Hello! Sorry for the delay in posting. I got busy with work and reorganizing/cleaning my apartment, as well as having writers block since this part of the story wasn't apart of the original and I had to make it up. I hope you all like it! =)
Chapter 15
Hermione stared up at the wardrobe, her hazel eyes wide, and Draco stood there with her, his hand still holding hers. He looked over and saw just how pretty she, but he noticed a small crease in between her two eyebrows. He felt a bit guilty showing her the wardrobe and accepting her help, considering what just happened between them a few minutes before. He knows he's not going to forget that heated kiss for as long as he lives. He actually thought that he was going to kiss a girl like that after he was married, after Hogwarts like he planned. Well, Hermione thwarted that plan. Actually, Annabelle did, since she mentioned that vision in the first place. What's going on with Hermione is just a result of it.
That crease in her brow was still there as she gazed up at the wardrobe. "What?" he had to ask. "Is it smaller than you thought it would be?"
"No." She looked away from it and at him. He noticed that her grip tightened in his hand and her eyes suddenly filled with guilt. Now why would she have something to be guilty about? As was mentioned, he feels guilty having her help with this because they snogged. He was going to say something along the lines of an apology, but she said, stopping him, "Draco, I have a confession to make. I... have seen this wardrobe before. And Harry and Ron saw it as well."
He definitely wasn't expecting her to say that. "Wait, what? You all have seen this wardrobe before?" Annoyance suddenly flooded through him, and he didn't like that it did. "You all followed me in here?"
"No, no, that's not it, just... we followed you in a different place." She let go of his hand and stepped up to the wardrobe and put her right hand on it. "We happened to see you walking with your mother in Diagon Alley at the beginning of the school year. We were all curious as to what you could have been up to, since we suspected that something was up with you. We followed you and your mother to that old furniture store, Borgen and Burkes. We saw you through a window, touching a wardrobe that looks exactly like this one."
He recalled what she was talking about. That was the time the task of mending the wardrobe was first introduced to him. And those three followed him there and watched him get familiar with the wardrobe... he should have known. He folded his arms and looked off at a random stack of hard-bound books, irritated.
"So you suspected that I was a Death Eater since then," he muttered. "I had no idea you suspected for that long, or that you all were in that bloody alley to begin with."
She noticed the agitation in his voice. "I'm sorry, Draco."
He took in and let out a large breath. He should cool it before he says something that he regrets. "It's in the past now."
She stepped up to him as he still had his arms folded. "We were curious, though, about what you were doing with the wardrobe. Now, I know it has to do with your task to..." Her voice caught and she gulped. Tears shined in her eyes. "Well, you know... The one we saw there in that shop is different from this one here, correct? I've read about these wardrobes that have twins in other places... It's a transportation wardrobe, isn't it?"
She figured it out, but that's no surprise. "Yes, to both of your questions."
"So what do you have to do with it, in relation to your task? Who are you going to transport?"
He came up close to her and put his hand on the wardrobe, like she had a moment ago. "First, I want you to promise me that you will not tell anyone about this. I know how you are, and you're going to want to tell Potter and Weasley. The only people who know are Annabelle and Professor Snape. Well, Annabelle's a ghost, but you know what I mean."
Her brows creased in an incredulous manner. "Draco, I haven't told them about you being a Death Eater, as difficult as it was, so why would I tell them this? I promise I won't tell a soul, nor will I reveal that I'm helping you with it." She paused for a moment, her brows still pushed together. "How does Annabelle know about this? I mean, did you tell her everything?"
Annabelle thankfully hasn't said a thing, either. Should he just white-lie? Not tell the whole truth? "Well, yes, I tell her a lot of things since she has become a good friend so me, more so than anyone else."
She nodded. "I see. I'm glad that you have found a good friend in her. I find it a little comical that your best friend is a ghost."
"I suppose that is rather bizarre, yes, along with our current relationship at the moment."
He saw her cheeks turn pink, and he knew she was remembering that heated kiss. She cleared her throat, flustered. "Yes, it is shocking, to say the least. I just don't know how I'm going to keep it from Harry and Ron."
