Welcome to Drama land…
Chapter 37: Mr. Right
Draco sat down to breakfast and looked down at his plate in disgust. What was he going to do? Earlier in the evening the night before he had received a letter from his mother stating that now that testing was through, he was to come home for a week. That a friend of the family wished to see him…
So… Voldemort has finally reached my mother… He thought dejectedly as he had sat in his room, waiting for Daniel to return from Hermione and his study session.
As he sat there listening to the silence around him he felt like screaming, but not a word, not a sound escaped his dry lips. He really couldn't believe that his mother had fallen to him. Voldemort was strong, but Narcissa was stronger. But maybe that was it… All his life he had believed that his mother was greater than god himself could be but now… now came the painful realization that his mother was not just human, but she was weak. His father had been weak too, not that he was saying the two of them were at all similar. His mother had had a good heart that his father had morphed and twisted into the shadow of one whereas his father had never quite had the capacity to be human. He was first and foremost a tool of whoever he thought could give him what he thought he was entitled to, what he thought he needed.
And that was why Narcissa was alive and Lucius dead. Lucius was lucky because he knew the right people but Narcissa… Narcissa was cursed for knowing them and denying their ways.
Later, while he tried to sleep over Daniel's snores he decided that he couldn't tell Hermione despite the fact that he longed to confide in her his worst fears but he was afraid they were too great for even Hermione to handle. He was still reeling from the realization and he had grown up around this sort of conflict… It was never him though. It was never his family, it was never his friends. Not until he had made the conscious decision to defy the codes of the Death Eaters and befriend a mudblood… but he supposed his worst offense was loving one…
Draco tried to deny to himself that he loved her but the fact remained. What else could it be called when one could stare at someone's face for hours and never grow tired of one crease, one expression, or one flaw? What could it be called when he could watch her yell until she was red in the face and he lose no respect for her? What else could make him, Draco fricken Malfoy, weak in the knees to the point where he truly believed he could fall into her brown eyes? And what else could he call this fear for her in the pit of his stomach, A fear that remained with him all the time. It wasn't just for her life but for her sanity, for her heart, and for her loves.
Draco contemplated a great many things when thinking about this and came to a disturbing conclusion. He would jump in front of a bus to save Harry Potter just so he didn't have to see her cry one tear or hurt the way that he hurt when he thought about losing his mother. He would sacrifice himself and everything that he had just to see her smile. He would give to her every last shred of his humanity for just one secret that she held close to her. It was pathetic but… it was all true.
The question was; would he tell her this? Not a chance in the world. He enjoyed the carefree demeanor they held now too much. They were still young and she was still searching. He could tell she wasn't ready to commit. There was so much experience that she had to gain and though it bothered him to a point where it burned through him like fire, he knew and had accepted that he would not be the one to share all of these experiences with her. If he had believed that that was the case he would have slapped a sticker on his face that said, naïve or stupid.
Looking across the great hall he watched as Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Daniel Wright conversed with all the other Gryffindors and amongst themselves. It made him, for once in his life, long to wear the red and gold…
"I like them…" Daniel told Hermione as she led him to her next class.
"It seems they've taken a liking to you as well, Daniel." Hermione replied. "It seems as though you've got quite the social talent. Padma was practically melting into your lap."
"Padma? Was she the small one? With the black hair?" He asked and Hermione nodded.
"She seems a bit shrewd." Daniel replied. "And I think she likes to talk… a lot."
"That she does." Hermione looked perplexed for a moment and paused. "Is it just me or is your accent fading?" She asked.
"This always happens… Whenever I am away from my native home and family for too long I start to adapt to the languages and it has been proven that when in a particular environment people change." Daniel replied and Hermione nodded.
"That's very interesting to discover. So… If I went to America for a year I would develop an American accent?" She asked and Daniel nodded. "And when I came home I would go back to the way I normally speak?" Once again Daniel nodded. "Do you even notice the change?"
"No… but others do." He said with a smile. "So… Your friend Harry. He is an orphan… How did he lose both of his parents?" Daniel asked and Hermione paused, thinking of how to reply.
"I don't know the whole detailed story but what I have heard from Harry and other sources is that Lily and James, Harry's parents, were asked by lord Voldemort, an insane man who practically crowned himself god, to join him and they refused. Thus they became the hunted, the enemy." Hermione waited for an indication from Daniel and when he motioned for her to continue she nodded. They were now outside of her classroom but she didn't touch the handle. She wanted to finish telling Daniel the story before they met up with Harry and Ron. "Well, one night, while Lily and James were in hiding, one of Voldemort's servants, their secret keeper, told him the way to get to their home and first he killed James who tried to defend Lily and Harry-"
"Harry was there when they were killed?" Daniel asked.
