Sleeping with Friend Or Foe- Story 2
Disclaimer: Characters, actions, words etc... taken from JKR's Harry Potter © and used in this fanfiction do not belong to me. Even though I'd love to have Draco Malfoy…..nomnom LOL!
A/N: So It's been almost a year since I last updated. My bad, it seems like time flies so fast. I hope you all remember this story. Of course reviews are always great. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Thanks xoxo TBG
Chapter Recap…..
"I'd want you with me all the time Hermione, but we are in a war. I don't want you to get hurt. You or the baby." Hermione understood and she took Draco's face in her hands and looked him in the eye.
"You forget that I am a very capable witch. I won't put myself in any unnecessary harm. And fear of something happening to me isn't isolated to just the war. Anything could happen to me. A car could hit me, or I could fall down a flight of stairs. I'm a mortal just like you, so you need to get over this fear you have for me. I know its difficult because I have the same fear for you, but I have to get over that so we can do what we need to in these dark times." Draco looked into Hermione's eyes. He knew she was right. Everything she said was right and he did need to take that into consideration. Draco smiled and gently kissed Hermione.
"You're right, as always. Now all I want to do is fall asleep with you. Can we do that?" Hermione smiled and nodded. Draco pulled the covers over them and wrapped his arms around Hermione. She pressed herself closely to his hot skin and couldn't help but think that she couldn't possibly be any happier.
Chapter 25: All That Shines
The next few days for Hermione and Draco were like a honeymoon. They did nothing but stay indoors and make love all day. Draco was even content with just laying on Hermione's stomach, with his ear pressed against her. He spoke softly to the child that was growing inside of her, and every time he did, his heart swelled with happiness.
He couldn't even fathom the idea of Hermione going back to Grimmauld place, even though he knew the inevitable was soon. That afternoon she stood up and decided to stretch her legs. Being in bed all day had its pros & cons.
Draco rolled over and looked up at her. She was tying her hair up and grabbing a towel. She was only wearing a large tshirt.
"So what is the plan for today?" Hermione looked at him with a strange look on her face. It was a mix of resolve and sadness. Draco sat up when he saw that expression.
"I have to go back to Grimmauld place today." Draco got off the bed and went over to Hermione. He put his hands on her shoulders.
"Are you sure its today? Maybe we can talk Dumbledore into giving us some more time," Draco suggested with a grin. Hermione smiled lightly and stroked his cheek.
"I don't think he will. I made an agreement with him. It's for my safety. Besides he set the Portkey to leave today at 3pm." Draco gripped Hermione's shoulders for a moment and then turned away from her. He didn't want her to see that he felt almost desperate. He couldn't think about Hermione not being with him again. He'd been indulging in her presence and the idea of her leaving was almost too much for him to think about.
Hermione could see Draco's body tensing up from the news. She went over and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She kissed his bare back and pressed her face into his warm skin.
"Don't be like this ferret. You know it's for my own good in the end. I don't like it either but we have to do what is necessary until the war is over." Draco turned, took Hermione's face in his hands and looked at her. He studied the cascade of curls that fell in her face, and the arch of her eyebrows and the small freckles that dotted her nose. Then his eyes glanced at her full pink lips, and then up into her eyes. She seemed to be studying him as well.
He smiled, leaned in and kissed her. She leaned into the kiss, and put one of her hands against his chest. She moved back after he let go of her face.
"I just need you...utterly and completely. That's why I don't want you to leave. If you leave, you take everything I am with you. I hope you know that," Draco said to her. Hermione swallowed.
"You know it is the same with me when I leave you. I don't like this anymore than you do, but you remember what happened when your father and the Death Eaters caught me. I'm pregnant now, they could hurt the baby and that would be the most frightening thing I could think of. I don't care about myself but my friends, my child and you. I can't think of anything happening to you. That's why we must listen to what Dumbledore has to say. He knows best...even if we don't like it," Hermione said. Draco moved closer taking her hand and kissed her knuckles.
"This is why I have you. You are my sense of reason. If you weren't I probably would've fallen into trouble a long time ago." Hermione smiled and moved around him for a towel. She kissed his cheek and then went into the bathroom.
Draco felt utterly helpless as he just stood, rooted to the spot. He knew he had to do what was right, but he just wanted to be selfish. When Hermione came out of the bathroom, she was fully dressed and he pulled her into his arms as she walked by. He pressed his face into her neck, he didn't want her to see how this was affecting him. She ran her hands through his hair lightly and then pulled him back.
"Stay," Draco whispered. She smiled and stroked his face lightly & leaned up for him to kiss her. Draco did as she asked. He kissed her softly and then kissed her cheek. He pulled her into a hug and held her for a moment before he walked with her toward the common room. As they made their way there, Draco thoughts were shifting toward what to eat, when shuffling outside the portrait hole caught his attention.