"I only wanted you to keep my secret of my being a Death Eater to yourself, along with what I have to do." He smirked, thinking about the image in his mind's eye. "Go ahead and tell them. I honestly want to see the look on Weasley's face when he finds out. Oh, it's going to be worth a picture."
He let out a chuckle at again seeing Weasley's shocked beyond belief expression when he finds out about the whole thing. Hermione planted a hand on her right hip. "Oh, you think it's that funny, huh?"
"Of course it is. He should have been faster in asking you out, you know."
"But you haven't even asked me out."
He came up close to her face, and she made a little gasp as he did. He said near her nose, in a low tone that could make any girl's legs turn to jelly, "We've snogged three times already, with the last being rather passionate, and one which you started. And I told you that I'm in love with you. Do you think me asking you out is really necessary at this point?"
She was silent for a moment, and there was a continual tick-tock going on somewhere in the large, cluttered room. "Even so... a girl likes to be asked out."
Looks he's going to have to go along with this. He wrapped his arms around her curvy waist and brought her close. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on her soft lips. "Alright, have it your way," he whispered near her mouth, "will you go out with me, Hermione Granger?"
She stared at him for a moment, and he could see every fleck of her hazel eyes since they were so close. She brought up her arms and wrapped them around his neck and elevated herself so she could give him a quick kiss as well. "Yes, I will."
An amazing something jolted through him and he embraced her tightly, wrapping his arm completely around her petite form. He dug his face into her bushy hair, smelling the flowers. He didn't want to let go of her, now that they are officially in a relationship.
"Draco," she said into his shoulder. "We should..."
"Hold on. I'm taking this in."
He tightened his hold on her and wanted to hold her forever. Having her by his side is going to make all this a whole lot easier. Actually, it was easier when he first started protecting her. My, how far they have come in a short amount of time.
"So... what do you have to do with the wardrobes?"
That wonderful feeling immediately left. He huffed through his nose and looked back at her. "Way to ruin the moment." Thoughts of what he has to do filled his mind. He kept hold of Hermione so it would be easier to tell her this. He gulped hard before revealing, "I have been mending it, as I have said. It's old, and the magic has worn off over time. I've been transporting smaller objects successfully, and I even successfully transported myself. Now, I have to see if it can transport more than one person. That's why you're here."
He felt her hands clasp together at the back of his neck. "So," she prodded, "what next? Who is being transported ultimately?"
This is going to be difficult to get out, but she deserves to know since she's helping him with this, and they are a couple now. "Other Death Eaters, on the day that I have to do the deed. They are going to make sure that I do it."
Hermione's mouth opened in shock, and hurt filled her eyes, as well as tears. "Are you serious? That's totally barbaric!"
"I know."
Tears started to sting his own eyes, and he felt one fall down his cheek. The weight of this situation came crashing down on him for the hundredth time, making his chest tie into knots. He felt a soft, warm hand on his cheek, and a thumb wiped that tear away. Hermione said calmly, "Draco, they know that you don't want to do it. They can see that you are a good person deep down inside."
"And that's why they're making me. No matter how much I don't want to kill an innocent old man, I have to it."
She wrapped her arms more around his neck in a hug, and he held her to him, letting her give him comfort. "I'm so sorry that you are going through something that no other human being would want to go through."
"So am I. But... thanks."
He held her there to him for a moment longer, long enough to allow his emotions to alleviate. He let her go and opened up the wardrobe, getting to business. "So, as I have said, I have to make sure that the wardrobe can transport more than one person."
She came up next to him and looked into the tall, old wooden box, at the blackness. "Alright, so, we just go in, then? There a spell you have to cast on it first, right?"
"Yes, there's a spell that starts it, but you don't need to use a wand."
"I see. So we simply go in, you mutter the spell, we arrive at Borgen and Burkes in the other wardrobe?"
"Yes. And once we know that it worked, one of us will mutter the same spell to get us back." He thought about Bellatrix, and how she may be there. "We may not even have to exit the wardrobe."
"But how will you know that we're there?"
What could he say as to not reveal his crazy aunt? "Well, I'll open it, check, then we can come back."
She eyed him for a moment, and his heart started to race at the fact that she may suspect something. "You are being awfully candid. What's waiting there on the other end? Or... I should ask who? There has to be another person there to send the objects back to you, right?"
