Please note - all mistakes are my own. I do not currently have a Beta/Alpha to help me correct my horrible grammar.
I do not own the characters created by JK Rowling, nor do I make any profit from this fanfiction.
This is all just fun for me.
Chapter Twenty Six -
Hermione stepped inside the little sandwich shop immediately smelling the delicious food wafting toward her. She felt her stomach grumble it's hunger as she quickly made her way to the back corner where she found Harry already seated and eating.
He glanced up and spoke through one side of his mouth, "Sorry. Starving."
She rolled her eyes at him as she slipped out of her coat and took a seat opposite him on the worn leather of the booth . A waitress quickly came over and took her order, leaving a glass of water, and disappeared once more. Reaching across the table, she quickly snagged a chip from his plate to appease her hunger until her own meal would show up.
Harry set down his sandwich as he took in the worry in his friend's face. He noticed the lines forming at the corner of her eyes and the slight frown. Heaving a sigh from his lips, he pushed his plate forward to offer a chip. "Wanna explain why you called for an impromptu lunch date at the last minute?" She paused, her hand hovering over the chips as she looked up. He smirked. "The Hermione Granger I know does not do last minute. Preparations are needed, scheduling. So spill the tea."
She snagged a chip and popped it in her mouth. Her eyes shifted out the window as she mulled over the words drifting inside of her. She knew Harry was watching her. She knew that he'd be patient enough to wait her out. That's what came from having a life long friendship - spanning over a decade. But it didn't help the words from flowing out of her. Nerves kept her jaw shut tight, her teeth grating on each other which she knew would have her parents smacking her silly for doing that.
"Maybe I just missed my best friend is all," she half smiled at him in an attempt to dodge, but by the look of humorous disbelief, she knew it was fruitless.
"Now that's utter bollocks, and we both know it." He paused as the waitress came over to drop off her order. A quick thanks was whispered before she disappeared again. Hermione glanced over at her friend and let out a soft chuckle.
"Alright, alright." She took a bite of her sandwich, enjoying the rich flavors as her stomach grumbled its frustration. She had forgotten her breakfast that morning before racing to the shop, and had been dealing with a dramatically loud grumble from her gut all morning due to the hunger. Almonds that she had stowed in her purse just didn't do the trick. Rubbing her neck a little, she attempted to chase off her anxiousness. "I-I need to verbalize some stuff. I need a sounding board."
"Alright - I'm good at that stuff."
"You are - except you really can't mess up and spill the beans, Harry." He glanced up, a blush rising to his features, as he remembered his last mishap. But as his eyes met hers, he saw the look of worry resting behind her golden eyes. He took his pointer finger and crossed the shape of an 'X' over his chest where his heart lay. She smiled then. "I haven't seen Draco- Malfoy, in a few days, and I'm… worried."
"Why? Do you think something's happened?" He sat straighter, pulling himself forward to hear her quiet voice.
She shook her head, her gaze dropping to the table. Her sandwich untouched. "I think he may be… angry at me."
"Why would you think that?" He asked gently, his voice dropping to a quiet calm.
"Some weird things have been happening and I haven't… made more of an effort to research. To find a way to break the bond without killing him," she admitted through a shaky breath.
Harry hummed, realizing the worry she was emanating then. Leaning back in his seat, he fought to hide his smirk. "Is it possible you don't want the bond to be broken?"
Her head snapped up, jaw dropping as she stared at her best friend. "Harry, no! I just- we've been busy! I just… don't know how to help him."
"Hermione," Harry murmured, his voice calling her to stop throwing her hands in every direction as she frantically tried to spill the words out. "I think, and don't talk until I'm done or throw anything at me - I think that a bond, a soul mate bond essentially, should be taken seriously. A bond like that is once in a lifetime and to break something of that magnitude would have dire consequences." His eyes hardened. "It was decided by the fates, destined, and we all know how much I hate destiny, but even I'm fearful of you trying to play god with something like this. Draco was literally made for you, and you for him."
"But Harry, you know our history. He'd hate being tied to a Muggleborn. I'd make him miserable," she replied with saddened eyes. He felt his heart tug for his best friend. Part of him felt like punching Draco in the jaw, but he knew better than to challenge a Veela. He also saw Draco when he had locked himself up in Malfoy Manor and the way he had looked.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, 'Mione. He's already changed so much."
"I know but -"
"But nothing. I think - if you're truly asking for my opinion?" She nodded. "That you give this a chance and stop fighting it. Or you're going to get hurt and so is Malfoy, Malfoy may even end up dead if you keep fighting this." He watched her breath catch in her throat, her hand raising to her neck as she realized the words Harry was speaking to her. "Now, enough talk of sad things. Let's talk about me and my caseload." He picked up the remaining portion of his sandwich and took an over exaggerated bite. "Would you please come work for me? You'd have all this organized in a week!"
Hermione could have kissed her best friend for the redirect. She knew he did it for her sake and she loved him all the more for it.
Harry joined her on her walk back to the shop. They continued their chatting as they took the streets one by one. While apparting would have been faster, the two of them appreciated the sights and taking their time. She would forever be grateful for Harry and that he, too, had grown up without magic so he understood her need to not always rely on it.
As they rounded the corner of the block, a huge cluster of people were gathered around the front of her bookstore. "Geeze, I didn't know your place was so popular," Harry teased but his eyes narrowed on bright red peeking through the group of people. The closer they walked, people separating with whispers passing through their lips, Hermione felt Harry pulling on his Auror persona. Worry dropped into her gut as she walked through the throng of people. A gasp escaped her when she saw what had caught the attention of the onlookers. In bright red words across her storefront were the words mudblood painted quite crudely - almost as if they'd taken to the muggles' way of destroying property with their graffiti and spray paint.