"Yes… He was only an infant though, probably not older than one." She waited for any more questions but it became obvious that he had none. "Well, he killed James and Lily and then he tried to kill Harry but… something strange happened. He said the two most horrible words you can say in the wizarding world but nothing at all happened to Harry… Instead, Voldemort had broken his own power and no one knows why…"
"So… is Voldemort still around?" Daniel asked and Hermione nodded. "In prison right?" Hermione shook her head sadly.
"Everyone thought he was dead but two years ago when Harry was competing in the Triwizard tournament the trophy was turned into a portkey that sent the winner, supposed to be Harry, to a place where Voldemort returned to his body…" Hermione felt tears come to her eyes and something was blocking her throat.
"You said it was supposed to be Harry… Was it?" Daniel asked.
"It was Harry but… Harry, who had tried to be honorable, decided that he and another boy, a Hufflepuff, would share the winnings but Cedric was killed... right in front of his eyes." Hermione stuttered.
"That's terrible… and no one's found him yet?" He asked and Hermione shook her head, opening the door. "Harry seems okay for someone whose had such a bad life."
"Not bad… just full of loss. In fact, just last year he lost the only person who he could ever really call family to the very man who made an orphan of him." Hermione said and suddenly all the feelings she had put aside came back in torrents.
"It makes you sad, to see him in pain." Daniel stated and Hermione smiled while nodding.
"I'm so lucky…" Hermione began. "And it sucks to be that lucky. Lucky enough to have a mother and father to go home to when someone else who is so much more deserving than you in so many ways goes home to an aunt and uncle who can't stand him and a cousin who beats the shit out of him… and all the memories… I truly can't imagine what it must be like to be in Harry's mind." Hermione said. "He probably relives every moment of those things while he sleeps…"
"How could he not?" And Hermione shrugged.
"There Harry is… We should stop this conversation." Hermione suggested, turning a bit red and Daniel nodded.
"I don't think that I have ever admired someone as much as I admire him…" And that was the last comment Daniel made on the subject.
"So are you and Daniel dating or are you and Draco still barking up each other's trees?" Ginny asked at lunch and Hermione laughed.
"Daniel and I are just friends and Draco and I… well, I don't know exactly where we're at. We haven't really talked about anything and Draco doesn't seem to mind… What does that mean?" Hermione asked.
"That he's lost interest and is already looking elsewhere." Ginny replied immediately. But it wasn't because she didn't like Draco, it's what she truly believed of him.
Hermione cringed. It took a moment for her to recover from Ginny's stinging comment but she did make an effort at a comeback.
"That's rude to say…" Failure…
"It's true… Him and Heather seem to be getting awfully close." Ginny said. "That is what we normal people call drifting."
"Him and Heather are just friends and Daniel… Daniel just isn't my type…" Hermione said, looking across the great hall towards the Slytherin table.
"What, he cares? He's nice to you? He worships the ground you walk on? That's every girl's type. Draco on the other hand," She began. "Is rude, careless, plots the torture of innocent people for entertainment purposes, and is damaged. He's the type of boy most girls try to shy away from…" Ginny said. "Not to mention the fact that Draco is practically any dark lord's dream servant… If you can't see death trap written all over that than wow! You must have it bad."
"I shouldn't have asked you." Hermione said, gathering up her things. "I should have known you'd be the closed-minded, judgmental Ginny." Hermione paused before she stood. "Maybe I should have told you it was Ron I was talking about. I bet then you'd be all over trying to patch things up and figure out what is wrong and I think that sucks." Hermione said turning. "If you ever even thought about giving Draco a chance you'd be a better person for it." And she turned, leaving.
Draco saw Hermione flee the red-headed guinea pig and stood to follow her. He figured they should speak now and find out where they are before he left to seal his fate. Maybe what they said would change his mind.
But as he walked into the library he saw her face light up as she saw Daniel sitting in the back.
"Hermione." He called and she turned. Upon seeing him, her smile twitched before widening. "I have to talk to you about something.
Hermione's heartbeat increased. From the look on his face she knew she didn't want to hear it. "Can it wait?" Don't break my heart in my territory… "I have some studying I have to do." I really don't want to hear your excuses…
"…Erm… Yeah… Of course. I'll talk to you later…" And Draco turned around, feeling as though he was walking the walk of shame and rejection.
"Why so down Draco?" Asked a bright voice behind him and Draco turned to face Heather, dressed as usual in her revealing gothic clothes.
Hermione saw through the window as Draco looked down at his shoes, too shy to be in the presence of Heather, who was so obviously flaunting her beauty, and look her in the eyes. Hermione looked away…
"I think something's wrong." He said and Heather looked about to laugh.
"Wrong with you? Wrong with the world? Wrong with what?" She asked, motioning for him to walk beside her as she went somewhere else, somewhere Hermione wasn't.