Both Hermione and Draco stopped and looked at each other.
"I wonder what all the commotion is," Hermione said. Draco furrowed his brow. He had no robes on so he rushed to his room and pulled on a soft black shirt and a simple set of robes. A light weight in his pocket stopped him for a moment. He placed his hand against it, remembering his original plans for that day. Then Hermione called his name and he walked back to the common room and opened the portrait hole. He pushed the entrance open a bit and noticed groups of students running down the hallways. Some looked dishevelled and afraid, others looked injured. Draco opened the portrait wide as Hermione came to stand beside him. They climbed out of the hole and grabbed a third year boy who was wearing a Gryffindor tie.
"What is going on? Why is everyone running?" Hermione asked. The boy's eyes were wide.
"Something's happened. The whole ceiling in the Great Hall caved in. We were instructed to get to our dormitories as quickly as possible," he said. Hermione stared at him for a moment and let him go.
"Thanks," she said before he began to follow the diminishing group down the corridor. Hermione turned to Draco who looked pale.
"I have no idea what is happening but I don't like it." Hermione nodded in agreement.
"We need to know what is going on. Our friends are here too, remember?" Draco looked at her worryingly and then caught her hand and made their way quickly and quietly down the now deserted hallway. In the background the chiming of the clock tower rang, signifying 2:30pm. Draco's mind registered the sound but he focused more on Hermione.
"Where is the Gryffindor common room Mione?" Draco asked, keeping her behind him as if to protect her. She noticed and moved out in front, keeping his hand in hers and pulled him behind a tapestry which was a shortcut to the common room. They moved down the next hallway toward the portrait of the fat lady.
Before Hermione could say the password, it swung open and Harry stood in the entrance. He looked surprised to see Hermione and he pulled her and Draco into the common room.
"Hermione what are you doing here?" Hermione hugged Harry & then Ron as he came up to them, looking surprised.
"I was here visiting. I'm supposed to be leaving today but we heard the commotion. What happened in the Great Hall?"
"We were attacked. It fell in first at the head table and then continued to fall in until the hall was filled with rubble. No one was seriously injured luckily. The castle is being swarmed by Death Eaters. We haven't been able to see what forms of creatures are coming but I know they are coming. The war is here."
Draco, if possible, turned even paler. He turned to Hermione and grabbed her shoulders.
"What are we going to do?" Draco asked. Harry and Ron glanced at eachother.
"Members of the Order will most likely be here soon. None of the teachers have been around yet. They may be soon though. They'll need to have a plan in place for all the students. Especially the underage ones," Harry said. Both Hermione and Draco nodded in agreement.
"The secret passageways will be useful, they can be used to get students off the Grounds and then they can have students Apparated away," Hermione said. Harry nodded just as the portrait hole opened and Professor McGonagall stepped in. The Common room fell silent instantly.
"Hogwarts is under attack. All underage students are required to leave the grounds for their own safety. All students of age can make their own decisions regarding staying or leaving. Professor Dumbledore has been setting up emergency portkeys to take students off the grounds. We have been able to locate secret passageways which will be used to transport students off the grounds so they can be removed via side-along Apparation. For those who will be leaving, I will be leading one half of the underage students to my office for the emergency Portkeys. The Prefects & Head Girl and Boy will be leading the other half of underage students to the secret passageway which I will provide the location of the entrance. Once all the undereage students have left, all of age students must understand that they stay at their own risk. This is a true battle against Voldemort-" many students reacted outwardly to the sound of his name, but McGonagall continued.
"Many of us may not leave this battle alive. It is a true collection of power required by the students. We must all come together with all the other houses to do our best." Students were nodding and looking determined. Draco's heart was pounding in panic, Hermione couldn't stay, she had to leave now. Hermione noticed the stricken look on his face and grabbed his arm as he made his way to Professor McGonagall.
"What are you doing?" She asked as students began to line up. Harry & Ron each moved forward to retrieve the parchment McGonagall was providing.
"We have to get back to the portkey so you can leave," He said as he gripped her tightly. She looked around her and shook her head.
"It's too late, look around you Draco. We can't go now, besides..." as she spoke the toll of the Clock tower rang three times. It was 3 o'clock, the Portkey was gone.
"I can't leave now, I missed the portkey. Right now I can take care of myself. We need to get these students to safety and do our duty to the school. We can win this battle," she whispered. Draco did look around, the students were hurt, some were nursing others, but they all looked determined. Hermione was stubborn, and she wouldn't leave now, not when she was needed. Harry and Ron watched as Draco sighed and pressed his forehead to Hermione's. Both boys had their parchment with the location of the passageways, they watched Hermione and Draco.
