As always, the support that you guys have shown for this story means a lot and it's always nice reading what you guys have to say. Now it's time for things to take a turn in the story and in what direction, you'll just have to read to find out ;).
Despite having no real allegiance to Draco, Hermione still felt like she was betraying him by doing what she was about to do. As much as Hermione wished that she could help him, there was only so much that she could do when Draco was refusing to have anything to do with her. So with no other option, Hermione knew what she had to do. She had to speak with Professor Dumbledore.
So while Harry and Ron were off doing who knows what, Hermione made her way to the Headmasters office with every intention of telling him about Draco's mission. Though Hermione did have to wonder if Dumbledore was already aware of what Draco was trying to achieve. If Hermione could figure it out on her own, then surely a brilliant wizard like Dumbledore would be able to put the pieces together as well. Hermione just wanted to make sure that Draco would be protected, because he didn't deserve to face the inevitable consequences of what Voldemort was forcing him to do.
Easily enough, Hermione was able to request some time with Professor Dumbledore, which she had every intention of using to figure out just what was going on around here. Upon arriving at Dumbledore's office, Hermione stood there impatiently as she waited for the Headmaster to greet her. Hermione glanced around, knowing that Harry had spent plenty of time in this office over the past year as he worked with Dumbledore. Now it looked like she was about to be doing the same.
"Ah, Miss Granger. I've been expecting you," came Dumbledore's voice as he seemingly came out of nowhere. "You said that you needed to speak with me in person, and that it was important."
"Yes, sir. It is. Massively important," Hermione nodded.
"Well, then. What is it that you need?" Dumbledore wondered.
"There is something that has come to my attention recently and I believe that you should be aware of it if you are not already," Hermione replied.
"Go on," Dumbledore urged.
Hermione took a deep breath as she voiced her revelation, "Draco Malfoy is trying to assassinate you."
Although Hermione hadn't expected much of a reaction from Dumbledore considering he was always reserved, she had expected to get at least something from him. Instead he just stood there, unresponsive.
"And just how is it that you have come to this conclusion, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore questioned.
"I connected the dots. The cursed necklace that almost killed Katie Bell was supposed to be delivered to you, same with the poisoned mead that almost killed Ron. Throughout the entire year, Malfoy has looked as though something is deeply troubling him. Being tasked to assassinate you would be enough to trouble anyone," Hermione explained.
"You seem so sure of your assessment," Dumbledore stated.
"Yes, well… Malfoy did also confirm my suspicions after I confronted him," Hermione murmured.
"And you are suddenly on speaking terms with Mr. Malfoy that he would divulge this information to you?" Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. "I sense that there is more to this than what you are telling me."
Hermione sighed, knowing that she would have to tell Dumbledore about the books, "Well, Malfoy and I have kind of been in communication this year. We just didn't know that we were corresponding with each other until recently."
"How could you have not known that you were communicating with each other?" Dumbledore asked.
"It's kind of a tricky situation. You see, I bought this book from Scribbulus Writing Implements in the Summer before the shop was ransacked by Death Eaters. It allowed me to communicate with Malfoy through the book, though we didn't really know who we were talking to. He seemed troubled whenever we wrote to each other, and I just knew that I had to try and help them, so that's what I've been trying to do. I confronted Malfoy about it, and he confessed but he doesn't want my help. He doesn't want anything to do with me at all, really. But I just know that he doesn't want to do what Voldemort is forcing him to do. Draco Malfoy may be plenty of unflattering things, but he is no murderer," Hermione confessed.
Dumbledore was silent again before he responded, "While I appreciate your concern for Mr Malfoy, I must advise you to leave this delicate situation alone, Miss Granger. It would do you no good to get involved anymore than you already have. I can assure you that I have the situation with Mr Malfoy under control."
At first, Hermione blinked back in surprise at Dumbledore. He didn't even seem the least bit bothered by what she had just declared. That could only mean… that he knew. Dumbledore knew what Draco was trying to do. And he was doing nothing to prevent it or stop people from getting caught in the way. Hermione now found herself angry at Dumbledore for allowing things to get so out of hand like they have.
"You know," Hermione pointed an accusing finger at him. "All this time, you've known about Draco's mission, and have done nothing to stop it. You've just sat by and let Draco become a mess as he tries to figure out a way to kill you. You just let Katie and Ron be collateral damage when you knew what was going on the entire time!"
"While it is most regrettable that Miss Bell and Mr Weasley got caught in the way of Mr Malfoy's schemes, that is not something that I could have prevented from happening, Mss Granger," Dumbledore argued.
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Like hell it isn't. You're the Headmaster. You're supposed to know everything that's going on here. How could you not know that Draco had been using the Imperious curse on Madam Rosmerta to the point where she could use it on Katie Bell? How could you not try to stop any of it while Draco's mission put other people in danger?"