He wasn't looking forward to telling her this when he first agreed to let her help him since he was afraid that she'll run when she hears that another Death Eater is on the other end, his crazy aunt, no less. But she should know, just in case something happens after they send themselves to that furniture store. "Well... yes. Someone is there sending things back to me. I knew it from the start, I just didn't know exactly who was doing it, up until yesterday."
"Who is it?" She paused, and shock started to encumber her features. "It is another Death Eater? It is, isn't it?"
She figured it out. Again, there's no surprise there. "Yes. Another Death Eater. It is actually my aunt Bellatrix."
She stared at him in disbelief. Again, he knew she would have this reaction. "You mean the lunatic woman who escaped Azkaban?" He nodded once and her gaze blazed. "You wanted me to help you when you knew that escapee prisoner was on the other side, a person, who, like the Dark Lord, hates muggle-borns?"
He gripped he door of the wardrobe tightly and said seriously, looking her in the eyes, and not wasting a moment, "Yes, I did. But I literally know everything will be fine. We both know how to defend ourselves, and I won't stop at nothing if she tries to do something to you. I have no qualms about hurting her if she intends to hurt you. Understand?"
She held his hard and serious gaze for a moment, and his heart hammered inside of him. "Yes, I understand, but... how can you literally know that everything will be alright? You wouldn't be able to know that unless you can tell the future." She paused, a look of realization hitting her face. "Annabelle told you, didn't she? She's told me about these visions that she's had before, the ones that tell the future. She's told you about those, right?"
Annabelle told Hermione about her visions and she didn't tell him? "Yes, she has. And, yes, she's seen all of this." Well, he might as well tell her about the vision now, since it was brought up, and Hermione isn't one to let things slide. "Actually, if it weren't for a specific vision that she had, I would still be as cold as ice to you."
"What do you mean?"
He opened the wardrobe all the way and sat down on the bottom of it, since the bottom was elevated off the floor. Hermione sat next to him, snugly, since the wardrobe was narrow. "Annabelle, she... had a vision back when she was alive, a vision of the two of us."
"By two of us, you mean you and me?"
He nodded. "Yes. At first, I didn't want to believe it, but when she told me things about myself that literally no one else knew, aside from my parents and other Death Eaters, I came to believe her. I also came to believe her when things that she predicted would happen, would happen."
Hermione let out a breath. "Golly, I can't believe it... a vision of us one-thousand years ago? As in, she recognized you and me when she saw us because of that vision?"
"Yes."
"What happened in it? You said things that she saw ended up coming to pass."
He should only tell her the half of it since he didn't want to overwhelm her with the ending of the vision. "Well, she first saw me start to protect you from those two idiots, which I did, and she saw me falling for you, which I did... and against my will," he added. "She saw you falling for me, too. And that happened." He gave her a pointed look. "Right?"
She jabbed his side with her elbow. "You already know that, you ninny. I'm just surprised that Annabelle never said anything about that vision to me in the first place."
"She didn't because I asked her not to. I was too embarrassed at the fact that I was falling for a girl who I tormented before."
She nodded as she leaned against his side, and he loved that she did that casually. "I'm going to have to have a serious word with her after this. Maybe I wouldn't have been so tortured about my new-found feelings for you if she told me that I would have them in the future. I would be able to fight them."
His heart jumped and he looked over at her in alarm. "You would have fought those feelings?"
"Well, didn't you? And look where we are now."
She had a point there. He looked off at jumble of shiny trinkets right in from of them a few meters away, one that he took things from to transport. Hermione asked, "Was there more to the vision?"
"Yes, but I don't want to tell you about it now. Let's just see if this old thing can transport the both of us."
He stood up, and thankfully, she didn't contradict him and stood up as well. He put a hand and gestured inside the wardrobe. "Well, ladies first."
She smiled gratefully at that and stepped into it and he followed. He came up close to her due to the narrowness of the wardrobe, and he could feel her chest touching his... the protruding part of her chest. He tried not to let that affect him, but it wasn't working. Heat rose up his neck as he closed the wardrobe door and he and she were left in complete blackness.
