A/N: Me: Stop reading and go write.
Me: NO!
Me: You need to. Its your job.
Me: Why?
Me: Because
Me: ...
Me: YOU SNEAKY LITTLE PROCRASTINATOR! GO WORK!
Me: Alright, alright... "Chapter 21..."
Chapter 21: I'm Just Trying to Protect You
"I have to kill someone?" Draco whispered
"Mmmhmm," Hermione nodded and snuggled up against him
"I have to kill someone!" he said again, this time in a yelp
Hermione laughed a little, "Draco, that yelp was very girl-like."
"Yeah, but how am I supposed to worry about sounding girl-like when I have to kill someone." He said, laughing a bit too. But in a second there was a silence that was not exactly pleasant.
"What do we do?" Hermione asked
"You are NOT doing anything." Said Draco "I don't want you to be part of some grand killing scheme."
"Why not?" she asked, making a defiant face
"Because," said Draco "Because…I have to figure some things out first."
"What? No! I want to help! I'm the whole reason for this. I found it out!" said Hermione
Draco looked at her straight in the eyes, "Hermione. That is one of the reasons I want to just do this on my own."
Hermione saw something that she knew she couldn't fight in his gray eyes. She sighed, "Alright. But you have to promise me something."
"Yes?" said Draco cautiously
"You are not allowed to kill Ronald. OK?" she said
"OK. I wasn't really thinking of it, but that's a pretty good idea-" the look on Hermione's face was so serious he stopped, "I was just joking!"
"Oh," she looked mildly mad about that but soon a large smile adorned her face
"What are you planning?" asked Draco
"Oh, nothing," she said, leaning closer to him. She was now above Draco, who was still sitting on the ground next to the tree. He leaned up to kiss her, but right when they were millimeters apart she disappeared.
"Hermione!" he called, whining a little
"Yeah?" said her voice slyly from above him
"Wha-?" he looked up into the tree and just saw two dangling legs
"How did you get up there so fast?" Draco said
"I just have extreme climbing powers," she said
"Right," Draco got up and found a knot in the tree that would boost him up. He was soon next to Hermione.
"Nice view, huh." Said Hermione
"Yeah," he nodded
But there was a slight evil darkness on the horizon, and he knew there was something bad on the way.
OooOOOooOOOoo
Draco sat in his room, on his bed, staring intently at the far wall and then back down at the dead owl in his hands. The owl was barely bigger than his palm. After delivering the letter it had died, like a self-destruct button. He felt bad that it had died in his hands and planned to put it in the owlery, because he didn't know what to do with a dead owl. If he buried it himself people would assume things.
What was he supposed to do? If he followed orders it would probably end up in losing Hermione. If he didn't follow orders it would probably end up in certain death for not only him but most of his circle of not only friends but acquaintances too.
He read over the letter again when another one flew in, this time without an owl. He read over that and almost fainted. No one was in the room so he screamed out loud. The yelling could be heard throughout the Slytherin dorms, and Blaise knew something was definitely wrong.
He rushed down the corridor and opened the door. Draco had stopped screaming and was face down on the bed.
"What's up, Draco?" asked Blaise
Draco lifted his head up. His hair was getting in his eyes and he definitely didn't look well.
"I have to do something horrible." He said
"And what is that?" said Blaise
"I can't tell you," said Draco, sitting up properly
"Yes you can," Blaise said "You know you can?"
Draco jumped out of his bed and pulled on his tie, which he had discarded when he was yelling.
"I have to break up with Hermione," he said, walking quickly down the hall
"What! Why! You love her!" said Blaise
"Yes, that's exactly why I have to break up with her,"
"Why!" Blaise yelped again
"You know why, Blaise! Just help me here!" said Draco "I don't know how to do this."
"Just don't!" said Blaise
Draco stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned on Blaise. Not many people were around, seeing as it was a Sunday. Blaise could see that he was definitely not happy.
"Blaise! You know what's happening out in the real wizarding world!" he whispered furiously "You know exactly what will happen if the Dark Lord finds out that I'm dating a Mudblood! So I have to. Please help me."
"Draco, how would You-Know-Who know if you were dating a muggleborn?"
Draco just stared intently at his Italian friend, who knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with it.
"Alright, I'll help you," sighed Blaise "Just tell it to her straight. Not so straight as to tell her that you're working for the Dark Lord."
"Alright, thanks." Said Draco "But I have one question for you."
"Yes?"
"What about you?"
"You think that You-Know-Who wants to out some random crackpot called Blaise Zabini with, like, thirteen fathers to be working for him? Plus, your parents are some of his favorites."
"He doesn't pick favorites. Blaise, why are you so happy, but sometimes talk so badly about yourself?"
"Because I'm like that. Plus I need one solid girl. But anyway, go see Hermione, but don't break her heart." Said Blaise
"I won't. I don't want to." Said Draco, walking to the library
Blaise shook his head and went to find Ginny; she needed to be there to be Hermione's comfort.
Draco found Hermione in the back of the library.
"Hey," she planted a kiss on his cheek
"Hey, I need to talk to you," Draco said
"You are talking to me," said Hermione
"Um…but….See, the thing is that I think that we need to break for a bit."
Hermione stared at him with no expression, "Why?"
"Because if You-Know-Who finds out that you, the Muggle born sidekick of his enemy, you would, in fact, die." said Draco
"So you have to work for him? Already? How…ironic," she said, looking down at her folded hands
"Yeah," said Draco "So do you understand? I really don't want to break up with you but I have to."
"Yes," she whispered "But when this is all over I don't know what will happen."
"What do you mean?" the blond asked
"Well, really, we don't know who is going to die by who or what so I can't say that I'll come back to you."
"Oh," he said
Hermione looked back into his grey eyes and took a sharp breath in. She wrapped her petite arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder, "I'll miss you."
"Right," he said "I'll see you later."
Hermione pulled away from him and smiled, "Yeah, later." She picked up her books and walked away.
Draco ran his hands through his hair, "Well, Blaise was wrong." He sat down on the couch that she had been on and stared at the wood table in front of him.
Hermione walked straight up to the Gryffindor Tower, then up to her room. She pulled a trunk out from under her bed and started frantically searching. Soon she found it. Her book that she only kept for special occasions. The book she wrote all over and corrected. The book that let her spill guts into and she didn't care.
Hermione tore a few romantic pages out of the book and incinerated them with her wand. She watched the ashes glow and sparkle like the lame attempt in her book.
Ginny in and watched Hermione vandalize the book in her hands. She knew that this was the second time she had ever done that. The first time was when she had been called Mudblood.
"What's up, Hermione?" she asked
"Draco had to break up with me."
"Are you mad about that?"
"No. He had reason too." She sighed
"Reason? What gives him reason to break up with you?" Ginny asked
"You-Know-Who."
"What! He's a Death Eater?"
"No! Of course not."
"OK. Well, do you need anything?" Ginny asked "Anything at all?"
"Something else to distract me." Said Hermione "Please."
"Right," said Ginny "What about Ron beating up Draco."
"What! Already!" said Hermione, shocked
"No, but soon. I'm pretty sure when he finds out that Malfoy actually hurt you he will be out for the kill for, what, the third time?" said Ginny
Hermione sighed, "Before Ron goes to kill Draco, tell him that he doesn't have to."
"Why?"
"Because the War is really starting"
A/N: I have just figured out how to un-procrastinate. Yup. That is a word.
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