"Wrong with Hermione… or Hermione and I." Draco replied, feeling stupid and shy but most of all embarrassed, all very new things for Draco to feel. But they were potent enough for him to decide he didn't like it, he didn't like any of it one bit.
"How do you mean?"
"She seems so… distant." Draco said and Heather nodded, letting out a sigh. "What?"
"I think it may be over for you two, pal." Heather replied and Draco's heart skipped a bit. Over? They hadn't even really begun and all of his emotions and all of his logic felt far from being over… The chemistry was still there… wasn't it?
"What?" Draco asked and Heather frowned, pulling his aside.
"look… you got messed with, pushed around by a snotty Gryffindor. It's time to let go." Let go? Draco wasn't ready to let go, not by a long shot.
"Why?" Draco asked, truly perplexed.
"It's obvious she isn't interested anymore. It's obvious that she wants that little Gryffindor wannabe from the past…" Heather said then after looking at the crushed expression on Draco's face (despite the fact he was trying to hide it) she added, "There are some things Gryffindors don't do and I can tell you right now that marrying a Slytherin is one of them."
"Why wouldn't she talk to me about it though… She's always been the talking type." Draco said.
"Have you two recently had a fight?" Heather asked and Draco nodded. "With some girls they consider the end of a fight to be the end of the relationship whether the guy knows it or not… That's what some girls think. Once the fights over, you're just friends…"
There's no way any of this is true… It's too… logical. Too… easy… Too quick… "So it's just… over?" Draco asked and Heather nodded.
"You can wait around forever for her to talk it over but… you're the one whose being hurt by this… she's already got another boy…" And it was then that Draco made the smartest stupidest decision he had ever made. Heather leaned forward and kissed him. "How was that?" She asked. "Did you feel anything?"
Draco leaned against the wall, flushed, as though everything already made sense to him…
Hermione left the library a minute after Draco did and followed close behind. She could tell Draco was talking to Heather about something serious but she wasn't desperate enough to eavesdrop. She just wanted to talk to Draco. She was worried about him… about them.
After walking for a few steps, Draco and Heather stopped and Heather pulled Draco into a darkened corridor. Odd that just friends would act this way… Said part of her mind but Hermione crushed the suspicion. That was until she saw Heather pull Draco into a kiss and Draco didn't exactly struggle…
I can't even believe what I just saw… Before Hermione could move she felt the tears come then overwhelm her. Her heart, it felt, stopped beating, and she felt her face flush in embarrassment and utter humiliation… what was she going to do? If Draco tried to talk to her like this didn't happen… if she… no…
"No… I didn't feel anything at all." Draco said, pushing her away. "What the hell are you thinking?" Draco asked. "What the fuck is the matter with you?"
"I had to know if you felt as strongly about Hermione as you keep acting like you do. I have to know if you seriously need my help to keep you two together or if you were just in it for a good snog, maybe even a shag."
"So you kiss me, taking the risk of ruining everything Hermione and I have built on the basis of trust?" Draco asked. 'You must be fucking crazy!"
"Use your common sense Draco…" Heather said.
"I have to find Hermione. We need to talk…"
"and that is why-"
"I'm done listening to a Slytherin's advice. I'm not just thinking about me here and that's all we're good at doing… thinking about ourselves." Draco spat.
But he was unable to find Hermione…
Hermione saw Draco leave that Saturday to spend a week with his mother… Sure, she was scared to let him go without saying goodbye but… she was also very wounded and very angry.
"Maybe Daniel is my type." Hermione thought aloud as she studied. "Maybe Daniel Wright is Mr. Right after all. He is nice and I am sure he would never hurt me like Draco did…" But maybe safe isn't what you need… "Bugger off… It's not you he dumped…" Hermione slouched down in her chair in front of the fire and began to cry. They should have spoken. Who knew when she would see him again. The last time a Malfoy left to go on a journey, he never returned…
You had to go off and love him… "I don't love him… Come here Auru." Hermione said and the small Kelltor jumped into her lap. "You would never kiss Heather while your intentions towards me were unclear would you?" Auru barked loudly and looked at her in confusion. "See… you don't know how to be mean…" And thus she spent her Saturday, crying and crying until not one more tear could be driven from her tired ducts.
A/N: Someone suggested a bit more angst and here it is… I usually try to stray away from drama but I think this turned out surprisingly well. I hope you like it and if you didn't catch it what's going on is that they're both so caught up in their own feelings that they're totally reading each other wrong. I tried to convey the message that talking does solve a lot of issues that could be avoided… hope you liked and if not… I don't want to hear it… J/K I also added a bit of Harry's history in there and now Harry has one more Harry fan in his Harry Potter fanclub… hehe