"Miss Granger, you must realise that there are greater forces at work in this delicate situation. While I admit my lapse of judgement in underestimating Mr Malfoy's desperation, there is very little that I can do to help him. Any involvement from me would only risk putting Mr Malfoy in greater danger. Surely you must realise that?" Dumbledore insisted.
With a frustrated sigh, Hermione had to admit that Dumbledore had a point. Although she had tried pressuring Draco into going to Dumbledore for help, she had come to realise just how difficult that would be for him. It would be especially dangerous if Voldemort was to discover that Draco was conspiring with Dumbledore. But still, Dumbledore should have been able to do more to protect innocent people like Katie and Ron from being caught in the crossfire.
"Regardless of that fact, you have failed your duties as Headmaster by not being able to protect Katie and Ron. They did not deserve to suffer because you could not foresee these events from happening. And you must know that Draco is barely coping with this task. I fear for what he might do the more he tries. He is clearly desperate to succeed and is barely hanging on by a thread," Hermione proclaimed.
"Forgive me if I am misinterpreting your intentions, Miss Granger, but it sounds as if you have grown to care for Mr Malfoy and his well-being on a personal level," Dumbledore commented.
"I am not concerned for Malfoy's well-being," Hermione replied, even though she even doubted the words as they came out. "I am merely concerned for what the consequences of his desperate action will bes. Surely you must be concerned, Headmaster, that a student is plotting your death?"
"What is meant to happen will happen, Miss Granger. I have already resigned myself to face that fate and there is nothing you can do to prevent it," Dumbledore said.
"So you're just going to let him kill you?" Hermione exclaimed. "Like I said, Malfoy might be many things, but he's no murderer. He does not deserve to have your blood on his hands."
"Do you not recall me saying that you do not realise that there are other forces at work in this situation, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked.
"What's that supposed to mean then?" Hermione wondered.
"It means that you are to let Mr Malfoy continue with his mission. This is something that you cannot change, Miss Granger. Death comes to all of us eventually, and I am merely welcoming it. And I would also like to request that you keep this conversation between ourselves. You must not breathe another word of it to Mr Potter or anyone else concerned. Am I understood?" Dumbledore ordered.
"Yes, sir," Hermione replied through gritted teeth.
"Very well. Unless you have anything else you would like to say, you may leave now," Dumbledore said.
Without another word, Hermione turned on her heals and left the Headmasters office. Despite not knowing what exactly she'd get out of this visit, Hermione was left feeling bitterly disappointed as Dumbledore made it quite clear that he wasn't going to do anything to help Draco. In fact, he was just going to let Draco kill him. Both Dumbledore and Draco seemed to have resigned themselves to their fates, but Hermione still refused to let Draco be the one to snuff out Dumbledore's life.
If anything, her visit to Dumbledore had left Hermione with some renewed vigour to help Draco. She would not let him become a murder. Not on her watch.
~*•°•*~
In the days that followed, Hermione found herself becoming as withdrawn as Draco. She was making a mess out of herself as she worried about what he was going to do next, since he was still going out of his way to avoid her at all costs. It just made Hermione more enraged that Draco was clearly losing himself and that nobody seemed to care. Regardless of the fact that it was Draco Malfoy, it was still a human being who didn't deserve to go through this much strife.
It was clear that Hermione wasn't the only one who was losing themselves to Draco Malfoy as Harry remained quite clearly obsessed with him. Every move that Draco made, Harry was watching him with close eyes. Then again, so was Hermione. She was keeping an eye on him in case he did something else that would cause harm to another innocent person. Hermione figured that Draco knew she was watching him, because he didn't seem to be doing anything of the sorts.
One day, after Hermione had headed back to Gryffindor Tower for some quiet study time after here Ancient Runes class, Harry came in. He looked angry by something, but also distressed. That was never a good combination for Harry, so Hermione naturally wanted to know what was bothering him.
"What is it, Harry?" Hermione wondered carefully.
"Bloody Malfoy," Harry muttered. "The git was gonna use the Curcio Curse on me and I acted in defence. Now I've got detention."
"What did you do, Harry?" Hermione asked in a dangerously low voice.
"I used some curse in the Prince's book – Sectumsempra," Harry replied.
Hermione gasped, recognising the spell from it's Latin origin. Sectum meant to cut, while semper meant forever. That could only mean that the spell was intended to… cut forever.
"Harry, you didn't!" Hermione exclaimed in shock.
"I didn't know that it's what it would do! I thought it would be something funny, not deadly," Harry hissed.