"So, Draco..." he heard her say, and the hair on top of her head tickled his chin a little. "Are you sure there will not be any other Death Eaters on the other side?"
"No, not as far as I know. Why?"
She was silent for a few seconds, then, "It's just... I know that Crabbe and Goyle's fathers are Death Eaters. I just don't want to run into them because of what their sons did to me. One, it would be awkward, and two... it would be a bit frightening. Knowing how much those boys hated me, it's only plausible to think how much their fathers would loathe me, too."
Draco rose his hand and found her soft cheek in the darkness. He leaned down and knew that he was close to her face since he felt her warm breath. "I can understand why would would be frightened about that. I promise you that I'll protect you if anything happens. Or better yet, the both of us will fight. I think we would make a great dueling team."
He heard her chuckle. "Yes, we would. You were always great at the dueling practices we had for out Defense Against the Dark Arts class."
He smiled pridefully. "I was, wasn't I?"
They both laughed a little, then all became still. He still had his fingers on her cheek. "You know, this would be incredibly awkward if we hadn't snogged like we did a little bit ago. Blymee, I want to do that again."
He about went in for it, but he felt a hand on his chest. "Not now, Draco. We have a mission to accomplish."
"Fine," he huffed, disappointed. "I suppose I'll say the spell. Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be, I suppose."
"Alright." He leaned his head down and muttered the words of the spell. The Wardrobe shook a little, and Hermione fell to his front, and he held her there, silently thanking the wardrobe for making her lose her balance. "It's done," he said. "Now, we have to see if we're there." She nodded and he slowly opened the door, letting in a bit of light, as well as a musty wood smell. He poked his very blonde head out, but found no one in the old, dusty room. "The place is empty."
"We're, here, then?"
"Yes. The wardrobe can transport more than one person. Now that we know that, let's go." He about closed the door, wanting to get out of there, but he heard his name, and it made his heart jump up to his throat. "Mother?"
"Your mother?" Hermione asked in a shocked tone, and in a low whisper. "Isn't Bellatrix supposed to be here?"
"I thought so. Stay here," he ordered quietly, then stepped out of the wardrobe. He saw his mother standing there among the old chairs, tables and other odd decorations. "Hello, Mother. Aunt Bellatrix isn't here?"
Her thin, black eyebrows rose. "Were you wanting to speak with her? I can go wake her up. She is fast asleep at the moment."
"No, no, that's alright," he said hastily. "How did you know I was coming?"
She came up close to him, and her long black dress ran against the floor. Her black hair that was streaked white shined in the candlelight of the room. "The same as how your aunt knew. Now, have you tested to see if the wardrobe can transport more than one person?"
He shouldn't reveal this since he didn't want to reveal Hermione. "I still have yet to test it. It transports me fine, though."
She made one curt nod, and he could see the disappointment in her blue eyes, eyes similar to his. People have always told him that he had the facial features of his mother and the hair and height of his father. "I see," she said.
He hated disappointing his parents, especially his mother. At first, it was his father, but he learned this year that his father wasn't the best person to look up to and follow. The fact that he's in prison at the moment is evidence of that. "I'm sorry, mother. I will get right to it."
"You better, Draco. The Dark Lord wants this to happen soon."
"I'm aware of that," he bit out, his chest tightening. His mother put a hand on his tense shoulder. She looked up at his face since she was not that much taller than Hermione. He didn't want to look at her eyes or else he could burst into tears, but they came anyway. His mother is one of the people who he is comfortable crying around, aside from Hermione and Annabelle.
"Draco, I know this is difficult for you—it is for me, too, watching my on and only son in so much pain and doing something that he doesn't want to do... but this has to be done."
He took in and let out a shaky breath, the knowledge that his mother feels this way comforting. He nodded, not wanting to speak. His heart pulsed when something bumped inside of the wardrobe. The hurt he was feeling suddenly turned to alarm. Narcissa looked over at the wardrobe.
"What was that?" she asked, her brows pushed together.
"Nothing, just um..." What could he make up? His mother walked over to the wardrobe, curious. "Mother, wait—"
She opened the wardrobe to find the wardrobe empty. Draco dropped his shoulders and his pulse went back to normal. So that's what the bump was—it was Hermione transporting herself back to the Room of Requirement. Clever. Why didn't he think that she do that in the first place?
