is, is-"
"-going to change everything," Hermione chanted slowly. That's exactly what Draco had said, and whatever it was, was going to happen sooner than she thought.
"Yes, I want you and Ron to use it, in case of an emergency while I'm gone."
"Wait- So you think we're going to be attacked?"
"It is a possibility, but yes." Harry hugged her once more and gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek before saying, "I have to go now. Dumbledore wants me to meet him in his office so we can apparate there. Just- promise me you will be safe."
"I promise," Hermione reassured, "And you be safe too."
"I promise," Harry said before leaving her in the Tower.