She felt her hands tremble as she walked toward the door, the 'd' in mudblood, dripping over the window panes.
"Hermione, wait," Harry shouted as he followed her. Pulling her back, he pulled out his wand and sent his Patronus off the Auror department. "I need to make sure it's secure first. Wait out here." Hermione wanted to argue, she could still feel the locks in place with her magic but she was trembling so bad, her words stuck in her throat as she backed away. Everyone watching gave her a wide berth as she stared helplessly at her shop.
Draco rose from his desk as he felt a tremble up his spine. The Veela woke with a start. They felt an unknown fear rising inside of them when suddenly the Veela started clamoring for dominance. It's need to see Hermione causing a sense of panic inside of Draco.
"Hold on," he hissed aloud as he swiftly raced from his office. His footsteps lengthening as he made his way out of the manor, speed licking at his heels as he forced his way toward the apparation point outside the Manor's stronghold. With a single breath, he felt the familiar tug before he landed outside Diagon Alley. The moment his feet hit the ground, the creature within was forcing him down the familiar streets. His vision narrowed as all he could think on was finding Hermione. Her fear was quiet, but it tickled its way up into his throat. He could feel her sense of control on her wall of emotions eroding. Everyone he passed hardly saw him with his inhuman speed. When he turned the corner, her presence like a homing beacon, he searched for the familiar head of brown hair. It didn't take long, his vision narrowing in on her. His steps faltered a few feet away from her when he saw the offensive word blasted across her store.
She must have heard him growl, because she spun on her heel and moved toward him, her hands out against his chest. "Draco, I'm okay," she murmured quietly as she tried to keep him from entering the building. Her fear seemed to have retreated, because he could feel the nerves skittering under his skin. His eyes dropped down to hers and she could see the mercurial starting to dip into the thunder clouds. "I'm okay." She reaffirmed as she looked around as the eyes of the people watching were trained on the two of them. "I need you to calm down for me, please." He hisses at her, pushing against her hands but she forced him back just slightly. Frustration licking at her eyelids as she tried to keep one eye on him and the other on the crowd gathering. "Merlin, Draco knock it off! This isn't any concern of yours anyway!"
He paused then. She felt the shift in him as he leaned away. With a harsh whisper, eyes still shifting between the crowd and him, she spoke on. "I'll fix it okay. You need to calm down and stop." She threw her arm out as the well of emotions rose up threatening to tear her apart. The wall she kept around her tumbling to dust around her as she looked once more at the words written on the wall. "That's what I am anyway, according to you." Her voice trembled as the tears rose in her eye and she watched as Draco's eyes lost their silver. Horror filled his features but she couldn't feel any regret when the truth in her words helped voice her thoughts, her fears.
His hands grabbed for her, shaking her slightly as he brought her face inches from his own. Gutted, he spoke in a low voice as he forced the words out, uncaring about anyone around them. "I care, you bloody witch, because this is about your safety." His fingers tightened fractionally, twitching. "Do you really feel I still think that word has any hold on me any longer?" His face backed up fractionally. "Do you still believe me the villain? That my feelings are purely to use you to help further my own gains? That I don't care about you?" He cut her off with a vicious hiss again when she opened her mouth. "Don't you dare say it is the bond forcing me to feel these things or I will cut out your tongue." He let her go then, backing a few steps away before he ran a hand through his hair, trying to brush it out of his eyes. "Merlin, after all this time, do you truly still think so little of me?"
Hermione felt the world shifting under her feet as she listened to the words tumbling out of him. She blinked, trying to process all he had told her in a span of a minute, but as she reached for him, to reply, he whirled around as someone came walking toward them. Fury lighting up his features, the mercurial tinge rising to the surface again. Hermione turned then and saw Harry walking toward them.
"Potter! How the bloody hell did you let this happen?!" Harry paused, shocked at the tone Malfoy was using. "What's the bloody purpose of being friends with the Golden boy if he can't even offer his friends protection from scum!" Draco's finger poked at Harry's chest as he continued on his tirade. Harry's eyes widened at the new side of Malfoy that he'd never seen before slipping to see the dumbfounded look on Hermione's face.
Ignoring the irate blonde, he spoke over his shoulder to Hermione. "The shop's fine. Nothing was altered inside, but I think it'd be best if you took the afternoon off." His eyes shifted to Malfoy who had paused to take in what Harry was saying. "I'd appreciate it if you took him with you."
"You can't get rid of me that easily, Potter - "
"Draco! Let Harry do his job and let's go home," she snapped as she grabbed the back of his coat, pulling him backward. He fought her for a step or two, before rounding to face forward. The farther they got from the shop, the quieter he became. Both walked, hands in their coats, in the silence mulling over the chaotic afternoon they'd just experienced.
Draco's eyes drifted under his eye lashes to look at the woman walking beside him. Her emotions were muted, uneven, fluttered between concern, rage, heartache and defeat. Her eyes were watching her steps as they made their way, but glazed over, unseeing as she lost herself in her thoughts. His fingers, stuck in his pocket closest to her, twitched to reach out to hold her hand. But self preservation had him forcing it deeper into his pocket. Regret filled him up as he remembered his sudden confession fueled by hurt and anger that spilled to her in a moment of distress.
He was a fool.
A/N: won't lie - this chapter was written this morning and the words just tumbled from my fingertips while slowly wrecking my soul...