Narcissa was quick to assume things, though. She looked back at Draco, her look skeptical. "Draco, what was that? Was there someone else in the wardrobe with you? Did you actually bring another person here and lied about not doing so?"
He say the displeasure in her eyes. He shouldn't lie to her anymore. He's not afraid of her like he was afraid of his father. "I'm sorry, Mother. It was just someone I asked to help me out. It turns out that the wardrobe is capable of transporting more than one person."
She stepped up to him, her look still skeptical. "That is good, but... who was this other person? It certainly wasn't Crabbe or Goyle. Both of his fathers told me about what happened with their sons, and what they did to that girl." She shook her head. "Even if that girl was a muggle-born, she didn't deserve to get beaten up like that."
He shouldn't be surprised that his mother knows about what happened to Hermione. "You know about all that?"
"I know more than just that, Draco, I know that you were responsible for saving her life. I didn't want to write you about it because I wanted to talk to you about it in person. Honestly..." She gulped hard and he noticed the whites of her eyes start to turn red. "I am so proud of you, for saving that girls life. I never wanted this life for you, this life of darkness and being controlled by the Dark Lord, and being commanded to kill another person. I know that darkness was around you all the time, bittering you since you were young, I just never wanted you to be like that the rest of your life. When I found out what you have done for that girl, I was so relieved that you were able to put that darkness aside and help another person and be good to them."
So much was he touched by this, he had to cover his hand to keep himself from losing in. His mother came up to him and put both hands on his arms. "Sorry..." he said through his fingers.
"It's alright, Draco. This girl... she must be special to you."
Again, he couldn't lie to her. He put his hand down, and stared at his mother's aging hands on his arms. "Yes, she is. She's someone I disliked in my earlier years, and I constantly bullied her and her friends, but something happened that caused me to think differently about her. I saved her from Crabbe and Goyle on a few different occasions, not just the one where I saved her life. I looked out for her, we talked and hung out, we..." Images of he and Hermione snogging came to mind, especially the latest snog. "I couldn't help it, Mother. And... I'm sorry. I'm..." He took a large breath before confessing, "I fell in love with her. A muggle-born. And she feels the same way. We agreed to date."
He didn't look up to see his mother's reaction to this. He felt her grip on his arms tighten, and then she turned around and walked off a few steps and put her hand on the back of a wooden chair with a swirl design on the back, and looked to be as old as the wardrobe. "Draco..." she said and he looked up at the back of her head, at the clip holding half of her hair up. "I don't know what to think about this. Yes, I was happy that you were focusing on good things, rather than the terrible, but... she's a muggle-born."
This is the start, just like Annabelle had said. This is the beginning of his family not approving of him and Hermione. "I am well aware, but I don't care anymore. She's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me. She sees that good in me, and she was willing to help me with this wardrobe business just so my burden could be lighter."
She turned around, her eyes wide with shock. She demanded, "You told that girl of your task?"
"Yes, I did. I was just going to present the wardrobe business as a hobby of sorts, but I couldn't lie to her. She would be able to see through me, anyway. But she promised that she wouldn't say anything. I trust her."
Alarm etched his mother's features. "Draco, if anyone knows about your task, anyone like a normal person, the Dark Lord could get rid of them if he knew that they knew what you need to do. You knew that, right?"
"Yes, I did. And I vowed to protect her, no matter what."
"Protect her against the Dark Lord," she added. "He may already know. He may also know that you're in some type of relationship with her, a muggle-born. You know his opinion of muggles. YOu remember that conference."
His gut started to twist, remembering Professor Burbage's death. He pushed that aside and the real fear set in: Hermione could be in trouble, and not from two school bullies... but the most evil wizard in history. Now he really regrets ever letting Hermione help him with this, regardless of the fact that she promised she wouldn't say anything about his task to anyone. The Dark Lord wouldn't want to take any chances.
"I can see the fear in your features," Narcissa said. "I wouldn't worry about it at the moment. When the Dark Lord says something about it, that is when you have to worry."