"For goodness sake Harry, all you had to do was look it up in a Latin dictionary. Sectum means to cut while semper means forever. Merlin, all you had to do was just ask me. Or, I don't know, not use the spell at all!" Hermione berated him.
"Okay, it was stupid," Harry muttered.
"What happened to Malfoy? Please tell me you didn't kill him," Hermione whispered.
"I didn't kill him. If I did, Snape probably would've killed me too. Snape caught us and used some spell to heal him. He's fine," Harry answered. "Why do you even care, Hermione?"
"Harry, what I care about is the fact that you so naively used a spell that you didn't know what it's purpose was and that you could've killed someone. Malfoy deserves a lot of things like a good punch or a slap, but he doesn't deserve to die, especially not from your hands," Hermione said.
"You're defending him? Hermione, he cursed Katie. And I just know that he sent that poisoned mead to Slughorn that almost killed Ron. I'd have every right to kill him," Harry insisted.
"I can't believe you, Harry," Hermione muttered. "How could you be so reckless and use a spell that you don't even know what it does?"
"Spare me the lecture, Hermione. I already got one from Snape and a boat load of detentions that are gonna make me miss Quidditch," Harry snapped.
"You almost killed Malfoy and you're complaining about detention?" Hermione hissed. "And you say that I need to sort out my priorities."
In that moment, Hermione couldn't bare to be around Harry, so she stormed out of the Common Room in a huff. The sheer stupidity of Harry sometimes baffled her, and now was just one of those times. She couldn't believe that he had been so stupid! Who in the right mind would use a spell that they don't know the purpose of? Hermione certainly wouldn't, that's for sure.
At first, all Hermione felt was anger and frustration, with both of those feelings being directed towards Harry because of his foolishness. But then those feelings changed to pain, like the pain you get from grief or remorse. Only that feeling was directed towards Malfoy. Hermione suddenly found Harry and Dumbledore's words echoing in the back of her mind.
Why do you even care, Hermione?
It sounds as if you have grown to care for Mr Malfoy and his well-being on a personal level.
Despite denying those statements at the time, Hermione was now seeing the truth in them. She did care for Draco. It was impossible to deny it now after the thought of Harry almost murdering him made her feel sick. Although Hermione tried to justify it as feeling sick about Harry's actions, she knew the feeling came from her genuine concern for Malfoy. If Harry had actually killed Draco with that spell… Hermione didn't even know how she would react. She didn't even want to think about that possibility.
At the same time, Hermione could hear Harry and Ron yelling at her for being foolish by caring for Malfoy. She knew that it was stupid, to care for the boy that had shown no care for her at all. But the comfort in it was that in his own unique way, Hermione felt like he cared for her, too. She found herself remembering her forcing Veritaserum on him in which he confessed to not wanting innocent people getting hurt in his desperate schemes. That had to mean something, right?
All of these conflicting feelings that had just came crashing down on Hermione sent her into overdrive. She didn't know what to do or what to think. None of it made sense to her. Just the thought of caring for someone like Draco, with the family he comes from and the views he supports made her feel sick. Why did this have to happen now? Why couldn't Hermione have just stayed having feelings for Ron? At least that was easier to deal with. At least then Hermione didn't have to feel guilty about liking him.
The thing about feelings was that you couldn't control them, Hermione knew that much. She couldn't control the despair that she felt at the thought of Draco dying. She couldn't control the way her heart broke every time she saw how dreadful he looked. She couldn't control how the feelings she used to have for Ron had now turned to Draco. It was like a bus had just slammed into her to make her realise this. All this time, Hermione had tried justifying her need to help Draco as a way to satisfy her conscience, or her pull towards Anonymous. She had tried separating Anonymous from Draco, yet somehow, somewhere along the way, her feelings towards them both had coincided.
It was unbelievable to think that Hermione Granger could come to care so deeply towards Draco Malfoy. Yet she did. She wanted nothing more than to ease his pain and save him from the darkness that was eating him alive. She wanted to be someone that he could turn to for help and support. She wanted nothing more than for him to care about her the way that she cared about him. These feelings that Hermione felt towards Draco hurt so much more than the way her feelings for Ron did. Then again, Hermione shouldn't have expected there to be anything easy about having feelings for Draco Malfoy.
Now Hermione found herself once again in Myrtle's bathroom. Only this time it wasn't Draco who was crying in there. It was her. Oh, to be young and feel love's keen sting indeed…
So, even after Hermione went after Draco instead last chapter the Sectumsempra incident still happened. But it's caused Hermione to finally acknowledge the suppressed feelings that she's been trying to deny, so consider it good for plot development. But with nothing coming out of her attempt to help Draco with Dumbledore, just what will Hermione do now? Oh, how it brings me great joy to know things that the readers do not.