"He really loves her doesn't he?" Ron whispered to Harry. Harry nodded.
"I wonder if he's... you know," Harry said to Ron. Ron watched them for a moment longer, his eyes sweeping over Hermione's arms.
"Nope I don't think he has. But I say it's now or never, we have to get these students out of here," Ron answered as the first half of students filed slowly out of the portrait hole.
Draco and Hermione pulled apart. Draco held Hermione's face and then smiled.
"Promise me something," Draco whispered to Hermione.
"Anything."
"When this is over, and I mean really over...will you marry me?" Hermione's breath caught. Draco's eyes were so honest and open. It felt like everything was frozen around her. The chaos of everything made her almost cry.
"Draco I don't want you to ask because of the war. I want you ask because you love me," she said back. He smiled wider and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet green box with gold embellishment on it. Hermione felt her heart stop. She stared at the box as Draco opened it. A large princess cut diamond ring set in white gold shimmered in the soft velvet interior.
"I was going to ask you this morning. I didn't want you leaving without my ring on your finger. I've been planning it ever since I knew you were coming, and it took forever trying to find a ring you would like. I wanted something as beautiful as you but something simple too." Draco glanced at Hermione's face. She'd been so silent and her face was down now. She seemed to be hiding behind her bangs. Draco bent down slightly and took her chin and pulled her face up. Tears were falling down her face.
"I'm asking you because I love you. You said you would promise me anything. So do you promise?" he whispered as he wiped away a tear with his thumb. Hermione let out a breath and Draco felt the warmth of her breath caress his hand.
"Yes, I promise," Hermione said with a sob. Draco smiled and he felt his heart swell. He whopped and then took Hermione's left hand and slid the ring onto it. Hermione couldn't speak as Draco pulled her into a hug, lifting her as he held her. Harry and Ron were grinning broadly as Draco put Hermione back on her feet. They both clapped Draco on his back and then took turns hugging Hermione.
"We're surprised you hadn't done it already Malfoy," Harry said to Draco. He grinned.
"We've been a bit pre-occupied since Hermione's been back," Draco replied. Hermione looked from Harry to Ron.
"You two knew about this?"
"Of course we did," Ron answered.
"He came to us to ask for our opinions. Plus we're your best friends, wouldn't you want us to know?" Ron said, pretending to look hurt. Hermione just smiled, she felt so happy.
Suddenly another rumble went through the castle. It alerted them all to the seriousness of their situations. Ron and Harry each handed a copy of the parchment to Draco and Hermione.
"Each of us should take a group of student to one of the passage ways, that way we can get more students out at once," Harry suggested. Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement, but Draco looked a bit worried. He didn't like the idea of not being with Hermione and as she glanced at him she realized this. She caught his hand and squeezed it.
"We each will have a 7th year with us or we can each team up if that's better," she said. Ron and Harry nodded.
"Hermione and I will take the first group and you and Ron can take the second group." Draco hesitated a moment then nodded. He kissed Hermione lightly.
"Stay safe," He whispered before he went over to the group of students that were being addressed by Ron. Hermione stood for a moment watching Draco before she took action and went over to another group of students who were listening to Harry who was providing information about the passageway in the hump of the one-eyed witch on the 3rd Floor.
As Harry and Hermione made their way to the 3rd floor, rumbling throughout the castle kept them on their guard. Neville and Dean had volunteered to come with their group as well and were trailing the back of the group. Even though alot of the students looked afraid, they also seemed determined as well.
Harry checked the Marauder's map which he had been carrying with him at all times since coming back to Hogwarts from the Christmas holidays.
"We're almost there, just around this corner," he whispered. As they made their way around the corner, they could see that one of the walls of the 3rd floor corridor had been blown away and cool gusts of wind were blowing down the hall.
Harry looked around carefully and then made his way quickly to the hump of the one eyed witch. Hermione followed closely after him and she distinctly heard him whisper "Dissendium". The hump slid back as an opening, big enough for a person to climb into, appeared.
Harry moved aside for the students to see.
"Quickly get into the passageway, it will lead you to the cellar of Honeydukes Sweetshop. There will be shelter and hopefully food as well and you'll be able to go home. Be careful when climbing in, the passage down is a slide."
Students began moving into the passageway, quickly and quietly. The wind continued to blow into the hallway, Hermione could feel goosebumps on her skin as a particularly cold breeze went by. It seemed like the air was getting colder and colder.
She looked down the hallway and then a chill slid through her, and her heart stopped. She knew that chill and she pulled out her wand immediately at the end of the line of students.