All Draco could do was nod. He met his mother's blue eyes, and he came up to her, giving her a serious look. "Mother, please, don't say any thing of this to Father. I want to be the one to tell him. We both know that he'll have a horse when he finds out I revealed my identity and task to someone. And... I know he'll be furious when he finds out that I fell in love with a someone he'll call a mudblood."
His mouth pulled into a frown, and he suddenly found himself in an embrace. Even though his mother was vastly shorter than him, it gave him a whole lot of comfort to feel her warmth. It is something he had always looked forward to when returning home from school for holidays or when the school year was over. She muttered into his shoulder and fingered someone of his hair, "I will not say a word of it, but just know that you cannot keep it from him for long. Since the Dark Lord may already know, your father may know soon."
She had a point. "Alright. I'll keep that in mind."
She brought him back and put a warm hand on his cheek, giving him a loving look. "You are so grown up, telling me you've fallen in love with someone already. My, how the years have passed."
He smirked at that. "It's hard to believe myself."
She put her hand down. "Well, get on back to school. It's late. You should be retiring to your common room pretty soon."
"Alright. And thank you, Mother."
He went back to the wardrobe, said one final goodbye to his mother, and got in. After muttering the spell, and feeling the wardrobe shutter, he opened the door to find Hermione standing there with her arms folded. She didn't have an angry or annoyed look on her face, but a weary one.
"Draco, are you alright? What did your mother say? I only heard her say that she knows what you are going through is rather difficult. Honestly, I don't know why we didn't think that I would just use the wardrobe to get back when someone showed up on the other side."
"Yeah, I had the same thought. And... my mother was quite understanding with the whole situation."
"By the whole situation, you mean..."
She wanted him to explain. "She told me that she heard that I was branded some hero because I saved you, and that led me to reveal the relationship that I have with you, as well as the fact that you know everything. She's concerned that the Dark Lord may know about it all." He let out a breath, not letting the emotions rise. "We both worry that he will do something to you because you are close to me and you know more than you should, regardless if you promised to not tell anyone."
She bit her bottom lip and looked at the stone floor for a moment, and he noticed that she folded her arms tighter against her chest. "Well... I worried about that, too, to be honest. I worried about what I was getting myself into when I allowed myself to be close to you and help you with this terrible thing you have to do." She looked up at him, the whites of her eyes pink, but there were no tears. "I don't normally say say this, but I'm afraid of what could happen. We are both great at spells, but... facing the Dark Lord... we don't stand a chance."
He took her into his arms and held her against him. "I said that I would do anything to protect you, and I'm keeping my word."
"But what if he forces us to part because I'm a distraction to you... or what if he just kills me because I'm a muggle-born?"
He held her tighter, and he fought letting tears fall. "That's not going to happen! I'll beg on my hands and knees if I have to, if it means saving your life."
"You mean let go of all your pride and dignity?"
"Yes, if it means that you're safe. Plus, Annabelle said that everything is fine in the end, so hopefully it doesn't have to come to that."
She nodded, and the bell gonged in the distance. "Sounds like we have to go."
"It does."
Silence ensued for a moment as he held her, and he heard that tick-tock go on in the distance. "Draco?"
"Yes?"
She paused for a moment, and he felt her wrap her arms around his back rightly. "You smell nice. In all our encounters, I always admired your scent."
He suppressed laughter. He expected her to directly confess her feelings for him, but instead, she confesses that she loves the smell of him. "You smell nice, too. That flower perfume of yours drives me mad."
She laughed at that. "I suppose I chose well. It's lilac." She loosened herself from him and brought herself on her tip-toes and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek. "We should get back to our common rooms."
He couldn't help the flood of warmth that came from that little kiss. "Yes. And I'm walking you."
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
They walked hand-in-hand out of the Room of Requirement, through the clutter, and when walking through the corridors, Hermione simply walked with him, not holding his hand as to keep their new relationship a secret. He should feel elated that he and Hermione are now a couple, but he couldn't help but let dread and worry pinch his gut.
There is a very real threat now, far worse than Crabbe and Goyle. The Dark Lord may know about Hermione and what she knows, and how close she is to Draco now. He may be planning to hurt her right this moment. Well, Annabelle says that everything will turn out alright, but that only means that Hermione doesn't die. She still may get hurt. He's not going to let that happen.