"Guys, we've got company," she said. Neville looked up and realizing what was happening, he went over to Hermione's side as a group of Dementors rounded the corner at the end of the hall.
Hermione heard Neville scoff. She glanced at him and then he glanced back and smiled.
"Ready?" He asked as the hooded creatures began to creep toward them. Luckily the group of students was diminishing quickly, but Hermione knew they'd need to put up a fight.
"Oh yes," she whispered back. Both lifted their wands and yelled Expecto Patronum.
Two large silver shapes burst out of Hermione and Neville's wands at the same time. The shapes melded into one another and created a large white wall between the Dementors and the students. The Dementors hissed and recoiled at the Patronus shield that was being cast across the hallway.
Hermione could feel the strength draining out of her as she sustained her Patronus. Not doing any proper defensive magic over the last few months had really taken a toll on her. But the thought of protecting her child kept her strong.
Neville seemed to be fading a bit, as Dean and Harry began hoisting the smallest students into the statue. She could see part of the wall beginning to fade slightly. Hermione took Neville's hand and squeezed.
"Keep it up Neville. They aren't all in yet," she said as she glanced behind them at the cluster of students that were still getting into the passageway.
"Its hard to hold onto a happy memory," he said between gritted teeth. She could see he was really struggling but they had to protect the students.
Suddenly part of the Patronus wall faded and the Dementors flooded through. More had joined while their wall had been up. Hermione could hear their rattling breath now and could smell their rancid odor. She moved up closer to Harry and Dean, and then turned to face the oncoming Dementors.
She thought about Draco and their moments together here at Hogwarts and their child. She couldn't let him down. She touched her stomach and saw her ring glittering there as well and she raised her wand and performed the Patronus again.
This time her Patronus filled the entire hallway. It was so powerful it literally whipped and blew the Dementors away. Some flew back the way they came, others flew out the broken wall of the corridor. When Hermione pulled her wand back, all the Dementors were gone and so were the students. Harry closed the passageway and then hugged Hermione. Dean grinned at her as Harry let her go.
"That was some Patronus Hermione. Well done." Hermione smiled but looked over at Neville.
"Neville helped to. He was there and helped majority of the time. His Patronus saved the students too," she said as she took his hand. He gave Hermione a smile and squeezed her hand in thanks.
"Let's get back to the Common room. It's not safe out here with who knows what else roaming around," Harry said. The three nodded in agreement and tiptoed down the hallway.
Draco's trip was very uneventful. The students were led to the passageway and were all sent to safety without any interruptions. Draco was surprised that they had not met any creatures or dark wizards on their way there. The youngest students had been whimpering and crying and Draco had had to give a pep talk to one little boy who had been trembling from the moment they left the Common room. Draco had eventually given him a piggy back ride.
The little boy, whose name was Benjamin, had been last to go in the passageway. He turned and looked up at Draco as the last students went into the tunnel.
"Will you come?" He'd asked in a small voice. Draco bent down and shook his head.
"I have to stay and protect the school so you can come back when it's safe." Benjamin had shaken his head and then thrown his arms around Draco in a hug. Draco couldn't help but hug Benjamin hard before he gently let go and led him into the tunnel. The older yet still underage students, took Benjamin who waved as the tunnel entrance shut with ringing finality.
The reality of the situation was really hitting Draco hard. Anyone here could die today and as he heard Ron calling his name, all he could think of was Hermione.
Draco turned and moved swiftly down the hall with Ron and Seamus close on his heels. They made their way up two floors before it happened.
As the three young men made their way around a corner, a spell flew past Draco, singeing his cheek and catching Seamus on the shoulder. All three swung around, Seamus a little slower than the others as his shoulder began to bleed. Two more spells came at them, and luckily Ron threw up a shield charm as Draco yelled a curse. He heard a groan and moved slowly toward the sound.
On the floor was a crumpled Dark wizard. Draco leaned down and kicked the wizard, rolling him over in the process. The face belonged to Dolohov, and Draco silently sighed in relief that it wasn't his father. Draco stood up and wiped his cheek.
Since Dolohov was unconscious, Draco used his wand to create ropes which bound Dolohov, then the three boys dragged him into a broom cupboard and locked the door. Seamus had swiped Dolohov's wand and snapped it in two. As they ran down the hallway, Seamus tossed the remnants into an empty classroom.
Draco was afraid, not for himself but for Hermione. Never had Draco ever really felt fear for anyone other than himself, but sweat hit his brow as he thought of Hermione. He had no idea where she was and as he made his way up the next flight of stairs, Draco's eyes widened at the chaos and desolation around him. His fear nearly crippled him as he looked around, he needed to find Hermione, and he needed to find her now.